The end of the war had brought many changes in the lives of Seireitei's inhabitants- especially those in the Gotei 13. As many people had been saved, countless lives had been lost as well, including that of Division 13's captain, Ukitake Juushiro.

A year of extensive training, moving from the living world to the soul society, and ending up in a relationship with his soon-to-be vice captain later, Kurosaki Ichigo had finally been appointed the job of captain for the 13th squad. It, as it had been decided, was practical, made the most sense, and suited him the best, as having Rukia as his vice captain would be an easier adjustment for him, they worked well as a team, and she would more than keep him on his toes.

On this day 2 years after the war's end, it was near sundown when vice captain Kuchiki Rukia went home from her division, tired from teaching, scolding, and working with the new recuits division 13 had recently been assigned. Kurosaki-taicho- as she called him especially when she wanted to annoy him- hadn't been around the office much today; she knew he had a lot of work lately that required his running around. As it was, she hadn't seen very much of him. As Ichigo had been found to be a member of the Shiba family, finding a fairly large and nice property for him to find permanent residence in hadn't been very difficult, and as he lived alone, Rukia often dropped in whenever she felt like it. They had been dating for nearly 18 months- it would be 18 in a week or so- and Rukia wondered if she'd ever felt this content with her life before him. It had been, though she may not have said it straight to his face, 18 months of pure joy for her.

At this point, she rounded around the corner to the Kuchiki manor, going inside to her room. She glanced around, pausing in noticing that, unlike usual, she didn't seem to notice any servants or people about in the manor. She paused then with a curious expression, glancing around, before shrugging it off and heading towards her room. She didn't feel her Nii-sama's reiatsu at any point, figuring that he must still be at his own division, even though it was quite late- perhaps Renji hadn't sorted the reports in numerical order again.

Rukia stopped in front of the door to her room, running her fingers through her thick, grown out hair (it had grown out quite long since Ichigo became her captain; she had found that she didn't have a lot of time for scheduling hair cuts, and at this point she didn't mind the length anyway), reaching out and sliding it open the way she always did, stopping as she took a step inside in shock. The back door to her room- the one that opened to the inner courtyard of the manor- was open, and tiny, lit candles framed the door sides. Stepping closer in confusion, Rukia gaped slightly as she noticed that there were two lines of twinkling candles creating a pathway through the courtyard; the path itself littered with red rose petals. She wasn't sure what it was, but something told her that she needed to take the pathway to wherever it lead.

She took a few steps out, staring at the beautiful pathway in front of her. She couldn't help but pause again for a moment, looking around for any sign of another person being there, before continuing down the path with the most curious expression, her heart pounding slightly though she had no idea why. Finally, the pathway brought her to the large white gazebo that overlooked part of the large koi pond.

The gazebo usually stood, plain white-painted wood, solid and clean, but today it had been carefully decorated with beautiful white falls and elegantly twisted drapes of white chiffon; the entrance of the gazebo was framed with large bunches of red roses and lit, glittering candles. Her heart pounded even more as she shakily climbed the steps inside. There was nothing inside except for a small, white table. On top of it sat a white card, the cover held no words or pictures except for a red rose which, when Rukia ran her fingers over, knew that it was a real rose that had been pressed. She opened the card slowly, her long, thick hair falling forward a bit as she began to read.

'Rukia,

By now, I'm sure that you must be wondering what's going on. I've thought over how I wanted to do this a hundred times, but no matter what I thought, in the end what mattered most was understanding. You know me better than anyone.. I'm not good with words, and actions have always been more us anyway. That's why, instead of saying this to you, I'm writing it down here. I know it seems cowardly, and maybe it is, but I needed this to be bigger than simply asking you a question; I know you'll be able to understand my feelings.

When we first met, I was in high school; you walked right through the wall of my room into my life. You did it so easily, so effortlessly.. and to this day, you've done this. I don't feel the need to put up walls when I'm with you. When I lost my shinigami abilities, it felt as if the time was suddenly going by too quickly. There was no way for me to keep up with the world that was moving so fast. I didn't realize it then, but just as much as I missed being able to protect, I missed you. I missed seeing you, feeling you, hearing you, and being able to know on my own whether or not you were alright. Although I hadn't had much time to think on the fact that Tsaigo no Getsuga Tensho would cost me my abilities, no amount of time- weeks, months, years- could have prepared me for losing you. Now being able to see you every day and work alongside you, I see just how many people who's lives you've impacted, in our division alone. All of our division's officers care and admire you so much as the person who's strength carried them through so many burdens with grace.. you were always strong no matter the situation, you never cried and always made them feel like they were capable of being something incredible. Yet when we are alone, I also see someone who's soft hearted, gentle and sincere, don't others see that? These thoughts hurt to think about, but that is just how strong you are, not just for those people, but for me.

Rukia stopped reading, lowering the card as she wiped her tears with the edge of her sleeve and try to collect herself- she hadn't expected to become so emotional.. but reading Ichigo's sincere words that were written for her sake made her heart ache. She took a shuddery breath, continuing to read as she held the card in her shaky hand.

Rukia, in the few years that we've known each other, you've impacted my life in ways I could never ask someone to do for me. You were the one who gave me the ability to protect when I needed it most.. you were the one who stopped the rain falling in my inner world. You are my closest friend, my partner, my lover, my moon. Regardless of what the future holds, I will always be there with you to face all of it. I love you.

Infinitely,

Ichigo.

Rukia sniffed, staring down at the card as tears trickled down her face. She had barely finished reading it when she heard Ichigo's voice behind her. "Rukia.."

She turned around then, her expression crumpling again as she saw him in front of her, down on his knees with an open jewelry box in his hand. Her free hand moved up to cover her mouth in surprise as the tears already in her eyes from reading his card spilled again. He looked incredibly nervous and slightly worried at her state, his cheeks red as he said with a lump in his throat, "-Rukia, will you-"

She was already nodding her head rapidly before his sentence was even complete, reaching her hand out. Ichigo pulled the ring from the box, leaving it on the step, he took her hand gently, sliding the ring on her finger before standing, grabbing her face gently in his hands and kissing her as if she were the most precious thing he'd ever laid eyes on. Tears still trickled down Rukia's face as he did; her hands slid under his arms to hold him as well.

"You've been staring at it on and off for a while now.. do you like it?"

Rukia looked up from her seat on the couch over at Ichigo, who stood at the kitchen island. They'd walked over to his home after his proposal, and now she sat waiting as he made dinner.

She looked down at her left hand, the large, heart-cut solitaire diamond glittered on the slim, white-gold band. "It really is beautiful Ichigo.. but I'm curious, what made you pick a heart shape?"

She felt slight surprise when he blushed suddenly, scratching the back of his head as he looked down at what he had cooking in the pot on the stove almost shyly, "There were so many options I couldn't pick between, so I had Yuzu accompany me.. she agreed with me on this one.. she said the heart shape was the most romantic looking. I-I thought so too-"

Rukia giggled, causing him to flush deeper, "Is that wrong?"

"No.." Rukia stretched her hand out, admiring the ring under the ceiling lights, "It's perfect, Ichigo."

He smiled then, using a wooden spoon to mix the food in the pot. "I'm glad."

She watched him contentedly for a moment before picking up the card again- she hadn't let go of it since reading it, tracing her fingers over the ridges of the pressed, dried rose on the front, "Did you make this rose by yourself?"

He glanced up for a moment, "Kind of.. none of the cards at the store really seemed right, so I figured if I made it on my own it would mean more.. It was Yuzu who gave me the idea though. It's a real rose."

"I'm glad you wrote it down," Rukia said, staring at the card in her hand with a softness in her face, "It means I can read it whenever I want. I really loved it, Ichigo.. you don't know how much this means to me."

He looked up at her, smiling softly, "It's not just that, you know. I had a camera set up. You can watch yourself getting proposed to as many times as you want."

Rukia perked at this, sitting up straighter with shiny eyes, "Really?!"

He chuckled, "Of course.. besides, my family demanded that I tape it, especially since I refused to let them be here to witness it themselves."

"Can we see it? While we eat dinner?" Rukia's face shown pure excitement.

"I thought we were going to watch a movie."

"Please, Ichigo?" even from the distance of the couch to the kitchen, he could very clearly see her large, indigo eyes looking at him hopefully.

"...I can't say no to that face."

"Yes!"

20 minutes later

They had gotten through the first few minutes of footage smoothly- as it showed Rukia walking down the candle-lit pathway to the gazebo, finding and reading Ichigo's card. It wasn't until Ichigo himself appeared in the video, kneeling behind his unsuspecting girlfriend to propose to her. It was then that Ichigo heard a sniffle.

He glanced next to him casually, doing a double take at seeing Rukia with tears in her eyes, again.

"Rukia!" he exclaimed, moving quickly and grabbing a tissue for her, "What's wrong?! Are you okay?"

She nodded, taking the tissue from him and wiping her tears rather elegantly. "I'm sorry, i-it's just.. I'm really happy, Ichigo."

He looked at her softly for a moment before slipping his arm over her, pulling her close and closing his eyes, "I am, too."