Title: Contrasts
Author: Lachesis
Fandom: Yu Yu Hakusho
Type: gen/yaoi (as in, PG-13, but w/ references to m/m)
Pairing/Characters(for gen): Kurama/Hiei
Rating: PG-13
Challenge: Opposites challenge in the Temps-mort LJ Community
Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine. Even the context isn't terribly original, but I had fun writing it.
Notes: …blushes… done in 60 min.
Waking up, the image catches my eyes more than the importance of the situation. White skin against dark. Contrasting colors standing out as significant, as I realize the white is my own skin. I analyze each of my fingers, each pale nail ending slightly with the abyss of black underneath it, wondering vaguely what I've done. I turn my head slightly, and now red against black. Terse color contrast, maybe more contrasting than even color and absence of color. The bland color and the great fullness of color that red represents.
I tilt my eyes up even more, and realize his own eyes are open. Annoyance flashes on the top level, but amusement underneath.
"Are you quite done?" The voice is a contrast of its own. Sharp, but yet conveying feeling that I don't ever remember hearing him expressing… something no where near the annoyance that flashed through his eyes. An emotion I'd rather not think about now, like this.
"I'm quite sure that I haven't the faintest idea of what you're speaking," I respond patiently, and sit up cross-legged on the bed. I am surprised when the wind hits my skin, pulling the warmth of the blanket away from me. But, I refuse to show weakness now by pulling the blanket up over my shoulders.
Our eyes lock for a moment, then he drops his gaze down, across my body. He reaches out and runs the lightest touch across my arm, leaving a warm impression behind. I know I blush, as I feel the red rushing to my cheeks, but I don't think he notices. "Your human body doesn't like being cold. It tries to make fur fluff." He wrinkles his nose, then sits up himself. I realize he wasn't actually dressed, as the cloak slides easily off his shoulders revealing his own bare skin. "Here," and he passes the cloak over to me.
"Thank you," I whisper softly, and put the cloak around my own shoulders. It drapes around me too small, but since I'm sitting its only noticeable in that it doesn't pull closed. My eyes are fixed on his navel, trying not to show him as much as I'm feeling right now for this simple gesture.
I feel his rough hand on my chin, and he turns my face up to his, locks his eyes with mine. "You were not such a woman last night, lover. Are you ashamed?"
Again, his eyes show more than he thinks. I see the anger at me, but below that I see something I have never seen in him before. Fear.
"Are you afraid?" I ask in wonder.
"Hn." The non-sound was a dismissal, and he drops his hand from my face. Crossing his arms across his chest in a defensive posture, he watches me.
"Ah," I say, and I try to make my eyes light up and my mood lighten, even as I realize the heaviness that this conversation will have between us. This may be the conversation that changes everything. "So, you are afraid. Should I wager on what? Or just wager on my being right?" I feel the deeper part of me stirring, and feel satisfaction taking over the feeling of amazement. I want to analyze the change, to decide which feeling I like better, but that would give him the edge and I don't wish him to have that.
"You may wager however you choose, Kurama, but I will not answer any of your questions until you answer mine." His answer was matter of fact. Emotionless. The part of me that had felt amazement feels sadness that I am losing his interest.
"Then, there is no need to talk, is there?" I ask again, hearing the aloofness start to seep into my voice. I open my mouth to say more, then close it again, defiantly, daring him to challenge me.
He was silent for awhile longer, his eyes locked with mine, analyzing me this time. I see a dozen emotions flash quickly behind his eyes, before he settles on the one he's going to use for me. Not love, like I wished, and not hate, like I feared. But, complacency. "I am not much for long speeches, especially on feelings. But, I think your human mind will appreciate this where your demon soul will not," he starts, not raising his voice or freeing me from his gaze. "I am not going to give you the right of power over me. Nor, will I take power over you. This isn't a demon world catamite relationship, no matter how superficially it looks like such. This is a sharing of physical…love" the pause was almost imperceptible, but there, and it made my human flesh rush even as I raised an eyebrow at the word choice. "Between equals. You can make the choice to fall into a role that makes others look at you as a woman, but as my equal I know you are a man. By the same token, as my equal, you will be free to leave me at any time and that is a doubt I will have to live with." He nodded here, by means of acknowledging my question if he was afraid.
"Oh, so now you are setting boundaries for us both, Hiei?" the arrogance of the question that escaped my lips made me cringe, but one of the faults of having a human body surrounding the demon spirit is sometimes the demon inside is quicker.
"No, as my equal, you are free to set your own boundaries," his voice didn't raise at all, it was as though he was expecting the question. Complacent. "I will not dictate your actions, remember?" Complacent and amused.
"Hn" I mimic his non-sound, and relaxed some, stretching my legs out on the bed, next to where he sat. "Then, I guess that understanding will have to do."
"Indeed," he says, laying back down on the bed. His compact body stretched out next to my legs. I want to say more, to remind him that for all his brave words he was my possession. But, his pale skin against his dark hair, with his red eyes watching me warmed me, reminded me of how amazed I was when I woke up. So, I lay back down next to him, and breathe in his scent, and fall back asleep.