Atopos - I wrote this awhile ago when I had a lot of time to think. It's kind of close to my heart because everyone has been embarrassed at one point in time. Please review with something nice to say. Also, just incase, I don't own anything but this story.

Pictures

Kurama slammed his bedroom door shut with such a force that it shook everything in his room. He hated school at the moment, especially the students there. They just could not leave him alone. It was because of him being so popular. Whenever he did something, it struck his reputation and burned it at once. If he were any other normal kid, it wouldn't have hurt him that badly. If he were anything like Yusuke or Kuwabara, he would have beaten the kids up for spreading such a rumour about him. Unfortunately, the rumour was true…he was gay…

It really wasn't his fault; no one could prove that it was. He blamed Youko for it, but then again, he blamed a lot of his problems on the old fox demon so it hardly seemed fair anymore. Not being able to finish some homework on time because Youko wanted to run around in the rain just long enough to give him a nasty cold. Not being able to eat a delicious meal his mother had prepared because Youko did not feel like keeping spicy sausage down. Not being able to see Hiei for weeks on end because the exact moment Kurama came out of the shower and laid eyes upon Hiei, Youko decided to bombard him with images of Yusuke nude just so Hiei's Jagan could see them. This problem was hardly Youko's fault because it had nothing to do with being a pervert, stubborn, or picky.

Kurama had fallen in love with Hiei, badly. He did not know the exact time or date since it felt so natural, like it had always been there. Hiei felt the same way as well. They were a couple – as Kurama put it – and mates to please Hiei and Kurama's demon side. Youko enjoyed it too, but sometimes caused trouble between them. He would sometimes visit Kurama's mind in the middle of sex just to tell him what he should have been doing or what Hiei was possibly doing wrong. Kurama would mess the entire thing up in the end. Eventually, they found a way to close Youko out for their nightly activities.

The reason Kurama was sick of his classmates, though, had to do with Hiei. A while back, Botan had surprised everyone to a small trip to a hot spring. It was a wonderful experience for them all. Hiei had finally let lose, enjoying the warmth and pleasure that coursed through his body. At the end of the day, Keiko took out a camera and began taking pictures of people. Kurama had teasingly wrapped his arms around Hiei's neck, pulling him close to his body, as the girl snapped their photograph. When they developed, Hiei immediately liked the idea of capturing memories like this so Kurama bought a small, disposable camera for them to play with.

Months resulted in many different pictures. Everything from practice battles to romance scenes where they had almost nothing on at times decorated every inch of their possessions and bedroom. Hiei took some of them that had mostly Kurama in them for his long journeys, tucking them safely into his cloak pockets or boots, only taking them out when he missed the fox enough. Other than that, he kept them hidden from everyone in the Demon and Human World.

Kurama, on the other hand, did not think anyone would sneak through his private things like that. Taking some of the slightly intimate ones that he had doubles of (such as hand-holding and light kissing), Kurama lined his locker at school with them. That way he was ensured to see his lover no matter what and did not mind getting up for school.

The redhead was always so sure that no one would go through his property…that his belongings were very safe in his locker… Today, however, someone, somehow, had broken into his locker. He was not quite sure who did it or how they accomplished it, but none of that mattered to him. All his pictures were gone, some of them littered around the school with drawings on them such as speech bubbles saying rude things, little devil horns, coloured in features, drawn on sunglasses, and moustaches. It made him sick to think that one of his major secrets had been let out into the world.

It wasn't much longer – perhaps over the lunch period – that Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Keiko found out. They had approached him after school asking him questions. Most of them were about how Hiei treated him and if he was alright. They only thought their relationship was one of close friendship. They were trying their hardest with comforting and were doing fine in his books, but all Kurama wanted was the little fire demon that had helped caused this dilemma.

Finally, the window opened with the wind and in walked Hiei. The demon looked around nonchalantly, finding what he wanted on the bed. Kurama, stretched out, looking depressed and on the verge of tears. That alone made Hiei worry. It wasn't very often that Kurama looked that sorrowful and the old fox rarely cried. It had to have been something important.

"Something wrong?" Hiei asked suddenly. No hello, no good morning, no how are yous. Kurama's well-being was to be handled strictly, or at least that was how Hiei saw it.

Kurama shook his head, his eyes fixed on the ceiling above him. "It was just a bad day."

Hiei raised an eyebrow, "Not even the worst days in the world look this gruesome. Something must have happened. Do I have to figure it out on my own?"

Kurama sighed. He turned his head to the right so he could stare right into Hiei's ruby eyes. His own green gems had lost their usual shine, Hiei took note of that with his anger rising. No one was allowed to make his fox unhappy. "Have you ever had a secret that you hoped no one would find out and then they did, making you an outcast?"

Such a stupid question; Hiei had many of those. Plenty of times he had been the outcast and he always had secrets, but he knew that that was not what Kurama was looking for. Kurama had probably let a big secret out about his life and the stupid humans were milking it for all it was worth.

Hiei snorted, "Nothing that has anything to do with this, I can assume."

The redhead closed his eyes in thought. He opened them again as he saw the entire day flash before him like on a movie screen. "They found out about us."

The fire demon still stood where he had jumped through the window. He had not moved one step until now. In a few long strides, he was on the bed with his lover, holding the fox tightly in his arms. It was not something Hiei was completely used to, but it felt like an opportune moment to him.

"Do you mean the two idiots?" Hiei asked softly, not wanting to hurt the fox any more than what had been done.

Kurama head shook, buried in Hiei's arms. "Everyone knows. My school, all my classmates, even the teachers, and my mother's friends. It won't be long until my own mother knows and everyone in every world… What do we do now?"

Hiei sighed. Kurama sounded desperate, like he wanted to just escape from the world. "Whatever you want. I'll stay here if you wish, for as long as you want, or we can go to the Demon World and hope this will blow over. You could change schools if you think nothing will change. I'm leaving this completely up to you."

A couple of tears trickled down Kurama's cheeks. It was mostly from frustration so Hiei left them alone. Everyone cried from aggravation, it was normal even for some demons. "I don't know what to do. Leaving won't cure anything, but I don't think I could face another day of it…" Kurama pulled Hiei closer to him, "I thought I was allowed to love someone… Why can't I have you without everyone I know making a big deal about it?"

Hiei ran his hands down Kurama's spine to soothe the boy, "We'll find something to do. Why don't we sleep on it? I'm sure that it will make you feel better in the morning."

Kurama nodded. He watched Hiei pull off the black cloak that adorned his small body and then climb into the large bed. Kurama didn't bother getting undressed. He was already tuckered out from his day. The fire demon pulled Kurama into his arms for the night, sharing his warmth for the human boy. They both knew that the only reason they were doing this was so Hiei had a chance to think things over at his own pace.

Besides, pictures were just there to help a person remember, they never preserved the real memory of a best friend, a magnificent lover, and the time they spent together.

- Atopos