The Nile

XO'MagickMoon'OX

ShinigamiGirl: So, I'm going to see you tomorrow, right?

Zabimaru13: duh.

ShinigamiGirl: Hehehehehe……

Zabimaru13: ? wat's so goddamn funny?

ShinigamiGirl: You're going to have a good time at our school.

Zabimaru13: is that sarcasm im sensing?

ShinigamiGirl: Me? Sarcastic? Really, it hasn't been THAT long since we've seen each other.

Zabimaru13: 6 years 3 months and 21 days

ShinigamiGirl: …………………freak.

Zabimaru13: luv u too. so how's the prick doin? still got that stick up his ass?

ShinigamiGirl: Oh, nii-sama is doing fine. He's reading over my shoulder as we speak.

Zabimaru13: ………damn. x.x

ShinigamiGirl: I was just kidding. XD

Zabimaru13: shit, woman! u nearly gave me a heart attack!

ShinigamiGirl: Come tomorrow, you'll have wished I did.

Zabimaru13: stop tryin to scare me. its not gonna work

ShinigamiGirl: Who said I was trying to scare you? I'm being completely serious, my friend.

Zabimaru13: …………it cant be THAT bad

ShinigamiGirl: Says you.
ShinigamiGirl: Nii-sama wants me off the computer. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Zabimaru13: wait where r we meeting?

ShinigamiGirl: By the office in the commons. Just go to the office and you'll see us around there. We'll be hard to miss, what with Ichigo and all.

Zabimaru13: lol, right, the strawberry

ShinigamiGirl: Yeah, just don't call him that. You won't live it down.

Zabimaru13: psh, thats an empty threat if there ever was one

ShinigamiGirl: Whatever you say. Goodnight, Renji.

Zabimaru13: 'night rukia

ShinigamiGirl has just signed off.

Renji signed off with a sigh, leaning back in his chair and tucking his hands behind his head. He idly glanced at the calendar hanging on his wall, the big red circle inked around September eighth catching his eye. Is the summer really over? he thought dejectedly. He supposed it was a win/lose situation. He may have been starting school again for the year—his junior year in high school—but he was starting it with Kuchiki Rukia. The same Kuchiki Rukia that he hadn't seen for six years, three months, and twenty-one days, he noted with a wry smile. He'd moved away six years, three months, and twenty-one days ago, away from the only friends he'd ever had, and since then he hadn't seen hide nor hair of any of them. Not one. Sure, he'd made some new friends in his new school in his new town, but they weren't the same. In all honesty, he didn't think he'd really miss any of his other friends. The excitement of seeing the old gang overrode any potential sadness he would have felt.

He wondered what they were all like, now. He may have kept in touch with them via telephone, e-mail, instant messenger, but he hadn't physically interacted with them. What did they look like? Was Rukia still short? Was Ichigo's hair still as orange as Renji's hair was red? Was Chad still the same giant he'd always been? What about Orihime? Ishida? Even Byakuya had to have undergone some sort of change. Renji groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Kuchiki Byakuya, Rukia's older brother; just the thought of him was enough to make Renji feel uneasy. The guy was a year Renji's senior and a total asshole. They'd never really gotten along well, unlike Renji and Rukia, who seemed to be two sides of the same coin.

While Renji's thoughts continued to wander, he shut down his computer and stood, stripping down to his boxer shorts and pulling the tie out of his hair, freeing his red locks from the confines of his ponytail. He flopped lazily down onto his bed, flicking off his bedside lamp and closing his eyes. Sleep beckoned.

--------------------------

This is a high school? Renji thought to himself, aghast at the monstrosity of a building before him. It's fucking huge! How am I supposed to find my way around this place?

Hopefully, Rukia would be able to answer all of his questions.

And with that thought allaying his unease, he followed the throng of students heading inside. As he started up the stairs, something darted in front of his path, consequently tripping him. With a yelp, he crashed to the ground, feeling a sharp pain shoot through his right shoulder as he landed on it and his ankle. "Damn!"

"Oh, my apologies. Are you all right?"

Renji looked up to see a head of disturbingly white hair and narrow eyes watching him with something that one could only assume was concern. Of course, that was only assuming.

Renji shook his head. "Yeah, I'm okay." He tried to stand, only to feel his knee buckle as a pang stabbed at his ankle. "Damn," he hissed again, collapsing back on the stone steps. There was a fair-sized group of students gathered around them, murmuring amongst themselves.

Someone held out their hand to Renji. "Here, let me help you."

The redhead glanced up into a different face, half of which was covered by pin-straight blonde hair. He nodded, taking the offered hand gratefully, wincing as he was forced to put weight on his injured ankle. Another person appeared at his other side, a girl, this time. She assisted in helping Renji to his feet. One of his arms was slung around the blonde's shoulder, and the blonde helped Renji up the steps, the girl and the white-haired creep in tow.

"I'm Kira Izuru," the blonde introduced himself on their trek up the stairs. They reached the top, where the tiled floor leveled out to create a patio.

"Abarai Renji."

"It's nice to meet you, Abarai-san." Kira nodded to the girl on Renji's right. "That's Hinamori Momo. And the guy behind you is Ichimaru Gin."

Renji turned his head to see the white-haired person staring at him, an eerie smile plastered on his pale face. Gin nodded his head in greeting. "I'm sorry, again, for tripping you."

"'s okay," Renji murmured, unnerved by Gin's countenance.

"Does your ankle hurt, Abarai-san?" Momo asked.

They had stopped outside of one of the numerous sets of double doors along the glass wall leading into the school. He experimentally flexed his ankle, cringing as another pang shot up his leg. "I'll be fine," he said. "I can walk."

Momo smiled. "That's good."

Kira nodded. "Well, I guess we'll be seeing you around, Abarai-san." As the trio turned to leave, Kira paused and asked, "Are you new here?" Renji nodded. "Welcome, then." Kira smiled.

"Thanks." Renji watched as the Kira opened one of the doors and ushered his friends inside, waving a farewell to the redhead.

Renji adjusted the shoulder strap of his backpack and opened one of the doors, following the other students through it. He found himself in some sort of intermediate area that led between a set of staircases and the commons, each side of the area offset by more glass doorways. He went towards the commons, where most of the students were headed, and recalled that Rukia had told him to meet them by the office. Without much difficulty, he located the office somewhere off to his right and scanned the crowd, immediately spotting a shock of unmistakable bright orange hair. He limped towards the group of students whose faces he recognized immediately, despite the obvious changes.

"RENJI-KUN!"

He gasped as a voluptuous young girl pounced on him, almost knocking him to the ground for a second time that morning.

Renji smiled fondly. "Hey Orihime."

Orihime looked up at him through her auburn bangs, her large, innocent eyes dancing with unbridled delight. Releasing the redhead, she folded her hands behind her back. "It's good to see you again, Renji-kun."

"Likewise." Renji looked over the rest of the group gathered around one of the round tables dotting the commons. Ichigo was there, as was Uryû, Chad, and, of course, Rukia. She smiled at him as he approached her and wrapped her arms around Renji, greeting him with a tight hug. He returned it lightly, ruffling her hair affectionately. It then dawned on him how tall he'd grown, as Rukia (who used to be on eyelevel with him) was now a good head or two shorter than him. Although she'd definitely grown in other areas, she was still short. The thought made him chuckle.

He glanced around again at the others. Everyone had grown taller (though some more than others) and wider and broader each in their respective areas. He felt a brief inkling of sadness as he noticed how they had each developed into the young adults they were now, knowing that he'd missed sharing that development with them. Ichigo, Uryû, and Chad had all grown out of their boyish features into young men, while Orihime and Rukia had acquired the certain curves and shape that most girls their age had. Chad had certainly gained the most height, it would seem, but then again, he had always towered above his friends. Uryû was still thin, glasses perched on his nose, raven hair a little longer. He saw Uryû and Ichigo exchange some sort of look and was suddenly overcome with the notion that he had missed something big. It was like staring an invisible elephant in the face, and the idea annoyed him.

He brushed the sensation aside, however, and turned back to Rukia. She was studying him much the way he had been studying the others. She reached up and brushed his forehead with her fingertips, saying, "What's up here?"

He rolled his eyes up, wondering what she was talking about, when he realized that she was asking about his tattoos. "Heh, what do they look like?"

"When'd you get 'em?"

"A few years ago."

Rukia nodded, her fingertips trailing to the marks on his neck. "And these?"

"Same time."

"I see."

Renji's black shirt and blue jeans covered his other tattoos, but he decided not to mention them yet.

Chad appeared behind Renji and put his massive hand on the redhead's shoulder. "Hey, Renji," he greeted.

"Hey Chad." Renji smiled up at his towering friend.

"Long time, no see."

"Heh, you can say that again. So, does anyone have homeroom with me?" Renji asked the group.

Orihime cocked her head. "Uh, well, Rukia and I have homeroom together with Ichigo."

Uryû spoke then, asking, "Who do you have?"

Renji pulled his schedule out of his back pocket. "Mmm… Aizen."

A chill fell across the area. "A-Aizen?" Orihime stuttered. Her eyes began to glimmer with tears. She collapsed on Renji dramatically, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "Oh you poor, poor boy!"

Renji's eyes widened at Orihime's eccentric reaction. "Uh…"

Ichigo folded his arms, leaning against the table. "He's a bastard."

"Who? Aizen?" Renji was lost.

He received multiple nods and a particularly loud sob from Orihime.

"Just don't give him a reason to hate you," Ichigo advised coolly. "Don't draw attention to yourself."

"R-Right," Renji said. "Uh, okay. Well—"

The bell rang, then, telling everyone to get along to homeroom.

Renji looked up at the ceiling, as if glaring at the bell. Turning back to his friends, he finished, "I guess I'll see you guys later, then."

Orihime nodded and detached herself from Renji, wiping at her eyes. "We all have lunch D," she said as she shouldered her bag.

Renji glanced down at his schedule. "Oh, so do I!"

"Good, well, we'll meet here for lunch," Rukia said. "See ya then." She gave one last, parting smile before she left with Ichigo and Orihime, heading up the nearest stairwell. Uryû and Chad departed in the opposite direction, waving to Renji.

Chad pointed to the other end of the commons, saying over his shoulder, "Your room is up that way. Just go up the stairs and you'll find it, the first door on the right."

Renji nodded. "Thanks Chad."

He began his laborious journey towards his homeroom, his ankle throbbing as he went. Before, the excitement of seeing his friends had overrode the pain, but now it was back full-force. And it hurt like a bitch. And what happened next didn't help one bit. Once he'd finally reached the stairs, he started up them and turned on the half-way landing, continuing up the second half of the stairwell, only to be practically bowled over by none other than

Kuchiki Byakuya.

He gasped as he fell back against the landing, gripping his ankle. He looked up to see Byakuya with an expression of…surprise? What? No, Byakuya was never surprised…and he never blushed! But, certainly, that's what he was doing. Kuchiki Byakuya was blushing. And it surely was Byakuya, if the trademark white hairclips pinching his raven locks and dark, calculating eyes were any indication. Yeah, so he was taller, and obviously more filled-out, and his face had lost the slight, soft curves it had had during childhood, but it was still Byakuya.

And the blush was gone. So maybe Renji had just imagined it. It, and the look of surprise that had graced the brunet's face, because that was gone too, replaced with the characteristic stoic expression that Byakuya always wore.

"Abarai-san," he greeted icily with a curt nod.

Renji returned the nod, almost in too much pain to speak. He gripped the windowsill nearby and tried to haul himself to his feet, drawing a sharp breath as he stood on his injured ankle. If it had hurt before, after falling on it for the second time that day, it was now almost unbearably painful.

Byakuya noticed. "You should go to the nurse," he said offhandedly. With that, he continued down the now-abandoned staircase as the tardy bell sounded somewhere in the distance, leaving Renji to fend for himself.

"Nice to see you again, too, you bastard!" Renji called at Byakuya's retreating back. The other gave no sign that he'd heard…or cared, if he had heard. With another sharp breath, Renji stumbled up the stairs and found his room right where Chad had said it was. He spotted who he supposed was his teacher—a man with short, brown hair and square-shaped glasses—behind the desk at the front of the room. The man appeared to have a kindly face, though his sharp eyes betrayed his deceiving personality. Renji bowed his head, catching his breath and trying to will the pain away. "I'm s-sorry I'm late," he panted. "I had an accident in the hallway."

The man nodded. "You are Abarai Renji, I suppose?"

Renji nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Take your seat behind Hinamori, there." Turning down to a paper on his desk, Aizen gestured idly to the left side of the room. Renji looked and spotted, much to his relief, a familiar face.

He limped over to his seat and sank down at his desk behind Momo. She turned and smiled amiably at him. "Hey, Abarai-san," she whispered. "I didn't know this was your homeroom."

"Heh, yup." Renji returned the smile.

"No talking, please," Aizen interrupted gently.

Momo nodded and returned her attention to the front of the class. Aizen was the History teacher, and everyone in his homeroom had his class first period. He stood, walking around his desk to perch on the edge, scanning his class, a small, almost imperceptible smile on his lips. "Welcome," he greeted and then proceeded to explain the course aims and everything else that most likely every other teacher would be going over with them for the rest of the day.

His ankle still throbbing, Renji paid close attention. Soon, the bell that signaled the end of the period sounded, and the class was dismissed. Renji stood shakily, gathered his things, and left with Momo.

"What do you have next?" she asked.

Renji glanced down at his schedule. "Uh… Honors Literature."

Momo nodded. "Do you have Kyōraku-sensei?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Then you have class with Kira-kun."

Renji grinned. "Good. Another familiar face."

Perhaps the rest of the day would progress smoothly.

And perhaps not. Renji groaned inwardly as he reached his Literature class, only to be met with the sight of Byakuya sitting in the back corner, leaning against the wall and scanning the class in that analyzing way he tended to have. And, regrettably, the only seat available was right next to him. But, fortunately, right in front of that empty seat was Kira. So it wasn't all bad. Renji limped over to what was now his seat and sat down, ignoring Byakuya who had passed him a curious glance.

Kira turned in his seat to Renji. "Hey, Abarai-san."

"Hi," Renji replied, smiling.

Kira frowned then. "I noticed you were limping," he said. "Is it because of this morning?"

The redhead passed Byakuya a quick, sidelong glance. "Partly. I had another accident on the stairwell on my way up here."

Byakuya ignored the comment and turned his gaze to the poster hanging on the wall.

"Maybe you should have the nurse look at it," Kira suggested.

Byakuya's ears perked at this, waiting for Renji's response to the same suggestion he'd given not too long ago.

"Yeah, I'll probably go later," Renji lied. He didn't really have any intention of going to the nurse at any time during the day, but he didn't want to worry his new…acquaintance, possibly friend.

Byakuya let an inaudible sigh escape his lips. Stubborn, as always. What are you trying to prove, Renji?

A little voice in the back of his head piped up, Well, isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?

Byakuya pretended that he hadn't heard the little voice. I mean, really, who listens to their conscience?

Then the teacher walked in, and class began.

--------------------------

Finally, lunch came. Renji found the table that he and his friends had gathered around that morning. Uryû and Ichigo were already there with Rukia, and Orihime and Chad were arriving as Renji did. Rukia stood and took Renji's hand, pulling him away, saying, "The lunch line is this way."

Renji nodded, digging in his pocket for his lunch money, checking to make sure he had it. The line moved quickly, and before he knew it, Renji was back at the table, a hamburger, apple, and bottle of water in his hands. He set his food down and pulled the chair out, sitting next to Rukia, who was next to Orihime, who was next to Chad, who was next to Uryû, who was next to Ichigo, who was on the other side of Renji.

Then, someone approached the table and said, "Abarai-san, I didn't know you were in this lunch."

Said redhead looked up to see Kira standing behind his seat. Smiling, he waved in greeting and took a bite of his apple. Then, Rukia nudged Renji. He snapped his gaze to her, rubbing his shoulder. "What?" he asked.

"You know him?" Rukia whispered, gesturing towards Kira.

"Uh…yeah?" Glancing around the table, Renji noticed that everyone else was looking strangely guarded and wary of Kira. Turning back to Kira, he saw the blonde wearing a concerned expression. "Uh…"

"I'll see you later, Abarai-san," Kira murmured and departed to his table, which Renji noted wasn't too far from his, over by the snack machines.

Renji scanned the table again. Everyone seemed to relax a bit, but they were still tense. "What?" he asked, feeling again like he was staring an invisible elephant in the face.

"How do you know Kira?" Rukia all but snapped.

"Uh…he helped me out this morning. Him and Hinamori and Ichimaru—well, actually, Ichimaru was the one that tripped me, accidentally, and then Kira and Hinamori helped me up the—"

"Ichimaru?" Ichigo growled, saying the name as if it left a particularly bad taste on his tongue. "Ichimaru Gin?"

"Uh…yeah…?"

"Uh, no," Ichigo scoffed. He pointed his chopsticks at Renji, saying, "Stay away from them, especially Ichimaru."

Renji looked from face to face, noting that Ichigo very much resembled an irate cat, hackles raised, and Uryû was looking almost afraid of the conversation, or maybe of the conversation's subject. Rukia looked angry, though not to Ichigo's extent, and Orihime looked more concerned than anything. Chad sat silently eating his lunch, any expression he would have bore covered by his bangs.

Renji sighed. "All right, is someone going to fill me in?" Silence answered his request. Renji frowned, growling, "Fine, then." He took his food and stood, stalking away from the table (though the indignant demeanor he was going for was somewhat hampered by his pitiful limp). He almost headed for Kira's table, but then figured that that would only cause more trouble, so he instead went for the patio, where he knew that students were allowed during lunch. He pushed through the double doors, crossing the intermediate area in a diagonal line towards another set of double doors that led outside. His footsteps echoed around the patio and he made his way towards one of the low walls surrounding the patio, sitting down on it and finishing his food. He tossed his apple core and hamburger wrapping in a nearby trashcan, taking a drink of his water. Appetite satiated, he swung his legs over the wall and laid back, the coldness of the stone seeping through his shirt. He shivered.

"I thought you were going to go to the nurse."

Renji started, craning his neck to see Byakuya sitting not far from him. With his angry entrance to the patio, he hadn't noticed the stoic Kuchiki's presence. "What?"

"I thought you were going to go to the nurse," Byakuya repeated.

"For what?"

"For your ankle."

"Feh," Renji snorted. "Why the hell do you give a damn?"

Byakuya was unaffected by Renji's course language and continued to sit there, looking prim and proper as always, though to Renji, he just looked arrogant and irritating. "I take it you're angry."

"You didn't answer my question."

"I see no reason to." Throughout the exchange, Byakuya never once looked at Renji; he seemed intent on memorizing the lines of the tiled floor. Though one would consider this a nervous habit of most people, it was obvious that Byakuya wasn't nervous or unsettled in the least.

Renji sat up, facing the brunet. "Here's a reason, you bastard: because I asked you to!"

"That's a poor reason."

"Why do I bother?" Renji muttered, laying back down and proceeding to ignore the Kuchiki. He stared at the patio's pebbled overhang, letting his thoughts unwind.

What were his friends hiding from him? It didn't seem fair that he should be left out of something so seemingly significant just because he hadn't been present when it had happened. What also made him angry was that no one had ever mentioned to him about anything monumental happening—ever. He thought back to his various virtual conversations over the years with his friends; there had never been any sort of issue that he recalled, no problems that they had shared with him that seemed to be as big as whatever they were hiding from him. Why wouldn't they tell him what was going on? He was their friend, wasn't he? He deserved to know…whatever it was he wanted to know! Now, more than ever, he was feeling like an outsider. An outsider in the only group of friends he had at this school, aside from Kira, Ichimaru, and Hinamori, but Ichigo had told him to stay away from them! Which left him with his current posse, who were excluding him from something important that had happened in their lives that he had missed out on.

He groaned. This was all giving him a headache. He draped his arm over his eyes, trying to block any sunlight threatening to further irritate him.

He was probably overreacting, now that he thought about it. But, it would seem that his reaction was justified, wouldn't it? He could tell by his friends' expressions earlier that whatever had happened that they weren't telling him about was a painful memory, but significant nonetheless. They were his friends; their pain should be his pain, too. Any problem one of them had to deal with, the rest of them would deal with. Or, at least, that's how their particular group viewed such things. Was he being isolated from their group? Was he not a part of it, just because he'd been living thousands of miles away from them for the past six years?

"Excuse me."

Renji uncovered his eyes and blearily looked up into the unfamiliar face of a boy. He looked to be a freshman or sophomore—something younger than Renji. It seemed that, like Ichigo's expression to be set in a permanent scowl, this boy's expression was always nervous or timorous. He had a head of short, black hair that was cropped to his jaw and large, inquiring eyes. "What?" Renji asked, sounding a little more irate than he had wanted to.

"Uh…I was just wondering if you had some change I could borrow," the boy asked meekly.

"I…think so." Renji felt around in his pocket and procured a few quarters, handing them to the boy.

"Th-Thank you," the stranger said with an uneasy smile. "Um…my name is Yamada Hanatarō."

"Abarai," Renji offered his own name.

"It was nice to meet you. Thank you for the money." Hanatarō bowed and departed, heading back inside.

Renji smiled softly. "Cute kid," he absently noted.

"I wasn't aware that you had homosexual tendencies."

Renji jumped at that, turning to face Byakuya, who was still sitting where he had been almost ten minutes ago. "You're still here?" Then Byakuya's words registered with him. "Homosexual tendencies?" he squeaked, glaring at the Kuchiki. "What are you saying?"

Byakuya shook his head. "Nothing. It's just an observation."

"I'm not gay!" Renji said, a little louder than he'd intended. A couple heads turned, and Renji promptly flushed three different shades of pink.

Byakuya chose not to respond and instead turned to look at a cherry blossom tree growing behind the knee-high wall. The branches were bare. The sunlight, which was blunted by the pearly clouds blanketing the sky, gave Byakuya's pale face an almost angelic glow, his lips highlighted to look pinker than usual, his hair gleaming softly and very much resembling ebon satin, clipped at the top with his characteristic white ornaments. His visage, for once, was not stoic or apathetic, but looked almost contemplative.

Beautiful, Renji thought.

Byakuya shuddered, then, and wrapped his black trench coat more tightly around him, turning back to staring at the floor and folding his arms over his knees. Renji shook his head.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Renji stood, wavering slightly on his bad ankle, and headed inside.

"Go to the nurse," Byakuya's soft demand followed Renji's retreating figure.

Renji, quite calmly, gave him the finger over his shoulder, and the door swung closed behind him.

Byakuya sighed, muttering, "Asshole."

He glanced back at the bare sakura tree, sighing again. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

--------------------------

Renji tossed in his sleep.

"Help! Hel—" The rest of the plea was distorted as water choked the young boy. His red hair was stuck over his face, caught in his mouth. His heart was racing at an unhealthy pace as he struggled to stay above water, and failed.

He clutched weakly at his sheets, whimpering softly.

Please, the boy thought desperately as he was submerged again, beginning to drift with the current. He didn't know how to swim. He was going to drown.

He would've cried if he'd had the energy. Please, someone, help me… His eyes grew dark and he felt cold, his lungs burning as he opened his mouth and tried to breath, only to receive water instead of air. It didn't matter; he was going to die.

Renji turned so that he was on his stomach, eyes clenched shut as if to block out the dream, to no avail.

And then, he was floating, being pulled, towards Heaven, he supposed. Or whatever awaited him after death. This was it. Was Heaven supposed to be this warm? Or…solid?

The boy opened his eyes and saw an angel hovering over him. But, where was the halo? The wings? And since when did angels where black? Maybe it was the Angel of Death. But, this angel looked familiar. Startlingly familiar. It was

Byakuya.

Renji sat up, gasping for air. He turned to his savior, tears threatening to escape the corners of his eyes. Sobbing, he pounced on the raven-haired boy, wrapping his arms tightly around his neck. The force of the impact sent the Kuchiki backwards into the grass, and then

A blush crept up Renji's tattooed neck.

they were older, Renji still on top of Byakuya, in the same place by the rushing river. Renji brushed his lips experimentally against Byakuya's, before the Kuchiki pressed his mouth up into Renji's hungrily, unsatisfied with the light touch. A welcomed heat rippled through the redhead's body as he returned the kiss with just as much fervor as Byakuya. And then Renji's shirt disappeared.

Renji groaned, sweat beading at his brow as he tossed yet again in his sleep.

Byakuya ran his hands down Renji's back, across his shoulder blades and smoothing down his spine. Renji shivered, nipping at the brunette's lower lip beseechingly. Byakuya willingly let Renji's questing tongue into his mouth, engaging in a sensual dance of sorts. And it was so goddamn hot, but Renji didn't mind. He suspected that Byakuya didn't either.

His breathing was growing almost frantic, his hand again clutching at the sheets, but for an entirely different reason.

Renji pulled back for air, drawing Byakuya's lip between his teeth and biting softly, eliciting a pleased whimper from the Kuchiki. Renji shuddered at the thought of the effect he was having on the brunet. Seeing the usually uptight, taciturn Kuchiki so open and worked up just turned him on even more. Then Byakuya's shirt vanished.

Renji was on his stomach, the blush that had crept up his neck spreading through his body to the tips of every extremity.

Renji kissed down Byakuya's chin from the corner of his mouth to his neck, where his lips continued further south. He was rewarded with a heady moan as he nipped at Byakuya's collarbone. The brunet's hands were roaming again over the expanse of Renji's back, tracing down his sides to his hips and back up again, teasing at the heated flesh. Renji sighed appreciatively, still moving down Byakuya's body.

He arched down into the imaginary caresses, heart racing with arousal.

Slender fingers entwined in his hair, tugging his locks free from their ponytail and letting the scarlet tresses spill over Renji's shoulders and back, hanging in front of his eyes. Byakuya gripped Renji's face as the redhead kissed down the center of his abdomen, making Renji look up at him. Byakuya smiled, and Renji stared.

Byakuya

was smiling.

Mesmerized, Renji crept back up to Byakuya's face and poked at the corner of his mouth, as if testing the smile for substantiality. Byakuya laughed at that.

Byakuya

laughed.

And Renji couldn't help but kiss that smiling, chuckling mouth, longingly and passionately and hungrily, delving into the hot orifice with his tongue and being met by Byakuya's, the smile still present through the kiss. The brunet's hands began to wander lower, sliding again over Renji's back, down his spine, to the hem of his pants. He slipped his fingers under the waistline, continuing until he had a firm grip on the redhead's ass. Renji moaned into Byakuya's mouth, and then again when Byakuya pressed their hips together.

"I want you," Byakuya whispered as they parted.

Renji wasn't able to think straight, his mind in a rapturous fog, but he had heard Byakuya, and responded ardently. Then, their pants disappeared, and—

Renji gasped, bolting upright in bed. He was panting heavily, his hair matted to his face and neck with sweat. He was trembling, he noticed, and his heart felt as if it were trying to escape from his chest. He covered his mouth with his hand to stifle a choked sob, feeling more overwhelmed than he ever had in his entire life. Idly, he noted that he could still feel the impression of Byakuya's impossibly soft, silken lips against his own. He shook his head desperately, trying to rid himself of the image of the brunet, flushed and breathless and needy and just oh so fucking perfect— "Nnng," Renji groaned miserably, drawing his knees to his chest and resting his head on top of them, wrapping his arms around his legs. "What the fuck was that all about?" he murmured to himself.

The dream had started out innocent enough, just a memory of when he'd fallen into the small river outside of the Kuchiki manor when he was little, and Byakuya had saved him from drowning (after which Renji had seen to it that he learned how to swim). But then, it had evolved into something much less innocent. Much, much less innocent. Where had that all come from, anyway? It wasn't like he was attracted to Byakuya in any way, shape, or form, but…that dream seemed to be saying otherwise. Not saying, practically screaming, while holding flashing signs in his face. But it wasn't right! If anything, he'd always pictured himself winding up with Rukia, not her brother! That was just wrong, on so many levels! Just what was there in Byakuya to desire?

…Beautiful…

Renji shook his head again. So he'd caught Byakuya looking pretty for a moment outside during lunch; that shouldn't have been enough to spur this sort of dream.

"I wasn't aware that you had homosexual tendencies."

Shut up! Renji chided his mind. It was that stupid fight that he'd had with his friends; it was screwing his head up, and then his run-in with Byakuya on the patio… He was just under a lot of stress, and it was messing with his mind. He was not attracted to Byakuya!

"Denial" isn't just a river in Egypt.

"SHUT UP!" Renji shouted at the voice that had decided to make an appearance in his head. The voice just snickered. Renji groaned and fell back against his pillows, pulling his sheets over his head. He was just under a lot of stress, he reasoned with himself. And, with this skewed rationale placating his nerves, he fell back into an uneasy sleep.

TBC