Acceptance

Disclaimer: I do not own YYH.

Biting down on his lip, Kurama began to think about the demon ho had captivated his heart. It felt strange to admit to himself that he had fallen for another male, since he often pictured his future with a woman and having kids running about. Yet there wasn't a problem when it came to acknowledging his desires to be with the short, handsome, powerful demon. When he had told his mother about his preferences, she did not shun him nor did she seem surprised by the declaration. Part of him guessed that she must have known before he did. After all, mothers seemed to pick up on things.

Now the single problem that laid bare in front of him was to get himself to ask Hiei if he felt the same way. There was not questioning Hiei's sexuality, since he had told him. Though the demon had been drunk on something Yusuke and Kuwabara had given him, but he still felt that Hiei did in fact prefer males.

With that knowledge, he now had to figure out how to go about courting the demon. In the past week, he had tried dropping subtle hints, but Hiei never seemed to pick up on them. Instead, he was asked out on dates by several other men, but never the one he wanted. After a while of that repeating, it became irritating.

So now he was left with thinking about what Hiei would like in a man and how to get him to agree on a single date with him. Apart from Hiei letting him know his sexual orientation, he also let it slip that he thought Jin and Yomi were sexy. Yet again, he reminded himself of Hiei's state when he admitted that. However, if it were true, then those pieces of information could help him. With a grin, Kurama began to focus on what Hiei would like best.

"Open the damn window, Kurama! I know you're there. I can see your light on!" Hiei shouted from outside his window. It wasn't surprising to see or hear Hiei outside his window, but it did somewhat spook him. It made him think of a stalker, or a peeping tom.

With a quiet giggle, he headed towards the window and opened it. The demon outside waited no time in getting it. All he saw was a black flash as Hiei came inside. "Nice to see you too," Kurama greeted his guest.

Though he had opened his mouth to perhaps hurl an insult at him, Hiei's mouth did not close up. After a few minutes of gawking, he closed his mouth and blinked several times. "Why is your hair… Didn't you have it red?"

Smiling at Hiei's reaction, Kurama twirled his hair in his fingers. "Do you like it?" he asked, hoping Hiei would answer what he wanted him too.

The demon gawked at him before walking back to the window. "Kurama?" Before he could answer, Hiei continued. "I think you should've kept your old hair color. It looks… It's not…" Unable to either find the right words or continue, Hiei opened the window and fled. It left Kurama wondering what he should do next since a change in hair color had not worked to his advantage.

Soon, his hair color was back to normal. The crimson locks he had always liked were back and now he had to figure out what Hiei wanted, and how he could change himself in order to get his attention. Unlike before, now he had to work with Jin being the example. The hair color wasn't much of a problem, but their bodies were different. While Jin's was more muscular and well-defined, his was like that of a female. It was small, thin, and curved in the manner that did give off a feminine look.

Perhaps Hiei was turned off by that. Or maybe it looked as if he was weak. What if Hiei wanted someone who could protect himself and look like a male? After banging his head against his desk, Kurama got up and went to work on getting a new look.

Though he had spent weeks in trying to achieve what he wanted, the results weren't to his liking. Somehow his body had worked against him so that he remained looking the same. The training had increased his own power, but that was not what he had wanted in the first place. And for that, he now found himself unable to move in the middle of Genkai's forest with no one knowing he was there.

If he had to say anything about this, it would be that all the trouble he had gone through hadn't been worth it. "At least he saw," Kurama muttered to the sky. Hiei had watched him train, and it was during those moments that gave him hope. It made him believe that just maybe Hiei would be interested in him. Though now he wasn't so sure he could do it.

"Tired yourself out now?"

Without intending to, Kurama sat up and looked at the demon in front of him. The aches from his training forced him back to the ground in mere seconds. "Hiei, what brings you here?" he asked, trying not to sound as if he was in his death bed.

The demon walked over to him and sat down. "What the hell has been going through that crazy brain of yours?" Hiei muttered. The question took him by surprise. It was rare when Hiei appeared concerned and asked about it. Though from the scowl that formed on the demon's face, he knew he would deny being worried about him. "Not that it matters to me. Your business is your own."

Kurama chuckled. "Thanks for asking." The moment had arrived. He knew he would have to let Hiei know how he felt about him. Rejection or not, he had to let him know. " Hiei, I like you… You're a great friend, but I wish you could be far more than that." Not hearing anything from him, Kurama swallowed and continued. "I tried getting your attention before, but failed. Then I tried changing myself, but since I'm half-dead, I'm sure that qualifies as a failure. You probably don't feel that same way I do, but I just wanted to let you know. As cliché as this may sound, I hope we can still be friends."

"That's all?" the demon muttered after minutes of silence. Kurama nodded, somewhat let down. "It's always the crazy ones…" Hiei muttered under his breath. "Kurama, why would you think you had to change yourself? You're the guy everyone wants to be with." There was another fleeting pause in where he stood up and looked away from him. "If you accepted me for who I was, then I can do that for you… I have done that for you."

Even though Hiei hadn't confessed his undying love for him, his words did make him feel better. Now that he thought about it, being accepted perhaps had mattered more to Hiei than himself. And it was true, he had accepted Hiei. "Thank you, Hiei. I'm glad we're still friends."

Hiei had a coughing fit right after the last word had left his mouth. "Friends? I… Didn't you hear what I said?"

"I did, but I thought it meant we could still be friends," he answered. The vile feeling of rejection began to worm it's way back into his heart. Friendship was something he wanted to keep, even if he couldn't get Hiei's heart.

The short demon sighed. "I… Kurama… Friendship is something…"

Although receiving a verbal answer was typical in these types of situations, Kurama had no problem accepting the ardent kiss from Hiei's lips. It didn't take Kurama long to figure out why all of his first attempts to get Hiei had failed. Rather than being who he was and accepting himself, both inside and out, he had done something very foolish. Changing himself hadn't been a good idea, but confessing his feelings at the risk of being rejected had been a better one.

End.

A/N: Special thanks to Brokenshardsofmyheart99, who would've checked this if there had been time.