disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, blah, blah. DON'T OWN THEM!!! The end. Period. Not going to say that saddening fact again!!

Just a recap of what last happened in the story thus far: Hiei thought about his feelings for Kurama, Kurama thought about his feelings for Hiei when he took refuge in Kurama's room during a storm, and, lastly, Kurama kissed Hiei goodnight after the youkai had fallen asleep. Great recap isn't it? So filled with details right? Don't answer that. Here's what you've surely been waiting for cuz of that little cliffhanger at the end of chapter two so I won't delay you any longer...

Guiding Light: Chapter Three

A Promise of Return

Kurama's lips pressed gently against my own in a soft embrace of warmth. Feelings that were enigmas to me flooded through my entire senses drowning out all other distractions to focus entirely on the present. Then, it was all over and he was climbing into bed beside me to snuggle close and contour to my body before drifting into peaceful slumber.

What had that kitsune done? WHY had he just done that!?! My mind raced over all the possibilities that could have made such an action an accident. He tripped, those two humans dared him to, he was just joking around, one of these had to be right. How could such a perfectly divine creature have blessed me with such a gift!?!

No sleep came to me for a very long time as I went back to that moment time and time again. His lips had been so soft and warm against my own, so full of...had that been love? A jolt of desire had raged up and down my spine in an uncontrollable rampage. A warmth of some emotion I still can't name had gathered in the pit of my stomach, making it feel as if a dozen butterflies fluttered inside of me.

Soon, the need for sleep that a day of training places upon a body, forced me to drift into an uneasy slumber that repeated that moment over and over again, memorizing every detail so as to be able to recall upon later.

*—*—*—*—*—*

The sun slipped through the slightly ajar curtains to drift in and pool unmercifully on my closed eyes until I could no longer stand to be tormented any longer. I roused, fully awake now, and gazed at my silent companion. How long Hiei had been awake I really do not know, but I do know that he remained by my side all through the night.

"Good morning Hiei," I said in a cheerful yet groggy voice. Intently, I traced over every minute detail of his slender form that lay so close next to me.

"Why did you do that?" The question took me by surprise. Not only had he just spoken in a complete sentence with more than three words, but apparently, he was actually questioning some one.

"What do you mean, Hiei?" I feigned innocence as I prayed to every god in the heavens above to not have let what I feared to have happened.

"You kissing me." It was barely a whisper and spoken in a slightly fearful tone, but why?

"...Because I...," My voice was beginning to falter in terror of so many consequences of my next words that I knew had to be said,"...I love you." There, I had said it and now it could burden my soul no longer, though now that agony had to be shared with the one I cared for more than any other in all the worlds. My eyes were tightly closed in preparation for the expected beating that would surely follow such a revelation.

But, nothing came. Not a slap, katana, or even the hurtful words that cut me deeper than any sword ever could. Curiosity of a mischievous fox eventually got the best of me. Peaking, ever so slightly, I saw a look on Hiei's face that I had never seen. It was a look of utmost confusion mixed with something resembling desire, but I had to be mistaken.

His voice was lower than I had ever heard him speak, with more emotions slipping through all those barriers to gush out raw onto the futon so that now it was all clear to me ",Why?" It was one word that conveyed so much to me. His confusion of being loved when he, a Forbidden Child, had never felt such a glorious emotion, his desire to know what he could ever offer some one like myself who had had so many partners in my long life. But, mostly it revolved around the necessity to know how a youko could ever know the meaning of the word love and if so could it possibly be that the most beautiful one love HIM?

I almost chuckled at these numerous fears that I would have never expected from my little fire demon. "Hiei," I spoke quietly to him, as much of my emotions as I could being conveyed through my voice as I continued," I love you because you, unlike everyone else, know I'm not perfect. You allow me to spill my troubles and worries upon your soul. I love you because you're always there for me and will never let me down when it comes to anything." Tears dripped from my eyes, as I hung my head in the shame of putting Hiei into a position like this.

"I'm very selfish, kistune, and I don't play well with the other children." With that he was gone, but not before a soft something pressed against my own lips.

I wiped my tears away, no longer needing to weep for the loss of both a good friend and a complete heart. No, that promise would give me strength to wait until he was ready to become mine completely without fear. Yes, I would be patient with my pretty fire youkai. In time, the two of us would make it become more than just friendship, so I would wait until he was ready to finally open up his soul to me completely.

Nim'Loki: So, what do you think of the ending? Good? Bad? I really want to know. The next story I'll be working on focuses on Kurama and is titled Kurama's Calm, but I'm not going to tell you what it's about cuz I want to leave you hanging so that you'll read it, kay? Well, gotta go and do a leaf project for bio, REVIEW PLEASE and I'll try and get back to you all as quickly as possible.