Tastes Like Strawberries- 25
Ichigo was swimming to the surface of consciousness slowly. But he wasn't really worried for any reason which was a nice change of pace. He couldn't remember why everything was fine, but he didn't want to look at it too closely just in case it changed for the worse. His nose twitched at the scent of disinfectant. He knew that smell. Hospital. Suddenly remembering recent events, his eyes snapped open and he shifted on the bed. Ichigo frowned when something held him down.
"Hold still. You'll pull your iv out again. Don't give her an excuse to come back in here."
His heart leapt as he opened his eyes to see Shiro looking at him with a bemused expression on his face. He immediately pushed himself up to kiss him, the contact needy and a little desperate. The heady thrill of seeing the albino nearly made Ichigo weep. He winced and pulled away slightly as pain lanced up his left arm and settled at the top of his shoulder.
"Hey, be careful." A hand smoothed his hair. "That was nice. Stupid, but nice."
Ichigo chuckled and rested his head on Shiro's shoulder as he heard his own words given back to him. But when he looked up, he saw the golden gaze flick behind him for a moment. The redhead glanced around the room for the first time. He didn't remember coming in here but knew that somehow he'd managed. Turning his head, he could see a second empty bed and his dad sitting in a chair beside them. His expression was amused but Ichigo could see relief there too. He flushed suddenly as he realized he'd been kissing Shiro in front of him. The other man just grinned and stood, reaching out absently to trail his fingers through Ichigo's hair.
"How are you feeling son?"
Ichigo swallowed. He was suddenly unsure of how much to tell him. It was so personal and he wasn't sure he'd be able to discuss it. He settled for being non committal for the time being. "I'm okay." Ichigo shrugged and immediately hissed in pain. Inwardly he groaned. Way to make it look like he was lying to his dad.
But instead of calling him on it, the older man simply slipped down the shoulder of the hospital gown to reveal the bandages covering the joint where Ichigo's left shoulder met his neck. Satisfied that the wound hadn't broken open, he pulled the thin fabric back up. Ichigo frowned. He remembered the arm, but that. . . He gritted his teeth. There was no way he could get away from explaining the bite mark and why it was there. His attention was drawn away from that as fingers gently touched his cheek.
"Hey." Shiro was watching him with a worried expression on his face.
"Really, I'm okay." Ichigo flicked his eyes up to his dad. "Really." Isshin sighed at his son's obvious discomfort. Leaning down, he placed a kiss on his forehead. Ichigo fidgeted as he knew he would and he nearly chuckled. No matter how old he got, Ichigo would always be his son.
"I'll be outside if you need anything."
The two of them were quiet for a moment after he left. This was the first time they'd been alone together in a while. Shiro broke the silence first. "Your dad's pretty cool." He smiled when Ichigo snorted beside him as he grudgingly agreed.
"Yeah. He is." Ichigo could feel the lingering trace of his father's touch. As much as he annoyed him at times, there were others that more than made up for it. Even if it embarrassed him. His gaze trailed around the room as he suddenly found himself at a loss for what to say. He frowned when he realized that he didn't remember the space at all. Hospital rooms always looked the same and he had been out of it at the time. But this was different. Shiro caught him looking.
"We got moved to a double room." He didn't mention that the nurses hadn't been able to keep Ichigo in the other bed. He just kept stumbling over to this one, half awake and probably not conscious of what he was doing. They finally gave up and left him alone. Shiro was drawn out of his thoughts by Ichigo's next question.
"Are you okay?" When the chocolate brown eyes fixed on him, Shiro knew he had to be honest but it was still hard.
"Mostly, yeah." When he caught the worried expression, he sighed. "He didn't. . I mean. He just didn't, okay?" Among other things, Ichigo was a persistent little bastard and it appeared that his concern wouldn't be brushed away so easily. His eyes were fixed steadily on Shiro's face. "What?"
"I'm pretty sure you're not still in here because you like jell-o."
"Don't underestimate the drawing power of flavored gelatin." The words were solemn and they stared at each other for a moment in the quiet stillness that followed. Until they started laughing. They couldn't seem to help it as the tension instantly broke and left them gasping for breath around fits of giggles. It took a little bit to get themselves under control again. Shiro was relieved to see that the frown had melted away.
"Actually, I'm not sure why I'm still in here either." Ichigo studied the bandages on his arm. He knew there were probably stitches underneath, but that wouldn't have been enough to keep him overnight. Shiro grew a little pensive when he said as much.
"It's been almost three days actually. You've just slept through most of it."
Ichigo remembered the nurse medicating him. But he didn't think that was the reason he was still here either. Shiro seemed to notice his confusion. He placed a gentle hand on Ichigo's bandaged arm. "He poisons the tips." The albino sighed when a frown marred Ichigo's forehead. They both knew exactly who he was talking about. "It's not always something that will kill you. Sometimes he just likes to mess his opponents up. You were pretty out of it after he got you, right?"
Resting his head on Shiro's shoulder, Ichigo sighed as well. "Yeah." He had been. It had been difficult to focus and his memory of immediate events had been all jumbled. At the time, he thought he'd had some sort of concussion. He wondered idly if the emergency operator had found out what happened or was forever wondering if she'd been unable to save a caller. The thought was not a happy one. He traced his fingers over the wires coming out from under Shiro's shirt and then pinched one between his thumb and forefinger. He could feel his face twisting in a frown again. Pale fingers smoothed over his before loosening their hold.
"Careful. Last time I tried to take them off myself, the nurse nearly had a meltdown. They tend to take it personally when heart monitors suddenly go dead."
Ichigo glanced up to the beeping machine that sat next to the bed. It had been background noise up until this point. "Shit." Ichigo clenched his fingers in the fabric of the blanket before sending a panicked look Shiro's way. "Seriously, are you okay? I mean. . ."
Shiro leaned forward and pressed his forehead against Ichigo's before speaking. "I will be. They're just being overly cautious." When he pulled back, he had a serious expression on his face. He opened his mouth once or twice before finally getting out what he wanted to say. "Apparently during that whole mess, my heart stopped for a minute." Shiro nearly cringed at the pained expression on Ichigo's face. But he deserved to know everything. Hiding it from him wouldn't be right. Especially after everything he'd done. The albino blinked in surprise when Ichigo apologized.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?" Shiro honestly had no idea what Ichigo had to be sorry for.
"For letting this happen."
"Don't you dare blame yourself for all this shit!" Ichigo pulled back a little in the face of the albino's sudden anger. In the background, the beeping sped up a little. Shiro took a deep breath to calm himself. He continued in a softer tone. "I meant it when I said I didn't need a babysitter. I-" He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat before he could get it out. "I should be thanking you." He tightened his hold. "Don't." His grip kept Ichigo from pulling away but only just. "Please." When Ichigo finally relaxed, Shiro sighed. He held Ichigo close and buried his face in his hair, his voice quiet and barely audible. "You came for me." He'd never in his life known anyone who would have been willing to do that for him. Ever.
Ichigo closed his eyes and took a shaky breath. Of course he'd come. There was no way he wouldn't have. A small smile quirked up the corner of his mouth. In hindsight, he might have gone with a better arsenal in hand so he could have kicked ass a little easier. But he'd gotten the job done all the same. Relaxing in Shiro's arms, he returned the embrace as much as he was able.
"I'm glad to see the two of you are feeling better." Ichigo stiffened and he heard the quiet rumble of a growl in Shiro's throat. The blonde guy always seemed to put them on edge. Shifting slightly, Ichigo turned his glare on the man standing in the doorway.
"What the hell do you want, asshole?"
"Just to wish you a speedy recovery." He pulled a huge bunch of balloons through the door behind him, a silly grin plastered on his face.
"I'm not sure how the hell you got past my dad, but you can slither out the same way you came in." Ichigo felt a slight twinge of guilt. Through the fog of his memories, he knew that the other man had been at least partially responsible for their rescue. If he hadn't come in the door when he did, it could have gone badly. He glanced up at Shiro who was still glaring at the door as if he could get the intruder to disappear under the weight of his stare. Then a sudden thought occurred to Ichigo.
"Hey. How the hell did you find us anyway? I didn't even know where we were."
"Yes. I'm curious about that as well, Urahara." The blond man flinched slightly at the steely tone of the voice that spoke from the hallway. Urahara stepped gingerly into the room as Isshin followed him in and let the door fall closed.
"Tracers are handy things." Urahara looked at Ichigo. "I slipped one into your pocket when we last spoke." When they last fought actually. Ichigo remembered how fast the other man had been during their short encounter.
"You were tracking me? Talk about shitty timing. If that was really true, why didn't you show up earlier?"
The blonde man frowned slightly. "There were complications." Then the grin returned. "But it turned out well enough in the end." The smile faded as Isshin spoke again, his anger nearly palatable.
"Was it your intention to disregard my wishes or did you just completely forget the conversation we had that day?"
Conversation? Ichigo's brows went up. His dad knew the guy, sure. But when the hell had they talked? He wracked his brain and remembered that the school hadn't been able to reach him when Karin got sick. His frown returned but he wasn't sure who to be mad at.
"The school couldn't reach you because you were talking it this idiot?" Ichigo couldn't believe that his dad would have let something like that happen. Especially when it came to his kids.
"That's my fault unfortunately. Can't be too careful these days." Urahara straightened where he stood.
"A caution that nearly cost you in the end. And believe me if Karin's condition had turned out to be more than an allergic reaction, it would have." Isshin crossed his arms over his chest, his expression hard.
"My apologies. That was an unforeseen event. I'll be sure that the cell phone blocker is turned off at future meetings." Urahara spread his hands in a placating gesture.
"There won't be any so it's not going to be a problem."
"Now, now. Don't be so hasty. They seem. . ."
"No." There was a definitive tone to the single word. Isshin stepped to the side and indicated the door with a nod. "Get out."
"But there are certain things that need to be discussed."
"Yes I'm sure. But not here. Not right now." Ichigo and Shiro stayed motionless on the bed while they watched the exchange. There was certainly more going on than what the other two were saying and both boys were curious. But the frigid glare emanating from Ichigo's dad kept them quiet for the moment. The bunch of balloons was released and they spread across the ceiling as if they were trying to escape the tension. Urahara turned and bowed slightly toward the two teenagers.
"Again, my apologies. We will speak later." Straightening, he went for the door. Isshin remained motionless as he watched Urahara leave. His proximity to the door forced the other man to squeeze between him and the wall before he could slip out. Isshin took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh after Urahara was gone. Turning to Ichigo and Shiro, he considered them for a moment.
"Um, dad?" Ichigo just couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Yes, there is a lot to talk about. But I meant it. Not right now. We'll all talk later." When Isshin saw one of Shiro's brows raise in a dry look of disbelief, he sighed again. "I promise. Just get some sleep for now. We'll be going home tomorrow." He caught Shiro's gaze. "All of us." The albino forced himself not to sink into the bed. Could anyone blame him for thinking he wouldn't be included in that particular statement? After all, he'd nearly gotten Ichigo killed. Or worse. And he knew Isshin knew that. He lowered his eyes as the older man's expression softened. It was almost as if he could read his thoughts and it was starting to freak him out a little. Choosing what he thought of as the weaker option, he closed his own eyes and did what he was told.
Ichigo watched Shiro shrink in on himself a bit. But after a moment, he settled on the bed and seemed to be trying to sleep. He looked over at his dad and spoke quietly. There were a few things he needed to know before he could follow Shiro and take a nap.
"Is Chad okay?"
"Aside from kicking himself, he's fine. He came to see you yesterday."
Ichigo winced a little. He hadn't been awake for that. "And Karin?"
"Orihime and Tatsuki are staying with her and Yuzu, so they're both fine." Isshin's mouth quirked up a little. "But Karin's sworn off fruit entirely."
Ichigo couldn't hold in the small laugh that escaped him. "Okay." He cleared his throat. "Hey, uh, dad? About what I asked you before all this happened."
"My answer is still the same." Isshin's gaze flicked to Shiro who may or may not have been asleep. "He won't be able to get rid of us that easily."
Ichigo relaxed and let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. He didn't think his dad would kick Shiro out, but he felt better knowing for sure. Sighing, he felt sleep tugging at him and curled up on the bed.