Ichigo sat down heavily on the end of his bed, landing like a cargo pallet of bricks. A dreary sigh escaped him. "I've already told you three times: I don't know how long I'm going to be stuck here!"

"Ah, but that's really no good, we need you to start working on the Borneo report..." Kiyone Kotetsu continued musing aloud.

"Haven't you looked at The Weather Channel? Why'd we even turn it on? What's he going to do, dogsled out of there!?" Sentarō Kotsubaki suddenly said.

It became clear to Ichigo that he'd been placed on speakerphone. In addition to Sentarō, a TV could also be heard in the background, although its chatter was mumbled and indistinct.

"I'm just saying we need this done!" Kiyone replied.

"You'd have him going over the mountain ranges like Gandalf, until everything went to hell and he was protesting 'Kiyone, we must turn back!' You'd bellow 'No!' and—"

Ichigo rolled his eyes as he heard the impact of something heavy being thrown. These two... really need to get a room...

"Shut up, nerd! If you keep talking, you'll be the one who doesn't pass—the next time you go to the bathroom!"

Sentarō's fuming was almost audible. "You—"

"I'll work on the Borneo report while I'm here," Ichigo sharply interjected. "I'll work on it here," he repeated into the sudden silence. "Just put the files up on our cloud. I'll start tomorrow."

There was a moment of quiet.

He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Isn't, uh, Hanatarō free?" He struggled to recall Hanatarō Yamada's name, although they had both joined Prism at around the same time. The man was just so... forgettable? "Why can't he handle Lisbon?"

Out of nowhere, he suddenly had the sense that Kiyone and Sentarō were considering each other in the office.

"Uh, Hanatarō has never—" Sentarō began.

"It's fine, it's fine," Kiyone said. "We'll do that then! Get some rest, we'll have the files up for you in the morning. Goodnight!"

When he heard the line click, Ichigo dropped his cell phone onto the bed with evident dismay and flopped backwards. He stared up at the ceiling. What a pain in the ass this has turned into... He sighed and shut his eyes again.

He'd called into the office as soon as his flight had landed to update them on his situation, then dropped off his bags and gone to get a drink. That was when he'd spotted Rukia and quickly decided to change venues. After his fourth cocktail he'd found his nerve and returned, but she was already gone.

Having returned to his room, Ichigo had called the office again to arrange to cover for his absence, and found Kiyone and Sentarō staying late—as usual. Prism's senior partners were Jūshirō Ukitake, Retsu Unohana, and Shunsui Kyōraku; both Ichigo and the other two mostly worked for the first of them. Due to Jūshirō's recurring bouts of illness, it wasn't unusual for those two to be at the office at odd hours. Hanatarō mostly worked for Retsu, but staff were staff and they weren't really firmly allocated to any one partner, especially when something unforeseen like this came up.

With business sorted, he was free to think about his personal failures instead of his professional problems. In his estimation, it was better to knock out work as hard and fast as possible rather than taking it slow; even if he wanted to try and gather his courage to approach Rukia again, he was probably going to be mired in dealing with Borneo for most of the trip. If he'd just been more decisive...

Something about the situation with her—no, that wasn't right, he had no situation with her, because that was a step beyond where he was—something about his fixation upon her drove him crazy, but it also made him freeze up. After leaving their hotel's observation lounge for the second time, he'd briefly entertained the notion of going down to reception and asking if they had a record of her, but that was just... way too creepy. He wasn't and never wanted to be that guy, and already felt he'd probably gone too far. Whatever might happen between them, if anything, he wanted it to be normal. He just had to...

Ichigo ran a hand over his mouth and pushed himself up. Glancing around, he found the TV remote on the bed, and turned it on.

The screen glowed to life, already tuned to The Weather Channel as well. There was a map of North America visible, with the same fifteen seconds of sped-up weather overlay replaying itself again and again. Their whole area was covered in a blotch of ominously dark teal, which only lightened to cyan at the very edges.

He frowned and changed the channel.

"—and last but not least, those up in the central Interior Plains are likely to see a record-breaking amount of snowfall over the next week. Government authorities have already issued travel advisories and we have reports that ground traffic is likely to become impossible within the next 24 hours. If you're up there, stay warm and stay safe! Back over to you, Sōsuke! Bye-bye!"

"Truly, a most frightful storm. Thank you, Gin. In breaking news tonight—"

Ichigo let out a disgusted grunt and turned off the TV. Standing, he headed to the bathroom as he decided to shower instead.


The bathwater had cooled to being merely quite warm when Yoruichi finally, quietly prompted, "So why'd you say 'Yes' to coming with me?"

Rukia blinked her eyes open with mild surprise, and it took her awhile to even formulate a reply. "What?"

"You heard me." Despite Yoruichi's choice of words, there was nothing impatient about her tone of voice.

At first, Rukia glanced down and didn't say anything.

Yoruichi waited, continuing to stroke her hands along Rukia's bare back. Eventually she smiled. "Hey, I know you think I'm hot, but you can still tell me as much directly instead of leaving it to me to put the words in your mouth," she mildly teased.

Rukia turned pink and pressed her face against Yoruichi's neck to hide it through proximity. Was she that transparent?

A soft laugh passed Yoruichi's lips. "You don't have to say anything." She knew well enough that this was new and likely confusing. She'd been able to tell from all the looks that Rukia had been giving her since the start of the evening that that the woman's initial protest of being straight had been a case of merely being true to the best of her knowledge. Still, she would only push so far at this point, as it had also become clear to her that Rukia preferred having some kind of emotional and physical connection more than anything.

Marshalling her thoughts, Rukia cinched her arms around Yoruichi's neck and shoulders a bit. Even if she didn't have to say anything, she still felt compelled to. Yoruichi was right that it shouldn't be entirely on her to interpolate what she was thinking. "I didn't know that I'd like it then, and I still don't know that I'd like... anything more than this. But I..." she began seriously.

Yoruichi peeked down at Rukia's crown of hair as she spoke.

"I believed that you believed it," Rukia finally whispered.

A beat passed before Yoruichi's eyelids drooped in consideration. Even though Rukia was openly verbally admitting that she liked this, she'd been doing more or less the same as they had gone along anyway. The confession that Rukia had decided to try this because she trusted and believed in her, though, that was new. Yoruichi briefly reflected on the little nod Rukia had given her earlier, before they'd started to wash up, when she'd asked Rukia if she trusted her.

That trust... Her gaze shifted across Rukia's dark hair as she considered it. Having that degree of trust placed in her by a refined and elegant woman like this, seeing her make herself vulnerable in the name of it... It felt very precious and fragile. Yoruichi didn't want to betray it in any way, and pondered what to do. She soon decided that the only thing she actually could do was to be true to both herself and Rukia.

After several long seconds, she carefully embraced Rukia with her left arm, and traced her right hand up into Rukia's hair, gently twining her fingers into it and bracing her spine with her forearm. Once she was certain of her grip, she delicately pulled back, more to indicate a motion than to force it.

Rukia cooperated, albeit hesitantly, looking up at Yoruichi.

Having gained her collaboration, Yoruichi tipped her head forward.

The two of them were instantly eye to eye, their noses almost touching.

Yoruichi gave a small smile as she studied Rukia's expression. Why was this lady so damn alluring? "You should be more confident in yourself..." she lectured mildly, and watched Rukia blink as she tilted her head so their noses were side by side.

At last, Yoruichi shut her eyes and whispered "Because you're lovely, fierce, and brave," against Rukia's lips. It took only the smallest motion to lightly press her own up to them.

A long moment passed. Rukia's eyes were wide, and she was sure she would tense up. They'd been sitting together for so long that she'd honestly lost track of where exactly she ended and Yoruichi began. In that moment, she thought that surely, she'd suddenly remember; surely, she'd pull away and the difference between them would become clear again; surely... and yet, she didn't. There was only the continued warmth and comfort of their skin touching. Her expression relaxed after some unknown time, and she closed her eyes, holding the smooch. This is...

Yoruichi kept things soft and tender, gingerly running her fingers through Rukia's hair.

Rukia eventually moved, and slowly drew a hand backward onto one of Yoruichi's shoulders, while she gradually brought the other up through Yoruichi's hair to cradle the back of her head. With more than a little caution, she mildly tested how soft Yoruichi's lips were, kissing her properly.

Tilting her head more to one side, Yoruichi drew her left arm snug around Rukia's waist, pulling the other woman flush against her as she reciprocated the kiss and held it.

As the kiss went on, Rukia curled her fingers against the places where she was holding Yoruichi, just melting into the sensation of Yoruichi's body against hers.

When Yoruichi finally ended the kiss, Rukia blinked her eyes halfway open, in a bit of a daze. Her whole body felt hot, and as she shifted slightly she was able to take in the feeling of Yoruichi's form against hers anew. Amidst the relatively soft comfort of Yoruichi's thighs and chest, the firm, washboard-like sensation of Yoruichi's abs rubbing across her belly drew Rukia's particular attention, and her back seemed to flex of its own accord to push her up against them.

Yoruichi peeked at Rukia's dreamy expression and smiled. She used her hand to press Rukia's head forward so they lightly bunted each other, just breathing with her.

Rukia rested her forehead against Yoruichi's, panting just a little. She felt oddly short of breath and everything seemed to be spinning just a bit, like she felt faint. She lightly clutched at Yoruichi's shoulder and the back of her neck, vaguely and mildly afraid she might fall off the woman's lap. As soon as the thought crystallized, she became aware of how ridiculous the idea was. What... is this?...

Just as Rukia shook her head a little to try and clear it, Yoruichi pecked her cheek and adjusted how she was sitting in the tub, moving so they were cheek to cheek.

In reply, Rukia pressed the side of her face to Yoruichi's, feeling her own cheeks warm. Even as she caught her breath, her heart was still pounding, and the panging sensations around her heart and below her belly were fogging her head. She tried to draw her legs together, only to both find and recall she couldn't with how they were wrapped around Yoruichi's waist.

Yoruichi cradled Rukia to her and combed through her hair while nuzzling her.

She paid special attention to Rukia's heart rate, waiting until she felt it subside before saying anything else. "You asked me earlier if I do this sort of thing often," she eventually said, more whispering in Rukia's ear than speaking at a normal volume.

Rukia blinked and looked sideways toward Yoruichi's hair.

"Do you really want to know about my history in that way?"

After glancing downward, Rukia's eyes cleared a little. She faintly shook her head. "If I ask, will you answer? It's your business. I have no right to know. Whatever you've done, whoever you've done it with, none of it dirties you... but I have no way of asking about it without doing so. So I'll wait. If you think I should know, if you want to talk, when you think it's okay to talk... talk to me."

Yoruichi blinked too, and smiled a little. "How mature." She clicked her tongue against her teeth and added, "But you are curious," dragging out the last word with a lilt.

Rukia frowned faintly, but said nothing in response. She couldn't honestly deny that.

"It's not like I keep count or anything," Yoruichi said with a small chuckle. "If I meet somebody I find interesting, I go for them. Sometimes it's just for one night, sometimes it's a recurring thing for a while. Sometimes it's more like this, and sometimes it's... a lot more heated. Sometimes there's an emotional connection, and sometimes it's purely physical. My only hard and fast rules are that the other person has to want it, that I want to have fun, and that I want to make sure they do too."

As she listened, Rukia leaned her head against Yoruichi's. Questions popped up in her mind, but she kept them to herself.

"You're probably wondering if there's anyone special," Yoruichi continued. She stopped to figure out how to phrase what she wanted to say. "There kind of is, but... Hmm, it's an on-again, off-again thing. We both care about each other, but not always in that way, if that makes sense? I love him, but I'm not always in love with him. He has his obsessions, and I have my wanderlust, so sometimes we dance, and sometimes we don't even see each other for months."

Rukia blinked again at the sudden revelation. It wasn't an identical story, but it was close enough to hit home.

Having said her piece, Yoruichi fell silent, just holding Rukia. She wasn't of the same persuasion as Rukia on the matter of questions. That said, although she had plenty of her own, she felt she should be at least a little circumspect in asking them given the rules that Rukia was playing with.

A fair amount of time passed before Rukia piped up of her own accord, quietly saying, "I've... only ever been with one man. It was for a kind of short time at university. The way you just phrased it... I loved him, and I love him still, but I wasn't in love with him. We had sex a few times, but... Eventually we just kind of drifted apart."

This was rather worse than Yoruichi had estimated, and something in Rukia's tone gave her pause. Her gaze drifted toward the side of Rukia's head. "You did it willingly, right?"

"Yes." Rukia might look back upon her time with Renji rather ambivalently, but he'd never forced her or guilt-tripped her into doing anything.

Yoruichi pursed her lips as she thought things through. "... It wasn't fun?"

"It..." Rukia trailed off. This had really been the most that she'd thought about it since then. "It wasn't awful or anything."

Yoruichi slowly exhaled in relief and cradled the back of Rukia's head. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Rukia shrugged a little. "It's not like it's your fault. He tried, in his own way. I always thought sex was just kind of overrated, or that maybe the problem was with me. Thinking back on it, I guess I just never found him very exciting." Her thoughts shifted to what she'd seen of Yoruichi's arousal earlier—and how she herself felt in that moment, leaning against her. She'd never felt like that, or like this.

There was a long quiet between them, during which Yoruichi idly studied the ceiling. "There's nobody that's interested you?" No judgment stained her words; it was just that such a thing seemed hard to believe, given the circles that Rukia surely still ran in. She could infer that Byakuya was making her work her way up from the bottom without any assistance, but didn't imagine that anything was denied to her in terms of comfort or socialization—that simply wasn't the kind of man he was.

Rukia briefly had an impression of a flame of orange hair. Still, even when it came to that guy, she wouldn't say that she was interested in him, but rather just that he was interesting. A big part of that was how strange it was that they kept running into one another, and the fact that he didn't seem to be an asshole. He clearly recognized her, and she'd noticed him looking at her more than a few times, but he'd never sought her attention. That automatically made her like him more than most men, and there was something strange and intriguing about him. He almost reminded her of... Still, the distinction remained. "No, not really."

"That's the second very unique compliment you've given me tonight," Yoruichi hummed. At the same time, it was accompanied by a thought: No pressure or anything...

With a glance aside, Rukia narrowed her eyes a little. "Um..."

"Go on," Yoruichi said with a little smile.

"What... is this to you?" Rukia asked quietly.

As she heard the words, Yoruichi's face became sincere, and her gaze drifted back down. "Well. I... don't think of what I do as sexual conquest; I'm not out to claim anybody, I just want to have fun. But I know that's a two way street, and things aren't always that simple for others. I can tell they're not that simple for you. I can't say what this is, or what it might become, but I already know I do like you quite a bit. I know I'd like to make you feel good, and feel good with you, but that doesn't have to be sex. Even if I want you that way, just this... even just this feels good."

Rukia's gaze wavered back and forth across the waterline as though she was studying the ripples, but really, her thoughts were elsewhere.

"I hope to be friends after this, at least," Yoruichi added. She tilted her head a little to one side and adopted a hushed tone, "One really shouldn't kiss and tell, but... you know Rangiku?"

No way... Rukia blinked, coming back to the moment.

"It was a while ago now, but we fooled around once the last time she was on my crew. Sometimes things just happen. And you can still be friends afterwards—or maybe something more than just that, in a way—regardless of whether or not things ever happen again. So if you ask me what this is to me... really, it's about making an intimate memory with someone. Making something you can cherish both in the moment, and in the future," Yoruichi concluded.

After thinking about that some, Rukia sat up fully, but kept her arms encircled around Yoruichi's shoulders.

Quietly drawing in a breath, Yoruichi once more drew her head back so she could see Rukia, considering her while they were nose to nose again.

Rukia observed Yoruichi in just the same way as she herself was being studied.

Eventually, Yoruichi tapped the tip of her nose up against Rukia's, and rubbed it in a small circle around hers, the set of her eyes changing as she regarded the other woman in a more inviting way.

Rukia's focus drifted between Yoruichi's eyes. 'Making an intimate memory with someone', huh... Her own eyes closed as she finally leaned in for another kiss. She made this one a little more exploratory, wanting to confirm her earlier feelings and impressions.

Although Yoruichi let her set the tone and pace of the kiss, she wasn't passive. Locking lips with Rukia, she slid her left arm back around Rukia's waist and traced her hand down her spine, pressing the tips of her central two fingers to the flat spot where her backbone met her sacrum, right above the cleft of her buttocks.

A shudder swept through Rukia at being touched there, and she subtly pressed up against Yoruichi, increasing the pressure of the kiss.

In turn, Yoruichi pressed her left hand flat against Rukia's lower back, and used her grasp on Rukia's hair with the right to gently temper her assertiveness, keeping the kiss passionate but controlled. The last thing she wanted was for Rukia to get too aggressive, feel like she'd overextended, and get scared in the process.

Rukia was crafty though, and tipped Yoruichi's head forward instead, finally letting the tip of her tongue peek out from between her lips to give Yoruichi's the smallest lick. Suddenly having these kinds of feelings... it felt like a spark had been kindled within her, and was slowly being nurtured into a flame! She wanted to explore how she felt, and she knew that Yoruichi had been being patient with her. If she offered herself up like bait, what would—

A gasp escaped her as Yoruichi nipped her tongue, and her eyes snapped open.

Yoruichi ended the kiss and pulled her head back a little, considering Rukia closely as she flashed a lazy grin.

Rukia blinked several times, her cheeks pink. She was also suddenly very aware of the fact that she was sweating—they'd both been perspiring to start with, given how hot the bathwater had been, but that'd stopped rather quickly. Why was suddenly covered in a sheen of sweat again?

"What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" Yoruichi inquired around a smile. She could both watch and feel as Rukia grew increasingly less shy and more aroused—she kept fidgeting, her nipples were firm, she was starting to want to explore and play... maybe she wasn't exactly horny yet, but she was definitely pushing her boundaries.

Fairly quickly, Rukia's expression went from surprised to a bit sour. "That's cheating!"

Yoruichi feigned innocence. "Is it?"

Rukia furrowed her brows and started to lean forward again. She really wanted to find out—

Her eyes widened again as she felt Yoruichi's fingers tighten in her hair, and she made immediate and direct eye contact. Why are you stopping me...?

"Now, now," Yoruichi tutted her, "the bath's for cleaning up!" She allowed her face to take on a sultry look with hooded eyes before adding a husky tease, "Not for making a mess."

Rukia went a bit red and promptly pulled back a little at the insinuation.

All Yoruichi did was raise an eyebrow in reply, before arching her back and stretching, using the motions to create a bit more space between them with her chest. Only then did she refocus on Rukia, giving a pleasant smile. "Let's just briskly wash off with some cool water, and then get dry, okay?"

Looking over Yoruichi's expression, Rukia eventually nodded, some of her blush dispersing.

Meanwhile, Yoruichi's face stayed rather coy looking. She released Rukia and gestured upward with her right hand, palm toward the ceiling. "After you!"

Rukia's eyebrows drew together at the realization that the other woman was plainly intending to cop a look at her again, but there was no other way of getting out of the tub. Channeling all her dignity and bearing into her motions, she began to untangle her legs from around Yoruichi's waist so she she could get up.


Ichigo crashed back into bed, crabbily grabbing for his phone once he'd come to rest.

Having had time to think about it while he was in the shower, he'd decided to call home. He had no great obligation to tell his family what was going on, but he was pretty sure that they'd hear the news eventually, and he didn't want his sisters worrying about him.

He placed a call and waited.

It connected on the fourth ring. "Late as ever, Ichi-nii. Your plane landed two hours ago."

"Three, actually. I'm in Calgary."

There was a pause that radiated confusion from Karin Kurosaki's end of the line. "What are you doing there?" The fact that he'd taken even longer to call than she'd thought appeared to be forgotten for the moment.

"You haven't heard about the weather? We got diverted in here because of it; it was probably cheaper to strand us here than to bother going around it. There's a massive snowstorm bearing down on us. I don't know how long I'm going to be here," Ichigo explained, staring through the ceiling.

"Are you okay?" Karin always tried to sound unimpressed, but he could hear the worry underlying her voice.

"I've got a hotel room. It's not like anybody will be sleeping in the terminal. I just wanted to let you know what's going on. Tell Yuzu and Dad, okay?"

"Uh, wait—" Karin began.

Ichigo frowned. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with any theatrics at the moment from either of those two. "Hey. I'm okay. Promise. But I'll still have to get up early tomorrow to do work. So just tell them. I'll come see you guys when I get back. So be good, alright?"

"Hey—" Karin tried to interrupt him again.

Ichigo ended the call anyway.

He'd barely had time to inspect his notifications when a text came in from Karin, reading: 'I'm 19, you ass! Don't treat me like a kid!'

He smirked ruefully. How did she type so fast? If he could type that fast, maybe Borneo wouldn't take so long to deal with. He swiped out a reply of his own: 'Sorry. Know I can depend on you. Love you.'

His alarm was already set, so Ichigo put his phone on the dresser without waiting for any reply of hers—not that he expected one, really, as any hint of mushy familial love tended to get her to instantly shut up—and turned off the lamp on the bedside.

Although he lay in darkness for a time, he soon pulled down the covers and made his way under them. Even though he'd turned the heater on, it really was still too chill to just be sleeping in boxers and a t-shirt atop the comforter.


Rukia was still getting her hair up in a towel when Yoruichi finished doing the same and went over to the pile of clothes she'd made earlier.

Watching Yoruichi's movements and figure as much as what she was doing, Rukia slowed down her own motions.

Yoruichi quickly gathered up her discarded leather pants and fished something out of one of their pockets.

As she withdrew the item, Rukia could see that it was really two metal tags, each encircled with black rubber and connected on a long ball chain. She wasn't incredibly familiar with such things, but knew what they were through cultural osmosis, at least.

Without any pomp or circumstance, Yoruichi maneuvered the chain around the towel on her head and got it situated around her neck, poking the dog tags down into the towel around her torso, between her breasts. She frowned a little at how cool the metal was, but ignored it and brushed the matter aside—it'd heat up soon enough.

"You still wear your identification tags?" Rukia finally asked. Her tone of voice made it clear she was genuinely curious rather than making any kind of judgment.

Yoruichi blinked and looked up at Rukia before smiling a bit sheepishly. "Ah, yeah. It's silly, but I kinda think of them as like a good luck charm." She didn't always wear them, but she always kept them on her—she'd had them in her pocket because they'd have stood out, given how tightly the bodysuit fit.

Just for a moment, Rukia wondered if there was any connection between that notion and what Yoruichi had said earlier about things happening during the war, but she once again quickly stowed the question. Even if they were fast becoming friends—or something more—there was a time and a place for that kind of question, and this wasn't it. She settled for nodding, finishing up with getting the towel around her hair.

For her part, Yoruichi didn't seem to think much of the question, and after stretching, she sauntered over to the the curtain that divided the bathroom from the master bedroom's hallway and walk-in closet. "Want to dry off by the fire?"

Rukia smiled and nodded. She'd been able to tell earlier that the fireplace was rather nice and cozy, and given the option, why not use it?


[ A/N: I didn't get the name order wrong: Kyōraku is actually Japanese. ]

[ Ej: Much like its actual counterpart, this USN also has aircraft carriers and significant quantities of naval aviation assets. The details of what Yoruichi flew will become pertinent later. (Spoilers: it was the F-14.) ]