It had all started with three little words.

Three words said in the spur of the moment, impulsively, fleetingly, almost randomly. Those three words left him blinking wide eyes in confusion and his heart thumping relentlessly in his chest. Three words that sent the young boy's mind into a tail-spinning frenzy as he was left in the room to pick up the remnants of his shattered calm exterior, staring at the man's now retreating back before it disappeared into a room somewhere else in the home he was having a mini mental breakdown in. Three words had left Ichigo Kurosaki sitting there wondering if he was hearing things.

"I love you."

Three little words said all over the world, sometimes meaningfully, sometimes jokingly, but never ever said by Kisuke Urahara in any context, until now. The words he had felt to be true ever since he first laid eyes on the boy with his dark pools of chocolate, so expressive, literally windows into his mind, his strangely bright orange hair that left most staring wondering how it got that way, the way the boy always seemed to slump as if the whole world's problems could only be fixed by him and him alone, and taking the winter war into consideration, they did. He loved the way he was hot headed and brash when it came to protecting his friends, yet wary and shy when it came to actually making them. Oh, and his favorite part of the boy? The ever present deep scowl that always seemed to make Kisuke smile despite himself. But even when Ichigo graced him with a smile he could still feel his breath hitch and his speech stutter.

Yes, the boy had driven Kisuke mad with desire wanting to run his hands along that slim tone body and mutter those three little words that held so much weight within them, too much weight. These three little words that left his heart out in the open, weak under the other's scrutinizing gaze, vulnerable. His feelings towards the boy making him feel diffident, insecure.

In the case he was laughed at, rejected, even yelled at for being perverted? Well, all that was fine, as long as the boy never looked at him with pity in his eyes, tried to speak kindly, reject him nicely instead of an out right 'No'. All that would kill him, scar his weak vulnerable self, and even if he eventually tried to will the pain away he would still have to watch the boy grow up, find love with a nice lady, or maybe even another man, because that was his duty, being the boy's Sensei, his father's closest friend.

He would ache, never get over the boy because he was the first one allowed past his weak wall allowed to see the emotions he so artfully hid behind his little fan. He would in fact act like a grieving teenage girl dumped by her first crush, cursing love, trying to avoid dwelling on Ichigo for too long. Kisuke realized with a humorless laugh that many young girls had probably ached and cried over Ichigo being the basic embodiment of sex on legs that he was.

Doun't get him wrong, he wanted no pity, no kind words, and no awkward phase all rejected friends had to go through. All he wanted was for him to stick by his side for the rest of his life despite what had been said.

Many scenarios flitted through Kisuke's mind that night, the most vibrant and painful sticking to the front of his mind not leaving even in sleep. All these scenarios, painful and one inevitable, but finding out which one would have to wait, the boy had yet to show up the next morning, two hours late. Finally, as Kisuke was about to break down and cry for the first time in 159 years, yes he kept track, Ichigo burst into his shop panting, a string of almost incoherent apologies streaming from his mouth. Finally, Ichigo regained his breath to scratch his head and say something about alarm clocks and goat faced fathers. Kisuke, who usually listened intently to the young human, was now too distracted to follow Ichigo's train of thought trying to will away the deafening heartbeat in his ears.

'Whose heartbeat is that? Oh…right, mine.' He thought absently, was nervous about the upcoming rejection. He was slowing growing tired as Ichigo looked him over carefully a look of thought on his face.

Finally, he started to speak. "Umm…about what you said last night…Were you serious?"

"Yes, completely," he couldn't lie to the boy, not about this, not now, not ever. Kisuke took a deep breath and held it as Ichigo reopened his mouth.

"Well, in that case," Ichigo walked right up to Kisuke, stopping his face inches away from Kisuke's. "I…I…feel the same way. At least I think I do. I've never felt this way before and…well I want to be…more…with you…"

Ichigo was flustered and blushing, about to become a puddle on the floor if the heat radiating off the boy as Kisuke cupped his cheek, was any indication. A shit eating grin planted itself on his face. "You have no idea how much I was hoping you would say that.

Then both men leaned forward and shared their first, albeit a little awkward, kiss with each other, of course it wasn't Kisuke's first kiss, he was older than he looked, by a few hundred years at least, therefore more experienced, yet he wished it was. Never had he felt such raw emotion flowing through a kiss before, he felt he could see into Ichigo's soul and knew Ichigo could see his, feel his emotions, know this was real. It was all very cliché.

When Kisuke pulled back for air he realized he had been acting like a girl for the past, oh, fifteen hours and decided it was time to reassert his role in the quickly blooming relationship, even if Ichigo had never forgotten, and take what was his.

Kisuke pulled Ichigo up into his arms bridal style and held on tight all the way to the bedroom, much to Ichigo's surprise and delight. He finally had Ichigo in his arms and he wasn't going to let anyone tear him out, not even death.

"I love you."

Too short? I think I could do better but this is a new type of writing for me and I'm just experimenting, not only with the writing style but writing in Kisuke's POV, harder than I thought. Meh, I hope at least someone enjoys this. Ciaossu! X3