Fire and Ice

Uryuu sat on the edge of his couch, fidgeting with first one sewing project then another, unable to really settle to any particular task. He would have started cleaning but he’d finished that two hours ago. By that point the already neat apartment was almost medical grade spotless. He sighed heavily. If a certain person didn’t get there soon he was going to resort to pacing as a way to burn off some of the nervous energy.

As it was, he wandered back into the bedroom to once again check to make absolutely certain the scene had been set up properly as had been previously discussed. Odd how one small bit of conversation, mentioned in passing had led to all this. Then there had been the “If you’re serious,” discussion, which had in turn led to negotiations and particular inclinations. The reactions had ranged from “that could be fun” to “no way in any level of hell’. They had discussed everything imaginable as far as this little scene was concerned and he was fairly certain he had everything prepared and was knowledgeable enough to pull it off without causing any lasting damage.

He had always been intrigued by the idea anyway. There was a fairly high level of skill required, which appealed to him initially. There was also an elegance to the whole thing that surpassed the sometimes tawdry aspects of the scene. The initial trouble had been getting in the practice. Kon had been remarkably useful in that aspect and Ichigo had laughed himself incontinent the first time he’d tried it on the stuffed lion. While it had been helpful, he’d eventually needed a real body to practice on. Hence, he had drafted Ichigo, citing numerous favors owed him by the substitute shinigami. There had been something intensely satisfying about having the loud and obnoxious strawberry trussed up like a Christmas goose. Add to it, he couldn’t think of anything in the whole of the universe that would drive Ichigo crazier than not being able to move for hours on end.

He ran his hand caressingly across the blue and white silk rope that he’d had custom made for this occasion. It would look stunning as a contrast to darker skin tones and he could almost see it in his mind’s eye. Tonight would be a test run, to see if they played well together. If not, it was “no harm, no foul” and they would go back to being not quite enemies but not quite friends either. If it turned out they did play well together, that would cause complications in both of their lives. But really, what was life without a little risk?

He was doing minor adjustments to various things, micromanaging and making sure everything he thought he would need was within easy reach when the doorbell rang. He went to answer it and found the big, loud, redhead lounging comfortably against the door frame. “Heya, Uryuu. Where d’ya want me?”

Typical of Renji, Uryuu thought. Then again, they had negotiated it this way, immediately down to business. Uryuu pointed in the direction of the bedroom and couldn’t help but watch as Renji slid past him and made his way toward the bedroom door, tugging off his shirt as he went.

With his hand on the doorknob, Renji glanced over his shoulder at the younger man. “Ya comin’? It’ll be a little hard to do this without you.”

“Ignoring the double entendre, yes,” Uryuu said, closing the door and locking it before moving to follow Renji into the bedroom. By the time he got to the threshold of the bedroom, Renji had already managed to divest himself of the rest of his clothing and was standing stark naked in the middle of the room. Uryuu paused for a moment in the doorway, looking Renji over in the dim light of the room. The other man really was a fine looking individual. “Stay where you are, Renji,” Uryuu said, going around him to pick up a thin, blue winding of rope. Unlike the custom rope, this was common cotton cording used in a myriad of sewing projects he had around the house. It just proved to be useful for what they had in mind. He set it on the table next where Renji was standing so it would be easily reachable. “Take your hair down.”

Renji reached up and pulled the tie from his hair, letting it fall down around his shoulders. Uryuu slid the blue and white rope over Renji’s head, it had already been tied in the middle so a knot and small loop rested at the back of Renji’s neck with the rest of the rope lying over either shoulder and down the front of his body. He paused for a moment, running the backs of his fingers against Renji’s skin under the ropes. Admiring the contrast of deeply tanned skin and the white of the bindings. He adjusted everything carefully, fully aware and in mild awe of the fact someone would trust him this much. Uryuu then stepped behind him and up onto the small stool that had been set there to allow him the height required to do what he needed to. He gathered Renji’s hair up in both hands, twisting it a little to get most of the strands to say in place, before tying the thin cord around the mass of it. He then began carefully wrapping the cord around and around until only an inch of the length was left unbound. He tied it off and then threaded the end of the cord through the eye hook anchored in the ceiling.

“I suggest you not slouch anytime soon,” Uryuu said, making sure the final knot was tight enough not to slip but still loose enough for him to get Renji out of later.

“Ah, what’s a little hair pullin’,” Renji almost purred, already enjoying just the light aspect of his hair being in bondage.

“Pleasurable if done properly, painful and aggravating if not,” Uryuu said, coming back around the other man. He measured the lengths of rope against Renji’s chest and tied the first knot so it rested directly between his pectoral muscles at the middle of his sternum. The second knot was tied further down, just above the navel and the rope was then pulled through his legs, up his back and threaded through the first loop at the base of his neck. Uryuu worked slowly, making sure to avoid any rope burns in the process, pulling the rope slightly to make sure it was snug but not too tight.

“All right so far, Renji?”

“Yeah. Shit, just that little bit feels amazin’.”

Uryuu smiled a bit to himself. That was the whole point, after all, to make sure the person being tied was enjoying the experience. He ran each end of the rope under Renji’s arms then over the pectoral muscles before threading them through the midline ropes just above the first knot and pulling slightly to separate them. He passed the ends back under Renji’s arms and around the rope running down his spine, looping each end around it and pulling the rope ends just under the pectorals this time and again threading them through the midline rope. He pulled outward slightly to create a diamond shape between the other man’s sternum and navel. Uryuu worked his way down, repeating the process before tying the ends off at the small of Renji’s back.

“Still fine?” Uryuu questioned, stroking one finger along where the lines of rope met skin and enjoying the feel of Renji’s shiver under his fingertip.

“Mmmhmm,” Renji almost moaned, flexing slightly to hear the ropes creak a bit.

“Good. Put your arms behind your back then.”

Renji nodded and did so, moving so his wrists were almost touching, elbows bent toward each other. Uryuu ran both hands from Renji’s shoulders to his elbows before sliding them back up again. Looking at the other man was nice but touching was so much better. He proceeded to wind one end of the rope around one arm, leaving the other end dangling for the moment before tying the length into a chain pattern, allowing about a foot of space between Renji’s elbows and anchoring it to the other arm. He then took the other end and repeated the action from the opposite direction.

“I’m going to tie your forearms now,” Uryuu said, sliding both hands down Renji’s forearms, checking for pulse points, arteries and main nerves. He took the thinner cord and secured it around both wrists, tight enough to bind but not shut off circulation. Then wound the cord around, making figure eight patterns as he went up, deliberately tracing skin before covering it.

Uryuu secured the cord and stepped back around Renji and admired his handiwork. The patterning of the ropes was part artistry, part imagination and part technical expertise, all things Uryuu enjoyed aesthetically and took pride in being able to do properly. He did a few last minute adjustments, again admiring the contrast between Renji’s skin and black tattoos and the ropes.

“Beautiful.”

“The rope work or me?” Renji asked, trying to sound cheeky but it came out almost breathless.

“Both.”

“Never been called beautiful before. Kinda fits comin’ from you though.”

“Compliment fisher. Twenty minutes, as agreed upon, Renji,” Uryuu said, stepping away from the other man and toward the bedroom door. Renji groaned in protest. “Did you change your mind? Is that too long?”

“Nah. Not long enough,” Renji breathed.

“It’s what we agreed upon. I can bind you for longer if you’d like to do this again,” Uryuu said. It was a half statement/half question.

“Yeah. That’d be great. You’re good at this,” Renji said, flexing his shoulders and upper arms to feel the tension of the ropes.

“Thank you. We’ll discuss particulars when you’re unbound. I’ll go make us tea,” Uryuu said, stepping out of the room.

Renji grinned disconnectedly at the doorway. Only Uryuu could make him believe tea and bondage went together.