Title: Night Sky As The Canvas.
Author: abaraid
Fandom: Bleach
Characters: Abarai Renji & Kuchiki Rukia mostly
Prompt: 031. Watch
Word Count: 1,391
Rating: PG for minor language
Summary: A school lesson turns random explosions into a memorable night. Not that kind of memorable night, folks. Keep those heads out of the gutter.
Warnings/Notes: No spoilers unless you're not finished with the rescue arc, as this takes place after a group of shinigami have been assigned to stay in the real world. And, this doesn't really matter all that much since I can't understand 98% of it but "Hanabi" by Rip Slyme was on repeat while writing this. Also, feel free to comment and let me know what you liked/disliked (seriously, please? lol)
Disclaimer: The only Bleach related things that belong to me are the 8' Kisuke and Byakuya plushies beautifully adorning my room.
Please review if you read
He reminded her of fireworks. Not for the obvious reasons that one might think after setting an eye on him, or more specifically the bright, unruly yet organized mess that made up his usual hairstyle, but because of what fireworks could be known to represent. There was a festival going on in Karakura that week and as it came to a close there was to be a spectacular fireworks display that everyone had been anticipating. She had seen fireworks before. They weren't anything new to the petite shinigami in the least, but this time, things were somehow different.
It wasn't until their sensei had started talking about them that Rukia started to truly notice the resemblance. One thing she didn't notice, however, was the fact that her eyes kept wandering over to see what her long time friend was doing. Maybe what kept her so mesmerized was the way the sun peaking through the window landed on his fiery red spikes, hitting them in such a way that they almost resembled the sparks of vibrant light that would be taking over the sky later on that night. At least this is what she repeatedly told herself once she would catch herself and snap out of her Renji watching dazes. It surely couldn't have been the fact that she was finding ways to relate every word their teacher spoke to the giant that kept somehow flooding her thoughts much to her dismay.
Fireworks are violent. They can hurt you. They can inflict pain upon whomever or whatever decides to step in their way. Other times they are restrained. Waiting patiently, or not so patiently, for their time to shine and step into the spotlight for one hell of a show. They are a force so strong that it can be downright puzzling just where it all comes from. Fireworks are stronger than some can ever hope or wish to be. They are entertaining, they are amusing. Fireworks can make you cry just as easily as they can make you smile. They are coarse. They are rude. They are delicate. They are...beautiful.
Renji was a firework.
On top of being a firework he was also completely dense so while it was no surprise that he hadn't noticed her staring at him through the rest of the day, it was still a relief to her ego that her secret hadn't been discovered. Even as they strolled up and down the aisles at the festival checking out all the various trinket and food stalls, his attention still seemed to be completely focused on double teaming with Ishida to make fun of Ichigo, not the eyes that kept studying him like a book amidst conversations about phone charms or what kind of snacks to buy. Orihime had to snap her out of her dazes a few times but Rukia was thankful her slightly strange friend zoned out with crazy thoughts of flying platypus aliens coming to over the world or the best way to combine soba with black tea ice cream and marshamallows enough times herself that Orihime couldn't really think it odd of anyone else to do so.
Eventually they found themselves alone. More so lost than anything being that at some point in one of her dazes Rukia broke off from the rest of them, and Renji being the easiest for a short person to spot in a crowd was sent off as her one-person search party. Just for appearances he bitched and moaned, questioning why he had to be the one to go find the midget that couldn't pay attention on her own even if his friends could tell the act was just for show. After a few shoves and pushes he gave up on arguing to head towards the last place any of them had noticed she was still there. Meanwhile Rukia was huffily doing some searching on her, already thinking up plans to hit everyone who didn't seem to notice her presence no longer there. Ten minutes later as she was mumbling more threats to no one out loud under her breath, she ran smack dab into the hard chest of a beanstalk. Before she could fall back a familiar hand had reached out to hers, easily pulling her back before kneeling down to be eye level with her.
"Baka! Who the hell stops paying attention while they're walking? Are you crazy?"
"Shut up, fool! How could you let a girl get lost on her own? Who knows what could have happened to me if someone had-"
"You're not a girl, Rukia. Besides we both know you would kick the ass of anyone who even thought of doing something with you or to you."
That was enough to shut her up simply because he was right. She was not a woman to be taken lightly. Just for his 'not a girl' comment, she smacked him upside the head before tugging on his shirt to make him follow after her.
"Where are we going? And be careful, I had to clean Urahara's shop four times just to earn enough to buy this shirt."
"You'll see when we get there. Now shut up...baka."
And that was how their entire walk went. The constant insulting banter back and forth as she repeatedly told him to shut up and he kept asking her where the fuck she was taking him too. How could he be so sure it wasn't some dark alley in the middle of nowhere? On the way to their secret destination, she even had the nerve to make him stop to buy her some yaki-dango. As a form of protest he ate half of them before handing it over, still wondering where the hell she was taking him.
"Sit down."
"What?" He raised a brow, glancing around at their surroundings with pure confusion. It was a river bank near the festival, close enough to still be able to tell their friends they hadn't technically left the grounds if asked their disappearance later, but far enough away to where there weren't as many people around.
"Just sit down already. Stop asking so many questions. It's about to start."
"What the fu-" Before he could finish there was a loud SWISH followed by a crack as the first firework exploded into sparkling bursts of red's, green's and blue's. It had been awhile since he'd last seen something like this, let alone with just her. If his expression hadn't been the tell-all, then the way that he promptly sat down without speaking another word sure was. Rukia sat down next to him, her attention focused more on him yet again than the fireworks. There was just something about the way his eyes sparkled in the light and the way his usual default scowl was now almost a charming grin.
"You still do as you're told. That's good," the smirk on her face was matched by a roll of his eyes.
"You're still a damn brat," he said with a grin as his eyes turned from her back towards the fireworks exploding in the sky in all the various colors. While it hadn't been her intention to separate from the rest of the group, Rukia couldn't say that she minded much. They never got much time to themselves with all the things going on around them, and they sure as hell had a lot of time to make up for. She bopped him on the head, uttering a small 'baka' under her breath before her head took to resting lightly on his shoulder. Well, more so his arm than his shoulder because of the fact he towered over her even while sitting if you got into the mechanics of it all, or if you were like Renji and just took joy in pointing out that she was a dwarf. She was just waiting for him to say something smart about it, it was a habit of his, so she could cuss him out in true Rukia fashion. Only...he didn't. In fact he stayed completely silent as his arm slid around her waist, pulling her just a little closer while they watched the sky light up in all the various hues and patterns. She was a tad surprised but a tiny bit grateful, maybe he had gotten better at reading situations after all.