Chapter 7

Toshiro woke up to warmth. He felt surrounded with and unusual amount of warmth. At first he was confused. Why was he so warm? He opened eyes and immediately saw a very muscled chest, a very naked chest. Toshiro also realized he couldn't move. Ichigo had him wrapped up so tight he couldn't easily move.

For a split second Toshiro panicked. Had they had sex last night? That would be moving too fast for Toshiro's comfort. The panic began to fade, however, as he realized he still had his pants on, so did Ichigo. Toshiro breathed a sigh of relief. As this was going on in Toshiro's head, he felt Ichigo begin to stir. He watched as chocolate eyes groggily opened and he smiled. Ichigo cute such a cute morning face.

"Hey Pumpkin. Let me up." Toshiro smiled more as Ichigo groaned and rolled over.

"Don't you start calling me that too." He whined. "I get enough of that from Renji." Toshiro chuckled. The taller man acted younger than Toshiro looked, it was quite amusing. Toshiro sat up and stretched, feeling the joints crack from lying in one position.

"Hey Ichigo." Toshiro began. Even though he thought nothing happened; he needed to be sure.

"Yeah Shiro?" Ichigo asked, trying to rub the sleep from his face. Toshiro scowled at the nickname, but figured it was probably fair for calling him Pumpkin.

"Nothing happened last night right? We didn't…" Toshiro was embarrassed that he had to ask but Ichigo was shaking his head before we could finish.

"Nah. You fell asleep on me." Ichigo replied, his eyes twinkling merrily. Toshiro felt relieved just as a rush of heat came to his face.

"Sorry about that. I don't drink much." He admitted. He thought he heard Ichigo mutter something like 'it's fine' but he wasn't sure. "Do you," Toshiro paused, searching for the right word, "regret that nothing happened?" He finished nervously. What if Ichigo did want a more physical relationship? Toshiro wasn't sure if he was ready for that.

Ichigo watched Toshiro as he shifted uncomfortably. Even though Toshiro was trying to make light of his words, there was an honest concern there. "Honestly? My body wasn't too happy, but before you fell asleep, I realized it wasn't the right thing to do." Toshiro felt really happy at his words, so much so that he had to reach up and give him a kiss of thanks. This time he made sure to pull away before things got too serious.

Ichigo suddenly groaned. Toshiro looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "I have a class in an hour." Toshiro smirked, he could tell Ichigo didn't really mean to whine, that was just his personality.

"Well I probably should go." Toshiro said. He needed to get back to the office. Rangiku was going to give him enough grief already; he didn't need to be late on top of it. "What happened to my shirt?"

Freshly showered and changed Toshiro walked up to his office building. Through the door, he could hear voices talking animatedly. Toshiro sighed at the inevitable as he walked in.

"Toshiro!" There was a chorus of voices. He glared at the two troublemaking redheads before he turned to his closest friend. Cool brown eyes met his teal ones and he signaled for them to talk in his office. Once they both sat down he looked at his friend. His long black hair was down and his darks were cool but they held a bit of mischief.

"So Byakuya, what brings you here?" He asked after a long silence. His friend merely smirked.

"Renji said you head a date with a certain orange headed man." Byakuya stated in his normal monotone voice, but underneath it Toshiro could hear amusement from the other man. He momentarily felt angry for people gossiping about his personal life, but at the mention of Ichigo, Toshiro smiled. Which did not go unnoticed by Byakuya. Toshiro quickly tried to cover up the smile by glaring at him.

"Your boyfriend needs to learn to keep his mouth shut." Toshiro told him only have serious.

"That is impossible. I have tried many methods to produce that outcome, but alas, it is not meant to be." Toshiro could not believe Byakuya was able to say that with a straight face. "I must say I am pleased that you have found someone after the mess many refer to as Kusaka." Normally Toshiro would have winced at the mention of his ex, but this time it just sort of rolled over him.

"Yeah Ichigo is…" Toshiro try as he might, could not find a word to describe him. Byakuya, however, seemed to understand.

"That is good Toshiro. Everyone needs someone that cannot explain in their lives. Renji is that for me. I truly hope this works out for you my friend. And if it doesn't I shall kill him for you." Toshiro gave a small laugh at that, but nodded in thanks. The sad thing was Byakuya was actually serious and with the army experience, it was quite possible.

"I appreciate that, but I don't believe it will come to that. Now let's go back out there and see the trouble your boyfriend and my assistant have gotten themselves into." With that, the two friends stood up and watched a make-shift wrestling match between the two redheads begin. Seeing their antics Toshiro couldn't help but think that maybe his life was finally falling into place.