Disclaimer: All characters of Bleach belong to Kubo Tite.

Your Hands In Mine

Unlike a rabbit, Rukia never turned tail and run in the face of an approaching threat. When cornered, she fought back.

"Way of Binding, Number -!"

A T-shirt, smelling very familiarly of a certain boy, plastered Rukia in the face. Ichigo had chosen to fling his T-shirt straight at her head at the very moment she was about to use her Demon Arts.

While fumbling with the sudden obstruction, she heard Ichigo shrieking indignantly at her. "Were you about to use that body binding curse on me again? What were you thinking!"

Well, maybe it wouldn't have worked anyway. Since, Rukia had been pretty panicked witless then.

"Don't go thinking that I was going to jump you." Ichigo's face was flushed to the point of red usually associated with well-done lobsters. He muttered, "Just put on the shirt! Seriously! Sashaying down the beach in that.. that.."

A strangled sound was all that he was capable of making when suddenly his throat felt drier than the Sahara.

Rukia really could not say what she had been expecting of him. A compliment? A little admiration would not have hurt. Whatever it was, she had not imagined this! Was it so wrong to hope?

Ichigo turned his back to her and quietly continued, "I.. just don't want the other guys at the beach leering at you and getting up to their usual tricks."

Hearing this, she smiled softly. Did he care about such things? Well, this surpassed a compliment surely.

When Ichigo looked back at her, she was already wearing his T-shirt. 2 seconds late, he had just missed seeing the way Rukia's eyes had lit up with a warm glow as she smiled up at him.

oooOooo

"Kurosaki! I challenge you," Ishida declared. "Let us race and see who is the better swimmer."

"Bring it on, Quin-, uh.. Ishida! As if I'd ever back down from a challenge coming from you! Name your choice of defeat!"

The raven haired boy pushed up his glasses with one hand and pointed out to sea with his left. "The winner will be the first man who makes it to the shore of that island!"

Ichigo followed the line of direction indicated by his arch-rival, and could just make out, far.. far off in the distance, a tiny green island.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Ishida, I am not swimming after you to rescue your ass when you get blown off course, and drift away down to Taiwan."

oooOooo

Rukia tried to stand still in the waters as the waves alternately pushed and tugged at her legs.. feeling the continuous motions of the sea rushing to shore. The waves crashed down and dissolved into bubbly, white foam that hissed and fizzed like champagne.

She scooped them up in her hands, but they only fizzled and tickled her palms for a second before clearing. Some sensations were just so brief.

Ichigo detached himself from the commotion further away where his classmates were snapping photographs of a very noisy Keigo –waking up to find that he had been in the process of getting an unauthorized sand-burial.

He made his way towards Rukia. She was standing knee-deep in the surf. He knew his T-shirt was lying, neatly folded, somewhere on the beach blanket since Tatsuki had noted that it was a little silly to get weighed down by all that material while swimming.

"Is it fine with you?" Rukia said suddenly, and Ichigo wondered if she was asking him about the 'shirt subject'. "I mean, our classmates have been making some comments. And I know you don't want them to think that we.."

She paused, unsure of how to continue.

There were some things that Ichigo wanted to say so much -words that were at the tip of his tongue, words that he left unsaid.

Rukia, if I held your hands in mine, I wouldn't sneak about hiding it. I'd hold your hands in mine and stand before them –proud to have you by my side.

"Yo, Ichigo! Let me take a picture of you and Kuchiki-san!"

They both turned to see Keigo and Chad standing at the shore, cameras poised.

"Stand closer.. closer! Geez, you're stiff as a plank of wood, Ichigo!"

No mercy for Keigo, he would be given a proper dunking later, Ichigo promised.

"Put your arms around her, dummy! Don't you recognize a chance when you see one?" Keigo baited, eyebrows dancing with glee.

Ichigo took a step towards Keigo, prepared to send the other boy to his watery-grave. Then, he stopped short as he felt Rukia's fingers brush against his.

She tugged lightly on his fingers and smiled. "I'd like to have a picture to keep."

Funny how such a gentle touch could completely erase his earlier impulse to drown Keigo. The touch of Rukia's fingers in his was light. Her hands just loosely holding his.

He felt a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Keigo's camera flashed.

Rukia, your hands in mine.. I never want to let go.

Ichigo's hands tightened around hers.

A second flash went off as Chad's camera captured the split second difference.

Forever.


Author's note: Special thanks to Duble L's Honey, chikarin-chan, anne522, jonz-3-5, Teara, and FuriousDeragonmaji for my first reviews ever! Happiness had me spinning circles on the PC chair til one wheel popped off. ;)

And also, much thanks to those who took the time to read this fanfic, and this little note.