Chapter 4: The Little Things
(A request by Picklez80 and Kittykins.)
"Hey beautiful," Renji said, sliding onto the bed and gently nudging his sleeping lover, "You gonna sleep all day and let me do all of the paperwork?"
"I have no objection to that, if you don't," Byakuya yawned sleepily, blinking as the scent of hot food drifted across his senses.
He sat up and spotted a tray of food at his bedside.
"What is this?" he asked, glancing at the redhead curiously.
He looked more closely at the tray and frowned thoughtfully.
"Renji?"
The redhead smiled.
"I called the manor and asked Torio what you liked to eat for breakfast," he explained, "Turns out, you're as much a creature of habit at home as you are here. Luckily, I had everything I needed here and I just made that up with some tea."
"It looks like there's enough here for two," the noble commented, "Will you be eating with me then?"
"That was the plan," the redhead said, picking up the chopsticks on the tray.
"But," said Byakuya, staring, "there is only one set of chopsticks."
"Ah," Renji said, smirking and picking up a bite of steaming food, "What are we gonna do about that?"
He placed the morsel in his mouth, leaving his lips parted as he leaned towards the noble. Byakuya leaned forward and gently nipped half of the bite from the redhead's mouth, brushing their lips together tantalizingly as he did. The two repeated the exchange several times, then Renji lifted the tea to his lips and gathered some in his mouth. Byakuya closed his eyes and fastened his mouth on Renji's thrusting his tongue between the redhead's lips and feeding on the tea as they kissed.
"Oh," Renji sighed, looking down at the rising hardness between his thighs, "I have a feeling we aren't going to be eating much breakfast."
"Actually," Byakuya said, raising an eyebrow, "that will not be a problem as I will simply refuse to feed your burgeoning lust until you finish nourishing us so that we do not lose consciousness whilst making love."
"I think I'll get us another pair of chopsticks," Renji laughed.
"Oh no, I don't think so," Byakuya said, pouncing on the redhead and bringing him down onto his back, "I think you had better offer me another bite, before I find something else to feed on."
"Hmmm," Renji chuckled, capturing another morsel in the chopsticks, "How quickly he goes from 'innocent, blushing virgin' to 'teasing vamp.' I don't know. Are you sure you were a virgin before me?"
"And why would that matter?" Byakuya asked, nibbling on the redhead's lips as he snatched half the bite from his mouth, "You were not virginal. And I have no problem with that. You know, Abarai. You seem to delight in a number of 'double standards' when it comes to us. And I will tell you right now that I grow tired of them. So, if you want something from me, from now on, you had better be equally willing to yield the same."
"Or what? You won't sleep with me?" Renji asked, frowning and holding away the next bite.
"Or I just might treat you to a return of your bad behavior," The noble said, narrowing his eyes, "I understand that you grew up differently. There has to be some middle ground. Some things can be as you want them, and some as I want them. We need to be able to compromise."
"Hey, I said that I would only sleep with you, and I meant that," Renji objected.
"But I insisted that you should use condoms when we are together, yet you did not...even though they are readily available here."
"What? Where?" Renji asked, looking around, then biting at his lips in embarrassment as he spotted them on the nightstand.
Byakuya arched an elegant eyebrow and nodded.
"From now on, you will not make love to me without them."
"And what concession are you making? Where's the compromise?"
Byakuya sighed uncomfortably.
"For the time being, I will accept that you do not want to be taken."
"R-really?" Renji said, a smile crawling across his face.
"That is something that a person should choose the time and place for, I suppose. And, if we continue to see each other, maybe, at some point, you will feel comfortable enough to let me make love to you. But...I will try to refrain from asking."
"Huh...but you got the condoms and having an exclusive."
"And you received choosing the time and place of your 'taking' as well as an exclusive relationship with me."
"But you never see anyone," the redhead objected, "So, it's kinda not fair, since I go dancing and to parties all of the time. It's harder for me."
"Are you daft, Renji?" Byakuya said, grabbing the food tray and setting it down with some force onto the nightstand and knocking several of the colorful condoms onto the floor.
"What?"
"Are you stupid?" the noble went on, "Does it completely elude you that I attend numerous noble functions every week, and am constantly engaging in meals and ballroom dancing with both males and females? You know, despite the fact that you think I am a pathetic loner, who no one but you would want, more than a few men and women have indicated interest in me. It is just that I am in love with you that makes me resist accepting their advances."
Renji forgot all about being angry at the noble for calling him stupid as Byakuya's words sank in.
"You love me?" he repeated, grinning.
"Of course I do, you fool!" Byakuya hissed, shoving the redhead down onto his back and attacking his mouth hungrily, "If I didn't love you, I wouldn't put up with your rudeness, your obvious interest in other men or your very loud snoring!"
"Hey, my snoring's not that bad, is it?"
"It is. But I will gladly buy myself a set of earplugs if it means spending the rest of my life in your arms."
"Renji's smile wavered slightly.
"The rest of our lives, huh? That's...great, Taichou."
A long moment of awkward silence passed between the two as comprehension, then disappointment registered in the noble's gray eyes.
"Ah, I see," he said more softly, pulling away from the redhead and starting to slide out of bed.
"Hey, wait a sec, okay?" Renji said, taking hold of his hand and stopping him, "I didn't mean that the way it sounded. I just meant that..."
"You were quite clear in what you were saying, Renji. I understand. Despite making yourself exclusive for the moment, you are saying that you want to keep your options open. That isn't what upset me."
"What? Then...?"
"I wanted to think that a future with you was an option, but what you just said indicates that, at some point, you will tire of me and move on."
"What?" Renji objected, "I never said that! When did I say anything like that?"
Byakuya shook his head gently.
"You were obviously intimidated when I mentioned desiring a life with you. You do not see us having anything beyond this."
"And what exactly is wrong with what's happening now?" the redhead asked, frowning, "We both want to be together, to have sex with each other, and we're exclusive."
"With no plan of there being anything more."
"But why do we have to map everything out?" Renji complained, "Why can't we just enjoy this and let what happens, happen?"
"Because I am not going to waste good years of my life and an ample portion of my heart with someone who sees no future with me. If you want 'here and now' with no consideration of the future, you are talking to the wrong person. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a meeting to prepare for."
He tried to pull his hand away, then glowered at the redhead as he yanked on the noble's hand, dragging him back down onto the bed and trapping him gently, but firmly.
"I don't think so. We're not done."
Byakuya's reiatsu flared warningly and an icy look entered his dark eyes.
"Perhaps the fact that I have allowed you inside me has left you thinking that you can demand what you want of me at will, Renji, but your lover or not, I am still a taichou and a clan leader. Get off of me, or I will hurt you!"
"Huh," Renji huffed, sitting back and letting him up, "I thought that titles didn't matter here...that we were just two men in love with each other. What happened to that?"
"What happened is that only one of us is seeking that kind of balance in our relationship. You are not meeting me on equal ground here, yet you expect me to act as though you are. I think that you need time to think about the connotations of that."
"And what?" Renji snapped angrily, "I don't get any sex until I do?"
"I did not say that."
"But you're leaving. Kinda makes having sex a little difficult, ne?"
"Is that what you want from me, Renji?" Byakuya asked, his eyes glinting dangerously, "You want to have sex with me now?"
"Of course I do!" Renji said in a flustered tone, "That's why I made breakfast for you and teased you with the food. I was seducing you, and to me, it looked like that's what you wanted too!"
"Very well," Byakuya said, more calmly, "then if sex is what you want from me, go ahead. Have sex with me."
The redhead watched in surprise as Byakuya spread his legs, exposing his piqued privates and soft inner thighs. His eyes met the noble's with a measure of distrust.
"What's the catch?" he asked, frowning, "you going to just lie there and let me do it?"
"You said that you wanted 'sex,' Renji. You did not say that you wanted to make love to me."
"Aw, come on! Now, you're just trying to start a fight. You know what I meant!"
"Renji," Byakuya said, sitting up and placing his hands on the redhead's forearms, "You think that what you want is to make love to me. But you want pleasure that lasts for a moment. And you want the pleasure available to you when you want it, on your own terms. Yet, you would deny me the same?"
Renji's lips tightened and he looked quietly down at the noble's hands where they rested on his arms.
"I think that what you did this morning was...extremely romantic, and I was being swept off my feet. But...it is...painful to think that it is all just to obtain something from me. And each time I give in to you, I fall more deeply in love with you. But that love is dangerous to me. Do you understand? Because you could leave me at any moment, Renji."
"And you could leave me too, ne?"
Byakuya sighed softly.
"No."
"What?"
"That is what frightens you, isn't it?" the noble asked quietly, "You want to be able to just let go if you decide to, but my heart doesn't work that way."
"Then, how does it work, because it sounds like you're saying I have to agree to marry you and have kids right now, and I'll be honest and just say I'm not ready for that!"
"I understand," Byakuya answered, moving closer and curling into the redhead's surprised arms, "Renji, I am not saying that you have to agree to marry me or that we should talk about having children or settling down together. Just...do not be put off if I mention desiring those things with you. They are not a demand, but a hope. And...I need very much to believe that hope exists for us. I am very much in love with you and I want this to last. I am only asking that instead of being intimidated by how much I love you, you will leave that door open."
"But, how do I do that?" Renji asked, looking confused, "I want to, but I don't know what you're asking me to do."
"I will try to refrain from mentioning those things I know will unnerve you. And I am asking you to refrain from judging those things now as well. If I do not bring attention to it and you do not repel it, then we can both embrace more firmly what is happening now."
"O-kay," the redhead said uneasily, falling silent and tightening his arms around the noble, "But, what does that mean for right now? You know..."
"I don't know," Byakuya said softly, "I..."
He paused as a hell butterfly flitted into the room, and Renji groaned.
"Not now!" he complained, "We were just getting things worked out."
Byakuya let out an amused breath and nodded briefly in the butterfly's direction.
Kuchiki taichou, said Sasakibe fukutaichou's deep, calm voice, word has come from the living world that there is an oddity in an area outside Karakura Town that requires an officer's attention.
"Damn it," breathed the redhead, "Ever since Aizen was caught, we get a million of these damned things and have officers rushing all over..."
Please report to the coordinates given in this communication and investigate the area. Soutaichou will be awaiting your report on the matter.
Renji started to rise, but was stayed by a slender hand touching his arm.
"I will see to it."
"Huh?" queried the redhead, "That's okay. I can do it."
"You're right that it is a bother," Byakuya agreed, but as Hueco Mundo has fallen into chaos after Aizen's fall and Kurosaki Ichigo has lost his powers, we must be vigilant."
"Okay, so I'll go and check it out...or we can go."
Byakuya bit his lip gently.
"I was hoping that having some time on your hands, you might come up with a way to seduce me again," he said, letting his smoky eyes tease the redhead's for a moment.
A slow smile made it's way across Renji's handsome face.
"Sounds good to me," he said, giving the noble a warm kiss on the mouth, "I'll be ready when you come back."
"I will see to this quickly," Byakuya promised.
Renji watched quietly as the noble dressed, then gave him a final kiss before watching him flash step away. He cleaned up the breakfast dishes, then worked his way swiftly through the morning reports, while also laying out a plan for when Byakuya returned.
I'll do something that he won't expect. Yeah. That will make things right again. I want things to be okay again between us. I really do love him. I don't know why we keep butting heads like we do. I guess we're both just real stubborn and set in our ways. But he's worth it. He really is. Byakuya is different from anyone I've ever been in love with before. I don't want to mess this up.
So, when he comes back, I'll do something to let him know how much I love him...
With his work done and nothing else to do, the redhead began to daydream about what he would do when the noble returned.
But those dreams broke apart as the alert signal sounded.
Red Alert! There is an officer down in Area 557...Red Alert! There is an officer down in area 557. Squad four is en route. Squads six and eleven are in the area and securing the path for extraction of injured forces.
"What the hell?" Renji gasped, grabbing Zabimaru and bursting out the squad room door, "Taichou!"
