Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
Word Count: 384
AN: The title of this chapter is a nod to Tori Amos' "China".
A Kiss for Shelter
Great Wall
If he put forward the suggestion Xochitl had adamantly argued, he knew what would happen.
They would demand some assurance that no further relationship would transpire. They would want to be certain that there would be no intimacy between the two that threatened any sense of conventional propriety.
Just thinking on the addendums and clauses they would insure went into the contract made him sick to his stomach. There would be no way the Elders would agree to leave him in any semblance of peace if he would not submit to an agreement that would be legally binding. As it was, he anticipated that he would not be able to escape their watchful eyes going forward.
Still, she was right in thinking that the clans and the Elders would look the other way as far as the child's parentage was concerned. If he made false claims regarding the child's origins they would be only too happy to swallow the lies- it was far better than admitting that the "prince of nobles" had fallen prey to temptation. The former courtesan only need fall back into the shadows where she could not taint him…
He didn't like it- he balked at the very idea of being so duplicitous just to smooth ruffled feathers and gratify the prejudiced hierarchy.
But Xochitl's pride was not so great as to ignore the opposition.
…
They did not share one last meal in which she served. They took no late night tea, interspersing sign into their quiet conversation. And there was no lingering kiss that threatened to be the last.
Xochitl relocated on a windy day in the second week of February. Byakuya had been slowly furnishing her rooms in the manor with a variety of furniture to ensure her comfort. Thus she left the main house with more than she had moved in with.
The small troupe of servants that helped her move wound through the eastern garden and into the trees looking much like a funeral procession.
He had known when she started packing up her rooms. A part of him had prepared for her to take such action.
So as the servants steadily emptied the once lonely chambers Xochitl had brought to life, he drafted his proposal to the Elders, ignoring the ache in his reluctant hand.
AN:
Next Chapter: Does Xochitl have competition? The Elders assert themselves in an unforeseen way.