I do not own Bleach, the characters, or the settings.

This story is set in Shunsui's P.O.V

Comfort…that's how I've chosen to refer to it. We both need it. He'd been sick for so long this time and I hadn't touched his body in weeks aside from holding his hand. Now, he's underneath me with his warm bare skin touching mine as I move inside him.

Actually, I'm really not that sure which one of us needs this the most. He'd felt so much pain in the last few weeks that I needed him to feel pleasure. I needed to feel the pleasure of pleasuring him. I find myself needing to comfort him in any way possible.

He says my name in a breathless whisper and he's the only one who can make me shiver just from hearing my name. I press my lips to his slightly parted ones and my tongue dives into his mouth to taste him. We've done this too many times to count and I know his unique taste so well that I can taste it even when he isn't with me. He doesn't taste like blood or medicine…not like you would think. His taste is indescribable…like all of my favorite things in one taste. Sometimes, I wonder if he thinks these things about me.

He deepens the kiss bringing me from my thoughts by allowing his tongue to slide against mine. He wraps his legs around my sweaty waist and he will never know how good it feels for those legs to be around me. I thrust a little harder and he breaks the kiss with a sound of delight that only I can make come out of his throat. That sound lets me know that I've found the right spot.

He begs me to go faster as he digs his nails into the skin of my shoulders and I comply because this is how I show him comfort. This is how I make him feel wanted, how I make him feel welcomed home after spending so many painful weeks in Squad Four.

I know he's close by the way he opens his mouth to respond to my movements, but nothing escapes his lips. I can feel his body clenching and unclenching around me and he is so tight that I almost lose my mind from the feel of being inside him. His body arches as he cums and the words 'I love you' tumble from his lips. Those three words mean the world to me and with a few more pumps into him I return his words of love and spill my climax inside of him.

I brace myself so as not to collapse on top of him as his legs fall from my waist. I remain inside him as we try to regulate our ragged breathing. When I remove myself from him I feel incomplete again. I only feel whole when I'm with him.

He gives me a look of pleading and asks me to hold him. I do as he asks and brings his slender, sweat dampened body into my arms. He only asks me to hold him when he's thinking about how much worse his illness is becoming. At times like this, he feels vulnerable and I don't blame him one bit. He's stronger than anyone ever gives him credit for, but even the toughest Captain's of the Gotei Thirteen are allowed to feel vulnerable around their best friend.

I hold him tightly as his breathing deepens and he eventually falls asleep. I've been with him long enough to know that he'll only get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep before the coughing begins. I close my eyes as well and drift off to the smell of him in my arms.

When the coughing starts, there isn't much I can do. I can't make it stop and I can't make it hurt any less, but I can comfort him with a gentle rub on his back as I keep the blood from spilling every where with a towel. When the coughing is over he takes in a shuddering breath and tells me 'thank you' even though I haven't done anything to be thanked for. I stand up from the futon and walk to the kitchen, still naked from our love making, to get him a glass of water.

When I return with the water, he takes a hungry gulp and when the glass is empty he thanks me again as he places the glass on the floor beside the futon. I gather him into my arms again and as much as I try not to think about it I still allow myself to wonder how hard it will be when his illness finally steals him away from me. It seems unfair that anyone should take him away from me even if that someone is Death.

He whispers another 'I love you' before drifting back to sleep and I wonder what I'll do with myself when he's gone. He's mine and no one else's and as much as I hate to admit it, I need him more than he will ever need me. He doesn't realize it, but even when he's gone I will always need to comfort him.

The End.

Started and Finished: 2/16/2012

Okay, that's it. The next story is from Ukitake's P.O.V Let me know what you think. As always, Love Ya!