Bleach, "Behaving Badly"
There are more important things than one's own stupid pride, stupid opinions, and stupid fear. Renji decides to make a go for them.
Written for springkink, to the prompt Renji/Rukia: confessions - she really was stupid, sometimes. Some implied (one-way?) Kira/Hinamori. Nothing objectionable unless you find two people being stupid about relationships objectionable, in which case why are you reading Bleach?
.behaving badly.
Renji knew that something had to be done around the time that Hinamori stood over him with her hands on her hips and demanded "So what brought this on?" and he looked over at Kira -- seeing the same bruises and scrapes that he was sure were on his face -- and in that one glance knew that they were both in agreement to not tell her why they'd been fighting. Instead they simultaneously made up some story, filling in the blanks for each other, a wild tale of division pride and masculine honor that had the girl completely baffled and disgusted with their gender by the end of it.
It would have been a complete betrayal to admit what had actually happened: that Kira had said, "Kuchiki-san, she sure can be dense sometimes, can't she?"
And he had said, "What? Shut your mouth, Kira!"
And Kira had said, "It's just that it's completely obvious to everyone around you that you're completely in love with her. How is she the only one who doesn't know?"
And he had said, "You're one to talk! I guess we're both interested in stupid women, huh?!"
And then Kira had demanded, "What's that supposed to mean?! Are you implying something about Hinamori-kun, Abarai-kun?!"
And then he had said, "I don't know! Unless she had the brains or you had the balls to talk about your relationship, I guess I just don't see where you have the right to criticize Rukia!"
...and then Kira had lunged for him, and so obviously they couldn't tell Hinamori.
But the fact that they couldn't tell her -- the fact that they'd had to have a fist-fight over whose girl was stupider, an issue that'd be irrelevant if either of them were man enough to confess -- meant that something had to be done. And Renji knew that meant he had to step up.
He spent the better part of a week psyching himself up in preparation. He'd almost convinced himself to wait until the crisis was over. Or to do it more subtly and let her figure it out. He'd almost decided he had to do it right, because Rukia deserved for everything to be perfect. But the last time he'd told himself to stand aside and let her have something good, they hadn't spoken for decades and she'd come away thinking she wasn't worth fighting for.
And he was never going to let her think that again.
Rukia was practicing in one of the training halls, but she turned immediately to face him with unsurprised eyes when he stepped in to join her. "Renji, is it?" she said, lowering Sode no Shirayuki's shimmering blade.
Renji rubbed the back of his neck uneasily, trying to chase away the prickling of nervousness with a physical touch that didn't even remotely help. "Yeah," he said, much quieter than he should have. "There was something I wanted to talk to you about."
"Okay. What is it?" She turned to face him, with somewhat more interest.
That didn't help, oddly. Renji frowned at the mat between them. "--it's something I should've told you -- maybe a long time ago."
Her eyebrows lifted, already judging him, but she still just waited.
"But there was always some excuse why I couldn't. Even though I wanted to, I was waiting for some... some impossible day when everything was going just right, and I knew you would think well of me, and I knew that I'd have Byakuya's blessings, and-- But I know I was really running away. Because I was scared. Because I thought -- if you knew that I loved you --"
And it was out, the word was out, and she knew now, and Renji steeled himself to keep talking until he ran out of words but he was cut short when she immediately said, "I already know," with complete dispassion.
That took the blustering wind right out of his sails. He had been prepared for a lot of responses: shock, discomfort, sadness, disappointment, even... maybe even something like joy. But this sort of -- he just had to stare at her and finally go, "You-- What?"
"How stupid do you think I am?" she demanded, almost indignant, and folded her arms.
Slowly, Renji felt himself starting to scowl.
Her gaze slid away from him then. "Not the whole time," she said. "But -- when you were helping me escape from Soukyoku Hill--"
"When I was carrying you to safety."
"Shut up." She scowled back at him. "You don't think you were fooling anybody then, do you? Even Ichigo knew!"
"Shut up!" he snapped back, and then they were at an impasse, scowling at each other with equal stubbornness. Finally he managed to ask, "Why didn't you say anything if you knew?"
It felt like he'd caught her in a lie; she stiffened, and tensed, and even flushed. "I just..." She glared harder in compensation, as if her decisions were also his fault. "I just wanted to wait for the right time!"
He wanted to strangle her so much that he laughed, raw and loud and fierce, and when he took those last few steps towards her and brought his hands up, for some reason instead of wrapping them around her throat he cupped her jaw gently. Renji ducked his head to kiss her and her arms went quickly around his neck, and both of them forgot all about being stubborn, and being scared, and being stupid.
Written for springkink, to the prompt Renji/Rukia: confessions - she really was stupid, sometimes. Some implied (one-way?) Kira/Hinamori. Nothing objectionable unless you find two people being stupid about relationships objectionable, in which case why are you reading Bleach?
.behaving badly.
Renji knew that something had to be done around the time that Hinamori stood over him with her hands on her hips and demanded "So what brought this on?" and he looked over at Kira -- seeing the same bruises and scrapes that he was sure were on his face -- and in that one glance knew that they were both in agreement to not tell her why they'd been fighting. Instead they simultaneously made up some story, filling in the blanks for each other, a wild tale of division pride and masculine honor that had the girl completely baffled and disgusted with their gender by the end of it.
It would have been a complete betrayal to admit what had actually happened: that Kira had said, "Kuchiki-san, she sure can be dense sometimes, can't she?"
And he had said, "What? Shut your mouth, Kira!"
And Kira had said, "It's just that it's completely obvious to everyone around you that you're completely in love with her. How is she the only one who doesn't know?"
And he had said, "You're one to talk! I guess we're both interested in stupid women, huh?!"
And then Kira had demanded, "What's that supposed to mean?! Are you implying something about Hinamori-kun, Abarai-kun?!"
And then he had said, "I don't know! Unless she had the brains or you had the balls to talk about your relationship, I guess I just don't see where you have the right to criticize Rukia!"
...and then Kira had lunged for him, and so obviously they couldn't tell Hinamori.
But the fact that they couldn't tell her -- the fact that they'd had to have a fist-fight over whose girl was stupider, an issue that'd be irrelevant if either of them were man enough to confess -- meant that something had to be done. And Renji knew that meant he had to step up.
He spent the better part of a week psyching himself up in preparation. He'd almost convinced himself to wait until the crisis was over. Or to do it more subtly and let her figure it out. He'd almost decided he had to do it right, because Rukia deserved for everything to be perfect. But the last time he'd told himself to stand aside and let her have something good, they hadn't spoken for decades and she'd come away thinking she wasn't worth fighting for.
And he was never going to let her think that again.
Rukia was practicing in one of the training halls, but she turned immediately to face him with unsurprised eyes when he stepped in to join her. "Renji, is it?" she said, lowering Sode no Shirayuki's shimmering blade.
Renji rubbed the back of his neck uneasily, trying to chase away the prickling of nervousness with a physical touch that didn't even remotely help. "Yeah," he said, much quieter than he should have. "There was something I wanted to talk to you about."
"Okay. What is it?" She turned to face him, with somewhat more interest.
That didn't help, oddly. Renji frowned at the mat between them. "--it's something I should've told you -- maybe a long time ago."
Her eyebrows lifted, already judging him, but she still just waited.
"But there was always some excuse why I couldn't. Even though I wanted to, I was waiting for some... some impossible day when everything was going just right, and I knew you would think well of me, and I knew that I'd have Byakuya's blessings, and-- But I know I was really running away. Because I was scared. Because I thought -- if you knew that I loved you --"
And it was out, the word was out, and she knew now, and Renji steeled himself to keep talking until he ran out of words but he was cut short when she immediately said, "I already know," with complete dispassion.
That took the blustering wind right out of his sails. He had been prepared for a lot of responses: shock, discomfort, sadness, disappointment, even... maybe even something like joy. But this sort of -- he just had to stare at her and finally go, "You-- What?"
"How stupid do you think I am?" she demanded, almost indignant, and folded her arms.
Slowly, Renji felt himself starting to scowl.
Her gaze slid away from him then. "Not the whole time," she said. "But -- when you were helping me escape from Soukyoku Hill--"
"When I was carrying you to safety."
"Shut up." She scowled back at him. "You don't think you were fooling anybody then, do you? Even Ichigo knew!"
"Shut up!" he snapped back, and then they were at an impasse, scowling at each other with equal stubbornness. Finally he managed to ask, "Why didn't you say anything if you knew?"
It felt like he'd caught her in a lie; she stiffened, and tensed, and even flushed. "I just..." She glared harder in compensation, as if her decisions were also his fault. "I just wanted to wait for the right time!"
He wanted to strangle her so much that he laughed, raw and loud and fierce, and when he took those last few steps towards her and brought his hands up, for some reason instead of wrapping them around her throat he cupped her jaw gently. Renji ducked his head to kiss her and her arms went quickly around his neck, and both of them forgot all about being stubborn, and being scared, and being stupid.