Subject: [FF] (YYH) A Gift of Unusual Nature pt. 2

	Hiei snapped awake, stiff and uncomfortable and tensed as he tried
to place the unfamiliar surroundings. He registered Kurama, still faded and
pale against the white sheets of the bed but not as dead looking as he had
been, Yukina sitting next to him letting out a huge yawn, the slightly
faded smell of cigarette smoke and perfume that meant that Shizuru had just
been close. The human hospital...the smell of cigarettes and perfume mixed
with the scents of the sick and his stomach lurched. He sat up ramrod
straight and swallowed hard as he clutched the side of the chair. *Shit, I
hoped this part was over!*

	Yukina looked over at Hiei's sudden movement and knew from the
convulsive swallow and her twins expression what was coming. She hopped off
the stool to scurry around the bed to the wastebasket there. She kicked it
so it slid under the high bed and stopped right between her twins feet just
as he retched. She gave him a sympathetic look as she tracked the soft
soled rush of the nurses feet closing on them fast. The nurse whipped
through the curtain, her eyes on the still unconscious Kurama. She looked
relieved when she saw it wasn't her patient getting ill, then her
expression turned sympathetic also as she saw Hiei put his face in his
hands and the wastebasket between his feet.

	"Done?" the nurse asked gently.

	Hiei nodded and she collected the wastebasket and hurried away.
Yukina headed back around the bed as Hiei fumbled under the oversized
T-shirt he was wearing and tugged the drawstring on his pants. She hid her
grin as he let out a relieved sigh as they loosened. She had swapped her
focus between Kurama and her brother over the eight hours she had been here
standing watch. Hiei had slept straight through the whole time as his aura
had shrunk and the babies had grown. He had only twitched and sighed in
relief the two times she had loosened his pants for him. Now his aura was
back to where it should be for a pregnant Koorime. A Koorime that was about
half way through his pregnancy. She went so she stood behind her brother
and gave him a soft hug as he slowly became aware of this fact.

	"Hn..."

	Hiei couldn't believe it. He was fat. He ran his hands over the
strange shape of his body, pressing slightly. Well, maybe not fat. The
muscle was still firm and hard, just pushed out from the space the babies
took up inside him. He blinked as he felt something under his right hand, a
series of flutters like the beat of a moth's wings that was gone before he
was certain he even felt them. Was that one of the babies?

	Yukina watched Hiei's hands explore his well rounded belly through
the shirt. He wasn't really big yet, but obviously pregnant when he pushed
the shirt flat to follow his distended contour.

	"What happened?" her brother asked, obviously confused.

	"You had a huge amount of rei at your disposal. The babies took
advantage of it."

	Hiei leaned his head back against his sisters chest and tipped his
head up to look at her, concern in his dark eyes. "Is Kurama all right?"

	"Not really. But he will survive. Hiei, what happened?"

	Hiei scowled, the frown only accenting the beauty of his feminine
features instead of making them fierce and menacing as she was sure he
meant the expression to be.

	"What do you think happened," he all but snarled.

	"I think you almost killed Kurama. I want to know why," she
answered calmly but forcefully.

	She had to know what happened. If Hiei had simply turned on Kurama
in his sleep, then the two of them would have to be separated or at least
well watched until her brother delivered his children.

	"Yukina, don't scold him. It wasn't his fault," Kurama's soft voice
broke the locked gazes of the twins.

	They both focused on him as he raised his right arm shakily and
frowned at the bandage wrapped around it with slightly glazed eyes.

	"I should know better than to let an unconscious Koorime feed on
me," he said more to himself than them as he let his arm sag across his
chest, then turned his head and focused on Hiei.

	"Are you all right? he asked.

	Hiei looked at his sister, uncertain of what to answer. He really
didn't know. Yukina smiled at Hiei reassuringly, then transferred the smile
toward Kurama as she went to him.

	"Yes, they are all doing fine," she told him as she settled on the
edge of bed.

	"Good. So, how am I?" he asked uncertainly.

	He felt terrible, like a tattered spider web barely clinging to
it's base in a storm wind and weaker than a newborn kit.

	"Not as well as they are. But you will be all right, Kurama."

	"Good." He managed to get his arm to move again and reached out
towards Hiei.

	He needed his lovers touch to anchor him to consciousness, and just
for reassurance.

	Hiei looked at Kurama's outstretched hand and then at his sister
and chewed on his bottom lip. He never showed physical affection for his
Fox in the presence of others, even Yukina. It was hard enough for him to
do it in private! Kurama seemed to realize what he was asking and started
to withdraw his hand and move it so his arm would rest more comfortably on
the bed. Yukina was reaching to help him when Hiei intercepted it.

	*Damn Fox! You're doing this just to embarrass me, aren't you?* he
grumbled mentally as he laced his fingers into Kurama's and resisted the
urge to lean down and kiss the back of his Fox's hand as Kurama's eyes
closed.

	"So, what happened?" Yukina asked again.

	Hiei just ignored her, his way of telling her that it was none of
her business and he wasn't going to talk about it.

	"Hiei, I've got to know. If you..."

	"It was this or loose all three of them, Yukina," Kurama
interrupted, opening his eyes slightly and ignoring Hiei's glare. "He lost
control of the Jagon and was too stubborn to let the kits go."

	"Oh," Yukina answered in relief and glanced at the ward around her
brothers forehead and tried to ignore the withering stare of the two eyes
under it, thankful that it was directed at Kurama and not herself.

	"It was a fair trade, Yukina. Get him something to eat, would you?
Please? That has to be why he's trying to bore a hole through my head with
his glare," Kurama managed a tease and a wavering smile.

	Yukina nodded and hopped off the bed, knowing that most of her
errand was to give the two some time alone.

	"What, Hiei?" Kurama asked wearily as soon as Yukina had
disappeared through the curtain.

	Hiei took a steadying breath and tried to rein in his temper.
Kurama had not asked if the babies were all right. In fact, his lover
sounded annoyed that he hadn't let them die.

	"You don't want me to have your babies, do you, Kurama?"

	Kurama winced inwardly at the accusation in Hiei's voice. *Gods,
Hiei. Don't start this now...please...*

	Hiei almost growled as Kurama closed his eyes, a cold mask of calm
settling over his features. The one that meant that Kurama was going to
shut him out. It didn't happen very often and mostly when Hiei went hunting
information about his Fox's past.

	"Do you, Kurama?"

	It was a fierce, hard whisper that struck too close to the truth.
His dead kits floated up to hover in front of his closed eyelids. Three who
never even got a name to take with them into the Reikai. The other
four...Little Yanni, Mako and Larai and Kobiashi...why couldn't he remember
the happy times with them? Why was all he had left of them images of their
deaths?

	"I don't want to talk about this right now, Hiei," he managed to
get out in a calm voice.

	"Then don't 'talk' about it. I want a simple 'yes' or 'no'," Hiei
persisted, determined to get his answer as his free hand went to scratch
fiercely at the itchy skin on the sides of his belly.

	"It isn't a simple question," Kurama swallowed hard, feeling his
composure starting to slip as his dead kits refused to be banished back
into the darkened corners of his memory.

	"Yes, it is. For once, give me a straight answer, Kurama."

	Kurama opened his eyes slowly and narrowed them at him slightly. "A
straight answer. Fine. I don't know, Hiei. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

	Kurama yanked his hand out of Hiei's grasp and pressed his forearm
against his eyes as he tried to block the images of the kits out.

	Hiei blinked. It wasn't what he wanted to hear but it was better
than a flat out 'no'. Why couldn't Kurama just answer one way or the other?
He blinked again as Kurama's composed features crumbled into pain and was
so startled that he didn't resist the sudden jerk of the youko's hand out
of his own. He watched his lover cover his eyes and swallow hard, then knew
from the shuddering rise of Kurama's chest that he was crying. He frowned,
then had a sudden flash of insight as his sisters voice telling him that
Kurama didn't have any children overlaid the images of the nightmare that
had spawned this whole rotten day's chain of events. And he knew.

	Yukina didn't know how easily his Fox warped words. Kurama had told
her that he didn't have any children. Any children now. Not that he had
never had any.

	*Stupid Fox! Why didn't you tell me?* He leaned forward and took
Kurama's wrist to pull his arm away from his face. Kurama resisted but Hiei
just continued to move it gently until he had his lovers hand back in his
own.  Kurama turned his head away from him though his trembling fingers
closed tight around Hiei's own. Hiei gave a fast glance toward the curtain,
listening as he got up and grumbled to himself at how out of whack his
balance was, then leaned across the bed and grumbled some more as his belly
made him feel like he was teetering back and forth on the firm mattress. He
kissed Kurama's cheek gently, then rubbed his own against the dampness of
the tears there.

	"I," and he stressed that word, "won't let anything happen to these
babies, Kurama," and left it at that for the moment.

	Kurama turned his face back towards him, his expression surprised
and guarded. Hiei gazed evenly back into the bottomless depths of Kurama's
eyes as he focused on the footsteps heading up the room. It was the healer.
He growled softly as he tracked her almost noiseless tread and realized
that she was definitely heading for them.

	"I hate this place," he grouched as Kurama frowned at him while he
wiggled, trying to get off the bed.

	He'd be damned if he'd let a human see him being all mushy over
Kurama. He had to kick his feet a little to get his weight to shift back
down into his hips so he could slide off.

	Kurama was still trying to figure out what to make of Hiei's
statement when his lover wiggled off of the bed. Was it a threat? Or
something else? Knowing Hiei, it was probably both. Kurama wanted to
reassure him, but could not. Not yet. He knew in his heart that if there
had been some way he could have saved Hiei and let the kits slip away, he
would have done it. They were not 'real' to him yet, and he wasn't sure if
he ever wanted them to be so. He didn't know if he was willing to give
anybody the chance to hold that much power over him again, if he could ever
open his heart that much again, if he could dare to love them. Hiei's
fingers gave his own a reassuring squeeze, then were gone as a nurse
slipped through the curtain and smiled at him.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


	Kurama's hand shook slightly as he turned the doorknob to let
himself into the apartment. He rubbed at the tension that was almost a
headache between his eyes as he shrugged off the shoulder strap of his
satchel. It was stuffed full and heavy with a backlog of assignments. Gods,
he was tired. He had thought that he was ready to go back. Physically, he
was recovered, but his rei was still weak and it had been exhausting to try
to take notes and concentrate on blocking out lecture halls full of
undisciplined human auras at the same time. He hadn't realized how powerful
his unconscious shielding had been until now.

	His doctor had agreed to an early release from the hospital if he
would take a week off from the University and just rest. He had enjoyed it
immensely. Hiei had insisted that he could take care of both of them and he
had done so quite well with two helping visits from Yukina. They had mostly
just slept, eaten and taken long, slow walks when Yukina had given him the
O.K. to be up and about..and avoided the subject of Hiei's advancing
pregnancy.

	It had shocked him when he'd gotten his first look at Hiei's new
shape in the hospital. Hiei had gotten a wicked gleam in his eyes when the
nurse had come in to fuss over him that first time. Hiei had turned
sideways in his chair as the nurse had wrapped the blood pressure cuff
around his arm and yawned loudly, bringing Kurama's attention back to him,
then pulled the T-shirt tight against his body just as she had started
pumping up the cuff. She had almost sent for the doctor at the reading. He
had asked her to do it again, just to make sure, and had closed his eyes
and shut that evil little youkai out as he had relaxed and taken some deep
breaths.

	Yukina had assured him that Hiei was all right and the kits had
just taken advantage of the huge amount of nourishment he had so
generously, if unintentionally, supplied. She also assured him that the
kits had settled back down into what was regular growth for in-utero
Koorime, even though he thought Hiei was expanding at an alarming rate. And
so did Hiei. She had told them both not to worry when she had come on
Friday to check on them and had simply up-ed her estimate on how far along
Hiei was. Somewhere between eleven and twelve weeks. He rubbed harder at
his forehead as he stepped up out of the entrance way and into the main
room.

	He still wasn't sure what he was going to tell Shiori tomorrow when
he met her for lunch. That worry had gnawed at the edges of all his other
woes all day and he pushed it aside once more as he glanced down to pull
the folded section of newspaper out of the side pocket of his satchel
before he leaned it against the end of the sofa. He and Hiei needed to have
another talk about what was acceptable behavior in the Ningenkai. He looked
up and registered the untidy piles of food on the floor of the kitchen
behind the long piece of furniture for the first time.

	*What in the hell?* he frowned, then realized he was looking at the
contents of the refrigerator.

	He stalked towards the appliance, seeing the faint glow of the
light that came from the slightly ajar door and noticed that there was a
towel tied to the handle that disappeared around the edge and into the
interior. He yanked it open to see Hiei sitting cross-legged on a pillow
inside, one of the richly illustrated childrens books he had bought for him
open and propped on his very distended stomach. Hiei looked up from his
book, blinked once, then reached for the towel and pulled the door closed.
Kurama stared at the closed door for a moment, amusement warring with
annoyance as he replayed that image in his head. His hands went to his hips
as the annoyance won.

	"Hiei! Get out of the refrigerator!"

	"No." Hiei's muffled voice replied calmly.

	"Hiei..." Kurama yanked open the door again, "you can't stay in the
refrigerator."

	"Why not? I'm hot. Isn't that what this thing is for? Making things
cold and keeping them that way?"

	"Things, Hiei. Not people," Kurama tried to keep his tone reasonable.

	"I'm not a 'people'." Hiei reached for the towel again as he
continued, "I'm a very hot, very pregnant Youkai and I'll stay the hell in
here if I want to!" With that he pulled the door shut again.

	"No, you won't!" Kurama yanked the door open again and glared at
Hiei. "All this food is going to go bad, if it hasn't already. Get out."

	He realized as they glared at each other that his weariness was
making him snappish. He was about to suggest some alternate ideas for
getting and keeping Hiei cool in apology when Hiei uncoiled and slid out.
Kurama knew that dark look.

	"Hiei, don't use your Rei!" he warned and retreated fast, knocking
over food and containers as he backed.

	He managed to bat the book off of it's trajectory for his head and
held up his hands to block the egg that followed it. He turned and ducked
his head as the shell broke and spattered him with white and yoke. The rest
of the dozen hit on various vital areas of his body in blurred succession
as he leapt to dive over the sofa. He thanked the Gods that Hiei was only
throwing eggs. He peeked over the top and threw himself sideways as a
carton of juice buzzed his cheek and continued on to spatter against the
wall.

	"Hiei, calm down!"

	"I am calm."

	Kurama crawled to the other end of the sofa and risked another
glance over the top and ducked as Hiei saw him and launched a whole chicken
at his head. It made a very ungainly flight to crash into the wall also.

	"Hiei..." Kurama put warning into his voice as he looked over the
sofa top again, worried that Hiei might realize that there were forks and
knives very handy.

	"Hiei?" His lover was standing very still, his hands on the side of
his stomach and wearing a very perplexed expression.

	"Hiei?" He came around the sofa cautiously as Hiei blinked twice,
then seemed to focus.

	"Kurama, come here!" Hiei whispered.

	Kurama did, slowly. When he was in range, Hiei reached out and
grabbed his hands and put them against his stomach. Kurama cocked his head,
wondering what Hiei was doing, then he felt it. He felt them. Little bumps
and pushes. Suddenly, in that one instant, they became real to him. These
where his kits moving under his hands. His and Hiei's.

	"Is this the first time you've felt them?" he asked back in an awed
whisper as whichever one was under his right hand seemed to know it was
there and kicked against it several times.

	Hiei shook his head. "No, I've felt them move, but never like this.
Ooof! Stop it!"

	Hiei glared down as the kit under Kurama's left hand moved with
enough force to bounce his hand off of his lovers stomach.

	"I don't think they like you being upset," Kurama said softly as he
pressed his hand back against Hiei's stomach and felt both of the kits
shift violently again.

	In fact, it felt like Hiei had an insane super ball bouncing off
his insides as Hiei addressed his stomach, "Well, they had better get used
to it!"

	Kurama smiled as the kits responded with another intense series of
maneuvers. The smile flew into a frown as Hiei flinched, his brows coming
together as he let out a small hiss.

	"Hiei, are they hurting you?"

	Hiei shrugged one shoulder as he rubbed the top of his belly, then
flinched again. Kurama swept him up into his arms and strode quickly for
the sofa.

	"Should I call Yukina?" he asked as he put Hiei down prone on the
cushions, then knelt next to him and began to stroke the curve of Hiei's
belly.

	Hiei considered it as a tentative purr was coaxed out of him from
the gentle, soothing feeling of Kurama's caress, then shook his head 'no'
as the babies frantic movements started to slow. He blinked in surprise as
Kurama put his cheek against the side of his belly and started to sing very
softly. His purr fell into the rhythm of Kurama's lullaby and within
seconds, the babies were still. He let out a mental sigh of relief and felt
his eyelids get heavy as the song and Kurama's hands soothed him also.

* * *

	Hiei snapped awake, then relaxed as he recognized the familiar
darkened shapes of Kurama's bedroom. It still unnerved him to sleep so
deeply that he didn't register when he was moved. It took him a moment to
locate and place the fast whir that sounded through the room. It was from
the fan positioned so that it would blow on him, the air deliciously
chilled as it passed over the several large bowls of ice that were in front
of it. It felt wonderful. It almost offset the heat of Kurama's body
against his back. The babies shifted restlessly. They were hungry and when
they were hungry, so was he.

	*Fine. I'm going. Be still,* he grumbled at them mentally as he
carefully eased out from under his lovers arm that was draped over his
expanded middle.

	He grabbed a set of the clothes Yukina had brought for him as he
flitted noiselessly out of the bedroom. He saw that Kurama had put the
refrigerator back together. He opened it and gave a quirked smile and shake
of his head as he saw the prepared meal waiting for him. He had told Kurama
again and again that he was well able to fend for himself. But he had to
admit that his Fox's cooking was better than anything he could put together.

	When he was done he started to dress, knowing he wouldn't be able
to rest again until he had satisfied these bizarre cravings he'd developed
over the last few days. He frowned at the crimson of the pants and shirt,
both styled so that they would fit loosely over his pregnant shape. They
were conspicuous, and he felt like he was outlined in light. Though Kurama
had gotten that gleam in his eyes when he had reluctantly put on the
sapphire blue set, the darkest of the maternity clothes that Yukina had let
him borrow, when he had expanded beyond the limit of his own pants and
Kurama's shirts. Kurama said he liked the way he looked in colors. He filed
that away for the first evening he had his regular shape and body back.

	He collected the flat tai-chi shoes that had also come in Yukina's
care package and headed back for the bedroom window knowing that Kurama
would hear the front door open and wake. His lover was still fragile and
needed all the rest he could get. He had slipped out these last three
nights without disturbing Kurama and hopefully by the time Kurama was back
to his old, nosey and alert self, these cravings would have passed.

* * *

	Kurama's thoughts drifted as he waited for Hiei to come back to
bed. He knew he should get up and keep his lover company, but Hiei had
grumbled at him the first night he had been home from the hospital that he
was perfectly capable of getting his own meals and that Kurama needed his
rest. He must have been in pretty bad shape not to register the nights that
Hiei had left his side. It had only been the past two that he had woken
enough to know when Hiei had gotten up for his late night snack, and even
then he had drifted back to sleep long before his lover came back.

	He worked on keeping himself awake by trying to formulate a way to
approach Hiei over his suspicions about the rash of robberies that had been
plaguing the florists in the area without upsetting him too much. Whoever
the thief was, and Kurama had a very good idea of just who that someone
was, had been stealing roses. And not just a few here or there. This person
had wiped out the stock in every store. Last night when Hiei had slipped
back to curl up against him he had smelled very strongly of roses. Kurama
had thought it was just part of an amusing dream until he had read the
paper on the train on the way to campus.

	The light from the open window was suddenly blocked by an ungainly
shadow. "Hiei, where are you going?"

	"Out. Go back to sleep," Hiei answered as he straddled the sill,
one leg in and one out.

	"Did you break into all those florist shops?" Kurama asked as he
sat up.

	Hiei paused on the window sill and Kurama saw the shadowed shrug of
his shoulders against the faint moonlight.

	"What do you need roses for, anyway? And why didn't you just ask
me?" Kurama questioned, curious.

	"I want them. They taste good. You aren't recovered enough yet to
be wasting your rei on making them," Hiei answered with another shrug.

	"You're eating roses?"

	Hiei shrugged again and Kurama had to bite his tongue to keep his
laughter in check. "Hiei, you can't just take things in the Ningenkai
without paying for them."

	Hiei's eyes sparked with orange fire as he glared back.

	"No, you're the one who can't take things from the Ningenkai
without paying for them. I don't care. I need them."

	He rubbed at the babies who where turning somersaults in his belly.
He had to have rose petals. Now. He turned, ready to leap down when the
aroma hit him and made his mouth water. He glanced back over his shoulder
and saw Kurama hold out a huge bouquet of roses with very large, full
blossoms. He was sitting cross-legged in front of Kurama before his Fox had
a chance to blink.

	"You shouldn't have done that," he mumbled around a mouthful of
bittersweet petals as he saw the slight tremble in his lover's hand as he
offered another stem.

	Kurama shrugged this time and asked, "Are you having cravings for
anything else?"

	"That sweet snow," Hiei answered right before he decapitated
another rose with a sharp click of his teeth.

	*Sweet snow?* Kurama laughed softly as he figured it out. *Ice
cream.* But there hadn't been any reports of break-in's or robberies of
grocery stores in the crime section.

	"Hiei, how did you get ice cream," Kurama wondered out loud.

	Hiei blinked at him with two rose petals sticking out of the corner
of his mouth. His tongue flicked out and collected them as he answered,
"From the food store on the corner. Where else would I get it?"

	He turned a curious look on Kurama as his lover dropped his face
into his hand with a groan.

	"Hiei, I have to shop there. Why didn't you just tell me and I
would have bought you some."

	"I want some. Now. Buy it for me."

	"Now? It's three in the morning!"

	Hiei shrugged and struggled up to his feet with a growl, feeling he
had made his point. It was getting harder and harder for him to get up as
his belly got bigger and bigger. He swore he had expanded another five
inches while he had sat.

	"Just wait, would you?" Kurama said with a sigh as Hiei headed for
the window again.

	Hiei turned to see Kurama stepping into a pair of jeans. "There's
an all-night store over on Pine."


	Hiei licked the last of the sweet snow that Kurama insisted on
calling ice cream off his spoon as he gazed at his lover. Kurama had
insisted on going with him even after he said that he would just take the
money and pay for the frozen treat. Kurama had told him that it wasn't safe
for him to be out and about alone this late at night now. Hiei snorted to
himself. As if any human could catch him. And he could outrun any
youkai...well, almost any youkai. He was slower now, his balance out of
center and it was harder to breathe with the babies pressing against his
ribs all the time. But still, he seriously doubted that anything in the
Ningenkai could touch him and besides, Kurama wasn't in any shape to take
on anything that might decide to take a whack at him either. He had
explained that to Kurama, but his lover had insisted on accompanying him
anyway and now had fallen asleep at the table, his head pillowed on his
crossed arms.

	A tender expression overtook his normal, fierce countenance as he
reached out to gently push a stray lock of hair out of Kurama's face. It
was a rare thing, this look, and would have startled Kurama or anyone else
who knew him. It was a look that only came to his face in the small hours
of the morning, when he was certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that there
was no one and nothing that could see it. He rubbed the silky stuff between
his fingers and wondered if their son's would have the same texture and
coloring.

	What were the babies going to be like? Powerful, of that he had no
doubt. Would it be possible for he and Kurama to raise them in the
Ningenkai? But what other choice did they have? Kurama was stubbornly
insistent on staying in the Ningenkai until his human mother died and he,
himself, was going to be on Mukuro's hit list for quite some time. He
grinned. Probably until she died. Their parting had not been good. After
two years of sharing her bed and learning the 'in's and out's' of being a
ruler, he decided he really didn't want either thing. Kurama had tried to
warn him of what was coming but he had to do it the hard way and find out
on his own.

	There had been none of the glory he had envisioned in ruling. The
power and control only came through hard, tedious and boring work full of
'allies' that smiled as they sharpened the knife they were planning to
stick in your back. Literally. He had taken two that had been meant for
Mukuro. And even though Mukuro had been an interesting bedmate, it had been
Kurama he thought of when he had been with her. It was Kurama he had
dreamed of. It was Kurama that he missed enough to be willing to accept
what amounted to a banishment into the Ningenkai.

	Also, Kurama had never, ever done what Mukuro had attempted, which
was control him. His lover never tried to put any restraints on his coming
and going, never asked or demanded explanations for where he had been or
what he had been up to unless Kurama discovered it on his own, like he had
with the flower sellers. His Fox understood and valued his own freedom and
granted that same respect to his lover and friend. Hiei had learned it was
a very rare gift indeed.

	*You are very lucky to have a father like him. He's going to spoil
you rotten. Just like he does me,* he smiled as he put his hand over the
babies, still now that they were all stuffed and contented.

	He schooled his features back into their normal mask as he leaned
forwards to kiss Kurama's cheek with cold lips.

	"Kurama, you are going to get a crick in your back if you stay like
that."

	Kurama opened his eyes a crack and grumbled something back at him.

	"Come on," Hiei pulled and tugged and coaxed until Kurama got to
his feet, then half guided, half supported him into the bedroom.

	Kurama collapsed onto the bedding with a grateful sigh and mumbled,
"Love you, Hiei," as he let Hiei get him undressed.

	Hiei didn't bother to answer, but got undressed quickly and wiggled
into the curl Kurama had made of himself against the cool breeze from the
fan. Kurama cuddled against him, his arm going as far as it could around
his waist and within four beats of his human heart was taking the deep even
breaths of sleep. He yawned as the babies shifted against his new position,
then settled. He drifted off trying to envision what his children were
going to look like once they were out of him.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


	Kurama listened to Shiori babble happily as they ate. She was happy
with her 'new' family and he was happy that she could find so much
fulfillment with them. He smiled gently and poured them both some more tea
and went over the lie he was preparing to tell her as she started in on her
questioning of himself. Why did he look so tired, was he getting enough
sleep? Was he eating? How was school? Did he know how proud of him she was?

	He took a deep, mental breath as he answered her questions and
noted again that she avoided the subject of his love life. She hadn't
mentioned a thing about it for over two years. That had also been the last
time she had visited his apartment. He knew she didn't come because Hiei
was there. It was her way of telling him she did not approve of his
relationship with his lover. She had been anxious and nervous on her last
visit and had asked very leading questions about his relationship with
Hiei. He hadn't said that Hiei was his lover, but hadn't refuted it either
as he had tried to turn the veiled accusations aside, knowing the answer
would upset her.

	He knew that her questions had been brought on by his step-father,
who had 'teased' her about her 'beautiful' son constantly when he had been
living with them. She had defended him unhesitantly then and he knew that
she still did, even though she now knew the truth. Thankfully, it seemed
that once he had removed himself from the house his stepfather had stopped
tormenting her about it. But he had planted the seed and it had taken root
and germinated for a year until Shiori had finally had to confront him
about it. Especially once Hiei came back and started to live with him.

	Hiei had been the one thing he would not give up to make his mother
happy. He had seriously considered it when the problem first arose but
could not do it. He had been waiting for Hiei for far too long, had been
searching for such a soulmate for over three hundred years. It didn't
matter to him that Hiei was male. He loved Hiei for what he was inside, not
for the body he wore. Though it was a very nice body...he blinked and put a
firm lid on those thoughts for the moment as he waited for his human mother
to run through her queue of questions.

	"So, tell me what's been going on with you?" was his cue.

	"Hiei's pregnant. You're going to be a grandmother soon."

	Shiori froze and stared at him. "What did you say?"

	He smiled, his Youko self terribly amused as he repeated his statement.

	"Hiei's pregnant. You're going to be a grandmother soon."

	He caught the cup that slid out of her nerveless fingers and was
suddenly concerned that she might faint as she turned very pale.

	"Mother?" he took her hands into his as she took a few gulping
breaths. "Are you all right?"

	She shook her head no and got out, "How?" in a high squeak.

	"I think you are the one who explained to me how the birds and the
bees worked not so long ago, Mother," he said in a gentle voice, hoping to
tease her out of her shock.

	He hadn't quite expected this reaction as she continued to blink at
him with very wide and glassy eyes.

	"But...but...Hiei's a boy!"

	That was the launching point he had been waiting for. He took a
deep breath and started to spin his tale.

	"No, Hiei's not. His family desperately needed a son. The last set
of children born were twins. They raised one as a boy."

	"Hiei?" Shiori stated.

	Kurama nodded. "Hiei thinks of himself as male. For all intents and
purposes, he is, in everything but the plumbing."

	"Why didn't you tell me?!" Shiori all but wailed and made him wince
with guilt at his deception. But if this worked as he hoped it was going
to, then Shiori wouldn't have any more cause to be displeased with her son
in any way.

	"I couldn't! I swore I wouldn't! But now, with the pregnancy, the
situation has changed drastically. Hiei's family has disowned him. Everyone
but his twin sister refuses to acknowledge that he even exists. He's all
alone now except for Yukina and me. I love Hiei, Mother. More that I love
my life. And now he's carrying my babies and your grand-children and I hope
you might be able to accept him."

	Shiori cocked her head at him as her eyebrows raised while he
studied her, hoping.

	"Grand...children?" she asked hesitantly.

	He nodded. "Twins. A boy and a girl, we think."

	Her hands tightened on his own.

	"Grand-children...oh, Shuiichi!" she lifted his hands in her own
and pressed them against her eyes. "I'm so sorry...I should have known
better than to think..." she trailed off and he felt the hot moisture of
her tears on the backs of his hands.

	"Mother, it's all right," he freed his hands and put them on her
cheeks and brushed away her tears with his thumbs.

	"And in a way it 'is' true. Like I said, Hiei thinks of himself as
'he'. Please don't call him 'her', it would offend him terribly and he's
acting strange enough as it is..." he let that hang with a smile.

	She looked confused and he knew it would take a while for her to
settle the whole thing in her mind. But he had held out the lure which he
knew she wouldn't be able to resist.

	"Grand-children...I'm going to be a grandmother..." he watched with
a grin as she explored the word with her voice, tried it on for size...
"Grandmother!" and decided she liked it.

	"When is Hiei due? Does he have a good doctor? Twins can be
tricky," she asked/said in a rush.

	"Yes, we have a very good doctor and she thinks about four more weeks."

	"Four weeks? You waited eight months to tell me I'm going to be a
Grandmother? Shuiichi!"

	"Hiei's had some problems with the pregnancy. We didn't want to get
our hopes up until we were sure that everything was going to be O.K."

	"Is it O.K.?"

	Kurama nodded and gave her a reassuring smile. "Our doctor says
that everything is going well now. Though Hiei thinks he's going to explode
like an over-inflated balloon any day."

	Shiori laughed. "Every pregnant woman in her eighth," she paused
for a moment and gave him a very meaningful look, "in his eighth month
feels that way. And I can imagine with twins it's even worse!"

	Kurama moved around the table so he could give his mother a
relieved hug. "Thank you, Mother. You don't know how much this means to me."

	She hugged him back. "Thank you, Son. For such a wonderful gift. Do
you think I could come by the apartment sometime soon? I would like to
speak with Hiei, it you think he'll talk to me."

	Kurama hugged his mother tighter. "You are welcome at our home
anytime you choose to come by, Mother. You always have been."


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


	Kurama laid on his stomach, his chin supported on his crossed hands
and watched the bower with amusement as another pillow flew out of the
small entrance. Hiei had wandered in after dinner to stand in front of the
pile of pillows and blankets stacked against the wall while Kurama worked
on putting up the laundry, then had crawled into the dome of plants
dragging some of the bedding after him. He had now been lining his nest for
the last forty minutes. He seemed to have settled on what blankets were
acceptable, though Kurama wasn't going to fold the rejects until he was
certain Hiei was done. It was dangerous to get too close to the mouth of
the bower since there was a steady stream of pillows being tossed out and
then dragged back in and then tossed back out. Though it seemed like they
were going through the final cull. Two of the pillows had come out and not
been retrieved.

	Yukina had advised him to make the bower last Friday for two
reasons. One was to give Hiei time to get used to the idea of using it for
his 'nest' and the second was to give his rei plenty of time to re-charge
for this up-coming week. He had woven it while Hiei was napping and Yukina
had sat quietly next to him, watching. He smiled softly. Yukina had grown
as protective of him as she was of her twin. He knew that she had been
observing his rei, still unsure that he had recovered enough to let Hiei
feed off of him. She had been delighted with the results of his effort and
demanded that he make one for her the next time she conceived. Hiei had
inspected the interior of the small dome of tightly intertwined vines and
flowers when he woke up and had pronounced it acceptable with a shrug and a
"Hn," and had totally ignored it up until now.

	He watched Hiei emerge and crawl over to him, his belly so big it
was almost dragging on the ground. He frowned a little at the tiredness
that was apparent in his lovers face, knowing that Hiei was crawling
because it was too much work to get up to his feet. Hiei arranged himself
so he sat cross-legged with his back to his lover.

	"My back hurts," he grumbled.

	Kurama sat up and obediently began to rub.

	"What brought that on?"

	"Just wanted to get it out of the way," Hiei answered with a one
shouldered shrug.

	"Shiori's going to drop by on Sunday," he informed Hiei as his
lover relaxed and leaned back into his hands.

	"Fine. I'll go see Yukina."

	"Hiei, she's coming to see you!"

	"Why?" Hiei suddenly stiffened under his hands. "You told her,
didn't you?"

	"Of course I told her," he said with a little smile, remembering
Shiori's delight in the news.

	Hiei turned himself around and glared at him. "Why?"

	Kurama rolled his eyes and sighed patiently. "She's my mother, Hiei."

	Hiei gritted his teeth as a wave of annoyance swept over him. His
lover's insistence on that fact had always bothered him.  He had held his
tongue on his thoughts about the subject so far, but suddenly he decided it
was time to let Kurama know just how he felt about it.

	"No. She's not. She's just a human you used to survive."

	"I owe her my life, Hiei.  I owe her..."

	"You owe her nothing! She's just a human. And one who you have let
trap you here. Don't you realize that? How do you think she would react if
she knew what you really were? If she knew what you did to her real child?
I should tell her. If I'm lucky, she'll just drop dead from shock. No
matter what, it would solve this insanity that is keeping you here!"

	Kurama's expression went from gentle tolerance to cold fury in an
instant and Hiei actually leaned backwards, startled, as he realized
exactly what he had blurted out. It might be the truth, but it was a truth
that Kurama did not want to hear or accept. And he had threatened the human
woman Kurama was so attached to. For a moment he saw the promise of
violence and pain in Kurama's eyes and tense stillness, then his lover rose
in one fast, graceful movement and was running for the door. He realized he
had crossed the line of what Kurama would accept from him. Shit. He needed
to fix this, fast!

	"Kurama! Wait!"

	It took forever to struggle to his feet and it started the pain
stabbing up in his lower back again. By the time he waddled to the door,
cursing his ungainly body and stupidity the whole way, Kurama was out of
sight.

	*Fuck!* He started out the door anyway, but as soon as he stepped
out onto the walkway the night sky and open space beyond the railing seemed
to focus on him and pressed down. He couldn't stand it and retreated back
into the apartment. He slammed the door shut against the outside that was
trying to follow him in and glared at the barrier, panting. What the hell
was that all about?

	*BE STILL!* he willed the babies as he clutched at the pain that
radiated across his belly and then went to shoot up his back. They were so
big now they couldn't move much, but they were kicking like crazy and it
hurt. He took a few deep breaths as he headed back for the bedroom, trying
to relax. He knew that if he calmed down, they would. It was impossible to
do as the normal, confining space of the apartment seemed to expand around
him as it pressed in at the same time. He had to get into someplace small
and safe. He crawled into the nest Kurama had made for him and curled up as
much as he could around his belly and waited for the pain to pass.

	It hadn't and now Hiei wandered in and out of a haze of agony. As
soon as he had realized something was seriously wrong, he'd been in too
much pain to crawl out of his nest for the phone thing to call Yukina. He
didn't know anything could survive hurting this much, and he'd been through
a whole lot of hurting. He was sure he wasn't going to survive as the hot
iron band clamped around his middle again and squeezed until he couldn't
breathe. As much as that hurt, he dreaded the next part more. It let up and
fire radiated in searing waves across his lower back, then erupted up his
spine.

	He worked on breathing knowing the next pain was coming soon. Too
soon. How could he be so stupid? Kurama was gone. Probably for good. He had
finally managed to do it, found something that his Fox wouldn't forgive him
for. No matter what he thought, Shiori was taboo. He knew that! Shit. He
knew that her life span was short, only a blink by youkai standards and she
was old already. Why couldn't he just have let it pass? He had driven
Kurama away forever over a human who would be dead in a few years
anyway...stupid, stupid...he swallowed the scream as the next pain hit him
without warning.


* * *


	Kurama ran until he was winded and then ran some more. Finally he
had to stop or pass out. He leaned forwards and put his hands on his knees
as he waited for the dark spots to clear his vision. Gods...he had been
ready to kill Hiei for that. And as coldly as he would any youkai who
threatened Shiori or himself. He got enough breath back to start walking
again and did, heedless of the direction, just as long as it was away from
Hiei.

	Hiei had hit a very tender nerve and he knew that almost everything
his lover had said was true. He was terrified of how Shiori would react if
she ever found out what she had carried in her womb, nursed at her breast,
loved and raised as her own child. It would kill her if she ever found out
what he had done. How he had forced out the soul of the girl child she had
been shaping in her body and rearranged that flesh to suit himself with as
little thought as he would kill a rabbit for dinner. He snorted to himself.
He hadn't done a very good job on the body. But what could he expect? He
had been almost dead.

	Kurama shook his head, Hiei just couldn't understand. Shiori hadn't
trapped him here. He had trapped himself as soon as he had refused to die
and entered into the human world by his own choice. Shiori had taught him
so much, some of it wonderful and some of it terrible. But it was a part of
him now, a part of his experiences. And one of those things which he
thought was wonderful and terrible at the same time was the ability to love
as humans did. It was different from what he knew as 'love' as a Youko. It
was something else, something beyond. He still didn't understand it, nor
could explain it. He just felt it.

	Shiori was his mother, not the Youko vixen that spawned him and
left him to die. He sighed and berated himself quite harshly as he walked
in and out of the bright pools thrown by the street lights. Now that he had
calmed down he knew that he had over-reacted. Hiei would never tell Shiori,
the same way that he would never have told Yukina Hiei's secret. That
confession had come on Hiei's own initiative.

	Hiei had just been blowing off steam. An idle threat born of his
temper and the discomfort of the kits inside him. He knew that his lover
was frustrated by his insistence at staying in the Ningenkai and that was
all it was.  He looked up to take his bearings and smiled as he shook his
head. His steps had unconsciously brought him back to where he should be,
had brought him home to Hiei.

	He was somewhat surprised not to see Hiei glowering at him from the
sofa as he entered the darkened apartment, though the light was still on in
the bedroom. He headed for the refrigerator, wanting something to ease the
dryness in his throat before he went in and faced his lover. A soft groan,
barely audible, spun him in place and sent him sprinting for the bedroom.
His gazed raked the room, searching for the source of the sound, then
focused on the bower as another muted mew of pain guided his eyes. He
dropped to his hands and knees and stuck his head in. He paled as he saw
the grimace on Hiei's sweat slicked features, his lovers fingers knotted
into the blanket and whole body tense as he rode another contraction.

	He backed and sprang for the phone, tucked it between his ear and
shoulder after he dialed, and rushed for the bathroom. He had just grabbed
all the towels and washcloths when the phone was picked up on the other
side. Kuwabara's sleepy voice grumbled at him as he paused just long enough
on his way back to the bower to snatch up one of the half-melted bowls of
ice in front of the fan.

	"Hiei's in labor. I need to speak to Yukina, Kuwabara," he bit out
as he worked on getting himself and his supplies through the tight opening.

	"He's in labor? But it's not time yet!"

	"I know THAT! Please put Yukina ON!"

	"How far apart are the contractions, Kurama?" Yukina's calm voice
asked in an instant.

	"I don't know...I was out and I came back and Hiei's in labor and..."

	"Kurama, calm down. Time a contraction."

	He took a calming breath and swallowed hard as Hiei groaned again
and drew a quavering breath, totally unaware of his presence. He put his
palm on Hiei's stomach and could hear Yukina moving beyond the phone,
probably getting dressed as he watched his watch. Hiei had barely managed a
few pants before the next one hit.

	"Five seconds," his panic came back as he realized the kits were
coming NOW! For all his age and experience, he'd never delivered a baby
before. "Yukina, what do I do?!"

	"Stay calm. See if you see a baby coming, Kurama."

	He could hear her muted voice talking to her husband as he worked
the pants off his lover and did as she asked. There wasn't a sign of either
baby.

	"Stuck..." Hiei gritted out around another contraction.

	Kurama lifted his head so he could see over Hiei's belly and met
his lovers eyes for a moment before Hiei clenched them shut again as
another contraction took him. He almost screamed for Hiei at the pain and
panic he saw in them.

	"Yukina, I don't see anything and Hiei says they're stuck."

	"I'm on my way, Kurama. Ten minutes, at the most. Tell him that.
Hold on."

	The line went dead. Hold on. Don't panic.

	"Hiei, Yukina will be here in a few minutes. Hold on, it will be
all right."

	Something deliciously cool and wet touched Hiei's face, moistened
his parched lips. Kurama. His Fox had come back. He wished he had the
breath to tell him he was glad but he was trapped in a pain-filled cycle
that didn't give him a chance to do anything but try to keep breathing. The
babies wanted out and he couldn't do it, no matter how hard he pushed. They
were stuck and if they didn't get out soon, they were all going to die.
Kurama's fingers closed around his own and gave him something to cling to
as his body made him try one more time. Kurama kept telling him over and
over that Yukina was on the way, that she would be here any second.

	He realized that his lover was babbling like an idiot but didn't
mind. He promised the babies that help was coming, just a few more minutes
and they would be free, then set himself to endure just a little while
longer. He could hold on just a little while longer. Yukina was coming. She
would fix it.

* * *