Tamakyo au where they meet younger and grew up as childhood friends!
Kyoya met Tamaki before he met Tamaki. He hadn't thought much of the other boy, his hair wild and face dirty. He looked like every other commoner as he held his hand out to him, the universal sign for a hand shake.
He wrinkled his nose at the gesture, "I'm sorry, I don't shake hands with commoners."
It didn't matter that Kyoya was told to always be polite. Well, it did, but who would this boy tell? He was no one of importance. Kyoya didn't have to be kind to him. He wasn't bound by rules or frivolous niceties of the upper class. He could be himself. Which mainly meant he could be a brat.
"Oh," the other supplied, a little dumbfounded.
Oh was right. This kid had to be plain stupid to think he could so easily befriend someone so obviously higher in status. Maybe he was stupid. Kyoya knew that the lower class wasn't capable of affording education as nice as his own, it would make sense for their kids to be idiots.
He almost felt bad for the boy, born into the wrong household and now too dumb to comprehend who was socially acceptable to ask for friend ship. A true shame. Perhaps they could have been friends if the other were better educated (and tied to a business that could aid his father's).
Not that Kyoya wanted anymore "friends", they were quite exhausting to handle.
"Why not?"
"What?"
"Why not shake hands with a commoner?"
Kyoya definitely didn't feel bad now, just annoyed. Why couldn't he just be left alone? "Why should I? I have nothing to gain from being pleasant with you,"
"Friendship!" He announced, looking extremely proud of himself.
Was this guy serious? Friendship? This wasn't some anime. "Friends should be made out of convenience. I have nothing to gain from a friendship with you,"
Kyoya didn't sit around to see his hurt expression, he could wait for his chauffer somewhere quieter.
___________________________
Kyoya had many regrets, most of which weren't in his control. (Being the youngest, for example.) But never had something gone so obnoxiously wrong as this.
"Kyoya, this is Tamaki Suoh. I would like for you two to get along." He gave him a pointed look, and Kyoya knew what he had to do. But how could he do that? There was no way this kid- Tamaki, would ever be friends with him after Kyoya not only snubbed him, but mistook him for a commoner.
Other kids didn't "work" like Kyoya did. They didn't all bend over backwards for business deals and connections. They were influenced by emotions. They liked people that were nice. People who were kind, who did what they wanted.
Kyoya had fucked up.
He didn't know it was possible to fuck up this badly, intentionally or otherwise.
"Hi," the other offers lamely, as their parents walk away. Likely to discuss some important trade deal or God knows what. Kyoya just hopes he hasn't screwed it up before it's even begun.
"... hello,"
He needed to recover, make an excuse, apologize, something. "Making friends" wasn't usually so hard, but then again, normally wealthy kids didn't dress like scrubs and roll around in the dirt.
"I'm sorry for how I acted earlier today, I was in a terrible mood because my chauffer was running late, I didn't mean to let it out on you. I understand if you don't want to be friends-"
"I-" Kyoya hadn't been expecting an interruption, though he didn't mind it. Maybe this kid hadn't been trained in proper etiquette, his manners seemed to be horribly lacking.
"I... I want to be your friend,"
It took Kyoya a moment to process, because what the hell? He didn't think before blurting,"You want to be friends with... me?"
Kyoya was so obviously playing him! Anyone could tell he didn't actually want to be friends, that he had given an empty excuse to fix what he'd done earlier- how stupid was this kid?
Tamaki looked panicked, like maybe asking to be friends had offended Kyoya. He itched the back of his head, glancing away, wreaking of nervousness, "Only if you want to, too?"
"Why?" And Kyoya needed to stop looking a gift horse in the mouth and just be happy. He could so easily just accept the offer and that would be that. He shouldn't question the other.
But he had to know.
Tamaki stared at him, trying to figure out what he meant by why. "You don't have any friends," he offered quietly, "and I know what that's like. To not have anyone who you can be you around. It's lonely."
He took a breath,, hesitantly meeting Kyoya's eyes, "I need a friend, too, and I think I'd really like if it was you."
Now it was Kyoya's turn to say, "Oh,"
Because he was right. There wasn't anyone Kyoya was "himself" around. Somehow this stranger, who was a complete idiot, had read him like a book.
And for some reason he decided to open up his own pages to Kyoya, too.
"Even though I'm an asshole?"
Tamaki perked up like a puppy after hearing walk, "Even if your an asshole!"
"Then I think I would like to be friends. Real friends,"
