Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I am making no money from this. Tite Kubo owns all, I'm just playing with them for a while.

AN: I've recently embraced the joy of one-shots, and how I can use them to enhance my After The Winter War series. Plus it allows me to show some of the ideas I have that don't fit into the longer stories. This is my second short on ByaRan. The first is "Paperwork." Their main story can be found as "Behind This Mask." I have a compete listing of After the Winter War on my profile, if you are interested in the other stories and couples that are featured. For the moment, just enjoy this ByaRan scene. (It's set during the gap in BTM.) Having read anything else in the series is not necessary, but always recommended.

Only a Kiss

By Lady Callista

OoOoOoOoOoO

I'm coming out of my cage, and I've been doing just fine. Gotta gotta gotta be down because I want it all. It started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this? It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss.

from "Mr. Brightsides"

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Renji let out a laugh as Rangiku finished her story. "Four in the same day? That's gotta be a record, even for you!"

Rangiku sighed as she finished off her umpteenth cup of sake. "It happens every time the division gets new Shinigami, although I do believe you're correct that it's a record."

Ikkaku leaned over the table to refill Rangiku's glass as he said, "And you turned down every single one of them, I'm sure."

Rangiku sniffed as she polished off that glass in one gulp and signaled to the bartender to bring more bottles over. "Of course. I'm not interested in any of them."

"Who are you interested in, Ran-chan?" Hisagi wanted to know.

"Oh, it changes daily." Rangiku smirked. "But I like a challenge. I'd have any of those boys wrapped around my finger in a day, and be bored of them by the next day."

Ikkaku laughed. "Surely someone could keep your interest for more than a day."

"Well…" Rangiku abruptly trailed off, a look of total surprise coming to her face.

"Ran-chan?" Renji queried as he saw a familiar mischievous look come into her eyes.

"Are you lost, Kuchiki-sama?" Rangiku called out towards the front door of the sake bar.

The three others at the table spun around to face the door, and the stoic noble who looked very out of place in their usual bar.

"Abarai Renji." Byakuya's face was expressionless as he approached their table.

"Oi?" Renji replied drunkenly as he tried to focus the two taicho he was seeing into the one he knew was actually there.

"As of tomorrow you are no longer my problem." Byakuya said blankly.

"What?" Renji stood up, confusion covering his face.

"Assuming you accept, of course. I know you've been the acting-taicho for the past several months, but everything is finally official." The corners of Byakuya's mouth tipped up slightly. "Congratulations, Sanbantai taicho."

Renji's mouth fell open even as a cheer went up from the table behind him.

Rangiku reached for the nearest bottle of sake, pouring out for everyone. Then she smiled to herself and poured an extra glass. She passed glasses into waiting hands even as Renji told Byakuya that he accepted.

Walking around the table, she handed Renji his glass even as the others congratulated him, then turned to face Byakuya and offered him the extra glass.

He raised an eyebrow.

"You won't even toast your ex-fukutaicho and his accomplishment?" She asked in a tone that had most men falling at her feet, willing to do whatever she wanted.

Byakuya gave no reaction other than to accept the glass.

"To Renji!" Rangiku called out as everyone lifted their glasses. Then she cackled and bowed to him. "Excuse me, to Abarai-taicho."

"Kanpai!"

Byakuya moved to hand his glass back to her as soon as he had drained it, but she merely reached over and refilled it.

The eyebrow went back up.

"You really should have a little fun every once and a while." Rangiku replied as she refilled everyone else's glasses as well.

"This is not my choice of ways to spend an evening." Byakuya replied, yet when Ikkaku called for another toast he drank along with everyone else.

"What is?" Rangiku questioned, sliding a little closer to him on the pretense of hearing him over the drinking song the men had just started singing. She also refilled their glasses yet again, trying to prolong this public moment for as long as possible.

Certain that no one could overhear them, Byakuya answered honestly in his soft voice, "I enjoy music and poetry, moonlight walks through my gardens, and the occasional game of Go."

Rangiku couldn't help the shocked expression that crossed her face, but she hid it quickly by lifting her glass and drinking. She couldn't believe that he had actually answered her, or that he had just finished his third glass of sake.

She moved closer to pour more, noticing that his cheeks were slightly pink. She had a sudden desire to find out what he was like when he was drunk.

Byakuya pulled his glass away from her, automatically reaching out a hand to steady her as at his sudden move she swayed and nearly fell into him.

Although it looked like a drunken fumble to anyone else, both Rangiku and Byakuya knew that it had not been accidental.

Rangiku's eyes widened as he caught her hand and steadied her, and then she grinned at the fact that he still held his glass out to her, upside down so that she could not refill it. "Three all you can handle?"

His eyes were less cold and serious than normal as he replied, "I've seen how all of you look on Saturday mornings, and have no desire to feel or look that way myself."

Rangiku smirked. "One more, then you can go."

She thought she saw the slightest smile play over his lips for an instant before he answered, "I need your permission?"

Rangiku nodded, glad he had arrived well before she was as drunk as she had planned on getting this evening. "Because I want one more as well, and I hate to drink alone. Then I plan on going home. Would you escort me?"

She was, however, glad that she was drunk enough to publicly flirt with Kuchiki Byakuya.

He was known as one of the most proper and polite noblemen in Seireitei, which meant that manners should have him accepting her very proper request without anyone thinking too much about it.

She was known for drunkenly flirting with men all the time, and often did have to be escorted home. Although rumors had her allowing any man who wanted to be there into her bed as a result, Rangiku had actually always found that amusing as she had only been with two men in her entire life.

And this shouldn't look suspicious to any of her friends, as she had only ever spoken about having a thing for Byakuya to Nanao, and that had been over a decade ago. Nanao had found it amusing that the only man Rangiku thought would be a challenge for her was too much of a challenge for her.

Byakuya sighed and held out his glass. He rarely drank, and was already feeling the effects of the sake slightly more than he wanted to. But he was also intrigued.

Rangiku was treating him as if they were friends. She was treating him as she would if one of her friends had wandered into the bar, and due to both her personality and the circumstances no one should find it particularly odd. He had to be careful of his reactions, but that was second-nature for him.

She displayed the same casualness and companionship in her behavior that he had witnessed when she was interacting with the other members of her group of friends, although he could see the flirting in her eyes. And for some reason it made him feel a little warm inside. Or that might have been the sake.

Rangiku smiled at him as they drank, then took his cup from him and set both it and her own on the table. "Later, guys. And congrats again, Renji." She called out to the men, who were already absorbed in some drinking game or other. They called goodbyes to her distractedly.

Rangiku turned to find Byakuya gone, yet he materialized at her side as she stepped out of the bar.

The two walked silently for a moment, both lost in their thoughts. Both were still somewhat amazed that they were walking beside the person they were with.

"I'm glad you recommended Renji." She asked quietly after a moment.

Byakuya nodded. The easy response would have been to simply say that it wasn't good for the Gotei Juusantai to have divisions that lacked taicho, but Byakuya surprised himself by telling her the truth. The sake was apparently loosening his tongue a bit. "He has stared at my back for too long, not realizing that as a Shinigami he is nearly my equal. The only real thing that still separates us is experience, and he cannot gain that as long as his only goal is to surpass me."

Rangiku was about to reply when she tripped, stumbling into him.

Byakuya caught her elbow, although it took him a second to stabilize both of them as he was slightly unsteady as well. He lowered his voice. "I thought you were teasing me when you asked to be escorted home."

"You never know who's watching." Rangiku smirked as she answered him very quietly. She'd walked home alone way more drunk than this, but tripping had been the easiest way to get close to him and into her next planned action. She angled her arm until her fingers rested on the bend of his elbow, then slowly slid her hand down his arm, trying to make it seem natural as she took a slow step back from him. Her fingers brushed lightly over his as she moved an acceptable distance away from him before starting to walk again.

"Sorry, I'm not normally so clumsy." She said apologetically.

Byakuya stood still for a few seconds before starting to walk again. He was now uncertain as to whether or not she had tripped on purpose, but he knew the way she had brushed their hands together had been entirely planned.

He caught up to her easily, his mouth tipped into a small smile, yet his head was tilted down so that no one but her could see it. However he answered in a normal conversational tone. "It's all right." He said as he took her by the elbow. "However I shall have to make certain that you do not trip again."

He caught the quick flash of triumph in her eyes before she blanked her face and looked over at him. "Thank you, Kuchiki-sama."

"That's the second time tonight you've addressed me that way." Byakuya commented as they stopped outside of the Juubantai's barracks.

"It seems appropriate." Rangiku replied as she turned to face him, a touch of anger in her eyes. "You always seem to be a noble first and everything else second."

"I always thought I was a man first." Byakuya said in an affronted voice, unable to believe that they were having this conversation. He never talked like this with anyone. Was it her or the sake? Or both?

Rangiku's eyes widened in surprise, then she smirked and took a step closer to him. "Is that what you are?"

He continued to stare at her as they stood outside her door, and for the briefest instant she thought she saw pain in his eyes.

A brief check of their surroundings convinced Rangiku that they were alone, although there was a chance she had missed someone. Yet Rangiku had always lived by a no-regrets policy, so if someone did see she would deal with that. Assuming he even allowed there to be something for anyone to see.

She reached up slowly even as she stepped closer to him, seizing him by his ridiculously expensive scarf and pulling gently, bringing his head closer to hers.

And then she kissed him.

And when one of his hands slid up her arm to cup her cheek and tilt her head for a deeper kiss, she could swear her bones turned to jelly.

OoOoOoOoOoO

"Sorry I took so long, Rukia-chan, I was just…" Rangiku called ahead of her as she exited her bathroom and entered the living room, then trailed off in shock.

Instead of her friend, who had been waiting for her to clean up so they could go out for a drink, she was faced with Kuchiki Byakuya.

Standing alone in her living room. Facing her. Her friend had deserted the field.

Rukia knew she had been in the bath, and knew she normally came out in nothing but a towel. Then again, Rukia knew all about her and Byakuya.

Caught in nothing but a towel by a man who might not be too happy with her at the moment, Rangiku figured that she had two options. And as one of those options was flirting with him, the other option was only cursorily considered and rejected.

"See something you like?" She asked archly as she posed in the doorway.

His eyes had scanned her the instant she came out, and even now were not focused on her face. That didn't surprise her. What did surprise her was that his eyes weren't on her chest either.

Instead, his gaze was on her leg, and she saw him track a bead of water she felt trailing down her thigh.

She thought she saw something on his face before he abruptly turned his back on her. "That is not why I am here. I will come back another time."

"Stay, I'll get dressed." Rangiku sighed, moving into the bedroom and calling to him through the open door. "You generally seem to prefer me naked though."

Byakuya sighed as he raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, telling himself to be calm about this. "When we are alone. In private. Where no one can see us."

"I know I shouldn't have kissed you outside, even if there was no one there to see." Rangiku said quietly as she emerged in a green yukata and crossed over to stand next to him. "But it's been weeks since we've been together, and I missed you. You seemed to enjoy flirting with me up till that point."

"It was an interesting experience." The corners of his lips turned up slightly in the barely-there smile that she so loved seeing on his face as he spoke. "I have missed you as well, but you should not take a risk like that."

"You like it when I tease you." Rangiku replied. "It generally annoys me when we see each other in public and I have to pretend I barely know you, but sometimes it's kinda fun."

"You can't understand." Byakuya replied softly. "You don't know what it is to be a Kuchiki, and the heir at that."

"You told me that you were a man first." Rangiku whispered as she reached up and touched his cheek. "And you're certainly a gentleman at least, as you made me enter my home after a single kiss. Although I wasn't sure if that was because you were mad at me for doing it, or just too worried someone had seen and wanted to leave so you could claim I was just drunk and it meant nothing."

"You were drunk, and indeed had anyone seen that would have been what I said." He said flatly, although she saw something shining in his eyes as her hand slid down the side of his neck to rest on his shoulder. "I was not exactly mad, as I sensed no one else was around, yet I was annoyed that you had done it. I thought the rules were very clear."

"Sometimes I want to shove those…." Rangiku trailed off and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I understand, I really do, why no one can know about us. I really didn't plan to kiss you when I first asked you to escort me home. I really just wanted to see you for a little bit longer, even if all we could do was talk about stupid stuff."

Byakuya sighed as he reached up to cup her face in his hands and kiss her gently. "Your comment about me leaving because I was a gentleman was more accurate than your guess that I was worried or angry. We are lovers, but we are not truly friends. Although we are moving in that direction, and also in the direction of this being a real relationship. Yet I do not think we would be having sex at this point in our relationship if our relationship had not begun with sex."

Rangiku blinked slowly as she tried to comprehend what he had just said. "What does that have to do with being a gentlemen?"

"You were drunk." Byakuya replied. "I felt I would be taking advantage."

Rangiku burst out laughing, causing him to back away from her slightly. "I'm sorry, it's just so funny. Even if we weren't friends at all, and were only having sex, you wouldn't have been taking advantage. I wasn't that drunk Byakuya; I knew exactly who I wanted in my bed last night."

Byakuya moved closer to her, letting his arms slid around her waist. "Now it is my turn to be sorry. I will admit that in my mind our physical relationship is somewhat separate from the friendship we are building. I saw myself escorting you home as a friend, as I have seen your other friends help you home, and seen you help them."

"I would say that makes no sense, but I think I understand what you mean." Rangiku laughed as she linked her arms around his neck. "I mean, I kinda see why you, being you, would see it that way."

This time it was Byakuya who took a second to try and understand her words. "I did regret that I saw it that way, if that makes you feel better. I wish I could have been with you last night."

They leaned towards each other this time, kissing for a long moment.

"I'm sober now." Rangiku broke the kiss a moment later to whisper, pulling him back towards her bedroom.

He followed with no resistance.

The End

AN: Okay, sorry if that confused anyone, especially those of you who have not read "Behind This Mask." And sorry if you have read it and were confused by the first half, which made it seem like they barely knew each other. Yes, I enjoy causing confusion to everyone. Although my beta did tell me that re-reading the first part once you know what's going on is almost funny, because you start picking up on the little clues that all is not what it seems.