Title: A Cure for Insomnia
Fandoms: Slayers and Yu Yu Hakusho
Pairings: Xellos/Hiei, mention of Kurama/Zelgadis
1000_themes: 406. Insomnia
Summery: Splendor in treetops.
Notes: I can cross anything over with Slayers, and I can pair anyone with Xellos. I'm nearly positive.

Hiei hadn't been sleeping well since their arrival in this strange world.

It was the air. It was made of power, raw and infinite. The people were like that too. Especially the redheaded girl. In a strange way, she and Yuusuke were very much alike. It was no wonder they got along so well.

That sense of energy left his senses rattled. He didn't feel as though he were about to be attacked, but it made him jittery, unable to relax. Hiei imagined that, eventually, his body would just give up the fight and pass out. He was just waiting for that, sitting up in a tree as his companions made camp below.

It was good to keep watch anyway, he decided. His friends were far too complacent in this world.

As the night wore on, they began curling up for the night. The swordsman first, then the girls. Yuusuke and Kuwabara eventually followed their example, unable to talk as loudly as usual. Zelgadis and Kurama sat together speaking quietly for some time however. Hiei watched with interest, unable to hear what was said, but it was a very serious conversation by the look of things.

Then the two left the campfire and walked into the forest together, out of Hiei's sight.

"Well," said a voice to his right, "this is an interesting development."

Hiei glanced upward. There was the strange priest sitting in the branches above him, smiling as if he knew some great secret that he wasn't going to share.

He was only mildly annoyed that he hadn't sensed the Mazoku's presence before. He understood what Xellos was; probably far better than Lina and her friends did. A being neither demon nor human, born of darkness. Hiei could appreciate that purity.

He shrugged at Xellos. "Not really. Kurama likes pretty things. The chimera's nature is interesting and he has a lot of substance underneath all that moodiness." Not to mention the fact that the youko had a habit of growing attached to people in different worlds.

Xellos seemed amused. "Oh my. I wonder how that will work out…"

Hiei nodded. Zelgadis was angst-ridden enough, and Kurama… It would hurt them both tremendously, depending on how the relationship progressed.

"You care," Hiei noted.

Xellos' smile grew wider. "Oh? What gives you that idea?"

"You watch them, all the time."

That startled Xellos enough that he opened his eyes, but just for a moment. "Iya… I didn't know I was so obvious."

In a flash, the priest disappeared and reappeared by his side, sitting on the same branch. Hiei should have been more irritated by this than he was.

"Maybe not to most people," Hiei conceded.

"Why, Hiei-san." Xellos leaned in, smiling coyly. "Are you trying to figure me out?"

Hiei deigned to smirk. He was in a good mood tonight, despite his tiredness. "Maybe I already have."

"That could be very dangerous," Xellos informed him, mock seriously. "Not many Mazoku care to be known in such a way."

"I get the feeling you're not a typical Mazoku."

Xellos radiated dark power. Hiei knew if he used his Jagan, he would be able to sense Xellos' true form. But he restrained himself from looking. Xellos was like Kurama in a way—they both had a strange sense of propriety. He had once walked in on Kurama changing and the fox had gotten very flustered about it. Hiei thought Xellos might feel the same.

What he felt, when Xellos wanted himself to be sensed, was a vague sense of foreboding. A dark pool of water that rippled occasionally as something neared the surface. It was hard not to be attracted to it.

Xellos leaned back, laughing gently. "That I'm not. But all Mazoku have their quirks. Like any other species."

"Hmm." Hiei leaned against the tree's trunk, his eyes falling shut. For some reason, as he spoke to Xellos, he began to relax. "It would be boring if everyone was the same."

"That's very true." Hiei felt a light touch breeze against his warded third eye. "You seem very unusual as well."

Hiei's eyes snapped open, momentarily surprised at the touch. "I suppose," he hedged, wondering what Xellos was playing at. He certainly wasn't going to tell the priest how he had gotten the Jagan.

Then he realized that Xellos was just flirting. That, at least, he could deal with.

"Is that a good thing?" Hiei asked.

Xellos grinned. "Oh, certainly. The demons in our world are lesser creatures. You and Kurama-san are both incredibly interesting."

Hiei grunted and his eyes shut again. He should have expected the light touch to return, this time against his cheek. Seeing what Xellos would do, he kept his eyes closed.

The Mazoku's body was warm as Xellos crept closer to him. Something that wasn't real shouldn't have felt so warm, but there it was.

"I sense darkness in you," Xellos whispered against his ear, voice taking on a far off quality. "And light that wars with it. Like humans."

Hiei repressed a twitch at the comparison. "Oh?"

A laugh was muffled against his neck. Hiei had the impression that the priest was smelling him. "Humans are so interesting. Mazoku and Ryuzoku are old and stuck in their ways. But humans, ah… They can change themselves all the time. They encourage it."

Hiei frowned. "But by admitting that, are you saying you have changed?"

Xellos stiffened, but that easy sensuality returned quickly. "That's… difficult to say."

Hiei was surprised it wasn't a secret. "You don't know?"

"Well, it's not encouraged. I was made for one purpose and no other." The priest's gloved hands wandered up Hiei's sides. "But, free will isn't something completely absent from my people."

Hiei thought he understood. Xellos kept his change hidden from everyone, even the people who had undoubtedly been responsible for that change—Lina and her gang of misfits. Because of that, he felt apart from the group, though he secretly cared for them all a great deal. In a way, it was similar to Hiei's own feelings about Yuusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara.

Those smiling lips returned to his ear. "Sleep, Hiei-san. We can exercise our free will later."

The fire demon smirked tiredly, as if the mere suggestion was willing his body to obey the soft command. "That a promise?"

"I never lie," Xellos confided. "I may hide the truth or evade answers, but I never lie."

Oddly comforted, Hiei let his mind drift off, that dark presence keeping him company through the night.

Title: The Indirectness of Xellos
Fandom: Slayers/YYH
Pairings: Xellos/Hiei, Kurama/Zelgadis
1000_themes 389. Ice Cream
Notes: Takes place a little while after A Cure for Insomnia. In my head, neither couples has actually started sleeping together yet, which may seem odd… And PLEASE notice that the words "sweet snow" were used in the making of this ficlet. =P

As far as first dates go, sitting at a restaurant eating ice cream was acceptable, especially when the capital of Seyruun's flavor selection happened to be quite large.

Not that Hiei considered it a date. "Date" was a human term. "Xellos treating him to lunch" was a closer approximation, but the priest insisted on calling it a date. If he didn't know better—which he didn't, he was only guessing—he would think Xellos was trying to romance him.

Sex he knew about. "Dates" not so much.

Hiei frowned as the waitress brought over their orders. Xellos immediately began sucking through the straw in his float, a look of euphoric pleasure on his smiling face. Hiei sniffed his suspiciously first before digging in. His second bite was taken without much hesitation, thoughtfully observing the flavor on his tongue.

"What did you get?" Xellos asked.

"Mango."

"Is it any good?"

In answer, Hiei scooped up another spoonful and held it out to the priest, smirking softly when the trickster opened his mouth so that he could be fed.

Xellos 'hmmed' pensively. "It's very mango-y."

"Yeah. It's good though."

"Oh, yes." Then Xellos' smile turned devious. "We just shared at indirect kiss."

Hiei blinked in curiosity. He would have remembered if there had been any kissing involved.

Then Xellos pointed at his spoon and Hiei understood.

"That's indirect kissing?"

Xellos nodded eagerly. "Indeed!"

After thinking about it, Hiei smirked and motioned toward Xellos' drink. "Can I have a sip?"

Laughing loudly, Xellos nudged it across the table, pleasantly surprised by the demon. As Hiei was about to swallow he asked, "Does this mean we can try direct kissing?"

Hiei nearly choked, which had obviously been the Mazoku's intention. "We can." He just hoped Xellos didn't mean in public. Not that he cared, but they had enough troubles in this world without attracting homophobic bystanders.

Beaming mischievously, Xellos lifted up Hiei's hand and kissed it.

Hiei's smirk returned full force. "How gentlemanly."

Xellos winked. "I do my best."

*

"Where are Xellos-san and Hiei-san?" Amelia asked, looking up from the piles of books they were looking through. They had come to her homeland in order to peruse the town library for any clue that could get Yuusuke and his friends home, but as yet had found no clues.

"They gave us the slip some time ago," Kurama informed her, smiling quietly.

Lina slammed her book down, which woke Gourry up from his nap momentarily. "Those jerks! That's so typical of Xellos! Always abandoning us in our hour of need."

"It's been much longer than an hour, Lina-san," Amelia reminded, causing the redhead to groan in frustration.

"That's not the point!"

"I'll make that shrimp pay for abandoning us," Kuwabara grumbled irritably.

Yuusuke chortled. "Oh yeah, I'd love to see that."

"Shut up, Urameshi!"

As the two squabbled, Zelgadis leaned in closer to Kurama, face etched with worry.

"Are you sure your friend is safe on his own?" he asked the fox demon quietly. "I mean, Xellos is really…"

Kurama smiled comfortingly. "Trust me, there's no need to worry. Hiei is capable of looking after himself—and I don't believe what Xellos has in mind would actually hurt Hiei. Not permanently anyway."

"What do you mean?" Zelgadis asked, not understanding. After Kurama smiled at him playfully for a few moments it began to dawn on him. "You don't mean… But Xellos is a Mazoku!" This pronouncement was screamed, catching everyone's attention.

"Um," said Lina, "yeah, Zel. Of course he is. What else would he be?"

Zelgadis flushed, which Kurama found incredibly charming. "Nothing, sorry."

Underneath the table, Kurama discreetly squeezed Zelgadis' gloved hand. "You really needn't worry. As I said, Hiei can take care of himself."

"But you don't know how Xellos is!" the younger man hissed. Kurama was really too kind; he had to correct the assumption the redhead had made about the trickster priest.

Kurama smiled kindly. "Zelgadis, how do you know? What if all that you know about Xellos is merely what he wants you to believe? Have you ever thought to look beneath the face he presents to the world?"

Zelgadis frowned. "He's dangerous, Kurama."

"So is Hiei."

The blue-skinned boy growled lowly in frustration. "You shouldn't trust him."

"Zelgadis, has Xellos ever tried to outright hurt you in any way?" Kurama asked pointedly.

"No, not outright, but he's gotten us into loads of trouble indirectly…"

"There you go then."

Zelgadis sighed deeply. "Kurama…"

"Oi," Yuusuke suddenly interrupted, smirking like a madman. "What're you guys whispering about oh-so-secretly over there? Something you want to share with the rest of the class?"

Zelgadis flushed deeply while Kurama stifled a laugh, knowing that they had just given Yuusuke new ammunition for teasing.

Little did they know that what the fire demon and mazoku priest were dong was almost nearly innocent.

*

Hiei suddenly groaned, his head falling onto the table.

Xellos grinned. "Brain freeze?"

"Shut up."

Title: The Directness of Hiei
Fandom: Slayers/YYH
Pairing: Xellos/Hiei
1000_themes 447. Kiss
Notes: Yup, I believe its safe to say these two are my new crack OTP. Heh.

'Exploring their freewill later' turned out to be harmless and playful flirting for longer than Hiei would have thought himself capable of before this experience. Though he had never been in the kind of relationship Yuusuke and Keiko had, he was no virgin. He didn't think whatever was happening between he and Xellos was like that either, but it was definitely not something he had ever experienced before. It often left him confused, but not uncomfortable. Xellos' presence, his powerful dark energy, was very soothing to the fire demon.

But there was only so much of Xellos' teasing that he could take. Hiei reached his breaking point one evening while they were still in the White Magic capital. There had been some trouble with the princess' family—something that Lina Inverse claimed was fairly common—and it had delayed their progress. They were staying in the palace and, while Hiei wasn't used to such a refined atmosphere, Xellos seemed to flourish in it. (Though Hiei knew that being in the very center of the capital irritated Xellos a great deal due to the magical barrier the city was shaped into. Somehow, Xellos was able to tolerate the overdose of white magic with his usual grace and omniscience.)

That night, as Hiei ran the sharpening stone down his sword whilst watching the flames from the fireplace cast golden rays over the priest's face, he decided to speak his thoughts.

"Isn't there kissing involved in this somewhere?" he asked pointedly.

Xellos looked at him from his position on the floor, puzzled. "Kissing?"

"Yeah, that thing people do when they press their mouths together."

Xellos giggled. "I'm aware of what it is, Hiei-san."

Hiei smirked. "Considering that you're over a thousand years old, I should hope that you do."

As always when he was reminded of his age, Xellos twitched a little and Hiei's smirk widened considerably.

Deciding that he needed to take the initiative until he figured out the reason for Xellos' hesitance, Hiei sheathed his katana and sat beside the priest on the carpet. Xellos sat up as he did so, crossing his legs. His staff was next to him on the ground.

"I want to kiss you," Hiei told him, still smirking faintly. "You're very beautiful and I like you."

At first Xellos seemed surprised by the demon's boldness. Then he was smiling—not his usual smile, something softer and more profound. Hiei knew his words had done the trick. "My, you're very direct this evening, Hiei-san."

"Unless there's a particular reason you don't want to?" Hiei asked and was suddenly feeling very uncertain. He had been, and always would be, a forbidden child, tossed away at birth.

"Oh, I do," said Xellos in an oddly reassuring way. "If I seem at all hesitant, it is my own proclivities and not anything you have done."

"What do you mean?" Hiei asked, confused.

Xellos was quiet for a long time and Hiei thought at first that he wasn't going to answer. Then the priest sighed deeply and began. "Remember when we spoke of free will?" Hiei nodded. "To me, such a thing isn't taken lightly."

Violet eyes gleamed openly in the firelight and Hiei couldn't look away. "Do you really think it's okay to take your time?" he eventually asked. "I could end up going back to my world at any time."

Xellos nodded. "Yes, but nothing is ever easy," the priest responded mysteriously, in his usual 'I know something you don't know' manner.

Hiei snorted in amusement. "Is that so?" Grabbing the front of Xellos' shirt, he pulled the taller man close, kissing him hungrily. When they parted, Xellos looked distinctly dazed, which Hiei felt very proud of.

Then, still pressed close to the mazoku, Hiei realized something. "You don't breath?"

"I can," Xellos responded airily. "I don't need to, no."

Slowly, Hiei smirked wickedly. "That could be very useful."

"Oh?"

"We should explore our free will in other ways too."

Xellos beamed. "Certainly."

The end (?)

These were written over a year ago and weren't originally going to be posted on here. But after Rose Thorne's urging, I promised that I would, though it's a little late. Heh heh. Anyway. I'd really appreciate if you dropped a line and let me know what you thought. Thanks for reading!