04.

TITLE: The first time ever I saw your face

WORD COUNT: 905

SUMMARY: The first time Renji and Ichigo had seen each other's faces, they had no idea that they would end up being so fond of one another.

RATING: R (just shounen-ai in this one!)

NOTE: A bit long in the rewriting, but I present the fourth instalment in this series of shorts. This is a shortened reworking of "The first time ever I saw your face", a piece I'd originally intended to include here but ended up posting as a one-shot due to its length. Although this is an abridged version, a few of the details do differ from the original. This is also, rather unintentionally, one of the new pieces of writing I've actually done since the start of 2017 for this fandom. Hope it isn't too bad - as always, please review and/or favourite if you liked it!

And I knew our joy would fill the earth/And last 'till the end of time, my love

- Fayray, "The first time ever I saw your face"

The first time ever they'd seen each other's faces, it had been a warm summer night, unusually humid and hot for Karakura, the cicadas strangely silent despite blood splattering all over the pavement, Zangetsu falling out of Ichigo's grip and landing on the pavement with a loud clang even as Rukia desperately clang to Renji's arm, pleading the taller shinigami to spare the life of the substitute who hadn't meant to take all of her powers when she'd attempted to transfer them to him out of sheer desperation.

That was the first time they'd ever met, and in those few minutes the younger orange-haired man, defeated in battle, had been reduced to kneeling on the ground, his shihakusho in disarray, even as he could only look up at Renji, a grin on his face even as he swung Zabimaru above his head. It was at that very moment, as Renji raised his zanpakuto straight up high, readying himself to cut down the imposter before him, that Ichigo had stared the redhead straight in the eyes. Renji had reeled inwards at the utterly crazed look in them, only mere moments before a sneer spread across Ichigo's face and he grabbed his zanpakuto, slashing upwards and catching the older man off-guard, wounding him severely, and he was about to deal another blow when Byakuya stepped in, severing his blade without so much as a glance.

Ichigo remembers looking up at the backs of the three shinigami standing before him as they prepared to return to Soul Society; more than the tears forming at the corners of Rukia's eyes, though, the last thing he recalls seeing before he blacked out was the small, guilty look Renji threw over his shoulder even as Byakuya entered the door his subordinate had just opened, as well as the redhead's lips moving, the shinigami mouthing an apology, guilt-stricken over the turn of events that had just happened.

Renji had assumed that the boy had died there and then, and so was rightly surprised to see the younger man standing before him, a mere few days later, at the base of the steps leading to Senzaikyuu, Ichigo pointing his zanpakuto at him and loudly proclaiming that he would save Rukia, even as Ganju and Hanatarou scurried to take cover, absolutely terrified at the sheer amounts of reiatsu the two shinigami were emanating.

It had been a ferocious fight, so much so that most of the surroundings had been damaged as the two shinigami exchanged blows - but in the end, victory had been Ichigo's, as he shattered Zabimaru and wounded Renji across the chest with one single, colossal stroke. And as he fell, gasping for breath, all Renji could think of was how he never was a match for the younger man with all of his drive, courage and tenacity; how he was a mongrel through and through, bold enough to bark at the stars but never brave enough to actually reach for them.

Renji remembers how the situation then had been the reverse of what it was a few days ago – now, he was the one on his knees, bloodied and injured before the very man whom he had tried to kill less than a week ago, even as he reached up and grabbed the ends of Ichigo's shihakusho.

"As shameless as it is, I'm asking this of ya – please, save Rukia for me!"

It was the first time he had placed his faith in the younger man, the first of many occasions – indeed, as they trained together to obtain their bankais, as they both appeared at the top of the Soukyoku Hill to save Rukia, it had always been Renji who turned to Ichigo, looking him in the eyes wordlessly, and Ichigo returning the look with one of his own; no words were exchanged between them, everything they'd wanted to say to each other communicated through their eyes.

"You sure you'll be able to get your bankai in three days?"
"I'll manage somehow, with Yoruichi-san's help."

"I'll be down there waiting for you – think you'll be able to escape with Rukia?"
"That's what we're here for, isn't it?"

They both remember how, as they laid all bandaged up in one of the wards of the Fourth Division after Aizen had escaped to Hueco Mundo with Ichimaru and Tousen, they had seen something beyond those unspoken words flicker in each other's eyes – something unreadable, yet familiar and understandable, faint blushes having coloured their cheeks when they recognised, in each other, the same emotions they had been feeling. And they knew, the moment they smiled at each other, that they felt the same way about one another, Ichigo's small chuckle meeting the flash of Renji's grin as their hands intertwined.

It was some time after that, when they had healed and the bandages removed, that they saw each other's faces for the first time properly, now beyond the initial impressions they had of each other, formed under not-so-favourable circumstances.
Where Renji had previously seen a brash, inexperienced traitor, he now saw a caring young man who always placed his friends before himself, a confident person who spoke honestly and to-the-point.
Where Ichigo had previously seen a loud, cocky ruffian, he now saw a passionate man who was not afraid to challenge the status quo, a courageous person who stood his ground and never backed down.

And they both love each other very much.