OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Kazuma was truly over the moon about his recent admission into college - Granted, it wasn't his first choice, but the humble man was just glad to have been accepted anywhere. His sister Shizuru wasn't quite as thrilled at first, but after giving her baby brother a few bumps and bruises on the head for disappointing her, she added a gentle noogie on top of them for "not being a total bum", and gave him an extra allowance to go spend however he saw fit.

So the charming teen had called Shuichi at his home, told him about the great news, and asked if he'd had dinner yet. He hadn't, so the two agreed to meet and figure something out together.

Truthfully, they'd been making a habit of meeting and 'figuring things out' together for some time now. Shortly after Kurama's return from demon world, the old fox in sheep's clothing began to seek out the mortal, offering to be his tutor for the entrance exams to come - And since he could always use more help studying, Kazuma had readily agreed.

It wasn't long, though, before the two of them dropped the pretense of studying, after Kurama abruptly dropped the act in the middle of an embarrassing anatomy course one day, tossing Kuwabara's book to the side and pulling him into a passionate kiss.

He had expected the brash young boy to turn him away, or punch him in the face. He had kissed him believing absolutely he would be rejected, in fact, he was almost hoping for it. He'd had feelings for the young human for quite some time, both romantic and sexual, but he'd hadn't really considered them seriously, until he was forced to participate in the last tournament.

The fox demon had been struggling with feelings he also held in check for the demon Hiei, his 'good' old partner in crime. He had long hoped the fiery fighter would someday open up to him, but Hiei had never really trusted him any more than he trusted anyone else, and after seeing what had happened with his fight with Mukuro, it was obvious he had finally given his trust, and his heart, to another.

At first Kurama had been a little bitter about that turn of events, he couldn't deny that, at least to himself. He had thought irrationally venomous thoughts the first few days after, like what on Earth Mukuro could possible have that he didn't, besides the obvious hideous extremities. And yes, maybe he did offer to tutor the human afterwards as a way to ease his own lonely and rejected heart, but Kurama hadn't expected it to actually work so well, either.

Hiei was mysterious and brooding, but Kuwabara was always full of mirth and willing to say whatever was on his mind. Unless it embarrassed him, then you had to pry, but it was always easy enough. His feelings for the human had before been something he only entertained in his mind out of boredom, to amuse himself. But the more time he spent with the human, the deeper those feelings rooted into his chest, until finally, he could stand it no more. He couldn't go on feeling that way about a person again, only to have them slowly gravitate away. The old spirit was normally very patient, but he had no desire to waste his time either. It was better to have Kuwabara push him away first, and all at once, if that was what he would eventually come to do anyways...

But Kuwabara had not pushed him away, lashed out at him, or made much of any sort of fuss at all. When Kurama had tackled him to the floor, and pressed their lips together, he went completely still, staring up at the other man in shock and with a quickly rising blush on his face. Kurama finally pulled away when the boy's face nearly matched the color of his hair, and had apologized for his behavior. But Kazuma shook his head, said it was fine, and after a bit of sputtering, even managed to ask if they could do it again.

So they'd continued their 'study sessions', usually at Kuwabara's house, since Shuichi's mother was often at home while Shizuru was often either at work or sleeping. So as long as they stayed quiet enough, that wasn't a problem, and although the old demon had experience all manners of pleasures in his previous life, his expressions of love with the human were mostly more on the simple and sweet side, kissing and petting, with just a few occasional grabs and gropes to keep the human alert. He had to admit, those squeaks Kuwabara made were too delectable, and Hiei never would have supplied such a thing...

Plus, he had to admit, he also had a great fondness for Kuwabara's cat. The adorable thing was very much of a dual-nature, sweet and loving one minute, and wanting to bite you the next. It was the best of both worlds.

However, Kuwabara didn't want to stay in the house with the cat tonight. "And I dunno, just going out to eat somewhere sounds kinda boring too... Oh, I know!" The ginger teen snapped his fingers. "We could take a pizza over to Genkai's place! And maybe Yukina might be around! Oh, er..."

Aaah, so this issue had finally some up. The fox had been starting to wonder when it would. "You still have feelings for her, don't you, Kuwabara."

The teen clearly struggled with himself for a moment or two, before crossing his arms and finally admitting with a sigh. "It's complicated..."

"Explain." Kurama requested patiently. "Go on, I'm not mad."

He nervously scratched his shoulder. "Well... It's just, I do still feel really strongly about Yukina, but, it's strange... She's just so pure and good - The way I very first felt about her was wrong! I still love her so much, and I want her to know it! But it's because I want to protect her. After everything she's been through, she deserves to feel protected and cared for, you know? I just want to be there for her..."

Shuichi smiled, and then Kurama grinned. "You're not lying, but you're not completely telling the truth either, Kazuma, and I can tell. It's alright, I know you still have sexual feelings for her too. But like the true gentleman you are, you've probably surmised for yourself that Yukina is most likely asexual, like most others of her kind tend to be..."

Kuwabara blushed anyways despite the frigid topic, "Yeah, I kinda got that vibe from her..."

"And yet," Kurama continued, "She never seems displeased when you attempt to woo her. I know she often looks confused when you do that, but she's innocent - Not naive, or blind for that matter. She sometimes seems a little shy, reserved, confused, and maybe just a tad bit embarrassed. But she's never excessively uncomfortable, or upset in any way. My guess is that she's probably asexual, but that she secretly enjoys your romantic attentions, or at the very least is flattered by them."

Suddenly taken by embarrassment too, Kazuma hid his face behind the folds of the denim jacket he was wearing. "Heh! You really think so? Wait," He peeked out again as something occurred to him. "That doesn't... Bother you? Like, it doesn't make you jealous...?"

"Well of course it does, a little." He admitted, "But I'm not unreasonable. If you love the girl, there's nothing I could do to stop that, even if I wanted to. But I don't want to. I think she's a terrific girl too, so why not flatter her?"

Kuwabara grinned back at him, full of gratitude. "Thanks man... But, you don't have to worry about me being unfaithful! I'm not the kind of guy who kisses one person and then goes looking for somebody else. Besides, Yukina is so beautiful and elegant, I'm sure even if she wanted to be with anyone, it wouldn't be a guy as weird-looking as me. Or one who's into the weird stuff I am..."

Kurama wasn't able to hold back the snort that followed, even if he quickly clamped down on his lips to silence it and proceeded to frown, "What have I told you about that self-depreciation, Kazuma? I almost feel cross with you, but I know you weren't referring to homosexuality specifically as the weird part. You're still technically a virgin, but what we did last time wasn't even that odd. Besides, there's plenty members of the fairer sex that are attracted to homosexual men..."

The psychic rolled his eyes. "Trust me, I've met enough members of your fan club to know that! Yukina probably isn't like that though. She's too pure..."

"You don't know that for -sure-..." Kurama couldn't help but tease him just one more time before he let up. "But if it did turn out to be the case, I would still be enough for you, right?"

"Pft! Duh, man." Kuwabara smirked back at him. "You're more than enough. You're too good for me..."

But Kurama shook his head. "Give yourself more credit - Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a pizza partner who also likes anchovies?"

So the two of them went and procured a pizza with extra anchovies, and took it with them on a drive down to Genkai's property, where she and Yukina, and a few other occasional otherworldly guests, were staying. After being given a few bumps on the head by Genkai for bringing the smelly thing into her home, Kuwabara brought the pizza back out with him onto the porch with a grin, and tucked into the greasy thing himself.

Despite his avid gardening habits, the old fox was no vegetarian, and he gladly took a few slices for himself. Between him and Kuwabara, only one slice remained when they finally found themselves sated.

"Please, go ahead Kuwabara, I couldn't eat another bite." Kurama kindly offered, but the human promptly turned him down.

"Same here man, I'm gonna blow chunks if I even think about-YUKINA!" He suddenly choked out in embarrassment as he noticed the charming young demon who had just arrived behind them, with a pot of steaming tea and a tray with three cups. Compared to his usual flowery speeches, it was far from Kuwabara's finest moment, and he knew it. So he quickly amended, "OH, I meant, Y-Yukina! How wonderful of you to join us, ehehe!"

'Nice save, Kazuma,' Kurama thought to himself in amusement, as Yukina smiled and put the tray down, then began to fill it with the traditional green tea she had prepared. Well, mostly traditional, save for a single slender orange peel she had added to the cups, for an extra burst of flavor.

"I hope you boys are in the mood for tea?" She inquired, holding the first full cup out for whoever wanted it. Kurama waited for him to go ahead, so Kazuma hurried to accept it.

"I'm always in the mood for anything, as long as it's with you, Yukina!" He grandly proclaimed, taking a quick sip of the scalding hot tea, pretending it didn't burn like hell, and then exclaiming through the tears of pain, "MMM! Delicious!" It probably would have been, if he could taste it through the burn...

She giggled back at him and his antics, "Oh Kazuma, you're too kind... Kurama, would you like some tea as well?"

The coral-haired warrior eyed her with an impassive smile, "Yes, tea sounds lovely Miss Yukina, thank you..."

So she poured him and herself a cup too, and set to enjoy it. At first they sipped at the steamy beverage for a while in silence, until Yukina suddenly spoke up, "I've been asking our demon guests if they've had any news of my estranged brother. So far nothing has come up, but I'm hopeful that eventually something may..."

"Yukina." Kurama abruptly cut her off. "Forgive me, please. But I can't help but wonder something..."

She blinked back at him. "Oh... Yes, Mister Kurama? What's on your mind?"

Averting his eyes to the side, he quietly inquired of her, "Does it pain you to keep doing this... Your search for your brother? Please, don't answer if it's too personal for me to ask, but I worry for you... I worry that if you ever meet this brother of yours, he may not live up to the hopes you had for him..." After all, didn't he care how much of her time she was wasting, hurting and worrying about him? Kurama still wouldn't close that door for him, but it wasn't fair to Yukina to perpetually keep it open either...

The ice apparition stared at him for a long moment, her eyes wide with surprise. But then she covered her mouth politely with her hand as a short, quiet giggle bubbled out of her, before once again composing herself. "It's very sweet of you to worry for me like that Kurama, but... Well, to tell you the complete truth... I think I'm actually quite sure who my brother really is."

Not much ever managed to surprise the clever fox, but his eyes went wide at that. Kuwabara got over his shock first, however, and exclaimed, "What! Really?! That's great, Yukina! Wait, is that great...?" He amended, recognizing how serious the beautiful red-haired being had become.

But Yukina just smiled back at him, "It's wonderful, Kazuma. I love my brother. Even if he wants to keep his distance, I can still love him from afar, if that's how he wants things to be... I just worry sometimes, and wish that I could ask him how he's doing... But I understand, if I perhaps I remind him of painful things from his past..."

"That would be understandable." Kurama supplied. "But since you figured it out anyways, it's now pretty pointless for him to continue on like this..."

"Wait, hold on," Kuwabara interrupted, crossing his arms in an 'X' shape. "Who IS Yukina's brother? Do you guys know for sure?"

The two demons blushed, and Kurama glanced over at Yukina, who supplied for them after just a beat of hesitation, "O-Oh, well, honestly, not really, Kazuma. We have our suspicions, but we'll never know for sure unless that person decides to reveal himself. It's nothing for you to trouble yourself with though. Really, I don't trouble myself with it anymore either. My life is my own and his is his. If he wants us to be part of each other's life, he can reveal himself at any time. Otherwise, I'd really rather not trouble him..."

Kuwabara still frowned despite her patience with the sad situation. "Hrm, I still think you deserve better than some jerk who doesn't want to be around a great gal like you, Yukina-Huh?" He stopped suddenly, and focused on her as she looked down at her lap. A fat tear was gathering in each eye, and Kazuma choked on what he had been about to say, "Ack! Y-Yukina, I'm sorry! Please don't be sad! Please don't cry-!"

It was too late though. The two precious tears rolled down her cheeks and crystallized, then fell into her waiting hands. But she promptly consoled him, "Don't worry, Kazuma. These actually aren't tears of sadness. They're tears of joy. Even if it's not the brother I wish to know, I'm glad to have people like you two in my life. People who want to visit me and talk with me and laugh with me. That's why... Please, if it's no trouble, I'd like you two to have one of these..."

Both men's eyes went wide in surprise as the ice demon held her hands outstretched to them, offering the gems she had within. Kurama looked just slightly more shocked and perturbed, while Kuwabara, although understanding it was obviously an important and personal gesture, didn't truly understand how much so. He was simply grateful for the gift, and self-conscious about not having anything else for her at the moment, he innocently (and a little lamely) offered in return, "Oh, thank you, Yukina! Uh, you know, we got one last slice of pizza if you want it!"

"Oh..." She murmured back in equal surprise. Kurama could tell she wasn't exactly tempted, but much too polite to refuse, she accepted the slice from the box that he held out to her with a childishly excited grin. "Thank you, Kazuma." She smiled a small, pinched smile back before taking a nibble off the end of it.

However, immediately afterwards, a violent shiver ran up and down her spine, and she dropped the slice and spat the tiny biteful back into the box involuntarily. "Eeeuck! Blech, blech, blech-!" She exclaimed, trying to wipe the taste off of her tongue with her fingers, but it was useless because they were covered in pizza grease and anchovy oil. So then she reached for her cup of tea, but she realized with much frustration that she had already drank her cup, as had both Kazuma and Kurama.

"O-Oh no! Yukina, I'm sorry!" Kuwabara cried out in guilt and shame. "J-Just wait right there, okay? I-I'll go make you some more tea!" And with that, he grabbed the teapot and rushed back into the house.

Once he had gone, Yukina calmed down a little bit, and gave Kurama a shy but purposeful little smirk. "...Ahah. Faithful Kuwabara, always eager to help..."

He quirked a brow back at her. "Yes, he'd make someone a fine spouse someday. Is that why you're asking him to be yours? Except, you offered me one of your stones too, Yukina. That's most unorthodox..."

Kuwabara wouldn't know it, and many others might not either, but Kurama was very aware of the fact that Ice Apparitions like Yukina usually only ever cried one tear, for their child. However, on some very rare occasions, if one of the ice maidens should love and trust another of her kind enough to want to commit to each other, they might offer them one of their tear stones too. Basically, in her community, the gesture Yukina had offered them was more like a wedding or engagement proposal than a simple offer of gratitude. And knowing that well more than any of them, Yukina had still offered one to both of them... Very interesting.

In the human world, it would be nearly unheard of for a female to propose to a male like that. But in demon world, that was much more often how things were usually done. It was seen as highly presumptuous for a male to bring up issues of mating or courtship instead of letting the female do so, though of course that didn't always stop them. But it was considered highly unusual to offensive at least, and at worst, in some clans, like the spider or mantis demon clans, such an affront was grounds for literally getting your head bitten off. Still, it wasn't exactly common for female demons to make such proposals either, at least not the kind that Yukina seemed to be suggesting...

Admittedly however, Kurama still wasn't sure what sort of proposal it actually was, so he waited expectantly as she fidgeted with her hair, blushed, and considered what next to say. "Well, to be honest... I know I've never said or indicated this to you before... Ice demons can be very good at hiding our emotions after all, when we want to... But..." Her hesitation went on for a while, but when the older demon crossed his arms and quirked an expectant eyebrow at her, she finally relented, "Kurama, you... You're the one I've always desired..."

The fox's cunning eyes temporarily went wide with stupefaction. It was far from the first time a female had confessed feelings or desires towards him, but he could honestly say he really hadn't seen this coming at all, not from her. He had truly thought, from all the indications she had given him and the others, that Yukina was uninterested in sexual or romantic matters, even if she tolerated the flirting from Kuwabara, because she trusted him. "M-Me? Miss Yukina, this is quite a surprise..."

She smiled shyly back at him, and burned a slightly deeper blush. "I'm sorry, Kurama, I'm sure it is. But then imagine my surprise too, when I smelled Kazuma's sweat on your skin, and yours on his, the last few times you two came to visit..."

Kurama couldn't help but quirk a quick grin, before making his expression more neutral again. "Fair enough... Does that mean, then, that you have some issue with that knowledge, considering your attraction to me?"

She shook her head. "There's no issue at all, Kurama. I respect the relationship you two have, and I have very little trouble understanding why you love and desire Kazuma..."

"But you do have -some- trouble with it, apparently...?" He pressed.

Looking aside with no small amount of shame, she clasped her hands in front of her. "I love Kazuma dearly... I have since the moment I first met him, and more so with every day I continue to see him... But..."

"But you do not desire him." Kurama bluntly finished for her.

"I wasn't sure if I did or not!" She very quickly corrected him. "I swear I have always loved Kazuma, but I can't deny, the fact that he was a human left me with many doubts about whether such a relationship could work. Plus, as I have just admitted, I was preoccupied with thoughts of you..."

"And now that you see we've gotten together...?"

"It's no trouble at all if my advances are unwelcome, Kurama. If my presence isn't wanted, I wouldn't dream of coming between you two. You can keep the gems no matter what you choose, consider them a gift between good friends..."

He rolled his eyes and rested his chin in his hand, looking out at Genkai's garden. "You're perceptive, Miss Yukina. You know Kazuma's love for you isn't just romantic - He isn't nearly as good at hiding it as you. Kazuma still very much loves and desires me, but I can tell very plainly that he also still pines for you. Now I've come to find that you are pining for me, whilst I am much more attracted Kazuma..."

She looked away to the side, a little offended by his apparent lack of interest in her, but accepting of it. "That does seem to be quite a predicament for the three of us..."

He noticed her slight sadness. He noticed it because she plainly allowed him to, and so he quickly amended, "Please forgive me Yukina - Just because I am more interested in my own sex most of the time, doesn't mean I can't appreciate a beautiful woman. I had to make sure of your reasons, but I'm actually quite relieved by this proposal of yours. I'm quite old, and although this body is close to virginal, I've had well more than a few lovers in my time, on a few occasions even more than one at once! And plenty of other demons have too. So, I'm not shocked or disturbed by your offer in the least. In fact, I find it most fortuitous..."

"Fortuitous?" She parroted back to him.

"Yes." He nodded and glanced back at her. "I love Kuwabara, and I have no intentions of leaving or letting him go... But I love him enough to want him to be as happy as he can be, and because I'm not as jealous a creature as I used to be when I was young, I can readily accept that there is a kind of happiness that he can't get from me alone. He desires you. He's a gentleman of course, so he'd never pressure you or even bring it up himself now that he's devoted to me, but I can see the signs quite clearly whenever he's around you. I can hear his heartbeat quicken, and I notice how his lips always seem extra dry when he's around you..."

She blushed and looked down at her lap. "I noticed too... I wasn't sure about it at first, but now... Well, if the great Kurama considers Kazuma to be worthy of him, then Kazuma is certainly more than worthy of Yukina, too. I would be honored to be a wife to both of you, if you find me worthy too..."

"Heh." Kurama smirked, and suddenly, he crawled over to the opposite side of the porch where Yukina was sitting, stopping only when he was directly in front of her. She blushed at the sudden closeness, especially when he reached in and smoothed his beautifully slender fingers over her cheek. "You know, Yukina... I love my mother dearly, but she can be a little conservative - She's always defending my masculinity despite my feminine beauty, and asking me if I've found a girlfriend yet. Whenever I have Kazuma over, she always introduces him to my other family members as my 'good friend'. I really don't think she does it to be coy though, I think she's actually that innocent... To be honest, I think I'd prefer to keep it that way too, especially since Kazuma prefers discretion as well. Others might not look at him as such a 'tough guy', after all, if they knew he likes being with other men... So, what do you say, dear Yukina? I'm sure my mother would be thrilled to have her son marry such a beautiful lady, and I know Kuwabara would be only too delighted to include you in our relationship... And of course, as your husband, it would be my duty to see to it that you are happily kept as well..."

Her heart was thumping, like an alarmed little rabbit. How cute. Part of Kurama almost wanted to give her a little nip on the shoulder, like he often did with Kazuma, but he knew now was not the time or place for that... Yet.

So instead, he reached in and planted a quick peck of a kiss on her cheek, leaving her red-faced and wide-eyed. As soon as he had done that, Kuwabara's voice could be heard calling from inside the house, "I got the tea ready!"

When Kazuma stepped outside, Kurama had returned to his side of the porch in a flash, leaving little blue-haired Yukina with her obviously reddened face. Kuwabara noticed it right away of course, and rushed to worry for her by her side. "Oh no! Yukina! Why is your face so red? Was there pepper on that pizza, was it spicy?! Quick, drink this tea!"

Bowing his head, he held out the cup to her, which she accepted from his shaking hands. As she did, she purposefully smoothed her fingers over his, causing him to look up again with a wide-eyed blush of his own. "...Thank you, Kazuma." She smiled back at him, before pulling the cup back to her lips and taking a sip. It wasn't the best tea she'd ever tasted at all, but when she pulled the cup back again, her smile hadn't faltered. "It's delicious!"

He burst into the most adorable grin at her praise, then looked away sheepishly. "R-Really? Aw shucks! That's great! Glad to know that Home Economics class finally paid off, hehe!"

Yukina finished her tea, and then Kurama began to yawn. "We should probably get going, Kazuma. It's gotten late, and you have to go shopping for school tomorrow." He reminded him.

"Oh! Right." Kuwabara nodded back, before getting up and bowing politely to their lady-friend. "Thanks for having us over, Yukina! You know we're always excited to come see you!"

She nodded back at him with a big smile. "As am I, Kazuma. In fact..." She added coyly. "I wish I could see you two more often..."

"What-? Really-?" Kazuma had begun to exclaim, but he was stunned into complete silence when Yukina abruptly reached up and gave him a peck of a kiss on his cheek. Kurama couldn't help but notice - Adorably, she still had to stand on her tip-toes, even though he was already bowing down to her.

When she pulled back, Kuwabara straightened out rigidly, then took a few unsteady and involuntary steps back. His brain functions seemed to be quite preoccupied, and Yukina had become terribly embarrassed herself, so before he could ask her why she'd done it, she spoke up first, "Oh dear - I'm sorry Kazuma, but I really must clean all this up now!" She motioned to the pizza box and trays and cups around them, and picked up one of the trays to hide her face behind. "So, you'll have to ask Kurama why I did that!"

"W-Wait, WHAT-?" Kazuma still tried to inquire, but Kurama had swiftly taken him up by the arm, and started to drag him away.

"Come, Kazuma! I've got a lot of explaining to do!" He chirped with great amusement. Yes, there was much explaining to be done, and not just to Kazuma - When Hiei found out about this strange new arrangement, he would definitely be mad enough to want to fight about it. He might even want to kill the two of them...

From inside Shuichi, the fox grinned ear to ear. What fun that would be!

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO