Rukia walked down the streets. Good thing most of her powers have returned or she wouldn't have been able to do this. For all she knew, none of this would've happened if Ichigo had listened to her when she told him to stay home.
"Ichigo, you idiot", thought Rukia grudgingly. But she softened when she felt Ichigo shift slightly next to her.
They arrived at the clinic. Rukia fished the keys from Ichigo's bag and unlocked the door. There was a sign on the window that said Will be back in two weeks. Sorry for the inconvenience. Isshin, Ichigo's father, was gone on a business trip and brought Karin and Yuzu, Ichigo's little sisters, with him.
Noticing this, Rukia realized that there is no one to take care of Ichigo. It looked like she'll have to skip school for awhile.
She entered the empty clinic and made her way upstairs. She found his bedroom and stepped inside. The time there was no Kon to be greeted by.
Rukia let out a sigh of relief. She laid Ichigo on his bed and pulled to blankets over him. She touched his face. His skin was burning hot.
Rukia disappeared from the room and came back with a thermometer. She placed it in his mouth and waited. It beeped and she took it out. It read one hundred and two. Ichigo had a dramatically high fever.
Rukia looked at the time. It was almost noon. Rukia was impressed: Ichigo held out for a long time.
Not knowing what to do, Rukia went downstairs to the kitchen. She opened one of the cabinets and found boxes of soup. Following the instructions very carefully, she made chicken noodle soup because she overheard Tastuki tell Orihime that there's an ingredient in it that helps the healing process when she was sick.
She braced herself and tasted it. She did well.
She poured the soup into two bowls and brought it upstairs.
***
Rukia closed the door gently with her foot and placed the tray on Ichigo's desk.
"That smells good."
Rukia let out a squeal of surprise and whipped around. Ichigo was still lying in his bed but he was awake.
"Ichigo!" exclaimed Rukia, rushing toward him and dropping to her knees next to him.
"Hey, Rukia. Miss me?" asked Ichigo, throwing her a teasing smile.
Rukia was so relieved to see him smile that she burst into tears and buried her face into Ichigo's chest. She sobbed profusely and Ichigo awkwardly patted her head.
"H-Hey. It's okay. I'm fine, see?" said Ichigo in an attempt to cheer her up.
"I-I was so worried about you! A-A fever of a hundred and two!" sobbed Rukia.
"Really? I don't feel that way…" replied Ichigo, surprised.
Rukia kept sobbing.
"C'mon, let's eat while it's still hot," said Ichigo, stroking her hair.
Rukia nodded and stood up. Embarrassed about breaking down, she quickly wiped away her tears and got the tray of soup. Ichigo sat up as she placed it on his lap and took her bowl.
They ate in silence.
"That was good. Not bad for a Soul Reaper," said Ichigo after awhile.
Without knowing why, Rukia felt a blush staining her cheeks and looked away to hide it. She quickly grabbed the tray of empty bowls and hurried downstairs.
She placed it on the counter and leaned against the fridge.
"Ugh. Why did I blush like that? All he said was that the soup was good," thought Rukia, frowning.
She made her way up the stairs and toward Ichigo's bedroom. She stepped inside and found Ichigo standing unsteadily in the middle of the room.
"Ichigo! You shouldn't be standing!" exclaimed Rukia, rushing toward him.
"I was bored. I'm trying to go get a book," said Ichigo, wobbling slightly.
"You could've waited until I came back!" replied Rukia indignantly.
"You were taking too long. Oh!" exclaimed Ichigo, falling forward.
He lost his balance and Rukia immediately acted. She stood in front of him and wrapped her arms around his waist, steadying him. Ichigo wrapped his arms around her shoulders in an attempt to break his fall. They remained in that position. Rukia was listening to the steady beat of his heart as Ichigo was breating in the scent of her hair.
Rukia looked up as Ichigo looked down. Their eyes widened and they jumped apart. Ichigo let himself fall back onto his bed as Rukia looked everywhere but at Ichigo.
"Rukia?"
Rukia took a deep breath and slowly turned toward him. Ichigo's cheeks were redder than before; either his fever has suddenly increased or he was blushing. Rukia couldn't be sure.
"Yes, Ichigo?" asked Rukia quietly.
"Could you please give me my book?" asked Ichigo.
"Oh. Uh, sure," answered Rukia, picking the book up.
She gave it to him and Ichigo started to read. His face was less red than earlier, so Rukia knew that it wasn't the fever that caused it. She grabbed a magazine, lay on the ground and started to read.
***
A small thud woke Rukia from her slumber. Her eyes snapped open and the only source of light were the streetlamps outside. She raised her head and her cheek was stuck to the magazine page. Rukia felt it unstuck as she looked around the room. It was dark; the thud came from Ichigo's slackened grip on the book as he fell asleep.
Rukia slowly got up and took out Yuzu's pyjamas from Ichigo's closet. She tip-toed out of the room and made her way to the bathroom.
***
She closed the door, locked it and turned on the taps from the bathtub. The bathtub filled itself with warm water and Rukia turned the taps off. She undressed and slid herself into the water. The warmth soothed her nerves and she felt herself relax, closing her eyes.
The image of herself being in Ichigo's strong arms came into her mind. She smiled at the thought, a warmth coming over her that wasn't from the bathwater. She let it take over, calming her, energizing her. Rukia sat up, grabbed the soap and washed herself.
***
Once she was done, Rukia hoisted herself out of the almost-cold water and emptied the tub. She dried herself and put the pyjamas on. She grabbed her uniform and exited the warm room.
She entered Ichigo's bedroom and felt a cool breeze hit her. She looked around for the source and saw that the window was open. Strange. The window wasn't open when she left. At first she thought it was Kon who came back in but she noticed Ichigo's shirt on the ground. That definitely wasn't there when she left.
Rukia closed the bedroom door, dropped her clothes on the ground and toward Ichigo's bedside. Ichigo, shirtless, was sleeping soundly. Rukia guessed that he was hot so he must've opened the window and taken his shirt off.
Rukia fell to her knees and rested her chin on her arms on the bed and quietly watched him. He looked so peaceful. She was examining his upper body: his face, his neck, his arms and his chest.
Suddenly, she felt the desire to touch him. She raised a hesitant hand and gently stroked his hair. He didn't wake so she continued the gesture down his face and neck. She passed her hand lightly on his arm and she traced the lines of his abs.
Rukia repeated the gesture nine or ten times before Ichigo finally woke up. She quickly hid her hand as he looked at her. He smiled at her.
"That felt nice. But I don't recall asking you to stop," said Ichigo, smiling.
Rukia smiled and restarted stroking his hair.
"You know, I'm only doing this because you're sick," she said as she stroked his orange hair.
"It still feels nice all the same," replied Ichigo.
A small breeze came in through the window, cooling.
"That felt nice," said Rukia.
"I still like this better."
"Of course."
Rukia noticed that Ichigo was in his pyjamas.
"When did you change?"
"When you were gone. Where were you, anyway?"
"Taking a bath."
"Ah…"
They continued like this until they both fell asleep.
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