You know? Impatience is my middle name. How do you ignore that little voice that tells you to post, post, post? Well, if you're me...you just give in! So here's the story!

Reconciliation and Explanation

-Kurama-

Hiei was staring intently at the puzzle, trying to finish it as soon as he could. Kurama was on the couch reading the novel he'd been given from Keiko for Christmas. It wasn't often that he read murder mysteries, but this one was interesting.

He glanced up from the book and looked down at Hiei, watching him for a little while before closing his book and going over to him. Hiei looked up at him as he sat next to him. He turned his attention back to the puzzle.

"Are you ready to talk?" he asked Kurama. Kurama leaned over a little.

"I don't know," he said. "I didn't know you would want to." Hiei shook his head.

"Well, I do. I want you to tell me what you dreamt about." Kurama looked down.

"I don't know that I could." Hiei shook the box to reveal more pieces, digging inside for any that he needed to complete the tree he was working on.

"You will," he said, glancing at Kurama. Kurama sighed.

"It was just so bad, you know?" he said. Hiei shook his head.

"I'll know when you tell me." There was a knock at the door.

"Shuu-Ku!" they heard. Kurama's eyebrows lowered in confusion.

"Yo...hiro?" he said, standing up and going over to the door. He opened it. Shiori, Yohiro and a tall, thin man holding gifts were standing there to greet him. Kurama's eyes' widened.

"Okaasan..." he said as she hugged him.

"You must let me apologize, Shuuichi..." she said. "I cannot go another day not knowing whether you're still upset with me or not."

"Of course I'm not, okaasan," Kurama said, reaching down and grabbing Yohiro. He gave him a tight hug.

"I opened your gift. It was pretty," Yohiro said, smiling. "We have gifts for you, too."

"So I see," Kurama said, letting the three in. The man sat the gifts down on the coffee table and stood up straight, facing Shiori.

"Could you go get the others, Koichiro-san?" she said. Koichiro gave her a single nod and left the apartment. Shiori hugged Kurama again.

"I was so worried," she said. Kurama held her tight.

"You don't have to be, I...I understand why you did it. I'm not happy that you did, but...that doesn't matter anymore."

"I don't like to see you angry," she said. Kurama took her by the hand. "Come, we can talk over coffee." They went into the kitchen.

-Hiei-

Yohiro went over to Hiei and sat down.

"Hello," he said, looking at him and the puzzle curiously. "Havin' fun?" Hiei shrugged and Yohiro smiled. "Shuu-Ku likes puzzles," he said.

"I know," Hiei said.

"What did you get for Christmas?" Yohiro asked, looked up at Hiei closely. Hiei backed away a little, but Yohiro leaned closer.

"Some things..." Hiei said slowly. "Kurama got me chocolate."

"Yum," Yohiro said. "I like chocolate." Hiei grinned at the boy. Well, at least they had something besides Kurama in common.

-Kurama-

"I'm afraid we can't stay long," Shiori said, back in the kitchen. Kurama sat two coffee cups on the counter.

"Why not?" he asked, a little disappointed.

"I...um... He doesn't know we're here." Kurama nodded.

"I understand," he said. Shiori intertwined her fingers in front of her.

"You look a little tense, Shuuichi..." she said. Kurama shook his head.

"I'm alright," he said. "I'm happy to see you again."

"I missed you, even though it hasn't been that long. I was so worried that you would slam the door in my face."

"I would never," Kurama said. Shiori looked down.

"I would have deserved it, anyway... I just don't know when to quit." Kurama turned to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I was angry at first, but it passed," he said. "There's nothing either of us can do about it now, except put it behind us."

"You sure you're not still upset with me?" she asked, searching his eyes.

"I stopped being upset with you the night it happened. I was just on edge at the time." Shiori nodded. Kurama turned to the coffee maker and poured them both a cup. "Do you still take yours black?" he asked.

"Yes," Shiori said. Kurama mixed some flavored creamer and sugar into his cup, stirring it and then handing his mother her cup. She followed him out to the coffee table.

"Can Shuu-Ku open his presents now?" Yohiro asked, leaning over Hiei's lap to see them. Kurama could see Hiei's discomfort.

"Yes, dear," Shiori said.

"Yay!" Yohiro exclaimed, and went over to the coffee table. Koichiro came back in the apartment, holding a large square box with a large rectangular box on top in his hands. Kurama got up to help him, taking the top box and sitting it on the couch. Koichiro sat the square box on the desk on the other side of the room.

"Merry Christmas, Shuuichi," Shiori said with a smile. "I hope you like your gifts." Yohiro sat on the couch next to the box, hopping a little, watching Kurama as he came over to get to his gifts.

He opened them all, getting more clothes and odds and ends. The large box was a computer and the other was a printer.

"You really shouldn't have, mother," Kurama said, running his hand along the box.

"You need one, everyone child should have one," she said.

"This will make my schoolwork so much easier," he said, looking the box over again. He turned to her. "Thank you," he said, going over and hugging her.

"You're welcome." Later, after Yohiro fell asleep on the couch, Hiei, Kurama and Shiori sat around the dining table talking.

"You know, Shuuichi," Shiori said, still laughing a little from a humorous memory they'd just shared.

"Yes?" Kurama asked, leaning forward a little towards her.

"It took me a while to see why Yohiro calls you Shuu-Ku. Did he come up with it himself?"

"Yes," Kurama said, nodding. "He didn't know why Hiei kept calling me Kurama, and not Shuuichi, so he decided he wanted to have a name for me that no one else used."

"Why do you call him Kurama?" Shiori asked Hiei, who had remained quiet up until that time. Hiei looked up at her, wanting to say that that was his name, but he knew Kurama was Shuuichi to her.

"I don't know..." he said, repressing a shrug. He looked away.

"Well, it's an interesting name, though I think you look more like a Shuuichi myself," Shiori said, chuckling lightly. She glanced at her watch. "Oh, my...where has the time gone...?" She stood up and yawned, looking out the window to see that it was beginning to get dark. "We'd better get going. Yohiro, wake up, sweetie, it's time to go," she said, going over to him.

"Awww..." he murmured sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "Do we have to?"

"Yes...we must get home," she said, picking him up. She went back over to Kurama and kissed his forehead. "I'll see you soon, Shuuichi," she said. He stood up and hugged them both at the same time. Shiori turned towards the door, and Yohiro waved to Kurama from her shoulder.

"Bye Shuu-Ku... Bye Hiei..."

"Goodbye," Kurama said. "Have a safe trip."

"Thank you, Shuuichi. Goodnight," Shiori said.

"Goodnight..." Kurama closed the door behind them. Hiei came from the dining table, walking over to Kurama and nudging him.

"You see how you just talked to her," he said, looking up at him. "That's what I want...a long conversation about everything." Kurama watched him as he went over to the small hallway. Hiei glanced at him, looking as if he expected him to follow. Kurama went to the hall and saw Hiei slip into the bedroom.

"Could I take care of the house first?" he asked, peering into the room. "I can't relax knowing that I have work to do." Hiei nodded.

"Do what you have to," he said, sitting at the window. "I'll be waiting for you." Kurama went back into the living room, gathering the cups and the plates from when they had lunch. He did the dishes, watered the plants and dusted, moving quite quickly. He didn't want Hiei to get impatient, or to think he was stalling.

Once he completed his tasks, he went back into his bedroom, closing the door gently behind him. Hiei looked up at him, and started to come from the window but he stopped.

"We'll talk only if you're ready," he said. Kurama sat down on his bed.

"I'm ready, Hiei," he said, cupping his hands. Hiei came from the window and sat next to him.

"Tell me about what you dreamed about," he said, looking down.

"Different things..." Kurama said slowly. "Um...they..." He sighed.

"Take your time," Hiei urged, his eyes still cast downward. Kurama got up suddenly and went around the bed, sliding down on it and rested his head on a pillow. Hiei turned to him, hiking one leg up on the bed to sit on. He watched Kurama patiently as he waited for him to speak.

"I think...I've been too angry lately," he said. "It takes its toll on this body...and I can't handle it. Whenever I get too angry I have nightmares about him...and he does these things..."

"Who?"

"Youko," Kurama said awkwardly. He knew he was talking about something inside of him, a part of him, but he couldn't bring himself to talk about him as if it were himself. Not I, or me, but he instead.

"What does he do?"

"Most often he kills..." Kurama said, closing his eyes and then opening them. "Or, he rapes people... Or he mocks me...as Shuuichi." Hiei nodded.

"That is what he's really like?" he asked.

"No...he's just... Oddly, I don't think he's like that at all. I think he's changed." Hiei took off his cloak and boots, scooted back and laid down next to Kurama.

"He was in every nightmare?" he asked, reaching for his hand and stroking it.

"No... Not the first and the last." Kurama looked down at his hand and sighed. "Everything that's been happening lately was in the dreams somehow. The most disturbing was the second one... He killed everyone..."

"Why?" Hiei asked.

"He was angry and he needed to kill someone. I thought it was a stranger, so I felt it wouldn't be that bad, but once I'd...done it, I realized it was everyone I love."

"Why did you make it seem like it was you all of a sudden?" Hiei asked, moving his head closer. Kurama shook his head, but he answered the question.

"I was me... I was there, and I felt angry... but once I did it, I was Youko... I didn't like it, he did. He was crying blood." Hiei squeezed Kurama's hand. "You weren't there though... You didn't die."

"What about the other ones? What did he do in those?"

"The one I had after that, I was dying...and I was alone. He was trying to make me feel bad about my life as Shuuichi, but I wouldn't let him." Kurama looked up at Hiei. He wore a concerned expression, his face tense and his eyes caring. He rubbed Kurama's hand with his thumb.

"Are you happy, Kurama?" Hiei asked. Kurama looked away, not quite sure how to answer that.

"I...I truly don't know. I thought I was. I never had a doubt until now."

"When he speaks to you through dreams, do you believe him?" Hiei asked. Kurama shook his head.

"No...I don't think it's really him. I think it's my impression of him... He's a part of me, but I only know of him. I don't know who he truly is."

"Do you like this life?" Hiei asked. "Are the dreams and the anger and all the regressions...a sign that Youko wants to get out...that he wants something more than this?" Kurama wanted to say no, but he didn't know.

"I don't know, Hiei, but I wish I did." Hiei nodded and scooted closer to him, kissing his hand.

"I think that's what it is," he said, looking up at Kurama. "And I think you need to tell Youko to kiss off, because Shuuichi isn't going anywhere. Not while I'm here." Kurama looked at him strangely, but the comment made him smile. Shuuichi sounded weird coming from Hiei.

"Hiei, do you love Shuuichi?"

"Apparently," he said, muttering baka under his breath. It made Kurama smile again. He liked the way Hiei said that.

"In the third nightmare, the one when Youko was mocking Shuuichi, I told him that you were in love with both Shuuichi and Youko, as Kurama...as...me."

"Well, that's true, I guess. Can't have one without the other and still be you," Hiei said, lowering his eyebrows. "Did that make sense?" Kurama chuckled lowly.

"Yeah," he said, snuggling closely to Hiei. Hiei squeezed his hand again. "We should go eat dinner." Hiei nodded and sat up. Kurama left the bedroom and went into the kitchen. There was a little leftover chicken from the Christmas dinner the previous night, so he warmed it up and made two plates. He sat them down at the kitchen table. Hiei came out shortly and they sat down to eat.

Around bedtime, Hiei went over to the chair and sat down, draping his cloak over him. Kurama saw him when he came back into the bedroom, frowning at him with his hands on his hips.

"What are you doing?" he asked Hiei. Hiei opened one eye.

"Baka, what does it look like?" he asked, snuggling back in the chair. Kurama made an irritated noise at him and went over to him. He snatched the cloak away and pointed at the bed.

"Don't be ridiculous, Hiei, go get in the bed."

"No," Hiei said, getting a little annoyed. He reached for his cloak but Kurama pulled it away.

"Get up," Kurama said.

"What's the matter with you, I'm not taking the bed from you, kitsune!" Hiei growled, standing up and taking the cloak back forcefully. Kurama shook his head at him.

"Who said anything about you taking it from me, Hiei?" he asked him. Hiei's eyebrows lowered.

"You mean...with you?"

"Baka!" Kurama said, throwing his hands in the air in retreat and going over to the bed, dropping down on it. "I give up."

"You'd let me in the bed with you?" Hiei asked unsurely, stepping forward a little.

"No, Hiei, I'm just playing around," he said sarcastically. "Come here, don't be silly. I've always wanted to share my bed with you." Hiei grinned at that, dropping his cape on the floor and going over to Kurama. Kurama laid down on the bed and Hiei lay down behind him, sliding his arms around his middle and pulling him close to him. He kissed Kurama's ear.

"Goodnight, Kurama," he whispered, and then sternly added, "And no nightmares." Kurama chuckled a little and leaned back, resting deeper in Hiei's arms.

"Sweet dreams, Hiei," he sighed.

Just so you know...they uh, got their groove on that night, he he he. I decided not to turn this into a lemon so that I don't scare people away, but it's something I thought you might like to know. Please review. I will be ever so happy...if it's possible to be any more happier than I am now!

J3