Characters: Kaien, Miyako
Summary: He loved to make her smile.
Pairings: Kaien x Miyako
Warnings/Spoilers: Spoilers for Soul Society arc
Timeline: Pre-manga
Author's Note: Another Kaien x Miyako; a much sadder one this time.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
He always loved to make her smile. For a time in his life that was the defining goal of Kaien's life, to make Miyako smile. It wasn't that she was dour or sad, just that she was very grave and reserved and even though there was always a sparkle behind her eyes, she didn't smile.
And of course, when Miyako did smile, it was like rain clouds over the sky had peeled back to reveal the unbowed sun. At least, that was what it was like to Kaien.
Through all the years they were married, Kaien never lost his passion for making Miyako crack a grin. He always knew how to cheer her up, through the long, hard days at work when the paperwork seemed more like a sea of paper than a stack, through the days when they lost men under them, through the trial that was Miyako's miscarriage ten years into their marriage. Kaien made her smile then even when he could find no reason to himself. Her happiness was always the most important thing.
Miyako's smile was like the sun to him. She was his whole world.
Kaien blinked a little bit as rain got into his eyes and he felt Rukia's small, thin arms around him.
He felt no pain, no real anguish. Regret, yes, that he had put the little girl through this, but no anguish.
All he could really think, as he stared up at the murky sky through the trees and felt his blood drain away from him, was that he wished he could have made Miyako smile, one more time.
One last time.
