#aghghghg rukia you precious being

[wild-pineapple-butt]

Rukia slipped out of their room quietly, early in the morning when it was still dark out. She had quite a few things to do before Renji woke up - which meant she had to be back before he woke for his usual morning training.

~~~

The sun has just risen as Rukia flash stepped back toward the house, her prized goods in tow. She had stopped by the Kuchiki home where Byakuya had provided her with his usual gifts for Renji as well.

This year, Rukia was struggling a lot with balancing her time, working hard to keep her squad running efficiently and searching for an adequate Lieutenant. It meant Renji had picked up a lot of the slack at their home, often going long periods without seeing each other much. She wanted to make it up to him but despite days of earnest though and polling, there was still no deciding gift in mind for Renji.

So in a very Kuchiki like way, Rukia decided to get him everything she could think of. She had taiyaki in hand, his usual of course. Several flavors of cakes, including a small pineapple cake, for them to consume. She had bugged Ichigo until he took her to a party favor store and purchased every type of party favor there. There was a new bottle of sake, a box of juice for her because why not, and a new assortment of coffee’s from around the world of the living for Renji to try.

But of course, there was more. Rukia had purchased a new cooking set complete with pots, pans, knives and utensils. There was a new wood whittling with his initials engraved in the handles. A new pair of the latest sunglasses in a similar style to Renji’s favorite pair. A soft silk kimono with zabimaru embroidered into the back in beautiful stitch work. — that was about all Rukia could manage to carry as she made it back into the house. She’d wanted to try for more, but Ichigo convinced her that Renji might feel overwhelmed if she bought anything more.

Sighing with relief, Rukia set all of these items down on the kitchen table, getting to work on arranging them outside of shopping bags so they would be more visually appealing. After it was perfect, she turned on the coffee maker the way Renji had taught her and padded back into their room to see if he was awake.

@rukia-kuchiki-divided

Renji had been expecting gift(s) for his birthday from Rukia - she hadn't made it exactly secret that she had been asking around and preparing for his birthday these past few weeks. Not one to dampen her effort though, he pretended not to notice. She had a tendency to always gift him such lavish and extravagant gifts, to his chagrin, but he knew it was out of love.

So when he woke up on the day of his birthday to find Rukia gone from bed, the sheets already cold and void of warmth, he knew that she had gone out early to prepare. The shuffling outside and the smell of coffee brewing told Renji that she was back and even though he was already awake, he'd stay inside, waiting for her to "wake him up."

"Good mornin," he chuckled as she walked in, tugging her over for a chaste morning kiss. "I can already smell the coffee brewin' - how early did ya get up to do this?" he shook his head, padding out to the living room. "Kami! What is this???" He hadn't expected her to come back with literally an entire store in tow, gift after gift after gift, lining up their dining room table in its entirety.

"Rukia!" he sighed, burying his face into his palms. "What is this? Did I somehow age 10 years in one go?? What's with all these presents??" He didn't know where to start, as stacked presents never seemed to end.

"Really... why did ya get all of this? I woulda been happy with one of these things," he peeked out, grabbing ahold of Rukia's arm. "Yer already so busy with yer duties and Kuchiki clan stuff... this probably wasn't easy to get..."

Despite his reluctant tone, his heart was soaring knowing that Rukia had gone to such lengths to secure so many things for him. And they were all things that he loved; not to mention expensive. He knew that with her salary as a captain now, she could afford many luxuries, but that kimono! Those sunglasses! That brand of expensive sake!! Surely that must have put a dent in her wallet...

"Oh Rukia... what 'm I gonna do about ya..?" he sighed, finally pulling her into a tight hug, whispering into her ear. "Kami... I don't even know where to begin to express my thanks.... but I am thankful. Both fer these presents and fer yer presence in my life. Really. Thank you..."