A/N: Another lemon this time! Now, before I get started, I've been hearing stuff about stories with a lot of sex being deleted. Stories like this one. This naturally worried me but 'don't say it's over until it's over', that's what I say. So, I'll continue with this story regardless and, in the event that this does get deleted, I'll be sure to find another website and put a link to it on my profile. Never fear, the show will go on!
killing u with umbrellas: Thanks! / PleiadesWolfe: Yeah, I did try to make it look like neither Hirako or Aizen are totally innocent. / DarkBombayAngel: Thank you! / Sev'slittlesecret: I love Gin too and I do see Rukia as being a bit of a bitch when she's angry. / Kasia-chan: They made me grin too! / Stoic-Genius: Yeah, it makes me feel bad for Hirako too. He's only trying to help Sousuke, after all. / narubby23: So would I! / blackcherry21: Glad to hear it! / Boogermeister: Thank you! / RuByMoOn17: I'm glad you think so. / cloudstrifejen: I know! As I said when I first saw she-male!Aizen, "I knew he was a fairy but this is ridiculous!" Say, have you seen his new form? Looks like Kubo finally got the message that Aizen's forms weren't very impressive until now. Sure, he looks hideous now but, at least, he doesn't look effeminate anymore! / Persistence: You just wait until next chapter. You'll hate Byakuya even more by the time you've read it! / miszxbrii: I'll be sure to check it out. It sounds good. / WhiteW12-0: Thanks! / Eldar-Melda: Yeah. Not so funny for Aizen and Ichigo, though. / kickcows: Yeah, Aizen really does make a grumpy uke. And, it's clear from the latest chapters of Bleach manga that he hates being dominated (in any sense of the word) by anyone. / zero434: Rebellious teenager Aizen is so cute, isn't he? / Ash4ever: Yeah, interruptions during intimacy are almost always funny! / ladywolfinmt: Hmm, interesting theory. And, I am attempting to make Aizen a bit less likeable, especially in this chapter. I need to keep him in character, after all. / SakaSandora: You gotta feel sorry for Hirako, yeah. Especially in this chapter!
Over dinner, Sousuke brought out a bottle of wine, seemingly as a way to apologise to Hirako. White Pharaoh; his favourite, and one Ichigo remembered him drinking from his times teaching in the dojo during breaks despite many commands from various people not to drink while fighting. Sousuke and Ichigo took a glass as well (although Hirako was loath to share the drink) and, before they got started on their food, Hirako raised a toast, "To Sousuke and Ichigo! Let's hope they stay together!"
"And," Sousuke added, "here's hoping your stay at my house will extend." He pressed his lips against Ichigo's cheek before taking a sip of wine. Hirako giggled as he emerged from his empty glass,
"Look at you, Ichigo! You're blushing!"
"Shut up." Ichigo tried to cover his burning cheeks by taking a gulp of wine. The fizzy liquid made his throat pleasantly tingle, distracting him from his embarrassment a little. Hirako put down his drained glass and began pouring a third,
"Seriously, Sousuke," Hirako's voice had begun to slur a bit, "how did you and Ichigo just vanish like that? You got a teleporter out back or something?"
"Don't be silly, Hirako-san." Sousuke replied, not looking up from his food, "Those don't exist."
"Oh, you're no fun." Hirako's voice was beginning to slur and he had just finished his third glass of wine, the food in front of him lying forgotten. He tried to pour another glass but found the bottle empty. Cursing, he stalked to the pantry to open another bottle. Ichigo stared after him, disbelieving and disgusted,
"Since when was he a drinker?"
"A few months after he started Vizards Incorporated. He only does this every once in a while over dinner." Sousuke replied, completely unrattled. This made Ichigo think that this was a common occurance now, "Probably the stress of running a company. I should know."
"You're not gulping down booze at ninety miles an hour, though."
"Well, I am much more adept at dealing with my stress in a mature way." Sousuke returned to his dinner placidly, "I would have liked Hirako to have excercised some self-control during your visit but I can see that my hopes have come to nothing. Please, just ignore him. Attention will only encourage him and, if he becomes too much to bear, I will take him to his room."
Ichigo tried to imitate Sousuke's unruffled manner, trying to ignore Hirako staggering back with an open bottle. This time, he didn't bother pouring it into a glass and just glugged it down like it was beer. After a long swig, he slammed the bottle so hard on the table that Ichigo was surprised it didn't break, "Oh, tha's much better!" He slurred, struggling to sit down without slipping off the chair.
Sousuke ignored him, going on eating as though nothing had happened. Ichigo's attempts to do the same came to nothing. His eyes still slid to the drunken Hirako, who was swaying and slurring worse than ever. Usually, Ichigo saw a drunken person as something amusing (if it was a stranger) and sometimes annoying (if it was a friend). A drunk Hirako was just...pathetic. He had respected Hirako as his teacher and seeing him reduced to drinking heavily made him distinctly uncomfortable,
Just as he'd cleared his plate, Hirako slid out of his chair and swayed his way over to Sousuke like his legs were made of jelly, "Soushuke, why won' ya call me Dad, huh? Am I not a good Dad?" He sounded mournful, like a naughty child trying to apologise for something he'd done wrong. Sousuke simply sipped the last of his wine (he had just finished his first) and answered with a completely uncaring tone,
"You're not a father, Hirako-san, so whether you are a good one or not is out of the question."
Hirako gave a wail of disappointment and tried to get closer. In the process, he tripped over his own gangly legs and landed on Sousuke's shoulders, hugging him and sobbing like a great baby, "Ye're so mean, Shousuke! Yer used ter be so nice. Yer used to come ter me all the time when you were little."
"That's enough, Hirako-san." Sousuke stood up very suddenly, as though he'd just remembered an urgent appointment that was five minutes away, "To your room. You're upsetting Ichigo."
This was not strictly true. Ichigo wasn't upset by the scene, he just started to feel sorry for Hirako and rather annoyed at Sousuke's lack of sympathy. The guilt at making Hirako worry that afternoon increased, extending to feeling bad for laughing at how angry he became every time Sousuke would refuse to call him 'Dad'.
Sousuke pulled the lanky man insistantly from the room and Ichigo tagged behind, listening to Hirako's drunken rantings with a morbid interest, "Ya remember when you used ter sneak out when yer were a kid, Soushuke? I coulda thrown yer out the firs' time I saw you there but I didn'. Yer used ter love playin' with me. Ya used to bring Gin with yer sometimes 'cos ya liked it tha' much. Why d'you go all cold on me?" The only answer he got was Sousuke pulling him so hard up the stairs that he knocked his shin against the top stair with a painfully-audible clunk, "Argh, ya BASTARD!" Hirako's voice suddenly rose, making Ichigo reel back in shock. He was beginning to worry about the man growing violent,
"Hirako?" Ichigo called, realising too late that it was perhaps a bad idea. The blond man glanced around with bleary eyes as he was dragged without pause up the stairs. Thankfully, he did not turn his rage upon the younger man but, instead, he beckoned him clumsily closer with a hand. After jogging up to him, Hirako said quietly and with less of a slur than before,
"You gonna bring him back, Ichi?" This statement puzzled Ichigo for a moment but it struck a hidden chord in him that made him listen, "You gonna bring back tha' nice lil' kid that used to sneak inter my garden? Tha' money-hungry bastard got to him before I could get 'im out of there. But, yer gonna get 'im out, huh?"
"You should not listen to his ravings, Ichigo." Sousuke put in, not even looking at Hirako but keeping his hardened eyes straight ahead, "He always talks nonsense when he's drunk, just like anyone else." He opened the door to what Ichigo supposed was Hirako's room and, before Ichigo's eyes, kicked Hirako into the room before almost slamming the door between them,
"I'm sorry, Ichigo." Sousuke didn't sound in the least bit sorry for what he'd just done, "I thought you may find his drunken antics amusing but they just became unpleasant." The thought occurred to Ichigo that Sousuke had not broken out the wine to cheer up Hirako but to further humiliate him. Ichigo was really starting to feel terrible for Hirako now and anger at Sousuke for being so unfairly cruel. Sousuke went on acting as though nothing had happened, which annoyed Ichigo further, "Say, Ichigo, you mentioned something on the television tonight that was relevant to your course. I believe it's on in five minutes."
A glance at his watch told Ichigo that he was right so the pair of them headed downstairs, leaving a now-silent Hirako shut up in his room. They watched the documentary in a special television room, where there was a screen big enough to be in a cinema fixed on the wall. As Ichigo sat on the squashy sofa that had probably been standing in the same place for decades, he watched the images on the overly-big screen with only half his attention on what they were telling him, even though he knew this was important.
Sousuke had definitely acted like he didn't want Ichigo to pay attention to what Hirako was saying. Like, Hirako had about to reveal something that mustn't be known. From what he could gather, Sousuke and Hirako had known each other before Hirako was bequeathed the house. Sousuke had sneaked out of this house when he was a child (probably using that secret passage) and into Hirako's garden many times.
From what he had heard from Sousuke's emotionless explanation, he knew that Sousuke's relationship with his parents had not been a good one. The idea that Sousuke often ran away from home only confirmed this thought. However, it could only a thought at this point. Sousuke was clearly not going to talk about his parents and would prevent Hirako from doing so if it was in his power to. For now, Ichigo could only speculate.
He really hoped that Sousuke hadn't been beaten. Children getting beaten by their parents was always a horrible concept to him; he could never understand the mentality of someone who would do that to their own flesh and blood. Ichigo's own father threw punches and kicks at him but only because he intended his son to dodge or counter, never for any malevolent purpose. He was too loving to his children to even think of doing something like that.
Unconsciously, Ichigo moved a bit closer to Sousuke, who was sitting next to him and watching the documentary with just a little more attentiveness than Ichigo. His boyfriend noticed this but only wrapped an arm around the younger man's shoulders and said nothing. Ichigo just could not attend to what was being shown on the screen and, instead, picked out any clues from his memory about Sousuke's parents.
The knowledge that Sousuke's mother was dead made a horribly vivid image form before his eyes, very different from the documentary. The image of a nine-year old boy waking up to find the body of his mother lying dead upon him. Her back was bleeding where the hit-and-run driver had struck her and, thanks to her running out in front of her foolhardy son, the young Ichigo had been saved.
It was not a thing that he wished upon anyone else and he felt a small rush of new sympathy for Sousuke, making him nuzzle a bit closer to the broad chest as the documentary finally drew to a close. As the screen blinked off, Sousuke tilted Ichigo's head up, giving him a hard piercing stare that made the younger man feel that his thoughts were open for examination, "You're worried about something again." Sousuke stated, in a way that did not allow for contradiction, "Is it about what I told you about my family this afternoon or Hirako-san's drunken ravings?"
"Both." Ichigo answered, truthfully. There was really no point lying to Sousuke,
"You shouldn't." Sousuke leaned back lazily on the sofa, pulling Ichigo down so the younger man was lounging upon him, "Ichigo, for all your attempts to appear strong, you are a rather sensitive person."
"I'm not!" Ichigo blushed furiously at the allegation. He definitely did not want to be called 'sensitive' by anyone,
"I did not mean to imply that you were weak. I mean, you react in a rather unnecessarily exaggerated way to things that are best left ignored."
Ichigo frowned, "What do you mean?"
"I am beyond family ties and what Hirako said is nothing but the ramblings of a drunkard. Even if these things were not true, it does not do to intrude too far into a person's private matters."
"A lot of things are private to you, aren't they?" Ichigo said, with a bit more venom than he'd intended,
"I guard my secrets well." The only indication that Sousuke was irked was a curt edge to his reply, "And, so do you, I take it?"
Ichigo just scowled at the floor and tried to think of a good comeback. His mood got worse and worse as he scanned his brain for one and came up with a frustrating blank. After a few moments, Sousuke pushed Ichigo up with a bit more force than normal and stood, "I'm going to check on Hirako-san. Knowing him, he may have fallen on his face and suffocated." He didn't sound remotely worried. In fact, he spoke as though he had just volunteered to get some snacks, "You can go up to our room and wait for me if you want."
Ichigo sat completely still where he was as Sousuke left the room and listened to the receeding footsteps. He considered staying here stubbornly and not moving until the man agreed to tell him everything. Five minutes after this idea occurred to him, however, he realised how much of a stupid idea this was, Fuck, I'm acting like a kid! No, worse. I'm acting like my freakin' dad!
Of course, Sousuke was perfectly entitled to his own secrets, just as Ichigo was entitled to his, and, if Sousuke's privacy was compromised, Ichigo's could be as well. So, he stood up and made his way to their room, making sure to tread softly and not appear like he was still angry. The lamps were unlit upstairs and everything was rather spooky-looking with only strips of moonlight from the windows to illuminate the corridor. Yellow light escaped out of a door that Ichigo knew led to Hirako's room. As he walked past, he heard Hirako's slurring voice through the wood, "You money-hungry bastard! Ruining your whole family!"
Don't think about it. Ichigo's thoughts threatened to cling to that and draw all attention to it, Don't get into another argument. He just might kick you out and leave you to handle those Eleventh Division thugs on your own if you keep doing this. He entered the room and, after a moment's fumbling, found the switch. The room immediately lost its haunted-house look and everything had a warm glow to it that only appeared in lamplight or bright sunlight.
Seeing how dark it was outside, he pulled off his clothes and tossed them aside. His shin knocked against one of his still-unpacked bags and that collided with Hisana's shrine. One of the doors slowly swung open in a creepy kind of way. Against his will, Ichigo could envision the screechy music that would accompany an event like this in a horror film, just before a skull rolled out to settle at his feet,
Damn, this place is really starting to get to me. Ichigo shook his head, trying to clear it of all those fantasies. He took hold of the door and closed it firmly. The last thing he needed was to scare himself by letting the superstitious part of him run wild. When this was done, he climbed into bed and waited for Sousuke.
In about ten minutes, Sousuke returned, his clothes in slight disarray, "Hey." Ichigo raised a hand in greeting, "Did he give you a hard time?"
"Well, when he wakes up, he will realise that he needs a new window." He didn't seem to be in a bad mood but Ichigo thought it would be better to say it anyway,
"Hey, Sousuke, I'm sorry for being such an ass earlier. It wasn't my business to poke my nose in your secrets."
Sousuke's expression warmed instantly and he slid onto Ichigo's lap, "That's good. Now, make this night pleasurable and all will be forgiven."
"Hey!" Ichigo stared up at his smirking lover, "I apologised! That should be enough!"
"Oh, come now, Ichigo. You're not going to deprive me of my pleasures, are you?"
Ichigo gave him an evil smirk, trying to rival the older man's expression (and not having a lot of success), "Only if I'm on top again."
"You do that and I'll make you sleep on the floor." Though it was meant to be a threat, there was no malice in Sousuke's voice,
"How about I move back to my old apartment, hmm?" Ichigo retorted, with the same malice-less tone that made the threat completely meaningless. Sousuke remained still for a while. Then, he took hold of Ichigo's face and crashed their lips together. The same mindless, heated frenzy from that afternoon came over them and their mock argument became nothing. They fell upon the bed, rolling about as much as they were able and having a playful fight for dominance with both their bodies and their tongues.
Finally, Sousuke won and, when Ichigo's lungs began to hurt from lack of air, they broke apart with a great gasp. As Ichigo strained to get his breath back, Sousuke began kissing his way down Ichigo's chest in the path his lips always took. Ichigo knew what was going to come as soon as his boxers were pulled away and almost shivered with anticipation at the sound of clothing being removed above him.
What he felt was not a hand or a mouth upon his manhood, though, but something stiff and long. Glancing down, he realised that what he was feeling was Sousuke's own aroused length rubbing against his own. Despite the new method, the friction this brought was still as pleasurable as ever. Ichigo began bucking his hips seemingly by instinct to gain more of that feeling.
Both of them got harder and harder by the second and, when Ichigo had a fleeting moment of awareness, he could see Sousuke above him with sweat shining on his face from the building arousal. It was an unspoken agreement that they would cum together so Ichigo held his release back as long as he could until he heard Sousuke's cry of ecstasy above him. Their cum mingled in a sticky puddle around their hips, making that area hot and slippery.
Ichigo was so drained by the orgasm that he did not resist Sousuke turning him so he lay face down upon the bed. His sluggish brain only realised it when he felt the sheets upon his face, "Huh..." He turned his head with equal sluggishness and glanced up at Sousuke, "...hey, what are you doing?"
"I heard it was less painful if I take you when you're face down."
"Who told you that?" Ichigo had the funny feeling that he knew already, though,
"Gin. Kira told him that once, so, naturally, Gin only takes him when Kira is face-up."
"Urgh..." Ichigo shook his head, "...I feel sorry for Kira."
"Me too, sometimes. Now then," Sousuke leaned over to the bedside table and, along with retrieving the lube, fiddled with the lamp so the room brightened a little, "I've decided that I prefer it with the lights on. All the better to see that lovely hair of yours." As if to prove his point, he folded his fingers into the mass of orange and massaged the scalp in a way Ichigo only ever associated with Sousuke.
The now- familiar squirting sound of the lube bottle reached Ichigo's ears and, soon, he was feeling his entrance being probed. Though this had now become routine, Ichigo knew it would never get dull. The probing fingers would always sting at first but he knew that it would not be for long. Being accustomed to the feeling made Ichigo's muscles relax more quickly and, before long, another finger was added.
The scissoring motions were harder to endure, though, and Ichigo had to squeeze his eyes tight shut to stop himself hissing in pain. He couldn't stop himself screaming in pleasure when his prostate was struck, however. He fisted the smooth white sheets beneath him and threw his head back. This motion always reminded him of a dog howling at the moon but, of course, when he was in the throes of pleasure, he couldn't be expected to produce a straight thought,
"Ah, finally." Sousuke's voice was only just registered in Ichigo's clouded mind, "I thought you were never going to make those lovely noises."
"Just shut up...and do that again."
"You do tell me to shut up a lot, don't you? And, I thought you liked my voice."
"I do." Ichigo just wanted the pleasure to start again and was in no mood for a discussion of any kind, "You just talk way too much."
"Yes, I know you're not a man of words." With that, Sousuke's fingers pushed him again, striking his sweet spot again and making Ichigo writhe with pleasure at the wonderful invasion. If Shiro had been in the room, he would have laughed himself silly at how Ichigo moaned in an animalistic and entirely shameless way. Still, Ichigo did not attempt to hold any control over himself, just to spite his cousin who could only get prostitutes to have sex with him if he had the money and could never hope for a long-term partner.
When Sousuke had finished the preparation and Ichigo had a moment of clarity, he suddenly found Shiro's perverted attitude funny. Images of him perving on girls, who all ran away and left him on his own, amused him as Sousuke slicked lubricant over his manhood. Sousuke's words that morning came into his mind again, that their personalities were rubbing off on each other. It struck him before he felt Sousuke's length pierce him that he certainly wouldn't be able to think so scornfully of Shiro before he had met Sousuke.
Ichigo's passage was invaded again and he could feel the hard, unbending intruder ease itself into him. Instead of trying to push it out, he persuaded his body to welcome it and try to aid its course inside. Sousuke stilled when he was fully inside and his warm body leaned over Ichigo, his lips brushing against the back of the younger man's neck, "How do you like this new position, hmm?"
"Yeah...it's good." Ichigo didn't really have enough mental power to compare the two positions so he just said it in the hope that Sousuke to get moving so the pleasure could start again,
"Good. I wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable." With that, his hands moved to take hold of Ichigo's hips and drew back. The awful feeling of emptiness lasted only a few moments before, all in a rush, he was filled and his sweet spot was struck again. Soon, they were back in the rhythm of Sousuke thrusting and Ichigo moaning. The headboard actually began banging against the wall as the bed jolted forward in time with the two upon it.
Sousuke caught Ichigo's hips as they pushed back against the older man's thrusts and pulled them up so Ichigo was kneeling. With the new opportunity to maneouvre, large hands snaked around his waist as the thrusts went on uninterrupted. Sneaky fingers found Ichigo's already hard manhood and began to stroke it, keeping to that same rhythm their activities adhered to.
All the heat in his body seemed to go straight to his groin, building unstoppably until it became too much to take and it hurt to deny himself release. By the harsh breaths above him, Ichigo could tell that Sousuke was nearing his release too. They moved faster and faster, trying to speed their release. It worked; the pair of them only lasted two more thrusts before their cries of giddy pleasure mingled, accompanied by their simulataneous orgasms.
Ichigo sank a few inches into the bed, his breath coming in short gasps like he'd just run a mile. The comedown was always nice and gentle with Sousuke's body slumped almost protectively over him. It was one of the few moments that Sousuke seemed to be on an equal level to him and not miles above. He, who was much older and wiser than Ichigo, panted from the release and could not hold himself up from exhaustion. Ichigo found it absolutely endearing in his hazy state.
As Sousuke regained more of his old self and began pulling the sheets over the two of them, Ichigo glanced around the room again. The warm yellowy light coming from the lamp was like bright candlelight, making the colours of the room much more friendly. It reminded him faintly of the rooms that appeared in those sickly Western period dramas that only showed hetero couples he had been forced to sit through when he had been dating Inuoe.
Sousuke's lips touched the back his neck and his hands turned the younger man over to face him. His eyes were half-closed, only showing a mere slit of deep brown. His hair was falling out of its elegant style and errant strands were falling in his face. Only half-conscious of what he was doing, Ichigo reached up and lazily immersed his fingers in the mass of brown like Sousuke would do with him.
He was rewarded with a gentle smile and an equally gentle kiss to the forehead. As Ichigo regained more awareness and released that he wasn't as tired as he normally was after sex, he murmured, "Hey, Sousuke?"
"Yes, my Ichigo?"
"Why do you have to be so mean to Hirako? I mean, he's helping you and you humiliate him at every opportunity. I know he's not a bad guy."
"Oh, I know he isn't a bad person." Sousuke's smile did not falter, "My taunts are not meant to be personal insults. They are similar to someone kicking their cat when they're irritated."
"So, you just make fun of him because you're annoyed at something?"
"Well, we all need an emotional outlet, don't we? And, Hirako's reactions are always amusing so I have more incentive."
"You seriously must have been bored in this house if all you had to do was pick on Hirako."
"I was." Sousuke nodded, before raising his hands to stroke Ichigo's hair again, "Of course, you are a good way of allieviating that boredom."
"So, does that mean you can stop making fun of Hirako?"
"I could but I am not really inclined to." The smile brightened, making Ichigo frown,
"Well, could you stop it anyway? He's my friend, you know."
Sousuke's smile faded a little and, after a pause, he met Ichigo's eyes, sighing, "Very well. You've twisted my arm. I'll be nicer to him if you wish. Just don't expect me to call him Dad just yet."
"Fine by me." Ichigo shrugged. He just didn't want another repeat of Sousuke getting Hirako drunk to make him look like a fool and kicking him around. On a whim, Ichigo leaned forward and pressed a kiss against Sousuke's lips. When they seperated, Sousuke gave an amused little chuckle,
"Well, that is certainly an incentive to treat Hirako-san better."
With that, he reached over Ichigo's head and turned off the light, plunging the room in darkness. Slowly, Ichigo's eyes became used to the gloom and he began to pick out the moonlight shining through a gap in the curtains, giving the room the barest bit of illumination. That moonlight just happened to fall upon the low cupboard that held the shrine to Hisana. Its polished wood glimmered in a slightly eerie way in the pale light and a nasty feeling of guilt coiled in Ichigo's stomach that he, once again, had made love to Sousuke in a room where a memorial to his ex-lover had been.
Ichigo wondered if Sousuke had made love to Hisana on this bed many years ago and he felt even worse. As weariness began to take him and sleep slowed his thoughts, he had the idea to suggest moving the shrine the following morning. He did not want more nights ruined by these guilty feelings.
It was a full five minutes before his brain could comprehend where he was through all the pain. Shinji had no idea how long this damned headache would last, however. He didn't even want to think about it. With a momentous push, he shoved himself free of the sheets and promptly collapsed onto the floor. Glancing up through hazy vision, he noted that, once again, he'd slept the wrong way so his feet had been resting on the pillows. It always baffled Shinji why he found himself in this position every night, sober or hung-over.
Not that sleeping upside-down wasn't comfortable to him, it was just very strange to him, This fucking headache is also very weird. I wasn't out with the Vizards last night, was I? He vaguely remembered looking for Sousuke and Ichigo, who had suddenly decided to disappear on him, and then sitting down to dinner with them but that was it. An experimental sniff of his shirt told him that he had been drinking White Pharaoh, Shit, did I get drunk in front of Ichigo?
The door opened rather more softly than expected and Sousuke entered, immaculately dressed and the perfect opposite of Hirako,
"Just woken up, Hirako-san?" He asked, innocently. The smile of his was definitely not innocent though. It never was,
"Damn it, Sousuke! You got me drunk on purpose, didn't you?" Shinji burst out, furiously, That sneaky little-! His head throbbed at his own loud voice and he couldn't hold back a groan as he slumped back down onto the plush carpet,
"Since you're in such a bad mood, I suppose you wouldn't accept these from me then, would you?" A rattle drew his attention upwards and his eyes lighted on a glimmering bottle, full of little capsules just visible through the brown glass. Shinji knew this bottle well. It was his holy grail on the morning after a big party. As though trying to give him an extra push to accept the gift, his head gave an extra hard twinge that shattered his anger at once.
His hand lashed out like a hunting snake and snatched up the bottle. He was not too desperate, though, and he checked that the pills were the right ones before throwing them down his throat. Shinji was not stupid, whatever Sousuke thought, and he didn't put it past his adopted son to give him the wrong pills for an evil joke.
When his head had cleared, Sousuke was still there, making Shinji wary of a possible delayed reaction from the medication. So, he waited in silence for a few moments, waiting for his stomach to turn or his eyes to pop out or something. Nothing happened. After a minute, Sousuke said, "You are feeling better, aren't you?"
"Yeah...uh..." Just as a test, Hirako tried to stand up. His legs worked without any problem. A bit shaky but working well,
"Is it so hard to believe that I gave you medication that would simply benefit you?" Sousuke raised an eyebrow with that amused little smirk on his face. That smirk looked different to Shinji somehow. Maybe it was his recovering brain playing tricks on him but Sousuke's expression seemed somehow softer and not as evil as it was wont to look, "If you must know, Ichigo asked me to be more pleasant to you."
"Oh." Was all Shinji could say while, in his mind, he thanked whatever god was watching over them that Ichigo was now Sousuke's boyfriend, I knew he'd be a good influence on him!
"Now, while I'm here, do you mind giving me some help?" Damn, I knew it was too long to last, "I'm moving something from my room into the next one and it's too big to do by myself."
Yeah, right. I bet it's as light as a feather and he's just lazy. However, Shinji agreed, wanting Sousuke to keep this kind mood as long as possible. So, they went to Sousuke's bedroom. Walking into the room, he still could not believe it was the same one. And, that was saying something because Shinji did most of the cleaning and was sure he knew the place by heart at this point.
Normally, Shinji had no trouble keeping the place tidy because Sousuke hardly ever moved anything. In fact, it was easy to mistake Sousuke's room for one of the spare rooms if he was very unattentive. Now Ichigo had moved in, however, there were empty bags, used clothes thrown on the floor, the desk and windowseat were strewn with university papers and, of course, the bed was in a total mess, I bet those sheets need changing too. Shinji thought, disgruntled at the thought of extra washing, I really need to persuade Sousuke to get a housekeeper! Why the hell is he so against it? Probably to give me more work, that's why!
However much he dreaded the amount of work, he was somewhat glad of the mess in the room. There was now no way he could mistake this room for an unused one now and there was a more homely feel about the place that had never been associated with the place before, Yep, Ichigo really is a good influence. Speaking of which...
"Hey, is Ichigo downstairs?"
"Yes, he's getting some breakfast before we go out. Now then, shall we?" He lowered himself and took up the side of a low cupboard,
"Whoa, Sousuke!" Hirako gave a small jump as he recognised it, "You want to move Hisana's memorial?"
"Yes." Sousuke nodded, still waiting for Shinji to take hold of it, "I've just realised that it's in very bad taste to make love in a room that contains a memorial. Even worse if it's a memorial to an ex-lover."
Shinji could see his point and, so, he lowered himself to pick up the other end. Carefully, so that they wouldn't break anything inside, they lifted the memorial and moved it into the neighbouring room, putting it down in a place where it faced the window and where the sun shone brightly upon it, A good place, I think. Shinji said to himself.
When Sousuke went downstairs, Shinji carefully opened the memorial. Looking straight at Hisana's picture, he sighed, "I don't know if Sousuke's been talking to you much. God knows he's a bit funny about discussing you. Anyway, I just want you to know that he's doing okay. Ichigo's really good for him. I can see it already. He's acting just like he did when he was dating you. Those two might actually marry at some point in the future. 'Course, I know he still loves you but Ichigo's the best thing for him right now. I know you'd understand."
A/N: I tried to make Aizen a bit meaner and less likeable in this chapter. Just to make him seem more in-character, you know.