A/N: To my biggest fan, PoisonPenPrincess, I am truly sorry it's taken me this long to post. :( School/work/life gets in the way. And if I think too hard about this story it totally consumes me and takes me away from the important things, so I'm going to try and work on this during the weekends more often. Anyway, this chapter is probably as lemony as it gets for me. No vivid and lengthy descriptions about sex and intimacy, although there will be more instances. That being said, I may edit or rework this chapter sometime in the near future, not too much, but if I feel like there's dialogue or scenes that are not in-tune with the characters as they progress, I will tweak it a bit. And I will let you know in the authors notes of my latest chapters if I do. Hope you guys enjoy! Next chapter will be out by this weekend, hopefully *crosses fingers*

Present

She was on her way out of the Squad 10 barracks in hopes of getting her duties done as quickly as possible – well, at least the first one. Then she'd have an excuse to leave sooner. It had been about a week since the Karakura town battle and already she was back to work. Her hands trembled as she walked across the other end of the Seireitei, unable to flashstep lest in her nervousness she dropped all Captain Hitsugaya's paperwork.

She could still feel the warmth of his whispers and the strength of his lust. She remembered where her nails had dug deep into his creamy flesh, and the bruises she received when he'd force her up against the wall. In her more desperate moments she could still feel his cold fingertips trailing the inside of her thighs, and the kisses he would place from the back of her neck all the way down her spine….

She shook her head in denial of her daydream, bringing her back to the real world and the task at hand. To her surprise, she had absent-mindedly made her way through the barracks as if she'd known them by heart, and stood facing Captain Kuchiki. He was busy writing at his desk, and Rangiku took a moment to look around the room before addressing him. A picture of the captain and Lady Hisana on their wedding day filled her heart with… what was it that she was feeling? Jelousy? Regret?

"Good morning, Lieutenant Ichimaru," he had yet to look up from what he was writing on his desk. His writing was neat; long and artful brushstrokes created dancing words.

"Good morning, Captain." She realized that her tone was a bit annoyed, as if Captain Kuchiki should have called her by her maiden name. "I was sent here by Captain Hitsugaya. He would like you to co-sign on a petition he's started to ban Central 46 from confiscating the possessions of Aizen and the other traitors." The last word left a bitter taste in her mouth.

"Hmm," as if he was deep in thought, the captain of Squad 6 furrowed his brow, writing uninterrupted. Rangiku was well aware that he had already made up his mind, and that his pensive expression was all for show.

"What does he suggest be done with these articles?"

Lieutenant Ichimaru tapped her foot, obviously annoyed by his response. "He intends to hand most of them over to the Shinigami Research and Development Institute for Captain and Lieutenant Kurotsuchi to work on."

Tap. Tap. Tap… Tap. Tap. Tap…

Captain Kuchiki finally dropped his quill and look the Lieutenant in the eyes. His grey irises were as cold and meaningless as ever. "I do not see why those affairs should be in either of our hands, Rangiku. Let Central 46 do what they want with the traitors' belongings. They have no honour and should not be treated otherwise."

"Byakuya, please!" Rangiku's voice broke, unsure if she should address this captain in that way, any superior, for that matter. But she determined to keep going.

"I mean – Captain Kuchiki," she bowed her head in apology, "I was the one who suggested that my captain come to you first. I was sure that your agenda would be in line with Hitsugaya-taicho. I was sure you'd both want the same thing."

At this Rangiku heard Captain Kuchiki's chair scrape across the floor. Her eyes widened, but she dared not look up, and she saw his sandaled feet as he walked toward her, finally hooking his index finger to lift her chin. Icy blue eyes met cloudy grey ones.

"What is it that you want, Lieutenant Ichimaru?"

It was true. He saw through her ruse, there was no reason to answer dishonestly at this point.

"I want them to leave our house in the Rukongai alone. I don't want Asuna having to be involved in this at all."

He stared, and she stared back, afraid that if she broke contact it would dissuade him of helping her, like he'd done so many times before. He took his finger from underneath her chin and sighed.

"I'll sign it. I'll have Lieutenant Abarai bring it back to your Captain shortly."

"Thank you, Bya – "

"Captain Kuchiki."

She smirked as she turned on her heel to leave. Typical Byakuya, never wanting to show his true colours.

"Rangiku."

"Yes, Captain?"

"I've got a few gifts for Asuna. I missed her birthday and I know she must be upset-"

"Don't worry about it," She turned back and placed her hand on top of the captain's, "After all, she wants to be just like you."

They were staring at each other again. I'm sorry, their eyes said, a million times over. He placed his free hand on top of hers as a sign of forgiveness.

His fingers were as cold as she remembered.

It was mutual need for another soul to share in their pain that caused them to comfort one another. Hisana was dead, and Gin was an enigma. He'd abandoned her, and she was tired of feeling that way.

"Matsumoto," he would say as he stroked her hair, rousing her from her sleep. They were in the Squad 6 Barracks training dormitories. Since there were no more Shinigami graduates for another few months, this wing of dormitories was completely empty and completely at the captain's disposal.

"Stop being so formal, Byakuya," she yawned as she rolled over, her breast making contact with his cold, hard chest. "We're fucking, aren't we?" She wrapped her arms around his neck to pull herself closer to him, giving him a slow and sloppy kiss as she hooked her leg around his to draw it between her thighs. His cold skin sent tingles everywhere.

Byakuya smiled; he looked like he might actually laugh. It was a rare occasion for him – it made his jaw hurt, but he did it for her.

If he could describe Matsumoto – Rangiku – in one word it would be life. She was full of it. And she indulged herself by sharing it with him. Since Hisana died, well, he was close to death more times than he would like to admit. And even though it was Rangiku's advances that brought them here, he was enjoying it just as much as she was.

"Fuck is such a callous word, Rangiku. Can't we call it 'sleeping together?'"

"Sleeping together? That's what you want to do? Okay. I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight!" Byakuya could feel the warmth and wetness from between her legs slowly retreat as she turned over to her side and fluffed the pillow. Damn it! Him and his formalities. He should have known with her playful nature that she loved to tease him every chance she got. That she liked him to beg, to be desperate for her. Captain Kuchiki always made sure to leave his pride on the other side of the bedroom door.

He turned her over forcefully, knowing that if they didn't get a round in soon it would be time to leave. She never stayed, and he never asked her to. It was an affair; he knew she was married. But her husband was never in the picture. He didn't even know who he was.

"Apologize."

"For what?" his face was in her hair and it smelled of sweet grass. He wasn't sure what he was apologizing for. Sometimes Rangiku's silly games got too convoluted.

"Apologize. We're not 'sleeping together' unless you do."

He pursed his lips. "I'm sorry, Rangiku."

"Not like that, you silly Captain." She giggled as she slid underneath him, the full force of his weight resting on her body. "You've got to kiss me."

She hardly finished her request before his cold and soft lips were brought down on hers. Their collision created fiery heat that sent Rangiku's back arching and hips bucking upon contact. Byakuya scrambled for any piece of flesh he could grab onto, leaving blossoming bruises on her neck and collarbone. When they finally parted, they were panting. His colourless eyes and her icy blues ones met, asking each other for the same thing: more.

"That was nice and all," Rangiku tried to lower her voice to sound seductive, but she was just as out of breath as the Captain, "But that's not where I wanted my kisses."

A slightly naughty smirk crept up on the captain's face, making him that much more attractive as he lifted her leg sky-high and disappeared underneath the sweat-soaked sheets.