I do not own Bleach (Tite Kubo does :))

Hi everyone! So here's another one-shot. I added some quotes that I found to go along with it and that I liked. The story takes place sometime in the seventeen months that Ichigo and Rukia were apart. It's slightly depressing and angsty but with some fluff like usual. Warning: There are no lemons but certain "things" are implied ;).

"Dreams that do come true can be just as unsettling

as dreams that don't"

(Brett Butler)

It was way past midnight. Ichigo sat at his desk "doing homework". Something he did until the wee hours almost every night. The lamp on his desk flickered once again as he stared blankly at the book in front of him. Losing his shinigami powers meant he now had an open agenda. He filled his dull daytime life with school and small part time jobs that kept him not interested but busy. He hadn't been able to get his grades back up though, in order to do that you need focus. Concentration and interest was something the orange haired young man did not have.

"Fuck!" He yelled and swatted the heavy book off his desk. The bouncing of his yell in the empty room reminding him of the loneliness eating at his soul.

He put his head down on the desk as he ran his hands through his messy hair and kept them there. He hated this. Every night repeated itself feeling like a slow and painful torture. He managed to pretend everything was fine during the day until he was alone in his room. Here, there was no need to pretend. It made him wonder if he faked happiness to make everyone around him feel better or himself.

He didn't know.

All he knew was that he hated the whole thing. No one brought her up. Not his friends, not his sisters, not even his moronic father. He wasn't sure whether to be pissed off at the fact that they were clearly doing it to "not hurt his feelings" or to be thankful that they had enough common sense to not say anything.

He was thinking too much again.

He got up from the desk, absently turning off his lamp and threw his tired body on the bed. He closed his eyes in hopes of doing the only thing that seemed to numb the pain of going through life like this; sleeping.

"An era can be said to end when its basic illusions

are exhausted."

(Arthur Miller)

She kept herself busy as much as possible in her division. She even found it slightly enjoyable at times. It wasn't until she came home that her facade started to crumble down bit by bit.

Eating dinner with her brother was no longer something she looked forward to. Although it was true that in the many years of her adoption into the Kuchiki family she felt alienated and could only hope to have a more endearing relationship with her adoptive brother, this was no longer the case. The collected and cool demeanor she exuded when in her division and outside of the mansion's walls was extremely hard to keep up with when she got home.

Spending any time with her brother meant the continuation of such farce but even worse. She knew he could see right through her, which was something that bothered her even more. She was thankful he had the intelligence and compassion to not saying anything or to bring up the certain someone who had her in her current state.

When she was finally in the confines of her quiet room she took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. She removed the fukutaichou badge on her arm and put it to the side as she got ready for bed. She opened the sliding doors slightly to let the night breeze in. She walked over and laid on her futon, her tired bones aching from the physical training it received on a daily basis. She closed her tired eyes and hoped to soon be drifting off to the only place she could get away from it all; her sleep.

"Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die,

life is a broken-down bird that cannot fly."

(Langston Hughes)

The only noises that could be heard in the darkness of the forest were the sounds of the raindrops falling from the starless night sky. Ichigo walked around slightly disoriented. He didn't know where he was but honestly he didn't care. He figured it was yet another one of his ominous dreams.

The vast trees surrounding her were able to shield her from some of the rain as she walked around in the obscure forest. She had no particular direction as she walked aimlessly through the pathless forest.

They came to a clearing and noticed only one large tree in the center surrounded by the falling rain. The tree was large and beautiful; it had an ethereal appeal and the shaded area underneath it seemed to glow. The lonely souls walked towards it unaware of the other. They leaned their backs on opposite sides of the large tree and slumped down. They stared at the dark forest lost in their own thoughts until the rain became stronger. Thunder and lightning struck the area, causing Ichigo to deepen his scowl and frown and Rukia to shriek and bring her knees to her chest.

At the sound of her voice he was quick to react and walk to the other side of the tree. Their eyes wide in shock…

"Rukia…" He said above a whisper as he stood frozen.

"Ichigo…" She said his name in disbelief. She stood up and reached to touch his warm cheek and gently traced his defined jaw.

He was brought to what he thought to be reality at the feel of her touch. Instinctively, he pinned her against the large tree and without hesitation crashed his lips on hers. She wrapped her small arms around him as she kissed him back.

After his initial roughness he continued kissing her but in a more attentive way. Now that he knew she wasn't just a figment of his imagination he wanted to taste her and take pleasure in her slowly, something he regretted not ever doing.

His tender presence brought her repressed feelings to the surface and they came flooding down in the form of warm tears down her flushed cheeks.

He broke the kiss to stare into her eyes. Her violet eyes were as sad as they had been during their last goodbye. When she looked up into his chocolate eyes she saw the dullness in them she wholeheartedly abhorred.

They didn't know why or how they had gotten there. Maybe it was an illusion, a trick played on them by their sick minds.

They didn't care.

All they knew was what they felt, and whatever this was it felt too real to not act on it and go with it. Without saying a word they gave in and continued to act out on the instinctual feelings they never did.

Ichigo continued to kiss Rukia passionately until he had his fill and felt slightly content. He started to remove the obstructing clothing from her body as it fell carelessly on the wet grass. She was slightly apprehensive but did the same, slowly exposing his perfectly lean body. The unfiltered drops of rain cooled off their heated bodies casing Rukia to shiver slightly. Ichigo lifted Rukia off the ground and laid them on their discarded clothes as he hovered over her. He felt his lips turn up into a sincere smile at the sight of her, something he hadn't done in such a long time that it seemed foreign to him. Her inquisitive violet eyes looked at him and analyzed his handsome features. When she noticed the small smile and familiar spark in his brown eyes she smiled back at him.

Her hands entangled in his wet hair as she brought him to her and kissed him tenderly. He broke the kiss and started trailing kisses on her neck and collarbone. The warmth of his body and the coolness of the rain made a heavenly combination. He proceeded to show her all the love he had been harboring within him.

The feeling inside of her was enough to last her for this lifetime and the next. Likewise, the feelings she inspired in him made him believe this night could give him the strength he needed to continue on….

Quite some time later Ichigo's back was against the tree as he cradled Rukia's small body in his arms. She was leaning against his chest hearing his fluttering heartbeat. He was hugging her tightly knowing that she could disappear at any time without notice. She was tracing patterns on his sculptured abs with one hand and holding his hand with the other.

They started getting sleepy but before they dozed off they looked into each other's eyes.

"Rukia I…" He started but was cut off by a kiss. She knew how he felt and didn't want to hear his loving words, she would rather feel his love. Ichigo smiled into the kiss knowing that she also loved him and missed him more than words could say. After a few minutes their tired but satisfied bodies finally dozed off….

"I had a dream my life would be different from this hell I am living, so different from what it

seemed. Now life has killed the dream I dreamed."

(Victor Hugo)

*beep*beep*beep*

Ichigo swatted what to him was the most annoying invention on earth. He sat up and looked out his window. It was raining. Any other day he would have cursed at the gloomy day. Not today. The shadow of a smile appeared on his face as he recalled his dream. He was thankful his mind was able to tease him in such ways.

As he walked alone to school in the rain he smiled for the second time that day thinking of his far away love…

"Kuchiki-sama…" Rukia heard the voice of a woman and opened her eyes.

"Kuchiki-sama, you need to get ready now so that you are not late for work." The small servant said.

"Thank you." Rukia said with a smile and sat up.

She noticed she had left her sliding doors open when it apparently had been raining last night. She recalled her dream and smiled as she got ready. She was happy to have had him even if only in her dreams…

Hi again! So I hope you guys liked this little one-shot. The days have been kind of gloomy and rainy in my side of the world which inspired me to write this. It's different than my other stories so if you guys get a chance let me know if you liked it or if it was kind of blah.

If you guys think I should up the rating let me know too!

:) Thanks :)