This is a Christmas gift for my dear friend, LethanWolf, AKA Mosco, AKA HitsuYuki Queen, AKA Fastest updater in the world.

This is my first attempt at a Toshiro x Yukio (HitsuYuki) piece. Pray for my soul.

Warnings: Language, adult themes, and sex scene(s).

The Pavlov Theory

Chapter 1: A Blonde Experiment

'While studying the role of saliva in the digestion process of dogs in the early twentieth century, a Russian physiologist by the name of Ivan Pavlov stumbled upon a phenomenon he later labelled "psychic reflexes". He observed his dogs salivating in the presence of the technician who usually fed them, as opposed to salivating at the sight of food and this lead to him posing a series of experiments. He would ring a bell and then present his dogs with food, and after repeating this action a few times, the dog's began to salivate and get excited at the sound of the bell before the food was given to them; that is, they had learnt that the sound of the bell meant they were going to be fed soon after. Pavlov called his dogs' reactions the conditioned response (CR), the sound of the bell the neutral stimulus (NS) and the presentation of food to the dogs as unconditioned stimulus (US) and noted that the quicker the time between the bell and the food, the faster the dogs learnt. The physiologist concluded that if a particular stimulus was present while the dogs were given food then that stimulus could become associated with the food and cause salivation on its own. This theory became known as classical conditioning.'

Toshiro raised an eyebrow at his textbook.

Pavlov's theory of classical conditioning was certainly an interesting one; it was one of those things that kind of seemed obvious and no one would give it a second thought, not unless they were a psychology student like him, of course. The theory itself had a wide range of applications, not only to dogs but to humans; for example, Toshiro's uncle, Jushiro, had cancer many years ago now, and while undergoing chemotherapy, he found himself suddenly developing aversions to foods and drinks he'd eaten just before treatment. Where the food or drink in this case was the neutral stimulus, and the chemotherapy was the unconditioned stimulus, the resulting nausea became the conditioned response. To this day Uncle Juu couldn't stand looking at mushrooms, let alone eating them.

Toshiro speedily wrote down his notes, throwing in his own personal applications and began to wonder what else he could apply the Pavlov theory to.

"Excuse me?"

The white haired genius glanced up to see a pretty looking girl smiling down at him. She had neat brown hair and a nice smile, she looked friendly and for a second Toshiro forgot what to say in response; he wasn't use to people speaking to him.

"Y-yes?" Toshiro stuttered, trying to come across less lonely and pathetic that he felt.

"I was wondering if anyone was sitting here?" the girl gestured to the chair beside Toshiro, "All the other seats are taken…"

Glancing around the busy library, Toshiro observed that the girl was correct about all the other chairs around the study tables currently being in use, although some were only being used as foot rests or bag holders. Glancing back up at the girl, Toshiro noted her hopeful expression and had to remind himself of what she was asking. He opened his mouth before shutting it quickly; was this girl seriously asking to sit with him? No one ever sat with him. It was only as a last resort, he supposed, but still, he'd seen other students trying to share one seat between two people lest they'd be forced to sit next to him. Sometimes they just sat on the floor to avoid it. Toshiro never understood why people avoided him; it wasn't like he smelled or anything. Yes, he did have weird coloured eyes and unnaturally bright white hair, but was that so off-putting? Still, if this girl wanted to sit next to him – last resort or no – he shouldn't turn his nose up at it.

"Oh, um, y-yes," Toshiro stammered, waving his hand at the chair, "I mean no! Uh, no, the seat isn't taken. It's, um… it's all yours… if you still want it?"

Gods, he sucked at this.

Nevertheless the girl beamed brightly at him, and genuinely seemed pleased before she thanked him. Toshiro felt the heat rise in his cheeks and he smiled awkwardly back. Finally, someone was going to sit with him and he maybe he could make a friend-

The girl picked up the chair and walked away with it, setting it down by a big group of giggling first years.

Toshiro stared blankly at the empty space where the girl had just stood and where the chair used to be, slowly comprehending what had just occurred.

The girl never wanted to sit with him; she just wanted the seat so she could take it back to sit with her friends.

The white haired prodigy's smile had dropped and he sighed, slumping forward over the desk, crossing his arms underneath his head.

Five months at university and he'd made zero friends.

He glared at his textbook; he didn't need a psychology degree, he needed a friend-making degree. Psychology was the most useless thing he could have picked! He should have studied veterinary science or something – everyone loves animals, they'd all want to be his friend then, and even if they didn't, at least he'd have the animals for company. He'd heard that a man's best friend was a dog, and oh gods did he want one, but you can't live in a tiny house in central London with a dog. They need space to run and exercise, and Toshiro had neither a yard, nor a whole lot of time to walk it between his studies and shifts at the restaurant; it would just be cruel.

Maybe he could drop out of psychology and take up vet science next semester? It wasn't like he was every going to use Pavlov's theory of classic conditioning in real life-

Wait a minute.

Toshiro cocked his head sideways as he glanced down at his textbook. Perhaps there was a way to apply it to friendship making… He would be the neutral stimulous, obviously, but the unconditional stimulus? Well, Pavlov had used food, so maybe Toshiro could use it too. Say if he were to pick someone sitting nearby in the library right now, find out what their favourite food was and then offer it to them every time he saw them, they would begin to associate him with their favourite food and therefore be conditioned to get excited when they saw him. Toshiro thought it through more thoroughly; it was a real possibility so long as he could find someone whose favourite food was something easily obtained and well-kept since it would have to sit in his bag all day.

Out of sheer curiosity, the nineteen year old glanced around library to see if he could find any potential targets. Eating in the library was forbidden, but people always snuck snacks in anyway.

A flash of blonde caught the prodigy's eye, and Toshiro squinted in attempt to see better. A guy, probably only a year or two older than himself, was sitting alone in the far corner of the room, playing with his phone – no wait, a game console by the looks of things, an old model too – and eating something small from a packet inside his bag. Toshiro recognised him from around campus, but knew nothing about him other than the fact he always wore a black newsboy cap and a long black coat on colder days. The white haired male strained his eyes further to try and identify what the other male was eating; they were small and round, like… Bon bons! The blonde was eating English bon bons, Toshiro was sure of it. They were light in colour, but from this distance, the young genius was unable to identify the flavour properly. They were probably strawberry or something, everybody loves strawberry.

Leaning back against his chair, Toshiro tapped the end of his pen against his lips as he considered the possibility of experimenting with classic conditioning on this guy; if Toshiro bought a packet of bon bons and orchestrated a run-in with the blonde where he would see the bon bons, they could potentially strike up a quick conversation about how they both like small round sweets, and then Toshiro would offer him some. That could work, Toshiro nodded to himself; after a few times of seeing the boy and offering him the sweets he liked, the boy would come to expect it whenever he saw Toshiro and would more than likely become excited, purely because it meant he might get bon bons out of it.

Well, it's not like he had anything to lose. Worst case scenario? The blonde thinks he's a weirdo and walks away. That really wasn't any different to how everyone else treated him.

It was worth a try.

…

The very next morning, Toshiro decided to put his experiment to the test, leaving an extra fifteen minutes earlier than normal in order to go via the Tesco store opposite the underground station to pick up a packet of bon bons. He went with the strawberry flavoured ones, as it seemed to be the most popular flavour and a general crowd pleaser. His plan was to walk laps around the campus between classes until he came across the blonde boy, where he would 'accidently' bump into him, dropping all of his books and, of course, the sweets; if the boy was kind, he would help Toshiro pick up his stuff and notice the bon bons, and – with a bit of luck – the blonde would mention that he too liked the little candy balls and then Toshiro could offer him some.

He realised that this whole operation was based on luck and chance, but it was the only inconspicuous way of doing it; he couldn't exactly walk up to the guy and be like 'hey, I saw you eating bon bons in the library yesterday, do you want to be my friend?' He'd probably get punched if he did that.

The moment came at the last possible part of the day; Toshiro had given up hope after lunch time, but as he was walking up towards the university gates on his way home, he spotted the familiar flash of blonde beneath a black newsboy cap walking in his direction. The older male was heading towards the student housing; he must be a boarder. The prodigy's breathing increased nervously; this was it, this was what he'd been preparing for all day. The boy was looking down at his game console as he walked; perfect. He wouldn't see Toshiro coming or know that he'd bumped him deliberately.

Taking a deep breath, the white haired male tucked his three textbooks and packet of bon bons under his arm and began to walk at a brisk pace towards the male. He closed the distance quickly; the blonde still playing his game, completely unaware. Toshiro was five more steps away and then three and then-

Toshiro collided with the astonishingly firm body of his target, whom had been walking a bit faster than the young genius had anticipated, causing the littler of the two to stumble back and trip, falling back on his ass; books, bon bons and a battered Gameboy crashing down around him. Pain shot up his spine and Toshiro gasped in surprise.

Before he could even process everything, the blonde was crouching in front of him and staring at him through concerned and guilty eyes; well, just the one eye, since the other was hidden beneath long blonde bangs.

"Gods, are you alright?" The blonde asked, his visible eye sweeping over Toshiro's body frantically, looking for signs of injury.

"Uh…"

Toshiro suddenly found the words stuck in the back of his throat. He'd never realised before, but the blonde was rather attractive… like super-duper attractive, like Orlando Bloom in Pirates of the Caribbean attractive – but a blonde version. He'd always had a thing for blondes, but oh dear lord was this one a hottie. In fact, he was next level hotness. The boy's iris was a bright emerald green like you'd see in a jewellery shop and his jaw was strong and chiselled and perfect for Toshiro to kiss along-

"Oh shit, you're probably concussed, did you hit your head?" the blonde murmured, urgently hooking a finger under Toshiro's chin and searching his pupils for signs of concussion. He was very close; Toshiro could feel his warm breath against his face.

Toshiro's cheeks flushed as he realised he'd been too busy thinking about the blonde's looks to answer the question.

"No, I'm fine," He mumbled, shaking his head out of the blonde's hold and averting his eyes to the ground where he saw all of their stuff scattered around them, including the other boy's Gameboy.

Toshiro cursed, leaning forward to pick up the old device, "Fuck, I'm so, so, so sorry!"

The nineteen year old wanted to kick himself; some genius he was, like the blonde would want to be friends with the person who'd broken his console.

Unexpectedly, the blonde laughed, taking it out of Toshiro's small hands and glancing briefly at the screen.

"Don't worry, it still works," He grinned, "This thing is like an old Nokia; it's survived just about everything. Besides, it's me who should apologize; I wasn't looking where I was going."

"I'm still sorry," Toshiro mumbled quietly, looking away to hide the colour in his cheeks.

He managed to roll forward onto his knees as he began to pick up his fallen books, but the taller male was quicker, gathering them into a pile before lastly reaching for the packet of bon bons, which had, rather conveniently, landed in the space between them.

"Bon bons, hey?" the blonde sounded amused, "Good choice."

"They're a good study snack," Toshiro murmured dumbly, still too scared to look up at the cute boy.

Said cute boy hummed in agreement, "I do like the strawberry ones, but my all-time favourite is lemon."

Noted.

"I've never tried the lemon flavour," Toshiro admitted softly, not really expecting the blonde to hear him.

"You should."

A hand appeared in Toshiro's field of vision and the younger boy finally glanced up to see the blonde standing, offering a hand up to the prodigy. Toshiro muttered a quiet thanks and accepted the hand, his breathing hitched as he did so; he hadn't been expecting the other male to have such soft skin.

The older boy then stooped down to pick up the pile of books and handed them to Toshiro.

"Well, I've gotta get moving," He nodded in the direction of the university boarding dorms, "I've got an exam tomorrow, so I probably should study."

Toshiro nodded as the blonde began to step around him, before remembering with a jolt about his plan to test Pavlov's theory.

"Wait!" Toshiro called before the other male could get too far.

The blonde turned around and gazed at Toshiro expectantly, while the young genius realised all over again just how attractive the guy was up close, and began to blush once more.

"D-do you want some bon bons?" The white haired male asked shyly, "To help you study?"

The blonde seemed taken aback by the offer, tilting his head to the side as if scrutinizing the prodigy, and Toshiro ducked his head again; he was beginning to feel very self-conscious, maybe this was a bad idea.

"I'd love some."

Toshiro snapped his head back up to see the blonde closing the distance between them until he was just that bit too close for people who had met for the first time only minutes ago. He waited patiently, not mentioning Toshiro's shaky hands as the psychology student fumbled with opening the packet. He got there eventually, thank the gods, and poured a handful into the blonde's open hand.

The blonde flashed a dazzling grin at him, before chucking a single bon bon up into the air and catching it in his mouth with no problem.

"Thanks man," The blonde boy chuckled at what was surely Toshiro's awkward I-don't-know-how-to-talk-to-people face, "I guess I'll see you around."

Toshiro nodded, and continued to nod stupidly as he forgot what he was supposed to be saying in response. Damn, this boy was cute.

A beat of silence passed, and the blonde furrowed his brow, seemingly half confused and half amused, and turned to leave before Toshiro came to his senses.

"Oh, um – see you!" Toshiro called, "Good luck with your exam."

The blonde looked back over his shoulder as he walked away, a hint of a smile playing on his lips.

Well, despite how stupid he'd just looked, the plan had worked and the experiment had officially begun, and Toshiro walked out the university gates nodding subtly to himself; all things considered, it went well, and now the next thing he had to do was buy some lemon-flavoured bon bons and encounter the ridiculously good-looking blonde again.

…

Almost a whole week had passed before the young genius encountered the attractive blonde again. They'd both been sitting in the library, Toshiro had seen the other boy sitting under the window reading and almost walked over there but backed out just metres from the blonde, hastily turning around and finding a lone study table near the exit. Perhaps the blonde would see him on his way out?

Toshiro sighed to himself; he wished he could be more confident and just talk to people like everyone else could, but he was too shy – he could never initiate a conversation with a stranger.

Taking out his books and pens, Toshiro saw a flash of yellow in his bag; he'd bought lemon bon bons on his way home after the first encounter with the sexy blonde and had kept them in his bag ever since, waiting for the chance to see him again and offer him his favourite flavour. Well, technically they were the second packet he'd bought since he'd eaten the first after trying the lemon flavour and concluding that they were, in fact, the best.

Every so often, Toshiro glanced up to see if the blonde had moved, and after close to an hour, the blonde began to pick up his belongings and stand, throwing his bag over his shoulder. Toshiro felt a nervous coil winding in his stomach; he was so hoping the emerald-eyed boy might see him on his way out and maybe flash him that gorgeous smile once more. To help, Toshiro made sure to move around a lot, stretching and running his fingers through his hair, in hopes the movements would attract the blonde's attention as he walked by.

And it did.

"Have you had a chance to try the lemon bon bons yet?"

Toshiro jerked back in shock; he'd only glanced down at his work for a second and had not at all been expecting the blonde to actually come over to him. To make matters worse, the older male was looking even more stunning today. With the warmth of the library, the blonde had stripped off the black trench coat and Toshiro could see small but firm muscles through a casual white, long sleeve shirt. Gods, he was not prepared for this.

"Yes," Toshiro answered thickly, pointing to his open bag where the tip of the packet was visible, "You were right; they are good."

The blonde grinned cheekily, "Didn't I tell you?"

Toshiro could only nod, staring at the boy's lips and wondering what they'd feel like against his own or working their way down his neck.

This was bad; he was supposed to be making a friend not visualising a make-out session. Snap out of it Toshiro! It had been too long since he'd had proper sex.

"I've got to get to class," the blonde was saying and Toshiro inwardly curse himself for getting distracted again.

Before the boy could turn away, Toshiro was pulling the lemon bon bons out of his bag, and grabbing the blonde's wrist in one swift motion. Humour and surprise flickered in the visible jade eye, and a smile tugged at his lips. Toshiro frowned at his own forwardness, but poured another handful into the captured palm anyway. He let it go and looked away as he felt the hot blonde's curious gaze sweep over him.

"Thanks," he murmured softly and Toshiro looked up to see a gentle eye searching for his.

Emerald met teal and Toshiro's heart stopped; he felt like he was pinned against the plastic library chair by a heavy force, not the simple one-eyed stare of the boy standing over him.

"Well, they're your favourite…" Toshiro mumbled, trying to justify his abrupt action, "Ar-aren't they?"

Yukio laughed loudly causing a few people to look over, including a glaring library assistant. Toshiro felt himself blush and ducked his head, staring hard at his notes on the table. Why did he always have to embarrass himself in front of this attractive male?

"Yeah, they are," the blonde chuckled quietly, "Thanks again."

Toshiro didn't dare look up, but he managed to quietly murmur, "You're welcome."

He heard carpet-muffled footsteps retreating from his table, and when he looked up, the blonde boy was gone.

Toshiro released a deep breath; this was definitely more difficult than he had expected – damn his fetish for blonde men.

…

Over the next few weeks, Toshiro made it his top priority to scope out the blonde's weekly routine. Luckily for him, Toshiro was a genius and a prodigy with a rather good memory. He discovered that blonde had many classes in the computer rooms, so he was probably studying some sort of computing-related course, and on Friday afternoons, Toshiro and the blonde had lectures in neighbouring classrooms. The blonde always carried a take away cup of coffee (presumably) in the mornings, and always brought leftovers in plastic containers to eat for lunch. On nicer days, the blonde could be found sitting in the quad playing his Gameboy between classes, or in the library if it was raining.

Toshiro knew it was kind of creepy, him knowing this stuff, but he honestly hadn't stalked the blonde or anything. He'd just been paying attention more, and whenever the boy walked by, Toshiro's eyes would automatically follow him – more to check out his disturbingly good looks than anything – and made small observations as he went. After a few weeks, the blonde's habits just sort of painted their own picture in the young genius' mind.

It was now at the point that Toshiro encountered the blonde almost daily, and always managed to offer him some lemon bon bons, which the other male accepted excitedly every time. Toshiro could see that the experiment was beginning to show positive results as each and every time the blonde laid his eye on him, the emerald orb would light up in anticipation and he'd bound over happily to Toshiro's side, hand outstretched for his daily sweets. The prodigy could almost see the slight shift in the blonde's expression as he walked away afterwards; he seemed confused as to why he was so excited to see the white haired male in the first place.

Classical conditioning, that's why.

Whether the blonde liked it or not, he'd been conditioned to associate Toshiro with his favourite sweet, causing him to get excited before even knowing if Toshiro would have bon bons on him at the time, let alone offer him some.

That reaction, or 'psychic secretion' as Pavlov had called it, was present once again as Toshiro exited his Friday afternoon lecture and heard a familiar voice call from the other end of the corridor.

"Oi, Bon bon boy!"

Toshiro whipped around to see the blonde jogging towards him quickly, sliding to a halt directly in front of the young prodigy.

"Bon bon boy?" Toshiro frowned and forgot his shyness as he repeated the ridiculous nickname he'd been given.

"Well you haven't told me your name yet, Bon bon boy," the blonde quipped cheekily, poking Toshiro's unimpressed forehead crease, "All I know about you is that give me bon bons every day, what else do you expect me to call you?"

Toshiro's hand ghosted over the area where the blonde had poked him; it still tingled with electricity and excitement.

"Toshiro," the young genius answered softly, "My name is Toshiro Hitsugaya."

"That sounds very Japanese, Toshiro," the blonde smiled, seeming genuinely pleased with this new information.

"My father's parents were from Japan," Toshiro murmured, automatically taking the bon bons out of his bag as he spoke, tipping the remainder of the packet into the blonde's opened hand before folding the now empty packet and shoving it in his pocket for him to deposit in the next rubbish bin he saw.

"Have you been there?" the blonde asked, picking a bon bon out of his hand and popping it into his mouth.

"To Japan?" Toshiro asked, unsure why the boy was interested, "Yeah, a few times. My uncle has businesses there."

The blonde nodded, staring curiously at Toshiro once again. He did that a lot, and the prodigy had no idea what he was thinking about as he scrutinized him; there was nothing at all interesting about him.

A few beats of silence passed as the blonde continued to gaze at Toshiro, the genius himself at a loss for words. He wasn't one for carrying on a conversation; that was usually the blonde's job as he was far more talkative and bubbly, but he seemed a little too caught up with his own thoughts right now, leaving Toshiro to stand awkwardly, waiting for an exit line or something.

"I, um…" Toshiro suddenly found the trail of ants on the ground extremely interesting, "I still don't know your name…"

"Yukio Hans Vorarlberna."

"Come again?" Toshiro frowned; he was unsure if the blonde was answering him or simply sneezing.

"Yukio Hans- you know what, just call me Yukio," the blonde sighed, and Toshiro felt a twinge of empathy; he knew all too well how annoying it was to have a difficult last name. As it was, most of his work friends still mispronounced his, calling him 'Hitsu-GAY-a', but then again, Toshiro was pretty sure that was just Rangiku having a giggle. It was 'punny' as she called it, since the young genius was indeed attracted to men.

"Yukio," Toshiro repeated, liking the way the name rolled off is tongue.

"Well, thanks again for the bon bons, Toshiro," Yukio purred, winking at him, "Have a good weekend."

"You too," Toshiro murmured, waving dumbly as Yukio turned away with a smirk before disappearing around the corner.

…

Later that night, Toshiro sat sideways across the small arm chair in the living room while watching television with his uncles, his back against the arm rest and legs dangling over the opposite end, when his phone vibrated once in his pocket. His uncle, Shunsui Kyoraku, glanced at him briefly as he shuffled around trying to get his phone out of his pocket.

Facebook
Yukio Hans Vorarlberna has sent you a friend request.

The young genius stared uncomprehendingly at the device. He rubbed his eyes to make sure they weren't deceiving him. Nope, it was still there. Yukio – the sexy blonde – had truly sent him a friend request. Was this real life?

Sliding the notification on his screen to the right and quickly tapping in his passcode, Toshiro waited impatiently for the app to load and take him to the friend requests tab. He clicked on Yukio's name and it took him to the blonde's wall. His privacy settings were pretty tight, so Toshiro could only see the boy's profile picture and cover photo, He tapped the 'confirm request' button and suddenly all the hidden information loaded. Toshiro quickly jumped to the 'about' section.

Yukio's birthday was only three days after his own and he would be turning twenty one this year. He appeared to be a bit of a gamer boy, liking a number of gaming pages. He didn't have any family listed, but Toshiro scrolled down to the relationship section with bated breath.

Relationship status: Single
Interested in: Men

"What are you grinning about?" Shunsui flicked a bit of popcorn at Toshiro and hit him squarely on his forehead.

Toshiro flushed; he hadn't been aware he was grinning.

"Nothing," he answered defensively, flicking the same bit of popcorn back across the living room but it hit his other uncle, Jushiro Kyoraku, who had been almost asleep snuggled against his husband's side.

"Shit, sorry Uncle Juu!" Toshiro threw him an apologetic look as the older white haired man jerked awake in surprise.

"What's happening?" Jushiro murmured sluggishly, rolling over to look between his husband and his nephew.

"Tosh is grinning at his phone," Shunsui smirked, "Like a love struck teenager."

The white haired man sat up excitedly, appearing suddenly very awake, "A boy?"

"Looks like it," Shunsui chuckled, "If that blush is anything to go by."

"Oh Tosh, that's wonderful news," Jushiro clapped his hands together, "When do we get to meet him?"

"W-what? N-no, there's no boy!" Toshiro spluttered, the heat in his cheeks only growing as they grinned knowingly at him, "Well, I mean, he is a boy, but he is just a friend, and barely even that, I just know his name and that's it!"

"Settle down, tiger," Toshiro's brunette uncle smirked at him.

"Aw he's so cute when he blushes," Jushiro swooned.

"Just like his uncle…"

"It must be in the genes…"

"Like the white hair…"

"I hate you both," Toshiro glowered, crossing his arms and sulking quietly against the arm chair, not daring to glance at his phone again.

Both of his uncles laughed. Toshiro both loved and hated when they ganged up on him. On one hand, it was annoying as fuck and he could never win against such a strong team, but on the other hand, he was glad that his biological uncle (Jushiro) had married a man that love him unconditionally, that knew him like the back of his own hand and never got tired of their banter. Toshiro was more than grateful for it; Uncle Juu certainly deserved it after all the struggles he'd had with his health and without the both of them, Toshiro would have found himself living on the streets at age fourteen.

A warm kiss was placed on the top of his crown and Toshiro glanced up to see his white haired uncle still grinning stupidly, eyes still sparkling excitedly.

"I'm making hot chocolate," He murmured, "Would you like one?"

"I'm not a ten year old," Toshiro grumbled, throwing his uncle-through-marriage a glare as he continued to chuckle from the three-seater couch.

"So that's a yes then?"

"… Please,"

Toshiro wasn't oblivious to the amused glance his uncles exchanged but he chose not to comment, pretending to focus on the film they were watching, and resisting the urge to check his phone which was vibrating at odd intervals against his thigh.

When Jushiro returned from kitchen with hot chocolates for all them and then he and Shunsui finally got wrapped up in the movie, Toshiro figured he was safe to check his phone.

Messenger 15m ago
Yukio: Hey there, Bon bon boy!

Messenger 15m ago
Yukio: I mean, Toshiro ;)

Messenger 14m ago
Yukio: I could go for some bon bons but…

Toshiro hid his dopey smile behind his hand as he read the messages from the cute blonde. He couldn't believe Yukio was talking to him outside of the university and online where there was no way he could actually receive bon bons from Toshiro instantly. It was like – dare Toshiro think it – the blonde might actually want to talk to him…?

Pausing over the touch keyboard, Toshiro began to type back.

Toshiro: Maybe you should buy yourself some for a change…

He pressed send and suddenly got nervous; was it too sarcastic? Would Yukio know he was joking? Should he send a wink face to imply humour? Or is that sending a sexual message?

He didn't have time to decide before 'Yukio is typing…' flashed at the bottom of his screen.

Yukio: But then I wouldn't get to see you ;)

Toshiro fumbled with his phone, dropping to the floor and attracting the attention of both of his uncles. He knew he was looking flustered and refused to meet their smug gazes as he picked up the phone. Horrified, Toshiro realised he'd accidently pressed a few buttons while dropping the phone, including the send button.

Toshiro: jfsji

Oh for fuck sake. Why, oh Satan, why did he always embarrass himself in front of the super sexy blonde?

Trying to quickly correct his mistake, he typed again;

Toshiro: Sorry. Dropped my phone.

Frowning, Toshiro wondered if that sounded too dopey. Maybe he should have made up a less lame excuse? Was there even an intelligent explanation?

Yukio: Hahahha did you bump into somebody again? XD

Toshiro blanched; oh gods, maybe Yukio knew he'd done it on purpose! Alarmed and afraid to continue that particular conversation, Toshiro turned off his phone and placed it face down on the coffee table beside his hot chocolate. This was getting all too much; the young prodigy was not well equipped for this level of social interaction.

…

"Oh, this one is so pretty," Rangiku sung, running her fingers gently over the lid of the pearly-white laptop, "What do you think, Tosh?"

"I think you only care about how good it looks," Toshiro muttered, "Not about what it can actually do."

This was probably the second most bored he'd ever been in his life, the first being about an hour ago when Rangiku had dragged him into a shoe shop on their way to the electronics store. She spent the entire hour trying on close to fifteen pairs of shoes before only buying one pair of ridiculously tall, hot pink stilettos with the thinnest possible heel; Toshiro was positive that she was going to break her ankle one day very soon and it was no wonder why her night outs always ended in the barefoot, shoe-carrying walk of shame.

Right now, however, Toshiro's self-appointed 'best friend' had coerced him into spending his Saturday morning helping her shop for a new laptop since she had broken hers while having really rough-… actually, it wasn't important how it happened; Toshiro shuddered at the memory of Rangiku's shameless recount of the story he'd never asked to hear.

"But Tosh," the busty blonde whined, "If you look at the laptop from this angle, it looks like its shimmering with a hint of pink underneath it."

"Well then buy it," Toshiro rolled his eyes, leaning against the display counter.

"But what if it's a crappy computer?" Rangiku eyed it suspiciously, "What if it's just a pretty face with no brains?"

"It will get along nicely with you then," Toshiro muttered, earning himself a punch to his left arm.

He hissed in pain while glaring dangerously up at his supposed 'best friend' while she glared hard back.

"Excuse me, can I help – Oh hey, Toshiro!"

The white haired prodigy snapped his head in the direction of the familiar voice and saw none other than Yukio, the sexy blonde, standing in front of them, wearing the store uniform polo shirt, a name tag and a staff lanyard. He wasn't wearing his newsboy cap today, or his black coat, but the short sleeves of the polo shirt gave Toshiro a delicious view of the boy's arms; they weren't by any means buff, but they were extremely well toned, and the muscles were rather defined – Toshiro almost choked on the oxygen he was breathing in.

"Oh h-hello," Toshiro stammered, flushing crimson for about the ninetieth time in Yukio's presence. It had also occurred to him that he had never replied to the blonde's message from last night, since he still wasn't sure if Yukio was kidding or if he actually knew Toshiro had run into him on purpose that day.

He was busy staring at Yukio but he could feel Rangiku's curious gaze boring into him, and could tell which lines she was probably thinking along right now.

Yukio flashed him a grin, "So what can I help you with today?"

"Uh…" Toshiro couldn't get his thoughts together, especially after noticing Yukio's fringe was brushed back off his face today and both of his eyes were on display. He noticed that the one that was normally covered by hair wasn't the same emerald green as its twin, but in fact was a deep blue. He had heterochromia – two different coloured eyes.

"I'm looking for a new laptop," Rangiku intervened before Toshiro could say something stupid.

Yukio's eyes seemed to leave Toshiro's rapidly reddening face rather reluctantly before he turned to face Rangiku.

"Alright well, we have probably the biggest selection in London here," Yukio informed them, gesturing to the rows and rows of laptops, "Was there anything you were after in particular?"

"A pretty one," Rangiku and Toshiro both answered simultaneously; Rangiku with an excited, gleeful tone, and Toshiro with a bored, emotionless drone.

Yukio clicked his tongue as he leant back on his heel, crossing his arms over his chest and looking between the two best friends with an amused expression.

"Are you two dating?" he asked, smirking a little, probably at the obvious difference in Toshiro and Rangiku's demeanours as well as heights.

The best friends scoffed instantly.

"Toshiro is gay," Rangiku supplied unnecessary.

"And Rangiku is just a damn nightmare," Toshiro glared back at her, refusing to make eye contact with his crush who'd just found out he played for the same team.

A few beats of silence passed as Toshiro continued to glare at Rangiku, who glanced mischievously between him and Yukio. Yukio himself remaining silent but Toshiro could feel the stare he was receiving. Was the store getting hotter? Toshiro felt hot.

"Well," Yukio cleared his throat, "Some of the, uh… prettier laptops are a few rows down. Follow me."

The blonde turned sharply on his heel, walking fast in the opposite direction. Toshiro and Rangiku followed quickly.

"Why did you tell him I was gay?" Toshiro hissed quietly at the tall strawberry blonde woman.

"You need all the help you can get," She whispered back with an accusatory tone in her voice, "I mean, nobody says 'hello' anymore."

Toshiro was too busy frowning at Rangiku's claim that he almost didn't see Yukio stopping abruptly in front of him, and if it wasn't for Rangiku's quick hands reaching out to pull him back, he would have crashed right into the blonde male… again. Yukio seemed to notice the close call, smirking at the pair but otherwise not commenting; the only silver lining Toshiro could see was perhaps Yukio might actually just think he is clumsy, mitigating any possibly theories he might have had about the first time Toshiro had bumped into him being on purpose.

Yukio began to talk Rangiku through the various sorts of 'pretty' laptops; the blonde boy was very knowledgeable on computers and various forms of technology around the store, giving his recommendations on which security programs to install and other things Rangiku might need. Toshiro himself was only half-listening as he finally quelled the heat in his cheeks and focused on trying to 'play it cool', or at the very least, just stop embarrassing himself.

After about fifteen minutes of Yukio's help, Rangiku finally decided on a laptop – bright white in colour with silver undertones "just like your hair, Tosh," – and Yukio organised to meet her at the cashier counter to pay as he went to the storeroom to grab a non-display packaged laptop. Toshiro aimlessly moved around the store, looking at the various displays, and waiting for Rangiku to return so they could get the hell out of here before he humiliated himself further in front of the sexy blonde boy.

"Toshiro."

The genius jumped where he stood, turning sharply to face Yukio who was suddenly standing right beside him, close enough that if Toshiro hadn't jumped away, their arms would have been touching.

"Where's Rangiku?" Toshiro asked, his voice rising nervously.

"Still at the counter," Yukio supplied, leaning back casually against the wall as he made a face, "She's having a rather lengthy conversation with my colleague, Orihime, about the woes of having big breasts… and that's just not the conversation for me."

Toshiro rubbed his temple and groaned, "She's so inappropriate."

Yukio released a deep laugh and the young prodigy glanced back at the blonde. As much as he wanted to get away from the store as soon as possible, a big part of him didn't want to leave Yukio. He knew his crush was in full force now, and that there was probably no chance that Yukio – despite also being gay – would ever want to go out with him, but Toshiro couldn't help but want to be around the blonde more often.

"Yes, she is," Yukio said, stifling a yawn behind his hand, "She told me the story of how she broke her previous computer…I don't remember asking."

Toshiro tried to hold back his own smirk from forming; it was always funny when it wasn't him suffering at Rangiku's hands. He couldn't help but chuckle a little causing Yukio to look at him in surprise before smiling at him. The sexy blonde yawned again, and Toshiro quickly whipped out the zip lock bag of bon bons he always carried on him since this whole experiment had started; you never know, he argued, he could run into Yukio anywhere. He pushed the bag into Yukio's hands, the older boy grinning madly at the sight of the small round sweets.

"You carry these around on the weekend too?" He laughed.

Toshiro shrugged, "You never know when you're going to need a sugar hit, especially when shopping with Rangiku."

Yukio laughed again, opening the bag and popping a bon bon in his mouth, "Thanks, I certainly needed that today; I've still got another four hours left of my shift."

Toshiro nodded solemnly, "Yeah, I've got to go to work this afternoon; looks like it will be a long night too."

"Where do you work?"

"The Seireitei," Toshiro answered, "It's a Japanese restaurant down at the St. Katharine Docks."

"Oh right; near the Tower Bridge?" Yukio's face lit up in recognition, "I used to go there a lot when I first moved to London because I was staying at a hostel nearby."

Toshiro nodded, "That's the one."

Yukio continued to smile, staring curiously at Toshiro with his different coloured eyes. They were both beautiful; Tosh had fallen in love with the emerald one but now that he knew what the other one looked like, he was starting to take a real liking to the blue too. It was almost sapphire blue, which made both of his eyes comparable to jewels and if they had combined to make a single colour, they'd probably be similar to Toshiro's odd teal irises.

Yukio shifted his weight between his feet, while picking at his fingernails unconsciously. Toshiro tilted his head as he observed the somewhat nervous behaviour and was wondering what might be upsetting the usually quite perky blonde boy when said hottie opened his mouth to speak.

"Toshiro, I was wondering if-"

"Okay, I'm here," Rangiku sung as she sauntered over to the two males and unknowingly cutting Yukio off, "Tosh, we better get a move on; we've still got to find Gin a present for our anniversary next week!"

"Yeah, okay," Toshiro murmured without looking at her; he was still staring at Yukio and wondering what he was about to say, "I'll meet you out the front in a minute."

Rangiku was silent for a bit, as she more than likely glanced between him and Yukio with her plotting face, before she agreed and left them alone.

"Sorry, what were you about to say?" Toshiro asked, taking a second to glare at his retreating best friend's back before turning to Yukio once more.

"Oh, I was just wondering if you…" Yukio seemed to trail off a bit, causing Toshiro to frown, "If you needed to buy anything from the store today. I would be happy to help you…"

Toshiro's heart sunk a little; he had stupidly been expecting the blonde to ask if he wanted to hang out sometime – not as a date, but as friends and that's what Toshiro had originally been hoping for before developing his crush – and was kind of disappointed that Pavlov's theory so far wasn't getting him past the odd smile and short conversation.

"Uh, not today, thanks," Toshiro mumbled, trying not to show the disappointment on his face, "I better get going."

"Oh, yes, of course," Yukio answered quickly, probably trying to get Toshiro out of the store so he could go on his break or something, "I'll see you Monday?"

"Monday," Toshiro hummed his agreement, before quickly walking away, towards the front entrance where Rangiku would be waiting.

He couldn't help but glance over his shoulder, and was surprised to see Yukio running a stressed hand through his hair – rather sexily – and muttering angrily to himself.

…

Toshiro figured he wouldn't hear from Yukio until the following day at university, but when the white haired prodigy returned to his computer after dinner on Sunday night, flicking on his television for background noise, his Facebook tab was blinking with an unread message. Toshiro's heart skipped a beat when he saw that it was Yukio's chat box that had opened up.

Yukio: How did you go finding a present for your friend yesterday?

Toshiro: It was for Rangiku's boyfriend, Gin. In the end, she just bought herself lingerie to wear for him.

Yukio: I bet that would have been a fun shopping trip for you :P

Toshiro: Rangiku likes to parade around the shop and show me what she's trying on… It was the most disturbing hour of my life.

Yukio: ahahaha oh gods, that's hilarious X'D

Toshiro grinned to himself at the idea of making the other boy laugh; he was glad to be in his own bedroom and not in the living room with his uncles, who would surely tease him. Finally some confidence was starting to grow inside of him.

Toshiro: Well if I wasn't gay before, I most certainly am now.

Yukio: I'm gay too and I don't think I could stomach that either XD

Toshiro: Yeah, I kind of figured you were gay; most men like hearing about Rangiku's boobs.

Toshiro nodded to himself; yes, that seemed like a good excuse for already knowing the blonde was gay – he certainly wasn't about to tell him he'd checked out his profile already.

There were a few minutes of silence as Toshiro watched 'Yukio is typing' flash at the bottom of the box, before disappearing for a moment and the re-appearing again.

Yukio: Sorry, I'm just watching Merlin, BBC One is showing re-runs and I had forgotten how much I loved this show growing up.

Toshiro looked over his shoulder at his own television, before turning back to his laptop. He grinned at the screen; so the perfect man does exist.

Toshiro: I have it on in the background too XD

Yukio: Really?! None of my friends like it!

Toshiro: But it's the best?

Yukio: You've got good taste ;) Okay, who would you rather date; Merlin or Arthur?

Toshiro: Arthur. You?

Yukio: Yeah, Arthur's hot, but Merlin is just so cute and little and sweet. I just want to cuddle him XD

Toshiro: ahaha he is a pretty cute :)

Yukio: So if I go for cute and innocent, then you go for…

Blondes, actually. That was pretty much the reason for Toshiro's love of Arthur; he was played by the stunningly handsome blonde, Bradley James. He couldn't really say that to the other stunningly handsome blonde in his life though…

Toshiro: Arthur is honourable, strong, prepared to stand up for what he believes in, protective of his people. I like that in a man…

Yukio: ;)

The boys continued to message until Toshiro felt his eyes beginning to sting from staring at his screen too long; he glanced at the time in the bottom of the screen and was shocked to find it was already 1:47am. He vaguely remembered his uncles saying goodnight through the door, but that must have been a few hours ago now; he hadn't even realised how late it was getting.

He was having the best conversation with Yukio; they'd discussed almost everything and now Toshiro knew so much about the cute blonde. For example, he now knew that Yukio loved basically any book or movie with a fantasy genre, just as Toshiro did. Yukio was from a tiny town in rural England; he didn't seem to like it there, it was a 'dead end' town as he called it, and he'd taken it upon himself to move to London to make a better life for himself. He was studying 'Information Technology – Games Design and Development' and hoping to one day design video games.

Toshiro couldn't believe how well the conversation had flowed; he found that every message he sent to Yukio was well received, and that was not something he was used to. It was now at the point that Toshiro felt he had enough confidence to talk to Yukio like that in person. He figured they were probably friends now; the prodigy wanted more, however, since Yukio was so god damn gorgeous, and not just in looks now that Toshiro knew him better. He figured he better sleep on it though; he didn't have many friends, he couldn't really risk losing one if he pushed the relationship too much.

Yukio: It's almost 2 in the morning…

Toshiro: Yeah, I should probably sleep.

Yukio: Meet me for lunch tomorrow? I finish my first class at 12:30

Toshiro: Yeah okay, where?

Yukio: Do you know that big oak tree outside the science labs?

Of course Toshiro did, that was wear Yukio sat playing his Gameboy when the weather was good. Toshiro typed his reply, grinning ear to ear at the thought of meeting up with the sexy blonde for lunch. It would seem that Pavlov's theory of classical conditioning had, in fact, been good for making a friend.

Toshiro: Yep, I'll see you then?

Yukio: Sounds great, good night xx

Two 'x's; Toshiro felt his heart flutter and immediately told himself to calm down; Yukio probably did that to all of his friends as he came across as rather affectionate. That being said, should Toshiro send an 'x' back? He didn't do that stuff. Maybe on his uncles' birthday cards or back when he was dating Kusaka, but to Yukio? He felt like the boy might expect it since he had sent one but for Toshiro 'x's mean love and if he did that to Yukio, his feelings might get a hold of him.

With his finger hovering over the 'X' key, Toshiro typed his reply and sent it, shutting the lid of his laptop immediately.

Toshiro: Good night x

…

Sunny days were rare in London, but as Toshiro sat against the trunk of the oak tree waiting for a certain sexy blonde, he was so grateful for the nice weather. His class had finished at midday, so he'd decided to go straight to the tree to enjoy the sunshine and catch up on some of the psychology readings he was supposed to do last night before he got distracted talking to Yukio. He was feeling rather tired too, since it was after 2am by the time he'd gotten into bed, but the excitement of meeting up with his crush for lunch had kept him awake longer, and the last time Toshiro remembered checking the time, it had been 3:17am, and his alarm was set for 7am.

The white haired boy closed his eyes and let his head rest against the thick trunk; maybe he could take a short nap? The sun was so nice and warm, just like his bed…

"Tired, are we?" a familiar voice called as footsteps approached Toshiro, the prodigy snapping to attention quickly although he was fairly confused as to how he had ended up slumped sideways on the grass.

He sat up groggily as Yukio came to a halt in front of him, staring down with a cheeky grin.

"Someone might think you'd been up all night talking to a cute boy," Yukio winked before taking a seat on the grass opposite the young genius.

"Nonsense," Toshiro murmured, wiping the sleep from his eyes, "I was only talking to you until two."

Yukio laughed and Toshiro frowned as he silently repeated his last words back to himself; did he…did he just backhandedly admit to Yukio that he thinks the blonde is cute? So much for not embarrassing himself anymore…

"Well, regardless of how late you stayed up, you obviously need a sugar hit," Yukio continued to grin, "Did you bring bon bons today?"

Fuck. No, he hadn't. He'd been slow getting ready this morning and he hadn't had time to go to the store, since he'd used up his previous packet over the weekend. Toshiro sighed; he still needed those bon bons to keep Yukio around – they might have made it to a friend stage now, but he needed to continually re-enforce it as not to let the blonde grow bored. On that note, he was also going to have to consider bringing other flavours…

"Oh gods, you are tired!" Yukio exclaimed, chuckling a little as he poked Toshiro's cheek playfully while the younger boy yawned. Toshiro frowned, shaking away the annoying hand. "Luckily I have something that might help…"

Toshiro watched curiously as Yukio proceeded to search through his bag before pulling out a packet of bon bons and pushing it into the prodigy's small hands. He stared at them in confusion.

"I probably owe a lot more than one packet by now," Yukio explained, taking off his newsboy cap and playing with it idly, "But it's a start."

"I don't want to be repaid," Toshiro said quickly, "I like giving them to you."

Yukio didn't answer as he stared at the cap in his hands. It was the same odd behaviour Toshiro had noticed at the electronics store where the blonde worked. It was sort of anxious…

"Are you dating anyone?" Yukio asked randomly, breaking his stare at the hat to look at Toshiro, his hair falling away from his blue eye so that both could pierce the snow-haired boy's soul.

"Just various fictional characters…" Toshiro answered awkwardly; he wasn't sure where this was going and he certainly didn't want to get his hopes up.

"Arthur Pendragon?" Yukio was broken from his serious stupor and grinned knowingly at Toshiro.

"Arthur, Draco Malfoy, Thor, Gunther from 'Friends'…" Toshiro felt the corners of his mouth twitch upwards.

"Blondes, huh?" Yukio smirked, running a hand suggestively through his own blonde locks, causing Toshiro to blush heavily.

"N-no, that's n-not it!" He spluttered quickly, trying to correct himself but the blonde just burst out laughing.

"Gods, you're so cute," Yukio continued to chuckle, wiping some tears of laughter that had fallen onto his cheeks.

Toshiro was mortified; Yukio had just discovered his fetish because Toshiro had named some his fictional crushes, all of whom had been blonde. The worst part was he was only half way through the list; he still hadn't covered Barney from 'How I Met Your Mother', Tommen Baratheon (Not Joffrey) from 'Game of Thrones', or every single role Heath Ledger had ever played.

"I have to go to class," Toshiro blurted out suddenly, quickly getting to his feet, and picking up his bag on the way.

He was about to walk away when Yukio shot an arm out to grab his wrist.

"You know, bon bons aren't just a good study snack," Yukio said matter-of-factly, "They're quiet to eat, so they're probably good to take to the movies too…"

"I suppose they are," Toshiro mumbled, his heart stopping dead in his chest.

"Maybe – if you're not busy this weekend – we could go test them out?" Yukio murmured, forcing Toshiro to lean down a little in order to hear better, "As a date?"

Toshiro's breathing had gone with his heart, as he tried to comprehend Yukio's question. The blonde was looking down again, refusing to make eye contact and Toshiro could see the signs of a faint blush on the boy's cheeks. Did he just ask him out on a date? Like a real romantic sort of date? He asked Toshiro of all people?

The grip around his wrist began to slacken and Toshiro realised too many beats of silence had passed without him answering the boy.

"I-I'd love too," Toshiro stammered, and Yukio snapped his head up to stare at Toshiro as both of them blushed stupidly.

At least Toshiro wasn't the only one this time.

…

WELP there you go, Mosco, what do you reckon? Yeah nah or wot? I'm nervous aha DX

Everyone else, please review and give me your thoughts! Cheers xx