(Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. I just own whatever nightmare it was that woke me in a gasp

A/N: I hope people aren't getting tired of these friendship fics. Let me know!)

Pecuilar Normalcy

The rain outside pelted at the window sharply. For all the rage and fury of the wind-bowed trees and sheets of downpour, the echo of nature's violence served to create an opposing atmosphere of peace within the Minamino household. Most especially the westward facing bedroom, where two boys often talked of everything and nothing.

The video game had been abandoned, though the console still lay out on the carpet. Kurama had taken to reclining on the bed, arms folded behind his head as he watched the rain drops splatter against the glass of his window. Yusuke had taken to staring at that spot as well, though his gaze pierced through the pane to watch the limbs outside bend and sway well beyond what he thought was normal, though they never broke.

Normal. Now that was a hell of a concept.

The black haired teen cocked his head in thought, but his eyes were trained on the window as he spoke. "Do you have nightmares?"

Green eyes slid over to glance at his friend for a momet before returning to the window. "Of course, Yusuke."

The detective leaned forward in his backward facing chair, tipping it onto two legs rather than four. "I mean, not just the cheesy horror movie kind of nightmares. Or of falling, or being chased by some faceless thing that you feel silly about being afraid of once you wake up."

This time Kurama turned his head, giving Yusuke a quietly questioning look. Despite the inquiry in his expression, the kitsune's eyes told the story of already understanding. In any case, the other boy refused to take his eyes off the window, and thus, was oblivious to any facial expressions directed his way.

The silence was enough, though. "I mean nightmares of old enemies, of...of what-ifs that you wouldn't want think about during the day." Dark brows knitted together, his voice growing soft in his own confusion. "Or even nightmares of just...yourself. Being so...frightened...of yourself. The real inescapable enemy."

Kurama inhaled deeply, letting his breath out in a slow, relaxed tempo. His voice held a note of what his friend recognized as compassion. "Yes, Yusuke. I have those as well."

For the first time of the conversation, Yusuke glanced over at the fox. It was a subtle shift of the eyes, but it was enough to bring their gazes together. "So it's normal, then?"

Kurama moved his legs in what seemed to begin as a nervous gesture but ended smoothly in crossing one ankle over the other. The pause had been pregnant enough that the dark haired teen wasn't sure if there was going to be a response. "It's...expected. By the life that I've lived, and your's as well. But I'm afraid that I can say nothing about the normalcy of it."

Yusuke's eyes slipped back toward the window, not truly seeing the rain, the trees, or the force of the storm. He rocked forward, then back, then forward again in thought. Finally, he turned his head to give the other straight-forward eye contact. Some sort of decision had set his features into a look that made him seem beyond his years. It was a look that Kurama was familair with, and even fond of. Though the detective was still just a teen, and a human one at that, there were often moments of clarity, inginuity, or even the establishment of a well-rounded awareness of himself and the world around him that Kurama, as old as he was, related to and even respected. The youkai had not initially expected such expressions of clarity and understanding from one that he considered so very young and inexperienced, but there were a lot of things that surprised him about Yusuke. This human, barely out of diapers in the fox's mind, had quickly become the first person in decades that he had come to count as a true friend.

Yusuke's voice was matter of fact, and his expression left no room for doubt. "You know what? I don't really give a shit about what other people call normal. Seems like most of 'em don't understand much other than the head up their ass, anyway." He slung an arm over the back of the chair, giving the other a very direct look. "Your idea of normal, though. Now that means something."

Kurama's lips involuntarily pulled into a grin. His eyes hooded slightly, pleased by the sound of respect in his friend's words. "...Then I'd say that it's fairly normal, Yusuke."

The teenager exhaled deeply, shoulders dropping some slight tension that they had been pensively holding. He rocked forward again, resting his chin onto the crook of his arm that had been slung over the back of the chair.

The two listened to the world outside howl and clap as they watched the rain and wind beat upon the earth with such raw violence. As chaotic as it seemed outside, they were both peacefully content. After all, the fierce intensity of the storm was its own brand of normal.