The night was fresh and calm. It was one of those perfect evenings in which Kurama could forget his sleep and just cuddle with Hiei. Together, they would count stars and share kisses till morning came.
 
Things were getting along much better now that Kinno didn't spend so much time around. Youko Kurama exulted in his new-found state of peacefulness. Every morning when the golden youko left to go to Gandara,  Kurama would stand atop a hill, enjoying the silence while he observed the kid leaving. It was an overwhelming relief to have quietness and privacy enough to make love to his partner all day long, as he so wished for.

He had even started to tolerate the kid's presence - All in all, urged into his daily trip to Gandara, Kinno was hardly around. Therefore, things went back to the same calm routine. The Silver Youko had mornings and afternoons free to deal with Hiei as he wanted, listening only to the breeze and the flowing river, without that whiny male bimbo after him, calling him daddy.

Only one week had passed since that Golden Havoc came to live with him and Hiei. It had been a barely tolerable, seemingly endless week... Yet, now Kurama felt much more resigned to that youko's hanging around with them.

Kurama stopped on his way back to his new dwelling - A similar shelter made of a dozen interlaced cherry trees, conveniently away from Kinno's place. But on passing he could not avoid glancing over his shoulder, as his attention was attracted by the soft glow coming from the young youko's den.

Kurama displayed a smile which started in irony, but soon it disclosed a faint, shy trace of  affection as he approached the place. He followed on so carefully he seemed to be advancing on his tip-toes, making no sound. The light flickered, filtered by the curtains which flowed in the soft night breeze. The curtains had been a recent add-on to Kinno's retreat, as well as the oil lamp, and many other small things he brought from Gandara. Kurama had learned the youngster was afraid of the dark. That's why he always seemed so unquiet and stressed at night, bothering him and Hiei almost every five minutes...

The kid seemed really scared of sleeping alone in the dark. So much in fact, that a pack of candles and that rustic lamp had been the first items he had purchased in Gandara.

Kurama could not avoid thinking the kid was doing a god job out of something he had come up with just to try to humiliate him. Kinno actually enjoyed his trip to Gandara, and his time there. Furthermore, Kurama was amazed with all the stuff  Kinno had arranged for himself. The kid was actually making money out of that cucumber insanity!

Kurama was not only surprised; he was a little envious of Kinno's achievements. Having left all his possessions in the Ningenkai, there were lots of essential items he truly needed - A mirror, a hairbrush, new slippers; Hiei could have a new cloak, and...

The Silver Youko knew there were only two alternatives left for him.

He could easily fit into into his former thievery career, or else he'd soon be company for Kinno. Whereas the Golden youko sold cucumbers, the Silver Youko could then be selling big, thick, succulent carrots!

He had to cover his mouth with his hand to avoid hysterical laughter as the image of such event came to his mind. To add to the spoof, Hiei would be next to them, waving his katana in the air, threatening to kill anyone who dared not to purchase the youko's fruit!

What a smashing success it would be!

He chuckled yet when he reached the entrance of Kinno's den. He stopped and leaned on the doorway, his fair silhouette concealed by the night and by the fluttering curtain. He looked inside then, quietly and thoughtfully.

The kid was sleeping soundly. All the activity in Gandara ended up wearing him out. After one of those days spent in Yomi's city, Kinno came back home with energy for nothing more than preparing dinner, engaging into a short chat with Hiei, and then going to bed so he could be well enough to wake up early in the following  morning.

Since that business in Gandara started for Kinno, he slept so profoundly, not even an earthquake could wake him up. It was more than perfect, as then Kurama and Hiei had the whole night to spend on their own again.

It was paradise! Almost like before, with one difference that in the end came as an advantage. The kid could cook very well! Kinno told them he had learned it in his friend Skunk's tavern. Well that came in very handy.

The Silver Youko was starting to feel less annoyed by Kinno's presence. Nonetheless, Kurama did not believe that he was the kid's real father.

Kurama had many doubts, even aware Hiei accepted the golden kid dearly in his youkai heart; Hiei had no questions, no second thoughts, no distrust. The Fire youkai believed firmly everything the golden kid had told him.

Kurama refused himself to listen to Kinno's story. Hiei had not even tried to tell him the golden fox's tale, and Kinno soon gave up trying to, after Kurama showed him a few askance, bad tempered glances. The Silver Youko was sure all Kinno could tell him would be nothing but a bunch of  lies. Kurama had too many doubts, about too many things in all related to that pretty, golden fox-spirit.

The kid was too young  to be his son. There was no way to be sure of  the age Kinno claimed to have. Then, on counting back, Kinno could have been fathered by the time Kurama was already living his human life in the Makai. Probably the golden youko was Taki's son, but his father was some other youko. Taki was so beautiful Kurama was sure there had been dozens of other candidates to have sired that kid.
 
It was very interesting for a stray, low-life youko like Kinno to claim himself to be youko Kurama's son - It gave a lot of status.

Kurama  had not been Taki's partner for so long as to leave her pregnant. In fact, he had always appreciated hanging around with male youko and youkai better. The females he had been involved with could be counted on the fingers of one hand.

And what really upset him more - How on the Three Worlds could he have possibly sired such a retarded youko?

No... Never... That Golden Chaos could never be his offspring.

Hiei seemed to be very fond of the kid. And whether  his partner wanted to keep Kinno as either a pet or a an adopted kid, there was not much Kurama could do but accept.

Kurama stretched enough to take a look inside the small, but cosy space in between the trees. The kid was sleeping calmly in his own futon, embraced to his pillow. The Silver Youko looked around, to the pile of gewgaw, clothes and stupid things the kid had brought inside. Most of them gifts he had received from his new customers, he said. He would soon need another tree-house just to store all his possessions if he kept on buying and getting so much stuff like that.

The youko could not help noticing that den was starting to look like his Ningen bedroom, during the time in which  he had been Shuuichi Minamino - Filled with piles of little toys, flowers, and gifts given by his Ningen admirers.

Kurama brushed his fingers on his eyes, which became warm and blurred. Recalling the Ningenkai sometimes made him cry still; it was one thing he struggled to hide from Hiei.

Hn... The kid was already gathering many fans in Gandara.

In fact, Kurama had to admit it to himself that, when Kinno was shut up and very quiet such as that, he was kind of cute...

"Watching your son, Kurama?"

Kurama jumped and looked back at Hiei with wide, startled eyes. He had been caught!

Oh, damn! Now he would have to put up with Hiei's teasing for days...

"No! I was just..." Kurama displayed an angry expression then. His fierce vulpine eyes sparkled in a glint of the moonlight while he looked very seriously at his partner. Then he waved one accusing finger at the youkai's nose. "He's not my son, Hiei!"

Hiei smiled softly. He nodded in accordance to Kurama, with the wise, quiet acquiescence of a  perceptive lover, however his smile also showed an amused, sarcastic tone. His red eyes glinted teasingly in the dim light.

"I am the one who plays the tough guy here, not you... But it's all right, youko, I understand..."

Both lovers glanced inside the den. Kinno stirred in his futon, mumbling something in his sleep. Hiei's deep voice must have called his attention, even in slumber.

Kurama placed his index finger before his lips, hushing Hiei for silence. He didn't want the kid to wake up at that very moment to find him tenderly guarding his sleep - Having Hiei catch him in the act was already embarrassing enough!

He closed one arm around Hiei's shoulders then, bringing the youkai with him, down the hill, both lovers taking very slow and silent steps, one tenderly snuggled against the other.

Soon they were far enough so as their voices couldn't be perceived by the sleeping kid.

Kurama sat in the fresh grass under the moonlight glow, his pale skin reflecting the silvery luster perfectly. The youko seemed a ghostly yet beautiful jewel, glimmering in the dark, his arms stretching tenderly to embrace a small, dark figure which he held dearly against him - His loving youkai clad in black...

They sat together, embraced, tenderly enveloped by the night and the moonglow.

Hiei just snuggled avidly against Kurama, leaning his head on his chest. The silence of the night in the forest was so intense he could hear the Ningen heart beating inside the youko, steady, strong, sweetly assuring...

"Then?"

"Then what?"

"What were you doing there?"

"Just checking; the kid really looks like me."

"Hn. You needed more than a week to come to this conclusion?"

Kurama said nothing. He just looked ahead, pretending not to care about Hiei's comment. Since it all started, he had been avoiding touching the subject. It was very hard for him to accept the golden youko's presence, more difficult yet, on the verge of the impossible, to even consider the event that he might be his son.
How could he treat a strange youko such as that differently?

But Hiei's sensitive youkai heart had been deeply affected. The youkai was quite affectionate to that young youko...

Kurama looked askance at Hiei, trying to dissuade his lover from going on with the subject, but Hiei just gave his partner a snigger, nudging his side with one teasing elbow.

"Come on, Kurama, admit it; the kid is yours."

Kurama kept on looking ahead, sitting very erect, visibly uncomfortable.

"All youko are a bit alike. It doesn't prove much."

"You're stubborn, youko. Why don't you say it?"

"Say what?"

"That you're starting to become fond of the kid."

Kurama kept still, unresponsive, even when Hiei slipped one arm around his waist and covered his chest with a slow caressing hand, looking at him, eye to eye. He slipped his hand in between the front of Kurama's tunic, teasing his nipple, very softly.

"Well. If he keeps his mouth shut I can try to put up with him. He has such an irritating voice."

The youkai kissed the curve of the youko's shoulder, licking his salty skin with one very slow, wet stroke of his tongue.

He raised amused eyes to his lover, still smiling.

"Tell me another..."

Kurama frowned on Hiei's insistence.

"He must have some kind of disorder; I guess he's hyper-active, and hyper-stupid as well" "

"You're his father; you should teach him."

Kurama reached down to stare at his partner eye to eye. He grazed the tip of his nose on Hiei's, in a foxy kiss, and licked his lips.

Then Kurama glared at the youkai, displaying a playful anger.

"He's not my son, Hiei!"

"Hn!"

"He's very weak. There are youko kits more powerful and independent than he is!"

"It only means we need to look after him till he develops his you-ki."

Kurama placed a warm caress down Hiei's back, fondling him along the sensual outline of his shoulders, his wide scapulas, then continuing down till the enticing curve of his lower back. He brought Hiei closer against him with a steady, tender push.

"Hiei... I'd appreciate having a son of my own, but I just.... I can't believe this kid is mine."

Hiei nodded. He could understand his partner's reluctance towards Kinno. He knew how much the proud, arrogant, notorious Youko Kurama hated the idea of fathering such a stupid, weak child.

"He's stupid, but he's very kind-hearted. And he loves us."

The Silver Youko said nothing. He just allowed Hiei to nuzzle the curve of his neck, and rocked him in his arms slightly, like a baby.  Kurama patted his lover's spiky hair then, holding him tighter yet in his arms.

All he mattered was to be together with Hiei so they could just enjoy their love.

He had better things to do than to discuss that stray youko. He still didn't trust Kinno. Maybe he would never do so. Therefore he just couldn't be so openly affectionate of him the same way Hiei was.

"Let's change the subject, baby..." He whispered, bringing the youkai closer for a kiss.

The youkai responded to the kiss hungrily, plunging his fingers into his lover's soft silver hair. He fondled Kurama, sliding his fingers slowly all the way down his tresses.

Hiei shifted position, crouching behind Kurama, leaning his body on his lover's back. With his fingers, he drew a caressing way amidst the youko's strands of hair and bent over to kiss the pale nape of his neck, making his tongue wander in a wide, slow slip up his neck.

The youko growled aloud, and his whole body grew taut with the stimulus.

The youkai drew his fingers down the youko's hair, disentangling and stroking his silvery tresses with a slow, delicate touch. He did it again and again, and once  in a while the tip of his fingers would pat his pointed fox-ears. Hiei stroked the soft, short fur, and brushed the pinkish, sensitive area inside with a feather-like caress with the tip of his fingers, making the youko shiver ecstatically.

Hiei kissed the inside of one of the youko's ears, and murmured:

"Youko, I don't know much about your past. We never talk about it."

Kurama had closed his eyes, his body tingling with the delicate and yet so exciting caresses Hiei offered him. He inhaled deeply, and he reached behind, to stroke the side of Hiei's muscled thigh.

"Oh, Hiei, there's not much to know about."

"No?"

"I was a real scoundrel back then."

Hiei kept on sliding his fingers tenderly in through the youko's hair, carefully smoothing and disentangling it. His hands also reached down to rub Kurama's shoulders and back, stroking him sensually.

"Really?"

"I don't like to remember any of it myself. There are things I've done I..."

Kurama interrupted himself to utter a deep, aroused moan when he noticed something hard, hot, pressed against his back.

He and his youkai had made love all day, and yet, why not have a bit of fun before sleep? It was good to have his youko body back; he could accompany his Fire Demon's sexual appetites in the same pace...

"Oh, baby... You're hard? Let me take care of you..."

The youko turned over his shoulder to look at his pretty lover, but halted halfway.

His voice sounded low and angry.

"Hiei! What the hell are you doing to my hair?"

Hiei's snicker was shown again, and one of the youkai's sharp fangs glinted in the corner of his impish little smile. He pulled himself away from the youko and sat on the ground, out of his reach. The youkai winked one eye then, in a mischievous tone which he shared only in the intimacy of his long-time partner's company.

"I just wanted to know what it looked like on you."

Kurama turned to face him with a disgusted expression, while holding the end of one long, silvery braid of his own hair in his hand.

"I'm surprised you don't want to weave beads in it!"

"Hold a moment and I'll get you some..."

Hiei's slant smile didn't go off. He watched his youko lover's reaction with a teasing glint on the corned of his eye. He loved to tease Kurama like that. He thought the youko looked so exciting when he was pissed off like that...

Kurama's anger soon disappeared when he recognized the familiar snigger on his youkai's face. He watched his lover just remain there, with that sly look in his eye, displaying his erection hard and huge across his groin and just could not resist the play.

Feigning anger, he dismantled the braid with careless fingers and roared in a low and sexy manner, approaching Hiei on all fours. He crawled towards the small demon, elegant and slow like a silver panther.

"Hiei, I'll have to punish you for that!"

Hiei didn't try to escape at all... He just allowed the youko to grab him in a fierce embrace. And when they were very snug one against the other, Hiei brought himself closer yet, his lips slightly, tenderly parted, as he demanded a kiss.

But before his lips touched the youko's he gave out an arousing little murmur.

"Yes, Youko... Punish me... Punish me good..."

The youko smiled, and the last rational thought which crossed his mind was a relieving one - To know that, despite the golden youko's presence, things were finally back to normal.
 
 

To be Continued...