Attention! Rating changed! This is a romance so obviously their physical relationship will play a big part in this, as it does in every adult relationship. In the future this will only increase so I suggest that everyone, who is not old or mature enough to read something that mentions physical love and desires, should drop this story now. To all the others: It would mean a lot to me if you could spare the time to tell me what you think of this story/chapter. *insert puppy eyes*.

"Mom?"

"Hm? What?"

Katsuo threw her a strange look over the book he was reading. She sat a few feet from him at the window and she never once took her eyes away from the path leading up to the Kuchiki manor.

"Is something wrong?"

Yoruichi pointedly looked away from the window. "No. Nothing at all. Why would you ask?"

He didn't buy it one second. "Ahuh." She came face to face with one of her own infamous smirks.

"Soooo... should I warn him that you're coming onto him tonight, or do you think he'll get that himself?"

Yoruichi only turned to look at her son in the most oblivious manner she could manage.

"Any more comments?"

"... … … Don't screw it up."

His reward was a pillow to the head.

He couldn't help the sigh escaping his lips as he finally settled into the hot water. It had been an exhausting day and he could feel the tension in his muscles as he leaned against the rough wall of his bath. Ever so slowly the hot water soothed over his skin and without consciously deciding for it he relaxed his shoulders. Sinking further down into the water Byakuya closed his eyes and leaned back his head.

The only sound filling the silence was his soft breathing and the splash of the water as he lifted his arm to wipe some wet strands of hair out of his face. Suddenly he felt really tired and the warm water only encouraged his fatigue. And just as he felt the tension in his shoulders dissolve completely, he remembered them once again. Her soft lips pressed to his. The way they smoothed over his, warm and enticingly.

It had been a long time since he had had any sort of human contact, not of this sort anyway. And he hated to admit it but the moment she had kissed him he had almost thrown everything he was overboard just to get more of that. Kami knows he had wanted it and a lot more. And now he couldn't stop thinking about it. He could almost feel her presence in front of him and her lips on his once again. The warmth of the bath didn't really help in erasing this illusion out of his mind. And much to his shame he could feel his body respond to that. A long time indeed...

The body of a man was a lot more honest than he liked sometimes and right now surrounded by the hot steaming water he was at his weakest. He could feel his temperature rising despite himself. Usually he didn't indulge in any of those desires but he couldn't resist any longer. He had deprived his body of any sort of release for a long time now and right now he was paying the price.

Cursing that demon of a woman he bit his lip in frustration. It wasn't fair that she could play him so easily and it was a great failure on his part that he lost to those emotions in the matter of seconds. People praised his steely control and yet she took it on a roller coaster ride every time she stayed in the same room as he did, or swayed her hips just the right way...

A groan escaped his lips and with a final exasperated sigh he gave in. One time couldn't hurt and the heat in his blood demanded it.

Submerging his hand into the water he let it rest on his lower stomach and he could feel the muscles tense in electric anticipation. Sweat dripped down his chest, mixing with the water of his bath and leaving a faint, fiery trail on his skin.

Clenching his eyes shut he finally reached down to end his suffering. He took in a shaky breath as he let his hand slide along his skin.

The muscles in his arm tensed to keep the motion even. If he was going to succumb to his body he might as well enjoy the ride. The now blazing water caressing him intensified the experience all the more and soon he was sure he had to end it quickly before he lost himself completely. With the now rhythmic splashing keeping him company he pressed his lips together to keep the telltale sounds from escaping his lips. He didn't want to attract any attention from wandering servants after all. Sweet electricity shot through his veins and he leaned forward, now pressing his knees against the ground of his giant bath tub.

...

Cold shock washed over him and his heart surely took a lot of damage from the sudden change of temperature, since it stopped beating altogether, when he heard the sound of the bathroom door sliding open.

It took him only the fraction of a second to snap his hand away from himself and spin around to take a look at this unwelcome intruder, all the while taking care to keep his lower body hidden in the water. Silently thanking the servant, who decided on an herbal bathing mix, which made it hard to make out anything beneath the water. The flash of bronze skin was enough for him to know who this intruder was but the ice in his veins had yet to dissolve and his heart yet to start beating, so this shock was simply the tip of the iceberg.

Both of them stared at each other for a few seconds.

He didn't dare think about the possibility that she might have seen more than he would have liked.

Yoruichi in the meantime wondered at the bright flush on his face and his shocked expression but after a while she dismissed it as a result of his hot bath and her sudden appearance. The smirk that appeared on her lips and the way she leaned against the open door, dressed in nothing but a white towel betrayed her true intentions. She definitely didn't walk in on him by mistake.

What did he do to deserve this purgatory? Her smirk and the fact that her towel revealed a lot more than he could take in his current position reminded him painfully of his unfinished business. And for a few seconds that throbbing was all he could concentrate on as it almost broke his resolve with every heartbeat.

Putting on a show just for him she started to slide the door shut.

Once he saw the swell of her hips and breasts move only in the slightest way to shut the door he looked away. He wasn't sure how he was going to react to this in his current state. Not when the cause of all this, the embodiment of his animalistic fantasy just made her way towards him almost naked.

He nearly groaned when he heard the door close with a final thud. Man knows true suffering when something like this turns him on.

Still smirking she made her way over to the bath tub. She was a little thrown off balance by the fact that he hadn't angrily demanded her exit yet. Something that she had counted on when she had devised her plan. But she wasn't going to let him see any of that.

And he wasn't even looking at her at all! Maybe she was losing her charms. Every man would at least look, wouldn't he?

Hesitating slightly she opened the towel she had wrapped around herself and let it fall to the ground deliberately noisy. "Lets see how he'll handle that." Maybe she would have turned away from her plan by now seeing his obvious disinterest, but she had had enough of all this. She wasn't used to not getting what she wanted and she was tired of waiting.

Byakuya could only roll his eyes as he contemplated where he had gone wrong in his life and gripped the edge of the bath tub harder than ever before. His knuckles turning white in the effort.

Yoruichi was slightly disappointed when she saw him roll his eyes. He was probably too used to her behavior by now. Well she would have to pick it up slightly to get a reaction out of him then.

With both her legs submerged in the hot water she bend down to catch the water in her hand and let it run over the rest of her still dry body to accustom to the heat. Well at least that's what she wanted it to look like, she could have jumped in without it. With deliberate slow movements she slightly bend her knees so that she could spread the water across her bare chest.

Seeing her movements out of the corner of his eyes already proved to be too much and he closed his eyes again to keep his sanity in check. Even though not seeing anything and simply hearing the water splash down in little droplets made his mind burn with creativity. Leaning back against the cold tiles he hoped they would cool him down at least a little. But no matter how hard he tried to distract himself, by thinking of the paperwork he hadn't finished yet, he couldn't stop himself from feeling the throbbing grow even worse. The Inquisition would have been proud of those methods of torture she was applying.

"She just wants to have some fun. Falling for her is a mistake." The voice in his head had never been so quiet, so unsure. And he knew he wanted to take the risk.

Looking back at him she saw him lean his head back against the white tiles of his luxurious bathroom and frowned. Shaking her head in wonder she settled into the warm water since her show apparently wasn't doing her any good.

"What's going on with him? He didn't even say anything yet. Is he trying to ignore me?" That thought hurt her as much as it aggravated her pride. That's it. She was sick of those games, even though she loved games. And she knew that they were a good way to keep a relationship alive and spicy but it had to be established first after all!

She was a grown woman and she sure as heck wasn't going to let an opportunity like this slip by, at least not again. The last years of her life had been spent on making this decision. And you only regret those choices you didn't make after all. "I'm not going to leave this bathroom without having you, Byakuya."

The smirk on her face spoke of her newfound energy and the challenging glint in her eyes would have given Byakuya goosebumps had he looked. Reaching out for the unsuspecting Byakuya she let the tip of her finger dance up his arm.

"Why so silent?"*

He flinched violently at the contact and panic made his head swim. His eyes snapped open immediately and fixed on hers. Her eyes meanwhile widened only slightly, startled by his overdone reaction. His left hand had snatched hers away from his arm and he held her in a tight grip. Wondering at his hot temperature she quickly gained control of her expression to look at him nonchalantly.

"What do you think you're doing?" His voice appeared strangely tense and a little too low to count as a bland remark. And she found herself loving the sound.

"I'm just taking a bath." Annoyed by her casualty he rolled his eyes again. It actually helped him control himself a little better. "Can't you be decent once in your life and choose a bath unoccupied? Or at least one without a man inside?"

She smiled at the annoyed undertone. This was perfect. They were back on track. She could handle annoyance and she liked to work with that. It's a lot easier to handle than his tiring indifference.

Pushing her voice into a low purr she turned her body towards him, slowly wiping a few drops of water away from her chin. "But you're hardly just a man, Byakuya-bo."

Her reference to his old nickname proved more effective than she could tell from his minute reaction, but his teenage fantasies had been far too vivid for his body not to remember right at this second. And with all those sensations coming together he didn't know how to answer. He didn't meet her eyes, which struck her as very strange. Even though she was kind of sexually harassing him, he kept on reacting in a way she had not predicted. It was starting to unsettle her. If this kept on going she would have to improvise. "Well sometimes war and love aren't so far apart apparently."

Seconds passed and he still didn't look at her.

"Byakuya."

She almost blushed when she heard the edge of desperation in her own voice. Yoruichi Shihoin was everything but desperate.

He couldn't quite place the sound of her voice but it temporarily made him forget about his hopeless situation and he turned his head to look at her.

The intensity of her stare left him baffled. Relief flooded her. Judging from the guarded look in his eyes he was vary of her. Maybe she needed a different approach to all this.

She eased her face into a slightly gentler expression and inched closer. "Are you angry with me? You're usually not this silent." He took a deep breath and released it in a sigh. He knew he wasn't being fair but he wanted this way too much and he was afraid of the desire running through him. If he was being completely honest he didn't dislike it. It made him feel alive in a way he hadn't felt for years, but she had hurt him so many times he wasn't sure if he could take one more time. Especially not after he let her take away all of him.

"I..." She raised an eyebrow in anticipation and smiled to encourage him. "I... just didn't have anything to say. So why would I waste any words?"

She laughed softly and for a brief second he feared that the waterline that danced across her chest would finally show him everything.

"So talking with someone and doing small talk is a waste of your time?"

"I didn't say that."

They both stayed silent once again and Yoruichi wondered if this would turn into a habit. While she still contemplated how to proceed from here Byakuya started to move forward, as if to leave. Surprised Yoruichi grabbed his arm and halted his movements.

"What are you doing? You only have a few minutes on me in the bath. You didn't even have time to relax."

If Yoruichi only knew how non-relaxing this whole bath turned out to be she would laugh at the irony.

"I still have work to do..." Yoruichi almost burst out laughing when she heard his pathetic excuse. She knew he could lie better than that.

Putting more force into her grip she tried to coax him back. After a few more seconds he gave into the pressure and leaned back. He was starting to get weary and he was starting to think that it just wasn't worth the hassle.

Waiting till his back rested against the cool tiles once again she turned towards him completely. In the back of his mind he knew what was going to happen and his heart squeezed together. Sweet and frightening at the same time.

Sensing his resistance crumble, her own heartbeat picked up at the prospect that she was finally going to get what she wanted.

This is it. The moment she had waited for.

Moving towards him, only a few inches was all that was left between them. She lifted her hand out of the warm water to lay it onto his wet chest and was amazed by the heartbeat that pounded against her palm. It didn't take long for her heartbeat to match his pace and when she tried to make eye contact this time he didn't avoid her.

She could still see a faint resistance in his eyes. He meanwhile just had enough time to see the fire in hers spark into life as she swung one of her legs over his in a bold move, effectively lifting herself out of the water and exposing her chest to him. Now on her knees she still avoided touching him.

And he could feel it dieing. His resistance weary and weak to begin with was only a shadow of what it used to be. It wouldn't survive her touch. And he found himself succumbing to the flames a second time this night.

He could see that she knew she won. He almost laughed had he been the type to do so. She had completely overwhelmed him. She had won the battle before he had even realized it had started.

Leaning her face down to his she kissed him softly. Her warm lips against his reminded him of their previous kiss and all those conflicting thoughts left him. But they both knew that they were about to start something. And Byakuya had to admit that he wanted it.

It died. His last resort, his last objection to all of this was brutally crushed by her soft lips against his. In the end he was just a man.

Yoruichi meanwhile was unaware that Byakuya had already surrendered. Her heart was about to jump right out of her chest while she waited for any sort of reply from him. The answer she waited for came in the form of his hand that gripped her hair and instead of pushing her away he pressed her closer to him. And if his resolve hadn't already been torn apart it would have been annihilated when finally her knees gave way.

She gasped in surprise as she felt him against her thigh. He swallowed hard and his eyes almost fluttered shut when the level of his arousal sky rocketed once again. "So I haven't lost my charm after all." Giving him a dazzling smile she let her hands run across his chest.

Leaning forward, she pressed her chest up against his, so that she could whisper into his ear.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" Bullseye.

The wet contact of her breasts pressing against his racing heart made him feel just how long it had really been.

She really liked the way the muscles in his arms jumped when she let her fingers slide along them. Or the way his breath hitched when she pressed her thighs just a little closer together.

Scratch that. She loved it. Especially when she watched the water drip down his wet chest. He was an attractive man after all and she found herself savoring the difference between his body and her own. She was a powerful woman but she was all too aware of the fact that his purely physical superiority was something she secretly enjoyed. And she readily succumbed to his masculine air when he put one arm around her to push her tighter against him. Just when she tilted her head to the side to kiss him again, his lips were already on hers.

Awkward.

That was probably the only word that could describe the way he felt right now.

It was awkward to come into his bedroom this evening and seeing her lie on his bed so casually.

What made it more uncomfortable was the fact that he couldn't help but notice that her dark skin looked like satin against the brightness of his sheets. Especially since he knew how soft her skin really was and how smooth it had felt under his fingers just a few hours ago. And he still vividly remembered how the muscles of her thighs flexed when she moved on top of him...

Shaking his head he tried to ban this thoughts from his mind. Things were awkward enough now.

He had his back to her when he changed into his night clothes. Yoruichi meanwhile watched him intently.

He obviously didn't feel the need to leave the room to change anymore. Something that Yoruichi wrote down as an extremely positive sign. She hoped that it meant that he was more comfortable around her and would show her more of who he really was. Even though she already knew the answer, it was nice to know that he showed her voluntarily. And she'd like to see the woman who didn't appreciate the way his back muscles shifted underneath his skin when he undressed. The sassy woman had to refrain from licking her suddenly dry lips.

She quickly leaned back against her pillow just before he turned around. His eyes immediately snapped to her form on the bed and...was that disappointment he felt when she seemed almost indifferent to his presence?

He turned to the light switch and hesitated slightly, waiting for her to object. When she didn't, he simply switched off the light and walked towards the bed in complete darkness. His expensive carpet soft against his bare feet.

The soft noise of his sheets sounded unusually loud as he settled into bed.

The awkwardness reached new heights after he stopped moving and they just laid next to each other in the blackness of the room. No one said a word and both listened to the breathing of the other, trying to read any sort of emotion in the rhythm.

Almost half on hour passed like this.

"Let's make a deal." Her words loud in the quiet room.

Shifting underneath the heavy covers, Byakuya turned around to look at the woman beside him with raised eyebrows. She was staring at the ceiling and he could barely make out her features in the darkness of their...his bedroom. After a few more seconds of silence it was obvious that she waited for an answer.

"A deal?"

Was that a smile? Or was he imagining things in the dark? And what was this pressure on his chest? He blamed the darkness. It reinforced everything. Every slide of the sheets. Every small movement. Every breath. Every pause. Every feeling.

He listened to her shifting when she turned to face him. And she suddenly seemed a lot closer to him than she was before. Maybe it was the pressure in the air that made it appear that way. But he didn't have enough time to contemplate when she put her hand on his chest. A stark reminder of their previous activities that day. He preferred not to think about it or he might make more out of it than it really was. In the end it had been just simple sex. They were both adults and things like that happened. But if he was completely honest with himself he would realize that he hated the thought. Once again she didn't give him enough time to come to this realization.

"Yes. A deal. Let me define the parameter." Well that certainly caught him off guard.

Yoruichi knew that judging from the startled pause she received in return. He obviously had no idea where she was going with this and she had the benefit of enjoying his full attention as well as his curiosity.

Logic and Order. That was nice. He could deal with that a lot better than with the conflict that she had evoked in him.

"If you insist. Let me hear those parameter of yours." She could tell that he was trying to appear indifferent.

"First of all Monogamy. Furthermore I am entitled to at least one cuddle session every day. I get exclusive rights to all of your kisses. I am allowed to be completely unreasonably once a month without you complaining. Additionally I am allowed to annoy you at work and every other place in existence. I get to show off with you and I get a daily report on any of your activities, which will be started by the question: 'And how was your day?' "

Her first word had already knocked all sense out of him. With a painfully racing heart and adrenaline rushing through her veins she just kept completely still and waited for him to answer in any way. His breathing slightly irregular, the seconds ticked by.

This was the one moment everything depended on. The seconds before had been a torture, but now that she had finally gotten those words out of her system the relief almost drowned her.

And yet the darkness pressed tighter against her chest cavity while she waited for his answer.

His voice was rough and she could barely make out his eyes, but they seemed to be focused on her entirely.

"That...That's a pretty long list."

She almost groaned. What sort of answer was that?! What was she supposed to answer to this?

"And...", he continued. She had been about to tell him how dense he could be sometimes but his words stopped her. "...it seems like there is a decisive advantage for you in this. You said it was a deal. Isn't that usually defined by conditions that are to the benefit of both sides? It's not really a deal if only one party agrees and benefits. So what's in for me?"

Was he seriously doing what she thought he was doing? He was joking around!

Propping herself up on her elbows she leaned closer towards him.

"Fine. What would move you to accept our little agreement?" He could hear the smirk in her voice even without seeing it, though he felt her breath on his neck and it made his head swim. Apparently it took him too long to gather his thoughts because Yoruichi took the initiative to speak again.

"I could make you an offer."

That was better. Accepting predetermined offers was a lot easier than to draft conditions of one's own. Formulating conditions required the display of your wishes and desires after all.

"What do you offer?"

Her answer was low and so determined and definite that he couldn't question her decisiveness.

"Me."

One word and his future was changed forever.

There it was. Everything he had dreamed of once on a silver plater. All he had to do was reach out and take it. There was really no question as to what he was going to do. She had already conquered him a few hours ago. She was leaning across his desk waiting for him to sign the surrender agreement she had put there along with a pen.

"Do you accept those conditions and the resulting partnership?" He could turn nowhere. All his allies had been destroyed and all he could do was reach for the pen to sign the peace treaty. His conqueror right in front of him.

"I ... accept."

It took her a few moments to digest what she had just heard. Had she doubted herself this much? She didn't really know what to do next. All of her plans had been directed to winning this that she never thought of what came immediately afterwards. And she certainly hadn't expected it to be so easy. She had barely pushed and he had given in. A strange kind of exhilaration came over her.

Whenever she saw women in movies act the way she felt right now she had called them silly schoolgirls. Giddy and weak in the knees. Not really attributes that fit her person. But then again...tonight didn't seem to be the night where you behaved normally. The steely resolve of Byakuya Kuchiki had failed tonight after all.

Slowly she scooted closer to him, burying her face in his warm shirt. There was probably only one thing she could do now. Enjoy her victory.

And boy did she enjoy it when she felt his hand press against her back, his arm encircling her. She could feel his hesitation, the slight apprehension in his movement. But that was bound to disappear soon.

They didn't say a word for quite a while until he felt her whole form shaking against him. Looking down he tried to make out her face in the dark.

"Yoruichi?"

With the sound of her name her chuckling grew into full blown laughter. He could only question her sanity.

After laughing for what felt like ten minutes she had great difficulties speakin while trying to fill her lungs with much needed air.

"This...is...so surreal."

Byakuya smiled in response. "You can put it that way."

After a few more seconds she finally calmed down enough to breathe properly. "That was so overdue."

He didn't answer as she settled down more securely in his arms, obviously bent on spending the night there. They laid like this in the darkness, which suddenly felt more like an ally than an enemy. He didn't know whether he could have pronounced those two words had she looked him in the eyes in broad daylight. Which was starngely cowardly for him but still true.

To his amazement he soon found her fast asleep, while his own racing thoughts kept him from even closing his eyes.

Surreal? That seemed like a keyword to describe their relationship. When he had woken up today he had been intent on pushing her out of his life and now...

Now they were obviously in a relationship and he had agreed to it! At least if he didn't dream those last few hours ... ... ... What was wrong with him?

He had to admit it to himself. She was and always will be his one weakness. The one you can't escape from no matter what.

He had to speak it out loud and his whisper resounded in the bedroom.

"You're a fool, Byakuya Kuchiki."

His lips curled into a smile.

Finally! Finally they're official! I kinda felt that Byakuya would need clear cut edges. I don't think he's the type of man that would like to live with this whole stage of grey, where you don't know whether you're really dating or not. And I liked the idea of making it sound like some kind of business transaction. Feels like something that really fits them both in a way. Even though it was a lot more joking on Yoruichi's part.

* This reminded me so much of the joker's phrase: "Why so serious?" but I left it in anyway since I kinda like that connection.

flightingphoenix and to all the others who hate me for that incredibly late update: Once again, I am sorry, guys. Please forgive me. 3