Chapter 7: White Lies

(For Sariniste and Geecee, :) Sorry to keep you waiting so long. Compensation lies ahead! Love Spunky)

Aizen Sousuke gazed quietly at his mate's deceptively tranquil sleeping face. It seemed odd to him that a man who was dying could look so incredibly beautiful and untroubled. The moon cast a soft light across their bed, making Byakuya's lovely, naked body glow as he drew and released soft, calm breaths and nuzzled closer to his husband's resting form. He slipped his fingers into the silken, sakura scented hair, feeling an unfamiliar ache inside as he recalled Byakuya's recent melancholy over his brief withdrawal from their bed and association.

That he thought, for even a moment that my love for him had faded...

But that is over. And whatever happens, Byakuya will know no moment that my love does not reach out to him. He will know only peace and contentment.

He forced away the healer's words and focused on his own determination.

You will not leave me, my love. I will not let you go. We will find our way through this, Byakuya.

He held Byakuya close, lightly kissing his forehead and stroking his hair and back as he slept. He felt the soft stirrings of life in the noble's swollen belly, that binding of their hearts in the greatest expression of their love. He rubbed the baby bump and smiled as the reiatsu pulsed and throbbed delightedly beneath Byakuya's porcelain skin. As morning came without Aizen's eyes having closed, Byakuya stirred in his arms.

"How long have you been watching me?" asked the noble, opening one curious gray eye to meet his royal mate's warm gaze.

"Hmmm," Aizen answered, nuzzling the noble's soft cheek and gently moving the hand that rested on Byakuya's abdomen in slow circles, "Somewhere between a few hours and all night."

"Are you that concerned I will lose consciousness again, or is it that you just can't take your eyes and hands off of me whenever I undress for you?"

"Mmmm, both, I think."

"Perhaps I should keep that in mind the next time we quarrel," Byakuya said, smirking.

He leaned over the noble, sinking into his mouth and closing his eyes, then pulled away and sat up.

"If you feel up to breakfast, then we could join your friends," Aizen suggested.

Byakuya made a sound of amusement.

"King Aizen sitting down to eat at the same table as Abarai Renji? Oh...I must be dying..."

"Do not say such things," Aizen said, pushing him back down and plundering his mouth again, hungrily, "I was attempting to indulge you by being sociable, even though some of your choices in friends are a bit...questionable."

"That, in and of itself, is suspect," noted Byakuya, lacing their fingers together, "I assure you, you needn't lower yourself. I will have breakfast with them, and you can go and see what trouble your council has caused while you were occupied with watching me sleep."

"Nonsense," said Aizen, "I have time for both."

"Are you worried I will swoon and Renji will be the one to catch me?" Byakuya said coyly.

"I am more concerned, I think, that the clumsy oaf would miss and let you collapse onto the floor. Better to be safe than sorry, ne?" Aizen said, climbing out of bed and starting towards the dressing area.

He paused at hearing no answer from the noble, and turned back towards the bed. His eyes narrowed at the lovely spectacle of Byakuya, kneeling on the bed, with his yukata opened and slipped down off of his slender shoulders, his creamy thighs parted and his pretty rounded belly and privates exposed, his hair tumbled and his wide, gray eyes still sleepy from dreaming.

"Oh," the king said, walking back to the bed, "were you trying to get my attention? You really don't want to have breakfast with your friends, do you?"

"We will," said Byakuya, "but as king and consort, we shall just be fashionably late."

"Oh, no. I don't think so," said Aizen, "We will be right on time."

A word to his zanpakutou sent illusions of the two out of the room.

"We can eat after you compensate me for that little show you just put on for me."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Byakuya, his eyes widening, "I was just sitting here..."

Aizen slipped out of his yukata and climbed back onto the bed. He moved in behind the noble, nuzzling the side of his throat, while reaching around him to explore his warm, blushing genitals. Byakuya closed his eyes, sighing and leaning back into his husband's embrace, feeling the swell of his arousal and moving his bottom to rub teasingly against him. As one of the king's hands continued to caress the noble's responsive privates, the other captured his chin and coaxed him into a long, deep over-the-shoulder kiss. Byakuya turned into his husband's arms, sinking his fingers into the other man's hair and moaning lightly as Aizen's mouth sucked languidly at his throat. He gazed down, admiring the king's closed eyes, passionately exploring hands and hungry expression as the monarch continued the loving assault on his slender body. He yielded easily to being brought down on his back, but caught his breath in surprise as Aizen positioned himself over his consort, then lowered himself to join with him in a way he rarely ever offered.

"S-sousuke?" Byakuya whispered uncertainly.

"What's wrong?" Aizen asked, "Am I not allowed to enjoy my consort in whatever way I choose? I am king, ne?"

"Yes...of course," Byakuya agreed, "I was just surprised."

Aizen tightened around Byakuya's arousal, coaxing a passionate moan from the noble's lips. He braced himself on his hands, rising and falling on Byakuya's riled member, and smiling as the noble groaned with intense pleasure and moved with him, thrusting upward into Aizen's poised body. The monarch's breaths deepened and roughened as he neared climax. He forced himself down harder, deepening the delicious penetration until he struck the cluster of sensitive nerves inside the riled king, making his eyes close and his hands clench warningly.

"Byakuya," Aizen gasped and the noble released into him.

His own seed poured out onto Byakuya's pregnant belly, and Aizen fell on the area hungrily, savoring slowly, then kissing the noble's baby bump reverently. Byakuya's hands reached for him, pulling him up to the noble's insistent mouth, where Byakuya fed hungrily on the traces of Aizen's essence that remained on the king's lips and tongue. The noble's slender hand found Aizen's spent length and caressed it as they continued to kiss. Within minutes, his member hardened again, and he coaxed his lover onto his hands and knees, entering him in slow, methodical thrusts as Byakuya's slender hands tore at the sheets and his impatient, hungry moans filled Aizen's ears, igniting his passions all over again. He gripped the noble's writhing hips, licking his lips at the sight of Byakuya's riled hair that fluttered wildly about his shoulders and back at the impact of each heavy thrust.

He felt a sudden shift in the reiatsu around his noble lover, a dark swell of something he couldn't readily identify.

"B-byakuya," he panted questioningly.

The man beneath him gave a feral snarl and ground harder against Aizen's body, seeking release. He tightened his hands on Byakuya's naked hips, thinking to stop him for a moment, but caught his breath in surprise as Byakuya's slender body reared back and laid itself against his chest, his hips still grinding down on Aizen's swollen member. Byakuya rested the back of his head on Aizen's shoulder as he moved, his sakura scented hair tickling the monarch's skin and teasing him into thrusting harder and faster. He could see that the noble's eyes were closed into slits, and still felt the odd touch of an unfamiliar reiatsu.

But before he could take any action, Byakuya's body quivered and tightened, and the noble loosed a sweet, passionate howl of completion. Aizen watched, rapt, as the noble surrendered to completion. He groaned languidly, pushing down with his hips to deepen Aizen's penetration into his body, as the king buried his face in Byakuya's lovely hair and filled his noble lover with his release.

Byakuya rested against Aizen's shoulder for several minutes, his chest heaving softly and his pale lips smiling. He collapsed onto the bed, giving a deeply sated moan as the king laid down next to him, curling his body around the noble's.

"Are you all right?" Aizen asked, "For a moment there, I wondered if you had been possessed by a spirit demon. You had quite a dangerous look about you and your reiatsu darkened..."

Byakuya sighed and snuggled closer to him.

"It was nothing," he assured Aizen, "just the less civilized person I am when I am loving you."

Aizen smirked.

"I am glad to see some liveliness return to you, my love. You have worried me with your melancholy lately."

"I am fine," Byakuya said, yawning, "but I think I will partake of some sleep for a bit."

"I wish that I could join you for that, however, there was some odd reiatsu flutter sensed near the dimension wall, and the royal guard is going to be giving their report on that to the king's council."

He was surprised when Byakuya merely yawned again and nodded.

"Go on, then. I am only going to be sleeping anyway."

Aizen laughed softly.

"You don't wish to see your friends at all?" he asked, "And you know, you do need to eat something."

"I will," Byakuya mumbled, "Just have Torio leave something at my bedside. I will eat and visit later."

"Very well," Aizen said, pulling back several strands of black hair to plant a kiss on Byakuya's pale throat, "It is good to see you taking my advice to heart and leaving serious matters to the guardsmen so that you can focus on our child."

Byakuya's lips curved into a smile.

"If that is what it takes to please you so that you will come to me more often, it is not such a task. I love you, Sousuke."

Aizen smiled and met him for several more slow kisses, then left the noble dozing peacefully.

Byakuya drifted off into a deep, contented sleep, his mind wandering through a hazy abyss. He inhaled and exhaled slowly, his eyes fluttering under the pale eyelids, and his body relaxed. Torio entered the room and left a tray of food at his bedside, then turned to leave. He paused and looked back, feeling the strangest sense of dark eyes watching him. But the noble still remained on the bed, sleeping soundly, so the attendant left the room, making a mental note to return regularly to check on his sleeping master.

Byakuya remained asleep for some time, unmoving except for the calm inhale and release of breath. But as he slept, a wicked, hissing voice invaded his mind. He tried to rise to the surface to better attend, but found himself detached from his body. His eyes opened and looked about dazedly. Finding himself alone, he rose and walked out onto the balcony, not even bothering to close his yukata. He flash stepped over the rail and down into the gardens, taking a small trail that wound through a thick cluster of trees. Amidst the trees, he sensed someone waiting for him, and angled towards the person's reiatsu. He reached a small clearing, where a ragged woman waited. She smiled widely at seeing him.

"Come, bearer," she whispered, "Come to me."

Byakuya's eyes looked into hers senselessly, and began to glow a soft red. The hollow witch laughed and touched his face lightly, making his legs collapse, so that she captured him and lowered him slowly to the ground. She laid the dazed noble on his side and placed her hand on his swollen belly.

"It won't be too long now," she told Byakuya, "A few weeks, perhaps? You will be uncomfortable, but it is all for a good purpose. When he returns, he will be very grateful. He will not hesitate to show us how much he appreciates our sacrifice."

She removed the pendant from her throat and touched it to his bare abdomen, watching the blackening of the reiatsu and the slow feeding on Byakuya's pure life force.

"Not too much at once. A little at a time, ne? We wouldn't want you to hollowfy too soon, Byakuya. Let the would-be king enjoy watching you fade away slowly..."

She felt an ache of hunger and longed to devour him herself, but made herself calm again, reminding herself of the one to whom she was devoted to returning to life. She completed the draining and contented herself with just a small taste of the sleeping noble. She savored his essence, her eyes glowing as she fought off the urge to take more. She startled, hearing a soft footstep on the trail, then disappeared in a flash as a boy stepped into the clearing.

"Kuchiki-sama?" Torio said softly, his youthful heart pounding at the odd feel of a retreating, malevolent reiatsu.

The witch watched the boy from behind a tree, longing to kill and devour him, but knowing better than to do so in the gardens near the castle. It would bring far too much attention...and they needed to avoid detection until it was time to take the consort and escape the spirit dimension. Instead, she left the area, moving well outside the palace and into a secluded area, before approaching a remote guard post and slaughtering the two guardsmen.

Their reiatsu is not so sweet as his, but his must feed the coming lord.

Back in the king's gardens, Torio fell to his knees at Byakuya's side, calling his name and shaking him gently.

"Kuchiki-sama! Kuchiki-sama, please wake up! Kuchiki-sama!"

He looked about, ready to cry out for help, but before he could make another sound, Byakuya stirred and opened his eyes.

"Kuchiki-sama?" whispered Torio, white-faced as he spotted the noble's red, glowing eyes.

But a moment later, the red eyes faded back to their normal gray, and Torio sighed in relief.

It must have been a trick of the light.

"Torio," Byakuya said sleepily.

"Yes, Kuchiki-sama," the attendant said, helping him sit up, "You scared me. I thought that...well...I didn't know what to think! You should stay here while I get a healer."

Byakuya shook his head briefly.

"I am fine," he said quietly, "It seems as though I have merely had another reiatsu fluctuation. But I am all right."

"Is everything okay, Byakuya?" asked a deep, familiar voice.

"Renji?" Byakuya said, squinting up at the redhead.

He realized suddenly that his yukata was open and Renji was blushing slightly and trying to pretend not to notice. Byakuya tied the yukata closed again and cleared his throat softly.

"Why did you come here, Renji?" he asked calmly.

"I sensed some kind of weird reiatsu in this area and came to check it out. Did something happen?"

Byakuya shook his head.

"I merely had a reiatsu fall off and laid down to rest for a moment. But I seem to have frightened my attendant."

Renji moved closer and scanned his reiatsu, then looked into his eyes with concern.

"Your reiatsu is low. We should get you back to the palace and have a healer give you another infusion."

"Nonsense," said the noble, shaking his head, "I can certainly walk as far as the palace."

"Not to worry," said Renji, sweeping Byakuya up into his arms, "I'll have you back home in a flash, Taichou."

"Abarai, put me down at once!" snapped the noble, "What if Sousuke...?"

"What if he does?" said Renji, flippantly, "I'm sure he wouldn't want you stressing yourself out, so just be quiet and hang on."

Byakuya frowned, but looped his arms around Renji's neck as the redhead carried him in flash steps back to the castle, then up onto the balcony outside the noble's bedroom. He stepped inside, smiling down at the flustered noble.

"See, got you here fast and in one piece...and you're jealous husband will never have a clue what we were up to!" joked the redhead.

"Abarai..." Byakuya said, trying not to smile.

"Abarai taichou," said Aizen, looking up from where he stood next to the bed and glaring at Renji, "I would very much appreciate it if you would release my consort and return to your duties."

Renji frowned.

"I was seeing to my duties," he said, setting Byakuya back on his feet, "Taichou was walking and he had a reiatsu fall off. I figured you wouldn't want him stressing himself, so I brought him back."

"Hmmm, next time, do attempt to do so minus the scandalous frivolity. Now, if you will excuse us."

"Huh...sure, no problem. See you, Byakuya."

Byakuya met his eyes and nodded briefly, then watched as Renji and Torio left the room.

"My apologies," Byakuya said, lowering his eyes, "Renji is too outspoken."

"And annoyingly clingy. I think I regret asking him to stay."

Byakuya's lips curved upward.

"I thought it was a lovely gesture, Sousuke. I know you are not fond of him..."

"You can say that again..."

"But that you thought so much of my comfort and contentedness makes me fall that much more in love with you."

Aizen gave an annoyed sigh and narrowed his eyes.

"I bend over backwards for you sometimes," he complained, lying down in their bed and pulling the noble into his arms, "Luckily for you, I find your presence in my bed more than just compensation."

"Luckily for me," Byakuya said, smiling and nuzzling warmly beneath his husband's chin.

"Your reiatsu is low," Aizen commented, "You need another infusion."

"I'll summon the healer," Byakuya said, starting to sit up.

He was quickly pulled down again and pinned by his husband's bare body. He looked up at Aizen questioningly.

"I will handle the infusion myself. Too many others have had their hands on you today, I think."