Warning: Very slight MATURE SEXUAL CONTENTS! (I'm only putting this here as a warning so it doesn't catch u off guard if u're in public somewhere or with some friends...Happened to me before...that was a fun day. XD)

Here's Chapter 3 Ladies and Gentlemen. XD I hope you like it and if u can please leave a review. it's pretty much the only reward i ask for and i get so have some compassion...T3T Thanks in advance!

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ENJOY!

3

Things weren't the same after that meeting. Not for Hisagi anyhow... He was certain Renji was just pulling his leg. He was even more certain Renji was an idiot but, despite his best effort to believe there was nothing to the other Shinigami's outrageous tales, once the idea of Ishida being in love with him entered his mind he began to ask himself some serious questions...

It was the end of his first week in the human world. Aka, half of his holiday was done. Up until that point he'd been a responsible man, doing what any sane person would do. Ignore Abarai Renji. But the more he thought about it the more sense it seemed to make. He was certain he would have arrived at the exact same conclusion had it happened to anyone else...Blushes, stammers, sudden shyness...it all pretty much pointed to the obvious conclusion.

And he had to admit it, even if only to himself, that yes...Uryu was a cute guy. Especially when he turned ten shades darker and burned holes in the ground because Hisagi touched him in a suggestive way. After his meeting with the other lieutenant he'd been a little curious about his effect on the human and since curiosity killed the cat, he decided to see how far he could push the boundaries. It was all fun and games surely...What harm could it cause?

At first it was innocent enough, a lingering touch here and there. When Ishida made him tea and handed him the cup, he would not-so-accidentally brush his fingertips over Uryu's and keep them in his hands for a moment, careful to hold the cup himself or risk injury since the archer had a tendency to drop anything he was holding if Hisagi got too close. It was endearing really. And damn cute.

Another such experiment proved a valuable lesson. It was late in the evening and it was Shuhei's turn to go Hollow patrolling. Unfortunately he couldn't leave all the work to Renji and Kurosaki since they wanted a quiet night of their own. What they chose to do together that night he didn't want to know about, he didn't want to think about, he didn't want to hear about.

Anyway, he knew with absolute certainty the two would do no fighting outside the confinements of the bedroom...well maybe the rest of the house. He left his Gigai form on the bed and turned to exit through the opened window only to be stopped by a dull thud behind him. With one leg already on the ledge, Hisagi looked over his shoulder to see his human body stretched on the floor, after having fallen out of bed. He groaned in dismay but didn't turn back, thinking there was no point since he would be done in less than an hour...

Said and done. The pathetic resistance he encountered was laughable. He was certain even the Soul Reapers still taking their lessons were capable of handling such sorry creatures. However, despite what was surely a waste of his valuable time, Hisagi felt a lot better since coming to the human world. He couldn't even remember the last time he had the chance to get bored, to sit around and be lazy because he could without consequence. He made a mental note to send a Thank You gift to captain Ukitake...

He was in a surprisingly good mood, the fresh air doing him a world of good. As comfortable as Uryu tried to make him, he was still a man of the outside. A free spirit. In his view, nothing compared with the lash of the night wind against skin and the rush of a free fall. Even the chill of the daggering cold seemed a comfort to Shuhei as he leaped from rooftop to rooftop with all the grace of a shadowy locust.

He was done well under 60 minutes but he didn't want to go back just yet. He still felt like he needed to clear his head...All the questions gravitating around the one and only Uryu Ishida were giving him a hard time. They were even beginning to affect his sleep and appetite! The more he pondered them the more he found himself studying Uryu and looking at him through new eyes...Had he always been that cute?

Hisagi recently came to discover that Ishida was like a virus. Once thoughts of him began to manifest, they slowly spread over his mind, taking over every nook and cranny and before he knew it...he was rushing back to the house, forgetting his need to clear his head.

He landed on the red slates configuring the surface of the Quincy's rooftop as silently as a ghost. Technically speaking, he was one. He could feel Uryu in the room just below his feet...but wait. Wasn't that his temporary bedroom? What was Ishida doing in his room? Hisagi suffered a moment of indecision. Should he make his presence known or...Yep, he should find out what the little human was up to first.

More silently than the grave he stepped to the ledge of the roof and, using the strength of his powerful arms, he leaned over just enough to peer inside the occupied chamber. The light was switched off so the visibility was limited but Hisagi was nothing if not accustomed to seeing in the dark.

Ishida was kneeling on the floor by his bed, his hands struggling to lift something. It took Hisagi a moment to identify his Gigai form but it wasn't the act itself which captivated his undivided attention. It was the way Uryu handled the seemingly precious cargo. Had that been Ichigo or Renji or pretty much anyone else they would have hauled the body up and placed it on the bed, end of story. But the Quincy was concentrating so hard to be as gentle as possible, Hisagi couldn't help but be a little touched.

Once the soulless shell was on the bed, Ishida stood to leave but not before sweeping his eyes over the unconscious frame one last time, lingering on the closed eyes. Even in the dark and from a distance, Shuhei could see regret as clear as day inside the deep blue orbs. Unrequited love. And that's when his heart skipped a beat and he knew...

Ishida stepped down the stairs as quietly as he could. He knew Hisagi didn't like waking up this early in the morning and he honestly didn't wish for that to happen but lying in bed and doing nothing was a form of torture to him...He hoped the Shinigami would be too deeply asleep to hear the almost inaudible drag of his half asleep feet. His mind was fully awake and racing but unfortunately, his body needed a good dose of caffeine to complete the transition from dream to reality.

The kitchen door was open, left so by himself the previous evening so as to make even less noise the following morning. Planning ahead was something he did unconsciously at this point and it didn't help only in battles, it was a more efficient way of life. He watched as the coffee trickled from the pot into his cup, the soft sound of filling calming him down. The coffee pot was new...He had to buy another one since the last one was smashed to smithereens...

His eyes unconsciously darted to his hand, wrapped in a thin line of bandages. The burn was nothing serious, god knew he'd had worse, but at Hisagi's insistence he'd treated it with the medical expertise learned from his father. A splash brought him out of his daydream and he jumped back when he realized coffee was spilling out of the cup. He'd overfilled it and the dark liquid was slowly moving across the counter with the full intent to reach the edge and make a mess.

Ishida reached for the table cloth and quickly averted the crisis by soaking up the spilled liquid. He let loose a sight through clenched teeth, a little irritated at the way every time he stopped and let his mind wander it settled on him and every time there seemed to be some sort of accident or disaster as a direct result. It was beyond infuriating. And also the dull pain in his chest, a pain which grew slowly more acute with each passing day he spent in the company of the other man. Pain associated with the need for something which was so close but he simply couldn't touch.

Well, that wasn't entirely true now was it? He had touched Shuhei...Or at least a perfect replica of him. Ishida paused at the sink, his hands pressed to the rim, as he remembered the feel of the other's skin below his fingertips. It was cold, as cold as a corpses and the irony did not go unnoticed. He vaguely wondered if the real deal felt the same way. Was a Gigai a perfect copy or just a similar shell with an artificial pulse? He wondered what it was like to feel the real touch of Shuhei Hisagi all along his skin?...

'What are you thinking of?' There it was again. As soon as thoughts of the lieutenant began to manifest, Ishida became an easier target than a new born child and once more Hisagi managed to sneak up on him without even trying.

Ishida didn't answer because he couldn't very well say he was imagining the man's hands slowly moving under his shirt to touch his needy flesh. He swallowed drily and continued to twist the cloth, forcing the very last drop of moisture out of it. He didn't dare speak because he was certain his voice would sound pathetic. He had to calm down first.

'Alright then. I suppose I'll just have to see for myself.' Hisagi moved to stand right behind the younger man, pressing against his back and with his chin resting on Ishida's right shoulder. Uryu couldn't believe his sense of touch. Was Shuhei really wrapping his arms around his waist? Was that really his exhaled breath dancing along the line of his jaw and curve of his neck? Was all that real?! Maybe he shouldn't have skipped the coffee...

'H-Hisagi?! What?...' His voice and frankly incoherent phraseology betrayed his wide spread panic. Ishida wondered if the shallow amount of water gathered in the sink would be enough to drown him...It seemed like a legit way out.

'I'm just curious.' Shuhei knew his lips were close enough to the skin to slightly brush it when he spoke. He was also conscious of his hands trailing down to rest on Ishida's hips, feeling the angular bones. His exploring fingers even dared to slightly move under the material of the thin white shirt so they made contact with the shivering stomach under.

'You smell nice.' Hisagi nuzzled Uryu's hair, detecting the scent of vanilla. It was delicious enough to eat. Suddenly, he pulled away and ran a hand through his own hair. 'So do you have anything to eat?' He chose to ignore the wide eyed confusion radiating from the young archer by looking awkwardly at some imaginary spot in the far distance.

'Help yourself.'

'Ha! I was right.' Renji looked triumphantly at Hisagi who barely had enough time to land on the rooftop beside the other lieutenant. It was still daytime, early in fact but this was an emergency.

'What are you talking about?' Despite his usually calm demeanour, Hisagi would have loved to punch that smirk off of Renji's face...He needed an outlet and the lieutenant seemed like a perfect one.

'Something's different about you. You feel something for our young lover boy don't you?' Shuhei would have loved to disagree. He even opened his mouth to say it wasn't true but he knew it was and Renji knew it was and there was no point in lying.

'How are you getting this information?! Are you a damn telepath or something?!' Renji smiled a soft smile, not the teasing sort which Hisagi was expecting but an understanding one. A gesture which made him look so much more mature than the way he was behaving 90% of the time.

'Let me see...One, you called me in a hurry and said you desperately needed to talk to me about something very important. And you specifically told me to show up alone. Hiding something?' It was a rhetorical question and Renji continued before Hisagi had a chance to answer. 'Two, you're flustered. And as soon as i mentioned Ishida you blushed.' Again, Hisagi tried to interject but Renji cut him off. 'And three, you're panicking. Now, I know you don't usually panic which can mean only one thing. You did something which you now regret and you don't know how to take it back so you came to wise old Renji. So come on, out with it. Let the master advice you.' Despite himself Hisagi scoffed at that last one. Mature? Renji? Get out of here!

'It's...This stays between us right?' Hisagi fixed the other with his most intimidating death glare and it was effective. Even though he knew Hisagi wouldn't do any real harm to him, Renji felt a shiver run up his spine. This was not a man he wanted as an enemy.

'Sure. You have my word.' Hisagi's eyes relented and, hesitantly at first, began to tell Renji about the night where he saw Ishida and the following morning.

'Can I ask you a serious question?' Shuhei nodded and tried to guess what Renji was getting at but he wasn't even close in the vicinity. 'How in the hell are you still alive?! I mean, seriously. You had him and he was willing and you ask for FOOD?! You give a whole new meaning to the phrase, The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.'

'It's not like that. I just...I don't know what to do. I don't even know if I feel as strongly about Ishida as he does about me and it doesn't seem fair to make a move on him if I'm not serious.' Renji looked sympathetic but a smile began creeping over his lips. A knowing smile and Hisagi felt the urge to punch again.

'You'll find your answer soon enough. There's still five days left.' Hisagi groaned. Five days...When one lives as long as he did, five days became parallel with five seconds. It hardly seemed like long enough a period for him to answer the major question of his heart.

'How's Kurosaki?' Shuhei knew the conversation was over but he didn't really want to go back to the house yet. He remembered the dejected look in Ishida's eyes and he felt his guts do a violent twist.

'Oh he's fine. Still sleeping after last night...if you know what I mean.' The leering grin and winking eye were death give aways.

'Wish I didn't.' But yet again, somehow Renji's charm affected him and the corners of his lips lifted up slightly.

'I just thought of something.' Hisagi turned to look at Renji with a raised eyebrow. His excitement sent alarm bells ringing. This could only be bad... 'You should wait until the very last day and then confess your feelings to him so he'll beg you to stay.'

'What?'

'Sorry, I've been watching a lot of romantic comedies lately. Did you notice they all have the same ending? I mean come on! Do humans actually act like that these days?' Hisagi couldn't help a fit of laughter. It felt good, after all those days of worries and questions. It felt...liberating.

'You really are an idiot you know that?'

'Yeah, but I'm the only one you've got.'

Renji, Renji, Renji...When will you grow up? XD Hisagi is lucky to have u as a friend though...not so sure if that holds true for your advice.

I hope you liked the update and if u can please leave a review! I'll appreciate it enormously! X3

HAVE A LOVELY DAY!