Kauru Hitachiin's Love Story || an OHSHC fanfiction

Five || Scars and Secrets

For the first time since Maverick joined the Host Club, they were outside; it was the annual flower viewing reception. Maverick was with the twins, entertaining guests; serving tea, coffee, and sweets, stopping every so often when any of the ladies sparked a conversation, as was his job.
The flower viewing reception was a success in the eyes of most; Kyoya sold some photo books, Tamaki was swooned over, the twins pulled their brotherly love stunt, and the four second years compared their electives for next term, seeing if they were in any classes together. After comparing electives, Hikaru mentioned something about this years' physical exams going smoother than last years, but Maverick payed no mind to it.

It started off like a normal day of school, teachers taking role, but after that, there was an announcement over the PA, prompting all students to head to their respective clinics for the physical exam. Maverick just followed the twins and Haruhi, he knew where Matthew's clinic was better than he knew his own, though he knew the general direction it would be in. They ended up at Infirmary Room 1, when Haruhi broke off, saying something about finding the Special Boys clinic. Maverick was slightly confused, but didn't think much of it.
The students were greeted by the doctors and nurses. Maverick was taken slightly aback, but tried to not let it show.
The twins' nurses found them, leading them one way to get their height measured, Maverick's nurse was there soon after the twins walked away. She lead Maverick in the same direction as the twins. He did as she asked through out the whole exam, making small talk, he was a little worried about what people might say when they saw his torso without his clothes on. There were a lot of scars from a lot of different things and he really didn't want to have to explain to the whole school what had happened to him. It took years for Maverick to be comfortable enough shirtless alone, let alone with a crowd, knowing that people would be looking at him, staring at him. He didn't want to be the subject of rumours, not again.

As the doctor assigned to Maverick checked his blood pressure, Maverick sat on an observation table, his blazer off, shirt and tie still on. As he sat on the table, the doctor asking him basic questions that he didn't have to think about, he thought about what he was going to do when it came time for his chest measurements. He would have to take off his shirt and tie and everyone would see his physical imperfections; his tattoos which he didn't have a problem talking about, his self-harm scars, and the scars that weren't self-inflicted. He didn't want to have to explain things that happened in his past, things that he was trying to get away from, things that he was trying to forget.
He finally came to the realization that it was part of who he was, that his scars were more than imperfections; they were proof of how strong he is and how much he can overcome. He decided that he would open the curtain shirtless, and he would live with what that entailed. It is his body, and he is not ashamed of it. He's a warrior, a hero in the right minds, a survivor, someone who thrives and strives to live on, despite the best efforts of others, and at one point, himself.
Meanwhile, Kaoru was worried about Maverick. To Kaoru's knowledge, he was the only Host Club member who had any idea about Maverick's body and just how badly it had been treated in the past. He was anxious throughout his whole exam, and even though no one said anything, he could tell that Hikaru wanted to. Towards the end of their exam, Hikaru couldn't hold it back anymore.
"Kaoru, what's wrong?" Hikaru asked, looking at his younger twin brother. "You're worried about something, you can't hide it from me."
"I'm not hiding my worry, but I can't tell you what I'm worried about." Kaoru replied, looking over at his twin. "It's not my place to tell."
"Bullshit." Hikaru hissed. "You're worried about something, and as your older brother, it's my job to assure you that everything will be okay."
"I'm worried about someone, and I can't tell you why because it's not my place to tell you. If he wants you to know, he'll tell you." Kaoru reiterated.
"Is this about Maverick?" Hikaru asked, his face dropping.
"Don't look at me like that, he's our friend and classmate." Kaoru replied. "And if you knew what I did, you would be worried too." Hikaru just shook his head a little, disbelievingly.

After getting his chest measured, Kaoru found Maverick and pulled him behind a curtain.
"Kaoru?" Maverick asked, confused. "What are you doing?"
"If you walk out there without your shirt, you're going to be bombarded with questions." Kaoru replies softly, a slight twinge of fear in his voice and in his eyes.
"I know, Kao." Maverick replied, giving him a soft smile. "I've thought about it, and it's okay."
"It's not okay." Kaoru replied. "People aren't going to stop talking about it. Rumours about you will spread like wildfire."
"Is this about my scars, or my tattoos, or both?" Maverick asked, wanting clarification.
"Both, but you're willing to tell people about what your tattoos are for, I didn't think you wanted to tell people about your scars." Kaoru replied. Maverick could see where Kaoru was coming from, but he was worrying way too much.
"My scars don't define who I am, they're just a part of my story." Maverick answered. "I don't care who knows or who sees. They're a part of me. Sure, they're a terrible reminder of a horrible time in my life, but they're proof that no matter how hard things get, if you just push through, everything will get better."
"But-" Kaoru started, but Maverick cut him off.
"But nothing. It's my choice, my decision." Maverick reminded. "I'm going to go out there, I don't care what people say or what rumours start. It's my choice who I tell what happened, and if people can't respect that, then that's their loss."

After the exam, the Host Club had a meeting.
"Maverick." Kyoya started the meeting, his computer open, his glasses slightly down his nose. "You seem to have failed to mention that you were abused as a child."
"Why would I choose to talk about my traumatic childhood? Especially considering that the files are blocked unless you have my password." Maverick replied. The room went silent; he made a valid point.
"Your password?" Kyoya asked after the room was silent for a very awkward and tense couple minutes.
"What?" Maverick replied. "That's the part you're clinging to?" He added, his hands balling into fists at his side. "You're asking about the fact that I put a password on my files and now about what abuse I could have endured as a child that would leave me scarred and cause me to block my own files and those of my family? Do you want to read my file Kyoya? To learn about the things that happened in my past that made me move across the world to get away from them?" Maverick took Kyoya's computer, opened his file, and put in his username and password. "It'll time out in an hour and will erase your hard drive if you take screenshots or attempt a download." He warned, grabbed his bag and walked out of the club room.
"Maverick!" Kaoru called after him. Maverick turned around, he looked so done. "You can trust us."
Maverick walked out of the club room. Kyoya read over his file, writing out notes, and being sure that no one else saw his computer or his notebook.