A/N: Hey again everyone! Hope you all are having a good day :). Not really a whole lot to say this week. Any comments are greatly appreciated, of course. To be honest, I'm tired so that probably isn't helping at all XD. Which also means that chapter 11 will probably take a while. Both my beta and I are super busy right now. But I promise to get the next chapter out as soon as possible :). I love you guys!
Enjoy!
It was a very long night for Renji. The alarm went off two hours after they'd fallen asleep, and the redhead rolled over sleepily to make sure Ichigo hadn't gone into a coma.
"You alive, Ichi?" Renji mumbled sleepily as he shook his boyfriends shoulder. Ichigo just swatted at him, still asleep, and turned his head away. That was good enough for Renji, so he simply set his alarm for another two hours and went back to sleep.
That's basically how the entire night went. Alarm goes off, Renji wakes Ichigo up, Ichigo rolls over, they both go back to sleep. Around one in the afternoon, Renji decided to get up for the day. Ichigo didn't have the same idea, however. Renji basically had to drag his boyfriend out of bed with the promise of bacon and eggs.
After helping Ichigo get off the bed and making sure he could use the bathroom without any problems, the redhead headed to the kitchen to make breakfast.
Ichigo leaned his crutches against the sink, bracing himself against the wall behind the toilet with one hand while he manuvered himself with the other. He could just sit, but he was still a man, and he still had his pride. And he was completely adamant that he would under not circumstances ask Renji for help. It was a bit awkward, but he managed. He hopped over to the sink to wash his hands and brush his teeth before grabbing his crutches and making his way back to the bedroom to find some clothes.
It was then that he realized that he couldn't reach the bag on the floor. Not that he didn't try of course. Eventually, he went to the door and poked his head out, the smell of bacon hitting his nostrils and making his stomach growl.
"Um... Renji?" he called.
"Yeah, Ichi, just a sec'," the redhead called back. He took the bacon off the stove so it wouldn't burn, and made his way to the bedroom. "Everything okay?" he asked.
"Um..." Ichigo stuttered, "I can't reach my bag to get my pants." He blushed, not meeting Renji's eye. It was really embarrassing to not be able to take care of himself, but it wasnt like he could do anything about it. That didn't mean he had to like it, though. Renji smiled sympathetically and made his way inside. Ichigo sat on the bed, covering himself with a sheet as quickly as he could. Renji chuckled as he grabbed the bag from the floor and dropped it on the bed.
"You know you don't have to be embarrassed to be half-naked around me. I've seen you in less, you know." Renji laughed when Ichigo just scowled at him, blushing harder. "Besides, it's not like you don't have anything I don't. Besides, one of these days you're gonna' have to take a bath and it's not like you can do that all by yourself." Ichigo turned beet red at that.
"Yeah, I know. I'm just not use to it yet." He swallowed nervously. "And I do need a bath. I still haven't cleaned up after last night. I feel gross."
Renji pulled out a pair of black basketball shorts that he had shoved in the bag, as well as a pair of Ichigo's boxer briefs. "Alright then, how about I help you get dressed,eat some breakfast, then go get you cleaned up. Sound good?" Ichigo nodded.
Renji helped Ichigo get the shorts over his cast and up to his thighs, and after helping Ichigo stand, the orangette pulled them up the rest of the way himself. He did want to retain some dignity, after all. The pair finally made their way to the kitchen, where Ichigo sat at the table while Renji went to get the food. He brought in bacon and eggs, as well as a pot of coffee.
The two dug in, a comfortable silence falling over them. Once full, Renji took the dishes to the sink and grabbed a trash bag before following Ichigo into the bathroom.
Helping Ichigo bathe was an interesting experience to say the least. They had to strip him naked before they could get the trash bag over the cast. Ichigo couldn't stop blushing, but he knew it couldn't be helped. He needed to bathe and he couldn't do it himself.
Ichigo pushed his shorts off so that they fell to the floor, pausing before reaching for his underware, face beet red. Renji grabbed his chin, forcing his boyfriend to look him in the eye.
"Hey, I promise it's gonna' be okay. I won't look if that's what you want, okay?" He smiled reassuringly. Ichigo bit his lip nervously and nodded, pushing his boxer briefs down as far as he could get them, letting Renji pulling them off the rest of the way. True to his word, the redhead kept his eyes on Ichigo's, almost making it sensual. But then Renji turned his back to Ichigo and started filling the tub.
It had taken all of Renji's willpower to keep his eyes on Ichigo's face. Not that he was a pervert, or anything Ichigo was just so... beautiful. All legs and abs and perfect skin. He'd been too drunk to appreciate it last time, and now he wanted nothing more than to worship the beautiful body before him. But he'd promised Ichigo to keep his eyes, and his hands, to himself.
Once the tub was filled, Renji grabbed the trash bag and opened it up, sliding it over Ichigo's cast. He pulled the ties closed and tied the top of the bag shut to prevent water from getting to the cast. Ichigo laughed a bit as Renji fiddled with it to make sure it was air tight. If any water got on it, it would get insanely itchy. Ichigo just laughed at this whole situation. He looked ridiculous.
Renji smiled and helped Ichigo stand and walk over to the tub. Getting Ichigo into the tub was more of a challenge. Ichigo had to put his broken leg in first, then have Renji hold him up while he got his other leg over the edge of the tub, before he could grab the sides and lower himself into the warm water. He felt a lot better about being naked in front of Renji once he was submerged, even though Renji had kept his promise and never let his eyes wander.
Renji then grabbed the cup he had sitting on the sink and sat on the floor next to Ichigo, the orangette looking questioningly at his boyfriend. "Uh, what are you doing?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Renji snorted, rolling his eyes. "I'm tryin' ta' do somethin' nice, so just shut it and relax, okay?"
Ichigo nodded and watched as Renji filled the cup with water from the tub. He assumed he was going to pour it over his shoulders and back, but Renji just dumped it on his head unceremoniously, making him jolt and splutter, wiping water out of his eyes.
"What the hell was that for? I thought you were doing something nice. That definitely wasn't nice!" Ichigo said indignantly.
Renji chuckled. "Hey, I am. But I gotta' have fun while I'm at it."
Ichigo rolled his eyes, sinking lower into the warm water. Renji then grabbed the shampoo from the edge of the tub and squirted a generous amount into his palm. Setting the bottle back, he started rubbing the shampoo into Ichigo's hair, working it into a lather and scratching his scalp. It felt heavenly to Ichigo. He closed his eyes and relaxed into Renji's hands, enjoying the feeling of blunt nails scratching his head.
Renji smiled as he watched Ichigo relax into him. Once he dubbed Ichigo's hair clean, he rinsed his hands off in the tub, making Ichigo whine in his displeasure, and filled the cup again to rinse Ichigo's hair. He then took some conditioner and massaged it through the orange locks, making their owner moan. Renji laughed at Ichigo's reaction.
"Shut up, Pineapple. It feels good." Ichigo scowled.
"You got it, babe." Renji smiled as Ichigo stuck his tongue out at him. After rinsing Ichigo's hair again, he grabbed a washcloth from the little closet in the bathroom and wet it, pouring lemongrass-scented body wash on to it.
"Sit up and I'll wash yer' back for ya'."
Ichigo complied, much more complacent now that he was so relaxed. Renji rubbed the soapy cloth over Ichigo's shoulders and down his back, scrubbing between his shoulder blades. He wiped gently over the scrapes on Ichigo's back and shoulders, the orangette hissing as the soap disinfected his wounds. Ichigo started to blush when Renji moved the cloth to his chest.
"You're cute when you blush, ya' know?" Renji grinned. Ichigo scowled and splashed Renji with bath water, making the other laugh. True to his word, however, Renji's hands didn't stray anywhere inappropriate, but that didn't mean Ichigo stopped blushing.
Once Renji was finished, he handed Ichigo the cloth, "I'll let you wash everything else, okay?
Ichigo nodded, taking the washcloth from Renji, who stepped out to give him some privacy. The orangette used his arms to brace himself on the sides of the tub, using his good leg to help push himself up so that he was sitting on the back of the tub, then grabbed the soapy cloth and started washing his lower half. It wasn't as difficult as he thought it would be, especially since he was having difficulty with just about everything else. Once he was finished, he rinsed off with the cup that had been set on the edge of the tub, then lowered himself back into the warm water to relax until Renji came back to help him get out of the tub. The water was cooling fast, so he used his good foot to turn the hot water knob. Slouching in the tub, letting the hot water relax his tense muscles felt amazing.
About five minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Ichigo grumbled irritatedly, as he had almost fallen asleep.
"Yeah?" he griped. Renji opened the door a crack and poked his head in.
"You ready to get out yet? You'll turn into a prune if you stay in there too long, you know?" He grinned.
Ichigo stuck out his tongue, making Renji chuckle. The redhead stepped inside, a big, fluffy towel in one hand, a pair of Ichigo's boxer briefs and basketball shorts in the other. "Come on, Mr. Invalid, I made more food."
Ichigo scowled. "You better get out before it gets cold." Ichigo's stomach rumbled even though he'd already eaten, making Renji laugh out loud. "We're a couple a' bottomless pits. C'mon, get out, ya' bum."
Ichigo scowled, "Okay, okay, sheesh. Just tryin' to relax a bit here. I did get hit by a car, ya' know."
Renji rolled his eyes and set Ichigo's clothes on the toilet lid. "Come on, then. I know you're still hungry. You're too skinny, anyways.." He pulled the stopper in the tub and waited for the tub to drain before taking the detachable shower head and turning the shower on, hosing Ichigo down to make sure he was rinsed properly. He then handed Ichigo the towel so he could hold it while he helped the injured man out of the tub.
Once he was out, Ichigo could balance on one leg while holding onto the sink for support while Renji dried him off. When he was no longer dripping on to the tile, he sat on the toilet lid while Renji helped him get his underwear and shorts on, which was a lot more difficult than it should have been. Ichigo kept trying to do it himself and almost falling over from only standing on one leg. Eventually, they got him dressed enough so that he was decent, and Renji went to get the crutches that had been taken to the bedroom.
After helping Ichigo to the living room and laying him on the couch, propping his leg up on a few throw pillows, Renji made his way to the kitchen. He came back with a heaping plate full of bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns, along with his lap table that he usually used for his laptop. He placed the table on Ichigo's lap and the plate on top of it. It smelled wonderful. Ichigo's stomach made it's emptiness known loudly again.
"Eat up, babe. Your stomach might start eating itself," the redhead laughed.
Ichigo flipped him off, but dug in anyways. He still hungry even though he'd eaten a little earlier. He hadn't had anything to eat since before the race the night before. It really did feel like his stomach was eating itself.
Ichigo ate two more plates full of food, Renji having to make more eggs for his injured boyfriend. He wasn't about to complain though. He was pretty content doing the whole domestic thing with Ichigo. It made him think about a long-term future with the orangette, and to be honest, he really liked the idea. Maybe he should bring it up to Ichigo soon.
The pair spent most of the day being lazy. They watched a few movies, Renji sitting on the couch with Ichigo between his legs and resting his head on his chest. Then played some video games on Renji's Xbox 360 (Renji loosing spectacularly at Mortal Combat). When they got bored with that, Renji grabbed Ichigo's laptop for him and they checked their emails, Ichigo working on some new designs and Renji looking through some business stuff Kyoraku had sent him for the garage.
After a few hours, Renji's phone rang, and he picked it up without looking at it.
"Hello?" he said, still looking through the invoice sheets on his screen.
"Renji, sweetie! You and your lovely boyfriend are still coming over for dinner, right? I made your favorite! It is still taiyaki, right?"
Renji blinked at his mother's voice coming through his phone's speaker, then his eyes widened as he remembered that today was the day that he and Ichigo were supposed to go over for dinner.
"Oh crap! Mom, I'm sorry, I totally forgot! Something happened with Ichigo last night and I kinda' just spaced on it."
"Oh no!" his mother exclaimed. "Is everything okay?" she asked, sounding concerned.
"Yeah, he's fine," Renji replied, scratching the back of his head, his hair still loose from that morning. "Well, not fine. He almost got run over coming home from his dad's house. He moved out of the way in time not to get hit head on, but he got his leg clipped and broke it." He could hear his mother gasp in shock.
"Oh my! Is he going to be okay?" she asked worriedly. Renji smiled at the concern his mom was showing his boyfriend, even though she'd never met the man.
"Yeah, he'll live. Other than the leg, it's just some bruises and scrapes." Sarah sighed in relief.
"That's good to hear. Well then, I suppose that means you two won't be coming for dinner?" Renji could hear how disappointed she sounded.
"Hang on, Mom. I can ask him real quick." Renji covered the microphone part of his phone with his hand. "Hey, Ichi, you up for going to my mom's for dinner?"
Ichigo looked up from the piece he had been working on on his laptop, "Uh... Sure, I guess. As long as she's okay with what I'm wearing now. I don't think I can get my jeans over this cast. Besides, who am I to pass up free food." He laughed softly.
Renji rolled his eyes at Ichigo's dry humor and turned back to his phone. "He say's yeah, but he's not gonna' be dressed up or anything. He can't get jeans or regular pants over his cast." His mother hummed her acknowledgement, saying that it was okay. Renji knew she didn't really care; she just wanted to meet his new boyfriend as soon as possible.
"Oh, by the way," Sarah mentioned before the two hung up, "I invited Coyote as well. I hope that's okay," she said apprehensively.
Renji shrugged, even though his mom couldn't see him. "Yeah, that's fine I guess. Ichigo's already met him, so it's not like he's a total stranger." Renji could hear his mother smile through the phone.
"Alright, good. Well, then, I suppose I'll see you in a few hours." They said their goodbyes, and Renji hung up, looking back over at Ichigo.
"You sure you're up for this? My mom can be kinda'... intense."
Ichigo rolled his eyes. "You did meet my dad, right? I can totally handle your mom," he said, waving his hand dismissively. The orangette saved his work and closed the lid to his laptop, stretching his arms and sighing contentedly when a few joints popped back into place.
Renji chuckled at Ichigo's confidence. "If you say so, dear." He grinned before standing up, placing his own laptop on the coffee table and kissing the side of Ichigo's now scowling face. Renji knew the cutesy pet named annoyed the orangette a bit, but his scowl was just too cute, not that he'd tell him that, of course.
He stood up, stretching his own spine out, and headed to the bedroom. "I'm gonna take a shower and change before we go, okay?" Ichigo hummed his acknowledgement, grabbing the remote so he could watch TV while he waited on Renji.
The redhead turned his head just before he walked into the bedroom. Now, normally, Renji was in no way a romantic. But there was something about Ichigo that made him want to be all mushy and sweet, and looking back at Ichigo, he knew why now. The orangette was just sitting on the couch watching TV, but the situation as a whole just felt... so right. Like Ichigo had been there this whole time and now he belonged there. He fit perfectly into his life, and Renji decided he would do whatever it took to keep him there.
An hour later, Renji was helping Ichigo out of the car, pulling his crutches out of the trunk while the orangette held on to the car for support. They didn't even have time to walk half way to the door before it was thrown open, a short blonde woman in their way. Ichigo could now tell who was to thank for Renji's Cheshire grin.
"Boys!" she squealed, making her way quickly to the pair, and much to Ichigo's surprise even though he should have been expecting it, she hugged him hard around the middle, making it hard for him to breathe.
"Mom, chill out. I'm not sure he can breathe," Renji chuckled, watching the display. Sarah released his boyfriend quickly, blushing slightly.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, dear. I suppose I don't know my own strength sometimes." She giggled, "I'm Sarah, by the way. You must be Ichigo. It's a pleasure to meet you," she paused to glare at Renji, "Finally."
Renji raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, he's here now isn't he?"
Ichigo rolled his eyes at his boyfriend and stuck out his hand as best he could while holding on to his crutches to shake the woman's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Abarai."
The woman smiled at him, shaking his hand politely. "Please call me Sarah. Or Mom. I really don't mind either," she giggled, causing Ichigo to blush.
Renji groaned, rubbing a hand over his face in exasperation. "Ugh... Mom, stop, please. Now where's the food? I'm starving."
Sarah rolled her eyes and turned on her heel, heading back into the house. "Everything's almost ready, but you'll have to wait to eat. I know you're a human garbage disposal, Renji dear, but Coyote isn't here yet, and it's rude to eat before everyone has arrived."
Renji rolled his eyes right back at his mother. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Come on, Ichi, before we get locked outside and I miss my taiyaki."
Ichigo just laughed softly, but followed the redhead inside, a bit slower because of his crutches. He was getting better at it, though.
Renji's mother's home was warm and inviting, like a parent's home should be. Sizzling and mixing noises could be heard from the kitchen, and the smell was heavenly. The trio walked into the kitchen to find a thin-looking man with long white hair pulled back into a low ponytail standing there cooking. He was wearing an apron, and at the moment he was flipping a variety of vegetables around in a wok pan. He looked up from his task when he heard them come in, smiling brightly.
"Ah, so the boys have arrived. Excellent. The stir fry is almost ready. Sarah, dear, is your man here yet? He's going to make us all starve to death if he isn't here soon." The man chuckled when Sarah smacked him lightly on the arm.
"You hush, Juu. You know how busy he gets at the restaurant. I'm sure he'll be here before everything's ready."
The man named Juu set the stir fry aside, apparently deeming it finished as he wiped his hands on his apron. Holding a thin hand out to greet Ichigo, he said, "It's very nice to finally meet you. I'm Juushiro Ukitake. The family just calls me Juu, as you are welcome to."
Juushiro's smile was infectious, and Ichigo smiled back. "It's nice to meet you too. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, but I'm sure you already knew that." Juushiro smiled and nodded as a slightly taller, brunette man joined them in the kitchen.
"Ah, so the boys are finally here. Hope Starrk gets here soon. If I don't eat soon, I think my stomach's gonna' collapse." The man chuckled, wrapping an arm around Juushiro and kissed his temple, smiling fondly at him. Juushiro just swatted his chest.
"Oh hush. You'll be fine. No need to be a drama queen," Juushiro said playfully.
"I believe the term is drama king, love. You're my queen, remember?" the brunette replied just as playfully while his partner blushed.
"Ichigo, this is Kyoraku Shunsui. He works in the garage for me and pretty much runs the place," Renji said, finally introducing the man properly. Kyoraku shook Ichigo's hand, greeting him.
A knock on the door informed them that the final guest had arrived, much to everyone's relief, and they all sat at the rather large kitchen table. Renji let Ichigo sit at the head of the table, since it was closest and there was more room for his casted leg. He retrieved his mother's foot-stool that she used in the kitchen and used it to prop up the busted limb before sitting on his left. Juushiro and Sarah brought the food from the stove as Starrk walked in to join them.
"Smells good as always, Sarah," Starrk commented. "Are you sure you don't want a job at the restaurant? Lord knows I could use an excellent cook like you." Renji rolled his eyes when his mother giggled.
"You flatter me, Coyote. Juu helped, you know. Besides, I'd probably get overwhelmed so quickly, the kitchen would be up in flames before you know it." Everyone laughed at that.
The small talk during the meal was pleasant. Everyone seemed to get along very well, so Ichigo just sat fairly quietly and listened to the banter between the members of the makeshift family. It wasn't loud and crazy like Ichigo's own family, but there was never a dull moment or a lull in the conversation. After a while though, Juushiro decided to make Ichigo take a more active role in the dinner conversation.
"So, Ichigo, I hear that you work at Mr. Urahara's tattoo shop. Why did you decide to work there?" the man asked, genuinely curious.
Ichigo thought for a minute while he chewed his bite of stir-fry. "Well, to be honest, I've always been good at art. I love to draw and stuff like that, so it seemed like a logical choice. I really wanted to be an animator, but being a tattoo artist seemed like a more practical choice. Kisuke is my dad's friend from college, so he gave me a job. It's a stable job and the pay is decent, so I'm not complaining. Besides, I met Renji there, so it's not like it's not all bad," the orangette said with a small smile at his boyfriend.
Renji returned the smile. "Yeah, Ichi does good work. He did my ink the last few times I went."
Ichigo scoffed. "Good? My work is great. I don't know what you think you're talking about." There was laughter around the table.
"I've got some ink myself, you know," Sarah piped up. "Here, I'll show you. Kisuke was actually the one to do it for me. That was a long time ago though." She pulled the collar of her blue flower patterned blouse aside to reveal a hummingbird drinking nectar out of a large blue carnation looking flower on the front of her shoulder right under the collar bone. It was quite beautiful.
Ichigo leaned over a bit to get a better look. "Yeah, that looks like Kisuke alright. It's quite lovely," he said as Sarah set her blouse back in place.
"Thank you, dear. It was actually Renji's father who convinced me to get it. Of course, I was young and wild back when we first started dating. He told me I reminded him of a hummingbird because I was always so full of energy. And my favorite color is blue. And of course I was willing to do just about anything to impress my new boyfriend, so we went to Kisuke one night and I got this. Akio ended up getting a tiger laying in a bed of tiger lilies on his back. Of course, his was much larger than mine. I suppose it's a good thing we got married. It would have been a bit awkward if we had broken up." Sarah told the story, eyes slightly glazed as her mind was years in the past.
Ichigo listened attentively. He always did like hearing stories behind people's tattoos. "That's so cool. You don't have any others, do you?"
Sarah laughed, "Oh no, dear. One was enough for me. Though I think Akio had our anniversary and Renji's birth date on his chest."
Seeing the where the conversation might head, Kyoraku quickly steered it in another direction. "So, Ichigo, do you have any tattoos yourself?"
Ichigo shook his head. "No, not now anyways. I'm the kind of person that wants a tattoo to mean something, not just because it looks cool, though there's nothing wrong with that either. I just want a good story behind it, you know?"
Kyoraku nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. You don't wanna' regret something that you're stuck with forever." The man's white-haired partner quirked an eyebrow at that, and he quickly backtracked, much to the group's amusement.
The rest of the evening was quite pleasant. Of course, there were a few awkward questions about the couple's future together from both Renji's mother and Juushiro, making Ichigo blush and Renji splutter that they were taking things slow. This was Ichigo's first real relationship after all, and Renji's first since his high school sweetheart cheated on him.
As they left, Sarah gave both boys a hug. "You boys need to visit more often. I'll make something special next time." They both nodded, Renji's mom waving as Renji helped Ichigo into the car, stuck his crutches in the trunk, and got in the driver's seat.
The drive home was quiet, but not uncomfortably so. Ichigo was stuck inside his head, thinking, and Renji was busy concentrating on the road.
"So that wasn't so bad," Ichigo piped up suddenly.
"Hm?" Renji hummed questioningly.
Ichigo chuckled softly. "Well, you made it seem like your mom was almost as bad as my dad. Your mom's nice. I like her." He smiled.
Renji smiled as well. "Well of course she's nice. She wasn't gonna' try 'n scare you off. She wants me to settle down and give her some grandchildren as soon as possible. Just wait a while. She can be scary when she wants to be."
Ichigo laughed at that. "Okay, I'll give you that. She may be small, but I know from experience with Yuzu that some of the scariest people are some of the smallest." They both laughed at that.
"But you know," Ichigo said thoughtfully, "it's not a scary idea... settling down with you."
Renji glanced over at Ichigo at that, seeing the thoughtful smile on his face before turning back to the road. "What do you mean by that, Ichi?"
"Well, I mean usually the thought of settling down with someone forever would scare the shit out of me, you know? But when I think about it with you, I can actually see it... and it kinda' makes me really happy. I don't really know how to explain it. I get this, like... warm feeling in my chest, and I like it."
Renji smiled widely, glancing over at Ichigo again. The sun was starting to set, and it shone through the passenger side window in such a way that it made Ichigo's hair glow. And with the smile, he never looked more amazing. Renji grabbed Ichigo's hand, still smiling brightly.
"I'm glad you feel that way, Ichi. Because I do too."