PLEASE NOTE: This is a human AU, which means Hiei doesn't have his usual resistance to cold!

Hiei was definitely regretting the fact that he hadn't dressed properly for the cold weather, hating the way his very bones seemed to be shivering, how his shoes and the hem of his pants were soaked, but he hadn't expected to walk several miles through the snow to his sister's house, as opposed to taking a taxi like a normal person.

Of course, nothing about this place seemed like anything Hiei was used to; it was all very small-townish, even more so than he had expected. Kurama said Yukina's house was about three miles away, so they would get there in a little less than an hour. Taking a walk that short in Tokyo wouldn't even scratch the surface of all there was to see in the city, but Hiei was surprised how much of a small town you could see in that amount of time.

Most of all, Hiei was quite worried about what he would say to this stranger for a walk this long. It was definitely too early to bring up the idea of investment, even if they didn't have that business lunch planned. Hiei finally decided to just let Kurama do the talking, since he seemed to be eager to show Hiei around as they walked.

"We'll get to see most of downtown, because Yukina lives in the residential area," Kurama told him, pointing out a cluster of buildings a little past his shop.

"Downtown?" said Hiei.

"I mean, we're entering Town Square, which is where we have our grocery store, the bank, a few places to eat, and some other places to shop," said Kurama. "During the annual Christmas festival, we decorate and light up the giant Christmas tree right there."

Hiei looked and saw the biggest Christmas tree he had ever encountered, towering tall and proud over all the little buildings. It wasn't decorated yet, obviously, but that only served to further emphasize just how much this town seemed to love Christmas. The trees in Town Square (this town had trees everywhere) were strung with little green, yellow, and red lights, both wrapped around the trunks and glistening in the branches. Red-and-green banners hung from the light posts with Christmas-themed pictures or the words "Merry Christmas." Every building was decorated with garland, red ribbons, and icicles, with wreaths on the doors. On top of it all, especially with the huge tree in the middle, the snow made everything look like a living Christmas card.

"It's kind of small," Hiei commented. "Where do you have the rest of the Christmas festival?"

"On the other side of town, there's a little rec center called Kosetsu Park," Kurama replied. "We have all our indoor festivities there, like our annual Pumpkin Fest around Halloween, where we set up a haunted house for all the kids. And during the winter, it's where we have the Christmas Ball during the festival. On the outside, there's a huge park with a playground, a picnic area, and a grassy field we use for the snowman-building contest."

"What else?" Hiei was mostly wondering whether people had anything better to do, but he also figured that the least he could do was pretend to be interested in the town.

"There's a lake," Kurama told him. "We use it for swimming in the summer and ice-skating in the winter. Your sister is usually our best ice skater."

"Really?" This was something Hiei hadn't known about Yukina.

"Absolutely, though she isn't going to be doing it this year," said Kurama with a sympathetic sort of smile. "Yukina always threw herself into the Christmas festival. That's actually where I first met her. She moved here just after she got her RN diploma, as I'm sure you know, and I've lived here all my life. It's won't be easy to set up the festival without her help." Kurama's eyebrows raised, and he turned to Hiei. "That's not something you'd be interested in doing, would it?"

"I, well…" Hiei was thinking, Of course not, but he didn't want to be rude, especially if he was taking on his sister's duties for her when she needed his help. "I might be. I'm not sure. I have a lot of work to do."

"Understandable," Kurama said with a smile. "Just feel free to participate if you have the chance, that's all. What are Christmases like where you live?"

"It's not different from any other time of the year." Hiei shrugged. "We never really did much for Christmas when I was growing up, so I guess I never really saw the point."

"That's hard to believe, given how much Yukina loves it," said Kurama with a small laugh. "You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd never believe you two grew up under the same roof."

Hiei didn't say anything as he looked down at the ground. It seemed that Yukina hadn't mentioned to Kurama that she hadn't grown up under the same roof as her twin brother. The institution was technically supposed to keep kids together, especially if they were babies, but when little Yukina was snatched up right away by an adoptive mother not interested in a boy baby, they seemed to have figured it was better for one twin to get adopted than none, even if they did have to separate. Hiei was sure Rui had celebrated Christmas with Yukina every year. Hiei shivered again. Suddenly the winter winds seemed much colder.

"Where are my manners?" Kurama said, stopping short. "You must be freezing. Here, take my coat. You're not dressed for the cold at all."

"Don't worry about it," Hiei told him, holding up one hand in dissent.

"Oh, but I insist," said Kurama. "I wouldn't want you to come down with hypothermia. Just look at your hands. They must be numb with cold by this point."

"All right, fine," said Hiei, if only to shut him up. How could anyone be so fussy, especially to a stranger? Well, maybe he wasn't exactly a stranger; Kurama was a family friend and had heard about Hiei from Yukina. But still, the two of them had never met before today.

"I knew you would come to your senses," Kurama joked, taking off his coat while still holding the bouquet in one hand. "Here, this should keep you warm until we get to Yukina's. Then you can warm up in front of the fire."

That sounded good. Hiei also was glad he had accepted the coat. Not only was it much warmer, but it smelled wonderful, like fresh-cut roses. Surrounded by the smell and the heat, Hiei felt something he didn't ever think he'd felt before—safe, protected.

"So where's your Christmas tree farm?" Hiei asked, after he'd zipped up the coat. It was big on him, but he wasn't exactly a tall person, so that was to be expected.

"You knew about that?" Kurama looked surprised.

"The cabbie told me," said Hiei with a shrug. "Did you buy the land from Kosetsu Park, maybe?"

"My father, bless his soul, left me the land before he died," Kurama explained. "It's right by the pond. During high school, a couple of friends of mine and I decided to turn it into a Christmas tree farm, because they had good business sense and I had a green thumb. After graduation, we opened Minamino's, and lived on top of the store."

"You have business partners?" Hiei asked, wondering if they would help or hurt his goal. "I thought this was all yours alone."

"They've both left the business, I'm afraid." Kurama's smile suddenly seemed a little forced. "One of them is still in Kosetsu, as the town's bank manager. The other, well…Let's just say he's out of the picture entirely."

"Oh, yes. Understood." Hiei felt a flush in his cheeks despite the cold. He figured Kurama had some sort of falling-out with them, and he didn't want to get in the middle of it.

"Yukina and Kuwabara haven't picked out their Christmas tree yet, what with everything that's been going on." Kurama seemed to want to change the subject, too. "Perhaps you can come along and see my little farm for yourself."

"Maybe." Hiei gave another noncommittal shrug. "Like I said, I have a lot of work to do. It's a good thing I can work remotely. Otherwise my boss never would have agreed to me coming out here."

They were entering the residential area now, Hiei could tell. There were trees all over the place in this town no matter where you were, but once they left "town" and encountered more houses, there were even more of them. Many houses had backyards full of trees, enough to call it a miniature forest. The streets were big, with sidewalks on both sides. Every house had Christmas decorations (one even had a huge inflatable Santa Claus).

"This place is beautiful during the rest of the year, too," said Kurama. "During the spring and summer, we have big, green, grassy lawns, the trees and flowers are in full bloom, and the sun shines late in a huge blue sky. I used to lean my head back all the way just so I could see all of it. You can see thousands of stars at night, too. Sometimes a neighbor will have a sprinkler on and you have to walk fast to avoid getting drenched. Or maybe you decide to get drenched on purpose if it's hot. There are always kids playing outside, riding their bikes, lots of people out walking with their dogs. During the fall, some of the trees are extraordinary—red, orange, yellow, brown, and when the leaves fall to the pavement you can walk through them and they crunch under your feet. And there's a different type of smell for each time of year. I love that crisp fall air the best, but all of it's wonderful. This is a great place for someone who loves nature, because with every turn of the season, Mother Nature shows us a different side of herself."

"I like nature," said Hiei truthfully. "But I still like living where I do."

"Of course." Kurama smiled. "And perhaps you won't be here for the rest of the year. But I hope you'll enjoy spending Christmas here."

"With all this Christmas around me, it's hard to forget," Hiei told him matter-of-factly.

One thing Hiei noticed was that even though there weren't a lot of people walking outside in the winter, every time they did encounter someone, the person would always say hello, and Kurama would always say hello back. They even smiled at Hiei, even though Hiei was quite sure he had never seen them before in his life. Most of them were walking their dogs, and the dogs also seemed interested in Hiei.

"I think the dogs like you, Hiei," said Kurama with a grin.

"Hn." Hiei secretly thought some of the dogs were cute, but he wouldn't admit it.

Finally, they stopped outside a large house with especially intricate Christmas decorations, though it was one of the few without a Christmas tree visible through the window. Hiei followed Kurama up to the door and let him knock, because he was suddenly nervous. This was the very first time he had ever been to his sister's house. Before, she and her husband had always visited him in the city.

Kuwabara was the one to come to the door, with one of their two cats trailing at his feet. "Hiei and Kurama! You're here!"

"Merry Christmas," said Kurama. "I was just walking Hiei home. He was inside my shop when his cab drove off without him."

"You can come inside and warm up if you want, Kurama," said Kuwabara. "I'm sure Yukina would love to see you."

"Is she feeling better?" said Hiei as they walked inside. They both took off their shoes, and Hiei hung Kurama's coat on the coat rack.

"I've never seen her so happy," said Kuwabara. "She's so excited about you spending Christmas with us. She's a little disappointed she can't help in the festival, but the babies were stopping her from doing much anyway, so it's not as bad as it could have been, I guess."

"She's already come to terms with it, in other words." Kurama nodded.

Kuwabara led them into the living room, where they found Yukina sitting on the couch, with her injured ankle propped up on the coffee table. Hiei tried to remind himself not to mention it, but Yukina looked the most pregnant Hiei had ever seen her. When she visited last summer, she was still in her first trimester, but now she had only four weeks until the babies were due, and it showed! She didn't get up off the couch when she saw Hiei and Kurama, but she gave them a smile that spread all the way to her eyes.

"Merry Christmas!" she said brightly. "Thank you so much for coming, Hiei. And it's nice to see you, too, Kurama. Sweetheart, did you offer them anything?"

"Oh…no," said Kuwabara, looking embarrassed. "Do you guys want tea or something?"

"No, thank you," Kurama replied, but Hiei didn't answer; he was already making his way to the couch, so he could sit next to his twin.

"How are you, Yukina?" he said, setting one hand on her shoulder. It was amazing to him that she was still smiling. Heavily pregnant and injured, if anyone had the right to be crabby, it was Yukina. But she seemed full of Christmas cheer.

"I've been better, but the very best Christmas present is having you here." Yukina reached her arms out for a hug, and they managed it, though it was more than a little awkward with the babies in the way. When they separated, Hiei noticed that Kurama was still holding the flowers.

"I also got you a bouquet at Kurama's shop," said Hiei. Kurama, taking his cue, bent down and handed them to Yukina. She smiled again, giving them a sniff.

"Thank you, Hiei!" she said, attempting to hug him again. "That was so thoughtful. You even remembered my favorite flower. And the hyacinths, too. They look so pretty against the white daffodils."

"Those were Kurama's idea," Hiei mumbled, gesturing.

"I'll put them in some water," Kuwabara offered.

"That would be wonderful, honey," said Yukina, and Hiei got up to hand the flowers to him. Then he headed into the kitchen.

"So when do you want to have lunch?" Hiei asked, looking at Kurama as he sank elegantly into a nearby easy chair. "When are you next free?"

"We could do it tomorrow, if you're interested," said Kurama. "Maybe around noon?"

"That works," said Hiei. "Any idea of where you want to eat?"

"I know where you can go!" Yukina said excitedly. "The ramen shop, Urameshi's. It just opened up this past summer."

"Oh yeah, the cabbie told me about that," said Hiei, remembering. "Is it any good?"

"It's delicious," said Yukina. "Even the babies like the ramen. It's owned by our friend Yusuke and his wife, Keiko. They have a son, too, Yusuke Jr., who's seven years old."

"Urameshi's sounds delightful," said Kurama. "Is that all right with you, Hiei?"

"I trust Yukina's judgment," Hiei replied, and she beamed.

"Well, if that's all settled, I had better get going," said Kurama, standing up again. "I have to mind the store. It was nice seeing you two again, and nice to finally meet you, Hiei."

"Um, you too," said Hiei. "I'll meet you at Urameshi's tomorrow at noon."

Hiei felt a weird sort of sensation in his stomach when he saw Kurama smile one last time. Why was he getting so worked up over a simple business lunch? He had them all the time. Maybe it was because he was in a new town.

"You're going to have lunch with him?" said Yukina in interest, once Kurama had left and headed back to his store. Kuwabara walked into the living room and set the flowers on the coffee table, then sat down in the chair Kurama had formerly occupied, though much less gracefully.

"Just a business lunch," said Hiei, looking the other way so she wouldn't see his red cheeks. "It's not like it's a date or anything."

"I know," said Yukina, looking bewildered. "The two of you are businessmen, after all."

"So he's a family friend, then?" asked Hiei.

"Yes, we met when we both worked on the Christmas Festival committee," Yukina replied. "It's too bad I won't be able to participate much this year, but luckily, the injury wasn't too serious. The doctor said that as long as I'm careful, I can accompany you all to the activities. You'll have to hold me up while we dance at the Christmas ball," she added, addressing Kuwabara.

"His shop is pretty nice," Hiei said, trying to sound casual.

"Oh, yes, I probably should warn you about that." The smile suddenly disappeared from Yukina's face. "When you talk to him, try not to let the store come up in conversation. I know it may not look like it, but he's struggling."

"He is?"

"Ever since the store became his alone a few years ago, it's been floundering," Yukina said sadly.

"The bank's really been on his ass about it," Kuwabara agreed. "None of us talk to him about it, but word spreads fast in this place. The way I hear it, he owes the bank a huge amount of money, and he has until Christmas Day to pay all his bills. If he doesn't make it, he'll have to file for bankruptcy and the store will have to close."

"Including the Christmas tree farm," Yukina added. "It's simply horrible."

"Wow," said Hiei, staring at the flowers on the coffee table. This was certainly a new development. Kurama had seemed so poised and confident, yet underneath that all, he had been hiding the very real threat of bankruptcy. "Why hasn't he looked for investors? That would be the smart thing to do."

"I think he wants the store to end the way it began—family-owned and under his control," Yukina replied. "You know, giving away part of his ownership would be like selling out."

"Oh, he's one of those, huh?" said Hiei. "They can usually be convinced if you work on them."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing." Hiei cleared his throat. "Listen, it's getting close to dinnertime, and I haven't eaten anything since I was on the flight. How about I treat us all to some pizza?"

"Sounds great!" Kuwabara said enthusiastically, standing up. "I'll go get my phone, and we can order delivery."

…

That night, Yukina told Hiei he could sleep in the guest room, and that she had fixed it up all nice for him. So when dinner was over, and it was time for bed, Hiei brought his suitcase and briefcase up to the room. Usually he just slept in his shorts, but he didn't want his dirty, sweaty body to stink up Yukina's fresh, clean guest sheets, so he brought along some old T-shirts and sweatpants he could wear to bed. When he went to put his suitcase in the closet, though, he saw that Yukina had other ideas.

In the closet hung a pair of bright-red Christmas pajamas, covered in a pattern of Christmas trees, presents, and Santa hats, along with some red slippers lined with fluffy white faux fur. Tucked in one of the new slippers was a note in Yukina's handwriting:

Merry Christmas, Hiei! Here's an early Christmas gift for you to wear.

There was only one way in the entire world that Hiei would wear such a ridiculous getup, and that was if Yukina got it for him, which she had. Since nobody would ever see it but her and Kuwabara, maybe it wouldn't be that bad. And she would probably be hurt if he didn't wear them.

Hiei was glad for the soft flannel pajamas when he put them on. They were so cozy and warm, much better than what he had planned to wear. He left the slippers by the side of the bed and stuffed his business suit in his suitcase, then snuggled under the covers. This was much softer and bigger than his bed back home. Just as he settled into bed, he caught a glimpse of Kuwabara in the hallway, helping Yukina walk to bed.

"Thanks for the pajamas," said Hiei with a slight smile.

"You're welcome." Yukina giggled. "You look great in them."

"Want me to turn out the light?" Kuwabara added.

"Sure, and shut the door too, please," Hiei replied. After the light was out, the door was shut, and the room was completely dark save for the moonlight gleaming softly through the window, Hiei fell peacefully asleep.