6A/N: Part of the mass migration of fics from my tumblr. Quoted from the original post:
I'm riding high on the angst-fest that was Lucifer 2x13 and was inspired somewhat by the last scene and the song ['unsteady' by x ambassador, elrich lee gravity remix] that played during the climax and then this happened (I spent way too long trying to remember how I used to redial on my flip phone and decided to wing it).
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, Tite Kubo does.
"You have reached the voicemail of Kuchiki Rukia. I apologize for being unable to answer your call. Please leave a message and I shall call you back when I am able. Thank you."
Beep.
.
.
.
Beep
He traces the key where the little painted star has long since worn away and presses it again.
"You have reached the voicemail of Kuchiki Rukia. I apologize for being unable to answer your call. Please leave a message and I shall call you back when I am able. Thank you."
Beep.
He lets the rain pelting against his bedroom window fill in the silence and presses the star key once the voicemail ends.
"You have reached the voicemail of Kuchiki Rukia-"
He remembers watching her record this message. He still has the paper she'd written it out on beforehand tucked somewhere in-between old chemistry tests, along with her sketchbook and the assignments he'd patiently walked her through and a million other forgotten trinkets. He keeps that drawer locked and has Karin safeguard the key. Karin doesn't ask questions.
("Do you want me to ask Toshiro to give her a message?"
But when Karin does, he never answers.)
"…Thank you."
Beep.
He swings the phone between his legs like a lazy pendulum. He tries to distract himself with calculations (what is the centripetal force if-) because calculations always have one set answer and if you're wrong then you're wrong and you can always go back and fix it, there's always a second chance, and a third chance, and a fourth chance, ad infinitum. Instead, all he can think is how the fuck am I supposed to send her a message when I can't even leave her a voicemail she'll never hear?
How can she when her Human World issued phone is locked in the same cabinet as all the other remnants from her stay with him? There's no room in there for the all sheets she's slept on, or the memories that are burned into the four walls of his small room and the rest of Karakura Town, but there's enough that he doesn't feel like every bone in his body is breaking twice over when he wakes up in the morning and shakes out of that bridge between sleep and awake where everything is okay and she's there and he turns over and sees something that reminds him that it's not and she's gone.
His thumb slides a little too far and falls off the star key. He adjusts his hand and hovers over the key. He needs to clean out her inbox soon; it's probably full. He promises himself he'll do it tomorrow.
(he's lying he can't bring himself to open his own Pandora's Box because if it does it will never stop leaking and hurting him and he's just starting to hurt a little less but if he keeps promising himself maybe he'll do it when he's ok)
(if he's ok)
He dials the little star again.
"You have reached the voicemail of Kuchiki Rukia. I apologize for being unable to answer your call. Please leave a message and I shall call you back when I am able. Thank you."
Beep.
.
.
.
fin
A/N: Literally 90% of my bleach fics are me trying to throw in a little shoutout to hitsukarin in the background.
-Eien
