Title: Bad Romance
Author:zealot1138
Pairing: Renji x Ichigo
Rating: M (for language, situations, yaoi – angst, romance, sex, fluff)

Summary: AU. Ichigo is so NOT gay, so when he goes to the exclusive bordello Club Sakura, will a certain redhead named Renji make him think twice?

Disclaimer for the entire story: I do NOT own any of these characters from BLEACH which belongs to Tite Kubo et al. Thank you.

DISCLAIMER: All characters depicted in sexual situations in this post/fanfiction/fanart (including material in the comments) are fictional and are intended to be and considered to be by the author of said material of the legal age of consent in the United States state of California, regardless of what age these characters may be in the material they are derived from.

Hello – I am so tired, I don't have any comments to add to this chapter. I'm working on the next chapter now so I'll probably post any tidbits there.

For now, thanks to all those who have written me a lovely review and/or left a nice comment!!! I live for that kind of feedback! _

Thanks to all of you for adding this story to your Story and/or Fave alerts!

OK, that's it for the moment.

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Chapter 4

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Renji looked at the screen of his cell phone and pressed the End button one more time just to be sure he was disconnected. He hated excusing himself to take a call, but the caller was the one client he shouldn't ignore; although the line between shouldn't and couldn't was getting harder to distinguish. This thought also bothered Renji but he pushed it out of his mind as he opened the door to return to his new and unexpected guest.

"Oi, Ichigo. Sorry 'bout that." Renji smiled to look down at the figure lying across the sofa. Ichigo's eyes were closed, one arm bent under his head, the other on his side with hand under his shirt with the hem raised, as if he fell asleep in the middle of scratching his stomach.

Taking advantage of this moment, Renji took his time to absorb the orange-haired man's features. Seeing him utterly relaxed, the redhead noticed Ichigo looked different from the scowling and argumentative persona he'd had to contend with so far. Instead, he saw a rather sweet faced and undeniably good-looking guy sleeping rather peacefully – for someone who seemed rather guarded, he was sleeping rather contentedly on the sofa in the room of someone he'd never met before.

Renji grabbed the remote to power off the large flatscreen which had been stuck on the half-designed menu page of the video game they'd been playing. He turned back to see if any of the sounds had alerted his sleeping companion yet but all he found was Ichigo now turned on his side, face turned in, ass facing out. Having this opportunity to look at Ichigo without being watched in return, he took his time to drink in every detail – how the white designer v-neck tee hugged his slim torso and currently showed an enticing expanse of flesh from his low back to the rise of the black fitted cargo pants that well-accentuated his rear; he sported a large chronograph watch on one wrist and a large silver-toned ring with a red stone on his other hand's index finger. Kid's definitely an interestin' one, he thought.

He moved over and placed a hand out to gently shake Ichigo's shoulder in the hopes of rousing him from sleep. However, all he got was a murmur from the parted lips he was observing, and he had to tear his eyes away to focus on his current task of "what the hell am I gonna do with him now?". Renji picked up his cell and entered a quick text and then walked over to his front door. He waited a beat before opening the door quietly.

"Yes, Renji-san?"

In a soft voice, Renji asked, "Hey, Rikichi, when Shuuhei is free of his client, could you make sure to let me know?"

"Oh, Hisagi-san is free now. The client left almost an hour ago."

Renji's eyes grew wide in surprise. What the fuck? I thought Ichigo's whole point o' bein' here was to wait for his friend. As his visage changed from shock to concern, Rikichi spoke up.

"Renji-san, is there a problem? Would you like me to give Hisagi-san a message? May I help you with something?" His brows furrowed as he hated to see Renji in anything but a good mood. Rikichi definitely enjoyed being around the redhead and did his best to be able to do any of the errands requested by or needed for Renji.

Renji made a snap decision and simply replied, "No, that's fine. I will speak with Shuuhei tomorrow. Thanks." He gave Rikichi a friendly pat on the shoulder and then closed his door. He turned around to see the prone figure still breathing evenly on his sofa. Guess there's no point in waking the kid yet, since I'm not sure what the fuck's supposed to happen now.

He ran his hand through his hair and started to fix it in his usual low braid which he wore to bed. He walked past the sleeping Ichigo and went past the door in back returning in a few minutes in his white kimono. Renji moved to stand above Ichigo, watching him breathe deeply as he slept soundly. Without meaning to, Renji moved his hand towards the smooth-looking cheek, brushing the backs of his fingers softly over the skin desiring to be touched. Unconsciously, Ichigo's head turned slightly; face moving upwards as if pushing his cheek up towards the touch. Seeing this made Renji release a small sigh. He looked from Ichigo to the bed off to the side, swathed in all its black elegance of silk sheets and fur-trimmed throw pillows. Well, Ichigo, I can't just leave ya there like that, can I?

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When Ichigo awoke, his vision was engulfed in expanses of fluffy white all around. The only thing he instinctively knew was that it was the morning and that he'd slept in his clothes, but he couldn't figure out why. As his mind tried to escape the fog, he started to piece his memory back together by focusing on what he could recall and moving backwards. The last thing he remembered was a lot of darkness and something brilliant red. The colors brought a handsome tattooed face to his mind which made Ichigo bolt straight up into a sitting position. His eyes grew wide as saucers and he looked around.

Ichigo was sitting in the middle of a large bed under a fluffy white goose-down comforter encased in the softest pima cotton sheets. And, yes, he was still fully clothed. His eyes scanned the room and his brain was confused by the jolt of opposition in color from what he last remembered. Instead of black and chrome, he was now surrounded by walls in a soft eggshell paint and furnishings in rich dark woods. Unlike the previous museum-like sterility of wealth, this large bedroom suite was tastefully done in comfortable elegance.

One bookshelf held leather bound novels on each shelf with the middle shelf showcasing a sheathed katana on a display stand. The walls had a few framed paintings in the style of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist styles. In the small kitchen in the far corner of the room, Ichigo could see a few cookbooks lying on its side on the counter. In front of one of the stools, he could see a coffee mug with steam rising from it.

Remembering there was now a somebody in the room with him in this place he was not at all familiar with, Ichigo snapped himself to attention and got off the impossibly comfortable bed as he tried to replay the events from the night before.

I was in Renji's room, we played Modern Warfare, he got that phone call, and I was waiting for- "Keigo!"

"He's already gone."

Ichigo spun around to find himself face to almost-face with Renji who was wearing a white kimono open-chested over a pair of slim fitting black pants. Once again, Ichigo was mesmerized by the inky lines across his chest and abs that seemed to constantly beckon his eyes to travel downward. But instead, Ichigo lifted his gaze to meet the burgundy eyes of the taller man before him.

Renji then continued, "Well, it turns out yer friend left sometime last night."

Ichigo's brows only furrowed even further as he decided to ask, "So, where the hell are we now?"

"Oh right, you were still asleep when I carried you to bed… " Renji looked at Ichigo with confusion before it clicked together. "You're in my room."

Before the embarrassment and understanding the previously uttered phrase about being carried could be processed in Ichigo's mind, he said, "What the hell, Renji. I saw your bedroom and it was all black."

"Yeah, well that room is through that door there." Renji emphasized the remark by pointing to the large door at the end of the room. "And what you saw wasn't my bedroom. It's where I meet with clients and that's it." He waved his hand nonchalantly to emphasize his point, "This is my real room – where I relax and live and am more myself, ya know?"

Ichigo looked at Renji, not sure if he truly understood the point of this explanation.

Renji continued, "I didn't feel right leaving ya in there, and thought you'd be more comfortable here."

Ichigo felt his chest constrict at hearing Renji's pronouncement – knowing he was carried by the man, laid on his own bed, and given privileged access to Renji's inner sanctum – really gave him more to think about than he felt he could handle. I am not gay. I don't know why I feel this thing in my chest. And without thinking about how he felt or what he really wanted to say, in Ichigo's emotional confusion he blurted out, "So, you decided you can get your kicks and seduce me when I already told you I'm not gay!" He shoved Renji away by placing both hands on the redhead's chest.

Renji took the ungraceful step backwards having been caught off guard by the young man's reaction. What in the fuck? And in a rare moment of losing his temper, a temper he'd learn to control over the past few years in dealing with his clientele and the business, he roared back, "Just because I get paid for sex doesn't mean I don't have a fuckin' heart or a fucking conscience! Who the fuck do you think I am? I would never do something like that to anyone after…" Renji quickly stopped yelling and turned his back to Ichigo. In one fluid movement, he let the white kimono fall off his shoulders and he balled it up and tossed it onto the floor while stepping into what looked to be another room and returning with a black t-shirt in hand. He quickly pulled the shirt on over his head and walked to a door that Ichigo assumed was the main door to the outside. Without turning his back to face Ichigo, Renji said in a calmer tone, "If you've got yer shit together, I'll take you home."

Ichigo totally realized he'd made a complete fool of himself and that he'd been rude and judgmental to the one person who had tried to be friendly and keep him at ease throughout what had to be one of the oddest situations in his life. He realized how young and immature he must have come across to the older redhead, but he felt a bit too mortified just then to apologize. Ichigo was also feeling an overwhelming surge of emotions that he couldn't quite grasp – for now, it was a mixed stew of feelings; feelings he couldn't decipher yet.

Ichigo patted his pockets to check for the only items he'd brought with him – wallet, cell, keys – and confirmed, "I'm ready."

Renji, who still hadn't turned around to look at Ichigo, nodded his acknowledgment and proceeded to grab items off the valet table that was next to the door. He strapped on his Panerai, put on his Oliver People shades and a white cashmere slouchy beret, and grabbed his car key and cell phone. He exited the room through the door and left, without waiting to see if Ichigo was following or not.

He figured he had no choice but to follow, so Ichigo decided to catch up with Renji. Once he walked through the doorway, Ichigo found himself outside in what looked to be a vast flower garden. There were a variety of colors of what Ichigo knew to be camellia flowers, thanks to his two sisters' love of all things Chanel, but the red camellias were especially stunning against the few pristine white ones which dominated most of the garden. Ichigo caught sight of the tall redhead whose hair was mostly covered by the white hat. He noticed Renji was walking at a leisurely pace, so he quickened his pace to catch up. Ichigo wasn't sure if there was anything he could say to Renji after what had just been said, but he couldn't let it go either. He waited until he had caught up and after they had walked in silence for a few minutes.

"Uh, Renji… I'm, uh…" Ichigo shoved both his hands into his front pockets as he turned his head off to the side. He knew he had to apologize to Renji for his earlier behavior, but he wasn't sure how to go about it.

"Don't worry about it, kid." Ichigo flinched at the word kid but said nothing as he let Renji continue. "I shouldn't have let you get to me, so it's my own fault, really." Ichigo found this only further irritating, but he decided to suppress his instinct to act out before thinking by biting on his bottom lip and saying not a word. He merely grunted an acknowledgement and instead followed Renji through the maze that was the garden heading towards a building that he could guess was a garage.

TBC