Chapter One:

Hiei has been hiding his secret well enough, but one playful winter day turns disastrous when Yusuke assaults the shortest team member with affection.

I Own Nothing T-T

Hiei's POV

Before meeting Kurama (and later Yusuke and company), I didn't really understand people who were constantly touching and hugging others. The closest thing I had to "family" growing up was the bandits who found me as a baby and touch from them was only ever meant to hurt. After they grew fearful of me and forced me into exile, I was entirely alone and that was fine by me. I was completely capable of taking care of myself and I never had to worry about being betrayed if there was no one around to betray me. I didn't feel the pathetic human feelings of "loneliness." At least, not until I became "friends" (a pathetic human term) with the detective, the fox, and the oaf.

The oaf, at least, isn't a touchy person (which is maybe his only redeemable trait). He's obsessed with maintaining his manly visage which somehow means he can't be affectionate with other men. While I find his reasoning completely idiotic, I appreciate that he leaves me well enough alone in terms of "friendly touch."

Kurama is somewhat more touchy, but he seems to understand my annoyance with him whenever he gets too close and usually respects me (or fears me) enough to let me have my way.

Yusuke, however, is surprisingly touch happy. While he wasn't the type to fully hug others, he passes out little bits of affection like candy. After a fight, he would give me a congratulatory pat on the back and he loves to throw his arm around my shoulder or ruffle my hair whenever we stood near each other.

At first, this really pissed me off. I've always hated people touching me, but even more, I hate my reaction. At first, my whole body floods with panic when I received any contact, even after I realized their touches weren't violent. Despite that, despite everything mt childhood taught me, despite my trust issues, and despite the fact that I do everything in my power to stop being weak, despite everything, I began to… crave this form of affection.

Once the initial I'm-being-attacked-must-fight-back thoughts faded, each touch filled a place in my core that I'd never even realized was empty. Their touches made me feel… warm. And then, the second they pulled back, this needy clawing thing in me wanted it back immediately and preferably forever. This happens every time without fail, and every time, I hate myself more and more for my pathetic mess of reaction to something so insignificant.

Fortunately for me, I was the team's mind reader, so my shameful feelings remained a secret… Until they didn't…

Neutral POV

It was the first day of December, and Japan could have passed for Antarctica (if Antarctica was a small tropical island filled with people and shopping centers). The weather was oppressively cold, and the snow that was now coming down in a gentle flurry had been going nonstop for days meaning the snow was almost knee deep. The streets were filled with a cacophony of children laughing and wrestling in the snow.

Our story lies on the outer edge of town where two much larger children also laughed and wrestled in the snow… though, there wrestling was particularly more destructive.

"That all you got, Urameshi?!" the taller carrot top goaded.

The slightly shorter boy in green grinned, a playfully malicious, glint in his amber eyes. "I figured I'd take it easy on you so you'd at least have a chance to win; call it an early Christmas gift!" He laughed as the taller boy glared.

"Hey!" he yelled, rushing the other boy, "I'm gonna kick your butt!" the boys collided and then crashed into the snow, laughing as they hit and shoved each other.

A sweet, almost musical, laugh rang out from the beautiful red haired boy watching from the deck of what can only be described as a huge ass temple. "Well, they certainly are spirited…" He said to his very short companion, amusement glittering is his forest green eyes.

This comment earned him a huff from the spiky haired demon beside him. "I believe you mispronounced the word stupid, fox." His tone sounded cold and cruel, and if you hadn't spent years with him, it would have been impossible to detect the playful edge to his barb.

The so called fox(y lad amiright? lol) merely smiled at his temperamental friend.

On the snowy lawn, the boys seemed to have finished their roughhousing (with the taller boy losing pitifully). Yusuke was doing a ridiculous victory dance with his arms waving around his head. "Aw yeah, I'm the best!" he cheered as he other boy lay face down in the snow.

The shorter boy on the deck rolled his eyes. "You can hardly consider yourself the victor if you were fighting such a pitiful opponent." He said with a smirk, one of his eyebrows raised in an obvious challenge.

Both boys ignored the groan and subsequent middle finger from the semi-conscious loser of the previous match. The boy in green beamed. "Oh really? What if I beat you then, Hiei? Will I be the victor then?" He asked, getting himself ready for another tumble in the snow.

Hiei smirked. "Even if I wanted to take part in your childish games, you wouldn't be able to beat me." He gloated.

Yusuke laughed deviously. "Oh yeah?" He asked. "What have I said about bragging before you win?" Then, far too quickly for any normal human to see, he picked up a handful of snow and launched a speedy snowball towards the deck. "It just makes you look stupid."

Luckily for Hiei, he wasn't a normal human (and in fact, wasn't human at all) so he was easily able to see and jump away from the frozen projectile. Kurama wasn't so lucky, as he hadn't been expecting to be thrown into the conflict. The snow hit his shoulder with a muffled "thump" and he started in surprise, accidentally spilling the tea he'd be sipping.

He shot Yusuke a dirty look, and the Spirit detective had the decency to look somewhat guilty. He started to say "Sorry, man" but it was at that moment that the intended target of the snow ball launched a counterattack that his him square in his sheepish face. Yusuke wiped the snow off his face as he turned to fully face the fire demon. "Ohhh wow. That was low, dude."

There was a small grin starting to form on the fire demon's face, this one far more genuine and playful than his usual sadistic smirks. Yusuke couldn't keep up the annoyed facade in the other. Instead, he just laughed. "Oh it is so on."

The next ten minutes saw an intense battle rife with mayhem. Kurama, however, did not see what would come to be known as the great snowball war of 2017, a story passed down for generations as the most glorious combat ever fought with snow and ice. Instead, he went inside to make more tea for himself, and hot chocolate for the other boys for when they decided to come inside and get warm.

While he heated the water, he glanced outside and was witness to a heartwarming sight. Hiei and Yusuke were both collapsed into the snow facing each other. Both of them had huge grins on their faces as they shook with laughter. Hiei has always been emotionally guarded, even with the team he kept a tight lid on all of his emotions, positive or negative. So seeing him so open filled all of the boys with warm simmering joy.

Still, no amount of "omg that's so pure" could stop the cold from seeping into the bones of each teen. Yusuke had begun to shiver, Kuwabara hadn't had the intense battling to warm him up so he was practically an ice cube, and even Hiei who was essentially the unholy offspring of fire and ice that was fairly resistant to extreme temperatures but even he was starting to get goosebumps all over his exposed arms. They made their way inside just as Kurama was popping the marshmallows into their cups of cocoa.

Yusuke and Kuwabara excitedly took hold of their mugs, basking in the heat that returned feeling to their fingers. Hiei just frowned and raised an eyebrow.

"And just what the hell is that?" he asked when Kurama attempted to hand him his own cup of warm chocolatey goodness (I wish someone would make me some hot cocoa… T^T)

"Geez you really didn't have a childhood, did you?" Kuwabara mumbled into his drink. He said that whenever Hiei didn't understand little human things like rock-paper-scissors or hot cocoa. It was a bit of a sore subject for the fiery boy so urama stepped in before he could get too angry.

"It's a human beverage, commonly drunk by humans during winter. It's mostly chocolate and milk heated up to help fend off the cold."

Hiei rolled his eyes. "I don't need the help of some pathetic human drink." He snapped. At first, it sounded like his usual posturing, but after a quick look, they realized he was completely dry and looked perfectly warm. Seems his higher body temperature was enough to evaporate the melted snow that had tried to cling to him. "Unlike you useless humans, I'm perfectly capable of getting warm myself."

He was so busy bragging about his superiority to notice the evil grin forming on Yusuke's face, but just as he finished his spiel, Yusuke launched at him. He crushed their bodies together and held Hiei in a tight hug, thoroughly soaking Hiei's shirt with the water from his own. Hiei didn't notice the cold. He was far too busy focusing on the wild thoughts overwhelming him. Hiei made a choked off noise of panic. Hiei was being assaulted by so many conflicting feelings: joy and panic, warmth and ice cold fear, needing more touch and needing it to end.

Yusuke, for someone who was awful at reading books, was exceptional at reading his friends. He pulled back, but kept his hands on Hiei's shoulders in concern. "Hiei…? He asked softly. Without the flood of sensation from the hug Hiei's brain was able to kick back in (albeit sluggishly due to the warm hands touching him still) and he felt a swell of humiliation. Shame clawed at his chest and clogged his throat. His eyes flitted between the 3 people all looking at him worriedly. He should say something to smooth this over, tell some lie that he could hide behind, but he couldn't think, let alone breathe. "Hey, you ok?" Yusuke asked, his voice intentionally soft to hide his growing anxiousness at Hiei's silence.

"Hiei, what's the matter?"

"What's wrong, shrimp?"

Hiei jerked out of Yusuke's hold and did what he did best: he ran.

What happens next? Will the team ever find their friend on the run? Will Hiei ever be honest with them or himself? Will Hiei ever get the affection he so craves? Tune in next time for the thrilling conclusion