It felt as if Hibari had been training with Dino for years by the time he staggered exhaustedly back into the blond's hotel room; ever since his parents had died, he hadn't been able to gather the strength to return to his own home – the nightmares were enough for him, and he didn't need for it to feel more realistic than it already was.

The skylark was reluctant to acknowledge just how well Dino had taken care of him during their time away; Cavallone had fed him, made sure he was warm at night and, when the nightmares had him waking up in a cold sweat, he was there to make sure he got back to sleep alright.

Hibari didn't know how to express it, but he truly was appreciative of what the blond had done for him ever since… that.

The skylark sat down on the couch and pulled his knees to his chest as he glanced at the TV in front of him. He wanted to turn it on but years of abuse had made him afraid to so much as reach for the remote; the beatings were still engraved in his mind, no matter how much he knew they would never happen again. Cavallone noticed this and, without a word, turned the television on. He smiled when he saw the corners of Hibari's lips tug in a faint smile, and he sat down on the couch with him; he was just glad that the other finally seemed to be trusting him and letting him in ever-so-slightly. It might still be a long time before Hibari could ever trust him fully, but for now, the fact that the raven was allowing him this close was enough.

Hibari could feel himself drifting off to sleep, but as much as he struggled to stay awake it was near impossible; his eyes slipped closed and he was out to it.

When Cavallone noticed the sleeping teenager, he stood up and fetched a blanket to wrap over the skinny body, hoping to keep the morning chill away from him. He smiled to himself as he tucked the younger in tight; his student was looking so peaceful for once. Hibari murmured something unintelligible before he rolled onto his side, facing the back of the chair, comforted by the gentleness he was presented with.

Cavallone knew just one thing at this; he was falling harder and harder for the teenager with each passing day.

~~Later that day~~

"N-no…"

Dino looked behind him at the couch Kyouya was sleeping on when he heard the familiar frightened pleas he had become accustomed to hearing being whimpered out in terror. He fell silent into the phone he had been talking into as he watched the skylark twist and turn from terror; it was hard for him to want to continue his conversation when his heart was being tugged at like this.

"D-don't touch me…!"

"I'll call you back, Romario," Dino said softly into the receiver of his phone, not wanting his subordinates to know of the skylark's fragile mental state; it was between the two of them and no one else had to know what his student was going through.

Dino ended the call on his phone before he stood up and once again prepared himself to help relax the traumatised teen. He called out as he made his way over slowly so that he wouldn't startle the other; there was no need to make Kyouya more stressed than he already was, after all.

"Kyouya, it was just a dream," Dino said gently as he knelt by the boy's side. He reached out and run his hand through black hair in a soothing manner now that the skylark had awoken to his voice. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Kyouya shook his head. His face paled as his eyes closed once more, trying to pretend that he wasn't feel so distressed – but how was he supposed to fool Dino when he couldn't even fool himself? "…Don't need to… I'm fine…"

Dino knew that was a lie, but he also knew not to pry; Kyouya still needed time to learn how to talk about what he was feeling instead of keeping it all bottled up inside. He instead nodded as he sat down on the couch and wracked his brain on what to say. He didn't want to come off as nosy or disrespectful, but he wanted to tell the younger that he was there for him no matter what – he just hoped that, after all this time, his student was slowly coming to learn that.

"I'm always here if you need me, Kyouya." Dino offered a gentle smile. He reached out to take the younger's hand and squeeze it in reassurance, and to his honest surprise, Kyouya didn't pull away; he allowed it to happen. "Kyouya?"

"…" There was a haze in the skylark's eyes that proved he wasn't very focused on external stimuli; he was too busy recalling the events of his dream because even now, he wasn't sure if he were remembering correctly; could he really dream about Cavallone kissing him…? Or was his mind playing tricks on him again? He couldn't recall having any feelings towards the Chiavarone boss other than a mutual trust that walked a fine line between them, so could he…? Really have dreamt something like that…?

The skylark glanced up at Dino and found that the blond had directed his gaze out of the window. His black eyes fixed on those red lips curiously. Thoughts he had never wondered about before crossed his mind; for the first time in his life, he was thinking about what it would be like to actually kiss someone.

Hibari shook his head; he couldn't be considering kissing Cavallone. …Could he? But… why? Why him? It was when a tiny voice answered him from the back of his mind did he flinch as he realised the truth; Dino had been the only one to ever keep their promise of not hurting him and instead had only ever taken care of him. He hadn't ever really thought about his sexual orientation or anything of the like, but he was starting to wonder if he was more attracted to personality, or a sense of comfort in other people rather than their gender or anything physical; it would certainly explain why he was only starting to feel this way once Cavallone had become rather interesting to him.

But the question still remained; did he want to kiss Cavallone…? There was only one way to find out what he was truly feeling.

Dino looked at Kyouya when he felt the boy's gaze fix on him. "Kyouya? Are you okay?"

In the most stoic tone he had ever used, Kyouya simply said, "Kiss me."

Dino had been shocked at first to hear those words, but what really got to him was the fact that, seconds after, horror and embarrassment crossed Kyouya's eyes, as if the skylark had only just realised what he had asked of his teacher. What had brought such a question on? Dino didn't know, but it was worrying for him.

"Kyouya…?" Dino reached a hand out to touch the boy, but Hibari just pulled away.

"Don't touch me…" Kyouya whispered. He looked down at his lap as anxiety started overwhelming him; he regretted his request, and he hoped Dino would let him back out of it. "…I didn't mean what I said…"

Dino saw straight through the lie, but he didn't want to call the damaged teen out on it. Instead, he placed his hand on Kyouya's chin and felt the smaller body tense at his touch. He tilted the boy's head up so they were looking at each other, and his heart broke when he saw the fear in the onyx eyes.

"Do you trust me?" Dino whispered. He smiled gently when Kyouya nodded, knowing what he had to do. "Close your eyes, okay?"

Kyouya was hesitant at first but he did as he was told. His body started shaking instinctively and, when a hot pair of lips pressed against his, he gasped and tried to pull away. Dino's hands moved to his shoulders, holding him in place as he pulled his lips away.

"Relax," Dino whispered. Kyouya cracked his eyes open to look at him and, after seeing the sincerity on his face, he closed his eyes once again as he willed himself to calm down; though he didn't trust easily, he could trust the other in this moment.

Dino kissed the boy again, and he was in no hurry to demand more from the skylark; this moment was solely for helping heal the damaged teen.

Kyouya reached up after a few seconds so that he could grab the brown jacket Dino was wearing. He felt himself relaxing into the kiss, slowly understanding that he had been right about Dino all along; this man was someone he could trust, someone who wanted to help him, someone who understood what it was like to come from bad backgrounds.

Taking the plunge, Kyouya gathered all his strength and opened his mouth, inviting Dino's tongue to enter. He moaned softly, his hands squeezing, as his tongue battled Dino's for dominance.

When they broke away for air, Kyouya looked into Dino's eyes, able to acknowledge the affection he had seen in them every day. He couldn't stop the tears that started to flow down his cheeks, realising his biggest mistake in life had been pushing this man away because this was the first person he had come across who genuinely loved him.

Maybe… Maybe Cavallone could teach him how to love, too.