Sleeping Sickness... (Rukia/Byakuya~ 7)
Title: Sleeping Sickness
Author: Evergrnterrace
Characters/Pairing: Kuchiki Rukia/Kuchiki Byakuya
Rating/Warnings: G? VERY A/U, Byakuya's POV, slight HM spoilers.
Theme: 7~learning for bleach_15
Word Count: 362
Byakuya lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking back on the last few years of his life. He turned his head to stare at Rukia's peaceful face. He watched as her eyes darted behind the lids, an obvious sign that she was getting a restful sleep.
With a small sigh he returned his gaze to the ceiling and recalled the beginning of this sleeping arrangement. They both had various forms of 'the sleeping sickness', as Unohana affectionately called it. He couldn't sleep most nights. Not since the war broke out in Hueco Mundo, anyway. And Rukia had horrible nightmares if she slept alone. She had started out by sleeping on the couch in his quarters and had slowly but surely moved her way into his bed.
He had been sleeping a bit better since she'd started sleeping next to him, though he'd deny it to anyone with the audacity to ask such ludicrous questions. And he forceful kept himself from considering how he’d be able to handle it when she started sleeping in her own quarters again. He’d grown extremely accustomed to her breathing patterns, her warmth and the small sounds she made in her dreams. He’d grown almost happy with having her at his side nearly every waking moment that they shared. He’d gone nearly as far as requesting that she stay by his side, permanently, in his mind before he forced that train of thought to a halt.
The anxiety he felt when he thought about losing her was nothing compared to this. He knew she held no particular loving feeling towards anyone. But that didn’t mean she’d be willing to sacrifice the rest of her life for him anymore than she already had. And it didn’t mean that she would be willing to marry a man who kept so much from her. Hope was not something he could afford to hang on to.
Regardless of whether or not he accepted the feelings he had, it was ultimately in her hands. So when she gave a heavy sigh of contentment as she burrowed deeper into him, instead of asking her questions he couldn’t hear the answers to, he simply wrapped his arm a bit tighter around her and decided to make one final attempt at sleep.
Author: Evergrnterrace
Characters/Pairing: Kuchiki Rukia/Kuchiki Byakuya
Rating/Warnings: G? VERY A/U, Byakuya's POV, slight HM spoilers.
Theme: 7~learning for bleach_15
Word Count: 362
Byakuya lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking back on the last few years of his life. He turned his head to stare at Rukia's peaceful face. He watched as her eyes darted behind the lids, an obvious sign that she was getting a restful sleep.
With a small sigh he returned his gaze to the ceiling and recalled the beginning of this sleeping arrangement. They both had various forms of 'the sleeping sickness', as Unohana affectionately called it. He couldn't sleep most nights. Not since the war broke out in Hueco Mundo, anyway. And Rukia had horrible nightmares if she slept alone. She had started out by sleeping on the couch in his quarters and had slowly but surely moved her way into his bed.
He had been sleeping a bit better since she'd started sleeping next to him, though he'd deny it to anyone with the audacity to ask such ludicrous questions. And he forceful kept himself from considering how he’d be able to handle it when she started sleeping in her own quarters again. He’d grown extremely accustomed to her breathing patterns, her warmth and the small sounds she made in her dreams. He’d grown almost happy with having her at his side nearly every waking moment that they shared. He’d gone nearly as far as requesting that she stay by his side, permanently, in his mind before he forced that train of thought to a halt.
The anxiety he felt when he thought about losing her was nothing compared to this. He knew she held no particular loving feeling towards anyone. But that didn’t mean she’d be willing to sacrifice the rest of her life for him anymore than she already had. And it didn’t mean that she would be willing to marry a man who kept so much from her. Hope was not something he could afford to hang on to.
Regardless of whether or not he accepted the feelings he had, it was ultimately in her hands. So when she gave a heavy sigh of contentment as she burrowed deeper into him, instead of asking her questions he couldn’t hear the answers to, he simply wrapped his arm a bit tighter around her and decided to make one final attempt at sleep.