Well…this chapter is definitely going to be living up to its rating…(there's lemon). For your viewing pleasure, the explicit content has been clearly marked off (by dashes). By the way, check out my profile for a link to the torrent for Only the Ring Finger Knows.

CH8: Mine and Mine Alone

"Hisagi Shuuhei reporting."
"Go ahead."
"I have been able to persuade Kurosaki Ichigo to come to Soul Society and serve as interim Captain."
"Time length?"
"…One week."
"One week?" Silent snicker. "That'll do us a lot of good."
"I suspect that there may be ways to persuade him to stay longer…or even become a full pledged captain."
"I see…when would you like clearance by?" Loud rustle in the back.
"Nanao-chaaan…stop giving Hisagi-kun such a hard time!"
"Kyouraku-taichou! Don't interfere! This is a delicate matter that must be handled with utmost precision."
"Pshh…oye Hisagi! Can you hear me?"
"Yeah?"
"You can bring Ichigo over anytime you're ready!"
"Taichou! Don't be so reckless!"
"Hush, Nanao-chan."
"Don't you dare tell me to hush!" Camera shakes violently. Loud shouting echoes through the communicator. Screen goes white, then gray, then blank. The silent buzz of static goes through the air. Shuuhei sighs.

Shuuhei sat underneath the awning of the backyard porch, staring off into the distant space. There was nothing to do for the rest of the day, especially since there had been no hollow sightings lately. He sighed as he slowly realized that he actually had an afternoon off. An afternoon where he had absolutely no work to be done…in a way, it frightened him. Not that he didn't like an occasional break, but the calmness of the day reminded him of the calm before a storm. Then again, maybe he was just being paranoid. After all, he had just gotten through 5 consecutive months of non-stop work/fighting, so in a manner, this peaceful afternoon seemed completely foreign to him. He sighed once more as he lied down on his back to look up at the clear sky, and watched the clouds mill around aimlessly and birds flutter gracefully and felt a sense of nostalgia overwhelm him. This was the world that Soul Society strived to create and maintain: a world of utter peace. And for the most part, they had achieved this peace. So why did he feel like something was amiss?

Sighing, he rolled over onto his side and curled up slightly.
"Will you stop with the damn sighing? You're ruining the mood." Shuuhei chuckled and lifted his head slightly to see what Ichigo was doing. As he suspected, Ichigo was sitting in the doorway with book in hand.
"You're still reading that?" asked Shuuhei jokingly.
"It's…it's good. I like to take my time when I'm reading good stuff," muttered Ichigo as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Wait…glasses?
"Heh…didn't know you wore glasses." Shuuhei got onto his knees and crawled over to where Ichigo was sitting.
"It's only for reading," answered Ichigo tersely as he flipped a page. Shuuhei plucked the glasses off Ichigo's face and put them on.
"Shit…you're friggin' blind!" proclaimed Shuuhei as he looked at Ichigo. The dosage on the lenses were so heavy that Shuuhei see every single detail of Ichigo's body, from the small trickle of sweat on the side of his face, to the small smudge of chocolate on the corner of his mouth, to the light stains on Ichigo's shirt, to the barely noticeable obtrusion in Ichigo's pants…
"Gimme that," commanded Ichigo gruffly. He reached for the glasses but missed by a whole inch as Shuuhei ducked his head.
"Ain't done with it yet."
"Yeah, well, I ain't done reading this either," growled an annoyed Ichigo. He made another swipe for the glasses but missed again, and then made another swipe and missed yet again. "Bastard…" grumbled Ichigo. Finally, he grabbed Shuuhei by the hair and made one last attempt to grab the glasses…only to have the said glasses slide off Shuuhei's nose and come to a shattering crash upon the ground. Ichigo's face turned a dark red as his grip on Shuuhei's hair grew stronger. "And I was just about to get to the good part too…" growled Ichigo in a dangerously low voice.
"Ah well…you can still use the glasses right?" asked Shuuhei nervously. He picked up the glasses to hand them to Ichigo, but found that the lenses were severely cracked.
"I can't use this…" growled Ichigo as he squeezed Shuuhei's head with all the might in his hand.
"I…uh…well…you can…uh…" stuttered Shuuhei uneasily. He searched frantically through his mind for a way to make it up to Ichigo, and sighed in relief when he finally found a way. "I'll read it to you!" declared Shuuhei. Ichigo's grip on Shuuhei's head vanished as the boy stared at him questioningly. He sat back for a moment, as if to think it over, and finally agreed.
"You better do the special effects too."
"I…I guess I can do that…" grumbled Shuuhei as he picked up the book in disdain.

"And…and then…"
"And then what?"
"And then…they kissed. The end," said Shuuhei as he ended the story abruptly.
"Liar. We're only half way through the book."
"For God's sake Ichigo, these kinda books always end the same. The guys kiss and make up. End of story!"
"Yeah well, just shut up and continue reading!" barked Ichigo. "Or else…I'll make you read this aloud…" said Ichigo as he held up another book. The book in question was the gift Shuuhei had received from the elderly lady earlier that day. "I imagine it'd be very awkward to read this aloud…" mumbled Ichigo as he turned the book around in his hand. "Even the summary on the back is pretty awkward to read…'sex, sex, sex, love, sex, sex, boyfriend cheats, sex, sex'. The rest of the summary consists of the same exact words repeated over and over except in a different order…didn't think you were the type to read these kinds of books, Shuuhei," taunted Ichigo as he tossed the book aside.
"Fine, fine…" grumbled Shuuhei as he resumed his reading.

"Hey Ichigo?"
"You're not done reading yet."
"Well I just wanted to ask you a quick question."
"One question, then back to the book."
"Why do you like this book?" Ichigo flinched. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but shut it quickly. Shuuhei smirked. He had hit a soft spot. The right thing to do was to push the question further. "I mean, it's about two boys falling in love, both of which are in denial of the fact. I don't see how this could interest you at all…especially the part about two boys." Ichigo flinched again.
"I…I got tired of reading about guy/gal relationships…" lied Ichigo lamely. Shuuhei smirked again. The denial in his voice was so blatantly obvious, that it practically spelled 'homo' all over his face. This was a perfect case of situational irony.

"And then they kissed. The end."
"Liar!"
"I'm serious…see?" said Shuuhei as he pointed to the last line of the book. Ichigo sweatdropped. It really was the last line of the book.
"Well…that was a nice story…"
"It was pretty damn corny."
"Shut up! The whole story was damn believable…I mean, I can practically sympathize with their situation…"
"Can you now..."
"Yeah, I mean, the whole denial aspect is understandable…cause I mean, I would be in denial too…if I were gay…" stuttered Ichigo as he tried to catch himself from revealing too much.
"I see," sighed Shuuhei as he lied down and placed his head in Ichigo's lap.
"G―Get off…" growled Ichigo.
"Hm? Why? You seem to be quite sure about your sexuality, so something like this shouldn't be a problem." Ichigo angrily muttered something under his breath and finally gave in. Shuuhei smirked as he closed his eyes to take a nap.

"Ichigo! Shuuhei!"
"Shh Karin…they're sleeping." True enough, the two boys were asleep in the doorway to the backyard, serenity and peacefulness gracing their faces. "They look so adorable…" sighed Yuzu. Karin nodded in agreement. "Well, I guess we can just leave them a note…don't wanna wake them up from their nap."

Shuuhei was the first one to awaken. Slowly prying his eyes open, he woke to an unsuspected sight: Ichigo's mouth. Bracing himself for the kiss, he shut his eyes quickly and waited…and waited…and waited some more. He opened his eyes again and quickly realized what was wrong: Ichigo's head had drooped forward in his sleep. Sighing, he gave Ichigo an ever so light peck upon the lips, and rolled out from Ichigo's lap. Careful not to wake the still sleeping boy, he stepped over Ichigo and walked into the kitchen to see what was cooking. Instead, he found a note:

"Yo Ichigo, Shuuhei. You two lazy bums fell asleep, so we didn't want to wake you or anything. Yuzu, me, and dad went to a party of one of dad's friends. We'll be back late so don't wait for us. We left you some money on the table, so why don't you go buy some burgers? --Karin"

Sighing (he was sighing an awful lot lately), he went over and shook Ichigo awake.
"Yo Ichigo, wake up." Ichigo immediately jerked upright.
"W―What?"
"Your family left us behind…again. Let's go get something to eat." Ichigo nodded his head groggily as he stood up…then shook his head in refusal after registering what Shuuhei had just said. Going out together in public after what happened at the bookstore earlier that day was the last thing he wanted to do.
"Ah…how bout I just go out and buy the stuff and cook it at home?"
"It'd be easier if we just―"
"Good, that settles it. I'll be back quick," said Ichigo as he intentionally cut off Shuuhei. "Want to get anything to drink?"
"Uhm…naw, we got stuff at home to drink…" Shuuhei turned away from Ichigo as he put on an evil grin.
"Ok then…" muttered Ichigo in a low voice. It was Ichigo's turn to grin. Shuuhei was so damn easy to read. Chuckling to himself as he left the house, he started to concoct a little scheme for the night ahead. First stop: Urahara Shoten.

After dinner, the two boys found themselves sitting in the grass like the night before. And just like the night before, Shuuhei procured a chilled bottle of sake for the two to share.
"Let me get some cups," said Ichigo as he went back into the house. Shuuhei cocked his right eyebrow in suspicion, but brushed it aside.
"You don't seem too uneasy about drinking anymore…that was a sudden change of heart…" chuckled Shuuhei as Ichigo sat himself down next to Shuuhei.
"Yeah well…nothing wrong with a light drink right?" Ichigo put on a big grin as he extended his cup towards Shuuhei.
"Damn right!" laughed Shuuhei. Instead of pouring some sake into the cup, he pushed the bottle into Ichigo's mouth. "Bottoms up, yeah?" asked Shuuhei as he watched Ichigo chug a quarter of the bottle in one try. When the bottle was finally pulled from his mouth, Ichigo let out a loud sigh.
"Ahhhhh…good stuff, good stuff…" said Ichigo as he rubbed his stomach. Shuuhei laughed lightly as he took a swig of sake.

The two took turns draining the bottle of its contents, all the while sharing good laughs over random matters.

"And then…and then Kira went and did Isane-fukutaichou! HAHA! Who'd wanna do her?" Shuuhei let out a howl of laughter, followed closely by Ichigo's own laughter. "But you know what the worst part was?"
"What?"
"Kira thought he was doing Rangiku! So when he said her name instead of Isane's, Isane got so pissed that she used a binding spell on his dick. So ever since then, he's been limp cause he doesn't know how to undo it!" Shuuhei let out another howl of laughter while Ichigo just smiled as he drained the last of the sake. He threw the bottle to the side as he swayed back and forth lightly. "Yo Ichigo, you drunk yet?" asked Shuuhei jokingly. Ichigo nodded, lopsidedly.
"Y'know Shuuhei…" said Ichigo, as his words slurred together. "Y'know…this morning, you looked so damn sexy…but now…now you look even sexxxier…and I dunno why…"
"Really now…" said Shuuhei as he turned to face the other boy completely.
"Yup. Y'do…and, and I like you…and when I say that, I mean I really like, like you…" said Ichigo as he fell forward. Shuuhei caught the boy by the shoulders and tried to prop him upright. "…And you know why I like you?" asked Ichigo as he looked up to meet Shuuhei's eyes.
"Hm…why's that?" asked Shuuhei in an amused tone.
"Because you kiss so damn well…" Ichigo grinned goofily as he held his head up to kiss Shuuhei. Right as their lips were about to make contact, Shuuhei pushed Ichigo away.
"W―What? You don't wanna kissss?" asked Ichigo, still slurring his words.
"Naw…it's not that. I just like to be in control, that's all…" Without warning, Shuuhei pushed Ichigo to the ground, with one arm around Ichigo's back to brace the fall, as he straddled the younger boy. "This is how I wanna kiss…" sighed Shuuhei as he leaned forward and kissed Ichigo roughly on the lips.

The kiss was completely different from the kisses they had shared that morning. It still had the same lip to lip contact, the same mouth movements, and even the tongue wrestling…but what was different was the amount of desire put into the kiss. There was an unspoken desire, a powerful longing, almost lustful urges, pushing the two together in such a passionate embrace. Mouth moving over mouth, nose brushing against nose, hands roaming over skin and flesh; the two were completely entranced in one another. Each flicker of the tongue was met by an equally responsive, equally craving tongue flicker, and each time one mouth pressed its lips together into a puckered kiss, the other mouth would open wide and invite the invading lips with a silent moan, further engrossing them in one another. It was only natural that a loud cry of dissatisfaction would escape from Ichigo's lips when Shuuhei finally pulled away.
"You liked that?" asked Shuuhei as he panted heavily. A massive erection was running through his pants, and he was certain that Ichigo could feel it riding on his stomach.
"Mhm…" nodded a dazed Ichigo. Shuuhei sat straddled to Ichigo for several minutes, just staring at the boy underneath him. Finally, Shuuhei broke the silence.
"Didn't know you wanted a kiss bad enough to act drunk for it…" chuckled Shuuhei as he got off Ichigo's stomach.
"W―What? What are you talking bout?"
"This." Shuuhei held up a crimson colored pill in his hand. "Looks like one of Urahara's pills. Probably an anti-alcohol pill." Ichigo's face turned a bright red, even brighter than the pill itself. His hands shot for his pockets and rummaged around. "Don't bother looking there. Where do you think I got the pill from anyways?" sighed Shuuhei. "I pick-pocketed it from you when I first forced the bottle into your mouth…" Ichigo thought back to half an hour earlier and vaguely remembered a light rubbing sensation in his pockets.
"But…but how did you know to look there?"
"Eh…good guess. Besides, you were acting weird, so I was kinda suspicious," said Shuuhei as he recalled Ichigo's eagerness to drink. Ichigo sat upright now, head bowed in embarrassment, unable to even look at Shuuhei or talk anymore. Smiling, Shuuhei crawled behind Ichigo and hugged him from behind. "So you're not gonna deny it anymore, eh?" asked Shuuhei as he slid his chin onto Ichigo's left shoulder. Ichigo faced the other way. "Well I'm not gonna deny it either…" said Shuuhei as he lowered his voice to slight whisper. "…I like you too."

There was a slight pause and silence, during which Shuuhei continued to grope Ichigo from behind, one hand sliding up Ichigo's shirt, and the other hand resting calmly on Ichigo's obvious bulge. He laid light kisses along Ichigo's neck, waiting, hoping, expecting some kind of reaction from Ichigo…but there was none. Shuuhei finally gave up and released Ichigo from his embrace as he started to stand up…only to be pounced on by Ichigo, catching him in yet another kiss. Shuuhei was only too happy to oblige, kissing him back with the same lustful desire as before. But once again, it was Shuuhei who cut the kiss short.
"We should…we should take this upstairs." Ichigo nodded. Swiftly, Shuuhei picked up and cradled Ichigo in his arms.
"Y'know I'm not drunk…I can walk on my own." Shuuhei just smiled and continued to carry Ichigo up the stairs.

---

In the darkness of their room, the two boys continued to the bed where they immediately resumed their passionate embrace. As if they hadn't even paused, the two restarted in the same exact positions, with Ichigo on top of Shuuhei this time. Pinning him down like predator and prey, Ichigo landed rough kisses on Shuuhei's lips, only to have the other eagerly respond just as roughly. He grabbed Ichigo's body and pulled it against his, and groaned at the sensation of their groins rubbing against one another. Ichigo let out a guttural moan as well, leaving his mouth wide open to Shuuhei's tongue. Running his tongue through every corner of Ichigo's mouth, he finally let it rest on top of Ichigo's own tongue, tasting and savoring Ichigo. Smirking, Ichigo pushed his mouth down on Shuuhei, his tongue now tasting all of Shuuhei's mouth. Meanwhile, Shuuhei let his hand slide down to the overexcited obtrusion in Ichigo's pants, and started stripping Ichigo's pants off.

"W―Wait a sec…" moaned Ichigo as he sat up straight. "Are we…gonna…you know…" Shuuhei eyed him questioningly. Ichigo gulped nervously and started to pull off his shirt and the rest of his boxers and pants and sat bare naked in front of Shuuhei. Shuuhei could only smirk as he looked over every inch of Ichigo, taking in the beauty of the sight before him. But when Shuuhei looked back at Ichigo's eyes, the eyes that were bright with lust only moments ago, he saw hesitation, reluctance…and almost fear. The eyes were dimming, and Shuuhei could see a slight shutter course through Ichigo's body. Shuuhei understood.
"Naw…we don't have to go all the way if you don't want to," sighed Shuuhei as he looked over Ichigo's body longingly. "But…we still have to do something about this…" said Shuuhei as he leaned forward and took Ichigo's erection in his hand. Ichigo gasped loudly and let out a harsh moan as Shuuhei started to pull the length of Ichigo's erection.
"Shuu…Shuuhei…" groaned Ichigo as he bent over in pleasure, burying his face in the space between Shuuhei's neck and shoulder. "It feels…feels good…" gasped Ichigo as Shuuhei jerked the length roughly.
"Damn right it does…" groaned Shuuhei as he looked at Ichigo's face. Ichigo returned the look with the lust back in his eyes, causing Shuuhei to smirk and jerk even harder. Ichigo moaned loudly in response.

Eyes clenched tight, Ichigo let his hands fumble around until they found Shuuhei's pants. Without hesitation, he unzipped the pants and started to tug them off. Once the pants were disposed of, his hands ran up Shuuhei's shirt, and pulled them off roughly, leaving Shuuhei just as exposed as he was.

"My…my turn…" said Ichigo inbetween sharp breaths. He lowered his hand onto Shuuhei's length and started to pump the erection to a distinct rhythm, separate from Shuuhei's pace, leading to a symphony of groans of pleasure, one following the other, sometimes overlapping, but always gaining in volume with each jerk of the hand. The erotic moans were eventually joined by the sound of precum lubricating their hardening members, driving Ichigo ever closer to the edge. But Shuuhei was insistent that Ichigo would last longer than this, and gripped Ichigo's erection firmly.
"You can't cum…not yet…not like this…" whispered Shuuhei into Ichigo's ear. Ichigo whimpered slightly, and then growled in protest. He wanted release, and he wanted it now. "Just wait…" whispered Shuuhei as he pushed Ichigo onto his back.

Shuuhei went down and took Ichigo's length into his mouth, still firmly grasping the base of Ichigo's erection to prevent him from releasing too soon. Sucking gently, he pulled the sides of the engorged muscle up with a dragging motion of his lips, causing Ichigo to groan loudly in pleasure and satisfaction.
"God Shuuhei…it's―" but Ichigo was cut off by a throaty moan that escaped from his mouth, as Shuuhei bit down lightly and suckled Ichigo's erection. Licking all around the length and bobbing his head slightly, Shuuhei managed to clean all of the precum off of Ichigo's erection. Taking his mouth off Ichigo's member, he looked up at the boy, only to find that the boy had his eyes shut tight.
"Open your eyes Ichigo, y'know you wanna watch me do this…" chuckled Shuuhei as he lowered his mouth back onto Ichigo's length. After letting out a sharp gasp, Ichigo pried his eyes open and looked down at Shuuhei, only to find the other man staring straight back at him, making the experience all that more erotic. They stared at each other through sex-crazed eyes, but Ichigo was forced to break eye-contact as he threw his head back and let out a long moan. Shuuhei smiled and let Ichigo's entire length slide all the way to the back of his throat, drawing out an even longer moan.

"It's my turn…right?" asked Ichigo as he pulled Shuuhei's head up. Shuuhei merely smirked.
"Bend over Ichigo."
"N―Now wait a sec! You said we weren't gonna―"
"Just bend over," commanded Shuuhei gruffly. Ichigo gulped nervously as he obeyed Shuuhei. Much to his relief, Shuuhei got underneath Ichigo instead of behind him, so that Ichigo's erection was directly overhead Shuuhei's mouth and Ichigo's mouth was directly overhead Shuuhei's erection. "You wanted to know what '69' was? Well…this is it." Shuuhei lifted his head slightly as his hands slid onto Ichigo's ass and pulled him down, pushing his length down into Shuuhei's mouth. Ichigo groaned aloud, and continued to groan even louder as Shuuhei began to attack his erection with a rekindled lust. Trying to free himself from the pre-orgasmic haze, Ichigo focused in on Shuuhei's erection, standing erect and covered in a glistening sheet of precum. On a sudden whim, he decided that the erection looked erotically delicious, and lowered his mouth down, taking in as much of the length as possible. Surprised at the enjoyable taste, Ichigo swallowed and began to suck lightly. In the back of his mind, he could hear Shuuhei groan aloud, making him want to suck even harder. Bobbing his head as Shuuhei did, Ichigo began to make slurping noises, enticing loud groans from Shuuhei. In response, Shuuhei sucked on Ichigo's length just as readily, taking care to bite tenderly every so often, and licking the nub at the head of Ichigo's erection with extra force, sending shivers throughout Ichigo's body. Brushing his teeth lightly against the nub, and nibbling ever so softly, he could hear the sensual moans that it elicited. And he could feel the results too, for every time he licked that spot, Ichigo would lick that precise spot as well, sending them through a cycle of pleasure. When one sucked, the other would suck even harder; when one bobbed his head, the other would bob his head even further; and when one swallowed the salty drops of precum, the other would slurp just as hungrily at the milky pearls. It was a continuous rotation of pleasure, one that would make both lovers moan and groan in sync. And it would've continued unbroken, had Shuuhei not thought of playing with Ichigo's dangling sack. Taking the erection out of his mouth, he engulfed the entire sack in his mouth and slurped the two balls, all the while pumping Ichigo's length furiously.
"Shit, Shuuhei…I'm gonna…I'm gonna―" stuttered Ichigo. But he didn't have a chance to finish. Shuuhei could recognize the oncoming intensity and prepared for it, placing his mouth over the tip of Ichigo's erection while still pumping the length with his hand. Yelling aloud as an orgasm seized each and every muscle in his body, Ichigo thrusted his hips forward and pushed his entire length into Shuuhei's mouth. Sucking hard, Shuuhei created a vacuum with his mouth that milked Ichigo of every single shot, every single burst, every single blast of cum that escaped from his length. Not satisfied with the initial flood of cum, Shuuhei continued to slurp and lick, all the while still jerking Ichigo's length. Finally, he was able to elicit yet another orgasm from Ichigo, sending the boy into a fit of heavy spasms and strong convulsions, bucking his hips and thrusting forth uncontrollably. He let out one last cry as he spewed the last of his cum, and collapsed on the bed next to Shuuhei.

Panting and gasping after the major high he had achieved from his blissful release, Ichigo was about ready to fall asleep from exhaustion. But Shuuhei's still-standing erection demanded attention, and Ichigo was more than willing to appease it. He slowly got up and placed his mouth back on Shuuhei's length.
"I'm…I'm close," groaned Shuuhei aloud as he pushed Ichigo's head down onto his erection, forcing it into Ichigo's willing mouth. Ichigo slurped the sensitive member while massaging Shuuhei's swollen sack with his hand, drawing out tiny whimpers of pleasure. Eventually, Shuuhei began to shutter and moan loudly, clear indication that release was near.
"I―Ichigo!" cried Shuuhei as he reached glorious bliss. Ichigo wanted to swallow the oncoming surges, but hesitated at the last moment, letting Shuuhei squirt and spray his cum all over his face. But not just one squirt, but six squirts in a row, completely covering Ichigo's face in the white liquid. Somewhat surprised by the extent of Shuuhei's orgasm, Ichigo licked Shuuhei's length to stop a stray dribble of cum, only to elicit yet another squirt of cum. Chuckling, he pumped Shuuhei's length several more times to see if there was anything left, making Shuuhei buck his hips violently into Ichigo's hand. Sure enough, there was still more cum, which Ichigo voluntarily let spray into his face. Ichigo finally released his grip on Shuuhei's length, letting Shuuhei's body fall to the bed in a dull thud.
"I think that's all…" groaned a fatigued Shuuhei. His entire body was still shivering, an after-effect of such an intense orgasm.
"But I think there's still some left…" whispered Ichigo as he licked the cum from the corners of his lips. He placed his mouth firmly on the still hard erection and sucked ruthlessly, bobbing his head up and down even faster than before, and was able to get one more immense spurt of cum, followed by a long, loud moan from the wasted Shuuhei. "Nine times…heh, that's kinda funny…" chuckled Ichigo. Shuuhei smiled as well as he pulled Ichigo towards him. He leaned forward and licked some his own essence off of Ichigo's face…and spat it out immediately.
"That's nasty…" said a disappointed Shuuhei.
"I…I like it…" reassured Ichigo. Shuuhei smiled and used a pillow to wipe off the rest of the cum on Ichigo's face.

---

Spent and tired, the two lied in bed, with Shuuhei hugging Ichigo from behind.
"You're really clingy…"
"Spooning is good though…" muttered Shuuhei as he nuzzled his face into the back Ichigo's neck. He tightened his arms around Ichigo's waist and brought their two bodies together, fitting them jointly like a two-piece puzzle. Sighing silent nothings into the night, Shuuhei inhaled Ichigo's smell and drifted off into sweet slumber.

Ichigo was still awake. He couldn't sleep with Shuuhei like this; it just didn't feel right…yet. Turning ever so slightly, he checked to see if Shuuhei was asleep, and found the said boy lying sound asleep. Relieved, he decided that the moment was now or ever. And he definitely wasn't going to act this time..
"Shuuhei…" he whispered quietly. No response. Good. It was easier to have Shuuhei just listen…even if it meant for Shuuhei to be unconscious. Gathering his courage, he continued. "Shuuhei…I l…l…l―" stammered Ichigo. He bit down on his tongue in anger. How could he mess up? It was so simple; just a few words for God's sake! But that was the problem…he wanted to say so many words, and condensing it into those three words was near impossible. Plus…he didn't know which 'L' word to use. He couldn't exactly say 'love' because frankly, there was still so much about Shuuhei that he had yet to learn of. But he couldn't say 'like' either because it was obvious that he felt much more…especially after what they had just done. Torn between saying too much and saying too little, Ichigo cursed under his breath and decided that he'd try again tomorrow. He then gasped as Shuuhei's arms started constrict around his waist.
"You don't have to say anything Ichigo…" he whispered as he buried his face deeper into Ichigo's hair.
"But…I want to say something…"
"Then I'll say it for you…" Shuuhei lifted his head and placed his mouth right next to Ichigo's ear, breathing ever so softly. "I love you."

Perhaps it was because he had never known true love before. Orphaned at such a young age, he had never been able to cherish the love his parents had to offer, nor was he ever able to observe true love personally. Even as a certified shinigami, he was deprived of true love as well, never having been able to meet someone who could see past the tattoo on his face. But now, lying in bed with Ichigo, he pondered over what love really meant. Sure, he knew the textbook definition (and even then, it was still vague). But just like any mission, definitions can only take you so far. Perhaps it wasn't love, he thought. Perhaps it was just a lustful splurge. But after a moment's thought, Shuuhei vigorously rejected the idea. Lust was one thing, but there was definitely something more here. He remembered seeing the trust in Ichigo's eyes, and he understood completely. But what confused him was what he saw beyond the trust

Perhaps it was love, thought Shuuhei. Perhaps the longing he had seen in Ichigo's eyes, perhaps it was more than lust. The longing he had felt in himself earlier was probably more than lust too. Maybe it was a longing to love…and to be loved. Shuuhei finally decided that if this was what it meant to love, then it was the best and the most fulfilling feeling he had ever felt. But a part of him wondered if Ichigo really did love him back. He wondered if Ichigo was still in denial or if he was still acting. But he decided that so long as he could love Ichigo, it was more than enough. Although it would be a one-sided love, just being in love satisfied a part of him. Smiling, he hugged Ichigo even closer now, threatening to suffocate him. Of course, he wouldn't mind if Ichigo loved him back…in fact, he wanted Ichigo to love him back. He wanted Ichigo's love…and he wanted it for himself. He wanted it to be his and his only, something he could call his own.
"I love you Ichigo…" he whispered silently. He repeated the words over and over, each time wrenching his arms tighter and tighter, as if by hugging harder made Ichigo his own possession. He couldn't think of any other way to explain his love because it was still so foreign to him. He couldn't think of any other way to say that he wanted Ichigo to be his alone. "I love you…" he whispered once more.
"I know…" answered Ichigo lamely. He didn't say anything more. Didn't say anything about doubt, or lust, or love. But Shuuhei didn't care. Like he said, even if it was a one-sided love, just feeling it was enough to satiate his appetite. Instead, he thought forward to the upcoming week and smiled as he suddenly realized how Ichigo was already his and his alone.

"I love you…my captain." Ichigo really was his, after all.

TBC

Well there you go. The long awaited lemony-scented scene. Somewhat predictable, yet somewhat not…you know what I mean?

Anyways…the question that arises from this is: is Ichigo really going to be the uke/bottom? I wonder…what do you guys think?

I seem to have this really bad habit of making each successive chapter longer than the last…oh well.

And one last note: I'll be putting this fic on a short hiatus so that I can catch up on my other fic (In Death) and start up on a new fic (The Things Unforeseen). I know you guys won't mind…right? Anyways, expect me to resume this fic in September (possibly sooner). So in the meantime, why don't you go drop me a review? It'd be nice if I could get to…oh I donno, 50-60 reviews by the time I get back. But then again, that might be pushing it…

R&R as always my faithful reviewers! I want to make you all my own too…