Supernova

By Willow Athena

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of its characters, but Rien and this story are mine

Warning: Rating for this story is M, since chapter 30, so if you're not whatever age this site says then stop reading now.

CHAPTER 36 – Love Conquers All

"Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence."

~ H.L. Mencken

Byakuya was never one for explaining himself to anyone, especially not his younger sister, so the unyielding relationship had remained as it always was. Rien often wondered how Byakuya managed not to feel, or at least not betray, the tiniest amount of guilt over their relationship. Since Rukia and Renji's discovery of their relationship, not much had changed, and as many questions as Rukia had, she would never dare address them to her Nii-sama. If this indignity were not penance enough, Rien had divulged their relationship to that loud-mouthed Kurosaki boy who frequently visited to train with Rien. Byakuya had had to endure the substitute shinigami's cocky smug smile and veiled comments during zanpakuto training. It continued to irk him that she had not gone out of her way to let that loathsome Quincy know she was no longer his. But the indignity of having Rien's friends know about their relationship was worth the serenity it afforded her. He hoped that she would one day soon feel secure enough in the relationship to surrender to him.

"I am planning to take some of my leave this year," Byakuya said, with barely a glance to anyone.

"I'm glad you are planning to take better care of yourself from now on, Nii-sama," Rukia ventured. Rukia still carried her own guilt about her relationship with Renji, so most of their recent dinner conversation had sounded stilted and forced.

"Rien, would you like to join me?" he asked, as he stirred his tea with purpose.

"Ooh, I would love to go on a holiday…," she began but was interrupted.

"Then marry me."

Rukia spat out her tea, narrowly missing Rien, and then proceeded to cough uncontrollably. Rien rubbed her back gently until the coughing subsided. "Why are you so persistent?"

"I always achieve my goals." Byakuya turned to his sister to regard her intently. "Rukia, do you have any objections to Rien and I marrying?" he asked, looking straight at Rukia and sounding a bit more serious than he had a moment ago.

"Oo…Of course not, Nii-sama! This is wonderful news." Rukia beamed and stuttered out what she could manage with all her Nii-sama's intense scrutiny on her.

"Hey, wait a minute, I haven't agreed to anything!" Rien said while waving an arm in between the siblings.

"Why not?" Rukia leaned closer to Rien, her tiny fist already balled up.

"It's complicated," Rien explained, while leaning a little further away from the two conspirators.

"Then un-complicate it," Rukia insisted, and out of the corner of her eye, Rien could see the imperceptible smirk as Byakuya's lips curved around his cup of tea, he was far too adept at getting what he wanted, she realised.

Byakuya suddenly put his hand up and Rukia piped down immediately. They soon heard approaching footsteps and a servant in the distance urging Kimiko-san not to get herself so worked up, or push herself so hard.

"My granddaughter and grandson have the nerve to make sweeping declarations without consulting me first. I will take them both over my knee today!"

The door to the dining room swung open and Rien immediately sat as far away from Byakuya as she could and contritely stared down, unable to hide the guilt spreading like a rash all over her face.

"Byakuya!"

His grandmother hadn't said his name in that tone for over 70 years now, but he recognised the hidden threat. Byakuya respectfully stood up and walked a few steps, until Rien and Rukia were hidden behind his broad shoulders.

"How could you?! How could you do this to us again!"

"And to what do you refer?"

"Don't act like a smart-ass to me, my son! You know exactly what I'm talking about," Kimiko said, as the elderly male servant who was following her closed the dining room door to give the family some privacy.

"Kimiko-san, please clam down, I'm so…," Rien began to say, her guilt overflowing and uncontainable by now. Byakuya shouldn't have to face this all alone, she finally decided.

"Shihouin Rien, please be silent," he said, making her immediately sit back down, unaccustomed to her full name being said in his deep voice.

"Rien, my child, I am sorry that you have to be present and hear these words but I cannot endure it any longer," Kimiko explained. Rien felt a lot more than confused at that moment.

"Byakuya, I will not allow my granddaughter to marry that nobody from Rukongai. It is unthinkable! Rukia will marry someone from a noble or lesser noble house, to increase the honour of the Kuchiki Clan. That has always been the way of the world, and this house!" Kimiko said, her voice strained and cracking from the exertion she had placed herself under, arms animatedly gesticulating.

"My decision has been made." His hands balled into fists, trying his best to control the dark reiatsu emanating from his feet in angry dense waves. "My own father was fukutaichou to the 6th squad, when your husband was Taichoiu. That nobody, is a well-respected and honourable man, just as my father was, and he is also a friend. What could increase the honour of this house more, than allowing an honourable friend into our family?"

"What about the promise you made to your parents that you would never again go against the rules? Do those words mean nothing to you now?"

Fury leaked into his expression and his reiatsu flared around him, causing Kimiko to stumble back as the door opened and the elderly servant rushed in to steady her. "Archaic rules should be questioned, not blindly followed, and that was my error the first time Rukia was taken from me, I will not thoughtlessly give her away to someone unworthy of her, simply to maintain decorum!"

"This is beyond unreasonable, Byakuya, I will not stand for it!"

Rien felt silly now, for again being so self-centred and thinking everything was about her. But, if this is the fuss Kimiko-san put up when Rukia got engaged, she shuddered to think of how the entire Clan would react if Byakuya openly proposed marriage, and to someone so lowly they couldn't even claim to be from anywhere or suggest any impressive accomplishments.

"With respect, you have no choice – I am the head of the Kuchiki Clan, and I have made my decision. I will not entertain any further discussion," Byakuya said, as he reigned in his reiatsu and allowed his eyes to serenely slide shut.

"This is not the end of it," Kimiko warned as she huffily turned and left the room, mumbling to herself along the retreating corridor, her anger invigorating her aged frame into action.

Rukia's tiny body collided with Byakuya's chest as he turned to face them once more. "Thank you so much, Nii-sama." Rukia cried into his chest, her voiced full with emotion and her arms holding him tightly.

Byakuya looked frozen and unsure of how he should react, arms hanging limply on either side of him. Rien started making enfolding movements with her arms until he caught her drift and finally hugged his little sister back. When they pulled apart, he put his large hand comfortingly on her head. "Rukia, I will always be here to protect you, whoever the opponent."

"Ni…Nii-sama," she said, her eyes filling with tears and adoration as she looked up at her elder brother. His large hands were so warm and comforting, and his expressionless mask seemed to soften at his eyes for a flicker until he set it once more.

Rukia had always wanted her Nii-sama to do this type of thing, just like any other brother would, but she would never be so feeble as to request something so trivial. He was the only sibling she had ever known, and she wanted a closer relationship with him. She had of course hugged him on a few occasions in the past, when her enthusiasm had run ahead of her brain and propriety, but he had always just limply stood there until she had given up and let go. He never chastised her for it but she knew it made him feel uncomfortable, so she had never dreamed that he would hug her back, or put his hand on her head, just like Ichigo and his sisters. The only difference being, that Nii-sama was the best older brother, but that is only logical, she thought, Nii-sama is the best at everything he does.

"Hey, how could you not tell me Renji asked you to marry him?" Rien accused, folding her arms across her chest.

"We wanted Nii-sama to be the first to know. And anyway, why didn't you tell me Nii-sama had asked you to marry him?" Rukia accused right back, tearing herself away from her adoration of her Nii-sama.

"Because unlike you, I didn't say yes, so I didn't think it was relevant."

Rukia understood that she was not privy to everything about her brother's relationship, but she found it hard to accept that anything could be keeping Rien from making Byakuya hers, forever. To finally be able to openly love Renji was all she had ever wanted, and now she had it, thanks to her Nii-sama's love and protection. Rukia could only imagine how hard her Nii-sama would fight for Rien to be accepted, he'd probably tear the clan apart if he had to.

Byakuya lounged across the soft black velvet couch in Rien's new lounge, reading the annual performance reports on all his squad members, trying to methodically work his way through the mountains of paperwork which had accumulated in his and Renji's absence, but more than two weeks later, and he was barely half way through it all. His injuries had visibly healed, but his reiatsu had been flaring more and more out of his control recently, the magnitude and force of it growing, causing more than one squad member to faint in his presence before he noticed it. He barely lived the last incident down, with the substitute shinigami suggesting Byakuya was just as bad as he was.

Rien was busy reading more of the Shihouin Military reports on the carpet next to his couch. To the relief of his pride, Rien never commented on his slipping control with his reiatsu, or his recent request that Ichigo be the one who train with her. Byakuya found it hard to bring himself to hurt her, and had decided that if brute force is what she needed for her powers to grow, who better than a brute to implement it.

Rien had managed to call out her reluctant zanpakuto a few times, but had remarked that the zanpakuto was far less impressive than she remembered it, and Rukia had to agree as well. Eien was just as stubborn as its owner, and had to be slowly coaxed out every time, usually with a push of reiastu from Byakuya, or a shower of unfocused reiatsu from Ichigo. The zanpakuto would then only briefly appear but had thankfully not tried to take over Rien's body again. The process was proving frustrating for them all.

Rien had so diligently been helping Soi Fon with the Special Forces Squad recently that Byakuya wondered where she found the time to do the multitude of other things that were assigned to her. Rien wanted to help to help the 13 Protection Squads in some way since the 'Arrancar incident', and since her powers were unreliable, she had decided to dedicate her free time to research. Byakuya peeked over his report to admire her intense concentration as she read yet another onmitsukidou report, and furiously made notes on it in different coloured ink. He quickly returned to his own report before he became too distracted to work. The report stated that the number of Arracar that had been spotted in the world of the living and in Seireitei were on the increase. The sixth squad had been tasked with patrolling Seireitei this month and Hitsugaya taichou's special squad was handling Karakura Town with Ichigo and the Quincy.

With feline grace Rien slinked along his bare chest and under his arms crinkling reports between them, and emerged in front of the training report he was reading, eyes wide as saucers and adorably blinking up at him, waiting for attention.

"If I did not love you as much as I do, I would hate you," Byakuya evenly said rubbing his temples and relinquishing the training report in his hand, so they would be free to adore her.

Rien leaned up and softly kissed him. "That's the first time you've sort of said you love me," she explained. Now that he gave it some thought, he realised she was right. He hadn't consciously meant to withhold it from her, and he certainly felt it.

Rien saw the concern reflected in his eyes. "As unnecessary as it is, it was nice to hear," she assured him and then continued t nervously ramble. "I have been far too happy for it to bother me, and I probably wouldn't have noticed if Rukia hadn't asked me about it a few days ago."

"Will you allow me to take it back?" he asked as he leaned in again. "It should not be said in that way the first time you hear it," he explained just before kissing her deeply, letting his fingers run into her soft hair and tugging it back gently for better access.

"Well, I suppose you can take it back, since you asked so nicely," she replied, trying not to breathe too deeply with him so close. "It's not like you said you loved me, anyway. But it's really worrying that you take away even this small concession, as imperfect as it was, but frequently propose marriage in the most casual of ways."

Dinner was more silent than usual the next night, with Rukia nervously looking in her Nii-sama's direction, blushing furiously, and then returning back to her meal. Rukia did not keep secrets well, and Rien could see something eat away at her, like the secret was bouncing off the walls inside her heart and lighting up her eyes. Rien did most of the talking that night, hoping that the banality of the content would at least calm Rukia down until she could get a private word and pry the secret free.

After dinner, Byakuya walked Rien to her bedroom as usual, with barely a word and a comfortable silence stretching out between them. Rien only wished that they could hold hands or something, but with Kimiko-san's ever lurking presence these days, she thought it too risky. Rien had been so startled by the interaction the previous night, that she had banished Byakuya from her room, not that he was in the habit of humouring her insecurities anyway, but he respected her space and that his continued presence there was only at her discretion. He had however shown up at her door later that night, in nothing but his pyjama pants slung low on his hips, ivory chest glistening in the moonlight, and asked if she wanted to take a midnight stroll with him. She had given up, as she often did where he was concerned – he was far too adept at getting what he wanted.

As they got to the door, Rien stopped. Delicate red petals led from her bedroom doorway to the lounge, and her silver dress was hung up on her wardrobe door next to the mirror. The lighting dimmed to a soft glow, she didn't even know the lights did that.

"What is this?" she asked as a smile spread across her face.

"Get changed, we are going to have a date. It seems like a reasonable request to at least go on one date before we marry, so here it is," he said, mirroring her smile but with more of a hint of mischief.

"But…" Rien's mouth fell open but the words refused to escape.

"Rukia, please help Rien prepare," Byakuya requested, as Rukia shunpo'ed in. "I'll be back momentarily." Byakuya had had to ask for Rukia's help in securing a few items from the world of the living for the date. His sister's enthusiasm for the task had surprised him, and so, he realised that he could rely on her a little more in these matters from now on. Byakuya was an only child growing up, so relying on others did not come naturally to him, but he saw Rukia's happiness at being needed by him and he could no longer deny her the intimacy of it. At the same time, allowing his sister to know and help him with such embarrassing things made him cringe and almost give up on the idea if it were not for Rukia's continued encouragement.

Rukia had been instructed to buy the dress from Tatsuki's mother, providing some dull excuse about her needing it for a function. Blood red roses were obtained, a desert, a stereo system, and a selection of appropriate songs (chosen by Rukia herself after careful consideration). Rukia felt that her Nii-sama was truly amazing, and dedicated in his love for Rien, and she was willing to help in any way she could. After helping Rien into the dress, Rukia quickly shunpo'ed away with a sly wink to Rien, and a scolding to lock her door this time.

It made Rien feel uncomfortable, speaking to Rukia about these things. Rien was always willing to accept Byakuya's affection, and was always relieved to feel his love for her in everything he did, but she still felt unsure of herself. Rien was certain of her love for him, but inexperienced in how to convey that love to him. Byakuya was always in control of every romantic interaction, perhaps that was just his nature, to seek excellence in everything he did, but it made Rien feel incredibly inept. The date was a sweet gesture, and she didn't want to ruin it, but here she was again, waiting in nervous anticipation of him sweeping her off her feet.

Byakuya appeared at her door, a bouquet of deep red roses held in front of him, waiting for an invitation.

"Come in, my love." She watched as a slow smile spread with ease across his face, and wondered what had induced it. As paralysing beautiful as his smile was, it was like staring straight into the Sun, no amount of exposure to it could lessen the effect.

He wore the human clothes he had worn the night of the dance, a black suit with a waist coat and no tie this time, over a grey-blue dress shirt slightly open at the collar allowing the dip at his clavicle to peek through. Everything was tailored to perfection and hid none of his magnificence. The only difference was his new haircut, which fell in dangerous unrestrained strands over his left eye, the length of his dark hair resting on his collar now. She would have to get used to that, it was an indescribably seductive look, though she had disliked it on first sight, but only because she hadn't done any sinful things with that memory of him.

Byakuya stalked in with such purpose and such grace, never relenting his gaze on her. The intensity his mercurial eyes were capable of often made more than just Rien lose her train of thought. No wonder he was always in control, he inspired such confidence and certainty in his position. "Flowers, would wither in your presence, but here they are in any case," he said, as he handed her the bouquet.

And then there was that. "Thanks." It was all she had been able to manage in response. The way he cherished her was always so complex and eloquent, and she often felt like a simpleton when speaking to him. She inwardly chastised herself for so plainly expressing her feelings for him, he deserved better, she thought. She silently accepted the bouquet and placed them on the bed after a precursory sniff, it was the polite thing to do after all.

Soft music started playing as Rien headed Rukia's warning and locked her bedroom door. Byakuya had chosen one of the songs in the lounge. When she didn't immediately come through, Byakuya walked through to the bedroom to see what was keeping her. Rien looked frozen, her back leaning against the door, her gaze downcast, taking deep breaths in but forgetting to let them out again. Byakuya smiled, and stealthily walked up to her, his socked feet making no sound on the polished dark wood floor.

"May I…" Like a reflex, she moved closer to him as he said it and then lifted up. Taking her hand, he pulled back, "May I have this dance?" He turned away from her rueful pout and led her into the decorated lounge. The lighting dimmed to the quality of soft candlelight.

He's always in control, she regretfully thought.

"I will not let your affectionate nature side-track me from my purpose. A kiss comes at the end of the date if it goes well, doesn't it?"

"I wonder where you looked that up," she teased, to his back, only to have him turn and scowl at her as he removed his suit jacket. The grey-blue shirt and dark black waist coat looked so heart-stoppingly handsome on him, that she wondered how she was ever going to make it through the night without kissing him.

The next song started to play as he led her to the cleared space between the couch and the coffee table, which was now against the wall. The plush midnight blue carpet was at the centre, it felt luxurious against her bare feet as Byakuya took his stance. His arms locked her in and pulled her close before he leaned in himself.

Just one chance.

Just one breath.

Just in case there's just one left.

His unrelenting gaze was intense, like he was trying to convey something to her in just one look. This is what my love looks like. It was almost paralysing to her but his own movements were so certain that she drowned and flowed gently into him as he danced and she followed.

That I love you.

I have loved you all along.

And I miss you.

Been far away for far too long.

He moved slower, leaned in and gathered her up even closer in his arms, letting his cheek brush past hers. Her hands moved up his shoulders and across his back, her right hand working itself into his hair as he lay his chin on her right shoulder.

I keep dreaming that you will be with me.

And you'll never go.

Stop breathing if

I don't see you anymore.

His hands explored the bare skin of her back in this dress. Though he was intimately acquainted with the feel of her skin now, its luminescence, touch, and taste still astounded him. He wanted to drown in her. He breathed her deeply in, a seductive combination only he would ever get to savour.

So keep breathing 'cause I'm not leaving you anymore.

Believe it.

Hold onto me, never let me go.

Keep breathing.

Hold onto me, never let me go.

He twirled her around suddenly, only to have her joyously giggle, then dipped her as the song ended. He held her in that intimate pose, with her at his every mercy, so close…so close that he could see the grey steaks in her electric blue irises. He lifted her up before he became lost.

Moonlight, began playing as he released her from his spell. Byakuya walked over to the coffee table to retrieve a crystal bowl of something as Rien had a seat on the comforting and forgiving couch. The rush of being near him was exhausting. As a couple, they were not often affectionate, and could not openly be so, considering the circumstances. Any affection on either of their parts often led to an inexorable cascade into oblivion unless one of them pulled away before the tipping point – their lips should never touch. Moderation was not something they easily exercised with each other, and so, it was often all or nothing.

"We both do not like sweet things, but I believe these are tart," he said, handing her the bowl as he sat down on the opposite end of the three-seater couch to her. It was a bowl filled with large strawberries partially covered in dark chocolate. "And I believe they go well with this," he said, popping the cork on the champagne into his hand, then pouring two glasses and handing her one.

"To us," she said, holding her glass out to him, but when he did nothing but looked puzzled, she leaned in and clinked their glasses before taking a sip.

Byakuya took a sip of his own glass then picked up a chocolate covered strawberry from the bowl between them and ate it. He heard her sigh. "Is something not too your satisfaction?"

"No, it's not that…here," she said as she picked up a strawberry and held it out between them. His hand lifted, "Uh-uh, I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to feed it to you," she softly said, inwardly trembling with fear, but putting on as brave of an expression as she could and steadying her hand. This did not come naturally to her.

Byakuya placed his glass on the side table, next to the ice-bucket of champagne. He folded his left leg under him as he turned towards her and leaned in, just as he moved in to take it, his moistened lips parting slightly, she jerked the fruit a little closer to her. His eyebrow arched in response and a slow smile started at the corners of his lips. He lifted a little and leaned in even closer to her, his lips closed around the bright red and black of the fruit as she held the stem. His quicksilver shone brightly as his eyes slid shut and she felt the gentle tug of him bite down on it and then release. She watched the chocolate melt against his lips as he licked them clean and sat back down. Before she had realised it, she had been staring and he was watching her right back, his elbow resting on the armrest of the couch, his chin gently cradled in the palm of his right hand, his left arm across the back of the couch stretching out towards her.

"What…What are you doing?" Rien finally managed, after turning a little copper after being caught shamelessly staring at him. She quickly ate the remainder of the strawberry she had fed him. It was really delicious.

"I could ask you the same thing, Rien, but I'm afraid of the answer," he casually said, as though he were at complete ease and thoroughly entertained.

"This is my second date, Byakuya, and it's not that amusing," she replied, trying not to stare again, rather focusing on his left arm across the back of the couch, absently caressing the velvet of the couch, so close to her.

"Do you see me laughing?" he asked as he leaned in again, picking up a strawberry from the bowl between them.

"No, but you're smiling," she accused.

"You make me happy, Rien."

Silence.

"Come, my turn," he said, dangling the strawberry in front of her. She quickly leaned in and bit into it. God, it really was good. The sweet juice of the fruit exploded in her mouth, the tart flavour complimenting the decadent, smooth, bitter-sweet chocolate yearning to melt at the first touch of it against her tongue. He had such great taste. He leaned into his seat, ate the remainder of her strawberry, and took a sip of his champagne before he turned back to her.

He was not smiling anymore. He picked up the bowl and placed it on the ground as he moved in closer to her, still turned towards her on the couch. "Your favourite season is summer," he flatly said, rather than asked. "What is your favourite colour?"

Had he researched what to discuss on a first date? "Oh, um," she pondered, looking anywhere but straight at him. Her favourite colour was probably some shade of blue, now that she thought about it, and that would probably be such a dull answer. "Well, it's probably something between grey and blue, you know, the way the night sky looks during a full moon."

He said nothing in return, but started smiling again. "And you?" she asked. Had he prepared answers to these questions already?

"I am particular to the intense and deep blue of your eyes in the morning light," he replied without shame.

"What is your greatest fear?" he asked, deadpan. If he had looked these questions up, he certainly didn't arrange them well.

"The same as everyone, I guess, losing the people I most care about." She was feeling a little uncomfortable with all his attention on her. She coughed a little into her hand as she finished the last of the champagne in her glass. Byakuya was attentive enough to refill both their glasses. "Your favourite season is spring," she ventured, also quite confident.

"When I am not home, you have nightmares and wake up freezing, wet and naked," he stated, as her mouth dropped open in shock. "As children, we all have those dreams in one form or another as our power matures and we learn our zanpakuto's name. It is nothing to be alarmed about."

Well it would have been nice of someone to reassure her, but she supposed he was the only one to see her sleep. "You have really covered a lot of ground. You have moved from pleasantries to deeply personal reflections. Why?"

"Because I want to know you, and I would like you to know me well," he said as he drained his glass of champagne and placed it down. "I don't want us to just discuss training, or zanpakutos, I'd like to know about your hopes and fears, and the silly ideas you sometimes get. I want to know about the trivial and the substantial things in your life."

"I think we do well in all those areas, but I suppose we can both be a bit intense and heavy at times. This was really nice of you," she said and smiled, moving a lock of hair obscuring his left eye.

He offered her his right hand and stood them both up, a determined intensity in his demeanour now. "One last dance?" he asked, his voice sounding like ice melting against naked skin. Was he nervous?

They walked to the middle of the room and he put both arms on her waist. She leaned up and snaked her arms around his neck. He was always so warm, causing his sakura and something special to waft up to her. He smelled so good, it was worth losing her composure over. His scent could inspire love, it did inspire love, she thought.

"Rien," he called, to snap her eyes up to his and pull her out of drowning in him.

"Hmm?" she contently inquired, letting her electric blue meet his quicksilver.

"I love you, Rien."

A heartbeat of silence.

"Aishiteru," he whispered more softly, still holding her gaze.

She smiled up at him, the beginnings of a blush on her cheeks. "I love you, too," she softly said without flourish.

"I am aware, and thankful that you have not acted as selfishly as I have and withheld those simple, beautiful words that so often make my heart sing." He ran his hand up her jaw and into her hair to hold her face up to his, moving in closer, a breath away from him. "I need you. I love you. I want you. Always with me. As close to me as you will allow." He praised himself and his courage this night, he no longer saw a trace of fear or confusion in her expression.

He persevered once he saw her relax inside his arms and relinquish his gaze to place her heated cheek and ear against his chest. "I love you more than anything I have ever loved, and I would gladly spend the rest of my life proving that to you."

His heart was racing, now that she listened closely; it was pounding steadily at the door to his chest. She had thought she was the only one falling to pieces inside, yearning, loving, lusting after their chemical and emotional reaction.

She moved away from him, switching off the lights for the lounge and the bedroom , the moonlight streaming in from the high windows near the ceiling. He followed her to the inter-leading door, hands above his head on either side of the door frame, holding himself back. His hair fell over his dark desire filled eyes as he stood there watching her.

She turned around to face him and moved into his personal space but he did not advance. She felt his reiatsu rain down on her until he reigned it in again, his hands turning white on the door frame from the strain. She placed her hands on his chest and focused on them as she slowly moved them up, letting them dip inside his collar and then up his supple ivory neck. Her thumbs slowly traced along his heated and moistened lower lip until they reached the corners and her fingers started moving into his hair. He still did not advance, but allowed his eyes to momentarily slide shut as he licked his lips where she had touched them, his tongue briefly escaping between his lips then retreating behind his clenched jaw, his restraint evident.

She started undoing the buttons on his waist coat, his arms remained above him, unmoved on the door frame. She slowly started undoing the buttons on his shirt trying not to accidentally touch him. He moved his head to the side resting it on his right arm to hide his eyes and expression from her as she tortured him. Once his shirt was open, exposing his gloriously sculpted chest beneath, she could see the tension in his muscles now. Hearing his pounding heart made her bold. Hearing his whispered words had made her reckless. Watching him relinquish control and pretence right in front of her, exposing his vulnerability to her, his chest rapidly rising and falling because of the effect she had on him.

Her left hand caressed his cheek, and moved his face to hers, to look straight into his dark, drugged eyes. "Byakuya," she breathed, brushing her lips against his. Her eyes slid shut as her tongue traced his bottom lip and her lips pressed against his, "Take me," she breathed into his mouth as he growled and push down into her.

His kiss could not be gentle this time, this torturous evening had exposed him and he had nowhere left to hide, nothing left to conceal, and everything he wanted begging to be reclaimed in front of him.

This time when he tugged the zipper down on this dress, nothing would induce him to leave.

Author's Note

The first song when they danced is Far Away by Nickelback. The composer I was talking about for Moonlight is Yiruma, the same one as before. I often listen to him when I am writing this story. 'Aishiteru' is a pretty antiquated way to tell someone you love them, but I enjoy the way it sounds and I think Byakuya is a pretty traditional kind of guy, so I think he'd chose that expression over 'suki' (modern Japanese) which is like/love but its very informal, I think. I hope the Bya/Rukia interaction in this chapter was accurately portrayed and to everyone's satisfaction. I hope everyone enjoyed this installment.

I'd like to thank Tsukino Aisuru-A, and RaRaRachel for their reviews and encouragement in the last chapter. I appreciate the kind words.

Please remember to Review. I really would love any feedback from my readers. I strive to improve where I can, I hope this attempt was worthy.

~Willow~