Archive of Our Own ^beta

September

It’s pouring outside, and Hiei is fast asleep, like an evil baby.

“It’s nothing to be concerned about,” Kurama explains, unceremoniously dumping the unconscious body on the couch. “Nothing urgent, just a sparring match with Mukuro. He overdid it this time.”

Kazuma protests. Vehemently. There’s a lot of swearing involved.

“—and another thing, you know he’s gonna try to kill me when he wakes up and I ain’t gonna be responsible for kicking his midget ass if he does! Why can’t he stay with one of you?”

“Yusuke will tease him for the loss, and I…have company over.”

“Oooh, who—”

“And even if I didn’t, he’d still just leave.”

“Why?”

Kurama looks very, very smug. “Because I warned him that one of his techniques would not bring him victory yet, and he ignored me. You know his pride won’t let him recover in my house.”

“Well. Yeah, that’s true.” Kazuma scrambles for a better excuse. “But we’re just going to be at each other’s throats!”

“He’ll be too tired to retaliate, I’m sure.”

“But, but what about Shizuru? She’s not gonna like this new house guest—”

“You know as well as I that Shizuru has been spending time with him more often than not.” They lapse into bitter silence for a minute.

Sakyo is a bad seed, through and through, no matter what Koenma’s doing to put him through his paces. Kazuma can’t tell if that bastard’s a spirit or a demon or a ghost or whatever now, but he’s not allowed in this house, ever. Every time he tries to convince that baby brat to let them kill Sakyo again, he just gets a jumbled answer regarding lighters and shreds of humanity and potential redemption, what the fuck ever.

Kazuma indulges Shizuru when she talks about all the good that rat’s doing now, but he takes it with a fucking dump truck of salt, because no way—

“Hey!”

Kurama’s halfway out the door.

“No, no, absolutely not, get back here—Kurama!”

The fox smiles sheepishly and waves. “Sorry, paperwork to do, and I have to wake up early in the morning, thank you, Kuwabara!”

Kuwabara screams his disapproval at his retreating form until the neighbors tell him to shut the fuck up. He goes back in and stares at Hiei’s sleeping form. Points a finger at it. “Stay.”

Hiei stays.

When Hiei awakens, the reaction is not pleasant. It involves a knife to Kazuma’s throat, a demand for his sword, and a variety of threats that really shouldn’t sound that elegant, but do.

Kazuma warbles that the sword’s in the hall closet, and it’s like Hiei was never in the room.

The commute home from Gai Tech is usually peaceful. The train he takes isn’t so crowded, which lets him get a head-start on his homework, and the rushing scenery isn’t bad at all. The only thing that ruins the ride home now is actually arriving at home.

Kazuma starts coming back to find Hiei lounging on the roof of his house. He shouts at him to go away, but Hiei always seems to be in a deep sleep. Or he’s ignoring him, whichever. It’s like shouting at a cat.

Kazuma skips the shouting one day. He goes in, feeds Eikichi, and grabs a snack. He needs his new skyscraper concepts done by the end of the week, and like hell if he’s going to leave it till the last minute like his previous assignment. The B-minus was passable, but not good enough. He doesn’t usually do that, but Urameshi had convinced them all to take a trip up to the estate and check in on some of the new demon tenants in the hills, so damn it, they took a trip.

It’s dark out by the time he hears something on the balcony. He peers outside and, for a minute, sees nothing. Then he notes that it’s a little too dark in one corner and can only conclude that the brat has come down to try a lower perch.

Against his better judgement, Kazuma cracks the door and asks, “Hey, shrimp! You want something to eat?”

The Jagan Eye glows murderously.

Kazuma shuts the door and curtains, and heads to the kitchen. More for him.

Kazuma tries to convince Kurama to take Hiei back – or whatever. The three-eyed freak is spending an awful lot of time atop the Kuwabara residence, and while they haven’t talked at all, his presence is an annoyance. “Did you two fight or something?”

“It’s his training,” Kurama replies absentmindedly, signing some documents and passing them off to his assistant, who goes red in the face and bolts. “I keep telling him he needs to rest properly, but he brushes me off. Always chasing after Mukuro.”

“Idiot should know better,” Kazuma mutters, watching the assistant flee. “Tell him if my roof starts leaking, he’s paying for damages. Still doesn’t explain why he’s crashin’ at my place.”

“He’s grown weary of my ‘nagging’, as he so puts it. And he refuses to stay by Yusuke’s because he doesn’t want to know what goes on between him and Keiko.”

Kazuma makes a face. No kidding. “Can’t you just stop lecturing? I need him gone. I can’t concentrate, knowing he’s up there.” Not true. Most of the time he completely forgets because he’s so engrossed in his work.

Two spots of color appear on the fox’s cheeks. “It’s probably for the best that he avoids my place. I have some…things to deal with.”

“…Does this have to do with the person you’re seeing?”

“I’m not seeing anyone,” Kurama replies archly.

Kazuma squints. “Uh-huh. Right. This wouldn’t have anything to do with when you dumped him off at my house a few weeks ago, would it? What, did he walk in on you and your girl getting’ handsy?”

“…Something like that.”

He grins. “Was he so shocked that he passed out?”

Boy, that’s a red face. “I…knocked him out.”

It takes a good ten minutes for Kazuma to stop laughing. “Okay, okay, I’m done,” he concedes, wiping tears from his eyes. “We’re gonna talk about that later, I mean it. But back to the little nuisance. Isn’t there any other place he can stay? Doesn’t he usually hang out in the parks or abandoned buildings or something?”

Kurama peers thoughtfully at his computer. “I know he doesn’t like to show it, but you know he considers us all to be his friends. He has come to understand that he can trust us to keep him safe when he is unable to defend himself.” He suddenly starts typing furiously. God help whoever that email’s going to. “Though he’d never admit it.” A pause. “Is it wrong of him to want to remain in close proximity to someone who would watch his back?”

Kazuma grumbles his defeat. Like it or not, he considers Hiei to be a close friend, like Kurama. The only one closer is Yusuke. Sometimes, when they’re all working a case together, he likes to imagine that it’ll be the four of them against the world forever. He wouldn’t mind that.

He turns to admire the office for the umpteenth time. “Ya know, you’re a fox, through and through.”

Kurama tries not to smile. “I have no idea what you mean.”

“Last time I came here, your office was smaller. Who’d you win this one from?”

He covers his mouth with his hand in a poor illusory attempt at being deep in thought. “Really, Kuwabara, there is no competition going on here.”

Kazuma laughs. “Right, and you’re not aiming to take over what’s-his-face’s job from down the hall.”

“I assume you mean Daichi. And you are wrong. I don’t want his job.” A sly grin tugs at his lips. “Only his office. It gets nice sunlight. Perfect for my plants.”

Kazuma’s stomach grumbles discontentedly. “Lunch?”

“Yes.”

Alright, so Hiei can stay. Not that Kazuma could make the guy move if he tried.

October

Sometimes, whenever they see some kind of structure or layout they know would be of interest to him, they take a picture and send it to Kazuma.

Yusuke gets great photos of the cities of Makai; Kurama takes near-perfect pictures of downtown when he’s on a break; Botan grabs wondrous aerial shots on the job; Koenma makes his poor lackeys run around Reikai with cameras once in a while.

Kazuma has dozens of photos lining his walls; they’re his inspiration. He looks at the vast differences between realms and thinks, If I could make something half as great, I’d be pretty happy.

He leaves a disposable camera on the roof and a note that basically says if Hiei’s going to be a freeloader, he could at least bring back some pictures when he prances off to Makai or wherever the hell he goes.

Hiei comes down to personally chuck the camera at his head.

Shizuru, the bitch, makes Kazuma rake leaves while she lounges under a blanket inside, watching TV. It’s fucking cold out here. Even the weatherman said it was unusually cold.

However, when he stumbles back inside, there’s a giant mug of warm apple cider waiting for him. He doesn’t bother with a “thank you”. She cuffs him over the head and goes back to watching her show.

He scurries upstairs, because inspiration had struck while he was outside shoveling. He’d been cursing the trees and their stupid leaf-changing cycles, and a concept sprang to mind—he pauses in the doorway. Hiei, stuffed into a corner on the far side of the room, eyes him warningly, daring him to say something. Kazuma knows he shouldn’t bother, but—

He raises his mug. “Want some? It’ll warm you up.”

That thin mouth twists up in a sneer.

Kazuma creeps to his desk – spitting insults now would make him lose the image in his head – and grabs a pencil. In fifteen minutes, he has a rough sketch. He feels Hiei watching him, but when he looks back, the demon’s napping. Or maybe he’s not. Creep. He finishes his sketch and moves on to his homework, doing his best to ignore the prickling feeling on the back of his neck.

A little while later, he goes down to get a snack. When he returns, half his fucking cider is missing.

Hiei is still pretending he’s asleep, the little shit.

Kazuma throws a pillow at his legs. Hiei throws a book at his head.

“It’s like trying to tame a wild animal,” Kazuma comments, poking around in the broth for those last bits of meat.

Yusuke throws back his head and laughs. “He’s gonna gut you if he hears that.”

“Most likely,” Kurama agrees up. He’s been fairly quiet, deigning to eat his ramen slowly, with all the dignity a fox demon can muster. His silence is only because he’s been so engrossed in his meal though. Yusuke always says he loves it when the stand is full of quiet customers. Means their mouths are too stuffed with good food for them to bother with talking.

“But you gotta see it,” Kazuma continues. “Like, Shizuru started making me leave food out for him, so I’ll set it out on the balcony and the entire plate’ll disappear, but then it’ll show up in the cupboard again and Shizuru says she ain’t done nothing with it!”

Yusuke reaches across the counter and dumps a whole egg in his bowl, just for the heck of it. “Hey, get him to try my ramen, let me know what he thinks. Bastard’s never visited my shop in all these years. I’d like his opinion.”

Kazuma snaps the offering up like a toad and a fly. Kurama not so subtly pushes his bowl forward, expectant. Yusuke rolls his eyes, but gives him an egg too, and throws in a piece of tempura. Kazuma starts bitching.

“Yeah, well, life’s not fair!” Yusuke snaps, even as he tosses a shrimp into Kazuma’s bowl, because damn it, he has a heart of fucking gold, no matter what anyone says.

Kazuma keeps his promise to Yusuke, after being bribed with another helping of beef. The next meal he sets out on his balcony is fresh from the stand, rushed home so it would stay hot.

He finishes his homework by sunset, and when he looks outside, the bowl is gone. Grinning, he goes out and calls up to the roof, “Well? What’d ya think?”

No answer.

“It was Urameshi’s recipe, from the stand. He wants to know what you think. Or you could come by some time, tell him yourself! S’like you don’t wanna hang out with us anymore, you jerk. Not that you did before.”

Still no answer.

Maybe he’s gone. Or maybe his mouth’s still stuffed—

“What are you rambling on about?”

Kazuma nearly jumps out of his skin. Hiei sets the bowl on the railing with a derisive sniff in his direction.

“Uh. The ramen? What did you think?”

Ruby eyes narrow. The demon vanishes.

Kazuma spits curses at the sky, the roof, the street, wherever that brat is, before snatching up the empty bowl and stomping back in.

Oh.

An empty bowl. Completely empty.

The next day, Yusuke accepts that answer with a smile that could rival the sun.

The weather grows uncomfortably cold on a regular basis and Hiei starts staying indoors when he stops by every few days.

It’s weird, like, really fucking weird. Kazuma doesn’t complain and Hiei is quiet so he can get his work done, but he can feel the demon watching him. He reminds Hiei that there are plenty of other rooms – hell, there’s even a couch and a TV downstairs with his name on it.

Hiei sticks to his room. He has laid claim to the space in front of the sliding doors. He plasters himself to the glass and looks outside. Poor guy needs a window seat.

Kazuma still feels like he’s being watched.

“Please, please make him go away.”

Kurama shrugs, absolutely useless.

Yusuke comforts him with more food.

Kazuma tries a different approach. He figures if he can annoy Hiei with his “obnoxiously grating voice”, then maybe the demon will get the hell out. So on his breaks, he talks to Hiei about school or the last case he flew solo on or how he and his old friends from junior high got together for some awesome karaoke. Rather, he talks at Hiei. Hiei doesn’t really talk back.

Until one day, he does.

It wasn’t supposed to happen. Kazuma, after days upon days of trying to drive him away, asks a rhetorical question involving Makai. And Hiei answers. To which Kazuma, thrown, accidentally asks another question. And Hiei fucking answers again.

It’s like Kazuma’s fighting a losing battle here, but he can’t stop asking because these are the most normal conversations he’s ever had with the runt. Every time he stops by, Hiei gradually opens up about his work in Makai, the cities he has to pass through, the denizens he meets. And damn it all, Kazuma is actually interested in hearing what he has to say.

He likes when Hiei talks about the strange places he finds humans while on patrol – it was a bit of a shock to them all when the demon decided to retain his position, even after the three years were up, but it seemed that he liked the travel more than he disliked the work. The demons Hiei faces in Alaric when he’s not working is also a favorite topic. Due to the dissolution of the main territories all those years ago, Alaric, like Tourin and Gandara, was reduced to its capitol city and a decent amount of the surrounding land, but Mukuro still retained rulership over it, with Hiei as her second-in-command.

All types of demons have crawled out of the woodwork since then, salivating at a chance to challenge the rulers of the great capitols. The reward would be smaller, but to defeat a king would probably look impressive on a resume, wouldn’t it? Yusuke has a riot when he visits Makai and takes care of Tourin’s pile-up in a day.

Kazuma personally thinks that Hiei embellishes his own victories a bit, but he doesn’t call him out on it because, one, he doesn’t want to die, and two, he…actually likes hearing him talk.

Well, he doesn’t like hearing him talk, but it beats arguing. All the shouting really hurts his throat.

The work sessions have been going on since Kazuma started uni.

At first, one or two of his friends would come around to help him study, but he got into the swing of things pretty fast, so now his home is like a beacon for people who want to get some actual work done. Kurama retreats to the Kuwabara residence to work in peace when his subordinates are driving him up the wall. Yukina, who decided to take up school soon after Kazuma, comes over to ask for help whenever she feels discouraged by her homework. Occasionally, Koenma will drop in and claim a corner of the kitchen for himself and his mountain of paperwork. The snacks are usually gone by the time he leaves. Shizuru’s learned to keep some of them hidden.

Unfortunately, today is one of those days where it seems no work will be getting done.

 “It’s good that you two are getting along,” Yukina praises, balancing a pencil on the tip of her finger. “It’s taken a while to get there, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah, who knew that all we had to do was force them to share a room?” Yusuke agrees.

“Don’t put it like that, it sounds weird,” Kazuma sulks. “It just beats watching TV on breaks. All my favorite shows are between seasons.”

The sharp clackity-clack of Kurama’s laptop stopped twenty minutes ago. “Perhaps this will be what strengthens your friendship.”

“Yeah, you two were always our weak link in that department.”

Kazuma slams his hands on the table. “Say what? Okay, first off, lemme remind everyone that I was nothing but polite when we first met, and he had to start talking smack—”

“Yeah, yeah, so you’ve said.”

“Shut up, Urameshi, why’re you even here? This is supposed to be a work session!”

“I’m providing the catering,” Yusuke chuckles, waving his spatula. Whatever’s cooking in that pan smells good, they can’t deny. “I can take my food elsewhere if that’s what you want.”

“No, wait, I’m so hungry,” Yukina pleads.

“Don’t drive him away, Kuwabara,” Kurama chides.

“Yeah, don’t drive me away, Kuwabara.”

“Do your work! Kurama, that email should’ve been finished half an hour ago! Yukina, stop stalling, you barely halfway through your chem equations! As for you, Urameshi, that food better be damn good, or you’re banned!”

The cheery chorus of “yes, Mom” only serves to aggravate him further.

Yes, the situations are completely reversed nowadays.

Hiei pokes his head in. “You’re loud.”

“The hell are you looking at me for?! They’re the ones who’re talking! I’m trying to work!”

“Yes, but you’re the only one I can hear. Every sound that falls from your mouth pierces my eardrums. It’s an unnatural cruelty to mankind. I pity your species.”

“I’d cuss you out, but there’s a lady present.”

“Two,” Shizuru hollers from the living room.

“Oh, yeah? Where?”

As she stomps into the kitchen to beat his ass, the others insist that Hiei join them. Yusuke’s temptation of food wins him over, and he leans against the corner as another pointless conversation takes over again.

Kazuma is forced to serve cider. The demon stares at him the rest of the time, and he proceeds to get absolutely zero work done because of it.

 The staring thing? It doesn’t go away.

It weirds Kazuma out a little. Scratch that, a lot. Enough that he starts picking fights with Hiei again.

So much for strengthening friendship.

 It’s one of those days when Hiei decides to stay inside. And by inside, he means leave the balcony door wide open so a breeze can come through.

That “breeze” is fucking cold.

Kazuma huffs and puffs and tries to shut the door when he takes a break, but Hiei somehow manages to boot his ass back to his desk with a, “Do your work, clown.”

Then the arguing starts. Really, Kazuma is just hoping to annoy him enough to get him out of the room so he can shut the damn door and have some heat. He’s done it before, but it seems Hiei’s being especially stubborn today.

“—and I’m just saying that there’s no way those guys would let you get away with that shit. No way! I think they’d try to kill you in your sleep.”

“That’s where you went wrong. You tried to think.”

“You little runt! Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

“My subordinates can handle the human patrol.”

“Yeah, that’s not what I meant.” Kazuma throws down his pencil. “Isn’t Mukuro missing you? Thought you were warming her bed.” It’s an old dig, but it’ll do for now.

Ah, the death glare. Nearly there.

“I mean,” he presses on, “it just seems like you’ve been hanging out here a lot at the end of the day, when you used to spend all your time in Makai. What gives? Can’t keep up with her training? Or you can’t keep it up in her bed?” He makes the mistake of looking away as he considers what else to rib him with. “Real shame, too, that woman’s fierce—”

There’s a hand at his throat in one second, and in the next, Hiei knocks him the fuck out.

 Shizuru is shaking him.

His vision’s a little blurry when he sits up, but it gradually clears. His sister looks worried, a little bit scared, but most of all, furious. “What the hell happened?” she demands. Not even an “are you alright” or “should I call the doctor”. Good old Shizuru.

“Noth—” Holy shit, his throat hurts. He tries again. “Nothing? Was trying to get that dickhead out of my room. Guess I pushed the right button a little too hard. Stupid of me, huh?”

He laughs, but Shizuru’s eyes glint with a kind of anger that he shies away from until he realizes it’s not directed at him. She drags him to the mirror and he sees it.

The hideous bruise purpling around his throat. The unmistakable swelling at the corner of his temple. There’s even a little blood. One blow. Very nice.

“M’fine,” Kazuma says, even as Shizuru fetches the First Aid Kit. “Really.”

Shizuru mumbles something he doesn’t quite catch. When he asks her to repeat it, she snaps, “I don’t want him here if he’s going to do that kind of shit to you. You’re friends, but he needs to start acting like it. I don’t care if you get hurt in training—”

“Gee, thanks, sis—”

“I’m serious, Kazuma,” she hisses, pressing her thumbs to his neck. He recoils. It’s not the most pleasant sensation. Even worse, his sister’s eyes are sad. He hates it when her eyes are sad. “Just…please. Friends don’t do that to friends. Okay?”

Kazuma’s quiet. He looks at himself in the mirror. The bruise is ugly. Filled with killing intent. He shivers. “Okay.”

 November

No one, not even Kurama, hears from Hiei for a while. They do receive a missive from Mukuro though. She very bluntly tells them to send someone to take Hiei off her hands soon, because he’s practically killing himself with his training.

“He’s punishing himself,” the image says. “It’s depressing to watch. One of you better come get him, or I’m going to stop holding back and kick his ass into Ningenkai myself. Or not. I think that’s what he wants.”

Everyone’s eyes turn to Kazuma. He reflexively pulls up the scarf he’s been sporting indoors. They’ve all seen the bruise, and it has mostly faded, but Yusuke reaches over and yanks the scarf down anyway. Clucks his tongue. Nods.

“Keiko, watch the stand.”

His wife doesn’t even bat an eye. “Say hello to everyone over there for me.”

Botan and Kurama volunteer to go with, but he refuses. “Nah, it’s fine. We’re just gonna have a little talk.”

 He’s back in three days with a few bruises and a satisfied light in his eyes. He doesn’t answer anyone’s questions, just claps Kazuma on the shoulder and says, “Alright, it’s good.”

The fuck?

 Hiei still doesn’t come back.

 “It’s my fault,” Kazuma grumbles into his cappuccino. He and Kurama are at a nifty little café they discovered a couple months ago. It’s one of their favorite lunch spots now. “I get it, I mean, I wouldn’t like it if someone talked about Yukina that way, even though we’re not…you know.”

Kurama’s face is unreadable. “You need to understand that…Mukuro is a sensitive topic.”

“I’ve teased him about her before.”

“Yes, but you never teased him about sex.” He hesitates. “It’s not my place to say why, but…”

Great, well, he can only imagine what that means. Now he just feels like a dick. “Oh. Uh. Guess I should apologize if he ever comes back, huh.”

“Perhaps.” A pause. “But he should as well.”

The guilt gnaws at Kazuma for the rest of the day until he decides that he should be the bigger person, go to Hiei and apologize first. He stops by Yusuke’s and asks where he can find the demon. Yusuke has no idea; it took a while to track him down last time. They swing by Kurama’s apartment. He usually has accurate information on Hiei’s whereabouts.

The front door is ajar.

“You feel that?” Yusuke whispers.

“Uh-huh. Someone’s here with him. S-class, definitely.”

“It’s definitely not Hiei, is it.”

“Nope.”

They slip inside, ready for a fight. The front hall is clear, as is the living room.

There’s a thump from the bedroom. They creep over and hear muttered voices, more thumping. A grunt. Yusuke raises his finger and mouths a silent count.

They kick the door open. Their battle cries turn into screams.

 Everything makes sense now. This is all Kurama’s fault.

Yusuke keeps congratulating the fox. Kazuma feels like crying. “My fucking eyes.”

For the umpteenth time, Kurama apologizes and encourages him to drink the tea. “It will calm your nerves.”

“Will it bleach my brain?”

“Afraid not.”

Kazuma drinks it anyway. “That’s the guy you’ve been seeing?” He pauses and snorts. “Well, I guess he isn’t ‘seeing’ you at all, is he?”

“That’s very insensitive,” Kurama chides.

“Then why are you smiling?” Yusuke asks.

“Yomi and I are not seeing each other.” Kurama has already washed the same cup twice. “It’s just sex.”

“Yeah, we saw that.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You sure it’s just sex? You looked pretty cozy.”

Who knew he could turn as red his hair? “I—of course I’m sure! It’s a…a demon habit. With comrades-in-arms. It’s a way to…relax.”

Yusuke smiles coyly. “No kidding? You must’ve be pretty relaxed to pull off that position—”

Kurama throws the cup at him.

 There’s a lot of bad energy brewing out there. Kazuma doesn’t know what it is, but something’s getting closer. He considers calling Yusuke up, but decides against it. If it’s really big, that dumbass would sense it and call him.

Something drops down onto the balcony.

Kazuma throws open the door. “Oh. You look like shit.”

The last rays of sunlight disappear beneath the horizon.

He pushes Hiei’s arms aside with very little effort. “Wow, that’s a lot of blood.”

“No…you fool…”

Kazuma refrains from punching him. “Seriously? That’s the first thing you say? Why am I not surprised? Fine, you wanna be left alone so you can bleed out, okay, I can do that—”

“No…run…”

The sky is black.

Kazuma looks up and sees the myriad of demons lining the rooftops across the way.

“Give us the bastard and you may live, human.”

“Or die quickly, at least.”

“Yes, very quickly.”

Kazuma looks down at Hiei and pats his bruised cheeks. “You mean this jerk?”

The cacophony of agreement is loud.

“Yeah, how about hell no.”

Setting the boundaries of his territory is child’s play.

The demons howl and hiss and surge forward. The first ones to reach the barrier disintegrate on impact. The next wave is more cautious, but the second they brush the net, they meet the same fate.

“Hey,” Kazuma calls out as he helps his irritating guest to his feet, “let me know when you asshats learn how to travel between dimensions, okay?”

He amends the boundaries to block out the noise, then drags Hiei into the bathroom. He props him up against the wall and gets rid of his tattered shirt. “Ew. That is one nasty cut.”

“Since when…have you been able…to do that?” Hiei huffs, groping for his chest.

“Since my first year at uni,” Kazuma replies, locating the first aid kit and snagging the antiseptic. “Some assholes thought it would be funny to knock down one of my three-D wood models for class. They thought they were so great just because they came from some special private schools or somethin’. I taught them a lesson, then made sure no one could pull that kind of shit with my stuff again. Can’t touch what’s in another dimension if you can’t cut through space, ya know? It was kind of an accident, really. I don’t remember how I figured it out, but I don’t really do it much because it tires me out…you’re not even listening, are you.”

His eyes are closed, his breathing shallow.

“Hey, this’ll sting like a mother. Fair warning.”

He manages a derisive noise.

Kazuma starts dabbing.

When Hiei is all bandaged up and settled on the couch, and the freaks that were outside are either fried or gone, Kazuma apologizes.

“I shouldn’t’ve gone there with the, uh, sex comment. Mukuro’s a cool lady, really. I didn’t know that there was a…problem? I still don’t know, but you don’t have to tell me – and I know why you’ve been hanging here so much. I really know. Can’t be easy, coming back and getting an eyeful of that. I mean, you can chill here any time if you feel like it. Look, I’m sorry, and I have to do homework, so just…stop avoiding all of us? We kinda miss you around here, jerk.”

Hiei turns away from him.

 He’s gone in the morning. Not that Kazuma cares.

Then he starts to come back. Once or twice a week. Then a little more. Starts staying a little longer. It takes time for them to return to their “civil” conversations, but they get there.

It almost feels like it was before. But it’s not.

 December

The project isn’t due until a week after break, but hell, he wants to get a head start. It’s been his strategy ever since high school. Do homework early and have a cushion of time before the due date to figure out the really tough parts. He’s not worried. He’s almost done. Hell, he might even finish it tonight, if he stays up—

A hand touches his arm. Yukina. “If you don’t look like you’re having fun, Kurama’s going to do something drastic, I think.”

Kazuma grins guiltily. “Sorry. I was just thinking about—”

“School?” Yukina’s laugh is like bells. “Leave that behind, you’re on break.”

He hugs her, relenting. “Alright, alright, I’ll dance in a little while. Hey, could you go keep my sister occupied for a little while? She’s had three drinks in the same hour and I think she’s looking for a fourth.”

They cobbled together a Christmas party this year just for the heck of it. Kurama offered up a floor of his office building, and somehow got saddled with the rest of the work: food, music, drinks. It turns out spectacular, not that anyone expected anything less.

A lot of friends from Makai who wanted to observe the human holiday drop by. It’s nice, catching up with them. As for drinks, there’s a designated table and it’s every man for himself. There’s dancing too – fox boy has surprisingly decent taste in music. Kazuma and Yusuke make fools of themselves in the best of ways, but after a few more drinks, they actually improve. Yukina sways with Kazuma like they were never apart, but it aches a little when he breaks away to grab them some punch.

Kazuma drinks a lot of punch.

Everything goes to shit when Hiei shows up. It turns out that Yusuke is really good at blackmail.

Kazuma doesn’t remember how the fight starts, but he does remember Hiei making a nasty comment about how ridiculous Kazuma looked jumping around Yukina like a lovesick dog, which prompts Kazuma to remind him – it comes out as a little screech – that he and Yukina dated, so, “Joke’s on you!”

There’s an eerie pause, and then Hiei says, with quiet disbelief. “For your sake, I pray you’re joking.”

Kazuma deflates a little. Talking about this always depresses him—or maybe it’s the punch. What is in this drink? “No. We dated, don’t you remember? I mean, we broke up. Mutually. I still love her, but we’re better as friends. It’s good. I guess. I dunno.”

Hiei looks murderous. “When…?”

“After the second Demon World Tournament? For almost a year or something. It was a while ago. You sure you don’t remember?”

“Why the fuck would I be asking if I knew?”

The harsh snap of his words sobers Kazuma up. “Oh, yeah. I guess you wouldn’t know, since you didn’t visit much. God, sorry, but if you’d come by to see your friends once in a while, you’d have known.” He peers at his glass. “The fuck is in this drink?”

Yusuke’s over by the punch bowl, looking every bit the imp he is when someone grabs a cup. Kazuma’s willing to bet the house that the little punk spiked the bowl. He spots Yukina across the room. She’s chatting with Shizuru and some guy with a nice face. Daichi, wasn’t it?

He almost misses Hiei’s furious remark: “You slept with her?”

What a curveball. “Uh—uh, I—I mean, yes, but that’s none of your business—”

“You put your filthy hands on her?”

“Filthy—” His face heats up. “What, so I’m not good enough for her now?”

“Of course you aren’t,” Hiei snaps. “You pathetic humans with your greedy appetites and your dirty hands will never be fit to mate with—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, who said anything about mating? We just went out for a while! That’s what humans do! And you know what, fuck you, Hiei! Every time you start saying that stupid shit about humans and how weak and unworthy we are makes me think that your memory is shorter than you. In case you forgot, I’m the one that’s stood by you guys in every major battle, and I’m still breathing—”

“I’m sure the universe will correct that mistake soon enough—”

“You pretentious little—”

“Mistletoooe,” Kido sings, dancing up behind them. He bumps into Kazuma playfully as he winds up for a punch. Kazuma stumbles forward.

Fuck.

It’s not really a kiss. He and Hiei knock foreheads together, their lips mash together, and their teeth clack because their mouths were open to deliver more harsh words.

Hiei punches him hard enough to knock him on his ass. When Kazuma looks up again, all he can see are Yukina’s pretty red eyes. God, he misses her, but not as much as when they parted. He’s in a good place now, he really is.

His tunnel vision clears.

Fuckin’ hell.

Kazuma stares and stares at those red eyes and breathes, “Holy crap. Yukina. And you. You and Yukina.”

He doesn’t think he’s ever seen Hiei grow so pale. Then again, maybe he’s imagining it, because the demon is gone.

 In the still, snowy night, Kazuma trudges into the park.

“Well, fuck you too!” he shouts into the silence. “I don’t see why you’re having a hissy fit. No one told me for, what, eight years! And they just let me dance around like a fool and you knew and you wouldn’t even so much as threaten me – and I said all that romantic shit to her in front of you like an ass and you never once ran me through or burnt me to a crisp – what the fuck, was it because you all thought I was too stupid to see it? Because I was! Happy? I was too stupid for any of you to bother to tell me—”

He chokes on his words and takes a step back. He’s supposed to be railing on Hiei, not himself. He closes his eyes, hopes it’ll be different, but it isn’t. He still sees them in his head, side by side, brother and sister.

Blinking back tears, he sets one of the plastic containers he’s carrying on a bench.

“Whatever. Yusuke says you’re a dick for not saying goodbye to him before you left. There’s some leftovers in there. Kurama told me to bring them to you, so. Here. Merry freakin’ Christmas.”

He turns and nearly walks into a blade.

“Would you like me to run you through now, or later?”

Kazuma doesn’t answer.

“No?” The sword nicks his neck. “I will only warn you once, Kuwabara—”

Kazuma grabs the blade and doesn’t flinch when he feels it bite through his glove, into his flesh. “What? You think I’m gonna go tell her? Think I didn’t pick up on that too tonight? If you’d wanted her to know, you’d’ve told her.” He lets go. Blood runs down the sword and stains the snow. “I won’t say anything,” he mutters bitterly. “Hell, she probably already knows. She’s smarter than you give her credit for. If you hung around her a little more, you’d know that.”

Hiei lets him pass without a word.

Kazuma gets home and immediately wants to bang his head against the wall because god damn it, he just ruined his favorite gloves, and he injured his dominant hand. So much for finishing his project tonight. Now it’ll take most of break.

He decides to give it a try anyway. After some hasty first aid and a cup of coffee, he gets to work.

A few hours later, he’s thinking of calling it a night when the balcony door slides open. Kazuma warily tracks Hiei’s approach.

The demon reaches out, grips Kazuma’s injured hand, flips it palm up. Places a finger to the bandage, ignores his pained hiss, and watches the bloody spots grow bigger.

“Sloppy,” is all he remarks. He presses harder.

Kazuma senses a spill of youki, and then he feels his flesh knitting together. When Hiei takes away his finger, he hastily removes the bandages and finds the cut gone.

It seems Yukina is not the only sibling with healing powers.

“Thanks,” Kazuma mutters.

Hiei grunts and sways drowsily towards the balcony.

Kazuma touches his wrist. “I dunno what you had to drink, but I know Yusuke spiked the punch with some strong stuff. Friends don’t let friends drink and…fly, or whatever it is you do, ya bat, so just…I mean, you can stay the night, man. I’ll even sleep on the floor.”

He leaves him to decide and goes to the bathroom to get ready for bed. When he returns to his room, the lights are off and there’s a lump under the covers. He flicks his desk lamp back on to put his work away, then drags some extra blankets and a pillow from the closet and fixes them on the floor. Before he turns off the light, he pauses and looks at Hiei.

What a childlike face.

Lights out.

 The unfortunate not-kiss is not spoken of. Ever. In fact, it’s completely forgotten.

 January

The New Year is ushered in with drinks with friends. And a fight with Hiei, but it’s still with a friend, so that’s…okay.

 “Why architecture?”

Kazuma stops tapping his pencil and spins to face him. He was due for a break anyway. “It’s cool.”

Hiei looks unimpressed.

“No, seriously! Here, look—” Kazuma scrambles out of his chair and starts pointing to the different pictures tacked to his walls. For nearly an hour, he goes on about the three principles – durability, utility, beauty – then goes into eras and styles, and then points out the styles of past eras that accompany structures found in Reikai and Makai, and how they could be made to complement one another and the structures of Ningenkai—

He catches himself. “I…sorry. I’m just…rambling.”

Hiei tilts his head and asks patiently, “Why do you do it?”

Kazuma starts. “Uh. Well.” He allows his reiki to collect in his fingers and holds them up when they glow. “I’ve got a pretty good grip on my abilities now. I…here, watch.” He concentrates and drags a finger through the air. A rift opens up and they both look. The Parthenon in Athens sits just beyond the breach. Kazuma makes another, and this time opens a path to a view of a sprawling building in Reikai. Another rift; a twisted structure in Makai.

“I figured out how to do it in high school. It was an accident, but I couldn’t help but look and think, how fuckin’ cool is that? They were made by humans, by demons, by spirits. I learned that I have the power to look, and one day I thought, I don’t just want to look. I want to create. So…” He shrugs. “Sad thing is, my professors don’t get it. They don’t know what I can do. They’ve never seen the other realms. They can’t appreciate how amazing those buildings are. Some of them think my concepts are strange. They don’t understand where I’m drawing inspiration from. They don’t think those buildings will ever find a place in this realm. I’d…like to prove them wrong someday.”

Hiei doesn’t say anything for such a long time that Kazuma thinks the demon finds his answer too stupid to be worthy of a response. However, just as he closes the rifts, Hiei comments, “Bridging the gap by way of design. An unorthodox, but…noble pursuit.”

Kazuma’s breath hitches with delight and he smiles.

 About a week later, Kazuma comes home and finds a pile of coaster-sized disks scattered across his desk. When he touches one, it lights up and a three-D model of a bizarre building pops up. Bewildered, yet fascinated, he taps the others and several more strange structures crop up—one of them looks familiar. Yes, he’s seen that one before.

In Makai.

Immediately, he knows that these images must be of buildings in Demon World. Nothing else could explain their unique shapes. He fiddles with the holograms and discovers that he can zoom in, change angles, even look inside. He ponders who gave these to him for a whole five seconds before Hiei appears on the balcony.

“How was patrol?”

“Immensely unsatisfying.”

Kazuma looks at the glowing disks littering his workspace and asks, “Did you bring these back for me?”

“I despise cameras,” comes the roundabout reply, which pretty much means yes.

Kazuma makes room on his shelves for every single disk.

 February

The completely forgotten not-kiss is only remembered because Kazuma catches Kurama and Yomi for a second time. He will never sit in that office chair again.

When he sees Hiei a few days later, he completely intends to bitch to him about the unfortunate sighting, until he remembers the not-kiss out of nowhere. It’s ridiculous, because there’s really no fucking connection to that and the atrocity he witnessed. Like the idiot he is, he mentions that to Hiei instead.

“Hey, do you remember when Kido knocked me into you at the Christmas party?”

“Unfortunately.”

“You, uh, you don’t feel like, I don’t know, smashing my face in whenever I get too close to you, do you?”

“No more than usual.”

“Oh.”

“Would you like me to?”

“No, nope, that’s fine.” He hesitates. “Should you be feeling like you want to do that more than usual?”

Ruby eyes lift from the book they were so engrossed in. “It was an ill-fated accident. I understand that you humans place a ridiculous amount of meaning into every frivolous, intimate action, but that is not how demons work.” He smirks. “Has our brief mistake been bothering you, Kuwabara?”

“No, actually,” Kazuma admits honestly, a little surprised. “It’s just weird that it isn’t. I think it’s because we’re good enough friends to let it go – don’t give me that look, we are friends. Wish you’d stop denying it after all these years.”

The comment goes ignored. “Why are you bringing this up now?”

He relays his traumatic experience and is rewarded with the smallest of sympathetic nods.

It’s a sad day when the only thing they have in common is walking in on one of their closest friends doing the nasty.

 March

“And that’s why you’re all coming with,” Yusuke finishes, slapping Koenma’s hand when he reaches for his bowl. He’s withholding food from all of them until they agree to go to—

“An amusement park? In this weather?” Kurama mulls over the idea. “If we are attentive to the weather report, we might go on a day when it’s warm. I’d be happy to join you.” He gets his ramen and moves away before it can be taken back.

“I’ve got too much to do,” Koenma whines. “You think ruling the Spirit World is a joke? I can’t just take a day off like that—”

“Oh, but sir, you do it all the time,” Botan chimes in. “Don’t worry, I’ll help Ayame clear your schedule.” She receives her bowl.

Kazuma shrugs. “I got nothing better to do. A break’ll be good.” Food. Yes.

Koenma whines, but the detective is a rock. Shizuru and Atsuko are already eating outside on the curb. Yusuke’s not stupid enough to deprive them.

Finally, Koenma agrees to come and is rewarded.

“Done, milady,” Yusuke says to his wife. “We’re all going.”

Keiko grins. “Oh, no, you’re not done. You’re forgetting one person.”

“Who?”

“Hiei.”

Protests arise; hands go on guard in case Yusuke decides to snatch back their meals. They all know that’s an impossible task. Kurama even voices his uncertainty.

Yusuke just shrugs. “I’ll get him to come.”

 Hiei shows up on the planned date. In normal human clothes, no less. He refuses to say a word and looks everywhere but at them, but there he is, in the bitter flesh. Yusuke offers his arm to Keiko, who takes it and rewards him with a sweet kiss. First the Christmas party, now this? He must have some really good dirt on the shrimp to force him into the daylight.

So they go to an amusement park.

Twenty minutes in, Kazuma picks a fight with Hiei out of habit, but steers away from mentioning his garb because an unbidden thought crosses his mind: human clothes suit him. Of course, when they hit the rollercoasters, Kazuma breaks out the height jokes, and gets slapped around a bit. Yeah, he probably deserved that.

It’s fast passes all around. They jump to the front of each line, eat themselves sick on turkey legs and ice cream – Koenma is the only one who ends up barfing in a garbage can, so kudos to the rest of them – go see the water shows, visit the petting zoo. Hiei digs his heels in on this one, but Yusuke just leans down and whispered something in his ear. Hiei moves.

Kazuma wishes he had Kurama’s hearing, because the fox’s eyes are wide.

A baby goat keeps head-butting Hiei’s legs in an attempt to wring some affection out of him, and the ponies try to chew on the hem of his shirt. Kazuma decides to test his limits by dumping a bunny in his arms and backing up. Hiei looks like he’s thinking of twenty different ways to eviscerate him, but he can’t move because he doesn’t know what the fuck to do with a fucking bunny.

Botan takes pictures.

It’s brilliant.

They separate for a bit and meet up at the next ride. As they move forward with the fast pass line, Kazuma suddenly pulls up short. Yusuke runs into him. “What’s the hold-up?”

Kazuma turns to Koenma. Grits out, “When did he get here?”

Koenma looks up from his cotton candy; his lips tighten sympathetically. “We don’t have any work to occupy him right now. He is free to do as he pleases as long as he does not break the parameters.”

Kazuma bites his cheek, nods stiffly. “Right. I’m gonna sit this ride out, guys, sorry.” He steps out of line. All his friends can see Shizuru and Sakyo up ahead. His sister looks so happy to see him, Sakyo even more so at seeing her. That’s what pisses Kazuma off. That bastard has no right to look so genuinely content, not with his sister.

Kazuma drops down on a bench and sulks.

A moment later, an ice cream cone is thrust in front of his face.

“The detective insisted,” Hiei grits out. He’s holding a second one, probably forced on him.

The offering is accepted. “Thanks.”

After a moment, Hiei sits down. They eat ice cream, watch the people go by. Mostly, Kazuma watches his sister and her murderous boyfriend until they board the ride.

“You know, it’s not even that I’m worried that she’s in danger, because I know she’s not,” Kazuma mutters. “She could kick his ass ten times to Sunday.”

Hiei sighs in a put-upon manner. “Then what’s the problem?”

“I…I don’t understand how she could be with someone who has put so much blood on his hands, just for the sake of money. He’s tortured demons, your own kind, Hiei, just because he could. He’s so far from any kind of redemption Koenma talks about, can’t she see that? I don’t care what that pacifier-head says! He’s a bad person. He didn’t deserve to be brought back, and he doesn’t deserve to be with her.”

When he gets no response, he glances over to make sure the demon hasn’t ditched him. No, he’s still there, expression unreadable. At length, he inquires, “Have you asked her why?”

“Yeah, but we always end up fighting about it.”

“And how many fights have you instigated with your temper?”

“I—that’s not the point!”

“Perhaps you should do yourself a favor and simply listen when she speaks next time, rather than open your mouth and spew objections.”

Their friends are calling them, so he can’t retort. There are other things to do, food to eat, teacups to ride, fish to feed, whatever.

Hiei neatly finishes his ice cream and heads for the group.

Kazuma huffs quietly. Fine. He’ll listen to her next time. But that doesn’t mean he has to like it.

 April

It’s pouring, and Kazuma feels like he weighs a ton. This is a great start to his senior year.

“Damn, Hiei, why can’t you go back to being a midget? Your growth spurt’s really starting to catch up—ow, ow, ow, ear!”

“I’ll rip it off next time,” the demon mutters, removing his vice-like grip. “Can’t you go any faster?”

“Screw you! Why do I always get saddled with carrying you? Kurama—”

Kurama puts distance between them in case Kazuma tries to throw Hiei’s limp body his way. “You’re such a good friend, Kuwabara.”

“I hate you.”

Yusuke picks his ears clean. “Shaddup, you’re in better condition than the rest of us!”

“The hell I am!” His bloodied clothes are a testament.

“Well, I have holes in me!” Yusuke jabs a finger to his torso, where there are indeed a few holes. A parting gift from their latest case.

Kazuma hikes Hiei up a little higher on his back and sneers, “You’ll close up by tomorrow. Me? It’ll take weeks if someone doesn’t heal me! Take him!”

“My, would you look at the time?” Kurama ducks down the next street. “I really should be getting home. Kuwabara, lunch tomorrow if you’re up to it?”

“Fuck you!” he howls. Then, as an afterthought, “Alright, but you’re buying!”

Yusuke doesn’t even try to smooth things over. He just dips out. “Later!”

“Assholes,” Kazuma mutters. “Can you believe them?”

No answer. He notes the chilly nose tucked into the crook of his neck, the slow, warm breaths ghosting over his wet skin. Asleep. Great.

He lets him rest.

When they get home, he kicks off his shoes with great difficulty and struggles upstairs to the bathroom. Shizuru’s out – three guesses where. The thought that she’s hanging out with that snake still fills him with an urge to smash something, but the feeling fades. The last talk he’d had with her about this had been…good.

“Hey. Get up.” Stopped in front of the bathroom door, he shakes Hiei awake. “C’mon, you gotta shower and get dry. You’ll catch a cold.”

“Fool.” Hiei slides down from his back. “Demons are not susceptible to your pathetic diseases.”

“Where are you going?”

“Couch.”

“Like hell I’m letting you get blood on my furniture!”

“Then I will leave—”

“Oh, no, you don’t!” He drags him into the bathroom. “Kurama would skin me alive if I let you go. So strip!”

Hiei looks at him like he’s just suggested something depraved.

“What—stop it, I’m serious! Dirty clothes in the hamper.” He starts filling the tub and points to the shower. “Get clean, and I’ll be back with clothes and towels. When you’re done, you can get in the tub.”

He wipes up the trail of water they left behind, and digs around in his dresser until he finds a large Gai Tech T-shirt and a pair of boxers. He considers snagging some of his sister’s clothes – they’d fit the shrimp better – but he feels that both parties would kill him if they found out.

“You done yet?” He pushes into the bathroom without knocking. Again, Hiei looks scandalized; he’s still very much clothed. “Quit making that face and lose the rags. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before – unless eyes are gonna start popping open all over your skin, in which case, I’ll go.”

“Cretin,” Hiei spits.

“God, you’re a wuss. I had to deal with a whole locker room of naked guys before uni, every year. I’ve seen it all.” He shoves him aside so he can turn on the shower. “Stop the tub, will ya?”

“Don’t order me around.” Hiei does it anyway, and then just stands there.

“What? You know how to clean up. I need your clothes so I can throw them in the wash. C’mon.” When Hiei makes no move to disrobe, Kazuma squints at him. “What, don’t want a filthy human lookin’ at ya? I’ll go, just give me your clothes. Though maybe we should just toss them out. They’re ruined. Hurry up, your arms keep dripping blood, it’ll stain the tile if we don’t…oh.”

Of course.

Kazuma finds a pair of scissors. “Uh. Does it matter? You still want to save them? I’m sure someone could sew it up later.”

“No.”

“You sure?”

“Just get on with it.”

He cuts away the shirt and tosses it out, but doesn’t touch the pants. Hiei stiffly works on those himself until he’s standing in the nude, chin raised in a defiant challenge.

“How high can you lift your arms?”

He reluctantly demonstrates. Not very far. Hoo boy.

“Alright, let’s get this out of the way: I won’t say anything. I know you won’t say anything. So how about you just let me help you out this once, okay? You’ll feel better after you’re clean.”

After a tense minute, Hiei sits down on the stool with his back to Kazuma. Waits.

Kazuma doesn’t bother undressing. His clothes are already soaked, and honestly, he doesn’t want Hiei to start bitching about indecency and his filthy humanity. He grabs the showerhead and gets to work. The bleeding has stopped thanks to that convenient demonic speed healing, but the wounds are ugly and raw and in a strange stage. Hiei doesn’t so much as flinch as he cleans off the gashes.

When the silence becomes unbearable, Kazuma starts talking about school. As long as he runs his mouth, he can hold off the awkwardness.

“—and then he goes, ‘Well, I’d still like to see some new concepts by the end of the day tomorrow’, and I just wanted to punch his lights out! But I pulled an all-nighter, and it was worth it to see that smug bastard go all white the next day. He started stammering and tried to tell me it still wasn’t good, but one of the other professors called him out on it.”

“…Then I assume your designs were worthy of a passing grade?” That’s the first comment he’s made in a while.

Kazuma pauses, soapy fingers buried in his black hair. “Well, duh. Not to mention all the professors started saying that was a dick move, and then the department head came out of his office, and then he had to give me an A. Although I still say my original designs were just fine. Tell ya what, I’ll show you later and you let me know.”

He tilts Hiei’s head back, slowly massaging the shampoo into the roots. The first wash was kind of bloody; this time around, the suds aren’t turning red. After another rinse, he prods Hiei over to the tub. “Water’s still warm so go on in. Feel free to heat it up or whatever though.”

He starts stripping as Hiei gets into the tub.

“What are you doing?”

“Showering, you jerk. Don’t give me that look. Turn the other way if it bothers you enough, though I have it on good authority that I am one fine specimen.”

Hiei snorts, but doesn’t bother moving. By the time Kazuma’s done, he’s half asleep.

“Hey, munchkin, scooch.”

The tub’s not really meant for two people, but he just wants a nice soak before he heads off to bed. Hiei has made the water hot, just shy of scalding, but it feels good once he’s finally settled in. He’s stopped bleeding, at least. His wounds will hurt like hell in the morning, but they aren’t too deep.

He has to pinch himself so he doesn’t fall asleep. He has the time to, seeing how it’s the weekend, but he’s guessing it’s nearly three in the morning and a bed sounds like a great idea. He gives himself ten minutes, and then it’s up and at ’em. Hiei refuses to have his wounds bandaged, but after he’s dressed – swimming in the T-shirt – he waits for Kazuma finish fixing himself up.

“Alright. Food. Hey, no, stay awake, we’re doing this the right way!”

He fixes them some orange juice and a little plate of leftovers from yesterday’s dinner.

“Geez, you gotta take care of yourself.”

After that, teeth.

“Spare toothbrush in the cabinet.”

And then, the tricky part.

“Let it never be said that I am not a noble man,” Kazuma grumbles, jerking a thumb to the bed. “Go ahead, I’ll take the floor.”

“I’m not a maiden whose virtue is in peril.” Sleepy and still sassy. Great.

Kazuma fixes him with a flat look. “Fine. Just don’t go crying to Kurama in the morning. Blame it on exhaustion – hey, you punk!”

Hiei looks like he’s already out.

With a lot of prodding, Kazuma clambers in beside him and settle the covers over them both. “Night.”

He’s pretty sure Hiei says, “Piss off”.

 He wakes up in the middle of the night and everything hurts. But more importantly, he really has to pee.

When he slides back into bed, he and the dark lump gravitate closer together until his nose is buried in hair. It smells like his shampoo.

On some level, he knows it’s Hiei beside him, but fuck it, he’s tired, and he doesn’t see any problem with comrades-in-arms sharing a bed. Still.

“Scooch over,” he murmurs.

“You,” Hiei grunts back.

Neither of them bother.

 “Did you two fight last night?” Kurama asks as casually as possible.

Kazuma nearly spits out his cappuccino. “Uh. No. I don’t think so. Why? Have you seen him? Has he said anything? I didn’t see him this morning.”

Emerald eyes switch from nonchalant curiosity to tell me. “What did you do?”

“Why’s everything gotta be my fault?”

“When is everything not your fault?” Yusuke says through a mouthful of burger.

“And why the hell is he here?”

“Kurama offered to buy lunch last night.”

“For me! Buy for me!”

“Oh, c’mon, don’t be stingy! After all I’ve done for you?”

“If I may interject? I never said I’d buy. I was volunteered. And please stop stealing my fries, Yusuke. I will get you your own.”

“So you are buying.”

A long-suffering sigh makes it past his lips. “Yes. Kuwabara? What happened?”

“Nothing! He was just. Kinda. I dunno, gone in the morning. Nothing weird happened, we didn’t even fight, I swear! Seriously, have you seen him?”

“Maybe I have.” He glances at their unexpected lunch guest like he’s debating whether or not to say something. “I suppose I should ask…why he smelled so strongly of you.”

An odd hacking sound catches their attention. Seems Yusuke’s choking on stolen fries. “Kuwa—ack—Kuwabara, are you two—”

“No, I lent him my clothes because his were shredded! Shaddup! No!”

His friends lean in.

“Was that all that happened?” Kurama asks.

Good grief.

 Later in the night, he wakes up to steel at his throat. He is thoroughly unimpressed.

“Either try a new scare tactic or get out. I have school tomorrow.”

Hiei sheathes his sword. “I’m shocked. When did you grow a pair?”

“When higher education called and told me to get serious.” He rolls over and shuts his eyes. “Good night.”

“You had lunch with—”

“Didn’t say anything.”

“I know.”

Kazuma sits up. “Then why are you here?”

The answer comes, but slowly. “I am…still recovering. And Kurama has a guest.”

Kazuma turns down the edge of the covers. “Hurry up, get in, I need to sleep.”

Hiei hesitates.

“Okay, whatever. Do or don’t, it’s your choice.” He gets a little bitchy if he doesn’t get enough sleep for school.

He feels Hiei climb in a moment later.

And then his sister comes home. With her own guest.

Kazuma’s got an ear pressed to the door in a flash. He knows Shizuru knows he’s awake. He knows she can sense the hostile reiki pooling in his fingertips. He stays where he is though.

“Why don’t you go?” Hiei asks.

Kazuma looks back – god damn it, the shrimp’s hogging all the blankets again – and grumbles, “Because we talked, and I decided that I’d let them…work things out.”

He hears Sakyo’s stupid voice, but can’t quite make out the words. All he knows is that Shizuru’s laughing and it’s such a happy sound that he wants to scream.

“You’re obviously distressed.”

“Shut up,” he hisses.

“If it bothers you so much, why not go down there and throw him out? You could certainly give him a few bruises for good measure.”

Kazuma rounds on him. “You think I don’t know that? Think I don’t want to?”

“Then why don’t you?’

“Because I love my sister, that’s why. And that stupid talk you convinced me to have with her made me realize that as long as there’s remorse, there can be redemption. Shizuru’s been talking to Koenma a lot, going over Sakyo’s file. I don’t believe it, but apparently the guy regrets some shit and really cares for her, blah, blah, blah, whatever, even though they knew each other for, what, a few hours?”

Another bout of laughter from downstairs. What is his life?

“So?”

“So I straight up told her that he’s not worthy of her. And she straight up told me that she didn’t care. So I figured…it doesn’t matter if I think he’s worthy of Shizuru or not. It doesn’t even matter if he thinks he’s worthy or not. She determines if he is or isn’t. And I guess she thinks he is, though she’s completely wrong, so now they’re trying to work things out and I really don’t want to think about this right now, I have school tomorrow. Move over.”

 Hiei starts taking to Kazuma’s bed when he returns from Makai. Like nothing’s wrong.

Nothing is wrong, but there are only so many times Kazuma can tell himself that before he stops believing it.

At least he’s wise enough to not give Hiei any shit about it.

 Kazuma’s advisor pulls him aside to discuss an opportunity for graduating seniors only. She explains, with no small amount of excitement, that AIA’s Japan chapter will be hosting a competition in February. The top ten participants will be granted an all-expenses paid trip to America, where they will have the opportunity of attending the AIA Convention next summer.

“Furthermore,” she says – Kazuma’s already speechless – “those ten students will get to present their résumés and portfolios to some of the world’s leading architecture firms. Those who go almost always come back with a job.”

He finds his voice, eyes blazing with determination. “What do I have to do to go?”

“The architecture department must determine three candidates in November to send to Tokyo for the main event. You need to prepare a portfolio, add some new concepts that your professors haven’t seen yet, and start planning a city, I think. I believe the city portion is what you will be presenting in Tokyo if you make it. That’s all I know. The guidelines are in the informational packet, which I will be sending you. Today.” She smiles brightly. “Kuwabara, I believe you can go all the way to America.”

It sounds too good to be true. He hesitates. Some of his professors really don’t like his concepts. “Too bizarre,” they’ve said, “way outside the box.”

“Kuwabara,” his advisor says firmly, as though sensing his thoughts. “You can do this.”

The time for doubt is over. He grins. “I can do this.”

 “Empty your bank accounts, bitches! We’re goin’ out tonight!”

Yusuke’s ability to get people to do what he wants will never cease to amaze Kazuma. Guy’s got charisma pouring out of his ass, he’ll give him that. Their friends, crowded by the little ramen cart for a get-together, seem more than willing to follow him.

“Out” happens to be a fancy restaurant downtown. Seems the owner stopped by the cart for lunch, liked what he tasted, and invited Yusuke to dine at his establishment.

“He wants to talk shop,” Yusuke says quietly to Kazuma as he wipes down the counter. “Thinks I could expand if I wanted to. Get an actual building.”

“Well, of course you can expand, dumbass. I don’t see why you haven’t done it yet. Hell, the Yukimuras’ve been telling you that you could take over their restaurant.”

“Yeah, but I want my own place. Keiko and I could expand the menu, ya know? We could make something great.”

“I know. So do it. You’ll be awesome at it.”

In a moment of quiet hesitation, Yusuke puts down the cloth. “You really think so?”

Kazuma jabs him with his chopsticks. “’Course I do. This place is already a hotspot for humans and demons, and not just because of the detective agency. If you expand, you’ll get more customers, and you could take on more cases too.” He grins. “Maybe I’ll even design the restaurant—”

Yusuke nods. “Okay.”

“—just kidding, I know you won’t—wait, what?”

“Sure, why not? It’s your degree. You know more about building stuff than me.”

“O-okay.”

His best friend exhales heartily. “Great. As long as you and Keiko back me, I know it’ll all work out. Hey, you’re not crying, are you?”

“No. Shut up. You’re crying. Go away, let me eat.”

When Kazuma gets home, he finds Hiei in the backyard, practicing sword forms. The demon moves through each stance fluidly, the pristine blade flashing in the sunlight. It’s mesmerizing, as hypnotizing as the Jagan.

“Stop gawking and speak.”

He hadn’t realized the form had come to an end. “Oh. Uh, we’re all going out tonight to check out this restaurant? It’s important to Urameshi. You wanna come with?”

Hiei glances sideways at him, contemplating. “Dress code?”

Wow, not even a flat-out refusal. Progress. “I dunno, something nice?”

“Hm.” He waves him away.

Miffed, Kazuma goes in and starts his homework.

Hiei’s nowhere to be found when he heads to Yusuke’s apartment to meet up with the others. Apparently there’s going to be a limo.

“Hey, you clean up nice,” Yusuke greets him with. “It’s a good look on ya. I’d say the shirt draws the eyes away from your ugly mug.”

Kazuma gets him in a headlock and they struggle against each other until Keiko scolds them both about wrinkling their nice clothes.

“My, my,” Kurama says softly. “Who managed to convince him to come?”

They all turn.

Hiei.

Yusuke whistles. “I take back my comment. He cleans up nicer than you! And his face actually works with the outfit.”

“Well, there’s no comparison if he’s my competition,” Hiei says loftily, joining up with them.

“The hell’s that supposed to mean, shrimp?!”

“Exactly what it means, clown.”

The limo arrives, so there’s no time to duke it out. Kazuma pointedly ignores the demon and moves towards the front to chat with Yusuke about some concepts he’d been mulling over this afternoon. Still, his eyes are drawn to the rear of the stretch, where Hiei and Kurama are deep in conversation. The ladies’ chatter covers it up, but if he could just catch a snippet…

Yusuke jabs him. “What’s up?”

“Nothing.” He tears his gaze away. Fuckin’ midget looks really good in a suit. “Anyway, I was thinking…”

The restaurant they pull up to, Lantern Delights, is gorgeous. Kazuma’s in love. He drinks in the interior décor, the high ceilings, the arched doorways, the suave lighting; ideas, ideas, ideas. He takes a few pictures on his phone and Yusuke whispers, “Nerd.”

They are seated and order some of the most delicious appetizers they’ve ever tasted. The good food sparks better moods, and with it, happy conversation. There’s a lot of sharing and tasting, lots of laughter. Their main meals, Botan remarks dreamily, will surely be heavenly. It’s practically perfect.

The only problem is that somehow, Hiei ended up seated next to Kazuma. Eight other people he could sit by, but lucky number nine is this guy. Kazuma’s palms start sweating like crazy. God, what is wrong with him?

“I keep wanting to reach for my sword,” Hiei says when their main dishes arrive. “There are no enemies here. Your heartbeat is unnerving. Stop it.”

He splutters. “I can’t just stop it! I’ll die, dumbass!”

“Why is that a problem?”

“You little punk!” The familiar banter is comforting. He feels a little cooler now and his heart doesn’t feel like it’s about to leap into his throat. “Wait, which appetizer did you order?”

Hiei lifts the spring roll up. On impulse, Kazuma leans over and steals a bite. He nearly chokes on it when he realizes what he’s done. However, Hiei has already finishing off the other half and is neatly licking his fingers clean.

“N-not bad,” Kazuma stammers, praying for death.

“Needs more shrimp,” comes the absentminded comment.

He makes a mad scramble for his chopsticks. “I mean, here, you can try one of mine! It’s just gyoza but it has beef and—and a lot of shrimp!”

To his dismay – why the fuck – Hiei uses his own utensils to steal a dumpling.

Kazuma misses his comment because Botan is asking how school is going, and here’s a topic he can talk for days about without the side effects of sweaty palms and an erratic heartbeat. He jumps on it and occupies himself for a good ten minutes. Eventually, he directs the conversation to Koenma, who starts in on how it’s rumored that the upcoming Demon World Tournament will be preceded by festivities and an opening ceremony.

Kazuma turns his attention to the other half of the table, where Keiko, Yukina, and Atsuko are talking about…boys. Yeah, that’s nothing he wants to listen to. He dives back into his meal, having barely tasted it before he’d gotten distracted by the chatter. “Oh, god, that’s good.”

“Is it?” a hearty voice laughs. “I’m glad you think so highly of it.” They all turn and see the owner, Mr. Tsukuda. After a round of introductions, he invites them to tour the kitchens. Yusuke and Keiko go immediately, and Kurama and Botan decide to join them.

Kazuma would rather eat. The others get the hint and let him chow down in peace, carrying on with their own conversations. When he comes to a stopping point, he risks a glance at Hiei and finds that he’s still eating.

“You know,” he ventures, “we can take it to go if you can’t finish it. We’ve still got dessert to get through.”

“Mind your own business.”

“Short guys like you have small stomachs.”

“I’ll put a hole in yours.”

“I’m just sayin’.”

Hiei glances sharply at him. “Just saying you want the leftovers for yourself?”

“Nah…why? You offering?”

Another forkful disappears into an angry-looking mouth.

Kazuma snorts. He doesn’t know what was wrong with him earlier. He’s losing it for sure. “I’m kidding – hold up, you have some sauce…”

He wipes away the smudge at the corner of Hiei’s mouth; his thumb grazes soft lips along the way and suddenly it all floods back god fucking damn it. He maintains his cool long enough to remove the sauce and then, just because he’s an idiot, he sticks his thumb in his mouth and licks it clean because clearly the universe didn’t bless him with enough brain cells when he was conceived.

Hiei raises an eyebrow and returns to his meal.

Kazuma hates himself. A lot. He hates himself a little bit less when the others return from the tour and dessert rolls around, because they all taste each other’s and it is delicious. No one asks Hiei for a bite. They’d rather keep their tongues. Yusuke just has to push it though.

“C’mon, just a taste for your magnificent leader?”

“Magnificent? You poor, deluded fool.”

The others laugh, and Yusuke demands that Kazuma steal a bite in revenge. He doesn’t have to. Hiei offers up a piece on his own fork, and Kazuma, like the idiot he is, opens his mouth and fucking eats it.

The others fall silent.

His palms are sweating again. Fuuuck.

Kurama is the one who leaps to his aid with a not-so-subtle change in topic about Yusuke’s plans for his ramen cart.

Hiei eats like nothing happened.

Kazuma envies him.

Despite his mortifying embarrassment, the dinner comes to a close with everyone in high spirits – and there was barely any alcohol involved. They’re dropped back off at the apartment and go their separate ways. Hiei disappears, of course. Kazuma and Shizuru wander home with doggie bags under their arms.

By the time Kazuma’s ready for bed, Hiei’s already there, asleep. Kazuma figures, what the hell, he’s made a fool of himself plenty of times tonight. What’s one more time?

He slips in under the covers and, without much hesitation, slings an arm over the still form. He doesn’t lose a finger or feel a bone break. All he feels are deep, slow breaths and the unconscious shift of a hand against his.

Not a bad night.

 May

Coming back from lunch with his ass of a best friend, Kazuma pulls up short in front of a local flower shop and stares at the bouquets. He feels something scratching at the back of his mind, trying to get him to realize…

“Whatcha doing?” Yusuke asks, slinging an arm over his shoulder. “Got a pretty lady in mind? Yukina, maybe?”

“No, we aren’t…together.”

It clicks.

“Holy fuckin’ shit!”

“What? What?”

“Are we dating?!”

“The fuck? I’m married, doofus.”

He smacks him good for that. “No, you idiot! Me and…”

“Yukina?”

He smacks him again. “No!”

 He buys flowers.

Hiei isn’t even home.

 It’s been a while since he’s smoked.

“Alright, what gives?” Yusuke asks, smacking his arm. They’re camped out at the park, hogging the swings – not that there’s anyone to hog them from. The sun’s almost gone, its last remaining rays stretching their shadows long across the dirt. “Did you drag me away from work to sit in silence?”

Kazuma blows smoke in his face out of spite. “Shut up, no one was there anyway. Keiko’s got it handled.”

Yusuke inhales the fumes, unperturbed. “That’s not the point. What’s wrong?”

Kazuma takes another drag. Exhales. “I bought flowers.”

“Yeah, I saw that.”

“For…someone.”

“Kinda figured.”

“Someone you know.”

“You sure you’re not going after Yukina again? Or maybe it’s Botan?”

He doesn’t react to the ribbing. “For a guy.”

Yusuke’s swing squeals to a halt. “…Look, I know Kurama gets mistaken for a girl, but he doesn’t like to be teased—”

“They weren’t for Kurama, you ass—”

“Oh, an appreciation gift for Koenma! That’s nice, poor guy works to hard—”

“Urameshi, I’m being serious—”

Yusuke cuffs him over the head, knocking the cigarette out of his mouth. “Shaddup, dumbass, I know you have the hots for our little three-eyed ball of sunshine.”

Something cold curls in the pit of Kazuma’s stomach, like a snake waiting to crawl up and out of his throat.

Yusuke hits him again. “Seriously? You thought you couldn’t tell me? Okay, so you’re having a crisis. What’s wrong? You freakin’ out because he’s a guy, or because he’s Hiei?”

It’s just like the punk to drag him along without giving him time to adjust. Like ripping a Band-Aid off. Kazuma loves this guy. But he shakes his head, eyes wide. “Uh, I don’t…”

“So, because it’s Hiei.”

“I didn’t even say anything yet!”

“I bet the guy part didn’t even occur to you, did it?”

“Fuck you!”

“Cheating already? Tsk, tsk, what would Hiei say?”

Kazuma lunges for him. They scuffle in the dirt. When Yusuke pins him a few minutes later, he rolls off and they lie there, looking up at the sky. The sun’s gone, but the colors cast above are magnificent.

“You already knew?”

Yusuke shrugs. “Kinda. Don’t think I didn’t see you two at the restaurant.”

“Fuck.”

“That’s the next step. But don’t put out until the third date.”

“I’m going to kill you.”

“Plus, you smell like each other a lot lately. I almost thought you were already…you know, but the scent isn’t like…that.”

Sometimes he forgets that his jerk of a best friend is a half-breed. “That’s…he just spends the night once in a while.”

“Huh.”

They are quiet. The sky is melting from dandelion to pink to sweet purple to indigo.

Then Yusuke says simply, “Just go for it.” He looks at him. “Doesn’t matter what happens, I’ll have your back, always.”

What a beautiful sky.

 Hiei’s gone for a couple more days. The flowers are dying. Kazuma feels like he might be dying too.

And then Hiei comes back and it’s like nothing ever happened. Nothing did happen, but he’s driving himself in circles, wondering if he’s reading too much into this.

In the middle of the night, he remembers what Hiei said about the triviality of intimate contact with demons.

The flowers go in the trash.

 “Ow. I need to reconsider our friendship, Urameshi.”

From where his face is planted in the dirt, Yusuke coughs, “You’re the one who asked me to bring you in on all my big cases.”

“That doesn’t explain why you had to drag the rest of us into your mess,” Hiei jeers. “Growing soft in your old age, detective?”

“I’d kick your ass if I could feel my legs.”

Kurama pries Kazuma off the ground and steadies him. “Easy. I know I heard your ribs breaking.”

Kazuma groans. “All in a day’s work. Fuck. I think I’ll cut class tomorrow.”

That gets Yusuke’s attention. “You sure you can afford to do that?”

Please. He’s running all As and one B so far this semester. One day off won’t tank him. Plus, it’ll give him a three-day weekend. “Yeah.”

“You should all take the day off,” Koenma advises, surveying the damage. Behind them, Botan comforts the missing demon children with hushed promises that they’ll be returned home soon. “Good work.”

“No thanks to you,” Yusuke drawls playfully from the ground, tugging at the hem of Koenma’s robes. “Where were you?”

“Tending to the hostages,” Koenma says archly, kicking his hand away. “Brat.”

“Love you too!” he cackles as the young king goes to collect the children. “Alright, someone help me up. I wanna go home.”

They head home, battered and bruised, clinging to Puu’s back. When they touch down in front of Yusuke’s apartment – a regular regrouping place for them now – their fearless leader stumbles into Keiko’s waiting arms. She yells at him a little, but says that there’s already a hot bath waiting and some food on the table when he’s ready.

“Let’s get you home,” Kurama says, drawing Kazuma up by the waist. He’s suddenly tugged in the opposite direction onto a lower shoulder.

“You’re in a worse state than he is,” Hiei drawls, nodding accusingly at Kurama’s leg. “Don’t think I didn’t see the blow you were dealt there. How much pain are you blocking out?”

He has the decency to look abashed. “I was hoping no one noticed.”

“You’d drop this gangly buffoon.” Hiei shifts Kazuma’s weight for a more manageable grip. “He’s suffered enough brain damage as is. Go home.”

Kazuma squawks in protest and begs Kurama not to go, but it seems that the fox finds Hiei’s logic sound. He bids them a good night and disappears around the corner. Kazuma slumps against his new travel companion and flaps a hand at Puu. The beast coos and launches off into the darkness, probably back to the estate.

They make for home.

The blood loss is really getting to Kazuma, because his head lists sideways until it’s buried in Hiei’s hair. He mumbles, “You really have gotten taller.”

“You’re begging for pain.”

“M’just saying. Good for you. I’m not making a height joke.”

“I should hope not.”

“I can’t stoop that low anyway.”

He gets dumped on his ass for that.

After a little crawling and a lot of begging, Hiei mercifully drags him back to his feet and they reach the house. When they get in, Shizuru bolts out into the hall, a little flushed. “Kazuma, you’re back! Oh, and Hiei!”

“Mostly in one piece,” he groans, prodding his ribs. “Fuckin’ ow. We closed the case, finally. What’s wrong with you? You getting sick?”

“No, I—”

Sakyo steps out into the hall.

A burst of resentment rushes through his veins, leaving him cold, but he notes the respectful distance Sakyo keeps between himself and Shizuru. At least he’s smart enough not to provoke him. After a few seconds of scrutiny, he coughs. “I’m going to bed, okay, sis?”

“You’re hurt,” Shizuru says quietly.

“I’ll be fine.”

And then that slimy rat has to step forward and ask, “Do you need help with your wounds?”

Kazuma nearly chokes on his own tongue. He leans against the bannister and exhales harshly. “No.” And then, as he puts his foot on the first step, he grits out, “Thanks.”

Hiei’s watching him from the top of the stairs. He brushes past him and ducks into the bathroom where he fills the tub, strips, and runs the shower until it’s scalding.

The door opens and closes behind him. “I’m amazed you didn’t kill him.”

“I’m being nice for Shizuru.” He hears Hiei undressing. “But yeah, I really wanted to kill him.”

“He seemed quite cautious.”

“Yeah, he should be.” Hiei lays a hand on his arm, a silent demand to move over. He complies and grabs the soap. “’Cause if he opens his mouth wrong, then we’re gonna have a problem.”

For a while, all the only sound that fills their ears is running water and the scrub of sponges. Kazuma doesn’t think when he reaches out to wash Hiei’s back. Hiei takes it in stride and leans back into the touch. When he’s clean and rinsed, he kicks Kazuma’s legs until he sits on the stool so he can return the favor.

There’s a knock on the door. “Kazuma, I’m going out.”

He sighs. “Okay. Please be safe, sis.”

“Of course, you dope.”

She leaves. He hears Sakyo say something to her downstairs. She laughs. Their voices growing fainter until the front door opens and shuts.

“Admirable patience,” Hiei comments. He drags the sponge gently down Kazuma’s side, mindful of his ribs.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m a saint.”

“He offered you his aid.”

Just thinking about it makes his skin crawl. “Don’t remind me. Having him patch me up – fuck, no. I’d be sick. Too much blood on his hands. I’d have to bathe for days.”

The gentle scrubbing at his back disappears. The sponge is dumped in his lap. He turns and watches Hiei get into the tub.

“What gives?”

“You’re no child, you can wash yourself.”

Confused, Kazuma finishes up and climbs in beside Hiei, who moves over as far as humanly possible.

The self-consciousness hits Kazuma like a brick to the face, and a wave of shame follows. Undoubtedly, Hiei has come to his senses and realized how unusual this whole situation is. Still, that doesn’t explain the blatant hostility. He puzzles over it and doesn’t even notice Hiei getting out until the door slams shut. Mortified, he dunks his head under the water and wonders if he could just drown himself, take the easy way out.

He doesn’t leave the bathroom until he’s bandaged, brushed, and in his pajamas. Eikichi nearly trips him in the hall – probably punishing him, for what, he doesn’t know.

The bedroom is empty.

Morosely, he slides under the covers and goes over it again. They’d been washing, talking about Sakyo…that was it. Just Sakyo and his offer to help. And Kazuma had spoken the truth, that Sakyo was a monster with blood on his hands, that he wouldn’t want those filthy, blood-soaked hands touching him—

Everything comes to a grinding halt.

“Fuck.”

 He’s almost out when he hears the sliding door open and close. There are no footsteps, but then the covers lift and there is warmth beside him – yet not touching him. They always end up touching somehow, brushing arms and legs, but Hiei’s always gone in the morning so it doesn’t matter. Now, there’s space. It feels like a chasm.

Kazuma rolls over and slides an arm around Hiei’s waist. Cautiously. Hiei allows it, but keeps his hands away. Kazuma fumbles around in the dark until he’s caught one, and then boldly presses it to his mouth in a blatant declaration.

Hiei tears away from him, but Kazuma snags his arm. “Hiei—”

He gets an elbow to the ribs. He doubles over with a groan, clutching his side. So much for that.

Hands cover his, and a hoarse “you fool” is breathed in his ear. The pain fades away. Actually, no, it comes back and sears his innards like a torch, and then there’s nothing but soreness. He stretches. Seems his ribs are fixed.

“Go to sleep,” Hiei orders, rising from the bed.

“Don’t go.”

He stops at the door.

“I just…you can stay. You can stay.”

When Hiei doesn’t budge, Kazuma decides he’s done all he can. He lies back down.

The bed dips a moment later.

He makes room, but tugs Hiei closer when he’s settled. There’s no resistance.

He presses his lips to Hiei’s temple and murmurs, “You’re nothing like him.”

 Kazuma goes to school the next day. No sense in staying home if his ribs don’t stab his vital organs with every step. He’s still sore as hell though. A lot of people ask if he’s alright. Bike accident, he responds.

He eats lunch alone in a little shop on campus, working on his laptop to finish up some models that will be due next Monday. His phone rings.

“Hello?”

“You went to school.” Kurama doesn’t sound pleased.

In the background, Yusuke’s shouting, “I told you that reckless fucker would go!”

“Uh, yeah. I was feeling better?”

“You should be resting.”

“Geez, Mom, sorry. I’ll go straight home after.”

“It’s bad for your ribs.”

“My ribs are fine! Hiei—” Fuck.

He can hear snickering.

“…Urameshi told you.” That conversation at the park was supposed to be private.

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Put him on the phone—”

“What – oi, asshole, I didn’t say anything—”

“Kuwabara, he did not say anything to me. I already knew. Through Hiei.”

“…That’s even worse!”

“It’s fair. Yusuke is your confidant. I am Hiei’s. I was only calling to check up on you. I’ll let you get back to whatever you’re doing.”

Kazuma glares out the window at nothing in particular. “Right. Thanks. Tell Urameshi I hope he chokes on his lunch.”

“Hey, I heard that you little—”

He hangs up. Nothing is sacred in this world. Nothing.

 At night, the mattress dips.

He rolls over, finds a pair of warmer hands, and holds on.

They lay there, breathing, waiting. And then Hiei says, “You ridiculous fool. You know nothing of what I’ve done.”

“I can guess.”

“My hands are stained with blood as much as his are.”

“Doesn’t matter to me.”

“You said yourself that you wouldn’t want such hands touching you—”

Kazuma grips him tight. “I’m gonna say this once: I was talking about Sakyo, and Sakyo only. Guy’s a dick, and you know it. And I don’t care if your hands are as bloody as his. You’re nothing like him. You’re here with us. You fight with us, for us. You care about us, even if you don’t like to show it. We’re your friends.”

“Your point?”

He shrugs. “Don’t have one. I think the fact that you don’t think you should be…here, is because you regret some of the bad stuff you’ve done. So, you know, it’s okay then. Where there’s remorse, there’s redemption, or something like that.”

“What a simplistically idiotic philosophy.”

“You’re nothing like him, ya hear me?”

“If you insist.”

“You’re nothing like him,” Kazuma repeats, shifting closer.

Hiei’s voice grows quiet. “I heard you.”

“You’re nothing like him,” Kazuma says against his temple.

“Fool.”

“You’re nothing like him.”

Hiei tilts his head up. Says quietly, “I know.”

Then they’re kissing. Kazuma’s mouth feels like it’s tingling everywhere. He drags Hiei on top of him. He wants to taste his mouth. Hiei’s lips part willingly at the behest of his tongue. The demon tastes like a fire smells, but without the ash, and maybe like how the air smells before a thunderstorm hits, before lighting strikes. It’s nothing like kissing Yukina, it’s better—

Kazuma jerks back with a disgusted noise. “Oh, god, no—”

His arms are suddenly empty.

He barely manages to snag Hiei’s shirt before he can bolt off into the night. “Oh my god, just wait, please, it’s not what you think, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Don’t patronize me.”

“Shrimp, seriously, I didn’t—”

“If it disgusts you so much,” Hiei says, barely audible, “we may put it behind us. You will not lose my support in battle, if that’s what you fear.”

Kazuma’s grip falters. Honestly, that never crossed his mind. “Well, I figured that.” When those tense shoulders are little more relaxed, he continues, “I didn’t mean it was gross. The k-kiss thing. Uh. It’s just that I thought that…well, when we were…you know. I thought about…someone…”

Hiei glowers at him. “If you are committed to another—”

“No! There’s no one! I just thought that kissing you was better than kissing Yukina, and I really don’t wanna think about kissing your sister when I’m kissing you because that’s just fucking weird!”

There it is. All out in the open.

Hiei’s eyes are wide, really wide – actually, that wide-eyed look is really endearing and Kazuma kind of wants to kiss him now, but he’s not sure if he’ll get pummeled or not, so—

The demon starts laughing.

Kazuma would tell him it’s not funny, but he’s too distracted by—

Hiei yanks him in by the collar. “You know, I can’t think of a single moment I’ve envied her. Until now.”

He exhales, relieved. “Oh, yeah? What’re you gonna do about it?”

There is a strange tenderness in Hiei’s eyes that Kazuma hopes he’s not misreading. “I suppose I’ll have to make sure you only think of me.”

That sounds…pretty good.

 He’s not sure how Yusuke and Kurama know, but they know. Nosy bastards.

 He talks with his department advisor about the November presentation and shows him his materials. Every tick from the clock on the wall echoes in Kazuma’s ears as he waits for feedback. Finally, the man shuts the binder and smiles. “You need to keep going, but I think you’ve got something here.”

That’s good enough for him.

 Hiei visits him on campus. In civvies. He looks fucking good. Kazuma tells him as much.

“I certainly hope so,” Hiei sniffs, tugging at his coat. “Those harpies treated me like a doll.”

“Harpies…?”

“Botan. Keiko. They’re lucky I can’t kill humans.” He casts a critical eye on his surroundings. “This is where you are educated.”

“Yeah. Pretty sweet, right? I had to work my ass off to get in, but it’s been worth it.”

“Costs more than your whole life is worth, I’m assuming.”

“Yeah – hey!”

Hiei chuckles and walks away.

Somehow, Kazuma doesn’t mind trailing behind him. The view is nice.

“How do you manage to pay for it all?”

He trips. “Eh?”

The demon slows his pace so he can catch up. “It must be expensive. How do you pay?”

“Well, Shizuru helps, but most of it comes out of my own pocket. I work a lot of odd jobs during vacations, and I made Urameshi promise to make me partner on his big cases so I can get a cut of the pay. I take some of the smaller ones too.”

“How fortunate.”

“Yeah, I guess.” He looks at his companion, takes in the nice way he’s dressed, and realizes aloud, “Did you want to go to lunch with me?

The lack of an answer speaks for itself.

“Because I have a break after my next class.”

Hiei looks the other way. “…If you can pull yourself away for a little while.”

His heart lightens. “It’s a date.”

 June

They all take a trip to Genkai’s estate. The weather is turning nice and they have access to a beach, so damn it, Yusuke cries, they’re going. They start the drive in the grey light of dawn; by the time they’re all there, the sun is up and it’s a full house. Kido, Kaito and Yanagisawa beat them by a whole two minutes. Murota arrives after. Chu, Rinku, Jin, and the rest of their friends from Makai trickle in one by one. Some of the newer demons and spirits who have made a home in the surrounding lands come by to meet the owners of the property.

When all the introductions and greetings are through, they head down to the beach. The sun burns bright overhead, despite the shade of the forestry, so it’s a relief to break from the tree line and hit the cool water.

They camp out on the beach that night; they’ve brought tents, sleeping bags, portable cookware, and coolers stuffed with food. They set up a bonfire, and gradually make more. There’s so many of them. Even more woodland residents wander in from the forest, lured by the smell of good food and the sound of better company. It’s a time to catch up on news from all three realms with their friends. Someone breaks out the alcohol and the cameras. Tonight will probably be blackmail-worthy.

Kazuma drags his eyes away from the dancing lights. Hiei stands alone further down the shore, water surging around his ankles. Kazuma joins him. “Nice night, huh?”

Hiei lifts an eyebrow. “It won’t be so nice for them in the morning when they remember how foolish they were tonight.”

Kazuma looks back. Someone has cranked up the portable radio, and now there’s dancing. “…Nah, it’ll be fun.”

“You should go join them.” Hiei heads for the woods.

“What—hey, wait! Where’re you going?”

“Back to the house. I’ll get no rest out here.”

“But camping out here will be fun!”

“I’m more eager to try for a bed; one that will be infinitely more comfortable than that slab you rest on in your house.”

“Hey!”

Hiei’s soft laughter reaches his ears.

Kazuma scrambles after him. “I’ll—I’ll go with you!”

“Wouldn’t you rather go play in the light?”

“You gonna come back with me?”

“What do you think?”

“Then just let me take you there. ’Sides, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I let you go back alone? I mean, I know you could slice and dice anything to bits out here, but still, it’s common courtesy, don’t ya think…? Why’re you looking at me funny?”

Hiei slides his gaze elsewhere. “Does that infantile title apply to me as well?”

Kazuma tries to remember what he said. “Oh. Uh. Uh, you don’t—we don’t have to, uh, label it or anything, we could just be…well, I don’t know what we’d be—”

“Save your brain cells and keep it as you said,” comes the huffy reply. Kazuma drops back a few paces in surprise. He notices how Hiei stands a little taller, and thinks that if they had some light, he’d see a nice, rosy pink dusting his face.

When they reach the front porch, a terrible thought strikes Kazuma: they’re alone.

Now, it’s not really terrible, they’ve been alone before, but here and now? Something in the air is different, and it’s suddenly nerve-wracking. He hasn’t even given this much thought; back home, they share a bed, they kiss, they bathe together, they even go on dates, but here in isolation—

“You coming?” Hiei asks, holding the door open.

Suddenly, the house looms like a death sentence; its darkness is stifling.

Kazuma stiffly jerks a thumb towards the beach. “I think I’ll be, uh. Getting back. Before all the good drinks are gone.”

Hiei nods and shuts the door behind him.

Numbly, Kazuma goes back to the beach. The drunken revelry is in full force. The bonfires burn higher. A familiar song comes on the radio that has every human wailing the lyrics in a manner that is rough on the ears, but good for the heart. To cheer himself up, he joins in the caterwauling for a couple songs until his throat demands refreshments.

“Alright, what happened?” Yusuke asks.

“What?”

“Thought you were going up there to bang.”

“I’d bash your face in, but you’re drunk.”

“I’m not, actually. Not yet. Most of the alcohol’s burned out of me. Chu says he’s gonna break out the heavy stuff in a bit. He guarantees it’ll keep any S-class sloshed until the morning.”

“Okay.” Kazuma hits him. “You’re vulgar.”

“Seriously, what gives!” Yusuke rubs his head. “I saw you two leave. Don’t tell me you finished that fast—”

“You lookin’ for a beating, punk?!” Kazuma cries, waving his juice threateningly.

Yusuke drags him over to the tree line and makes him sit. “Listen, I really wanna get drunk, but I can’t do that until I know that my best buddy’s getting some tonight.”

“I hope you die of alcohol poisoning.”

“Did you guys fight?”

Kazuma remains stubbornly quiet until the juice is all gone. Yusuke shows no signs of budging. He huffs. “No.”

“So what’s wrong?”

“…You remember when I told you about…this, and you asked me if I was freaking out because Hiei’s a guy?”

“Yeah. You were just freaking because Hiei’s Hiei.”

“Yeah. Well, not anymore.”

“Not…oh.”

“I’ve only ever…you know. With girls.”

Yusuke gives him an unimpressed look. “You think I knew what I was doing when I got together with Keiko?”

“Probably. Some of the guys kinda thought you were a manslut on the down-low.”

“What?” Yusuke pauses. “That’s flattering. But nope, sorry, that girl’s the only one for me.” He hops up and struts back to the party.

“Hey, wait! What the hell, you can’t just leave me hanging like that!”

Yusuke beckons him closer and says quietly, “It’s sex. It’ll just come naturally. And if you start freaking out, just remember that you’re not the only one with a ‘first time’ card. It’ll be his first time with you.”

That is…very reassuring.

Yusuke gives him an encouraging nudge and makes a beeline towards Chu, who is brandishing a big bottle of god knows what.

Kazuma turns his eyes upward until they land on the house. It doesn’t look so scary anymore.

 The darkness of the house isn’t stifling anymore. Perhaps it never really was.

He heads upstairs and steps out on the balcony. He walks around it until he spots the beach. The fires seem impossibly bright. The laughter that drifts up puts him at ease.

“I thought you went back to drink.”

He looks over. Hiei’s leaning against the railing, the moonlight making his shadow spill sideways until it touches Kazuma’s feet.

“I did.”

Hiei closes his eyes and tilts his head back. Listening. “You don’t reek of alcohol.”

“Yeah, well. When I got back, they were starting in on the heavy stuff, and I didn’t feel like it much anymore. Stuck with juice.”

“At least you know you won’t be making an ass out of yourself tonight.”

Kazuma closes the distance between them. “I might.”

He slips his hand round Hiei’s waist and pulls him in.

“Bold,” the demon murmurs before their lips meet.

Kissing Hiei is a new experience every time; the way his mouth opens and accepts him like he’s coming home, the way the slick of their tongues warms his whole body, the way Hiei’s canines nip sharply at his lips in challenge, the way he moans.

They seem to have the same idea when they draw away, tugging their shirts off and tossing them aside. Hiei reaches up, drags him back down for another kiss, absolutely filthy, and keeps dragging him down until they hit the floor. Kazuma pulls back and looks down.

Hiei’s doing that wide-eyed, endearing thing with his face. His lips are swollen and his breath is coming in short pants, as though he’s just come out of battle. The moonlight is strong enough to show the color in his cheeks. Kazuma was right; that rosy dust is beautiful.

“Are you just going to stare?” His voice, so soft. Urging.

Kazuma kisses him again, covers his body with his, presses a leg between his, and feels a heat there that says he is wanted. He grinds down. The approving groan sends shivers up his spine.

“I—I don’t,” he says breathlessly against his lips, “I’ve never—with a—”

The cool wood meets his bare back. Hiei divests him of his belt, his pants, his boxers—

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Kazuma’s hands come down to cover himself. “That’s—uh—”

Hiei fixes him with a piercing look. “Why are you embarrassed?”

“I—I’m not, I just, I’ve never—”

Hiei drags his hands out of the way and pins them above his head. “Do not be ashamed of yourself.”

“I’m…not.”

“You are. You are embarrassed to be exposed to me.” Vibrant red eyes drag slowly over his form, savoring every inch. Wanting every inch. “Do not be ashamed. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Not with me.” Very slowly, he releases Kazuma’s hands and dips his head to press a kiss to his chest. His ribs. His navel.

Down, down his mouth goes, and yet misses the target area. He teases, breathes hot air across the juncture where hip and leg meet, scrapes his teeth across the inside of Kazuma’s thigh. Kazuma’s cock is weeping precum; he’s never been this hard in his life, not for any woman, and he has a feeling that he will never be this hard for anyone ever again.

He has never begged for sex, but he does now, begs with a broken voice and a hitching gasp: “Please.”

A tongue laves over his slit, taking the pearly drops away.

“Fuckin’—”

Hiei buries his face in his thigh and murmurs, “Did you hear me?”

“Yes, yes, I heard—”

Slowly, torturously, he laves lazily at Kazuma’s balls, barely grazing his shaft with his tongue in the process. “No shame. Not with me.”

“No shame,” Kazuma whimpers, pleads. “Never with you, oh, god, Hiei—”

Hiei swallows his cock. Kazuma bucks into the scorching heat and hits the back of Hiei’s throat. His hips are pinned down by inhuman strength, and Hiei proceeds to torment and reward him with his wondrous mouth.

Through the lusty haze, Kazuma can hear the noises he makes. The obscene noises he falls in love with. And Hiei sounds pleased as he sucks his cock loudly, slurps his way down to the base and bobs his head, and the fucking pressure makes Kazuma throw back his head and hit it against the floor because this is Hiei, Wielder of the Jagan Eye, Master of the Darkness, sucking him off because he wants to, and Kazuma thinks for a moment that he can’t breathe because when Hiei pulls back to look at his handiwork, his mouth looks so thoroughly used that there was never a more beautiful sight.

Panting slightly, Hiei slides a hand over Kazuma’s cheek and pauses to press a finger to his lips. Keeps pressing until Kazuma opens and takes one, two, three in and sucks them, tries to imitate that thing the demon did with his tongue, that wonderful thing. He doesn’t care that he’s sloppy. He knows what’s coming, and they have nothing else to use but the saliva between them, but he’s not afraid of the pain. He coats Hiei’s fingers until it’s enough, and then the first digit is pressing at his entrance.

The stretch is uncomfortable, the faint burn a promise, but Hiei puts his mouth back on his cock and all is forgotten until the second finger.

“Relax,” Hiei says somewhere around his hip. “We needn’t rush to the end. Enjoy the journey.” He scissors his fingers and laps at the base of Kazuma’s dick until he’s a moaning mess. “You see?”

Kazuma hums in agreement, but god, he wants to come.

Hiei is unusually gentle; the press of his mouth makes Kazuma melt, and the quiet “very good” makes him feel like he’s the most amazing person in the world, even though he’s just lying there. Hiei’s fingers suddenly curl and press right there.

“Oh, fuck me.”

Through bleary vision, he can see Hiei’s proud smirk, and the demon strokes him again. Takes Kazuma back into his mouth and works him over, hits that spot over and over again and doesn’t care when Kazuma’s breathless warning is lost in a cry, and then Kazuma comes hard.

Hiei coughs and pulls off to watch. Thick, pearly ropes splash onto Kazuma’s heaving stomach; his balls clench as he milks every last drop.

“Do you see?” Hiei asks. He’s got come dripping down his chin and he looks like a vision.

“No shame,” Kazuma sighs, and is rewarded with a third finger.

Hiei stretches him carefully, taking care to brush his abused prostate when he can until Kazuma begs, “Please, just put it in me, hurry up—”

Hiei pulls out and works his pants down. The loss leaves Kazuma aching, but it’s worth it to watch the demon drag his fingers through Kazuma’s come and coat himself with it. He devours the sight of the demon’s cock. He’s seen it before – probably more times than is appropriate for people who weren’t dating then – but never has he seen it so flushed and aroused. He momentarily doubts that it will fit, and he clenches up again until he realizes that Hiei is stroking his hip with his thumb.

A sign of reassurance. Of patience.

It becomes crystal clear to him: there is something genuine between them. Whatever Kurama said about casual sex being a demon thing must only apply to him; the fox was embarrassed, so of course he had to say something to fend off prying questions. And when Hiei spoke of the insignificance of the not-kiss (who are they kidding, it was definitely a kiss), perhaps he meant it at the time, but Kazuma knows him now, and what he sees in his eyes calms his heart. This isn’t casual. This isn’t insignificant. This is real. This can become something wonderful.

Kazuma looks at Hiei’s length again and relaxes. New ideas swim in his head, lacking fear of pain, full of possibilities. He starts to say something before clamming up.

“What?” Hiei inquires softly.

No shame, Kazuma remembers. He stammers, “I want—I want to – damn it, I want to put my mouth on your dick, okay?”

Has he ever seen the man look so pleased? Hiei kisses the corner of Kazuma’s mouth. “Next time,” he promises. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah,” he murmurs, barely managing to lift his arms and wrap them around Hiei’s neck. God, he feels so boneless. “Please. Do it. I want…”

Hiei lines up and nudges the entrance. The stretch is undeniably uncomfortable, but Kazuma does his best to relax. A moment later, the head pops through. This burn is nothing like the fingers. It’s worse. All the prep in the world probably couldn’t make this first time hurt less, not without proper lube. Hiei remains a statue against him so he can adjust. A drop of sweat makes its way down his face; this isn’t easy for him either, but he’s restraining himself. For Kazuma.

Kazuma thinks words that shouldn’t be thought so early on. He banishes them by burying his face in Hiei’s neck and mumbling, “Okay.”

“Are you sure?”

“Fuckin’ sure, just move.”

Hiei huffs at his stubbornness, but slowly slides home. When he bottoms out, he pauses again, which Kazuma is grateful for because fuck it hurts.

“Shall I stop?”

He shakes his head and grits, “Just…wait.”

Hiei agrees quietly and kisses him in the space between. The breeze barely cools their heated skin, but it brings noise from the beach far below. They pay it no mind.

Kazuma thinks that maybe this is torture for Hiei too. A kind of sweet purgatory. “Okay. Okay.”

Hiei doesn’t stop to ask if he’s sure. He pulls out half way and slides back in. Kazuma groans. Yeah, this doesn’t make the burn any better. It’s slick, but the stretch is something he needs to get used to. He won’t ask him to wait though, not again. He just wants to feel.

A slow pace is set. Hiei exhales noisily above him and grips his hips.

“You can—go faster,” Kazuma suggests. They’re beyond courtesies now, he knows it. If he says go faster, Hiei will go faster.

And he does. Stops with the shallow thrusts, starts pushing deep. He hikes Kazuma’s legs around his waist, shifting the angle and there.

The sound is punched out of Kazuma’s stomach as Hiei hits his prostate, and keeps hitting it; the demon goes faster, faster, until the sounds of the night and their friends on the beach no longer exist and it’s just mingled breaths and skin slapping against skin – filthy and beautiful and perfect.

Kazuma catches his second wind quickly after that. He reaches down to stroke himself and braces himself with his other hand because he’s pretty sure he’s being shoved inch by inch along the smooth wood of the balcony. Someone’s babbling. It’s him, of course it’s him, but he can’t help the broken phrases and low moans that fall from his mouth like jewels.

“God, yes, feels so good, you’re fuckin’ amazing—please, Hiei, harder—yeah, harder, keep going, I’m almost there—”

And Hiei, suave bastard that he is, says breathlessly, but seamlessly, “I wish you could see yourself like this.” Then he moans and starts to pull out like he’s going to leave, but Kazuma wraps his legs tighter and holds him there.

“It’s okay—s’fine, in me, it’s okay—”

So Hiei stays like he belongs right between his legs, and after a few more thrusts, his hips stutter, and he comes deep inside Kazuma because that is where he fucking belongs. He hunches over, reaches between them to help Kazuma jerk off. Kazuma’s second orgasm of the night is better than before because now he has Hiei coming hotly inside him, and he will not be giving this feeling up anytime soon.

The stars above blur together for a while.

They come down after a long, blissful moment. Hiei pulls out slowly – Kazuma whines at the loss – and uses his trembling arms to lower himself to the floor. Kazuma’s legs fall away without prompt. Exhausted, he slides his arms around Hiei and pulls him closer until they’re sharing body heat, despite the warm summer night.

Hiei mumbles something about cleaning up, but Kazuma doesn’t give a rat’s ass about that. He just wants to hold him for now. Just for a little while. So he does.

 They wake up when the summer breeze turns chilly. Down on the beach, the fires have burned low, but Hiei says that everyone’s still there, just sleeping.

They stumble inside to wash up. Kazuma runs a wet rag over the balcony floor. Leave no evidence. They are nearly dead to the world when they fall into the same bed. Yet somehow, they manage to find their way into each other’s arms before clocking out.

 Kazuma wakes up with a sore ass and an empty stomach.

Hiei’s gone.

He’s not really surprised. The guy never stays until morning back home. Why should this be any different?

No, it should be different. Last night was different. He’d thought that maybe…well, maybe he was wrong.

He showers, dresses, and heads downstairs.

Hiei is waiting for him with a plate of food, fresh from the beach camp.

Kazuma grins. Not wrong, then.

They have a quiet meal in the kitchen and, after they’ve brushed their teeth, he sucks Hiei off against the bathroom door.

It’s sloppy and he has no idea what he’s doing, but he tries to imitate what he remembers from last night. If the noises Hiei makes are anything to go by, he’d say he’s doing alright for his first try.

He doesn’t pull off when Hiei warns him – call it curiosity – and ends up with a mouthful of bitter-tasting spunk that he automatically spits out. Hiei, the little bastard, has the audacity to laugh, even as he slumps against the wood, his pretty red eyes fluttering shut.

What a nice weekend.

 They kind of fuck like bunnies after that. Kazuma thinks it’s worth the lewd comments Yusuke makes every fucking time he sees him.

At least, he tells himself it’s worth it. Some days though, murder comes to mind. Very bloody murder.

His shitty best friend is smart enough to refrain from joking in front of Hiei. Kazuma wishes he would try. He’d like to see what happens.

Hiei still goes away for days at a time to fulfill his duty in Makai, but when he comes back, the reunion is lengthy and hot. It’s a miracle Kazuma’s grades don’t tank. Thankfully, Hiei seems to understand that there is a time and a place, because homework gets done. Lots of homework. And when homework is done, the time and place becomes here and now.

Kazuma discovers that demons are a little possessive.

He goes to lunch with some friends – no, Kurama is not his only lunch buddy; he just goes with him so he can get free meals. His other lunch buddies are people he has classes with, very nice people, a couple of guys and girls he usually hangs out with, a few of them spirits or demons in disguise just trying to graduate with honors. When he gets home, Hiei takes one look at him, turns his nose up in the air, and there goes any plans for homework.

“Someday,” Hiei grunts in his ear as he fucks him against the desk one day, “I am going to rub my come into your skin until you smell like me alone. You belong to me entirely. Then no one will dispute who you belong to.”

After, when he finally gets a chance to start on his homework, Kazuma harmlessly jokes, “You belong to me too, right? I’m not sharing you with any other demons, am I?”

Hiei calmly picks up his sword and leaves.

 “Fighting again?” Kurama wagers.

“Why do you always guess that?”

“Because you usually order the cappuccino when you are.”

“I…” Kazuma glances down at his cup. “Damn it.”

Yusuke steals Kurama’s sandwich and takes a big bite. “So what’d you do this time?”

“Fuck you, I didn’t do anything. I think.” He leaves out the precursory sex, but explains that he asked a simple question.

Kurama is already shaking his head when he’s done. “While Hiei’s departure was ridiculously dramatic, you’d be wise to remember that his affection is not to be taken lightly. Did you truly believe he’d divert from monogamy?”

Kazuma glares at him. “You’re the one who told me demons did a lot of casual sex.”

“I resent that,” Yusuke protests loudly.

Kurama apologizes quietly. “At the time you asked—”

“You were balls deep in Yomi thirty minutes before.”

“Yusuke!”

“So you lied,” Kazuma clarifies.

“No, I did not. Casual relations are common. However, monogamy is adhered to when we know who we want.” The fox fixes him with a significant Look. “I’d say he is quite certain of what he wants. Unless you have your doubts?”

“Nope.” He grins. “I know who I want too.”

 Hiei is back by the time Kazuma gets home from school. He’s getting better at not disappearing for days on end when they fight.

Kazuma gets straight to the apology, no beating around the bush. Hiei listens quietly and, when it’s done, kisses him soundly. Apology accepted, it seems.

“Turn.”

Kazuma turns. Hiei loops something around his neck and clasps it. Kazuma looks down and sucks in a breath. A Hiruseki Stone sits low on his chest. Yukina spoke of them while they were still dating; she mentioned that her mother had shed two tears. Now that he knows the truth, he’s quite certain that this is the other. He can only imagine the significance of receiving this.

“Are you…giving this to me?”

“Keeping track of it is inconvenient.”

Kazuma faces him. “Stop trying to be cool and tell it to me straight.”

Hiei avoids his eyes. “I’ve seen to it that the chain cannot be cut or destroyed. With the beatings you take in battle, it will need the protection.”

“Hiei.”

“I suggest you keep it hidden beneath your shirt. They are coveted—”

“Thank you, Hiei. I know this means a lot to you.”

Hiei meets his gaze, and they become a little lost in each other’s eyes. The shrill ringing of Kazuma’s cell phone snaps them out of it.

Well, there’s homework to be done, and Yusuke has a quick case that Hiei would be perfect for, so they take to their respective tasks without a second thought. Kazuma tucks the necklace beneath his shirt with a quiet promise to adore it forever. Shizuru pops her head in to say that she and Sakyo will be out working – probably part of his parole deal, Kazuma thinks with less distaste than usual.

He can see the man hovering over Shizuru’s shoulder in the hallway, and rolls his eyes. “Just make sure she’s back at a reasonable hour. Lady needs all the beauty rest she can get.”

Shizuru chucks the nearest thing she can find at his head – his calculus book, damn it – makes her usual threats, and stomps away. Sakyo looks surprised by the direct address. “Of course.”

Kazuma scrutinizes the man’s faded T-shirt and jeans and thinks that he looks very human this way. Not like the monster he is—was. Maybe that’s a good thing. He doesn’t seem to mind the loss of his fancy suits. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Go on, you crazy kids, have fun.”

Sakyo bows and leaves. A little while later, Shizuru creeps back in and kisses her baby brother loudly on the forehead. “Thank you.”

Kazuma shoos her away and waits until he hears the front door close before resuming his homework. He’s losing it, for sure.

Hiei doesn’t get in until late. Shizuru’s not back yet, so she’s probably staying with Sakyo.

“You look like shit,” Kazuma says by way of greeting.

Hiei smears some nasty green blood that definitely isn’t his on the Kazuma’s cheek in retaliation and goes to shower. Kazuma calls him names through the bathroom door and has to wash his face off in the kitchen sink.

They go to bed; it’s hot enough that Kazuma strips down to his boxers and Hiei just…strips. They lie on top of the sheets. The second the lights are off, everything Kurama said at lunch comes flooding back.

This demon chose him. Kazuma’s hand closes around the necklace. Hiei gave up pursuit of other options, and chose him, a human. Why?

“I smell something burning,” Hiei grumbles into the pillow. “Stop thinking.”

Kazuma doesn’t retort. Instead, props himself up so he can appreciate the bare body beside him. He runs his hand down the crease in Hiei’s back and feels him shiver. When Kazuma’s fingers find the crease of his ass, Hiei lifts his hips into the touch. An agreement.

Kazuma grabs the lube from the nightstand drawer. It’s a fairly new bottle; the last one went by quickly. He pops the cap and dribbles some on his fingers, watches the excess drip onto Hiei’s buttocks.

“Cold,” Hiei murmurs, but he adjusts himself comfortably on his stomach and waits.

It’s the first time Kazuma has tried this, but it’s long overdue. He gently runs his finger around the entrance, suggesting. Hiei shifts impatiently until a broad hand is splayed on his back, pinning him with a surprising amount of strength. Kazuma pushes the first finger in and pauses when he hears a sharp breath. It’s tight inside, and hotter than he thought it would be. Is this what Hiei feels when he enters him? Or is it just because this is the body of a fire demon?

He teases him, petting and stroking until Hiei gruffly demands that he get on with it. He adds a second finger. Hiei groans and fights against the hand on his back, but Kazuma pushes him into the bed and hushes him. He works thoroughly, stretching him, sliding his fingers in and out and curling them against the walls until he finds what he’s looking for.

“Shit!”

If Kazuma wasn’t hard before, he is now. Hearing Hiei swear like this is a delight. He touches that spot again. “Is it good?”

“You know it is,” Hiei pants.

“Here?”

“Yes.”

“Like this?”

“I’m going to kill you, yes, keep going—”

A third finger joins the first two, but he’s not interested in prep anymore. He’s never had anyone come apart because of him like this, never. He grazes the prostate again. Hiei bucks and tries to fuck himself on those long, wondrous fingers, but Kazuma presses warningly on Hiei’s hips.

“I’ll stop if you don’t stay still.”

Hiei groans into the pillow, but with some effort, he stills. Kazuma moves again, torturously slow. He drinks in every sound Hiei makes; he’s doing this, bringing his lover closer and closer to the edge—

“Wait—I want—”

But when Kazuma looks down and sees Hiei trembling on his bedsheets in the dim light cast by the street lamps outside, he ignores the request and continues to fuck him with his hand until the body beneath him shudders. The tight space around Kazuma’s fingers grows tighter, and he nearly comes himself, but he shoves his other hand down his boxers and grips the base of his cock. Not yet.

He guides Hiei through the end of his orgasm and knows when he becomes lax and pliant that it’s over.

“You fucker,” Hiei rasps, his hole still clenching weakly around Kazuma’s fingers.

“Sorry,” Kazuma apologizes as he pulls out, not sorry at all. He couldn’t help it. It was too beautiful a vision to ruin. If his fingers could reduce this fiery S-class demon to a babbling mess, then he was going to do it.

Hiei twists his head around and scowls in a rather sulky manner. “Come here.”

It’s an open kiss—until sharp teeth clamp down and draw blood.

“The hell!” Kazuma rears back, shocked and perhaps a little more aroused than before.

“If you’re going to fuck me, fuck me properly,” Hiei hisses crossly, and puts his head down.

Sulking.

Kazuma blinks and leans over to gently kiss the dip between his shoulder blades. “M’sorry.” Another kiss to the back of the neck. “Sorry.” The ear. “Sorry.” When Hiei turns his head, Kazuma captures his mouth. Pulls back. “Sorry.” Grins. “May I fuck you properly now?”

One eyebrow goes up as if to say, What do you think?

Kazuma shimmies out of his boxers and strokes himself with more lube. He places a steadying hand on Hiei’s side, asking permission. Hiei looks back, eyes his length, and some kind of satisfied, ravenous light enters his eyes.

He meets Kazuma’s gaze and says slowly, lips emphasizing every syllable, “You might not fit.” He bares his teeth in a wicked grin. “I look forward to it.”

Kazuma pushes in without another thought and immediately feels like he’s dying – in a good way. Hiei keens loudly, urging him; his hole is a searing heat around him, tight and hungry. Kazuma takes in the way his cock slowly disappears into the demon’s body and finds himself rambling on breathlessly.

“Fuck, Hiei—I wish you could see how good you look—look at you, you’re taking me so well—s’like you were made for me,” and then he bottoms out, “can you feel me, can you feel my cock in you—so deep—it fits, can you feel it—god, you’re beautiful—”

“Move,” Hiei moans.

Kazuma draws back and snaps his hips forward, sinking back in with ease again and again and again until he’s lost in the sensations and the sounds and the mere sight. He lets go of Hiei’s side and touches the curve of his neck. Slides his hand under until he’s practically cradling Hiei’s throat. He can feel a pulse there, normally so slow in accordance to demonic biology; now, it flutters rapidly for him.

He wants to taste his beating heart.

Without thinking, Kazuma bows over him and sinks his teeth in the side of his neck. He keeps a firm grip on his throat and slides his other hand under, lifting Hiei’s body until they’re pressed together, chest to back. The Stone digs in between them; a reminder. He pounds into him, unfaltering, and he nearly misses the way Hiei wails:

“God, yes, yes, fuck me harder, yes, please, I’m so close, Kazuma—”

There is no other sound but the sound of his name on Hiei’s lips.

His orgasm hits him out of nowhere. He comes deep inside Hiei, buried to the hilt, pouring praises into Hiei’s neck. He sees white, which is regrettable, because he’d rather see Hiei, but it’s like heaven either way.

When the last moment of his orgasm has been wrung from him, he struggles not to collapse. He slowly pulls out; a gush of semen follows his cock, leaving a trail on the sheets. Curiosity gets the best of him again. He pushes two fingers into the abused hole and withdraws them; another trail of come is made.

Hiei lazily bats his hand away and says something that is lost to the pillow.

“Say again?”

He says, a little louder, “We’ll regret skipping cleanup in the morning.”

Kazuma slips an arm around his waist and tugs him until they’re on their sides. Hiei’s back is damp against his chest. “Probably.” He strokes his flagging cock a few times and works it back into Hiei’s ass where it’s warm. A high pitched noise catches in the demon’s throat, but he pushes back to take him deeper.

Before sleep knocks him out, Kazuma murmurs, without any context whatsoever, “Say it…one more time?”

Hiei laces their fingers together and sighs, “Kazuma.”

There is still a warm body beside him in the morning. His cock slipped out sometime in the night, but it’s stiffening up in delight because Hiei’s still there.

Hiei slaps his hands away like he knows what he’s planning. He gets up in all his nude glory, strides to the door, and stops to throw a sultry look over his shoulder.

Kazuma scrambles after him to the bathroom, and there, he fucks him against the tile wall.

July

It was supposed to be an easy case. Then again, Kazuma thinks brokenly, the things that should be easy rarely are for their group.

He can’t feel his left hand anymore.

He’s forgotten the name of the scum at the other end of the room. It was supposed to be a demon, according to Koenma. It was the scent of a demon that Kurama picked up at each crime scene. It was traces of youki that Hiei had sensed each time they came close to catching the bastard. It was, by all accounts, supposed to be a demon.

Instead, it’s just a human. It’s a human that stands over at the other end, a human who had bathed himself in the blood of slaughtered demons, a human who had stolen power from them through the use of dark arts and made it his own, a human who had carved up his own kind and reveled in the feel of it.

Kazuma was captured in a moment of sheer, dumb luck. Or misfortune. Definitely misfortune. And now he can’t feel his fucking hand. He peers blearily at that person at the other end of the room, and for one moment, all he can see is Sakyo.

But then he sees his sister in his head, and sees Sakyo’s hand around her waist, and sees how at peace they are, and the image of Sakyo he projected onto this person fades, and all that’s left is just another monster.

The monster turns and swaggers over, leering, “So, while your friends are out on a wild goose chase, what do you say we have some fun?”

One filthy hand drops to the hem of Kazuma’s pants and makes his blood runs cold.

“No? Promise it’ll only hurt a bit. I’ll make you feel good. I made them all feel good.”

Kazuma takes a page out of Hiei’s book and remains mute.

Disappointed, the monster shrugs and leans forward to smell him. Runs his tongue along the side of his neck. Kazuma twists and bites off his ear.

Dimly, over the screaming, he thinks that blood really does taste awful. He spits the abused flesh out and tries to remember the taste of Hiei’s blood, drawn during sex. Only that, he can stand.

Even if he’d been paying attention, he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

The hammer comes down on his right hand. Up, and down again. And again, and again, and again.

He doesn’t have the strength to tug at his restraints when it’s over. His voice is wrecked by his screams. The monster is tugging furiously at his pants, and while Kazuma had felt brave before, when the cool air hits his thighs and that slimy tongue traces his V lower and lower, he feels like he’s going to puke. But all that comes up is bile, and even though he chokes, even though his throat burns, he can’t help but scream and scream and—

A flaming black dragon tears down the wall, and a shadow appears.

Kazuma watches as lithe fingers reach out and deftly rip the offensive tongue from its owner’s mouth, and as the owner writhes on the floor, Hiei looks at Kazuma’s supine body.

“No—don’t—don’t look at me—Hiei—”

The power hits him like a wave.

He has never been more terrified. The sheer hatred he feels in Hiei’s aura is cold. Cruel. Remorseless.

The demon looks down at the sniveling creature at his feet and draws his sword. When he speaks, his voice is flat and resolute.

“You soulless fuck.”

Kazuma blacks out before the first cut is made.

It is quiet. Dim. At least his pants are back on.

He can’t feel his fucking hands.

Hiei sits by him, staring at the lacerations on his broad chest, the bruises darkening his face, the mangled fingers at his sides.

There are things Kazuma wants to say; he was ashamed when Hiei burst in and saw him like that, his body exposed for some freak. It’s stupid, but he wants to apologize for it, for letting himself get caught, for letting that monster touch him, for not being strong enough.

He doesn’t apologize because, one, Hiei looks like he’ll snap if he makes so much as a sound, and two, now everything really fucking hurts.

They stare at each other wordlessly. Kazuma is too afraid to look around. He knows what he’ll see. He doesn’t need a demon’s nose to smell the blood. So they stare. Then, in the quiet of the house, Hiei reaches out and touches the chain at his neck.

“Kept it safe,” Kazuma whispers. “D-didn’t let him…take it…” It had been a hard-fought battle, but the bastard had eventually decided that losing his fingers wasn’t worth it. He hadn’t even known the value of the Stone. He’d settled for cutting Kazuma up.

Hiei leans forward and brushes their lips together. It’s probably the only place that doesn’t hurt. Much.

Something cold hits Kazuma’s cheek and clatters to the floor. Another drop of cold, and another.

No, no, why is Hiei crying? He shouldn’t be crying, not for him. Kazuma should be the one in distress. Hiei just killed a human. He’s going to be taken away.

There are approaching voices beyond the hole in the wall.

“Why?” Kazuma wheezes. “Why did you—you shouldn’t have done that—not for me, not for me, I don’t deserve that—not for me, Hiei, please…”

A soft hush falls from Hiei’s lips. He brushes aside Kazuma’s blood-soaked hair. “It’s not your place to decide whether you deserve this. Only I can decide. And I have.”

Light flickers in the corner of their eyes as their comrades arrive. Kurama. Yusuke. Koenma.

“Run,” Kazuma pleads.

Hiei is unmoving.

In the background, Yusuke murmurs that Hiei should have left some of the guy for the rest of them, and Kurama quietly agrees, but Koenma—Koenma is silent. He makes his way over to the table to check that they’re both alright. Or to tell Hiei to come away with him.

Kazuma doesn’t get the chance to find out. The Jagan puts him to sleep.

Sakyo is the last thing he wants to see when he wakes up.

Kazuma clears his throat – ow – and the man starts. Sakyo hastily grabs a cup of water off of the meal tray and bends the straw towards Kazuma’s lips.

Yeah, being watered by the guy is another last-place item, but he is parched, so he’ll allow it. The cool water almost feels like it’s burning as it goes down, but he drinks it all. Then he takes in Sakyo’s appearance.

The man looks pale. And tired. Everything else about him, from his button up shirt to his nice slacks, makes him look composed, but his face says something else.

“I sent Shizuru home to get some sleep,” he leads with. “She’s been up for two days straight. Everyone else is tying up loose ends for the case you were working. I guess there were a few more victims you all didn’t find.” He hesitates. It feels like this isn’t the same man Kazuma met at the Dark Tournament. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

There are a lot of things he could request. It hurts like a bitch to talk, but he says the one that’s always been important: “Get Shizuru to quit smoking. S’bad for her health.”

The pain is worth the surprised look on Sakyo’s face. The little laugh he emits is broken and peaceful. Perhaps it’s always sounded like that since he came back. “Of course. I’ll give it my all.”

“Good enough. You can also up my morphine dosage.”

“Nice try. I’ll call the nurse.”       

Hiei doesn’t visit him. Kazuma can only guess why.

“Koenma.”

The young lord makes a noise but doesn’t look up from the glow he’s encasing Kazuma’s hand with. The multitude of fractures requires a healer with a more experienced touch than Botan’s or Yukina’s.

“If you don’t release Hiei, I will do anything in my power to get him back. Even if that means ripping a dimension through your fancy palace in the sky and turning it upside down.”

Koenma stops the healing process and sits back in his chair. “Kuwabara, you should remember who you’re threatening here.”

“I know exactly who.” And even as he lies there, barely able to move, completely at the mercy of the Lord of Reikai, he has never felt stronger.

Koenma holds his gaze before a great huff takes the sternness out of him. “I don’t have Hiei, nor did I intend to take him in. He returned to Makai as soon as we finished patching you up. Kurama reports that he’s been training with Mukuro. Apparently a lot of citizens in her area have been issuing noise complaints and demands for property damage compensation.” His mouth turns down, saddened. “You think so little of me, Kuwabara, after all we’ve been through?”

He feels ashamed. “I just…I know we’re friends, but I thought you ruler types weren’t supposed to play favorites.”

Koenma laughs and resumes his work. “I don’t know who told you that, but that’s a load of crap.”

Hiei doesn’t return until Kazuma is released from the hospital, his bones mended and his cuts healed, courtesy of Koenma and Botan. It takes a while because the damage was far greater than young lord had imagined. Botan is in charge of his physical therapy for his hands, and the first session made him cry, but she swore not to say a word.

“Mukuro wipe the floor with you again?” Kazuma greets when Hiei comes through the balcony door, afternoon sunlight chasing after him.

“Not as much as before,” the demon admits, tossing aside his cloak.

“You knew Koenma wouldn’t lock you up.”

A snort. “Of course I knew. And if, for some unfathomable reason, that fool king had tried, I’d have laid him to waste.”

“No, you wouldn’t have. You’d’ve let the SDF take you in without a fight, and then broken out.”

That earns him an unimpressed look. “Strip.”

Hiei looks him over to make sure that everything is alright. Reassuring himself that Kazuma is still here. There are new scars, and parts of him will ache for a while, but he’s still here, safe, alive. When he’s satisfied, Hiei overwrites any lingering sensations left by a monster in a cold, dark room. Kazuma remembers what it’s like to come apart beneath generous, talented hands, and when the demon comes, he does it over Kazuma, paints his scarred torso with his seed and rubs it into his skin, just like he promised a long time ago.

“Is that why you stayed away until I was healed?” Kazuma yawns when they’re clean again. “So you could screw my brains out without breaking me?”

“That implies that you had any brains to begin with.” The pillow is dodged. “That wasn’t a joke. You’re an idiot.”

“It was an accident. Coulda happened to any of us.”

“Yes, that pathetic excuse for a living organism could have captured any of us S-class demons, it’s so simple.”

The comment stings. Kazuma looks away.

Hiei gathers his hands and kisses them by way of apology. “You are fully recovered?” He threads their fingers together. “Can you still draw?”

They take a quiet minute to stare at their joined hands.

“Maybe,” Kazuma admits. “I don’t know, I haven’t tried. It hurts to grasp things, and when I manage to pick up a pencil or use the mouse, I can’t stop shaking.” Rage towards that nameless monster sparks all around Hiei’s aura. Kazuma rolls over and hugs him, more for his own comfort than the demon’s. “I’ll be fine. School’s almost out. I got my major projects out of the way before we took the case, and most of my models for the presentation are ready. I already told my professors I was in an accident. They’ll understand if my work for the finals is less than stellar. And I have all of summer break to get back into the swing of things.”

“Your dedication to education saves you,” comes the reluctant huff against his throat.

“Guess so. Just gotta keep it up till April.”

Outside, birds twitter noisily over some silly dispute. Cars meander by, made lazy by the Sunday afternoon. Snatches of pedestrian chatter float up once in a while. Kazuma thinks he could sleep the day away.

As his eyes slip closed, he gently sighs, “Move in with me.”

“You’re paying for lunch today,” Kurama says, pointing his chopsticks rudely at his lunch companion. “I’m not your therapist.”

“I know. You’re my friend, who just so happens to make way more money than me. Which is why you are going to sit here and listen to me complain. And you’ll pay for lunch.”

“What could there be to complain about?”

“Like he hasn’t told you!”

Yusuke puts his hands between them. “Alright, ladies, I’ll make this meal on the house if it’ll get you both to stop bitching.”

“I asked Hiei to move in with me.”

“Wait, you what?”

“Are you deaf?”

“You bastard, and you weren’t even gonna tell me before you asked him?”

“The hell do I have to tell you for?”

“I’m your best friend, dumbass, I have rights! How’s that even gonna work? It’s going to be pretty crowded with you and your sister and Sakyo—”

“Sakyo ain’t ever moving in while I’m living there! And I was thinkin’ of getting an apartment, dumbass—”

“Still can’t believe you didn’t tell me—”

“Hiei’s the one who’ll be moving in, not you—”

“He said yes?” Both turn to look at Kurama, who posed the innocent question.

That takes the wind out of Kazuma’s sails. “Nah, he ran off while I was asleep. Really thought we’d gotten past that too.” He frowns. “Why? What do you know?”

The fox shakes his head. “Nothing, he hasn’t been by.”

“Is that because he’s being himself, or because he caught a whiff of your blind fuck buddy?”

Kurama chooses not to answer that.

“Do you think he’ll say yes when he comes back?” It’s when now, not if. Hiei always comes back. Kazuma will never think otherwise.

“It’s hard to say. He’s changed a great deal since we first met, though he certainly never liked to stay in one place when we were togeth…” Kurama’s voice falters.

Yusuke makes a little noise and busies himself with the food.

Kazuma stares at the fox demon for a long minute.

“It was nothing,” Kurama tries.

Kazuma pushes his meal aside and stands.

“Kuwabara—”

“Gotta get back to class.”

He ditches class and goes for a walk.

(But then he thinks better of it and sprints back to campus, issuing a thousand apologies to his professor when he’s thirty seconds late.)

“Have you and Kurama slept together?”

Hiei, one foot in the room, the other still on the balcony, looks like a deer in the headlights. “…Yes.”

Kazuma’s surprised he even bothered to answer. “A lot?”

“Yes. But…” Hiei’s voice falters. “Not since the first Demon World Tournament.”

“You were with Mukuro, then?”

“Occasionally. We stopped, though, very quickly.”

“But she kept asking for you to come back, and you did…”

Kazuma senses apprehension rolling off of the demon in waves. Hiei’s face has smoothed itself into an unreadable mask. The only hint to what he’s feeling is in his eyes. They’ve become more expressive over the years, and as of late, Kazuma has gotten pretty damn good at reading them. So good, in fact, that what he finds there now makes him chuckle.

The ominous slide of metal makes him laugh harder.

“Wait, wait, stop!” He takes a step forward, but Hiei is out of his reach in a flash. “C’mon, you little punk, hold up. I’m not breaking up with you, so you can put that thing away.”

Slowly, the sword is replaced, but the tension doesn’t leave the wielder’s frame.

“Look, when I asked you to move in with me, I didn’t mean I wanted to play house or somethin’. I meant…” He waves his hands, searching for the right words. “I want my place to be what Kurama’s place is to you. A place you can come back to. You don’t need to stay; m’not trying to cage you or anything. I just wanted you to know that no matter where you go, or how long you’re gone, there’ll be a place for you with me. It’s okay—”

He’s suddenly being kissed, that’s all he knows.

“I understand,” Hiei whispers. “Okay. Yes.”

“Y-yes?”

“Yes.” He squints. “Why did you inquire after my relations with the fox?”

Bright red lights up Kazuma’s face. “Kurama accidentally mentioned it. I, uh—I was kinda jealous at first? I guess? He’s a super powerful demon that you’ve known for ages, and he’s way more experienced in this kind of thing than me….but then I figured, hey, you’re here right now, with me. You picked me. Probably gave up a lot, going with some weak little human. I was just thinking I’m really lucky.”

The gentle hand on his cheek gives him a start. Hiei’s mouth is set in a firm line, his brow furrowed.

“Luck,” he says slowly, “had nothing to do with it. And you are not weak. You must never doubt your abilities. You are stronger than you know.”

The way he slowly kisses Kazuma is a testament to the truth.

“So what’s with the plant?” He jerks his head at the pot left on the balcony. “S’pretty.”

Hiei looks over at it. “I was under the impression that traditional housewarming gifts in Ningenkai include flowers.”

“…So you were going to say yes either way?”

“Of course.”

“What—don’t say ‘of course’ like I should’ve known! How am I supposed to figure out if you mean yes or no when you just leave without even hinting?!” Hiei looks away. With a put-upon sigh, Kazuma gathers him in his arms and grinds his chin into his head. “Eh, that’s who you are, I guess. I’ll get better at reading the signs. Maybe I’ll write a manual about you some day.” He avoids the punch to the stomach and dances towards the balcony to take a look at the plant. It has a couple large flowers that look suspiciously like mouths, and a bunch of tendrils that look like they might move at any second. In fact, he thinks he can see one twitching. “This is for me?”

“Yes. This particular breed will grow to be at least eight feet high when given enough room in good soil. It can be trained to attack intruders at the demand of its caretaker’s chemosignals. Digestion takes about forty-eight hours, depending on how big it is and the size of its prey, but it will restrain others in the meantime.”

“…Oh.” Kazuma takes a nice, big step back.

Kazuma moves into a new apartment the day he takes his last exam. He says a few hasty goodbyes to passing classmates, but rushes home to meet the moving van at the apartment. Yusuke and Kurama are already there. Kurama’s been avoiding him since his little revelation, but Kazuma saunters up to him now and punches his arm.

“Stop dipping out. I miss my free lunches.”

Kurama looks like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders. “You can buy your own for a while, I’m sure.”

Yeah, they’ll be fine.

They’re soon joined by Yukina, Shizuru, and (to Kazuma’s chagrin) Sakyo. He doesn’t hate the guy too much now, but that doesn’t mean he wants his grubby hands pawing his furniture. He makes him carry the heavy stuff until Shizuru threatens to kick his ass with sisterly love.

Hiei has the audacity to nap in the tree outside the bedroom balcony while the rest of them tote boxes upstairs.

In a few hours, they’re sweaty and hungry, but everything is settled. Keiko and Atsuko show up with food and champagne. Botan and Koenma drop in; Yusuke accuses the young lord of taking any excuse to get out of paperwork. Judging by his spluttering, it’s true.

It’s a small gathering compared to their little beach vacation, but it feels right.

An arm is slung over his shoulder and he’s dragged into the kitchen by Yusuke. “So I’ve been talking to that Tsukuda guy. You know, the one from Lantern Delights? He says he wouldn’t mind spotting me some money so I can get my own place. And by some money, I mean a lot.”

“Really?”

Yusuke’s eyes glisten hopefully. “Yeah. Guess I helped a demon buddy of his out a while ago. It was that case with the missing children, remember? We saved his friend’s kid.”

Kazuma remembers, mostly because of what happened later that night.

“Anyway, he’s willing to shell out a lot, and I was thinking I don’t want to just pick some building and set up shop there. I want a place where Keiko and I can have some space to settle down.”

Kazuma nods. Makes sense.

“I thought maybe I’d take you up on your offer and you could design the place.”

His first instinct is to refuse. Yusuke cuts him off before he can.

“I already have some ideas, but I can’t get them down, so I want you to help me. Please? I’d pay you. Think of it as your first real contract, or whatever it’s called.”

His second instinct is to say he doesn’t have the talent to make Yusuke’s vision a reality. But then he recalls Hiei’s words – Never doubt your abilities – and he nods firmly. “Okay.”

He doesn’t worry about whether or not he’ll be able to keep a pencil steady, or how many hours it will take him to finish a digital mockup, or if he will even be able to bring Yusuke’s vision to life. He just thinks that this will be a good adventure for the both of them.

When the stars come out, Kazuma takes his special little potted plant out to the balcony and sets it on the stand Sakyo brought as a housewarming gift.  He pets a waving tendril and admits defeat; this freaky little thing is kind of cute.

He holds out a hand towards the darkness and waits until he feels another grasp it.

Hiei stands on the railing and pulls him closer until he can bend down to kiss him. Kazuma hums, content, and when they both feel a little bit breathless, they head inside.

They take the first day of summer vacation to christen every room of the apartment.

August

Obon is here, and for once, it’s not Yusuke who’s leading the charge to go.

“I’ve never seen you this pumped for a festival, Kuwabara,” Keiko comments as she wipes dishes. “Why so excited about this?”

“Yukatas!” he says with conviction. He lowers his voice. “I’m kinda curious, okay? Hiei doesn’t like it when I make a big deal about him wearing something nice, and I really wanna see…I mean, don’t you think he’d look nice?”

“If I know one thing about my brother,” Yukina muses, “it’s that he won’t do something he doesn’t want if you ask him flat out.”

Kazuma’s elbow slips off the counter. This is the first time he’s heard her refer to Hiei as her brother. “So you do know.”

She frowns. “I have for a long time now.”

“And you didn’t think to mention it when we were going out?”

“It never came up.”

“That’s what everybody says!”

Keiko snaps her fingers. “Focus. Yukatas.”

Right. Priorities. “We need to go in a big group, and everyone has to be wearing a yukata so he doesn’t feel weird, okay? Pass it on!”

“But how’re you going to convince him to wear one?”

Yukina places her empty bowl on the upper counter and smiles. “Leave that to me.”

Kazuma’s said it once, and he’ll say it again: Hiei looks good in alternative clothes. Of course Yukina was able to convince him; she probably played him like a fiddle.

“Don’t think I don’t know you had something to do with this,” Hiei intones when Kazuma arrives with Shizuru and Sakyo (most uncomfortable walk ever). “There will be consequences.”

“Dunno what you’re talking about,” Kazuma retorts, drinking in the sight. Hiei’s yukata is indigo, patterned with black leaves. A matching headband covers the Jagan. “You look really good.”

Hiei snorts and walks faster. Kazuma still manages to see the pleased pink dusting his cheekbones. He reminds himself to win Yukina a bunch of prizes later.

The sun fades from the sky completely and the rest of the lanterns are lit. The crowd thickens. They split up into smaller groups so they can enjoy the different stalls. Kazuma drags Hiei to as many as he can, urging him to taste the food, play the games.

Hiei ends up with a lot of goldfish he has no idea what to do with.

“You keep them,” says Kazuma.

“I don’t want them.”

“What? No, c’mon, just a few.”

“We could feed them to the plant,” Hiei suggests. The stall owner looks horrified.

“You’re not feeding them to Tadakichi.”

“You named it?”

“Shaddup.”

In the end, he makes Hiei give the goldfish to passing children. That plan backfires, because when there are no more fish to pass down, they have a pack of kids who proceed to follow them around from stall to stall, begging for them to let them taste their food, or win them prizes. Kazuma’s wallet weeps until they catch up with some of their friends and finally manage to ditch the kids.

They play a few more games – Hiei’s marksmanship at darts is to be expected, but some of the other customers look terrified – and then. Well.

At some point they slip away.

Kazuma’s got his hand shoved down the front of Hiei’s yukata in a secluded, shadowy spot just off of the festival grounds. Beyond the trees, their friends are probably passing by, completely unaware, but he still worries that if they’re caught—

Hiei bites his neck demandingly. “It doesn’t matter.”

Kazuma’s breath quickens. He feels the demon’s arousal pressing against his leg and thinks, This is beautiful.

It doesn’t matter if they’re caught. Hiei doesn’t care. Hiei wants him enough to ignore the secrecy. Hiei says it doesn’t matter.

“Okay,” Kazuma murmurs, pressing closer. It’s hot, too hot, and it’s perfect. “Okay.” He hitches Hiei’s legs up around his waist and hears him gasp. He knows small shows of strength like this are his favorite. It’s why some of their best fucks back home have been against the walls.

“Yes,” Hiei breathes against his mouth, pushing his clothes aside to give him access. “It doesn’t matter. Only this.”

Kazuma considers moving them deeper into the seclusion of the trees so they’re not heard, but he figures the festival’s loud enough. Yeah, it’ll be fine. He fucks him until they’re sprawled in the grass, gasping. As they’re fixing their yukatas, he sees bark indentations up and down Hiei’s back. Pleased, he kisses him one more time, and they go out to join their friends. Kurama shoots them a very judgmental look; of course he can smell them over the myriad of people and various foods.

Hiei smiles smugly.

They find a nice hill to watch the fireworks from, away from the crowds. As the sky burns with color, Hiei presses against his side and take his hand. Their friends have come to know of their relationship by word of mouth, but they haven’t made it a habit of physically advertising it in front of them. Maybe that’s going to change.

“I hope your little yukata trick was worth it,” Hiei says nonchalantly.

Under the bright hues, Kazuma thinks he looks like a dream.

“’Course it was worth it.”

His hair remains indigo for a full week before he gets Yukina to magic the color out.

“Still worth it!” he hollers to the tree outside his window.

The designs for the restaurant are finished. They’ve been finished for a while, actually. Yusuke’s just been meeting with contractors, and Kazuma’s a nervous wreck because he has to meet the contractors too. When he does, he thinks he might puke. He’s waiting for the other shoe to drop, for someone to say that he screwed up in his designs, that it just won’t work. But after a few hours, they have a deal and it looks like the restaurant is a-go.

Yusuke stands on the sidewalk looking down at his feet. Kazuma wonders what he’s thinking. The detective’s shoulders are shaking; tears hit the sidewalk. Yusuke looks up and sniffles, looking like an overwhelmed child, completely terrified of what the future might hold, no matter how bright it’s looking now.

Kazuma slings an arm around Yusuke’s shoulders and they go for drinks, just the two of them.

“I got your back, no matter what,” he says before they have too many drinks. “Just know that.”

Yusuke gives him a quiet smile. “Thanks, man.”

They proceed to get wasted.

They all take a trip to the estate for a couple weeks in preparation for the upcoming tournament. It’s a much smaller group than last time, just their inner circle. The rest of their demon comrades have opted to train in their own dimension. Koenma comes down and puts Spirit Cuffs on all of them to intensify the training. Most days, they head out at dawn and lose themselves in the wilderness; they come back at dusk, exhausted but satisfied. Other days, they spar with each other until one can no longer stand. Each time they feel that they are adjusting to their cuffs, Koenma comes down to strengthen them.

Most of the landscape stays in tact because of their restraints. The beings who have made their homes there appreciate the effort.

One evening, Kazuma wanders into the backyard and finds Hiei going through sword forms. He watches him for a few minutes before calling out, “Oi! This is supposed to be a rest day.”

“Our opponents aren’t resting,” Hiei states. He finishes the form and beckons to Kazuma. “Come. Let’s see if you remember what I’ve taught you.”

They spar lightly with wooden swords until Yusuke and Kurama venture out.

“Hey, dumbasses, it’s a rest day!”

“That’s what I said—whoa! Watch it, you nearly took my head off!”

“Our opponents—”

“Will be trying to decapitate us or somethin’, yeah, yeah—ack!”

Yusuke grows bored with watching and demands to join in. Kurama follows suit. When night falls, the four of them are drenched in sweat. The ladies call for them to shower up, because there is no way in hell they’re getting dinner smelling like that.

“So much for a rest day,” Yusuke pants.

“It was an interesting experience,” Kurama says, following him in.

Hiei passes his water to Kazuma. “Not bad.”

“Oh, c’mon.” The human bends down. “I was great, admit it.”

“Adequate.”

“Adequate enough for a kiss?”

He sees Hiei glance towards the doors. Checking to see if anyone’s watching.

Kazuma forces out a bark of laughter. “Ha, just kidding! You stink; take a bath and maybe I’ll ask for one then!” He marches inside and ignores the clench of his gut. He’s got a good thing going on here. No sense in asking for more than he can have.

The third Demon World Tournament is hectic, and just as interesting as the last one. Just as Koenma mentioned, there are festivities which last a full three days before, and an amazing opening ceremony, indicating that the residents of Makai are actually starting to get behind this whole thing.

This time, Kazuma actually makes it to the second round, a step up from last time when he was quickly defeated straight after the prelims. His final match lasts an hour before he is knocked out of bounds. One of the fliers catches him before he can plummet to the forest below.

“Just as well,” Koenma comforts him when he’s back with his friends. “I don’t think they’d appreciate it if a human became their ruler.”

Ah, well. It was worth a shot.

Hiei makes it to the third round. The match goes on for at least four hours.

Kazuma screams the loudest, louder than his friends, when Hiei is the one left standing in the ring. He’s advancing to the fourth round.

They all rush to meet their victorious friend as he comes down from the suspended arena. The audience roars in approval. Hiei marches towards them, but Kazuma can already see the sway in his step. He’ll probably pass out in a minute or so.

Yusuke and Kurama reach him first. Kurama praises him for his clever tactics, “worthy of a fox”. Yusuke slings an arm over his neck, calling him a “crazy, wonderful, magnificent bastard”. Hiei’s trying to hard not to look content, but he does. Hell, he’s even smiling. Must be the adrenaline high. The others catch up and congratulate him – Botan’s wiping away her tears, she’s so happy – and everyone’s touching him, patting his back, ruffling his hair. Kazuma comes to understand in that moment that Hiei is not just tolerating the contact because he’s tired. He actually doesn’t mind. All these years, and he doesn’t mind.

Kazuma’s left supporting his weight in the end. “Not bad, shrimp.”

Hiei sighs, “Clown.”

“Whadda ya want, punk?” Kazuma replies without bite.

A hand finds purchase on the front of his shirt, tugging. Hiei kisses him.

The cheers around them increase.

Hiei pulls back with another quiet sigh.

Kazuma’s face is redder than a tomato. “What—the hell was—why? Everyone’s—”

“I’m aware.” Hiei pulls him closer and steals one final kiss before slipping into unconsciousness.

Kazuma looks around. The crowd is paying them no mind. They’re just two fighters who just so happen to have a mutually exclusive thing going on. No one cares.

A hand clamps down on his shoulder. Yusuke’s got a lecherous grin smeared across his face. “Weeell, what do we have here? Finally decided to come out into the open, eh, Kuwabara?”

Kazuma swipes at his head and misses. Yusuke cackles and slips under Hiei’s other arm. Together, they tote him to the competitors’ lounge so he can rest in peace before his next match.

“No one cares, you know, so you can stop worrying.”

Kazuma starts. “Uh. I’m—I’m not—”

“Nah, you totally are.” Yusuke looks ahead. “And I’m telling you to stop. No one gives a shit about PDA. Just keep it PG.” He waggles his eyebrows. “Or don’t.”

The only reason he’s not getting smacked is because they have an injured comrade dangling between them.

They don’t say anything else until they find a quiet room to lay Hiei down in. Kazuma wonders if it’s as easy as that. Here in Makai, these kinds of relationships probably don’t matter, but back on Earth, he has a feeling that he’ll be taking a lot of crap from people if they officially go public beyond their circle of friends—

Yusuke hits him. Hard.

“The hell, man!” Kuwabara groans. “I’m still recovering—”

“Listen.” No jokes in his voice. “You’re my best friend, and no matter what you do, you’ll always stay that way. Got it?”

He nods.

“And Hiei knows what’ll happen if he messes with you, so that’s taken care of.”

“What do you mean—”

“But he cares about you, so that won’t happen. We’re all cool. Okay?”

“O-okay…?”

“Good.” The sharpness in Yusuke’s brown eyes ebbs away to something gentler. “You’re my brother, man. I’ll always love you. Ask me to do something, and I’ll do it. If anyone gives you guys shit, you send them my way. Got that?”

Kazuma stutters. There’s laughter from the doorway.

“Careful, you’ll break him,” Keiko says.

Their friends all crowd in to watch the rest of the matches on the TV and wait for Hiei to wake up. Kazuma looks around, then down at his boyfriend. Boldly grasps his hand. No one says anything. No one teases him.

Kazuma loves each and every one of his friends just a little bit more.

September

“You’re still here.”

From his seat at the table, Hiei glares. “Is that a problem?”

Kazuma eyes him like he’s a dangerous animal and fixes some coffee for himself. “No,” he says slowly. “You’re just usually gone when I wake up. ’Specially on school days.” He frowns. “Why’re you dressed like that?”

The demon is sporting a black V-neck and jeans that really flatter his ass. His eyes narrow warningly. “Am I not allowed to wear this?”

Kazuma puts up a hand in defense. “Uh, no, I don’t have a say or anything! You just…don’t usually wear normal clothes.”

Hiei gets up and crowds Kazuma against the counter. Surprised, but not complaining, Kazuma bends to meet him for a kiss. He kind of loses himself in it until Hiei draws away.

“Better hurry,” he says lowly. “You’ll be late.”

Kazuma can’t seem to lift his eyes from his ass until it disappears into the next room. The spell breaks and he looks around, dazed.

That fucker stole his coffee.

He has to rush out of the house and barely makes the next train. Someone snags the seat next to him. When he looks over, he nearly has a heart attack.

“God! What’re you doing here?”

“Commuting,” Hiei deadpans, eyes trained on the window across the aisle.

Kazuma doesn’t ask any more questions, even when he reaches his stop. Hiei follows him out to the street and, before they get any further, takes his hand. It takes every ounce of willpower to keep his mouth shut, but Kazuma does it because this is new and nice.

When they reach the campus, he’s greeted by classmates who start whispering as soon as he’s past. Ah. Right.

Hiei shifts his grip so their fingers are laced.

Kazuma turns his head so he can laugh silently. He’s being walked to class like he’s in high school. He forgets all about the whispers and just focuses on the small, proud demon at his side. He’s lucky. Very lucky.

When he reaches the building for his first class, Hiei detaches himself.

“What, no goodbye kiss?” Kazuma teases, well aware that some of his classmates lingering nearby can hear him.

Hiei cocks his head, considering it, and presses his lips to Kazuma’s. “I’m picking you up for lunch, so do not go to the fox,” he orders, striding away.

“Hey, Kuwabara,” one of his friendlier classmates greets, jogging up to him. “Who was that?”

His face is starting to hurt; he’s grinning so hard. “My boyfriend.”

When classes are done for the day, Hiei meets him again.

“Wow, an escort home too?” Kazuma smiles. “I’m impressed.”

The little sniff Hiei does means he’s happy, probably. Or that he has to sneeze. Kind of hard to decipher. They walk home at his insistence. (“It’s a miracle you’re not as sluggish as the rest of these humans.”) They pass by nice neighborhoods and lovely scenery – Kazuma stops to take pictures – and then they reach a quiet street that isn’t fancy, isn’t crowded with houses, but is charming in its own way. Right in the middle, Hiei stops, a little startled. Kazuma follows his line of sight.

It’s nothing special, the house. There’s a For Sale sign out front. The place is overgrown with shrubs and big trees, its windows boarded up, its paint peeling, its porch missing some floorboards.

Before he can ask, Hiei keeps walking. Kazuma trots after him; if the little guy wanted to talk about it, he would.

Turns out, he does. Right when they hit the next intersection and they’re waiting for the light to turn.

“The bandits that raised me were nomadic. We always had to be on the move. Our leader fell ill at some point, so we holed up in some dingy shack deep in the woods, far from the main road. There were too many of us, but all those hands made quick work of fixing the place up. For four months, we laid low there. The longest we ever stayed in one spot.”

Kazuma hops on the train of conversation quickly. “Why did you leave?”

“He wasn’t getting any better, so we left him behind.”

He blanches. How cruel.

Hiei guesses his thoughts. “It was code.” The light changes and they walk. “But it was cruel, yes. If you were about to be left behind, they gave you more food at mealtimes, let you rest more in the early morn, relieved you of guard duty, and spoke…kind, gentle words to you, words that would be meaningful from anyone but them. And then, one day, out of nowhere, when you woke up, they were gone. The whole camp, dismantled, the fires snuffed out, everything. Only a small pack of supplies left for you. Not a trace remained for you to follow. We were very thorough.”

“Were…were you ever left behind?”

He snorts. “Don’t be ridiculous. I was their greatest asset. I left them when they outlived their usefulness to me.”

They reach the other side and he doesn’t say anything more on the matter.

Kazuma glances back and commits the location to memory.

“I’m shocked.”

Kazuma mumbles “why” through a mouthful of food.

“Because you haven’t once asked for my advice in regards to Hiei since we sat down.” Kurama squints suspiciously over his tea. “So what’s wrong?”

A large swig of soda washes the sandwich down. “Uh. Nothing, I guess.”

“Surely there must be something.”

He thinks. “No, not really. We’re…we’re actually pretty good lately.”

“Oh. I’m glad to hear it.” Kurama sips his drink primly.

Kazuma wonders if he should make something up next time, just so the poor guy can feel like he’s useful again.

“Local elections?” Koenma repeats.

Yusuke bobs his head. “Yeah, I guess it’s a lot of work for the ruler to govern all of Makai. I mean, it’s practically an entire planet, isn’t it? Is a realm a planet?”

Koenma flaps a hand; that is not the point of this conversation. “You were saying?”

“The new champion, Akane, wants to establish some smaller territories and let the denizens hold local elections to determine who keeps an eye over their area. You know, like a protector. I guess some of the demon lords have been complaining that they’ve had problems with outsiders making a mess of their lands. I can tell she’s got big plans for the next three years.”

“What will the other kings do? Fight for their cities?”

“I know no one’s gonna try to challenge Yomi and Mukuro for their cities – well, actually, Kurama and Hiei might take a crack at it.”

“What about you?”

“Bah! I gotta go back and fight to stay ruler of Tourin. Everyone thinks that just because I’m new to this whole scene, they can kick my ass.” He waves a freshly cleaned bowl, sending water droplets flying. “I hear some of my subordinates’ve been wantin’ a fight. I’ll take them on. And when I win, they’ll be scrubbing toilets non-stop!”

He howls with laughter, but Koenma ignores him and turns to Kazuma. “And they all actually agreed to it?”

“Well, the lady said so, so it’s happening. Those’re the rules. If they don’t like it, whoever wins the next one can change it.” Kazuma fishes for noodle stragglers. “No one really minded when she announced it. It’s kind of a political stunt, if you ask me. A chance for the losers of the tournament to take away something, even if they do have to report back to her. But it’s gonna be more than that if it works. They’ll start giving a shit about the areas they live in. Things are gonna change. Part of me wants to go check it…out…what? Quit staring, you’re weirding me out.”

“That’s just…really insightful of you,” Koenma says cautiously.

He flushes. “What, so now I can’t be smart like you guys? I understand how things work, you know—”

A warm hand finds its way to the small of his back. “He’s only disappointed he didn’t realize it sooner.”

Now Yusuke’s staring, because Hiei just diffused what could have been a very bad conflict.

“Yes, that’s precisely it,” Koenma says quickly. “I apologize, Kuwabara, I didn’t mean for it to come out like that—”

“Nah, forget it, it’s fine. Hey, maybe I’ll compete for a piece of territory.”

“Sorry, pal, demons only on this one,” Yusuke says. “They bent the rules for you at the big tourney, but this is different. Plus, you have to be a resident.”

“How fortuitous for the demons,” says Hiei. “You might actually win something, and then where would those fools be?”

“I kinda want to try now, just to spite you jerks.”

“Please don’t.”

“Hiei, want your usual?” Yusuke asks.

Hiei makes an affirmative noise and goes two stools down to eat. Kazuma misses the warmth, but it’s a habit of Hiei’s to eat off to the side so he doesn’t get drawn into conversation. Koenma starts going on about what the future will hold, how wonderful it would be to set up an interdimensional convention for the rulers and sub-rulers of the domains to come together and talk—

“Like the UN,” Yusuke chimes in as he serves Hiei. “Hey, I might present that idea if I get to keep my seat in the tournament. But if we’re all going to meet, it’s gotta be someplace cushy, I can’t stand boring old conference rooms—hey, how ’bout Disney? Or maybe…”

The conversation dissolves into plans that sound too good to be true. Kazuma glances over at the fiery little demon slurping his soup in a remarkably polite manner and thinks, Well, we came this far. Why not?

When Hiei competes and wins rulership of the territory beside Alaric, Kazuma corners him in the shower at home and does things.

“It wasn’t—nng—wasn’t that i-impressive,” Hiei stammers against the tile wall. It’s an attractive sound, the only thing Kazuma can hear above the running water.

“Says you,” he disagrees, lips somewhere around his lower back, and dropping lower. “You were fucking awesome.”

“Kurama’s fight la—haa—lasted longer—”

“Yeah, but he lost.” Which was a real crying shame, because Kurama had been so close to winning Gandara. “Didn’t seem too broken up about it though. How much you wanna bet they snuck away after the fight?”

“He just wanted—a chance to test his strength against Yomi—fuck!”

Kazuma delves his tongue into the crease of Hiei’s ass and finds his puckered hole. He rims him until it looks like his legs are going to give out. He loves the demon like this, loves that he can reduce him to this quivering mess. Every time his tongue breeches the tight ring of muscle, a high keening noise claws its way out of Hiei’s throat. When he pulls back, he’s rewarded with the beautiful sight of flushed skin and a darker, thoroughly abused hole. He can’t help but spread Hiei’s cheeks further and press an open-mouthed kiss there.

There’s a pleased groan above him. “You’re obscene.”

“Nah, you fuckin’ love it,” Kazuma murmurs, and keeps kissing him, growing sloppier with each one. He coats his hole with saliva, pushes his tongue in as far as it can go. The slurping noises he makes are obscene, but he knows that that Hiei’s getting off on this, and could probably come if he continues in this manner. In fact—

Hiei shoves his face into the shower spray. “Don’t you dare.”

Kazuma flails and winds up on his back. “But I thought you liked it.”

Hiei places a foot at his throat and turns his head with his toes. Kazuma thinks that he really shouldn’t be hard right now, but fuck it if there isn’t something thrilling about having someone with so much power stand over him and look at him like he wants to eat him – in the good way. God, maybe he’s developing kinks.

“I’d like you to fuck me more,” Hiei says. He removes his foot and crouches. He runs his fingers lightly down Kazuma’s chest, and then scrapes his nails against a nipple. When Kazuma moans, his eyelids droop. “Then again, perhaps not.”

Kazuma has no complaints afterwards.

Hiei has to leave a few days later to get his affairs in order and establish his presence in the new territory. “It is my protectorate,” he says, inspecting his sword as he prepares to leave. “I am responsible for those who live there. I’ll be choosing my second-in-command, and a few others, to keep the peace in my absence.”

“Hey, maybe I could help out!”

“A human in charge of demon affairs? You’d be laughed out of the territory,” Hiei deadpans.

“You’re a mean little shit, you know that?”

“That won’t be changing anytime soon.”

Kazuma glances towards the portal he’s opened for both Hiei and Yusuke. “I dunno. You’ve changed a lot over the years.”

“My mistake.”

“Oh, c’mon.” He looks down at his hands. His hands which have opened a rift between dimensions. His hands which have stopped trembling every time he holds a pencil or works a mouse. His hands which have touched the skin of a demon and drawn him closer out of tenderness. “Change is…inevitable. It’s good.” He grins. “You’ll see. A whole lot’s gonna change for the better.”

Hiei looks strangely uncomfortable. “If you say so.”

“God, just kiss him goodbye already so we can go,” Yusuke groans.

Hiei shoots him a nasty look and does kiss Kazuma – makes it so dirty that they can hear Yusuke bemoaning his tortured eyes in the background. It leaves Kazuma breathless and utterly besotted.

“You asked him to,” Kurama reminds Yusuke.

Yusuke flaps a hand at him in farewell and steps through the rift. Hiei kisses Kazuma again; it’s sweeter, more personal. “Do not change without me,” he murmurs.

Yusuke’s head pops back out. “C’mon!”

“I will kill you,” Hiei threatens casually, striding after him.

“Be safe!” Kazuma says as he goes through the portal. “I love you!”

Shit.

Hiei whips around, eyes wide as saucers as the rift closes.

Kazuma stares at the empty space, a little weak in the knees. He swallows. “Um. Did he look, uh, happy? I can’t tell.”

“He was definitely pleased,” Kurama says solemnly, which means he doesn’t have a fucking clue either.

October

“You did what?”

His sister’s screech is piercing, but not as piercing as the headache he developed two hours ago. “I wasn’t thinking!”

“I’ll say so,” she snaps, slamming her beer down. “The fuck were you thinking, buying a house?”

He hisses for her to keep quiet and looks around. Hiei isn’t due back for at least a month thanks to his newfound protector status, but he’s not taking any chances. “I made a deposit, I didn’t actually buy it…yet.”

“And you’re not going to.” She takes a swig and grimaces, whether from the taste or his actions, it’s hard to say. “You’re going to call back the owners or whoever, and you’re going to say you were on drugs.”

“No!”

“God, where did you even get the money? What about school? What about the apartment?”

“School will keep, and I already paid this month’s rent, it’s fine,” Kazuma insists. Honestly, he came here looking for comfort and support. “Look, I’ve been saving up, I can do this.”

“You’re not thinking straight!”

“The man knows what he wants; let him do it.”

They crane their necks so they can see into the kitchen. Sakyo already looks like he regrets saying anything.

Shizuru’s eyes narrow dangerously. “And just what would you know? You don’t know anything about how hard we’ve struggled just to keep this house—and now you say my brother should spend his money on some other place when he still has to finish paying for school, and take care of the apartment, and—”

“The boy is committed to his decision,” Sakyo disagrees as the Kuwabara siblings come into the kitchen. “And as for money—”

“No,” Shizuru says in that way she does when she’s shutting down a line of conversation.

“If you’d just let me—”

“I said no.”

Kazuma pokes her. “What? What?”

Sakyo, either a very brave or very stupid man, cuts Shizuru’s response off with, “I have offered to help her pay the bills numerous times, and she refuses.”

“You still got money?”

“Quite a bit.” Not a boast, but a fact. “And I can’t do anything with it.” A glimmer of the old Sakyo comes through as he smirks. “Anything fun, that is.”

Shizuru sounds like a strangled cat.

Sakyo suddenly perks up. “Kuwabara, since your sister continues to rebuff my attempts to help her, perhaps you would like to take advantage of my assets.” At his confused silence, he clarifies, “I could help you with your house.”

“Oh.” He already knows his answer. “No, thanks.”

“Really?” The man looks a bit put out. “It’s no trouble at all.”

Kazuma leans against the counter and looks him square in the eye. “Ya know, I don’t even feel disgusted that you would offer your grimy blood money to pay for the house,” Sakyo accepts the dig with a little sigh, “but that’s not why I’m refusing. There are just some things a man’s gotta do on his own. It’s my house, and I’m gonna take care of it.”

Really, that guy's approving smile shouldn’t make him feel better about his decision, but it does. “Then I wish you luck.”

Shizuru is already on her second beer when they look at her. Eyebrows raised, she flips them off. “Finally remembered me? Fuck you both. Just—why, Kazuma?”

He starts to say that he doesn’t know, but that’s not true. He knows exactly why. He’d taken the scenic route back home from school a few days ago and passed down that familiar street. He’d stopped right where Hiei stopped that one day, looked over at that house, and felt that buying it would be right, for both of them.

He shrugs. “Because.”

She sighs, defeated. “At least let me see what this place looks like so I can feel better about your stupidity.”

“I’m sure it’s lovely,” Sakyo defends as Kazuma takes out his phone and shows them.

Shizuru looks, and reaches for a third beer.

Sakyo winces. “Oh, my.”

Kazuma buys the house anyway because fuck everyone.

Okay, not all of them, because they really band together to help him fix the shithole up before Hiei gets back. He won’t let Sakyo help him pay off the house, but renovations? Hell yeah.

Yusuke doesn’t berate him or call him crazy, probably because he knows what it’s like to be doubted over rash decisions. All he complains about is how unfair it is that Kazuma got a house before he and Keiko did. He comes by in the evenings and helps Kazuma saw wood and put up drywall and puzzle over wires.

“And the restaurant is almost done,” he’s saying one day. “Gonna need some help with the detective agency. Me n’ Keiko will be busy getting used to the swing of things, so someone’s gotta talk to clients and handle most of the cases. Some people are actually asking me to hire them. Kido came by, and so did Murota. I think we could use them.”

“Wait.” Kazuma puts down the hammer, because he’s gotten a little accident prone over the past few days when he’s not paying attention. “You want me to take over?”

Yusuke swats him. “No way! I love my job too much. But you’re pretty much my second in command and…” He lowers his voice in case Shizuru’s listening in from upstairs. “I know you need the money, so why not? Until the restaurant’s done, I can’t cut you a check, so will this do for now? I’ll still pay you in full, but—”

Kazuma stumbles over his agreement and gets back to work because his eyes are stinging. The purity of this jerk’s friendship has made him cry way too much in the past. Not today.

Yukina, Keiko, and Botan plot to unleash interior decorating hell on the place when it’s all tidied up. They run color schemes past Kazuma, who doesn’t disagree at all. He suspects that’s because Yukina knows exactly what both he and Hiei like.

Kurama landscapes like there’s no tomorrow, looking way too happy to play in the dirt. He obliterates weeds and sows seeds which bloom into magnificent flowers in seconds, but when it comes to the overgrown bushes and trees, Kazuma tells him to trim them just enough to look presentable.

“I figure he’ll like the wild, untamed look,” he says.

Kurama nudges him. “He’s fortunate to have you.”

“I think it’s the other way around.”

Kurama shrugs and slaughters another patch of weeds.

More of their friends come by every day to help with shingling, painting, plumbing, even when he’s in school, and in just a few weeks, that shithole looks…

“Perfect,” Kazuma says, laying down the Welcome mat.

They plan a party for Hiei’s return – it’s really a housewarming party, but it will be something nice for him to come home to. Kurama, ever the reliable informant on the fire demon’s movements, has it on good authority that he will return in three days, so they all prepare.

The old apartment has been cleared out entirely, save Tadakichi the Plant, which Kazuma leaves on the balcony. A photo of the house before its renovation is set under the pot. The address is written on the back.

The night arrives, and people flood in with food and gifts and well-wishes. Some of them think he’s a little crazy too for buying a house at twenty-one, but every one of them seems supportive, despite the teasing. Even Shizuru came around when she saw how nice the house was turning out. They crank the music, pop champagne, and dive into the food. Four hours later, the party is still going strong and Hiei’s not back.

When the party is over, he’s not back.

Kazuma says goodbye to all the guests and starts cleaning up; Kurama and Yusuke stay behind to help. When everything is put away, he turns off the lights and goes out to sit on the porch swing. He shivers in the cool autumn air until he’s joined by Kurama and Yusuke, who take their seats on either side of him and shield him from the wind.

“I’m sorry,” Kurama murmurs. “I thought today was…”

Kazuma shakes his head. “Nah, s’okay. I mean, that’s his thing, right? He’s unpredictable. You guys gonna head out?”

It’s almost midnight.

“Think I’ll stick around for a bit,” Yusuke says after a moment.

“As will I,” Kurama agrees.

It’s almost midnight, and he’s not alone. He slings an arm around each of them, pulling them closer for a little hug. Then they all get up and head inside for some hot cider.

Hiei still doesn’t come back.

Kazuma wonders if this has something to do with those three little words he said to the demon before he left.

November

“He’s not dead,” Kurama assures him when he sits down. “He’s in Euric.”

“Euric—wait, that’s his new territory, right?” He slumps, relieved. “Thank god! Little brat—hope you told him I was worried sick.”

“I…tried.”

“What does that mean?”

Kurama mumbles something into his tea.

“What?”

“He ran away?”

“Why does it sound like a question? Kurama, the hell is going on?”

He holds up his hands. “I don’t know. He won’t even talk to me. I managed to catch up with him once and he didn’t let me speak, but do you know what he said? ‘He has outlived his usefulness.’ Does that mean anything to you?”

“What? No! What—I don’t even know what that means! Did he say anything else?”

“He didn’t have to.” Kurama huffs disappointedly. “He doesn’t mean to come back.”

…Well, fuck that.

Kazuma gives it one more day, and then he tears interdimensional space a new one and goes to find his unreasonable, unnecessarily cryptic boyfriend.

He tracks his energy through two cities and one forest in a single day, and then, in the middle of the woods, he can’t sense him anymore.

He’s nearly gutted.

The attack comes out of nowhere and he’s suddenly fighting for his life, with no idea why. Hiei is fast, but it becomes apparent to Kazuma as they clash swords that he isn’t trying to hurt him, only scare him off. They part, panting. Kazuma can’t help but feel pleased that he’s giving the shrimp a run for his money.

“Alright,” he calls, “I’m sorry for saying…that. I guess you thought it was too soon. I won’t say it again until you’re ready. But please, it’s time to come home.”

“Makai is my home,” comes the drawling retort.

“Earth is your home too, now.”

The high, cold sound of Hiei’s laughter doesn’t discourage him. “Go now, human. I won’t kill you, but I am not above maiming you.”

He holds his ground. “Okay, I wasn’t thinking much when I said it, but this relationship has been going on for a while, and it felt right. Sorry I misread the signs.”

There is only scorn in Hiei’s eyes. “Relationship? Is that what we’re calling that brief dalliance?”

He falters. “Brief? We’ve been dating for months.”

“A blink of the eye for demons.” That hurts a little. “I should have known better than to play with some pathetic creature from Ningenkai. They always disappoint in the end.”

The chill that creeps into his bones is not the weather’s doing. “Alright, obviously we’re both a little out of it. Let’s just stop before we say something we regret.”

“A little late for that. I regret every breath I wasted on you. Where is my Stone?”

Kazuma feels the earth shattering beneath his feet. “I…I don’t have it with me.”

He knows Hiei knows he’s lying. The chain is visible at his neck. Hiei snorts. “Keep it then. It’s just another trifle.”

“Please,” Kazuma croaks, hopelessly confused and terrified that his world will break if he doesn’t figure this out right now. “Please, just, let’s just talk this over.” He doesn’t swipe away the tears that cloud his vision. “Something’s not right here, I think we’ve just had a misunderstanding—”

“There is no misunderstanding. It’s really quite simple: at the end of the day, you are just as useless as the rest of your kind.” Hiei turns to go, but pauses, considering something. He tosses over his shoulder, “Perhaps not completely useless. At least you were a good fuck.” And then he’s gone.

Kazuma has never felt more alone in his life.

He doesn’t tell the others what was said. Kurama will just try to lecture Hiei, which will probably irritate him, and Yusuke will just try to kill him – and possibly come close to succeeding. He won’t be responsible for tearing their friendship apart. Instead, he gives them a folder filled with before-and-after pictures of the house. The exterior, all the rooms inside, the garden.

“It’s okay that he doesn’t want to come back. He’s one of those nomad types, ya know? I guess they get bored pretty easy.” He grins his goofy grin and asks them to deliver the folder to Hiei without making too much of a fuss.

“You should talk with him again,” Kurama insists. “Or at least give these to him yourself.”

“He doesn’t want to see me; I can respect that, at least. And look, don’t give him a hard time. It’s not his fault. You demons live so long that you probably get bored of stuff quickly. There’s no shame in wanting more outta life; at least he knows what he wants.”

“Yeah, but what do you want?” Yusuke asks. One word, and he’ll beat Hiei’s face in.

Kazuma thinks. “I want Tadakichi back.”

He’s angry for a while. He hides it well from the others – Yusuke reads him like a book, yet doesn’t comment on it – but when he returns every day to an empty house that was meant to be shared, something ugly rears its head in his chest. It’s why he needs to be alone for these moments, because if anyone asks if he’s okay, he’ll snap.

He knows, knows that this all has to come down to some kind of miscommunication. The Hiruseki Stone resting against his chest is a testament to that. Hiei wouldn’t have just left it for him if he truly hated him; it’s too important to him. Therefore, he must still care for him. Kazuma is just angry that Hiei’s too proud to just talk to him about it, and he’s angry at himself for being too stupid to know what he did wrong, but he can’t figure out what the problem is for the life of him.

Eventually, the anger fades. A dull, throbbing hurt takes its place, and now he cries in the lonely hours of the night when he wakes up to an empty bed that will stay empty. It’s better than being angry all the time. Never for a second does he regret buying the house. He fixed it up with his bare hands; his friends helped him fix it up with their bare hands. That’s something to be proud of.

No shame.

He presents his portfolio, concepts, and the beginnings of his mockup city to his professors in a small conference room.

By the end of the day, his advisor nearly trips over herself to inform him that he’s going to Tokyo.

He celebrates later that night with his friends, but it feels like an empty achievement.

“Easy, my ass!” Kazuma screeches, sprinting down the dock like the devil is at his heels. It’s actually a demon, but the two are practically synonymous right now, and who the fuck cares? “I’m gonna kill you, Urameshi!”

“Good job, Kuwabara, keep it busy!” Yusuke hollers back, clearly enjoying this. Kazuma can’t say he’s not enjoying it either. These cases are a good distraction. Although this one got a little too intense. At least the bounty on this fucker’s head’ll be worth it.

He reaches the end of the dock and spins; the demon is massive, at least ten feet tall, and it looks like it knows he’s at the end of the line.

“Any last words, human?” it burbles.

“Yeah. Use a breath mint.” He backflips off the pier (he hopes the others see him, because he thinks he looks pretty freaking cool) and catches a glimpse of the demon bursting into black flames before he hits the water. Was that supposed to happen?

When he comes back up, Kurama is binding the creature with his freaky plant magic, and Yusuke is back on the next pier over, talking to—

“Hey, Rose Boy,” Kazuma says as he drags himself onto dry land, “if you got everything covered here, I’m gonna head out, okay?” He uses his sword to cut a path to Reikai and jerks his thumb at it. “Make sure you tell Koenma that he should be payin’ extra for delivery.”

Kurama nods, hesitant. “Would you like me to accompany you?”

Kazuma shakes his head and hightails it out of there. He doesn’t get far before he senses someone trailing him. Not hard to guess who. To distract himself, he focuses on how soaked he is, and how disgusting it feels to walk in wet socks. That keeps him occupied all the way to his neighborhood, where he pauses at a corner.

“You gonna keep hiding like a coward or are you gonna come out here and face me like a man?” he yells down the empty street. A dog barks. The street lamp above him flickers, threatening to send him into darkness.

He turns.

Hiei’s on the other side of the street.

Kazuma spreads his arms. “What, come for another fight?” Okay, so maybe he still has some anger, even if he believes that deep down, way deep down, Hiei cares.  “Were you hoping I’d burn with that demon when you hit it? Very nice sneak attack, by the way, nice warning, great communication!”

Hiei starts to cross the street.

“Alright, fine! Bring it! Just don’t expect much outta me, I’ve heard I’m a real disappointment!”

The demon doesn’t stop until they’re practically chest to chest. Then he kisses him.

Kazuma’s punch sends him flying into the street.

“You—you don’t get to do that, you bastard,” Kazuma hiccups. Great, here come the fucking waterworks. He cries too much these days. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

A trickle of blood mars the ghostly white of Hiei’s face. He finally speaks. “You don’t understand.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Kazuma spits, blinded by tears. “I don’t care how powerful you think you are. I’m not gonna let you use me like that.”

“Never,” Hiei says palely, “did I use you. I never once thought—”

“Bullshit. You used me, and then you ran off to Makai when you got bored. I outlived my usefulness to you, right? Because I said the L-word? How childish can you get? At least man up and say that’s not what you wanted to my face.”

“That’s not—”

“And you know what? To top it all off, the only thing you took away from this thing was a good fuck. You didn’t care that we finally got that close friendship that the others have with us. You didn’t care that we worked better together in battle than we ever did before. It was just…sex.” His voice cracks. “Kurama wasn’t lying. I—I guess that’s what it usually is for you guys. Glad to know I got some skills in bed at least.” He turns to leave.

“I’m not going to beg for you to listen to me,” Hiei snaps.

“Yeah? Well you fuckin’ should!”

He’s halfway down the next crosswalk when he hears it: “Please, Kazuma.”

He freezes and looks back. Hiei looks weary. Miserable.

Kazuma viciously scrubs his tears away and gestures for him to speak. “Fine. What?”

Hiei struggles to find his tongue. “I…did not leave because you expressed…deeper affections for me. I did return on that night. All I found was the place I could call…home, empty. My gift to you, returned to me. And a picture of a house where I once spoke of what abandonment meant in my childhood.”

The long-lost point of miscommunication clicks. “You seriously thought—”

“Yes,” Hiei hisses. “Yes, I thought it was your way of telling me you were through with me.”

“I’d never—Hiei, that’s not who I am. I thought we were close enough friends that you knew that. You know I tell it to you straight. Why would you think I’d do that?”

“Because that is who I am. I returned to emptiness and I remembered how you spoke of change and said such…meaningful words before I left. And I asked you not to change without me, and you did. But you’ve always been changing. I have not.”

Kazuma automatically moves towards him. “The hell you haven’t.”

“I haven’t. I still run. I let my mind consume me, let my rage and my pride form a noose around my neck. I hurt you because I only think of myself, how to protect myself.”

“No. No, you have changed. You know what the old Hiei would’ve done if he’d felt betrayed? He’d’ve hunted me down and killed me.”

Hiei’s face blooms with honesty. “I could never kill you.”

Kazuma comes closer until he’s a few feet away. His anger has cooled into something a little more hopeful. “And you say you haven’t changed.”

“I haven’t.”

“You have,” he insists. He’s ready to take this man home.

“I—”

Kazuma closes in and brushes a hand over the bruise forming on Hiei’s cheek. “I hit you pretty hard. Sorry.”

Hiei quivers. “Why are you apologizing?”

“Because I hit you. A man shouldn’t do that to his friends.”

Hiei covers his hand with his own. “You’re an i-idiot.”

Kazuma blinks. “Hiei.”

“F-forgive me.”

“Hiei.”

“Please. F-forgive me…please…”

A priceless stone clatters to the pavement. Followed by two more.

Kazuma wipes away his tears. “Already have. And sorry, again.”

“What for?” Hiei demands, frustrated.

“That’s twice I’ve made you cry.”

More tears fall and bounce off their feet. “You utter fool.”

They kiss in the middle of an empty street, and the pain fades away.

December

Everyone gives Hiei shit when they see that he’s back, even when Kazuma tells them to mind their own business. Hiei takes it in stride like he doesn’t really care.

Kazuma takes immense pleasure in showing him the house. He drags him from room to room, indicating every change from the old pictures he took – “And look! Not only a balcony, but there’s a window seat here too! Now when the weather’s bad, you can curl up like the grumpy cat you are—ow!”

Hiei learns that everyone pitched in to make this place a real home. He seems pleased to hear that Yukina had a hand in decorating. He brings Tadakichi back and plants it in a corner of the backyard, where it grows at an alarming rate. It still gets along with Eikichi remarkably well, despite its size. It seems to know it won’t live much longer if it makes a meal of her.

Now that he’s back, he walks Kazuma to and from school when he can, always lets him know when he’s going to Makai and when he’ll be back, and often asks to cross swords with him for sparring. It’s obvious by his behavior that he’s trying to make it up to him, even though Kazuma assures him that things are good between them. And things are good again, kind of almost like they were before.

There’s just one thing that isn’t like before.

They don’t have sex. At all.

If Kazuma is kissing him and starts to drop his hands a little lower, Hiei neatly steps away and says they should grab a bite to eat. If Kazuma tries to share the shower with him and steps in to nuzzle his neck under the hot water, Hiei finishes cleaning himself off, skips the bath, and tells him not to waste water. If they come back from one of Yusuke’s easy (read: pain in the ass) cases and Kazuma makes a suggestive comment while they’re patching each other up, Hiei makes the excuse that they need rest.

It becomes cause for concern when Hiei comes back from Makai looking like he was hit by a train. Mukuro is relentless in her sparring. Kazuma knew this before, had seen evidence of it, but this is starting to get a little excessive. And when he tries to touch Hiei with actual healing intent, he is gently brushed off and told to go study.

Kazuma and his right hand were very familiar when Hiei took his lengthy absence from Ningenkai, but now it’s Kazuma, his right hand, and the shower, because god forbid if he tries to find a little personal release in the bedroom at night, because Hiei will leave the house entirely and sleep in a fucking tree even though it’s freezing and everything’s covered with snow.

 Kurama looks fairly queasy when this is brought up over lunch, but Yusuke, the dirty punk, is clearly enjoying every second of this discussion. They really don’t have any advice here in this situation, so Kazuma tries the head-on approach when he gets home.

“Hey. Let’s fuck.”

“No.”

He doesn’t ask again.

Yusuke and Keiko’s new restaurant opens on a snowy day. The floors of the elegant building each have their own designated function: the first, for food; the second, for spirit detective business; and the third, for living. It’s a really grand affair. Customers old and new flock to the restaurant. All the tables are arranged for the night so there’s room to dance.

Yusuke leads his friends on a full tour of the downstairs; they seem impressed with the massive windows, sweeping draperies, cozy booths, and curtains of lights that bathe the space in whatever color they want. Some of the demons and spirits who have come by to celebrate remark in passing that something about the building feels familiar; a bit like home. When they hit the second floor, Kido and Murota have an argument over which of the spacious offices will be theirs; Yusuke demands that they calmly discuss the matter over – only to cackle that the big one at the end of the hall is his. There is much love for the third floor, because that is a home, filled with the promise of a future. That, and it’s cushy. When Yusuke starts bragging about Kazuma’s designs, he makes himself scarce because all the praise that floats his way makes him go red in the face. He doesn’t want to be the center of attention. This is Yusuke and Keiko’s night.

Hiei has been gone for a few days to take care of Euric and train with Mukuro. He shows up to the opening a little late, just as he said he would. Kurama takes one look at Hiei when he walks in and scowls like someone has insulted his mother.

“What’s wrong?” Kazuma asks.

Kurama shakes his head. “Nothing. Let’s get another drink.”

Hiei keeps his distance from everyone, of course. Kazuma doesn’t think much of it. The guy’s changed a lot over the years, but he’s still as antisocial as ever when it comes to massive gatherings like this.

It’s when they go home that the truth comes out. Kazuma closes the door behind him and turns to find Hiei covered in gashes and bruises, courtesy of Mukuro. It was the Jagan that kept the entire party fooled. Only Kurama had seen through it. Yusuke had been pretty distracted.

It’s unclear how the argument starts out, but it turns into a full-blown shouting match. Some things said that neither of them are proud of. Kazuma ends up sleeping on the couch, even though it’s his fucking house and there’s a spare bedroom, but he’s too lazy to put sheets on the other bed and Hiei looks like he’s dying so of course he can have the master bedroom, Kazuma’s not a total jackass.

In the middle of the night, Hiei wakes him up and apologizes, in a roundabout way, for using the Jagan on him.

“That wasn’t cool,” Kazuma agrees solemnly, “but we’re good.” He catches Hiei’s hand before he goes upstairs. “Hang on a sec. Can I ask you something?”

Hiei inclines his head and waits.

“Are you…do you not want me…sexually…anymore?” Hiei stiffens, so he blunders on, “I-it’s alright if you don’t, y’know? I mean, I still want to be with you. I’d just like to know whether or not you still want…that to be a part of what we have, because if you don’t, then I can stop making an ass of myself every time I try to get frisky with you.”

Hiei’s lips draw in a thin line. “I don’t…want…”

Kazuma lets go. “Okay—”

“Let me finish,” Hiei snarls. “You aren’t the only one who has to collect his thoughts.” And he takes a nice long minute to do it. “I don’t want to continue our physical relationship until I’ve made it clear that I’m not using you for your body.”

“…Oh. You’re still stuck on that.”

At least you were a good fuck.

By the look on Hiei’s face, yeah, he’s still stuck on that.

Kazuma rubs his thumb against Hiei’s arm until he feels some of the tension fade away. “We’re past that part, remember? Look at where we are now. This is what matters, right here, not some stupid words we said when we were pissed off.”

“I have to—”

“You don’t have to do anything. I was just getting a little worried because, I mean, you didn’t tell me you felt that way and you were getting your ass beat by Mukuro worse and worse each time, and I guess I was a little jealous that you were running to her to avoid me.”

“I assure you, that is not the case. And I…apologize, again, for saying that.”

“It’s fine. I know you didn’t mean it.”

“Oh, no, I did mean that, at the very least,” Hiei says bluntly. “You are a good fuck.”

Genuine laughter bursts from Kazuma’s lips. “Well, at least I know I’m good for something if you ever decide to dump my stupid ass again! Maybe I should ditch architecture and work the streets instead. Advertise that my ass is endorsed by an S-class demon.” When he looks up, he shuts up.

Hiei looks furious.

“Do not put yourself down like that,” he snarls. “Not for me, or for anyone. You are so much more than that. Worth more than that. You are…something humans can only aspire to be. I see that. Yusuke and Kurama see that. Everyone you’ve ever reached with your spirit can see that.” His intense gaze softens and he curls his fingers lightly around the back of Kazuma’s neck. “As my lover, you are never allowed to doubt your abilities and your potential. Have faith in yourself as we have faith in you. As I have faith in you. Understand?”

Kazuma stares at him, and then he tugs him closer until he is seated in his lap. “Yeah, yeah, I got it.” He smirks. “Real inspirational stuff you said there. You never woulda said that before. You have changed.”

“I’m trying to ignore that fact,” Hiei intones, leaning forward.

They kiss lazily in the dark.

“So,” Kazuma asks, swiping his tongue across Hiei’s lips as he pulls away, “where does that leave us?”

“Right here,” Hiei replies. By the light coming in from the empty street, Kazuma can make out the way his ruby eyes are blown wide with lust.

“Okay. What should we do now?”

Hiei rocks forward, brushing the evidence of their arousal against each other. “I can think of a few things.”

They make love on the couch.

It is infinitely different from the previous times they’ve had sex. It’s not that those past times were pointless screws; as a matter of fact, each time was meaningful and genuine, filled with affection. But this—this time is different. Kazuma has already declared his love, and Hiei’s is on blatant display; it probably has been for a long time.

In the shadows of the night, they find each other more beautiful than ever before.

They have a lot of sex in every room over the next few days. They have a lot of catching up to do.

Hiei still goes to Makai. Frequently.

Kazuma hates the sympathetic looks Kurama keeps shooting him every time they meet up with friends and Hiei hangs back on the fringes because he’s too fucking tired to talk.

January

“Alright, you gotta stop.”

Hiei looks up from bandaging his arm. His very broken arm.

“I mean it. You have ages to beat her. I know you’re a warrior and you love the thrill of battle and shit, but you’re not giving yourself enough time to recover between training sessions and it’s killing you! I just…I don’t have as much time as you, okay? And I don’t want the time I spend here to be wasted on watching you tear yourself to bits. Fifty-some years’ll go by in the blink of an eye for a demon, won’t it? So can’t you just…wait? And when I’m out of your way, you can do whatever you want.”

That last bit sounded a little pouty, but whatever.

Hiei can’t do that endearing wide-eye thing because one of said eyes is swollen shut, but he tries. And then he drags Kazuma down to kiss him slowly. He licks his way into his mouth, seers his cheeks with his tongue, makes him soft and pliant with his bloodied lips until Kazuma’s slumped over the bed, panting.

“You think so little of yourself,” Hiei sighs. “Fifty years? You’ll live much longer than that. You’re no average human.”

It takes a second to sink in. Then Kazuma grins, big and dopey. “Aw, babe, are you hoping I’ll live to be a hundred or something like Genkai?”

Hiei pulls on his cheek. “No pet names.”

“How long do you think I’ll live, babe?”

The next kiss is sharper, followed by a harsh bite.

Kazuma nurses his abused lips until Hiei tugs his chin down.

“You will live as long as I tell you,” he breathes against his mouth. “You won’t die a second sooner. I’m going to wring every last moment out of you, take every breath until it’s all gone, do you understand?”

Kazuma’s been serious since this all started; since he bought the house, since he bought the apartment, since they first had sex, since they first kissed. Maybe even a little before then, even if he didn’t like the guy much. However, it seems that the truth is sinking in only now. This is forever talk. This is real shit. And his heart leaps, but only once, because maybe somewhere deep down, he’d been expecting this. Hoping for it.

“Yeah, okay,” he agrees dizzily. “Same goes for you too. And you better not ditch me when I’m old and wrinkly, because there are no take-backs here, ya get me?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’ll age magnificently.”

Aw. “But if I don’t, you’ll still love me. Right?”

“Mmm, that goes without saying,” Hiei purrs, hands finding loose purchase on the warm skin beneath Kazuma’s shirt. He suddenly finds himself gently removed and deposited on the bed.

“No sex until you’re healed up,” Kazuma says. “I don’t like tasting your blood in my mouth unless I draw it, and I ain’t gonna be responsible for breaking you even more.”

Hiei goes red. “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re not going to break—”

Kazuma gently pats his very broken arm.

“Fuck!”

The reality of adulthood kinda hits him like a Spirit Gun to the face.

It’s no one’s fault, really. He just opens his mail one day, sees the bills, and, after checking his accounts, has a silent freak out because he’s fairly certain he’s going to run out of money soon if he doesn’t start stepping up his game. The check he got from designing the restaurant was immensely helpful and more than a little generous, not that Yusuke gives a shit, but he still has to pay off the rest of his student loans and the house, which will probably take a long, long time. Plus, he needs to pay back Shizuru for everything she’s done for him. He knows she’d tell him to forget about it – in fact, she has – but he doesn’t like the idea of her supporting them both, and he knows she’s not taking money from Sakyo.

He starts taking extra cases at the detective agency in an effort to save up. It helps that Kido and Murota are around, because the business has kind of exploded ever since they moved into the new space above the restaurant, and with everyone else doing their own thing, he could use the assistance.

To his astonishment, Hiei does not approve of his newfound work ethic. “Enough. You’re going to overexert yourself. What about school?”

“School’s fine,” Kazuma replies, eyebrows up to his hairline. “I’ve got all As now.”

Hiei still insists it’s a bad idea and demands that he wait until graduation to worry about trivial things like money.

The thing is, Kazuma isn’t the waiting type.

“Well, if this feels like you’re cheating,” Yusuke begins, “then just quit doin’ it!” His fist leaves a sizable dent on a demon’s face.

“And do what?” Kazuma retorts, lopping off someone’s arm. “Let my debt sit around?”

“Uh, yeah! Ready?”

“Yeah! Move!”

Yusuke springs out of the way and Kazuma draws his web of spirit energy shut. The demon lackeys that are still alive within screech curses or wail for mercy. On a rooftop across the way, their leader sneers coldly and leaps off into the night.

“Comin’ for you next, Kirigio!” Kazuma hollers. He turns to Yusuke and jerks a thumb at him. “Can you believe that jerk?”

“Ah, we’ll nab him soon,” Yusuke promises, poking one of their encased foes. “And as far as cash goes, I know all of these guys here have some decent money on their heads. You’ll be fine.”

“I’m only takin’ what I’m owed, no more,” Kazuma reminds him.

“Yeah, yeah.”

Okay, so Kazuma takes a lot more cases than he should when Hiei’s off in Makai. So what? It’s not like he’s doing anything wrong, and okay, it’s not cheating, not really – in fact, not at all, because there is no other person for him to cheat with, unless he counts the faces he pounds into the pavement.

“Keep telling yourself that,” Yusuke snorts when he makes this point.

Kazuma is also careful, very careful, to keep his injuries to a minimum. While Yukina has improved her healing techniques over the years, she uses up a lot of energy with the big problems, and he’s not going to let her jeopardize her education by tiring her out. Plus, she gets very cross with him when he’s hurt, and he’d rather avoid her icy wrath.

Miraculously, his grades still don’t waver. He stays up late into the night long after he closes a case, building up his models and working on his materials, perfecting his mockup city. The presentation is in less than a month, and yes, he’s pretty much done, but preparedness never hurt anyone.

Hiei doesn’t seem to suspect anything, but that probably means he suspects something, even though he never shows it.

“Of course he knows something’s up,” Yukina sniffs primly as she works her magic on Kazuma’s sprained wrist. Hiei just left yesterday, and of course the first thing Kazuma does is go out with Yusuke and try to tackle that Kirigio jerk. Obviously it didn’t end well. “You’re not fooling anyone. Have you looked in a mirror lately?”

Honestly, no. She shoves one in his face. He looks. Paper-pale skin and dark circles under the eyes. “S’not that bad.”

“You look like death warmed over,” she disagrees.

“Yeah, well, if I look so bad, why hasn’t he said anything?”

She looks unimpressed. “Really? Why doesn’t my brother say anything? Do you really have to ask?”

“No,” Kazuma sighs mournfully. “When did you become so sassy?”

“Since I wound up with an accident-prone fool for a friend.”

“Careful, you’re startin’ to sound like your bro—cold! Cold!”

Yukina removes some of the ice she has encased his hand with. “Oops. I was aiming for the wrist. Sorry.” She is not sorry at all.

The back of his collar is yanked and he’s hauled out of his chair. “Whoa—ack—hey, hey, what gives, you little runt!”

Hiei drags him to the kitchen and points. “Sit.”

Kazuma sits.

A plate of food is set in front of him. He smiles a little. “Did you—”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I stopped by the restaurant and had Keiko fix something quick. Eat.”

“Um, I’m not really—”

Ruby eyes glint. “Eat.”

Kazuma eats.

Hiei doesn’t leave until it’s all gone. Satisfied, he dumps the dish in the sink and takes the seat across from Kazuma. They have an awkward staring contest.

“Okaaay…what was that about?”

“You’ve been forgetting to eat lately.” Hiei fingers the salt shaker in an ominous manner. “I have been lenient, but I know for a fact that you have not consumed anything at all today, and you are going to tell me why.”

Kazuma reaches out and takes his hand, mostly because the salt shaker thing is making him nervous. “It’s just school, okay? I’m prepping for finals and I have this presentation I have to prepare for, and I think it’s just getting to me.”

Hiei graciously refrains from calling him on his bullshit.

Kazuma gets a minor fracture in his right hand, and Hiei bans him from the agency.

“Okay, you know I love you, but if he comes asking how you got these case files, I will deny, deny, deny,” Yusuke says.

“This is stupid,” Kurama decides.

They ignore him.

“Really? Well, make sure you bring back some disks of the buildings. I could use the inspiration. Still coming back in three days?”

“Yes. Don’t pester me, you’ll have your silly images. What are you doing right now?”

“Oh, just hanging with the guys.” Technically true.

“And you haven’t taken on any new cases?”

“Nope!” Also technically true. This is an old case that hasn’t been closed yet. “I’ll see you when you get back, okay? Love you!”

“Hn. Of course you do.”

The call ends.

“Hiei never struck me as a cellphone type,” comes Kido’s muffled voice from somewhere behind him. “Guess he really feels he has to keep a close eye on you now. Hey, how do you get reception in Makai?”

“Shaddup.”

“Wow,” Murota whispers next to him, “he’s gonna be so pissed if he finds out about all those other cases you’re planning to take on when your hand’s healed.”

“Again, shaddup. And get out of my head!”

“Just making conversation—wait, I think…yeah, those’re Kirigio’s thoughts. He’s just beyond that row of cargo containers.”

“Let’s go.”

The only reason he gets hurt is because this Kirigio chump doesn’t play fair at all. His consolation prize is that the demon doesn’t survive the explosion.

“I’d hit you if you weren’t injured,” Yukina warbles, blowing her nose. “You idiot!”

“It was one lousy slip-up—”

“No, it was a whole line of them! Kazuma, you’ve been skipping meals, you haven’t been sleeping, and to top it all off, you’ve been running around exhausting yourself with school and the stupid agency. And then you take a case that you all haven’t been able to close for weeks because the suspect is actually clever, and look where it lands you! You didn’t even give your hand time to heal!”

“I asked Botan to fix it—”

“And I told her not to, because I’ve told you that you can’t just keep using magic to fix yourself. Natural healing helps your flesh and bones grow stronger—”

A dark figure in the door startles them.

“What’re you doing back?!” Kazuma yelps. “You still have two days left!”

Kurama pops his head in, looking every bit guilty and not the least bit ashamed. “I had to. This is getting ridiculous. I’m taking your pudding, by the way.”

“Traitor!” Kazuma howls as he disappears. “Stay outta my fridge!”

Yukina gets up and goes to the door. She lays a hand on her brother’s shoulder and whispers something to him, to which he shakes his head. She shoots Kazuma another disappointed frown and leaves.

“I can’t decide what I hate more,” Hiei muses. “Your deceit, or your blasphemy.” He rubs a hand over his mouth. “Why?”

Kazuma sighs. “I needed the money.”

“Moron. Sakyo would pay—”

 “I don’t want anyone to pay! A man shouldn’t rely on his friends and family to dig him out of debt. It just ain’t right.”

“So this is about pride, not money.”

“Wha—no—you know what, forget it. You’re a demon. You don’t have these kinds of responsibilities. You don’t have to worry about money or shelter or people. Even the demons living in Euric don’t need you to watch over them all the time. They did just fine on their own before. I don’t even know why you’ve been spending so much time over there lately.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying you could be a little more honest about what you’re really doing over there. You don’t come back with a lot of injuries, so you sure ain’t sparring with Mukuro.”

“Tread carefully.”

“No! You—fuck—god, Hiei, can’t you just love me enough to let me do this?”

Hiei glares at him and just leaves.

Of course he runs. How like him.

Kazuma is half-asleep when Hiei marches back in and slaps something down on the nightstand. Cash.

“There. Your cut for the case.”

“But,” Kazuma yawns, “he died.”

“He was wanted dead or alive. You should have paid attention to that, and slaughtered him the first time.” Hiei gets up close to his face. “I love you, but not enough to watch you kill yourself over money.”

For a moment, Kazuma can’t breathe. “You said the words.”

“Did you hear me?”

“Yeah, I heard the words.”

“I hate you.”

“No, you love me. I heard you say the words.”

Hiei deflates and presses their foreheads together. “You fool. Have you ever had any doubt?”

“Nope.”

Hiei clambers into bed, mindful of Kazuma’s burns, and, after some rearranging, settles in his arms. “Can’t you love me enough to take care of yourself?”

“…That’s playing dirty. But…yeah. Okay. I’m done running around like a crazy person.”

“Good. Now sleep.”

“It’s one in the afternoon.”

“Sleep.”

Kirigio had a lot of money on his head.

February

Shizuru drives Kazuma to Tokyo. Their friends follow. They spend a couple days exploring the city and checking out the exhibits of the AIA Japan event.

Then the day of the presentation arrives. Kazuma throws up twice.

He waits in another room with the other competitors. There’s a good few dozen from universities all over Japan, but he reminds himself that he just needs to hit tenth place and he’ll be going to America. He checks his notecards a million times, and then it’s his turn.

The room he presents in is a small auditorium, very intimate. The panel of judges is lined up in the first row. There are a few observers sitting further towards the back, but the lights are too bright for him to see them. He can only hope that the liveliness of his city can reach them too.

He takes a deep breath, and begins.

Eleventh place.

He rereads the slip of paper that was returned to him and checks the comments. They say that they were impressed, but…

Bizarre layout…beyond human society…otherworldly.

The inspiration he drew from came not only from human cities, but from cities of Makai and Reikai. His professors’ remarks over the past few years flood his head, and he understands where he went wrong. The people he built this city for belonged to three different realms, not one. It was supposed to be harmonistic. A way to bridge the gap. He’d hoped that these people might have seen it that way. How stupidly optimistic of him.

He finds a quiet spot and closes his eyes.

Unusually warm hands soon draw him close, and he weeps.

His birthday comes on the twenty-seventh. They all head for the estate. It turns into another beach party. There’s a lot of booze, food, music, and laughter. More importantly, there are lots of friends.

When twilight turns to dusk, Kazuma leaves his friends to the sand and the waves. He makes his way back to the house and finds Hiei on the upper balcony. The view of the beach is the same.

The night is near frigid, but they undress anyway and draw together.

Very soon, the cold is no longer a problem, and eleventh place is long-forgotten.

March

Graduation day. He doesn’t really remember what happens. It’s a blur, but there are some parts he can recall. Fidgeting nervously in line as he waits for his diploma. Hearing his friends scream his name when he accepts it. Finding a pair of red eyes in a sea of faces. There’s a lot of photo taking and congratulations and saying goodbye to the friends made over the past four years, with genuine promises to stay in touch. Kazuma really will miss them. They’re good people.

Yusuke goes all out with the party.

The restaurant, closed off to the general public, is laden with banners and lights, the air rich with the smell of delicious cooking. Yusuke makes a toast to his best friend right off the bat, and the celebration starts.

Kazuma gorges himself on wonderful food and cold beers; he accepts well-wishes and gifts from family and friends; he dances with Yukina for what feels like ages. Out there on the dance floor, with her swaying in front of him and her pretty lips split in an ecstatic smile, he tries to imagine what it would be like if they were still together. He can’t. Especially when he looks at her red eyes and can only think of her brother.

She beckons to him over the pulsing music and he leans in close to hear her.

“I love you, Kazuma, really, but if you hurt my brother, I’ll put your balls on ice.”

A high peal of laughter rises over the din.

Cheeks burning, Kazuma whips his head over. Kurama is hunched over a table, having a fit, and Yusuke prods him desperately, trying to figure out what caused it.

“Geez, Yukina! I think you’ve been hanging out with my sister too much.”

She shakes her head. “I’ve been meaning to say that to you for a while; how I said it is just because I’ve been drinking a little.”

“Yeah? How much is a little?”

She throws back her head and laughs. The sound reminds him that he will always love this girl; that love is just a little different now. “Just spin me.”

Sometime later, he shares a table and a beer with the three closest friends he’ll ever know.

“I’d ask what you all find so humorous,” Hiei says, leaning away from Kurama and Yusuke, “but then I’d have to pretend to be interested.”

“Mean, so mean, short stuff,” Yusuke snorts into his arm.

Kurama looks like he’s been crying. “Now, now, don’t be rude.”

Hiei looks to Kazuma for clarification, but he shakes his head fiercely. “Nothin’!” He changes topics. “Have I told you yet that you look really freakin’ good?”

Hiei tugs at the collar of his dress shirt. “I’m starting to think you have a fetish.”

“Wear normal clothes more often and you might be able to cure me of it.”

“Who says I want to cure you? You fuck me well when you see me dressed like this.”

Kurama looks like he’s going to start crying for an entirely different reason.

“So, Kuwabara,” Yusuke inquires now that he’s gotten a hold of himself, “what are you gonna do now?”

He’s thought about this. “I’d like to try for a Master’s, but I think I’ll take a year off. Do some travelling before school crushes me, you know? Work and earn enough money to actually go to school again.”

“Well, that’s a plan. And how does it feel to be the only one of us to have achieved ‘higher education’?”

“Uh, I dunno. Good, I guess?”

“Feelin’ more intelligent than us?”

“What? Nah. I mean, look at you all. Hiei’s practically rulin’ his own mini-country, you’ve got a kick-ass restaurant, Kurama’s taken his dad’s company to the next level—I don’t have much.”

“You have an eye for architecture that will take you places,” Kurama disagrees. “A house in which you can settle for the rest of your days, if you so choose. Friends and family who will remain by your side till death. A lover who would walk through fire for you—”

A vaguely familiar voice cuts in: “He also has connections to powerful people who are eager to utilize his talent as soon as possible.”

They turn. Sakyo stands there looking every bit the suave shit that he did all those years ago. This is his element: high class parties, fancy suits, dancing and drinks galore. “Congratulations again, Kuwabara.”

“Thanks. Uh. What did you mean by…?”

Sakyo slides a card onto the table. “Koenma has been generous enough to lift some of my restrictions, so I’m seeking to build my business back up.”

“Wasn’t your business buying and selling demons?” Yusuke deadpans.

“That was not my only business,” Sakyo replies, looking extremely uncomfortable. A few years back, that kind of question wouldn’t have fazed him at all. He focuses back on Kazuma. “In any case, I’m going to need a new workspace. I have big plans. I’d love to work something out with you. Drop by sometime this week and we’ll talk.”

“R-right. Sure.”

Sakyo nods politely to all of them and turns to leave.

Yusuke claps Kazuma on the back. “Who the hell needs America? You just got yourself your first client! Well, technically, I was your first client, but whatever.”

“Well done, Kuwabara,” Kurama praises. Hiei nods approvingly.

“I hope I haven’t missed an opportunity,” someone else intrudes.

Kurama makes a faint noise of surprise—or is it disgust?

Yomi, dressed in a stylish red suit, horns and ears out for all to see, smiles and, without preamble, launches into some lengthy speech about recruitment and reinvention and a chance to study with the brightest minds of urban planning Makai has to offer.

“Surely you intend to reach a point before his lifespan runs out?” Kurama interrupts pleasantly—or nastily, it’s hard to tell.

Yomi inclines his head patiently. “I am offering you a job, Kuwabara, and a chance to go beyond what you’ve learned in your silly human school. Take as much time as you need to think it over. Kurama will deliver your response to me.”

“You delude yourself!” Kurama calls to the sightless king’s retreating form.

Hiei bursts out laughing.

Yusuke and Kazuma ask, “What?”

“It’s nothing—” Kurama barely gets out.

“And people call me cruel,” Hiei chuckles, taking a sip of whatever foul-looking concoction he had the bartender whip up for him. “I may not be pleasant, but at least I do not deny my heart.”

“What?” they whine.

“Yomi is pursuing him,” Hiei explains with no small amount of delight. “He seeks to woo him genuinely.”

“The fuck?”

“Since when?”

“Since I first left Hiei with you,” Kurama grumbles, downing the rest of his drink. “He is relentless. He dismisses my rejection, sends me missives, gives me—things.”

“What kind of things?” Kazuma cackles.

“Seeds,” Kurama admits.

“You continue to accept them,” Hiei accuses. “Stop, and so will he.”

“They are rare,” the fox demon argues. “Do you know how much I’ve longed to rebuild my personal stores since taking on this human form? What I have now doesn’t even begin to compare to the collection I retained so long ago.”

“Sounds like he’s counting on that,” Yusuke laughs. “You sure you don’t want him even in the slightest?”

They can all see the red in Kurama’s face, even under these colorful lights.

“Mmm, they don’t even know about the best gift,” Hiei hums.

“I don’t like you when you drink,” Kurama declares morosely.

“It seems that Yomi offered up Gandara in an attempt to win his hand. What were his words? ‘The heart of my territory for your heart’. Something like that.”

Kurama gets up to get a stronger drink from the bar. When he gets back, they’re still laughing.

“So—so what’s the problem then?” Kazuma wheezes. “You two are already, y’know, so why don’t you just make it official?”

“Yomi’s got baggage,” Yusuke reminds him. “His little punk of a kid, remember? Although Shura’s kinda sweet when he’s not trying to rip your eyes out. I dunno, Kurama, I think you should go for it. It’s obvious you like him; I don’t think you of all people could do so much casual sex and not feel anything.”

“Give us one reason, one good reason, why you shouldn’t go out with the guy, or whatever it is that demons do when they wanna commit.”

“I am the reason he is blind.”

They grow quiet.

“Does he know?” Yusuke asks.

“Yes.”

“So you think he’s scheming to get back at you,” Kazuma says.

“…No. We have moved beyond that. His advances are genuine.”

“Okay, so give us another reason.”

“…He irritates me.” He’s met with protests. “That is a good enough reason for me. And if you truly insist on dragging me through this hellish conversation, then I require alcohol. Lots of it.”

“If your mother could see you now,” Yusuke chides, even as he signals one of his waiters.

Kurama seizes Hiei’s arm as he tries to stand. “No, you are staying here, even if I have to bind you to my side. You started this, and you will see it through.”

Drinks arrive, Kurama looks sour, and things get very interesting.

More food, more dancing, more chatting. The night wears on.

Kazuma stumbles away from the crowd for a breather. It’s getting too hot; he’s already lost his jacket and tie. The shirt might be next.

“You’ve done well.”

He glances at Hiei. “Think so?”

The demon inclines his head and offers his hand. Fingers linked, they stumble towards one of the private dining rooms—only to back straight out as quickly and quietly as possible.

“My fucking eyes,” Kazuma hisses as Hiei leads him to the outdoor seating area instead. “He needs to make up his mind. Either he wants the bastard, or he doesn’t!”

“He’ll come to his senses soon enough. Yomi is nothing if not persistent.”

“Yeah, he seemed pretty persistent about shoving his tongue down Kurama’s throat.” The cool air hits him and he crows with relief. “Much better.” They stand side by side for a bit, enjoying the breeze, and then he turns and hugs Hiei. “Fuckin’ love you, shrimp.”

“Save the sentimentality for another day.” However, he returns the embrace.

Kazuma buries his face in his black hair and sighs contentedly. The song changes to something slow and borderline romantic. He starts to sway.

No, wait.

“Hiei…are you trying to dance with me?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” He is, he really is.

“Oh my god.” Kazuma’s face hurts from smiling. He’s been doing that a lot lately. “You could’ve just asked.”

Hiei adjusts their arms. “Quiet, fool, I’m only doing this because I’m drunk.”

“But are you? Are you really?”

Hiei kicks his leg.

Charmed, Kazuma kisses him.

They sway and shuffle their feet because neither of them knows how to dance properly. Somehow, though, that just makes it perfect.

Of course, in the morning, the hangover lays waste to Kazuma.

“The hell,” he moans over the toilet bowl. “How are you still standing? I know I saw you drinking the strong stuff for demons. Even Chu was all over the place.”

“I don’t get hangovers,” Hiei states from his post in the doorway. His nose is wrinkled, but every time Kazuma starts barfing, he comes in and rubs his back soothingly like he’s done this before. “And before I forget…” He disappears.

In the meantime, Kazuma hurls.

“You really shouldn’t drink so much,” Hiei chides, reappearing.

“Fuck you.”

“Later. Can you restrain your stomach long enough to look at your gift?”

“Aw,” Kazuma croaks, slumping against the porcelain throne, “you got me something for graduation?”

Hiei opens a folder and lowers it to Kazuma’s eye level. Kazuma skims the words on the page, then the next one when it’s turned, and then the next one, and then he feels a little faint. “I don’t understand,” he says, though he understands perfectly.

“Your gift is the house.”

“But how—”

“I paid it off. You are now debt free—at least in this aspect. I won’t touch your student loans, or else you’ll whine insufferably. And before you argue, let me remind you that I live here too. It’s only fair. I won’t hear your complaints on this manner, or I’ll rip your tongue out, understand?”

Clever, springing this on him when he’s too weak to retaliate. “Thank you,” he mumbles. “I mean it. But where did you find the money?”

“You were right when you accused me of spending too much time in Makai. I was not sparring with Mukuro that often. I was working cases.”

“Cases? Like…”

“Yusuke now has a Makai branch of his agency, based in Euric.”

“Does he know?”

“Of course.”

Kazuma takes another moment to vomit, and then asks, “So you made enough money to pay off my house?”

“No. To earn that much would have taken too long. I was very…lenient about what I charged.”

“Softie—no, no, don’t leave, don’t leeeave, m’sorry! What did you do then, if you weren’t making that much?”

“I sold my Hiruseki Stones.”

Kazuma slaps a hand to his own collar bone to reassure himself that he’s still wearing the one he was given. Hiei looks very unimpressed. “Sorry. I thought—”

“You once apologized for causing my tears, but it seems I did not weep in vain. I now happen to be more than a little wealthy. Perhaps wealthy enough to finance an up and coming architect. Euric could use some renovations somewhere.”

“Oh,” comes the faint reply.

The fond look in those red eyes will never get old. “Just something to think about.”

Kazuma would declare his undying love, but he’s too busy puking his guts out.

July

When Kazuma wakes up, it’s pouring outside. The other side of the bed is empty. Eikichi is whining for food. He goes downstairs and feeds her. There are giant sheets of paper spread out on the kitchen table. The topmost designs are that of the sister cities which would be appearing in Makai and Reikai someday. He rifles through the pile until he finds Sakyo’s commission. The building would be completed in late fall, but he just likes to look at it sometimes. It’s one of his best works.

He returns to the bedroom and finds Hiei perched on the window seat. He is staring at the street, watching the cars struggle against the unrelenting torrents; the odd pedestrian picks his way down the sidewalk under an umbrella. Kazuma pads over and wedges himself between Hiei and the side-window. The demon shifts enough to let him in, relaxing against his chest.

They sit for what feels like ages, caught in some spell that they don’t want to escape.

Eventually, they spot Yusuke and Kurama battling the winds as they come down the sidewalk. They push through the front gate, and then Yusuke loses his pathetic scrap of an umbrella to the heavens. Kurama laughs. Yusuke kicks mud at him. Outraged, Kurama retaliates, and in minutes, they’re both filthy.

“They’re going to make a mess of the vestibule,” Hiei says absentmindedly.

“Oh, yeah, definitely.” Keiko appears at the gate and screams something at Yusuke, who makes a face and splashes her. The result is not pretty. Sakyo pulls up in the driveway; from within his car, Shizuru, Yukina, and Atsuko debate whether they want to step out and risk being drawn into the war. A familiar aura draws nearer as well. Koenma and Botan are almost here.

The doorbell rings.

“I’ll get it.”

Hiei touches his hand. “They know where the spare key is. Stay.”

Kazuma tangles their fingers together, and stays.