Christmas was Botan's favourite time of year. The crisp and clear edge of the scenery, the excitement of people shopping in the streets and the way she could – in her human body – exhale clouds of steam that curled and unfurled up through the air. She also loved that the colder weather meant she could wear more clothes. She had always loved coordinating her outfits, and winter made the task even more fun because it added in unique accessories like gloves and scarves and hats and chunky socks that even her most generous of winter boots strained to contain. But, by far her favourite thing about the season, was all the interesting little knick-knacks and festive food she could find at the smaller shops. She always made a point of taking a day off of her duties to spirit world to spend some quality time dressing in her winter clothing and walking around the streets of Sarayashiki city to check out all the lovely little shops.
On Botan's ninth day of such an excursion, she found herself outside the window of a shop that was glowing the most wonderful and warming shade of amber, and her eyes grew large as she stared in at all the unusual little trinkets within, lining the walls and stacked to the ceiling, and seemingly in no particular order. As her eyes roved over the twinkling, diamante ornaments to her right, she heard Koenma's warning about cluttering up her room echo around her head: but, she reasoned, she had won their other argument, regarding her need to visit the human world so many times, and so she was confident she could win this one too. Koenma had tried to argue that she was spending too much time away from her duties, but when she had pointed out to him that she had to wear every specific winter outfit she owned and then proceeded to show him her burgeoning closet full of padded and fluffy winter clothing, he had fallen silent, which she took to mean she had won the argument.
And, just as Botan was finalising her choice between the smoked glass unicorn or the pink crystal panda bear – obviously she needed both – she noticed two things at the very back corner of the shop, both of which she was clearly in desperate need of: a cup of spiced hot chocolate with marshmallows and a pair of lilac sheepskin mittens. With a pleased and decisive nod of her head, Botan entered the shop, removing her mauve sheepskin mittens as she wended her way through the haphazard displays to the hot drinks' dispenser. As she poured herself a drink, she found herself in an unfortunate conundrum, as she was unable to decide between cinnamon, gingerbread or nutmeg, and it seemed the machine would not allow her to choose all three. After some amount of debate, Botan eventually left the shop, with a bag hooked over one arm that contained a pair of both the lilac sheepskin mittens that had drawn her in as well as a pair of plum-coloured sheepskin mittens, a pink scarf, a pink cowl, a smoked glass unicorn, a pink crystal panda bear, a blue crystal panda bear and a sizeable log that served no particular purpose but did smell of that pine scent she was so fond of; and her hands, back in her mauve sheepskin mittens, were very carefully balancing three steaming cups of hot chocolate.
Botan kept her eyes on the three steaming, rippling pools of molten marshmallow, knowing the area well enough that she could find her way to a bench without the need to look where she was walking. When she reached her destination, she carefully placed the cups onto the bench before pausing to consider that she had forgotten which of the three was which. She tilted her head and pressed the ridged edge of one mitten-clad hand to one corner of her mouth as she frowned down at her beverages, holding that stance for a few seconds before breaking into a brilliant smile and declaring that it would be such fun to find out which was which as she drank them. She danced one hand over each of the cups, muttering a small rhyme in her head to help her pick which one she should start with. Her first few sips told her it was gingerbread, and she nodded her head, before declaring aloud that it was definitely her favourite. Her next few sips left her with a thick moustache of melted marshmallow, which sent her eyes downward to the remaining two drinks: there was a critical point when the marshmallows would be dissolved entirely, and it was imperative that she finished her drinks before that point, and so she began to gulp down her drink, throwing the cup into a nearby bin with one hand as she grabbed up a second drink with her other hand. The second drink was nutmeg and that was definitely her favourite. Again, she fluidly moved onto the third drink – which was cinnamon, and that was clearly her favourite – only pausing as both the heat of the liquid and the volume of it made her let out a small inelegant burp. She glanced about herself to be sure that no-one was within earshot before continuing to drink: but, halfway through the last half of her last drink, she froze entirely, her head tilted back, the cup at her lips, her eyes locked onto something she could hardly believe she had not noticed before.
Botan slowly finished her drink and threw away the cup, licking away the remnants of marshmallow from her lips as she looked along the row of benches to the very end one, where a lone figure was sitting, one leg crossed over the other, arms folded and head downturned, apparently asleep. She awkwardly shifted her weight and passed her bag of shopping from one hand to the other as she looked over at Hiei: despite sleeping on a park bench, he looked almost regal. He did have the infuriating ability to look good no matter how much of a mess he was.
Botan squinted over at Hiei. It was strange that he was in the human world, alone, asleep, and in such a place too. She looked about herself again, half expecting to see Yukina out shopping with Kuwabara, as that at least would account for why Hiei was where he was. When she was sure there was no-one else they knew anywhere near by, she refocused her attention back onto Hiei and sighed. He seemed so lonely sitting there, detached from the chatty, cheerful people buzzing around the shops. And, as Yukina was spending Christmas with the Kuwabara family, she supposed he was alone. She wondered if he felt lonely, and the very idea that he might at such a joyous time of year – a time of year that was all about companionship – made Botan feel strangely sorry for the emiko.
Botan gasped as a fantastic idea occurred to her, and she spun on her toes so quickly, she almost slipped in the ice. She ran back into the shop and shortly came out again with another cup of hot chocolate. She had been unable to decide what sort of spice Hiei might like, and so she had opted for plain hot chocolate, with marshmallows, and also a snow-globe. She stuffed the snow-globe into her bag and happily skipped over to Hiei, sitting down beside him and smiling at him, feeling so pleased with herself that she had thought to be so kind to him in what was clearly his hour of need. She moved the hot chocolate closer to his face, squeaking softly in delight when his nose twitched and his eyes opened to slits, red irises snapping to the side to look directly at her.
"You?" he grunted.
"Bingo, that's right, it's me, Botan!" Botan burst out cheerfully. "I bought you some hot chocolate to keep you warm! Wasn't that nice of me?"
Hiei's eyes opened a little further, though not fully, and he held his position – legs crossed and arms folded – as he regarded her.
"You know, you'll catch a cold sleeping out here like this," she reminded him.
He gave her a flat look before finally answering her.
"Are you really so stupid that you believe I could catch a cold?" he replied in a low, monotonous voice. "Shouldn't you be spying on Yusuke and Keiko?"
Botan's smile vanished.
"I don't want that," he added, looking down pointedly at the proffered drink in Botan's hands. "I didn't ask you to buy that for me."
Botan let out a small mewl of annoyance before thrusting the drink towards him.
"How dare you be so mean to me when I was making such a lovely gesture to you, Hiei?" she snapped. "Stop being all dark and rude and just take it like a normal person!"
"Calm down!" Hiei snapped back: though he did take the cup from Botan's hands.
She sighed and threw her back against the backrest of the bench, crossing her arms and pouting. From the corner of her eye, she saw Hiei peering down into the steaming cup of hot chocolate in his hands.
"Did you poison it?" he asked quietly.
"Of course not!" she shrieked. "Why would I do such a thing?"
"Yes, killing an enemy by this method isn't my style either," Hiei casually replied.
"We're not enemies!" Botan complained.
"I prefer more direct, hands-on methods of murder."
"Yes, exactly, poisoning is so impersonal – wait a minute, what am I saying? What are you saying?"
"I prefer to put my opponent into a position of–"
"We're not having this conversation!"
"You started it."
"I did not!"
Botan groaned and slumped in her seat in defeat.
"Would you just drink it and stop being so rude?" she whined.
He grunted, cupping both hands around his drink and narrowing his eyes at it as though still just as suspicious of it.
"Why are you sleeping here anyway?" Botan asked, glaring over at him haughtily. "In this world? In this place? Alone?"
"What do you care?" Hiei flatly replied. "I should be the one asking you why you came over here forcing yourself and your gifts upon me. Don't bother me just because you don't have anything better to do."
Botan pouted at him.
"I'll sit here if I want," she sulkily replied. "And the reason I did come over here, if you must know, is because I felt sorry for you. You looked like you needed a friend."
"We're not friends," Hiei replied, shifting his eyes to look at her.
"Well I've decided that I am going to be a friend to you," Botan argued back. "And you can't tell me not to."
"You can't force friendship onto me."
"Yes I can! I just did! And I'm going to keep friending you no matter what you say!"
Hiei groaned and lowered his head, his eyes returning to his drink.
"Don't piss me off, woman," he said quietly. "I've had a long tour of duty, let me rest."
"Oh!"
Botan softened a little as she considered that Hiei had probably been dealing with an increase in humans crossing over into demon world in light of the increase in human movement because of the time of year. She knew that quite often people died despite his best attempts to get them back to their own worlds as quickly as possible, and, despite his tough guy exterior, she knew that every death took its toll on him, even if he would never admit to it. She nodded her head and sat back against the back of the bench, looking out across the rows of shops, silently wishing that she had not just consumed three cups of spicy hot chocolate and marshmallows all at once. At her side, she heard a soft tapping sound, and, stealing a look from the corner of her eye, she saw Hiei thumbs were tapping at the rim of his cup. She wondered if it was a nervous habit, if he was even aware that he was doing it: but before she could draw any conclusions, she noticed that his hands were bare (other than the bandaging around the base of his right hand), and the way he was clutching the cup was as though his hands were cold and he was enjoying the warmth of holding onto the hot chocolate.
An obnoxious smile grew on Botan's face as she came up with a truly brilliant idea, an idea for how she could really friend Hiei.
"I'm going to go back and buy another glass unicorn," she said, standing up abruptly.
"I didn't need to know that," Hiei grumbled. "Just leave."
"Don't go anywhere, I'll be back soon!" she called over her shoulder as she started to run away from him.
"I told you to just go!" he shouted back to her.
Botan ran all the way back to the shop she had bought the hot chocolates in, opening the door and pausing to look back over her shoulder at Hiei. As she watched, he took a sip of his hot chocolate, pausing to lick at his marshmallow-coated lips before hungrily taking another drink. Botan smiled and skipped into the shop, quickly setting about enacting the brilliant idea she had thought of. As she headed back over to the bench she had left Hiei at, she found him standing up as though he was about to leave.
"Hey, I told you to wait here for me, sit back down!" she yelled at him.
He grunted and scowled at her, but dropped himself back onto the bench. Botan smiled and pushed a small paper bag into his hands.
"I bought you a lovely pair of mittens, just like mine!" she explained.
"Whuh?" he grunted.
"Well, not just like mine," she hurriedly added. "I didn't think you would appreciate a pair of mauve mittens. Or lilac mittens. Or plum mittens. I bought you a pair of black mittens – to keep your hands warm!"
Hiei frowned at her, looking uncharacteristically confused.
"Well, I should go," she said, straightening up away from him. "I have to get back home before Jorge goes to sleep – I'll need him to build another shelf for me for all my lovely new knick-knacks – but it was lovely talking to you. Bye, Hiei!"
Botan started back along the footpath feeling pleased with herself: but the moment was short-lived as she heard a strange creaking sound and then felt the bag in her hand suddenly become very light. She yelped and grabbed the bag up into her arms, but found that all that was left inside it was her clothing and the nice log: all of her lovely glass and crystal trinkets had fallen out. She peered down at her feet, readying herself to see all the broken shards of her treasured precious purchases.
She paused.
Hiei groaned, and sank lower to the ground – a feat that was impressive, given that he was already flat on his stomach, his hands outstretched, clutching Botan's ornaments where he had caught them, the instant before they hit the hard ground.
"Oh…" she said softly.
"Just take them back, Botan," he grumbled, his voice muffled against the ground.
"Oh!" Botan gasped.
"What now?" he groaned.
Botan crouched down at his side and he peered up at her.
"Hiei, did you just…?" she asked slowly.
"Hn?" he grunted.
"Did you just call me by my name?" Botan asked, beaming brightly at him.
He groaned and lowered his eyes to the ground.
"Yes," he muttered.
"You don't even deny it!" she squealed excitedly.
He peered up at her again, this time with a hint of curiosity.
"Why should I?" he asked.
"Oh, I don't know," Botan said with a shrug as she began retrieving her ornaments from his hands and stuffing them into the giant pockets of her overcoat. "I thought you might be embarrassed about it. Though you are always so direct and honest – and I like that about you, Hiei!"
"Do I look like I'm shy?" he asked, rolling onto his side as he handed her the last item.
"Yes," Botan plainly replied.
Hiei growled at her, leaping to his feet and angrily swiping at the wet patches on his clothing where he had been lying on the icy edges of the path. Botan pushed the last crystal panda into her pocket, pausing to consider how bulky and awkward all the knick-knacks made her pockets, before tying the handles of her bag together and turning it over to carry it by the tear at the bottom. Feeling pleased with her innovative solution, she gave a satisfied nod of her head and then turned her attention back to Hiei, finding him glaring at her in a very odd way – a way she had never seen him glare at anyone or anything before.
"It's okay if you're shy, Hiei," she told him.
"Stop that!" he growled.
She started to tell him that she already knew he was shy anyway, but before she could finish, he had leapt at her, grabbing handfuls of the fur collar of her winter coat. She stopped silent the instant before he closed the gap between them entirely, his lips crashing into hers in what started as a clumsy gesture but quickly melted into a surprisingly tender one. At the same moment he grunted, she moaned, and the warmth she felt in her face was neither coming from his closeness nor having her furry winter collar pulled in closely around her.
When he broke the contact, he took a step back, his hands opening to release her coat, but remaining in place at either side of her face, hanging in the air as motionless as the rest of him was as he stared at her with pinpricked eyes mirroring every bit of surprise and confusion she felt; despite him having been the one to initiate their kiss.
"Why did you do that?" she eventually recovered.
"To repay you for the gift," he mechanically replied, his hands slowly lowering to his sides.
"No," she stiffly responded.
"You leaned in," he countered.
"Not before you did," she retaliated.
"I might be secretly in love with you."
"Probably not."
"I was really angry at you and did it to make sure you would stay away from me?"
"That sounds the most likely."
Hiei blinked, but otherwise did not move. Botan fidgeted with her bag before taking a long, backward step away from him.
"I'm still going to be your friend," she said.
"I already told you that's not solely your decision," he replied, his tone still strangely muted and soft.
"Well, I'm going to friend you anyway!" Botan replied, her sense starting to return to her at last. "I'm going to friend you even harder than before!"
"What does that even mean?" Hiei asked, his voice gaining more of its usual grainy edge.
"I'm going to friend you so hard, you're going to beg for mercy!"
Hiei faltered visibly, a strange look appearing on his face, one that Botan had never seen before. She threw him a critical, questioning look, and, after his throat visibly moving and the faint sound of him gulping reached her ears, he finally answered her in a small, quiet voice.
"That last statement might have secretly turned me on."
Botan drew in a long, slow gasp of horror.
"Well that does it, Hiei!" she declared with finality. "You clearly need a very good friend, and I don't care what you say, I will friend you until you can't walk the next day!"
Hiei momentarily gave her an unusually, uncharacteristically confused look before his face darkened.
"If you do that, then I will "friend" all over you," he said in a strange, lowered tone.
"Good!" she argued back. "I want you to friend all over me!"
"I will "friend" all over you."
"I'm going to friend you in ways you've never been friended before!"
"Well I'm going to "friend" you in ways you've never imagined it was possible to "friend" before!"
"I'm going to friend you so good, it will spoil you for any other friend!"
"Oh, you'll never want for another "friend" after I've "friended" you!"
"I'll friend you so well, you'll pass out!"
"I'll make you "friend" first."
"What are you guys talking about?"
Botan and Hiei both turned their heads sharply to glare at Kuwabara, who was glancing back and forth between them with a worried and slightly frightened expression.
"Nothing," Botan lied. "I'm leaving! Goodbye my friend!"
She said her last words to Hiei, who seemed pleased – in a slightly disturbed, twisted sort of way – to hear them.
"I'll see you again very soon, my "friend"," he sneered back.
Botan made a squeak of annoyance and marched off, and Hiei turned and shot off in the opposite direction. Kuwabara continued glancing back and forth until both of them had completely disappeared from sight, before turning to Yukina at his side.
"That was weird," he said to her.
She smiled sweetly and wound her arm around his.
"I'll explain it to you later, Kazuma," she said, her voice soft and gentle as always, but her eyes gaining a strange, slightly determined and energetic glint.