A/N: This took a while to type, but I'm glad I finally got it done. The first chapter in my Bleach collection...enjoy! (I may or may not do a quote at the beginning...depends on how I feel, man.)

This was love at first sight, love everlasting: a feeling unknown, unhoped for, unexpected-in so far as it could be a matter of conscious awareness; it took entire possession of him, and he understood, with joyous amazement, that this was for life.

—* Thomas Mann

Rukia stretched her arms over her head, hoping to rid of the stiffness that seemed to settle in her bones during the trip. Ichigo slung his bag over his shoulder and gave her a brief, tired smile. Unlike herself, he wasn't able to get any sleep on the plane. Rukia couldn't help but smile back, just a bit.

The past twenty-four hours had gone by in a haze. Months of planning, all for one day of celebration, and then—they had to catch their flight. Ichigo took in a breath of fresh air as they exited the airport. "You have the map, right?" Rukia asked, placing a straw hat on her head to shield her eyes from the bright sun.

"That hat looks ridiculous."

She smirked up at him, "You're avoiding my question."

Ichigo reached into the back pocket of his shorts and waved the map in front of her face. She snatched it out of his hands, her ring glinting for a moment in the sunlight; the realization hit him. Rukia Kuchiki was now his partner, his wife, his friend...

Really, the only difference to this relationship and the relationship before he proposed would be the marriage license. Nothing changed in the way they acted with one another. They challenged, pushed, respected, loved, bickered—she wasn't afraid to yell at him when he was being stupid and he wasn't afraid to yell back. He watched her look at the map, a slight furrow in her brow, and he smirked.

"Having trouble?"

"Ha!" Rukia snapped the map as if she was snapping a newspaper. "I know the exact route!"

"Should I call the hotel and tell them we'll be late?"

Rukia gave him a glare that could boil ice-caps. She spun on her heel and began walking away, she didn't even check to see if he was following. Ichigo rolled his eyes before he shifted his bag on his shoulder and let her lead the way to the hotel.

&3&3&3

Rukia dug her toes into the white sand. The sky was such a crystal clear blue and the water mirrored it. She had taken off her hat and sat in the shade of a palm tree, drinking in the sights and sounds of the gorgeous island. Rukia heard Ichigo walk up behind her and place something in the sand, judging by the sloshing noise, it was something liquid.

Rukia lazily turned her head over to see him settling beside her with two champagne glasses in his hand. He answered her questioning look with a small shrug. Ichigo focused on opening the bottle and pouring them both a glass. Rukia examined the drink with a skeptical eye.

"What's it taste like?" She asked, resting on her elbows in the sand. Her lithe form covered in a breezy white dress.

"It's...bubbly?" Ichigo took a sip, deciding that yes: bubbly was a fitting adjective for the drink.

He watched her out of the corner of his eyes as she took a dainty sip. He saw her lips as they curled upwards into a smile. The two newly weds sat in silence for a while, sipping the champagne, listening to the waves, and just enjoying all of it.

Ichigo finished his glass, while Rukia still had hers half-full, "I don't want to get impaired this early in the day." She explained, tilting her chin up and passing the glass to him.

"Worried I might take advantage of you?" Ichigo asked, meeting her violet gaze. Rukia's grin turned just a little wicked.

"Oh yes. After all, we are all alone on this beach..." She rolled onto her stomach, propping herself up and then crawling, good god, crawling towards him! Ichigo gulped audibly. He leaned forward dropping the glasses onto the sand. "Nobody is around...and you've got this whole bottle..." She closed the gap between them, pressing her lips to his.

Ichigo cupped the side of her face with his hand. His tongue ran along her lower lip and she pressed, opening her mouth and letting him taste the champagne that was still on her tongue. Rukia scooted closer just enough so she could swing her leg over his hips and straddle him. Her hands resting on his well-sculpted chest. Ichigo tilted his head as if kissing her at a different angle would help him get a better taste. Rukia felt his tongue dip inside her mouth and curl around her own then retreat only to return. She kissed him back, idly wondering why (with some impatience) wasn't he moving? Rukia sucked on his tongue, hungrily, and made a soft noise that Ichigo interpreted as need.

Her hands slipped up the hem of his shirt and Ichigo leaned back into the sand. His fingers ran through her silky raven tresses and his mouth moved to the base of her throat. Rukia bucked her hips against his. Ichigo gave her pale skin a tiny nip.

"Ichigo?"

"Hmmm?" He wasn't really listening. He was thinking about how she would feel if he took this dress off with his teeth.

She pushed off him with her lips kiss-swollwen and pink. Ichigo grumbled and made a reach for her but Rukia swatted his hands away and smiled—wait who was she smiling at? He craned his neck to see that room service was standing in the open porch of their room.

"Sorry miss...and sir...I had knocked..." Rukia just went over to her purse and gave the nice boy a tip. She seemed to have forgotten what happened just seconds ago as she picked at fruit in the bowl and took a sip of water. Ichigo face palmed.

Rukia Kuchiki—ah—Kurosaki was a tease!

Ichigo sat in the sun for another whole minute before finally getting to his feet and going inside. Their room was open, spacious, with a lovely bed and it had this wonderful Caribbean motif—okay, who the hell cared? The only thing Ichigo cared about was the woman sitting on the bed currently biting into a strawberry.

"Would you like one?" She held out the half-bitten strawberry. Ichigo smirked. Two could play at this game. He grabbed her wrist, loosely, and pulled her hand close. Ichigo took the remaining bite of the strawberry, his amber eyes watching Rukia. Rukia licked her lips but made no effort to pull away.

He plucked the strawberry out of her hand and a slight grin was on his face. He licked her finger, twirling his tongue around it before pulling the digit into his mouth. Rukia let out a shaky exhale when he moved his mouth away.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at her flushed expression. He let her wrist go and in the same moment, Rukia threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, fiercely, tugging at his hair, and moaning into his mouth. Her fingernails dragged down his chest and pulled his shirt over his head the moment they parted for air.

Oxygen be damned at this moment.

Ichigo kissed her shoulder and pulled down the strap to her dress with his teeth. Rukia's body felt like it was on fire. Not the warm sand outside, the tepid water, or the sun seemed to compare with this heat that was radiating across her skin. She trembled as Ichigo pulled down the other strap of her dress with his mouth. Oh his mouth. The things she wanted him to do with that mouth.

The dress floated breezily to the floor while Ichigo's pants stumbled with a light 'thud'. Their mouths clashed again fighting for some sort of dominance. Rukia grasped his biceps, her breath hitching as his lips closed over her nipple and a large palm pressed against her other breast. She arched into his touch, his tongue flicking over the spot and then moving, roaming, his hand traveling lower to pull away with her panties.

"Oh god, Ichigo..." She gasped as his hand found her core, "I can't believe we waited. Why the—why?" She rocked her hips against his touch.

"Because..." He rasped, secretly gloating in the way he made her skin flush and her body react, "Your brother...marriage...what's it matter?" He placed an open-mouthed kiss to her pulse point and Rukia tossed her head back, nails digging into his skin.

"Matters...matters...'cause this feels..." She met his gaze, embarrassed ever-so slightly, and he grinned before giving her lips a light peck.

What they lacked in experience was made up for in determination.

And Ichigo swallowed, his adam's apple bobbing, as he looked down at Rukia. Her bangs were sweaty and he pushed them away from her face with both his hands. He cradled her head in his hands and kissed her, deeply. He felt her legs spread and she buried her face into the crook of his neck, "Ichigo..." she kissed his throat, feeling his hands grasp her waist.

He entered her, carefully, but there wasn't so much fear as there was anticipation. This was Rukia. She wasn't a fragile china doll, she was something far more rare and exquisite. Her grasp on him tightened as they adjusted to feeling of being...well...complete. Rukia placed a tiny kiss to his collar bone. Ichigo began to move albeit slowly until Rukia ground her hips against his and hissed; "Faster, idiot."

His forehead rested on her shoulder, her arms circling his torso, nails digging into his back and legs loose around his hips. They met each others thrusts like this was some sort of simple dance that they knew the rhythm to. Sex, in a way, was like fighting. Something with instinct and emotion. "Ichigo...I..." Rukia bit her lower lip.

"Rukia..." His voice was raw.

Rukia's eyes slipped close as she felt something; it was building and she almost felt like she was going to burst. She hoped that wasn't possible. As much as she tried to be quiet, the feeling was getting too much, and Rukia was tossing her head back and groaning his name. In doing so, she found that he seemed to hitch his hips a little harder and it felt...ah well...good.

The pressure finally seemed to reach a boiling point. Rukia clutched onto him, the reitsu—hers and his—she felt it merge together as she hit her climax. Her body shuddered and quaked with the feeling and she heard, somewhere, Ichigo call out her name. Rukia's body sagged against the fluffy bed and Ichigo's head felt heavy as it sat on her chest.

Rukia lifted her hand and brushed away the tangerine bangs that stuck to his forehead. Her mind was pleasantly blank. Rukia turned her head to look out of the large door/window of their hotel porch. It wasn't much of a hotel, more of a private room on a private beach. She watched the tiny bright blue waves hit the shore.

Ichigo took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the sea, sweat, and the scent that was just...Rukia. He kissed her chin, "Love you." He muttered to the skin of her neck. Rukia smiled, feeling a sense of wholeness and warmth, "I love you, too..." She paused for a moment while in thought. "Do you think we have time for a shower?"

"Hmmmm..." He nuzzled her shoulder, "I think so."

A/N: and now your imagination can fill in the rest. Unless I do write a shower pie...heh maybe.

I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you can drop me a review about what you thought!

(p.s. I am uploading this at 3AM! So...sorry if there were mistakes. Guh.)