Author's note: Something short and sweet. Just a one shot. I own none of the characters.
Ichigo fell asleep on the couch. Again. Though, what woke him up wasn't the mild chastising of Yuzu or a kink in his neck. No. This time was different; it was a knock on the door that took him from sleep. With a yawn, the teen walked over the door wondering why someone would be at their door this late at night. When he opened the door he found a certain raven haired girl sitting on the front steps of his house. He scowled in confusion and opened his mouth to speak when she turned around and faced him. Normally it would be him standing out in the rain, while the girl answered the door or catch him out there. So seeing her there really threw him off.
"…H-hey Ichigo.." she waved at him with a ghost of a smile cross her pale face.
Without thinking, the teen walked into the rain and couched to Rukia, "What are you doing out here in this kind of weather?" his asked, the scowl in his face still in place. The rain didn't seem to bother him much.
It took the girl a moment to answer, she wasn't sure why she was there or what she was even doing, "..I- ah, just wanted to visit you, that's all..." she tried to say, but in an act of betrayal her face fell and bit a quivering lip.
Ichigo eyed the girl, he didn't believe her words, and the look on her face said enough, "Wait here," he said before disappearing into the house
Rukia nodded as she watched him leave, contemplating if coming was a good idea. She wrapped herself with her arms as the cold started to get to her.
The ginger came back with a single rain coat and placed it over her shoulders, "Here you go," he said softly as he put the hood over her head.
"What about you?" Rukia asked, she didn't want him to go through all this trouble for her, "I'm already drenched, I don't need this," she insisted as she tried to shrug off the coat.
Ichigo held her shoulders firmly, not allowing her to take it off, "I don't want you to get sick," he said looking into her amethyst eyes, he wasn't gonna let her win this one, "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."
The raven haired girl let out a sigh; it seems that he wasn't going to comply with her. She simply wrapped the coat closer to herself as the furry inside warmed her cold skin.
"That's my girl," he said with a small smile and brushed wet raven locks out of her face. He brought her up and led her down the steps of his house onto the street.
"What are we doing?" she asked, unsure of what the ginger had in mind, she didn't know what to expect when she walked to his house in the first place. She couldn't stay where she was, it was like the walls were closing in on her, and she couldn't breathe or stay in one place. She needed room and she needed a friend. Not just any friend, though.
"We're gonna walk around for a bit," he shrugged, "Looks like you got a lot on your mind, so I thought going for a walk would be good."
Rukia gave him a reluctant look, although what he said was true. She had a lot on her plate and she needed someone to be there for her, and like always, he was there. She preferred being in the open than in a closed area like a house. So long as he was by her side and stayed there, that was all she really needed.
Ichigo wrapped an arm around the petite girl's shoulders, "Tell me what's the matter," he said as he continued to hold her in the embrace as they walked, "I'm not going anywhere," he said his eyes softened as he looked at her, "Promise."