Aaron struggled slowly out of the blissful, velvet darkness of sleep. Stifling a yawn, he reached out a hand for his glasses on his nightstand, only to find he couldn't move. Aaron held his breath and opened his eyes slowly, stiffening when he saw what was keeping him in place.
Harry was splayed out in front of him on his back, face tipped toward Aaron. Since Aaron lay on his side, his head had been resting naturally on the boy's chest, and his hand lay on Harry's stomach. There was another hand on top of Aaron's, one that wasn't Harry's. Aaron wiggled carefully, just enough to crane his neck around to see Benji. He was curled into Aaron, spooning with him, an arm thrown around his waist and his nose pressed into the crook of Aaron's neck. The twin's hands were entwined over Aaron's head, and their legs were jumbled together.
Aaron knew he should have been panicking, scrambling out of bed and demanding they take him home. Yet, somehow, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He was too warm, too comfortable, and the twins looked too innocent and boyish as they slept, red-orange hair mussed and expressions unguardedly peaceful. Inhaling the mingled scents of his shampoo and body wash and whatever the twins used, Aaron let his head slowly sink back down onto Harry's chest. Unfortunately, he didn't close his eyes before the alarm clock was directly in his line of sight, with its little red numbers blinking nine thirty at him.
Aaron bolted upright, knocking Benji off the bed and planting his elbows in Harry's stomach before scrambling off the bed. Both twins cursed profusely, rubbing their injured parts and sitting up to glare at the boy; they both froze at the sight of him, hair mussed and brown hair wide with his clothing askew and flashing skin- before he felt their gaze and hastily jerked his uniform back into place.
"You said you'd wake me up in time for school!" Aaron glared at Benji, hands clenching and unclenching.
"Sorry," Benji murmured, looking down and rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
Aaron blinked at the unexpected apology then shifted his gaze to Harry. "And you! Why the hell are you in here, and why didn't you wake us up?"
"Hey, it's not my fault you two looked so inviting all curled up like a married couple!"
Aaron's face flushed cherry red, and he was quick to look away. Confused, Harry looked over to his brother, only to see the same embarrassed expression. Suspicion crept into him, and after the initial surge of jealousy, a broad smile formed on his face. He never would have thought that, of all the host club boys, it would be Benji who made the first move. He would have thought it would be Roman, who didn't seem to notice how he was mooning over the new boy, or Kris, who'd been doing everything in his power to keep the boy happy.
"Shut up," Benji snapped, even though Harry hadn't said anything. Aaron frowned at Benji, but his gaze returned to Harry when the boy laughed in response to his brother.
"I'll never understand you two," Aaron said, throwing his hands up in surrender.
"You love us anyways," Benji said teasingly.
Aaron's face had been beginning to cool, but it flamed up again immediately. "I'm going to take a shower. You two go make breakfast or something," he commanded in an attempt t cover his embarrassment.
"But-" the bathroom door slammed shut behind Aaron, "It's my bathroom." The twins hear the water start, and shook their heads in union.
"Take my shower," Harry said, "I can make breakfast, and I bet you're sweaty from last night."
Harry ducked, expecting a pillow to hit his face. Instead he heard a thump, followed by a muted groan. Worried, he crawled to the edge of his bed and peeked down at his brother, who lay on the floor with his eyes on the ceiling. "Trust me, nothing happened," Benji said, his tone making it clear he wished something had.
Harry sighed and rolled his eyes; his brother had never been good at fighting for what he wanted when it came to the important things. "Shower," he said firmly, getting out of bed and helping his brother to his feet. Benji gave him a slightly wobbly smile before shuffling through the door that connected their rooms.
"Idiot," Harry said fondly, eyeing Benji's bathroom door and wondering which of them had stopped whatever happened the night before- because it was clear something had happened. Giving his head a sharp shake in an attempt to keep himself from worrying over it, Harry padded to his room to change clothes and take out something for Aaron to wear.
Harry rapped on the bathroom door; when Aaron didn't respond, he eased it open. The steam hit him first, making his eyes water for a moment- then the sound hit him. Weaving between the sound of water blasting from six different shower heads was Aaron's voice.
Harry was shocked by how well the boy sang. Aaron's voice wove a perfect melody, the bittersweet, heartbreaking song was perfect for him. Purpose vanished from Harry's mind, and he leaned against the sink, listening to Aaron sing.
Since Aaron was singing to a track in his head, there was a pause after the verse. It was long enough to break the spell that had ensnared Harry. He set the clothes down on the toiled lid before saying; "I didn't know you liked country."
Aaron yelped, throwing himself into the farthest corner of the shower, chest heaving and eyes wide. "Get out!" he shouted, voice climbing to dangerously high levels.
"Geez, alright," Harry said, amusement running in his voice, "Next time I won't be nice enough to bring you clean clothes."
That mollified Aaron, but only slightly, and not enough to keep him from shouting again. "I mean it, Harry, get the hell out of the bathroom before I get out of the shower and make you!"
They both knew the threat was empty- and a rather pleasant thought, if Harry stopped to imagine the scene- but the anger behind it was real, so Harry high-tailed it out of the bathroom with an apology thrown over his shoulder. Aaron didn't relax until he was gone, but when the door clicked closed, he collapsed against the wall, breathing out a relieved sigh.
Harry was setting out plates in the dining room when Aaron walked in twenty minutes later. He looked relaxed as he vigorously toweled off his hair. He was wearing a tight tee and sweatpants that hung low on his hips, meaning Harry saw strips of flawless skin every time that shirt rode up. Aaron felt Harry's eyes on him and paused, following his gaze down to where his shirt had revealed half his stomach. Aaron dropped his arms immediately, the shirt falling to cover him. "Keep your eyes to yourself," Aaron demanded, but it was mild- that shower had been amazing, and he was too relaxed to care what Harry saw.
"I will... if you sing the rest of that song for me," Harry said with a shameless smile.
Aaron gave him a scathing look before flipping him off. The gesture only made Harry laugh as he poured out a mug of coffee for Aaron, mixing in cream and sugar before handing it over.
Harry watched Aaron wrap his hands around the mug, the way his mouth curved up when he inhaled the scent of the twins' favorite caramel hazelnut coffee, and understood why his brother would want to be more than friends with the boy. There was something alluring in how open he was, he never tried to hide his emotions- not even his embarrassment, and when that boy blushed, he stole the heart of everyone in the vicinity. It was why Harry took every opportunity he had to embarrass Aaron, including the one he'd just been handed. "You should have taken choir this year. You would have been fantastic."
"I don't sing," Aaron said sharply. Harry arched an eyebrow, forcing Aaron to amend his statement, "I only sing in the shower."
"You sing in the shower?" Benji swept into the room, glancing sideways at Aaron as he filled his plate, "Are you any good?"
"No."
"Yes."
Aaron and Harry spoke at the same time; their eyes met over the table, and they fell to laughing. Benji, clueless, smiled and shook his head before sitting down and pouring a cup of coffee.
"You know I can't go to school dressed like this, right?" Aaron asked, changing the subject.
Benji surveyed Aaron's sweats and tee, matching black, and shrugged. "You're a host, Aaron. We're the school's darlings- nobody will care."
"But-" Aaron glanced at Harry, cheeks tinging pink as he remembered the boy's eyes on his skin.
Benji reached out and put a hand over Aaron's mouth, grinning at the way the boy's eyes widened. "Not buts," he said firmly, "Just eat."
When Aaron opened his mouth again, it was Harry who put a stop to the conversation with: "We're staying until you eat breakfast, and it you hold us up later than third hour, Kris will kill you."
Aaron dug in without another word, and the bell rang just as Aaron and the twins burst through the door to the East Lounge.
Aaron skidded to a halt, arms flailing as his feet sought purchase on the sand-covered floor; the beach scene was apparently a host club favorite, and it was rare for a week to go by without the room being transformed into a tropical paradise.
The twins made a beeline to the changing room, leaving Aaron to take the brunt of the other three boys' anger. "I, well, the bus broke down last night, and, uhm, the twins let me stay over, and, erm, their mother made us... stay... late..." Aaron's lame attempt at lying trailed off.
Marcus and Kris exchanged a knowing look. While they'd never thought Aaron would fall prey to the sickness, they knew it was a fantasy of many to have both twins at once. And wouldn't those many be furious when they found out Aaron got there first! The thought was enough to have both solemn boys grinning.
Roman, on the other hand, was furious. His eyes didn't flame, and he didn't shout- it wasn't that kind of anger, the anger that evaporated quickly. It was the cold fury that turned him stony, even if he had no idea why he was so angry. "There's no point lying," he said calmly, "But next time you want to fool around with the idiot twins, at least have the decency to show up to school on time."
"What?" Aaron asked blankly. When he realized what the other boys were thinking, he threw his hands up and was quick to protest, "Oh no, no way. Trust me, nothing happened. I swear on my life! You really think I'd do something with them? Not only no, but hell no- never in a million years!"
Harry, who was walking out of the changing room in board shorts and a tee, stopped short. Hurt flickered across his face before he buried it deep, striding across the room to join Aaron. "He's right- he'd never stoop to our level. And besides, which one of us do you think would actually want to sleep with the family dog?"
Aaron inhaled sharply, and because it was the only sign, Harry was the only one who knew how much that had hurt Aaron. He ached to apologize, but Aaron shoved him away, forcing up a playful smile and mocking "Woof."
"Really?" Roman eyes them skeptically, but when he saw how they glared at each other, his expression cleared. Anger vanishing as quickly as it had come, an emotional whiplash the host boys were used to, he gave Aaron a wide grin, "I forgive you for being late- just hurry up and change."
"But-" Aaron glanced to the door, where girls would be gathered and eagerly waiting for him to welcome them in.
"No buts," Kris said, butting in and giving Aaron a firm push in the direction of the changing room, "Roman will welcome the guests today."
Aaron laughed when Roman immediately began to complain. He headed for the changing room, giving Benji a wide radius as they walked in different directions, and hurried to change into his own outfit of shorts and a tee so he could join the other boys on their private beach.
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