Title: Unforeseen Complications
Author: Amcarche
Rating: T for mentions of sex, innuendos, boy kissing, etc.
Spoilers: Mentions past the Winter War (I think)
Pairing: Urahara/Ichigo and slight Isshin/Ryuuken
Disclaimer: If I owned bleach, I would not be writing fan fiction.
A/N: As always, reviews are appreciated and welcomed, but flames are not.
"Uh….oh! Gods! Kisuke!" Jerking upright as quickly as he could in mortification, Ichigo looked down at his now fluid covered body. "Dammit! Why do I have to want him of all people! It's not like I stand a chance in hell of ever getting his attention like that." Sighing with resignation, he buried his face in his hands as he reminded himself of all the reasons why he could never be with the man that he couldn't seem to stop thinking about.
"I've got to get over this! I mean, one, he's clearly got a thing for Yoruichi. Two, he doesn't like guys that way. And three, I'm way too young for him." Despite his reasoning, Ichigo couldn't push away the pain he felt at the thought of Urahara being with anyone else.
Curling up, he laid on his bed hoping to find sleep without the image of an ever grinning face belonging to the man he could never have.
Silently, Isshin crept away from his son's cracked door to his own room. He knew that Ichigo had been depressed lately (the bags under his eyes, increased scowl, and forced cheerfulness that never really existed were a dead giveaway), but he wasn't sure why. To his children, Isshin was an old fool, but he was rather observant. His children's happiness was what was most important to him.
Now, with the knowledge that his son was apparently very much in love with his oldest and best friend, Isshin knew how to help his son. He now had a variety of choices (okay, two) set before him. He could either help his son get over Urahara, as he was obviously failing at, by hooking him up with some hot boy his age (who preferably knew about the whole death god thing), okay, that option was out. No way he was going to try to set his son up with one of his friends. Isshin crossed a lot of lines, but that was one no one should ever cross. It only led to said friend trying to shove an arrow up your ass. But it had turned out okay in the end! Sure, Ryuuken hadn't spoken to him for ten years, but that was beside the point! They were happy now. Or at least he was. It was kinda hard to tell with Ryuuken. The expression he got when Isshin came over looked like happiness compared to the murderous glares he used to get. Of course, he could have just been constipated and happy about it.
So, that left option two. Plan B. Numero dos. Right. Operation-Make-Urahara-Fall-In-Love-With-Ichigo was now in order.
He was the best Dad ever.
"Aaaaachoooo!" A long pale hand reached up to rub at his nose. Straightening up, he once again took a hold of his teacup. Sighing, he uncharacteristically removed his green-striped hat and placed it on the floor next to Benehime. "Someone must be thinking of little ole me." He said into the darkness of the tea parlor in an attempt of the sing-song voice that usually came so easily. His attempt failed miserably with his lack of usual exuberance.
Sighing again, he gave up on the tea lolling him to sleep on this depressing night and settled for staring at the shoji screen door as if it held the answers to his dilemma. Not to say that he didn't already know the answers. Or should he say answer. Because he did. He always knew the answers. He just didn't like it. He couldn't stand it. He couldn't stand the thought of giving up. He had never given up. He had never wanted something so bad in his entire life, but he knew, without a doubt, that he could never have the object of his now painful obsession. It was impossible.
For the man that lived by the belief that nothing was impossible, this was saying something. He should just give up and move on to something that wasn't impossible. Something that wasn't related to the cold reality that was his life. Something technical. Something that would distract him from the mind-numbing pain he felt whenever he thought of that which he could never have.
Except he couldn't. Wouldn't. Yes, he could if he ever tried hard enough. But he wouldn't. The thought of just completely forgetting about all the feelings that had formed since the day he sent him to……no, he couldn't digress like that. It was too painful.
An escape. That's what he needed. Looking around for an opportunity to present itself, Urahara's eyes landed on Benehime. Ah, yes. The cane he hid her in could use a good cleaning. She could also stand a polishing. There was a little scuff mark towards the tip of her. It had been there since he used her crimson shield and it had cracked a bit after the force of…of…Ichigo's attack had pressed against it while he was training the boy.
Fabulous. Now all thoughts eventually led to the boy. Frowning down at Benehime, he realized just how lax he had grown since he recognized his feelings for the boy. Normally, he took incessant care of Benehime, but that scuff mark had been there for so long. Perhaps it was just his self-conscious' way of keeping a part of the boy with him. Since then, Ichigo had returned from Soul Society with Rukia, trained with the other Vizards, gone to Soul Society again to fight in the Winter War against Aizen, returned again, and finally figured out the secret as to why his father hadn't seemed to get any older since he could remember.
Urahara smirked at the memory. Oh yes, Ichigo had been quite surprised to find that his father had once been a shinigami captain. Even more surprised that given the right environment, such as his underground training area, his father could kick his ass if he didn't hold back. Isshin grinning like a maniac while his son laid on the ground dumbfounded was a thing to remember. The two sparred with each other now and then although Isshin tended to hold back without his son's knowledge just as he himself did if he trained with the boy. They didn't want to bruise the boy's ego too badly.
Besides, how could they explain to Soul Society that two of the Gotei's greatest captains never fought to the best of their ability simply because there was no fun in that unless they were sparring each other? Or when they were pulling pranks on their fellow captains. However it wasn't much fun when old man Yama found out that it was them that put the pink dye in with the captains' robes (except their's of course, which was probably the deciding factor). In the end, they were off the hook because Captain Kuchiki could use his as camouflage when he used his bankai, Yachiru thought it brought out the color of "Ken-chan's" eyes (Captain Unohana secretly agreed), and Captain Kyoraku liked his so much he had Captain Ukitake (who loved the attention) dye flowers on it and continues to where it to this day. Urahara even has a reliable source coughYoruichicough that informs him that Captain Kuchiki wears his for his lieutenant to indulge his kinkier side.
Just as quickly as the distraction and humor had come, it left. After recounting the memories Urahara was left, once again, sitting alone. Sighing for the umpteenth time, he finally stood, wincing as his stiff muscles stretched, and was about to make his way to his room to fake sleep for a few hours when a breeze from an open window caught him off guard.
Turning slowly so as not to admit that he had been caught off guard, he came face to face with Isshin Kurosaki.
"Hey there Kisuke! Watcha doin' up this late?" The bearded man cried with so much energy that Urahara almost felt jealous. Waving his hand about in some gesture, he continued, "Oh, never mind! The point is that you're up which is great considering you're just the man I wanted to see!"
And people thought he was eccentric. Feeling a muscle twitch in his jaw, Urahara donned his fake smile once again and replied, "Oh really? And whatever could you want with little ole me?"
Urahara was good, but not that good. Isshin had know him for years, scratch that, centuries. Something must really be bothering him to not have noticed that Isshin had been behind him since, oh, say, ten sighs ago. Giving his own inaudible sigh, Isshin sat down across from where Urahara had been sitting in a silent signal for him to sit down again.
"I wanted to talk to you about Ichigo." Isshin carefully gauged his friend's reaction as he poured himself some now cold tea. Oh well, nothing a little kido couldn't help. Mumbling an incantation, he watched as conflicting emotions flickered across his companions face. Fear, sadness, and resignation.
Attempting to cover his slip, Urahara replied with a hopefully not too interested "Oh?"
"Yeah." Isshin started as he set the tea pot back down and rubbed a hand through his hair. "He's been really depressed lately and I've been trying to figure out why." He stopped once again to note the genuine concern in his friend's eyes. "Tonight, I think I figured out a piece of the puzzle. He's in love with someone." By the way Urahara was desperately attempting to cover the pain that crossed his features, Isshin figured his plan was working perfectly. He hated to put Urahara through this, but he needed to make sure that he wanted to be with his son just as much as Ichigo wanted to be with him.
"Who?" Urahara managed to croak out between the pain in his chest and the world crashing down around him.
"I'm not sure. I was hoping you could help me figure that out." Isshin said while suppressing a devious smirk.
"What are friends for?" Urahara said as he tried his sing-song voice again. Hmm. Not half bad.
"Great! So here's the plan!" Isshin yelled as loudly as he could without waking the rest of the household. As he vividly explained his 'plan', Urahara felt a little bit of himself creep back inside. The least he could do was make sure Ichigo was happy. Even if it wasn't with him.
Light slowly filtered through the lone window of the sparsely furnished room to land directly on the face of the lone figure occupying the rumpled bed. The previously relaxed face creased its brows together and threw an arm across its face in an attempt to block the brightening light from sight. Growling in frustration, the figure in the bed removed its arm and glanced at the clock on the bedside table.
As the figures on the clock registered in his sleepy mind, Ichigo shot up with a string of colorful curses. "Why the hell didn't anyone wake me up?! I'm late for school!" Cursing once again, Ichigo ran downstairs in search of clean clothes only to run into his rather tired looking, yet excited, father.
"Ichigo my boy! What's got you in such a rush? Do you need a hug from Daddy?" As Isshin jumped forward with open arms to embrace his son, Ichigo lifted his leg to place a well aimed kick to his father's face.
"Not now old man! I'm late for school! You usually make a point of waking me if I sleep in. Why the hell didn't you today?!" Ichigo screamed as he mentally slapped himself. He was so busy obsessing over Kisuke…no, Urahara, that he had forgotten to put his clothes in the dryer last night. Just perfect.
"Well, Daddy noticed that you've been having a hard time sleeping, and I decided to let you skip school today so you could rest!" Isshin was mentally patting himself on the back with his victorious grin in place while his son looked at him dumbstruck. Isshin never let him miss school. He let his kids do a lot of things, but school was always a top priority. "And I thought that after you've rested up, we could go to Kisuke's and use his training ground for some Father and son time!"
At that, Ichigo nervously shot a look at his father. Just how much did his dad know? Had he….heard him last night? Oh God. "Actually, I'm not feeling real great."
So that's how his son wanted to play. No way he was falling for that excuse. He hadn't lost an entire night of sleep putting together his plan and a fake plan for Kisuke to follow just for his son to shy away. "Well it's a good thing your beloved father is a doctor now, isn't it?" Seeing Ichigo cringe, Isshin hid a smirk with his usual goofy grin. He obviously realized there was no getting out of this.
"Okay, you win. I just have to wait for my clothes to dry." Sighing, Ichigo headed back up to his room to wallow in his misery and self-hate until the buzzer signaled his impending doom.
Isshin just watched his son head up the stairs with his fists resting on his sides and chest puffed out with an impossibly wide grin plastered on his face. As Ichigo closed the door to his room, he let the grin tamper down. Man, grinning like that hurt. With phase two of Operation Love Doctor (Yes, he changed the name. He was a genius. Didn't the new name have a great ring to it?) complete, he could now commence with phase three of his plan. Suddenly his grin faltered to a frown.
Heading to his office he realized it was a good thing they had to wait for Ichigo's clothes. Thanks to his talk with Kisuke and the fake plan, he had only gotten to phase two of the real plan. If he didn't have anything in twenty minutes, he'd just stall by opening the dryer so Ichigo's clothes didn't get done. Problem solved.
Tessai discreetly looked towards the mess of nerves that was his boss fidgeting at the table. He was used to expecting the unexpected from him, but this put the cherry on the sundae. He'd seen his boss fidget. He'd also seen his boss nervous. But never together. Especially so that it was obvious to anyone and not just him. What in the name of quality eBay products was going on?
Shaking his head a bit, Tessai turned back to the computer. Maybe there was something on eBay he could buy to help his boss? A crash and the sound of liquid freely flowing along with a rare swear from his boss caused him to pause in his thoughts. Looking up again, he saw Urahara-san squatting next to the low table as he picked up the shards of a now broken teacup and shook tea from them.
Making his way to the kitchen, Tessai grabbed a bag and a towel to help his boss. Something was definitely up, but it wasn't his place to question Urahara-san's antics.
Urahara embarrassedly thanked Tessai as he took the shard filled bag out back along with the tea-stained towel. What was wrong with him? He had to pull himself together before Isshin showed up with Ichigo. He couldn't trip over himself and drop things thereby making an utter fool of himself in front of Ichigo.
He had painfully excepted the fact that Ichigo had feelings for someone (most likely Kuchiki-san or Inoue-san), but it didn't mean his feelings for the boy had disappeared. If anything, he felt even stronger about him. How that was even possible, Urahara wasn't sure, but there was nothing he could do about it. He had been telling himself that when he had grasped the teacup. His brain had then helpfully added that Ichigo would probably marry one of the aforementioned girls and have children. That was when he had gasped at the pain the thought brought forth and dropped his teacup.
Looking up from the table as he sensed two similar sets of reiatsu approaching, he slowly stood. There was no use now. They were here. Ichigo was here.
He was doomed. Completely and utterly doomed.
Thankfully, his exuberant father had decided it was such a "wonderful ball of sunshine kind of day!" that they had agreed to walk to the Urahara Shoten. Isshin probably only wanted to walk in order to prolong Ichigo's suffering. Like a man walking to the gallows, or the guillotine. Whichever was more painful. Probably the guillotine. He learned in history the other day that sometimes the blades weren't sharp enough and had to be released over the person's head up to three times. Gah! He was supposed to be using this time to think of a way to escape his father, not try to compare his inner turmoil to renaissance death and torture techniques! The walk wasn't all that long, but it gave him approximately fifteen more minutes of thinking time than driving in the car would have. Not that the damn fifteen minutes had done him any good thus far.
So far he had only managed to figure out that somehow, his dad had figured out that he was head over heels in love with Kis-…Urahara. That sounded so cliché, but it was true. Actually, he was surprised it had taken his old man this long to figure it out. After all, he'd felt this way for years. Two years and seven months. God, he was so pathetic for knowing that. Like one of the characters out of one of Rukia's stupid yaoi mangas she read all the time. Gah! This wasn't helping. He only had three more minutes to try to get out of this. Time to bring out the big guns.
"Shit!" Ichigo cursed as he came to a sudden stop just in sight of the shoten.
"Language!"
"Sorry, Pops. I just remembered that I'm supposed to have a huge history test today in class. I don't know if I'll be able to make it up if I don't go today. I guess we'll have to do this another time…"
'Crafty bastard.' Isshin thought as he grinned at his son. 'But he didn't account on his beloved father's brain.' "Really? Well that's funny. Your teacher didn't mention any test when I called her while you were still sleeping this morning. Maybe it got cancelled? Don't worry. Let's just go meet Kisuke."
Fuck. Leave it to his dad to use his head when he desperately needed an escape route. There really wasn't any way of getting out of this. He couldn't use some shinigami excuse since his dad was way better at sensing reiatsu than he was. This was it then. He was completely and totally screwed.
In a matter of minutes, Kisuke (he mind as well call him that since his life was officially over) was going to find out, if he didn't already know, that his student was madly in love with him. And he would laugh. And tease him. And tell Yoruichi, who would in turn tell all of Soul Society. She'd make flyers. And Rukia would help. Then the Shinigami's Women Association would find out. At that point, his life would be officially nonexistent. He would never hear the end about how the 'Savior of Soul Society' was a pathetic wimp that had been in love with his sensei for years and never had the guts to tell him. Then they would talk about how the eccentric former captain turned shop keeper had, as nicely as possible, explained to the boy (because that's all he was) that he was too old for him and, quite frankly, not interested.
At this point, Ichigo nearly felt like crying. He hadn't cried since his mother's death. He wasn't worried about what his friends thought. That had never really concerned him. They would get over it, and if they didn't it was no big deal. What upset him was his imminent rejection. He didn't think he could handle Kisuke looking him in the eyes and actually confirming what he already knew.
Glancing up from his feet, he realized his father had stopped walking. Looking up completely, he locked eyes with the one person he wanted to avoid. He immediately noticed the forced smile. It was so different from his usual carefree one. The familiar twinkle in his eyes was gone too. Looking him over completely, Ichigo realized how tense Kisuke seemed. Not that anyone that wasn't close to him or obsessed over him like he did would notice. To anyone else, Kisuke would appear completely normal, or as normal as normal could be for the man. All these observations could only mean one thing: Kisuke knew.
Funny, this was quite a bit harder than he'd imagined it would be which was unusual considering his innate ability to predict the flow of future events with the utmost precision. He had thought that he would be able to face Ichigo today with only the now nearly regular numbness he felt where his heart supposedly was. Even though Ichigo loved some teenage girl, who probably had no idea how extremely fortunate she was, he loved the boy more than he could possibly know. Not that he would ever know. As such, he had decided to do everything in his power to make sure Ichigo was happy with the one he loved after all was said and done.
Of course he might have contemplated suicide when he found out. But only for a second! It was far too messy, and Tessai would have his head once he was reincarnated. A simple love potion would have sufficed, but, no matter how much he wanted to be with Ichigo, the thought of the boy being with him against his free will (albeit he wouldn't realize this little fact) made a bitter feeling settle in his stomach. Ichigo may not know he didn't feel that way about him under the influence of a love potion, but he would. He wanted Ichigo to want to be with him.
As he locked eyes with Ichigo, he realized just how hard it was going to be to act like his usual self. He knew Isshin could plainly see the tenseness of his usually carefree demeanor, but there was honestly nothing he could do about that. He could only pray Ichigo wouldn't notice because he needed all of his excess energy to keep himself from breaking down and cursing whatever girl was so lucky to have Ichigo's affections bestowed upon her.
There was no backing out now. Clearing his throat a little to keep his voice from cracking, Kisuke miraculously continued to look into Ichigo's eyes as he spoke. " Isshin-san! Ichigo-san! What a pleasant surprise! Come right in! I'll make us some tea!" Hoping Ichigo bought what was quite possibly his worst performance ever, he turned and headed back into the shoten towards the kitchen. As a fleeting thought, he tossed over his shoulder, "Make yourselves at home! Mi casa es su casa!" Great. He could only hope that Ichigo completely ignored him for that last part. He usually went out of his way to make sure his guests were uncomfortable and weirded out. He wasn't nice and cozy Suzy Homemaker!
At this point, Kisuke was contemplating whether banging his head against the counter might knock some of that famed intelligence of his back to the functioning section of his brain. Unlikely. How unfortunate seeing as how he was completely incompetent of playing the part of a creepy, perverted shopkeeper at the moment. Honestly! What was wrong with him? After all, he was the definition of a creepy, perverted shopkeeper! He couldn't even act like himself. He was never going to be able to pull this off if he kept thinking Ichigo could see through his mask. Confidence and an ego boost were what he needed right now.
Sighing, he realized he had almost walked into the sitting room without making tea. He needed to get a hold of himself. Now. He couldn't risk Ichigo finding out about his feelings and taking the blame for the state of his tormented soul. For Ichigo, he had to pull himself together. With a new resolve and his nerves steeled, Kisuke took hold of the tray with the now prepared tea and walked out.
Pretending to listen to his dad's ramblings about his "glory days", Ichigo's habitual scowl deepened as he concentrated on the oddity that was Kisuke. He just didn't get it. From the way he held himself earlier when he met them at the front of his shop, he obviously knew of the feelings he harbored for him. Nonetheless, there had been no taunting or rejection. Kisuke could have easily sent his dad to grab something for the tea or dragged Ichigo himself into the kitchen as the "tote boy" and told him there was no chance for them.
The unpredictable man who he had come to understand had taken an exit stage right and was no where to be found. Shifting so he could cross his legs and lean back on his hands on the green tatami mat, Ichigo let out a heavy sigh that made the unruly orange mop that had drifted in front of his face flutter. This was torture. Why couldn't Kisuke just break his heart and get it over with? Kisuke was a lot of things, but cruel was not one of them. He honestly hadn't expected Kisuke to prolong his suffering once he knew of his affections just for some entertainment. If there really was this hidden sadistic side to Kisuke, maybe it was better he could never be with him.
When the shoji screen door slid open, Isshin glanced up without pausing in his one-sided conversation to see Kisuke stepping inside the room. One look at his face told Isshin to keep talking. This was harder on Kisuke than he had thought it would be. He obviously underestimated the depth of his feelings for his son. Maybe he should skip a few steps in his perfect plan to cut both of their suffering short. He had already figured that Ichigo thought Kisuke knew he was in love with him (just like he planned), and Kisuke looked like he was about to hyperventilate (not how he planned). Okay, maybe not, but one long term friend to another, he looked like shit. Hopefully it wasn't too obvious to Ichigo. At least not to the extent Isshin could observe.
Quickly going over some calculations and mentally switching his plan around while Kisuke served tea, Isshin mentally grinned. As nervous as these two were, they would probably blurt exactly what they were thinking about (which was each other) to one another if they were left in the room alone, without him (or that snotty little brat that had given him a shiner when he showed up drunk that one time), and everything would work out. Congratulating himself, Isshin's grin suddenly fell. How the hell was he supposed to get out of here when it was his idea to come without raising suspicions?!
Noticing that his companions were staring at him with concern, Isshin tried to come up with an excuse for his sudden lapse in character. "I…um…" All three of them jumped at the convenient ring of Isshin's cell phone. "Hello?…Ryuu-kun!….Why can't I call you that?….Am I on speaker phone? You sound so far away….Uryuu has run off with the carnies to become a gypsy?…..Well sorry Mr. Stick-in-the-Mud, I thought that was what you said….No, I'm not drunk….Yea, I'm at Kisuke's….Now? Well…I suppose I could come over…No, no, it's no trouble….See ya in a bit babe." Clicking his phone shut and trying not to smirk outright, Isshin applauded the excellent as always timing of his lover. He'd have to do something really special for his birthday. "Uh…sorry about that. I'm gonna have to skidaddle. Ryuuken needs me. Something about a mid-life crisis. I think he just realized Uryuu hating him is his fault and wants to make up for it. Better late than never I guess. Well, I should be back soon, so, Ichigo, why don't you just stay here for a bit, eh?"
Not waiting for a response from his now panic stricken companions, Isshin stood, drained his tea cup, and bounded out the door.
What the hell was Isshin doing? He couldn't just change the plan in the middle of it! That completely defeated the purpose of even having a plan! So what if Ryuuken was having a "mid-life crisis"? He and his damn quincy pride could last until they followed through with the plan. At least until he wasn't alone with Ichigo. Kami knows what he would do if they were alone. Especially since he knew there would be no interruptions in the form of Tessai, Jinta, or Ururu until tomorrow afternoon.
Oh Kami, why did Ichigo have to bite his lower lip when he was nervous? Didn't he realize how incredibly irresistible he was when he did that? Wait. Nervous? Why would Ichigo be nervous? Ichigo only saw him as a perverted old shop keeper. That never bothered him before. His only response to Kisuke's perverseness before was to attempt to hit him. Not squirm in his seat looking oh so delectable. No! Must not picture Ichigo in his bed, writhing in pleasure as he….dammit!
Focus. What reason did Ichigo have to be nervous? He was the one madly in love with his best friend's son and left by said best friend in such a precarious situation. He would have to play this smoothly if he was going to keep Ichigo from knowing. What was Isshin even thinking? Unless…no. Isshin knew. That little…well, great. Isshin and his clever plans. He didn't tell Ichigo, did he? That would explain why he appeared to be so uncomfortable around him. No, no, no, no, no. This wasn't happening.
Kisuke could feel his carefully crafted façade shattering around him. The never-ending smile was gone. The grace and fluidity of his movements were now jerky and uncertain. Instead of a look of mischief gracing his face, a look of insecurity and slight fear replaced it. What was the point anyway? The one person he was desperately trying to make believe he was fine already knew that he was anything but.
There was no delaying it. He had to face Ichigo's rejection. If he waited any longer, he knew that he would only put himself in even more pain. New Zealand was nice this time of year. Maybe he'd take a long trip there to wallow in his misery without pitying, prying eyes afterward. Yes, and then, hopefully, on the way across the ocean, the plane would crash. Or maybe on the landing. Nice hard hit. He'd rather not walk away from the accident so he wouldn't have to feel the pain of Ichigo's refusal.
Meeting the gaze of those gorgeous brown eyes, Kisuke let out a quavering sigh. "Kurosaki-kun, I…"
Alone with Kisuke? If he thought he had any chance with the man, Ichigo would have been thrilled, but, as it was, that door was looking mighty inviting. He couldn't stay, but he also knew he couldn't just bolt out of there like his ass was on fire. Getting out of here with the remains of his heart and dignity was going to require a certain amount of finesse. It was a fucking shame finesse was a trait he severely lacked to the point where it was nonexistent.
Discretely looking in the blonde's direction while attempting not to look too nervous, he was shocked to see a look of panic running across his usually carefree features. He watched in morbid fascination as he witnessed the man he had come to love cease to function.
Was the idea that a teenage boy had fallen in love with him that disgusting to Kisuke? It's not like he could help it! Believe him, he had tried. Valiantly, for years, he had attempted to deny his growing affection for the older man. Unfortunately, love doesn't abide by society's rules, and once it picked a target, there was no preventing the snaring of the victim. If he had to fall in love with a man, why couldn't he have at least fallen in love with someone who loved him back?! Why?
When Kisuke's troubled eyes connected with his, Ichigo quit squirming. He may have quit breathing altogether, but he was past the point of caring. Those full pink lips looked as if they wanted to say something. He wanted to hear that rich, smooth voice, but, at the same time, dreaded it. He knew what the words would be. He knew they would be words of rejection. Teasing. Torment. But he couldn't bring himself to just stand up and walk out.
"Kurosaki-kun I….I'm sorry. I tried not to, I really did, but I couldn't help it. I promise it won't get in the way of your training. I'll get over it eventually, but…please…don't stop coming."
Wait. What? Why in the hell was Kisuke apologizing? And why did he make it sound like he had done something terrible and unforgivable? Ichigo had an inkling suspicion that he'd missed something along the way. Maybe his secret wasn't out? But, if it wasn't, then what was Kisuke talking about?
"What the hell are you talking about?" Ichigo said in what he hoped wasn't too gruff of a manner.
Blinking, Kisuke nearly cried in relief. Ichigo didn't know! There's no way he would act in such a way if he did. But now he had no clue why he was nervous earlier since his first theory flew out the window (thank Kami). "Oh, nothing Kurosaki-kun! You're too easy to manipulate!" Kisuke said with a (hopefully) carefree wave of his fan.
Ichigo felt a tick forming by his eye, but he suddenly stopped. Kisuke never let on that he was manipulating him until he had caused him some extreme form of embarrassment. Kisuke was lying. Smirking, Ichigo decided two could play that game.
"Oh? Well, in that case, I have something I wanted to get your advice on. I don't really wanna talk to my old man about it 'cause, well, you know how he is. Especially about this stuff. Do you mind?" Rubbing his hand on the back of his neck, Ichigo prayed he sounded more convincing to Kisuke than he had to his own ears.
"Not at all. Do tell. After all, indulging in peoples' personal lives is what I do best!" Was Ichigo actually going to tell him what was bothering him? For him to confide in someone, especially him of all people, then it must be fairly important.
"Well, ya see, I sort of….feel stuff for another person. Like, lovey-dovey crap."
Kisuke's heart promptly stopped functioning with that last sentence. He knew that Ichigo had feelings for a girl, but actually hearing the words come out of his mouth was even worse. The previously numbing pain turned into a full out assault on his senses. He could barely contain a gasp. Realizing he had left Ichigo unanswered for several minutes now, Kisuke attempted to speak without sounding too distressed. "For who?"
"I'm not gonna tell ya that, but, I just wanna get these feelings off my chest, yanno? It'd make me feel a lot better."
"Continue." Kisuke forced out.
"This person, they just…they make me feel amazing. Like I could do anything. Makes me wanna do anything for them. I really can't imagine life without them. I know it sounds cliché, but I guess you could say that they complete me. I just….I wanna spend the rest of my life with them. I know they're the one. And I wanna tell them." Pausing for breath, Ichigo realized he had been talking about how he felt towards Kisuke and he let a small, barely there, smile grace his lips.
It felt as though with each proclamation of love for Ichigo's mystery love, a blade was stabbed and twisted inside him. When he saw Ichigo smile, a smile he wanted so desperately to be for him, he couldn't stand it anymore. He couldn't just sit there and pretend like he didn't have feelings for the boy. Abruptly, Kisuke stood up nearly overturning his teacup.
"Kisuke?"
"Forgive me Kurosaki-kun, but I can't have this conversation with you." The shop keeper murmured with his eyes downcast, all playfulness absent from his voice.
"I don't understand. Did I say something wrong?" Ichigo was truly at a loss. He hadn't meant to offend the man. What had he said to cause such a drastic change in Kisuke's demeanor?
"Not intentionally." Seeing the concern on the younger man's face broke away his remaining barriers. "I'm sorry. I just…I can't stand to hear you talk about the person your heart belongs to when mine has always belonged to you." Seeing Ichigo freeze at his confession, Kisuke smiled sadly and turned towards his room.
All of Ichigo's higher brain functions shut down the moment he comprehended the implications of Kisuke's response. There was no way. Absolutely no fucking way. All this time when he had been pining after Kisuke, he had been too?
Thinking back on it, his smiles had seemed a bit wistful lately. That would also explain why he was so tense when he and his dad showed up. Who was he kidding? He didn't really give a damn when, why, or how Kisuke fell in love with him. All that mattered to him was that Kisuke wasn't some sadistic bastard (at least outside of the bedroom), and he did love him. Granted, Kisuke hadn't actually said that he loved him, but he kinda implied it by saying his heart belonged to him.
When Kisuke gave him that heartbreaking smile, he realized he hadn't responded to Kisuke's confession in anyway that could be considered good while he swam in his inner musings. There was no way in hell he was going to lose Kisuke when everything was finally falling into place. "Kisuke."
Hearing his name fall from Ichigo's lips, Kisuke froze with his hand on the shoji screen door to his room. Turning slowly, he attempted to control his now uneven breathing. It wouldn't do to breakdown in front of Ichigo if there was any chance of his acceptance. "Yes?"
Standing quickly, Ichigo crossed the room in three strides and gripped Kisuke's shoulders tightly. Looking at Kisuke's chest as he felt his courage falter, he answered with as much of his usual cockiness he could muster. "I hope you're sure about this 'cause now you're stuck with me." After his rushed declaration, Ichigo pulled Kisuke forward with the grip he still had on his shoulders while tilting his own head up toward the taller man's lips.
Realizing that this was really happening- Ichigo was really about to kiss him- Kisuke leaned forward the rest of the way and lightly pressed his lips against Ichigo's. As the feeling of those slightly chapped lips against his own soft ones became a reality, Kisuke couldn't help but moan. He'd imagined this so many times before, but nothing could compare to the real thing. Technically, they were only pressing their lips together, but it was still more than he could have ever wished for.
Cautiously, Kisuke moved his lips against Ichigo's, not wanting to break the fragile moment. When Ichigo groaned softly and probed his lips with his tongue, Kisuke immediately forgot the reason he was being so hesitant and opened his mouth so his own eager tongue could meet Ichigo's. Slowly, so that Ichigo could back away if he wanted to, Kisuke lifted his arms and wrapped them around the boy's slim waist. When Ichigo lifted his own arms and placed them around his neck, Kisuke let out a low moan and pulled him closer.
Using every ounce of will-power he had left, Ichigo reluctantly pulled away from the kiss lest he lose consciousness from lack of air. Although, falling unconscious instead of parting from those beautifully swollen lips was starting to become mighty tempting. Yeah, more kissing was definitely in order. Who the hell cared about breathing anyway? Ending his internal debate, Ichigo quickly moved forward again to press his lips against Kisuke's but was confused when his lips only met air. Tilting his head up, he met Kisuke's gaze with a hint of worry creeping into his own.
Kisuke chuckled lightly at the teenager's eagerness before pulling back. He did want to continue, but he wanted to take this slowly. No use having Ichigo do something in the heat of the moment that he may very well regret later on once the haze had cleared. Taking in the sight of the slightly furrowed brow and worry in the boy's eyes, Kisuke brought his hands up and cupped his cheeks while placing a soft, chaste kiss on those pouty lips. "Don't worry my love. I want to continue just as much as you do, but we should take things a bit slower, don't you think?" Seeing that brow furrow even more and a slight scowl return to Ichigo's face, he continued, "You don't want to get carried away and end this before it's even begun, do you?"
It took all of the restraint Ichigo contained to actually listen to the words coming out of the blonde's mouth instead of just staring at his lips longingly. When he finally stopped talking, Ichigo had to wait for the haze created by his calming libido to process what had been said to him. Thinking proved to be a lot harder than he thought it would with that damn grin he wanted to just kiss away only inches from his own lips. Frowning, he finally decided just to go with whatever the blonde said. There was no way he was going to be able to think properly for a good long while. Catching Kisuke's gaze again, Ichigo slowly nodded hoping to convey his dislike of having to stop through his reluctance since he was currently incapable of words.
Chuckling again when the boy seemed to give up thinking altogether, Kisuke pulled the teen close and led them off to someplace more private coughbedroomcough. In hindsight, it probably wouldn't have been good if Yoruichi had decided to come by and caught him molesting Ichigo since she didn't know that they had Isshin's (albeit unsaid) blessing. She was rather protective of the boy, and he fancied keeping certain things below the waist intact for future use. Hopefully with Ichigo. When he slid the door to his room closed, the previously lethargic teen in front of him immediately jumped him and began kissing him again. He really should have seen that coming. They should have just gone to an empty room. Of course bedroom would equate to sex in Ichigo's hormone driven mind. "Now, now Ichi," Kisuke gently pushed the teen to the bed and untangled himself from him. "let's just talk a bit, hmmm?"
Where were they going? Since when had they been walking? Ichigo's currently impaired brain wasn't able to really process what was going on and why. All he wanted to do was kiss dammit! Okay, so maybe he had not so briefly wondered if the blonde we be okay with sex yet, but it was all his hormones fault! He was a teenager after all. Bedroom. Yes. Finally. Wait. Why was he being pushed away?! Dammit! Letting out a little growl of frustration, Ichigo attempted to reach Kisuke's lips again but to no avail. Talk? No, talking was not good. That part of his brain had shut off a long time ago and would not be in service again until he satisfied the other part of him that was currently thinking for him. "No, no talking." Grabbing the blonde's wrist, he successfully pulled him off balance and on top of him. Unfortunately, his other thinking mechanism didn't take into account that Kisuke was significantly heavier and taller than him, thus placing Kisuke knee rather forcefully and painfully against the boy's now prominent erection on his way down.
"Oh…fuck!" The haze around his brain was effectively cleared at the registration of searing pain coursing through his body. Biting his lip, Ichigo glared at the offended knee that had caused his pain. However, knowing it was his own damn fault, he kept his mouth shut.
Letting out a squawk as he was pulled down, Kisuke attempted to right himself before he crushed the boy laying on the bed. Lifting his knee to support him instinctively, he failed to realize the path of said knee before it was too late and he heard an anguished cry. "Shit! Ichi-kun? Are you okay?" He asked tentatively as he removed his knee and situated himself on the bed while pulling the groaning boy against his chest.
"Yeah." Ichigo barely managed to wheeze out.
Suddenly, the entire situation was absolutely hilarious. It started with a snort. And then a chuckle. Soon, Kisuke just couldn't contain himself and burst out laughing.
Ichigo felt the blonde's chest begin to rumble as he regained control of his breathing and the pain stopped coursing through his body. He told himself if Kisuke started laughing, then he would just get up and leave. However, when the blonde's melodic laughter filled his ears, he realized just how funny this situation really was. He tried to let out an indignant snort for the sake of his pride, but it only led to his own uncontrollable laughter. If the Quincy ever found out about this, he would never let him live it down. Ruining what could have led to what he was sure would have been amazing sex with his own eagerness and having his partner laugh at him. This was never leaving the bedroom. Mustering the strongest glare he could while still chuckling, he looked up at Kisuke. "Don't you dare tell anyone about this."
"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it Ichigo. I was rather thinking that I should help you practice so as to prevent such a terrible thing from occurring ever again."
Ichigo hesitated when he saw the slight leer in that still laughing gaze. Then, his eyes widened in realization. "Practice, huh? I guess I'd be up for that. What kind of practice did you have in mind?" Two could play this game.
Marvelous. So the boy thought he could play with the big boys, did he? "Well….I was thinking somewhere along the lines of stamina and control." At that last part, he made sure to give Ichigo a suggestive wink.
When he saw the blonde's smirk and heard his words, he gulped. He was definitely out of his league. He was still a freaking virgin! "Okay, you win."
"Excellent. Now, what do you say we take a break and just lay here a bit?" Kisuke left no room for arguments as he settled more comfortably against the mattress and pulled Ichigo tighter against his body.
"So, does this mean you're my boyfriend now?" Ichigo quietly asked from his place on the man's chest.
Smiling softly into those wide brown eyes he answered, "Now that we've bypassed some unforeseen complications, yes, it does. And I plan on keeping you."
Realizing how tired he was, Ichigo just nodded his consent to the plan figuring that was enough until he could properly agree to the blonde's claim in the morning. Sighing with content, Ichigo snuggled into Kisuke's warmth and quickly drifted off to sleep.
Kisuke's last fleeting thought before he followed his now boyfriend to the world of dreams was that he should get rid of the pictures in that little box labeled "blackmail" as a thank you to Isshin.
Barely suppressing a sigh, the more mature of the two pushed the other's jaw back up. "Hmm. If that boy wasn't your son Kurosaki, then I would be surprised that Urahara managed to show the most restraint out of the two." Smirking, the man used one finger to push his glasses back up his nose. Blessed silence.
"Hey, Ryuu-kun? How come you never offered me that kind of training?"
And now it was gone.
Oh well. Maybe he could start patching things up with Uryuu by telling him about the younger Kurosaki's lack of…finesse. Yes, that was just the place to start. What a coincidence that Uryuu had agreed to have dinner with him tonight. He had a feeling that he would be in Uryuu's good graces very soon.