to you alone.

Miku eyed the bag nearby, ears flickering as if a visual signal that she heard Hibiki.

“They were left around here…they’re mine now.” Rather blunt way of saying she took them and she had no intention of giving them back to whoever lost them. Not that many of them looked that valuable, sans a few…a camera, an old beaten up phone…things like that.

“Humans leave things on the ground a lot…it’s messy. And dangerous.” There was something surreal about hearing a wild animal of a girl call humans messier than an animal. But dangerous, that could be true. She’d found a dangerous item or two left laying around. Careless, really. Miki was no true animal, but the animals that were here–humans just behaved like there weren’t other creatures present around them.

    At least she didn’t... outright steal any of it. It’s the most generous thought Hibiki can muster up for a response like that, especially in such a blank and indifferent tone that suggested at the very least, Miku didn’t see anything wrong or bad about it in the slightest. 

    Then again, this was someone who clearly didn’t understand all that much about humans to begin with. It’s hard to say if she didn’t care who’s toes she was stepping on or if, maybe, she just... didn’t know about better.

The kiss is a sweet gesture–one Miku certainly couldn’t get enough of, honestly. Still, she’s shamelessly interested in the promise of a night out with Hibiki that would be left uninterrupted by the usual emergencies and phone calls. 

“Hm…a surprise? How sweet. All right, all right. I’ll find some better clothes then. I suppose for Hibiki I can free up some time.” All the time in the world, really, but that probably went without saying.

       Hibiki giggles and nods before she scampers off to get ready herself, admittedly a little giddy about the idea of a nice night out of nothing more than doting on the person who meant so, so much to her. Any time with Miku was a incredible but her birthday? That was important, and she liked to think she had a better grasp on that now than she did as an overwhelmed and scatterbrained kid. 

    Plus, you know... they were actually dating now. Hard for things to not take on a different atmosphere when the context for everything between them had changed so distinctly. 

    In the end Hibiki settles on one of her cozier sweaters over an undershirt and a pair of long jeans. A moment is spared to dig up one of her bags, a small backpack-esque satchel that hangs loose on the shoulders that she ends up using to hold... something. A bit hard to tell when she’s so obviously glancing around to make sure Miku doesn’t get a look just yet anyways.

    With that out of the way, she’s off to the front door to dutifully wait for her girlfriend.

“Glad to hear it.” Miku chuckled, putting the fork down on Hibiki’s side of her plate so that she could eat it herself. Odd that she didn’t hear any kind of response on her own behavior, but she supposed Hibiki could…well, speak up on that if she wanted to. Miku wasn’t sure if the lack of response was Hibiki just being nervous or confused, like so many other instances before so far, but there was still plenty of room for Hibiki to merely tell her to stop doing what she did so often.

“Eat up before it gets cold.”

Of course, until then, Hibiki still had to deal with a rowdy, infatuated vampire.

    She definitely didn’t have to be told that twice.

    This was... pretty nice though. Having a homecooked breakfast with another person isn’t something Hibiki’s been able to indulge in since she was basically a child, even before she moved out from home really. Given her own abysmal cooking skills she can’t remember the last time she had something that wasn’t either premade or from a restaurant. 

    “S-So, uh...” Clearing her throat lightly, Hibiki glances up at Miku from her food. “Did you... maybe wanna do something together again tonight? Um... only if you feel like it, of couse, a-and only after a few hours when the sun goes down ‘n all but...”

    Man, she needed really needed to get better at this whole ‘putting herself out there’ stuff. Here Miku was basically doting on her every ten minutes and Hibiki couldn’t even manage to ask her out on a casual night out without feeling like she’s going to pass out. With a brief shake of her head, she finally spits out a more steady suggestion.

Miki smiled, giving a small giggle. She picked up the utensil nearby, breaking off a small piece of the omelette, before offering it to Hibiki. “Open up.” Of course this madwoman was going to try and feed Hibiki a piece of her food at least once. 

“I hope you mean that in a good way, Songbird. Although, you should know, if I step over a boundary, all you would merely need to do is tell me so. I may be a blood-sucking creature of the night, but I am at least somewhat of a respectable person. I may find you absolutely adorable, but I’d hate to think I was pushing you just a bit too hard.”

    Truth be told, even Hibiki isn’t sure if Miku was overstepping boundaries here. At the end of the day, did she really mind all of this? It was embarrassing, sure, mortifyingly so... but that wasn’t really the same thing as wanting it to stop. Even if she can’t say in good confidence what was normal or appropriate, it’d be a bold faced lie to say she didn’t like all the attention and doting, and an even bigger one to say it wasn’t painfully exciting whenever this woman, heaven forbid, spare her a few kisses. Maybe she should be a little more reluctant in all of this but... well...

    Can you blame a girl? When you’ve never even been in a situation to entertain a crush on someone else, it’s a lot to take in when you’ve been all but tossed into the deep end.

    Her train of thought is cut short by the fork offering a bit of food, Hibiki herself giving a few surprised blinks before a look of flustered realization finally settles over her. Still, she’s obedient- after leaning in to take a bite, a pleased hum follows and her focus almost immediately shifts from her embarrassment thanks to her admittedly pretty worked up appetite. If nothing else, you can certainly depend on Hibiki to visibly perk up at the prospect of a hot meal.

“All you can do is get used to it, then. I like you far too much to leave you alone, now.” Miku chuckled. What a partially terrifying thing to say, actually. “Don’t overthink it. It’s about as simple as I could possibly make it. I’ve already told you several times, even. It isn’t my fault you take every nice thing I say to you with a grain of salt.”

With that, Miku smirked, before finishing up her cooking and sliding the omelette onto the plate. She serves it with a bit of decoration, thing and oddly precise lines of sauce creating a cute and eloquent heart and a small minimalist bird outline. 

She walks over and places the plate in front of Hibiki with a rather cheeky smile and a small wink. “If you don’t get it by now, well…the only thing I can do to make my intentions clearer is something you can’t even handle the mere implication of without covering your face with your hands. I can’t help you there.”

    Hibiki clears her throat sheepishly at the jab, cheeks flaring red as she hurriedly averts her gaze to her lap. Miku wasn’t exactly wrong but how she could just... say embarrassing things so casually, was beyond Hibiki. At times it almost felt like she had absolutely no sense of shame and Hibiki can’t help but wonder if this was a vampire thing or just a Miku thing from even before she was turned. 

    Then again, if she takes everything she’s been told at face value, Miku never really spent much time around other people to begin with. The idea that this aggressive infatuation was something new and exclusive to her... well, that just felt embarrassing in a completely different way.

    Looking at this damn cute omelette wasn’t helping matters either.

    “Y-You know, s-sometimes it feels like we’re in two different worlds of confidence...” Hibiki admits, allowing a nervous chuckle under her breath. “I-I mean, if I said the stuff you do, I-I feel like I’d just.... d-die probably...”

    Coughing lightly, she rubs at the back of her neck. 

Miku was a bit surprised–admittedly, she was thinking about what day it was today, but even if she expected to be approached by Hibiki about it, she wasn’t sure when it’d be. Unpredictable as ever, of course.

She spared a small smile and a laugh, before shaking her head. “I don’t, actually. I’ve already gotten birthday wishes from everyone else earlier, so I guess I’m all yours.” Seemed only appropriate the best be saved for last, huh?

    “Good, ‘cos I made sure to call out of work and everything.” Hibiki offers a satisfied nod, arms folding across her chest. “So tonight is just for us no matter what comes up. Even if the world starts ending, too bad, I’m busy, they gotta call Tsubasa-san instead or something ‘cos until tomorrow, my attention is exclusively yours, no ifs ands or buts.”

       Hands clasp one of Miku’s own, only for Hibiki to bring it to her lips for a brief kiss to the knuckles. A sheepish smile tugs at the corners of her lips soon after.

    “Miku, Miku, Mikuuuu!! Happy Birthday-- ♡“ Hibiki’s arms wrap around her girlfriend’s waist as she nuzzles her affectionately from behind. Soft giggles spill from her lips even as she leans in to press a quick peck to the girl’s cheek.

“You’re really worried over a vampire who normally only gets the company of felines, getting tired of you being around? Perhaps you should stop thinking so hard about that, hm?” 

It was rather astonishing, how stubbornly Hibiki refused to accept any reasons Miku had for wanting her around so often. After all, she felt like she made a plethora of them clear already, why she liked the girl’s company. 

“You’re a vexing human, you know that?”

      “I think I’m pretty simple actually.” Hibiki admits with a small, lopsided smile. “Too much of a numbskull to go doing anything complicated and confusing on purpose.”

      With a quiet giggle, she shakes her head before getting back to her feet and offering a shrug of her shoulders.

Hm…did she seem that distracted? It was a little disheartening knowing how much harder it was lately for her to mask her emotions a little better. At least enough to not look so bluntly distracted to anyone looking at her.

“I was thinking about other things, sure. Just a lot going on, I suppose. It’s nothing that’s a big deal, though.” Somewhere between life and SONG, there was still some getting used to things that Miku was in the process of grasping. That, on top of any worries over Hibiki she’s had from the start? Of course Miku wasn’t walking around with her head on straight.

      “If it’s nagging at you a lot, it’s no good keeping it all to yourself.” Kanade points out, casting Miku a knowing glance as she raises a brow. “Even if it’s ‘not a big deal’.”

      She knew fully well that not a big deal was just code for ‘I don’t want to bother anyone’ half of the time from her own experiences with her own share of stubborn hardheads. Maybe she couldn’t say for sure whether Miku was acting all that normal or not but to just outright dismiss what seems odd would be... irresponsible in way she wasn’t, Kanade decides.

“I see…” Well, truth be told, Miku really didn’t…particularly care. That was still something she was working on, maybe. Or maybe not. Either way, she wasn’t all that terribly concerned about Hibiki’s business unless it called for her concern.

She chuckled. “Well, that’s good know. I guess it’s a good thing no emergencies came up, then. Fufu, still, I wonder…does that mean I might have you to myself again today?”

    Hibiki blinks, maybe a bit taken off guard at the question. Somehow she had just assumed she’d end up being sent on her way the next morning or... something, but maybe she should have known Miku better than to assume she’d get off the hook so easily.

    “Eheh... I guess you don’t really have any competition, if you’re sure that’s what you want.” Hibiki laughs and grins, a bit sheepish when she adds, “If Miku-chan isn’t careful, she’s gonna end up sick of me hanging around here all the time though. Especially if it means all this trouble last minute.”

“Hm…okay. Omelette it is. Sit and make yourself comfortable in the meantime, okay?” She goes to get a pan and the ingredients she’ll need, already getting started. She even throws in toast. She had bread? Oh, interesting. It’s like she anticipated getting to cook for a new guest. Very interesting. 

But hey, looks like in the meantime, today’s little black cat seems oddly content with Hibiki, following the girl and rubbing at her leg. 

“Did you have school or work today, I wonder? You did sleep in pretty late. I’d hate for our little late night date to have kept you from something.”

      Childish as it probably was, Hibiki can’t help but feel a bit pleased when the cat seems to settle on seeking out her attention, happy to reach down and run her fingers through soft black fur. Even if cats didn’t seem particularly fond of Hibiki herself, that wasn’t to say the feeling was mutual-- this was a girl who’d pet an alligator if it let her, after all, and anything taking the initiative to be friendly with her was met with a predictably eager response.

      Same could probably be said with her interactions with Miku, embarrassing as it was.

      Still, the offhanded remark about the night before brings a rush of heat to her cheeks. Even knowing Miku was almost definitely talking about the date itself and not everything that followed, it was hard to push thoughts of that heated mess from her mind, especially when she had all but fallen asleep to the sound of her own frantic heartbeat and thoughts of embarrassed regret.

      “H-Huh...? Oh...” Clearing her throat, she shakes her head. “Nah. I, um, stopped going to classes once I finished high school honestly.”

      She was never any good at school to begin with in all truth and once SONG was taking care of both her paycheck and her living expenses, there just felt like less and less reasons to bother with it. Less work on top of everything else going on in her life if nothing else.

“You make it sound like I’m starving or something.” Maybe Miku was a little hungry, but surprisingly, she wasn’t exactly that eager to snag Hibiki’s blood when she was in such a frazzled, particularly unfed state. 

“It’s fine, really. Shouldn’t I make sure the person keeping me fed is being taken care of, anyway? Only seems fair.” Miku opened the fridge, pulling out a small bottle of orange juice for Hibiki and handing it over. “I’m…a little limited in what I can make well, unfortunately. Your options if you want something that actually tastes good, come down to easy stuff like sandwiches, or breakfast. Maybe an omelette?”

      More like Hibiki didn’t know how to react to people going out of their way to be nice to begin with. Still, Miku seems set on it and it was probably more rude to argue than it was to simply let her do as she pleased, something Miku was surely going to do at the end of the day regardless of what Hibiki said anyways. At least she was getting a meal out of it.

      “A-Ah.... an omelette is fine if, if you’re sure...” Hibiki sheepishly rubs at the back of her neck, still smiling in spite of herself. “I can’t really cook all that great, so after I moved out from home I kinda stopped eating homemade food for the most part. Maybe the stuff at Flower counts, but other than that it’s mostly stuff I can microwave or takeout...”

      She’s had enough kitchen disasters, be it inedible food or clumsy mishaps that end in injury, to call it quits on that endeavor fairly quickly. 

“Well what kind of girl would I be to have you take me out and then leave you to walk home alone in the dark? Would you like anything for breakfast?” Just because it’s in the afternoon doesn’t mean you can’t still have breakfast. 

Miku placed the cat back down onto the floor, the feline taking a moment to rub her head on Miku’s leg before backing off when Miku walked towards the kitchen. “I would’ve made sure to have a drink ready for you, but I’m not sure what you drink when you wake up. There’s coffee or tea people, then there’s people who are content with things like orange juice.” Miku giggled lightly. 

Well, someone wasn’t paying mind to her dastardly deeds from last night, that was for sure. 

    “Oh... um.... I’m usually fine with juice.” Hibiki scratches at the back of her neck. “I only really drink coffee when I have to for work honestly...”

    She definitely didn’t like the taste of it but necessity was necessity and god knows energy drinks would probably end up tasting or feeling worse at the end of the day. She may be exceptionally durable for a human but that was more likely than not a habit she didn’t need on top of everything else going on with her.

    Clearing her throat, she follows Miku to the kitchen.

    “You don’t have to worry about doing all of that for me though.” With a small cough, she adds, "That’s... a lot of effort for something that doesn’t really do you any good. I think I’d feel a little bad making you cook for me after you just treated me to dinner when you still haven’t had a meal in days...”

“Hello there.” Miki muttered quietly, opening her arms as the smaller black cat leaped straight into them. Standing back up, she turned to see her “guest” finally awake and calling for her attention, before sparing a small smile. Right…she had to wonder just how much sleep the poor girl actually got, after her antics last night.

Turning, Miku’s hand busied itself with comforting strokes to the feline in her arms as she spoke up.

“Afternoon. You seemed to be sleeping pretty soundly, so I didn’t want to wake you myself. This girl here seemed well content in keeping you company though. I guess she was startled when you woke up.” As if knowing she was being talked about, the cat purred and glanced towards Hibiki.

      “Heheh... o-oops.” Hibiki rubs at the back of her neck sheepishly. Regardless of how much sleep Miku herself got, it felt a little rude to stay over at someone’s house and just snooze away in their bed all day.

         Still, she had to admit she felt pretty refreshed. Miku’s bed was surprisingly comfortable for one owned by someone who barely had any practical use for one, with an oddly cozy feeling to it. The fact that the sheets were so soft and smelled so nice probably didn’t help.

      Though honestly with as tired and overwhelmed as Hibiki was she probably could have managed to pass out on the floor last night if she had to. 

      Morning comes and goes and it’s well into afternoon before Hibiki even begins to stir, exhaustion having gotten the best of her after such a long and eventful night. Her sleep schedule was admittedly a little haphazard aside from work anyways and it hardly helps that, for as heavy as a sleeper as she is, nothing in Miku’s house is really all that intent on waking her up.

      Well... for a while at least.

      A small noise finally manages to rouse Hibiki, her eyes fluttering open slowly as her brain attempts to come to. At first she doesn’t even register where she is-- the decor, the feeling of the fabric, even the subtle flowery scent that clings to the bed is so very decidedly not at all like her own room and given how dazed Hibiki is, it’s no surprise it doesn’t really hit her until another loud meow interrupts her train of thought. A cat. Right. She was still at Miku’s house, wasn’t she?

      She sits back upright and spares a moment to stretch out her limbs, only to rub tiredly at her eyes soon after. Even with as much sleep as she got it doesn’t feel like nearly enough.

      After a brief ( failed ) moment of trying to pet her visitor ( seriously, what was it’s problem? who wakes someone up and then runs away? ) she sighs and resigns to stumbling out of the bedroom to find her hostess. As embarrassed as she still was over the previous night and for as much as she still wasn’t sure how to navigate that conversation, she can’t exactly stay holed up in someone else’s bedroom all day.

Goodness, how cute. Well…perhaps cute was only one word she was looking for, here. She liked the way she easily made Hibiki squirm and she certainly liked the cute noises that she made–it was all just very indulgent of Miku to enjoy. 

That said, the woman seems to finally relax a little bit, reluctantly and slowly pulling away from the kiss with another, quick and slightly sharper bite to Hibiki’s bottom lip than before. She grinned a little bit at the girl, palm sliding gently against Hibiki’s cheek before she gave her a light little pat. 

“Shouldn’t you be getting some rest?” She breathed against Hibiki’s lips, though afterwards finally seemed to get up, and pull herself away from Hibiki. She slid off of the bed, straightening out her clothes before pushing the shorts into Hibiki’s nervous hands and giggling. “Thanks for indulging my silly little request. I guess I just can’t resist my Songbird’s kisses, can I?”

    It seems like everything comes to an abrupt halt just as soon as it started, Miku’s devilishly cheeky bite immediately followed by... nothing. Nothing at all. Her weight slides off of Hibiki, leaving the girl reeling as she tries to process everything that just happened. With the momentum building between them the last thing she expected to hear was that she should go to bed and as much is obvious by the dumbfounded look on her face.

    “H... H-Huh?”

    Even as she glances down at the shorts in her hands and gets up on unsteady legs to go off to the bathroom to change, her brain is buzzing with more thoughts than she can possibly sort through. Was Miku just... going to do all of that and expect her to go to bed? And when exactly had it turned into her Songbird, hers, hers, hers? Hibiki has no idea what it means or what to make of any of it; with Miku dancing the line between careless and playful and ridiculously intimate she can’t tell how much of it is Miku toying with her and how much is.... something more committed. Whatever you’d even call all of this. 

    Once Hibiki is done changing and freshening up in the bathroom, she hesitantly makes her way out into the hall and pokes her head into the living room. Even now her heart is pounding and just thinking about speaking to Miku after everything that just happened made her feel dizzyingly weak.