Disclaimer: I don't own YYH or the characters

Happy New Year, everyone! It's time to start 2023 right with a nice bought of family fluff. I hope everyone had a fun and safe night. Enjoy the chapter!

~Between the Sheets~

Hiei was unused to kindness. His entire life had been a struggle for survival until his crimes led him to Spirit World. It wasn't until he was forced to work with Yusuke and the others that Hiei experienced camaraderie. Even then, they were united through battle. He avoided thinking of his team as anything more than a duty.

It was after the war of the worlds was avoided that Hiei reluctantly joined his team in leisure activities. At the time, it was always through obligation or the mention of his sister. He avoided getting too close to the others, a defense mechanism, he learned since his coupling with Botan.

The ferry girl was always unnecessarily kind to him. In the past, Hiei attempted to play off his discomfort of those gestures through insults and a dismissive façade. As they had come so far, Hiei could admit that those actions always confused and disturbed him, buried themselves deep into his being until it tore him open at his very core.

As much as Hiei hated that feeling, he'd grown to accept it. After all, they had a child together. Botan gifted him her heart, her understanding, and her compassion. For the longest time Hiei fought against what he desired because it broke down walls he'd constructed as a form of self-preservation. Once the truth was fully out there, Botan encouraged him to talk through his doubts and fears.

In the weeks that Hiei spent alone with his child, he learned that those concerns were unfounded. The couple had spent quite a bit of time caring for Yoshio together that when they were on their own, they could handle it. It didn't make the distance between them easier, but it was not a disaster either.

Yoshio was an easy baby for the most part. The parents had him on a feeding schedule which Hiei kept to like clockwork. The boy would sometimes fuss at night, wanting to be near his parents. As much as Hiei wanted to keep the child from growing dependent on the contact, he indulged it if only to make up for the fact that Yoshio's mother was away.

The first time Hiei returned home, he was struck by more kindnesses he didn't know what to do with.

New clothes Botan picked out for him, his taste and durability kept in mind as she shopped for human clothing.

His favorite foods in the fridge, some meals prepared.

That beer Kuwabara introduced him to.

But most of all, the sheets.

Every time Hiei returned home and Botan had to leave, she would change the sheets and comforter to darker, solid colors of crimson, navy, or black. It was a strange consideration to Hiei. In his lifetime, he spent most of the time sleeping in trees or hard surfaces. Even his bed at Mukuro's was monochromatic.

Despite the intention behind the action, Hiei was always uncomfortable with this. He would change the sheets to Botan's preferences. He was certain she thought he did it for her benefit at the end of his stay, but he always changed them when he returned.

His reasons seemed silly, even to him. Those dark colors reminded him of the time he and the ferry girl kept separate rooms. When Hiei made the decision to share a room with his spirit lover, he knew he'd forever be surrounded by the woman. When she was away from home, he desired reminders of her. His days of bachelorhood were behind him. After all, they held nothing but misery and isolation.

Hiei figured he should tell the woman not to bother with this habit any longer, but things were usually frantic when they shifted roles. As irritating as it was, Spirit World remained slightly disorganized and crazed. But one of these days, he intended to tell the woman how he felt about her kind gesture. He only hoped she wouldn't take it the wrong way.

It was an unusually chilly day for spring, so Hiei took out a rust-colored sweater. Botan had a habit of gathering outfits for him for all sorts of weather conditions. It was unnecessary considering the fire demon's body temperature always ran high, plus he could raise his energy if he needed. Still, he appreciated the fact that Botan thought of him when they were separated. The clothes she chose for him were always so comfortable and decent quality, which was also a plus.

"Mm bah," Yoshio babbled from his spot on the floor.

Hiei's attention shifted to his son immediately. He went to get him out of the crib earlier and brought him to his little play station Botan set up in their room. At three months old, Yoshio was more active and engaged, but still could not crawl or get around on his own. He was developing a month faster than a human would. He seemed to have a deeper understanding when spoken to than other children his age. His most predominant accomplishment was getting used to 'tummy time'—as the woman and the parenting books called it. Now Yoshio was able to lift his head and roll over when he was over it, and could deliberately hit the objects on his pack n play. The latter Hiei was especially proud of.

When Hiei went to check on Yoshio that morning, he found the child still asleep. Since it was so close to breakfast, Hiei knew the baby wouldn't stay asleep for long. He took advantage of the momentary spell and watched Yoshio sleep, oblivious to the world and the dangers in it. His son was at peace, and Hiei was thankful.

When Yoshio woke, Hiei grabbed him before he could fuss and brought him to his and Botan's room so he could ready himself for the day. As it neared breakfast time, it made sense Yoshio would want Hiei's attention.

Hiei bent down to pick up his son, and Yoshio looked at him with the biggest smile. It always twisted Hiei in indescribable ways when his child looked at him like that, like he was someone to love and adore. Unconditional love was a strange concept to the fire demon, even more so than kindness, but he did understand to an extent. He would die for this child if he had to. Yoshio's safety and protection were a given as the world would not be right without his existence.

Hiei cringed at the thought. I've become too sentimental…

As if hearing the self-deprecating thought, Yoshio giggled and practically shoved his hand in his mouth.

"I know," Hiei murmured. "You're hungry. It's time for breakfast."

"Mmoo," Yoshio cooed as if responding.

Hiei took the baby to the kitchen and readied his bottle. As he fed Yoshio, his eyes shifted to the clock on the stove. He grimaced. He had less than ten hours before Botan would return home and take over for the week.

He had to make every one of those moments count.

Although Hiei intended to talk to Botan when she returned, it didn't happen. Like clockwork, the moment Botan returned, Mukuro summoned him to get back as soon as possible. Rebel forces from other territories decided to try and make a name for themselves by attacking a demon king. They were most likely weak factions, but even so, they were many in number, and Hiei could barely greet the woman before he handed over their son, stole a quick kiss, and took off for a portal.

Botan blinked before she gathered her bearings. She didn't even get a chance to talk to Hiei and ask how the week went for him. Since Yoshio was babbling happily, the ferry girl was certain their time was calm. Calm was exactly what she needed right now.

The woman took her Little Yoshi to her room and laid him on his tummy on hers and Hiei's bed. She smiled as she ran her hand on the flowery comforter. Hiei must have decided to use her spring bedroom set for her. He was always so thoughtful, changing the sheets for her.

"I wonder what had your daddy racing out of here," she mused as she looked her son in the eye. "Did you and Daddy have fun while I was away?"

"Bah goo," Yoshi answered as he moved his arms and legs in little circles.

Botan smiled and reached out for Yoshio to grab her finger. He shook his little fists in the air, her pointer finger gripped tightly in his left hand.

Hm, I wonder if that will be his dominant hand.

Hiei arrived a day earlier than expected, partly because there wasn't much left for him to do and partly because he wanted to spend a little extra time with Botan before she returned to Spirit World. She was so happy to see him when he walked through the door. If she hadn't been feeding Yoshio, he was sure she would have raced to embrace him.

As she continued to feed their son, Hiei sat beside her. Yoshio's eyes shifted to see his father as he suckled on his bottle. Hiei placed a hand atop the baby's head, and Yoshio closed his eyes. He seemed so content. Hiei sometimes wondered if peaceful moments like this were real. He never expected this to be his life.

After Yoshio was fed and burped, he became very drowsy. He snuggled against his mother and fell asleep. Botan smiled at their son, so much love in her eyes. Her gaze met Hiei's, and it was so strange that from a simple look, Hiei could tell how much Botan adored him too.

"How was your trip?" Botan softly spoke. "Was everything okay at Mukuro's?"

"Everything was fine," Hiei assured her. "You don't have to worry."

Botan's body moved closer to his, and she leaned her head on his shoulder, mindful of the baby in her arms. "I'll always worry about you. I love you, you know."

Hiei tensed, still unable to say those three words. Instead of allowing himself to become frustrated with himself, he answered, "I know. Still getting used to that."

Botan's playful expression softened, and she kissed the fire demon on the cheek. "I understand."

Hiei's body relaxed. He turned his body and placed a hand underneath her arm which held their baby and the other through her hair. He brought her forward to capture her lips in a searing kiss. It was a damned shame they had to do this week-by-week nonsense because even he could admit to himself how much he missed his family when he was away.

Their little one cooed in his sleep, and Hiei and Botan pulled away from their kiss, resting their foreheads together and breathing deeply.

"Why don't you go wash up, and I'll put Yoshi to bed?" Botan offered.

Words failed Hiei, so he nodded. He watched the woman as she stood up and walked out of the room.

When Hiei got out of the shower, he returned to his and Botan's room clad in a towel. With another, he worked on drying his hair. As he entered, he found Botan changing the sheets again and froze.

"You don't have to do that," he blurted out. His cheeks turned red the moment Botan's attention snapped to him.

"Do what?"

Hiei mentally cursed his embarrassing impulse, but now was as good a time as any to have this conversation.

"I don't mind if you leave it the way it is," Hiei told her. "The sheets. They're familiar and remind me of you when you aren't here. You needn't change them every time. Besides, I get enough dark colors at Mukuro's stronghold."

Botan seemed surprised, and rightly so. "Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"You should know by now that I don't like talking about how I feel."

Botan smiled knowingly at him, a tinge of sadness in her eyes. "But it does help sometimes. It did when I was pregnant."

"Hn," Hiei agreed. "I'm just stubborn."

Botan laughed at that, and Hiei grinned a lopsided grin. "Well, so am I, mister, so I'll just have to pry it out of you more."

Challengingly, Hiei demanded to know, "And how do you plan to do that?"

Botan came over to him and pressed her body against him. Hiei dropped the towel he used for his hair and gripped her waste, his bravado faltering with his woman so close. He tried to will himself to calm down and not get overly excited, but it had been so long. Ever since Yoshio was born, he'd been avoiding sex with the woman. He knew right after the birth he could hurt her and the thought terrified him more than he could verbalize.

"I don't think Spirit World would condone you throwing the body they gave you at a demon."

"It's a little late for that, isn't it, dear?" Botan teased.

The air around the two changed, becoming more electric and intense. Hiei's eyes bore into hers searchingly. "Is it okay?" he asked almost timidly.

Botan smiled and nodded. "Hanako said it's safe."

Hiei gave her a withering look. "I don't like that you talk to the witch about our sex life."

"She's not a witch, Hiei," Botan corrected as she had done so many times in the past. "And don't worry. It was strictly covered under doctor/patient confidentiality."

Hiei leaned in and grunted a 'hn'. Botan laced her hands through his damp hair. That comforting, disarming sensation that always afflicted him when she did this hit him so hard he almost lost his footing and growled, "You better finish what you started, reaper."

"Whatever you say, general."

Hiei crashed his lips against hers as the towel wrapped around his body fell to the ground. Botan's hands traveled down to his back, his skin warm against her cool fingertips. He brought her to their bed, only half changed from her efforts and pressed her flat against the mattress. His eyes gave promise that he planned to ravage her in ways he never dreamed to when she was pregnant. Botan nodded, and Hiei descended upon her once again.

Review Responses from Ch. 1 & 2

SaiyanWarrior200: Glad you enjoyed it! Happy reading :) And yes, they've made and are now living their plans.

yahnavolkinz: Lol, I don't know if Togashi will ever make a YYH spinoff or make HB a pairing, but that's what FF is for ;) I already have a lot of the scenarios in the story planned out, so I can tell you with certainty no one will be going to the ice world in future chapters, but I promise there will be so much fluff in this story as well as some serious moments (cuz you know, that's the reality), but all of it will be about family togetherness. I hope you enjoy!

Ladyscorpio0088: Yup, a nice slice of life story. And there will be plenty about big brother Yoshio ^_^

jtdarkman: Lol, well, patience for the little girl. Yoshio was much older in WTEWYE when she was born so to get to point B we must start at point A. ;) But don't worry. I intend to have her in there :3

Jessica: Glad you enjoyed the chapters!

CrazyOfTheShippers: Aw, glad the story made you so happy ^_^ Yup, in my heart, they're canon too.

Guest: Aw, thank you. Mysti and Lucretia have some great stories, and I have reread several of each other theirs. Lol. Trials of Life was a very important story to me, so I hope you enjoyed it. I'm glad you enjoyed WTEWYE too as that was probably my favorite project to date. I hope you enjoy Heart Races. It was my first attempt at HB so it was quite OOC even for me, but it should still be enjoyable (I hope XD). Ah, a Vegebul-er. Since you're a guest I can't tell, but have you read any of my VB stories? If so, thank you for being a continuing reader. If not, I encourage you to check them out if you're looking for content or interested. Happy reading :)