On Friday, Hiei started to complain of stomach pains again, similar to the ones he had when his baby had a growth spurt at nineteen weeks. But this time, fortunately, he reported the symptoms seeming somewhat milder this time. When Kurama called up Dr. Setchi, she confirmed that the baby was probably going through another growth spurt, but that in the third trimester, growth spurts usually weren't as severe.

"That's not to say you'll be free of discomfort," she warned, "but it won't be quite as bad this time. It's really too bad; this only happens in the third trimester about 50% of the time."

"Just my luck," Hiei muttered.

Like last time, Hiei insisted that Kurama just go to work on Friday, but Kurama reminded him that he wasn't going to his stepfather's company today. He had recently acquired premises for his plant shop and he was setting things up, as well as working overtime to make things to sell.

"I'm going to be making some topical creams today, so I'll be right here if you need me," Kurama said softly, kissing Hiei's forehead and making the Jagan flutter. It was so cute when it did that.

At least this time around, Kurama knew it was normal, and he knew Hiei wasn't feeling quite as bad as last time. The only really concerning thing for Kurama was whether Hiei would be able to handle the baby after the little one was done with his second growth spurt. What if he ran out of room and he had to come early? Hiei was quite small; could he really hold a baby that big inside of his body? It was true that a baby born at 32 weeks had a pretty good chance of surviving, but it would be better if the baby didn't have to come early at all.

Kurama spent the weekend working as well, but he checked on Hiei periodically. When he headed up to their room on Saturday evening after eating dinner, he made sure he had several water bottles with him, not forgetting that Hiei would be thirsty.

"How are you doing, love?" he asked gently, stroking Hiei's bangs back. At least his fever wasn't nearly as high as it had been a couple weeks ago with the Makai Flu, certainly not high enough to cause hallucinations.

"My stomach hurts and I'm cold," Hiei mumbled, curling himself into a ball.

"How about I stay with you for a little?" Kurama offered. Hiei nodded weakly, so Kurama got under the covers and spooned him, leaving his featherlight touch on the baby bump, making sure to apply no pressure. "I just wanted to say thank you again, Hiei."

"For what?"

"For the baby," Kurama whispered. "You're going through all of this just so we can start a family. I just want you to know that I appreciate it."

"Kurama," said Hiei, "what if the baby gets so big that I can't carry him, and he has to come out early?"

For a moment, Kurama was silent. Apparently, great minds thought alike.

"Honey, he'll be fine if that happens, and so will you," Kurama said softly, running one of his hands through Hiei's hair, the other remaining on his belly. "They'll keep him in the hospital for a few days to make sure he's okay, and then we can bring him home."

Hiei didn't say anything, but Kurama heard a sniff.

"By now, he's got fingernails," Kurama continued, giving Hiei a kiss, "and probably some hair. But most of all, he'll know you, and love you, no matter what."

"Thanks, Kurama," Hiei said quietly. Kurama gave him a kiss.

…

Over the next several days, Hiei's growth spurt symptoms faded, but his worries didn't.

To be clear, nothing seemed to be wrong with the baby at all; the little one's kicks became more frequent and forceful with each passing day, and Hiei's belly looked even bigger than it had as recently as last week. No, when it came to worries, Hiei was worried about himself—that is, how he was ever going to get through the rest of the pregnancy. According to the doctor, he was on his thirty-second week of pregnancy, and early or late babies notwithstanding, he still had eight weeks left to go. Nine, if you counted this week!

But the problem was, Hiei didn't think he could stand being pregnant for one more second, much less nine weeks. He was just sick of it. He was sick of having to pee on an almost hourly basis (and having to sit down to do it, too), he was sick of not being able to have so many foods he normally liked; he was sick of waddling around like an idiot when he used to be so fast and light on his feet; he was sick of the mood swings; he was sick of the constant pain in his breasts, back, knees, hips, and feet; he was sick of being forgetful; he was sick of being tired all the time; he was sick of being sweaty and smelly (because even if Kurama said he smelled fine, he didn't believe it); he was sick of the disgusting side effects; he was sick of dressing as a woman so nobody would know he was a demon; and he was sick of strangers staring or trying to feel his belly or making their guesses as to far how along he was. That was the worst of all, because they almost always guessed that he was further along than he actually was—usually they guessed either full-term or late. That didn't really make him feel good about how he looked.

How was he supposed to take nine more weeks of this? He couldn't even take nine more minutes of this. And things were only going to get worse, weren't they? What if the baby came late, so that Hiei would have to suffer for even longer? Or what if the baby came too early, so that his life was in danger? Hiei was stressed, yelling at Kurama for no reason other than the fact that Kurama was in his line of fire, or he'd make Kurama do things for him, while at the same time being furious that he couldn't do them himself. And then he would feel sorry for what he said and did, and he would cry, and Kurama would comfort him, but he would still feel guilty that Kurama was so kind and he was so undeserving. Yet no matter how horrible he felt, he never seemed to learn his lesson.

Tuesday was a bad day for Hiei, because it seemed like the whole world just wanted to mess with his emotions. It started when he was eating a bucket of salt-topped coffee ice cream and flipping through channels on the TV. He stopped at a channel where a young boy was playing with a baseball in his front yard. Then a middle-aged man walked out of the house, carrying a briefcase.

"Hey, Dad, want to toss the ball around?" asked the boy.

"Sorry, son, I'm late for work," said his father, about to leave the property.

"Okay, Dad," said the boy, looking sad. Suddenly, his father smiled and set his briefcase down.

"I guess I could stay for a few throws," he said, going to join his son in the yard.

"I love you, Dad," said the boy, his eyes shining with tears.

"I love you too, son," said the dad.

Of course, by the time the camera zoomed out to show the two of them throwing the baseball back and forth, Hiei was a total sobbing mess. His tear gems fell in the ice cream, which was melting because it had been out of the freezer for quite some time now, and both of those things made Hiei cry, no matter how much he tried to stop. He turned the TV off and tried to recover, but that was when the doorbell rang.

This better be good, thought Hiei, heaving his aching, miserable body off the couch, salty ice cream in hand. The delivery turned out to be a package Hiei had to sign for, a blanket for the baby. But it came in the wrong color. The wrong color!

"THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE BLACK!" Hiei exploded at the delivery man. "NOT GRAY! BLACK! WHO THE HELL WANTS A GRAY BLANKET?!"

"I'm sorry, but I don't know anything about that," said the delivery man, looking alarmed. "I just deliver the—"

"FUCKING HUMAN!" Hiei cut the package-deliverer off by throwing salty ice cream in the man's face. "TAKE THE BLANKET AND GET YOUR ASS OUT OF HERE BEFORE I CALL YOUR BOSS AND TELL HIM WHAT A FUCKING IDIOT YOU ARE!"

Hiei bawled his eyes out after the man left, for three reasons: one, he didn't have the blanket; two, his throat was sore from all that yelling; and three, his ice cream was gone. There were tear gems all over the floor by the time he had finally calmed down. Hiei couldn't bend over for the life of him, so he couldn't pick them up; the only reason their house wasn't totally overrun with the precious stones was because Kurama always picked them all up at the end of the day.

Finally, Hiei tried to calm himself down by listening to songs on the radio, but then a song came on about snow, which reminded him of the ice world, and he started crying again. So he tried to watch a comedy, in an attempt to make himself laugh, but he made the mistake of turning on a romantic comedy, so that made him cry, too. Not just that, but they showed a commercial for sugary breakfast cereal, so Hiei had to turn it off and try very hard not to throw up. That was normal right now.

Amazingly, Hiei finally managed to get some sleep, but he was awakened by the baby kicking him unusually hard. When he woke up, his stomach was grumbling, but all he wanted was French fries, which they didn't have.

I will NOT cry again! Hiei said determinedly to himself. So he got a glass of saltwater and drank it, but then he started coughing on it and peed all over himself. Probably for a good forty seconds, too. And that was just so disgusting and humiliating that he did cry again, and the fact that their house still had no French fries did not help.

…

Kurama meant to be home by six after a long day of working on getting his store set up, but he was a little late, because he stopped to get Hiei some fast food French fries and hash browns, now his signature order. He knew full-well that he wouldn't be getting a single fry, but the thought of Hiei being happy made him happy, too. So he was okay…

Until he stepped into the house, that is. He was about to yell that he was home and he had food, but he was caught off guard by all the tear gems scattered around the living room. From the looks of it, Hiei had been in tears all day long. And then he heard crying from the kitchen.

"Hiei?" said Kurama softly, walking into the kitchen and bringing the food bag with him. This was not good.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Hiei practically screamed as he whirled around. "WHY ARE YOU LATE?!"

"I'm sorry," said Kurama. "I just stopped to get you some French fries on the way home. I got you some hash browns, too."

Unfortunately, this did nothing to calm Hiei down.

"I wanted French fries!" he wailed.

"Yes, and I got you some," Kurama replied. "I added extra salt, too."

"I love you so much, Kurama," Hiei said tearfully, giving Kurama a hug. And that was when Kurama realized Hiei hadn't made it to the bathroom…again. Why hadn't he taken a bath or a shower? Maybe he just hadn't been able to manage it on his own. No doubt he knew he'd had an accident, but how could Kurama bring it up tactfully?

"Listen, Hiei, what do you say to a warm, relaxing bubble bath?" Kurama asked, giving Hiei a kiss. "Come on. I'll help you upstairs, and you can tell me about your day."

"But…the French fries will get cold by the time my bath is done," said Hiei, his bottom lip trembling.

"You can eat the French fries in the bath," Kurama suggested.

"Okay," said Hiei, seeming to cheer up a little at the thought. Whew! Crisis averted.

They got upstairs and Kurama ran the water until it was scalding-hot, just the way Hiei liked it. Then he poured in the bubbles, helped Hiei undress, and they got him into the tub. Kurama finished it with a kiss on Hiei's lips and a French fry, hand-fed.

Hiei was smiling now, too. It was also easier for him to move in the water, and Kurama knew how good the heat was for his aching joints. Once the French fries and hash brown were gone (unsurprisingly, this didn't take very long), Kurama offered to join in the bath and give Hiei a massage, which Hiei happily accepted. Kurama took off all his clothes and slid into the water, where he got behind Hiei and rubbed his shoulders and back, just the way he liked it.

The truth was, Kurama loved pampering and spoiling Hiei, to the best of his ability. Hiei's body had changed, no doubt about that, and he had hormones that were off the charts. There were many things he simply couldn't do for himself anymore, but Kurama loved to help with those things. Bringing him food, bathing him, massaging him, drying his tears when he was sad, listening to what he had to say…all of those were things Kurama was happy to do for Hiei. Even before Hiei was pregnant, Kurama loved to fuss over him; now that he was pregnant, there was just so much more fussing to do.

"Now, I'd like to hear all about your day," said Kurama. Considering how many tear gems there had been in the house, it seemed safe to say that Hiei desperately needed someone to talk to.

Kurama was right; at this nudging, Hiei immediately started talking about all the miserable things that had happened to him during the day. They were things he never would have even cared about normally, much less burst into tears over, but Kurama reminded himself that he was there to listen and not judge. However, when Hiei told him about the delivery man and the gray blanket, he couldn't help himself.

"Why didn't you just take the gray blanket and exchange it for a black one at the baby store?" Kurama asked him. "I think it was the company that messed up our order. The delivery man didn't have anything to do with it."

"You're taking his side?!" Hiei cried in disbelief, his face clouding over again.

Kurama just barely held back a sigh of exasperation, reminding himself that this was due to Hiei's hormones, and he couldn't help it. Not that he, Kurama, had ever been pregnant, but he could tell it wasn't easy. It seemed so ridiculous to get upset over something this trivial, but Kurama had learned by now to just humor Hiei.

"No, you're right," Kurama forced himself to say. "I think that was horrible customer service. Quite frankly, I'm appalled."

"Thank you," said Hiei, smiling again. "I knew you would see it my way."

…

Taking a bath with Kurama was the best. The water was hot and buoyant, getting rid of a lot of aches and pains, and increasing mobility by a large amount. And, of course, Hiei didn't exactly mind getting a view of Kurama without his clothes. In fact, that was his favorite part of taking a bath with him.

"Belly massage," said Kurama from behind Hiei, where Hiei was sitting in between his legs. "Yes or no?"

"Yes," said Hiei. Those always felt so good, and Kurama's fingers were so soft.

When Kurama started massaging, Hiei felt the happiest he had all day. The hot water and Kurama's touch were a heavenly combination, and it got even better when the baby started moving in response to his daddy's touch. Hiei loved that so much, and he put his hands on his belly, too, so he could feel the baby even better.

"Can you feel that?" Kurama said softly, setting his hands on top of Hiei's.

"Of course, I'm the pregnant one!"

"I know this pregnancy has been difficult lately, Hiei," Kurama acknowledged as he ran one finger down the length of the baby bump, following the dark line. "But I really am excited to meet the baby. It's moments like these that make it seem all the more real."

"Yeah, so real," said Hiei, but he wasn't really listening, because he loved the feeling of Kurama's touch, and he also liked leaning back and using his husband as a pillow. Maybe he could go to sleep like this. Sleep didn't come easy these days, but water helped everything, and Hiei had a feeling that if he did fall asleep in the tub, Kurama would stay there until he woke up on his own, just so his precious sleep time wouldn't be interrupted.

"I love your pregnant belly, too," Kurama continued.

"Are you sure?" Hiei asked. "You're not just saying that to make me feel better?"

"You know that's not me, Hiei," said Kurama. "I wouldn't lie to you. Besides, what's not to like?"

"Huh?" said Hiei.

"Well, it's just so wonderful," Kurama explained. One of his hands was on top of Hiei's, and the other one was playing with his sensitive belly button, sticking out like a soldier at attention. "So amazing, like the Miracle of Life."

"You really don't think I'm fat?" said Hiei, still worried. After all, the tub was filled all the way to the top and the water still didn't cover his belly. And it was a deep tub, too. "I feel fat."

"You're not fat, Hiei," said Kurama, the exasperation starting to return, mixed in with what might have been pity. "When the baby gets bigger, your belly does, too."

"But what if he's too big to push out?"

"You're strong enough to do it, Hiei," said Kurama, and he added in a joking whisper, "If you can accommodate me, you can accommodate this baby."

Hiei finally laughed, but unfortunately, it was accompanied by his very unsexy pregnancy gas. It was embarrassing when the bubbles gave him away, but Kurama just smiled.

"Here, love," he said, standing up in the tub. "Grab my hands."

Kurama almost doubled over when Hiei pulled with all his might on the fox-demon's outstretched hands, but it still wasn't good enough, so finally, Kurama hoisted Hiei up underneath his armpits, and somehow, they managed to get Hiei to a standing position. Kurama turned on the shower and let Hiei lean on him so that he could get clean without putting any unnecessary weight on his body. Kurama washed Hiei's hair for him while Hiei sat on the shower seat, staring down at his massive belly hanging out into space, resting so uncomfortably on his hips.

"After this shower, I could use a nap," said Hiei sleepily, and Kurama agreed. Once they got out of the shower, Kurama made a big show of drying off the baby bump, which would have made Hiei laugh, except he didn't really want to risk it, considering he had just gotten out of a nice clean shower. After that, Kurama helped Hiei walk down to the bedroom.

Hiei let out his breath, already exhausted and in pain again, by the time Kurama had finished helping him into a pair of pajama pants. As usual, everything from the waist up was left to be free.

"You're sure your belly won't get cold?" Kurama asked, rubbing it gently with the palm of his hand.

"I'm sure," said Hiei, shivering at the pleasant touch.

"Okay, then, let's get you some sleep." Kurama walked over to the bed, helped Hiei in, and got the body pillow that made it a little easier for him to sleep. Then Kurama tucked Hiei in and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

"Goodnight, Kurama," Hiei said sleepily, even though it wasn't even seven o'clock.

"Goodnight, Hiei," Kurama replied, making sure to kiss Hiei's naked belly before he left. "And good night, baby."

…

Hiei slept for about an hour, while Kurama took a nap on the couch, covered by a warm blanket. The two of them slept together in bed at night, but truthfully, Kurama was all too eager to let Hiei have the bed to himself, because now that he was pregnant, he snored—loud—and he was getting up every hour or so to pee, making it impossible for anyone else to sleep. Kurama was still awakened, however, by the doorbell ringing. It was Yusuke and Keiko.

"Good evening," whispered Kurama. "What brings you here so late? And please try to be quiet. Hiei's sleeping."

As if on cue, they almost immediately heard Hiei's groggy, irritated voice from upstairs: "WHO DISTURBS MY NAP?!"

"It's Yusuke and Keiko," Kurama said apprehensively. "Would you like to come down to say hello?"

"NO!" Hiei screamed.

"Tell him we brought his favorite ice cream," said Keiko, holding up a grocery bag with what looked like a carton of ice cream in it.

"Hiei? They brought you more coffee ice cream!" Kurama called.

They heard slow footsteps, then, making their way to the landing, but Yusuke and Keiko glanced at each other, confused.

"That's weird," said Yusuke. "I could have sworn Kurama said the only flavor he eats is—"

"CHOCOLATE?!" Hiei bellowed. "THAT'S CHOCOLATE! YOU TOLD ME IT WAS COFFEE!"

"Well, they said it was your favorite flavor, so I thought—"

"Oh, you thought!" Hiei snapped, holding onto the railing. "Well, maybe you should have checked first!"

"Chocolate's not that different than coffee," said Yusuke, trying to be helpful. "I mean, I know you don't really care for sweet stuff right now, but coffee can be kind of sweet, if you think about it, and maybe the chocolate won't seem so sweet if you have it with something sour…like lemons, maybe? Or acidic, like oranges…"

"Yusuke, shut up," Keiko whispered, and Kurama was quite glad she did, because Hiei looked incredibly pale. Yusuke seemed to have forgotten that Hiei didn't like fruits, either. The pregnant fire demon suddenly clapped one hand over his mouth and booked it to the upstairs bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Even though it was upstairs and the door was closed, all three of them could hear the unpleasant sound of Hiei being violently ill; Kurama was concerned, because it sounded like Hiei hadn't really made it to the toilet.

"Wow," said Yusuke. "This is the kind of thing you're dealing with these days, huh?"

"This is the kind of thing he's been dealing with these days," Kurama corrected. "It's not hard for me. I love taking care of Hiei. But it's very difficult for him."

"That's sweet," said Keiko, giving him a small smile.

"It seems like he exaggerates a few things," Kurama continued, thinking of the baby blanket issue, "but he really can't help it. And hormones or not, his symptoms are very real indeed. How would you feel if something was a big deal to you, but everyone else acted like you were crazy?"

"I…I wouldn't like that," Yusuke admitted.

"TELL THEM TO LEAVE!" Hiei hollered from the bathroom. "AND TO TAKE THAT ICE CREAM WITH THEM!"

"Don't worry, love," Kurama reassured him, handing the chocolate ice cream back to Keiko. "I'm sorry. It was kind of you two to think of Hiei. I just think he needs me right now."

"We understand," said Keiko, and Yusuke nodded. "But if there's anything we can do…"

"I will let you know," Kurama promised. "Thank you."

Hiei must have been embarrassed, because he didn't come out of the bathroom until after Yusuke and Keiko were gone. When they had left the property, he opened the bathroom door a crack.

"Kurama?" he said quietly. "I'm really sorry, but I couldn't make it to the toilet. I tried, but he was talking about sweets and fruits and…"

"It's all right," said Kurama, because Hiei was looking a bit pasty again just saying the words. "I'm going to clean it up while you rest in our room, okay? Then we can snuggle."

Kurama left Hiei to waddle down the hallway, and cleaned the mess up quickly, because the smell was making him nauseous, too. Once it was over, Kurama headed back to the bedroom, where Hiei was struggling to get into bed, his belly stubbornly resisting his efforts. Such a big belly was cute on someone so small, and Kurama smiled.

"Here, let me help." Kurama pulled Hiei up then got into bed himself. "Do you want to watch TV?"

"Sure," said Hiei. "What do you want to watch?"

"There was this nature special I was hoping to see," said Kurama excitedly.

Luckily, it was only ten minutes before the program began. It was called "A Year in the Life of a Fox," and Kurama commented on how similar the foxes' way of life was to that of the fox demons in Makai. Every so often, Kurama felt a little pang of longing, and he knew those were bound to happen every so often. But he was happy in Ningenkai, content to live in his human body…and then he realized that Hiei had broken down into tears again.

"What's wrong, Hiei?" said Kurama, wrapping his arms around his husband immediately. "Are you homesick for Makai?"

"N-No," Hiei sobbed. "It's…it's the f-foxes!"

"What about the foxes?" said Kurama in confusion.

"The little baby ones," Hiei said tremulously, pointing towards the screen. The show was talking about how baby foxes were born when the weather got warm, and the mother fox would stay with the babies in the natal den while the rest of the fox family brought food, which was also how kitsune families in Makai lived during the birthing season. Baby foxes were pretty adorable, even if you weren't pregnant, so no wonder Hiei was going to pieces.

However, the issue now was what to do. Kurama wanted to comfort Hiei, but how? And should he even try to make him stop crying at all? Maybe Hiei needed a good cry.

"I love you, honey," said Kurama, turning off the TV and giving Hiei a kiss.

Hiei mumble-sobbed something that might have been, "I love you, too."

"And though you refuse to believe me on this," Kurama continued, "I think you're just as attractive as you always were. Pregnancy didn't change that. In fact, I think you're even cuter now."

Kurama really had been sincere when he said that—he wasn't just saying it to make Hiei feel better—but just as he'd predicted, Hiei didn't believe him at all.

"I'm not cute! I've never been so disgusting in my life!" Hiei stared up into Kurama's eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I'm fat, I smell bad, I can't sleep, I can't stand, I can't move, I can't eat anything sweet, I can't get dressed, I can't stop pissing myself every half an hour, I have constant gas, I threw up in the bathroom and made you clean it up…"

"Those things don't matter to me, Hiei. You know that."

"Liar!" Hiei didn't just appear upset, he also seemed angry. "You just see me as a burden! Admit it! How can you possibly still find me attractive?! And don't say it's because I'm 'carrying life' or something like that, 'cause that's just dumb!"

"Hiei, let me ask you something…" Kurama rocked his sobbing husband back and forth in his arms slowly, loving the closeness. "Do you remember how we met?"

"Y-Yes," said Hiei, gulping. "I thought you were working for a demon that ate Yukina, and we fought."

"And who won?"

"You did."

"And who carried you back home and healed you?"

"You did."

"Right," said Kurama. "I love taking care of you, Hiei, and I always have, starting that day, the day we met. As far as I'm concerned, your being pregnant is just an excuse for me to spoil you even more."

"What are you, my indentured servant?" said Hiei in disbelief.

"No, I'm your loving husband, who wants to give you cuddles and kisses and lots and lots of love." Kurama proved that by giving Hiei a kiss right then and there, and he really didn't care if Hiei's breath smelled like vomit. "And that's not all it is. I think you look cute padding around the house in your pajama pants and fuzzy socks, and I love when you snuggle up to me when we watch TV. I love your smile and your laugh; I love your hair and your eyes; I love your personality, which can be as salty as the foods you eat." Kurama paused and smiled. "We went from partners-in-crime to partners-in-life. The first time we worked as a team…something just clicked."

To his enormous surprise, Kurama could actually feel himself tearing up now. His first meeting with Hiei was not exactly your typical dinner-and-a-movie first date, but there had been such a connection. To think now that the demon he met back then, with his disguised thank-you's and oddly placed compliments, with his strange mannerisms and hidden-away abandonment issues, was now the man he loved so much…and not only that, but he was going to give birth to their baby. It was completely overwhelming.

"I love you for you, Hiei," Kurama continued tearfully, holding the fire demon close to him and rocking him, hoping the baby would feel the calming back-and-forth movement, too. "Every single day, there's always something you do or say that reminds me of how much I love you. That's the way it's always been. And that's why I don't see you as a burden or ugly or anything like that. I can't imagine life without you."

"Kurama, don't cry!" said Hiei, looking alarmed at Kurama's wet eyes. "What's wrong with you?"

"Memories, you know…" Kurama wiped his eyes. "But I digress. I just wanted you to know how much you meant to me."

"Well, I didn't mean to make you upset," said Hiei, shocked out of his tears.

"I'm not upset, Hiei," said Kurama. "I'm happy we're together and having a baby. I just got a little emotional…You must feel that way a lot."

"Sometimes," said Hiei glumly. "I fall apart over every little thing, it seems, and then I feel like an idiot."

"You're not an idiot, Hiei," said Kurama, kissing him again, as he still hadn't separated their hug. "It's really okay to feel like this. Your emotions are always valid. I know you said you can't do anything for yourself, but you're the one doing all the hard work! I'm just helping out in any way I can, while you're the one who's giving our child the most precious gift of all—life."

"I'm just worried I won't be a good parent," Hiei admitted.

"Well, then," Kurama whispered in Hiei's ear, "it's a good thing we work so well as a team, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess it is." Hiei leaned his head on Kurama's chest, and Kurama gave him another kiss. This was the way he wanted it.