This is already up on my AO3 too. Just figure I'd drop this here as well.

Hiei's hand burned as he struggled to keep up with the rapid sputtering of the almost-senile fool they had as their Economics teacher. His voice was heavily accented, and he launched missiles of word vomit in English most foreign students had difficulty understanding, more than he lectured the class about whichever topic was at hand. Despite all of that, he also found himself somehow entitled to see proper notes jotted down by every single one of his students by the end of every class which he checked before letting them out of the door. On a bad day, it drove Hiei near insane and he was sorely tempted to snap the bastard's neck.

Before he would take a deep breath, clench his fists and remind himself he was here to study, get a degree and make a future for himself far, far away from the life he had left behind in Japan. At times like those, the painful digging of his fingernails into his palms was reminiscent of the numerous blows exchanged on street corners, in dark alleys and they helped remind him of why he needed to change things for the better, for himself, for Yukina.

Ducking his head down, Hiei continued to scribble. If he missed anything, he could always glare at Keiko for two minutes to get her to let him copy her notes. They both realized that overtime Keiko had lost whatever sense of apprehension Hiei had formerly sparked, and she helped him out of consequent fondness rather than anything else.

She was a nice girl, after all, he reasoned.

Telling himself to not let his mind wander, though it was hard when Harrison's droning voice sounded so much like an insistent buzz in the back of his head intent on making him fall asleep, he squinted at the notebook. He needed glasses, but the electricity bill was pending and Yukina had a school trip coming up. He would have to make do for a while.

It was all he could do to afford his own education along with hers. Their run-down studio flat that they still had to share with another Japanese student named Kuwabara, was often out of electricity, sometimes even water, because none of them had the funds to pay the bills every month. A lot of Hiei's own income from his two part-time jobs went into Yukina's school fee (he had made sure she was studying in a better school, a proper school unlike this shithole) and his own tuition payment, even though he had managed to land a good sports scholarship which covered about 45% percent of his education. Then there was food, bus fare and a million other things he had to take care of. Yukina worked, but he encouraged her to use her money on herself rather than worry about the house. She was only two years younger than him, but she was his younger sister. She shouldn't have to give up her life because he was an incompetent asshole who'd made a string of bad decisions in life.

He owed it to her, after everything that had happened.

He knew that she did help around the house whenever she could, though. Buying groceries or other small items they needed, taking care of her extra-curricular expenses, sometimes even slipping a bill in Hiei's pocket when she knew he didn't have anything left. Kuwabara pitched into the food expenses and more often than not drove Yukina to and from her school, but that was because he was completely smitten by her and not out of any love for her brother.

Hiei hated it just the same.

Shit.

Lost in thoughts, he had missed a good five minutes of Harrison's vomit.

Clenching his fist in frustration he looked around to see where Keiko was seated and how quick he'd have to move to flag her down before she reached the teacher.

Instead of the mousy brunette, a vibrant spot of red caught his attention.

Their school had no proper campus walls. It was just a building with a playground attached to the side which they had to make do with when it came to sports practices so the windows, next to which Hiei always sat, opened right on to the streets. On days like this one, when they were in this room in the last half hour and Economics class was the last period they had, he would see a kid his own age on a bike, waiting for Keiko outside the school building.

Yuusuke Urameshi.

He was her on and off boyfriend and quite a pest of a human. Hiei could sort of recall having seen him hanging with Kuwabara once or twice and was sure those two had dated at some point.

Though Yuusuke wasn't Hiei's focus of attention, presently. It was the stranger beside him.

Two bikes instead of one, but where Yuusuke's was a piss-yellow sports bike that the guys in their school marveled behind, the other was a vintage Harley that looked so expensive Hiei could feel his stomach churn. The rider was dressed pretty casually though, no leather or chains. You could barely tell he was a biker.

The flushed skin of his broad chest peeked through the sheer black top he wore, clean lines of his pectorals and the beginnings of abs teasingly peeking out from under the white-collared overshirt he had buttoned down from around the fifth button, tucked into black trousers that hugged his thighs like a second skin. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, exposing beautiful forearms, thin indentions of veins forming a delectable treat for the world's eyes, as he laughed at whichever dumb joke Yuusuke was currently in the process of making.

The man was beautiful and it was already catching the attention of many of his female classmates as head upon head turned to stare out at the casually graceful figure of the man, a hand brushing through the scarlet strands that fell around his shoulders, shiny, soft-looking and as far removed from copper as any shade of red hair could be, while he sat back on his ridiculously costly, painfully elegant bike that was parked just a few too many paces away. It was like every inch of that man was carved to spark envy.

… and desire. A part of him whispered.

Hiei tried to tear his eyes away, somehow feeling uneasy just thinking of the gorgeous redhead in that sense, which was ridiculous really, given Hiei's track record of hook-ups. While he simply didn't have the energy or money for a proper relationship, sex was a painless, costless luxury he didn't deny himself. He had had multiple partners, none of whom he thought any more or less of after sleeping with them, but this man was different. Hiei didn't want to picture a total stranger moaning beneath him like a perverted creep, and yet couldn't look away.

Eyes back on the biker, he traced every inch of skin visible to him, fair with a rosy tint that complemented his scarlet locks. He had a sharp jaw and full, puckering lips that had Hiei licking his own.

Affronted by his treacherous mind's unanticipated and rather prompt fixation, and yet unwilling to stop looking at him (he might never get to see him again after all!), Hiei rested his chin on his hand, tracing the movement of that plump mouth as the stranger grinned, saying something to Yuusuke who chuckled in response. What Hiei would give to listen to the redhead's voice he didn't know but there was not a lot he won't.

A moment, charged with a barely-there realization running through Hiei's head that he couldn't pin down and absorb, passed and unprompted the stranger was turning.

Cold emerald eyes found his, and similar expressions of surprise spread across both their faces, but the stranger soon schooled his into a polite smile that he directed at Hiei. Slowly, unsurely he raised a hand in a friendly wave.

Hiei quickly tore his eyes away from the redhead, heart beating wildly inside his chest.

…

Shoving his arms through his football team jacket, Hiei scowled his way down the hallways. He hadn't taken proper notes and missed Keiko because he couldn't stop gazing at the stranger from the corner of his eyes. Harrison tore into him and he needed to punch somebody.

Or pop a pill.

Hiei shook his head. Simple as the thought, the action even would be, it was a one-way route than only wound downhill. He wasn't going to risk it. He wasn't even going to think about it.

Balling his hands into fists, he moved towards his lockers, going through the familiar motion of stowing away stuff and gathering some in comfortable silence. The day hadn't been horrible. Sure, the eco-dick didn't help but the sight of that beautiful stranger more than made up for it.

Quickly shooting Keiko a text to ask her for the points he missed, he advanced towards the exit, mentally running through a list of grocery items he would need to purchase by the end of the week. As it seemed, he'd have to ask Koenma for an advance again.

Thus preoccupied, he somehow managed to forget exactly who'd be waiting outside the exit along with Yuusuke as he hung around to pick up Keiko. He came to an abrupt stop as his vision was being dominated by the redhead again, closer this time as he leaned against the wall of the school building, within touching range of Hiei. He had his arms crossed across his admittedly wide chest, as he watched Yuusuke punch a number on his cell and hold the device to his ear, probably calling Keiko. Their bikes were nowhere in sight.

His skin looked soft up close, like a child's. He was also quite tall.

Hiei rolled his eyes as a bitter reminder of his own midget-like appearance presented itself to him, all over again.

He was just about to tear his eyes off of him and walk away (because staring at someone from inside a classroom window was a lot more inconspicuous than doing it from three feet away) when someone called his name, the familiar voice catching the attention of the two bikers as well.

"Hiei!", Keiko came up behind him. How she had managed to leave before him and yet be held back, was beyond him, stopping to chat with friends not even figuring as a normal thing to be doing in his mind.

All at once, three pairs of eyes turned to the brunette. Hiei's neck burned with the mere idea of being in the redhead's peripheral vision. Would he recognize him as the creep who had been staring at him earlier? Determined to not turn around and face the redhead, Hiei raised a brow, prompting Keiko to continue.

"Why did you not finish your own notes, Hiei?! You really should start paying attention in class instead of spending all your time staring outside the window every day!"

Quite uncharacteristically, Hiei's cheeks flushed.

An attractive chuckle, muffled politely a second later rose from behind him. That wasn't Yuusuke's raucous laugh, so it could only be…

Never had Hiei wanted to kill someone so desperately, not even when he was back in Japan.

"I can barely understand what that piglet fucking says!" He meant to snap, but his tone and words were both pathetically defensive.

At least his scowl didn't betray him.

"Language, Gollum!" An arm wound its way around Hiei's neck and out of habit he elbowed Yuusuke away from him while mentally glaring at his plan of making a silent and quick exit, which was presently fluttering away into the horizon.

"Do not call me that, penis head!"

"Yusuke! Don't tease Hiei!" Keiko stomped her foot and Hiei gritted his teeth. These two acted like his fucking parents and it was very humiliating.

Especially in front of him.

Clicking his tongue, he brushed the fighting couple away, once again tried valiantly to escape, only to be grabbed by the back of his jacket and turned around to be brought face to face with Hiei's personal he-who-shall-not-be-named.

The first thing that struck Hiei was that his brilliantly green eyes were colder than any he had seen before.

"This is Hiei!", Yuusuke jovially thwacked his back, a little too hard but Hiei was not going to let it show. "The one I told you was an absolute devil on the field."

Gesturing at the smiling redhead, Yuusuke turned back to him. "Kurama, Hiei. Hiei, Kurama."

Kurama.

Said redhead extended a hand towards Hiei, but his eyes remained guarded, icy as always. Hiei wondered if Yuusuke and Keiko had any idea how many sordid secrets that beautiful green was capable of harboring.

"Hello, Hiei. Nice to meet you."

Hiei tried his best to turn around and march off but how could he when Kurama had his eyes pinned on him, searching, waiting, focussed on him, smile never faltering, hand never shaking?

To hold the attention of this beautiful man gave Hiei a rush of power, and surprising himself he shook Kurama's hand for a brief moment.

Surprising himself again, he managed to gather enough self-control to pull away before Kurama did.

"Hey, what are you doing this evening? Wanna go out? We're all going bowling. Us, and some other friends."

"I am busy.", he replied curtly to Keiko before moving to leave. No matter how pretty his friend was, nothing could convince Hiei to suffer through an entire evening in close quarters with Yuusuke.

… it was not like he had the money, either.

He could hear Yuusuke and Keiko's obligatory complaints but they seemed half-hearted at best so Hiei continued walking away from the group. Kurama called a farewell behind his back and though it took every ounce of his will power, he resisted turning and following that deep yet breathy voice back to him, only raising a hand in response.

…

Work was hell that afternoon.

The cafe was inappropriately busy for a weekday and the orders kept following in quick succession, not giving Hiei a moment to kick back and breathe. It didn't help that Kurama wasn't leaving his mind at all.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Hiei stepped out of the kitchen through the backdoor and lit up. Leaning his head back against the wall, he watched the smoke curl out of his mouth in lazy coils, feeling some of the stress be expelled along with it. He still maintained he hated smoking but had managed to cultivate a habit of going through at least five cigarettes a day anyway.

His brain decided now was the perfect time to remind him of how warm Kurama's hand had felt around his.

Hiei groaned.

Finishing his cigarette quickly, relaxed state of mind now transcending into the treacherous territory of annoyed again, he dropped the bud and went around the front of the shop. Entering from the front door this time, he hunted down Koenma, who was lounging uselessly in an empty booth to the side.

"Koenma.", he said by way of a greeting and plopped down on the seat across from him.

The man sighed and looked up from his laptop, visibly gearing up for an argument. The manager knew what Hiei wanted and it made him feel pathetic.

"I need an advance."

"No."

The two stared into each other's eyes, before starting to talk at the same moment, speaking over each other and losing the point of the conversation. Hiei banged his fist against the table, Koenma threatened to fire him. They took fifteen minutes to move through the entire cycle before tiring out and finally resigning to actually talk.

An exasperated smile threatened to tug at the corner of Hiei's mouth. This was their unique method of communication, only for him and his boss. This was routine, this was nice, not gorgeous, tall redheads with icy emerald eyes and expensive vintage bikes who won't leave his mind.

He gritted his teeth.

"I have to pay the electricity bill or they will cut it, Koenma. I am out of cash."

"You need to be managing your finances better. Have you thought about hiring an accountant? It really helps."

It took Koenma a moment to recall he was talking to a broke 18-year-old immigrant with two jobs and a sister to raise. Wincing, he gave Hiei a sympathetic smile.

"I don't think a lot of people hire accountants to manage their personal finances.", Hiei said. If it was any other day he would rib the black-haired man about his fuck-up but he really needed the money, so he kept it shut.

"You don't know a lot of people, then.", Koenma remarked casually.

"No, I don't know a lot of rich assholes more like."

They feel into a silence, rife with expectation. Koenma didn't enjoy turning Hiei down, and Hiei wasn't a beggar. As both of them contemplated how to better get their points across, they stared into each other's eyes. Tiring of the quiet first, Hiei scowled and sat back.

"Would you rather be held at gunpoint?"

Koenma sighed. "This is becoming a pattern, Hiei. Every month you ask for an advance and then run out of cash the next and ask for another advance. It doesn't work like this. I can't fuck with the cafe's budget every month for you."

"Give me a raise, then!"

"Out of the question!" Koenma bit at him in his usual prim and condescending manner before shutting the lid of his laptop and stomping away, leaving Hiei digging his fingernails into his palms again.

After a moment of indecision, he pulled out his phone and called Mukuro.

…

By the time Hiei got back home, he was absolutely not in the mood to deal with any more people for the day so you must be able to understand his strong and very specific urge to stab Kuwabara in the ear with a pair of scissors when he opened the door with that smile, the smile that immediately gave it away that he had somebody over.

Chucking his backpack at the buffoon's head, Hiei stormed into his flat fully intent on verbally castrating whichever fool his fucker of a roommate had seen fit to risk today, only to suffer major whiplash when he came face to face with Kurama, lounging on one of the three beds they had, his bed, in just his sheer, sleeveless top.

(There were quite a lot of other people gathered in the small, cramped flat but Hiei's brain didn't care to acknowledge anybody other than that redhead.)

Hiei sputtered, flabbergasted, blinking his eyes and squinting to make sure Kurama wasn't just a figment of his imagination gone 4D. He must have made quite the spectacle though, for Yuusuke chuckled, finally alerting him to the fact that they weren't, in fact, alone as he had previously thought they were.

"Hello again, Hiei.", Kurama smiled and Keiko burst out giggling.

"I told you placing Kurama in his direct line of sight would help!", she said in between chuckles and Hiei's blood boiled.

Yuusuke and Keiko were there too, so was Kuwabara's older sister Shizuru and Botan (who was Koenma's niece and Shizuru's fiancé), sitting on the floor in what must have started as a circle but no more was. A sweep across the flat revealed Yukina busy in the kitchenette where Kuwabara had joined her.

He threw his sister an annoyed glance. Couldn't she have called and warned him?! She only responded with a soft, beguiling smile. Oh no, she was going to ask for something he wouldn't approve of.

What is my life?!

Rubbing a hand over his face, Hiei sighed, mentally preparing himself for whatever ridiculous explanation was about to flow out of Kuwabara's mouth, for every word he said was downright ridiculous.

"We were going to go bowling today and they were going to come and pick me up but they had nowhere to go to pass time meanwhile, so I called them over. Saved a couple of bucks." The last sentence was meant solely to appease him, he knew since he couldn't help screaming at Kuwabara about his wasteful habits whenever he made an impulsive purchase.

Clicking his tongue, Hiei turned around to walk right out of the flat. He had only taken three steps towards the door when:

"Brother!"

Here it comes.

Bracing himself against Yukina's big, imploring red eyes, he turned to face her.

"Kurama and Kazuma were nice enough to invite me to go along. Can I?"

Hiei gave Yukina a look that was supposed to convey he didn't have any money to pay for a night out just then but when the big buffoon brought out digestive pills and offered them to him, he figured his point hadn't quite come across. Cursing out the gods above, Hiei ignored the need to punch a wall.

"For fuck's sake.", he groaned in silence.

"You know,", an irritatingly enticing (read: Kurama's) voice joined the conversation between the two siblings. "You really should come along, Hiei. It will be fun. How about we call it my pre-birthday treat to you guys? I will pick the tab tonight."

Gratitude and shame washed over Hiei's body in quick succession and he refrained from turning and gracing Kurama with another look. Everybody around him cheered in assent, so he had no reason to argue against Kurama paying for everyone. He didn't know if the redhead had offered specifically because he had picked up on Hiei's poor financial condition or not, but either way, the offer wasn't unwelcome. After all, he had learned it the hard way that pride is a hurdle on the path of survival when you are poor.

Hiei had sold his own out when he was thirteen to make sure Yukina had a good life. So while he still had trouble asking or accepting outright charity, he had absolutely no qualms against a little help here and there.

"You!", Hiei barked at Kuwabara. "Bring her back home by nine!"

"Oh don't be like that." Kurama was walking towards him now, coming to stand next to him. Their eyes found each other and locked in place. Hiei noticed Kurama smelled nice, like roses. "Come along with us. Consider it your birthday gift to me. Please?" His expression was easy and open, like they had known each other their entire lives, and hadn't met just this afternoon.

"I have work."

"No, you don't.", Yukina pointed out.

"Schoolwork.", he bit at her.

"You have never bothered with that shit till the last minute before. What changed?", Yuusuke joined the interrogation, as in typical-Yuusuke fashion, he pranced over and shoved his arm around Hiei's head, this time pulling him close enough to whisper in his ear:

"Or are you just afraid of your blatantly obvious crush becoming even more obvious? Cause trust me, you have got a good chance here."

Brain short-circuiting, Hiei punched Yuusuke under his chin almost out of habit, but his eyes were trailing Kurama again, who was still displaying that friendly smile in stark contrast to his cold eyes, held off, forbidden. Hiei wasn't allowed in there, wasn't allowed to see him, know him or learn to recognize him. By the looks of it, nobody was.

Keeping their eyes locked together, Kurama tilted his head, and for a mere second, the edge of that smile sharpened to reveal a glimpse of something more sinister in the man's features. In a moment, the expression was being regulated again, a perfect mask of unassuming friendship that everybody seemed to believe this gorgeous devil brought to the table. The invitation had been issued though, and it was clear.

Kurama wasn't for anyone to know, but Hiei would be allowed closer if he only took that one step forward.

Hiei felt a rush of emotions he knew his normal, mundane new life could never provide, thrill and the desire to drop everything and chase after it. All of those feelings, bundled into a human were being presented to him. He only had to reach out and touch.

Incensed, a smirk made its way across his lips, and Hiei nodded.

"'kay."

Review! I'd love to know what you thought. TBC