Oooh, my goodness guys! This one took me forever and a day! My work schedule is just plain silly sometimes. Okay, here we go!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

Chapter 10

Victoria

For only the second time in his life, Byakuya woke to the sound of his alarm clock. His eyes cracked open as he looked directly into the face of his pet. Memories of the night before flooded back in a sea of passion. His face went red as a strong arm wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him into a tight embrace. Byakuya's mouth was muffled in Renji's chest, the younger man sighing in content.

"Mmmhhff, Renji-" He tried to mumble into the chest. He heard the vibrations of an amused chuckle. Renji stretched his body, those unspeakably long legs and muscled back. His mouth cracked open in a slight yawn as he clenched the muscles in his arms, gripping Byakuya tightly. The older man squeezed under the arms and wiggled out of the embrace. Renji wined in protest.

"We need to get up, you silly creature." Byakuya said with a tired smile. Renji yawned again and pulled the covers up over his crimson head. Byakuya smiled again and went into his bathroom to wash up.

The rest of that morning had gone as usual, except instead of Renji happily chatting away during breakfast, they ate in a comfortable, satisfied silence, not wanting to ruin the morning with talk, though Byakuya knew they needed to discuss many things. It would be foolish to think that things could continue to go as they were.

"Mast-I mean Byakuya, I have something to tell you." Renji suddenly spoke, shaking Byakuya from his thoughts. The older man looked questioningly at him.

"I would like to go on vacation!" He grinned happily. Byakuya snorted.

"It's too cold a time of year, Renji. When would we go anywhere?" He asked, sipping his coffee. Renji flopped his upper body on the table, childishly.

"Don't you have some sort of private island or something?" he asked. Byakuya turned his head and continued to sip his coffee.

"Holy crap! You do, don't you!? It was just a joke, I didn't think you were that rich! Why do you even live in a house like this if you can afford your own island!?" He asked with wide eyes. Byakuya huffed.

"The island belongs to the company. It's for retreats or having get-together's with other companies. I don't own it all by myself." He grunted. Renji gave him a wink.

"Yes, but since you're the owner-"

"Not anymore Renji, we merged yesterday, remember? I'm not the owner anymore, I'm merely a high ranking CEO now instead of the highest ranking. I have bosses now." He said into his cup. Renji huffed.

"I don't get all that confusing business stuff. When Seriete bought the company, did they buy the island too?" He asked. Byakuya thought for a moment. He wasn't actually sure. The island had never really come up at any meeting they'd had. He supposed it would have to be.

"I need to go to work, Renji. Be good while I'm gone, yes?" He asked while dumping the rest of his coffee in the sink and gathering his coat and keys. Renji walked over to him, looking slightly awkward. Byakuya stood still as a board as he pulled him into a gentle embrace.

"Umm...have a good day at work...Byakuya." He mumbled into his ear. Byakuya wasn't really sure what to do. Were they a couple now? He didn't think so. They'd had sex, but did it mean anything? He wondered how Renji felt about it, but didn't have the time to discuss it now. He patted the young man on the back and pulled out of the embrace.

"I'll be back a little earlier than usual. With the merge I don't need to stay as long, so I'll probably be home before six tonight...maybe even earlier." He said. Renji's smile brightened the room.

"That's great! I'll be waiting for you then!" He said with excitement. Byakuya couldn't help but smile along with him.

000

"So, how's your doggy?" Yuroichi smiled as she sat on Byakuya's desk. His workload was infinitely lighter today and he wasn't really sure what to make of it. Even Yuroichi seemed bored enough to come into his office to talk to him.

"He's fine. Not really much to say about him." Byakuya lied. It would be too strange to admit to her now that Renji was actually a person and there happened to be quite a bit to say about him, most of which he felt he would never say to anyone.

Yuroichi gave him the strangest look he'd ever seen from her. It was like a mixture of excitement and curiousness as well as cunning and mischief. It unnerved him slightly.

"What did you do last night?" She asked with a strange smile that Byakuya decided he didn't care for.

"N-nothing. Why do you ask?" He stuttered. Suddenly, Yuroichi was ecstatic.

"Oh my god! Oh my god, you had SEX!" She shouted. Byakuya instinctively shot from his chair to silence her. However, he attempted to play it off by reaching to a far end of his desk to grab a paper he didn't really need.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said as calmly as he could. Yuroichi practically jumped with excitement.

"Oh, my god! You did! This proves it!"

"What proves it!? I haven't said anything!" He defended. Yuroichi laughed.

"No use denying it, I can see right through you!" She exclaimed happily. Byakuya rubbed his temples.

"How the hell do you do that? Seriously woman, it's like you're in my head." He groaned. Yuroichi rubbed her hands together eagerly.

"Okay mister, details, do I know her?"

"No, and I don't want to talk about this."

"Do you really like her?"

"No."

"Okay, that's a lie. What was it like? Was it amazing? Was it suckish?"

"Yuroichi, please, this is not work appropriate conversation."

"There's something you aren't telling me. I can see you're hiding something, but what...?" She mused. Byakuya gulped. The best thing to do at this point would be to not say anything at all. If Yuroichi wanted something out of him, she almost always got it. He still didn't know how she did it to him. It was like she reached into his brain and picked out everything she wanted.

"What is it Byakuya? Is she ugly, so you're embarrassed of her?" She asked. Byakuya said nothing.

"No, that's not it huh...but I think I'm on the right track. Is she so pretty that you don't want anyone to see her, just in case people try to take her away?"

Silence.

"Hmm...I think I'm actually closer on that one. She's pretty, but you're still embarrassed. So what ever do you have to be embarrassed about?" She was attempting to put the pieces together. Byakuya felt a drop of cold sweat run down his brow.

"I think you should go back to work." He muttered.

"Hold on, I'm still unriddleing you. Okay, so maybe she has a strange personality. Am I right? She's probably uncouth and you don't want to show her to anyone because you're afraid she would make a scene!"

"Yuroichi..."

"Hmm, but there's still something else..." Yuroichi got up from the desk and walked over to her boss, getting uncomfortably close. He felt his skin crawl. She was in his head. He had no secrets with her because she read him like a grade school book.

"Embarrassment...fear...confusion? There's also...inner tormoil..."

"There's no way you could possibly tell all that just by looking at me, you odd woman." He closed his eyes and turned away. Yuroichi smiled warmly.

"You talk quite loudly with your eyes, Byakuya. Did you know that? Why do you think we get along so well?"

"Because you bully me into getting what you want?" he asked, a headache growing at his temple. He tried rubbing it away.

"Because I learned how to talk to you. It's simple. Since you don't speak your emotions half the time, nor let them appear on your face, your eyes speak volumes. And I think there's a big big secret you're keeping from the whole world. Whatever could it be?" She asked, more to herself than to Byakuya. Just then, her face scrunched and a smile, different from before, was etched there.

She picked up his phone and pressed a button.

"Can you please come to Mr. Kuchiki's office for just a moment, Kisuke? I need to do a little experiment." she said slyly into the receiver. Byakuya felt like she was about to make a big deal out of nothing. This was a perfect example of how she bullied him.

Before too long, Urahara stepped into the office, shutting the door behind him. He walked over to Yuroichi and greeted Byakuya warmly.

"How can I be of service? I'm a little busy right now, so I hope it won't take too long." He said with no irritation at all. Byakuya wasn't really sure what to make of the guy, even after having worked with him for so many years. Yuroichi stood directly next to him and faced them both towards Byakuya.

"Oh, certainly not. I simply need you to walk directly to your right. I shall walk to my left. Ready, set, go." She said simply. Byakuya watched as Urahara walked away. He stepped a few feet to his right, stopping and turning towards Yuroichi. She was the same distance away, but only to the left. He didn't know what this was supposed to accomplish. However, Yuroichi seemed extremely happy with whatever bogus results she had just confirmed.

"Thank you, Kisuke, that will be all." She said with a barely contained smile. He nodded to them both and left the room. Apparently, he wasn't one to ask questions. Sometimes Byakuya wished that Urahara were his secretary instead of the boisterous woman. Though he would be wasted as one.

"When the door was closed behind him, Yuroichi sat back down on Byakuya's desk, playing with her fingernails. Byakuya wasn't amused anymore.

"What was that all about? You bothered him from his work for that?" Byakuya asked. Yuroichi grinned from ear to ear.

"Yes! The human brain will always force it's host to look at whatever it is attracted to. subconsciously, you watched Kisuke walk away instead of me. You also didn't notice that I unbuttoned another button on my shirt, or that when I walked away, I swung my hips and crossed my arms to my chest when I turned around, making my breasts stand out. No matter how hard I tried to get your attention, you still watched Kisuke. And I have also come to the conclusion that the 'woman' you were with last night wasn't actually a woman. You won't talk to me about your secret lover because he is, in fact, a man. Am I right?"

000

Byakuya was silent the entire way home. He was arriving a lot earlier than he'd expected.

"That damned Yuroichi...how does she do that? She knows when I need help, she can practically read my mind and can predict how I will react in any situation I am ever in. If I am gay, and all women are like that, straight men can keep them." He grumbled. It was only four in the afternoon. He was going home a lot earlier than he'd expected.

When he got home, he walked a little quicker than he'd intended to get to the front door. Upon opening it, he was once again missing the greeting from his red head. He wasn't home again.

Byakuya tried to press down the thoughts of what Renji was doing at this very moment. He could be fighting large people or betting on someone. Whatever he was doing, he had no doubts that it wasn't legal.

In any case, he supposed he would do the dishes since the mutt hadn't gotten around to them yet. He must have left in quite a hurry to have forgotten housework. Not that it made a whole lot of a difference anyway.

He changed into casual clothes and went down to the kitchen to get started. Just as he was rolling up his sleeves, the front door opened.

"Byakuya, are you home?" He called. Byakuya shook his head.

"Yes." He said, barely raising his voice. He heard shuffling in the mudroom and quickened footsteps coming over to the kitchen where he started the water for the dishes. He glanced over at Renji to see that he held a medium sized box in his hand. Now he was suspicious.

"I got you a present, Master. I hope you like it."

"I certainly hope that, under the circumstances, you will please stop calling me that. It's pretty disturbing that we are sleeping together and you still call me that." Byakuya scolded with arms crossed over his chest. Renji stepped closer to him, moving the box out of the way and kissing him on the cheek.

"Is that what we're doing?" He asked amusedly. Before Byakuya could answer, Renji placed the box on the ground. Byakuya knelt down, having the strangest feeling of de'ja'vu and placed his hands on the top of the box. He was startled when he began hearing scratching sounds from the inside.

"Renji..." Byakuya warned. The red head just waved him to open the box. When he did, he stared into the eyes of a tiny brown puppy.

"It's a...cocker spaniel." He said with surprise in his voice. Renji knelt down with him.

"Yea, I found her at the pound today. I was going to get a big one, but she just fit the bill so perfectly. Now you really do have a dog! Since I know how much having one soothed you, I figured getting a real one would be a much better idea." He said with a smile. "You can just pretend that this is the dog you've been talking about to everyone who sees her."

Byakuya picked up the puppy and placed it in his lap. The little dog stood up on her hind legs, wiggling her little stub of a tail, trying to lick his face.

"Renji, firstly, I won't even ask how you managed to find a pure bred Cocker Spaniel at the pound. Secondly, she looks nothing like my descriptions of her to my co-workers, and thirdly, she's a girl. Plus I would have to call her Renji." He said, scratching the little girl behind the ears.

Renji fiddled with the box.

"I wouldn't mind if you named her Renji." He said softly. Byakuya snorted.

"What? No, that's too confusing. Plus I made it very clear to my secretary that you were a large dog as well as a mutt. This little girl is...well...little." He said. The puppy's big brown eyes nearly broke his heart as she whined at him for his attention. He ran his fingers through her soft fur. It did have a similar effect as Renji's hair.

"You...don't want her then?" Renji asked, his eyes downcast. Byakuya felt like he'd just wronged the universe by making the happy Renji sad. He looked back down at the puppy and smiled.

"No, Renji, she's perfect. But I'm going to give her a girl's name." He said while rubbing the little dog's back. She was actually quite cute.

Just as he was about to name her, the doorbell rang. Byakuya wondered who would come to his house.

He placed the puppy in Renji's arms and walked towards the door. When he opened it, he nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight of his secretary standing at the door.

"Yuroichi, what-"

"Hello there boss! I just came to drop off these glasses that you left at the office! I know you can't survive without them!" she joked. Byakuya fumed.

"I don't wear glasses. You are all too aware of this." he growled.

"Oh, right my mistake. Well, are you going to invite me in? It's terribly rude to leave someone outside in the cold." She laughed.

"Isn't it even more rude to come to one's house uninvited?" He grunted. Yuroichi laughed and looked over his shoulder, Renji having stepped out of the kitchen to see what the commotion was about.

"Is it Rukia?" He asked. Yuroichi nearly knocked Byakuya over in her attempts to get a better look at the man. She hopped inside the house and practically ran to the young man. Renji took a step back, nervously as she looked him over, still holding the puppy.

"So you're the mystery man! Wow, you are gorgeous and...is that a puppy?" She was momentarily distracted. Before Renji could answer, she grabbed the little dog, holding it high into the air. The puppy barked happily as Yuroichi gushed over it.

"Byakuya, you practically made this little thing out to be a monster, how could you say such things about his cute little dog?! And she's a girl! You don't know dogs very well, do you?" She laughed. Byakuya sighed and shook his head.

"Yea, I guess I'll have to change her name then, huh?" He closed the door to keep the warm air inside.

"Yes, Renji is a terrible name for a dog anyway. What are you going to name her?" She asked, furiously rubbing and scratching the little dog whom loved the attention. Renji snickered as Byakuya thought for a moment.

"I think...Victoria." He announced. Renji nodded his approval. He chose to ignore Yuroichi's distaste for his own name. He was too busy being quite amazed at her. She treated Byakuya much like he did, only she seemed to force herself on him. His old master didn't seem to mind though.

"So, mystery man, what might your name be?" she asked, now going back to her previous reason for coming over. Renji scratched his head. It would be bad to tell this woman his real name.

"Umm...Ichigo. My name is Ichigo Kurosaki. It's a pleasure to meet you ma'am." He said happily. The young woman held out her hand to him.

"Yuroichi, just Yuroichi, please. It's a pleasure to meet you as well. I can see why Byakuya keeps you around. You have a hard nut to crack, my dear, but I'm sure you can handle him." She giggled. Byakuya cleared his throat, uncomfortable with the situation.

"Well, I should be going, I only came by to give you these glasses, Byakuya, but it appears that there was no need after all." She smiled, patting the puppy before heading out the door, leaving as quickly as she had come. When she was gone, Byakuya pinched the bridge of his nose.

"That woman exhausts me." He sighed. Renji smiled and walked over to the window, watching her bounce away.

"I think she was making sure I wasn't some evil, vicious monster, trying to take you away from her. She seems very protective of you." He mused. Byakuya raised a sculpted eyebrow.

"And what makes you think that?" He questioned. Renji moved over to the dark haired man and placed his fingers under his chin, lifting him into a soft kiss.

"Because I feel like I would do the same thing." He answered.

They kissed passionately right at the front door, little Victoria ignorantly biting at a sudden itch at her tiny paw.

"I feel like if there was another man in your life...I would be compelled to make sure he was safe to be around. Even if you liked him more than me." He said into Byakuya's lips.

The older man snickered.

"That sounds like jealousy." he teased. Renji looked at the ceiling.

"I'm doomed if I'm jealous of a man that doesn't even exist." He sighed. Byakuya touched Renji's shirt, smoothing the fabric between his thumb and index finger absently.

"I think we're both doomed, Renji."

The younger man engulfed Byakuya into a bear hug, squeezing the life out of him.

"Good."

Oh my gosh! I'm so so so sorry for the lateness! Don't be hatin! Please review, they make me feel so wonderful! And lets not forget, within the next chapter or so, they are going to the beach! Fun times all around! Review please!