Fleeing from Soul Society to Karakura in an existential crisis-induced state of mind only made Shuuhei realize how tired and all-around exhausting this entire day has been. His eye still hurts, a dull sensation of pain throbbing from it angrily. Shuuhei's had a long day. It's time for bed now.

It's much later than he would have preferred it to be by the time they get to the Sixth division barracks. Every light is shut off, which isn't surprising seeing as how it's Friday—every shinigami in service is by now already asleep or out pulling an all-night bar crawl. More power to them, Shuuhei concedes. He's too tired to even think about going out right now, he just wants to roll into Renji's futon and hibernate.

"Why is are your quarters so far from the door?" Shuuhei questions at the entrance of the building, leaning in against the doorframe. Renji doesn't seem to share his exhaustion, but then again Renji didn't get punched in the face earlier today. Or fight with his captain. Or get an oddly ominous and frankly morbid message from his zanpakuto, Shuuhei assumes.

Renji gives him a fond grin, the whites of his eyes still just visible against the dark as he rolls them. "Come on, it's just at the end of the hall. Up and at 'em, don't fall asleep on me yet."

All in all Shuuhei's day has been... odd. A lot of interesting things have happened, and he's made some pretty important decisions. Some of these decisions might, in retrospect, not have been smart. Honest decisions, sure. Well meaning decisions. Not necessarily smart decisions.

The redheaded shinigami casts him a concerned look, although the exact features of his face are hard to pick out of the dark. It's a very thick darkness, the kind that envelopes one from all sides. Renji backsteps a few paces. "Come on, almost there! Don't fall alseep on me now!"

"I hope I didn't screw everything up just now." Shuuhei says flatly, sinking a little against the door frame.

"It's a little late to be thinking about that. Not really anything we can do about it now." Renji shrugs, reaching back to scratch the nape of his neck.

Shuuhei tries to force the gears in his mind to turn, sliding against the door frame down to the floor completely. "There could still be a way to contain this, you know. I can tell people it was a misunderstanding. Or that when I confessed to you, you rejected me-"

"People would still suspect. At least if we're out in the open, we don't need to cover our asses anymore." Renji points out, now standing over him as Shuuhei draws battle plans in his mind. He sighs, "Listen, this is all kinds of too stressful to bother with right now. Let's just go to sleep and worry about it tomorrow."

Shuuhei doesn't respond right away. He taps his finger against his knee, almost mumbling to himself. "There's gonna be hell to pay. I mean, I'm sure we can handle it, but-"

"Shuuhei." Renji says with a warning tone, leaning down to jostle Shuuhei's shoulders.

"Shit, what's Kira gonna think? We're supposed to be the only two people we can trust."

"He's not a baby and he can deal. Get up."

Shuuhei clucked his tongue. "'Must be some kind of fraternization laws. Fuck, the one time I act on a spur of the moment and it could land us in huge trouble."

"No one pays attention to those rules, anyways."

"Yeah, but maybe because no one thought they could apply it to same-sex couples before." Shuuhei points out, leaning his elbow on his knee to press a fist into his cheek, thinking of all the smarter things he could have done than just blurt a deeply personal secret out loud. It's a very long list. "God, I'm so stupid!"

Renji drops his hand from Shuuhei's shoulder, crossing his arms seriously. "Okay, time to get up. I mean it this time, I will carry you down this hall if I have too!"

Shuuhei snorts, "No, you won't." Still, it would be nice to actually finish walking down the hall and sit on the couch or the futon instead of on the ground. Shuuhei is very enthusiastic about the idea of lying on a soft object right now. With that in mind, Shuuhei sighs and runs a hand through his hair, "Alright, I'm getting up—"

But Renji's already coming closer, moving to envelope the slighter man with his body. Shuuhei squirms, trying to edge away from the arms closing in on either side of me. "Stop, not an inch closer! Don't even touch me, Renji!"

Too late, a hand is already wedging itself between Shuuhei's back and the wall, cradling Shuuhei's body towards Renji. Now would be the optimal time to fight back, push Renji off and struggle to retain those last few vital shreds of pride, but instead he becomes distracted by marveling at how warm Renji's body is. The man is all heat and comfort and familiarity, so much like a security blanket that Shuuhei could just fall asleep right now like this.

"Oh, hell no." Shuuhei growls as Renji's other arm shifts to wrap under his knees and begin to lift him off the ground. "I did not approve of this."

"You've lost your walking privileges. Abuse and misconduct will get those revoked, you know," Renji retorts as he stands up, grunting softly as he hoists Shuuhei up in his arms with him. "If you have issues with any policies please take it up with Commissioner Go-Fuck-Yourself."

Shuuhei squirms in the taller man's grasp, unintentionally making it easier for Renji to reaffirm his grasp. Both tattooed arms wrap around Shuuhei's back and around his thighs as Renji starts to carry him bridal-style down the hall. Shuuhei's cheek gets crushed into Renji's chest and he feels his face heat up. Heat up because he is angry, of course. Angry with brimming masculinity!"

"Fuck this and fuck you with something rough and grainy—" Shuuhei starts, trying to kick Renji in the head from his position, but Renji cuts him off with a loud shush.

"There are people trying to sleep here, you know? No need to be rude," Renji teases, a self-satisfied smile on his face even as he struggles to keep his balance. His steeps teeter ever so slightly, and that in no way encourages Shuuhei to support this plan. Renji steadies his footsteps with a grumble as they draw ever farther down the hall. "You're heavier than you look, princess."

"Are you calling me fat?" Shuuhei says scathingly, resigning himself to Renji's arms. Hey, it's a lot more comfortable than walking, and takes much less effort.

"Well, you have been eating all of my food, lately." Renji quips, coming to a stop in front of his door. He gives it a harsh glare, obviously frustrated his own lack of an ability to open it telepathically. Shuuhei doesn't feel bad for him at all. Finally, he asks "Grab my keys out of my pocket for me, will ya?"

"Get them yourself," Shuuhei snarks, giving the redhead a smoldering look.

"But if I put you down you'll just use it as an opportunity to escape my loving embrace."

"Yes, Renji, that is the point."

Renji rolls his eyes a second time, and Shuuhei is momentarily worried that they'll roll right out of his skull if he keeps it up. "Fine, but then I'll have to to drop you right on your fat head." Renji decides.

"I knew you were calling me fat," Shuuhei mutters, but reaches an arm around Renji's to feel around in his pockets. His fingers locate a promising piece of cold metal and he pulls out the glinting key to all but jam it into Renji's lock. Shuuhei gets jostled a little in Renji's grip as the redheaded man pushes the door open with his hip and kicks it closed behind him after crossing the threshold of the room.

"It's time for all good little Shuuheis to be asleep," Renji says with a slight sing-song tilt to his voice, "So that they'll stop being cranky at the guy nice enough to them a lift. You ungrateful dick."

Shuuhei huffs, but graciously accepts Renji's action of carrying him to the futon and putting him down on its soft downy caress. Hello, mattress. Shuuhei has missed you.

His joy at being reunited with reliable ground again is cut short, however. Shuuhei blinks at the sudden realization that something is pitter-pattering against the windows, tapping frantically at the glass

Fluttering wings. Oh, wings!

Shit.

"You've got company," Shuuhei says a little sheepishly, clutching the pillow closer to his face as he points towards the window. Vision obstructed, he hears Renji grunt in acknowledgement of what must be dozens of hellbutterflies flapping against his window.

"Nosy fuckers," Renji complains, drawing the curtain closed. "Exactly how many people did you tell about us in your spur of insanity?"

Shuuhei rolls over, patting the futon beside him in an invitation to join him. The mattress dips slightly as Renji sprawls out on the blanket, stretching before curling up pressed against Shuuhei's side. "Only three people. My captain—"

"One," Renji counts along aloud.

"—Kira—"

"All of our friends," Renji amends.

"—and Rangiku."

"So basically all of Soul Society."

Shuuhei sighs, using his hand to guide Renji's arm to drape over his side,"Yeah, basically."

"Wow. Cool." Renji yawns before drifting off into sleep.

Shuuhei raises an eyebrow, even though he know Renji won't be able to see it. "'Wow. Cool?' You're taking this pretty well."

"Actually, I'm internally freaking out, but I'm too tired to express that so I'm just going to push away all these panicky thoughts until a more convenient time. Like, say, a hundred years from now. It's my- whatdya call it? When you're stressed out and you wanna deal with something in a different way?"

"Coping mechanism?" Shuuhei volunteers.

Renji grunts, nuzzling his face into Shuuhei's hair sleepily. "Yes. Coping mechanism, because coping is definitely the thing I am doing right now."

"That sounds like a good mechanism." Shuuhei says thoughtfully before drifting to sleep, "I like that mechanism."

Night passes quickly, graciously turning into the most beloved of all days of the week- Saturday.

Shuuhei loves Saturday. It's the only day he really gets away from work. Friday is spent at the office, finishing up all the last-minute work for the week. Sunday is overshadowed by the constant reminder than Monday is sure to follow, to the point where Shuuhei just meanders down to work anyways to in an attempt to reduce the never-ending pile of paperwork that will wait for him the following day.

But Saturday? Saturday is a good day, and he's finally not too hung-over to properly appreciate it. His face still kind of aches, though.

Shuuhei snuggles under the covers, shifting to press himself back against Renji's warm body next to him. He cranes his neck to look at the taller man, still wearing his rumpled shinigami robes he was wearing in spirit partial form within his gigai from the previous night, hair coming messily undone from his ponytail. Shuuhei smirks, readjusting his potion so he can reach over and brush a few stray strands away from Renji's face.

Renji's not a peaceful sleeper. His body seems to move on its own accord at night, sprawling and tossing under the covers like he can't ever get comfortable. Shuuhei does is best not to get kicked in his sleep.

Shuuhei lets his hand wander down from Renji's hairline to his face, stroking his cheek and cupping his jaw. Even Renji's face looks restless in his sleep, his brows furrowed and pressed together as if in irritation. His lips are parted, breathing deeply but they drag down at the edges of his mouth in an adorable scowl. He wonders if these dreams have anything to do with Renji's fidgety sleep-habits. Is he having nightmares? Or is Zabimaru invading his mind while he's asleep? Renji always did say he found the dual souls of his zanpakuto rather agitating to share conversations with.

Shuuhei could relate. The scarred man sighs heavily, the knowledge that he has to handle this Kazeshini bankai thing weighing on his mind. This isn't the sort of matter that can be ignored for long, but for some reason a feeling of intense dread wells up in the pit of Shuuhei's stomach at the thought of confronting the issue.

Part of him wants to confide in Renji, ask his opinion on the matter and, most of all, seek reassurance that he can handle the situation. Renji's the only vice-captain to have achieved bankai, so if anyone has any insight for how and when one would go about pursuing it themselves he would be the first person to go to. From a logical standpoint, it's ideal that both the promise of reaching full power and Renji have both fallen into Shuuhei's lap.

On the other hand, if Shuuhei is to go about unlocking his second release, does he really want it to be because his boyfriend walked him through it? No, Shuuhei decides, this is a matter he can handle independently. It's most likely what Renji would do anyways, if the roles were reversed. He'll probably even be proud of Shuuhei when he manages to achieve bankai on his own.

But that would be for a later time. For a Sunday, or a Monday. Preferably a Monday. As for now, Shuuhei has a whole weekend morning laid out before him, and he intends to make the most of that as he sits up and stretches his heavy limbs, mindful not to wake Renji as he slips off the futon and onto the cold wooden floors. He sets to peeling off his rumpled shihakushou, pulling the top half of the attire off his shoulders, when a persistent fluttering registers in his ears.

Shuuhei sighs exasperatedly, glaring in the direction of the window. The hellbutterflies seem to have persisted, if not multiplied, over the course of the night—no doubt their numbers grew as whatever rumors about Shuuhei and Renji worked their way around Seireitei. Shuuhei animatedly waves his arms in their direction, attempting to shoo away the adamant little messengers. When that fails, the dark-haired shinigami simply yanks the curtains shut and hops the pattering of tiny insect bodies hitting the window won't disturb Renji's sleep.

Wow, does Renji even own any clothes other than uniforms and sleeping yukatas? Shuuhei grins to himself as he roots around Renji's closet, casting the sleeping shinigami on the futon an amused glance as he does so. He pulls out an olive-green yukata and wraps it around his person, abandoning his uniform folded up on the floor.

Renji is still out cold, but all traces of sleepiness are gone from Shuuhei's mind and body. He predicts a long day of being cooped up in Renji's quarters hiding from the outside world, so he figures he better make use of his time and he sets out to scavenge in the kitchen.

Pulling open the fridge reveals mountains of leftover take-out large enough to make Shuuhei's colon tremble in fear. If Renji were left to his own devices he would probably send himself into junk food-induced heart palpitations, but fortunately self-appointed personal chef Hisagi Shuuhei is on the job.

To Shuuhei's shock and surprise, a few minutes of rooting around reveals a sparse sum of actual ingredients. Like, genuine edible things that haven't been deep-fried. In his investigations, Shuuhei uncovers fresh berries, some milk, butter, a whole carton of eggs, and what he can optimistically only assume is a hunk of cheese. He blinks in astonishment at the actual groceries before him, never noticing that Renji even bought real food. Did he buy these recently in anticipation of Shuuhei coming over?

Shrugging, Shuuhei pulls out a pan and sets the heat on the small stove. He would thank Renji for providing the food in the form of the rare nutritious breakfast.

After a few moments, Shuuhei hears a rustling from the direction of the bedroom as he chases the eggs around the pan. Renji makes a very unattractive snorting noise as his feet hit the floor, clearly not in the chipper mood of waking up that he was the previous morning.

"Good morning, sunshine, the world says hello. How do you like your eggs?" Shuuhei greets him with a wave of his spatula. "Spoiler: The answer is going to either be scrambled or sunny-side up, because those are currently the only two I know how to make. I don't usually make breakfast much."

"Uh?" Renji says eloquently, rubbing his eye sleepily with the heel of his hand. "Oh yeah, thanks. You can use whatever's in there. I just bought stuff like two days ago and gods know I have no idea what to do with them."

Shuuhei chuckles, tentatively prodding the eggs in the pan. They are, if he does say so himself, perfect. The whites are pristine and unburned, the yolks holding together like champs. Shuuhei's ego inflates with the knowledge of his cooking prowess. Has there ever been a more suave motherfucker than Hisagi Shuuhei. The possibilities are slim.

He carefully sets the finished eggs onto a plate with a hearty serving of the berries he located earlier, setting them onto the table for a compliant Renji before turning back and preparing his own food. He chuckles to himself as he begins chopping up the almost-definitely cheese. "I like my cheese like I like my men." He announces, giving Renji a suggestive waggle of the eyebrows as the redhead seats himself at the table, "Edgy."

Renji snorts, even as he eyes the food in front of him gratefully. "Lame. What the hell kind of cheese even is 'edgy?'" He says through a mouthful of eggs.

"It means it's got a very powerful flavor."

"Still lame."

"No? What about this- I like my men like I like my cheese; sharp. Rich. Uh… with their skin on." Yup, still the most suave. "Why are you laughing like that?"

Renji shakes his head, needing to cover his mouth to avoid spitting food across the table as he tries to get his laughter under control. The sleepiness disappears from his eyes as he gives Shuuhei a fond smile. "Nothing, you're just in a good mood this morning. I like it!"

"I am in a good mood!" Shuuhei agrees, demolishing his eggs in easy strikes. He's feeling adventurous today, why not go with scrambled?

In the small kitchenette, it's very easy for Renji to reach the other and stroke Shuuhei's side warmly. "It's really cute."

"Cute is what I call you," Shuuhei corrects him, preparing his own plate and inviting himself to the table to savor his own work. "You're not allowed to call me cute."

Renji raises his eyebrow challengingly/in a challenge, "You just try and stop me, princess."

"Not that, either. I'm not doing the stupid cutesy nickname thing," Shuuhei announces, decidedly shoving a forkful of food into his mouth. "I don't do nicknames and I'm not cute. I got enough of that when I was a little kid. All I was ever called was cute."

Renji leans back in his chair, looking Shuuhei up and down appreciatively and Shuuhei straightens his back, feeling a bit self-conscious. He grins, "Yeah, you seem the type. I can imagine you all cute and tiny, scampering around Rukongai. You probably had one of those faces, all big eyes and baby cheeks!"

He reaches over, pinching Shuuhei's cheeks with both hands until Shuuhei slaps his fingers away and rubs his smarting face. "Hey, those looks came with a high price. I always had to be the diversion, for one thing. When I was little my friends always made me go into stores and start crying and say I'd lost my mom in order to distract people while they stole stuff. And a few times some people actually did try to walk away with me—It's not funny, stop laughing!"

Renji's shoulders shake as he holds his sides and curled up over the table, biting his lip to keep the snickering at bay until his face begins to turn as crimson as his hair. At Shuuhei's final outburst the dam breaks, Renji's laughter coming in loud, gasping barks. "Oh my gods, that's so precious!"

Shuuhei slaps him on the arm in protest. "I was almost kidnapped, you insensitive asshole! You're such a prick. How do you even deal with it, the stares you must get from people all day as they notice the literal gigantic penis walking past them?"

Finally, after a few more minutes Renji calms himself. He still giggles a little, ruffling Shuuhei's hair. "No, this is good. You're actually, like, telling me interesting things about your life before the academy. Also simultaneously supplying me with valuable black-mail material."

"Yeah," Shuuhei acknowledges, squinting considerately at the air. "This is a little weird."

"It would be weirder if I still had no idea about you at all before I met you. I mean, since Rukia and I suddenly became big shit for helping Ichigo everybody kind of already knows our story. It gets pretty awkward sometimes." Renji points out, hands making way for the two plates still on the table. "You want me to clean up here, I mean since you did cook and all…"

Shuuhei pushes himself from his chair, "That'd be great. I'm gonna take a shower real quick, don't go anywhere."

He begins trekking to the bathroom, but still manages to catch Renji's amused hum behind him, "Don't go anywhere, huh? Sounds like you've made plans for me."

"Unless you've got anything better to do," Shuuhei retorts with a promising grin before disappearing into the bathroom. "Which I don't believe is true. Don't worry, though. I'm sure I'll be able to come up with something fun for us to engage ourselves in.

With the door closed behind him, Shuuhei takes in the small area of Renji's bathroom. With a strike of disappointment, he realizes he doesn't have a toothbrush. Even on a normal day going without brushing his teeth for too long leaves a gross taste in Shuuhei's mouth, plus he's very aware that morning breath is possibly the least sexy thing in the universe. He does actually want to do things with Renji- sexy, pleasurable things- things he doesn't want to ruin by being objectively repulsive. He could use Renji's but… well… hygiene!

Optimistically, Shuuhei scours the sink for a spare, pulling the drawers open on the off-chance that there will be an unused toothbrush.

Surely Renji must have an extra on hand. It's not just Shuuhei who does that, right?

Oh.

Hello there.

Shuuhei blinks in surprise, hands ceasing in their rooting around. That isn't what he thinks it is, is it? Well, Shuuhei knew that it was going to become an issue sooner or later, but he hadn't expected Renji to have planned this far ahead in advance. Is Renji trying to tell him something?

Shuuhei's fingers close around the object, holding it up to eye level. A lustful grin pulls at Shuuhei's face as he watches the light bounce off the contents of the small bottle of lubricant in his hands.

Author's note: At first I was worried that this chapter was too short, until I realized that as of recent updates my chapters have doubled in length from how long they were at the beginning! You can thank my beta, Namayani, for that. Without them this chapter wouldn't even be remotely fit for human consumption.

Beep beep here comes the porn.