Recent Commission of Renji x Bazz B from Bleach! Checkout my Ao3 /When for more and my page for info on comms!
“Eh? No, no, not avoiding anyone.” Eyebrows, that's what he'd complimented during their first interaction. He'd said something about Renji having nice eyebrows, which meant Bazz remembered them meeting and-! Desperate, he chided himself. There was no reason for him to be so excited over something so small. The bartender slid his drink back over and Renji grabbed it with a sigh. He was being weird. He shouldn't let his personal hang ups get in the way of potentially making a new friend. He steeled himself to turn on his usual bold personality but was caught off guard when Bazz called the bartender back over.
“That's not what he ordered.” What? Renji looked at his drink, only now catching the error. “The man said no ice so you better remake it. Now.” How had he caught that before Renji had? Even so he probably wouldn't have said anything and just taken it anyway. He could hear the bartender squeak out an apology, clearly flustered, while Renji attempted to wave away any apologies.
“Glad you caught that! Thanks..uh Bazz-B, right?” He tried to play it cool but kicked himself inside, of course he should know the guy's name. He took a hurried gulp of his mistake drink, downing it like a shot before the remake was brought back over. Bazz ordered a drink of his own and Renji felt obligated to wait, it was only polite after all, certainly for no other reason.
"How about a game? Get to know each other better and all.” Bazz's eyes looked different up close, the color seemed to shift like the crackling of a campfire. At this close and with the dark lighting of the bar, they almost seemed to glow. Perhaps Renji should have eaten a proper dinner, the liquor was hitting harder than he thought and he'd already broken his one drink only rule for tonight. Things could only go poorly if he went shot for shot with the current object of his desire. But the way his hair brushed his forehead, the hypnotizing spark in his eye, and the casual way his leather gloved hand traced the rim of his shot glass were all far too compelling to resist.
“Yeah alright could be fun. What'd you have in mind?” Renji looked over to where his friends hung out in the crowd and waved off Rukia's concerned look, attempting to signal he'd be bust for a bit. He finished off his remade drink and turned to face Bazz B more intentionally. The other man was getting their shots lined up before waving off the bartender.
“5 shots, 5 questions. Should be easy enough. I'll even let you go first.” Renji grinned and downed the first shot, humming as he thought of his first question.
“How'd you like your new squadmates? Zaraki and Yumichika and them?” A softball question to start, nothing crazy.
“They seem alright. Glad I got put in a squad that knows how to fight. Otherwise I'd die of boredom.” Bazz smirked at that and Renji could see that vibe. He reminded him a bit of Ikkaku honestly. Bold and fierce, his power was clear to anyone around him. Renji cringed internally at the thought as a pulse ran through his body. Stop making yourself horny, idiot!
“My turn. How long have you been a Lieutenant?” Renji tried not to watch too closely as Bazz downed his shot, watching him swallow causing inappropriate images to flood his mind.
“Ah well I actually started out in the 11th Division as well before I got promoted to Lieutenant. And 11 already had a Lieutenant so they moved me to 6. I've been there a while but it's been pretty good. My Captain is strong and it inspires me to work harder, ya know?” No sense in lying or trying to seem cooler than he was. Renji was strong but he knew there were stronger in the Gotei 13. Better to be honest and let Bazz ditch him if he got bored than pretend to be something he's not. Bazz didn't respond more than just a hum before gesturing that Renji should continue.
“What kinda powers you got? You don't gotta get specific since I don't really get how you Quincies work.” He downed his shot with ease but could definitely feel that buzz kick in. Maybe he should've saved his second drink for after this game.
“Fire stuff mainly. I can wield fire, shoot it from a bow, my hands, and make a sword. Nothing too crazy, just hella good at it.” That cocky grin on his face was dangerous. It had Renji gripping the counter a little tighter and shifting his stance to hide a growing issue.
“Is that why your eyes look like that?”
“My eyes look like what?” Bazz cocked his head to the side looking baffled while Renji took a moment to process what had just been said. Wait. He'd said that out loud. Idiot. Idiot. IDIOT. He coughed to try to cover the embarrassed noise that wheezed out of him at the realization.