Title: Memories In Ink
Author:
ldybastetFandom/Pairing: Bleach - Shuuhei/Renji
Rating: R
Content: Frotting, fetish
Summary: Some people find tattoos off-putting, some ridiculous. Some people, like Hisagi Shuuhei, find them very attractive... especially on Renji.
Disclaimer: Transformative work of fiction. The characters and world of Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite. I earn nothing from this. No people, either real or fictional, were harmed in the writing of this story.
Notes: ~2950 words. Written for Kink Bingo - my prompt was Tattoos/Tattooing. Beta-read by the very patient
vayshti! All remaining errors are mine.
Memories In Ink
"... and the last question was hard!" Momo said. "I just hope it wasn't a trick question. It wasn't something we've really gone over in class."
"I guess they figure we should just know what to do in that kind of situation by now," Kira said and turned to Renji. "How did you do?"
Renji grinned at him through the steam that rose from the hot water in the pool. "I did okay."
"Really?"
Renji knew Kira was just teasing and didn't mean anything with that but it still stung a little. He glared at him and, taking the towel off his head, threatened to throw it at him. "Hey! I've been studying hard! I'm not some idiot that's going to fall behind you guys!"
Kira laughed. "No, you just look like one, Weird-Eyebrow-san."
Momo tried to stop herself from giggling, but didn't entirely succeed. "That's not very nice!"
Renji told himself he shouldn't care what they thought of his new tattoos and settled for splashing water at Kira. Kira retaliated, but he miscalculated and most of the water caught Momo in the face. She instinctively ducked causing her towel to fall from her head into the pool.
"Kira-kun!" She splashed back at them both, and suddenly, it was war. A wet and silly war, complete with squeals and laughter.
"God, you kids are so noisy," Shuuhei said suddenly from the other end of the pool.
The three friends stopped their antics and bowed their heads in his direction. "Sorry, Senpai, please forgive us."
Shuuhei waved their apologies aside and smiled. "I'm just kidding. I'm not going to stop you from having a little fun. There's a lot of pressure on you now, this close to graduation."
"And there are still a few more exams left," Momo said softly. "And I, at least, have to study for the next one." She fished her towel out of the water and exited the pool, going back to the changing rooms. She stopped just before reaching the door. "Now, I know the bar is on the quickest route home, but promise me that you won't stop for a quick one. It's too early to start celebrating."
"Yes, Mum!" Kira and Renji said together, winking at each other. Renji knew they both had been thinking the same thing. Momo had a tendency to be over-bearing with the concern, but she was kind of cute doing it. They knew it meant that she cared.
"I mean it!" Momo glared at them.
"Okay!" They nodded at her, trying to look innocent.
Momo left, with a look on her face that still showed some doubt. As soon as he was sure she was out of earshot, Kira sighed. "She does have a point, much as it pains me to admit it."
Shuuhei waded over to them, now that it was safe again, and sat down on the ledge, resting his arms on the rim of the pool. "It's not the drinks, I think, just that every time you go there, you forget to keep an eye on the time and then you don't get more than a few hours of sleep," Shuuhei said. "At least that's been your excuse every time I've seen you after a night out."
"We've said that every time?" Renji asked, feeling slightly embarrassed.
"Only after the first few attempts at more creative excuses."
"Right, I think that's my cue to leave," Kira said with a grin. The creative excuses were mostly his: falling trees, gigantic birds that had stolen a child that they needed to rescue, and the occasional dog who'd apparently eaten his homework so he'd had to do it again in the morning before school. He pulled himself out of the pool and waved at Renji and Shuuhei. "Later."
"Mm, this is nice," Shuuhei said and tilted his head back to look at Renji through half-closed eyes.
"A little too nice." Renji sighed. He felt a little guilty, relaxing in the bath when he really should be studying, like his friends.
"There's nothing wrong with relaxing once in a while. Rest a bit. Let go of the information you memorised for this exam, so you have room in your head to cram it full with new facts."
That did make sense, Renji thought. Maybe he should try that for a bit? "I could read a book or something, I guess," he said and pulled himself out of the pool. "Go to bed early for once. Haven't had much sleep lately."
"Are you leaving?" If Renji didn't know better, he'd said that Shuuhei looked disappointed.
"Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow." They were having another trip to the human world - a practical exam. Renji liked those, even if it meant he had to write a paper about it afterwards; it felt more real than just reading about it could ever do, and you couldn't just study to be prepared for them.
**
When Renji came out of the bathhouse, a movement to his left caught his eye and he stopped, wondering if Kira had decided to play a prank on him. But it was Shuuhei, leaning against the wall next to the exit. He was shrouded in shadows, only partly lit up by the lanterns that swayed softly in the evening breeze that also had caught the sleeve of his yukata.
"Hisagi-Senpai?" Renji relaxed again. "Why are you standing out here?"
"I've been waiting." Shuuhei smiled and pushed away from the wall. "You certainly took your time, drying off and getting dressed."
"You were waiting for me?" Renji couldn't hide his surprise.
"Yeah," Shuuhei said. "Care for a drink over at my place?"
"Um, sure." Renji looked sideways at Shuuhei. He had no idea why his senpai would invite him home, but a drink was never wrong. "The bar's still open..."
"Yeah, but remember what Momo said," Shuuhei said and stepped out onto the street. "No bars. Besides, if you came back to mine, you won't have to pay - you're on a pretty tight budget, right?"
Renji grinned. This was one kind of reasoning he couldn't argue with. "Lead the way!"
Shuuhei's quarters were not quite what Renji expected. For starters, they consisted of a rather small room, the only furniture being a stack of cushions, a low table on one side, and a large closet with sliding doors on the other side. It was silent, apart from the sounds he and Shuuhei were making. "Don't you share the room with someone?"
Shuuhei pulled out two cushions to sit on and put them on each side of the table. "Yeah, I have a room mate." He pointed to one of the cushions, "Sit down, or are you going to stand there all evening?" Shuuhei heated up the sake, then poured for them both and pushed one of the cups over to Renji. They emptied them, and Shuuhei poured another one.
"What are we drinking to?" Renji asked, lifting his cup again.
"I don't know... Do we need a reason apart from you probably passing this exam?" Shuuhei looked thoughtful. "Well, since there are no ladies present that we need to behave in front of and we just had a bath, how about a toast to a dirty mind in a clean body?" Shuuhei waggled his cup with a grin. Renji thought about for a second before he decided that he liked it, and drained his cup.
After another drink, Renji noticed how closely Shuuhei was watching him. He felt as if he was under scrutiny, and it made Renji a little uncomfortable, uncomfortable enough not to let it pass without a comment. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Like what?"
"Well, like you're doing now. You were watching me earlier too, in the bathhouse." And it wasn't the first time, Renji thought. More than once, he'd turned to talk to Shuuhei, only to be met by a lingering, appraising gaze. Renji had always come up with excuses for why Shuuhei would be looking at him like that, and up until now he'd ignored the looks, tried to act naturally, and ask or say what he been about to anyway.
"I didn't know you noticed," Shuuhei said lightly, a little too lightly, as he refilled their cups.
"I'm not dense," Renji mumbled, frowning. Shuuhei's words didn't ring true. He had to have realised that Renji knew - their gazes had met, for one, and there had been little moments of silence; silences that lasted just a little too long before they were broken by a joke or a comment or a question. "I notice things, I see what people do."
"Then you know I've been watching you for a while."
Renji nodded. "I thought at first that maybe you were judging my weaknesses or something, or that you were disappointed in me, but I did pretty well today, so..."
Shuuhei shook his head and finished his sake. "No, I've been watching you for completely different reasons..." He leaned forward over the table, and his gaze was so intense that Renji felt his cheeks grow hot. "I've been watching you add to your tattoos. I've watched what looked like rather random lines grow into a pattern. You had something specific in mind when you started, didn't you?"
Renji nodded. He'd seen a sketch once, long ago, of a ferocious warrior or demon in human form - he couldn't read back then, so he hadn't been able to tell - with dark, angular tattoos forming what looked almost like a camouflage pattern, and it had made a big impression on him.
"Thought so," Shuuhei said, looking pleased with himself. "They look good on you."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Thanks." Renji grinned. Shuuhei was the first person who had said something like that. Everyone else either didn't say anything, or seemed to think he was crazy getting them - especially on his face. That's why it had stung when Kira teased him. Kira and Momo were supposed to be his best friends, now that Rukia had left - they were supposed to understand. But if Renji was crazy for tattooing his face then Shuuhei had to be the same kind of crazy with his own tattooed cheek.
"Do you know what I've been thinking while I've been watching you? I've been wondering what they'd taste like, your tattoos. If there is a difference between them and your unmarked skin. And even if they taste the same, will your skin feel different under my tongue?" Shuuhei reached over the table, running his thumb over one of the lines above Renji's eyebrow.
"Senpai?" Renji stared at him, but couldn't help but lean into the soft touch. He wondered if the world had suddenly been switched to a different one, one where a person you thought you knew could turn out to be someone else, one where words like licking and tasting could be used in the same sentence as Renji's name, as Renji's body, as Renji's skin. If that were the case, would it hurt to stay in this new and strange world, at least for a little bit? Shuuhei's fingers felt good on his face, and Renji wondered how they'd feel elsewhere... If things ended badly, maybe they could blame what had happened on the sake?
"What do you say? Will you let me find out?" Shuuhei took the empty cup from Renji's hand and pushed the table to the side so there was nothing to separate them anymore.
Renji swallowed hard when Shuuhei crawled closer and gently pushed him back onto the floor. It was strange, but he felt no desire to resist. It wasn't only the sake that had made him feel hot and light-headed, blood suddenly rushing towards the centre of his body. "Yes," he whispered, looking up at his senpai, realising that he really wanted to see what Shuuhei had in mind. "But what if your room mate comes back?"
"He's on night duty," Shuuhei whispered. "We have all the time we need." He briefly brushed his lips over Renji's, before moving down to begin his tattoo exploration.
If Renji had blinked, he'd have missed the kiss, but as he'd been staring wide-eyed as Shuuhei's face had come closer, he knew it had happened, and that it had been intentional, even though it had been fleeting. He was still a bit stunned when Shuuhei pulled at his yukata to uncover his chest, and the feel of Shuuhei's fingers tracing the patterns on his skin didn't help to snap him out of the daze.
What did work, though, was Shuuhei slowly licking along one of the bands of dark ink above one of Renji's nipples. Renji gasped, one of his hands flying up to cradle the back of Shuuhei's head.
Shuuhei followed every line, every angle of the tattoos with the tip of his tongue, and Renji couldn't hold back the sounds that tried to escape him. He hoped desperately that they wouldn't disturb Shuuhei or make him change his mind and stop. A light brush of fingers followed the wet paths on his skin, smoothing and drying them, and Renji arched up under the touches.
"Senpai," Renji moaned as the sash holding his yukata together was untied and Shuuhei exposed the rest of his body as well.
"Call me Shuuhei," Shuuhei whispered against Renji's navel before planting little kisses around it.
"Shuuhei..." Renji tried out the name, barely believing that his senpai was actually doing this to him. "I have no tattoos there," he whispered, referring to his stomach.
"No... But I need a reference to know if the skin here tastes differently," Shuuhei murmured and placed a row of kisses along the edge of Renji's underwear. Little by little, the kisses moved downwards over the thin fabric, and Renji was finding it difficult to lie still when Shuuhei's lips were so close to his cock.
"Please?" Renji wasn't sure if he really could ask Shuuhei to continue, but he needed it desperately.
"Relax, Renji." Shuuhei gave the rigid shaft an open-mouthed kiss through the fabric, then another. He kissed and teased Renji like that until Renji thought he'd go mad. Then, finally, Shuuhei pulled at the knots that kept Renji's underwear together and managed to loosen the fundoshi enough to pull the now wet and almost transparent fabric covering Renji's cock to the side.
What happened after that blurred together for Renji - everything happened so fast. His cock was engulfed by Shuuhei's mouth, hands moved over his body, almost overwhelming him with pleasure, and then suddenly, Shuuhei's body was pressed against his. Renji knew that he must have pulled Shuuhei's clothes off, but couldn't remember. Shuuhei kissed him hungrily, and Renji could taste his own cock on Shuuhei's tongue. Their moans mingled as they kissed more frantically, grabbing at shoulders and getting their fingers tangled in each other's hair.
In the onslaught of sensations, Renji could only hold on to Shuuhei as they thrust against each other, cock against cock. The point of self-control was long since passed and lost. With a half-choked groan, he tried to warn Shuuhei that he couldn't hold back, that it was too much, but Shuuhei didn't stop, didn't slow down. Renji had no idea who came first and he didn't care either, just happy and amazed to feel Shuuhei's thrusts slow and his hot come soak through the already rather wet fundoshi.
"Fuck," Renji gasped and relaxed again, one arm flopping out to the side.
"Yeah," Shuuhei said, rolling over to stretch out next to Renji. They lay like that for a little while, catching their breaths.
Shuuhei moved his fingers lightly over Renji's chest. "Are you going to add more to the design soon?"
"Yeah." Renji placed his hand on top of Shuuhei's.
"Mm, good. You have to let me see and taste them too."
Renji sighed softly and closed his eyes. If Shuuhei was going to do this to him every time Renji got a new tattoo, the guy doing them was going to become a rich man. "You're encouraging me, you know."
"I know." Shuuhei kissed him softly. "Counting on it, actually."
Renji looked at Shuuhei. "You really want to do this again?"
Shuuhei flicked one of Renji's nipples, making Renji groan. "Now you are being dense. Of course I do. You have the proof of my enjoyment on your underwear, after all."
"Can't use it as proof. I think people would be a bit grossed out. And I need to wash it, or I won't have anything to wear after tomorrow."
Shuuhei laughed. "I can give you more proof another day."
"Okay," Renji said and turned on his side too so he could put his arm over Shuuhei's shoulder. "Just wanted to make sure."
"You know, I think you should add another section here on this arm next, so it's symmetrical," Shuuhei said and kissed a spot just below the tattoos on Renji's upper arm.
"That'll be when I reach another of my goals."
"And getting me into bed wasn't one of them?"
Renji blushed. "I didn't know that was one of my goals before now." It probably should have been, though, he decided.
"It still counts," Shuuhei said and grinned. "Besides, I want to be the reason for at least a part of your tattoos."
To Renji, that was probably one of the nicest things anyone had ever said to him, and it made him smile. Getting his next tattoo done because of this, he'd always carry this evening with him, even if no one else knew about it. He and Shuuhei would know, and that was enough.