A/N: Sorry, no comment replies today. I only have a few more minutes before I have to go to class and I figured you all would prefer the chapter sooner.
Chapter Four
"Are you done yet?" Kurama glared at the door, growing more irritated by the second. He bit his tongue though, refraining from pointing out that he hadn't been in here that long. No doubt he would just get a sarcastic, goading remark back, which would only encourage his irritation to flourish.
"Almost," he responded in his calmest voice. "I'll be out in just a moment." He tied the sash around his waist and stepped back to look himself over in the small mirror that rested over Hiei's sink. He didn't look...bad, per se. He just looked like a girl.
Yes, he was well aware growing out his hair had not helped dissuade this image in the slightest (and was even the main cause for his constant mistaken identity), but he liked it grown out, and at least he could compensate by being careful with how he dressed. Now, however, wearing what Hiei had chosen for him (and not even chosen, gotten someone else to choose), his actual gender was not as obvious as he would have liked.
Frowning at his reflection, he pulled his hair back into a ponytail. That made it worse and with a sigh, he futilely brushed his bangs away from his eyes.
I could cut my hair, he debated briefly, but as mentioned before, he liked it like this. He liked the feel, and he liked having something to play with absentmindedly when he was bored. And it kept the back of his neck warm in the winter. He dismissed the thought and headed for the door. He was fully prepared for teasing over this. It came in the form of barely contained laughter that started as soon as he took a step out into the bedroom.
"Well I wasn't expecting this," Hiei laughed behind his hand. Kurama clenched his jaw and tried to ignore the crime lord, passing him by for the other side of the bed.
"May I go to sleep?", he asked curtly. Just as Kurama had ignored him, Hiei ignored the question.
"Are you sure you were born the right gender? Maybe you're a girl trapped in there. It's never too late for a sex change you know." Kurama fought the urge to throw a pillow at Hiei, or maybe go back and punch him. He grabbed the edge of the blanket a little harder than was necessary, but at least feigned calm in pulling it back.
"I'm going to sleep."
"Or you could be a drag queen. I think subtle would be better for you than flamboyant, but not all of them can have sequins I suppose." Kurama slid into the bed and dropped onto his side, back to Hiei.
"If you want to sleep with me," he told him tiredly, "come to grips with the fact that you might not be entirely straight, because I'm not changing my gender." He wished he could have turned over to see the look on Hiei's face; he could hear him choke and then try to stifle the rest of his sounds. Smiling lightly, he settled in and closed his eyes.
"So does that mean if I ordered you to, you would sleep with me?" His eyes snapped back open. He kept his body from jerking and turned over to look at the criminal.
"Are you ordering me to sleep with you?", he asked. Hiei had kept his own expression calm.
"No," he admitted slowly, as if entertaining saying yes. Kurama turned back over.
"Then I guess it's not an issue." His heart was pounding in his chest so hard he almost thought, childishly, that Hiei could hear it. There was quiet in the room for near a minute before the bed behind Kurama sank and the crime lord crawled in.
"Guess not," he agreed, turning out his light. The room was plunged into darkness, and silence. Kurama's eyes remained wide open, staring out into the black. They hadn't adjusted, so he couldn't see anything. It would take a few minutes before he was able to pick up on the subtle light coming in from the window. As it was, he could have held his hand in front of his face and wouldn't have been able to see it. He was also keenly aware of things his eyes couldn't tell him; distant chirping of bugs, people about the house moving, making the wood creak underneath them, Hiei's forcibly even breathing behind him, and the warmth radiating off his back.
It was so quiet that the distant chirping, moving, creaking, and breathing was magnified. It was a constant drone in his mind that overtook the thoughts he couldn't focus on, and wasn't even able to have as he tried to understand everything. He closed his eyes and tried to wish it away. Without worrying about the black he could hear and feel everything even more. His clothes were soft against his skin and slid easily every time he moved even a little. The sheets weren't scratchy and felt expensive. He was loathe to admit they felt nice. The comforter was thin as far as comforters went; it made it colder than he was used to. He shivered and drew his bare arm under it, trying to wrap it around him more without making the movement obvious. Hiei grunted and shifted a little. The blanket tightened on his end and for a second Kurama was more annoyed than nervous.
Really? Couldn't even give him the damn blanket.
He chalked it up to 'asshole' and just tried to shift down further, covering himself more thoroughly. The bed was big enough that he didn't brush against Hiei, but he could still feel his warmth.
Maybe he has a fever... The thought was stray, and also reflexive. Most of his friends could be complete idiots when it came to taking care of themselves. Yusuke and Kuwabara were teenaged boys who thought that because they could kick the crap out of whoever they wanted, passing bugs were incapable of affecting them. It just didn't occur to Jin, whom was a little older than them, that sickness could happen to him (luckily he was usually tended to by Touya, who wasn't bothered by illnesses even when they hit him). Chu, a lot older than them, was a registered alcoholic with an incredible resilience to the permanent damage that came with that, yet still got drunk in a snap and usually needed more than a little assistance when he did. Rinku was mature for his age (younger than them), but he (and Amanuma) were kids. Health was not an issue, and being sick was not an issue. Unless it got you out of school.
All this led up to Kurama being the screaming-match-free doctor of the group (when Genkai had been alive, god help you if she noticed you were sick and not trying to get better). He'd gotten so used to noticing when his friends had various bugs, and taking care of them, that he couldn't help but do the same now. Hiei had more body heat than was normal, which was generally associated to a fever. Already Kurama was thinking about what he should do to bring it down. His hand clamped down on itself, nails driving into his skin a forceful reminder to come back to himself.
This was not his friend. This wasn't someone he should care about. He didn't care. This was a manipulative bastard who had ruined his life in a short amount of time and was trying to control him like he was some kind of pet. No, like he was property. A servant.
Clenching his jaw again, he figuratively shook away the habitual thoughts and tried to focus on sleep. Hiei pulling on the blanket was making it rather uncomfortable and Kurama loosened it on his end to try and relieve it. Hiei pulled the slack towards him, causing the redhead another wave of annoyance.
Fuck you, he thought. Fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you. He gave up on trying to be reasonable about this and kept a tight grip on what blanket he had left. His eyes were beginning to adjust, and now he could see most of his side of the room. A few shiny things glinted in a muted fashion in the dim light.
It didn't matter that it was pretty; it was so foreign to his own room that he felt a pull of homesickness in his stomach. His chest felt hollow and heavy at the same time and he curled up to try and relieve it. The bed didn't smell like home. They used a fairly inexpensive brand of fabric softener that smelled nice, and clean. Hiei didn't use it. It didn't smell anything alike, and he didn't like it. It was cold too. It didn't matter how nice the sheets were, or how comfortable the bed was; it was cold. It was cold, and different, and uncomfortable.
That pain was getting worse. It crept into his throat and he swallowed, trying to uncurl. He couldn't let this consume him. There had to be a way to keep on living. He had food, and shelter, and he knew his moth- family was safe. He could pay Hiei back, somehow, and then he could go home.
This was just a time in his life. He could get through it, and move on.
He still couldn't sleep much at all that night.
It didn't help that halfway through, when he finally felt like dozing off, Hiei abruptly rolled over and slung an arm around his waist, giving another grunt as he did before going back to snoring quietly. Kurama's half-lidded eyes were now at full mast and his entire body was still. The crime lord was spooning him. Spooning him. Crime lord. Spooning. What the hell.
There was a weird feeling that welled up in his chest. A mixture of horror, and disgust.
There has to be a way out of this. Suicide seemed like a viable option. Sadly, he had nothing to kill himself with that he could reach.
Where was that sword he was swinging around earlier? Probably on his side of the bed. Fuck.
Okay...option number two...? Which he didn't have. He remembered a story Chu once had of getting drunk and waking up next to someone who was sleeping on his arm and, for a few still drunk and paranoid seconds, he'd entertained the idea of gnawing off his own arm to get away.
But he's holding onto my waist. I'm not that flexible. The arm tightened and suddenly all of Hiei was pressed to Kurama's back, a second arm slithering under his body to wrap around him. Kurama's mouth actually fell open in a bit of shock. What the hell?
Why me?, he asked internally, horrified. Hiei made some muttering noise and buried his nose in the red locks placed so conveniently in front of his face. A cold shudder ran down Kurama's spine and he almost leapt out of the bed to get away from the 'soft-core' rape. The floor was looking so much better now.
Right. There was option number two.
Glancing back, Kurama tried to crawl towards the edge of the bed. Hiei slid with him, still snoring against his back. He swung his lower half away from the crime lord and over the side, touching his bare feet to the cold hardwood. Then, very carefully, he twisted himself around, almost unscrewing himself from Hiei's arms. The shorter male grunted, frowning a little and trying to hold on, but it was too late. Kurama freed himself and fell back with a bit of a thump, but quiet enough not to wake anyone up. Hiei rolled back over, taking the blanket with him.
The redhead slid a hand back up only to seize a pillow before curling up on the ground. Now it was colder, and even less comfortable. But the thought of lying awake all night with that man wrapped around him honestly made Kurama's skin crawl. He pulled himself into a tight ball and forced his eyes closed. He still didn't sleep.
~Manamana. Doo-doo, doo-doo-doo.~
Morning. Morning meant waking up. Waking up meant Hiei's least favorite five to ten minutes of the start of the day. Once he was out of bed, he was fine. It was the getting out process that was a pain.
Fuck this. Fuck me. Fuck waking up. Fuck work. Fuck Sakyo. Fuck today's work. Fuck-
If you want to sleep with me...
What are you thinking about?
Well, that took care of those five minutes. Hiei stared at his own headboard, having ended up on his stomach during the night. He almost expected Kurama to be staring back at him; his voice sounded real enough.
Why was that my first thought? He couldn't remember if he'd been dreaming of the redhead. He tended not to remember dreams, and that was usually fine with him. One less thing to worry about. Now he really wanted to know though.
Speaking of which... He pushed the dream issue to the back of his mind and sat up, looking around for his property. There were two things missing on his bed; the property he'd sat up to look for, and a pillow.
The fuck...? Crawling over to the side of the bed Kurama had been on, Hiei peered over the edge. The redhead was curled up in a ball on the hard ground, arms wrapped around the stolen pillow. He looked...really pitiful, actually. The floor obviously wasn't comfortable, and it showed on his face. Instead of the relaxed, almost vulnerable look people got when in deep sleep, he looked miserable and tense. He was twitching too, just slight spasms every so often; his arm would tense, or his head would shake a little. It was like watching an abandoned puppy sleeping fitfully; cute, a little disturbing, and a lot pathetic.
Hiei watched him for a few moments before he decided he didn't actually like watching this. "Oi!", he called. Kurama's eyes flashed open and he jerked, sitting up instinctively and blinking blearily at the sudden increase in light. He tried to cover it up, rubbing his eyes quickly.
"Morning already?", he asked calmly.
"What do you mean 'already'?", Hiei snorted. "You look like you've been waiting for it like religious nuts wait for a word from god. What the hell are you doing on the floor? Didn't I say you weren't allowed to sleep there?" The teen tensed and quickly stood, pillow in hand. He wobbled slightly and winced at the pain in his body from the awkward position and terrible sleeping spot. It showed only barely though as he set the pillow back on the bed.
"You snore," he said bluntly. "It was quieter on the floor." Hiei frowned.
"That's bullshit. I know I don't snore that loud. And why didn't you just put a pillow over your head if you thought it was that bad?"
"I preferred the floor," he said simply. "May I get dressed now?" He was half-tempted to say no and make the other walk around like that all day. Or maybe make him go naked. Half tempted though, so he was able to resist the idea.
"Fine. I'm showering though, so get dressed out here. And don't go anywhere."
"I have somewhere to go?", Kurama mused sarcastically. Hiei refrained from commenting on that.
"And you're sleeping in the bed tonight." He watched the other's jaw clench, physically biting back words. It made him wonder the real reason behind the redhead sleeping on the floor. He tried to ignore it for now and crawled off the bed, stretching out so that the sleep in his body would disperse.
Urgh, he thought as his back popped, most of the tension disappearing with that. Fuck. Today feels like it's gonna suck. He grimaced, treading into his bathroom. He really didn't want to help Sakyo out today. He was much more interested in trying to train his new pet. However, work first, play later. He headed into the bathroom with that reminder running through his head.
What are you thinking about?, Kurama's memory purred. Hiei was more than willing to let that one play out for a bit, but he couldn't get the second image out of his head; the one of Kurama curled up on the floor like a beaten dog. That had not been his intent.
He frowned. Honestly, it was Kurama's fault. He should have just slept on the bed. Turning on the hot water in the shower, Hiei tried to ignore it. He would make Kurama sleep in the bed tonight and it would all be fine. He stripped off his clothes, letting the water heat up before stepping into it. He felt more awake than he usually was when he stepped into the shower, so he didn't take as long enjoying the hot water and just washed himself off quickly. He did take the time to think about the day though, and life beyond that.
Dealing with the main problem first, that being his new pet, Kurama was going to run out of clothes soon.
Hn, he thought uncaringly. I'll just send Ruka to get some clothes for him. She's got good taste, so it's not like she'll put him in something he'll look ugly in. It was hard to imagine Kurama being ugly without the aid of horrendous scars, and bald. Even imagining him in a ridiculously hideous off yellow sweater (that Hiei had actually seen once) couldn't make him ugly. It made him more cute than anything, especially when it was over-sized and stretched oddly.
She'll know what to put him in. So, make her bring Kurama with her today to go get clothes, or do it tomorrow when he could come along?
Kurama and Ruka together...alone... He pulled a face as he turned off the water. Either a, they became best buddies forever (guh) or b, she fell in love with him and they started an affair right under his nose (fuck no).
Wait, maybe he's gay. Wrapping a towel around his waist, Hiei opened the door and stuck his head out.
"Oi," he called. Kurama looked up. "Are you gay?" The look that passed over his face made asking completely worth it. His already wide eyes widened even more, but more with horror than surprise, and his jaw fought to clench and sag open at the same time. He looked disturbed, horrified, and utterly bewildered. It was a hilarious combination that he didn't even try to hide as he stared at the crime lord. They kept their eyes locked on each other's for several moments before Kurama opened his mouth slightly, left it there for a second, and then spoke.
"Are you?", he asked surprisingly evenly, despite his face. The question tickled Hiei's mind for just a moment. Gay? He was pretty sure he wasn't. Then again, the only time he'd reacted to someone seriously was Kurama, who was a guy. So maybe he was...? But he liked looking at girls too. He just liked pretty people in general. So bisexual? Did he really want to tell Kurama that? Should he even answer that at all? So what did he say now?
His mind sent him through this rather quickly, then picked up on something else. Didn't Ruka already have someone?
"You know what, I think she already has a boyfriend, so never mind." He ducked back into the bathroom and closed the door behind him, starting to dry off his hair.
Maybe I'll send Karasu with them, just to be safe. And it might be nice to come home and be (hopefully pleasantly) surprised by whatever Ruka decided to dress Kurama in. Okay, change of plan. Tell Ruka to take Kurama out for clothes, send Karasu with them as a babysitter. It sounded good enough, and with that in his head, he stepped back outside to get some clothes from his closet. Kurama was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, fitting the black watch from his bag over his wrist. He seemed to have collected himself in the time Hiei had ducked back into the bathroom. It was to be noted that he took an unobtrusive step away though, one that Hiei very nearly missed.
"I changed my mind," Hiei informed him, pulling his closet open as he eyed the redhead. His clothes were fairly generic, so he grabbed the first things his hands hit. "You're going out with Ruka to get some new clothes."
"Ruka?", came the calm question. His voice had been calm even when his face wasn't, so this wasn't a surprise at all.
"The woman from last night, who bandaged up your foot. She does most of the house's shopping."
"Sexist implications aside, will I be allowed to choose my own clothes, or am I merely acting as her personal mannequin." Hiei paused, clothes in one hand and body directed back to the bathroom. He had been halted by Kurama's careless statement, and his own brain trying to respond to it.
"What sexist implications?", he demanded.
"Nothing," the other said innocently. Hiei stared at him suspiciously as he turned over the comment in his head. What was sexist about Ruka doing all the shopping?
"No, tell me." He tried to make it into as much of an order as he could. Which was weird, because he was used to his will being carried out regardless of how he phrased it. Actually having to try to make it sound like an order was...weird. It came out a lot more forceful than he had intended. Kurama leveled him with a cool look.
"She's a woman, you're sending us off together alone, and you were worried about us somehow ending up together. Either that's your view on women in general, or this is a bias against one or both of her and I." It took Hiei entirely too long to figure out just what the hell Kurama was talking about.
"Wait, you're going back to when I asked if you were gay?"
"What did you think I was talking about?"
"I thought you meant what I had said about her shopping for..." He paused again, this time catching up to other implications. He...decided against addressing them. He was confused enough about what they were talking about. "Never mind. And I'm not sending you alone, Karasu's going with you."
"Because if we're alone together-", Kurama started, with that tone of voice that made it clear he was looping back to a previous point. Hiei cut him off.
"No, because-" Wait, shit, no, that had been the reason. Damn it. He didn't let that stop him though. "I don't trust you not to run off. Ruka's fairly persuasive when she wants to be, but I doubt it would work on you. Karasu is going along to make sure you behave." He said it fluidly enough that the slight pause after 'because' was hardly even noticeable. If Kurama was impressed by this cover-up or not was hard to tell, because he went back to fiddling with his watch.
"Fine." To be honest, the crime lord was a little put off at the lack of response, but he didn't let it get to him. Actually, it tickled him in a strange way, while at the same time annoying him. This little game that was growing between them was...amusing. He hadn't had a good fight in a while that didn't involve some sort of physical weapon. Withholding emotions, sharp banter, brains over brawn...it was interesting. He'd only had one other fight like this, with Yomi, and that had been distanced because of business. This was much more personal. And potentially more amusing.
"Let's go," he called, taking his gun and fitting it into the waistband of his pants, once more pressed to the small of his back and covered up with a black coat. He'd already dealt with the one strapped to his leg. Kurama finished playing with his watch, eyes instead following the weapon that disappeared into the confines of black cloth. Hiei noticed his eyes and smirked.
"Something the matter?"
"No," Kurama said with a strange calm. "I'm merely debating if I should use one of your guns to shoot you in the head tonight, or if I should take the poetic route and try to decapitate you with your own sword." Hiei halted as their eyes met. He honestly couldn't tell if the redhead was being serious or not. He had said it so casually, as if he were talking about an upcoming test or the weather. It was a little...eerie, actually. Hiei remembered using that same tone, with pretty much the same context when he was younger. He didn't know if he needed to take that seriously or not.
Kurama blinked, still staring at him. Then he frowned a little. "I'm kidding. It's fun to think about, but I'm not so stupid as to actually try it." Hiei snorted, grabbing his sword and keeping it in a firm grip.
"You've got a shitty sense of humor. Let's go already." Kurama rolled his eyes slightly and let Hiei leave first, following along behind him obediently.
It's fun to think about...
Shit!, the crime lord internally swore. They just keep stacking up! Though this one stuck with him for different reasons: it took a particular kind of person to say that it was 'fun' to think about killing someone. Usually, Hiei could tell if someone was or not. Here...he honestly couldn't say one way or the other.
On the one hand, it was no because this was a middle-class, good grades (he assumed) momma's boy. But then there were the reasons for yes, Kurama could be just like Hiei, if you pushed him hard enough. It was more than his love for his mother. There was something in his eyes, the way he would glare or the coldness they would get; something about them told Hiei that if he pushed too hard, or if he gave Kurama the chance, the boy would show himself to be more than just a good-boy – he could easily turn out to be a predator.
That's a frightening thought, he thought sarcastically. But it was tinged with uncertainty. Now that Kurama had flat out said it, and even put a deadline on it – tonight – he could easily see him in that light.
"Hiei-" It probably wasn't such a great idea to think about it when the stairs he was going down, and the doorway he intended to go through didn't totally line up. Running into the unforgiving wood brought him back rather abruptly and he blinked, taking a step back. Then scowled. Behind him, Kurama quickly covered his mouth and bit his lip to keep from laughing. He could hear the stifled laughs.
Fucking dammit!
"Shut up." It took all of Kurama's willpower to resist asking if something was on Hiei's mind, or if that had been on purpose.
A/N: Shiiiiiiii- I'm sorry that took so long. I got home from GenCon and I got steamrollered by...everything. School, family troubles, my grandpa passing away, too much stress, schoolwork, other works for school that aren't necessarily schoolwork, and...bleah. Anyway, I'm sorry it's shorter, but I wanted to let you know I hadn't forgotten completely, I've just been so strapped for time and space in my head lately. Hopefully the next update will be sooner, but I don't think I can promise it right now. Anyway, love you all and I hope you're still reading!
