Now I finally have part three done and by the way there's going to be a fourth part as well. The reason is that the last part turned out so long that I can divide it into two parts without making them too short compared to the others. The fourth part is done; I just gotta type it which will take at least a few days.
Warnings: boys kissing
I don't own bleach
Here's part three. Enjoy.
Almost a month had passed since the day Renji had appeared in Karakura Town and he and Ichigo had grown pretty close during that time. Renji helped Ichigo with his nightmares by comforting him after he woke up and listening when Ichigo told him about them. Gradually the dreams had started to decrease and now only the worst of them were left. After spending so much time with Ichigo Renji was now sure that he loved the orange haired teen but he had no idea of how Ichigo felt about him. Actually neither had Ichigo himself. He still got that weird feeling when he was around Renji even though he really enjoyed Renji's company. He had started to notice small things about the redhead he hadn't noticed before like how good he smelled, how silky his hair was and that he often hummed some weird melody when he cooked or when he was holding him after he had had another nightmare. To someone else it might have been obvious that he was falling in love but not to Ichigo.
One day when they were sitting in the kitchen eating breakfast Renji asked:
"Hey wanna go to a club tonight? It says here that they have opened a new one not far from here. We could put on the clothes we bought last month."
"Why not. When does it open?" Ichigo replied and looked up from his food.
"At eight o'clock. That okay with ya?"
"Yeah. I just have to finish some school assignments and then I'm ready to go. It won't take that long, a couple hours or three at most. We have plenty of time to kill before it's eight o'clock."
"Great, it's gonna be fun to go out for a change. We've been mostly inside all this time." Renji said smiling but his smile disappeared when Ichigo suddenly stood up and walked away without a word. He realized immediately what was wrong when he caught a glimpse of the expression on Ichigo's face.
"Ichigo!" he said and went after him. "Ichigo, I didn't mean it like that." Renji tried to explain.
"Oh yea? Then how did ya mean it 'cos to me it sounded like it's my fault that ya haven't been out! Ya can leave for all I care; I'm not forcing ya to stay!" Ichigo shouted after turning around to face Renji.
"I didn't mean that I don't wanna be inside with ya 'cos that's fine with me but I wanna go out with you even though it's fun with the others too."
"Go out…with me?" Ichigo asked confused.
"Oops, that didn't come out right. I meant go out not like go out go out. Ya know just hang out with ya. I'm helping ya an' spending my time with ya 'cos I wanna do it."
"I understand. Sorry for yelling at you, I don't know what got into me."
"It's okay." Renji said and wrapped an arm around Ichigo's shoulders. "Let's go an' finish our breakfast."
"Yeah. I still feel a little bad about yelling."
"Forget it; it doesn't bother me so ya have no reason to think about it anymore."
"I'll try. Thanks for making breakfast again, it's good as usual."
"Thanks. It's fun to cook for someone else for a change."
They went back to the kitchen and finished their breakfast while talking about the evening. Ichigo even promised to introduce Renji to some new drinks since they had only sake in Soul Society.
Renji watched as the credits of some stupid show moved down on the screen in front of him. He had watched some TV while Ichigo worked on his assignments but now he was really bored 'cos there was nothing interesting on so he decided to go and see how Ichigo was doing with his work.
He walked into Ichigo's bedroom and saw the bright haired teen sitting at his desk drawing something, not yet aware of Renji's presence due to the music blasting through his headphones.
Renji snuck behind the unsuspecting teen and looked at the picture over his shoulder; it was a coloured pic of a bridge over the river in Karakura Town.
"That looks really nice. Have ya always been this good at drawing?" he whispered in Ichigo's ear after pulling the ear buds out. The reaction was immediate. Ichigo swirled around in his chair ready to punch if needed.
"Renji! Don't sneak up on me like that." Ichigo said surprised.
"Actually I didn't sneak up on ya, ya just didn't notice me 'cos ya were so concentrated on drawing. Now, answer my question." Renji said with a grin.
"I guess I have."
"Wow, I didn't know. No one ever told me."
"Well no one besides my family knew, besides, I used to draw only when I was alone and when I was done I put the drawings in a drawer so pretty much no one has seen them. That's why nobody told you 'cos no one knew."
"That explains it. But why didn't ya tell anyone?"
"Drawing has always been my way of relaxing an' getting away from the rest of the world so I guess I didn't want anyone intruding in my own little world. In fact no one ever asked me about it 'cos I never said anything about it myself but I would've answered if they did."
"Am I intruding in your private world? If I am just tell me an' I'll leave ya alone when ya want to draw." Renji said with a serious expression.
"Nah, I don't mind if ya watch. I've become used to people watching me while I work at school." Ichigo replied with a small smile.
"Good for me then 'cos it's fun to watch ya concentrate like that. Can ya show me some of yer work?" Renji asked while grinning wolfishly again.
"Um…sure." Ichigo said a little surprised by the request. "They are in the folders on the shelves over there; pick any one of them."
"That many? How much do ya really draw?" Renji asked surprised by the amount of folders next to the books on the shelves.
"Before ya came here…1-3 pics a day."
"Did ya even do anything else back then?"
"Of course! I worked, went to school and…watched TV."
Renji raised an eyebrow with a questioning look.
"Fine! So I didn't do much else before ya came. So what?"
"Oh nothin'. Looks like I brought some major changes to yer life, don'tcha think?" Renji said with a smug look.
"Shut up! I'm gonna continue working now so be quiet." Ichigo said and turned around to hide the blush on his face. It was true that Renji had changed his life a lot just by being there and Ichigo was starting to think that Renji was the reason he wanted to live but how it had come down to that he didn't know.
Renji chuckled. "Yea, yea, I'll be quiet." he said and walked to the bookshelf, pulled out one of the many folders and returned to sit on the bed. Ichigo continued to work on his pic while Renji looked through his other pics.
"I saw when ya drew this one." Renji said after 30 minutes of silence and pointed at the pic of himself and Rukia he had seen before. "Ya were sitting on the roof of the Kuchiki-mansion but back then I assumed ya were just thinking or something like that."
"Ya saw me? I thought ya were too occupied with Rukia to notice anything else."
"I just happened to look up but if ya were hiding ya weren't doing a very well. Anyone could've seen ya if they looked up."
"I wasn't hiding, just looking for a peaceful place to draw something. I borrowed some paper and pencils from Rukia's room when she wasn't there and when I arrived on the roof I saw you two sitting in the garden. You looked happier than I've ever seen you both look and I would have taken a photo if I'd had a camera but 'cos I didn't I decided to draw you."
"And it turned out really well. Ya even got my tattoos right."
"Thanks. I'm done with this now." Ichigo said and put his pencil down.
"Finally. Show me." Renji said. Ichigo turned the paper so that Renji could see it properly. "Wow that's amazing; it's almost like a photograph. I think I just got a new favourite artist."
"You have a favourite artist? Who?" Ichigo asked curious of that the redhead was interested in art.
"Kuchiki Byakuya."
"Byakuya?"
"Yeah, he's really good at painting. He tried to teach me an' Rukia too but it didn't go very well. I have absolutely no artistic talent an' Rukia insisted on painting in her Chappy-style so the result didn't look like the real thing but in a cartoon or a comic it would have looked great." Renji said, his face clearly showing that he was recalling a happy memory.
"I'd like to see some of his work." Ichigo said.
"Maybe I'll take ya with me to Soul Society sometime an' ask him ta show ya. Ya get along nowadays don'tcha?"
"Yeah, somehow. He still doesn't like me though."
"I think he does, he just doesn't wanna show it 'cos he's a noble an' you're a former ryoka."
"Yeah right."
"I'm serious. He acts cold an' arrogant towards anyone who's not a taicho or a noble, towards them he acts only cold and that includes you too. It might not seem like it but he respects you 'cos you're strong an' ya defeated Aizen when no one else could." Renji said trying to convince Ichigo. "By the way, why am I trying to convince ya that Kuchiki-taicho doesn't hate ya?" Renji asked.
"Dunno. You've been doing things like that the whole time you've been staying here." Ichigo said.
"Things like what?"
"Things to cheer me up or that's what it seems like." Ichigo answered. "Why?"
"'Cos I hate seeing ya sad an' depressed, it doesn't suit ya. That's why I wanna cheer ya up an' make you smile. Has it worked?" Renji asked with a hopeful look.
"Yeah." Ichigo said with a smile and, to Renji's surprise, hugged him. "Thanks Renji."
"That's good to hear." Renji said and hugged the teen back. "I really like yer smile so I wanna make ya smile more."
Ichigo pulled back blushing.
"So what do ya wanna do now then? We have…let's see…five hours before eight o'clock and you're blushing again."
"I can't help it. You said that you like my smile, that's a line you usually use to pick up girls in the real world."
Renji chuckled. "Okay then, sorry about embarrassing you but it's true and
I want you to know it. Ya should smile more."
"You're not sorry, you're grinning like a maniac and lately I've been smiling more than ever before since my mom died."
"Really?"
"Well…yeah. But you don't have to be so excited about it." Ichigo said while scowling and blushing at the same time.
"Why shouldn't I?" Renji asked grinning even wider. "I've succeeded in my task and that means I've stopped you from hurting yourself so of course I'm happy about it. Hey, wanna go to an arcade now?" Renji asked changing the subject.
"You've been to an arcade before?" Ichigo asked surprised.
"Yeah, with Orihime and the rest of the gang when ya were at work last week. It was really fun an' I wanna go with you there too. What do ya say?"
"Okay, let's go." Ichigo said smiling and stood up.
"Great!" Renji said grinning widely.
half an hour later at the arcade~
"Can we play this first Ichi? Can we, can we, can we?"
Ichigo thought that Renji looked like a kid in a candy store the way he was grinning and bouncing up and down in front of the game he wanted to play.
"Sure." he answered. But then something suddenly hit him. "Did you call me Ichi just now?"
Renji stopped bouncing but not grinning. "Yeah, I did. Does it bother ya?"
"No, the name itself doesn't bother me it's just about who calls me that. Until now my family were the only ones close enough to call me that."
"Sorry. I'll stop if ya want."
"No, it's okay. I think. We've become pretty close during this past month; you're my best friend and almost like family now when you're living with me.
"Glad to hear that. 'Ichi' sounds cute an' it suits ya really well when ya blush like that. It's so cute."
"I'm not cute!" Ichigo said scowling but the effect was taken away by the blush on his face.
"I'm not gonna start arguing with ya about it so can we play now?" the still grinning redhead asked.
"Fine but I'm gonna kick your ass for calling me cute."
"Bring it on Ichi-chan." Renji said with a challenging smirk.
"Don't call me that, teme! I'm gonna wipe that smirk away by beating ya at your own game.
"That so? How about we make a deal; if ya win I'll stop calling ya Ichi-chan and cute but if I win I can continue if I want."
"You're on but don't cry when I wipe the floor with ya."
"I won't because you're the one who's gonna lose."
And so they started to play. For a long time it looked like Renji was indeed going to win but when there was only a few seconds Ichigo used a trick that doubled his score.
"I WIN!" Ichigo shouted and threw his arms in the air while smiling widely.
"No, how's this possible? I was supposed to win; I led until the very end." Renji mumbled mostly to himself.
"Only by a few points. And you forgot to use your special trick is the answer to your question." Ichigo said still smiling widely. (You can choose for yourself what they were playing 'cos I have no idea.)
"Damn…" Renji started but when he looked up he was stunned by what he saw. 'Beautiful.' he thought. Ichigo was smiling widely at him and Renji could almost feel the happiness radiating from him. "…it." he finished his sentence.
"What?" Ichigo asked confused about the look Renji was giving him.
Renji pulled himself together and smiled. "Nothing, ya won fair an' square. So what do ya wanna play next?" he asked.
"Hmm. How about that one?" Ichigo suggested and pointed at a driving game on the other side of the arcade.
"Sure. Let's go."
And so they continued to play different games. They took turns choosing what to play but Ichigo won nearly every time.
"Damn it Ichi. How are ya so good at all these games? We've played like…thirty different games several times and you've won every time except once. Ya cheating or somethin'?"
"You can't cheat in these games Renji. I played a lot when I was younger so I guess my brain still remembers how to win. By the way, what time is it?"
Renji checked his communicator for the time.
"It's almost seven. Wanna go an' eat something before we go home to change clothes?"
"Sure. There's a nice place down the street where you can get all kinds of food."
"Do they have taiyaki? Please say they have taiyaki."
"Ya really like taiyaki don'tcha?"
"No, I love taiyaki. Do they have it?"
Ichigo chuckled. "Yes they do."
"Yes! Let's go, I wanna have some taiyaki right now an' then I wanna go partying!" Renji announced grinning while he walked through the doors. "Left or right?" he asked Ichigo who walked behind him.
"Left but can ya walk a little slower, it's hard to keep up and we're not in a hurry."
"Of course. Sorry, I just got so excited that I didn't notice I was walking too fast." the redhead said and slowed down to the same pace as Ichigo.
"I kinda noticed that. There it is, in through that door."
They went in and were met by a smiling waitress whose eyes widened when she saw Ichigo.
"Ichigo! I haven't seen you in a whole year. Where have you been? You used to come here all the time, I've missed you." She said all in one breath.
Renji noticed that her personality was a lot like Orihime's.
"Sorry, I've had some problems with my health." Ichigo said while rubbing his neck.
"Oh my god! Are you okay? You're not gonna die are you?" she continued worriedly.
"No, I'm fine now. Renji here helped me get better." Ichigo said and motioned towards Renji with his hand while smiling at the waitress.
"Hello, nice to meet you Renji-san. I'm Higurashi Kyoko but you can call me Kyoko." she said.
"Nice ta meet ya too, I'm Abarai Renji but Renji is fine with me. Are ya Ichigo's girlfriend?"
"No, no, we're just friends. But it's funny, I was about to ask if you are his boyfriend."
"What?! No he's just a friend of mine, my best friend actually." Ichigo said blushing dark red. "Renji, why do people seem to think we're dating because we hang out together?" Ichigo whispered to Renji.
"Dunno. Ask Kyoko." the redhead whispered back.
"Kyoko, why did you think we were…together?"
"You look good together and you look happier than ever before after your mom died. Why do you ask? Has it happened before?"
"Yeah. When we went shopping about a month ago. A woman who worked in a clothes-store said we looked cute together when I paid for our clothes." Renji explained.
"She was right you know. Now, did you come here to talk or would you like to have something to eat?"
"That would be nice."
"This way then." Kyoko said and showed them to a table for two in the corner. "What would you like to have then?" she said when they had sat down.
"I'll have a big plate of taiyaki." Renji announced grinning.
"Okay. You love taiyaki, don't you?"
"Got that right."
"And what about you?" she asked Ichigo.
"I'll have the usual."
"Pizza with ham and pineapple chunks it is. Drinks?"
"A diet coke for me."
"Same here."
"Okay. I'll be back in a minute with your drinks." Kyoko said and left with their order.
"She's nice. Have ya known her for a long time?" Renji asked.
"Yeah, she's the daughter of the owner and when I was younger we played together when my family came here to eat." Ichigo explained.
"She reminds me a little of Orihime the way she worries about ya." Renji stated.
"I guess she does, even though she's two or three years older than her." Ichigo said just as Kyoko returned carrying a tray with their drinks.
"Here you go. Your food will be done in a few minutes." she said. "I'd love to stay and chat but I gotta take care of the other customers too. Tell me before you leave though"
"Sure thing Kyoko." Ichigo answered smiling.
Kyoko giggled. "That smile really suits you, I'm glad you've found someone who can make you that happy." she said and skipped away to greet some new customers while Ichigo blushed for about the hundredth time during Renji's stay.
"You're blushing again. Ya embarrassed about being happy in my company?" Renji asked grinning.
"Shut up!" Ichigo said and blushed even more.
"So it's true then, you're happy with me?"
"I said shut up." Ichigo turned his head away from Renji.
"Aww, no need to be embarrassed. Now, admit it."
"No."
"C'mon Ichi,"
"Fine! Yes, I'm happy with you and I feel like you're the reason I wanna live these days and on top of that I have no idea what I'm gonna do when you leave for Soul Society again! Happy now?!"
Renji's jaw dropped at Ichigo's confession/outburst.
"Wow. I wasn't expecting that." he said after a minute of silence.
"Well you asked for it." Ichigo snapped while blushing furiously.
"Yea, yea, I'm just surprised that's all."
"Excuse me but here's your food." a voice said.
"Thank you." Ichigo said and looked up at the waitress.
"Thanks." Renji said as well. "Mmm, looks delicious."
Soon the previous subject was forgotten and the two redheads were chatting happily about various things.
When they were done they paid and told Kyoko they were leaving.
"Okay, it was nice seeing you again Ichigo and meeting you Renji. Promise to come again soon and don't disappear like you did without telling me first so that I don't have to worry." she said.
"I promise. See ya."
"It was nice ta meet ya too and the food was delicious. We'll definitely come again soon." Renji said.
"Bye bye then." Kyoko said.
"Bye." Renji replied and walked out after Ichigo.
They continued to chat all the way back to Ichigo's flat. There Ichigo said that he was going to take a shower so Renji decided to watch some TV while he waited.
~15 minutes later~
Renji sat on the couch. It had only been fifteen minutes and Ichigo had come out of the shower and was currently getting dressed but he was already bored. He stretched and yawned.
"Getting tired before we even get to the club? Maybe you should just stay here and sleep." Ichigo's voice said from the doorway.
"In yer dreams. Ya just took so long in the shower that I'm getting bored." Renji replied and turned to look at the teen. "Wow! Ya look hot."
Ichigo was wearing the dark blue jeans and the purple shirt with flames Renji had bought for him and they were tight fitting like Ichigo's usual clothes.
"Thanks. Ya don't look too bad yourself either. Ready to go?"
"Of course. Let's go partying!"
They grabbed their jackets and left for the club. When they arrived there was already a long line of people standing outside.
"Looks like someone else wants to go partying as well, don'tcha think?" Renji stated.
"Yeah. Guess we have no choice but to stand in line and wait.
After a few minutes a group of people stepped out from the club. A man carrying a megaphone shouted: "Hello everybody! It's nice to see that so many people wanna come to my new club and to celebrate the opening we have a little competition. These two ladies and these two guys here will walk along the line and pick two guys and two girls who they think are the hottest they can find and those people will get in first for free AND they will also get all their drinks for free!" The crowd cheered. "That's right, two guys and two girls will get a chance to party tonight for free!" the man continued.
The crowd cheered again but became silent when the men and women started to walk down the line to choose their favorites. The men stopped after a few meters next to a couple of girls who were holding hands.
"Hello beautiful ladies. Would you like to party for free tonight?" they asked.
Both girls giggled and answered: "Of course!" The girls walked to the doors with the men.
"A very good choice guys. Here are the tickets for you my beautiful ladies. Just show them to the bartender and your drinks are free. Now let's see who the ladies will pick." The man who apparently owned the place said.
The women had continued to walk down the line and now they stopped next to Ichigo and Renji.
"I think we have made our choice, don't you think?" one of them asked the other.
"Yes, I agree completely."
"Would you like to party for free tonight?" they asked a very surprised couple of redheads.
"Yeah, of course we do!" Renji said grinning widely.
"Then come with us to get your tickets."
"A very good choice on your part as well ladies. Here are your tickets guys. And for the rest of you, sorry, but you have to pay to get in. I wish everybody a great evening and night. Have fun!" the owner said and showed the chosen people in.
"As promised you don't have to pay a single yen while you're here unless you break something. I hope you have a nice evening and hopefully you'll come again. Have fun." He said and left them there.
"Now you can do whatever you want. We have to get back to work." one of the men said.
"We also wish you a pleasant evening; you'll be seeing us around since we work here. Bye for now." one of the women added and they left. Also the two chosen girls left.
"Let's go an' get some drinks, ya promised to show me some new drinks this morning." Renji said exited by the thought.
"Okay the." Ichigo said and they went to the bar and sat down. Ichigo ordered a couple of drinks and handed one to the excited redhead beside him. "Try this; it's one of my favorites."
Renji sipped at his drink. "This is pretty good."
Ichigo chuckled. "I know."
Later after a few drinks Ichigo asked Renji if he wanted to go and dance for a while.
"Sure." Renji answered and they got up and walked over to the dance floor that was already full of other people.
Ichigo raised his hands and started to move his hips to the beat of the music. He wasn't drunk yet, only a little braver than when he was completely sober.
"You're pretty good at dancing Ichi. Yer shirt looks like it's really on fire when ya move, it's hot." Renji said after a few minutes of observing the orange-haired male in front of him.
"Thanks. You're pretty good too."
Ichigo was having fun with Renji. They were laughing, dancing and chatting about various things until Renji suggested they'd go and drink something. After they had gotten their drinks they noticed that there were no free tables anywhere.
"Looks like we have to stand or ask someone if we can sit with them." Ichigo stated.
"Yep. Hey, there are the girls from before. They're sitting alone; maybe we could sit with them." Renji suggested.
"Guess it's worth a try."
They made their way to the booth where the girls were sitting.
"Can we sit here?" Renji asked with a smile.
"Go ahead but let me make on thing clear: don't try to his on us; were not into guys." One of the girls answered.
"So you're dating?"
"Yes, do you have a problem with it?"
"No, not at all. Right Ichi?"
"Yep, it's completely fin. And were not looking for girlfriend either." Ichigo confirmed.
"Good. It's annoying when guys try to hit on us when we go out. I'm Hitomi and this is my girlfriend Miho, nice to meet you."
"I'm Renji an' this is Ichigo, nice ta meet ya too."
"Are you dating?" Miho asked.
"No but maybe we should start since everyone seems ta think we are, ne Ichigo?"
Ichigo who had just taken a sip from his drink stared coughing. "What? *cough* Are you *cough* serious? I mean, why would you wanna date me?" he asked.
"Relax, it was a joke but there are plenty of reasons why someone would like ta date ya; you're strong, good looking and funny when you're not acting too serious."
"Thanks for the compliment."
"No problem."
"Do you have girlfriends?" Miho asked.
"No. Why do you ask?" Ichigo answered.
"You said earlier that you weren't looking for girlfriend and you're not dating either. Are you gay?"
"Miho, you can't ask strangers questions like that." Hitomi scolded her girlfriend.
"Sorry, you don't have to answer." Miho apologized.
"It's okay. To be honest, I don't know, I've never liked anyone that way. Right now I have someone special but I don't know if I like them that way." Ichigo said thoughtfully.
"Oh, interesting! What about you Renji-kun?"
"I'm bi and I'm currently in love but I don't know how they feel about me, I haven't told 'em yet."
"Why not?"
"He's a friend of mine an' I don't wanna screw up our friendship."
"So it's a he?"
"Yeah." Renji admitted when he noticed what he had said.
Hitomi's eyes darted back and fort between Ichigo and Renji a few times. "I think you should tell him. If he's a real friend he won't laugh at you and you can still be friends even if he doesn't feel the same. What do you think he would do?" she asked.
"Now that you asked, I think he would understand."
"Okay. So what else is keeping you from telling him?"
"Great, I'm getting relationship-advice from a complete stranger. Well, whatever. I dunno how to tell him."
"Oh, I know!" Miho said enthusiastically. "Show him with a kiss, that's how they do it in mangas."
"Miho, t his is real life, not a manga."
"Actually that's a pretty good idea. He's always been a man of action, just like me."
He turned towards Ichigo who had just come back from the bar with more drinks.
"Hey Ichi?"
"What?" Ichigo asked but instead of a verbal answer he got a physical. He was pulled into a hug and a pair of lips pressed against his own. Renji started kissing him but when he got no response he pulled away.
"Sorry, I had no right to do that. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all. Forget that it happened."
"No! I mean…it's okay, you just surprised me. I think…I think I like you too." Ichigo said and place his hands on Renji's tights and leaned up to kiss him shyly on the lips.
"Ya do?" Renji asked surprised.
"Yeah, I think so." Ichigo replied blushing.
"Then, will you be my boyfriend?"
"Yes."
A grin made its way to Renji's face.
"Great!" he said and pulled Ichigo close for another kiss. It was bliss. Renji's tongue managed to coax Ichigo's out from its hiding place to play by softly licking at Ichigo's lips. Ichigo moaned and wrapped his arms around the neck of his new boyfriend.
"Kawaiiiiii!!!" Miho squealed.
"More like hot. But also cute." Hitomi stated smirking. "Hey guys, people are starting to stare."
"Let them stare." Renji said after breaking the kiss but still staying close to Ichigo. "It's not every day they see a hot guy like me making out with an even hotter guy like Ichi." he grinned.
"Renji!" Ichigo blushed at the comment.
"What? It's true, ne Hitomi, Miho?"
"Yes!" they answered in chorus.
"You heard them. Hey! Wanna go dancing?"
"Yes, Hitomi can we go too? Please?" Miho asked.
"Sure, if that's what you want, babe."
"Let's go then. C'mon baby?" Renji exclaimed.
"Baby?"
"Don't like it? Want me ta call ya love or sweetheart or honey instead?"
"Dunno, I'm new to this kind of stuff."
"Anyway, c'mon."
"Yea yea."
They went to the dance floor and started to dance just like before but something was pulling them towards each other and soon they were dancing with Renji's hands on Ichigo's hips and Ichigo's arms around Renji's neck. Hitomi and Miho were dancing in a similar way as well.
The small group continued to dance and drink the whole evening until Miho and Hitomi had to leave because they had work the next day. Renji and Ichigo offered to accompany them home but they said that they didn't have to; they were big girls who could take care of themselves. The two couples said their goodbyes at the door and left for their respective homes.
"I had fun tonight Renji." Ichigo said happily when they arrived to his flat.
"Me too Ichi. Miho an' Hitomi were nice but mainly 'cos I got the guy I wanted." Renji said and leaned in for a kiss.
"Hmm…Renji…feels good." Ichigo whispered between kisses.
"I know but I'll make ya feel even better." Renji whispered back while he started to undress the younger male in his arms. Ichigo stopped him before he actually managed to anything.
"What is it Ichi?"
"I don't wanna go that far yet."
"Oh." Renji said and Ichigo caught a glimpse of disappointment in the redhead's eyes.
"Sorry Ren." Somehow he felt like he had to apologize.
"No, no it's okay. Ya don't have ta apologize; it should be me since I tried to do something ya didn't like. I can wait until you're ready to go further so don't force yerself. I want ya to be happy."
"Thank you Ren." Ichigo said and kissed Renji. "Now I'm gonna sleep, I'm tired."
"'kay."
They both started to change into their PJs. Ichigo noticed that Renji swayed a little so he decided to tease the shinigami.
"Are ya so drunk ya can't stand straight?"
"Shut up!" Renji replied and threw the T-shirt he was going to put on at Ichigo.
"Thanks for the shirt." Ichigo said and put it on.
"Hey that's mine! Oh well, guess I'll sleep without a shirt then." The redhead said and sat down on his futon.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm gonna sleep too, what else? Am I not allowed?"
"Aren't you going to…you know…sleep with me?" Ichigo asked blushing.
"Do ya want me ta?" Renji asked. Ichigo nodded.
"In that case…make some room fer me."
Ichigo scooted over so Renji could climb into the bed with him. Once they were comfortably settled Renji wrapped his arms around the smaller male and pulled him close.
"G'night Ichi." he whispered.
"Night Ren." Ichigo whispered back and snuggled as close to the redhead as possible.
Only a few minutes later they were both asleep, holding each other.
~next morning~
Renji was the first to wake up because of the need to go to the bathroom. At first he wondered why he was sleeping in Ichigo's bed but then the memories last of last night's events came back to him. He smiled and tried to get up without waking the sleeping teen next to him. After he managed to do that Renji walked into the bathroom.
Soon he returned but now he stopped to look at his boyfriend.
Ichigo looked beautiful when he was sleeping surrounded by the white sheets. The shirt Ichigo was wearing (a plain white one that was too big since it was Renji's) had slipped down a little, exposing a smooth, pale shoulder.
'He's so beautiful, almost angelic.' Renji thought knowing that Ichigo would most likely protest if he'd heard him think that.
Ichigo moved and tried to pull Renji closer but when his hands found nothing he started to wake up.
"Ren?" he asked sleepily, his eyes clearly showing that he was pretty much half asleep.
"Yeah, I'm here. Had ta go to the bathroom."
"'kay. Come 'ere, it's cold without you."
"Am I yer bed warmer?" Renji asked, smiling at how cute his boyfriend was.
"Nah, but come here anyway."
"Okay baby, I'm coming."
As soon as Renji had slipped back under the covers Ichigo moved into his arms.
Renji chuckled. "Ya really like ta be held, don'tcha?"
"By you? Yea, I do. Makes me feel safe." Ichigo's voice was muffled against Renji's chest.
"Safe? Do ya feel like ya need to be protected from somethin'? 'cos if ya do I'll be more than happy ta help."
"No, not from anything concrete at least."
"What about somethin' abstract?"
"My dreams. They won't come as long as I'm held by you." came the muffled answer.
"Don't worry Ichi; you'll get over 'em. And I'll gladly hold ya until ya do. Wanna get some more sleep or do ya wanna talk some more?"
"Sleep, 'm still tired."
"Then sleep."