Homecoming
by Yami Yue
Chapter One
The warm summer nights had given way to the chilly autumn ones forcing us to take refuge in front of the hearth in our living room. Ryou and Kenji lay on their stomachs on the plush living room rug looking through one of our photo albums. I glanced at my mate who was sitting by the fire silently polishing his sword. He looked up and our eyes met. I smiled at him, and then returned my attention to the book I was reading.
The twins suddenly burst into a fit of laughter. Curious, I peered over the top of my book again to see what they were laughing at. It was an old group picture from our spirit detective days. "I wonder who took this one," Ryou commented softly as he pointed to a picture on the next page. "Looks like the park near grandma's," Kenji added. Ryou nodded. I heard the page being flipped again as I went back to reading. A moment later my mate distracted me as he perched on the remaining space left on the couch. I stretched and repositioned myself, inviting him to come and lay upon me. Without a word he made himself comfortable in my lap, resting his head against my chest.
"Papa?" Ryou asked. I felt my ears perk up at the sound of my son's voice. "Hmmm?" I responded as Hiei absentmindedly began stroking my tail. "When did you abandon your human form?" he inquired. "I only remember seeing you once in human guise," "Yeah," Kenji agreed. "Even when we go to grandma's you use an illusion instead of switching forms," I marked my page in the book I was reading and set it aside.
"It's no surprise that you don't remember," I said. "The two of you weren't even three yet," The twins sat up and faced me, the tips of their tails twitching with anticipation as they eagerly watched me. Hiei chuckled. "You two never tire of hearing stories do you?" he teased. "Can we help it if something in the past sparks our interest?" Kenji responded. Hiei glanced up at me. "They must have got it from you," he murmured. I swatted him playfully with my tail, and then turned to my sons.
"Like I said before, the two of you weren't three yet," I began. "As a matter of fact it wasn't long after I'd began working for your Uncle Yusuke," "The day had started out normal enough and after a long day's work,I collected the two of you from your cousin's nanny, picked up the supplies your father had brought from the marketplace for me and headed home to cook dinner. Little did I know that when your father came home that night he'd have news neither of us was happy with…"
I looked up from the meal I was preparing as my mate entered the kitchen. "Smells good Fox," He said as he approached. "What are you making?" "Teriyaki chicken," I responded as he slid his arms around my waist. "You look as though you had a long day Fire Baby," I commented as he rested his head against my back. "Did Mukuro give you a hard time today?" "No," he answered. "Worse," I raised an eyebrow. "Care to elaborate?" I asked. "She's sending me on another of her missions," he growled. I frowned, no wonder he looked displeased. Hiei didn't like leaving me and the twins to go on one of his boss' missions. He never knew how long he'd be gone, or what dangers he'd be facing.
"What kind of mission is it this time?" I asked. "I have to go to one of Mukuro's territories in the north," he answered. "There's been a rumor that a rebellion may be starting there," My frown deepened as I turned my head to face him. "I suppose there's no need for me to tell you to be careful," I said. "No, nor is there any need for you to tell me that you love me. I already know both." He replied as he released me from his embrace. "Frowning doesn't suit you," He said as he reached up and caressed my cheek. I sighed. "How long will you be gone?" I asked as I turned once again to face the stove. "No longer than a week or two," he answered as I removed the cooked food from the heat and began dishing it up. I stopped in the middle of what I was dong to look at him once more. "You're not leaving tonight are you?" I asked. He shook his head. "It will take a few days for Mukuro to prepare for my absence," I breathed a sigh of relief and dished up his plate as well.
"Where are the twins?" he asked as he took both plates and headed to the table. "Still asleep," I answered. "They must have had a busy day. I haven't heard a peep out of them since I laid them down for their nap an hour ago," " I should go wake them or they'll be up all night," He said. I nodded and began dishing up the food I had made for our twin toddlers. Hiei returned a few minutes later holding our silver haired son, Ryou in one arm and leading our raven haired son Kenji by the hand. Kenji let go of his father's hand and ran to me, throwing his little arms around my leg. "Papa," he cried happily. I chuckled and leaned down to put my arms around him. "Did you have a good nap little Firefox?" I asked as I picked him up. "I not little," Kenji protested. "I almost three," I held back my laughter, though I'm sure it was easily seen in my eyes. "Not for a while yet though," I responded as I set him into his high chair. Ryou yawned. It was apparent in the way the tips of his ears and tail drooped slightly that he was not yet fully awake. I wasn't the least bit surprised. He always took quite a bit longer than his brother to wake up. I set a bowl with small pieces of chicken and diced carrots in front of each boy. The sight and scent of food awakened my silver haired son in an instant. Ryou looked at the carrots and blinked in surprise. "Whatsit?" he asked. "It's chicken Ryou, you've had it before," I answered. He shook his head sending his silvery locks flying wildly. "Not dat," he said and pointed to the carrots. "Dat," "Oh, those are carrots," I informed him.
He picked one of the small pieces up with his little hands and looked at it skeptically. Kenji watched his twin eagerly as he inspected the new food. Gingerly, Ryou popped the piece of carrot into his mouth. He chewed it and made a face. Obviously, he wasn't too pleased with the taste. For a moment I was afraid he was going to spit it out, but he swallowed it and then reached for a piece of the chicken. Feeling brave, Kenji followed his younger twin's example and tried one of the carrot pieces. I saw the look on his face and made a mental note to scratch carrots off my list for a while. I was glad I only gave them a little bit to try.
I sat down across from my mate at the table. "How did your day go?" he asked. "Fine," I answered. I filled Hiei in on the events of the day between bites of my meal. We both jumped when Kenji let out a shrill scream. "Mine!" he yelled. "Kenji, what's the matter?" I asked as I stood. "He tole my ticken!" Kenji cried angrily, pointing at his brother. "Ryou, did you take some of your brother's chicken?" I asked. "No," Ryou answered shaking his head. "Ryou, did you take food off your brother's plate?" Hiei asked. "one ticken," Ryou answered. "I till hungry," "Ryou, baby don't take food off your brother's plate, ask me or your father for more next time," I said. "Otay," Ryou agreed. He held up his small bowl. "More pease?" he asked. "Sure baby," I answered as I took his plate. "Do you want more Kenji?" The raven haired kit shook his head and continued eating what was left of his meal.
Dinner was relatively quiet after that. Hiei set the twins into their playpen to play while he helped me with the dishes. Once we were done we brought our sons into the living room so that we could all play together. The next few hours went by quickly and soon both little kits were yawning sleepily. "Looks like it's time to put them to bed," Hiei said as Ryou curled up into his lap and closed his eyes. "You want me to give them their baths?" "Yes," I answered, already feeling sleepy myself. "If you don't mind," "Why would I mind?" Hiei teased as he gathered Ryou into his arms. "Can't let you have all the fun now can I Fox?" I smiled, then stretched and stood to my feet. "Papa, up," Kenji cried raising his arms to me. "You want me to pick you up?" I asked. "Yeah, up," Kenji replied. I obliged him and bent down to pick up the raven haired child. I followed my mate into the bathroom and set Kenji down beside Hiei. My mate smiled at me. "Go on and rest for a while Fox," he said. "We'll be fine," "Right?" he asked our sons. "Wite," Kenji echoed, giggling. Ryou stood at the side of the tub, splashing the small amount of water that had made it that far. Hiei smiled and shook his head. "Looks like he's inherited your love of water along with your silver hair and penchant for taking what isn't yours," he teased. I smirked. "Really?" I replied. "I seem to recall it was your idea to break into King Enma's vault for the artifacts of darkness, and I'm sure that wasn't your first time taking what wasn't yours," Hiei's eyes twinkled with amusement. "I suppose you're right Fox," he said. "Maybe he gets it from both sides of the family,"
Satisfied my mate had things under control, I shut the bathroom door and retreated to the bedroom. I laid down on our bed and closed my eyes. Hiei and I had been married nearly five years and he had proven himself to be a wonderful mate and a good father. I heard squeals and laughter coming from the bathroom and smiled. It would be strange without my mate around for a while. I didn't like it when Mukuro sent Hiei off on a mission of some sort, but I knew she wouldn't have sent him if it wasn't important. After all Hiei was her heir, her best and most trusted warrior, who better to send when the job needed to be done, right?
I had began drifting off to sleep when the bathroom door opened. A moment later I felt the bed shift with the additional weight of my mate and sons. I opened my eyes and smiled at the pajama clad toddlers who were crawling toward me. "Tell your papa goodnight," Hiei said. "G'nite," Kenji said. "Nite nite," Ryou said. I leaned forward and kissed each of their foreheads. "Good night," I responded. Kenji leaned forward and kissed my cheek and Ryou placed his arms around my neck in a soft hug. "Sleep well you two," I said as Hiei gently took them into his arms. "Blow papa a kiss," Hiei said as he reached the doorway, turning so that I could see the twins. They both complied, raising a hand to their lips and extending it. I smiled and returned the gesture. "When did you teach them that?" I asked as he turned to leave the room. "A little while ago, they catch on fast," he answered. I smiled. "I wonder who they got that from," I teased. Hiei smirked, and left the room. I closed my eyes again as I listened to his footsteps fade down the hallway. I drifted off to the muted sound of his deep voice as he read the twins a bedtime story.
I wasn't aware that I had fallen asleep until the shifting of the bed awakened me. I opened my eyes as I felt the knot holding my tunic closed being untied. "I'll take the twins with me for the next few days," he said as he opened my tunic and laid his hand upon my chest. I sat up, letting the material slide off my shoulders and down my arms. I nodded in agreement with his statement. It was no surprise he wanted to spend a little extra time with his sons before he left. There was no telling when he'd be back. I gently pulled him to me. "You know I hate it when you go on one of these missions," I said. " I can't be at your side," "…but I can count on a warm welcome when I return," he responded as he gave me a quick kiss. "I'll only be gone as long as I have to," he assured me. "I don't like this any more than you do. If there really is a rebellion brewing things could get messy and fast," "I hope there's nothing to the rumors," I said. "So do I," he agreed.
I decided not to tell the twins what happened next. Those were details that they didn't need to know. Hiei glanced up at me and smiled. He knew what it was I was omitting from my tale. I fought down a blush at the memory…
Hiei gently pushed me back to the bed and tugged at the waistline of my pants. I lifted my hips so that he could pull them off. I felt heat rise to my cheeks as his eyes roamed hungrily over my unclothed form. Hiei smiled, his eyes dancing with amusement. For some reason he loved making me blush. Unexpectedly, he crawled beside me and gave me a gentle kiss. I expected him to begin his sweet torture of kisses and caresses that would leave me panting and writhing beneath him. Instead, he handed me my nightshirt, then rose from the bed and undressed to change into his nightclothes. I didn't take my eyes off him. He had once compared me to a painting of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, and as I looked over his petite god like body I couldn't help but think that he would have to be Ares, the god of war. I smiled. Yes, definitely Ares.
He turned around and looked at me. He shuddered and I blushed again as I realized I still hadn't put on the nightshirt. I quickly pulled it on over my head and laid back down as he climbed into bed. "Do you think you could get Yusuke to give you some extra time for lunch tomorrow?" he asked. "I think that can be arranged," I answered. "Why?" Hiei just smiled. "Rest," he said. "You'll need it," It was my turn to shudder at the tone of his voice and the promise it foretold.
Author's Note:
One reviwer thought it would be a good idea for me to write a sequel to Making of the band with Hiei and Kurama on their honeymoon. I need suggestions as to where they could go, maybe some activities ...etc.. Please go to the message board I set up and post it. You don't even have to sign up or sign in, but it'd be a great help if you did both so I can credit the idea where it's due. The address is in my bio.
Thanks,
Yami Yue