Happy Birthday Rukia! :)
I do not own Bleach it belongs to Tite Kubo
I opened Ichigo's bedroom door quietly and snuck inside immediately going to my (well his) closet and opening it just as silently as I had his door. I looked back making sure Ichigo hadn't followed me then reached beneath the blankets and futons trying to find my sketchbook. I didn't want him to know about my secret hiding spot simply because there were things in my sketch book not meant for his eyes. Such as little doodles of us as rabbits and little baby rabbits around us. Yes I was a woman in love who drew picture of my boyfriend and I with children, and I didn't care what anybody else thought as along as Ichigo didn't see them. I swung my arm back and forth trying to find the sketchbook, which I did a second later when my pinky smacked into something hard and I cried out in pain. Cursing I pulled the book out and scowled at it as if it was its fault for making me hurt myself.
I sighed sitting back on my heels and opened the book to a certain page making two items tumbled into my lap and I smiled picking them up.
I jumped a little when I felt arms wrap around my waist "Hey, I was wondering where you disappeared to." I sighed as Ichigo sat behind me and rested his chin on my shoulder. "So what are you doing?"
"Just remembering some stuff." I said closing the book nonchalantly though still holding the items.
"Like what?"
"My favorite birthdays." I said leaning into him so that I was almost sitting in his lap until he picked up and did set me in his lap then once more wrapped his arms around my waist.
"So do the coin and the picture have anything to do with your favorite birthdays?" he asked and I nodded rubbing said coin between my thumb and forefinger.
"this is a present that Renji gave me when we were kids growing up in Rukongai."
"He gave you a coin? And you consider that one of your favorite birthdays?" he scoffed.
"Unlike some children who grew up in homes with plenty of money and a loving family, for an orphan growing up in one of the most difficult districts to live in, a coin was like the greatest treasure in the world." I grumbled and felt him kiss my neck softly.
"I'm sorry I keep forgetting that you grew up in a completely different life from what you have now." I sighed, it wasn't like I could completely blame him, after all he only knew me as a Kuchiki instead of the homeless orphan in Rukongai.
"It's okay, but it wasn't just the fact that it was a coin. It was the way he gave me the coin. He was just so cute."
"Wait a minute. Renji and cute do not belong in the same sentence, unless there's an 'is not' in between."
"Don't be so mean." I scolded elbowing him lightly.
"I was kidding around. But don't you the story of this cute Renji and the I can decide whether or not if I should tease him about it?"
I rolled my eyes, but decided there really couldn't be any harm in telling him since I already did still pick on Renji for the incident. "Well it was about a year after I saved him and his friends…
"Hey Renji, they're coming your way!" I shouted chasing the fish in his direction. He grinned stupidly and opened the net that we had weaved earlier from some ragged cloths we had found. I kept herding the little fish in his direction but when I looked up his attention was focused on something else in the water.
"Renji! What are you doing?" I yelled trying to get his attention, but he just bent down and picked something up. As frustrated as I was I didn't watch where I was going and tripped over a loose stone and fell into the streamface first scattering the fish.
"Well this is just great, I'm soaking wet and we have no fish for dinner!" I yelled trying to ignore the pain from having skidded on the stony river bed and the pain in my stomach. "You better have a good explanation, Renji Abarai!"
"I found a coin!" he exclaimed holding out the gold disc as he walked towards me.
"Oh wow! Really? Then why don't you go into town and buy enough fish for all of use to eat." I said putting as much sarcasm in my voice as I could.
"What's your problem?"
"My problem is that we haven't eaten in a while and you're over there enchanted by coins in the water." I pushed myself out of the water and made my way over to the river bank, "And on my birthday too." I added quietly pulling my yukata back up on my shoulder. I shivered in the cold January air and rubbed my arms trying to warm myself. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked back to see Renji giving me an apologetic smile. "What do you want pineapple head?" I grumbled shaking his hand from my shoulder.
"Come on, the fish won't be back for a while. Let's go back and dry your clothes." He suggested, I wasn't about to be nice to him after his blunder so I huffed and made my way back to…well the little plot of land that that we designated as our own for the night. The other boy's weren't there and for that I was thankful, being the only girl in the group was hard, but it was even harder when it came to things like taking off my clothes around the boys. I grabbed one of our dirty old blankets and wrapped it around myself to hide the fact that I was taking off my yukata. Renji politely turned around and started making a fire from the little twigs and garbage that litters the area.
Once the fire was going I laid my clothes out on a boulder close by and huddled close to the fire with the blanket still tightly wrapped around me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Renji sit a little away from me and admire his coin.
"So what are you going to do with that? Buy candy?"
"I don't know." He said with a shrug.
"Well, maybe you should just keep it. I mean, as long as you have the coin then you're not poor."
"Um, yeah." I watched as his face turned as red as his hair and he started to fidget. "When we were at the river, did you say that today was your birthday?" It really surprised me that he had heard me because I had made sure to say it quiet enough that I barely heard it, but he must have been right behind me when I said it.
"Erm, well I think it is. It's the day that the adults I was with said was my birthday."
"Why didn't say anything to us about it?"
"Because it's no big deal, it just means that I survived another year in this crappy place." Suddenly Renji jumped up and grabbed my hand pressing something into my palm.
"H-happy Birthday, R-Rukia!" he stammered with his face actually redder then his hair before he ran off back down to the river. I stared after him for a moment too shocked to move then sighed and looked down at my palm finding the coin. I smiled a little and closed my hand over it.
"Thanks, Renji." I muttered feeling a blush creep into my cheeks.
"So he gave you the coin and then ran away?" I could tell that he was trying not to laugh so as not to upset me.
"Yup, it was so sweet. But he was really awkward around for a few days after, until I kicked his butt and we became best friends." I explained turning the coin between my fingers.
"You have a weird way of making friends." He teased picking up the picture from my lap. "So what's the story behind this?"
"Oh, that was taken on my first birthday in Squad Thirteen. That's Kaien." I explained pointing to the man standing next to me.
"So this is him." He murmured examining the picture and smiled.
"What's with the goofy grin?"
"Nothing, it's just…you've always said that Kaien was your mentor. But in this picture you guys look like more than that. You know something a little closer than mentor and student."
"In a way, we kind of were." I murmured taking the picture from him. I always wished I had more pictures of them, but I was still happy just to have this one. It captured what a normal moment for us would have been; Kaien with his goofy grin and a hand on the top of my head having just mussed up my hair while I scowled holding my Chappy soul candy and a Chappy plushy.
"So what happened on that birthday?" he asked quietly.
"It started out so normal, I actually thought that everyone had forgotten. Which I wouldn't have minded, but it still kind of hurt when Kaien ordered me to do some sparring with him."
"Come on Kuchiki is that really all you've got?" Kaien taunted leaning over me as I was sprawled out on the ground trying to catch my breath that had been knocked out of me when he threw me backwards. I groaned as I pushed myself to my feet and picked up Sode No Shirayuki.
"Just because I have a shikai now doesn't mean you have to go full force,baka." I grumbled.
"What did you say?" he demanded getting right in my face and placing his hand on top of my head so I couldn't move back.
"N-nothing sir."
"I heard you say something Kuchiki. Were you bad mouthing your commanding officer?"
"N-no sir."
"You better not have." He said intimidatingly pulling pulling something out from behind his back, "Or you don't get to have these." He said in a much softer voice and I looked down to see him place two packages in my hand. I stared up at him in shock while he grinned down at me "Happy Birthday Kuchiki."
"Y-you really didn't-" I stammered but he cut me off.
"Of course I didn't but I wanted to. Now open them before I take them back." I nodded and carefully opened the smallest one first and gasped.
"Is this a-a-" I was having trouble finishing my sentence because I was so shocked.
"It's a soul candy, Chappy to be exact." Kaien explained, "I wanted to get you your first soul candy for when you go on your first mission to the material world. I hope you don't mind that it's Chappy, Miyako said that all the girls love it so I figured I'd get you that one."
"It's perfect!" I assured him looking down at the rabbit shaped dispenser. I had heard so many girls talk about how cute Chappy was, and now having seen it for myself I couldn't help but agree. I smiled and the opened the second gift wish felt soft even through the wrapping. When I pulled the paper aside I found a rabbit face smiling back at me. "A Chappy plushy?" I inquired pulling it out of the paper.
"Yup, I know how much girls love stuffed animals so I knew I couldn't lose with a Chappy stuffed animal." He stated proudly.
I looked down at my presents feeling my chest swell with emotion. "Thank-you very much…but I don't think I can accept either of these."
"Jeez, Kuchiki you're wounding my male pride. Just take them I want you to have them." I nodded slowly clutching the gifts closer to me. "Good, now it's time for a picture."
"But I really don't-"
"Come on Kuchiki, just one picture. I'll even take it with you, and then if you don't want it then I'll keep it." I once again nodded and he smiled then went to his sack and pulled out a camera then took it over to a boulder and set on there while turning a dial on top to set the timer.
He then ran back to my side and threw his arm around my shoulders. I smiled feeling his warmth flowing into me it was very calming. But then again he always had that effect on me, he was like a father figure in my life. Guiding me in the right direction and always trying there to help me.
The camera clicked signaling that the picture was about to be taken and I felt Kaien's arm leave my shoulder. And then I he mussed up my hair make me scowl just as the picture was taken.
"Kaien!" I shouted and glared up at him while he just smiled down at me with that ridiculous grin of his.
"In the end I let him keep the picture, 'cause I thought I looked horrible. I still have both of the other presents though. The Chappy soul candy that I have now is the same one he gave me back then. He's actually the one that really got me into Chappy. After he died I had wished that I had this picture, and then when I became a lieutenant I found it in a drawer in the desk in Kaien's…well now my….office."
"Did you love him?" Ichigo asked sounding serious. I sighed, I knew at some point he would ask that but a part of me hqd hoped he'd feel more secure about our relationship.
"What kind of question is that? He was my mentor and he was married. So my love for him is like what I have for my brother." I explained placing my memorabilia back in my book and standing up to put it back in his closet. Though not in the hiding spot since he was still in the room.
Ichigo came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his face in my next kissing it gently. "I'm sorry, I just had to ask."
"I know." I sighed leaning back into him and closing my eyes and tangling my fingers in his hair. We stayed like that for a few moments with his lips exploring my neck while I combed my fingers through his hair.
"I have a present for you." He murmured.
"I told you not to get me anything." I felt a little angry, but was unable to be any more than that because of his thorough kisses. I had made it very clear that he was not allowed to get me anything for my birthday because the thought of putting a price on our relationship made my stomach churn. Besides just being to finally celebrate my birthday with him was more than enough of a gift.
"It's nothing big, I promise. Just a little something to show you how much I love you." He suddenly pulled away a bit with one arm still around my waist and I heard him open a drawer in his desk and then something else. I felt his warmth once more against my back and then a white rose was put right in front of my face.
I gasped a little and went to take the rose but he abruptly pulled the flower away and held it above his head. "Ichigo." I whined turning around and trying to jump up to get it.
"You don't get it just yet."
"And why not? It's my birthday present."
"You said those items were from your favorite birthdays. I just want to know, is this birthday going to be put on your list?" I rolled my eyes.
"Of course it is, Baka. Now give me my rose."
"Not until you tell me why?"
"You know exactly why." I exclaimed and quickly climbed into the closet and stood on my make-shift bed to gain some height. I put one hand on his shoulder for support as I used my other to try and reach the flower but he just smirked and moved it away from me. He wasn't playing fair, he knew that white roses were my favorite flowers and he was using his height as an advantage to keep it away from me.
"Still, I want to hear it from you." I sighed realizing that I wouldn't win. I jumped from the closet and onto him wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. He smiled and used his free arm to support me so I wouldn't fall.
"This is my most favorite birthday because it's the first birthday that I get to spend with you." I said softly looking him straight in the eye.
"Was that so hard?" he teased giving me the rose.
"You're such I meanie." I said sticking out my tongue like a child. He chuckled then leaned in and kissed me making me moan a little as he instantly took it deeper.
"Happy birthday, Rukia." He murmured only pulling away for a second before capturing my lips again.
Sorry, I know it's not my best work. Pretty please with a strawberry on top review!