Title: Until Next Time

Pairings: Ichigo x Rukia

Word Count: 713

Summary: Rukia is leaving for the Soul Society, but Ichigo doesn't want her to go


The trouble with love is… its hard to say goodbye.

----

Rain poured down the glass. In the dark night, the drops were illuminated by the street lamps. In the distance was the low rumble of thunder.

There was nothing to say. She was leaving.

'It's raining.' she commented.

'Yeah…' he replied, then they resumed their silence. To break the quiet had felt invasive. They didn't need words. They'd already said them.

'Don't go.' He said quietly. It wasn't an order, but a plea. She could hear it in his voice.

'Ichigo…' she sighed, and then was silenced by a pair of lips pressing gently to hers. It took her several minutes to break them off, before she turned and said, 'I have to go. You know I do.'

'Why? It's raining. You'll get wet. Stay.'

'I... I cant.'

'You can,' he thrust his hands into the depths of his pockets, 'you can stay. But you wont.'

'That's not fair!' she stood up, 'I would stay if I could, if I believed it was right…'

'So you don't believe this is right? You don't believe we're right?'

She had no answer to that. The rain beat harder on the glass, creating the noise but somehow expanding the silence as well.

'I love you,' he whispered, and his voice cracked, 'don't go.'

She was there before he knew it, kissing him in a way he'd never known before. He could feel the desperation in the way she ran her fingers through his hair, could taste her sorrow on her skin. There was something so ferocious there that it worried him and made him stop.

'If you're going then don't do this. Just leave.'

'But…' she buried her head into his chest, 'I don't want to!'

How long he held her like that for, he didn't know. He didn't try and move her, because she was trying not to let him see her cry. But he could feel the tears soaking through his shirt. He could feel her shoulders shake, not matter how hard she tried to keep them under control.

'Rukia…'

'No!' she cried suddenly, pushing him away, 'I am leaving. I'm going back to where I belong. I have no choice!'

His face became set with anger.

'So when you said you loved me, I'm assuming what you meant was 'I love you, Ichigo, but less than my precious Soul Society'? Cos if you'd have just come out and said that then maybe we wouldn't have to deal with this now!'

'How dare you say that?' she shouted, 'I would never-'

'But you are Rukia!' he gave a wild laugh and sat down on the bed, 'this is the point. You're either lying to me through your teeth; or you aren't, and if that's the case then you're being stupid.'

She had no answer to this.

'My brother's there. He's my family,' she muttered after a while, 'don't ask me to leave him.'

'You don't live with your family forever you know,' he replied conversationally, 'in the end you fall in love and go. Everyone knows it. Your brother doesn't care that you'll leave. He knows you will one day.'

Again, she had no answer. She wished the rain would stop.

'I can't deal with this!' she snapped suddenly, turning towards the window, 'I'm going. I'll be back, you know I will. But for now I have to go.'

She opened the window, and a wild desperate fear sized him.

'Rukia!'

But she'd gone.

Ichigo leaned out the window. The rain pounded against the back of his neck as he searched for her. He knew that she'd be back eventually. She said she would and he'd never known her to break a promise to him. But there was still all the time in between…

----

She stood on the rooftop in the rain. The rain mingled with the tears on her face, which comforted her. She could kid herself that she wasn't crying. She hated having to leave him. She hated coming back, because it meant that sooner or later they'd have to do this all again. But she would come back. She couldn't live without him.

The two of them can't help but think; it might be better for them if they couldn't love.