______I hope you’re satisfied, Kuronue thought darkly as he glared at Hiei’s sleeping figure, You’ve just gone and ruined what life I’ve ever had with Kurama. You are a real demon! And, just as if he had heard him, Hiei’s eyelids opened slowly, his eyes coming into focus with a very cold looking Kuronue. But Hiei fixed the thief with a cold glare of his own. " Where am I?! What am I doing here?!" he demanded angrily.

______Kuronue narrowed his eyes at him. " You should be grateful that your life was spared from death by the ugly yuokos, you know!" Hiei grunted an turned his head towards the window. " I’d have been more grateful if they had killed me."

______" That would make the two of us," Kuronue admitted with a growl before leaning back into his chair. " At least if you were gone, Kurama and I could return to the peaceful life we had together before you came along!"

______Hiei fixed an icy stare at him, " Oh don’t you worry. I’m not planning to stay long enough for any good byes anyway. You can have your stupid kitsune and continue on with your pathetic relationship! Frankly I don’t give a damn about the both of you!"

______" If only that were true," Kuronue hissed angrily, " Admit it, Hiei. You’re jealous about me and Kurama. You were jealous ever since the start because you knew he loved me and would never love you!"

______" Ha!" Hiei spat out, " Don’t be a fool! You can have Kurama with my blessing. I never cared for that dumb yuoko anyway! He means nothing to me. You hear me?! Absolutely nothing!" Hiei said, his voice rising, " Once he was my best friend but that’s gone now. Nothing’s left but the ashes of friendship. I hope you both enjoy each other, cause honestly, you both deserve each other!"

______Kuronue heard a loud crash come from outside the door and standing up from his chair he rushed out to see what caused the loud noise. Kuronue wasn’t surprised to find a tray of broken dishes scattered on the floor and the east window left open slightly. Kurama, he thought grimly as he gathered his coat, on the way out.

______" I hope you’re satisfied Hiei!" he screamed while at the door, "You’ve just hurt the most amazing friend you could ever have! Kurama risked his life to save you in that cave that day ! He could have escaped but he didn’t; instead he went back to get you. I can’t believe you could say that after all Kurama’s been through for you! He deserves better than that!" And with that Kuronue left a startled Hiei in the dark as he went in search for Kurama. Black clouds thundered above him and Kuronue quickened his pace, hoping the storm wouldn’t catch them both before they got home.

______Making a wild guess, Kuronue turned towards the park and was relieved to find a familiar sheen of silvery hair, huddling by a tree. He walked up to Kurama slowly and sat beside his old friend. Kuronue could hear the sobs racking against the yuoko’s body and a large stab of pain filled his heart once more. "It’s okay, Kurama," Kuronue whispered, " I’m here. "

______Kurama raised his head up. " Kuronue," he said flatly, " What are you doing here?" Kuronue sighed as he gathered Kurama up in his arms. " What do you think, baka? Look I’m sure he didn’t mean it. He was probably just delirious from sleep."

______I can’t believe I’m actually saying that, Kuronue thought to himself then sighed. Well, if it eases Kurama’s pain…

______" It’s all my fault," Kurama said, cursing himself, " If only I had not dragged him along, if only I hadn’t hurt him, just told him the truth; if only I had waited for him…If only….if only I had just killed myself when I had the chance!" Kurama sobbed, burying his face in his hands.

______" Kurama!" Kuronue cut in sharply, " Don’t ever say that again! Look, it’s not your fault, okay? You did what you could. Hiei doesn’t deserve someone like you! It’s better that you just forget about him."

______Kurama looked up with tear-stained cheeks, " If only I could, Kuronue. Oh how I’d give to have this pain drained from me once and for all! But try as hard as I might, I can’t forget him, Kuronue. I can never forget him. Not even after a million years. I’ve tried, Kuronue. I’ve tried so hard but I just can’t…I…I love him too much….Too much that it hurts!"

______Kuronue took a sharp breath as Kurama’s words came tumbling out from his mouth. Kurama looked up, suddenly realizing what he had said, what he had done and he looked at his friend miserably. "Oh, Kuronue…"

______Kuronue put a hand up. " It’s okay, Kurama, you don’t have to say it. I already knew it the day you had gone and saved him. The day you got so angry that you killed everyone in sight who ever caused harm to your koorime."

______" I didn’t mean to hurt you, Kuronue. I didn’t mean to lead you on… "

______" But you did, Kurama," Kuronue said, pain etched in his face. " And it hurts more than anything to know that you risked wealth, love and even your own life to save that demon when years ago you left me to be killed by a pack of hungry Makai wolves…"

______Kurama looked down. " I’m sorry, Kuronue… but I knew I just couldn’t live to see myself lose him again. I lost him once, Kuronue…I just didn’t want that to happen again."

______" How can you love someone who doesn’t even love you back, Kurama?!" Kuronue asked desperately, his voice hoarse with emotion. " How can you care for some creature who treats you like dirt and fails to notice your own value? A cold, dark demon with a heart of ice?!"

______" You can’t choose who you love, Kuronue. You just do. I love him because I know deep down inside, beneath that layer of ice, beneath all that rough exterior there lies a warm heart. A trusting heart. A heart Hiei shared with me once long ago. Because Kuronue," Kurama said looking straight into his friend’s eyes, " He is more precious to me than anything else in the whole world. I gave my life up for him once and would do so again in a second… if only for Hiei."

______Kuronue turned away, letting his arms drop to the sides as he fought the struggle within himself. " Kurama," he choked out, " You know how I feel about you….can’t you ever feel the same way about me? "

______" If only it were that simple Kuronue," Kurama said sadly, touching his friend’s cheek. " I would’ve suffered a thousand deaths if only I could prevent myself from hurting you. But I’d rather be honest than let you live a lie all your life. I hope someday you’ll be able to forgive me, Kuronue? ‘Cause I don’t want to lose you as a friend."

______Kuronue battled within himself . " I don’t want to lose you either, Kurama" Kuronue said sadly and sighed. " That’s why I’m going to let you go. I certainly hope Hiei’s really worth all this." Heaving a sigh he gave his friend a sad smile before standing up to leave. " We’d best be getting back, Kurama, a storm’s brewing and we’ll be caught in it if we don’t hurry home."

______" You go ahead, Kuronue," Kurama said softly, " I just…want to stay here for a while…" Kuronue nodded. " I understand," he told his friend gently and turned to leave.

______Before he reached the gate though he turned to Kurama once last time, an unanswered question still lingering on his lips. " Kurama, tell me" he said quietly, " Did Hiei ever call you ‘kitsune’ ? " Kurama nodded an looked away. " That was his pet name for me."

______Kuronue smiled, a small, sad smile as he said, " No wonder you didn’t want anyone else to use it." And with a parting wave, Kuronue disappeared quietly into the fog and mist.

______Kurama sat there, wrapping his arms around himself, trying to warm himself from the cold. A light drizzle began, spilling across his forehead and trickling down his face. Kurama shivered involuntarily as he realized he wasn’t wearing any sweater or raincoat.

______" Baka," Kurama heard a voice say from behind him before a pair of small arms wrapped around his waist, warming his torso. Kurama looked down, and asked quite slowly, trying to steady his voice. " I thought you were leaving?"

______" Not without saying goodbye, I’m not, " Hiei grunted behind his back and Kurama’s eyes filled with fresh tears. " So you really are leaving for the Makai again, huh?" he asked slowly. His heart ached as he thought about the long lonely years he would have to spend alone, hoping for Hiei to come and see him.

______" That’s where I belong, " Hiei said matter-of-factly, his face still buried behind Kurama’s back. Kurama closed his eyes letting a single tear roll down his cheek. " Well, you’re always welcome to come for a visit in the Ningenkai once in a while. Pay your old friends a visit won’t you?"

______Hiei withdrew his hands from around Kurama. " Yeah, I’ll probably come see Yusuke and the gang when I have the time. The Makai gets pretty boring sometimes. "

______" Hiei, do I really mean nothing to you," Kurama said, choking over his own words. Hiei looked sharply at Kurama, " Of course not."

______" Are we at least friends, Hiei? Even if you can’t take me back as your best firiend anymore?"

Hiei watched Kurama intently taking a long while to answer. " You never were a friend to me Kurama…" Kurama gulped as he felt his heart break into tiny pieces. He tried to control himself from just breaking down and crying then and there. Hiei tilted Kurama’s face up to look deep into his eyes.

______"…you were always something more…"

______It took Kurama a while to realize the real meaning of Hiei’s words. He could hardly breathe as he watched Hiei, unable to control his emotions any longer. A tear spilled down his cheek, letting the rest follow. Hiei moved to wipe them away. " Why are you crying, kitsune?"

______Kurama smiled putting a hand over Hiei’s. " Because, koorime, after ten long years I think I’ve finally got my wish."

______" And what’s that?"

______" For us to be together… until the end of time."

______Hiei smiled, and as the rain poured down in torrents and the trees swayed along with the wind, under the sakura blossoms, the koorime finally gave his kitsune a light kiss on the lips; a kiss that meant so much more than what a thousand words could say ; a kiss whose meaning would last for all eternity.

______Owari! :-)

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