Author's Note: I really should be working on my latest fic, Chances and Choices, but...the coffee shops in Seoul started playing Christmas music early, and I went back to re-read a story I had written a long time ago, and it nibbled it's way once I realized I could put my favorite idiots into the lead roles. So...yeah. Blame Christmas I guess? I'm really hoping to have this finished by Christmas...but I make no promises.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the original story idea.

Ch. 1: Let it Snow

Winter in the mountains was cruel and unforgiving. Even the valley, the lowest area by far, was ravaged by the season with piles of snow and biting wind. But Hiei enjoyed the remoteness of the area, and how few people dared to make the trek. He enjoyed living in a small community of people who knew him well, because it meant they also knew how to act around him: like he wasn't there. Hiei preferred anonymity to fame or popularity; laughable, really, when one considered the fact that he was a wildly popular author. The only time Hiei left his mountain refuge was when he needed to perform experience-based research for a novel, or he had to have a meeting with his editor. Every time he emerged in the "real world," he was overwhelmed with sights and smells and sounds. And people. So, so many people. Hiei hated people, so he tried to leave the village as little as possible.

And yet, at this moment, he would rather be in the middle of Shibuya during its busiest hour than in this tiny village he called home. He was fully aware of the pitying glances that were sent his way as he walked through the streets, and it was taking every ounce of self-control he had to not punch someone in the face. The one thing Hiei hated more than people was pity, and it seemed to be all these damn villagers wanted to give him lately. He glared at one woman, and instead of turning away in fear she gave him a sad smile that brought a growl to his lips and pain to his heart.

Hiei gripped his shopping bags more tightly and tried to walk faster and ignore the eyes that followed him and the voices that were filtering into his ears..

"-the poor thing-"

"-absolutely dreadful-"

"-you can't be too careful-"

"-why you can't go into the city-"

"-one year today-"

"-to lose someone you love-"

Tension filled his body as he fought back memories and emotions. That's it, Hiei thought. I'm wearing a disguise next time. Or I'll get a housekeeper to deal with this for me. Yes, his lover had died. Yes, it hurt like hell then and it still hurt now. But he just wanted to move on. He wanted space, dammit, and they weren't giving it to him. The place that had once been his haven was now his own personal hell. Everyone knew him; they knew about him. And yet now they didn't seem to know (or care) how he wanted them to act, as though they had forgotten who he was.

A cold breeze blew by and caused a shiver to shake Hiei's body. He probably should have worn a thick sweater instead of his thin turtleneck, but he hadn't thought about it much when he had left his home. Which was stupid of him considering he hated to be cold. He was known for wearing as many layers as possible when winter came to the village. In fact, they used to tease him about his "cocoon" every winter, when his heavier clothing came out weeks before anyone else's. But this morning he had been tired, sniffling, and suffering from the headache from hell and all he had wanted was to get to a pharmacy as fast as he could to prevent whatever the sickness was from getting worse.

"Next time I'll just ask Yukina to bring me the medicine," he grumbled, and wondered why he hadn't asked his sister (a nurse) in the first place. He paused at a crosswalk to wait for the light to turn and took the opportunity to adjust the bags in his hands. He'd stopped at the grocery store as well as the pharmacy to get food for dinner; he hadn't been able to eat breakfast because of his empty cupboards and refrigerator. He'd decided to get more food since he had a deadline coming up and didn't know when he would have the time or energy to do so.

As he waited for the light to turn green, Hiei observed the people across the street. It was a habit of his to watch everyone around him. He used people as inspiration for his novels, because the tiniest scar or the most insignificant quirk could spark an idea. His last novel (a thriller about a serial killer with seven split personalities trying to show how evil humans were by pushing innocent people to their breaking point and having them kill the victims)) had actually been inspired by a man he had seen in passing -a man who had had the coldest eyes he'd ever seen. That novel had practically written itself.

The faces across the street were all different, though primarily elderly. It wasn't really a surprise since most of the young people in the village moved to the city once they began university. They didn't like to stay away from the busy life longer than they had to. However, there were a few young faces in the crowd, most likely back for the winter holidays. And one of them in particular caught Hiei's eye. It was a young man, wearing a hideous green jacket with a plaid collar over a plain white T-shirt and jeans. His short black hair had been slicked back, and his hands shoved into his pockets as he slouched. His brown eyes were almost sparkling with an anger that matched the scowl on his face. He was turned away from the short old woman currently yelling at him.

He could be a gangster, Hiei thought in amusement. He has the look. I bet he even scares little kids with an expression like that. The crossing light turned green, but the boy and old woman stayed where they were, lips moving in conversation. Hiei moved with the crowd on his side, and as he came closer, he realized he recognized the old woman. Genkai, the master of a dojo-slash-temple farther into the mountains. She was famous in their village, a brilliant martial artist who had thousands of hopefuls visiting her each year for the chance of becoming her student. And each year she sent them packing with their tails between their legs after long visits to the local hospital. Hiei heard their conversation as he moved closer to them.

"I asked you to do one thing, Slacker, just one thing!"

"And I told ya grandma, I'm busy!"

"Yes, busy doing nothing."

"It's the holidays! Why the hell would I want to stay inside with you harping at me all day?"

Their banter was amusing, and Hiei found that a smirk had formed without him realizing it. "Yelling at the young ones now, Genkai? I guess you're finally starting to act your age."

Genkai turned and looked ready to set fire on whoever had dared to insult her, but she saw who it was and held her words back. Her expression turned bored. "Oh, it's you. So, you finally decided to emerge from your cave?"

"I heard you shouting from my home. Someone had to come shut you up before you broke some eardrums."

"Ah, then you must have heard the crybaby over here. His screams are the ones that will deafen you."

"Hey!" The boy (No, Hiei thought, not a boy. He's a man, though barely) next to Genkai finally spoke up and turned his full attention to the shorter pair. The fire in those eyes, born from youth and confidence and unchecked emotion, reached deep inside Hiei, and for a moment he wondered where his air had gone. "Don't trash talk me you old hag, especially not in front of someone I don't know!"

"Maybe I wouldn't talk trash if you at least pretended to be a respectable person." Genkai quirked a thumb in Hiei's direction. "He does it pretty well, maybe he can give you some lessons."

"At least I haven't sent anyone on a month-long visit to the hospital," Hiei replied. He was grateful that Genkai was still treating him the same as before. She was the only person in the village (besides Yukina and her sister-in-law Shizuru) he could tolerate and even respect. Though it did depend on the day.

"Recently," was Genkai's one-word reply, and all Hiei did was shrug.

"So, who's the kid? You're grandson?"

"Gah!" The boy exclaimed, gripping his arms and shuddering exaggeratedly. "Don't give me nightmares, shorty."

"You won't have to worry about nightmares if you call me that again." Hiei glared at the other man and was surprised when he held Hiei's gaze without flinching. He even had the gall to smirk. Something about that smirk was familiar, though Enma only knew why.

"Whenever you're ready."

A challenge burned in those eyes like a wildfire. It made Hiei's fingers itch to punch at a keyboard -or the other's face. He could feel inspiration forming, an idea being born in his mind that mingled with a slowly burning desire to face that challenge head-on. He hadn't been in a fight in years, had never even wanted to fight. And yet something about the look in the other man's eyes brought long forgotten feelings back to the surface. He had seen that look many times in the past, but no one wore it quite as well as this man in front of him.

"No, Hiei, he's not my grandson. Unfortunately, this slacker is my apprentice as of four years ago."

"The name's Yusuke Urameshi. Nice to meet ya, Hiei."

Hiei studied the boy with new interest. Genkai had never accepted an apprentice before. All the men and women who had come to her temple to learn her secrets had left in despair. She had always said that only someone with special qualities could learn her techniques. She had never gone into detail as to what those qualities were, so everyone assumed they had to be something spectacular. As he looked the boy over, Hiei had to question what special qualities the young man could have other than being a nuisance.

"You have my deepest sympathies," he told Genkai, ignoring Yusuke's greeting. "Four years ago? I haven't seen him around here."

"You wouldn't have; he passed my tests when he was still in high school. He had to graduate first and learn a real trade before he could train with me. And you tend to disappear frequently."

That explains why he looks so young, Hiei thought. If he graduated four years ago, then he's what…twenty-three?

"Like I even wanted to train with some crazy old bat," Yusuke grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and looking away, much like a pouting child. "I was tricked into this."

"Yes, well, now we're stuck with each other, so get used to it."

Hiei looked from one to the other in vague amusement. "I get the feeling no one will be seeking peace and quiet at the temple anytime soon."

"Not with all the whining this one does."

"Hey, Grandma, I'm standing right here you know! I told you, I was tricked; I didn't want this!" Despite his words, the look Yusuke threw Genkai wasn't truly angry. Beneath the narrowed eyes and bared teeth, amusement and affection danced together. No matter how roughly Yusuke spoke, he cared about Genkai in his own way. The expression was one Hiei was intimately familiar with. A pang shot through his heart as he remembered the person who used to give those same looks to him, and he looked away.

He must have moved too quickly because soon he felt Yusuke's eyes studying him. He knew it was Yusuke since Genkai had enough tact and respect to mind her own business. When Hiei glanced to the side, he could tell the way Yusuke was looking at him was similar to the way Hiei had looked at him before. Not judging, but analyzing. He looked away again, but he could still feel the gaze on him even as he pretended to study the snow beginning to fall from the sky. He shivered from more than just the cold. And then pretending became real as he realized that it was snowing where before it hadn't been. It was made of large, heavy snowflakes that lasted longer on his sleeve. If it kept falling like this, they would all be snowmen in minutes if they remained standing still. He abruptly turned his attention back to his temporary companions.

"I need to get back to work, and get these," he held up the grocery bags, "put away."

"And I need to take this," Genkai hitched a thumb at her apprentice once more, "back home."

"HEY!"

Hiei smirked, and nodded once to Genkai. "Try not to send this one to the hospital anytime soon; Yukina's mentioned being overworked."

"I can't promise anything."

"I'd wish you luck, Yusuke Urameshi," Hiei told him. "But I'm pretty sure you don't have any."

"Nice to meet you too, Shorty," Yusuke threw back. "Try not to get buried in a snowdrift." He grinned widely when Hiei glared at him.

Hiei didn't speak as he left the pair. He did, however, reach into his bag and pull out one of the apples he had bought. In a fit of irritation (and perhaps curiosity), he quickly turned and threw one at the back of Yusuke's head as hard as he could. The apple flew, barely missing the people moving around them to walk.

However, before it could connect with its target, Yusuke's head moved to the side and he caught the fruit in his hand. He looked over his shoulder, smirk still firmly in place, and winked. "Thanks for the snack…Hiei."

Hiei watched as Yusuke and Genkai walked away. He began the walk back to his own home, haunted by the fire that had burned brighter in Yusuke's eyes when he caught the apple. He hoped that he didn't run into Yusuke anytime soon; he didn't want to be the one causing Yukina to have more work.

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