Title: Take Me or Leave Me

Rating: PG-13 at worst

Pairing: Mostly Yoruichi/Soifon (Some Yoruichi/Maureen)

Summary: Take me for what I am…

A/N: I try to make it a personal habit of researching a fandom before I write, no matter how much I THINK I know, so if I missed anything in here just forgive me! Also, I may have taken a little of the dialogue and story plot from Rent.

Disclaimer: Jonathan Larson owns Rent and the lyrics to "Take Me or Leave Me" and Tite Kubo owns Bleach.

Take Me or Leave Me: Part One

Soifon studied her Goddess as she chatted with a man in a green and white bucket hat, a newly poured gin and tonic in her hand. Another Saturday night that Yoruichi had to drag her from their apartment to an over crowded, sweat soaked, smoke filled club. It wasn't enough that she was on the dance floor looking like a complete tart, but she also had to except the drinks that came from the spectators that watched her. Soifon sighed as she turned around and started play with the straw of her drink.

"Tonight couldn't get any worse," the woman muttered to herself. It was when she heard loud whistles and cat calls that she second guessed herself. Quickly, she turned to met by her Yoruichi grinding against a woman in an allover black rubber suit. Suddenly, she felt her cheeks get hotter than lava. 'How dare she?' Soifon thought to herself, 'How dare she have the audacity to dance like that with…her?!' Without thinking, the younger woman got up from her seat and made a bee line to the spot were Yoruichi was dancing. When she reached her target, she abruptly grabbed the intoxicated older woman and pulled her towards the bar area.

"Aw, Soi! What'd you do that for?"

"I wanna go home, Yoruichi. Right now." The older woman gave her a curious looked.

"But aren't you having fun?"

"No, I'm not and I would really appreciate if we could leave right now." Yoruichi pouted to the best of her abilities, considering her inebriated state. As Soifon paid for her own drink the woman in the rubber suit ran up to them, smiling as if she hadn't a care in the world. Soifon carefully studied the female, taking in her curly, garnet hair curtaining her porcelain face and harsh, red lipstick that covered her mouth.

"Hey, where ya goin'? I know you guys ain't leavin' so early!" she shouted over the loud dance music. From her appearance, Soifon deducted that she wasn't a local either.

"Actually, we are. So, if you could just mo-"

"Hey, hey! Well, since you're leavin', how about your friend here give me a call tomorrow? We all could meet and bar hop or somethin'!" she mused as she handed the younger woman a torn sheet of paper with her phone number and name. Maureen was scribbled along with a number and print of her mouth in the garish lipcolor she wore.

"Look, we really have to go," Soifon just muttered. When they finally made it outside, she crumpled the slip of paper and threw it behind one of the many bushes.

"Hey! What did you do that for?" slurred the older woman.

"Don't give me that, Yoruichi! You know why," she spat angrily.

"Aww, you're no fun, Soifon," she muttered as she she tried her best to walk to their car. Soifon sighed as she thought to herself. 'Another night, and I'm still responsible for the Princess' well being.'

Take Me or Leave Me: Part Two

A tiger in a cage
Can never see the sun
This diva needs her stage, baby,
Let's have fun!
You are the one I choose,
Folks would kill to fill your shoes!
You love the limelight too now, baby!
So be mine, and don't waste my time
Cryin', "Oh honey bear are you still my, my, my baby?"

"For Kami's sake! It didn't mean anything!" Yoruichi shouted. Ever since she had woken up, with a hangover no less, Soifon had been at her. The younger woman stood at the kitchen sink and sighed. She was just starting morning dishes, cleaning up what she knew her girlfriend wouldn't.

"Maybe it didn't mean anything to you, but obviously she had more in plan."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"She gave you her phone number!"

"Which you threw out."

"It had a lipstick print on it!"

"And your point is…?" Soifon clutched the dishrag in anger.

"Your not that stupid, Yoruichi. Although, sometimes, I really wonder."

"What's up your ass this morning, Soi?"

"Oh, I dunno. Maybe it's the simple fact that you can't commit to me."

"What do you mean I can't commit to you? I've done a lot of things that I hated just so you could be happy." Soifon scoffed.

"Like…?"

"I didn't peirce my nipples cause it grossed you out."

"That's not even clo-"

"I didn't stay at the Kink Club cause you wanted to leave."

"You were flirting with the woman in rubber!"

"There will always be women in rubber flirting with me!" Yoruichi yelled, "Give me a break!"

"No! I won't! Not this time." Soifon threw the rag in the sink in outrage. She had been through this ordeal too many times before. She turned around and placed her hands together.

"Yoruichi, I want a break." The once dozing woman was now wide awake.

"A break? You can't be hon-"

"I am. I want you to be packed by the end of the day," interrupted the younger woman. Yoruichi sat at the table, a dumbstruck look on her face. Was her Little Bee, her Soifon, breaking up with her? She swallowed the lump that plagued her throat and slowly spoke.

"Is this about that woman at the club, cause I really wasn't gonna call her, I prom-"

"No, Yoruichi, this isn't about her. Well, it's not entirely about her. It's just… you haven't been the best girlfriend. And sometime I feel like there's something out there that you're still searching for, something that, obviously, I can't give you. So, it's best if I let you go before either one of us gets in too deep." Never before had Yoruichi ever been speechless until then. She watched as Soifon finished the dishes and left her alone in the kitchen.

Take Me or Leave Me: Part Three

And, if you give a damn!
(A lovable droll, geek!)
Take me baby or leave me!
(And anal retentive!)

Soifon's Point of view

It was the day after Yoruichi's departure and Soifon was restless. All night, she had been tossing and turning, hating the familar coolness of the sheets. Minute by minute, she had grown to loath the feeling of being alone. She couldn't remember a time when there wasn't anyone there to steal food from her plate or hog most of the bed sheets. Even watching television felt mundane compared to her Goddess' incessant channel changing. She pulled a pillow over her head and sighed. 'I'm never going get any sleep like this,' she thought. She pulled the pillow away to peer at her bedside clock. 3:45 A.M. she had to be awake in less than two hours. Grudgingly, she pulled the covers back and got ready for her shower.

Yuroichi's Point of view

The red numbers glared, 3:45 A.M. Yoruichi had been pacing around her room for the last five hours. No way could her Little Bee be serious about breaking up! They had been through too much for her to just quit, especially over some tourist tramp. 'No,'she thought, 'my Soifon can't make it without me! She'll come back. She always comes back!'

And that thought would cross her mind for a little over two weeks. She would find herself making the bed or vacuuming, even though she hated house work with a passion, because she was used to being told to, or dreamily gazing out the window at a plump honey bee as it lazily landed on the petals of a flower and sipped the sweet nectar. Two weeks, and not one call from her Little Bee. 'But then again, it does work both ways,' she thought bitterly. Never had she been the one to give in, and in those fourteen days, she hoped, prayed, that Soifon would be the first, but, to her dismay, she wouldn't be hearing from her anytime soon. She sighed inwardly. Maybe that had been it, maybe things were really over between them.

Two weeks later…

That's it!
The straw that breaks my back!
I quit!
U

(Oh take me baby. Take me or leave me!)
Take me baby, or leave me

Soifon stared at the mountain of paper she had brought home. She shifted through the stack, trying to find the documents that were marked "Important!" or "Past Due!". Today had to be one the worst for the younger woman. First, she was late for work because she hadn't been sleeping well, then she got caught in the pouring rain and then her boss, as some ass backwards form of punishment, had the nerve to want all of his papers proof read and finished by the end of the week, knowing that he brought the problem to her on a Thursday. So she got them, ignoring the flickering on and off of her lights do to the still pouring rain.

Sleepily Soifon rubbed her eyes. Two hours had passed since she delved into the work and she was finishing at what seemed like a good pace to her. She only had a few more proposals to and she would be finish. The woman reached for another paper as she heard a small knock on the door. She got up, hoping that the hour was too late for any salesmen. When she opened it, her breathed hitched in her throat.

"Y-Yoruichi?" The older woman just nodded. There she stood, drenched with water and visibly shaking.

"Soifon…" she said, also whisper-like. The woman's teeth were chattering and her skin looked sickenly pale. Without thinking, Soifon grabbed the woman and brought her into her apartment. She grabbed the blanket that was draped over the couch and wrapped it around Yoruichi. She felt the older woman's face, only to find it void of any kind of warmth.

"You're absolutely freezing, Yoruichi! What have you been doing?"

"I-I've been outside. I walked here f-from my house."

"But, Yourichi! That's almost a two hours walk! Why?" The older woman smiled faintly.

"I'm sorry, Soi. I just really didn't know it bothered you that much."

"Of course it does! You could come down with a cold or some-"

"No," Yoruchi said as she shook her head, small droplets of water falling of the ends of her hair, " I'm sorry for everything. I didn't think before I acted and I know that were supposed to be broken up, but there's something you gotta know first…" Soifon's hand froze on her cheeks. Was her Goddess actually sincerely apoligizing to her? She cleared her throat and looked Yoruichi in those perfect. golden orbs.

"Soifon, I haven't been apreciating you much lately, and I've done some things I'm not proud of, but look at me," she said as she gestured to herself, "This is what am without you, Soi. I'm nothing." The older woman pushed the blanket off of herself and placed her hands on top of the younger woman's. She held them, then slowly pulled them off her cheeks, kissing the palms as she did.

"Yoruichi…" Soifon breathed. Yoruichi let the woman's hand go as she stepped closer to her. Somehow, the younger woman found herself being embraced by dark skinned arms, the older woman's face nuzzling her neck.

"I'd die without you, Soifon," the woman whispered, "I love you." Soifon had only one clue as to what to do next. Slowly, she brought her arms up and hugged the woman back,suddenly aware of how much she had missed their closeness. She took a while and breathed in the scent of Yoruichi, smelling hints of chocolate and hazelnut on her skin. It felt like hours had passed when they finally let go of each other. Both women just stood there and smiled, that is until Yoruichi let a single, tiny sneeze escape her body. Soifon's smile widen as she placed her hand on top of the older woman's head.

"Got a cold, have we? You go take a hot shower and I'll make you some soup," said Siofon, grinning, "and then it's medicine time." The older woman groaned.

"Aw, Soi! It's not that big of a cold," she whined, "and, besides, I hate the way that stuff tastes."

"Well, now, you should have thought about that before you decided to play Casanova. Now, go do what I said." Yoruichi playfully pouted her lips.

" Yeah, yeah, yeah." The older woman grumbled as she headed towards the direction of the bathroom.

"Oh, Yoruchi!" The older woman turned around, feeling just a little annoyed at the fact that she had caught a cold, and was now expected to take some horribly bitter medicine.

"What?"

"I love you too."

A/N: Well, that was just something on my mind as I Rent. I just thought the song was a perfect fit because Soifon and Yoruichi are a lot like Joanne and Maureen, except Yoruichi isn't as slutty as Maureen… I hope. Anywho, if I get more that 20 reviews I'll write another part.

I haven't abandoned Opposite and Equal Attraction… I just got a bad case of Writer's Block when it comes to that fic. So, be patient and bare with me.