This is a short one-shot prequel to a fic I'm working on now; Everything But The Rain - that's the current title at least. It is also in honour of Byakuya Kuchiki's birthday, a present for my own birthday, and a gift to my awesome beta-reader (for EBTR) Myst Silverhand as it is her birthday too – and yes, all three birthdays are on January 31st. I got some inspiration for this from Shadow of an Echo's fic 'Stand In the Rain' which is awesome, and I largely recommend.

'This is speech'

'This is thoughts'

Note: Lawyers scare me so; I own nothing

Variance

- Transformation -

He couldn't remember exactly when it started, when the innocent touches turned into something more. Shunsui had always been a very tactile person, seeking comfort in comrade and the embrace of others but something had changed, evolving their close friendship into something deeper, something more. More than simple friends, or even 'best' friends, Jushiro couldn't identify exactly when the change happened, all he knew was that there was a change in their relationship that neither would acknowledge for… For fear of the loss of whatever it was between the two of them.

- Rupture -

But one day something broke the dam broke and their feelings came gushing out with swift relief. He would've said it came as a huge shock when Shunsui closed the gap between their panting lips, bodies colliding in a forceful embrace, but… All Jushiro knew was that deep inside him, it felt right, they felt right together.

- Revelation -

Of course, back then they were so young, care-free. They knew too little of the horrors of the world, the monsters that lurked beneath the surface. At first they were confused at the ostracization, confusion turned to fear. Fear of what others were capable of doing to their kind. They were just kids, but their eyes were opened to the ugliness of mankind.

- Dissension -

And then that horrible fear turned malignant, becoming a burning anger. But there were just… They couldn't… It was too much, the disgust, the ridicule, the hate. It all became too much for their budding relationship to cope. So it all came crumbling down.

- Overture -

'I… I'm sorry Shunsui but… I just… I just can't take it anymore!'

'Jyuu-Chan…?'

'It's too much for me, I…'

'Jyuu' please, don't do this'

'…'

'Please, you can't. Not after all we've been through together'

'…'

'Jyuu-chan, Jushiro… Say something! Please.'

'…Sorry…'

With an air of finality, Jushiro flash-stepped away, hiding his tears from his similarly distraught lover.

'I-It never would've worked out anyway…'

He couldn't bring himself to look back, knowing that the expression of loss, pain and… betrayal on Shunshi's face would crumble his resolve.

- Transient -

In the following decades their relationship was strained at best, friendship in painful tatters. They slowly forged paths for themselves, climbing the ranks until both stood at a podium accepting their captaincies together, yet so far apart… At that point they were little more than strangers with a dark past.

- Orison -

Their captaincy brought them closer together than they had been in years. Though most had forgotten their 'less than stellar' past, at captains meetings everyone could see the almost tangible tension between the two. And one day, with a palatable glare and 'sweet' smile Retsu shoved the two in a small room with the command of 'work it out.'

- Exonerate -

Reatsu swirled around the room as the former friends…lovers, stared at each other. Neither knowing what to say, silently daring the other to make the first move. But no words were needed, they never truly would know who moved first, but soon they were in a crushing embrace, lips crushing, teeth biting, tongues soothing. Thousands of words, expressed in a single moment, they came together and all was forgiven.

- Rapture -

Later when they were revelling in the afterglow, bodies tangled, intertwined incomprehensibly. Jushiro said something that should've shocked them both, but it felt so right… 'I love you,' Shunsui kissed him senseless in reply, conveying the unsaid emotions. And Jushiro knew that everything would be Ok, they weren't nonsensical kids anymore, they could overcome any challenge thrown at them… Together

- Revolution -

The two would later do just that. They stood up to the injustice, smiled through the anger, fought for their rights and the rights of others like them. And they won, together.

Thanks for reading this! I hope you enjoyed and encourage you to read 'Everything But The Rain' when I finally post it.

To clarify:

This was going to be in very small chapters, hence the 'titels' of each paragraph, but it's a present and I'm not that evil. Also the last paragraph is something of an epilogue.

On the topic of the titles, they all are real words – at least according to thesaurus. Kudos to anyone who can tell me their significance.

Sorry if there were any errors, I had no beta-reader for this