Little Shop of Pleasures

Chapter 2: Spilling the Beans

((Then his superior took a deep breath, still smiling.

"Something exciting has happened. I wanted to tell my best friend first. Tetsuya and I...are engaged."))

Kisuke watched as his redheaded companion sank deeper into his thoughts. He subtly refilled the glass, and Renji drank absently, staring into space. He watched closely, alarmed when tears rose in the cinnamon eyes.

Renji swallowed thickly as the riptide of memory pulled him under.

"Wha-? You...you're engaged?"

The noble nodded, smiling at him in a way he'd never seen before as he pulled Renji to his feet.

Byakuya was...happy.

Renji felt as if he was gonna pass out, but managed to smile.

"Con-congratulations. This is...wow."

"Renji? Hey man, come back to me."

He refocused his blurry vision on the shopkeeper, realizing he had tears in his eyes. Embarassed, he swiped at them.

"Cap'n Kuchiki don' care 'bout me, 'cept as a friend."

He saw Kisuke shift uncomfortably, refilling their glasses.

"And wha's wrong with that? Can never have too many friends, y'know."

Renji sighed loudly, unaware of just how much wine he'd drank.

"Tha's not wha' I wanted with him! I wanted him ta notice me. Ins'ead, 'e's got thish pretty little fiancé an' didn' even realize 'e was breakin' my heart."

"Tha' sucks, don' it? Damn, I'm sorry, Renj."

He frowned, considering for a moment.

"But you kinda had t'spect it, right? After all, Kuchiki's a leader, an' leader's gotta have heirs, so tha' pretty much leaves a guy outta the runnin' don' it?"

"Huh."

Renji closed his eyes and tapped a rough fingertip on the side of his wine glass.

"Not a breath'r male," he sighed.

Kisuke gave him a stymied look.

"What'd you say?" he asked, "Did you say…?"

"I said breath'r male!" Renji spat dizzily.

"Breather male?"

"N-naw, bree-der. Breeder male!" the drunk redhead managed finally.

Kisuke's pale grey eyes rounded and one of his hands thumped noisily on the table.

"A breeder male?" he repeated, shaking his head and making himself sway dizzily, "How d'you even know…? Oh, wait, Kuchiki tol' you."

"Yeah."

"Well…shit."

"Yeah."

Renji tried to frown, only to find his face had gone rather numb.

"It don' matter an'more. Anywaysh, this's some good shit."

He eyed the bottle of wine; it seemed to waver slightly.

He felt so very warm, and he leaned his head back, running both hands through his hair.

"Why's it s'warm? You got th'heat on?"

Already intoxicated and focused on his discomfort, Renji didn't notice the soft gray eyes admiring him over the rim of the wine glass as he stripped off his Red Pineapple shirt, exposing an array of intricate black markings. He flipped his hair over the back of the chair so it wasn't hanging down his back and making him hotter. Still, sweat misted his golden tanned skin.

Kisuke swallowed at the sight of Renji running his hands through his hair. Impulsively, he rose and moved behind the redhead's chair. He gently pushed his hands away and began running his own fingers through the fiery strands. Renji made a little sound of confusion, blinking up at him. Then the younger man seemed to settle into the attention, humming softly while his hair was played with.

Kisuke smiled as he caressed the scarlet mane, covertly admiring the markings he could see. Keeping one hand stroking Renji's hair, he moved the other to lightly touch the wicked black lines on his guest's forehead.

Renji stiffened a bit at the cool feeling of those curious fingers touching him, his whiskey-colored eyes rolling up to peer at the drunk shopkeeper. Kisuke simply smiled and kept tracing the markings, and Renji calmed, resuming his humming.

Kisuke contemplated the redhead. Renji was quite attractive, and powerful in his own right. He was street-smart, and surprisingly sweet. Like the day before, when Jinta had scraped his knee and had been fighting tears, not wanting to look weak. Renji had cleaned the wound and dressed it. He had comforted the boy and distracted him with stories about his own injuries.

Of course, the moment Jinta had felt better, they'd gone back to name-calling and insults. But still, it was a side to Renji that had surprised Kisuke. And there was nothing he loved more than being surprised and learning new things.

His hand subtly slipped lower to stroke the black designs on Renji's neck. The younger man simply leaned his head over a bit, offering the vulnerable area.

He rather reminded Kisuke of a big, beautiful cat wanting attention.

Really, Byakuya just might be a fool for not paying attention to this man.

"Wha-? What'd you just say?"

Kisuke blinked.

I said that out loud? What the heck? Well, no taking it back now.

"I am glad Byakuya has found happiness, but he must be blind not to have noticed you first."

Looking surprised, Renji leaned his head back, looking at him upside-down. The surprise and confusion were so cute on the strong features, and Kisuke leaned down to capture wine-flavored lips.

The bigger Soul Reaper seemed frozen for a moment. Shock? Disgust? Kisuke started to pull away, then a big hand came up and wrapped around the back of his head.

Renji started kissing back, hesitant at first. But as the kiss deepened, the redhead's actions became almost frantic, as if desperately craving the comfort Kisuke was offering. And caught up in Renji's wicked heat and the rush of intense arousal those burning lips caused when they impacted so roughly with his, Kisuke could only return the kisses with equal fervor.

He managed to mumble something about the kids seeing and the two dragged themselves to their feet and staggered out of the kitchen, bumping into the walls and still kissing and clinging to each other as they made their way to Kisuke's bedroom.

The door crashed open and they tumbled through, crashing down onto the floor and stifling a fit of drunken giggles. Snickering, Kisuke kicked the door closed, then he climbed on top of the redhead, pinning him to the floor and ravaging his mouth like he'd never tasted anything to delicious. His pale eyes raked every inch of handsomely bronzed skin and snaked along the black lines that danced everywhere.

"Fuck'n Kushiki don' know wha he's missin' right now," Kisuke muttered.

"Don' say tha' t'me," Renji complained, shifting so that he could feel Kisuke's hot, thick arousal through their clothes, "Jus'…y'know…do it."

Kisuke paused for a moment.

"D'ya know wha' yer sayin' t'me?" he asked.

"I know wha' I'm sayin' t'you," Renji answered, "He don' want me and you do. Go ahead. Fuck me."

"Heheh, naw," Kisuke chuckled, starting to climb off of him, "One've us gotta be sensible. This ain't goin' nowhere. You don't really want me. You want yer cap'n."

"I don' wanna hear 'bout tha' n'more," Renji snarled, grabbing Kisuke and dragging him back down, "an' don' say I don' want you."

He shifted and bucked upward, teasing the man on top of him with his hardness.

"Feel that? That says I do."

He moved his hips wantonly, rubbing against Kisuke's alert nether region and exciting a lusty gleam in the shopkeeper's hungry eyes. He stretched out, teasing the older man with the lovely array of tattoos that covered his broad chest and soft belly.

"You wan' it? Take it," the redhead offered, "I'm good with't."

"Y'sure?"

"Yeah. You?"

"If you're offerin,' I'm takin' it," Kisuke hissed, pressing his body down against Renji's and writhing hotly against him, "B-been awhile."

"Don't matter," Renji giggled, "It's like ridin' a bike, ne?"

The two stopped and looked down at Kisuke's fully awakened beast that lurked just beneath his loosened clothes.

"Guess we'll see?" he snickered.

A happy groan escaped him as Renji shoved his pants down, releasing his own flushed and leaking hardness. Kisuke paused to stare intently at the handsomely tattooed organ.

"God, thas jus' beautiful!"

"Like it?" Renji chuckled, "T's yours."

"Holy hell!" Kisuke managed softly, reaching down to run his fingertips along the markings and making Renji groan and spread his thighs wantonly.

"What?" Renji asked dazedly, "I ain't no fuckin' Mona Lisa or anything. If I was, cap'n'd notice I was alive."

"Pard'n me fer sayin' so, but I don' think cap'n Kushki ever saw you like this!"

"Fuck no," Renji snorted.

"Unlucky fer him," Kisuke sighed, breathing in Renji's warm, deeply masculine scent, "Lucky fer me!"

Renji felt himself blush lightly at the praise from the older man. Or maybe that was the flush from the wine.

Kisuke leaned close and kissed him again as a gentle hand wandered down his body. Breath catching, he spread his legs more as he tried to force images of his superior from his mind.

The former Taicho began an assault on the soft skin of his throat as slick fingers invaded his body. 'When the fuck did he get lube?' he wondered dizzily. He was soon lost in sensation, mindlessly writhing under the ministrations of the inebriated shopkeeper.

"Kis...Kisu-ke!"

The blond man murmured against his throat, "'m here, Renji. I gotcha."

Renji hadn't felt this way in a long time. He'd been saving himself for a while now, waiting for Byakuya to notice him. With only his right hand for company, he'd missed these sensations. Gods, he'd missed them so much!

Profanity fell from his lips.

"That's enough, fuck me!"

"ah'kay, I'm puttin' it in. Relax, ahright?"

"Mmmhmmm."

The fingers left him, only to be replaced with something bigger and harder.

"Ahh! Fuck! Yes, c'mon!" he snarled as he was filled, unconsciously clawing at his lover's back.

Pale gray eyes met his, and then Kisuke began moving. A fast, hard rhythm was set, the aggressive thrusts rocking his entire body. Renji buried his face in the smaller Soul Reaper's neck, a rough growl vibrating his chest.

Kisuke's pounding thrusts intensified as he threw caution to the wind to test the limits of the Rukon beast beneath him. And if Renji had looked beautiful before, he broke new ground as he lunged and thrashed beneath the shopkeeper's writhing body, hips bucking up furiously to embrace each powerful, quaking collision.

"Damn! Feel'sah good!" Renji howled, clawing harder at Kisuke's back until his nails bit into the pale skin, leaving marks for him to find later, "F—uh, oh god! Harder! Faster! C'mon!"

Kisuke answered with a final flurry of movements that found the bundle of sensitive nerves inside the dazed redhead, making him scream with delight as Kisuke's body shuddered warningly, then blazing heat erupted inside him. His own hot seed splashed out onto their sweating bodies as the two collapsed, panting and shaking all over in the throes of completion.

A blissful haze settled over the two, and they somehow managed to crawl the rest of the way across the floor and onto the bed.

"Tha' was fuckin' amazin'!" Renji sighed contentedly.

Kisuke smiled warmly.

"No regrets?"

"Heh, no, none," Renji answered.

"Me either," the shopkeeper said, "But…I should probably warn you. The last lover I was with was a real bastard. Luckily, e's gone far 'way now."

"Lucky fer him," Renji drawled sleepily.

"Oh yeah?" Kisuke inquired, looking at him curiously, "Why's tha'?"

"Cause," Renji said, opening one cinnamon colored eye to look at him in the darkness, "If he was 'ere, I'd have to go and kill him for hurtin' ya' like he did."

Kisuke felt an odd sensation in his chest and throat and his eyes dampened. He reached up a hand to brush away the ones that threatened to escape, but Renji's bigger, tanned hand took hold of his.

"He hurt ya' tha' bad, did he?" the redhead asked, "How?"

Kisuke blinked slowly, wondering if he dared admit his stupidity aloud. It was truly the most foolish decision he'd ever made, after all.

"Y'can tell me," Renji urged him, "I won' say nothin' to no one. You got my backside, I got yours."

The two men gazed at each other for a moment, then descended into a moment of drunken laughter.

"Well, you sure as hell got my backside!" Renji giggled, "I ain't got yours yet, but I will whenever you say."

"Well," Kisuke said, turning his head to look out the window, "I'd let ya' right now, but…there's a lil complication."

"S'tha' right?" Renji asked, "The bastard boyfriend? He threaten ya' or sumthin'?"

Renji frowned, blinking to clear his vision.

"Though, I can' think of anythin' tha' should scare a guy like you. You scared a'this asshole, Kisuke?"

Kisuke drew in a deeper breath and let it out slowly.

"Not scared of'm, no. But, when we were t'gether for th'firs time, e'made me promise somethin' to'm. It's tha' promise thas the problem."

Renji scowled.

"Doesn' sound like he kept his promises, s'why should you hafta keep yers?"

The shopkeeper's grey eyes closed, then opened and looked up at the ceiling.

"Cause, the person I made tha' promise ta' was…hey, c'n ya' keep a secret, Renj?"

"Me?" the redhead said, cocking his head slightly, "Yeah, sure. Bout what?"

Kisuke took a steadying breath and Renji could see even through the drunkenness that he was reluctant to share.

"It was Aizen."

Renji blinked in confusion.

"Huh?"

Kisuke bit his lip and started to climb out of the bed. Renji's hand wrapped around his wrist, stopping him.

"You jus' say wha' I think y'said?"

"Yeah. I need more t'drink. I'll…I'll be back."

"Nah, I think you had enough," Renji chided him, "Sayin' somethin' like tha' t'me. Y'let Aizen inside ya'? Thas crazy. Yer shittin' me, right?"

"No," Kisuke answered, freeing his hand and going to look out the window, "I let'im in. I promised no one else would go there. An' th'bastard turned into a fuckin' monster."

"W-well," Renji managed, blinking and staring, "fuck…"

"Yeah."

Kisuke reached into the nightstand and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

"I didn't know you smoked."

"It's bad fer me, so I usually don't."

"I only tried these livin' world ones once," Renji said as Kisuke handed him one, then lit his own before leaning over Renji and using his lit cigarette to light the redhead's, "I don' usually like'em, but fuck it. We got reasons."

"Yeah," Kisuke agreed, taking a long drag, "We got reasons."

"Wha' is this stuff?" Renji asked, "It's pretty cool. Kinda makes me feel floaty."

"I doctored it a lil," Kisuke snickered, "Don' tell yer cap'n. He might get Central 46 pissed at me again, though, I'm already banished cause of Aizen. Wha' more they gonna do, right?"

"Right."

Renji looked quietly at Kisuke's somber expression, suddenly wanting to erase that serious, almost lost look. It didn't suit the brilliant, confident man.

"Hey, Imma get us some water so we don' get hung'ver too bad. I'll be righ' back."

He slipped his pants on and headed for the kitchen. The walk helped clear a bit of the wine induced haze. He filled two large glasses with ice water and retreated to the bedroom. He saw Kisuke sitting on the edge of the bed gazing out the window, and his chest tightened a little.

Renji handed over a glass as he sat next to the older man. He wrapped one arm around Kisuke's shoulders and kissed his temple.

"Hey, thanks for trusting me with your secret. I promise I won't tell nobody."

The shopkeeper smirked at him.

"If ya do I'll have to kill ya."

Renji snickered and nuzzled messy ash blond hair.

"Deal. C'mon, let's get some sleep."

They finished their water and laid down facing the moonlit window, Renji spooning the smaller man. Thinking about what Kisuke had confided in him, he pulled him tighter against his chest.

As Kisuke's breathing deepened and evened out, Renji began to drift himself, breathing in the scent of pine and incense that the former Taicho gave off.

His mind fading into unconsciousness, his last thoughts were of the man in his arms.

Aizen won't hurt you again.

I promise.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tetsuya knelt quietly at the top of a little, sakura covered cliff, next to a splashing waterfall, his sapphire eyes watching solemnly as the day ended and night fell over the meadow beneath him.

Byakuya would normally be here, watching the sunset and the arrival of the lovely night sky with me. It's been our nightly ritual, ever since he rescued me from the secret noble prison, where I was incarcerated. Well, on the evenings when he wasn't assigned a mission like he has been tonight.

When we sat here before, each night, we were like friends, just wanting to be close to each other, to feel each other's warmth and to enjoy the peace and beauty of the night. It didn't occur to me that while I was resting close with him, I was also causing him to feel attracted to me.

I don't understand anything about love.

I don't know what courtship means, beyond a set of rules I've been told to follow.

When it comes to what will happen as we get closer to our wedding, I will only feel more and more anxious, because I know I lack understanding of relationships. All I was taught in the prison was that some dominate and some submit. To the Kuchiki elders, this is "knowing my place." To my father, it is "something I must trust I will understand better as my engagement commences and the wedding grows closer."

Tetsuya made a sound of frustration, glaring down at the lake beneath him.

I don't want to disappoint him.

I'm so confused, though. When he speaks of loving me, there is a light in Byakuya's eyes and I feel his emotional warmth. I can exude the warmth of friendship, but I don't know a thing about giving and receiving love.

Byakuya tells me not to worry, that he is happy to accept what I am able to offer. I feel in my heart that he deserves more and I want to offer him that, but…how? Am I even capable of falling in love? Or am I too broken? Is love a thing that can be learned?

I don't know.

Tears filled the corners of his eyes and above him, clouds began to form in the sky.

"Master Tetsuya?" his attendant called from somewhere behind him, "Master Tetsuya, are you all right?"

Tetsuya sniffed softly and sought the young man's arms for a comforting embrace.

"Koji, I'm…"

"You're anxious again, Master Tetsuya," his attendant said kindly, "You don't need to be. Everything will be fine, just as Lord Byakuya said. Please don't be troubled."

Tetsuya swallowed hard and rubbed his eyes.

"Sorry," he apologized, "I'm trying as hard as I can. I just…I don't know how to do any of this!"

Koji smiled gently and touched his hair tenderly.

"Lord Byakuya knows that you have been very sheltered. He doesn't expect you to act like anyone but yourself. I heard him tell you that. He loves you just as you are."

"What?" Tetsuya asked, shaking his head, "How can he? How can he when I can't seem to figure out how to return his love? I tried asking Sadao, but…he just said that I'm intelligent and sensitive, and that my instincts would serve me. He doesn't understand, Koji. I have no instincts when it comes to love."

He turned his head slightly to look back in the direction of the family cemetery.

"She knew how to be a good partner," he said softly.

"Ah, now don't start comparing yourself to Lady Hisana," Koji chided him, "You are two different people."

"I know, but at least she knew how to…to make him smile, to amuse him, to touch his heart, to…please him sexually. I know none of these things, Koji."

Koji rested his chin on top of Tetsuya's head, holding him gently as they looked up into the sky.

"Well, you could…ask someone who knows more," the attendant suggested, "Maybe there is someone close to Lord Byakuya who could give you some guidance."

Tetsuya's head tilted and he thought carefully.

"Someone close to Byakuya…who knows him well…and maybe…maybe has some experience I don't?"

"Now you're talking!" Koji said, nodding, "You see. It will be fine. Tomorrow, while he's gone, you can just…try going to someone and asking the questions you have."

Tetsuya nodded, the kernel of an idea forming in his mind.

"All right," he decided, "Tomorrow, I will."