[Dicontinued] Fire and Ice

ANNOUNCEMENT: BrucesGirl has finally gotten her MySpace Profile, complete with updates and a friends list that needs more friends! Please take a look and add her! She’s MySpace happy now!

http://www.myspace.com/brucesgirl_writings

Title: Fire and Ice

Author: BrucesGirl and R. Brightside

(Please look up Brightside-chan and rate and review her stories. It is because of her kindness that we were able to publish this story for you!)

Pairings: Kurosaki Ichigo/Kuchiki Byakuya (Hints of Other Pairings)

Summary: Ichigo is called to replace Renji as Vice Captain temporarily. Sparks fly between Byakuya and Kurosaki, and they aren’t necessarily the nice sparks.

Warnings: Yaoi, Anal, UST, Angst

Disclaimer: We don’t own Bleach or Ichigo or Byakuya because we are not Kubo Tite. If we had a change to, however, we would steal Kubo-san and hide him in our basement.

Note: We just had to add in Shunsui and Jyuu-kun. They are so hot together.

Chapter 6: The Power of Friendship Through Sake


Byakuya tightened his fingers around Ichigo’s hand, a small gesture if not a gentle one. He relaxed in the water, and a small servant that looked oddly like the blonde that served Ichigo knelt down behind Byakuya and proceeded to wash the raven locks. Byakuya raised his hand to stop him.

“Kurosaki-fukutaicho will be tending to me tonight, Jiku-kun. Go home.” The boy looked as if though he’d done something wrong, but his eyes brightened as Byakuya actually looked up at him. “Arigato.” The little boy beamed and left the bathing area like a streak of lightening. Byakuya pulled the substitute Shinigami to him, and he turned to look Ichigo in his gentle, brown eyes.

“Your Riatsu…” He stopped himself and actually averted his eyes from the boy before looking up at him again. “You’re troubled.” He pulled Ichigo closer against him and tilted his head, his free hand going to rest on Ichigo’s neck in a decidedly possessive, yet gentle way. “Why?”

Ichigo rested against Byakuya gratefully, looking up at him with a slight frown. His eyes darkened, and he wrapped his spare arm around his captain, averting his eyes. "I don't want you to act like nothing has ever happened." Ichigo sighed, shifting so that he was more comfortable.

The ripples cascaded through the water, and his Riatsu trembled slightly, wavering as a new emotion made itself known - his minor fear had joined the myriad of negativity in the energy. Yet, there was still the vague relaxedness of post-orgasm and being in Byakuya's arms, being acknowledged by the stoic Shinigami.

A look of surprise actually crossed Byakuya’s face and disappeared as Ichigo pressed to him and Byakuya tightly held him against his chest. He felt as Ichigo’s Riatsu turn fearful, and Byakuya’s eyebrows knitted. This was confusing. The boy was his Vice Captain as well as an accomplished Shinigami, never mind the fact that his breeding had some serious lacking.

So the Captain didn’t quite understand why Ichigo would want their personal attraction to each other be known to everyone else. “Why is it important to act as lovers while we are in public?” He asked honestly. He wasn’t much one for many words, so his one question stood for the plethora of others that were swimming through his head.

“…Why would I have a reason to ignore it in private?” What it boiled down to was that Byakuya was not an accomplished lover, nor was he the warmest person in Soul Society. Showing affection was lost on him as well as simple day to day courtesies such as ‘thank you’ and ‘I’m sorry.’

Ichigo's fear faded at Byakuya's words, yet it lingered in his Riatsu. "It's not important. So long as you aren't as cold to me as you are to everyone else, it's fine. Besides, affection isn't something that would be minded. Every Shinigami in Soul Society probably knows about us already."

He sighed softly, kissing Byakuya's neck tenderly. "Awkwardness, not wanting to be found out, and wanting your personal space kept to yourself.” Ichigo relaxed in the captain's tight grip, the bare arms around him calming and comforting. "Stoic types prefer to keep themselves to themselves, and not share themselves with others. I didn't want that to be the case to be the same with you."

Byakuya thought about the assessment for a minute, but he didn’t relinquish his quiet grasp on the boy, and he didn’t make any indication that the analysis had affected him aside from the shift of his legs to make Ichigo more comfortable against him. He considered it for a moment before turning his head away from his Vice Captain and gazing up at the moon.

“I think that is a proper evaluation of me.” He answered. He finally came to the knowledge that the boy would have to be patient with him. Another thought occurred to him, and he tumbled it in his mind before he voiced it to the boy. “What of this when Renji is reinstated?”

Ichigo belonged in the world of the living. He was half Shinigami and human, and while he would eventually die and become a Shinigami in the afterlife, his place was not permanent in Seireitei until that time. It would be years before that occasion came. He could not stay with Byakuya, in which case, attachment was foolish. For both of them.

Ichigo frowned, sighing. "I'll be sent back to the world of the living. I won't be called back until I have to fill in for someone else again." He hated the thought. Byakuya would refrain from attachment from now. "I can come back and forth between worlds... but not for extended periods. I have school, and my family will worry if I don't come back during the week."

He tightened his grip on Byakuya's hand, burrowing his face into the captain's neck. "We still have a month or two until Renji is well enough to work again, though." He didn't want to let Byakuya go - he didn't want to leave.

The intertwining of their Riatsu had affected him more than it would a normal Shinigami, causing him to bask in their closeness, as if they wouldn't see each other again. Which, in a month's time, would happen.

Byakuya, hearing the words spoken from his lover’s mouth, pushed the boy away abruptly and dipped his hair under the water before standing from the bath and looking down on Ichigo. “Go back to your room, mongrel. I have no need of you now.” He stooped to pick up his yakuta and pull it on his body before turning his back coldly on Ichigo and walking away from the bath area.

His Riatsu turned dark and foreboding in his own anger and frustration, knowing that this bit of closeness was not allowed, and more than that, it was shameful that he, a nobleman, would stoop to such levels as to seek physical gratification from a foul bred boy like Ichigo.

He stopped at Hisana’s shrine and relit the candle, bowing his head slightly before entering his room and clapping the door shut gently. Servants came, and he sent them away, wanting his solitude and his independence once again. He had been foolish to give into his passions. It wouldn’t last, and when Ichigo would leave, he wouldn’t give him a second thought. He couldn’t afford to.

Ichigo bowed his head, stepping out of the bath and pulling on the yakuta. He walked back into his room, and kept the fabric wrapped around him, and his Riatsu firmly closed within him, hidden. Byakuya had shoved him away, just like he'd feared, tried to cut the connection. His scent was still on the cotton, and Ichigo breathed it in, unable to sleep.

No servants came to tend on him, which wasn't surprising. He closed his eyes, trying in vain to keep the burning in his throat and in his skin at bay, but to no avail. The Kuchiki wouldn't touch him, now, no matter how hard he tried for his affection. The teen sat up, running a hand through his hair.

He leant against the wall behind his bed, reveling in the soft tendrils of Riatsu that were encased within his own. He didn't sleep that night, and left early next morning, the yakuta folded up neatly on the bed he had been using

~*~*~*~

Shunsui and Ukitake were playing their usual afternoon game of Go when Ukitake’s dark eyes flitted up to Shunsui’s, and he tilted his head. “Do you feel that?” Shunsui nodded and looked up to the open door of the office just to watch Ichigo walk by, his head hanging sadly from his shoulders.

“My my… something must have happened.” Ukitake-taicho murmured. The other Shinigami nodded, and then glanced to his lover in worry as he coughed into a delicate hand.

“I’ll be right back.” He stood, his rose hoari flowing out around him as he caught up with Ichigo. “Ne, Kurosaki-fukutaicho!” He stopped Ichigo with a gentle hand to his shoulder, and he smiled wanly. “Would you join us for a game of Go?”

He ignored the fact that the game was for only two people and that no one had beaten Ukitake or himself in years. The boy didn’t need to know that. “And some sake to brighten your day, maybe?”

Ichigo's eyes were as emotionless as Byakuya's were, but his Riatsu gave off the sadness he felt. "...Aa." His voice was hoarse, and he looked... empty. He folded his arms across his chest, as if self-conscious, and his Riatsu retreated into his body before a half-hearted smile appeared on his face and his body straightened.

He was sans Zangetsu - he had left him in Byakuya's room, he remembered, and he made a mental note to himself to retrieve him when the sixth division captain was out.

Ukitake appeared at the door of the office, and his natural love for the boy translated into a gentle aura that caressed Ichigo’s sadness and coaxed the boy to look up to him. “Ne, Ichigo. Why so sad? You weren’t even this upset when you fought to save Rukia…” He smiled gently.

“Come and drink with us and we will have a game of Go, ne? Then we can talk about your troubles when you’ve relaxed a bit.” He stepped to the side, an obvious invitation to join them.

Shunsui had the distinct desire to pull the boy close to him and hold him out of empathy, but he wasn’t sure how the orange haired Shinigami would react to that. “Oi, Jyuuu-kun. I haven’t felt this since…well…Since Isshin-san pined away for that pretty girl in the Real World.”

Ukitake smiled at that and nodded. “Well? Are you coming in?” The white haired Shinigami prodded gently.

Ichigo bowed his head as he stepped inside, and he wondered why he had accepted this invitation. Ukitake was close to Byakuya - he'd been Rukia's captain, after all - and he could almost feel the bonds that they had together, a long, thin string of wire that led him straight to the Kuchiki captain.

He breathed deeply, his head still bowed. He felt strange without Zangetsu hitched to his back... it added to the emptiness. He went over what Shunsui had said in his mind... and realized that he was becoming like his father.

Just as he and Byakuya were separated by world, his father and mother had, too. He waited for the two captains to be seated before he sat down, but only because he'd realized that they had indeed sat down, rather than respect for the two captains.

Shunsui thrust a small saucer of sake at Ichigo and gave him a lighthearted, gentle command. “Drink!” Ukitake nodded gently and took a sip of his own, smiling tenderly at the boy. He was a gentle man, full of good advice for all, and even his own Division looked up to him as a father, teacher, and a brother rather than as a Captain.

He was noted throughout Seireitei to have the most loyal Shinigami under his command, and from looking at him, it was obvious why. Shunsui cleared the Go board and offered Ichigo the white pieces, a great honor for a guest of a house, and Ukitake leaned back against some pillows to watch them play.

The bigger of the two lovers looked over in concern. “Are you feeling faint again, Jyuu-kun?”

Ukitake shook his head. “No, just a bit touched from the sake.”

Shunsui grinned at Ichigo. “So how’s life going along with Byakuya-sama as your Captain?” The grin was rakish and suggestive, leading Ichigo to understand that both could feel what had happened the night before.

Ichigo's smile faded at that, leaving him with a grim expression as he moved a piece forwards. "It's... not terrible." He ran a hand through his hair, trying his best to seem near-unfazed at the question. “We haven’t been getting along well. I’m only staying here until Renji gets back, so he sees no point in building up what we have.”

He took a small sip of his sake, the warmth of the alcohol searing his throat. The teen coughed slightly, brows furrowing. Warmed sake wasn’t something he was used to.

Shunsui chuckled and moved a piece in return, placing it strategically on the board. Jyuushiro took a sip of his alcohol thoughtfully and tilted his head. “I don’t mean to be rude by prying, Ichigo, but you don’t seem entirely too thrilled with that decision, however logical and correct it may be.”

Shunsui poured himself another cup of sake and then set the bottle down in front of Ichigo. He was family. He could serve himself. The big samurai leaned back on his own pillows, his chocolate eyes growing thoughtful.

“And what is it that you have with him, Kurosaki-fukutaicho?” He asked, pointedly using Ichigo’s proper title. “He’s a Kuchiki, and an exceptionally stubborn one at that. Worse than his sister.” Jyuushiro laughed at that, a gentle, sweet rolling sound that soothed the room.

Ichigo didn't answer for a while, moving another piece to counter Shunsui. "...You know full well, Kyouraku-taicho. I'm sure most Shinigami do." He took another sip of the sake, and then poured himself more. His hazel eyes were slightly downcast, and he was evidently deep in thought - either with the topic of Byakuya or Go on his mind was undetectable. He managed a weak smile.

"Aa. But Rukia is kind enough to humans - whereas Kuchiki-taicho refers to anyone lower than him as 'mongrel'. He's extremely hierarchical when it comes to matters like Shinigami versus Humans.”

“Ah. He’s wronged you.” Shunsui leaned forward and studied the board. Kurosaki might actually pose a threat in Go. “Try not to take his ice cold breeze to spirit. Byakuya-kun is exceptionally stubborn, however, he is also exceptionally fragile in matters of the heart.”

Ukitake poured a bit more sake for his lover and then filled his own cup again. “And also, Ichigo,” Ukitake offered, “There is the fact to consider that you won’t be here permanently. You’ve probably scared poor Kuchiki-taicho to death with your liveliness. Renji is a bit more…tempered around his Captain, believe it or not.”

Shunsui moved his piece to block in one of Kurosaki’s with a grin. “I would allow him his space.” A gentle grunt at the door had both of the Captains looking up to see a disgruntled Zaraki Kenpachi, Yachiru on shoulder, Zangetsu in hand.

“That over stuffed bastard, Kuchiki Byakuya told me to bring your Zanpaktou to you, Kurosaki. He was too chicken shit to do it himself.” That earned a spurt of alcohol from Jyuushiro’s mouth and a loud laugh from Shunsui.

Ichigo couldn't help but smirk himself as he stood up to receive Zangetsu, and he immediately felt the Zanpaktou yelling at him for both leaving him behind and for having sex with Byakuya. This just made him chuckle softly, and he spoke his thanks with a slight bow of his head.

"Arigatou, Zaraki-taicho." He grinned at the two of them, waving at Yachiru and earning a wide smile and a much too enthusiastic wave that nearly sent her falling off her captain's shoulder. Ichigo knelt once again, lying Zangetsu next to him.

Zaraki had taken off, half-closing the door behind him in his hurry to get someplace else. Ichigo was still smiling to himself, one hand on the hilt of Zangetsu so that he didn't get yelled at later for ignoring him. He took a sip of sake from his cup, eyes bright once more.

Shunsui opened the door back up and smiled up at the sky. “Ne, it’s a beautiful day outside.” Jyuushiro nodded and coughed again, his eyebrows knitting in pain. His lover turned to face him, chocolate eyes gentle and full of worry. “Maybe some sunshine will do you good, Jyuu-kun?”

The white haired Shinigami nodded and shakily made it to his feet. “Come with us, Ichigo.” He invited. “A walk always helps to clear a mind.” He placed Sougyo no Kotowari at his side and smiled at Ichigo softly. Shunsui nodded to a few passing Shinigami subordinates and they all waved to him affectionately before pattering away.

It was then that Byakuya rounded the corner, his sight directly into the office, and he stopped.

Sake.

Shunsui.

Sake.

Ukitake.

Sake.

Ichigo.

Pissed off.

Shunsui smiled wanly at him as he was good at, but Jyuushiro looked unruffled. “Come, Ichigo.” He offered his hand to Kurosaki.

Ichigo paused before standing, hitching Zangetsu onto his back and looking over at Byakuya with fruitless hope. "...Hai, Ukitake-taicho." He diverted his eyes, and instead reached out with his Riatsu, caressing the Kuchiki's own gently.

He realized, after a few moments, that he had no chance of getting Byakuya to look at him. So, instead, he bowed his head as his captain walked past. "Ohayogozaimasu, Kuchiki-taicho." He murmured softly before stepping out of the Kuchiki's way.

He swallowed softly, glad for the counseling he was given by his Zanpaktou for initiating the encounter. He sighed, eyes downcast and throat burning with sake and furiously held back tears. He didn't ask for Byakuya's permission to walk with the two, but went along anyway, enjoying the company.

Byakuya shivered as the warm Riatsu curled around his torn, bleeding heart, and he closed his eyes as the three passed him. “Kurosaki-fukutaicho. There is paperwork to file.” Truth be known, he’d filed it away hours ago and the office was spotless, but he wanted to pull Ichigo away from the two lovers and take him to his own office.

His voice was hard and stoic as it always was, but Ukitake caught the slight inflection. The white haired Shinigami smiled at Ichigo. “Duty calls, I suppose, Fukutaicho.” He turned and slightly bowed to Byakuya and left with Shunsui, the two lovers talking quietly to each other.

Byakuya gave Ichigo one lasting, pointed look before he turned and walked towards the office. “Come.” He demanded staunchly. His beautiful mongrel. His mongrel. Not theirs.

Ichigo nodded, a frown pushing his eyebrows together. "Hai, Kuchiki-taicho." He bowed low to the other two Shinigami as they left, and moved into Byakuya's office, his eyes filled with worry, sadness, and distinct emptiness.

Those eyes moved over the captain's figure, and he wanted so badly to hold him and kiss him, but Zangetsu's yelling clouded his mind with thoughts. "Kuchiki-taicho... there isn't any paperwork." He stated the obvious in a flat tone, his eyes averted to anywhere aside from Byakuya's face.

Byakuya didn’t waste any time after closing the door to the office. He moved, the swiftness of his actions causing his hair to flow with it and making his robes outline the lithe figure of his legs as he rushed to press the beautiful body against the wall.

“Do not drink sake with anyone else but me.” He warned with a deep growl. “They are not allowed to see you inebriated.” In truth, Rukia had once confided in Byakuya that Ichigo got awful chatty on sake, and the last thing he wanted to hear was that Kurosaki had confided in someone that didn’t love him.

Byakuya stopped cold.

Love?

He pressed Ichigo harder against the wall, his hands pressed painfully against the boy’s hips. “Do you understand?”

"Hai. Wakarimashita." Ichigo murmured, ignoring the pain in his hips and leaning forwards to kiss Byakuya, one hand weaving through the dark tresses of hair. He didn't want his captain to back away from him, to pull away and look down his nose at him.

His submissive attitude was starting to worry Zangetsu; he could hear the Old Man warning him against submission in the back of his mind, telling him that he had gotten the always-proud Kuchiki Byakuya to yield to him - twice. He should be able to keep control over the situation. His strength against himself required it. Yet, he kept the kiss as gentle as he could, eyes half closed with passion.

Byakuya answered with a powerful, predatory, brutal kiss, his hands sliding up Ichigo’s hips to rest on his lower back, forcing the boy’s lower body into his. He couldn’t take one day apart from the human…what would happen when he left?

Byakuya tried to cling to those thoughts, but they escaped his mind, and he found one hand raising and tightly gripping to the thick, orange hair, tilting Ichigo’s lips to the side so that he could deepen the kiss. He ground his hips against the boy, and he shivered as he felt Zangetsu’s Riatsu grow full of warning.

He broke the kiss and pressed a hand against the flat of the blade, and he whispered to Ichigo. “Tell him to be quiet.”

He restarted the kiss, again, nearly brutal, but this time, although the kiss was hard, it was also slow and deep, nearly taking Byakuya’s breath from him. He pulled Ichigo’s obi loose and glared into his eyes. “No one can see you as I can.” He growled. “You are mine.”

Up Next: Chapter 7: The Old Man and His Decision

Ichigo pulled the saliva slicked fingers from Byakuya's mouth, and spread his captain's legs apart, slipping one digit into his opening and shifting it until he found that small bundle of nerves. He rubbed against it, watching the Kuchiki's every moment as he brutalized Byakuya's sweet spot. "Does it feel good, Byakuya?" He murmured, adding another finger to the tight passage. His eyes were predatory but tender, just like his movements and voice. "Does it? Do you want more?" All the while, he rubbed against Byakuya's prostate, trying to draw as much noise as he could from the normally stoic Shinigami.

Big thanks to the following reviewers!!! Hanyou-elf (Have I told you today how damn beautiful you are, baby?), Akume (You have no IDEA. We had already written over twenty pages of plot…and not a SINGLE kiss. Gah!), Ashke (If we made him all fluffy, he wouldn’t be so much fun to tie up, now would he? ^^;;;), Samus-sama (Thank you so much! Besides – sleep is more important than mansex… unless you get to see it live. Hahahaha), Sara (Speechless, eh?)

Thanks, everyone! See you soon!