I have to admit, I'm pretty embarrassed with myself. I only read completed stories on FanFiction because it annoys me when authors don't regularly update. Guess who's looking in the mirror and calling herself a hypocrite now. But, as bad of an excuse as it is, life really does get in the way of plans. As does losing the ability to connect to the internet for a month. Either way, I'm here now with the final chapter for your reading pleasure. It's about twice as long as any of the others and I hope that you've enjoyed my first completed story on FF. Thanks for reading.
The final disclaimer: still don't own anything.
Sharing a Bed is Only the Beginning – Four
Apparently the storm had finally broken because when Rukia opened her eyes, it was to the sight and feeling of warm sunlight highlighting her body.
Okay, so maybe that was a poor attempt at trying to kid herself. It was still the middle of winter after all and the heat that she felt wasn't coming from the direction of the window; it was emanating from behind her.
With ginger movements due to the challenges imposed by her arm, Rukia set about turning on her other side and facing the cause of her current predicament: a certain Ichigo Kurosaki. Even in the midst of sleep, his face was pressed into a look of consternation.
Using her good hand, her fingers traced along his frown lines and gently smoothed them out.
How to wake him . . . ? How to wake him . . . ?
Rukia's face took on a devious smirk as she worked her arm up further for a better vantage point and then quickly flicked the sleeping shinigami substitute in the forehead.
Nothing. Damn. Alright, on to option number two.
She loosely pinched his cheek between her thumb and index finger, tightening and pulling only at the moment she yelled, "ICHIGO!"
He flew up like a shot and fell off the bed while causing Rukia to flip on to her back as she had been unknowingly laying on his arm. She settled with a simple "oomph" as he groaned violently from down on the floor. And then suddenly he was standing, using his full height to his advantage, as he loomed over her.
"What the hell, Rukia!" His eyes were practically flaming in their intensity, but she simply shrugged off the sight.
"You mean 'what the hell am I wearing?' or 'what the hell am I doing in your bed?' or even, 'what the hell had you acting all he-man last night?'" she asked tauntingly.
Ichigo deflated at her words and responded by crumpling back down onto the bed and hanging his head low enough that it rested completely in the grip of his hands. A wearied sigh escaped him and he slumped even lower.
Rukia sat up at that point and took pity on the poor boy. "Let's just take this one step at a time. Okay?" He nodded lightly and she continued. "First off, want to explain my attire? It is most unbecoming of a Kuchiki to find herself in boxers. I might keep your shirt, though. It is kind of comfy."
He let out a single bark of laughter and then fell into a resting positing on the bed so that he could look up at his petite partner. His eyes met hers evenly as he said, "I found you last night. Frozen. Wet. Critically injured. I had to take care of you somehow, and that meant taking off your shihakusho."
"Did you peek?"
"Tried not to."
She watched him through squinted eyes for a moment, but relented upon seeing his no nonsense expression. "I suppose that's the best I could hope for. Now, on to my second ques-"
"No." He shook his head firmly. "You're going to answer some of mine first. Got it?"
She debated silently to herself for a moment before acquiescing. "Fine. What do you want to know?"
"Care to explain to me just why the hell you were out alone last night in the freaking middle of a snow storm?"
"Not particularly," she said airily. At his immediate glare, though, she went on. "But I guess you deserve some sort of explanation."
Ichigo waved his hand in the air as if to say, "Do go on."
Rukia scowled at his actions and made him wait as she resettled into the bed to begin her story.
Ichigo swung open his bedroom door to the point that it slammed into the wall on the other side and walked in confidently. His bookbag landed loudly on the desk and he had already flopped back onto his bed by the time that Rukia had fully stepped inside.
She shut the door softly behind her and turned to see Ichigo, for once, totally relaxed. His eyes were closed, his visible muscles had lost their tension and his hands rested easily behind his head. Rukia hopped up into her closet and faced him, her legs kicking lightly over the space between her perch and the floor.
Still the picture of calm, Ichigo broke the silence. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for a weekend like this: no family, hopefully no hollows, or other interruptions, and an extra day off. You wanna know what I've got planned . . . ? Abso-freaking-lutely nothing. Isn't it great?"
His head was bobbing to a tune only he could hear while Rukia's gaze was drawn down to the floor. He really hasn't had a break for awhile, has he? Hmm.
The atmosphere between the two of them was argument free, for possibly the longest amount of time ever, in the hours that ensued. Ichigo made dinner (he didn't trust Rukia to do so much as boil water) and they even watched TV together.
It couldn't last, though.
They'd fallen asleep to the sight of a sky shrouded in white and barely a few hours later they were waking up again, well, Rukia was. She heard her hollow-phone ringing and dug it out to flip up the screen. A single dot bleeped over the park.
Seems simple enough. I can do this without Ichigo. That way, he'll be rested and owe me something . . . something like a Chappy marathon.
She slipped from her gigai and left it resting in the closet. Holding her breath, Rukia tiptoed out of Ichigo's room and down the hall. Only once outside did she breathe more easily. And then she was off, shooting towards the park, and cursing the limited visibility.
When Rukia arrived at the last, she groaned. Even if it was only one hollow, the scaled-up version of a scorpion-thing was huge and menacing as it scuttled quickly after a teen-aged spirit. She couldn't afford to hesitate, though, and so she launched herself into the creature's path. With an unholy roar, the hollow skidded to a stop and looked her up and down in appraisal.
If its almost immediately resumed movements were any indication, it appeared that the hollow had not thought much of the slight female before it.
Before Rukia could truly engage the creature head-on, though, she was propelled to the side. She groaned inwardly at the sight of the spirit crouched protectively over her body. Oh, Kami, please tell me that this isn't what I think it is. One boy with an insane hero complex is more than enough for me.
It seemed she wasn't that lucky because the boy wasted no time jumping into his let-the-boy-protect-the-damsel spiel. "Stay out of the way." Blah . . . "I can handle this." Blah . . . "You don't need to get hurt for me." Blah, bla-blah.
This is getting seriously old, seriously fast.
The wannabe hero was interrupted when Rukia saw the hollow lunging for his back and quickly flipped the two of them over. She held up her zanpakutou to guard against the creature's mouth, but her sword alone couldn't completely stop the attack; her arm took the brunt of it.
Rukia bit her lip to contain her gasp of pain as the entire limb was abraded by the hollow's razor-edged teeth.
Déja vu, anyone?
Massing her strength, she shoved the hollow back and then tossed Sode no Shirayuki to her other arm so that she could unceremoniously slam the hilt into the spirit's forehead. As he dissolved into a butterfly and flew towards the sky, she pushed herself upwards and faced off against the hollow once more.
She'd knocked it into a copse of trees before and now the creature's skin contrasted heavily with the pure white snow that had cascaded over it as the hollow rose unsteadily to its many legs. They rushed each other in a life-threatening game of chicken that Rukia was happy to lose as she dodged and cut off every limb on the hollow's left side.
It roared again, this time in agony rather than at the joy of the hunt.
As the hollow crashed down on its one side, Rukia did a 180 and aimed for its right legs from her position behind the creature.
Just as she readied to make her second decisive attack, a tail and stinger came swinging at her and she was forced to leap back.
Note to self: don't forget the tail.
She gathered her stance once more and set off. For the next five minutes, she busied herself weaving in and out of limbs, hacking off legs and finally bringing the creature down. With a sigh of relief at her success, she approached the still flailing and roaring hollow from the front as it attempted to struggle forwards to no avail.
Her sword arm was hanging uselessly at her side and her usual tolerance to cold had long since surpassed its limit, leaving her body wracked with shivers, but she was confident that, even so, this hollow no longer posed any threat to her. With a smirk, she leaped up and swung out her zanpakutou against its mask.
The ghastly white face cracked apart and Rukia was more than eager to return home when suddenly a mighty whack took her across the head as the hollow's last remaining appendage made its final move.
Just before Rukia could pass out from her compounded injuries, she had one last lucid thought.
Damn, forgot the tail.
Ichigo stared aghast at Rukia.
From their positions on their sides, facing one another, Rukia held up her hands in defense. "I know. I know. It's really stupid, right? The amazing Kuchiki Rukia brought down by a tail. You just better not tell anyone."
Ichigo only gaped wider as she conceded idiocy while her face slightly flushed and she looked away in embarrassment. In frustration, he swung up over her body before she could react and forced her eyes to meet his own, his arms braced firmly on each side of her head.
His scowl darkened as he said, "That's what you think I'm annoyed with right now! That you got taken down by a simple mistake? No, Rukia. No. That's not it at all."
His body practically collapsed atop her own, but he was still careful to support all his own weight, while his forehead came to rest upon her shoulder. In a whisper, he began again. "It's my fault. You had the bloody idea that I needed a break and got hurt while I slept away. Your life was put at risk because I loosely announced wanting a time-out."
As his head endearingly burrowed back and forth along her collarbone, he murmured into her skin, "Never again. I promise. Never again."
The words were repeated like a mantra and Rukia felt her fists clenching and unclenching at her sides. Finally she relaxed and brought her injured arm up to rest on Ichigo back while the other reached higher to gently sift through his obnoxious hair.
Eventually, when his head stopped its frantic movements against her, he leaned up to press them forehead to forehead. "We're partners. That means you and me together. Always. Understand?"
She nodded against him.
An uncharacteristic grin lit his face and he fell to his side so that they could spoon once more. Mere minutes after they'd gotten comfortable, Rukia felt her stomach growl and blushed, knowing that Ichigo clearly heard the noise.
Like always, she hid her embarrassment with anger and reached over to smack Ichigo upside the head. "You trying to starve me, Strawberry? It's . . ." she leaned up briefly to check the clock, " . . . nearly two in the afternoon. The wounded need adequate nourishment . . . preferably served in bed."
He pulled away with a groan and stood. "I suppose I could fetch something for the Kuchiki princess, just this once."
"Hmm, well, while you're at it, I think I'll just be claiming the window side of your bed as my own." She sat up with a smirk and slid his pillow further towards her for emphasis.
"Wouldn't have it any other way, Midget. Wouldn't have it any other way." After all, if sharing a bed was only the beginning, neither could wait to see what would come next.
Wow, this is like, I don't know, victory lap time or something. Anyways, please leave lots of reviews and comments as they make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. You've all been wonderful readers and I hope that you come back again in the future.
For now, though, this is Silver Hearted, signing off.