A/N: Yet another chapter! I'm scrambling to finish as much of this story before school starts.

Sorry for the short chapter, but I felt that this was the best place to cut off. If it's any reassurance, I'm already working the next one.

Wow, it takes fluff for people to finally review huh? I'm oddly surprised by that, though I just might have more in store for you guys.

Well, enjoy and review please.

I've been forgetting disclaimers this whole time. I don't own Bleach or any of its characters in anyway, nor do I own Jamie Cullum's album, "Catching Tales".

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Rukia woke up in the middle of the night, for a moment completely lost as to where she was. She shifted against the warmth beside her and realized what was amiss, there shouldn't have been one.

Her eyes flew open when the memories of a few hours ago surfaced in her mind.

Rukia would've shot up from the bed if it wasn't for her legs, hopelessly entangled with Ichigo's, that held her firmly in place. With a blush unseen in the dark, she left go of her clutch on his shirt at his stomach. The distance between their two bodies was literally non-existent.

With an unfound audacity, she put her arms around his chest and pressed her entire body against him. She felt safe, to feel the contours of his body and the ledges of his ribs, and breathe his warm aura.

At that moment, on that very spot, all was right with the world.

It wasn't remotely so when morning came. As the two woke up at the sight of each other, so close in their own embraces, an awkward air settled over the room. Ichigo, who looked as if he had never been sick, and Rukia dressed without a word, occasionally muttering an unintelligible apology when their hands brush by or bump into each other trying to maneuver in the small space.

"Should we go then?" Ichigo asked hesitantly when they ran out of ways to avoid each other.

"Yeah…" Rukia answered, trying hard not to look at his face.

With a quick sigh, as if to prepare himself for the day, Ichigo opened the apartment door and held it for Rukia to step out. A restless silence hung over them as they waited for the elevator, each on the verge of opening their mouth to say something but then decided against it.

The second they walked through the threshold of the front door, it was as if they had stepped out into another world. Everything was shrouded in a shimmering white, the heatless winter sun danced off of strands of snow and rendered the world without a single shadow.

As they walked, Rukia stole a few glances at Ichigo beside her. His brows were knotted together, like he used to, seemingly seriously contemplating something. She felt unsettled, was he regretting last night? The unease continued.

The morning passed uneventfully, any words said were purely perfunctory, like "pass the cup" or "can you take out a roll of pennies". It was torturous, having fear and doubt circling in her mind and manifesting itself to the point of irrationality.

Then the shrill sound of the telephone ringing finally broke through the monotony. Ichigo was the closest and naturally picked up the receiver.

"Seirei Café, Ichigo speaking."

Busy with a customer, Rukia couldn't see the expression on his face, but pieces of the conversation drifted to her ear.

"I've been alright, you?"

"No, I don't have anything planned."

"Oh, I see."

"I'll be there then. Thanks, bye."

Rukia was just about to ask who it was, but Ichigo, without sparing one look at her, walked directly back to the counter and greeted the next customer in line. After an entire day of paranoia and speculation, the mystery was finally unraveled that night.

They were both cleaning up the day's mess, Rukia washing the cups and Ichigo sweeping the floor. Out of nowhere, Ichigo spoke up as if commenting on the weather:

"My father asked me to go spend Christmas Eve at home, and he told me to invite you too. It seems like he's quite familiar with you."

Despite the casualness of his voice, his face was a solid red.

Rukia was quiet for a moment, there was something she had to know before anything else.

"Did you mean it?"

Her pulse quickened in expectation, or was it apprehension? Then his answer came like a slap on the face.

"Did you? And why? You never gave me an answer."

This was the first time Rukia had heard his voice so charged, the civility gone without a trance.

"Were you doing it all, coming to see me and help me, for me or just because I look like the Ichigo that you knew? Who was it that you were kissing, me or him?" Ichigo abandoned all pretence of indifference and stopped his mopping to face her. Hurt was evident in his voice.

Rukia was completely caught off guard, forgetting her own question about his intentions. She gaped at him, almost waiting for him to say "just joking!".

But he didn't.

"Why else was I doing it? Because I love you!" She almost yelled, feeling her eyes sting with hot tears. Does he not know that already? It wounded her, much more than she ever thought possible, for him to even ask that.

When the words left her mouth, she realized that she had just betrayed her deepest secret.

Ichigo stopped for a second, but he was too determined to get his answers to be savour the words' consequences.

"Why?"

Rukia was finally struck silent. No matter how deeply she dug within herself, the root of the affection eluded her. She just realized it one day, without any sign of its existence in her heart, but it seemed that it had been there forever. No beginning, no end.

He looked as if he wasn't sure if he should've felt vindicated by her silence or hurt incredibly by it. Finally he decided on the later and, without a word, stepped through the front door still in his uniforms.

It all happened too fast for Rukia to process at that instant. When she finally did, she sank to the ground, too disgusted with herself to cry. Amidst his anger Ichigo didn't notice that she avoided one of his questions.

When she was holding him last night, all her senses but the warmth of his body muted by the darkness, what were her thoughts? What was she feeling? Who was she holding?

Ah, she remembered.

"I've missed you, Ichigo."