And now for something completely different: A full summary at the beginning of a story.

Title: In the End
Genre: Most likely general with a hint of romance (pairing: K/H -- That means shonen ai, people!!!!) and my usual dose of angst.
Rating: PG-13 (for language and innuendo)
Series: YYH
Warnings: Shonen ai (second warning!), AU (I will be exercising my creative liberties, thank you very much), possible OOCness.
Summary: Hiei is a 17 year old orphan bounced from foster home to foster home. Kurama is an up-and-coming young actor with too much time on his hands. Bored with the superficiality of the professional world, Kurama seeks entertainment in the form of the children at the orphanage (can we say "community service?") and unintentionally meets up with a very hostile Hiei. Each is intrigued by the other and a tentative friendship is formed as the two grow off each other's distinct and separate characteristics. Lies, distrust and assumptions can strain things, but there's a valuable lesson to be learned:

In the end, only kindness matters.

Now then; on to the actual story. I hope I can pull this off and I hope it's original. I haven't run across anything with a plot quite like this in my quest for a decent read.

Prologue

[October]

It was late in the evening.

I was in the kitchen, making tea, preparing to go relax before bed. Well, relax as much as I could, given my current state of mind.

Three days. Three days it had been.

I stared at the empty chair at my small table, green gaze burning into it. The apartment felt empty and desolate. It even seemed too quiet, even though he had hardly ever said a word. I suppose it was his mere presence that made feel not quite so isolated. We didn't need to talk; it was just knowing he was there that was comforting.

And he was gone.

I wasn't expecting him to ever come back. Something in the back of my mind had been whispering to me for the last three days "this is all your fault any way." He'd left in the middle of the night without any explanation or warning, but I knew it had something to do with me. I'd gone to wake him up the next morning and he was just…gone. There was no trace of him anywhere. Like he had never existed; never been a part of my life.

He'd been such an odd part of my life. Our pathetic excuse for friendship had been rough from the get-go. He'd made it perfectly clear that he wanted nothing to do with me, but I had pushed too hard and it had resulted in disaster because now no one could find him.

And I assumed he wanted it that way.

So lost in my train of thought was I, when the door slammed open, I nearly had a heart attack. The mug slid from my hands and crashed to the floor and I nearly dropped the tea kettle as well. I jumped a second time when the chunks of ceramic bounced around my feet, but I paid them no heed.

I couldn't stop staring at him.

His angry gaze burned into mine, ruby red eyes aflame with rage. "What?" He spat, glaring contemptuously at me.

"I…I didn't think…" My voice cracked as I tried to find the words to respond.

"Didn't think what? That I'd come back?" He snorted, turning up his nose, "You seem surprised to see me. Were you that glad I left?" One of his hands rose, running through his hair and I had to tear my eyes away.

"Why would you think that?" I tried to keep my voice steady, calm. "I've been worried sick about you." My fingers twitched; I wanted to rush over and gather him into my arms, so relieved was I. Softly, carefully now…I moved slightly, trying not to frighten him. He wasn't one for physical contact, but I needed to hug him, to make sure he was really there.

Surprisingly, he wordlessly allowed the embrace, remaining stiff and tense as I hugged him. I could feel his breath in my ear; warm, rapid…He was nervous.

Imagine that.

Nervous.

I could have laughed.

"I'm tired." He said bluntly, his body tensing further at the prolonged physical contact.

This was my cue to let go; I had overstepped my boundaries. Hastily, I released him, stepping back. A slight blush painted itself across my cheeks; I could feel my face warming as he looked up at me wearily, crimson eyes full of question. Question, I'm sure, at the peculiar expression on my face.

I simply smiled, offering him the most innocent, unassuming expression I could muster. "Go on to bed then. We'll talk in the morning."

There was no response to that, which was to be expected. I watched the small retreating figure as he disappeared down the hall into the shadows. A slow smile spread across my face as he glanced furtively over his shoulder as if reassuring himself that I was still there.

Only after he was fully out of view did I stoop to clean up the broken coffee mug and fetch a new one. I poured my water, made my tea, then stretched out on my bed, the smile never leaving my face as the familiar sounds of his thumping around in his small room drifted through the walls.

My eyes slid shut and I grinned as I set the mug on my nightstand and switched off the light.

Yes, it was good to have him back.

Note: As this is the prologue and not the actual story, only this part will be written in first person perspective. The actual chapters will be written in third person limited.