Rowan wanted to write a Koenma/Yusuke one-shot, so this was born. She couldn't help it! She was inspired! The muses have been watching too much YYH lately…what can we say?

This story has no spoilers- completely AU!

Serenade

Chapter 4

Yusuke stormed irately across the beach, absently kicking at the sand to ease his frustration at Koenma. The sun was still high in the sky and Yusuke's stomach rumbled to remind him that he needed to eat, but Yusuke ignored the call, choosing instead to splash into the ocean and cool his feet while he created cross ripples in the water. After a moment, Yusuke stood still and, turning, saw Kurama walking down the beach towards him.

"Hey Kurama," Yusuke called, waving. "Where's Hiei?"

Kurama smiled at his friend as he approached. "Hello Yusuke. How is Koenma?"

Yusuke frowned quickly and barked, "Are you avoiding my question?"

Kurama, slightly taken aback by Yusuke's anger, was not fazed, as he replied coolly, "Not at all." He walked into the ocean and stood beside Yusuke, looking out towards the horizon, where the dark blue of the water and the light blue sky chastely kissed. "I'm not sure where Hiei is," Kurama said after a moment. "He just sort of left. He mentioned something about low pants."

Yusuke nodded absently. "Hmm."

"So," Kurama spoke again after a moment, "how is Koenma?"

Yusuke frowned at the fox. "You're so concerned about him now," he remarked only slightly bitter, "why didn't you come with me earlier?"

"I thought you two wanted to be alone."

Yusuke stepped back in surprise and the water swished happily in response like a little pet dog lapping at his feet. "What!" he cried loudly.

Kurama smiled at the boy, then looked towards the blue all around. His green eyes were distant as he spoke in a contemplative tone. "Yusuke," he asked, "you cared about Hiei, didn't you?"

Yusuke turned away from Kurama, his chin tucked into his chest. "You know I did," he whispered. "I still do."

"But not as much as before," Kurama stated firmly. "We never had anything like that Yusuke. There's no love lost between us."

Yusuke glanced sadly over to the fox. "You're still my friend Kurama," he said softly.

"Yes, I know." Kurama smiled light-heartedly at him and then absently kicked at the water. After a minute of splashes, Kurama sat down in the water, his toes stick petulantly out of the water, wiggling up at the sky in an almost mocking way. Kurama tilted his head to the side and spoke. "You know, I had a thought. I could kiss you right now and I wouldn't feel a thing."

Yusuke nodded in acquiescence. "I would probably feel numb as well," he admitted.

Kurama smiled. "When I kiss Hiei though, there's something there, you know?" He frowned in thought. "Like a-"

"-a spark," Yusuke spoke then. "A little firecracker lit between your lips. Like the best smoke of your life."

"You felt it too?" Kurama replied. He leaned back on his elbows buried in the sand. "I'm not surprised. I wonder though," and here he paused, feeling slightly guilty and unsure, but plowing ahead nonchalantly, "what you would feel if you kissed Koenma?"

Yusuke stumbled back in the water from surprise. "Did you say-"

"Koenma?" Kurama smirked kindly. "Yes. If you kissed Koenma, I wonder what would happen."

Yusuke took another step away from the fox, then joined him in the ocean, his shorts soaking in the water but Yusuke didn't care. His face was screwed up in thought, his eyes closed, trying to imagine kissing Koenma. It would be strange- was Koenma taller than him? Yusuke was unable to remember. Well, if they were sitting down, height wouldn't matter much. They would lean towards each other, Yusuke's brown eyes full of life meeting the surreal gold of Koenma, their foreheads would meet with a small bump, and then Yusuke would part his lips slightly and Koenma…Yusuke opened his eyes suddenly and spoke with disappointment. "His pacifier would get in the way."

"I wonder," Kurama mused, "would you like it?"

"His pacifier getting in the way?"

Kurama laughed lightly. "No, would you like to kiss him?"

"Of course not!" exclaimed the mock-offended detective.

Kurama rolled his eyes then stared Yusuke down with a serious expression on his face. "Yusuke, I already know you're gay. Don't forget who dominated whom." Yusuke smiled weakly at Kurama's attempt at humor in his annoyance. "Why's it so bad, then, to want to kiss Koenma?"

"You want to kiss Koenma?" Yusuke tried to joke, but Kurama's stern, set face diluted the boy's mood.

"No," Kurama replied, "but you do. It's written on your face, the feelings you have for him."

"Are you saying I'm in love with Koenma!" Yusuke cried, shooting to his feet in an instant.

Kurama smirked knowingly. "Would I be right?"

Yusuke opened his mouth but no words came out at first and the words that did were less decisive than Yusuke liked. "…I don't know."

"Oh, I think you do," Kurama said, standing. He climbed back up the shore and back towards the hotel when he paused and said over his shoulder, "And it's a bonfire, really."

Yusuke shot the fox a puzzled look. "Kurama?"

"Like drinking liquid fire, nearly drowning in the flames licking their way down your throat," Kurama explained. "That's what it's like when I kiss Hiei. You'll understand, one day."

---

Hiei hadn't returned to the hotel for low pants, as Kurama had thought, though it was a good idea and he did eventually exchange his tan capris for low cut leather pants, but that was once the sun had receded beyond the horizon. Instead, the fire demon found himself before the door at the end of the corridor that Yusuke so kindly had slammed shut not more than fifteen minutes before. Hiei reached up and knocked harshly three times on the wounded wood. Unlike Yusuke, Hiei received a reply.

"Come in, Yusuke," came Koenma's muffled voice.

Hiei opened the door and walked silently inside the room, gently closing the door behind him. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not Yusuke."

Koenma turned around at Hiei's voice and said, slightly breathless, "Why would I be disappointed?"

Hiei was never one to beat around the bush, so he said bluntly, "Because you're in love with him."

"What makes you say that?" Koenma asked, half-curious.

"Kurama," Hiei said. "He was eavesdropping on your conversation with Yusuke. You're much more open with him; not quite the Koenma we've all come to know. Kurama says it's because you love Yusuke." Hiei smirked. "Kurama likes romance."

"Well, Hiei, what do you think?" Koenma inquired officiously, drawing himself up to his full handsome height.

"I think," Hiei said, "you should get rid of that thing." And he pointed at the baby blue pacifier in Koenma's mouth. "If you're going to go around thinking about kissing Yusuke you should be prepared to follow up, should the detective show similar interest in engaging in such activities."

Koenma glanced down at his pacifier, then slowly lifted his hand to his mouth, his fingers gently caressing the infantile toy. Then his finger tightened their grip on the pacifier and with a satisfying "pop!" it was pulled out of Koenma's mouth. Koenma stared at the pacifier with an inscrutable expression on his face. "It's strange," he murmured. "I'm no longer a child, I suppose."

Hiei was expressionless as he watched the immortal and the one thing that chained him to innocence. "But you won't be a man until you tell Yusuke your feelings for him." Hiei paused, unsure for a moment. "You do love him, right?"

Koenma looked up at Hiei and smiled. "You still care about him, don't you? Suppose he still loves you? Where would that leave me?"

Hiei frowned. "Yes, I care about Yusuke. He showed me love, but he doesn't love me. Not the way I need, and I don't love him the way he needs. That leaves you with the chance to see if you are what Yusuke needs. And, ignoring what Kurama's convinced me to believe, I think you do love him, the way he needs to be loved." Hiei turned away from Koenma and laid his hand on the doorknob. "He needs to be the dominate partner, even if he lets you play that role in bed. Yusuke just wants to protect and to coddle. All he really needs is appreciation of that protection. A pretty boy, that's what he likes."

Koenma smiled broodingly. "Am I a 'pretty boy' Hiei?"

Hiei turned mock-scornful eyes over his shoulder. "You're a prince; of course you are." And then Hiei left.

---

It wasn't hard for Yusuke to find the young lover from the night before; walking through the village beside the ocean, Yusuke heard the familiar strains of the lover's melody. Following the music Yusuke found an old man strumming away on what looked similar to a guitar and even though his voice was old and cracked, he still sang the lovely, foreign words of the song. Though it wasn't the young man Yusuke remembered, there was the young lover in the old man's eyes and that spirit of vitality and youthful lust strummed the guitar and sang the song through the old grandfather. Yusuke reverently bent down before the venerable singer. "Teach me your song," he begged. And the old man agreed and taught the boy the island's song

TBC…

Chapter Four took forever to finish, I'm sorry! Actually, it was the Yusuke and Kurama scene that really held this up. I had the dialogue which meant I just had to fill in the action, but I take forever to do that because I'm lazy. The other two scenes were written in one afternoon from my head, so we all know what I shouldn't do, huh? Well, Chapter Five is in my head right now, none on paper, except for the song lyrics Yusuke learns from the old man. Guess what? I wrote the lyrics myself, so I can post them! They're actually in Spanish but I'll make sure to give the English translation, which is the actual thing I wrote (I take French.) Anyway, I'm really excited to know what everyone thought! Please review and I promise I'll try to get Chapter Five up sooner!