Two weeks later…
Saturday. No work today. Jeans and t-shirts. It was too nice out to spend the day playing Halo 2, so the three boys had gone to the park to play soccer. Or attempt to. The sun was shining and all went well until Kuwabara tripped over the ball. He went face first in the grass.
"You OK?" Kurama called.
"Yeah, fine," Kuwabara wiped dirt off his face, "Shut up, Urameshi!"
Yusuke was bent laughing at his spot in their triangle. When he could, he turned and called over his shoulder.
"Hey! Come over here and play with us!" he yelled at the fourth boy, and added with a smirk, "Little Man."
Hiei was perched on the wall that surrounded the park, just watching their game. He didn't know a lot about the sport, but he was pretty sure they were doing it wrong.
Until Yusuke called to him, the little demon had been in his own world. Remembering. They never asked him what really happened two weeks ago. All that mattered to them was that he was OK.
And all that mattered to him was them.
"I don't think so," Hiei called back, "You guys seem to be screwin' it up just fine from here."
"Get over here, Hiei!" Yusuke grinned, and Kuwabara was laughing.
Hiei scrambled down off the wall and strode over to where they were playing. Kuwabara passed him the ball, but Hiei didn't return it right away. He stared at the ground, nudging the ball with his foot. Finally –
"Hey…" his voice was serious and drew the attention of all three boys. Hiei smiled up at them. A genuine smile. And said, "Thanks."
The other three smiled back, and together they all screwed up soccer.