Lonely

Challenged a friend to write this particular pairing since I don't think I've ever seen it before. I also challenged myself. Because, really what's the fun if you can't participate? May add more chapters, may not.

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Hollow nights to empty days
Something has to change
Before it gets too late
And there’s no turning back

Uryuu wandered aimlessly through the festival, automatically apologizing to those he bumped into because he frankly just wasn’t paying attention. He wasn’t exactly sure why he’d come in the first place other than the need to get out of the house, even if only for a little while. He’d needed to escape the mountain of legal briefs piled on his desk, his mobile full of only work messages and the crushing sense of emptiness in the house. He shouldn’t dwell on it all he supposed but that was hard to do when everything you’d held as important for ten years of your life was just not there anymore. Though he’d always been a rather solitary sort, he’d had the ability to connect with others who more or less understood him without the need to explain. That in itself had been remarkable as far as he was concerned. Now that it was no longer there . . . He sighed and tried to put it out of his mind but it kept wandering back to reclaim his thoughts.

If he’d had to put a name to the feeling he’d have to say he was lonely. Much as that particular thought irked him. But he took pride in being honest, especially with himself. He dated occasionally. However, none of those other people, male or female had ever managed to stay around long enough to get beyond the surface. He had never really been sure why. As far as he knew he was not unattractive, intelligent, had a good job, all of the things the modern world proclaimed to be desirable in a partner. Most of the people he’d dated proclaimed that he wasn’t available at odd times of the night and was emotionally distant. Well, it wasn’t as though he could tell just anyone about being a Quincy. They wouldn’t understand more than likely. These thoughts brought him back around to those people who did know he was a Quincy and understood everything that went along with it. Along with the fact that they were gone now.

It had started slowly, the drifting apart. At first he had simply marked it to the fact everyone was suddenly so busy with their adult lives: higher education finished, romantic partners, break ups, starting real career oriented work, they’d all had very little time to see one another. Everyone was used to Ichigo popping in and out at odd intervals considering all of the things he’d gotten roped into. If he would have made a bet on it he would have laid odds on Ichigo completely leaving first. That wasn’t the case as it turned out.

One by one we fit and then we fall

The first blow had come from Orihime of all people. She’d informed them all that Urahara had found a way to lock down her abilities and she wanted no more to do with Hollows, Soul Society, Quincy or anything else that reminded her of what they’d all been through. He’d been angry with her, extremely so and he had told her that. Reminding her not so gently that they’d risked life and limb to save her. To try burying everything she was capable of was an insult to them and to herself in his mind. After that, she had broken all contact with everyone. The last he’d heard she had moved to California of all places.

Then there had been Sado. The quiet man had gone to Mexico, he hadn’t gotten into great detail as to why. Uryuu had the feeling though it had something to do with his abuelo leaving him a fairly good sized bit of property. He concluded Sado was planning on making the property some kind of camp for street kids. It was something he’d spoken of every once in a while with a wistful look on his face. Now he had the means to make that dream a reality. Uryuu had been truly happy for him but it seemed as though it was one more door closing with no other opening to take its place.

Finally, there was Ichigo. All of the pressures and responsibilities he carried had finally demanded he spend most of his time in either Soul Society or Hueco Mundo. It really didn’t matter where he was, it all came around to the fact Uryuu hadn’t seen him in close to a year.

One by one we fit and then we fall

He sighed heavily, winding his way around other people and vendors hawking everything from food to games. He wandered down one of the side alleyways to get away from the crowds and noise for a few minutes. Maybe this had been a bad idea, he thought. He paused for a moment, listening. Away from the din he heard the sounds of the surf and quite without intending to, headed toward the beach. He climbed down the side of the rocks that was the least steep. Well, climbed part of the way, slid the rest swearing the whole time. He was just checking the skinned palms of his hands when he heard a voice very near the top of his head.

“Are you all right, Ishida-kun?”

Uryuu’s head shot up and he found himself staring at none other than Ukitake leaning over him and offering a hand to help him up. He blinked for a moment, trying to discern if he’d actually hit his head or not. What was the other man doing in the world of the living? He frowned, trying to sense any Hollows in the area but found none.

“I’m fine, Ukitake Taicho,” he said, allowing Ukitake to help him up and realizing his yukata was torn. He sighed, aggravated. It was the only really good one he had so he’d have to mend it when he got home.

“You’ll forgive my forwardness but you seem far from fine at the moment,” Ukitake said.

Uryuu sighed and shoved his hands through his hair. “It’s just . . . been a bad day,” he said. Week, month, year, he thought privately.

“Hmm,” was the other man’s only reply to that statement.

“Why are you here, Ukitake Taicho?”

“Actually, I came here to find you,” he said, turning to face the water. The ocean breeze toyed with strands of the older man’s hair and Uryuu vaguely wondered how long one had to suffer with his particular condition for his hair to go completely white.

“Find me? Why?”

“Your father’s request.”

Uryuu sighed a little. He and Ryuuken had finally gotten the father/son thing vaguely worked out. All it had really taken was an overheard argument between Ryuuken, Isshin and Urahara to finally clue Uryuu in as to why Ryuuken had been so damn hard on him for years. Ryuuken had wanted to spare him the danger fully coming into his abilities as a Quincy meant. He’d learned later on of the massive fights his father had with his grandfather over the older man telling him about their heritage in the first place, figuring Uryuu would have been safer not knowing. After that, he’d switched tactics, trying to discourage his son the only way he knew how. That hadn’t worked terribly well, obviously.

Ukitake seemed to be reading his thoughts because he commented. “No one ever said being a father was easy, Ishida-kun.”

Uryuu sighed. “I do understand why to a certain extent now. I just wish he’d have gone about it a different way.”

“Doubtlessly. He’s very proud of you, you know.”

“I know. I just wish I’d have known it years ago. We wasted so much time,” Uryuu said. They lapsed into silence for a few moments after that statement. “Why did my father want to see me? It must be something important.”

“It is, after a fashion,” Ukitake said. “He’s been given a subdivision in the Soul Society. One that finds those who’ve crossed over who have latent Quincy bloodlines and abilities and trains them to use what they’ve been given.”

Uryuu’s eyebrows went up slightly. “Really? That’s . . . interesting.”

Ukitake smiled a little. “Well, he’s entirely too powerful to be left to his own devices.”

“That’s true enough,” Uryuu said. “Then there’s the added notion that he’d probably stir up a rebellion if left with nothing constructive to do.”

Ukitake laughed. “That is a certainty. I believe it was a genius move on Yama-ji’s part to set up the subdivision. It gives Ishida-kun something to do that pleases him and it gives the shinigami options in keeping the Hollows under control.”

“He’ll be hard on them.”

“Yes. He will be. But I believe the Quincy require a stricter set of disciplines due to their capabilities than shinigami do. Swinging a sword is fairly easy once you get the feel of the weapon, more clear cut in the training. A bow requires not only strength but discipline, thought and proper form.”

Uryuu nodded and fell silent again, automatically keeping pace with Ukitake as he started walking along the beach. There was something so . . . comforting about Ukitake, something that made Uryuu pleased to remain in his company. It wasn’t simply the fact that Uryuu was content with him, even with feeling the odd press of the other man’s spirit energy. It was interesting to Uryuu that he could almost feel the rolling thunder of the seas in the core of him just standing next to Ukitake.

“You know,” Ukitake began. “I’ve been told I’m a good listener.”

“I beg your pardon?” Uryuu asked, casting a confused look at the older man.

“You seem troubled by something,” Ukitake said, looking out over the ocean and letting Uryuu make up his own mind whether or not to tell him what was bothering him.

Uryuu studied Ukitake as he stood watching the waves roll onto the beach. Took the time to really look at him and wondered why he’d never paid much attention to him before. Probably because everyone had been fighting for their lives and after lives at the time he’d had contact with him regularly. There was an elegance about Ukitake that spoke of good breeding. Even standing on the beach in a simple blue and white yukata he seemed to radiate class. Ukitake was not like most of the other Shinigami, Uryuu mused. He was . . . warmer in so many ways. The fact that he’d simply offered to be a listening ear made Uryuu drawn to him, made him want to tell him about how he’d been feeling the past year or more. About the sense of emptiness that had settled in him and refused to be filled by anything.

Instead, he was surprised by what did come out of his mouth. “Do you ever get lonely, Ukitake Taicho?”

“More than you could ever imagine, Ishida-kun,” he answered honestly.

There was a palpable sadness laced into Ukitake’s spirit energy. So much so that Uryuu very nearly asked him about it but thought better of it.

“I’d like to ask you something, if I may,” Ukitake said after a few minutes.

“Certainly. I’ll answer if I can.”

“It’s hardly a difficult question,” Ukitake said, smiling gently. “May I call you Uryuu? Since your father is Ishida-kun to me most of the time it would be less confusing and it isn’t as though we’re strangers to one another.”

Uryuu thought on this for a moment before nodding. “Certainly.”

Ukitake’s smile brightened and Uryuu was momentarily stunned by how truly beautiful the other man was.

“Excellent! You must call me Jyuushiro then,” Ukitake said, looping his arm through Uryuu’s comfortably and strolling to a spot on the beach where they could sit.

The next few hours were some of the best Uryuu believed he’d spent in ages. They seemed to connect naturally. Discussing everything from Soul Society politics, which Jyuushiro generally tried to stay out of unless it was something serious, to what restaurants in the real world had the best sushi.

“Oh, I hadn’t realized,” Jyuushiro said, glancing out over the water. “We’ve been here all night.”

Uryuu looked up and noticed the sky over the ocean turning pink, purple and gold with the coming dawn.

“So we have,” Uryuu remarked, not really wanting the night to be over.

“Uryuu, I’d like to ask you something rather forward,” Jyuushiro said.

“Go ahead.”

Jyuushiro placed both hands on either side of his face before sliding one back into Uryuu’s hair. “May I kiss you?”

Uryuu didn’t bother to answer in words. He simply leaned forward in Jyuushiro’s hands and closed the distance between them.


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P.S. Love you Kat! Looking forward to your part in this.