Midnight
Ichigo & Rukia

She's there, if I need her. Sleeping in my closet like nothing ever happened. She never went to face her own execution. Never almost lost her life too often to count against Aizen's Espada. Never saw me gibbering in fear at shadows in my own bedroom. The war did not leave me altogether well.

I can hear her in there. She's breathing, even and deep; she's sleeping and that makes one of us. I'm laid out in my bed, Kon curled next to my pillow, he's my closest friend these days. It's him and her. The lion who wears an Ichigo suit occasionally and the girl who keeps the stuff inside the suit together.

You'll be surprised to know that Orihime cannot help me. Doesn't even know that I have to take tranquilizers just to leave house. That's ok with me though, she's played her part for the good of the world. And she had her knight in shining armor, too. Renji watches her, and Rukia watches me. What a pair of heroes we make.

"Ichigo it's midnight," Rukia's soft voice and the sound of the closet sliding open drifted to my ears. "Are you still awake?"

"Yes," I reply, since it's the truth.

I can hear her rustling, so I turn my head to watch her swing her tiny body out of the closet to perch instead on my desk. "It's not nightmares," she says, "since you seem to be pretty calm. What's wrong?"

"I was thinking about Renji," I start, "and how he is doing for Orihime what you do for me."

"And what's that?"

"Be a g-glorified baby sitter." It's a stuttering whisper, and she tsked loudly.

"You're not supposed to be thinking about that. I'm here to keep you company, and to help you while you can't help yourself. I'm enjoying it, actually."

I chuckled, I'd never heard that before, "In what way are you possibly enjoying this?"

Her smile was small, "You don't remember do you?"

"Remember what, exactly?"

"When you came to rescue me," she sighed, "I must have told you a hundred times I didn't need or want your help."

"And?"

"You helped me anyway. I'm glad, don't get me wrong, I'd rather be alive than dead. Especially now that I know it was an elaborate plot." She landed silently on the floor. "Now, it's you saying you don't want or need my help. Yet, here I am." She sat on my bed, while I moved to make a little more room for her.

I trained my eyes on hers, the exact color of the sky outside right now, midnight. "You're wrong, as usual."

She frowned and leaned in closer, "How so?"

I lowered my voice, "I need and want you here, Rukia." As quickly as I ever made an attack with Zangetsu, I kissed Rukia. She responded almost immediately as our slow kiss built into something that we would both remember for quite some time. For the first time in weeks, I wasn't scared or nervous. "Kuchiki Rukia, I love you."

AN/ Well, no one has asked for this couple, and I was surprised. Not that I mind, exactly, I like IchiRuki even less than I like IchiHime. LOL So, here they are! My readers are super important to me, so I thank you for staying with me. If you wanna make me smile, then go ahead and write a review.