Talking Through Doors
Title: Talking Through Doors
Author: Ragna (afteriwake)
Pairing: Renji/Rukia
Rating: PG
Spoilers (if applicable): Set about six months after the current arc.
Warnings (if applicable): None
Summary: She was really sorry she said something that stupid, and she hoped he would forgive her.
Authors Notes: For valentineninja, who gave me the prompt “Misunderstandings” and the caveat that it not be unrequited love. This is set concurrently within “Fire Forged Friendship (Substituting Fire For Rukia),” but you do not need to read that fic to understand this one.
---
“But I didn't mean it like that,” she said quietly to the closed door. With a sigh, she turned her back to it, leaned against it and slumped to the floor. If he didn't speak to her again, well, she probably deserved it.
She had engineered for her nii-sama and Ichigo to go to the human world and stay there until they got along, and that left Renji in charge of the 6th Division. She had told her brother she would help, but she hadn't expected to piss her boyfriend off not even twenty-four hours after being left in charge. So he was sulking in the office and she was with her back against the door, trying to figure out how to explain what she had meant.
He had asked about marriage. Not between them, and he had assured her of that, but marriage in general. Did she see any happy marriages around her? She had thought, and remembered Kaien and Miyako, and said yes, she had seen one, but it ended in misery. He wanted her to talk about it, she told him, and it slipped out that she'd had a crush on him and that he looked kind of like Ichigo and then...well, then it got ugly.
He said some things, and she said more things, and then she said something particularly nasty to get back at something he had said and then he stood and turned his back on her, asking her to leave the office before he said anything else he'd regret. So she did, but she just wanted to apologize and tell him...everything. How she really felt about him, and that if he'd just get up the nerve to ask that yes, she would marry him, and that she had never ever ever cared about Ichigo in a more than friendly way and why couldn't he see that he was the only man she loved, because what she'd felt for Kaien wasn't love, but what she felt for him was.
“Renji, I'm sorry,” she said, raising her voice slightly. She listened carefully and heard nothing on the other side of the door. “I'm an idiot. I should have kept my mouth shut.” Still, there was no response. She sighed and looked around. The 6th Division headquarters was empty, thankfully. She didn't need to see anyone right now other than Renji, and she certainly didn't want anyone to see her there.
“I love you, and I've never really loved anyone else the same way,” she replied to the silence on the other side of the door. “Not Ichigo, not Kaien...nobody except you.” She heard a faint sound in the room, and took that as a sign that he was doing something in there, and maybe he'd pay attention to her. “I said something hurtful, and I'm sorry. Please forgive me?” She felt something move the door slightly, and then settle. She waited for it to open, but it didn't. “If you were to ask me to marry you I'd say yes,” she said. “We could have a good marriage.”
“Your brother would kill me,” she heard from the other side of the door. She relaxed, and waited. “That's the main reason I haven't asked.”
“But you want to,” she replied, smiling slightly.
“Well...yeah. But not if you're going to insult me every time we fight. And not if we're going to fight on a regular basis.”
“I can't promise that we'll stop fighting, but I'll do my best to keep myself in check if we argue.”
“There's a difference between an argument and a fight,” he pointed out.
“I know. We just need to stop our arguments before they become fights. We can do that, can't we?” she asked.
“Yeah, we can,” he said. “But you're so passionate and you get carried away.”
“You are, too. And you can get carried away as well.” She backed away from the door. “Could we please talk face to face?” she asked as she turned to face the door.
There was movement on the other side of the door and she saw it open a crack. “Only if you take back what you said,” he said, even though she could only see half his face.
She nodded, then leaned in towards the crack. “You are not lousy when we...you know,” she said quietly.
“I could be very mean and make you say it louder.”
“If you ever want to be in the position to do that with me again you'll accept it,” she said with a hint of irritation.
He chuckled. “I said I could.” There was more movement and the door opened. He stepped out and offered her his hand, and she took it. He pulled her up off the floor and pulled her close. “I'm sorry, too.”
“Apology accepted,” she said with a grin, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I really feel I should make it up to you.”
“Yeah?” he asked with a grin. “How?”
“If you can be very quiet, I had always wondered what it would be like to...” She pulled him closer and whispered in his ear. “What do you think?”
He pulled her into the room and quickly shut the door behind him, taking a moment to lock it. “I think that's the best idea you've ever had.”
“Good,” she said with a grin before kissing him deeply and pulling away. “Let's see just how good you really are.”
Author: Ragna (afteriwake)
Pairing: Renji/Rukia
Rating: PG
Spoilers (if applicable): Set about six months after the current arc.
Warnings (if applicable): None
Summary: She was really sorry she said something that stupid, and she hoped he would forgive her.
Authors Notes: For valentineninja, who gave me the prompt “Misunderstandings” and the caveat that it not be unrequited love. This is set concurrently within “Fire Forged Friendship (Substituting Fire For Rukia),” but you do not need to read that fic to understand this one.
---
“But I didn't mean it like that,” she said quietly to the closed door. With a sigh, she turned her back to it, leaned against it and slumped to the floor. If he didn't speak to her again, well, she probably deserved it.
She had engineered for her nii-sama and Ichigo to go to the human world and stay there until they got along, and that left Renji in charge of the 6th Division. She had told her brother she would help, but she hadn't expected to piss her boyfriend off not even twenty-four hours after being left in charge. So he was sulking in the office and she was with her back against the door, trying to figure out how to explain what she had meant.
He had asked about marriage. Not between them, and he had assured her of that, but marriage in general. Did she see any happy marriages around her? She had thought, and remembered Kaien and Miyako, and said yes, she had seen one, but it ended in misery. He wanted her to talk about it, she told him, and it slipped out that she'd had a crush on him and that he looked kind of like Ichigo and then...well, then it got ugly.
He said some things, and she said more things, and then she said something particularly nasty to get back at something he had said and then he stood and turned his back on her, asking her to leave the office before he said anything else he'd regret. So she did, but she just wanted to apologize and tell him...everything. How she really felt about him, and that if he'd just get up the nerve to ask that yes, she would marry him, and that she had never ever ever cared about Ichigo in a more than friendly way and why couldn't he see that he was the only man she loved, because what she'd felt for Kaien wasn't love, but what she felt for him was.
“Renji, I'm sorry,” she said, raising her voice slightly. She listened carefully and heard nothing on the other side of the door. “I'm an idiot. I should have kept my mouth shut.” Still, there was no response. She sighed and looked around. The 6th Division headquarters was empty, thankfully. She didn't need to see anyone right now other than Renji, and she certainly didn't want anyone to see her there.
“I love you, and I've never really loved anyone else the same way,” she replied to the silence on the other side of the door. “Not Ichigo, not Kaien...nobody except you.” She heard a faint sound in the room, and took that as a sign that he was doing something in there, and maybe he'd pay attention to her. “I said something hurtful, and I'm sorry. Please forgive me?” She felt something move the door slightly, and then settle. She waited for it to open, but it didn't. “If you were to ask me to marry you I'd say yes,” she said. “We could have a good marriage.”
“Your brother would kill me,” she heard from the other side of the door. She relaxed, and waited. “That's the main reason I haven't asked.”
“But you want to,” she replied, smiling slightly.
“Well...yeah. But not if you're going to insult me every time we fight. And not if we're going to fight on a regular basis.”
“I can't promise that we'll stop fighting, but I'll do my best to keep myself in check if we argue.”
“There's a difference between an argument and a fight,” he pointed out.
“I know. We just need to stop our arguments before they become fights. We can do that, can't we?” she asked.
“Yeah, we can,” he said. “But you're so passionate and you get carried away.”
“You are, too. And you can get carried away as well.” She backed away from the door. “Could we please talk face to face?” she asked as she turned to face the door.
There was movement on the other side of the door and she saw it open a crack. “Only if you take back what you said,” he said, even though she could only see half his face.
She nodded, then leaned in towards the crack. “You are not lousy when we...you know,” she said quietly.
“I could be very mean and make you say it louder.”
“If you ever want to be in the position to do that with me again you'll accept it,” she said with a hint of irritation.
He chuckled. “I said I could.” There was more movement and the door opened. He stepped out and offered her his hand, and she took it. He pulled her up off the floor and pulled her close. “I'm sorry, too.”
“Apology accepted,” she said with a grin, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I really feel I should make it up to you.”
“Yeah?” he asked with a grin. “How?”
“If you can be very quiet, I had always wondered what it would be like to...” She pulled him closer and whispered in his ear. “What do you think?”
He pulled her into the room and quickly shut the door behind him, taking a moment to lock it. “I think that's the best idea you've ever had.”
“Good,” she said with a grin before kissing him deeply and pulling away. “Let's see just how good you really are.”