Thank you to everyone who's been reading. Especially those who've left such wonderful reviews. As usual, it started out as a short story and then kept going. There are times when it practically writes itself. I've had so much fun writing this. Enjoy.

Tastes Like Strawberries- 10

When Shiro woke again, he was lying on something soft and a cool weight pressed against his jaw. "Hnnn." He tried to turn his face away from the cold. Blinking away the groggy aftereffects of unconsciousness, he looked up to see Ichigo's dad leaning over him. He was lying in one of the clinic exam rooms and an ice pack was held against his cheek. Isshin took one of Shiro's hands and placed it against the pack. When he was sure he wouldn't drop it, he pulled out a small light to check the dilation of his eyes.

The teenager squinted as the light was passed in front of him. He could see Chad standing in the doorway between flashes.

"It doesn't look like you have much more than a mild concussion." Gentle prodding at his ribs made Shiro wince slightly. "Just bruising here. Nothing broken." Ichigo's dad almost seemed to be talking to himself. Pulling back a ripped sleeve, he began cleaning a long scrape that trailed the length of Shiro's pale forearm. When he glanced down and it immediately started to sting. He didn't remember getting it. Must have happened when he hit the pavement. Isshin was quiet for a few minutes, but Shiro knew it wouldn't last long. Sighing, he figured he'd get the inevitable over with.

"Aren't you going to ask me what happened?"

Isshin stopped what he was doing and gave him a level look. "Do you want to tell me?"

Shiro looked up and blinked, nearly dropping the ice pack. He'd always seen Ichigo's dad as such a goof. His suddenly serious demeanor caught him off guard. "Not really."

"Then don't worry about it." He went back to cleaning the scrape. Satisfied that he'd removed all of the grit and dirt, he disinfected it and wrapped a length of protective gauze around Shiro's arm.

"Thanks."

"Again, don't worry about it."

Shiro frowned. He wasn't used to anyone's help let alone having anyone really give a damn in the first place. Isshin watched the confusion play on his face. "My children are quite fond of you. My son in particular."

"Is he. . ." Shiro swallowed and forced it out. "Is he here?"

"Not at the moment. He called a little while ago and should be back soon."

Mildly panicked golden flicked back up. Shiro was afraid he knew everything and wasn't sure why that bothered him. Holding his breath, he waited for what he'd say next. Now that he wasn't in immediate danger anymore, he was sure he would be quickly ushered out the door and told never to come back. So he was surprised to hear what Isshin actually said.

"Try to take better care of yourself and not worry them so much." Shiro blinked. Having a pretty good idea what the teenager had been thinking, the older man smiled a little. "Get some sleep. Ichigo should be back by the time you wake up." With that, he left the room. Chad merely nodded in his direction and followed him out, leaving Shiro alone in the dark. He lay back and listened to the sound of the storm rumbling outside, wondering how he'd gotten tangled in such a mess.

. . . . . . .

Ichigo tore across town, keeping a wary eye behind him just in case Grimmjow recovered and decided to chase him down. But he'd hit the ground pretty hard and the by time he got up, Ichigo was most likely long gone. The small relief was short lived. Coming up to the building, he slowed to a stop, unsure of how to proceed. He was right in thinking Shiro's guys wouldn't let him through. Several people blocked his way this time and no one offered to show him in. Taking a breath, Ichigo refused to back down. Catching the wary eyes of the nearest person, he called out to them.

"Look, I need to talk to him. Let me in before I break in." Anger clouded his vision with just a hint of panic. He wasn't sure what he'd do if they didn't step aside. It had the potential to get ugly. A taller figure stepped forward and Ichigo recognized him from the first time he'd been brought here. Dingo? Banjo? He couldn't quite remember the name.

"Shirosaki isn't here right now." Ichigo frowned. Was he really not there, or were they lying? "And even if he was, he said he didn't want to see you, so take off." He cracked his knuckles. "Before we make you." He whistled and three more people came out of the shadows. Ichigo stepped back a little. He knew when he was outnumbered. So much for pushing his way in and demanding answers. It didn't really matter anyway. For some reason, it sounded like they were telling the truth. Sighing, he backed away, not turning completely around until he was past the fence.

A rumble sounded across the sky and Ichigo looked up at the dark clouds that were gathering. He sighed again, a long drawn out breath that seemed to carry all of his righteous anger with it. Who was he kidding? It was over and he just needed to suck it up and move on. Let the bastard take care of himself. He was probably better equipped to deal with it than Ichigo anyway. And the next time he saw Grimmjow, he'd just hand him his ass from the get go and be done with it. Pulling out his phone, he called home to tell them he'd be there soon.

He was only half way there when the first drops began to fall and by the time he turned onto his street, he was soaked through. His physical condition matched his emotional one, heavy and cold. But he'd be damned if he let himself get so depressed that he'd cry. It wasn't that bad. Was it? When he came in and kicked off his dripping shoes, Yuzu came forward with a towel and a tray. Handing the towel silently to Ichigo, she took the tray with a steaming mug and plate of food down the hall to a room in the clinic. Watching her go, Ichigo wondered who it was. While she spent time caring for people in the clinic on a regular basis, she'd seemed awfully worried and quiet. Was it someone she knew?

Leaving wet footprints down the length of the hall, he followed her to the first room on the right. She slipped out just before he got there and went back into the main part of the house. Peering around the doorframe, Ichigo's eyes widened. The lights were out but in the dim illumination from the curtained window he could see Shiro asleep on the bed, a dark bruise coloring his jaw. He clenched the terrycloth in his hands, fighting with himself. Should he go in or just leave him alone? Would he even want to see him?

Worried curiosity got the better of him and he came in to sit on the edge of the bed, forgetting about his sopping clothes as the moisture started to soak into the bedding. He brushed his fingers lightly over the bruise, feeling the heat from the blood so close to the surface under his skin. He was so used to seeing Shiro's pale face, that the dark stain seemed like a harsh ugliness in contrast. A muttered curse startled him out of his thoughts.

"Shit, your hands are cold." Ichigo snatched his arm away instantly, wondering if the albino had been awake the whole time. He would have stood up, but Shiro gripped his other wrist where it was braced on the mattress. "Wait. You just startled me, that's all." After a few tense moments of staring at each other, Ichigo broke the silence.

"So, now what? I'd ask you what happened, but I'm not entirely sure you'd tell me."

Shiro swallowed and looked away. "Sorry. I thought I could deal with it myself."

"By being a total dick and making me think you didn't give a shit at all? Do you? I'm still not entirely sure anymore. I thought there was more to it than that. Or am I just something that caught your eye? Now that you got what you wanted, have you just moved on? Is that it? Well you can go straight to hell, asshole." Ichigo's voice rose as all the anger he'd been holding onto surged up. He was nearly yelling by the time he finished. Shiro picked at the blanket and wouldn't meet his gaze. He looked miserable. Ichigo suddenly felt a little sick like he'd just kicked a puppy. Shiro had said he was sorry after all. Ichigo felt like he just couldn't get things right.

Pressing his face in the towel, he screamed into the fabric before letting out a sigh. After a few slow breaths, he pulled it over his head and started to rub his hair dry. He hid under the folds until he was sure he was calm again, letting his hands fall while it still covered his face. It was slowly pulled away to reveal questioning golden eyes and a mildly wry expression on Shiro's face. "Feel better now?"

"Not really. I didn't mean to haul off and yell at you."

"Yeah you did." Ichigo narrowed his eyes, but Shiro was smiling a little. "I deserved it, so it's okay." He started to sit up but had to stop midway as pain made him gasp and clench his jaw. His anger completely dissolved and forgotten, Ichigo reached out and helped him find a comfortable position. "Aw, damn that hurt." Shiro started to push his hands away, but seeing Ichigo's worried expression melted something in him. "It's okay, nothing's broken. Just sore."

There was a soft clicking noise and when Shiro looked closer, he realized that Ichigo's teeth were chattering. In fact his whole body had started to shake as he shivered in his wet clothing. "Go up and change before you get hypothermia." He paused for a moment, and then a grin slowly spread across his face. "Unless you want to join me down here that badly." It was a pathetic attempt at humor and they both knew it, but it broke the remaining tension and quiet laughter echoed in the room. Shiro ended up wincing and holding his side.

"That'll teach you to make lame jokes, moron." Ichigo wiped a tear from his eye. He would swear up and down to anyone that it was from laughing and nothing else. "I'll be right back."

Shiro called after him as he left the room. "And bring some dry blankets with you. Half the bed is wet now." Ichigo just chuckled and headed toward the main part of the house. He ignored the sound of scrambling feet in the family room just before he came through the door. Isshin watched his son from the couch and was relieved to see that whatever had been bothering him seemed to be gone. He still had a couple calls to make, but that could wait for now. Upstairs, Ichigo changed into a robe and put on a pair of slippers. Pulling out an a couple sets of clothes and the blankets from his bed, he went back down. As he went through the kitchen, he grabbed a couple things from the fridge.

"I'll be staying down here tonight." Strangely enough, there was no comment from the usually noisy peanut gallery. Looking back into the family room, he could see that they were all studiously 'reading' magazines. Two of which were being held upside down. Ichigo rolled his eyes. They'd probably been listening at the door the whole time and the scrambling had been a mad dash to make it look like everything was normal. Ichigo smiled. For this house, it was normal.

Coming back into Shiro's room, he could see that he'd finished off the food Yuzu had brought. He helped him to the chair while he changed the damp bedding. Shiro watched him from lowered lids, unable to keep from watching his ass as he leaned over the bed. Ichigo turned his head and caught him looking. He merely snorted and finished what he was doing. Taking a couple of towels out of a cabinet, he pulled Shiro up and moved him to the bathroom. The albino cursed under his breath as they moved slowly across the floor.

"Dammit."

Ichigo looked at him, startled. "What? Are you okay?" Shiro had a pained expression on his face and he was afraid he'd hurt him.

"You're punishing me aren't you." Ichigo's eyes widened a little, not understanding what he meant. Shiro's voice was cutely petulant as he spoke. "You're about to strip me down and take me into the shower and I'm in no shape to really participate."

Ichigo laughed hard, unable to stop himself. He led him in and started to undress him, taking care around the bruises. Frowning, he traced his fingertips over the clear imprints of someone's foot. He could feel his anger growing a little. Shiro ran his fingers through Ichigo's hair, knowing exactly what he was thinking.

"Don't worry about it. Chad showed up and knocked him on his ass so you don't have to."

Letting his robe fall and turning on the hot water, Ichigo helped Shiro into the shower. The albino wished he wasn't in so much pain so he could enjoy the moment a little more. But while the spirit was way more than willing, his body just couldn't handle more than being gently maneuvered by Ichigo's hands. In an attempt to distract himself, he told him everything that had happened that afternoon. Ichigo didn't respond as he dealt with soaping and rinsing them both. In fact, he didn't really say anything at all until they were both dressed and settled on the bed.

"There's more to all of this, isn't there." While he'd been rinsing off Shiro's back, Ichigo had noticed the strange markings he'd felt the first time they'd been together. Slashing diagonally across his back, the pale scar tissue looked almost dark against his paler skin. The marks looked almost like they'd been made by claws. He was reminded yet again of the note and the store that had been robbed. Shiro was quiet for a moment and Ichigo waited patiently. He'd obviously been though enough already and he couldn't bring himself to force the issue if he didn't really want to talk about it.

"Yeah. But can it wait? At least for now?" Even as he asked, Shiro could feel his lids drooping.

Ichigo pressed his lips to his pale hair as he drifted off to sleep fully aware of the irony of the scene. It reminded him of the night they'd met. But their positions were reversed this time. Not to mention that he seemed to have a hell of a lot more self control than the person sleeping in his arms. He wouldn't try to jump him in the morning. He'd at least wait until the swelling went down. Ichigo smirked and closed his eyes. They still had a lot to talk about, and there was no way he'd let himself be pushed aside now.