The day had started off much greater than the ones in the previous week.

The sun was just high enough in the sky to give the blades of grass an appealing glow; each crystal marble of dew reflecting its inner sparkle back to the sky, shimmering as the wind blew ever so softly through the newly mown lushes of green. Every time a foot disrupted its harmony, the scent of rain lifted through the whole of the city and masked the air in a glimmering hue. The sun itself, washed over each square of land, pleasantly blanketing it in a cocoon of warmth that soothed the people in the vicinity. Even the singing of the birds managed to orchestrate into a unique song that chorused throughout the skies.

It marked a perfect day.

The only thing Rukia regretted was waking up that blissful morning to get to work.

"Marry me."

By the dull pounding in her temples, Rukia could feel the familiar throbbing of a headache starting up. She had been patient up until now, enduring everything the demon of a man could throw at her; the flirting, the winking, she even managed to calm herself down from breaking his arm when he opted to make a pass at her rear.

It was already hell on earth for every waking moment of the day, just being in the same building with the fool. If this was fate trying to toss this out for a couple of laughs, she wasn't amused. Not. At. All. The mere thought of spending the rest of her life with him sent shudders of terror down her spine, there just wasn't enough painkillers in the world to get her by a day with him.

"Come on. Why do you even need time to think about it?"

Her thoughts started to run haywire -hysterical even. Did she do something bad in her past life to be punished like this? Were they testing her? Was that what this was all about?

Did all of Buddha, Jesus and peanut butter tag-team in a sick game of 'drive Rukia insane', and cruelly decided to bring this man upon her life, just to see how deep her sanity ran? She slowly started to pinch at the bridge of her nose. Maybe, just maybe, her whole life was nothing but a dream; a horrible, mind-aching nightmare –probably from all the stress of her work… and when it was time to wake up, it would all be gone.

Anything and everything affiliated with that obstinacy would disappear.

"I mean, isn't it the obvious thing to do?"

The biggest misfortune in her life, she was confident to say.

With no sense of shame, he sickly battered his eyelashes at her… as if it would falter her. Rukia felt a twitch at her brow, 'who the hell even has orange hair?!'

She cursed under her breath. Were his eyes shimmering? Were they really?

'Oh my god… they're twinkling…'

Just as she was about to look away, the one beam of sunlight in the room decided to mess with her mind and illuminated his face... his rather gorgeous, stunning face that was so innocently resting in his hand. Then she noticed the firmness of his arm and felt her eyes tracing over his shoulders, each and every godly-sculpted muscle filling the striped shirt just enough to give his physique a tight, well-built look… and those eyes…

"Silence is a ye-"

"No."

Rukia bolted up from her seat. Short, inky tresses swayed frantically from side to side at such an absurd proposition, "No. No. No. No. No."

The man on the other side of the desk followed suite and got up. Straightening his broad back, his height over towered Rukia's much more petite figure. His lip protruded in a pout and he lifted his arm to place it over his heart, "six no's? Now that's just hurtful."

Pearly white teeth gnawed at the lower lip to stop a string of profanities from escaping. She would abuse him later, but they were at work right now and she could already see the curious faces of her coworkers peeking from the blinds of her office. She had to keep things professional for now, so instead, Rukia settled with a glare, "with all due respect, Kurosaki-san, I'm grateful for your… proposal, but I must decline. I don't date my colleagues."

He had the Gods to thank that the power of shooting lasers from her eyes wasn't bestowed on her, because if they had, he would've been incinerated in a heartbeat.

Rukia slowly exhaled to compose herself. Grabbing a handful of haphazardly stacked papers, she started to organize them, desperately hoping that the man would take the hint and leave her office, "that's a great work ethic, and I hope that you continue to keep it-"

The petite woman forced the corner of her lip to twitch up in a smile, "why thank you, I plan on doing just that." She walked over to the other side of the room and placed the mountain of paperwork at the dark, wooden bench in front of the window, her back facing her tormentor. She saw the sun leaking pleasantly into the room, giving it a sensual hue – today started as such a pleasant day too… it was such a pity, a waste of a good day. Reading over the paperwork, the raven-haired beauty failed to register the sound of the blinds closing shut and a pair of feet making its way to her –elegantly, confidently.

"But…"

Warm hands grabbed at her slim waist and forcefully turned her around, letting go only to imprison her in a makeshift cage of well-toned muscle –sensual, sensual muscle that flexed under her dazzling amethyst eyes.

"…I'm not your colleague, I'm your boss," strikingly tanned face leaned in close to hers; clashing with her smooth, snow white skin. A handsome grin etched on his lips, showing rows of perfectly aligned teeth –a grin that would've reduced the majority of women to nothing but a puddle of water, "and I'm not asking for a date," Rukia felt his breath blow over her lip every time they opened to talk and could see his amber eyes in finer detail. A stunning and dangerous combination of amber and gold to give them a charming flair, "I'm asking for your life. With mine. Together. With lots of happiness and…"

A little satisfied mewl escaped from his lips, "…lots of children…until we grow old and die."

Blushing was something that did not happen to her. Ever. But right now, she was fighting a lost battle against the blood that had pooled adorably at her cheeks.

Do not, however, misunderstand.

Just because his words managed to draw a blush from her, did not mean that she would start mewling over at his feet. Oh no, no, no, Rukia still hated his guts. Her admitting that he had breath-taking eyes, perfectly aligned teeth and a great body didn't mean anything either.

It wasn't like she was blind, he was blessed in the looks department, she acknowledged that; it just didn't do him any good against her, "listen here Kurosaki Ichigo, we're in the office right now, your work place, and you better drop it before I have your company guessing how you died."

Ichigo gave a low, husky purr; one that vibrated deep in his chest, "I love it when you threaten me."

She was either going to die from suppressed rage or from a sudden blood rush to the face, she swore to God she was, "I'll ask nicely for you to step back, Kurosaki-san. If you value your future generation of mini carrot-tops, I suggest you comply." She growled lowly, if anything, her warning encouraged the taller man to lean his face closer and nuzzle the crook of her neck. With no hesitation, Rukia lifted her heel and stabbed it painfully on his foot.

No amount of expensive leather would be able to absorb the pain that was to come.

An uncharacteristic yelp of agony rippled in the office and Rukia let out a breath of relief when the ginger headed man backed off to nurse his abused foot. The door of her office burst open to reveal several curious heads poking in to see what all the commotion was about, "what happened Kuchiki-san?"

Rukia plastered a smile on her face and walked over to where the man was crouching over his foot, 'as if you didn't know, you nosy bastards,' she felt pleasantly happy with herself when Ichigo snapped his head up to face her, his face contorted in pain, "you stubbed your toe pretty hard, are you alright, Kurosaki-san?" The curious workers stifled their laugh at her remark. How was it possible to stub your toe when you were wearing six hundred dollar leather shoes?

Shooing the workers away, Rukia felt a satisfying smile stretch across her face when Ichigo got up and stood with much of his weight on his right leg, 'serves the idiot right.' Wearing an expression that promised much more pain in the foreseeable future, she dusted at the man's shoulders and started to fix up his electric blue tie, inching tighter around his neck with each passing minute, "I'm sure you have places to be and important hands to shake. Pray to God that they are as patient with you as I am, Kurosaki Ichigo." Smiling, Rukia stepped back and led him to the door.

"I hope you have a great day, Kurosaki-san."

Ichigo readjusted his tie so that the fabric wasn't constricting his windpipes. In all his years of working at the management, never had he encountered a woman who enticed him as much as that she-demon, midget did. Now, he did admit that he had met numerous ladies of great caliber - celebrities, daughters of big, powerful company bosses and outstanding chief executive officers in their own field. All who were very, very fine looking he had to say.

Though not the one to boast, he was pretty damn efficient in his own turf as well; and to add the icing on the cake, he knew that he was pretty easy on the eyes. Yet, this vertically challenged woman, 'who had a pair of superb, creamy legs,' he mentally added -with her gorgeous amethyst speckled orbs, plump carnation pink lips and smooth, snow-white complexion- blatantly challenged his position on her first day of work and completely threw him off track. It was a rush of absolute disbelief at first, females fawned at his feet, not the other way around –especially not because some crazy Thumbelina sized demon kicked him in the shins.

At first, he was dumbfounded at such impudence; she was a little spitfire who needed to be shown who was the alpha in this relationship –the top dog, the boss. Everyday was a battle against her feisty tongue for Ichigo and it most likely would've driven him crazy if not for the fact that it all changed.

On one particular day, everything shifted. The day didn't start out too extravagantly and there were certainly no warning signs of what was to come that very afternoon. But when it did, it hit him like a five-ton truck doing two hundred on a freeway.

He didn't remember what they were arguing about, and honestly? It didn't matter too much.

All he could recall was the fact that he was in his office.

With Rukia.

At Night.

Alone.

And he had been very conscious of her deliciously pink tongue as she shouted. Ichigo believed himself to be a man who got around fairly well, so he had never been so fixated on somebody's tongue before. Nevertheless, her mouth captivated his attention that night and each time they opened to try and say something, he felt his lungs constrict.

When Rukia had slammed her small fist on the desk and stood up to yell even more, looking up from where he was seated, Ichigo swore to God that he was winded -for Rukia was breathtaking in her fury. She literally glowed with a fierce inner energy that erupted to life, her amethyst eyes were bright with agitation and her stance was stiff and insistent, making it obvious that their argument was one fight that she would not back down from.

Ichigo vividly recalled the look of pure rebelliousness on her face and remembered how it had aroused him beyond belief.

So he did the obvious thing to do. He reached over for her neck and brought her lip crashing down onto his.

And she was delicious.

He had hungrily devoured her lip like a parched kitten lapping at milk, his tongue prodded and explored every inch of her mouth –feeling it, memorizing it. He was even conscious of the dainty hand of hers that was on his chest; feeling the sensation of the scalding heat through the material of his shirt.

Slowly, he had started to feel dizzy at the lack of oxygen and unwillingly detached his mouth from hers, almost whimpering when he did so; they were both breathing ridiculously hard and his heart felt like it was beating out of control. He didn't know what color his face was but he knew that it must have been close to scarlet. The heat in the office was increasing tremendously and their proximity to one another didn't help matters much –her standing in between is his legs also made him realize that he had a certain problem that he desperately hoped she would relieve.

Of course, this was Rukia he was talking about. So what did she do?

She picked up the steel nameplate that had his name engraved on it and slammed it straight across his head –which was so not sexy.

It had been several months since the incident; Ichigo could still feel the pain on cold days. Despite this aching memory, he felt no regret for what he had done. Rukia, he also realized, had a knack for picking up whatever was closest to her to use as a weapon whenever she disciplined him. The handsome man would've been lying if he said he never imaged little fluffy, pink handcuff scenarios. He wasn't a fetish fan, but if it was her, Ichigo didn't mind looking into masochism. Running his hand through his short, orange locks at the memory, he gave an amused snort and started to head towards the door.

"Love you too…"

Just as his injured foot stepped out of the threshold of her office, he turned around with a playful smirk, "sweetheart."

Rukia subconsciously reached for the closest object to her, a glass vase, and realized that her fingers were twitching, trembling, to inflict some serious, permanent damage to that man. He was going to be the end of her sanity; she could feel it.

Exhaling deeply, she closed her eyes and counted to three. It didn't really help her too much, but it gave her enough time to acknowledge the fact that if she killed that… that orangutan in this building, she would be the prime suspect… It would have to be done discreetly… discreetly…

Setting the vase back down on the tabletop, Rukia reached over to the pile of papers and brought them with her to her desk. All the while, the plan to extinguish the boss was running through her scrambled mind, 'maybe if I drench him in gasoline and light him on fire…' Sitting down in her overtly squishy chair. She mewled in pleasure as her body sunk down into its leathery softness, every muscle relaxing and melting into its comfy embrace. She always loved this chair; whenever her nerves were shot, it did a miraculous job of soothing her.

Breathing in and out, slowly and deeply, Rukia started to read over the paperwork in front of her, 'or maybe I could set wild baboons on him…' She gave a small laugh that, to a sane person, would've been hysterical and slightlymaniacal… just slightly…

'No… he would probably be able to talk with them. Begging with them to spare his feeble life…' The thought drew another small giggle from the woman.

"… Kia-chan, are you… alright?"

The petite figure jumped up from her chair and stared wide-eyed at the office door, hand clutching at her startled heart, "Rangiku! Don't scare me like that!"

The tall, busty figure stepped into the office and clicked the door shut behind her, "I knocked but you didn't answer."

The strawberry blonde employee sashayed her way over to Rukia's side, humming softly under her breath and walking with a little more sway in the hips than usual. Rukia's eyes narrowed as she analyzed her friend's face; her glossed lip was two shades lighter than usual, the black eyeliner was slightly thicker and there was a slight tinge of pink on her cheeks from the blush.

Oh yeah, she had so gotten laid last night.

"What's with the sour look, Kia-chan?" The soft humming was still present and it somewhat calmed Rukia. She set the paper down and sighed, it seemed as though work was not going to get done today… Her friend was good at her job; there were no doubts about that, but Matsumoto Rangiku was also a loud distraction. Additionally she had a long-running history of trying to set her up on blind dates every time she walked through the door.

"What did you imagine this time?" Rangiku walked over to the coffee, sugar and cream and started to play witch cauldron with the ingredients.

Rukia gave a small pout, "lighting him on fire…"

The metal spoon was set down on the tray with a small clink, the smell of caffeine wafted closer to Rukia as Rangiku walked back over to the desk, her high heels clicking with the floor with each step, and set it in front of her "you already thought of that one, what else was there?"

The aroma teased at her nose until she picked up the cup to bring it closer to her mouth, she took one long whiff "setting wild baboons on him…" and took a sip from the sweet addiction, reveling at the feeling of the hot sensation that spread throughout her body –now that was soothing.

Rangiku shook her head in disapproval; her strawberry blonde curls creating soft waves around her thin, pale face and took out her own pile of paperwork, "sometimes, I don't understand what you're thinking, Kia-chan."

Rukia set the cup down and gave her friend a skeptical stare with eyebrow raised and all, "what do you mean?"

Smoky blue eyes shifted from the paper and fell on Rukia's face, exhibiting its own look of doubt. Rangiku slammed her hands on the desk and shoved her face right in front of the raven-haired beauty. Surely her friend wasn't that naïve. Rukia's brow twitched when her friend's fragrance torrentially assaulted her nose; as the pair of blue eyes inched closer, Rukia worried that her gargantuan… udders would fall out of their clothing. Rangiku wanted to groan and rip her well-curled hair out, the girl had no idea of what was happening around her, "Rukia! That man is such a catch, he likes you," she emphasized, "and you want to drive him away with baboons?! Are you insane?!"

Rukia had to admit, when Rangiku put it like that, she could kind of feel the sincerity… then she let out an unladylike scoff, "he's a womanizer, it's what he was born to do."

"He's a gorgeous womanizer."

"He's my boss."

"Which means you can do office role-plays!" Rukia stared up at Rangiku, who only held a grin – a smug, lecherous grin. And like that Rukia just stared at her friend until the grin on her lips dropped into a pout, "Kia-chan," the consonant was drawn out in a sickly, girly voice and Rukia felt the dull throbbing of a migraine returning, "have you never noticed how he looks at you?" To think back, there were times when Rukia caught him staring at her. It wasn't shown too often, or for too long, but she shuddered every time she saw that look reflected in his eyes. It was a kind of chilling gaze he had, as if he was… hungry for something.

Rangiku gave a sigh at her friend's stubbornness, "sooner or later, Kia-chan, you'll fall for him. And you'll fall hard."

Rukia begged to differ.

The sudden ringing of the telephone crackled through the casual atmosphere. Picking up the receiver, Rukia mentally cringed when a sickeningly sugarcoated voice sounded through the earpiece, "Rukia-chan," the suffix was drawn out oh so slightly, "I just realized that I forgot my paperwork at your office, it's in a blue folder, bring it down with a cup of coffee. Thanks."

Click.

Doot.

Doot.

Doot.

Calmly placing down the phone, Rukia chewed on her tongue and glanced around for the offending blue binder. She zeroed in on it resting innocently next to the vase that had nearly become a projectile weapon, 'cunning bastard'.

Getting out from her warm chair, she made her way around her table and stomped towards the folder, "I'll be back" striding swiftly to the door, Rukia halted in front of it before turning back, "I'm taking this with me," she grabbed the cup of steaming coffee from Rangiku's well manicured hands and exited the room, ignoring the irritated whining that swept after her.

Heels clicking against the timber floors, Rukia clutched the plastic folder closer to her as his voice started resonating around her head again.

It wasn't like she was actually considering it or anything; it hadn't even been an hour since he had offered it.

But a handsome, alluring, well-built man, 'who looked absolutely fine in a suit,' did technically just propose to her… it wasn't her fault that her mind started drifting off into Lala Land to visualize what it would be like to live with him. Rukia mentally listed all the pros and cons of having Kurosaki Ichigo as any sort of a nuptial partner.

Firstly, he was eye candy at its finest. She admitted this.

Tall and lean, but beefy enough to give him a solid build, it was as if the Greek Gods had personally sculpted each muscle to its perfection. He always wore form-fitting suits that outlined every dip and bulge of his arms, purposely making it painstakingly obvious that he had a good body. His lips were always set in a frown or a boyishly rebellious smirk. Hands had a strong grip, always warm, and had a habit of running through full, thick orange locks; something that even Rukia had the urge to do at times of rare truce and peace.

It was a rather violent clash, she thought, with her inky tresses and practically all other physical aspects between them. Even his eyes were on the other end of the color spectrum. In normal, office lighting, they were a stunning shade of amber. It was out in the sun where she would always catch herself just staring into his irises, looking into those delicate chocolate tones mixed in with gold honey.

It left her breathless.

Secondly, he was good at what he did.

Rukia scoffed; 'apart from all that womanizing he does around the building and across the entire damn country…' The man was a pain in the ass. A tormentor of the soul. Satan's offspring. He smirked, winked and flirted with anything that had breasts. But, when he had a job to do, he did it well and meticulously. A bit brash at times, and not to mention, on several occasions he had completely disregarded the law in order to get what his company wanted.

He was a stupid risk taker who refused to be fazed by authority and made hell of a lot more work for her.

More work meant overtime shifts.

Overtime shifts usually steered into night shifts.

Which ultimately lead to many nights spent alone.

With him.

In all his conceited, Casanova glory.

And…

That was about it…

Rukia despised any and every other aspect he possessed.

So basically, marrying him would give her absolutely no merit and would only result to an early death.

'Yet that bastard's having fun toying with me like this,' She gave a sigh; she had been doing that quite frequently after she started working under Ichigo. Keeping an eye out for him completely drained the energy out of her life every time Rukia went home after work. Glancing down at the cup of steaming coffee in her right and the folder in her left, she felt more like his mother than anything, "good morning, Rukia-san…"

Rukia closed her eyes and counted to three to compose her self. Turning around at the sound of the cheerfully strained voice, her apathetic gaze fell on the young woman. She had a familiar shade of long, reddish-orange hair, gleaming gray eyes, a slim physique, and had a pair of breasts that came second only to Rangiku's magnitude. Gaze narrowed a bit when she noticed the woman's stiff posture and the noticeable tenseness in her jaw, "morning, Inoue-san."

"Kurosaki-san told me to expect you. I could take it in for you if you wish."

The petite woman stayed rooted in her position, 'I bet you'd like that, you psychotic fan-girl…' she bit back a small snort from escaping through her lipsand instead, gave a twitchy smile, "it's quite alright." Looking back, Rukia stared at the large wooden door in front of her, eyeing the 'Kurosaki Ichigo' nameplate that was stuck on the timber, "Kurosaki-san, I have the documents and your coffee."

Silence replied to her.

She felt a vein pulse in her temple, "Kurosaki-san…" she was almost seething with annoyance, especially at the fact that she could feel his secretary boring holes at the back of her head "I have your paperwork and goddamn coffee…" The tip of her black shoe connected softly with the door, "open up before I break this door down." He could hear her; even her quiet muttering at the end, she had no doubts about it, fool was just playing hard to get.

Her irritation calmed down somewhat when the door opened to reveal his smirking face, "sometimes, I already feel as if we're married. With you bringing me a nice cup of coffee in the morning like this." From her peripheral vision, Rukia saw the long, orange head of hair pipe up at the remark but paid no heed to his comment and made her way into the office. A light scent of spring wafted to her nose - it smelt like him. Hearing the faint click of the door, she walked up and placed the cup and papers on his black, steel desk. Everything else in the room, however, was blue –royal blue, sky blue, cobalt blue and any other shade of blue that she hadn't known existed until stepping into this… this prison, "you requested for it, sir."

"I also requested for your hand, soon-to-be Kurosaki Rukia-san." She could almost feel his stupid grin in those words. Rukia took a deep breath and turned to face Ichigo, she was done with these shenanigans for one morning, "Kurosaki-san, please be serious now. You need to prepare for your presentation and attend a meeting with Claynee Futz Group at one. And next time, please refrain from contacting me for such trivial matters. You have a perfectly fine secretary." She saw the corner of his lip twitch up in his trademark smirk, "do I sense jealousy?"

'Happy place,' Rukia closed her eyes and reminded herself sternly. 'Think of your happy place.'

Ignoring his teasing little jab, Rukia walked past Ichigo and made her way to the door, heels clicking faintly as she ambled across the tiled floor, "I'll leave you to your work then." Just as her slender fingers gripped around the steel handle, his voice stopped her in her tracks, "how about a date this afternoon? At five?" Rukia processed the words in her mind for a split second then preceded to trash the question all together, "have a nice day, Kurosaki-san." Just as she stepped out of the office, his thrilled shout escaped the room through the closing doors, "I'll be waiting!"

All the heads of the office workers who were within ear shot turned to rest their gaze on Rukia. Noticing the two different stares of amusement and jealousy, she felt the urge to curl up and bury her face in her hands. It also didn't help the fact that the busty secretary was giving her an icy glare over the desk, "are you alright, Rukia-san?" The woman asked brightly, her voice reaching new heights of super sonic bullshit.

"Just peachy." Inoue nodded to Rukia and gave a friendly beam. Although, no matter how large her smile was, how high up the corners of her lips went, or how bright her teeth were, there was no masking that tiny glint in her eyes. It was one that accompanied possessiveness and, dare she say it, jealousy. "I'm assuming all went well with Kurosaki-san?"

Rukia fought back the temptation to roll her eyes at the woman's persistence to continue the conversation. Her voice was beginning to drill another migraine into her head, "marvelously…" Rukia gritted out through tight jaws, "I'll be off now."

Without so much as turning around to give a more… polite farewell, Rukia walked back to her respective office. There was just something about that woman that made Rukia that much more edgier when she was around. Her not-so-secret obsession with the orangutan was also slightly eerie.

'I am ringed by fools."


"By the way, Kia-chan…"

Lavender eyes traced along the paper to finish off the sentence before looking up, waiting patiently for Rangiku to finish her sentence, "where did you head off to in the morning?" Rukia grunted and shifted her eyes back onto the document in front of her. Why was the topic of Kurosaki Ichigo always popping up every time she was just about to forget it all? It was an otherwise great day with beautiful weather; she just desperately wanted to keep it that way, "by the way Ran-chan," the secretary gave an uneasy laugh, that sardonic attitude was rearing its ugly head again.

She's been badgering at her friend to get rid of that brashness for years now! Guys did not find it attractive when their date was a human ice cube who had a sharpened dagger for a tongue; no matter how dolled up the petite woman was, "why are you working in my office?"

Rangiku gave a small pout of mock hurt, "don't be so stingy, work gets done faster when you're having fun." Silence settled in the room and she could feel the weight of Rukia judging her. Under her scrutinizing gaze, Rangiku grumbled back to her work.

Rukia sighed and looked back at her own document, 'impact on Tensho Corporation, by the rise in the 2012 stock markets, display a stable flow in revenue…'

'… impact on Tensho Corporation, by the rise in the 2012 stock markets, display a stable flow in revenue…'

'… impact on Tensho Corporation, by the rise in the 2012 stock markets, display a… didn't I just read this?'

Out of frustration, Rukia slammed down the papers and mentally groaned when several escaped the perimeter of the desk and flew onto the floor. Resting her elbow on the desk, she cupped her forehead in her hand and took a glimpse at the clock, which read seven, 'that idiot's probably gone home…'

"You have a date tonight?"

Rukia immediately straightened from her hunched position and cursed when she felt the blood rushing to her cheeks, "why would you think that?"

She was met with coy, husky-blue eyes and a mouth-splitting grin. If the corners of her lip drew up any further, Rukia swore she could dress her friend up with ears and a tail to go play Cheshire Cat in Wonderland. "Sweetie, please, we all know you would never have a reason to look at the clock when you so willingly stay behind to do work all the time."

Rangiku had a hawk's eye when it came to her love life, "who is it?"

Rukia averted her eyes and concentrated on the blank monitor situated at the corner of the desk. If it was anyone but Rangiku, it would've been obvious that the topic was a no-go. But… it was Rangiku.

After a couple of minutes of silence, shoulders eventually slumped in defeat, "I'm supposed to meet Kurosaki Ichigo… at fi- Ah!" With an uncharacteristic yelp, the petite woman was violently pulled of her chair and on her feet.

Standing motionless from the shock, she suddenly felt something around her shoulders and found it to be her navy blue blazer, "Rukia! Are you insane! It's seven!" Rangiku ran to her handbag and rummaged through its contents, God knew how hard it was to find anything in that mass void, "why the hell didn't you tell me this sooner!"

Rukia blinked at how feverishly Rangiku was searching through her bag; she slowly took the blazer off of her shoulders to place back on the hanger when Rangiku gave a sudden cry of triumph. Next thing she knew, the blazer was quickly readjusted on her shoulders with her arms through the sleeves and buttons done up to her chest. Rangiku gripped Rukia's chin and applied lip-gloss over the cream colored lipstick and quickly dashed on some light blush, "we don't have enough time to apply eyeliner!"

The busty woman held onto Rukia's wrist and hauled her out of the office, "Wait! Rangiku! We still have work to do!"

Without even turning around or slowing down, Rangiku made her way down the corridor towards the doors of the enormous building. Making turns right and left, Rukia came to wonder if their building was always such a labyrinth, "Just leave that to me!"

Rukia scowled and started to put up more of a fight against her friend, "Stop joking around. The company is going to gain a lot of profit from the deal we're preparing! I need to-"

"Rukia," Rangiku interrupted her, "the past times when you always told me that the suitors I matched you with, were inefficient in one way or another, I always left it at that and accepted your decisions."

Said woman scoffed, "only after you complained about a good hour or so, repeating how crazy I was for rejecting them."

The busty figure continued to pull Rukia towards the nearest lift, not even making an indication that she had heard the futile counter argument, "but this time, you have seriously lost it! Completely insane!"

And perhaps, Rukia was going insane.

Insane at the fact that her friend refused to drop the issue, "Rangiku, I'm sure he's already gone home!"

They hastily made their way into the brightly lit elevator. It was only when the bell chimed and doors slid closed that Rangiku let go of Rukia's wrists, "Rukia, exactly what is the reason that stops you from at least giving him a chance?"

If it were any other question asked by Rangiku, in any other tone, Rukia would've managed to come up with a witty remark on the spot to rebuke. Looking at her friend's stern face, all the arguments she had prepared at the back of her mind disintegrated and all Rukia found herself doing was staring. Sighing, Rukia found her voice again, "Rangiku, he…he's my boss. A womanizer. An orange-haired idiot that makes my work life a living hell. I can't see him offering me anything that would make me happy. And you know I'm not talking about money or luxuries."

The corner of Rangiku's lips slightly pulled down in a disapproving frown, "Rukia, I don't know why… but I really, really think you should go for it…"

The shorter woman gave a strangled whine, "Rangiku!-"

Suddenly the lift came to a halt and the doors slid open. Rangiku quickly grabbed onto Rukia's wrists and made her way to the building's entrance, "if he's there, Kia-chan, you're buying me dinner."

A frown set between Rukia's eyebrows, "this is getting ridiculo-"

Just as they stepped through the glass doors, Rukia bumped into Rangiku's back and gave a sound of disapproval, "why'dyu stop so suddenly?" When her friend stayed silent, Rukia tilted her left to see what the problem was. Eyes widened when they saw a familiar orange head of hair sitting on the metal benches at the side of the building's entrance. Beside her, Rangiku whispered through the corner of her lips, "you owe me dinner."

Rukia didn't even hear her.

The idiot had really waited.

Ichigo lifted his head when he heard the sound of footsteps. Seeing the two women in front of him, his amber eyes immediately fell on Rukia's face, "I was wondering how long you were going to keep me waiting, you crazy midget." Mouth slightly agape in bewilderment, Rukia continued to stare at him, 'why did he wait?'

Rangiku gave a small bow; despite working in the same building, their jobs were usually unrelated with each other, so there really wasn't much of a reason for her to look for him. It was rare for her to see the boss of Tensho Corporation like this and my, he really was quite a catch, "I apologize for her delay, she sometimes does stupid things like this."

Ichigo got up from the bench and walked over to the two workers, his eyes never leaving Rukia's stupefied face, "it's alright…" he allowed himself to give Rangiku a look akin to appreciation, "I kind of expected something like this." Rangiku in turn gave a small smile of her own before propelling Rukia in front of Ichigo.

Making her way back to the building, she gave a departing wave to the two; "take care of her for me, Boss-san! Have fun, Kia-chan!"

After Rangiku disappeared into the building, Ichigo gave a small humored grin whilst waving his hand in front of Rukia's face. Snapping out of her stupor at the enthusiastic flapping in front of her eyes, her brows dipped into a frown, "why did you wait?"

The grin fell into a pout and with all the adorability he could muster in his body, amber eyes upgraded to the 'puppy-dog' sparkle. He gave a small sniff and inwardly grinned when he could see the tiniest speck of worry ignite in her eyes, "you make me wait in the cold for two hours and that's all you can say to me? I'd day that's quite harsh of you, Rukia-chan."

Ignoring his informal use of her name, guilt immediately raked over Rukia's mind. She didn't intend to leave him waiting like this, she just never assumed his date proposal was serious, let alone the idea that he would actually wait for her in this god forsaken weather. A gust of air breezed past the two, earning a shiver from the petite woman. The blazer was just too thin for chilly evenings like tonight. Ichigo noticed the slight tremble in her form and mentally gave a chuckle. For a woman who was hell-bent on making his work life as miserable as possible, she looked cute when she was vulnerable like this. He shrugged off his gray overcoat and placed it over Rukia's shoulders, biting back a laugh when he saw her practically sinking into it.

Feeling the warmth radiating from the coat, Rukia could feel herself blushing again and realized how much of a man the orange idiot was. She felt sheltered in the embrace of his overcoat but didn't want to overstep the professional boundaries that she had tried so hard to maintain. Clutching the clothing, she moved to take it off, "a little chilly air won't faze me, take your coat back." As the front opened up, air rushed to fill the empty space and managed to earn another shiver from Rukia.

Ichigo gave a sigh and held onto her hands, slightly frowning when he could feel how cold they were in his warm grip. Tightening the garment tighter against her body, he snaked his arms around her thin waist and brought the smaller woman closer to him in an engulfing embrace, "can you feel that?" he whispered in her ear, smirking as he saw them turn red.

Rukia, for the second time that day, felt like dying from a sudden blood rush to the face. "I'm a walking furnace, so don't worry about me or the little lines you've drawn between us. Not tonight." He let go and held onto her hand, walking her towards his car.

Whatever he had said after that was drowned out by the sound of her heart hammering in her ears.

Kurosaki Ichigo was a dangerous man.

He was too much of an overwhelming figure that had barged into her well-balanced, professional life. He was just too… enticing. As much as the pounding in her chest was due to his lack of awareness concerning personal space, Rukia was also nervous at the thought of how high this man could take her before crashing her to the ground.

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To be continued…

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I do not own Bleach. Honors to go Kubo… I wonder if I really have to put this in every chapter though… is it necessary?

I had this chapter for MONTHS now, but only had the will to upload it now. Just to warm readers that I am quite a slow updater (and I apologize, I do try my best). And I'm trying to stay ahead of schedule.

I know I have two other stories, but I've been fixated on this plot bunny for months now and I thought, "heck, why the hell not?" and uploaded it xD.

I think there is a fair difference in the way I write as compared to my 'Oh, Kami-Sama!' And 'To Turn Back Time' fanfics. I hope it's alright though.

Read. Smile. Review.

Regards,

M.