Somethin' to talk about

Chapter 4

As the prickly heat of afternoon slowly waned – making way for the cooler temps of evening – a gust of wind swirled playfully through the open windows. It carried with it the haunting aroma of the fragrant plants that managed to thrive in the harsh, desert-like surroundings that made up the majority of Yuusuke’s territory. These plants had been carefully selected and strategically planted by Kurama years ago.

He had placed an extraordinary amount of thought into what types of plants to introduce into Yuusuke’s territory. The plants had adapted, mutating slightly to take advantage of the surrounding terrain. The border of the land, if seen from above, was dotted in a subtle display of color that enhanced the land’s harsh beauty.

Now when the wind caressed the bodies sprawled on a much rumpled bed, the scent of flowering foliage lingered for several minutes before fading. From crimson skies, the fading sun cast its waning light on the inhabitants of the room. Red hair deepened, taking on the color of blood.

Kurama rested on his stomach, face and hair half-hanging off the bed. He was relatively sure he was taking up more than his fair share of their shared space, but he dared anyone to make him move. Exhausted and sore, he felt all this could attributed to one individual…Yuusuke.

He was feeling vaguely combative.

As he lay there, enjoying the simple wonders of not moving, his nose twitched. Abruptly his head jerked as a pained look washed over his face. In the inexorable grip of a sexual rut – heightened by lust and arousal – very few things were allowed to interfere. Various body functions, yes, but very little else was permitted to distract those caught up in such a mindless activity.

Even biting.

While in a rut, biting one’s partner heightened the sensation of ecstasy. In fact, some ruts were so all encompassing that yokai had been known to succumb to blood loss from bites that went too deep. And in a well-ventilated room, odors wafting across sensitive olfactory senses, simply added to the mix…it amped the arousal of any yokai caught up in such a state.

Unfortunately for Kurama, he was now very much aware of his surroundings.

The fading smell of lust, sweat and copious amounts of cum…not so sexy at the moment.

After trying and failing to move, Kurama sighed. With a grimace, he made a valiant effort to ignore the odor that seemed to wrap around him. Instead, he directed his thoughts inward , deliberately he wallowed in the warm lassitude that only came after some really fantastic sex.

Though slow, the decidedly languorous smile that curved his lips than hinted that his sensual nature had been more than amply satisfied. Then, like a curtain being drawn, the languor faded from both his eyes and face.

That it had been exhausting went without saying. It had certainly put into question his race’s reputed sexual stamina. It had been a physically taxing three days before Yuusuke’s yokai energy was able to flare without the sickly taint of the drug coloring it.

However, that wasn’t what occupied Kurama’s mind at the moment. Belying his state of utter repose, it wasn’t just a trick of light that made his eyes appear gold.

For despite the exhaustive state he had found himself mired in, mentally and physically, a part of his eminently clever and calculating mind had stood apart from the sexual marathon. It was a recessive trait unique to kitsunes. In time of high stress or danger, the dominant part of his mind could be wholly engaged in the endeavor, while a small portion would split off from the main. Its purpose was to observe, analyze and formulate a strategy before seamlessly merging back into the whole.

However, Kurama had taken this particular skill one step further. He had learned to do this at will.

It was how he managed to generally be about fifteen steps ahead of the average yokai.

It was how his legendary status as the premier thief came into being and had stood intact for centuries. In a thousand years, no other had accomplished more daring exploits than the infamous Yoko Kurama.

It was a skill he had initiated several days ago before he had become caught up in the bouts of frantic, mind-numbing sex. A portion of his mind had stood separate. Its sole purpose was to analyze something that had been nagging him.

When Hokushin had explained what was needed to save Yuusuke, something had pinged off his awareness. However, distracted by the perilous threat to Yuusuke’s life and the near certainty that he would be one of the very ones sent to try to take his friend out, he couldn’t quite focus on that niggling sensation.

As it was, it had taken his mind well into the second day to see the pitfall…but by then it was too late.

In truth, he wasn’t mad at Hokushin for tricking him. In fact, he felt a grudging admiration towards the other yokai for his cleverness in improvising. Not many yokai could boast that they had pulled one over on him.

Hokushin had entered an elite rank.

It had been a long time since he had so badly underestimated another.

Kurama couldn’t help but marvel at the older toushin’s ruthlessness and audacity. Yuusuke’s life had been at stake, so he could make allowance for Hokushin’s desperation. In time, he would get over it, and come to deal with the older toushin without the impulse to eviscerate the older yokai.

In truth, Hokushin cleverness was not the cause of Kurama’s slow, steady boil.

Rather, it was the presumptuousness in dangling Yuusuke’s body as bait.

He could have badly injured Yuusuke were he inclined to extreme rough sex.

Kurama felt ill at the thought. Golden eyes stared unseeingly at the mosaic floor. They were as cold and ruthless as the arctic tundra. For that piece of presumptuousness, Hokushin would pay.

The trap had been well crafted. He supposed that was the purpose. As it stood, he hadn’t figured it out until well into the second day what had happened.

How else was he to know to stroke that coiling edge of viciousness—spurred on by the drug—into arousal before it erupted into violence? Or that the inside bend of Yuusuke’s arm was especially sensitive at this time? Or that that breathless gasp from Yuusuke meant he needed to shift his body just so?

Somehow, they had created a…bond, a psychic link of a sort.

Unfortunately he wasn’t a toushin, so the link wouldn’t allow him to bleed off the violence, equalized it within his own body as a toushin would do.

The bond could not quite recognize the alien pattern of his mind….But he could still be used.

Though it couldn’t follow the same pathways that it would in a toushin mind, the psychic link between them had found another way to utilize him. To do what it was supposed to do—expel the drug from Yuusuke’s body.

Any way it could.

Kurama felt a coldness settle over him.

It was frighteningly efficient, that psychic link, he thought bleakly. It would not have killed him. However, he hoped that Hiei, at least, would have been kind enough to put an end to his body. The little fire demon owed him that much, at least.

He remembered the inexorable, near mindless urge to rut with an inward shudder. While kitsunes were noted for sexual stamina, in the end, he was not a toushin.

He would have been left a vegetable.

The light of retribution that flared promised a slow, painful death Hokushin.

Too bad, Hokushin did not reckon on Yuusuke’s innate stubbornness, he reflected with a cruel smirk pulling at his mouth.

As he pondered various ways to make hurt Hokushin, a sudden thought stirred in his mind. It almost derailed his rage. Anyone that had spent sufficient time with Yuusuke quickly got a definite sense of his young friend’s dogged persistence and general rock-headedness.

Did that wily toushin know that Yuusuke would turn himself inside out than risk harming one of his friends?

The vicious edge on Kurama’s lips slipped away. His breathe eased out in a sigh as the answer came to him. Though he understood Hokushin’s desperation, he still couldn’t quite let go of the snarl of rage within. It was with an act of will that he forced his anger to dissipate.

Besides, he reasoned glumly, Yuusuke would more than likely force me to find a replacement for Hokushin.

Another thought took shape in his mind that made him almost forget his grievance against Hokushin. It was a thought that almost put a smile on his face.

It was a well-established fact that kitsunes made for the best lovers much like toushins were the best warriors.

Had he the energy, he would have indulged in a bit of preening. It can wait, he decided after a couple minutes. Still, he felt reasonably proud. Even a black-tailed kitsune would have called it quits somewhere around the second day.

But three days….abruptly his mood soured.

He had caught a glimpse of himself late yesterday. That had almost been enough to make him retreat back to the bedroom and pull a bag over his head. But he had smelled and he desperately needed a shower.

And while he had never quite considered himself particularly vain, he had been hard-pressed not to let loose a scream of horror at how thoroughly trashed he had looked. He had bags…BAGS! under his eyes! Hell, even his hair had looked faded to an ordinary boring red. And hand shaking, he had fingered a lock of hair. A small whimper had escaped him at how dry and brittle it had become.

That had prompted a frantic search through the bag – he had recognized it as his – sitting on the back of the toilet. He had prayed devotedly that some enterprising toushin had at least some reasonable intelligence and had thought to include the special jar of cream he had concocted for his skin. Several swear words had spilled from his lips at the sight of generic shampoo and conditioner. He had made a moue of revulsion at the sight of a bar of soap in the bag.

Who used bars of soap?

Shaken, he had still tried to wash off as best as he could and had staggered back to the bedroom. There he had become distracted by the tugging in his mind. He had been framed in the doorway when searching dark eyes fell on him, becoming heated as arousal sang in the air. The slow, languorous swipe of a pink tongue over plump, swollen lips beckoned and he had lost himself in Yuusuke’s body seconds later.

That had been yesterday.

Turning his mind to the present, Kurama propped himself up on an elbow to survey his bedmate. His eyes darkened, becoming a familiar jade. A warm glow suffused him, adding much needed color to wan cheeks. Kurama regarded Yuusuke’s tired face with rising satisfaction.

He smiled tiredly, a tiny spark of triumph warring against the exhaustion that tugged insistently at him. “You’re not hot anymore.”

“Well, you’re still a bitch, so I guess that makes us even,” Yuusuke rasped out without even opening his eyes.

There was a period of thoughtful silence.

“Do words ever make a brief stop in your brain before they spill from your mouth?” Kurama inquired politely.

The smirk that pulled at Yuusuke’s lips was answer enough. Never once did the young man’s eyes open as he slipped back into the arms of sleep.

“Idiot,” Kurama muttered fondly. Judging that Yuusuke had the right idea, he rolled over on his side facing Yuusuke. Laying his head on his pillow, he was asleep in minutes.

Seconds later, Yuusuke roused slightly. Opening bleary eyes, he rolled his head to the right and beheld the kitsune’s peaceful, slumbering expression. Then eyes drooping, he turned and fitted himself into the warm curve of Kurama’s body. Tucking his head under the kitsune’s chin, he draped his arm over a slim flank before he returned to sleep.

Several hours later, Kurama woke again. Now fully rested, his mind was more alert. He didn’t start at the feel of a warm body in his arms. It had become a familiar sensation the past several days. Though it was usually the other way around, that being it was usually he that was tucked in the protection of Yuusuke’s arms.

Unconsciously he stroked his hand down Yuusuke’s back before beginning, what he suspected would be, the painful process of getting out of bed. Endorphins and adrenaline having dissipated during sleep, all the aches and pains in his body made themselves known. Breath escaped him in a hiss, he endured the stinging pain in carpet abraded knees as well as the throbbing ache in his backside.

Out of nowhere, he felt a welling of fierce satisfaction at how much pain Yuusuke would be in. Though he immediately dismissed the idea from his mind, he couldn’t stop puzzling over such an inexplicable thought.

Feeling a stirring behind him, he looked over his shoulder.

Yuusuke was awake.

Again Kurama felt a flash of emotion. ..territorial pride at having been the one to put that exhausted, completely sated look on Yuusuke’s face. Then he felt a slow, simmering coil of heat in his groin. Stunned, he fought to keep his face immobile. It was an effort of will that he managed to shunt that sensation aside for examination later.

Turning his attention to Yuusuke, he smiled tentatively. “Hey, there…” he said hoarsely. At the slow blink of recognition, a shuddering relief swept through him.

Then his nose wrinkled. Tactfully he included himself in his next statement, “We stink…”

A brief twinkle played in tired eyes. “Says you…I smell manly,” Yuusuke retorted archly, albeit in a raspy voice. He lifted the covers as if to savor said manly aroma.

Unfortunately his olfactory senses decided to come online. The smell hit him with the force of sledge-hammer. Inhaling in surprise only made matters worse. Gagging, he waved his hands impotently in the air to dispel the scent. “Oh, fuck! That’s a bit more manly than I ever wanna to be,” he gasped out, his face screwed up in disgust.

A rusty chuckle, gaining strength, filled the room.

“Ha fuckin’ ha,” Yuusuke all but snarled at the laughing kitsune. The extra sleep had gone a long way towards clearing the lingering effects of the drug from his system…it was also bringing the past three days into full clarity.

Face whitening, he rolled over to the other side of the bed in an anxious bid to escape the memories.

Unexpectedly he burped.

While a usually gross yet funny body function, this time Yuusuke froze as a particularly unique taste ghosted over his taste buds. Vaguely he was aware of Kurama asking him a question, but all he could focus on was that taste in his mouth.

Years ago—when he had been younger and even more stupider—after lazily jacking off one night to pictures in a porn mag he had gotten…curious. Admittedly he had been drinking so that might have contributed to the monumentally stupidity of his mindset. But at the time, it had made perfect sense because in the porn movies he had managed see—or steal—those slutty chicks always seemed to get off on the taste of cum. He had reasoned that if he ever got Keiko to give him a blowjob, he at least needed to be reassuring about it.

And impulsive being his middle name, he had cleaned his hand with his tongue.

He had quickly reached the conclusion that that shit was nasty and clearly those dumb bitches had been faking it.

That memory brought him back to the taste lingering in his mouth.

His brow knitted in confusion.

Kurama tasted…sweet. Almost nutty.

The fact that he wasn’t gagging or just flat-out freaking out surprised him. Not that he was the type of guy that spent much time examining his feelings, but right now he did. To his mounting astonishment, he didn’t feel any particular disgust about having sucked off another guy, or getting his ass fucked.

Why the fact that it had been Kurama, and not someone else, made things easier confused the fuck out of him.

And the fact that he wasn’t freaking out… freaked him the fuck out.

Hurriedly Yuusuke sought to extricate himself from the bed. If there was ever a time to retreat to the bathroom and do his freaking out in private without Kurama hovering over him, this was clearly it.

However, his body strongly objected.

Yuusuke’s eyes widened to their fullest extent when he swung his legs over the side of the bed and attempted to stand. A thin shriek ripped from his mouth.

His aches and pains forgotten, Kurama flew around the side of the bed and just barely managed to keep Yuusuke from crashing to the floor.

Looking down into the pain-filled eyes, Kurama came to a lightening decision. There was no way Yuusuke would be able to walk unassisted to the bathroom. Without giving Yuusuke time to protest, Kurama scooped him up. Grimly, he focused on simply putting one foot in front of the other. Eventually, he figured, they would get there.

Pain, cascading over his body, had stolen Yuusuke’s breath. How he managed not to stifle his shout when his body screamed its protest…he preferred not to know. Fuck, even his hair hurt. Breathe ragged, he lay passively despite the indignity of being carried.

He made a mental note to kick Kurama’s ass about this later.

Entering the shower stall, and despite the pain in his own body, Kurama carefully stood Yuusuke back on his feet. A viciously hissed cursed spilled from Kurama’s lips as liquid fire danced through him. Leaning forward, he simply rested his forehead on Yuusuke’s shoulder, struggling to master his own body ache.

Slowly it died to manageable levels. Then moving like an old man, he shuffled to the water faucets. Keeping his body between Yuusuke and the water, he turned the knobs. Tepid water splashed out. Better that than scalding, he thought pragmatically.

Adjusting the water temperature, he sighed closing his eyes. Heat drummed into him. Already he could feel a loosening of stiffened muscles.

“Quit hogging the fuckin’ water!” Yuusuke snapped from behind him. Annoyance was clear in the toushin’s voice.

It made Kurama smile. “Shut up.”

“Jerk…” Grumbling loudly about a certain water stealing kitsune, Yuusuke began trying to nudge Kurama out the way. Pain, however, limited the force of his nudges.

Ignoring the nudges and, grabbing the sponge, Kurama generously added shower gel to its rough texture. Then shifting around so that most of the water fell on Yuusuke, he played handmaiden.

At first startled then pissed, Yuusuke settled for a fulminating glare. Usually it was enough to make his enemies piss themselves. Should have known it wouldn’t penetrate Kurama’s big fat geek head, he thought with a sour glower at the oblivious kitsune.

As the penetrating force of the hot water sank into his body, targeting the throbbing aches and pain, gradually Yuusuke felt a loosening of his muscles. Magnanimously he decided to let Kurama live. Though he couldn’t—wouldn’t—meet Kurama’s gaze. He badly wanted to hide from the green eyes that seemed to see into the heart of him.

Kurama raised Yuusuke’s arms carefully and draped them over his shoulders. The skin there rippled in a muscle memory of how tight Yuusuke had gripped him late last night. The image of the dazed look of pleasure in Yuusuke’s eyes, the clasp of those strong thighs pressed against his flanks and the grip of that velvety sheath played in his mind.

Each time he had rutted into Yuusuke, fucked that tight little hole…it felt like coming home.

Kurama hand slowed, his movements becoming unconsciously caressing.

Wrenching his mind away as his tired body tried to respond, Kurama carefully turned Yuusuke to face away from him. Fortunately for him, his friend’s body was still stiff which prevented Yuusuke from putting up much of a fight.

With water beating down on him, still Kurama’s mouth felt suddenly dry. His eyes narrowed onto the sweet, golden rump and the shadowed cleft where he had been a frequent, and eagerly welcomed, visitor the last three days.

Only the brief inquiring look Yuusuke threw over his shoulder recalled him to the task at hand.

Eyes narrowed, Kurama waged a silent yet savage battle for control. He closed his eyes. Then calm, green eyes opened. Control restored, and Yuusuke once again relegated to ‘friend’, Kurama knelt carefully.

Far above him, he heard the quick intake of breath as he gently parted Yuusuke’s buttocks. It didn’t take the rigidness of the sturdy back to tell him just how horribly discomforted his friend was feeling at this moment.

But at the sight of the swollen anal passage, Kurama forgot about Yuusuke’s discomfort. His own anterior region clenched in empathy for the damage he had unwittingly caused. Plucking a seed from his hair, he nipped at the sharp tip and spat it out before chewing the seed vigorously. Saliva mixing with chemical compounds that formed the plant, it formed a nice medicinal substance. It numbed at the same time it soothed.

Unaware of what was going on behind him, Yuusuke started at the slick caress of Kurama’s tongue. He froze, hardly daring to believe what was happening. Then he vainly tried to claw his way up the slick wall to get away. When the wall proved too slick to climb, he pressed himself against it and fought to hold himself still.

Though he couldn’t hold back the whimper as his body remembered the first time Kurama had tongue fucked him. Despite his mind’s inclination, he felt his body start to respond.

At the first touch of his tongue, Kurama felt Yuusuke start then try to get away before freezing again. It wasn’t his imagination that he thought he heard a squeak then whimper from above. Though he tried to ignore it, the memory of the wild cries –the pleas for more—that spilled from Yuusuke’s mouth the first time he had tongued that tiny aperture.

He had thoroughly enjoyed how Yuusuke tasted—musky, strong and wholly male with just the hint of sourness.

Though his shaft twitched with definite interest, manfully Kurama resisted. However, there was no denying the slow, subtle way Yuusuke’s buttocks pushed back against his face.

Water beat down around them, caressing their bodies as if urging them to recall the heated frenzy that had gripped them. Steam rose, winding around their limbs like tangible bonds. The atmosphere in the enclosed stall abruptly morphed into something decidedly hot and erotic.

Swirling among the warm currents of air, Kurama smelled the rising pungent scent of excitement and lust. He felt blood rushing downward, filling his shaft—swelling it to a painful hardness.

The scent of arousal thickened—twinned about each other in the enclosed space.  It was helped along by the rising steam that wafted up from the shower floor. 

It teased sensitive olfactory senses. Forgetting all his admonishments, unconsciously Kurama inhaled deeply, his eyes half closing at the rise of that intoxicating scent.

And just like that, Kurama’s control snapped.
 
Yuusuke heard a muted growl then he was again scrambling desperately at the walls. He felt long, deceptively frail fingers spread his ass cheeks further apart. He shivered, his skin pebbling in response. He could feel the intensity of Kurama’s gaze like a tactile touch. It seemed to stroke over his gaping entrance that had been so thoroughly slickened and stretched.

At that thought, the muscles in his ass clenched. It made the soft, puffy flesh seem to purse anxiously.

The soft, thoroughly nasty chuckle that rose to his ears made him quiver. That sound spoke of dark sin and lust. “Such greed from such a tiny hole…” A nail scrapped thoughtfully across nerve rich skin.

Keening softly under his breath, Yuusuke shuddered in the wake of that midnight voice purring against his ass. He felt a hot, electric thrill race through him.

It suddenly became hard to breath.

Yuusuke whined, low in his throat. Though he sensed the futility, still he struggled to hold still against the seductive bands that seemed to wrap around him.

Yuusuke was a ferociously stubborn individual. Though it would have cost him a set of blue balls, still he could have, would have held out.

However, Kurama was equally stubborn. Also the fact that he had spent the past three days subconsciously training Yuusuke’s body was an added bonus.

So in all fairness, Yuusuke never stood a chance.

Though, perhaps, had Kurama simply taken, it was possible Yuusuke could have mustered up some kind of defense. However, with his eyes closed, it simply magnified what he could not see—the erotic feel of Kurama’s tongue dipping into him, bathing the inner walls of his ass.

But it was the little hum of pleasure from Kurama, the sensation of being…tasted that splintered his tenuous control.

With a shuddering sigh of acquiescence, Yuusuke arched his back even as he widened his stance. A low, hungry moan erupted from his throat when strong, agile thumbs came into play and slid into his heat.

After three days of near non-stop sexual excess, his body had become primed to respond in only one way to Kurama’s sensual touch.

“Oh, god…” Yuusuke whispered. Brown eyes stared unseeingly at the wall, his attention completely focused on where he was being exquisitely loved.

Unconsciously of his movements, he arched in one lush, inviting curve.
 
Reason screamed in his head. Lust cleared momentarily from Kurama mind. He knew Yuusuke was unaware of what he was doing.

What they were doing.
 
Despite all his admonishments to himself, Kurama couldn't stop leaning forward and dipping his tongue in that beckoning, seductively hot opening and simply… tasting Yuusuke's interior.   He moaned as Yuusuke’s unique taste assailed the sensory receptors in his mouth. He relished the wild cry that spilled from Yuusuke's throat. For a minute he lost himself and laved at the now relaxed opening with slow, leisurely strokes of his tongue.

Eyes fluttering shut, Yuusuke allowed his head to rest against the wall. He rode the insurgent waves of pleasure.

His cock curved upward, red and straining towards the ceiling. The gentle sting of water against his heated flesh, with Kurama at his backside was easily destroying what was left of Yuusuke’s mind. Wave upon wave of ecstasy suffused him. Mind crumbling under the endless cycle of pleasure, all Yuusuke could think about was how empty his ass felt…and how good Kurama felt stuffed deep inside him.

Then it all stopped.

Bewildered, Yuusuke shot a disbelieving look over his shoulder as Kurama’s blood-red head, the color made darker by water, rose to eye level. A hand on his hip silently urged him to turn around. Perforce, Yuusuke did so… immediately wishing he hadn’t when his eyes locked onto the heated, predatory look in Kurama’s eyes.

His breath grew even more ragged. However, rather than fear, he felt a wild surge of excitement. If anything, his cock grew even harder.

Water drops sparkled like tiny jewels, hanging from the kitsune’s lashes. Long ropes of water-laded hair draped over pale shoulders. Kurama’s hair looked shockingly like streamers of blood against the backdrop of creamy skin. Yuusuke’s breath caught at the wild, untamed beauty of the yokai in front of him. Despite the warmth of the shower, he shivered. What passed for reason in his brain was going toe-to-toe with lust.

Lust was winning.

Sensing the danger, Yuusuke tried to break away from that fixed stare. A gentle hand caught his chin and directed his eyes back to those hungry, hungry eyes.
 
"Look at me..." Kurama ordered with implacable softness.  Childishly Yuusuke clenched his eyes closed. Ignoring the tiny gesture, Kurama took that half-step forward, slotting their bodies together from chest to hips. The resulting contact forced twin moans from their throats. They seemed to fit together like missing pieces of a puzzle.

Kurama accompanied his command to Yuusuke with a sensual movement that rippled his body against Yuusuke’s with a boneless fluidity that spoke eloquently to his yokai heritage. Deliberately he dragged his hips, twisting them left then even more slowly, to the right. Rubbing with delicious friction against the rigid flesh trapped between their bodies.

If this was to be their last time, he intended take his time and enjoy it. Perhaps it was because of Yuusuke's untutored skills, the shy almost anxious quality to even the smallest touches that made him dread this being over. 

Torn, he hesitated, unsure whether to move away or continue.
 
With the cessation of movement, Yuusuke's eyes snapped open.  Instantly he was ensnared by a pair of crystal-green eyes.  He thought he saw sadness and regret, and another emotion that he instantly dismissed out of hand, but the sadness and regret left him puzzled. What could be causing such emotion in his friend?  

His attention momentarily diverted, involuntarily Yuusuke shifted, a hand reached upwards as if to wipe away that air of sadness.

The resulting friction recalled him back to the matter at hand. Eyes widening, going blank with lust, he hissed.

Then Kurama was there, gliding back and forth.

And nothing mattered save how Kurama had made him feel. Yuusuke muffled his cry of excitement in Kurama’s shoulder. Then a hand lifted his leg, wrapping it around a trim waist. Offbalance, he held on to Kurama’s shoulders.

The level of his excitement ratcheted higher at the opposing feelings of helplessness and safety.

Slim hips rocked back and forth, driving their bodies together in a seduction of flesh.
 
Growling, Yuusuke struggled against Kurama’s tender restraint.

He wanted it fast and hard.

Draped over Kurama's arm, his leg flexed unconsciously as he leaned back and braced himself against the wall to achieve better leverage.  Wise to Yuusuke’s tactics, Kurama flowed like against Yuusuke, plastering himself against his lover’s body.

It this was to be their last time, he had no intention of making this fast.

Lowering his head, he sealed his mouth over Yuusuke. Instantly he felt the strong, young body in his arms become rigid. He knew the reason why.

They had fucked.

Hard and rough, it had little meaning. And with time, Yuusuke could rationalize it away. Yuusuke had an amazing talent for ignoring reality in favor of his own version of reality. However, kissing fell into a different category.

Kissing was intimate.

It was more than simply sharing of one’s body.

And they couldn’t blame it on the rut.

He slid his tongue along the seam of Yuusuke’s lips teasingly before nipping lightly at Yuusuke’s plump bottom lip. At the husky groan from the toushin, he immediately swept in and took possession.

His hips set up a rhythm that kept Yuusuke’s attention focused in the direction he wanted. While above, he feasted hungrily at Yuusuke’s lips, his tongue matching the rhythm he set below.

It was, he reflected hazily to himself, strangely delicious. So delicious that he twined his tongue around Yuusuke’s just to further enjoy the toushin’s unique taste. He suckled on Yuusuke’s tongue before drawing it into his own mouth.

Yuusuke’s mind, understandably, was delightfully dazed. Kissing Kurama is so very unlike kissing a girl, he thought confusedly. Admittedly his experience was limited, but he knew women sure as hell didn’t kiss like this…all aggressive and subtly overpowering.

Parting for air, Yuusuke sucked down grateful gulps of oxygen. Eyes fluttering close, the better to enjoy the sensations, he moaned when a slick, hot tongue invaded his ear before his earlobe was sucked into Kurama’s mouth.

The wet pop of its release made him shudder. His mind easily recalled the sound Kurama had made after sucking his cock.

That same, nasty wet popping sound. He shuddered in response.

When that devilish mouth found his nipple and began an avid suckle, Yuusuke couldn’t stop his body from arching, shoving his chest at Kurama. He found his hand fisted in sodden, ropes of hair, holding that greedy mouth to his suddenly aching teat. His mouth dropped open in a silent moan as pleasure crested and crashed around him.

Tormented below, tortured above, all he could do was tremble and shudder in the kitsune’s arms.

Emerald eyes rolled upwards, watched him with eyes full of dark promises and dangerous delights. Fire flashed in those eyes before Yuusuke felt the sharp bite of pain in his protruding flesh. Instinctively he yanked, pulling those sharp teeth from his aching teat.

Endlessly they stared at one another.

Then slowly Yuusuke drew Kurama’s mouth to his other nipple.

When he felt a slim digit glide across his defenseless entrance, his breath hitched. Then settling his leg more securely around the kitsune’s trim waist, he allowed his head to fall back against the tile and simply surrendered to the orgasmic pleasure. His murmurs of delight were barely audible against the sound of water pouring from above. His hands stirred restlessly in Kurama’s water sodden hair while the kitsune suckled lazily at his nipple.

And below, their bodies rocked without haste to a slow, unhurried release.

* * *

Long after the water had changed to tepid, they finally exited the bathroom in silence.

Legs shaky, Kurama helped Yuusuke back into the room. He evidenced little surprise at the cleanliness of the room, nor of fresh warm air that blew through the open windows. However, he was careful to present only a bland façade when Yuusuke paused at the sight of the cleaned room. He could see the mental wheels turning and could pinpoint the exact second when Yuusuke figured it out.

Yuusuke looked absolutely adorable when he blushed, he thought to himself and immediately chided himself for that thought.

Still the cleaned room and fresh air went a long way towards clearing away the lingering scent of spent sex.

Folded clothing sat neatly on the bed, an unsubtle prompt that affected both yokai with silent regret.

Kurama helped Yuusuke dress. Bending was still a little awkward for his friend. Helping Yuusuke then clothing himself allowed him something else to focus on. It put a much needed distance between them.

By the time he had finished, he had remade himself back into Yuusuke’s trusted friend.

Yuusuke watched Kurama with a sinking feeling in his stomach. He exhaled shakily and braced himself as a warmly, familiar spark played in the kitsune’s jeweled eyes.

As if they hadn’t spent the past several days locked in an orgy of lust, Kurama’s voice held little more than his usual warm, teasing inflection. “Young Shuchi has a soccer match coming up next week,” he tossed out lightly. Standing in front of the mirror set into the wall, he carefully brushed out his hair, though he surreptitiously kept a watchful eye on his friend. “I was thinking perhaps we all could go and cheer him on?”

A familiar event, it was one that usually didn’t require asking. It was a common event that their group of friends always supported each other and members of their family. Even Hiei showed for the majority of the events, though he usually didn’t understand the purpose. However, these were his friends and Kurama had patiently explained that one always supported one’s friends.

The lightest of frowns touched Yuusuke’s face before the toushin looked down.

Come on, Yuusuke, Kurama begged his friend silently. Say yes so we can go back to where we were. If we…if we just try, we can get back to being friends. Please just try…I don’t want to lose you.

“Sure…” Yuusuke answered slowly. He was reeling a little at how effortlessly Kurama had changed. From concerned lover to this friend that talked about dumbass shit like soccer matches. The fuck…?! An hour ago, I had Kurama’s tongue up my ass…and now what? If we just ignore it, deny it happened then poof! it never happened? Are we gonna…just ignore the past three days?

Lifting his head, his mouth half opened to demand answer when he met the watchful stillness in Kurama’s eyes.

For the first time, he began to question every interaction he had ever had with Kurama. How much of it had been real? But he had to believe Kurama was running just as scared as he was, or he would be sick right now. The thought that Kurama just fucked him without feeling made him want punch things.

Yuusuke felt his stomach roil queasily and pressed a balled up fist to quell his unease.

Kurama’s shoulders relaxed seeing that Yuusuke was going along with him. “Great…” he replied lightly and set down the brush. “Why don’t we all ride together? It’ll be a bit of a squeeze, but it won’t be the first time.” Breezily, it sounded like everyday conversation except for the brittleness of the kitsune’s words.

Forcing a laugh, he glanced over his shoulder at Yuusuke. “Remember that time we all decided to go camping and it started pouring and we all crammed into that tiny little cave until it stopped?”

Yuusuke rang his tongue over his teeth. “Yeah, that was kinda tight…” he repeated woodenly. His stare bore a hole in the kitsune’s back.

Kurama continued talking for several more minutes, idling recalling moments of laughter and fun they had all shared.

However, his prattle was no match for Yuusuke obstinate silence. It dashed itself to death against Yuusuke’s wall of silence.

Slowly proud shoulders slumped. Kurama took a deep breath, feeling his eyes prick with tears. “I…I can’t do this,” he admitted in a husky voice. He didn’t dare look at Yuusuke for fear of what he would do.

From the corner of his eye, he saw the neatly made up bed. His face stricken, he flinched away. Unnoticed by Kurama, Yuusuke caught the tiny movement. Judgment thrown off by the way Kurama was acting, it was inevitable that he would completely misinterpret what his friend was trying to say.

Kurama took a deep breath. Closing his eyes, he exhaled before facing Yuusuke. His eyes were shadowed with regret. “I don’t want to lose your friendship…it means too much to me.” He smiled shakily at Yuusuke’s closed expression. “For fifteen years, I existed in a cold, lonely place until you rescued me. You brought me in the sun and set me free. I…I don’t want to go back to that place.”

What he meant was after fifteen years growing up in the human world, he had learned a great deal about human behavior. Especially towards people that were ‘different’. It certainly didn’t take someone of his mental caliber to make the next logical conclusion regarding the possibility of his continued existence.

He had well studied human history.

And he had absolutely no intention of sparking an outbreak of xenophobia, especially not with himself as the main target.

Perforce, he had become exceedingly quiet, unobtrusive.

To the outside world, he was ‘normal’, but inside he was wound so tight, he was sure he would shatter one day.

But Yuusuke knew what he was…and wonders of wonders, wasn’t scared of him. And Kuwabara, taking his lead from Yuusuke, simply accepted him for what he was. No matter how much he tested the boundaries of their tolerance, neither seemed to care.

He had been walking alone for so long that he had grasped the hand Yuusuke had held out to him in a death-grip.

When Kuroune had died, he had lost both lover and friend. It had hurt so badly, he hadn’t been willing to risk his heart again. The lovers he took afterwards were simply there to assuage a need.

He had never allowed a lover to get close to him…until Yomi.

Yomi had been that one friend he thought he could trust to ease the ache of loneliness…that they could be both friends and lovers.

And that turned out so well. His mouth turned down bitterly.

Gazing at Yuusuke’s averted face, he knew one unassailable truth: he couldn’t lose Yuusuke. If retreating back to the safe arena of their friendship, reminding Yuusuke of the past and the good times they shared might be considered a dirty trick he didn’t care. It was a small price to pay to keep Yuusuke in his life.

Why it was so important that he not lose Yuusuke, he chose to set the matter aside for future contemplation.

His first mistake.

His second mistake was in while he frantically backpedaled from further thoughts of intimacy with Yuusuke, he unknowingly gave what Yuusuke interpreted as the 'It's not you, it's me' speech.

Huge, woeful green eyes gazed solemnly at the motionless toushin. "I'm...I'm not very good when relationships become complicated with sex." Kurama laughed grimly with gallows’ humor. "In fact, I'm an abysmal failure. Every time I try to turn a friend relationship into something more, I screw up," he said flatly. "No matter how hard I try, something inevitably goes wrong."

Lowering his eyes, he gazed unseeingly at the floor, his mind going back to a time when he and Hiei had been more than friends.

It had taken one miscalculation on his part that Hiei had taken as an act of betrayal. He had further compounded his sin by accepting clemency from Koenma in exchange for their services.

It had been a struggle, to get them back to the point where they were friends—a place where every word wasn’t akin to a naked blade or dripped with acid and distrust.

With an abrupt mental wrench, Kurama jerked his mind back to the present.

It would kill something in him if he and Yuusuke wound up like that—that wary, stiff distance of strangers; the polite conversation that hovered above clashing razor-sharp knives. He was fiercely determined not to go down that path with Yuusuke. If he had to sublimate his desires for his friend, then so be it.

"You'll find someone who can and will love you." His eyes held a quiet determination. Yuusuke still had a future within the Makai social system. With enough seasoning, there was no telling what Yuusuke could become.

Even King of the Makai. But not with the infamous Yoko Kurama at his side.

Kurama's mouth turned down again. Gazing at the youth, he sighed. He well remembered the lean, starving time after he had first left the den of his kitsune family. The years before he had earned his reputation as a thief, he had another, less savory reputation as a whore. His eyes grew cold as he remembered the years of abuse and degradation he had to endure at the hands of who ever had enough money to pay for his services.

Gazing at Yuusuke, his eyes softened. Yuusuke deserved someone clean and noble. Someone clean with a future equally bright as his.

Sensing a stirring of something in the psychic plane, Kurama’s breath caught. A tendril of the weak and dying bond strained towards him. He closed his eyes against that seductive, questing touch. Steeling himself, he slammed a mental door against it. He didn’t dare allow it to touch him.

Eyes still closed, he didn’t see Yuusuke stagger back against the wall, a stunned look in the toushin’s eyes. When Kurama opened his eyes, Yuusuke was leaning the wall with the casual, arrogant nonchalance of a cat.

Kurama studied Yuusuke’s face. So brash and tough, was arguably the worst liar in the world. His friends always knew the instant when Yuusuke trotted out a lie. It was the eyes, everyone felt.

Yuusuke lowered his stinging eyes, averting his face from the kitsune’s all too perceptive eyes. Fuck you! he wanted to scream at Kurama.

Scream and punch that creamy, perfect face to a bloody ruin. Hurt Kurama until that too beautiful body was as raw and bloody as Yuusuke felt inside from each of the stinging, softly spoken words.

God, I never knew words could rip a man to pieces, he thought painfully. Beyond the pain, he was staggered by the incredible stupidity dripping from Kurama’s mouth. Friends…? Friends? Does he actually think we can just go back to being friends…?

He glanced at the kitsune sidelong. The look of faint desperation in Kurama’s green eyes slashed another bloody furrow in his soul.

I…I can’t do this, he thought bleakly. He’s my friend, he tried admonishingly himself sharply. But another part of him wondered: how can I look at him…and not want more?

You can’t, whispered a sad voice in his mind.

Yuusuke felt like punching something. Preferably, a Kurama-shaped something.

However, lessons hard-learned in childhood came to his rescue. Shunting his pain to the side, he fixed a careless smile on his face and pushed away from the wall. Pulling out his best swagger, he strolled to Kurama. The closer he got, the more certain he felt. It was that feeling that allowed his smile to become natural.

“Yeah, we’re still friends,” he replied gently, truthfully. “And don’t worry, I’ll be there rooting Shuchi on,” he lied with such irreverent cheer that Kurama relaxed. A natural smile played on the kitsune’s lips.

A discreet knock was heard at the door.

Kurama’s smile crumbled around the edges. “I…guess that’s my cue,” he said huskily, his eyes bright with unshed emotion.

“Yeah…” Dark hair shifted, shadowing Yuusuke’s eyes. He meandered around the room, touching various objects. It incidentally put some necessary distance between them.

When the door opened, both turned to look.

Hokushin was the first one in. Unsurprisingly, other than a short nod in Kurama’s direction he made a beeline for Yuusuke.

Watching the two toushin stare at each other, Kurama felt suddenly invisible. Smile gone, his eyes narrowed as two more toushins joined Hokushin in staring at Yuusuke. They appeared to be studying his friend, their heads tilting curiously to the side.

Yuusuke’s face blanked, his tattoos suddenly blazing to life. Kurama felt on the cusp of understanding something important. All that was wiped from his mind when Hokushin whirled around. There was such a suffused, savage look on the older yokai’s face that Kurama instantly whipped out his rose, transforming it into a much feared weapon.

Without seeming to exert much pressure, Yuusuke’s hand was on the other toushin’s shoulder. Then Hokushin was on the ground, his face twisting in a rictus of pain. Though clearly too proud to scream, however, the look on his face spoke loudly enough.

“Gentlemen, would you kindly escort Yoko Kurama to the portal?” Although Yuusuke’s voice was quietly polite, everyone heard the threat that an ass-kickin’ was imminent. “Hokushin and I have something to…discuss.” He looked down, his face holding a terrible gentleness. “Don’t we?”

“Yes, my lord,” Hokushin gasped out. Sweat was beginning to pop out on his face.

The other toushins, caught by surprise, didn’t dare move lest their lord look their way.

“Please do escort my good friend, Yoko Kurama, to the portal in the fastest way,” Yuusuke continued in that same soft tone. Kurama slid a glance at the other toushins in the room. Judging by their expressions, he wasn’t the only one to whom Yuusuke was reaffirming the nature of their relationship.

“Yuusuke…” Kurama stepped forward, his arms outstretched. This last embrace would be all he had to go on until he got over this ridiculous urge to push Yuusuke up against the wall and fuck him senseless.

Looking up, Yuusuke’s eyes narrowed. He hesitated before smiling. Releasing Hokushin, he snapped his fingers and pointed to the floor. With a dismissive, “Stay,” he stepped into the kitsune’s embrace.

Burying his face in Kurama’s neck, he inhaled deeply. Until he found a way around this…this thing between them, he couldn’t afford to be around Kurama.

“I don’t want to lose you…but I fear that I will,” Kurama whispered softly, unmindful of the yokai watching them.

“Oh, my God…! You can be such a fuckin’ girl sometimes!” Yuusuke growled gently. Lifting his head, he stepped back and lightly punched Kurama in the arm. Thankfully he had the forethought to keep his hips away from Kurama. His cock was twitching in his loose pants. With an effort of will that would have surprised most, he denied the sweet, pulling ache in his ass.

There would be time enough to deal when he was away from Kurama.

Right now, all that mattered was wiping the shadows from Kurama’s eyes. Fiercely he repeated that mantra to himself as he forced eyes, haunted by sadness, to look at him. “Dude, like, we ain’t never gonna be not friends or shit,” he proclaimed. Taking the kitsune’s shoulders in a tight grip, he gave them a slight shake to emphasize his words.

“Me and you, we’re, like, totally the core of the team. I’m the cool, bad-ass one. While the baddies are staring at you, I come up and start with the ass kicking,” he asserted proudly. His solemnity was belied by the twinkle in his eyes.

Kurama was surprised by the choked, watery laughter that spilled from his throat. “Fuck you.” He looked at Yuusuke with clear, open eyes. Affection and laughter made them shine like the rarest of jewels.

Yuusuke was surprised at the overflow of love he felt. Nothing had to change between them, he realized abruptly. Not unless I choose to make a big deal out of it. I just…have to put this in perspective, he thought to himself. We could be like…like…fuck buddies.

Like, maybe the kind that don’t actually get to fuck each other? a sly voice whispered from the dark recesses of his mind.

Stoutly Yuusuke ignored that voice. Kurama’s my friend, and we will get past this, he asserted silently.

And making one of his trademark lightening decisions, he smirked and wiggled his brows lecherously. “Dude, you already did… or is old age getting to you?”

“Jerk…”

“Bitch…”

One last, manly shoulder punch, Kurama, with a nod to the waiting toushins, walked out the door.

Slowly Yuusuke’s face changed. He turned to look down at his most faithful servant.

Meeting his lord’s darkening eyes, Hokushin shuddered. He shrank back, trying to make himself as small as possible.

The smile Yuusuke gave the shrinking toushin was terrible in its gentleness. “Now, I think we have something to discuss…?”

It would be almost a year before Kurama, or their other friends, saw Yuusuke again.