Complacent

2nd place: A oneshot at most 1500 words in length containing Bleach characters in a AU situation. No smut.

Kisuke dropped the large duffle bag on the floor and stretched his arms over his head as he yawned widely. Harvesting peyote from his special little farm had been a lot harder than it had been last year but he'd pulled in a rather nice crop this year so he was pleased. At least he knew his buyer would be happy and since that person gave him money it would in turn make Kisuke happy; something he greatly enjoyed. Kisuke pulled his dirty and worn shirt over his head, not bothering to check and make sure he was alone first, and tossed it on top of the bag before reaching for the draw string on his pants. He heard a small noise and looked up, seeing the man on his couch regarding him with a bored expression.

"How's the haul?" the slow drawl tickled Kisuke's ears and the man perked up a little

"Wonderful, though admittedly harder to find this time around. I would have preferred to have had a little help this year but alas that isn't to be for little old me."

The man on the couch smirked and nodded before returning his attention back to the TV and whatever it was he had been watching when Kisuke had walked in the house. Kisuke dropped his pants, tossing those on the duffle bag with his soiled shirt and made his way to the bathroom to wash away the weeks' worth of accumulated filth. One supremely hot shower later and Kisuke felt like a new man, having scrubbed off not only dirt but quite a few layers of both dead and living skin. He wrapped one of the soft green towels that were hanging close by around his hips and opened the door, smiling at the steam that rolled like a cloud trying to escape the confines of the small bathroom. Starrk was still on the couch, still watching the television with an almost disinterested air, and Kisuke continued to smile as he made his way over, plopping himself down on the soft cushions near Starrk. Grey eyes flickered to him, moving down over Kisuke's exposed and still slightly damp chest before stopping at the pale green of the towel.

"You used all the hot water." It was a statement, not a question, so Kisuke only nodded and let those grey eyes continue to slowly look him over. He certainly wasn't going to try and stop the man from looking at something that he currently and so lovingly owned.

"What are you watching?" Kisuke asked and Starrk sighed.

"I'm not sure but it's in Spanish." the man said as he returned his attention back to the TV. I'm too tired to look for the remote though…." He trailed off and Kisuke nodded.

"Yes that is quite the task." Kisuke commented, letting his eyes dart around the room to see if it was anywhere out in the open. He could have sworn the damn thing had legs though because it always ended up in places neither one of them had been at recently. Then again, Kisuke hadn't been home for a week.

Starrk grunted and sighed. "Yeah."

"How was the week?" Kisuke asked, stretching his legs out in front of him and wiggling his toes as he cracked his ankles.

"Uneventful thankfully."

Kisuke's lips quirked into a smile and he let himself sink further into the couch cushions.

"Wonderful. I suppose uneventful means that there was no bad news so that makes me happy. I hate leaving you with things only to have it all go wrong."

Starrk let a slow smirk tilt his lips before commenting. "You make it sound like you can't leave me alone with things."

Kisuke laughed and leaned his head back, closing his eyes as he slowly shook his head.

"Of course not. You are, after all, a grown man capable of taking care of yourself."

Starrk nodded slowly before sighing and throwing an arm over the back of the couch, forcing Kisuke to lift his head a moment before pillowing it against Starrk's forearm. Starrk turned back towards the TV and sighed, frowning slightly in confusion at the language being spoken.

"I… need to find the remote." he muttered but made no move to get up.

"It's not so bad. You can just… feel the emotion of what the actors are trying to say and make up your own words." Kisuke put in helpfully and he smiled when he heard Starrk's low chuckle.

"I don't think my commentary would be anywhere near sufficient." the man said and Kisuke lifted his head, squinting sleepily at the screen.

"Well clearly that woman is upset at that man for whatever reason. Probably the other woman in the room who happens to be dressed as a tramp. Really, must women wear that much makeup?"

"I'd rather they didn't." Starrk put in before Kisuke went back to interpreting the show they were watching.

"And there, look. She just slapped him and then jumped on the painted tramp. I was right." Kisuke said with a smug smile before turning to Starrk to show it off.

Starrk snorted and smiled slowly back. "Maybe the tramp was set up though."

"Ah, you may have a point there. Unfortunately I am not familiar with this particular daytime drama so I don't know the backgrounds of the characters." Kisuke frowned. "I'm sure it wouldn't be that hard to look up however, what with how amazing the internet is and all that."

Kisuke was still a moment as he thought this over before he sat up and started to stand. A large, wide-palmed hand settled on Kisuke's thigh and held him in place as Starrk smiled and shook his head.

"Just sit." he said simply and Kisuke sank back into the couch.

"Yes, sir." he said gratefully, scooting closer to Starrk so that he could rest his tired head on the man's shoulder.

Starrk reached up with the hand on the arm that happened to still be partially pinned by Kisuke and ran his fingers through damp blond hair, pulling it back from Kisuke's face and tucking it behind the man's ear.

"Sleep." Starrk said and Kisuke nodded.

"Yes. Both of us need it apparently." the blond added and shifted to look into Starrk's eyes.

Starrk nodded and leaned forward, casually pressing his lips to Kisuke's before sighing and slowly standing. Kisuke stood as well and walked back to the bathroom, tossing his towel over the shower curtain rod and straightening it so it would dry properly before heading to the bedroom. Starrk was in the middle of stripping down when the already nude blond came in the room and began to search for something to at least cover the bottom half of him.

"Leave it." Starrk muttered and dropped his shirt into the laundry basket sitting close to the closet.

"Leave what?" Kisuke asked with a knowing smirk and wavy brown hair rippled when Starrk shook his head.

"You know what I mean."

"Yes, but words are like honey to me and I do so love when you give me sweets."

Starrk laughed, a low and quiet rumble, before he turned and regarded Kisuke with twinkling eyes.

"I want you," he started, voice a little more lively than usual. "To keep your pants off tonight while we sleep."

Kisuke chuckled and nodded before slipping into bed. "Ah, sweet nothings."

Starrk shook his head and finished undressing before slipping into bed himself. He turned off the light on the bedside table and pulled the thin sheet up over both Kisuke and him before rolling to his side to get comfortable. Kisuke smiled softly at him and kissed him lightly before snuggling into his pillow and closing his eyes.

"It's good to see your face before I fall into dreams." Kisuke said quietly and Starrk nodded his agreement.

"Yeah." he mumbled before his breathing evened out and he fell asleep.

Kisuke sighed softly and fell asleep with a smile on his face, glad to be home again.

A/N Well, Willowingends from dA I hope you enjoy your prize. I set this in the BD universe because I thought it'd be funny is Ichigo's boss was fucking Nnoi's friend. *shrugs* Enjoy!

~Penny