You've got it baby, you've got the stuff.

"Nn… ahh," Ichigo gasped, intense pleasure tingling through his whole body. Oh, Renji's hand was so much softer than Grimmjow's. The calluses weren't rough or tainted with char from frequent cigarettes, and Renji's body was warm behind his, holding him close with his slightly bigger frame. Renji smelled so nice, and it just felt so good, being touched this way. He loved being held like this.

But he couldn't let Renji know that. Oh no, that would be too soft and weak and gay, to tell him that he liked this. It would make him look weak, and he wouldn't allow that. He couldn't cave in and see that smug look appear on Renji's face; it was bad enough seeing it on Grimmjow's. He couldn't bear to see it on his best friend's face too. It was too much, to know that he'd completely lost control, to know that he was naked and exposed and vulnerable towards someone that he always wanted to be strong in front of.

"Do you let him do this to you?" Renji whispered into Ichigo's ear, holding Ichigo's body to his front, hands down inside of his sheep-covered pajama pants. Ichigo was gritting his teeth, red in the face. He didn't want to let Renji know that it felt good, but he couldn't stop the little noises from coming out, even if he crunched his teeth together. It pissed him off that Renji had such power over him, that he was breaking down and showing weakness.

"Ahh," Ichigo gasped, head rolling back onto Renji's shoulder, face angry and hot. Why did he have to be so damn sensitive that he couldn't even keep quiet? He didn't like being seen like this. He had made Renji be behind him so that he couldn't see his nakedness directly; it was bad enough that Renji was touching him under his underpants. He hadn't even let Grimmjow do that to him.

Part of him knew damn well that it was easier to let Grimmjow do this because he could put up a front and whine and shout that he didn't really want to do it with him. He could put up resistance and say that Grimmjow's persistence was the reason that he'd given in and let himself be touched. But with Renji… There was no excuse or escape that he could use. This was completely his decision, and he couldn't say that it was because Renji was pressuring him or something. It pissed him off that he was seeming weak, that he had willingly given in, as if he was letting someone dominate him and have their way.

Renji stroked along Ichigo's length, licking his fingers to try to soothe the chafing. "Did you?" he asked again, kissing the side of Ichigo's neck gently.

"No… I stopped him before he touched me there… under my clothes," Ichigo gasped out, half angry that Renji might get smug or something. It was hard to be furious when it just felt so good. He shuddered, clinging to Renji, growling. "Ahh, ah, no, slow down," he begged, breaking out in a sweat.

"But you did let him touch you," Renji clarified, now sounding a little upset that Grimmjow had touched him at all, skin contact or no.

"Not like… not…" Ichigo whimpered as Renji stroked him faster, kissing his way over his shoulder. He couldn't act angry anymore, just letting the feeling take him over. Oh god…

He twisted his wrist and held Ichigo tighter right at the base, swirling upwards with every stroke. He licked his hand again, snaking it back down, still in disbelief that this was really happening.

Renji kissed his cheek, and suddenly Ichigo started swearing and jerking in his arms to try to get away from him, cursing at him and his gay ways.

"Is it really that bad to do this with me?" Renji whispered in disappointment.

"Yes, I don't like it!" Ichigo shouted, gritting his teeth with an angry expression as he tried to keep from making any more noise. This proved impossible, as he was insanely sensitive. Renji rolled his thumb around the head to spread the little trickle of precum on it. He tried with both hands, twisting around Ichigo as he stroked him.

"But I'm trying so hard," he whispered pitifully. Ichigo covered himself up in shame, mumbling that he shouldn't have let him do that in the first place.

Renji just stared at him for a while as Ichigo became visibly uncomfortable.

Ichigo's eyes widened as Renji crawled to him and gently tried to make him come back. "Oh, let me try this, I know that you'll like this. I promise I won't bite."

"I don't wanna' do anything else," Ichigo pouted hotly, red in the face, absolutely mortified. Screw Renji and his stupid feelings and his stupid sweet dopiness and his stupid stupid face. Screw all of it. "I never get a break from you perverts."

"Aw c'mon, it'll be good, I promise." Ichigo hesitantly let Renji lay him down and have his way. The orange-haired man mumbled something in embarrassment as he covered himself with his hands, not liking Renji to be at eye-level with that area. The only reason he had let Renji touch him there in the first place was because they had been under the blankets where Renji couldn't see his nakedness so closely.

Just as Renji's mouth began to near his crotch, he realized what was about to happen and jerked away in surprise, part of him horrified, the other part insanely excited by the prospect of something like that; It would probably feel really good… wet and warm and… wow, that would be nice, wouldn't it.

But his knee-jerk reaction was to scramble backwards in alarm, which caused him to wake up and roll right out of bed with a thunk.

He blinked dazedly for a moment, staring at the ceiling, wondering why it still felt kind of warm down there. Renji looked over the edge of the mattress curiously, sleepy-eyed.

"You okay, babe?" Renji asked hesitantly, still a little antsy about calling him anything sweet, lest he be hit and sworn at.

Immediately Ichigo blushed, having realized that he had been having an erotic dream. He nearly tripped over himself as he got up, gripping the front of his pants and rushing to the bathroom.

What was this? Why would that fantasy even be bouncing around in his head, huh? It wasn't like he was wishing for that to happen or something.

"Are you okay, Ichigo?" Renji called again in concern, having gotten out of bed to go knock on the bathroom door. "Are you throwing up?"

Renji couldn't get anything out of him other than variations of 'shut your mouth.' so he decided to get up and make a snack until Ichigo cooled down. It was obviously another one of his fits of denial or 'no, I'm not gay, I swear' rants. It would be better to let Ichigo work through it himself rather than try to talk sense to him. Ichigo would often deny the truth if you told it to him, just out of pique. Renji understood. There had been a bunch of things that had wounded Ichigo's pride lately, and he had no desire to add to the burden.

So Renji just sighed and loafed around, making a snack for himself and one for Ichigo if he ever decided to come out of the bathroom. After his second sandwich, his cellphone rang. "Hello?"

"Hey."

"Senpai?" Renji asked the voice, thinking that it kind of sounded like Ikkaku, "Oh, I was just thinking of calling you. What's up?"

"Uh… I got Yumichika ta' invite me over to his house." Renji was dead silent for three full seconds, not even chewing out of shock.

"Wow," Renji said stunned, going on to explain that he hadn't been over there in ages because of the man Yumichika was with. "Speaking of which, how does Yumichika-senpai look? I haven't seen him in a while. Is he okay?" Ikkaku gave a little laugh, knowing full well how much Renji looked out for Yumichika. Renji felt bad, because he'd actually been out of contact with Yumichika for a long time. It just infuriated him thinking of Yumichika cooped up in that house all alone. He didn't care how well Kaa appeared to treat Yumichika; he still didn't trust the guy.

Ikkaku cleared his throat before answering. "He actually looks a little busted up. He wouldn't talk about it, but I think he took a spill." Renji sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Why doesn't he hang out with anyone anymore? He's like a recluse now… I remember him loving to party and drink and… He was a free spirit, you know?"

"I do know." Renji sighed. "It's hard to believe he's the same guy as the one we saw in middle school, isn't it?"

"Yeah… I wonder what happened."

Renji bit his lip, wondering whether or not to spill the beans. Did Ikkaku know about Kaa at all? He had to, he wouldn't be that oblivious, and it's not like Yumichika would lie. Yumichika loved Kaa; that man was his whole life these days. As much as Yumichika had always loved Ikkaku, there would be no way that he would ever be brave enough to go behind his back like that.

Usually he kept his mouth shut when it came to Kaa, because nobody wanted to hear what he had to say about him. Everyone liked Kaa, or at least thought he was a nice guy. Even Ichigo thought he was pretty okay, so Renji didn't often tell people just how he felt about that dirtbag, but if Ikkaku really was going after Yumichika, he needed to know. Renji had to at least tell him about his hunch, just in case.

"Okay, you just want some advice on Yumichika? He was an actor, I already told you that… He… okay, can you remember when his transition started?"

"Not quite."

"Okay, well a bunch of stuff happened all at once. You were abroad that year, I think, so you might not remember... He quit his job, sold his jetski, dropped out of acting school and theater troupe, got rid of his cat, stopped dressin' up, stopped partyin'... a whole bunch a' stuff. He sacrificed all that to spend more time with that snake. I think Kaa made him stop it all. Fucker."

"What, you don't like Kaa?" Ikkaku asked, puzzled. Everyone liked Kaa. Even he liked Kaa, and he was the competitor for Yumichika's heart. The guy was charming, funny, smart, rich, and he told great stories. "Why not?"

"Well," he said sourly, "Let's just say that I feel protective of senpai, and I just don't like… Ugh, I can't explain it. I have this really bad feeling… I know it's hard to believe, but I dunno', I just don't like how he treats Yumichika-senpai… I mean, Yumichika always says that everything's fine and that Kaa's the best boyfriend, but, you see how much he's changed. There has to be something." Ikkaku had a feeling that Renji wasn't telling him as much as he knew.

"That is pretty strange, isn't it," Ikkaku voice came through the receiver sounding a little concerned and almost disturbed.

"Yeah, I think Kaa's overprotective or something, or that's how Yumichika puts it. I think he's controlling." Renji started rubbing his temples, wishing that he hadn't agreed to stop interfering in Yumichika's life. He knew damn well that Yumichika was lying to him when he said things were fine.

"I think Yumichika doesn't even bother asking him to hang out with me or the guys anymore is because Kaa gives him trouble about it. I just have this gut feeling. He gave up everything, and it pisses me off how the guy acts, like it's not a big deal or something. I mean, yeah, I thought he was cool and nice for awhile too, and he was for a long time, but… I dunno', there's something about him now. I don't like him."

Ikkaku was silent, listening. "I haven't been to their house in ages, but I think things have gotten out of control. It's seriously everything, if I'm right in assuming. It's too much - what he eats, when he goes to bed, what he does in his spare time, everything. I really hope you can snatch him from Kaa, because he needs someone to stick up for him. You see how far he's fallen. Yumichika was strong, and he woulda' never let someone boss him around… He had this unbreakable pride. I don't think… I don't think he feels beautiful anymore, and I think that's the key to Kaa's power over him. He doesn't feel pretty anymore."

"Yeah... It's sad. I'm trying."

"I actually got a phone call from Yumichika a while back askin' for similar advice about you. I think he's thinking about seeing you behind Kaa's back. No matter what he says, he still likes you, but it's hard for him to open up now. Just be careful. You're playing with fire."

"I can take the heat."

"I hope so. I really hope so."

Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?