FicWad

*MICHIRU*

The stream in front of me was incredibly clear. I could see the bottom of it and all the little mulitcolored rocks that decorated it, but there were no plants or algae. "Is this it?" I asked, getting curious. "I follow this east?"
"Yep." Renji had already begun to head upstream. "It gets deeper. C'mon," he said, and I followed at his heels closely.
The stream widened slightly as we walked along, deepening until I could see the edge of a pool. I could hear water rushing as we neared the pool. "Is there a waterfall?"
"Maybe," he told me. He led me down a steep, rocky hill, helping me down onto a flat boulder. "Look for yourself."
I stepped to the edge of the boulder, and the waterfall came into view. It wasn't huge, but it wasn't particularly tiny, and it flowed over the rocky outcrop we'd just walked around. It dropped over into a clear pool below us, just as pristine as the stream.
I was almost speechless. Places like this one were hard to find in the Rukongai, especially in walking distance from the Seireiti. "Is it cold?" I asked, watching the water roll under the waterfall. It made a beautiful, hushed whisper that I wished I could hear for days.
He laughed, unrolling his towels to lay them on the rock flat. "It's just a little chilly sometimes. But it should be kind of warm tonight. Since it was warm all day." He tossed me a grey lump. "Here's a t-shirt."
"So where do I...?" I started, but he shrugged.
"Find a tree, if it bothers you," he told me, smirking. He kicked his sandals off, untying his uniform. "I'll be right here."
I skittered to the nearest tree, down below the rock we were on, and nervously slipped out of my captain's robe. I found a limb to hang it on before I threw the rest of my uniform back onto the rock. For the moment, I wasn't worried about my tattoos. It was the idea that all I had on was thin black underwear and a shirt that worried me. It couldn't be attractive.
Renji peered over the edge of the rock. "You comin'?" he asked, climbing down to me. I tugged at the hem of the shirt, unconsciously trying to cover my tattoos.
"I guess," I murmured. He didn't have much more on than I did. Just a pair of black shorts that I'd seen humans swimming in once or twice. I didn't know the word for them, but then again, it wasn't his clothes I was looking at. It was the rest of his body.
He pulled on my hand gently. "C'mon, Michiru. We don't have all night," he grinned, and I followed him with no resistance.
I couldn't resist if I wanted to. Every small motion he made moved a different set of muscles, especially in his shoulders and his arms. Even his skin was flawless and unblemished. His tattoos only made him more appealing, stretching from his face and down his neck, onto his shoulders and arms and chest. They even ran down his sides and under the hem of his shorts, where I wondered if they stopped. When he paused, I smashed into his back, distracted by the rest of him.
The grass turned to smooth stone at the edge of the pool. He nudged me toward the water. "Go on," he said, testing it with his foot. "It feels warm."
"You first," I countered.
He stood there for a moment, swishing the water around with his foot. "Alright, if you're so chicken." He started into the water, but didn't drop my hand. "But you're coming with me."
He snatched me into the water with him, laughing as I squealed and fell into his open arms. "What was that for??" I gasped, but he towed me farther out into the pool. "And what are you doing??"
"You just needed some encouragement," he laughed, pulling me farther and farther out into the pool. I couldn't feel the rocky bottom now, and the temperature below my feet only decreased. We were in deep water. "I want to show you something else, anyway, and you were taking too long."
He was dragging me toward the waterfall, I realized, and I started to get curious. "Is there something under there?"
"Behind it. C'mon."
He dropped my hand and dipped underwater, zipping off toward the waterfall. I had no clue he could swim that well. But I followed him, taking my time and enjoying the water. I could see up ahead that the shore began to slope upward again, so I surfaced, bracing to go under the falls.
He was already behind it, shaking his hair out as I stumbled through. The cooler water left me shaken. "Did that not bother you at all??" I asked, shivering.
"I'm used to it. But don't you like it back here?" He glanced around suggestively. "It's all...cave-ish. And small."
The cave wasn't much bigger than my old room. It was kind of dark, but the moonlight filtered through the waterfall just enough to see that there was a small wicker box over to the side. The rock was smooth under my feet, too, which was a little surprising. I hadn't expected such a cozy little area.
"It's nice," I mused, wringing my shirt out. "It's not loud in here at all."
"It's pretty quiet. That's why I like it." He shook his hair out one more time, then reached for the box. "I don't remember what all I brought out here. I used to sleep out here sometimes, when I first moved into Sixth Company..." he trailed off as he rummaged through the box.
"Sleep out here? But it's so chilly. And wet."
"I had this," he said, and he unrolled a large blanket onto the floor of the cave. "And...this."
He held up a small cup and bottle. Sake? "That'll certainly keep you warm," I laughed. He swished the bottle around for a moment.
"I bet it's still good," he said, tearing the cork out. He sniffed at it apprehensively. "I only brought it out here a few weeks ago..."
"It probably is." I made myself comfortable on the blanket, curling one corner around my legs. I couldn't stop shivering.
"You're right," he said, flopping down next to me. "Sake doesn't go bad. I don't think. Um...maybe it does. Anyway." He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me to him, pulling the end of the blanket over me. "You and this shivering. And to think you're all ice and snow when it comes to combat."
"Who said that just because my bankai is icy that I like to be cold? I didn't." I curled up next to him comfortably. He was always, always warm, and I loved it. "That's Hitsugaya."
He handed me a porcelain cup, which I assumed was filled with sake. "At any rate, ya don't need to be all cold," he told me. He brushed the wet hair out of my eyes.
I agreed and snuggled into his hold, sipping at the cup slowly. I had never had cold sake, but it wasn't terrible, and it wasn't great. But it was something to drink, at least. He didn't seem to mind it in the least, nearly chugging it out of the bottle.
"Leave some for me," I pleaded, elbowing him in the ribs jokingly. "Alcoholic."
"Hey. I haven't had any since...I don't know...The last time Rangiku decided to make some, I guess," he objected. "So. I am not an alcoholic, miss. You would know it if I was." He scruffed my hair, placing the bottle over to the side. "And if I WAS a raging alcoholic..."
I looked at him expectantly. "If you were...?"
"I'd be stumbling all over the place, knockin' shit over, breakin' stuff..." He swayed us back and forth playfully. "Probably fall over all the time too. Like Kira that night that Hisagi bought a whole bunch of human liquor. That stuff...is pretty hard to stomach. I don't like it. But anyway, Kira got plastered, and every time he stood up..."
He jerked us down suddenly so that we were lying on our backs next to each other. I nearly dropped my cup.
"...He would fall flat on his back. Poor guy."
I looked over at him, trying not to laugh. "That wasn't deliberate, was it?" I asked sarcastically.
"I don't know. You tell me." His smirk only widened.
I rolled up to my side, throwing my arm across his chest. "I think it was."
"Oh really?"
"Really." I traced over his tattoos timidly, trying to keep my head on straight.
"Then you might be right," he told me, nudging me onto my back. He rolled with me, twisting so that his body lay on top of mine. "This is pretty deliberate, too, by the way."
He supported himself on his elbows, but only enough to ease his weight. "I couldn't tell," I stuttered. I couldn't make myself do anything at this point. He had my motor skills and speech all jammed up, just by laying there and being...well...handsome. Gorgeous.
"Don't be so nervous," he murmured, pulling himself up to his knees. He put his hands flat on the ground on either side of my shoulders, giving me room to scoot and get comfortable. "It's just you and me. Nobody else."
I did the only thing that I could think of. I wrapped my arms around his thick shoulders, tugging him back down to me. I knew, looking in his eyes, that he just wanted to spend time with me. Not necessarily in a friendly, talk and drink kind of way, but he wanted to be around me. He wanted to kiss and touch and be held. Nothing more. And it was understandable.
"I'm not nervous," I said, trying to find bravado. He dropped to one elbow, letting his other hand run the length of my waist and hips. "Just jittery."
He leaned down to me slowly, kissing me on the end of the nose. "Don't be," he whispered.
His lips dropped to mine, nuzzling me a kiss. I struggled to remember to breathe. His scent, though, made me want to inhale for hours. He smelled like citrus and a warm breeze. Like he always had. That, coupled with the texture of his skin and the feel of his lips on mine left me basically incapacitated. My mind was in sensory overload.
I couldn't just lay there, though. So I took advantage of the situation. I let myself explore, tracing over his chest and his sides curiously. I could tell the slightest difference in texture where his tattoos started, could feel his ribs through his smooth skin. There wasn't anything that wasn't unique about him. Not even the tiniest features, like the color of his eyes, were mundane.
Breaking our kisses, he backed up to look at me for a moment. "Y'know, I brought you a bento box, and I didn't even bring it over here," he mused, furrowing his brows.
"Do you know how random you are?" I asked, laughing. Of all the times to think about a snack, he chose right then. "We can go get it, if you're that worried about it."
"Nah. Just saying. If you wanted to go get it, though..."
I pulled him back down to me, pressing our foreheads together. "I kind of like it here," I told him.
His trademark smirk spread across his face. "I'm fond of it, myself."
Needless to say, we didn't talk much more about it.