Hey guys. I am SO sorry that I made you wait this long for the long-awaited, and unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint - I know it's mine), final chapter. The writer's block I had was killing me, but I finally managed to get the ending down and so this story is now complete.
WARNING: the usual YAOI
Ichigo arrived at school later than usual due to his inability to go to sleep last night. Running fast, he managed to get to his seat mere seconds before the bell rang, disregarding the strange looks he was getting from his friends, especially from Ishida. He disappeared at lunch, not caring what the others thought. They'd probably assume he went to Urahara's anyway. He didn't care. Right now all he wanted was to avoid Ishida – at all costs. He didn't think he could cope with a verbal affirmation of his lack of mutual affection.
As soon as the bell signalled the end of school, Ichigo was out the door, solidly ignoring the calls of his friends. Instead of taking the normal route home, he walked past Urahara's store and down to the main river in Karakura. He walked along the edge, staring blankly into the murky depths. It was late when he got home and he entered the house prepared for an onslaught from his father. None came however, and instead of puzzling it over Ichigo thanked the gods and snuck into his room. Sighing, he dumped his bag on his chair and flopped into the bed.
An insistent and nagging sound woke him up. It was his substitute shinigami badge again. Cursing, Ichigo pushed the badge into his chest and leapt out the window. He sped to the location of the Hollows, stopping abruptly when he saw that there wasn't just one or two but at least fifty. Ichigo managed a ghost of a grin. Finally, he had something to vent his frustrations on. With a wild cry he swung Zangetsu, slicing and dicing every Hollow that filled his view. After a minute or two he began to tire and realised that the Hollows wouldn't stop coming.
The situation tickled at the back of his mind but he couldn't grasp it. It was only when a blazing blue arrow swept past his face, obliterating the last Hollow, that it clicked: Ishida's Hollow bait. He spun around and saw Ishida standing calmly before him. He turned to leave but Ishida's voice stopped him. Slowly, he turned back, stomach filling with dread at the words that were to come.
Ishida studied Ichigo, his heart clenching at how defeated he looked. He took a step towards him but stopped when Ichigo took a step back.
"Kurosaki, listen to me," Ishida began, but Ichigo was still walking backwards. Ishida walked towards him swiftly. He wasn't about to let a perfect opportunity go to waste. Ichigo turned and fled using shunpo but Ishida had been ready for that. Ichigo slammed into him and they stumbled to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs.
"Kurosaki," Ishida said, pinned underneath but holding on firmly. "Kurosaki, you must listen to me!" he yelled, but Ichigo wasn't listening. He was struggling hard against Ishida's grip and was quickly gaining the upper hand. He got free and stood up immediately and began to run.
"Kurosaki, please," he begged.
Ichigo stopped. Ishida never begged. Did he feel guilty for hurting him and wanted to explain? The thought nearly had Ichigo running again. However… If the Quincy boy was so set on hating you, would he have committed himself to you as much as he has? The words echoed in his head. Slowly, reluctantly, he turned around to face Ishida, who had approached him while he was lost in thought. Ishida hesitantly reached for Ichigo's hands, heartened slightly when he made no move to resist.
"When you told me how you felt at lunch yesterday, I didn't reply because I was surprised and… happy." At this, Ichigo's head snapped up and he stared into Ishida's eyes. "At first," he continued, "I was worried that maybe you were interested in someone else. I felt jealous and angry and sad and… scared. Scared that I would lose you. I was so depressed after that, so hearing you say that you felt the same way was such a relief for me that I couldn't speak. When I got back to the classroom I couldn't look at you because then everyone would know and I didn't want that to happen. Then last night when I went to your place you weren't there, well at least your soul wasn't, so I decided to use my Hollow bait to get you here so I could talk to you. So I could tell you that I want there to be more between us as well."
Ichigo stared intently into Ishida's eyes for so long that he started to blush and shift slightly. Ichigo moved then, enveloping Ishida in a tight hug and burying his head into the pale junction above the shoulders. Ishida returned the hug and the two of them remained in this position until a sharp wind reminded Ishida of how cold he was. Ichigo pulled back when he trembled which caused Ishida to tremble again, harder.
"Come with me," he whispered, and led them back to his room, where he got back into his body. He pulled Ishida down next to him and held him close, but not doing any more. Ishida looked up at him, a questioning look in his eyes.
"Is something wrong? You look so serious and… you're holding me kind of tight," he whispered, somehow finding it appropriate; any louder would have destroyed the tranquillity that resided. Ichigo immediately let go of him and sat up, running a hand through his hair. Ishida followed, laying a hand gently on his shoulder. "Ichigo?"
He turned sharply, his eyes widening. Ishida stared back at him, confused, until realisation hit him. He had called him by his first name, without thinking. And it had seemed so right. He reached forward and placed a hand on Ichigo's face.
"Ichigo," he said simply, feeling a heady rush when he said his name. He place his other hand on Ichigo's face. "Ichigo," he repeated, feeling more sure of himself as he did. He stared into Ichigo's eyes, exploring the depth of emotions held there.
Ichigo stared back and hesitated. He had never felt so nervous before in his life. He was unsure of what he should do; he didn't want this to be just another fuck, after all. Ishida must have picked up the tension and nervousness of Ichigo because he began to caress his face soothingly. He searched Ichigo's eyes one more time before leaning forward and capturing his lips, gently and softly.
Ichigo responded slowly. Strangely, he felt like it was his first time with Ishida. He trembled slightly, an action that was not missed by Ishida. He moved his hands down to Ichigo's shoulders and rubbed them softly, never breaking his contact with Ichigo's lips. Slowly, he pulled Ichigo closer to him, who was gaining his old confidence by the minute. He pushed against Ishida slightly and they fell to the floor, yelling in surprise.
"Ichi-nii!" Are you ok?" Yuzu called out as she opened the door,
Ichigo and Ishida shot a fearful glance at each other. Ichigo looked up at the door as it opened further. He tried to stand up but Ishida was holding tightly to him. He looked back down at him, a demanding and questioning look in his eyes. A second later his surroundings blurred, clarifying shortly afterwards, but not as his room. He was outside, the streets and houses rushing past as Ishida led them, presumably, to his home. He shivered, having never experienced this level of speed such as his shunpo in his human body, and clung closer to Ishida.
x x x x x x x x x x
When they arrived at his home, a simple but practical apartment, Ichigo remained at the front door. Coming here had made everything more real and more frightening a prospect to him. He knew that he and Ishida had fucked many times before, but now that they had acknowledged their feelings for each other, everything seemed different.
Ishida turned when Ichigo didn't follow him and took his hand gently in his own. Ichigo took heart from this and smiled faintly at Ishida before following him into his apartment, looking around while he shut the door and turned on some lights. He started when he felt Ishida's presence at his shoulder.
Hesitantly, Ishida wrapped his arms around Ichigo's broad frame. He had never really initiated much before, but Ichigo didn't seem to be able to do much at the moment. Feeling Ichigo melt into his embrace, he grinned and started kissing his neck. Ichigo leant into him more, moaning softly.
Ishida guided him to his room, slowly undoing the buttons on Ichigo's shirt. Turning Ichigo, he pulled his shirt off and pushed him onto the bed. He felt exhilarated, taking control. He grinned seductively, crawling onto Ichigo's lap and kissed him. Things began to progress more quickly after that: Ishida's shirt was soon flying in the air and Ishida pressed himself into Ichigo. He froze. Ishida pulled back.
"What's wrong?" he asked, worried. The expression on Ichigo's face caused his chest to clench painfully. "What is it?" he whispered fearfully.
Ichigo hesitated briefly before replying. "Uryuu, I don't… I don't want this to be just another… another… well, you know what I mean," he muttered, blushing slightly. "This time is different," he continued. "This time it actually means something for us and I don't want it to be one of those quick fucks."
Ishida was speechless. He had no idea that Ichigo felt so strongly about the whole situation. Then he smiled. "Of course it won't be," he replied warmly. "We love each other."
At this, both boys blushed furiously. Neither had really thought about that aspect of it all, and the words had just spilled out of Ishida's mouth. But instead of calming him like he had hoped, Ichigo only tensed up more.
He worries about it that much, Ishida thought in awe. He rolled off Ichigo and lay next to him as understanding dawned. He had been doing exactly what Ichigo hadn't wanted: rushing and treating it as another one of their fucks. He wrapped his arms around him and moved closer.
"I'm sorry," he said, knowing Ichigo would understand what he meant. In response, Ichigo turned and kissed Ishida's nose, laughing softly at the startled expression on his face. Then he went for his lips, kissing them with a passion that was matched by Ishida.
x x x x x x x x x x
They lay on Ishida's bed, utterly spent. The night had been long, filled with soft caresses and extensive explorations of each other. Ichigo watched as Ishida, sound asleep and snoring softly, pressed himself further into his embrace. He smiled, content. He had never suspected things would turn out so well. Brushing aside a stray lock of hair that was covering Ishida's face, he planted a kiss on his forehead and lay back, listening to Ishida's steady breathing until he fell asleep.
A/N: Hi there. I just wanted to thank everyone who supported my story. It made me feel very happy and proud of myself - corny and lame I know but whatever!! ;) Hope to hear from you all again soon.