What felt like years had passed since Ukitake and Starrk had started living with Urahara, while in fact it was only a few months.

While Ukitake still missed Shunsui, it had been hard for him not to fall for Starrk; the man looked a lot like Kyoraku and even acted like him and, despite the younger being an Espada, he was still kind to him.

Sometimes Urahara wondered whether it was Starrk the Thirteenth Captain had fallen for, or rather Kyoraku in a different body. He would never ask this however, knowing Ukitake was still fragile from the Winter War.

Starrk himself didn't seem to mind the older man's affection; the two could often be seen embracing as they watched TV or ate meals in a comfortable silence. They even slept together, Ukitake sometimes joining Starrk for a nap throughout the day.

Urahara knew it was only a matter of time before the two officially got together.

~~Starrk and Ukitake~~

The two males had left Urahara's shop for the day, having decided that getting lunch together would be nice.

They had only walked a few minutes from Urahara's shop before they ran into a very unhappy Ichigo.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Ichigo growled, pointing at the brunet accusingly.

Ukitake looked at the ground, shifting uneasily. "…He… survived, as I did…"

"He has no right to be here!" Ichigo snapped. "Look at what he and the others did! How can you be standing next to him so calmly?"

"Starrk is my friend, Ichigo-kun…" Ukitake tried to explain. "He –"

"He's an enemy!" Ichigo hissed. "He can't be trusted, Ukitake-san!"

"I don't believe you have any right to be judging me," Starrk growled, stepping closer to Ichigo. The younger male was irritating him, and he wasn't going to stand for being slandered like this. "You don't know anything about me."

"He's right, Ichigo-kun," Ukitake pointed out. "I've come to trust him – he lost loved ones unnecessarily, just like us."

Ichigo's brown eyes darkened with emotion at these words before he spat out, "Rukia didn't need to die, Ukitake-san. Not because of a war. You're a traitor to those who are dead – they lost their lives and you're here with the one who killed most of them!"

"I didn't want to do such a thing, brat," Starrk said emotionlessly. "It's as Ukitake said; I, too, lost people in the war. Do you think any of us had a choice? Do you think any of us would have fought if it weren't for our commanders?"

"It doesn't change the fact that you're our enemy," Ichigo pointed out.

"Would you excuse the Shinigami for their wrong doing if the positions had been reversed?" the brunet asked.

"…" Ichigo dropped his gaze, his hand forming a fist. Inside, he knew Starrk had a point – but how was he to forgive the ones who had killed his friends so easily?

"Let it go, Ichigo-kun…" Ukitake advised gently. "Both sides lost loved ones – there's nothing anyone can do to change that fact. Stewing on it will only cause problems."

"How am I supposed to trust him?" Ichigo snarled. "How do I know he's not here to start another war?"

"Aizen's dead," Starrk said. "He's dead, and if I were a danger, would I really be here with Ukitake? Wouldn't I have killed him by now?"

Ichigo couldn't deny the Espada was right about that – but why would one be here with Ukitake? Why would they be friends? People had died because of them.

Wrinkling his nose up in distaste, Ichigo sent a glare at Starrk before he left the two alone, having nothing more to say to the two – neither of them would listen to reason, so what was the point? And Ukitake was strong enough to take care of himself, right? Surely if Starrk turned out to be a traitor, the ex-captain would handle the situation.

Jyuushiro watched as Ichigo left, feeling a tad hurt at having been called a traitor.

Shaking his head, Ukitake looked back up at Starrk, feeling warmth in his heart. "I'm sorry about him, Starrk…"

Starrk didn't know what possessed him to do so but, leaning down, he placed his lips over pale ones, finally feeling the emptiness in his chest leave.

Ukitake kissed back almost immediately, feeling as if the missing piece to his depression had finally fallen into place.

When the two broke away a few seconds later, it took just one look in the other's eyes to understand that, no matter who they had lost in the war, they would always have each other.

I'm sorry for ending it here on such a shitty note, but please understand that with my depression worsening again and trying to keep up with the stress of finishing my last year of school and taking the exit examinations, it's really draining me. I just didn't want to leave any of my fics unfinished and attempted to do the best I could for the fics I'm struggling to find the motivation for.