The sheets were cold. Nails dug in, pulling, tearing. Long, perfect locks of red hair fell over like curtains. Hesitant gasps and wordless voices. Lips, mouth, teeth—hall against pale skin. Scarred skin. Marked skin. Lower and lower he went, gently, as if his lover were made out of glass. As if he would shatter. He turned his ear against the small chest below him. A thumping heart. He slid down—
"Stop," Hiei said, voice clear and abrupt.
Kurama lifted his head, and stared with half-lidden and dark eyes.
"Are you alright, Hiei?" he asked carefully.
"Of course I'm alright," came the snap. Kurama winced internally. He rose the rest of the way and watched in the half-darkness as Hiei sat up.
"Then why did you ask me to stop?" The fox knew just how far to push it. He anticipated the strict glare from his companion, as well as the taut silence.
Hiei moved to the edge of the bed and began dressing himself. Kurama turned a light on and pushed some of his hair back, watching the other. The koorime stopped in the middle of slipping on one of his boots to glare once more.
"Stop staring at me."
Kurama quirked an eyebrow. "Hard not to do when you're putting a boot on the wrong foot, Hiei," he said calmly, unable to hold back an innocent smile.
Hiei scowled and threw the damned thing to the floor. It was a surprise he didn't light it on fire as well. Kurama rolled his eyes and very carefully moved behind Hiei. Before his speedy friend had the chance to slip away, he wrapped his arms around him. Not forcibly or rough, but the way you hug someone to comfort them.
"Hiei," he said, voice soft. The little demon immediately tensed, and Kurama tried to fix that by moving his head down to rest his cheek against Hiei's, who cut his red eyes to the side and tightened his jaw.
"Stay here."
"Why should I?"
Hiei's response was quicker than expected. Kurama stopped for a moment, then brought his mouth to the Jaganshi's neck.
"Because you never stay."
That was it. Hiei rose, untangling himself from Kurama, and stepped into his boots before grabbing his katana from the corner. He heard the sigh and only offered the red-head an annoyed glance before stepping towards the window.
"I wouldn't go out there," Kurama said innocently, rising and slipping a shirt on. Hiei turned to glare for the third time that night.
He opened the window and slipped out without a word.
Later that night, when the window opened again and Hiei came in sopping wet from midnight rain, he did not hesitate to tell Kurama to keep his stupid mouth shut. Kurama hung the wet clothes over his bathtub and smiled when Hiei avoided his eyes. The red-head sat on the bed and put the hair brush down.
"Care to join me?" he asked his friend. Teammate. Lover. Whatever.
Hiei rolled his eyes and moved wet hair away from his face.
"Shut up. And for the record, you never asked me to stay before."
Kurama only laughed.
"For the record, I never had to. You were always outside my window in the morning anyway."
Hiei sat down on the bed, unamused.
"Hn. Turn off the light."