The entire length of the compact, muscular body of the Fire Demon lay sprawled across the larger form of the Youko. Kurama's left arm was bent absent-mindedly across his forehead in a sleepy effort to keep the intruding daylight out of his eyes. His right arm was securely wrapped around the narrow waist of his lover, who seemed molded to the fox's body.
Hiei's right cheek was pressed tightly against his lover's chest, his ear just above Kurama's breastbone. The Fire Demon's breathing kept in time with that of the kitsune's breath. Even their hearts seemed to beat in time, as if the two were in sync, joined together by some mysterious force. If it wasn't for the sudden growling of Kurama's empty stomach, Hiei would have lain in this favorite position for several more hours.
The Koorime's eyes fluttered open at the sound of the intruding gurgling. Hiei grumbled softly to himself, and stretched a bit against Kurama's warm body. Kurama's breathing indicated his mind wasn't yet aware of the complaining of his tummy.
Hiei looked around their den, carefully rubbing sleep out of an eye so as to not disturb his sleeping fox. He smacked his lips as his eyes slowly adjusted to the morning sunbeams that were just beginning to peek through the overhead leaves. A soft ray of light lit upon the uncovered eye of the sleeping kitsune. Kurama squinted in his sleep and brushed the air with his arm as if to slow down the offending dawn.
Hiei smiled at Kurama's feeble attempt to stop the morning from coming. With a sigh, he nested his hands on his lover's chest, leaned his chin down and began to study the Youko's features.
The Koorime tilted his head to the side to get a better look at the slumbering kitsune's face. Then, without thinking, Hiei lifted his bandaged arm and began to trace, ever so lightly, the fine lines around Kurama's eyes with his rough fingertip. He was so intent on studying his lover's features that he didn't notice the Youko's golden orbs slowly slit open. Hiei's touch was so delicate and careful that Kurama lay as still as he could, curious but nonetheless delighted at the intimate exploration.
"What is it?" Kurama whispered, startling Hiei. The Fire Demon blinked back, looking into his lover's eyes with a slight blush. He immediately pulled his fingers back.
"Oh...gomen. Nothing. I just...I was just...looking." Hiei laid his face back down onto Kurama's chest and hoped the warmth in his cheeks couldn't be felt. Kurama chuckled softly.
"It's okay, you don't have to stop," the kitsune said sweetly, noting his lover's embarrassment. "I like it when you touch me." He wrapped his long arms completely around the smaller demon's body in a hug. Hiei closed his eyes and softened into the embrace.
"What were you looking at?" the inquisitive Youko wanted to know. He resettled into the bedding and slowly began to rub Hiei's back.
"I was just noticing those little lines and wrinkles you have around your eyes is all..." Hiei said in a yawn. Now, an innocent, almost child-like honesty was one of the attributes Kurama loved about Hiei, but this comment was somewhat startling to the rather vain fox demon.
"What lines and wrinkles?" Kurama frowned, causing a few more lines and wrinkles to form around his eyes. Hiei looked up and began to look over his lover's face.
"Just those little lines and stuff you have around your eyes," he pointed out. "It's like when you smile or laugh and your eyes crinkle up. The lines are still there even after you stop." A silver eyebrow rose in challenge of this observation.
"Honto ni?"
"Yeah. And those other little lines by your mouth, too." The other eyebrow joined the first.
"What are you talking about, Hiei? I don't have any lines or wrinkles. At least none that I noticed...yet." Hiei couldn't contain his sly smile and shook his head.
"Well, you don't get to look at yourself as closely as I look at you, fox, and I'm telling you, you have some wrinkles. Now go back to sleep." With that Hiei purposefully laid his head down with a clunk, causing a bit of air to rush from Kurama's chest.
The Youko lifted his hand, letting a slender finger rub lightly against the supposed wrinkles around his eyes. "I don't have crow's feet...do I?"
"I never said you have bird feet."
"Crow's feet, Hiei. That's what humans call those fine little lines people get around their eyes...as they get older." Kurama tensed his jaw and ran his hand across his chin, feeling for anything unusual, or wrinkled.
"I don't know anything about bird's feet, but it just means you're not getting any younger," Hiei muttered. "You've got 'a lot of water under the bridge'." Kurama snorted in amusement.
"Where in the Makai did you hear that expression?" he chuckled.
"Actually," Hiei began to explain, "I heard Yuusuke say it to Keiko when he found a few gray strands in her hair." The Koorime wiggled a bit to get more comfortable on top of Kurama's body. "You remember, right before she creamed him in the face with a frying pan." The Youko began to giggle.
"Oh, yeah. I remember that," Kurama sighed. "Boy, did she ever get mad at him." He looked down at the spiky hair of his mate. "But that was centuries ago. What made you think of that now?"
"It's nothin'. I just remembered how silly ningen reactions were to getting older. I'm glad we don't worry about stuff like that."
"Yeah...I guess we don't, koibito..." Kurama's voice trailed off. Hiei's eyes opened wide. He lifted his head and looked up at Kurama's face. Then he sat up, carefully straddling the kitsune's body. He took a deep breath and put his hands on his hips, and stared at Kurama.
"What?"
Kurama didn't respond.
"What?"
Kurama frowned.
"Am I still attractive to you?" Kurama asked hesitantly. "Even though I'm obviously getting older and am covered in lines and wrinkles?" Hiei rolled his eyes and covered his face with his hands, shaking his head.
"Well, you brought it up, koibito. Not me," the kitsune said with a snit in his voice, and folded his arms across his chest defensively. Hiei began to laugh, quite loudly.
"Oh, good, now you're laughing at my lines and wrinkles. What next? Are you going to complain about my hip, too?" Kurama whined. "I can't help it if the damn thing isn't healing as fast as it used to, you know." Hiei leaned forward so his face was just inches from his flustered lover's nose. He stared hard into Kurama's eyes, forcing the kitsune to turn and look back.
"What?" the Youko whispered with a pout.
"I never said anything about your sore hip, did I? I know it's taking longer to heal than it used to, but that dragon did try to make you his breakfast before you sliced off his head with your rose whip," Hiei reminded his lover with the sore hip. "What used to take days now takes weeks or even months to get better. For me, too. It's probably why Koenma doesn't send us out as much as he used to. We're slowin' down." The Koorime gently moved a few strands of silver silk away from Kurama's golden eyes. The Youko's body relaxed at the familiar touch and he gently began to caress Hiei's bottom. He then smiled quite mischievously.
"My hip may be sore, but I'm not dead," Kurama said with a seductive wink. "I'm only fifteen hundred years old. You're no spring chicken yourself, koibito." He wiggled his own albeit sore hip a little under Hiei's, just to remind him that most of his original parts were still in fine working order.
"Hentai..." Hiei smirked, wiggling back slightly. Kurama's eyes twinkled in the morning light. "See," Hiei whispered, running a fingertip against Kurama's upper cheek. "Right there, when you smile..." Hiei ran his fingertip gently across Kurama's lips, expecting, and receiving, a loving kiss. He wiggled back down and resumed his snuggling against Kurama's body.
The Youko let out a deep sigh, realizing there was only a few minutes of dawn left before they'd have to start the day. He looked out towards the window and watched as a few Makai hawks played in the warm air foils as they searched for their own breakfast. It would be another dawn. Another day of sharing their lives together, but not with everyone.
"Do you miss them?" Kurama asked wistfully. Hiei's eyes wandered but didn't focus on anything in particular in their den.
"I guess so." Hiei leaned his chin gently on Kurama's chest and looked up at his lover again.
"I think I miss Keiko most," the fox reminisced. "But those Urameshi number in the hundreds so I see her face their offspring all the time." Hiei began to twirl a bit of Kurama's mane that was lying across his shoulder. Kurama smiled as he stroked Hiei's hair.
"I kind of miss her, too," the Koorime admitted.
"Yuusuke's lucky they had so many kids," Kurama noted. "He's gotten to be Ojiisan many times over." Kurama gently grabbed a handful of black hair and lifted Hiei's head. "Just like us," he grinned. Hiei smirked as Kurama let go of his hair and patted it into place.
"Now, that's a name I just can't get used to, fox." Kurama began to chuckle again.
"Why not? That's what we are." The Youko began to gently stretch under the light body of the Koorime. "It's a title I'm most proud of, too. Because we're Ojiisan together."
Both demon's thoughts suddenly wandered to the same place. It was Hiei's turn to frown this time.
"Why do you supposed she never got remarried?" the twin asked. Kurama stopped making the small circles on Hiei's back.
"I think after you've had the love of your life, like she did, no one could ever take Kuwabara's place. And besides, she has her children and grandchildren and all those great-grandchildren, she's never lonely," Kurama explained, though no explanation was necessary. He tried to sound convincing.
"Yeah," Hiei whispered, trying to sound as if he believed him.
"In a way, Yukina was lucky," Kurama observed. "Kuwabara never saw her getting older. She still looks as pretty as the first day I met her," the Youko said softly, looking towards the window as morning finally arrived. Hiei pushed himself up suddenly on his hands and looked deeply into his lover's eyes.
"I would love you even if a flock of crows walked all over your face," Hiei professed. Kurama's eyes sparkled with emotion as he tried to suppress his smile at his partner's attempt at sounding romantic and sincere. "You're not getting older, you're getting better," the Koorime said with a grin. Kurama squinted.
"Now where did you..."
"And this was Keiko's reaction to that comment," and he kissed his fox deeply and passionately. The Youko sighed with pleasure.
"You kiss pretty good for an 'O-geeeee-san'," the youko teased.
"Shut up and let me get a few more minutes of sleep, you wrinkled old fox," Hiei pretended to complain as he snuggled back down against the kitsune's smooth chest. As the Koorime resettled himself against the fox's body, he felt Kurama reach over to the low table near their bed and silently pick up the ancient mirror he kept there. Hiei smiled as he sensed the fox studying himself, making faces in the mirror, trying to detect those lines and wrinkles that were so obvious to only the most observant of demons. Kurama slid the mirror back onto the table and hugged his Koorime's warm body against his.
Hiei sighed as he listened again to the steady beat of his life partner's heart. The sound that softly lulled him to sleep every night and gently woke him every morning. A sound that would hopefully last for ages yet to come.
The End
Copyright 9/20/99 Julie Farel
Yuu Yuu Hakusho is the property of Togashi Yoshihiro, Jump comics, and Studio Pierrot