Hello again, my beloved readers I apologize for the delay... *bows* =3

In case you wonder - no, this chapter is not absolutely useless only to give me time to write a more interesting one. It has a deep meaning related to what happens afterwards :) Or at least a kind of meaning... I hope... :)

And many thanks to my beloved new beta Evil-Peach for helping me with this, especially with the quotation marks, since where I come from we write them differently :)

Also, for those who might have forgotten, I am a yaoi fangirl, which means this fic is M rater not only for language, which isn't that bad after all, but mainly for the pairings... I'm saying this now because there's a nice fluffy lemon coming up when you finish reading these little pieces of mind of mine and not just any lemon, but a yaoi (male x male), so I'm not having ANY complaints and such, because you've all been warned, right? And if you're just interested in the story, please skip the smut part and read on, it's not really that long.

For those of you who share my hentai fantasies, please be seated, fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride :) Please review, it makes me very happy to read your opinions and it helps a lot with writing as well... and as usual there are notes at the end of this chapter :)


A single drop of sweat made it's way along prominent clavicle and further south, changing directions with every curve, breath and move of lines of lean muscles underneath flawless porcelain skin now flushed with heat of desire until it was swept away by an exploring tongue heading towards it on it's way over and around one of rosy nipples, hardening slightly under the unusual –and not at all unwelcome- amount of attention.

A kiss. A lick. And two calloused fingers tantalizingly pinched its brother so that it wouldn't feel all left out.

"S-stop...! This is –ungh!" the pleading whimper died away in a renewed wave of moans. Hands with long slender fingers tugged at white sheets, pulling them down to where two men lay huddled together, the soft fabric making another feeble protests sound even more incomprehensible as lips buried within its folds.

He pressed his body onto the one writhing beneath him with every touch, kiss, lick and breath. Tips of his fingers loitering across heated skin of heaving chest, stomach and abdomen to where a thin line of hair lead from small belly button to a tempting hardness standing beautifully out against pale skin of long slender legs trying to hide the flushed heated flesh twitching in anticipation.

Another set of barely audible protests filled the room as tips of fingers began caressing smooth skin of inner thighs coaxing those graceful slim knees apart, however they may have never been uttered for all the attention they received.

Once his endeavors succeeded, hands firmly gripped small hips and pulled the lithe body lower so that the edge of the bed the man was leaning onto leveled with the back of his head when he tilted his face up to face his lover, strands of raven hair falling loosely over dark heavy-lidded eyes glazed with passion and cheeks the color of cherry blossoms.

The sight of that so rare expression on otherwise measured and regal mien of Kuchiki Byakuya was invigorating and he knew he was tormenting the man as well as himself with deliberately trailing his hands along every curve of that beautiful body without touching or even getting close enough to the most intimate part. But he wanted to hear the voice so used to giving orders it was hard to imagine it husky and thick with lust. He wanted it to plead with him. To beg for his touch.

"You like it, don't you?" it was but a whisper, provocative, arousing and daring. "When I touch..." another excited groan left the kiss-swollen lips and eyelids slid closed, hiding the obsidian gaze as strong fingers wrapped around the noble's considerable arousal moving up and down at an agonizingly slow pace. "Say it."

Sword calloused thumb swept a single bead of precum leaking out of the small slit on top of it's darkened head and Byakuya gritted his teeth, turning away from those honest deep-brown eyes now gleaming with red in the dim bedroom light. And the hand on his hard member had stopped and instead spread his legs further apart while the rest of his lover's body rose up to tower over the 6th Division Captain whose silky black hair were now spread over the bed sheet in contrast with the snow-white fabric and fingers cupped small chin, forcing him to look up to meet the man above him.

For a moment there was resentment clearly visible within the noble's obsidian eyes as they locked with their chocolate counterparts, though it had disappeared the moment hand resumed its course along the heated flesh between his legs.

"Tell me what you want." the voice came out but a husky whisper barely inches from his ear and in the next moment Byakuya's lips were captured in a sweet deep kiss and it made his face flush deeper, eyes haze once more, fair skin of his all but naked form twinkling with sweat - he looked like an angel fallen from the sky.

His hands crept up around his lover's neck, stealing another passionate moment of eloquent strokes of their tongues as the first one broke to allow them both to catch a breath. "I want you to make love to me," he breathed into his lips. "Renji."

Renji awoke with a start, straightening up so quickly his wounds felt like opening again. His breathing was heavy and tanned skin sprinkled with sweat. What was that just now? He was dreaming... about...

His hand darted up to cover his face. He could feel the taste of Byakuya's lips, the touch of his hands and the burning of his skin. An image of smooth pale body remained dancing before his eyes and he couldn't shake if off. No, he didn't! He couldn't! Not like that! It wasn't even real! Since when would his captain say something like: "I want you to make love to me."? Ichigo would sooner start dating Ishida.

/You know, that doesn't sound like a bad idea either!/

The sound of that voice made Renji blink and instinctively look around. It took him few seconds to realize it was coming from within his own mind.

YOU! The hell d'you think you're doin'?

Renji got up and strode to a mirror hanging on the opposite wall of his room here in Kuchiki manor, where he's been recovering for the past few days. A handsome face that was and wasn't his looked back at him, golden eyes reflecting a smirk on the guardian's lips. He ran a hand through a long, blond mane with deliberate laziness and winked.

/Well you enjoyed it, didn't you? Although I was just starting to warm up. If you hadn't woken up.../

Like hell I enjoyed it! You violated my dreams, you harpy!

Renji could hear himself yelling, but no sound came out of his mouth.

/Tengu, you ignorant Pineapple, I'm a Tengu! Te-n-gu!/

The guardian pursed his lips, making a wounded face.

/And I haven't violated anything. I only used what was already in those kinky fantasies of yours./

Renji's face turned the exact shade of red as his hair as he followed the guardian's gaze, hands immediately darting to hide a treacherous bulge in his kimono.

/Don't bother, just do your thing and be done with it./

The Tengu chuckled.

SHADDUP! I'm not gonna ‚do my thing' or any other insipidity you might think of! I'm takin' a walk!

/Well, good luck with that, honey!/

Yet another set of chuckles followed Renji as he turned away from the mirror and walked out, taking long strides through the manor gardens and into the maze of alleys of Seireitei lit with torches lining the reishi made walls, ignoring long strands of crimson falling over his shoulders and back as well as the slight discomfort in his crotch and letting his legs carry him wherever they want to, while his thoughts wandered off into another realm.

He lied. Lied to himself and to his Tengu and the yōkai knew it. Though he had no right to invade Renji's dreams like that, fantasies like the one he had been having just now really were being kept hidden deep within the shinigami's mind for a long time. And Renji was aware of the reasons behind his guardian's constant interventions of his private life. There was almost no time left to act now, he realized it the moment he took Zabimaru into his hands and felt only cold handle of an ordinary sword. Since Inuzuri, Renji's zanpakutou hasn't come out and it frightened him. He remembered now what had happened on that day. It was not the strength of the opponents he had to face but a betrayal as his own men turned against one another and stabbed him in the back. He died in there and when a shinigami dies, his zanpakutou disappears. The fact that Zabimaru had not come back could only mean that when this is all over the Tengu leaves his body and he will die again, this time for good. And the guardian only wanted him to be honest with himself and face his feelings for the first and last time in his life. But Renji wasn't sure if he could do it. Excluding the fact that they were both men, Byakuya was someone Renji could look up to, someone beyond his reach as long as he remembered no matter how strong he became since the first day they met. To touch him would mean placing himself as an equal and that was unthinkable however he tried to look at it. Besides, what answer could he possibly receive should he attempt to convey his feelings into words? At best none at all, at worst his life would be ruined within seconds. And he couldn't risk it. Not even when he was about to die.

Before he knew it, Renji had found himself walking along a familiar path to 6th Division's barracks. He remembered Ichigo and the others should be somewhere around and it couldn't hurt to seek out a bit of company to help him get rid of these depressing thoughts. What was his surprise, however, when the first people his eyes fell upon as he entered the Division's grounds were the most improbable couple he could run across. Inoue Orihime, laughing, balancing on the edge of a small pond covered with water-lilies and sakura blossoms carried around by a chilly night breeze and the one supporting her when she almost fell into the water being none other than Ulquiorra Schiffer, pure white skin and clothes illuminant in the moonlight, making him appear somewhat eerie.

Rooted to the spot Renji stared at the two of them for what might have been hours, eyes wide, mouth slightly opened, torn between the instinct to save the girl and knowledge that Ichigo or any of his friends would never allow them to be together if the arrancar intended to harm her - though even if he did, he wouldn't live to tell the tale. And as he watched the happy smile on Orihime's face and the look the Espada gave her each time their eyes met, he knew that whomever Ulquiorra might have been, he would never let her come to harm, because Renji knew that expression very well, for he had seen it every time Kuchiki Byakuya looked at Rukia.

As silently as possible as to not draw attention to his presence, he jumped over a railing, leaving the two to their midnight stroll and entered the somber barracks. It felt odd and somehow lonely with almost nobody left to live here and Renji began wondering if it was really a good idea to come here in the middle of a night, but the one thing he dreaded now was to be alone. Even though there is an over talkative Tengu inside your head, it's just not the same as actually spending time with other people. He scuffled through a long dark corridor and up a set of stairs to the first floor. From above he glimpsed a flash of orange light - no doubt from Inoue's Shun Shun Rikka. Since there were no yells or cries of pain he dismissed it with only a second hesitation and continued along the corner, listening to any sound indicating as to where Ichigo might be.

It didn't take too long for an unmistakable sound of yelling to reach Renji's ears. He followed it with a smirk. The orange-hair teen just couldn't do without shouting for even a single day. What idiot was making fun of him this time? But before he could speculate over the matter, Renji came close enough to listen in on the conversation and Ichigo's voice carried to him, though a little bit muffled.

"Like hell I'm gonna wait! I've been waiting for ages, listening to your excuses. I've had enough!"

"Hush, Kurosaki! You're going to wake everyone up! Don't forget we are—" Renji never found out what or where they were, because the rest of the sentence was silenced with a guttural growl a bang and a muffled sound of struggle.

The red-head broke to a run, bursting into the room barely a single second later looking around wildly for any sign of enemy intrusion.

"Ichigo! What the—„ and his brain momentarily shut down as his eyes fell upon two figures - one pinned to a wall by the window with his shirt half-stripped and the other one grabbing his wrists, knee thrust between long legs, free hand crawling up smooth pale skin of the other's heaving chest. Their lips crushing together in an unmistakable fashion.

Both of them jerked and looked over at the sound of door opening and for a few seconds that stretched like ages there was silence. Nobody moved, only three pairs of eyes tried to figure out what the hell was going on. And as the moment passed, the two lovers jumped from each other guiltily, everyone glad it was too dark to see the deep rosy blush creeping up their cheeks.

Fingers reached up to push square glasses a little bit higher while bronze eyes gleamed with yellow and dilated.

/Now this is fate, my dear Pineapple! It just has to mean something, don't you think?/

Tengu's laughter, echoing through his head so that it felt like it was about to split open finally kicked Renji's brain back online. He couldn't believe it. He must be delusional. For a moment he considered pinching himself to wake up from this ludicrous dream, however, had it really been a dream, his guardian wouldn't be laughing his ass off. And the longer he watched the two boys shuffling nervously, everything seemed possible to the 6th Division Vice-Captain. Even Kuchiki Byakuya begging for sex appeared much more realistic now, that that there could be no mistake that Kurosaki Ichigo just attempted to ravish Ishida Uryuu who didn't seem to mind in the slightest.

"Shit..." the simple word uttered in a matter-of-fact voice caused Ichigo a murderous look from the Quincy as he gathered up the rest of his dignity and strode off.

"Oi! Ishida, wait—gah!" but it was no use and Kurosaki only hung his shoulders and ran his hand through orange spikes, seemingly ignoring Renji still standing in the doorway paralyzed with shock, moving a bit only to allow the archer to slip past. „He's gonna kill me tomorrow." he mumbled distractedly before bronze eyes finally found chocolate ones of the crimson-haired shinigami and a surge of reiatsu flared between them as Kurosaki rounded on him. "What the fuck'd ya do that for, Renji?"

The sentence seemed to have brought the Vice-Captain to his senses and -ignoring the Tengu cackling manically in his head- he managed to find his voice again with the intention to not let himself be harassed like that.

"The hell're you yellin' at me for?" he sputtered, tattooed brows knitted in a scowl to match the teenager's and stood his ground as Ichigo advanced, his reiatsu increasing in density. "'S your own damn fault for snogging people in public!"

"There was nobody else here, 'till you barged in as if your ass was on fire!" shouted Ichigo back.

"That's not the case!" Renji's fists clenched around the hem of the boy's shihakusho. „That creepy emo arrancar with Inoue-san I can live with," he pointed outside into the garden. "But what the fuck are you slitherin' along Ishida for? Have ya all gone nuts?" he felt like the world had gone all wrong while he was being treated for his injuries, while the Guardian still couldn't stop laughing, making Renji's headache worse by the minute.

Ichigo's hands grabbed the red-head's shihakusho as well so that it looked like the two were going to fight, eyes narrowed and retort forming on his tongue that had never come out, for the lieutenant swayed slightly at that moment and if it wasn't for Kurosaki's quick reaction he would have fallen to the ground.

The Tengu had stopped laughing immediately as the world whirled and blurred around Renji and he could hear Ichigo calling his name as if from a great distance. He felt himself being pulled into nothingness, suddenly aware of the miracle his spiritual body had been all along to allow him to breathe and walk and live and knew he did not have the strength to resist it. But he couldn't die. Not yet! Not like this! There wasn't even any pain left for him to feel... and the Guardian was supposed to keep him alive!

Rukia... he thought desperately, wishing his last thoughts to reach his dearest old friend, but there was somebody else now creeping into his mind as it was slipping away from him and he couldn't shake the image.

Taichou... no, that wasn't quite right either. Renji wanted to apologize for his failures as he felt the last remnants of consciousness leaving him and strong hands supporting his body suddenly so heavy he couldn't move a finger even if he wanted to. Byakuya... I'm sorry.

And Abarai Renji was swallowed by gawking darkness and knew nothing anymore.


Notes:

Tengu – creatures from Japanese folklore depicted with humanoid and avian features, sometimes worshipped as lesser gods

Yōkai – term for all the different kinds of ghosts and creatures from Japanese mythology either good or evil