"Do you have any house rules that I should be aware of? Anything in particular that you don't want me doing?" Ichigo asked him a little while after finally stepping out of the guest room where she'd been busy sorting through her new things and putting them all up and sitting next to him on the couch.

This was the first time that she had even mentioned anything about possible house rules to him.

And while Kurama usually had such rules for guests... He wondered if she had perhaps forgotten the fact that the two of them were engaged and would be married in a few short months. And as such something as small and menial as house rules weren't really needed since it could cause tension between them.

Which would probably explain why he gave her such a confused look. After all, he couldn't seem to wrap his mind around the concept of house rules when the one asking was the woman that he intended to spend his human life with.

What was his was hers and vice versa. Or at least that was how he tended to understand how things went between two adults in a relationship and living together, anyways.

It took him several seconds to mull things over before finally saying, "No. I can't think of anything."

"Okay," She said with a nod. There was a heartbeat of silence and he started to go back to the work that he'd pulled up on his work computer while she had been busy when she finally asked him. "What about odd habits? Anything I should know there?"

He blinked for a second and slowly reached out and shut his work computer off and then set it aside so that he could give her his total and undivided attention.

"Define...odd for me." He said hesitantly, wondering where this conversation was going to take them.

So far some of their conversations thus far had been pretty amusing and informative. But if they were to venture into the weird... He would have to tread carefully so as not to worry or scare her too much.

After all, letting on that he had a small nest in the back of his closet where he tended to hide various items that he'd stolen from his family and friends- might be just a little bit concerning to her.

The fact that he was already planning to steal an item or two of hers to add to it, might be a bit too overwhelming for her right now. Given the fact that her home and everything in it had been destroyed such a short time ago.

"Strange habits, rituals that make you feel more comfortable. Things like...walking around naked. Or howling at the moon sometimes?"

He blinked at her again and cocked his head to the side and studied her. "I don't walk around naked."

"Okay."

"Why would you ask me that? Are you hoping that I do?" He asked curiously.

She merely gave him a slightly strained looking smile and said, "No comment."

He felt that her reply was a tad bit disappointing. Mostly because if his woman wanted to see him naked, then all she had to do was ask him and he'd strip.

"And I ask, because it's nice to have forewarning just in case. I've been a guest in other homes before and wound up in some very...awkward situations."

"Like what?"

"Like...the last time I spent a weekend with my friend Rukia. It was a year or so after she and Renji got married. So, I wasn't expecting to hear some odd noises in the middle of the night and think we were under attack of some kind. I went to grab her and Renji and sort of walked in on them doing BDSM."

He made a slightly sputtering/choked sound that he tried to cover up with his hand as she scrunched up her nose and went on to say. "And despite how embarrassing it was, it got worse."

"W- Worse? How?"

"Renji all but begged me to join in-"

His eyes widened in shock at hearing this. And somewhere in the back of his mind he was fairly certain that he now hated this Renji fellow with all of his being.

How dare he! He thought as she continued with her story.

"I said no and started to leave. I was happy that we weren't under attack, and they were just...loud. But Rukia pulled the 'house guest' thing on me because I interrupted them, and I didn't have any choice but to sit in a chair and let her touch me to tease Renji."

His jaw dropped open in shock and horror, utterly appalled at what he was hearing before he then trying to stammer out, "Y-You- D-Did she? I mean, w-were you-" He motioned to her with a hand, trying to convey what he couldn't seem able to say aloud as anger, outrage, and a myriad of other emotions filled the entirety of his being.

"Raped? No. The touching never went farther than my shoulders. For the most part she just played with my hair and touched my face and throat in a teasing way."

He felt an intense sense of relief at hearing that and found himself asking worriedly, "Have you spent the night with them since?"

"No. I confronted them about it in the morning because it made me uncomfortable. Rukia apologized and I know she meant it. But I still don't really like staying with them overnight without others being around anymore. So, I avoid it."

"Oh my darling, I'm so sorry that that happened to you." He said, meaning it as he reached out and wrapped his arms around her and dragged her into his lap so that he could hold her. "I know that your friends didn't seem to do any harm but-"

He wanted to say that there was no excuse for what had happened to her, but she cut him off.

"But they did do harm. It might not have been what they intended, but they still did. Don't get me wrong, I still love the two idiots. But there's a certain strain to our relationship now. The trust that I once had in them has been damaged. They've been trying to give me space and stuff- and even call more than usual. Like when they're coming over for a long visit..."

"That's good to know."

"Yeah. I think the only time they've popped in unexpectedly was the other night. But they also had Byakuya with them. So, I think Rukia might have told him something and he's trying to be the third wheel so that nothing else like that happens."

He didn't say it aloud, but he suddenly felt somewhat grateful that Kuchiki had been making a habit of inviting himself to do stuff with her. As annoying as it seemed to be- the man had obviously figured that it was warranted.

Still...he felt slightly shaken by her admission. So much so that he couldn't quite place what he was feeling right then as she suddenly announced that they had gotten off of topic and needed to get back to it.

The next time she asked him if he had any odd habits that she should probably know about, all he could do was blurt out that he occasionally stole stuff, forgot his clothing in his bedroom when he was showering, and he also had a weird habit of rolling around on his bed and other pieces of furniture if they smelled odd.

She merely blinked at him then and told him point blank that she tended to build little forts and nests out of her bed sheets and pilfered pillows, she liked stealing men's shirts- because sometimes they smelled really nice.

She even told him that she planned to steal a few of his because he smelled really nice to her.

She didn't have to say anything else, he carefully shifted her in his lap and then grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it off and handed it to her. Watching as her face flushed prettily and she smiled at him happily as she clutched his shirt to her chest.

A second later, she was up off of his lap and running for the guest bedroom while shouting at him, "No take backs!" Leaving him to stare after her with a bewildered and amused look on his face before he chuckled and shook his head and muttered.

"No take backs." He wouldn't dream of stealing his shirt back from her if it made her this happy to have it.