Ichigo Kurosaki was dying. He knew that and everyone around him knew that. It didn't make it any less painful to know that. Especially for Byakuya, who now realized that he may have to break promises because he couldn't live without the strawberry. He truly couldn't and his body was still cold because he could no longer feel the young man's spirit ribbon around him. He knew what that meant. It could only mean one thing. Ichigo was dying and that knowledge drove a stake through his heart.

People were running around killing hollows and trying to save Ichigo. Orders were being yelled and it was twice now that someone had tried to tear him away from Ichigo's body, of course, those attempts had been useless. Byakuya was flipping through all the knowledge he had in order to try to find some piece of information in order to save Ichigo because he loved the boy. Byakuya hated to admit it so late but he did love the boy and it pained him to see it now instead of sooner.

"Save him…" Rukia whispered. She stood by her brother's side and held his hand that was clutching Ichigo's hand. She whispered it over and over again.

Byakuya closed his eyes. For the second time in his long life, he felt completely helpless. Sitting holding the one he loved and being able to do nothing made rage and sorrow rage war inside of him. How could this be happening?

Ichigo opened his eyes and knew he was in trouble. His inner world, the one with crazy Ichigo and old man Zangetsu, was falling apart. He saw windows shattering and he knew that it was the real world. He knew because he couldn't see Rukia or Byakuya but he could hear them. He could hear Rukia's desperate voice chanting and Byakuya whispering his name. Not that it mattered. Byakuya didn't care.

"Hey King!" dark Ichigo asked.

"Hey," Ichigo whispered.

"Looks like we're dying," dark Ichigo sighed.

"Looks like it," Zangetsu said.

"Don't sound mad about it old man! It happens to everyone!"

"You have been careless! One man means that much to you?! One man can make you die?!"

"YES!"

Ichigo froze. He had been careless since Byakuya had rejected him. He had been on the look out for a fight with hollows or anyone at school. It didn't matter to him. so tonight when Rukia had warned him, he had ignored her and gone ahead. The hollow turned out to be too much for him. he fought as hard as he could and then he heard someone yell that Byakuya was on his way. Ichigo's body had frozen and the hollow struck him.

It was stupid.

So stupid that he wanted to scream.

But he had done enough screaming.

He had done enough crying.

Ichigo had been so tired of acting okay that it had been too much for him. He love Byakuya and to have Byakuya act as if he was nothing was painful. Too painful. It was stupid he knew that. You think he didn't? In Ichigo's opinion to be in love you were automatically made stupid. You couldn't think straight. Couldn't see straight. And he sure as hell couldn't fight straight. His thoughts were consumed by Byakuya. He closed his eyes and there the dark haired man was. It was infuriating. It was insanity. And most of all Ichigo knew it was love and that made him depressed. Which made him moody, which made him crazy because then people said he was acting like a girl. He was just all over the place.

"This man…Byakuya…he loves you," Zangetsu hissed.

"No. he doesn't," Ichigo sighed. He sat down and watched as more windows shattered around him.

"Has he said those words? Those exact words?"

"He said that he didn't care for me."

"That's not the same."

"Yes it is."

"Not it ain't king. Listen…saying that is meant to push someone away," dark Ichigo reasoned.

"Why would he want to do that?" Ichigo asked. "He just doesn't want me."

"Really?" Zangetsu coughed.

"Listen to the echoes king and follow them," dark Ichigo laughed.

Ichigo closed his eyes and hear Rukia's cry. He heard her talking to a muffled voice. He focused on the muffles voice and could feel the arms that came with that voice wrap around him. He knew who it was immediately. It was Byakuya. Byakuya was with him. But why? None of it made sense. Byakuya had said that he didn't care. He didn't either. But what was he saying and why did Ichigo feel him shaking? Ichigo tilted his head and suddenly there was something there.

There were flashes before Ichigo's eyes. Random things he hadn't thought about in a very long time. The first time he could remember hugging his mother. Hugging Karin after their mom died. Fighting with his sisters. Meeting Rukia. Fighting hollows. His whole life and then one of those moments seemed to freeze before his eyes. The moment he was standing in front of Byakuya in the conference room.

The first time they had kissed.

The whispers.

The touches.

Everything.

Suddenly Ichigo gasped for breath and he heard yelling. There were car horns. Noises and screams. The arms that had felt like a dream had weight. He heard sobbing and felt tears on his face.

"Ichigo…" a voice whispered.

"Captain you have to move in order for us to help him," another voice scolded.

Ichigo opened his eyes and saw fire. Urahara's shop was on fire and Byakuya was holding him. People were bleeding and Byakuya was holding him while crying. Rukia was kissing Renji and Byakuya was holding him while crying as he whispered Ichigo's name.

It felt so surreal. Was this actually happening?

"Welcome back to the real world Ichigo-san," the voice said.

Ichigo looked up and saw Byakuya's bright eyes locked on his.

Ichigo moved his lips. He tried to say something to Byakuya. He wanted to ask Byakuya if his hollow was correct. He needed to know because if he was right then he had to tell Byakuya how he felt. But his mouth was too dry. His body ached and he was pretty sure that there was a large gash in his stomach that was causing pain to pulse through his body.

Byakuya moved away and Ichigo wanted to tell him not to go. He wanted to scream and hold Byakuya close but he couldn't. He opened his mouth and he would cough up blood. Byakuya closed his eyes and Ichigo could tell that he was putting on his cold mask. The one that Ichigo could never look past. The one that told him nothing. The one that constantly broke Ichigo's heart.

"No…" Ichigo whispered.

Byakuya froze. He looked down as Ichigo was being loaded onto the gurney that was to take him to the tent in order to be healed. The young man was looking straight at him. Byakuya looked down and his heart broke. He knew that exact look because he had seen it before. He had made Ichigo have that exact same look on his face before. It was terrifying to look at.

"Rest now Kurosaki," Byakuya whispered.

Ichigo sat up and looked at Byakuya. The man was so stupid! Why couldn't he just express himself? Why did he have to be so stubborn and beautiful? Why had he stolen Ichigo's heart and not someone else? Why couldn't those who Ichigo loved stay with him?

"Bya-Byakuya…" Ichigo coughed.

Byakuya closed his eyes. It was too much. it was way too much for Byakuya. Hearing the man, he loved and seeing him well was making him crazy. Ichigo was so close. He could feel him and smell him. The sensations were maddening. Byakuya wanted to call out to him. He wanted to do so many other things to him. Things he shouldn't want to do but his body and heart wouldn't listen. His mind kept coming back to the promise he had made and he knew that he should be a man of his word. He knew that but he knew that he couldn't keep the promise anymore.

Byakuya remembered the first time he had seen the strawberry and if he had been a smarter man, he would have realized that in that instant he was a man lost. He would never have eyes for another. He knew that Ichigo was the one. Ichigo was the one he loved because after everything…he loved him. There was no other truth than that. He loved Ichigo and now he had to do something about that.

Byakuya leaned down and looked at Ichigo. Ichigo looked at him with such desperate hope that Byakuya knew that there was nothing more that he wanted than to kiss the young man that was currently looking at him.

Byakuya leaned down and brushed his lips against Ichigo's forehead and then his lips. He heard his strawberry's breath hitch and he smiled. He knew that Ichigo felt something deep for him. He didn't know what it was quiet yet but he knew it was something. He was honestly hoping that the strawberry loved him. He was hoping that he hadn't messed up so much but he knew that there was a chance that he had. He knew that perhaps he had to work hard to get Ichigo to be with him but he was hoping that it wouldn't be to chaotic. He just wanted to lie down next to Ichigo and whisper words of love into his ear as the young man got better.

Byakuya brushed his lips against Ichigo's lips one more time and sighed. He was in heaven now that he had come to terms with his feelings. Now that he had let his feelings go, he felt hat peace with everything. He felt that the weight that had been on his shoulders hours ago was gone just by admitting that he loved Ichigo.

It was perfect because there was a small smile on Ichigo's lips that made him look so adorable that Byakuya just wanted to eat him up. He was so beautiful and perfect that Byakuya had to remember to breathe.

"I love you."

The next chapter will be the last and it will be full of dirty, dirty smut!

Hope you liked this one and I hope you enjoy the next one!