Author's Note: Looks like things are starting to pick up!

This chapter is NSFW.

Yuudai hadn't needed to scold Kuronue for touching his property. He knew how to get the message across. The next day, Kurama had emerged from Yuudai's room covered in bites and bruises, including a black eye. Kuronue had spent nights in Yuudai's bed, and while the bossman was by no means a gentle lover, Kuronue hadn't thought he'd beat the shit out of such a porcelain doll.

"You're strong enough to defend yourself. Why don't you?" Kuronue asked, looking on as Kurama dabbed blood from his re-opened split lip.

The fox turned toward him slowly, a sadistic smile falling into place, blood dripping down his chin. "The lion only obeys the ringmaster when he's fed."

Over the next half-year, Kurama had become one of his constant companions, and quite the competent thief. He had a sharp wit, that fox, and had caught on far more quickly than any new recruit that Kuronue had seen. It would be damn intimidating, if he wasn't so goddamn sexy.

See, if Kurama had been totally inept, keeping his hands off would be easy. Incompetence wasn't sexy on anybody, despite Yomi's assertion to the contrary. But watching that delicate being pick locks, answer riddles.. it made him hard as a rock, to be brutally honest.

Kurama's quick adjustment into the band's lifestyle made it easy to forget that he was just a baby. Youth shone in smiling eyes, while luminescent locks of silver matted with drying blood. It was refreshing, yes, but it was also fucking depressing. What made it worse was the fact that Kurama had stated that organized crime was the easiest life he'd experienced yet. Though he was Yuudai's special pet, Kuronue knew him to eat the same scraps and drink the same cheap wine as everyone else. He wasn't exactly bathing in luxury.

What hell had that pretty fox been subjected to?

One thing did change, however. Kurama surrounded himself with his friends, hardly giving Kuronue even a glance during the numerous parties that had transpired. No longer did they share wine or smoke together. It had only happened once. Twice, if he was being technical. Really, Kuronue had no reason to complain. Still, he couldn't help but feel as if he was missing out, watching one of the girls braid Kurama's hair. Not that he wanted to braid his hair.. it was the principle of the point.

The parties began to bore him. Kuronue was a jealous creature, as thieves often were. He didn't like being constantly reminded of the things he couldn't have. So instead, he'd retire after a glass or two of wine with Satoshi. He'd flop down on his bed, pluck at the strings of his guitar, and piss his neighbors off well into the morning.

If he knew what fortune would come to him by playing with half-assed melodies, he would have started jamming out sooner.

He felt a familiar presence at his back, and stilled his fingers on the strings. He smirked to himself, not even bothering to turn.

"Hey, Kurama," he greeted informally, not even bothering to look up as the fox settled down beside him on the bed. Kuronue had to suppress a shudder as he felt a pair of long arms wrap around his chest, and hot breath blow past his ear.

"I know this song," he purred, toying with Kuronue's hair. The bat turned, hoping to catch a whiff of whatever had Kurama feeling so good, but smelled only that night's meal.

"Something's got you in a good mood," Kuronue observed, setting the guitar down on the floor by the mattress. "What, not spending the night on Yuudai's dick?"

Kurama's ears flattened at the teasing. "He's asleep, thankfully. Even if he happened to be awake, sex would not be my idea of a good night."

Kuronue turned to look at him. "Is Yuudai really that bad? I mean, he's no tiger in the sack, I know that, but can't you at least pretend the sex is good?"

Kurama's eyes rolled, and he flopped down beside his mentor, hair fanning out on the bed beside the bat's leg. "He's asleep," he reiterated. " Besides, having the words 'sex' and 'good' in the same sentence doesn't make sense. This is a blessing," he groaned, throwing his arm dramatically over his eyes.

Wait. What?

Kuronue looked down at the young fox sprawled out beside him, and dropped a hand on his belly.

"What do you mean, 'sex isn't good?'" he asked incredulously, moving his hand to play with a lock of impossibly silky silver hair.

"I mean that I take no pleasure in being held up against a wall and being violated," he drawled, though there was some venom in his voice. Kuronue rolled so that he was straddling him, and lowered his face to Kurama's.

"You really mean to tell me that you've never had good sex?" The disbelief was palpable. He'd have to take a moment to process that. Kurama was sex incarnate, and there he was, not even one good sexual experience to boast.

"We can fix that," Kuronue suggested casually. The fox lifted his head just enough to nip at the bat's jawline.

"You're saying that you think you can succeed where dozens of other men have failed? Perhaps I'm just high maintenance?" he purred, sitting up and forcing Kuronue back a few inches.

Kuronue just smirked. "Baby, one kiss and you'll be hooked for life. Guarantee." He stroked some hair out of those sharp golden eyes, and leaned in to press their lips together. He felt Kurama's breath hesitate and had to celebrate by sliding his tongue across his partner's closed teeth. Without any reluctance, they parted, and Kurama lowered himself to the bed while Kuronue's soft, teasing kiss turned hungry.

For years, Kurama had been treated like an object. He was property. His clothing was torn off against his will, and not an ounce of effort was put into making him feel good. At best, his owners didn't care about his pleasure. At worst, they prized his cries and screams of pain.

And then came Kuronue. His lips were soft on his throat, soon joined by gentle nips that made him gasp. Those seasoned hands undressed him like he was an expensive gift, and his touches sent electricity up his spine. No, this man drank him in like the champagne he was, and not the bathtub moonshine that most men had tried to claim that he was.

And he loved it.

"What, rendered speechless?" Kuronue asked with a grin, teasing Kurama's navel with his tongue. He was rewarded with a gasp and a hand tight in his hair.

"Shut up." The glare Kurama gave would have been a lot more intimidating if it hadn't been accompanied by that cute blush and ragged breath. Kuronue chuckled, sliding up Kurama's body and settling happily between his parted legs. Very gently, experimentally, he thrust his hips into his prone partner's, and smirked at the breathless whimper he was given in return. By the look of it, Kurama had more than his fill of teasing.

Kuronue stripped himself quickly, unable to keep his eyes off of the beautiful creature on the bed below him. He maneuvered to the dresser, retrieving a small bottle of oil. He pried the cork off and sniffed it. Good- it hadn't spoiled. He placed it on the floor by the mattress, settling down beside Kurama, hand on his bedmate's hip.

"Alright, fox. Tail up," he commanded. Kurama rolled onto his stomach, but wagged his tail lazily across his thighs. Patience sapped, Kuronue grabbed the base of his partner's tail, hoisting him up until he supported himself on his hands and knees. Kurama responded to the abuse with a cry, though there was little pain in his voice. Without having to be urged, he raised his tail along with his backside, wiggling impatiently while Kuronue dipped his fingers into the oil.

"What are you doing?" Kurama asked, glancing back at his partner.

"Stuff," Kuronue answered innocently. He slid his finger along Kurama's entrance a few times, before exhaling and pressing it inside.

Kurama's gaze remained on Kuronue's hand as he began to thrust his finger in and out, hooking it inside. What the fuck was he even doing? Whatever the reasoning, Kurama wasn't going to fight it. It felt damn good. And, for even just one night, he was going to allow himself to indulge.

The pleasure intensified with the addition of a second finger. Kurama felt himself sink into the mattress, hips held up by Kuronue's supportive grasp. His tail was shaking, and his ears were flat against his head.

"Fuck," he purred, low and long, claws digging into Kuronue's dark sheets.

"Yeah?" came the response, along with a devastating twist of the fingers. Kurama screamed as all of his nerves seem to fire off at once, and his upper body fell against the bed. "Fine, fine. Give me a minute, baby."

Kuronue allowed Kurama a chance to breathe, face buried in the pillow, while he lubed up and positioned himself. He slid in slowly, ears trained to detect any kind of pain response. And just because Kurama was ready, sure as shit didn't mean that Kuronue was. He'd always heard that foxes were devils in bed, but this one.. he'd never get a fuck on the same level.

The fox's soft whimpers and cries of pleasure were muffled by the pillow he bit into. Unacceptable. Sharp claws grabbed a fistful of silver hair, letting it drape over his knuckles as he pulled his partner's head up.

"Scream for me," he commanded huskily, nipping a tender ear. Kurama responded with a keening wail that would make a seasoned whore blush, and bucked his hips back with every one of Kuronue's merciless inward thrusts.

It wasn't a marathon for either one of them. Kuronue, wound tight from the pleasure in Kurama's voice and spiritual energy, spent himself with little warning inside of the little fox he'd claimed for the night. He pulled out after taking a moment to collect himself, threw Kurama onto his back, and took him into his mouth. Honestly, the stimulation was only a formality, with the spirit fox crying out with his climax after a few short seconds.

Kuronue wiped his mouth with the back of his wrist, and fell boneless beside of his absolutely satisfied partner. He had the clarity of mind to stroke sweat-dampened hair out of Kurama's eyes as the freshly-fucked fox climbed up to rest his head against his chest before blacking out, wings draping lazily over their bodies.

Kuronue didn't sleep that morning. Not that he didn't want to- he was exhausted. But Kurama wasn't. He'd be granted an hour or two of sleep, only to be woken by gentle licks, kisses, and bites up his throat. It would be easy enough to kick the insatiable fox out of his bed, but he happened to like the attention. He knew that Kurama would be sore the next day. Hell, they both would. But it was totally worth it, seeing the once sex-sour bandit crawl into his lap and begged to be fucked by him and him alone.

He had been asleep when Kurama limped off to, presumably, bathe and eat. Though the lack of a warm body beside him was annoying, the cigarette tucked carefully behind his ear more than made up for it. The thought of remaining in bed for the rest of the day was tempting, considering how little his fox had allowed him to sleep, but the first drag of that damned cigarette had him too perky to think about going back to sleep.

Kuronue sat up against the wall, pillows behind his back, eyes closed as he enjoyed Kurama's most recent gift. It was a damn shame that Yuudai didn't let jewels out of his grasp once they were in his hand. Kuronue wasn't the boyfriend type, only because people sucked. But that fox.. he was different, wasn't he? No one had given him that much shit in years, and he loved it.

The sun was setting, and he could feel the compound's energy sizzle. Even when Kuronue didn't have somewhere to be, he liked looking around, watching the various teams and task forces prepare for their missions. He remembered when he used to get a thrill from it, before the passion became a chore. It was just him and his scythes, no one to babysit, and no one to hold him back.

"Oi, Yuudai," he called before thrusting open the boss' door, not caring if he was given permission or not.

The candlelight was still bright in the bedroom. The energy was low- not unusual, as Yuudai tended to mask himself before he left, to avoid attracting attention.

What was unusual, however, was the pool of still-hot blood he stepped in, as well as the pale hand clutching a handful of severed silver hair.