Okay, so sorry that it's taking me a while to update. I was really bored and couldn't really think of anything, I guess, "productive" for this chapter and chapter four will be a lot better, I promise. I'm sure there are parts that drag on and I'm sorry. So, uhm . . . Enjoy?:P

Shizuru groaned, rolling over and holding her head. She had just woken up with a pounding headache and had no idea why. She sat up, looking down at Hiei's empty side of the bed and sighed. Now, she knew why. The stupid fight they had the night before kept replaying in her mind right before she fell asleep.

She climbed out of bed and yanked open her closet door. She pulled out her clothes, halfheartedly tossing them onto her bed. She stopped when she heard the bedroom window open with a squeak. She turned to see Hiei standing there, his hand on the window and his foot on the sill. He looked like a deer in headlights when she stared at him.

"What're you doing?" She asked, closing the closet door. "Can't you use the door? Or did you forget your key?"

"Shut up." He said quickly, hopping inside the room. "I'm sorry about last night. I'm sorry for calling you a bitch."

"Yeah, I'm sorry too. We both said some things we shouldn't have. Go wake up Haru, he didn't think you were coming back."

Hiei kicked off his shoes then crawled onto the bed, standing in front of Shizuru. She gave him a sad smile that disappeared faster than it appeared then turned to leave. Hiei grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her over to him. He pulled her into his arms and covered the side of her face and her neck with kisses. She smiled and pulled away from him.

"It's okay, Hiei, really."

He smirked at her, gently putting his hand on the side of her face. She smiled again, leaning into his touch as he rubbed her cheekbone with his thumb. He put his other arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him again and kissing her again. She slid her arms around him, holding him. He dipped her, pushing her onto the bed.

"What're you doing?" She laughed.

He ignored her and bit at her neck playfully, receiving a giggle from her. She put her hand on his chest, pushing him away from her. She sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. Hiei sat behind her, kissing her neck.

"I don't have time for this, honey." She said softly, closing her eyes. "I have to get ready for work."

He let out a mock sympathetic groan, biting her earlobe. She laughed and stood up. She grabbed her bathrobe off of the back of her desk chair then blew a kiss at him. He pretended to catch it and put it on his cheek. She smiled at him then left the room. Hiei flopped back onto the bed, hearing the shower start.

"I'm disgusting." He said to himself, a half smile on his face.

He got up a minute later and left the room, going to his children's room. He opened the door and peered in, smiling to himself when he saw the sleeping twins in their beds. He stepped in quietly and sat down on the edge of Haru's bed. He poked at the little boy's face, watching his son's eyebrows furrow in his sleep.

"Don't . . ." Haru mumbled. "Quit it, Sumi."

Hiei smirked and poked at Haru again. In his sleep, Haru tried to smack at his father's hand, mumbling.

"Cut it out, Sumi."

In her bed across from Haru's, Sumi rolled over and faced the wall.

"I'm not doing anything." She said in her sleep.

Sleep talkers, his children were sleep talkers. Hiei wondered if it was genetics, Shizuru didn't do it but Kuwabara sure did. There were times when Kuwabara would shout in a high-pitched voice that didn't sound like his own when he was asleep.

"Leeches!"

Then he could kick the blankets off of him or unintentionally kick or punch the wall by his bed or whoever was sitting next to him, depending on where he had fallen asleep. Yusuke liked to mess with him when he was asleep, wetting toilet paper and scrunching it up and putting it on Kuwabara's face then shout with mock fear in his friend's ear.

"Oh, no! Kuwabara, look out! Leeches!"

As for the twins, one could have a full conversation with them. Sometimes Kurama could even have intelligent conversations with one or both of the twins if one or both had fallen asleep on the couch next to Kurama.

Hiei jabbed at his son's chubby cheek once more when the little boy sat up and swatted at him, Hiei's glare on his face. Haru's glare disappeared and was replaced by a wide happy grin.

"Dad!"

Hiei put a finger to his own lips, hushing his son. Haru covered his mouth with his hands, hiding a smile. Haru climbed out from under the blankets and sat in Hiei's lap, hugging him.

"You came back!" He whispered. "I thought you left for good, dad."

Hiei hugged his son, brushing the hair out of his face and kissing him on the forehead.

"Why would you think that?"

"You and mom were so mad at each other. It . . . scared me."

"Oh, god, son." Hiei hugged Haru again. "I'm so sorry you had to witness that last night."

Haru buried his face into Hiei's shirt. His body shook as he started to cry, remembering the night before. Hiei held his son in his arms and rocked him as if he were a baby, trying to calm him down. Haru looked up at Hiei, wiping the tears from his eyes with the back of his hands.

"Don't leave again, okay dad?" Haru said softly.

Hiei stared at his son for a moment then a smile broke out on his face. He nodded and patted Haru on the head.

"I won't leave again, Haru."

"Promise?"

"I promise that I won't leave again."

Hiei stood up with his son in the crook of his arm and the two left the room. He walked into the kitchen to see Kuwabara sitting at the table, eating a bowl of cereal and reading the back of the cereal box. Hiei sat Haru down on the chair next to Kuwabara. Kuwabara looked up and nodded a 'good morning' to Hiei, who nodded back. Since Hiei and Shizuru had gotten together, he and Kuwabara didn't hate each other as much. They still had little fights every once and a while, but they were (sort of) friends.

"Good morning, uncle Kazuma." Haru said, patting at the table with his hands as if it were a drum.

"Mornin', kid." Kuwabara handed the box to his nephew. "Can you help me with this maze?"

"Sure."

Hiei went to the cupboard and grabbed a bowl then handed it to Haru. Hiei opened the refrigerator and looked in, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Where's the milk?"

"It's out already."

Hiei stood up to see Kuwabara helping Haru pour the milk into his bowl. Haru pointed at something on the back of the box, scrunching his face in confusion.

"Is that supposed to be a penguin?"

Kuwabara took the box away from him and squinted, pulled the box away from his face and squinted again then brought the box close to his face again, still squinting.

"I think it's a lion, kid."

"But it's blue!"

Kuwabara shrugged then poured Haru some cereal then poured himself some more. He turned to Hiei, who held an apple in his hand, tossing it up and down and looking at it as if he wasn't sure if he really wanted to eat it or not.

"Hey, Hiei, what's this animal on the back of the box?"

Hiei walked over and snatched the box from Kuwabara's thick hands, his eyebrows furrowing as he stared at the crudely drawn cartoon animal on the back of the box.

"It's a whale." He said flatly, setting it back down in front of Kuwabara.

"No, it isn't!" Kuwabara and Haru said in unison.

"Yes, it is – look!" He pointed. "It even has a blow hole and it's spewing water!"

"That's its mane!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "It's a lion, you guys! I swear."

"It's not, manes go around the whole head, uncle Kazuma!"

Haru leaned over and grabbed the cereal box away from his father and uncle. He jabbed a finger at the animal, denting the cardboard.

"It's a penguin with a fruit hat on!"

"Kid, that is a mane. And why would a wild animal wear a fruit hat? It's a lion, it's sitting in a bush."

"That is not a lion, it's a whale."

"What would a whale be doing in a bush, Hiei?"

"That's not a bush, that's an ocean . . . with reeds."

"That's one tiny ocean, Hiei."

The front door opened and Yusuke stuck his head in, looking around the living room. He smiled, seeing his friends and Haru sitting in the kitchen. He walked into the apartment and was bombarded with incoherent yelling from the three sitting at the table. Kuwabara waved the open box of cereal in his hand, cereal falling out and dropping onto the floor as Hiei and Haru stood on either side of Kuwabara, pointing frantically at the box.

"Urameshi, what does this animal look like to you?" Kuwabara growled, standing up and shoving the box at him from across the table. "It's a damn lion, right?"

"A blue lion, Kuwabara?" Hiei said sarcastically.

"Yeah, it's Africa! It's imaginary!"

"Africa's not imaginary, Kuwabara."

"You know what I mean!"

Yusuke turned a table chair around and sat down, resting his arms on the back of the chair as he eyed the box. He tilted his head to the side and squinted, his face scrunching.

"Dude . . . it's a crocodile!"

"What!" The three across from him shouted.

"What's going on?"

The four looked towards the kitchen entranceway to see a white sleeper clad Sumi standing there, sleepily rubbing her eye with a fist and yawning. The room was quiet for a moment then the four started yelling, surprising Sumi and making her cry.

"Oh, princess, don't cry!" Kuwabara jumped up and scooped her up, bouncing her slightly in an attempt to calm her down.

"Are you guys mad at me?" she sniffled, looking up at Kuwabara when he sat back down.

"No, no, of course not! Here." Kuwabara snapped his fingers at Yusuke then held his hand out for the box of cereal.

Yusuke tossed the box at his big friend, making pieces of cereal fling out. Kuwabara caught it in one hand and pointed at the cartoon creature on the back.

"What kind of animal is that, Sumi?" He asked. "It's a lion, right?"

"No, Sumi! It's a whale!" Hiei stood behind Kuwabara and Sumi, jabbing at the box. "It's a whale, isn't it, honey?"

"No, sis! It's a penguin!" Haru piped up, crawling onto the kitchen table, the seat of his black sleeper sticking to a juice stain on the table.

"Can't you guys see that it's a frickin' crocodile?!" Yusuke snapped, slamming his hands onto the table as he stood up. "A crocodile! A crocodile, damn you!"

Sumi pursed her lips, her eyebrows furrowing. She put her finger to her lips as if she were thinking hard. Kuwabara smiled down at her; his niece was so cute! She poked it and nodded her head with that goofy Kuwabara smile on her face. On her, it made her look absolutely adorable.

"It's a llama."

Everyone around her face faulted, their legs twitching in the air. They stood and the group began arguing, the twins yelling the loudest. Shizuru walked into the kitchen, brushing her hair up into a high ponytail. She stopped then took a few steps back, hearing and seeing everyone yell at each other.

"Hey!" She shouted, raising her voice above the others.

Everyone stopped and stared at Shizuru, standing in the entranceway of the kitchen with her hands on her hips. Yusuke leapt over the table, trying to snatch the box from Kuwabara. Kuwabara narrowed his eyes at him, holding on tightly to the cereal box. Everyone else watched with wide eyes as the two played a sad game of tug-o-war with the cereal box, knowing full well what was going to happen. The box tore and the plastic bag inside was thrown up into the air and landed on the ground, cereal flying in every direction.

Yusuke ripped off the back of the box and scrambled over to Shizuru, ignoring her yelling for him and Kuwabara to clean up the mess.

"You guys have to do it before you leave!"

"Yeah, yeah. We will, but this is more important."

"What is it?"

He lifted the torn piece of cereal box up and pointed at the animal, a serious look on his face.

"What animal is that? A penguin, a lion, a whale, or a crocodile?"

"Is this serious what you guys are fighting about?"

"What is it!" They shouted at her.

She opened her mouth to say something but then stopped and sighed, rolling her eyes. She leaned closer to the ripped cardboard and squinted at the animal Yusuke was pointing at. She sighed again, standing back up.

"It's a llama."

"Yes!" Sumi punched at the air.

"That's biased!" Yusuke shouted. "You're biased!"

"I'm not biased!"

"No, you're sexist! You sided with your daughter!"

"Yeah, why couldn't ya have sided with your own brother?"

"Or even your damn boyfriend?"

"Or your son?"

"I'm not sexist and I'm not biased! That's a llama! And watch your language, Hiei!"

There was a soft knock at the door and it opened with a small creak. Kurama stuck his head in and smiled at Shizuru. She waved him over, beckoning him.

"C'mere, Kurama. What is this?"

Kurama glanced at the ripped cereal box and shrugged.

"It's a llama."

Shizuru turned back to the group, an eyebrow quirked.

"See? I told you!" She rolled her eyes. "Now, kids go get ready for school. And you two –" She looked form Yusuke to Kuwabara. "Clean up this mess."

She walked into the kitchen to make herself some coffee, stepping over the spilled cereal in an attempt to not crush it and make a bigger mess. Haru and Sumi ran from the kitchen, cereal crunching under their feet. Kurama shrugged again then flopped onto the couch, turning on the television with the remote. He glanced back at the kitchen to make sure that no one was watching him then turned back to the television, changing the channel to Lifetime. He smiled to himself; the movie he had started watching the night before was on again, like Kuwabara said, and it had just started.

Hiei snuck up behind Shizuru and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting the side of his face on her back. She stopped what she was doing, setting her mug on the kitchen counter as Hiei rubbed her stomach. She smiled to herself and picked the empty mug back up.

"It was a llama, Hiei."

Hiei groaned and let go of her, deliberately walking over the spilled cereal Kuwabara and Yusuke were trying to sweep up with a dustpan and broom. He did a little jig on a large pile just to spite them then smirked when they glared at him as he left the kitchen. He flopped down on the couch next to Kurama, watching as a man slapped a woman across the face on the television screen, sending her flying to the ground in tears and apologizing profusely. Hiei cocked an eyebrow then turned to Kurama, who seemed to be sitting on the edge of the couch, biting his nails in anticipation. His eyes sparkled in excitement as he watched the movie. He blinked, seeing Hiei stare at him in the corner of his eye. He turned and looked at his very short friend.

"How can you watch this garbage?" Hiei asked, shaking his head at Kurama.

"You shut up, Lifetime is God."

"And that is why you're still single."

Ooh, burn! Kurama opened his mouth to retort but couldn't find anything to say, his eyebrows furrowing. He turned back to the television, sulking into the couch and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hmph."

Twenty minutes later, after the twins had had showers and had gotten dressed, they ran into the living room and hopped onto Hiei and Kurama's laps. Sumi plucked the remote from Kurama's hands and changed the channel.

"Sesame Street's on." She said, as if that would make him understand. "We watch it every morning."

Kurama let out a sad groan, upset that that was the second time that he had gotten into the Lifetime Original movie and somebody had changed the channel at the best part. Hiei smirked at him and Kurama resisted the urge to punch his short friend in the back of the head.

"You're . . . stupid." Kurama whispered to Hiei.

Hiei gasped and bit his lip, looking at Kurama with wide eyes. His cheeks puffed out as he tried to keep his laughter under control. His body convulsed and he covered his mouth with his hands as his children and friend stared at him. He snorted a few times before cackling evilly. Yusuke, Shizuru and Kuwabara stood in the entranceway of the kitchen, watching Hiei laughing hysterically. Even Eikichi stopped and sat down in the hall and watched Hiei.

Kurama rolled his eyes and punched Hiei in the chest, being careful as to not hit the little boy sitting on his friend's lap.

"Holy crap, Kurama! I make fun of you being single and the best you can come up with is 'you're stupid'?"

"Oh, shut up."

"Hiei, leave Kurama alone. Kurama, why can't you watch Lifetime at your place?"

"We don't get Lifetime at our house." Kurama said sadly.

His head snapped up when he saw something on the screen. He smiled and clapped then hugged Sumi closer to his chest.

"Ooh, look! It's Elmo!" He grinned. "I love Elmo!"

"Cookie Monster's where it's at, Kurama." Kuwabara said, squishing in between Kurama and the arm of the couch.

"No way!" Yusuke exclaimed, resting in the recliner and kicking his feet up. "Oscar's the best character on here."

"Oscar?" Kuwabara looked at Yusuke, making a sick face. "Oscar the Grouch?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with Oscar?"

"He's a grouch and he lives in a trashcan!"

"There's nothing wrong with that! He's awesome!"

Shizuru rolled her eyes as a new argument started with the group in the living room. She sipped at her coffee, watching Yusuke and Kuwabara fought about which character on Sesame Street was better.

"You're both wrong," Kurama interjected. "Elmo's the best. He's a little ladies man."

"Cookie Monster's a beast, man, just look at him!"

Shizuru rolled her eyes again and sat down on the arm of the couch next to Hiei, putting a hand lovingly on his shoulder. Hiei glanced at her, giving her a smile then turned back the Sesame Street fight going on between his friends.

"Hiei, who's your favorite?" Kurama asked, playing with a lock of Sumi's hair.

"Of the Muppets? None."

"You're a little liar, Hiei!" Kuwabara accused, shaking a fist at Hiei. "Everybody's got a favorite from Sesame Street!"

"Does it really even matter? It's a children's show!"

"Of course it matters, it's one of the most important things in the entire world!"

"Yeah," Yusuke agreed with Kurama, nodding. "You can tell a lot about a person by who their favorite Muppet is on Sesame Street."

That was so true and it was strange that nobody really noticed that their favorite Muppet was, in a way, like themselves.

Kuwabara gasped, jerking in his seat on the couch as he watched a certain skinny blue monster with a red cape flew across the screen.

"Grover!" He exclaimed. "I totally forgot about Grover! He and Cookie Monster are my favorite!"

"Hey, honey." Shizuru put her arm around Hiei's shoulders, leaning against him. "Who is your favorite?"

Everyone turned their attention back to Hiei, interest sparkling in their eyes. Hiei cleared his throat and tried to get up, Shizuru's arm holding him down.

"All right, all right! I'll tell you." Hiei growled, glaring at the screen as his favorite character came onto the screen. "It's that . . . elephant . . . with the long eyelashes."

"Snuffy!" Yusuke and Kuwabara exclaimed in unison, as if it were so obvious.

"Oh, that's so cute, Hiei!"

Shizuru poked him in the face and he slapped her hand away, trying to sink into the couch as a blush formed across his face. She looked at her watch and gasped, getting up.

"Okay, guys, time to go."

"But the show's not over yet!" Kuwabara whined.

"I was talking to the twins." She patted Hiei on the back. "C'mon, Snuffy Lover, let's take the kids to school."

Haru and Sumi hopped from Hiei and Kurama's laps, following Shizuru out of the apartment. Yusuke and Kuwabara snickered and Kurama covered his mouth to hide a smile. Hiei glared at them as he got up to leave the apartment.

"I will kill you in your sleep."

"Seeya later, Snuffy!" Yusuke shouted after Hiei as he slammed the door behind him.