mYtORnsaNDaLs: I'm glad you're excited for the rewrite. :) I hope you enjoy it at least as much as my first attempt. And I promise to try to be better about posting chapters.
Darkest-Wings: Ask and (sometimes) I grant your wish! :D Thank you, and I'm glad you think so.
HieiKurama forever: Thanks, and sorry I left you questions in the last one ^^;;; I can say it is a house, specifically a really big, not really mansion-y house, and it is located kind of on the outskirts of Tokyo (yay for generic big city in Japan! :D ). I say kind of because it's a fairly quick drive to the city, hence why Kurama's house isn't too far away. And I doubt it will be the same or even close to the first one, because I've already started in an entirely different direction. I will, however, most likely be drawing on some elements from the last one. :)
And a big thank you to everyone who favorited the story or added it to their alert: mYtORnsaNDaLs, snowpeachdrop, White Rose Fox, Dragon Starfire, JGgirl, dogylove, I'm Not Psychotic. I'm Gifted, and Sister-of-Shadows. Seriously though, the thanks and replies to reviews are mostly just for me because I like seeing peoples pen names and writing them out so that they sink in. :3 Thank you all for the love! *mwah!*
Chapter Two
"What? Don't approve of your new room?", Hiei asked, watching Kurama carefully. He was looking around the room with an unreadable expression. He didn't look too happy though (understandable), with a face that showed nothing even remotely happy. He picked up a small pretty bauble, seeming trapped by it for a moment as he turned it over gently in his fingers.
"May I ask something?" His voice was as cold as ever though. Hiei shrugged.
"Go ahead." A cold eye peeked out from behind the red curtain of hair and locked onto Hiei.
"Is it customary to give your 'property' an elaborate room full of valuable things." Hiei felt a grin starting to pull at his lips again. He refrained, keeping his face neutral.
"Not particularly." The bauble was placed down rather abruptly.
"This is your room," he guessed flatly. Hiei couldn't resist grinning at least a little.
"Bingo."
Upon arriving, Hiei had decided the best way to tame his new "decoration" was to keep him close at all times. This was partly strategy, and partly personal preference so he could learn how to manipulate the redhead and get more expressions out of him. Currently all he'd managed to get since they got home was either cool and emotionless or icy cold and angry, same as back at the house. He was hoping to get that quiet hate-filled politeness again, but alas. To no avail.
Kurama moved away from the shelf of trinkets, bringing his arms around himself as if to limit the chance of contact with another of Hiei's things. He crossed to the window, but didn't lean against the edge.
"Do you want to know where you'll be sleeping?", Hiei asked, trying to figure out how to goad the redhead. Maybe he could make him flustered...
"The floor," came the response. He sounded absolutely dead serious. Hiei snorted.
"I'm not going to put you somewhere I have to worry about stepping on you in the morning."
"Then I'll sleep in a corner, on the floor." Hiei's eye twitched.
"You'll be sleeping on the bed with me," he finally revealed, annoyed. When he didn't get a reaction, he continued. "And you'll be sleeping naked." That got a reaction. Kurama's whole body jerked and he managed not to wheel around fast enough to get whiplash, but it was close. His face was a mixture of anger, disbelief, and a small bit of horror. He managed to choke back whatever he was about to say though, forcibly controlling himself. Hiei grinned.
"Unless you come over here and ask me to let you wear something at night. Nicely." A whole range of emotions flipped through Kurama's eyes, but it only took a few seconds before he settled on something. It was that look of forced politeness again, but this time his eyes held a tint of humiliation over out-right hate. And he wasn't smiling. He collected himself, stiffly walking over to stand a foot from Hiei. For a moment he wavered, but then he decided what approach he wanted.
He knelt down, still looking up at Hiei. "Hiei-sama," he asked calmly. "May I please wear something to bed at night." Smirking, Hiei reached down and caught a lock of red hair again. He couldn't help it; he really liked it.
"Better. You're learning. You can wear something. But I'll choose it." The look of pure hate was back.
"Why am I not surprised." He pulled back and stood fluidly, heading back to the window. Hiei leaned back against the door again, rubbing his fingertips together as if he were still holding the strands of hair.
"That was fast," he snorted in regards to Kurama catching on to his personality.
"I know your type." The crime lord raised an eyebrow.
"I have a type?"
"Alpha male with sadistic tendencies. You like having control, especially over others. If anyone shows you defiance, you go out of your way to break them." That sounded about right, actually.
So my decoration isn't a total idiot. Granted, he knew that already, but now he was starting to get that he was smarter than he'd let on before.
"If you know all that, why show me defiance?"
"I've been defiant?", the redhead wondered aloud to himself. "I've been obedient, if a bit honest about my intense dislike of you. I've done everything you asked without putting up a fight-"
"You stabbed one of my men in the chest with a kitchen knife."
"I missed everything vital and he's fine, isn't he? And I'll point out you didn't ask me to do anything at that time."
Fair, Hiei internally conceded. "I still wouldn't call you 'obedient'."
"Just because I haven't been submissive doesn't mean I've been defiant." That was also fair.
"Your looks are defiant." Kurama looked coolly over his shoulder, finally turning to face the crime lord.
"My looks are of contempt," he corrected. He seemed to have calmed down and instead of barely contained fury, he was speaking in an even tone. It was like he had put up a shield and behind it, he had managed to control himself. Now he was able to let himself back out. "Defiance requires context. If I'm glaring at you while doing as you say, it's not really defiance, now is it."
Fuck. I hate it when I get subordinates smarter than me. Okay, he didn't really believe that Kurama was smarter than him (or, he might be, maybe), but he was clearly smarter than Hiei was giving him credit for.
"I guess not," Hiei conceded. He moved off the door, heading over to the redhead. "Give me your backpack." Kurama had yet to take it off and he tensed away from Hiei.
"Why?"
"That would be defiance," Hiei informed.
"Reluctance and suspicion," Kurama countered. "Why?"
"To make sure you didn't bring anything along that I don't want you to have," Hiei explained, though he didn't know why. He should just take it. And a bit too late, he reached forward and grabbed the strap, pulling on it. "Give." Kurama muttered something under his breath, the only part of which Hiei caught being "child", and slid his arms out, crossing them back over his chest. He watched the crime lord head over to the bed, at least nice enough to dump the contents onto a soft surface rather than the floor.
Hiei just upended the whole thing, holding open the mouth and shaking it a little to get everything. Clothes, for one, neatly folded; enough changes for a few days. They were pretty generic; two t-shirts, one white and one green, two pairs of jeans, a green button-up shirt, a black long-sleeved shirt, a pair of white sweat pants, a pair of black slacks, socks and underwear. On top of the pile fell books, just paperbacks to read. Then a wallet, a cellphone, a fairly cheap but attractive slim black watch, toothbrush, and toothpaste. That was it; just clothes, a few books, and a just routine essentials when leaving the house, at all and for a while. Of course, in shaking it, Hiei swore he heard something moving around.
"Something you were trying to hide?"He glanced back and saw Kurama's brows furrow a little in thought, then pull back in realization.
"No," he answered, even as Hiei back searching the bag. "I forgot one of my friends had put something in there for safe keeping a while back. It's just a key chain."
"Girlfriend?", Hiei guessed as he spotted a pouch on the inside with an easy to miss zipper and pulled it open.
"No, just a friend." His fingers brushed against something smooth and round and he pulled it out. It was an orb of glass hung from a black cord. Inside, perfectly untouched and beautiful, was what looked like a tiny rose. It had all the folds and petals of a real rose, and the color was just as red and vibrant as the ones trying to take over Hiei's garden.
"Ooh." He couldn't help it; it was pretty, and he'd been raised as a thief. He heard Kurama move forward.
"No wait, that's-" Hiei turned, keeping it away from the redhead as he reached for it
"It's not your friend's key chain. You lied?"
"No, she must have taken that out. That's my mother's."
"So you stole it?" A dark look passed over Kurama's face.
"I would never do that," he said in a tone that was warning, despite no threat having been made. "Give it back." Hiei raised an eyebrow, letting it dangle slightly.
"So how did it end up in your bag?" He could see Kurama fighting to remain calm.
"I don't know. Please, give it back." Again, Hiei was caught. Keep it and use it as leverage later, or give it back as a reward for asking "nicely".
Well, I want him to be happy, but he's already pissed. Giving it back won't really help. It'll make more of an impact if I give it back when he's not pissed at me, right?
The logic made sense. Just giving it back wouldn't really improve Kurama's opinion of him now. But if he gave it back in a lighter mood, showing that he didn't forget things and rewarded good behavior...that seemed like a better plan.
"I think I'll keep it." The dark look on Kurama's face broke to reveal an almost hopeless, desperate look.
"Please," he asked again, sounding much more sincere. "It meant a lot to my mother."
Don't say you don't care, don't say don't care, don't say you don't care. Biting back his natural sarcastic response, Hiei also resisted the urge to smirk.
"I'll give it back to you sometime, as a reward." He pocketed it, snatching up Kurama's phone as well.
"I'd rather you not tell everyone where we are," he explained. He had to admit, he was enjoying the look of hurt the redhead had.
Got the "sadistic tendencies" right, he realized, heading for the door.
"I'll bring you something to eat," he called. A glance back before closing the door showed him Kurama still had that look that he'd failed, betraying someone he loved deeply.
"Please-" he tried again, but Hiei closed the door sharply and locked it. Pausing, he sighed a little, scratching the back of his head.
I'm a terrible person. Which was a weird thought, because he'd done a lot worse to people than just withhold a necklace from them. He pulled said necklace out, turning it over in his fingers. It really was beautiful; he could see why it was treasured. It looked old, with little chips and cracks here and there, so she'd probably had it a long time.
Hm...I'll have to ask him about it. His mind made a loud click to remind him of his actions just a few minutes ago and he had to hold back from hitting himself in the head.
Fuck. Okay, I'll ask him when I give it back to him. His curiosity whined, and he ignored it, slipping the necklace back into his pocket and heading downstairs. He was hungry, so he really was going to go get something to eat. He'd bring Kurama something too. A chirping noise brought him out of thoughts of sandwiches and other things easily transported upstairs, and he poked his head into the kitchen.
Puu was sitting at the counter, watching a little, bright red bird flutter around in a golden cage.
"Hey, you think Hiei-sama will like it?"
"Is it shiny," their chef asked, not even looking up from making himself a snack.
"Yeah."
"Then he'll like it."
"Pretty much," Hiei agreed, coming in and making a beeline for the caged bird. Puu nearly fell over and out of his seat.
"Hiei-sama!", he squeaked. Hiei made a grunt of acknowledgment, picking up the cage with both hands and watching the bird flutter around. It really was pretty, even if it looked terrified. It cheeped and chirped, pin-balling around the thin bars in a frantic attempt to fly away.
Too bad. You're mine now. Something tugged at his brain and he paused, eyes following the bird more closely.
Vibrant red feathers, like vibrant red hair, held in a cage that was rather big and pretty but was, in the end, a cage.
...Um...whoa. He wasn't aware life fore-shadowed quite this much. Almost nervously he set the cage down, turning it absentmindedly, just for something to do with it that wouldn't seem suspicious.
"Um...Hiei-sama...?", Puu asked uncertainly. "Is it all right?"
"Yeah, it's fine. I'll take it up to my room later." He felt that was enough to smooth over his turning away. "I'm just going to get some food." The bird chirped nervously in it's cage, and Hiei worked to ignore it.
It's nothing, he told himself firmly. Just coincidence. There's no symbolism in it or anything like that. It's a bird, he's a person. Don't be stupid. He relaxed a little and began debating what kind of sandwiches he should make.
~And now for something completely different...~
Damn. Damn damn damn damn. Kurama ran both of his hands through his hair, unconsciously pacing around in an aimless pattern. Eventually he gave up, sitting down on the edge of the bed and holding his head in his hands. He felt tired, stressed, angry, and terrified out of his mind.
Why me? Why us? Why now? It was selfish, but couldn't this bastard have kidnapped him at some time other than in the middle of exams, which Kurama was having enough trouble with already thanks to his mother's roller coaster health (that was currently taking a dip), the death of his and his friends' mentor, and being the anchor for all of his friends in their hectic lives?
No, because that would be convenient, wouldn't it. And on top of it all, seeing his mother's favored necklace in the hands of that...that...
Kurama couldn't come up with an insult strong enough and gave up on it, moving his hands to hold up his face instead of gripping his skull. He closed his eyes and pressed his fingers against the lids like prison bars. He kept replaying the scene in his mind where Hiei held up the rose, rolling it in his fingers before slipping it into his pocket. His mother had always loved it, and Kurama himself had treasured it too. He'd been fascinated by it since he was very little when she would let him hold it while sitting in her lap. That necklace only had good memories and feelings for him attached to it.
And now it was gone. I'll give it back to you sometime, as a reward, an all too casual and uncaring tone said in his head, replaying just as often as the image did. Kurama squeezed his eyes shut, as if that would help at all.
I think I'll keep it. I'll give it back to you sometime, as a reward. I think I'll keep it. I'll give it back to you sometime, as a reward. I think I'll keep it. Shaking his head, the teen tried to ignore it as he stood up and grabbed his clothes, shoving them back into his bag. He wanted to keep everything he still owned in a place of his own choosing. He shoved everything in and held the bag to his chest, looking for somewhere to store it. To be honest he didn't want to leave it anywhere. He wanted to keep it on him as much as possible, but he imagined that one, he would get mocked for it, two, probably by Hiei, and three, he would more than likely be told to leave it somewhere. So, might as well come up with somewhere now.
And then be told, purely for personal enjoyment, to move it somewhere else. He ended up stashing it under the bed behind a few dusty boxes that looked like they had been shoved under there to be hidden.
Why does he have to hide stuff in his own room, in his own house? The reason escaped him, but he didn't question it. He could get to his bag quickly, and it was pretty well disguised behind the other stuff. A sharp pain went through his chest as he sat back on his heels. Hiei had taken away his phone, right when he really could have done with hearing Yusuke or Kuwabara's voice. Sure, it would probably be listening to them scream and rage after hearing about what had happened, but hearing them at all would have made him feel better. As it was, he was completely cut off.
Anyone else would have panicked, but the redhead was pretty good at not panicking, except under one or two situations (and those had involved serious injury, and he'd only really panicked after everything was taken care of and no one was in danger of death).Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and tried to keep calm. Getting upset and worked up would get him nothing right now, except maybe pleasing that asshole crime lord more.
He's just trying to goad you, he told himself, standing up and gathering his hair into a ponytail held up by his hand before letting it go; it was an unconscious, comforting gesture. Just stay calm and don't do anything to get yourself in more trouble. Which means no more open hostility, if you can manage that.
Which was a shame, because his resentful side had been seriously considering trying to block the door with something, just to try and get back at the other at least a little.
No, he chastised, frowning a little. Stay. Calm. Mother isn't in danger of being hurt anymore, and as long as I'm obedient, he has no reason to go after her. He took another deep breath and gathered up his hair again. It was easier to calm down with that thought. Before, he'd been that angry because Hiei had so carelessly threatened his mother. The anger had been to cover up how scared he was. Now he needed to hide it behind calm.
A third deep breath, and his anger was slowly ebbing away. All it had to leave behind though was tiredness, stress, and fear. Fourth deep breath.
Calm, he reminded himself, rubbing his eyes. You'll be fine. He doubted that, but it was a nice thought at least.
"It would help if I actually knew what I was here for," he said aloud to himself. The anger started to flow back and he took an irritable fifth breath. The breaths were starting to help less and less.
You're my property. I'll figure out what to do with you soon enough. For now, you're merely a decoration.
"Not helpful," he sighed. He felt too tired to really be angry, and it receded again. He reached up to rub the back of his neck, but his hand abruptly stopped as he was reminded of who else had touched him there, maybe an hour ago. He snatched his hand away from that particular part of his body and, despite the actions calming him down (and getting blood flakes, that he'd yet to wash away, out), he forced his hands to stay at his side.
Note to self, try to keep him away from the back of my neck. Tiredness began creeping up on him again; he'd been in the middle of a nap when their house had been broken into, trying to make up for not sleeping much last night. He was still tired, and that bed was so cushy...
It's also part of the dark side. Leave it. That's right. He shouldn't get used to it: he would be sleeping on the floor, one way or another. He didn't want to be any closer to that man than he absolutely had to.
And you'll be sleeping naked.
Cause I really needed to hear that right now. He withheld a groan, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Why me?", he asked no one in particular. The door clicked and he quickly moved his arms to his chest, crossing them over each other and turning back to the window. It opened a second later, toed open further by Hiei, whom was juggling a plate with two sandwiches in one hand and a gold bird cage in the other.
"Whenever you're done sulking, I have food."
Like I'd take food from you.
"I'm not hungry."
~And now back to your regularly scheduled bastard.~
"You ate before we left?", Hiei asked skeptically, putting the plate down and clearing off a spot for the caged bird.
"I'm just not hungry," Kurama said calmly. Hiei set the bird down on a shelf, half-admiring how it looked while surreptitiously glancing back. Was this a passive form of disobedience, or was Kurama really just not hungry?
Can't imagine today's events helping his appetite much.
"Fine. Then you can go take a shower. The bathroom's through there, and I know there's some... shampoo conditioner hair stuff whatever in there." He really didn't care much about his hair; he left getting stuff like that to Ruka. She made sure it was always stocked and clearly labeled, so he didn't pay much attention to it.
"Shower?", Kurama asked calmly.
"You still have blood in your hair. Go wash it out." Kurama uncurled his arms from around himself, heading into the bathroom without saying anything else. He didn't really need to be told how to take a shower, and since he'd already been given permission to use the basic care products, there was no need for more conversation. His last "statement" was firmly closing and locking the door behind him. It was pretty clear he was trying to say "Stay out".
I didn't need to be told that, Hiei grumbled internally. As tempting as the idea was to sit in and watch the water and suds flow easily down red locks of hair, the vibrant red standing out against pale skin that it clung to when wet, he wouldn't...
Wow, that idea's a lot more tempting than I thought it was... The opportunity had been missed, however, and he tried not to dwell on it. It would be just a little weird to break down his own bathroom door, and would probably not help the situation. He made up for it by continuing the voyeuristic fantasy in his head, starting to stack other red and gold things around the bird cage. He liked making little pretty collections like this around his room, matching up baubles and other shiny things that looked good together. He briefly entertained the idea of making Kurama a collection himself, decorating him with matching jewelry.
The bird was still flying around chirping like mad, and Hiei switched to finding a blanket to throw over it. Eventually he pulled a pillowcase off one of his pillows and slid it over the cage.
"Shut up," he told the bird conversationally. It chirped and cheeped for a bit longer, but eventually calmed down.
That was easy, Hiei snorted, heading over to his bed. He stopped at the edge, hand out to gather up Kurama's things and move them out of the way, when he noticed they were gone. Everything had been cleared off his bed, even the bag.
Huh. Curiosity and pride begged him to look around for it, just to rub in the teen's face that he couldn't hide anything, but in all honesty, Hiei didn't really care enough. If Kurama wanted to keep all the things he had left stashed somewhere, fine. Hiei wouldn't actively go searching for it. If he did, it was likely all he would get out of it was Kurama being more pissed and just showing that angry expression of his. Nothing new, so it wasn't even worth it.
He flopped onto the bed, folding his arms back behind his head. He had to go talk to Sakyo tomorrow about business, and he was debating taking Kurama with him. Though when he looked at the pros and cons, that second category greatly overwhelmed the first.
To start it off with the pros, he would be able to keep Kurama with him where he could keep on eye on him. And, hoping Kurama would behave (which Hiei had a feeling he would), he could show him off to Sakyo. ...That was really about it for the pros, because the cons covered everything else.
First of all, there was the chance Kurama wouldn't behave, and that reflected badly on Hiei. Secondly and more importantly, actually, was Kurama would be put in the middle of what he did and would hear and learn everything. One, that was a little much for someone who had until an hour or two ago been a normal, middle-class good boy. Two, that made him way too much of a danger. He would know too much too early, earlier than Hiei was ready to let him in on (if that every happened). It was bad enough that he already knew where Hiei lived-
"Oh fuck." That's right. He hadn't even bothered to hide his location. Hell, he'd even flaunted it, letting Kurama sit out in the middle of the car, eyes wide open. Even if he'd been staring ahead, if he was as half as smart as Hiei suspected, he'd picked up on where they were. The realization made Hiei sit up abruptly and he ran a hand through his hair.
Okay...calm down. It's not like he's going to run off or anything, and it's still a long walk, even if the car ride is short. Running a hand through his hair, he calmed himself and lay back down.
So, no, Kurama couldn't come with him tomorrow.
Which means I'll either need to lock him up here- He personally hated being cooped up in one place for too long and in turn didn't like doing it to others, unless he disliked them -or find someone to watch over him. Well...there was Shishi, but he might try to "check" Kurama's gender again, or (more likely) just piss him off. He could go leave him with Mukuro, though she wasn't his subordinate and he didn't have any control over her schedule. That, and he wasn't sure he wanted her talking to Kurama alone, for a whole day, just yet. Again, if ever.
Definitely not Yomi, since Hiei didn't trust him at all. He was the polite and diplomatic kind of bloodthirsty and merciless, and he always kept his true motives and intentions hidden. Not to mention he, like Mukuro, was not Hiei's subordinate, and thus Hiei really had no control over him. Not Toguro, since he would be coming with Hiei. His staff was too submissive; he needed someone who could keep Kurama in line.
What about Suzuka?, he pondered. Sure, he could be a bit of an idiot personality-wise, but he had no lack of intelligence, and he could hold his own. It still didn't seem like quite a fit. He needed someone like Toguro to keep an eye on him; someone who wasn't an idiot of any kind, and a total rock. Suzuka might fall prey to Kurama's icy chill.
I suppose I could use Karasu. He frowned a little. Yeah, Karasu could definitely hold his own and wouldn't fall at the first sign of Kurama trying to intimidate him. Still, he wasn't sure how much he liked the idea. He trusted Karasu enough not to betray him, as long as he treated him with a fair amount of respect and kept his paycheck even. He knew Karasu didn't go behind his back or squeal to anyone, but he wasn't what Hiei would exactly call a "loyal subject". Compared to Toguro, with whom Hiei trusted his life, Karasu was an extremely shady character.
He's convenient though, and he'll keep a close watch on Kurama. I'll just tell Shishi to check in every so often and intervene if things get too ugly between them. The plan seemed solid and he relaxed, closing his eyes and waiting for Kurama to come out. He didn't have to wait too long; a few minutes later the door unlocked and opened.
"Am I allowed to change into my own clothes or did you prefer to dress me?" His eyes were already open before his brain could process the meaning behind the words. He was rewarded with the image of a half- to mostly-naked Kurama, hair still shiny and dripping wet, clinging to his bare chest. (Well wouldn't you call that a rewarding sight?) Water droplets made trails down from his gorgeous locks to his lean stomach and then into the cloth of the towel wrapped around his waist. He had a comb Hiei only partially recognized in his hand, another towel draped around his shoulders.
Hiei followed the water droplets with his eyes, abandoning them as they reached the dark towel and running back up the slim body to red hair turned a few shades dark with the water. A few strands stuck to his face, serving only to emphasize the contrast of red with pale skin, and helping bring out the emerald color of his eyes.
After almost a minute, Kurama cleared his throat pointedly. "Hello?", he called.
"Hm?", Hiei answered distractedly, following a series of beads that slid down from Kurama's hair.
"Did you hear me?" Crimson eyes snapped back up to Kurama's face.
"What?" The green eyes were briefly obscured by closed lids and dark red lashes as the teen tried to dispel his annoyance.
"I asked if I could change into my own clothes or if you preferred to dress me. It's still early, but you said you wanted to choose my nighttime attire. I wanted to see if that was for now or later." Oh, right.
"Change into whatever you like," Hiei said idly, going back to his shameless staring. Kurama's jaw clenched, a habit he seemed to have whenever he was annoyed, and walked smoothly over to the bed. For a second Hiei froze up internally. Kurama was headed directly for him and there were only two real rational scenarios that the crime lord's mind could come up with. One, he'd hidden his clothes and books somewhere near where he was sitting and was coming over to get them. This was the most likely one, but his brain was already skipping off into la-la land and Hiei couldn't quite manage to catch it.
Thus, two, Kurama was coming over to do something rather...adult. And that's what was making Hiei freeze up. He didn't know what to do. Despite what people thought, he had never had sex, nor had he ever really entertained the idea. There had either been no interest (when he was younger), no time, no one, and often on Hiei's part, lack of interest in people and just general paranoia. He didn't trust anything given to him by anyone outside of his own tight-knit "empire", from which even Sakyo was excluded, and even if he did grow to trust someone, he saw them as a comrade more than a bed partner. It had never crossed his mind to sleep with a one of them, not even Ruka (which wasn't his fault because she wasn't even his type).
People seemed to think the opposite of this (not the paranoia thing, the lack of interest in people) because of how much he liked beautiful people. What they didn't get was that beautiful people were like shiny baubles to Hiei; they were pretty and so, on general principle, he wanted to own them and have them around to admire.
Not a one of them had ever approached Hiei half- to mostly-naked and wet, having just come from a shower.
...Uh...! Kurama was now standing in front of the bed and knelt, reaching under for something. Hiei stared at the top of his head, feeling his racing heartbeat slow down. Right. He'd hidden his backpack under the bed. Fairly smart, considering Hiei didn't look under there that much. As the redhead straightened, the crime lord let out a small sigh and managed to pull his eyes away.
Damn...that was clo-HOLY SHIT! He froze right back up as Kurama knelt on the bed, leaning over the lower half of Hiei's body, face coming closer and closer. He had the most teasing, seductive smile Hiei had ever had aimed at him – and the only one that had ever affected him.
"What are you thinking about?", Kurama asked in a soft, honeyed voice. A drop of water fell on Hiei's stomach, soaking through the cloth. Hiei's voice physically caught in his throat, and the tension there almost kept him from breathing, let alone saying something. He stared at the face in front of his and for once he was at a complete loss of what to say. Then Kurama leaned in even closer, and for a split second Hiei was terrified that the other was about to kiss him. Thankfully, his lips moved past his, almost brushing against his ear. He shivered as red hair brushed against his face just barely. He was reminded strongly of when he'd found the sensitive spot on the back of Kurama's neck and how the other shivered, and could have hit himself at how easily their positions had been reversed.
"Whatever it is," Kurama murmured, breath washing over the crime lord's skin, "you might want to stop." And then he was gone, moving off the bed and taking his backpack into the bathroom with him. He closed the door behind him firmly again and locked it. Hiei came to several seconds later, mind still supplying the hallucination of Kurama right next to him, whispering in his ear like that. He found himself lying half-propped up by the pillows, staring straight ahead with his hands gripping the sheets so tightly they were numb. Every single bit of him was tense, including...
Kurama came out a minute later, dressed in the green button up shirt and dark slacks, to find Hiei heading out, eyes furious and cheeks tinged pink.
"Eat the damn sandwich!", he yelled over his shoulder before slamming the door shut behind him. Kurama blinked a little, then shrugged and finished buttoning up his shirt.
Serves you right, asshole.
End Chapter Two
A/N: Well, that was pretty quick, considering my track record. Sadly, it's now 1:30, and I can't start the next chapter because I'm tired and would like to go to bed. So, please enjoy reading, and good night and sweet dreams!