D/C: I don't own BLEACH.

Ooh, I can't believe I'm finally writing a BLEACH fic! (realizes readers are here) Oh, hello! Y'know, I've been wanting to write a BLEACH fic for ages, but I never got any good ideas, but when I got the idea of this one, it seemed so cute I just couldn't resist! Enjoy!

Round the Shops

'Which size are you?'

Rukia blinked. She looked up from the book she'd been reading, at Ichigo, who looked back seriously at her. There was a wave of giggles threatening to come out, but she fought them back and tried to appear dignified. 'Excuse me? Which size am I?' she repeated. 'Why the hell would you want to know?'

Ichigo didn't flinch. 'Well, I'm going to get you some clothes,' he said, quite impassively. 'You have to stop taking clothes from my sister's wardrobe, you know.'

Rukia frowned at him. 'I'm quite fine with your sister's clothes, Ichigo...and while she isn't suspecting a thing, I don't think it's necessary to go out and buy clothes,' she told him, and turned back to her book. 'Bottom line, I don't want any new clothes.'

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. 'Are you sure? Because I've noticed that the clothes have become quite tight on you, your...assets are becoming quite obvious,' he told her.

Rukia turned a deep shade of magenta, and she aimed the book at his head, but to her annoyance, he dodged it quite effortlessly. 'Kurosaki, you pervert!!' she yelled. She looked away from him and folded her arms across her chest. 'I'm a growing woman.'

'Of course you are,' he agreed. 'Shall we go now?'

In a few minutes, the two of them were walking down the street towards the mall. Rukia had gone and borrowed a sweater from Karin's closet and had wrapped it tightly around herself, suddenly feeling self-conscious of her exposed nipples. Just the thought that Ichigo had gotten to have a look at them made her blush to the roots of her hair. They didn't say anything to each other all the way to the mall, and when they got there, they simply walked inside and headed to the nearest shop.

'Right,' Rukia said in a business-like tone, as she glanced around at all the arrays of different clothes which were on hangers and mannequins and shelves. She looked helplessly at Ichigo. 'So...what am I supposed to do now?'

Ichigo sighed in exasperation. 'You gotta be kidding me! Don't tell me you've never been in a shop before!' he exclaimed, and she meekly shook her head. He rolled his eyes. He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the nearest hanger. 'Listen up. All you have to do is pick out an outfit, take it to the changing rooms and try it on. That's all you have to do.'

Rukia looked up at him with polite puzzlement. 'Er...and how would I know that the outfit is right for me?' she asked.

Ichigo watched her for a moment, as if trying to determine whether she was kidding. 'You're hopeless,' he finally declared, and she blinked innocently up at him. 'Tell you what, put on the damn outfit and come out of the dressing room, and I'll tell you whether the thing fits you or not.'

Rukia gave him a skeptical look. 'So, just to be sure...you want me to model for you?' she asked.

It took Ichigo but a few moments to register the meaning of her words, and his face turned a delicate shade of crimson. 'Shut up!' he snapped. He grabbed a few tops and a couple of jeans from the jeans and shoved them into her arms. 'The dressing room! Now! Go!'

With a smug smile, Rukia carried the items to the dressing rooms. She went inside one and closed the door on her. She slipped out of her clothes and pulled on a dark blue pair of jeans and a funky, white tee. Most important of all, it didn't expose her nipples. She took a look at herself in the mirror, and thought she looked really good, but still, she wasn't the expert in human clothes. She opened the door and stepped outside, where Ichigo was waiting for her.

Ichigo's look was a thorough one, and Rukia suddenly felt extremely exposed. He finally gave her a satisfied nod. 'Those look good on you,' he told her, and she actually found herself breathing out in relief. 'Alright, why don't you try on another t-shirt?'

She nodded, and went back inside the dressing room. She took off the white t-shirt and reached for the next one off of the pile. She pulled it on and immediately felt herself blush; it was a sleeveless black t-shirt which left her stomach exposed. What more, over the breasts, the word SEXY had been sprinkled out in little sparkly studs. Without even pausing to think if she should show it to Ichigo or not, with a quiet mutter of, "No way in hell", she pulled it off and quickly reached for another one. She stepped out wearing a plain olive-green shirt. Just as Ichigo was about to voice his opinion, a woman with a name tag attached to her shirt came towards them.

She smiled at Rukia. 'Very nice, dear,' she told her, eyeing her shirt with a look which clearly stated that she didn't mean what she was saying. 'But I'm pretty sure your boyfriend here would love to see you wearing something...sweet and sexy, you know? Wouldn't you love to see her in such an outfit, sweetheart?'

Ichigo blushed. 'What? No! Hold on a minute! I'm not...!' he protested.

'This way, please,' she said, placing a hand on the square of Rukia's back and guiding her away from the dressing rooms. She looked over her shoulder at Ichigo. 'Why don't you browse through the men's section while I pick out an outfit for your girlfriend? You wouldn't want to ruin the surprise, now, would you?'

Rukia could only wonder what she meant by "surprise".

-

Hands dug deep into his pockets, Ichigo stalked off to the men's section. He was feeling really irritated; who was that damn woman to come and give them suggestions? How could she possibly think that he even wanted to see Rukia wear something "sweet and sexy"? He got to a rack of sweaters and started looking through them. He really wasn't planning on buying anything for himself, but since he was already here, he thought that he'd have a look.

Ten minutes passed by, and Ichigo was considering a pair of faded blue jeans when the saleslady called him over to the dressing rooms. Preparing himself for the worst, he trudged towards the dressing rooms.

The woman smiled at him, and then she rapped the door of the dressing room gently with her knuckles. 'Rukia-san, you can come out now,' she told her.

The door opened and Rukia stepped out. When Ichigo saw her, he felt his jaw drop, and couldn't seem to get his mouth clamped shut again. Rukia was looking absolutely stunning; she was wearing a black dress which hugged her body tightly and reached down to her knee and was held to her shoulders by a thin string of sparkly studs. Only when she turned to her side that he noticed that the dress was slit up, revealing the most of her thigh, and he saw that the dress had a low back, with sparkly strings crisscrossing down the length of her back.

Ichigo had never seen anyone look so beautiful. Without even realizing what he was doing, he had reached out and touched her bare shoulder. Only when he touched her skin that he came to his senses and quickly pulled back. He looked away from her. 'Erm...you look pretty good in it,' he told her.

'Th-thanks,' she murmured.

'Oh, please! You thought she looked stunning and you know it!' the saleslady interjected. She placed her hands on Rukia's shoulders and looked expectantly at him. 'The dress is a 100 dollars item, will you be buying it?'

Ichigo took another look at Rukia, looking so amazing in that dress, and had a fleeting vision of himself walking next to her, with his arm draped around her shoulders. A 100 dollars was a lot of money...but his mind was set. 'We're buying it,' he said flatly.

Rukia stared incredulously at him. 'Ichigo, are you crazy? We can't buy this dress! It's too expensive!!' she protested.

'Who's paying? You or me?' he demanded, and she scowled. 'That's right. I'm buying it right now, and you're not to take it off all the way home.'

Rukia continued to stare at him. 'Ichigo, what's wrong with you?' she said angrily. 'I can't possibly walk in the streets in this dress! It's not even proper!!'

'Rukia-san, Rukia-san,' the saleslady chimed in. She smiled warmly at her. 'Your man here obviously likes what he's seeing, so why don't you just wear the dress? Who knows, you might get really lucky tonight.'

'O-oy!!' Ichigo exclaimed, while Rukia blushed furiously. 'Don't go making up stuff in your head! It's nothing like that!'

Even so, after a few minutes, they left the shop with Rukia wearing the black dress while Ichigo carried two carrier bags that held the rest of the clothes she'd bought. Ichigo sensed that Rukia was feeling totally self-conscious, and could see why; every guy was stopping to have a look at her. For some reason, that really angered him; why the hell were they staring at her like that? Feeling that he couldn't take it, he slipped off his sweater and draped it around her shoulders, which took Rukia by surprise.

'Thanks,' she said softly.

Ichigo just smiled and nodded. He didn't know what was wrong with him, but he was getting some really strange feelings towards Rukia; feelings that he couldn't quite understand. She looked up and caught him smiling at her, and she smiled back.

By the time they got back home, it was nearing eight p.m. They had gone to several more shops, and he had bought her an assortment of clothes, down from pajamas to underwear...he had to admit that the underwear experience was a very uncomfortable one. Not that he had to see Rukia in the lingerie she had picked out, but he felt really out of place in that boutique. They went up to his bedroom and Rukia immediately shrugged off Ichigo's jacket and slumped down on the bed, curling herself into a warm ball and pulling the sheets over her, snuggling into them.

'Hope you're happy now,' she muttered, glancing around at the carrier bags. 'I'm dead tired, though.'

Ichigo watcher her for a moment, and then he went and sat down on the bed next to her. Rukia watched him warily. 'You know, Rukia, I haven't been completely honest with you,' he murmured. 'The reason I wanted to get you some clothes is because...well, your clothes' being too tight on you had attracted a lot of attention, and...well, I was jealous. I wanted to get you some clothes which covered you up a bit more, so...'

Rukia stared at him. 'No way,' she breathed.

Ichigo slowly slipped the sheets away from her and traced a finger down the length of her arm. She shivered. 'Rukia. You are so beautiful,' he whispered.

He laid down next to her, and stroked her cheek. Before she could react, he had placed an arm around her and pulled her towards him. He kissed her...deeply. Rukia wasn't sure what she should be doing...but felt herself melting into the kiss.

Rukia felt him gazing down her dress and she shuddered. 'Ichigo...' she said warningly.

Ichigo looked seriously at her. 'Just a thought...you wouldn't mind sharing a bed with me tonight, would you?' he asked softly. Rukia stared at him, her heart thumping loudly against her chest. But then he smiled at her and pulled the sheets over her again. 'Just teasing. I would never do that to you, Rukia. I promise you.'

Rukia felt her cheeks warm up, and she smile at him before closing her eyes. 'I know,' she whispered. 'I trust you, Kurosaki.'

-

A/N: Yup, that was it. I know it had an abrupt ending and all, but it was nice, just the same, wasn't it? Well, I sure do hope you liked it, because I'll be wanting reviews!! Thanks for reading!!

- S. N. B.