Chapter 5

'Master...are you certain now is the right time?'

"Absolutely. You were right. I have been dancing around the issue for almost six months now. This needs to be addressed and I will not be the reason for his premature demise."

'You are partly responsible. You were shown what could happen if you do not adjust your behavior, but that does not mean you are solely responsible for his death in the future.'

"If I were to venture a guess...Ichigo's future would not have gone that badly if there wasn't already some feeling there. Why would anything I say effect him so badly. If I'm right, there is some feeling there that feels for me the same way I feel for him. Now is the perfect time to tell him how I feel."

Senbonzakura grinned, thanking Hisana, Kaien and Ulquiorra, for their intervention.

Byakuya wasted no time. His glimpse into the future opened his eyes. Life was too short. He realized he could not bear it if Ichigo were to die like that...so soon..and because of things he did or said. He couldn't shoulder that burden and he didn't want to see anything like that happen.

He entered the World of the Living through the gate, turning up in Urahara's Shop. The eccentric shop keep was there to greet him.

"Urahara Kisuke..."

"Hello Captain Kuchiki. To what do we owe the pleasure?" Urahara asked, his friend Tessai close behind him.

Yoruichi sauntered out from the back room. Her eyes were stern and her arms were folded over her chest tightly. She growled at him, "He is here for Ichigo. Come to yell and scream at him some more, Kuchiki?"

His eyes opened in surprise. She wasn't in the great hall when he yelled at Ichigo. She would have told him off and he would have remembered.

"Yes, Byakuya, I know about your childish outburst."

He deserved that. She looked out for Kurosaki as she once did for him. It was only natural she be angry with him.

"I don't have a moment to spare, nor do I need to explain myself to you. I have something to say to him and it cannot wait."

She eyed him carefully. It took her a few minutes, but then she nodded. She saw something in him she hadn't seen in a while.

"Do you know where he is?"

"I do not." She said bluntly.

"I don't have time for games. I'm in a hurry. You make it your business to know the whereabouts of the substitute soul reaper, don't deny it. Do you know where he is or not, Kisuke?"

"You've never used my first name before."

"Things change."

"Yes, they do. I'm afraid I don't know where Ichigo is. I'm not lying or hiding him from you. I haven't seen Ichigo since he came back through the gate. He mumbled a lot, swore at me to leave him alone and walked out. I assumed he would stay the night in Soul Society with his friends. I was very surprised to see him return so soon."

"That is my fault."

Urahara almost dropped his fan, but recovered quickly. Yoruichi and him shared a look, then smirked at each other.

"You might want to try his home, Captain. It is Christmas Eve, after all. He may be with his family."

"Thank you, Kisuke." Byakuya bowed and left.

Yoruichi giggled and slung an arm around Urahara's shoulder, "I do believe my little Bya is finally admitting his love for our young hero."

Byakuya jumped up to Ichigo's window when he arrived, but he was nowhere in sight. Ichigo's father sleepily answered the door when he knocked on the front door. His surprise was not unexpected.

"Well, now there's a face I haven't seen in ages. Come on in."

"Is Ichigo here?"

"Ichigo huh? No, my son hasn't come home yet."

"Then, I thank you for the invitation, but I'll have to decline. Another time, perhaps. Would you happen to know where I could find him?"

"That kid could be anywhere. Sorry, Kuchiki."

"I thank you."

As the noble turned to leave, Isshin grabbed his shoulder.

"Don't mess up. My son is hard headed and so are you. Be clear and be honest...and take care of him."

Byakuya saw the smile on his face. The smile was warm, understanding and accepting. Byakuya nodded.

"I will."

Byakuya looked everywhere. He checked by the river where his mother died. He looked by her grave. He checked the school and each of his friends homes. Then he thought about the horrible future he was shown and dashed off to find the playground where Ichigo died. Luckily, Ichigo was there, sitting at the bottom of the slide. He was staring up at the night sky. Byakuya started to approach when movement caught his eye. Ichigo wasn't alone.

"Can't you sit still?" Ichigo asked, annoyed.

Kon, the lion plushie, turned his fuzzy face up and glared at Ichigo. When his friend sighed heavily, his eyes softened.

"Ichigo, what's bugging you anyway?"

"Nuthin."

"Yeah okay. We're just sitting here in this empty playground in the middle of the night for kicks. We were with Rukia having a good time."

"I didn't ask you to follow me."

"True, but you seemed down, so I followed to make sure you were alright. What gives buddy?"

Ichigo sighed again.

"Didn't you have fun today?" Kon tried again.

"Yeah, the party was awesome."

"Then what?"

"Just thinking. Not everyone had fun tonight."

Ichigo looked down at the small package he was holding.

"Isn't that Captain Kuchiki's gift?"

"Yeah."

"Are you gonna give it to him?"

"No. He won't accept it. He hates Christmas. I thought we were starting to get along and I ruined it. I never meant to open old wounds."

"Don't worry Ichigo. That stuck up Captain is just grumpy and miserable."

"No, Kon. Byakuya is suffering...still. He's in pain. I wasn't thinking and I made matters worse. He's been a solitary creature since his wife Hisana died. I understand...I just..."

"What?"

"I just wanted to see him smile."

"Oh Ichigo, you got it bad."

"I'm sorry."

Byakuya stepped forward, causing Ichigo to turn around.

"Bya..." Ichigo caught himself, "Captain Kuchiki. What's going on? Did something happen?"

Ichigo popped the green pill out of the plushie and stepped from his body, leaving Kon in charge of it.

"Kon, go home. Don't do anything weird to my body."

"I'm tired anyhow. Be careful Ichigo."

"Let's go, you can catch me up on the way."

"Wait, Ichigo. Nothing has happened. Everything and everyone is fine."

Ichigo froze. He turned and stared at the noble.

"Captain you...you've never called me by my first name before. You broke your own rule."

"Yes, I did and I want you to tell you to continue calling me as you usually do. I don't want you to change a thing."

Cautiously, "Byakuya, what's going on? Why are you here?"

"Let's sit." They found a bench, "I wanted to apologize. I blew up at you earlier this evening and I was completely out of line. I'm sorry."

"I accept, but you really didn't have to do that. I understand why you hate the holiday. I really wasn't thinking."

"It's okay Ichigo. I want to explain."

"You don't have to. Rukia told me about Hisana."

"Yes, I do. While my missing her is part of it, it's not the whole reason for my outburst."

"Okay."

"I was angry, not at you, but at myself. I...my feelings were getting carried away. I saw you wrapping presents and happily getting on with everyone and I wanted to join you. "

Ichigo didn't understand. If he wanted to join them, why didn't he?

"I swore I would never love another as much as I did Hisana. I swore it to her and myself. I never wanted to go through the pain of losing someone I love again. I broke it. I got angry at you, to keep my promise."

"You know that makes no sense."

"It does when I'm in love with you."

Ichigo's whole body just went all warm and gooey. He couldn't have heard what he thought he did. Byakuya in love with him? That was more than he could process. He had been dreaming and hoping and praying that he could one day share a life with the noble. He'd been infatuated with Byakuya for the longest time. He never dreamed it would actually be reciprocated.

"Byakuya, do you have any idea what you're saying?"

"I do. I should have told you ages ago. I should have behaved better. I have been in love with you for some time. I should have let you know much sooner."

"You have no idea how happy that makes me."

"You return my feelings then?"

"I have been dreaming about this since the war started. I never thought you would ever get over Hisana. I didn't expect to tell you because I was sure there was no chance at all."

"I love you, Ichigo. I want to learn what it's like to have love again. I want to share everything I am with you. I want you to share your everything with me. Will you allow me to court you?"

Ichigo burst into laughter.

"What is so funny? I don't think my question was amusing."

"Court me? Really, Byakuya. Guys don't court guys. Courting is for girls. Can't you just ask me out?"

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"Maybe, but still. Courting sounds like such a chick thing. I love you. Let's work it out. We'll see where it goes. Deal?"

"I would like that very much. In light of our new relationship, I would like to set some ground rules and I have a request."

Byakuya took Ichigo's hand and started walking.

"Rules? Seriously?"

"Not many, I promise you. My family is a noble clan. There will have to be some rules. You will, at some point, have to meet the elders and get their approval. Though, rest assured, I don't see that being a problem."

"Really? I would think your clan elders would have a huge problem with you dating a man."

"No, they care not about gender. You are the hero of the soul society. I am certain that they will be amicable to our relationship. It's simply a matter of courtesy. They will want to meet with you formally."

"Okay, but I'm not going to spend weeks learning all the proper etiquette and stuff. I'm going to be me. If they can't handle that...well...we'll just have to get around that."

Byakuya grinned, "I would never ask you to be someone you're not." He kissed Ichigo's hand as they walked, showing his new partner that he meant it.

Ichigo blushed.

"What are the other rules?"

"I will not be without you for longer than a week. We will have to work out some sort of schedule. I would want you to stay close to me as often as possible, but as you still have family in the World of the Living, I can't ask that of you. I can come here to visit you, and you can come to me. We'll figure it out."

Ichigo blushed again. He was amazed that one of the rules was about how often they saw each other.

"I think I can handle that."

"Good. Now, my request."

"No more rules?"

"No. I just want you...I'm sorry if I sound selfish."

"No, I like it. I never thought you would want me around this much. I'm very happy."

"Good."

"Your request?"

"May I spend Christmas with you?"

Ichigo stopped, pulling on Byakuya's hand. Byakuya turned to see what was wrong.

"Are you sure? You really don't have to do that. I know this holiday is a hard one for you. You don't have to force yourself."

"Yes, I'm sure. I would like to enjoy this holiday with you. I would like to get to know your family. I would like to experience the same happiness I did once before. I want to spend time with you. "

"I think that could be arranged." Ichigo grinned.

Byakuya stared at Ichigo. His face practically glowed in the night. He was clearly very happy. His eyes roamed over Ichigo's face, memorizing every inch; each line, each curve.

"We're here."

Byakuya snapped out of his trance. He looked up to find that they had made it to Ichigo's home. Ichigo pulled him along and stepped through the front door. They stood there for a moment.

"You can sleep in my room tonight. I'll get the futon for you. My family is already asleep."

"You want me to stay? I can always come back."

"No, you can stay. That way you get to enjoy the traditions of the holiday Kurosaki style. Wake up and be here with us in the morning."

"Very well."

"Oh, and Byakuya."

"Yes..."

Ichigo stepped forward and pulled his robes. He kissed him soundly then pulled away to see the look on his face. Byakuya was stunned, but he enjoyed it.

"That was bold. I thought I was going to have to work you a bit more to get you comfortable with the idea of kissing me."

Ichigo pointed up, "Mistletoe and I already told you. I have been dreaming about this for a while. I have loved you a long time. I could kiss you all day and not get tired of it."

"We may have to try that sometime."

Ichigo laughed, "Let's go, Captain. Time for bed."

As they climbed the stairs, the clock in the living room chimed midnight. It was officially Christmas Day. Ichigo turned to look at Byakuya. He was given the best Christmas present ever. Byakuya looked at his partner and for the first time, Ichigo saw the noble truely smile. He pulled the noble down and kissed him again.

"I think that is going to be my new favorite tradition." He grinned.

"What's that?" Byakuya slid his arms around Ichigo, pulling the human toward him.

"Kissing you at midnight."

"Mine too."

"Merry Christmas, Byakuya."

"Merry Christmas, Ichigo."