Black-and-Red Conflict

back again, a bit later than planned, but my great beta-reader marinliliz caught up the time i struggled with this... this was so hard to write, and it sucks, basically.. and i know most of you will curse me -again- thought this is not a cliffy this time! there will be a change of scene after this ;)

your comments were awesome, as always, they made me got to bed with a really nice, warm and fuzzy feeling in my stomach, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!!! XD
@sur.sinner: aaahhh *squeal* having people telling me i somehow "converted" them always has me grinning madly (and evilly??) i will conquer this world and convert YOU ALL! sorry, just joking of course ;) there's many other great pairings i can relate to, i have read very good ren/ichi for exmple, too, but i just always had a weakness for "brash bullhead versus ice cube" pairings ^^

@riddlestar: with a bya plushie on top??!! AWWWW!!! XD *squeezes plushyVERYhard* ya know, i'd like to message you when new chapters are up, but, since there's no mail in your profile... °-°


and now finally...


~~~Twenty~~~
Contact

The face of the man in front of Renji was only barely illuminated by the cool moonlight and his hair was a soft, black veil that could not hide how dark his eyes had turned. “Yes,” he said, with a voice slightly hoarse but rich and low. He was beautiful. Even, or especially, now that there was this dark aura around him. The same that had shocked Renji so much when it had come forth once before. The smile left the lieutenant's face and he swallowed hard, instinctively gripping Zabimaru harder. He was suddenly unsure of how to react, now that Byakuya stood before him like this again. Though this was what he had been waiting for, was it not? This was what he had, unconsciously, been anticipating, maybe even hoping for.

Excitement had kept his body tense and restless since his captain had invited him to train and, though he had almost forgotten about it over tearing his Bankai apart, it now rushed through him all the stronger, making him feel like a bow strung too tightly. After all the energy he had spent, it really wasn’t very pleasant, and for a moment his position seemed so vulnerable, he almost flinched back. Memories of their first night crossed his mind, adding to his uncertainty, but he strove to shake them off. He had thought about this way too much already. It was in the past and not important anymore. Things had changed and it was about time he got back to being the man who went right through every wall in his way, only wondering about the headache later. Everything had been so much easier then. Then, as in, before Byakuya.

With a sudden motion Renji sheathed Zabimaru and at the same time banished those thoughts for good. He would not falter before what felt right and what he knew he wanted, unlike certain dark-haired nobles who obviously needed to go from hot to cold until they finally caught on their own feelings.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, they were clearly visible on that roughly cut face that had never, and would never, hide emotions like Byakuya's did. When eventually the tattooed features spoke of determination, deep relief washed over the dark-haired man. When his lieutenant had tensed and stopped smiling, the noble had feared he had already failed, that he had pushed the redhead too far, that Renji did not trust his captain, would never trust him, nor would he come close again. But then the redhead had indeed stepped forward. His shoulders were still squared and tense, but he was closing in, not backing off and Byakuya could see in intense, red eyes, some of the same emotion that made his own heart beat faster and his skin grow hot. Both wanted to step forward, but both noticed some kind of barrier now, built from their former hesitation. Hardly a meter of cool night air and dim moonlight and silence was between them, but in their heads so much more.

Words would have been too blunt, Byakuya decided, and lifted his hand instead. Carefully, slowly, he gestured and Senbonzakura followed his bidding, moving towards Renji, advancing cautiously, giving him the chance to step back if he wanted so. But he stayed, watching with puzzlement as the pink blades approached. They surrounded him and with a gentleness that denied their deadly nature, pulled ever closer, moving upwards, touching his clothes, his hands and soon his neck and the part of his chest that was bared, not causing him the slightest harm. They really felt just like petals, soft and light, as if they did not possess a razor edge and were only here to embrace the redhead in a way that his captain could not. Enveloped by them, as they were controlled by Byakuya's spirit energy, Renji was overwhelmed. The lieutenant could of course recognize his captain's Reiatsu, knew what it felt like, particularly from when it was unleashed in a fight. But to be so aware of it like he was now as it surrounded him completely, pulsing against him, the experience almost made him stagger. He, not one for concentrating on such subtle things, had never realized before how complex the spirit energy of a Shinigami was. So much more than just a general color or tone to represent a person. A picture of unlimited colors, a song of an intricate melody, all mixed and joined in a special pattern that grew so much more complicated, the closer you came in contact with it.

His eyes wide, his lips parted around a breath that was lost and caught in his throat, he stared at the dark-haired man in front of him. Shivers ran over his sides and he felt it: the strength, the experience and, hidden beneath it, something darker, held in check relentlessly, by a cold discipline and adamant will. And the person it all belonged to stood still but tense, only motioning his hand softly, not even aware of how much he revealed about himself in this very moment. He was focused just on Renji's reaction, on how the other shifted, gasped, soon half closed his eyes, while the noble himself was drawn forward, stronger with every passing moment, until he could not keep away any longer. He needed to feel Renji physically and in another second, Senbonzakura was sealed away and sheathed.

Renji almost let out a sound of disappointment, but then he felt a touch on his chest and Byakuya's lips so very close to his neck.

“Renji.”

A whisper, just a breath against the sharp, black lines of the tattoo. A spell that might soothe the wild nature of the man Byakuya desired.

Renji shivered, wrapped one arm around Byakuya's leaner waist and with his voice hoarse, he rather growled than spoke, “Yeah...”

The heat in him flared as he felt Byakuya so close and in a second he had tightened his grip and turned his head to capture those always slightly pale lips in a fierce kiss. He did not care much that the man in his arms stiffened at the boldness of the action but pressed on, his other hand reaching up to the slender neck and soft black hair. Instinct had more or less overrun every kind of sense that might have had a home in his head before and he was truly Renji again. He acted.

He was passionate in an almost aggressive way, poised over Byakuya like a hungry wolf finally sinking its teeth into the stag it had been hunting for weeks. Nonetheless, he was skillful in what he did. Disturbingly so, when it came to the opinion of the man who was prey to those attentions right now. Renji's tongue had found its way into the noble's mouth easily and moved there, as if it had always belonged only there, not intent on leaving any time soon. His lips were slightly dry as they held onto Byakuya's, taking them prisoner, kneading them with a kind of pressure that was definitely not gentle anymore, but far from unpleasant. Very far. Too far.

The captain found it hard to breathe, but just as hard to push himself away. One of his hands was still on Renji's chest and he felt the intense heat of his lieutenant's skin, and only stopped himself short of the other's abdomen, as he noticed his fingers were moving downwards on their own. He pulled his head back and gasped for air, but had hardly gotten any of it, when the redhead captured him once more and he was unable to move away as the hand that held his neck and the other around his waist, tightening their hold. He was losing ground, something whispered in the back of his mind, he was being swept away, just like that morning in his office, when he had only been able to save himself by fleeing. The noble was hardly able to think clearly, but he did succeed in cursing himself for not being more prepared for this. He knew Renji and should have been expecting this. He should have known that now the redhead would naturally try to turn the tables around. And, oh, how hard it was to not give into that.

Loose strands of crimson hair tickled Byakuya's face and that hot tongue that had invaded his mouth was massaging his own, now and then sucking at it, inviting it to wrestle, to play, tempting it. It was even more disturbing for the noble to notice that he was actually answering that challenge without ever having consciously decided to do so. That one realization was followed, almost instantly, by another. He was painfully hard. The urging, but at the same time deeply satisfying pressure in his loins that he had felt barely moments ago, had turned into a raw, primal and merciless desire.

As Renji pushed against Byakuya’s erection with his thigh, his own lust obvious in the way he rolled his hips, Byakuya let out a low, husky moan. It was quiet and probably hardly audible for Renji, especially since their lips were still locked together. But still, that small noise alone, out of his own throat, shocked the noble enough to make his skin go cold and his eyes wide. In an action born from sudden panic he pushed hard, loosening Renji's grip by force alone, and took a step back, breathing heavily, wiping his mouth with one of his half-gloved hands. He was barely able to stay away as one part of him craved to go back and be pressed tightly against Renji, but the other half of him stood frozen in fear.

Renji did not realize what was going on and even if he had, he was hardly being impressed by anything right now. There still was nothing but want and determination on his face as he simply stepped forward, reaching out, but not even getting a grasp on Byakuya's haori, as the captain simply moved out of his reach with another step back.

The need the dark-haired man felt right now was stronger than any he had ever experienced, but the simple thought of letting go, of giving in, of losing control caused deep within his core, a repulsion intense enough to make nausea rise in his throat. He could not give in, could not lose, just... couldn't. He unconsciously shook his head once. He was trapped like a piece of metal exactly in the middle of two magnets of the same strength. He could go nowhere and for what seemed like an eternity, could only stand, burning and freezing at the same time, torn apart by the situation, until his mind finally cleared enough for him to recall that he did not necessarily have to forsake all his control to satiate his need.

In the end Byakuya's hesitation had only lasted for a few seconds. Time enough to allow a slightly confused look to creep onto Renji's face, but too little to really sober the redhead in any way. As he reached out again, his captain came forward and had things stayed as before, Renji probably wouldn’t even have remembered there to be any kind of interruption at all. But they stayed not, for Byakuya's bearing had suddenly changed.

Instead of returning into the redhead's embrace he avoided Renji's lips and stopped the muscular arm that reached out to embrace him again, by gripping it at the wrist. Then Byakuya stepped forward firmly, inexorably, pushing the redhead back as he held their eyes connected. He ignored the surprise on his lieutenant's face, as well as the deep breath taken before uttering a protest. One that was never voiced, for the only thing that left the lieutenant's mouth was a gasp, as a still slightly cool hand suddenly reached low into his kimono, resting on the lowest part of his abs for moments, before it suddenly took a grip on Renji's obi and pulled him forward. Their lips met at the same time as their midsection and groin – still separated by far too many layers of cloth for the redhead's liking, but still strong enough to make him moan and thrust forward.

Renji forgot everything around him, lost in the kiss, lost in the dark eyes before him whenever he had a chance to look into them, lost beneath the pair of hands which moved confidently once more to overrule his will completely, making any resistance fade away immediately. And why not? he would have thought, had he been able to think. This time it was alright, he would have told himself. This time he wanted it.

Only later, lying on the ground, entangled in his uniform, gasping and spent, would he realize that this hadn't gone exactly how he'd thought it should. Later, when the pale form of his captain had remained leaning over Renji for just a few seconds, before pulling out and away, standing, cleaning himself, would the redhead remember that he wanted so much more to have Byakuya under him, and not the other way round. But he would push those thoughts away, as the noble turned around once more before leaving, leaned down, one hand on Renji's cheek and whispered the redhead's name. Renji would think everything was alright, he would be happy and steal another kiss from the now reddened and swollen lips of the noble. He would look forward to the days to come, excited to see how they would become closer, excited to change their roles the next time, which he hoped to happen soon.

All of this Renji thought in that same night, for then he did not yet know that the following weeks would just bring, once more, the bitter taste of disappointment.

~~~