Disclaimer: Bleach is not mine, or else I would have made a christmas special with Ichi/Ruki in it!!
It was cold. Crisp. Fresh. The ground was white, the tops of trees were white, and every roof in sight was coated in white. Chilly air hit her lungs, contrasting with the warmth of her body. She smiled and exhaled. Her breath condensed in front of her. Her smile widened. Everything was so comfortable. So calm, so...peaceful. Black hair brushed bare arms as she rested her head on the window sill and closed her eyes, enjoying a slight breeze.
"Rukia." His familiar tenor floated from behind.
"...Hm..?" came the lazy reply. He chuckled.
"You'll get a cold if you don't put on a sweater."
"Hn..."
She could feel him rolling his eyes at her. Too bad. She wasn't going to move from this spot.
"...Come out with me."
"Hmm?" She tilted her head to the side, eyes half lidded, staring curiously back at the tall boy at the doorway.
"Let's go for a walk. It's better than being cooped up here anyways."
"Hmm..." Rukia looked back at her view over the roof tops. It looked like clouds...Hm. "Ok."
"Here. Put this on. It's Yuzu's. So don't dirty it or anything or else I'll get it from her." He cringed at the thought. His sister could be plain evil sometimes...
Rukia stood up slowly and accepted the sweater. She walked back to the window sill.
"Where ya goin'? My dad and the others are out. You can use the main door for on--Rukia!"
She had thrown him a smirk and made an Olympic worthy jump onto the neighbor's roof. She failed her arms wildly, ignoring Ichigo's shouts as she gradually got her balance. Looking back to the gaping boy hanging halfway out of the window, she waved mischievously with a huge smile pasted on her face.
"What are you waiting for?" She called back. "Let's go for our walk."
"Idiot!! What do you think you're doing?! What if you had fallen?" Ichigo yelled back angrily, face flushed in fear for her. He didn't go all the way to Soul Society to save her just for her to kill herself later! Growling in annoyance, he reached for a snoring Kon, but stopped. Kon, awake Peace, poof. Heh. If Rukia could make a leap of 2 meters, he sure could! Frowning, he propelled himself forward to the smirking Rukia.
A solid bang and the mushy sound of snow falling onto gravel signaled his safe landing. Surprising himself and to Rukia's annoyance, the orange haired shinigami found his balance immediately.
"Hehehe, looks like you need more training." A grin adorned his face. Rukia rolled her eyes and let her arms, which was stretched out to maintain balance, drop to her sides.
"Egoistical fool." She muttered and took a step forward, just to slip and fall back. Two strong arms wrapped around her and steadied her. Bringing the petite woman closer against his chest, he looked down in amusement.
"You were saying?" His brown eyes twinkled above hers. She looked up into his eyes and whirled around, grasping his forearms as support.
"Let's go." She turned around and started walking slowly. This time with her arms outstretched and a fond smile on her face in which she was determined not to let her chuckling companion see.
They walked and jumped from roof to roof, both alternating the role of unsteady and steadiest. It soon turned into a game and both warriors were chasing each other over the rooftops, their laughter echoing into the stillness of the air.
Spotting their destination up ahead, Ichigo landed onto a flat roof, knees bending to absorb the pressure then spinning around to catch a laughing Rukia as she leaped from a taller building. Twirling the delighted girl around with an excuse of inertia, he added his tenor laughter with her alto. It was very rare they had a time to relax and unwind. It was even more special that they trusted each other enough to let go in front of each other.
A sting of icy snow on her nose alerted Rukia of her surroundings. They were on top of a four storey flat, looking out to the Karakura Park which was completely coated in ankle deep snow. She spied children pelting each other with snow balls and people, mostly couples walking side by side in either peaceful silence or animated talking. The river was frozen over and she could see people gliding so gracefully she would have thought they were actually flying.
"Wha-"
"It's called ice skating. They have a special kind of shoes that allow them to glide over the ice." Ichigo smiled as he watched the view over her shoulders. He gazed up into the sky and placed a hand on Rukia's shoulder.
"Rukia, look up."
A delighted gasp.
"It's snowing!"
"Aa." Ichigo smiled and looked down at her bright face. Her eyes were closed as she let the snowflakes caress her cheeks. Pale skin seemed to glow ethereally and he swore he could have mistaken her for an angel if he didn't know any better.
"Rukia...here." Ichigo fumbled around his pockets to produce a small white box, tied delicately with a silvery ribbon. Rukia turned her attention to the box and plucked it out of his palm and looked quizzically at it.
"Do you know what time is it of the year?"
"December?"
"Nope."
"Winter?"
"Nope."
She raised an eyebrow. "Is it one of your festivals? Just tell me."
Ah, the angel was getting a little irritated. He smiled.
"It's Christmas. Now, this is normally a western tradition, but there's no harm in adopting the same tradition."
"So it is a festival."
"Yes, I suppose you can say that." He nodded to her present. "Open it."
"Why did you give me a present?" She turned the box around in her palm. "I didn't do anything."
"Christmas is also the time of giving." He blushed. "And also the time of spending time with the ones you care about."
"Oh.." He corners of her mouth quirked up and she untied the ribbon carefully, eyes sparkling in contained excitement. It's been so long since someone gave her a present. The lid of the box was lifted and her eyes widened.
"It's a pendant." She stated as she ran her finger over the small stone. Two winding silver frames curled around a small, clear gem and wrapped its vines protectively at the base of the precious stone, preventing it from falling to the ground. It was simple, yet beautiful. Rukia held the minute object on her palm and looked up into brown eyes.
"Ichigo...It's beautiful." She smiled gently at him. "Thank you."
Ichigo couldn't help but return her smile. "Nothing to it." He took the narrow but thick ribbon from her hand and threaded it into the loop of the pendant. "Here." The lone jewel surrounded with two vines, now hung elegantly on the silvery string. Rukia graced him with a smile again and reached for the pendant turned necklace.
"No, let me." He slid behind her and tied the two pieces of string together deftly but surely around her pale neck. She stared at the sparkling charm which lay just below her collar bones. She would definitely be taking very good care of it. It looked so fragile...it was a pity she couldn't wear it more often than she wanted to.
Ichigo caught her concerned look. "Don't worry. That stone there, is a diamond, the hardest rock in the world. Doesn't scratch easily, that one. The string is actually a chain with leather covering, so you wouldn't have to worry about loosing the whole thing. I know it looks pretty flimsy, but--" His eyes widened in surprise.
A warm body wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest.
"It's been a very long time since someone gave me a present. Thank you." Her voice was choked with emotion and she tightened her grip on him. Just as she started to pull away, larger arms engulfed her small frame and brought her closer. Ichigo buried his nose into her hair, breathing in the fragrance of strawberry shampoo and the scent of snow.
"I told you. Nothing to it."
A minute passed, then two. Neither wanted to break away. A rich sound wafted through the air and the murmurs of people below them reached their ears. Finally, they broke away reluctantly to inspect the commotion four stories below. Ichigo kept a protective arm around Rukia as they leaned on the cement barrier to look below.
It was a caroling group. Two violinists, one male and one female. The male violinist was wearing a fashionable pair of purple sun glasses. At first, Ichigo thought the guy might be blind, but was proven wrong when lighting blue eyes were revealed when he opened his eyes to glare at a comment made by a tall, dark man with a white bandanna around his forehead. Was he a zoo keeper or something? There was a freaking crow on his shoulder! The second violinist played and drew both their attention to her. The girl looked no more than sixteen, but played with a professional air about her. Rukia blinked when the violinist opened her eyes. She was blind! The black haired shinigami relaxed into her warm, strawberry pillow. Ichigo tightened his arm over her absent mindedly as he surveyed the group of carolers beneath them. He recognized the female violinist. Something Madoka. The famous blind violinist.
As the rest of the group, consisting of a blond boy in a green vest, the crow guy, a blue haired girl, another busty blond female, a tall man with shades, a long haired girl, no guy (Ichigo had to do a double take) and a relatively normal looking high school girl opened their mouths and sang, the couple above them made themselves comfortable on two discarded chairs and cuddled together. Rukia's head on Ichigo's chest and his arm around her waist.
As she fiddled with her necklace and as the soothing melody of 'The First Noel' echoed through her ears and into her head, unconciously recording the tune. She smiled happily in her cozy nest. She never ever wanted to move.
"Merry Christmas, Rukia."
"Aa. Merry Christmas, Ichigo."
Everything was perfect.
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A/N: Owari. Have a Merry Christmas everyone! And if you can, tell me what you thought about the story. Constructive criticism is always good:)