Disclaimer: I do not own the characters used in this story with the exceptions of Zane and Cian. This story is rated M for bad language, graphic violence, and very detailed boy on boy love. Beware the rating!
CHAPTER TWO: FORGIVE AND FORGET
Hiei didn't wander in to the bedroom he was sharing with the fox until midnight, to find Kurama already in bed and in pajamas rather than naked as was their routine. He also found folded pajama pants for him on a chair located in the corner of the room. He changed quietly but knew the fox was awake when one of his fingers twitched. Kurama clenched the sheets and closed his eyes against the new wave of tears as the sting of rejection still stabbed at him. He kept his body rigid and his back to Hiei as his fire demon crawled in to their shared bed.
"Fox," Hiei started.
"I don't wish to speak about it," Kurama said between clenched teeth. "I just want to sleep. The wedding is tomorrow and we have a big day."
"I don't want to sleep and forget about this." Hiei gripped Kurama's arm and forced his fox to roll and face him. He touched the damp tears that decorated Kurama's face, only to have his hand smacked away. "I want to talk about it."
"Oh, now you want to talk," Kurama snapped. "Well I don't."
"Then listen," Hiei stated in his usual blunt manner. "I didn't realize how much marriage meant to you. For me, the whole ceremony is pointless. We're already mated and that's a bond stronger than what any piece of paper can deliver. That's part of the reason I didn't agree."
"Then I suppose you think your actions were justified." Kurama rolled so his back was towards the fire demon. "I think its just another excuse."
"An excuse for what?"
Kurama sat up and turned angry eyes on his fire demon. "I think that you have an issue with marrying me because of our current situation. You feel like you're no longer the dominant of our pair because I own the house, the land, the forest. I'm the one with a job and a car. I'm the one who takes care of you. You feel useless in our relationship and you're having some sort of testosterone based ego issue."
"That's part of it," Hiei admitted after a moment of silent thought. "I don't like being the one to stay at home and wait for you. It's not in my nature to do nothing and be satisfied."
"Then leave," came Kurama's harsh response. "Go back to Alaric and be useful to them."
"That's not going to happen," Hiei replied, his voice slow and patient. "I was thinking of another avenue rather than that. Perhaps getting a job and working."
"That'd be pointless. I make enough money to support the two of us with money to spare. You must see our living situation from my point of view Hiei." Kurama's voice began to soften. "The way I see it, it's my job to take care of you now while we live out a human life together. Once we go to Alaric and live out our demon existence, the roles will change again. You'll be taking care of me." He ran his fingertips along Hiei's jaw. "It's a game of balance."
"I understand but that doesn't ease the feeling of being useless now. Not to mention being bored out of my mind while you work long hours and weekends." Hiei grabbed the hand and kissed the fingertips. "Not only that, but I feel like you haven't changed at all for me and I've given up everything. I'm not asking for you to quit your job. I'm only asking for you to cut it down from eighty hours a week down to fifty."
"And in return?"
"I'm going to get a job that has the same hours as yours so that I'm not bored."
"Why won't you marry me?"
Hiei closed his eyes against the frustration that was quickly building. "I won't marry you because we aren't ready for it. We've only been living together for four months-"
"And we've been dating since I was eleven. We've been dating for more than ten years Hiei! I'm sick of waiting."
Hiei grabbed a handful of red hair, his patience finally at its end. "Yoko Kurama, I will marry you but in my own time. I want more time to adjust, more time to start our lives and get everything back to where it should be. I want time to make the house ours, not just yours. However, I'll agree to marry you eventually, and I'll wear the ring. It's a symbol of the promise that I'll marry you… in time."
"You've been begging me to mate with you since the day I was a legal adult," Kurama hissed in pain as his hair was pulled, a sign to not argue with Hiei and let the subject drop. "If mating is a stronger bond then marriage, then getting married shouldn't matter to you at all."
"It doesn't," Hiei insisted. "To me, it's just a piece of paper. However, I know how much it means to you. I want our home to be stable before I take that step with you because I know it means more to you then it does to me."
"Then put your damn ring on," Kurama sighed, sick of fighting. He detangled the hand in his hair and lay beside his lover, resting his head against Hiei's chest.
Hiei reached over to the nightstand and opened the first box, slipping the ring on Kurama's bony finger. "Yoko Kurama… Shuichi Minamono I will be happy to marry you someday soon."
Kurama gazed up at the crimson gaze that settled on him. He took Hiei's ring and slipped it on to the finger as well. "Hiei, I'd be more than happy to be both your husband and mate."
The two kissed briefly and fell asleep entwined in each other's arms. Morning came and they were woken up by a rather enthusiastic Kuwabara, who couldn't stop smiling. Kurama groaned and sat up, his legs still wrapped around Hiei's limbs. "Is it time to go already?"
"You should shower," Hiei stated from beneath his fox. "You were shivering and shaking during the night so I did my best to warm you. Unfortunately, you look as if you just came out of a lake."
Kurama smiled at Kuwabara. "Give us an hour and we'll be ready to head to the church."
Kuwa nodded. "The latest we can be there is in two hours so you two have plenty of time to get around." He left the room with a strange glance at Kurama's hand.
Kurama flopped back down on the pillow with a sigh and felt his hair being pushed back from his sweaty forehead. "You feel cold Dragonfly," Kurama murmured.
Hiei frowned. "And you feel warm. Much too warm." He picked his fox up as he saw the eyes begin to drift close. "Kurama!"
"Hm?" Kurama whispered. "I'm so tired Hiei, just let me sleep for another half hour."
Hiei turned the shower on cold and stripped down his fox with deep concern. Something was wrong when the fox felt hotter than him. It meant his temperature was pushing well over one hundred ten degrees. He stripped himself and picked the fox up again before stepping in to the shower. The fire demon hissed as the cold water pricked his skin. Kurama buried his head in the crook of Hiei's neck.
"It's cold," Kurama whined. "It feels like ice daggers."
"You're too hot," Hiei explained. "It will help cool you down long enough to get you through the wedding."
"M'kay," Kurama agreed. After a few minutes under the icy water, his eyes opened again to stare at worried crimson eyes. "I think I can stand on my own."
Hiei let his fox out of his arms and watched Kurama sway for a moment before regaining his balance and stepping under the cold spray on his own. He watched the fever fade from the fox and was glad to see the color in his cheeks return to normal. With a shiver, Kurama switched the water to warm and pressed close to Hiei.
"We haven't celebrated our engagement," Kurama whispered against the warm skin of Hiei's neck.
Hiei grabbed his fox by the hips and lifted him, slamming him against the thick glass of the shower wall. "We'll just have to remedy that then, won't we?" He ravished Kurama's lips.
The fox wrapped his long legs around Hiei's waist and raised his hips, rubbing his excitement against Hiei's abs, indicating his desire to his mate. "We don't have time for foreplay today Dragonfly," Kurama managed to gasp out when Hiei nipped the juncture of his neck and shoulder.
"You're in the mood for rough and fast," Hiei noted and laughed. "Works just as well for me." He pressed against the fox's entrance, hearing the needy gasp that ripped from Kurama's throat. Instead of claiming the fox thoroughly, he moved back just a bit, simply teasing the entrance with skilled fingers.
"Please," Kurama finally begged.
Hiei pierced his fox in one quick thrust, causing Kurama to arch his back and cry out with pleasure. Hiei grabbed the lithe wrists and held them above Kurama's head with one hand. His other hand reached between them and pumped the fox's hardness between them in time with his thrusts. Kurama arched up, meeting Hiei thrust for thrust as the fire demon pounded in to him and plundered his mouth with a tongue hungry to taste him.
Kurama came crying out Hiei's name. Hiei came with a groan, his lips pressed against the sweetness of Kurama's throat. He released the fox and moved away to watch the fox slide down the wall with eyes glazed over. "Dragonfly, you're amazing," Kurama manage to smile after a few minutes. He stood up and placed a passionate kiss on Hiei's lips. "I love you."
"I love you more," Hiei teased and turned off the water after the last vestiges of their act disappeared down the drain.
Kurama and Hiei got ready separately, Kurama using the bathroom while Hiei got dressed and then switching. When they were both ready, they met in the hallway and examined each other. Kurama moved forward and fixed Hiei's tie with a small smile. Hiei caressed the fox's hips through the fabric of his suit.
"You look good in all black," Hiei commented.
"You look good in all white," Kurama complimented back. "And tonight once the happy couple have departed on their honeymoon, I'm going to claim you on the kitchen floor and you're only going to have this tie on." He gave a sultry smirk and walked towards the kitchen, swaying his hips in an enticing way that had Hiei following after and claiming the butt with a quick squeeze.
"And what will you have on?"
Kurama glanced at Hiei with a smirk. "You'll have on the tie. I'll have on a top hat."
Hiei shook his head. "Crazy fox."
"Crazy about you." Kurama turned when they reached the kitchen and leaped in to Hiei's arms.
Hiei caught him easily and set him down on the counter. Kurama's legs wrapped around him as their lips met and their tongues played a never-ending battle of dominance.
"Gross," Kuwabara said from the doorway.
AUTHOR'S CORNER:
I hope you all enjoyed the little lemon in this chapter. Okay, so our favorite couple is now engaged after Hiei's little bout of bad judgment. Yay! However, do you think things are far from resolved? Yeah right, it seems neither of them can get things right at the same time. So, keep reading as more drama consumes them! Oh, and don't forget to review! Please?