Song: Avalon, by Roxy Music.
You may want to listen to the song first, it inspired me to write this one-shot. It is not a song-fic per say...just inspired by said music...it'll set the mood for this piece.
Warnings: Sightings of sappiness at the end.
Disclaimer: characters are the property of Kubo Tite and Bleach. I just try to make them do what I want....
The Kuchiki is once again alone on New Year's Eve. Unfortunately, he is alone in a ballroom full of alike gentry. It is the annual social gathering of the upper class, one could crudely refer to as a "match-making" shindig, where all the crusty old women of the aristocracy converge to pimp out their younger heirs in a chess game of upward social climbing. Byakuya abhors it, as he is the heir to the First Noble house and is by default the prime target tonight.
He has been dancing constantly, tonight. With every song, any available maiden comes to ask him to dance. He spares a glance downward, to the flushed face of the lady he is currently dancing with. She is undeniably beautiful; her blonde hair shining under the warm lights, her emerald green eyes a testament to her fine noble line. She twirls within his embrace gracefully, light on her feet. She looks up at him briefly, eyes widening in surprise when she sees him looking back at her…and flushes even deeper. Quickly she averts her eyes again, and the noble can't help but frown at the fact that no one can look him in the eyes or have a decent conversation with him. In silence, they finish the dance. He bows to her gracefully, and turns and walks away. She is left standing there, gaping…she knows her opportunity is slipping away with every step he takes away from her…but she has nothing to say to him. Eventually she too turns and returns to her own table, bracing herself for the tongue clucking she can already see in her grandmother's visage.
It is late. Almost midnight.
Soon, he can take leave and return to his estate; return to the one waiting for him in his rooms.
Would he even be there?
Renji hadn't been himself this week. In the office he was efficient and professional, as always…and at night…well, the man hadn't come over to his mansion for the past few days…unusual for the energetic redhead. The aristocrat knew that his second in command had not been thrilled of knowing that the Kuchiki was planning on attending this event. They had been together now almost two years, and Abarai considered the noble "off the market" as far as he was concerned.
"Are you ashamed of me, Byakuya?" a barely restrained tension filtered through in the fukutaicho's words.
He should have expected this…not often did his duties to the nobility and his personal life come to a head like this. Usually, he could keep them compartmentalized and separate from each other…but when they did collide, it always left them at odds…always left him leaving Renji behind.
"No, Renji…"
"Che," the redhead snorted, "Actions speak louder than words, taicho."
Why was he here?
He knew, with the guilt of a child caught with his hands in the cookie jar, that he had done wrong to his lover. Renji had helped him find within himself, that miniscule ember, yearning to light afire. His fukutaicho had cradled that spark within his gentle hands, protecting it against the brittle winds, and had encouraged it and fanned it aflame...and now it burned with a vibrant blue intensity. Byakuya had returned to the land of the living; he had finally shed the remorse and sadness that accompanies the death of a spouse too early.
The next song had started up, a slow ballad. The singer mournful of a lost love. The blonde walked up to him again, asking him to dance. He obliged.
He didn't see the man standing at the door.
Masculine. Unwavering. The glare that was shot across the room would have left hollows cringing in their sacred shadows.
The fukutaicho looked very different tonight, out of his standard way of dress. The redhead had the top half of his hair up in a tie, the lower half swinging free over his broad shoulders. The spiritual tatoos on his forehead were laid open for everyone to bear witness. Tonight he wore an opulent kimono that started out as gold on his shoulders, and then slowly melted into bronze at his hips, and finally to a deep dark maroon at his ankles. It was lavish and spoke of unlimited resources. It had been a gift from his lover...he had balked at wearing it before, never wanting to feel like a kept man. Hmph...he thought, appropriate for tonight.
He slowly sauntered across the room, feline in his smooth gait. His target still unaware of his presence.
The noble idly noted the wan features of the slight woman in his arms. She looked fragile and...well...boring; he couldn't help but compare her lackluster hair to the vibrant hue of another...compared her similar countenance to every other noble lady in the room tonight. She did not stand out...she did not interest him.
Was he ashamed of Renji?
No.
He only despised of informing anyone of his personal affairs. He understood that as head of the clan, they were entitled to know of his endeavors; but he loathed having to account to anyone about his choices in life. They thought that by him informing them, he was giving them permission to question him, to challenge him. He was not, nor would he ever.
He inwardly sighed. This needed to end. He needed to stop wasting his time at these events, and declare to his clan that he was again in a relationship that precluded attendance at functions like these. Renji was an important part of his life, and deserved to be recognized as such. The noble vowed to inform the clan tomorrow. He is surprised when a weight seems to lift off his consciousness at this decision.
The fukutaicho's journey across the room was the longest he'd ever taken. He knew he hadn't been invited here. Knew he probably wasn't wanted here. Only his status as lieutenant of the Gotei 13 had allowed him to get as far as he had come; it was a noble's ball, after all, and he was still a Rukongai orphan. But the guards at the gate had known of his name, his rank, and had noticed his attire and had thought that perhaps he was an invited guest of the Kuchiki, his captain...as was the story the lieutenant had given. They had allowed him passage. He would see how his captain felt about all of it...in about 5 seconds.
He passed a table full of ladies centered around a lounging familiar face. "Yare..yare...Abarai...it's about time, ne? I was worried you weren't coming..." Kyoraku taicho yawned. "I think Byaku-chan needs a bit of excitement...he looks positively bored." A knowing smile accompanied the sly remark.
"Don't let him hear you call him that..." the redhead retorted, not breaking stride. He was too focused on his objective to humor the tipsy taicho.
Byakuya was turning...lady in his arms...the captain froze when he saw his subordinate standing there.
The man was gorgeous. His hair vivid and stunning in its style; the kimono he wore accentuated his coloring, the exotic features of his face...his high cheekbones, vermillion eyes, bold tatoos...their combined effect incited an increase in the noble's heart. His throat ran dry.
"Renji..." he whispered, surprised that he had lost use of his voice.
"Taicho," he addressed him by title. "May I cut in?" There was an underlying uncertainty in his eyes, and yet a challenging glare there too.
The blonde clearly had panic in her eyes...would Kuchiki-sama allow this...heathen....to dance with her?
The noble, obvious to her discomfort and disdainful of her prejudice, was hard pressed to stop the small smirk that forced its way onto his face. "Of course. Excuse me please." he says icily to the maiden, with a slight bow.
To her amazement, the noble lets go of her...and grabs onto the man at his side. For the second time that night, she is left standing, agape.
The two men dance slowly together, with no words being said between them... totally oblivous to everyone else around them. Slowly, their combined body heat lulls the noble to sidle in closer, to bask in the comfort of the man in his arms. The Kuchiki is too caught up with how right this feels; the street rat with how he's made it this far without his lover cutting him into pieces with Senbonzakura....oh, that's right...no zanpakuto's here tonight....lucky him. Renji is also comforted by how well Byakuya has accepted what he has done tonight, but nonetheless must voice his concern.
"Byakuya..." he starts, breaking the silence, "...you know I just can't sit by anymore, I have my own pride too, ya know." His voice is low and self assured. It does not challenge or demand, it merely states fact.
The noble looks up into his companion's eyes, solemn and sincere, "Yes, I do know...I have done you a disservice, Renji...I will never to it again." he vows. "Thank you for coming tonight...let us greet in each New Year together...into eternity."
The redhead can't help but smile at that, a gentle smile he knows he has never bestowed on anyone before...and for once, he is not embarrassed if anyone else sees this tender side of him. He knows Byakuya has decided to accept them, and the promise the noble gives him allows peace within his heart. "Into eternity..." he echos, softly.
The ballroom clock chimes into midnight, ringing in the new year.