Strawberries and Midnight Sun
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. That honor belongs to Tite Kubo.
Warnings: Unbelievable Sap, Spoilers for the Soul Society Arc and Beyond
AN: Set in the early parts of their relationship.
#01 - Comfort
Despite their history, they are surprisingly at ease with one another on their first date; this is most likely due to the fact that they forget to be awkward.
#02 - Kiss
Their first attempt is tentative, just a simple brush of their mouths that gradually deepens.
#03 - Soft
The boy's face has lost the last of its baby roundness, but Byakuya can't help but be reminded of just how painfully young Ichigo really is as he and Renji argue like children.
#04 - Pain
A flicker of hurt crosses Ichigo's face so quickly that Kenpachi thinks he must have imagined it until he notices Byakuya-hime haughtily stride by without even glancing in their direction.
#05 - Potatoes
Yuzu beams when Byakuya eats all of the spicy food on his plate; Karin rolls her eyes across the table, wondering yet again why this strange man is having dinner with them.
#06 - Rain
It pours from the overcast sky as Ichigo half-carries him to the fourth division, and as the boy desperately tells him to hold on, Byakuya thinks about just how far they have come.
#07 - Chocolate
Rukia enters her bedroom one day to find that candies have all but overrun the place, and she chuckles to herself with a knowing smirk as her brother casually strolls by.
#08 - Happiness
Joy is foreign to him, but since he first met Kurosaki Ichigo, he has become well acquainted with it.
#09 - Telephone
Hitsugaya hands his phone to Kurosaki, confusion clearly evident on his face as he tries to figure out why the hell Kuchiki-taichou actually wants to speak to the idiot.
#10 - Ears
His are very sensitive, and Byakuya delights in hovering just behind him, breath ghosting over Ichigo's skin.
#11 - Name
"Ichigo," he murmurs, surprising the substitute Shinigami with his form of address and shocking him further by leaning in for a not-at-all-chaste kiss.
#12 - Sensual
Ichigo trails his fingers along Byakuya's face, drifting down his neck and to his chest.
#13 - Death
He wonders what he will do if and when Ichigo finally loses; it is an inevitable eventuality due to the war, and Byakuya does everything in his power to make the most of the time they are given.
#14 - Sex
Byakuya may have been married before, but he has only a vague idea of what two men are supposed to do together, and he is absolutely mortified when he is forced to swallow his pride and ask his senpai for advice.
#15 - Touch
The first time their fingers brush, Ichigo is half-dead and so disoriented that he thinks he must have imagined it.
#16 - Weakness
It is a just moment, nothing more, but Ichigo remains silent as Byakuya trembles in his arms and rubs his hand in soft circles over the older man's back.
#17 - Tears
He cries more from frustration than anything else, and Byakuya is a quiet but comforting presence by his side.
#18 - Speed
The rate that they go from hesitant allies to almost lovers should astound him, but Byakuya thinks it is a vast improvement over his stilted and long courtship of Hisana.
#19 - Wind
The breeze from the open window stirs Byakuya's hair, which is free from the Kenseikan for once, but all his attention is on the softly smiling boy beside him.
#20 - Freedom
It is odd to think that for all his power, Byakuya lacks the ability to act and live only for himself.
#21 - Life
It feels like every moment is a stolen one, but as a hand tangles in his hair and as he is pulled forward into a scorching kiss, Byakuya finds that he has never felt so very alive.
#22 - Jealousy
Byakuya has to fight down the sensation in his belly as nearly the entire association giggles and flutters around them, and Renji is fairly certain that his captain's glare is not directed at Ichigo.
#23 - Hands
For such a powerful person, Ichigo has surprisingly delicate fingers, but Byakuya knows they are far from frail as he firmly holds Zangetsu, waiting for the Arrancar to strike.
#24 - Taste
His paramour is like his namesake, something that Byakuya smugly keeps to himself.
#25 - Devotion
Ichigo politely but resolutely turns the woman down, trying his best not to cringe as she bursts into tears.
#26 - Forever
Always is an exceptionally long time, but as Byakuya leans forward to kiss him once more, Ichigo thinks that it might not be long enough.
#27 - Blood
Byakuya does not find it odd that the two people he loves the most are not truly related to him at all.
#28 - Sickness
Somehow, Ichigo is capable of standing against both Aizen and his Arrancar, but one small cold is enough to leave him bedridden for days.
#29 - Melody
The sound of their shunpo is a song, and the clang of their zanpakutou is the dance.
#30 - Star
Byakuya has always been fascinated by the night; Ichigo is the first and only person he has ever shared this with.
#31 - Home
The Kuchiki mansion is more of a museum than a house, and Byakuya thinks that for all its finery, it is nowhere near a nice as the Kurosaki clinic or the people who live there.
#32 - Confusion
"Eh, taichou, what d'you mean that Ichigo an' ya…" Renji trails off, his eyebrows nearly even with his hairline; he blinks and tries again, "Is this another joke, taichou?"
#33 - Fear
It is ironic really that after all he has been through Ichigo is mortally afraid of snakes, and Byakuya is beyond shocked when he shrieks like a little girl after he sees a small serpent in the garden.
#34 - Lightning/Thunder
Byakuya has been terrified by thunderstorms ever since he was a child, the result of an unfortunate incident with Ukitake's zanpakutou, and out of everyone, Ichigo is the only person who has never laughed.
#35 - Bonds
Hisana still weighs heavily on his mind; Ichigo thinks that some ties, no matter how twisted and bent, are still very hard to break.
#36 - Market
They get some very odd looks as they idly stroll through Rukongai, another of Rukia's strange dating ideas, but Ichigo supposes that it is probably due to the faint smile Byakuya wears every time they bump shoulders.
#37 - Technology
The sight of his father and his lover enraptured by the soap opera is probably one of the oddest things Ichigo has ever seen.
#38 - Gift
"Yare, yare, Jyuu-chan," Kyouraku states with a distinct smirk, looking at the very involved couple, "I think that Byakuya-kun has started his birthday celebration early."
#39 - Smile
Ichigo grins at the sixth division captain and sticks out his tongue, and Renji nearly has a heart attack when the ends of Kuchiki-taichou's mouth actually curve upwards.
#40 - Innocence
The substitute Shinigami is far more chaste than he looks, and Ichigo actually flushes crimson as Byakuya removes his yukata and slips into the bath nearby.
#41 - Completion
Ichigo is comfortable, easy to be with and easy to love; all he has to do is be himself, and Byakuya does so without regrets or hesitation.
#42 - Clouds
Senbonzakura smiles behind her fan as the fog that has been plaguing her world for five decades slowly disperses, and she can't help but sigh with contentment when she can finally see the stars once again.
#43 - Sky
Zangetsu gazes up at the perfect blueness above them, while Shirosaki merely smirks; the Hollow supposes that Kuchiki-hime is at least good for something.
#44 - Heaven
He lives in Seireitei, the best place in all of existence, but it is only recently that Kuchiki Byakuya has realized just how much of a mockery that statement truly is.
#45 - Hell
In spite of the fact that he has seen souls taken there, it is a rather abstract notion, but as Byakuya struggles to breathe and his blood flows freely to the ground beneath him, Ichigo becomes rather well acquainted with the concept.
#46 - Sun
Hisana was the stars, beautiful but cold and unfeeling, forever beyond reach; Ichigo is his sun, radiant and warm, burning with a fire and passion for him alone.
#47 - Moon
Byakuya, he thinks, is much like the moon; half-hidden, seemingly distant and far away but always returning in the end.
#48 - Waves
Ichigo is surprised that for all the years Kuchiki Byakuya has lived, he has never seen the ocean.
#49 - Hair
Despite what the Shinigami Women's Association claims, Byakuya's best feature is not his hair; Ichigo is actually rather fond of a number of other body parts.
#50 - Supernova
The air swirls violently in a whirlwind of reiatsu and death, veritable stars exploding all around them, but Ichigo is filled with an odd sort of calm, Byakuya a firm and unyielding presence at his side.
Ever Hopeful,
Azar