So...I'm a little scared and a little excited about this. I've never done a oneshot before so sorry if I did a shit job. This is also my first ever finished story (woo!) and my first story under M rated so this is like... I donno, I'd say it's an achievement. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, even if you don't, I hope it brought you some form of entertainment~
Disclaimer: Does not own Bleach because I'm not Tite Kubo.
He coughed and it hurt. The feeling of thick liquid slipping through the space between his lips made him feel like throwing up and he was disgusted at the thought.
To be honest, he'd never expected to see himself in this type of situation. He'd heard of people who got into things like this, and even a few of his friends told him about times where they were put in a similar situation, but never did he think that it'd be him.
He was too pretty.
He'd told himself: He was too pretty to be pushed up against a concrete wall (well… definitely not in this type of situation); too pretty to be covering his face with his arms in a panicked frenzy, and definitely too pretty to be coughing up blood.
Something slammed into his stomach and he lurched. His vision was too blurry to see what it was, but it felt like he'd been shot. The pain was shooting through every nerve in his body. It was becoming unbearable.
His small frame crumbled to the floor after the next blow. He groaned and yelled, tears spilling from his eyes as he struggled to protect his head.
He wasn't even sure how he'd gotten into this. He was walking back to his apartment from a bit of last minute grocery shopping. The assailant was a student from his university, one he couldn't recognize, but he could tell by the emblem stitched on the right breast pocket of the boy's sweater. He couldn't remember anything he'd previously said to the boy to piss him off this much. In fact, he raised his hand as a way of saying hello and smiled one of his many beautiful smiles. Then suddenly the boy became enraged and started running towards him. Now here he was lying on the dirty pavement, trying to defend himself, and for what?
Maybe there are a few things that people had against him. He wouldn't be surprised if there were people going to his school that didn't like his outgoing persona, people who cringed at his haughty, arrogant voice and glared at him as he switched his hips down the hallway knowing how long and perfect his legs were. But did they really hate him this much?
He coughed and wheezed, feeling as though he was going to throw up. It was becoming hard to open his eyes and his brain felt like it was oozing out his ears. His body twitched involuntarily as he fumbled to grab hold of something, anything that could help him up. It felt like hours had gone by. He hadn't even realized the hitting had stopped. It wasn't long before he stopped moving, feeling sticky from the blood covering his hands and face and dirty from being forced onto the ground. He couldn't hear anything, but it felt like someone was talking to him. He was quickly loosing consciousness.
Then, like a dream, his body was lifted. It was as if he was levitating into the clouds. He felt so light and yet his body was completely numb. He couldn't move or open his eyes. He wanted to scream a protest but the blood was spilling into his throat. He wanted to flail his arms and force himself back to his feet, but he couldn't. Everything hurt and he found that the longer he floated, the less he wanted to get away. He couldn't fight it anymore. So, he gave up. He let his mind drift and his body slump, lifeless.
At that moment, he just didn't care.
A large hand raised to rub over a smooth head. The man sat beside the hospital bed glaring at the figure, seemingly lifeless, breathing softly as he remained in the same position as the night before. The constant beeping of the machine beside the bed was driving him insane to the point where he contemplated punching it into silence. Regardless he felt that he couldn't just leave. He wasn't even sure why. He hated hospitals. There was no real reason for him to sit by this virtual stranger, especially in such a creepy place where death was a regular occurrence.
He sighed and leaned back in his seat watching the boy's chest slowly rise and fall, unconsciously waiting for that dreadful beeping to suddenly turn into a single drawn out tone alerting all of the staff to rush into the room pulling out whatever machine might revive the boy. And he'd sit there awkwardly watching.
He jumped when the beeping suddenly sped up to a slightly erratic pace before slowing down again. He put a hand over his chest as he looked up at the boy struggling to sit up. He sighed, relieved that his passing thought hadn't become a reality and sat silently as the boy took in all his surroundings.
The boy seemed to just realize that he was there and jumped when their eyes met.
"Hello?" the boy mumbled and winced at the stinging pain it gave his busted lips. His torso was wrapped tightly, while his right cheek was covered in thick gauze, the rest of his face was littered with tiny bandages. Suddenly, sitting up didn't sound like the best idea and he quickly let his body sink back into the bed.
He decided he should probably speak before things got too awkward. "I found you last night all bloody. It looked like you were beaten pretty bad so I brought you here," the boy remained silent, his tired eyes looking at him with what seemed to be skepticism, but with all the bandages covering his face it was hard to tell. "I'm Ikkaku by the way," he slowly added, not sure if the boy had suffered from some sort of brain damage and wasn't understanding him. The awkward air around them didn't seem to dissipate, especially when the boy just sat there looking at him as if he were an idiot. It took a few minutes before anything came out the boy's mouth and Ikkaku suddenly wished he had just dropped the boy off at the desk and left like a sensible human being.
"How unfortunate of me to wake up to such an ugly face," he sighed, shifting in the bed as to continue his sleep.
"Hey! Why not thank me for picking you're sorry ass off the street ya ungrateful brat!" the injured boy glared at him but didn't say anything in return, or rather, didn't have the chance to when the door opened revealing a gorgeous young doctor, clipboard pressed tightly against her large chest as she approached the bed.
"Hello, I'm Dr. Inoue. It's good to see you're awake so soon Mr. Ayasegawa," she gave a bright smile as she flipped a page on her clipboard, her eyes scanned over the paperwork before continuing. "You're lucky Mr. Madarame got to you when he did. If you were out there any longer you could have suffered from some major blood loss". Yumichika grumbled under his breath receiving a heated glare from Ikkaku, still sitting stiffly in the chair beside him. "Now, if you'll excuse us Mr. Madarame, I need to give Yumichika his checkup, if you don't mind waiting outside—."
"I was just leaving," he said quickly, standing and slipping his jacket on before walking out with not so much as a backwards glance. Yumichika frowned after him for a moment before his attention turned back to the doctor.
He spent two days in the hospital. The first day he went through a series of tests before the doctors cleared him of any vital injuries. The second day his parents arrived with his roommate and best friend, Shuuhei, bringing him a change of clothes. He sat through an hour of his parents complaining about living in the city and how "this wouldn't have happened if you'd listened to us when we told you to go to the college closer to home" and another of his mother shoving fruits down his throat, because "God knows he needs more nutrients in his body" before they packed up and left. The next day he was released, though still had his torso wrapped with bandages and his face was slightly blue around his right eye and left corner of his mouth, but aside from that he felt good enough to walk out of the hospital with a sliver of confidence.
As he stepped out of the entrance he immediately spotted the blue Honda civic waiting for him, the rolled down windows revealed Shuuhei grinning at him like an idiot before he reached across and opened the door to the passenger side.
"Please wipe that stupid look off your face." Shuuhei laughed as he stepped on the gas, not giving Yumichika a chance to situate himself.
It hadn't taken long to get back onto a regular schedule. Few people came up to him and asked if he was okay and he graced them with one of his most gorgeous smiles turning them into pudding right before his eyes. Shuuhei went on and on about how he'd find the guy who did this to him and "rip his throat off", but it's not as though he even got a good look at his face, it was dark and even if he'd seen his face, the student beat him long enough to knock his image from his memory.
It was the second week since he was released and he was feeling close to normal again. A delicate wrist rose as he walked down the corridor towards one of the student lounges. His dark eyes scanned over his watch as he let out a deep sigh. Twenty minutes until his art history class and he was starving. A grumble of complaint from his stomach knocked him from his thoughts as well as caused him to grimace in disgust. What an ugly noise. He grumbled as he turned at the next corner.
"Oh shit, excuse me," he froze just before the collision and looked up at the student who suddenly gave him a sour look. "Oh it's you…" They stared at each other for a few seconds, maybe a minute or so as Yumichika squinted his eyes, giving him a calculated look.
"And you are?"
"Wha— You little shit, you're lucky if I don't…"
"Ah, right, you're the creep from the hospital!" Creep? Ikkaku's mouth hung open for a millisecond before his jaw snapped back into place. Who did this brat think he was?
"I was the one who scraped your sorry ass off the pavement you…" he sighed. Calm down; he's not even worth it. He inhaled, blowing the air heavily out his nose before moving around the smaller boy.
"You're just going to walk away? How rude." Ikkaku stopped, fist clenching. Brat.
"Do you have anything else to say?" he turned and Yumichika looked confused. Why did I stop him? I should've just let him go. He was at a loss for words, looking away from the taller male as he contemplated if there really was anything left to say. By the time he'd gotten his mind together the boy had already walked off and was nowhere to be found.
He shook his head and looked down at his watch. Ten minutes?! Shit, he'd barely have time to eat.
Art history was slow as usual, and even slower when all he'd had to eat was a nutrition bar. His stomach was turning and his eyes could only focus on the clock. Who the hell thought to make this class three hours long?
Shifting uncomfortable in his seat he tapped his finger on the desk as the large projection flickered in front of them. They were watching some old movie; the name slipped his mind, though it was a crime, action type movie, black in white with all the right cheesy dialogue. A hand moved up to suppress a yawn, while his eyes roamed the large room. He'd never really paid attention to the rest of the class. It was his biggest class of fifty people, and there was no way he'd be able to remember any of their names aside from his professor who was a stuffy old man named Yamamoto and the blond student beside him named Shinji. The only reason he knew his name was because Yamamoto-sensei would always lecture the boy about his grade in front of the class in an attempt to embarrass the boy into trying harder. It was a shock to see the blond actually paying attention for once.
Another hour passed when the lights flickered on, and he'd realized he'd dozed off. Swallowing another yawn he blinked his eyes until he was able to focus on what was coming out of that heavily bearded mouth.
Class was dismissed? He sat up straight and looked around as students began to gather their stuff. He wasn't sure if it was fate, or just bad luck, or if it was even bad in the first place but he spotted a baldhead within the throng of students and for some odd reason, his legs seem to move on their own.
"I didn't know you were in this class."
"You again?" an exhausted voice breathed out as the two stopped outside of the classroom door. "What do you want now?"
"I… why do you have to be so rude? And to talk like that with such a distasteful look..."
"Why do you have to be such a little brat?" Yumichika felt his face heat up. Asshole.
"Hey Yumi, Ikkaku, man I didn't know you two knew each other," Yumichika looked over as an arm was swung over his shoulder.
"We don't. What do you want man?" Ikkaku said, no longer acknowledging Yumichika's presence. The smaller teen didn't like that. He wasn't someone to just dismiss. How rude!
Shuuhei looked between the two for a moment before shrugging. "I was going to head out to get some food with a couple of guys, did you two wanna come?"
"I'll pass," Ikkaku said quickly, readjusting the strap of his bag as he turned to leave. Shuuhei didn't seem bothered by the response and lightly tugged the arm around Yumichika's shoulder. The shorter male ripped his eyes away from the retreating back and looked up at his friend's face before nodding.
"Sure," he confirmed as they turned to start towards the entrance; the arm around his shoulder dropping and making it easier for him to follow Shuuhei's long strides. "Do you know him?" he asked as nonchalant as he could manage. For some reason, knowing his best friend knew that baldheaded jerk gave him a strange feeling.
"Yeah, we're not real close but he used to date Rangiku sophomore year of high school and I just kind of met him through her," he answered and Yumichika blinked at the explanation.
"Why haven't I ever met him?" he asked and Shuuhei turned his head to look at him for a long moment.
"I guess cause they only dated for about a month, and me and him aren't that close."
"Him and I," Shuuhei clenched his teeth at the correction but chose not to say anything. It always drove him crazy. "Well I don't see how anyone could tolerate him for long," he continued, not sure why he was still talking about the other male.
"Why all the sudden interest?" a mischievous look passed over the dark haired male's face as he wiggled his eyebrows in a lewd fashion.
"You're an idiot, it's nothing like that. He… he was the one who found me after, you know. I just find it odd that I've never met him."
"Ah I see," he nodded, not pressing the subject, but keeping the conversation locked in the back of his mind as they approached the three other students waiting for them outside the entrance.
Renji was probably his closest friend aside from Shuuhei. He was a taller, redheaded version of Shuuhei, with his love of tattoos and the overbearing big-brother attitude towards Yumichika. The three of them had known each other since they were in the third grade, and had somehow stayed together ever since. When he approached the redhead he was wrapped in a brief, yet suffocating hug, and though the strength of the other's grip made his ribs rub together in an unsettling way, he still smiled fondly at the tight embrace. Then there was Rangiku who was not Yumichika's favorite but Shuuhei was so in love with the woman, for reasons he couldn't imagine, so he didn't say anything. He swore her breasts could harvest two human babies. It was hard not to stare, interested or not. Last there was Byakuya, whom was odd to say the least. He didn't know much about him, having met him freshmen year but he never really said anything and when he did it was short and to the point. For the most part he spoke quietly to Renji throughout all of their outings.
After their short greetings they all headed off to a fast food place that, despite the thought of the fact that all the food they'd be consuming was dumped in grease that was probably cleaned once a week, made his mouth water in a very unattractive way. But his stomach, which had only consumed a very unsatisfying nutrition bar, told his vain mind that for right now it didn't give a fuck.
Lunch was spent listening to the others complain about class as they always did and at, what seemed to be, the right moments he would comment on one thing or another. He felt gross for devouring so much and at the speed at which could be considered unhealthy and bitched to Shuuhei about wanting to work out as soon as they got back to their dorm.
True to his word as they got back, not ten minutes afterwards Yumichika popped in a work out disc and dressed in his spangly shorts and tank top, enthusiastically following the instructions preformed by a man who had way too much muscle and way too much time on his hands. He spent five minutes coxing Shuuhei into joining him until they both looked like idiots, doing stretches and exercises that this overzealous instructor seemed to have made up while on some obscene drug.
An hour later they were panting and sweaty and Yumichika was the first to complain about the smell and bounce up to go take a shower. Shuuhei was fully content in sleeping and basking in his sweaty manliness but as soon as he began to creep to his bed Yumichika had reappeared and forced him into the bathroom, throwing a pair of fresh clothes threw the crack of the door before slamming it shut.
Nodding successfully at the sound of water running, the smaller, dark haired male tucked himself underneath the covers and for some unexplainable reason he saw piercing eyes looking at him with distaste and a shiny baldhead that, odd enough, made him think of vanilla ice cream. Maybe it was because the other teen practically saved his life that day, but that night he couldn't stop thinking about him. The moment he woke up and saw the relief wash over the taller male's face. His rough voice and the scowl that was ever-present when Yumichika spoke to him. His large hands, narrow brown eyes, white teeth, smooth skin. He didn't even realize he was able to remember so many details about the grumpy student and it creeped him out a bit. Maybe more than a bit.
That night he didn't dream, and was eternally grateful for that.
He hadn't spoken to Ikkaku since the time outside of class and had settled for observing the baldheaded male during their three-hour sessions together. He'd learned that he sat in the first row down all the way to the right, which was a fairly large distance from where he sat at the second to last row up. He also noticed that Ikkaku wasn't one to slack off and was always paying attention to what was being said and even took notes during the movies, which only the overly anal students did.
It had been a month, and he felt like somewhat of a stalker. There was no reason to become obsessed with the other male, but he was slowly coming to the conclusion that he was and that was upsetting. It wasn't as if he had any romantic intentions towards the other male, he was just drawn to him. He gave up on wondering why and chalked it up to the fact that the man had indeed saved him from bleeding to death in a cold alleyway. If not for that incident he would've never noticed his existence but now…now he felt as though wanted to know everything about him and it was slowly beginning to freak him out.
On Monday they were let out of class early and Yumichika found himself feeling a bit nervous. He wasn't sure what was compelling him to do it, but he rushed out of his seat faster than he ever had, though still managed to look graceful while he stumbled out of the aisle and rushed to get to Ikkaku's seat before the student got up to leave.
"Did you enjoy the movie?" was the first thing that flew out of his mouth and he felt like shooting himself. What? Was he a teacher now? Urgh, stupid! What kind of question was that?
Ikkaku didn't seem to find it a very fitting question either and looked up at Yumichika with narrowed eyes as if he were expecting something to come out and hit him in the face.
"It was alright, do you want me to write you a paper about it? Double-spaced?" he asked, voice doused in sarcasm as looked away to finish packing his bag.
"Well, I was just trying to start up a friendly conversation," was his sly attempt at hiding his embarrassment, and he thanked the heavens that the teen was so focused on pulling the bag over his shoulder to notice the red tint on his cheeks.
"Oh, and you're just so brilliant at 'friendly conversations' right?" he smirked.
"I'd like to think that I was a genius conversationist."
"That's not a word," he pointed out as they made their way out the door of the stuffy classroom.
"It should be," Ikkaku shook his head and chuckled. It was a refreshing noise; one Yumichika knew he could get used to.
"Did you really come up to me to engage me in a conversation, or are you just prepping for an insult?" Yumichika winced at that, but Ikkaku didn't seem to have said it with any malice.
"I'm appalled you'd think that of me," he faked a hurt look and Ikkaku challenged it with a skeptical look of his own.
"Yes, I'm sure you always have the sweetest things to say. Now are you going to follow me into my anatomy class or are we done with this 'friendly' chat?" he asked, abruptly turning and stopping in front of a closed door. Yumichika felt his face heat up once again. He hadn't been paying attention.
Ikkaku noticed the awkward look on Yumichika's face and shook his head with a chuckle before turning with a short wave and disappearing through the door. Yumichika stood there for another minute before a small smile tugged at his lips and he walked away to meet with Shuuhei.
They hadn't spoken for the rest of the week, and Yumichika wasn't sure if he was happy about it or irritated. Probably both. On one hand he was happy that he didn't make more of a fool of himself, but irritated because he was always itching to talk to him again. The two short, somewhat abrupt, conversations after class were just not cutting it.
He tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for his roommate. It was Saturday and thank God for Saturday. Saturday meant no class on Sunday, which meant staying out late, going out, drinking and loosing his mind for a brief moment before Sunday where he was able to rest off his hangover and prepare for Monday. Saturday was a blessing; there was no denying it.
He felt good being able to go out. He was wearing mostly black: black skinny jeans, black long sleeve sweater, fitted and comfy, black boots, all matching perfectly with his glossy black hair. Then there was a silk orange scarf tied expertly around his slender neck that draped over his shoulders and red and yellow feathers delicately placed on his right eyebrow and eyelash. Shuuhei never understood why the other male insisted on wearing them, but then again Shuuhei simply didn't understand the concept of good fashion.
The taller of the two dark haired males stepped out the bathroom with wet hair dripping onto a long sleeved polo and dark blue jeans covering his muddy converse. Yumichika shook his head at the toothy grin his friend was sporting. He was itching to fix the rugged male's outfit, but choked down the urge for the sake of not wasting any more time. They left the dorm minutes later and headed towards Shuuhei's beloved car.
The party was loud, crowded and smelled of alcohol and Yumichika loved it. He loved people because they adored him. He watched as Shuuhei shook his hips with Renji, trying to impress whatever skirt was in sight and possibly coax them into dancing with them. It was humorous to say the least. He himself needed a few more drinks before he was able to go out there and walk back out with little shame.
His dark eyes scanned the crowd of drunken college students and even some high school kids who'd managed to stumble inside and try to convince others that they weren't snot-nosed brats. Brat. Shit now he was thinking about him again. He sighed, throwing the rest of his scotch down his throat and letting it burn. He needed to stop these thoughts, this was borderline unhealthy.
And just as he was about to ask for another drink he spotted something he wished he hadn't because now he was anxious. In the corner of his eye he could see a scowling face sitting uncomfortable on the couch, a beer bottle dangling between a thumb and index finger as someone, whom looked to be barely twelve, babbled into a pierced ear and a very distinct baldhead. He turned quickly, though he wasn't sure why. At this angle it wasn't as if he'd be able to see him. He swallowed, quickly nodding to the appointed "bartender's" offer to pour him another shot. He was nervous and he hated it. He'd been feeling nervous a lot lately and it was all because of the aloof baldy who seemed to want nothing to do with him.
He let out another deep breath and calmed his nerves. Gathering his courage he looked back again and blinked when he only saw the young bumble-gum haired girl pouting into her crossed arms. He looked around for a moment, trying his best not to look panicked or shocked before returning to his glass.
"You're stalking me," said an accusing voice that nearly made him choke on his own spit. He jumped and looked up at the man settling in the seat beside him at the makeshift bar.
"I am doing no such thing," he said quickly and hoped the man hadn't heard the way his voice cracked, just a tiny bit.
"Uh huh," he nodded slowly, dismissing the other's argument. "Why are you sitting alone?" it was an honest question. The boy seemed to love the company of others about as much as he, himself, disliked it. It wasn't that he was antisocial; he just didn't do well with large clumps of people. Especially when they were loud, drunk and stupid.
He accepted his second bottle of beer that night from the guy behind the counter, and probably his last, with a nod and looked back at the feminine male whom seemed to be thinking about his answer.
"Renji and Shuuhei are out there looking like idiots. I'm waiting till I'm drunk enough to go join them," he said truthfully. Ikkaku nodded as though he were only half-listening and watched the dance floor with indifference. "And you?"
"Hm?" he turned to the smaller male, and for the first time noticed that he had feathers sticking to his face. He chose not to comment.
"You don't seem to be enjoying yourself…" he trailed off.
"I'm not," he answered before gulping down another mouthful of beer.
He didn't have a response to that so he just settled for quietly swallowing his fourth shot with a low hum of appreciation.
"Who was that little girl you were sitting with?" he asked, this time without really thinking; it had been on his mind after all.
"So, you were stalking me." he turned to Yumichika with sharp eyes. The smaller male flinch at the accusing tone.
"Am I not allowed to be curious?"
"Should I have to explain myself to you?" Okay maybe he had a point, and maybe Yumichika should keep his mouth shut for the rest of the night. He hadn't been sure if this 'relationship' could get any worse, but he may have just been proven wrong.
So he took his own advice and kept quiet, avoiding the other's eyes as to not make himself seem any more awkward. A deep sigh soon came after a minute or so of silence and he felt himself jump for the second time that night at the other's deep voice.
"That 'little girl' is Yachiru Kusajishi and she's twenty," he raised his bottle to his lips. "Two inches shorter and she'd be a legal midget," he mumbled before swallowing the rest of the liquid. "Now stop making that face like I just killed your puppy."
"I was not making a face!" he defended quickly.
"Mh, yeah okay Princess," the harmless nickname made his stomach knot in an odd, twisting way and his face was slowly becoming unbearably hot. He huffed and returned to his drink, noticing his glass was now empty and pushed it away.
"Wh-who did you come with?" Dammit, since when did he stutter, or get nervous or even feel uncomfortable in any kind of way. His face was heating up. He wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or the uncomfortable atmosphere growing around them. The hairless male looked away, his eyes following the crowd of drunken dancers.
"Rangiku; said it might be good to get out." He didn't offer any more information. It was probably because Yumichika didn't have the best opinion of the girl that he felt rather irritated, not because Shuuhei had mentioned the two had previously dated, because that would be ridiculous and it was none of his business after all. They didn't seem like a good pair at all, no wonder they didn't last. Yumichika raised his head to stare at his profile, his eyes looking for anything he could read off the man.
Nothing. This guy was like a shell, all calm and collected watching the other students making fools of themselves.
"You guys went out before, right?" oh God, why'd he say that? Shit, now he definitely looks like a stalker. No, no, it's just friendly conversation. He just happened to hear, no big deal.
"You seem to know a lot for someone I only spoke to twice." He commented as he absently sipped at his beer.
"No!" maybe that came out a tad bit rushed. "Shuuhei was telling me how he met you and it just so happens that he mentioned something about the two of you," the words came out in a hurried slur and it took a minute for Ikkaku to register the information thrown at him. He shook his head at the flustered male, a small smile forming on his lips as his eyes brightened with amusement.
"So, what's got you interested in an ugly guy like me," Yumichika could feel his face getting warm once again and he cleared his throat in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. He'd hoped the other would have forgotten about that little comment.
"I'm not interested. You just happen to be showing up wherever I go," he said in, what he hoped was, an air of indifference before tapping his glass against to counter for another drink.
"Funny," he gave Yumichika an intense look and dammit if he didn't feel a shiver course through him. "I was thinking the same thing," he gave the quivering boy a devastatingly handsome smirk and Yumichika had to bite his tongue before he said something he would most definitely regret. It's the alcohol, definitely the alcohol. Despite this he threw the newly replaced liquid down his throat and felt his vision blur and his head fuzz with a nice tingle.
He was shaken from his trance when a hand clamped hard on his shoulder. He winced, tilting his head to see a drunk Renji struggling to keep his balance.
"Tell me… why the hell aren't you out there?" he pointed sloppily to the crowd slowly thinning out. How long had he been sitting here anyway?
"I think it's time I took you home," he sighed, lifting out of the stool reaching for the counter, which he could've sworn just moved out of his reach. He gripped the air and nearly fell headfirst into the bar when a strong arm encircled his waist. It was in no way sexual, almost as if he were being held like a child, but his heart was hammering into his chest. Maybe it was the muscled arm clenching against his stomach or the hand roughly grabbing his arm to get him to straighten but he was getting hot and that was just not okay in a situation like this.
"You're planning to drive when you can't even stand up on your own?" Ikkaku commented; letting the shorter male go once he was sure he wasn't going to tip over.
"I'll have you know—," okay, spun around way too fast. He nearly threw up, but swallowed it down. He could feel himself rocking back and forth tried heavily focusing on standing still. It was much harder than it seemed. Ikkaku sighed and pulled out his phone tapping out a message to Rangiku before slipping it back into his pocket.
"Come on," he commanded and it took a moment before Yumichika realized he was supposed to follow. He clutched Renji's shirt and tugged him along. They quickly spotted Shuuhei nearly knocked out on the sofa and Ikkaku took the liberty in hauling the male up and throwing a lifeless arm around his shoulder. At least he got an excuse to leave early.
The car ride wasn't as uncomfortable as Yumichika had expected. Shuuhei and Renji were passed out in the back, leaning against each other to support their drooping heads, while he took the passenger's seat. After he'd given his short directions to the apartment complex he glued his eyes to the window. He could feel himself sobering as his eyes watched the buildings pass by, fighting the urge to let his eyes drift to the baldheaded driver.
"You know, this is the second night that I saved your ass," Yumichika finally broke his stare from the window and glanced over at Ikkaku, his eyes still firmly placed on the road. His lips tugged up; thank God his body was finally starting to relax.
"Well don't get a big head over it," he mumbled and Ikkaku chuckled. Yes, he could definitely get used to that sound.
"I don't think you have anything to worry about. My head's already big enough." Well, end of that conversation. His mind plummeted to the much less innocence parts that were better off buried away. So he cleared his throat and re-glued himself to the window. It's the alcohol.
Maybe the car ride was a bit uncomfortable, but luckily it was only a few more minutes before Ikkaku pulled into their designated spot in the driveway.
The car eased into a stop before Ikkaku moved to turn off the ignition and hand the keys over to Yumichika. "Need a hand?" Yumichika looked up at the question as Ikkaku tilted his head towards the two snoring loudly in the back. He nodded silently.
Getting the two into the apartment was more of a task than they'd anticipated, with Ikkaku doing most of the work and Yumichika struggling to stand straight, they'd manage to get into the building and up the stairs, though it took far longer than it probably should have. Ikkaku dispensed both unconscious bodies onto Shuuhei's bed, that was clearly too small, but didn't think twice about it. Yumichika simply set Shuuhei's keys on the nightstand by his bed and headed back to the door where Ikkaku was preparing to leave.
"Uhm," Ikkaku turned at the noise and looked down at the fidgeting male. "Thanks, for bringing us back…"
"It's fine. I didn't really want to be there in the first place," it was true. Knowing that he could go back to his apartment and attack his Xbox was just too refreshing of an idea.
"Oh," he couldn't think of anything else to say. He was finally feeling the wave of exhaustion and desperately wanted to lie down, but for some reason he couldn't move away from the door.
"Well…" maybe it really was bad luck because Yumichika could never remember a time where he'd made a fool of himself like this. "I guess I'll…" because at that moment time was slowing down and he was moving and he knew goddamn well that he hadn't told his legs to go anywhere. "…get going…" he'd heard those words and swallowed the rest. His mouth pressed firmly and sloppily onto surprisingly soft lips. It wasn't a tongue on tongue passionate kiss, but it made his knees buckle nonetheless. Small fists bunched up the fabric covering hard muscles as he whimpered desperately against the firm lips pressed against his. But, Ikkaku wasn't moving and when he realized how still the other had gotten panic and dread washed over him like a bucket of cold water.
He gasped as he moved back. Ikkaku didn't looked phased. He just stared, his eyes blank as he watched Yumichika struggled to stay calm.
"I-I'm sorry. I'm drunk, I think I need to just get some rest," he didn't wait for a response and shoved the taller male out the door before closing and locking it.
Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.
He wanted to cry, but dammit he was not going to freak out over this. He was drunk; there was nothing he could do about it. It is not a big deal. He took a deep breath and slowly begun to feel the heat prickling around his eyes go away. Sleep, he needed some sleep and to clear his head.
He woke up with a loud complaining groan and a headache that demanded the blinds to be shut.
God he hated Sundays. Sundays were the days where half was spent nursing a hangover while the other was spent downing coffee in order to stay awake while tackling homework that made no sense, and on top of that, having to find some way to sleep because of Monday's 8:30 class. Sundays were the devil of the week.
Scrunching up his face, trying to squeeze out the uncomfortable tingling in his skull, he sat up and spotted Shuuhei lying on the floor, his covers wrapped around him like a cocoon while Renji splayed across the entire bed, his legs hanging over the edge due to his height. It was an oddly cute sight.
Getting up, the first thing he did was close the blinds before moving to his nightstand to retrieve a bottle of painkillers and to the kitchen for a glass of water. After slapping the two snoring males awake, sighing at the silence it gave while the two collected themselves he made a quick breakfast and took a hot shower. Later, after a somewhat peaceful morning he found himself wanting to jump out the window when last night's mishap flooded back into his memory.
Now, he was lying on his back in his bed, his homework splayed over his chest and a pencil dangling between his lips.
What was he thinking?
Okay, maybe he knew what he was thinking, he wasn't that drunk. Just… being around the other male made him feel so strange and it was confusing because he'd never felt anything like it. He didn't particularly fantasize about having sex with him, but he wanted to touch him and to know him and it was all just so weird.
"What's gotten you so wound up?" looking up he almost giggled at the sight before him. Shuuhei was a 6' 2" baby standing by Yumichika's bed with a pack of ice balanced on his matted hair, striped pajama bottoms he'd changed into after kicking Renji out and a large pillow tucked under his chin.
He pulled the pencil from his mouth and stared at his friend for a moment.
"I'm an idiot," he frowned at himself. Shuuhei blinked in confusion. He'd never seen the smaller male look so defeated. Yumichika was always the confident and bold one and would never admit to any flaws (because according to him, he had none).
"Okay, you're actually not an idiot, now can you please tell me where I can fine Yumi?"
Yumichika smiled but didn't say anything. The bed dipped and he didn't have to look to know Shuuhei had found it too difficult to stand with a splitting headache and invited himself to lay beside him.
"Did something happen?" he studied Yumichika's defeated expression and quickly lifted himself onto his forearms. "Is someone bugging you?"
"No, nobody did anything to me. I screwed up," okay, now this was getting scary. Yumichika made no mistakes. He was the self-proclaimed object of beauty and perfection. What the hell is happening?
"Well…what did you do?" he laid back down and eyes cautious scanning his friend.
Yumichika winced as he thought about the answer. Dammit, dammit, what is wrong with him? He pulled a pillow from under his head and mushed it into his face.
Shuuhei blinked at the mumbled response. "You did what?"
"I giffed mim."
"You gifted him?"
Yumichika pulled the pillow from his face and glared. "You're an idiot." Shuuhei laughed and shook his head.
"I don't get it."
"I said…" oh God, he couldn't even said it out loud. His heart was convulsing just thinking about. "I…" what is this! It's not like he's never ki-ki-ki-AH! He's done it before, no big deal! Maybe those times they ki-urge, responded to him. Ikkaku just stood there. Who knows what was going through his mind; most likely disgust or rage. Shit, what if he hadn't pushed him out the door? Would he have hit him? Ruin his gorgeous face for the second time in only a few weeks after it had been fully restored to it's original beauty. And for some reason he just couldn't bare the thought of the other male hating him, especially because he decided to lose his mind for a second and ki-dammit.
"Yumi…you're starting to look sick." Shuuhei was frowning now. Yumichika gave him a long look before sighing. He wasn't going to get out of this. If he tried to divert the subject now Shuuhei would only grow more suspicious. He really wasn't that much of an idiot.
"I…came onto Ikkaku." Well that sounded much worse and Shuuhei's shocked face wasn't helping matters at all.
"You're kidding," he shook his head. Dammit, he wished he had been kidding. Then there was silence, and he hated how his face was getting so hot and how Shuuhei was staring at him with that idiotic look and, just dammit all!
"Would you stop looking at me like that!" he snapped and sat up, seconds later he regretted it when a sharp pain shot through his skull. Oh right, hangover. He whimpered and slowly laid back down.
"You know, I can't say I didn't see that coming." Shuuhei finally said, lifting himself from the bed and moving to the small kitchenette, bringing the soggy bag of ice with him.
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
"It means it's not like it's a big surprise. You've been obsessing over the guy for over a month."
"I have not!" maybe he has, but there was no way Shuuhei could've known that. He pushed himself out of the bed and followed the taller male to the refrigerator.
"You have Yumi! Every time someone mentioned his name you perked up like a dog waiting for a treat." Had he really?
"I..." he sighed. He didn't even have the strength to argue. He jumped when a hand clamped onto his shoulder and looked up at Shuuhei's grinning face.
"Dude, it'll be fine. Just relax okay."
Easier said than done.
He couldn't say he was surprised when Ikkaku didn't show up to class on Monday. Hell, he didn't even know if he wanted him to.
When Tuesday came he was faced with another empty seat and convinced himself the tugging feeling in the bottom of his stomach was because he hadn't had breakfast.
On Wednesday he spotted the baldheaded male speaking to, what looked like a teacher and ducked behind a corner. When he peaked his head out Ikkaku was gone and he didn't know what to blame the tugging on his stomach this time because he'd just had lunch.
Thursday he felt like hell. Shuuhei had been up all night watching television at an obnoxious volume and when he did end up sleeping it seemed like it was only minutes before his alarm clock went off. The heater decided to stop working and when he'd stepped into the tub in all his glorious nudity he was viciously sprayed with ice cold water. Because of how much of his mind was preoccupied thinking of a certain someone he hadn't done laundry so he was forced to steal a pair of Shuuhei's clean underwear and deal with wearing a pair of jeans and sweater than hadn't been washed in who knows how long. At least they smelled good. He felt absolutely disgusting.
He'd thought his bad luck was over for that morning. But no. Shitty days had a habit of becoming shittier. When he finally managed to leave the apartment Shuuhei sent him a text saying he had to leave early because of an exam he couldn't be late for and that left his only choice being to walk thirty blocks to the class building which took him approximately twenty-five minutes and made him ten minutes late to his sculpture class.
So, when he'd walked into his Art History later that afternoon he nearly groaned at the sight of Ikkaku sitting there pulling his notes out. The one day he looks like he crawled out of a dumpster. That's just fucking great.
Class passed as it usually did: an hour and a half of lecture and an hour and a half of movie. When the class was over he didn't waste time in packing up. Hell, he couldn't remember a time where he was so anxious to leave. Though he didn't get far out the door when he'd bumped into a hard chest and he didn't need to look up to know who it was.
"Yumichika…" Don't say my name dammit! He was already flustered.
"Uh, hey, sorry about that! I'm in a bit of a hurry. I'll see you around." He wasn't even sure what he'd said until he'd gotten out of the entrance. His heart was hammering. He wanted to see him and make sure he didn't hate him but he couldn't face him yet. As much as he'd waited for the male to come back to class and to see his face again and for him to talk to him again and…he just couldn't do it.
After five minutes of sitting outside the entrance he'd managed to calm himself down. He looked around just to make sure Ikkaku hadn't followed him. Why would he? Since when did Yumichika turn into such an awkward coward? He was never like this; hiding from someone, especially if that someone was a male. Within the last few weeks he'd managed to block out the old Yumichika. The one who stood up to say what he thought and wasn't afraid of the reaction. Now, he was walking on eggshells and he hated it. He hated this uncertain feeling, this fear. He wasn't even completely sure what he was afraid of.
"Hey Yumi!" Shit!
"Please don't do that Shuuhei!" he was so wrapped around in his thoughts he hadn't seen the taller male coming up to him, or putting a hand on his shoulder and he was pretty sure it wasn't healthy for your heart to be hammering this hard against your ribcage.
"Whoa" the taller male backed away, letting go of the shoulder. "Sorry, sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Yumichika let out a deep sigh and eyed his friend once more before nodding his forgiveness. "Geez, why are you standing in shadows like that anyways? You're not still upset are you?" he gave his best sympathetic look and Yumichika shot it down with a glare.
"Who says I'm upset? I'm fine," he brushed past his friend and did, what he hoped was, a confident strut towards the parking lot.
"Come on Yumi, I've been your friend for how many years? It's not hard to tell."
They opened the doors and settled into the car. Neither made a move to fasten their seatbelts or start the car and instead sat in an oddly comfortable silence. After a moment Shuuhei made the first move when he turned his head to face his friend.
"This guy's really fuckin' you up, huh?"
"Yeah…" he'd admitted it, finally. He was completely screwed in the head because of a man he couldn't grasp. Although, it didn't lift any weight off his shoulders or stop the frantic beating of his heart when he thought about him. It wasn't a huge revelation where he finally knew what he had to do in order to stop being a chicken-shit and suddenly sweep the baldheaded man off his feet. It didn't do anything. All it was was a simple admittance. He'd been defeated and he wasn't even aware of the battle or who the opponent was. He'd realized at that moment as Shuuhei finally buckled up and started up the car that Ikkaku wasn't doing this to him. As Shuuhei beckoned him to fasten his seatbelt he realized that Ikkaku hadn't done anything wrong and instead was being himself and here he was making things more dramatic than they needed to be; though if he didn't, he wouldn't really be Yumichika, so it wasn't a big surprise. Maybe Ikkaku hadn't done anything to him at all. Maybe he'd screwed himself up.
"So," Shuuhei started, drawing Yumichika's attention back to him. "Pizza and a movie?"
He didn't have to look over to see the small nod given and simply sped his way through traffic towards the apartment for some intense cheering up and bro-bonding.
Once they entered the apartment, he realized why he'd grown to love Shuuhei. After a long shower, thanking God the heat was turned back on, and borrowing one of Shuuhei's extra-large pullovers (the navy blue one with the yellow duck in the middle because it was the extra fuzzy one even if it made him look like a sixteen-year-old girl drowning in blue cotton), the idiot had dragged him to their sofa, shoved a cluster of DVDs to his chest and ran off with his phone to demand two large pepperoni pizzas and a two-litter bottle of root bear from a flustered Papa John's worker.
With pizza and Legally Blonde he was able to think less about how he'd managed to embarrass himself, continuously, in front of the guy he couldn't stop thinking about and may have ruined any chance he'd had getting somewhere with the man (even if he still wasn't sure where he'd wanted to go with him) because he acted like a drunken high school virgin who couldn't hold his liquor. Goddammit. He took an extra large bite and for once didn't cringe at the grease slipping down his chin and simply rubbed it off with his sleeve.
Shuuhei piped up, speaking in between his chewing "Reese Witherspoon is so hot."
"Big chin."
"Big hot chin." Yumichika shook his head.
"Maybe if she was a brunette," he tilted his head as if the new angle would somehow improve her hotness.
"Mh, and had a nicer rack." The taller male nodded in agreement.
"Less boobs, more ass."
"More both."
"Maybe if she grew a penis." Shuuhei scrunched up his face, thinking over what was said.
"Uh…on top of the vag?"
"No vagina, just the penis."
"So you want her to have bigger ass, small boobs and a dick?"
Yumichika rolled his eyes. "No boobs."
"So… if she was a man, she'd be hot?" The smaller brunet gave an uncharacteristically wolfish grin and Shuuhei couldn't stop the bark of laughter that followed. "You're a freak man! You can't take a perfectly hot chick and turn her into a dude. What a waste."
"She's a five out of ten at best."
"Eight out of ten," Yumichika gave him a long look.
"Now you're being ridiculous."
Shuuhei sputtered comically, nearly spitting out the gulp of root bear nearing it's way down his throat. "I'm being ridiculous? Dude, you just gave Reese Witherspoon a dick."
"There's no way she's an eight. That's insane."
"Five is terrible. I wouldn't touch a five."
"Well, clearly you would if you think she's an eight." They stared at each other for a moment.
"You're serious…?"
"Five point three…" he made a wild gesture with his hand as he hummed in thought. "An argument could be made for point five."
"You're terrible," he chuckled and the smaller male shrugged.
"I'm…" the rapping against the door swallowed the rest of his words. They looked at each other again, both wondering who'd pay them a visit at seven o'clock on a Thursday night. Yumichika thought to ask Shuuhei but immediately burst into a fit of giggles a the sight of the male with his eyes wide and a slice of pizza half shoved into his mouth. "I suppose I should get it," he shook his head. "And you should wipe your face." He ignored the pizza muffled protests and made his way towards the door.
Grabbing the doorknob with his less grease-sticky hand, the second he opened it his arm twitched to slam it shut, run to his bed and hide himself under his comforter. But instead a strange, forced smile tugged at his lips.
"It's you." Dammit, his brain was already entering shutdown mode. He reached down and fiddled, uncomfortably, with the hem of the pullover.
"It's me and…" Ikkaku let his eyes roam over the figure. "Do you usually answer the door with no pants or am I interrupting something?" Pants, right. So he slammed the door without thinking. It's was more on instinct than anything. He turned to face the apartment, his face feeling hotter than he thought was healthy before he stormed through towards their shared dresser.
"I tried to tell you" he heard Shuuhei call from the sofa. He glared over his shoulder to his best friend, his hands frantically reaching for a pair of pants or anything, really, that could cover his shaking legs. Shuuhei stared at him for a moment before asking, "Something wrong?"
"It's n-nothing. I'm fine. Need to talk to a friend for a moment. Just continue the movie." The words were a jumbled mess and he realized he'd been doing that a lot lately.
He stumbled and tripped into a pair of jeans before he scrambled back to the door and swung it open. He was honestly shocked to see the taller male still standing there waiting, his hands shoved deep into his pockets as he sucked on a freshly lit cigarette.
Their eyes met and Yumichika's heart swelled. The smaller male stepped out into the cool air and shivered as he closed the door behind him.
"Sorry about that," he mumbled and looked away as Ikkaku seemed to consider him. "Did you need something?"
He took one last inhale of nicotine before throwing the half used stick onto the ground and stomping on it. "Well, you ran away from me before I had a chance to talk to you earlier. I figured if I came here, I could corner you." So honest, it was irritating.
"I didn't run. I told you it was a bad time."
"Is now a bad time?"
"As a matter of a fact it is," he snapped and quickly regretted it. There was no reason to be wound up.
"Then I'll leave," was the quick reply and Yumichika panicked.
"No!" A hand reach out to stop him before he had a chance to turn. "I mean…I didn't mean to…uh." God, he couldn't find the words even as they danced at the tip of his tongue.
"Well what do you mean? One minute you call me ugly, the next you're trying to be my friend and then you kiss me! I really don't know what you want Yumichika," he sounded frustrated, much like the time in the hospital. He didn't know what to say to any of this and just stared, uncertain and confused. He honestly didn't know what he'd been thinking these past few weeks. He was just so drawn to him and somehow in the midst of his semi-stalking he found himself…
Wanting? He wasn't sure what the right word was for it.
"I don't think I've ever liked a guy like this before." The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them and Ikkaku looked genuinely shocked, whether it had been from the statement itself or from the backwards confession.
Shifting his weight from one foot to the next, he wasn't sure how he wanted to continue. It took a moment, but Ikkaku waited patiently for the next words to be spoken.
"I-I mean, I've dated guys and even girls, at one point," he chuckled awkwardly at the memory. "I don't know how to control myself around you. It's like my brain is gone. I'm never nervous like this or unsure and it's so ugly. The night I…uh kissed you I just thought that I really wanted you." He nodded to himself, avoiding the way Ikkaku was looking at him as if trying to trace down anything that could be a lie.
Then there was silence and Yumichika never felt the urge to bang his head against the door as he felt now. His eyes were darting everywhere and his feet were shaking from his forgetting to put socks on to fend against the wind.
"You're such a brat." The silence was cut and Yumichika felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. Winded and sick, like his stomach had swallowed his heart and crushed it. He hadn't quite been prepared for rejection and never thought once that he, Yumichika Ayasegawa could be turned down; though he couldn't remember a time where he'd actually asked a guy out or confessed or whatever he'd just done.
So, when a pair of rough lips latched onto his own he hated to admit he almost threw up in the other's mouth. His stomach was doing acrobatics and his heart was beating at a rate that was making him dizzy. He had to grab onto the other's jacket before he simply collapsed onto the stone walkway.
It was much different from the tight 'first-kiss' they'd shared. He hated that he was whimpering and even more that he had no control over it. A strong arm slipped around his waist and pulled him against a hard chest as soft lips worked against his. Probing, sucking, biting and driving him crazy in seconds. It was demanding, yet soft. His tongue swept over his lips but never delve in to suffocate him, and he as internally grateful.
It ended in seconds and Yumichika pulled away in a daze. His eyes glazed over, not in lust, but a feeling he couldn't quite recognize. They stared at each other, chest-to-chest, both flushed and breathing hard.
"Uh, do you wanna go out for lunch?" Ikkaku asked between heavy breaths. "Maybe tomorrow after classes?"
Yumichika blinked and stared for a minute before nodding dumbly. They sat a minute longer, just holding each other before they were able to slowly break away, clearing their throats to wade off the tense air around them.
"So… I'll see you tomorrow?" Yumichika nodded again, not trusting himself to speak just yet. Ikkaku smiled down at the flustered male and leaned in for a final peck before scurrying off before the noticeable tint in his jeans became a spectacle.
He stood outside his apartment a full five minutes before he willed himself to turn and go back inside. His lips tugged upwards beyond his will as he made his way back to the sofa.
Shuuhei sat watching the credits roll and waited for Yumichika to settled on the sofa beside him before asking "You finished talking with your friend?"
"Yeah…" Shuuhei hummed thoughtfully and nodded. Yumichika sighed. "How much did you see?"
"Every single bit. I never knew Ikkaku could kiss like that, sure as hell got you weak in the knees."
"Screw you."
I'm wondering if the story seems rushed :/ Eh, HOPE YOU LIKE IT~ REVIEWANDBLAHBLAHALLTHATGOOD STUFF~