It had been exactly four months since the war ended. In that time everyone had occupied themselves with cleaning up the mess Aizen and the other two captains had left behind. For the first two months Abarai Renji had been a part of that as well, until his taichou decided he'd be more useful in the Living World. The vice-captain thought that was shit, but who was he to question this captain's judgment, or his authority? Besides, hanging around in the Living World and killing hollows was a hell of a lot better than sitting around and doing basically nothing in Soul Society.

Renji had been staying at Urahara's for about two months now. He spent most of his time on hollow hunts, or eating whatever he could get his hands on in the shop, keeping a look out so he could avoid being called a freeloader. When he was feeling in a particularly good mood he'd head back to Soul Society and hang with Hisagi and Ikkaku. Of course hanging with Ikkaku ultimately met hanging with Yumichika, which wasn't always what Renji had in mind…

Other then patrol and drunken nights with his friends the redhead did nothing out of the ordinary, or the extraordinary for that matter. There was one thing though, one thing which couldn't be called extraordinary, but definitely…out of the ordinary. Ever since they'd made it back from Hueco Mundo, Renji realized he had a weird, somewhat understanding going on with Ishida Uryuu. He couldn't really explain it, and the first few times he'd tried to work it out he decided he didn't give a shit and gave up. That being said, when he wasn't drunk or fighting, he was training with the Quincy in Urahara's basement.

The first time he'd asked Ishida to train with him he'd been met with a slightly tilted head but otherwise expressionless face. He knew the kid had been confused be his request, no matter how well he hid it. And Ishida wasn't the only one that seemed confused. The day Ichigo entered the basement and saw Ishida and Renji he could barely contain his shock. Renji suspected that the orange-haired shinigami had been insulted, but he didn't really care. Ichigo was a good partner to train with because of his power and strength, but Ishida was a whole other thing. Where Ichigo had power and strength, Ishida had speed and agility. It was a completely different experience training with the Quincy.

The redheaded vice-captain and white clad Quincy were training now, blue arrows clouding the underground area along with dust and dirt. They'd been going at it for about five hours now, and Renji was exhausted. He could tell by Ishida's sagging bow arm and the declining shower of arrows that the kid was tired as well, but of course he'd never admit to it due to his stupid "Quincy pride."

"I'm takin' a break," Renji announced, releasing his bankai and sheathing Zabimaru. He didn't wait for Ishida's response, just turned around and headed off towards the healing spring. He was covered in grime and dirt, and his muscles ached, begging for a good soak.

Stripping out of his shinigami robes Renji slowly lowered himself into the spring. He sighed as the water engulfed his sore muscles and bruised skin, wading in further until it reached his ribs. His ponytail hung limply over one shoulder, and he released it fully by pulling out the tie. Tipping his head back he wet his hair completely, then turned and pressed his back to the side of the pool as he worked his fingers through the red strands. It took him a few minutes to completely detangle the mess, but when he was finally through he sighed happily and stretched his arms beside him. Closing his eyes he tilted his head back, trying to fully enjoy the healing spring.

As Renji sat there in silence he began to analyze his reasons for asking Ishida to train with him. Or at least, tried to analyze his reasons. Truth be told he didn't have any real reason for asking the Quincy. He supposed that after their ordeal in Las Noches together that they had a certain…awkward bond with each other. He wasn't even sure if he could call them friends, that's how weird it was.

Frowning, the redhead searched around for the kid's reiatsu. He couldn't feel it anywhere, but it wasn't like that was any surprise. Ishida bragged constantly to Ichigo about his ability to mask his reiatsu, and Renji had to give it to him, he could hide it pretty goddamn well. For all the vice-captain knew Ishida could be sitting in his apartment right now, or he could be lurking behind a rock somewhere and watching Renji. The redhead smiled at that thought, laughing softly.

"What's so amusing, Abarai?"

Renji's eyes snapped open, his head jerking up at the sudden voice. He turned his head to the side, and nearly jumped out of the pool when he saw Ishida standing just a few feet away, staring down at him, a blue towel clasped in one hand. The kid regarded him indifferently for a moment before reaching up to undo the top of his Quincy outfit. Renji's eyes widened further as he watched Ishida pull the white fabric away, slowly revealing skin only a few shades darker. The kid folded the shirt neatly and set it on the ground before moving to remove his pants.

Renji felt his cheeks growing hot and averted his gaze. It wasn't like he was embarrassed or anything…he was just surprised that Ishida had come to join him. Usually the kid waited until Renji was done before he used the healing spring.

"I have to be home in fifteen minutes, so I don't have time to wait for you," Ishida suddenly stated, as if reading Renji's mind. He lowered himself into the pool and pushed himself away, leaving a good five feet between himself and the redhead.

Renji glanced at Ishida, sinking further until the water was covering most of his chest. "Why d'ya have to be home in fifteen minutes for?" he asked lightly. "Not like anythin' important ever happens t' you."

"I never said anything about it being important," Ishida replied calmly, turning his head towards Renji, lifting a hand out of the water to push his glasses up.

Renji scowled before looking away, he was still getting used to the fact that he couldn't rile the Quincy. Smartass comments that pissed Ichigo off always rolled over Ishida like water on an oiled surface.

Turning his head just slightly, Renji looked at Ishida out of the corner of his eye. The kid was running water slick hands over his shoulders and arms, appearing to wash away dirt that wasn't even there. Maybe he was washing away sweat, but for some reason Renji had a hunch that the Quincy didn't sweat. Not even a little perspiration on his forehead in battles…the kid was unnatural.

The longer Renji stared at Ishida the more annoyed he became. Just who the hell did the Quincy think he was? With his stupid, milky white skin, and his stupid, coal black hair. And the redhead couldn't forget those¾ wait, what color were Ishida's eyes? Renji couldn't remember noticing, and if he had, he'd forgotten. They were always hidden behind those stupid ass glasses…probably a good thing too, considering all anyone would get was a stare laced in ice.

Why in the hell was Ishida wearing his glasses in the healing spring anyway? It aggravated Renji, seeing those delicate frames propped on that equally delicate nose. Those glasses were just as smug as Ishida himself, and the redhead wondered if he could get close enough to slap them off the kid's face and send them flying in the water.

As soon as Renji had the thought Ishida was reaching up and peeling the spectacles away, setting them on the ground behind him. The Quincy closed his eyes the moment his glasses were off, as if they had no right to be open without that transparent barrier sitting in front of him. He sank further in the water so the glimmering surface danced over his collarbone, reaching in with his slim hands to wet his palms and fingers. Lifting his hands back up, he ran the newly slicked digits over his face and through his hair.

Shifting in the water, Renji tried to settle the warmth coiling in his groin. He knew something like this would happen if Ishida came to join him. The kid was attractive, far more attractive than any guy had the right to be. A little skinny, but with a face that could tempt almost anyone.

"Stop staring at me Abarai."

Renji blinked, eyes coming back into focus. Sure enough, he'd been staring at Ishida's face, drinking up the white skin and tranquil expression. The kid's eyes were still closed, and Renji suspected he hadn't opened them once since taking his glasses off.

"How'd you know I was lookin' at ya? You don't even have your glasses on."

"So you were looking at me."

The vice-captain frowned, realizing that he'd just played into Ishida's mindfuck. He decided not to comment, just turned his head away and remained silent. The sound of dripping water brought his gaze back to Ishida, only to see the kid pushing himself out of the pool. Renji continued to watch as the Quincy wiped his body down with the blue towel, before wrapping it around his waist and bending down to grab his glasses. He sat the spectacles on his nose once more, then grabbed his clothing and made to leave.

"Where ya goin'?" Renji asked. He sat up and walked to the edge where Ishida had been, the water rippling in small waves around him as he moved. Crossing his arms on the rock ground, he stared up at the Quincy.

"I told you, I have to be home in fifteen minutes. I estimate that I spent about five in the pool."

"That gives us ten to fuck."

Ishida turned his head then, looking down at Renji past his glasses. He pushed them up his nose, his expression unchanging, his body unmoving. "What makes you think I want to fuck you?" he asked calmly.

Pressing the palms of his hands to the ground the redhead stepped out of the pool. He stood there naked for Ishida, water running down his body, droplets beginning to slow and dry as cool air hit them. "You're still standing here," he stated, reaching forward to cup the back of Ishida's neck, bending his head down to capture those pale, pink lips in a soft kiss.

Ishida's lips didn't implore Renji's at first. The Quincy didn't pull away, but he didn't press forward either. Renji moved his mouth around Ishida's, pressing and rubbing, slicking the soft flesh with his own wet lips. After a few moments of manipulating the impassive surface, he felt the kid's lips part.

That was all the incentive Renji needed. He pushed the other man down, moving them both so they were lying on the ground, his mouth still attached to the Quincy's. The towel that was wrapped around Ishida's waist fell open, unfolding around him, giving way to offer the kid's body to Renji's eyes.

Renji broke away from the kiss so he could stare at Ishida's lithe form, his eyes roaming over pale skin and barely there muscle. The kid was thin, almost too thin, his hip bones rising from beneath his flesh. He was virtually hairless, his chest bare and smooth, along with his thighs. There was a small layer of hair covering Ishida's shins and calves, like thin wisps of ash, put there by the strokes of a burned candle wick. And there was a patch of curling black at the base of his cock, which at the moment was lax against his thigh.

Glancing back up, Renji stared at Ishida's face, trying to see the expression in the still colorless eyes. Sun glinted off the reflective surfaces of his glasses, and the redhead could swear they were glaring at him. Glaring at him with the sun's light and Ishida's indifference.

Renji reached forward, taking the glasses between his fingers and pulling them away. He continued to watch Ishida's face, watched as dark lashes swooped down and delicate brows furrowed.

"What are you doing?" Ishida asked softly, his hand lifting. The vice-captain didn't answer, he just moved his hand further away and placed the kid's glasses on the ground, out of reach. The Quincy frowned and started to sit up but Renji pushed him back down, holding him with one hand on his shoulder as he reached down with the other to grasp Ishida's cock.

Ishida didn't moan or gasp, but his hips shifted, canting forward slightly to force himself further into the circle of Renji's fist. Encouraged by that small movement, the redhead began to pump his fist up and down over Ishida's cock, coaxing it to hardness. As the moment stretched he realized the Quincy was rocking against him now, matching the rhythm of his hand as his eyes slipped shut. Renji frowned, working his hand over Ishida faster. He realized he hadn't even bothered to look at the kid's eyes when he removed his glasses. He wanted to see those eyes, wanted to see their color and what lived inside them without the barrier of glass to protect them.

"You ever done this?"

There, the Quincy's eyes opened when Renji spoke. Ishida regarded him lazily behind thick lashes and thin lids, but even still the redhead could make out a slither of dark blue. The color was like water, soft and clear, but cool and impassive. Renji wondered if he could manipulate that color the way he could manipulate water, change it to see pain or pleasure, want and need.

"Ten minutes, Abarai," Ishida said quietly, eyes falling shut once more as he licked his upper lip. He drew his legs up, bending them at the knee on either side of Renji's torso. The redhead frowned, annoyed that the kid hadn't answered his question. He didn't press the matter though, just took his hand away from the fully erect cock and reached over to dip his fingers in the healing spring, slicking them wet with water. Maybe Ishida was embarrassed, unwilling to divulge any information about his nonexistent sexual history. Probably something to do with his stupid Quincy pride. The kid had to be a virgin, though. With that stick up his ass attitude, there was no way anyone had wanted to fuck him until now.

With his fingers slick, Renji moved them towards Ishida's puckered entrance, circling the ring of muscle lightly. He heard the kid inhale, saw his brow furrow slightly before his legs drifted further apart. Taking that as an open invitation, the redhead pushed the first digit in, forcing the tight ring of muscle to yield around him. He rubbed back and forth slowly, allowing Ishida's body to become accustomed to the intrusion before adding a second digit. He thrust shallowly at first, then began to scissor the two fingers, stretching the Quincy. The entire process got nothing but a face twisted by slanted brows and a sour mouth. Then Ishida began to move his hips with Renji's fingers, his lips parting as his breathing sped.

Taking his fingers away Renji dipped his hand in the water once more, then brought it back to coat his aching cock. He placed a hand on Ishida's knee, scooting forward more and nudging the prepped entrance with the head of his cock. Ishida's body tensed for a moment before relaxing once more, eyes still closed as he reached with his own pale hand to grip his erection. The redhead watched him pump the blushing length, watched as the kid paused to drag a thumb over the weeping slit, smearing the drops of precome that had collected there.

Renji pushed the head of his cock past the ring of muscle, head tilting back and lips parting on a soft moan. He continued to press forward, progressing slowly though his heart was racing and his veins were throbbing. When he was fully seated in Ishida's tight heat, imbedded in that yielding ass, he let the breath he'd been holding flow out of him, whispering his caged desire into the silence.

A slight twitch around his cock reminded Renji that he was sitting still, unmoving inside of Ishida. He rolled his hips backwards, groaning as the hot channel around him slid over his straining member, hugging him painfully. He pulled out almost completely, feeling the tension wrapped around the head of his cock before thrusting back in.

The vice-captain moved against Ishida, inside him, around him. His hands roamed over slim hips and smooth thighs, fingertips discovering the softness of virgin flesh. He wondered how virgin Ishida really was, if the kid had really spent all these years untouched by another person, another soul. The way the Quincy just lied there had Renji doubting this initial notion. He'd had virgins before, and none of them reacted this way to being plundered for the first time. Ishida was undeniably calm, his forehead smooth and white lids sleepy over his eyes. He didn't moan or gasp, just drew quiet intakes of breath through parted lips. And the way his hips rolled to meet every one of Renji's thrusts spoke of experience, of memory and history.

Renji moved faster, his thrusts growing in strength and urgency. He could feel his end approaching, his balls drawing tight and his blood throbbing. He lowered himself to lie against Ishida, his stomach pressing against the Quincy's cock. It was then that he realized the kid was still jerking himself off, and he reached between their bodies to push Ishida's hand away. Warm wetness smeared over his belly as he moved back and forth, along with satiny skin and coarse pubic hair. He moaned, his eyelids unable to hold themselves up any longer as he pressed his lips to Ishida's pale throat. He painted a lazy trail up the smooth neck, wet and sure. His exploration led him to an equally smooth jaw, and he sucked at the hard structure before nibbling softly.

Ishida wasn't moaning, or gasping. Renji could feel the kid's breath against his ear, hot and fast on his overheated skin. The Quincy was panting, lungs contracting with exertion but not from pleasure. Renji frowned, his curving mouth painting his disapproval on Ishida's jaw as he cupped the back of the Quincy's thighs, ready to hike the pale legs around his hips. Show me you want this, Ishida… Let me hear you want this.

Turning his head, Renji searched for Ishida's mouth with his own behind closed lids. When he felt hot breath pulsing against his lips he lowered his head, anxious for those petal soft lips, that petal pink mouth.

Just before they connected in a kiss Renji felt the breathing cease, and he opened his eyes just in time to see Ishida turning his head away. The redhead's mouth fell on white skin, his intention dismissed, his try at affection rejected. Ishida's eyes were open, staring blue and blank past the healing spring. The vice-captain felt something twist inside his chest, his hips stilling. He made to pull away, to leave Ishida's unwanting body, his uncaring embrace. He was propped on his hands when he felt the hot cavern convulse around him, the clenching heat pulling him back. A soft gasp left his mouth, morphing into a strangled groan as Ishida held his cock tight, squeezing and caressing with the skill a virgin could never possess.

Renji's body seized, every muscle drawing tight and every nerve snapping like lightning. He came with a low growl, his mouth hanging open and his eyes screwed shut. He panted brokenly as his release was milked from him, sucked inside Ishida's body by Ishida's grasping muscles. When he opened his eyes he saw the Quincy sitting up, felt the other man slip off his cock effortlessly as he came to a stand.

"Well," Ishida began calmly, as if his ass hadn't just been breached with someone else's come, "now that you've gotten that out of your system, you can stop asking me to train with you."

Renji watched through his lashes as Ishida bent to retrieve his clothing, pulling the white fabric over his body. It took the redhead a minute to realize that the kid hadn't come off, that the hardness of his cock was subsiding. He blinked drowsily, a feeling of confusion and…hurt washing over him.

"What?" he managed to ask, sitting up a little straighter as he stared at Ishida. The other man was fully dressed now, and when he glanced over his shoulder Renji saw he was wearing his glasses, the sun's glare hiding his water eyes.

"You will never surpass me, Abarai."

Without another word Ishida turned and walked away, moving with all the ease and grace he always held. Renji watched him go until he faded to nothing, swallowed whole by the silence of Urahara's training ground. He felt dirty sitting there, used, tossed aside. He'd been the one on top, the one thrusting his dick into Ishida, but now he knew it was Ishida who'd been on top. Lying under the redhead, unresponsive and unmoved.

Turning away, Renji entered the pool once more. He walked to the center and submerged himself completely, eyes closed and red hair floating around him. If it really was a healing spring, it'dheal his pride, and the pain eating a hole through his chest.