Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Bleach Ficlets: Dare To Live ❯ 15 Water Tryst ( Chapter 15 )

Authors Note: I don't own Bleach and make no claims on it. If I did, there'd be a whole hell of a lot of kinky shit going down.

 

15WaterTryst

 

Urahara's offer of his decadent private bath had come out of nowhere. I still couldn't figure out why he'd offered the use of it to me. I ended up filing it under the strange behaviour of Shinigami and took advantage of the rare treat. Urahara'd mentioned something about a sauna and I assumed that's what the little square room off to the side of the walled off washing area was. I'd never been in a sauna and I'd have to give that a try later as well. The water in the bath was the perfect temperature for me. I wasn't sure how that was possible but, considering who Urahara was and what division he'd been captain of before leaving Soul Society, I really shouldn't have been surprised. My eyes drifted closed and I leaned my head against the edge of the pool, a soft sigh escaping me. The warmth and silence of the pool was heavenly.

 

The heat and quiet set me to thinking of my encounter with Abarai Renji almost a week ago. I'd no idea what possessed me to be so… bold as to ask him about his tattoos. A blush burned across my cheeks even as I thought about that incident. I'm not sure what I thought the marks would feel like but Renji's skin had been warm and smooth. His hair, when my fingers brushed over it, felt like raw silk; coarse and soft at the same time. I'd seen him with it down once and I did have to wonder why he insisted on normally wearing it in such an awful style. My blush burned my cheeks when I recalled the firm yet yielding texture of Renji's lips against mine. My face felt even hotter than the water I was currently soaking in and I slid under the water in an effort to cool the burn of my blush. I wasn't underwater for more than a handful of seconds when a splash in the pool near me had me surfacing, blinking water from my eyes and shaking hair from my face. Strong hands gripped my biceps and concern was in a pair of dark red eyes.

 

“Nova, you okay? Did you slip and hit your head or something? Fuck, you scared the crap outta me,” Renji said, leaning his forehead against mine and exhaling softly. I noted absently that his breath had the scent of cinnamon, the flavour one of my secret pleasures.

 

I scared Renji? How? What did I do? And what was he doing in Urahara's private bath house? More importantly, what was he doing here while I was here? My eyes travelled over Renji's chest; tracing the pattern of tattoos to where they disappeared into the small towel he wore around his hips. Seeing the towel around Renji's hips reminded me that I wasn't wearing one as I'd thought I'd be alone in the pool. My fiery blush returned. I must have made some sound of distress because Renji tightened his grip on me.

 

“Don't teleport away on me again, Nova. Please. Look, I can keep my hands to myself,” Renji said slowly letting go of my arms and gliding to the other side of the pool that seemed suddenly smaller than I'd first thought. “Urahara said he gave you permission to use his bath and that you might want some company. I thought you said something to him about maybe wanting me to join you. You didn't, did you? Fucking Urahara. What the hell was he thinking? Do you want me to leave?”

 

I shook my head no. If Urahara told Renji he could also use the pool, he had as much right to be here as I did. I frowned and gnawed on my bottom lip as I thought. Why would Urahara tell Renji that I wanted some company? Unless… I hadn't been fast enough when I teleported away during that kiss Renji gave me and Urahara had seen us. Colour flooded my face and I sincerely wished for my hood. I'd never blushed this much. I dropped my gaze to the surface of the water only to have my attention snagged by the lines of ink on Renji's body, distorted slightly by the water. Just how far did those tattoos of his go? Would he show me if I asked? I slapped a hand over my mouth when I nearly voiced the question out loud.

 

“Something you wanna say, Nova?” Renji asked softly, leaning back against the lip of the pool and stretching his arms out to rest on the edge. The position stretched the muscles of his chest and the heavy lines on his skin flexed. I think the position was supposed to look like he was relaxed but there seemed to be a subtle tension in his body. I wondered if his tension was because of me.

 

I shook my head no but continued to stare at Renji's chest. I could have easily teleported to my room and saved myself from further blushing but, found myself oddly reluctant to do that. My eyes slowly travelled down his chest, following the thick black lines until the water almost obscured them. I knew Renji had tattoos on his back as well and I was fairly certain I could make out hazy lines on his legs. The longer I stared at what I could see, the more I wanted see. I let my hand fall from my mouth. I could ask Renji if he'd show me. The worst he could do was say no. I simply needed to muster up the courage to ask.

 

“Can I see the tattoos on your back?” I asked softly before I changed my mind, keeping my eyes lowered to the surface of the water.

 

“Sure,” Renji said with warmth and a little surprise in his voice.

 

Water rippled towards me and I looked up to find that Renji had moved closer and turned his back to me. The water of the pool lapped at the edge of the low riding towel he wore. He stood perfectly still, waiting I guess, for me to look my fill. Not really sure why, I stood and took a step towards him. The geometric lines were bold and quite beautiful. I watched my hand reach out to touch the marks and couldn't seem to stop myself from tracing my fingers lightly over them. Renji's skin twitched under my touch and he made a soft noise in his throat. I jerked my hand back and stumbled backwards, sitting down hard on the sunken bench, my eyes wide at the overly familiar thing I'd just done.

 

“I'm sorry. Please forgive me,” I whispered. I had no idea why I'd touched Renji like that without his permission. I was a heart beat from teleporting away and hiding in my room for the next portion of eternity when Renji spoke.

 

“I'm not sorry and there's nothing to forgive,” Renji said as he slowly turned to face me. “That felt nice. I wouldn't mind if you did it again.”

 

I blinked in surprise at Renji. He'd like me to do that again? He reached out and tipped my face up to his with a finger. He was smiling at me but it was a different smile from the one he usually wore. It was… softer. Was he smiling that way because of what I'd done? He looked beautiful when he smiled like that even with his hair up in the silly ponytail.

 

“Urahara wasn't kidding when he said you didn't have a lot of intimate experience, was he? I'm not asking for names and dates, Nova but just how much experience are we talking about here?”

 

I was blushing again. I shrugged my shoulders, resisting the temptation to teleport away. Even though I was looking at Renji, I still ended up being surprised when he lowered his head and kissed me. The kiss was a good as I remembered from the previous week. Maybe even a little better. I was disappointed when Renji ended it shortly after it started.

 

“Damn, you're cute when you blush like a shy virgin. So, how many lovers have you had, Nova?” Renji asked as he nuzzled into my hair, his lips brushing over my ear making me shiver. That felt almost as good as the kiss had.

 

“None.”

 

Renji pulled a little away and stared incredulously at me. He sighed and shook his head, sitting beside me on the bench and putting his arm around my shoulders and turning my face to his. “Would you like one?” Renji asked quietly, holding my gaze with his.

 

Warmth was in Renji's eyes and that soft smile was back on his face. I gnawed on my bottom lip again. I liked Renji's kisses. I liked the way his arm felt across my shoulders. I liked that soft smile and the way his skin had felt under my fingers. If I was Renji's lover, I'd get to touch him and explore those tattoos of his, wouldn't I? And if his kisses felt good, other things he might do would probably feel good too, wouldn't they?

 

“It's okay if you don't, Nova,” Renji said with disappointment in his voice. “I thought… hell, I'm not sure what I thought. Look, even if you don't want a lover, I'd like if we could still be friends. You're a cool guy to hang with. I feel comfortable around you.”

 

A warm feeling of pleasure settled in my chest at Renji's words and had me smiling and ducking my head in shy pleasure. I felt oddly comfortable with Renji, too; once I stopped blushing so furiously, that is. Renji shifted and started to move his arm from around my shoulders, pulling a little away from me and I jerked my head up. Damn, I was doing it again, wasn't I? Renji was getting the wrong idea from my silence. I needed to stop thinking so intently about things and actually open my mouth once in a while to say what was going on in my head regardless of how hard I found that.

 

“I'd get to touch your tattoos if we were lovers, wouldn't I?” I asked quietly, leaning into Renji and tracing a finger over one of the lines on his neck.

 

Renji blinked in surprise at me before a grin broke out on his face. “Nova, you could touch me anywhere you damn well pleased if we were lovers. What's with the fascination over my tatts anyway?”

 

I looked at Renji, puzzled he didn't understand. I'd have thought it was obvious. Wasn't it the reason he got them in the first place? “I like beautiful, unusual things. Your tattoos are beautiful and unusual. Like you.”

 

Renji's eyes widened and his cheeks turned pink. I smiled at him and had to suppress a giggle. It was nice to know I wasn't the only one who blushed. I bit my bottom lip in a moment of indecision before gathering up my courage, reaching behind Renji and pulling his hair tie free. It spilled over his shoulder, the ends fanning out and floating on the surface of the water. I leaned in and pressed my lips to his, hoping I wasn't being too forward.

 

A sound of pleasure rumbled from Renji. His hands tunnelled through my hair and his tongue teased the seam of my lips seeking entrance. My heart beat even faster than at the height of a pitched battle when I opened my mouth to him. I was shocked at how erotic I found the slide of his tongue against mine and made my own noise of approval at the sensation and the faint taste of cinnamon. My hands found their way to Renji's shoulders and rested there lightly, unsure if that's what I was supposed to do with them. Renji broke the kiss and pulled his head back to look at me.

 

“So, I guess that's a yes to taking a lover then?” he asked with a grin, his eyes sparkling like rubies.

 

I nodded and managed to only blush a little although, I think that was more from excitement than embarrassment. Renji gave me that soft smile again and dropped a quick kiss on the tip of my nose. He leaned in close, his lips brushing over the edge of my ear.

 

“As much as I'd love to fool around with you here, I've got this itchy feeling between my shoulder blades that usually means I'm being watched. I wouldn't put it past that kinky bastard, Urahara to have a hidden camera or some shit set up. I vote for going someplace more private. What do you say to that?”

 

I nodded my head although I couldn't, for the life of me, see why Urahara would do such a thing. Renji stood and left the pool, gesturing for me to wait before getting out as well. He stepped to a rack of towels, snagged a large one and came back to me, holding the towel up as I got out of the deep pool. I followed Renji to the washing area where my clothes were hung and felt excitement coil in my belly. I had the feeling that agreeing to be Renji's lover was going to be a singularly unique experience for me. I sincerely hoping that feeling would be right.