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Renji woke up to the sensation of being tucked under blankets.
“Wha…? Where am I?” he asked when his eyes opened to unfamiliar surroundings. It took a second to remember that he was in the Human World in Byakuya’s fancy hotel room. Somehow he’d gotten to bed… hadn’t he been on the floor in another part of the suite? That question brought to mind images and sensations of everything that had come before and, remembering, Renji blushed happily. “I love you so much right now.”
“Yes,” Byakuya said patiently, but he graced Renji’s lips with a quick kiss in the darkness. “You’ve been saying that. Quite a lot, actually.”
Sneaking a hand out from under the blankets, Renji pushed hair from his face. “I have?”
The room was dark, illuminated only by the ambient light of the busy city through the window. The sounds of traffic drifted in, as well. Readjusting the last of the covers around Renji’s shoulders, Byakuya’s voice purred, rich with amusement: “I think you’ve been a bit delirious, my love. You should try to sleep.”
Undoing Byakuya’s careful work in an instant, Renji rolled over to snuggle up closer. Byakuya had turned his back to Renji, so Renji fit himself against the curves of Byakuya’s body.
Renji nuzzled his nose into Byakuya’s hair and was happy to smell the scent of spent passion and sweat among the usual familiar flavors. He jammed one arm up under the pillows while the other went around Byakuya’s waist. It was disappointing, but not surprising, to feel the silk of the iris kimono. The fabric did, at least, feel cool and smooth against Renji’s hot and exhausted body. He tucked his legs up against Byakuya’s, feeling the swell of ass against his crotch. He waited for a sign that he was too close, but, instead, there was a gentle sigh of contentment from Byakuya.
Into Byakuya’s ear, Renji asked playfully, “How did you even get me all the way here? Did you pick me up like a rag doll? That must have been a sight.”
“Indeed, it would have been.” There was a small, disbelieving laugh. “No, I’m afraid you’re far too heavy and lumbering for that.”
“So how’d you manage?”
There was a small pause and Byakuya shifted slightly to glance over his shoulder. “Is this some fantasy?”
“I think it’s hot how much stronger you are than me,” Renji admitted. Then he coughed a little, and muttered, “Obviously.”
“It amuses me that both you and Eishirō have this image of me able to carry you in my arms like some kind of fainting bride.” Before Renji could comment on that fascinating little tidbit, Byakuya continued, “No, alas, no such efforts were needed. You were in a very… compliant state. I merely told you that you needed to get yourself to bed and you stumbled your own way here. I hardly even needed to support you.”
“Well, fuck it,” Renji grumped. “That’s not a very sexy image.”
“Hmmm,” Byakuya mused wickedly, shifting back into his previous position. “It was for me.”
“Yeah? You like me compliant and bumbling around like an idiot?”
“You’re never an idiot, Renji,” Byakuya said. “And, frankly, such complete compliance is… rare. Therefore: a treat.”
“Well, now you know the trick, don’t you?” Renji pulled playfully at the fabric covering the taut planes of Byakuya’s stomach. Dropping his voice to a gruff whisper he growled into Byakuya’s ear, “Anytime you want me like that, you just have to fuck me blind.”
“Oh,” was all Byakuya managed to say in a startled-shocked way, which made Renji laugh loudly.
“Yeah,” Renji smiled into Byakuya’s hair and pulled himself against Byakuya even tighter, “Did I mention any time? I mean any time.”
Byakuya gripped the back of Renji’s hand and squeezed tightly, seriously. Renji could feel the emotion in that gesture as Byakuya hesitantly asked, “So… it was alright…? You were pleased?”
Renji chuckled. It seemed Byakuya had just as much trouble understanding ‘yes,’ as he did ‘no.” So, Renji said reassuringly, “Hell yeah, I was ‘pleased.’ In fact, I’d venture so far as to say it was one of the best times of my life--I mean judging on a purely physical level. That was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, kind of mind blowing, honestly. I don’t always get how you have fun when I’m like that, but, yeah, it was good for me.”
Byakuya nodded, as though in understanding or acceptance.
Yawning, Renji stretched out his legs as far as they would go. He was vaguely surprised when he didn’t knock any of their toys to the floor. He lifted his head to check. Even in the dim light, he could tell there was nothing but them in the bed. “Whoa. How long was I passed out? I must have been well out of it if you had time to put everything away.”
“Eishirō made our bed,” Byakuya said simply.
Renji started to nod, like that made sense, but then he remembered where they were and his brain stuttered, faltering. “Wait, what? Are you telling me Eishirō is here? In the World of the Living? In the suite? You’re travelling with a manservant? An entourage? Good gods, please tell me he’s not in the other room right now scrubbing my cum out of the carpet.”
“Renji! There’s no need to be so crude,” Byakuya snapped.
“Oh, okay, my bad. Because, clearly it’s okay to order your servant to put away our sex toys.”
Byakuya turned slightly, to ask sharply, “And why wouldn’t it be?”
Renji just buried his head against Byakuya’s back, and banged it there lightly, as though knocking into a wall in frustration. “I don’t even…” Renji just shook his head mutely. “Just tell me he’s not sleeping on the floor in the other room, okay? Because, fuck…. You know this place comes with room service, maids, and a whole group of people whose job it is to make sure you have everything you need.”
“Yes,” Byakuya said. “I’m well aware of that. However, there are a few Kuchiki interests that need attending to here in the World of the Living, and I didn’t want to tie up our weekend plans with my business. Eishirō is often my proxy in such matters.”
Well, that made some sense. Still. Lifting his head from Byakuya’s back, Renji let out a little sigh. “He’s not in the suite, hovering somewhere, though, right?”
“No, of course not,” Byakuya said, as though that should be obvious.
And, yet somehow the steward was on hand to make the bed?
Renji decided he didn’t want to know how Byakuya was issuing his orders. Renji had this vision of poor Eishirō having to answer a pager or a cell phone instead of a bell. And what did those texts look like? ‘Finished with my lieutenant, come tidy up. Oh, and please store the sex toys in their appropriate places.’ With a shake of his head, Renji said with a snort, “That man deserves a raise.”
“Probably so,” Byakuya agreed after a moment.
“What’s this business you have here?” Renji wondered, his hand going back to idly stroking the silk at Byakuya’s waist.
“I’ve decided I need a bank account in the Human World. Urahara’s interest rates verge on usury. And, similarly, as often as we visit, I feel I would like a credit card independent of him. There’s also the matter of the trust fund for Hana, over which, again, I would like more direct control.”
Renji wondered if Hana was going figure into this ‘business.’ Renji tried to ignore the fact that if Byakuya was getting more involved in her financial situation, it probably meant he’d tracked down where she was living, which he wasn’t supposed to have done. In fact, that was supposed to be the point of having Urahara run interference—to keep Byakuya from meddling in the affairs of the reincarnation of his wife. But, maybe, this was just about how the money was handled, not about finding ways to have contact with Hana… yeah, that was what Renji was going to tell himself.
It wasn’t Renji’s business either way, so he kept his mouth shut.
Byakuya must have sensed Renji’s unwillingness to continue along this line of conversation because he shifted a little under Renji’s arm and said, “As I was leaving, I received news that your brother has been transferred per my agreement with Soi Fon.”
“Awesome,” Renji said, though he felt more tired than excited by the news. A gilded cage for his dope-ass brother; it was hard to work up enthusiasm over that. Shaking his head, Renji still wondered if Seichi deserved such special treatment. For all they knew, Seichi could have savagely killed Fujimoto with his bare hands. He was, at the very least, guilty of being party to her death and the attack on the patrol from the Sixth—Renji’s people, his soldiers, men and women he was responsible for, under his direct command.
In a lot of ways, Renji had known the Eleventh Seat Fujimoto a whole hell of a lot better than he did the guy who shared his surname. Seichi had left the Abarai gang before Rukia joined it. That was a long, long time ago. Who even knew what kind of man Seichi’d become in all that time? Renji certainly was different than the kid he was back then.
Yet.
Renji could no more turn his back on Seichi than he could Rukia.
“I appreciate all you’ve done for Seichi,” Renji said after a while. “I’ll find some way to repay you.”
Byakuya squeezed Renji’s hand again. “I won’t hear of it. It’s my honor to care for your family in your absence. You’ve done the same for me.”
He had? Oh. Byakuya was talking about Rukia. Because, that’s how Byakuya’s mind worked: not only was Rukia a full-on Kuchiki, but, somehow, she’d always been one. In a way, Renji admired that. Made-family, born-family: no difference in Byakuya’s mind.
The only thing that hurt about that was that Rukia had been an Abarai first.
Now it was just Renji… and Seichi.
Renji shook off his growing funk with another long yawn and a languid stretch of aching muscles. “Yeah, anyway, you’re probably treating Seichi better than I would. I just hope we’re not just fattening him up for the hangman, you know?”
“I suppose that’s a possibly,” Byakuya said thoughtfully. “But I do intend to investigate the matter fully.”
Renji snuggled back up. His eyelids drooped, feeling as heavy and worn out as the rest of his body. He kissed Byakuya’s hair and closed his eyes, trying to imagine Byakuya running around in the Rukongai with his haori and kenseikan. Strutting around like that, he was going to find shit. But, Byakuya was probably smart enough to recruit some people from the Sixth to help out, wasn’t he? “I know he’s been kind of an ass lately, but you know who’d be good for your team? Seventh Seat Kinjo. I mean, if you haven’t already tapped him. He’s a got a personal stake in finding Fujimoto’s killer since he was the patrol’s CO. Plus, he’s from the Rukongai.”
“Are you suggesting I work with the Seventh Seat in this matter?”
“Uh… maybe? Thing is, Kinjo ain’t always easy to get along with. But you can handle me, so I guess it depends on who else is on your team.”
“Right now, what I have could hardly be called a ‘team,’” Byakuya admitted. “It consists of myself and a kagema named Daisuke.”
“A what?” Renji’s eyes snapped open and his body jerked in surprise. Did Byakuya just say he was working with a teahouse boy?
Byakuya rolled over so that he could face Renji. In the darkened room, silvery shadows showed the barest outline of Byakuya’s face. “Please don’t be upset, Renji. It makes sense. Orian and kagema make the best spies. They hear all the news, and there are rumors of rogue shinigami in the West Districts--people who may have deserted when Ichigo Kurosaki entered the Seireitei. I have to know if they’re ours. You must understand that.”
Renji frowned, trying to follow the rationale of Byakuya’s argument against the rising tide of irrational and conflicting emotions. But it wasn’t working. What came out of his mouth sounded pouty and upset. “I thought you were getting rid of your teahouses.”
“Third Seat Miisho has yet to take me up on my offer,” Byakuya said flatly. “In the meantime, they can serve our purposes.”
“Our? Our purposes? Don’t count me in on any of this.” Renji found he was actually scooting away from their embrace. He stopped when he felt his back at the edge of the bed.
Byakuya stayed where he was. His voice imploring: “Please. You’re being unreasonable. This is for your brother’s sake, for the honor of the Sixth. It’s very possible at all these things are interconnected: the deserters, the attack on our patrol, and even your brother’s arrest. I haven’t hired this young man for anything untoward. He’s simply taking notes on conversations he hears. I’ve not even asked him to try to draw people out for fear it would be too dangerous for him.”
Renji took in a few calming breaths. Eishirō had tried to warn him about this, too. This was the teahouse ‘asset’ he’d talked about in his side note. Right. Renji took another deliberate breath. A spy inside the Rukongai did make sense, strategically. But, damn it, everything always came back to these fucking teahouses. And, despite what he said, Byakuya was hiring this boy for ‘untoward’ things. He owned that place. He owned that boy. All the shit that went down at that place Byakuya had ‘hired,’ albeit indirectly.
“Renji, I don’t understand why this bothers you so much.”
Of course he didn’t, and Renji could never tell him either. How ironic was it that not five minutes earlier Byakuya had thanked him for watching out for Rukia? If he only knew…
Or maybe it wouldn’t have mattered to Byakuya. Byakuya had found his wife in a teahouse and thought nothing of it, after all. Perhaps it would have meant nothing to have found Rukia there, too. Maybe it would have been all the same to him.
But, it wouldn’t have been to Renji. To think of her there for even the three or four days she was… it still made his blood run cold.
They’d come in the night, took Rukia and Ozuru, too. But, Rukia was smart, made all that racket and fought like a tiny tiger. Woke the rest of them up, so at least they’d known what had happened and could follow. Renji had wanted to fight them before they got out of Inuzuri, but Tomi was the one who noticed the knives and katana. So, they hung back and tracked--seventeen districts up—and lay low until they could mount a rescue.
It’d been a disaster of a success.
Rukia had been freed. But, Tomi and Ozuru and Yoshihisa were dead. Renji had gotten caught—beaten and tattooed for stealing and destroying teahouse property. Not even Rukia knew the details of that. She’d fled all the way back to Inuzuri, desperate to stay one step ahead of the gangsters, trusting him to reconnect when he could.
They’d symbolically buried their family on the hill and left for Academy the next day.
“Renji?” Byakuya’s voice cut through Renji’s thoughts. “Are you alright?”
A gentle hand rested on Renji’s shoulder.
“You’re shaking,” Byakuya noted softly, with surprised concern.
“Let him go,” Renji whispered, “When it’s over, promise me you’ll let him go.”
Because maybe someone had died trying to save him.
“Who?” Byakuya asked, sounding genuinely confused.
Renji wasn’t sure the kid would thank him for this bargain. It was much more likely he had no family waiting for him, no one who would have died to see him free, nowhere to go once he was. Maybe he’d even sold himself into service, or was one of those born into the work from a mother already in business. “At least offer him freedom, couldn’t ya?” Renji asked, dismayed at how tremulous and small his voice sounded, “Please?”
“The kagema?” Byakuya had moved in close in order to take Renji into his arms.
Renji nodded into Byakuya’s chest.
“I will,” Byakuya said fiercely, sincerely. His arms wrapped protectively around Renji. When Renji moved into the embrace, he realized Byakuya was, quite literally, the only thing keeping him from the edge. Byakuya repeated firmly, “For you, I will.”
#
At some point, Renji fell into a restless sleep. Neither of them managed a peaceful night. At one point Byakuya flung himself away with a little blast of reiatsu demanding that ‘No one dare touch a Kuchiki!’ Renji felt particularly guilty about that, since he realized he’d been glommed on top of Byakuya, unconsciously seeking creature comfort of a warm body after dreaming of Inuzuri.
Now he lay on the far side of the bed, staring at where Byakuya was so curled around himself he looked like a tight ball of nerves. Renji had to fight every impulse that wanted to hug him, knowing that was the exact opposite of what Byakuya needed right now.
How fucked up was it that all Renji want was someone near him to feel safe, while what Byakuya needed most was to be left alone, untouched?
Pre-dawn light filtered in the window. Traffic sounds had risen with the sun. The digital clock on the end table said “6:14.” Renji pulled himself out of bed and closed the curtain, hoping the dark would let Byakuya sleep in a bit. Renji’s body felt battered, but in a sated, satisfied way, like after a good work-out. However, he decided a hot shower wouldn’t go amiss.
#
Thus, Renji was showered, shaved, had his hair mostly under control, and had coffee percolating in the tiny hotel pot when Byakuya finally stumbled out of bed. “How long have you been up?” Byakuya asked, coming to kiss the top of Renji’s hair. He ran a hand through the still wet, unbound mass of it, as though approving of Renji’s choice to keep it down. “Are those yesterday’s clothes? I can have Eishirō pick you up something more casual from Urahara’s, if you wish.”
Turning off the TV, which he’d switched on to watch a bit of news, Renji craned his head to look back at Byakuya, “No need to chase him around town. It’s not like I got the suit dirty in the hour and a half I wore it at the restaurant last night. This’ll be fine if we go to a museum.”
Byakuya pursed his lips. Pulling a cabinet draw open, he retrieved a cell phone and started thumbing like an expert. “Trust me. Eishirō needs something to do,” Byakuya insisted. “It will make him feel useful and you more comfortable.”
Renji had to admit that last part was true enough. He always felt a little awkward dressed up, even though he’d left off the tie and the shirt loosely buttoned. Since he couldn’t figure out the cufflinks without Urahara’s clucking, amused help, Renji’d rolled up the sleeves. Otherwise, he kept finding himself dragging them through things, making him jumpy about wrecking the fine, expensive fabric.
Still, Byakuya’s insistence made Renji wonder. “Eishirō’s been to the Human World before?”
“No, never,” Byakuya said, coming to sit beside Renji with a mug of black coffee cupped in his hands. He sipped the black liquid experimentally and made a face. Renji offered to take it from him.
“I’ll make hot water for tea,” Renji suggested with a smile.
Byakuya handed over the coffee without protest. “Tea, yes, but… it’s not those horrible little packages, is it?”
“’Fraid so,” Renji said. After setting the coffee on the table, he got up and went over the little alcove area where he’d found the coffee pot.
Picking up the cell phone again, Byakuya tapped out another text. “I’ll have Eishirō get some decent tea on the way back.”
“Yeah, good idea, but you’re going to need something in the meantime.” Renji glanced over at where Byakuya hunched over his phone. Cripes, he was a terror on that thing. Poor, Eishirō. The steward must be jumping at every trilling beep.
After taking the electric kettle to the sink to fill it, Renji plugged it in and pressed the button. As he fussed over mugs and tea bags, he wondered out loud, “Is Eishirō really going to be okay? I mean, he’s going to have to negotiate trains and… everything. I mean I remember how shell-shocked I was the first time. Of course, Ikkaku’s big idea of hazing the new kids was getting us drunk and letting us freak out. I think he figured being drunk would cover all the ‘whoa, stop signs… cool!’ and stumbling around staring at people’s clothing and cars and stuff.”
Byakuya shook his head, and accepted the tea Renji handed him. “This was back when your former division was still allowed come here?”
“Yeah, before the incident, like decades ago--or more, I can’t even remember,’” Renji perched on the arm of the sofa, and sat with his bare feet on the cushions, facing Byakuya. He’d grabbed Byakuya’s rejected coffee from the glass table and sipped it. “Eishirō could get lost, you know. Or robbed. That neighborhood Urahara lives in isn’t exactly the nicest part of town.”
“That’s why he has a bodyguard, someone far more familiar with the Human World, to accompany him,” Byakuya said nonchalantly.
Fuck. Byakuya really was travelling with an entourage. “Just one? From your household or the Division?”
Because, no way Byakuya brought a bunch their soldiers along to witness this giant fraternization of a booty call, right?
“My household, of course,” Byakuya said, giving Renji a look like ‘what kind of fool do you take me for?’ “No one you know.”
Renji just shook his head in response. Only the Kuchikis would have a whole battalion of their own bodyguards independent of the Sixth. “Where do you find these people, anyway?”
“Many private bodyguards are Academy wash-outs,” Byakuya said, trying a sip of his tea. He arched an eyebrow at it disapprovingly, but he took a deeper drink anyway. “Others are disabled veterans from our Division and others.”
Renji nodded taking a swallow of the bitter coffee. “Makes sense,” he agreed. That had been his greatest fear: not making the cut or otherwise getting kicked out of Academy. Weird to think that even if things had gone pear-shaped, he might still have ended up working for Byakuya. “I guess no one wants to flood the Rukongai with well-trained cut-throats.”
“Indeed. Though some bodyguards come from minor noble families--third and fourth sons or daughters, with no chance to inherit, who’d hoped to make a go of soldiering only to discover Academy is more than an automatic pass based on blood.”
Renji grunted. There was a time he might have argued that point. His first year, he’d felt surrounded by snotty little rich kids. He remembered all those dickwads that used to bark at him and Rukia in Academy. Suddenly he had a secret hope that at least one in particular had ended up washing out and were now forced to watch Renji being second-in-command on the other side of the estate wall. It’d serve that jerk-face right. Still, Renji’d always figured guys like that ended up back on their parent’s payrolls, not someone else’s.
“What do you want to do about breakfast?” Renji asked, tipping back the coffee and slurping the last of it from the bottom of the mug. “If we need to hang around and wait for Eishirō we could always have room service bring us something.” Renji glanced at Byakuya in his kimono, falling partly open, exposing the creamy skin Renji just wanted to lap up. Then there was that gorgeous black tumble of his just-out-of-bed hair, he ached to run his hands through. “Bonus: you don’t have to get dressed.”
Byakuya frowned at his still half-full cup of tea. “Do you think room service has better tea than this?”
“Seems like a good bet. I mean, how could it be worse?”
“Very well,” he said setting the cup down. “I’ll leave it to your discretion. I’ll take a shower.”
#
The whole showering thing sort of defeated Renji’s hope that Byakuya would stay barely dressed for the morning, but he had to say, Byakuya sure cleaned up pretty. Byakuya came out of the bathroom shortly after Renji tipped the bell hop, wearing the sexiest damn thing ever: human clothes.
Renji was sure his mouth was hanging open at the sight of Byakuya in form-fitting jeans. A white button-down shirt showed off trim waist, and somehow managed to impart an air of elegance with crisp, perfect lines. With everything buttoned up, Byakuya could have looked fussy, especially given that the jeans were black and looked a bit stiff and unbroken-in …but, hot holy damn….
Every curve and plane of his body was so… exposed. Yet not. It was intoxicating.
Maybe it was the hair. Byakuya never failed to look younger and more available without the kenseikan. Combine that with this strangely provocative getup that made him look leaner and meaner, and Renji wanted to tackle Byakuya right there.
Noticing Renji’s open-mouth stare, Byakuya glanced down at himself. “Do I look alright?”
“You look gorgeous,” Renji breathed. Feeling like a blushing schoolboy the second it was out of his mouth, he tried to cover with a gruff, “I mean, yeah, you’ll do.”
Byakuya just laughed, “Ah, good. The way you were looking at me, I thought perhaps I put something on backwards.”
Renji just shook his head mutely, thinking Byakuya would probably find a way to make ‘backwards’ hot. Hardly able to tear his eyes from Byakuya, he pointed to the cart and blurted stupidly: “Food.”
“You look hungry for something else,” Byakuya said, his eyes on Renji, making Renji’s skin burn like fire.
Was that a come on? Oh, god, it was. Yay, round two! Renji took a step forward, his arms starting to open, before remembering, “Ah, shit. Eishirō is coming back. Text him or something, would you? I don’t want it to be awkward.”
“I can tell him to leave your things in the front room.”
“Yeah, no, still awkward,” Renji said. Retreating a step, he nearly collided with the food cart.
“No, it’s not,” Byakuya frowned.
Renji turned to the food and started looking under the metal covers, searching the collection of things for Byakuya’s tea. Over his shoulder he said, “Yeah, it is.”
“Are you going to let such a simple thing stop you?” Byakuya asked in a purring, teasing challenge.
“Yes,” Renji said honestly. Finding the tea, he brought it to the table. “Does Eishirō need to hear me moaning under you? I don’t think so.”
“Well, what if I do?”
There was a note of command in Byakuya’s tone that made Renji look up from where he’d been setting out cups and pots. Something in it made Renji’s brain flashback to a certain scene in Byakuya’s library. His cheeks reddened, remembering the humiliation of Aio trying not to look at him with his hakama in a pool at his feet, after having been all-but publicly stripped and groped for Byakuya’s pleasure.
He straightened up and met Byakuya’s possessive gaze as he realized: “You want him to come in and catch us at it, don’t you?”
Byakuya looked away, his eyes dropping, his face going cold.
Despite the response, that seemed like a clear ‘yes,’ even though Byakuya was obviously embarrassed by the fact on some level.
Did this have something to do with replaying whatever had happened with the stable boy? The one Byakuya had gotten caught with, riding crop in hand? Was this some twisted way of reclaiming the fantasy so that Byakuya ended up in control of it all? Because, if it was just some game, there were possibilities… since, as much as he hated to admit it, Renji had decided that there were moments in the library he’d enjoyed.
Would it hurt to let Byakuya have this one? Could Renji stand the humiliation?
“Yeah, maybe,” Renji said out loud, shoving his hands in his pockets and glancing at the floor. “But if we do this, there have to be serious rules. Ones you can’t break, just because I’m saying yes to part of it, okay?”
When Renji looked at him to confirm, Byakuya had turned back, his eyes wide. “You’re saying ‘yes’?’”
“We’re negotiating,” Renji reminded him. He knelt down in front of the glass table and checked on the tea. Lifting the lid of the pot, Renji thought it smelled decent enough. Nothing like what Byakuya got at home, of course, but not half bad, so he poured Byakuya a cup and set it down in the spot opposite him. “Come have some tea. We can talk about it. You could always send Eishirō on a wild goose chase for while.”
Byakuya nodded, “He’s been delayed at Urahara’s. I got a text while I was in the shower. We have plenty of time.” Byakuya swung by the food cart on his way to the couch to pick up a couple of the food trays. Setting them down, he said, “You should eat beforehand.”
Renji started to protest when his stomach made a loud grumble. “Yeah, probably,” he agreed, accepting the plate Byakuya handed him. He uncovered the lacquer tray and inspected his choices. Renji had decided to go with the ‘traditional’ option. The hotel had bacon and French toast on the menu, but Renji had to admit he was getting spoiled by Tessai. He couldn’t imagine anything better than what he’d been getting at the shōten. At any rate, Renji was pleased with what the hotel had sent up. There was the usual miso, rice, pickles, smoked salmon, and other sides, but there was dashimaki, the sweet rolled egg omelet Renji liked.
As Byakuya settled to the floor opposite Renji, they fell into their morning routine. Renji put a bit of this and that on Byakuya’s plate, while Byakuya poured Renji’s tea. It felt strangely more intimate to see Byakuya in his human world outfit, without any of the trappings of his rank or station—not even shihakushô or haori or even kimono. Byakuya still sat seiza like a noble, even though Renji was sure it couldn’t be as comfortable in jeans.
“So,” Byakuya said after murmuring a quick blessing over the food, “Our negotiations?”
“Right,” Renji said, slurping up a pickled radish. “Okay, so I guess what I want to know is: what’s the minimum that would satisfy you? I mean, can we just be in the other room making lots of noise or is your thing that Eishirō has to see me compromised somehow? And, like, can that be ‘heels over head’ or do there have to be restraints and all that?”
Nibbling delicately on a bit of the rolled up sugary egg, Byakuya considered. His eyes were locked on the plate and Renji could see a blush deepen as he seemed to turn scenarios over in his mind.
Had Byakuya ever talked about his fantasies? Renji remembered one time when they looked through one of Byakuya’s erotic novels together and pointed at things they might be interested in. But, that was a lot of gesturing with very little actual words.
The room was so quiet that Renji could hear the ticking of some clock in the bedroom and the rush of traffic outside.
Renji wondered how long he should wait. Maybe he should take it upon himself to detail options and what he’d be willing to do and let Byakuya nod or shake his head or….
Finally, Byakuya’s deep voice rumbled out: “Ideally, the more compromise, the better.”
Ah.
Ah, crap. “You mean you want me trussed up on a table in full view of the front door when Eishirō blunders in?”
Byakuya looked up hopefully.
Renji rubbed his face, hating to disappoint Byakuya. “I can’t do that, sorry. Thing is, Eishirō, okay? I mean, Aio… she still can’t meet my eye. It’s been months and she still kind of shrinks away from me. That’s just… not sexy for me. Plus, I kind of need to be able to talk to your house steward, Byakuya. We have to have a working relationship.” Pushing the food around his plate with chopsticks, Renji continued, “But. It’s not like he doesn’t know we’re lovers, so, you know, I could care less if you want him to open the door and find me bent over that conference table, screaming your name. That’s still plenty awkward, right? You could have your clothes on, mostly, and I could be naked. I could do that.”
“What about handcuffs?”
“No,” Renji said firmly. Looking back up, Renji hoped to meet Byakuya’s gaze, but his eyes were lowered. Renji shook his head, “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I don’t trust you with this one. Sorry, Taicho. There’s something about this fantasy that goes dark, fast. Every time it’s been semi-public with us, things fuck-up, and we end up with major fallout. I just… I don’t think handcuffs are a good idea in this particular situation. You know, maybe we should think of some alternative. Like, you could do me in a public bathroom--here in the hotel or at the museum? You could do pretty much whatever to me there. Public is okay. I just don’t…. not in front of someone I know, not someone I have to see on a regular basis afterwards.”
“I see.”
Byakuya’s tone was terse. He was disappointed, big time. Renji let out a sigh, but he wasn’t going to back down on this. It was far, far too easy to imagine Byakuya stepping over the line. There’d been a gag in that pile of toys and so many other things… what was to stop Byakuya from using something they hadn’t agreed on and making it so Renji couldn’t say anything? Maybe if there hadn’t been the alley and the library and the inn…. But it seemed like the moment someone might see them, Byakuya seemed to lose all sense of… well, restraint and his appetites grew monstrous.
And, fuck it. The truth was, Renji wasn’t strong enough. There was no winning against a determined Byakuya.
Renji ate a bit of fish, thinking. “I wish you could tell me what the thrill is,” he said after a bit. “Is it something about letting people see the power you have over me? Is it about making sure everyone around us knows how completely you can dominate me? Because,” Renji laughed self-deprecatingly, “I wouldn’t think that’s a big question in anyone’s mind. Not to anybody who knows us, anyway.”
Byakuya said nothing, though Renji thought Byakuya seemed pensive or even a bit brooding, given that he didn’t even crack a tiny smile.
Renji put a few more bits of fish on Byakuya’s plate, and then helped himself to more. “Is it about having me on a leash? You know, my whole wild thing mystique?”
Byakuya finally let out a little snort. “‘Wild thing mystique’? I’m amused that you imagine you have a ‘mystique’ of any kind, Renji.”
Renji smiled toothily, and opened his arms as though to show off his awesome to the world, “Come on, you know I do! I mean, look at me. Who doesn’t want to claim to have tamed this?”
Now Byakuya did smile, “Hmmmm, indeed.”
“Right, so you know, we could play with that collar,” Renji offered, brightening as another option hit him. “You know, maybe, there’s our answer. You could do me with that wicked-ass collar around my neck.” Renji’s eyes widened as an image hit him. With a dark chuckle, he suggested: “Or, you know, I could be on my knees.”
“Oh?” The blood seemed to drain from Byakuya face as he imagined that. After a moment, he asked: “And you’d let Eishirō interrupt that?”
Renji thought about it honestly. “You promise hands free if I keep them to myself or in one place?”
“Would you wear the cock ring, too?”
“Yes. No problem,” Renji said without hesitation. “But I need your word, a vow on your honor.”
“That I stick to these parameters?”
Renji nodded, “No last minute additions to the equipment.”
“Done,” Byakuya said, setting his chopsticks in their holder. “I swear on my honor as a gentleman that I will stick to the agreed upon equipment and situation. Will you swear as well?”
“What, that I won’t bolt when Eishirō walks in or suddenly grope you?” When Byakuya nodded, Renji put his hand to his heart and said, “I swear on Zabimaru.”
“Ah,” Byakuya’s dark eyebrow raised at that. “Then the deal is more than sealed.”
“Cool,” Renji said, getting up off the floor, and starting to unbutton his shirt. “Get the collar. I’ll get the cock ring… oh, yeah, hey--did I promise not to touch myself?”
“Could you?” Byakuya asked, as he pulled himself upright.
“Probably,” Renji agreed. “I can try, but… well, I ain’t swearing to that, not on Zabimaru, anyway.”
Byakuya considered, his eyes watching the progression of buttons as Renji undid them. “It’s a small matter,” he decided. “Do your best?”
“You got it,” Renji nodded, pulling his shirt tails out. He loved how much of Byakuya’s attention he had as he slipped out of the sleeves and let the silk shirt drop to the floor. He started on the pants’ button, but paused to smile at Byakuya, “You going to watch or go get the collar?”
“I’ll watch, and then get the collar.”
Renji chuckled. Should’ve called that one, he thought returning his attention to undressing. He smiled to himself as he unzipped his pants and wiggled them and his underwear over his hips. Byakuya was still so predictable. But, what Renji didn’t anticipate was the sudden hand, reaching to caress his shoulder. As he stepped out of the pants and underwear, Renji marveled at the soft, fascinated way Byakuya’s hand roamed down the tattoos of his arm.
Something had changed between them, somehow when Renji wasn’t paying attention. Before, this undressing game was always about looking from a distance, a kind of possessive gaze that often made Renji feel very… on display, a little dirty, even. Now, the gaze had softened somehow, even as the touch became more intimate, as it, quite literally, spanned the distance between them.
So Renji stood there, completely relaxed and naked. Byakuya’s hand roamed from where the tattoos had run out near elbow slowly back up over shoulder, to Renji’s chest. Pale fingers splayed out to trail down to abs, skirting over to hips and down thighs. Renji was certainly feeling possessed, but in a different way—a difference he struggled to parse. Was it all the emotion that played on Byakuya’s face? There was lust in the slightly parted lips and the heat of desire painted on his pale cheekbones, but there was something else there, too. Was it just animal appreciation? Or was that…?
“Ugh! Ah!”
Having been so focused on Byakuya’s face, Renji had lost track of Byakuya’s hand! Renji was surprised to find it curled around his cock and tugging him in the direction of the bedroom. Apparently, Byakuya was going to lead him around by his dick. As he followed somewhat awkwardly, he had to smile. “My life in miniature,” he joked.
“Indeed,” Byakuya tugged a little harder as he said dryly, “Part of that untamed mystique, no doubt.”
“Yes, absolutely,” Renji agreed with enthusiasm, as though Byakuya wasn’t being sarcastic. “You know that’s why you want me in a collar so bad.”
“Mmm, a tiger on a leash,” Byakuya said a little breathlessly.
Renji smiled. “See. You want me.”
They were in the bedroom and Byakuya had to let Renji go in order to open a dresser drawer. Unceremoniously, he handed Renji a bottle of lube and the cock ring, and then went back to digging for the collar. In the drawer, things rattled and thumped menacingly. Renji glanced over Byakuya’s shoulder at the collection.
“Did you buy the whole catalogue?” he wondered as he unscrewed the cap, pausing to sniff the candy-cherry scent.
“No. Some of it only applied to women.”
“So you bought everything else? I love you.” Renji held the cock ring in his teeth as the squeezed some lube into his hand. “This is why it’s a good thing I have no money. I’d totally blow it all buying up some sex store.”
“Luckily, you don’t need to. My funds are far from exhausted and I already did,” Byakuya said, triumphantly pulling the heavily chained collar from the drawer. He turned his attention to undoing the various buckles. Renji glanced at it briefly, wondering at the wisdom of agreeing to something so… spiky. With a silent shrug, he turned to his own preparations.
Renji was busy working himself into the cock ring when he felt the heavy leather go around the back of his neck. Byakuya carefully pulled Renji’s hair out from under it. Finished with his part, Renji straightened up ready to offer to take over the buckling, but Byakuya was faster. The collar closed around Renji’s throat, the internal spikes pressing into the sensitive skin. A gasp escaped his lips as Byakuya clasped the buckle.
“Renji?”
He realized he’d gone unnaturally still. Something about that pressure around his neck had made his breath instantly shallow, his reiatsu retract, and his body freeze. “I’m okay,” Renji said, despite the sudden increase in his heart rate. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
Renji actually wasn’t sure he was until Byakuya’s hand cupped his cheek and brought his face down into a long, grounding kiss. The taste of sugar on Byakuya’s tongue would have been perfect except for that piece of Renji’s hair that ended up in his mouth. Breaking the kiss, Renji pulled back with a rattle of chains and a sharp stab at the back of his neck, which he ignored. Batting his hair away irritably, he asked, “You sure you won’t let me put it up? I mean, I’m going to end up sucking my hair as much as you, and a good top knot makes for something solid to grab a hold of, you know what I’m saying?”
“I’ll have the leash,” Byakuya reminded him with a little tug that had Renji stumbling back into him. Naked flesh collided against silk and denim. Renji’s arms automatically grabbed Byakuya’s waist to steady himself. Reaching up to demonstrate, Byakuya added, “And, I can grab a fist full of your hair, regardless.”
The strength of Byakuya’s grip tilted Renji’s head back. Lips, firm and cool, kissed bared throat, tongue licking along the edge of the leather collar. Renji’s hands fisted into the silk of Byakuya’s shirt and he let out a moan. When Byakuya nipped and nibbled a bit at his throat, Renji’s breath hitched and he pushed his tightening, restricted cock and balls up against the rough fabric of Byakuya’s jeans.
“You’re eager,” Byakuya noted in Renji’s ear.
“Always,” Renji moaned through clenched teeth.
“C’mon on, then,” Byakuya said, letting go of Renji’s hair and taking hold of the leash. “Let’s not waste this.”
With a hard jerk, Renji was forced to stumble along through the maze of rooms in the hotel’s penthouse suite. It wasn’t painful, nothing more than annoying digs at his neck, but Renji caught sight of himself as they passed a mirror. Damn, if he didn’t look like a perfect little plaything. Thank god it was only Eishirō would see him willingly debasing himself like this for Byakuya.
After all, Eishirō must know about his employer’s particular interests. There must have been others willing to play these games.
Another yank drove the spikes into the back of Renji’s neck and he grunted.
“I forgot to ask,” Byakuya said. “Will you follow direction? Or are you feeling less… compliant this morning?”
It was clear which answer Byakuya hoped for. Renji should be feisty. But, as much as Renji wanted to agree that he was, too much of that and they’d end up with a breach of contract. Byakuya might have left handcuffs behind but, one, he was a flash master, and, two, there was a whole length of chain to be wrapped around any part of Renji or furniture or gods knew what else.
Maybe it was time to top from the bottom a little.
“I’m not sure,” Renji said coyly. “But if I get out of hand, I guess you’ll just have to pull my hair or hold that chain tight, huh? Maybe make me take you all in.”
Thankfully, Byakuya seemed pleased with the subtle negotiation. “I suppose I will,” he agreed.
Byakuya stopped them long enough to turn on the lights in the greeting room. It was a perfect little stage for them, being basically a gigantic empty space. There were two oddly placed chairs at one far end that no one in their right minds would sit in, but otherwise it was just long, empty, and impressive-looking. Renji hadn’t noticed when they’d arrived but, there were two mirrors on either side of the doorway. If they positioned themselves just right, Byakuya could watch and enjoy.
Renji would just have to shut his eyes. It was strange enough to see himself standing there, naked, next to street clothed-Byakuya. His tattoos bold and black, hair a tangle in front of his face, towering over Byakuya, so much rougher and loutish, his cock twitching and hard, Renji looked like a wild man, even to himself.
A tug nudged Renji down to his knees. Thinking that was a signal to get down to business, Renji reached to undo Byakuya’s jeans. Byakuya swatted his hands away. When Renji glanced up to try to fathom the delay, it was clear Byakuya was still working out their perfect placement—a way to maximize the view from the door and the mirrors.
So Renji waited. At first, he knelt fairly obediently, his hands on his thighs, adjusting himself at every nudge or other direction of Byakuya’s. But, Byakuya was taking forever--being too much of a perfectionist. He started playing with himself a little, until he got a stern, “Renji.”
Sick of waiting, Renji grabbed Byakuya’s hips and just planted his mouth on Byakuya’s crotch, determined to suck him off through the thick jeans if he had to. Renji half-expected a swift ‘correction’—a pull of chain or grabbing of hair. But, Byakuya seemed pleasantly surprised by Renji’s enthusiasm.
“Alright, alright,” he purred. A hand on Renji’s head gently implored him to move back to let Byakuya free himself. “I suppose I can’t keep you waiting forever.”
“No, I’m still hungry,” Renji growled, pouncing on Byakuya as soon as he was available.
A hard wrench pulled him back before his mouth could even taste the slightest bit of Byakuya’s cock. “You’re always hungry,” Byakuya noted. “I asked you to follow my direction. And you will.”
Oh, right. Damn it, why had he promised something so frustrating? Renji snarled, but contented himself with gripping Byakuya’s still-mostly jean-clad hips hard.
“Better,” Byakuya said, his hand stroking Renji’s hair as though in approval.
Renji loved the smell of Byakuya, this close, right here. That musky undertone was strongest at his crotch, and it was a heady, alluring scent. He found that even though he stayed where Byakuya wanted him, he was straining towards Byakuya cock, mouth open, tongue lapping in anticipation.
Apparently taking pity on Renji, Byakuya’s hand left Renji’s head and directed himself to Renji’s eager mouth. The tautness of the leash loosened enough that Renji was able to suck him in greedily. His hands, like a cat’s, kneaded at Byakuya’s narrow hips, encouraging movement.
Renji was just finishing the initial sloppy, excited exploration and starting to establish a decent rhythm when the buzz of the lock startled him.
He grunted. Damn it, too soon. In desperation, he sucked hard enough to make Byakuya moan.
Renji closed his eyes and concentrated on sucking the life out Byakuya, trying not to hear the sound of the door swinging open. Or imagining the unsuspecting face…
“My lord, I… Oh.”
The sound of a heavy paper bag hitting the floor, and then the hissing intake of breath.
“Nii-sama?”
Oh. Fuck.