A/N: Once again I have over a dozen reviewers to thank: The Guardian White Wolf, Rukia Kurosakii, 1290r5, falconrukichi, Kyu9, MaN610v3r, Rukia's Reflection, , hollownature, Amaterasu Ai, sblack13, Ikorosu Shinso, Nivek01, and theaCoi. And thank you to those that added this or its author to their lists.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Bleach characters, manga, anime, movies, etc. They belong by copyright laws to Tite Kubo et al.

Saying I Will

The Breaking Point

Everyone had a breaking point. Ichigo reached his when his friends and Byakuya decided that the café where he worked was a good place to have dinner. The group of five took up an entire table and unfortunately it was right in the middle of his section. The girl he was working with sighed continuously at Byakuya's looks and Ichigo wondered if anyone in the Gotei would mind very much if something happened to the captain.

"Do you know him?" she whispered wistfully and looked at him with hope.

"Ah, yeah, he's Rukia's brother." His coworkers had become used to the petite Shinigami quickly as Rukia tended to take up space in the corner when he was working and she was between classes or Hollow hunting excursions. They all assumed she was his girlfriend and neither he nor she disabused them of the thought. Whether she understood the implications of that or not still puzzled him.

"He's so handsome." Ichigo ignored that, preferring to do his work rather than gossip. It was a well known fact in the Seireitei that Byakuya was one of the top bachelors. "Could you get me his number?"

The tray of dirty glasses he was carrying wobbled and the orange haired freshman sighed when they'd stabilized. "Look, Sakura-san, Byakuya's a widower. He still mourns his wife so I don't think that he's ready to get involved again." Brown eyes saddened at the thought.

"That poor man…" Ichigo didn't mention the fact that when he finally did marry again, it would be to a noblewoman that the clan elders approved of. Instinctively he knew that Byakuya would make that sacrifice so that Rukia didn't have to marry someone not of her choosing. There were times when he would like to continue to be rude to the captain but every once in a while he'd do something that showed he wasn't completely heartless. It wasn't that he hated Byakuya per se but he still couldn't bring himself to actually like him. There was no getting around the fact that he took great pleasure in annoying the sixth division leader though and vice versa.

"Ichigo, where's our dinner?" Keigo waved to his friend, causing Byakuya to frown at the rudeness and Rukia to aim a kick at his shin. She got Mizuiro instead and had to apologize. The playboy merely smiled and brushed the accident off. He was in a good mood as he'd already collected a dozen phone numbers to add to his collection.

"It's coming, Keigo." Serving a group of guys in the corner, he was further angered by the glances they were giving Rukia. He shifted his stance so that she was blocked and glared at them while asking if they needed anything else. Getting the drift that the small woman was off limits, they shook their heads.

Fifteen minutes passed before Ichigo was able to serve the table of "friends." He was about to leave when Keigo made the suggestion that they go partying after Ichigo got out of work. "Can't," the freshman said shortly and walked away. If he stayed, he'd surely strangle the idiot and his manager wouldn't appreciate having one of his customers choked to death. Even if he deserved it. All of his patience had been put into remaining polite to Byakuya and he didn't have any left over to put up with the craziness that would ensue if they hit one of the many parties that could be found around campus on a weekend. Plus, he didn't want the elder Kuchiki to think he wasn't taking his education seriously.

When he went back to check on them Rukia put her hand on his arm, letting him know that she understood. Byakuya's eyes followed the movement but he didn't comment. Renji had been surprisingly silent, knowing that Ichigo had reached his boiling point. Keigo whined but didn't push his luck further, instead suggesting that they play a video game when they got back.

Ichigo, who had left the family gaming system at home for his sisters, had to disappoint him that way too. Rukia, trying to make things better, piped up and mentioned that it would be a simple matter to buy a new one with a few games to keep everyone occupied. "Rukia-chan, you would do that?"

"Of course, Asano-kun. I want my friends to have a good time. Unfortunately, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to have all of us in a crowded place. Hollows, you understand. Ichigo, can I have that card Nii-sama gave you? I'll go buy the system and games while you're still working."

Ichigo, tempted to do just that, caught Byakuya's expectant look out of the corner of his eye. "Sure, Mizuiro, will you make sure she gets the right things?" While he didn't trust the playboy to not put the moves on Rukia should he find himself alone with her, he could trust him to do this one chore.

"Of course, Ichigo." The dark haired young man nodded, knowing that Keigo could be a bit much on occasion.

"Kurosaki, explain what this game system is that my sister is speaking of." Byakuya saw the temper Ichigo was known for burn brightly in honey brown eyes before being willfully banked.

"We have these games that are digital and are played by using a computer hooked to a TV. Rukia's played one a few times with my sisters. If we can't go out, I suppose it's the best alternative while Keigo and Mizuiro are here. They can demonstrate when you get back to the apartment. I'll be back around ten or so." Ichigo handed over the card, watching his friends' eyes widen at the color. He knew that there'd be questions later.

"Remember, midget, you're going for a system and some games only."

"I know what I'm buying."

"Right, well, I have to get back to work. Just don't kido something because you get mad at it." He directed the last statement at her but he hoped that the other two Shinigami got the message too. Byakuya hadn't realized that being in a gigai would prevent the use of his Zanpakutou and he'd thankfully forgotten that he could use kido in that form but that didn't mean he'd continue to be that absent minded.

"Don't worry, Ichigo, we'll take good care of Rukia-chan for you." Keigo saluted and stood up. "And we'll show the captain and lieutenant a good time too."

Afraid of just that, Ichigo stalled Rukia by putting a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him in question, still surprised that he hadn't blown up at Keigo before now. "If he suggests something that you're not sure about, call Ishida. Don't let your brother get into a situation that he'll get angry about. We don't want to have to alter a large number of memories because the idiot got a stupid idea into his head."

"I'll beat him up in your stead if he does."

"Thanks," he said and went back to work. Hopefully none of his customers would try his temper for the rest of the night. He needed to relax as much as possible. Dread was once again crawling up his spine and Ichigo had visions of losing his cool once and for all and knocking what sense Keigo had left out of the fool's head.

Ichigo became aware of one glaring fact when he got home that night. Instead of a nice, calm retreat into his room where he'd hopefully fall asleep before his visitors crashed in his room, he was going to have to maintain what little order was left. He entered the apartment to find Keigo, Mizuiro, and Renji fighting over who was winning the video game while Inoue and Rukia talked in the kitchen. Ishida and Byakuya sat at the table playing a game of Go.

Dumbfounded, the future Shinigami thought that he'd walked into an alternate dimension. Since when had Ishida and Byakuya become pals? Or were they just bonding over ways to do him in? The sound of the video game was deafening and he was glad that their walls were thick.

"Oh, Kurosaki-kun, there you are. Rukia called us because Asano-kun tried to get the others to go into a bar. She wasn't sure what the legal drinking age was so she called us." Inoue offered a reassuring smile.

"Why'd he think that he could get in? We're not twenty yet."

"Because of Nii-sama and Renji." Rukia saw how tired he was and softened her expression. "Why don't you go to bed? We've got things here," she said and watched as the temptation almost got to him. Breaking glass changed his mind and he was standing over Keigo and Renji in an instant.

"You idiots, that was Rukia's favorite vase!" Several minutes passed where Keigo groveled and Renji begged for forgiveness from Rukia who had beaten his head in with her fist. Mizuiro, trying to avoid both Ichigo's wrath and Rukia's, quietly cleaned up the mess without being asked.

Byakuya watched the spectacle from the table, Ishida studying his expression. "Things have been much quieter than this," he told the other man. "Besides the Hollows, those two have had pretty much a calm life so far."

"Explain, Quincy."

"In high school, it was known that they argued a lot. Some thought that it was because they were in love with each other and continually denied it. I have been present for only one of their disagreements lately. Ichigo's temper when something threatened Kuchiki-san was legendary. I am sure I do not have to remind you of the lengths that he'd go to when she was in danger or something upset her. When she was in the Soul Society and he was without his powers, he lost a lot of that fire. It returned when his friends became targets during the period of time that he lost his badge but only those that he really cares about can bring it out in him."

"He has been uncharacteristically polite to me."

"I am sure he'll revert to his normal rude and brash self when he's whole again. Kurosaki wanted all of us to believe that he was fine with losing his powers but he wasn't. I am glad that Kuchiki-san came back. It was quite pitiful watching him mope about." Ishida might not have minded sharing those little insights with the captain but he wasn't about to tell him the real reason Ichigo had been more polite than usual. The orange haired young man was coming to the realization that Rukia was the woman he loved and he didn't want anything to endanger the chance to keep her by his side forever.

"I see." Byakuya watched his sister speak to her "partner" who had apparently lost all control and beaten Keigo into the floor. "Do you believe that they are in love?"

"I believe, Captain Kuchiki, that they are bound together by something greater than we ever thought. Exactly what that something is remains to be seen. Some call them the Black Sun and the White Moon. Without one, the other is incomplete. I do think that if Kurosaki ever asks for Kuchiki-san's hand, it won't be a traditional proposal." Ishida frowned, wondering how he'd gotten onto the subject of the duo's relationship to begin with.

The noble frowned, watching Ichigo throw up his hands and leave the room. Whether the young man had what it took to become the husband of a Kuchiki princess remained to be seen. One thing was certain, however. In all the years that Rukia had been his sister, he had never seen so much emotion on her face than when she was with the ryoka. "Indeed." Turning his attention back to the game, the captain moved the last of his pieces onto the board and looked at the archer. "I do believe I win, Quincy."

"So you do," Ishida murmured and understood why Ichigo disliked the man so much. He never quite got around to acknowledging that even though they were human, Ichigo and his friends were actually equal to if not greater in ability than the Shinigami of the Gotei Thirteen. Deciding to call it quits for the night, Ishida put the game away and called Inoue from her discussion with Rukia. He felt sorry for Ichigo but not enough to stick around Keigo any longer than necessary.

Ichigo was laying in his bed when Renji and the other two went down for the night. The only remaining light in the room was the desk lamp and he figured that one of the others could very well get it before going to sleep. Keigo spread out on his futon and stared at the ceiling with one arm tucked underneath his head. "Hey, Ichigo, Rukia-chan's brother really is a hard nut to crack. He didn't laugh once the entire day."

"Kuchiki-taicho has a lot of responsibilities. He doesn't have time to fool around." Renji stood over the human boy and frowned. "You did a good job of making him angry earlier. I thought for sure he was going to kill us all."

"Seriously guys, just go to sleep. I'm too tired to play referee between an idiot and a division captain. If you don't keep quiet I'm going to ask Rukia if there's a kido spell to silence people and leave you that way for the rest of the night."

"Sorry," the two guilty parties answered.

"Say Ichigo, what's the meaning of the two swords on your headboard?" Mizuiro asked.

"None of your business," the orange haired teen snapped.

"Those?" Renji asked. "Oh, those are Rukia and Ichigo's Zanpakutous. Hers is in its shikai state while his is in its bankai. I guess it's supposed to mean that he'll always have her back."

"I will always have her back." Just when he thought that the trio would get going again, Rukia appeared in her soul form and silenced them with a kido spell that probably wouldn't let up until morning. She smiled at him, readjusting Sode no Shirayuki.

"And I'll always have yours." Her soul pager beeped just then and she gave him a wave before going out the window.

"Midget…" Smiling stupidly, Ichigo turned over and went to sleep with those comforting words. With her by his side he could handle anything.

Even a trigger-happy captain and two nutty friends.