WHEN THE SNOW FALLS
by Yih

Chapter Twenty-five
Ripple the Surface

Something strange was going on for the last week and Rukia was getting tired of feeling like Byakuya was avoiding her. It wasn't like he ran the other direction when he saw her, but somehow always manage to make an acceptable excuse to spend the least possible time with her. It had to do something with the Elder meeting he had attended recently. It had to be… Rukia bit her bottom lip. Had the Elders found out about them? They had been so very careful…

They acted like brother and sister whenever anyone else was around. She was so careful, not wanting this wonderful feeling of them being together to go away. She couldn't bear not being with Byakuya, not after having been with him. Of course, she knew eventually – sometime in the distance future – she would have to watch him marry a noble woman and to watch him have children with her… but she would accept that as long they were still together and that he swore the only one he loved was her.

Rukia knew she was a good person, but she wasn't generous enough to allow him to love someone else other than her – not while he loved her. What would it be like, she wondered, to watch him have a family and with her on the side, as his secret mistress? It would be horrible. It was bound to happen. She thought she could accept it, but could she really?

"Earth to Rukia!" Kaien exclaimed as he tapped his finger on her forehead.

Rukia flushed and looked up at her fukutaichou with an embarrassed smile for having been caught in her wandering thoughts. He smiled back at her and it wasn't the same carefree smile he used to have, but he looked far more content now than he had been that whole year after Miyako's tragic death.

"What do you want?" Rukia asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"Ukitake-taichou wants to see you," he remarked, "when you have the time."

Rukia had noticed that she was spending more and more time with Ukitake and receiving much more responsibilities than was appropriate for an unseated officer. Personally, she had never heard of an unseated officer being delegated the duties she oversaw. It was like she was the 3rd seat, even if she wasn't that officially. It didn't matter if she held that position or not; she truly loved what she could offer her squad in whatever capacity.

"Ukitake-taichou," she said as she knocked on the door, "it's Rukia."

"Please come in," Ukitake said, gesturing for her to come take a seat in front of his desk. "I didn't think sending Kaien to get you would lead to such a prompt appearance."

"I wasn't busy," Rukia explained, looking down at the woven floor mats thinking about how she had been pondering about the current situation with Byakuya.

"I don't know exactly how to say this… but I thought it best to inform you that the Kuchiki elders approach me about a possible marriage between you and I." Ukitake paused.

Rukia's eyes widened at what Ukitake was saying and it now was beginning to make sense why Byakuya was busy and avoiding her. He must not want anyone to find out about them and…

"No worries, it seems your brother has decided that you are too young to marry and he has asked that I withdraw my offer. I thought it best that you also know, considering the circumstance intimately involves you."

"Thank you," Rukia said softly. "Did nii-sama say anything about what he was going to do?"

"Of that, I do not know."

"Ukitake-taichou?"

"Yes, Rukia-san?"

She lifted her face up to look her taichou in the eye. "May I be excused early today?"

"You may."

-

Of all the people to burst into Byakuya's office unannounced, Rukia was not the person he expected to see at all. He expected Takahiro or one of his messengers or someone from the Kuchiki clan, but not Rukia – not the one he most wanted to see and hold. He had missed her a lot this week as he had thought about what he had to do to keep her by his side.

His resolve had not faltered, but he was aware of the upheaval his decision would cause and he wasn't certain the best way to approach it either. And seeing Rukia, talking to her, holding and kissing her, made him feel so utterly useless because he wasn't doing anything to protect what they had. He knew what he wanted and what he had to do, but he was still in stasis.

Byakuya instinctively reached out with his arms to pull Rukia to him, to hold her and to kiss her, but she dodged his arms. Instead she glared up at him and it was a look he had never seen on her face directed at him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked in a burst and a rush. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"What are you talking about?" Byakuya said, although he had a good idea what she was referring to… the question was how had she found out?

"Why did I have to hear it from Ukitake-taichou? Why couldn't you tell me yourself?" Her expression of anger had faded now into one of sadness and Byakuya decided right then he would rather have her be in a rage than to be sad.

"I didn't want you to have to worry about anything," he said softly, looking away from her before he did something that would be considered weak.

"Byakuya," she said, coming to him and wrapping her arms around his waist, leaning against his back, "I am here for you."

It had been so long since anyone had been there for him, not Hisana – she had relied on him. Who had he ever relied on? His grandfather, but never fully, not when he had been taught to be strong and noble and proud. He could never have shown vulnerability in front of Kuchiki Ginrei.

Byakuya turned around and held onto Rukia. "I wanted to resolve things without getting you involved, but the only way I could get them to back down on their wish to engage you to an eligible noble was to promise to marry and provide an heir. It was the only way to satisfy them."

"If you must, then—"

"Hush," Byakuya said, holding onto her only more tightly, "there is no one I can imagine being with other than you."

"Byakuya…"

"You are not my sister, Rukia. You are not."

"But—" Rukia protested, drawing away from him so that they could look into each other's eyes

"Let me finish."

She nodded.

"I have done some research," he began. "There is one instance where an adopted sibling within a noble clan did marry her brother. It has been done, so it is not impossible."

"But there will still be opposition, won't there?"

"Yes."

"Because," Rukia murmured, her eyes looking so beautiful to Byakuya, "that adopted sibling was originally noble, wasn't she?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure about this?" she asked.

"I am," he stated calmly, feeling the warmth of her in his arms. He gazed into her eyes, wondering if she knew the storm that was brewing, that they would have to suffer through to be together, would she be brave enough to survive fully intact? Maybe it was only cruel to put her through such turmoil. Hisana had never been the same afterwards…

"It will be hard, thoroughly difficult, but I am certain," he told her. "I don't want to put you through this, though, if you do not want it." He smiled sadly. "Our world will never be the same after this."

"I am afraid of that," Rukia admitted and he felt his heart constrict at her words. "But I am more afraid of not being with you."

-

A/N: How's the situation going so far? Any thoughts/ideas on what you'd like to happen? Thanks for all the encouraging reviews, this fast update is made possible by all your helpful insight! I hope to have this little 'arc' completed soon and we'll see where the story goes from there. Any suggestions would be lovely!

Released: 1/29/2009