DISCLAIMER: I do not own BLEACH or the characters.
Rukia smiled as she felt the wind blow past her and heard Ichigo cheering her on. He was trying to teach her how to ride a bike, as she had yet to learn. She found it difficult to balance the confusing, two-wheeled contraption at first, but had now just got the hang of it and was able to ride in a straight line. Now came a bigger challenge... Steering.
'Now what?' she attempted to scream, but her voice was drowned out by the rustling wind.
Rukia felt the bike tremble beneath her, which in turn caused her to tremble. She wasn't afraid of falling because really, what's a skinned knee compared to a zanpakuto through your middle? She didn't fear physical pain, rather, the humiliation of Ichigo watching her fall for the umpteenth time.
Rukia looked up and suddenly saw a telephone pole getting closer and closer. She yanked on the handlebars and the bike began to lurch. Down went the bike, with Rukia along with it. In an instant, the concrete met her halfway, scuffing the same spot on her elbow for the third time. After a few moments dazed on the sidewalk, Rukia struggled to get to her feet. Rukia was starting to dust herself off when a familiar laugh rang out. Rukia looked down the sidewalk.
It was Ichigo, running towards her, a big grin on his face. That must be the smile of his that people always tell her about.
Rukia continued to follow Ichigo's figure as he continued running to her. He was pretty far away... did she really ride that far? With a smirk on her face, Rukia picked up the bike, and after fumbling with the kickstand for a moment, successfully stood the bike up.
'Had enough yet?' Ichigo asked laughingly as he ran up to her.
'One more time Ichigo, I can get this...' She responded.
Ichigo looked her up and down, then said with a smirk:
'How about you give it rest for today? You might have to buy Yuzu a new dress if you keep going like this...'
Rukia looked down at her dress. It was true... There was enough dirt and blood on it for it to look like her Soul Reaper robes...
'All right...' Rukia sighed as she began to wheel the bike back to the Kurosaki Clinic. Ichigo followed her, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.
The two walked in silence for a minute, until Ichigo's big mouth ruptured the peace.
'Damn Rukia, look at your elbow. Pretty nasty... You want me to kiss-'
Ichigo's sentence was interrupted by Rukia's bloody elbow smashing his face in.
'How's that?' Rukia laughed and began to walk faster.
Ichigo wiped his face then ran up to Rukia, and confiscated the bike.
'Hey!' Rukia yelled as she watched Ichigo mount the bike and begin to peddle in one smooth motion. She made a note to watch carefully. Ichigo circled back around to her and dismounted. Rukia looked at him in a mix of awe and frustration. Then her face formed a pout.
'How 'bout I kiss that?' He said with a chuckle.
'Oh, shut up!' Rukia said as she jumped onto Ichigo's back. 'Then since I'm no good at bike riding, looks like you're stuck carrying me.' She said as she began to ruffle Ichigo's bright orange hair.
'Suits me.' He replied as her playfully squeezed her thigh.
To keep herself from squealing too loudly, Rukia buried her face in Ichigo's hair.
Ichigo carried her and wheeled the bike all the way back to the clinic, a couple blocks, without so much as a complaint. He had really come a long way since they had first met years ago. As they approached the back gate, Ichigo set her down gently then went to put the bike away. Rukia walked slowly into the house, taking care to go gently on her many scrapes and bruises.
Inside, Rukia found Yuzu in of all places, the kitchen, with her signature apron tied neatly around her waist. Yuzu was working tirelessly over the stove, busily stirring pots and pans, from which tantalizing odors flowed. Yuzu looked up from a pot and saw Rukia bent over, removing her shoes. When Rukia stood up, displaying her messed up hair, dirty dress, and bloody knees and elbows, Yuzu gasped in horror.
'Oh my goodness Rukia! I hope Ichigo's bike isn't as beat up as you are!'
'Not quite... But I think I'm getting better...' the exhausted Rukia chuckled.
'Of course, Rukia!' Yuzu said cheerfully as she began setting the table. 'Dad and Karin finished moving your bed into Ichigo's room... how about you go take a shower, then lay down and rest for twenty minutes? Dinner should be ready by then...'
'Thanks Yuzu...' Rukia sighed as she began to climb the steps. With a smile on her sweet face, Yuzu watched her dependent leave.
The shower felt good on Rukia's tired face and body. She winced as the soap entered her scrapes, but continued to scrub away her fatigue. Rukia shut off the water and rolled her neck, savoring the last few minutes of her steamy relaxation. Rukia stepped out of the shower and, realizing that she forgot to bring another dress in with her, wrapped her towel around her. Rukia opened the door and looked down the hallway. She wasn't as afraid of Ichigo seeing her in a towel as she was Isshin seeing her in a towel... She and Ichigo had shared those awkward moments often since they were officially... involved now. After deciding that the coast was clear, Rukia scuttled down the hallway to Ichigo's room. Without knocking, Rukia opened the door and entered the room, shutting the door behind her. She whirled around to find none other than Ichigo standing in his closet without a shirt. Ichigo and Rukia simultaneously yelped and clutched whatever clothes they were wearing. In Ichigo's case, the shirt he had in his hand. In Rukia's, her towel.
'Oh please Rukia, don't tell me we're getting started this early...' Ichigo said playfully.
'As if I'm in better shape than you...' Rukia grumbled as she walked over to Ichigo, and pulled a dress out of her side of the closet. Rukia skillfully dodged a swat to her bum from Ichigo and then retreated back to the bathroom to finish getting herself ready for dinner.
As always, Yuzu's meal was astoundingly delicious, Isshin was a loudmouth, Karin kept to herself, and Rukia and Ichigo just sat back and watched.
The evening passed quickly, as Isshin took Yuzu and Karin to the summer's annual fireworks festival. Rukia was too exhausted from her unsuccessful bike riding to go, so Ichigo offered to stay with her. Rukia knew full well what he wanted... Even though she finally had her own bed in Ichigo's room, he still wanted her to sleep with him, as she had been doing for the past few months.
That night, as they were lying together, tangled and snuggled under the covers, set their passion and love free... but it wasn't the first time for either of them. They had grown very comfortable with each other and each other's bodies.
As they showered each other with kisses that night, they wished it could have lasted forever. They were so consumed with each other that they didn't even hear Isshin, Karin, and Yuzu when they returned.
Morning finally came, and with it, the smell of whatever Yuzu was making that morning. Rukia's nose caught the scent before her eyes even opened. When they did, she found herself still in bed with Ichigo, with his arms wrapped around her. Careful not to disturb his slumber, Rukia slowly slid out of bed, grabbed a dress and went to change.
At breakfast, Rukia found the entire Kurosaki family gathered around the table. Ichigo was still in his bed-clothes, and his usually messy hair was even messier. Rukia smiled at the sight and sat down.
'Rukia, are you planning on more bike-riding today? If so, I found some older clothes for you to wear, so you don't dirty your good dresses...' Yuzu said cheerfully as she handed Rukia a loaded plate.
'Actually Yuzu, I thought I would take a break today... My gigai can't keep up with the punishment I'm giving it.' Rukia said with a smile, and then began to eat.
The week passed much in the same fashion, and by the end of the week, Rukia had finally learned how to ride a bike, but not without a few more wipeouts. She was actually able to peddle herself to the convenience store down the street without having to worry about herself, and she felt very accomplished indeed.
Along with mastering the bicycle, Rukia also found herself spending more and more time in bed with Ichigo. She knew that she should back off before she got herself into trouble.
Unknown to her, her worst fears were confirmed when she woke up in the middle night with the urge to vomit.
Rukia ran to the bathroom as fast as she could, and made it just in time to empty the contents of her stomach into the toilet. Shaking violently, Rukia propped herself against the wall and tried to slow her racing heart. What was happening to her? Was she sick? She'd been sick before, but never like this... Her scared thoughts were interrupted when her head started pounding. A hand strayed to head as she began rummaging through the medicine cabinet looking for some Tylenol. Rukia held back more stomach contents as she looked underneath the sink for a new hand towel. Rukia's shaking hand strayed across a small box; her tampons. Rukia looked at the box and her eyes widened. The puzzle pieces were coming together. Her period was late. Rukia went back over the week in her head...
'Oh no...' Rukia thought. Was she pregnant? Could she be? No way... She had made sure that they used protection... But... her mind seemed to tell her the truth. Rukia continued to dig under the sink and presently found a pregnancy test kit.
'What's this doing under here?' She said to herself. Did Isshin leave it under there as a tasteless joke? Rukia looked for a date, and to her surprise, it was marked from at least eight years ago.
'It must've belonged to his mother.' Rukia reasoned. Rukia slowly and shakily pulled out the test strip and began to read the directions.
'How are you supposed to do that on this little thing?' she wondered, but forced herself to follow the directions.
Rukia waited for what seemed like hours for the result to show. Finally, the five minutes, or however long she was supposed to wait, was up. She had thrown up twice during that time. Did she dare look? What if she was pregnant? What would she do? How would Ichigo handle it? What would Byakuya say? Those and many more questions buzzed through her already pounding head as she pulled herself up from the floor. Rukia looked warily at the test strip and sure enough, there was the feared little pink plus staring back at her. Rukia's breath left her as she slumped back to the floor.
'Oh shit' was the only thing she could say. Rukia put the strip into the garbage can, taking care to hide it, covered it with a large wad of toilet paper, and tied up the trash.
For once in her life, Rukia was scared. She had never gone through anything like this before. She had killed men, hollows, faced death herself many times, but now, she was afraid of a baby and what was going to happen to her. How could she have done something so stupid? But she knew that the die was cast. There was no changing anything, she would carry the baby, and knew she would come to love it. But Ichigo, she was a little unsure of. He had proven several times that he actually had a heart and that his face did other things beside scowl, but how would he handle this? Rukia lifted her pajama shirt and started fingering her stomach; she looked at herself in the mirror; she was pale, and skinny, and far too young-looking to be a mother. She looked like a child herself. Her eyes were shiny with tears. Rukia stumbled back to Ichigo's room. She would just have to see how the next few weeks played out, and find the right moment to tell him.
That night, Rukia finally slept in her own bed.
AN: Okay, so this is my first FanFiction... I'm hoping it will make the cut, so please review and I hope you like it!