"So, five years, huh?"

Renji was leaning forward on his elbows, chin in hand, sparkle in his brown eyes, lips quirking into a smile. The full plate of calamari stood stacked on top of the empty plate of parmesan, next to several equally empty martini glasses but only one bottle of unpronounceable German beer.

"Yep." Byakuya nodded, pursing his lips. He laughed for no reason, not sure why that was funny.

Renji chuckled. "I guess I should feel pretty honored."

"Honored!" He scoffed, waving a hand. "Pfft. You wish. I could've had anybody. Anybody I wanted. You know that, don't you?"

Another amused chuckle. "Oh yeah. I'm well aware of that."

"So." He reached for his glass but it was empty. He made a face, then laughed. "I don't remember finishing that." That was funny for some reason, and Renji was smiling, so he must have thought so, too.

He smirked suddenly. "You wanna know a secret?"

Renji grinned. "Sure."

He sat back suddenly, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm not gonna tell you until you get me another drink." His eyes widened suddenly, and he pointed an accusatory finger at the younger man. "You drank it, didn't you?"

"I'm pretty sure you drank it."

He narrowed his eyes. "How sure?"

Renji just chuckled again. "Pretty sure. So what's your secret?"

That made him forget his anger. He smiled. "I can't tell you." Then he laughed. "It'll make me blush again."

"Well, that's okay."

"No, it's not. It's embarrassing."

"What if I pretend not to notice? Won't say a thing."

He paused to consider, then nodded. "Okay. Only if you promise. Pinky swear," he added.

Renji nodded. "Pinky swear."

But it was too bothersome to hold up his finger so he didn't. He smiled again. "I thought about you."

Renji's smile grew, his mouth quivering slightly, as if he were trying to repress it. "Oh yeah?"

Byakuya nodded. "Yep. Sometimes in class. Sometimes at home." He smiled, covering the gesture behind one hand. "I was so embarrassed when you asked me out. Then when I went to see you I thought it might be a joke. I almost left."

"Aww." Renji just looked at him, not pityingly, just…like he had something to say but thought better about saying it. Finally, he smiled. "Well, just so you know, I would never do that. Even if you didn't happen to be the cutest damn thing I'd ever seen behind a podium."

Byakuya smiled back, then suddenly yawned. "Mmm." He sat back in his chair. "I can't believe I have to work tomorrow." He sighed, long and heavy. "I should go to sleep. But I can't remember where I parked."

Renji leaned forward to pick up the ticket, glancing at it before pulling out some money from his wallet. "Don't worry about it. We can find it tomorrow." He stood then came around to gently put a hand under Byakuya's arm, encouraging him to stand. "Come on."

Byakuya stood, blinking, leaning slightly against him. "Oh, are we leaving?"

"Here. Put your coat on." Renji held it out for him, helped him draw his arms through it, then even buttoned it all the way up.

"It's not that cold," he said, hearing the sullenness in his own voice.

Renji put a steadying arm around him. "It will be." He led him outside, helping him down a couple steps which Byakuya actually hadn't remembered climbing earlier. Instead of crossing the street or heading to the parking lot behind the restaurant, they only walked a couple feet before pausing in front of a motorcycle.

Renji pulled his arm away to unfasten the helmet from the bike before turning back to face Byakuya, who stared dumbly back at him as he carefully fitted the helmet over his head, buckling the strap under his chin.

"Feel snug enough?" he asked, brown eyes regarding him with concern.

Byakuya nodded, reaching up to touch the bulky contraption surrounding his head. He smiled suddenly. "Are you giving me a ride?"

"Yep." He turned to straddle the bike, then beckoned Byakuya to mount behind him, pulling his arms around his waist, instructing him to hold on very tightly. Byakuya nodded again, obligingly tightening his arms and hooking his fingers under the younger man's belt.

The motorcycle was impossibly loud. He thought he'd never heard anything so loud in all his life. It was also fast. Really, really fast. He honestly didn't need to be told twice to hold on tightly. Frankly, he feared for his life. And it didn't help that even when they stopped his eyes were telling him the surrounding buildings were still going.

They pulled into an apartment complex, Renji parking the bike under a small awning in front of one of the buildings. Byakuya stayed sitting while he removed the helmet, then stood up when he offered him his arm again. He held onto that arm as if it were his lifeblood, walking having suddenly become the most difficult task imaginable. That didn't make it any less amusing, though; once he stumbled where grass met sidewalk and had to pause for almost 30 seconds just to laugh before he could continue on.

When they came to the stairs, they both paused.

Renji frowned. "You know, you don't look like you'd be all that heavy."

Byakuya made a face. "Don't be silly. I can walk."

Renji just hmphed.

Inside the apartment, he wanted to pause and take in his surroundings, to see whether Renji was neat or messy, whether he bothered to decorate, whether or not he had a cat. But the floor was moving too much, and suddenly there was a couch, and he was sitting on it, his head tilting back, allowing him to focus on a small crack in the off-white ceiling.

He felt Renji pat his knee. "Okay, just sit down. I'm going to go get you something or else you'll wake up tomorrow feeling like shit."

"Mmm," he said, or tried to say, but he couldn't force the sound from his throat. Gradually, his eyes started to close, and then his thoughts started to drift. He began to wonder where Renji was, and then he wondered where he himself was. He smiled for some reason without recalling why he was happy. His last thought wasn't a thought at all, just Renji smiling at him, brown eyes dancing, warm and inviting.