Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters used in this story besides Cian and Zane. This story is rated M for graphic boy on boy love, violence, drama, and bad language.

CHAPTER THREE: FOR THE SAKE OF OTHERS

The ride to the wedding was a long one. Kuwabara and Yukina had chosen a remote location that most of the world had no clue existed. The silence consumed the car as Kurama drove, the second car following behind him. If there was one thing they could trust to get them there, it was Kurama's sense of direction. The first car had Kurama, Hiei, Yusuke and Kuwabara. The women had left hours ago. Apparently their preparation for the wedding included far more steps than the male side of the fence.

The second car contained Kazuya, Shiori, and the pregnant Keiko. Yusuke stared out the window, sullen from a fight with Keiko about the color he wanted to paint the nursery. It was a silly thing to argue about, but the couple didn't seem to think so. Hiei also looked out the window, brooding on his memories of the past.

Kurama gasped and the car swerved just the tiniest bit before getting back in the center of its lane once again. Hiei turned his gaze from the window as soon as he heard the gasp and locked his eyes on those of his lover.

"Are you okay?" Kuwabara questioned.

Kurama nodded but Hiei knew at once he wasn't being truthful. "I'm fine. I just thought I saw a cat run out in to the road." He smiled faintly at Hiei as his hand clutched the fabric over his heart.

"Hey fox-boy," Yusuke piped up. "You and the shrimp are wearing matching rings now. Are the two of you hitched?"

Kurama removed the hand from his shirt and reached across the seat to grab Hiei's hand. "Engaged, not married."

The rest of the car ride was silent. Kurama parked the car and was relieved when everyone piled out of the car and greeted one another once again after the hour long ride. Kurama stayed in his seat and closed his eyes, leaning his head back. He didn't notice that Hiei had not moved from his place either.

"What's wrong with you fox?" Hiei questioned, reaching across the car to smooth a strand of hair from Kurama's face. "You're running a high fever again."

"I don't know," Kurama answered. "It could be so many things that I can't pinpoint exactly what's wrong yet. I'll have to wait for specific symptoms to surface."

"Tell me what you think it could be, so I can be prepared."

"It could be something as simple as me going in to heat once again. A demon could be attacking my plants back at home, or there could be something far more serious." He leaned his head in to Hiei's touch. "I have a few plants that I can use to temporarily quell the fever and the exhaustion until after the wedding and reception."

Hiei leaned over and planted a quick kiss on Kurama's cheek. "How long has it been since you've gone in to heat?"

"I've experienced that particularly unpleasant even twice in my life. Once when I was thirteen and the other when I was twenty-one."

"Why at such random intervals?"

"It's always brought on by other events. When I was thirteen, I came to my former glory," Kurama murmured. "I grew more powerful and stronger, more adept at controlling the demon side of myself. The power surge threw me in a heat but in my human form. We both know the consequences of that."

"Three days of breaking in your old bed," Hiei nodded. "I remember that weekend fondly."

"The second time was when Yoko and I became more merged so that rather than nearly having a split personality, we became one being with two forms." Kurama's breath came harsher, more labored as if a great pressure were on his lungs. "That threw me in to my second heat to adjust to the change."

"I wasn't there for that one."

"My heat doesn't have that type of effect on me," Kurama explained. "Male foxes are thrown in to heat in order to attract a mate or to keep their mate close, a type of bonding experience. However, my heats are different. My heats bring to the surface hidden desires. That is their effect."

"Do you think this is a heat?"

"I'll have to wait out the symptoms and see." Kurama kissed the palm of Hiei's hand. "We should get moving. The others are waiting for us."

Shiori gripped her son in a bone-crushing hug. "Are you feeling well?"

"I'm afraid I might have the flu," Kurama lied.

"Well, make sure you don't push yourself too hard." She kissed his cheek before being ushered in to the building.

Kurama held on to Hiei's hand and walked up the steps to the wedding. The building where the wedding and reception were to take place was a grand structure, a building build in imitation of classic Roman and Greek structures. The hall in which the wedding took place had one wall made entirely of glass so that the natural light and beauty of the lush hills was brought forth. Hiei kissed his fox and they went their separate ways. Hiei went to the rooms his sister would be located in, as he would be the one to walk her down the aisle and give her away to Kuwabara.

Kurama, on the other hand, was a best man. He went in and found Kuwabara pacing and Yusuke convincing him that his nervousness was normal. Kurama smiled at the pair of them before shutting the door.

And that's when it hit him, the dizziness and nausea, the sense that his soul was being ripped from his body. He felt the world around him shift, as if he were seeing it from a different perspective. The floor came much closer to his face than he would have liked before he managed to catch himself in the push-up position.

Yusuke and Kuwabara rushed to his side but Kurama found that he couldn't understand them warring amongst each other and trying to speak over the other. Yusuke turned to Kuwa. "I'm going to get Hiei." He nearly ran from the room.

Kurama picked himself up and, on wobbly legs, moved to the window. He was more than happy when he found a sink that ran water hot enough for him to make a concoction that might resemble tea. He three seeds to grow in to plants. Each deposited their own juices and oils in the cup before turning back in to seeds and being hidden once again.

Kuwabara just followed after him a step or two, making sure he didn't fall or hurt himself. Most of all just afraid that the fox was going to faint.

"What the fuck is going on with you?" Hiei nearly yelled as he stormed in to the room. "Don't tell me you don't know fox! You know enough to make yourself medicine."

Kurama drained the glass of lukewarm liquid before turning to his lover. "Hiei," he said in his usual calm voice. "I'll be fine. Anything and everything that's wrong with me can wait until after the wedding. It will wait until after the wedding. I will not ruin this day for Kuwabara and Yukina. Now out!"

"Fox," Hiei growled.

"I said out!" Kurama moved over to his lover and spun him around before pushing him out of the room and slamming the door on his face.

"You sure you're okay fox-boy?" Yusuke questioned.

Kurama just smiled faintly. "No, don't either of you dare worry about me." He moved forward and fixed Yusuke's tie. "This is Kuwa's day." He turned to the groom with a wide smile. "I'm so proud of you Kuwabara!"

The fox's efforts at distracting everyone from him worked. They were soon called to take their places. The three entered the church one after the other with all eyes on them. Kuwabara had eyes only for Yukina as she walked down the aisle in a beautiful white satin gown. Kurama had eyes only for Hiei in his white suit. Hiei walked her to the alter and then sat down in the front row. When the priest asked who gave her to Kuwa, Hiei stood up and squared away his shoulders. "I do. I know you'll take good care of her." His eyes met Kuwabara's and, for probably the first time, they weren't filled with scorn, malice, or annoyance.

Kurama didn't pay any amount of attention to the wedding; he wasn't even looking the right way. For most of the ceremony, he just watched Hiei and kept his eyes on the crimson orbs that settled on him as well.

The reception was Yusuke's idea of a party with an open bar, a dance floor, and plenty of food. People laughed and joked, congratulated the couple and had a good time. That had been the goal of everyone. Kurama sat down next to Hiei and handed him a glass of wine.

"So Kuwabara, are the two of you planning on moving out of the temple?" Kurama asked, almost innocent in his question.

Kuwa shook his head. "No, we're planning on purchasing a house once we get back from our honeymoon, but the market is slim. We want to be located near the temple so Yukina can still help there. We also have a tight house budget."

The fox slid a thick envelope across the table to them. "This is our present to the two of you, from Hiei and I."

Yukina gazed at the envelope as curious as her husband. When they opened it, the paper slipped from Kuwa's hand and on to the table. "You didn't…"

"This is far too much," Yukina whispered.

"I have too much to spare," Kurama answered. "I have a trust fund given to me by my grandmother after she passed. That alone is enough to live off, but I work as well. Besides, it's not as much as you might think."

"It's a house," Kuwabara muttered.

"It was a foreclosed house," Kurama answered. "And we didn't purchase the whole thing. We knew how the two of you would have protested. Instead, we paid ten percent as a down payment. You'll still be responsible for making the monthly house payments."

Yukina started crying again in happiness, her strange unique reaction. "Thank you so much." She kissed Kurama on the cheek and nearly smothered Hiei.

"It was Hiei's idea," Kurama laughed and watched as Kuwabara lifted Hiei off his feet in a hug. When the death threats and the cursing came, the carrot top put the fire demon down again.

Kurama stood and held out his hand to Hiei. "Are you going to dance with me Dragonfly?"

Hiei took the hand and pulled his fox out to the dance floor. He'd been roped in to ballroom lessons when Kurama was eighteen. He led his mate in to a very respectable waltz and watched as their friends and family circled around to watch the two of them dance.

It hit again, a wave of dizziness so strong that Kurama nearly tripped over Hiei's foot. Black spots began to invade his vision, starting at the edges and beginning to spread. His breathing became labored as his fever spiked once again. He fainted, gave in to the darkness that consumed him.

AUTHOR'S CORNER:

I promised you two updates today and I've delivered! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and the new twist it brought. Thank you for reading and please review and tell me what you think!