~ Chapter 2 – Bruised ~

Ichigo traced the marks with his fingers, and winced when he brushed past the worst ones. The biggest bruises were where he had connected with the floor. The largest one had spread on his right thigh. Ichigo stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He had fallen asleep in Kariya's arms, but as soon as he had been claimed by sleep, he woke with a startle. His heart beat so fast in his chest. The dream he experienced still haunted him in the back of his mind, and after it, he had been too scared to fall asleep again.

Ichigo stared at his neck. His hands ghosted over it as he stretched and turned. Nothing. Then why had it felt so real? In his dream, Kariya had enclosed his throat between his two large hands. His boyfriend wore the same eyes as he had when Ichigo had been thrown into the kitchen. Those angry eyes were something that he would never forget. The procedure had been slow. Kariya's hands burned his skin as they closed around it, stopping there. No pressure was necessary, Kariya's eyes pinned him to the wall. After awhile, pressure had been added, inch by inch; the hands squeezed harder. Ichigo tried desperately to breathe in the much needed air, but it only made him cough. The worst part in this dream was while Kariya strangled him, he didn't do anything to stop him. His arms were limp at his sides, as if he accepted it. That was probably the worst thing, accepting it. Had he wanted to die, or had he deserved it? He woke up before he had a chance to find out.

Ichigo had no problem with having a huge bruise on his thigh but as he looked at his arms, those would be very easy to see, and he had class today. Just perfect, and it was too hot outside to wear anything with long sleeves. Shinji was going to ask him a zillion stupid questions about them. They weren't that visible and wouldn't drag anyone's attention. Shinji on the other hand, would notice, he always did, like a freaking bloodhound. With Renji it was easier, he paid to little attention instead, but Ichigo rather preferred that in this context comparing to Shinji's ultra-awareness.

The orangette exited the bathroom quickly when he realized that he had stayed there too long. He made Kariya's breakfast in a hurry and jogged to the mailbox to retrieve the newspaper. His boyfriend was still asleep when he entered their bedroom. Ichigo still hadn't decided if he was going to be afraid of him. Kariya had said that he was sorry and that it wouldn't happen again. He shook his head before walking closer to the bed. Ichigo bent forward and kissed Kariya on his lips. The man under him opened his eyes and actually smiled when he saw Ichigo.

"What a good way to start the morning," the older said sleepily.

"Breakfast is ready, but you will need to hurry. There's a lot of traffic today."

Ichigo made the bed and sat down on it. He took a deep, calming breath; somewhere in his heart he had been a little afraid. His boyfriend seemed to be in a good mood at least. No hint of anger in his eyes, but despite that, his legs couldn't stop shaking. While he tried to forget, his body couldn't. He took another deep breath and tried to relax.

"Ichigo, you forgot to put on the coffee!" Kariya shouted from the kitchen.

"Then why don't you fix it yourself?" Ichigo muttered to himself as he began to move to the kitchen. It wasn't that Kariya was unable to take care of himself. In fact, he was just as skilled as Ichigo when it came to cooking, which explained the wonderful kitchen in the house. Since Ichigo moved in, Kariya had gotten a fixed idea that his lover should do everything, only because they had decided it.

Kariya fit well into the category of 'McDreamy'. He was handsome, owned an expensive house, had a car most people only could drool at in catalogues, had his own company and could take care of himself and be good at it. All this made him fit in the 'McDreamy' category, and Ichigo hadn't even included his bedroom skills into all that.

Ichigo brewed the coffee and sat down on the opposite side of Kariya. His boyfriend sipped his black poison as he watched Ichigo stare down into his mug.

"Aren't you hungry?" He asked with concern in his voice.

"Uh…not really. I'll eat something later."

"But you barely ate yesterday…"

A small shudder passed through Ichigo's body as he thought about the previous evening. "I'm just not hungry," he said quietly and rested his head on his hand. Kariya noticed the bruises that he had made.

"Do they hurt?"

Ichigo shook his head.

"Sorry."

Ichigo gave Kariya a small smile. He still didn't know if he should take it as a sorry or not.

Kariya left for work as usual and on today's agenda was cleaning the bathroom before going to his class. Since Ichigo cleaned on a daily basis, he had become fast at it and everything was usually not that dirty, so it took barely any time to get it done.

When Ichigo was crawling around on the bathroom floor to scrub it, he realized something. He and his boyfriend hadn't 'done it' in quite a while, which was strange. Before, they had a go at it at least every other night, even in the mornings and on free lunches at Kariya's office or at home, but these last couple of months…nothing. Why was that? Did it explain Kariya's behavior or was he just sick and tired of Ichigo? Had he met someone else? Ichigo stopped scrubbing and swallowed hard. Could it be that simple? Kariya satisfied his need elsewhere? No…what was he thinking? There was no room for his boyfriend to cheat on him, he had too much work and always came home. It was somehow his fault that things weren't the way it was.

Ichigo finished the bathroom and went to the big mirror in the bedroom. He stared at himself for awhile before pulling his shirt over his head. Ichigo stared some more and poked at his stomach. Kariya must be disgusted with the way his body looked like. It had been a while since he did some physically training. After he had met Kariya, his whole life changed. He usually ran every morning, but now when he had to do chores before Kariya woke and during the day, he hadn't the time anymore. No wonder he was fat and loosing muscle. No wonder Kariya was angry all the time. He was out of shape and Kariya hated him for it. What was he supposed to do? Ichigo put on his shirt and took out his English books from the bookshelf and put them in his back pack. There was some time before his class started but, he needed to clear his mind and a motorcycle trip was just what he needed.

In the garage, his Zangetsu stood against the wall. It looked exactly like as if it was bought only yesterday, due to Ichigo's good care. Zangetsu was a sports bike and one of the better ones out on the market. The bike was painted in simple piano black and its fellies and exhaust pipe was chromed. The vehicle hadn't rolled many miles and its tires still had those small rubber things that indicated that the tire was almost brand new.

Ichigo pressed the button to the garage door and rolled the motorcycle out. He swung his backpack over his shoulders and then put on the black helmet with a tinted glass. The black leather jacket had already been put on and it had two red and white stripes on the front traveling from shoulder to the hem. He mounted it and kicked away the stand, before rolling out on the road. He turned the key and the engine roared to life. Only the sound reminded him of how much he loved his bike. Today he didn't give a fuck if he were loud or not. Ichigo turned the handle and drove away fast and roaring.

A couple of minutes later, he drove on a smaller road, leading to the country side. Traffic signs were forgotten as he speed through the landscape. The road led him to a small county and he turned towards the highway. Here on this straight, wide road, he drove faster and faster. He overhauled car by car, loving every meter his bike rolled. Too soon to his liking, Ichigo could see the city he lived in. A few turns in a couple of roundabouts later, he arrived to the building where he took English classes every Tuesday. It was in this precise building he had met Shinji and Renji among a couple of others. Shinji had become his best friend shortly after their first encounter.

Ichigo parked his bike and went to the classroom. With his back pack on his back and his helmet dangling in his left hand he opened the door and stepped in. Shinji sat on top off a desk with a really smug smirk on his lips, while Renji sat on the opposite side, looking very frustrated.

"Come on Shinji…" Renji whined.

The blond man sat silent while ignoring Renji and turned his attention to Ichigo as he walked in. Ichigo gave Shinji a curt nod, which he got returned. He sat down on a chair, but turned it around to face his friends.

"Are you teasing Renji as usual?"

"He is!" The red head exclaimed. "He refuses to tell me!"

Ichigo gave Shinji a suspicious look. "Just what did you put in his brain this time?"

Shinji started to laugh and flung his head back, which didn't made Renji more patient.

"I'm just curious… Is it true?"

"I can't tell you. Ask Ichi." Shinji grinned.

"Ask me what?"

"I read on the internet that it feels really good to stick in your finger while you…" Oh, no. Ichigo knew exactly where this was going. "…you know 'take care' of things. So does it?"

In an instant, Ichigo's face shifted to tomato color and Shinji laughed so hard that he almost fell down from the desk. Ichigo turned back his chair and hid his face under his arms, resting on top of the desk. Renji stared at Shinji and then at Ichigo.

"Jeesh, Ichi, you're such a prude."

The orangette raised his head, not the slightest amused. "It's not funny."

"I'm sorry Ichigo, I assumed that you knew since you're gay and all…"

"Shin is gay as well, you know."

"But he refused to tell me!"

"That's 'cause Ichi is so fun to embarrass." Shinji cut in. "I think this made my day!"

"I'm so not talking to you, ever again."

There was a moment of silence before Renji spoke up again.

"So… does it feel good?"

Ichigo groaned and Shinji jumped down from the desk and sat down on the chair next to Ichigo's.

The teacher walked around and gathered the assigned homework which Renji had forgotten or failed to finish, whatever floated his boat. No one was surprised though. Ichigo usually loved English, but today he felt a bigger need to talk about his predicament. He silently tore out a page from his note book and scribbled something on it before passing it to Shinji.

- Lunch on the roof?

- 'course

Ichigo hid the note and tried to pay attention through the last hour.

"Are you coming with us tonight?" Renji wondered as they lingered outside the classroom. Ichigo shook his head as he gave Renji an apologetic look.

"You know I can't." He said and scratched the back on his head.

"See you later then Shinji?"

"Yeah and put on something nice!"

"Whatever."

Ichigo and Shinji went to the roof after they had gotten lunch from the small cafeteria. Ichigo sat with his untouched sushi bento in his lap, resting his head against the wall with eyes closed. It felt good to be able to relax, it was such nice weather too.

"How's it going with your sugar daddy?"

"Shin…"

"Okay, your boyfriend."

"Things are like they always have been."

"Riiight… and those marks around your arms have always been there."

"We had an argument." Ichigo confessed.

"'bout?"

"Me working for Urahara once in a while."

"an'?"

"He obviously said no, and to prove my point I refused to wash the dishes. You know how picky he is about everything and how they are supposed to be done. As a result he threw me into the kitchen and threatened that I couldn't sleep before it had been cleaned."

"Ichi…"

"He said that he was sorry and made sure that I was okay though."

"So how do you feel about it?"

Ichigo put away his untouched bento and pulled up his knees to hug them.

"It's ironic you know? I was the one who beat up people who mocked me because of my orange hair when I was a kid, but now I'm scared. When did I become so…soft?"

"Calm down Ichi. It probably was because Kariya isn't used to you bitching against him. Don't cha think?"

"Yeah, probably."

Shinji patted his legs and Ichigo looked up.

"You barely slept right?"

Ichigo nodded and placed his head on Shinji's thighs. He stared at the blue sky, enjoying the silence.

A pair of chopsticks with food in between them, hovered over his face. "You haven't eaten either right?" Ichigo ate while Shinji continued to feed him. The blond only managed to get Ichigo to eat a little before he said that he was full, which wasn't true and Shinji knew it. He massaged the orangette's skull and let his short hair slip through his fingers. The soothing gesture made Ichigo slip in and out of a perfect dreamless sleep.

After a while he woke up with a startle as a tongue was forced through his lips.

"Aww, I thought you looked cute when you slept." Shinji said almost disappointed.

"So you just decided to stick your tongue down my throat?"

Shinji shrugged.

"Knowing what you do with it, I will have to bleach my mouth." Ichigo responded irritated.

"Don't worry, you didn't sleep for long."

Ichigo rubbed his eyes and let out a yawn.

"You're going to work for Urahara anyway I'm guessing?"

"Kariya-san won't notice."

"Just be careful."

They walked down from the roof and went out of the school building. Ichigo turned on the engine and sat down on his motorcycle. He flipped the visor up and told Shinji goodbye and promised to call if anything happened.

On the way home he stopped by Urahara's store. The man stood outside, smoking a cigarette. Ichigo turned off the motor, but stayed seated on the vehicle.

"My my, what gives me the honor?"

The orangette took off his helmet and bore a determined gaze.

"I'll accept your offer."

"And Kariya?"

"He approved."

"Good, good. How often can you work?"

"One or two hours per day, longer if Kariya-san goes on business trips."

"Then come whenever you can tomorrow."

Ichigo was on a roll, his day had gone on become really good. He parked Zangetsu in the garage and did a quick change to a pair of short jeans shorts and a white wife beater. Back in the garage, he filled the lawnmower with petrol and pulled the string a few times before it regained its life. He started to walk back and forth on the grass. Ichigo worked through the front yard fast enough to have time with the back side. It was a lot bigger, but he finished just as his boyfriend stepped through the trapdoor. He turned it off and wiped his face with a towel.

"Welcome home." He said and stepped up on the sundeck. Sweat ran from his temples and his breathing was a little strained from the grass cutting. "Sorry, I haven't had the time to make dinner. I forgot the time. I'll throw something together in a minute.

"Make something light. I had dinner with a client."

"As you wish, Kariya-san."

Ichigo took a quick shower while Kariya relaxed on the sofa with a book. In the kitchen, he decided to make a salad with garlic bread. The orangette was in a daze. Everything had been so normal when his boyfriend had come home and that scariness was gone. Strange. Ichigo put the cut vegetables in a bowl and started to shred carrot. He soon learned that wet hands and a slippery carrot going up and down on something sharp, while having your head in the clouds wasn't the best combo. At the same moment Kariya was demanding a beer and startled Ichigo. "Shit." He swore as his blood ran, too much in his opinion. Where had he put the band aids again?

"Ichigo! Beer!"

"I'm coming!"

Oh, there they were! He dried up the blood from the floor and took a deep breath. Don't panic Ichigo, there's only a little amount of blood, no one died, just… He closed his eyes to calm down only to have images play in his head over and over again. A faint shouting was heard in the distance. Ichigo opened his eyes trying to focus on the opposite wall.

"Ichigo?!" Kariya was still shouting at him.

He remembered that he had to get air to his lungs and took a shuddering breath. Kariya came into the kitchen, stamping heavily to express his irritation. He pushed Ichigo out of the way to get to the fridge. The younger man flew into the kitchen bench with his back first. He let out a grunt as the pain registered. His boyfriend slammed the fridge door closed, which made Ichigo flinch.

"Didn't you hear me?" Kariya said angrily.

"Uhm..I-…Sorry…"

"You better be."

The oven beeped and Ichigo hurried over to take out the baked garlic bread from the wall- hung oven. In his confused state he forgot to put on the cooking mittens perfectly and burned himself on the hot bake tray. His body responded to the burn and forced Ichigo to drop it. The awfully silent room was broken with the noise from the tray crashing to the floor. The bread was spread all over it. Kariya walked out from the kitchen, snorted and mumbled "useless idiot" as he passed Ichigo.

That night, the light dinner was forgotten mostly because Kariya didn't press on the matter, Ichigo stared at the water tap as the cold water poured onto his burned hand. He turned it off after he barely had any feeling left in it. Ichigo decided to climb into his bed- no their bed- after mending his hand. He didn't take off his clothes and the bread was still on the floor. The other side of the bed sunk down when Kariya lay down later in the night, unbeknownst that Ichigo was still awake and probably would be for the entire night.

TBC

AN: Hi everyone that survived xmas, finally the second chapter. I hope that not many are scared of Kariya. I know he's not a favored character in fan fiction, but I see some potential and it's getting kind of boring to have Aizen to be the mean one in everything you read. ;) Things will unfold slowly, but surely. Just you wait. Big thanks to my beta as usual!