Supernova

By Willow Athena

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of its characters, but Rien and this story are definitely mine

Author's note: After this chapter, I'm going to take a break for about a month. I'm just really busy at the moment. Enjoy. (I guess it was a lot longer than a month – lol...Almost exactly 2 years, if anyone's counting)

Warning: Rating for this story is M, since chapter 30, so if you're not whatever age this site says then stop reading now. Read at your own risk. You have been warned.

CHAPTER 35 – You Are Enough

"Absence diminishes little passions and increases great ones, as a wind extinguishes candles and fans a fire."

~ Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Rien shunpo'ed home. She couldn't think of anywhere else to go. She walked aimlessly through the Kuchiki manor after changing into her own clothes. She was glad it was her blue outfit that had been shredded, and not this red one that Ishida had made her. The childish thought to run away had crossed her mind, but her promise to never leave him had anchored her in place.

She wasn't surprised at all when Byakuya hadn't chased after her. Why would he? He was so angry and nothing she had said had changed that. She could have handled the anger, but what had hurt her most was the distance she felt between them.

She had walked for so long in the fading afternoon light and now it was evening, and she was loathed to admit that she might be lost – not just within her thoughts, but within the Kuchiki estate as well.

She saw a light on in a room she had never been in and curiosity drew her to it. The silkscreen door of the room was left open but the room was unoccupied. She decided that it was as good a place as any to hide out for a while. Even if Byakuya wasn't looking for her, someone else probably would be and she didn't feel like talking at the moment. The headaches and waves of pain were not helping her mood either.

As Rien moved further in and towards the lit candles and incense in the front of the room, she realised where this was. She had somehow stumbled into the ancestor room at the Kuchiki estate. She walked closer to the soft light and reverently studied the many pictures in the various rows, each with their own place of honour.

Byakuya really did look a lot like his father, she noted. His mother was also very beautiful and graceful. Near the front was Hisana's picture. Rien sighed deeply. She didn't know how she was supposed to do this. She put her hands together, like she was praying but continued to look at the pictures near the front.

"Hi, everyone…" She really felt stupid for doing this, but pushed on anyway. I mean, dead people didn't talk back right, and all she needed was for someone to listen. Rien didn't have anybody she could talk to about this, well nobody that would just listen and understand, anyway.

"Um…I'm Rien, I don't know if any of you know me – you probably do, I suppose," she said, and then looked behind her like someone was going to jump out of the shadows and call her insane.

"I… I really love Byakuya, in case any of you had any doubts about that. I know I have not been the best thing for him, but I have tried to love him the only way I know how, but perhaps that is too intense – I know sometimes he seems to think so. But… I think I really hurt him today," she revealed.

"I didn't mean to. I can feel him pull away and I don't know what to do," she sighed deeply once more and looked at Hisana's picture. "How did you bear it… How did you endure him looking at you like you had shattered his heart? I had to get away from it," she confided, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I… I miss him," she whispered.

"What are you doing?" Byakuya coldly asked from the door.

She put her hands down quickly and turned. "Nothing." Her chest began to tighten as she looked at him in the doorway so she turned back around.

"You look a lot like your dad," she said, to fill the empty silence between them. When he didn't say anything in return, her heart sank further. "You've probably come to do ancestor things, I'll get out of your way," she said as calmly as she could and then turned with her eyes downcast and slammed right into his chest. He had been standing so close to her, and yet, he had still felt so far away.

"Um… sorry," she said as she took a step to walk around him but failed.

"Where exactly do you think you're going?" he asked, like he was commenting on the weather.

"I… I don't want to bother you," she explained, still refusing to look up at him.

"Don't you think it's a bit late for that?"

"Oh, um… I'm sorry." She felt frozen by his tone, wanting to run away but unable to move one breath away from him.

"For what exactly?"

"For bothering you," she stated, a little confused about where he was going with this.

"Is that all? Doesn't it matter to you that you almost broke your promise to me?"

"But I didn't, I'm still here," she softly countered, feeling like she had no footing in this solemn chastising yet again.

"But you could not have known that when you chose to defy Rukia's orders and fight. You made a choice in that moment," he said as he walked away from her and closer to the front of the room. His scarf and haori gently flowed around him with the efficient movement.

You didn't choose me, Byakuya regretfully thought.

"Yes, everything you have accused me of is true. I was stupid, reckless, unprepared, talentless, and unarmed – did I leave something out?" she heatedly said as she walked up behind him.

"How would you have ever looked at me again if I had run away like a coward and let Rukia die for me as a result?" His back – she felt like she was constantly looking at it as he walked away from her, she knew every detail so well she could probably draw it from memory. He had even stopped wearing the haori she had given him – that had been more hurtful to her than anything.

"Rukia is my sister, it is not your duty to protect her," he argued as he finally turned towards her.

"No, but it is my sworn duty to protect your heart. I didn't chose Rukia over you, I chose her because of you. What do you think it would have done to you to have lost her?" she revealed as tears silently rolled down her cheeks.

"What do you think it would have done to me if I had lost you?" Byakuya argued as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her against him like he often did when she seemed reluctant.

"You can never be that reckless again," he commanded as she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back. She allowed her tears to silently soak into the heat of his chest. She had felt so incomplete until now – so alone. He was holding her so tightly that she could barely breathe but she didn't say anything to stop him.

They both needed this.

The silence stretched out between them for a while, filled with the things neither had the courage or the eloquence to voice in that moment.

"What were your parents like?" she asked in an attempt to distract him – she really did need air soon.

"Why do you ask? I hope you don't plan on joining them anytime soon," he replied without humour.

"I… I've never had any parents, so I was curious about what it was like."

Her answer startled him. He had never thought about the fact that she had missed out on many things he had taken for granted. He moved around to behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close against his chest – he wasn't ready to let her go. He tucked her hair behind her ear and leaned down next to it as she relaxed against him. They both looked at his parent's pictures as he contemplated where to begin.

"My parents would have loved you," he said as he kissed her earlobe. "They were both exceptionally kind and caring. I was their only child, so they worried about me endlessly and were too indulgent – if you believe my grandmother."

"They both look a lot happier than you generally allow yourself to be," she noted.

"They had each other, like I now have you," he revealed. He turned her around inside his arms to face him. "I will never let you go."

She didn't know what to say to that. His words were laced with so much pain that she couldn't stand it at that moment.

"You'd make a great father," she said as she rested her hands on his chest and smoothed down his old haori.

"That is impossible for us," he softly said as he kissed her forehead.

"I know," she sighed and still refused to look up at him.

"Wait…" There was something about her downcast eyes that made him wonder what was going on in that cryptic mind of hers.

He had previously thought she was too naïve about their situation, that she hadn't thought it through, but it was obvious now that she had thought it all the way through right from the start. He hadn't even considered it a problem. He didn't need children, he needed her.

"Is that why you won't marry me? So I can keep my options open... in case?"

"No, it's not that. I just hate thinking of you missing out on something because of me. The way you're saying it makes me sound stupid for even considering it." She struggled inside his arms, trying to break free of his secure hold.

"You are stupid if you could ever think that you are not enough for me," he said as he firmly grabbed her wrist.

"Marry me," he commanded.

"Look, I don't feel like arguing about it now, I just…,"she sighed and shunpo'ed out of the room.

She needed space and time to think, so did he, she thought, as she aimlessly walked around the Kuchiki manor. She just needed some room at the moment, and he didn't look like he was willingly going to give it to her unless she left. The intermittent waves of pain were also making it difficult to logically argue with him at that moment in time.

"I didn't know you played, that was pretty," he said as he crept up behind her as she finished playing the last two bars of Moonlight. He silently sat down next to her and began flawlessly playing A River Flows In You.

"That was beautiful," she said.

"Well, I can't take credit – it's the same composer as the song you were just playing, is it not?"

"I was referring to your playing, not the melody," she corrected. He really didn't know how to take a compliment.

"You will improve with practice," he assured her, picking up her hand closest to him and playfully pushing the keys down with her fingers. She always thought he had the most beautiful hands.

"Is there anything you can't do?"

He lifted her chin up so he could look into her beautiful eyes. "I apparently can't get you to marry me," he warmly said, smiling down at her.

"Are we okay?" she asked with hesitation.

"Yes, if you remember that you are all I need," he sincerely replied, looking into her liquid blue which had suddenly begun to run. He kissed the warm tears silently rolling down her cheeks and then held her securely against him.

"You are enough for me, you never need to be anything more," he whispered her own words back to her. It had been the most sincere thing anyone had ever said to him, and he cherished the moment when she first said it as one of his fondest memories. He had often found himself smiling at the mere thought of these words. She was enough, and she needed to realise that.

He put his right hand under her knees and his left around her back and effortlessly lifted her.

"What are you doing?" she asked uncertainly as she held onto his shoulders for support. She rubbed her eyes clear of all of her tears.

"Allow me to take care of you this once," he pleaded as he walked down the porch carrying her in his arms.

"Someone might see us," she weakly protested as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Tonight, I really don't care," he firmly stated and for some reason, neither did she…just for tonight. She rested her head against his shoulder and allowed herself to be protected by him, this once. She felt safe in his arms. Secure. Loved.

She was at her bedroom door thoughtfully looking out into the first summer storm. "I hate the rain," she stated as he stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"And why is that?" he asked as he leaned down and placed a kiss against her neck.

"It just makes me feel sad and lonely and depressed," she revealed as a crack of lightening was also released.

"But you're not alone, and it can be very romantic if you allow it to be," he suggested, grabbing her wrist and pulling her into her garden outside her bedroom.

"I'm getting wet," she protested, trying to struggle out of his grasp as the luke warm summer rain hit her.

"So am I," he seductively said while pulling her against his bare chest and wrapping his arms around her. In surrender, she put her arms around his neck and leaned into his wet warmth.

She looked beautiful with her rain slicked hair clinging to her face in long layers, and the raindrops falling and rolling down her cheeks as she looked up at him. He bent down to gently kiss her, only to have her lift up on her tip toes to more passionately return his kiss.

"Romantic, isn't it?" he whispered once he had managed to regretfully pry their lips apart. Rien had to admit that the feeling of the cool raindrops falling between their lips as they kissed, and the warm, wet heat of his body moving against hers was unexpectedly passionate.

"Come, you should rest after today," he said while picking her up again and carrying her into her room. He placed her down and retrieved some towels from the bathroom to wipe themselves down with. But when he got back, she didn't look like she was in the mood for sleeping. She stood in the middle of the room and began to unlace the ribbon at the top of her now sheer white negligée. He immediately dropped the towels.

She had just been teasing. He was usually above this kind of taunt. She was actually really tired. She probably wouldn't even be able to… but the predatory way he stalked towards her made her backtrack until she hit the wall next to her desk. Yet again, she was trapped by his arms and his body all around her. But this time, she was more than willing, even though she was less than prepared.

There was so much unrestrained desire in his kiss that she found it difficult to breathe with her heart pounding so fast and her head spinning with his intoxicating scent. His hands ran up her bare thighs and lifted her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist. He leaned into her and pushed her firmly against the wall as he moved down to kiss her jaw and her neck, sending that familiar pulse down her spine and straight to her pelvis as another crack of lightening was heard.

She pushed her hips into his and tightened her legs around him. He growled against her neck and nippingly kissed her, eliciting a desperate moan as her fingers knotted in the length of her hair. She could feel the heat of his hardened arousal as the wet fabric of his pants was the only thing separating him from her entrance. Her hand tugged firmly within his hair and pulled him into a kiss.

"Take me," she gasped against his lips.

Could he really, right here against the wall? No, he decided, he might hurt her.

"Now," she commanded, biting his bottom lip after a rough kiss. That was the last straw.

He carried her wrapped body to her nearby desk, and cleared the surface with a single sweep of his arm across it, sending piles of books scattering to the floor, thankfully in unison with another boom of thunder. He sat her at the end of the desk and divested them both of all their clothes. The desk was the perfect height he noted, as he stared at her beautiful, naked body lying across the desk in front of him.

Her legs wrapped around him again and pulled him in closer against her. The way her eyes rolled closed as he entered her was primally satisfying. Her legs pulled hard against him, trying to deepen his thrusts as she moaned for more. Could she handle more? Could he risk it? He kissed the droplets of water glistening like starlight on her breasts. She gasped his name. Having his name said like that was addictive, he allowed himself to be swept up by it, to give in to what he wanted in this moment.

The next few minutes were a blur of everything that was normally drawn out and gentle turned into unrestrained desire as they both took what they wanted without any regard for any consequences. It was undoubtedly lust... desire mixed with passion.

She wrapped her arms around him as he lay exhausted on her chest, her perky breasts the most comfortable pillows he had ever encountered. "Your heart's beating so loudly," he remarked, still breathing a little heavily. Her heartbeat was so clear now compared to earlier. The memory hurt him. He could not lose her. He would not allow it.

"You need bookshelves. You should use your lounge, I will see to it before I leave," Byakuya said as he straightened up.

He carried her over to the bed, retrieved the towels and then began drying them both off. After he had finished affectionately towelling her hair dry she noticed his deep blush and looked down at her body. She had hickeys everywhere: on her breasts, her abdomen, her arms, probably on her neck as well, and even on the inside of her thigh – she didn't remember getting that one – maybe it had happened when her leg was over her shoulder, she assumed.

She looked up at his naked body being towelled dry in front of her. He also had a few hickeys here and there and a bite mark on his shoulder – she hadn't thought she had bitten him hard enough to leave a mark, but there it was, right next to some love bites on his ivory neck. The marks on her body would disappear in a few hours, but his would still be there tomorrow and she felt a little guilty about that.

"It looks like I was a bit too vigorous. You should wear your scarf tomorrow," she suggested as she got under the covers and he followed, that's when she realised how cold she was and clung against his naked warmth.

"Renji noticed your eagerness a few weeks ago," Byakuya informed her. Renji had incessantly stared at Byakuya's neck all day until Byakuya had given in and asked what he was looking at. Now Byakuya checked himself thoroughly in the mirror every morning before he left.

"What did you say to him?" Rien asked, blushing against his shoulder.

"I informed him that it was an allergic reaction, probably from something I ate," Byakuya coolly said, brushing a hickey on her hip that was disappearing beneath his fingertips.

"And he bought that?" Rien didn't think Renji would be that gullible.

"Well, the only other explanation there could be would be that you gave me the love bite," Byakuya explained. Well, when he put it that way, it didn't seem so farfetched considering the alternative. "And since I so politely ignore all the love bites he has recently been sporting, he should show some courtesy and mind his own business. I wonder who Renji has started dating?" he curiously said and was rewarded with an answer as Rien stiffened in his arms. Besides the fact that he had figured it out that morning, Renji had contritely spoken to him about it that afternoon, but he was determined to let Rien stew for keeping it from him. She looked up at him only to see his blush deepen as he noticed the bright red love bite on her breast pressed against his chest. How had he allowed himself to lose so much control?

Rien could see all the conflict swirl in his misty gray eyes. When they usually made love, it was always long and emotion filled, and he was always so gentle and loving with her. It often felt like they were drowning in each other as waves of emotion washed over them until they crashed against one another. But this time was different, and she could tell that he was embarrassed that he had allowed himself to so passionately take her like that, without all the usual gentleness.

She lay her head back against his shoulder and began playing with the fingers of his right hand like she often did. His hands were so much bigger and stronger than hers and he had the most elegant, beautiful fingers. She was not sure how to phrase what she wanted to say to him.

"Even though this time was different, I... enjoyed it," she said and felt her cheeks immediately heat up. "It felt different, it felt like you possessed me... like I was yours," she continued, in spite of her deepening blush.

He didn't know how she knew, but that was exactly what he had been thinking of between all of the anger, pain, and fear.

Be mine.

"I really liked feeling that desired. I'm not saying that we should do that every time, or you might dislocate my hip or something," she corrected. "But maybe we could try it again sometime... maybe against the wall next time," she whispered the last part.

"How about we agree on a code word? If you ever command me to 'take you' again, I promise I will, regardless of where we are," he offered as he kissed the top of her head. It made him unimaginably happy that he hadn't terrified her with his desire earlier, and if she wanted to feel like she was his, then who was he to deny her. She was his after all, and he would do whatever it took to keep it that way.

"But what if I say it... in your office?" she mischievously asked, like she had contemplated this before but never had the courage to voice it.

"Then I would sincerely hope that you had locked the door and that we were alone when you said it because I don't know if could resist long enough for rational thought," he growled deeply and flipped her beneath him on the bed.

Rien loved this dangerously playful side that he had, and he was constantly teasing her. "If you don't go to sleep right now," he threatened as he kissed her neck, "I might take you again." He moved down her chest and placed his ear against her heart, it was the only way he would ever be able to fall asleep tonight. As long as he lived, he vowed that her heart would never stop beating.

"I froze earlier, I couldn't bring myself to kill him, but when he said that he'd kill me and then Rukia, my zanpakuto came out and wanted to wipe his existence off of the face of the earth, and it almost did. Why couldn't I kill him myself? If I'd used all my shunko and kido, I'm sure I would have been able to, but..."

"You should be glad that killing does not come so naturally to you," he stated as he lifted off of her chest to look into her eyes. They were filling with tears. "Have I thanked you for protecting Rukia?"

"Of course, she is like a sister to me," she softly replied.

"All the more reason you should just marry me," he added. He often tried to add that line in wherever he could. She simply rolled her eyes at him and blinked her tears away.

"Your zanpakuto was right to come out when it did – not to kill, but to protect. It wanted to protect you and it wanted to protect Rukia, and it was willing to kill to ensure that. That is always how it should be. The choice to protect sometimes requires you to kill," he explained as his hair fell all around them to tickle her face. He caressed her cheek with his right hand and she absently leaned into his touch.

"These hands that you love so much have killed," he stated as her eyes shot open. "Do you love them any less?" he asked but she immediately shook her head. "Do they feel any less loving, or gentle, or caring because you know that I am going to rip that Arrancar apart, limb by limb?" Even though his words sounded cold and deadly, his expression was so warm and open as he looked at her.

He bent down and kissed her gently. "These lips have commanded the killing blow many times, do they taste different now that you know?" he asked as he brushed his lips against hers.

"No," she replied in an inaudible whisper.

"Then think about killing in that way... I am protecting the thing most precious in the world to me...," he whispered against her lips, "you." This kiss was something special, like he had given her something, like he had let her into a part of himself that he had never let anyone else ever see.

She now felt like she truly understood what it meant for him to protect her.

She groggily woke up and felt the space next to her but he was already gone. She would have liked a goodbye kiss at least, but he probably didn't want to wake her after all the exertion last night. She sleepily felt around, wanting to hold his pillow like a stuffed animal and breathe him in while she got five more minutes of sleep, but she felt something on his pillow. She opened her eyes and lifted herself slightly off of the bed to see what it was. It was an expensive looking, stiff white piece of paper, about the size of a post card. She wrapped the blue sheet around her and sat up to lean against the headboard. She picked up the paper and turned it around to read it while simultaneously rubbing her eyes. All it said, in his beautiful, elegant writing was:

You are all I will ever need.

~Byakuya

She smiled widely. Why did he have to be so damn romantic when he was going to be away for two weeks?

Author's Note

The composer I was talking about for both the songs was Yiruma, the same one as before. I often listen to him when I am writing this story, and both those songs I spoke about are so fitting for the mood of this story. I hope everyone enjoyed this instalment. I know everyone was waiting for Rien and Byakuya to resolve things and I hope their interaction was to everyone's satisfaction and IC. I love Byakuya's protective tendencies. I thought Rien talking to the ancestors was really amusing, and well, you guys know...

Response to Reviews:

Aisuru Tsukino: Hi. I'm glad you liked it. I hope you enjoyed this one as well.

Gokurakuin Tsukiko: I hope you enjoyed the overload of ByaXRien moments in this chapter.

Lu: I was wondering what happened to you. Having no internet sucks. Rukia and Renji are great together, aren't they? I wonder what Bya will do now that he knows about them? Thank you for being so supportive. I constantly question my creativity, and even with this chapter, I almost didn't post it because I felt like I should have been more descriptive within it. I often feel a tension between being creative and descriptive and conveying emotion. I wanted this chapter to be felt since there are so many things unsaid beneath the surface, so I hope I have been successful. P.S. You are an awesome reviewer!

Fun: Your review really made me smile. I am glad someone is intelligently reading the story and commenting on it. You're right, I think Byakuya was really worried and he often shows his worry and concern in hard to interpret ways, but that's why he is so interesting to write. I'm glad you find everyone in character; I really do try to keep them that way. Do you think Ukitake will fight Bya for her? (*Evil laugh)

Sasha: Thank you for reviewing and letting me know how much you enjoyed the story and the chapter. Please continue to review.

Innocence: I hope you jumped up and down this time as well. Let me know if you enjoyed it.

Please remember to Review. I really would love any feedback from my readers. If everyone who favourited this story would review, I would greatly appreciate it. I would love to know what it is about the story that you guys love or hate.

~Willow~