Hiei was so glad he was past his motion sickness phase when he learned that they were going on a trip. Just a few months ago, the taxi ride alone would have been hell, not to mention the actual flight, but by now, he felt fine. It was Yukina who was having a problem. Not motion sickness, but this was to be her first plane ride, and she was terrified. Hiei was trying to be extra nice to her for that reason.

"What if the airplane falls?" she worried aloud as they walked to their gate. "What if one of the wings falls off? What if we lose an engine? What if we crash into a mountain? What if a window breaks and everyone goes hurtling into the sun? What if we're seated next to someone smelly? What if—"

"Just relax, Yukina," Hiei reassured her. "You fly once, and then you're an old pro."

"And now that Hiei's pregnant, we get to go on first," Kurama added. "Expecting moms, parents with young children, people with disabilities, and the elderly get to board first."

As they walked, Hiei noticed Kurama counting the gates, so he did, too. Every time he went to the airport, he always remembered that this was where Kurama had proposed to him—and he may not have done, if Hiei hadn't gone after him first.

"What are you thinking about?" said Kurama with a smile.

"The day I chased you down at the airport," Hiei replied. "What else?"

Yukina was completely pale by the time they reached the gate, and Hiei was still reassuring her as they lined up to get their tickets. But before the employee at the ticket counter approved them, she looked scrutinizingly at Hiei, who was dressed up as a woman again, like at Suitengu. When he was out in the human public, he usually dressed as a woman, just so he could avoid arousing suspicion.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but any more than 28 weeks along and you have to have a doctor's note to fly," she said.

"For your information, lady, I'm only 22 weeks pregnant," Hiei snapped, angry that she would dare to assume how far he was along. "So why don't you just let my husband and me on first? My sister, too."

The woman at the ticket desk didn't seem to really believe Hiei was only at 22 weeks, but at the same time, she probably realized it wasn't worth arguing with him further. So she just gave them their tickets and waved them on ahead. But just before they went through the little tunnel, Yukina stopped straight, and Hiei bumped right into her.

"I can't do it!" she cried, unshed tears glimmering in her eyes. "I can't get on. You all are going to have to go on without me."

Yukina looked so scared and upset that Hiei wrapped her up in a gentle hug without even thinking.

"You'll be okay," he promised her softly. "You have your brother with you, and I'll never leave you, not ever."

"I know I'm being silly," she mumbled, sniffling and wiping her eyes on his shirt.

"No, you're not," he told her. "I was a little scared on my first flight, too. But it's actually one of my favorite ways to travel now. Something could happen to you just crossing the street, but you don't worry about that, do you?"

"You're right." Yukina separated gently from Hiei and blinked her tears away. "I'll be brave. I don't want to miss the wedding of two of my best friends."

"That's my sister," said Hiei proudly, and the two of them got onto the plane, followed closely by Kurama. Right behind them was a family with a set of twins about six months old. "You can have the aisle seat, Yukina, so you don't have to be near the window. I'll sit in the window seat instead. I like the view."

"Honey, listen." Hiei turned around when the woman behind him tapped his shoulder. "From one mom to another, take the aisle seat this time, now that you're flying pregnant. Trust me on this one."

"Why?" said Hiei.

"How many times do you think you'll need to use the bathroom on an eight-hour flight?" she asked him, and that settled it.

"Okay," said Kurama. "I'll sit in the window seat, Yukina can be in the middle seat, and Hiei can have the aisle. Now we just have to wait for Yusuke, Keiko, and Kuwabara."

"I hope Shizuru and Botan are enjoying their stay in first-class," said Yukina.

"I'm sure they are," Kurama told her. "It was a nice little wedding gift for them, I thought."

Kurama buckled his seat belt and helped Yukina with hers, while Hiei found himself squeezing in after the two of them. The only way he could accommodate his big belly was by tilting his seat way back. Last time he'd been in a plane, his stomach had been flat, so he had no idea how to buckle his seat belt, and since Yukina was in between them, Kurama couldn't help. Finally, they had the flight attendant buckle him up, which was beyond embarrassing, and it was none too comfortable, either. Yukina was looking at him sympathetically, so at least his plight seemed to have momentarily distracted her from her fear of flying.

The three seats on the other side of the aisle were empty until Keiko, Yusuke, and Kuwabara came to fill them. Keiko stopped to hand Hiei a little pamphlet. He wanted to know what it was, and she smiled.

"I got it at the airport bookstore," she said. "It contains guidelines for flying during pregnancy."

"Thank you, Keiko," said Kurama. "What does it say, Hiei?"

"Well, it would have been nice to have something like this before we got to the airport," said Hiei. "It says the elevation can make me sort of…well, do I need to say it?"

"Poor Hiei," said Yukina. "You didn't have any particularly gassy foods before the flight, did you?"

"Is broccoli a gassy food?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Great! Just great!" Hiei set his chin in his hands. "See what you get for trying to eat healthy?"

"What else does it say?" Kurama asked.

"It says to drink plenty of fluids, and that I should take frequent walks as soon as we're free to roam about the cabin," Hiei answered. "Apparently, both increase blood flow to the womb. That seems important."

"Before we get cleared for takeoff, folks, please watch this brief safety video," came the voice of a flight attendant over the intercom. Yukina looked startled when the safety video began playing on a little screen in front of them. Far from reassuring her, the safety video seemed to only increase her fear of flying.

"I thought the whole point of an airplane is that it's supposed to stay in the air," she whimpered, as the video mentioned what to do in case of a "water landing."

"Don't worry, it will," Hiei reassured her. Knowing her grip wouldn't hurt him, he added, "Do you want to hold my hand during takeoff?"

Yukina nodded, too terrified to speak.

"Don't forget these," said Kurama, handing her some earplugs. "Sometimes when a plane takes off, it can be a little uncomfortable on your ears. These will help. You'll still be able to hear fine."

Hiei watched as his visibly trembling twin sister inserted the plugs. The good news was that unless the plane actually did crash, he was sure that just one flight would be enough to show Yukina that air travel was nothing to be afraid of. When the plane began to roll down the tarmac, Yukina gripped her brother's hand as tight as she could. Hiei, on the other hand, was excited; takeoff was his favorite part of flying. He loved how the plane went faster and faster until it was finally in the air, and it was fun to look at the ground below slowly shrinking away as they went up into the clouds.

When he and Kurama had landed in Hawaii for their first trip, it had been night there, and Hiei remembered seeing all the lights along the shore. Landing wasn't bad, either; he enjoyed watching the ground become closer again, revealing one's destination, until he felt the familiar bump-bump of the wheels on the tarmac, and then he would arrive in a whole new world. He still remembered how he had been a little nervous on his first landing, and he and Kurama held hands all the way down to the ground.

Once they were above the air in the clouds, Yukina was as pale as a ghost, but breathing.

"We're…we're still alive," she said in wonder.

"Of course," said Kurama. "You did it. Good job."

The booklet Keiko bought said that as soon as the seatbelt sign turned off, Hiei should walk up and down the aisle to get his blood moving. So when the pilot made the announcement that they were free to roam about the cabin, that was what Hiei did. Trying to get around was embarrassing nowadays because his "walk" had become a waddle, and everyone was watching him nervously, as if the slightest bump of turbulence would send him into labor.

"Oh no," said Hiei, feigning shock as he stopped short and set his hands on his belly. "I think my water just broke!"

"Don't worry!" cried one of the passengers, bolting upright. "My new boyfriend has been an esteemed doctor for twenty-five years!"

"Uh…honey?" said the man sitting next to her. "I'm actually not a doctor. I just made that doctor stuff up to impress you."

"What?! You asshole!" the woman screeched, slapping him with her purse.

"It's all right," said Hiei, pretending to wince in pain. "If you don't mind, I'll just squat down and deliver my baby right here in the aisle. I'll try not to scream too loudly."

Watching the humans freak out was truly the best entertainment Hiei had in a long time, but he finally decided to put them out of their misery.

"I was only joking, you fools," he said, with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. "Of course I'm not in labor."

"You had us frightened, ma'am!" one woman declared.

"Why?" Hiei asked.

"Because," she told him, "we thought you were going to give birth on an airplane!"

"So what?" said Hiei coolly. "When the baby comes, the baby comes, whether it's in the air or on the ground."

With that, he made his way back to his seat with as much dignity as a waddling pregnant youkai could manage, leaving the other passengers staring in his wake.

"Hiei, what was that?" said Kurama dryly, once Hiei had settled back down.

"Hilarious," Yusuke provided, from across the aisle. Hiei grinned.

…

Hours into the flight, things were not going so well for Hiei. The elevation caused some very embarrassing bodily functions to occur, just as Keiko's pregnancy booklet warned, and it was likely only Kurama's release of sweet-smelling rose petals into the cabin that prevented the rest of the passengers from dying of asphyxiation. Hiei had to use the bathroom every half an hour, mostly because the booklet said it was important for him to drink fluids on the flight. And when he wasn't drinking a lot of water, using the bathroom, walking up and down the aisle, or gassing the other passengers, he was sitting in his seat, bitching about how much it sucked to be pregnant, especially when you were on an airplane.

Kurama wasn't surprised to find that the in-flight dinner was less than stellar—what more could he really expect from airline food? Yukina was slowly getting over her fear of flying, and she seemed to enjoy the meal. Hiei bought some potato chips and gobbled them all up before you could say "salt," and then he plowed his way through the lasagna (at least, that was what the airline claimed it was), and gulped down three glasses of water. Then he needed to go to the bathroom again.

Around the five-hour mark on the eight-hour flight, Yukina was asleep with her head on Kurama's shoulder, Yusuke and Kuwabara were watching the in-flight movie, and Keiko was immersed in a book. There had been some slight turbulence, but luckily, not enough to wake Yukina up. Kurama was looking out the window at the vast ocean, but he was soon interrupted by Hiei.

"Yusuke!" Hiei hissed, trying to get the attention of the former Spirit Detective in the aisle seat across from him, but Yusuke's eyes were locked on the screen. "Yusuke!"

"What do you need, Hiei?" Kurama whispered.

"I need to take a piss! Real bad!"

"The seatbelt sign is on," Kurama pointed out. "Because of the turbulence."

"That was why I was hoping Yusuke could give me his empty soda bottle." Hiei pointed at the giant jug of soda Yusuke had bought at the airport. By the five-hour mark, he'd finished it all.

"You can't do that in front of Yukina," Kurama scolded.

"I'm not. She's asleep."

"Well…"

The plane jolted with turbulence again, and Hiei had tears in his eyes. "Come on, Kurama, I'm dying here!"

"Fine," said Kurama. "Just make sure you ask Yusuke if it's all right first."

…

Hiei finally managed to get Yusuke's attention during a romantic scene of the movie, which he didn't seem to find too interesting (Kuwabara was utterly enraptured, mostly due to the fact that the scene involved one of the main characters giving his girlfriend a kitten as a present). Luckily, Yusuke passed him the bottle without protest.

"I loathe mammals," Hiei declared, referring to the kitten onscreen.

"Hiei, you're a mammal," Keiko pointed out.

"What are you talking about?"

"You have four limbs, you have hair, you're growing breasts, and you're going to give live birth," Kurama agreed. "She's right. You're a mammal."

"Whatever," said Hiei. What he had to do now was position the bottle, and himself, correctly so that he wouldn't miss and end up peeing all over the floor instead. And then there was the added difficulty of pants that didn't have a fly, with a pregnant belly and an airport seatbelt in the way, all the while being discreet. It wasn't easy, but relief came in the form of a river. When he was done, he screwed the cap back on the bottle and set it on the tray. "Let's hope the turbulence is over by the next time I have to go."

"As soon as the seatbelt sign is off, you're going to go dump that in the toilet," Kurama told him, but then he dropped his voice to a whisper. "And I'll meet you there."

"But I don't need—oh." Hiei's eyes went wide as he realized what Kurama meant. The list of kinky stuff they tried was growing longer every day.

Kurama grinned and leaned his head against the window, then shut his eyes. Hiei wanted to go to sleep, too, so that the turbulence would be over faster. So he set his head down on his arms and was just starting to doze off when he awoke to Yukina's voice.

"Ooh, lemonade, my favorite!" she was saying happily.

Hiei's eyes snapped open, and he grabbed her arm. "Yukina, don't drink that!"

"Why ever not?" Yukina's eyes were wide and innocent, and Hiei winced as she touched the bottle. "Wait a minute, why is it warm?"

"Hiei likes his lemonade warm, so he used heat energy to warm it up," Kurama supplied quickly. Hiei thanked his husband with his eyes, and he nodded.

"Oh, so it's yours, then," she said finally. "Okay."

By the time the seatbelt sign got turned off, Hiei had to go again, and he ignored Yukina's strange look when he took the bottle with him. Kurama winked, reminding Hiei that after he was done in the bathroom, he should stay there—which was what he did. By the time he finally heard someone knocking, he had taken all his clothes off, and he was completely erect just at the thought of Kurama's hands on his naked body. When he heard that knock, he quickly grabbed his shirt and set it over his lap, so that Kurama could peel it back like a Christmas present.

"Come in," Hiei called.

"I've been waiting for you, baby," said Kurama, his voice deep and alluring, as he entered the bathroom.

"And I'm worth the wait," Hiei replied, striking the sexiest pose he could while pregnant and sitting on the toilet.

"You're quite impatient, I see," Kurama replied, nodding down at the button-down on Hiei's lap, which of course covered absolutely zilch. "Perhaps we should satisfy your lust."

"My lust…" Hiei breathed out quickly as Kurama knelt down in front of the toilet, removed the shirt, and set both hands on Hiei's knees, slowly spreading them apart. Hiei couldn't see Kurama's head in between his legs, due to his belly, but the thought alone was so arousing that he wondered if he was going to orgasm right then and there. When he felt a warm, wet tongue caressing the underside of his dick, he let out a long, loud moan of satisfaction.

"Shh," Kurama whispered, his tongue momentarily abandoning Hiei's dick. "We're in a public place. We have to be quiet."

Hiei didn't want to get caught, but just the fact that they could get caught somehow made this even sexier. Not only that, but he tended to be noisy when he was being pleasured, and if he wasn't allowed to make any sound, there wasn't much of an outlet for him to express how he felt. Keeping it all to himself posed an intriguing (and arousing) challenge.

Kurama's tongue returned to where it should be, on Hiei's dick, softly massaging the large, erect organ, swiping across his balls just so and then all the way up to the tip, tickling him in all the right places. Hiei grabbed onto Kurama's hair, his toes curling, limbs stiffening, as he tried as hard as he could to keep quiet. Did heavy breathing count as making noise?

"I brought a little something I figured we might need," Kurama added, his voice still low. Hiei watched as he pulled their favorite lube out of his pocket. "Is someone's ass hungry tonight?"

Hiei sighed as Kurama spread lube all over his opening, then gently inserted two of his fingers. Hiei couldn't help it; as soon as Kurama's soft fingers made contact with his sensitive prostate, he cried out plainly and loudly, one yelp of pure delight.

"I told you, shh," Kurama insisted, but Hiei could barely even handle the feeling when he was free to make noise, much less when he couldn't.

Kurama fondled Hiei's dick with one hand, while he stuck a third finger up his ass. Hiei was quite sweaty, breathing like a fat person who had just run a marathon, feeling overheated. One hand was on his belly to keep balance while the other clung to the sink with a death grip. As per usual, Hiei's nipples were the perkiest they'd ever been. When Kurama started to fondle one of them, he felt a little milk leaking out, but he didn't care, because having his nipples touched like that just felt so good. It felt even better when Kurama's tongue playfully licked the milk away.

Soon after that, Kurama's mouth was dutifully devoted to Hiei's boobs; Hiei gave his dick a few quick jerks, then set both hands on Kurama's face. Kurama still had one hand occupied with Hiei's ass and the other fondling his boobs, so that neither of them could hold their moans in any longer as they started to kiss. Hiei removed one of his hands from Kurama's face and gave him a hand job through his pants, until Kurama unzipped his pants and let Hiei do it the right way.

Hiei sat on Kurama's lap on the toilet with Kurama's fingers inside Hiei's ass and on his boobs, while Hiei gave Kurama a hand job. It was only when they both felt they were close to reaching orgasm that Kurama whispered, "Is it time, Hiei?"

"Yes," Hiei hissed. "Yes, it's time."

The airport bathroom was tiny, so Hiei stood up, hanging onto the sink, while Kurama did him from behind. The position was nice for Hiei because it took a load off his back, and it was nice for Kurama because there was a great access to the entrance of Hiei's ass. By now, Kurama wasn't even telling Hiei to stop his cries of pleasure. One of Kurama's hands fondled his dick, the other still massaging his nipples, causing the wonderful feeling to overwhelm him until he finally blew his load, the warm, sticky liquid leaking onto the floor and down his legs. Kurama did the same not much later, except most of his seed ended up inside Hiei. It was nice that for the duration of the pregnancy, they didn't have to worry about contraception.

"I love you so much, Hiei," said Kurama softly, taking his beloved husband into his arms, however sticky his body was.

"I love you too, Kura—"

But unfortunately, Hiei's declaration of love was cut off with some of the most embarrassing bodily functions in the world. Not just the release of loud, horrible-smelling gas, but also the realization that, well…Hiei was just lucky to already be in a bathroom. Even though he had gotten up to pee countless times during the flight, this was the first time he'd had to do anything more than that. But that airline food wanted out, and it wanted out now. Thank goodness Kurama hadn't taken off his clothes, unlike Hiei, and all he needed to do was zip up his pants.

"I'm guessing I should leave now." Kurama's eyes were watering, and his nose was twitching.

Hiei didn't answer, just shoved Kurama out the door and slammed it shut. Once he had done his business and cleaned up a little, he got dressed again and made his way back to his seat. The sex had been fun, but he was ashamed that the encounter had ended the way it had. Why did his body have to be so revolting? Kurama would probably never want to do it again! The fox-demon smiled sympathetically when Hiei got back, but neither of them said much until about an hour later, when Yukina went to the bathroom.

"Feeling any better, Hiei?" said Kurama in a gentle voice.

"No." Hiei felt tears in his eyes. "I feel disgusting."

"Honey, you're pregnant." Kurama unbuckled his seatbelt and moved into Yukina's middle seat, so he could be close to Hiei. "Not every side effect of pregnancy is glamorous. I understand that, and I'm okay with it. I just wish you were, too."

"Easy for you to say," said Hiei. "You're not the pregnant one."

"Exactly, Hiei, I'm not," Kurama replied, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "You're the one doing all the hard work. If anyone is rude to you about it, they're the disgusting one, not you. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Really."

Hiei was spared the trouble of coming up with an answer by the sight of Yukina returning from the bathroom. Her usually-pale cheeks were pink, as if she'd just stepped out of the shower, and she seemed a little dizzy.

"Are you all right, Yukina?" Kurama asked.

"Um…yes." Yukina blinked. "But there was no toilet paper in that bathroom."

"Don't look at me," said Hiei. "I just used the baby wipes Kurama left in—"

Kurama elbowed Hiei in the side, and he caught himself just in time.

"In my carry-on bag," he finished. "Kurama left some baby wipes in my carry-on bag, and I brought them into the bathroom."

Yukina's face turned a slightly deeper shade of red, and Hiei hoped she hadn't figured out the real reason why Kurama had left baby wipes, but then, why would she? Why wouldn't Kurama give Hiei some baby wipes before they left? Hiei wasn't surprised that the airport bathroom was out of toilet paper, because he had used the remainder of it, but Yukina looked concerned.

"It was just like being at the Dark Tournament," she continued with a shudder, as Kurama got out of her seat and returned to his own. "I asked one of the spectators where the bathroom was, and he just laughed. I didn't know why until Botan told me I had to go outside. Luckily, Keiko had some baby wipes in her purse."

"So you didn't have to use leaves, then," said Hiei, trying to cheer her up, but she just made a sick face.

"Where I come from," she said, "you're never too far from a clean toilet and a well-stocked toilet paper roll."

"Welcome to the world of men," said Yusuke, watching them from across the aisle.

"Just a word of warning, Yukina," Keiko added. "If you're leaving an all-female society to live in our world, you're going to have to lower your standards in some ways."

"I haven't been married to Kazuma for very long," she said with a shrug. "I suppose I thought all of Ningenkai would be like living with Genkai. But I suppose Genkai was cut off from the rest of society in a similar way."

As a way to pass time, Kurama played a word game with Hiei and Yukina, until finally they heard the announcement that the plane was landing and if they were out of their seats, they needed to get back into them.

"Oh no," said Yukina, grabbing Hiei's hand again.

"Don't worry, the pilot knows how to land the plane," said Hiei. "When you land, it's not a crash, just a few bumps."

Hiei loved takeoff and landing the most, because now that he wasn't in his first trimester, he was back to loving the feeling of being in motion. Yukina squeezed his hand extremely tight until they landed.

"We made it!" she said with a gasp, as the plane came to a stop.

"See, that wasn't so hard," Hiei said as he unbuckled his seatbelt. The plane making contact with the ground again caused him to have to use the bathroom again, but they couldn't leave, because there was a huge crowd of people on the plane. They had to wait until the aisle cleared out, so as soon as they were off the plane, Hiei announced that he was going to look for a bathroom. Luckily, a cart for mobility-impaired passengers stopped to pick him up, and off they went.

"I'll meet you at the baggage claim," said Kurama, and went to take Yukina there himself.

…

Kurama had been flying for many years, since he and Shiori went on vacations ever since he was a very small human child. Waiting for his luggage was basically routine for him, but now that the flight was over, Yukina seemed fascinated by everything at the airport, from the moving sidewalk to all the different little shops and fast-food places, and she wanted to see who would spot their luggage first, her or Kurama. Kurama saw it first, but he pretended to look the other way until she happily shrieked that their luggage was here—as if it wasn't going to show up all along.

They also met up with the rest of the gang there. Shizuru and Botan looked refreshed from being in first class, and since first-class passengers had their own bathroom, Kurama wondered if they hadn't enjoyed the Mile-High Club, too. Hiei came waddling back from the bathroom not long after, and they were about to take the next step (getting a rental car) when Yukina pulled Hiei and Kurama aside. Her face was as red as ketchup.

"I waited until the plane touched down, because I didn't want to embarrass you in front of everyone else," she said. "But I found something of yours in the bathroom, Hiei, and I thought you might want it back…"

Kurama's stomach dropped. Glancing over at Hiei, he could tell that his husband felt the exact same way. Yukina pulled an all-too-familiar-looking black bra out of her jacket pocket, blushing all the way up to the roots of her mint-green hair.

"This…this is yours, isn't it, Hiei?" she asked uncertainly, dangling it in front of them. "I figured as much, because it has milk stains on it, and you were in there for quite a while…so I just…I thought…"

Hiei looked like his legs were about to collapse underneath him, and he seemed to have lost the ability to speak. Kurama reached out and took the bra, trying to sound as matter-of-fact as possible when he said, "Yes, it's Hiei's. Thank you, Yukina."

"I've only needed to wear a bra for a couple of months!" Hiei blurted. In contrast to Kurama's trademark unwavering calm, he seemed on the verge of a breakdown due to the humiliation. "I don't always remember to put it on when I get dressed!"

"You'll start remembering soon, Hiei," Yukina said, clearly trying to reassure him. "By the way…I think you should put it on again soon. You…you sort of picked the wrong day to wear a white shirt."

Kurama looked at Hiei's shirt, and to be honest, he wasn't sure how he hadn't noticed earlier. The shirt was see-through without the bra, and there were milk stains on it, too. The shirt protected Hiei from a lot, it seemed.

"Hey, guys!" Shizuru called over from baggage claim. "Are you coming or what? We need to get to car rental."

Yukina nodded at them and left. As the expecting couple followed, Kurama muttered in Hiei's ear, "See? Now you have something to be embarrassed about."

…

Hiei was quite exhausted by the time they got to the hotel, but he was too uncomfortable to sleep. They found a bellhop to help them with their luggage soon enough; Keiko and Kurama both immediately began conversing with him in English, as if they'd been speaking the language all their lives. Hiei noticed, upon looking up, that the lobby was open to the sky.

"What do you do if it rains?" Hiei asked. "Or snows?"

The man looked blankly at Hiei. Kurama spoke with him a little more, then translated. "It doesn't snow in Hawaii, Hiei, and when it rains, they just…let it rain."

As the bellhop escorted them to their rooms, Hiei began to get more and more irritated that he couldn't understand their words. Shizuru and Botan were escorted to their bridal suite by another man, and the rest of the gang went with his coworker. Yukina, Kuwabara, Yusuke, and Keiko were sharing two connected rooms, so the bellhop dropped them off first. Kurama and Hiei were in a room across the hall.

Kurama, like Keiko, seemed to be fluent in English, but he wasn't translating enough for Hiei to keep up. Besides that, Hiei was also hungry, he needed to use the bathroom again, he was tired, he was feeling left out, and he didn't want to be upset, so before he knew it, he felt his anger bubbling up to the surface.

"Speak Japanese, Kurama!" he snapped, stomping his foot. "I mean it!"

Neither the bellhop nor Kurama said anything at all. They just stared at Hiei in shock.

Hiei instantly regretted his outburst, and when he realized there were tears in his eyes, he turned his face away from them in shame. Cravings and body changes, though difficult to accept, were things Hiei knew he was just going to have to tolerate. But somehow, it was a lot harder to come to terms with his pregnancy-related mood swings. Try as he might, he couldn't always control them. It was as if someone was messing with his emotional thermostat, and he didn't have a thing to say about it.

Kurama began speaking rapidly in English to the bellhop, who nodded solemnly. Hiei was fighting extremely hard to keep his tears from falling. He knew perfectly well that Kurama was explaining his behavior. That made Hiei feel the worst of all; it was embarrassing that Kurama felt he had to explain him, as if he was a child.

"The bellhop says he's sorry, love," said Kurama softly, setting one hand on Hiei's shoulder, "and that some of the employees at the hotel speak Japanese. Plus, there are a lot of other tourists from Japan. Don't you remember from last time?"

Hiei didn't remember anything at the moment. All he wanted was to get inside the room.

Kurama tipped the bellhop with some American money, then nudged his husband inside. Hiei's first stop was the bathroom, and then he got some potato chips from the minibar, but as soon as he was done with that, he collapsed onto the bed without even bothering to take off the comforter and all the extra pillows.

"Don't you want to put on your pajamas, honey?" Kurama asked as he sat down on the bed.

"Too tired," Hiei mumbled.

"Do you need a hug, Hiei?" Kurama asked softly, running his hand through Hiei's hair.

Normally, Hiei would have said No way, but right now he just craved touch. So he reached out his arms, somehow able to trust that Kurama would reciprocate.

"I'm sorry, Kurama," Hiei said finally. "I didn't mean to…you know, get so upset. It's just that sometimes the baby makes me feel like…"

"Like you're not in control of your emotions?"

"Basically."

"That can't be easy for you," Kurama murmured, his lips in Hiei's hair. "But you don't have to feel sorry. You have a right to your feelings. They don't make you weak; they make you real. Demons, you know…we have feelings, just like humans do, even if we like to pretend we don't."

The baby was in between them, and, as always when it came to Kurama, he was kicking very hard.

"Can you feel it, Kurama?" said Hiei, his voice quiet.

"Yes, I can." Kurama was smiling, his eyes closed.

"That's your little boy in there," Hiei told him, snuggling closer. "He's growing from the seed you planted inside me."

"And I don't plant my seeds in just anyone," said Kurama. "If anyone was ever going to have my baby, it's you."

Kurama set one hand flat on Hiei's belly, and it kicked right where he had his hand. Hiei set his hand on top of Kurama's, and they linked their other hands together. The kicks soothed Hiei's frazzled nerves, and calm once more, the couple fell asleep in each other's arms.

…

The next day dawned sunny, typical of Hawaii. Jet lag made everyone sleep in a little, but Kurama eventually got a call from Shizuru on their hotel phone.

"I finally got Botan up," she said. "How about meeting us down in the lobby at one?"

Kurama looked at the clock. It was almost noon.

"Sure," he agreed. "We can manage that."

It wasn't easy to wake Hiei, and Kurama could only get him out of bed by promising him that they could shower together. As usual, whenever they showered together, they couldn't keep their hands off each other, and they ended up having sex again, which made them a little late. The rest of the gang was already waiting for them in the lobby by the time they finished.

"Sorry about that," said Hiei, using their planned excuse. "I didn't feel like getting out of bed."

"Yes, he was very difficult to awaken," Kurama added. "So what are the plans for today?"

"Well, the first thing on our itinerary is visiting the Honolulu Zoo," said Keiko, looking down at a brochure she was holding.

"What's a zoo?" Yukina asked.

"It's a big place where wild animals live, and people can come to look at them," Yusuke explained, showing her the pamphlet. "See?"

"Oh, no, I couldn't!" Yukina looked horrified when she saw the pictures. "Why would anyone capture poor innocent animals and make them live in cages for the rest of their lives?!"

"I think most of them are actually bred in captivity, Yukina," Keiko started to say, but it was too late.

When Kuwabara saw that Yukina's eyes were filling with tears, he instantly rushed to defend her. "Back off, Urameshi! Don't you remember how she was caged up just like those animals? Why do you keep reminding her of stuff she's trying to forget?!"

"Relax, everyone, we don't need to go to the zoo," said Keiko. "We'll just skip to the next activity."

"Can we go in the water?" Hiei asked, raising his hand. "I've heard it'll take some of this extra weight off me."

"We'll all need to change into our bathing suits," Kurama pointed out.

"I wouldn't mind that," said Hiei.

"All right," said Botan. "Beach or pool?"

"Pool," said Hiei instantly. "I want to go in the hot tub."

…

As soon as he and Hiei got up to the room again, Kurama put on red swim trunks, and Hiei dressed in the swimming outfit he and Kurama had agreed upon earlier—a women's two-piece, with swim trunks and a swimming shirt over it. Then they walked down to the pool, where they met up again with everyone else. Hiei wondered, as he always did these days, if people actually believed he was pregnant, or if he was just fat. It was a lot easier back when he wasn't showing. But he didn't say anything, because if he had to hear Kurama lecturing him on self-love one more time, he was going to scream.

Keiko was already swimming laps in the big pool when Hiei and Kurama got there. Yukina was relaxing by the side, where she had obviously turned the water much colder, watching Yusuke and Kuwabara have a splash fight. Shizuru and Botan were in the hot tub, and as soon as Hiei joined them, he groaned with relief. It did indeed feel as though all the weight was suddenly gone. For the first time in what felt like forever, there was no strain on his back, hips, or feet. And when he used his powers to make the water even hotter, he felt as if it was relaxing every single muscle in his body. Being pregnant was tough to begin with, but it was even tougher if you were smaller in stature, like Hiei.

"That must feel good," said Kurama, smiling as he lowered himself into the water.

"I'm never leaving," Hiei replied serenely, shutting all three of his eyes (the Jagan was hidden by a waterproof sweatband). "If you like this water so much, baby, you just might end up being a fire demon like me."

"That's so sweet," said Botan, giving them a smile. "You know, Shizuru and I were on the fence about having a child for quite a long time, but Hiei, you've convinced us that we really should have one."

"Oh, really?" Kurama looked interested. "Right now, or later?"

"Now," Shizuru replied. "Botan is going to be the one to have the baby."

"Have you found a sperm donor?" Kurama asked.

"We've decided we want a demon father," said Botan. "So I've contacted Koenma about that."

"You're forgetting two things," Hiei told her. "One, Koenma's not a demon, and two, you work for him."

"I didn't mean I want him as the sperm donor!" said Botan, horrified.

"Then why do you need him at all?" said Hiei. "Just go to Makai and find a man yourself."

"Hiei," said Kurama, "when two women want a baby in Ningenkai, they don't do it that way. If they don't adopt, they conceive the baby in a lab and insert it into one of the women, and if it implants successfully, it will grow just like any other baby. Opposite-sex couples can do this, too, if they're having trouble conceiving naturally."

"So you're saying that, in Makai, if a lesbian couple wants a child, one of the women will just keep having sex with random men until she gets pregnant?" said Shizuru incredulously.

"Oh, they're not random," said Hiei. "They're the cream of the crop. He has to be the type of demon she wants the baby to be, of course, and obviously he can't be weak or sickly in any way. She'll pick the genetically superior man and breed with him, and then go back to her true love once she's pregnant. I'm not saying it's a good thing to pick your partners based on their genes, but I guess it's different when there are no other factors to consider."

"Isn't that a little…cruel?" said Shizuru. "Just leaving him like that?"

"If he's willing to have sex with someone he barely knows, he's probably not the commitment type, so telling him about the pregnancy is usually enough to make him want to leave on his own," Hiei explained. "But because of the way two women have children in our world, you most likely won't find a donor unless he actually gets to sleep with one of you."

Shizuru cursed softly, and Botan said, "Now, now, there are young ears here!"

"Yes, very young, and he can hear you," Hiei added.

"Um, listen, Hiei…" Botan suddenly looked nervous, and her cheeks were a little pink. "Can I feel your belly?"

Hiei felt a little jump in his stomach. Except for Kurama, Yukina, and Shiori, nobody had felt the baby so far, so he was a little nervous, too. But he was in a good enough mood that he agreed. Botan set both hands square on Hiei's belly, and she squealed when she felt the kicks. By now, they were nice and strong.

"Oh, how magical!" she gushed. "I'm just going to love being pregnant!"

"I wouldn't go that far," Hiei warned.

"Giving life to your child is still a big deal, though," said Shizuru. "You get to be closer to the baby than anyone else, and I feel like when you're not the one giving birth, there's just so much you're missing out on. Even though it does have its drawbacks, I would still do it."

"So why is Botan having the baby?" Hiei asked.

"Because…" Shizuru shrugged. "Because I can't. We went to the doctor the other day, and after all those years of smoking…it's just not going to happen."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Shizuru," said Kurama, and everyone else nodded.

"On the bright side, it finally convinced me to quit smoking," said Shizuru. "Plus, I know smoking would make the baby sick."

"Well, I just hope you find a donor," said Hiei, despite thinking that the odds of this happening the human way were astronomically small.

Eventually, Hiei did agree to get out of the hot tub, but only because he got hungry. They all took showers to get the chlorine out of their hair and skin, and had a delicious lunch at a hamburger restaurant. After that, Kurama drove the car around a mountain to sightsee. Despite having been to Hawaii before, there was so much to see the second time around. Hiei was glad for the trip, and he was sure he wasn't the only one.

…

The next day was different. They had breakfast at the delicious breakfast buffet, and even though Hiei was turned off by all the fruit, Kurama showed him the whole variety, and Hiei proclaimed that the salty hash browns were to die for. He also fell in love with the sausages, and since the buffet was an "all-you-can-eat," he had multiple plates of food.

"Are you sure you've got enough food there, Hiei?" Yusuke joked, as Hiei wolfed down yet another plate of breakfast. Hiei didn't even answer.

Later, they went swimming in the ocean, and Kuwabara cut his hand painfully on some coral. Luckily, Yukina was able to heal it effortlessly. Although she still had a ways to go on her healing powers, and she wouldn't be a lot of help with a major injury yet, it was easy for her to heal basic cuts, bumps, and bruises. Unfortunately, it was Yukina who truly suffered that day. Kurama was just making his way a little farther out into the ocean when he heard a horrible scream.

"Yukina!" Hiei shouted, trying to get to her, but the weight of the baby threw him off balance and he would have fallen if Kurama hadn't caught him. Yukina was still screaming when they got over to her. The rest of the squad was already there.

"What is it, Yukina?" Shizuru's eyes were full of concern.

"Ow, ow, ow!" she cried, tears in her eyes. "Something stung my leg! Owww!"

"It might have been a jellyfish," said Kurama. "Can you please show me your leg, Yukina?"

Still whimpering in pain, Yukina held up the side of her shin. It looked awful. Kurama could tell it was a jellyfish sting for sure. There were even some stingers left stuck to her skin.

"I'll be able to fix that up in no time," he promised, displaying the calm that, though advantageous in battle, was a product of his medical training. "Let's get you back to the hotel, all right?"

"I can't walk!" she wailed.

"There's only one thing to do, Yukina," said Yusuke. "You're gonna have to pee on it."

"What?!" she shrieked. "Gross!"

"Yusuke, that's not true," Kurama scolded.

"Oh, I know why he thinks that," said Hiei, and gave his friend an evil smirk. "I didn't know you watched Love and Lust, Yusuke."

"My mom used to binge it in the evenings when she wasn't out drinking," Yusuke admitted. "It's a load of crap. It seems like Hiei is the real fan here."

"You can't watch just one!" said Hiei defensively. "Especially when you're sitting home knocked up all day."

"Liking soap operas is nothing to be ashamed of, Hiei," said Botan with a smile. "In fact, Love and Lust is one of my favorite shows. I have all the episodes on tape."

"Are you all forgetting something?!" Yukina screeched. "We really need to get back to the hotel! This is killing me!"

"Yusuke, Kuwabara, you get Yukina to the hotel, and bring Botan and Shizuru with you," Kurama told them. "Keep her comfortable until Hiei and I catch up."

When they did get back to the hotel, Kurama treated Yukina's wound—giving her an anesthetic, removing the stingers, using topical creams to help it heal faster, and making sure there wouldn't be any scarring.

"You would have been a good healer, Kurama," Hiei commented. Both he and Kuwabara had been holding Yukina's hands all throughout her treatment. "But then again, if you'd never left home, we never would have met."

"Oh, I think we would have found each other anyway," Kurama said, a little flirtatiously.

"Will you guys stop?" said Kuwabara. "You're making me sick."

"You're the one who's always going on about soul mates," Hiei pointed out.

"It doesn't matter." Yukina smiled. "I feel so much better now, and it was because everyone helped. Thank you so much."

…

Their itinerary for the third day worked out fine. In the morning, the ninshinsu was bothering Hiei and although he knew it was normal, he was convinced that a soak in the hot tub would help. Yukina needed to soak her leg, so she went in the hot tub with him.

"I guess we're both in pain, huh?" said Hiei finally, although the hot water did help a bit with his cramping womb.

"The sting has gotten a lot better since Kurama took care of it," Yukina replied.

"Which is more painful, do you suppose?" Hiei asked her. "Giving birth, or getting stung by a jellyfish?"

"That was the worst pain I've ever been in, but I've never given birth, so I can't make a comparison like that," she said. "I decided not to have a baby when I reached my one-hundredth birthday. Since I wasn't living in the ice village anymore and I wasn't married, I didn't feel ready to have a child. I was about to go through with it anyway, because I thought I only have the chance every one-hundred years, but then Keiko told me I could wait, because with human science, I could have a child any time I wanted."

"Shizuru and Botan were talking about that yesterday," Hiei told her. "Some doctor conceives a baby in a lab, and they put it inside the mom."

"Wait." Yukina's head turned to face Hiei so fast, he was afraid she might snap her neck. "Botan and Shizuru are having a baby?!"

"Not so fast," said Hiei. "They're just considering it. They're finding a suitable father, then Botan is going to get pregnant. The father doesn't help raise the baby, though. He just contributes his DNA, and then Botan and Shizuru will raise the baby." He paused. "But…why did you bring it up? Are you planning on becoming a mom?"

"I don't know." Yukina shrugged. "We've talked about it, but it's a huge decision. And most of my kind don't have their babies this way."

"It does seem a little strange for a Koorime woman to fall in love with a man," Hiei teased her. "But that didn't stop you, did it?"

"No, nor our mother." Yukina returned his smile, then, out of the blue, she asked, "What do you think our father is like?"

"Is?" said Hiei. "You think he's still alive?"

"I do."

"How can you be sure?"

"Everyone thought my brother was dead, too," Yukina pointed out. "But here he is, right next to me. I choose to believe that our father is alive, and looking for us."

"Why would he be looking for us?" said Hiei sharply. "Is he not the man who left our mother once she got pregnant, so she had to give birth in the ice village? Instead of marrying her, he left us, abandoning our mother and his two children. What happened to us is all his fault. I hate him."

The words poured out of Hiei like venom, and Yukina looked sad.

"They say the sons of ice maidens, rare as they are, take after their fathers," Hiei grumbled. "So I guess that means he's like me. Violent, a criminal, angry…"

"I suppose we'll never know," said Yukina. "You might call me naïve, but I don't see it that way. Maybe she was still sneaking out to see him at night. Rui said she had no idea our mother was sleeping with a man until the babies were born. Or maybe it was a mutual decision. There might be more to the story than we know, that's all. Or maybe less."

"So it was the love story that was never finished." Hiei snorted. "Right."

…

The next day, Wednesday, was the first day of Hiei's twenty-third week of pregnancy. Kurama was the one who remembered first, and he brought it up that morning as they lay in each other's arms, the beautiful Hawaiian sun pouring through the windows.

"You're halfway through your sixth month of pregnancy today, Hiei," he said, kissing his husband on the forehead.

"I know." Hiei smiled excitedly. "That means I have only seventeen weeks left to go."

"If he comes on time."

"Why wouldn't he come on time?"

"Well, you never know," said Kurama. "Babies come when they want to. And the doctor said that it's not as easy to predict when elemental babies will come as it is for human babies. They still use the official forty-week prediction, but it's normal for pregnancies to be a little longer or shorter."

"Yeah, I remember," said Hiei. "But I do have some plans for the birth. I know you and the doctor wanted me to think about it."

"That's wonderful, Hiei," said Kurama, cuddling him. "What's the plan?"

"It's more like an outline, but I want to do it the way I would if I was still in Makai," Hiei explained. "Demons are supposed to give birth wherever they feel most comfortable, right? For me, that's the Green Forest of Makai."

"You've been to the Green Forest?" said Kurama. "That was a part of Yomi's territory. The youko villages are not far from there. I learned to use my powers in those woods."

"Some of it was in Mukuro's territory, too, which was where Shigure lived, and after I'd been in it, I never wanted to leave," said Hiei. "It was the only place where I really wanted to stay—where I didn't feel so…nomadic, you know? Being among the trees has always given me peace. That's why I think it would be a good place to give birth. Just you, me, and the baby. I'll catch him as he comes out."

"Do you have any ideas for pain management, honey?" Kurama asked gently. "Without medicine, it may get very painful."

"I don't have to think of everything right now," said Hiei.

"That's right, you don't." Kurama gave Hiei another kiss, this time on the cheek. "When we get home, the doctor can help us get a more solid birth plan down in writing, but you've done such a great job already."

Hiei said no more, but he smiled. Since he wasn't wearing anything but his undershorts, Kurama set his hands on his husband's warm, soft baby bump, knowing he would never tire of the kicks.