summary: You and your husband, Byakuya escape to a ryokan and enjoy a private onsen for your wedding anniversary.
words: 900
warnings/tags: all my work is mature, 18+ ONLY. soft and devoted byakuya, he is such a wife/husband/spouse guy, he's also a bit sassy, steamy/suggestive ending, light teasing, kissing, all the sweetness byakuya deserves
a/n: there's an alarming lack of fic for this man and I broke out of my writer's block to start to fix that. please be kind. happy reading!
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Steam curls into the chill morning air as your husband, Byakuya steps into the private onsen you’d booked for the next three days. He still looks regal even without his captain’s haori and kenseikan, the soft sunrise tinting his pale skin and grey eyes warm when he gazes up at you. Your breath catches in your throat at the adoration in his eyes. He gently holds your hand as you step down into the warm water behind him, reminding you to be careful. He lets go once you’re settled next to each other on a bench, then wraps his arm around you.
You close your eyes and relax into Byakuya’s side, soaking in the romantic moment and idyllic atmosphere. Birds chirp in the distance; wind rustles the lush greenery hidden behind the onsen’s tall wooden enclosure. Though you would have adored a view, you knew your husband valued his privacy. Besides, there are plenty of views from the windows of your private suite–not that you’d spent much time looking at them since arriving last night, anyway. Byakuya’s main focus had been you, and him, yours.
Byakuya breaks the silence with a gentle nudge and call of your name. “You were right, my love. This is far better than the ryokan back home.”
You open your eyes and flash a sweetly condescending grin at him. “And imagine if I had let you get your way. We’d be forced to share this day with the entire Seireitei, and I know we’d both be grumpy before dinner.”
Byakuya rolls his eyes. “I don’t get grumpy, I get–”
“Huffy?”
“No.”
You bite your lip and the water splashes as you turn and perch on your knees to face him. “Irked?”
“No.”
“Peeved?”
He narrows his eyes when you place your hand on his chest and lean in. Byakuya is no fool, but you know he can’t resist playing along with you.
“Actually, I think vexed is more fitting for a noble like you,” you goad.
“I was going to say weary, which is how I feel about your teasing.”
“That just makes you sound like an old man!” you guffaw.
“Your teasing ages me more than time ever could.”
“Oh, husband, how you wound me so,” you lament, dramatically falling forward into his solid chest and anticipatory embrace.
Byakuya shakes his head and tugs you into his lap. He nuzzles into your hair without a word, but his actions betray his nonchalant facade, as they usually do when it comes to his loved ones. You snuggle into him and know the onsen’s hot water isn’t responsible for the growing warmth in your heart. You trace circles into Byakuya’s skin and feel his thumbs massaging your waist in return. For a moment, you sit together in silence, listening to the gentle stream of water and indulging in each other’s touch. No interruptions, no obligations–only love.
“The only thing I’m missing today is our cherry blossom tree.”
“It will still be in bloom when we return.”
“I know, but…” You sigh. “Seeing it in full bloom on our anniversary just makes me nostalgic. Remember all the picnics and late night rendezvous?”
His thoughtful hum vibrates against you. “Good thing trees can’t talk,” he mused.
You giggle, then push yourself up to gaze into his eyes once again. His fingers spread out on your lower back and massage it, a show of affection he’d developed after you complained of back pain a few nights in a row back when you were still engaged. Byakuya’s quiet acts of love may escape the untrained eye, but you never miss them and will never tire of them.
“I also remember when you secretly asked for my hand underneath it before going to my family. Tsk-tsk.” You shake your head and wrap your arms around his neck. He stiffens when you press a soft kiss to his jaw. You whisper into his ear, “How scandalous. What would the Kuchiki elders think if they found out?”
“I wouldn’t give a damn,” he declares, his grip tightening. He whispers your name and your heart races when one of his hands cups your cheek. Byakuya gently guides you to meet his magnetic gaze, his gray eyes transfixed on yours. “I’d endure anything for you. My heart and soul are yours.”
You lean in and murmur his name, and he whispered yours breathlessly. Your noses slide against each other and your eyelids flutter closed as you tilt your head. The rest of the world falls away when his lips meet yours in a kiss that sears your skin and steals your breath. You feel lightheaded and dizzy from the divine way his lips move against yours. You tangle a hand into his silky black hair, and gently scratch your other hand’s fingernails up and down the very top of his spine. You smirk when he shivers and groans; still so sensitive there even after all these years. Byakuya’s thumb strokes the apple of your cheek while the hand on your back presses you even closer, your knees almost starting to scrape the rough wall of the onsen. Your perceptive husband scoots forward off the wall to ease your discomfort, his quiet strength igniting a different kind of heat within your body.
As much as Byakuya is yours, you are undeniably his, and you know he would never stop reminding you–in this life, and the next.
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a/n: broke the writer's block seal and I'm probably gonna hate this next week...but that just means I need to write even more soft byakuya, right?
