An Overlap of Coincidence

An Overlap of Coincidence
Part Six

Not unexpectedly, Kyouya slept very little that night. So when the day dawned bright and cherry, he met it with a barely restrained snarl and dark circles underlining eyes. Not unlike the day Tamaki had dragged him from his bed and to the commoner's mall.

He grudgingly dragged himself from bed and prepared for the day. Managing to pull on his last shoe just as Tamaki burst into their shared room like a pack of fireworks, the rest of the club at his back. How early he had risen, Kyouya didn't even want to know.

“Kyouya!” he declared loudly with hands thrown into the air in joyous delight. “Did you know? There's a festival!”

“I knew,” Kyouya all but grunted. He glared up at Tamaki, and then his gaze slid past the blond to Mori-senpai lingering at the back of the room.

As always, the elder student's look betrayed nothing. That was decidedly unfair.

“There's going to be cake!” Honey-senpai added with eyes full of sparkles.

“We're all going. Bonzai!” the twins contributed with a high-five and a pair of thumbs-up thrown in Kyouya's direction.

In the interest of not being dragged with or without his consent and lacking all of his fundamental needs – cell phone and wallet – Kyouya just rose to his feet. His so-called friends celebrated as Kyouya moved around in a half-daze, the fatigue riding on his shoulders. He followed them out of the room and the inn, content to let the more energetic ones take the lead for now.

The brightness of the day greeted Kyouya, the sunshine streaming down and near-blinding him. He winced and shielded his eyes. Thinking to himself that it was far, far too early for anyone in their right mind to be awake. Much less him. Perhaps he wouldn't think that way if he hadn't been up all night thinking, but such was the way of things.

“You look tired, Kyou-chan,” Honey-senpai commented with that oddly mature look that he occasionally displayed darkening his eyes.

“It's too early,” Kyouya grunted by way of explanation.

Honey-senpai didn't look to believe him. He just gave Kyouya a knowing glance, which meant he probably did know. Mori-senpai had no doubt told him. And Haruhi knew. The others must have had some clue. After all, those gifts had always been left in plain sight. Someone had to have seen them. Which probably explained all of Tamaki's odd looks, too.

Kyouya stole a glance at Mori-senpai. Seeing nothing but the taller man's broad back, his form towering above the rest of the club. That odd flip in Kyouya's stomach refused to be still. And he unconsciously recalled the kiss, which could hardly be called a kiss in Kyouya's opinion. A mere brush of their lips, that was all. And yet it had affected him like this, as if Mori-senpai had bent him backwards and engaged their mouths in a duel.

That flip turned into a twisting coil of heat, and Kyouya blinked, the images flashing in the back of his mind. The idea didn't... repulse him. If his unconscious reaction was anything to go by. And certainly the heat that threatened to steal into Kyouya's cheeks proved his interest. Even as a sudden flash of his fingers dragging down that broad, strong back flooded the edges of his thoughts.

Kyouya shook his head, forcing the images out of his mind. They stubbornly lingered. And part of Kyouya regretted ever leaving his room for the day.

Especially when the crowds of women started to gather. It wasn't unusual. Six attractive men walking around together tended to attract attention. And now wasn't any different. Not even Haruhi's presence – her true gender given a boost by the flowery dress that Ranka-san had packed for her – could deter the stares, giggles, and blushing faces.

Kyouya, in the interest of being left alone, hung back from the group and stood on the outside of the admiring females with few daring to get close. One bold girl strode right up to Tamaki, her two friends at her back as support, and introduced herself. She had picked the right one. Tamaki was the only one of them who would never consider dismissing any female, no matter if they were unknown or not. Honey-senpai was another all too willing to put on a show. Sparkling and grinning cutely for the same of the admiring women.

Seeing no profit in it for them, Kyouya was content to wander the edges of the crowd and take in the shops that dotted the edges of the street. They held some rather interesting items. He supposed they ought to thank Haruhi for introducing this other world to them. One each member of the club would have never taken another glance at if not for her presence. It had helped Kyouya as well, opening his eyes to other possible ventures.

He glanced at his fellow club members, eating up the admiring females like the attention-whores they were. All except for Haruhi herself and Mori-senpai whose face betrayed nothing like always. Even when the girls swooned around him, comments bubbling from their lips. Pressing closer and closer, some of the more bold ones daring to reach out and pat him on the shoulder or squeeze his muscles.

For some reason, that irritated Kyouya. These strangers... what did they think they were doing, reaching out and casually touching people they didn't know? Had they no manners? Kyouya glared, the heat behind his eyes unhampered by the barrier of his glasses.

And then Mori-senpai lifted his head, looking in Kyouya's direction as if already knowing that he had been standing there. Their eyes met. A spark of heat passed between them. Kyouya shivered, his mind conjuring up a memory.

Mori-senpai had smelled wild. Like the forest. The scent clung to him as though he spent days doing nothing but running through the trees. Kyouya remembered being crowded by his height but not intimidated. His cheeks flushed before he could stop them, swearing that the ghostly feeling of lips brushing across his was still present. He idly wondered – thoughts unbidden – what he would have done if Mori-senpai had taken it a step further.

Perhaps a touch of that large hand down Kyouya's back. A brush of those lips over Kyouya's throat, directly over the rapid pulse. Bare skin pressed against warm, equally bare skin. Gasps and moans echoing. Fingers running through dark hair. Either his or Mori-senpai's. Kyouya's scattered thoughts didn't seem to care which.

“You should ask yourself if you like Mori-senpai before you worry about anything else.”

Her words rang in the back of his mind. He hadn't answered Mori-senpai yet. That kiss had been a confession, right?

And then someone spoke to Mori-senpai. Dragging his attention away and breaking the brief connection that had formed between them. Kyouya blinked, moving slowly as if coming away from a daze.

He watched as Honey-senpai clambered onto Mori-senpai's shoulders. Gleefully calling his name. The girls falling over themselves at the adorable picture.

And something tightened in Kyouya's belly.

“You're looking for facts and formulas to solve a question that can't be answered by such things. You should be looking somewhere else instead.”

Somewhere else, Haruhi had said. He should be looking to himself for the answers, Kyouya surmised. And judging by the torrent of emotions that twisted his insides, they weren't too hard to find.

*****

a/n: The next update? That I can’t honestly say. I’m going to try my best to get it out quickly, but Real Life is kicking my butt right now. Still, I guarantee that I won’t abandon my stories! I appreciate your patience!

And, more than anything, I hope you enjoyed the chapters. Coming up next? The climax!