Title: Elusive

Rating: MPAA: PG, Fiction Rating: K+
Pairing/Character/s: Renji + Byakuya

Disclaimer: The author holds no license of nor makes claims to any of the characters, concepts, or story the above originated from in any way. The characters are used without permission of the original creator for the sake of entertainment only. No profit is gained from the writing found hereafter, nor any personal credit taken for the character designs, personalities or concepts stemming from the original story used. All situations below, unless otherwise stated, have no bearing on the creator's original work, and are solely the creation of the author based on personal interpretation of the above mentioned works or are parodies exempted from copyright laws. It is the responsibility of the reader to observe all warnings before proceeding to the fiction below, as it may contain any number of situations, themes, ideas, views, or lifestyles not suitable for those under the age of 18 or which may be contrary or offensive to the beliefs of some. In the event that the following is the author's original work, or contains an original character, the author holds the copy write and should be contacted before either is used or distributed in any way. All questions and comments concerning the written work or otherwise can be made directly to the author.

Warning/s: Spoilers for the Bleach manga from chapter 140 on, the Bleach anime episode 51 and up.

Word Count: 972
Summary: No one can ever say Renji hasn't worked hard for everything he's achieved, but hard work has its price... a price his captain is not particularly fond of.
Author's Note: Written to abate the wall of writer's block, and it turned into its own story.

Thank you to all of my readers and commentors who have enjoyed this story over the years! When I first began writing this story, I certainly had the full intent to continue on with the manga - however things change.

If you are returning to this story after so long, you may have noticed this message has changed.

That is because I have re-read the manga and am fully up to date. Most importantly, I am no longer frustrated with the character and plot development. In tears, yes, but not frustrated ones.

That having been said, I still have no plan on continuing this story. Since reviewing all that has happened, I have considered different aspects of their relationship that I'd like to delve into and thus have decided to write new pieces without this as a basis.

Again, thank you for your reviews and favorites - it has really meant a lot to continue to see them over the years. If you want to keep up, I post most everything to my personal Tumblr account, w3djyt under the tag "fic" or "bleach". I will also be posting here and probably to Ao3 as well.

Elusive

"Turbulence is life force. It is opportunity. Let's love turbulence and use it for change."

-Ramsay Clark

Renji cracked open a tired eye, catching glimpses of an empty, plain, white room before a large, angry hammer slammed him quite firmly between his eyes. Well, not really, but it fucking felt like it. He groaned and closed his eye again, too busy cursing at his throbbing, rebelling head to care that he didn't recognize the room he was in, or that the rest of his body didn't feel much better. What a disturbingly familiar heavy feeling. Like his body wouldn't or couldn't move no matter how much it had damn well better. Echoes of wounds he knew weren't really there faded in and out of his mind, reminding him of another time he'd felt like this. When he had lost so completely that his body was nothing but an agonized heap of jagged nerves and blood and flesh.

"How long are you planning on staying conscience this time?" An unbearably calm and infinitely familiar voice asked him.

Great. Just what he fucking needed. "Well, don't think I can go back to sleep with my head pounding like it's being fucking nailed to a wall," he offered crossly.

"And why, exactly, is it doing that, fukutaichou?" Kuchiki Byakuya inquired in his usual neutral, but slightly disapproving tone of voice. The use of Renji's title was an obvious slight towards the vice captain's previous activities not being very becoming of his position. Renji, of course, begged to differ. Not that he ever begged, but he did tend to differ a lot with his captain.

"You know damn well why," Renji growled out, not in the mood to argue with Kuchiki Byakuya of all people, but even less inclined to give him the satisfaction of the answer he was waiting for.

"Renji," Byakuya warned, letting a sliver of annoyance penetrate his voice. "That was unbelievably dangerous-"

"Nothing happened, I'll be fine-"

"I told you it wasn't battle ready-"

"And how do you expect it to ever be battle ready if I don't train?" Renji snapped, opening his eyes now so he could find and glare at his captain.

The shinigami in question stood a few feet away from Renji, arms crossed and almost glowering down at his subordinate, but not quite. Glowering counted as one of the plethora of emotions not allowed to grace his visage unless extreme circumstances dictated otherwise... or so Renji had since decided. And then, quite unexpectedly, the stoic man sighed. "That is why we train for ten years. I thought you would have figured that out by now."

Renji gave a brash grin in retort, "Well, I don't have ten years, Taichou."

Byakuya's eyebrows rose at that, but only just barely. "And why is that?"

"Storm's comin'," Renji answered nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders a bit as he glanced back up at the ceiling. The look his captain was giving him was rather disconcerting. It made him itch to get up and move, to pace, to fight, to do something aside from laying there and letting the man stare at him like that.

An awkward silence hung between them until Renji felt the mattress sink a bit and he automatically looked over to find his captain sitting on the edge of his bed. Finding no more adequate a response, Renji merely blinked at the noble.

"Can you sit up?" Byakuya queried as if it were completely normal for him to be sitting on his lieutenant's sick bed like he cared one wit about the man's recovery.

Renji nevertheless took it as more of an order than a question and began the brutal process of forcing his screaming muscles to push him into a sitting position. The struggle took longer than he would have liked, but he was eventually sitting upright, leaning back against the headboard and wall. Admittedly, he was still tired and sore from all that his training had drained out of him, but he wasn't about to let that show as he looked back over to meet Byakuya's gaze.

Byakuya nodded approvingly and bent over the side of the bed, rising once more with a tray carefully balanced between his hands which he promptly placed over Renji's lap. The legs of the wooden tray stabilized it over Renji's legs, and allowed for the cups set on it to remain upright. Without anything in the way of explanation, the noble carefully lifted a piping hot kettle and gracefully poured two cups of tea. Renji sat entranced by the quiet movements, equal parts uncertain and curious. Thankfully, he had enough of his brain functioning to take the cup passed to him and sip at the contents. They stayed like that for a while, neither saying anything while they shared the tea, refilling when necessary, occasionally looking out the open window, letting the gentle breeze enter the room and keep it fresh with the scent of the fading day.

"You have the day off tomorrow," Byakuya observed quietly.

Renji blinked as if coming out of a trance. "Ah.. yeah, I do," he answered lamely, looking over his tea at his captain.

"I do not suppose I can count on you to rest through it," the elder drawled, his tone in stark contrast with the intensity of his gaze.

"Never." Renji grinned defiantly in reply.

Byakuya sipped the last of his tea and set the cup on the tray again. "Perhaps I will take tomorrow off as well."

"... Taichou?"

"I expect you to be well rested by the morning, of course."

Renji tried quite rapidly to catch up with what was going on. "Well rested... for what?"

His captain merely rose from the spot he'd claimed for most of the afternoon and bent down to retrieve the tray previously placed over Renji's lap. "When reaching for the moon, one should always have someone there to catch them if they fall."