Disclaimer:I don't own Bleach.
All Thanks to Renji
Ichigo wasn't sure what was wrong with Renji, but the red haired shinigami randomly burst into his office, demanding that they go for a drink. Normally, Renji wouldn't do that; it was Rangiku's job to barge into everyone's office.
"What the hell, Renji? Can't this wait for later?" questioned Ichigo, scowling deeper. Renji didn't answer him right away and kept walking on towards their usual sake bar.
"I've been thinking about some things...," said Renji at last, "and they have to do with you."
Ichigo raised one his brows, curious now, "What about?" The two walked into the bar and took their usual seats, ordering a bottle of sake. Renji sat and drummed his fingers against the counter.
"You know, you do a bunch of things that piss me off," started the red haired lieutenant, earning a snicker from Ichigo. "And the thing that annoys me, or rather, frustrates me the most is how you handle your relationship with Rukia. I know it's none of my business, but this is getting ridiculous."
Now this caught the other man's attention, "What are you talking about?" he turned to Renji, confused. What was Renji talking about? He and Rukia were in good terms and had yet to have a fight, not that their fights really lasted longer than ten minutes anyways.
Renji poured himself a shot, swooshing the beverage in his cup before drinking it. He turned Ichigo, his face serious. "What do you see her as? Do you even take her seriously?"
"What do you mean? Of course I take her seriously, she's one of my closest friends!" said Ichigo, obviously missing the point, hence why he was here talking to Renji in the first place.
The other man sighed, pouring himself another cup. "You really are an idiot," he said, earning him a glare from the orange haired shinigami. "I can see how you look at her, and the way she looks at you. Everyone can see it."
"What are you implying?"
Renji rolled his eyes, "You two are probably more oblivious than even Inoue! Especially you, since Rukia understood the first time I brought it up." He pushed the sake bottle over to Ichigo, who had only drunken one cup. "You two have known each other for years now, and I know you guys are really close, but have you ever thought to look at Rukia not as a friend, or 'one of the guys,' but as a woman?"
Ichigo widened his eyes, "Well, yeah, I've always seen her as a woman. I still don't understand what you're getting at though?" Of course he saw Rukia as a woman! How else would he have seen her? She was definitely not a guy, so what kind of crap what Renji spewing out? "You dragged me out of my office to talk about this?"
"If I didn't, you'd probably regret it later," said Renji, serious. He looked Ichigo straight in the eye, "She might say that she's a shinigami before she is a woman, but that's only a façade, and you know it is.
"She doesn't quite act it, but she desires things every woman wants; she wants to feel wanted." Renji turned and looked down at his sake cup in his hand. He tightened his hand around the cup, almost cracking the ceramic. "And I guess I realized that too late," he said with a slight bitterness in his voice. He had hated himself for misunderstanding her before. He hated himself for letting her go. And he hated himself for not coming back. It was too late for him now anyways as her heart was not with him, but with the orange haired taichou he sat next to.
Ichigo sat silently in his seat, his eyebrows scrunched together, lost in thought. Renji's words sank in his mind. He knew the red haired shinigami always had feelings for Rukia, but he never really thought about it… much.
Suddenly, Renji got up, throwing some money on the counter for the bartender. "It's getting late. I still need to finish some paperwork before Kuchiki-taichou kills me," he said, stretching. "Before I go, I want you to remember what I told you. I didn't want to have to give you a stupid lecture about your love life only to have you forget," he then walked out, his hand stuffed in his pockets.
Ichigo watched Renji leave, still thinking about what the other man said. He wasn't exactly in the mood to return to his division and go back to doing his paperwork anymore. He sighed, leaving the the bar. He felt the sudden urge to talk to someone, and strangely, his feet brought him to the division13 headquarters, notably the office of the tiny shinigami he was previously talking about.
He now stood outside her office, deciding whether to go in or just leave. His reiatsu controlling skills were far better than before, but Rukia was always still able to detect his presence. He shook his head, knowing she probably already sensed his reiatsu. Without knocking, he entered her office, being welcomed with the image of the petite shinigami at her small table filling out paperwork.
She didn't even lift her head when he came in. Rather, she kept her eyes down on her work. "What do you want, Ichigo?" she asked, dipping her brush back into the ink.
Ichigo scratched the back of his head, "Do I have to want something just to talk to you?" he sat on one of the cushions left out on the tatami floor, and played with the ends of his haori.
This time, Rukia looked up, "What's wrong? You haven't talked to me for weeks now, and you suddenly come," she said, placing her brush down, ready to listen. She pulled her white gloves up so that they fit better on her arms.
"What? Do you think I'm the type of person who only comes when they want something?!" he said, a few decibels higher than normal.
Surprised at his slight outburst, her eyes widened ever so slightly, "No, but I definitely know something's wrong now," she said, her face softening. She moved to sit next to Ichigo, giving him her full attention. "What's on your mind?"
Oddly, Ichigo felt almost uncomfortable with her sitting so close to him, "Uh, well…," he said, deciding whether he should just tell her, or lie. She knew whenever he lied, so it was no use trying. "Renji barged into my office before saying he wanted to go out for a drink, and he kind of got all weird. He started talking about… you."
She raised a lone brow, urging him silently to continue.
"He apparently was frustrated about our relationship, as in us. He started spewing up crap about you being a woman and all this and that," he said, lying back on the floor, making sure not to make eye contact with her.
Rukia widened her eyes, suddenly feeling a bit uncomfortable, "Ah, did he?"
"He asked if I saw you as a woman," Ichigo made sure he didn't look over at her when he said this, but he could see her whip her head to look at him from his peripheral vision. He wasn't sure what to say next, so he stayed silent, waiting for her to say something.
She didn't utter a sound either, feeling slightly embarrassed for some reason. After a minute of silence she finally said, "Well… do you?" It's not that she really cared about how others saw her, she was just curious, that's all… just curious.
Ichigo didn't answer her. He simply sat up, and looked at the ground, his fists tightening. "Rukia… I can't take this anymore," he said, snapping his head to her, making her flinch in surprise.
"What-" she was interrupted in the middle of talking when Ichigo grabbed the back of her neck and brought her face up to his, connecting his lips with hers. It was so sudden that Rukia sat frozen in her spot with her eyes wide open, unable to move.
Soon, the sun was able to melt her façade of ice, her eyes slowly fluttering shut. Her hands slowly made their way from her lap to the top of his shihakusho pulling him closer. He in turn, moved one of his hands down to her lower back, pushing her flush against him.
After seconds which felt like years, they finally moved apart, their cheeks very much red. Rukia looked up at Ichigo, who simply stared down at her.
"What just happened…?" questioned Rukia, to no one in particular. She touched her lips with her hand and flushed bright red, "Hentai!" she yelled, kicking Ichigo straight in the chin.
"And so, this is how your parents started their relationship," said Renji, pausing the video. "All thanks to Uncle Renji! Without me, you brats wouldn't be here right now! You should be grateful!" he grinned, earning a chappy plushy thrown at his face.
A/N: I hope it wasn't too cheesy! This was just a short thing I wanted to write, hope you enjoyed it!
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