Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, or any of the characters used in this fic. They all belong to Tite Kubo. I only own any original characters that I choose to include, as well as any original plot ideas.

When You Wake

A/N: Pre-Thousand Year Blood War.

Some nights, it rains. The sound the of water on the rooftop, tapping on her window, keeps her awake long into the morning hours, thinking. It sounds pretty, makes the flowers grow, and, in winter, it helps to make snow.

On nights when it's dark and the sky is clear, she sometimes creeps out of her bed and through his window. He always leaves it open. She sits on the windowsill in her nightclothes and watches him as he breathes.

When she dreams, it's not always about tea parties and all the candy she could eat. Almost every night, Yachiru dreams of him, of the day he didn't let her die. Those dreams are just fragments from infancy, but she always sees his face, hears his loud voice in her little ears, and feels herself smiling as she climbs up on his lap.

Sometimes, she'll climb into the room and sit on the pillow, listening to him breathe. She likes to hear him, make sure he's okay after every day. Even if he hasn't done much. It makes her feel safe.

She leans over him, smiling the way she always does, little locks of pink hair falling over his face. He used to watch her sleep, too, at the beginning. He'd sit awake by the fire and hold her, waiting in silence until she drifted off. And, in the morning, there he'd be again, still holding her in his arms.

Her little lips pucker as she leaves him a kiss, both her arms around one of his own as she curls against him.

This time, when he wakes up, she'll be right there.