Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Bugs ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

Still not owning it.

A/N - Thanks for bearing with me there. Last chapter was my ludic chapter, and now we are back to painful reality. Hope you enjoy! (PS- as random as it was, I was laughing when I wrote the last one. If not for that, I would not have posted it. It felt good to write it, though. I needed that about now.)

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As Kurama and Shiori cleared the plates from the table, Hiei made his way into the living room, eager to be free of the ningen presence. To his great chagrin, Shuu-kun and Hatanaka followed closely on his heels.

In the kitchen, Shiori rinsed the dishes and handed them to her son, who loaded them into the dishwasher. "Shuuichi, thank you again for letting us stay here. I know we are disrupting your lives. I'll try to keep those two out of your hair for awhile."

"It's no problem, Mother, really." Kurama replied smoothly, almost convincing himself it was the truth. The two finished cleaning up the kitchen and entered the living room to join the rest of the `family'. Hatanaka has settled himself on one end of the sofa, and Shuu-kun on the other. Hiei was standing by the chair, across the room. When Kurama and Shiori approached, Hatanaka took his wife's hand, and drew her down onto the sofa next him. She leaned against him, smiling contentedly.

"Hey, I know!" Shuu-kun exclaimed. "Let's watch...."
"NO!" four voices cut him off.

"Shuu-kun, let's do something together, something real, rather than watch more movies." Shiori suggested softly. The boy sighed, and nodded. The Hatanaka family began debating what to do to pass the afternoon. Over the heads of the humans, Kurama caught Hiei's eye.

With a wink and a nod at the front door, the fox silently mouthed the words, `ice cream'. Hiei gave the slightest of nods, and the two slowly began to withdraw from the gathering. They had almost escaped when Hatanaka turned to them, with a strange, suspicious look on his face.

"Where are you two going?" he asked. He knew that the two demons were a couple. He could tolerate that when they were separated from his family. The idea of them slipping off together while his son was nearby, however, galled him. More than anything, he wanted to keep his son from finding out about Kurama's `alternative lifestyle', as he had dubbed it.

"We were going to go for a walk, Hatanaka-san." Kurama answered.

Hatanaka narrowed his eyes. He knew what happened when two `teenagers' slipped off together. He decided then and there that until his family was away from this house, he would have to keep a close eye on these two.

"A walk sounds perfect, let's all go." he concluded.

Years of practice as the perfect son kept Kurama's shoulders from sagging. Hiei sighed slightly, but showed no other response to the human's decision. Without a word, the two demons waited for the humans to join them, and the entire family went for a walk.

Throughout the walk, Hiei had the feeling that he and his fox were being watched. It seemed that no matter when he looked at Hatanaka, the older man was looking back, studying them. Every time Hiei averted his gaze, he met that of Shuuichi-kun. Both father and son were observing the demons with a bit too much interest. Shiori was the only one who was acting normally.

This occurrence did not go unnoticed by Kurama either. He was very uncomfortable with his family so close, scrutinizing his life. He and Hiei walked further away from each other than usual, barely even making eye contact.

Once the family had walked a few blocks, they came to a more commercial part of town. There were many little shops on this street, one of which had the best ice cream money could buy. Hiei and Kurama often walked to this little parlor after dinner. The man behind the counter knew them well, or at least, knew their non-demon personas as well as anyone did. As much as they wanted to stop, the two demons tried to hurry the family past the treat shoppe. They had no such luck. Shuu-kun spotted the ice cream parlor, and practically dragged Shiori in by her arm. Hatanaka waited for Hiei and Kurama to enter, before he followed them in.

The vendor looked up from behind the counter to find an excited boy of about twelve years old eagerly reading all the names of the different ice creams, a patient looking woman next him, waiting for his decision, and a man who appeared to be with them. Also with this group were two of his favorite customers.

"Shuuichi! Hiei! So nice to see you two again! Did you want the usual? I know how much you two..." The vendor never finished his sentence when he saw Kurama, standing behind the rest of the family, shaking his head violently, and Hiei, standing at the far left of the group, glaring at him malevolently. Changing his approach, the vendor continued, "You may all sit wherever you'd like, and please take your time deciding. Let me know when you are ready to order."

He had been about to ask if they wanted their usual order. On a slow night, the two would order a huge sundae, and sit in a tiny secluded booth, barely visible from the counter, completely concealed from the rest of the shoppe by a large, square support pillar. They would then talk and laugh, and share the ice cream, occasionally feeding each other. The vendor was well aware of their relationship, and really didn't care. He had his own wife and children, and the demons were generally discreet, and tipped well. As long as they weren't flaunting and driving other customers away, they could do whatever they wanted, within legal limits, in their cozy, hidden booth.

Hatanaka took Kurama by the arm, and steered him to a nearby table to sit down and wait for the rest of the family. "The usual? This is one of your regular places? You and Hiei come here often?" The kitsune nodded slowly. "So why did you bring my family here? Sometimes, I think you you want my son to find out about you, just to disobey me." Kurama just shook his head, knowing that any protests would start an argument he did not care to have in public.

After a few more minutes, the rest of the family joined the two at the table. As luck would have it, Hiei ended up sitting clear across the round table from Kurama. Hatanaka was next to Kurama on one side, Shuuichi-kun on the other, and Shiori was between her stepson and Hiei. When the host came over to take their orders, Kurama ordered a plain, vanilla cone. Hatanaka ordered the same, Hiei ordered a dish of chocolate chunk with whipped cream and an extra cherry, Shiori ordered some low fat frozen yogurt, and Shuuichi-kun ordered a super sundae deluxe with extra hot fudge. When the treats arrived, the family began to eat quietly.

Kurama licked sullenly at his ice cream. He wanted to be with Hiei, alone, enjoying the company of his lover. Instead he was across the table, separated, literally and figuratively, by his human family. The fox raised his eyes to look at the fire demon, only to find an equally dour pair of crimson orbs staring back at him. Kurama tried to smile at Hiei, but it came out as a weak grin. The kitsune lowered his gaze to rest on his ice cream cone. Suddenly, he got an idea.

Kurama looked up, meeting Hiei's eyes. His own green eyes had a mischievous glint in them that instantly caught the attention of the sanjiyan. Slowly, deliberately, Kurama licked his ice cream, starting at the very bottom, near the cone, and dragging his tongue up the mound of frozen confection with an agonizing slowness, to the very top. He made sure the ice cream on his tongue was visible, before he withdrew it back into his mouth and pursed his lips.

Hiei felt a shiver race up his spine when the fox did this. Catching on quickly, Hiei gathered a small amount of ice cream on his spoon, and drew it up to his mouth. Slowly, he began to lick the spoon clean. When he had finished, Kurama slowly began to lick the base of his ice cream, first around to the left, then to the right. He nibbled slightly on the edge of the cone, then placed his lips around the top of the ice cream, as if he were sucking it. Slowly, he withdrew the ice cream from his mouth, brushing his lips along the surface of the treat.

Hiei waited for him to finish, then dipped his spoon back into his ice cream again. This time he took even longer to tongue wash the utensil. He took so long, a dribble of melted ice cream ran down the neck of the spoon and onto his hand. He stuck just the very tip of his tongue out, and lapped it up, first off his hand, then the neck of the spoon, and finally off the head of the spoon, putting the whole rounded section into his mouth, and pulling it slowly back out.

Kurama began working on his ice cream again. This time, he intentionally let some of the frozen cream smudge the side of his mouth. When he darted his tongue out to clean it off, Hiei felt as if he was going to climax right then and there. Once this task was finished, the fox repeated his original maneuver, licking the ice cream from bottom to top.

During this exchange, the Hatanaka family was talking happily, and, for the most part, ignoring the demons, ignorant of the suggestive goings on. Hatanaka just happened to look up as Kurama was finishing his last lick. At his father's sudden silence, Shuu-kun looked up as well. Luckily, neither human had seen the previous exchanges. Hatanaka saw his son looking up, and, none too gently, kicked his stepson under the table. Kurama felt a foot connect rather roughly with his shin, and in surprise bit down. Seeing the kitsune's teeth tear violently through the ice cream had a slightly different effect on Hiei than the seductive licking had. He shuddered slightly, and looked away quickly. Their little game was over.

Shiori had seen the entire exchange. She hid her smile as she continued to eat her treat, and tried to keep her husband and stepson engaged in conversation to distract them. She remembered well the days of her youth, and similar games she had played. She was grateful, however, that neither demon had ordered a banana split. Upon seeing her husband's enraged look, she tried to direct his conversation to other topics. Luckily, it worked.

The shop owner looked at the odd group with mild interest. It was apparent that these people were the red head's family. It was also obvious that the woman had accepted him and his lover, the man had not. He wasn't sure about the child. The kid seemed oblivious, but when the older man wasn't paying attention, the boy would give the young couple an appraising look, as if he were mulling over some deep thoughts involving the two of them. The vendor got the distinct impression that the boy was not as ignorant of the situation as his father believed. He saw the older man roughly kick the red head under the table, and noted the furious look on the man's face. If the boy ever did find out....well, the vendor was glad he wouldn't be on the receiving end of that man's anger. He seemed peaceful enough, but definitely showed the potential to be vicious where matters of his son were concerned.

After all of the ice cream had been eaten, in a boring and mundane manner, the family got up to leave. Somewhat depressed, the two demons barely even looked at one and other as they left the establishment. Once outside, the group resumed their walk down the street. Kurama felt a hand on his arm yank him back abruptly. Hatanaka put his hand back into his pocket, and waited a moment for his wife and stepson to get a bit further away before he asked, "Are there any other places that you two go that we should avoid?" Kurama sighed slightly.

"There is a florist further down the block that we frequent." Hatanaka made a face at this news, expressing exactly what he thought of boys that made a habit of visiting flower shops for any reason other than buying flowers for a girl. Ignoring the disdain on the man's face, Kurama continued. "There is also a bookstore on the corner with a coffee shop in it. We go there quite often. We also go to the cinema now and then, but there is always a different person at the counter, no one works there for more than two weeks, so we won't be recognized. Other than that, we don't "frequent" any of these stores. Oh, we may want to avoid the jewelry store. That is where Hiei purchased our rings. Although the jeweler will not recognize us, I am sure he will recognize his own work immediately."

At this, the human's gaze dropped to the red head's hand. On his left ring finger was the ring that Hiei had given him. The fire demon wore a matching ring on his left hand as well. With a sudden start, Hatanaka realized that these rings would indicate to Shuuichi-kun the relationship the two older boys shared.

"Take it off." the older man hissed at hi stepson.

"What?" Kurama asked, shocked at the request.

"Take off that ring when you are around my son!" Hatanaka demanded.

Kurama narrowed his eyes at his stepfather. "I will not. I have not taken it off since Hiei put it on me, and I will not remove it now." he said in a low, even voice.

"If my son sees it, and he realizes..."

Kurama cut him off. "If he sees it, I will convince him it is something innocent. You need not worry about that; I can be quite convincing. I will conceal the truth from him. I will not, however, remove the ring." With this, Kurama turned and began to catch up to the others. Shiori and Shuuichi-kun were quite a ways ahead. Hiei had lingered closer, waiting for the conversation to end. Kurama noted that Hiei was far enough to not arouse the human's suspicions, but close enough that his keen hearing had caught every word shared between them. Although the fire demon's expression was as indifferent as ever, Kurama could sense how angry he was.

There was a cold silence among the group for the rest of the afternoon. Kurama and Hiei were keeping their distance from each other, eager to avoid more attention from Hatanaka. The human was regarding his stepson coldly. His wordless glares would have hurt Kurama, if the kitsune had bothered to look at the man. Shiori saw the change. She did not know what had transpired, but it alarmed her to see her family on edge. Shuuichi-kun knew something was up, but for once, kept his mouth shut. He realized that this rift between his father and his stepbrother probably had something to do with him. He decided to talk to the red head about it later.

After walking around the small commercial district all afternoon, the group decided to stop at a cafe for dinner. The meal passed silently. Finally, they left and walked home. Once inside, everyone went in different directions. Hiei went outside to train, Kurama went to take a shower, Shuu-kun went to his room and was oddly quiet. Shiori and her husband retired to their bedroom.

"What was that all about?" Shiori asked her husband, as she closed the door behind them.

"What do you mean, Dear?" he asked, taking off his shirt and preparing for bed.

"The silence. The dirty looks. The constant edginess. What happened between you and Shuuichi today?"

"That boy was making a fool of himself in the ice cream parlor!" Hatanaka started. "He and that demon he shacks up with were licking and slurping on their ice creams like...like..."

"Like they were flirting." Shiori finished in a calm and even tone.

"Yes. Like that. Right at the table, in front of my son. I have never been so angry."

"Kazuya, I understand your need to protect your son. But please understand that we are guests in their house, interrupting their lifestyle. You may disagree with Shuuichi's choices, but they are his choices to make. He is my son, and I love him very much. Please try to accept him, and Hiei, while we are here. Don't forget, that `demon he shacks up with' is our host, and provided this house for them."

Hatanaka sighed. "I just can't accept them. It isn't natural. And they flaunt their lifestyle in front of Shuu-kun! They wear those rings, and they..."

"Rings?" Shiori interjected. "You didn't. When you and Shuuichi lagged behind this afternoon, when all of the silence and the glares began, you didn't ask him to take it off, did you?"

"What's so outrageous about that? It's not like they're really married; it's not a wedding band. It's an outright declaration of their unnaturalness!" he countered angrily.

Shiori sighed, and approached her husband. Raising her left hand, she placed it gently on his cheek. "If someone were to ask me to remove my wedding band, I would refuse. You would be irate. True, Shuuichi and Hiei are not legally married. You know as well as I that they cannot be legally married. But when they exchanged those rings, they made a promise. They made a vow to each other, in front of everyone present. It wasn't a wedding, it's not legally binding, but it counts. Marriage is the same thing: a promise. They are no less committed to each other than you and I are to each other. Shuuichi will never take that ring off, and you probably hurt him deeply by asking him to do so. I think you should go talk to him, you owe him an apology." With that, Shiori turned and got into bed, ending the conversation. Knowing that he could not win, Hatanaka pulled on his robe and left to go speak with his stepson.

Kurama finished his shower and sat on the bed, brushing out his almost dry hair. He was still fuming over his last conversation with his stepfather; the man's request had cut him deeply. It was obvious that the human regarded the demons' relationship as laughable. He barely noticed when Hiei walked through the sliding glass door from the terrace.

"Fox? You're distracted." the fire demon noted drily. Kurama just nodded. Sensing that his mate was in no mood to converse, Hiei went into the bathroom to clean up after his intense training. In only a few minutes a clean, dry half koorime was climbing into the bed with the still distracted red head. Sitting on his knees in front of his lover, Hiei regarded the kitsune. "Fox, talk to me."

Raising his gaze and putting down the hairbrush, Kurama whispered, "I can't believe him. He is so paranoid that I will tell Shuu-kun about us that he overreacts to any contact we have. He wanted me to take off my ring."

"I know, I heard." Hiei interjected. "You refused." Hiei took Kurama's left hand, and ran his fingers idly over the ring there. "I meant every word I said that night, Fox. I know our relationship is much more substantial than a bauble on your hand. If you want to make life easier and take it off..." he never got to finish his sentence.

"No." Kurama cut in. "I will never hide what we have to appease some over protective, paranoid human. You put this ring on my finger, and no one will ever take it off." Although Hiei did not reply verbally, the relief in his face was evident. He had only made the suggestion to try to help his fox coexist with the ningen. Kurama staunch refusal to do so touched the small demon. Smiling, Hiei slid closer to the kitsune.

Kurama smiled back at his lover. Reaching out, he grasped Hiei by the shoulders and turned him around. Hiei sat on the bed in front of Kurama, between the red head's long legs, with his back pressed against the taller boy's chest. The fox wrapped his arms around Hiei from behind, and nuzzled into the fire demon's neck, planting small kisses on the sensitive skin there. The kitsune's wandering fingers found their way inside Hiei's robe to caress the skin of his chest. Hiei put his right hand down onto Kurama's thigh, and lifted his left hand to tangle in the long, red hair. He tilted his head to the right to allow his fox better access to his neck, and closed his eyes. Both demons took this moment to revel in their shared solitude. This was the scene when the door opened unexpectedly.

Hatanaka had every intention of speaking civilly and respectfully to his stepson. When he reached the door to the master bedroom, it never even occurred to him to knock. Upon entering, he found the demons in the midst of their snuggling. Green eyes rose to meet the human's gaze, as red eyes opened to do the same. For a few moments no one moved. Finally, Hatanaka stepped in and closed the door lightly.

"And what if it had been my son coming to speak to you, and not me?" he asked in an eerily even tone.

"Maybe the boy would have knocked before entering." Hiei commented sarcastically.

Hatanaka narrowed his eyes. In the same even and unreadable tone he continued. "You may enjoy these little games, Shuuichi, but I assure you I do not. You will not either if Shuuichi-kun discovers your relationship." With that threat, Hatanaka left the room. The two demons remained poised on the bed for a moment before Kurama dropped his hands to rest on Hiei's thighs.

"I don't think this bodes well." he remarked.

"Nor do I." Hiei agreed, as he slipped out of the bed and made his way over to the windowsill.

"Hiei?"

"I will not have that human, or his child, or, no offense, your mother walking in on us again. For now, I believe it would be best if I were to sleep in my old perch." he said, settling on the windowsill with one leg tucked up and the other dangling, the same way he had slept in Kurama's room at Shiori's house long ago, before the two were a couple.

"But, Hiei..."

"Goodnight, Kurama." the fire demon concluded, ending any negotiation. Hiei turned his head, and stared out the window, much like he used to so long ago.

With a deep sigh, Kurama flopped back onto his back. This was not going well at all. He hoped he could last the next three days.

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A/N-references to the past, ie; the rings, the promises, etc. are all things I have planned out for my other story. My stories will fit together into a coherent timeline. It may seem confusing at times, but if I make a reference to something non-canon that you don't recognize from the show/manga, then it is probably an event in my little skewed timeline. The rings part has not been written into the previous story yet, but I have it all planned out in my head, and it will be very sweet. If something really bothers you about my references, e-mail me and I will try to explain it better, but I am trying to write this story so that it can be enjoyed separately from the previous one by just accepting a few things as truth (at least my little skewed truth). Thanks. Please review.

Thank you to my reviewers

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