The Precipice Of Happiness
Baby
Negae banhae beorin naegae wae irae
Shinji perked up as the lyrics were heard and ran across the room to turn up the stereo. Tesla poked his head out of the kitchen and smiled widely.
Ring ding dong
Ring ding dong
Ring diggi ding diggi
Ding ding ding
Shinji grinned and jumped up, spreading his feet to shoulders width and spread his hands wide at each of his hips. Bending at the knees a bit he moved his right hand slightly in front of him, the other just behind him and undulated his hips to the left, dipping and sliding his right hand to the left as he did so. Tesla laughed and clapped his hands together, copying the dance move to one of his and Shinji's favorite songs by SHINee. Abandoning the rest of the moves, it wasn't that neither of them knew the moves, they had spent one long drunken night learning all of them, but they really did have to get dinner ready. Shinji bounced back to the kitchen, wiggling his ass and bobbing his head, making Tesla laugh again. That night had been so much fun but the next day, coupled with a huge hangover, Shinji's knee had swollen to twice it's size and he hadn't been able to walk on it for a couple days with bursting into tears, something he hated doing anyway. But he'd do it all over again if he had the chance.
"You aren't usually this happy on Wednesdays, Shin-chan." Tesla observed as he stirred the vegetables heating on the stove.
Shinji grinned and leaned over Tesla's shoulder, plucking a pepper out of the mix and deftly avoiding a slap to his hand. He popped the vegetable into his mouth and chewed, swallowing before replying.
"Ya complainin'?"
Tesla's eyes went a little wide and he shook his head. "Of course not!"
Shinji giggled and danced back to the counter where he was doing what he did best in the kitchen. Dishes.
"I'm just happy fer once. Kinda nice." he wasn't exactly sure where his good mood had come from, he had left Kisuke's with what felt like a hole in his chest but shortly after he had arrived back at his office Nnoitra had called.
"Yo." he had greeted and Shinji couldn't stop the smile from blooming on his face if he had tried.
"What do you want?" he had asked, though his tone was playful.
Nnoitra snorted. "I'm comin' over tanight. I like yer bed better."
Shinji shook his head. "And what if I say no?" he teased.
"Ha! Yeah right. See ya Blondie."
A part of him told him he didn't deserve this sort of happiness right then. He should be fretting over his confession of past events and how he was going to tell what he sorely didn't want to. He should be angry that Nnoitra was being so tight lipped about everything that had happened in his long absence. But his happy side had squished all that down and told it to take a fucking hike for a while. Why was it so wrong to want to just laugh for a day? Or two. Surely holding on to the past for a couple more days wasn't going to hurt that much. Right?
"Ne, Tes? Yer makin' enough fer Nnoi, right?" Shinji asked, not looking at the blond behind him. He knew that Tesla was still, and understandably, uncomfortable about the recent changes, but he wasn't going to let that bother him. He loved Tesla, but in a much different way than he loved Nnoitra.
He felt a small shiver wrack his body as he thought about the word love and how it applied to his feelings towards the tall, thin, incorrigible man. Smiling at the plastic tub full of hot soapy water he lifted a plate and waited for Tesla to speak.
"Uhm… I think so. I'm not sure we have enough food in the house for him though." Tesla commented quietly.
Shinji rinsed the last dish and set it in the dish drain before turning around and wrapping his arms around Tesla's waist, resting his chin on his shoulder.
"You'll make someone a great wife someday Tes."
Tesla giggled. "You're silly Shin-chan."
There was a loud knock at the door and Shinji quickly kissed the back of Tesla's head. "Tell Nnoi I did that and I'll kill ya." he said in a sing song voice as he skipped off to answer the door.
Shinji unlocked all the locks, four of them put there shortly after one of Tesla's ex-boyfriend's had broken in six months ago, and threw the door open wide, smiling warmly up at a wide eyed Nnoitra. Nnoitra blinked at the greeting, a rare thing from Shinji at least for him, and in a moment of impulse he reached out and grabbed Shinji by the back of the head, pulling him forward as he bent his head and captured his lips in a fierce and demanding kiss. Shinji's body went rigid for a moment before going boneless as he collapsed into the larger man. Shinji's long arms rose and fingers linked behind Nnoitra's neck as they kissed, tongues lashing and sliding against each other. Nnoitra's hand tightened on the back of Shinji's head, pulling the hair, as his other hand reached behind Shinji and roughly grabbed his ass. He swallowed Shinji's small moan and was just about to flip them and push Shinji against the wall when Tesla cleared his throat from the kitchen.
"Uhm… the door's still open." he reminded quietly, trying not to look at the pair.
Shinji took a deep shaky breath as he pulled reluctantly away from Nnoitra and looked behind the taller man, seeing that the door was indeed still wide open. But Nnoitra refused to let him go when he struggled and he looked back up at him with a half amused, half irritated look.
"Then you shut it." he said, watching the lust clouding an amethyst iris slowly recede.
Nnoitra nodded and let go of Shinji with one arm, slamming the door shut and flipping one of the locks into place out of habit. It was then that he realized the house smelled amazing and his mouth began to instantly water. He turned his head towards the kitchen, looking through Tesla as if he could see what the smell was. Shinji giggled and Tesla blushed, looking away and walking back to his cooking.
"Hungry?" Shinji asked, and Nnoitra nodded before looking down at Shinji and letting a wide grin stretch his lips.
"Fer more than one thing." he growled.
Shinji rolled his eyes and pushed the rest of the way out of Nnoitra's grasp, this time with much less resistance. "That was lame even fer you." he teased, walking to the stereo to turn it down until the song switched to another one of his favorites. Shinji loved music that made him want to move.
So instead of turning it off when the Korean boy band Super Junior started in with Sorry Sorry, he turned it up a bit more and bounced to the kitchen to get plates out for their meal. Nnoitra sprawled on the couch, looking over the back of it and into the open kitchen to watch Shinji and Tesla move and interact. Well, mostly his eyes were on Shinji of course, the blond was shaking his ass provocatively to the beat that blasted through the large speakers the stereo boasted. Tesla leaned over and said something Nnoitra couldn't hear to Shinji and Shinji laughed, slinging an arm over Tesla's shoulders. The both of them dipped a bit and step-slide to the left before bursting into laughter and parting. Nnoitra shook his head at the display. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what those idiots were laughing about and he was already getting impatient with waiting for the food. He wanted to eat and then fuck Shinji so hard he cried. Another grin stretched his lips and he pushed back up off the couch.
Shinji almost dropped the plates he was holding when he turned around and Nnoitra was standing there, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest and a leer on his face.
"It done yet?" he asked.
Shinji cocked a hip. "I'm settin' the table ain't I?"
Nnoitra made sure to smack Shinji's ass as he passed and his grin grew when he was thrown a pouty frown from the blond. Dinner tasted wonderful but the atmosphere was awkward at best. Nnoitra didn't like Tesla so he ignored him, not even bothering to so much as thank him for the food. Tesla was nervous being around the man he still not so secretly idolized and proud that the man seemed to like his food enough to devour everything on his plate. Shinji's libido had kicked in, big surprise there, and half the time he was running his sock clad foot up the inside on Nnoitra's thigh. No one bothered to speak but the music filled the silence and made things a little easier.
As soon as Nnoitra was finished cleaning his plate, barely resisting the urge to lick it clean it tasted so damn good, he stood and looked expectantly down at Shinji. In the middle of chewing his mouthful of food, Shinji frowned.
"Hurry up." Nnoitra said in a demanding tone and Shinji rolled his eyes, swallowing.
"Go watch TV er somethin'. I like ta actually taste my food, thanks."
A short staring contest ensued before Nnoitra grunted and walked off, shutting off the stereo with far more force than was needed before throwing himself on the couch and reaching for the remote. Tesla blinked at Shinji and leaned towards him as soon as the television was on and loud enough to mask anything he might say.
"He's acting a little strange, don't you think?" he asked quietly, referring to how easily the man had just obeyed Shinji, and Shinji frowned.
"He is strange." he retorted but still looked over at the man on his couch.
Tesla bit his lip before speaking again. "Well, he always used to listen to you better than anyone else. Maybe… maybe it's just strange because it's been so long?"
Shinji swallowed the last of his food and shrugged. Maybe. Either that or he was trying to get on Shinji's good side because he wanted something. Shinji certainly wouldn't put it passed the man as he'd done it many times n the past. His good mood sinking a little at the thought, he rose and took his dishes to the kitchen, rinsing them and setting them in the tiny portable dishwasher Tesla had bought recently. They rarely used it but Shinji was feeling lazy and didn't want to do the dishes that night. Tesla had a certain method to putting away leftovers and usually spent a good thirty minutes doing so but Nnoitra had relieved him of that privilege that evening by eating everything that hadn't been taken by the other two present. With nothing to do he excused himself to get ready for his boyfriend who would be picking him up in less than an hour.
Shinji waited until Tesla was gone before he leaned over the back of the couch and kissed Nnoitra's cheek. He should have been ready when the brute grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him completely over the back, leaving him to sprawl across a thin and bony lap.
"Ya…!"
Of course he wasn't given time to finish his sentence when Nnoitra replaced Shinji's words with his tongue. He could taste their meal and something else, something spicy, but when an unfamiliar smell tickled his nostrils he pulled back to frown up into a face full of impatience.
"What is that?" Shinji asked, leaning forward to sniff Nnoitra's shirt. No, that wasn't it.
"What's what?"
Shinji frowned and sniffed again, this time Nnoitra's neck, causing the man to twitch slightly at the tickling sensation it caused. No… it wasn't an aftershave, Shinji thought. It was too…. He tilted his head and sniffed Nnoitra's hair, frowning and shifting in the lap he was sprawled across to do it again in a different spot.
"Is…," he sniffed again and pulled back, a deep frown on his face. "Is that weed?"
Nnoitra's eye opened wide and his mouth dropped open a little before he frowned. "Fuckin' hell! How the hell didja even smell it?"
"Ya were smokin' weed?" Shinji asked in a shocked tone. Last time Shinji had checked Nnoitra didn't do any sort of drugs, not since his days with Szayel and most of the time back then it hadn't been consenting.
"No!" Nnoitra defended heatedly, shaking his head for emphasis.
"Well then why the hell do ya smell like it?"
Nnoitra's head dropped back to the back of the couch and he brought up a hand to rub at his tired eyes. "I'mma fuckin' kill Starrk." he muttered tiredly.
Shinji's mouth dropped open. "Ya were smokin' with him?"
"I toldja I wasn't smokin' nothin' damn it." he shouted and Shinji huffed out a breath.
It didn't make sense that Shinji could smell anything at all as far as Nnoitra was concerned. He had soaked for a half an hour, gone home and changed his clothes and it had been nearly three hours since he had even been in Starrk's house. Then again, Shinji had the nose of a bloodhound. Shinji opened his mouth to say something else but Nnoitra growled and lifted his head, brushing his lips against the side of Shinji's neck. Shinji sucked in a breath and pulled back, frowning at Nnoitra.
"Don't try and make me ferget about this." he said, eyes narrowed and lips pouting.
Nnoitra rolled his eye and kissed Shinji's neck again, this time letting his tongue wet the skin and slide over muscle. Predictably Shinji's head fell back a little and he was given greater access to roam and Nnoitra ran his teeth up over Shinji's Adam's apple. Shinji rested a hand on Nnoitra's shoulder and let his fingers slowly curl into the fabric of Nnoitra's shirt. Nnoitra's tongue ran over Shinji's Adam's apple before his lips closed around it and he sucked hard. Shinji's eyes rolled closed and he let out a quiet sigh of contentment.
However, before they could get into anything more pleasurable, there was a knock at the door and Tesla came out of his room to answer it. He did his best not to look at the couple on the couch as he passed them and opened the door. As the door opened Nnoitra managed to both drop jaw and curl his lip in distaste. The man was short and portly, a full yet well maintained beard covering the lower half of his face and small beady eyes. Tesla smiled at the man and kissed him on the lips before reaching for his coat from the small closet near the front door.
"Good evening, Takashiro-san." Shinji said politely and the man turned an intense glare his way.
Not bothering to respond to the greeting, Takashiro grabbed Tesla's arm and yanked him out the door, slamming it behind him. Shinji cocked an eyebrow at the door and shook his head.
"He's seein' that?" Nnoitra exclaimed in disgust and Shinji giggled.
"He has horrible taste in men."
Nnoitra grunted and shifted his hips, now the furthest from turned on as he could get without being physically ill. "He likes me." he muttered.
Shinji cocked his head to the side and smirked. "Like I said, horrible taste."
Nnoitra grinned and leaned back against the couch cushions. "You like me too."
Shinji let his own lips tilt into a grin as he repressed a small giggle. "Yeah, but I got bad taste in men too."
"Shit."
Shinji giggled and slid out of Nnoitra's lap, holding out a hand and pursing his lips. "C'mon. I wanna shower. Then ya c'n dirty me up in bed, ne?"
Nnoitra linked his fingers with Shinji's as he stood before picking the blond up bodily and flinging him over his shoulder, carrying a half fighting, half hysterically laughing Shinji to the shower in answer.
"Well we have to get the fliers out now if we're actually going to have anyone show up." Ichigo said as he leaned back against the front of the couch.
"I think that we should make it an invite only event." Yumi chimed in and Ichigo nodded absently.
"Don't be such a snob, Yumi." Shinji sighed. "This is just a fun party."
"Yes but there were always undesirables at Wank. Why invite them back?"
Shinji smiled and tapped his pencil against his notebook paper. "That's what we have Z for."
He had called together Ichigo, Yumichika, and Hanataro Friday night to discuss the plans for the Halloween party that was to be held Halloween night. At first it was going to be held at Solid Gold and consist of only a costume party with good food and good music. Shinji had planned to open it up only to members. However, the more he thought about it the more the idea had morphed before it was now almost completely different. He had called Z about a month prior and asked if he could rent Wank for the night and been granted permission as long as he cleaned up after he was finished. He had then talked to some of the former employees of Wank as well as a few of the employees of Solid Gold and had asked them if they would be interested in dancing. He had been overwhelmed with the positive response. So now, what had once been a simple get together, was a full blown party complete with drink, food, costumes and male and female strippers. It was looking to be a fantastic event.
"Do we have everything to decorate with yet?" Hanataro asked, shifting his youngest daughter, Aya, in his lap as she slept.
Yumi shook his head. "We still need a lot and then we have to figure a way to fit everything in there and still have room for the party goers."
Shinji sighed. That was going to be an issue as Wank was a lot smaller than Solid Gold. However, Shinji didn't have a license for stripping at Solid Gold and didn't think he'd get off as easy on something like that were he caught. That's all he need was to have the place shut down so soon after opening.
"You let me worry 'bout that stuff and start thinkin' 'bout yer routine and costume."
Yumi straightened his back in the chair he had seated himself in, curling a sleeping Sorin closer to his body. "I already have my costume and routine down. After all it hasn't been that long since I danced."
"Kana picked out my outfit last week and has been helping me after the kids go to bed." Hanataro smiled as he spoke of his wife.
Just then Hanataro's oldest daughter walked up to Ichigo and tugged on his shirt, pulling his attention away from the group. He smiled at her, thinking that she looked so much like her father it was ridiculous, and asked her what she needed.
"I… I can jump rope!" the little girl said, nodding her head enthusiastically.
Ichigo grinned. "Really? That's cool!"
"Do you jump rope?" she asked, looking down at Taichi as he was seated between Ichigo's open legs.
"I think I'm a little big for that." Ichigo frowned, honestly thinking about the question.
"I hate carrots." the little girl announced loudly and everyone present chuckled.
"Carrots are good for ya." Shinji said, setting his notebook aside.
The little girl ignored him and looked back at Ichigo. "Can I hold the baby? I'm good at holding babies."
Shinji smiled as he watched Ichigo pick her up and seat her on the floor on the opposite side of him before placing Taichi in her arms. Ichigo was such a good father even if he didn't have all that much experience. Taichi gurgled and stuck a fist in his mouth, ignoring everything around him in favor of the appendage.
"Ichi, have ya made up yer mind yet?" Shinji asked, watching Tomoe's attempt at crawling out of the corner of his eye.
Ichigo shrugged. "I'm still not sure, Shin. It's been a long time, you know."
Shinji grinned and shared a look with Yumi. "Yeah, been a long time fer me too ya know."
Tomoe screeched and kicked her legs in frustration and Hanataro's daughter wiggled where she sat.
"I hafta pee." she announced, her voice just as loud as it had been before.
Ichigo blinked down at her and nodded, picking Taichi up and setting him back between his legs. The little girl smiled and stood, crossing her legs and bouncing a bit.
"I can do it by myself!" she said gleefully before taking off down the halfway.
Shinji looked at Hanataro with a slightly worried look on his face. The bathroom floors were linoleum but he still didn't want urine on them. Hanataro stood and rested his Aya on his hip before reaching into the diaper bag next to him and pulling out a small potty seat.
"She can do it mostly on her own but if she doesn't use this she'll fall in." he giggled before following his daughter to the bathroom.
Ichigo leaned back against the front of the couch again and grinned to himself. "I can't wait." He said quietly.
After everyone left, deciding on getting together that Sunday for more planning, Ichigo helped Shinji clean up in the kitchen while the triplets slept in their playpen. Once the last dish was set in the dishwasher Shinji set a pot for tea and he and Ichigo sat at the small dinner table.
"Oh yeah, before I forget." Ichigo started, eyeing Shinji carefully before he continued. "Uh, Grimm wants to have you and Nnoitra over for dinner Saturday. He said he had news but of course he wouldn't tell me what kind of news."
"Maybe he's pregnant." Shinji deadpanned before bursting out into laughter at the look Ichigo threw at him. "Oh c'mon Ichigo. It can't be anything bad if he wants me there."
"I know that. I just hate it when he keeps things from me." Ichigo muttered.
"Speakin' of keepin' things from each other…."
Ichigo sighed and rolled his eyes. "No I haven't told Grimm about Tatsuki yet. I've been busy."
"Yeah…. Whatever." Shinji said at length.
"She wants to meet him and the kids though so…." he trailed off, the both of them slipping into silence.
Shinji snorted and stood, slapping Ichigo's shoulder. "Well good luck with that!" he said with a laugh and left the room. He didn't envy Ichigo in the least in this situation. No matter how he looked at it Grimmjow wasn't going to react the way Ichigo was hoping he would.
Grimmjow tossed his clothes in the washing machine and walked back to the bathroom stark naked for a shower. He needed to get cleaned before Ichigo got home and smelled what he had been doing. Cigarettes were hell to quit, even if he did have three very good reasons to do so. He had done a good job for almost a year after things had settled down in their lives but had started it up again when he had gone back to work for Aizen. He had quit again when he and Ichigo had decided to have the kids and had done very good until the past month. With the stress of looking for a home to raise his family in, more demanding projects at work, Ichigo's own increasing work and study schedule, he was still taking classes two nights a week, he'd found himself sucking down half a pack a day. And doing too much laundry. He was actually surprised Ichigo hadn't noticed yet.
After a quick wash, more to eradicate the smell of cigarettes than to get clean, he dressed in lounge pants and nothing else before heading to the kitchen for a beer. He was enjoying the quite house but knew that Ichigo and the kids should be home from Shinji's soon. He was excited about the news he was about to break to Ichigo and hoped he'd be able to hold back until the following day. He wanted it to be perfect, so much so that he had been stressed out most of the day trying to figure out how best to approach things, hence the smoking.
He jerked when the phone rang and jogged to answer it, smiling when Ichigo's voice came crisp and clear through the tiny speaker.
"Hey, can you come down and give me a hand with these guys and all their crap?" Ichigo asked and Grimmjow could hear a car door shut.
"Yeah, be down in a sec." Grimmjow replied.
He grabbed a shirt and a pair of sneakers before bounding down the hall to the elevators. He knew the only way he'd keep his mouth shut about this juicy little secret was to get the kids fed and sleeping before he fucked Ichigo until he passed out. With that thought seeding perversion in his mind he smiled to himself and wished for the elevator car to speed up.
A/N YAY! I finally finished it! I hope it makes up for the absense and I'll do my best to get another one out soon~
Some news: I'm sure by now all of you have heard about Redbutton and what's going on with this site. I'm taking necessary precautions "just in case" anything happens to my work. I suggest that you bookmark or write down or whatever, the deviantART link off my profile page and tuck it away for safe keeping in the event some douche pokes in and decides they don't like me. From the fanclub you can get links to my stories that I will be posting on other sites. I'm not leaving here unless I get kicked off, I want to make that very clear.
CONTEST!: Hop on over to the fanclub, link is on my profile page, and check out the details of the very first MistressPsFC contest! I hope to see some good entries Duckies~
~Penny