Ever the Same

The first time Kurama and Yusuke kissed was nothing like the first time the redhead kissed Hiei.

Hiei had come to the window after a particularly hard battle somewhere in the Makai. He was bleeding profusely, but had somehow had enough consideration and foresight to wrap his cloak around his midsection so he was not getting blood all over Kurama's floor.

A sharp rap on the glass and an explosion of youki had brought the plant wielder running up from the kitchen where he had been washing dishes with his mother. "Great Inari." He gasped when he saw the condition his friend was in. Kurama quickly slid the window open and took the jaganshi into his arms.

"I can walk, fox." Hiei snapped, but he allowed his body to relax into Kurama's.

"Shh." The redhead replied. He unwound the saturated cloak from the smaller man's middle, and peeled aside the ripped edges of his shirt. The wound was fairly deep and stretched from several inches under Hiei's left nipple to just above his navel. Kurama traced it with his fingers, trying to gauge how deep it was, and Hiei shuddered. "Does that hurt?" the kitsune asked.

"No."

Green eyes narrowed, but Kurama said nothing. He got up and crossed to the dresser in the corner. It was made of a deep mahogany wood and had a false back where Kurama kept his poisons and antidotes. "The funny thing about poisons," he murmured, "is that they defy the rule that two wrongs don't make a right. Sometimes when mixed they make a more deadly draught, but often something miraculous happens."

Hiei rolled his eyes. He could have stumbled to Genkai's temple and gotten Yukina to heal him if all Kurama was going to do was talk. He didn't have the energy to protest however, so he sucked it up and lay on the floor silently.

A few moments later, Kurama came over with a vial in his hands. He dripped the noxious smelling liquid into the wound at various intervals. "Would you like me to stitch this up, or do you want it to heal naturally?"

"Leave it." Hiei muttered. He raised the temperature of his body, cauterizing the wound and staunching the flow of blood. Whatever the redhead had put in him was making it feel much better.

"Then I've done all I can." Kurama replied, rocking back on his heels. He made to stand up, when a small calloused hand wrapped around his wrist pulling him back down. "Hiei, what-"

His query was cut off by a warm and slightly chapped pair of lips smashing into his. Emerald eyes shot open wide, blinked, then drooped with pleasure. Kurama would not admit, even to himself, how much he had longed to be close to his friend in this way. Now he wondered how much of this was real and how much was brought on by the pain relieving nature of the mixture he had given him.

"Fox." Hiei said as he pulled back. "Stop."

"What do you mean, stop?" Kurama demanded. "You started this."

"No, I meant stop thinking so much. Either you want this or you don't."

"And I'm to understand that you want this? That you want me?"

Hiei nodded slowly. He opened his mouth to warn the object of his affection about the potential hardships that would come from being with him, but Kurama shook his head, sending all that red hair flying.

"I don't need to hear it." He said. "I know you better than anyone, Hiei, so I know what this will mean. I know what people have said about you, and I don't care."

Later that night they ended up in Kurama's bed, naked. Hiei was wrapped in Kurama's arms tightly, and a tiny smile was on his face.

The situation with Yusuke had not happened quite that way. When Yusuke decided that he wanted to kiss the rather attractive redhead, it was four in the morning and Kurama was wrapped up in a blanket and Hiei.

The jaganshi growled as the sound of someone banging on the front door jarred him from sleep.

"It's Yusuke." Kurama murmured. "He's agitated."

"I don't care." Hiei replied. "I'm sleeping."

The kitsune chuckled. "I'll handle it." he untangled himself and headed down the stairs without even bothering to put on clothes. He had the door open before Yusuke could knock again. "Yes?" Kurama asked with a bemused smile.

Yusuke's brown eyes widened and nearly popped out of his head. "Y-you're not wearing any clothes."

"Well you are certainly observant at such an early hour. Is there something I can do for you?"

"I can't sleep."

Kurama moved aside to let the half demon in. "Well you are far from your bed, my friend." he chuckled as he watched the other man try to avoid looking at him. "What ails you?"

"I'm restless." Yusuke admitted. "I can understand how Hiei always feels now. All I really want to do is go to the Makai and breathe that air."

Kurama nodded. "Every time Hiei returns from Mukuro's service, I can smell the air on him, and I long for it."

"How do you fight it? Why do you fight it?"

"Because I have made a vow to myself and to my mother. The older I get the harder it is for me to leave the Makai each time, and I can't surrender to that yet."

Yusuke sighed. "I know that I made a commitment to Keiko, but she's making it so damned hard. I thought she knew what she was getting into when she married me."

"Perhaps she did too." Kurama said thoughtfully. " I believe that humans vastly underestimate what it means to be in a relationship with a demon. They have no notion of the urges we feel, so how can they be understanding?"

"I guess." Yusuke replied. "I am so jealous of you and Hiei right now."

"You are young yet, Yusuke. There is still time for you to find true happiness. Hiei and I will be glad to help you where we can."

"Thanks, Kurama." the former spirit detective said. "I should probably get home. Keiko'll freak out if I ain't there when she wakes up, and you're flouncing around naked which means Hiei is probably upstairs."

Kurama laughed. "He is. But he's not threatened by my attraction to you since he shares it."

"Well good, because I want to do something." Using speed he wasn't entirely used to yet, Yusuke pulled Kurama into his arms. One hand tangled in the sleep tousled red locks, and the other rested just above the swell of his ass. That was as far as he got.

The kitsune sighed internally. He was renowned through all three worlds for being a cunning lover, but this was the second time that someone was putting the moves on him when he didn't expect it. Before he could turn the tables, Yusuke had begun to kiss him. So Kurama kissed him back.

The mazoku had never kissed a man before, but he couldn't pretend that he hadn't thought about kissing Kurama. After all, the redhead was fairly effeminate, and he had a power that called to nearly everyone who saw him.

Once Kurama became an active participant in the kiss, the voice in Yusuke's head that had been yelling that he was a married man, instantly shut up. There was obviously a reason why the fox was as legendary for his ability as a lover as his reputation as a theif. He was experiencing that first hand.

It was Kurama who broke the kiss when it became apparent that Yusuke had no plans to. His mind was racing with the possibilities of the new demon and all the things Kurama could teach him.

"Fuck." Yusuke swore under his breath. He leaned in for another kiss, but Kurama placed a finger on his lips and moved away from him.

"Keiko." he whispered.

"Keiko," the dark haired man echoed. "Does not kiss like that."

A small pleased smiled curved over Kurama's passion swollen lips. "Well of course not. But I will not help you hurt your wife, however unintentional."

"Fair enough." Yusuke ran a shaking hand through his hair. "I don't think I want to be married to her anymore. I'm not…I'm not in love with her anymore, and she deserves better than that."

"A valid point." Kurama replied. "That is entirely up to you, but know that Hiei and I will be here for you no matter what you decide." He leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on Yusuke's lips. "Now go home."

Once the former detective had gone, Kurama headed back upstairs. Hiei opened red eyes and glared at him. "Was that necessary?" he demanded.

The trickster smirked and shrugged. "I want him, and I am accustomed to getting what I want."

"But really, using your skill at kissing against him?"

"You will recall, Hiei, that he kissed me first."

"Maybe because you went down there naked."

"Hmm. I wonder if that had something to do with it." Kurama mused as he got back in the bed.

"You are incorrigible." Hiei muttered. He turned so that his face was tucked into the warm space between Kurama's neck and shoulder.

"I can change."

Hiei snorted. "You cannot. And why would you?"

A/N: Here is yet another installment in the saga of Yusuke, Kurama, and Hiei. They are so much fun to write. I think in the next bit there might be some Hiei/Yusuke action, if only because that will be so much fun to write. I know that updates of Little Wonders have fallen off lately, but that's because I am trying to build my buffer back up before I update again. Look for a new chapter next week. As always, thanks for the reviews, and let me know what you thought of this.