Yeah…so originally I wasn't going to write a fic but I couldn't help myself because I'm rediscovering my love for IchiRuki =)

This story will be taking place sometime after the Fullbring Arc and before the current arc.

Standard Disclaimer Applied.

mail myself to you

The heat was sweltering in the Kurosaki household on the fourteenth of July.

Ichigo had awoken to find himself covered in a light sheen of sweat with his hair matted to his forehead. He groaned at the uncomfortable feeling and immediately went to take a cool shower, but not before switching on the air conditioning. His dad and sisters seemed to be out somewhere and it didn't take a genius to figure out that they were probably gathering supplies for his traditional birthday dinner at midnight. He thought it was a silly tradition to have the dinner right at midnight but that never stopped his family from having it for him and it never stopped him from feeling truly thankful and content.

He would be eighteen.

Had it really be three years since he had gotten his Shinigami powers?

Had it been three years since his life changed forever because of her?

Rukia…

He would never admit it out loud to anyone but somewhere deep down he was hoping she would be there for his birthday. He hadn't seen her for five months since the Xcution ordeal. He wondered why he had expected her to visit him on a regular basis since regaining his powers. He sulked every time he thought about it.

Ichigo entered the house around 11:20 pm after spending the day with his high school friends at the beach.

"Ichi-nii, you'll be eighteen in a couple minutes! Are you excited?" Yuzu grinned as she approached him immediately upon his arrival.

"Ah, not really, it's just a number. Age doesn't really matter." Ichigo waved his hand nonchalantly.

He had started feeling this way only after meeting Rukia. She was, after all, nearly ten times his age. Or so she claimed. Sometimes he got the feeling she was much older. It didn't matter though. She could've been a thousand times older than him and he would still regard her the exact same way.

He had considered large age gaps betweens couples weird for the longest time. Not that he saw himself and Rukia as a couple, of course. Not that he hoped for it either. Having her in his life just made him more open-minded, that's all.

"Hmph. Well you better start getting excited because we worked hard on your birthday dinner," Yuzu pouted.

"Of course, that's always the best part," Ichigo smiled down at her while ruffling her hair.

"Well, you better head upstairs so we can set up! No peaking either!"

"Alright, alright."

Ichigo preoccupied himself by taking an extra long shower until his dad and sisters came to harass him to hurry up, get dressed and come downstairs. They made it their mission to obscure his vision all the way to the dining table. When he was finally allowed to look, he was shocked to find bunny shaped onigiri with cucumbers for ears standing out amongst the banquet of food on the table. Yuzu would make these for Rukia upon discovering she also shared a love for bunnies. Ichigo would be forced to help make them against his will.

He didn't know what he was feeling while looking at the edible rice shaped rabbits.

Surprise…a bit of amusement…the somewhat choking feeling of nostalgia…

It was exactly 11:53 pm.

"Ichigo, my boy! Say something!" His father gave him a friendly smack on the shoulder.

"Thanks you guys, this is really something," Ichigo said with a smile. Nobody missed the somewhat defeated look in his posture and the creasing between his eyebrows despite the smile. Ichigo quickly turned to admire the strawberry cheesecake instead. It was his and Rukia's favourite; something they actually agreed on with no argument whatsoever.

"Ichigo, it's almost midnight! Before you blow out your candles you should go check your closet! There's a present in there for you," Yuzu beamed. Isshin was also grinning very hard and even Karin couldn't help the slight quirk of her lips.

Ichigo blinked and briefly wondered what could make them all smile at him in such a way.

Surely it couldn't be because…

Ichigo made an abrupt turn and headed straight up to his room while his family stayed where they were. He burst through his door and marched right up to his closet. His heart was beating much faster than it should be for someone who was in good shape. His hand hovered in midair for a while before he finally had the courage to slowly pull the door open.

He was greeted by the site of an empty closet with a single envelope that had never been there before lying on the old mattress.

For Ichigo.

Happy Birthday, fool.

There was a picture inside of what he assumed was supposed to be a bunny version of him holding Zangetsu. He sweatdropped and his right eye muscle twitched. His hair was not that messy.

"Flattering drawing, isn't it?"

Ichigo nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of Rukia's voice coming from behind him. He didn't turn right away. In fact, he stared down at his feet as a lump rose in his throat and his heart began to palpitate at a rapid pace again. Finally, he slowly began to turn around.

"…Rukia?"

Before he could take in the sight of her standing on his windowsill, he was met with the abrupt feeling of a kick to his face. "YOU IDIOT! THAT HURT!" She paid him no mind.

"Come on, idiot. It's almost midnight and your sisters told me that you blow your candles out at that time!" She took his larger hand in her smaller one and dragged him down the stairs.

...

...

...

"Ah, I see you've found your 'gift', Ichigo?" Isshin smirked as his eyes strayed to where Ichigo and Rukia were still holding hands. Ichigo flushed when he realized this and quickly pulled his hand away.

"It was all Rukia's idea to surprise you, Ichi-nii." Yuzu couldn't stop smiling at the distinct happiness she could see in Ichigo's eyes even though he was scowling.

He had trouble meeting Rukia's gaze from beside him. It was still such a shock to see her again after all the time they had spent apart. The blush on his face that didn't seem to want to go away wasn't making it any easier to look at her either.

"Enough chit chat you guys, it's 11:59! We can talk about this later," Karin said while smirking at her brother's red face. She pushed the strawberry cheesecake towards her brother after lighting the candles and he promptly extinguished them in one exhaled breath.

Instead of handing Ichigo the knife, Isshin gave it to Rukia. "Here you are, my third daughter. Cut a piece and feed it to Ichigo!" Rukia looked taken aback by his request so he added, "it's tradition."

"I see," was her reply before delicately cutting the cake after Yuzu and Karin helped removed the candles.

"W-what the hell are you taking about old man!" Ichigo spluttered while Rukia cut the cake as she was told and held it before Ichigo's mouth. This was not the tradition at all. He was simply supposed to blow the candles out and that was it.

"Lighten up, my boy! Just eat the cake."

"Yeah, Ichigo. You probably won't get another chance for Rukia to feed you until your wedding day," Karin stated in a teasing manner.

"S-shut up! Just…" But Ichigo was cut off by the feel of cake being shoved against his mouth.

"Eat it, fool," Rukia said with a smirk.

As he reluctantly did so, his ears were immediately greeted by awws, giggles and kissy sounds.

It was well passed one in the morning when Ichigo and Rukia made their way upstairs to his room.

"So did you enjoy your birthday?" Rukia asked with a coy smile while swinging her legs back and forth from her place on his bed after taking a seat.

"Yeah, I did. It was nice…same as always," Ichigo said while absently scratching the back of his head. "So…what made you decide to…visit all of a sudden?"

"Because it was your birthday, fool. Do you really need to ask?" Rukia's legs stopped swinging. "I…I'm sorry I haven't come to visit you Ichigo…both after you lost your powers and after they returned. It's just really difficult being a vice-captain with the paper work and such. Also, Nii-sama doesn't quite seem to enjoy me coming here."

"Tch. You don't have to apologize. I was just curious." Byakuya, that prick...

"Whatever you say. Your family kept insisting that even after you got your powers back, you were still a depressed fool. They said it's because you missed me and couldn't live your life normally without me—"

"I wasn't depressed at all, idiot!" Ichigo turned his back to her in an attempt to hide his flushed face.

Rukia didn't fail to notice that he hadn't denied missing her.

"I missed you too, Ichigo." She said with a soft smile, although he couldn't see it with his back facing her. With his back to her, Rukia also didn't see the small upward quirk of his lips.

"Ah…well you're here now so you don't need to miss me anymore. How…how long are you staying?"

"Maybe a few days. As long as I can, I guess," Rukia said while she stood up and walked in front of him so he could meet her eyes. "Happy birthday, Ichigo." She smiled up at him.

"Y-you…said that already." It was unnerving to see her staring at him with such an uncharacteristic display of happiness and affection on her face. He could feel his cheeks burning under her gaze.

"I guess I have."

And that was the last thing Ichigo registered before he felt her gently tugging him down to her level to press her lips to his own.

He was momentarily stunned at the direct pressure against his lips. They hadn't even spoken of how they felt for each other openly and here she was kissing him. But that seemed like the last thing he should be worrying about. Maybe this was her present to him, besides her being here. It was better than her crappy drawing of him, that's for sure.

Either way, the feeling of his eyelids drooping shut had nothing to do with the fact that it was almost two in the morning.

Okay, so this was a very happy birthday.

And that was his last thought before finally kissing her back. It was the first time in their lives that they were doing this. Judging from the happiness that blossomed through him and the eager way Rukia ran her fingers through his hair, Ichigo just knew it wouldn't be their last time either.

I know it's kind of rough but it's been a while since I've written a story and I just decided to write this last minute, lol. I might take the story down or edit it when I'm less busy.