Written quite a while ago, but never posted here before. Short descriptive peice about Ichigo's torments and Renji's reactions. Possibly OOC, but I tired not to make them too emo or too mushy, haha. Your thoughts are appreciated!
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Ichigo had never liked heavy storms. When he was little he had been scared by the loud booms and bright flashes. He would hide his face in his mothers skirt and cover his ears. But she was always there to comfort him, and that made it bearable.
As he grew up rain storms no longer scared him, but now they always reminded him of his mother's death. It had been raining that night by the riverbank when she had been killed.
The sound of rain still reminded him of her blank stare as she lay soaked and motionless on the bank, her skin cold as ice.
When it rained he couldn't keep these images from his mind, and his grief came back to him, undulled by the passage of time.
Renji had noticed this affect that the rain had on Ichigo. Sometimes it was just a subtle look in his eye, which few others noticed. But Renji could tell he was hurting. He had learned about Ichigo's mother's death long ago, and he could tell from the cold chill of the young man's reiatsu that he was thinking of her.
It was that chill, not the heavy storm, which woke Renji up in the middle of the night. The young man's warmth was no longer curled against him as it had been when they fell asleep.
Instead, he was sitting at the edge of the bed, looking out the window with distant eyes. He didn't notice that Renji had woken, or that he was watching him with concern.
Renji knew that Ichigo's pain was not something he could heal. Erasing it would be as impossible as stopping the damned rain. He had tried to reason with Ichigo before, and even though the teen now accepted that his mother's death had not been his fault, he could not let go of his grief.
Renji admired that fierce loyalty and devotion, even though it caused the one he loved pain.
Renji knew he couldn't stop the pain, but he could be there to share its weight. Slowly he sat up, and silently moved to Ichigo's side. Without a word he placed his arms around the other man's stomach, pulling him against his chest protectively. He rested his head in the crook of Ichigo's neck and let his hair flow over his shoulder.
Though Ichigo didn't cease his brooding he acknowledged the other man's embrace by placing his hands over those which were wrapped around his stomach. His face softened slightly as he glanced down at Renji, who asked and demanded nothing, only offering his warmth.
The two men remained like this for hours, as the rain continued to fall. Neither spoke nor moved, and the warm arms around him slowly brought Ichigo's wandering mind back to the present. Near dawn the rain slowed to a trickle and finally petered out as the sun began to rise in the distance. Renji slowly unwound himself from around Ichigo, and the two silently resumed their usual positions in the bed, with Ichigo's head resting on Renji's tattooed chest.
Before drifting back into an exhausted sleep Ichigo leaned up and gave his lover a soft kiss. His eyes glowed with love and gratitude and only a slight trace of his pain. That look told Renji all he needed to know; that together they could get through even their hardest times. Renji smiled to himself as he stroked the soft orange hair beneath his hand and fell into a peaceful sleep.