Caress
Nnoitra dropped his large duffle bag on the floor and looked around the small apartment he was now renting with a sneer. There wasn't much to it, only large enough to fit six tatami mats in a rectangle with a small kitchen that consisted of a tiny refrigerator, a one burner stove and a small sink with about eight inches of counter space. Didn't even sport it's own bathroom, the dormitory style toilet was down the hall and he would have to use the public bath house if he wanted to get clean, but it was a place of his own. A place to come home to and relax and not have to listen to babies cry and smell their shit or that nauseating formula they drank. He wouldn't have to listen to the bitch cry out as Grimmjow made him cum for the third time followed almost immediately by Grimmjow's grunt that signaled his own release.
He sighed and lifted his hands over his head to stretch, having to bend at the elbows when his hands almost immediately touched the ceiling. The mats were probably filthy and the kitchen most likely had roaches but he'd lived in worse. At least the place had electricity and the roof wasn't leaking. He looked up fleetingly to make sure there were no water stains on the ceiling. Nope, not leaking. Then again for thirty-eight hundred yen a month is was a steal. He'd talk someone into helping him clean the place up, maybe find an old television someone was getting rid of, search alley ways for a table or something that could serve as one then he'd be set. Mostly.
The door opened behind him and Grimmjow walked in shaking his head. "Damn, this place is shittier that Ichigo's old place."
Nnoitra grinned and shifted to look at his friend. "Shit, still better than a dark alley."
"Still. You don't even have a bed." Grimmjow walked to the window and squinted through the dirty pane.
Nnoitra kicked his duffle bag. "I got a blanket in here and I can use my jacket as a pillow fer now. We've both lived in worse."
"Yeah, I guess." He kicked at the mat and his lip curled. "Dude, I'll send my cleaning lady over tomorrow to clean it up for you. Only once though. This place is shit."
"Cool." Nnoitra said, brightening at the thought of a professional doing all the work and for free. "Dontcha hafta be somewhere?"
Grimmjow groaned and almost leaned against the wall before thinking better of it, his lip curling in distaste. "Oh yeah, 'cos I'm gonna hurry over to spend time with Ichigo's dad. Still gives me that look like I ruined two of his kids forever."
Nnoitra laughed. "Well ya turned his son gay and knocked up his little girl."
"Hey, it's not like I fucked her and Ichigo was gay waaaaaay before we met. I just…," He grinned. "Helped him along the road."
"Right."
Grimmjow chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest. "Yo, you want that TV from the guest room? Kids don't need it and we're looking for a bigger place to move into soon anyway. I'm sure you could ghetto rig some sort of antenna so you can watch something."
Nnoitra frowned and tried to remember that Grimmjow wasn't exactly trying to give him handouts… outright anyway. "Whatever. I ain't pickin' it up though."
"Fuck. Yer gonna make my ass carry that fucker all the way here?" Grimmjow grinned and started back towards the door.
Nnoitra shrugged. "Ya got Shawlong."
Grimmjow laughed. "My ass. Fine. We'll celebrate yer new shit hole in a couple days. I'll bring booze and we can watch yer new TV and reminisce about being poor again."
"Che, I still am poor asshole."
Grimmjow grinned and reached for the door. "Who's fault is that?" He asked over his shoulder before leaving.
Nnoitra barked out a laugh before locking the door behind him. It wasn't like he couldn't handle things if someone walked in but he wasn't going to take any chances. With a sigh he stashed his bag under the sink and opened the window to let in some fresh air. The entire room smelled stale and he wished he had more than one window. A loud crash from the apartment next door followed by a woman sobbing made Nnoitra's eyebrow twitch upwards. He made a mental note to keep his iPod charged. He had a feeling he was going to have to block out nightly noises often.
"Hey! You're early again. And you look like shit." Kisuke said cheerfully.
"Arntcha supposed to make me feel better?" Shinji asked with a roll of his eyes and he shouldered the umbrella he was holding. It wasn't raining but the angry color of the sky told him that it would soon.
"Oh that. Nope. My job is to poke and pry at your brain and make you spill all your deep dark inner secrets so that you feel drained and like an empty husk of a human being." Kisuke's smile morphed into a grin and a small breeze made his long bangs obscure his eyes for a moment. "And then I help you feel better."
"Well that's comforting." Shinji grumbled before yawning widely.
"Good. Now what's with the face? You look like you haven't been sleeping." Kisuke pushed away from the wall he had been leaning against and started walking down the path that led into a thickly wooded area.
"I haven't. I ran out of sleeping pills three days ago and it's too soon to get a refill." Shinji looked off with a pout and sighed.
"He still creeping into your dreams I take it?" Kisuke tossed a look over his shoulder to look at the younger man's face.
Shinji scowled and nodded, his shoulders slumping just a little. "He stopped by my work a few days ago. Broke in's more like it. I found him in my office and…." He stopped walking and closed his eyes, the older blond stopping as well and turning to watch him. "We had words. Anyway he came by the house that night but I didn't answer the door I'm really surprised he didn't just break it down, honestly." His scowl turned into a sad frown and he looked up. "He only knocked a few times and called my cell phone twice and then he just left."
"You sound more upset that he left than that he showed up in the first place." Kisuke pointed out.
"I'm not…." Shinji started but stopped when he saw a warning look from the other blond. He sighed again before continuing. "Maybe a little."
"I think it might be a good idea for you to revisit those meditation exercises that we played around with last year. You're becoming rather dependant on pills again and I don't like the sound of that."
"Yeah, yeah."
Kisuke stopped and his voice went hard. "I mean it. It's not healthy to dull the emotional pain with medication. You need to start confronting your problems instead of hiding from them. I know I've said that more than once."
"I know. It's harder than it sounds though." Shinji said, his voice quieter now. The tone Kisuke had used reminded him of the few times he remembered his father reprimanding him.
"Of course it is!" Kisuke said with a smile. "Otherwise I wouldn't have a job."
Shinji shook his head and smiled as they continued to walk and talk.
He was fucked; well and truly fucked. He stood up straight and looked at the small crowed of men that had surrounded him and wondered not for the first time how bad he was going to get fucked up from this fight. It wasn't a question of who was going to win, at least not for him. He knew for a fact that the thirteen or so guys there weren't going to be much of a match for him. It was just that he hoped after he kicked all their asses that he could at least walk away from it all. He certainly wasn't getting out of this one Scott free.
"The fuck you assholes want?" He asked loudly, the alcohol in his system from a night of excess fueling his confidence.
"Longwei wants to talk to you." The apparent ring leader said, thick gaudy gold necklace almost tight against his fat throat.
"Like I give two fucks." Nnoitra sneered.
"You don't have much choice. You don't come with us we'll take you in by force."
"Like that fuckin' worked in Shanghai. You fucktards couldn't even lay a finger on me back then." He barked out a laugh and crossed his arms over his chest.
"We have more men this time."
"Che, bring it on little fat man. You gonna be the one to take the first swing? Yer just a Blue Lantern anyway."
The short man glared at him and took one of his hands out of his pocket. With a sneer of his own he raised his arm and motioned for the others to attack. Without missing a beat Nnoitra grabbed the first man to come within arms reach and picked him up with ease, tossing him up and over the heads of the other men before reaching into his back pocket for his brass knuckles. The man screamed but the others ignored him as they swarmed, trying to take Nnoitra on all at once. Nnoitra swung out his fist encased in metal and grinned at the satisfying sound of bones crunching filled the air.
Some of the men backed off, the close quarters of the not so wide alley way making it hard for them all to work as one. Nnoitra grinned and kicked out at one man close to him, sending him crashing back into two others and watched them fall. The man he had kicked didn't get up but the others pushed off the ground and advanced. When finally a fist connected with his body he found himself disappointed with how little it hurt.
"Is that all ya fuckin' got?" He shouted, ramming his own fist into another face and drawing it back covered in thick, hot blood.
The man he had hit covered his face and fled. Nnoitra mentally noted that there were nine men left, including the one that had spoken who was standing off to the side watching the scene intently. When the first sting tore through his upper arm he realized that they hadn't come unarmed. His grin grew and he ignored the blood now seeping through the cut in his jacket. It wasn't deep. Nothing to worry about. A shot to his gut made him pause and it was long enough for someone to catch him in the face, his teeth jarring as his head snapped to the side. He felt his lip spilt and spat out the blood that pooled instantly in his mouth in the face of the closest man. Another scream, another one backing down.
The largest of the group screamed a war cry and came at him, knife held high above his head and had Nnoitra had the time he would have rolled his eyes. Idiot left himself wide open coming at someone like that. He didn't bother hitting the man and instead tripped him, easily sidestepping him as he fell but taking another punch, this time surprisingly in the thigh, for his efforts. He twisted his upper body caught something with his elbow, the tingling sensation it cause spread up his arm and making his fingers hurt. Something cut into the thick fabric of his coat and dug deep enough to tear the skin over his left pectoral. Shit, how many of them had knives?
Something hard hit him in the back of the head and his vision darkened for a second before he spun around and grabbed a man holding large object up over his head by the neck, slamming him into the nearest wall. Nnoitra squeezed until he felt something sharp drag across his chest and felt a rush of warmth wet his skin.
"Shit."
His dropped the man and ignored his coughing as he turned back to the others. A fist flew and a bone cracked. A man screamed again and pain blossomed in the side of his head. He staggered and reached out, barely grabbing the closest thing to him and pulling the body close, reaching around the front of it and gripping tight to a shoulder with one hand and the forehead with the other.
"Back the fuck off or I break the fucker's neck." He twisted just enough to show that he was serious. He'd had enough and he was starting to feel light headed, whether from the alcohol or the blood he seemed to be loosing he couldn't tell.
The man who had spoken earlier raised his hand again and no one else advanced. The man in Nnoitra's grasp panted and pleaded pitifully for him to let go. Please don't kill me, he whined and he felt his stomach roll. Men like this made him sick to his stomach.
"I'll give you one week to change your mind. Otherwise we won't give you a second chance to defend yourself."
He turned and walked away, the rest of the group sending angry glares at the tall, bruised and bleeding man as they followed. Nnoitra slowly let go of the man he was holding and watched as every one of them disappeared from his view. He waited as long as he could before breathing out and leaning heavily against a rough textured wall and sliding down. He didn't understand why his legs weren't supporting his weight anymore but a part of him realized this was bad. If anyone caught him laid up like this he'd be completely screwed.
"Shit." He muttered and reached in his back pocket for his phone, hoping that someone would pick up at this hour.
Shinji stared up at his ceiling and willed sleep to come. He wasn't sure how long he had been lying there wishing for it to take him under it's sweet dark waves but he figured that he should have given up by now. With a sigh he shifted to his side and looked at his digital clock. It was just after midnight and he wasn't one bit tired. He reached and tapped his touch lamp, filling the room with a soft orange glow before sitting up and stretching with a groan.
He had been told in no uncertain terms to "go the hell home" by one of his employees that night and instead of getting angry he had sighed and acquiesced. Now he was regretting the decision. He could at least be in his office making sure the books were in order or something. He thought about taking another bath to relax but he had already soaked for an hour and his skin had just recently returned to it's normal unwrinkled state. He pushed out of bed and pulled on his thick plush robe, tying the sash tight so that it stay closed and kept him warm. The nights were getting cold but he hated running the heater all night long.
As he made his way to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea he paused when he heard his cell phone ring. With another sigh he walked back to his bedroom and picked it up, frowning when he saw the name on the display.
"What do you want?"
"Well that's not a very nice greeting." A cool voice said and Shinji rolled his eyes.
"I don't have time to deal with you right now Szayel. Spit it out so I can drink my tea and get back to bed."
"I'm not going to let your sour attitude ruin my good mood. You'll never guess who just called me." Szayel waited a beat, giving Shinji a chance to answer if he really wanted to, before continuing. "Nnoi did!" He laughed.
"So?"
"Well here's the funny part. It seems he's having trouble moving around right now and he actually called for help. I can't remember the last time he did something like that."
Shinji's brow furrowed and he clenched his teeth. "So what does this have to do with me?"
Szayel cleared his throat. "Here's the deal. Nnoi's lying bleeding and inebriated in an alley near GB. I'm a bit indisposed and Grimm's not picking up so I thought…."
"No."
"Oh c'mon. You're just going to leave him there?" There was still a hint of amusement in Szayel's voice but it was fading quick.
"It's his stupid fault." Shinji snapped, ready to hang up at any moment.
Szayel huffed out a breath. "Look, Shinji, he needs help. I've known Nnoi for a long time and I'm pretty sure he's only ever called me once for something like this. From what I got out of him he's been bleeding pretty bad for a while and he's not exactly sure that he's going to be left alone." Szayel's voice dropped a few octaves before he continued. "That and he passed out while we were talking. I'm not sure how bad off he is but you're the only one who can get him at this point."
Part of him wanted to hang up and ignore that fact that Szayel had even called him, but a bigger part had him worrying at his lip with his teeth. Ten minutes later he was fully dressed and driving towards the bar Szayel had told him Nnoitra was near, muttering to himself that he was an idiot and Nnoitra was an idiot and Szayel was an asshole. He still didn't understand why the pink haired man couldn't do this himself but when he had finally agreed Szayel had hung up on him and he hadn't had a chance to ask. He pulled up a block away from the bar and got out of his second hand car, tugging the sides of his jacket closed as he looked around. The street was relatively empty but he knew from experience that that didn't necessarily mean anything. With a sigh he locked his car door and started down the first alley way he came to.
It only took a few minutes to find him, his long legs stretched out in front of him and his chin resting on his chest as if he were just sleeping. Shinji had the overwhelming urge to kick him and before he could stop himself his foot connected with Nnoitra's thigh. Nnoitra grunted and raised his head, his uncovered eye squinting up at him. Shinji frowned down at him and placed his hands on his hips.
"The fuck ya do to yerself?"
"Che, yeah 'cos I totally did this on my own." Nnoitra shot back, his voice quiet and slow.
"Well get up. Szayel said you were bleeding so we should getcha to the hospital."
"Fuck hospitals. I'm not goin'." Nnoitra said almost petulantly.
Shinji rolled his eyes and bent down, for the first time seeing the front of Nnoitra's blood soaked shirt and his bruised and battered face.
"Holy fuck Nnoi, what happened to you?"
Nnoitra grinned. "Ya called me Nnoi." Nnoitra shifted and felt his head spin. He fell back against the wall and groaned. "Fuckin' hell. I didn't drink that much." He muttered.
"Well I can't fuckin' carry yer big ass so get up."
Nnoitra chuckled softly when he finally got to his feet only to find that he couldn't stand up straight. "Fuck this is gonna hurt tomorrow."
"Serves ya right, idiot." Shinji snapped, doing his best to ignore his racing heart as he half carried Nnoitra back to his car. "Ya look like shit by the way."
Nnoitra grinned again and looked down at Shinji, drying blood on his chin cracking. "You should've seen the other guys."
Shinji practically pushed Nnoitra inside the car and took a deep breath as he walked around the other side. What the hell was he doing? This man didn't deserve his help. So why was he there?
"Let me use yer shower. I don't have a bathroom at my place." Nnoitra demanded, his voice still quiet and his head tipped back against the head rest.
"And why should I do that?" Shinji asked, doing his best to keep his attention on the road and not the man next to him.
Nnoitra shrugged but didn't answer and Shinji frowned. He may not like the man very much right now but he knew him well enough to know he was acting weird. Before he realized it they had arrived at his apartment and Nnoitra was already opening the door and letting himself out, albeit slowly and carefully.
"Ya have ten minutes and then ya gotta leave. Ten minutes." He repeated.
"Yeah, yeah." Shinji unlocked the door and walked inside, surprised that Tesla wasn't there waiting for him. He hadn't been coming home lately at night so he figured things were going well with his current boyfriend.
Shinji turned to close the door and for the first time got a really good look at the state Nnoitra was in. His eyes widened and he reached out to touch the soiled, ripped shirt.
"Oh my God." He whispered, fingering the tears. "What happened?"
"Got jumped by some dudes. It's nothing." He wished he knew what to say to keep Shinji's hands on him but he couldn't think straight at the moment.
Shinji glared at his chest before slapping his hand hard and inadvertently over the deep gash on his pectoral muscle.
"Nothing? God ya haven't changed and goddamned bit have ya?"
Nnoitra winced and placed his hand over Shinji's, holding it there as he looked down at him. "Nope." He said with a small grin.
Shinji ripped his hand away and frowned at it, not seeing the fresh blood at first. His skin tingled and burned where Nnoitra had touched him. When he finally realized the blood was warm and wet he blinked stupidly
"Yer bleedin'."
"No shit. Ya just now noticed that?"
Shinji glared at him and pushed him down on the couch. "Take yer shirt off so I can fix ya up."
Nnoitra grinned. "Ya gonna play nurse for me. Ain't that sweet."
"Fuck you. And don't bleed on my couch, I just bought it!" He called out as he retreated to the bathroom for bandages. He couldn't exactly let Nnoitra keep bleeding when he knew that he could stop it, right? He was just being a good human being, that was all.
When he returned to the living room Nnoitra was shirtless and examining the cuts on his chest. Shinji hissed when he saw on the one he had hit earlier and sat on the coffee table in front of him. It looked bad, angry and red, blood steadily oozing out of it. Shinji chewed on his lip and reached inside his first aid kit of rubbing alcohol and cotton balls.
"Shouldn't I take a shower first?" Nnoitra asked quietly, his tongue coming out to play with his split lip.
Shinji avoided looking into his eye and stared straight at his chest. "The bandages are waterproof." He said simply.
He didn't bother to warn Nnoitra before he dabbed around the first wound, not one bit surprised when he sucked in a breath at the sting. He could have used peroxide to clean up but…. Once the deepest of them was cleaned out, flushed with a mild saline solution, he reached for some ointment and began to apply it carefully. He was closer than he needed to be, his body completely betraying him and leaning towards Nnoitra as he worked. He pressed a bit harder to place the bandage than necessary and was startled when a cool hand rose and touched the side of his face. He looked up at the starling violet eye and shivered when the touch turned into a caress. His breath caught in his throat as smooth fingers traced his jaw as they slowly curled around the back of his neck. A thumb brushed across his cheekbone and he had to force his eyes to stay open and his breathing to even out.
"I missed ya." Nnoitra practically whispered and Shinji almost choked. He shook his head slightly and tried unsuccessfully to back away, not really sure why he couldn't manage it with Nnoitra's light hold on him. "I thought about ya every day."
Shinji shook his head once more and his body jerked when Nnoitra sat up straight and leaned forward, closing what little distance was left between them. His eyes stayed wide on Nnoitra's face and his mouth dropped open of it's own accord. He was lying, he had to be lying, but part of Shinji knew that was just a defense mechanism to hide the hope and joy that was starting to blossom in his chest. Nnoitra rested his free hand on the table beside Shinji's hip and moved forward, angling his head so that his mouth was hovering over Shinji's, lips almost touching. Shinji swallowed convulsively and bit back the small moan that wanted to escape him. Too close, Nnoitra was too close. His scent, even over the blood and the stink of the alley he had been in, was flooding his scenes. His breath mingling with his own was making his head light and the light brushing of his thumb on his cheek was sending electricity throughout his entire body. They stayed close for a small eternity, sharing air as their bodies trembled ever so slightly. Just when Shinji was about to lose it and press up against that tempting mouth above his the front door opened.
"Shin-cha…." Tesla stopped in his tracks, his eyes going wide at the scene before him.
Shinji, startled by the intrusion and ashamed at what had almost happened, pushed Nnoitra back and stood up, stumbling backwards over the coffee table and righting himself as he ran a hand back through is hair.
"Take your shower and leave." He said coldly before retreating to the safety of his bedroom.
Once his door was shut and locked his slid to the floor and pulled his knees up to his chest, resting his eye sockets on them as his arms hung limply at his sides. There was absolutely no denying how much he had wanted that kiss to happen this time, no way around that he had been so tempted to be the first one to make that contact. He groaned quietly and squeezed his eyes shut. And there was no denying that he was very much not over Nnoitra.
Szayel pet the top of the black haired girl who was currently laying in his lap and sighed contentedly, wondering if his little plan had worked out. Sure, he could have gone to get Nnoitra himself but he had already been balls deep in a willing woman's mouth when his old flame had called and he sure as hell was going to push her skilled lips away just for him. And sure he could have called Grimmjow first, like he said he had, but since he hadn't done anything recently to piss him off he figured he'd let him sleep.
It was Shinji he had wanted to get back at. Damn that blond for refusing his offer. He really was good at performing for the cameras, taking direction perfectly and moaning and crying out at all the right times, whether he felt anything or not. And it had all seemed so real that each of his movies had practically sold themselves. It had been such a shame to lose him but to have him act as if he had in some way been wronged over all that had happened… well it just wasn't right.
Szayel hoped that Shinji was getting what he deserved and hoped as well that Nnoitra was suffering at least a little. Szayel could carry a grudge through the apocalypse and his past with the tall man had given him more than a few things in which to do so. He smiled at the woman in his lap and grabbed her by the back of the head, pulling her up and chuckling at her tiny cry.
"I'm not done yet." He said, pointing at his once again hard cock. She smiled and nodded before returning to her earlier task.
He let his eyes slide closed and the smile stretch on his face. He would see what had gone down in the morning.
A/N Before I forget, Blue Lantern in a term used by the Chinese Mafia, or Tirad, to refer to uninitiated members. What Nnoi would call "grunts". Also, GB is actually a bar in Tokyo. So I had to do this chapter now because I've been thinking about it for quite some time and I felt kinda bad for making you all wait so long for the last chapter. So here it is! I hope you all enjoy it and to all the mother's out there who read this HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!! I hope you enjoy your special day. I know I will :D Thanks so much for reading and again, I hope you enjoy it :D
~Penny