Chapter Text
Suzumi likes her neighbours.
Juliana lives to her left. She’s a middle-aged woman from Brazil pursuing a music degree from Berklee. Suzumi doesn’t know what Juliana’s youth was like, but she can’t help but feel proud every time she hears the sound of cello through their shared wall in the afternoons. The pair share a door as well, permanently locked by a key only their landlady holds. At first, Suzumi had pushed a dresser against the door, but now the space is free in order to better hear the gentle strokes of Juliana’s bow. The units in the building are surprisingly sound-proofed, and Suzumi treasures each audio-allowing-crack between her and Juliana.
Haurhi lives across the hall. Suzumi couldn’t help but rush over to introduce herself after the young girl had moved in. While there were many Japanese people attending Harvard, there hadn’t been any others in the apartment building until Haruhi. When Suzumi found out that Haruhi would be attending Harvard as well, she was nearly beside herself in excitement. The pair became fast friends and, despite their differing majors, spent many late evenings studying together.
While Suzumi always enjoyed the time she spent with Haruhi, she couldn’t help but notice her friend’s increasing melancholy as the months went on. Haruhi was always honest but also slightly reticent about her past. Suzmui knew Haruhi had attended the prestigious Ouran Academy and had been the only one of her friends to study abroad.
“I always knew I wanted to go to Harvard,” Haruhi tells her late one evening in April. “And while I enjoyed my time at Ouran…” Haurhi grimaces slightly with a chuckle, “by the time high school was over, I thought I was ready to get away. I thought I wanted to get away.”
Suzumi stays silent, nibbling on a coxinha, courtesy of Juliana. They’re in Haruhi’s apartment tonight, as they often are when study sessions go late. Both Suzumi and Haruhi live in corner units, but there is no shared door in Haruhi’s living room. Haruhi lives beside a maintenance room, so the pair do not need to be as mindful of late night conversations.
“I didn’t think I would miss them,” Haruhi murmurs, her gaze going to one of the two framed photos on her sparse living room wall. “Well, I did, but… not this much.”
Suzumi casts her own gaze to the photo in question. Haruhi, looking slightly exasperated, surrounded by beautiful men. She is in the middle of the picture, sandwiched between a pair of twins, broad smiles on both their faces.
“You don’t talk about them much,” Suzumi starts, carefully. Haruhi has always been oddly skittish about the men on her living room wall. Less so about her father, his feminine form hugging Haruhi in the other frame. But her Ouran friends…
“Tell me about them?” Suzumi asks gently.
To Suzumi’s surprise, Haruhi does. She stands, retrieving the photo from the wall, and brings it to Suzumi. She tells her of Tamaki and his princely ways, naive with a heart of gold. She speaks of Kyoya and his duality, a calculated aloofness to hide a passionate heart. She speaks of Honey, both his surprising wisdom and his surprising strength, but mostly his love of cake. She speaks of Mori and his silent comfort, whose observations rival Kyoya’s and whose protective presence kept them all safe.
She hesitates before addressing the twins.
“And this is Kaoru,” she points to the boy on the left, “and Hikaru,” pointing to the boy on the right. She is quiet for a moment, and Suzumi resists the urge to reach for another coxinha, afraid the movement will snap Haruhi out of her memories and stop her stories. Suzumi waits.
“Kaoru is kind,” Haruhi whispers, finger brushing the left boy’s face. Her own face has morphed into a rare, tender look that Suzumi has never seen before. “He pretends to be selfish, but he’s self-sacrificing and unwaveringly loyal. He’s a bit like Mori in that way.”
Haurhi’s fingers skim over her own face briefly before gently caressing the boy on the right.
“Hikaru is stubborn,” she continues softly, “He’s impulsive, and can be unaware of his own feelings, like Tamaki. His love is reserved, though. Tamaki loves everyone, but Hikaru only loves a select few. His love is… beautiful. Fierce, but beautiful.”
Tears begin to slide down Haruhi’s cheeks, but Suzumi still waits in silence. She knows there’s more.
“Kaoru too, he also only loves a select few. His love is softer though, gentler. For the longest time, Hikaru and Kaoru only had each other. But they’ve come a long way, they’re still learning, but…” she laughs then, a soft but pained breathy exhale. “They’ve started to show others their love. They can be mischievous and manipulative but… I miss them the most.”
Suzumi reaches out and gently places her hand on top of Haruhi’s. Haruhi jumps slightly at the contact, and looks over to Suzumi with wide, surprised eyes. A faint blush begins to bloom on her cheeks, and she pulls her hand away to wipe at her face.
“I’m sorry, Suzumi,” Haruhi begins, embarrassed. “I don’t know what came over me–”
“You miss them,” Suzumi says, cutting Haruhi off with a kind smile. “You’ve been missing them for a long time, I think, but you never let yourself admit it until now.”
Haruhi blinks in surprise for a moment before the tension leaves her shoulders, and she lets out the most genuine laugh Suzumi has ever heard.
“You’re right,” Haruhi says, smiling with wet, red cheeks.
“You should tell them,” Suzumi tells her, glancing back down at the frame. “Especially those two.”
Haruhi doesn’t have to ask which two. She gets up, and gently places the frame back on the wall.
“I will,” she says quietly, her back turned to Suzumi.
Suzumi smiles.
The spring examination period passes in a blur. While Suzumi did not forget her late night talk with Haruhi, school takes precedence over the next few weeks.
Suzumi returns home from her final exam and is unlocking her apartment door when she hears the sound of Haruhi’s door opening behind her. Half turning, Suzumi notes the spark in her friend’s eyes despite the sheepish smile and wave Haruhi presents.
“I’m sorry, I know you must be tired,” Haruhi starts, knowing today was both their final exams. “But I wanted to catch you before I go.”
Suzumi raises an eyebrow, fully turning around to face Haruhi. While she’d been looking forward to collapsing in her bed ten seconds ago, this seemed like a worthwhile delay.
“Oh?” Suzumi asks, feeling a smirk creep onto her face as Haruhi’s cheeks heat. “I thought you were staying here for the summer?”
“Well,” Haruhi says, beginning to smile. “I was originally just going home for July, but… I took your advice.”
Suzumi’s smirk softens and she puts her bag down to cross the short distance to Haruhi’s door, giving her friend a hug.
“I’m glad,” she says, squeezing. “Going to see the twins?”
“All of them,” Haruhi corrects, blush deepening as she pulls away. “I’m only going for a week. I’ll be there in two months again anyway, but after some conversations… they insisted.”
Suzumi chuckles before heading back over to her unlocked apartment.
“I want all the reunion details when you get back,” Suzumi calls over her shoulder, turning the knob. Stepping into her apartment, she faces Haruhi once more and gives her a wink. “All the details.”
Before Haruhi can splutter out any type of rebuttal or refusal, Suzumi shuts her door.
The following morning, there is a knock on Suzumi’s door shortly after 9am. Groaning, she pushes off her covers and shuffles to her entryway.
Suzumi opens the door to find a sharply dressed man standing before her. The man is carrying a briefcase in one hand, and smiles down at her apologetically.
“Uh,” Suzumi starts, still groggy from being woken up. “Can I help you?”
“Are you Suzumi Ito?” he asks in crisp Japanese.
Suzumi feels her heart start to pound. Am I in some kind of trouble?
“Yes,” she offers hesitantly.
“I am pleased to make your acquaintance,” the man says, bowing. “I am Hansuke Watanabe. I have been employed by the Hitachiin Corporation, and I am here on behalf of my clients to offer an exchange of goods and services.”
“Okay,” Suzumi responds, heart calming but still perplexed. Hitachiin? She thinks to herself. Where have I heard that name before?
“My clients have recently become interested in your rental unit,” Hansuke continues. Suzumi’s eyebrows raise. “I am here to offer you a payout of your current rental contract, as well as six months of rent payments at the new housing of your choosing.”
“What?!” Suzumi exclaims.
“My clients are also offering to pay for all moving expenditures, including the usage of a moving company in order to ease your transition.”
Suzumi blinks, taken aback. She is still staring at Hansuke in silent shock and confusion, when the door to her left opens. Juliana enters the hallway, and comes to stand beside the man.
“I take it you’re also asking her to move?” Juliana asks in English. Hansuke nods, taking a respectful step back, while Suzumi turns her wide-eyed gaze to Juliana.
“He asked you to move as well?” Suzumi asks in English.
“My clients are interested in both your units,” Hansuke says, his English as perfect as his Japanese. “And are offering the both of you the same compensation and arrangement.”
Suzumi exchanges a brief look with Juliana before glancing over worriedly at Haruhi’s door.
“What about the unit across from me?” Suzumi asks. “The woman who lives there is visiting her friends and family in Japan right now, so she’s not home. Will she be asked to move as well?”
“No,” Hansuke says, his face changing from business-neutral to almost amused. “She will not be asked to move.”
“If we were to agree,” Juliana asks hesitantly, also looking at Haruhi’s door. “When would we need to move?”
“Preferably by the end of the week,” Hansuke says. “You will be given an additional one thousand dollars for your trouble if your units are vacant by May 21st.”
“What?” Suzumi exclaims for the second time. “You’re telling me your clients will pay for a moving company, six months of free rent, and an extra thousand dollars, for both of us?”
“If you’re out by the end of the week, yes,” Hansuke affirms.
“May 21st is the day Haruhi comes back,” Juliana says quietly, worriedly. While the older woman did not spend as much time with Suzumi and Haruhi as they did with each other, the three still had a close bond. They often exchanged food and made a point to go out for dinner as a group once a month.
Suzumi frowns, thinking.
“How badly do your clients want these units?” she asks Hansuke.
He considers for a moment.
“Quite badly, if I were to make an honest guess,” he admits.
“Would they be open to making a deal?” Suzumi asks.
“Possibly,” Hansuke hedges, and Suzumi flashes Juliana a grin.
“Well then,” Suzumi says, opening her door to the pair in the hallway. “Let’s all have a seat as we negotiate.”
One week later, Suzumi and Juliana take the stairs down to their old floor.
Hansuke had been right: his clients had in fact “quite badly” wanted Suzumi and Juliana’s apartments. They offered the same deal to the units directly above Suzumi and Juliana, allowing the girls to simply move one floor up into identical living spaces, connecting door and all. In the end, Hansuke’s clients ended up compensating both Suzumi and Juliana as well as the pair they displaced in moving to the above floor.
Suzumi had actually been surprised how easily the mystery clients agreed to the more expensive proposal. Eyeing the moving van through the windowed stairwell, Suzumi wonders if she’ll get a glimpse of these mysterious clients as she and Juliana welcome back Haruhi.
Opening the door to their old floor, they find the hallway in a state of disarray. Boxes and a few pieces of odd decor (an expensive looking vase, a side table made out of crystal) litter the narrow walkway. A mattress is wedged in Suzumi’s old doorway while a young man with bright red hair is being yelled at by their landlady; movers shift awkwardly around them to bring items through Juliana’s door. The redhead’s back is to them, but his doppelganger stands across from him, doubled over laughing, with a hand on the shoulder of a very exasperated looking Haruhi.
Suzumi immediately recognizes them from Haruhi’s photo. Suddenly, it hits her: Hitachiin. Hitachiin. The infamous Hitachiin twins, sons of world-renowned designer Yuzuha Hitachiin who’d recently started modeling for their mother after graduating high school. Suzumi couldn’t believe she hadn’t recognized them in Haruhi’s photo. These were the twins Haruhi had missed so much?
Haruhi looks over, finally spotting her old neighbours amidst the chaos. She looks both surprised and pleased to see them before the boy holding her shoulder straightens. Haruhi’s face turns towards him with a long-suffering look, but Suzumi sees how the corner of Haruhi’s lips are turned up in a secret smile.
Looping her arm through Juliana’s, Suzumi grins, stepping forward. Things are about to get a lot more interesting around here, she thinks.