#fluent yyh

[gr8stoneddragon]

How many works do you have on AO3? 46

What's your total AO3 word count? 661,297 (not including drafts or currently unpublished chapters)

What fandoms do you write for? Right now? Just YYH. But I've been wanting to write more HxH.

Top five fics by kudos:

Confession x Revelation x Satisfaction (HxH)

Tired Revenge (AtLA)

Demon in Training (YYH)

Frustration (AtLA)

Breathing Fire (YYH)

Do you respond to comments? I have been trying to be better about this more recently (since last year-ish) but now that I actually have regular weekly commenters, it can be hard haha. I've never had to deal with having so many comments before and I'm honestly so grateful. Love my readers ❤️

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I don't usually write angst tbh, but Absent Goodbye (AtLA) is about a character death so there's that.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? The first one that comes to mind is Confession x Revelation x Satisfaction because that one actually has an ending hahaha

Do you get hate on fics? Nah. I somehow manage to join fandoms way late, after any and all ship wars have died, or just at the right time when they are starting to get popular and people just want more content.

Do you write smut? Yup. Though I actually find explicit content a lot harder to write than fluff. Doesn't mean I wont try.

Craziest crossover: Gosh. Have I ever written a crossover fic? I don't think so. I think all the crossover stuff I've done has been strictly roleplay.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of

Have you ever had a fic translated? Not that I know of

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Lmao, yes. With the person who tagged me and also my husband. @sokkarang

All time favorite ship? This is an impossible question. I am currently in YYH multiship hell, but if I had to pick some top non-YYH OTPs they would probably be:

KilluGon (HxH)

NezuShi (No. 6)

Tokka (AtLA)

TaiYama (Digimon)

Drarry (HP - don't come for me, I know)

I could definitely keep going but I'll stop there.

What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I have a really long Jet/Zuko High School AU fic that I doubt I will ever pick up again. I was so into it and had so many ideas for that fic when I was still rping in the AtLA fandom, but I've moved on for the most part and I'm not sure I could remember now what the end goal was for that fic or all the things I wanted to include. Which is sad but... it happens.

What are your writing strengths? I have been told that my character dialogue is very good, and I'm a really strong character-driven writer in general I think.

What are your writing weaknesses? Plot. Lol. Coming up with plot ideas is really difficult for me sometimes. And then when I do come up with an idea, they always seem to be novel length monstrosities. Writing one-shots, or anything I can actually finish within a week or so is just so fucking hard for me for some reason.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language? I'm always tempted to do this, but it does feel awkward at times, and as someone who is only fluent in English, I'm always afraid of getting things wrong.

First fandom you wrote in? The first fandom I wrote in was YYH, but that’s not the first fandom I published fic for. I kept a lot of my writing private for many years.

Favorite fic you’ve written? Oh lord. This is such a hard question. If we're talking fics that I wrote myself as a single author, I would have to say I'm really proud of Confession x Revelation x Satisfaction (HxH), Breathing Fire (YYH), and Shower, Interrupted (DRRR). But I am also completely obsessed with the long-running rps I have right now with people, and some of those get published on Ao3 as well.

Tagged by: @snarkyauthor

Tagging: @zuzsenpai

#I only check my personal blog from my phone so this was hard lol #Not sure if those @ tags will work but whatever #I know yall will see it #the blogger speaks

[unlockthelore]

Recollection

It’s easiest for Hiei to express himself without an audience because there are some things meant for Kurama alone. From the fic Fluent on Ao3. For more updates, follow the fluent yyh tag on this blog. 

Hiei resurfaces from foggy thoughts as rustling leaves settle overhead and the forest falls silent. In the distance, shadows cast long and creep away from an orange-yellow glow, voices crowing victory in anecdotes brazenly or softly divulged between brief stints of laughter and playful scuffles. His eyes flutter shut as the Jagan opens. Pale blue hair, an almost odd shade of green in the firelight couple with shuttered crimson eyes crinkling at the corners with quiet cheer. His heart pounds in his chest as she steals a glance over her shoulder, lips moving when her gaze flits to the ferry girl shuffling about after coaxing the panting dirt-covered pair on the other side of the fire to quiet down.

There is someone missing from their group and Hiei found himself painfully aware of the the night’s soundlessness; but he keeps his gaze on her. Worry crowding deep in his chest that if he took his eyes off of her for a second, she would disappear again.  

Discontent and anger stokes fire beneath his skin when her shoulders hunch as she shies from the ferry girl’s outstretched hand. While the gesture was friendly, it’s quickly rescinded with a comforting murmur. The detective and oaf quieting when she flinches at their pitched laughter, resolving to talk quietly as they share stories in detail that widens her eyes in disbelief. Hiei curled his fingers to fists, almost feeling a glimmer of thankfulness for the trio. Though they give her space, they sit close enough to her that the shadows stretching long around the enclosure seem less likely to hold some foe who’d steal her away.  

The Jagan closes as Hiei’s lips press in a thin line, crimson eyes darting to the cops of trees behind him as a strolling figure steps through. Kurama’s earlier smugness is nowhere to be found yet he slips a hand from his pocket, lips curled in a cheeky smile.  

“I wasn’t hiding my energy,” he assures, holding his palm outward. “Yukina would be distressed if I suddenly disappeared, don’t you agree?”

Ignoring the jab at his earlier disappearance, Hiei scoffs, rolling his eyes up to the indifferent star-studded sky. Though Kurama’s gesture was meant to be a show of deference, he knew better. Anywhere with plant life was the fox’s domain, and Hiei was the one at the disadvantage. Yet, if he were honest, he felt safe. Surprisingly so as Kurama walks behind him, daring to pull him close and nuzzle at his ear. A familiar gesture that almost made Hiei’s body seize. Suppressing a shiver, Hiei firmly kept his gaze upon the flickering light even when a knowing hand slips into the fold of his cloak, fingertips cool against his skin.

“It’s fine if you aren’t ready to embrace her yet, Hiei,” Kurama notes, lips brushing against the shell of his ear, simultaneously igniting flames and cooling them in his chest. “You’ve both been through a great deal.”

A part of Hiei, righteous and fettered, almost snaps at Kurama blindly. It desires to push away the searching fingers that seem to map out his body expertly, careening over his heart to soothe, and holding him loosely yet with enough pressure to remind. Another part of him, one uninhibited and daresay gentle, loosens tension in his muscles that’d been wound up for weeks — months — years, in anticipation for this moment. It’s grateful that he isn’t alone. That another chapter in his life hadn’t ended in tragedy.

And that Kurama was there to share the moment with him.

“Your Vow,” Hiei murmurs, tiring of his hands hanging loosely at his sides, his fingers brushing against Kurama’s wrist to still his hand’s movement.

“Fullfilled,” Kurama smiles against the space behind Hiei’s ear. A curse muttered when his teeth catch on the lobe, the press of his body less soothing, lapping closer toward need. “And in a timely manner, thanks to our team.”

Recalling the faint slip of the tongue to cover his own tracks, Hiei scoffed, tipping his head to one side to catch sight of amused green eyes seeming to glow in the forest’s dim. “Don’t read into it.”

“They have potential,” Kurama says in a lilting tone, slipping his hand from Hiei’s cloak, the cool touch sorely missed but quickly remedied when he’s coaxed into turning to face him. A slender finger hooked in the waist of his pants to tug him closer. “Yuusuke, of course. And Kuwabara as well.”

“Hm,” Hiei grumbles, grimacing when he caught the tail end of Kuwabara attempting to regale Yukina with his heroics. A light brush against the corner of his lips drawing his attention back to Kurama, the fox pulling away with a glimmer of amusement and pride.

Not the self-assured glimmer of arrogance when Kurama catches him off guard. Or the look he has when his plans have gone just right, even if the conditions were unexpected. No, this was pride in him. An expression he’d seen often when he pulled something off or completed a task half-expecting to go unnoticed. Little escaped Kurama’s knowledge though. A tidal wave of emotion that’d swept through Hiei once his guard had lowered swelled in his chest.

“Perhaps you could join us by the fire, I know you keep warm yourself, bu—”

Hiei yanked Kurama down by the pristine white of his newly tailored outfit, silencing the carefully worded quip with a firm press of his lips against the fox’s softer pair. Kurama stiffening up then seeming to melt against him, moving to reciprocate when Hiei yanked away from him to hiss out, “Thank you.”

Green eyes shutter, a fine red brow raised, nearly stifling Hiei’s tongue but he hurries on before he can be pulled into Kurama’s allure again or questioned.

“Yukina isn’t comfortable around humans and this freedom is…” The words sour on Hiei’s tongue as he fumbles for them. “She’s afraid, and you bring her comfort, which brings me…”

His skin tingles as if his entire being was charged with something. Anger, yes. He hated those humans who kept his sister imprisoned. No punishment the Reikai could inflict on their souls would ever satisfy him. It would never be reparation for the pain Yukina endured. And if not for their rules, he would’ve beaten that pigheaded whelp to death.

Hiei barely noticed Kurama’s hold on his shoulders, realizing from the fox’s grip that he’d been trembling. Meeting a concerned green gaze, another crack etches deep in the dam withholding the tide.

He wants to explain, tell Kurama how deep his gratitude ran. Appreciation on long nights spent with him searching through records of blacklisted sellers peddling demonic artifacts and persons, right beneath the Reikai’s nose. Dead ends in simpering whelps daring to plead for mercy at his feet while wearing his sister’s pain around their necks and adorned on their walls. Arguments ending in hushed comforting whispers, waiting arms there to comfort him after Hiei dismissed Kurama’s assurances that they will find her. Perhaps not today, or tomorrow, but they would continue looking until they found answers.

Hiei didn’t understand it. There was nothing for Kurama to benefit from in helping him search for Yukina. The original grounds for their partnership were annulled, Kurama no longer needed his strength. He was formidable even in the beginning, likely humoring him out of interest. And if they delved in the Underworld for too long, surely something would come looking for them in return.

Memories could be erased and tracks hidden, but it would only bring Hiei peace to have Yukina safely in his sights or to know of her fate. When asked, Kurama had only given him a genial smile, then later it was joined by a kiss over the Jagan’s lid, both temporarily shattering Hiei’s determination to know the truth. If he could live in this lie that Kurama cared. That he was here for another reason aside from fleeting interest.

Would it be worth being hurt in the end?

He felt that he understood a little more after Kurama held him in the warehouse, shed tears for him when they parted, embraced him when their sentencing was over and all that was left were regrets and new trials to face.

We’ll go together, right, Hiei?

Kurama’s widened eyes were all he saw before a flurry of kisses, some too sharp, fleeting, lingering and light for Hiei to make sense of were dotted in a flurry across smooth cheeks, a rounded nose, the lids of green eyes and soft lips that melded the beginnings of his name.

“Hi—”

“Stop talking,” Hiei hissed, anticipation trilling in his heart at the soft, awed look in Kurama’s eyes when he pulled away. “Think about after.”

Letting him go, Hiei leapt into the trees just shy Kuwabara’s arrival, stumbling out of the brush and grumbling at Kurama. Something about a leak and the fox quickly recovered with a light cough in his fist and a word, smoothing out the wrinkles in his clothes as he ushered the oaf off toward the trail leading to their campsite. Spying through the leaves, Hiei met Kurama’s gaze and fought the urge to smile as the fox gave him a half-grin then turned away.

After had never seemed so hopeful.

#yu yu hakusho #yyh #kurahi #kurama #hiei #fanfiction #my fanfiction #fluent yyh

[unlockthelore]

Sunkissed

As Kurama watched Hiei grow accustomed to his surroundings, he couldn't help but feel gratitude that they'd come together again. From the fic Fluent on Ao3. For more updates, follow the fluent yyh tag on this blog. 

Change came whether Kurama was prepared for it or not. Grandeur and past mistakes catching up with him in the forms of living ghosts, friends turned pseudo-enemies, and a host of opportunity laid out before him.

It was overwhelming to say the least and humbling to say the most.

While his two worlds were steadily merging into one, Kurama wondered if there was a place for him to hide in either realm, or if he still needed to. His human family aside, the implications of what it would mean to keep his life as Minamino Shuuichi unproblematic hardly seemed worth the trouble.

Especially if he had to give up something as beautiful as this.

In the year spent apart from Hiei, their lives had changed dramatically, and catching up seemed to be the least they needed to do. As a result of misunderstandings, unspoken feelings, good intentions and hearts laid bare — they were closer than they’d ever been.

Alas, emotional change seemed to be Hiei’s stronger suit compared to adjusting to alterations in territory. With his mother’s new marriage, the Minamino family relocated to the home of Hatanaka Kazuya. With a plethora of trees surrounding the property, along with an allotted place on the grounds for Kurama’s plants courtesy of his stepfather’s hopes of bonding with him by investing in his interests.

Hiei seemed to find no fault in the location — despite all of his time spent with Shiori and Kurama himself, the fire demon had little love for the sheer noise and smells of the city. But the change in layout, size, smells and home seemed to set him on edge.

Kurama dared not tell him he picked the room with the least conspicuous window for the fire demon to make his entrances and quick escapes when he didn’t want to play human. Admitting such a thing would have been too close to the sentimentality Hiei turned his nose up at, but the loosening of his guard allowed Kurama the barest hint of affection at least.

Like now as Hiei stalked from one corner of his room to the other, finding a few of the hiding places where his plants made their home or the ones kept in the darkness of his closet. Seeming to delight in every new discovery. Kurama finding himself privy to a tiny smile on the fire demon’s face when he saw something familiar.

Eventually, his curiosities were turned to the outside world. The window slid open as Hiei knelt on his bed and peered out of it with interest, seeming to enjoy the misty morning humidity. He’d been exploring for the better part of an hour and Kurama was grateful for his family being out lest they hear Hiei’s romping.

Ordinarily, he was stealthy to the point of inaudibility. Able to sneak up on others and at times Kurama himself. For him to be making so much noise, it could have been a sign of his comfort.  

Closing the book he’d been attempting to read for the better part of an hour, Kurama walked over to his bed and sat down on its edge watching the sunlight casting sharp shadows over Hiei’s glowing crimson eyes.

With his unguarded expression, he almost seemed innocent.

A dull ache thumped in Kurama’s chest and his fingers twitched, curling around his knee tighter. Resurging desires to reach out and touch this image laced with fears of Hiei slipping through his fingers like smoke.

Trips to Makai were inevitable with his ties to Mukuro, but promises were made.

As beguiling as it was that Hiei would promise him anything at all. A warm breeze rustled Hiei’s hair, his eyes seeming to close in contentment, and the faintest upward quirk of his lips was too much for Kurama.

Bedsprings creaking beneath his knees as he settled by the fire demon’s side, arms crossed on the window sill and lips lighty touching a smooth sun kissed cheek. Hiei’s eyes flying open and darting toward him as Kurama leant away, face flushing pink and confusion written across brows pulled into a deep furrow creasing his forehead.

“What was that for?” Hiei muttered in the pissed-off tone he used when he was confused, dragging a knuckle against his cheek as if he could extract the kiss and examine it.

Eyes crinkling with fondness, Kurama leant closer and delighted at the sharp inhale from his partner. Anticipation in quivering lips and a steady hand just shy of touching his own. Changing his trajectory a hairs breadth away, his lips ghosted across the tip of a rounded nose.

“Welcome home, Hiei.”

Hiei’s expression was blank then crumpled into vexation,  Kurama’s laughter echoing as he was tackled to the bed, happy to wrestle with Hiei simply because he could forever.

#yyh #yu yu hakusho #kurahi #kurama #hiei #fanfiction #my fanfiction #fluent yyh

[unlockthelore]

Lost In You

Hiei elects to utilize the Reikai’s generous offer and free himself from Sarayashiki’s confines, with a quick stop on the way. From the fic Fluent on Ao3. For more updates, follow the fluent yyh tag on this blog. 

In the aftermath of the tournament and their return to their ‘normal lives’, Hiei couldn’t make heads or tails of all his gains and losses. Yukina’s decision to remain in Ningenkai under the care of Genkai provided a steady means of seeing her, although seeking her out was difficult with his restrictions and the secret between them. Kuwabara claimed to want to visit her often, and thankfully, his schooling and human needs prevented that headache. Yusuke insisted on growing stronger, but Toguro’s death and Genkai’s demise along with her revival, had shaken something inside of him.

A part Hiei wasn’t sure would heal with a few days rest.

Then there was Kurama and the wounds left on his psyche, still weeping even as the ones on his body healed. Nightmares plagued him just as often as Yusuke or Kuwabara, and more than once, Hiei watched over them as they talked, sneaking out of their respective homes to sit in parks or wander empty streets in search of solace.

Confronting Kurama on his nightly exploits were silly. If playing games and talking to the louder pair brought him comfort then so be it. Even still, there were other ways Kurama sought peace.

Hiei hardly minded Kurama’s touchiness during the tournament, and the need for contact seemed to wax and wane. Memories of Karasu’s covetous hands hindered his desire to be held, and Hiei resolved to wait patiently, allowing him a space in his arms when he desired. Still, he rescinded Reikai insistence on the crow being offered a fair trial. His presence in this world aside, what he’d done to Kurama was inexcusable and the Dragon yearned to render him to nothingness.

Alas, rules and laws prohibited what Hiei considered as justice.

For as much as he seemed to gain from the tournament — the Dragon’s power, symbiosis with the Mortal Flame, Yukina’s constant presence, respect for his teammates — he lost that much more.

“It’s so sweet…!” A loud chipper tone cried, lurching him from his thoughts with a grimace. Cutting a visceral glare at the blue-haired ferry girl floating beside him, Hiei wondered how she could be so cheerful at a time like this.“A little sibling bonding time, oh, Yuusuke is going to love hearing about this.”

Hiei’s eyes widened and flicked downward. While he was blatantly aware no one on the streets around them could see or hear her, their meeting was carried out on a rooftop further and higher from the city’s main roads. It was blissfully quiet aside from her chattering and the idea that his peace would be broken by loose lips irked his nerves.

“Botan,” Hiei prefaced, attempting to keep his voice as even as possible, fingers curled into tight fists trembling against the inner lining of his cloak pockets. “Tell him anything — no — tell any of them, and I’ll…”

Admittedly, Hiei wasn’t sure what he would do. A distant voice in the back of his mind that sounded all too much like Kurama told him it would be a violation of his parole. Still, there were some things that should be excused. His hand trembled, scarlet-orange flames beginning to emerge from the depths. Pink eyes widened as Botan lifted her hands, seemingly unapologetic, with the cat-like smile curling the corners of her lips.

“Calm down, calm down, I know it’s a sensitive matter and part of your wish from the Tournament,” she turned her hands outward, shoulders hunching when Hiei scowled. “So it’s Reikai-sensitive information.”

The slight waver and falter to her smile came with a bit of distance put between them as she floated over the heads of unsuspecting humans milling about below.

Hiei snorted, quelling the flames licking at his wrists as he turned his gaze skyward. Glaring disdainfully at the clear blue sky, sun beating down and assaulting his eyes with its light. “Considering how inept Reikai intel is, was that supposed to comfort me?”

He hardly felt fazed when she gasped and floated closer to him, shouting in his face. “A thank you would be nice!”

Shooting a glare at her, pink met crimson and he was almost impressed by the sharpness of her eyes. Almost, but not quite. Tipping his chin downward, he sighed audibly and rolled his shoulders back, feeling the stiffness in holding his posture for so long.

“When does the probationary period start?”

Botan’s nose wrinkled and she puffed her cheek, seeming to want to argue more but second-guessing it as she reached into the folds of her kimono to pull out a small grey book. Hiei almost wanted to see what was written in it, especially with how much she scribbled in it constantly while observing their battles. But as soon as she flipped to the necessary page and read, it was snapped shut then tucked away.

“In the next thirty minutes,” she said in a huff, turning her head away.

“Hm.”

Thirty minutes. It was longer than he wanted but the potential of being able to see Yukina was worth it. For now, there were other matters he had to attend to.

“So remember, you have to stay within at least one hundred yards of Genkai’s property and alert her when you are lea—” Botan opened her eyes and glanced back to where Hiei had been standing, finding an empty spot, and a black blur darting across the rooftops. “Oi!”

                                             幽☆遊☆白書            

Dropping down on the sill of Kurama’s bedroom window, Hiei peered through the glass at the red headed figure spilling over books atop his desk. A faint golden glow cast deep shadows across familiar features, doing little to hide the natural beauty he possessed or the tiredness in his eyes. Reaching for the side panel, Hiei gave it a tug, surprised when it didn’t give way. After another tug, he heard a metallic clink and stared in surprise at where the window’s latch was lowered.

It was locked.

Shock kept him still for a second. Long enough for Kurama to notice a presence outside his window, rising in a slight hurry — never panic, because Kurama didn’t panic — coming to Hiei’s aid. The window unlatched and opened in one quick flourish allowing Hiei to see Kurama unfettered by glass between them.

“Hiei,” Kurama said in a soft, airy tone, snapping him out of his stupor. How stupid, he could have melted the damn thing but that would’ve only made matters worse. “I thought you would be on your way to Genkai’s by now.”

“Thirty minutes.”

Hiei wasn’t sure why that was the only thing that came out his mouth. Or the strange sense of panic when he noticed the window had been locked. Climbing inside and closing it behind him, he glared at the latch, unwilling to tear his gaze away until he heard the creak of Kurama’s desk chair. Looking back at the fox, sagging slightly with his hands resting at his stomach, Hiei felt guilty.

Kurama’s reason for locking the window might not have been to keep him out but to protect himself.

“You don’t have to cut your time short with Yukina for my sake,” Kurama said, his smile achingly soft and understanding, turning Hiei’s stomach.

He knew Kurama would never ask him to stay. Never expect him to choose him over something else. It was the humanity within him. Youko weren’t nearly as kind or selfless but Kurama could be when the mood fit him. The question crossed Hiei’s mind just as easily as he strode to Kurama’s side.

If the option arose — would he have been able to pick between Kurama and Yukina?

Would that even be a choice he’d be able to make without some semblance of regret? Slipping his arms around Kurama’s shoulders, Hiei felt him stiffen. It wasn’t wise to trap a fox but this wasn’t to keep him contained. Kurama must have realized as much, forcing his muscles to loosen. A warm hand set upon Hiei’s back as Kurama buried his face against his shoulder.

“... I have thirty minutes before I can leave to see her,” Hiei clarified, squeezing Kurama when he heard the breathy sigh. Be selfish, he quietly urged. Ask me to stay. But Kurama said nothing, only holding him tighter.

“When will you be back?”

Hiei was grateful his face was buried against his shoulder. If Kurama had seen the surprise, the concern, the relief — it would open a wealth of questions Hiei wasn’t ready to answer. Yet one thing was clear. Kurama never asked him when he was going to return.

He simply did. The window was open. They reconciled and parted ways with only the knowledge of soon.

And yet, Kurama seemed to want to expect him.

Burying his fingers in silky crimson hair, Hiei held him a bit tighter, eliciting a gasp that he wanted to hear again.

“Nightfall.”

The nightmares would come again but Hiei would return and hold him through them all. For as long as Kurama wanted. A light press, flutter of warm plush lips, startled Hiei from his thoughts. He barely noticed his muffler being removed or when Kurama kissed the sensitive column of his neck, starting down with unhurried kisses loosening with precision.

“Thirty minutes,” he muttered, a throaty growl questioning and sticking half-hearted protests to the back of Hiei’s throat. He’d heard that voice before. Kurama’s old voice, and when he glanced down, golden slipped through green. “Thats what you said?”

Hiei nodded slowly, both unsurprised and startled when Kurama stood, lifting him up effortlessly. He knew he was strong but after the tournament, his strength only seemed to grow. Sinking into the bed as he was laid down, Kurama’s body covering his own, red hair shielded him from the world as the fox captured his lips and ensnared him for a bit longer.

#yyh #yu yu hakusho #kurahi #kurama x hiei #kurama #hiei #fanfiction #my fanfiction #fluent yyh

[unlockthelore]

Home

The benefit of building a resistance is being able to withstand deprivation but Hiei isn’t sure he’ll ever grow accustomed to being without this. From the fic Fluent on Ao3. For more updates, follow the fluent yyh tag on this blog. 

“Well, don’t you look handsome?”

Hiei snorted at the compliment as slender fingers adjusted the collar of his uniform. To his dismay, the closeness needed for Kurama to fuss over him rendered him unable to look ahead or upward without accidentally meeting the fox’s gaze. Time had given him an unfair advantage in beauty and wiles, gifting inexhaustible methods of disarming Hiei much to his chagrin. Though he’d hoped being in such close proximity to Kurama would’ve given him some resistance, recent changes to the nature of them left him at a loss.

After finally getting the collar tips to stay, Kurama cupped the underside of his jaw delicately and brushed a kiss to the Jagan’s ward. A muttered grumble passed through Hiei’s lips just as a pleasant chill crept down his spine, barely resisting the urge to lean into the kiss when their room door creaked open. Immediately, Hiei whipped his head to one side, catching the faint sliver of pale blue and crimson streaking from the doorway. Tiny footsteps becoming soundless as they hurried down the corridor. His shoulders slumped the further they went. Kurama patted his shoulder sympathetically, and Hiei looked up to him.

“If you speak to her, perhaps you’ll be able to discern the meaning for her discontent.”

Hiei grimaced. While he wasn’t thrilled to leave for the Rites of Succession, it was common knowledge that he would have to depart. However, common knowledge didn’t lend to understanding much to his dismay. No matter how much he tried to will her to understand, he doubted they would see eye to eye before he parted. Kurama’s hand slipped from his shoulder, brushing a trail along his lower back, stifled by his overcoat.

“If you don’t speak to her, you’ll regret it.”

Hiei whipped his head back to him at the assumption and met kindly green eyes lined with steel determination and knowing. Swallowing the lump of words gathered in his throat, he sighed. Ticking filled the silence and as it stretched on, Hiei felt the need to do or say something growing. Yanking at the wide pink collar of Kurama’s sweater to bring him closer, a sharp kiss almost on the verge of bruising beginning. Noses brushing uncomfortably, teeth nearly clacking but with a firm hand to his jaw and a whispered word, the wrinkles between them smoothed out in exchange for pleasure.

Kurama’s lips finding his own in a gentle embrace and the collar relinquished from his vicious grip. Their separation never going far, the Jagan burning beneath the touch of Kurama’s forehead to his own. It shouldn’t have been this hard. Frustration impatiently lapping at his insides like the tide. And if it would stop time, he would destroy that incessant clock ticking away. But it wouldn’t and it would hardly aid him in this. Sharing a lingering look with Kurama, the fox whispered a soft word in a Youko dialect Hiei had only a half-understanding of from his copious and at times joking lessons.

“This is part of being an uncle,” Kurama said as she smiled and kissed the corner of his lips then ushered him toward the door.

Needling aside, a swell of emotion fit Hiei close to burst as he descended down the steps and found his boots, customary of Mukuro’s uniform design, missing. The trail of youki was diffused but lingered enough to lead him to the sprawling grasslands surrounding the back of his and Kurama’s home. Treading through the grass dyed a light brown from the afternoon sun descending across a honey gold sky, he found himself at the base of one of his favorite sleeping trees. Its trunk had split into two winding boughs, one stretching higher into the sky with thick bushels of leaves while the other was a bit lower, housing dozing birds and their nests. Butterflies taking to circling its base and entertaining themselves on the flowers Kurama planted.

Hiei knelt down, brushing his fingers along translucent petals. A jolt of youki and the petals glowed, reflecting the sun’s light and filling out in color. Tipping his head upward to the shadows of the tree’s boughs, his eyes softened and he laid a hand against the tree trunk.

“Hinata.”

For a second, there was no response and he half considered dirtying the uniform to climb the tree. It wasn’t as if it wouldn’t be destroyed by the end of his trip anyhow. Yet, to save him the trouble, two small legs appeared from beneath a tree branch followed by a small hand clutching the laces of his boots tightly. Hiei bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling with pride as she descended from the tree, once cautious step at a time, finding footholds in the aged bark.

The groove where the boughs separated allowing her to stand, looming at least a head over him, despite her small stature.

“What are you doing?” Hiei asked in spite of the redundancy he felt, unfazed by wide expressive crimson eyes narrowing at him exasperatedly. “Give those here.”

She scowled. “No.”

On a face that so closely resembled his sister’s in her youth, he would have hardly expected such an angry expression. However, he’d seen Yukina when she was discontent and even more when she was angry. While his niece had decades before she reached the epitome of her mother’s skill in glaring, she was well on her way.

Raising a brow curtly, Hiei motioned for her to explain and Hinata’s bare foot stamped against the wood. Frost gathering along the moss and catching his eye as some of the butterflies scattered.

“You won’t come back.”

Hiei scowled. “Why would you say that?”

The only way he wouldn’t return is from death. Did she really think so little of him? Her expression crumpled and the anger she seemed to hold onto so desperately was beginning to leave her. Averting her gaze, she clutched the boots tightly to her chest and crouched down in a curled ball.

“You like it better there…”

Hiei’s eyes softened and he glanced over his shoulder, finding Kurama’s silhouette in the doorway. If there was any wisdom for him to be given to combat this perception, the fox didn’t seem to be keen on sharing. Perhaps he was interested as well — learning how deep the change had run in Hiei’s heart and mind. His reluctance to leave in determination to launch into a fight.

For Kurama who’d known of his ways, it would be easier to understand.

For Hinata who knew him as her uncle, there was a different kind of want in presence.

Hiei sighed and stepped forward, his socked feet brushing against the moss-covered tree roots. Using one of the footholds to pull himself up and reach her, brushing his fingers across her hair.

“I like the ginkgo tree outside of the temple, I like eating your uncle’s cooking even if he won’t let me reach into the pot, I like watching you catch fireflies past your bedtime —” Hiei was hard pressed to keep his voice calm, hoping his desperation to not see her cry wouldn’t betray him, and as her head whipped up to look at him, he sighed catching the familiar scowl.

“You promised you wouldn’t tell.”

Hiei chuckled, stepping back and lowering himself to the grass, opening his arms to her. “Then come here and I’ll whisper it to you.”

She seemed to think it over for a second. Nursing the boots to her chest and shifting from her perch, peering down at him with trepidation. Resisting the urge to fidget, Hiei almost exhaled in relief when she leapt down into his waiting arms. His hold on her shifting to a cradle and the boots were forgotten as they fell from her grasp, her arms slipping around his neck. Years ago, he might’ve found the hold restrictive and fought against it but this was neither here nor there.

And he would never raise a hand to her.

“I like it there,” Hiei murmured, stepping back into the grass to hide his stumble as he turned back toward the house’s veranda where Kurama awaited. “And I love it here.”

Hinata shifted in his arms, looking up with tears glossing her eyes and his heart threatened to shatter. “Can I come with you…?”

“Not this time,” Hiei said as he hugged her close, letting her head rest against his shoulder.

“Then when…?” She murmured against the side of his neck and the cool touch of her small hands reminded him of how easily he could be killed. And how unafraid he felt.

“Someday,” Hiei sighed, pressing a kiss to the top of her head then setting his lips against her crown. “I promise.”

Pulling away enough to look at the soft rounded features, sharp eyes boring into his own observingly, Hiei nodded firmly and Hinata smiled.

“… Okay, but you promised.”

Another change, Hiei thought as he lowered her to the grass and let her lead him by the hand after his boots had been gathered. It was almost comedic. Her tiny hand grasping his own and tugging him across the field to the veranda where Kurama greeted her, congratulating her on eluding him for so long. Promises, entertaining the whims of a small child, of a man who just as easily vexed him as he did endear him.

Sitting down on the veranda, Hiei barely looked up as a chilly press to his cheek preluded Hinata’s departure inside. Kurama taking his place and not saying a word when his movement to tie his boots slowed. Unconsciously brushing his knuckles to his cheek and redirecting the heat in his body to keep the cool touch for a while longer.

Could he really call it a mistake?

Looking to Kurama and catching the sunlight on crimson hair, amused green eyes and a smile so familiar yet new as if he were seeing it for the first time —

Hiei hardly noticed when he had moved. When he fisted Kurama’s sleeve and tugged him forward, kissing him again soundly.

“You have to leave,” Kurama said breathily when the first kiss ended, his cheeks flushed pink reminding Hiei painfully of their first kiss.

“Shut up,” Hiei demanded, tugging him closer to kiss him again, screwing his eyes shut.

After the second, Kurama sounded bemused and spoke in an almost lilting tone. “Kirin will be irritated with you.”

Hiei wanted to say he cared less. Why would Kurama not stop talking? Let Mukuro come fetch him if she liked or for Kirin to come and complete the Rites here. He wouldn’t mind showing his niece or his friend — partner — husband —

So many new words in such a short span of time but each one set his heart aflame.

“I said silence.”

“No you didn’t.”

“Kura— ” Another kiss was pressed to Hiei’s lips, effectively cutting him off and drowning him in sensation all at once. Gentle fingers brushing along the underside of his chin to the curve of his neck before settling at his collar. Touches he wouldn’t have allowed before but felt himself aching for with how close they were coming to being without it for a time.

Parting with a light kiss pressed to the corner of his lips, Kurama’s signature, and his smile in view of Hiei’s lidded eyes. “I’ll miss you too.”

It wasn’t long after, Kurama’s forehead touching to his own and Hinata squeezing him tight around the neck for one last hug, that Hiei was set to depart. Mukuro waved from the forest line where a waiting portal would be on a trail where the connection between the Ningenkai and Makai was at its strongest. To take him back to a land away from this idyllic peace.

Hiei stopped by her side and if Mukuro had an issue with his dalliance, she said nothing. Looking back down the winding paths that would lead to his home, he thought of how he had gotten here. The fate he had been bestowed, the path he tread.

And the realization he could come back home.

#yyh #yu yu hakusho #kurahi #kurama x hiei #kurama #hiei #fanfiction #my fanfiction #fluent yyh

[unlockthelore]

With the Stars And Us

Before their greatest heist commences, Kurama decides to steal something in advance.

From the fic Fluent on Ao3. For more updates, follow the fluent yyh tag on this blog. 

Admittedly, Kurama knew he had nothing to fear from Gōki. The ogre was nothing short of boorish and single-minded with as much aptitude for getting himself killed as he had in noise-making. Referring to himself as a master could be ignored, but his mockery could not.

Kurama delighted in the fear rolling off him in waves as his whip sliced through the tree thicket like a hot knife through butter. Quivering and stammering as so many had done before him in the past, Gōki agreed to work together but Kurama didn’t care.

Gōki’s absolution didn’t bring him as much joy as the wry grin on Hiei’s face. The fire demon hadn’t even turned to see what happened and Kurama was careful to avoid the tree his partner leant against to prove a point.

While he was considering what to do with Gōki’s life, Hiei’s was secured.

Funny enough as it was, Hiei was the bridge between them when tensions raised. But for all of Gōki’s faults, what Kurama detested the most was his eagerness in pleasing Hiei. Complimenting him at every turn, deferring to him for the smallest thing, cozying to his side as if he belonged there.

Even going so far as to offer the fire demon his company on the night before their heist was to commence.

Hiei brushed off the attempt at closeness without even sparing Gōki a sideways glance. Kurama couldn’t help but laugh once Hiei’s presence vanished amidst the trees.

“And where do you think you’re going, Kurama?” Gōki asked, spatting his name as if it was poison on his tongue. It might as well have been.

Crossing paths with him, Kurama tipped his head back and stared up at the misty sky clouded over with thick grey. The scent of rain hung heavily over bare trees and nature’s refreshing aroma overwhelmed Gōki’s sickening musk. Rolling his shoulders back as a breeze swept through the clearing with the distinctive smell of woodsmoke and ash, Kurama smiled.

“It is getting late and a little chilly, don’t you think,” Kurama said, cutting a visceral glance at the glowering ogre. “I’m going to warm up, of course.”

The implication is there but he’s gone before he can hear Gōki’s rebuttal, chasing after the trail left for him where most others would miss. Cracked branches on dirt paths traversing gnarled roots, leaves wreathed around bases of cedar trees leading him further into the forest. Warmth curls in the air beckoning him forward beneath the boughs of an aged cedar still retaining its leaves. Thick canopies barely disturbed as a dark shadow descends, landing neatly at his side and turning to look at him with crimson eyes bright in the dim. Hiei’s lips part, likely preparing to demand an explanation for why he was late for this little rendezvous, but Kurama’s less interested in that and more in the perfect soft velvety touch when their lips brush.

Hiei’s breath hitches and Kurama smiles against his mouth when firm hands grasp his shoulders.

“What are you doing,” Hiei grumbled, grunting softly when his back hit the tree’s bark and Kurama leant close to him. “Kurama —”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Kurama whispered, exhaling the words against Hiei’s ear. A shiver, barely noticeable, ricochets up and down the fire demon’s spine. Hiei could shove him away, and if he wanted, Kurama would gladly let him but Hiei’s grip tightened and he pulled instead of pushed. Lips slip past teasingly and he regrets all the nights he’s spent teasing Hiei when they fell together. Vindictive as he was mesmerizing, Hiei tipped his hips upward as Kurama captured his mouth, rough and desiring. Hands brushing along stubborn clothing, managing to push aside uniform shirts and undo belt buckles, palming and searching.

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous,” Hiei breathes against his mouth, strained with want but edged in amusement that almost elicits a growl.

Kurama barely reins it in. Swallowing the admission and angling his fingers in a way that makes Hiei’s breath catch, their kisses slowing. An achingly languid tempo that flushes Hiei’s cheeks a charming shade of red and glazes his eyes.

“That would insinuate I would have reason to be,” Kurama answers when the fire demon melts against him, an instinctive measure that the fox revels in, relishing shivers and soft gasps as he rakes his nails against the divots of Hiei’s hipbones. “Are you claiming to be mine, Hiei?”

Despite the thrill the thought gives him, Kurama knew he didn’t want to possess him. Hiei wasn’t someone for him to own and stow away from the sight of others. What Kurama wanted was deep in the fire demon’s chest buried beneath walls fortified over decades of neglect and pain. A precious treasure he caught glimpses of now and again, teasing but encouraging, to continue in his efforts to hold it for as long as Hiei would allow.

Hiei balks, the dizzy haze clearing with a glare that’s less sharp as it is embarrassed. “You’re the one—” A firm press of Kurama’s palm steals his momentum into a choked gasp that sounds so needy it couldn’t be Hiei. Yet it is. The grip on his arm tightens almost painfully but the hold soothes, a pulse of warmth as an unspoken apology. “Kurama…”

Kurama smiles in answer, kissing Hiei’s cheek with lingering affection muttered against heated skin. Hiei’s hand unhinging from his arm and catching hold of Kurama’s chin when he tries to trail his kisses down the curve of the fire demon’s neck. Allowing his head to be turned up to meet scarlet eyes, the want is eased by a stubborn look he knows well. Something’s on Hiei’s mind and the words take a second to form but they pierce Kurama’s chest all the same.

“We’ll save her.”

Stunned into silence, Kurama was distantly reminded of the dangers they face. How close he may come to losing this but lacking the ability to pull back or else he may lose her. A traitorous voice in his mind tells him he’s putting Hiei’s life in danger to preserve his own and Shiori’s but the fire demon insisted, and Kurama was helpless in the face of such loyalty and selflessness.

A calloused palm caresses his cheek bringing him back to reality and Hiei’s pinched expression clears, overwhelming affection clouding Kurama’s mind as he presses their lips together again. This time allowing his kisses to deepen and his hands caress Hiei’s back to keep him close. Feeling the soft pliant lips beneath his, firmness in hips rolling against his own, a warm hand curved against the back of his neck drawing him in to this intoxicating warmth.

And he knows he has nothing to fear.

#yu yu hakusho #yyh #kurahi #kurama #hiei #fanfiction #my fanfiction #fluent yyh

[unlockthelore]

In the Morning

If there is one thing Kurama can provide Hiei with it’s comfort from his concerns.

From the fic Fluent on Ao3. For more updates, follow the fluent yyh tag on this blog. 

Kurama had already awakened by the time Hiei’s sleep-murmurings began, watching the fire demon’s pinched expression from beneath heavy eyelashes. It’d been like this for the last few nights as time drew nearer to what Kurama considered to be a ill-fated encounter. Unrest stirred beneath his skin thinking of how long the Reikai sat knowing of Yukina’s whereabouts, and lengths taken to prevent Hiei from finding out firsthand.

Careful not to touch his dozing partner as he shifted, Kurama propped his head on a balled fist and squinted through the dim dawnlight at his alarm clock.

Barely past five o’clock.

Kurama doubted Yusuke would allow Kuwabara to drag him from bed before noon on a weekend, even for something as profound as a destined love. Listening to Kuwabara’s ramblings of red strings second handedly provided Kurama with little amusement when bearing witness to Hiei’s trembling. Their relationship with the Reikai was tentative as it was. Withholding Yukina’s whereabouts, keeping Hiei purposefully in the dark, those were two breaches of fragile trust irrevocably damning to the fire demon. A great deal of arguing threatened to consume the afternoon in its entirety and Hiei’s smoldering hands threatened a fight.

If not a brief roll in the grass to let out his anger in a different way.

Shiori’s arrival stayed Hiei’s hand to Kurama’s surprise. Sharp eyes softened with unmistakable affection as her voice echoed in the space left between their silence. Kurama taking advantage, easing a reassuring hand over Hiei’s heated knuckles, maneuvering nimble fingers to open. A keen steely gaze following him searchingly as he pressed kisses to calloused skin. Retribution and understanding promised in sweet brushes of his lips against Hiei’s knuckles. Little time given for him to pull away when a firm grip on his shirt drew him into a slow kiss, disarmingly captivating and setting his heart aflutter.

At Hiei’s agreement, once they separated after a few dozen kisses to join Shiori downstairs, the Reikai did not burn but he swore not to forget this.

Grunted stifled sighs drew Kurama from his thoughts, and he blinks up at the sunlight painting honey gold swaths over the floors of his room. The light threatening to inch its way across his bed to where Hiei rests. It only takes a few seconds for the fire demon to awaken. Years of routine delegating an inner alarm clock Kurama still wasn’t able to discern the inner workings of. Nonetheless, Hiei’s jaw cracks with a yawn and he’s blissfully pliant after stretching with a soft groan.

Crimson eyes, dazed and sleep glazed, sweep over the room before flicking up to meet Kurama’s gaze and widening slightly. It’s not often he could catch Hiei unawares like this. So often is he the early riser between them.

“Good morning,” Kurama said with a smile, delighted in the flush painted across Hiei’s cheeks as Kurama leaned forward and captured his lips. Waking’s bitterness sours his tongue but the unsubtle way Hiei searches for a hold on him, from running his hands along his back to curling his fingers in his hair is saccharine. Yearning hands drew Kurama in a close embrace and he smiled against Hiei’s mouth, hearing a faint murmur for him to stop that as their lips melded again. Dark locks, soft despite their perpetual spiky state, twines around Kurama’s fingers as he works them through again and again earning deep throaty purrs rumbling from Hiei’s chest to his own.

“Good?” Kurama murmurs as he pulled away, half-grinning when Hiei chases him for another stolen kiss. It’s during his waking moments when his guard hasn’t risen that he’s at his sweetest and Kurama cherished it. “Hiei…”

Kurama peers through the curtain of long red hair fallen over them, his heart skipping its beating as Hiei gazes up at him with hooded eyes still clouded with sleep. With a small sigh, Kurama brushed his knuckles beneath the curve of his jaw and pressed a lingering kiss to his lips’ corner. A disconcerted grunt and lukewarm glare almost making him laugh at the denial of a proper kiss even with Hiei’s insistence in chasing him. Pressing a firm hand to the fire demon’s chest, his heartbeat wild beneath Kurama’s palm, eyes focused and questioning.

Indecision strikes temporarily. How he would’ve loved to keep this moment where the world was quiet save for the distant rumbling of cars, birdsong, and the house’s creaking — but time would catch up to them and he’d rather Hiei be aware. Curling his fingers against bared skin elicits slight twitching from the fire demon until Kurama’s hand curls in a fist over his heart.

The symbolism is there and Hiei’s harsh swallow seems to ease him fully into waking.

“We will find her,” Kurama assured, mirroring the words Hiei told him with no uncertainty despite all of the odds laid out against them. If Hiei noticed the sentimentality, he doesn’t say. His mouth clamped shut and the hardened veneer settles everywhere but his eyes. “And they will answer for this someday. I swear to you.”

The veneer cracks. Shock written across Hiei’s face and Kurama felt the stabbing twist in his chest as the Vow sank deep in his chest. He was grateful for the wording, sighing as the pain lessened to a dull throb. Time-sensitive deals were troublesome to deal with but ones like this were —

A sharp tug spins his world on its axis and he stiffened up at the change, Hiei staring into his eyes as he loomed over him.

“Why did you do that?” He asks, rough and harsh, anger creeping along the edges. When Kurama opened his mouth to explain, Hiei presses, “You don’t know what will happen. This isn’t one of your plans, Kurama.”

Agitation buds in Kurama’s chest at being scolded. He was certainly old enough to know when or when not to take a risk, and make his own decisions. And perhaps he would’ve been keen to remind Hiei of both truths if not for the concern in his eyes. The budding emotions wilt, and Kurama props himself up on his elbows refusing to break their gaze. Hiei slipped into his lap and while it might’ve been suggestive any other day, it was advantageous for their height difference.

“We will find her,” he insists, gaze boring into Hiei’s own as they settled nose to nose, green never leaving crimson. “Because I swore to search with you until we do.”

Hiei grimaces, eyeing him searchingly. “And after.”

Kurama arches a brow. There was always that question. He surely wasn’t as weak as he’d been when they first met, and the Reikai complicated things, believing them to be a packaged deal. Granted, they weren’t wrong, but it assumed much. Recognizing the question for what it was — a way for Kurama to cement what they’d become — he felt humbled.

On the morn of what could be a turning point in Hiei’s life, the end of their partnership and beginning of something else, Kurama pulled him close and kissed him fiercely to convey what words couldn’t.

#yu yu hakusho #yyh #kurahi #kurama #hiei #fanfiction #my fanfiction #fluent yyh

[unlockthelore]

No More What If’s

Even if Hiei wouldn’t say it, Kurama’s presence felt like coming home. Yet this time, it felt like saying goodbye. From the fic Fluent on Ao3. For more updates, follow the fluent yyh tag on this blog. 

Defeat without death was unlike anything Hiei had ever experienced before. The concrete was rough and cool against his skin, blissfully loud crashing waves lapping against rocky shores in the distance. Creaking metal and his own deep breathing as he slipped in and out of consciousness for a few cherished moments, attempting to stave off grunts and hissing sighs while his body reverted to its normal state. Dozens of eyes closing along his back, arms, legs and stomach relaying the same image propped up against one of the wooden crates silently watching him with burning green eyes.

It isn’t until the last closes and Hiei breathes a ragged sigh that he feels the presence looming over him.  

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Kurama’s silhouette shades him from the blinding overhead lamps embedded in the warehouse’s ceiling but his eyes are alight with indignation. Hurt pinching delicate features, though whether from his injury or realization of Hiei’s deception, Hiei isn’t sure. He can barely keep his eyes open. Lids sliding shut every so often and the darkness is noisier. Kurama’s shoes scuffing against the asphalt, his knees thudding somewhere near Hiei’s head barely clipping his nose.

Why was he so close? Didn’t he know that even like this, he was still a threat? Residual aggravation and ire for the fox — this traitor — lingering unjustifiably hot beneath his skin. Venomous words gather and burn at the seam of his lips but refuse to spill over when a featherlight touch drags along his jaw’s curve to the swell of his cheek. Stubbornly, Hiei keeps his eyes closed, waiting for the revulsion implanted deep within his soul to ignite, but the Shadow Sword’s presence wanes replacing frenzied discontent with lukewarm regret.

Kurama seems to take his lack of a reply for a continuation, and Hiei couldn’t find the energy to wince as his partner’s — former partner’s — voice swells with emotion and crashes down upon him in an icy dredge.

“Forlorn Hope’s influence requires consent but the Shadow Sword overwhelms its wielder in the presence of doubt, feeding off insecurities, if you were in doubt of our plan then why—”

“Would you stop…?” Hiei rasps, repulsed by the hoarse sound and when Kurama’s hand stills, he can tell that the fox was as well. “If you knew…”

The question beckons why he’s asking. Youko Kurama was known for cutting off loose ends and exacting his plans to his standards. For Kurama to have appeared, it surely was due to his debt to the detective. Revulsion stirred and Hiei wanted to turn away from Kurama’s touch.

He doesn’t care for you.

And that it was burned the most. Wildflowers, rose musk, dried herbs, spring meadows, threaded steel, and something earthly and uncompromising makes up what Kurama is and it comforted Hiei no matter how much he tried to fight it. The fox’s touch wasn’t mocking but careful as it was in all of their interactions.

From what point?

When had they gotten to this place of touch and care conveyed without words?

He swallowed thickly, telling himself not to open his eyes in fear of falling under a spell from the sight looming over him. Ignoring his baser instinct, he does anyway. A saddened smile reaches dim green eyes bearing down on him from where Kurama looms over him. He hadn’t even noticed that the concrete was no longer bared beneath his cheek. Iron, rust, the unmistakable scent of blood staining pink fabric and Hiei’s tongue is thick with apology.

“Of course I would,” Kurama mutters softly, as if imparting a secret only for Hiei’s ears alone and Hiei greedily held the words to his chest.

Rebuttals, refusals, scathing words sticking to the back of his throat as Kurama palms his cheek. Disgust threatens to wretch from his chest at the urge to ask him. Could they go back to his room — a house Hiei had grown to call home — or the woman who told him his eyes were kind and smiled at him as if his hands weren’t stained in blood. It was foolish. Childish. With all that happened between them, they couldn’t go back to those days and the realization stung at the corners of his eyes.

Had he done the right thing breaking all of his rules for this boy — this wizened old soul — caressing his cheek as if he were fragile glass?

No, the harried defensive part of his mind bellowed. Once the Reikai came, and they would, he would surely be killed and then what would come of her? He should have let Kurama settle the matter on his own, absolved their agreement and vanished into the night to search for the one who meant everything to him.

But he means something to me.

It was difficult to put into words. What Kurama meant to him, what Shiori did, they were as much of a reality as she was. And even if he found her, what would he have done? Watched her from afar while knowing that he abandoned two souls that were just as precious to him?

All to save his life and surrender to loneliness’ hold once more?

A soft tap drew his attention to the wetness on his cheeks. Kurama’s eyes, wider and glossier, unshed tears threatening to fall. His hold on Hiei’s shoulder painfully tight and Hiei squeezed his eyes shut, wanting to lose himself in him for just a moment longer before their mistake tears them apart.

Kurama’s blood long-since dried but it flakes and smears across Hiei’s cheek as the pad of Kurama’s thumb fits beneath his jaw and tips his head back. Green eyes crinkle at the corners and descends over him as their lips slip past each other, painfully wrenching at Hiei’s heart.

“You don’t believe I would betray you, do you…?”

Despite the warmth of his breath, Kurama’s voice is wet with tears and Hiei forces himself to keep his eyes open. Commits to memory the image of falling tears slipping down cheeks he’d seen dimpled with laughter and flushed with joy. The traitorous voice screams yes and the proof was all around them but Hiei presses his trembling lips shut, exhaling through his nose.

“No.”

He would think the angle uncomfortable for Kurama with how he has to bend but the fox gives no indication of discontent, ghosting unspoken words in lingering touches to Hiei’s cheek and the curve of his ear. Warm palm stained and crusted with crimson caressing Hiei’s nape, a gesture he would have balked at if it was anyone else.

But it was Kurama.

And despite neither of them saying a word as they parted, the fox lying him down with immense care before staggering to his feet, sparing a glance over his shoulder as he left the warehouse —

It felt like goodbye.

#yu yu hakusho #yyh #kurahi #kurama #hiei #fanfiction #my fanfiction #fluent yyh

[unlockthelore]

A Simple Gift

With the day’s trial ahead of them and an inordinate amount of stress, Kurama was more than happy to forget. From the fic Fluent on Ao3. For more updates, follow the fluent yyh tag on this blog. 

Sluices of cold water catch in heavy droplets weighing on his eyelashes. Moisture gathered on cooled tiled walls, steam fogged glass obstructing his view of the bathroom door as it opens. Kurama tenses for a split second and unconsciously glare over his shoulder.

The door hissing as it opens and tension drains from him like the water pooling at his feet. A familiar calloused hand reaches in, twisting the knob firmly and shutting off the chill spray much to Kurama’s dismay and his body’s delight.

He almost forgot, in the brief moments allowed in his previous form, how it felt to be human. Realizing the chattering sound was his own teeth and the hairs raised on his arm weren’t from anger but cold.

Impatiently, a towel thrusts into his view, the water dripping from his hair landing on fluffy white cloth and freshly changed bandages. He almost wants to scold Hiei for using his injured arm for something so trivial. The number of people concerned for his well-being a little too much for his liking. And yet, as if anticipating a fight, the fire demon shakes the towel in warning then drops it in Kurama’s waiting hand.

As he steps out toweling his hair dry, the sight of Hiei perched on the toilet’s closed lid like a gargoyle brings a slight smile to his face. The fire demon doesn’t return the look. Slitted crimson eyes keenly follow him as he strides past, slinging the towel around his hips.

“You’re thinking too much,” Hiei finally says once Kurama began the meticulous ritual of preparing for the day, grateful the fire demon waited until he’d unscrewed the top of his face cream.

“Reading my mind again?” Kurama asked loftily, vaguely aware that keeping his voice level was more difficult than he’d thought.

“No need, it’s written across your face.”

Pinning his bangs back didn’t require as much effort as Kurama put into it, though catching Hiei’s gaze in the mirror was the last thing he wanted. There were moments when the fire demon’s eyes bore into him so deeply as if he could burn away all of his guises and see into his soul.

It was frustratingly wonderful. To be known so intimately and with little words said. But he would have rather put off this particular conversation until later. After a few splashes of water against his face went undisturbed, Kurama thought the conversation was over. Glancing out the corner of his eye to find the toilet lid was left empty to his surprise.

His body tensed as warm arms slipped around his waist, calloused palms sweeping over the spots left tender from his battle with Roto.

“Hiei…?”

Youki seeped into his skin soothing the dull throbbing. It was impossible to see Hiei’s face from this angle, only his arms, one scarred from years of abuse and the other covered wrapped in loose bandages revealing darkened ink on copper-brown skin.

Kurama frowned slightly, setting the jar down.

They were all taking risks. Hiding burdens they could have shared and it was taking its toll. How long would this go on before one of them succumbed and the others were doomed to follow? His heart shuddered at the thought of Hiei being devoured by the Dragon, arguments stuck to his throat as the fire demon held him tighter.

“You will defeat him,” murmured in a warm husky voice sends shivers running down Kurama’s spine.

His eyes close and he huffs, irritated at how quickly his anger was dispelled and touched by Hiei’s belief in him. Deciding to set arguments aside for now, Kurama curled his fingers around the wrist of his warded arm and squeezed. “Are there any other options?”

“We fight an arena of fools after I burn him to nothing,” Hiei says with such levity that Kurama almost wanted to ask if he was joking or not.

In Hiei’s condition, fighting an entire arena would’ve been a chore let alone unwise and perhaps suicidal. Even together, they would have their work cut out for them but the implication was sweet enough. Perhaps as close to a sentiment as Kurama would get from him.

“You would sully your hands for me?” Kurama asks, returning to the task of rubbing the sweet-smelling cream to his cheeks, grateful that the mark on his cheek was beginning to heal. He wasn’t sure how he would explain it to his mother if she were to see it.

Concerned as she would be once he returned.

Bitterness bit deep in his stomach but the warmth of Hiei’s hands shifted, his hands glowing from knuckle to fingertip as if the sun was buried beneath his skin. “It would have to be with the Mortal Flame or my own,” Hiei murmured and Kurama raised a brow.

“That aside, leave the obvious questions to Kuwabara.”

Kurama lowered his hand, blinking owlishly then craning his head to look over his shoulder at the nest of black hair brushing against his back. “… Obvious?”

After a moment of awkward shuffling and lingering silence, Hiei lifted his head, his cheeks flushed and eyes heavy-lidded. “Isn’t it obvious? If you’re in danger, then I’ll…” He faltered and Kurama wished he would have kept going. Not look aside with an expression that was almost shy, vulnerable and sweet. “… Do something.”

The jar’s lid clattered in the sink forgotten, Kurama turning in Hiei’s hold, barely hearing the whispered call of his name before he held him to his chest and kissed him soundly. Tense muscles relaxed beneath his hands, hands he’d seen tear demons asunder gently taking hold of his hips before slipping around to rest at his back. Moving his lips against Hiei’s own, none-too-gentle bites rewarded with a gasp allowing him to taste the sweet bitterness of coffee on his tongue.

So he did take Yukina’s offer to have breakfast together.

Pulling away with a smile, Kurama pressed a kiss to the Jagan’s lid, hearing the choked grumble as nails clipped his skin.

“… What was that?”

A smile tugged at Kurama’s lips, brushing against Hiei’s crown as he whispered. “I’ll tell you after I win.”

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