Birds of a Feather

"Haha!" Yumichika laughed as he answered the door. "Quick, come in before anyone sees you!" he said, pulling Kenpachi in.

Kenpachi had put feathers on his eyes like Yumichika did. He had no idea how Yumichika actually made them stay though, so he had just grabbed a bunch and taped them to the side of his face.

Yumichika had his captain sit down on the couch while he got a good look at him. He started laughing again. He began to tentatively pull at the tape which had become mixed with the captain's hair and eyebrows and frowned as they tugged at the skin. This was going to be a little tricky. Kenpachi sat patiently as Yumichika's delicate hands moved over his face, finally freeing him of the last of the feathers.

"So?" Kenpachi asked. "Did it work?"

"If you're asking if any of the stuff that the women having been doing all week has worked: no," Yumichika said. He paused. "But I have to admit that this is pretty adorable," he finished.

That was good enough for Kenpachi, who grabbed the standing Yumichika, pulling him in between his legs onto the couch. Even though Kenpachi was sitting and Yumichika leaning on his knees, he was still taller, but only marginally. He pulled Yumichika close to him but didn't kiss him right away. He was waiting to see if Yumichika was going to try and bolt. Yumichika wasn't struggling though so he pulled him closer and kissed him.

Kenpachi wondered how it was that he could have possible forgotten kissing Yumichika the first time. It didn't occur to him that the considerable change of feelings between the two of them had anything to do with it. He had never had an emotional attachment to any of his previous playthings so he had never known, though he had been told, that there was more to it than simple biology. There was also the element of having finally won of course, the taste of victory and of winning the chase. In any case, kissing Yumichika was unlike any kiss he'd had before and it instantly awakened his body with sharp fire.

Suddenly the metallic taste of blood was in his mouth as Yumichika bit him. He pulled back for a moment in concern. Was Yumichika upset again? He looked at Yumichika, whose eyes had become almost black, like dark pools. There was a small trickle of blood from Yumichika's mouth. Yumichika gave the smallest of smiles, and Kenpachi saw his small pink tongue lick at the stray blood. He's playing with me, Kenpachi thought to himself, as he struggled to not just throw Yumichika on the ground and rip off his clothes. At this point he didn't think Yumichika would mind, but Kenpachi was experiencing new things that he liked very much and he didn't want it to end to shortly. Delayed gratification has always been something he'd tried for in his battles, not that they last long regardless. It hadn't occurred to him that he might give it a shot in the bedroom as well.

Despite his intentions to not fuck Yumichika into insensibility just yet, his spiritual pressure was still whipping out all over the place. "You might want to get a handle on that," Yumichika said huskily.

"Everyone can just deal with it," Kenpachi said. He kissed Yumichika, savoring the taste of his own blood on his lips. He picked Yumichika up and carried him to the hall. "The one on the right," Yumichika pointed out helpfully. He had to wonder if Kenpachi had wound up in Ikkaku's room if he would've cared one bit at this point. He doubted that it would have mattered.

Ikkaku was long gone however. The second he felt the presence of his captain at the door he had taken off. The fact that Yumichika thought he was still debating was moot as far as Ikkaku was concerned. He knew Yumichika very well and he knew that no matter what their captain had caught Yumichika's interest. He had mulled over the idea in his own head for awhile until he became comfortable with it. At least Yumichika didn't wind up with a pansy, he consoled himself with. No matter how Yumichika might look, Ikkaku knew that he was tough as nails, and he didn't want to have to deal with some simpering idiot the rest of his life because Yumichika had fallen for someone with nice hair but no fighting spirit. Still, the captain? Ikkaku had to shudder at the thought of the two of them together…Ikkaku's mind thankfully went blank at this point as his brain simply cut out to save him the trouble.

So Ikkaku had jumped out the window. Besides, it had given him a really great line to use.

He showed up at Rangiku's doorstep.

"Ikkaku? It's kind of late," Rangiku said.

"Yeah, I know, it's just that Kenpachi came by to talk to Yumichika and…" Ikkaku let himself trail off and looked awkwardly at the corner.

"Do you need a place to stay?" Rangiku offered, reading the situation.

"Yeah," Ikkaku accepted gratefully.

"I have an extra futon. You can sleep in the dining room," Rangiku said.

No I won't, Ikkaku thought to himself with a smile.

Kenpachi had put Yumichika down once inside and allowed the smaller man to undress him. He was aware that Yumichika was being almost painfully slow, looking over his body as more and more became revealed. Yumichika had seen his captain in various states of undress many times before of course, but he hadn't really been paying attention. Now he ran his hand across Kenpachi's newest scar, the one that Ichigo Kurasaki had given him. Kenpachi knew that he wasn't going to always be this patient with Yumichika so he let him have fill.

"My god, Kenpachi," Yumichika said as his captain was stripped down to his straining fundoshi. "What the hell do you have down there?"

Kenpachi had to laugh at that and reached for the man in front of him, enjoying the sound his name on Yumichika's tongue. He paused at the feathers, looking perplexed. Yumichika laughed at that and casually removed them. "How the hell…" Kenpachi realized that he didn't really care, not when he had the rest of this package to unwrap.

Not for the first time he wondered how such slender arms could wreak such havoc. "How come you don't have any scars?" he asked Yumichika.

"I do," was the reply.

Kenpachi took a closer look and could see occasional faint lines across Yumichika's whiteness. Yumichika shivered slightly as Kenpachi's hand ran across a point in the back of his shoulder blade. "That one looks like you weren't expecting it," Kenpachi pointed out.

"I wasn't," Yumichika answered. "I was asleep."

"That bastard."

"Yeah, I felt the same way. I made sure he knew what I thought of him too," Yumichika laughed. He gasped when he felt Kenpachi's lips on the same spot. Kenpachi continued to suck at the spot while his hand traveled across Yumichika's belly, kneading at his hips before finally undoing his fundoshi. Yumichika helped himself out of his underwear, stepping forward away from Kenpachi and turned to help his captain do that same. The two of them stood there for a moment, taking in their naked forms. Kenpachi didn't know it but there was one word that Yumichika thought as Kenpachi finally gave in and threw Yumichika to the mattress, "beautiful".

There are many sexual acts that some might view as not becoming or graceful, but Yumichika never thought so. Just as almost any battle (done well at least) was beautiful, he had always felt that when two bodies gave in to each other it was beautiful. It was a revelation to Kenpachi. While he hadn't really expected Yumichika to be a prude, he also wasn't expecting him to be so gung-ho. Yumichika wasn't the kind to give in easily in everything either, and although he dearly wanted to be pounded into the sheets he wasn't going to simply allow Kenpachi to do that. Kenpachi for his part was being driven crazy by how very vocal Yumichika was and was wondering if he should have tied him down beforehand. He finally got Yumichika pinned in the bed, both hands over his head, Kenpachi's legs pressing into his thighs, when Yumichika had bitten him in the neck.

"Oh fuck, oh god," Kenpachi called out. He looked at Yumichika with animalistic lust in his eyes. Quickly he went down, completely enveloping Yumichika's cock in his mouth.

Yumichicka moaned, arching up into Kenpachi's mouth. It was just a distraction though, because Kenpachi took the chance to quickly throw Yumichika's legs over his shoulders, taking the chance to press his tongue into Yumichika's ass. Yumichika had called out at that as well. "Damn it, Kenpachi!" he had cursed. Kenpachi felt like laughing at that, feeling the tremors of pleasure in Yumichika's legs as he moved his tongue.

Despite all of the protestation, the fun, and the incredible drive that Kenpachi felt, he really didn't want to actually rip Yumichika. He had a lot of pent up sexual energy that he needed to get rid of and was hoping to go a couple of rounds Yumichika. It seemed like forever later that he was finally able to push himself inside his lover.

Yumichika lay there gasping. He wasn't in pain but it was still a difficult fit. "Kenpachi, this would be a lot easier if you weren't built like a bull," Yumichika said.

"Mmm," Kenpachi said. It was taking a lot of his control to stay like this.

Yumichika knew that of course. He had actually been surprised that someone like Kenpachi even knew what control was. He smiled to himself and then pushed backward, pressing Kenpachi deeper into him.

"Ahhh," Kenpachi howled before buckling up and slamming into Yumichika.

They had both had just about as much foreplay as they could handle so it definitely didn't take long for either of them. Kenpachi's rough hold on Yumichika, how far he stretched him, and his tight grip on his erection all brought Yumichika over the edge quicker than he would have liked. Kenpachi liked how much Yumichika was able to take, liked how Yumichika was still mock struggling, and when Yumichika came calling out his name, his insides clamping down on Kenpachi's cock, he couldn't restrain himself either. He had never been one for cuddling after sex, but he curled himself around the man next to him like a sleeping dog.

"I think I need a shower," Yumichika said after a couple of minutes.

"Great, are you one of those people that always feels the need to clean up after sex?"

"Yes," Yumichika said. "But the plus side is that it gives you a change to recharge."

"You think I need time for that?" Kenpachi asked, grabbing Yumichika into a fierce kiss.

Once Yumichika got used to the words that Kenpachi used things became a lot better between the two of them. Although he still didn't like the word mate, he did understand the intense feeling of ownership, because he felt it himself. It wasn't like there were that many people that looked at Kenpachi as someone they'd pursue romantically, but there were those that had hero worship, and seeing that glazed look in their eyes was a surefire way to get Yumichika pissed off. He actually liked the feeling of having someone care about him enough to be possessive of him as well. "Mate" and "owned" still sounded like how you'd refer to an animal but Yumichika was willing to overlook it. Kenpachi had gotten a little used to men (and women) ogling Yumichika. He knew that Yumichika like the attention, and flirting wasn't really something he was good at so he let them have their fun. He still occasionally beat up one at random just so they knew to not let things get out of hand. He never had any idea that Yumichika would take anything farther than flirting, not because he trusted him implicitly, but just because the concept didn't even occur to him. It was to the benefit of everyone that Yumichika was very much wrapped up in his lover and would never even look at someone else. Anyone that made a serious play for him got a sneer and a haughty laugh. Anyone that tried to actually touch him got something a lot more serious than that.

One thing Kenpachi wasn't good at was dealing with the criticism that someone who wears flamboyant feathers and a giant orange scarf tends to get. While he might lean back and grin lazily at some nitwit who was trying to talk himself into Yumichika's pants he didn't take anything from anyone who talked bad about him. The first time it had happened he had paused, wondering if the best thing to do was to let Yumichika handle it, but the next thing he knew everyone was collapsed in blood around him. He supposed he had done it, that really was the best guess; but he didn't really remember doing anything. He had shrugged and gone on his way, leaving the trash behind.

Since Kenpachi having sex and Kenpachi fighting felt similar to most of the squad, they were able to live without constantly wincing at the undulating waves that would break out around his residence and office. Yumichika moved in and Ikkaku moved next door. Yachiru could be found at either places depending. Almost every morning Ikkaku was over for breakfast, and most nights he was over there getting drunk with Kenpachi as well.

It worked out for Yachiru, who got the mother she wanted and got the added benefit of an uncle. She actually really enjoyed when Yumichika got mad and punished her. She didn't know a lot about moms aside from what she'd read, and that's what they seemed to do most of the time, so it made her happy when Yumichika would looked at the floor completely covered in blood and send her to her room. Yumichika didn't really try to keep her in check most of the time, she was still his commanding officer after all. However, if things got out of hand he could always tell her to calm down and behave and she would instantly. He mostly used this to shield himself and Ikkaku from her nicknames and schemes and let her do what she wished with anyone else.

Kenpachi had been pleased to discover that Yumichika had an exhibitionist streak.

"Bored, Captain?" Yumichika said, walking into the office.

"Of course I'm bored," Kenpachi said, looking out the window.

Then Yumichika was under the desk.

"Yumichika?" Kenpachi asked.

Yumichika reached up and cupped Kenpachi's awakening crotch. "Mmmm," Kenpachi groaned.

"How about I entertain you for awhile?" Yumichika said with a grin, rubbing the insides of Kenpachi's thighs.

"Yumichika, you're not even going to close the door?"

"Yachiru has a Shinigami's Women's Association meeting, and screw anyone else," Yumichika said, resting his head temptingly on Kenpachi's knee, looking up at him.

"Yumi…mmm," Yumichika cut Kenpachi off by kissing his erection through his hakama.

"Look at them, they look like a happy family," Captain Ukitake said to Captain Kyoraku.

Kenpachi and Ikkaku had gotten pleasantly buzzed and were dozing in the shade of a tree, occasionally waking to sip some more sake. Yachiru was splashing in the small stream next to them, while Yumichika seemed to be engrossed in a novel.

"Yeah, one big psychotic family," Shunsui agreed.

"They're not that bad," argued Jushiro.

"Oh yeah? They look kind of happy now but they'd look positively thrilled if you surrounded them with enemies who wanted them dead. Then they'd laugh while washing off the blood, assuming that they even bothered with that."

"Well, you know what they say," Jushiro, "birds of a feather flock together."

Even years later if someone ever mentioned the word "love" to Kenpachi he would just look at them slightly confused; Yumichika would laugh, Ikkaku would hit them, and Yachiru would sigh and tell them that they just didn't understand.