Warmth
By: Metamorcy
Disclaimer: don't own Bleach
I got to write one for this pairing at long last. Bravo to me...or is it yay? Hm...Oh well.
Hichigo didn't know when it had started but he felt something, he wasn't sure what it was but the feelings were for his other self, for the king. He didn't want to but he did, a fluttering in his chest that grew larger whenever he saw or heard the king's voice whether he was speaking to him or not. His white fingers ran over the cheek of the king's, the tepid flesh underneath the fingertips seeping into his cold ones. It warmed his soul, if he had one, and calmed his burning emotions that coursed through his body. His eyes, the golden ones with the black parts of the eye that was suppose to be white, glanced up to the window where the moon was shining out brightly. It was radiating off his body, his white skin glowing smoothly. The sky was dark, the opposite of the one that was inside the king's soul. Hichigo's fingers drifted into the orange hair that was in front of him running through it like a comb, smoothing out the knots and strains. He felt the softness in-between his limbs and sensation was pleasant He pulled back when Ichigo shuffled in the bed a little, twisting around in the bed sheets, dreaming about something. The blankets slipped off the figure and the shinigami shivered from the coldness of the night and atmosphere.
Hichigo reached over, yanking them back up, tucking it in. The shivering stopped and the king snuggled into the sheets, feeling the warmth. The hollow started stroking the cheeks again, the flesh whittling underneath his touch. Ichigo shifted again, this time facing his other self with the eyes closed shut and still fast asleep. Hichigo wanted to lean over again when he noticed that the sun was beginning to rise, the morning light starting to appear over the horizon. His golden pools gazed to the alarm clock that was ticking out the remaining time, resting on the nightstand ready to go off at any moment. And it was at that thought that it rang, beeping off and on. Ichigo wiggled in the bed, his arm stretching out to shut the offending thing off. He missed the item a few times while searching for it, still half asleep, and mind groggy. He managed to grab the thing but he still couldn't find the button to shut it up. Hichigo grumbled quietly to himself, the beeping was getting on his nerves and did the king a favor by pressing the infernal switch. The annoyance was gone but not entirely, Hichigo could hear footsteps heading his way from outside. It was probably the younger sister coming up to make sure that the king was awake. He glanced back down at the teenager, he had fallen back asleep. Oh well, not his problem. He started vanishing before anyone could witness him, he didn't need anyone seeing him materialized outside the king's mind and watching the king, that could cause trouble. His body began to evaporate, dissipating back but before he did completely, he reached over and plucked an orange strain from the forehead.
He always wondered why he had that feeling in his skin whenever he woke up, the lingering feeling of a touch. It felt good, Ichigo would admit that and by now, he no longer had to comb his hair in the morning, seeing as it was already done for him. Sitting up from his bed, he glanced over to his younger sister, Yuzu, who was smiling brightly as always with an apron and cooking utensil in hand.
"Ichi-nii, time to get up. Breakfast is ready." Yuzu beamed, clapping the two hands together, the metal and flesh clanking and then left without another word. Ichigo followed his sister with his sleepy eyes until the door closed shut and sighed. It was the same morning routine all over again. The birds outside was squeaking loudly as usual too and that didn't make things better, instead it was worse. There were a few times he was tempted to open his window and yell at them to shut up but he didn't, he had to save face.
He took a deep breath of the morning air and proceeded to stretch his limbs. Ichigo yawned, kicking the blankets off and swung his feet over the bedside. He stretched again, bending his back to get the creakiness of his bones out. As he stood up, pulling on his school clothes, the window swung open and in came a flying kick. The orange haired teenager jumped to the side, dodging his father easily and strolled passed him as if nothing had happened. He didn't even give his father a second glanced before exiting out the door while grabbing his school bag at the same time. While heading downstairs, his thoughts traveled back to the tingling in his hair. It was still there and resent too like it had happened a few moments ago. He wished he knew why it was there in the first place but he didn't get to think about it anymore as his father called out to him while giving another kick.
Ichigo sat at his desk at home, fingering the pencil in hand, hoping to get rid of the homework he had to complete. It was some type of math problem but no matter what he did, he couldn't find himself going to the answer that was printed beside it. Nothing seemed to be working and he growled out in frustration, he wanted to finish this problem and get it off his chest so he wouldn't have to worry about it later. The paper and problem glared at him, the white sheet dazzling. Grumbling for a few more minutes until he was utterly and completely exhausted, he flopped forward, banging his head on the table.
'Having trouble, I see.' A cocky voice echoed in his mind, laughing out wildly like always.
'Go away; I don't want to deal with you right now.' Ichigo buried his face into his arms.
'Now, now, you don't have to be so mean.' Hichigo snickered, his presence moving closer to Ichigo. 'I just want to talk, is that so bad?'
'From you? Don't make me laugh. I don't really care what you have to say anyway.' Ichigo felt his other self pout and fume slightly, the presence disappeared for a little while, leaving the shinigami in peace. But, of course, this is Hichigo he was dealing with; the guy never knew when to call it quits.
"You know, it's not very nice to say such nasty things." A voice came from behind him and he jumped up in shock. It had startled him so much that he had even knocked over his chair, letting it 'thump' roughly on the ground. Ichigo twisted around in fear, staring at the white mirror version of himself. There, sitting on his bed was none other than Hichigo who was smiling widely and smugly like he had won something fantastic. The hollow folded his arms, the grin was quite alluring.
"How'd you-?!" The king stood up, going into a defensive state at the sudden appearance. "How'd you get out?!" He screamed out loud without realizing that his family was still home.
"Psh, like you care." Hichigo snorted, leaning back, flopping down on the bed. He let out a grunt and spread his arms across the material, feeling the bed sheets beneath him. The white shinigami clothes dispersed along it, making the baggy parts of it look bigger than before. The garments curved around his frame and spaced out more when he stirred. He glanced to the side to observe Ichigo and smiled. "Don't worry, King, I'm not going to cause any trouble today."
Ichigo continued to stare. "I hardly believe that."
"Yeah, yeah." The hollow closed his eyes relaxing, he didn't feel like doing anything but sleeping right here. It was comfortable so why not? His white hair was spread out as the blankets scrunched up and the right arm went up behind his head, lifting it up. Ichigo cautiously stepped over, peering down at his other self. He didn't feel any dangerous aura admitting from the hollow so he presumed that everything would be okay, for now. Forgetting about his knocked over chair, he sat down next to the albino and stared at Hichigo with a questioning appearance. When the hollow's eyes suddenly opened, Ichigo flinched back in start. There was a sober expression on the white mirror version of himself and seemed a little sad in the eyes. The king shaked his head at the thought, Hichigo and sad never went together, must less in the same sentence. It was impossible but as he continued to stare down at the other, the thought began to feel like it was coming true.
Without realizing it, he asked. "What's wrong?" He pulled his feet up into an indian style on the bed. His orange pools continued to eye the golden ones back, stuck. Why he was talking to his hollow like this, he'll never figure that out.
Hichigo smiled, it wide and manic as always and tilted his head. "I thought you didn't care about little ol' me."
"I don't but you're me so I have to so spill it." Ichigo groaned, leaning forward to get a better look. Hichigo reached over, grabbing the front of the king's shirt and yanked him forward. The orange haired teenager let out a startled cry falling forward, arms flailing around wildly, reaching for anything that would help him remain up. He crashed beside the hollow who was grinning victoriously. Hichigo made fast work of knocking the king to face the ceiling and with him, lying on top. And so, here was Hichigo resting his head against the other's chest, making sure the Ichigo couldn't shift from this position. They stared at each other for a moment, the hollow sprawled across the body. The orange haired teenager panicked at the closeness, he's never been this close unless they were fighting or something along those lines. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing." He sang in a sing-song voice, smirking smugly and strangely rubbed his chin into the ribs gently. The skin, though the clothes separated them, was cold; Hichigo desired that warmth from the other. He leaned upward, his face closing into the other.
"Now that can't be true." Ichigo grumbled, he had finished struggling already, he couldn't move, that was it, the end. He was strapped below his hollow. When he noticed the closeness of their faces, he tried to back away again and did a little. His head bumped against the wall and grinded his teeth in annoyance at the pain he felt when he had done that. "You better not be thinking of kissing me."
Hichigo blinked in surprise then started laughing; it wasn't the laugh he had used during a battle or when someone was bleeding but one that was free of that sadistic part of him. It was one filled with humor, amusement and happiness. Ichigo softened up; his muscles stopped tensing and could feel the hollow's vibration on his chest. The laugh was pleasant. Ichigo liked it better than the other ones he had heard, and he wished that his mirror would do it more often.
"Kiss you?" The hollow stopped for a moment to speak. "Maybe I should." He leaned up, connecting the lips instantly, pressing his body forward to deepen it. Pinning Ichigo down, he continued on, holding onto it as long as he could with the gulp of air he had taken in before hand, eyes securely closed shut. The substitute shinigami froze, eyes widening at the response. The white mirror version pressed deeper, hoping that the king would allow him entrance into the mouth but that didn't happen, not that he minded. When he began to run out of breath, he retracted back, opening up the golden pools. Hichigo took one look at his king's face and burst out in laughter again, burying his face into the shirt. His grip on Ichigo's shoulders was gone, now gripping the shirt instead. "That face-" He mumbled from below, still snickering, trying to contain his laughter. "-really suits you."
There was the substitute shinigami, face all red even up to the neck and ears. His lips were parted a little, twitching a little at the side with the cheeks scrunched up and eyes wide. Once he cooled down and regained his composer, which wasn't long, he glared at his other half with vengeance. Hichigo sustained his chuckle, lifting his head back up to meet the eyes head on.
"What was that for?!" Ichigo cried out, dragging himself up from below while pulling reverse away from the other. His back was pressed against the wall; Hichigo was now sitting beside and on him at the same time, right on the lap. The redness of Ichigo's face had gone down but not much. He really looked like a ripe strawberry or the color of Renji's hair and he didn't like that.
"What do you think?" The other grinned mischievously, leaning forward, capturing the lips again, this time he went a little farther. His hands went up to the orange hair, gripping the back of it and yanked Ichigo forward. The other hand went down to the king's right, pondering the fingers slowly, caressing them. Hichigo licked the pink lips and darted his tongue into the inner cave when they opened, savoring the taste that danced on his buds. He felt Ichigo returning it but not as ferociously as he was. Hichigo suddenly pulled away again, lips wide with that same grin and took a deep breath. Licking his lips, he retested the flavor again, making sure he had eaten it all up before leaning back over for the last time, peeking the king on the cheek. He dissipated back into Ichigo's mind right afterwards, memorizing the other's expression. The door to the bedroom knocked soon after, startling the shinigami out of his dilemma. It opened with Yuzu and Karin stumbling in, the younger sister with a large smirk on her face.
"What is it?" Ichigo tried to keep his face straight and his voice from cracking but it did slightly, luckily it went unnoticed.
"Rukia came by awhile ago; she wants to see you tomorrow." Yuzu announced, subsequently she stared at her older brother afterwards then at something else, Karin did too. "Did something happen?"
"Huh?" Ichigo followed their gaze to the chair; it was still on the ground. "Oh that, I kinda kicked it. No worries."
The two (Yuzu believing him while Karin stared at him suspiciously) left right after, either of them replying after getting nudged out the door. He had been fortunate that no one had heard his chair falling. Ichigo twisted back around and glanced over to it. Lifting it back up, he mumbled over what Yuzu had said. "She probably wants me to kill some more hollows." He grumbled out loud.
'Well that not so bad.' Hichigo's voice came into his head, it was softer than usual, Ichigo noted that.
'To you, it is since you like to fight. I like to rest and sleep instead, it's much better than doing that.' Ichigo stepped back and flopped down on the bed, head landing on the pillow. The light on top of his room seemed brighter than before to him, maybe because he was staring directly at it. He glanced over to the clock, he noted that it was late and pressed the alarm button to switch it on. Sitting back up, he griped, another day had gone by but his thoughts were still on the kiss he had received by a certain person. Damn him for doing this to him. Grumbling about it a while longer, he gave up on it and got ready for bed, it was going to be a long day tomorrow.
He was doing it again; he couldn't help it but stare at the sleeping teenager below him. Hichigo sat on the bed, one leg on the cushion while the other hanged loosely at the side of it. It was only two in the morning, a time where most people (unless they were partying or something) were fast asleep. The bed shuffled, Ichigo shifted over facing the hollow with a sleepy yet calm expression. Hichigo let a few fingers run through the orange hair, feeling the strains in-between. Suddenly Ichigo opened his eyes, staring up at his other self with confusion and grabbed the hand that was close by. Hichigo had been caught in the act and panicked a little in his head while cursing himself for that reaction. The two stared at each other for a moment before Ichigo yawn still tired since it was the middle of the night and scooted over in his bed to the wall. Hichigo blinked, he had been expecting a yell or an insult for such a feat but this had really surprised him. Ichigo placed himself right against the barrier and cuddled into the blankets while bringing a hand over to pat the spot he had created.
"You might as well sleep here since you're out, I won't mind. Just try not to do anything funny or else." Ichigo warned sleepily, his threat didn't mean much with that sound of voice but it was one he was willing to keep. The hollow shaked his head, a little confused for such an act. Why wasn't the king telling him to get out or ask him why he had been touching the hair? And why the hell was the king allowing him, his worst enemy, to sleep next to him?! That part puzzled Hichigo greatly; it wasn't something a person would normally do. He continued to mull over it before giving up.
Oh well, there was no point in dwelling over it and crawled in, his head facing the king's. He watched as the other fell back asleep, hugging the pillow tightly above his head. Hichigo leaned down; it was warm underneath, warmer than inside the mind and he loved it. Ichigo, by response who was now asleep, reached over and grasped a hand, gripping it securely. The two hands intertwined together and the white mirror just grinned before closing his own eyes, sleep approaching him and fast. The warmth he was feeling spread from his chest and hand traveling outward like some sort of disease (a good one mind you). He cuddled (can he really do that?) into the sheets, tightening the grip on the king's hand and snickered quietly so not to wake the teenager up. The moon's glow shined down through the window, gleaming off the carpet and gave everything a pale purple hue. It seemed as if the moon was watching the two as well while giving them support with its light.
Tada! I finished, I'm so proud of me!! A one-shot, yeah!!! If you want a sequel, you'll have to tell me. Please review.