A/N: A twofer this time because the last chapter was so short. I hope you guys all enjoy and I'm sorry for the long delays between updates. Between the new job and life and shit, time is a luxury. Enjoy!

Victoria wasn't sure what to make of all the extra company that had been coming 'round lately. It was too hot to fuss though. Sweat rolled down her neck and she pressed the cold glass holding her sweet tea to her throat.

"Tell me again why you're here, auntie?" She drawled loudly, having to raise her voice to compete with the WRRRRRTCHT of the lawn mower as it pushed across the expanse of her backyard.

"To see my favorite niece of course." Her auntie Susan wasn't even looking at her.

Favorite niece my ass, Victoria thought to herself. Vanessa giggled beside her, fanning herself with a humidity crumbled magazine. Her long hair had been pulled back into a messy bun.

"You have to admit, it's a nice view." Vanessa teased, whacking Victoria's knee with the back of her hand.

"You missed a spot!" Victoria shouted instead of addressing her best friend. The motor of the push mower stopped.

Hiei wiped his brow and shot her a mean look. Her auntie made a peculiarly feminine noise. Kurama looked over at the women as well, clearly annoyed.

"You could help us." He shot at Victoria, unlike Hiei he wore a sun hat. But still, he had to use his forearm to dry his forehead. While Hiei mowed, Kurama pulled weeds from the garden bed.

"You could pay rent." She retorted with a cocked brow. Then she pointed at Hiei with the hand that clutched her tea glass. "And you could stop breaking all my shit when you're bored."

Stop buying breakable things. He signed to her before calling her an unsavory name with his hands.

"Let the boys take a break. They've been working oh so hard in this hot sun." Her auntie batted her lashes and Kurama and Hiei. "Look at the poor boys, Vicki, drenched to the bone with sweat."

Victoria was looking. So was Vanessa. Hiei grumbled something to Kurama before pulling his tank top off and using it to mop his face. His skin had grown noticeably tanner since arriving in their world, Victoria noted. All his time in the sun was really showing. Kurama had darkened some too, which surprised her because he was actually quite diligent about sunscreen. He was stripped down to his shorts and a tee shirt, modest compared to Hiei who now only wore the beaten pair of tennis shoes Victoria had forced him to wear and his airy basketball shorts that sat low on his hips.

It startled Victoria to find her auntie already on the lawn carrying a tray of Arnold Palmers to the two men. Since when had that woman gotten so fast? She hadn't seen her auntie move that fast since that one time her cousin had sat on a fire ant hill.

Actually, thinking about it, she was definitely faster at delivering drinks to the boys.

"Well, if this is all about money maybe I can help." Auntie Susan didn't seem to be in control of her eyes as they drug down Hiei's form while he chugged the ice cold drink before putting the glass back on the tray. "I got the house in the divorce and the lawn is just so hard for me to keep up with all alone."

She touched Hiei's arm with a smile and he dropped his gaze to her hand with a cocked brow.

"Maybe you could come over and do some work for me? I'd pay you, of course. Better than working for free." Auntie Susan flashed him a smile that wanted to be flirtatious.

Vanessa had to get up and go into the house so no one would hear her laugh. Victoria glared at her back and called her a coward for fleeing the scene and leaving her to deal with this.

Kurama sidled over to Hiei and translated Auntie Susan's offer in murmured Japanese. Hiei listened then glanced at the woman, visibly assessing her head to toe with heavy scrutiny. He spoke back to Kurama and the redhead relayed his question.

"He wants to know what sort of work and how much pay you had in mind."

"Oh, generous pay. What's the going rate for lawn care service these days?" Auntie Susan turned to Victoria as if expecting an answer.

"Don't ask me. My lawn guys are volunteers." Victoria responded, finishing her tea before rising to her feet. Kurama rolled is eyes. "Just Google it auntie. Or ask Pawpaw, doesn't he use a service?"

"He'll just try to get me to use his. You know how he is." Auntie Susan waved off the idea. She pitched Hiei a number and he weighed it for a moment before nodding.

"Excellent. I'll pick you up and drop you off, so don't you worry about having to drive." She ran her hand that Hiei's arm and gave his bicep a gentle squeeze before sighed. "You know, I have a lot of friends who need help too. Maybe we can get you a little bit of a side business going, hmm?"

Victoria called across the lawn, "Auntie, come finish your tea. You need to slack that insane thirst of yours."

Auntie Susan nodded and walked away, seeming hesitant to leave Hiei's side. He raised both his eyebrows and turned to Kurama with a mildly annoyed look. "These woman are too handsy."

"She's attracted to you."

"Why?"

Kurama sighed and looked over Hiei then shook his head. He walked away and pulled off the thick gloves he'd been wearing to protect his hands. "I'm going inside."

He walked away and left Hiei outside with a scowl on his face. Victoria offered him a smile and signed Don't frown sweetheart, you'll get wrinkles.

A single finger salute answered her before Hiei tucked his tank top into the waistband of his shorts. With more aggression than necessary, he yanked on the pull chord for the lawn mower to bring it back to life. Victoria popped her back and shook her empty glass, listening to the ice clink as it quickly melted in the formidable heat.

"I'm getting a refill. You want to come inside and out of the heat?" She asked her auntie.

"No, I'm alright. I don't mind the heat." Auntie Susan swallowed, eyes tracking the movements of the man in the yard.

Victoria dumped the ice down the back of the woman's shirt. Auntie Susan yelped then hollered, swearing at her niece. She fanned out the back of her shirt to try to get the ice cubes away from her skin. Victoria laughed, grinning at her.

"I didn't want you dying of heat stroke." Victoria teased. "You look ready to melt."

"Girl, you just remember you're never going to get too old for me to wear your ass out." Auntie Susan pointed a finger at her face.

Victoria went inside, having a good chuckle, and sighed in relief at the feel of the central air on her skin. It was a horrifically hot day and it wasn't even noon. She made her way to the counter where Kurama had set out the pitcher of tea for easy access. Vanessa sat at the counter, her summer yellow sun dress complimenting her pretty tan skin. She was eating a chilled lemon bar. Grams had brought a tray full of the treats over the day before when she'd come to check on her granddaughter.

"You sure you should be leaving those two alone? Susan looked ready to jump Hiei's bones right there on the lawn." Vanessa sipped her tea with an unsuppressable smile. "I haven't a woman her age that overtly horny since the aunties went to see Fifty Shades."

"Don't remind me." Victoria moved to the fridge to steal herself a lemon bar. "If she gets too frisky I'll just spray her with the hose."

"How strange that women here don't hide their attractions. Back home such things are handled a little differently." Kurama leaned on the counter across from the two women. "At least it means that there is little guess work involved to their motives."

"Who has time to play games in this economy?" Vanessa lamented. "Though, Hiei doesn't exactly seem to understand what's going on. Should you really be pimping him out?"

Kurama choked on his Arnold Palmer.

"It's only pimping if he puts out." Victoria retorted. "If Hiei wants to work for some money, that's up to him. If the aunties get weird and make him uncomfortable I'll put an end to it. But it will be nice if he has his own money to spend. Keeping him supplied with sunglasses and food isn't cheap and business has been slow lately."

"Get a real job." Vanessa suggested.

"Maybe I should marry for money." Victoria stared up at the ceiling.

"Are we putting you into a compromised financial situation Victoria?" Kurama asked delicately, a frown growing on his face. "I hadn't realized."

"It's fine K-drama, I'll pick up some jobs soon. Lulls like this happen now and then." She shook her head. "Don't worry about it."

Still, he frowned, his mind already at work trying to devise a way to fix the burden they'd unwittingly placed on her. Surely taking them in had put a strain on her, he realized. She'd been living alone when they'd met. Going from one person to feed and clothe and entertain to three overnight wasn't a cheap venture. She had even gone out and bought them new clothes and stocked the cabinets with food for them, given them cellphones and taken them on some adventures. A truly gracious host, he thought, but one that was suffering to keep them comfortable.

That simply wouldn't do.

What are you doing?

Kurama stared at Hiei blankly for a second, then asked, "What?"

Hiei asked again, visibly frustrated that Kurama wouldn't answer such a simple question. It took Kurama pointing out that Hiei was using ASL instead of Japanese for him to understand why.

"I said, what are you doing?" Hiei blushed, embarrassed he had grown so comfortable using sign language that he had slipped into it subconsciously.

"I'm researching the ways I might be able to earn some money to give to Victoria." Kurama explained, sitting on the bed with a hand-me-down laptop in his lap. Victoria had dug it out of storage, apologizing for it's age and faults. It was slow, she had warned him, and the charger was fickle. But still, it was free and now his and he was profoundly thankful.

"Why? Is she serious about charging us rent?"

"No. She didn't ask me to do this. She had just made a comment about being short on funds." Kurama explained.

Hiei sat on his side of the bed and thought about that. Well, if Kurama wanted to waste his time making money for someone else that was his business. Victoria was a pain in the ass who always complained about everything. Sure, he had lost several pairs of sunglasses by looking over the side of the pontoon or by not paying attention to how delicate they were and accidentally snapping them in. And yeah, he ate approximately eight times a day. He had already gone through three pairs of flip flops and two pairs of sneakers and a pair of boat shoes. It wasn't his fault the craftsmanship of apparel in this world was so shoddy. He rarely had to replace his old shoes. The soles just fell out of these after a few months of him running.

Well, not the second pair of flip flops. Those had, like his favorite sunglasses, been swallowed by the lake because he'd been careless.

Still, she'd offered to provide those things when she took them in. Why should they be made to feel guilty for the cost? If she wanted help she should just say so not beat around the bush.

He found himself glancing at the laptop screen and thinking back to what auntie had said about paying him generously.

"Oh my, you look worn out." Auntie Susan leaned against her kitchen counter doing her best to look as svelte as possible. She was even wearing high heels and makeup. Extending a glass of ice water to Hiei she asked, "Thirsty, honey?"

He nodded and accepting the offering, gulping the cold water with vigor. Hiei stood in her kitchen without a shirt on, covered in sweat and surprisingly sore from pushing the mower up the steep incline that made up half of her backyard. Severed blades of grass stuck to his legs, growing slightly itchy. His green-stained shoes looked out of place against the backdrop of spotless tiles that made up the kitchen floor.

Auntie's house was different from Victoria's. It was spacious and empty. The kitchen was large, with pots and pans hanging from an iron rack suspended from the ceiling above the island. Her counters were relatively free of clutter. But then again, her fridge was mostly empty. He did like the automatic ice dispenser though. It meant he wouldn't be nagged for digging in the ice bucket without cleaning his hands. Hiei set the glass on the counter and looked around the space.

"Thank you so much for your help, Hiei. I don't know what I'd do without you." Auntie Susan fluttered her lashes and tilted her hips toward him.

Hiei remembered what Kurama had said about her being attracted to him. He decided to do what the fox did when it suited him to manipulate women.

Hiei smiled and looked her over, tilting his head to the side.

She swallowed, swooning slightly.

Too easy.

But also, it gave him a foundation to work with for his plan.

Three weeks later Victoria sat on the couch while the client sat in the well-loved easy chair. They looked at the cards spread over the living room table. Then she nodded.

"Yeah, I see what you mean. There is a woman in your life who harbors ill intentions." Victoria explained. "You're right to be a little concerned."

"I knew it." The middle-aged man said, vindicated. "I knew she was up to something! What should I do?"

"Talk to your wife and a lawyer." Victoria suggested and received a dirty look. "You asked for advice hon. That's what I gave. If you suspect your wife is doing something you should take practical steps to resolve the issue. Communication is key in any relationship."

"Why the lawyer?" He demanded.

"You think your wife is trying to ruin you, dude. Why the hell wouldn't you get a lawyer?" She stared at him dully.

"Okay, well, what about in the meantime? Do I just walk around with a target on my back? Isn't there some voodoo protection thing you can do?" He pressed.

"Voodoo is a closed religion bro, I'm not initiated and I'm not about to piss off those deities to save your marriage." Victoria got up and walked over to her oldest wooden shelf. It was given to her mother by grams and now it was hers. There was history buried in the grain of the wood, magic in the hand crafted nature of the shelf itself. Her fingers skimmed along the top of it until they felt like stopping. An empty glass bottle. Ah, that was an idea. "There it is."

"You can do something?"

"I can always do something." Victoria responded, rifling through her different boxes for stones and materials. She moved to the kitchen and dug through her spice cabinet. After a few minutes she returned to him, offering the small glass bottle to him. It fit in the palm of his hand. "Keep that in your pocket and under your pillow."

"What is it?"

"A spell bottle. The charcoal will filter the negative energies directed at you. The salt is for protection. Parsley for purification. Wintergreen for hex breaking. Just in case." She explained. "That'll help but you have to remember to take those practical steps. Spells and intentions are great and all, but if you don't put in the footwork you won't see the pay off."

He nodded and stood up. "Yeah, okay. Thanks."

She walked him to the door where he paid her in cash. "Tell your friends."

As he left Hiei came back, grass-stained and shirtless as usual.

Auntie put you through the ringer again I see.

Her friends. He corrected. He'd been working over the last three weeks across the network of aunties, taking care of their lawns, pulling their weeds, cleaning their gutters. He even moved rocks and carried heavy items to and from storage for a few of them.

Always shirtless.

Always sweaty.

He extended an envelope to Victoria without looking at her. He kicked off his shoes behind the door and started up the stairs to shower. She opened the envelope and blinked.

"Hiei?" She questioned, confused. "What is this?"

Hiei turned halfway up the stairs to regard her. Then he signed, Money. Are you so foolish you can't understand currency?

But why?

He hesitated to answer. Kurama's words had gotten to him, if he were being honest. She had gone out of her way to care for them and he wasn't in the habit of owing favors. This would keep them on even ground.

Because I wanted to. He responded, glaring harshly to defy her to argue with him.

Thank you. She smiled softly at him, closing the envelope and cradling it with care.

Hiei nodded and then finished making his way to the shower.

"Here." Kurama slid a check over to Victoria as she cooked dinner.

Money was falling from the sky for her today. "What is this?"

"I know you said not to worry but we really should be helping more. Don't even try to argue because this is just the right thing for me to do." Kurama raised his hand, palm out, to deflect any potential disagreement.

"How did you make this?" Victoria stared at the check.

"I've been tutoring children online. As it turns out, teaching English is a lucrative business if you target the overseas countries. And my science and math are up to par for helping college students." He waved his hand. "Really, this is only possible because of your generosity in giving me your old computer."

"You should keep your money Kurama." She told him. "You worked hard for that. Hiei, you too."

"Tell her I kept over half." Hiei muttered around his bowl of leftover spaghetti that was he was eating an appetizer. Working gave him an appetite. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this hungry so consistently. In Makai, he could go weeks without food if needed. In this world if he didn't eat every few hours he felt aggressive and if he still ignored it, he started to feel slightly faint. Humans were so weak.

"We both kept about half for ourselves." Kurama explained for himself and Hiei. "I was able to open a bank account online, so this check is actually from my personal account."

"How?" Victoria set down the wooden spoon she'd been using to stir the shredded pork she was preparing for barbecue tacos.

"How?" Kurama's brow furrowed.

"How were you able to open a bank account? You don't have any information." She pressed. "You two are literally illegal aliens."

"Oh. That. Yes, I ran into that issue. After a quick Google search I came across information on the dark net and did some more research until I was able to access some underground sites. Eventually I found someone willing to supply me with the information I needed. Minamino Shuichi is officially an American citizen. My passport is in the mail." Kurama explained easily, as if this were perfectly normal. "Procuring that paperwork is actually where the rest of my money went for the time being. It's expensive, but that's to be expected. Even in our world dealing with illegal paperwork could be costly."

Victoria wasn't sure, exactly, she was supposed to say to all that.

"Tacos are almost ready. Grab the plates please." She segued casually, still reeling.

These two would be the death of her, if not literally than metaphorically. But as she finished with the pork and began setting out the tortillas she smiled. They both worked so hard and went through all this trouble on their own to pitch in. Maybe they were a handful, but she was actually going to be sad to see them go once they figured out how to get them home.