Drabble #4: Across space and time
Genres: Romance/Drama/Angst/Fluff
Rating: All drabbles range from PG to PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Renji/Tatsuki
Spoilers: Chapter 195 onwards
Disclaimer: BLEACH belongs to Kubo Tite...-sigh-... ah well...

Embrace this miracle of an encounter now?
By gazing upon each other we can become stronger.
And if this isn't what you call love,
Then what is it that you call love now?

This day would have come sooner or later. She was telling herself that she was completely prepared for it. Built up the walls and everything; awaiting the day that he had to return to his world… and she would have to go on in her own like he had never existed…like the past few months did not mean anything to her.

And yet, here they were under that every tree that they ran into each other that very fateful day that he came into her life. His red hair radiated brighter than the setting sun behind them. He was leaning back against the trunk of the large tree and Tatsuki was in his arms, her back pressed comfortably against his chest. She sighed for the fifth time that hour and Renji couldn't hold back any longer.

"What the fuck is your problem damnit? I swear if you sigh one more time-olf!"

His words were cut short abruptly because of a very sharp elbow slammed straight into his ribs.

"Fuckin' bitc-" But yet again was cut off sharply as Tatsuki spun around and faced him. Taking his face into her callous hands, Tatsuki took a hard look at his face almost as if she tried to memorize every line and coloring on his rugged features. She then moved forward and pressed her forehead to his. With a shaky breath, Tatsuki slowly spoke, in voice that was almost unrecognizable, "Do you like me anymore, Renji? And don't give me some bull shit answer; I want the real thing!"

Renji didn't say anything for the longest time and then said in a monotonous voice, "No."

Simple as that, Tatsuki's unfazed heart, detached soul, and completely unmoving sprit… became fazed, attached to a moving spirit… he was moving on… and she couldn't.

She smiled nervously and then tried a different approach, "Uhm… do you still think that I'm pretty?"

He stared at her blankly and then said, "Nope."

'Aw fuck! What the hell has fuckin' got into him? I mean I know he's not one to spew amorous poetry or serenade to you in the rain but… DAMN! Talk about having a stick up his ass!' Tatsuki was now not only crushed but pissed as well. She tried thinking of everything… no… anything to make him snap out of his pathetic stoic state. "Am I important at all to you?"

Renji's face was emotionless as the past two questions and still his answer ended up negative, "No."

Tatsuki's eye's were one's of a crazy dragon who was getting it's heart torn up into pieces as it's predator take it's time to torture her.

A stray, a mere stray could have such a lethal bite on her soul.

She let out the loudest scream she had ever felt the need to release and soon after she swung her hand down onto his face and began to punch him with all her might. And as her punches were soon replaced with warm rain that fell from her dark coral eyes, Tatsuki looked up to him, unfamiliar tears fell from her eyes, as one last try to touch his soul, and uttered her final question, "Will you cry if I were to walk away?"

He was quiet and then said, "No."

Tatsuki sighed one last time and saw that he was not going to speak anymore. She got up and dusted the dirt off her school skirt and then wiped the remnants of tears away from her eyes and made her final departure. From this day on she was never going to speak of the name Renji Abarai again for as long as she lived. It was better that he ended it this way…

A sudden jerk of her arm and she was twisted around, ready to tell him to get his dirty Shinagami hands off of her, when he pulled her lips to his.

Warm lips met chapped ones. The ghost of her tears left her mouth salty as he slowly ran his tongue over them and then nipped softly at her bottom lip. Renji slowly pulled away as she pinched his arms but he made no outburst as she tried to struggle away but couldn't against his death grip that wasn't as deadly as it could have been. He wouldn't hurt her for the entire world… for all of Soul Society! But it was obvious that she would never know unless he explained what exactly his each of his answers meant.

"Are you done yet? What? You thought that you could have your say and then walk away? What the hell is that?"

"You already said more than enough, thank you! Now, please let me go and-"

"NO! I'm not done yet and I will not let you go until you hear me out!"

Tatsuki was about to spit in his face but thought it better not, the look on Renji's face was nothing short of entire seriousness and so as she held her tongue, Tatsuki dropped her head before nodding for him to continue.

"When you asked me whether you were pretty or not, I said 'no', right? Well it's true!" Tatsuki eye's shot up sharply and was then taken aback when she saw his eyes soften ever so slightly and then he continued, "You are not pretty… you are beautiful. And then I said 'no' again when you asked me if you were important to me... and it was true… you are not just only important to me… you are the world to me. And when you asked me if I still liked you… and I would be lying if I said that I did… because what I feel is not 'like'… when it manifested into love, I do not know… but it did. And finally you asked me if I would cry if you left me… that is a definite 'no'. I'm too manly to cry-"

Tatsuki was able to wrench her wrist out of his grip for that particular comment and as she swung her hand down to bonk him in the head, Renji easily caught it again in his own and brought her fingers to his lips and whispered ever so softly… as if he was afraid that the wind would know, "I would die."

She was completely silent as she took in his words and then slowly she watched as his eyes slowly opened and looked deep into her own. "I would die… did you hear me DAMNIT! I WOULD DIE FOR YOU!" His eyes were almost at the brink of insanity as if to emphasize his true intentions.

"DO YOU HEAR ME? I LOVE YOU TATSUKI… I WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR YOU, DAMNIT! I-"

"ALRIGHT, SHIT HEAD! YOU DON'T HAVE TO FUCKIN' SCREAM! I KNOW!" With that she pulled his shirt front forward and slammed her awaiting lips on his as they kissed the dusk away.

In the background, the sun burned ever brightly fighting with the horizon for a bit more time to shed it's warmth upon the earth.

Words: 1,152
Date: 11.21.05

Authors Comments:
--Enjoy, minna-san! Meep! Was that a bit cliche' for some? I thought it was at first... but I found that this old story needed a twist to it! XD Let me know what you guys think about it, kay? READ AND REVEIW, PLEASE!