"Alright, nearly there, just one more round." Tristan said as his character on the split-screen reloaded two handguns decorated with an unnecessary amount of science fiction neon. Beside him Hibiki nodded, while keeping the scope of a similarly futuresque sniper rifle aimed at the entrance where enemy soldiers would spawn.

As the next wave appeared, Tristan took care of the smaller ones, while Hibiki tried to prevent the larger, bulkier enemies from reaching him. For a little while the only sounds were those of plasma blasts, explosions and the dying cries of enemies – combined with a lot of button mashing and a loudly exclaimed 'oh come on' when a huge boss appeared at the end.

After some frantic attempts to avoid and whittle down this last creature, it's health bar finally dropped to zero. A loud victory sound played, while loot cascaded from their downed opponent.

"How much do you want to bet that metal muppet comes back sometime?" Tristan said with a grin, while sorting through all the new things he'd gotten. Beside him, Hibiki huffed defiantly and flipped off the now dead boss with one hand.

"We killed it once already though." Tristan continued as he scooched a little closer to Hibiki and laid his head on his shoulder now the difficult part was over. He felt Hibiki ease up, the agitation fading, which allowed him to nestle in and make himself comfortable. But then the pause menu overlaid the screen, and he glanced up at Hibiki.

"Do you want to play something else?" He asked. Despite Hibiki shaking his head to deny that, he still laid the controller away atop the coffee table. To do so he had to push aside the plastic take-away boxes from the sushi they had for dinner. Realising what was going on, Tristan smiled and laid his controller away as well, before returning to Hibiki's shoulder.

'Are you feeling better?'

Tristan nodded as Hibiki wrote out the message on his phone.

"Mhm… I needed this. All the studying got me stressed, and it became too much? Sorry I broke down on you, I'm really trying to be happier." He glanced up with a slight smile, but it left a bittersweet taste knowing he'd broken a promise.

'It's okay, you don't have to be happy all the time. I'm relieved that you asked me for help, I don't mind.'

While he read the message, Hibiki took one of his hands and gave the back a small kiss to help get his point across. It lifted his reserved smile up into a more genuine, comfortable expression.

'Can I tell you something in return? Later?'

Tristan frowned slightly, confused by what that could be, but then nodded seeing Hibiki stare down and away rather blankly, like his mind had gone somewhere else.

"Yes, of course? I'll try my best to listen and help."

'That's all I need.'

The stare broke away from whatever image Hibiki had seen, and instead he smiled at him warm and appreciative. Before Tristan could do much, he felt two fingertips try to brush a stubborn bit of hair behind his ear. It bounced back a few times, but he didn't mind since it made the touch last longer – until he gave in to it fully and leant against Hibiki's hand.

As the evening progressed, Tristan somehow found himself lying down on Hibiki's lap. While the latter watched a Japanese action series, he quietly read through a politics article. Occasionally an intense moment on the television screen drew his attention away, glancing at an shooting sequence or over-acted interrogation. The set up was easy enough to follow, even through the few snippets he focussed on.

About halfway through reading the article, which truthfully went slower than he wanted, he felt Hibiki run his fingers through his hair. In surprise he glanced up, which caused Hibiki to stop.

"It's fine… you can keep doing that." He admitted a bit sheepishly, and Hibiki didn't hesitate to continue. Once he'd gotten used to it, it became just another sliver of comfort that made everything around him feel calm and peaceful. Even though he had to struggle through the article, he felt oddly content – mundane in some ways, but if anything that was a rarity for him.

There was nothing wrong, he was fed and loved, and even though his exams were still looming over him, he felt better equipped to deal with that threat. Although he knew it probably wouldn't last, it was nice to feel like he wouldn't be devoured alive by responsibilities.

As the words and concepts of the article passed through his thoughts, the surroundings faded more and more into the back of his mind. The action sequences became more of a murmur, a consistent type of sound he could tune out of – especially now he had gotten used to it. The warmth of Hibiki's body, and the gentleness of his touch soothed any frustration he might have felt from the topic, and the difficulties that came with interpreting it and fitting it as just another piece of the ever-growing structures in his head. He let his mind wander, connecting one subject to the other, and tying pieces of knowledge together, getting lost within himself.

Perhaps too far. Everything around him faded, to little more than impulses that dissolved into dreams. He vaguely heard shouting and gunfire, which his mind construed as being in a warzone he'd read about. Daylight shone through holes in the walls, reflected by dust and highlighting the debris on the floor surrounding him. His body felt like lead, and no matter how hard his mind pulled on them, he couldn't move.

For just a moment, he felt scared. Afraid that he was hurt, and all alone. But then an arm wrapped tightly around him, and he still knew it was Hibiki. So things couldn't be too bad; he was safe.

But… I'm a student… how can I be in a war? Wait,- with a jolt he opened his eyes. The TV was still playing the same series. A hand still ran through his hair, while Hibiki's other arm was wrapped around his shoulder. Somehow he'd moved onto his side.

Drowsily, he gripped Hibiki's knee and pushed himself onto his back. It appeared Hibiki was rather amused by him falling asleep, chuckling softly at the sight of him trying to regain his bearings.

“Hey,” he mumbled the word, buying some time to start his mind back up. “What time is it?”

Hibiki opened his phone and showed him the time.

‘22:08’

“Oh, it wasn’t that long then.” Tristan continued, while stretching both his arms above his head and arching his back slightly. A bit more relaxed, he laid back down. “I had this weird dream.”

Intrigued by that, Hibiki tilted his head, wordlessly saying that he should go on and tell him.

“I dreamt I was in a warzone, and had gotten hurt. But then you were there, and everything was going to be fine?”

Hibiki grinned and nodded, making a heart gesture with both hands.

“I thought I was supposed to be your brave sir knight, saving you from exams?” Tristan responded with a smile, giving Hibiki a few taps on his cheek to shake off the egomania showing on his face.

Hibiki responded with a deep huff, blowing a few strands of hair that had fallen loose out of his eyes. He then proceeded to type out his response, and Tristan was so polite to allow him a rebuke.

‘Knights need others too. A princess has to be saved, like, once a year at most. Knights constantly fight monsters, and exams, so they need one another’

“That may be, but I googled what Biki means.” Tristan grinned, which caused Hibiki to frown and immediately type again.

‘Like you’re one to talk, Trissy’

“Alright, that does it.” He rapidly sat up, trying to get in a better position, but Hibiki knew what was about to happen and just as fast made a run for it, darting off of the couch.

"Come back here." He said as he gave chase.

Before Hibiki managed to get far, he'd wrapped his arms around him. With a bit of a struggle, and well placed tickles he managed to get Hibiki to the floor laughing. At least until Hibiki managed to squirm out of his grasp, using his full weight and strength to keep him down face first. One of his arms was locked down behind his back, while his leg was kept in a tight grip by both of Hibiki's preventing him from escaping. He was repaid in equal, and even though he struggled against it, all he could do was arch his back and laugh.

"No," he exclaimed out of breath, in between bouts of laughter. "That's not fair,- stop it." Instead the tickling intensified, leaving him unable to speak at all. "Sorry." Was the only word he managed to get out.

It worked, and he felt the hand that tickled him let go – only to he placed firmly under his chin. With a sideways glance he saw Hibiki look at him expectantly.

"I'm sorry I tickled you." He panted, his entire core sore from laughing and struggling. But that didn't appear to be enough for Hibiki, who grinned and gave him another tickle. Immediately he tensed, even if it wasn't as bad as his body expected it to be.

"I'm sorry I called you Biki." That appeared to do the trick, as Hibiki gave him a kiss on the cheek. A loud knock on the front door resounded.

"Shite." Tristan whispered wide-eyed, as Hibiki scrambled up from the floor and tried to straighten out his hair and clothes. Realising that he might be seen, Tristan did the same – except in the other direction. He hid in the kitchen, pretending to wash his hands and get a glass of water.

At the front door, he heard a gruff voice ask questions in Japanese. It was quiet in-between, and he presumed that was Hibiki trying to explain he wasn't getting murdered. Even as the front door shut, Tristan stayed in the kitchen. Only to watch Hibiki come up the few steps separating the kitchen from the living room. He ran one hand through his hair and let out a deep, somewhat exasperated sigh before looking up at him. It was only when he let out a soft chuckle, that Tristan managed to chuckle away his nerves as well.

"They really are like the fun police." He jested, while turning off the water and drying his hands on a towel. Hibiki hugged him and laughed a bit more, nodding decisively.

'I'll just have to gag you next time'

"Wait, what?" He sputtered, only to see Hibiki grin mischievously and wink. "I don't think them finding me gagged will help you."

That didn't appear to bother Hibiki, who shrugged and typed a few words.

'I'm rich'

"Yes, but I can tell your mum and dad." Tristan rebutted, which caused Hibiki to feign shock, raising a hand to his chest and clutching his heart.

"That's what I thought."

Hibiki just rolled his eyes, and grabbed his hand, pulling him back into the living room – clearly not that concerned that he'd tell.