A/N: I don't own Bleach. Hopefully you all enjoy this story! AU, Yaoi (A little smut) and a bit of OOCness ahead! Just a warning! Oh and here's a couple of things you will have to know in order to get the story. All of them are in their twenties now, and Orihime and Uryu have been together for a few years now.

Chad and Ichigo were enjoying a rare beautiful spring afternoon together, where neither of them had to rush off somewhere for work, or Soul Reaper duties (Even though, you never did know when that damned pager would go off, Ichigo noted to himself.) And neither Chad nor his lover was too tired or busy to take full advantage of it.

"Oh god Chad! Don't fuckin' stop!" the smaller man cried out gripping the bed sheets in two sweaty fists. The other man was on top of him thrusting hard and deep. One hand supporting the red-head's thigh, and the other hand moving fast and hard on the smaller man's fully erect and throbbing member. No real sounds were coming from Chad himself, save for the occasional groan, heavy breathing or throaty growl, punctuated every so often with a Spanish swearword. It always made Ichigo hot to hear his lover speak Spanish in the bedroom. At first it was awkward for Chad to say anything at all, but Ichigo was insistent. He was just as quiet in the bedroom as he was out. He left the noise to Ichigo. Always to Ichigo.

When Ichigo's moaning suddenly changed pitch that was the signal to Chad to move even faster inside of him. He could feel his release swiftly mounting so he moved harder. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. Grunting loudly, he gave one final thrust and finished inside of the smaller man, filling him completely with his seed. All his muscles violently contracting out of control. Ichigo, in response to Chad's wild movements, reached his own peak and cried out Chad's name loudly. The larger man slowed down to help him ride out his orgasm and slowly emerged from inside of his lover. He kissed up his pale spine and lay down next to him. The strawberry blond turned around to face him, and they kissed.

"Tienes mi corazon." Chad whispered draping his arm around his lover's waist.

"I love you." Ichigo replied closing his eyes. The two men fell asleep then, basking in the glow that only good sex can bring, arms around each other and foreheads touching.

A couple of hours later, they woke up suddenly as the phone that sat on the bedside table rang loudly. Ichigo sat up and answered it. "Hell…hello?"

"Hey Ichigo!" The voice on the other end rang out. "What, were you sleeping or something?" It was his father. Damn.

"No dad." Chad sat up next to him and Ichigo put a single finger to his lips. "No dad, I wasn't sleeping. What do you want?'

"Well, I was wondering if you would do me the honor of coming home for dinner tonight. Yuzu is cooking your favorites because she misses you, you ungrateful son of mine." His words were harsh, but Ichigo could tell his father was grinning on the other end.

"Dinner? Tonight? Sorry dad, but I won't be able to make it…I made plans."

"Oooh? Plans? With a giirrl?" His father queried obnoxiously. Fuck, sometimes his dad could be worse than a teenage girl!

"No dad. Not with a girl. With my friend Chad." At this Chad silently got out of bed and left the room without a word. Ichigo could hear the shower running in the bathroom.

"Okay, well you gotta work on finding a woman! You're twenty three now, and not getting any younger! There won't be a perky boob in the bunch if you don't get going soon! What about that Orihime? She was a sweet, cute girl and you just let her get away! You tell me she's with that Uryu guy now? What does he have that you don't?"

"Yeah. Okay dad. I'll keep that in mind."

"Well why don't you both come? We got plenty of food!"

"No dad, we made plans already. I gotta go, okay? Tell Karin and Yuzu I love them, and tell Yuzu I'll make it up to her sometime."

"Okay Ichigo. Love you."

"Love ya too."

He hung up the phone and went into the bathroom. Chad was in the shower, the steam fogging up the mirror. "It's only five o' clock. What do you wanna do tonight?" He said.

"I don't know. Why don't we have dinner with your family? We were invited after all." his boyfriend replied from inside the stall.

"Nah. Not tonight. How about we get take out or something? Or I can cook something." He replied evasively.

"Why don't we ever spend time with your family? Why don't you tell them about us?"

Ichigo sighed and ran a hand through his spiky strawberry blond hair. Here we go again. Frankly, he was a little exasperated.

"Look…again. It's not you. It's my dad." Chad stopped the water and opened up the curtain. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist, not saying anything. Ichigo went on. "He's got this whole idea of what 'being a man' is like, and for him it's all about finding a wife and making kids."

Chad looked at him disapprovingly, but said nothing. He stepped out of the shower and went out of the bathroom and went back to their room.

"Oh come on Chad!" Ichigo said loudly, rolling his brown eyes at the ceiling. "Don't be like that." Chad still didn't reply. "Fine. Be like that." He stepped into the warm cocoon of the previously used shower stall and ran the water. It felt good and hot on his back and shoulders.

Ten minutes later, Ichigo came into the kitchen wearing a pair of khakis and a t-shirt. His soul reaper pager was clipped to his pants, just in case. Chad was wearing a pair of slim fitting blue jeans and a t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off. The gold coin he wore around his neck glinted in the fluorescent light of the kitchen. He was standing at the stove cooking what smelled like stir fry and rice.

"Sorry." Ichigo said clumsily.

"It's okay." Chad responded, not turning around.

Dinner that night was tense. Neither of them saying a word, the sound of chewing filled the kitchen. Finally, Chad couldn't take the stiff, awkward silence anymore, and he reached over and took his hand, nearly swallowing it in his own.

"Are you ashamed of me Ichigo? Of us?" He asked quietly, not quite meeting his eyes.

"Where the hell did you get a stupid idea like that?" Ichigo retorted sharply.

"I got it from the way you seem to want to hide me away from the people that care the most about you. Everyone else knows about us. Why not them? You must be ashamed of us, otherwise you would be able to tell them about our relationship. It's as if you're trying to keep me at arm's length, and I'm getting tired of it Ichigo."

"Chad, don't be stupid." Ichigo was getting more and more irritated by the second. He tried to keep a grip on his emotions. "I told you a thousand times. It's not you. I just don't want to disappoint my father…"

"So I'm a disappointment now?" Chad replied getting up from the table.

"I didn't say you were a…"

"Whatever Ichigo." The taller man put his and Ichigo's dirty dishes in the sink and began to wash up.

"What about you then?" Ichigo stood up, "Why don't you shout your love to me from the rooftops?" He asked accusingly "Why aren't you telling your family all about me?" The second he said it, and the words escaped his lips, he felt sickened with himself. In the heat of the moment, he forgot. He could see Chad's broad shoulders stiffen from across the room.

"In case you didn't remember. My family is dead." He said, his back still facing his lover.

"Chad…I'm sorry." He came over to the sink and put his arms around his waist. He could feel his tall boyfriend's muscles working beneath his shirt to keep his voice even. "I love you Chad…"

"Don't worry about it." He replied softly. "It's not your fault you're too scared to face your own feelings."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" The redhead retorted. "I told you I loved you didn't I? I said I was sorry. What the fuck do I have to say to show you?"

"Words are cheap Ichigo." He turned around to finally face the shorter man and pushing his arms off himself. "You tell me you love me, but tell me something. Did you even tell your father that we're living together? You never bring him here. I heard you Ichigo. I heard you tell your father that I'm just your friend. What's wrong? Why are you so scared? Why are you so scared of loving me?"

This was quite a speech for Chad. Usually Ichigo had to push him to say more than two sentences at a time. But in all this, his voice never went over normal. As if he was merely curious. The only thing that gave away his emotions was the very slight, almost invisible trembling of his hands which were balled into fists at his sides.

"I'm not fuckin' scared! It's just that…this…wasn't what I expected to happen, okay? Are you happy now?" Ichigo stepped back and glared at his partner. "Ever since I was a kid, and especially after my mom died, my dad kept telling me that someday, I'm gonna get married to a nice girl just like mom and have kids. And that I was the only one who could keep the Kurosaki name going. And I held onto that."

"Don't you think I wanted those things too Ichigo?" Chad replied softly. "I dreamt of getting married in Mexico with my abuelo there to support me and my new wife. But things change. My abuelo is dead. And I fell in love with you Ichigo, and I want to be with you. But I can't be if you're too scared to be honest with yourself. If you're too scared of this relationship, I can't be with you."

The smaller man felt his anger rising to almost a breaking point. His shoulders were shaking as he fought hard to reign in his emotions. "For the last time! I'm. Not. Scared!"

"Then you're ashamed." Chad replied, turning away and added. "Whatever it is, you gotta figure that out for yourself. I can't do it for you Ichigo."That was it. The fact that Chad couldn't even look at him…it would have been better if he had punched him in the face. He couldn't handle Chad's eyes looking away.

"Fuck you." Ichigo said viciously, whirling around on his heel and marching out the door, slamming it in his wake.

"ICHIGO! WAIT A SECOND!" Chad ran to the door and threw it open. But he was too late. His boyfriend was nowhere to be seen. "…that Ichigo is fast." He said to himself and closed the door. Give him some time to cool off. He would be home soon.

The redhead felt the cool night air exploding on his warm cheeks, which he knew were flushed with anger. "Damn you Chad!" He strode down the sidewalk, hardly paying attention to where his feet were bringing him. Suddenly, he heard the sound of rushing water and he looked up. He was back at the river. The river where his mother was taken from him. He often found himself coming here whenever he was angry or upset. Something about this place soothed him. Somehow, surprisingly, he felt close to his mother here.

Ichigo sat down on the grass and drew his knees up to his chest, hugging them with his arms. What was he going to do? He did love Chad. He really did. Why was he so reluctant to tell his family about the two of them? He had no problem telling Orihime or Urahara or any of their friends. God, even Renji knew! Yeah, it was a little awkward to tell them all at first, but once they did, their friends rallied around them and showed them nothing but love and support. Orihime even made a really nice collage of the two of them as a housewarming gift when they moved into their own apartment. What was it about telling his father that scared him so much? Yeah…he could admit it to himself. He was scared to tell Isshin, but why? The Soul Reaper lied down on the cool grass and looked up at the stars above him.

Was Chad right? Was he scared to tell him as a way of keeping his boyfriend at arm's length? After all, once he told his family, it would be actually be real. They would really be in a committed relationship rather than just playing house. Was it because he didn't want to disappoint his father and ruin all his dreams he had for his only son? He didn't know, but one thing he knew…it wasn't fair to Chad. It wasn't fair to his boyfriend to hide him from his family.

A sense of frustration overpowered him and he gripped the grass by his sides "Damnit. I'm a soul reaper. I have fought freakin hollows and almost died time and time again. But I can't tell my own dad that I am in love with someone amazing? What the hell is wrong with me? When did I become so weak? And what you say mom, if you could see me now? Okay…that's it." He stood up. He was going to tell his father, come hell or high water.

He left the river and stepped back out into the street. He was going to go home, apologize profusely to his partner, beg his forgiveness and tell his father tomorrow. He really was being an idiot, but he would make it up to him…somehow….

He should have heard it. He should have seen it coming. But his thoughts were too consumed with thoughts to pay any attention to his surroundings. Suddenly, all he could hear was an earsplitting shriek, and the smell of burning rubber filled his nose. He saw a blinding light…felt a sudden impact, then nothing more.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ichigo Kurosaki could hear muffled voices coming from somewhere above him. Was he…was he lying down? He felt so stiff; he couldn't move his arms or legs, and he was so tired. And heavy.

"I think he's coming around now…" He could hear his father's voice sounding hushed and uncharacteristically worried. He could hear his sisters talking in soft tones, but couldn't understand what they were saying. It sounded like Yuzu was crying…

He opened his eyes and saw his father standing over him. "What…what happened? " Ichigo croaked. He looked around and saw his sisters standing next to the bed he was lying in. He could tell, now that he could see properly, that he was in a hospital. His leg was in a cast and raised up so it was elevated over his body. He could feel his arm was in a cast as well. His body was broken.

"You're in the hospital." His father whispered. "You were hit by a car and brought here. Our clinic wasn't big enough to take care of your injuries. You broke your leg, your arm, three ribs, your collarbone and your nose. You're not gonna be able to fight me for a while." He smiled weakly. "I'm glad you're okay though. I never would have forgiven you if you had died."

"Why are you whispering?" Ichigo asked. His father nodded to the chair next to the bed. Chad was sitting in it, fast asleep. His hair was greasy, and he was wearing the exact same clothes he was wearing the night they had that fight, they were wrinkled. His face was worn and his eyes had such deep shadows underneath, they almost looked bruised. And he had terrible stubble on his cheeks. He looked like a mess.

"You've been unconscious for three days, and he's been sitting in that chair the entire time. I told him that he should go home and get some sleep. He politely declined though. Even the nurses couldn't get him to leave. I think they were a little scared of his size to be honest."

Ichigo could feel tears coming to his eyes. Hot and stinging the corners of his eyes, he used all of his sheer willpower to not allow himself to cry. Not in front of his father. Not in front of his little sisters, who were fussing with his sheets, and fluffing up his pillow unsure of what to say. His father must have sensed the danger, because he added "Orihime and all your other friends are waiting right outside to see you." He went to the door and poked his head out. "He's up guys."

At once, Orihime came in holding hands with Uryu, with Renji following, looking awkward in a human hospital. At this point, Chad woke up with a start. "So what happened guys?" Ichigo asked, keeping his tone light.

"Oh Ichigo!" Orihime started to cry and broke from Uryu's grasp and rushed forward to Ichigo's bedside. She gingerly touched his cheek and arm. "Does it hurt?"

"Nah…" he replied. Honestly, he could hardly feel anything at all…except…he was tired. How much pain medication was he on?

As if on cue, an intimidating looking nurse walked in and sternly told them all to leave so he could rest. Orihime kissed him on the cheek and they all promised to visit him tomorrow.

One by one, his friends and family left the room, leaving Ichigo and Chad alone together in the brightly lit room.

"Hey Chad. I sent Yuzu and Karin home for the night, so we can be alone. Can I see you outside for a sec?" Ichigo's father asked, coming back into the room.

The two young men exchanged perplexed glances, and Chad patted the redhead's shoulder. "Go to sleep now. I'll be here when you wake up." He whispered. Ichigo leaned back against his pillow and fell asleep.

Chad went outside into the hall, softly closing the door behind him. "Yes Mr. Kurosaki? You wanted to see me?"

"You're in love with my son." Isshin didn't even give any pretense before just coming out with it. Chad blinked and tried to look as blank as possible. "Don't even try to hide it. I know that you love him."

Chad sighed. The game was up. Sorry Ichigo. "Yes." He answered simply "I do love him. How did you know?"

"As you know, Orihime was the one who found Ichigo. He was hit right outside her house. She and Uryu called for an ambulance and then called me. When we got the hospital, she called you. So I was standing right by the door when you came running in as fast as you could, and I saw the look in your eyes when you ran by me. Your eyes had the same look that my own had when my wife was killed. They were the eyes of a man about to lose it all. Your eyes told it all, even if you didn't say anything. I may not be the smartest man on earth. Lord knows, my wife was much smarter than I am, but I do know that look. Not to mention, you haven't left Ichigo's bedside in three days. You need a shower."

Chad was deeply touched, and couldn't even think of anything to say. After a minute of stunned silence, he said softly looking plainly at him. "Ichigo was so scared to tell you. He didn't want to disappoint you."

"Ichigo is an idiot sometimes." Isshin shook his head. "All his life, his mother and I only wanted him to be happy. When he saw you in his room, and I told him that you had been with him the whole time, he almost cried, not from sadness, but from joy. I can tell…you make him happy."

He took Chad's shoulders and looked appraisingly into his eyes. I only have a few questions for you now. "Do you love my son?"

"With all my heart sir." Chad replied, holding his gaze steady.

"Do you want him to be happy?"

"Every day, I want to make him happy sir."

"Does he make you happy?"

"Oh yes sir. He does. He's loud and obnoxious and sometimes so stubborn I don't even know what to do with myself." He smirked and went on "but I love your son and he makes me happy, and I want to spend my life making him as happy as he makes me."

"Good. I only have one more thing to add..." Isshin smiled and then twirled around on one foot and aimed a kick in Chad's direction. "Welcome to the family!" The young man easily avoided it, took his foot and pushed him away. "Thank you Mr. Kurosaki." Chad replied a smile coming to his face. The older man smiled at him, nodded and left without another word.

He turned around and went back into the room where his boyfriend lay sleeping. He sat down in the chair he had occupied and took his hand. He sat there in the silence for over two hours, just staring at his lover, thinking about everything that's happened in these last few days. The fight, the waiting for Ichigo to come home, the hysterical phone call at two thirty that morning, driving to the hospital, and running into the room to see the man he loved looking so beaten. Like a broken rag doll. Fear had seized his heart, thinking that he might be too late. That Ichigo was gone, just like his parents…like his abuelo. But he held on…then the last three excruciatingly long days, where sometimes it looked like it was going to be Ichigo's final moments left on Earth, and sometimes where it looked like he might just wake up, and he would lean forward with breathless anticipation waiting, for his boyfriend to open his beautiful light brown eyes and smile at him. But he would keep breathing slowly and steadily, not waking up, and Chad would once again, lean back and continue to wait patiently.

Ichigo woke up again, shaking Chad out of his thoughts and opened his eyes and looked at the empty room blearily.

"Where are my dad and sisters?"

"He went home for the night. I'm here now. Go back to sleep."

"No…." Ichigo tried to sit up. Chad gently pushed him back down and used the remote to raise the bed so Ichigo was in a sitting position, his broken leg in front of him, rather than above. "Better?"

"Yeah. I'm kinda sick of being on my back. I didn't even spend this much time healing at the Soul Society." He laughed a little "I can't believe that my body is this broken and weak compared to what happened there. Urahara must be pissed."

"Nah…he and Yoruichi are both on pins and needles waiting to hear more news about you. They were both really worried." He gave a gentle squeeze. "So was I."

"I heard you were here the whole time." Ichigo said softly "You didn't have to do that."

"What was I going to do? Just leave you here?" Chad said sharply. He took a deep breath, and sad softly: "I…I'm so sorry Ichigo. I should never have pressured you about telling your father before you were ready."

"No Chad…I'm sorry… I was coming home to tell you that…I've been such an idiot and unfair…you are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I am proud to call you my partner. I love you so much." The bigger man's curly brown hair had fallen into his chocolate eyes and he bowed his head. His hand was trembling ever so slightly, and Ichigo grabbed onto it and held on as tight as he could.

"Ichigo…for a while, it looked like you wouldn't make it. Please…don't ever scare me like that again. Promise me, right now, you won't ever leave me like that…"He looked up, his face naked and more vulnerable than Ichigo had ever seen it. Tears fell from his eyes onto his brown cheeks, and he turned his face away.

"Look at me." He looked back up into his lover's eyes. He saw a love and intensity he only ever saw in Ichigo's eyes. "I promise you Chad…I will be right here, with you, forever. I promise I will always be with you. I won't…I won't leave you." The strawberry blond could feel those same tears that had threaten to fall earlier forming in his eyes again. Instead of hiding them, he let them fall unabashed, and unashamed.

Chad moved the chair closer to the bed and kissed him with exquisite gentleness on his lips and caressed his cheek. The smaller man could feel the combined weight of the pain medication and all the emotions he had been feeling take their toll on him. He was falling asleep again. He could hear his boyfriend singing softly in Spanish to him. He closed his eyes and sighed happily, listening. Just before the blackness of sleep overtook him again, he heard his lover whisper softly in his ear "Tienes mi corazon. Always and forever."

The End.