The silence between them used to be comfortable. Hiei remembers it like a warm blanket on a cold night, being able to sit in silence and not have the stretch of it feel heavier by the second. And yet this is how it stands, now, the fire demon very carefully holding himself just far enough away to be out of reach; attempting to hide the tumble of uncomfortable feelings by turning away. It was useless in front of Kurama, even after all of these years, and yet he still tried.

For both of their sakes, really. For Hiei’s pride as much as keeping this incredibly tenuous middle ground they meet on free from even more heavy feelings and possible subjects to fight about.

The fire demon turns slightly as Kurama speaks, quite literally turning his head just enough to indicate he was listening. His eyes simultaneously fall toward the ground and the flowers littered there. No, they wouldn’t bite. Not literally, though they could take some of the bite out of the memory echoing in his mind’s eye right now.

Hiei settles stiffly, curled and tense around his knees when he finally comes to rest. He angles himself so that Kurama is visible from the corner of his eye, instinctively keeping the other where he can see him. The trees above stretch taller as he comes to rest in the ground, grateful for the view as a distraction. It’s easier when he isn’t staring the subject of his heartache in the face for minutes at a time. His chest doesn’t feel so tight, anxiety refreshed anew for many different reasons.

For the moment he focuses on breathing. Slowly, recentering himself as he takes measured breaths and reminds himself that this was different. They are meeting here again under egregiously different circumstances.

“With you, anything can bite.” And he is not just referring to plants.