Chapter 12

Naked swimming anyone?

Rukia let out a low moan as Byakuya Kuchiki ran warm kisses along her jaw and down her neck to her bare shoulder.

"I've waited for years to do this," he muttered, his voice low and husky.

A shiver ran up Rukia's spine when she felt his wet tongue tickle her shoulder. Taking a half step back she felt her body press against his, his warmth spreading though her like a flame.

His strong arms wrapped around her slender waist and she felt herself being turned around, now facing him. Daring to raise her eyes, she met his and was lost instantly. Without realizing it her hands moved up and slid into his long silky hair, her fingers tugging softly and causing a slight moan to slip from his slightly parted lips. Lips that, as her eyes traveled down his gorgeous face, looked so sinfully welcoming.

As if he were reading her thoughts those lips shifted slightly, as if teasing her, before titling up into a melting smile, or smirk, as Rukia was to overwhelmed to notice the difference at the moment.

"Kiss me," he murmured, tilting his head so his hot breath blew against her ear. Eyes widening, Rukia trembled slightly, while her heart pounded as never before.

Feeling her quickening pulse, Byakuya changed his tactics. Leaning in further he pressed his lips to her skin again below her earlobe, teasing her skin and causing her to tremble more.

"What are you doing?" she murmured, feeling his teeth touch her skin, softly biting.

"Its called a-"

"Hickey!" Rukia cried, sitting up. Clamping a hand over her mouth she glanced around and found herself laying in a huge bed in an empty bedroom. Panting hard and more then a little confused (and embarrassed), she turned her head and beheld the morning sun and a sparkling ocean.

Right, the vacation… but …. Oh god, had she been dreaming about Byakuya! Of him kissing… leaving a hick- What the hell was wrong with her!….

Grumbling to herself, she pulled her heated body from the bed and trudged to the bathroom a cold shower in her sights. Never noticing in her disgruntled state, that she had woken up on the opposite side of the bed.

Reaching for the handle she turned it and stepped in the room without knocking. Immediately she froze.

There was Byakuya himself, standing in front of the mirror, stripped to the waist, with his hair still wet from his morning shower, and with a razor in his hand, shaving.

Rukia blinked like an owl for a moment, stunned, before instantly turning red.

"S-sorry!" she stammered and fled, slamming the door a bit to hard in her haste to flee.

Byakuya blinked, staring at the now closed door.


An awkward air hung about the breakfast table that morning. Upon entering the room Byakuya found Rukia balancing a large jug of orange juice in one hand while she reached for a empty glass from the cupboard with the other.

"Good morning," was all he had said in his usual monotone voice, but the way Rukia reacted one would have thought that he had snuck up behind her and shouted. Gasping she dropped the glass, which shattered, and would have dropped the pitcher had Byakuya not rushed for it, putting his hands around it, and over hers, before it could fall.

"Are you alright?" he asked, inwardly concerned, outwardly calm.

"F-fine," she stuttered, her face red.

Time seemed to stop for a moment, then suddenly they both became aware that their hands were touching. For Byakuya it brought back memories of the previous night, and of Rukia's invasion of his personal space, not to mention that accidental kiss. Clearing his throat, Byakuya took the jug from her, her fingers still very much limp.

"Please be more careful," Byakuya muttered, quickly turning away.

The rest of the meal was passed quietly. Rukia didn't say anything, and kept her gaze on the large window, her face still a slight shad of pink. Thoughts of her dream (and second one about Byakuya, because the first she never remembered) buzzed through her mind like an angry wasp. Why on earth did she dream of such things? Sure he was good looking… she glanced his way out of the corner of her eye. Hell, he wasn't good looking, he was drop dead gorgeous, even she had always seen that. With that thick shiny hair, those perfect features, that lovely toned body….

"Stop it, Rukia!" she shouted to herself.

"Stop what?" Byakuya asked, surprised at her outburst.

She gasped… damnit!


After breakfast, to help ease the tension, Rukia asked the first thing that came to her mind: if they could go back to the beach.

Byakuya, who really didn't feel up to it, agreed anyway, just glad to find something different to focus on. However, when he beheld Rukia happily packing up her pack his mind changed, perhaps this was a good way of easing the growing discomfort.

Stepping outside both looked up and momentarily basked in the warm morning sun. Then Rukia, who had insisted that she carry the pack, turned and hurried off. Byakuya paused for a moment himself then letting out a sigh followed.

The bright sun sparkled down on them as they walked and Rukia happily closed her eyes and enjoyed the overwhelming feeling of warmth and peace.

When they arrived at the large grassy area they had been the day before, Rukia set down her basket with a relieved sigh.

"I told you I should have carried it," Byakuya said.

She glanced at him.

"I'm going swimming for a bit," she said, pulling of her shirt and skirt and walked towards the beach in her swimsuit.

'Crap there are people here today' she thought to herself as she hurried across the sand.

"Hey, miss!"

Rukia turned to the sound of someone shouting in her direction, and suddenly her eyes nearly went crossed.

"Can't you read?" came the voice again, and a middle aged man appeared.

Rukia's eyes couldn't have gotten any larger without falling out of her head.

"You forgot your towel," suddenly came Byakuya's voice. Rukia jumped at hearing his voice and immediately moved to his side, burying her face into his back. Byakuya glanced at her in surprise at the contact but then turned to the man approaching them.

Byakuya's eyes widened and his head swung around, an unusual blush appearing across his cheekbones.

"I said can't you two read?"

"Nii-sama," Rukia whispered her eyes squeezed tight and her face still buried against his now bare back.

"What is the meaning of this," Byakuya snapped staring the man in eyes.

"That's my line," the man said. "Didn't you see the sign when you came in?"

"What sign?"

"Nii-sama, their all naked!" Rukia cried from behind him. Byakuya swung his head around to witness an elderly woman walking past them headed towards the beach. He suddenly had the desire to poke his eyes out.

"The sign that said that this was a nude beach," said the man with a wink. "No bathing suits allowed here."

"Nii-sama," Rukia moaned behind him.

"We were just leaving," Said Byakuya turning and immediately regretting it as his eyes took in more vacationers.

Never hearing the man chuckle, both Rukia and Byakuya fled the back as fast as they were able to.

They arrived back to the grassy area a few moments later. Rukia was breathing heavily and at that moment her face was as bright as Byakuya had ever seen it.

It was only then did they notice a small posted sign. 'Nude beach, use at your own risk. Open Wednesday to Friday, 10am to 9pm.'

"Why didn't we spot that earlier?" Rukia moaned rubbing her eyes.

"Luck was against us," muttered Byakuya, more then a little irked by the whole experience.

"Glad I didn't bring the camera," she muttered and Byakuya choked.


As they both walked side by side down the wooden planking Rukia stared out towards the sea, her fingers absentmindedly playing with the charms on her bracelet Byakuya had bought her. Byakuya… she sighed slightly and glance up at him. He carried the pack she had brought easily on one shoulder, his loose hair floating lightly over it as the warm wind danced. He seemed calm, like he always did, and outwardly appeared as if everything around him was uninteresting. He walked with his shoulders back and his head high, a noble even in a relaxed place like this, giving off a sense of power and superiority.

She sighed, looking down to her feet. That was one thing that she always liked about him, his strong presence. At first she had feared it but as the years had passed she had found his presence comforting and reassuring. That no matter what happened she would always have him to count on… a feeling that she had experienced again even today. With him around she always felt safe and secure.

But perhaps it was something more now then just a feeling of security and comfort that attracted her, and the dream she had just had this morning only helped to confirm that train of though. It was these changing feelings and the though of her views of him changing that scared her the most. Even the sight of him this morning, standing at the bathroom sink shaving, as any man would do, had shaken her image of him. The way she was seeing him now was that of just a regular man and not of the powerful lord she had grown to rely on… and the thoughts of that image changing… of him looking more… well ordinary… like her… scared her even more then any romantic feelings ever could.

"Rukia?"

She jumped and would have tripped again had Byakuya not slipped an arm around her waist to steady her. To Byakuya it was an automatic reaction, to Rukia it was different. Feeling his strong arm around her gave her a flash of reassurance that this was still the strong and reliable Byakuya Kuchiki.

She sighed inwardly, calmed for the moment. Whatever happened with the other feelings she may have been developing could fall in place as they liked so long as she still held that comforting image of him… the one that had lead her to fall in love with him in the first place.

...

Byakuya quickly let her go, memories of her against him flashing through his head. With his heart pounding just a bit faster he turned and they continued walking on.

It was only after, did he realised that she had not pulled back but had closed her eyes and smiled happily, and for some reason, deep down, he felt… at peace.

...

At noon they stopped and sat under a shaded tree in a semi deserted park, most vacationers were at the beach on a warm day like this anyway, and Rukia pulled open her pack and pulled out the food she had prepared earlier.

Rukia turned to give Byakuya a plate but paused at seeing him. Byakuya sat contented with his back against the tree, staring up through its leafy branches to the bright cloudless sky above. The same warm wind gently stirred the shinny strands of hair that cascaded over the side of his face. The collar of his loose fitting white shirt was partially opened, as it often seemed to be, showing more then a flash of soft desirable skin as well as a completely naked neck, a neck that was so often hidden by his scarf.

As Rukia stared at him openly, it occurred to her that he could have easily had any woman he wanted. With those looks, his position, and wealth he could have had it all… and yet he choose to be alone for all these years. Staying true to a memory he held of the only woman he had ever loved… and woman that just so happened to be her sist-

"Rukia, how much longer are you going to be staring at me?"

She jumped and dropped a bun.

Byakuya turned away, trying to hide a threatening smile.

"S-sorry," she stuttered like a fool. Crap, she was always so clumsy around him…

Reaching over she went for the bun lying in the grass.


The sun was setting when Byakuya and Rukia made their way back to the hotel. They had spent most of the afternoon down among the shops and visiting other tourist locations. In place of the food they had left with the pack had now held a fair amount of souvenirs. Byakuya too had picked out a few objects he had taken a fancy too and Rukia, who was just happy to see him like this, happily offered to carry it all home (to which Byakuya promptly refused, making sure to carrying it all himself). After the shopping they had enjoyed dinner at a lovely little open air restaurant that after even left Byakuya feeling impressed and refreshed.

They had just passed onto the main street that would take them back to the hotel when a large group of people caught Rukia's attention. Curious, she motioned for Byakuya to wait while she ran over to see what was going on.

"It's the announcement for this years beach volleyball competition," a young man replied to her questioning stare.

"Beach volleyball?" she asked the rather cute blond haired boy.

"Ya," he replied, not noticing Byakuya's hawk like stare from some distance away. "The contest is held each year. Anyone can enter, but you have to register in male/female pairs. Depending on how many pairs enter the competition can take days. During that time lots of street vendors set up out here and during the night lots of entertainment and festivities take place. Its always such a fun time and everyone here looks forward to it all year round. Plus the winners get some really amazing prizes so the competition can be pretty fierce and entertaining to watch!"

Rukia watched with growing excitement as, after the boy had smiled ( with a blush), he hurried off, an excited spring in his long stride.

The crowd continued to grow around the sign post. This was the place they did all the announcing apparently, and people were anxiously writing down dates and times for their favourite band, dancers, etc. to perform as well as snatching up entry forms.

Rukia quickly scurried into the crowd and after snatching up an entry form headed back to Byakuya who was staring at her intently.

"Who was that boy that you were talking to?" he asked his voice flat.

"Oh, I dunno, but hey listen to this…."

...

That evening after they had returned to the hotel Rukia had happily told Byakuya everything that she had heard about the contest. He had sat quietly on the plush sofa in the living room as she rattled off everything that she had learned. He stared at the entrance form she had gotten, his eyes quickly scanning over the rules and fine print on the back of the form.

"Well can we enter?" Rukia finally asked, excited.

Byakuya stared at her for a moment then stood.

"Its getting late, I'm heading off to bed."

Rukia stared after his retreating back as he left the room, and despite her dimmed excitement at his less then positive reaction she knew she could still get her way in the long run. Those thoughts alone gave her enough hope to once again admire his retreating backside as he left the room.


"Nii-sama?" Rukia said groggily, sitting up. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she stared at his pacing form.

"Did I disturb you?" he asked quietly.

"It's alright," she said staring at him. "Is something wrong?"

"Its nothing to concern yourself about," he said moving to stand in front of the window.

Rukia stared at his back. There was enough light from the night life down below to illuminate his face partially and Rukia could clearly see that he was tried. Something came over her then, and looking back she honestly couldn't say why she had done it, but suddenly she slipped from the bed and quietly walked over to him.

"You have trouble sleeping at night, don't you?" she said softly not taking her eyes away from the night sky. Byakuya looked down but she spoke up again before he could answer.

"I've seen you walking the gardens at night sometimes."

His shoulders suddenly bunched up when she gently placed her hand on his back. He stared down at her in surprised at the unexpected touch but she seemed unaware, simply staring out the window.

"You've seen me?" he asked.

She nodded once, then looked up at him. "Is it because you miss Hisana?"

Byakuya's eyes widened and he quickly turned away. "Go back to bed," he said rather coldly, not looking at her.

Rukia stared at him in sympathy. She was truly surprised at her own words a moment ago, but something had made her say them and to this day she did not regret them.

"I wish you would let me in," she said softly, staring at his back. "You can't keep shutting everyone out." She moved up to him again and placed her hand on the small of his back.

"Rukia, please. Leave me be," this time his voice was barely above a whisper yet she could clearly hear the distress in it.

"Byakuya, you are so foolish sometimes," she whispered to herself. Sighing, she tuned and went back to the bed, not noticing the widening of his eyes. She had said those last words to herself but little did she know that Byakuya had an extremely good sense of hearing.

"What is your relationship with Abarai and Kurosaki?" he said suddenly.

"W-what?" she asked surprised, and turned back to him.

"I believe you heard me the first time," Byakuya replied.

"They are my friends."

"Do you love them?"

She blinked. "I love them both, yes."

"In what way?"

She blinked again. "I would give my life to save either one of them."

"So you love them as close friends and not romantically?"

She stared at him. Never before had Byakuya even brought up the subject of love and romance.

"I suppose," she muttered not knowing where this was leading.

Byakuya sighed slightly and looked into the distance, as if lost in though. What he said next made Rukia gasp in shock though.

"The same way Hisana felt about me I guess," he muttered ignoring Rukia's shocked expression. He turned from the window, sitting down on the bed. After a moment Rukia joined him.

"W-what… you mean..?"

"I loved her with every being of my soul and even though she said everything, did everything to show me the same in return, I knew the deep truth of that love… no matter what she did I could always feel it. It didn't make me love her less… I just-"

Byakuya stopped suddenly when warm arms suddenly wrapped around his middle. Twisting his head round he beheld Rukia's face for only a moment before she tightened her arms around him and nuzzled her face into his back.

"Then she was the fool." she murmured hugging him tighter, moving so that her chin now rested on his shoulder.

Byakuya stared, shocked. Not so much by her actions but by her words.

They stayed like that for sometime. Rukia seemed content (and not embarrassed this time) to just sit there holding him. As time passed even Byakuya began to relax a fair amount, his usual stiff posture slumping slightly along with his eyelids. Rukia too was slowly drifting off, the warmth of his body having made her eye lids heavy sometime ago.

So it was that moments later both were sound asleep, completely content and relaxed in each others arms. Only the sound of their steady breathing, now completely in snick with each other, told the world that two souls had grew just a bit closer this night.


Byakuya: zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Rukia: zzzzzzzz HICKEY! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Byakuya: zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Me: *tries to stifle laughter* Indeed.

I wonder what reactions they will have waking up like that. ^^

Ah, well I hope you found that somewhat amusing (and fluffy). I'm not making excuses for my slow update again, as I said as much last chapter, but all I will say is thank you for reading and taking the time to review. I promise to get another chapter up as soon as I can, but again I can't say when that will be. ^^; …. All I will say is that Jealous Byakuya may make an appearance in the next chapter…. Tehehe *dances off*

Many thanks to: BlackBurningHeart, Byakuya-Renji, Darth-Taisha, Rukes, onlyluna, anne, Priscilla, sairypetshogun, 1SuperKawaii, vicky73, rigor mortis, Frozenhowl, Keep Smiling It Makes People Wonder, ByaRukifan, Beijing Girl, Mia. Aka Michan, Kuchiki Rukia-taichou, MeoSua, 1blackcat, K-Power80, XxmichiruxX, and AkaneRei who took the time to review last time! *hugs*