Absolutely Beautiful

He was beautiful. Undoubtedly, he was the most beautiful Shinigami in Seireitei. His azure eyes, his raven locks, the perfect shape of his face, the graceful way he carried himself, he was beauty personified. Yumichika continued to praise himself as he gazed into the mirror, fixing himself before bed, making sure to run the brush through his hair one-hundred times, cleaning off his makeup, removing the feather decorations from his right eye. And even though his face was bare, the simplicity of his appearance was beautiful.
He looked tired, and though he intended to retire to his bed, he had to cover up the dark circles beneath his eyes; even while sleeping, one apparent aesthetic flaw was one too many. As he unscrewed the lid for his concealer, he heard his door slide open, and someone walk into his room. From the clean, slightly spicy scent that now filled his nose, he knew when he turned around he'd be facing the only man that could make him question his definition of beauty; his shiny bald head, his wild brown eyes, and his serious expression weren't something he would typically consider to be beautiful. But there was something about him that drew Yumi to him.  A smirk spread across his beautiful lips.
"Good evening, Ikkaku" he was elated to have him here, but feigned indifference towards him, making sure he looked perfectly beautiful before facing the other male. After pushing a rouge strand of hair from his face, he stood up slowly, his casual kimono falling elegantly around him, and turned to look up into Ikkaku's face, his semi-sadistic smile making Yumi's heart race. "Can I help you with something?"
Ikkaku's kosode was hanging open, revealing his strong chest and stomach, and his eyes looked a bit glazed over. He'd been drinking with the tenth division's lieutenant, he assumed.  And even though he typically found drunkenness to be completely unbeautiful, yet again, his friend had him questioning his perceptions. Seeing him this way reminded him of their days in the Rukongai, where Yumichika would have helped him to their home, and laid him gently on their makeshift bed before he fell into a sake induced sleep. That gave Yumi the opportunity to cuddle into him, and pretend it was more than the alcohol that allowed the proximity between them.
"I just thought I'd drop by and see my beautiful best friend. That a crime?"  The taller man laughed, crossing his arms. Yumi gave him a smile full of condescension.
"You're drunk"
"And you're sexy" The bald man replied, staggering towards him. In the blink of an eye, Ikkaku had his friend pinned against the wall behind him, and was grinding their bodies together gently. Yumichika couldn't see his own face, but assumed the look of shock upon it was somewhat unbeautiful, but for the life of him, he couldn't get his expression to change.
"Ikkaku, what are you doing?" He stammered out. But his question was ignored.
"Do you remember back before we were Soul Reapers, I used to get drunk like this, and you'd bring me home, and lay me down, and wrap yourself up in my arms when you thought I'd fallen asleep?" Yumi's mouth fell open. He knew? Why didn't he stop him? He'd made a fool of himself all those years...
"I... You weren't supposed to know that... It was nothing. I was just trying to stay warm...  I-" Yumi's ramblings were cut off by Ikkaku's mouth coming down hard on his own. His lips were warm, and surprisingly soft, Yumi noted, as he melted into his friend's kiss. Their tongues clashed, and fought for dominance as each explored the other's body with their hands, Yumichika spending extensive amounts of time tracing the lines of Ikkaku's abs. Ikkaku pulled his lips away from Yumi slowly, kissing him one final time, before looking down into his eyes.
"Don't make excuses, I used to love that," he stroked the smaller man's cheek with the back of his hand.
"I went out drinking with Rangiku tonight," he said gruffly. "Before I left, I promised myself I was going to drink up enough courage to tell you how I feel. Well, here I am, and I... I'm in love with you."
Yumichika's heart skipped a beat. Ikkaku loved him? Why hadn't he said anything sooner? Yumi watched a blush grow across his friend's cheeks, and he noted that the shy look on his face was truly beautiful. His thin, beautiful arms wrapped around his bald friend's neck, and he pulled the together into an embrace.
"I love you too, Ikkaku" he whispered into his ear. He felt Ikkaku's arms tighten around him. They remained that way, silently holding each other for some time, before Ikkaku said:
"Yumi... I'm drunk. Take me to bed. And don't forget to wrap my arms around you" Yumichika smiled.
"My pleasure,"
Together, he determined, they were beautiful... absolutely beautiful.


FIN