#wcabw

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How much jail time would you get for killing a Hell Butterfly, I wonder? Rukia grumbled to herself. She had been sleeping in late on one of her and Renji's few days off together, when a black butterfly woke her up by alighting on her hand.

“Everything alright?” mumbled Renji’s sleepy voice next to her, his arm draped lazily across her midsection, and his face pressed into her hair. Rukia sighed, before slowly sitting up, gently releasing herself from his embrace.

“No…I gotta go into the Thirteenth Division...some problem or whatever. Sorry, Renji.”

“Eh. Can't be helped. But you gotta eat breakfast, Ru. I’ll make ya some eggs,” Renji simply yawned back as he slowly sat up too. Rukia whipped her head around towards him.

“What? Renji, you don’t have to-”

“You gotta eat some eggs, you’re no good without your protein," he stated matter-of-factly as he swung his legs off of their new tatami bed. He slowly stood up, stretched, and yawned again. “Plus, you tend to get pretty crabby without it," he finished as he cracked his back.

“Psh. Thanks a lot,” Rukia smirked, as she swung her legs off the bed as well and slowly stood up too. She stretched as Renji walked around towards her.

“You’re welcome," he smirked back. He bent down and gave her a quick kiss, "Go ahead and get ready. It’ll be done by the time you’re finished.”

"Thanks, babe," she replied, and headed towards the bathroom.

When she finished dressing, she came out to the kitchen to find the table already set, a plate of eggs for each chair and a giant stack of pancakes in the middle. Rukia blinked in surprise.

“Pancakes…?” she asked as she sat down.

“Oh yeah, I learned how to make them from Orihime. Ichigo told me you liked them, so I figured I’d give them a try,” Renji replied as he brought over the syrup and hot sauce, “Go on, try 'em!”

Rukia cut up her pancake, before dousing it in syrup. She picked up a piece with her chopstick and took a tentative bite.

“This…is delicious, Renji!” she began shoveling pancakes into her mouth. Renji laughed and began pouring them both some tea.

“Glad you like it.”

“And you made all this and the eggs too in such a short time?” Rukia asked when she took a break from inhaling pancakes to sip some tea, “That’s amazing!”

"Heh. Got to if I'm going to keep up with your appetite!" Renji replied as he finally sat down.

"Hmph! It's not my fault you make such tasty food," Rukia sniffed as she covered her eggs in hot sauce, and began shoveling them in her mouth as well. Renji chuckled as he sipped his tea.

It was a peaceful morning.

__________________________________

When Rukia finally made it back to the house, it was late in the evening, the sun having set long ago. Renji came to meet her at the door.

“How did it go?” he asked.

“Fine. We got the problem solved, anyway,” Rukia said, as she slipped off her sandals. She stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him, “Are you hungry? Sentaro felt bad about calling me in on my day off, so he made me some massaman curry and rice. I told him not to worry about it, but he insisted. Also, I picked up some sweet mochi on the way home for dessert.” Renji smiled at her toothily.

“Sounds great! I’m starved!”

“Sorry I’m back so late,” Rukia said, as she followed him into the kitchen, “You could have eaten without me, you know?”

“Yeah, I know, but I like eating dinner with you,” He replied as he got out the bowls.

As they sat quietly eating dinner, Rukia looked up at Renji and asked, “So how was your day? Anything exciting happen?”

“Hm? Yeah, actually!” he put his spoon down, and began to gesture enthusiastically with his hands,”You know that sunglasses design contest that Silver Dragonfly Eyewear was having? The design I entered won one of the brackets!” Rukia stopped mid bite, and looked up at him wide eyed.

“R-Really?!”

“Yeah! It…" but Renji's voice began to falter. He picked up his spoon again and slowly stirred his curry into his rice, "Well to be honest, I only got picked for the lowest bracket. It’s really just an honorary mention of designs that they liked, and that will be shown off in their magazine at the end of the month. So basically, I didn't even win a cash prize, so it’s not really that big of a deal, but…” he was then immediately interrupted by Rukia standing up, reaching across the table, and slapping both of her hands on his shoulders, gripping them tightly.

“Renji, that’s amazing! You won an art contest! I knew you could do it! When that magazine comes out, I’m gonna frame it on the wall!” She said excitedly, eyes gleaming. Renji looked up into her shining eyes, and felt his heart lurch in his throat.

“Thanks, Ru…”

“Idiot, what are you thanking me for? You’re the one who won the contest,” Rukia said, sitting back down, “Come on, hurry up and finish eating. Now that we have a tv, I want to watch cheesy rom-coms with you while we cuddle on the couch and eat mochi.” She picked up her spoon and began shoveling curry into her mouth again. Renji smiled at her fondly.

“Pfft. Okay, you got it.”

It was a peaceful evening.

>>>>>>>>>> Author’s Note &lt;;<<;<<<<<<<

A/N: Let’s finish off the year with some RenRuki domestic Fluff! This is loosely inspired by the main couple in Fargo, and just how well they both support each other, but more specifically the scenes near the beginning and the end with the eggs and the stamp collection. Now admittedly I’ve never actually seen Fargo, instead I heard about it from a Drawfee stream. But the host described the scene so warmly and so beautifully, I just had to make a RenRuki version of it! (I did eventually watch those scenes on youtube as well.)

Back when the Advance Team traveled to the World of the Living, or more accurately, Ichigo’s bedroom, they had a tendency towards…minor disagreements. One such minor disagreement led to a minor scuffle which was only resolved when Matsumoto slapped the hilt of her sword upon Ikkaku’s shiny bald head and, pop, he was gone. It was all very funny in Rukia’s expert opinion.

That said, it confused Ichigo an awful lot, so she had to explain to him that a shinigami could one, be Konsou’ed or soul buried, and two, when they were, they were sent back to wherever they considered their “home” to be. Due to all that occurred after that, between the Arrancar attack, the Winter War, and eventually the Fullbringer incident, she assumed Ichigo had forgotten all about it. He had not.

Something she learned the hard way, when she decided to push him just a little too far with her teasing and the next thing she knew, pop, she was back in Soul Society.

At first she was simply pissed. However that annoyance turned immediately to embarrassment when she realized where she was. She was in the Kuchiki manor, which made sense. What made less sense was what she was doing on Renji’s lap.

Turns out Renji had come to the manor to give Byakuya, who was home sick with the flu, an update on this week's reports, and she had just interrupted their meeting…by appearing on Renji’s lap. After bowing several embarrassed apologies, she left.

What was slightly more strange, was the next place she appeared. She had been arguing with Ichigo about her way too large World of the Living manga stash (she always bought more “extremely embarrassing” manga whenever she visited or was on mission, and then proceeded to accidentally leave them in his room to be found by his family later) when, pop, there she was back in Soul Society, funnily enough, with all her manga. Rukia steamed!

“Oh, there you are! I was coming to see if you had gotten back yet, but they told me you weren’t due to return till tonight,” A familiar voice above her said. Rukia looked up and saw Renji leaning over her. She was on his lap again.

“Ah! Renji?! Where?!” She looked around frantically and saw that she had arrived in the Thirteenth Division, “HUH?!”

“Yeah, looks like you got konsou’ed again," Renji responded casually as she scrambled off his lap, "Was it Ichigo? What did you do to him this time? Force him to read all your manga?”

“No, no, he was mad because he thought my stash was getting too big and that he was running out of closet space. Also, his family kept finding it and were starting to ask him embarrassing questions, so he forced me to go back with it," she looked around again after she had stood up, "Why am I at the Thirteenth though?”

Renji shrugged while picking up one of the manga, “Who knows? While I usually get sent to my living quarters, I do end up at my division from time to time. I guess in a way, our divisions are our homes.”

“Yeah, I guess…” Rukia replied slowly as she turned towards him, “Renji, have…have you been Konsou’ed recently?”

“Hmm?” Renji asked, as he flipped through the volume, “Uh no, I don’t think so. Not since my time at the Eleventh. Why?”

“Just…Just wondering…” she said as she eyed him thoughtfully.

Finally, after the Thousand Year Blood War, it happened one more time. She and Renji were having a philosophical debate on the character Ichigo played in their movie series Maid Cop, when the next thing they knew, pop pop, they were both back in Soul Society, lying in each other’s arms.

“I guess I can’t deny it now,” Rukia murmured softly as she reached up to touch Renji’s cheek, “With you, I am home.”

“Yeah,” Renji agreed fondly as he returned her soft gaze and softer touch, “Yeah, I think it’s safe to say that checks out.”

************************************************************************

"Rukia!"

Renji awoke with a start, sweat dripping down his brow. He whipped his head around wildly, as he mopped off his forehead with his sleeve. He was alone, utterly alone. Quickly he reached out with his spiritual pressure to feel hers, his heart pounding loudly in his ears. Finally, he found her, a tiny cold gust on a frigid winter night. It felt so impossibly far away, but… it was enough. Renji left the Eleventh Division barrack's dorm and climbed on top of the roof to feel it better.

_____________________

"Rukia! Wait!"

Renji awoke with a start and sat up quickly, only to glare at the ceiling and flop back down again. How many times had he had this nightmare? And why were they getting worse? He would have assumed getting Rukia back in his life would have decreased his nightmares not the other way around!

Renji sighed, and immediately started his routine of feeling for Rukia's spiritual pressure to reassure himself she was okay. It was there. She was fine. Of course she was! She felt like a fresh cool breeze on a spring morning. And she was coming towards him…

Renji sat up again, his heart beating rapidly. She couldn’t possibly be coming here, could she? She was just coming in this direction, surely! But the more Renji felt, the more sure he was. Eventually, he heard something hit his window. And then again. Finally, he got up and opened it.

"Rukia, what-" And that’s when he got smacked in the head with a rock. Renji thought he heard an audible gasp from outside his window, before everything went black.

"What the heck, Rukia?!" He exclaimed while rubbing his forehead almost half an hour later, "Why'd you throw a rock at my head!"

"I threw it at the window, dummy! I-It's not my fault your head got in the way!" Rukia stammered in excuse, as she gathered ice into a cloth. After the incident, Rukia had climbed in through his window and, with much effort, managed to drag his limp form onto the couch. She walked over and handed the ice to Renji, who was still laying there, nursing his now throbbing headache. Rukia sat down on the far side of the couch, leaving space between them.

"So why are you here, anyway?" Renji grumbled, but Rukia didn't answer him. Instead, she seemed to simply stare off into space. Renji watched her for a while, and Rukia continued to refuse to look at him. In fact, she looked rather embarrassed. Renji sighed.

"Hey," he began, "We've got a full moon out tonight. Want to go look at it?" Rukia nodded.

They climbed up on top of the roof of the Sixth Division barracks and watched the moon. Renji hadn’t even realized he had fallen asleep until he woke up the next day and she was gone.

___________________

"Rukia! Wait! I’m coming with you!"

Renji awoke with a jolt. He immediately went up to the roof. Rukia was there in minutes. He felt her coming, a strong, refreshing wind that cooled and invigorated him in the heat of a summer afternoon. Renji opened his arms, and she fell into them immediately.

"Did you… Did you have a nightmare too?" he asked as he pulled her close.

"Yeah…" She whispered. He pushed his face into her neck.

"Was it…of that day? The day we were separated?" he murmured. Rukia’s grip on him tightened.

"Yeah…"

"Yeah…” Renji agreed. He began to run his fingers through her hair, “I'm glad you came, Rukia." Rukia breathed in his scent.

"Me too…” she murmured into his shoulder, “I… I wanted to see you…"

Renji tightened his grip around her, "I wanted to see you too."

Cuddled close, Renji felt the light of the moon and stars grow dim and hazy as he gave into sleep. The next day, he awoke with a sudden start and whipped his head around, just to find her still laying close to him, regarding him softly.

"Were you looking for someone?" She teased, "Unfortunately, it's just me here." Renji chuckled, and gently pushed her hair away from her eyes.

"Yeah," he agreed, "Yeah…I'd take that any day."

>>>>>>>>>> Author's note <<<<<<<<<<

************************************************************************

“That complete and utter- ARGH!!!!” Rukia yelled, forcibly shutting off her phone and stuffing it deep into her bag. She stormed up to the college breakroom table, and dropped her bag heavily onto it, before slumping down into a chair.

“Oi! Don’t rock the table, I'm trying to write in pen here!” Ichigo complained as he scowled at the fresh, unintended pen marks on his page. He sighed and reached over to his bag to grab his whiteout. “Who was it this time? Byakuya or the old man?” he asked.

“The old man…” Rukia grumbled, as she rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands, “Ginrei was bad enough when Byakuya was actually at the mansion. But now that he and Renji are gone on active duty for two years, he is utterly unbearable…”

“How are you dealing with that, by the way?”

“With Ginrei? Hmph,” Rukia crossed her arms, “By avoiding him whenever possible, of course!”

“No…I mean with Renji being gone,” Ichigo asked as he continued to rummage through his bag, “You two got engaged right before you found out about the deployment, right?”

“Ah…that…” Rukia looked down and was quiet for a moment. She glanced at the simple, but beautiful ring hanging on the chain around her neck, before closing her eyes, and stuffing it back inside her shirt, “It sucks that he’s gone, but it sucks more that I couldn’t go with him. But ever since I got injured on my last rescue mission, I’ve been useless. That’s why Brother- that’s why Byakuya submitted for my discharge after all…” Ichigo glanced up at her, before returning to his rummaging.

“Hey, don’t get me wrong, from what you’ve told me before, this Byakuya-guy sounds like a real pain, and I’d never defend him. But as a brother, I don’t think that’s why he did that.”

Rukia continued to look down, “You don’t know him like I do…” she muttered. She uncrossed her arms and sat back up, waving a hand dismissively, “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. This is Renji’s last deployment, I’ve got college to keep me busy, and when he gets back, we'll elope, and then I can finally leave that stupid mansion and its worse occupants behind for good.” Rukia withdrew a notebook from her backpack, “Although, with how things have been going with Ginrei, I might just move into the dorms at this point.”

“As someone who is currently living in the dorms, trust me they can be just as bad,” Ichigo grumbled, as he finally found his whiteout and began carefully spreading it across the aimless marks on his paper. Rukia looked up at him.

“What? Is your roommate still causing you trouble? Do you want me to come over and beat him up for you?” At that, Ichigo finally fully looked up from his assignment, in complete exasperation.

“What?! No! Why is that always your first solution!”

“Hah! Says the guy always getting into fights!” Rukia countered with a laugh, as she took out her markers, “Orihime told me how you “valiantly defended her donuts” from the “confounding confectionery thief” on her way home from the bakery the other day. You get into fights over donuts, Ichigo. Donuts. Still mad you didn’t call me about that, by the way, I wanted to give the guy who messed with her a good licking too…” Ichigo threw his hands up in the air at that.

“I don’t try to get into fights! Plus that was different! First of all, he was a thief, not just a general jerk like my roommate. Secondly, that guy started it by grabbing her arm. And thirdly, it was off school grounds so no one was going to get expelled by it!” Ichigo said, ticking his excuses off on his fingers. He waved his hand dismissively and went back to writing his paper, “Plus the guy went down fast, you wouldn’t have had any fun with him.”

“Hmmm,” Rukia hummed in agreement, “Still it sucks that she lives in such a dangerous neighborhood. If she could live in the apartments closer to the school, she wouldn’t have to worry about it so much.”

“Yeah…” Ichigo agreed quietly, as he stopped writing again. They sat there silently for a while as they fretted over their friend. Suddenly, Rukia perked up, and slammed her fists on the table.

“Ichigo!”

“Gah! Rukia, what did I just say about rocking the table!”

“Hey, I waited till you stopped writing, didn’t I? Anyways, listen to this!” she looked at him, eyes gleaming with…ideas, “You and Orihime should get an apartment together closer to the school!” she exclaimed excitedly. Ichigo looked up at her with huge eyes.

“W-WHAT?!? Rukia, we’re not… But I haven’t yet… Even if I had…” He stammered, but Rukia just waved her hand dismissively at him.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be there too, as a chaperone,” She stated matter-of-factly. Ichigo’s face immediately deadpanned.

“Gee, thanks a lot,” he scowled. He scratched his head, “Anyway, that’s not the only problem, y’know? Even between the three of us, there is no way we could afford the apartments that are near the school. They are way too expensive!”

“Hmmm…true,” Rukia agreed, as she tapped her chin in thought. But she quickly perked up again, much to Ichigo’s chagrin, “What about Chad? You two were tight back in high school, right?”

“Since middle school, actually, and I can ask him, but I’m still not sure. I think we need one more to be in the clear.”

“Easy,” Rukia shrugged, “Ishida.”

“What?”

“Ishida. He hates his dad, constantly complains about the guy. He’d be glad to move out.”

Ichigo stared at her. “First of all, just ‘cause someone doesn’t like their parent doesn’t mean they want to move out,” Ichigo said. Rukia shrugged nonchalantly at this, “Secondly, Ishida might be a bigger introvert than you.”

“Untrue, Ichigo! How could you utter such a falsehood? No one is a bigger introvert than me!”

“That’s exactly my point!” Ichigo exclaimed as he waved his hands for emphasis, “Out of the people you have gathered, including myself, you’ve got three huge introverts, a guy who barely talks, and a girl who constantly overworks, and never asks anyone for help. Ever. Also, we’ll probably each have to share a room. How in the world do you expect us all to live together?!”

__________________________________

Three weeks later, Ichigo stood outside the nice apartment building, his bag swung around his shoulder and a suitcase in his hand.

“You’re in the way, Kurosaki,” Ishida said as he bumped his way past him with his bags.

“Come on, Rukia, let’s go pick out our room! Oops, sorry, Ichigo!” Orihime apologized as she accidentally grazed him with the large item she was attempting to carry in by herself.

“Orihime…let me…help…” Chad muttered too quietly for anyone but Ichigo to hear. He ended up having to jog to catch up with her. Finally, Rukia strode up beside Ichigo, bags on each shoulder, hands on her hips, looking smug.

“This is going to be great!” She grinned. Ichigo just sighed.

>>>>>>>>>> Author’s Note <<<<<<<<<<

************************************************************************

“Okay, we're here,” Kurosaki Ichigo began as they entered the clothing store, “The women’s section is in the back. If you need clothes, I don’t mind buying you a set or two, so can you just please stop stealing Yuzu’s?!? She’s starting to get suspicious…” But Rukia wasn't listening to him. Instead, she was looking around the store, completely enthralled.

“Woah! This is incredible!” Rukia replied with wonder, as her wide eyes flitted from one brightly colored clothing display to the next, “And you can afford such garments on your allowance alone?” Ichigo raised an eyebrow at her in response.

“Yeah…? It’s just a cheap department store, Rukia.”

“Incredible…” she muttered to herself again as she continued to look around the huge, lively store with a mixture of awe and nervousness. Several people passed them by, chatting as they filed in or out of the entrance, and loud music played on the speakers overhead.

This is nothing like the open markets that sold only rags in Inuzuri, she thought, And once I got adopted by the Kuchiki Clan, the tailors came to me. I don’t think I’ve been to anything even resembling a regular clothing store since the Academy. There is too much choice! What should I…?

Rukia could feel Ichigo’s concerned eyes on the back of her neck. Quickly, she stood up straighter, and turned towards him.

“You said, I could get whatever I wanted, right?!” she asked with a devilish grin. Ichigo sighed heavily as if he was immediately regretting both this decision and his entire existence. He scratched the back of his head.

“Within reason! I’m not rich, you know," he scowled, "You can get one everyday outfit and one sleepwear, that’s it!” With that, he set off across the store.

“Ah! You're so stingy, Ichigo!” Rukia teased as she followed after him.

“Keep talking smack, and I’ll make you shop in the children’s section!”

“I might anyway,” Rukia mused, as they passed by a pair of child’s pajamas with bunnies on them, “children’s clothes have nicer prints.”

“Whatever,” Ichigo replied, “Wear what you want when you sleep, but when you are out and about, try to wear typical 'teen clothes'. Otherwise people might get the wrong idea when we are walking together.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Rukia dismissed with a wave of her hand. As they continued walking along on their way to the back of the store, passing from the children's section into the men's, Rukia’s eyes were caught by a brightly colored robe. Turning towards it, she felt taken aback when she beheld the largest, tackiest tiger print bathrobe she had ever seen. Suddenly, she felt like she was thrown back over forty years…

_______________________________

“Oi, Rukia! Look at that!” Renji shouted to her while staring at a stall in Southern Rukongai. Rukia stopped mid run and turned around. They had finally made it all the way to the fifth district, but still had a ways to go.

“What is it, Renji? We've gotta get going if we are going to make it to the Shin'ō Academy by the day of the entrance ceremony!”

“I know, I know! Just come look at this real quick!” Renji replied enthusiastically while waving her over. Rukia sighed, but ultimately relented, and walked over to him.

“What? That tacky tiger print yukata?” She asked while crossing her arms. Renji immediately spun on her.

“It’s not tacky! Tiger’s are cool!” he defended. He turned back towards the robe, a twinkle in his eyes, “They are strong and powerful! And when we become strong and powerful shinigami and get paid good money to beat up a bunch of hollows, I’m going to buy a ton of “tacky tiger yukata”, so you better watch out!” Renji turned and tried to give her a smug smirk, but his smile was too big, too goofy, too…genuine. Rukia quickly turned away, a mixture of emotions tumbling within her.

“Psh, yeah, whatever, dork… Come on, let's get going. If we're late, and get thrown out, you'll have a real tiger to deal with!” She said as she began to march down the road again. Renji took one last look back at the robe before jogging to catch up with her.

"Yeah, alright, alright. I'm coming, Miss Tiger."

________________________________

“Oi! Rukia!”

Rukia hadn’t even realized she had stopped until she heard Ichigo shouting her name. She immediately spun on him.

“What?!” she snapped back.

“You stopped in the middle of the aisle! What’s so dang interesting that you hadn’t heard me call you three times?!” Ichigo asked. He looked up at the tiger robe and then back down at her questioningly, “Not exactly your size, is it?”

“Whatever! It’s tacky anyway!” Rukia snapped, and marched off towards the women’s section. Ichigo scratched the back of his head, shrugged, and followed after her.

__________________________________

  “Now listen up, all of you, this is a World of the Living store!” Vice Captain and Advance Team Leader Abarai Renji proclaimed professionally as they entered the building. He turned around towards the group of shinigami in gigai following him and continued, “You may each pick out a few outfits to use while here. You know your budget, so please stick with it!” he finished, giving Matsumoto Rangiku a pointed look.

“Why are you looking at me? You should look at Yumichika! He’s way worse!” she whined dramatically. Renji sighed. Matusumoto was reliable in battle, but when it came to budgets? Less so.

“Yumichika has Ikkaku to keep him on budget,” Renji countered.

“Yeah, and he listens to him on these matters about as much as I listen to my captain,” Matusmoto muttered.

“Hey!” Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro yelled.

“Normally, I would argue with her, but she’s right on that point,” Ayasegawa Yumichika said with a flick of his hair, “Although, I do tend to spend more money on make-up than I do on clothing.”

“It’s true,” Madarame Ikkaku agreed, “He’s found us some really nice eyeliner over the years, hasn’t he, Renji?”

Renji was rubbing his temples by this point. He greatly respected his mentors from the Eleventh, but sometimes he wished he didn’t always have to be the adult in these situations, “There is no make-up budget, only a clothing budget.”

“What?! That’s absurd!” Yumichika lamented loudly.

“How am I supposed to dress like the women of the World of the Living without make-up?!” Matsumoto complained.

“Fine! Whatever! Get what you want! Just stay on budget! Now go!” And with that, the groups split off, Yumichika and Ikkaku in one direction and Matsumoto and Hitsugaya in another. Hitsugaya stopped, and turned back towards Renji.

“Don’t worry, Lieutenant Abarai, I’ll keep her on budget.”

“Thank you, Captain Hitsugaya,” Renji replied, a little relieved. Hitusgaya nodded, and went after his lieutenant. Renji sighed and began rubbing his temples again.

“Not easy being a parent, is it?” Rukia teased as she walked up to him.

“No, not at all,” He grumbled in response. Rukia laughed lightly.

“Come on, I’ll show you where the men’s section is. It’s right before the women’s section so it’s on the way anyway,” She replied, strutting off. Renji followed after her.

“Here we are!” Rukia announced once they had arrived, “The everyday wear is here, the socks and underwear are over there, and the sleepwear is-” But she froze the minute her eyes fell upon a familiar looking brightly colored sleeping robe. Renji looked up to see what she was staring at.

“Oh, wow! A tiger robe!” he exclaimed excitedly. Rukia felt a familiar mixture of emotions as she watched him immediately walk right up to it, “This is so cool! How much does it cost, I wonder? Ah…”

“What?” Rukia asked tentatively, “Is…Is it expensive?”

“Yeah… It’s pretty pricey. Makes sense, this material is so amazingly soft! Oh well… I guess it is a little tacky, huh?” He joked half heartedly, as he put back the robe. Rukia stared at him for about half a beat before responding.

“Yeah, it is…but you’re tacky enough to pull it off,” she finished with a smirk. Renji wheeled around and scowled at her.

“Hey!”

“What?” Rukia asked innocently, as she grabbed the largest size robe off the rack, “I said you could pull it off, didn’t I? Anyway, what size are you? Like a gazillion extra large?”

“That’s not even a real number, Rukia, let alone a real size. And no, don’t buy that!”

“Why not? You said we could get whatever we wanted as long as we stayed within our budget, so this qualifies,” Rukia reasoned. Renji threw up his hands in protest.

“If you buy that, you will only have money for one like, one dress!” he exclaimed, “You won’t even have enough for sleepwear!”

“So?” Rukia asked, as she removed the robe from the hanger and began carefully folding it, “I already have some leftover World of the Living clothes I left at Ichigo’s house. I don’t need more than one new dress. Plus, like you said, I can choose to spend my money however I like! And I’ve chosen to buy this very large, very tacky tiger robe. But oh no!” She exclaimed, smacking her forehead dramatically, “What to do? I bought a size too large! I suppose I'll just have to give it away!” She handed Renji the neatly folded up robe.

Renji stared at her wide eyed for a moment, before relaxing and finally taking the offered robe, “Pft. Fine. Whatever. Spend your money however you like…” he finished, smiling a little as he rubbed the back of his neck.

”Thank you, Oh Great Advance Team Leader,” Rukia proclaimed, as she bowed dramatically. She found herself smiling as well, “I certainly will!”

__________________________________

Epilogue

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot!” Ichigo said as he stood before the Senkaimon doors, about to return to the World of the Living once more, “Rukia, could you give this to Renji? Hat-and-Clogs told me to give him this. Apparently he left it at his shop when the captains came and took you guys back to Soul Society during the war. Not this last war, the one before that. You all sure have a lot of those, huh? You should work on that. Anyway, here you go,” He pulled out a rather large, brightly colored, crumpled ball of cloth.

“Hm? O-Oh! Renji’s tiger robe! I thought we would never get it back!” Rukia exclaimed, taking it from him, “Hmph! That candy selling jerk probably used it to do gods know what. I better wash it before I give it back to him tonight. Anyway, thanks, Ichigo!” Ichigo watched Rukia as she carefully smoothed out and then folded up the robe. Suddenly, something clicked.

“W-Wait! Is that why you were acting so weird at the store back then?” Rukia turned to look at him.

“Huh?!”

“Back then, when you were secretly living in my closet, I took you to the store to get you some more clothes, remember? While there you started reminiscing right after you saw that tiger robe!” Ichigo exclaimed. He crossed his arms and looked up in thought, “So Renji had his own, huh? That’s surprising, I didn’t think he had too many World of the Living clothes…”

“He doesn’t, fool! I…uh…bought it for him,” Rukia finished quietly. Ichigo looked at her again. He raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, you did, huh?”

“Y-Yeah! So what?!” Rukia snapped. Ichigo regarded her wordlessly for a while. Eventually, he clasped his hands behind his head and turned towards the Senkaimon.

“Nothing. Anyway, I’ve got to head back. I’ll see you later, Rukia,” Ichigo said, walking towards the doors once more. Rukia blinked.

“Oh. Uh. Okay. See you later, Ichigo.”

Ichigo was about to step through the doors, when he stopped and turned to look at her over his shoulder, “Oh, and uh, don’t forget to invite me to the wedding.” Rukia’s face turned beet red.

“W-What?! Why you-” she shouted. Rukia tried to aim a kick at him, but as usual Ichigo was frustratingly quick, and with a flash, he was gone.

>>>>>>>>>> Author’s Note <<<<<<<<<<<

It had been such a peaceful morning…

"Pleasantly surprised to see you this morning, Sister,” Byakuya had said rather fondly to her as she entered the dining room that morning, “But do you not usually leave for the Thirteenth by this time?”

"Normally, yes," Rukia had agreed as she sat down at the table, "But I'm actually only working a half day today. I have my yearly physical at the Fourth this morning, so I’m going into the office late. I'm trying to get it done and out of the way before the wedding."

"A wise decision," Byakuya nodded.

"Speaking of which, after my appointment, I'm stealing your lieutenant for lunch," Rukia continued between bites of kyuri no tsukemono. She was having trouble not shoveling the whole thing into her mouth. The fresh but sour taste of the pickled ginger and cucumbers, the mild kick from the sprinkling of chili, these were the kinds of flavors that she loved in the morning. Their palate, a perfect pairing of coolness and heat, served to invigorated and inspired her! Plus they were tasty too, "The bar we have chosen for the wedding reception has some dishes they would like us to taste for the event. Afterwards I'll go back to work in the afternoon, followed by going to the seamstress in the evening to get the measurements for my dress."

“Indeed? You are quite busy as of late,” Byakuya replied as he sipped his tea, “Well, if you’re done with your appointment early, do come by the office anyway. I would say so that we can chat, but considering how Abarai gets when he waits for you, I doubt I'll get a word in."

"Oh? What do you mean?" Rukia asked, a little surprised. Byakuya put down his tea cup, and gave his sister a withering look.

"Sister, he is unbearable whenever he waits for you. Between the foot tapping, and the sighing, and the constant checking of that infernal communication device all you young shinigami carry around…” Rukia rolled her eyes at him.

“...A soul pager, Niisama?”

“Yes, that. Anyway, it’s a wonder he gets any paperwork done at all! If I thought marrying you two would get him to stop, I would move up the wedding to tomorrow, but I’m sure that it will just make him worse.” Rukia chuckled fondly in response.

“Well, I will be sure to speak to him about it.”

“Please do,” Byakuya said, as he picked up his chopsticks, “But enough about my insufferable vice captain and your incurable fiance, tell me about-” They continued to talk amiably for the rest of the morning.

A simple routine check-up. That’s what it should have been…

The tech taking her spiritual pressure made a face at the monitor.

“What is it?” Rukia asked in a mildly amused tone, “I know I’ve always been a bit weird, but I didn’t think that my spiritual pressure was that strange!” The tech didn’t laugh, however.

“Not sure, something seems off…” he murmured more to himself than to her as he stared intently at the monitor, “Hold on, I’m gonna grab the nurse.” He grabbed the nurse, who also looked at the monitor, and then immediately left to grab the Relief Team Leader.

“Hanataro,” Rukia addressed the Fourth Division’s Third Seat as he peered at the monitor with a voice she hoped didn’t betray her growing trepidation, "What is going on? You know I don’t want to rush you, but as I told you earlier, my schedule is pretty packed today,” she gave him a mischievous look, “If you let me leave early, I promise to bring you back some cake from the tasting I’m going to!”

“Ah… Sorry, Rukia… But cake or no, there is something about your reiatsu that seems…off. We are going to need to run some tests to be sure. Probably even draw some labs…" but as he said it, Rukia's eyes went wide and her body went cold and stiff.

"I…I see…" she barely got out, as her hands involuntarily balled into fists.

Hanataro looked up and smiled at her kindly, "Don't worry, Rukia, I'll handle it."

"Thank you…" Rukia replied, relaxing just the tiniest bit. Unfortunately, the situation did not improve.

“We’re not positive of anything yet, Rukia, but your reiatsu doesn’t seem to be flowing or filtering normally, so we feel it’s best to monitor the situation," Fourth Division Captain Isane had said when they admitted her.

Rukia had already texted Renji to let him know she would be late for lunch. She thought it best that she text him again. He was there in minutes, sprinting into the room.

"Rukia!!!"

She had been laying in the bed, propped up by some pillows, when he had arrived. When she saw him, she sat up straight and gave him a little smile and a wave.

"Hey, Renji! What’s up?"

"That’s my line!!!!" Renji put his hands on her shoulders, "What happened? Are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?!"

Rukia reached up her hands to gently hold on to Renji’s wrists, "I'm fine, Renji. Don't worry, it's just a precaution," she dismissed casually, before smirking up at him teasingly, "Although my shoulders kind of hurt now."

"Dang it, Rukia! This isn't a joke!" Renji exploded as he let go of her shoulders. But he immediately deflated and slumped down in the chair next to her bed, "I was so worried, I…" Rukia took a hold of his hand, lacing their fingers together.

"I know. I’m sorry, Renji. I didn't mean to scare you."

Renji bent his head down so that it touched hers, "Don't apologize, idiot. Just feel better soon, ‘kay?"

"Okay,” Rukia replied, tilting her head up so that their noses touched.

"I love you…” he whispered to her as he squeezed her hand, “...so much…"

"I know… I love you too," she whispered back.

They continued to stay, just like this, sitting close, whispering soothing words to each other, when they were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a large thump by the door. Rukia peered around her tall fiance to see Byakuya clumsily trying to fix the vase of flowers that had been set on the end table by the entrance. He looked extremely uncomfortable.

"Oh, Nii-sama! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," she said. She gave him a kind smile, before bowing, "Thank you for visiting me!"

Byakuya turned away from the offending plant towards his sister, but didn't manage to step any closer into the room. Instead he stuck his hands in his sleeves and asked, "How…are you feeling, Rukia?"

"I'm alright," she began. Renji gave her a pointed look, "Honest! I don't feel any different. If they hadn’t protested so much, I wouldn't have let them keep me at all!" Byakuya regarded her silently, almost sadly, before tearing his eyes away from her.

"I'm…glad you chose to listen to them," he told her quietly.

“Yeah!” Renji agreed, turning back towards her, “No breaking out of here, you hear?” He squeezed her hand again, “I know hospitals suck, but I’ll be here whenever I physically can. We’re in this together, okay?”

“Okay,” Rukia agreed, “And thank you, both of you, but like they said, this is just a precaution. I’m sure they’ll let me out by the end of the day!"

The Fourth did not release Rukia by the end of that day, or for the rest of that week, but eventually, the diagnosis did come in. CRVS, also known as Chronic Reiatsu Vent Stenosis, a rare reiatsu vent disease that tended to run in families, and the same disease…the same disease that killed her sister, Hisana.

************************************************************************

"Rukia…" Renji gasped between shattered breaths.

"Quiet, Renji,” Rukia said sternly, “We…We're almost there.” But the strange black sludge they were wading through clung to them, pulling them down. Rukia tried to push through, but it was like moving through tar.

"Ru…kia…"

"Hush now…" Rukia replied more gently, readjusting her grip on him, "Conserve your strength… We'll make it out, I promise." She continued to push through the muck, one of her arms holding tightly onto Renji’s arm which was draped across her shoulders, while her other arm was wrapped around his midsection. Renji hung limply by her side.

"You've…You’ve got to leave me, Rukia… You've got to…"

"Shut up!" Rukia shouted at him, "I'm not leaving you, so just shut it, okay?! We'll make it…" Rukia kept moving towards the light, but it felt like it wasn't getting any closer. What was going on? Where were they?! And what happened to their friends?! She thought frantically as Renji slowly became heavier and heavier by her side. At this rate…

"Ru…please…"

"I said, no, you idiot! I told you we'd make it- ARGH!!!" Her foot got caught on something in the muck, and they fell hard. "Ugh…where… RENJI!!" Rukia looked around furiously before she spotted where he had fallen. She rushed to his side, but now they were both covered head to toe in the tar like substance and were twice as heavy. Rukia struggled to even drag Renji onto her lap.

"You've…got to go, Ru… You've got to…" Renji whispered between rasping breaths. He tried to reach up his hand to her, but struggled to even lift it. Rukia reached out with her free hand and took a tight hold of his, bringing it close to her.

"No! I won't leave you!” she yelled resolutely, squeezing his hand, “I won't."

"Ru…"

"I can’t go on without you, Renji, not again," Rukia clutched him closer to her chest, "Never again. I can't…so please…"

"Ru…"

Tears began to run down Rukia's face, "I love you…" She sobbed as everything went black.

__________________________________

Gasp!

Rukia woke with a start in her bedroom, the expensive Kuchiki sheets tangled tightly around her form. But despite the sweat dripping from her brow, she felt cold, ice cold. Quickly she reached out, and only began to relax when she felt Renji’s familiar spiritual pressure perfectly safe in the Sixth Division barracks. She sighed and rubbed her eyes, only for her hands to come away wet from tears. Rukia tried to laugh it off.

Renji’s safe, she thought, Of course he's safe! Go back to sleep, you idiot!

However, no matter how she tossed and turned, sleep eluded her. Rukia threw off her sheets and got dressed. Within minutes she had arrived at Renji’s barracks, the warmth of his spiritual pressure flowing past his door and spreading over her like a warm blanket. Perhaps she could stay standing there for just a little bit…

__________________________________

When Renji woke up the next morning at the crack of dawn, the last thing he expected was a visitor. He wouldn't have even checked had it not been for the very obvious and familiar spiritual pressure right by his front door. Not even bothering to change out of his sleeping robe, he hopped out of bed and headed straight for it. As he quickly approached his front door, the familiar coolness of her spiritual pressure rushed past him like a crisp morning breeze. It woke him up, invigorated him, made him feel like he could conquer anything.

Renji slid open the door with gusto, "RUKIA!!!!"

"WAAAAAH!" Rukia exclaimed as she tumbled right into him. She had fallen asleep on his door, "What the heck, Renji?!"

"Sorry! Sorry! But how the heck was I supposed to know you were leaning on the door!" He yelled back as he stood her up again. He leaned against his door frame, and asked, "What are you doing here so early, anyway?"

Rukia looked up at him, their eyes locking, and felt her breath leave her. She quickly looked away.

"I… Is it so weird that I'm here?! I've visited you before, y’know?!"

"Well, yeah,” Renji agreed, as he casually cleaned the dirt from his ear with his fingernail, “But never this early. I’m the morning person, remember?"

"I…” Rukia stammered, “I had to tell you something!"

"Okay, what is it?" Renji prompted, but Rukia continued to look away, unable to meet his eyes. Finally, Renji sighed, "Okay, that's it. We're going out." He said, walking back into his dorm.

"W-What?!” Rukia panicked, her head whipping around, “Renji? Oi! We're what?!"

"We're going out to eat, of course! That always cheers you up. Come on in, but stay over there, I'm gonna go get changed," Renji said casually, as he grabbed his shinigami uniform from off the floor and walked behind a changing screen. Rukia took a deep breath and led it out again very slowly. As she stepped into his dorm, the familiar messiness of it eased her nerves a little. She picked up one of his sports magazines off the floor and flipped through it.

"Not that I ever mind eating out, but don't we have a vice captain’s meeting this morning?" she called after him.

"Not until later, and we don't have to eat at a restaurant, we can just go to a food stall," Renji yelled back from behind the screen. He emerged fully dressed, "We'll still beat Matsumoto."

"That's true…" Rukia admitted as she put the magazine back down.

"So then, come on!"

__________________________________

"So,” Renji began after they had grabbed their food and began walking back towards the meeting hall, “now that we've gotten you something to eat, are you ready to tell me whatever it was you wanted to tell me?"

Rukia was mid-bite into a dango when he asked. She finished chewing slowly, and then opened her mouth as if to say something. However, she ended up just closing it again and staring down at her food. Renji sighed.

"You don't have to tell me, y’know?" He said as he took another bite of his takiyaki.

"No, it's okay,” Rukia replied quietly, “It's…It’s just a little silly is all… “

Renji finished chewing slowly, watching her out of the corner of his eye as they walked along. Eventually he swallowed and turned towards her, saying, “Rukia, you are silly.”

“H-Hey!” she snapped back, but she was looking up at him now.

“We both are!” he went on, “That’s why we get along! So don’t even worry about it, okay?” He took another bite.

“Okay, okay…” Rukia relented. She took a deep breath before continuing,” Last night, I had a nightmare…where you died…."

"Ah…Yeah. I've had those… Nightmares where you died, I mean."

"Yeah…this isn't my first time having one either,” Rukia agreed, ”After I woke up, I reached out to feel your spiritual pressure. You were fine, of course, and usually that's enough. But lately it hasn't been. I wanted…I don’t know, reassurance maybe? Or maybe I just wanted to be near y- UH, anyway, I was wide awake after that. So I got dressed, and was planning on just checking up on you real quick, but I ended up staying too long and fell asleep on your door…" Rukia admitted before taking another bite of dango. Renji blinked in surprise.

"Oh.”

"Yeah…Sorry..." she mumbled, as she turned away and proceeded to quickly stuff even more dango into her mouth. Renji’s tattooed eyebrows furrowed together.

"What the heck for?" he asked. Rukia’s head spun back around towards him.

"M’ut mu u mean ‘M’ut m’or’’?!” Rukia attempted to shout out around a mouth full of dango.

“Ack! Dang it, Rukia! You got bits of dango on me! Swallow that before you choke, you idiot!!!”

With much effort, Rukia managed to swallow the massive, munched up mound of dango in her mouth, before glaring up at Renji, “What do you mean, ‘What for?’ I just needlessly woke you up early over a bad dream. It’s not just silly, it’s pathetic…"

"It’s not pathetic, Rukia…” Renji murmured as he brushed bits of dango off his shinigami uniform, “If you want to see me, you want to see me. What's the big deal? We're friends, aren't we?" he crossed his arms, "Just knock next time, alright? I'll let you in." Rukia looked taken aback.

"What?! Really? You’d really let me in? No matter the time?"

"Yeah, I mean, I’d prefer you came during the day, but…I like seeing you too, y’know?" Renji admitted as he quickly turned his face away. Rukia blinked.

"Oh. Thank you."

"For what? We're friends, remember?! Don't let something like this bother you. Anything else?"

"Oh…um…no… That's it," Rukia said, as she immediately stuffed her last dango into her mouth.

"Alright, well, we better get to the meeting if we don't want to get yelled at by Vice Captain Sasakibe,” Renji said as he finished off his takiyaki. He balled up his trash and chucked it in the nearest bin.

"Y-Yeah. Let's go," Rukia agreed as she did the same. As they headed towards the Vice Captain meeting hall, Rukia noticed she was walking even closer to Renji than she did before. She could feel his spiritual pressure flowing around her again, embracing her like a warm, comfortable blanket on a cold winter evening.

Perhaps, one day, she thought, I can tell him the rest…

>>>>>>>>>> Author’s Note

A/N: Happy “almost” Halloween, y’all!

Months, maybe even a year ago at this point, I was scrolling through RenRuki Tumblr and found a post where someone said something to the effect of, “Knowing Rukia, I don’t think she would confess first unless Renji’s literally about to die.” Well, I thought about that for a looooong time, and eventually wrote this piece! xD Obviously no one was actually in any danger here, and sadly no true confessions were made, but hey, at least they became closer! Listen, baby steps, these two need baby steps!!!

I really had a lot of fun writing the nightmare part! It was interesting trying to write this strange, dangerous environment they found themselves trapped in. I thought about changing the title to make it not as obvious that they were just in a dream, but I was never a big fan of when they did that in stories, so I left it.