Author's note: I am leaving for Japan in a few days, so I will put up a double chapter this time in case I don't make next weekend's posting deadline due to..ya know, moving my life across the world lol. We finally get to see our two friends Renji and Rukia make up! Yay. Please don't forget to comment, subscribe, etc. I will post chapter 10 soon after this one so please stay tuned.
Chapter 9 content warnings: none
Thanks to my hardworking beta for their work on this chapter!
Disclaimer: Bleach and its characters are the intellectual property of Kubo Tite. I do not own Bleach or its characters.
"What did you do to win Byakuya over?" Rukia eyeballed her mentor suspiciously.
"Oh, we just talked about the good ol' days and whatnot." Renji shrugged nonchalantly. "Ya know, the days before cell phones? You wouldn't get it."
Rukia crossed her arms, rolling her eyes. "So you guys had a riveting discussion about dial-up internet?"
Renji nibbled at the end of his pencil, looking down at the tattoo project he was sketching. "Oh yeah, and internet cafes. Those were a trip."
"Renji!" Rukia nudged the man's shoulder. "You must have said something to get through his impenetrable exterior. You really said some messed up shit last time we were together."
"I did," the tattooed man admitted. "But you made me realize I was being an ass. I was making a predetermined judgment about him which wasn't fair. He shouldn't have lied to you, but he knows that."
"Why do you always look like that?" Rukia examined her friend's face with peering eyes.
"Like what?" Renji squirmed under observation.
Rukia placed a tiny hand on her chin as she contemplated. "You get this look whenever you talk about Byakuya. You look really content or something."
Renji blushed, fiddling with his pencil. "Weird observation."
"Oh my God!" Rukia blurted out. "Have you been in love with him all this time?"
"Rukia!" Renji yelled back towards her, dropping the pencil he had been playing with. "No, no, no. Don't get crazy ideas."
Rukia's sly smile spread over her lips. "Did you convince him with a kiss, then?"
"Fucking hell, Rukia. No!"
"Oh, it was more than a kiss?"
Renji grumbled, the blush spreading to his ears now. "No. We just talked. We haven't kissed since we were teens."
"Oh my god!" Rukia screeched, disturbing some guests before she lowered her voice. "So you guys were like young gay rebels?"
"Young gay rebels? Are you high?" Renji groaned, pushing his head back into his chair. "We had no idea what we were doing back then. I didn't even know I was gay then. And he obviously isn't. He married your sister, remember?"
Rukia blew a big bubble with the pink chewing gum in her mouth, popping it before giggling. "Here you go again, making assumptions."
"A man marrying a woman? That's not an assumption. That is the definition of straight."
Rukia twirled a strand of hair between her fingers, rolling her eyes. "God, am I the mentor here or you? Marrying someone of the opposite sex doesn't mean you're straight. There's bisexual, pansexual, all sorts of sexualities now."
"Your generation scares me." Renji stood up, heading off towards the printer.
Rukia quickly followed, not done with her lecture yet. "So, maybe he's undefined. But he's already kissed you once; what's to say he won't do it again?"
"I kissed him," Renji corrected as he messed with the printer, pushing a few different buttons in frustration.
"Oh, who cares who initiated it. He returned it, right?"
"I think so."
"Why don't you kiss him again?" Rukia teased, poking Renji's side. "He's a poor widower who hasn't gotten any in a few years. The guy looks starved for human touch."
"He looks starved for human emotion. He's cold as a rock." Renji countered, continuing to attack the printer buttons with his finger.
"So?" Rukia leaned in closer, whispering in a devilish voice. "Warm him up, then."
Renji cursed, hitting the printer with his hand before turning to face Rukia with a flushed face. "Would you knock it the fuck off?"
"Sorry." She raised her hands in defense. "Just your story is amazing. It would be a shame to let your feelings go to waste. At least try to tell him how you feel."
"And then what?" Renji deflated, leaning against the counter with a sigh. "Get him in trouble with his family for the millionth time? Him kissing guys again won't go over well in his family."
Rukia frowned, placing a hand on her mentor's arm. "Hey, you guys have already overcome so much. What's to say you can't conquer this? Who cares about those decrepit nobles, anyways?"
"You should if you plan on joining their family," Renji warned.
"Oh, they'd be lucky to have me."
"Damn straight." Renji seemed to cheer up again. He ruffled the short woman's hair playfully.
Rukia scowled. "I'll bite your hand off."
The two friends shared a laugh, and Renji finally got the printer to work again.
"So, will you give it a shot? It's already been almost 15 years. What do you have left to lose?"
"Rukia," Renji sighed. "I just got him back. I can't lose him again. I'd rather be friends than nothing at all."
Rukia's purple eyes looked empathetic. "I get it. I just don't think it's good for you to keep these unrequited feelings bottled up. You may come to regret never telling him how you feel someday."
Renji's eyes were on the floor. He nodded in agreement.
"I'll be here for you, don't worry." Rukia hugged the man around the waist, pushing her cheek to his chest. "I know it's hard to be yourself when the whole world is against it."
Renji was grateful for the hug. He returned the embrace, holding the back of her head gently in place. "I'm scared. I'm scared of my own feelings."
Rukia mumbled into Renji's shirt as she rubbed his back with her small hands. "I imagine Byakuya is scared too. He's been rule-breaking in his household for years. So he's probably scared to be his true self. That's really sad. Sounds like you need each other."
Renji patted Rukia's hair once more before pulling away. "Yeah, his grandpa used to beat the shit out of him for being anything less than perfect. And the bastard is still alive, too. Why do the worst people always live the longest?"
"Shit…" Rukia said with a frown. "That's awful. But it explains a lot about the way he is. I'm sure he can be his true self with you, though."
"If I could…" Renji cleared his throat, his voice wrought with emotions. "If I could bring him that solace, to be himself, with me… that would be… a dream come true."
"Aw…" Rukia's eyes glistened as she listened in awe. "Jeez, just kiss him already. You are insanely in love with him."
"I'll think about it." The man cleared his mind by turning his attention back to his work. "End of discussion though, seriously."
"Fine." Rukia pouted, crossing her arms. "Byakuya and I have been talking on the phone almost every day since we reconciled, though."
"No way," Renji commented, not lifting his head from his work. "I'm glad you guys are getting along.
Rukia took her seat back in front of her mentor, propping her shoes up on the edge of his desk. "He has shared a ton of stories about Hisana. It's amazing to be able to know her. I've also been considering the whole adoption thing."
"Shit." Renji pulled his attention up from his artwork, knitting his brows together with worry. "What does that entail?"
"You know, becoming a Kuchiki."
"As in, Byakuya is your dad or something?"
The woman chuckled, waving her hand dismissively. "Brother."
"Are you sure you're ready for all that? As I told you, those noble types don't fuck around. They definitely wouldn't have their feet on the table," Renji complained, pushing her feet off of his desk.
Rukia straightened her posture, placing her hands in her lap as she suddenly changed to a formal tone. "Why, of course, I can be a proper Kuchiki. I have many faces for many situations." She then dropped the formalities, leaning in closer to Renji. "Seriously, Renji, you have to stop doubting our people. We can fit into the higher echelons of society; all it takes is a bit of acting and finesse. This is a chance for me to finally belong to something."
"Hey." Renji reached for the woman's hand, cradling it in his own. "You do belong to something. You are family here, you know that, right?"
"Of course." She squeezed the man's hand, gazing down at the table. "But if this is what my sister wanted, who am I to deny her of her final wish? Besides, Byakuya seems like he needs family, too."
"A guy you met a few months ago is about to be your brother? You are more mental than I thought."
"Hey, you are the one who vouched for him recently. And think about it, if you guys end up together, you can be my brother-in-law. Big happy family." She snickered as she watched the bewilderment fill Renji's face.
"So you are psychotic. Okay, good to know." Renji shook his head, pulling his hand away so he could get back to work.
Rukia stood up, gathering her bag. "I have to get back to school. But I did have one more 'psychotic' request. Can Byakuya and I come over to your place?"
"My place?" The tattooed man sighed, burying his face in his hands. "You already used my tattoo shop. Now you wanna use my apartment?"
"I have roommates," Rukia whined, putting her hands together in a plea.
"Nah, hell no." He dismissed Rukia with a wave of his hand.
Rukia's big purple eyes glistened with fake tears of desperation. "B-But… please?"
Renji merely shook his head again, opening a drawer in his desk to search for something.
"I'll cook," she added.
That got Renji's attention. He perked up, raising a brow. "What?"
"Perfect." Rukia smiled to herself. "I'll be there on Saturday at 6 to start cooking. Please clean the place up and put your sexy man magazines in a box under the bed or something. Nobody wants to see those."
"R-Rukia!" Renji sputtered towards her as she took off, practically skipping out of the shop with a pleased smile on her lips.
Renji glanced around, noticing Shuhei from the corner of his eye. He turned towards the other man in an attempt to gripe. "She's insane."
Shuhei laughed as he looked up from his tattoo machine, which had stopped buzzing for a moment while taking a break. "She keeps you on your toes. It's fun to watch."
"Is this fun for everyone else in this shop but me?" He groaned, putting his head on his desk in defeat.
"I'm with Rukia on this one. You need to pursue something with Byakuya." Shuhei refilled some of the ink on his table before wiping down his client's leg.
"You too?" Renji grumbled into his desk.
"Last I checked, you weren't a coward, right?" Shuhei countered, glancing over at his friend with a sigh.
Renji didn't bother to lift his head. "When it comes to matters involving the Kuchiki family, kind of."
"Well, either get to it or shut up about it. Your lovesick blathering is kinda annoying, man." Shuhei returned to his work, and the volume of the tattoo gun silenced any further conversation between them.
Renji rolled his eyes, lifting his head up so he could finally get back to work. His friends had no idea what kinds of guts it took to stand up to an entire family of nobles with sticks up their asses. He sighed and tried to get back to work even though he constantly found himself battling thoughts of Byakuya. His mind wondered about how he had held his hand the other day, the sweet scent on the crux of his wrist, and the way that autumn light had danced across the perfect ivory planes of his face.
Shuhei was right, he was lovesick.
