The Protector's Flower
Ichigo took another deep breath. His first day as Captain. His first day as a permanent resident of Soul Society. After Yhwachs defeat he did some thinking, contemplating his life, his drive and motivation, what he truly wanted. Having come to a decision he talked to the Soutaichou, he had simply asked if it were possible for him to attend the Academy. Kyoraku had asked him with a laugh whatever he wanted to learn there. When Ichigos very hesitant answer had been: Kido. Kyoraku had only laughed more before offering him his own former place as Captain of the eight. Ichigo accepted. Afterwards Kyoraku had kept the new position of Ichigo as Captain under tight wraps, he wanted to give his fellow Captains the scare of their lives, after all just because he was Captain Commander didn't mean he couldn't have any fun. Kyoraku cleared his throat and called them to order. His eyes swept over the ranks of Captains, taking in the newly healed forms of Rose, Kensei and Toshiro and shooting a thankful look at the Captain of the twelfth.
Kyoraku greeted them with a grin.
"The meeting today has been called to announce the new Captain of Squad eight!" He called out to them. "Please enter!" He said, a grin on his face. Ichigo walked in, Haori already on his back and frown in place. He smirked at the startled faces of the other Captains.
"Really didn't tell them did you, Shunsui?" Ichigo asked Kyoraku with a raised eyebrow, Kyoraku only grinned back and winked in answer.
Ichigo shook his head before shrugging and taking his position among the Captains. Afterwards they talked about the ongoing repairs and number of new Soul Reapers to expect coming form the Academy this year. Ichigo had expected it to be this boring and kept his face carefully emotionless. After cancelling the meeting Ichigo was immediately swarmed by the former Vizards as well as Toshiro and Byakuya
"Seriously, Ichigo?" Shinji asked him, Cheshire cat grin in place. "Couldn't ya have warned us?" He asked.
Ichigo shrugged.
"I was busy writing my finals, if you got a problem with not knowing ask Shunsui." He simply said. Kensei raised an eyebrow at him.
"You finished school before coming here? What's the point?" He asked. Ichigo looked at him.
"Had you known my mother you'd know…" He said. Kensei looked at him in contemplation but took his explanation.
Byakuya looked at him.
"Why did you leave your life behind?" He questioned in a surprisingly soft voice. Ichigo blinked at him in surprise before ducking his head and rubbing his neck a little.
"My chain of fate was already cut years ago, Byakuya. I guess you can connect the dots yourself…" Byakuya looked at him in surprise, as did the others.
"…Your already dead." Kensei said in shock. Ichigo nodded.
"Jep! Hat'n'clogs cut it so I could get my powers back and save Rukia." He said.
Byakuya looked down, the guilt of those times still weighing heavily on his shoulders. Ichigo patted his back and grinned at him.
"Don't go mopping around on me now Byakuya." The Kuchiki heir simply closed his eyes and regained his usual air of cold pride with a nod into Ichigos direction. Ichigo looked at him in amusement.
Toshiro was the one to speak up next.
"At least I am no longer the youngest." He said, a triumphant grin on his face.
"But still the shortest. Stop dreaming Toshiro." Toshiro glared at Ichigo.
"That's Hitsugaya-tai-." He stopped when he realized that they now held the same status.
"You know what…I don't care…" With that Toshiro walked away, head held high.
"He's so cute when he's pouting." Ichigo told Shinji with a grin, loud enough for Toshiro to hear.
"Ya souldn't tease him like that Ichigo." Ichigo looked at Shinji accusingly.
"Why, Shinji? You know that's the only joy in my life!" He said dramatically. Rose started chuckling while Shinji simply shook his head in amusement and left. Kensei and Love excused themselves too, leaving Rose and Ichigo to slowly walk into the direction of their divisons.
"Good to see that the clown was able to heal you completely." Ichigo told him, smirking at Rose. Rose nodded.
"Yes, I am quite thankful to him. Though the thought of being indebted to him scares me more than anything else." Rose admitted, pulling a face at the thought. Ichigo laughed.
"I can see why. Man, you guys really had me scared for a second there…" Ichigo said, he looked down at the street, smile vanishing slowly. Rose nudged his shoulder.
"Didn't know you cared, carrot top." He told him teasingly. Ichigo smirked back.
"Everybody cares for their family." Ichigo only said. Rose blinked at him in surprise for a few seconds, Ichigo made use of the time to wave at him over his shoulder and vanish in a flash of shunpo. Rose huffed a laugh at Ichigos quick escape, smiling fondly as he looked at the place he had been in a second ago.
Ichigo sighed. Kyoraku had appointed Rukia as his lieutenant. With that Ichigos life was officially hell, though the eight seemed to take comfort from the fact that not everything had changed. They still had a Vice Captain that took beating their Captain as a sport. And on top of that their new Captain seemed to get things done. He was hard working and earnest, he listened to the complains of his men and made changes and improvements. He even could be found conversing with unseated members and joined them for training many times.
Almost all the women and a few men of their division were hopelessly infatuated with the young man, yet nobody felt jealous, they knew their Captain was a great and strong man, he had after all saved Seireitei twice and despite his young age he was well respected among them. Ichigo himself was not unaware of the respect his division held for him, he was proud of his division, of their unity and strength.
He preached to them every single day that as a division they were family, they had to protect each other but at the same time they should never forget their duty. To protect the Souls in Seireitei, be it Shinigami or not. Members of his division found bullying members from other divisions (mostly from the forth) were punish heavily. But his hard work had paid off, just last week he could watch members of his division protecting a forth division member from some thugs.
They all had been called to his office and praised for their actions. On top of that he had started drawing plans to improve team work among his men. He trained with them every morning. He had them build teams and work together to achieve a goal, improving their trust in one another and letting them evaluate each other's strengths and weaknesses. The teams were changed every month, this guaranteed that his division was well acquainted with one another and could work in any group constellation possible. Ichigo nodded as he looked over the new training plan for his division. Rukia, though she was loath to admit, was impressed by the changes he had made in the eight. She still hit him over the head when he forgot to do his paperwork, or generally when she was bored but aside from that Ichigo was well on his way to become one of the most popular Captains.
Ichigo quickly got up from his desk, it was time for the monthly Captains meeting. He quickly got Zangetsu from their stance in the corner of the room and hefted them on his back. Walking through his division he greeted the members as he passed, he knew every single one of their names, he knew their weaknesses, strengths and aspirations. He nodded and smiled at a group of men bowing to him in passing. Leaving the division through the double doors he left in a burst of Shunpo. He landed light footed right in front of the first division. Kensei walked up behind him, he raised his eyebrow at Ichigo.
"In just one step. Not bad, Ichigo." Ichigo waved his praise away.
"Still practicing. How's Mashiro? Still not regretting making her your Lieutenant again?" He asked him. Kensei only gave a long-suffering sigh, he walked away from Ichigo muttering and cursing. Ichigo grinned as he watched Kensei take his place and glare at the floor. Rose popped up next to him.
"Hello Ichigo. What happened to Kensei?" He asked as he saw him moodily staring around. Ichigos grin stretched.
"Ohh just a neon green bug that has been annoying him." He said while turning to Rose. Rose chuckled.
"I see…" Shinji came in next.
"Heya." He said around a jaw breaking yawn.
"Yo." Ichigo simply greeted back. Shinji scratched his neck and looked at Ichigo.
"What did ya do to the eighth Ichigo?" Shinji asked him. Ichigo turned towards him eyebrows first raised in question before narrowing them.
"Why? Did they fuck up?" Ichigo asked him. Shinji shook his head quickly. Rose spoke up next.
"Quite the opposite. I have never seen a division where every single member gets along…" Rose said, trailing of at the end. Ichigo snorted.
"As if every member in my division gets along, they butt heads more times than I can count." Shinji frowned slightly.
"But they work together well, and they seem to know each other pretty well too." Ichigo nodded.
"Yes, I make them work together. Whether they want to or not. If they end up in a situation with a person they don't get along with or don't know, they have to know how to act. I'd rather force them into those situations now than see them 'learning by doing'." Ichigo said, pulling a face at the end. Shinji looked at him surprised.
"Well, good work Ichigo. Seems like you are succeeding." With that Shinji walked away to talk to Love. Rose stayed next to Ichigo. He gave the younger man a long look.
"You want them to be prepared as much as they can, don't you?" Rose asked him softly. Ichigo nodded.
"…Because you were thrown into this not even knowing what you were…with no choice but to make it up while you went." Ichigo looked over at Rose, he sighed deeply.
"Yes, it wasn't all bad…mind you, I am still here. But the more they are aware of each other's and their own weaknesses, the more experience they gain working with their team mates, the better prepared they will be." Rose nodded slowly, he gave Ichigo a smile.
"Let me know if you want to do any joined exercises sometime." He told him with a smile. Ichigo immediately perked up.
"That would be brilliant, I wanted to ask someone for a while, but I wasn't sure who. If it's okay with you I'll come by during the next week and we can draw up a plan?" Ichigo asked him, smiling at Rose brightly. Rose smiled back.
"Sure." He answered.
The Soutaichou stepped in, all chatter stopped as the meeting began.
Rose was walking back with Shinji.
"So how do ya think our Strawberry is holding up?" Shinji asked him. Rose looked over, eye brows raised.
"Same as you. I think he is doing brilliant. That guy was born to be Captain from what it looks like." Shinji grinned and chuckled.
"Don't let yourself be led on. Ichigo puts a lot of effort into his duties." Rose nodded in contemplation at Shinjis remark.
"Yes…Not having had the chance to prepare himself thoroughly has led to him doing the best he can to give that chance to his division." Shinji looked at him after he said that.
"Guess so." Shinji said in answer. Suddenly his grin grew wider. "Do you know what I just noticed a few days ago?" He asked Rose. Rose shook his head and motioned for him to continue.
"Ichigo is here. Which means Orihime-chan is in the world of the living all on her own! Desperately waiting for a knight in shining armor!" Shinji yelled an arm thrown around Rose. Rose shook his head at his antics.
"Yes, it seems like Orihime-chan has lost her chance…" He said. A voice suddenly spoke up to him.
"She didn't." Rose and Shinji looked around, their eyes landed on Yoruichi sitting on a wall to their right and grinning at them. Shinji tilted his head to the right.
"What do ya mean?" He asked her. Yoruichi jumped down from the wall and started walking with them.
"Ohh just that Orihime-chan confessed to our dear Ichigo and he turned her down." Shinjis eyes had grown wide.
"He turned her down?! Is he an Idiot?!" He asked/ yelled at her. Yoruichi only raised her eyebrow at him.
"It's Ichigo…is what I would normally say but he was quite gentle form what I heard…" Rose looked at her.
"Why did he turn her down?" He asked her, while Shinji was busy making plans to visit his 'first love'. Yoruichi turned towards Rose. A smile graced her features as she spoke next.
"He's gay." She said. Rose blinked at her in surprise. Shinji had stopped his antics and was gaping at Yoruichi. Shinji was, surprisingly, the first to get his bearing back.
"You're kidding…" He said. Yoruichi shook her head.
"Afraid not. Quite the shame too, he's such a hottie." She said, pouting a little. Rose silently agreed with her, before slapping himself mentally.
"Why hasn't he told us yet?" Rose asked her, trying to distract himself.
"Oh, I guess it simply didn't come up yet. He already told all his friends in Karakura. Isshin was the last to know…he was also the only one who threw quite the tantrum…" She told them, her golden eyes serious as she looked at them. Rose looked back, eyes somber as he took in that information. Shinji pressed his lips together in thought.
"What did he do?" Shinji finally asked. Yoruichi turned towards him.
"I'm only telling you this because Ichigo considers you family…and he could use some support after the things Isshin said…" She told them softly. "He told Ichigo to never come back, to never show his face at his door again, he told him that he wasn't sad that Ichigo would go away and that Ichigo would never see his sisters again if it was up to Isshin…" Rose blinked at her in shock. Shinji also grew very quiet.
"He seemed fine when he came here…and he seems fine now…" Shinji said softly. Yoruichi huffed a sardonic laugh.
"It's Ichigo…of course he seems fine…He would never admit to being hurt." Shinjis face twisted in thought. Rose spoke up.
"I will talk to him…I have a meeting with him during the week anyway." Yoruichi nodded at him thankfully and excused herself. Shinji and Rose remained quite during the rest of their way.
A hell butterfly came flying through the open window of Roses office. Raising an eyebrow, he let it land on his outstretched finger. He listened to the message and smiled slightly at the end. It had been from Ichigo requesting a meeting the next day. Rose quickly recorded his answer and send the hell butterfly on its way back.
The next day found Rose sitting at a small table in one of the meeting rooms of his division, Ichigo was due to come within the next minutes. A quite knock alerted him to his arrival.
"Come in!" Rose called out. The door opened and Ichigo stepped in, notebook under his arm and a smile on his face.
"Thank you for agreeing to this Rose!" Ichigo told him as he sat down at the table. Rose waved away his worries.
"My pleasure." He told him with a smile. They spent the next hour drawing up a joined training plan for their divisions. It would see that all members in a group are divided equally, there was not to be one group which only held the strong members of a division. Having finished Ichigo leaned back and stretched.
"Whew! We did it." He said, grinning at Rose. Rose nodded and sighed deeply as he leaned back.
"Remind me to never agree to this again." He told Ichigo with a teasing smile.
"Aww, how nice of you." Ichigo shot back, mock glaring at him.
"Come on, I'll treat you to dinner." Rose said, getting up from his seat. Ichigo arched an eyebrow at him.
"Oh? What's the occasion?" Ichigo asked him jokingly. Rose turned around with a lopsided grin.
"Us having finished this hellish nightmare of a training routine." He simply said back. Ichigo laughed and followed him. They went to a small Ramen restaurant just on the Outskirts of Seireitei. Rose stepped inside and greeted the owner with a wave.
"The usual!" He called over. Ichigo looked a little lost. Rose chuckled.
"Two times!" He called to the owner. Ichigo thanked him with a smile. They sat down at a table. Rose sighed. Better get it over with.
"I've been meaning to ask you, Ichigo. Isn't Orihime sad that you left Karakura?" He asked him. Ichigo looked over. He smiled a little wryly.
"Ahh, yeah. Well, we talked…" Rose motioned for him to elaborate.
"I turned her down…" Ichigo said, looking a little pained. Rose looked at him, he knew that, he also knew why but he had to hear it from Ichigo.
"Why?" He asked him. Ichigo didn't meet his eyes.
"Ichigo." Rose called out gently. "It's okay, tell me." He said. Ichigo still didn't meet his gaze.
"I turned her down because…I'm gay." Ichigo said, he swallowed heavily. Rose smiled.
"Nice, me too." He said.
Ichigo looked up, expression showing absolute surprise and shock before he burst out laughing. Rose joined him soon.
"Man, Rose! That's not the way to tell me that!" Ichigo told him between gasps of laughter. Rose only grinned at him innocently.
"You can tell the others too, you know. They won't judge you, Ichigo. We're your family after all." Rose told him with a grin. Ichigo grinned back, but it dimmed slowly.
"My…father…" Rose looked surprised that Ichigo would talk about this out of him own accord. "He…said some pretty terrible things to me when I came out…" Ichigo told him. Eyes downcast. Rose reached out and touched Ichigos arm.
"He's being an idiot Ichigo. And he'll notice it soon. Don't worry too much about it." Ichigo gave him a grateful smile. They moment was interrupted by two huge bowls of Ramen being sat down in front of them. They dug in and spend the rest of their meal talking and joking with one another. Many didn't realize it, but Ichigo and Rose got along splendidly. A lot of people thought Roses theatrics were rather overdone and uncool but Ichigo thought them to be hilarious. Also Rose was the only one besides Shinji he could talk to about music. To Ichigos dismay many Soul Reapers were blissfully ignorant towards pop culture, Rose was his only ray of light when he wanted to talk to someone about a new band he found or a piece he had managed to finally learn how to play on his guitar.
The weeks passed by. Ichigos and Roses joined training was a full success, they only had to break up two fights between the members of their divisions when things got a little too heated up. They high fived at the end of the day and grinned at each other.
The next Captains meeting was about to begin. Ichigo was leaning against the wall and looking around in boredom, he was pretty early because he had had some business at the Second and had shunpoed straight to the first afterwards.
"Hey!" He heard a voice to his right and turned towards it. Shinji was walking, with Hiyori in tow, towards him.
"Yo!" Ichigo called back, kicking of the wall and meeting them halfway.
"Heard you did some joined training with the third?" Shinji asked.
"Yeah-" Was all Ichigo got out before he was interrupted.
"Why didn't you ask the fifth, baldy?!" Hiyori asked him, a vein popping on her forehead. Ichigo held up his hands in a sign of peace.
"Rose offered, and I had been waiting for a chance, so I took it." Was all he said trying to calm Hiyori down.
"Well, then do one with our division next!" She said, crossing her arms and glaring at him.
"Ahh, sure. Just not any time soon. I have a few other routines I want to go through with my division first. Also there are a few members about to reach bankai and I want to overlook their practice to make sure they don't accidentally kill someone." Ichigo said, sighing a little as he thought about his duties. Shinji looked at him surprised.
"A few members?" He asked incredulously. Ichigo nodded.
"They have been training really hard. Almost all of them have reached their Shikai, Bankai is still out if the reach for most so those people concentrate on healing and Kido, the ones that are about to reach Bankai get more training by me." Ichigo said, crossing his arms and already drawing up training plans in his head. Shinji and Hiyori exchanged an impressed look.
"And to think some Captains aren't even able to finish their paperwork…" Hiyori mumbled under her breath moodily. Ichigo hadn't heard her and was still deep in thought.
"Hey!" They heard Roses voice to their left. Ichigo shrugged of his thoughts and turned towards him with a smile. Rose felt a grin stretch across his face when he saw Ichigo, his heart gave a little tweeze as he took in his lean form. 'What the…?' He asked himself on the inside, keeping his thoughts off his face with difficulty as he greeted Shinji and Hiyori. Shinji was already looking and Ichigo and Rose with sharp eyes. He had noticed how Ichigos smile seemed the slightest bit brighter when he had greeted Rose. And he had noticed how Rose had looked at Ichigo for a split second. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep his Cheshire cat grin from appearing.
"Ohh! Hey, Love!" He called, walking towards him and dragging a yelling Hiyori with him, away from the two. Rose sighed internally when he realized what Shinji was doing, and that he had most likely seen right through Roses thoughts.
"Everything okay?" Ichigos voice broke him out of his thoughts, Rose looked up and gave him a little smile.
"Yeah…Would you like to do something tonight?" Rose blurted out before he could stop himself. Ichigo blinked a little surprised before smiling and nodding his consent.
"Sure, got anything in mind?" Ichigo asked.
"Ahh…Let's just drink sake and hang out? I found this new band I think your going to like." Rose said.
Ichigo nodded enthusiastically. The meeting dragged on endlessly. But Ichigo left with a spring in his step. He didn't know why but during the last weeks any meeting with Rose…it made him happy. Talking to him, seeing his smile, just being in his proximity. He stopped walking after a few steps. Not good. No, no, no, no very not good. He had fallen in love with him. He had fallen in love with the one person that probably didn't consider him more than a good friend. Family, even. Ichigo pulled a face. The thought of hanging out with Rose that evening suddenly losing most of its charm.
He arrived at Roses place shortly after 7 o'clock, he rapped on the door and waited for a few seconds. Rose opened him with a smile, Ichigo held up two bottles of sake.
"Think it'll be enough for the both of us?" He asked him with a grin on his faces, on the inside he was trying his best to stop his stupid heart from starting to beat faster. Rose laughed.
"I don't know…It might be a little too less." He said with a grin, waving for Ichigo to follow him through the house.
They arrived on the porch and sat down next to one another. Rose producted two Sake cups from god knows where and they started drinking. Ichigo slowly started to loosen up after his third cup, he forgot about the fact that he should be nervous sitting next to Rose and simply enjoyed his company. The continued to drink and joke with one another. Both of them by now had a considerable amount of Sake in their system. Ichigo chuckled and leaned over to Rose, resting his head on the others shoulder. He felt Rose underneath him tense for a second before he felt an arm around him pulling him closer.
If he weren't as intoxicated he would have noticed the significance of the move but as it was he only thought that it felt nice and let himself fall even further into Roses arms. They sat in silence, watching the stars over their heads while leaning into one another. Rose couldn't believe his luck when Ichigo leaned onto him, his heart was hammering loudly in his chest when he moved his arm and pulled Ichigo closer. He too, had taken in an huge amount of Sake, but unlike Ichigo he had had years of building up a resistance and as a result wasn't as drunk as a certain strawberry.
"Hmm, it's getting late." Ichigo mumbled with a reluctant sigh. "I should get going."
Rose knew he was right but felt reluctant to let the younger man go. Ichigo slowly pulled away from Rose and got to his feet. Rose was still sitting down. Ichigo offered a hand to him with a smile. Rose sighed and took his hand. Ichigo pulled with a little too much force and Rose lost his footing when he managed to get on his feet. He fell forward right into Ichigo, who in turn lost his balance and the both of them crashed to the floor. Ichigo groaned loudly when his back hit the hard wood beneath him. He opened his eyes and blushed when he realized what sort of position they had landed in.
Ichigo was on his back, flat on the ground with Rose splayed right on top of him. Their legs were tangled together and Rose was currently slowly sitting up, pressing his middle to Ichigos as a result. Ichigo felt the redness spread across his cheeks. He wanted nothing more than to reach up and pull Rose down into a kiss. His heart was going crazy. He forcefully ripped his eyes away from Roses lips and subconsciously licked his own.
He heard a groan on top of him and looked up. In the next second a pair of very soft lips were pressed to his own, without hesitantion Ichigo kissed back the Sake limiting his self awareness as he used one of his hands to tangle into Roses hair while the other wandered to his waist and pulled him closer. Their tongues met and danced, tangling together. Ichigo moaned at the Feeling. Very suddenly the kiss was ended. Rose was staring down at him his eyes wide and shocked.
"Rose…?" Ichigo asked, his heart sinking as he looked at the man on top of him. Rose quickly scrambled off of Ichigo, a hand pressed to his mouth.
"I shouldn't have done that…" Ichigo heard him mumble. By now they both were completely sober. Ichigos heart squeezed painfully as he heard Roses words. Stones seemed to be dragging in his stomach as he brushed a hand through his hair in distress. He swallowed heavily. He knew what he had to do, what he had to say to safe the remnants of his friendship to Rose.
"Rose…Let's forget about this…" Ichigo said, he tried to keep his voice neutral and forced a tiny smile on his face.
"I'll see you at the next meeting. Good night." He said and excused himself.
He was gone in a flash of Shunpo. He was running towards his division, reigning in his Reiatsu with pure force of will, he knew his emotions were in a tumble. His heart hurt, it hurt so much. He pushed open the door to his apartment, kicking it shut behind him be let himself sink to the floor. His hands were trembling he took a deep breath to control himself. A knock on his door alerted him. Taking another deep breath he opened the door and found Rose in front of him. Ichigo blinked in surprise.
"Rose-" Was about all he got out before his lips were assaulted once again.
Ichigo gasped and despite his better judgement pulled him closer, his hand finding its way into the incredibly soft hair once again. Ichigo pulled away with difficulty.
"What-?" He was silenced by another kiss. Ichigo pulled away once more. Attempting to speak again.
"Rose, what-?" This time he was interrupted by words.
"I love you…" Rose whispered. Ichigo stopped. He couldn't breathe, his ears were ringing with the blood rushing to his head and his heart hammering away in his chest.
"What…?" He whispered, eyes wide in shock as he stared at the man in front of him.
"I love you." Rose said once more, voice stronger. His words finally registered in Ichigos brain as he swooped down and kissed Rose deeply. He pulled away and looked Rose in the eye and he knew that his next words were nothing but the truth.
"I love you too." Ichigo said. Rose dragged him forward into another messy kiss. They continued to make out in the hallway for what could have been eternity.
"Bedroom." Rose whispered into Ichigos ear as they pulled up for air.
Ichigo had to stop any fantasies from assaulting his mind as he simply took Roses hand and pulled him into his bedroom. They entered and Rose turned towards Ichigo, with a smirk he pulled him closer and kissed him hungrily. Ichigo could only hold on as Rose started walking him back until his knees hit the corner of his bed. With another smirk Rose pushed him down making Ichigo fall with a small 'opff'. In the next second Rose as crawling over him, straddling his waist as he opened Ichigos Shihakusho. Ichigo gasped as Roses finger brushed over his skin. His mouth soon followed and left a treck of red marks on Ichigos skin. Ichigo could have never anticipated his loud moan as Rose sucked on his skin. He pressed himself closer to Rose. Rose pulled away and stared at Ichigo.
"Damn…you're so sexy…" Rose whispered as he leaned down and started trailing wet kisses along his collarbone.
"Don't mnn…say that…" Ichigo mumbled, muffling as gasp as Rose found another sweet spot. Rose chuckled again, he continued to trail his lips over Ichigos neck and chest sucking at Ichigos sweet spots.
Rose stopped after a few minutes, he leaned up and brushed Ichigos hair out of his face softly.
"Do you want to continue?" Rose asked him, voice soft. Ichigo blushed, this was the first time he was doing this, and in all honesty he wasn't sure whether he was ready to continue this early in their relationship. Ichigos silence must have told Rose more than anything else, he pressed a kiss to Ichigos lips and slowly pulled away. Ichigo felt his heart give another squeeze, his insides felt heavy. He felt guilt at not being able to continue yet. He reached out and pulled Rose in a hug, Rose blinked a few times in surprise before wrapping his arms around Ichigo.
"Sorry…" Ichigo mumbled into his ear. Rose pulled away and frowned at him, he reached out with a stern look on his face and pinched Ichigos cheek.
"Ouch!" Ichigo yelled, glaring up at him. Rose smiled at his plight but went back to being serious in a matter of seconds.
"There is no reason for you to apologize, Ichigo. Not being ready is nothing to be ashamed about, or to feel bad about. I am more than content with kissing you." He said, smiling at him kindly in the end. Ichigo blushed a little and smiled back at him. He reached out and pulled Rose down for another soft kiss.
"Ne…Rose?" Ichigo asked him. Rose looked down at him and hummed to signal for him to continue.
"Stay?" Ichigo asked, blushing again. Rose pulled away and looked at him confusedly.
"Ahh, I mean-not like that…I mean…would you just…stay…tonight…just sleeping." Ichigo asked, blushing madly. Rose grinned and swooped Ichigo into his arms, rolling around until they were lying in the middle of the bed. He grinned at Ichigo and with a flourish pulled a blanket over their still mostly dressed forms. Ichigo laughed and cuddled closer into Roses arms. Rose grinned brightly.
"Hey, Ichigo?" Rose asked.
"Yes…?" Ichigo answered, voice muffled as his head was pressed into the crook of Roses neck.
"Want to tell our family about this tomorrow?" Rose asked, voice slightly hesitant. Ichigo didn't even falter as he pulled away and grinned at Rose happily.
"Sure!" He said.
A/N: Heyy heyy heyy :D I hope you enjoyed this little Story ^^
Rose x Ichigo gets no love . If you want more fanfics on these two just tell me :)
Thank you for reading ^-^
~ Sal