Disclaimer: All Bleach characters, settings, etc. are the property of Tite Kubo and his respective representatives. No copyright infringement is intended and I make no money or profit from this fanfiction.

Renji reclined thoughtfully on his bed asking himself the same question he’d been asking for years. It was so irritating, he could never quite reach a satisfactory answer and although he was brave in battle, being brave in love was another issue all together. If only he could be sure of how she felt…

No, he didn’t even need that much. All he wanted to know was if sharing his feelings with her would be a mistake or not. He could handle unrequited love, but he wasn’t going to lose her again, even if it meant never saying one word about it and being permanently stuck in the purgatory of unending friendship.

It seemed as if many of his evenings passed like this, he’d weigh his options, and eventually decide that once again he couldn’t stand in the way. Ichigo had long ago replaced him as the person she was closest to. He had let his desire to overtake her brother and his newly acquired promotion edge them apart. Their relationship, however, was finally mending well, especially now that they were members of the same squad, so he couldn’t help thinking that maybe, eventually, he’d have a chance to get back into the easy companionship they’d once shared, maybe carry it even further.

The Soul Society had finally decided that since they had needed to dispatch so many special teams to Karakura Town over the last two years, they might as well simply make a special squad of it. And it was Renji who was chosen to be captain. The squad was, of course, made up of Ichigo and the rest of the nakama even though they weren’t soul reapers, but it was him who was captain. There was only one thing that lifted his spirits even higher and that was the fact that his vice caption was, of all persons, exactly the one his thoughts kept circling around, Rukia. Much to her brother’s dismay, she had been named his vice-captain. It was only logical after all, her knowledge of the world of the living as well as her consistently superior skills were now undeniable. The Soul Society had even purchased a small apartment for Renji and Rukia to live in. He was finally able to see her as much as he wanted to. He was by her side from the first light of the sun to the last glimmer of the stars.

Except when she wasn’t there, which, now that he thought of it, occurred more often than he liked. Rukia’s position demanded that she run around more than he needed to, so she often came home late. This was one of such times and he was coming very close to going out to search for her, under the guise of needing some fresh air of course, or being bored, or needing food, or whatever excuse he hadn’t used recently.

Frowning, Renji listened to the screaming silence. The apartment sure seemed empty when she wasn’t there. He always thought that if he were assigned to the world of the living, he’d never run out of things to do and yet here he was brooding, in bed, alone. This was just getting pathetic.

Renji sighed as he rolled over and opened the drawer of his night stand. Underneath documents, magazines, and expensive sunglasses was a picture of his squad. Orihime had insisted on having the picture taken when she heard the news and had distributed copies of the picture to everyone. There Rukia was standing between himself and that orange haired bastard. She looked so small in between the two towering men beside her, trying to draw herself up taller, trying to look so official and noble. He stared at the picture as he thought back to his childhood. Rukia’s presence had been a blessing; he often doubted he would have survived if it hadn’t been for her. He might very well have frozen to death during the cold nights when they were unable to find shelter if it hadn’t been for her cuddled against him.

He ran a finger over her face in the picture before putting it away as he heard her coming home. This particular night hadn’t kept her out due to official business, however, but rather an invitation from Orihime. Now she had finally returned to rescue him from his voluntary isolation.

He yawned and feigned that she had woken him up as he greeted her. “Can’t you be any quieter when you come home? For such a shrimp, you sure do stomp around.”

Rukia glared at him, “How many times do I have to tell you to close your damn bedroom door?”

Renji smirked. In many ways this was his favorite time of the day. “Are you telling me what to do Vice-captain Kuchiki?”

Rukia rolled her eyes as she walked past him and into the kitchen. He followed her, leaning in the doorway as she started some rice and began chopping vegetables for her dinner. He cleared his throat forcing her to look up.

“What now?” She sighed.

“Report.” He ordered.

“Report what? I wasn’t out on official business.”

“Are you questioning an order?” He shook his head.

“Well Captain, I am under no obligation to report matters that do not directly affect the mission. On the other hand, if I were talking to Renji, I might be more willing to talk.” She smirked.

Renji’s arrogant smile faded quickly as she retaliated. It could be so difficult to get her to open up about anything. He sighed dramatically before plopping himself down at the table. “Damn you’re annoying.” He said under his breath. “Fine” He sighed. “What did Orihime want?”

“Oh that? Nothing much.” She paused to further draw out his ire. “She and Ichigo are dating and she wanted to make sure that was okay.” She smiled smugly at him from where she stood.

“They’re dating? And why would you think that this information wasn’t relevant to the Captain of the squad?” He yelled.

He watched her as she tried not to laugh, her face contorting into a dramatically nonchalant expression. Ever since she had been placed under his command, she had done everything to make his job a little harder. So what if he grilled her every time she came home? He knew as well as she did that this new squad could be terminated at the whim of the Soul Society. Nothing had been made permanent yet. More importantly, however, it was really the only way he could think of to inconspicuously ask her how her day had been. He knew she’d never voluntarily open up about anything if she didn’t have to, acting as her superior seemed to be the only way he could avoid her suspicions and not seem too creepy about wanting to know every detail of her day. He needed to know what she ate for breakfast, did anyone of the street give her trouble, did she encounter any hollows, how school had been, had Ichigo touched her, had she kicked him if he had?

She shrugged, “I guess I just didn’t think it was that important, after all you’re so busy watching how I do my job, that I doubt you have time for your own. Besides dating within a squad is commonplace.” She replied casually.

Renji drummed his fingers on the table as he thought things over. “So it doesn’t bother you at all.” He muttered, trying to keep any hint of hope out of his voice.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Damn it, she wasn’t supposed to hear that, time to make a quick cover. “Well, to tell you the truth, it always seemed to me that Ichigo and you would end up together, but you never quite sealed the deal.” He had accidentally blurted out the truth instead of coming up with a swift comeback. Damn it, she seemed to be the only one who could always knock him off his guard, even when he was sure he had the upper hand.

“That’s funny, Orihime said the same thing.” She said as kept chopping.

“So you’re okay with this…?” He asked leadingly.

“It actually is possible for a man and woman to be friends and not fall in love with each other you know.” She answered with annoyance.

“It takes a hell of a good friend to go all the way to the Soul Society, get the shit beat out of him countless times, and learn bankai just to save your stubborn ass. I know I wouldn’t have bothered.”

“Is that so? If memory serves me correctly, I seem to remember someone else with weird eyebrows busting out of prison, learning bankai, and almost getting killed while helping him.” She grinned up at him.

“Well I was already there, I knew Ichigo couldn’t do anything by himself.” Renji stood up calmly and walked over to her. Standing behind her, he placed his hands on either side of her small frame to trap her between his body and the counter, effectively leaving her defenseless. “Besides, my eyebrows are sexy and you know it.” He leaned down to whisper in her ear “No one can resist the eyebrows, remember that.” With that he started to strut away.

Rukia stood in stunned silence for the briefest of moments before she collected herself enough to lamely retort “I can! And by the way, you spat in my ear.” She wiped her ear dramatically to emphasize her point, but Renji didn’t look back at her. Instead, he took the high road and merely flipped her off as he walked out of the kitchen.

Fiction: 06/21/09 | Posted By: emmet849 | 5 comments | Bleach