Title: Power in Trust
Pairing(s): Ichigo/Uryuu, and not-so-subtly hinted at Isshin/Ryuuken
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Takes place after the Fake Karakura Town/Arrancar arc. Spoiler alert up to episode 310 in the anime and chapter 423 in the manga. Contains a mix of fluff, angst, humor, romance, and sexiness.
Word Count: Just under 2000
Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to the amazing Kubo Tite, not to me.
Summary: When Ichigo gets the house to himself he invites Uryuu over for some much needed alone time. However, their time alone soon turns into Ichigo trying to figure out what's bothering Uryuu.
Author's Note: My first IchiIshi fic! This was inspired by a page in the Bleach doujinshi Automatic Generation (it's an Isshin/Ryuuken doujinshi), where Ryuuken tells Isshin to go home, but Isshin replies that he's not worried because the kids know he's out and Ichigo is home. Hope you enjoy, and please review! I'd love to hear your feedback, the good and the bad. :)
Ichigo watches through half-lidded eyes from where he's leaning against the hallway wall. Uryuu is kneeling on the floor next to the front door, effortlessly slipping out of his shoes. Once they're neatly arranged against the wall, the black-haired boy stands up, brushing away stray strands of hair from out front of his face.
"The house seems oddly quiet for once," Uryuu observes with a curious look around.
Ichigo hums in agreement. "Yuzu and Karin are at a friends house tonight, not that my dad probably remembers. He had been a bit preoccupied when the girls asked him," he scoffs. Of course Isshin had been busy at the time by trying to sneak an attack on Ichigo. The red-headed boy was convinced that his father would never grow up.
"Your dad?" Uryuu glances down at the right hand that Ichigo offers to him, refusing to take it just yet. A lesson Uryuu had learned early on in his strange relationship to Ichigo was that Kurosaki senior was insane, and often gave the two odd (yet startlingly approving) looks whenever the two did anything that resembled a couple.
"He's out babysitting your dad."
Becoming impatient with holding out his arm, Ichigo huffs in annoyance. He reaches out himself to grab Uryuu's closest hand instead of waiting for the other boy to make the first move. Clasping hands and entwining fingers, Ichigo takes a moment to marvel at the warmth emanating from the soft skin before pulling the other boy further into the empty house. He aims for the couch in the living room which he had abandoned only moments before to let Uryuu into the house.
Ichigo continues his conversation as if it had never stopped, "He thinks that I don't know what's going on between the two of them, dumbass. As if it's not completely obvious."
He falls back on the couch gracelessly, still pulling Uryuu along with him. The black-haired boy practically tumbles into Ichigo's lap, shooting the red-haired boy a glare in annoyance before shifting himself off. He leans against Ichigo's shoulder, eyelids sliding shut as a contented sigh passes through his lips.
Brushing stray strands of silky hair out of Uryuu's face, Ichigo feels the sides of his lips uplift softly. Lines caused by stress and fatigue bunch together on Uryuu's forehead before they slowly smooth out, the Quincy taking a deep breath in and out. It is the little moments like these that always make Ichigo's heart skip a beat, leaving him breathless; watching Uryuu relax next to him in a way that he would never do in front of anyone else. Sometimes, Ichigo suspects that the other doesn't even allow his guard to drop when he's alone; instead, he's constantly alert for attacks. Giving a small and affectionate squeeze to the hand still resting in his, Ichigo leans his head atop of the Uryuu's.
"Long day? You seem more tired than usual," he comments quietly.
Uryuu twitches slightly next to him, fidgeting in what Ichigo can only guess as either exasperation or discomfort. "Yes, well, I've been busy with other activities in addition to my studies. We need to start preparing for our entrance exams to get into university."
Ichigo grins, letting go of Uryuu's hand to sling an arm over the other boy's thin shoulders, pulling him even closer. "Other activities, huh? You wouldn't happen to be talking about this?" Tilting his head down, Ichigo nudges the silky strands of hair away from Uryuu's ear so that he can lick a short line across the top. Closing his mouth over the top of the ridge, Ichigo softly nibbles on the appendage as a mildly salty taste assaults his tongue causing him to hum approvingly. Uryuu moans for only a second before he chokes it off, his face flushing bright red.
"Ku-Kurosaki!" Placing his hands flat on Ichigo's chest, Uryuu makes a feeble attempt at pushing the other away.
Ichigo merely chuckles, "We've been dating how long, yet you still call me by my family name? I have a given name you know, Uryuu." Before Uryuu has a chance to respond, Ichigo dips his head even lower so that it's resting beneath the Quincy's ear. Taking a deep breath in, Ichigo relishes in the combination of smells that make one unique scent; clean linen, the outdoors, and a subtle yet sour musky scent. Briefly rubbing the tip of his nose against the sensitive skin, Ichigo lets his face break out in a smile. He spends a couple of seconds flicking out his tongue in a teasing manor, distracting Uryuu while he shifts the Quincy's body around so that it's facing him. With a gentle shove, Uryuu falls backwards, head barely missing the arm rest. His eyes blinking owlishly as his face becomes even redder. Ichigo notices that Uryuu's lips are slightly down turned, his eye's quickly looking away under the close scrutiny.
"No? What about this then?" Again, Ichigo doesn't wait for a response before he acts. With one hand braced on the couch next to Uryuu's head, the other flits gently against the smooth skin on his neck, barely touching the other boy's quivering Adam's Apple. With a quick grin directed to the Quincy's face, Ichigo turns his full attention to his hand as he slowly moves it down the pale column, across the collarbone (and over Uryuu's soft shirt), down the side of constantly twitching chest muscles, to finally land on Uryuu's side. Pausing his hand for a moment to listen to Uryuu's quick intake of breath, Ichigo moves his hand down the Quincy's side, twisting it at the last moment so his fingers brush against a ticklish spot. As expected, Uryuu violently jerks away from the fingers, but Ichigo follows.
After a few moments of listening to Uryuu's poorly concealed giggles (a reaction for which the Quincy would always vehemently deny) and a stuttered "I-I-Ichigo!", the red-headed boy relents on his attack, moving his fingers away. Pulling himself up so that his head is level with Uryuu's, Ichigo places his elbows on both sides of the other's head so that he can rest his body on the Uryuu's without causing physical harm. He immediately becomes serious, his previously foolish antics forgotten.
"The hollows?"
Uryuu's face becomes momentarily blank in confusion before he quickly turns his head away, facing the back of the couch, as his frown returns full force with an accompanying guilty look. "Yes. Especially with the current shinigami representative, who is absolutely hopeless! It's . . . straining, being the only one in town who can deal with them, when I have so many other tasks that I need to focus on," he bites his bottom lip, flashing a quick look at Ichigo before looking away again. "I didn't want to bring it up. . ."
Ichigo smiles when Uryuu trails off, knowing that the Quincy's full thought was "I didn't want to bring it up since you no longer have your shinigami powers."
"You don't have to skirt around the subject, you know. Of course I'm not happy that I lost my powers, but I've accepted it. I told you when I first woke up after losing my powers that I didn't regret my actions, and I still don't regret what I did. It was necessary in bringing down Aizen and saving everyone in Karakura."
Uryuu bites down harder on his lip, looking both upset and confused for a moment before it's masked in determination. "You say that you're okay with the fact that you've lost your powers, but how can I be sure that you're telling the truth! In case you've forgotten, I lost my powers once too. So I know what it feels like to consider myself to be a burden! How can you, who received your powers in order to protect those close to you, just accept that they're gone!" By now, Uryuu's voice is trembling. He shakes his head a bit and clears his throat a couple of times before he's satisfied.
Resting one of his hands on Uryuu's cheek, Ichigo smiles fondly at him, rubbing his thumb back and forth over the satin-like skin. He silently contemplates his response for a few moments before he answers. "I'd be lying if I said that I was completely okay with the fact that all of my powers are gone. However, I can deal with it because I have faith in the people around me. That includes Chad, Orihime, Urahara-san, my family, and most importantly you. I trust that you aren't going to let anyone get hurt if you can prevent it. If not for the sake of protecting others, than you'll do it for the sake of upholding your pride as a Quincy."
From beneath him, Uryuu smiles weakly, lips barely twitching, prompting Ichigo to continue. "Anyway, I think that there are benefits to technically not being a shinigami anymore. I don't think you ever would have consented to going out with a shinigami."
"You can't know that for sure," Uryuu snorts. "Perhaps I would have, you were after all only a substitute shinigami. Besides, you having your own reiatsu was most convenient for me. With the shitty control you had over it, I could tell where you were at any given time without much effort. Now I have to physically look for you, which is very inefficient and occasionally bothersome."
Ichigo huffs, not quite pouting, "Yeah, well, not everyone has perfect control over their reiatsu like you do."
"I'm sure it was something that even you could have learned if you had put any serious effort into it. Not that it matters, but I actually found your inability to control your reiatsu . . ." Uryuu pauses, then shrugs. "For lack of a better word, cute."
"Cute, huh?" Ichigo leans forward so that his forehead is resting against Uryuu's, their noses brushing each other.
"Yes, cute. Do you have a problem with that?" Uryuu asks, snaking a hand around Ichigo's neck. He sifts his fingers through the short hair before gripping it tightly in his hand.
"Not at all." Ichigo feels Uryuu pulling their faces closer together, smiling when their lips finally make contact. It's their first kiss of the night, and as always, it sends the butterflies in his stomach fluttering like mad. From beneath him, Uryuu moans. The sound was swallowed up by Ichigo's mouth, and the Quincy reaches up with his free arm to wind it around Ichigo's back, pulling him closer.
Ichigo marvels in how soft Uryuu's lips feel against his, wondering, not for the first time, if they are a result of the Quincy's meticulous hygiene rituals. Either way, it doesn't matter, and the thought is soon forgotten when Uryuu opens his mouth to prod at Ichigo's lips with his tongue which is hot and wet. The two of them rub their tongues back and forth together for a moment or two before Ichigo pulls back. He's breathing heavily, as is Uryuu who's glasses have become unbalanced on his nose. Any further intimacy will have to wait until they have reached the safety of Ichigo's room, where Ichigo can be one-hundred percent certain that they they won't be interrupted.
Sitting up, Ichigo pulls Uryuu up, the two of them slowly catching they breath. After a long moment of silence, Uryuu is the first to speak.
"Wait, you mentioned earlier that your dad was babysitting mine. What did you mean?" Uryuu's brow furrows in confusion.
Ichigo chuckles, "Let's just say that their relationship isn't unlike ours."
Fin