Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. Never have, never will.

"Board games?"

"Check."

"Snacks?"

"Check."

"Sleeping materials?"

"Check."

"Movies? Both action and romance?"

"Check and check."

Keiko threw the pad of paper she'd been holding onto the coffee table and leaned back in her seat, heaving a sigh. I rolled my eyes at her dramatic behavior. Listing off what we needed wasn't exactly a difficult job. Although, considering my job, which consisted of looking around the living room to make sure we had what she listed, I really shouldn't have been talking. I didn't even need to stand to perform my own pathetically easy assignment.

Kuwabara, on the other hand, had had a job worth complaining about. We'd put him in charge of carrying everything we needed into the living room. A task that included bringing our bags up from my car. He'd also been responsible for moving the furniture to the edge of the room, making room for us to lay out whatever board game we chose to play and later for my inflatable mattress. Having finished carrying all of our crap, he collapsed into the armchair.

"Next time, you guys are helping me," he groaned.

"Hopefully there won't be a next time," Keiko corrected him. "So, what are we going to do first?"

"Board game," I said immediately.

"Well, okay then. Do you have a particular game in mind?" she asked, laughing at me.

Shooting her a look, I stood up and made my way over to the stack of board games in the corner. We'd each brought over any games that we had in our apartments and there were a dozen to choose from. "Personally, I'm stuck between playing either Life or Sorry. Which do you guys prefer?"

"Life," Keiko said.

At the same time, Kuwabara blurted, "Sorry."

Keiko shook her head. "We always play Sorry. I think that we should play Life for once."

Deciding to interrupt what could have easily turned into a fistfight, I said, "Alright, we'll settle this the mature way."

"Oh, really?" Kuwabara demanded. "And just what is the mature way?"

"Rock, paper, scissors. Go!" They stared at me I silence for a split second before standing up and walking toward one another. Once they appeared ready, I repeated, "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" They tapped their closed fists into their other hand in time to the words and revealed their choice on shoot.

"Damn it," Kuwabara swore. "Two out of three."

"No way," Keiko said, wrapping her 'paper' around his 'rock'. "You lost fair and square."

Kuwabara continued whining, but took a seat in the middle of the living room, waiting for me to bring the game over. "You're a dumb ass," I told him, picking up the box and joining him in the middle of the room. "Everyone knows not to throw rock first."

"Well, I didn't!" he snapped.

Giggling, Keiko took a seat, completing our circle. "We need snacks or something," she said, looking around the room as if searching for inspiration.

"You said you had stuff for smoothies, right?" I asked Kuwabara.

"Yeah, why? You want to make those now? I thought we would have those while we were watching movies." He frowned, glancing toward the kitchen.

"I guess we don't have to," I mumbled, staring at the floor dejectedly.

Keiko caught my eye and winked. Realizing that she had a plan, I kept up my act, sighing loudly as I began to set up the board game. "So, Shyle," Keiko said, leaning toward me eagerly. "How are things between you and Hiei?"

Kuwabara scrambled to his feet before I'd even had a chance to open my mouth. "I sense a girl talk coming on, so I think I'll go make those smoothies. When I come back there better not be any giggling or anything else girlish and unpleasant."

"Remember to use a lot of ice cream," I called after his retreating back.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

He disappeared into the kitchen and Keiko broke into a fit of giggles. "I hadn't realized that would work so perfectly," she managed to say as she caught her breath. And then, sobering, she added, "By the way, you really do have to answer that question."

I opened my mouth to tell her that everything was fine and then I remembered the dilemma I had been struggling with just that morning. Sighing, I picked up the little blue car that I would be using as my game piece and studied it, trying to figure out what to say. Keiko was my best friend and if anyone could help me make sense of my feelings, it would be her.

"Keiko," I started, but then stopped once more.

"What, Shy? I didn't think this would be such a difficult question."

"Okay," I said, taking a deep breath. Deciding to just take the plunge, I asked, "Is it too soon to think I love him?"

"What!" she nearly shouted.

"Whoa," Kuwabara yelled from the kitchen. "Keep it down. I don't want to hear anything." The blender blared to life and I couldn't tell if he said anything else.

"Shyle Iraheta, are you telling me that you're in love with Hiei Jaganshi?" Keiko asked, disbelief clear on her face.

"Yeah, I am. Is that crazy? We've only been together for a month. Should I already be in love with him?" I stared hard at the car in my hand, praying Keiko didn't laugh at me. The idea that I wasn't actually in love with Hiei had been plaguing me all day. Maybe it wasn't love I was feeling, maybe it was just an increased level of infatuation.

"Shy, there are no time parameters for falling in love. It just happens." She laughed softly. "Do you think I planned to fall for Yusuke of all people? That was an accident. But it happened because we're meant for each other." She paused, waiting for me to look at her before she continued. "I've never seen you happier than when you are with Hiei. And, strangely enough, I can say the say about him. You relax him in a way that I never would have thought possible. Don't doubt yourself or your feelings, okay?"

I smiled at her, glad that I had confided in her. "Okay," I answered. "You're right, of course. I just can't help being nervous." I placed the car down on the start space and asked, "How the hell do I go about telling him?"

She shrugged. "I can't answer that for you. Just do it when it feels right."

I was about to respond when Kuwabara burst into the room, balancing three nearly overflowing glasses. "Take them before I drop them," he said, making his way toward us.

Laughing, I stood up and took one of the glasses from him, returning to my seat as he handed Keiko hers. "What kind are they?" I asked, putting the glass to my lips and taking a small sip.

"Strawberry and banana with chocolate ice cream," he answered. He gulped down a large sip and then grinned at me, a foam ring around his lips.

"Geek," I muttered, trying not to laugh.

Holding her glass in one hand, Keiko tossed a car to Kuwabara with the other. "Let's get this started," she said, grinning and leaning forward to give the spinner a twist. Moving her car three spaces, she glanced at Kuwabara and said, "You missed a very surprising girl talk."

"Somehow, I think I'm going to be okay," Kuwabara replied, rolling his eyes. He spun the spinner and advanced his piece, picking up a life tile when his space told him to.

And so the game went. Talk flowed easily and it wasn't long before our cars were advancing toward retirement. Kuwabara chuckled when I landed on a space that told me I'd adopted a child. "The shrimp would totally freak out if you guys actually had three kids," he said as I put a fifth person into my car.

"Actually, Hiei wants kids," I informed him sagely, grinning at Kuwabara's shocked expression.

"Hiei wants kids," Keiko repeated, seemingly testing out how the words sounded. "I never would have guessed that."

"Yeah, it just goes to show that you guys aren't as freaking smart as you think you are," I said, glaring at each of them.

"That's just weird," Kuwabara muttered. He still appeared shocked, as though he just couldn't wrap his mind around what I had said. "Hiei and a bunch of screaming little kids doesn't seem like a good idea."

"I'm sure that any kids raised by Hiei wouldn't be screaming," Keiko said, smiling as she advanced her car.

"Very funny," I retorted, handing her money as she passed a 'pay day' space.

Twenty minutes later it was determined that Kuwabara had won. He'd collected a sizable stack of life tiles and had had the best salary for the largest portion of the game, which together gave him the most money. He gloated for a few minutes before announcing that it was movie time.

While Keiko and I put away the game, he stood and grabbed the stack of movies off of the coffee table. "Alright, so personally I would prefer to watch an action movie –"

"Surprise, surprise," I interrupted.

He shot me a dirty look, but continued, "And as winner of Life, I believe that it should be my decision what movie we watch."

"Go ahead," Keiko said, giving him permission to choose with a roll of her eyes.

"Wonderful, I was hoping you would see things my way," he announced, bowing to her slightly. "I have made my movie choice and all that is left is for you two to get yourselves set up. I shall prepare my bed during the wait."

Snorting at his pompous attitude, I returned the game board to the stack in the corner and grabbed the air mattress. Once I had dragged it into the middle of the living room, I pulled the mattress free of its bag and lay it out on the floor. Keiko and I set about inflating it and covering it with blankets and pillows. By the time we were done, Kuwabara had sprawled out on the couch and was munching on a bowl of popcorn.

"Where the heck did that come from?" I demanded, eyeing the bowl jealously.

"I made it while you two were busy," he answered. "Feel free to make your own."

"Oh, I will," I retorted, making my way into the kitchen. Keiko followed me and we each made a bag of popcorn. I dumped my bag into a bowl and returned to the living room, flicking off all of the lights on my way. Keiko followed a second later after she grabbed two sodas from the fridge.

"You got me soda?" Kuwabara asked, extending a hand to take one of the cans expectantly.

"Nah, sorry. This is for Shy. Feel free to get yourself one though." I laughed at Kuwabara's outraged spluttering and accepted the can as I settled into a seat on the air mattress.

"Would you be so kind as to tell us what movie we're watching?"

"Nope," he answered, grabbing the remote off the arm of the couch and turning on the television. "I put the movie in while you guys were in the kitchen in order to ensure that it would be a surprise."

"You really out did yourself," I informed him sarcastically.

"I try." He hit play and the movie started, causing us all to fall into silence.

It was an action movie in the truest sense, but it was interesting and had a decent plotline. Keiko and I were both accustomed to watching fight scenes thanks to all the movies we had watched with Kuwabara and Yusuke so neither of us minded the constant shooting. That being said, I was ready for it to end when the credits finally started rolling.

At some point during the movie I had laid down on my back and, as Kuwabara turned off the television, I rolled over onto my stomach, resting my chin on my crossed arms. "While that wasn't horribly sucktastic, it wasn't outstanding either. I give it a seven out of ten."

"That high?" Keiko asked, turning onto her side and raising an eyebrow at me. "I'd give it a four. Five tops."

"The fight scenes were relatively decent," I said, defending my choice. "Not to mention the fact that the hero was some pretty sexy stuff."

"True," Keiko admitted.

Kuwabara stretched on the couch, clearing his throat loudly. "That's enough about sexy men, thank you very much. Rating wise, I agree with Shy, though clearly not for all the same reasons."

"Yeah, that's because you thought the damsel in distress was the sexy one, not the hunky hero," I said, grinning at him.

He frowned and shook his head. "The only woman I find sexy is my lovely Yukina."

"Sure, whatever you say." I exchanged looks with Keiko and we both broke out into laughter. The pillow that whacked me in the face promptly ended my good humor. "Watch it," I warned.

"Serves you right," Kuwabara muttered.

"Now, now, children. Calm down," Keiko said, barely containing her laughter.

There was a momentary silence and then I said, "Just admit that you thought she was attractive."

"Shut up, Shyle!" Kuwabara barked, flinging another pillow.

Another silence fell, during which I grabbed the two pillows that I had been hit with and hugged them to me. "Just so you know, you aren't getting these back."

"Aw, but, Shy, those are the only pillows I had."

"You should have thought about that before you used them as projectiles."

"Damn it."

The next morning we had breakfast together before going our separate ways for the day. We planned to meet up at Kuwabara's around five so that we could decide what to do for dinner.

Keiko and I had talked about me getting back into working and it was decided that I would have one more day off before joining Keiko. The diner still wasn't as busy as it had been before we'd gone to Genkai's, which meant that Keiko didn't really need my help. She was slightly worried that her prolonged absence had driven away all but the diner's most loyal customers, but I had a feeling that they simply didn't realize that the diner was back open. Once they knew it was, I was sure they would all come back.

I wasn't entirely sure what Kuwabara was doing with his day, though I assumed that it had something to do with his rapidly approaching wedding. In eight days time he would be a married man.

As for my day, I planned to go for a run and then clean up my apartment. Hiei's absence meant that there wouldn't be anyone under my feet, leaving me free to clean in peace. I could blare music and sing at the top of my lungs without fear of embarrassment.

I went for a relatively long run, lengthening my normal three mile loop through the park into five miles, and showered before getting down to business. Cleaning wasn't something I minded doing. It provided me with time consuming tasks that didn't give me a lot of thinking time. Plus, dancing around my apartment while I worked was fun.

I was dusting my room when I found it, the tattered magazine that Keiko and I had argued about over a month ago. It had been stuffed at the bottom of my duffel bag the day we came back from Genkai's and I'd tossed it carelessly on the ground. Somehow the magazine had ended up under my bed, which was where I first saw it.

Raising a surprised eyebrow, I pulled the magazine out from under the bed by a dog-eared corner and flipped through it carelessly, stopping on the article that had been the subject of my debate with Keiko and then the rest of our friends.

Tracing a finger over the glossy writing, I murmured the title, "Ten Ways to Know if He's Into You."

I realized slowly that I had been right. I'd told Keiko that I would know if my boyfriend cared about me without the help of a magazine article and I did. I knew without a doubt that Hiei was serious about being with me. But it wasn't for the reasons I'd expected.

Hiei had refused to give an opinion on the article, stating that he was a demon and they went about dating far differently than humans. That being said, he did go so far as to clarify that when demons courted their potentials they made sure to make their intentions very clear. And he had most certainly done that. From day one, he had made it public knowledge that he wanted me to be his mate.

So really, I was only right because I was dating a demon. Had Hiei not told me that he wanted to mate me, I doubt that I would have known he was so serious about me.

Smiling faintly, I decided to see if the magazine would have even been any help. Knowing that Hiei wasn't human and may not fit the magazine's guidelines perfectly, I started reading. I skimmed the reasons, murmuring aloud the parts that stuck out.

"He actively takes an interest in you and what you have to say. He's not just nodding and smiling and checking his watch every five minutes like you're trying to sell him life insurance." That couldn't be truer. When we had first started asking each other questions, I had thought he was biding his time by asking me easy questions. In reality, he had been learning about me, filing away every bit of information he learned so that he could use it later.

"He's forthcoming. He wants you to know about him," I read softly, unable to stop a small bubble of laughter. Yusuke and Kuwabara would be stunned if I ever told them how willing to talk about himself Hiei had been. There's no way in hell they would believe me.

But he'd been open with me because he had been building a relationship between us, without me even realizing it. Suddenly, I was left wondering exactly how long Hiei had been planning to court me.

I outright laughed at the third reason, giggling as I read it aloud. "He'll mark his won't pee on you or anything per se, but he will exhibit some animal behavior. If he's decided he wants you as his female, he won't want to lose you. If there's any chance that you might be snapped up by another male, he'll stake his claim. He'll be tactile with you, slipping an arm around you, possibly posturing and standing up when another guy walks onto the scene. Watch out for some regression to a more primitive man. If you hear grunting, don't panic. It's his way of saying he likes you."

Beyond the fact that he had blatantly rubbed our relationship in Daisuke's face, there was the literal issue of him marking me to consider. The article's author hadn't realized how close to home they had hit. Demons marked their mate with a bite on the neck and that was Hiei's goal.

I skipped reason four altogether. Hiei wouldn't be calling me anytime soon. Not because he didn't want to, but because I was pretty sure he didn't know how.

"He'll check you out," I read, snorting. Yeah, Hiei did a surprisingly large amount of that. I caught Hiei studying me at the strangest times, when I was a sweaty mess after a run or in the morning when I had just rolled out of bed. It was strangely flattering that he could find me captivating to watch even when I was sure to look like absolute crap.

"He's flirtatious. Guys get playful around women they like. It's a little dance he's doing around you to show his interest and his daring. However, he's not just being flirty, he's also probing. He's putting on a little show for you to see if you'll reciprocate. The more you play, the more he stays."

I grinned, remembering the little kisses he gifted me with whenever the opportunity presented itself and his habit of walking around clad only in boxers. I hadn't expected him to be so open and loving, it just didn't seem like him, but he most definitely was.

I dismissed reason seven just as I had number four. Hiei didn't need to plan future dates. We'd been living together ever since we'd started dating so being together had never been a problem.

Reading reason number eight, I recalled telling the guys how similar it was to number one and couldn't help but think the same thing once more. Rather than dwelling on a reason I'd already thought about, I continued on to number nine, but was disappointed to find that it wasn't applicable to Hiei.

"He'll blow off his buddies to be with you. It's always tricky managing existing commitments with burgeoning relationships," I murmured. He didn't need to ditch his friends, not considering that we had the same friends. In fact, we'd met each other through them. If one of us wanted to spend time with our friends, the other simply went with them.

Taking a deep breath, I turned my attention to the last reason and read it slowly, "Acts of selflessness. He'll take one for the team of you and him. These can be large or small acts. They can be as small as holding your hair back for when you've got stomach flu, or as large as suffering through a Utada Hikaru concert and pretending he's enjoying it because you're a fan."

That reason was indeed applicable. After all, Hiei had given in and gone to the amusement park only a few days ago. And that was only one of the many things that he had done for me. He let me sleep on the left side of our bed because I liked sleeping closer to the wall, despite telling me once that he preferred the left. He went for runs with me, even though he couldn't possibly enjoy running at such a slow pace.

He'd given me so much and, for the life of me, I couldn't think of anything I'd given him.

AN: The article has made a return. If you want to read it in its entirety, the whole article is present in Chapter 2. I probably should have said this when I first used the article, but I'll say it now: I don't own the article. I didn't create it or come up with any of its ideas. I read the article online and it inspired me to write this story. Strange, huh?

Thanks to those of you that reviewed, but my total for last chapter dropped again, which made me sad. So here's what I was thinking. Since over eighty people have this story on their alerts list, why can't more of you leave reviews? If you're receiving emails every time I update, then you must like the story. Review and tell me why.

Oh, and I'm still looking for my first flame. Is it weird that I want one?