Jen came awake slowly to the sensation of fingers stroking her hair. She smiled softly with her eyes still closed as she cuddled into the chest of a very warm fire demon. "I see you are finally awake," he said, his deep voice rumbling through his chest and sending shivers over her.

She opened her eyes to look at Hiei, who was on his back, looking down at her with an arm wrapped around her. He continued to stroke her hair idly and Jen couldn't help but take in his appearance for the hundreth time.

His angular features seemed different this morning, the softness of his face a pleasant change to the usual hardness. His muscles rippled as she swept her gaze over a well-defined chest. Broad shoulders swept down to powerful arms that could protect, comfort, and destroy everything in their path.

His eyes were what held her captive the most though. The crimson red of his eyes seemed to nearly glow as he looked down at her. Jen had learned over the past few months that it was his eyes that were often the only marker of emotion. It seemed like his eyes shifted in the slightest shades of red depending on how he was feeling.

Hiei wasn't exactly pretty. He held a dark handsomeness to him that was lethal; Deadly. It reminded her of the beauty of a predatory animal, like a panther. Sleek and inviting, part of you yearned to reach out and touch it. To know what its fur would feel like under your fingers, but a more logical side reminded you that it was just as likely to tear you apart as it was to accept your touch.

Yet here she was, enveloped in her fire demon's presence as he allowed her to touch his cheek softly. There was something that seemed different about him, like he had accepted that they were together; That she was his and he was hers. It was odd and uncharacteristic for him, but she wasn't about to complain. Perhaps he was learning what it was to care and be cared for.

He arched a brow as their eyes remained locked. "What are you so deep in thought about," he said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

She sat up and stretched a little before turning back to him, leaning over him. "You."

Eyebrows lifted slightly as his eyes widened just a little. "Me?"

Jen touched her nose to his. "Is there anyone else here that I could be talking to?"

He snorted as humor danced in his eyes. "For all I know, you could have an imaginary friend that you are talking to."

Jen laughed quietly as she kissed him lightly. "Well, incase you didn't know, Mr. Wiggles isn't here and the only one I am talking to is the sexy fire demon who is laying under me."

He wrinked his nose in a frown. "I don't know what I should be more concerned about. This 'Mr. Wiggles' or the fact that you just called me 'sexy.'"

Jen laughed again as his arms came up around her to stroke her back. "Didn't you have an imaginary friend growing up?"

Hiei nodded. "He didn't a name though, and he was the only one I let watch my back when I was a child."

The sheer seriousness of what he said, despite the nonchalant tone of his voice, threw Jen off. He was telling her something she had a feeling he had told no one before and it simutaineously made her happy and broke her heart. "Didn't you have friends?"

He snorted. "The bandit that raised me told me that friends didn't exist in the world of bandits. The people around you would sooner bury a knife in your back if it meant they would gain a trinket more than what they would gain if they let you live. I was about five when even the bandits shunned me because they became afraid of my bloodlust."

Jen flinched slightly. No one deserved to be so alone. She looked into his eyes to find he seemed confused. "I don't know why I am telling you all of this," he said finally.

Jen nuzzled her head to the side of his neck and she could swear she heard Hiei purr ever-so-slightly. "Because you trust me to not hold it against you. You know I won't look at you differently for it."

"I'm sure you would look at me differently if you knew some of the things I've done," he said quietly.

She could hear something in his voice, but she couldn't quite place what it was. Shame, maybe? Jen shook her head as she rested it on his shoulder. "Your past does not change the way I see you now. Who you are in the present is who I have grown attached to and your past was part of you before I knew about it. Why would who you are change just because I know about something that was a part of you already?"

He raised an eyebrow as she realized just how much that came out as a jumbled mess. "What I am trying to say is-" Hiei cut her off with a light kiss.

"I know what you are saying, onna," he said quietly, a warmth in his voice that sent chills over her body.

This whole situation seemed surreal. It was like everything was right in the world and it was causing Hiei's rare soft side to show through. He was sharing information about himself with her, holding her, and he even seemed peaceful. It didn't even feel like she had been knocking on death's door just yesterday. Perhaps it was the near-death experience that put everything in perspective.

Jen leaned down and kissed him again, but this time, his hand slid into her hair, holding her there as he nibbled on her lip. His lips were soft, a stark contrast to the rest of his hard body and calloused hands. Jen groaned as his other hand ran up the length of her back under her shirt. She couldn't believe how good his hands felt on her skin.

Hiei carefully rolled with her so that she was on her back and he was leaning over her. Soft murmurs of pleasure left her lips as his lips trailed down her jaw to play havoc on her neck. Sucking softly on her pulse-point, one of Hiei's hands buried itself in her hair while the other rested against her hip.

Jen arched her back as Hiei continued to torture her, a growl of pleasure reverberating through his chest as her body moved against his. He mumbled quietly against her throat. "I want to give you what you have given me."

A shiver ran over Jen's body as his hand traced over her stomach and up her rib cage. His hand stopped just under her breast as he raised his head to look at her. "Would you let me," he asked, his voice low and husky.

Truthfully, Jen knew asking was just a courtesy. He could do whatever he wanted to her, and she would be helpless to stop it. Most demons wouldn't even think twice about it. It was true that males reveered their mates, but as for the act of choosing a mate? The females had little to no choice.

Yet here he was, asking her for permission to even touch her. Deep down, she knew if she denied him, Hiei would listen and respect her wishes. The fact that he hadn't taken her as his already spoke multitudes to that. Demons didn't really date. They acted more on their first impression and instincts than they did getting to know each other and developing feelings. That could all come after the male had ensured no one would ever come near his female.

So either he was humoring her by sticking around and wasn't truly interested, which something hard pressing against the inside of her thigh told her otherwise, or he was respecting her request to remain unmated until she achieved all that she had set out for. The thought warmed her and caused her to smile softly as she nodded to him.

Surprise gleamed in his eyes, but quickly turned to mischief. "I could make you mine right now, you know," he said as he lowered his head back down to her neck.

His fangs scraped against her skin, as if to emphasize what he was saying. There was something in his voice that spoke for the lethal predator that he was. It was a confidence that would put fear in most anyone who crossed his path. A promise that nothing could stop him, but as she stared up at him, she felt no fear.

Instead she felt warmth. She felt safe and most of all, she felt respected. "I know you could," she said quietly.

"Do you?"

She felt his fangs grow against her skin, like he was getting ready to mark her, but her trust held strong. "I do. I know you are a great deal more powerful than I am. I am completely at your mercy."

The tips of his fangs sank into her skin and she knew it was taking a great deal of self-control to not sink them in the rest of the way as they scraped down her throat. A dark laugh rumbled through his chest. "Afraid?"

"No."

Hiei had to lift his head to make sure she had really said what she said. Her answer had been so short, he almost wondered if she had actually said it. "What?"

Jen sat up with him, their faces remaining close as her eyes never waivered from his. "I am not afraid, Hiei. I trust you."

He scoffed at that. "You shouldn't."

She raised an eyebrow. "And why not? You've never given me a reason not to trust you."

Pain assailed him as he realized just how unworthy of all of this he was. He wasn't meant to know peace, or joy, or pleasure. At the end of the day, he was just another bandit. But can you really even consider yourself a bandit anymore? Look at all you have done to protect instead of destroy. Doesn't that redeem Something? He scoffed silently at himself. No good deed goes unpunished. His inner voice spoke to a hope he had long since banished, but as he stared into Jen's eyes, he found that hope rekindled. He wanted to be something more than just some murderer; For her.

With a sigh, he stroked her cheek with his knuckles. He should leave. This was no place for someone like him. "I'm not trustworthy," he finally said.

Jen scoffed. "Then show me that my trust is misplaced because I don't believe you."

Something about her words triggered something in him; Something angry. He growled and pinned her back to the bed with his hand around her throat as he bared his fangs at her. He tightened his grip around her throat as he looked down at her neck where he would place his mark, just under where his thumb was resting. Out in the open for everyone to see that she had been claimed by a filthy hybrid. Teach her to trust anyone like you. Bite her. Take her as yours.

Even as the words flowed through his mind, urging him to do exactly what he intended to, his body remained frozen. His eyes raised to hers and he realized just how lost to her he was. Her eyes remained unwaivering with the confidence that she could trust him and despite trying to push himself into biting her, he realized he was no more capable of hurting her than he was capable of growing an extra set of arms. The realization came close to scaring him.

She had power over him. Even though he was strong enough to kill her with barely a passing thought, he couldn't. In the end, it would be him bending to her will. It should piss him off; A lot. Yet as his grip loosened on her throat, he felt his anger dissapate as she raised a hand to his cheek to pull him into a gentle kiss. Yeah, he was one foolish bastard.

That realization fresh on his mind, his hand slid down between her collarbones. He felt her demonic heart beat against his palm just before he shredded the front of her shirt pulling the cloth away. A gasp of surprise came from Jen as he cupped one breast in his hand. Her flesh was softer than anything he'd ever felt as he lowered his head to nuzzle his cheek against her chest.

Hiei took one nipple into his mouth, heat shooting through his body as she arched against him and buried her hand in his hair. He smirked to himself; He was going to enjoy this far more than he probably should.

His hand trailed down to her hip, tracing the edge of her shorts before they too were shredded and tossed over to the pile of ruined cloth next to them. He took a deep breath to reign in his self control as he stared at her body beneath him, completely naked. Her eyes showed a certain vulnerability, and even though he thought she was foolish for even letting herself be this vulnerable to him, deep down, he knew he'd never do anything to forsake that trust; And she knew it too.

He pushed her legs apart with his hand, her gasp followed by a low moan was music to his ears as he stroked her most intimate part. He toyed with the sensitive flesh with his fingertip, watching how her body twitched and shuddered in response.

This was nothing like his time spent with Mukuro. She had been rough, forcing his hand to pleasure her at her pace, like her own personal vibrator. Jen gave him free reign of her body, and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to wring every last drop of pleasure out of her until he was satified with his work.

He watched attentively as he slid one finger into her slowly, taking pleasure in the way her body wreathed under his touch. As he started a slow rhythm, his thumb moved to stroke the sensitive flesh in time with his strokes.

Jen's scent reached his nose tenfold and it took every ounce of control not to shred his own clothes and bury himself inside her. He forced himself to focus by sliding a second finger in and picking up the pace. Jen's moans and wreathing increased with every second as he kept an unrelenting pace all the way until her walls tightened around his fingers and she cried out his name in pleasure as her orgasm rocked through her. The sound of his name on her lips was almost enough to break the last bit of self control he had. Still, he didn't let up as he continued his merciless pace.

He continued until her third orgasm took her and she whimpered for mercy. Satified, Hiei laid down beside her, content with his work as Jen fought to catch her breath. she turned into him and buried her face in her neck, soft murmurs of pleasure sending little electric pulses through his throat where her lips rested. "Thank you, Hiei," she said quietly after he wrapped an arm around her.

"Hn."

He lifted himself up from the bed carefully and she looked up at him in confusion. "Where are you going?"

"Cold shower," he mumbled as he turned away, undoing his pants that were biting painfully into his erection. Yeah, his body was going to make him pay Hell for not taking her.

"I could-" he cut her off.

"Get some rest, Princess. I'll be back out in a little bit."

The word 'princess' had come off his lips a little softer than he was accustomed to. Usually he would use royal titles in mockery, but this time, it seemed almost endearing. He sighed. You are getting soft in your old age.

He scoffed at himself as he reached the bathroom and turned the water on and all the way to cold as he ditched his pants completely. Age had nothing to do with it. His body would remain at its prime for at least another twelve hundred years. He would then live out an additional eight hundred years or so after that as his body slowly aged. He wasn't even sure it was possible for a demon to die of old age. He'd seen demons mature, age slowly starting to show in their features, but with how violent demons were, he had never actually heard of a demon dying of natural causes.

He hissed as he stepped into the shower, the cold water biting into his skin as he cursed. No, this wasn't age. This was all Jen's doing. The firey little she-wolf had awoken something in him he believed hadn't even developed in him in the first place. He still didn't understand it. To be honest, he wasn't entirely sure he even wanted to understand it. All of it was foreign to him. Things he had told himself he wasn't capable of and didn't want to be capable of anyway. Things he'd banished because of their weakness.

Yet as he stood in the shower, he didn't feel weak. He actually felt stronger than he had been before. He felt like he was invincible, so long as he had Jen to protect. It was as frustrating as it was exhilerating. It caused heat to coarse through his veins.

Right up until a sharp pain grasped his manhood, causing him to growl slightly. Now there was something he knew. The protests of a body left unsated and all the pain of its screaming disappointment. Today was going to be Hell.

After a little while longer under the cold water and he felt like his control had returned to him, he turned off the water and was immediately put off but a quiet sobbing. Panicked, he wrapped a towel around his waist and threw open the door, afraid Jen had come to realize the monster she had welcomed to her bed, but he soon discovered that it wasn't Jen crying.

The blue etheral form of Leta was in Jen's lap with her face against Jen's shoulder. He could hear Jen's gentle soothing coos as Leta's figure shook with the force of her sobs. "I don't know why he is so mad at me, sissy. I don't like it when Daddy is mad. I just wanted to do the right thing."

Anger rose in Hiei as he cursed the deceased wolf king for hurting Leta. He turned back to the bathroom and threw on his pants before drying his hair with his energy and heading out. He sat down at the edge of the bed and his eyes met Jen's. He could see the sadness, the fury, and the pain she felt as she stroked Leta's back. "What happened," he asked quietly.

Leta raised her eyes from Jen's shoulder to look at him. The pain in her usually bright and happy eyes was enough to make him want to find a way to kill Kravyn all over again. She sniffled as she turned in Jen's lap. "Daddy got mad at me for telling you to be careful and he exiled me from the pack in the afterlife," she said, her voice choked from her sobs as tears streamed down her face. "I'm nothing but a lone wandering soul," she whimpered.

"You are never alone, little onna," he said quietly.

She looked up at him and sniffed. She looked up at Jen and Jen smiled warmly. "He's right, little sister. You will never be alone. We will always be there."

She looked back at Hiei, as if looking for further confirmation from him and he hn'd softly with a nod. Leta's smile warmed him as she jumped into his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. He patted her back softly and met Jen's eyes again, a gentle smile on her lips despite the sadness he could still see in her eyes. Leta sniffed again and she turned to face Jen, standing in Hiei's lap. "I like him, Jen-Jen. He's quality demon. Can we keep him?"

Jen laughed and Hiei couldn't help but smirk. Leta had her moments of wisdom, but she was still six. Her child-like logic and innocence was refreshing. "We will keep him for as long as he wishes to stay, little love," she said quietly.

Leta scoffed. "Of course he wishes to stay. He knows quality demons when he sees them too. Who wouldn't want to stay with their soulmate, anyway? I think that would be really stupid. Daddy always talks about how love is stupid and doesn't exist now, but I think people who don't let love in are the stupid ones. I think he has gotten bitter in his old age."

Her rambling was light, her happy sing-songy voice bringing a small smile to his lips as she turned to him. "Don't you think it's stupid, Hiei-dessi?"

His eyes widened, there was that word again. He remembered the pixie using it to refer to Vaislen. He looked to Jen, who seemed surprised. A small hand waving in front of his face shook him out of his thoughts. "Could you guys do the deep, soul-searching stares later? I asked a question."

His eyes returned to Leta's, which were a little agitated, but immediately turned happy as he spoke to her. "I used to be the same way as your father. I thought such emotions were foolish, and that I was incapable of things like love because of the person I was."

Leta wrinkled her nose. "What kind of silly way of thinking is that? Everyone is capable of love."

Hiei should have been offended, but Leta was too innocent for her own good. One look in her eyes and there was no way he could be mad at her. "You don't know what I've done, little onna."

She huffed at him. "Yes I do! I know everything about your past, present and the current direction of your future."

Hiei's eyes widened. "But how.." his voice trailed off.

She looked at him like it was obvious. "Hello, I'm dead? I'm like an oracle, but without all of the confusing messages that tell you nothin' about what you really want to know," she said as she poked him in the nose, his eyes widened as she glared at him. "How do you think I knew that you guys were soulmates? Did you think I fibbed and made it up?"

He was at a loss for words. Here he was, a six year old standing on his lap, scolding him. Never mind the fact she was a ghost. He should be furious by now, but he couldn't help but chuckle. "No, little onna. I just didn't know you had access to the past as well," he said, his voice soft.

Her eyes lightened again. "Well now you do, and I'm telling you that you are still capable of love, so you can take your stupid 'I can't love' theory and forget it!"

His mouth hung open. He wasn't sure what surprised him more. The fact that this little girl was actually scolding him and calling him stupid, or the fact that he wasn't strangling her right now for daring to talk to him as if he was the child. He looked up to find Jen's eyes filled with amusement. "I'm going to go get dressed," she said as she moved the sheet off her body. Everything turned blue as warmth covered his eyes, confusing Hiei. "Don't look at my Jen-Jen naked until I'm gone! I don't want to see that," Leta exclaimed and Hiei realized why everything was blue.

She was trying to cover his eyes with her hands. "Little onna," he said with an eyebrow raised. "Your hands are transparent."

Leta's eyes widened as Jen laughed, walking away from the bed. Leta pulled her hands away from his face and held them in front of her own face. "I guess that kinda defeats the purpose, huh," she said as she scratched the back of her head.

Hiei smirked and shook his head. "Leta," Jen called from the closet. "Would you like to go see everyone today?"

Leta's eyes lit up as she squealed. "Yeah!"

Hiei looked back to see Jen smiling as she came out dressed in black pants and a black tank top. "Will you bring her out to everyone? I will be down in a minute. I have a meeting with the Ancestral Council," she said, her voice grim as fury sparked her eyes again.

Leta didn't even wait for Hiei to answer as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Of course he will! Hiei-dessi is quality demon."

"What is 'dessi?'" Hiei asked looking back to Jen, who seemed as surprised as he was.

"It is an endearment for a father-figure."

Hiei's eyes widened as Leta nodded her head with enthusiasm. "Cookie once told me that we have three different kinds of family. The family we are born to, the family born to us, and the family we choose. It is why Vaislen is her Daddy. Don't you want to be my family, Hiei-dessi?"

The hopeful look in her eyes stunned him. No one had ever wanted him in their family before. The only thing he really knew about family was Yukina, and he even kept her at a distance. After a few moments of silence Leta leaned forward in a loud whisper. "This is where you say 'Yes, Leta. I want to be in your family.' If you don't, then I would have to be upset with you, and I don't want to be upset at you."

His jaw dropped further before he shook his head and smiled. "Yes, Leta. I want to be in your family."

Her squeal as she wrapped her arms around his neck again peirced his ears but he some how didn't mind. "I knew you were a smart demon," she said.

He chuckled softly as he stood up with her, putting an arm under her. He couldn't help but smile at how freely Leta shared her love and happiness with him. It was down right infectous, to the point he had all but forgotten about the pain throbbing between his legs. Leta pointed to the door. "Yeah! Let's go," she wailed.

Part of him flinched at the idea of people seeing him with Leta in his arms as he exitted out the door and started down the long hall towards the sitting area that he could feel everyone was crowding in. In the end, he just chalked it up to having to beat up anyone who even thought about looking at him sideways. I could use a good fight to blow off some of this steam.

A/N~ Yes, this chapter was pretty much entirely fluff, but I had to get it out of my system. Don't worry, this isn't the point where everything is "Happily-Ever-After" between Jen and Hiei and the rest of the story is just fluff. Things are going to go down hill very fast starting in the next two chapters or so. Trouble will hit paradise and set everything aflame soon enough :)

Reviews are always encouraged :)

Much love ~Jessa