So I've recently been getting back into watching Bleach and I'm still in the filler with the Kasumi-Ouji family so please don't be leaving me no spoilers. This story will not contain anything of the sort but I was just letting you know now to the reason for this oneshot. This story was a prize for lyudesshadow because they were the first to comment on my story called 'Quiet Strength and Assumed Weakness'. That story was about Ganju and Hanatarou and their life together. I told her she could request a oneshot from me and she chose the pairing of RenjiXIchigo so here goes…

p.s. this is also one of my fave pairings as well so I hope I do it justice.

A Watched Pot Never Boils

The sound of his own breathing and his heart's erratic beat was the only thing Ichigo could hear. There had been a huge explosion while he was visiting Renji in Soul Society and before anyone had time to react Ichigo covered Renji without thinking. His vision was blurry and he could only make out fuzzy shapes, he could see people's mouths moving but their voices were lost to him. He could still feel Renji breathing beneath him and that was all that mattered he supposed. He noticed there was something hot and sticky covering his face, when he reached up to touch it before he could see what it was everything went black and his mind went blank.

"Where is he! Where is that stupid kid!" Renji screamed while pulling his IV out and walking quickly towards Hanatarou with a deadly look in his eyes.

"Abarai-san you have to calm down you have a concussion, you shouldn't be up and about." Hanatarou squeaked out in what was his most assertive tone.

"Where is Ichigo? What happened? There was huge explosion why wasn't I hurt worse?" Now he was pleading with Hana to tell him the truth. Hanatarou grabbed his hand and led him to the bed.

"I think you should hear it from the person who found you. I'll be back in a few minutes. Please stay here."Hanatarou seemed to barely get out the last part without breaking down. About ten minutes later he returned with Kenpachi in tow.

"Zaraki taichou you found me and Ichigo? Please tell me what happened, everyone's being too quiet." Renji grabbed the side of his head and winced in pain.

"It was Aizen. He sent some fraccion of Szayel's here to weaken our defenses. They were basically living bombs. Somehow they infiltrated Soul Society and two of them were in the 6th division headquarters…where you and Ichigo were. Now it seems Ichigo sensed something just in time to protect you. When I found you two he had his entire body shielding you. I carried both of you as fast as I could here to the 4th division."Kenpachi paused for a moment and clenched his fists. Hanatarou took over the explanation.

"Ichigo's head was so covered in blood at first that no one could tell what was really wrong. After we stopped the bleeding we saw that there was a large gash on his head. We stitched it up and then we started to tend to the burns on various parts of his body…." Hanatarou's eyes started to fill with tears. "Ichigo is in a coma Renji, we're not sure if he'll ever wake up!" Kenpachi walked over and pulled Hana to his body, while he was trying to comfort the small shinigami Renji ran out of the room.

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All that Renji seemed to get out of that entire explanation was that Ichigo may never wake up. How could that be, Ichigo was too strong for that. He couldn't go now…not now. Everything was just starting to work out, they were putting plans together today, and that's why Ichigo was there in the first place. Renji finally found the door that led to the coma ward and easily enough found his strawberry lying in a bed. It almost didn't seem real; he just looked like he was sleeping. He thought to himself that the strawberry nickname wouldn't really work anymore. Ichigo's head had been shaved for the stitches to be put in. Renji reached out and for the first time realized how small Ichigo's hands looked in his. He thought about what had happened earlier that day.

Earlier that day….

Renji was sitting at his desk in his office doing paperwork when he heard a thump at his window. When he looked over a smile spread across his face at the sight of his longtime friend and newly acquired lover Ichigo Kurosaki. He got up and pulled Ichigo inside. Ichigo pushed back a little and Renji stopped when the back of his legs hit the desk. Ichigo started the kiss off slow and languid but it soon progressed into a hot and heavy make out session. They had been apart for too long since Renji had confessed his feelings for his fiery strawberry. Ichigo straddled Renji and flattened him out against the desk. Before Ichigo could lean down again Renji put his hand against his chest.

"I think we need to talk before this goes any further." He said breathing hard and trying to restrain his own hormones. Ichigo started to get up but Renji grabbed his hand as if to say without words that he liked the way they were just fine. "We can't be apart for this long anymore…it was too much of a strain on me, and my work was suffering because all I could think about was you." Ichigo looked shocked and squirmed a bit under Renji's intense gaze.

"I can't leave my family alone, I can't leave my town. They need me to protect them." Ichigo's gaze seemed to drift away from Renji for a moment. Renji pulled his face back towards his.

"Why can't you let someone protect you for once? Let me protect you Ichigo. I'm going to have Byakuya transfer me to Rukia's position in your town. I'll still have to check in sometimes but I'll have a place in Karakura and we'll be able to see each other every day."

"But…won't you miss it here, miss your friends?" Ichigo asked leaning into Renji's touch.

"You are more important to me than this place and my friends. I love you Ichigo." Renji watched Ichigo's eyes snap open and look into his with a mix of emotions swimming through them. However seconds later he smiled and began to speak.

"I love yo….."All of a sudden time seemed to slow down for Renji. Before he could realize what was going on he was on the ground behind his desk and Ichigo was covering him and it was just so loud and then everything went black.

Weeks past and soon it had been two months since the accident. Aizen seemed to have gotten what he wanted because there hadn't been a sign of him or his nefarious acts since the explosion. Ichigo had many visitors over this time but one person was there every moment he could spare. Renji had even made a makeshift office in the hospital room so he could get his paperwork done. He'd put his transfer on hold and extra shinigami had been sent to Karakura to protect its people while their unknown hero was out of commission. Of course Ichigo's family had been informed and his father had even come to visit a few times. The only medic allowed to attend to Ichigo was Hanatarou. Ever since the day Kenpachi had comforted Hana they seemed to spend a large amount of time together but Renji thought of nothing but his lover's recovery. He'd become oblivious to just about everything else, anything that didn't have something to do with Ichigo passed right out of his mind. Ichigo's hair had started to grow back fast and was actually getting a bit long, but Renji decided he didn't mind much. He'd often fall asleep with his hand deep in the orange locks. It was officially three months since the incident when Hanatarou finally got the courage to ask Renji about his relationship with Kurosaki-kun.

"Renji, how long had you and Ichigo been together before this happened?" Hana questioned one day while changing Ichigo's dressing on his head wound.

"How did you know?" Renji stood from his makeshift desk, which was actually just a table from the cafeteria, and walked over to sit in the chair next to the hospital bed.

"You look at him the way I catch Zaraki looking at me." Hana answered blushing slightly.

"We were always together I think. Ever since we met there was always this unspoken connection between us. I was just too stubborn and arrogant to admit it. We had only just confessed to each other a few weeks before the explosion and then I had to come back here for work. We had so little time together, and I'm afraid I'll never get to see his eyes again, or feel the heat of our bodies and spiritual power resonating off each other when we spar." Renji looked longingly at Ichigo and picked up his hand and squeezed it gently.

"Don't give up on him Renji, he's special and he's fighting to get back to you I know it." Hana had finished his work for the day and said he was off to see Kenpachi for dinner. He invited Renji but of course he stayed by Ichigo's side til he drifted off to sleep.

Inside Ichigo's Head…

"How long do you think it's been out there Zangetsu?" Ichigo looked up at the voice literally in his head.

"A watched pot never boils Ichigo, get back to work. There is still much to fix."

"That sounds so lame…jeez." Ever since the explosion Ichigo had been working to fix the cracks in his foundation. Zangetsu informed him that he could possibly be even more powerful when he woke up if he did the repairs correctly. It felt like it had been years to Ichigo, he missed Renji; the thought of seeing him again drove him even harder. "Do you think Renji and I are a match for soul bonding?"

"His spiritual power matches well with yours; though he's not aware of it he is transferring some of his power into you every day." Ichigo had always wanted to have some kids later in life and only soul bonded shinigami could have children with same-sex partners. Ecstatic at this news he got back to work.

It was time for Ichigo's weekly check up with Hana and everything seemed to be the norm until he got to the reaction tests. When he squeezed Ichigo's hand he felt a squeeze back and jumped away.

"What happened? He responded didn't he?" Renji ran over and tried the same thing and got the same response. He was finally waking up. "If you can hear me please open your eyes." Both the men in the room held their breaths for what seemed like forever until the eyes Renji never thought he'd see again opened slowly. Hanatarou rushed around the room shutting curtains and turning off the lights in the immediate area.

"I have to go get him some water. Try to keep him awake Renji." Hana left the room and Renji just looked on in awe, for once in his life he was speechless. The silence was broken by the door slamming as little feet rushed by and put a straw to Ichigo's lips coaxing them open. He drank until the glass was empty.

"I love you too Renji and I know you never gave up on me. Now stop staring and kiss me." Hana stepped out of the way. At first Renji barely put any pressure into the kiss until Ichigo grabbed the back of his head and rammed their mouths together. When they finally broke apart breathing heavily Renji just smiled and picked Ichigo up off the bed bridal style.

"Hana I'm taking my strawberry home for a 'shower' and some R&R!" Renji winked at Hanataro and jumped out the window laughing.

"Let me protect you my sweet berry boy." Renji whispered as he braced Ichigo's body against his while he washed him slowly, torturously. Ichigo closed his eyes and enjoyed the touch of his soul mate and moaned in pleasure when Renji began to venture to his lower half. All the time Renji was placing sweet kisses all over Ichigo and whispering loving things in his ear. Renji decided Ichigo still wasn't ready for extreme physical exertion so he finished him off and led him to the bed.

"I found out something very interesting while I was in a coma. I found out we are soul bond mates." Ichigo said as he kissed Renji all over his neck.

"Are you serious? That means…that means…"

"That's right we can have kids someday." Ichigo rolled off of Renji and pulled him over and under the covers. He rested his head on Renji's bare chest and sighed.

"What's wrong Ichi?"

"Nothing I'm just looking forward to the future is all." They both soon fell asleep and after a week of just being together Renji put in for his transfer again and the lovers headed back to Karakura town. As promised Renji got an apartment and they moved in together and Ichigo never cut his hair again, he decided he liked it too.

Timeskip!

It'd been about ten years since the explosion and Aizen was finally dead in the ground where he belonged. Renji and Ichigo helped rebuild Soul Society after the battle and then got soul-bonded only to be followed a year after by Zaraki and Hana. Ichigo was now pregnant again and Renji loved it. Ichigo had left his hair long and it was about waist length now. When Ichigo was pregnant his hair seemed to glow and so did everything else about him. They already had a little girl named Kana and Renji was hoping for a boy, it seemed he'd get his wish. When they went for Ichigo's three month checkup the doctor heard two heartbeats. Ichigo and Renji were finally happy and the battle with Aizen was over and everyday they both said they loved each other.

AN: I hope you all enjoyed this oneshot. Please review and tell me what you think. Also don't forget to go vote on my poll or leave your answer in the review. What do you think my first het pairing fic should be?