Settling In [nsfw]

Hibiki responded to the kiss, his eyes closing for a bit as his arms moved around Miyako's waist to hold her closer to him now that hers were around his neck. They probably needed to...catch their breaths more but...but this was...was good...

They could pull back when air was...really, really necessary...

"Mn..." After a moment he did so, nudging his head forward against Miyako's as a sort of half nuzzle.

Miyako just giggled softly as he responded, enjoying the feeling of Hibiki wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. After sex now she was starting to feel more happy and playful a bit, her usual self shining through as she adjusted to this.

As they finally needed air though, he pulled back before she could and made a sound. About to respond to the sound with a questioning one of her own, she was cut off by the sweet half nuzzle... That caused an immediate giggle and Miyako leaned up to bite Hibiki's nose softly. "Nom!"

More giggles followed despite her heavy breathing, though that was quickly slowing as they relaxed like this.

!?

Hibiki's eyes had opened at Miyako's little gesture as she...leaned forward to bite his nose; he... She'd just...W-Well it hadn't hurt, so...it was just a little...affectionate gesture...

"A-Ah..." How was he supposed to respond to that!?

His hold secured a bit around her, at least.

Miyako's giggles could not be stopped. That shocked expression on Hibiki's face was priceless, causing her to smile and giggle over his utter inability to process her actions. She felt his hold secure, leaning up to kiss the nose she just nipped playfully before attempting to slow her giggles and speak.

"Fuuu, but 'Biki bites me sometimes, I can't nip him? Just 'cause you're a puppy doesn't mean you get to do all the nibbles." Miyako's giggles returned after she spoke, a rather happy aura around her now. It was in part due to climaxing, which had all those happy hormones running through her body... But it was also just...pure happiness at being here with him like this.

"Gh- Didn't...didn't say you couldn't..." He answered, glancing off to the side or well...into the pillow before returning them to Miyako; she was...giggling and laughing a lot...really happy, she seemed really happy...good...

P-Puppy...

"You can if you want..." If she wanted to do those kinds of things and be that affectionate that...that was fine...

"Yay! That's Hibikinese for you can do it lots, I like it!" Miyako giggled more, leaning up and nuzzling her nose against his in a soft eskimo kiss. Especially with his eyes darting to the pillow...that meant it was something he really liked... and made him happy. His next reply caused her to smile and nod, leaning for his neck. "I'll definitely do it, since I want to."

Her head moved up towards his ear and she made the same nomming sound before biting it softly and giggling... This was fun, biting Hibiki like this... Though there was a question she had to ask... "Mm, why don't you fight me when I call you a puppy? I mean there's tons of proof...but you fight me on other things... I'd think that something as adorable and sweet as puppies are, you'd try to deny it."

S-She'd do...do it lots then...

Miyako could do...do as she pleased, the biting...didn't bother him in the slightest. So she was free to do that to him when she felt the urge.

"A-Ah..." He gave a small nod as she told him she would, that she wanted to... That was fine...

Mn?

Why he didn't deny...?

"Mn...s'not like dogs are bad...I don't really...care about...getting referred to like that by you..." Yeah...wasn't like dogs were bad...so...it was fine if she wanted to...call him out on that proof of hers...

Well that was that then! Hibiki had agreed and formed a legal contract that now he was to be bitten and nipped at any opportunity! Miyako nommed Hibiki's ear a bit more, making cute little otter sounds as she did so. This was now property of Miyako~ No one else could have it! Moving down, she nibbled under his ear as she listened to his explanation before speaking.

"Mm...I guess that makes sense. You really are a lot like a puppy though... Or well a dog. That tail really suited you, it was nice to see how happy you were show for once! O-Oh!" That..reminded her of the other day too! Miyako popped up a bit, as far as Hibiki's arms would allow her and she grinned quite happily. "I remember! You...you gave me your precious smile...and tried so hard... Did I ever thank you properly? That... really made me feel better..."

Even though it was dark out, she wasn't feeling scared right now though...that was entirely due to Hibiki. He was holding her, had given her such good feelings... Maybe...maybe if he kept this stuff up, she could...eventually be fine at night again?

O-Otter noises... That thought crossed Hibiki's mind as Miyako happily went about nibbling other spots on him; his ear...under it...and before all of that his nose...

A-Alot like...a dog...the tail had suited him? T-That...

It wagged too much...yeah...wagged...too much...

!?

Miyako just popping up had caught him by surprise somewhat, though she was still in his arms due to his secure hold. Remembered? Remembered what?

A-Ah...

He'd...smiled. He had... He'd managed a smile for her the other day, even if it'd been...difficult...he'd still managed one, a true one...

It'd...helped that much?

"It...helped that much?" He questioned, voicing his thoughts; it was...hard for him to do that, but...it...after the other day at least he knew it wasn't...wasn't impossible...

As Hibiki worked through his problems, Miyako just grinned and realized she was reading him like an open book. He...was easier for her to read now. She could...tell he was happy, tell he was flustered over the tail still... Tell all sorts of things now...

Was it because he was being more open? Or...was it just she was learning more what he wanted...

A very soft, a very loving smile was on her lips as she reached up to brush his bangs off of his forehead and plant a soft kiss there. Leaving her lips there slightly, she spoke in reply to his words after her physical reply. "Mhm... Hibiki...you mean the world to me... I know...just how hard you try to do everything...to live like this with me. You...made yourself smile, you...pushed through all that bad stuff that hurts you and keeps you from being able to show me it. And you did it just to help me."

"Everything you do shows me how much you love me, you know, and that...that was the strongest reminder I could ever get." Haha it was silly how much she had to say on this, but... he wouldn't understand at all unless she explained it to him. "If you...can smile just for me, without a crutch like alcohol... Even after everything they did to you... I think... I'll be just fine. Even...even... if I have bad times... You'll be right there, to smile or hug or kiss me... because you are a very loving person."

"...S-So...yes... it helped a lot..." She finished weakly, turning bright red and closing her eyes... Aaaah she had said way too much! Afterglow was deadly...

Hibiki listened, listened quietly as Miyako explained how much he really had helped her, how much he meant to her and...how hard he tried despite everything he'd lived through up until this point...

Everything he did, huh? She...She was able...to tell that... It was a relief, really... He couldn't be as open as everyone else, that would still take...a lot of time...and even then it was unlikely he would reach such an open level and make it a norm for himself...

If he could smile just for her...without alcohol to make him do it... Even if she had bad times he'd be right here for her...she...she was right about that...

"Mn..." Hibiki gave a small nod after taking a moment or two to digest her words; "..."

A breath was taken, a rather deep one as he pulled Miyako closer to him, almost as if he were embracing her; he kept them like that for a bit...a good few moments, perhaps even a couple of minutes of silence even another breath was taken and he pulled back.

"I'm...glad...With some effort it might get easier...if it's...just for you..." Thanks to the prepping he'd just taken...he managed a small one, perhaps even smaller than the first one he'd given, but it was still a non-drunken smile nonetheless.

Miyako couldn't help feeling flustered over what she's said, it was just it'd all come out... But in all honesty it was true and Hibiki had to hear it. Even if she'd need vocal and verbal reassurances sometimes, to her who paid attention to details... And knowing what she did of his feelings... It was quite literally in all he did for her.

Always... Always she felt loved when she thought about his actions. And...when his precious smiles appeared they were like... sunshine to her. She soaked it up, knowing that it took a lot of happiness and work for him to be able to.

At his nod, she giggled softly and shifted back a bit as if to lay against the bed again. However that was not to be, as she promptly was pulled into a strong embrace by Hibiki. The only sign of her surprise was that she gave a small gasp, but the young woman immediately snuggled right up in his arms. He hadn't let go after a few moments, but that didn't matter to her one bit. Hibiki was happy, he was really happy...

Miyako looked up though, a bit surprised as he breathed out and pulled back to speak... Was that...!? Hibiki was smiling again! Her own smile grew, a soft laugh that was more awed than anything as a hand went to his cheek. "As long as you keep trying... Hibiki, your smile is so perfect. I think...it suits you more than you want to think."

"J-Just...for me though... I-I...feel really honored..." That last part had her blushing and her eyes darted away for a brief second before being pulled back to his smile like a magnet. "I want to draw it so badly..."

H-Huh!?

She wanted to...to draw it!? Hibiki was surprised by that statement, even with Miyako's heartfelt words from before to think on...that it...suited him more than he wanted to think...but...

"D-Draw...it...?" He questioned, though really... Miyako was an artist, so...and something like this was extremely rare so it was understandable...not that his mind registered that.

Though... She thought it...suited him more than he wanted to believe...

"M-Mn..." At the remembrance of that he turned his eyes towards the pillow.

"...I-I...like drawing you." Miyako stuttered a reply as Hibiki had to ask her about drawing it. His...smile would be nice to have done...and maybe...she could show him it when she was done so he could see how nice it looked. She...had lots of reasons...

Still, his fluster assuaged some of hers and she smiled before kissing him softly. "...You did lots of bad things...but you are still kind. And sweet... I don't think...one excludes the other. You, smiling...means you won. And...I really like how it looks on you."

"...Do...you regret it? All...the things they... had you do...How you did what they wanted... does it... bother you?" Maybe...this was a bad time to ask, with all the happiness they both were feeling... But Miyako hadn't really ever asked too much on this. In the dark like this, with only the moonlight around, it seemed...almost like another world. She could ask such things now, only because of what had been done to her... Shivering slightly, it...wasn't like they shouldn't talk about such things...

She liked...drawing him, he...he had...been able to guess that; at least...well, she could draw him whenever she wanted. She was really good at...at it...

It was fine...even if it was...flustering sometimes.

His smiling means...he won...? Despite all...all the things... She thought his smile meant...that he won?

When she...moved onto a new subject...this one...of all things he quieted. It was something they hadn't really talked about...they rarely spoke of this in any detail at all really...it was just...always a sort of...learning things in small doses...

After everything though...

"...I did...what I had to to live... I didn't enjoy it, no...at first...it was almost unbearable...but...when someone's coming at you with...the intent to kill your mind kinda...forces yourself to defend yourself...

After that...after...years...it still stung, and...after even longer it was just something...numb..."

It just became a matter of survival...growing...numb to what he had to do...

He'd been pretty much pushed as a fighter, a combatant that would eventually become a tracker...though he'd been a multi-purpose subject overall... He...preferred just following orders back then over being...forced those drugs...it was just...

Neither were ideal...at all, but...

Miyako sort of...felt Hibiki's disbelief or inability to really accept her words, but wasn't sure how to reassure him. She...was sure, the fact that now...he could smile sometimes... meant he had won. Just...like how...she had won, by keeping her and Iyuki alive.

It...was the same. They could only win...if they took all the precious feelings away.

She listened quietly, staring up and watching Hibiki intently as her hand continued to rest against his cheek. It really really hurt her, hearing this. He'd been hurting for years, never letting anyone know ever... Well he couldn't, he'd had to be strong and arrogant and an asshole to stay alive. She...she understood. It'd kept him safe... But...before this point, had he ever actually said any of this outloud? "You're...really good at lying. You...tried so hard, when I met you before...to make it seem like you liked it. Not that...it was numb..."

But if that had been true, why had he wanted to escape so badly? And why had he...why had he done everything in his power to not kill others since? Why had he protected her, her innocence and her smile, so fiercely...if he didn't regret it all?

He was being so open and honest right now though, saying things she wasn't sure he had even said to himself before...

"...You couldn't protect me now...if they hadn't done that to you... Why...can't you forgive yourself, even a little bit though?" Miyako questioned softly, wondering if he would keep talking to her so openly for a bit longer. Would...could he even speak about feelings like these to her?

It'd hurt him for years...

Good at...lying...

Well, yeah... He'd... That just came along with it all, it'd come with the arrogance, come with the nasty attitude he'd put upon himself so he could survive. He had to lie well, so well to the point of fooling everyone...

If he hadn't gone through what he had...he wouldn't be able to protect her as well as he did now... That...was a positive way to look at things, it wasn't something that'd crossed his mind before...thinking like that...

"s'Not...easy...dunno..." After everything, no matter how much he'd...numbed, how much he'd hated it absolutely at first, all of it...was he really redeemable? "I can...use my training...to survive, protect...you..." He muttered, sounding as if he were trying to give himself that mindset.

"You're really not that arrogant... You are actually kind of humble. You are good at pretending though...and you get smug over the silliest things... but never conceited..." Miyako decided to speak up about the things she'd noticed about him and his personality, the true personality that was actually Hibiki. Not...the fake things he put on for others. "You like cute things and sleeping in, you really like cuddling... You're really good at learning things, you pick up a lot of things fast... You get happy a lot over simple things, and you come up with the best names. Fetish freelancer! Haha... You are attentive, very observant..."

"...You can't...hide it all from me anymore. I've learned too much!" It...was a lame attempt at teasing, but she wanted him to at least know...that the real him was noticed. Even if he wasn't noticing him... Even if he was still learning about himself...

"I...I bet...its not...easy... I'll keep...keep reminding you... Its...you use all that stuff they taught you for good now... For keeping us safe. So... I... Its..." Miyako gulped, trying to find the right words... to explain what she was trying to get through to him... "Its why...knowing all the bad stuff you did...doesn't scare me at all anymore. I-I..know now, o-or well... I get...why... And...I think...you are really...really amazing and wonderful... So I want...you to stop, stop beating yourself up sometimes. Because it hurts you... And I want to help you not hurt..."

Aaah this was so bad, she was so bad at this... Miyako teared up a little bit, wondering if what she was trying to say was working... "I-I know...we met because of that...place...but... I wish... I could have done something back then to help you. When...I was in the bubble with you. I...couldn't do anything for you, even...even Muika I could tell stories to and help her sleep better."

Hibiki was silent as Miyako went about explaining all these things, things she'd picked up and noticed about his personality as the time had passed for them. Things he hardly paid...too much mind too, as well.

Smug, but not conceited...

Liked sleeping in, and cute things...cuddling... He was good at learning, picked up on things...

A-Ah...that name...

"A-Ah...yeah...I was just...honestly trying to think of a second word that sounded...similar..." That had been a fluke...or so he felt... It hadn't been thought through at all...

Couldn't...hide those little things about him anymore though, not from Miyako... A smaller breath escaped him; that was fine...if Miyako could read him...that was good...

He was still learning, making progress on...making things easier on them, but...her being able to read him helped too...

It was her following words that caused a more visible reaction from him, shock...surprise...

Knowing all of that...didn't scare her...anymore...what he did...didn't...

His hold was secure, and continued to be so as he held her close though his face was now hidden against her. That...Hearing that...

"s'...s'Fine...nothing much coulda been...done in those Bubbles anyway...I don't think... My mind was...too closed by then...I don't think I woulda let anyone...in then..."

He'd come there before Okura had...he'd already hardened mostly by that point...that point of the bubbles...

Wasn't...scared though...she wasn't...anymore...

"It's really funny and it makes him make the best grumpy faces, so you did a really good job. I think that's a special skill, making Yuki-nii lose his butler cool... You are blunt, but...mm I really really like that about you. You are honest, about anything but yourself." Miyako laughed softly at that, knowing he never said anything about what he was feeling and denied it almost constantly. The tail incident was quite... well it was the most recent of all things.

She could tell though, he was accepting... her words and...accepting over her reading him. Maybe it made him happy? That small breath made her think so. He seemed happy at least.... despite the topics they were discussing otherwise. If she could read...

...Miyako didn't need any special skills to read the utter surprise this time though. He was dumbfounded, by...her not being scared of it? Of...him? Had what she said after the bubble...it...had truly...

It had bothered him all this time, hadn't it?

As he pulled her close and buried his face against her, Miyako's arms went back around his head and held him closely. She rested her head on top of his, trying hard not to cry at this. He was so damn relieved...

It...had taken her...being tortured to understand, but... yes. She...could see...why he had done what he had. Those two had gone through a bajillion times worse than the little Iyuki and her had, and still...

She couldn't be scared of him for protecting himself like that. She knew him now, better... That place had aged her, though it didn't show as much yet Miyako was realizing.

Hibiki's words though caused an obviously relieved breath, though she was still a bit upset at having seen that... He...couldn't have accepted her no matter what, which was...awful to hear but... she hadn't messed up too badly. There was some silver lining though, fifteen year old him had been a bit adorable. "It...was kind of funny...how embarrassed you were... when you found out though... I'm sorry I couldn't come up with a better name for you though! I-I mean...it woulda been embarrassing to call you sweetheart or...something..."

"A-Ah..." It wasn't really something Hibiki thought too deeply on, when he was messing with Osamoto like that. He just thought the man's denial was ridiculous...though also maybe he found a bit of fun in fucking with him on the occasion...

Was it due to the whole family thing that'd become more common? Couldn't exactly write him off or get too pissed off at him because of that...plus...with the whole fetish shit he was just speaking the truth...

The guy had fetishes, nothing wrong with it...

T-Though...this whole...insight on it was something Osamoto could never know or he'd never live it down...

Eugh...

Most importantly though... Miyako...wasn't scared anymore... Hibiki stayed buried as he felt her arms move to hold his head to hold him in return.

As for...younger him... A-Adorable...?

His...embarrassment had been fu- S-Sweethea...

"It...You didn't need...nicknames..." No way. He couldn't even think of how he might have reacted had...had something like "Sweetheart" come out of her mouth...

Miyako sensed some sort of turmoil over the Iyuki stuff, but wasn't entirely sure what... had caused it or what exactly was the problem. She did hold in a giggle, her chest moving lightly but that was the only sign really.

At least though, he was...he was truly happy right now. Wanting to test something, Miyako almost wished the tail was on him again so she could see what happened... Oh well. There was nothing to be done about... She spoke softly into his hair, wanting to reassure him more. "I'm...not scared... not even the tiniest bit..."

"I...couldn't say your names... Well... I could with you, but not...not her. So I had to have names of some sort... I still don't...really understand why you got so flustered over that though." Miyako spoke softly, actually...talking about the bubble now. She...had just...before pretended it didn't exist, gone on with her life...

She was acknowledging it now though... It was definitely... an improvement. "I could...understand the disbelief... You had your shell and didn't think it could be broken...and I'm not really that much of a catch haha..."

W-What...? Had Miyako noticed something? W-Whatever... It was...hard to think about, and...maybe...maybe he'd be able to bring it up in a bit, but right now he was still a bit horrified by this insight.

I-In a bit...maybe...

"Aah...laugh, but I'm havin' a crisis here..." His words weren't serious in the slightest as he said that, but it did give her some hint...hopefully he may be willing to talk in a bit... He wasn't shutting himself up.

She wasn't scared anymore though... That was the biggest relief of all, honestly. That relief was evident, quite clearly shown in just the way he was taking all of this, how he'd reacted when she'd first said it...

She hadn't been able to say their names so she'd just...made up names... Hadn't been able to use anything but nicknames for Okura...

Couldn't understand why he'd gotten so flustered... W-Well... It was weird... Considering how he was it wasn't like story-time was common, so all of that child-like stuff he probably should have found enjoyable at that age just...didn't work...

He'd already tossed that away about himself by then...

"Stuff like that...all those stories... I reacted like that, called it stupid because... All that stuff was just something I'd already thrown away about myself... I guess...

s'Not like...fun can really, truly be had there so..." Plus there'd been little to no hope back then...how could he have found fun or amusement in anything knowing that?

So it'd caused him to react like that...

When it came to her...thinking about how she wasn't much of a catch he shook his head slightly against her; "Look at it from my perspective... I didn't know you, you were just...some ghost girl that popped up out of nowhere that didn't know how bad the bad stuff was...

It wasn't like I was used to seeing...someone like that..."

Hibiki's words did cause her to laugh, Miyako letting the giggle escape her as she buried her face fully in his hair. Amusement seeped into her voice, recognizing that he was being a bit silly and...open and thus latching onto it with a smile he couldn't see. "F-Fine... Fine! I won't laugh at your mysterious crisis. Only if you promise to explain it all once it's done."

She could wait a bit for him to tell her, that was fine... The fact that he was being so honest and talking about this stuff was a miracle anyways. Miyako positively radiated happiness, this...this was amazing. Amazing... Hibiki was like this and being so...

Squeezing him slightly, her hold secured and stayed that way before she planted a kiss on his head. Her words had...done this to him. Her lack of fear now, her speaking up...

They were having an honest heart to heart, speaking about all of this and he wasn't hiding a damn thing...

Miyako felt like she would burst from the happiness in her, even as Hibiki began to explain how he'd been. She hmmed softly before nodding, accepting his explanation. "I can...understand that. I can't say you weren't a...brat, but I can like...understand why you were. It... was just hard trying to be...so happy there, trying to keep Muika happy. I-Its...hard sometimes to keep smiling when...when I just want to break down..."

"...I-Its true." Miyako muttered rebelliously as Hibiki shook his head against her before listening to his words and trying not to be a little amused or have a ton of questions... Weird ones. They were kind of naked and had just had sex... "Mm...I can see that now... I guess I understand a bit more... S-Still you were...kind of cute in that fluster. I kind of wanted to kiss your cheek or something, but that...might have broke you or...just upset you. Taking those things...without asking..."

"I never...want to take things from you. Ever... You had...too much taken... so..." Even back then, she hadn't wanted to kiss him or anything without his permission. Well it wasn't like she'd felt the urge to do so other than in a soothing manner, he was... not the Hibiki she'd known and he was way too young at the time. That burning question though was eating up at her though, and Miyako hated her mind for wanting to know...

Hesitantly and nervously beginning, Miyako looked to the bedding even if it didn't matter because he was buried against her. It was just soothing! "...A-Also? Um...so if you were in the Bell's Viper...Th-This is a really weird question...H-How did you handle...any sort of...biological...reaction. Like um...things like this..."

"Ah..." He managed another small nod; later...once the main talking was done...

She could...understand what he meant though, with all of how he'd reacted and why...that he was explaining now. He just...that's just how it'd been with him...

Hibiki gave a light squeeze himself as Miyako continued on; it was...hard trying to be like that when she just wanted to break down... She'd been able to figure out pretty damn quickly where she'd been...it couldn't have been easy, no way in hell...

She'd been able to though...well most of the time... She'd kept it up, kept it up as well as she could have.

He'd dropped a few harsh bombshells on her back then, about Seiya and all...but... even if he had known she wouldn't have wanted...him to keep tame on something like that... Hell, there was no way to keep tame about...that.

C-Cute with that fluster though...?

Hibiki was relaxing some, his relief helping a lot and making it easier to talk... He was listening as Miyako brought up having another question, which he waited on, and...

H-Hah!?

How'd he handle...

"I dealt with it...? In my room...? Alone?" W-What had her asking something like...like that!? The answer was...or at least should have been obvious! He dealt with it! Alone!