Chapter 14 Bases
Hiei stared out the window of the car, making sure to look as angry as possible so that whenever Kurama glanced in his rearview mirror he knew that Hiei was going to get him back for this. He thought it would be easy to do with Boton chattering away like chipmunk on an energy drink in the passenger seat. Hell he would prefer the radio to her incessant talking, which Kurama somehow called conversation. Sending Kurama the seemingly unnoticed warning glares should have been easy, if it wasn't for the woman leaning up against him.
Mîra was initially excited to ride in a car, having never been inside one before, but after an hour of driving she soon fell asleep. Over the next few hours she had shifted positions but she seemed to have settled with her head on Hiei's shoulder, one arm laid across her middle section and the other resting on Hiei's leg. When Hiei was looking out the window, his elbow propped up at the base of the window and his chin in his hand, it was easy to look sour. When he happened to glance down at Mîra, he struggled to maintain composure as he saw his other hand intertwined with the hand on his leg. The hand holding caused him to flush slightly, he was a little used to it, but it was catching Boton staring at them with a rather obnoxious look on her face suggesting she was going to store the memory in case she ever needed blackmail that irked him. One death glare was all it took to shake her out of her obnoxious look but after around five hours of this interplay, Hiei's patience was wearing thin.
Of course, not knowing where they were going didn't really help either. Yukina had asked him to join the group on a weekend outing and naturally, he couldn't refuse the hopeful look on his sisters face. Still, Hiei was suspicious that wherever they were going, he wasn't going to like it due to the fact that Mîra didn't know where they were going either. This had upset her, claiming that she wouldn't know what to pack but Yukina had promised her she wouldn't have to worry if she packed summer clothes and that she wanted to surprise her. Hiei wouldn't have put it past Kurama to have suggested it being a surprise so there was no chance Mîra could have let the location slip. He was even more suspicious when Kurama said they absolutely had to travel by car, even though he could probably outrun one. He had challenged Kurama on it but the sly fox had begun explaining how a car functions to Mîra and it was a done deal. Hiei was stuck, imprisoned in a metal box that was slower than him, with a woman who did not shut the hell up, and was going someplace he was bound to dislike.
Hiei glanced down at his wife and the mounting frustration in him he relaxed, finding the slight pout on her face to be quite cute as she dreamt. He felt her squeeze his hand for a moment before her grip relaxed and he couldn't help but look down at her softly. After the Club Incident, as Hiei called it, their relationship had drastically changed. She was more open with him and talked a lot more but when she had said she was going to be a better Queen, she meant it. When demons visited, she made a point to entertain them when Hiei could not momentarily be available. With Kurama's help, she had started up a small garden with a mixture of human and demon herbs, trees, and flowers. Even more laborious, she had discovered a library that Hiei hadn't known existed within the fortress. She had made her duty to dust, read each book, organize them, and add more to the collection. All in all, in the few months that had passed she seemed brighter and more exuberant than before. Of course, she never failed to poke fun or talk back to Hiei when the opportunity arose and her arrogance and pride was present as ever, especially when they sparred.
They sparred on various levels, occasionally it was like before with just Koku and her song, other times it was a fist fight, and sometimes they just went at each other naturally. Sometimes he won, sometimes she won and then there were the times he should have won. These instances always came down to the end of the match, as Hiei was trying to get her to admit defeat but she somehow would turn the tables on him so she ended up victorious while he was rendered immobile due to the raging emotions inside him. Mîra called it woman's magic, Kurama called it flirting, and Hiei called it cheating. Regardless Hiei usually didn't mind when it happened, he never let her know that, because one of these days he was going to catch her up in her womanly magic and she would be the one with her breath taken away.
Hiei looked back out the window and her felt her sigh deeply and mutter something in elvish but it was incoherent. The elf had not only taken to their home with a new vigor but she was also not shy about her affection for him. She liked holding hands with him whenever they visited the human world or were sitting in proximity to each other, though he noticed she always took care not to hold his hand as much when they were around their friends. She didn't seem to mind and he appreciated her sensitivity. Still, even in the confines of the fortress he made sure not to kiss her or put himself in a position that would possibly provoke the action. The Club Incident had freaked him out and he didn't want things to spiral out of control again. The emotional aftermath was too difficult to deal with all at once.
When he had revealed this to Kurama, Yusuke, and Kuwabara after being pestered to no end, Kuwabara had found it admirable, Yusuke had laughed, and Kurama had given him some stupid human saying about how slow people win races. This, naturally, was ridiculous because Hiei was anything but slow in addition to the fact that he had never heard of anyone winning a race by being slow. Either way, the few months had allowed Hiei to get used to caring for her slightly to the point that he was somewhat better at controlling himself when his desires flared. He wasn't sure if he was okay with his newfound emotions but he was dealing with them, with Kurama's help, and life seemed to flow peacefully on.
Another hour passed by before a new sent wafted through the car. Hiei frowned as he inhaled a rather salty scent. Snarling he snapped towards the back of Kurama's head.
"Kurama! You dirty-"
"Calm down Hiei, no one will force you to do anything," Kurama's smooth voice carried over Boton's giggling.
"Remember what happened last time we came to this place?" Hiei growled, furious. Kurama would know that he was talking about how he had been literally thrown into the water by his friends against his will.
"Of course, but Yukina insisted that you come, didn't she?"
Hiei could practically see the fox's sly grin through the headrest in front of him. He felt something move around him and he looked down to see Mîra pouting more deeply now and lifting her head as she groggily asked,
"Herven, what's going on?"
"Nothing, go back to sleep Mîra," Hiei said. She scrunched her face and whimpered, bothered by the disruption.
"Vesse, relax," He said quietly into her ear, putting his arm around her and he gently ushered her back into slumber. Hiei then shot the most menacing glare to Boton he could muster, who was staring at him shocked and then giggling mischievously. He noticed Kurama's raised eyebrow in the rearview mirror and grunted as he looked back out the window, trying not to think about the torture he was going to go through not only due to their destination but also about his relationship, which seemed to be a popular topic with Yusuke and Kuwabara. Now add that he slipped up and had called Mîra his special name for her in font of one person who didn't know what a secret was, and the other who would poke fun at him in his natural, sly, smartass manner.
Technically it wasn't a special name as it was only 'wife' in elvish but after he learned that herven was 'husband' in elvish, he felt inclined to address her in a similar manner. Usually he only did so in private but it seemed to elate her and he enjoyed seeing her happy. Vesse was something, naturally, only he called her which made it special to him and he was sure it was special to her too. Although, now he could address her privately anywhere he wanted since she started teaching him her language a few months ago. He wasn't fond of the idea at first but she insisted, and so he resigned to her wishes. Hiei found it difficult at first but the learning process became easier and he could now hold a simple conversation with her easily.
At first, he didn't know what value it would have when he first began the lessons but when the oaf went off on a rant about some unimportant thing, understanding the mutterings under her breath made dealing with the high pitched annoyance that much easier. He also relished the fact that he knew something Kurama didn't. That was always a good rub in the damn fox's face.
Kurama didn't drive much longer before he pulled up next to Yusuke's car in front of a large blue and white house. Keiko's family apparently owned a timeshare and it was a little reclusive, creating a perfect environment for their unique group. Relieved, Hiei opened the door and smelled a salty freedom from the metal box. He felt Mîra stir underneath him and he shifted so she could sit up easier.
"Herven, are we there yet?" She was still pouting as she rubbed her eyes and if they were alone Hiei might have smiled. Instead, he slid out of the car and offered her his hand to help her out. She took it but the frowned, sniffing the air.
"Where are we? I have never smelled a place like this before. And there is a crashing sound off in the distance…"
She stepped out, her blue sundress ruffled by the cool breeze. Confused she looked around, pushing stray strands of hair out of her face. Her gaze settled past the large house and she gasped loudly covering her mouth, her eyes shocked. Hiei watched her as she walked forward and then burst out into a run into the sand and onto the top of a sand dune.
He began to help Kurama unload but he looked up when she began jumping up and down and yelling, "The sea! The sea! Ancestors, I'm at the sea!" Hiei stared at her amused as she continued to shout exuberantly about the sea. Suddenly she turned around and before he knew it, she had run up to him and thrown her arms around his neck. Blushing, he stood immobile as all of his friends eyes landed on them.
"The sea!" She squealed. "Thank you so much! We have to unpack quickly so I can go swimming and- oh no!" she cried. She withdrew her hug, looking as though she were about to cry and wailed, "I didn't bring any swimming garments!" Her gaze snapped on Kurama and he took a step back nervously. "Kurama," she said menacingly but Yukina stepped forward.
"Don't worry, Mîra-chan! There is a nice place near here where we can get you a bathing suit." The ice demon gave her a sweet smile and the elfs fury subsided.
"Really? Can we go today?"
"We could, if these boys would unload our things faster," Keiko said giving a side glance to Yusuke.
"You can help too!" he called back and the girls laughed. They unloaded quickly and Hiei made a point to find a room that had a balcony view of the ocean, claiming that Mîra wanted the room to Boton who burst into the room after him. Hiei like the ocean itself, he found it to be a rather rejuvenating and peaceful place. The sunsets and sunrises were especially beautiful. What he didn't like about going to the sea was the tricks his friends played on him to try and get him in the water. For some reason they could not understand that fire demons and water just don't mix.
The rest of the day moved quickly as the girls went into the small shopping area nearby to get Mîra a bathing suit while they left their men to cook dinner. Hiei lounged about on the porch overlooking the sea, keeping an eye on Yusuke's son while Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama prepared dinner. For some unknown reason, the pudgy kid seemed to like Hiei and followed his movements closely. He knew Keiko didn't approve much but Yusuke found it amusing so he was allowed to babysit. Hiei found it to be an easy task so he didn't mind, it got him out of doing things he didn't want too, like cooking. After some time, Yusuke called out to him,
"Oi, Hiei. Can you put Ryuji in his chair?"
Wordlessly, Hiei scooped up the child who giggled and tugged on the bandana covering his third eye off. The Jagan naturally opened and Hiei swatted Ryuji's finger away as he attempted to poke it and set him down at the table. Yusuke came out holding a plate of food for his son and set it in front of him.
"Frwee eyes!" Ryuji squealed as he picked up a piece of a hot dog.
"Yep, Hiei has three eyes alright," Yusuke said smiling at his son. He turned to Hiei and shrugged his shoulders, "It always seems to amaze him."
"Hn."
"Maybe that's just because Ryuji likes him and finds him fascinating. After all, how many people do you meet that have three eyes?" Kurama mused in the kitchen.
"Fascinating? It would scare the hell out of me," Kuwabara said shuddering.
"Baka, anything scares you," Hiei said glaring at the oaf.
"Eeh? Say that again runt!" Kuwabara screeched. Ryuji began to fuss at the yelling and Hiei stuck his hand out to the child, elbow propped up on the table. Ryuji took it and instantly stopped fussing, playing with Hiei's fingers.
"Getting practice, Hiei?" Yusuke asked grinning.
"Tch, the child was getting annoying," he snapped, ignoring Kurama and Kuwabara chuckling.
"Ah, it's okay Hiei. You're gonna be a dad someday, with Mîra the way she is, there's no way to avoid it." Yusuke grinned mischievously at him and Kurama joined them at the table.
Hiei frowned. What way was Mîra that would insinuate him become a dad? Hiei didn't even want to think of the possibility of him becoming a father. How the hell was he supposed to be a parent when he knew nothing about properly raising a child? Not to mention his own screwed up childhood…
"What does Mîra have to do with anything?" Hiei asked.
Yusuke looked at him incredulously. "Dude, your wife is hot. You won't be able to keep your hands off her at some point, to which she'll be bound to get knocked up."
Hiei blinked at his friend. He had just called his wife hot, which he knew was a human slag term for someone extremely attractive. Hiei didn't like Yusuke calling her hot, at all. He narrowed his eyes at Yusuke who was cleaning his son's mouth when Kurama spoke.
"Relax, Hiei. There's no need to get overprotective, it was a comment," Kurama said smoothly. Hiei glared at Kurama who smiled.
"Huh? What happened?" Yusuke asked, coming back into the conversation. At that moment Kuwabara came into the dining room and sat down.
"The barbeque is finished, and will be delicious because I the great Kazuma Kuwabara made it!"
Hiei glared at the oaf. "Now I know not to eat it."
"Eeh! Teme-"
"Shut up! You're making Ryuji fussy," Yusuke snapped. When Ryuji quieted down Yusuke turned to Hiei and from the nosy look on his face, Hiei suspected he wasn't about to like what he was going to say.
"So, Hiei, how far have you and Mîra gotten anyway?"
Hiei frowned, "Hn."
"Aw come on, Hiei. We're all guys here. Maybe we can help," Yusuke said grinning. "What base are you on?"
Hiei looked at his friend confused. "Base?"
Kuwabara busted out laughing while Yusuke chuckled at the question. Hiei looked at Kurama who explained,
"It is a reference to a baseball diamond. There is first, second, third and then home base, which is where baseball players score points. The game layout has an underlying slang meaning to refer how far someone has physically gotten in a relationship."
Hiei frowned. "I don't want to answer this question."
"Aw, come on Hiei! It's guy talk! All guys talk about their chicks at some point. How else do we get by without going crazy?" Yusuke said grinning. "Here, I'll finish explaining. First base means you have kissed, second means you've gotten handsy, if you know what I mean, third is oral, and home base is when the deal is sealed!"
Hiei stared at his friend blankly. What the hell was wrong with human males? Hiei knew sex was popular topic amongst their gender but this was ridiculous! Or maybe he was just out of touch with his sensual side for too long. Either way, it was obnoxious and embarrassing.
"Tch, I'll bet the runt hasn't gotten to first base yet, haha!" Kuwabara said annoyingly.
"Look who's talking," Hiei snapped. That shut Kuwabara up.
"Sooo?" Yusuke said, nudging his elbow towards him.
"Do tell, Hiei," Kurama said grinning. Damn fox.
"How far have you gotten?" He coolly asked, even though he suspected he already knew the answer.
"To home, of course," Kurama said smoothly, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. The other two cried out in surprise and chastised him for not telling them sooner. Hiei's diversion only lasted a few seconds as Yusuke's attention was focused back on Hiei.
He glared at him, not wanting to answer. One, Hiei didn't want to disclose his personal relationship with Mîra with them and two, his man pride would take a serious blow. Although technically…
"First," Hiei grumbled, even though it was a half lie.
"Hiei, the time the girls went clubbing doesn't count," Kurama said. Damn fox looked way too amused for his own good…
"Haha, no way it totally counts!" Yusuke said laughing. Well at least someone cared about his pride. Kurama shook his head and Kuwabara sniggered. "But anyway, Hiei, chicks love the beach. They find it to be romantic and stuff so take advantage of it," Yusuke said, smiling at him.
"Tch, what makes you think I would want too?" Hiei said and Yusuke laughed. Hiei was slightly grateful for the information, even if he didn't want to admit it.
"We're back!" Keiko's voice rang through the house and more voices followed. Sure enough, Boton, Yukina and Mîra followed her in tow. Mîra walked over to Hiei and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I think you'll like my purchase," she said winking at him.
"Hn." Hiei ignored the sudden rush of images of her in different, revealing bikinis.
She rolled her eyes at him as though she knew what he was thinking and walked over to Boton and said,
"But more importantly, we got-"
"Liquor!" The two girls shouted happily brandishing a bottle of vodka. The girls seemed to have stocked up on liquor and beer while down at the convenience store but Hiei wasn't too happy, recalling the Club Incident.
Their drinking after dinner seemed much mellower than the last time they had gotten drunk together as everyone played card games, much to Hiei's relief. Hiei wondered if it had to do with Ryuji being present but he didn't mind. A mellow atmosphere suited him better anyway. He wasn't playing cards, he thought they were stupid and the last time he played he was accused of cheating with his Jagan which had caused the game to end because no one could stop arguing. He had actually cheated but he wasn't about to let Kuwabara best him in a human game. So instead he watched the dark crashing waves out of the window.
He heard Mîra giggling and he looked over at her. Her cheeks were rosy and she was slightly more talkative than usual and Hiei assumed she was already tipsy. She caught his gaze, her eyes sparkling and a small smile meant for him on her lips. He blushed but held her gaze until she turned back to the game. His thoughts wandered back to the conversation he had earlier. She was very beautiful and he did want her to be fully his, he supposed. He wasn't having, much to his pleasure and distaste, frequent thoughts of her scantily clad for nothing after all. Still he liked just holding hands with her, it was nice and safe. Hiei was more concerned that as they progressed from 'base' to 'base,' more would be revealed about him. He didn't want her to reject him, and she had become such an integrated part of his life that he didn't know at this point if he could stand it if she did.
The game dissolved within a half hour of Ryuji going to bed and Hiei was pleased to see how much Mîra liked their room. Tipsy, she was swaying as she walked around inspecting the bed, bathroom, and balcony and Hiei chuckled to himself at her unintended charm.
"Hiei! This is so amazing! I can't wait to play in the water tomorrow!" she squealed. She spun in a circle and flopped onto the bed. He took his cloak off and set it on chair near the bed and he suddenly felt a tug on his arm. He turned to face her but she yanked on his arm and he stumbled slightly, falling down onto the bed partially on top of her. Hiei pushed himself up so he could see her face between his arms and his face flushed against the feeling of her soft, slim body against his. She giggled as she wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers intermixed with the base of his hair and her lavender eyes glinted mischievously as she stared into his nervous eyes. Hiei's mind drifted back to the bases and realized he could easily move on, if he wanted. But she was tipsy and he knew she liked to tease him mercilessly when she was inebriated. So he tried to play it cool.
"What do you want, woman?" He tried to sound annoyed but it came out the exact opposite. She smiled slyly, her soft, warm hands running down his back. He involuntary shivered and he was beginning to wonder why he was stupidly content with only hand holding when she was offering so much more.
"I think we need to sleep with the sliding door open. You're too hot," She said elvish, purring the last word. Her silky voice lusciously passed his ears and he struggled against his urge to kiss her. Lately she had been complaining his body temperature was causing their room in the fortress to be uncomfortably hot and so they had been sleeping with the window open. Something told him that this time however, she wasn't talking about his body temperature.
He breathed deeply as her hands continued to slowly move up and down his back, her gaze hypnotic. Hiei calmed his mind, deep down he knew this was just a game. Kurama had said she was teasing and flirting with him because she found it a fun way to make her affections apparent. At the last second he knew she would pull away from him, usually forcing him to take a cold shower to cool his heated heads after. She hadn't bewitched him to the point that he would fall for her trap yet so at least this time he had a chance of turning the tables.
Hiei leaned his head down to her ear and whispered in the foreign language as enticingly as he could, "Why? I like it hot." He made sure that his lips grazed her ear ever so slightly and he smirked when he felt her freeze under him. He pulled back from her arms, satisfied with the surprised look on her red face. So being forced to sit through those stupid "man movies" at Yusuke's had actually paid off, not to mention she seemed insanely attracted him when he spoke in elvish. He may not know much about women, but he had picked up a few notes about this one. Feeling quite satisfied with his victory, Hiei went over to the sliding door and cracked it open, a cool breeze greeting him. He heard her laugh and he turned to see her get up and begin to rummage through her bags.
He stripped to his usual night attire and pulled back the covers on the bed. Hiei laid down, vaguely thinking about how domesticated he had become when the lights went out. He stared at the ceiling as she slid under the covers and he glanced down as she moved up next to him, one of her arms across his chest and her head over his heart. He noticed that she had changed her earrings to the more colorful studs Yukina picked out the last time he went shopping with her and was glad she liked them. He then frowned. What was he doing? He was lying in a bed, in the human world on vacation at the beach with a woman cuddled up next to him. Kami, he was flirting earlier! He had never done that before, let alone enjoyed it.
"I need to kill something," he muttered.
"Mmm, you can kill Kuwabara tomorrow, Herven," he heard her mumble.
He smirked to himself, this woman was something else. As the crashing of the waves lulled him to sleep he couldn't help but think how much it might be worth it to have been dragged to the sea, no matter how eerily domesticated he felt. Maybe that's what happened when someone got married. After all, no matter what base he was on, he couldn't really complain with a beautiful woman in lying his arms who knew exactly what he needed.