So this is my first attempt at writing a fanfic, or at least the first one I ever finished. I've only seen the first 50 episodes of Bleach so far, so please forgive me if my timeline is a bit (or a lot) off. Any kind of feedback is much appreciated.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, though I certainly wish I did. This story involves two women in romantic situations with eachother, so if that kind of thing offends you then you probably shouldn't continue reading past this.
The first time was a surprise.
It was such a surprise, in fact, that Soifon had lashed out at the intruder, all the while cursing herself for not sensing him until he was already inside. She resolved to devote more hours to sharpening her senses as she aimed a swift kick to his head. Imagine her surprise when, instead of feeling her foot connect with its solid target, it was turned away with seemingly minimal effort, and she found herself neatly turned with a soft body pressed to her back and arms encircling her waist. Suddenly, she understood perfectly why she hadn't been able to sense the intruder any sooner. Only one person had ever been able to slip past her guard so easily.
"Y-Yoruichi-sama!" she managed to stutter out. Having her former mentor near never had done much for her eloquence. "What are you doing here?" she asked, as she turned to face the older woman, confused at her former mentor's presence. Now that her eyes had adjusted more to the dim light filtering in through the open window, she was able to make out an odd, determined look on the taller woman's face as she reached and pressed a finger to her lips. Before Soifon even had time to process this turn of events, the finger was replaced by something much softer.
Her eyes opened wide in surprise. It didn't take her long to assess what was happening. Yoruichi-sama was kissing her! Why? She had yet to react when she felt Yoruichi pull away. Perhaps realizing that Soifon was still in shock, Yoruichi pulled the younger woman against her and kissed her again. Feeling herself surrounded by Yoruichi, the second division captain finally stopped questioning and allowed herself to respond.
It was intoxicating. It was like nothing she had ever felt before. Of course, she had never really allowed herself the luxury of personal relationships, so she didn't exactly have a lot of experience to compare it to. Nevertheless, to her, at that moment, the kiss was perfect, everything was perfect.
Then Yoruichi's hand slid inside her bedclothes, and she couldn't help the shiver that traveled up her spine. Entwined in a passionate embrace, they still managed to make it to the bed, divesting eachother of all cloth barriers along the way. After that, all Soifon knew was that her every nerve ending was on fire. Long moments later, finally sated, they fell asleep in eachother's arms.
At least, Soifon had thought that they both were falling asleep. That is, until she woke up a few hours later to a breeze filtering through the window and an empty bed. Her first thought was that it had all just been a dream. That idea lasted until she took her first look in the mirror that morning. That was definitely not a dream. Then why did she leave?
"Yoruichi-sama…"
The second time was unexpected.
She had spent days after that first night trying to figure out what she had done wrong, what she had done to drive the older woman away. As the days turned to weeks, she finally concluded that it had all just been a mistake. Yoruichi must have never meant for it to happen. Soifon wasn't sure how she felt about that… or maybe she was, but she certainly didn't want to think about it.
Regardless, she had taken up an increased vigilance in her quarters at night. Weeks went by without so much as a shadow out of place, until one night she was just there. When Soi would think of it later, she supposed she must have blinked, because one second she was staring at an empty window, and the next she was looking directly into the golden eyes of the former captain of second division.
Then her eyes were closing as full lips claimed hers and a soft weight covered her body. She was so consumed by Yoruichi that she didn't have time to question the woman's presence. At least, she didn't have the chance until the next morning, when she woke up alone once again.
"Yoruichi-sama…"
The third time was a bit different.
It started out much the same. Yoruichi suddenly appeared in the middle of the night. Instead of immediately jumping on Soi, however, she sat on the edge of the bed and didn't do anything. Seeing this, Soifon moved to sit next to the violet-tressed woman.
For a moment, Yoruichi didn't appear to react to her presence. Soi sat, watching her face for any clues as to the cause of her curious behavior. Her former mentor took a deep breath, and she watched as beautiful golden eyes turned toward her. They sparkled in an unusual manner, almost as if the older woman had been crying. No, thought Soi, she had never seen Yoruichi cry, why would she start now? Still, just the thought was disturbing in its incongruity, and her gaze wavered for a moment as she tried to dismiss it. Apparently, this was all it took to snap Yoruichi out of her trance. She lunged at Soi and pulled her into a fierce kiss before continuing almost frantically. The younger woman swore she could feel fire being poured into her veins from Yoruichi.
When Soifon would think about it later, after waking alone once more, she would ponder on how the older woman kept pulling her close the entire time. It was almost like she wanted to melt them together, to never part. She would wonder briefly if it had any correlation to the upcoming Winter War. The preparations, after all, had been completed that very day. She would go on to scoff at the ludicrousness of the notion and berate herself for thinking it. Still, she had to wonder.
"Yoruichi-sama…"
The fourth time was comforting.
Soifon was so very tired. She had finally made it to bed after struggling slightly with changing her clothes and undoing her braids. It was over. It was finally over. The war was won, though not without casualties. The second division captain and master of hand-to-hand combat herself had lost an arm. The fact that she allowed it to be cut off to save her life was of little comfort.
She had foregone heading to fourth division. They were certainly busy with many injuries more severe than hers, and she supposed there wasn't much they could do for her anyways. She could live with it, she knew. It would, however, take time to train back to the level she had been with both arms intact. There were many long hours of training ahead, but, for now at least, she just wanted to rest.
The captain felt a presence, but kept her eyes closed. She was too tired for this tonight. "Little bee." It was so low, Soi almost wasn't sure she heard it, but it was enough to make her crack her eyes open. The sight she was greeted with was one of a beautiful face and eyes that shown with deep concern.
It was then that Yoruichi did something she hadn't been expecting. The woman crawled into the bed and pulled her close, hugging her so that the younger woman's head was pillowed on her chest, taking care not to jostle her injury. She held her close and kissed the top of her head. Soifon tensed at first, but quickly began to relax as the woman she lay on started stroking her dark hair. She couldn't recall ever having felt as safe and content as she did in that moment.
The next day, the orange-haired ryoka girl showed up at her office. Though she thought better of it, she let the girl take a look at the stump where her arm used to be. Who knew the girl had the ability to regenerate limbs? She didn't even have to ask who had sent the girl.
"Yoruichi-sama…"
The fifth time was public.
A few weeks after the end of the war, a celebration was held. While everyone was busy making merry, Soifon was off in a corner alone. She didn't understand why this was mandatory. After all, running both the second division and Onmitsukido left her with a rather overwhelming stack of paperwork, some of which she could be completing right now. Well, she supposed if she had to be here she would at least make the most of it. She had found a seat that was a bit removed from the festivities and busied herself with sipping sake and observing, all the while keeping her signature scowl in place to ward off any unwelcome company.
Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her, a breath on her ear. "Soifon." She soon found herself being pulled into a storehouse. She wasn't sure what to think exactly. This was the first time that Yoruichi had come to her in this way outside of her quarters. She ended up trapped between a crate and Yoruichi, herself, the older woman's hands trailing up and down her small frame.
She didn't let up until Soifon had reached her peak multiple times, all the while struggling not to cry out. Soi felt herself collapsing, but her descent was halted by a pair of strong arms and a warm body. After an odd whirlwind sensation, which her still disconnected mind hazily associated with being carried by shunpo, she found herself back in her quarters, tucked into her bed, and surrounded by Yoruichi. Being, frankly, too comfortable to bother moving, she decided to just give in and let sleep overcome her while tightening her hold on her former mentor.
"Yoruichi-sama…"
The sixth time Soifon had had enough.
There was only one other time in her life when Soifon could recall feeling such anger, hurt, and betrayal, and that incident just happened to center on the same woman causing her current frustrations. She simply could not understand. If Yoruichi was ashamed of the visits, then why did she keep coming back? If she wasn't ashamed of the visits, then why were they never spoken of? Was she a toy? Was she being used? That didn't seem quite right. If she was being used why would Yoruichi have been so tender with her, so gentle?
The crux of her current dilemma, really, centered on the older woman's behavior, namely that she acted the same now as she had ever since she had come back into Soi's life. She would still drop by and pester the captain while she tried to work, and she still had no qualms with embarrassing her in public. She never gave any outward indication of her nighttime visits with Soifon.
Did they really mean so little to her? Actually, the better question was why did they mean so little to her when they meant so much to Soifon? Of course, Soi had always admired Yoruichi. She had looked up to her. Her life's ambition from the time she was old enough to walk had been to become strong enough to protect the Shihouin heiress. After she was assigned to the older woman's personal guard and had the opportunity to be closer to her, her feelings of admiration only grew. Along with those came other, less familiar, emotions. It had been years before she had ever been able to put a name to what she felt. When she did, she simply didn't feel worthy of feeling that way. She strove to become better, pushed herself to new heights.
Now here was the woman who she still, despite all that had transpired between them in the past, put above everyone else in importance back in her life. Said woman was giving her everything that she had never dared to hope to be able to have. Then she was taking it all away. It was a cycle now, the giving and the taking. Soi couldn't help feeling like a children's toy, loved when the child wanted to play with it and then carelessly tossed to the floor when his attention was captured by something else.
Well, Soifon was not going to be anyone's plaything. She wanted answers, and she was going to get them. She had seen the older woman in Seireitei earlier in the day, and she had a feeling that Yoruichi would be paying her a visit tonight. Now she only had to wait.
Soi was so absorbed in her thoughts that she almost missed the other woman's appearance. She was seated on the edge of her bed when the feel of the familiar reitsu intruded on her inner monologue. She didn't even bother to look up at the other woman. Yoruichi, upon seeing Soifon not moving, cautiously moved in front of her and took her chin between her fingers, lifting it to look into the younger woman's eyes. Only once could she remember seeing such ice cold hatred in those stormy gray orbs.
Soifon stood with a sigh, wishing momentarily that she was a bit taller, if only for the fact that she hated having to literally look up to the other woman. Now that Yoruichi was here, she was having trouble deciding exactly how to broach the subject she knew needed to be discussed. Instead of saying anything, she settled for deepening her scowl and letting more ice show in her gaze.
She did not expect for Yoruichi to suddenly close the remaining distance between them, pulling her closer with her left arm, while her right moved to caress the captain's cheek, pulling their lips together in a soft but firm kiss. Soi felt herself melting into it, starting to lose herself in it. Only for a moment, however, as she soon remembered exactly what she had previously been thinking of when Yoruichi moved to tighten her hold. She brought her hands up between them and grabbed twin fistfuls of the Shihouin's signature orange jacket. She pushed the woman away while simultaneously holding the jacket so the heiress couldn't go anywhere.
To say Yoruichi was surprised was an understatement. She looked down to the shorter woman, who was gazing up at her. She suddenly had a sinking feeling about being here. She tried to bolt for the window but was jerked back by the fists holding her jacket and sent crashing into the other woman. Immediately, small but deceptively strong arms encircled her waist, trapping her.
"Why?" The question came from the girl whose face was buried in the crook of her neck.
"Why?" She repeated, confused.
"I am tired of being played with. I am tired of being used and then tossed away. I refuse to be your plaything anymore! Now, tell me why. Why take me at all if you know you'll only throw me out later? Why stay if you know you'll leave before I wake? Why come to me at all? Why are you here Yoruichi-sama?" The last part was practically spit out with all the bitterness she could muster.
Up until this point, Yoruichi had been like a taut bowstring just waiting to be released. At Soi's speech she felt herself go slack. Her entire life she had spent running. She had run from expectations, she had run from responsibilities, she had run from people, and, more than once, she had run from Soifon. She glanced down to where the younger woman was pressed against her, and she made what was quite possibly the most terrifying decision she had ever made. For once in her centuries-long life, she decided not to run.
"Little bee…" she started.
"Don't call me that!" The smaller woman practically shouted.
"Little bee look at me," she said while taking Soifon's chin between her thumb and index finger. The younger woman's gaze slowly rose to meet hers. She allowed her fingers to trail across Soi's face, and her thumb brushed her cheekbone soothingly. Soi unconsciously leaned into the touch.
"I…I…" She was having such trouble just coming out and saying it. Truth be told, this was exactly why she had done things the way she had. She had certainly never been good at expressing her emotions. She gave a self-depreciative chuckle. A confused frown crossed Soifon's face.
"I really have been trying to avoid this conversation."
"No!" Soi's hold around her grew tighter, as if she thought Yoruichi was planning to flee again.
"I know. I know. You need to hear this." She took a breath and steeled herself. Why did this have to be so hard? "I never meant to leave. Each time I meant to stay, but I just couldn't. I had to run because it was all too much. I laid there with you and there were things I needed to say, things I intended to say, but I just couldn't. I ended up running because it was all too much, being there with you. Then I would work myself up again to tell you, but every time was the same. I always ran. I always had to run. Do you understand?" The confusion was showing clearly on Soifon's face.
"No, I suppose I'm not being very clear. I… I'm just not very good with this kind of thing. I never meant to hurt you, really it was the last thing I wanted to do. I originally intended to tell you how I felt about you, but then I just couldn't. I just…"
"How do you feel about me Yoruichi-sama?" Soifon was very intelligent. She could put a puzzle together. She could see the incredibly uncharacteristic blush coloring the older woman's cheeks. She had a feeling she might know where this was going, and the thought exhilarated and terrified her at the same time.
"I…I…" Damn it just say it! "I love you little bee." There, see, was that so hard? What the hell am I thinking? I'd rather be incinerated by a cero.
It was at this point that Yoruichi realized her little bee still hadn't responded. She glanced to the younger woman, whose eyes were wide and mouth was open, though not quite gaping. Did I break her or something? She took the hand that had been caressing the captain's cheek and lightly slapped her. This seemed to revive her, as she shook her head as if coming out of a trance and looked up into the other woman's eyes.
"Yoruichi-sama… Yoruichi-sama loves me?"
The goddess could see she was going to have to prove her point. She moved her hand back to Soifon's chin and leaned forward, bringing them together in a gentle kiss. She pulled back a moment later to find Soi turning quite a peculiar shade of red. Then the girl promptly fainted. Yoruichi snickered as she caught the falling woman. Well, that was her little bee for you. It's a wonder she didn't do that sooner, really.
Soi awoke not too long after to find herself incredibly warm and comfortable. She glanced up from where her head was pillowed in the crook of Yoruichi's neck to meet dancing golden eyes. "Welcome back little bee." Soifon couldn't help burying her face back in Yoruichi's neck to hide the blush heating her cheeks. Yoruichi couldn't help but chuckle at her antics and tighten her hold on the younger woman.
"Did you mean it Yoruichi-sama?"
"I meant it Soi. I meant it."
Soi couldn't help the smile that broke out, which Yoruichi could feel against her skin. She then felt more than heard the smaller woman's next whispered words.
"I love you too, Yoruichi-sama."
The seventh time was perfect.
A genuine smile broke out on Yoruichi's face at the whispered words. She then moved to mesh their lips together once again. They met in the gentlest and most profoundly comforting way they had ever felt. The kiss gradually became deeper, each pouring their hearts into it, but it remained just as gentle.
Their hands began a languid exploration, fingers, and eventually mouths, mapping every expanse of skin reachable. It was slow, deliberate, and beautiful. It was the first time either of them had made love. It was the first time they had made love to each other. They each decided that it would not be the last. They went on until they were spent in the best way possible. They fell asleep that night with legs and fingers entwined.
When Soifon awoke in the morning she admittedly half expected Yoruichi to be gone again. Instead, twinkling golden eyes met her own cloudy gray.
"Ohayo little bee."
"Ohayo Yoruichi-sama," she replied with an adoring gaze.
"Aiyah, little bee, you disappoint me!" Soifon's face fell as she racked her brain for anything she could have possibly done to disappoint Yoruichi-sama. "Pfft, you know, after last night especially, I had thought you could finally stop using honorifics with me. Well, I guess I'll just have to teach you a lesson, ne?" With that she reached down and began tickling the younger woman relentlessly.
"Y-Yoruichi-sa-!"
"Hey now what did I say?" Soi smiled and brought their lips close together.
"Yoruichi."