A/N Alright, Pheonix09, this one is for you so I expect a shining review from you! Lol!
Kurama entered his bedroom with a sigh, taking off his jacket and throwing it on his desk chair. He fell onto his bed with less than his usual grace. Burrowing his head in his pillow, he fought down his anger and longing. He had hoped Hiei would come to his senses and at least come to see him. It had been a vain hope. Kurama had even gone so far as to swing by the park on the way back from the hospital, hoping to catch Hiei lounging in his favorite tree there. What he had found was almost enough to make him scream in frustration. Hiei had been there all right. He had masked his energy and fled the moment he felt Kurama approach. Kurama had even tried to send out a telepathic signal but was blocked mentally and physically by the remote demon.
Kurama did not know why he felt the loss of Hiei's company so acutely. They had grown quite close during the course of the Dark Tournament where they had seen each other daily. They had fought together, nearly died together, trained together, and enjoyed brief moments of peace together. Kurama had tended to Hiei's wounds and was also pleasantly surprised when Hiei had tended to his own in turn. The gruff demon had shown such tenderness in his care of him that Kurama could feel his own care for his friend deepen.
He shifted his position so he was lying on his back, staring unseeingly at the ceiling as he contemplated his feelings for the diminutive demon. He had always felt a slight…something for him ever since they had met. Fighting him for the first time had sent a thrill through his body, reawakening long dormant part of him. At the time Kurama wrote it off as finally acknowledging his demonic side and manifesting his powers, but that wasn't true. Many demons had sensed his growing demonic ki throughout his childhood and attacked him. He had dispatched the all easily enough, but Hiei was different. He hadn't felt anything but numbing coldness when he fought the others, but with Hiei he had felt warmth. There was an excitement as he faced off against the petite swordsman with the pixie-like features. The fiery demon made him feel alive. His natural fire seemed to ignite his soul, rekindling the flickering flame that was his life light.
Hiei's company soothed the demon immensely. He reminded him of a similar raven haired demon, but the passing resemblance and similar personality were only what first piqued his interest; it was the fire demon himself that held that interest. He was so cold to the world, but when they were alone he showed a warmth that no one else was privileged enough to see. On rare occasions the usually stoic and agitated demon had actually graced Kurama with a small, tentative smile as if his face were unused to the gesture. Remembering that smile still made Kurama feel warm inside as if he had slipped his entire body into a hot bath. Seeing that smile and feeling his own reaction to it had been what alerted Kurama to the blossoming feelings he was beginning to have for him. He still couldn't tell what they were; but they were strong, and he knew he wanted the little Koorime around so that he could feel more and understand just what it was he was feeling.
Eyes unfocused as they were while he was submerged in his thoughts, it was a long while before he realized it wasn't the ceiling at which he was staring blankly but a set of ruby red eyes.
Kurama gasped suddenly and sat bolt upright nearly colliding with the demon standing over him in what would have been a crushing head-butt. Lucky for him there was no one in the three words swifter than the demon, and he managed to pull back enough so as not to be unwittingly assaulted.
He could only stare at the dark demon before him as if he were a specter or some sort of hallucination made corporeal. So many emotions swirled through him as he gazed at his flighty best friend. Relief and happiness were two emotions he could disentangle from the unintelligible swell, but anger soon dominated.
Hiei visibly faltered as the look of relief quickly sharpened into a look of pure rage. He had been stunned to be able to simply slip through his partner's window unnoticed, but the shock had quickly turned to concern to see his lifeless eyes staring fixedly at the ceiling above him. Before he knew what had happened let alone had time to defend or react, he was punched clear across the room. As he stumbled and hit the wall, he heard an almost feral growl of rage from the usually reserved redhead. He could only stare, dumbfounded, at the figure towering over him, fury making him appear far taller than he was.
Slowly he saw the molten gold eyes bleed to green ones and a look of horror settled over the softening features, no longer taking the sharp lines of the panes of his demon form's face. His resentment and hurt must have shown on his face for Kurama's own nearly crumpled as a shaking hand shot to cover his mouth.
"Inari, Hiei! What have I done?" He whispered urgently. Again displaying remarkable speed, Kurama gathered the still stunned Korrime into his arms and clung to him desperately.
"Kurama, what are you doing?" He managed to ask once the shock of being attacked by the one person he trusted most had worn off.
Kurama's arms tightened around him as he implored, "Please Hiei, I need this. Humor a sentiment half-human for once."
Hiei struggled in the grip, but Kurama was having none of it. The more he resisted the more vice like his embrace became. Hiei was forcibly reminded of one of Kurama's plants snapping shut around its helpless prey. When Kurama finally let go, he gently gripped Hiei by the chin, tipping his head to the side to examine the bruise left by his fist.
"I am so sorry for this. I have no idea what came over me. Let me heal this, please." His words were soft, and he looked so worried as he gazed pleadingly into garnet eyes.
"First you hit me then you hug me and now you want to heal me. What's gotten into you?" Hiei shook his head, baffled by the capricious fox. Whatever reaction he had expected to receive from his last words, what he saw next wasn't it. Kurama narrowed his eyes, and Hiei could feel his previous anger returning with a vengeance.
"I could ask you the same thing…" He said in a dangerously quiet voice. He turned away abruptly, gathering a plant with which to heal the bruise. When he returned with the leaf and began to brush it across Hiei's cheek, the action lacked the tender care the fox usually displayed when treating his injured friend.
"What do you mean?" He asked, though he could imagine the answer.
Kurama snarled in a manner that was less than human before he answered. "The way you've been acting lately: pushing away everyone that cares for you. You refused to freely aid Yusuke and then you just abandoned us all!"
"Cares for me?" Hiei repeated softly in tones of surprised disbelief.
"Well, I can't exactly speak for everyone…" Kurama distinctly remembered Kuwabara's plea to leave Hiei behind and continue on to rescue Yusuke. "But, I care a great deal for you, Hiei. I had hoped you would realize that on your own. I consider you to be my best friend." He kept his confession at that. It was true enough, but…the more time he spent in the surly demon's company the fonder of him he became. His affections had recently intensified, and he couldn't quite untangle the emotions enough to identify them clearly. One thing was certain, whatever he felt for Hiei, it was far deeper than just friendship. It wouldn't end well to express these thoughts to him for he couldn't really express them clearly to himself. Kurama did not know for how long he had been harboring secret feelings for distant best friend.
Hiei's head tilted to the side as he regarded Kurama. "I'm…honored you view me as such a respected friend, Kurama."
Kurama smiled as Hiei forced out the words. Friendship was a concept that the demon didn't truly understand and had just begun to accept. Kurama looked down before he continued, unable to meet his friend's eyes.
"You should know…you had me very scared when your soul was taken. I had feared that I had lost you…"
Hiei could only gape and stare in wide-eyed wonder at his long time friend and partner. Truthfully he never thought that Kurama held him in such high regard. It truly humbled him and flattered him to be told so. The fact that he was cared for was so novel to him, most especially when the care came from the perfect creature before him. He had always admired the King of Thieves in his time living with the bandits. They had always whispered fervently amongst themselves about his exploits, impressed with his accomplishments. Gathered around the campfire, the bandits had taken turns recounting his numerous legends with reverence in their tones. Hiei had always listened raptly to these tales, idolizing the cunning thief. He had grown to hero-worship the bandit and even dreamed about one day crossing paths with his idol. Never did he think that that day would come in the unlikeliest of venues: the Human World. He had not known it was Kurama at the time, and only when their encounter was over did he discover the strange red haired youth's true identity. He hadn't believed for a moment that the slippery fox had been killed by that bounty hunter as rumor suggested, but to find him inside the body of a beautiful human boy was surprising. He had seen with his own eyes the youko's true form at the tournament, but he still believed that the beauty and charm of his demon form was far surpassed by that of his human one.
What was he thinking? He shook his head trying to clear it of the confusing thoughts worming their way into his mind. Kurama was his friend…only his friend. He shouldn't get his hopes up and end up falling for the beguiling beauty. He was lucky enough to have earned his friendship in the first place. One as perfect and special as he would never stoop so low as to love a worthless forbidden thing such as himself.
"I…I'm sorry I worried you, and….I'm glad you cared," he stammered out, blundering over the words he so rarely spoke.
Kurama blinked several times in earnest wonder. Hiei knew what the cause was. He never apologized, not even to the redhead, but he felt he needed to in this instance. It hurt him to know his foolish actions had hurt the caring Kurama.
Gradually the look of wonder was replaced with an affectionate smile as he fondly clapped the Koorime on the shoulder. "Just tell me something so I don't have to worry about you. Tell me what you'll do now."
Hiei stared into the curiously concerned eyes and saw nothing but raw, genuine compassion and care. He decided the fox had more than earned his trust as well as his honesty. "I don't really know, Kurama. I'm confused. I just need…time. Time to sort all this out."
His words were hesitant and delivered awkwardly, but Kurama nodded in understanding.
"Do what you must, my friend. I pray you'll make the right decision. Just know that my window is always open to you, but before you go, I have something for you." The Koorime looked at him curiously as Kurama smiled mysteriously and knelt by the end of his bed, withdrawing a long, thin package from beneath it. Hiei eyed it suspiciously.
"Don't look so wary; it's only a gift. You'll understand when you open it. Go on." A small smile was tugging on his lips as he watched Hiei glare at the parcel as if it would suddenly attack him. Clearly he wasn't used to receiving gifts. With a pang, Kurama surmised that this may even be his first ever gift.
He cautiously opened the box and gasped at the sight. Within lay a beautiful katana with a gleaming red dragon adorning its black sheath. Hiei held the blade reverently, sliding it from the sheath and testing its balance.
"I hope it's to your specifications. I had it specially crafted by a blacksmith friend. When your last one broke, I didn't know if you had a spare" He was speechless as he examined every inch of the gleaming blade. It was wickedly sharp and perfect in every way.
With something that bordered on a smile, Hiei inclined his head with a whispered thanks and disappeared out of the window with one final wistful glance at the willowy redhead.
Kurama thought with bitter longing about the human cliché: if you love someone you must set them free. I'm setting you free, Dragon, but I hope you will find your way back to me.
A/N So I couldn't bring myself to make this a purely happy reunion. They're both bittersweet kinda people, and I must say Hiei has had that punch coming for a long time. Plus right now they both want and need different things, and its pushing them apart. Don't worry though; the later sequels will get progressively fluffier.