I'll always be here by your side [closed/complete; UNEDITED AIM LOG]
WHO: Renji Abarai (rukongai_dog) and Byakuya Kuchiki (captbetterthanu)
WHAT: At last, Renji remembers.
WHERE: Their home.
WHEN: Backdated a long time; really, we just forgot to post this.
Renji: Renji had woken up that morning with a memory and a raging boner.
This wasn’t uncommon for him, actually - almost every night now, he’d dream memory, in flashes of touches, kisses, words, bliss. There was no denying what he dreamed had occurred, either.
And so Renji discovered that he had had sex with his captain. Many, many times.
He’d spent the last several days watching Byakuya closely, looking for any sign that the noble remembered, but had seen nothing. It frustrated him to no end - and made his arousal when he woke alone in his room a very bitter sort of pleasure.
That morning, though, he’d also seen Byakuya step out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel, and Renji had had to swallow and immediately turn the other way.
He couldn’t go on like this. He was psyching himself out.
He sat in the living room, absently whittling, for a half an hour before he finally said anything. His hands had gone clammy, and that embarrassed him, but he would have to shut it out of his mind if he was ever to do this.
“K-Kuchiki-taichou…” Fuck. Already messed up. “Do ya remember…” He lost his voice for a moment, and fought to get it back.
“Do ya remember sleepin’ together? At all?” he managed, finally.
Byakuya: Ever since that day when Byakuya had fed off Renji, the vampire noticed the subtle changes in the redhead.
Renji was watching him.
It was… almost painful to watch. Byakuya could tell that Renji was fighting something. Or trying to figure something out. It seemed he did both. Byakuya wanted to help him, but the captain did nothing of the sort. This was for Renji alone to figure out.
And so, he couldn’t help the small smile that flitted across his face at Renji’s question this early afternoon. Byakuya really hadn’t meant to reveal anything but… he suppose it was about time Renji finally asked him something other than, “What do you remember?”
“I… do.”
Renji: Renji expected to feel all the tension in his body release if he heard that, but it didn’t. He hadn’t considered that now it would be the elephant in the corner - unless, of course, he dealt with it immediately. But now he didn’t know what to say. And that strange, light feeling was swelling in his chest as if he had just been given the greatest news in the world. It confused him.
“Uh… good.” Awkward-tastic, man. Congrats. “You… ya ever think…?” He shook his head, abandoning that sentence before he finished it, heart thudding wildly for no reason he could place.
Byakuya: His eyes softened, gently looking into Renji’s red ones. “I do think. And I know. But I cannot remember for you, Renji. As much as I would like to. That is for you, and you alone, to do.”
And that was all Byakuya would reveal about his own memories. Unless Renji asked him a direct question, the captain would not voluntarily reveal anything more.
Renji: Renji spluttered.
“Well, can’t ya help me, then? I mean, how’d we get ta… ta sleepin’ together, anyway? Kuchiki-taichou,” he added.
He rubbed his face with his hands in frustration. “My head’s full of holes, babe,” fell out of his mouth, and he froze.
Did he just say that?
Byakuya: He supposed he would reveal some things. Poor Renji looked ready to explode with everything that ran through his mind.
Byakuya gave a brief smile. “We became lovers, Renji. That’s how it all started. Don’t fret, you used that nickname quite often before. I don’t mind.”
He really didn’t. Before, it had annoyed Byakuya because while he wasn’t one to hide things, he wasn’t exactly for showcasing their relationship. Renji, on the other hand, slipped up. Many times.
But now, it was a welcome name to hear from that mouth. That mouth that he wanted to kiss so badly but refrained for so very, very long. It surprised him, how much he missed the redhead but Byakuya found that he didn’t care. He wanted Renji back, but he also wanted Renji to feel the same.
Renji: Three things settled in his mind, then, and all at the same time.
The first was that Kuchiki-taichou knew more than he was letting on.
The second was that ‘lovers’ meant more than fuckbuddies.
And the third was the timid realization of what that feeling he had in his stomach whenever Byakuya was around could be.
“Uh, okay,” he said anticlimactically.
Byakuya: “It did not end there,” Byakuya raised his eyebrows at him. He knew where Renji’s thoughts were going. It was true, it started as just having sex all the time and figuring out a way to survive in the meantime. It was fun, harmless.
But then they both unexpectedly fell for each other. He wasn’t sure if he should come out and say that, however. Renji needed to figure that out as well. “Now, let me ask you something. What do you think you know? What have you come to remember?”
Renji: Sex.
Well, a lot of other things, too, but the sex.
Renji took a deep breath and tried to get the other thing out, to just say something about that feeling, but his mouth forced itself shut. He couldn’t say it.
Just like with Rukia.
He sat there for several moments, silent.
“Nothing,” he said quietly, careful of each syllable.
Byakuya: “Renji…” Byakuya sighed, closing his eyes.
He was silent for several moments.
He didn’t want to push the redhead. If Renji truly did not remember then… he didn’t remember. However, Byakuya knew Renji quite well by now. And things were slipping from his mouth for it all to just be “nothing.”
When he finally spoke, he said, “I will wait for you, Renji. But don’t lie to me next time.”
Byakuya gave Renji one last, gentle look before heading into the kitchen. The captain may not eat normal food anymore, but Renji did.
Renji: All I do is bark at the stars. I don’t have the guts to jump at them.
Renji leaned forward and hung his head, elbows resting on his knees, whittling forgotten. He cursed himself and followed slowly into the dining room, flopping himself over in his chair.
He grit his teeth and tried, tried hard, to unstuck his jaw. To say something.
Byakuya: Byakuya watched Renji. He knew he was supposed to be making dinner but… he couldn’t help but watch Renji.
He looked so miserable. So… conflicted. Maybe Byakuya should say something.
But what could he say? He told Renji all he needed to know. Renji knew something, whether it was everything or a few things was up to Renji to reveal, but the redhead stayed silent. Why?
Could he…?
Maybe…
Did he…?
Byakuya waited behind Renji. Hoping. And waiting.
Renji: Now or never. Now or never. Now or never.
He chanted it in his head, trying to get his lips and tongue to move, but nothing budged. Exactly the way he had always felt around Rukia.
But then, said a calm voice in his head, he and Rukia had never been lovers. Rukia had never been able to tell he was lying when he’d said ‘nothing’.
Renji’s eyes cleared a moment, almost surprised by this thought. Suddenly his tongue unstuck from the roof of his mouth. He looked at this situation with new eyes, now - and saw faint possibility.
Now or never, man. Gotta say it.
Byakuya: Byakuya sighed inwardly.
It seemed Renji didn’t know, after all.
He turned back around to collect the pot for the rice.
Renji: “I think I was in love with you,” Renji breathed, eyes down. He waited for rejection with a thumping heart, an expected pain crawling through his veins.
Byakuya: It took all of his self-control to not drop the pot right then and there. He managed to get it onto the counter without making a sound.
He remembered…
Renji did not know for sure it seemed but… his statement caused a smile to practically bloom onto Byakuya’s face, reaching his eyes. He stepped up behind Renji and caressed the smooth skin of Renji’s tattooed neck briefly trailing them around the neck, Byakuya bent down to further embrace the man in front of him.
His lips touched Renji’s temple for a moment and then Byakuya whispered, “Welcome back, Renji.”
[continued here]
WHAT: At last, Renji remembers.
WHERE: Their home.
WHEN: Backdated a long time; really, we just forgot to post this.
Renji: Renji had woken up that morning with a memory and a raging boner.
This wasn’t uncommon for him, actually - almost every night now, he’d dream memory, in flashes of touches, kisses, words, bliss. There was no denying what he dreamed had occurred, either.
And so Renji discovered that he had had sex with his captain. Many, many times.
He’d spent the last several days watching Byakuya closely, looking for any sign that the noble remembered, but had seen nothing. It frustrated him to no end - and made his arousal when he woke alone in his room a very bitter sort of pleasure.
That morning, though, he’d also seen Byakuya step out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel, and Renji had had to swallow and immediately turn the other way.
He couldn’t go on like this. He was psyching himself out.
He sat in the living room, absently whittling, for a half an hour before he finally said anything. His hands had gone clammy, and that embarrassed him, but he would have to shut it out of his mind if he was ever to do this.
“K-Kuchiki-taichou…” Fuck. Already messed up. “Do ya remember…” He lost his voice for a moment, and fought to get it back.
“Do ya remember sleepin’ together? At all?” he managed, finally.
Byakuya: Ever since that day when Byakuya had fed off Renji, the vampire noticed the subtle changes in the redhead.
Renji was watching him.
It was… almost painful to watch. Byakuya could tell that Renji was fighting something. Or trying to figure something out. It seemed he did both. Byakuya wanted to help him, but the captain did nothing of the sort. This was for Renji alone to figure out.
And so, he couldn’t help the small smile that flitted across his face at Renji’s question this early afternoon. Byakuya really hadn’t meant to reveal anything but… he suppose it was about time Renji finally asked him something other than, “What do you remember?”
“I… do.”
Renji: Renji expected to feel all the tension in his body release if he heard that, but it didn’t. He hadn’t considered that now it would be the elephant in the corner - unless, of course, he dealt with it immediately. But now he didn’t know what to say. And that strange, light feeling was swelling in his chest as if he had just been given the greatest news in the world. It confused him.
“Uh… good.” Awkward-tastic, man. Congrats. “You… ya ever think…?” He shook his head, abandoning that sentence before he finished it, heart thudding wildly for no reason he could place.
Byakuya: His eyes softened, gently looking into Renji’s red ones. “I do think. And I know. But I cannot remember for you, Renji. As much as I would like to. That is for you, and you alone, to do.”
And that was all Byakuya would reveal about his own memories. Unless Renji asked him a direct question, the captain would not voluntarily reveal anything more.
Renji: Renji spluttered.
“Well, can’t ya help me, then? I mean, how’d we get ta… ta sleepin’ together, anyway? Kuchiki-taichou,” he added.
He rubbed his face with his hands in frustration. “My head’s full of holes, babe,” fell out of his mouth, and he froze.
Did he just say that?
Byakuya: He supposed he would reveal some things. Poor Renji looked ready to explode with everything that ran through his mind.
Byakuya gave a brief smile. “We became lovers, Renji. That’s how it all started. Don’t fret, you used that nickname quite often before. I don’t mind.”
He really didn’t. Before, it had annoyed Byakuya because while he wasn’t one to hide things, he wasn’t exactly for showcasing their relationship. Renji, on the other hand, slipped up. Many times.
But now, it was a welcome name to hear from that mouth. That mouth that he wanted to kiss so badly but refrained for so very, very long. It surprised him, how much he missed the redhead but Byakuya found that he didn’t care. He wanted Renji back, but he also wanted Renji to feel the same.
Renji: Three things settled in his mind, then, and all at the same time.
The first was that Kuchiki-taichou knew more than he was letting on.
The second was that ‘lovers’ meant more than fuckbuddies.
And the third was the timid realization of what that feeling he had in his stomach whenever Byakuya was around could be.
“Uh, okay,” he said anticlimactically.
Byakuya: “It did not end there,” Byakuya raised his eyebrows at him. He knew where Renji’s thoughts were going. It was true, it started as just having sex all the time and figuring out a way to survive in the meantime. It was fun, harmless.
But then they both unexpectedly fell for each other. He wasn’t sure if he should come out and say that, however. Renji needed to figure that out as well. “Now, let me ask you something. What do you think you know? What have you come to remember?”
Renji: Sex.
Well, a lot of other things, too, but the sex.
Renji took a deep breath and tried to get the other thing out, to just say something about that feeling, but his mouth forced itself shut. He couldn’t say it.
Just like with Rukia.
He sat there for several moments, silent.
“Nothing,” he said quietly, careful of each syllable.
Byakuya: “Renji…” Byakuya sighed, closing his eyes.
He was silent for several moments.
He didn’t want to push the redhead. If Renji truly did not remember then… he didn’t remember. However, Byakuya knew Renji quite well by now. And things were slipping from his mouth for it all to just be “nothing.”
When he finally spoke, he said, “I will wait for you, Renji. But don’t lie to me next time.”
Byakuya gave Renji one last, gentle look before heading into the kitchen. The captain may not eat normal food anymore, but Renji did.
Renji: All I do is bark at the stars. I don’t have the guts to jump at them.
Renji leaned forward and hung his head, elbows resting on his knees, whittling forgotten. He cursed himself and followed slowly into the dining room, flopping himself over in his chair.
He grit his teeth and tried, tried hard, to unstuck his jaw. To say something.
Byakuya: Byakuya watched Renji. He knew he was supposed to be making dinner but… he couldn’t help but watch Renji.
He looked so miserable. So… conflicted. Maybe Byakuya should say something.
But what could he say? He told Renji all he needed to know. Renji knew something, whether it was everything or a few things was up to Renji to reveal, but the redhead stayed silent. Why?
Could he…?
Maybe…
Did he…?
Byakuya waited behind Renji. Hoping. And waiting.
Renji: Now or never. Now or never. Now or never.
He chanted it in his head, trying to get his lips and tongue to move, but nothing budged. Exactly the way he had always felt around Rukia.
But then, said a calm voice in his head, he and Rukia had never been lovers. Rukia had never been able to tell he was lying when he’d said ‘nothing’.
Renji’s eyes cleared a moment, almost surprised by this thought. Suddenly his tongue unstuck from the roof of his mouth. He looked at this situation with new eyes, now - and saw faint possibility.
Now or never, man. Gotta say it.
Byakuya: Byakuya sighed inwardly.
It seemed Renji didn’t know, after all.
He turned back around to collect the pot for the rice.
Renji: “I think I was in love with you,” Renji breathed, eyes down. He waited for rejection with a thumping heart, an expected pain crawling through his veins.
Byakuya: It took all of his self-control to not drop the pot right then and there. He managed to get it onto the counter without making a sound.
He remembered…
Renji did not know for sure it seemed but… his statement caused a smile to practically bloom onto Byakuya’s face, reaching his eyes. He stepped up behind Renji and caressed the smooth skin of Renji’s tattooed neck briefly trailing them around the neck, Byakuya bent down to further embrace the man in front of him.
His lips touched Renji’s temple for a moment and then Byakuya whispered, “Welcome back, Renji.”
[continued here]