So, some of you may have noticed that the title of this chapter is a tad different than the others. If you didn't because you don't read the titles of the chapters, somebody please tell me why I'm putting all that effort into making them up...

Anyways, that's right peoples! Thirteen chapters after the suggestion was made, the hug finally happened. This chapter is dedicated to makaykay15, who has been waiting for the hug since chapter ten. Sorry for the wait but... Yeah. Just sorry for the wait.

I tried a new style out for this chapter- switching back and forth between the POVs. Tell me if you like?

It's a bit shorter than usual but Meh. We'll go with it.

If I owned Bleach I'd be a whole lot richer.

His mask had gone back up, and depression weighed heavily on Byakuya's shoulders. His dreams were only getting worse, and everything seemed to be coloured in black and white. Even Kaili couldn't cheer him up, although she tried. The knowledge that he could never mean anything for anybody was pulling him down, pressing him between despair and awful, biting loneliness. If he weren't a Kuchiki, Byakuya might have killed himself. But if he weren't a Kuchiki, he would have been allowed to be himself, and he wouldn't be considering it in the first place. If he weren't a Kuchiki, life might actually have been worth living.

Instead it was a fight just to keep putting one foot in front of the other. He longed to take the paperwork and throw it out a window. He wished that he could laugh at Kaili's antics, instead of watching with an unreadable expression. He wanted to wrap his arms around Renji's neck, and feel the other man's lips against his. He wanted to scream, to laugh, to cry, to feel, but he couldn't. He was a Kuchiki, and nothing else mattered but the title. He was a Kuchiki so he must be a Kuchiki, in every meaning of the name.

And so he dragged himself through life, forcing the mask up and never showing how awful he truly felt. After all, that's what Kuchikis did.

Renji spent two hours tossing and turning, before he got out of bed and pulled on his Shinigami robes. There was no way that he was going to get to sleep, and he knew it. Instead he took a page out of Byakuya's book and went for a walk.

He hadn't been expecting to see his Captain staring out at the stars. The small man looked as though he was near his breaking point, or like he had passed it, but was fighting not to show it. For a moment, Renji contemplated turning and walking away and leaving Byakuya in peace, but then Kaili's words rang through his head. It was as clear as though she were standing right next to him.

Maybe you should give him a hug. He likes you, he really does like you. He needs a hug, really, really badly. Maybe you should give him a hug. So, with the suggestions of a child repeating themselves in his mind, Renji braced himself for potential death by a million tiny blades, and approached his captain.

Byakuya was so absorbed with not crying that he didn't notice that Renji until he spoke from behind him. "Captain?" Byakuya turned, his noble mask firmly secure. He was expecting questions, maybe along the lines of 'what're you doing here,' or maybe, 'are you alright?' He was not expecting strong arms to wrap around his waist and pull him close. He stiffened for a moment, and then succumbed and let his head rest against Renji's shoulder.

Renji waited for the inevitable 'Scatter Senbonzakura,' or the even more likely, but much more dreaded, 'Bankai. Scatter, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi' (guessed at spelling. Don't kill me.), but neither came. Instead Byakuya relaxed against him. It was unexpected, but very welcome. Unfortunately, Renji wasn't quite certain what to do next. He hadn't really been planning for this possibility. Staying that way seemed a good way to start. After all, it wasn't as though either of them was protesting it.

Byakuya's skin was cold, and he was shivering. Maybe staying out there wasn't the best, but Byakuya didn't really seem like he was going to move any time soon. Actually, he seemed quite content where he was, and since Renji was quite happy with the smaller man in his arms, he wasn't complaining.

He could've pulled away anytime, really. He could've said 'that's enough', and left it at that. Instead he stayed right where he was, and when Renji tugged him a bit closer, his grip tightening, Byakuya couldn't keep the mask up any longer. It shattered into a million tiny pieces, resembling his Bankai, but not nearly as pretty. And once you started to cry, it was nearly impossible to stop.

It took Renji a moment to realize that Byakuya was crying onto his shoulder, but once he did, he wasn't quite sure what to do next. He wasn't used to people crying on his shoulder. Gently, he rested his chin against Byakuya's head. This close Renji could smell him, a unique blend of sakura and steel. With anybody else, the scent would have been odd, but it suited Byakuya perfectly. Sakura and steel, just like his zanpaku-to. Sakura and steel, just like his personality.

Byakuya's fingers clutched at the front of Renji's robes, as though his grip were the only thing holding him to life. And maybe, Renji contemplated, it was. After all, hundreds of years of pent up emotions had to leave somebody very depressed. Maybe, Byakuya had needed this for longer than anybody could ever imagine, and nobody had noticed until Kaili had come along.

Kaili, a young child, had noticed what nobody else had ever guessed at. Renji lifted a hand, and carefully ran it through Byakuya's soft hair. He definitely owed Kaili more than just apple juice.

Thankee to all reviewers =)

Please review this chapter and tell me what you think. Even if you didn't review any of the other chapters, review this one, please! It's the most important one of the story, basically, and since I tried out that new style mentioned above I really want to know what you think! Good, bad, horrid?

Oh yes, and if I didn't seperate any of the sections, I'm sorry... I think I got them all but...

Until the next chapter

-Stormy