Disclaimer: I don't own YYH or the characters

Thank you again to MystiKoorime for acting as a source of encouragement as I worked toward finishing this story. I'm glad I was finally able to complete it amidst the craziness in my life (good craziness, but craziness nonetheless).

And here's a special thank you to the readers, both on FFN and AO3. Your patience with all of my stories in all of my fandoms has meant a lot to me, including the occasional check-ins. I promise to try to get back to my other stories. Updates just may be sporadic.

Now, onward to the chapter!

Day 7: Worship/Sayanora/Final Farwell/Meme: Angry Patrick

My feet patter forward;
The splash of puddled steps.
Wind pushes on, up the mountain
To the smoky hearth, my home.

There was something bittersweet about goodbyes. Humans experienced this sensation at so many different life stages: the first move, graduating from schools and colleges, moving out with a partner. Botan pondered this as she looked at her packed, nearly empty room. It was devoid of the life that used to exist in that room, shrouded in a tinge of unfamiliarity. Maybe it was due to the fact that many of her belongings were in hers and Hiei's new residence. It could also be due to the fact that her room had been completely turned upside down just a few short months ago by the rebels.

After Botan learned about the incident in Spirit World, she felt like a foreigner whenever she returned, like she didn't belong. Still, she felt that sense of belonging working with her fellow ferry girls, Koenma, and George, her family. She would continue to return to Spirit World to complete her duties. It wasn't a full goodbye.

Yet it felt so final.

Strong, warm arms wrapped around her as Hiei rested his cheek against her back. Botan released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding until that moment.

"Did your meeting with Koenma go well?" she spoke in attempts to push past the emotions she felt.

"You don't have to do that," Hiei told her.

Botan turned to him, genuine confusion reflected in her eyes. "I'm not sure I know what you mean."

"Pretend this isn't bothering you," the fire demon replied. He was never one to put much weight on having a home given he was banished from so many, but that meant he understood what it meant for her to willingly leave hers.

Botan offered him a true smile. "I'm not pretending. It just feels…different. Like I'm leaving a part of me behind. That must sound silly."

Hiei shook his head. "It's not. It's how you feel."

The ferry girl leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Thank you for saying that."

Hiei leaned into her, savoring the gentle gesture. "My meeting went fine. Koenma said not to worry about your remaining belongings. He's planning to send them personally, whatever we can't take with us now."

Botan's expression grew a bit grim. "Is it really that bad?"

"A precaution," Hiei assured her. "You shouldn't fear coming back to see to your duties. Although, he expressed if you feel threatened, he can always have one of the SDF agents accompany you."

Botan nodded but put on a smile. She didn't want Hiei to think she was mildly worried about returning. She didn't want him to worry, which she learned was a trait he hid very well yet still experienced at times. Just like Hiei could see that some of her positivity concealed her own concerns in life.

In so many ways, they were the same, and those similarities brought them together. In the ways they differed, they taught each other valuable lessons. They learned to trust, learned to communicate, learned to love. Accepting each other for those differences made their connection stronger.

Botan released a deep breath along with her worries and beamed brightly at her lover.

"Let's go home."

Botan hummed a happy tune as she worked on unpacking the few remaining boxes of her and Hiei's belongings. Hiei was training on the roof of the new apartment building they inhabited. It was a nice place, both with modern comfort and a hominess that reminded Botan of her quarters in Spirit World.

Finding a place to live was tricky. Hiei was content to live just about anywhere, but Botan wanted a place that was in close enough proximity to the nearest Spirit World portal. Additionally, they needed to be close enough to a portal to Demon World for when Hiei needed to tend to his duties. Botan also thought it would be a good idea to be close to people they knew, including Kuwabara's family now that Yukina was living with them.

While unpacking the final box, Botan found a small, black book. She was surprised to find a book in Hiei's box considering she never saw him read or write anything in the ferry girl rest house. A spark of curiosity took over as she opened the cover to see what Hiei was reading.

"I never knew the value of simple, little things," was inscribed on the first page. "The pain of empty sorrow lifted by joyous wings."

It didn't take long for Botan to realize that it was Hiei's writing. Her breath was taken away as she read the small poem. Hiei never seemed like the type to express himself with words. But here, in these pages, she could feel the emotions he usually kept hidden. Reading these words made her want to love him all the more to make up for what he never had in the past, to be there for him now and show him a new way of living.

"The ticking echoes loudly, pounding in my heart. Endless hours of waiting, unbearable when we're apart."

Botan ran her finger down the page as if she could somehow ease the pain of their past partings, before they lived together. It almost made Botan wonder when Hiei wrote this. Everything seemed fine in the past several months, although she could admit she truly missed her lover when she was back in Spirit World.

She caught herself wanting to respond, to communicate her thoughts to Hiei through words as well. She picked up a pen, and beneath the current poem wrote, "A solemn night fearfully falling. Will you be there to catch me?"

The memories of the beginning of their relationship flooded back, before the communication. Beneath the first poem, Botan added, "A day of frolicking fun—will you play my game? Transform yourself together, then we won't look the same."

The couple had spent so many fun moments together, and even among the seriousness of their respective worlds, it was important to unwind, be together, and experience the world, even with childlike wonder. After all, they were on an adventure together. This new chapter for them excited Botan. She only hoped Hiei was just as excited.

Botan turned the page and saw yet another heartbreaking poem. In this, Hiei expressed his fear. It was one she could understand, given what she now knew about his race, but a fear he didn't need to have. "The fear of losing you trickles in my dreams. Clinging to you desperately where nothing is as it seems."

The fear of abandonment was not a fear Botan could relate to. Since she was reborn as a ferry girl, she knew she'd always have her fellow spirits, despite recent events. It made these words stand out to her more, because there was a part of her love she wanted to understand.

She wrote another poem to respond to his unspoken fears. "Silently you sit. Something on your mind? Share with me your thinking so we may unwind."

It was an invitation, a hope. Botan needed Hiei to know he could come to her and confide in her. As much as she learned to trust him completely, it worked both ways. She was a safe space for him as he was for her. The ferry girl wanted the fire demon to know that she was there for him, his partner. It was better to share their worries instead of suffering alone.

"What are you doing?"

His voice was calm, a spark of curiosity and interest as he caught her red-handed with his book. Botan's head snapped in his directly swiftly, her cheeks red as their eyes met. Hiei approached her and took the book from her hands. He read over the words she wrote, responses to the poems he wrote. He remembered a time where he believed he would never partake in such frivolous activities, but seeing how she made his words seem complete… It made something inside him burn.

He closed the book and set it aside before he took her wrist and pulled her to him. His lips met hers in a fiery, searing kiss, one that made her melt. He smirked and took that opportunity to guide her down on the bed.

For a moment, he pulled away to appreciate her flushed cheeks and doe eyes. He kissed her again, gently this time, and then their kisses grew more heated the more they wanted each other.

Hiei pulled away once more and grinned knowingly. "I think it's time to christen our new bed."

At his seductive words, Botan's cheeks flushed redder, if that were even possible. "Hiei!" she cried out aghast.

The fire demon simpered and kissed her again. He gently grabbed her wrists and used his weight to trap her on the bed. "Tell me you don't want this, and I'll stop."

Botan sputtered; it was impossible to tell her lover that she didn't want this. She wanted him, all of him. "I… I want you."

Hiei's earlier playfulness left, his eyes smoldering as he kissed her again, slowly and reverently.

It was safe to say, in this new chapter in their lives, the road ahead was a mystery. They would face many challenges as a couple. They would experience many joys. They were a team, now. No matter what would happen in the future, they would take in on together.