Just Because

A drabble anthology of mindless fluff. Just because it feels so good to fall.

I. Prose

Abarai Renji never, never did like to write about kidou and its applications to life and reviews of new Kidou chants. If he would write, it'd be about how the red silken hakama fluttered with the wind, or how such a little, gentle hand could turn into a hard ball when clenched, and that small tuft of black hair dancing across her face but never covering her purple eyes. And of course the high he got whenever he wield his sword and spar with classmates during practicum, because he's a man with blood boiling for a fight.

"Aaaaaaahhhh! Damn it!" Renji yelled in frustrated, crumpling a piece of paper and tossing it randomly.

"Baka! What's up with you?" It was the least expected moment to have her walk in from behind – whacking him with a book, this barbarian!

"Rukia! What are you doing here?" he asked. His shock, and that undeniable guilty redness patchily darkening his cheeks, made him forget the inflicted pain on his head.

"Why a violent reaction? I always come here in the library. What are you doing here?" she retorted. "You don't know this is a library, do you? Otherwise, you wouldn't be such an idiot rampaging about."

Kuchiki Rukia pulled out a chair and sat in front of him, opening the book mindlessly as she scrutinized his weird behaviors.

"You didn't do something bad, did you?" she asked, eyes squinting.

"No!" This stupid girl always thinking the worse about me.

"Then why are you here?"

"I'm studying! I've got this make-up project for kidou, and it's due tomorrow."

"Kidou? What, are you still failing it?" To which made him wince. "Didn't I help you with the exam?"

"Well, I'm sorry if I'm dumb!"

"It's not that, you idiot!" And, another wince. "You're just overanalyzing it, you're forgetting the basic concepts."

"Oh yeah?" he smirked. Could he just be overanalyzing things? When she had that determined face on, was it an exaggeration if he smiled at her with so much pride? Or if she scrunched it in frustration, was it too much to want him to tuck her hair behind her ears and trace the wrinkles to make them go away?

Was he overthinking it when each time he'd say he'd have a mock mission with his classmates, she had that silent longing behind her cheery eyes telling him to do his best?

"Yes, you are overthinking things, Renji!"

"Eh? You can read minds now?" he asked, totally surprised.

"Tsk, stop saying useless things; what are you doing anyway?"

"Some essay about kidou."

"That's it? It's a giveaway. Then why're you freaking out about it?"

"Because I can't freakin' write about it!"

"Just finish it already. Then you can let me read it after you're done," she smiled again, with all the encouragement she could muster for him. And he thought it was the only thing he needed to do it.

"And? What's the catch?"

"Nothing! Just treat me to lunch tomorrow," she winked. Che! He always took her to lunch, but he never complained. Oh yes, he did tell her she ate too much and she's emptying his wallet, but he never really complained. Especially when it was only during lunch that he had her to himself.

And so he started writing. Of kidou and chants and spells, each of which were higher than its preceding number. And she flipped a page, while her face rested on her soft palms; and her littlest of fingers traced shapes and lines on her skin. Little by little, her eyes drooped, until her finger was now playing with her lashes. Sometimes, she did that unmindfully until she fell asleep.

Thus, he struggled to get a page done. With her in front of him, he wondered if she ever felt tense when they're together. He certainly was. But eventually, he was able to finish the whole thing. Renji reached out to wake her up, though she only nodded, prompting him to just read it aloud.

"I'm listening, Renji. Go on, go on."

"Fine." Reluctantly, he read the first paragraph, and then the next. "Oi, will you stop nodding to every word I'm saying. Are you even listening?"

"I'm not. And, yes I am. Continue."

He found it difficult to muffle a chuckle when her head kept slipping away from her hand, and tried to recompose herself by sitting up. Did she remember where she was right now? Heh! She looked funny, and innocent, and fragile. She made him want to keep her, protect her. Always.

In that moment, his lungs had stopped breathing, and his heart beat so loud it was deafening. And yet, a surge of adrenaline filled him, urging his courage. And no other moment was as fitting as this one. His eyes roamed from the paper to the figure before him. Maybe when he felt so good like this, nothing would go wrong.

"When did I start thinking about you so much?" he started, voice quivering. "It's tiring, and annoying! But you made all these uncertainties go solid, like how a shikai can be a zanpaktou – no, wait, it's the other way around. How the zanpaktou can turn into something…"

Yet he stopped, because he saw her eyes darted open as fast as shunpou.

"Renji…" he waited, "d-did you, did I fall asleep?"

"Aa." She breathed a long sigh of relief, but he didn't miss the rush of blood tainting her whole face.

"Good. I don't like it if you'd be blabbering like an idiot."

It was already dark when she woke up, and the library was almost empty. Renji was still in front of her, but this time, he's asleep. She beamed, then profusely blushed after remembering the dream. That Renji! She'd punch him if he'd be so inarticulate like that.

She reached for the papers under his arm, and read the essay. It was surprisingly well-written! With zeal, she drew a grinning bunny beside his name, and wrote: "Dreams do come true, ne, Renji?"

A/N: 2nd installment of the drabble challenge with Chemiskorpion0002. This time, it's all about Rukia and Renji. And this time, angst will be nowhere in any picture! :3

I hope you liked my very first mindless fluff, though I didn't like it as much, but i'm hoping for that tranquil feeling... Just because the most senseless moments are what really matters the most...

Enjoy~ :3