Chapter 18

Rin woke to the morning sun shining in her eyes. She was wrapped in silky hotel sheets, a small but persistent headache knocking at the back of her skull. The first thing she did was grope for her phone on the bedside table, but her fingers found nothing but the smoothly veneered surface. She rolled over, wondering if it might be shoved under one of the pillows, a bad habit of hers, but no luck.

Propping herself up on one elbow, Rin saw that the sheets were rumpled, the bedspread had been thrown into a corner, and a puddle of blue was laying on the floor by the balcony doors.

Her dress from last night. And the balcony door was still open.

Hiei. Oh.

As she buried her face in her pillow with a tiny embarrassed scream, the memories of the previous night came flooding back in a heady rush. So that's why she was a bit achy and the hotel room was a mess. It had been a very enjoyable night, all told.

But her partner in that enjoyable evening was not here. She wasn't sure if Hiei had even slept in the bed with her afterwards. Knowing him, probably not. She wasn't surprised he had left her to wake up alone, but she also couldn't stop a little thread of hurt from winding its way around her heart. Rin shook her head, her mind turning to practicalities. First, she needed to find her phone.

After getting dressed and running a brush through her wild hair, Rin took the elevator to the reception hall on the top floor. The last time she remembered seeing her phone was during dinner. She had shoved it into her purse and shoved the purse under her chair. She also remembered crimson eyes and a certain fire demon leaning in and saying that her scent reminded him of Kurama's plants. Focus, she told herself. You're thirty, not a lovestruck teenager. But there was nothing in the reception hall - not even tables. The staff must have broken down and put them away already.

Her next stop was the front desk, where the very kind and understanding clerk checked the Lost and Found and - huzzah! - handed over Rin's patent leather clutch and her discarded heels. Rin sat in one of the sleek lobby chairs to check her phone.

There were a bunch of missed texts from Botan. Wondering if she had missed something important, Rin opened the text thread.

rin where are you? - 10:55 p.m.

hey! yusuke says shots time! - 11:13 p.m.

you with Hiei? *cat face emoji* - 12:10 a.m.

come to brunch at 10! - 9:29 a.m.

where are you? brunch! - 10:10 a.m.

Texting the ferry girl back, Rin discovered that the brunch was being held in the hotel's attached restaurant on the ground floor. She briefly considered just packing up and heading home, but she had already been invited and also didn't want to disappoint Botan. Even though a brunch with the Kuwabaras' family and friends did not sound like the most fun thing to someone nursing a slight hangover.

When the hostess led her to the private hall in the back of the restaurant, Rin found a room full of chattering people. There was a group of middle aged and older people (relatives and extended family, Rin guessed) at a table with Kuwabara, Yukina, Shizuru, and her date. Both Yukina and her new husband were fresh and alert, though somewhat subdued. Rin guessed that they were probably tired after all the previous day's excitement. Other tables were filled with friends, co-workers, and others. Right at the end of the table closest to the door were Botan, Yusuke, and the rest.

Most of them looked a little worse for wear. Botan's magenta eyes were a dull pink over dark bags, and her sky blue hair was frizzy and lacked its usual shine. Yusuke was wearing sunglasses at the table and nursing a black coffee. Even Keiko looked tired, her posture slumped. Only Kurama was unfazed, his expression serene and his long, elegant fingers curled around a cup of tea rather than coffee. Though Rin noticed that one auburn curl of hair was sticking up stubbornly at the back of his head, so perhaps he wasn't as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as he wanted people to think.

"Rin," Botan called. Her voice was hoarse and froggy, a stark contrast to her usual high musical tones. She got up and took Rin's arm, ushering her to their table. "We saved you a seat right here." The ferry girl presented the empty chair with a flourish, a beaming smile, and a broad wink; it was on the end next to someone with spiky black hair and wearing all black. Of course it was Hiei, and back in his normal ragged black cloak and white scarf, to boot. The Dragon of the Darkness Flame tattoo on his right arm, hidden under a long-sleeved dress shirt for most of the weekend, was on full display.

Internally sighing, Rin plopped down next to the fire demon, feeling the eyes of everyone at the table on her. She ordered coffee and a large glass of water when the waiter came by, sitting stiffly and not daring to even glance in Hiei's direction. On second thought, that may have been even more suspicious.

"Late night, Rin?" Kurama asked from across the table with a sly smile, his hair falling elegantly across his face. He swept it away with a practiced gesture.

Botan chimed in, "We noticed that you disappeared after the sparkler photo. We were ever so worried."

"Short stack vanished too," Yusuke said, looking at Rin over the top of his sunglasses. His eyes were bloodshot and tired, but he still managed a teasing grin. "Weird, huh?"

"Yes, that is an interesting coincidence, isn't it?" Kurama said, his green gaze moving between Rin and the fire demon. "I was worried, Hiei. You never returned to our room last night."

Rin wanted to reply, to deny everything, but she wasn't sure how Hiei wanted to handle it. As a newly returned 'prodigal daughter' to the group, she didn't want to overstep or complicate the relationships Hiei already had.

"You'd do well to keep your nose out of my business, Kurama," Hiei growled, determinedly not looking at Rin.

"Seems like you're a little defensive over there, buddy," Yusuke said, leaning forward and putting his elbows on the table.

Hiei snarled but subsided as the waiter chose that moment to return and take their brunch orders.

After the server left, trying to change the subject, Rin asked, "Have we heard anything more about," she dropped her voice to a whisper and glanced over at the Kuwabaras' table, "our 'friends' from last night?"

Botan perked up. This was her area of expertise. "Spirit World operatives cleaned up the mess from Nokawa and his goons last night, and set up a perimeter barrier and sentries around the hotel. No other incidents were reported." The ferry girl took a gulp of her coffee, then continued. "Lord Koenma has made the 'Free Demon World' movement a top priority. If they've gotten bold enough to attack the wedding of the Spirit Detective's best friend, they need to be on our radar."

"Exactly," Kurama said, looking worried over his half-empty teacup. "And we still haven't discovered who, if anyone, is the source of our security breach for this event." He shot an apologetic glance at Rin.

"Spirit World is investigating. I'm sure they'll turn up something," Keiko piped up, but she didn't look confident. She had seen too much of Spirit World and its sometimes lackadaisical approach to solving problems, especially where it concerned Yusuke.

A thought struck Rin. "I remembered something from last night. When we confronted Nokawa in front of the hotel, he said something about a 'she' who warned him that his plan wasn't going to work."

Beside her, Hiei started in his seat and glanced sidelong at her.

Kurama leaned in and said, "At the time, I thought he meant Botan. You think he meant a leader?"

"I do. It sounded to me like he meant someone working behind the scenes. Someone calling the shots. But I could be reading too much into it."

"As far as we know, the movement is decentralized, with no true leadership," Botan said. "But I'll mention it to Lord Koenma as a possibility."

After that, the conversation turned to trivial topics. Botan delightedly told the story of Keiko half-dragging, half-supporting Yusuke to their hotel room after the reception ended, but not before he had to throw up in a potted plant.

"I'm gonna replace it," he said, waving a hand dismissively. "Lay off about it already."

"Oh, I'm never letting you live that down, Mr. Spirit Detective," Keiko said with a wink and a flip of her hair.

The rest of the table broke into gales of laughter at Yusuke's grumpy scowl and crossed arms.

An hour or two later, Rin was stuffing her packed bags into the trunk of her car. She shaded her eyes and looked up at the hotel, her thoughts wandering to everything that had happened in the last 24 hours: the wedding ceremony, Kurama's suspicions, dinner and drinks, the fight with Nokawa, and Hiei. Just Hiei. Her cheeks warmed at the thought of the fire demon, and she wondered how he was getting home. He had not tried to talk to her more during brunch - in fact, had disappeared shortly after - and she assumed that he would find his own way back to the city.

Rin sighed, popping open her car door and dropping into the driver's seat. She set up her audiobook and got ready to drive, pushing away her melancholy thoughts. As she had to keep reminding herself, she was thirty, not a lovestruck teenager. And she knew who Hiei was. He had always held himself apart. It was not in his character to seek anyone out. Maybe she had just been his momentary distraction for the evening.

She rolled down the windows and put the car into drive, the next lines of her audiobook playing through the car's speakers.

"Leaving without me?" Hiei had appeared from nowhere and was looking down into the car at her, one hand on the roof, wild black hair ruffling in the mild breeze.

Keeping her expression neutral, Rin looked at him coolly and said, "I figured you'd find your own way home." She tried not to pay attention to the way the muscles in his forearm flexed, or how the collar of his shirt gaped open and showed a small sliver of his pale chest.

"Hmph," Hiei said, looking a little miffed that his surprise entrance hadn't sparked a stronger reaction. "I'm nothing if not practical. I decided not to waste my precious energy by running all the way back."

Rin raised an eyebrow, though she still kept her expression and tone neutral. "I think you're assuming a lot here, mister - I'm not seeing you giving me any gas money."

Hiei ducked his head inside the car, put his mouth right up to her ear, and said, "Oh, I think you know that I can pay you back in other ways."

His warm breath tickled against her skin, and she blushed all the way to the tips of her toes, momentarily unable to speak. Instead she flailed around for something to say as he went around the car and got in the passenger seat with a self-satisfied smirk. He tossed a familiar garment bag in the back seat and leaned against the door, crossing his arms expectantly.

Apparently this was her life now: dealing with infuriating fire demons. Rin put the car in drive, wondering if Hiei would be silent the whole way home, like he had been on their journey here. In any case, she was going to listen to her Pride and Prejudice audiobook, grumpy fire demons be damned.

After an hour or so of silence, Hiei turned to her and asked, "I don't understand the problem in this book. Why doesn't Elizabeth just kill this Mr. Collins so she can inherit her father's property? It's a much simpler solution than all this talking and dancing."

Rin glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. She had assumed that Hiei wasn't listening to Jane Austen's classic tale of the five Bennet sisters, but he was looking at her intently, waiting for a response. If he really was interested, she was more than happy to explain.

"Well, there's this thing called entailment…"

Rin pulled her car into her usual parking space at her apartment building, turning the key in the ignition and cutting off the Pride and Prejudice narrator mid-sentence. Silence reigned inside the car, a silence that stretched on while Hiei watched her fidget with her bag and her phone. She was reluctant to get out of the car and put the final period on their weekend. After this, they'd have no plausible reason to see each other, unless one of them was willing to swallow their pride. And that definitely wouldn't be Hiei.

Unable to put the final moment off any more, Rin opened her door and got out. She turned to get her suitcase out of the trunk, and suddenly the fire demon was standing in front of her. A little squeak of surprise escaped her lips before she could stop it. His ruby eyes bored into hers as her heart skipped a beat.

"As per the ancient laws of Demon World, the terms of our deal are fulfilled," he said in a formal, stiff tone that sounded like he was reading from an actual contract. "Your service in regards to my sister's wedding has now erased your life debt to me."

Rin stared at him incredulously. He was really going for 'all business,' wasn't he? "Right," she agreed after a moment. "You're welcome, by the way."

"Tch," Hiei said, looking away. "You should know better. I'm a demon. Don't expect me to thank you."

"Of course not," she said, rolling her eyes. She walked past him, pulled her suitcase out of the trunk, and set it on the blacktop, not looking forward to dragging it upstairs.

Rin expected Hiei to flash step away without a word, his typical M.O., but he lingered on the other side of the car, watching her like he wanted to say something. She waited, but he was silent.

"Right, well, I've got to get this upstairs and unpack," she said after a few seconds, hefting the luggage. It was heavier than she remembered it being at the start of the weekend. What had she packed, rocks? "See you later, I guess." She headed for the apartment building's stairs, resigned to hauling her bag up four flights and thinking of all the laundry she'd need to do before tomorrow.

"Wait."

She turned to see Hiei behind her, scarred hand outstretched, dragon tattoo winding up his arm. His expression was open and vulnerable, his flaming crimson eyes full of unexpected, fragile want. Again her heart did a little tap dance in her chest.

"I require you to make another deal with me, human," he said, scrubbing the toe of one boot along the ground and looking away. "If you swear to make me dinner, I'll carry that bag to your apartment." The fire demon spoke haltingly, like he was forcing the words out despite himself.

Rin smirked. "This isn't another 'life debt' situation, is it? I don't know if I can take another one of those on. I've got a busy schedule." She couldn't help teasing him. And it wasn't like he didn't deserve it.

Hiei scoffed and shook his head, his cheeks and the tips of his ears coloring the palest pink.

Rin smiled. "Deal."

Author's note: And thus concludes the Kuwabara wedding weekend extravaganza, i.e., Rin and Hiei's first date! Thank you to everyone who stayed with me on this journey, to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed, and to everyone who has kept reading. I never would have thought a silly little fanfic about Yukina getting married would end up being 18(!) chapters long, or that anyone would actually read it. And again, thank you, thank you, thank you! I decided to start writing this as a fun little thing for myself, but it's because of you all that I've kept going.

As I said last time, this is not the end of the story for Rin and Hiei! The next chapter will be the start of our next arc - the 'second date,' if you will. Stay tuned for more!