A/N: Yep - I'm a liar! xp I've written somethin' new! But... I had to! . Bleach is GOD. And, yea, this is boy x boy. If ya dont like it, WHY'D YA CLICK ON IT?? Oh, btw, disclaimers to Mr. Kubo, blah blah blah... Enjoy!

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A sigh escaped tanned lips, inviting a vapor of foggy, chilled air into the darkened room. Breathing slowly, heavily, a sad expression dawned on the youth's normally disgruntled face. Bright orange hair, now stained brown from the shelter of night, bounced lightly against the wind which blew from the open window beside his bed. All through the day and the day before that, he'd been doing well to smile when expected to, laughed when the occasion called for it, and even wittingly respond to the insults thrown at him.

…however, much to his dismay, when the sun set, and darkness flooded his bedroom once more, curtaining everything under the night shade, the same feeling would crawl up on him. Absolutely relentless, and never any bit less. In fact, as he'd noted days before, the feeling of guilt, of loneliness, of… sadness, continued to build. He'd tried his hand at talking to his black-haired, moody and snippy partner, Rukia, yet no matter how much he attempted forming the words he needed, they never formed anything but incoherent mumbles and sentences only he knew the meaning of. Eventually, he'd given up altogether. All that remained now, he could feel, was the heavy weight of hopelessness enshrouding his every thought.

It had been days, weeks it felt, since the confrontation. Since having to succumb to his absolute greatest fear. He'd needed to get rid of him, he couldn't have let Him simply continue to thrive off of his power… not when the capability of speech evaded Him every time he saw Him.

It was the right decision. He told himself over and over again. It was inevitable. It was necessary.

He wanted so terribly to believe it. He wanted to forget about it, let it go, not look back, never put another emotionally confused thought into it. Getting rid of the guy had been the only option. There hadn't been any other way around it. And yet…

Dammit…!

The teen's amber eyes clenched shut the world around them, buried them deep into the crevasses of his pillow, wishing every image, every thought away. Desperately, he tried to keep his jaw from tightening, from his throat collapsing in on itself, from the lump in his throat rising to threaten his eyes, which burned, feeling the coming leak of overwhelmed emotion.

No, dammit! Not again…!

A flash of white, a gleam of gold, and the vision vanished as soon as it had appeared to him. No matter how he tried to run from it, nothing stopped the obvious truth. A taught fist dug into the sheets of his bed, haplessly pawing at the fading image. Why did he feel so god damn guilty? Why should it matter? A low moan of grief escaped his already throbbing throat as his mind childishly wished to fix what he'd broken, go back in time, pray, pray… and loathe the choices he'd made. Even if He didn't have a name, Ichigo had always muttered one underneath his breath. Whenever he thought of it, somehow the pain would both subside, yet rise in its intensity. Wetness touched his eyelashes as the memories of their last fight played through his mind again.

Sh-Shiro…! The words he wanted to say out loud rose to barely touch the surface of the atmosphere, but hastily burrowed their way back down into his chest where the pain would recycle itself, and reform anew.

It didn't matter what he did to act as if he didn't care, pretend as though nothing about the albino hollow mattered to him. The only trouble, he discovered too late, was the apparent fact that he'd been a very good liar up until this point. Countless times he'd dreamt about Him, innumerable chances to say it, and he always did. The words always seemed to find him there. I wish… I hadn't…

Even if the knowledge of a future meeting rested somewhere in his mind, it did not erase the fear of having to face Him, fight Him again.

A king and his horse…? The phrase flowed past his lips absently.

"I'd resign if it meant getting you back."

"You'd give everything up? You shouldn't have gotten so soft on me, King."

The strawberry jerked his head up, feeling his tears running streams down his cheeks, his wide and sorrow-ridden eyes slowly panning to the voice he knew so very well. No, he thought disbelievingly, It couldn't be him…A final brush of doubt threatened his sanity before all of it dispersed the moment his gaze rested upon the ivory figure who leaned casually against the threshold of his doorway. Suddenly, he found himself struggling to retain a scowl, to brush away the tears he knew he had, but refused to acknowledge.

"Sh…Shiro…?" the meekness of the teen's voice caused an effective growl to rise from his chest. He could feel his face rising in temperature and above all else, he couldn't handle the sudden rush of emotion, "Wh-what the hell are you doing here?!"

It only came as a further shock to his system when the hollow gave him a look that almost seemed genuinely hurt. Why…?

His ivory double let the grimace that crossed his expression drop, a small, comforting smirk growing in place of it as he stepped forward, approaching the bed where his obviously distressed Shinigami King sat, staring and motionless. Reaching out a hand, he brushed a tear away from the colorful youth's cheek, "Shut up."

Before even a gasp could be taken in and a thoughtful action made, the gap between the two vanished as his hollow leaned forward, kissing the shocked teen lightly. The fearfulness once present in Ichigo's heart evaporated nearly instantly, and without even a slightest hesitation wrapped an arm around Shiro's neck, pulling him into the deepened kiss. It took a wordless moment before the two parted, even if barely.

Ichigo stared up at Shiro, confused, yet overflowing with relief. Only after considering the fact that the hollow still stood, if not a bit awkwardly thanks to the position, did a smirk cross his face. Seeing his arm still hooked about Shiro's neck it only took a single, effective tug to send him sprawling onto the bed next to him, a surprised yelp the only indication that the move came unexpected. He couldn't help it. He'd never thought his infantile wishings would ever amount to what he knew couldn't have been anything short of a miracle. In a blind rush of happiness, he buried his head into his counterpart's nape, arms snaked around his waist as Ichigo pulled the both of them closer.

Maybe… The idea alighted itself anew and he knew the opportunity shouldn't be wasted on self-inflicted anxiety.

"I'm sorry, Shiro."

A pair the golden irises slid down to eye the orange-top with a hint of exasperation, "Fer what? Kickin' my ass?"

Ichigo's brows furrowed at the remembrance and a soft growl rumbled in his throat, "Yes."

"Che," the albino rolled his eyes away from the wry stare, bringing a hand up to rub the Shinigami's bright hair into messy submission, "Didn't I tell ya already to stop with this softness bullshit?" The tri-voice echoed as he snickered, "What's wrong with ya?"

Ichigo could feel his cheeks burning. That phrase suddenly flickered back into his mind and the need to say it came more prominently then ever. His mind battled over embarrassment and nervousness. It had been so easy to say in his dreams…

...So why does it have to be so god damned hard to say in real life?!

Slowly, carefully, the syllables, the words, began to form…

"Nnh…Shi… Shiro…I…" the placement of a pale finger on his lips stopped the attempt to speak, the hollow swaying his head lightly from left to right. Pent up anxiety now reformed into frustration as Ichigo's face lit up like a bon fire, "…Why?"

A knowing smile flashed across Shiro's lips, placing another kiss upon his counterpart's lips, "Because its easy to see an obvious truth."

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P.S. - Oneshot!! Let me know what ya'll think!