A/N: Ok... so first I wanna say that I'm so very proud because this is my first request ever! And I'm so happy! Even though I feel a bit nervous because I don't know if I did live up to Sky Still Fujoshi's expectations,. *gulp* You know, the whole thing took me a lot more time to write then I expected (almost 7,000 words? Jesus!) Aaaaand it came out different than I though. But you know what they say! Story writes itself. It might be a little OOC, sorry about that... *double gulp*

ATTENTION: DUE TO THE RULES OF THE SITE, I HAVE REMOVED A SCENE from this chapter so as to not cause problem with its CONTENT and I have placed said scene in LIVEJOURNAL.

Link to the story IN MY PROFILE PAGE or this:

queenofcitrus(then you write a dot and 'livejournal') (then a dot) (then 'com/2770')(then a dot)(then 'html')

Please, support the petition to allow writers to have stories containing lemons - you will find the petition by googling 'petition to stop the destruction of fanfiction'

or... www(then dot)change(then dot)(then org)(then this /petitions/fanfiction-net-stop-the-destruction-of-fanfiction-net)

Till then... I'm saving my stories pretty much. :3

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

Working Things Out

"ENOUGH!" the general bellowed, slamming his fist on the oak desk and effectively putting an end to the boisterous skirmish between the two captains in front of him. "This has gone far enough!"

Hitsugaya inhaled sharply and folded his arms in front of his chest, stepping swiftly to the side to increase deliberately the distance between Ichimaru and himself.

"I apologize." The boy enunciated, scowl deepening for a second. "But I do insist you understand that this is not my fault."

"Mah, mah, aren't ya one unblemished lil kitten." Gin cooed demurely, spindly hands crossed with counterfeited reconciliation behind his back. Toushiro's jade eyes snapped immediately in the lanky man's direction, narrowing angrily.

"This is exactly what I am talking about!" the boy hissed, imminent menace clear in his voice as his hands clenched into fists on top of one another.

"Excessive energy." Ichimaru suggested, gesturing absently in the other captain's direction. "I say we give 'im mo' paperwork."

"More paperwork?" Hitsugaya bristled up, arms dropping to his sides. "I'm sorry, how is this going to fix your redundant habit of thwarting and sabotaging every single job or training activity I try to perform!"

"Not mah fault ya're so easily distracted."

"Not my fault you're completely browned off, either! Find something to do! Bang your head against the wall, steal candy from little children, I DON'T CARE! Just leave me alone!"

"CAPTAIN HITSUGAYA!" hollered once again, capturing the two's attention. "I have had enough of you two. Do you have any idea how many complaints about noise, destruction of public property, disrupting of meetings and whatnot I have received during the last two weeks? They all included your names in them."

The little bubble of silence surrounding them popped at that moment and the pair of guilty captains suddenly started rambling at the same time, with Hitsugaya blathering at a surprisingly high speed some sort of an explanation and Ichimaru chuckling and interrupting him every two seconds with affixes of his own version of the story. The only words that Yamamoto was so blessed as to make out from the whole messed up rant were the white-haired boy's occasional "SHUT UP!" directed at the fox-face.

"WILL YOU TWO JUST STOP IT ALREADY!" came the general's third attempt to establish order. "I do not want to know. ANYTHING! You hear me? ANYTHING! Whatever it is that you need to work out, WORK. IT. OUT!" he raised his hand prudently before Toushiro had had any time to object. "I said I do not want to know! Just… no more messes, no more destruction or so help me God you will regret it. Dismissed."

"Still not gonna talk?"

"…"

"Puh-lease?" Ichimaru tried again, allowing himself the bluntness of nudging the smaller captain in the ribs. Hitsugaya quickly increased the distance between them, his arms folded tightly across his chest as he continued walking towards his division, brows set in a deathly frown and lips pursed in a painfully thin line.

"Say somethin'. Anythin'? C'mon, ya know ya wanna…" when no reply came, Gin sighed and grabbed the boy's forearm, abruptly ceasing the latter's zealous stride.

"Let. Me. Go." Hitsugaya hissed, his voice low and threatening as he tried to shake the taller man's hand off.

"Ya heard the old man. Gotta work this out, chibi." Gin said calmly, his usual grin fading away in a dead serious expression. "An' this ain't gonna happen if ya keep avoidin' me and drivin' me off every time I try ta talk ta ya."

"It's all your damn fault the general reprimanded us in the first place."

"Ain't ya the one tha' pulled a sword on me on all sorts of occasions the past two weeks?"

"I wouldn't have done that, if you had been polite enough to leave as I so kindly asked you to." Hitsugaya snapped back, teeth bared at the other man. Ichimaru pulled him harshly forward, their lips now separated only by a thin layer of air.

"Talk. To. Me." Gin enunciated, pronouncing each word clearly in order to stress on how serious he was. Hitsugaya just snorted and averted his gaze, the blazing flames in his eyes abating a little.

"Talking won't fix this, Ichimaru."

"Oh, and wha' is "this" that needs ta be fixed?" he grabbed the boy's chin and tilted it back, forcing the smaller captain to look at him. "I'm not playin' games, neko, 'this time I'm serious. Wha's wrong? Tell me wha' I did!"

There was a small pause after that. Hitsugaya swallowed with some difficulty, his eyes closing as he tried to summon what was left of resolve.

"I hate you." The boy uttered between tightly clenched teeth, his jade orbs still hidden under the ivory lids. Ichimaru immediately withdrew his hands and stepped back as if the smaller captain's skin was suddenly burning hot. Hitsugaya didn't even look back at the man as he turned around on his heel and shunpoed away.

The sun had long ago settled down when Hitsugaya finally finished with his paperwork and pushed his brush and the filled in documents to the side with a weary sigh. He leaned back in his chair and slowly massaged his aching brows, aiming to relieve the pain that the stressed had accumulated there. It hadn't been one of his best days – he could say so much for sure – but the good news was it was coming to an end. Finally.

Matsumoto had ditched, of course, hours ago. Usually, that would've just added exasperation to the mix of exhaustion and strain but right now he felt better this way, being all by himself in the airy office. It helped him clear his head, get rid of all the problems that had been troubling him endlessly for the past fortnight.

Yeah, right… Like I could just snap my fingers and make it all go away… He rolled his eyes incredulously, then reached with one hand and slowly pulled the desk drawer. His features softened as he fumbled blindly inside it, his throat running dry as he thought of what he was searching for. He was a fucking masochist, that was what he was. Otherwise why would he keep it? Why would he pull the damn thing out to look at it every few days or so? Was it hope that was driving him, hope that somehow magically the object would transform into something else or that maybe he would notice some sort of a justifying element he had missed the past few hundred times he had examined it?

Masochist… Idiot…

His hand emerged from the depths of the drawer, clutching a small crumpled ball of paper and he hastily put it on the desk, smoothing it out as much of it could.

He gulped.

It didn't matter how many times he had seen it already, the sight of the damn photo still made his insides twist in pain.

It had arrived with a letter about 16 days ago, sent by Kira to inform the boy of how he, Ichimaru, Renji and Rukia were doing on their mission in the real word. Of course, no one knew about his relationship with Ichimaru – both of them had agreed on secrecy for the sake of their reputation. The only thing people were aware of, was that the two had become surprisingly close friends during the past few months. Thus, he couldn't blame anyone for what had happened since there was no way any of them could've guessed how the attachment to the envelop would affect him. Actually, the letter had arrived with some other photos, too, all of them of the same night when they had obviously gone together to some expensive bar or disco or whatever it was. The rest of the pictures didn't matter, though, it was only this one that was important.

It showed Ichimaru kissing a human girl.

Hitsugaya crumpled the picture back into a ball and push it to roll away from him. It reached the opposite edge of the desk but it didn't fall off. The boy gritted his teeth and was about to slam his fist down to make the damn thing disappear from his site, when the office door was thrown open loudly. The boy jumped and quickly stood on his feet, his eyes widening at the sight of the man who entered.

"Ya're here. Good." Ichimaru said, kicking the door shut behind him before starting to make his way towards the prodigy. Hitsugaya quickly rounded the desk and stood before it, hand already on the hilt of his sword.

"I want you to leave. Now."

"An' ya're armed. Even betta'." Gin nodded to himself, not slowing down a bit on his way across the large office. There wasn't a single hint of amusement on his face, no grin, no chuckling, no nothing of the usual half-mocking attitude…The fact made something inside the boy writhe with apprehension.

"Don't come any closer!" Hitsugaya warned, unsheathing Hyourinmaru and pointing it towards the other captain. Ichimaru was before him in a heartbeat, the tip of the ice zanpakuto pressed against his chest.

"I said-…"

"I kno' what ya said. An' I'm glad ya did, it saved me a lot of effort." With that the fox-face's fingers wrapped around the hilt of his own sword and he slowly withdrew it, all the while Hitsugaya's widened jade orbs following the movement. Once Shinso was fully unsheathed, the boy visibly tensed, returning his gaze back to its owner but Ichimaru just shook his head and threw the weapon far away to the side.

"I haven't come ta fight ya. See?" He lifted his hands, showing his empty palms to the boy.

"I told you already, I don't want to talk."

"I haven't come ta talk, either." Ichimaru's lips twisted in the all too familiar grin but this time there was a strange, bitter tinge to it that made Hitsugaya's frown deepen. "I was thinkin' bout what you said. I wanna kno' if ya really mean it."

Hitsugaya's hold on Hyourinmaru tightened and he felt his throat run dry.

"Yes." He said, his eyes focused stubbornly on the place where the tip of his sword pressed against the other man's robes. "Yes, I mean it."

Ichimaru nodded.

"Good. But ya're not lookin' at me when ya say this. Ya weren't lookin' at me when ya told me that today, either." He paused, his hand suddenly grasping the boy's wrist that held the sword. "I'm not convinced."

"What the hell are you doing?" Hitsugaya yelled, fighting to break free from the other man's firm grasp without stabbing the fox-face in the process. Ichimaru just chuckled darkly and made a small step forward, pressing the tip of Hyourinmaru deeper into his clothes. The boy's eyes widened and he tried to move backwards but suddenly found himself pressed against his own desk.

"I was thinkin'…" Ichimaru continued calmly, never letting go of the slender wrist. "If ya hate me so much, why don't ya just kill me and get it ova' with. Make it easier fo' both of us."

"What?" Hitsugaya exclaimed, sincerely mortified as his free hand clutched pathetically to the edge of his desk. He could feel himself blanch, his lips parted ever so slightly as cold sweat dewed his back and his palms. He was shaking, every cell in his body was shaking violently for no apparent reason as his heart was banging wildly in his chest. There was something seriously wrong with the way Ichimaru spoke. Something seriously broken. And then it hit him…

…Gin wasn't bluffing.

Hitsugaya's grasp on Hyourinmaru loosened but Ichimaru's hand quickly moved to cover the back of the boy's palm, forcing the prodigy to hold tighter on the weapon.

"That's enough, Gin, I don't want to play this game!"

"Who's playin'?" Ichimaru's grin vanished again and he tilted his head to a side, eyeing the other captain up and down. "I'm givin' ya a choice, kitten. Ya say ya hate me, then kill me. Ya'll be doin' me a favor."

"Dammit, Ichimaru, stop this!" Hitsugaya shouted, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment in a useless attempt to overcome his shaking. "It isn't funny!"

"'s not." Gin agreed with a serious nod. "I'm bein' truthful ta ya, lil one. If ya do hate me, there's no reason fer me ta continue existin'. So kill me."

"This is ridiculous! I'm not doing anything of the sort, let me GO!"

There was a small pause after that. The only sound that Hitsugaya could hear was the wild pulsing of the blood in his ears. Then Ichimaru withdrew a little from the tip of the ice zanpakuto, sparkling a glimmer of hope in the boy's heart that was quickly crushed when the taller captain simply loosened his robes, revealing smooth ivory flesh.

"Apparently, ya still don' understand the earnestness of the situation." The man uttered pensively, stepping forward once more to press the tip of the sword just above the place where his heart was supposed to be. Hitsugaya's eyes snapped up to meet the fox face's impassive gaze.

"Why are you doing this?"

"I told ya. I hate ta see ya so distressed, I'm makin' it easier fer ya. One choice, chibi. Ya can only move yer hand forward."

Hitsugaya's brain had blocked. He was just staring wide-eyed and shocked at his own hand, at his own zanpakuto and he didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to get out of this situation. He was pressed between a hammer and a hard place, no one nearby for help, no one to tell him how to get out of this mess.

"Please…"

"Do it fer me." Ichimaru uttered softly, almost pleadingly, making a small step forward that caused the blade to break the skin and a small trail of blood trickled down his chest. The man didn't even wince. "I love ya too much, I can't live with the thought of ya hating me."

A strange, inarticulate sound escaped the boy's lips and he turned his head to the side, smashing his fist on the desk.

"How can you say that after what you've done!"

Thud!

Both of their heads snapped in the direction of the noise. The balled up photo had fallen off the desk and on the floor next to the tenth division captain's foot. Ichimaru's grip on the boy's hand loosened unintentionally as he fixed the object with a small frown on his face.

"Wha's this?" He bent down to take it, his long spindly arm making it easier to do so without moving from his spot. However, Hitsugaya didn't intend on missing the smallest chance and seeing the minor loophole, he pulled himself viciously out of the older captain's grip and slipped between Ichimaru's arms. Hyourinmaru hit the ground, the metal rattling angrily as his master attempted to make a run for it, but was caught from behind and held tightly against a muscular chest.

"Nice try." Gin cooed, trapping Toushiro's arms to his body as he wrapped his own arm across the boy's torso. "But ya ain't going anywhere."

Hitsugaya growled with exasperation, feeling the closeness of the new position get to him and turned his head to the side. At least he wasn't crucified between two unwanted options: stabbing Ichimaru or confessing to the fox-face how he really felt. While it was true that Toushiro had attacked the taller captain on several occasions during the past fortnight, the prodigy had never truly intended to hurt anyone. He just wanted to be left alone to deal with his own thoughts and aches, heal his broken heart away from the world and mostly away from the man he couldn't stop caring about despite the boy's own wishes.

"Who send ya this?" Gin asked softly as he lowered the now unrolled photo to the boy's eyes.

"Does it matter?" Hitsugaya hissed, his anger now back with full force as he struggled violently to free himself from the iron grip. "It's pretty clear it's you there, kissing that girl."

"I'm not kissin' 'er."

"You're a liar!" the boy cried out, his voice breaking at the end and causing the taller captain's brows to shoot up. "I know well enough what kind of a man you are, Ichimaru, and I don't know why I ever fooled myself, thinking that having only me would keep you interested!"

"Toushiro…"

"Well, now you know! Are you satisfied? Are you satisfied, being so kindly enlightened at last as to why I don't want to have anything to do with you?" Hitsugaya couldn't recognize his own voice, he couldn't believe those words were coming from his mouth - so gravelly and unsteady, almost as if something was clutching his insides, his lungs, his heart. "Please, just… just let me go…"

An almost imperceptible sigh sounded next to the boy's ear but the grasp didn't loosen, quite the opposite – he was pulled even tighter to the man's body.

"I'd neva' do this to ya." Came the fox-face's mirthless reply. "I can see why ya would doubt me… I used ta be this kind of man… No one was enough for me, I always needed more…" he paused, letting out a bitter laugh. "I think it was cuz I had been lookin' fer ya all along, without really knowing. Ya're the only one I need now, the only one I want… an' yes, the only one I love…"

Gin fell silent, waiting for some sort of a reply or a refute from the smaller boy but when nothing came and Hitsugaya just exhaled softly, his head still turned to the side, Ichimaru took this as an encouragement to continue:

"I'm not lying, Shiro, she threw 'erself on me on without apparent reason, I pushed her away. Obviously, someone managed to document the exact moment before that happened. Now tell me who sent you this."

There was a small pause before the answer came, so soft that it was almost impossible to perceive:

"Kira."

The chuckle that emitted from Ichimaru's lips caught Toushiro by surprise. The prodigy looked up at the taller man, his eyes imbued with a mix of suspicion and exasperation.

"I should've known." Gin said, shaking his head as he rubbed the boy's arms soothingly and buried his nose in the soft tuft of white hair for a second. "Fo' a genius ya're pretty easy ta fool."

The statement sent Hitsugaya fuming again.

"Oh, so you have a better explanation? I'm thrilled to hear it."

"It was a set up." Ichimaru said as his mouth lowered to the boy's ear, hot breath sending shivers down Toushiro's spine. "Kira's had a thin' fo' me fo' ages, he probably sniffed us out an' though of this lil way ta sabotage our relationship."

Hitsugaya froze, his brain processing the newly arrived information. Kira would do that? The blond didn't really look like this kind of a person. He was always so polite, almost timid at times and he seemed to be on good terms with almost everybody. Hitsugaya never really thought much of the lieutenant, they rarely even talked – mostly when poor Kira made the mistake of involving himself in Matsumoto's newest alcohol affairs, but mostly Toushiro had a positive impression from the taller shinigami. Could he really…

Hitsugaya swallowed, a bitter smile twisting his pale lips.

Then again… Love could make you do foolish things – Toushiro knew that well enough.

He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the thought rouse every nerve in his system. Yes, it made sense… Now that he looked back at the blond lieutenant and his surprising devotion to his lanky captain, Izuru's mild, almost always rueful look, following Ichimaru like a lost puppy…

Still…

It was so tempting to believe Gin, so damn tempting but…

"Why should I trust you?" the boy asked softly, the man's mouth now nipping gently on his earlobe.

"Because" Ichimaru breathed. "I love you. Do ya think I would've spent two weeks followin' ya round ta find out what's wron' if I didn? Do ya think I'd be here right now, askin' ya ta kill me, if I didn'?"

"You were blu-…"

"I wasn' bluffin' and ya know' it." Ichimaru withdrew his head, and loosened his drip around the boy just enough as to let him know he wasn't forcing him to do anything anymore. "If ya still don' believe me, if ya really, truly mean wha' ya said t'day… Then my offer's still up, neko. The sword's ova' there." He ran a finger down the petite captain's back and added, his voice dead serious once more. "One question. An' this time whatever ya say, I'd take it as truth… Do you hate me, Hitsugaya Toushiro?"

There was a small pause after that, the two of them just standing there unmoving as statues. Next thing Hitsugaya knew, he was shaking violently, his fists clenching and unclenching and his eyes stinging with unshed tears.

"Fuck you, Gin! Fuck you!" he screamed, turning around and banging his hands against the taller man's chest. "Why do you have to do this to me? Why do you have to make me love you so damn much! I hate you for it! I hate you for making me love you!"

He then broke into uncontrollable sobs, his knees buckling underneath him and his whole body beginning to slump to the ground, only to be caught by Ichimaru's strong arms. Toushiro's breath caught in his throat for a moment and he clutched to the other man for dear life, eyes stubbornly refusing to look up.

"Shhh, it's ok, neko. It's ok." Gin whispered soothingly in Hitsugaya's ear, lifting the boy up and cradling the smaller body to his chest. "I'm 'ere. It'll be fine. Ya're tired and stressed out, it'll look all betta' in the morning, you'll see."

"D-damn y-you!"

"Shhh, it's alright…"

Hitsugaya's hand found the small cut on the man's chest and he buried his face in Gin's neck rambling apologizes that Ichimaru refused to accept.

"'s not yer fault, neko, calm down. 's not yer fault… I should've-" Ichimaru's sentence was cut of by a pair of soft lips, moving gently against his own and all logical thought seemed to vanish into the warmth. So soft… He coaxed the sweet mouth to open up for him, restraining himself from pouring all the desire and longing that had gathered in him the last two weeks in that one single kiss. He wanted to take it slow tonight, he wanted to show Toushiro that despite his past, Ichimaru could be trusted.

"Any better?" the taller man asked when Hitsugaya withdrew and reached with one hand to wipe away the tears from that small face. Toushiro nodded. "'s there anythin' ya would like me to do fer ya?" Another nod.

"I want you to take me home." The prodigy whispered, wrapping his hands around the man's neck. "I want you to take me home and stay for the night."

Ichimaru's grin was suddenly back in place and he leaned a bit to give his lover a gentle kiss on the lips.

"It would be mah pleasure, kitten."

As Ichimaru laid the boy on the soft matters and crawled over him, the only thought that crossed his mind was how good he was going to make Toushiro feel tonight. They had done this before but he knew it was going to be different this time, more emotional in a way, deeper, more saturated… It wasn't going to be ordinary sex, it was going to be far more than just that – a promise. It was a seal of the feelings they both had so much trouble expressing. Devotion, yes, and trust, and most of all love…

"Why are you stopping?" Toushiro susurrated. He wouldn't dare speak up, or move even, fearful that it was going to tear the fine threads that kept the balance between them. Gin smiled at the apprehensive look in his lover's eyes, reaching with one hand to stroke the still damp cheek.

"Ya scared?"

Hitsugaya winced almost unnoticeably.

"W-why would I be scared?"

Ichimaru chuckled throatily and shook his head, leaning forward so their lips were now almost touching.

"Ya think I'm gonna leave? Ya're scared tha' ya've pushed my limits an' if ya do somethin' wrong, I'll jus' decide I've had enough and go? Stop, no, look at me…" he took the boy's chin, tilting it back so those large turquoise eyes were gazing at his own slitted ones. "I'm not goin' anywhere. Ever."

With that, he pressed his lips to Toushiro's ones, slender fingers fondling the white spiky locks. Yes, Gin was usually one to play rough, pour all his passion into the act. He enjoyed watching his lover's body writhe and arch as it wavered whether to feel pain or pleasure and finally give in to both of the feelings, taking down all of its owner's inhibitions and restrains on its way. But not tonight. Tonight Ichimaru was going to go just as far as his petite lover let him and not a jot further.

Hitsugaya's hands lifted up, sliding from Gin's mid-torso up to the shoulders, blindly seeking naked skin as his lips parted eagerly to greet the fox-face's velvet tongue. His fingers wavered however, twitching helplessly against the hems of the attire, when the taller man's mouth moved down to nip and suck on the boy's jaw-line. That achieved the needed effect and Toushiro moaned loudly, rolling his eyes shut as he gave in to the feeling.

"Ya like that?" Ichimaru breathed against the slightly flushed skin, his hands now working their way through the boy's robes, loosening them ever so slowly to reveal the flawless flesh underneath. Hitsugaya's hands buried in the silky silver hair as he unambiguously pushed the man's head back to his neck. The silent request was immediately granted as Gin painfully slowly kissed his way from the crook up to the boy's earlobe, a devious grin playing on the taller male's lips as he reached his destination.

"Ohhh!" Hitsugaya moaned, feeling soft lips play with his ear. "Aah, this is… this is unfair!"

Ichimaru resisted a chuckle as he continued playing with what he had recently discovered as one of Toushiro's most sensitive places. At the same time the fox face's hands had pushed the boy's robes down those exquisite shoulders, pulled the attire from underneath him and let it fall on the floor beside the bed. Hitsugaya shuddered at the feeling of the cool air hitting his heated skin but the cold was quickly forgotten as a pair of lips found his own. (...)

Missing scene is in my LJ account. You can find links to that in my author notes and my profile page.

(...)The thing that brought Hitsugaya back to his senses was his lover's low chuckle as he pulled himself out of the boy with a small "pop", causing the latter to wince at the loss.

"What are you laughing at?" Toushiro asked with a sullen but very tired twist of his mouth. Ichimaru collapsed beside him and wrapped a hand around the smaller shoulders, pulling the prodigy against his chest.

"I jus' remembered…"

"What?"

"Tha' we had to be reprimanded by the general ta work things out."

Hitsugaya's face relaxed at the statement and he let out a small laugh before closing his eyes.

"I guess you're right."

A/N: Link to the missing scene (can also be found in my profile page):queenofcitrus(then you write a dot and 'livejournal') (then a dot) (then 'com/2770')(then a dot)(then 'html')

*bows* Also, I would be tons of happy if you reviewed on this site (I like to keep things as orderly as possible. :)).