A/N: Well, a little later than I planned but here it is, Chapter 2. This chapter is quite a bitt longer than my usual ones, being about 10 pages when thye are usually 5-6 pages X3. Really, for all that writing, not too much major stuff happens; it seems a bit more like character building than anything.
Izuru woke with a moan, clutching at his stomach as he reached for the waste basket beside his bed. His stomach lurched as he leaned over the edge of the bed, emptying its contents into the trash can. When his stomach stopped revolting, he fell back against the pillows; wondering why he'd let himself drink so much. His head felt like someone had driven over it with a tank, and his stomach felt like he'd been drinking acid. Not to mention a certain part of his lower anatomy was feeling woefully abused.
That thought made his eyes crack open and he looked to the other side of the bed. He peered through the curtain of his hair to find his bed empty, save for himself, this was a mildly disappointing discovery. But, he supposed it was a good thing that Gin wasn't there to see him purging his guts out over the side of the bed…He slid from the bed and stumbled to the bathroom where he turned the shower on.
When steam began rising from the top of the shower he stepped in, and let the water pour over his head. The water dulled his headache and rinsed away the sharp smell of alcohol and sex that seemed to be clinging to his body. By the time he stepped out and wrapped a towel around his waist his stomach had settled somewhat, only occasionally sending little waves of discomfort over him.
He wiped a clear streak in the fogged up glass of the mirror and examined the damage left from the previous night. He had a dark red hickey at the curve of the left side of his neck where it met his shoulder, and another along his right collarbone that he didn't even remember receiving. There were purple bruises low on his left hip, vaguely resembling fingertips, and a few scratches along his waist. And it looked like he had a tear in his lip where it had been bitten a little too harshly. It would seem the silver-haired man had a penchant for marking his lovers. All in all, Gin had really done a number on him.
Izuru smiled inwardly, last night had been a bit rougher than he was used to; but it was kind of a nice feeling to not be babied like he had been up until recently. He'd met Shuhei about a two months after his failed suicide, and at first things had gone well considering Izuru's circumstance. Shuhei had treated him like a normal person, maybe babied him a bit, but only on the days where he seemed worse than usual. Then, a few months ago, Shuhei had realized the Izuru had lapsed back into occasionally taking a razor to himself. He started being more and more weary around him, and it started to seem like he was afraid to say or do anything that would even marginally upset him..
Izuru didn't like being treated like he was a mess that would collapse at the drop of a pin. He tried to talk to Shuhei, and the man had gone off on him; claiming that it was too difficult to make sure Izuru didn't get upset. They ended up getting into a fight that resulted in Shuhei throwing his things into a bag and walking out, saying he had given up on Izuru before slamming the door behind him.
Ironically enough, that had been the one thing that had nearly driven Izuru into trying to retrace the jagged scars that ran from the base of his wrists to halfway up his forearms. But Renji, who lived at the other end of the hall in their apartment complex, had heard the noise and made the decision to check on him. Renji had sat with him half the night, holding him when he cried and listening with uncharacteristic silence when he spoke of all the things that Shuhei had said and done.
Izuru wasn't sure then, or now for that matter, if it had hurt so much because he was falling for Shuhei, or if it was the thought of someone giving up on him again. Renji was the only one he trusted not to leave him anymore, Renji was the one who stuck around through the worst of those first few months. Even Momo had shied away from him for a time. He couldn't hold it against his friends, he knew it was hard to deal with and comprehend why someone would try to end their own life. He knew they wouldn't understand why even now he thought of how nice it would be if he did.
Gin lazed about in a tangle of sheets on his bed, letting his thoughts wander over his eventful evening. Izuru was certainly an interesting little thing, for someone who seemed so quiet he had proven to be particularly vocal last night. And those scars, they piqued a certain curiosity in Gin.
They looked like they had been deep when they were fresh, like maybe the blonde had meant business when he'd made them. However, Gin had also noticed all the smaller surface cuts littering Izuru's inner arms; which made him believe he was just another attention seeker. One of those quiet ones that didn't know how to talk to people. No doubt he had made one of those sad phone calls to a friend, leaving a cryptic message that all but guaranteed a rescue. Nevertheless, he found himself wondering what had triggered the urge to dance with death.
He decided that it had been a nice surprise to bump into Rangiku yesterday afternoon, it had provided him with all the workings of a new plaything. He decided it might be nice to start joining Rangiku and her other friends more often, then he'd have the opportunity to try and seduce Izuru into another sexual affair and maybe play with that silly little lop-haired head of his.
Izuru sat in class staring blankly at the front of the room, eyes absently tracking the professors movements. Luckily his classes were in the afternoon today, so he had had a chance sleep a bit longer and try to get past the last of his hangover. The nausea had finally given up on him and his headache had too; but now the headache was returning with a vengeance...
"Heellloooo, Izuruuu, anyone home in there?" Izuru opened his eyes to find Renji crouching in front of him and holding up his sheaf of hair to better see his face.
"What do you want Renji?" Izuru grumbled.
"Don't sound so pissy, I could've just let you're ass sleep here the rest of the day but I was nice enough to wake you up." Renji smirked.
"What are you talking about..?" Izuru stared lazily at Renji for a moment "Shit!" he bolted up in his seat.
"Yeah, you fell asleep in class; you're just lucky teach can't tell if you're awake from the front of the room since your damn hair is always in your face." Renji laughed. "So what'd fox-face do to you Izu? You never sleep in class." he asked as Izuru rose from his seat and they made their way out of the classroom.
"He didn't do anything to me, I just had too much to drink last night." Izuru answered, his cheeks flushing a little.
"Uh-huh, I'm sure he just gave you a ride home and went on his merry way. Never mind that it probably would've been even easier to get in your pants if you were drinkin' that much." Renji's smirk grew.
"Alright, so he stayed the night; wasn't that your plan when you forced me out of bed yesterday?" Izuru asked.
Renji just smiled, "So did you get his number, address?" The red-head questioned.
"Well…No, I fell asleep and he was already gone when I woke up this morning." Izuru answered after a pause.
"Damn Izu, I dragged your ass outta bed so you could meet someone new and what do you do? You drink yourself into a daze, let some guy take you home and nail ya to your mattress 'til your too tired to make it through class, and you don't even have a number to show for it." Renji shook his head in exasperation. "What am I gonna do with you?"
"You make it all sound so much worse than it was." Izuru mumbled. "It's not like you haven't had plenty of one night stands." he added in his own defense. Though Renji had a point, he would've been happier if he'd gotten a number or something from Gin.
"Yeah, well me having a one night stand and you having one are two completely different things." Renji commented.
"How could it possibly be any different?" Izuru asked, a little exasperated.
"Maybe because the last time you had one you spent a week tryin' to track the guy down, thus defeating its purpose." Renji chuckled. "Face it Izuru, you know you regret not gettin' his number; sometime in the next few days I'll hear you complain about it." Renji ducked as Izuru's fist flew at his head, laughing all the while.
"Hey Renji?" Izuru called from his spot on his living room floor.
"What Izuru?" Renji mumbled from the couch where he was sprawled out and half asleep.
"You remember what Rangiku said Gin's last name was?" Izuru asked, trying to sound like he could care less about the answer.
"Hah!" Renji bolted upright, "I told ya you'd bring this up! You're gonna try and find him in the student directory aren't you!?"
"I am not! I was just curious!" Izuru shouted indignantly, cheeks flushing at having been found out.
"Uh-huh, keep tellin' yourself that." Renji laughed as he flopped back onto the couch.
Izuru stared at the ceiling, feeling a bit angry at Renji for rubbing it in his face. A good ten minutes of silence went by before he spoke up again.
"Well…Do you remember it or not?" he asked.
There was low chuckle from the couch.
"Well?" Izuru asked again.
"Sorry Izu, I don't think she ever gave it." Renji sounded honestly apologetic enough that Izuru believed him. Izuru sighed heavily and continued to study the odd patterns in the spackling on the ceiling through his hair.
"Why don't you just ask Rangiku if it's really buggin' you that much?" Renji offered.
"I tried, she said she wasn't going to tell me because she thinks he's bad for me." Izuru replied. "Apparently I'm "too touchy" for someone like Gin." he scoffed.
"She picks the strangest times to become protective doesn't she?" Renji laughed.
"Hmph."
"Tell me why I needed to be here again." Izuru groaned.
"Because you're my friend, Rukia is my girlfriend and your friend, and Byakuya is her brother and your friend and it's his birthday." Renji answered patiently as he waited for Izuru to get out of the car.
"But you know how Byakuya is, he probably doesn't even want this party." the blond grumbled.
"Yeah, but you know how Rukia gets about things like this; besides, what else were you gonna do tonight?" Renji shoved Izuru up the walk to the front door of the Byakuya's big house.
"Sleep, finish up that Lit. homework…" Izuru answered, knowing full well that those were horrible excuses.
"That sounds sooo much better than spendin' the night with the rest of us." Renji rolled his eyes as they let themselves in.
"Hey Renji! Izuru!" Rukia popped up in front of them when they made it to the living room, stretching up to kiss Renji.
It was Izuru's turn to roll his eyes once Renji lifted her off the ground and the two seemingly forgot about him. He brushed past them and went further into the living room and settled into and empty chair.
"Hello Izuru." Yukichika sang from where he was draped over another armchair.
"Hey." Ikkaku added from the floor in front of the chair.
"Hi Izuru!" Momo smiled from where she was curled against Toshirou, who made eye contact and nodded his head.
"Good evening Izuru." Byakuya exchanged a glance with him. Hanatarou smiled quietly at him and waved. Izuru smiled an acknowledged everyone in turn, then glanced over his shoulder to see Renji and Rukia still stuck together in the entry way.
"Rukia, you should refrain from letting Abarai monopolize your time when you have guests." Byakuya said flatly. This comment was hard to take seriously when he was stretched out on the couch with his head resting in Hanatarou's lap, playing with younger's hands.
"Sorry brother." Rukia slid out of Renji's arms and smiled sheepishly at Byakuya. "They're your guests though, this is your birthday." she added as she led Renji into the room.
"It may be my birthday, but you were the one who insisted on throwing a party with everyone." Byakuya looked up at her.
"Come now Byakuya, you know you like having us here; don't be so rude." Yumichika answered for Rukia.
"Yumi, you know he just wants us all to leave so he can drag Hanatarou off to his room for the rest of the night." Ikkaku received a glare from Byakuya, Hanatarou just blushed fiercely at the comment.
Izuru laughed quietly to himself as everyone got into the playful fight that ensued. This is how things usually were. Someone would make a smart-ass remark and everyone would join into the argument that followed. The fights always stayed at a friendly bickering, only occasionally getting out of hand. In those cases someone might exchange a few harsh words with someone else; leaving the two to storm off with their separate partners. A few days might pass where the rest of the group avoided picking sides, then everything settled and everyone was friends again.
Izuru took some comfort in this cycle of things. It was something he relied on to remain the same, something he felt like he could trust even if he had a harder time trusting all of them individually.
"Sheesh, you guys are already at it?" Rangiku's voice carried in from the front hall, Izuru felt his heart speed up when she came in. Izuru relaxed into his seat when she came in alone, feeling a little silly for having gotten so worked up. Had he really expected Gin to show up with her?
"Hey Rangiku; where's Sosuke, I thought he was coming too." Rukia looked up from her spot on the floor.
"He's coming in a while. He wouldn't leave until he finished that Lit. project, he said he'd get Gin to give him a ride." Rangiku answered as she dropped down to the floor to lean back against the couch. "I hope it's okay that we invited him." she glanced at Byakuya over her shoulder.
"That's fine Rangiku." Rukia answered quickly before Byakuya could speak up.
Izuru didn't miss the smirk Renji threw in his direction. Nor could he deny that he had suddenly become a little more excited about being there. He didn't even know why he wanted to see Gin again. It wasn't like he knew anything about the man, aside from him being friends with Rangiku and Sosuke. There was just something about him that made Izuru want to be around him.
Gin followed Sosuke up the walk in front of the house, not surprised that the Kuchiki's would have their precious son this well provided for. Just imagine what could happen if they found that, not only was he allowing Rukia to stay there, but that he had since let his lover move in; not to mention that said lover was a boy. But he wouldn't let that slip, hurting Izuru's friends would only hinder his ability to play with the blond.
He followed Sosuke in the front door, a little surprised to see that this group was tight knit enough that he had just let himself in. They found the living room where he saw a group very similar to the one he'd seen at the club a little over a week ago. The loud-mouth with the bright orange hair and his lover seemed to be missing however, and a white-haired boy he recognized from some of his classes as Toshirou Hitsugaya was tucked into a sofa with Momo.
He saw Izuru sitting in an oversized armchair, legs tucked beneath him and leaning against the side of it with his chin resting on the arm; looking for all the world like a jaded cat. Gin went through the motions of returning greetings to the rest of the group, all the while watching as Izuru watched him. He was happy to see that, by the look in those blue-green eyes, Izuru was excited to see him there; though he made no move to show it otherwise.
When Sosuke slid to the floor beside Rangiku, who pulled him into a quick kiss, Gin moved to sit on the empty arm of Izuru's chair. His movement was natural and casual enough that no one seemed to take note of it; thought Renji and Rangiku exchanged a glance. Izuru of course glanced up at him a little surprised, but excited nonetheless.
Gin lost track of how long he had been sitting there, listening idly to Izuru's friends bicker about random things. At some point Rukia managed to order out for several boxes of pizza, which were now being passed around. He watched Izuru, he had to hand it to him; the boy knew how to work the conversation.
Izuru would sit quietly and watch his friends argue, only throwing in a comment of his own when a discussion began to die down. The comment always had seemingly innocent air about it, but somehow managed to start up a new debate among at least two of the others. Gin realized that Izuru used this to keep his friends talking without ever really needing to become involved in a conversation. Later everyone would remember that he had in fact spoken at some point, and fail to realize that, after the initial statement, he had said nothing else afterward.
He realized that what he had initially thought to be boredom born from years of the same people and arguments, was really contentment just to be there. This interesting little bit of information made Gin even more curious about what went on in Izuru's head. Gin made sure to trail his fingers along Izuru's leg from time to time. Often enough that Izuru would realize it hadn't been an accident, but spaced out enough that no one else took note of it; though Rangiku did shoot him a threatening glare.
Izuru felt another shiver run through his body as Gin's fingertips grazed his leg again. Gin had touched him several times already, and the thought that he was still interested made Izuru feel a buzz of excitement. At one point, Izuru left for the bathroom and made sure to switch his position in his chair when he came back, so that his shoulder rested against Gin's side.
When it got to be 11:30 Toshirou had apparently decided that he had been sociable long enough and he and Momo left for their own apartment, Momo giving Izuru a questioning glance as they walked out. Not fifteen minutes later Yumi began making odd giggling noises and slapping at Ikkaku before the two finally rose up; Ikkaku rushing Yumi through his goodbyes and dragging him out of the house.
Renji and Rukia had managed to slide across the floor until they too were leaning against the couch with Rangiku and Sosuke. Rukia and Rangiku were engaged in some discussion involving how hard it was to get 'the boys' to go shopping, both chattering away at a speed attainable only by those of a female gender and Yumichika. Renji and Sosuke were holding there own conversation, Byakuya occasionally adding in his two bits, but Izuru couldn't hear them over the girls. Hana had fallen asleep and was now lying quietly against Byakuya's chest.
"So, little Izuru, didja' miss me?" Gin smiled down at Izuru as he slowly combed his fingers through the blond's hair. Izuru jumped a little at the touch, not having noticed that his head was resting against Gin's leg now. He really needed to stop zoning out.
"M-maybe." Izuru answered with a shy smile, hoping he wasn't letting on to just how much he'd wanted to see Gin again.
"Only maybe? That's not very nice, I've bin missin' you." Gin knotted his fingers into the hair at the back of Izuru's head and tugged it back so he could lean down and kiss him. Izuru flinched at the pull to his hair but quickly forgot it when he felt Gin's lips on his own. He almost couldn't keep from trying to follow those lips when Gin pulled away.
"Yer friends are gonna see." Gin chided.
Izuru flushed a little and wanted to point out that Gin hadn't seemed to care who saw them that first night, but settled for just nodding his head.
Gin was pleased to see how easily Izuru was giving in to him, it wouldn't be difficult to get home with him again tonight. He untangled his fingers from Izuru's hair and began to slowly knead the back of his neck,…it couldn't hurt to throw on a little extra encouragement.
"Gin, me and Rangiku are heading home. Thanks for the ride, I'll see you in class." Sosuke's voice broke into his thoughts as the pair were heading out of the room. He lifted his free hand in a short wave as they left, ignoring the death glare Rangiku was shooting him. She really needed to give up on trying to keep him away from his quiet blond. He smiled to himself as he felt Izuru leaning into his side. Even if he did refrain from leading Izuru on, he couldn't say that Izuru wouldn't still follow him.
"Hey Izu." Gin felt Izuru jump a little when Renji called him. "I'm prob'ly gonna stay here with Rukia for the night, so you want me to take you back now? Otherwise Byakuya has an extra room you can use." Renji pulled Rukia up from the floor, the two of them moving aside so Byakuya could carry Hana out of the room.
Izuru glanced up at Gin with a look that made his smile grow a little, if that was even possible. "I uh,-"
"I can take 'im home." Gin cut in, "It's not too far outta my way." he couldn't believe how easy Izuru's friends were making it for him. Izuru just nodded at Renji, signaling that he agreed with the idea.
"If you're sure it's alright, then I guess I'll see ya later Izu." Renji answered.
Gin rose from the arm of the chair and waited for Izuru to follow suit. They were half-way to the door when they heard Renji's voice calling Izuru back for a moment. Gin looked back at Izuru and nodded that he'd wait. Gin knew that Izuru would be getting more warnings about being careful around him as he watched Izuru walk back to the living room.
"What is it Renji." Izuru asked, a little irritated.
"You need to watch yourself Izuru, there's somethin' about that guy that doesn't sit right." Renji answered him, glancing over Izuru's shoulder to see Gin smiling at them from the front door.
"Renji, he didn't kill me the first night, so I doubt he's going to do anything worse to me tonight." Izuru sighed at his friends concern.
"Yeah, well, just because he didn't kill you doesn't mean you wont end up getting hurt…prob'ly in more ways than one." Renji added as that strange smile crossed his mind again.
"I can take care of myself Ren, you don't need to worry about me all the time alright? Just let it go, I'm capable of handling my own life." Izuru said, a little snappier than he had meant to.
"Fine Izu, I know, just be careful with him is all I'm askin'. I'll see you tomorrow okay? Preferably in one piece." Renji smirked at Izuru . Izuru just smiled before he turned and left with Gin.
"Hah, nnngh, Gin!" Izuru cried out, his hands trying to tangle themselves in the silvery hair that was tickling his neck with every move; but failing as Gin's hand tightened around his wrists above his head. Gin's teeth were nipping at the soft skin beneath his jaw while his free hand ran along his side, fingertips digging into his hip to keep him from arching up into the bigger man's thrusts.
It wasn't long before he felt a wet heat spreading over his stomach and something hot fill his insides; he let out a long keening moan, waves of ecstasy rolling over him. He whimpered a little at the feeling of emptiness when Gin slid from him and released his wrists to lay beside him; his face still in Izuru's neck, biting softly. He shuddered a little as Gin slid down his body and began to lick his stomach clean, sending a shiver through his body.
Gin nuzzled his stomach lightly after he'd finished and let his head rest there, an arm snaking possessively around Izuru's waist. Izuru let his hands stray down to run through Gin's hair, smiling to himself. So what if things had been a bit rough again, his wrists were still aching, Gin made him feel good. He hoped the man would stay through the night this time; he still wasn't sure why, but he liked feeling Gin near him. Even now, as the man's breathing was evening out and he was falling asleep with his head cradled on Izuru's stomach, Izuru felt happy. Izuru fell asleep with a soft smile on his face, his fingers still laced through Gin's hair.
Izuru woke up slowly, not really wanting to be awake yet; but his eyes snapped open when he remembered the night before. He sat up and glanced at the other side of the bed, he was gone again. Izuru flopped back down against the pillows, he had been thinking it might be different this time.
He looked over at the digital clock on his desk intending to see how long he had before his classes. Propped up in front of the face, however, was a strip of paper. He stretched out his arm out and just managed to catch the paper with his fingertips. When he held up to read it, he felt his heart speed up in his chest. There, on that plain strip of paper, was a number scratched out in pencil. A phone number.
A/N: Woo! Yay for Izuru getting a phone number this time around X3 Aside from that bit of progress, not much else that was important happened here. A bit of back story on Shuhei's leaving maybe, and alitte more on Gin's thoughts. Izuru is confused, he doesn't like people paying attention to him, especially after his 'incident', but he likes being around his friends. Gin seems to be becoming the exception to this rule though. So there we have ch.2 it'll prolly be a couple-few days before three is up since I don't think I'll luck out and get another snowday on monday, so there'll be school to contend with...then again Ive always been good about procrastinating on HW till the morning its due so who can say.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and remember, reviews make me happy inside!