01. Introduction

Karin and Yuzu knew their brother had his odd moments. Even when not possessed by the spirit normally trapped in Yuzu's Bostov doll, he was wont to do things…well, things like this.

Like quarantining his sisters in his room and insisting that they "wait right here," before disappearing down the hall.

Like the good, upstanding sisters they were, Karin and Yuzu had, of course gone through everything they could get their hands on. Which was everything in the top layer of sedimentary clothing and miscellaneous item deposit littering his floor.

So, by the time Ichigo returned and poked his head around the door, they had a fair idea what this was all about. Still, also like good sisters, they sat patiently and waited for him to explain.

"Karin, Yuzu," he began, talking at the floor instead, "there's someone I'd like for you to meet. This is Hitsugaya Toshiro."

They were even benevolent enough not to point out that Karin already knew who Toshiro was – at least until the white haired captain did it for them.

02. Love

"I think it might be love at first sight!" Ichigo gushed, face squashed up against the window.

"We are not adopting a puppy, Kuroaski," Toshiro told him flatly, making to drag him away from the window.

"Why not?" Ichigo whined petulantly, pulling back and slipping inside of the pet shop to pick up the black and white spotted monstrosity that had caught his eye. Toshiro trailed in after him, a scowl wedged onto his features.

"Because," he ground out, "We have nowhere to put it and an animal like that needs room to grow. For heaven's sake, Ichigo, that thing is going to be the size of a small horse."

"So if you're so fed up with me," Ichigo began slyly, "What's all this 'we' business?"

As it turned out, the puppy was only the tip of Toshiro's problems that day.

03. Light

When Ichigo felt the first rays of sun on his face, heralding the arrival of a new day, he thought he might weep for sheer relief. Instead, he closed his eyes and basked in the strange, cold light of early dawn. He stood for long moments like that, until he noticed another presence beside him.

He returned to himself and looked down slightly, smiling as he noticed the unmistakable white mane of his love. He absently looped their fingers together, squeezing once for the sheer reassurance of pressure.

"Can you even believe it?" he asked, awe coloring his voice.

"The sunrise?" Toshiro returned, a faint smile on his own face.

"You know that's not what I mean," Ichigo lightly chastised him. "I meant that we're even still alive."

"Yes," Toshiro responded, "I can. Because even in the heat of battle, I don't need a sunrise to find my guiding light."

04. Dark

Ichigo rose for a beat, trashing against the sheer weight of water around him before plunging back into the onyx depths from which he had come. He sank deeper into the freezing water, unencumbered in his spirit form by the temperature or the need to breathe.

There.

He saw him now, floating a few feet from the lagoon's dark, sandy bottom, as though tethered there, head lolling back and forth, completely unaware of his surroundings. Ichigo kicked down to him, fervent hands working fast to free him from the chains of kido he could feel arching up from the slit floor. It snapped, but rather than free his entangled and injured spouse, another two shot up in its place.

So that's how it's gonna be, huh? Ichigo thought viciously to himself. So be it. He pulled Zangetsu off of his back and, in one smooth cleave, ripped his husband from the kido's grasp, pulling him away, into the safety of his arms.

The earth beneath them bucked wildly, spraying up and weeds, obscuring the black waters even further.

Ichigo kicked for the surface, writhing to get away from the darkness' clutches. He reached the surface of the water and tossed Toshiro to safety on the dry land before the first tentacle wrapped around his ankle, tugging him forceful back downward. He swiped at it with Zangetsu, knocking himself free and grappling for solid land, only to be hauled under again by a plethora of far more insistent feelers.

They wrapped around his legs and torso, around his arms, pinning Zangetsu to his side with their clammy grip, and finally wound their way around his neck. No matter how fiercely he thrashed and fought, spiking his spiritual pressure, he could not break free.

Finally, as he vision began to go fuzzy and dark on the edges, he noticed a peculiar drop in the water's temperature. Ice began to form on the tentacles nearest to him, and small pieces of the thing attacking him fell off in frozen chunks. He bucked again, in a last, desperate attempt to kick free, and jumped in surprise as an icy blade, slid between his body and its bounds, snapping him free as the creature roared in agony.

Toshiro's good hand grabbed the neck of his shihakusho and pulled, hauling him back to the surface as the beast beneath them screamed in rage as it froze and shattered, sinking in pieces back to the floor of the lagoon.

05. Seeking Solace

From time to time, particularly on the rare, impossibly difficult days, Toshiro would return to his squad barracks and trudge to his office, utterly harangued by fate, only to find Ichigo seated on top of his desk, reading some novel or another and quite plainly waiting for him to return.

On these occasions, he would wander over to his chair and sit, reclining, as Ichigo proceeded to read aloud, beginning from wherever he happened to be in the story and simply interjecting important information as he went.

In this manner, Toshiro finished the majority of his personal literature collection, lulled into comfort by the sound of the substitute's deep, reassuring voice.

06. Break Away

The first time he went home after the accident, he made sure no one saw him. He stayed carefully out of Karin's sight and avoided walking to near to his father. Even Yuzu he avoided, on the off chance that she saw him.

He just wanted to check in on them, that was all. Make sure that in his absence they had stayed safe, managed to function. What he found appaled him.

Karin and Yuzu, both at university, his father practicing at the city hospital now and holding regular conversations with Ryuuken Ishida, Orihime married to Uryuu, Chad mentoring Hispanic kids from a bad part of town.

A little, jealous part of him felt hurt that his world had moved on without him in it, but more than that, he finally saw how much growing up here would have suffocated him. He was meant to be a Soul Reaper, not a doctor, or a lawyer or anything else, and he wouldn't have given up his re-found powers for anything. He had needed out, but he regretted the tragedy that got him there.

A small, pale hand intertwined with his own and he looked down at his lover, looking so thoughtfully down at his sister's soccer match.

"Penny for you thoughts?" Toshiro inquired.

"I'm glad you waited for me," Ichigo told him simply, leaning down to seal the message with a kiss.

07. Heaven

"Seriously, Toshiro, you've got to try this. It's like a little piece of heaven," Ichigo prompted, holding out the brightly wrapped candy to his lover.

"Thanks, but no thanks, Kurosaki. I've had plenty of sweets today," the captain demurred, shuffling through the papers on his desk.

He finally found the one he had been searching for, only to be cut off by a very distracting kiss from his orange-haired boyfriend.

When the other finally pulled back, Toshiro licked his lips and grinned. "You were right," he told Ichigo. "Tastes like a little bit of paradise."

08. Innocence

As disinclined as Toshiro had been to purchase a dog, Panda grew on his, even as he grew in general. By the time the Malamute had reached a good 75 percent of his projected height, he and Toshiro had become, if not friends, at the very least effective cohbitators.

When Ichigo prodded him one cool evening, wondering at his odd affection for the dog he had not even wanted, he replied simply, "There's something endearing about his innocence. I like that. I mean, I did after all see something in you, didn't I?"

After that, Ichigo kept his smart remarks to himself, content to watch the pair interact so oddly amiably.

09. Drive

"For crying out loud, Toshiro! Ever heard of speed limits?" Ichigo howled, clutching the handle on his door for dear life.

"Yes, Ichigo, I have. I am also aware how fast an Apache helicopter can fly and how many bullets that machine gun can fire per minute," the captain replied tersely, gunning the Lamborghini Reventon the pair had…acquired on their flight and making a hair-raising turn just in time to avoid a spray of bullets.

"Thank heaven this thing isn't street legal," Ichigo muttered under his breath, hunkering down and bracing for the ride.

10. Breathe Again

The first time he saw Hitsugaya-taichou in battle, it took him a moment to remember to breathe again.

The man stood, resplendent, surrounded by icy crystal, his expression like thunder. Every move swam into the next and he never missed a beat, moving from one fallen enemy to another.

That was the moment Ichigo fell in love.


A/N: Thank you, cryptonomicon, for getting me addicted to this paring as well as to the idea of writing drabbles. A few notes: the Lamborghini from 9 is not street legal because it has a second ignition in the floor that starts four extra pistons. It's faaaast and the Apache is nothing to screw around with. Beyond that, review, tell me what worked and what didn't and I'll be seeing you!