Chapter 23: Behind Closed Doors
(A big happy shout out to Sariniste, Yukino76 and SesshomaruFreak for their absolutely wonderful support for this story. It's dangerously close to the exciting climax, and I am going to finally give it the finish it deserves. Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing. You really make my day! Love to all, Spunky)
Do you need more water, Tetsuya?" Byakuya asked, observing his son's empty pitcher.
The young man was careful not to speak, but nodded gratefully and smiled. Byakuya rose and left the room, walking down the hallway and into a small lounge, where he began to fill it with fresh ice and water. In the midst of his effort, he made a sound of surprise as a blindfold was suddenly draped over his eyes and his husband's voice sounded in his ear.
"Don't resist. It's only me."
"S-sousuke, not now!" the younger man objected, "Tetsuya is...!"
"Tetsuya is surrounded with protections," Aizen said firmly, "both those that can be seen and those that can't. He will be perfectly safe. You are coming with me."
Byakuya expelled a flustered breath as, still blindfolded, he was guided out of the room, down several hallways, and then out of the hospital.
"All of this, just so that you can take advantage of me?" Byakuya mused, unable to help resisting as he was shoved into the back of a limousine and his wrists were swiftly bound.
"I told you not to resist," the elder man warned him, smirking wickedly, "I will bind more of you if necessary, Byakuya."
"I do not suppose it matters that I am really not in the mood for this," Byakuya sighed, relaxing only slightly, "Our son is in the hospital after nearly dying, my own family is probably responsible and their may be further attempts to harm us, but you are only able to focus on your carnal needs. You are intolerable sometimes! As much as I love you. there..."
Byakuya was forcefully quieted as Aizen's commanding lips possessed his and swiftly undid his ability to object. Byakuya felt himself being pushed down on the seat of the limousine and warm hands invaded beneath his clothes, continuing the amorous distraction as the vehicle carried them away.
"So...mmm, why not simply drug me if you don't wish me to resist?" he managed between hard, passionate kisses, "I th-think you...mmm...do want me to resist!"
"As you will recall, you are carrying a child, which I would never endanger by introducing any kind of drug into your systems and secondly, I tease you into resisting because I very much enjoy punishing you for it later!" Aizen breathed hotly in his ear, nipping teasingly at the soft earlobe.
"Bastard!" Byakuya snapped, his lips stiffening rebelliously.
"Yes," Aizen laughed softly, "But unlike most people, I have learned to embrace my wickedness."
"You are awful, taking me from Tetsuya's side, just so that you can maul me!" Byakuya complained in a flustered tone.
"Hmmm," Aizen purred contentedly, spreading his thighs and guiding his blindfolded lover to his nether region, "I agree. That is an awful thing to do. And in my own defense, I can only say..."
He paused, inhaling and closing his eyes for a moment as the impact of those riled lips left him breathless. Then, a slow, wicked smile crept onto his face.
"I didn't take you from Tetsuya's side just so I could maul you," he finished, sinking his fingers into his lover's silken hair and groaning as the lovely man pleasured him, "Mauling you is just the beginning!"
He tore Byakuya away from his aroused privates and dragged the raven-haired beauty onto his lap, joining their bodies hastily and holding on to the other man's soft, white bottom, squeezing to encourage its lusty motions.
"I should be furious with you," Byakuya panted, closing his eyes and hanging on to Aizen's strong shoulders with his bound hands, "I should tell you to stop. But, not only isn't my heart in ever making you stop, you wouldn't stop even if I begged you to. So, what sense is there in even trying? I was hollowed out inside when you left me and when they killed my father and uncle. I spent so many years feeling nothing but that horrid emptiness and hating you...not even because you betrayed my trust and broke my heart, but because day after empty day, all I wanted was for you to come back. When Tetsuya was born, it eased some of the pain to at least have a part of you with me, but I was still hollow inside."
"That is why I make love to you so often now," Aizen whispered, "For the rest of our lives, it will be my personal mission to make sure you never feel that emptiness again."
"Sousuke!" Byakuya gasped, biting hard at the other man's shoulder as his lover's heavy, grinding thrusts, hard kisses and passionate caresses left him sweetly undone.
He felt the blazing heat of Aizen's release and gave himself over to bliss that seemed to swallow him alive. He fell into a sweet, breathless stupor that persisted even as Aizen's hands set their clothes back in place and brought him to rest against his lover's side. They remained that way until the vehicle stopped, and the driver came around to the back and opened the door.
"Even now, you do not let me see where we are?" Byakuya asked sleepily.
"Not yet," Aizen said, biting teasingly at his lips, "Come with me."
He took hold of Byakuya's bound wrists and guided him into a cool building, then onto an elevator, where the two shared another bout of melting kisses as they were lifted upward.
"Sousuke," Byakuya asked quietly, "what are you doing?"
Aizen smiled.
"I am keeping a promise."
"I told you I was taking care of myself," Byakuya objected, "I ate and even rested at the hospital. You didn't have to..."
"That isn't the promise I was talking about," Aizen said as he led Byakuya out of the elevator and down a quiet hallway.
They entered a room at the end of the hall, and Byakuya sensed other presences in front of them.
"Sousuke, what is going on?" he asked curiously.
"I told you. I am keeping a promise. The two people you do not see are Tier Harribel and Coyote Starrk."
Byakuya sucked in a surprised breath at the names.
"Yes, you know them."
"Of course. They are studio experts," Byakuya mused, blushing at the fact he was still blindfolded and his hands bound.
"Come with me."
Byakuya followed breathlessly as Aizen led him into a close-feeling enclosed room and sat him on a tall stool, then waited as the studio attendants prepared the equipment in the room.
"What is this all about?" Byakuya asked, "You want me to...?"
He paused as the attendants left the room and Aizen slipped a set of headphones into his lover's hands and tilted his chin upward slightly, so that he was positioned correctly for the microphone in front of him. Byakuya held his breath as the attendants ran through a brief sound check with him.
"While he was preparing to go onstage for the first time, our son asked me to make him a promise," Aizen's voice said quietly, coming through the device set at Byakuya's ear, "He said that he was grateful to me for giving him the chance to share his talent with the world, and even as he prepared to do that, he made me promise to do the same for you. That is why I brought you here. You are surrounded by the best equipment and the most talented people in the music business. The only thing I want from you is this. You remember the other day, I handed you a sheet of music, a new song I had crafted for a soloist who was going to be debuting for my company."
"Sousuke..."
"You ran through it several times and you said..."
"It was one of the most beautiful pieces I've ever come across," Byakuya remembered.
"I had several experts study the music that your father wrote for you. Then, they assessed just what it was that music brought out that made it work so well with your unique abilities. That song was crafted to be your first release. There are fourteen more of the same high quality, waiting for you to learn them and add them to this project."
"But I can't!" Byakuya whispered, "Sousuke, it would only...!"
"Soon it will be impossible to keep what is happening from your family and from the press anyway. Not now, but soon, I will take advantage of the firestorm around Tetsuya's reveal and I will show the world what has been locked away all of these years."
"I...I can't! The danger to Tetsuya..."
"He is going to eventually be outed anyway. I will not release anything without your permission, of course. This recording is just a beginning, Byakuya...a small step in the direction that Soujun would have wished for you. This is not opera. These are heart-melting songs that will leave thousands of women breathless. I have already tested the effect on Tier."
"You...?"
"I recorded your a capella performance of this before and ran it by my staff. They did not know who was singing, but they all said the same. Your voice is sinfully lovely and you raise the quality of what you sing. When this is released..."
"I doubt that many hearts will melt when my family gets through with damaging my reputation," Byakuya said solemnly, "Sousuke, there are reasons why I have never entered the music world."
"I understand. However, those reasons that have held you back will soon disappear, and you will lose your resistance to letting your talent be shared with the world. This is the kind of music that is in your heart, Byakuya. This is what you should be singing. Every word, every note has been crafted for you alone. This is what I promised Tetsuya, and it is what I promised myself I would do for you, even if it was the last thing I ever did!"
"I..." Byakuya whispered, reeling as something sliced through the bonds on his hands and the blindfold was swept away.
"No more objections," Aizen's deep, powerful voice intoned, "Sing."
Byakuya watched wordlessly as Aizen stepped away, then left the small room and joined the two just outside. His throat tightened for a moment as the introductory music began and his heart raced wildly. His knees weakened and his lips went numb, but as the music continued, the beauty of it seemed to draw him in, and when the time came for him to add his vocals, he didn't hesitate.
I can feel the soul beneath this, Byakuya mused inwardly as he wrapped his mouth around the words, letting them fall perfectly with the notes, This is what my father told me about so long ago. This is the connection between the music and human hearts. Sousuke is right. My father wouldn't want something like this to be hidden, to be held back, to be restrained. And he wouldn't care that it's not opera or what the family would think. He would want me to be doing this, to be opening my heart like this, to be giving everything in song, in my heart, in my life. He wouldn't be angry or reproachful. Just as I only care what is best for Tetsuya, he only cared what was best for me. That is what I feel in this music that Sousuke had his experts construct from what my father wrote for me. This is music that my father would have said would melt hearts and incite deep passions, and those emotions are what help us all to feel more alive.
His own heart ached and throbbed with life as the music seemed to draw the words out of him, making his usually solemn lips smile and his normally stoic eyes fill with sensuous beauty. Outside the recording booth, Aizen Sousuke smiled at the two studio technicians.
"You see? I told you that he wouldn't need a thing. When he performs, it is always flawless. Byakuya is meant for this."
"You'll get no argument from me," Starrk said appreciatively, "And, from the way she's looking at him, I don't think Tier's going to be giving you her impression in words."
"He's amazing..." the younger woman mused, "Why didn't you launch him forever ago?"
"Family issues," Aizen sighed, "But as much as years were wasted, he will make up for them now."
Aizen sat down in a chair, watching silently as the technicians guided Byakuya through each track.
After so many years and so much effort put in, this is what makes the effort worthwhile. He looks happier than he ever has. Not even as a younger man did he have such heart, such life in his eyes. I do love to dominate him, to weaken his knees with kisses, bind him in leather, silk and pure gold and leave him helpless and shaking like a leaf, but when I see him like this, I am the one feeling weak. That is something I will never entrust to anyone else, but Byakuya...he seems to have replaced the heart that life tore out of me. And so, I will never tire of sinking deeply into those dark eyes that tell me everything, into that mouth that loves to defy me, into those arms that I desire, whether they are pushing me away or holding on for dear life. To you, as to no one else, I am free to give everything.
"Aizen-sama," said a messenger, breaking into his thoughts and bringing him out of his reverie, "Shihoin Yoruichi is in your office upstairs. She says that she has information that you will want to hear right away."
"Very well," Aizen answered, "Tier, Coyote, let me know when you have finished here. We will send this to production as soon as possible. I want something to tease people with. We are going to move soon with this."
"Are you sure?" asked Starrk, looking up at him curiously, "He seems pretty adamant about not wanting to move too soon."
"Leave that to me. Just get everything finished. I will be launching him as soon as Tetsuya's identity is revealed. I know that there is a lot of unrest in the Kuchiki family. Things will come to a head soon and we must be completely ready."
"Yes, sir."
He left the studio and rode the elevator up to his office, hastening as he exited and greeting Yoruichi with a note of tension in his voice.
"What did you and Soi Fon discover?" he asked.
"Arisu...the lady snake, is pregnant."
"Hmmm, that speaks to her motive, doesn't it? But you look like a cat who just captured a prize mouse. What else did you learn?"
"The baby isn't her former husband's," Yoruichi reported, "and it seems that the whole facade of them being unable to stand each other is just that, a facade, a complete fake. Kuchiki Orochi is the father of the child."
Aizen's eyes narrowed and darkened dangerously.
"I suppose we don't need to ask anymore which one has more motive or which has done what," he mused, "They are in this together."
"Yes," Yoruichi confirmed, "And there's more."
"Oh?"
"They are meeting for several hours every night or two."
"Probably to make plans," Aizen concluded.
"You know that Tetsuya's debut is about to happen, and you suspected that they already have discovered he is your Mitsukai."
The phone on Aizen's desk rang and he smiled briefly at her.
"Excuse me for a moment."
"Of course."
"Aizen," he said into the phone.
"Boss, are you sitting down?" Gin's voice intoned.
"Why? What has happened?"
"It's the performance, the one from the other night. Mitsukai's near death experience up in the rafters went viral. Within a few hours, hits to our website exploded! The pre-sale digital release of the song they sang on the show is through the roof and everyone is flying onto the social media sites and theorizing who they think Mitsukai is."
"That is...incredible news."
"Well, that's not all either," Gin went on, "Marketing wants to have a contest to see if anyone can figure out who the groups 'angel' is."
"Have you seen any sign that anyone knows?" asked Aizen.
"None," reported Gin, "And the names they are guessing are all dynamic male talents. I know you want to protect Tetsuya-chan, but you are not going to be able to contain this for very long. You should go with the idea from marketing. Have the band do a short tour to build up the frenzy, then..."
"After Tetsuya's debut for Kuchiki Family Studios, we can reveal him," Aizen finished.
"What will you do about Byakuya-san?"
"I will make him understand," Aizen answered resolutely, "Tell marketing to go ahead with the project and as soon as I explain to Byakuya, we will arrange for Tetsuya to make a few short appearances with Espada to play up the contest. I'm sure we can work them around Tetsuya's performance schedule."
"It'll be a little grueling for a couple of weeks, but he's a well grounded young man. I think he'll endure it all right."
"I am sure he will. Thank you, Gin."
Aizen set down the phone and raised an eyebrow at Yoruichi's devilish smirk.
"Byakuya's going to kill you," she laughed, "You know he'll be furious with you unmasking Tetsuya-chan yourself."
"Oh come now, the secret wasn't going to be kept long anyway. And besides," he added, his eyes glinting softly, "I can be persuasive. Even if he initially fights it, he will give in to me."
"Hmmm, maybe about Tetsuya-chan's reveal, but what about those two schemers? I know your plans for them aren't going to be run by Byakuya first."
"No," Aizen said quietly, looking out at the lovely skyline, "I will handle that on my own...my way."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Yoruichi queried, "He won't be pleased with you."
"No, but he and Tetsuya will be safe. And to me, that is more important. Go on, then. Continue to watch them and report to me. I will let you know when I am ready to engage them."