For years, Renji dreamed of what sex would be like between him and his best friend. He was a fool in love, so of course he assumed it would be glorious. But even fools can be right once in a while, and as he found out once all the execution bullshit was over with, it was glorious.

And not just for him--he'd discovered after a really damn fun period of testing that Rukia liked it just as much, which meant with the right touches and dirty whispers, he could actually seduce her. And if he tried really hard, he could seduce her in highly inappropriate places.

Like here, for instance. For the duration of this mission in the living world, Renji's got his own room in the Shoten, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea to have sex there. He can't help it. The way she says his name, the feel of her mouth on his skin, the delicious heat of being inside her...hell, he's only human.

It's fucking sentimental, but when when she comes, he thinks her smile looks like sunshine. It's a good moment, at least until they get dressed and leave the room to find the rest of the team assembled for a meeting.

Later, after much apologizing, Rukia deigns to allow him to touch her again. She smiles like sunshine again, and he thinks everything is good--and that's the last thing he remembers.

He's not sure how long he was out, but when he wakes up, it's daylight, and he's out in the yard of the shoten, limbs locked up with a binding spell. He's wearing Chappy boxers and, he soon finds out, has a lot of funny marks on his face that aren't tattoos.

That's the thing about sunshine, he reflects ruefully. It burns.