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Hiei glanced at the fox as he bent to lay another log on the fire. His hair blended in with the flames, reaching out at him as if trying to draw him in. Hiei could feel the pull of it himself, but remained still on his seat.
They were in Kurama’s home, sitting in his living room where the large stone fireplace was. Kurama had told him he wanted a true wood burning fireplace and had been elated to find this one. It was not as efficient as many modern heating systems, but Kurama told him it was worth the time and effort. He confessed to missing the feel and smell of daily campfires from forest living, so having a fireplace in his home seemed to comfort him.
Kurama returned to his seat on his ridiculously luxurious couch and sank softly into every crevice it offered. Hiei was perched on the armchair beside it, the overstuffed arm plenty wide enough for him. The room was distinctly den like, the fire encompassing them both in its warmth and shadows. The warm light danced in Kurama’s eyes, sending sparks of green light Hiei’s way every time he glanced at him.
Kurama had invited him to spend this evening holiday with him. Apparently holidays had eves now. Very little had been said since he had arrived, and Hiei had wondered if the fox was in a mood. But he had greeted him warmly and had not said anything cross to him all night. Usually he was unable to refrain from chastising him about something when he was angry, as Hiei always seemed to stir the calm and peace the fox tried to maintain. So Hiei had waited and watched the fox to discern his mood, unsuccessfully. Maybe the fox was disappointed that he had to spend the holiday with him and not with his family.
Kurama had graced the room with decorations that were elegant and mostly natural in material, which Hiei appreciated. He could smell the sap from the pine boughs above the windows and it pleased him, reminding him of the nearby forest he frequented. It was nothing like the gaudy displays he saw in the street shops or in the windows and yards of Kurama’s neighbors.
Hiei had never understood holidays. All the excess celebration and gifts and traditions were a waste of time that could be spent in more productive ways. Kurama had shaken his head at him and chuckled when he had expressed this, but Hiei stood by his opinion.
“Want to join me in the kitchen Hiei?” Kurama’s voice was as smooth and warm as the flames licking at the new log. It drew him from his thoughts and refocused him. He raised an eyebrow, but rose and followed him to the other room anyway.
The fox started humming as he rummaged through cabinets as if he wasn’t sure where he had put his own belongings in his own home. Hiei sat on the countertop and waited for the fox to explain why he needed to be there. He had been perfectly comfortable in the living room.
He finally pulled some sort of machine out of the cupboard. He set it on the counter then took to pulling items out of the refrigerator and placing them beside Hiei. The song he was humming definitely had a strong melody to it. It wasn’t the style of music that Kurama usually listened to so he was unfamiliar with the tune.
Kurama stood from bringing pans and bowls up from a low cupboard and gazed around his kitchen as if he planned to utilize every utensil and ingredient to the fullest. Hiei just stared at him. Where this whirlwind of activity had come from, he wasn’t sure, but he had been enjoying the calm, easy going atmosphere of before.
“We’re going to bake cookies Hiei. It’s a common tradition to perform on Christmas Eve.” Kurama beamed at him and grabbed something out of a drawer that was made of cloth. It was an apron.
Hiei rolled his eyes and decided that the fox was slipping into the worst of human habits. He was practically domesticated now. He watched as he started measuring ingredients and pouring them into a large bowl, seemingly content with Hiei’s mere presence and lack of participation.
“Chocolate chips or no chocolate chips?” Kurama asked suddenly, pinning Hiei down with an intense look. Hiei pondered the last cookie that Kurama had baked and served him, and it made the decision a simple one.
“None. They make a mess.” He recalled the cookie falling to pieces in his hands and coating them in sticky brown chocolate. Kurama had suggested politely that he clean them off before touching anything and Hiei had taken the chance to poke fun at the fox. When he was sure he was in his line of vision, he had slowly licked all of the chocolate off of each individual finger, sucking on each tip and savoring every bit of sugar. Kurama had actually blushed when he noticed, and Hiei enjoyed the memory immensely. It was always fun to provoke the fox.
Kurama looked at him for a beat longer than necessary and nodded, leaving the bag of chips on the counter. Hiei wondered if it was truly a flicker of disappointment in his eyes or if the harsh kitchen light was tricking him. He knew the fox enjoyed the occasional flirtation, he was a fox after all. But he knew it was nothing serious between them, and he didn’t like playing games that wouldn’t result in anything tangible.
Hiei had only watched the fox bake a few things, and they had all involved complicated recipes with dozens of ingredients. It seemed a lengthy and painful process to go through, even if the result was sweet and good to eat. Once Kurama had mixed everything together, he balled up the mix and placed the balls on two different cookie sheets. He moved around the kitchen efficiently, red hair swinging as went to turn on the oven and back to the bowl of cookie mix. They didn’t say anything, Kurama’s humming changing tunes every once in a while and filling the silent room.
Once the cookies were in the oven baking, Kurama cleaned everything he had used and put everything away. The kitchen was as neat as when he had walked in, which was always Kurama’s way. He never left dishes dirty after he had used them. Hiei grinned at the thought of what Yusuke’s apartment looked like when he had visited and thought that Kurama would probably die of shock at the state of things. He stopped humming long enough to ask him if he wanted a drink, which he agreed to. It was the delicious hot chocolate drink that Kurama had made for him last year and he knew there was no danger of getting anything stuck to his hands with a drink. He accepted his mug after Kurama poured it and immediately returned to the living room. He had endured Kurama’s ‘tradition’ and he missed the warmth of the fire.
Kurama returned shortly with his own mug and sank onto his couch, the picture of contentment.
It clicked then for Hiei. Why things seemed so off to him earlier. Kurama was content. So content he was practically purring into his mug. Hiei was not used to this particular mood of the fox’s. Usually he was focused on solving some problem or performing some mundane human chore when Hiei was with him. He was either having to pretend to be less intelligent than he was or having to pretend to be something he was not to his family. Or he was having to coach along the useless ex-detective or the even more useless oaf.
There was no agenda tonight; at least that Hiei was aware of. There were no chores to be done, no calls to make to family members. No problems to be solved, no world ending crises to be attended to. Kurama had seemed to genuinely enjoy his baking episode, and was now apparently happy to sit and do nothing. With him. Just the two of them, sitting in relative peace on a cold winter’s night.
As Hiei mused at this, he glanced at Kurama and realized he was looking at him. He immediately looked away, annoyed to be caught. Kurama continued to look at him with some kind of emotion in his eyes that Hiei couldn’t place. If Kurama was the master of anything, it was emoting. Few people saw Kurama’s true emotions because they accepted what his unusually attractive features played out on the surface. But there were always layers to his feelings about everything. Nothing could ever be taken for face value with the fox. Especially not his words or his expressions.
He stared hard at the fire, Kurama’s gaze starting to burn a hole in the side of his head. He wasn’t sure what kind of game the fox was playing, but he wondered if it had to with another one of his ‘traditions’. He knew there was a reason he hated holidays.
His peripheral vision picked up movement and he involuntarily glanced towards Kurama, cursing himself as he did so. A lost point in the game. Kurama set down his mug and leaned towards Hiei, drawing his attention. His eyes were like twin emeralds pools, daring him to dive in and explore their true depths. They drew him in almost as strongly as the fire he had stared at all evening. They were equally powerful and warm and encompassing. He felt them lick over him in a teasing glance that ignited his skin wherever they touched. His blood burned underneath, promising a traiterous reaction to the slightest provocation.
“Hiei,” Kurama spoke and his voice was molten, his lips pouring out the sound of his name in a wave of heat. Hiei didn’t think anyone had ever said it in a more inviting way. Kurama rose gracefully from his couch and walked slowly towards him. It was only a few steps but it felt like time slowed to accompany the steps, punctuating every footfall closer. Hiei had to lean back as the fox neared to maintain his preferred space, carefully holding his half empty mug. He stopped half a footfall away and bent so his face was almost level with Hiei’s and-
The blare of the kitchen timer startled them both. Hiei jerked but managed to not spill his drink and Kurama straightened, a look of supreme annoyance crossing his face. He looked like he deeply regretted his decision to make cookies and carry on tradition now. He sighed heavily and without a glance at Hiei strode into the kitchen to cease the annoying sound and pull the finished cookies out.
Hiei sat, confused now that he had been ripped out of the moment. What was Kurama trying to do? What were his intentions? His look had not been the playful, flirtatious look he was used to when Kurama played games with him. It had struck him as oddly predatory, a searching, hungry look.
Kurama returned to the living room holding a plate of perfectly formed cookies. He offered them to Hiei, and when he took one, he returned to his couch and set them on the table. He sat heavily, face carefully unreadable now. Obviously, whatever Kurama’s intent had been, it could not be continued upon his return.
“What other traditions are there?” Hiei hated to bring it up, because he really didn’t want to entertain the fox’s whims, but he also didn’t want to sit in brooding silence for the rest of the night. It was only normal for him to be the one that was brooding.
“Hm? Well, most of them are for children really. The cookies were always my favorite as a child, hence my desire to continue it on.” A note of bitterness crept into his voice as he glanced disparagingly at the cookies. Hiei could only wonder at what he had planned for it to annoy him that greatly. “There are other traditions of course that aren’t specific to Christmas Eve…” He looked back at Hiei with a wondering look, and Hiei could see an idea forming in the cooler green depths.
“Are you familiar with a plant called Mistletoe?” There was a hint of mischief in his face now, the brooding gone as quickly as it had come. As much as Hiei preferred him this way, he knew he should be wary. Kurama’s questions could always trap you one way or another.
“I’ve never come across it. What is it used for?” Though spending time with Kurama over the years had increased his plant knowledge greatly, there was still much he didn’t know. Kurama had a genuine smile on his lips now, and he sat up from his slightly reclined position on the couch. Hiei frowned. He should have just said nothing and let the evening wear on. Who knows what the fox had planned now.
“Hiei would you join me for a moment?” An almost wicked gleam danced in Kurama’s eyes, though his tone was merely inviting and polite. Hiei preferred to stay exactly where he was and ignore him, but he knew there would be no doing that now. He had brought this upon himself. He should have remained silent in the face of the fox’s mood.
Reluctantly he rose and followed Kurama to the kitchen. When Kurama got to the threshold between the two rooms he whirled around suddenly and stopped. Hiei had to stop short so he glared at the fox. He was acting strange now. Kurama only smiled down at him, and then pointed up.
Hiei had noticed this plant of course when he had arrived. It was innocuous enough, growing above the trim around the doorway. It had no particular smell, but there were white berries on it. Hiei studied it, and looked at Kurama.
“What about it? What does it do?” Kurama stepped closer to him, but Hiei stood his ground. This again? He stared at him and refused to be so affected by Kurama’s looks again. He could control himself and was determined to prove it. Kurama could press him if he wanted, but he wouldn’t be cowed by the threat of closeness. He glared more harshly at the fox and dared him to try to push him.
The bloom of warmth on his lips was his first conscious thought after Kurama bent down smoothly and connected them. Apparently his glare had been viewed as a bluff and was bypassed easily. Hiei stared wide eyed at Kurama’s closed eyelids, his nose pressed gently against his as his lips rested on his own.
For all the intent his previous actions had had, this kiss seemed to have none. As if this joining was the end goal, and it was enough for their skin to simply be touching. Hiei struggled to breathe at first and his chest struggled with the effort to continue to rise and fall. The shock was powerful. He had not expected this. He had known Kurama was in the mood to push him, that much had been clear, but he had assumed, like their previous games, that it was simply Kurama poking fun at his distaste for physical touch or closeness. This was not the game they had always played. This was…
A heartbeat passed, and Kurama drew back and looked him in the eyes again. Hiei marveled at what he saw reflected in the pools now. Instead of calm contentment, there was a wild joy that shone out like stadium lights. Kurama’s mouth formed into the most serene smile Hiei had ever seen him wear.
“Mistletoe is hung in the home so a kiss may be stolen from whoever passes under it.” He said quietly, in explanation.
Hiei couldn’t say anything for a moment. Had this been Kurama’s intent the entire time? To kiss him? He didn’t move and Kurama searched his face to gauge his reaction. It was all falling into place. The seemingly innocuous flirting, the invitations to spend time in his home….Hiei had brushed it off as just Kurama, but maybe there was more to it. He had assumed he was only toying with him, playing a game for the sake of playing. But Kurama seemed quite serious now, gazing down at him with a hopeful expression in his eyes.
“Kurama.” Hiei’s voice didn’t come out right, and he winced at how breathy it sounded. He tried again. “Kuram- “ He was cut off by another kiss, but this one was different. This one was full of intent and emotion. Hiei could taste it through the movement of Kurama’s lips on his, read the pressure as if they were words. Kurama was asking him a question. What did Hiei want? He had always admired the fox of course, but he had never considered he would return any true feelings he had. So he had kept them wrapped up, never showing the slightest hint of desire or want for his partner. Was Kurama willing to change this partnership to something more?
He weighed the options as he savored the taste of the fox on his lips. His scent was slightly overwhelming now that he was breathing directly onto his face and his hair was enveloping him. Kurama pressed gently against his body and brought his hands up to Hiei’s shoulders. For the first time tonight, Hiei wanted to concede. He wanted to hear Kurama say his name like he had earlier, so sultry it practically melted things inside of him from across the room. He wanted to reach up and touch his hair, so bright and silk like. Explore the fox and know him even more than he did now.
Kurama pushed him against the joining wall in the doorway and brought his hand up to Hiei’s chin, tipping it farther up. He released his mouth and drew back, holding Hiei’s face so he had to look at him.
“Does this mean…? Do you want…?” Kurama didn’t finish the questions, an uncharacteristic hesitation in his speech. As far as Hiei was concerned, he had already answered them. But the damn fox always wanted words.
“I haven’t left yet, have I?”
He wasn’t prepared for Kurama’s reaction to that
.
* * * * * *
Later on, as he writhed on the fox’s couch in pleasure, his mind wandered to his earlier musings. Of Kurama, sitting across from him, content in his mere company. He wondered how he would ever be content to be so physically far from the fox now. Now that he knew what his touch could feel like. How it could delight and tease and raise from him every pleasure possible and make him forget himself and everything but Kurama.
He was never going to be the same again. Had he known….had he known…he couldn’t quite keep his train of thought when Kurama did that to him. His brain felt like it had detached from the rest of his body and he was floating on a cloud. Kurama seemed content to be in charge and Hiei allowed it. For now. When he had regained his faculties that would most surely change. Next time.
Had he known….Kurama had these feelings for him…. he might have acted on them earlier. The fox would do well to not hide so much from him. Not when it could be like this.
When the air finally cooled around them and they were both breathing hard, Kurama collapsed beside him, stretching out lengthwise on the couch. Hiei didn’t think he had a functioning bone in his body and felt as liquid as the forgotten chocolate drink on the side table. Kurama shifted onto his side and looked down at Hiei, moving his hand to trace the outline of Hiei’s arm with his long, graceful fingers. Hiei shuddered slightly at the gentle touch, so soft it could be his imagination. He stared up at the ceiling and let the afterglow of pleasure and the heat of the low burning fire lull him into a daze.
As their breathing slowed, and time stretched the moments between them, Hiei felt a return to the earlier energy of the night. The relaxed contentment he had only observed earlier seemed to blanket over them, removing the need for lengthy confessions or explanations. Hiei didn’t have to look at Kurama to know what he would see in his face. Or his eyes. He knew, as he had always known.
Maybe holidays weren’t so bad, with the right company.
-The End