Title: the bridesmaid

Rating: K+

Characters: Rukia

Pairings: onsided Rukia x Ichigo, Ichigo x Orihime

Setting: Post Arrancar

Description: Even wearing her frilly pink bridesmaid dress, standing there as the picture of support for the bride, she couldn't swallow the bitter taste of broken dreams on her tongue.

A/N: Because canon is becoming a bitter pill to swallow.

--0--

The admiration was mirrored in their eyes, open and clear and painfully visible to even the blind. Open and clear and painfully visible even to her. Birds chirped, the sun was bright and cheerful overhead, and a faint, sweet smelling breeze stirred the garland over head. For a moment, the scene wavered like a mirage, and their openly adoring faces were those of Miyoko and Kaien-dono.

Even wearing her frilly pink bridesmaid dress, standing there as the picture of support for the bride, Rukia couldn't swallow the bitter taste of broken dreams on her tongue. She couldn't banish that painfully, embarrassingly selfish thought that maybe, just maybe, things might have been different this time – that maybe, maybe, maybe she might have her happy ending.

Instead, she stood as Inoue's friend, as Inoue's show of female support at Inoue's fru fru frilly pink wedding, thinking wistfully of a different wedding, in a different place – thinking of midnight and deep violet complementing wild orange, instead of merely different flickering shades of ginger playing before prickling eyes.

"I do."

Her stomach clenched painfully, and for a terrible moment, she thought she might be sick. The tears glistening in her eyes she could explain away ('Oh I'm just so happy!' she'd choke, and everyone would smile their bland smiles, nod their bland nods, and leave her alone to her swirling misery). She hadn't even sampled Inou's creative h'ourderves or hit the open bar yet to explain away the bile churning in her gut, and so, she clamped her mouth shut, grit her teeth, and bore it.

"You may kiss the bride."

She couldn't clap and hoot and holler and cheer with the rest – suddenly, couldn't even twist her lips into a picture of happiness for her friends (friend, yes, that's all he was, that's all he would ever be, now…). The plastered smile, summoned with such false alacrity, faltered. Her cheeks were wet, but she knew that no one would be watching her anyway. She was but a spot of darkness, eclipsed and outshone by the burning sun of love beyond her.

She was close enough to hear Inoue's soft whisper of, "I knew we were meant to be," even over the continuing wild cheers of the crowd. And when Ichigo smiled – when that forever-present crinkle between his brows smoothed and disappeared – she knew once and for all that she had been left behind.

She had loved him for that petulant frown. She had adored that crinkle, and figured that meant something. She would never have thought to take it away; would never have even wanted to try.

But Inoue Orihime made him smile, and even as his scowl disappeared, so too did her place in his life.

--0--

A/N: Yeah, it's been awhile. Blame the authors (not this one – the rich ones.) Bleach and Naruto are both brutally murdering my OTPs. Share my pain!

And while we're drowning our sorrows… requests and suggestions, anyone?