Their Love Story
Maybe, it was fate, meeting her. Never once he thought that there will ever be a someone that able to change his world, forever. Especially a woman. It was true that he never appreciated her at first. She was a pain-in-the-ass, he once said to himself. But that fact finally changed when he realized how important she was to him. She was far more valuable to him than his own life. He didn't care if he had to die for her. That was why he was willing to put his life in danger just to save her.
Why? People around him asked. "Because I owed my family lives to her," he answered but deep inside him, there was another reason. Because she had stolen my heart…
He fought hard for her. Battled with the strongest there was. Training day and night just to save her from the clutch of the devil. A hideous truth was unveiled as he went through his journey. Something that concerned him. It was a setup. Everything was a setup since the day he met her until now. He didn't care about that. All he cared was her. He fought for her. Finally, she was safe. He managed a relief sigh when he saw she reluctantly being escorted to 4th Division for medical purposes. She was safe…
When both of them were healthy enough to start bickering again, he only wished that those moments will last forever because he knew that they have to part. He was the black sun, she was the white moon. They were contrast of each other. The exact opposite. They belonged to two different worlds.
The time for goodbye finally came, a month after he saved her. She decided to stay there, with her family and friends. "This is my home," she said. He couldn't do anything to persuade her to come with him. He was scared actually. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her and to stay with him. But his voice stuck. He wanted to hug her, kiss her soft lips and buried his face in her strawberry-scented hair but he couldn't. He tried but he just couldn't. His body was frozen on that spot, in front of the gate that connected their worlds.
"I guess, this is the goodbye, huh?" his true feeling hid behind his cheerful façade. He sounded merry enough to cover the sadness that slowly and painfully growing inside him.
She laughed. "Goodbye punk!" She, too, sounded gleeful as if this 'farewell' wasn't really a goodbye for them.
Her words, her expression… He didn't mean much to her, did her? He was the only one who happened to fall in something that could easily noted as love. He loved her; he admitted but loud enough only for his heart to hear it. With his heart broken, he stepped into the gate. He didn't even glance back to see that drops of precious tears were making their way down her cheeks. Their loved story ended before it even started.
He tried to forget about her, but it was impossible. She was his world, she was his everything. She was the one who thought him about love. She transformed him to who he was now. She was a part of his life albeit he tried to deny it. He missed her. He wanted her to be there for him. He wanted to feel her presence at the very least. He needed her…
Whether it was a setup once again or it was planned in the heaven, they met again. He had dragged himself from school to the river bank; a place that he had spent so much time alone. It was his sanctuary, that place was. Something made him felt at ease whenever he stayed there. Ironically, that was the exact place where his mom was killed.
He usually had his head in the clouds whenever he stayed there. There was always a certain topic that never left his mind. A topic about how coward he really felt. Now, he was the one bearing the pain and longing for her. If he had asked, at least, he will know who she felt for him. But no, he was too coward to say that single question.
His body suddenly went rigid as a familiar reiatsu and at the exact moment, she sat right beside him.
"Hi," she greeted. Wearing a simple light blue dress, she was mesmerizing to his eyes. The late evening sun, shined its rays on her raven hair, made her looked like an angel to him.
"What's with the face?" she asked. Her sweet voice made his heart pumped twice as fast.
He didn't answer her as he was still lost in his captivated violet eyes.
"You better say something or I'll kiss you!" she teased him and that caught him off guard.
"Whaa-?" kiss her? Hmm… that wasn't a bad idea. He mentally slapped himself. What the hell was he thinking?
She guffawed. His expression just now was priceless. Oh, how she missed him. He laughed too. This felt good, for both of them to be together. It was something that he had dreamt since the day they parted.
"What are you doing here? To turn my world upside down again?" he snickered. The words rolled out from his tongue without his brain registered any of it. Of course the words hurt her. But he didn't realise the sudden changed on her face.
She quickly regained her composure. 'I'm only a bother, huh,' she whispered, loud enough for her heart. She had taught that coming back here was going to be something happy for both of them, she especially. Unfortunately, it seemed that she was wrong. Why didn't she think about that first? He got enough problems of his own before she came storming into his life for the first time. Now for second time? She forgot to think about his feeling. He must have thought that she was going to bring him yet another mountain high of problems. She was too selfish about her own feeling, ignoring his in the process.
"Well," she stood up, "If you don't want me here, I might as well get going back to Soul Society now," she began taking steps away from him. She prayed hard not to let her tears streaming down her cheeks.
She only took a couple of stride when she felt his calloused hand grabbed her wrist. Due to the force from his pull, her petite figure spun around before the sudden change in momentum caused her to hit something. It was a blur at first but eventually, her eyes focused on his chest. She was in his tight embrace. His strong arms were firmly warped around her small waist. She felt his warm breath on her raven hair.
"Don't go...I'm sorry. I really didn't mean it," he whispered.
She was confused by everything. His sudden changed in behaviour and his voice tone. It was different. Not like the always annoyed/teasing or whatever tones that showed his current mood. He never ever sounded this sweet and opened to her. It was as if he wasn't in his usual self.
Seeing or rather listening, nothing came from the woman in his embrace, he told her something that had been aching to get out from his heart; words that she had waited for him to say.
"I love you," that three words finally escaped his lips.
She was speechless. She never really thought that the guy that embraced her had the same feeling as her. She was too shocked to utter a word to him.
The silence between them made he thought of rejection. Suddenly, there was something drenching his shirt, right where her face was. She was crying. Bad omen for him. Had he blew the chance of them being together? It seemed so.
"Hey, I'm sorry. I- I didn't mean to hurt your feeling. I'm sor-" before he could continue apologizing, she placed her delicate finger on his lips, preventing him from talking.
"Shh... There's nothing to sorry for," he was confused by her cracked a smile at his baffled , she continued, "in fact, I've been waiting for you to say that." Her face was in shade of red.
It took him at least a couple of minutes to really understand what she had just said. A wide grin fully blossomed on his face when he finally cracked the meaning of her words. His embraced tighten around her. He couldn't believe his luck today. Meeting her after a year and when she responded positively towards his confession; both of these events were one of the best thing in his life.
"I love you, I really do," he whispered sweetly to her. He could feel she smiled against his shirt.
She lifted her head and said muttered the same thing to him; confessing her hidden, special feeling for him. "I love you too."
It took them a great amount of courage and quite sometime of separation between them before they finally acknowledged the special feelings that growing inside them. Absence makes heart goes fonder, people said and it was true for the,
With all the remaining courage in his body, he bent down to level with her. He then placed a gentle kiss on her lips. It was an innocent yet sweet first kiss. When he pulled away, his face was as red as an overripe tomato. She was no different. However, they liked- loved the taste of each other's lips. He bent down again. She stood on her toes. They shared another sweet kiss. This second kiss lasted much longer than the first one. He devoured the taste of strawberry Popsicle, her favourite ice-ream, on her lips. She tasted a hint of mint from his peppermint chewing-gum. It was an innocent yet passionate kiss. Finally, after a minute, they broke apart due to lack of oxygen.
They smiled to each other. No words exchanged but both of them knew nothing could ever separate them because they needed each other in their lives. They loved each other...
He stopped in front a flower shop. A florist was arranging a fresh bouquet of white and red roses. Just the flowers that he needed. He got out from his car and walked towards the florist.
"Hi. Can I have those?" he pointed towards the fresh bouquets.
The florist nodded as her hand quickly picked up several white roses and a single red then she warped them in a bouquet. She affixed a wish card on the flowers before handed the bouquet towards her customer. He thanked her and paid the price. He returned back to his idle car.
He took a pen from the dashboard and scribbled few words on the card. Satisfied with his wishes for a special someone, he quickly drove back home.
As soon as he opened the door, he could hear the blaring noises from the television set. He peeked inside the living room. Sure enough, his little son was watching his favourite show, Chappy the Rabbit.
"Hey Ryuu," he greeted.
The raven haired boy looked up and saw his daddy. He grinned.
"Daddy!" the child exclaimed as he got on his feet and ran towards the father. Then, the little guy gave his daddy a hearty embrace. The father picked his son up into his arms.
He gave his child a few peck on the cheeks, "Where's mummy?"
"Mummy's giving Masaki a bath,'' Ryuu answered.
"Alright. I need to see mummy. You sit here and watch Chappy, okay?" the lad nodded.
He left his son with his television show as he made his way towards his bedroom.
"Who's a good girl?" he heard she cooing to their daughter. He stood silently at the threshold as he observed her putting Masaki's clothes on as she cooed and played with their second child.
She was smiling with their daughter. A smile that always had him mesmerised with. He continued to observe her as she fed Masaki and lulled the orange-haired child to bed. She was too engrossed with her duty as a mother to realise that her husband was standing by the door for the last ten minutes. When their daughter finally had dozed off, she finally noticed him.
"What are you smiling at?" she had one of her eyebrows shot up. His smile got wider. He walked towards her.
"I stood there for more than five minutes and you didn't even notice me?" he pouted.
She expressed a laugh. She tiptoed and gave her husband a light kiss on his lips.
"I'm sorry," she grinned as she played with his orange locks. He chuckled.
"Here I got these for you," he whispered and produced the roses from behind him
She was surprised with his sudden gift but accepted them anyway.
"What's with the suddenness?" she asked him curiously as she sniffed the good smell from the roses.
He laughed. "Do you know today's date?"
She nodded.
"Well, it's an important day for us," he continued.
Her gave him a questioning look.
"Remember, ten years back? When we finally confessed our feeling?" he asked again, without the need of her to question him. He could read her face as easy as a book.
"Oh that," she muttered sheepishly. Her husband chuckled again.
She looked again on the beautiful bouquet in her hand. The card embedded on the holder caught her attention. She flipped it and read the contents. She looked up to him.
"It has been ten years?" she mumbled and he nodded.
"It has been ten years we are together, my love. And I don't regret any second that I had spent with you nor I ever will for our future together," his amber gaze was piercing the violet eyes.
She was speechless. She hugged him tight and buried her face deep into his muscular chest.
"I love you, Rukia," he whispered.
"I love you too, Ichigo. Forever and always," she said.
Kurosaki Ichigo picked her up, bridal style and brought his wife to the bed. They began kissing each other and enjoying each seconds and moments together.
On the night stand, where the bouquet was left when hugged him was an opened card, scribbled with Ichigo's neat handwritting.
The both of us of that day back then, could not bring ourselves to be honest
I guess I've lived through the seasons just by keeping myself busy to gaze at the side view of your face
If I close my eyes, it's painfully endearing
Not being able to bring out that "I love you" which I've meant to say someday
The fragile memories (they're shining)
The running tears I bore have always been embraced by the wind
Thank you for coming back and giving me the chance to say 'I love you."
Two souls with a single thought; two hearts beat as one.
I love you, Kurosaki Ruki.
My love is forever yours.
A/N: This just have to get out of my head.