In the days that followed, Hibiki had committed himself entirely to studying. Armed only with pens and markers, he attempted to slay his law textbook once and for all. Bit by bit he whittled down the page count left, filling notebooks with summaries and flowcharts to make sense of it all.

That very afternoon was no different. Hibiki had made himself comfortable on the couch, a printed out text in hand which he was diligently reading, while using a neon orange marker to highlight the most important sentences. Maki laid beside him, curled up against his leg. Whenever he took a break from reading, he'd give Maki a few scratches behind the ears.

At the kitchen table, Kazuo spent his afternoon thumbing through the newest volume of a comic book. From time to time Hibiki would summon him to fill his glass of water, or anything else he required. He would do so immediately, to make sure that Hibiki could focus entirely on studying without any distractions.

Of course, that only worked as long as Hibiki didn't make any distractions for himself. Finally fed up with sitting and reading, Hibiki threw his text down on the coffee table, and grabbed his empty glass. Casually he sauntered over to the kitchen, and filled it himself.

Kazuo pretended not to see over the edge of his comic, trying his best not to be part of Hibiki's self-hindrance. So in turn Hibiki leant back against the counter, and watched him read while taking slow sips of his water. Kazuo turned his head, and held his book closed with one finger between the pages.

「Could I assist you with anything, Yukimura-sama?」His voice was formal and respectful, but Hibiki pierced right through that and instead made a quick, barely-committed gesture at the comic book in his hand.

「It just came out, it's a new sci-fi, and I quite like it thus far.」

'I remember you used to read comics like that for me when I was younger.'

Hibiki signed, once he had put the glass back down on the counter.

「That's been a while though. Five years ago, at least?」

'I think so, I stopped liking them'

「I believe you said they were for children, back when you wanted to be an adult.」

Hibiki immediately huffed.

'Being an adult sucks'

「So how is the studying going?」

Hibiki glared at Kazuo, but the latter waited patiently for a response.

'It's boring'

He signed with rather quick, apathetic gestures.

「I'm afraid that's a process everyone has to go through from time to time if they want to achieve something.」Kazuo nodded, but Hibiki instead opted to not hear the words of wisdom.

'I wish it was Saturday already. Everything was arranged, right?'

「Of course, it's planned and taken care of.」Kazuo said, and Hibiki gave an approving nod.

'What did you tell my parents?'

「That you're going out with a friend.」

Hibiki nodded again, but this time it was a looser gesture, relieved even.

「I know it's not my place to speak about this...」Kazuo started his sentence softer than usual, even shifting his posture to fully face Hibiki as he thought of how to continue. 「But can I advise not to keep this a secret for too long? I understand it's delicate, and that you need time, but your parents should also know this important part of your life. Otherwise it will only estrange you.」

The words were picked carefully and with thought, both to get the argument across, and his good intents.

Hibiki bit on his lower lip and looked away, mulling over the words before answering with a single nod that he understood.

'I wanted to tell them after the holidays? When hopefully everything has calmed down. I don't think this is the right time to bother them, and you know that if I said it now, the whole family would know. It already fucking sucks, I don't need them whining about it.'

「That is very reasonable.」Kazuo conceded.

'Why is this shit so fucking complicated anyway?'

Hibiki signed back, agitated from being confronted with it. He still remembered Tristan's outburst from a few days before, and hated to admit that each time he thought about coming out, he was afraid of it too – not necessarily his parents, but everyone else in his family would judge him without a second thought.

'Is this why you don't bother with relationships?'

He added, and the question appeared to catch Kazuo a little off guard – although that could have been the suddenness off it.

「Not in particular? I've just never had an interest. I thought perhaps it was because I wanted to make my career, and then that it was because I had to be there at all times for you. But I have also never found someone to whom I was attracted,-」Hibiki raised his hands to sign a question, but Kazuo quickly stopped him. 「I care for people. For you and your family, and for my own. But there was never a woman, or a man, that I looked at like they do in romance movies, or that I felt the need to be with for all my life.」

'Sounds like an excuse for not getting laid'

Hibiki grinned, a little too enthusiastic to taunt Kazuo with it. The latter smiled back with refound formality, having been around Hibiki long enough to not let him get under his skin with these remarks.

「Those are your words, Yukimura-sama.」

Hibiki stuck out his tongue at Kazuo, pretty pleased with himself.

'So you care for me?'

「Of course I do, it's impossible not to care after being someone's babysitter for so long.」Kazuo shot back without any sign of hesitation.

Hibiki immediately puffed up his cheeks, and retorted with another middle finger.

「Is there anything else you'd like to ask?」Kazuo continued, unfazed by Hibiki's crude behaviour. The latter shrugged apathetically, having grown tired of this conversation. He filled his cup with water again, and walked back to the couch.

Not particularly bothered by that development, Kazuo took the opportunity to pick the comic book up from where he had left.