Disclaimer: YuYu Hakusho belongs to Yoshihiro Togashi

Back to Back

Hiei has been raised by bandits.

He knows what vigilance is. He understands the securities born of insecure fears.

Sleep is vulnerable. So his back is always pressed against something firm and trustworthy. Some nights it is the wall of the cave where the bandits lay. Others, he reclines upon a high and inaccessible branch, reassured by the trunk's rough bark. There are nights, too, when he favors certain windows. They boast fewer defenses, but an easy exit from both an inside or an outside assault, and the sill is sturdy.

One knee is tucked up against him, the other down, a familiar balancing act. The sheath of his sword rests in his lap and the hilt against his shoulder. Blade kept close to hand, to be drawn in an instant, and it is so that he feels secure.

His head may bow in sleep, but no pursuer can tell if the Jagan is still watching.

Mukuro has been raised by slavers, and it shows.

She is a light and wary sleeper even now. "Just in case" is her motto, the desperation inherent in slavery. Always be ready, be prepared, just in case.

Her ankles rest against each other in the persistent magnetization of bondage. Her knees part to make way for hands that still drag to the floor as if weighted by shackles. Her limp head jerks on occasion, when her sleeping borders on true unconsciousness, or in nightmares.

Something is always at her back, be it as secure as a wall or pitiful as bars on a door or a rock in the open. So long as something is there, it suffices for her blanket. She can hide the scars, but not the effects.

So when they first sleep together, they do not cuddle in the traditional manner.

After all, a mate is one with whom one feels secure. So they position themselves back to back, spines touching while shoulders curve and heads bow in a sleeping doze.

This is the defense each trusts most. A wall will only block the enemy. This other person will actively fight an attacker.

It is merely an afterthought, if one of their sides is bordered with the protection of a wall or bedside, or if the frame of the window presses against their feet. It is habit that keeps Hiei's sword still at the ready, and the gravity of memories that tugs at Mukuro's limp wrists.

They understand the importance of vigilance.

And pressing warm back against warm back, Hiei and Mukuro have never enjoyed more security.

…
Owari
…

-Windswift