Title: Bad Romance (working title – still no idea for a real title)
Author:
zealot1138
Pairing: Renji x Ichigo
Rating: M (for language, situations, yaoi – angst, romance, sex, fluff)

Summary: AU. Ichigo is so NOT gay, so when he goes to the exclusive bordello Club Sakura, will a certain redhead named Renji make him think twice?

Disclaimer for the entire story: I do NOT own any of these characters from BLEACH which belongs to Tite Kubo et al. Thank you.

DISCLAIMER: All characters depicted in sexual situations in this post/fanfiction/fanart (including material in the comments) are fictional and are intended to be and considered to be by the author of said material of the legal age of consent in the United States state of California, regardless of what age these characters may be in the material they are derived from.

Thank you soooooooooo much for all the reviews and stuff. _

I am so friggin' tired that my head is pounding and screaming at me to go to bed, but I felt happy getting all those reviews and alert notices, I really really wanted to post more tonight.

I am looking forward to this weekend is having more time to write and being able to reply to each review personally? (So does that make me a devoted writer – or just a sad sad soul?) XD

Thanks again – it means SO much to get a review!

Chapter 3

Once inside, Renji touched a panel on the wall and lights started to brighten in succession throughout the large room. Ichigo noticed it was furnished with modern pieces he had seen in magazines - the kind where you knew it was expensive but couldn't understand why. Everything was done in dark colors of woods and leathers and accented with steel and chrome. What was most impressive was the large flat screen mounted to the wall with the leather sofa facing in front. Ichigo sat down and waited for Renji to get settled.

He watched as the redhead went past the large bed and walk into what had to be a large walk-in closet as Renji returned with a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt in hand. "Do you want something to drink? Sorry, guess I should've offered ya something before I started looking for some clothes I can change into." Renji looked slightly sheepish as he gestured to the items in his hand. "Honestly, I haven't had a night off like this in forever, so I guess I was a little too eager to get out of these pants."

Renji looked down at the black leather pants he was wearing. He knew they looked well on his tall frame and it was the look his clients loved, but he much preferred an old pair of jeans or sweatpants when he didn't have to try and impress. He brought his eyes back up and noticed that Ichigo was taking in every inch of his long legs that were clad in the tight black leather. A grin started to break out widely across Renji's face and as Ichigo's glance finally reach up to the redhead's smirk, Ichigo turned away quickly, hiding the blush that was starting to burn his cheeks. "Um, no, I'm, uh, I'm good. On the drink thing. Don't need one... now."

While Renji would have loved to take advantage of this opportunity to torture this young man, he decided to let it go. He wanted to get comfortable himself and figured he had all night to make the younger man squirm. He hadn't thought it could be a literal possibility until that moment he caught Ichigo starting at him, but he figured there was no point in confusing a young man who wasn't sure about his desires and to which he could never afford Renji anyway.

"Suit yourself. But if ya change yer mind, there's a mini-fridge under the wetbar." With that said, Renji took off his top and eased the soft grey sweater over his bare chest. Ichigo timed himself perfectly to turn his head around the moment Renji's eyes were cloaked by the material being pulled down over his head. Ichigo's lips parted slightly in awe as he noticed the full breadth of the tattoos across Renji's broad and well-toned chest. He even had the markings over the six-pack abs that seem to draw one's eyes downward past the hipbones and the flat expanse of skin just below that stood out against the low riding waistband of black. As the forehead started to appear from the sweater's neckline, Ichigo snapped his head forward towards the blank TV screen. Once Renji donned his sweater, he pulled the band out of his hair and started to finger the knots out of his tresses. He glanced at Ichigo and noticed the teen was not looking in his direction, so he undid the button and zipper of his leather pants and pulled them down and stepped out of them. He pulled on his favorite pair of jeans and zipped them up in one easy motion. The denim was dark but the colors were faded from repeated washes. The style was straight but not too tight but they hung even lower than the leather pants from the waist having loosened from much repeated wear.

"I'm decent now, if you were wonderin'."

"Whatever." Ichigo tried to sound as nonchalant as possible, but he knew the flush in his cheeks would give him away. But the darkly hued room had no bright lights on yet, so he figured he could get away with his feigned air of indifference. Only then did he glance up to see the redhead in his casual gear, and Ichigo thought the man still looked incredible. In fact, being dressed in more everyday clothing only made Renji look even more amazing - it was as if his handsome face and incredible physique stood out above and beyond the regularity of a sweater and jeans. Ichigo had to tear his eyes away from the redhead as he tried to remember why he was in this man's bedroom at all. "Oh, yeah, so do you have Modern Warfare Two or were you bullshitin' about it?"

Renji shook his head in amusement while stating, "yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll get that goin' now." He looked the orange-haired teen in the eyes before continuing, "Ya know, yer about as demanding as some of my clients, 'cept they aren't asking for shit related to a video game." Renji couldn't help smiling because he'd realized how long it'd been since he felt this relaxed in front of someone he didn't work. Even amongst the guys employed at Club Sakura, Renji let his guard down with a few select guys he considered a real friend. And clients were clients - there was no sense of being "genuine" with clients since they never wanted to know you - they just wanted to have what they desire - someone to listen, someone to suck them off or fuck them silly, but never one's own feelings or opinions. Therefore, dealing with this young orange=-haired man was such a refreshing experience and one Renji couldn't pass up. "Hell, maybe I should charge ya by the hour since you're all into being bossy and shit."

At the idea of being charged for any part of this evening, Ichigo's brows went sky-high. He knew it'd be pricey, but he honestly had no sense of what the evening would cost him - and that was just for Keigo's bill. Ichigo hadn't even considered asking Rukia if his presence would be considered a billable situation or not. And at this point, it's not as if Ichigo could ask for a menu to get detailed billing instruction. He started to fish inside the front of his pants to see what he really had on him. Before he could get his fingers on the bills he had shoved in his pockets before the night started, he stopped cold when he heard a loud bark of a laugh from across the room.

"Ya didn't seriously think I meant I was gonna charge ya for hanging out, didja?" Renji was practically wiping a tear from the corner of his eye as he looked over at Ichigo. Renji was starting to realize this teen was really out of his element.

"Hmph. No... I just wanted to see if I had my wallet and stuff. It's not like I actually believed what you said!" Ichigo immediately locked himself down into the furrowed annoyance groove as he shoved both hands in pockets and swiftly moved over to sit at the far corner of the couch. He wasn't even sure he wanted to be waiting in the redhead's room after all. Ichigo sat upright on the stiff black leather sofa and looked off at the opposite side of the room. His focus wasn't on any particular item, but it was in the direction away from the redhead.

Seeing Ichigo's reaction made Renji start to feel bad about teasing the younger man so much. He'd realized that Ichigo had made him feel so at ease, Renji had almost forgotten that, while far from being a client, this was not a friend. Without another word, he moved towards the wall holding up the flatscreen. Ichigo wondered what he was up to as he watched the redhead push the palm of his hand into the wall. It was then a portion of the wall opened like a cabinet door. From there, Ichigo could see Renji start to fiddle with an Xbox system. The dark screen started to light up almost blinding Ichigo for a second.

"Oi!" At the sound of Renji's voice, Ichigo looked up. As a small blur of darkness was tossed to him, Ichigo's quick reflexes grabbed the controller with one hand. Renji looked over his shoulder in appreciation. "Nice catch. Guess you' got good reflexes. Let's see if I don't kick yer ass too hard in this game then, eh?"

Renji grabbed the other controller before closing the wall's panel. He started to walk back towards the sofa and decided to play it safe by sitting on the opposite end from Ichigo to give the young man some space. This is so childish. Why the hell's this kid making me worry about his feelings? Jeez, Abarai, yer either feeling bad for this kid, or yer forgettin' what it's like to be around normal people.

Without realizing it, a low chuckle hummed inside Renji's chest which caught Ichigo's attention. "What?"

As brown eyes looked up at Renji, the redhead was struck by how the color of Ichigo's eyes was so much like fine milk chocolate. He shook his head before responding. "Nothing. Don't you want to start the game?" Ichigo shrugged noncommittally even as he started to fiddle with the controller to set up his character to play.

Several minutes passed with serious game play as Ichigo got very involved with the new levels and the overall art in the yet-to-be-released game. The conversation went from inquisitive questions to heavy gaming discussion to the eventual male ego vs. ego about who was scoring more points and getting in more kills. The only other interruptions were the calls and texts that seemed to reach Renji's phone often. However, the redhead would pick it up and would dismiss the device again without responding so he can return to the game – and Ichigo.

As the game play intensified, the awkwardness previously felt had totally disappeared. They fell into an easy banter of teasing one another mercilessly. Not surprisingly, Ichigo picked up on the game play quickly and excelled through with ease. Renji was impressed yet not surprised – while he owned the current copy, he rarely had time to play a video game. And Ichigo being a normal young man, it'd be easy to see how he'd do well since he probably played as often as a normal teen would. But Renji could tell the kid was also good because he had a sharp eye for details and he seemed to understand the combat design. Of course, he'd never give the younger man the satisfaction in knowing that Renji was complimenting him in any way.

"Oi, Renji! Are you going to stop being lame and try to get into the game? You still haven't passed my last set of kills or points."

"It's only a couple of levels and I'm sick of seeing it already. Aren't ya bored yet?"

"Of course you'd say it's boring – you're losing to me."

Ichigo was actually having fun. The beta version of the game had limited levels, but the ones that were up and running were impressive. And then there was Renji playing against him – competitive juices were flowing through Ichigo's veins (all in the name of fun, of course) – and it felt good to be able to relax and just enjoy passing the time with someone. As he eyed the redhead giving him an angry glare, Ichigo's thoughts went back to Keigo and how he really had had no idea what to do when Keigo had begged him to stay since Mizuiro refused to break off a date to babysit his grown best friend. Ichigo had figured he'd probably sit and feel uncomfortable until Keigo was ready to go home. Instead, he was sitting in a posh home with a decked out room, playing an unreleased yet highly anticipated video game and getting to know this new person named Renji.

"Shaddup." Renji playfully shoved Ichigo with his barefoot to express his mock annoyance with the younger man faring better at the first-person shooter. Like any male, Renji had his pride and even if he didn't care about games, he didn't feel like losing either. He smiled at the orange-haired teen before shooting his foot out at him one more time.

However, Ichigo anticipated the move and caught Renji's foot with one hand. Renji looked up with wide eyes at Ichigo while Ichigo stared back, looking at the redhead and reassessing his current situation.

Earlier, Renji had looked so different from the men who were staring in the main entertainment hall; he looked so polished and masculine - almost unapproachable. But here, Ichigo thought, in his cashmere sweater and faded jeans and bare feet, he looks so diff-

A new ringtone, one of a somber classical piano piece, rang out loudly, interrupting Ichigo's train of thought. He noticed Renji's eyes lose its humor for a split second before he moved to grab the cell quickly.

"I have to get this. Be right back." Renji got off the couch quickly and headed to the back of the room while answering the phone. "Does this mean you're in town?" Renji disappeared behind the door again. Ichigo figured it must mean something for the redhead to take a phone call in the closet. Oh, right. I guess he can't exactly talk business in front of me. Guess I should be the one feeling bad about taking over his space.

With that, he powered off the Xbox and decided he should maybe check in on Keigo to see how much longer it could take. But Ichigo figured it wasn't his place to step out and wander the halls willy-nilly, so he decided he'd wait to talk to Renji about what's the next best course of action.

Not sure what else to do, he grabbed the Crestron remote and pushed the on-screen tab for Satellite TV and started to flip through the available channels to find something remotely interesting until Renji's return. He laid down on the couch sideways, resting his head on his knuckles so he could keep his eyes on the large flatscreen.

After a couple of minutes, and with Renji still on the other side of the door, Ichigo started to wonder about the phone call he'd just taken. He pretty much ignored all calls and texts all night. And all the other calls were a regular ringtone, and he didn't even bother to pick up the voicemails I'm sure he got. Yet this song comes on and he jumps for the phone and is still talking to someone? Wonder what that's about?

TBC

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FYI – Renji's classical ringtone is Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor "Pathetique" – first movement

Sorry the set up is taking so long… I have several good scenarios I want to get to (badly!) but they'll only be as powerful as it releases from the build-up I am trying to get to. :sigh: Waiting sucks.

Boring to say, but so so true: Reviews/comments are love!! _ Thanks! ~z

p.s. I don't mean to be advertising stuff – like the game or Xbox or Crestron, but I think it just brings stuff to life when you can visualize the little things. After all, this is an AU (of our world).