I do not own Bleach.

I'm back! Finally...IKR! Anyway, I have been busy in real life. I'm still attempting to find another job while continuing to work at my curretn job and I got engaged in November and I have been busy planning a wedding for June. Anyway, I'm sorry for making you all wait so long but here it is.

Special Thanks: Fan5124 for the fave and follow, EzraTheBlue for the review, Angel 1028 for the review, kyuumihaira for the review, guest for the review, hellosara49 for the fave and follow, AnimeChick391 for the fave, HadenXCharm for the fave and follow, QueenLanaRey, for the review, ChooShoo for the follow, Tess the ciclopse for the fave and the follow, Sauri555 for the fave and the follow, Rasiaa for the fave, nightmre 13 for the fave and follow, 13emstr for the follow, Rochelle 13 for the follow, YaoiFangirl2002 for the fave and the follow, hoigui for the fave and the review, baka for the review, CainAJLBassen for the follow, Amelta for the fave and the follow, sheepfonfon for the fave and the follow, TheYMR21 for the follow, and Bijuui9 for the fave.

After their fight, Ikkaku waited a few hours for Yumichika to come back to their quarters, but when the dark haired Shinigami never returned the third seat realized he must have really pissed his lover off this time. After a few more minutes of waiting, Ikkaku decides he might as well soothe his hangover by going out and getting a few more drinks. Several hours later, the bald man wakes to find himself lying on the threshold of his and Yumichika's bathroom with his upper body in the bathroom and his lower half in the hallway. He didn't remember coming back from the bars, but some how he had made back home. He groggily sits up and looks around for Yumichika. When he doesn't see or sense his lover he realizes that the fifth seat must still be mad and had no intention of returning tonight.

Ikkaku eventually manages to stand up and rubs his temples with his fingers. He really did wish he hadn't said some of those things to Yumichika. Renji had to be right on this one…there was no way his Yumi could be cheating on him…right? Ikkaku shakes his head, which was a mistake considering how dizzy it made him. He makes his way to the futon and sits down. The futon smelled like Yumichika and this made the bald warrior even more upset by what happened earlier. He was fairly certain Yumi was with Rangiku. That was his lover's go to spot when he needed a break, but Ikkaku knew better than to go to the Lieutenant's house. There was no way she would let him talk to Yumichika and he doubted Yumi wanted to talk to him anyway.

Ikkaku lets out a sigh and stands up again. He goes to the kitchen and downs a few glasses of water before slipping his shoes on and heading out of their quarters. He didn't really know where he was going, but he couldn't stay there. It just didn't feel right without Yumichika there. After what felt like hours of walking, Ikkaku finds himself standing in front of Kuchiki Manor. He didn't really think he wanted to hear Renji's bullshit again, but his subconscious must have led him here and he figured this was as good a place as any to crash for the rest of the night.

The eleventh squad member pounds on the door several times and when someone finally answers it definitely wasn't one of the servants like he expected. Renji was standing on the other side of the door with an angry look on his face, "The hell are ya doing here at a time like this?! Do ya even know what time it is?!"

Ikkaku stares blankly at the redhead for a moment before shaking his head, "No, I didn't figure it was that late and I just wanted to come by an…"

"It's 3 in the fuckin' morning!" Renji crosses his arms and gives his bald friend another fury-filled glare, "You scared the servants half to death and Byakuya was seconds away from blowing yer ass away with his bankai! The fuck are ya doin' here at this hour?!"

Without intending to, Ikkaku's expression falls into a frown and his shoulders slump, "I'm sorry, man, but…but me an Yumi got into a big fight and I went out an got drunk as hell. I didn't know what the fuck time it was." He stands up a little straighter and turns away from the door, "I'll just go. I hope I didn't wake up yer fuckin' kid or nothin'."

Renji lets out a defeated sigh as he shakes his head, "No, Takahiro is still asleep." He uncrosses his arms and opens the door a bit wider, "Come in…quietly and tell me what happened."

Ikkaku turns to face his tattooed friend once again and begins walking toward the front door, "Are ya sure? I don't wanna cause no trouble with yer wife or nothin'."

An irritated expression appears on Renji's face at the third seat calling his lover his wife, "Do ya wanna come in or not?"

"Alright, alright…sorry." Ikkaku makes his way into the alcove of the manor and after Renji shuts the door he follows his redheaded friend into the living room.

The sixth lieutenant gestures toward a chair, "Sit down and I'll make ya some tea. Then ya can tell me what ya did this time."

An offended look plays over Ikkaku's features at Renji's words, "What makes ya think I did something?"

"Because, it's always yer fault when the two of ya fight." He ignores the bald man's protests and makes his way to the kitchen leaving Ikkaku to sit in the living room by himself.

Ikkaku sits quietly in the darkness of the living room with his eyes closed. The dark made his head feel a little better and it didn't pound quite as much as before. After several minutes when Renji doesn't return, the third seat opens his eyes and looks around the room. The stray rays of moonlight seeping in through the window illuminate several family photos and few photos featuring just Takahiro. It was still hard for Ikkaku to believe that Renji was a dad now and was the father of Byakuya Kuchiki's child for that matter. He never really liked to think about the fact that his former drinking and bullshitting buddy had another life that included a baby. Renji did look very happy in the photos though.

Ikkaku lets out a sigh and closes his eyes again. Could it really be possible to be happy and have a kid at the same time? Renji and Captain Kuchiki sure looked happy in their photos. Yumichika's face suddenly appears in the darkness beneath the third seat's closed eye lids. Yumichika seemed to think he would be happier with a baby. Ikkaku's eyes open again and his lover's image disappears. Why wasn't their relationship enough any more? Why did Yumichika need someone else to make him happy?

Before Ikkaku can ponder on the subject any longer the lights come on and Renji walks into the room carrying a tray with two tea cups on it. He places the tray on the tea table in the center of the room before offering Ikkaku a cup. The bald Shinigami takes the cup from his crimson haired friend and allows the warmth from the tea to seep into his cold fingers. He's quiet for a long while as he and Renji sip their tea. Why did he even come here? There was nothing Renji Abarai could do to help Ikkaku. He had basically accused Yumichika of cheating on him and the fifth seat didn't even deny it. Ikkaku's grip tightens on the cup before he remembers the hot tea inside and slackens his grip.

Finally, Renji breaks the silence, "So, what's goin' on? What are ya guys fighting about now?"

The older man puts his tea cup back on the table before leaning back in the chair and crossing his arms over his chest, "I came back from drinkin' and he chewed me out fer bein' out so late. So I said I didn't understand why he was worried since he's been just ignoring me fer the past week and then he got mad at me fer saying that." Ikkaku pauses his story for a moment as the color in his cheeks begins to turn red, "And then I may have…kind of accused him of…cheatin' on me."

Renji chokes violently on his tea for a moment before also setting his cup down, "Dude! You did what?!"

Ikkaku uncrosses his arms before bending over and placing his elbows on his knees and his hands on his bald head. He lets out a frustrated sigh, "I didn't just come right out an say it…I sorta insinuated, but I…I think he figured it out."

"No, shit he figured it out! He's not an idiot." Renji shakes his head making his loose red strands sway against his shoulders, "Why in the hell would ya say somethin' like that?"

Ikkaku rubs his head a few times before sitting up in the chair again, "Cause…he ain't been himself fer a few weeks and…and I was hung over and still a little bit drunk and I just said what came to my mind."

The redhead sighs, "Look, Yumichika may be a lot of things…vain, stubborn, kind of an asshole…"

"Hey!" The bald man straightens up with an angry look on his face, "The hell, man!"

Renji raises his hands in a gesture of surrender, "Sorry…I just mean that he has his flaws, but he ain't no cheater. He loves ya and he wouldn't do somethin' like that."

The third seat is very quiet for a long time as conflicting expressions of anger and confusion play across his features. When he finally speaks again his voice his so low that Renji has to lean in to hear him, "It's never been this way with Yumi before. We usually know just what the other one wants without havin' to ever talk about it. I don't know what's goin' on, but he's different and I don't know what he wants me to do."

"Ya ever thought about asking him what he wants and not gettin' mad when he tells ya?" Renji watches as Ikkaku's slightly angry expression changes to an irritated frown.

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Ikkaku stands up and paces the room a bit before speaking again, "When I accused him of cheatin' he didn't deny it and he didn't tell me what was really goin' on. Whatever's goin' on…he don't wanna talk to me about it."

Renji places his hands in his lap and laces his fingers together. He didn't want to ask his next question, but he knew he needed to in order to get anywhere with his bald friend, "Deep down…don't ya really know what he wants to talk about? Don't ya already know why he's bein' distant?"

Ikkaku gives his back to the tattooed lieutenant and once again crosses his arms, "I don't wanna talk about this no more. Can I stay the rest of the night here? I won't make no noise and I won't make a mess. Ya won't even know I'm here."

As much as Renji wanted force Ikkaku to talk about the real issue at hand, he knew it wouldn't do any good and it would just cause the eleventh squad member to get furious, "Yeah, follow me and I'll get ya some clothes to borrow fer the night."

Ikkaku nods and follows the redhead to one of the many guest rooms in the Kuchiki Manor. He knew Renji was right. He knew what his lover wanted more than anything else, but Ikkaku just didn't want to admit to himself much less to Renji that he knew he was being a selfish asshole to the one person in the universe who meant everything to him. He knew he was disappointing Yumichika, but he knew he would be an even bigger disappointment at being a father.

Renji hands the bald man a bundle of clothes, "Do ya need anything else?"

"Nah, I'm good." Ikkaku begins stripping out of his clothes without paying Renji any attention, "Thanks fer letting me stay the night. I'll be gone in the mornin' before you or Captain Kuchiki even realizes it."

Renji places his hands on his hips and bites his tongue to keep from saying what he really wanted to say, "Well, stay as long as ya need to and just leave the borrowed clothes in the bathroom and one of the servants will get em in the morning."

Ikkaku nods as he pulls on the borrowed clothes and flops onto the futon, "Yeah, alright."

Renji nods as well and leaves the guest room to head back to his and Byakuya's bedroom. He didn't like the path that his friends were travelling down. He knew Yumichika loved Ikkaku, but a guy could only put up with so much. Renji really hoped nothing bad would happen to his friend's long time relationship.

TBC…

Thanks for reading!