(no subject)
Title: Red
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 459
Warnings: injuries, mention of past character death
Characters: Byakuya, Renji, Ukitake, mentions of Hisana and Shunsui
Pairings: Byakuya/Renji, past Byakuya/Hisana, you can probably spot some Ukitake/Shunsui if you squint and stand on your head, or if you're weird like me xDD
Notes: The second birthday ficlet for cmc42! So, um, yeah, obviously my Ukitake muse refuses to stay out of my stories for very long. Whoops. Well, I know you like him too, so I hope you don’t mind xD;. And again, sorry for the depressing xD.
Byakuya is normally fond of Renji’s hair.
It suits him; it fits his life, his strength, his spirit. The red is as bright and as fierce and as strong as he is.
But now…
Now.
He hopes that it will pass, eventually, but now, when he stares down at Renji’s sleeping face, his vibrant red hair spread out behind his head…
The world blurs in front of him, and suddenly once again he is
kneeling beside Renji’s still (far too still) body, staring blankly down at Renji’s blood streaked face. There’s too much blood, the darker shade mixing with the red of his hair in a color that Byakuya will never forget, and his chest is a mess of deep gashes, and he’s barely breathing and neither is Byakuya, his heart is beating too fast and he feels lightheaded
The door opens with a soft click, bringing Byakuya back to the present. He blinks once, and places his sweaty palms flat against his legs.
“Ukitake-taichou.” He acknowledges, his voice blank and empty of emotion.
“I keep telling you, it’s Jyuushirou, please.” Ukitake murmurs, as he always does. Byakuya says nothing in response; he’s far too tired for that game.
He doesn’t move his gaze from Renji’s sleeping form, from the slow rise and fall of Renji’s chest, but he can hear Ukitake stepping closer to stand beside the chair Byakuya is sitting in. “How is he?” Ukitake finally asks.
Byakuya licks his dry lips. “… he’ll live.” He replies shortly.
“Good.” Byakuya can hear the relief in his voice.
There is silence for a long moment.
And then, Byakuya finds himself speaking, something he had definitely not intended to do. “This is the first time… he’s been injured… since we…” became lovers. His voice, already very soft, trails off.
He can see Ukitake nod slowly out of the corner of his eye. “I see.” And he probably does. They’ve told no one of the new development yet, but if anyone had noticed, it would’ve been Ukitake Jyuushirou. Or his best friend, Kyouraku-taichou, who has always been far too perceptive and inquisitive for sanity of the people around him. “That’s always the hardest.” Ukitake murmurs. And it’s probably far harder for you hangs in the air. Byakuya is very aware of the risk of losing the ones you love, and the pain that causes. There is a light touch against his shoulder. “He’s a good man.” And Byakuya nods.
After Hisana’s death, Byakuya had never dreamed he would ever get involved with someone again. “And he’s worth it.” He’s worth the pain, the risk of loosing someone all over again.
He doesn’t have to take his eyes away from Renji to know that his old friend is smiling. “I’m glad.”