crystalomnia (crystalomnia) wrote in bleachfic, @ 2008-03-01 15:21:00 |
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Current mood: | happy |
Title: Acciaccatura
Rating: R
Pairing: Byakuya/Ichigo
Warnings: none yet
Summarry: After finding out about Ichigo's crush, Byakuya decides to teach him a lesson.
Acciaccatura-crushing; i.e., a very fast grace note that is "crushed" against the note that follows and takes up no value in the measure (from Wikipedia)
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If there was one thing Ichigo had learned about himself, it was that he was bad at lying.
So if anyone would have asked him when it started, even though he would have wanted to say he had no idea, or even denied that it had begun in the first place, it wouldn’t have left anyone convinced. But if he was completely honest with himself, he could pinpoint the exact moment his interest was piqued. He would have to admit that it started with the first brush of the man’s reiatsu against his skin, the first glimpse of that stoic expression when he came to the real world to collect Rukia.
Insignificant wouldn’t even begin to describe the way Byakuya’s stare had made him feel, eyes pinning him like a beetle in an entomologist’s collection.
That’s how it had started.
He couldn’t quite call it admiration, but whatever it was, it had not abated any as time wore on. Quite the opposite—by the time the Bount had been destroyed and Rukia lay resting from the wounds inflicted upon her by Yoshi—it had worsened almost past bearing.
Ichigo wanted to hate Byakuya, but he couldn’t quite make it past anger and a dull sort of resentment. There was something wrong with that, wrong with him, surely, after everything Byakuya had done to him, and to his own sister for that matter.
He had tried to figure out why it was he couldn’t find it in himself to hate the captain. Hell, he supposed, it was hard not to admire Byakuya’s strength, his control. Didn’t mean he couldn’t still hate the man.
Ichigo looked up at the barely there sound of footsteps. The object of his musings stood above him, face impassive as ever.
“Your presence here,” Byakuya began, “is neither needed nor welcome. Leave.” Walking past, the moon flashed silver against his kenseikan, and Ichigo suddenly knew with embarrassing clarity what it is that he felt for the dark haired Shinigami.
Infatuation.
Which completely blew apart the very definition of fucked up. And even though he knew that he liked Rukia, loved her even, Byakuya was—well, he didn’t even know.
Ichigo watched Byakuya round the corner, disappearing with a swish of black and white. Shit.
Unbidden, the thought came to him that Rukia and Byakuya’s zanpakuto would both be better matched with the other. Rukia, beautiful Rukia with her smile, her warmth, was much more suited for a zanpakuto like Senbonzakura.
And Byakuya’s frozen expression, eyes like chips of ice—
Ichigo choked back a bout of hysterical laughter. What the hell was he thinking?
But he couldn’t seem to get his mind off the man. It would be nice, a little voice told him, to force some other expression on that face, to see Byakuya smile or… Ichigo stopped his train of thought there, feeling more than a little guilty and a bit disgusted with himself.
He supposed it was fair to say that Byakuya was… pretty. Well, attractive, definitely, but pretty might have been pushing it.
Not to mention he couldn’t wrap his mind around shacking up with the Sixth Squad’s Captain without somehow emasculating himself. That just wouldn’t do. He didn’t want to be underestimated or treated like some sort of weepy dependant in a relationship, but to be with someone who wouldn’t forget that he could kick just as much ass, if not more, and give just as good as he got.
Ichigo wanted to hit something. Preferably Byakuya, but he’d missed his chance earlier. It was no good, anyway, the man had been married for Christ’s sake, though if Ichigo thought about it (and he tried not to), Byakuya seemed to him like the kind of guy who might not be entirely straight.
The substitute Shinigami wanted to kick himself, furious at where his thoughts were turning. But… he was leaving soon enough, and who knew how long it would be before he saw Byakuya again, it couldn’t hurt to say something.
Unless it ended in outright rejection and Rukia and Renji somehow found out (and they certainly would) and teased him about it endlessly. Either that, or kill him, if Byakuya didn’t get there first.
But he didn’t want to leave without somehow testing the waters, or at least find out a little bit more about his new object of affection, but he couldn’t think of who to talk to without coming off as suspicious.
Even if he could talk to someone about finding out he liked another guy would be nice. Ishida came to mind, because he was sure the Quincy was as gay as the day was long, but he couldn’t imagine that conversation going well at all.
Worrying at his thumbnail with his teeth, he didn’t even bother looking up when he heard someone approaching. Whoever it was, he or she wasn’t approaching from where Byakuya had left, so he knew at least that it wasn’t the dark haired man.
“You’re still here?
Ichigo looked up. It was Renji. “Yeah, not sure when I’m heading back.”
The red head sat next to him with an easy smile that faded when he saw the dark look on Ichigo’s face. “What are you doing, moping around here?” Renji peered closely at the other Shinigami, trying to discern the root of Ichigo’s distress. “I thought Byakuya would have run you off by now.”
Renji was baffled at the reaction those words caused in Ichigo. He watched as a deep blush spread over his companion’s cheeks.
“What the hell is that look for?” Renji demanded, leaning over and trying to grab Ichigo’s chin so he could hold the other boy still and get a better look at his expression. Ichigo glared at him, face still red, not answering.
Renji didn’t want to think it, but there was really only one thing a blush like that could mean. “Did he say something to you?” he asked slowly, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.
“He just told me to piss off,” Ichigo snapped, pulling his face away from Renji’s hand.
Renji didn’t say anything for a long while, letting silence stretch awkward and heavy between them. “You have got to be,” the red head began cautiously, “the biggest idiot I have ever met.”
Ichigo looked positively livid. “You think I don’t know that!” he shouted. Lowering his voice, he continued, “Do you think I wanted this to happen?”
Renji looked slightly cowed from Ichigo’s outburst. “How… how could you even—”
“I don’t know,” Ichigo said. “I don’t even fucking know. I absolutely hate that man, and yet…”
Ichigo really wanted for Renji to say it was okay, that there was some way to work through this, that he wasn’t insane. He also really wanted for Renji to say that he actually had a chance with Byakuya, but Ichigo figured that might be asking for too much.
Instead, Renji said, “Are you out of your mind? No offence, but Byakuya would never—”
“I know that,” Ichigo said, blush spreading across his face once more.
Standing not too far away from them, Byakuya was puzzled. He had been returning to his quarters, angry that he could still feel the substitute Shinigami’s reiatsu, along with his Vice Captain’s, when he had overheard his name.
Hiding his reiatsu, Byakuya waited just within ear shot of their conversation. Face impassive, Byakuya willed the two to be less vague in their discussion of him.
“You know,” Renji was saying, “I thought you liked Rukia. Hell, I thought you liked girls.”
Byakuya’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
“I di—I do,” Ichigo replied, voice sullen. Byakuya wished that he could see the boy’s face.
“Of all the guys—” Renji said in exasperation. “I mean, Byakuya?”
Shocked, the Captain almost missed what Ichigo said next.
“Alright! So I like him. You don’t have to make such a big deal over it.”
“I mean,” Renji said over Ichigo’s admission, “I figured that Quincy at least liked to take it up the ass, but—”
Renji shouted in surprise and pain when Ichigo decked him, and Byakuya thought that this might be a good time to intervene.
Unveiling his reiatsu, he watched the two of them freeze as he walked towards them. They both looked shocked, Ichigo looking particularly unattractive, gaping at him like a fish, and face as red as Renji’s hair.
“Might I remind you,” he said coolly, “that I have asked you to leave repeatedly. Do not make me remove you by force.”
As he walked away, a devious plan forming in his brain, he heard Renji mutter, “Bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you, Ichigo?”
Byakuya allowed himself a small smile. Yes, he supposed, it could be almost fun to put that brat in his place, to humiliate him for all Seireitei to see.
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As always, do let me know if you find any mistakes/inconsistencies. Comments, criticism and suggestions are encouraged.
^_^