Disclaimer: Kubo is god, Kubo is king, Tite Kubo owns everything. I'm just playing with them for awhile. I also do not own any of the quotes I use at the start of each chapter. They were all found on the internet, and if they have an author I say who it is.

Author's Notes: And we have a winner in the what story do you want next poll. This is Renji and Rukia's story in the "After The Winter War" series. I think this is only gonna be a four-shot, but I'm not sure yet. Sorry for people who have been waiting for a long R&R story, but it's just too easy to get them together. You may recognize parts of this chapter from NWM, but it was a good starting point, and I like telling scenes from different perspectives. Although this is a bit more than I normally do, it just fit so well.

The One I Waited For

By Lady Callista

Chapter 1: Opening the Door

OoOoOoOoOoO

"You could be the one I waited for, you could be the one that opens up the door. You could be the one I run to. You could be the one."

-from "You Could Be The One" by Brian McKnight

OoOoOoOoOoO

"So Hisagi isn't coming?" Shunsui asked as he filled the glasses of his two companions.

"No, he's working on the next issue of Seireitei Monthly." Izuru replied as he returned the favor and poured sake for the taicho. "Despite the war and all, Yamamoto was not pleased that publication did not happen last month."

"Man, that guy has his priorities screwed." Renji laughed as he drank. "What about Ikkaku?"

"He won't be coming either, I think he's still hung over from the party the Juuichibantai had last night." Shunsui replied with a smirk.

"I thought their party was two nights ago." Izuru said in confusion.

Shunsui chuckled at that. "That's when it started."

"Rangiku, you're late!" Renji called out as the voluptuous strawberry blond walked in and sat down next to him, immediately pouring herself some sake.

"Just had to take care of a few things," She replied, downing the sake with a sigh.

"The child prodigy making you work too hard again?" Shunsui asked as he reached across the table to refill his glass, cursing when the sleeve of his pink kimono almost knocked one of the bottles over.

Rangiku laughed, "Nah, he's almost given up on even trying anymore," She said in a careless voice. "It's not like he's got anything else to do with his time anyway."

Izuru groaned at that, downing his glass and pouring another. "Wish I had someone who would do all my paperwork for me. We really need to work on replacing the three taicho that…"

Renji reached over and smacked him on the arm. "No talking about work and traitors tonight. I'm sick to death of everyone talking about the war and it's aftermath. I just wanna forget about it for one night and have fun." He finished his sake and poured more with a flourish.

"That's hard when most of our normal Friday night drinking group are still having wounds tended," Rangiku replied, looking at the three men she sat with.

"Only a few of them," Shunsui replied with a grin. "Most are just still hung-over from the past days of non-stop parties."

Rangiku and Renji both laughed, while Izuru sighed. "This is the first time I've gotten out since the war ended. Even though I've been running the Sanbantai for a while now…"

Renji hit him again. "No talking about work." The last thing he wanted to think about now was work. He almost missed the war, at least there had been a lot more to do.

"You're the one who dragged me out tonight! So tell me then, what do you want to talk about?" Izuru shot back. "Half of what we always do when we're drinking is complain about work, and the other half is usually telling stupid stories. And I don't think I'm drunk enough yet to find a stupid story funny."

Rangiku laughed. "What if we play a game that'll help us get drunk faster? When I was in the human world I saw a movie where they played this game…"

OoOo About an hour later oOoO

"Never have I ever kissed a guy." Renji smirked, his gaze locked on a very drunk Rangiku, almost certain she would be the only one to drink. He was correct.

"Never have I ever actually wanted to be a taicho," Shunsui said with a grin as he signaled the waitress to bring more bottles of sake to the table that was already overflowing with empty ones.

Rangiku and Izuru laughed in agreement even as Renji sighed and took a drink of sake. He didn't understand how anyone could not want to be a taicho.

"Never eve…never have I ever kissed a girl." Rangiku tripped over the phrase before getting it out. They were all as drunk as she was, and she wanted to get them drunker by picking something that would force them all to drink.

Renji thought for the first time since the game had started about lying, and wished like hell he had when Rangiku burst out laughing. It took him a moment to realize Izuru hadn't taken a drink either.

"Seriously?" Shunsui said as he turned to the two other men.

"I've only ever liked one girl, and she's always been in love with someone else," Izuru replied with a sigh, looking anywhere but at them.

"Whereas I don't think the one I like has ever been in love with anyone," Renji replied caustically, violet eyes flashing through his mind. "Although sometimes I think…"

"Who ever said anything about love?" Shunsui asked with a laugh. "Kissing is fun."

"But it's gotta be better if you love someone, right?" Rangiku replied as she refilled everyone's glasses.

"What about you, Ran-chan?" Renji asked as he heard the wistfulness in her voice. "Who's the guy you love that you can't have?" Anything to keep them talking, to keep them from asking for a name. They were his friends, but he had kept this to himself for too long to even dream of telling anyone.

"No one," Rangiku replied with a laugh, "As if any guy would say no to me if I asked."

The guys laughed with her, then went quiet as her voice turned more thoughtful. "I guess it's just something I was thinking about when I was in the real world. I mean, how long have each of you been in love with the women you love without telling them? Cause we know we'll have forever. Baring wars like the one we just went through, there's not much that can kill us. So we can just put everything off till tomorrow, or the next day, or the next. We don't have to give up on our dreams cause we can always tell ourselves that we have plenty of time to obtain them."

Izuru looked at her thoughtfully. "You're really drunk if you're getting this sentimental and introspective."

Rangiku flipped him off. "It's just something I was thinking about when I was watching the humans. It wasn't like we had much else to do down there."

"I know what you mean," Renji surprised himself, and everyone else, by speaking up. "If I knew she or I could die at anytime, I might have told her. If I knew we'd age, and only have 60 or 70 years to live, I'd want to spend that time with her. As it is, I've been in love with her for over 50 years, but I keep putting off telling her." The words were out of his mouth before he could call them back. Damn sake.

"I keep thinking that she's my friend, and someone I have to work with," Izuru joined the pity party. "Living forever also means that if you mess things up, you have to live with it forever. I know I'm a coward, but I'd rather have her friendship for decades than risk telling her, because if she doesn't feel the same way about me I may lose that friendship."

"Wow, you three got depressing fast," Shunsui drawled as he had more sake. Ah, the sentimental, sit-and-moan-about-my-life stage of drunkenness.

"Humans just have such a vitality to them, Shunsui, this energy I can't define, " Rangiku said as she offered her glass for him to refill. "Not like we do obviously, not reiatsu, but there's just something about them. They know their time is limited, so they reach for their goals. They work so hard for what they want. In many ways, they just amaze me."

Renji laughed then, thinking before he spoke. Anything was better than moaning about a girl he'd loved for over 50 years and never grown the balls to tell. "Did you go and fall in love with a human, Ran?"

Rangiku forced a laugh. "Of course not. But would it be so bad?"

"Well, other than the fact that you'd be kicked out of the Gotei Juusantai you mean."

"It might be worth it for the right person." Rangiku replied.

Renji laughed. "You did, you fell in love with a human!" It was something he'd never expected from her. He'd actually always figured she would go for her taicho.

"Well, you know, he was just so hot…"

Renji listened to her telling of a wonderful human she'd met with half an ear, his sake-slowed mind still processing what she'd said earlier.

If he knew their time would be limited, would he have told her by now? He'd broken so many rules to help her when she'd been scheduled to be executed, from helping Ichigo find her to drawing his sword on his own taicho. On a man he respected more than anyone else in his life. On the brother of the woman he loved, the man who should have protected her.

He could still remember what it felt like to carry her in his arms, her small body warm against his chest. He'd come closer to kissing her that day than he ever had before.

"Rukia-chan!"

Renji stumbled out of his thoughts as Shunsui called her name, and his eyes flew to the door as Rukia sauntered in, her slightly flushed cheeks showing that she'd already been drinking tonight. "Figured I'd find you guys here. I didn't want to call it a night yet."

Renji watched her as she came over to sit beside him, and he poured her a glass of sake as he commented, "You don't usually join us."

"I can't normally keep up with you." Rukia replied, drinking and holding her glass out for more. "But I think you guys have enough of a head start…" She trailed off as Izuru's head collapsed onto the table. "Maybe too much of one."

Rangiku laughed, and there was too much knowledge in her eyes for Renji's comfort as she smirked at him before standing, tapping Shunsui on the shoulder. "We should get the acting-taicho home."

Shunsui gave an exaggerated sigh as he hauled himself, and then Izuru, to his feet. Rangiku came up on Izuru's other side, slinging one of his arms around her shoulder as Shunsui did the same. "I may be back, but I think I'm pretty much done for the night."

"And I think my fair fukutaicho will kill me if I sleep away yet another day." Shunsui added.

"Later, guys." Renji called out, inwardly cursing Rangiku. She had to know. And if she knew…

"Do you want to leave too?" Rukia asked, glancing at the empty bottles littering the table. "You guys must have started earlier than usual, I should have gotten here sooner."

"Ah, we were just playing a drinking game Ran-chan told us about." Renji replied as he debating ordering yet more sake, grateful that she hadn't been there earlier. He didn't think his mouth would have run off on him if she'd been there, but he couldn't be certain.

"Sounds fun." Rukia sighed. "We haven't been able to have enough fun lately."

"Hey, what's a year or so of war in the hundreds we have to live?" Renji said carelessly.

"We always think we have forever." Rukia whispered as she drank more sake. "But so many of us came so close to dying…"

Renji slung his arm around her shoulder, hoping it seemed casual enough, as he replied, "But we didn't, and that's what counts."

Rukia leaned her head into his shoulder for a moment, taking comfort in him as she always did. It was impossible to be melancholy with Renji around. It was one of the things she'd always loved about him.

That thought brought the panic it always did, and she leaned forward to pour the last of the sake on the table into their glasses. "To being alive."

Renji grinned at her, and they tapped their glasses together before drinking.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Nearly an hour later, Renji carried Rukia out of the bar in his arms, her body a comforting weight against his strong chest. The sake had caught up to her all at once, and although she was still conscious she seemed to be unable or unwilling to move. But she had cuddled right into him when he picked her up, murmuring his name in a soft, husky voice that nearly caused him to drop her.

When she had voiced her displeasure over her near-fall, he had hushed her by laying his fingers over her lips, feeling their velvety texture for a moment before whispering, "I won't let you go. Like I'd ever let you go, you idiot." Hr prayed she wouldn't remember this in the morning, for he was unable to stop himself from leaning down and brushing his lips ever so lightly over her forehead.

The words filtered into Rukia's hazy brain, and caused her to flash back to the last time he had said those exact words to her.

Ichigo had just saved her from being executed, and had tossed her town to Renji, who had taken off with her at a run.

She remembered how tiny she had felt, cradled against Renji's chest by just one of his arms. She remembered hearing him say that he would defend her until he died. And she remembered her horror when she had thought he was actually going to die.

It was the instant she had known with crystal-clarity that she loved him.

"Renji?" She asked softly, shifting her head on his chest until her ear rested over his heart.

"Oi?"

"Who would you say your best friend is, besides me?" She tried to find a way to tactfully lead the conversation in the direction she wanted it to go.

"What makes you think you're still my best friend, midget?" Renji chucked softly at her indignant huff, then answered seriously, "That's easy; Ichigo."

"But you've known him for such a short time compared to all your other friends, and…"

"Do you remember the last time I told you that I wouldn't put you down?" Renji interrupted her softly.

"You were willing to die for me." Rukia said just as softly, "I never asked you why."

A sound came out of Renji that was halfway between a laugh and moan, and caused Rukia to expend the energy to tilt her head up to try and look at him. All three of him.

"You shouldn't have to ask." Renji finally managed to say, although it was said with the softest whisper so that Rukia barely heard him.

"Renji?"

"Ichigo told me it was my job to get you to safety. It was my job to keep you alive." Renji said with an odd look on his face. "I knew who he faced, and I knew he might face others even if he managed to defeat your brother. I didn't know if he could win or not. But every minute, every second, he bought us, meant that there was a better chance, however slight, that you would survive. I didn't know Ichigo that well; but we had one thing in common. Each of us would have given out lives for you. If there is a faster way to build a friendship I don't know it."

Rukia was struck speechless for a moment, both at the words that were so unlike him and by the look in his eyes. When she finally found her voice her words came out in a tumble, "I know why Ichigo risked it, but…"

Renji again laid his fingers over her lips to quiet her even as he stopped in front of the door to her room in the barracks. "Let's get inside."

Rukia unlocked her door on the second try, and Renji carried her through the dark room to lay her on her futon. "Renji." Even as she tried to focus on him, she felt her traitorous eyes sliding shut. She had been up much earlier than normal this morning for a training session, and she had drunk way more sake than she normally did. But she wanted to hear his answer so much!

"I sure hope you don't remember this in the morning." Renji mumbled quietly as her eyes slid shut and her breathing deepened. When he thought she was asleep, he leaned in and kissed her lightly on the cheek before whispering in her ear, "Because I love you, you idiot."

Renji turned around and slid quietly from her room.

Rukia turned over in her sleep as the door closed, her dreams mirroring reality as she mumbled the same words in return.

When she awoke the next morning, she hadn't forgotten what she had heard him say, but she did think she had dreamed it.

After all, there was no way he was in love with her. He would have told her long before now.

TBC…

AN2: So Renji's probably a little bit OOC in the last half, but he's been drinking and having serious conversations about love and life. Plus I decided they were totally the easiest couple to get together, and couldn't really find a good way to make this a long, drawn out story. Especially since in Behind this Mask I established just how quickly after the War RenRuk got together. Also, I'm moving in about two weeks, so I don't know if I'll get another chapter out for at least that long, cause with packing and everything I may not have time to write. But I'll try my best. Reviews are greatly appreciated, and although I will never hold out on posting a chapter because I want more reviews, I will admit that often times they make me write faster.

Glossary:

Seireitei: Court of Pure Souls

Juuichibantai: 11th Division, Kenpachi is taicho

Taicho: Commander, literally Division/Squad Leader, the dub uses Captain

Sanbantai: 3rd Division, Kira Izuru is the acting taicho (used to be Ichimaru)

Gotei Juusantai: 13 Imperial Court Divisions, dub uses 13 Court Guard Squads I believe

Fukutaicho: Vice-Commander, dub uses Vice-Captain or Lieutenant