Author's note: Hey guys (: Chapter five is up (obviously). At least I didn't take too long to update...? (: Haha.

And, I know that the 'confession' scene isn't for a while yet (but don't worry - it will come), but I was wondering who you guys would like to 'confess'? Renji, Byakuya, or no one - they have an awkward moment, and then kiss? Please tell me at the end of your lovely review (: And, please, keep in mind that what you choice may not be definite.
Please review! (:

~Rainbow Fruit Loop

Blossoming Romance
~Chapter5~
G o i n g T o T h e R e a l W o r l d

"I trust that, for once, you will do as you are told and complete your paperwork." Byakuya said to his Vice Captain, fixing him with a cold stare.

"Yes, Captain. I have a lot to catch up on." Renji said, tugging at his hair.

"Indeed." And with that, Byakuya had shunpo-ed out of the office, and was headed towards the First Division.

What an inappropriate time to have a Captains meeting.

Byakuya had more important things on his mind.

Like what his feelings were for his Lieutenant.

And how he could make sure that Renji definitely didn't pick up on his confusion.

The obvious answer to the situation was to be harsher and colder.

Right?

I need to be harsher on Renji; to make sure that he knows that his place is under me.

Byakuya cringed at the unwanted pun.

The Kuchiki Noble arrived at the First Division barracks, a crease in his brow.

Not surprisingly enough, he was one of the first Captains there.

Most of the other Captains are usually late.

The Thirteenth Squad Captain Jūshirō Ukitake was standing in the corner of the room with the Eighth Squad Captain Shunsui Kyōraku.

There were leaning against the wall, their heads close together, and were chatting quietly.

They both looked up when Byakuya entered the room.

Byakuya felt like he was intruding on 'a moment'.

"Good morning, Byakuya-san!" Jūshirō greeted warmly, pulling his head away from Shunsui's.

"Hey, Byakuya-kun~!" Shunsui said enthusiastically, a lazy smile on his face.

They both made their way over to Byakuya.

"Good morning, Ukitake-san, Kyōraku-san." Byakuya commented politely.

"How are you?" Jūshirō asked, cocking his head slightly.

"Fine. And you?"

"Ne, I'm good." Jūshirō smiled.

Shunsui yawned, and scratched the back of his head.

Byakuya was about to say something, when he was interrupted by various other Captains entering the room.

Byakuya watched as the Fourth Squad Captain Retsu Unohana entered, followed by the Tenth Squad Captain, Tōshirō Hitsugaya.

"I guess we should start lining up now. Old man Yama will be here soon." Shunsui said, smiling lazily.

"Yes." Byakuya went and stood in his place, next to Retsu.

She smiled softly, but didn't say anything, which pleased Byakuya.

Byakuya wasn't a social person.

At all.

He only attended the Captains meetings because he had to; and if the Gotei Thirteen ever had a 'special meet up' for a 'chat', Byakuya would make up an excuse not to attend.

Because the truth was that he felt very uncomfortable socializing with people. He didn't like having to talk about himself. And he didn't like listening to other people tell them about his problems.

It irritated him to have to appear interested.

Byakuya knew that, as a Noble, he should be able to be social. But he wasn't.

When he socialized, he felt awkward, which then made him feel irritated. This often gave him a domineering and condescending outward appearance.

So Byakuya thought that it was generally safer to avoid social conventions. Which, in turn, only made his superior reputation stronger.

Byakuya knew what people said about him. He knew that he was considered one of the least-liked Captains in the Gotei Thirteen. He knew that his nickname was 'Captain Stick-Up-His-Ass.'

But he didn't particularly care.

Byakuya also knew that people had spoken for a long time about his 'unusual' choice for a Lieutenant.

Why did I choose Abarai as my Lieutenant?

It still confused the Sixth Squad Captain as to why he had chosen the brash, loud, red-haired man to be his Vice Captain.

His justification at the time had been that he had wanted to 'keep an eye on' the Shinigami who was close to his adopted sister.

But now, he wasn't so sure.

Byakuya was just about to start pondering the current situation with Abarai further, when the voice of Captain-Commander Yamamoto interrupted his thoughts.

Startled, the Kuchiki Noble looked around. All of the remaining Captains had arrived, and were standing in their usual positions.

After a few greeting words, the Captain-Commander started his 'speech'.

"I am please to announce that all of the reparations concerning the 'Bount Incident' have been completed." He said slowly.

This is going to be a long meeting…

Byakuya's back felt stiff, although, he didn't show it.

The meeting had been an exceptionally long one; they had all been standing for three hours.

The Sixth Squad Captain had been very distracted throughout the entire meeting.

It was very out of character for him.

And what annoyed him the most was that his thoughts were centered around a certain, fiery, red headed Shinigami…

"…And so I would like to personally give my thanks to the Twelve Division."

Byakuya zoned back in to hear the Captains clapping.

Although the Kuchiki Noble was always portrayed as the type who pays attention, even he got bored after three hours of listening to the Captain-Commander telling everyone what he had told them at the last Captains meeting.

As Byakuya glanced around the room, he noticed that most of the other Captains also looked thoroughly bored.

Although Jūshirō and Shunsui were standing apart, they were 'communicating.' Shunsui was mouthing words very unsubtly. Jūshirō was simply smiling and nodding, and occasionally laughing silently.

I wonder what they're talking about.

…It's none of my business.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi, the Twelve Squad Captain, had his arms crossed, and was drumming his fingernails against his forearm.

His long, blue nail seemed longer than ever.

"It has been brought to my attention that Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends are moving out of Karakura town to train for the summer. As the number of Arrancar in that area is steadily increasing, I would like to send Captain Kuchiki to the real world." Yamamoto said his voice as monotonous as ever.

Byakuya looked upwards at the sound of his name.

"You may take your Vice Captain with you, as he knows the real world. You will leave tomorrow."

"Yes, Captain-Commander." Byakuya said, creasing his brow ever so slightly. "How long will I be in the 'World of the Living' for?"

"Until Kurosaki returns to Karakura town, which will be about eight weeks." Yamamoto said.

Eight weeks… in the 'World of the Living'.

…With Renji.

Abarai. I mean Abarai.

Damn it.

How much paperwork won't I get done?

Byakuya sighed quietly.

Spending eight weeks with his Lieutenant in a place he wasn't familiar with seemed like… to put it bluntly – a waste of time.

But, obviously, Byakuya couldn't object. "Yes, Captain-Commander."

"Very well. The meeting is now finished. You are all dismissed." And with that, Yamamoto turned around, and walked off.

Thank Christ for that.

Byakuya closed his eyes briefly, and then made his way towards the exit.

I must get back. I presume that Abarai has disregarded all of his duties.

As per usual.

However, he was stopped by a gentle hand on his shoulder.

The Kuchiki Noble flinched at the unexpected physical contact. He whirled around, only to see Jūshirō standing behind him.

Shunsui was nowhere in sight.

"…Yes, what is it?" Byakuya asked, sounding more irritated than he had intended.

Jūshirō blinked, but then spoke. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"I suppose so." Byakuya said, exhaling sharply. "Although, I ask that you make it quick. I have a lot of paperwork to do – this meeting went on for longer than I had anticipated."

"I think it went on longer than anyone expected." Jūshirō chuckled.

When Byakuya gave no response, Jūshirō tucked a stray strand of white hair behind his ear.

"Would you like to sit down?"

Not particularly.

"If you would like."

The two men sat down on some chairs in the corner of the room.

"Yes?" Byakuya asked, trying not to seem impatient.

"Are you alright?" Jūshirō asked.

What?

Byakuya didn't understand the question. He had told the white haired Captain that he was fine… hadn't he?

Byakuya frowned. "I'm fine; as I said before."

"You didn't seem to be paying attention throughout the entire meeting. I mean, I know that we all lost concentration two and a half hours into it, but you seemed…distracted from the start. And that is very uncharacteristically atypical of you."

"I wasn't distracted." Byakuya said flatly.

I was listening…

Jūshirō smiled. "What was Captain-Commander talking about when he mentioned the Espada?"

He mentioned the Espada?

I presume that I'll just have to guess.

"He mentioned that they were becoming stronger and, therefore, a greater threat to us." Byakuya said firmly.

"Byakuya-san; he didn't mention the Espada." Jūshirō said, shaking his head.

Curses.

I was fooled.

Byakuya scowled. "Well, perhaps I was slightly distracted."

"Is everything ok?" Jūshirō asked,

Sometimes this man's kindness gets on my nerves.

"I'm fine." Byakuya said, exasperated.

"It's about Abarai-san, isn't it?"

Byakuya was about to say something, when he paused.

Yes. I was distracted by him – and it confuses me.

The Kuchiki Noble shook his head slightly.

"Abarai? Why would I be distracted by my boisterous,-"

How would Captain Ukitake know?

"-brash,-"

Am I really that easy to read?

"-fiery,-"

I thought that I had perfected the art of hiding my emotions.

"-inattentive Lieutenant…?"Byakuya finished, realizing how…vague he sounded.

"You tell me." Jūshirō said.

Byakuya frowned.

"I wasn't distracted by him. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere I need to be."

And with that, Byakuya shunpo-ed off, feeling very annoyed.

"So, what took you so long, Jū?" Shunsui asked, brushing a strand of hair out of his lover's eyes.

"I was talking to Byakuya-san." Jūshirō replied, smiling.

The two men were sitting together in their favorite place.

Or rather, on.

Because, strangely enough, their favorite place to sit together happened to be on the Eighth Squad Office roof.

"Ah. Has Byakuya-kun realized that he is deeply in love with Renji yet?"

Jūshirō laughed.

The two Captains had been sitting on the roof during the Byakuya and Renji's training.

They had heard the sound of metal swords hitting each other, and had decided to go and watch.

When Jūshirō realized that it was Byakuya and Renji fighting, he had told Shunsui that watching the two men fight was an invasion of privacy – and that they should leave.

But they didn't, and, instead, watched.

As Yamamoto had said, Shunsui was thoughtful, and always able to see the truth of things.

So it hadn't taken him long to infer that the odd expression of Byakuya's face when he was healing Renji was a look of confusion.

And together, they had deduced that Byakuya obviously felt something for his Vice Captain; had it been anyone else, Byakuya would have called someone from the Fourth Squad to heal the injury.

"No, he hasn't."

"Oh. Did you tell him that we saw them together?" Shunsui asked.

"No. I didn't want him to think that we were…stalking him."

Shunsui chuckled.

"How do you think Renji would react, if Byakuya told him?"

Jūshirō hadn't told Shunsui about his talk with Renji, obviously. Renji had told the Thirteenth Squad Captain his secret in full confidence that said secret would be kept – and Jūshirō would never betray someone's trust.

"I wouldn't know, Shunsui. I wouldn't know. But besides. I don't even think Byakuya-san is aware of the attraction yet."

"Neh. That one always was a little slow when it came to emotional circumstances." Shunsui shook his head.

"I wouldn't say 'slow' as much as 'emotionally inept'." Jūshirō stated.

Both men laughed.

"Thank you, Shunsui." Jūshirō said seriously.

"For what?" Shunsui said, generally baffled.

"For not being socially inept. And for accepting my 'offer', as it were."

Shunsui smiled lazily. "I'm glad I did, Jū. I'm glad I did."

And he pressed a kiss to the white haired man's forehead.

"Abarai?" Byakuya snapped, striding into the office.

"Yes, Captain Kuchiki?" Renji asked, looking up from his work.

He was sitting at his desk, hair up, a pen in his hand.

He looked... completely focused.

Byakuya was silent for a minute.

He actually did some work?

"How much paperwork have you done?" he asked.

Renji gestured to a large pile. "This much."

"Oh." Byakuya was shocked.

His Lieutenant? Worked? Without slacking off?

I am… shocked, to say the least.

"I expect that you will continue to work at this standard." Byakuya said.

"Yes." Renji nodded. "Hey, the meeting went on for ages, right?"

"Yes. It did. And then I was talking to Captain Ukitake."

Renji's eyes widened. "W-what were you talking about?"

Byakuya eyed his Vice Captain suspiciously.

Does he… know that Jūshirō was…'confronting' me about him?

"That, Abarai, is none of your business." He said coolly.

He turned around, and started walking to his desk.

"Oh, and, Abarai?" Byakuya said, looking back over his shoulder.

"Yes?"

"We're going to the real world together."

And Byakuya felt something that felt suspiciously like excitement.