Well, every one of these had to be extracted, like a bad tooth, so I don't know if they're up to par. It seems I only write the odd-numbered sets well. Still, let me know your favorites, I love knowing which ones strike a chord and I am intending to make ficlets out of some of these someday. And yes, commas are my friend.

#1 (Air): Kurama decided he had have a talk witch Hiei when he realized that the sensation he experienced whenever he turned around to suddenly find Hiei not there was most akin to suffocation.

#2 (Apples): Yusuke secretly steered Kurama and Hiei into situations in which Hiei would be confronted by something of human world he had not yet experienced; because watching both Hiei's genuine confusion and his willingness to learn as Kurama explained something simple, like how to dip an apple in caramel sauce, while Kurama beamed quietly in a way that clearly stated in his eyes Hiei was both adorable and adored, made Yusuke think of what his childhood should have been like.

#3 (Beginning): "What is this, the end or the beginning?" Hiei asked; "The end of one thing, and the beginning of another," Kurama replied, kissing him gently.

#4 (Bugs): There were certain courtesies they extended only to each other--Hiei, for example, was as impervious to such natural annoyances as blood-seeking bugs and poison ivy as the master of plant concoctions was, and when their missions took them through cold or water Kurama, like Hiei, was unaffected by anything that fire could burn away--and while the others initially complained at this favoritism, when not only Hiei but Kurama remained closed lipped on the subject the others gradually sensed that it was not something to be discussed.

#5 (Coffee): Staring at the afterimage of Hiei blurring and bouncing around the room, for the afterimage was all Kurama's eyes could keep up with, he sighed and said to the snickering duo beside him, "Did you really have to give him coffee?"

#6 (Dark): Many things need sunlight to grow, but some few precious things can only be conceived in the darkness; like diamonds, their love was born from dark depths and intense pressure, and like diamonds, it was unbreakable.

#7 (Despair): Because of his people's rejection and his childhood amongst thieves, Hiei had long ago despaired of finding someone who could love him, let alone trust him; but when he saw the extent of Kurama's compassion, the lengths to which he was willing to go to offer a second chance, Hiei began to hope.

#8 (Doors): Even for an accomplished thief like Kurama the labyrinth surrounding Hiei's love was sometimes too complex--he spent years wandering through it and feeling like every time he opened one door three others would slam shut, never knowing how close to the heart of the labyrinth he was actually coming.

#9 (Drink): Hiei rarely showed a sense of humor that didn't involve sarcasm, but when he successfully spiked Kurama's drink at a holiday gathering, the resulting antics had him in tears of mirth.

#10 (Duty): "Don't ever stay with me out of a sense of duty," Kurama warned Hiei; "That's what you think this is?" Hiei asked quietly, wounded, before flitting away.

#11 (Earth): Hiei came to the Makai Tournament terrified that he would have to fight Kurama; being apart from him had already made Hiei feel like the earth was crumbling away beneath his feet, like something he had always taken for granted was suddenly no longer supporting him, and he knew if he had to fight the fox it would be akin to an earthquake.

#12 (End): Hiei watched Kurama walking calmly past him through the forest, on his way back to the human world, and said softly to himself, "This is not the end."

#13 (Fall): Hiei could pinpoint the exact moment his obsession with Kurama began--they were running swiftly together, away from danger, and while looking over his shoulder Hiei stumbled; Kurama caught him before he hit the ground, sacrificing his own speed to keep Hiei standing, and did so without a thought, but Hiei thought about it for a long time afterwards.

#14 (Fire): "It's romantic," Kurama insisted, when Hiei reflected that sitting in front of a fireplace was a stupid activity; "It's completely unnecessary," Hiei replied, and then he whisked Kurama off to a much more secluded area which he warmed with his own powers, and Kurama allowed as how that was also romantic.

#15 (Flexible): The fox may have been graceful in all his ways and actions, but it was cause for great delight and infinite exploration when Kurama discovered that though his personality was rigid, Hiei was actually possessed of the more flexible body.

#16 (Flying): Hiei's speed was so great that the first time he carried Kurama somewhere, lifting him away from perceived danger, Kurama compared the experience to flying; Hiei took careful note of the kitsune's joy and cultivated it by "lifting him out of danger" often.

#17 (Food): Basic hospitality was far from basic to Hiei, but when Kurama found himself recovering from a particularly nasty wound in Hiei's care Hiei not only saw to it that he had food but cooked meals for him, something he did not do even for himself.

#18 (Foot): The foot's worth of difference in their heights made their first kiss extremely awkward, and it didn't take them long to realize that when Kurama wanted a kiss it was best just to pick Hiei up, and if Hiei wanted one the fox's forelocks made excellent handles for pulling him down.

#19 (Grave): When Mukuro was unexpectedly felled in battle only a scant two years after the Makai Tournament, Kurama was the only person Hiei ever took to her grave, or even allowed to know where he had buried her, because Kurama was the only person who could be allowed to witness and ease his grief.

#20 (Green): Hiei'd been aware of the slow growth of his attraction to green and growing things for some time, but when he became incredibly enraged--and worse, fearful--on witnessing the destruction of a rosebush, he realized he had a serious problem.

#21 (Head): When Hiei hit his head badly in battle, he insisted afterwards that the only possible cure for the headache was Kurama's gentle fingers massaging it away, and Kurama was courteous enough do this with Hiei facing away from the others so he wouldn't see them snickering.

#22 (Hollow): Once, frustrated and hurt by the little fire demon, Kurama made a sarcastic joke that he could rap on Hiei's chest and hear the echo of the hollow where Hiei's heart should have been; when Hiei turned away from him in pain, Kurama tried to backtrack, but even though Hiei's reaction proved that he did indeed have a heart, the damage was already done.

#23 (Honor): Hiei was so repressed that his love for Kurama might never have come to fruition if Yusuke hadn't slyly suggested that it was dishonorable of Hiei to lead Kurama on; then the fire demon went to great lengths to reclaim his honor, and everyone wound up happy, and Yusuke never mentioned that Kurama had never been led on in the first place.

#24 (Hope): When Hiei left for Makai he hoped desperately that Kurama would try to stop him and try to make him stay with the group, but perhaps Kurama had decided such efforts were futile, or perhaps he was too involved with his own worries; at any rate he did not entreat Hiei to stay, and so the fire demon flitted away more willing to die than he had been before.

#25 (Light): In Hiei's world things were wrong or right, black or white, and he himself was black; but when he met Kurama and discovered how light could come from dark, and dark from light, he found that both his partner and himself possessed many shades of grey.

#26 (Lost): Hiei discovered it was possible not to realize you'd been hurt until you were healed, to not know how cold you'd been until you were warm or that you'd been asleep until you were awake... it was possible not to realize you'd been lost until suddenly, somebody found you.

#27 (Metal): Hiei replaced his katana often, when the blade shattered in battle or been otherwise fatally damaged, or when it had become too dull to be sharpened to the level he required; only once did he replace it without it having sustained injury, and that was after he had been so tired and distracted in sparring practice that he had slipped and cut Kurama's arm deeply, for he couldn't bear the sense of Kurama's blood on the blade.

#28 (New): Many people dream of love, of a mate, from their very earliest years of childhood, but to Hiei the longing to be coupled up was new and bizarre--and yet the time came when he couldn't deny Kurama inspired it in him.

#29 (Old): The spirits that inhabited each of their bodies were old, older than their human friends could even conceptualize, and it was perhaps the wisdom of the ages that caused them to trust each other with their lives within hours of meeting, but wait decades before pursuing the connection any further.

#30 (Peace): "What is this?" Hiei asked one day, after gesturing around at the home they lived in together, the events that filled their lives, and describing an emotion it was engendering in him; "Peace," Kurama replied, gently taking Hiei's hand in his.

#31 (Poison): Hiei accused Kurama of having somehow poisoned him, to plant such an obsession with the fox into his mind; and though Hiei realized later that the obsession was entirely his own, Kurama was so hurt by the allegation that it took years for his trust in Hiei to recover.

#32 (Pretty): There were times when the fretful fire demon wished his mate was not quite so pretty, not because he did not trust Kurama but because he did not trust others not to desire him so strongly that they would pursue him against his will; and with the growth of this worry, Hiei learned that beauty is not always a blessing.

#33 (Rain): In the later years of Shuichi Minamino's life, whenever it rained he would think back fondly on a little fire demon who used to visit him at such times, his normally erect hair trailing down his neck in a manner than made him look like a drowned duck, and he would look forward to reuniting with that little demon when Shuichi's life was finally at an end.

#34 (Regret): They were a study in contrasts in so many ways, and this was one of them: Hiei claimed to regret nothing, and yet guilt and remorse for so many of his past actions consumed him from within-- and Kurama was patent in his regret and pain at his memories of being Youko, and yet in his secret heart of hearts he still sometimes craved the carefree joys of his past life.

#35 (Roses): Nearly a full decade after the Makai Tournament, the gardener at Mukuro's castle was to be found to be running screaming from the grounds with singed hair, after an encounter with the lady's heir in which he had directed his attention to a new rosebush producing beautiful blooms; and Hiei was to be found at his window, gripping the frame tightly as he stared painfully at memories of someone long since gone from his life, but not his heart.

#36 (Secret): Kurama couldn't quite put his finger on why it was that the nature of his relationship with Hiei had to be a secret, but all the same he knew without a word being spoken that it had to be, and shielded it from their friends without having to be asked.

#37 (Snakes): Snakes had always had a natural revulsion to Kurama's fox-like presence, but after the Dark Tournament he began to find them following him, and it was months before he realized that it was the scent of a dragon on him that attracted them.

#38 (Snow): When it snowed Hiei would frequently grow quiet and unresponsive, retreating from the group; Kurama would often excuse himself a few moments later to follow him, and no one knew what passed between them in those times, but Kurama was always cheerful and Hiei his usual smug intolerable self when they both returned.

#39 (Solid): Kurama sometimes felt like he'd slammed up a solid brick wall in his attempts to reach Hiei, but every thief worth his salt knew there was no wall that couldn't be scaled, dug under, or otherwise worked around, and so even when the breath was knocked out of him the kitsune persisted.

#40 (Spring) Even though it was late autumn when Hiei finally consented to return to human world just for the purpose of being with Kurama, the kitsune couldn't help frolicking as though it were springtime.

#41 (Stable): Kuwabara once remarked with awe that throughout all their separations, through Kurama's initial defense of Yusuke and the Makai Tournament and everything, Hiei and Kurama had remained friends; Kurama replied that friends was not exactly the word for it, but they certainly were not enemies, and though their status sometimes changed he always knew where he stood with Hiei.

#42 (Strange): The day Yusuke told Kurama that the relationship between Kurama and Hiei was the strangest and most indefinable one Yusuke had ever seen, Kurama looked at him like Yusuke was the peculiar one and asked, "What's strange about it?"

#43 (Summer): Hiei's disgust with the human world grew exponentially when he learned that jobs, unlike school, did not let out for the summer and Kurama would no longer be joining him for adventures during that time.

#44 (Taboo): "I'm forbidden," Hiei said flatly, turning away from Kurama; "So, if you ask many people, is love between two men," Kurama replied, and then he pulled Hiei close and kissed him anyway.

#45 (Ugly): "Jealousy can be an extremely ugly thing," Kurama told Hiei, "but if you think your jealousy is bad, you just try striking one of my friends for touching me again and you'll see how ugly I can get."

#46 (War): "How can you be so constantly at war with the person you love?" Kuwabara wondered, watching Yusuke and Keiko verbally spar with each other; "Trust me," Kurama said, with a sidelong glance at Hiei, "it's very easy."

#47 (Water) After a battle they found a stream to wash the blood from their bodies, and Kurama insisted on keeping watch while Hiei bathed, to make sure they were not ambushed; he also used the time to sneak many glances of Hiei's naked body with the water pouring off it, and then Hiei took the same watch for the same purpose, both stated and unstated.

#48 (Welcome): At first Hiei could not describe the reason he kept returning to Kurama, kept wanting to be with him; but later on in his years, when he could compare that situation to living with Mukuro, or to Yukina's response on finally learning his true identity, he realized Kurama was the first person who had made him feel welcome, and it was that feeling that he craved enough to hunt all the way to Ningenkai for.

#49 (Winter): Kurama knew that every winter, no matter how long or how cold, eventually becomes springtime; when he looked at Hiei, he saw the cold snow that protected the half-koorime's heart, and so he bundled up to protect himself from the piercingly icy wind of his disdain and waited hopefully for him to melt.

#50 (Wood): Not even the smallest detail of Kurama's personality went unnoticed by Hiei, and when he picked up on the fox's natural affinity for being deep in the woods, he made sure to take Kurama there before proposing any change in their relationship; he didn't know that he could have asked Kurama on a city street, and the answer would still have always been yes.