Title: Dilemma

Author: alstair
Main Pairing: Ichigo x Ishida Uryuu

Ishida firmly believed in the value of books but right now books were of absolutely no help. Looking at the pile of books that littered his desk, he sighed. Patterns for Females. Female Fashion Made Easy. Intimate Haute Couture. Fem Fatale: Clothes of Seduction. The History of Lingerie. He'd been highly distressed and highly embarrassed, to say the least, carrying those books to the checkout counter of the public library but a request was a request. He couldn't just then afford to turn down a sewing job just because the article of clothing he'd been asked to make was one which he had absolutely no experience with, much less even seen worn by any woman he knew. Nor had he ever seen any woman divested of it.

Panties, Ishida inwardly sighed. Why did the request have to be a pair of lily white, lacy--seductive--panties?

Ishida reread the note that had started everything.

To Ishida Uryuu:

I know this is short notice--and rather an imposition on my part--but I would like to ask you design for me a pair of panties. I have tried looking at the ones sold in the stores but the only ones I found were bland, not seductive, and tasteless--none of which my lover would appreciate me wearing. You have my measurements from the last time I ordered a dress and unless I am mistaken they should do. Specifications are that they should be white with lace. I will pick them up Friday this week at exactly 4:00 in the afternoon. Thank you.

It was Thursday and only one day remained before he'd have to deliver the final product. Disconsolately he looked at the small triangular creation in his hands that was, he knew from reading, meant to cover a woman's most private of parts. He also knew from reading that the little slips of cloth were equally used by women to seduce men--that some men even went so far as to pay prostitutes to perform strip teases with their lingerie. And this was precisely what Ishida could not understand--because, you see, Ishida had never been with a woman before because the only person he'd ever been with and still was with was entirely male from head to toe!

The actual cutting of the cloth, the sewing, was mechanical. The books he'd borrowed held enough information that he could now determine the difference between a low-rise hipster from a low-rise string panty and, he prided himself, actually be able to make one. What was bothering him--what had been bothering him the past day--was whether or not the panties he'd made were sufficiently seductive to meet his client's request.

That was why today he sat at his desk, poring over the books he'd borrowed one after another, palms sweaty, one ear cocked and waiting for the sound of a key releasing the lock of his apartment door.

He didn't have to wait long.

The jangle of keys and a swift Oh Shit alerted Ishida that his lover was at the door. Apparently the boy was having trouble finding the right key. Figures, Ishida thought. Too impulsive and too unorganized such an occurrence was only bound to happen. A minute more was wasted before the rough twist of the doorknob brought the orange-haired shinigami crashing into his room.

"You're too noisy, don't you know, Kurosaki?" With a cocked eyebrow he appraised the shinigami. From the look of things the boy had just come from his family's clinic. The T-shirt he wore loudly proclaimed "GAMER ON."

"You're the one who's too uptight," Ichigo retorted. Even after they'd begun going out the two still fought like cats and dogs. Guess some things never change. But if it weren't for the fact that both were male the last time he checked (which was not too long ago when he'd sucked on the other boy's cock not more than three feet away from where they now were) their relationship wouldn't have been labeled as one of competitiveness and rivalry. Instead their constant bickering would have elicited comments of their being a "married couple" in, as it were, a Kansai comedy act.

It took yet another few minutes before Ichigo registered what the Quincy held in his hands. When he did, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Not bothering to hide his surprise--and confusion--the shinigami attempted to confirm that what he saw was indeed what he saw.

"Is that...is that...a panty you're holding, Ishida?"

Ishida frowned back. "That's pretty much obvious isn't it, Kurosaki?"

The shock still hadn't worn off the shinigami's face when he abruptly sat down from where he stood, unable, it seemed, to pry his eyes away from the lily white lacy panty Ishida clutched in his hands. When he finally did take his eyes off the article and looked at him, Ishida had to bite his lips and swallow back a laugh. From the way he was looking at him the poor idiot obviously thought that Ishida had hit his head somewhere and lost his mind.

Well, he reasoned, if he himself knew a week ago that he would be sitting in this room with a panty he'd just made and about to do something that he would otherwise never have done before, he would likewise have thought himself mad. Biting back his laughter Ishida reassured the shinigami that yes, he was perfectly sane and that no, this was not his panty but something which a client of his had requested that he make.

And then came the hard part--the reason why he'd been anxiously waiting for the orange-haired shinigami to arrive in his apartment. With as much nonchalance as he could manage he put his query to the other boy.

"Have you...have you ever seen someone wear a panty before?"

He pointedly refused to ask the other question that naturally came after that. Have you ever seen someone without their panty before?

The calm answer of Ichigo somewhat unnerved Ishida and made him immediately regret that he'd asked the question.

"Yeah. Of course."

Ishida had never before considered that he wasn't Ichigo's first. But now that he thought back that would explain why Ichigo seemed far too experienced at sex to be someone like Ishida who'd never done it before. Of course Ishida didn't know that he really was Ichigo's first--except the shinigami had watched enough porn videos (courtesy of Asano Keigo) to last a lifetime.

Duty, however, demanded that he continue.

"So...what...what...is it that...makes a panty...seductive?"

Ishida felt a blush creeping into his face at every word. He'd done it. He'd asked Ichigo the question that he had racked his brain for an entire day to only come up with nothing definite or concrete.

The deepening wrinkle as Ichigo's brows knitted themselves together told Ishida that the orange-haired boy was seriously thinking--something which he doubted the shinigami did frequently. But the response Ichigo gave Ishida, when he finally did respond, took him aback. The idiot actually made a hell of a lot of sense. And not only that, the idiot had correctly deduced why Ishida wanted to know.

"It depends on each person really. I could find a boy short seductive while someone else might prefer a thong. But if you want to know if what you're holding fits that description, the best way is to test it out on a model and see for yourself."

Test it on a model... It did make sense but the problem of who to test it on remained. He didn't think he had the nerve to call Inoue Orihime or Kuchiki Rukia and ask them, at nine in the evening, to please wear a panty he'd designed himself so that he could see if it was sexy enough! With an inward groan he could picture what would likely happen. If it was Inoue she would fiercely blush but, knowing her, agree but ever after he would be too shy, too afraid to face her and honestly, he didn't want that. If it was Rukia she would kick him in the shin, just as she'd often enough done to Ichigo, and demand he see a psychiatrist.

Back to square one...or so Ishida thought. It seemed for once the shinigami's brain was working well enough that he'd followed Ishida's line of thought.

"We could, you know," he said quietly, as though afraid to speak the words louder than he already did, "...test it ourselves."

"How?"

This time it was Ichigo's turn to blush, making even his ears red. "You could...you know...wear it." Sensing Ishida's impending explosion the boy hastily added, "I'm just...you know...spouting nonsense here. If you don't want to then of course not. It's just...It's just...I thought it would look good on you."

Look good on him? How could something meant for a woman honestly look good on him? But looking at the earnest expression in Ichigo's face he began to feel intrigued in spite of himself. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad to try it out, see for himself. It wouldn't harm anyone, right? This was all in the name of greater creativity and a more satisfied customer (and more job orders--Ishida was practical enough to consider that). It wouldn't hurt to try it once, right? Besides, if someone who'd had exprience with things like this thought he'd look cute it was probably true, right? ...Or so Ishida reasoned.

Inevitably, after a lot more dithering, not helped by an Ichigo who'd turned uncharacteristically shy, Ishida finally stripped down and with trembling hands, replaced the brief he wore with the frilly, lace-strewn, lily-white, innocent, panties.

The concoction he'd made was a string bikini. The two triangular pieces of cloth--lace really as the only opaque part was the very bottom of the crotch area while the rest was the filmy translucent of a floral lace he'd bought at the 24-7 sewing convenience store he often frequented--was connected by a very thin piece of string. This string was really nothing more than a very thin piece of ribbon with slightly frilly edges that ended in a small bow right at the top middle of the front side of the panty.

From where he stood he watched as Ichigo looked him over. Once. Twice. Thrice. The shinigami's eyes would, each time, linger on the white panties and what it barely covered--his cock and his ass. Feeling Ichigo's eyes on him--licking him with those brown eyes of his--he felt his cock stiffen.

Grinning and smirking at the same time, Ichigo closed the gap between them, placed a hand over Ishida's arousal and said, "God, you look hot in that."

Slowly Ichigo rubbed his hand over the panty and Ishida's cock. Bending even closer, Ichigo slipped his tongue into Ishida's mouth and gave him a long and deep kiss. It wasn't long before, the pleasure mounting, Ishida moaned into Ichigo's mouth, his hips circling against Ichigo's hand in an attempt to further increase his arousal.

It was only a supreme act of self-control on Ishida's part that saved the panty from being completely soiled beyond repair before the two, panting and moaning, made it to the bedroom and moved against each other to release their pent-up arousal in glorifying release after release.

Ichigo didn't usually pry into Ishida's work--that is, he didn't usually bother with who Ishida's clients were. But today was different. He wanted to know who it was that had commissioned the Quincy to make that pair of panties Ishida had looked so hot in just the night before. Maybe he wanted to thank whoever it was. So, making sure that he could not be seen, he parked himself behind a tall potted plant--bush--in front of Ishida's apartment and waited. The watch on his wrist read 3:45pm. By now the Handicrafts Club that Ishida belonged to would have already broken for the day and the Quincy would be on his way towards his flat.

Right on cue, the Quincy came walking down the road that led to his room, arrived at his doorstep, and without having to fumble for his keys as Ichigo had done the night before, stepped into the apartment and closed the door. Fifteen minutes later Ichigo saw the last person he'd expected to see walking up the road that led to Ishida's apartment, stop for a brief second at the doorway before knocking and being admitted by an expectant Ishida. Five minutes later the Quincy's visitor left, a blue bundle tucked in the crook of an arm.

Turning, Ichigo began to make his way back to the other side of the street in the direction of his house. It would not be good if he was caught. But before the shinigami had taken a step further his path was blocked by the bending figure of an irritated Ishida. The guy had used his whatever-he-called-it-speed-augmenting-movement similar to his own shunpo.

"Too curious for your own good, aren't you, Kurosaki," Ishida said. "Hiding won't do you any good until you learn to control that reiatsu of yours. Felt it all the way back at my apartment." Taking hold of Ichigo's arm, Ishida pulled him up and towards his room. "My client even told me to tell you that snooping is an undignified pastime. Of course he doesn't know that we have that kind of relationship. Thought you were stalking me--out of rivalry most likely."

It was only when the two were inside Ishida's apartment that Ichigo dared to talk.

"Since when did you know...," Ichigo began.

"About Kuchiki Byakuya and Renji?"

Ichigo started. That second half he had not known. "You mean he has that kind of relationship with Renji?"

"Yeah. So now you know. And now that you do will you please shut up? I still have work to do." And as if to punctuate his remark, Ishida walked off to his table where the scattered remains of an unfinished sewing project lay. A lot of lace again and a lot of white. Ichigo wondered if it was another pair of panties and silently hoped it was.

Much later while the two were in bed relaxing after a third round of sex, a hell butterfly alighted on top of Ishida's exposed belly and delivered a note. It simply said:

Panty more than satisfied my lover. Expect the same quality for subsequent purchases. He suggested a black one after the current order. Will pick up the current order by Wednesday and the black by Friday of next week.

- Kuchiki

Ichigo chuckled as he read the note from over Ishida's shoulder and said, "Then I guess I'll have to come over the day before to have our fitting." Ishida blushed at his words but said nothing. He too was looking forward to those and all such future...fittings.