Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters used in this story with the exception of most of the minor characters. This story is rated M for violence, graphic boy on boy action, and violence. No cookies for those who don't like it!

CHAPTER NINETEEN: DARKENED DESIRES

Kurama curled up with his head resting on Hiei's bare shoulder with a small worried frown decorating his face. Hiei tangled his hands in Kurama's red hair and sighed. "Go take a shower. You're bleeding."

Kurama pressed a lingering kiss on Hiei's lips before getting up. "You shouldn't be so rough then. Do me a favor and change the sheets while I'm washing up?" Kurama walked in to the bathroom with a slight limp to his strut and turned on the warm water, hoping and praying it'd be enough to ease the pain from his limbs.

Hiei slid from the bed and went about doing his lover's bidding. He stripped the sheets and blanket from the large bed and switched it out with a spare kept in his linen closet. He gazed at the bloodstained sheets before kicking them away from him, angry and frustrated with himself. He'd been too rough with his fox, hurt him, and Kurama had taken the abuse without complaint. He put the ruined sheets in the hamper to be disposed of later before putting the hamper back in the closet. As he sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for his turn to shower, guilt tore him apart. He hadn't failed to notice the single tear of pain Kurama had shed as he held on to the sheets. That image was one Hiei knew would haunt him for awhile. Instead of apologizing for his actions, Hiei began to justify himself within the privacy of his own mind. Kurama didn't ask me to stop, he didn't utter one complaint, Hiei thought. If he didn't want it, he would have said something.

"Your turn!" Kurama called from the bathroom before emerging in his robe.

Hiei stood under the steaming hot water and let it wash away his worries, his fears, and his uncertainties. He didn't leave the shower until the water ran cold. He toweled himself off and went to bed.

Kurama was already asleep, but it was obvious the fox had intended to wait up for him. He was curled up on top of the covers, sleeping soundly. Hiei felt guilt once again as he gazed at the prone form and saw the deep purple bruises that decorated his delicate frame. Large marks marred the skin of Kurama's wrists, hips and inner thighs. Even a place around his neck held imprints from Hiei. Hiei sighed and slid the covers from under his fox, covering them both up.

In the morning, Hiei woke to an empty bed. He climbed from the warmth of the comforter and put on his clothes with a sigh. Making his way to the kitchen, he saw Kurama at the stove and Zane sitting at the small table the servants usually used.

"We do have people to do that for us," Hiei reminded.

"I know," Kurama replied wistfully. "I don't like being waited on, so I decided to make breakfast myself. How do omelets sound?"

"Fine," Hiei muttered. He fixed his eyes on Zane.

Zane just shuddered and looked away, his eyes shrouded and distant.

"Where's your mate?" Hiei questioned, sitting down across the table from him.

"He went back home," Zane answered. "He had to work, and then pick up the kids from daycare."

Kurama set a large omelet in front of Hiei and then a cup of juice. "Eat up." After ten more minutes of silence, he joined them at the table, serving Zane his breakfast as well.

Curiosity caused Hiei to examine Zane further. "What can you do?"

Zane fixed him with a piercing gaze. "I can summon or banish storms, control lightning, such things as that."

"Tell Hiei about the winds," Kurama smiled softly. "Maybe then he won't think me so crazy for speaking to my plants."

"The wind from the north tells of the past," Zane muttered, his eyes gazing out the window. "The wind from the east tells of the future. The wind of the west tells of the present."

"What does the southern wind tell you?" Hiei questioned, not really interested but asking for the sake of being pleasant.

"It tells me of death," came the quiet answer. He turned his eyes back towards Hiei. "I can also hear thoughts of those around me, no matter how guarded they might be." He pushed his plate away. "Excuse me Kurama, I'm not very hungry this morning. I think I'm going to go for a walk."

Kurama turned accusing eyes on to Hiei. "What did you do to him?"

"Nothing," Hiei mumbled, deeply disturbed by the information that Zane may know. "I haven't done anything."

Kurama took Hiei's empty plate and set them in the sink to do later. "Nikita is staying here for today. Tomorrow will be the day to go through with our plan if we decide that she's the best choice."

Zane locked eyes with Hiei as he stood in the kitchen doorway. "Nikita is gone for the day. She left a sealed letter on the desk in Hiei's study saying that she needed to depart until dinner to tend to a family emergency. She left at dawn."

"Did your wind tell you that?" Hiei sneered.

A cold smile graced Zane's face. "The wind tells me many things, Hiei, some of which has passed from your lips at your darkest hours, things not meant for the ears of another." He leaned against the door. "Perhaps I won't be needed here after all."

Hiei's eyes darkened, but Kurama gave his friend a smile. "Don't let Hiei's sour mood dampen your spirits. Of course you're needed."

Hiei stood. "I'm going to check on the idiot and make sure Sage is well looked after." The look in those crimson eyes warned Kurama against accompanying him.

Kurama looked taken aback at the look rather than the words. "Go ahead then love. Zane and I will occupy ourselves at the market until dinner."

Hiei just nodded and left. He knocked on the door to Yusuke's house and was greeted by the screaming of three children before Yusuke flung open the door. He gazed down at Hiei with a look of surprise. "Hiei, are you and fox-boy back already?"

"No, I'm checking on my son."

Yusuke let the fire demon past him. "Keiko is feeding them oatmeal right now, and I must say that Sage is very creative with his oatmeal art. He flings it in places the twins hadn't even thought of."

Hiei chuckled as he entered the kitchen and found globs of oatmeal everywhere and Sage sitting in his highchair with a pout and an empty bowl. Upon seeing Hiei, he squealed with delight. "Dada!"

Hiei lifted him from the highchair with a sigh. "You're a mess. You know that your mother would be very upset to hear of how you've been naughty."

Sage's lower lip trembled.

"No more oatmeal art, do you understand?"

Sage nodded, his lip still trembling ever so slightly.

Hiei turned to Keiko with Sage still in his arms. "Kurama forgot to tell you that Sage doesn't like oatmeal, didn't he?"

Keiko looked up from scrubbing the floor free of oatmeal. "Yes."

"He has to have meat in every meal, some sort of protein. His muscle mass and the growth rate he's keeping up demands it. He won't touch a meal unless it has meat in it." Hiei bounced Sage on his hip. "Say sorry to Keiko."

"Sowwy," Sage murmured.

"So she can hear you," Hiei scolded.

"Sowwy," Sage screamed at the top of his little lungs.

Hiei set Sage back in his highchair and handed him a piece of dried rabbit meat. The child began to gnaw at it as soon as it was within his grasp. Hiei turned his crimson gaze on to Yusuke, then to Keiko. "Keiko, do you mind if I steal your husband for an hour or two? I need to speak with him."

Keiko waved her rag at them. "Take him, he's almost as bad as one of the kids."

Hiei led the way from the house to a nearby teahouse. They sat across the table from each other, Yusuke's eyes regarding Hiei with almost morbid curiosity.

"What did you need to talk about?" Yusuke questioned once they'd received their pot of tea and poured it.

"My relationship."

Yusuke's eyebrows nearly went all the way to his hairline. "You and Kurama are having issues? What the fuck made you come to me, of all people?"

"You know the value of secrecy, you've been married longer than I have, and I think you'll understand my predicament more than anyone else."

"Uh-huh. So, start talking shrimp."

"Kurama and I are in Alaric to choose a mother for my child. We spent the better part of one day going through a huge list of failures and then we found this perfect woman."

"That's good, though, right? Kurama was really happy about having another kid."

"This woman, Nikita, she's perfect. I mean, she's perfect." Hiei gazed down at his tea as a slight blush struck his cheeks. "She's got a great body-"

"Whoa, hold on a sec. You just said this chick has a nice body? Aren't you in to guys and all that?"

"I'm bisexual. Kurama is the one interested in males alone." Hiei shook his head. "She's smart, funny, quick witted, and gentle."

"You're attracted to her."

Hiei gazed down at his cup, ashamed. "Almost more attracted to her than I am my own mate."

That one threw Yusuke for a loop. "But you love Kurama."

"Yeah," Hiei muttered. "But I think I could love her too, if she stays around me long enough."

"I can see where you have a problem."

"I can't mention this to Kurama. He's already so insecure and unsure sometimes that it frightens me." Hiei took a sip of tea. "He wants another child badly and would be crushed if I called off the whole plan. He thinks that it'll be an invitro fertilization, then she'll be pregnant, have the kid, and be out of our lives."

"You don't want that."

"Damn it, I want her!" Hiei roared. He slumped down again. "I want her so badly that it scares me. It feels like I can't live without having her, but I can't lose Kurama either."

"Sounds like you've got a real problem," Yusuke sighed. "Look, it's not the end of the world. In the perfect relationship, you'd never had needs that were left untended, but that's usually not the case. This Nikita probably just has a personality trait or something about her that Kurama lacks or doesn't show. If you leave it alone, the feeling will pass."

Hiei finished his tea in silence. "Kurama is everything to me. He's more than I ever hoped for." Hiei stood and set down the money to pay for it. "I should get back before the fox begins to worry." He shot Yusuke a half-hearted glare. "Thanks for listening. You aren't as much of an idiot as you pretend to be."

Yusuke grinned. "Thanks man, that sentiment makes me all warm and fuzzy inside."

"Hn." Hiei left without another word, troubles still plaguing him as he walked back to the portal and then towards Alaric.

AUTHOR'S CORNER:

I bet none of you expected that! Anyways, review and tell me what you think… I imagine that I'm going to get some very interesting reviews for this chapter. Well, it may not be what you all suspected, but it's still cookie worthy, and definitely not the twist that was expected.