Author: Sinian
Title: Hot Chocolate
Rating: T
Pairing: Urahara X Byakuya
Warnings: rather fluffy (and English is not my first language)
Summary: It's 2 am on a rainy night and Urahara gets an unexpected visitor.
Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be.
This is my present for mysocalledhell's birthday over at livejournal and she said that it's okay to share it with you guys.
Hot Chocolate
It was already two o'clock in the morning but Urahara Kisuke was still up. Maybe the rainstorm that was raging outside and rattling the shutters was to blame but in truth he was just in a bad mood. How many years have passed since he had been exiled? Normally he liked to be in the real world and have no liabilities with Soul Society but on a night like this...
Kisuke sighed and stood up, walking into his kitchen to get some more tea. When he was just about to refill his cup he heard the telltale sound of a senkaimon opening and the next second there was a hell butterfly passing his head. A visitor? In the middle of the night? Curiously he turned around and his eyes widened a bit when he recognized just who dropped by. There was Kuchiki Byakuya, 6th division captain and head of the noble Kuchiki clan, standing in his house and looking somewhat lost. A second glance revealed the tension that was visible in his face and the tiredness edged around his eyes.
"To what do I owe this honor of your late visit?" he asked with a swift bow.
Byakuya just huffed.
Kisuke raised an eyebrow at that. Always the distant noble. Without a word he opened a cupboard, took a teacup for his guest and picked the tray up. "May I suggest that you follow me to the living room?" He didn't bother to check if Byakuya did as he asked and just lead the way.
When they were both settled comfortably around the low table and had a cup of steaming tea in front of them, Kisuke glanced at Byakuya. "Do you want to talk about it?"
The noble sipped his tea. "No."
"Then how can I be of any help to you?" A frosty look was the only answer he got. "Okay. But just ask if you feel like it." Kisuke sighed and enjoyed the taste of the tea while he watched Byakuya from under his hat. It was clearly visible that something was bothering the captain but he would wait for him to tell him about it.
Finally Byakuya sighed. "Urahara-san?"
"Yes?"
"May I..." he hesitated. "May I have some hot chocolate, please?"
Now, that was quite a surprise. Kisuke blinked while his brain processed the request. He recognized a strange look in the noble's eyes but he couldn't quite place it. "Sure. Just give me a minute."
While he waited for the milk to heat his thoughts circled around the possible reasons for this particular request and wandered back in time. In the past they had drunk hot chocolate together and the memories of it stirred up some more bittersweet feelings that made him miss Soul Society even more. Finally he topped the two cups with some mini marshmallows and went back to the living room. He set one down in front of Byakuya who eyed the content suspiciously.
"What is that?"
"Mini marshmallows. Just try it."
The noble cautiously took a sip and his eyes widened. "Hmmm... this is good!"
Kisuke grinned. "I told you so."
For a few minutes they sat in a comfortable silence, both enjoying their drink.
"Do you remember your first cup of hot chocolate?" Kisuke asked.
"Yes, of course." Byakuya answered. "It was the day after my 12th birthday."
"Rather the early morning," he corrected. "You had been running away from your own birthday party and the fuss that your noble relatives made over you, their precious heir and future 28th Head of the Kuchiki clan." Kisuke grimaced. He couldn't have blamed the boy for sneaking out and so he had treated him to a cup of hot chocolate. They had sat on the porch of the 12th division squad building, talked about Byakuya's struggle to meet his family's expectations and watched the moon. Somehow that night they had formed some kind of understanding and from that day on Byakuya would always sneak away from his birthday parties to visit Kisuke and have hot chocolate with him. Every year... until that incident.
"Do you miss Soul Society?" Byakuya must have seen the melancholy showing in his eyes.
He sighed. "Sometimes... yes."
"I miss you, too," Byakuya murmured softly. "There's no one I can get away to on my birthday."
Realization almost hit him painfully. It was February the 1st, the morning after Byakuya's birthday!
Kisuke smiled. Apparently there is still something of the little boy he once knew inside the otherwise stoic Taichou. "Hey, I have something for you." Surprise and puzzlement flashed across Byakuya's face when Kisuke leaned closer to him and kissed him on the lips. It was a short and sweet kiss that tasted of chocolate and marshmallows and made Byakuya sigh softly.
"What was that for?" he asked with a little blush across his nose when Kisuke sat back again.
"Oh, nothing special," he answered with a wink. "Just.. happy birthday."
Byakuya blinked and then a small smile lightened up his face. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Kisuke pointed at the empty cup in front of Byakuya. "Care for another one?"
"Gladly."
They sat together, talking and sipping hot chocolate for the rest of the night and when the dawn was breaking they both had almost forgot what had made them so depressed earlier.
Thanks for reading!