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When Renji felt the first drops of rain on his bare back, he wrapped up the training demonstration he was giving the squad. They could pick back up on a different day when there wasn’t the threat of being completely drenched by the impending storm. Besides, he had somewhere he needed to be.
A gentle excitement bloomed in his chest as he went back to his quarters, traded out his shihakusho for a charcoal grey kimono, and made his way to the nearby estate.
Rain wasn’t uncommon in the Seireitei. In fact, there were several months out of the year that saw more rainy days than not, so it wasn’t the rain itself that filled him with elation. No. Instead, it was the man waiting for him in the manor that made his heart race.
There were few days that found Byakuya Kuchiki more relaxed than when it was raining. Although he’d never implied anything of the sort, Renji knew rainy days were his favorite. He remembered the first time he’d been rained into the manor with his captain. The stoic man wrapped himself in a warm blanket, made a pot of tea, and planted himself on the engawa outside his room with a book of poetry.
Renji felt like he had been interrupting a private moment, peering into a part of Byakuya’s inner world that he wasn’t supposed to see, but those concerns were pacified when his captain silently poured two cups of tea. They sat together quietly as the rain pitter-pattered on the roof above them until the storm passed and the moment came to a close much too soon for Renji’s taste.
Luckily, that was only the first of many rainy days spent in the noble’s company.
Gravel crunched beneath his feet as he walked around the side of the massive house until he reached the beginning of the expansive engawa. He slipped his sandals off but left his tabi socks, the soft material quieting his steps as he approached the noble’s private quarters.
He sat just inside the doorway, his face peaceful as he stared out into the garden, watching the rain ripple the surface of his normally tranquil koi pond. Cobalt silk embroidered with gilded gold and red flowers wrapped around his shoulders and crossed over his chest, the folds bound together with a cream obi. Soft onyx hair fell over his shoulders and across his face.
Renji stopped in his tracks a few meters away to admire the man. Though the tip of his slightly upturned nose and the highest points of his cheeks were bitten pink from the early winter air, his smokey grey eyes gleamed with youthful vibrancy. He looked divine; the closest to a glimpse of heaven that Renji would ever behold.
The wind whipped through the engawa fiercely and chilled him to the bone. His blood ran hot most days, so the noble was undoubtedly frozen, too stubborn to disrupt his blissful evening to pull a blanket from the linen closet or a cloak from his room.
Slowly approaching, the sound of his feet soft against the wood, Renji crossed his arms and chastised his captain. “Why don’t you have a blanket or tea to keep you warm? Can’t have our fearless leader catchin’ a cold.”
“I was wondering when you would turn up,” the man replied in his even tone without meeting his gaze.
Renji slipped past him into the room and rang for tea before pulling the thick fleece blanket from the noble’s bed. He returned to the doorway, crouching down to wrap the blanket around the man’s shoulders.
Grey eyes finally turned to focus on Renji’s face, his gaze laden with unspoken affection as he surveyed his lieutenant. “You’re wearing the kimono I gave you,” he remarked, reaching a hand out to brush against the soft fabric on his chest.
“It does a damn good job of keeping the cold out,” he replied with a chuckle.
“The grey suits you,” Byakuya murmured. “Sit.”
Renji did just that, resting his back against the edge of the screen directly opposite Byakuya. He kicked his feet out on either side of the noble and looked at him. Byakuya was watching him intently, eyes full of longing as his hands trembled from the cold.
“Come here,” Renji said, opening his arms.
Byakuya Kuchiki was a high-caliber man, known as a celebrity amongst the upper crust and a well-respected war hero within the Gotei 13. If Renji were a gambling man, he’d wager no one would ever guess that the head of the Kuchiki Clan sought out the warm embrace of a lowly dog from Inuzuri to shelter him from the elements. Hell, he was still baffled by it himself, but grateful nonetheless.
Moving as elegantly as usual, Byakuya shifted to sit between his lieutenant’s legs, resting his head against Renji’s broad chest. The man wrapped his tattooed arms around his blanket-cloaked captain and held him close, resting his chin on the top of his head.
They sat in comfortable silence until a servant arrived with their tea. Renji made quick work of serving the tea and a moment later, Byakuya leaned back into his chest as he grasped his own cup of steaming genmaicha. When he was comfortable, the noble handed Renji the book he was working his way through.
“Read to me,” he breathed, more of a question than a demand.
Flipping the book open to where Byakuya’s own personal reading left off, he cleared his throat before starting. Renji couldn’t remember when Byakuya began to include him in his reading selections, but it had become an integral part of their rainy day ritual. The captain pressed closer, practically burrowing himself in Renji’s arms, utterly subdued as he listened to Renji’s voice painting the pictures in his mind.
Renji read until he heard the man’s breathing even out. Byakuya’s head rested in his lap, eyes closed with hair fanning out around him. After making sure he was indeed asleep, Renji closed the book and started to run his fingers gently through the soft black strands. He gazed upon the man and felt overwhelmed with fondness and gratitude for his captain-turned-lover.
When even breath turned into gentle snoring, Renji scooped Byakuya up in his arms and walked him to his bed. He placed the man down on the mattress, tugging the blankets up to cover him. And as was their regular routine, after Renji slid the shoji screen shut, he slipped out of the cozy grey kimono and slid into bed. Silk-smooth sheets enveloped his body as he pulled the slumbering noble into his chest, utter bliss surrounding him as he was lulled into a peaceful sleep, thankful for the rain.
Rain wasn’t uncommon in the Seireitei. In fact, there were several months out of the year that saw more rainy days than not, so it wasn’t the rain itself that filled him with elation. No. It was this moment, when Byakuya demonstrated complete trust by allowing himself to rest in his arms, that made Renji’s heart squeeze every time he saw a storm brewing in the clouds above.