Jinta watched as Renji ran back and forth, sweeping the shop in a wild frenzy. The sight amused him, and occasionally he would order Renji about yelling 'You missed a spot!'. Renji gritted his teeth, both his arms aching from sweeping and cleaning, but his head aching from the constant ordering the little snot-nosed brat was doing.
"Over there, baka!" Jinta demanded, pointing at a random spot in the room that Renji was absolutely positive he had cleaned over twenty times already.
"Listen, you little bastard!" Renji yelled at the kid, throwing the broom to the floor in annoyed outburst. "I cleaned that spot-"
"No, you listen!" Jinta cut him off, stabbing a finger at him. "You freeloader! This is the least you can do to pay us back for all the freaking rice you've eaten!"
Renji gave an annoyed grunt, knowing that the little brat was right. Urahara was kind enough to let him stay with him during his frequent trips in Karakara town, but he came and went so much and ate so much, this was the least he could do to thank them. It was a pain in the ass to deal with, but it was his fault. He would have crashed with Kurosaki, but the jerk said he wouldn't stand another freaking Shinigami in his house. Orange-haired strawberry...
~~~0-0~~~
After about several hours of even more vigorous cleaning, Renji left, off to the spot where a friend of his waited. She was always so patient when he was late, accepting when he apologized about a hundred times in a twenty word conversation. She found it funny and a little cute that he always stuttered when he tried to say something while looking her right in the eyes.
As he ran through the city park, he saw her come into view around the corner. She was kneeling down, petting somebody's dog as the owner kept insisting that she'd better get going. Renji grinned at the sight, recalling her love her animals, but he knew she loved dogs the best. As he rounded the corner, the owner had finally managed to get away from her, now hurrying off to tend to other matters.
She stood up, brushing her dark jeans off as he finally caught up to her. When she noticed him, a smile immediately erupted on her face as it always did. She never changed, always a happy person who loved her friends. He found her refreshing, like a breath of much needed fresh air. After spending so much time with a captain whose somewhat annoying emotionless demeanor is always oppressing you, you really find this girl as a safe haven.
"Hey Varunee." Renji greeted her with a grin. "Scaring off the dog owners?"
"Hey, Renji." Varunee gave a teasing hurt expression. "And no, I'm not scaring them away, but they really don't want me to pet their dogs for over ten minutes. It's no fair!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air in disbelief. She sat down on one of the park benches, where Renji joined her.
Renji chuckled at that. "I thought you had watch duties tonight?" He inquired, raising an eyebrow with mock skepticism. Varunee, despite her all-smiles personality, had the habit of 'forgetting' about her Shinigami duties. She usually was going around the town stores with Rangiku, who was also shirking her work. Of course, this didn't go without notice from the ever watchful eyes of Squad 10 Captain, Hitsugaya Toshiro. His constant lectures were always a bore to listen to, as she had told Renji numerous times.
"Nah." She smirked, pulling out a photo and holding it up for Renji to see. "I snapped this off Ikkaku. Blackmailed into to taking my shift, so I'm good." She said it an almost nonchalant way that could have made him laugh till' he snorted. The picture only added to the hilarity, since she normally was a sweet girl who no one really would suspect of such incrimination's. She grinned and shoved the picture back into her pocket for safe-keeping. "How's Urahara-san treatin' ya?"
Renji frowned at the question, scowling at the ground as Jinata popped into his head. "They've got me working all freaking day and night! And over what? A few extra lousy bowls of rice?" Despite that Varunee could clearly see that he was fuming, she couldn't help but laugh. She shaking her head, she placed a hand on his shoulder causing him to look down at her.
"You're welcome to stay with me. I don't mind any extra company." She smiled up at him and Renji looked shocked.
"You've got a place here? When you get one?" He asked her, wondering why the hell she didn't mention such an important factor earlier. Varunee just rolled her eyes at him, a smirk playing on her lips.
Crossing her arms, she nodded. "'Course I do, baka!" She sang the last word, knowing it got on his nerves. "I practically live here because of all the assignments I'm forced to do by Captain Byakuya." She sighed in annoyance, remembering the onslaught of work she still was expected to do. But from work comes the reward of completing it and the relaxation of being back in the Soul Society, so she would do it begrudgingly. It wasn't hard smacking down a few Hollow here and there, but it was tedious having to flash-step back and forth throughout town throughout the day. In fact, it pretty much sucked.
An idea popped into her mind as she thought back of her apartment. "You wanna stay at my apartment?"
"Under what conditions?" He asked almost automatically, the idea of him being let in by her so easily startling and slightly embarrassing him. Varunee was one of his friends sure, but he knew it was more than that. Ever since childhood the two were close, like family. It didn't take long for him to become attracted his best female friend, considering how mature she was now too. As a child, she was like one of the boys.
Her hair was short back then, pure coal black. She was always simply mistaken for a boy, which aggravated her to no end. As she grew up though and became a Shinigami, she changed into a more girly person. Her natural black hair was replaced by dyed coppery-brown curls that compliment her dark skin tone. She was curvaceous yet not over accentuated like some girls were. It was easy to fall for a girl that looked like her.
"No charge, baka. Free food and a place away from Jinata's constant barking." She poked his nose, a habit she had been used to doing since childhood. Renji flinched at the flick, not because it necessarily hurt, but the general closeness she was getting at that made him slightly uncomfortable. Noticing his change in expressions, she leaned back and hid a scarlet blush behind her curly hair. She found it cute when he did that, looking so innocent. It was like back in the old days, when they first met.
"So... Just a recap..." Renji said, smirking. "You want me to come over tonight to sleep?"
Scarlet crossed her cheeks. 'N-not like that! You can be such a pervert, ya know that?"
"Yeah, yeah... It come from hanging 'round Urahara-san to much. And you'd really let me stay with you?" Renji said, still unsure if she was joking or not. She was always bouncing from serious to being a joker. Not in a way that made her seem bipolar, but it was still confusing.
"Of course. You've handled hundreds of my shifts, so it's the least I can do." She reassured him with a smile. Renji grinned back, happy to know that for once, he wasn't the freeloader.
~~~0-0~~~
He walked back to her apartment after he had gathered his stuff and happily left the brat Jinata and the perverted Urahara behind. No more constant and demeaning cleaning for him, scrubbing the same spot over a thousand times! Now, he didn't have to worry about those kinds of things. In fact, he had a new worry in mind though: what to do about Varunee? The thought made his cheeks tint, stripping him on his 'manly tough' exterior.
The girl would be sleeping only one room away, showering in the same bathroom, getting dressed in the same apartment.... The list went on and on. The idea of accidentally walking in on her doing any of those things made his nose bleed. Rubbing it away, not wanting to seem like a pervert, he approached her apartment. He had no clue what to expect, but the thought that it would be messy seemed plausible. She wasn't one to like cleaning, and he often took over her work shifts, so she did strike other Shinigami as lazy.
But when the door was answered, the apartment was quite the opposite. As he peered over Varunee into the apartment he knew he could now stay in. It was surprisingly clean and utterly spotless. The furniture was simple and modern, the floors were mostly wooden, some covered with thick, soft carpeting. He was speechless. It was the complete opposite of his guess. Neat as can be... And hopefully, he wouldn't be forced to uphold it!
"Oi." She reached up and knocked on his forehead. "You just goin' stand there or are you goin' come in, baka?" Singing the last word again, poking him in the nose.
"U-uh, yeah, yeah... Comin'..." He stuttered, still flinching when she poked his nose. The habit still managed to get to him, sadly enough for him...
As he stepped inside, he kept looking around the apartment in bewilderment. Still spotless and still normal. If she were to have normal humans over, he knew they wouldn't suspect them of being Shinigami or anything of the sort. But the difference of each room's layout and Varunee's personality... it only made the puzzlement worse.
Varunee spread out her arms before letting them clap back to her sides. "Welcome to home sweet home, I guess." She pointed to one of the doors across from the kitchen. "Over there is your room. Make yourself at home."
Renji nodded, still unsure if this was a dream or not. Sauntering over to the door she pointed out, he hesitantly placed his hand on the door knob. Gently opening the door and flicking on the nearby light switch, he peered in. It was an ordinary room, it had the ordinary bed for him to sleep on, a bedside table. The walls were white aside from one that had a large red-and-yellow flower painted on it. So much for being manly...
The floors were wooden, long planks of shiny cherry-wood giving the room a soft of away from home kinda feel to it. It was relaxing, but Renji couldn't relax because his earlier thoughts had come back to mind. Swallowing the lump in his throat and willing away the pink tint to his cheeks, he attempted to rid himself of his bashful demeanor. It was a vain effort.
A tap on his shoulder made him jump about three feet in the air. Varunee looked at him, perplexed and somewhat concerned. "Ya okay?"
"F-f-f-fine! Why do y-you ask?!" Renji blurted out, trying to redirect his eyes somewhere else, anywhere but her face.
"You look kinda tense..." She said, then went to feel his cheek, which in turn, heated up to a color a tomato would be ashamed of. "You're burning up!"
"I-I am?" He could only say that in reply. "Why don't I call it a night, then? Ya know, sleep m-might help!" If only Ichigo could see him now, he'd be laughing his ass off! The mighty and arrogant Renji, turned into a shy, blushing idiot. All because of a girl.
Before Varunee could protest, Renji slammed the door in her face with a loud 'goodnight!'. He leaned on the other side, tackling the endeavor of controlling his rapid breathing. He had to get a grip, restrain himself from acting that way! She would figure it all out if he didn't and may not even return the feeling. She could even kick him out, claiming he was a pervert! Then back to Urahara's he would venture, forced to repeat the same chores over and over again for one damn bowl of rice...
~~~0-0~~~
On the other side of the door, Varunee frowned. Renji had been acting strange ever since she invited him here and now it was starting to worry her. Renji didn't normally act like this until recently, often avoiding close-up confrontations and such things as that. She didn't know if he would stop or not, but at the moment, it was a decent concern. On top of that, he seemed to have a fever. If a friend was sick, she would usually be there to help and heal. She remembered even helping Captain Byakuya when he caught a spring cold. She frowned when she remembered that he also wasn't very appreciative...
Shrugging off the feeling, her eyes flashed over to the clock. It was only 6:30, so she figured dinner was in order. Though she wasn't a world-famous revered chef, she was good enough. Pulling the rice out from the cabinet along with a large skillet, she placed them on the kitchen counter. Then heading over to the refrigerator, she retrieved the fresh salmon she had bought earlier that day.
Within ten minutes or so, the delicious smell of cook rice and fish wafted around the apartment. It wasn't long before one particular door popped open slightly, revealing a rather hungry and awake Renji. There was no dining room, just a large living room that connected to the kitchen. So, when the food was cooked and ready to serve, one simply sat in the living room and enjoyed the meal.
"Thought you were going to sleep." Came Varunee's voice as she rinsed off the skillet, the running water evaporating into steam as it hit the still heated metal of the large skillet.
"Couldn't fall asleep. Whatcha makin'?" He asked, though he knew by the smell what it was.
"Rice and salmon. Now get your butt out here, baka." She still sang the last word as if it were a melody. "Dinner's ready."
Renji immediately obliged, his stomach aching with yet another pang of hunger. He hadn't eaten much today, and he was trying to stop himself from salivating over the smell of steaming food. Fresh rice and fish was a good way to draw anyone out of a room, especially Renji, who was now trying to keep his thoughts in order as to not attract any unwanted suspicion or attention. He just needed to keep himself calm and collected until dinner ended. Then, he could retreat to his new room and think anything he wanted. God, he was turning into a pervert...
"Is it any good?" Varunee asked a little self-consciously, in fear that Renji may not like her cooking. But, he had somewhat savagely finished in record timing. Mouthful of food, he nodded vigorously.
"It's amazing!" He paused, wondering if he should ask the next question that popped into his head. "Can I... have seconds?"
Silence fell between them, and Renji froze up. It was a bad time to ask that question, he decided, then almost fell over when Varunee laughed out in joy. The sight of her full, happy smile on her face made him glup, then breathe a sigh of relief. He thought he upsetted her...
"Of course, baka!" She beamed, pushing another plateful of food over to him. "I made alot, so there's plenty left! Take as much as you want!"
~~~0-0~~~
When dinner was finished, a mountain of dishes surrounded Renji. He didn't know she could cook so much for only two people, but he realized she wasn't such a light eater either. She had her fair share of the meal, but her plates didn't stack nearly as high as his did.
"Thank you for the food." He said to her and then went to get up, but she stopped him.
"Don't take another step." She said, placing a hand on his shoulder, causing him to tense up. She was too close to him! Too close! "How are you going to pay me back, freeloader?"
The last word made him practically flip. That godamned word! "You said it would be free of charge!" Renji protested, recalling her earlier words.
"Exactly. I meant you wouldn't have to pay for it." She smirked. "Nor do ya have to work for it either."
"Then what do you want so badly in return?!" He demanded, confused as to what she wanted him to do.
Without warning, she spun him around and claimed his lips with her own. She had figured it out while making dinner that he had fallen for her, and was always flustered when she got to close to him. Renji, who was taken by surprise by this, lit up like a light. When she finally released him, both were speechless.
"Ya know..." Renji said, tugging her close. "If this is what I have to do to make things up to you..."
He reached down and pecked her on the cheek.
"I don't really mind being a freeloader."