Work Text:
Kurama closed the door to his new apartment and slumped against the wall. He skimmed the darkness and was greeted with the silhouettes of boxes and assorted paraphernalia. The narrow hallway opened up into a living space currently home to his, as of yet, unpacked belongings, some still neatly sealed in their containers, some strewn across the sparse pieces of furniture he had managed to hastily put together in his limited time.
In theory, moving out of his childhood home had been an expertly calculated affair. His mother, now married and settled into her new family, was well taken care of and, although he would never stop being her protector from the shadows, for as long he was still able to remain in the human realm, it had taken a significant burden of worry off his mind. With his body’s rapidly increasing changes, his transition to full youko nearly complete, it was a tactical move: he needed his privacy now more than ever.
The decision had hence been easy and his mother had accepted his flight from the nest with a kind smile and a warm, encouraging embrace, although Kurama could tell she had been trying to hold back her tears.
His stepfather had graciously offered to enlist the assistance of a close friend working in real-estate, to help him find something cozy within a decent price range and he had accepted, if only because it would save him the hassle, especially as his biorhythm and his body’s particular needs had become increasingly taxing on his frayed nerves. Keeping his demonic duality a secret from family and co-workers, people whom he interacted with on a daily basis, was a delicate balancing act. Moving to a place of his own would at least afford him the peace and quiet he so desperately craved after a hectic day of playing the model son and employee.
However, all said and done, the same peace and quiet seemed, for some reason, to have been stubbornly eluding him for the past weeks. Kurama sighed and tiredly pushed himself off the wall, shuffling through the hallway into the messy living area. For all of his human life, not once had the word messy been used to describe him or his surroundings. In fact, even as youko, Kurama had prided himself on being organized and meticulous to a fault. To say that his current situation was grating to his nerves and ego was an understatement. The redhead glared at the chaos with disdain.
By now he should have already been fully settled. Most certainly all of his belongings and furniture should, by rights, have been fully unpacked and organized and he shouldn’t have to be standing in the middle of his living room, in the dark, the cold hardwood floor insulting in its frigidness, reminding Kurama that he’d be forced to endure these conditions for at least a few more days until the property owners had sorted out the central heating and water situation.
When the issue had made itself known, his mother had insisted that he remain with them until it had been fully resolved, but Kurama had insisted it would not bother him, as it would only be for a short amount of time, and most of his belongings had already been packed and shipped out anyway. He had also declined his family’s polite offers to come help him settle in, insisting that he would not want to inconvenience them, especially not during the busy winter period, with Shuichi’s exams also coming up, and that he would instead enlist the help of his friends. In hindsight, this little white lie might have been his undoing and the cause of all his current strife.
He had not, in fact, planned on co-opting any of his close friends to assist in the move and subsequent unpacking, what with both Yuusuke and Kuwabara being increasingly engrossed in their own demanding activities, Yuusuke with his full time job at the ramen shop, followed by night school, and Kuwabara with his own academic pursuits and part time job. Kurama had no doubt they would gladly have shown up to offer their assistance, and christen his new home with copious amounts of alcohol in the process, however the redhead had stubbornly decided he wanted to make this whole affair of planting his roots in new soil, as it were, a private ritual.
As the fates would have it, however, the only roots he had managed to plant thus far had been that of his actual plants and nothing more. He had made it a point to find adequate homes around his new apartment for each of his treasured plants, even before having settled himself in, as a means of marking his territory, as well as setting up his preferred wards and defenses. Afterwards he set about opening boxes, cataloging and deciding what would go where and he had estimated it would be a day, maybe a day and a half, factoring in work and other obligations, before he had everything exactly where he wanted it. He could always change his mind afterwards.
The universe, in the form of a pacifier suckling deity, would however not be so accommodating. Being that Yuusuke was currently on the Reikai’s black list and Kuwabara’s spirit awareness was inconsistent at best these days, Koenma would often turn to Kurama for assistance and, for the most part, the latter was not opposed to offering his services. He made sure, of course, to remind the little Lord periodically that, especially now that they were no longer bound to the Reikai’s jurisdiction, his services were not pro bono. Koenma, for all his flippant, joking demeanor, never forgot this detail: underneath the comical façade he was a politician, as much as Kurama was a tactician, and they both knew that this collaboration was mutually beneficial in the long run.
So Kurama had put his personal endeavors on hold, temporarily, taking on Koenma’s assigned tasks by night and tackling his human work by day which, looking at the state of his surroundings now, had left him at quite an impasse. The fox sighed and made his way to his bedroom. The cold of the floor was biting even through his thick wool socks and he shivered despite still having his outerwear on. He hadn’t bothered to undress his coat and the rather more melodramatic side of him was petulantly demanding he crawl under the blanket, outerwear and all, and sleep until noon the next day. He chuckled bitterly to himself at this childish outburst. The redhead slumped on the mattress laid out as a makeshift bed and curled in on himself, allowing a moment of quiet as he closed his eyes. He shivered again as his body tried to accommodate for the cold of the mattress, as well as its own low core temperature, brought on by extreme fatigue.
Kurama prided himself on his stamina. He had trained and honed his body, frail and human though it may have been, to accommodate for the strain of his youki as well as the extreme exertions of battle. Yet, in this one moment, he felt more tired and frayed than he ever remembered feeling. Uprooted and unbalanced. Alone. He shook his head, willing the thought away, but it clung to him tightly, just like the wretched, miserable cold that he hadn’t been able to shake for weeks.
“Get up, Kurama.” He called to himself. He would, Inari willing, get a grip on his new life starting tomorrow. For a mercy, Koenma had not been calling for the last few days and his weekend finally seemed blissfully free. All he needed to do was get up, change, maybe eat, perhaps even open a few more boxes, and prepare the terrain for tomorrow. Kurama pushed weakly at the mattress beneath him and tried to gather all his willpower to just get up. Instead of obediently sitting up, his body curled in on itself even tighter, consciousness starting to slip into numbness. He just needed to get up….
Kurama felt warm. He felt warm and content. Floating blissfully on the precipice between wakefulness and sleep, where the world is hazy and soft, where one feels like they are being hugged by a soft cloud. The redhead could not pinpoint the exact moment he had fallen asleep, but felt he may need to offer some prayers of thanks to Inari for this moment of peace and the sweet dream he was having.
He shifted only slightly and in this dream he could feel a pair of arms wrapping around him, tight but not too tight as to prevent him from pulling away, should he decide he wanted to. He didn’t, of course. Instead, he wanted to burrow deeper into this dream embrace, stay just a little bit longer in the warm cocoon of bliss conjured by his own mind, before the same traitorous mind brought him out of the sweet reverie. Because of course it was a dream, one he had been craving for weeks, but which seemed ever elusive. Kurama inhaled deeply and sighed as his senses conjured up the scent of his beloved, ash and musk and wild forests.
It was cruel, really, how his mind could so vividly play tricks on him and fabricate the touch and smell of the one whom he most longed to be with, yet who was at that very moment, no doubt, running menial errands in the farthest reaches of the Makai, so very beyond his reach.
Alas, there was no helping the current state of events, so Kurama consoled himself by enjoying the imagined feeling of fingers gently combing through his hair. Hiei loved running his fingers through Kurama’s hair and Kurama, for his part, loved to let him do it. One could argue that it was in his youko nature. The feeling of Hiei’s fingers softly massaging at the nape of his neck and the gentle scratch behind his ear, just so, sent the most delicious tingles up and down the fox’s spine. It was equal parts arousing and comforting and Kurama never wanted it to stop. He chased after this feeling even as he felt himself coming awake. Not yet, not bloody yet! He didn’t want to wake up yet! The fingers that had been playing with his hair moved to softly caress his neck and Kurama sighed in complete bliss.
“Mmmm, Hiei…” He couldn’t help the breathy moan that escaped his lips as he desperately tried to cling to the dream.
“How much longer will you pretend to be asleep, Fox?” The soft kiss to the crown of his head and words whispered in his hair startled Kurama into wakefulness.
The redhead pushed himself upright, resting his weight on his forearms and staring with bewildered, still sleep laden eyes at the fire demon smiling softly beneath him. Hiei’s right arm, previously wrapped around Kurama’s shoulders, slid to his waist following the fox’s movement and his hand settled comfortably on the redhead’s lower back. His left hand continued to lazily play with the long, soft tresses of Kurama’s lush mane, now and again pushing a few errant strands behind the fox’s ear.
Kurama shivered.
“Hiei…” The fox whispered in disbelief, still not fully awake.
“I believe you said that already.” Hiei replied, amused at his partner’s temporary lapse in speech. In truth, of the two of them Kurama had, by far, always been the more verbose and Hiei had always found it difficult to leave the other at a loss for words. Which is why it felt like a victory when he managed to surprise Kurama, as this was no small feat, what with the youko being millennia older and far more experienced in just about any area of life. Hiei brought his hand to Kurama’s cheek and the fox closed his eyes nuzzling into the touch.
“Come here, Fox.” Hiei whispered, using the hand on the fox’s lower back to apply gentle pressure and urge his partner forward. Kurama gladly submitted and let himself fall softly into Hiei’s embrace, hands fisting in the fire demon’s shirt. They kissed, slowly, chastely at first, deeper still as Hiei’s left hand moved to cradle Kurama’s head, while his other hand drew lazy patterns along the fox’s back.
Kurama shivered in delight at the attention, pressing himself closer and sighing his lover’s name between kisses.
“Hiei…my Hiei.” Kurama was giddy with happiness. What a delightful turn of events, to have his beloved here! Where just a few hours ago he’d felt miserable, now it was as if the chaos and stress of the past weeks had been just a bad dream and he’d finally only just woken up to reality. The redhead peppered happy, butterfly soft kisses along Hiei’s jaw, his cheek, all along his neck, before nuzzling at his favorite spot at the nape of the fire demon’s neck, inhaling the heady scent he so adored. Hiei squirmed at the ticklish sensations, but didn’t pull away, instead waiting for Kurama to settle back down in his embrace, the fox’s head pillowed comfortably on his shoulder.
“I’ve missed you.” Kurama sighed contentedly. Hiei did not respond, instead he kissed the top of Kurama’s head and tightened his arms around his lover. The fox didn’t mind the non-verbal response: he knew that Hiei was not much for words and much preferred to show his affection rather than speak of it. Where Kurama would lavish his beloved with both touch and praise, Hiei expressed his feelings quietly, yet potently with the way he held Kurama when they made love, with a fierce gentleness that brought tears to the redhead’s eyes. In those tender moments Hiei was his rawest, truest self, equal parts feral need and possessiveness, yet impossibly caring, sweet, holding Kurama as if he was precious, the most important. In those moments, when they melted together in pure bliss, nothing mattered more than bringing each other pleasure and a sense of belonging and safety.
“Would you care to explain this chaos? And why I found you curled up in a half-frozen ball on the mattress?” Hiei’s deep voice interrupted Kurama’s momentary reverie.
Come to think of it, he had been so elated by the realization that he had not been dreaming Hiei’s presence that he did not stop to analyze the current situation. Taking a moment to survey his surroundings, Kurama noted a few things: they were currently lying on the same mattress under the warmth and comfort of his fluffy winter blanket. His coat, shirt and trousers had been stacked in a semi-neat pile at the foot of the mattress and he seemed to be wearing only a soft t-shirt and his underwear. In spite of this, and the room still being as frigid as ever, if the cold air he was inhaling was anything to go by, Kurama felt perfectly warm. The latter could be attributed to a certain fire demon and their tight embrace.
“Did you undress me?” Kurama asked, still a little confused at the turn of events.
“Hn, this is the first time you’ve complained.” Hiei replied, a mischievous smile playing at the corner of his mouth. Kurama tsk’ed and danced his fingers across Hiei’s ribs in playful retaliation.
“Stop that!” Hiei squirmed, trying to suppress a laugh and tightening his arms around Kurama so as to immobilize him. Kurama giggled happily, but stopped his teasing fingers.
When the fox had settled and Hiei felt he was no longer in danger from Kurama’s wicked little game, the little fire demon loosened his hold and continued.
“You were freezing. What’s wrong with this new place of yours? I thought humans liked to have heat in their houses!” The little demon asked, a touch of disdain to his voice.
“It’s only temporary.” Kurama explained, closing his eyes and enjoying his lover’s warmth.”They should be fixing the issue within the next few days.” He cuddled closer and continued. “As for the chaos, well, I’ve been kept busy with…tasks.” He would have much preferred to leave the details vague.
Hiei grunted in disdain. He was well aware what “tasks” meant and who it might have been that had been handing them out. Knowing his fox’s penchant and near obsession with neatly organizing every facet of his life, he could imagine the current state of events was grinding at Kurama’s nerves. Which would have explained the state that Hiei had found him in, curled up into a miserable little ball, pale and shivering, the dark circles under his eyes testament to the redhead’s exhaustion. He hadn’t even stirred when Hiei had entered through the veranda window, blissfully unlocked as per their convention, nor had Kurama made any sound as Hiei had set about the task of ridding the former of his garments and relocating them both under the thick blanket. The only indication the fox had given of acknowledging Hiei’s presence, albeit unconscious, was shifting closer to him in sleep, no doubt seeking warmth and the comfort of the fire demon’s familiar embrace.
For his part, Hiei had been content to just hold his lover and drift in and out of sleep, comforted by the fox’s gentle youki and scent. The seven Hells would freeze over before the words touched his lips, but Hiei could not deny how deeply he had missed his beloved. He had been looking forward to their reunion and to have found him in such a pitiful state did unpleasant things to Hiei’s insides.
“Hn, dumb Fox! Do you enjoy working yourself into the grave?” His words were harsh, but Kurama felt the underlying current of worry and it melted his heart. He chuckled sleepily and all but purred as Hiei’s hand resumed its favorite pastime of combing through his hair, alternating between playing with the silky strands and massaging his nape.
“Maybe I just enjoy you taking care of me.” Kurama replied, barely stifling a yawn. He could feel himself being lulled back into sleep by Hiei’s gentle ministrations.
“Hn.” The little fire demon tried to make the grunt sound dismissive, but he was sure he’d failed miserably, especially when he felt his cheeks starting to colour. He was glad for the darkness and their positions, because it meant Kurama could not see him blush.
“Hiei, how long…” Kurama began softly, but he was cut off by his own sleepy yawn.
“Shhh. Sleep, my Kurama.” Hiei urged, voice barely a whisper. He could feel the tired fox’s consciousness begin to slip and he urged him on with soft caresses and gentle, barely there kisses pressed to the fox’s hair.
Kurama made one last valiant effort to try and ask his question. He needed to know how long he could have Hiei to himself this time, before he was once again called back to his duties in the Makai. He opened his mouth to try and voice this query, however all that escaped was a contented sigh as Hiei continued to distract his sleepy mind with gentle touches.
“As long as you need, Kurama.” Was Hiei’s hushed reply to the unspoken question. He had intended on taking a longer leave of absence this time, if only because he had been growing increasingly bored with Mukuro’s menial tasks of late. That he had been missing Kurama was a given. “As long as you need.” He repeated, quieter still. He felt the last remnants of tension drain out of the redhead’s body as the latter succumbed to sleep and Hiei allowed himself to relax into slumber as well.
Tomorrow Kurama would undoubtedly convince him to tackle the chaos that was their current surroundings and he would grunt morosely, seemingly annoyed with the mundane tasks. It would be just a front though, and they would set about bringing order to the fox’s human living space, with Hiei quietly following directions and observing, and Kurama happily recounting recent events. They would share a meal, steal chaste kisses and, later perhaps, would indulge in more passionate embraces. Afterwards they would lie entangled together basking in the afterglow, neither of them quite willing to succumb to sleep until they’ve had one more touch, one more taste.
But that would be tomorrow. For right now, the only thing that mattered was this moment of warmth.