Ichigo hops into his bedroom window with an unconscious Rukia in his arms. He lays her in his bed and paces around his room, wondering what he should do. While they had been fighting a group of hollow, one had snuck behind her and attacked. Ichigo had been able to fight it off of her before it killed her, but there had been a lot of blood.
Inoue had healed Rukia's wounds, but she was still unconscious when the healing was finished. Inoue had offered to let Rukia stay at her apartment but Ichigo had declined. He knew Rukia would be most comfortable at his house, she's said as much in the past, not to mention he wants to keep an eye on her. He sits on the bed next to her and when he sees her shiver, he feels her forehead, but her temperature seems almost cool. As he's pulling his hand away though, her teeth chatter. Ichigo in his confusion, pulls the cover so that he can cover her, but then he sees her hands have ice in a thin layer covering them. He hadn't noticed that before.
He grabs her hands in his and he starts rubbing them quickly to apply friction, warm her hands and melt the ice. Rukia's eyes don't open and so Ichigo is surprised when he hears her voice.
"I'm so cold." he hears her say. Ichigo doesn't even think about it, he strips down to his boxers, and pulls her robe off of her, and he lays down in bed next to her. He pulls her tightly into his arms and pulls the cover over the both of them.
"I'll keep you warm." He tells her, the fear rising in his voice. Her entire body does have a rather cold feeling to it and Ichigo wonders again if she's okay. He rubs his hands up and down her back to try to warm her body some. She is still shaking like a leaf. Ichigo nervously holds her close, and softly calls out her name to keep her a bit calmer.
After several minutes, her body starts to feel like it's warming up and Ichigo sighs in relief, even though he doesn't let her go. He finally closes his eyes.
"Ichigo?" Rukia says his name, and Ichigo pulls away from her a little bit so he can look at her face.
"Thank goodness." He tightens his arms around her in happiness and relief. "You had me pretty worried for awhile there. Are you still cold?" Ichigo asks. "You were shaking so bad that I laid down with you to give you body heat." Ichigo explains as a blush tints his cheeks.
"I am a little bit cold. Will you stay with me?" Rukia asks him. Ichigo blushes harder but nods his head in a silent yes. "Thanks, Ichigo." Rukia says softly before burying her face into his chest. Ichigo tightens his arms around her but he is horrified a second later when his body starts physically reacting to being this close to her.
Now that she's okay, all he can actually think about is that he is in bed with this beautiful woman, however the way his body's reacting, she's certain to notice any moment. Ichigo tries to shift his midsection away from her so that she can't tell, but the moment he moves his middle away, she slides her arms down around his back to his waist, and she grabs his butt and forces him to hold her close from top to bottom. The moment she does, he knows his secret is out, after all his body reacted in full force to her grabbing his butt.
"Rukia?" Ichigo asks in her ear. "Do you want me to get out of bed?" He asks. He's completely embarrassed, but he's surprised when Rukia tightens her grip around him.
"Don't go anywhere, this is the nicest I've ever felt." Rukia whispers back. Ichigo blushes, but he is happy with her words.
"This is the nicest I've ever felt too." Ichigo whispers in her ear as he closes his eyes to actually enjoy the moment. He kisses her forehead and relaxes. Rukia however is extremely confused at all the exciting feelings racing around in her heart. She knows she is enjoying being here in his arms, but it also feels like something is missing. When he kisses her head and she feels her heart race more, she realizes what it is that's missing. They are not touching each other enough. Rukia lets her hands roam up and down his back, and then she feels the waistline of his pants. She slips her fingers underneath and lets her hands roam the lowest part of his back. Ichigo pulls away from her all of a sudden, breathing kind of hard.
"Ichigo, what's wrong?" Rukia asks him with concern. Ichigo shakes his head.
"I'll keep holding you, but you have got to stop that Rukia, or else I'm just going to keep thinking about going further." Ichigo tells her honestly.
"What do you mean by further?" Rukia asks, "Because I too get the sensation that we could be doing something else that would feel even better than just holding each other." Rukia says, her eyes sparkling. She notices that his face has become completely red.
"You really don't know?" Ichigo asks her in disbelief.
"No, I've never been in a relationship before , Ichigo." Rukia tells him honestly.
"I've never been in a relationship outside of you either, but I still know what it means to go further." Ichigo says in a strained voice.
"Tell me then." Rukia says looking up at him for an explanation. Ichigo looks away from her but answers her anyways.
"I feel like I want to take off all of our clothes and then kiss and touch you until we're making love." Ichigo says even though he's thoroughly red and embarrassed. He is still unable to look Rukia in the eyes. He's worried she'll look completely disgusted. When she answers him though, his eyes swiftly turn to look at hers.
"I think I'd really like that. Making love with you? That sounds like everything I've ever wanted and couldn't put into words." Rukia says in a confident voice. Ichigo's mouth falls open in surprise. "Are you worried you won't like it, Ichigo?" Rukia asks him quietly.
"No, that's not it at all. I was worried you'd tell me to stay far away from you after I admitted what I wanted to do." Ichigo confides. His eyes widen as big as dinner plates when she reaches for the bottom of her dress and lifts it over her head to reveal her bra and panties. She turns around.
"Unsnap this for me please." Rukia asks. Ichigo fumbles with the bra but after several uncomfortable moments he finally is able to get the thing unsnapped. Ichigo stands there unable to move and he is definitely unable to move when she pulls her panties down and turns around to face him in all her glorious perfection. Rukia seems aware that he's not thinking clearly, so when she starts pulling down his pants, Ichigo feels the full force of desire hit him hard. The moment she removes the last of his clothing, he bends his head down to kiss her and wraps his arms around her. He sits on the bed and pulls her into his lap. He kisses her and runs his hands up and down her smooth soft skin.
"Ichigo!" Ichigo sits straight up in bed as Rukia calls to him. She's immediately yelps as the blanket comes off of her body, which Ichigo had exposed last night in order to warm her. Ichigo's mouth falls open at the view and Rukia smacks his face quickly pulls her robe up to cover everything.
"What?" Ichigo asks, rubbing his cheek where she slapped him and then his sleepy eyes.
"You were sleep talking." Rukia says in a weird voice. Ichigo pulls his hand away from his eyes as realization dawns. Reality had ended with him holding her in his arms to fall asleep. Everything else had been a dream. If that was true what in the hell had he said in his sleep? Ichigo forces himself to look her in the eyes.
"What did I say?" Ichigo asks as his heart thumps loudly in his chest. Rukia blushes furiously.
"I'm not sure I can repeat it." Rukia says in mortification.
"I won't know what I said unless you tell me." Ichigo says. Rukia keeps shaking her head. She tries to climb out of bed, when she lifts the blanket up, she sees Ichigo's only got boxers on. She loses her balance and falls on the floor where Ichigo peers over at her with amusement in his eyes.
"You were talking about doing things with me." Rukia says loudly then. The amusement leaves his eyes instantly as he raises an eyebrow.
"Like taking you to Karakura Town's spring festival?" Ichigo inquires innocently. He has to concentrate on not laughing when she rolls her eyes upward.
"No it was nothing like that." Rukia answers standing, and stepping away from him, feeling hurt. Why was it that the nicest thing he'd ever said to her had to be in his sleep? She turns away from him and towards the closet before she realizes precisely how to get him back.
"Then what was it?" Ichigo asks, still worried about what might have come out of his mouth as he dreamed. He's shocked when Rukia climbs up into the closet and shuts the door in response. Ichigo gets out of bed and walks over to the closet. He taps on the door.
"Rukia?" No answer. He knows she heard him.
"I don't feel well enough to go to school with you today, Ichigo, I'm staying here." Rukia responds through the door. Ichigo glares at the closet door.
"I won't be able to go to school either, unless you open the door so I can get out my clothes." Ichigo responds. Once again, Rukia doesn't answer, but he slides it open anyways.
"Rukia." Ichigo tries to get her to respond, but she doesn't. He starts to wonder if she is truly okay. Maybe he should stay to take care of her. Plus if his old man barges in here for any reason while he isn't here, and discovers her...Ichigo can't let that thought go any further. Rukia hears him let out a long sigh before he mutters that he can't go to school if she's not well. Rukia has to struggle not to laugh as he pulls her out of the closet and lays her back in his bed.
He's sitting at his desk, watching her rest when he hears his sister calling his name and getting closer and closer to his door. Ichigo panics and jumps back into bed with Rukia, for once he's glad she's so tiny, he's able to curl his body around her, and pull the blanket up so that it looks like there's only one person in his bed. Just as he had pulled the blanket over Rukia's head, Yuzu enters without knocking. Rukia grins under the covers. Since he's spooning her she wiggles her rear around a little bit and lets out a breathless sigh. Ichigo of course hears it, but his sister doesn't.
"Ichigo, you're going to be late for school if you don't hurry." Yuzu says as she waves a spatula around in her hand.
"I don't feel good today. I'm staying in bed today." Ichigo responds through gritted teeth as Rukia's fingers start to caress the arm he threw around her. That was a bald faced lie. He was feeling incredibly good as she touched him, but he couldn't let his sister discover the actual situation.
"Then I will make you some warm miso soup!" Yuzu declares, backing out of his doorway and shutting the door. Ichigo grabs Rukia's hand off of his arm and whips the cover off of her face.
"What are you a faker?" Ichigo asks, narrowing his eyes at her. Rukia looks up at him with a confused look.
"Just because I don't feel well doesn't mean I'm not going to retaliate for you not telling me what you were dreaming about!" Rukia says turning away and closing her eyes. Ichigo sighs. It's not a topic he's exactly comfortable discussing. He'd like to avoid it if at all possible.
"Why do you want to know what I was dreaming about so badly for? Was what I said, really all that bad?" Ichigo asks her, wondering exactly what he had spoken aloud.
"I want to know because I'm curious! I've never heard you speak in that tone before, or say those kinds of things before!" Rukia responds, turning back around to look at him. He's blushing. She stares at him.
"What kinds of things did I say?" Ichigo whispers.
"Things that made my heart race," Rukia whispers back, watching his face turn redder.
"Really?" Ichigo asks, disbelieving. Rukia nods.
"So what were you dreaming about?" Rukia asks again. Ichigo groans.
"Stop worrying about that and relax. We're here all day." Ichigo says, trying to dissuade her from her question, but she wants to know.
"So you're really willing to spend your whole day listening to me ask you what your dream was about?" Rukia asks him in a serious voice. Ichigo groans.
"I dreamed that you and I were being intimate! There! You happy now?" Ichigo says as he turns his back on her. He can feel the heat radiating off of his face in embarrassment. Now he's told her and he has to spend the whole day with her on top of it. Ichigo groans again.
"Really?" Rukia asks, smiling at his back, feeling heat creeping up to her own cheeks as well.
"Why's that so unbelievable?" Ichigo grumbles with a squeak in his voice, belying his feelings.
"Because I've been dreaming of you in that way for ages. Not every night or anything, but since I started staying in your closet I've had those kind of dreams about you." Rukia says rather cheerfully, ignoring Ichigo's responsive groan.
"If you keep talking, I'm not sure I'll be able to look you in the face ever again." Ichigo mumbles, angry that the heat in his face hasn't died down at all. He flinches in surprise when he feels Rukia's arm slide around him.
"I have a better idea, why not make our dreams come true, I think that would be the best medicine for me" Rukia says in a soft purr. Ichigo's nervous heavy breathing is the only answer she gets. Rukia smiles at his shyness. She lifts up his shirt and puts her hand on his side, smiling at the way his skin instinctively flexes and responds to her touch.
"Rukia," Ichigo whispers, still not looking at her.
"If you want me to stop, just say stop." Rukia whispers back. Ichigo closes his eyes tightly for an instant, loving the feel of her touch.
"Rukia…" Ichigo mumbles.
"Yeah, Ichigo?" Rukia asks, pausing in mid-caress.
"Don't stop." Ichigo breathes as he finally turns around and takes her into his arms.
(much much later)
She didn't leave his bed until the next morning. All in all it was the best sick day of his and her life.
