fic: the clock tower
title: the clock tower
characters/pairings: Hikaru-centric; barely there Tamaki/Haruhi and one-sided Hikaru/Haruhi
rating: g
words: ~500
spoilers: around chapter 60 of the manga i think
disclaimer: not mine
notes: my way of coping with all the Hikaru-hate in fandom.
summary: Sometimes, he does not believe that Kaoru is his twin at all.
*
Remember how you used to say I'd be the one to run away but I'm still here.
--Vertical Horizon, "I'm Still Here"
*
Sometimes he does not believe that Kaoru is his twin at all.
Sure, the eyes, the ears, the textures of skin right down to the tips of their toes, go against that theory but sometimes, he thinks, their bodies lie.
After all, how could someone who shares one hundred percent of his genes have been so much more attuned to the rhythm that had formed amongst the seven of them? Kaoru somehow always had an ear for it, along with quick eyes and a malleable smile that shifted from soft to catlike in an instant.
And Hikaru…had tried, only to feel himself missing a beat, then two, then three, always something of a step behind, a little jealous, a little in awe.
*
He watches them go: Hunny-sempai and Mori-sempai at first, then finally, Kyouya-sempai and Tono, with Haruhi close beside the blond. She has graduated an entire year earlier than her cohort owing to summer and night schooling in the senior years. Predictable, really, he thinks. And hence, it should not sting.
Kaoru lingers. Needlessly, perhaps?
Hikaru can feel the weighing down of the cushion beside him as his wiser half takes a seat, saying, "Look how time passes."
And he is falling back into old habits again even if relatively harmless ones. Here is one they used to share, a closing of the eyes for a moment that lingers and upon opening them, the gaze fixes upon something else, the shift taking place behind closed eyelids. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see his twin's smile. It is earnest but gentle, or gentler (than before, than Hikaru's own).
Were we the same and then time took its toll or were you someone else from the start?
It is a thing of beauty, his brother's smile, albeit a little difficult to stand sometimes.
Was it you who ran forward or was it me who lagged behind?
Closing his eyes once more, he pictures the clock tower and how it had looked on Tono and Haruhi's last day at Ouran. Letting his gaze shift behind closed eyes once again, Hikaru's eyes now open to the sight of open doors and empty spaces.
Kaoru can sense the emotion reflected in them without needing to look for it. And too quickly, he remembers another rule they had made-or rather, Hikaru had made-and thus refrains from reaching out for Hikaru's hand.
Kaoru stands and Hikaru holds his breath. No words are spoken as he watches his brother walk away.
Is this your surrender or my defeat? The two are no longer interchangeable.
Look how time passes indeed.
*
end
characters/pairings: Hikaru-centric; barely there Tamaki/Haruhi and one-sided Hikaru/Haruhi
rating: g
words: ~500
spoilers: around chapter 60 of the manga i think
disclaimer: not mine
notes: my way of coping with all the Hikaru-hate in fandom.
summary: Sometimes, he does not believe that Kaoru is his twin at all.
*
Remember how you used to say I'd be the one to run away but I'm still here.
--Vertical Horizon, "I'm Still Here"
*
Sometimes he does not believe that Kaoru is his twin at all.
Sure, the eyes, the ears, the textures of skin right down to the tips of their toes, go against that theory but sometimes, he thinks, their bodies lie.
After all, how could someone who shares one hundred percent of his genes have been so much more attuned to the rhythm that had formed amongst the seven of them? Kaoru somehow always had an ear for it, along with quick eyes and a malleable smile that shifted from soft to catlike in an instant.
And Hikaru…had tried, only to feel himself missing a beat, then two, then three, always something of a step behind, a little jealous, a little in awe.
*
He watches them go: Hunny-sempai and Mori-sempai at first, then finally, Kyouya-sempai and Tono, with Haruhi close beside the blond. She has graduated an entire year earlier than her cohort owing to summer and night schooling in the senior years. Predictable, really, he thinks. And hence, it should not sting.
Kaoru lingers. Needlessly, perhaps?
Hikaru can feel the weighing down of the cushion beside him as his wiser half takes a seat, saying, "Look how time passes."
And he is falling back into old habits again even if relatively harmless ones. Here is one they used to share, a closing of the eyes for a moment that lingers and upon opening them, the gaze fixes upon something else, the shift taking place behind closed eyelids. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see his twin's smile. It is earnest but gentle, or gentler (than before, than Hikaru's own).
Were we the same and then time took its toll or were you someone else from the start?
It is a thing of beauty, his brother's smile, albeit a little difficult to stand sometimes.
Was it you who ran forward or was it me who lagged behind?
Closing his eyes once more, he pictures the clock tower and how it had looked on Tono and Haruhi's last day at Ouran. Letting his gaze shift behind closed eyes once again, Hikaru's eyes now open to the sight of open doors and empty spaces.
Kaoru can sense the emotion reflected in them without needing to look for it. And too quickly, he remembers another rule they had made-or rather, Hikaru had made-and thus refrains from reaching out for Hikaru's hand.
Kaoru stands and Hikaru holds his breath. No words are spoken as he watches his brother walk away.
Is this your surrender or my defeat? The two are no longer interchangeable.
Look how time passes indeed.
*
end