A/N: No spoilers! Sorry for taking forever to update! Enjoy, and please review!
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. And I shouldn't, because Tite Kubo is a lot better at keeping updating promises than me...
VAMPIRES
"See ya, Rukia, I'm leaving," Ichigo said as he grabbed his coat from the rack and his keys from the countertop.
"Ichigo!" Rukia ran into the room and slammed her husband's hand back onto the counter, forcing the keys to fall with a clang. "Where are you going?"
Giving her a wary look, Ichigo responded. "Out with the guys... Are you feeling all right?"
Rukia disregarded his question completely and gave him one of her own. "Which guys?"
"Renji, Chad, and Ishida. Is that a problem?"
Again, Rukia ignored this and prattled off another question. "Where are you guys going out to?" Her violet eyes narrowed.
"To the bar on Main Street."
Finally, she eased up her grip on his hand. "All right, just be careful."
Ichigo rolled his eyes. "I will," he said aloud before muttering, "Crazy lady."
"No, Ichigo." Rukia grabbed his shoulders and spun him around to face her, looking deep into his eyes with a penetrating stare. "I mean it. Be very, very careful."
"What's up with you tonight?" Ichigo asked her, feeling her forehead gently. "Are you okay?"
Rukia swatted his hand away and glared at him. "I'm fine. I just don't want you wandering into any dark street corners or talking to anyone... dangerous."
Battling between shrugging this off and going to the bar to meet his friends and getting Rukia hospitalized, Ichigo finally decided on a compromise. He sighed and hung his coat back up, set the keys down on the counter again, and leaned up against the door. "All right," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "What've you been up to?"
Rukia looked relieved at his sudden decision to stay home, if only temporarily. "Research."
Oh, no, he thought, this could never be good. Instead of opening his mouth and risking saying something he wouldn't regret but would get kicked out of his bedroom for, Ichigo simply raised an eyebrow at his wife, silently asking her to continue.
"Did you know," Rukia whispered as if she was worried someone would hear her, "that there are creatures of the night lurking around at every turn?"
Ichigo stifled a laugh. "What 'creatures'?"
"Creatures that could make your skin crawl." Rukia's eyes widened and she took a step closer to Ichigo. "They are scary and dangerous. They bite you and suck your blood. And sometimes, depending on the breed, they actually sparkle."
This time, Ichigo couldn't hold his laughter in. "Rukia," he said between gasps of air and chuckles, "tell me you're not talking about" laughter "vampires!"
"Ichigo! Don't laugh!"
"Rukia, do you actually believe they're real?" he asked, finally able to surpress his laughter to a mocking smile.
"Okay, it's true. I believe in vampires. But I have proof, okay?" Rukia pleaded, grabbing onto Ichigo's arms and leading him to their living room couch.
"Proof?" Ichigo said, unable to conceal his mocking tone.
Rukia glared and nodded. "Yes, proof."
Stretching out his long limbs, Ichigo tucked his arms behind his head and leaned back into the couch. "This oughta be good," he muttered under his breath before asking, "What proof?"
"Well," Rukia began, reaching behind her and grabbing a large stack of various media, "I've been keeping up on my reading. Inoue-san lent me these books," she dropped a stack of black-covered books on the coffee table. "They're full of vampires. Inoue-san says they're based on a true story."
Ichigo took a look at the books and nearly fell over laughing. "Twilight? Really, Rukia?"
"What?" Rukia said, grabbing the books and clutching them to her chest. "It's true!"
"Rukia, there's no way that story is true." Ichigo picked one up and flipped to a random page. Pointing his finger at a random spot, he read aloud, "'Be smart, avoid him as much as possible, cancel our plans, go back to ignoring him, pretend there was an inpenetrable glass wall between us in the one class we had together, tell him to leave me alone.' Well, isn't he a vampire? Maybe this isn't as bad as I heard..." Ichigo said before he continued. "'I was gripped in a sudden agony of dispair as I considered that.' What? That's dumb." His eyes skimmed down the page as he continued reading. A couple times a sigger escaped his lips. Finally, he finished the page and looked back up to meet his wife's eyes. "Really, Rukia? You really believe this is real?"
Rukia, glaring angrily, snatched the book from his hands and held it to her chest. "You haven't read the whole thing! You're reading out of context!"
"I know the gist of it and I don't really want to read the whole thing." An amused smile tugged at Ichigo's lips.
"Fine," Rukia huffed. "So maybe that's not a reliable sourse. It is from Inoue-san," she added, mostly to herself. "But I have other sources!"
"Oh, really? Like what?"
Reaching behind her, the petite woman grabbed another stack of media and setting it down in front of Ichigo. "Well, there's a lot of stories about them. A lot. And my question is, why would there be so many if they weren't real?" A worried crease appeared on Rukia's forehead as she said this, and Ichigo couldn't help but feel amused.
"Rukia," he said softly as he moved over to sit beside her and took her hand in his, stroking it softly. "Do you trust me?" She nodded in reply, not meeting his eyes. "Well, then, trust me on this, okay? Vampires are not real. I promise."
"How can you be sure?" Finally, she turned her violet orbs to search his amber eyes for a reason, any reason, he believed this to be true.
"I... just know, okay?" he said, not really having a solid excuse. Again, Rukia nodded, and he pulled her into a hug.
After a few seconds of sitting in each other's arms, Rukia whispered in his ear, "If you're wrong, I will personally feed you to a vampire."
"Yes, ma'am." Ichigo couldn't help the smile that came on his face at her words.
"Good," she sighed into his chest, "because Edward Cullen is really creepy."
Ichigo chuckled lightly and ruffled her hair gently.
They pulled apart and shifted so that they were comfortably sitting next to each other, Ichigo's arm around her shoulders and her head resting on his. Ichigo grabbed the t.v. remote and turned the television on, watching as the show began.
"Ichigo, I thought you were going out with the guys," Rukia said, puzzled.
Tightening his grip on her tiny frame, Ichigo smiled. "Nah, I think I'd rather stay here with you and protect you from vampires."
Rukia rolled her eyes and gave him a playful shove. "Ichigo, you dummy. Everybody knows that a vampire can't come in unless it's invited."
"My mistake," he said, smiling contently as he pulled her into his lap.
"Still," she said, leaning into his chest, "it's always better to be sure."
A/N: I'm not dead! I am so sorry! I know it's been FOREVER and a day, and I apologize profusely for it! I have needed this time off just because my creative supply literally drained. Completely. It was pretty bad. But I'm not dead! And I'm sorry! But do be warned, it might be a while again before I update this story. :( I'm just not feeling it anymore. Maybe I need to do some Bleach-reading or watching...
This update actually took me over a week to write, if that tells you anything. It's still really short, and pretty stupid. Creative energy? What's that?
But you guys as always are amazing! I got a ton of reviews even during that time, and I can't stop thanking you for them! I love you all!
REVIEWS...
Moonstar2015- Thanks so much! I will surely keep it up. :) Hopefully soon, too. :)
Miku Alli- Okay, I guess I won't turn you into a frog, haha. Well, now there I go not updating for almost 2 weeks... my reputation is ruined, lol.
ChocoboMuffins- Haha, there I go! Still, two weeks is better than never, right? And I plan on updating a lot more often now. :) Yes! I have actually started an AU story with IchiRuki. I haven't posted it yet because I'm not quite happy with it yet, but I'm working on one! :D
Winter Knight- Haha, that would be funny if he was a frog. But naw, I kept him as him. :)
kanakokiriha- Thanks! Haha, I've been a gushing fangirl for soo long... lol
darklover- Thanks so much! Glad you liked it!
uryufangirl- Yay for uniqueness! I'm glad you thought so. :) And I'm glad you liked it!
Andr3w R0b3rts0n- Haha, thanks! I don't like a lot of sap, but I like sap... sometimes I like a ton, but not to the cheesy level. :) I'll try to never stop writing, but who knows? If I have another bout of writer's block like what I just had... phew, that was bad. And I'd love to marry you! Haha, support 24/7 would be awesome. ;)
curio cherry- Thanks so much! I'm glad you liked it and thout it was sweet. :)
blades of blood488- Thank you! I'm so glad you liked it!
LesleytheLion- Well, when you like the pairing, feel free to read as much as you'd like! When you don't like it, too, because it's always nice to have readers. :) I understand what you mean, though. I get the same way with other couples. I've always been a die-hard IchiRuki fan, though. And grammar is my favorite! I wish more people on here used it. But there are enough that are spectacular that I'm happy. :) Thanks for the review!
Rukia's Reflection- Oh, don't worry about it! It's been a while to update. :) Thanks so much! I'm glad that you liked it!
Disha5- I always love it when the guy goes all goo-goo eyes for the girl... It makes me swoon. :) I'm glad you liked it! And look! Finally! An update! :D
Thanks SO MUCH to all of you! You guys make my day. :D
REVIEW! Or I'll sic a vampire on you. Muah, ha, ha, ha!