Title: This, the Day I Say I Love You
Pairing: Kurama/Yusuke
Rating: General. Might change in later chapters.
Summary: After a new case interrupts their lives, a realization might just destroy them.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, or these characters. I merely play with them.
Author's Note: Well, I'm still here. Must count for something, right?
This, the Day I Say I Love You
Chapter Two
The alarm went off. Yusuke rolled over, tired and unwilling to get up. This was suppose to be his day off, but he couldn't remember the last time that had worked out. The rut he found himself in was tearing him apart inside, and he didn't know how much more he could take. This day, he had thought, would be like all the others.
That wasn't the case, however, as Botan had other plans for him. Yusuke was dressed and out the door, having to skip breakfast because he was running late. Already in a foul mood, his empty stomach just revitalized the tension in his neck and back. Walking down the street, Yusuke was caught off guard when Botan appeared out of nowhere, looking exactly the same she had five years ago. The grim reaper pulled him aside, her pink eyes staring widely at him.
"Hello, Yusuke!"
"Hey, Botan. Long time, no see. Why the sudden drop in?"
"I'm glad you asked, Yusuke, but the answer will have to wait until I can get you all back to Spirit World."
"Spirit...what? I can't go to Spirit World! I've got to go to work."
"Sorry to crush your spirits, Yusuke, but this is urgent."
"Isn't it always?"
And just like that, Yusuke was gone. Spirit World looked exactly as Yusuke had remembered it to be. Yusuke walked through the double doors, and was surprised to see more than one familiar face standing sitting in Koenma's office. Kuwabara noticed him first and came bumbling towards him, yelling something at him. Hiei simply stood off to the side, tilting his head slightly in Yusuke's direction to acknowledge his presence.
"Urameshi, this is crazy right? Five years, and they come knocking on my door," Kuwabara spoke, and Yusuke couldn't help but notice that Kurama's presence was missing. It was almost overwhelming, and Yusuke didn't understand why that was.
They all had sort of gone their own way.
Kuwabara was much more involved in Yusuke's life then Hiei or Kurama. Which considering Hiei didn't live in the same world as him, was understandable. Kurama, on the other hand, was simply gone from the major part of Yusuke's life. In fact, Yusuke hadn't seen the redhead since three months after he and Keiko got married. Yusuke shook his head slightly, he was getting distracted.
"Hey, pacifier breath, what's with the reunion?" Yusuke griped, taking a seat in front of Koenma's large desk.
"Twenty-four years old, and still a delinquent. Somethings never change."
"Would you want him any other way?" A soft voice fluttered in.
Yusuke's wide eyes quickly found the man speaking. Kurama's hair was pulled back, and he looked rather disheveled. Yusuke smiled widely at him, and Kurama smiled knowingly at in return. Botan must have really caught him off guard. Kurama sat beside Yusuke, and soon their attention once again fell on the the toddler sized ruler.
"Now that you're all here, I'll explain why I have seemingly interrupted your lives," Koenma spoke seriously, turning his attention to the screen displayed on the wall.
"There appears to be a rouge demon parading around demon world, promoting chaos and anarchy."
"Isn't that why there's demon patrol?" Yusuke interrupted as Kuwabara stared at them all a bit confused.
"Yes, well, that's the problem. What do you know about the demon, Hannya?"
Yusuke stared at him puzzled. "You mean the lady who eats kids and drink their blood and stuff?"
"That's what she's known as in the Living World, but she is much more cut throat than that. For some reason, she's been relatively low key until now. She's been on a rampage the last five months or so, destroying other demons, promoting fear. She's practically unstoppable! Not even the patrol have been able to find her, or get past her goons," Koenma finished with a sigh, placing his hand under his chin.
"And you want our help?" Kurama interjected.
"Yes."
The feeling that came over them all was an odd one. Usually, this would be something they didn't have to think about. This would be a challenge, a chance to escape the boredom they would often feel from having to sustain a normal life. This time, however, it was something they had to weigh in both their hearts and their minds. This time, it wasn't that easy.
"I don't know,this is something I would have to talk over with Yukina," Kuwabara spoke.
"Keiko would kick my ass if I didn't tell her first," Yusuke agreed, hating the way he sounded.
"I, too, should consult my partner," Kurama added, and that caused everyone to look in his direction.
"You're seeing someone, since when?" Kuwabara questioned enthusiastically.
Kurama crossed his leg discretely over the other. "I've been seeing someone from the University I attended. He's a professor there."
Kuwabara's face blanked out, but he appeared rather happy about the whole thing. Hiei didn't seem surprised, but he wasn't one to physically show if he was or not. Botan bounced from heel to heel, a smile to her face as she explained that she had met the charming young man. Yusuke, on the other hand, was not as jubilant. In fact, he was quite upset, and perplexed as to why he couldn't feel happy for the man in question.
"Congratulations, man," Kuwabara cheered.
"Yeah, man. Congrats," Yusuke chimed less enthused than the taller man.
"Thank you."
The agreement was as followed: The three of them would split up, make up an excuse or explain to their significant other where they would be going and reconvene at Yusuke's house. Yukina's only concern was that Kuwabara be safe, and while Keiko was upset that Yusuke was back to this again, she understood. Kurama was much more strategic in his approach, as his partner was a normal human and unaware of this part of his life. Instead, he told him that he had some business to tend to that his step father was unable to handle. While rather simple, Kurama couldn't help but walk away feeling like he shouldn't have to lie to the person he spent his days with and affection on.
Kurama shook his head, however, and moved on. Out of the three men set to meet at Yusuke's, Kurama was the last to show. Upon knocking on the door, Mrs. Urameshi answered with a bright smile upon her face. Upon entering the Urameshi household, Kurama was greeted to a warm feeling of friendship and old memories. Yusuke rounded the corner with a speed the redheaded man wasn't expecting, and engaged him in a tight embrace.
The four of them sat in the living room, enjoying a few drinks and telling a multitude of stories ranging from new to old. Kuwabara's curiosity could not be contained, however, and he had to ask Kurama about his boyfriend, or "partner" as he had referred him as. With a slight cough, Kuwabara brought the groups attention back towards him. This night was great, and how much had he missed these guys? So much so, that he didn't know what was going on with any of their lives.
"So, Kurama, what's your boyfriends name?" Kuwabara finally inquired, and that generated a happy noise from Keiko.
"Boyfriend? Kurama, who's the lucky man?" Keiko added, and the only one who seemed disengaged was Yusuke who suddenly turned silent after sharing a hefty story about the first time he got invited over to dinner by Kurama's mom.
"His name is Hiro, and like I've mentioned before, I met him at the University I attended."Kurama's cheeks tinged a slight pink, he was quite refined in his human form.
"What does he look like? How long have you been together? When will you have him over for dinner?"
"Keiko, let the guy breath. Geez," Yusuke griped, earning himself a clean slap across the back of his head.
While the conversation continued on the topic of Kurama's significant other, Yusuke felt himself beginning to become rather agitated, and no explanation as to why. With an absentminded gaze, Yusuke excused himself from the room and to the backyard of his house. The whole thing was so stupid, what was wrong with him? Yusuke couldn't determine exactly what it was, but didn't have to think too far when the door opened and then shut. Yusuke turned to see Kurama had followed him out, a rather puzzled look upon his face.
"Hey, man," Yusuke greeted casually.
"I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable back there," Kurama responded, straight and to the point.
"No. No, Kurama, it's not that. Don't think that. I mean, I just felt like I've just missed so much, you know? Like, I didn't know what was happening in your life. You've got someone, and I didn't even know. You could have an adopted dog or kid...and I wouldn't know," he explained.
"Well, there's no dog or child to be had, so you're okay there," Kurama laughed.
"How serious are you about this guy?" Yusuke asked, crossing his arm as the breeze crossed his skin. The fall was quickly morphing into winter, and it would be a cold one this year.
"Considering I had no intentions of ever settling down with a human mate, quite serious," Kurama answered, moving slightly closer to Yusuke's side.
"That serious, huh? Must be one hell of a guy," Yusuke jested as Kurama began to walk back towards the house. The cold was never his forte, Spring was much more his season. The redhead looked back over his shoulder, a sincere smile to his lips.
"He is. Actually, he reminds me a lot of you in some ways."
The door closed softly, if he wanted, Kurama could enter and leave without a sound. Yusuke felt a smile twitch at his lips. This new case would be good for all of them, he figured. If anything, it would allow them to reconnect with one another. Yeah, this would be good.
:::
"Yusuke," Keiko's voice came out frightened, and in an instant, Yusuke was up and out of bed.
This was his present.
"What's wrong?" he questioned, Keiko's eyes were brimming with tears.
"I'm not sure, but I think I might be pregnant."
Yusuke froze mid step. Kids were most certainly not in their future right now. Keiko was in school, and they were still so young. Yusuke tried to remove the fear from his eyes, to remain strong for them both, but it was so obvious. Keiko dropped to the bed with a cry.
"You're not sure? I mean, how do...how do you know?"
"I've been throwing up nonstop for the past week, Yusuke. Shizuru said she would come with me to the drug store to buy some test."
Yusuke brought the woman closer to himself. What was he doing? This was his wife, this was suppose to be his everything. Keiko's fear was only intensified when she realized how distant Yusuke was putting himself in this situation. She knew something was wrong, that something wasn't right, but couldn't tell what.
The only thing she knew, was that they both prayed that she wasn't with child.