AN: I apologize to all of those waiting for the next chapter of "Losing You." I haven't forgotten it and I know where I want to go with the story but I keep getting distracted by Renji and Shuuhei. For that reason, (and because it's very hard to think about other things when your mind if filled with Shuuhei and Renji,) I am writing one of the many fic ideas I have for the pairing in hopes to get them out of the forefront of my mind so I can finally concentrate on finishing "Losing You," which I will finish. I promise.

Renji can't quite figure out what's wrong but there is certainly something off with him during this trip to the real world. For some reason, being called freeloader-san doesn't bother him as much this time around, irritating Ichigo isn't as much fun as it usually is and even real world food doesn't taste quite as good as he remembers. In the other room he can hear Jinta and Urahara complaining about how he had swept up without complaint this morning. Tessai points out that he hadn't asked for seconds at dinner either. Jinta enthuses that he's no fun when he doesn't react and Renji, uncharacteristically, really doesn't care.

He's been here for two weeks now and each day passes just as the last. Renji can usually entertain himself, especially with all the distractions available in the real world but he finds himself missing sake. His friends here are all too young to drink. He doesn't trust the combination of Urahara and alcohol for obvious reasons. That just seems like an uncomfortable situation waiting to happen. He toys with the idea of going out with Rukia but quickly decides against that. On the one hand, Kuchiki Taichou will undoubtedly slaughter him if he let's Rukia anywhere near alcohol and on the other hand, Rukia knows him far too well. She will see right through him in no time and Renji doesn't think he's quite ready to face the truth just yet.

He wonders for the hundredth time what Hisagi is doing at the moment. He flips his communicator in his hand, contemplating whether to call him or not. He decides once again for the latter. He hasn't really got anything to say to Hisagi and he will never hear the end of it if he calls just to hear the sound of his lover's voice. Renji doesn't understand why he's suddenly so shy about this. This is ridiculous! Nothing eventful has happened lately. He's been on plenty of missions before and many were much longer than the current one. Why is he so twitchy this time?

"I know why," Snakey pipes up.

"No one asked you," Renji growls.

"Fine," Chimpette sighs, "be a coward."

Renji throws a pillow at his zanpakutou, not that it will do anything and he's well aware of it but Zabimaru shuts up and the pillow has done it's job.

Maybe he's just homesick. Yes, that must be it. He hasn't hung out with Yumichika and Ikkaku lately. He misses Rangiku's suffocating hugs, Iba's alcohol induced volume control amnesia and Kira's gloomy drunken smile. Yeah, that has to be it. Maybe he even misses Kuchiki Taichou... His Captain does have very good snacks at tea time. Renji hasn't had taiyaki in a long time. He knows he is grasping at straws now but he doesn't want to think about what, or rather, who he misses most. Unfortunately for him, the truth is unavoidable.

This is insane, Renji thinks. They're not even a real couple. They have been sleeping together for decades now but they were both free to do as they pleased. Not that they made a habit of it… Well, Renji never really had and he didn't think that Shuuhei did either but Hisagi is better at hiding things than he is. Renji wants to smack himself. He sounds like a schoolgirl with a crush even in his head. It hasn't always been like this. They really had started off as friends with occasional benefits. Well, it had started off as occasional and then somehow the frequency increased. Well, not somehow. Renji knows very well how they had evolved from kouhai and senpai to whatever they are now. They started as regular friends. It had been easier to relate to Hisagi than it had been Kira and Hinamori. Even though Momo had also been a Rukongai brat, she certainly hadn't seen the worst of Soul Society living in the first district as she had. Shuuhei understood the hardships of growing up in the Rukongai better than his new friends did so he got the crude humour and illusive references that came with such an upbringing. He and Renji would fall into that wavelength easily and felt a level of comfort in each others company that was rare in the Academy. Renji didn't quite understand why but for some reason, even his peers who had come from the same district acted like they didn't or wouldn't remember that time or place. Renji wasn't ashamed of where he came from, it had made him the man he was. Hisagi got that.

The first time they had slept together had been on a drunken night where both their attempts to lure a girl had failed miserably. Renji had declared that all women were retarded a little too loudly and this had caused every woman in the pub to avoid them like the plague for the rest of the evening. Hisagi had laughed and slung his arm around Renji's shoulder, uncaring for his social ineptitude and decided that Renji would not suffer alone. He had declared in an equally loud boast that there wasn't a girl there that evening that was as sexy as his kouhai. Renji, happy to play along, had turned all his flirtatious attention to his senpai. That was a great night, Renji remembers. They had laughed themselves to tears watching the girls get all huffy. When their lips met for the first time, the intention had been to get a reaction from the crowd. If they had been paying attention, they would have known that they had gotten it but instead, Renji discovered that Shuuhei was really good at kissing. Not like, kinda good at kissing. Really, really good at kissing. He can't remember if they had gotten kicked out for causing a ruckus or if they had willingly left for the sake of finding a bed but regardless, that was their first time together. After that, they hadn't really needed a pretense at all. They were two young, healthy men with similar "appetites" that helped each other out at need.

This is all Hisagi's fault really! Why the hell is that man such a good fuck? How is Renji supposed to seek out other partners if he has to compare them with Hisagi? Like he could really settle for decent sex and a "meaningful" relationship when he knows what a mind-blowing time awaited him in Hisagi's bed.

That's what this is all really about, Renji decides. I'm just horny.

You've been on longer missions before, Chimpette states.

Renji ignores this and contemplates chucking another pillow but he's already thrown the only one he has. He lays down on his futon with his arm tucked beneath his head since he is too annoyed now to walk across the room to get his pillow back. He wonders if a good wank will cure him of this uneasiness. He can't help but feel like a brat as he thinks it. It's been a long time since he's had to take care of it by himself… well, alone at least. He doesn't really count it when Shuuhei has him braced against the full length mirror, cock deep inside of him, whispering filthy words in Renji's ear, commanding him to watch himself in the mirror, smear the precome all over his length, wrap his hand around the base, give it a good firm squeeze and tug his big, throbbing…

Fuck, thinks Renji as he realizes that his hands have been mimicking his thoughts. He casts a suspicious glance at the door and flexes his reiatsu trying to catch any peepers. He knows there are probably hidden cameras around the room anyway but fuck it! Let them watch, he thinks as he kicks off the blanket. He's so painfully hard now that he wouldn't even care if Urahara walked right in and planted himself next to the futon with a bowl of edamame and can of beer. He tugs his fundoshi to the side and pulls out his length. The cool air of the room feels nice against the heated flesh. With one hand he palms his balls while he licks the other. The slick hand travels down to mix it's wetness with the precum leaking from the head and smears it around the entire length with slow teasing strokes. Renji hisses in pleasure. Yeah, this is exactly what he needs. He twists his wrist a little remembering how Hisagi likes to tease him. He thumbs the slit and more precome leaks out. Not enough wetness, Renji thinks. What he really wants is a blowjob. He loves the feeling of Hisagi's tongue on his balls, licking a long line up to his tip, those pretty kiss swollen lips wrapping around the head, the velvety wet heat as Hisagi takes him deep into his mouth… Renji's hand has sped up and damn it really has been a long time because he's ready to shoot already. He cups his balls again and squeezes gently. Yeah, he's definitely ready. Just a few more strokes…

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"What the…" Renji gasps as he sits bolt upright on the futon.

"Hollow alert," Zabimaru informs him and for good measure adds, "You're supposed to be a Lieutenant, pervert."

Renji lets out a string of curses. Of all the fucking times! He had been so close too. He heaves himself to his feet and pops a Soul Candy into his mouth. He doesn't have to put his clothes on in this form but he still has an aching problem. How is he supposed to run and fight in this condition?

"Hurry up, will you?" Snakey snaps.

Renji can feel his sword is itching for a good fight.

"Sooner we kill it, the sooner we can go home," Chimpette adds.

Well, why the hell didn't you say so earlier, Renji thinks. He picks up the pillow covering his sword and tosses it aside. Slinging Zabimaru over his shoulder, he slides the window open and hops out onto the street. The hollow feels closer than he expected and bigger as well, judging from the reiatsu. Renji grins.

"You're going down, asshole!"

Home!

Renji takes a deep breath of the air in Soul Society and sighs. It's good to be back.

He can't relax quite yet though. He still needs to go see Kuchiki Taichou to be debriefed and write his report. At the very least he won't have to be there too long. It's already mid afternoon and Kuchiki Taichou is adamant about paperwork so Renji is relatively sure he has assigned Renji's paperwork to their third and fourth seats. As he heads back to the 6th, he begins to wonder what he's missed since he's been gone. Maybe he'll round everyone up for a drink tonight. Yumichika and Matsumoto can fill him in on the gossip. Iba and Ikkaku will probably challenge him to a drinking contest again but it's been such a long time since he's drank that he'll probably the first one out. Not that he really wants to be completely wasted tonight. Shuuhei would tease him mercilessly if he couldn't get it up after so long. Speaking of which, he would also have to remind himself to relieve himself once before he went out tonight. It would be even worse if Renji came all over himself before they could really get started. Renji's feeling so pent up now that he's sure he could come from just seeing his lover again. Gods, he would never hear the end of it.

"Welcome back, Abarai Fukutaichou. Thank you for your hard work."

Renji looks up in surprise. He had been so lost in thought he hasn't even noticed that he has already arrived at the 6th. He bows politely and thanks the officers who have greeted him for their hard work. They wish him the same and off they go. This happens repeatedly on his way to the office. That is one thing that Renji enjoys about hanging out with a bunch of teenagers in the real world, and even misses about the Rukongai for that matter, less formalities. He knows for a fact that some of the higher ranked officers are not fond of him. They would never say anything and have never been anything but respectful to him but there is a slight condescending tone sometimes when they address him, a young, reckless, Rukongai brat from the 11th Division, as fukutaichou. But Renji was never one to care much what people thought of him. If they had a problem with him being their Lieutenant, they should work harder, get stronger and knock him out of the way. Renji doubts that he will ever truly surpass Kuchiki Byakuya but that sure as hell isn't going to stop him from trying.

He feels the familiar pressure of his Captain's reiatsu and without really thinking about it, he finds himself letting loose his hair. He shakes it back and ties it up again then smoothes his hand over his uniform, tugs his collar back in place and reties his obi. It wouldn't do at all for his Captain to think that he had gotten sloppy during his mission. Taking a deep breath, he lets himself in.

After the debriefing and a few formalities, Renji realizes that his desk is stacked unusually high with paperwork. He frowns unhappily at the two neatly stacked piles. He knows that Taichou hasn't gone lazy since he's been gone but glances over to his desk anyway. Aside from the regular stack, Kuchiki Taichou's desk has another even larger pile of paperwork that Renji hadn't paid much heed to earlier. What is all this about? Renji picks up the first sheet on the larger pile.

"Taichou?"

"Yes, Abarai?"

"Why do I have a stack of 9th Division work?"

"We will be handling their paperwork and trainees until Hisagi Fukutaichou returns from his mission."

"Mission?"

"Yes, he and Matsumoto Fukutaichou have been sent on a special assignment."

"Is it confidential?"

"Not particularly. The Heir of the Fujiwara Clan is marrying the youngest Omaeda daughter. On request of the families, Hisagi and Matsumoto are to accompany them on their honeymoon to act as guardians of sorts."

"Are they in danger," Renji asks confused.

"It is highly unlikely. The Fujiwara are but minor nobility and have few enemies. The request was granted due to a generous donation to the Gotei by the Omaeda Family."

The youngest daughter of the Omaeda family is the only cutie out of the bunch, Renji remembers. Omaeda had called her the ugly one but Renji had no doubt that the man was worrying himself stupid over her. Probably driving SoiFon insane in the process. You didn't have to scratch far beneath the surface to figure out that Omaeda was a big softie, especially when it came to his baby sister.

"How long will they be gone," Renji asks as he sets to work on the smaller of the piles first.

"Two weeks."

"Two weeks?" Renji repeats, unable to hide the exasperation in his voice.

Kuchiki Taichou raises a brow at him and Renji clears his throat.

"When did they leave?"

"Yesterday."

Renji wants to groan. Just his damn luck!

Renji is developing a whole new level of respect for Hisagi as they head into the end of the second week. He's not quite sure how the man can manage schedules, budgets, training, reports, discipline, recruits, lectures, meetings and so many more tasks that Renji surely doesn't know about all by himself. On top of that he's also an editor and a member of the Shinigami Men's Association. The man is a machine! Renji is exhausted from all the excess work and he knows that he has the lighter load. Kuchiki Taichou, although undeniably more efficient in his work than Renji, has taken on the larger and more difficult of the 9th tasks. If nothing else, Renji is grateful that the extra work prevents him from thinking too much. When he gets home in the evening, it's as much as he can do to take a shower, put something in his stomach and pass out.

On the final day, Renji finishes his work earlier than usual and volunteers to bring the paperwork over to the 9th. He is gone before Taichou can even answer. He all but runs to the 9th, and risks dropping all his hard work twice along the way. When he gets to Hisagi's office, he find it empty. Renji sighs. That's ok. He will just wait here until Hisagi gets back. He plops the work on the edge of the desk, then changes his mind, looking through the stack and picking out the ones that are ready to be filed. Once he figures out where everything is he gets the job done quickly enough. The pile that still needs Hisagi's stamp is drastically smaller already. He's feeling a bit thirsty and wanders over to Hisagi's tea collection. He puts the kettle on and picks out a clay coloured tea cup with large grooves on the sides. It's his favourite one, a rustic simple cup made for a warriors hand. He picked out a fresh smelling matcha and turned off the kettle when the steam started to raise and he could hear small bubbles bursting in the water. Hisagi was a tea connoisseur of sorts and without even realizing it, Renji had picked up the proper way of making different types of tea.

With his cup in hand, Renji sits in Hisagi's chair and flips through one of the older reports. Hisagi's handwriting is clear and precise, the report itself is thorough and impeccable. Renji feels a bit deficient as a Lieutenant and wonders if Kuchiki Taichou would not be better off with a Lieutenant like Hisagi. The truth of the matter is that he probably would so Renji adds it to his ever growing list of ways to improve himself. He drums his fingers on the desk. What to do? He wanders over to the window and looks out. A group of young Shinigami women are chatting in the courtyard not too far away. They are all shiny eyed and dreamy and Renji can't help but wonder what has got them gushing. He presses the window open a little and their voices float up to him.

"Have you heard? Fujiwara Daisuke-Sama and his wife are honeymooning at the Oribe Onsen!"

"Really? Ah! It's so nice to be rich!"

"I hear that the setting there is so romantic that even arranged couples fall in love when they visit there."

"That's ridiculous, Kana-chan! How is that possible?"

"But I heard it from 3 different people. It has to be true!"

"You gossip too much, Kana-chan."

"Ne, Minako-chan, do you think Hisagi Fukutaichou will also fall in love while he's there?"

"With Matsumoto-san? I wonder. Honestly, I don't understand her at all. Any woman would be lucky to have Hisagi-san's attention. What is she thinking turning down his advances?"

"But Matsumoto-san also has her share of admirers. I would pursue her too if I were a man."

"Eh! Kana-chan, what are you saying!"

The girls erupt into a fit of giggles. Renji rolls his eyes and heads back to the desk. His tea is cold now so he gulps it down all at once. He can't help it but he's beginning to feel anxious. It's ludicrous and he knows it, listening to gossip… But now that he's heard it, he can't seem to get it out of his head. Those girls were right. Who in their right mind would turn down Hisagi and on the flip side of that, if given the opportunity, Hisagi would undoubtedly take up the chance to be with Matsumoto. Renji wondered if they would make a good couple. They certainly would look good together but would they get along as well as he and Shuuhei did? Renji shakes the thought out of his head. If Hisagi and Matsumoto did become a couple, Renji would wish them well. They were both, after all, good friends of his.

Renji gets up, washes his cup and puts it away. It's getting late and sitting here is causing him to think of unnecessary things. Right, Renji thinks, dinner, shower and bed.

The night does not go well for Renji. He can't seem to get images of a smiling and happy Shuuhei and Rangiku out of his head. He imagines of them announcing their engagement upon their return to Seireitei. It would be far-fetched but even Renji knows how women get about weddings. He imagines how handsome Hisagi will look in a wedding Kimono, proud and sexy and flashing that dazzlingly beautiful smile… Renji turns over when he feels a strange piercing pain in his chest. He just wants to go to sleep but instead starts to wonder what their children will look like. He wonders if Matsumoto will leave her post to become a full time mother. She can be self centered and selfish but she is also surprisingly good with children so maybe… How many children will they have? Hisagi will be a great father, he's sure of it. Hisagi is good at everything he does. His children will be lucky to have him as a father. Renji feels another piercing pain. Is he jealous of non-existent children now?

"Enough!" He growls out loud.

"Why are you thinking of unnecessary things?" Chimpette asks.

"I don't want to!" Renji gripes.

"Honestly," Snakey whines. "Just admit it already."

"Like hell," Renji scoffs indignantly.

"You didn't deny it," Chimpette laughs. "Isn't that the same as admitting it?"

"Shut up! I'm trying to sleep here!"

Renji pulls the pillow over his head but the soft weight on his face leads to less comfortable thoughts. Namely, if Shuuhei currently has his face pillowed on Matsumoto's ample… He curses out loud and whips the pillow across the room. This is going to be a long night!

Three days after Hisagi and Matsumoto's expected return and there still has been no word from them. This is not unusual and it is generally assumed that they have been sidetracked on the way back by a hollow or Rukongai brawl of some sort. Renji's imagination however, seems to have other thoughts of how they have been sidetracked and they have been causing him sleepless nights which in turn, have affected his duties during the day. Kuchiki Byakuya, who usually has an excellent tolerance to distraction, is finding it hard to put up with a lieutenant who writes the same line four times over, in three different spots, on the same report. His irritation grows as Renji hands him the guard schedule which he can see at first glance has gaping discrepancies. By the time lunch rolls around and Renji has concluded from the reports that hollows attacks have increased by 8% at the Oribe Onsen (a location not under the watch of the 6th Division,) Kuchiki Taichou has had enough and dismisses his Lieutenant for the rest of the day.

Renji first heads to the ramen shop for a quick meal then home to, hopefully, catch up on some sleep. He's so exhausted that he doesn't notice that his door is unlocked. He's let himself in, toes off his tabi and tugs his hair loose. He begins to disrobe on his way to the bedroom and drops each garment on the floor as he goes. He's about to drop his hakama when he hears the sound of a dish being placed on a table and realizes there is someone in the kitchen. His first reaction is a defensive one. He curses himself for leaving Zabimaru at the entrance but he's not about to turn back for it now. He pulls his hakama back on and ties the belt loosely. Whoever is in his kitchen will just have to settle for being punched in the face. Renji pushes his chest out and marches as menacingly as he can around the corner. What greets him around the bend stops him dead in his tracks.

To be continued...

AN: Reviews appreciated! Thanks for reading.