Disclaimer: Bleach and its fabulous characters belong to Kubo Tite. I own nothing but the words I typed.
White. The ceiling was as white as the sands of Hueco Mundo. But she couldn't have been further away from the desert, that was her home. The room itself was an oasis of quiet but right outside the door, chaos ruled. It was one of the few moments she had for herself. Her Fraccion had left the room, following the red haired human they had brought to her side.
But now the silence forced her to remember. She had not seen him die. No, but she felt his absence as soon as she had woken up. The familiar pressure of his presence. That tiny bond, unknown and rarely even acknowledged between the two of them, was gone. It had taken them years to get to know each other in such ways, that they could consider what they had as more than simple comrades. There had been no passion, no fire in the beginning. Only the will to accept the other. Like a slow moving current of lava, ever moving and changing the surface in minute details.
All of this was gone, leaving behind only the barren expanse of her own self. Turning to the side, the blonde woman pulled up the sheet, automatically hiding her bone mask behind the white fabric. Pale lashes fluttered close as her mind wanders back to different times and places.
"Here. Drink this, it'll wake you up." Staring down at the mug, Harribel frowned. The translucent red liquid steaming in the cold air of the early morning. She hated tea. Having to drink this while in the meeting, no matter if she wanted to or not was torture enough. Why did he have to bring her tea? "No thank you. I hate tea." The finality of her statement rang through the space between them, leaving behind an awkward silence.
Her back hit the rock with a low thud, her hands curling around his shoulders as his front pressed against hers. His mouth was astonishingly soft for a man. His skin smooth and just a little damp. Slipping her tongue between his lips, licking along the white row of his teeth. His taste was intoxicating. A mixture of man and moonlight. The slight aftertaste of tea in his breath and on him, weirdly erotic. Maybe she would learn to love tea after all.
Harribel woke up with a gasp. Her hands searching for someone who would never lay next to her again. The moan tearing away from her lips was something she wanted to suppress but had no way of doing so. Her body started shaking, pressing her legs together and pulling them inwards, she made herself as small as possible.
"I am sure that a moment of happiness is worth the pain it brings after."
Her moment of happiness had lasted longer than she would have ever thought. And only because it had been so, the pain was crushing her now. Pulverizing her non-existent Hollow heart into grains of sand.
Sobbing uncontrollably the blonde stayed awake, unwilling to close her eyes. Sleep was not something she thought would give her any kind of satisfaction again.