18PlusForMe: Damn right licked would've been better. Licking is amazing. C: Is the stalker hint a bit too much? Kekeke, awkward situations for Dino~ azel-chan: I couldn't think of anything else apart from Pineapple! I know it's overused, but it's damn appropriate. I want to lick Kyouya, don't you? :3 I'm not planning on adding 6918! It just kind of turned out that way. Kyouya is practically Hibird's dad, of course he gets to disapprove. I Like To Stalk You: Mhmm, correct. He simply stole Kyouya's number and then returned the phone in his own gay way. Typos add character! alguien22792: I swear Kyouya has a flashing arrow above his head that reads 'Molest me, please.' fuwacchi: Ohoho, I'm glad you liked it. Ninjabandgeek: I love you too. You can marry this story if it's a shotgun wedding~ C:

I don't own Kateikyoushi.

Chapter ten—Affection

DPOV

As my eyes followed Kyouya exiting the room, I let out a low hiss. I could feel the blood trailing down my face—and most likely staining my cheek in the process—but I couldn't bring myself to care at that moment. I furrowed my eyebrows as I tried to think about what Kyouya had practically spat out before he dramatically left the room. I had half expected him to disappear into a blast of smoke, but maybe he was saving that trick for later. I clumsily lifted my hand up to wipe the liquid that was collecting by my mouth. It wasn't a nice feeling and it was definitely distracting me from my thoughts. Kyouya had ordered me, but the thing I didn't understand was the content. 'Don't invite your girlfriend here anymore.' That's what he'd spat out before leaving, but there was a problem.

I hadn't had any women here.

There had been no women in the living room or even my room, there hadn't been any females trailing along after me since I'd been in Namimori. Heck, the only woman I've spoken to had been Nana. If I was back in Italy it would have been understandable, I probably would've had a few. Sometimes if I was extremely unlucky, I would get marriage proposals thrown in my face. Every time the word marriage was uttered by a female in front of me, it left a sour taste in my mouth. I always knew they didn't want me, but my position. I let a grimace frame my face as I thought about my past experiences with females, they were definitely not the greatest moments of my life. I'd had a few girlfriends in my life, but none of them had been completely serious. They'd always left in a similar way; either in the middle of a tantrum or had simply given up on our 'relationship'. The reasons always switched between the two and that was it. I was genuinely surprised that I'd never had the 'It's not you, it's me' excuse, I'd heard it used by many people. Whenever they left my life in a storm a frown was always featuring on my face.

I had my first girlfriend throughout my middle school years, it could barely even be accounted for. She was immature and could hardly give me a minute of peace. She'd only received my first kiss. Nothing more and nothing less. My first serious girlfriend was quite a few years later. It was during my last year of high school, it was during the period of my life where I was training to become a mafia boss. I'd never let it slip to her what I was going through. I made it so I was never drunk around her; I was sure if I was, I'd accidently blurt something out and she'd get involved. I cared about her enough to worry about her safety. I'd given her my virginity within a few months of dating and I'd felt like our relationship was fine. Apparently, that was only on my end. She'd thrown a tantrum after a year and a half of dating, saying that she'd only put up with me because of her father's orders. She'd been dating her real boyfriend in her free time. I'd been played by the daughter of a rival mafia boss and that made me absolutely hate myself for a few weeks. I remembered I was in shock for a few days. I withdrew myself from everyone, hardly talking for more than a sentence a day for at least two days. I felt awful about it, but I didn't know how to react. Tsunayoshi had been the one to kick me out of my depressive and absolutely distraught state. I had barely seen him whilst I was younger, so when he came to Italy to visit I was surprised. He was a naïve child who was barely nine years old. He had taken one look at my face after he'd came running into my room before he clasped my hands with his own. I remembered blinking in shock before looking down into his wide eyes. They were brimming with tears as he simply stared into my own. He gently tightened his grip on my hand and said, 'You'll get your happy ending someday.'. It was definitely a childish way to cheer someone up, but it made me realize I was being over dramatic. I was still young—I had time for mistakes and I realized I could simply learn from them.

I had two more girlfriends after that, but they seemed purely physical. I didn't involve them with the mafia and they only seemed to care about money. The only feelings attached to those relationships were those of lust. I'd never seriously thought I was in love with someone ever.

It was undeniable that I had a crush on Kyouya. It didn't matter to be that I'd only known him roughly five days. Whenever he was around, I could hardly contain myself. I couldn't hate his love towards violence—the stories that Tsuna had told me about him merely made me adore Kyouya more. He had a strong sense of justice, but it was usually misunderstood for mindless violence. I could completely understand that due to the fact he never explains himself. Even if he enjoyed making people scream in pain I still appreciated Kyouya. He had his odd habits too. Since I'd been living with him, I'd barely seen him for long periods of time. I had come to notice a few things about him when I did spy him though.

Kyouya barely ever let the emotions he was experiencing show on his face. The only visible thing that changed most of the time was his mouth. Usually he had a frown featuring on it, but a scowl sometimes made its way on there. I'd noticed his eye tended to twitch slightly when he was absorbed in his thoughts. Kyouya's emotions were always present in his obsidian eyes though—I could see them widen the tiniest amount and glisten with anger. It was odd, but it was strangely cute. I couldn't help but let a smile frame my face whenever I saw the slightest flicker of emotion on his face or when he frowned up at me. I didn't care about the death glares that were directed at me either, I loved the fact he acknowledged me most of the time.

The best thing I'd noticed the last few days would be his growl. Holy freaking hell, that growl. I barely ever heard people growl, but I couldn't help myself imagining hearing it in a different situation. I was sure it was supposed to be threatening, but it made me think of Kyouya like a large kitten. Kyouya acted high and mighty whenever I looked at him, but when I took a step too many and entered his personal space, I could see him panic. I always saw the flash of horror which would flicker through his eyes and then the growl came out of his throat. When I saw them two things combined, I lost myself to desire. I had practically forced myself on Kyouya, but when I saw his face when I'd gently brushed my knee against his member, it had fuelled me. I didn't know whether he realized it himself, but I saw the blood that rushed to his face. I saw his face contort itself with a mixture of shock and pleasure. When I'd gently brushed my lips against his and felt the subtle tingling and the lack of rejection on his end, I almost laughed in relief. I had tried to kiss Kyouya tenderly, to show him I wasn't fooling around and in return I received several violent bruises on my face and a black eye.

I gingerly looked down at the blood that was staining my hands before cursing under my breath at whatever Kyouya had been eating. It was the damn cream's fault that I was dripping with my own blood at that moment. It was an adorable sight to see Kyouya finish off his food without realizing he had cream on his cheek. Before I could restrain myself, I'd leant forward and gently licked it off of his face.

The bruises were definitely worth it.

A chuckle escaped my lips before I practically sprinted towards the kitchen. I searched through the cupboards quickly trying to find the medical kit or even just a rag to wipe my wounds with. After looking through at least five cupboards, I sighed before swinging open the last door. After I'd blinked, I realized that there in all its green glory was the medical kit. I did a quick fist pump in the air before dragging the kit out of the cupboard. I made my way back to my room quickly and entered the separate bathroom. I clicked my tongue in disgust at the state of my face. I really did have blood staining my face, but the worst part was the fact that my right eye was swollen. It would probably take awhile for it to de-puff. I soaked a few sheets of toilet paper with water before dabbing at my lips and nose.

After I was satisfied that I'd got most of the blood off, I quickly shook my head before disposing of the tissues. I flushed them down the toilet before making my way back to the kitchen. I had to think for a few minutes—I couldn't remember where exactly I got the medical kit from. I was sure I'd probably get a few grunts in my general direction if I placed it wrongly. I scouted through a few cupboards before I gave up and simply placed the kit at the back of a random one. I straightened up and ran a hand through my hair before trying to decide what to do. It was only around one o'clock and I didn't have any plans for the rest of my day. Tsuna was busy with his friends and Nana said she would be gone shopping all day. I settled myself down on the sofa before finally pulling my cell phone out of my pocket. I hadn't called Romario to check up on how things were Italy since I'd gotten here. It was definitely dangerous to have a break for a few months, but I trusted my subordinates enough. I bit my lip after I'd turned the phone on. I had several messages from Romario, all asking if I was okay and if anything bad had happened yet. He was too worried for his own good. I gulped before dialling the number and pressing the phone against my ear.

He answered after the second ring. "Boss, are you okay?"

It felt strange to switch back to my native tongue. "Absolutely fine Romario. How's everything there?" I chuckled slightly at the panicked tone in his voice.

"Okay. Nothing significant has happened. There was a woman looking for you yesterday."

I cursed inwardly and pinched the bridge of my nose. I should've guessed there was someone looking for me, I hadn't told anyone I was leaving for a few months. I eventually came out with, "What did she want?"

"Dinner with you; we said you were away on business."

Romario, you're amazing. "Nice excuse." I laughed.

"I tried my best." I could almost hear the grin that was most likely featuring on his face at that moment.

I heard the door click in front of me. I raised my head up and tuned out whatever Romario was saying at that point to see what was happening. Kyouya was coming out of his room and I could tell from a distance that he was angry, he didn't even glance in my general direction. He simply kept looking forward as he made his way towards the door. I sighed quietly to myself, hating the way I had forced myself on him earlier. I doubted whether he'd look at me for awhile. I felt my chest tighten at the thought of Kyouya ignoring me.

"Hey, Romario?" I hesitantly asked.

"Boss?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose again before I finally asked, "How do you know if you're homosexual?" Instead of an answer, I could hear a coughing fit on the other end of the line. I blinked harshly at the reaction, I hadn't expected anything of the sort. It sounded painful too; I was worried Romario might have been hacking up a lung as the coughing fit surpassed a whole minute. "Romario?" I called.

"I-I think," he coughed. "I misheard you. What did you say, Boss?"

I shut my eyes and sucked up the rest of my pride before repeating myself. "How do you know if you're homosexual?"

"I―I honestly don't know. Have you tried researching?" I could hear him cringe whilst saying researching. That would be an awful and possibly awkward experience, I doubted whether Kyouya had a computer or any books revolving around homosexuality in his home. That would mean I would have to visit an internet café.

I'd rather not. "No." I chortled.

"I know it's been a few months since you've had your last girlfriend, but isn't switching teams a bit drastic?" Romario was clearly exasperated at that moment and I let a smile spread across my face.

"Stop jumping to conclusions! I was asking for―" I gulped. "Tsuna." Yeah, Tsuna. That'll work. I doubted whether or not Romario would actually buy it—I'd made the excuse up in less than a second.

"I guess he's at that age now." I shot my shot into the air in victory and had to slam my mouth shut so I didn't let out a cry of happiness. That would have definitely given away my lie even more than the panicked tone. I was internally praying that Tsuna didn't meet Romario for a few years, their encounter would be awkward and my excuse would definitely be questioned. Tsuna would be flustered and I'd be there red-handed, trying to defend my own sexuality; half-heartedly.

I didn't have a clue how to break it to Romario that actually was switching teams, for a minor to boot. I grimaced to myself before deciding the cut the phone call short. I didn't have anything else to say and I had to messages to pass on, I knew that everything was fine over there. I could trust them with everything. The grimaced was knocked off my face when I thought about the next few months of freedom I was receiving. It seemed like a freakin' blessing; most of the time I was plagued by meetings or extreme amounts of paperwork.

We exchanged goodbyes quickly and I then proceeded to stuff my phone back into my pocket. I leant back against the sofa whilst placing my hands behind my head. I didn't have any plans for the rest of the day still, the phone call had been my only moment of inspiration. Kyouya had stalked off somewhere and I had no clue when he'd be coming back. I needed to find something to entertain me.

A playful smile tugged at the corner of my lips as I heaved myself off the sofa. I walked towards my bedroom quickly, anticipating what I was going to find probably sprawled in my sheets somewhere. I quietly opened the door and moved my head to peer inside. I couldn't see any movements, but I knew he was lurking somewhere in the shadows. I let a chuckle make its way out of my throat before I looked under the bed. Straight away my eyes met a pair of beady black ones and I felt my smile increase at the sight. Enzo had settled himself down on a blanket. It didn't camouflage him well; the blanket was a bright yellow. I hadn't seen him for awhile, but there was the remains of his food scattered beside him. I was glad I didn't panic and scatter my possessions around the room. He probably would've stayed hidden for a few more hours. I stretched my arms quickly above my head before removing him from his girly blanket.

"How's it going, Enzo?" I smiled.

I only received a noisy breath as an answer. I prodded his head quickly before I placed him in my pocket. I made sure his head was almost poking out, I didn't want to suffocate him dangerously close to my crotch. I didn't think I had a gay turtle so I was trying to avoid being haunted by an angry turtle. What exactly is there to do? I hadn't given it much thought before I came here, I didn't add Kyouya into the picture back then. I was now living with him for a few months until I left and within the first day I'd violated him. I'd repeated the same action again on the fifth day.

Kyouya wasn't going to come near me anytime soon and I felt so bored I was twiddling my thumbs. I wasn't used to a lot of free time. I bit down on my lip before I made my way towards the living room. I hadn't seen what Kyouya was watching earlier and he'd left it on in his rage. I blinked at the blue screen before I started searching for the remote. When I couldn't see it anywhere, I looked under the damned coffee table—making sure I didn't fall over in the process—and smiled that I'd found it. Just as I'd grabbed it in my hands, I could hear the door open. I withdrew my hand quickly and fumbled with it, trying to find the power button.

My finger slipped and I accidently pressed a random button. The noise the TV emitted made my face contort with a grimace—it was loud and absolutely dreadful. I turned it off quickly before placing the remote down and turning around to see Kyouya. He'd finally made his way inside and I could hear his feet softly hitting the floor. I gulped as I saw his shoulder around the corner; I wasn't sure what his reaction would be to seeing I was still here. When he'd finally emerged from the entrance, I could see he wasn't angry anymore. Instead, his face had returned to emotionless except the frown that was on his lips. It wasn't incredibly deep, but still a frown, Kyouya was thinking about something. I felt myself blink when he threw a glance in my direction before continuing on his way to the kitchen. I quickly brushed the imaginary dust off my clothes before I made my way to the kitchen. It had taken me awhile to finally glance down at his hands and when I did, I saw he was holding shopping bags. I doubted whether he'd been gone half an hour, but apparently that was enough time to go on a shopping trip. I was going to attempt to take some out of his hands, but he increased his pace when I'd gotten closer. Kyouya settled the bags down on the counter before moving the items to wherever they belonged. I wanted to help, but I had no idea where everything went. I leant back against the wall and crossed my arms over my chest. I continued watching Kyouya packing away—trying to remember the places—but I felt my eyes widen in surprise when I finally saw his face properly. His eyebrows were furrowed and the frown had deepened on his face; he was definitely thinking intensely about something.

"Kyouya?" I called. He simply carried on packing the items away. I didn't see his body tense or anything remotely similar—he was completely ignoring me. I sighed before I removed my right arm from my chest and ran my hand through my hair. I didn't know how to make it up to him; I barely knew anything about him. The silence was growing uncomfortable until I finally came out with, "I'm sorry about earlier."

This time I did get a reaction, I could see Kyouya flinch slightly before turning his body away. I furrowed my eyebrows at his reaction before I took a step forward. As my footsteps practically echoed, I saw Kyouya take a step away as well. I involuntarily raised an eyebrow when he tried to cover his step up by placing another item away. It didn't work well; he had to lean over slightly to get the angle right. Kyouya had a reaction towards me now—it was definitely better than being ignored, but I felt awful about it. It wasn't the type of reaction I ever wanted from him. It was obvious he just wanted me gone. I bit down on my lip as I moved back again and leant back on the wall. I was trying to think how to patch things up with him, I doubted whether he'd go out for dinner again. When I started to hear chirping, saying I was confused would have been an understatement. I blinked fiercely for a few seconds before turning my head around to try and find out the source of the noise. My gaze travelled towards the window and I felt myself my eyes widen. There was a fluffy yellow bird flying towards our general direction. I hadn't seen Kyouya around with it before, so I started to fear for the bird's life.

Fly away bird! It was about a foot away from me now, but the bird's beady black eyes weren't on me. It was focused on Kyouya who still had his back to me. Kyouya must've heard the single chirp, but he wasn't showing a reaction.

When the bird settled itself down in Kyouya's fluffy hair and nuzzled itself into a comfortable position, I held my breath and bit down on my lip. I was panicking inside my mind at how I was going to save the poor things life—it was practically nuzzling itself into the Grim Reaper's face.

Very emotionless face.

"Hibari, Hibari," it chirped after a few tense seconds.

I blinked in disbelief. The bird knows what it's doing! It nuzzled itself closer into Kyouya's hair and I felt my jaw drop when I saw him raise his hand to scratch the bird's head.

"Hn?" My jaw dropped even lower at that. Kyouya was actually talking to the bird. Well, not exactly talking—it was closer to a grunt, but I could clearly understand the meaning of it.

"Hibari," it squeaked again.

"I didn't know you had a bird," I blurted out.

"It's none of your business, Herbivore." I want it to be my business. Being addressed as Herbivore was definitely a step up from being ignored, but Kyouya had a hateful tone in his voice when he'd spat that out. I frowned as I tried to compose myself, I didn't want to show how much it had affected me.

"Tsuna didn't mention a bird," I mused.

Kyouya went back to placing the items away again. The bird was still nestled into his hair and he didn't seem to mind it at all. I still couldn't believe I'd missed the bird earlier; it was bright yellow and incredibly hard to miss. When Kyouya had finally finished putting things away, he scrunched up the bags and placed them inside a container. My eyes followed him as he moved around and I felt my cheeks heat up with every movement he took. I could see his figure clearly when his clothes moved around and it wasn't helping at all towards the fact I was trying to contain myself. I didn't want to make our relationship worse than it already was.

"What's the bird called?" I asked after I'd averted my eyes.

I could see him flinch in the corner of my eyes. For a few seconds, Kyouya didn't make any movements. The bird didn't either—they seemed to have stilled for awhile.

"Hibird," he finally came out with.

That's oddly fitting. I did find it strange that Kyouya had incorporated his own surname into the bird's name, but I wasn't going to question it. It was pretty cute if I was being honest; he wanted it to be known that Hibird was his pet.

"Cute," I thought out loud.

I didn't mean to say the comment out loud, but it audible enough for Kyouya to hear it. I saw him scrunch his hands into fists before he flashed a glare in my direction. I was happy he was looking at me again, but the fact it was a glare still made me sad. I frowned slightly before I made eye contact with him. I could still see he was angry, but it was more subtle than it was earlier.

"Kyouya?" He didn't make any move to reply, but his glare deepened. I guess that's the best I'm going to get. I sighed internally before I carried on to ask, "What did you mean this morning?"

Kyouya stiffened again, but this time he closed his eyes. I felt myself frown in confusion but my mouth quickly fell open when I saw his cheeks become lightly dusted with pink. I furrowed my eyebrows as my eyes went wide at his reaction; it was a purely innocent question and I got a completely unexpected reaction. I edged myself away from him I strained myself not to ask tackle him with affection.

"Kyouya?" I gently called, trying to remind him I was curious about the answer and his incredibly random reaction.

When his blush had gone, Kyouya finally opened his eyes and flashed a glare at me again. "I don't want your girlfriends in my apartment."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, but I could feel my face heating up. Somewhere along the line of our rather disturbing relationship, Kyouya had gotten the wrong idea.

"Eh?" I asked. I cringed internally when my voice went higher than normal, I couldn't help it, I was honestly surprised.

"I'm not going to repeat myself." He scowled.

"K-Kyouya―" I cut myself off with an awkward laugh whilst scratching the back of my neck. "I don't have a girlfriend."

Kyouya furrowed his eyebrows slightly—it was an almost invisible amount that they went up—but I caught it. His mouth twisted into a frown before he finally came out with, "You're disgusting."

"Eh?" My eyebrows shot up from his insult. Kyouya's reactions today had definitely been weird; he was insulting me because I didn't have a girlfriend now, internally, I was hoping just the tiniest amount that he would've been happy about it. "I haven't had anyone in your apartment."

His scowl became incredibly deeper and I could barely make out the colour of his eyes from his glare. "Don't lie to me, Cavallone."

I sighed slightly to myself, but I was relieved about the fact he was calling me by my name again. I doubted whether I'd get him to call me Dino for a few weeks—Cavallone was better than Herbivore any day. It was at least correct; I definitely ate meat.

"I'm not lying to you." I was still taken aback from the fact that Kyouya thought I'd hide something from him. I wouldn't hide a woman inside his apartment while trying to get closer to him, that was absurd. I removed the hand from my neck and quickly ran it through my hair whilst I tried to think about what to say.

"What made you think that?" I sighed.

My eyes widened again when the slight dusting of pink became apparent on his cheeks. It wasn't bright or anything remotely similar, but I could make it out easily. His skin was too pale for his own good, but it seemed to fit his appearance well. It didn't matter that most of his clothing was dark too, creating a major contrast.

"I heard you this morning," there was no emotion in Kyouya's voice, but I hated that he tore his eyes away from mine when he'd muttered that. He was staring at the wall beside me as if it was completely natural that his attention would change to an inanimate object.

My first reaction was to gulp, but there were many things I had been doing that morning. I couldn't exactly pinpoint the time when Kyouya had seen me. I bit down on my lip and chewed for a few seconds before I finally came out with, "What did you hear?"

I was shocked that my own voice came out barely louder than a whisper. Instead of going higher with dread like earlier, my voice was lower than usual. I cleared my throat awkwardly and waited for Kyouya to answer. When I received no answer, I started to panic internally. I was jumping to the worst conclusions—the worst thing Kyouya could have heard this morning was me masturbating, but I doubted whether I'd been awfully loud. I quickly kicked that out of my mind whilst thinking about what else I'd done. I'd merely cleaned up my lip and small minor things.

"What did you hear?" I repeated; my voice came out normally this time and I was doing a mental happy dance. I didn't want him to know I was panicking.

"I heard you mating," he finally spat out.

I literally stopped breathing for a few seconds whilst my mouth fell open and my eyes went wide. My worst conclusion had actually come true—Kyouya had heard me this morning. I was obviously louder than intended and I hoped the room didn't echo. I didn't bother to check; it seemed absolutely ridiculous at that moment. But now, I was regretting it more than anything. It was understandable why Kyouya had jumped to the wrong conclusion and assumed I had a woman round. I found myself gulping as I tried to think about how he'd found out—I was sure I hadn't left the door open, but that wouldn't explain anything. I clenched my hand into a fist as I tried to hold the blush back from my cheeks. I didn't want to flame up right in front of Kyouya without denying his accusation first. I needed to get things out in the open without making a complete fool of myself.

"Wrong," I admitted.

Kyouya's eye twitched slightly before he came out with, "Hn?"

"I said you're wrong. I wasn't mating." I averted my eyes and started to look at Hibird who was sleeping in his fluffy hair still.

"I said don't lie to me, Cavallone," he hissed.

I scrunched my eyes shut before I admitted, "I was masturbating, Kyouya."

Time seemed to slow down at that moment. I was trying to control my ragged breathing and fighting off the blush that was attempting to make its way onto my cheeks. I cracked my eyes open quickly and gazed back up at Hibird. I could see Kyouya's eyes go wide even when I was staring up at Hibird. I had obviously caught him off guard with the fact I was extremely blunt about it. I couldn't think of what else to do, but I was still curious as to why he had heard me though.

I nibbled on my lip again, just beside the cut that Kyouya had given me, and I finally blurted out, "Why were you listening?"

My gaze on Hibird got interrupted when Kyouya harshly moved forward, I didn't even have time to blink more than once before he was out of sight. I could hear his door slam shut when it had finally clicked in my head what had happened. Kyouya had practically run away from the situation and avoided my question. I felt my mouth tug down into a frown as I sighed quietly to myself.