A/N: here you go. kinda short and sorry for any mistakes. didn't have time to reread

Byakuya had never been a very nervous person, at least appearance wise. He had a reputation to uphold as the stoic, powerful and in most cases indifferent captain of the 6th division. At the moment though, he wore a very uncharacteristic expression that belied the nervousness he felt internally along with his constant fidgeting. What reason did he have to hide it though? He was alone in his office. It was almost two in the mornings. No one would be wandering around at that time unless they were Renji.

He sighed audibly, scowling as his thoughts filled with various possibilities as to the location and current state of the redhead. If his estimates were correct, Renji should have been back an hour ago. That worried him. More than he'd openly admit in fact, not that he'd ever do so. The sheer fact that he had left his precious redhead in the hands of the massive captain worried him. Then came the rush of confusion and guilt. He could have taken Renji with him earlier but he hadn't; for good reason though. The vice-captain had seemingly been there willingly. If that were the case then it wasn't his place to intervene.

A soft growl broke the tense, anxiety-ridden silence that Byakuya had trapped himself in for the nth time that night. He mentally warred with himself for a few more minutes before coming to a conclusion. It hadn't looked like Renji was enjoying himself, no matter how consenting he sounded.

The raven-haired captain knew for certain that the redhead wouldn't be staying the night, considering Zaraki didn't seem like the post-sex cuddling type. Therefore, he would have been sent on his way after they were done. Since he wasn't back yet, something must have happened. It shouldn't have taken him very long to get back since the 6th division barracks weren't very far away. So, he'd give the redhead another 15 minutes. If he didn't arrive after that, then Byakuya had no choice but to go fetch him.

Satisfied with his logic and resulting plan, he waited, tapping his foot impatiently.

Crap. That's what Renji felt like. His whole body ached with the pain of rough training and even rougher sex. As he trudged along the empty streets of seireitei, taking care not to exhaust what little energy he had left, he began to lightly touch the large lump that had formed on the side of his head. The cause of the lump? Zaraki had apparently gotten excited and expressed that by deciding to take him roughly from behind and, at one point, forcing his head hard on to the floor. It would have been fine had they not been positioned so that Renji's upper body was off of the futon, causing his head to come into contact with unforgiving hardwood. The resulting impact left him dazed and, needless to say, pissed.

But it had also left the redhead feeling a bit…curious.

At the start of their little "arrangement", Kenpachi had promised not to leave any permanent or visible marks and he had kept that promise until now. The fact that he had been unusually brutal for seemingly no reason also raised some suspicions in the redhead's mind. In fact, everything about tonight had been strange. Zaraki had called for him earlier than usual and they had finished a lot later too. That along with Zaraki not letting him clean himself up afterward only added to the out of place atmosphere. What the hell had happened to make this night so different?

The thought was pushed away as a wave of pain pulsed through the redhead's body, centered at the lump on his head. He gently touched the abused area, eyes widening when he noticed the slickness there. He pulled his hand away and swore under his breathe at his red-stained fingertips. He would have probably noticed the blood before but his loose red tresses did a good job of concealing it. With a broken sigh, he attempted to continue walking. He knew that if he stopped for too long, he wouldn't have the will power and energy to keep going. But the exhaustion was proving too much. He had been working twice as hard the past week hunting hollows, trying to keep up with his paperwork, and training with Zaraki and Ichigo on occasion. There wasn't enough energy in his body, nor hours in the day for him to be able to keep that up for long. His head injury only served to punctuate that.

"Fuck," he groaned. He stopped walking, choosing instead to rest against the wall he had been using to support himself.

"Fuck," he groaned again.

His back slid slowly down the wall until he was resting as comfortably as he could on the ground, his head leaning on the solid stone. He knew what could happen if someone found him here and started asking questions; Renji wasn't the best at lying. But despite his mind's protest, he let his body take control as it slowly shut down. The stress and strain had finally weighed in on him. The only thing he could manage to think of before he drifted into an unpredictable slumber was his captain, the whole reason he had put himself through any of this. Did I fail you already? Maybe…maybe you're just…too far out of reach?