Title: Not Alone
Author: Akuni
Universe: Bleach
Genre: PWP, Drama/Romance
Rating: NC-17 (Smut)
Pairing: Renji/Rukia
Spoilers: through manga chapter
Word Count: 2650
Summary: Renji takes a leap into the darkness to bring Rukia back into the light.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, I'm just borrowing it for a while.
Dedication: For Beck, because she loves RenRuki, too.
Distribution: This is just for yankeerose69, so no. :) Written for xmas 2006.
A/N: I had just finished writing this when your AWESOME, AMAZING, SQUEE-INDUCING xmas package arrived. Imagine my astonishment when it wasn't simply an envelope with the promised DVD, but a whole parcel, complete with homemade cookies and OMFG a gorgeous RenRuki doujinshi!! (faints) Because your gift was so awesome, I had to put the brakes on posting your story right away, instead taking another pass at it with my beta to make sure it was everything I thought you'd want it to be. It took all my self-control to wait 'til this was ready to post instead of doing a 'fangirl 'splodey' all over LJ right that instant.
Not Alone
They knelt quietly side by side. Every so often one of them would make an effort to sip the tea that was growing cold on the table, but the cups never quite reached their lips. The silence was not comfortable, or comforting, as it often was between them. Something was not quite right anymore, and it disturbed the careful balance they had been maintaining for years.
Rukia sighed, almost imperceptibly. It was the smallest of openings, but her companion was quick to take the opportunity.
"What's the matter?" Renji asked.
Rukia looked up, surprised out of her thoughts. "I… nothing," she lied unconvincingly. The expression on her face revealed that she knew how weak her lie was, but she was going to run with it anyway.
Renji stared at her, unimpressed. "Uh huh. Try that on someone who ain't known ya since—" he broke off with a smirk as her eyes narrowed and she shot him a look that told him in no uncertain terms that he'd better choose his next words carefully.
"Someone who ain't known ya as long as me," he finished, still flashing his best cocky grin. Rukia swatted at him halfheartedly and tried to scowl, but the corners of her lips tugged upward. That was encouraging; she hadn't shown that much expression in a while.
"C'mon, what's goin' on with you?" Renji was determined to have this out while her shell was cracked even a little. "It ain't like ya t' be so mopey." He chose the word deliberately, knowing it should trigger a reaction. But Rukia just sighed and stared into the distance as she gathered her thoughts.
"I… it's too hard," Rukia whispered. "I don't want to feel this way anymore."
"What way?"
"I can't trust anyone. Everyone leaves. They change, they go away… they die." Her voice faltered over the last. "We fight to protect them, but eventually we fail and they die. Or we die. It's all the same in the end."
Renji understood this uncharacteristic hopelessness, all too well. Every shinigami in the Soul Society was feeling it, as comrades fell to Aizen's forces and Hollows ravaged the living world until the overworked defenders could track them down – and nothing they'd tried so far was working to turn the tide in their favour.
But this… this was something he could do something about. He turned to face her fully.
"Ya know that ain't true, don't ya?" Renji's voice was unusually gentle, and it made her look him straight in the eye for the first time in days. "It's always been us against the world, and we're still winnin'. Some days it's just harder t' see than others."
"But—"
"I'm not leaving. I'm never leaving." Renji stretched out his hand to cup her cheek. "You're not alone." He drew nearer, his eyes holding hers steadily.
"It's always been you…" His breath brushed warmth across her face as he whispered beside her mouth. "…Rukia…" Renji closed his eyes as he pressed his lips to hers.
His heart thudded painfully in his chest as he waited for some response – any response. He couldn't bear to see her hurting, so he was risking everything to reach in and bring her out of the darkness with him. He could handle rejection – their friendship had survived too much already to fall apart now – and anything was better than seeing her suffer like this any longer.
Rukia hadn't moved. Renji steeled himself for heartache and began to pull away.
A small hand on the back of his neck held him fast. Soft lips captured his, and Renji's heart raced as Rukia pulled herself in to lean on his chest. He had no idea how long they stayed locked like that, frozen in one moonlit moment.
When Rukia finally released him, Renji opened his eyes and saw she was smiling at him.
"I've been waiting a long time for you to do that, Renji." The light had returned to her eyes; for a moment Renji felt like leaping to his feet and yelling his victory into the night. Instead he settled for kissing her again, enthusiastically this time, nearly losing his mind when Rukia's soft tongue licked tentatively at his.
He nibbled gently at her lips as he they separated, drawing a soft giggle from the previously melancholy woman. Renji wrapped his arms around her and lifted her onto his lap; Rukia nestled herself into his embrace and rested her head on his shoulder.
"It's gonna be ok, ya know," he stated matter-of-factly. "We're gonna win. Got too many people countin' on us t' fail. So we just won't."
The tiny woman nodded into his shoulder. "I know. Just… hard sometimes."
"It's still you an' me against the world, Rukia. But this time we ain't alone in the fight. We got a lot more people we can count on now."
She raised her head. "People who won't go down – at least not without one helluva fight." Her smile was like the sunrise, its warmth washing over him and settling into his bones.
Renji couldn't help himself; he bent to taste her small, perfect lips again. Hours passed unnoticed as they held each other close.
It was after midnight when she finally sat up and disentangled herself from his lap, reluctance showing in every movement. "I guess I should go…"
Renji caught her hand. "Stay."
Rukia bit her lip. "I… don't know if that's such a good idea."
"I just wanna hold ya tonight." His hand tightened on hers. "That's all."
"No, I want— I mean… they'll wonder where I am," Rukia explained. "Nii-sama—"
Renji cut her off with another kiss; he wasn't letting her get away, not ever again. "Yeah I should tell ya 'bout that. Kuchiki-taichou… we had a… a talk, a while back." One side of his mouth twitched upward in a crooked grin. "He, ah, sorta gave me his blessing."
"What?! When?" Rukia's eyebrows drew together. "I'm not a prize to be passed out!" she huffed.
Renji laughed. "No, 'course not. But he's your family, an' it's proper t' have his approval. Though I woulda done it anyway," he admitted easily, "even if he didn't approve."
"When?" she asked again, though the heat was gone from her voice.
"Right after this whole thing blew up. I went t' see him in the infirmary, after that bastard left." He scowled; the memory of Aizen's betrayal still boiled his blood. "He said… said that his sister 'deserves someone who will stand up for her above all others, even if it means sacrificing himself'." He tried to remember his captain's exact words and intonation.
"Nii-sama, he said that to you?" She looked shocked.
Renji nodded. "Yeah, surprised the hell outta me, too. Then he told me not t' 'waste any more time keeping people waiting'."
Rukia smiled again. "Then I guess I have to sta—aaayyy!" She yelped as Renji scooped her up and carried her into his bedroom. "Renji!"
"I ain't gonna drop ya. Carried ya a lot longer when I was a lot weaker," he reminded her with a grin. "But I ain't gonna let you go, not ever again, so get used t' it."
"You've never been weak," she protested, wrapping her arms around his neck as he knelt and lowered her onto his futon. She wouldn't let him go, pulling him down and kissing him again.
"Well I never will be, long's I got you." Mentally, he groaned a little at the mushy sentiment, but the sparkle in her eyes told him he'd gotten it right and erased the faint flush from his cheeks.
Renji reached out and untied her sash. "Not gonna sleep in your uniform, are ya?" He slipped the black robe off her shoulders before stripping down to his own white under robe.
Rukia wiggled out of her over robe and pants and tossed their uniforms off to one side. "This'll do." She reached up and untied the band that held his hair in place; he shook his head, letting the long red strands tumble down around his shoulders.
"Thanks." He settled himself beside her and drew the blankets over them as Rukia snuggled into his embrace. Renji tucked the small woman under his chin, marvelling at how perfectly she fit against him. He breathed deeply of her scent, and fell asleep to the sound of her heart beating against his own.
§
The first thing Renji saw when he opened his eyes in the morning was the disheveled black hair belonging to the woman whose head was pillowed on his shoulder. Rukia was still soundly asleep, her face peaceful and calm. Her eyes fluttered, and she sighed softly in her sleep as he pressed his lips to her temple.
Her white robe gaped slightly in the front, exposing the curve of one breast. Renji's eyes followed the lines of Rukia's body pressed against his, her warmth stirring a different heat in his groin. He ignored it for now; at this moment he wanted nothing more than to simply watch her sleep.
She would definitely argue the point – which would be fun – but she was his prize, a prize he never thought he'd deserve. And now that he'd won her, he wanted to savour it. But eventually her eyes opened.
"Renji." The smile she bestowed on him was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
"Mornin', love." His voice was rough, and he felt the flush in his face as he tried out the endearment.
Rukia buried her face against his chest as he turned to face her. Something that sounded like, "Love you too," was slightly muffled in the folds of his robe, but he heard it and it echoed clearly in his mind.
Finally she raised her eyes to meet his gaze. Their eyes locked, dark red and deep blue. With that radiant smile Renji loved so well, Rukia reached her arms to him and he fell into them willingly. They remained that way for several minutes, holding each other close, their rapidly beating hearts beginning to beat in rhythm.
They pulled apart, barely, enough for him to gently capture her lips with his own. A small sound in the back of her throat nudged the gentle kiss to deeper passion, breaking only when it was absolutely necessary to breathe. Renji opened his mouth to speak but Rukia quickly hushed him with a fingertip against his lips. All that had needed to be said had been said. He nodded once and lowered himself into her arms, pressing her back against the soft bedding.
Rukia's arms went up around his neck as his mouth descended on hers once more. Her lips parted beneath his, inviting his tongue to twine with hers. Renji groaned, crushing her closer to him. The passion took them both, the earlier calm eclipsed by the growing need.
Her fingers worked their way down his chest, following the tattooed lines, nails gently tracing the path to the sash at his waist. Her hands deliberately brushed the firm bulge beneath the thin robe and Renji shivered against her. Rukia untied the sash with one quick motion and raised her arms to slide it off his shoulders.
Their lips broke apart as he sat up to remove the garment. Renji stared at her; the sight of her flushed skin, wide eyes, and swollen, moist lips directly beneath him sent a shaft of desire through him. Slowly he ran his hands along the robe that barely reached her thighs. He slid his hands beneath the smooth fabric and gave her bare buttocks a gentle squeeze before continuing around, one hand caressing her stomach while the other undid the sash to let one side of her robe fall open. Rukia's breath quickened as Renji's hand moved higher to cup her breast, small and firm, nipple already hard beneath his palm.
He lowered his head and kissed the curve of her other breast through her robe. Rukia's hands buried themselves in Renji's loose hair as his tongue lashed out to caress the peak in her light robe, her legs twisting beneath him as she held herself against his lean body. Renji worked his way lower, leaving a trail of fiery kisses down her belly until he reached his goal.
Gentle hands pushed Rukia's robe up around her waist, exposing her beauty. Her feminine scent rose all around him and Renji breathed deeply, savouring it before diving down to place a kiss between her folds. She gasped at the heat on her flesh; the hands that had been stroking his hair clenched once and then relaxed. Renji's mouth covered her, his tongue stroking hot and wet.
Rukia moaned as Renji's lips worked their way back up to suckle her stiff nipples, leaving his hands to their magic below. She reached for him, pleading with her gaze, and that mischievous sparkle she loved so well shone out from Renji's passion-filled eyes as he positioned himself over her.
Hands trembling with desire, she took him in her hands and felt his body shudder with each feather-light touch. With a mischievous spirit of her own, Rukia leaned up and nibbled Renji's earlobe, making sure her breasts brushed against his bare chest as her own hands squeezed and stroked his hard length.
A low growl escaped him then, and as she lay back to look at him she was struck breathless by the intensity of his gaze. Her robe went flying. Renji's mouth crashed down upon hers and they swirled away together in a flood of passion as he entered her moist depths. Rukia's cry of pleasure was matched by his own, both muffled in the midst of their kiss.
She arched her back, raising her hips to meet his, and they fell into the rhythm together as naturally as breathing. Her hands ran up and down the length of his back, pulling him closer with each thrust, alternately grasping his buttocks and running through his brilliant hair.
As their passion built their movements grew faster; Renji's hand on Rukia's hip pulled her to him more forcefully. She cried out again as the sensations burning inside her flared higher. Another growl, this one of deep satisfaction, as with each stroke they claimed each other fully. Their wordless gasps echoed in the empty morning, soft sounds of flesh upon flesh enticing them, drawing them deeper.
With a final moan Rukia writhed again beneath him, clutching his inked shoulders as her climax overwhelmed her. The force of it rolled over him and sent him spiralling with her, Renji's lips at last crying her name in triumph.
They came down from the heights together. Each touch elicited a gasp or an exclamation of pleasure as their movements slowed and eventually stopped. Rukia pulled his full weight down upon her and locked her slender legs around his waist, hugging him as close to her body as she could. Together they rolled to the side, still clinging together as Renji withdrew from her. Their breathing slowed, hearts gradually returning to a steadier beat.
Together they lay quietly in the early morning light, exchanging soft kisses, the gentle breeze sliding over their flesh and drying the slight sheen of perspiration produced by their exertions. He left her only briefly, to recover a blanket that had been pushed to the floor. Wrapping it around them both, Renji took her into his arms and smiled down at her. His long red hair was hopelessly tangled, Rukia noted, after she'd run her hands through it in her passion.
Renji gave her his best grin, the one that had captured her heart the day she'd first seen it. "I never woulda waited so long if I knew it was gonna be like that!"
Rukia laughed and curled closer, earlier shyness forgotten. "Why did you wait so long, Renji? When were you going to tell me how you felt?"
He shook his head. "Don't matter anymore."
"But—"
"Quit askin' dumb questions, Rukia." He silenced her with a kiss.
END