"Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses."- Ann Landers
"You're quite lucky; aren't you?" A random Shinigami apprentice asked her in a sunny afternoon; Rukia knew very well whenever someone was being sarcastic so she decided to ignore her while waiting on the line.
She was buying the new Chappy accessories.
"I mean" the girl kept saying "best friend of the hottest lieutenant of Seiretei, adopted by a noble family and then Kurosaki Ichigo's girlfriend… not fair don't you think?"
Rukia wanted to laugh; first of all she wasn't Ichigo's girlfriend but there was no need for this random girl to actually know that. She could keep going with her useless babbling; Rukia couldn't care less.
"Ch, a street bitch doesn't deserve it." The girl said before leaving.
Rukia didn't wince. It wasn't worth it; although she would be lying if she were to tell that those words weren't enough to bring some unpleasant memories.
After paying for her supplies and leaving the store she couldn't help but to ponder on that girl's words.
She couldn't help but laugh aloud when she remembered how the girl referred to Renji as "the hottest lieutenant of Seiretei." Renji was good looking and if you added the tattoos and red hair he looked like a total badass. Perhaps that's why so many girls had a crush on him but that wasn't everything about him.
She still remembered clearly the day she met him.
He was running with the other ones for water and while she wasn't bothered by the fact of living alone she decided that that was a gang worth joining, she never cared that they were all boys and she was glad that they never cared that she was a girl.
She liked them.
All of them.
But there was something special about Renji; it wasn't just the red hair, it was his smile, his charisma, his loyalty and his determination. He was the one that would always worry about her and when they split the food he would always give her the bigger portion first; whenever she was with him she felt safe, she didn't feel alone anymore.
She felt like part of a family.
Rukia smiled fondly.
In a matter of days they were best friends.
They used to share everything; food, bed, games and pranks. When tragedy hit their little family and the others died he swore to her that they would always be together. It was that day, the day they decided to become Shinigamis, that she decided that she loved him like a best friend.
Who would say that the first boy she ever loved was a red haired weirdo?
Of course she could also remember how he stopped talking to her when Nii-sama adopted her.
Nii-sama.
Her relationship with him was complicated at first; really complicated.
Between not wanted to look at her and giving her everything; a house, a position and a last name she didn't know how to feel about him at first. According to everyone inside the household he had adopted her because she looked a lot like his deceased wife and while that sounded wrong she couldn't help but wonder if there was more to it.
Years passed and after a death sentence, several misunderstandings and a violent fight with Ichigo he finally told her the truth.
When the weight of his secret was lifted from his shoulders and he didn't have to choose between two promises he was finally able to be the older brother he wanted to be for her all along. Now, he was the one she would talk to whenever she needed advice, he would listen to her and dinner wasn't awkward anymore between the two of them, in fact it was Rukia's favorite moment with her brother.
She realized she loved him when he saved her from that disgusting Espada in Hueco Mundo.
It was then when she realized that it didn't matter, how, when or where she was he would always be there; protecting her.
Then there was Ichigo…
He was a different matter altogether; he was way more than a best friend or a brother to her and still they weren't lovers. Whenever she wondered about her feelings for him she would stop because going there was a new and scary field for her.
He was stupid, she decided, she accepted a girl he barely knew in his house without second thoughts, let her live in his closet, gave her food and bought her stuff in the human world. She became attached to him really quick and suddenly they were sharing more than only Shinigami responsibilities.
They were sharing a strong and unbreakable bond.
He was foul mouthed, reckless, loyal, overprotective, amazing and had mommy issues… he was her hero, even after she crashed into his life and turned it upside down he saved her and before any of them noticed they couldn't keep away for each other for long periods of time.
His depression without her and without his powers were proof of that…
She had to admit that she wasn't the same without him either.
With his funny hair color and boyish smirk he had become one of the best things that ever happened to her and she noticed she loved him that day at the bridge when he told her "I'm here to save you Rukia" with that badass and overconfident smirk of him.
She just didn't know what kind of love she felt for him.
She was so immersed in her thoughts that she didn't noticed when she stepped into the mansion until she saw them; Ichigo and Renji were training in the gardens while Byakuya was warning them about not destroying his cherry blossom trees with their barbaric ways.
"Oi midget!" Ichigo greeted her with a smile.
She smiled at the three of them.
She didn't care if she didn't deserve them; she loved them anyway.
If you could let me know what you think you could make me really happy! Thanks!