A/N: Hey guys! I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated! Life has been a little hectic for me lately and it's made it hard to have the time to sit down and write. But, here is the next chapter, this is part 1 of 2. I am working on the second part already so it shouldn't take me too long to get it done and posted as well. Please let me know what you think of this chapter though! I always love hearing from you guys, some of you have given me great motivation and inspiration!

"Rukia, Ayaka said that you wanted to see me?" She asked as she opened the door to the smaller girls personal chambers. "Oh Rangiku. Yes, please come in. I wanted to ask your opinion on something." She replied, motioning for her to enter and have a seat. "But...before I ask. I need to know...can you please not tell my brother about this?" Fingers twisting and fidgeting. "Of course. I promise, you can tell me anything, my lips are sealed." Taking a seat and watching as some of the tension drained from Rukias posture. "Thank you. Do not misunderstand, I plan to tell my brother eventually, but I don't think it's the right time yet." She said quietly. "So what is it?" She asked, a small smile in the others direction. "Well...I wanted your help...I...I have a date tonight." Her cheeks flushing. "Wait, don't tell me...it's Ichigo
right?" If it were any other person, she would be shocked. The two of them seemed perfect for each other as far as she was concerned, and she couldn't imagine Rukia
wanting to hide going on a date with anyone else...except maybe Renji.

"Wha-? How did you know?" Eyes wide in surprise. "I had a hunch." She laughed in response, seeing the other turn her eyes to the floor in embarrassment. "Hey, I get it. Byakuya isn't exactly fond of Ichigo, and I would want to keep it quiet for a while too." Her tone reassuring. "You mean like you and my brother are doing?" A small, wicked smile crossing the other woman's features. She felt her own jaw drop a bit at that comment, it was true that she and Byakuya were dating, in secret no less, but she didn't think anyone besides her captain knew about it. And he only knew because he'd figured it out after the start of the war with the Quincy, when she was crying to him in the office about how worried she was for Byakuya.

She chuckled softly at the look of shock on the taller woman's face. "Don't worry, he didn't tell me. But your face sure just did!" Letting out another laugh as she
took a seat of her own. "So...So how did you know then? I thought we were doing pretty good with pretending to still be just friends." Tone laced with confusion. "Oh,
you are. But ever since I helped him fix his tie for a date of his own, like two and a half years ago, I've been paying close attention. I first suspected it was you about a year ago. You'd come to visit and after you left, I saw him smiling on his way back to his room, he was lost in thought and hadn't noticed me." She said, stopping
for a moment as one of the servants brought tea for them.

"After that, I started to notice him spacing out over breakfast, and during clan meetings. Not too often, but enough to let me know that there was something or someone else on his mind for once. And then a few months ago, I noticed that whenever he speaks of you, he calls you Rangiku now, and not Matsumoto. I don't think he's even noticed it himself." A smile breaking out across her face as she met the others gaze. "Thank you, Rangiku. My brother seems to be happy again after so many years, and I know that it's because of you." She spoke, schooling her features into a serious look. "But I must inform you as his sister and a member of the Kuchiki clan, should you hurt or betray him, you will have to answer to Sode no Shirayuki and my Bankai. Is that understood?" Doing her best to seem intimidating to the blonde. "Crystal clear, lieutenant." The other said with a small smile and a mock salute. "Trust me, I have no intentions of ever hurting him, and there's no one, in any of the realms, that could make me betray him. You say that he is happy, and I am overjoyed to hear it, because he makes me happier than I ever thought I could be. Rukia, I love Byakuya. Very much, so please don't worry yourself about it." Joyful tears threatening to fall past her lashes at her confession. "Good. Now...I need help with what to wear and how to do my hair for this date!" She exclaimed with a nervous laugh.

Six months later

He and Rangiku were finally out in the open about their relationship, and he had to admit that it felt wonderful. No longer did he have to worry about other men trying
to ask her out, or worse being inappropriate perverts, trying to cop a feel when she was drinking with them. Now that everyone knew she belonged to him the cat calling and sexual jokes had stopped, and the rumors that used to swirl around about her promiscuity had died down to a whisper. Of course, people would always talk, no matter the situation, and it didn't take long for new gossip to make its way around Seretei. The latest of which, painted her as a gold digger, because people could not believe that the two of them had anything in common, other than their job and good looks. He didn't like it, but she didn't seem too bothered by it, in fact she laughed when she found out what they were saying about her. If she wasn't interested in stopping the rumors, he wouldn't push it either. Besides, as long as they knew what was really going on, it didn't matter to him what others thought, not even his family.

Rounding the corner on his way to the garden outside his quarters, he caught sight of Rukia on her way off of the grounds of the manor. He was about to call out to her, but her name died on his lips as he took in her appearance. She had her short hair pinned back away from her face, and it looked like she was wearing lipstick. She was wearing a black dress that hugged the frame of her small body, the fabric tied at the back of her neck like a halter top, it was backless to her waist and it's length reached just above her knees. She was also wearing purple, extremely tall heels, what did Rangiku call those again? Oh yes, stilettos. He had never seen her dressed in such a manner, and had been rendered speechless at the sight of her. So much so that it took him a few moments after she was out of sight, to realize that she must have been dressed up for a date. Wait, since when was Rukia going on dates? Much less without his knowledge? Before he could ponder the question further, a pair of arms wrapped around his middle from behind, hands coming to rest on his chest as Rangiku squeezed him tight, pressing her chest into his back. "Hey there Handsome. What's got you so distracted?" She asked.

"I just saw Rukia leaving, and she was quite dressed up. I was wondering where she was going. You two have grown close, is she dating someone?" He asked, turning to face her and pulling her into his embrace. Oh no, she hadn't gotten to him before he could see the other woman leaving. She promised Rukia that she wouldn't say anything to him until she was ready to tell him herself, now what was she supposed to do? Byakuya could usually tell when she was lying. "She didn't say anything to me about it." Trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. "She's a grown woman now Byakuya, let's let her be. Besides, you should be worrying about other things right now." She said quietly, letting one of her hands slide up from his chest to his neck, fingers twisting into the hair at his nape. "I suppose you are correct. It would be a shame to let my girlfriend down, especially when we have an evening planned for ourselves." Leaning in and pressing his lips to hers, his hands sliding down from her back to her hips.

"Exactly. So come on, let's go get dressed. We don't wanna be late for our dinner reservation." Lacing her fingers through his and pulling him along as she made her way into his quarters. She could feel his eyes on her as he followed quietly, and it sent a small tremor down her spine, knowing that he was appreciating the view. She'd picked out a forest green, floor length dress, with a slit up to her mid-thigh on the left side, and she couldn't wait to see if he liked it. It was strapless and hugged her curves down to her hips, where the chiffon began to flow out, creating a flowing skirt around her legs. Pairing it with white gold earrings, necklace and a set of three white gold bangle bracelets, she added the final touch with silver shoes that had a small heel. Normally, she liked to wear tall stilettos, but with Byakuya, she enjoyed being able to look up at him and high heels made her taller than him, even if just by an inch or so. If the look he gave her when she stepped out of the guest bedroom was anything to go by, she wouldn't be wearing it for too long after dinner.

It wasn't like him, but he couldn't seem to wipe the slightly smug look of pride off of his face as they made their way to dinner. She looked like a goddess and turned
the heads of everyone they passed, and all he could think was mine every time he looked at her, which was often. He was captivated by her, that was nothing new of
course, but tonight, she was a vision, his eyes hungrily drinking in every last inch of her from top to bottom. Speaking of bottoms, that dress was hugging hers perfectly, and he had to stop himself from reaching out and grabbing it, instead settling for watching it sway as she walked ahead of him to their table. Honestly, with the kind of mood she had him in, he could turn around right now and go back to the manor. Forget food, she could be his dinner, and he would be sure to eat every last bite.

They reached the table much sooner than he would have liked, but he made no complaints, maneuvering himself into the rounded booth until he was next to her. The urge to pull her close against him was hard to fight, but he settled for placing his hand on her knee, safely out of sight under the table. Even if people knew they were together, he still had to behave by the rules of the clan, and public displays of affection were to be kept to a minimum. Even more so in this case, as his relationship with her was against the rules to begin with. She gave him a small smile and placed her own hand over his, lacing their fingers together. She understood the rules he had to follow, and even though she didn't like some of them, she respected them and never acted against them when they were together, and he loved her all the more for it. After placing their orders they settled in just a little closer to each other. "Let's make a toast." She said suddenly. "And to what would we be making this toast?" He questioned. "To us. To whatever lies ahead." Raising her wine glass. "May we overcome any and all obstacles in our path." Lifting his own glass in return.

Setting her glass back on the table she glanced around the restaurant and nearly had a heart attack at the sight of bright orange hair. Shit, what were they doing here? How was she going to keep Byakuya from noticing them? Was that even possible? Ichigo was the kind of guy that was hard to miss, and not just because of the hair. Damn, she never thought that they would be going to the same place for dinner. She was just going to have to keep Byakuya's attention on her as much as she could, and hope like hell he didn't see them. "So, you never told me what you think of this dress. Do you like it?" She asked, watching as his eyes drifted up and down her frame. "Yes, I like it very much. The color suits you wonderfully, and it seems to have been made for your body alone, which I also like very much." He replied, a look of hunger flashing through those gray orbs. Bingo, she had him where she wanted him. Leaning in, she whispered in his ear. "I want you to know, I'm not wearing any panties." Her tone teasing and seductive. He inhaled sharply, his hand squeezing her knee, at the confession. "Careful love, you'll make me want to forget all about dinner in favor of getting you out of that dress." He whispered, taking another sip of his wine.

An image of him pinning her to a wall and taking her against it flashed through her mind at his words. "Why bother taking it off?" She giggled. One eyebrow rose in response to her question, and he seemed to be contemplating the answer for a moment. "Indeed. In fact, I believe I like the idea of you keeping it on even better." His hand sliding from its place on her knee, up to her upper thigh, gently squeezing and traveling back down. She'd assumed he was going to stop and leave it at that, his actions having already caused a rush of heat through her, but she was dead wrong. Reaching over under the table, he placed his hand on her exposed thigh and quickly moved up the inside, until his fingers were just inches from her womanhood, drawing a startled gasp from between her lips. This was not where she'd been trying to take things, but now that they were there, she wasn't sure she wanted him to stop. Fooling around in public had never been on her list, though she couldn't deny the thrill that ran through her at the thought of him touching her so intimately while they were in plain sight of others. "Byakuya...wh-what are you-" Another gasp as his fingers found their way to their goal.

He'd known she was dangerous, from the moment their relationship began, but he never thought he would be doing something like this because of her. He was quite enjoying the look on her face, shock and embarrassment, wrestling with pleasure and desire for control of her features. Letting his fingers travel up and down the delicate skin, he felt her body react, growing wet with his touch, and he couldn't stop himself from pumping one finger into her. "Byakuya...wait...don't...oh my god." She whispered, attempting to stop him and giving in when he let a second finger join the first, her own hand grasping tight to his thigh. Glancing around, he noticed that no one was paying them any attention, so he grabbed her closer leg and brought it over his own, spreading her legs and giving him a bit more access. If someone had told him a hundred years ago, that he would end up fingering his girlfriend in a booth at a high-class restaurant, he probably would have ended up setting Senbonzakura on them, for even suggesting such a thing, but here he was, and he was enjoying it more than he would like to admit. Listening to her shaky breaths, watching her squirm while trying to stay quiet, and feeling her contracting around his fingers was exhilarating in a way he had never imagined.

She'd been teasing him all evening, and now it was his turn, bringing her to the edge of her climax before removing his fingers from her. He almost laughed at the confused whine she let out, smiling smugly in her direction instead. "I think that is enough for now. Do not worry love, I promise to finish what I started, just not right now. " He assured, his tone deep and seductive. Goosebumps rose along her skin, and she shivered slightly, no doubt imagining just what he would do to finish things. Just to reiterate his promise of satisfaction, he licked the fingers he'd just removed from her, eyes locked on hers. "Delicious. I believe I know what I will be having for dessert this evening." Leaning back into the booth and placing his hand back at her knee. "Oh, now that's just mean Byakuya." She exhaled in frustration, crossing her arms over her chest and turning her head away from him. "I guess you will just have to punish me when we return to the manor then." He casually whispered in her ear. She tried to hide the blush, but he saw it anyway. He was about to lean in and kiss her shoulder -rules be damned- when movement at the corner of his vision caught his gaze.

It was Kurosaki, or should he call him Shiba now? That shock of orange making it's way across the room and back to a table for two, he was prepared to ignore the boys presence and go on with his night, that was, until he saw who was sitting at the table with him. Rukia was on a date with Kurosaki? Over his dead body.