She pricked her finger on the spinning wheel.

Ikkaku did call that night, eager to hear his date's voice again even if it was only through his ancient cellphone. His friends proclaimed that he always talked a little too loud into the receiver, but if he was, Yumichika didn't mention it.

It was a lot easier to flirt with him when he was so far away, and Ikkaku had even gone so far as to tease him and ask 'what are you wearing?' Luckily, Yumichika got the joke and wasn't offended. He actually got pretty mushy, chattering excitedly into Yumichika's ear about all the places they could go on their date, and that they should get something to eat together before the wedding. Ikkaku could practically hear Yumichika smiling as he listened along.

He got through explaining how his work-out room was set up and his precious katana and how awesome it was, and felt his heart just explode with warmth when Yumichika reacted positively and told him how beautiful he thought swordfighting was. Oh fuck, Ikkaku felt like he'd found the one. He wondered if Yumichika would spot him at the gym or if he would come to some of his fights. Was he the type of person to spend their time getting manicures and avoiding mud, or would they really have stuff in common?

Even if they didn't, after hearing that Yumichika accepted and supported his swordsmanship, Ikkaku felt like he could change pretty much any other part of himself a little bit if it meant getting Yumichika on a second date after the one they were going to have. Shit, speaking of, he had to get in shape for their date! He was going to do pushups until he passed out on the floor!

"So, do you have any pets? Are you a weirdo who likes birds or chinchillas or something like that?" Ikkaku asked, although his gut feeling told him that Yumichika lived on his own. The thought made him sad.

"I have a cat," Yumichika replied coolly, a smile apparent in his voice. "You?"

"No, I'm on my own. Well... You could count my kid-neice as an animal, I guess."

"Pfft!" Yumichika spat out his tea. After listening to him coughing for a few minutes, Ikkaku clenched his teeth tight. Had that been the wrong thing to say? He was immediately relieved when he realized that Yumichika was only laughing that hard.

"You never stop, do you?"

"Stop what?" Ikkaku asked as he heard Yumichika give a little sigh. He could hear wind whistling through the phone as Yumichika got up and moved someplace else in his house.

"I keep thinking that you can't get any more charming, but you just do. You're very cute. It's quite pretty," Yumichika commented idly, making Ikkaku blush, although he was a little uncomfortable about being called 'pretty'. He'd have to get used to that, because although Yumichika had been mostly a listener throughout their phone conversation, the little bits that he did say were riddled with 'pretty' and 'ugly'. It made him really glad that he hadn't gotten on Yumichika's bad side.

"Aw, shut up," he grunted, barely stopping himself before he told Yumichika that he was the pretty one. He didn't wanna' be too forward and scare him off. If Yumichika knew just how beautiful Ikkaku thought he was, he would be running for the hills with his pepper spray in hand.

"So, anyway for our date... I mean, if you wanna' go out again after that wedding," Ikkaku slowed himself cautiously, knowing that he was thinking too far ahead since they hadn't even gone to Renji's wedding yet, "I was thinking that we could go to Autorama next month on a Saturday. It's a car conventi-"

"I know what Autorama is," Yumichika replied sweetly.

"Oh... So... You wanna' go, maybe?" Ikkaku asked hopefully, surprised that Yumichika had cut him off like that, because usually he was an avid listener. "If we go on lots of dates, we can become friends first and stuff, so that we're not really strangers anymore." When Yumichika didn't answer, Ikkaku rambled on to cover his tracks, not realizing that Yumichika had just been listening to make sure he was done talking so that he wouldn't interrupt him again. "Or not. I mean, I haven't dated casually before. Should we just drink coffee in a cafe like in the movies? That's so lame, though, right? We should do something fun! Like going to the rollerskate-rink. Or Laser-tag, or paint-ball, orrrr... Oh, shoot, go-karts. Hm, Unless you hate that. We can do something you like too. I'd be fine with going to an art museum-"

Yumichika listened on for probably another ten minutes, completely content to just listen to Ikkaku bare his soul. A couple times Ikkaku would pause and check that he hadn't hung up, but he just kept talking, because the silence didn't seem tense to him. He'd never met someone who liked listening to him before, and it was a little thrilling.

When Ikkaku finally pinpointed what that clattering noise in the background was, incredulously, he asked, "Are you still at work? What the fuck, man?"

"No, I'm at home," Yumichika assured, voice getting clearer as he relocated his cellphone to his shoulder while he adjusted his fabric under his sewing machine's foot. "This isn't work. It's relaxing. Besides, I like listening to you talk."

Ikkaku bit his lip a little bit, troubled that Yumichika was still slaving away at his sewing machine like a kid in a sweatshop. "So… Do you make your own clothes then or something?"

"No, never, but I love making things for other people. I have an Etsy account. I get more customers online than I do in the shop, let me tell you." Ikkaku felt kind of bad about that, but didn't speak on it. "I thought about putting out an ad, but that's the first thing people throw away when they open a magazine."

"Yeah, you're right. With your talent though, you could go work for someplace really high class and make a tonna' money."

"Mm," Yumichika considered, "That's true, but I don't think I'd be happy doing that."

That was reason enough for Ikkaku to agree with him.

"So, what night is our date, then?" Yumichika asked, the sewing machine's whirring drowning out his words for a minute. Then Yumichika finished and switched it off. "The wedding," he clarified. "Tell me what day it is so I can mark it on my calender. I'll need time to make myself pretty."

"That's stupid," Ikkaku said bluntly, seizing up and catching himself when he realized that he'd said that out loud. "I mean, like, why waste your time?" Yumichika didn't reply, listening on, but this time the silence felt tense and awkward, as if he could practically hear Yumichika thinking 'what the fuck?'

Ikkaku panicked a little, starting to blurt things out in an attempt to cover his ass. "Wait, not that you're a lost cause, I just mean that you can't get prettier than you already are- Or, no-" He clammed up, pursing his lips and staring at the wall, giving a deep groan. He sucked at keeping secrets; he'd literally just told himself that he couldn't let Yumichika find out that he thought he was that pretty, but there he'd gone and just blurted it out. He was the biggest blabbermouth around! Just as he was thinking about drop-kicking himself, he realized that Yumichika was laughing softly in his ear.

Ikkaku gave a long sigh. Why was he such a loser? Yumichika didn't seem to mind, but maybe he just had a thing for idiots.

"The wedding's on May sixteenth," Ikkaku grumbled when Yumichika got up to go to his calender. After a few moments of silence and listening to Yumichika humming lightly as he searched the next month for that day, he heard a soft 'damn'.

"Oh no… I'll have to cancel, I'm so sorry." Ikkaku felt like he'd been punched in the gut.

"What?"

"I can't come." It hurt just as bad hearing it the second time.

"You won't see me?" he asked, voice getting high and squeaky from betrayal. Frick, he'd been too pushy and Yumichika had changed his mind! Ikkaku hadn't been planning on jumping him on their date, honest!

"Did, did I upset you?" Ikkaku demanded, crestfallen and clenching his phone in his hand. He felt like shit, his stomach tensing up in synch with the sharp dip in his mood. Fucking fuck. Damnit. He'd gotten too emotionally invested, and now he was paying for it.

"I have somewhere to be on that night, and I absolutely cannot miss it," Yumichika explained, sounding disappointed. Ikkaku just cursed himself continuously for falling for a pretty face. Maybe it wouldn't have hurt so bad if he wasn't such a big softy.

"Oh," he said dejectedly, starting on a downward spiral. Who was he to think that such a good-looking guy would like him? Why had he even bothered? He was gonna' be alone until the sun blew up.

"But… That doesn't mean... We can still go out some other night, right?" Yumichika asked hesitantly, and Ikkaku was quick to grab onto the opportunity, gloom lifting. "We don't have to break our other plans... I mean, I still- I mean, it's fine, right?" Yumichika continued, sounding flustered for the first time since they'd met.

"Uh, yeah," Ikkaku said quickly, "Yes, I mean."

"Good," Yumichika replied, relaxing right back down to the cool serene state he always seemed to maintain. Ikkaku would love to rile him up, maybe get him pissed off by beating him at mariokart. Ikkaku wanted to see his face turn red, to see him bite those damn needles in his teeth so hard that they bent. Ikkaku wanted to fit right into that calm atmosphere that Yumichika exuded and sit on the couch with him in silence. He wanted to feel special like this for as long as he could. Yumichika made him feel great.

As if he'd read his mind, Yumichika - impressing Ikkaku that he could say something like that without sounding shy - admitted, "I'd love to get to know you better."

Ikkaku's face heated up, and he was glad Yumichika couldn't see him smiling. "Me too."

After a quiet moment where Ikkaku kept punching a rough patch in the carpet to work off some nervous energy, he grinned widely and laughed a little. Yumichika returned it.

"How does the twenty-second sound to you? We can go to Umi Sushi and then to the park. I'd like to do something relaxing for our first date... Well, as relaxing as a sushi-ya can get." Ikkaku blinked. Yumichika really was serious. He fist-pumped as quietly as he could.

They arranged something nice for later on in the month, but as Ikkaku went to sleep that night, he still couldn't shake the disappointment that he wouldn't be able to show Yumichika off to all his friends at once. He really would've liked to take him to that wedding.

Ikkaku didn't hear from Yumichika for a week, and every time he called or left a voice mail, Yumichika would proclaim through a text message that he was far too busy with no other explanation. Ikkaku began to suspect that Yumichika had changed his mind completely - or maybe had never wanted to go out with him in the first place. When Yumichika had to cancel their date again, Ikkaku despaired and gave up, unable to deal with the disappointment anymore.

It had been nice while it lasted, but it was time to stop waiting by the phone and listening to Yumichika's answering machine pick up. He'd been losing muscle-mass, and he was stuffing his face on ice cream. Coming to the realization that he couldn't spend his time like this anymore when he had shit that needed to get done - like babysitting Yachiru and keeping up with his training - Ikkaku decided to let it go and mourn the loss for what it was so he could try to get over it. Depressed-Ikkaku was a chump, and it was time for that guy to hit the road so he could be content with being single again.

Ikkaku wasn't going to bounce back that fast, but he knew that he had to at least stop thinking about it for a while, to get it off his mind. He knew that it was still likely that Yumichika might call him back at a later time and tell him how sorry he was about the hold-up, but Ikkaku knew that holding onto the hope would make it twice as painful if he was let down again. It was over, wasn't it? Yeah, it was time to forget about it and try to focus on other things. That didn't stop him from moping enough that he couldn't go to Renji's bachelor party, which sucked, because he could've used a few shots.

He'd bought the ice cream, so he should at least finish it, right? Maybe going to that party would've been fun, but Ikkaku just didn't feel like eating wings in a limo with a bunch of happy drunk fools right now, because he knew if he started slamming back shots, he'd be a pitiful mess, which was completely stupid, because he'd only known Yumichika for a few hours, right? He hadn't lost anything. He couldn't lose what he'd never had, but maybe that was what made him so sad. He'd never even had a chance...

Going to the wedding would brighten his spirits at least, because no matter how much of a pathetic sad sack he was, he wouldn't let that ruin his friends' day. Renji and Rukia would kick his ass if he didn't smile in the pictures.

Renji was getting married in a church, and Ikkaku didn't know how he'd pulled that off, but he didn't complain. The place looked pretty with its stained glass windows and all the white flowers, only detracted from slightly by Ichigo's dad, who was already bawling his eyes out in the front row while Yuzu tried to get him to pull himself together.

Ikkaku was guarding the ring box with Renji in the back, and he kept slapping Renji on the shoulder and shaking him a little, because the poor guy was sweating bullets. Ikkaku wasn't good with comforting people, but he was doing his damnedest, because his kouhai was an exception, and it was his special day after all.

"C'mon, don't be nervous now. I should be nervous," Ikkaku joked, showing him that he'd brought his sword even to an event like this. "The best man's gotta' make sure your bride's honey doesn't come carry her away before you guys get hitched. Hope I don't gotta' kill anyone today."

"Rukia'll take care'a that if it's necessary. She's waited a long time for this," Renji said, taking a deep breath to calm down. All of that could've slipped by on daytime television, but one very important detail was bound to surface eventually: the gender of the 'bride'. "What if he changes his mind?" Renji asked vulnerably, looking to his senpai for advice.

"Then that'll be on him for the rest a' his life," Ikkaku said seriously. "Just enjoy today, man, because you only get married once… Hopefully." Renji laughed, nodding and shaking off his nerves, hardly able to contain his excitement. Ikkaku grinned. He was really glad for Renji, truly he was. He only hoped that someday he could be that happy too.

"You look good," Renji complimented, having calmed down enough to actually notice what Ikkaku was wearing. "Daaang, that's sharp. You actually found something? I thought you were having trouble with getting something nice," he asked, inviting himself to touch Ikkaku's jacket and take a look at it. Ikkaku grinned morosely. He wondered how pretty Yumichika would've been if he had come to the wedding with him. Maybe they would've looked good together.

"Nah, it's not even a rental. I forked out the dough for this, and it was totally worth it."

"I'm glad it worked out!" Ikkaku only wished that it had worked out.

After a half an hour, they were walking up together to the slow music that didn't sound like a funeral march surprisingly, Karin and Yuzu behind them with the rings and throwing flower petals. Ikkaku tried not to laugh as Karin got some guy in the face with a handful. Moving off to the side, he watched Renji stand there waiting, looking around for his sweetie, hoping against hope that he wouldn't back out and leave him at the altar.

When Ichigo came out, Ikkaku could see the worry melt off of Renji's face, and the red-haired fool even got a little teary-eyed. Ikkaku grinned thereafter through the whole ceremony because he couldn't get over the fact that Renji wouldn't even take his ponytail out for his wedding. He guessed that that wonder of the world would only ever be witnessed by Kurosaki Ichigo.

The service was short, and as they said their vows, it was clear that Renji was close to crying, which was getting Ichigo uncomfortable. Ikkaku and Rukia shared a look as she continued to take pictures, bouncing away in her chair where she was sitting next to her stoic older brother. Rangiku sent Ikkaku a wink, seeming to be enjoying herself.

At the dreaded 'speak now' moment, Renji gave a sharp challenging glare to the crowd, but no argument came.

Orihime was wiping her eyes, sniffling, smiling sadly. Her tears weren't nearly as noisy as Isshin's, but Ikkaku still gave Grimmjow a signal, knowing that if Ichigo started feeling guilty, everything could fall to shit.

He knew that Orihime was happy for the couple, truly, but the heartbreak had to be immense. Catching his discreet hand-sign, Grimmjow nodded and glanced to the side, seeing Orihime crying into her hands two seats down. Ulquiorra seemed to be contemplating on patting her shoulder to comfort her, when Jaegerjaquez nudged him in encouragement. He stiffly put an arm around her shoulders and she immediately flopped her head onto his side, which just about gave him a heart attack. Grimmjow tried to stop a grin, putting his feet up on the pew in front of him. Even though he surprisingly hadn't made any disruptions thus far, Ikkaku gave him a warning glare before turning his attention back to his friends.

"Till' death do you part."

Ichigo's lip curled a little at that line as if it were morally offensive that death could possibly hope to part them, but he didn't raise an objection.

"Till' death do we part," Renji repeated, bowing his head and swallowing down the lump in his throat, eyes rimmed with red as he gave the smallest smile, sniffing. Ichigo finally smiled a little, breaking his straight-faced serious attitude.

"You may kiss."

"Get over here," Ichigo snapped benevolently, grabbing Renji around the shoulders and yanking him in before he could so much as wipe his eyes. Ikkaku just snickered in the background, glad that they kept it clean in front of their families at least. Renji was grinning dazedly when they parted, holding Ichigo's hand. Ichigo was red in the face, but seemed to think that one public display throughout their lives together was okay. Rukia sure didn't make it any better by teasing them with a whistle and a wave.

"You dorks!" Ikkaku shouted when mass was pretty much over and Renji carried Ichigo on piggyback down the aisle. Ichigo waved him off, the wide grin on his face not fading in the slightest.

Ikkaku smiled and shook his head. The world wouldn't have gone on the same if those two weren't together.

Ikkaku leaned back in his chair next to Hisagi, who was chatting with Kira and Momo, whose cheeks were already pink from sipping champagne and flirting. Hisagi thought it was pretty funny, but the real prize was for Ikkaku, when Kira leaned into Shuuhei's personal space and set the older guy's cheeks ablaze.

Ikkaku laughed about that for ages.

Hisagi was in dark colors, having a steely grey vest on and a black dress shirt underneath, which was clashing with his red face. Kira was in powder blue, and Momo had on a pretty yellow dress with short flowy sleeves. Ikkaku kept getting compliments on his own formal wear, but every time he did, it hurt his heart a little bit. If only Yumichika had come.

Pushing that from his mind, not wanting to dampen the celebration, he looked up to the head table, where Rukia was standing up, not making much of a difference from when she was sitting because of her height. Eventually, when she couldn't call attention by hitting her glass with a knife, she rolled up a program and used it as a substitute for a megaphone.

Starting with her speech, Renji and Ichigo seated on either side of her, she looked to both of them and then out to the crowd. "Two idiots. Not that surprising, right?" Byakuya raised his glass to that. Laughter resounded throughout the room, and with that, Rukia got serious and actually said a lot of nice things about them. Renji flopped his forehead onto her side in pleased embarrassment.

"Let's toast to a long and happy marriage," Rukia said cheerfully, raising her glass up as everyone went 'kanpai' around the room. Ikkaku was pleased to finally have some alcohol.

They'd gone to a nice hall for their reception, a spacious white room that held not so much of family, but mostly extended friends that had become family to the couple. After all, Ichigo and Renji had next to no living relatives, but many people in their lives who loved them and wanted to see them happy. Therefore, there was no shortage of company or food. Ikkaku thought he was going to die because of how much he'd eaten.

He'd gone up to congratulate his friends on their marriage like everyone else, and had hung around and talked with them for a while. Ichigo and Renji had hugged Orihime on both sides, who was crying a little still, but she seemed to be genuinely happy for them. Byakuya had gone up to formally wish them well, stiff as usual, but he'd cracked a smile at one point, which just about gave Renji a heart attack. Rukia was jittering with happiness, so ecstatic that her friends were finally together and that her nii-sama had approved in the end. At first, Kuchiki hadn't thought it appropriate for Rukia to attend the wedding at all, but she had worked him down when he'd seen how depressed she'd gotten.

Renji was refusing to get up, eating with his left-hand like it wasn't obvious that he and Ichigo were holding hands under the table. Ichigo was still trying to recover from when Rangiku had come to congratulate them, having practically dragged the both of them across the table so she could hug them tightly. Gin had found this particularly amusing, and had wished them luck and long lives together. Everyone had to admit that ever since he and Rangiku had gotten hitched after Aizen's mysterious death, Ichimaru had gotten a lot more bearable. Ikkaku and Renji shared a wine bottle and reminisced for a while, as Ichigo and Rukia whispered together about the cake and when it would be acceptable to go steal some frosting off the side.

When the music started, Ichigo punched Isshin, who was trying to dance with him like the 'bride' and her father usually would. Once he chased his old man off the dance floor, he and Renji slow danced for a while, obviously talking and paying no attention to anyone else.

'But I… can't help… falling in love with youuu,'

Ikkaku sat there along the edge, grinning and swaying slightly to the music, taking a drink every once in a while as he did some people-watching. He slow-danced with Rangiku for a bit, talking in depth about the quality of the alcohol at the party, and then danced with Karin and Yachiru when a pop song came on.

After teasing Renji about his dreamy-eyes, Ikkaku finally plopped down, sweating a little as he grabbed his drink off of the table, turning back to the dance floor and leaning back to watch Renji and Ichigo spin together. Ikkaku grinned with a sigh, glancing to the side and just about doing a spittake half way across the room.

"What the fuck, you-" Yumichika just smiled at him, leaning down in his face, hand offered out teasingly.

"May I have this dance?"

"PFf-" Ikkaku sputtered, still looking around in confusion and shock, pointing over his shoulder as he tried to figure out what had just happened. "You, and- You didn't- So, wait, this whole time you just had to come here?"

Yumichika laughed once, smiling, looking to his toes and leaning back. Ikkaku swallowed hard, heart pounding. "I'm surprised too. This is what they call a 'sign'. Don't ask questions," Yumichika said flatly, smiling coyly as he dragged Ikkaku out of his seat. Ikkaku eagerly hauled them to a spot in the corner so they could dance together.

Yumichika's arms eagerly slid up around his shoulders, and Ikkaku's hands automatically went to Yumichika's waist, palms already sweating. Yumichika bit back a laugh when Ikkaku stumbled a little. "Nervous about something?"

"Hell no, my dancing is fucking fantastic," Ikkaku boasted, pulling Yumichika in tighter so that their noses were almost touching. He grinned widely and Yumichika's eyes just half-closed as he smiled in return. Ikkaku swallowed hard, glancing down a little as his fingers curled awkwardly where he was holding Yumichika's sides.

"Wow, I didn't expect this," Ikkaku said with a wistful sigh, a hand coming up slowly to brush the side of Yumichika's hair, as if he expected Yumichika to flinch back. Yumichika just gave a genuine laugh, seeming to like Ikkaku's lovey eyes.

"Lucky, right? How do I look?" Yumichika asked, stepping back for a moment and posing. Ikkaku grinned, pulling him back in and leaning in to his ear as they slowly swayed together.

"Amazing." That was an understatement. Yumichika had on a pale lavender shirt, with a dark purple vest over it, and a paisley tie. His hair was styled on one side, curling behind his ear, and his legs just went on forever in those pants. Ikkaku was sure that when the lights lifted, he'd pass out from how sparkly and perfect Yumichika looked.

When the romantic music finally quit, they wandered back to Ikkaku's table and ate together for a while, congratulating the couple again together, who were hanging out at their head table again, lounging and feeding each other. Renji had only been married for like three hours, but was already having a great time, it seemed.

"Nn," Renji said, chewing as Ichigo guided another bite of cake to his mouth, for once not giving a fuck about who saw them being intimate. "Thanks babe," he mumbled, turning back to Ikkaku, "So you found your date after all, huh?"

Ikkaku turned a little pink, but grinned and slung his arm around Yumichika's shoulder. "Yeah, He's pretty great. Don't we look awesome together?"

"You guys could kick major ass," Ichigo commented, pointing with his fork to Kenpachi, who was two steps away from letting Yachiru grab something from on top of their tiered wedding cake. "Exhibit Alpha," he nudged, indicating that they should go stop the disaster before it happened. Renji picked a frosting flower off Ichigo's fork when it came back up to his mouth.

Ikkaku grinned, towing Yumichika along so he could meet his idol and his niece. Ichigo grinned, feeding Renji another bite of cake and leaning in to kiss the frosting off his lip. Renji asked him teasingly if he'd worn a garter on his thigh so that he could grope him in front of everyone and go get it. Ichigo just gave him a flat unimpressed look, and a moment later, Renji's face turned inexplicably red, not having anticipated that Ichigo would pinch his butt in front of their friends.

Later Ikkaku and Yumichika danced some more together, ignoring when Yachiru would hop onto their shoulders and lean in between their faces to try to get their attention. Eventually Kenpachi came to rescue him, which Ikkaku was glad for, because it meant that his role model approved of his love interest. He had a real good chance tonight, and he didn't want to blow it like always.

"Am I gonna' see you again?" Ikkaku asked uncertainly when Kenpachi finally shooed Yachiru away from them so he could take her home.

"Why wouldn't you?" Yumichika wondered with a smile, fingers playing idly over Ikkaku's neck as Ikkaku locked his arms around Yumichika's waist, thumb rubbing his side absently. Ikkaku shrugged once, mentioning how Yumichika hadn't really answered him back much when he'd tried to call.

"Well, it just seemed like you were avoiding me," Ikkaku said offhandedly, noticing the way that Yumichika was suddenly dodging his gaze. "Were you serious when you said you wanted to go out, or not? I mean, how am I gonna' get a hold of you if things stay like this?..." Suddenly it occurred to Ikkaku that Yumichika may have meant to cut him out of his life and had been struck with some sort of horrible luck to run into him again at the party.

"This must've been a damn shame for you, huh?" Ikkaku said sourly, but Yumichika shook his head, intimidated.

"Of course we can stay in touch. I'm just a busy man," Yumichika replied.

"Mn," Ikkaku grunted in reply, knowing that 'I'm busy that day' is the nice way people like to turn others down. Not moving to say anything else and allowing the silence to stretch, Yumichika eventually cracked.

"Okay, I lied," he said breathlessly, unable to meet Ikkaku's eyes, which was jarring considering how rock-steady he'd always been in maintaining eye contact during conversation. "I'll come clean, okay? I was avoiding you in favor of staying at home, but not because I don't like you. I like you very much."

"Then why?" Ikkaku asked, confused. "Are you shy?"

"Maybe that's it," Yumichika said quietly, swaying with him, cheek brushing against Ikkaku's as Ikkaku leaned his face against his in comfort.

"You were so nice to me and I really did want to go on a date with you. You were so eager, and... After the excitement of you wanting me faded, and I was thinking for a few days, I didn't know if I was ready for a change. I thought it would be easier to just go on as I have, in contentment, rather than take a risk. Do you understand? I value silence. I value my personal space and my quiet time alone. I'm happy like this being on my own, and I don't need my beauty validated by a lover. Do you understand that? I don't need you," he said lowly, and Ikkaku could see that it was true. "So wanting you could turn into something that could destroy my independence. If I were to latch on and not be able to let go, I wouldn't be content when I was alone again."

"Hey, I'm not like th-" Yumichika cut him off, putting a finger on his mouth and going on with the same soft tone.

"We've only just met. I don't know if you're like that or not. I have no conceivable idea of what you may do," Yumichika looked up into his eyes then, a glint there telling Ikkaku that he wanted adventure, that he wanted something to happen between them. Ikkaku ran his hands up and down Yumichika's spine once, marveling at how right it felt to hold someone in his arms after so long. "But... What am I really afraid of, anyway? If you were to hurt me, it's not as if my world would end. Even if you did your absolute worst, I would survive," Yumichika said without an ounce of doubt in his voice.

"Maybe it's not fear of betrayal, then, or shyness," Yumichika went on. "Perhaps I didn't feel any of it was worth the effort or the time, and I just tried to let it go, even though I knew you'd be disappointed. I had already said yes to you, but still, I wanted to stay by myself. Some people call it 'reclusive', but I don't see solitude as a flaw or a punishment. That aside, maybe it got in the way of me letting you in. I was going to let it drop and cut ties."

Ikkaku frowned a little, saddened by what he was hearing, but Yumichika finally met his eyes with a satisfied resigned look. "I thought all this, it's true, but after seeing you tonight even when I tried to avoid you... The... the universe must be trying to tell me something," Yumichika said with a smile, letting Ikkaku nudge him and tell him that it was luck.

"What were you doing, then, that kept you so busy, anyway?"

"Working. I sew when I'm alone."

"Well, don't be alone," Ikkaku insisted. "Be with me," he whispered, leaning in a little to kiss Yumichika on the lips. He didn't get a response from Yumichika's mouth against his, but he was still glad that he'd done it. Yumichika sighed, smiling, head resting under Ikkaku's as they swayed slowly. Ikkaku let out a shaky breath, grinning and looking at the ceiling, rubbing the back of Yumichika's head. If that wasn't the feeling of knowing he'd just won Yumichika over, then he didn't know what was.

'Forever young… I want to be… forever young…'

Yumichika smiled, nudging Ikkaku and half pointing to their friends as they spun to the side. Ikkaku looked up questioningly, still holding the back of Yumichika's head so that he could keep him in an embrace, cheek against his forehead. He had a goddamn boyfriend now and he was gonna' milk this moment for as long as he could.

The lights were dimmer now and Renji and Ichigo were slow dancing in the corner, still talking and kissing each other once in a while, spinning slowly and swaying. Yumichika and Ikkaku just smiled, watching them dance together before sneaking away from the party.

Sew my heart back together.

CN - (Source/meanings)- (I've been doing this weird thing where I put a one-liner or related joke or fact, or song lyric, or I'll write a poem at the beginning or end of each chapter. I wanted to keep them a mystery so that you could find them yourself, but I've decided to start sourcing them at the story's end so that you can distinguish my poems from that which doesn't belong to me. So below are those which I directly sourced, and those I had inspiration from. The others, I came up with myself.)

1 (Intro) – Schoolhouse Rock – 'Mother Necessity'.
2 (Closing) – Spongebob Squarepants – 'Ripped Pants'.
3 (Intro) – Thread of fate legend - a Japanese fairytale/myth/superstition where soulmates are bound by the fingers to each other by a red thread.
3 (Closing) – Arachne was a mortal woman from greek mythology who had incredible talent at weaving on a loom. She was foolish enough to challenge Athena, and won. Athena became so jealous that she changed her into a spider and destroyed her tapestry. Arachne was then punished to weave for all time.
4 (Intro) – Sleeping Beauty was cursed to prick her finger on her sixteenth birthday upon a spinning wheel.

(And Yes, that was Sanji and Zoro in chapter one to those who caught it. Hope you guys aren't mad about that.)