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~~STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY!!~~
"If only tears could bring you back to me
If only love could find a way"
~If Only Tears Could Bring You Back, Midnight Sons
Chapter Three
Kurama awoke early the next morning to get ready for class. To his surprise, Hiei wasn't in bed. Maybe he got up early? The kitsune dressed quickly and exited the bedroom. On his way to the kitchen, he noticed Hiei asleep on the couch. Wha-?! I thought he would come to bed! Opting to let Hiei sleep for a bit longer, Kurama went to the kitchen to make breakfast. He made two omelettes, each with three eggs, chopped onion, green peppers, ham, and cheese.
As the kitsune went to wake his sleeping lover, he saw the clock. K'so! I'm going to be late! The half-youko hurried to the living room. He stopped in front of the couch and smiled tenderly. Gods, he looks so kawaii! The fire demon was curled around himself, and held an innocent look on his face. Kurama blinked, remembering the time, and shook Hiei gently to wake him. The Jaganshi moaned and slowly opened his beautiful crimson eyes, blinking sleepily at Kurama. "Hiei, I made breakfast for you. It's on the table. I've got to go before I'm late." He moved to leave.
"Fox?" Hiei's voice was choked with emotion. Kurama turned back, concerned. The fire demon threw his arms around the kitsune's waist and hugged him fiercely.
Kurama blinked and looked down at Hiei, who was showing no intention of letting go. The fire demon didn't usually show this much affection. After a moment, the kitsune returned the embrace, his heart aching as he felt Hiei's slight trembling. Gods, this is hard! How can I abandon him?! The half-youko somehow managed to fight back the tears that threatened to overwhelm him. After a moment, he gently pulled away. "I have to go."
Hiei looked up at him with an unreadable expression his face. "Hn." The fire demon looked away, as Kurama turned around, his gut twisting. He's leaving me alone again...
The fire demon was right. Kurama hurried to the kitchen and put his omelette on a paper plate and ran out the door. "Ja, Hiei!" The door shut behind him, leaving Hiei feeling more alone than he had felt in a long time.
Hiei rose and went into the kitchen. The omelette was at his place on the table. It looks good. The fire demon ate it slowly, savoring every bite. The fox hadn't cooked for him in a few days, and few other people could match the delicate flavor of the kitsune's cuisines. As he ate, he thought about the last few days. I must've done something really wrong for Kurama to be so mad at me. He didn't even want to hug me back. I really screwed up...But how? I need to make up for...whatever I did. The Jaganshi washed all of the dirty dishes, being careful not to break any, and put them away.
Then, leaving a note for Kurama, the sanjiyan went to visit his sister.
Hours later, Hiei returned to the apartment, carrying some soup that Yukina had prepared for him, hoping that it might ease some of the tension between her brother and his lover. It had been cloudy all day, and as soon as Hiei left the temple, the clouds had opened on him, drenching every layer of clothing in seconds. Hiei pulled at his sodden clothing disgustedly, then set down the parcel and took off his muddy shoes, setting them on the rug by the door, where they belonged. He hung his soaked cloak over the vent to dry, put the soup on the counter, then went to change out of his wet clothes.
The Jaganshi didn't expect Kurama back for a few more hours, so he made the bed and straightened up the apartment, things that Yukina had told him he should do.
After he finished, the sanjiyan sat down at the kitchen table. Kurama should be home in an hour, the fire demon thought to himself, glancing at the clock. I'll wait a little while to start the soup. As the minutes passed, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier, until he fell asleep.
Kurama let himself in. It had been pouring when his last class let out, and he was soaked to the bone. He slipped his shoes off and put them on the rug near the door, noting with surprise that Hiei had done the same with his muddy boots. As Kurama went to hang his coat over the vent to dry, he nearly died of shock to find Hiei's already there. Hiei remembered! The kitsune felt it and found that the much-used cloak was dry. Replacing it with his own coat, Kurama hung the cloak in the closet.
Kurama went to his bedroom, eager to get into some dry clothes. He stopped at the door, his mouth open in surprise. Hiei had made the bed. And he'd straightened up the room. The half-youko changed, then went into the kitchen to start dinner, noting on his way that the apartment was neater than when he had left.
Hiei was curled in one of the chairs at the kitchen table, his head resting on the armrest, sound asleep. Kurama stared at the little youkai for a moment, then shook him gently. "Hiei?" The fire demon was instantly awake. "Thank you for cleaning up the apartment."
Hiei swallowed and looked away. "I have dinner too," he whispered. "I just have to warm it up." The fire demon pushed himself off the chair, still avoiding the kitsune's eyes. "Sit down."
Kurama had no intention of disobeying the youkai. He cleaned AND cooked? Wow!
Hiei walked to the counter and unwrapped the cloth from around the tuperware container of soup. A small piece of paper fell to the floor and the fire demon picked it up. It read:
~Yukina
The corner of Hiei's mouth curved up as he stuffed the note into his pocket. Thanks, Yukina. The fire demon followed the direction, then served a bowl of the delicious smelling soup to Kurama, and filled one for himself.
Kurama looked at the soup. It's ORANGE! "What is this, Hiei?"
The fire demon frowned. He's looking at it like it's poison... "Yukina said something about it being cheese soup."
The fox nodded and tried the soup. "It's good!" Hiei had tried it earlier, and he'd had much the same reaction. "Did Yukina make this?"
Hiei nodded. "She said that you'd probably be too tired to cook. She'd made too much anyway." The last part was a lie; the Koorime had made the soup as a special meal for him to give to Kurama, making enough for herself to keep as well. Hiei half-hoped Kurama would catch the lie.
But Kurama only nodded, accepting the answer. "Tell her thank you for me. It's good."
Hiei nodded. The meal was eaten in silence after that. What did I do so wrong that Kurama hates me? the fire demon wondered, berating himself for whatever he'd done. He won't even talk to me! Stupid! I'm so stupid! I can't do ANYTHING right!! The sanjiyan forced himself to swallow the rest of the soup through a constricted throat, then picked up his empty bowl and washed it out in the sink, fighting back tears.
Kurama watched as Hiei stood at the sink, not unaware that the fire demon's back was shaking slightly as he rinsed out the soup bowl. Quickly finishing the delicious meal, Kurama stood and brought his dish to the sink as well. "Hiei..?" The fire demon started, accidently dropping the plate on the floor as he whirled. It shattered into what looked, to Hiei, like a million pieces. "Oh, Hiei, let me help you pick this mess up."
"Sorry." The sanjiyan avoided Kurama's eyes as they picked up the shattered china. After dumping the shards into the trash, Hiei hurriedly left the room.
Kurama put his dish in the sink and went after him. The dishes can wait! Hiei sat on the windowsill in the bedroom, watching the rain. The kitsune went over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hiei? What's wrong?"
The fire demon didn't answer for a moment. Finally he said, "Nothing."
Kurama frowned. "Bull." The fox gently lifted Hiei's chin until the Jaganshi was forced to look at him. "Please tell me."
Hiei stared at him for a moment, then gave in to the kitsune's beautiful eyes. "I-" The phone rang. Kurama ignored it. It continued to ring. The fire demon looked away from Kurama's eyes, breaking the spell that had made him want to confess his worries to the sexy kitsune. "You'd better get that. It might be important," the fire demon said bitterly.
Kurama gave him an odd look and let go of him. Doesn't he understand that HE'S most important to me? The kitsune sighed explosively and answered the phone.
Hiei watched his lover from the windowsill as he answered the phone. I'm not important to him anymore... The fire demon listened to Kurama's end of the telephone conversation. Obviously, it was the kitsune's ningen mother. And she wanted the fox to come over. Hiei turned back toward the window, disgusted.
"Mom, I've had a hard day...But I have to...I can't come over..." Kurama sighed. "I'll be there in a little while...I love you too...Sure...Bye." The kitsune hung up and turned to Hiei. "I'm sorry. My 'Kaasan wants me to come over for a while."
Hiei didn't look at Kurama. "Hn."
The fox knelt beside him. "Hiei, I'm sorry. I'd stay with you if I could. You know that." Hiei continued to stare out the window. After a moment, Kurama touched the fire demon's cheek. The sanjiyan flinched and glanced at the kitsune. Kurama kissed Hiei gently. "I'll come back as soon as I can." Hiei nodded. "Ja, Hiei." The kitsune left.
Hiei sighed. Maybe he's not upset with me anymore... The fire demon got up and finished the dishes, then took a quick shower and got into his pajamas. Kurama still wasn't home. Maybe he had a lot of stuff to do. Finally, Hiei decided to go to bed without him. Considering that the fire demon had gotten little sleep over the past couple of days, sleep came easily to him, despite his troubled thoughts.
Kurama didn't get in until nearly one in the morning. I hope Hiei didn't wait up for me. He looked tired earlier. It had still been raining when he left his mother's house.
Tesia's parents had wanted to meet him, so his mother had made his come over. The kitsune had torn away from the event as soon as he could. Kurama couldn't suppress a feeling of helplessness. It was very obvious that he wouldn't get out of being wedded unless he told his mother about Hiei, and he wasn't quite sure how to do it.
Kurama removed his muddy shoes and put them on the rug by the door, then hung his coat over the vent again. He went into the bedroom, where he found that Hiei was already in bed, sleeping soundly. Good. He needed some sleep.
The kitsune changed into his pajamas and crawled into bed next to Hiei, his mind too full of troubled thoughts to let him sleep. What am I going to do? Should I tell my mother the truth? If I do she'll hate me...But if I don't...I'll lose Hiei. I could marry Tesia then leave when 'Kaasan dies...But what could I do about Hiei? I can't abandon him like that! Kurama turned over to look at the slumbering fire demon. I'll tell him in the morning and ask him what he thinks I should do. Problems for the night solved, Kurama settled down to try to sleep.
Just as the kitsune was drifting off, Hiei moaned in his sleep. Kurama was immediately awake. Hw watched with concern as the sanjiyan moved restlessly. Every so often, Hiei would have nightmares, usually when he was under a lot of stress. The fire demon had never told the fox what they were about, but Kurama suspected that they were about the youkai's childhood.
Hiei struggled helplessly in the blanket, swinging baby-sized fists at the unyielding fabric. He knew with horrible certainty what was going to happen, and he couldn't stop it. He had yet to see who held him, but he knew who it was. A Koorime. Not just any Koorime; it was his own mother, and she was going to throw him from the island. Again.
Suddenly the blanket was pulled away from his face, and he blinked at the brightness of the light reflecting off the snow and ice. He turned his head to see who held him, trying to see his mother's features. Instead, he found himself staring into huge, emerald eyes, set in a beautiful ningen face framed by long red tresses. Kurama!
An evil smile transformed the fire demon's beloved into that of a monster. "Disgusting Forbidden Child! You never should have been born! How could you think that anyone could love something as pitiful as you?" With a sinister chuckle, the kitsune, the only person whom Hiei had dared to love, cast him over the edge of the Floating City and down to certain doom.
Kurama pretended to sleep as Hiei sat up with a gasp and looked around the room with a slightly panicked look on his face. The fire demon glanced at him, then lay back down, breathing raggedly.
Hiei put a hand to his Jagan. It hurts. It felt as if someone was ramming a stake through his skull. The sanjiyan beat down a feeling of dread. The only time his Jagan felt like that was when he had a premonition. This dream is going to come true?! Please, no! The fire demon sat up again and looked at Kurama, who was 'asleep'. A tear gem fell to the mattress unoticed. He's going to abandon me...Just like everyone else. Hiei swallowed hard and hugged his knees to his chest, fighting down more tears.
Kurama watched as Hiei trembled. It must have been one doozy of a nightmare. I want to comfort him, but I know he gets embarrassed when I see him upset like this. I'll ask him about it tomorrow when I 'find' the tear gem.
Hiei looked at the fox, HIS fox, sleeping peacefully beside him, and tried not to think about the dream. He failed. I can't sleep here. The fire demon rose, grabbing his pillow and an extra blanket, and padded to the living room to spend the night on the couch.
Kurama watched as he left, stricken. What was that dream about?! He started to get up to go after him, but reconsidered. The last time he'd done that, Hiei had gotten upset with him and had left for a few days. Kurama lay down and, after a while, slipped into an uneasy sleep.
Hiei lay down on the couch, wishing that the dream had never happened. Is Kurama really going to leave me? He certainly acts like he doesn't love me anymore. Is it true? The fire demon couldn't suppress a silent sob. Tear gems fell to the couch, and Hiei stuffed them between the cushions. After a while, the little youkai cried himself out, and he fell into a restless slumber.
Oops, I did it again. Anybody else hate Brittany Spears as much as I do? Anyhoo, as I was saying, I'm being mean to Hiei-sama...again. It's my addiction. (Only I don't think anyone's complaining much about this one...) Ooo...Look at the time! It's 2:30 am. Off to beddy-bye! Oyasami nasai, minna-san!!
On to Chapter Four
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