Track One – Take It Off (Ke$ha)
"Ichigo, what is the point of coming to this place?" the even, modulated tones of Ulquiorra's voice were hard to hear above the booms of bass leaking from the door of the club.
"Because I want to go in and you're my friend Ulquiorra, you don't want me to be all alone at this time of night do you?" the orange haired man widened his chocolate coloured eyes to rival the cutest puppy. Ulquiorra stared back at him, emerald eyes dulled in defeat but simultaneously sharpened by annoyance. Ichigo knew full well he couldn't refuse that face, and took advantage of it to the point of exhaustion.
"Fine!" he looked towards the double doors of the club, sunk back into the front wall of the building. A burly looking bouncer with a bald head stood by the door.
"Hey!" Ichigo gave him a wave as they got closer to the door, the bass from inside hammering against the wood as if it was desperate to get out into the night beyond. Now Ulquiorra was colder he could see the red markings flaring from the outer edges of each of the bouncer's eyes.
"Evenin'" he eyed Ulquiorra suspiciously, eyes moving down the slim fit shirt and jeans he was wearing, the close fabric only emphasising his skinny frame. "Go on in" he pushed and held the door open for the pair.
A sudden increase in the volume punching bass hit them as they moved inside. Ichigo loved the way the ripples of vibration ran down his sternum and through his chest; Ulquiorra wasn't so keen, the alcohol he had already consumed not settling well in his empty stomach. The vibrations just made the uneasy feeling worse. The club was hot, a sticky choking hot that made their skin prickle. Ichigo saw Ulquiorra falter in his step for a second as he tried to adjust to the environment of probably the tenth club that night. Without looking back any more he grabbed the thin pale wrist and dragged the ebony haired man to the bar.
"Get him a shot of something for God's sake!" Ichigo laughed through his words as he shouted to the barman over the music, gesturing to Ulquiorra at the same time. The barman beamed at the two, his blonde hair cut short just above his shoulders, a fringe straight over his eyes.
"Comin' right up Ichigo" he grabbed a pair of shot glasses from under the counter. Ichigo noticed that the mention of his name from the barman earned a harsh look from a lanky man sat at the bar. His long thin legs were folded around the tall bar stool, a white bandana hid his left eye from view more than the long, straight black hair did.
"Thanks Shinji" he took the shots, passing both of them to Ulquiorra "Down the hatch mate!"
"Hey Ichi, Sexta will be perfomin' in a minute if you're stayin'" the barman took a note from Ichigo, quickly fishing his change from the register and handing it back to him "I know he's yer favourite" he flashed a cheeky grin at the orange haired man who promptly went red under the fixed gaze from green eyes.
"Your 'favorite' eh?" the colloquial language sounded foreign from Ulquiorra's lips. His pale skin almost glowed in the club, highlighting the tear marks he had had tattooed down his cheeks, for reasons still unknown to Ichigo. However the cyan markings strangely suited the pale man, his wide emerald eyes and slightly upturned black brows giving him a perpetual expression of sadness.
Ichigo coughed out a response, face still strawberry red. He turned after waving goodbye to Shinji quickly, much to the happiness of the tall dark haired man still hovering near the bar, before heading towards a light wooden stage at the back of the club. The space in front of the stage was crowded, a few women in amongst all the men dancing to the heavy bass of the music.
Ulquiorra looked around, the two shots of vodka now muscling their way into his brain, stupid Ichigo, had he even had any? Adding in the effects of all the other alcohol he had bought this evening the room was spinning; the flashing lights really not helping his troubled cognition.
Without realising he had lost his balance he crashed into what seemed at first like a wall. A warm and very alive wall as it turned out. He looked up, quite far considering he was also rather tall, into dark eyes, a deep scar running down from forehead to chin over the left one. Shoulder length black hair was pushed back off his face, falling down towards his back.
"Alright there kid?" the man's voice was deep, lower than the pounding bass filling the room.
"Y-yes thank you" Ulquiorra pushed away from the solid wall of muscle that was the man's exposed chest and moved back to find Ichigo. Spotting the orange hair closer to the stage he made a beeline for it through the crowd, passing an equally bright and spiky head of frost white hair on the way. The short boy with the pale hair regarded him with wide aquamarine eyes, a small, shy smile yanking at his lips. Ulquiorra figured he must be older than he looked or he wouldn't have got past the bouncer, sending an equally shy smile back.
"Ulquiorra! Where'd ya get to?" Ichigo gestured to a pair of seats near the right side of the stage, slightly plush armchairs in a deep shade of crimson.
"Nowhere, just got lost in the crowd" he took the seat further from the stage, figuring Ichigo would want to sit closer to his favourite. He smiled at the thought; making a mental note to tease the boy about 'Sexta' at a later date, possibly when he wasn't too intoxicated to think of any witty things to say.
"Fair enough" he looked up at the stage as he took his seat, settling back into the soft cushions slowly.
"So, this 'Sexta'..." Ulquiorra let the sentence hung between them, wanting to laugh at the strawberry blush that flushed across the boy's cheeks.
"What about him?" Ichigo studiously avoided making eye contact with his friend, pretending to be entranced by a small mark in the polish of the wooden table in front of them.
"What's he like?" as Ulquiorra asked this question the music was stopped and the Sexta was announced via a low voice which flowed through the speakers in the club.
"See for yourself" Ichigo didn't need to raise his voice in the silence in between the announcement and a new song being played through the speakers.
A heavily distorted female voice filled the club, singing the first couple of lines before the mid tempo beat set in. The sound was low and dirty, fitting to the warped vocals. As the song started a tall man strode out onto the stage, something about the flow of his steps enchanting. Ulquiorra stared at him as he walked into the middle of the small stage. The first thing drawing his attention was the dancer's bright sky blue hair, surely that couldn't be natural? But there was no sign of a different colour at the roots. He had eyes to match, deep pools of clear Caribbean Sea water swimming in the light. He grinned down at his audience, the smile touching the curious teal markings under his eyes, spiking away like thickly applied eyeliner. A sharply cut black suit sat snugly over his frame, the slightly shiny fabric tailored so close to his body it could have been a second skin. The black tie pulled close to the fully buttoned collar of his white shirt finished the look. His nimble fingers were already reaching for it as the song moved into its full swing.
Ichigo smiled up at the man on stage, his body moving like it governed the music playing, not the other way around, the slight flick of those hips he had seen more times than he would like to admit. Especially not to the stoic man sat next to him, he knew he was already in for a year's worth of teasing. Damn Shinji and his big mouth! For now he was here to watch, tapping his foot to the steady beat he fixed his eyes on the Sexta, memorising every move he made.
The tie was pulled down by lean fingers, the silk easily sliding down and snaking from around his neck. After flicking the knot out of it he tossed it towards Ichigo, flashing the familiar face a smile before looking around the rest of the club. Ichigo promptly resorted to turning his usual shade of strawberry, coiling the black length of silk around his hands nervously. Ulquiorra looked quickly at him, laughing to himself as he watched his friend's reaction. As he turned back to the man on stage he saw that the nimble fingers had worked half of the buttons undone, revealing a glimpse of the tanned skin underneath.
Ichigo continued to twirl the silk around his fingers, the fabric soft and shiny against his touch, as he watched the Sexta dance. More and more tanned skin was being revealed as he worked the remaining buttons open. Abs just the right side of bulky shaped his stomach, the light casting defining shadows under the muscle. A still suited back was turned to the audience as he pushed both shirt and jacket from his shoulders in one go, deftly catching them before they hit the wood of the stage and flinging them towards the exit of the stage. Ulquiorra stared the large number six tattooed on his middle back, set to the right of his spinal column and slanted so it was falling slightly onto its back. So that's why they called him the Sexta.
Cheers rang from the back of the audience as the clothes fell to the back of the stage, a few chants of 'off' to accompany them. The blue haired man grinned wide, deciding to tease them for a bit by sliding his hand down his chest, stopping just short of the button on the tight black trousers; the tip of his index finger just touched the dark fabric. Slowly taking his fingers back up he smiled at the loud portion of the crowd, teeth slightly parted to let a chuckle escape.
"I couldn't hear you!" his voice rose above the pumping beat, a low growl which still came in the form of clear words as he teased the crowd. The response was loud, a mix of cheers and more lecherous comments being thrown back at the topless man on stage. "Off you say? Who am I to refuse?" he barked a laugh before returning his fingers to the waistband of the trousers, teasing at the button.
The catcalls got louder, rising defiantly over the music like static imitating words. The button on the trousers was undone before he slowly teased the dark fabric over his hips.