A/N: Small spoiler concerning Unohana if you have not been keeping up with the latest Bleach manga.
Sugar and Spice – Chapter 18
Ichigo's World of Chocolate
The next morning, Ichigo's eyes fluttered open all by themselves. On this fine Sunday, there were no alarm clocks forcing his eyes to shoot open. There were no dire reasons to hustle, no business meetings, no assignments that needed completion by the end of the day. He lay, sunk in the soft bedding, naked and warm, an exposed leg toasty from the rays of sunshine cast across it. Squinting at the brightness, he noticed neither of them remembered to close the curtains fully last night before they went to sleep.
But Ichigo didn't mind. The sunshine felt welcomed.
Next to him, Byakuya stirred a little with a faint murmur as if he was dreaming of something pleasant, but he didn't wake up. Instead, he turned to his side, facing away from Ichigo, stretching out one long leg until his toes peeked out from under the covers.
Ichigo turned to lie on his side too, in the same direction as his lover so he could shuffle in close next to him. With a content sigh, Ichigo fit his body against Byakuya's bare backside. He buried his nose into Byakuya's silky raven hair and closed his eyes again, breathing in his unique scent.
In moments, he fell asleep again.
The next time Ichigo woke up, Byakuya was kissing his face. Tenderly, he feathered the softest kisses near his temple and hairline, across his brow and along his strong chin. He did this all while resting his head in his hand, elbow propped on the pillow, gazing at his beautiful sleeping Ichigo. With his free hand, he explored underneath the blankets, his palm brushing over the definitions of Ichigo's body, over the rise and fall of bone and muscle. Byakuya never got bored of how lovely Ichigo's skin felt, or... how it tasted.
Yet, he was so gentle that he had been doing this for at least twenty minutes before Ichigo opened his sleepy eyes.
And now that he has. "Good morning, my sweet," Byakuya murmured, his tone tender. "Did you sleep well?" Ichigo rewarded him with that sweet boyish smile that he adored, his eyes the colour of warm caramel by the sun that lit up the room.
"Best sleep ever," Ichigo spoke drowsily. "I woke up earlier but then I fell asleep again." He gave an airy chuckle. "How about yourself? Did you dream anything?"
"I slept well, thank you. And yes, I remember one dream," Byakuya shared. "Shall I tell you?"
"Of course, I want to hear it."
"Very well, then." Byakuya began to tell him. "I was in a feudal like era of Japan wearing black kimono and I owned a sword, I was exceptionally skilled with it. It had a name but I cannot remember what it was. Anyways, with this sword I could destroy these ghastly monsters..." He continued to describe the craziest dream Ichigo had ever heard of. Byakuya told him that he owned a beautiful house, too.
"What kind of house was it?" Ichigo questioned, enjoying Byakuya's tale.
"The biggest house," he answered.
Ichigo guffawed, "Of course."
"It was so immense that I just kept going from room to room without ever finding my destination," Byakuya explained evenly.
"Weird..."
"It was. However, my favourite part of the dream was the garden. There were fish in a pond and it was springtime, my favourite time of the year, so all the cherry trees were blooming." When Byakuya closed his eyes, he could still smell their fragrance.
"That sounds real nice," Ichigo agreed contentedly. "When spring comes around next year, let's all go enjoy hanami. Your family and mine, we'll have a picnic or something and do dumb family stuff."
"I would like that," Byakuya claimed.
"Well, it sounds like you had an adventure in your sleep." Ichigo shrugged slightly. "No fair, I don't remember any of my dreams. Too tired, I slept like the dead." He chuckled.
"Certainly, you had a hard week and you needed the rest. I'll go make some tea and breakfast," Byakuya offered. "Why don't you wash up and come join me." He reached over to the nightstand next to his bed and picked up his phone to check the time. "We have to leave around noon, alright?"
Ichigo was nodding at the suggestions, running a hand over his messy orange hair. He made a puzzled face about the noon thing. "Where are we going exactly?"
Byakuya pushed the blankets off his bare body and sat at the edge of the bed. He retrieved a pair of black pajama pants from the floor at his feet. Sometimes he wondered why he even bothered any attempt to wear clothes to bed when Ichigo was around. He scoffed to himself ruefully and pulled them on.
"I was going to surprise you once we got there, but perhaps its better I just tell you."
Ichigo pulled on a pair of briefs that were on his side of the bed. He looked over at Byakuya. "Stop keeping me in suspense," he urged and grabbed his jeans off the floor next.
The baker smiled faintly. "Remember how you asked me to show you how to temper chocolate? Well, today we are going to watch a demonstration by a professional chocolatier. I thought it would be enjoyable. I reserved two seats for us—there will be about a dozen cooks there all wishing to hone their skills. However, it is about a thirty minute drive away." Byakuya explained, watching his partner carefully.
Sure enough, Ichigo's eyes lit up with excitement.
"That's awesome!" Ichigo exclaimed. Then he looked confused a second later. "Isn't it going to be boring for you if you already know this stuff?"
Byakuya wandered out of the room and Ichigo followed him after he pulled on his jeans quickly, he was zipping them up as he walked out of the room. Byakuya told him. "It doesn't matter how long you've been doing this kind of work, Ichigo. Every day you learn something new. There are limitless techniques and methods, tools and ingredients. One is constantly learning how to apply them."
"So that's how it works," Ichigo said and sat at the dinner table while Byakuya filled a kettle with water in the kitchen. "But won't it be weird that I'm not a cook and I'm in a room full of them?"
"But you are... you're my assistant," Byakuya reminded the younger man.
The way Byakuya said that, it made Ichigo feel tremendously proud. Yet, it made him feel tremendously depressed also. He was not Byakuya's full time assistant anymore.
The sudden ominous silence caused Byakuya to turn around. There at the dinner table, Ichigo was gazing off to nowhere, with a frightfully miserable look on his face. He appeared so terribly vulnerable and Byakuya sighed. He hated to see such an adorable and kind man in such a state. Ichigo was struggling so hard with his inner demons, trying to figure out where in the world he belonged. There was nothing easy about that, Byakuya knew very well how it felt to go against the grain. To follow something that you love and not care what everybody else desired or expected of you.
Byakuya voiced sternly. "There is one thing you must understand, Ichigo. Being a cook or a baker comes from here."
Ichigo slide his forlorn gaze over at him. He blinked. Byakuya was holding a hand to his bare chest.
The pâtissier scoffed. "Some might call me foolish for speaking such nonsense, since many cannot handle such a career path nor do they have the mettle for its physical demands, however, it is the truth."
As Byakuya's words sunk in, the gloomy expression on Ichigo's face turned into a smiling one. Byakuya was right. He was totally freaking right! Ichigo did not have to hide the fact that he really enjoyed this cooking stuff just because he no longer did it full time. There was no stopping him from learning new things even if he did work for Sōjun Kuchiki.
"Well, I'm full of mettle." Ichigo chuckled at how that funny that sounded. "And the physical part of cooking doesn't scare me," he pointed out stubbornly.
"I believe you handle these conditions quite well," Byakuya expressed. "I still believe that you're a natural."
Ichigo nodded thoughtfully. "Thanks, Byakuya. I really needed to hear that."
"You're welcome," Byakuya replied. "Now go on and get ready. I don't do tardiness."
"Haha, alright," Ichigo relented.
After breakfast and a bath, Ichigo sat on the back of Byakuya's motorcycle as they sped down the highway. The air was cold, but not as much as it was during the night. Today the sky was a vibrant blue and not a single cloud marred it. The sun was out full force. Still, Ichigo wore a pair of leather riding gloves that Byakuya lent him and he wore a scarf around his neck underneath his jacket.
He loved being on Byakuya's motorcycle, it was always such an exhilarating ride.
They drove out of the thick metropolitan jungle and into a less populated area. Ichigo watched the scenery as they passed it, checking out the surroundings, simply allowing himself to relax and enjoy the moment. It was hard to talk while they drove, so they remained silent. It was a perfectly peaceful kind of silence though.
Finally, they exited the highway and returned to city streets. At a stop light, Byakuya announced that they were almost there.
Ichigo was really excited about this chocolate demonstration. He had never been to something like this. And when Byakuya pulled into a parking lot next to the building, Ichigo mentioned that it looked a lot like a school.
"It is a school," Byakuya enlightened. "It is a cooking school."
But this wasn't just any kind of school, not like a high school with a track and field. It looked more like an apartment complex with many floors and tall glass windows.
They climbed off the motorcycle and removed their helmets.
"Come—this way." Byakuya motioned with his hand and Ichigo trotted after him.
Ichigo followed the baker inside the clean building, which opened up into a large cafeteria with many tables and chairs. Students, all wearing chef uniforms milled around or sat at the tables. A few were studying from textbooks and others enjoying lunch, although one student was looking really stressed out.
"I'll never learn how to tie this neckerchief." They complained to a friend. "My chef says he won't let us into the labs unless we wear it properly."
Unexpectedly, Byakuya stopped in front of frazzled student. He held out his motorcycle helmet to Ichigo for a moment and offered. "May I?"
The young man nodded slightly and handed Byakuya his neckerchief. "It's ridiculous that they still require that you wear these," he was saying as he demonstrated tying the small white neck scarf. "You see, it's simply like tying a neck tie. Just remember to keep one end longer so you can wrap the other end around it." Byakuya's nimble fingers worked on the fabric. He may not have gone to chef school but his French pastry chef required these neckerchiefs in the kitchen. Byakuya detested them.
The student was bowing repeatedly. "Thanks a lot. You make it look so easy now. This is only my second day here and no one really showed us how to tie these things. The text book diagram sucks."
"You are quite welcome," Byakuya replied coolly. "Come, Ichigo."
As they walked away, the student suddenly gasped and pointed in their direction. "Hey, that's Byakuya Kuchiki the pastry chef at Café on Sixth."
A few heads in the cafeteria turned to look.
Ichigo glanced back at the tiny ruckus behind them, feeling even more amazed by his talented boyfriend. Even cooking students knew who he was. Ichigo felt even prouder to be by his side. And he had to wonder. Could I ever reach that kind of status? He continued to follow Byakuya through the school. They went up a few flights of stairs and came to a closed green door marked: Lab #5.
Pushing the door open, Ichigo's eyes widened. The room was quite large, unlike how he expected when he saw it only from the door. The room was set up like a small lecture hall or a theatre with ascending rows of seats. All the seats had a table in front of them on the left, and there was an entire operational kitchen on the right at the bottom. They took a seat in the middle, two rows up among a few others that sat waiting for the instructor. Ichigo studied the kitchen down below with one large countertop at the front, a stove on one side and a sink on the other. Behind the counter was an oven and kitchen tools hanging on hooks. Next to that was a refrigerator.
"Wow, I feel like I'm looking at a TV set for a cooking show," Ichigo claimed.
"It does appear as such." Byakuya had to agree.
A few moments later, it appeared as if everyone was there and Ichigo noticed how none of these people wore chef uniforms. They were just like them, here to learn and broaden their skills. Not a single person was looking at him funny.
A person next to Ichigo whispered to him. "Is that your real hair colour?"
Well, everyone except this guy! Ichigo glowered at him. "What do you think, chump?"
"Sorry, sorry!"
Byakuya raised a single dubious eyebrow at Ichigo.
"You see what I go through?" he muttered quietly.
The door opened and in entered an older woman with an amazingly youthful looking face. She wore her hair in a very long braid down her back, her black hair parted down the middle. She wore a chef uniform and a black apron that slung around her neck, covering her entire front. Even from here, Ichigo noticed she had a large scar situated at her collarbone, but it did not mar her beauty.
She introduced herself as Retsu Unohana, professional chocolatier. She explained that she wished to continue sharing the craft of working with chocolate for as long as she was able to. "Thank you for coming to join us today. In today's demonstration, I will show you the basics for tempering chocolate, yes, even white chocolate even though I do not consider it a real chocolate. Does anyone know why that is?"
Someone answered quickly. "Because it technically doesn't contain any dark cocoa solids. Which is what gives milk, semi-sweet, and dark chocolate it's colour."
"Correct," the instructor said. "It also does not contain the same nutritional value as darker chocolate, which is stripped away during processing." She continued. "I will also be showing your how to create some interesting garnishing with your tempered chocolate. We will explore truffles and the techniques used to roll them, including the use of molds. Often you do not need fancy tools to create wonderful shapes or designs. But we'll get into that later."
Ichigo shot a grin at Byakuya. "This is great," he said like a kid in a candy store and returned his focus on the demonstration.
Byakuya sat back, feeling pleased as punch.
The instructor spoke as she worked, explaining everything she was doing and why. Ichigo watched as she melted different types of chocolate in silver bowls that sat on top of a pot of boiling water. When the chocolate melted, she would pour it all onto a cool marble slab and move it around until it reached a desired temperature. To Ichigo it seemed like she was a big kid playing with a mud pie on a rainy day.
"You don't always have a marble slab to work on, so simply moving the chocolate with a rubber spatula in the bowl, or sprinkling in a few bits of un-melted chocolate will cool it off."
She demonstrated that the best place to test the temperature was under your lip. "When the chocolate is cool to the touch, it is tempered."
Retsu Unohana had a tranquil way of instructing. Ichigo was so absorbed at listening, he felt like he was engrossed in a fascinating documentary on television. She showed them all kinds of neat tricks, making feathery garnishes, lattice, and shaping the chocolate into all kinds of shapes. Then she spoke of truffles explaining what kind of fillings could go inside of them.
Ichigo had a secret love for the truffles, he thought of his cocoa nib-crusted truffle. But it wasn't as pretty as the ones this woman was making. She explained a great truffle should have almost no 'feet' on them, which was the pooled chocolate spreading out under the truffle after it got coated with chocolate.
After the demonstrations were finished, she allowed the group to come down and try it out for themselves.
"Do we get to eat the chocolate after we make something with it?" Ichigo wondered curiously, laughing his question off as a cool quip. He was half-serious, really hoping they would.
Unohana chuckled airily. "Well, of course. That's the best part of working with it," she answered kindly.
Byakuya closed his eyes patiently at Ichigo antics.
While the group familiarized themselves with the chocolate, trying out some new techniques, a few people offered their respects to Byakuya and his successful café. Many claimed to have been there and a few mentioned how they read articles about Café on Sixth. Even Unohana spoke to him and they chatted about the business for a few moments.
"Is that your new apprentice?" She asked, looking in Ichigo's direction.
"Not quite," Byakuya answered her. "At the moment he is merely my assistant."
They both stood off to the side and watched as Ichigo rolled a truffle using a truffle fork instead of rolling them with his hands. There was a serious look on his face as he carefully let the excess chocolate drip off the covered truffle, and manoeuvred it onto a piece of parchment paper. He was so vigilant and focused, even giving the little fork a twist so that the chocolate created a nice swirl on top of the truffle. Like a pro.
The chocolatier had her eyebrows raised as she observed Ichigo. Byakuya had not missed that as he watched for her reactions.
"Amazing, he did that like he's been doing it for years," she said with astonishment.
Byakuya huffed with amusement. "He is quite the natural. I have not met anyone that has been able to understand pastry and chocolate so quickly." Surely, there was nothing, which Ichigo could not master over time.
Ichigo spotted the instructor and Byakuya standing together, watching him. He flashed them a peace sign and a toothy grin before turning back.
"Haha! And he's really enjoying this. I think... I think he has a passion for chocolate," Retsu Unohana claimed.
"Hmm, I have suspected so," Byakuya replied. "That is why I wished to bring him to one of your demonstrations."
They watched as Ichigo stole a dip of chocolate from one of the bowls and stuck his finger into his mouth.
Byakuya sighed at Ichigo's bad habit. "And he consumes the chocolate about as much as he enjoys working with it."
Unohana chuckled with delight.
When the session was over and everyone began to leave, Ichigo happily clasped a small paper bag full of the truffles that he made. He stopped to thank the instructor.
"Unohana-san, I really had fun today and I learned a lot, thanks so much," he expressed gratefully.
"Oh, you are welcome dear boy." She replied softly. "I do hope that you continue to explore the world of chocolate because I believe you have a natural talent for it. It could be your niche."
Very surprised by these words, he glanced at Byakuya who had said something similar to him more than once. Ichigo wondered disbelievingly. "You think so?" He glanced away shyly and mumbled. "Well, who doesn't like chocolate?"
The woman laughed softly. "Oh my, yes." Then she became a little more serious. "However, I have seen countless people working with chocolate, so trust me when I say that you have a special gift for it. I can tell."
Ichigo could not help but beam proudly. Maybe he really did have a knack for chocolate. When he thought of chocolate, he always felt oddly excited about it. "I appreciate that," he replied thoughtfully. "I'll be sure to try some stuff out on the weekend at the bakery."
"The weekend...?" Unohana wondered.
It sounded so accusing and reproachful the way she said that. Ichigo explained. "Yeah, I'm an accountant all week, but I work with Byakuya on Saturdays." He sighed. "It's a weird story."
Unohana looked downright surprised. "Pffft," she sounded. "Why is a talented man like you working in a stuffy office? I can't believe it."
"It's true," Byakuya assured.
Ichigo began to blush under such scrutiny. He wasn't sure what to say.
The woman shook her head. "Well, I'm sure you have your reasons. It's really none of my business. Perhaps I will see you at another one of my demos. Please, take care."
Byakuya and Ichigo thanked her again before they left the room.
On the way to the parking lot, Ichigo was brooding secretly over the conversation with Unohana. Her words ate at him somehow. They weaved threads of uncertainty throughout his soul. He stubbornly pushed those thoughts aside. He didn't want to ruin the one day off that Byakuya and he had together.
Ichigo forced a smile and said to the dark-haired man that walked beside him. "That was really cool, Byakuya. We should go to more of these demonstrations. I can't wait to try and temper my own chocolate at the café."
"I'm pleased you enjoyed yourself," Byakuya responded. "Next Saturday, if you still wish, you should check out my collection of chocolate molds and try something."
"I will," Ichigo promised, thinking that next Saturday seemed so far away. "So... we have the rest of the day to ourselves. What do we do now? Go home?"
"I thought we could spend the afternoon around here and do a little shopping. There is also a restaurant that I would enjoy taking you to, their menu is French—the duck confit is very delicious."
"I've never had something like that." Ichigo shared.
"That is only one example, the sea scallops are the best I've ever had and this cheese sandwich made with sour dough bread—it's filled with provolone cheese and slices of ham—I do forget the name right now, but you will love it."
"Geez, Byakuya... you're making me so hungry!" Ichigo exclaimed.
"Then let me treat you to dinner," Byakuya offered. "I'm weary of cooking. I couldn't stand to look at a kitchen right now."
"Sounds good," agreed Ichigo. Then he laughed. "Yeah, no kidding, I guess that is how most cooks must feel after working with food all day."
"It is true," Byakuya admitted honestly.
"Alright then, let's go live like normal people and let them slave over us for once." Ichigo teased and put on his helmet. "Lead the way, handsome."
A/N: Oh yes... Ichigo is beginning to have his doubts, it's obvious chocolate is his thing. Not everyone is good with it and chocolate can be VERY fussy sometimes. Only a few more chapters left of this story. Not a serious amount of naughty in this chapter just some cute fluff and Byakuya's silly dream. HAHA!
That sandwich Byakuya is talking about here is called, in French, a croque-monsieur. It's a funny name but YUMMY sandwich!
Next chapter I warn is a long one XD! It's like two chapters in one because well, boys just want to have fun, as the title suggests :P Lots of stuff going on. Ja ne!
Reviewers: Thanks so much guys! Thanks to ctofi1, Yonaka Kyoki (AHHHAHAHA! I love that Omake you wrote. I will get back to you soon my friend. I have very little time for play these days), Guest, A fellow reader, fahaar, igotmoneymoney, Castiel4life (I'm so happy someone liked the moth thing, hehe that was my fav part of that chapter. You're awesome!), nieka1995901, RedRumCrow (Wow thanks for all the comments. I'm sooo happy you're enjoying this fic!), Yaoifangirl666, Shenigmatic (I always enjoy your comments you always say it like it is! Thanks so much my friend. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Be well!).