AN: Thank you all for your reviews! You make this girl very happy. Any things needing to be addressed… lessee… uh, I try to capture a moment for each of these theme, so their length fluctuate. The last chapter was a little short, but one thing I assured myself when I wrote this was not to worry how long or short they were. I did that on another story (which to this day isn't finished) and it drove me nuts. Also, those three guys… they're not appearing in this chapter. They appeared a long way back. Once again, someone says something I never even thought about. The first time, it was Hisana being a shinigami. This time, it was having someone to confide in. I suppose it's possible. I just always pictured her as a loner struggling for survival. Doesn't mean another interpretation couldn't have her with a friend. Interesting… I'm also glad people like that this isn't all fluffiness and hugs and bunnies. I quite like the more serious moments. But that's just me, and I'm not a reliable source concerning the quality of this story. Anyway. It's time for theme number four! Away!

4. Our Distance And That Person

Hisana sighed, unable to sleep. Byakuya lay beside her, flat on his back, his face beautifully relaxed and untroubled. He was so close to her, yet a million miles away. For such a regal man while awake, there were occasions where he didn't fail to amuse her in slumber. His arms usually shifted restlessly in the night, flopping above his head, across his chest, hitting himself in the face. When she finally shared his bed, she had to endure his agitated arms hit her in the face. Though, she considered with a smile, those arms could restlessly grip and hold on to her, drawing her inexorably to him. She liked those parts.

She found herself thinking about how she ended up here, married to the head of a noble family, happy yet sad on various levels, closer to him than she'd been to anyone, yet there were moments when she thought she didn't know a thing about him and had a horrible lurch in her stomach to accompany such a thought.

"Byakuya…" she whispered.

He didn't respond, sound asleep. Tonight his left arm – the furthest from her – was bent so it curled up beside his head so his forearm rested above him, while his right arm was awkwardly bent back on itself, his hand lightly resting on Hisana's shoulder.

When they first started sleeping together, even a whisper would cause him to awake and instinctively reach for his zanpaku-tô. She painfully recalled a time where she awoke to find him sitting up, alert with his zanpaku-tô in hand, and screamed her head off. She had learned that she sometimes talked in her sleep, which in turn set Byakuya off. But with anything, time smoothed the path and soon her voice short of screaming had no effect on Byakuya asleep, as did his arms flopping into her body.

'Except the face. His arms are surprisingly heavy,' she amended, lightly reaching out to brush her fingers through his hair. Hisana adored touching Byakuya's hair, but it was strictly a private affair. She knew he would be horrified for anyone to learn about that.

She watched his motionless face, taking in his calm, even breaths.

'I wonder where he is? Dreaming of being a captain, perhaps? Maybe it's about work. Being single again? Midnight walks? We haven't been on one for a while. Time just seems to… disappear before our eyes.' She could feel her heart harden.

Hisana was happy and sad. Happy, so unbelievably blissful at meeting, falling in love with, and being loved in return, by Byakuya. But the memories of Rukia never left her. Time was falling away, and with each day she was distracted by something, which meant she had less time to try combing Rukongai again, no matter how hopeless it seemed.

'That's when he's the furthest away from me. Looking like he doesn't understand why I search almost every day for her. The guilt keeps me going, and the desire, the intense hope, of finding her once more. Then I could try and make amends. If I don't, I'll be damned. Even more damned for abandoning her in the first place. Such a stupid thing to do… maybe that's why he doesn't get it. I don't know.'

Her hand kept relentlessly stroking Byakuya's hair. It comforted her. She liked it better when he was asleep. When he was awake, he either was doing something else, like paperwork, and ignored her while her hands explored his hair, or he sat deathly still like a mannequin watching her play with his hair. He never really said how he felt about it; whether he even liked it or not. She usually quickly tired of working her way around his kenseikan, which put her at an advantage at night with all his hair loose.

He looked so beautiful lying there. Hisana didn't think he'd appreciate considering him beautiful, but he did. Byakuya was handsome awake, but innocently stunning asleep. And it both made her secretly smile to herself that he loved her, as well as feel rather inadequate. The old question of what he saw in her rose in her mind, but she forced it away. Hisana lightly shook her head; she'd already put that to rest some time ago.

Sometimes she wondered if they knew each other as well as they thought they did, that perhaps there were people who watched them and knew them better. It made her heart pound with dread, but she soon settled herself down.

'We may not know everything about the other, but the distance between us isn't that far relative to other people. And time can change things, make that distance close further,' she thought.

'Or grow wider,' a darker part of her countered.

Her hand was now absently sifting through his hair and she drew it away.

"I love you," she whispered, and turned to go back to sleep only to be stopped by a hand that had snuck around her waist.

"Do you think I don't?" his deep voice asked. Hisana heard herself involuntarily gasp. She turned her head to find Byakuya exactly as he was except his eyes were open and trained on her.

"You're awake?"

"Don't change the subject."

Hisana sighed with a hint of annoyance.

"Of course I know you love me. I was just thinking stupid things. Go back to sleep," she told him. He looked less than convinced.

"Tell me, Hisana, why are you awake? It's three in the morning."

Hisana found herself smiling.

"I wanted to touch your hair," she replied and was pleased by his slightly mortified expression.

"While I'm asleep?" he carefully questioned, his hand reaching up to touch his hair with an air of bewilderment.

"I'm sorry." It was all she could think to say.

"Hisana, I don't mind that. It's that I would rather you didn't feel you had to do it while I was asleep," he said, drawing closer to her.

"Sometimes…" she began, but felt she couldn't continue.

Byakuya's expression made her feel guilty.

"… Sometimes I wonder how close we are. There have been times when you've been out of my reach," she explained. She couldn't help but think of the incident of the evening with Captain Ukitake.

Byakuya clearly processed what she said and drew similar conclusions.

"Hisana, never feel that way," he half-growled, "I'm telling you that you can approach me at any time and tell me anything. Don't fear me."

"Byakuya… I don't fear you. I know I can approach you, but there are times when there are others around and I feel like if I do that, I'm somehow breaking this code of behaviour."

Byakuya sighed and pulled Hisana into his arm, her head tucked under his.

"I can't stop myself. You can," was all he said.

Hisana dragged her head up to look at him. His eyes glimmered in the poor light intensely.

"Thank you."

He kissed her, his lips gently brushing hers before placing more pressure and coaxing her mouth open. She sighed happily against his lips before sinking into the kiss.

Some distances could be breached.