Day 25: Sun Room (Second Shift)

[rope_victim]

Miku was very glad that the breakfast shift (and the uncomfortable conversation) was over. She hadn't felt like gardening - the photographer was likely more apt to killing plants - and her arm throbbed beneath its bandages

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[haiiro_no_chou]

Before Rukia left the cafeteria, she found one of the nurses, asking politely, and with the most pathetic expression she could muster, if she could be excused from the greenhouse activities. The nurse looked her over, apparently noting the sling and the way Rukia was holding her side as though in pain

[haiiro_no_chou]

Rukia felt like her heart was inching up into her throat. While she and Renji had talked about their feelings a little bit yesterday, this was different. He was right there, and, unlike the previous night when they had each been on their way to meet people, there were very few distractions available right now. Just some other patients - Rukia wasn't even sure who was there, since she'd been doing her best to ignore everyone else - and the nurses. Rukia wondered if they would get upset...

Well, damn it, she might as well just find out. Keeping her injured arm tucked against her stomach, she draped her good arm over Renji's shoulder, hand on his chest. Closing her eyes, she rested her cheek against his hair. It was all she could do right now, to show how she felt.

[stray_shinigami]

Renji froze. He knew what he wanted to do, but he had a feeling that it was pretty much what he shouldn't do. Hugs were probably okay. The nurses had let Rukia hug him the other day. So this one was probably okay too. Just not, in his opinion, as much as he would like.

And her hand on his chest made him feel, oddly, like he couldn't quite breathe.

He didn't move, did his best to keep his expression neutral as he looked down, though his face was starting to feel rather hot. He rested her hand on top of hers, thumb slowly stroking the back of her hand.

[haiiro_no_chou]

Rukia did her best to block out the low hum of the conversations going on around them. No one else was there. It was just her and Renji, the way it was supposed to be. At least she could pretend.

She realized that she was trembling a little. Taking a deep breath, she tried to relax. Right now things were okay; neither of them was in immediate danger, they were together, no one else was here. She focused on the quiet sound of Renji's breathing, the warmth radiating off of him, the smell of him. Slowly, she began to relax.

[stray_shinigami]

It would've been impossible to not feel her trembling. He continued to stroke the back of her hand, the small movement slow, and - he hoped - soothing. "You okay?" he asked, as quietly as he could.

This was new territory; he didn't know how she reacted to stuff like this, or how she felt about any of it. It was a little... worrying.

[haiiro_no_chou]

Rukia nodded. "Yeah." It was just a whisper. She kept her eyes closed, hoping it would help her forget about everything else, just for a little while. It was hard for her not to think about what was going on, what they needed to do, but she was determined to enjoy these few moments with Renji.

Echoing the motions of his hand, she gently stroked her fingers over his chest, the movement almost imperceptible.

[stray_shinigami]

He smiled slightly. "It's okay," he said. "We've got all the time in the world." Maybe not here, with so much to do, but what was even a couple years to a Shinigami? They'd get out eventually, and then they could have time to themselves.

It was very, very frustrating; he couldn't do anything but sit, and be quiet, and hope that no one noticed. He sighed, just a small one. "I really wish..."

He wished a lot of things. He wasn't going to get any of them.

[haiiro_no_chou]

"Yeah," she said again, but secretly she had her doubts. Even if... no, when they got out of Landels, they would be up against Aizen and his Arrancar. Or - and Rukia didn't even want to think about this - if Eric's theory was correct, would they simply return to their own places and times with no recollection of what had happened here? It didn't seem possible, but the idea frightened her.

Rukia shifted slightly, gently nuzzling her cheek against Renji's head. It was the best they could manage, here and now, she supposed.

After a while, Rukia noticed - and the realization brought a deeper blush to her cheeks - that Vice Captain Hinamori was actually in the sun room. The other Shinigami's soft voice had drifted in through the little mental barrier Rukia had managed to put up between herself and the sounds around them. Sitting up a bit abruptly, Rukia winced at the pain in her shoulder. Renji's half-finished braid had come partially undone, so she would have to fix it. Clearing her throat, she began tidying up a few loose strands and

[stray_shinigami]

Renji let his hand drop back down to his lap when she sat up. Since he was still looking down, the faint look of disappointment that crossed his face was hidden; it was quickly gone anyway. All he could think was that she'd finally heard Momo talking.

"Don't worry," he said, quietly. "Momo's not going to get on our case." Momo was one of the few people that actually knew how he felt about Rukia, and she'd kept it quiet for forty years. If anything, he figured she'd be happy for them. But... he wasn't sure quite how much of his relationship with Momo he should explain, since some of it was kind of... weird. He'd just wait to see if Rukia even asked. While he wasn't to be honest with her about everything now, that didn't necessarily mean telling her everything all at once, particularly not the stuff he was kind of ashamed of.

"An idea. Should I be worried?" He asked, a bit louder, his tone teasing. Rukia had certainly taken a shine to that kid, which was okay. When Allen wasn't freaking out over every little thing, he was pretty nice

[haiiro_no_chou]

"Oh, I wasn't..." Rukia started, about to deny that her actions had anything to do with the Vice Captain's presence. Which was entirely incorrect. Then the meaning of Renji's words sunk in, and Ruki asked, "She won't?" Hinamori had been in Renji's class, so Rukia of course knew the other girl, but they hadn't been close. She didn't know what the Vice Captain would think of their relationship.

"Yeah," she said, lowering her voice. "I asked Allen if he was any good at pick-pocketing, since he's good at sleight of hand and things like that. I thought that maybe he could try to pick-pocket one of the nurses. You know, see if she has a key or anything on her." Rukia finished the braid, holding out her good hand for the tie. Renji would know what the gesture meant without her having to say anything. "So I thought that we could provide a distraction of some sort." She grinned, leaning closer to him again.

[stray_shinigami]

"No, she won't," Renji said. "She's... known. For a long time. I spent a lot of time with her and Kira before I got transferred to the Eleventh." And without Rukia there... he'd needed the friends. He'd clung to them, pretty much, not that he'd readily admit it out loud. "She understands."

He put the hairtie in her hand. It was a little disappointing, that she'd finished. He liked it when she messed with his hair. "Ah," he said. "I'll see if I can think of something." He frowned. "Something other than picking a fight. I don't want to get sedated again. And fights happen all the time. Not that distracting, really." He snorted. "It'll have to be at the end of lunch. The first part of it I'll be meeting with the other Shinigami. The ones that aren't from our world." He had an inkling of an idea, now, and he wasn't going to voice it; Rukia would kick his ass if she knew. And it'd definitely make it hard for him to meet with the other Shinigami after.

[haiiro_no_chou]

Rukia glanced up at the other Shinigami across the room, still blushing. "Oh," she said, tying Renji's braid back. She didn't take her hands away, though, gently running her good hand over his hair. "I... didn't know that she knew." Rukia had never told anyone about how heartbroken she had been when she'd been adopted; there had been no one there to listen, in any case.

She nodded. "Yeah, and I'm supposed to be the good girl, anyway," she said, smiling a little. "Maybe I could pretend to pass out or something, make a fuss..." She blinked at his mention of the other Shinigami. "Oh, are they, are there many of them? What are you meeting about?"

[stray_shinigami]

"Yeah," Renji said. "I..." He shrugged. "I never meant to tell anyone. Didn't seem right." And he'd wanted to pretend that it hadn't hurt, that he hadn't missed her. Because at the time, he'd thought that maybe if he pretended hard enough, it'd become true. "She mostly figured it out on her own." And at the time, he'd been so grateful to simply have someone to talk to at all that he hadn't protested, too much. He'd needed friends. "I'm just not very good at pretending," he said, just a murmur. "But... I got better at it." He still wasn't much of a liar, but at least now he could pretend that nothing was bothering him, and most people couldn't tell.

He shook his head. "You really don't want to attract the attention. Lemme figure something out." He laughed. "You're better off keepin' an eye on Allen and improvising from here. If you're pretending to have fainted, you won't be able to do that. I'm a better main diversion since I'm bigger and louder and not good at the other stuff, anyway."

[haiiro_no_chou]

Rukia smiled, a little sadly. She could understand why Renji had wanted to keep something like that private; he had never been one to broadcast his feelings for all the world to see. At least, he tried not to. "Heh, got better, huh?" she asked, tugging gently on his braid. "Yeah, I guess you have, a little." Though she could still tell the difference between his "I'm big and tough don't mess with me" scowl and his "something is bothering me leave me the fuck alone" scowl.

Rukia finally leaned back against the couch. She still wasn't used to Vice Captain Abarai; growing up, she had always been the one to make the plans, but now Renji had taken that role upon himself. She supposed he had gotten used to having so much responsibility over the years. "Yes, sir," she said, trying to joke around. Renji was good at what he did, and she wasn't about to let her petty insecurities get in his way.

She patted the seat next to her. "You gonna come sit with me?"

[stray_shinigami]

He felt decidedly creaky as he levered himself up; all he had to take was one step to the side and then he sat back down next to her now. He moved one hand toward her, for a moment, just wanting to pull her close, put his arm around her waist. But that... that was probably more than what they should do now. He made his hands stay still in his lap. It felt awkward.

But he did smile at her. "Don't call me sir," he said, making a face. "That sounds dumb. Like you should be talking to Hitsugaya or something." He shrugged. While technically Rukia ought to call him 'sir' it just felt too weird, utterly unnatural.

[haiiro_no_chou]

Rukia had hoped that Renji would return some of her earlier affection when he sat next to her, but she was apparently wrong. Maybe he wasn't as comfortable touching her in front of Vice Captain Hinamori as he had said. Swallowing, she made herself smile up at him. She hoped it was convincing, since Renji was one of the few people who could see through her act.

"Yeah, I was just kidding," she said, looking back down at her hands. Her shoulder hurt from braiding Renji's hair, but she didn't let on. If she just left it in her lap it wasn't too bad, anyway. She didn't know what to say. There were so many things she wanted to say that it just seemed overwhelming, and maybe better not to say anything at all for the moment. Instead, she glanced at the bulletin board. "I saw a message up there for you. You think it's important?" She hoped that the person who was looking for Renji wouldn't show up right away; it would be nice to spend the whole shift like this.