He noticed how it was much easier for Akito to be the listening party rather than the speaker. He was much more relaxed up until he had to speak up. Hiro was patient though. He didn’t want to be apart of the overbearing world Akito was put into. The small flame went out so he could give him his attention, much like Akito did for him. It was only fair. Not once does he interrupt, but his expression does soften a little towards Akito’s own turmoils. However, he couldn’t suppress the look of surprise he gave when Akito is finished. 

[i]’That’s… Aw, he’s so cute!’[/i] Hiro refrained from saying these thoughts aloud, not wanting to spook the man at his side. He gave a rather goofy grin, something different from his usual expressions, before looking at his lap. He wasn’t sure what to say at first wondering what he meant by spending time around him instead of with him, but in the end assumed it meant all the same. “Likewise,” He started to say, but then clarified. “You’ve been able to put up with me for this long and I appreciate it just as much as I apologize for it.” The laugh that followed was light. “I’ve… been told I could be a bit stubborn and hard to deal with, but you’ve been patient. I admire your courage though. You’ve been put into this royal business and you’re handling it fairly well.” He blew a few strands of hair out of his face and finally, couldn’t help but playfully add, “And though I’ve never said it, you’re so cute!” 

Hiro took the tie out of his hair just to re-tie it, collecting the loose strands of hair that would bother him eventually. He could have kept it down, but his stepmother insisted that she saw all of his face- and he wasn’t going to say no to her. “I was happily surprised to know that you weren’t anything like my father boasted about.” He finally continued. “Not in terms of status of course, but,” He chose his words carefully. “I guess age and possibly a little rough around the edges? No offense to them I guess. They chose to act how they please.” He wasn’t sure how to explain his father’s ideals for his betrothed didn’t sound as tasteful as Akito, so he left it alone. 

Hoko had disappeared out of Hiro’s line of sight which made the prince glance around for a brief moment. Akito wasn’t panicking about it, so he assumed Hoko was fine. His query was quickly answered however when Hiro felt those familiar tiny claws sneak up and across his lap to get to his owner. For once, the prince didn’t jump at the sudden feeling of something crawling on him, in fact he had started getting used to the little furball scurrying about when he was allowed.