Apotheosis: Chapter 15 - Determination
Chapter 15 - Determination
Renji fully intended to rise early and attend to the plan he'd made the night before, but something else came up when he awoke. Two something elses, to be precise. It'd be a shame not t' take advantage a' the extra time this mornin'. He sat up and stretched lazily before running a hand down his sleeping lover's neck.
"Why do you keep gettin' up so early?" The bright orange head turned, and sleepy brown eyes blinked at him.
"I got a good reason this time." Renji leaned over to capture soft lips with his own.
"You woke me up early for a kiss?" Ichigo sounded a bit surprised, but moved closer for another.
"Not quite." He lay back down and slipped one hand down low beneath the blankets.
Ichigo laughed, gasping a bit when he was squeezed. "You woke me up early to grope me?"
Renji grinned. "That, too."
"What do you want, then?" Ichigo rolled over to face him, rubbing a hand over Renji's stomach, teasing him. The way their energies were humming made the entire conversation unnecessary, but it was more fun to play the game out.
"Want you."
"You're gonna hafta be a little more specific than that, Renji." Ichigo was still teasing him, deliberately brushing nearer his groin with the back of his hand. "I'm still pretty tired after last night, and I'm not fully awake yet, so ya gotta tell me what ya want. I'm pretty hungry, and I'm startin' to think about breakfast."
Gonna be one a' those times, eh? Renji stretched out his long form again, making sure to dislodge the blankets down to their feet as he did. "Want sex." He reached both hands out fondle his playful lover, earning a shiver as the game was nearly washed away in the desire flooding through their reiatsu.
"I can see that much." Ichigo's breath caught, and he gave up the teasing in favour of a firm grip and long, slow strokes. "But maybe just one more hint would help."
Renji shifted, pulling Ichigo up with him as he rolled over and sat back on his heels. He separated each word of his request with another kiss and a squeeze. "Gimme - sex - now - please. Need ya bad, so just do me already!"
Ichigo groaned and the game dissolved under a storm of lust. "Hell yeah." His mouth pressed forward eagerly, their tongues sliding around each other in a familiar dance as he reached blindly for the small bottle they kept on the nearby shelf. "Turn over," Ichigo suggested as they broke apart.
He was only too happy to comply. "Ya know me too damn well." Renji gasped as cool, slick fingers slipped into him easily. "How do ya always know-ahh, fuck!" He arched his back, quivering with pleasure as Ichigo curled his fingers just right.
A soft bite on the back of his neck sent another shiver through his whole body. "I know you. I know when you wanna make love for hours, and I know when you wanna be fucked into the floor." Ichigo's hand on his hip was steady, though his energy pulsed with the passion that drove them both.
"So which is it…" Renji panted, resisting the urge to push himself back as his lover slid inside him, filling him completely and soothing the aching need within him. "…this time?"
"Somewhere in between." Ichigo pulled back, then dove in again deeply. "You feel - nngh! - so damn good!" He moved slowly and steadily, occasionally shifting to strike that spot inside that sent a stab of intense pleasure through him.
Renji groaned at the intensity of the heat racing through the air between them like lightning. Unable to hold back any longer, he braced himself firmly and rocked back into each thrust.
"Guess I was wrong… or you changed your mind."
"Just… ahh… want more…" he panted. Ichigo obliged, giving him the hard, quick thrusts he suddenly craved. "Don't stop… ahh… Ichigo!"
He was barely aware when his cries of pleasure turned into his lover's name. A few quick pumps was all it took to send him careening over the edge, giving up control and letting his body do what it wanted as his vision hazed over.
"You're definitely right 'bout that." Ichigo's hand continued working over his still-aroused flesh, and he began driving into him even faster as he neared his own release. "Hearin' your own name on your lover's lips as-" He broke off with a low groan, bucking sharply a few times as he rode out the second wave of pleasure that spilled through their link.
Hearing his name gasped out as his lover proved the point sent another shudder through Renji's overheated body. He let his limbs collapse when Ichigo fell to his side, breathing hard; he sank into the twisted bedding with a moan. They'd just finished, and his body still wanted more.
Gimme a break! Renji rolled over onto his back and tried to calm himself with slow, deep breaths. He shut his eyes and tried to think of mountains of paperwork waiting on his desk, but the warmth of the body beside him and the reiatsu tangled with his own kept intruding. C'mon, smarten up. Got a lot a' stuff t' do today that don't include spendin' the mornin' in bed!
Ichigo's low laugh pulled Renji's eyes open again, and destroyed his attempt at calming his libido. His lover was stretched out on his side, casually running his eyes over Renji's uncovered form.
"What's so funny?" he asked, even though he knew damn well what had the other man so amused.
Ichigo smirked at him. "Was it that bad that you need more already?" One finger ran lightly down the inky marks on Renji's abdomen, making him shiver.
"No, it was that damn good," he groaned, hips twitching involuntarily as his lover bent and engulfed him in the wet heat of his mouth. "Oh fuck that feels good!"
"Hmm." Ichigo shifted over and began leaving a trail of bruising kisses across his stomach and chest, pausing briefly to nibble on each small nipple in turn. The energy around them crackled.
"Thought ya wanted breakfast?" Renji tilted his head back as the mouth on his chest moved higher to feast on his neck. His hands wandered down smooth skin, sliding down over his lover's slim waist to grab hold of the firm backside.
"I want somethin' else now," came the muffled reply. "And I want you to give it to me."
The ardent demand and hard flesh rubbing his hip made him burn even more. "Well if ya want me that bad, how can I refuse?" The lips on his neck crossed his jaw and cheek, finally finding his; he slid one hand around to massage the arousal pressed against him.
The mouth on his opened to his probing tongue. He explored slowly, sliding over the smooth interior and savouring his lover's taste. I could do this all damn day. Renji drew Ichigo's tongue into his own mouth, nibbling and sucking until he coaxed a low moan from the man leaning over him.
He looped his leg up and around Ichigo's, shifting his weight and turning them both over until he was kneeling above his orange-haired lover. Renji let his hands trace a path over the smooth chest heaving beneath him, brushing the ever-sensitive nubs on the way down to lift one of the lean legs over his shoulder.
Fingers tangled in his hair, pulling his head down for another breath-stealing kiss as another leg wrapped itself around his waist.
"Now who needs more?" Renji's voice was a low rumble as he murmured against swollen lips.
"Me." Ichigo pulled him down further. "I need more of you, and I know ya need more of me."
"Can't argue with that." He poured a generous amount of the slippery substance from the bottle that was pushed into his hand. His probing fingers entered with one soft press against willing flesh.
As he twisted his fingers, Renji bent to graze on his lover's pale skin, making sure to leave behind a small mark in the crook of his neck where it would just be covered by the uniform. After all this time, he still got a huge thrill out of knowing his powerful lover welcomed the marks he left on his body.
Insistent hands below his waist were making it difficult to concentrate on anything but the lust racing through their energies. Ichigo's groan of pleasure as he pressed firmly upward was more than he could take.
"Enough," Ichigo panted, echoing his desire. "Want to feel all of you." The way his lover was fondling him, there was no way Renji could hold out. He quickly ran a still-slick hand down and allowed his body to be drawn in flush against Ichigo's as he pushed himself inside.
Renji groaned, watching with passion-clouded eyes as the tight heat surrounded him completely. "Every time," he sighed. "Every damn time." He tore his gaze away from the incredible sight of their joined bodies to stare into the warm brown eyes.
"Before, I needed ya so bad, I didn't want ya t' stop, but… now I can't get enough a' this. I love bein' here inside you." Renji had once thought he talked too much during sex, but Ichigo enjoyed it, so he'd stopped worrying and just let the words flow.
These particular words seemed to trigger something in his lover - Ichigo's breath caught as they began to move. "Maybe we should… hngh… try for both at once sometime," he gasped, his hips rising up as he meet each long, deep stroke.
"Sure." Renji's short laugh turned into a sharp breath as their bodies rocked in sync. He gave up speech, and focused on the feel of the smoothly muscled arms around him and the sensations burning between them. The tension built slowly as they moved together, savouring each brush of skin against skin.
Another tug at the hair falling loose around his face brought their lips together again. Ichigo's tongue dove into his mouth, mimicking the rhythm of Renji's thrusts; in and out, softer and harder, slower and faster.
He couldn't refuse the increased pace as Ichigo's tongue made love to his mouth, or the soft noise that escaped him when that tongue lapped hungrily at his own. Kissing was something Renji never tired of; the feel of those lips against his own and Ichigo's unique taste were irresistibly arousing. Desire washed over him with each caressing sweep, and his body started to tremble.
He shifted, angling his hips to slide himself directly over that spot he knew would send an intense burst of pleasure through his lover's whole body. A writhing shudder was his reward; a heel dug into his back, demanding more, and the hands gripping his hair and hip tightened noticeably.
Mouths fell open against each other; short, heavy breaths shared the same air as they approached the peak. Renji opened his eyes, uncertain of when they'd closed but wanting to watch as the ecstasy claimed them.
Ichigo's moan sent shivers down his back and spun him toward his release. "So close, Renji… right... there…" He saw the flash of exquisite pleasure in the widening eyes, and moved quickly to stroke the hard flesh between them.
The body beneath his stiffened, warmth splashing over his hand and stomach. A few more hard thrusts and Renji was lost in another wave that robbed him of everything but the euphoria shooting through him, reflecting back from Ichigo through their meshed reiatsu. He knew he cried out, but he couldn’t hear it over his heartbeat thudding in his ears.
Renji barely had time for thought as he collapsed yet again, this time into Ichigo's weary embrace.
Good thing we got up early…
…
He was shocked awake by Ichigo's startled yell.
"Crap is that the time?" Ichigo shot out of bed. "Shit, I'm gonna be late!"
Renji sat up more slowly, and ran a hand through his tangled hair. "Can't be that late, I woke up earl-" He broke off as he stared at the clock. "Oh shit!"
They scrambled to wash and dress; thankfully their uniforms were more or less the same size, so they just grabbed randomly from the stack of clean laundry. Breakfast was no longer an option as they flashed as fast as they could to their respective duties.
*
"Lunch, finally, I'm starved!" Ichigo sighed with relief as Renji entered his office just after noon. "Thanks to you I didn't get much supper last night, or breakfast. I thought this morning was never gonna end."
Renji grinned at him unrepentantly as he set their lunch on the desk. "Yeah well that makes us even then, 'cause thanks t' you I didn't get much sleep last night."
"Yeah," he chuckled as he sat on the edge of his desk and snatched at the food. "Wait, what?" Ichigo looked up and eyed the shinigami curiously, noticing a heightened sense of excitement in the energy he projected. "We got enough sle-" His mouth went dry as Renji held up a bandaged arm.
"Had a lot a' thinkin' t' do. Had a chat with Zabimaru last night," Renji said casually, unwrapping the bandage. "And... Zangetsu."
He didn't… "You…" Ichigo reached out with fingers that only shook a little as the end of the bandage fell away.
…He did. "Renji…"
The tattoos winding around Renji's upper arm used to end near his elbow. Now a thick, twisted ribbon ran from the tail of the final stripe, wrapping around his arm again and connecting to the hilt of a very familiar zanpakutou inked on the underside. It was nearly half the length of his forearm, Zangetsu's point resting atop the pulse point of Renji's wrist.
"This's permanent," Renji stated forcefully. "Just like us. You got my mark on you, and now I got your mark on me." He reached out and gripped the bandage over the band encircling Ichigo's arm. "These don't change anythin' between us, not really. They're just reminders, like ya said. But right now I'm gonna make ya a promise t' go with 'em."
"You don't hafta-" Ichigo began, overwhelmed by the sudden rush of emotion in his lover's energy.
"I know I don't - that's why I am." Ichigo tried to follow that odd bit of logic, and he almost had it before Renji's next words swept it away.
"No matter what ya decide, even if ya decide t' go back tomorrow an' stay there, I'm right behind ya, no matter what anyone says. It don't change anythin' - you're still one a' the best damn shinigami around, an' they'll want ya back anytime ya got the chance." Renji's eyes held his intently. "An' I know ya already know this, but I'll say it again anyway. I'll still be me, an' you'll still be you, an' we'll carry on like we'd planned before. This's a reminder in case it gets hard t' remember."
Ichigo nodded. He knew, he really did know, but this helped more than he ever would have expected. This is... "I love it." He smiled broadly. "Yanno there's no way your sleeve'll hide this," he repeated Renji's own words, spoken only days before.
The shinigami gave him a smug grin. "Ya said yourself that's part a' the point."
"Good thing I haven't taken my bandage off yet, then, otherwise everyone'll think you're just copying me." Ichigo grinned.
"Hey, if anyone's copyin' here, it's you," Renji retorted good-naturedly as he retied his bandage. "I've had mine for years!"
Ichigo snorted and pulled the shinigami in for a kiss to cut off any more debate before he dug into the lunch again. "Hope you didn't put any rice balls in here."
"Hah!"
*
Ichigo sat in his office all afternoon, lost in thought. He'd given up on the paperwork and was running through his choices in his mind.
Well I'm not gonna leave tomorrow and stay there. He chuckled to himself - trust Renji to exaggerate to make a point. But… that did give him an idea.
Ichigo headed out to the practice yard to speak with the 3rd Division's acting captain.
"Kira, I need a favour."
*
Ichigo was ready to go. The 5th had been called out on patrol, so he hadn't had a chance to tell Renji of his plans. He didn't want to leave without speaking to his lover, but since that wasn’t an option, he did the next best thing and left him a letter. He'd worked on it for an hour, destroying several false starts before taking hold of himself and just doing it.
When he was finished, Ichigo was hardly able to read over what he wrote. His face burned at the open, intimate words, but he left them as they were. The whole point of this was to express his feelings that way - and if Renji could do it, he could do it, too. Ichigo grinned and shook his head as the old competitive streak surfaced - it popped up in some unusual places sometimes, often with rather interesting results.
He caught his breath as he reread the last lines. Those hadn't been difficult to write at all. He supposed that should tell him something. Ichigo's smile grew wider; he folded up the letter and left it on the table, looking around one last time before he left.
*
Omake
~Ch 15~
Ichigo: This is amazing! *stares at Renji's tattoo gleefully*
Renji: I'm glad ya like it, but can I have my arm back?
Akuni: Didn't we already have this conversation?
Continue to Chapter 16 - Resolve
Return to the Apotheosis main page
Renji fully intended to rise early and attend to the plan he'd made the night before, but something else came up when he awoke. Two something elses, to be precise. It'd be a shame not t' take advantage a' the extra time this mornin'. He sat up and stretched lazily before running a hand down his sleeping lover's neck.
"Why do you keep gettin' up so early?" The bright orange head turned, and sleepy brown eyes blinked at him.
"I got a good reason this time." Renji leaned over to capture soft lips with his own.
"You woke me up early for a kiss?" Ichigo sounded a bit surprised, but moved closer for another.
"Not quite." He lay back down and slipped one hand down low beneath the blankets.
Ichigo laughed, gasping a bit when he was squeezed. "You woke me up early to grope me?"
Renji grinned. "That, too."
"What do you want, then?" Ichigo rolled over to face him, rubbing a hand over Renji's stomach, teasing him. The way their energies were humming made the entire conversation unnecessary, but it was more fun to play the game out.
"Want you."
"You're gonna hafta be a little more specific than that, Renji." Ichigo was still teasing him, deliberately brushing nearer his groin with the back of his hand. "I'm still pretty tired after last night, and I'm not fully awake yet, so ya gotta tell me what ya want. I'm pretty hungry, and I'm startin' to think about breakfast."
Gonna be one a' those times, eh? Renji stretched out his long form again, making sure to dislodge the blankets down to their feet as he did. "Want sex." He reached both hands out fondle his playful lover, earning a shiver as the game was nearly washed away in the desire flooding through their reiatsu.
"I can see that much." Ichigo's breath caught, and he gave up the teasing in favour of a firm grip and long, slow strokes. "But maybe just one more hint would help."
Renji shifted, pulling Ichigo up with him as he rolled over and sat back on his heels. He separated each word of his request with another kiss and a squeeze. "Gimme - sex - now - please. Need ya bad, so just do me already!"
Ichigo groaned and the game dissolved under a storm of lust. "Hell yeah." His mouth pressed forward eagerly, their tongues sliding around each other in a familiar dance as he reached blindly for the small bottle they kept on the nearby shelf. "Turn over," Ichigo suggested as they broke apart.
He was only too happy to comply. "Ya know me too damn well." Renji gasped as cool, slick fingers slipped into him easily. "How do ya always know-ahh, fuck!" He arched his back, quivering with pleasure as Ichigo curled his fingers just right.
A soft bite on the back of his neck sent another shiver through his whole body. "I know you. I know when you wanna make love for hours, and I know when you wanna be fucked into the floor." Ichigo's hand on his hip was steady, though his energy pulsed with the passion that drove them both.
"So which is it…" Renji panted, resisting the urge to push himself back as his lover slid inside him, filling him completely and soothing the aching need within him. "…this time?"
"Somewhere in between." Ichigo pulled back, then dove in again deeply. "You feel - nngh! - so damn good!" He moved slowly and steadily, occasionally shifting to strike that spot inside that sent a stab of intense pleasure through him.
Renji groaned at the intensity of the heat racing through the air between them like lightning. Unable to hold back any longer, he braced himself firmly and rocked back into each thrust.
"Guess I was wrong… or you changed your mind."
"Just… ahh… want more…" he panted. Ichigo obliged, giving him the hard, quick thrusts he suddenly craved. "Don't stop… ahh… Ichigo!"
He was barely aware when his cries of pleasure turned into his lover's name. A few quick pumps was all it took to send him careening over the edge, giving up control and letting his body do what it wanted as his vision hazed over.
"You're definitely right 'bout that." Ichigo's hand continued working over his still-aroused flesh, and he began driving into him even faster as he neared his own release. "Hearin' your own name on your lover's lips as-" He broke off with a low groan, bucking sharply a few times as he rode out the second wave of pleasure that spilled through their link.
Hearing his name gasped out as his lover proved the point sent another shudder through Renji's overheated body. He let his limbs collapse when Ichigo fell to his side, breathing hard; he sank into the twisted bedding with a moan. They'd just finished, and his body still wanted more.
Gimme a break! Renji rolled over onto his back and tried to calm himself with slow, deep breaths. He shut his eyes and tried to think of mountains of paperwork waiting on his desk, but the warmth of the body beside him and the reiatsu tangled with his own kept intruding. C'mon, smarten up. Got a lot a' stuff t' do today that don't include spendin' the mornin' in bed!
Ichigo's low laugh pulled Renji's eyes open again, and destroyed his attempt at calming his libido. His lover was stretched out on his side, casually running his eyes over Renji's uncovered form.
"What's so funny?" he asked, even though he knew damn well what had the other man so amused.
Ichigo smirked at him. "Was it that bad that you need more already?" One finger ran lightly down the inky marks on Renji's abdomen, making him shiver.
"No, it was that damn good," he groaned, hips twitching involuntarily as his lover bent and engulfed him in the wet heat of his mouth. "Oh fuck that feels good!"
"Hmm." Ichigo shifted over and began leaving a trail of bruising kisses across his stomach and chest, pausing briefly to nibble on each small nipple in turn. The energy around them crackled.
"Thought ya wanted breakfast?" Renji tilted his head back as the mouth on his chest moved higher to feast on his neck. His hands wandered down smooth skin, sliding down over his lover's slim waist to grab hold of the firm backside.
"I want somethin' else now," came the muffled reply. "And I want you to give it to me."
The ardent demand and hard flesh rubbing his hip made him burn even more. "Well if ya want me that bad, how can I refuse?" The lips on his neck crossed his jaw and cheek, finally finding his; he slid one hand around to massage the arousal pressed against him.
The mouth on his opened to his probing tongue. He explored slowly, sliding over the smooth interior and savouring his lover's taste. I could do this all damn day. Renji drew Ichigo's tongue into his own mouth, nibbling and sucking until he coaxed a low moan from the man leaning over him.
He looped his leg up and around Ichigo's, shifting his weight and turning them both over until he was kneeling above his orange-haired lover. Renji let his hands trace a path over the smooth chest heaving beneath him, brushing the ever-sensitive nubs on the way down to lift one of the lean legs over his shoulder.
Fingers tangled in his hair, pulling his head down for another breath-stealing kiss as another leg wrapped itself around his waist.
"Now who needs more?" Renji's voice was a low rumble as he murmured against swollen lips.
"Me." Ichigo pulled him down further. "I need more of you, and I know ya need more of me."
"Can't argue with that." He poured a generous amount of the slippery substance from the bottle that was pushed into his hand. His probing fingers entered with one soft press against willing flesh.
As he twisted his fingers, Renji bent to graze on his lover's pale skin, making sure to leave behind a small mark in the crook of his neck where it would just be covered by the uniform. After all this time, he still got a huge thrill out of knowing his powerful lover welcomed the marks he left on his body.
Insistent hands below his waist were making it difficult to concentrate on anything but the lust racing through their energies. Ichigo's groan of pleasure as he pressed firmly upward was more than he could take.
"Enough," Ichigo panted, echoing his desire. "Want to feel all of you." The way his lover was fondling him, there was no way Renji could hold out. He quickly ran a still-slick hand down and allowed his body to be drawn in flush against Ichigo's as he pushed himself inside.
Renji groaned, watching with passion-clouded eyes as the tight heat surrounded him completely. "Every time," he sighed. "Every damn time." He tore his gaze away from the incredible sight of their joined bodies to stare into the warm brown eyes.
"Before, I needed ya so bad, I didn't want ya t' stop, but… now I can't get enough a' this. I love bein' here inside you." Renji had once thought he talked too much during sex, but Ichigo enjoyed it, so he'd stopped worrying and just let the words flow.
These particular words seemed to trigger something in his lover - Ichigo's breath caught as they began to move. "Maybe we should… hngh… try for both at once sometime," he gasped, his hips rising up as he meet each long, deep stroke.
"Sure." Renji's short laugh turned into a sharp breath as their bodies rocked in sync. He gave up speech, and focused on the feel of the smoothly muscled arms around him and the sensations burning between them. The tension built slowly as they moved together, savouring each brush of skin against skin.
Another tug at the hair falling loose around his face brought their lips together again. Ichigo's tongue dove into his mouth, mimicking the rhythm of Renji's thrusts; in and out, softer and harder, slower and faster.
He couldn't refuse the increased pace as Ichigo's tongue made love to his mouth, or the soft noise that escaped him when that tongue lapped hungrily at his own. Kissing was something Renji never tired of; the feel of those lips against his own and Ichigo's unique taste were irresistibly arousing. Desire washed over him with each caressing sweep, and his body started to tremble.
He shifted, angling his hips to slide himself directly over that spot he knew would send an intense burst of pleasure through his lover's whole body. A writhing shudder was his reward; a heel dug into his back, demanding more, and the hands gripping his hair and hip tightened noticeably.
Mouths fell open against each other; short, heavy breaths shared the same air as they approached the peak. Renji opened his eyes, uncertain of when they'd closed but wanting to watch as the ecstasy claimed them.
Ichigo's moan sent shivers down his back and spun him toward his release. "So close, Renji… right... there…" He saw the flash of exquisite pleasure in the widening eyes, and moved quickly to stroke the hard flesh between them.
The body beneath his stiffened, warmth splashing over his hand and stomach. A few more hard thrusts and Renji was lost in another wave that robbed him of everything but the euphoria shooting through him, reflecting back from Ichigo through their meshed reiatsu. He knew he cried out, but he couldn’t hear it over his heartbeat thudding in his ears.
Renji barely had time for thought as he collapsed yet again, this time into Ichigo's weary embrace.
Good thing we got up early…
…
He was shocked awake by Ichigo's startled yell.
"Crap is that the time?" Ichigo shot out of bed. "Shit, I'm gonna be late!"
Renji sat up more slowly, and ran a hand through his tangled hair. "Can't be that late, I woke up earl-" He broke off as he stared at the clock. "Oh shit!"
They scrambled to wash and dress; thankfully their uniforms were more or less the same size, so they just grabbed randomly from the stack of clean laundry. Breakfast was no longer an option as they flashed as fast as they could to their respective duties.
*
"Lunch, finally, I'm starved!" Ichigo sighed with relief as Renji entered his office just after noon. "Thanks to you I didn't get much supper last night, or breakfast. I thought this morning was never gonna end."
Renji grinned at him unrepentantly as he set their lunch on the desk. "Yeah well that makes us even then, 'cause thanks t' you I didn't get much sleep last night."
"Yeah," he chuckled as he sat on the edge of his desk and snatched at the food. "Wait, what?" Ichigo looked up and eyed the shinigami curiously, noticing a heightened sense of excitement in the energy he projected. "We got enough sle-" His mouth went dry as Renji held up a bandaged arm.
"Had a lot a' thinkin' t' do. Had a chat with Zabimaru last night," Renji said casually, unwrapping the bandage. "And... Zangetsu."
He didn't… "You…" Ichigo reached out with fingers that only shook a little as the end of the bandage fell away.
…He did. "Renji…"
The tattoos winding around Renji's upper arm used to end near his elbow. Now a thick, twisted ribbon ran from the tail of the final stripe, wrapping around his arm again and connecting to the hilt of a very familiar zanpakutou inked on the underside. It was nearly half the length of his forearm, Zangetsu's point resting atop the pulse point of Renji's wrist.
"This's permanent," Renji stated forcefully. "Just like us. You got my mark on you, and now I got your mark on me." He reached out and gripped the bandage over the band encircling Ichigo's arm. "These don't change anythin' between us, not really. They're just reminders, like ya said. But right now I'm gonna make ya a promise t' go with 'em."
"You don't hafta-" Ichigo began, overwhelmed by the sudden rush of emotion in his lover's energy.
"I know I don't - that's why I am." Ichigo tried to follow that odd bit of logic, and he almost had it before Renji's next words swept it away.
"No matter what ya decide, even if ya decide t' go back tomorrow an' stay there, I'm right behind ya, no matter what anyone says. It don't change anythin' - you're still one a' the best damn shinigami around, an' they'll want ya back anytime ya got the chance." Renji's eyes held his intently. "An' I know ya already know this, but I'll say it again anyway. I'll still be me, an' you'll still be you, an' we'll carry on like we'd planned before. This's a reminder in case it gets hard t' remember."
Ichigo nodded. He knew, he really did know, but this helped more than he ever would have expected. This is... "I love it." He smiled broadly. "Yanno there's no way your sleeve'll hide this," he repeated Renji's own words, spoken only days before.
The shinigami gave him a smug grin. "Ya said yourself that's part a' the point."
"Good thing I haven't taken my bandage off yet, then, otherwise everyone'll think you're just copying me." Ichigo grinned.
"Hey, if anyone's copyin' here, it's you," Renji retorted good-naturedly as he retied his bandage. "I've had mine for years!"
Ichigo snorted and pulled the shinigami in for a kiss to cut off any more debate before he dug into the lunch again. "Hope you didn't put any rice balls in here."
"Hah!"
*
Ichigo sat in his office all afternoon, lost in thought. He'd given up on the paperwork and was running through his choices in his mind.
Well I'm not gonna leave tomorrow and stay there. He chuckled to himself - trust Renji to exaggerate to make a point. But… that did give him an idea.
Ichigo headed out to the practice yard to speak with the 3rd Division's acting captain.
"Kira, I need a favour."
*
Ichigo was ready to go. The 5th had been called out on patrol, so he hadn't had a chance to tell Renji of his plans. He didn't want to leave without speaking to his lover, but since that wasn’t an option, he did the next best thing and left him a letter. He'd worked on it for an hour, destroying several false starts before taking hold of himself and just doing it.
When he was finished, Ichigo was hardly able to read over what he wrote. His face burned at the open, intimate words, but he left them as they were. The whole point of this was to express his feelings that way - and if Renji could do it, he could do it, too. Ichigo grinned and shook his head as the old competitive streak surfaced - it popped up in some unusual places sometimes, often with rather interesting results.
He caught his breath as he reread the last lines. Those hadn't been difficult to write at all. He supposed that should tell him something. Ichigo's smile grew wider; he folded up the letter and left it on the table, looking around one last time before he left.
*
Omake
~Ch 15~
Ichigo: This is amazing! *stares at Renji's tattoo gleefully*
Renji: I'm glad ya like it, but can I have my arm back?
Akuni: Didn't we already have this conversation?
Continue to Chapter 16 - Resolve
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