Chapter Two

Holy crap, a stranger just touched my penis on the train! Oh shit. He jerked me off and I don't even know his name. Slim fingers that had hours before been wrapped around a pole on the train home were now tearing at bright orange hair, making it stand on end haphazardly. In the post orgasmic euphoria the young man had walked home from the station in a daze, forgotten to pick up ground coffee and cigarettes from the market, and managed to toss his important mail into the trash three times before it all struck him what had just happened to him. Should he call the police? Surely they could do something about it, if not for him then maybe the next person the man so brazenly tried to manhandle. Then again if he opened his mouth about what had happened he would have had to admit that it had also happened to him and then he would have to admit to defacing public property and the thought made those ideas die a swift death on a sharp, pointed sword called Shame. He jumped when there was a knock at his door, stupidly thinking that it was the police or that the man had somehow followed him home and was there to finish what he had started on the train. His heart knocked around painfully in his chest a moment and the young man stood rooted to the spot, staring and not knowing really what it was he as waiting for.

"Ichigo open up! I saw you come home and I know you're not in the shower yet." a loud voice called out and Ichigo felt his entire body relax. Oh good, it's only Shinji, he thought and walked to answer the door.

When the door was opened a man with short blond hair walked in and plopped himself down on the couch. Soft brown eyes looked up at Ichigo and a smile pulled at a too wide mouth.

"Geez you look like shit. What happened, you get molested on the train?" Shinji snickered and Ichigo's face drained of color. When the blond finally noticed this his eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open.

"Holy shit, no way!"

He was up off the couch and at Ichigo's side in a moment, hands touching all over his body as if checking for wounds.

"Where'd they touch you? Did they hurt you? Did anyone notice? Did you call the police about this yet?" Shinji spat out the questions one right after another and Ichigo's head reeled.

"I…."

"Let me get you a beer to help you relax. Or maybe you feel dirty and want a shower first?" Shinji continued, overwhelming Ichigo further with his words.

"Stop. Just… stop." Ichigo took a deep breath and pushed Shinji away from him.

"Tell me exactly what happened."

Ichigo felt his face instantly light up and Shinji's lips pulled down in a frown.

"I was on the train home and this guy got on behind me…."

"And?" Shinji prompted.

"He…." Ichigo paused and took another deep breath, the words sticking in his throat and making it harder to breathe.

"What, what'd he do?"

Ichigo mumbled quick words, felt his face grow hotter than he had ever in his life felt it before, and he turned to stalk his way to the kitchen. Shinji frowned again and followed him, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning a hip against the counter.

"Sorry, didn't catch that."

Ichigo let out a breath and stood with a can of beer in his hand, still looking into the refrigerator. It was much easier to say embarrassing things when not looking directly at anyone.

"He stuck his hand in my pants and jerked me off."

One of Shinji's arms dropped to his side and his mouth fell open stupidly.

"Really? All the way off? Like… you came?"

"Sh… shut up, idiot! Not so loud."

"Oh my God!" Shinji suddenly clapped his hands together and jumped up in the air excitedly.

"This is like… the first time someone else got you off too, huh?"

"Yeah, why don't you say that a little fuckin' louder too, asshole!" the horrified look on Ichigo's face at the blond's words caused him to stop bouncing on his feet and frown a little.

"But it's exciting, ne? He was cute at least, right? Otherwise you wouldn't be blushing like a school girl right now." Shinji pointed out.

Ichigo only scowled at that and cracked open his beer.

"He wasn't ugly." he admitted and Shinji was smiling again.

"So a hot guy gets you off on the way home, I'm guessing leaves without telling you his name, and you can't decide whether or not it was the best day of your miserable and slightly lonely existence. Am I right?"

Ichigo's dark brown eyes shot up and glared at Shinji as his lip curled. "Shut up and go home."

"Aww, but we're having fun, aren't we?"

"No, you're making fun of me." Ichigo pointed out and Shinji snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Oh please, if I were making fun of you I'd attack your manhood or something. I'm just assessing the situation." he grinned.

"Okay fine, so he was… attractive, and it felt fucking amazing and…." Ichigo stopped and closed his eyes in a poor attempt to stop his face from reheating.

"Aww, Ichigo it's perfectly normal to feel good after an orgasm. Just be happy it wasn't some old gross man." Shinji shivered at the thought and rubbed his arms for emphasis.

Ichigo sighed and drooped his shoulders. "I'm too keyed up to cook. Wanna go in on take out with me?"

"Yeah, my sister is here for one more night and she hates everything I cook anyway." Shinji's lip curled at the thought of his sister and Ichigo ignored him as he reached for his house phone to place an order.

Now that he had talked to Shinji a little about what had happened he wasn't quite as freaked out as he had been earlier. Shinji was right, at least the guy had been clean and quiet and… hot. He'd also been gentle and slightly affectionate and for that Ichigo would always be grateful for. Maybe he could just move on and enjoy the fact that his first sexual experience with another person had been… fantastic.

Ichigo sat behind his desk, his face glued to his monitor and his right hand directing the tiny mouse to function as needed. He was putting the finishing touches on his latest design before his big meeting with his boss and he was nervous as hell. He'd been given two weeks to make the necessary changes to the blueprints he'd drawn up for a new auditorium that would be built downtown and he couldn't help but worry that he was going to be turned down a second time. He knew his first try had been just fine but his boss had told him that it lacked style and presence so he had been told to rectify that. Ichigo loved design, loved architecture, but every time he seemed to fall short on his own ideas. Every time he was told that it lacked something; style, presence, passion. He just didn't know how he was supposed to project that into his designs.

"You need to get laid."

Ichigo looked up over the partition between his cubicle at the man who worked on the other side of him and glared at a wide grin that was presented to him.

"Shut up Shinji."

"I'm tellin' ya. You get laid and your mind will like… expand. You'll have all sorts of passion in your prints after that."

Ichigo looked at his watch and stood, pulling a small flash drive from his computer and shutting off the monitor.

"Wish me luck." he said, ignoring the snort from the blond as he walked to his boss' office for his meeting.

At the closed door, Ichigo tugged at his tie and knocked, opening it at the terse command to enter. Ichigo closed the door as quietly as he could before turning to face the man that currently had his insides tied into one large, tangled knot.

"Well, did you finish it?" a deep voice asked and Ichigo nodded, setting the drive on the polished wood surface of the desk in the large office.

"Yes, Ishida-san."

Narrow eyes hidden behind square frames peered at Ichigo as the man looked up at him and shook a bit of white hair out of his face. He grabbed the drive from in front of him and pushed it into a free USB port, waited almost impatiently for the dialogue box to pop up so he could locate the proper file. He clicked his mouse over a folder named "Hayato Project" and pulled up the flat prints along with a CAD 3D preview of what the building would look like upon completion. Ichigo clasped his hands behind his back while his work was silently evaluated, wanting nothing more than to leave the room to either vomit or run to the roof for fresh air. He hated being alone in a room with this unsettling man and it never helped when the man refused to hold a normal conversation with him. He just sat quietly behind his desk and scowled at the computer screen in front of him.

"I thought you were told to give this building life."

The words cut through the tension in the room and Ichigo jerked a little as he nodded.

"Yes, I was. I worked very hard to make sure…."

"This is not good enough." the man said flatly as he leaned back in his chair. "Kurosaki, you need to think, really think, about why you want to do this job and if you are even qualified to be working for my company." Ishida pointed at his computer screen.

"This right here is telling me that you aren't good enough to be on my payroll."

Ichigo's jaw clenched and he felt a sick swirl of hate, anger and depression mingle in his belly.

"This is your last chance, Kurosaki, and I'm only giving you one week to clean up your act or you are fired." Ichigo's eyes met the bespeckled pair in front of him and the man's lips thinned a little. "You seem to have caught me in a good mood today, otherwise you would be packing up your things right now."

Ichigo's eyes widened and he nodded, not seeing how the man could be even remotely happy when his face looked so sour, and bowed before retrieving the flash drive and walking stiffly back to his desk. Shinji was waiting for him, suit jacket tossed over one arm and Ichigo's pack of cigarettes in his hand.

"Smoke break?" he asked, more than ready to take off when Ichigo agreed.

Ichigo dropped the drive on his desk and sighed. "Yeah. I need it."

Shinji grinned and clapped a hand on Ichigo's shoulder as they walked to the elevator.

"He's an asshole. Don't worry about it." Shinji tried to comfort and Ichigo snorted.

"I have one week to pour passion into this goddamned auditorium of I'm fired Shinji. I think I deserve a teeny bit of a freak out."

Shinji pursed his lips and hummed quietly. "Well you know what my suggestion is."

Shinji's suggestion was always sex, how could Ichigo not know what it would be? Ichigo had spent nearly twenty-five years staying away from meaningless sexual relationships in hopes that he would one day find his perfect mate, someone to fit together with him like a jigsaw puzzle piece. But lately… lately his friends had been pointing it out that he was twenty-five and still a virgin. And it was sad. Especially after what had happened on the train the week before, Ichigo now had a small taste of what it would feel like if someone else touched him and was curious for more. With a sigh of resignation Ichigo pressed the button for the top floor and looked at his long-time friend and coworker.

"Maybe I could… go out later." he conceded and Shinji whooped.

"Oh right! About fuckin' time." he laughed, glad that they were the only ones in the car.

"Just to relax. I'm not going to pick anyone up."

"But you won't turn anyone down. Right?"

Shinji leaned forward menacingly and crowded Ichigo. Ichigo rolled his eyes and pushed Shinji away from him.

"I'll… I'll think about it."

The man slicked his fingers back through his lightly gelled light blue hair and grinned at his reflection in the mirror. Oh yeah, no one would pass up this face and this body, he thought to himself and chuckled as he reached for his deodorant. After a long week of hard labor he was excited to get out and enjoy some loud music and good beer with a couple friends from work. He'd even managed to talk his roommate into joining them, which was one of his bigger accomplishments that day. He heard the front door open and a loud shout for, "all assholes ready, let's go!" He chuckled and walked out of the bathroom, shirtless, to address the noisy arrival.

"Shut the fuck up, I'm almost ready."

"Che, take longer than a fuckin' woman, man. Whaddya been doin', trimmin' yer butt hair?"

"Just get that shit waxed." chimed in a new voice and the man with blue hair snorted.

"I was just doing my hair, stupid. I don't have ass hair like some guys."

"Overly informative as always." another voice said and a pink haired man exited the kitchen. "Grimmjow, when will you understand that there are just some things people don't want to know about you?"

Grimmjow grinned and grabbed his clean shirt from the back of the couch. "Whaddya mean?" he asked before pulling the thin material over his head. "I'm awesome and everyone fawns on my every word like it was honey and they were bees."

"Yeah right. More like they're flies and yer shit."

"Yeah but I don't have ass hair like you, Nnoitra."

"Che."

"As fascinating as this conversation is, are we leaving or can I just go back to bed?"

Grimmjow looked down at his roommate who was currently lounging on the couch and shook his head.

"No way, you lazy fuck. You said you'd come out with us and there's no backing out now."

The man on the couch sighed heavily and sat up, pushing his thick brown hair out of his face as he did so.

"But I'm not single. Why do I have to go to a singles bar with all of you." he asked slowly.

The pink haired man chuckled and walked towards the door. "Because your other half wants to go out with the boys too so get up, we're leaving now."

Grimmjow snickered and exchanged a glance with Nnoitra, an obscenely tall man with a sinister looking eye patch and a grin that rivaled that of the Cheshire cat, while he made a mock whip crack behind his roommate's back. Nnoitra grinned and nodded.

"Totally."

The four of them –Grimmjow, Szayel, a pink haired man Grimmjow had met in kindergarten, Nnoitra, Starrk, Szayel's boyfriend and Grimmjow's current roommate– had been friends for years now but due to adult life they had grown somewhat apart. Grimmjow loved these crazy assholes like brothers and was always excited when they all got together to do something; anything. Really, they could have gone to blow bubbles in the damn park for all he cared, as long as he got to hang out with his good friends. Grimmjow frowned at his thoughts and sighed in relief when he remembered that people couldn't read his thoughts. He'd absolutely die or go insane if anyone ever found out about what he had just been thinking. They arrived at the bar and quickly ordered drinks before taking them to an empty table. Grimmjow was eager to get out on the dance floor but it was still early, there weren't many people on it yet and none of them were to Grimmjow's standards. He sighed and sat back in his chair as his eyes scanned the rest of the room.

"So I heard from Di Roy the other day. He said he saw Yammi at a sumo match last weekend." Szayel said as he sipped a delicate glass of wine.

"That little fuck is still alive?" Nnoitra grunted before gulping at his dark beer. "I thought he pissed off some yakuza with that stupid mouth of his."

Szayel shrugged and rested his head on Starrk's shoulder. "Apparently not."

"Was Yammi in the sumo match?" Grimmjow snorted, remembering how large said man had been the last time they had seen each other.

"No. Di Roy said he was an attendant or something." Starrk put in before yawning widely.

Grimmjow's eyes scanned the room again, noticing that it was far louder than it had been moments ago and seeing far more people than the last time he had looked. The dance floor was filling up too and he reached for his beer, pouring the remaining contents down his throat before pushing passed Nnoitra.

"Right. I'mma go pick up a date for tonight." he said before grinning and leaving the table.

Nnoitra leaned back in his seat and stretched his arm out over the back of the one that Grimmjow had just exited as his single eye drank in the crowded bar.

"Too early, idiot." he mumbled and avoided looking at the couple across the table from him as they shared quick kiss. It always made him slightly ill when he saw them be affectionate and he wasn't in the mood to feel sick tonight.

Standing to his full height he left the two and wandered towards the dance floor to get a closer look at that night's prey so far.

Ichigo sighed as he slid onto the barstool and ordered himself a light beer. Shinji slid in next to him and another blond man took the stool on the other side. Shinji ordered a daiquiri for himself and the other blond ordered an Irish car bomb. Ichigo looked up at the man and shook his head.

"How the hell can you drink stuff like that and not turn into a slobbering drunk?"

The blond smiled faintly and chuckled. "When someone like Hisagi is a close friend it's better to learn how to hold your liquor."

"What about me?"

The blond looked up at the new arrival and smiled. The smile was returned by a tall, dark haired man with a rather eye-catching tattoo under his left eye. Hisagi nodded a greeting to both Shinji and Ichigo before taking a seat next to the other blond.

"How's things been, Izuru?"

"Great. We're out celebrating Ichigo's possible termination from the company."

"Hey!"

Hisagi chuckled and shook his head before ordering himself a drink. "Alright, second round is on me then."

"You guys are assholes. I might lose my job and all you do is make fun of me." Ichigo grumbled and Shinji set down his drink.

"No, we're supporting you. We're all here to make sure you don't go home alone tonight." Shinji grinned and Ichigo scowled at him.

"I thought it was a wonderful idea." Izuru commented and Hisagi nodded.

"'s'why I'm here."

Shinji giggled a little and cocked an eyebrow. "I feel like doing something overtly gay right now."

Izuru frowned curiously and cocked his head. "Like what?"

"Like… clapping my hands together and calling this Operation: Get Ichigo Laid. Yay!"

Ichigo slapped Shinji on the shoulder and the other two men laughed.

"Dude, seriously it's about damn time." Hisagi said and Ichigo closed his eyes.

"What the hell is so wrong with wanting to save myself for the person I'll be spending forever with?"

"Uh, for one yer a guy." Shinji said, rolling his eyes and taking another sip from his drink.

"Second, it's the twenty-first century and people don't do that anymore."

"Third, you're twenty-five." Hisagi added.

"And fourth, you're about to be fired from your job unless you learn how to loosen up a bit and add some love into your work." Izuru ended and the two blonds smiled at each other.

"Oh well, can we find some more horrible things about to me become the reason why I so desperately need to get laid?" Ichigo asked sarcastically and Shinji nodded.

"I'm sure we could figure out some more things."

Ichigo stood and drained his beer before setting the glass back down on the counter.

"You guys are awesome friends. Thanks for making me feel so much better." he said before he walked away to the bathroom.

"Oh c'mon Ichi!" Shinji shouted after him. "We tease 'cos we love."

The group laughed and Ichigo rolled his eyes as he entered the bathroom.

Grimmjow was only slightly irritated that he had yet to find a partner worthy of dancing with him but after a quick look at his watch he realized that it was still pretty early in the evening. He was on his way back to his seat when he spotted Nnoitra walking in his direction. He stopped and waited for the other man to approach.

"Those fags are gayin' up the table." Nnoitra grunted as a greeting and Grimmjow snorted.

"Did you forget that I'm gay and I'm out here trying to gay things up too?"

"Tch." Nnoitra crossed long and thin arms over his chest and remained silent.

"Man, it's pretty dry tonight so far though." Grimmjow continued, turning so that he could lean against the low partition between the dance floor and the bar area.

"I hear that." Nnoitra agreed.

Grimmjow was just about to turn back to scan the dancers again when he caught a flash of orange in his peripheral. Frowning he turned and quickly found the source, his mouth dropping open and his eyes going wide as he recognized the owner of the hair.

"Ho-ly shit." he muttered and Nnoitra scowled at him.

"What?"

Grimmjow grinned as he watched Ichigo walk slowly to stand awkwardly at the edge of the dance floor. His eyes were wide and he looked terrified to even be standing there but there was a stubborn set to his jaw and tugged at Grimmjow's cock.

"Remember I told you I wacked some guy off on the train ride home last week?"

Nnoitra's lip curled and he nodded. Grimmjow lifted an arm and pointed across the room where Ichigo stood.

"Pretty sure that's him."

Nnoitra grunted quietly to himself and squinted his eye. "Looks a little young to even be in a place like this."

Grimmjow shook his head. "No way. He's definitely older than he looks. He had a business suit on and shit."

"So what? Maybe it was some school thing and he's like sixteen."

Grimmjow shrugged and straightened his shoulders. "I'mma go finish what we started." he said before walking confidently away.

"I'm not visitin' ya in prison!" Nnoitra called after him and Grimmjow chuckled.

Ichigo rested his hands against the rail atop the short wall separating dancers from drinkers and inhaled deeply through his nose. How the hell was he supposed to go out there in that writhing throng of half-naked bodies and decide who he wanted to have his first time with? He wanted someone that drew him in, someone that made him want to embarrass the hell out of himself just to get a taste of them. It didn't matter to him if they were male of female –he'd learned about himself a long time ago that it was the "draw" that attracted him more than the gender. Unfortunately for him that just made everything harder given the sheer number of people that existed in the world that held the potential to draw him. He wasn't looking for a guy or a girl, a toned body or a full figured one, he wasn't even looking at the faces before him. He wanted that feeling deep in his gut, that one that told him, "This… this is what you need." He just hoped he would be able to step up and make that all important step towards achieving his, and everyone else's, goal for the night.

Ichigo's hands slid from the rail and he let out another breath before turning away from the dance floor. Maybe the one he was looking for didn't exist, he thought as he shoved his hands in his pockets and smiled sardonically. It wouldn't surprise him in the least really. He sighed and tried to shake off the self-deprecating thoughts and looked up only to have his heart stop dead in his chest. The man, the man that had molested him on the train just over a week prior, was standing in front of him with a satisfied smirk and a cocky air. Ichigo's mouth dropped open as he got his first decent look at the guy and he felt it, the tug in his belly signaling that this man… this man was the one. The blue haired man slinked forward with feline grace but stopped short of touching Ichigo with any part of his body. Ichigo's breathing had picked up pace and he made a valiant attempt to control it. The man grinned as he watched Ichigo's expression and Ichigo felt his mouth open and the words vibrate in his throat before he could stop himself.

"Would you like to come home with me?"

A/N *~* Oh GOD it feels good to tease. *ahem* Anyway~ I bet most of you weren't expecting this update AT ALL, lol. Well neither was I really but hey, what can ya do? Anyway, I've decided that this story is not going to be very long at all. I can end it in one... maybe two more chapters max so that's what I'mma do~ I hope you all enjoyed my crazy ;p And be sure to check out the new story I just posted called "The Search for Paradise" if you haven;t already~

Enjoy~

~Penny