-Ugh. I've had a rough couple of days since I last updated. I came within a sneeze of getting a citation, and have to worry about paying for some repairs on a car I accidentally hit when I was trying to park my car the other day. It's really tough when people park like a bunch of crazed up crack monkeys and there's an inch of ice on the ground. Even studded snow tires have trouble gripping on that shit. Blegh. Stack that on top of the fact that I have finals next week and a Japanese oral exam tomorrow, and that makes for a very stressful day. Anyway, in spite of all that, I'm getting this new set of drabbles to you guys in an attempt to boost my own mood, because it's not that great at the moment. Hope you're all doing better than I am.

1: X-Men

The last thing Ichigo Kurosaki expected when he returned home that day was to have received a letter. Most notably, a letter from some man named Charles Xavier, requesting an interview with the young man regarding some intriguing reports that had been made about him. Ichigo had been impressed by the letter; the grammar had been perfect, immaculate, and professional. And, considering it had been addressed as coming from somewhere in the United States, that came as a bit of a surprise.

But, considering the offer had included air-fare and all other arrangements, he was having a hard time saying no. Especially because of the in-depth explanation that had been included in the letter. If nothing else, he thought it would be fun, and had thus sent a response in the mail the same day, indicating that he would be taking them up on their offer.

About a week later, plane tickets and travel itineraries arrived in the mail. He arranged with his father to have his clinic duties postponed for that week, claiming that he was headed to the Soul Society to check on Toshiro and stay with him for a while. He hadn't seen his romantic interest in some weeks, so the excuse came as no surprise to his father. But, in all truth, he hadn't been completely lying to his father. There was a grain of truth in what he'd said; he was going to see Toshiro, but the difference was that Toshiro, rather than being the one visited, was the one tagging along.

Because even Ichigo was not stupid enough to wander into a foreign country alone under the assumption that the assurances a letter had made were absolutely true.

They'd left Karakura the day after Toshiro arrived. Ichigo had instructed him not to bother with a gigai; the entire point of him coming was to be stealth backup, and strutting about in an albino fake body would defeat the purpose of that entirely. Toshiro hadn't complained; figuring it was a better excuse for him to keep Hyorinmaru on his person at all times. But Ichigo had managed to squeeze in some time to enjoy his boyfriend's company after they left his apartment, convincing the invisible soul to sit on his lap on the plane for the duration of their entire, rather lengthy flight. Toshiro had even fallen asleep on his shoulder at one point, which was undeniably adorable only for his personal audience, considering no one else on the plane had nearly high enough spiritual pressure to even be able to come close to seeing the small Captain.

When they did finally arrive in Maine, Ichigo couldn't deny his surprise when he got a welcoming committee. He'd been expecting a singular person with perhaps a cardboard sign with his name written on it, but nothing quite like the two men that greeted him. But by that point Toshiro had departed from his side, hanging back in the case that anyone of their supposedly "gifted" group would be able to sense his presence. He'd been wise to do so, even if it had been under Ichigo's request.

"So you must be Ichigo Kurosaki," one of the men had said to him, in surprisingly fluent Japanese. He'd nodded, settling his satchel over his shoulder a bit more comfortably. He was just glad to be standing at that point; considering he had never been fond of flying with anyone other than Toshiro and on anything other than Hyorinmaru's trustworthy wings.

"Yeah," he said, looking the man up and down curiously. He wore a rather odd pair of glasses on the bridge of his sharp nose, but that was the only thing distinguishable about him. The man next to him had a rather unsavory look on his face, and probably the largest set of mutton chops in the world, but didn't seem any different from any biker he could find on his way to Sturgis. "I'm assuming that at least one of you is this Xavier guy."

The man with the mutton chops grumbled something in English, apparently unable to follow their conversation. Ichigo knew a proficient amount of English, and smirked at his rather pouting comment as he waited for one to respond. The man with the glasses did, still speaking in Japanese. "Professor Xavier is back at the academy that was mentioned in your letter. We're here to pick you up to see that you get there." He paused, looking around Ichigo, apparently trying to find his excess luggage. Ichigo hadn't brought any, figuring he didn't really need to. He wasn't planning on staying long. "Do you have everything you brought with you?"

Ichigo was almost tempted to tell him no, but he knew that it would raise suspicions. "Yeah," he answered with a nod. "This is all I have."

The man with the glasses smiled, nodding towards the door. "Let's get going, then. Professor Xavier is expecting us soon; we don't want to keep him waiting."

Ichigo shrugged, following the two men out of the airport, his eyes slowly scanning around the airport as they left in an attempt to find Toshiro before they left. He didn't succeed, and began to worry until they approached the vehicle that the two men appeared to have brought. It was an old fashioned Mustang, and sitting on the trunk and leaning against the back windshield like he didn't have a care in the world was Toshiro.

He smirked at Ichigo, nodding to him before jumping off the vehicle as they all loaded in. Ichigo was smiling, and he was hoping that his two escorts would assume that it was because he'd never been to the country before. Which was untrue; he'd been to America before, but not the eastern coast.

When they'd finally crawled away from the hectic traffic of the airport, their speed greatly increased, the man with the massive sideburns obviously privy to the idea of getting back to this academy as soon as possible. Ichigo was sure that he was probably breaking some manner of speed limit, but didn't care. He was too busy watching the landscape swing by as they went. It slowly crawled from the grays of the city to the greens of the country, the lush forests quite different from the ones in Japan. They were quite nice, but a different biome entirely than the one he was used to seeing.

"God damn it," he heard Mutton Chops growl, an angry glance directed at the still frosted back window. The frost was slowly thawing, but Ichigo could see where it would be an issue for being able to properly see. But he was still too amused by the fact that Toshiro had gotten so gutsy to care too much, knowing that his boyfriend had probably been bored to the point of resorting to such things.

When they slowed and pulled in through a set of wrought iron gates, Ichigo's attention was drawn away from the landscape and towards their finally attained destination. The brick school towered in front of them, and he couldn't help being impressed. Apparently the "academy" was every inch of what it appeared to be; the bell tower ringing and what very much appeared to be students bustling out the front doors and about the campus' many buildings. When they pulled up around the front driveway, Ichigo slung himself out of the old fashioned vehicle with his two escorts, smiling at the passing students as many of them smiled back at him.

Apparently he'd been expected, and was somewhat of a spectacle, for once in his life not because of his hair color. He resisted the urge to glance over as Toshiro landed down next to him, this time sticking close as they entered the close-quarters building. But he walked a good few paces behind their entire group, keeping his limited spiritual pressure well reigned in to keep from causing any trouble.

He was led up through the man building of the academy into a rather large office. Where, much to his surprise, more people waited. But this group seemed far more interesting and promising than the set he'd been escorted by, at least in his own mind. Mutton Chops was still grumbling about the freak ice on the back of his windshield, but silenced quickly as they all settled into the office together. The man behind the desk at the front of the room seemed older, well bald but with a keen glint in his eyes that Ichigo almost immediately liked.

But the only issue he saw with being in such a small room with so many people was that Toshiro's spiritual pressure, though well kept, would definitely chill the room quickly. The young man was just too potent for his own good. But, Ichigo still had the hope of having this meeting end quickly, hopefully before Toshiro would even have to get involved.

"I'm honored that you accepted my invitation," the man behind the desk said, his voice surprisingly gentle. But he spoke in English, so Ichigo had to take a split second to analyze what he was saying. The man had obviously anticipated this, and waited for a moment. "My name is Charles Xavier; the man who invited you. I'd like to welcome you to my academy, and introduce you to my teaching staff."

He looked around as each person was properly introduced, trying to make a note of each but probably failing rather miserably. He was finally glad to have a name for Mutton Chops, though, because he figured if he started calling the man that, they probably wouldn't get along all too well. It also gave him an excuse to look and see where Toshiro had gone, and he eventually found the other man, leaning against a bare patch of wall a short distance away from a silver haired African American woman. When the introductions were finished, they all looked expectantly at him, and he paused for a moment, conjugating what he wanted to say.

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki," he said, hoping his accent wasn't too atrocious. "Thanks for having me, I guess."

The room of people nodded, before Mutton Chops, whose name had just as quickly escaped him as soon as he'd heard it, made a rather barking comment to one of the younger men next to him. "God damn it, boy," he growled, and the younger boy seemed to quail for a moment. "Calm down. You're going to freeze all our asses off at this rate."

"It's not me!" the young boy defended, and Ichigo smiled, figuring that this boy's particular "talent" involved ice as well. Perfect; it was a great alibi.

"And what would you need an alibi for, Mr. Kurosaki?" Xavier asked, and Ichigo whipped around to face him, eyes going rather wide. He hadn't said anything aloud about an alibi, so how on earth had the old man known?

Xavier laughed genially, apparently intending to explain himself. "You see, Mr. Kurosaki, I was quite honest when I said that all of us here at my academy have external talents that aren't considered normal for the human species. I can see into your thoughts, Mr. Kurosaki, and I would very much appreciate an explanation as to what you need an alibi for."

The temperature in the room had dropped drastically, and Ichigo knew that Toshiro was concerned. He smiled, then, figuring that they both had some explaining to do. The rest of the room seemed surprised by his having kept something from them, and then even more so for smiling after having been caught. It was probably a rather unusual response, but he couldn't help himself. If anything, these people were certainly promising to be fun.

"I didn't come alone," he admitted, and the entire room started in hushed tones to talk. He ignored them, keeping focused on Xavier, who seemed a bit befuddled by something.

"I'm assuming that the person who accompanied you is in this room," Xavier said, earning another drop in temperature that got the entire room of people to see their breaths billowing out in front of their faces in huffs of white vapor. "But I find that I can't see him or sense him. Could you explain why?"

Ichigo laughed, shaking his head at himself as he scratched the back of his neck. Oh, how fun this was going to be to try and explain. "Well, Professor, you can't see him because he's probably too powerful for you to be able to see. He is in this room, you're quite right about that, but I don't think you'll be able to see him anytime soon. We didn't bring the… uh… proper, equipment, let's say."

Xavier looked at him curiously. "Equipment?" he quoted, an intrigued tilt to his voice. "Well, Mr. Kurosaki, it seems you and I have some things to discuss. You are obviously not what I had anticipated, and neither is your friend." The man's keen gray eyes glanced about the room, apparently still unable to track where exactly Toshiro was. Which Ichigo was thankful for, as of yet. "Do you think your friend could give us a sign as to where he is? We won't cause either of you harm, I assure."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Quite honestly, I don't think you could," he said before glancing over at where Toshiro was standing. The other seemed more amused than anything now, his once fretting spiritual pressure calming somewhat, returning the room to a bearable temperature. "Come on, then, Toshiro, at least let them know you're here."

The snowy captain rolled his eyes, before resting a knuckle against the wood paneling behind his head. Frost crawled quickly across the wood, drawing into an intricate, thick, and polished form of the proper hiragana for "hello". Ichigo smiled, glancing back at Xavier, who was smiling rather widely. The rest of the room was murmuring in surprise, the smaller boy from earlier cooing over how cool it was. Mutton Chops seemed unimpressed, but couldn't keep his eyes off the frosted lettering.

"And I would agree," he said to Xavier with a smile of his own. "We do have quite a few things to talk about, I think."

2: Snow White

Was the first impression that Ichigo had ever gotten from Toshiro, and the mental image lingered on throughout their relationship. Even in spite of Toshiro's likelihood of throttling him if Ichigo had ever actually made the comparison aloud.

3: 7 Dwarves

Also in his head, Ichigo always liked to refer to Toshiro's subordinates as his dwarves. Again, upon risk of death should he ever make the analogy aloud to any of them. But after meeting Toshiro's seventh seat for the first time, he began to stop making that analogy, due to the fact that she scared the shit out of him, and he had the vague feeling that she could see into his thoughts, and would spill the beans on his little mental analogy. And that would be the end of him, for sure. So that little pair of analogies, in spite of being fun to him, had died quickly after that point.

4: Cinderella

There was just something ominous about the clock striking midnight. Ichigo usually made a point to be asleep by that time of night, but there were some nights when he lay awake pondering, and would sit audience to that haunting noise. One quote would ring in his ears every time he heard it, and it would set his heart to worrying.

"When the clock strikes midnight, the spell will be broken." He had always questioned himself what kind of miracle in his life could be considered wonderful enough to be a spell, but when he fell into his relationship with Toshiro, it immediately counted for the former category. And so, nearly every time he would lay awake listening to those chimes, he would end up calling Toshiro in the middle of the night, or end up going to the Soul Society just to check and make sure that he was still real, and that their relationship was still legitimate.

5: Glass Slipper

"Hey, if the slipper fits," Renji said, shrugging as Ichigo sat smoldering in his own blush. He'd blabbed his two biggest secrets on a whim, in front of an audience no less. But, surprisingly, even though Urahara had not been surprised, it had been Renji to recover quickest. Perhaps it was because he knew Ichigo best, and had thus suspected something all along. Or perhaps it was because he was just happy at the prospect that Ichigo had found someone worthy of being romantically interested in.

6: Sleeping Beauty

Ichigo had been privy to a lot of beauty in his life; probably more than his fair share, considering he'd married one of the most beautiful men in the history of the Soul Society. But there was nothing more beautiful, he thought, than when Toshiro was sleeping. Most notably on early winter nights, when the moonlight was bright against the snow and streamed in through their windows like cascades of silver water. It was like that, his face graced against the pillow and framed by his own tousled, glowing hair, that Ichigo thought him most striking.

But what made the scene thoroughly pleasing instead of just aesthetically pleasing was the fact that they shared that bed together, which meant that all that beauty belonged to Ichigo, and no one else.

7: Spindle

Ichigo took the wounded thumb into his mouth, licking off the dab of blood that Toshiro had drawn by accidentally having jabbed himself while darning a pair of Ichigo's shihakusho pants. He looked at the other pointedly, and Toshiro blushed as Ichigo then promptly kissed the back of the hand he had been licking.

"Careful, now, Sleeping Beauty," he said, and Toshiro smiled.

8: Cranky Dragon

Toshiro growled at him from beneath the covers, and Ichigo laughed lightheartedly in spite of the threatening sound. "I'm sorry," he said, leaning down to kiss his cranky dragon on an uncovered, and unceremoniously bruised shoulder. "I promise I'll be more gentle next time."

His spouse snorted, diving back beneath the covers to re-hide his shoulder. "How about next time we don't do it on the bloody floor," the dragon growled, swatting at Ichigo's face as the other tried to follow him under the covers. "Hard wood isn't exactly comfy."

9: Prince Charming

Toshiro never would have imagined that his prince charming would be a loud, fiery, red head human boy who had somehow managed to thaw out and steal his heart.

10: Beauty & The Beast

"Which is which, do you think?" Toshiro asked him one day, and Ichigo looked at him rather curiously.

"What are you talking about, Toshiro?" he asked, settling down next to his spouse to sit on the couch together.

"Which of us is the beauty and which is the beast."

"If you're thinking I'm the beauty, I may have to have you get your eyes examined, Toshiro."

11: Ballroom Dancing

Orihime's wedding was a joyous occasion. Ichigo was finally thankful that she'd managed to get over him somehow; muddling onto another relationship that far better suited her. He knew that her affection for him would linger probably forever, but he knew that he just couldn't return it for favor of already spending most of his time and affection devoted to his husband. But he'd accepted her invitation to her wedding with a smile, noting how both he and Toshiro had been invited. She had seemed to have had a very tough time accepting that Toshiro had swooped in and taken her place, but had finally seemed to get over the matter.

Ichigo had only convinced Toshiro to go, though, because there was ballroom dancing involved. Otherwise, Toshiro, being the genteel man that he was, wouldn't have had the heart to appear and remind Inoue of what she had lost.

12: Sword in the Stone

Ichigo knew that for a long time, Toshiro had been in the habit of placing his sword vertically into the ground in front of him whenever he was meditating. But he couldn't help but find it comical, when, after they'd moved into their house, he'd taken up the habit of meditating on a large flat stone they'd left in their backyard next to the Koi pond. The stone was smooth, and was probably quite comfortable to sit on. But that did not change the fact that Toshiro still stuck his sword into it every time he meditated.

And the only reason Ichigo continued to find it funny was because of the mental image of himself marching across the lawn as King Arthur to pull out the sword to earn his prize for being the only one to do so. And, after all, what better a prize could there be than Toshiro?

13: Thumbalina

Sometimes early on in their relationship, Ichigo was struck hard by how small Toshiro was. It wasn't a detriment in Ichigo's eyes, but it did make him worry sometimes. He knew that Toshiro was a Captain, and that he was stronger than he appeared. But that worry remained, that some great force would come along and sweep little old Toshiro right out of his hands, where Ichigo held him so gingerly next to his heart. Because sometimes the other man's shoulders, which carried so much weight, seemed so very small. As small as the eye of a needle compared to the world he carried, and it made Ichigo want to cradle that fragile balance and protect it, knowing that even a thumb's more worth of pressure would break it beyond repair.

14: Puss-n-Boots

Ichigo whistled low and long, looking Toshiro up and down appreciatively as the smaller man strode into the café. He was clad in a trim, faded wash pair of jeans, which hugged his lithe frame in a complimenting, yet not overtly dramatic manner. Topped by a navy suit coat, with the sleeves rolled up halfway up the forearm to reveal pinstriped silk lining, and a white collared shirt with the several of the top most buttons undone, the outfit was an eye-pleaser to be sure. But what stood out most were the sharp brown, Chelsea boots that served as the main color accent compared to the rest of the cool colors of the outfit.

"Pretty little kitty, you've got there," one of the other men in the notably homosexually oriented café commented, rather jealously as Ichigo all but scooped Toshiro to his hip to pack at his boyfriend's thin-pressed lips. Toshiro kissed back quickly, resettling his black trimmed glasses that Ichigo had set off kilter.

"Glad you decided to show," he purred into Toshiro's ear, kissing said ear after he'd finished speaking, making the other blush mildly and swat at him for the public display of affection. "Thought I was going to have to start hitting on people to pass the time."

"Very funny," Toshiro commented, rolling his eyes before looking back to Ichigo. "You called me offering to buy me a drink. I trust you're going to uphold to that offer?"

Ichigo nodded, dragging his albino boyfriend towards the coffee bar. "You bet, Puss-n-Boots, whatever you like."

15: Mad Hatter

"Wait, now who is it that's having this private New Year's party?" Ichigo asked one day whilst loafing on one of the sofas in the 10th Division office. Toshiro was fiddling with something on his desk. Which, for once, happened not to be paperwork.

"My seventh seat," the other said again, his tiny fingers examining the guts of the watch he'd dismantled.

"Huh." Ichigo scratched at his head, trying to think of a face or a name to associate with. But none came to mind, so he could only assume one thing. "I don't think we've met."

Toshiro shook his head, taking the hands of the watch off with fragile delicacy. "I don't believe so," he said, snorting to himself. "It should make taking you with me to the party somewhat interesting, then, if that is the case."

Ichigo watched the small fingers work, looking curiously at the other before asking what he'd meant. "And what exactly is that supposed to be implying?" he asked, finally sitting up to go watch the other toy with his contraption.

Toshiro snorted again, setting the small face of the watch aside to stare down at the tiny clockworks inside the watch. "Not much," he said honestly. "She's just mad as a hatter, that's all. It'll be interesting to see how you two get along."

"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?" He paused, examining Toshiro's work carefully before his eyebrows kicked up.

"And is that one of my watches?"

16: Wicked Queen

"I swear, getting married may be my best and worst decision ever," Renji griped to him one day, shaking his head as he sighed to himself. "Sometimes having a wife can be a real pain. When she's PMSing she goes from being the sweetest thing since candied crack to the Wicked Witch of the West."

Ichigo was able to honestly laugh at the other man's plight. "That's what you get for choosing women, man; up and down like a roller coaster in a cartoon town. Don't get me wrong, Toshiro can be a dragon sometimes, but at least his moods don't swing in cycles or on a consistent basis. Things only bug him every once in a while."

His fellow red head laughed. "I don't know, Ichigo," he said, patting the other on the shoulder in sympathy. "I think I'd trade a hundred years of Rukia's PMSing before I would brave one of Toshiro's stormy moods."

17: Ruby Slippers

Sometimes, Ichigo couldn't resist being cliché. It was kind of built in to the whole being a doting boyfriend thing. So, for one risky Valentine's day, he'd gotten Toshiro a red pair of house slippers. The other had looked at him curiously, wondering what on earth he'd meant by them.

"So that whenever you miss being home in my arms, you can just click your heels together and think of me."

Toshiro had groaned, but had laughed good naturedly anyway.

18: No Place Like Home

"What was that, Toshiro?" Ichigo asked his partner, brushing a hand over a narrow shoulder beaded with sweat as the cool once again began to settle about the room as their dwindling afterglow began to fade. Toshiro was buried against his chest, and seconds away from sleep, but answered drowsily anyway, his little hand hold onto Ichigo's gently.

"Wouldn't trade this for anything," he said, making Ichigo smile and kiss at the sweat matted hair atop his snowy head.

"Why do you say that?" Ichigo asked, his own drowsiness making him pursue the nonsensical topic because of a vague interest in what the other was thinking before they both plundered into sleep.

"Cause it's home. Couldn't ever replace it."

-Well, there we are. I'm now feeling much better, and my mood has improved somewhat since writing this set of drabbles. Truth be told, I had a tough time deciding what to do with them, considering all of them were fairy tale related. I didn't want to do the predictable thing and modify each based on the tale they came from, so I just decided to do what I usually do and run with them. I think they turned out well, in spite of being on the fly. Hope they turned out alright, Scarlett Foxie. I'm sure they weren't what you were expecting. XD I also blame techno music for the fact that most of these were kind of peppy. Just had an addiction to techno lately. Thank god for Pandora! Anyway, I have TONS of drabble sets to do, so if you guys could hold off on them for a while, that would be great. I never thought I would say that, but right now I have so many on my waiting list that I really don't have any business asking for more. So, maybe after the next couple chapters of drabbles I'll start asking for more, but I'll let you guys know when I'm ready for more. Until then, just enjoy this set, and the oncoming sets. Peace, biffles!

8-90s love,

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