A/N: This is a bit of a different take on a scene that comes from a longer one-shot I may post later.
"Tea and Sympathy"
"I should warn you," begins Rangiku, pouring Byakuya a cup of warm sake, "if you're going to sit with me, you're going to have to drink. And I'm no lightweight."
Walking into the private room had been like stepping into a sauna, wonderfully warm after the late winter chill outdoors, the world covered in ice, snow and frost. Byakuya settles into his place across from her at the kotatsu and takes his cup. He drinks before replying, "There is no need for your concern. I am quite capable of managing my alcohol consumption."
A pair of perfectly arched eyebrows ascend to her hairline for a moment, before she brings them back down, dropping her gaze to her cup to take a drink. Then she shrugs and says, "Your funeral."
Elsewhere in the teahouse, for it is a teahouse and not a bar and yet Rangiku has managed to procure alcohol, there are the sounds of a quiet afternoon. A girl at the koto sings softly as she plays an old love song about the ill-fated love affair between a shinigami and a human soul. An image of Hisana comes to mind and he washes it away with a drink.
Then there is a hand around his wrist, dragging the cup away and when he looks up, Rangiku is shaking her head at him. "Take it easy there, captain. Let's not drown." She releases his hand and pours herself another cupful which she blows gently on before drinking. He sips at his again and returns his attention to the rest of the teahouse.
Away from their private room are various low-ranked shinigami and members of the nobility. More than a few are still sneaking glances at where he sits with the lieutenant. Rangiku is out of uniform in a flowery, periwinkle and white kimono, which, despite the chill has been opened to expose her generous bosom. Her shortened hair has been carelessly straightened by hand. A fur-lined matching haori lies discarded about her waist. The warmth of the alcohol adds a wonderful flush to every inch of her exposed skin. Without too much effort, he knows exactly what they are thinking.
It does not help that he is also out of uniform, in a more sombre chocolate brown and charcoal kimono depicting a moonlit scene. The chill of the kenseikan lies just that much heavier than the weight of their stares. He considers for a moment having one of the staff close the doors, then realises how much worse that would look and turns his attention back to Rangiku.
She is watching the pictures that adorn the walls of the private room. There are five prints of in total: three describing various teas, one that is just a calligraphy scroll of an old proverb, and the last is beautiful painting of a battlefield. It takes him a moment to realise that this is the Battle of Karakura.
He had not been there but he of course knows all the details. Six captains and nine lieutenants squared off against three traitors and their undead army in a perfect reconstruction of the spiritually-rich Japanese town. Matsumoto is reported to have performed admirably, holding off against three opponents at once until the arrival of Hinamori Momo. Then, barely recovered from a horrific injury sustained in that same fight, she had run away to Soul Society on the trail of Ichimaru Gin. And she had arrived just in time to watch him die, arm ripped off, chest torn open, fox grin wiped off his face once and for all.
To distract her, Byakuya asks, "Are we actually going to drink any tea?" It is a stupid question, of course not, but he asks anyway and patiently waits for her reaction.
"Eh?" she utters with a start, and then turns to him, swallows her sake and says, "I'm sorry, got a little wistful there. Tea? Hmm, I don't know, do you really want tea?"
"This is a teahouse," he replies without narrowing his gaze. He really wants to but he refrains.
"So?" she asks, playing with the rim of her cup. "We can drink whatever we want. I'm a lieutenant of the Gotei Thirteen and you're a captain." A pause, then she narrows her eyes at him and says, "Wait, you're that captain, the one who's big on rules and order and all that stuff. Well, you can order that if you like but it's not going to make you happy."
He orders two cups of black tea and a spiced snack that she wrinkles her nose at until it arrives and she pops one of the treats into her mouth without asking. Then, "Oh, goodness, how can you eat this?" She immediately starts gagging, eyes watering and he pushes her teacup closer, which she accepts graciously and guzzles like water. He does not laugh out loud. He wants to but he refrains.
But of course her actions draw attention, he feels the gazes of his fellow patrons like a burn. Before he returns to the manor his steward will be on the path waiting for him. The Elders, cocooned in heirloom silk and gold, their ancient bodies creaking with each movement like nightingale floors would have called a meeting. He would be warned, again, about the dangers of Rukongai women. Specifically this Rukongai woman, lieutenant or no.
Did he learn nothing from the last one? Love is a luxury to the wandering souls of Soul Society, only survival remains for those strong enough to require nourishment. Surely there was a woman among the nobility more appropriate? Someone who would not dishonour the clan and the lord with her blatant disregard for the things they hold dear. Someone who would be there to comfort him when he returned in the evenings, with tea and sympathy for a life she barely understood but tried to make less difficult. Someone who would bear him strong and healthy sons and beautiful daughters, who would raise them with Kuchiki values and strengthen the fortunes of the clan. Someone worthy to be called "my Lady" without shame. Not this woman who drinks like a man, dresses like an oiran and treats life like one very long party.
If Byakuya was looking, he was not but if he was, the first trait he would look for is someone not at all cowed by his manner. He is not unaware of the effect he has on others and Rangiku is definitely not cowed.
When she finally recovers, Rangiku treats him to her meanest glare, but he is unconcerned. Had she asked before dipping into his snack, she would have had advance warning. But then a moment later she takes another and pops it into her mouth as if nothing had ever happened, and asks, "So what brings you to Jurinan? I did not think that Lord Kuchiki had very many friends in the Rukongai."
No way is going to tell her what is really on his mind. She sits with her hands in her lap, looking at him expectantly. He sips his own tea before replying, "I don't. I went for a walk and it took me here."
Her eyes go wide and she asks, "You went for a walk in this weather?"
He shrugs, the slightest lift of his shoulders, and says, "I needed the fresh air."
She snorts and says, "Sounds more like an escape attempt." Then there is a mischievous twinkle in her eyes and she leans forward over the table to him and asks, "Is your family after you to get a wife? Or marry off Rukia-chan? I heard that there have been quite a few very handsome young men sniffing around the manor like hounds in heat recently."
He did not know that. But of course the family would not have told him and sworn the servants to secrecy. One more matter to deal with when he gets back. He replies, "I just needed the air. It is quite lovely outside."
She lifts an eyebrow, sceptical, but then sighs and settles back into her seat. After a moment she says, "I don't like when it's like this." She does not gesture but his gaze goes to snowy courtyard again. Then she downs her sake, refills the cup and finishes that too before adding, with a bright smile that does not reach her eyes, "Thank goodness for sake then, it's always keeps me warm and toasty!"
"Is sake your solution to everything?" he asks, looking down at the bottle.
"Huh?" she says, and then, "Well, no, but it certainly makes having a good time a guarantee. For example, you don't seem like such a stick in the mud anymore. A few more drinks and I'll actually be able to ignore all those times you can be downright rude. So, good time, see?"
This woman… He sets down his tea, sits up straight and says, "I am not a 'stick in the mud'."
She lifts an eyebrow, amusement in her eyes and says, "Well there's a stick somewhere."
He just stares at her and she bursts out laughing, a loud happy laugh that draws attention again and this time he imagines the steward meeting him at the teahouse door. He waits as she settles again, and then says, "There is no stick. I approach matters with the seriousness they deserve."
Her amusement takes on a saucy edge and she says, "No stick, huh? Is that your way of trying to discourage the women of the Seireitei? It's not going to work. Money is an excellent compensation."
He tries, and fails to ignore the innuendo. He will not be pulled into her games. Then he says, "Is that the best you can do?"
She lifts an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge?"
He shrugs, takes up his tea again and says, "We're supposed to be having a good time. I was warned that sitting with you before would be the death of me and all that. I find myself still very much alive."
Both eyebrows go up this time. "You want to try me?"
"I want to give your offer the seriousness it deserves. Rumours mean nothing and you don't really look like you could keep up. You admitted to laziness earlier anyway," he says.
There is a pause where she blinks at him, stunned, and then she smiles and says, "Well then. Get rid of the teacup and close those doors." She immediately pulls out another bottle from her haori and sets it down on the table between them, smiling brightly.
As Byakuya summons the maid he thinks that the steward just might come tearing down the walls instead. But sake and sympathy can be nice too sometimes.