A/N: Um ok, so long story short... Been rewatching Bleach from the beginning. And well, got a hold of some wine today and alchy + me = sleepy time. And well... I didn't really dream this exactly but it kinda found it's way into my head. About time I did another fic that wasn't M. It is T for lots of kissing... if the title didn't tell you that... wow. Although I do need to get back to my other works...

Yes, well I do hope you enjoy. I was going to name this something else but when I got to the end things changed on me. It is a name tribute to the "Winter War" and all of the characters that have died and will die in the chapters to come. Nothing spoilery, just a bit of word play because I love those types of things.

Also, I no longer accept unsigned reviews. If you leave one that isn't it won't be posted. Nothing personal but I do like letting people know I appreciate their feedback and I took the time to upload this so I thank those who take the time to sign in and review.

Oh yeah, I've been kind of wanting to do something "cute". So I hope this classifies as such. :)

Winter's Kiss

One's first kiss, it is sweet and innocent; something shared in a timid moment of bliss. At least that was how it was for Ichigo Kurosaki. He remembered it well as he pressed the other's body up against the lockers in the empty gym room. It was by accident. Just a moment where he was just too close and when he turned, their faces less than an inch apart, he felt soft, petal like lips brushing his. Ichigo blushed at the memory. He could not help but stop a moment to look into equally surprised bright, azure eyes. Eyes that mimicked the slight uncertainty on what to do next and when those same bright gems looked away to hide the growing tint beneath them, Ichigo did the only thing he could think of and captured the delicate flesh with his.

It did not stop there though. Neither of them spoke about it, just when they found themselves alone it seemed to fill the void between them. A void masked by silence and a secret that neither wanted to admit. However there was never anything more to it than that. It was like some unspoken rule they both had agreed on. So that was all they did, kissed without touching. There was nothing more than the feel of thin angelic lips massaging against his flushed ones. And when Ichigo leaned along a wall of sorts it was to keep an upright position, for he found every time their lips danced their forbidden waltz he felt weakened by it. It did not seem to bother the blue-eyed angel either. His partner seemed to welcome it and allowed Ichigo to support himself along the wall.

The grates in the lockers pressed into Ichigo's palms but it went unnoticed. All he cared about was what he was doing with his mouth. Something wet licked his lips and Ichigo all but wanted to unhinge his jaw. He suppressed a moan. Moaning seemed to be something off the long list of what not to do. So instead his mind sighed in relief and their tongues continued to dance silently. He remembered the first time they had done that too. After class on the rooftop, Ichigo normally went home but stayed after everyone else left. That day when they kissed he had licked his own lips to moisten them and the other's mouth opened graciously for him. Ichigo was almost as surprised as he was about their first kiss; he nearly bit down on his partner's lip. But he thought better of it and the kiss went on until air was needed. And by the time Ichigo had caught his breath, he was alone.

The bell rang, breaking into the silence that enveloped them. Ichigo panted as they parted. It seemed to be the only thing both of them could not help. He watched the other's chest rise and fall, not wanting to meet the stunning blue, even if they were hidden behind glass. "We must get back to class, Kurosaki."

Ichigo nodded and swallowed a large amount of air. "After you, Ishida."

Raven colored hair passed his vision and Ichigo was quite sure Uryu had adjusted his glasses before moving away. He looked at his hands and saw the engraved lines from the lockers. Ichigo took deep breaths and rubbed each hand in turn, hoping to get rid of the evidence before going off in the same direction as Uryu. Although it would not matter if he were late to class, no one would notice the discrepancy. Or how Ichigo would look out the window and Uryu's static stillness. Both were of the normalcy. Although it would never even matter if either of them looked slightly flushed or that they pointy avoided each other's gaze. No one would ever think to put them together. Not even poor Orihime as she giggled over Ichigo's back while she and the rest of their friends talked in the absence of silence. He looked over to stare at the back of the elegant archer. That was what he wanted the most, silence.

"Kuro-saki-kun!" Rukia sang directly into Ichigo's ear.

"Gah!" He nearly fell over onto his side in surprise. "What was that for, Kuchki-san?!"

Rukia smiled deviously. The rest of the group was chatting happily off to the side. "You just looked so agitated I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Ichigo blinked in disbelief. "This is how my face always looks." He blurted out.

"Oh?" The black haired Shinigami raised an eyebrow. "That sounds pretty familiar. I swear someone else has told me that before." She looked off into a distance at nothing in particular. Ichigo looked down at his lunch because he did not want Rukia to notice he could see that specific someone from the rooftop. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Wh-why wouldn't I be?!" Ichigo stammered.

Rukia looked down towards his lap. "Well, you haven't even touched your lunch."

"Ah well, I'm not feeling so good."

"Are you sick?"

"Sure,"

"Well I don't believe you."

Ichigo glared at her. "Then why did you even bother to ask?"

Rukia chuckled and sat down next to him. "Well maybe I do, but it's not anything that a doctor could fix."

He coughed on his drink. It was the only thing he seemed to be able to stomach. "Excuse me?" Ichigo gawked at Rukia who seemed to be content on looking innocent.

"Well if you don't want to talk about it..."

Silence followed, at least between the two of them. Everyone else nearby seemed happy and oblivious to their conversation. Orihime might have glanced over a couple of times but that was about it. But Ichigo wished it was true silence. His brown eyes slowly traveled the landscape, briefly stopping on the raven-head eating his lunch neatly beneath a tree. Most days Uryu declined eating with them. Those were the days Ichigo liked most. That way he could sit up and watch him from afar and no one was the wiser. "Kuchki-san?"

"Hmm?" Rukia replied.

"Um... How do you know when you like someone?" Ichigo tried not to blush and his words were quiet.

"Oh!" She nearly clapped her hands together in happiness. "I knew my little Kurosaki-kun was love sick!" Ichigo glared at her from the side, Rukia's smile did not fade for even half a second. "Who is it? Is it Inoue-san? Arisawa-san?"

"No!" Ichigo shook his head trying to deny that he was speaking about himself.

If it was possible, Rukia's smile got even bigger and she leaned in closely to whisper. "Ooo, I know! It's me! You're in love with me!"

Ichigo refrained himself from slapping Rukia but the look said it all. "Eww, no. Besides, you're with Abarai."

"Hmm, yeah you're right." Rukia nodded. "You're a bit young for me anyways."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. Another moment of silence between them passed. "Well, even if I did like someone, how would I tell them?"

Rukia hummed. "You could always just say so to them."

Ichigo nearly laughed. "Yeah, I'm not so good with that type of stuff."

"Well, you could always show them."

This made him feel curious. "How?"

"Buy them things they like. Or take them out to their favorite place. Stuff like that." Ichigo just gave her a look and Rukia chuckled.

"I doubt I-they would be into that type of stuff." He stuttered over trying not to say Uryu's name. Rukia seemed to politely miss his mistake.

"Well, you could call them by their given name."

"Hmm..." Ichigo thought how odd that would sound on his tongue. Maybe he could give it a try.

"Or kiss them." Ichigo opened his mouth to say they already do that but thought better on it. The less anyone knew the better off everyone was. Rukia sighed heavily. "Or you could just do whatever you've always wanted to do with this person. If they like you back, it will be mutual."

Ichigo sat there quietly. He could do just that. But there was the possibility that it would end badly. "Thanks, Kuchki-san." With that he packed up his lunch and left the rooftop. Maybe silence was not the answer, but he knew that in order to break it he had to walk right into it again.

"Ishida," Ichigo stated calmly, yet almost with a certain amount of force. The archer looked at him without moving and casually kept packing his bag full of books.

"What is it that you want, Kurosaki?" It was neither polite nor rude. Just like when they kissed. The classroom emptied and everyone said their goodbyes to one another. Ichigo glanced out the window and saw Orihime's long auburn hair flowing in the wind and Tatsuki walking with her smiling. Even from up inside the classroom, Ichigo could see the look in Tatsuki's eyes that reminded him of the longing that he saw in his own when he thought of Uryu. "Are you waiting for everyone to leave?"

Ichigo turned back to see Uryu standing in front of him, his bag swung over his shoulder. The silence was back. Normally it was now that they would start kissing but that was not exactly what he wanted at the moment. Azure eyes looked him up and down as if wondering if this was an after school ambush. It was somewhere they had never done such things before. "I..." Ichigo did not move when Uryu took on step forward. "I am walking you home."

Uryu blinked at the words. It was not a request. "You're serious." Ichigo nodded, swallowing his pride along with the nervous feeling in his throat. Uryu shrugged at not having Ichigo's tongue shoved into his mouth. Maybe it was possible that Uryu did not really care to do other things with him. "Do as you like." With that the raven turned and started off towards home. Ichigo ran to catch up. About ten minutes away from school Uryu spoke again. "Why are you doing this?"

Ichigo felt that nervous lump again and tried to rid himself of it. It was almost like Uryu was saying 'why are we doing this?' instead. He took a deep breath it was now or never. Reaching between them, he caught the other's hand. Uryu jumped at the touch and became rigid. But he continued to wrap his warm hands around Uryu's cold ones. They walked like this for quite some time. And Uryu did not pull away which made Ichigo smile. They walked together all the way to Uryu's apartment and when they reached the door, they stood there as if it were someone else's. "Er-"

"What is it that you want, Kurosaki?" Uryu's voice seemed slightly upset this time.

Ichigo pulled the hand he was hold and yanked Uryu into his chest. He kissed the raven on his doorstep. The kiss was deep and the other did not resist. Not even when Ichigo leaned him against the door to his home and bit down softly on the plumping lips. Uryu gasped slight at the unexpected touch but let him explore the new territory. The lithe body was soft in his hands and Ichigo vaguely wondered if it was made of silk. That was before he ran his fingers through Uryu's bangs, pulling them back out of the young Quincy's face and digging into the nape of his neck. Ichigo sighed and felt the moistened lips to travel down the chiseled jaw. If he had thought Uryu's mouth tasted wonderful, the skin was even better. It was salty and sweet at the same time, along with a hint of evergreen mint from the black locks that brushed his face. Ichigo finally let himself moan as he held the smaller frame against his own until he no longer had any breath. "Doesn't that tell you?" He finally managed between breaths.

Uryu blinked and pushed his glasses up again. They looked slightly fogged and even though their owner had not resisted, he had not returned the gestures himself. However, Ichigo vaguely noticed the thin fingers shake as he brought them back down. "If you want to screw me, Kurosaki, just get it over with." Uryu looked off to the side, his face pink with embarrassment.

"Huh?" Ichigo lessened his grip and pulled his body off slightly. He did not think he had come off like that. "No, that's not it at all." The blue was back, boring into him. "I mean, if it ever came to making love with you, I wouldn't mind. But I'm not going to force you into anything."

Uryu looked down this time, his eyes resting on Ichigo's now calm moving chest. "So then why are we doing this?"

"I'm not sure about you," Ichigo hesitated but only for a second. "But it's because I like you. I certainly hope you didn't think it was because I just wanted to drag you to bed." That last part was mumbled but not unnoticed.

"I..." Uryu looked back up. He could have sworn there was a glimmer of hope, but it was hard to tell behind the sheet of glass that protected the archer from the outside world.

Slowly, Ichigo removed his hand from Uryu's waist and carefully slid the offensive object away from the other's face. He bit his lip in attempt to not ruin the moment as he laid eyes on what he thought was the most beautiful face he had ever seen. After taking a deep breath, he continued. "I'm in love with you, Ishida Uryu." There really was hope behind those frames and they glimmered even without the sunlight hitting them. "And I hope you feel that same about me."

Uryu's hand shook but he pulled out his key from his pocket and fumbled to unlock it without turning around. Their eyes never left each other and the raven nibbled on his trembling lip until he heard the lock click open. Then the door was flung open and Uryu grabbed the front of Ichigo's shirt. There was a scrabble at the entryway to get bags on the floor, shoes off and the door closed all in one moment. "You idiot," Uryu mumbled as he pulled a half grinned Ichigo into another kiss. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Ichigo licked the other's jaw as he was pulled down to a couch. Somehow he managed to get Uryu's glasses on the table without breaking them and crawled on top of his desire. "I didn't think you really wanted anything more than what we were doing."

Uryu rolled his eyes, threading his fingers through Ichigo's bright orange hair. "Why else would I kiss you?"

"I dunno, because it just happened?"

"More than once?"

"You wanted practice?"

"... And you're a Shinigami..."

Ichigo chuckled at the last one along Uryu's throat which trembled at the vibration. "And you never once made a sound."

"That's just how I am." Uryu nearly squeaked, arching slightly at Ichigo's touch.

"No you're not." Ichigo laughed. "You exaggerate more than anyone I've ever known."

"Perhaps it's because my vocabulary consist more than a few basic words to express what needs to be said." Ichigo gawked at him. "What?"

"See..."

"Tch," Uryu pulled Ichigo back into another kiss.

Ichigo moaned into the other's mouth, earning him a small sigh. "Maybe I like it when you're vocal."

"Hmph," Uryu huffed. "And I suppose you know all about how this is done."

"Yeah, now stop talking."

Uryu's mouth was covered again by slight plump lips. He tried to break away and Ichigo growled softly. "I thought I was supposed to be more vocal..." Ichigo glared at the breathless figure below him. Silence followed. "Ichigo...?"

"Hmm?"

"Wh-what are we going to tell Inoue-san?" The question was a bit surprising.

But Ichigo knew the answer. "I'm sure that someday she will realize that there is someone who wants her as much as I want you, Uryu." Uryu blinked at such a thing coming from Ichigo. It was surprising but a smile formed on his lips. With that put aside, Ichigo concentrated on Uryu's body to show him how much he cared for the other. And hoped that one day, there would be a world that could accept a Shinigami and Quincy who loved each other enough to shed a tear over those who have and will fall for winter was drawing near.