Eye of the Beholder

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. That honor belongs to Tite Kubo. All characters are depicted as legal age.

Warnings: Spoilers for the Soul Society Arc and Beyond

This is part of the 30 Kisses challenge on LiveJournal, #26: If Only I Could Make You Mine.

Hitsugaya Toushirou had a problem. And his problem had a name. Gin. Ichimaru Gin. Man. Captain. Potential stalker.

Everywhere Toushirou went, the man was there. The bookstore, the place where he bought all of his ink and brushes, his favorite restaurant. His most frequented haunts. The library. The bakery with the watermelon filled rolls. The tea stand by the sixth division. The fountain he ate his lunch by on warm days.

Meetings he could forgive. They both had to show for those or face the wrath of the captain-commander. He could even understand the various other places officers of high rank frequented. And to be fair, Seireitei wasn't really that large when all things were considered. Nowhere near the size of Rukongai. And it was inevitable that he would see familiar faces multiple times per week. Sometimes multiple times per day.

But this was truly getting out of hand!

And it wasn't so much the places as the timing. Toushirou would leave his office and go somewhere. Only to find Ichimaru already there. In the morning, he'd pass the man in the streets on the way to work without fail, and they didn't even live near each other. It was like Ichimaru was always hovering in the shadows. Always turning to look at him with those slitted eyes. Face completely unreadable even with that damn smile. Hands tugging and skittering nervously across his obi like he knew he'd been caught.

It wasn't that the attention wasn't flattering. Truthfully and in the very back of his mind, Toushirou admitted – if only to himself – that it was rather nice. Wonderful to have someone show so much of an interest in him without seemingly wanting something in return. To have someone look and only see him. For Toushirou to go out and expect to see that silvery hair blowing in the wind. To feel his face heat and stomach do this fluttery thing inside of him.

He just didn't want Ichimaru there all the time. No, he didn't. Not at all. Not really. Okay, maybe. It was the principle of the thing dammit! He was a captain. Not some unobservant boy without a clue. And Ichimaru wasn't some girl with a crush following around her hero. He didn't need to be such a stalker to get his point across.

Not that he had a point or anything.

But now… now, he was in the one place that he simply couldn't avoid Ichimaru. He dare not defy Yamamoto-soutaichou no matter how strange the whole thing was. Ichimaru might be weird, but the old geezer was downright terrifying. So Toushirou just stood there, fighting the urge to twitch and doing everything in his power to stare straight forward.

Only that wasn't working so well. His eyes inevitably drifted to the side, ghosting over Zaraki. Floating by Tousen and Komamura. Gliding passed Aizen, who noticed the attention and smiled, before inevitably landing on the bane of Hitsugaya Toushirou's existence. And as though it were planned, Ichimaru's gaze flickered to him.

Toushirou felt one eye twitch. It was his left, though his right seemed on the brink. Still, he supposed it was better than a blush. But in all honesty, he was pretty damn close to that, too.

Stupid hormones. Stupid slowly aging body. Stupid high-level reiatsu. Stupid crush. Stupid Unohana undoubtedly looking at them both with knowing eyes like she always did.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Arg!

The urge to bang his head on the nearest wall became something of a problem then. And it was all he could do not to turn around a stalk out of the room then and there. Fear of the captain-commander was a powerful thing indeed, Toushirou supposed. Or maybe he was too uncertain that if he moved it might not be to commit homicide. To grab Ichimaru by the face and demand to know what the hell he was staring at.

But thankfully, that option was taken out of his hands as the meeting ended around him, and people started to file out. Toushirou was still riveted to his spot as Unohana went by, eyes twinkling like mad and lips curling up as she did. No one but Aizen really seemed to notice, however. Or maybe they just didn't care, all of them going through the door without a word. Until only one other person remained.

The devil himself.

He was silent though. Hands tucked into his sleeves and eyes averted. And Ichimaru was on the verge of walking by, but he hesitated just as they drew close, heartbeats stretching on to a full minute as he lingered. Gaze flicking to the only other person in the room.

Toushirou didn't like it one bit. "Got something to say," the boy-captain attempted to demand, but it sounded weak even to him.

Ichimaru just stared at him with those slitted-eyes for a very long second. So long that Hitsugaya thought he wouldn't say anything. Which was probably why the question caught him so completely off guard.

"Why do ya keep followin' me 'round?"

What? Following him around! Of all the nerve-

"Yeah," Ichimaru continued at the skeptical look obviously painted across his face. "Ya keep showin' up everywhere I go."

"Me!"

"That's what I said. I keep seein' ya everywhere! And I mean, everywhere! The library. My favorite bookstore. And that bakery with the really good pastries…"

Toushirou felt his face heat up, but from anger or embarrassment, he wasn't sure. "I am not following you around!" His hands fisted at his sides.

"Yeah, ya do," Ichimaru insisted. "Yer always there! Every time! And ya always look at me funny."

"I do not look at you funny," Toushirou all but shouted back as he unconsciously stood on the tip of his toes to get closer to eye-level. "You're the one who's doing this. You! Not me. It's all you! You're the one following me."

Which wasn't strictly true since Ichimaru was usually there first. But Toushirou didn't let that little fact bother him.

"I pass you in the streets all the time. You're there on my way to the division and when I go home. Whenever I go out. At the tea stand. Where I eat lunch. Everywhere. All the time."

One finger unclenched long enough to jab Ichimaru in the chest, and when had they become close enough to touch?

"It's definitely not me!"

But his vehement denial had the opposite effect intended.

Ichimaru merely watched him, grin widening to proportions never before seen. "Sure." Only the man drew the word out like it held some kind of cosmic meaning. "Whatever ya say, taichou-san." He titled his head down, height effectively allowing him to loom.

And in that instant, Toushirou suddenly became very much aware of just how close they were standing. Practically on top of each. Definitely invading the realm of personal space. The edges of their haori kissed, and he could even feel the heat coming from Ichimaru's body like a furnace. Smell the lingering scent of his soap.

Toushirou jumped away so quickly that only Ichimaru's quick and steadying hand allowed him to keep his socked feet on the slick floor.

"Let go of me," he bit out once he was settled again, but he didn't dare glance up. Certain that the fiery warmth to his face wasn't anger.

"Whatever ya want, Hitsugaya-taichou." And those slender fingers very softly pulled back.

They were both silent for a moment. Ichimaru smug. And Toushirou embarrassed beyond belief. But finally, the older captain took mercy on him.

"I'll see ya 'round," he announced in a cheerful voice, and Toushirou watched the man head for the door under his eyelashes, saw him turn just before he walked out completely. He just stood there for a moment, smile now a smirk.

Then, Ichimaru blew him a kiss. Toushirou jumped as though struck.

Ever Hopeful,

Azar