Hiei and Kurama stared at each other in silence. The fox's face was blank. Hiei was frightened of what Kurama would now think of him. Shit shit shit shit... he repeated to himself over and over again. What had he done? He hadn't thought that those words would come out of his mouth. Much less unwillingly come out of his mouth.

Kurama closed his eyes and bent his head. He sighed, his shoulders sagging for a moment. His body expression showed him completely vulnerable, a position you never saw the fox in. After a few minutes, Kurama looked back up at Hiei's eyes, which were still wide with fright.

Hiei wanted to say something. He really did, but didn't know what to say. What could he say? What could he do? Since he didn't have an answer to either of those questions, he didn't do anything. He just sat there. Let the fox be the first to react, and he was.

Kurama stood up and walked over to where Hiei sat. He stood by his feet for a while, before bending down to his knees and moving so he straddled the smaller demons legs. The fox's hands were placed on either side of Hiei's legs. Hiei could hear nothing but his pounding heart.

Kurama didn't exactly know why he was doing this. He figured that if he wanted to tell Hiei his feelings, now would be the right time and place. The fox leaned forward until his face was just inches from the stilled demon.

"You know what Hiei..." Kurama started mysteriously. His eyes narrowed and looked deep into Hiei's ruby eyes. Again, Hiei didn't know what to do, so he did nothing. Kurama inched forward until Hiei could feel the fox's soft breath against his lips. "I love you, too."

The fox closed the space completely, and kissed the demon. Hiei's eyes were wide with surprise, but he soon realized what had just happened, and closed his eyes and let himself get mesmerized within the kiss.

Hiei didn't know how long he sat there, underneath the fox's strong body, but he didn't want the moment to end. Finally Kurama broke the kiss, but didn't go far. His face, still only inches from Hiei's, spoke. "I've wanted to say those words for the longest time, but never had the courage," he whispered, his eyes half closed.

Hiei finally found his voice. "I love you Kurama. I haven't always, and I don't really know when I realized it, but I'm glad I did," Hiei told the fox in a hoarse whisper. He couldn't believe that this was him speaking.

"I love you Hiei. I think the same thing applies to me." A grin appeared on the fox's face and he leaned forward and kissed him again. The kiss was not as long, but just as heart-stopping.

When Kurama again broke the kiss, he was off of Hiei so fast the demon didn't even see him move. "I'll go find some plants who's aroma can help you heal faster. Don't go anywhere." With a wink and a grin, Kurama transformed into Yoko Kurama and darted out of the cave, leaving Hiei alone. "Hn. Like I could go anywhere even if I wanted to."

He simply sat there, realization finally settling in. The fox kissed him. The fox actually kissed him. Hiei wanted to laugh out of pure joy. This was not what he had expected when he realized what he had said earlier. But now he's glad that he said those words, otherwise, the scene that just happened would probably have been completely different.

Kurama returned just about ten minutes later. As he walked into the cave, he transformed back into Shuichii and pulled a small seed out of his hair. "This should do the trick." He smiled. Feeding the plant some of his demon energy, it quickly grew into a beautiful flower. The smell quickly reached Hiei's nose. It was a beautiful smell, and he fell asleep with a small smile on his face.

Kurama smiled down at the now-sleeping demon. He never imagined that Hiei could feel the same way. He was surprised, but had reacted in a way that pleased himself. When the smaller demon was completely healed and has returned to full health, the fox knew he would love the demon like nothing he had ever loved before. This was what he had always wanted, and finally he had gotten it. He knew Hiei was happy, as he looked at the contented smile on his face. He had never seen the demon smile a true smile before. He would have to wait just a little bit longer to see that.