No Unspoken Rules ShuuxKira 1/1 rated T
Title: No Unspoken Rules
By StarbearerTM
Rating: T
Warning: Implied Male/Male relationship
Genre: Romance/character study
Pairing: HisagixKira
Spoilers: Three Times Three is Nine, Secrets
Word Count: 2391
Summary: The rules of Journalism are clear to Hisagi, as are the rules of a relationship, but Kira second guesses too much.
Disclaimer: Tite Kubo owns the characters of Bleach, which are licensed by Shonen Jump, not me. I make no money writing this fanfiction.
***
From behind the busy news desk, Hisagi glanced at the copy that dropped before him. Tucked between his cheek and shoulder was the receiver to his soul pager unit. Around him bustled the other members of squad 9 busy with passing copies from one to another.
“No, I’m not interested in a last minute entry for the gossip column! I get enough from Matsumoto san, thank you!” Hisagi said into the phone before he hung it up.
A paper wafted before his face, held by a young copy editor. “Sir, this just came in…”
“I don’t think it’s going to make the deadline,” Hisagi said with a frown, glancing at the wall clock. He ran a hand over his short-cropped spiked hair.
“Next issue?” the young seventh seat asked Hisagi.
“Next issue. We need something juicy for the life and times of Sereitei feature. This article about the new dating rules will be fine there, not this edition,” Hisagi chuckled. He set the article handed to him by his fifth seat into the ‘in process’ bin.
“I’ve another news flash for you,” someone said from the left.
“Kira fukaitaicho!” the fifth seat said, saluting. Hisagi glanced up into the face of his fellow vice captain of squad three, standing with his hands braced on the front of the desk.
“You’re early today,” Hisagi said, with a smile. The cloth bundle Kira set on the desk held two flat boxes from the way the cloth was stretched over the seams.
“Little eatery in district 1. Has obento to go? I figured we’d eat in today?” Kira suggested.
“I’ll just finish up here and then we’ll eat in my office,” Hisagi said, getting up from the chief editor’s desk.
“Sereitei Gazette’s never missed an issue yet, has it?” Kira said, picking up the latest edition that had come off that morning. While he sat on top of the corner of Hisagi’s desk, the vice captain of squad nine lowered himself to sit in the chair.
Hisagi nodded. “Barely have we ever missed a deadline. I’ve got a good crew working on it.”
Kira held out one of the lacquered wooden boxes. “I’ve rarely missed reading an issue… usually goes well with morning tea.”
“Any comments, criticisms?” asked Hisagi, accepting the box with a pair of chopsticks. Opening his own box Kira stirred the contents carefully before he set it on his lap. In four separate compartments were arranged rice decorated with slices of sweet potatoes carved into distinctive shapes, crab rolls, onigiri, and pickled ginger.
“None really. It’s been pretty good as is,” Kira said, lifting a mouthful of rice to his mouth with a pair of chopsticks.
“Oh, this is the deli on the south side of district 1,” said Hisagi.
“How could you tell?” Kira asked.
“The star shaped sweet potatoes they put in the rice portion,” Hisagi chuckled, pointing to one with his chopsticks. “Not to mention the distinctive way they cut the hot dogs.”
Kira's eyes widened a bit, his lips pursing into a pout. “You’ve been there before! And I took great pains to find a place you’d never…”
“I haven’t. Someone did a feature in the life section two months ago,” Hisagi reassured him, smiling.
“Oh,” Kira said, a bit relieved. “So, do you like?”
“Good solid Bento components. Got your rice dumplings just so, and the rest is all nice and fresh,” Hisagi agreed, popping a piece of sushi into his mouth. “Though I take it the containers are deposit return?”
“Indeed. I’ll take them back on my way to squad 3 when I return,” Kira said.
“Mmn, don’t bother. I’ll do it,” Hisagi offered. “Next time I’ll meet you for lunch. You always come over here, and it’s my turn to go over there this month.”
“Well it’s not exactly done… remodeling,” Kira mumbled.
“Bull, are you hiding something again, Izuru?” Hisagi asked.
“Why do you ask, Sempai?” Kira asked, setting his box to the side with a definitive tap.
“Because, Kohai, you remember a certain conversation we had about this very thing? If you are trying to hide something from me, I will find out one way or another. A reporter’s nose always finds a way…”
“Even if he’s a chief editor?” asked Kira, slightly amused by the smile twitching the corners of Hisagi’s lips up.
“Especially if he’s a chief editor,” Hisagi said, scooting his chair in. He reached up and rested a hand on Kira’s thigh.
Sliding down from the desk Kira rose and then sat on Hisagi’s knee, to the surprise of the vice captain of squad nine. “All right, I confess. I just don’t like spending any more time in THAT office then I have to?”
“You don’t HAVE to move into HIS office, you know,” said Hisagi, frowning.
“I know,” Kira sighed, welcoming Hisagi’s strong arm around his shoulders. “It’s just that…”
“Izuru, what’s going on? Is it… THAT again?”
Air puffed the fall of blonde hair out of Kira’s face. Underneath him, Hisagi’s thigh felt solid and muscular, reassuring as the arm weighing pleasantly on his back. He licked his lips for a bit, and then answered, “I had to go into Taicho’s office… I know that he’s no longer that but my instinct…”
“How do you think I feel, Izuru? Tousen’s office was cleared out and all its contents sent to squad 12’s r and d department. I figured the only way I could get over it was to purge…”
“Please Shuuhei; don’t tell me to get over it… I know you mean well but those words are the worst…”
“I’m sorry,” Hisagi answered, holding Kira on his lap with both arms tightening around his body. “Bad choice of words.”
“You may be able to get over it, but that’s just a fallacy. Shuuhei, you aren’t ‘over it’ any more than I am, are you?” Kira asked.
Now Hisagi rested his head against Kira’s chest. Pale fingers petted the spiky points of hair, massaging his scalp. Bending down Kira kissed the top of Hisagi’s head. Dark eyes glared up at him one moment then relaxed the next. He hated seeing the long light blue stripe and 69 distorted by any frowns, yet Kira knew Hisagi’s serious nature all too well. Not to mention the upbeat attitude he had tried on for the sake of others.
Hisagi sighed. “Here I am trying to cheer you up and you end up doing the same. I’m all right, Izuru.”
“No you’re not,” Kira insisted, rubbing Hisagi’s arm muscles that twitched in irritation. “I feel my emotions and get through them that way. I don’t stuff them down and pretend they don’t exist.”
“You don’t want to talk and I don’t want to feel,” Hisagi answered glumly. “What’s the use in feeling something again that you’ve already felt? I know how I feel. I don’t want to keep revisiting…”
“Doing that only denies yourself the ability to feel anything,” Kira whispered.
“I feel emotions fine, Izuru. I’m able to tell when I’m happy sad or…”
Blonde hair swayed from side to side as Kira shook his head. He smiled knowingly, sadness in his blue eyes. “That’s not what I mean Shuuhei. That underlying emotions still there. It pushes you to strive hard for excellence. It drives you.”
“That’s not a bad thing you know,” Hisagi disagreed, glancing up at Kira frustrated.
“I’m not saying it is, but it does make it harder to give yourself room to deal with the emotions that hurt you in the past. How deeply do you feel?” Kira then asked.
“Well I…” Hisagi trailed off. He did not have a good answer for this.
Kira frowned. “Shuuhei?”
“I feel emotions deeply enough. I just put emotions in the past in their proper place. Why drag them out again if I’ve already...” his former sempai explained, his brow creasing.
“You may have dealt with them, but they’re still there. To deny they are there is foolish. When they return just let yourself feel them. Is that so bad?”
“If it gets in the way of my job, yes,” said Hisagi firmly.
“You’re different than I am of course. I forget that even though we have common experiences we deal with it in our own way. So I should let you deal with it in your way…”
“You saying I should let you deal with it in yours then?” Hisagi asked.
“Yes,” Kira said with a smile. “This works for me. Please just…”
Hisagi relented, “I’ll drop it. You want to feel sad, you feel sad. I just don’t want to lose you… any of what you feel to…”
“Are you afraid that my past feelings are getting in the way of my love for you?” Kira asked. Hisagi’s cheeks took on a rose tint overtop the healthy tan.
“Well yes… I probably might not have said it quite like that…”
“I feel things deeply, Hisagi. You should not doubt that my love for you is very intense and strong. Every bit as much as any anguish or sorrow, or any bit as much as extreme happiness. It’s because I understand the depths of despair that I can appreciate the good,” Kira said in a very calm philosophical tone that unnerved Hisagi. However he enjoyed the way Kira caressed his cheek with his right hand just then, tracing each marking and scar with his fingers.
“You always like the tattoos don’t you,” Hisagi teased.
“It’s not a question of like or dislike; it’s a question of the fact that it’s you. It is part of you, not your sole defining characteristic. It’s what everyone SEES first, but it’s no more significant, or less significant than my eye color, or Ukitake Taicho’s white hair, or body build…” Kira struggled to express himself.
At these words, Hisagi’s dark brows knitted together. The distinctive sixty-nine distorted the slightest bit on his cheek with the change in facial expression. Black eyes took on the hue of a midnight without stars. Firmly he gritted, “It IS an important part of me.”
From the tone of his voice, Kira swallowed a lump in his throat. He forgot how significant the sixty-nine was to Shuuhei, hearkening back to the academy days. It was a badge of honor he wore in homage to a long lost mentor. Ever since the first time Kira laid eyes on Shuuhei the number graced his sempai’s cheek.
Running fingertips over the mark in question Kira cleared his throat. “I worded that badly. What I mean was I do like them, but not just because they grab my attention but because they’re part of you, and I’ve gotten used to them being there. You wouldn’t be Shuuhei Hisagi without them.”
Tense muscles pressed to Kira relaxed somewhat. Although Hisagi still frowned, his dark eyes softened from hard coal to midnight black. They were exotically narrow and dark lashed much as Abarai’s were. Perhaps it was the triple scar or the blue stripe that framed them so perfectly which emphasized Hisagi’s eyes. “All right, I’ll let you off the hook this time, Izuru. Just be careful what you say. I know you mean well but…”
“You’re an editor. Words are your forte. They come more easily to you when you’re reporting the facts. Words for me are more elusive,” Kira explained, as Hisagi reached up with a knuckle to brush his cheek affectionately.
“What WERE you trying to say?” Hisagi then asked.
“Oh only that your sixty nine, your other distinctive markings are a part of a greater whole, not your sole defining characteristic. I mean you get to love the mannerisms of a person you are in a relationship with. Whether or not they put away their bento boxes…”
Glancing at the two abandoned empty boxes, Hisagi chuckled. An amused spark lit up his eyes. He teased, “Or if they leave the toilet seat up or down, or if they prefer sleeping on the left or the right side of the bed.”
“The way you always roll your eyes at me when I ask you a question, just after you’ve waxed philosophical,” Kira joked.
“Trying to comfort me when I’m supposed to comfort you,” Hisagi added, caressing Kira’s back.
“There’s no place it says that we can’t share that responsibility. I will always need someone’s shoulder to cry on, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do the same. Any more than who joins who for lunch when…”
“Or who says in whose apartment what night,” Hisagi added, smirking.
Kira swung around, lifting one leg so he suddenly straddled Shuuhei on his desk chair. Dark lashed eyes opened a bit wider in delighted surprise. Blond silky hair tickled Hisagi’s nose as Kira’s face dipped down. The sensitive lips claimed his sideways, followed by the pressure of Kira’s mouth behind them. A warm wet tongue teased Shuuhei’s lips apart the slightest bit, inhaling his labored breath.
Reaching up, Hisagi gripped Kira’s hips, pulling his lover forwards so their groins pressed together. A low groan muffled between their merged lips as Hisagi’s arms locked around Kira’s body. Kira smoothed his pale hands down Hisagi’s arms, stopping only to divert over the band encircling his left. Likewise one of Hisagi’s hands left Kira’s hips to slid up the curve of his back and plunge into the blonde hair parted to either side of his neck.
Images popped into Kira’s mind before he pulled out of what was a satisfying kiss simmering on slow heat. Hisagi’s troubled look of concern must mirror what his own face looked like at that moment. His blue eyes diverted from locking gazes. Only the touch of Hisagi’s fingers convinced him from abandoning his lover’s lap. “Izuru? Flashback?”
“He always had the craziest ways of testing me,” Kira whispered.
Hisagi didn’t have to ask Kira just who his former classmate was talking about. Just from the hunch of his shoulders and the paling of his complexion, he knew it was about Ichimaru. Like a shadow the former captain of squad three hung over their budding relationship.
Instead of questioning him, Hisagi twined arms around Kira’s waist as if to hold him in place. “There are no tests here,” he said.
“Good,” Kira whispered back.
For a time Kira was content to lay his head on Hisagi’s chest and enjoy the silence without reprimand or judgment. Not having to worry if he said something wrong or did something wrong. Ultimately, Hisagi loved him for him, not for what he did or did not say. There were no games with complex rules, only the law of give and take at the heart of unconditional love.
By StarbearerTM
Rating: T
Warning: Implied Male/Male relationship
Genre: Romance/character study
Pairing: HisagixKira
Spoilers: Three Times Three is Nine, Secrets
Word Count: 2391
Summary: The rules of Journalism are clear to Hisagi, as are the rules of a relationship, but Kira second guesses too much.
Disclaimer: Tite Kubo owns the characters of Bleach, which are licensed by Shonen Jump, not me. I make no money writing this fanfiction.
***
From behind the busy news desk, Hisagi glanced at the copy that dropped before him. Tucked between his cheek and shoulder was the receiver to his soul pager unit. Around him bustled the other members of squad 9 busy with passing copies from one to another.
“No, I’m not interested in a last minute entry for the gossip column! I get enough from Matsumoto san, thank you!” Hisagi said into the phone before he hung it up.
A paper wafted before his face, held by a young copy editor. “Sir, this just came in…”
“I don’t think it’s going to make the deadline,” Hisagi said with a frown, glancing at the wall clock. He ran a hand over his short-cropped spiked hair.
“Next issue?” the young seventh seat asked Hisagi.
“Next issue. We need something juicy for the life and times of Sereitei feature. This article about the new dating rules will be fine there, not this edition,” Hisagi chuckled. He set the article handed to him by his fifth seat into the ‘in process’ bin.
“I’ve another news flash for you,” someone said from the left.
“Kira fukaitaicho!” the fifth seat said, saluting. Hisagi glanced up into the face of his fellow vice captain of squad three, standing with his hands braced on the front of the desk.
“You’re early today,” Hisagi said, with a smile. The cloth bundle Kira set on the desk held two flat boxes from the way the cloth was stretched over the seams.
“Little eatery in district 1. Has obento to go? I figured we’d eat in today?” Kira suggested.
“I’ll just finish up here and then we’ll eat in my office,” Hisagi said, getting up from the chief editor’s desk.
“Sereitei Gazette’s never missed an issue yet, has it?” Kira said, picking up the latest edition that had come off that morning. While he sat on top of the corner of Hisagi’s desk, the vice captain of squad nine lowered himself to sit in the chair.
Hisagi nodded. “Barely have we ever missed a deadline. I’ve got a good crew working on it.”
Kira held out one of the lacquered wooden boxes. “I’ve rarely missed reading an issue… usually goes well with morning tea.”
“Any comments, criticisms?” asked Hisagi, accepting the box with a pair of chopsticks. Opening his own box Kira stirred the contents carefully before he set it on his lap. In four separate compartments were arranged rice decorated with slices of sweet potatoes carved into distinctive shapes, crab rolls, onigiri, and pickled ginger.
“None really. It’s been pretty good as is,” Kira said, lifting a mouthful of rice to his mouth with a pair of chopsticks.
“Oh, this is the deli on the south side of district 1,” said Hisagi.
“How could you tell?” Kira asked.
“The star shaped sweet potatoes they put in the rice portion,” Hisagi chuckled, pointing to one with his chopsticks. “Not to mention the distinctive way they cut the hot dogs.”
Kira's eyes widened a bit, his lips pursing into a pout. “You’ve been there before! And I took great pains to find a place you’d never…”
“I haven’t. Someone did a feature in the life section two months ago,” Hisagi reassured him, smiling.
“Oh,” Kira said, a bit relieved. “So, do you like?”
“Good solid Bento components. Got your rice dumplings just so, and the rest is all nice and fresh,” Hisagi agreed, popping a piece of sushi into his mouth. “Though I take it the containers are deposit return?”
“Indeed. I’ll take them back on my way to squad 3 when I return,” Kira said.
“Mmn, don’t bother. I’ll do it,” Hisagi offered. “Next time I’ll meet you for lunch. You always come over here, and it’s my turn to go over there this month.”
“Well it’s not exactly done… remodeling,” Kira mumbled.
“Bull, are you hiding something again, Izuru?” Hisagi asked.
“Why do you ask, Sempai?” Kira asked, setting his box to the side with a definitive tap.
“Because, Kohai, you remember a certain conversation we had about this very thing? If you are trying to hide something from me, I will find out one way or another. A reporter’s nose always finds a way…”
“Even if he’s a chief editor?” asked Kira, slightly amused by the smile twitching the corners of Hisagi’s lips up.
“Especially if he’s a chief editor,” Hisagi said, scooting his chair in. He reached up and rested a hand on Kira’s thigh.
Sliding down from the desk Kira rose and then sat on Hisagi’s knee, to the surprise of the vice captain of squad nine. “All right, I confess. I just don’t like spending any more time in THAT office then I have to?”
“You don’t HAVE to move into HIS office, you know,” said Hisagi, frowning.
“I know,” Kira sighed, welcoming Hisagi’s strong arm around his shoulders. “It’s just that…”
“Izuru, what’s going on? Is it… THAT again?”
Air puffed the fall of blonde hair out of Kira’s face. Underneath him, Hisagi’s thigh felt solid and muscular, reassuring as the arm weighing pleasantly on his back. He licked his lips for a bit, and then answered, “I had to go into Taicho’s office… I know that he’s no longer that but my instinct…”
“How do you think I feel, Izuru? Tousen’s office was cleared out and all its contents sent to squad 12’s r and d department. I figured the only way I could get over it was to purge…”
“Please Shuuhei; don’t tell me to get over it… I know you mean well but those words are the worst…”
“I’m sorry,” Hisagi answered, holding Kira on his lap with both arms tightening around his body. “Bad choice of words.”
“You may be able to get over it, but that’s just a fallacy. Shuuhei, you aren’t ‘over it’ any more than I am, are you?” Kira asked.
Now Hisagi rested his head against Kira’s chest. Pale fingers petted the spiky points of hair, massaging his scalp. Bending down Kira kissed the top of Hisagi’s head. Dark eyes glared up at him one moment then relaxed the next. He hated seeing the long light blue stripe and 69 distorted by any frowns, yet Kira knew Hisagi’s serious nature all too well. Not to mention the upbeat attitude he had tried on for the sake of others.
Hisagi sighed. “Here I am trying to cheer you up and you end up doing the same. I’m all right, Izuru.”
“No you’re not,” Kira insisted, rubbing Hisagi’s arm muscles that twitched in irritation. “I feel my emotions and get through them that way. I don’t stuff them down and pretend they don’t exist.”
“You don’t want to talk and I don’t want to feel,” Hisagi answered glumly. “What’s the use in feeling something again that you’ve already felt? I know how I feel. I don’t want to keep revisiting…”
“Doing that only denies yourself the ability to feel anything,” Kira whispered.
“I feel emotions fine, Izuru. I’m able to tell when I’m happy sad or…”
Blonde hair swayed from side to side as Kira shook his head. He smiled knowingly, sadness in his blue eyes. “That’s not what I mean Shuuhei. That underlying emotions still there. It pushes you to strive hard for excellence. It drives you.”
“That’s not a bad thing you know,” Hisagi disagreed, glancing up at Kira frustrated.
“I’m not saying it is, but it does make it harder to give yourself room to deal with the emotions that hurt you in the past. How deeply do you feel?” Kira then asked.
“Well I…” Hisagi trailed off. He did not have a good answer for this.
Kira frowned. “Shuuhei?”
“I feel emotions deeply enough. I just put emotions in the past in their proper place. Why drag them out again if I’ve already...” his former sempai explained, his brow creasing.
“You may have dealt with them, but they’re still there. To deny they are there is foolish. When they return just let yourself feel them. Is that so bad?”
“If it gets in the way of my job, yes,” said Hisagi firmly.
“You’re different than I am of course. I forget that even though we have common experiences we deal with it in our own way. So I should let you deal with it in your way…”
“You saying I should let you deal with it in yours then?” Hisagi asked.
“Yes,” Kira said with a smile. “This works for me. Please just…”
Hisagi relented, “I’ll drop it. You want to feel sad, you feel sad. I just don’t want to lose you… any of what you feel to…”
“Are you afraid that my past feelings are getting in the way of my love for you?” Kira asked. Hisagi’s cheeks took on a rose tint overtop the healthy tan.
“Well yes… I probably might not have said it quite like that…”
“I feel things deeply, Hisagi. You should not doubt that my love for you is very intense and strong. Every bit as much as any anguish or sorrow, or any bit as much as extreme happiness. It’s because I understand the depths of despair that I can appreciate the good,” Kira said in a very calm philosophical tone that unnerved Hisagi. However he enjoyed the way Kira caressed his cheek with his right hand just then, tracing each marking and scar with his fingers.
“You always like the tattoos don’t you,” Hisagi teased.
“It’s not a question of like or dislike; it’s a question of the fact that it’s you. It is part of you, not your sole defining characteristic. It’s what everyone SEES first, but it’s no more significant, or less significant than my eye color, or Ukitake Taicho’s white hair, or body build…” Kira struggled to express himself.
At these words, Hisagi’s dark brows knitted together. The distinctive sixty-nine distorted the slightest bit on his cheek with the change in facial expression. Black eyes took on the hue of a midnight without stars. Firmly he gritted, “It IS an important part of me.”
From the tone of his voice, Kira swallowed a lump in his throat. He forgot how significant the sixty-nine was to Shuuhei, hearkening back to the academy days. It was a badge of honor he wore in homage to a long lost mentor. Ever since the first time Kira laid eyes on Shuuhei the number graced his sempai’s cheek.
Running fingertips over the mark in question Kira cleared his throat. “I worded that badly. What I mean was I do like them, but not just because they grab my attention but because they’re part of you, and I’ve gotten used to them being there. You wouldn’t be Shuuhei Hisagi without them.”
Tense muscles pressed to Kira relaxed somewhat. Although Hisagi still frowned, his dark eyes softened from hard coal to midnight black. They were exotically narrow and dark lashed much as Abarai’s were. Perhaps it was the triple scar or the blue stripe that framed them so perfectly which emphasized Hisagi’s eyes. “All right, I’ll let you off the hook this time, Izuru. Just be careful what you say. I know you mean well but…”
“You’re an editor. Words are your forte. They come more easily to you when you’re reporting the facts. Words for me are more elusive,” Kira explained, as Hisagi reached up with a knuckle to brush his cheek affectionately.
“What WERE you trying to say?” Hisagi then asked.
“Oh only that your sixty nine, your other distinctive markings are a part of a greater whole, not your sole defining characteristic. I mean you get to love the mannerisms of a person you are in a relationship with. Whether or not they put away their bento boxes…”
Glancing at the two abandoned empty boxes, Hisagi chuckled. An amused spark lit up his eyes. He teased, “Or if they leave the toilet seat up or down, or if they prefer sleeping on the left or the right side of the bed.”
“The way you always roll your eyes at me when I ask you a question, just after you’ve waxed philosophical,” Kira joked.
“Trying to comfort me when I’m supposed to comfort you,” Hisagi added, caressing Kira’s back.
“There’s no place it says that we can’t share that responsibility. I will always need someone’s shoulder to cry on, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do the same. Any more than who joins who for lunch when…”
“Or who says in whose apartment what night,” Hisagi added, smirking.
Kira swung around, lifting one leg so he suddenly straddled Shuuhei on his desk chair. Dark lashed eyes opened a bit wider in delighted surprise. Blond silky hair tickled Hisagi’s nose as Kira’s face dipped down. The sensitive lips claimed his sideways, followed by the pressure of Kira’s mouth behind them. A warm wet tongue teased Shuuhei’s lips apart the slightest bit, inhaling his labored breath.
Reaching up, Hisagi gripped Kira’s hips, pulling his lover forwards so their groins pressed together. A low groan muffled between their merged lips as Hisagi’s arms locked around Kira’s body. Kira smoothed his pale hands down Hisagi’s arms, stopping only to divert over the band encircling his left. Likewise one of Hisagi’s hands left Kira’s hips to slid up the curve of his back and plunge into the blonde hair parted to either side of his neck.
Images popped into Kira’s mind before he pulled out of what was a satisfying kiss simmering on slow heat. Hisagi’s troubled look of concern must mirror what his own face looked like at that moment. His blue eyes diverted from locking gazes. Only the touch of Hisagi’s fingers convinced him from abandoning his lover’s lap. “Izuru? Flashback?”
“He always had the craziest ways of testing me,” Kira whispered.
Hisagi didn’t have to ask Kira just who his former classmate was talking about. Just from the hunch of his shoulders and the paling of his complexion, he knew it was about Ichimaru. Like a shadow the former captain of squad three hung over their budding relationship.
Instead of questioning him, Hisagi twined arms around Kira’s waist as if to hold him in place. “There are no tests here,” he said.
“Good,” Kira whispered back.
For a time Kira was content to lay his head on Hisagi’s chest and enjoy the silence without reprimand or judgment. Not having to worry if he said something wrong or did something wrong. Ultimately, Hisagi loved him for him, not for what he did or did not say. There were no games with complex rules, only the law of give and take at the heart of unconditional love.