Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
Word Count: 445
AN: Oh yeah, the title is exactly what it sounds like. Byakuya can be playful after all. And it's all, I'm sure, just practice for parenthood… Ha!
A Kiss for Shelter
Spank
Had she actually…?
She had.
The slapping sound rang in his mind.
Xochitl was still adamant about serving him at mealtime, despite how her belly often made the process slower and sometimes haphazard.
He tried to stay out of her way, tried not to lunge toward her every time she grew clumsy.
She'd bite her lip a look of slight frustration- pulling a pout- before a confident look smoothed her features. It was apparent the woman was determined to maintain some level of self-sufficiency (which impressed him as much as it worried him).
So when she'd grappled with a stoneware bowl of steamed fish he'd attempted to steady her only for her to slap his hand away.
The shock froze him, left his hand hovering in space. She didn't seem to notice, still going about preparing his bowl.
No one had hit him since… Since… He could not even recall the last time someone had hit him in reprimand… His childhood flashed before him. True his father had not spared him physical discipline when he had crossed a line as a boy…
But he was not a boy now- he was far from a boy. In an instant his mind was set on retaliation.
As she leaned in slightly to set a cup of wasabi to the right of his bowl he took action. He pulled her across his body, one arm holding her beneath her (slowly increasing) bust to keep her from slamming her face into the floor and the other…
She let out a scandalized gasp as his palm made stinging contact with her backside, the smacking sound resounding in the dining hall.
"We are even, are we not?" He murmured in her ear, before gently settling her in his lap.
He gaze at her flushed face. Her lips were still parted in surprise and she blinked occasionally, thoroughly dazed. Slowly she turned her face to look at him and his lips twitched with amusement. He put his hand on her jaw, using his thumb to brush her lower lip as he drew her face closer.
"You have learned your lesson, haven't you?" He murmured against her mouth. When she still didn't respond he nibbled at her lower lip. The blush on her face increased and he hid his indulgent smile by pressing his lips firmly to hers.
…
The next morning after a sweat-inducing spar Renji tried incredibly hard not to stare at the scratches on his captain's back.
When his incorrigible curiosity got the better of him, Byakuya's only reply was a wolfish smirk.
Believe me. The captain inwardly assured. I will attempt to even the score tonight.
AN: One more sweet chapter before the fallout? Hmm… Thanks all!