Anime/Manga » Bleach » It's About Us

Author: Mymomomo

1. Flower Crowns and Nightmares 2. Earbuds and Witches 3. Parents and Trains 4. Leather Gloves and Teaspoons 5. Speeches and Bathroom Stalls 6. Love Notes and Sprained Ankles 7. Hollows and Bandages 8. Lunch Dates and Funerals 9. Friends and Formalities 10. Virgins and Movie Dates 11. Oxygen Masks and Borrowed Sweaters 12. Chiran Sencha and Exes 13. Toast and Fuzzy Sweaters 14. Hollow Masks and Coffee Creamer 15. Textbooks and Breakups 16. Trust and Training 17. Cute Faces and Cockatiels 18. Spies and Discipline 19. The Ice Dragon and the God of Mischief 20. Bonfires and Green-eyed Monsters 21. Car Accidents and Gift Baskets 22. Compromises and Bird Song 23. Secrets and Saké 24. Doctor's Appointments and Wine Tasters 25. French Fries and Transfer Students 26. Long Legs and Bad Actors 27. Holidays and Sandstorms 28. Bouquets and Questions 29. Drug Lords and Cheesecake

Rated: T - English - Romance/General - Reviews: 94 - Published: 10-24-15 - Updated: 09-20-16

id:11577322

"Do... do you want to have lunch together?"

Ichigo almost thought that he misheard his boyfriend. He still couldn't believe that Toushiro was actually his boyfriend. He couldn't believe that Toushiro had actually agreed to be his boyfriend, that they were dating, and that Toushiro might actually, possibly love him. Still, Toushiro was a bit hesitant to do things that couples normally did. Ichigo didn't mind that he was the one who had to suggest dates, or invite himself over; Toushiro was just too shy to ask.

He often spent his spare time at the Seireitei, alternating between Rukia, Renji, and now Toushiro. So, it wasn't a big deal to stop by for lunch. It was to Toushiro, however. He was looking at the paperwork on his desk as if it was the most interesting thing he had seen in his life. His cheeks and the tips of his ears were tinged with red. Cute.

Ichigo couldn't help but grin like a maniac. "I'd love to!"

Toushiro looked up and smiled nervously. Ichigo would have kissed him right then and there if he would have let him.

"Where do you want-"

"Oh crap..." Ichigo slapped a hand to his forehead.

Toushiro's smile faltered. "What is it?"

Ichigo sighed heavily and scrapped his nails through his hair. "I promised Rukia that we would do lunch today."

"Oh." Toushiro's smile definitely fell.

Ichigo scrambled to salvage the situation. "But I can see if she'll-"

"No, it's fine. You shouldn't go back on your promises anyway."

Ichigo sighed, watching as Toushiro went back to his paperwork.

"We can have lunch tomorrow?" he asked. Toushiro didn't look up.

"I suppose."

Ichigo chewed the inside of his cheek and sighed softly, cursing his luck. The one day Toushiro asked him to do something, he had already made plans. He wished he could go back in time and kick himself, or at least schedule the lunch for a different day.

Since he was on summer vacation, Ichigo had more time than usual on his hands. He ended up spending most of his time in the Seireitei, sometimes even sleeping over at the Kuchiki estate. Byakuya didn't seem to mine, or at least he wasn't verbal about it, and it wasn't like he slept in the same room as Rukia. He'd wonder off to the Tenth in the morning or find Renji to train. Renji and Rukia had jobs, but he could still find things to do: training, running errand boy, or actually exploring the Seiretei now that he wasn't considered a threat. Plus, Toushiro was also nearby, and his office couch was pretty comfortable. Even if he was usually busy with work, just sitting with him was nice.

"We're having a bonfire at the Kuchiki estate tonight," Ichigo said. Toushiro had taken a break from his work and they were enjoying a cup of tea, sitting together on the couch. "You should join us."

"Us?" Toushiro asked quietly running the tip of his finger around the rim of his mug as it sat between his thighs.

"Yeah, Rukia, Renji, Ikkaku and Ymichika, Hanataro... Byakuya may show up. I think he will; it's at his house. Anyone who hears about it is coming, I guess."

Toushiro hummed softly. "I'll come. What time does it start?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Um... eight?"

"Until?"

"When people leave?"

Toushiro hesitated.

"But you can leave early if you want."

Toushiro took a deep breath through his nose. It might have been a sigh; Ichigo wasn't too sure.

"Are you spending the night in the Seireitei?"

"Yeah, at the Kuchiki manor; I've been staying there off and on. Didn't you know that?"

Toushiro shook his head and looked into his teacup. "You never told me. I thought you'd been going back to the World of the Living."

"Oh... sorry about that."

Toushiro sighed and Ichigo felt him tense slightly. He picked up the teacup and held it tightly with both hands. He took a deep breath; Ichigo felt his ribcage push into the backrest. "You... you could spend the night with me."

Ichigo blinked, a bit taken aback. He hadn't known that they had arrived at this point in their relationship. "Oh... uh, I didn't want to impose on you."

Toushiro was silent for a beat. "I-it wouldn't be too much trouble." He was blushing now. He wasn't looking at Ichigo, but he could tell from his reddening ears.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted to, and Rukia offered... but, yeah. I'd love to stay with you." He couldn't stop from grinning. "I'll bring my stuff over after the bonfire."

Toushiro nodded and leaned back into the couch, moving slightly closer to him. Ichigo took the chance; he scooted so that their thighs were touching and leaned against Toushiro's shoulder. "I wanna kiss you."

Toushiro's blush deepened and his eyes widened slightly. "I didn't know people usually announced that."

Ichigo chuckled, "I thought I'd give you a warning."

Toushiro scoffed and angled his body to face Ichigo. He set his teacup on the coffee table and rose up to meet him. Their lips met briefly and softly. Ichigo was also blushing when they broke apart.

The bonfire ended in disaster. For Ichigo, at least. Toushiro turned up and they had sat together and roasted marshmallows for a while. No one in the Soul Society knew what a s'more was; he couldn't believe it. They all thought that he was weird until he rounded up the supplies – thanks to Kisuke's speedy method of travelling between the realms, and had them try. Rukia couldn't get enough, and even Byakuya (who had turned up for all of three minutes) seemed pleasantly surprised. Rangiku and Kyoraku showed up with sake, dragging an exasperated Nanao with them, and Yachiru ate most of the un-roasted marshmallows. Ichigo knew that usually Toushiro was uncomfortable with large, loud crowds, but that night he didn't seem to mind much. He started to get worn out at around eleven and asked Ichigo if they could leave. However, as he walked up to Rukia to tell her that he was going to spend the night with Toushiro, she hooked an arm around his neck and demanded that they start a game of Never Have I Ever. She'd been introduced to drinking games by Yuzu, who was surprisingly the queen bee of her high school. Ichigo had had a couple of drinks himself and agreed, thinking that it would be fun. Toushiro had firmly declined saying 'I don't drink' even after Ichigo tried to convince him to play one round. Somewhere, during their discussion they agreed that Toushiro would head home and Ichigo would meet him there after the game was over. Except that didn't end up happening.

Ichigo woke up the next morning at the Kuchiki manor with a sandpaper mouth and a splitting headache, but he realised what he had done almost instnatly. Less than half an hour later he was stumbling into the Tenth Division's admin office. Toushiro was at his desk, already a good way through a pile of documents. He glanced to Ichigo as he barged in, but didn't say anything.

"Toushiro, I am so sorry," Ichigo rasped, clinging to the edge of the desk, trying not to feel too nauseated. "I... I don't know what happened."

Toushiro let out a harsh breath through his nose, set down his brush, and looked towards Ichigo. His eyes were bloodshot and Ichigo noticed that there was a cup of coffee, rather than the usual green tea, on his desk.

"Did you wait up for me?"

"I did."

Ichigo swore. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."

"You can stay with the Kuchikis if you so desire. You didn't have to lie to make me feel better."

Ichigo felt his stomach twist in a way that wasn't because of the hangover. "No, I meant to stay with you last night... I just... Rukia really wanted to play and I couldn't say no to her. I guess I drank more than I realised."

"It would seem so." Toushiro sighed heavily and sat back in his chair. He folded his arms across his chest and levelled Ichigo with a cool stare. "You spend a lot of time with Rukia."

Ichigo frowned. "She's my friend."

Toushiro chewed the inside of his cheek. "I know. But you need to tell me, right now, if I should be worried."

Ichigo was silent for a moment, his headache preventing him from understanding what Toushiro meant. "What? No? I mean, sure we're close; she's the one who pulled me into all this shinigamimadness and we kinda owe each other our lives..." he scratched the back of his neck and rubbed his temples. "I really need to learn healing kidō."

Toushiro clenched his jaw, but motioned for Ichigo to come closer. Ichigo bowed his head and shuffled around the desk. Toushiro pressed his index and middle finger to Ichigo's temple and he felt the cooling relief of kidō ebb through his head and cause his nausea to recede.

"Thanks."

Toushiro nodded curtly and picked his brush up. Ichigo backed off a bit, trying to read Toushiro to see if it was okay to give him a thank you kiss. It didn't seem so. He replayed his question in his mind, now that he could think clearly, and winced. He had been spending a lot of time with Rukia. No more than usual, but now that he and Toushiro were dating he could see why there was cause for worry. His answer hadn't been completely reassuring either. He clicked his tongue at his own foolishness.

"Ahhh," he groaned. "You're jealous."

Toushiro quickly glanced up then looked back to his paperwork. "What?"

"Of Rukia. You're jealous of Rukia."

Toushiro opened and closed his mouth a few times.

"What I said was true, Toushiro. We are very close; I owe her my life and she owes me hers. We would do anything for each other. But it's no cause for you to worry. We're dating; I asked you to be my boyfriend. And if I wasn't completely sure that I liked you I wouldn't have asked. There is no way I would ever go behind your back, ever betray you like that, as long as we're together."

Toushiro looked up at him and a small smile graced his lips. "I believe you, Ichigo, and thanks. I needed to hear that."

This was donated by an anonymous guest reviewer

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-Mymomomo