Guest - Drunk Rukia appears a total of 2 times but I absolutely love Drunk Rukia. :3 I also love Ichigo's sweetness, I'm simply cooing by all the sweetness he's giving out. :3

Disclaimer: I neither own Bleach nor its characters. :3

With a groan, Rukia pressed her palms onto her eyes and rolled onto her back. Her head pounded and her mouth had tasted like chalk. Okay, what the fucking hell happened last night? Hearing a knock on the door, Rukia groaned. "Yes?"

Ichigo stepped onto the room, a glass of water in one hand and a big smile on his face. "Good Morning."

Rukia squinted her eyes against the light that filtered through the tree outside the window. They were back in Ukitake's place, star stickers gluing to the ceiling and twinkle lights wrapping wrapping around wooden bedposts. "Good Morning." Pulling her polka dot sheets to her chin, she shifted over to the side. Ichigo sat over on the edge of the mattress, causing the springs to squeak in addition of the added weight and handed the glass of water and aspirin to Rukia. Rukia swallowed the pills gratefully and placed the glass of water on the nightstand. "What happened last night?"

Hearing Rukia's question, Ichigo's expression was one of delight. "You don't remember?"

Rukia shook her head. "Nothing after the third shot of tequila."

Ichigo's expression dropped just then, as if disappointed. "Really? Nothing at all?"

"No. Why? Did something happen?" Rukia felt her heart beating fast. The knowledge of no memories with her being drunk in addition... What had she done yesterday?

Ichigo grabbed Rukia's hand. "It was our first time..."

Rukia widened her eyes. "You don't mean..."

Ichigo nodded. "I can't believe you don't remember it. I mean, it didn't exactly go the way I thought it would but the way you pressed yourself against me, I couldn't resist."

What? The way Ichigo was smiling as if he had gained some treasure in the world... Had Rukia given away her virginity when she was drunk and had no idea what was happening? Not only was her marriage an arrangement, was her virginity taken in such a way as well? Tears were building up in her eyes by now. "Please tell me you are joking." Rukia whispered.

"Hey, hey, no crying." Ichigo wiped her tears away with his thumb. "I'm teasing you a little, it was just a kiss, I promise you we will have more."

"A-A-A kiss?"

"Yes." Ichigo frowned. "What did you think I meant? That we slept together?" Rukia's cheeks reddened before she nodded her head, averting her gaze from Ichigo. "In your Tou-San's house? With your Nii-San sleeping less than 5 feet away? While you were drunk?"

Not able to face Ichigo, she pulled her sheets up and covered her face, pouting. "You were the one that had said that it was 'Our First Time'."

"Hey." As if remembering of something, Ichigo gently pulled Rukia's sheets back down and stared at Rukia, causing Rukia to gaze at him in surprise. After a few moments of blushing from Rukia's side, Ichigo asked carefully. "Rukia, are you a virgin?"

It was as if Ichigo had asked her whether she was willing to strip naked for him. Looking away, she bit her lips before gazing back at Ichigo and nodding. Ichigo then scooped her into his arms, holding Rukia close to his chest. "Don't ever think that I would take that from you. Understand? Not unless you want me to. Not unless you ask me to."

Rukia heaved a sigh of relief mentally. "Okay."

Ichigo pulled back a little, taking in Rukia's teary eyes and water-stained cheeks. "Okay?"

"I understand."

"Good." Ichigo smirked. "And, Kurosaki-San, the first time we have sex, you can be fucking sure you will never forget it."

Really, Ichigo has been so sweet lately that Rukia could have melted right there and then. "Are you mad at me for forgetting our first real kiss?"

In answer, Ichigo leaned closer and kissed the corner of Rukia's lips and then the center. "No." Ichigo replied, smiling as Rukia gazed into Ichigo's eyes. "Because I can remind you of it as often as you like."

Hey. I got a surprise for yoooooou~ Your MASTERPIECE is almost ready!

I am so excited!

You can swing by my studio today if you want. I am DYING for you to see it.

Driving back with Ichigo now. I can pop in this afternoon, if that's okay?

A steamy weekend away?

Hardly. I will fill you in later.

Sure thing. Later.

Ichigo had dropped Rukia off outside Toshiro's studio and had kissed Rukia goodbye. He was currently heading home to try and squeeze in some last-minute work before Monday. Momo was off since they were both away and Rukia had planned to pick up some groceries on the way home and make Ichigo dinner. She knew she should have told Ichigo about the messages Ginjo had sent her but she couldn't bring herself to do that and destroy the fragile trust between them. Well, it could probably wait until tonight, after dessert, at least. "Hello?" Rukia called, sliding open the door to Toshiro's studio.

"Perfect timing!" Toshiro called out from behind an easel, barefoot and wearing a grungy apron. "Take a seat."

Careful not to jostle the canvases stacked along the walls, Rukia made her way to the couch and plopped onto the full cushions, sending dust motes scattering through the afternoon sunbeams. "Tell me about your weekend, I just need one second to finish this up." Toshiro muttered, frowning at the painting in front of him.

"It was... Great..." Rukia was very aware she was beaming.

"Great?"

"We kissed."

"About time! If you had waited any longer, I was going to go for it." Rukia had rolled her eyes and giggled. "What was it like? Is he good with his tongue? I bet he's a biter." Toshiro rambled excitedly, fluttering from thought to thought.

"I don't know if I should say."

It was Toshiro's turn to roll his eyes. "Girl, please. You know I won't say anything. No one would believe me anyway. Besides, if I was gonna tell Japan Times anything, I would wait for something better than a plain old kiss, no offense."

Rukia smiled. "None taken."

Toshiro gestured for Rukia. "Forget that for now and come check out this."

Sending more dust flying as she stood, she stepped around discarded tubes of paint and brushes to his side. She couldn't help the small gasp as she took in the painting before her. The canvas was so much taller than she was, swirling with murky greys and blues, flecked with gold and red. In the center of the painting, there were 2 figures. The first was an angel that resembled Rukia herself. She held out her hand towards the second figure -- A knight whom had resembled Ichigo. With his head bowed, the knight knelt at the angel's feet, his blood-stained shield and sword discarded behind him. "It's beautiful..."

"Right?" Toshiro squealed. "I'm so happy you like it. You still hadn't given me a tour of your house so I'm not sure where you will put it but I'm sure there has to be some place in your house for this painting."

"I know just the place." Rukia smiled. "Thank You so much, Toshiro. Really."

"Don't thank me yet, I have to keep it just a touch longer. I will have it delivered to your house as soon as possible though."

After leaving Toshiro's studio, Rukia had stopped by the supermarket to grab the ingredients she would be needing for dinner. Rukia had wanted to make a pot pie and took the recipe Unohana had taught her when she was little. Picking up some extra snacks too on the way such that some of Ino's favourites would be stocked when she came over for some more wedding planning, Rukia made her way home, making a mental note to invite Toshiro as well, such that he could see his painting in the apartment. Finally, things had felt easy and right. For the first time ever, Rukia was excited to be heading back to their apartment. The feeling was foreign to Rukia after months of dreading the huge white space and she wasn't sure what to do with these foreign feelings. Practically skipping to the apartment after reaching the apartment, there were a few muffled sounds as the elevator slowed to a stop. It had sounded like a party in there and Rukia frowned. As the doors pinged open and Rukia stepped out, she could almost puke with the air thick of smoke and the stringent smell of booze hadn't made it any better either with her still-sensitive tummy. "Ichigo?"

Following the sounds into the sitting room, Rukia found 5 men in equally posh clothes, lounging on the sofas and chairs. "Rukia." Ichigo smiled, hopping up from where he was sitting. Taking the grocery bags from Rukia, Ichigo threw an arms around Rukia's shoulders. "Gentlemen, for those who hasn't met her yet, this devastatingly beautiful creature is my wife!" The men cheered as Ichigo kissed Rukia. "I apologize for the surprise, Rukia." Ichigo had said just for Rukia's ears. "I pushed away my meeting for these guys yesterday so I could spend the weekend with you. I figured the least I could do was invite them over so we could do business over a proper drink."

Rukia smiled in response. "No problem. Should I make some snacks then?"

"That would be wonderful!"

Kissing Rukia's cheeks, Ichigo rejoined the men and as Rukia was about to turn to the kitchen, her entire body froze. Sitting on the last seat of the sofa, whiskey in hand was Kugo Ginjo and he was staring straight at her.

Filling bowls with chips and laying out crackers and cheese on late, Rukia's thoughts were running wild. Her attacker was in the living room yet neither Isshin nor Ichigo had known anything about it. She knew she should have told someone right away. If not Ichigo, then Isshin. Isshin, who had been so amazing last time a man had came after her. If she said something now, would that make Ginjo leave? Rukia's actions hadn't seemed panicky or out of place but as she accidentally sliced her finger open, she hissed as blood bled to the surface of the fresh wound. Sticking the finger in her mouth, Rukia sucked on the skin. "Need any help with this?" Rukia couldn't help but freeze. Recognizing the voice of the owner, she relaxed and cursed herself mentally for her mistake. Ichigo raised an eyebrow in response as he approached Rukia. "Everything okay?"

If she had decided she would tell Ichigo everything, this would be her only chance. But, for some reasons, the words wouldn't form. Instead, the behaviours of Ichigo's ran through his mind. The way how Ichigo forbid Rukia to be with other men, the way how Ichigo kicked Toshiro out of the house, the way how he threw a drink at Ashido...

"The idea of another man touching you drives me crazy..."

If Ichigo had known what Ginjo had done, if Ichigo had known that Ginjo had touched her on inappropriate places, whose side would he be on? Would it be Ginjo on the receiving end of Ichigo's wrath, or her? Rukia forced a smile. "You can take the chips out. I will come behind you with the rest."

Ichigo reached for the bowls. "Will you sit with us? I will pour you a glass of wine."

Not waiting for Rukia's answer, Ichigo walked out of the kitchen, causing Rukia to sigh mentally and follow after Ichigo with the rest of the food and causing the men to cheer. "Grab that from Rukia, would you?" Ichigo called.

A bald man in a blue sweater vest stood and took the plates of cheese and crackers from Rukia. Knowing that she would have to keep her shit together before Ichigo notices anything, she nodded. "Thank You."

Ichigo moved from the bar to reoccupy his place on the chaise longue, holding his arm out for her. Rukia joined him, sitting at the opposite end of the chaise, causing Ichigo to frown, wondering what exactly was wrong with Rukia. Was she unhappy? Holding a wine glass out in offer, Rukia shook her head and smiled at Ichigo. Taking a long drink and shifting closer to Rukia, placing his free hand on her knee. Rukia couldn't help but flinch again, causing Ichigo to give her a side-glance which Rukia simply brushed off. Before he could have made a comment on how Rukia flinched 2 times already, the conversation between the men began and had successfully distracted Ichigo from Rukia's weird behaviour. "My old lady would kill me if I went away for longer than a week."

"That's because you gotta train them right. I just send mine to the spa when I need some alone time."

"Fuck off, will you? That said, wasn't your wife at the Praxel Inc. Boys weekend last year?"

"There was a spa at the resort, wasn't there?"

Suddenly, Rukia felt the weight of a gaze upon her despite the conversation going on and she flinched, for a third time.

Even though Rukia was sitting beside him and acting normally, Ichigo couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong with how she had flinched when he had approached or touched her knee. Yet, Rukia had insisted that she was fine. Was the hangover hanging around a little longer than normal? As expected, the boys' visit had shifted from business to pleasure. In the circle that he was in, it was sometimes hard to distinguish between the 2. Normally, Ichigo would be right there with them, trading war stories. Yet, Ichigo had felt that their stories of conquest wasn't that funny, for some reasons. Ichigo had been hoping that with Rukia in the room would make them change their topic, but... "I think Ginjo is the one who's got it all worked out. Leaves his lady here while he runs around Europe. How does that work?"

Hearing Rukia take a deep breath despite smiling, Ichigo slid closer to her and heaved a mental sigh of relief when Rukia hadn't rejected him. Was it the topic that was bothering her? Was it something that he had said? Ichigo looked over at one of his business associate before shrugging. "That's not exactly true though. Setsuna dumped his ass, didn't he?" Ichigo and the boys laughed but when Ichigo gazed over at Ginjo, he wasn't laughing. "Did I hit a nerve?" Ichigo taunted. "Come on, buddy, you know we are messing with you."

Ginjo smiled just then but the smile hadn't reached his eyes. "Setsuna's playing hard to get." Ginjo had said. "Nobody says No to me."

It was as if that particular sentence invoked a reaction out of Rukia as she stiffened, causing Ichigo to gaze at her and Rukia actively avoiding gazing at Ichigo. "You okay?" Ichigo whispered to Rukia. Rukia bit her lips and nodded, causing Ichigo to frown. She sounded okay but...

"Come on~ What's your secret? Sure, she dumped you but I saw the way she was hanging on your arm, Ginjo. That girl wants you inside her."

"I'm a handsome lover and I would still get my balls ripped off if I didn't see my girl for a month."

Ginjo took a sip of his scotch and gazed at Ichigo before speaking. "We are both single though. I'm sure she sees other men and I see other women. All it takes is a little open-mindedness."

Does Ginjo know that he had slept with Setsuna? If he did, it hadn't sounded like Ginjo had acted at all. What was wrong with him? Since when had he cared about such trivial matters such as fucking around? "Yeah, they all tell you they are open-minded until they find out you have a little something on the side. Then, they go nuts! I bet that's how Ginjo got the scar on his neck. Setsuna fucking walked in on him mounting some whore and tackled him from behind."

"Almost right." Ginjo swirled the amber liquor in his glass. "I got this from a woman in Paris." Something in Ginjo's tone had pissed Ichigo off and he was trying his best not to react. Hearing Rukia whimpering, Ichigo reached over and tucked Rukia into his side. Rukia hadn't rejected him thus far and that had sent alarm bells in Ichigo's mind, at least. Ginjo gazed at Ichigo once more, continuing his story. "It was at a ball... A woman... She had black hair... A... How should I put it? Cocktease. The whole night. She wanted me. What could I do?"

"Okay, now we know you are shitting us. Things like that don't happen in real life."

Ichigo seriously felt like hitting Ginjo, for some reasons. "We went to a private room. She ripped my clothes off and asked me to say that she was beautiful."

"What happened after that?"

"I couldn't lie." Ginjo shrugged. "I told her it wasn't true and she threw her shoe at me."

The guys burst out laughing while Rukia excused herself. Jumping up, Rukia rushed down the hall. "To the weaker sex."

The contents of her tummy emptied as she flushed and tried to steady her breathing. Despite the details skewing in Ginjo's favor, Rukia had known that Ginjo had been talking about her. To Ginjo, Rukia was another girl who had been wanting and asking to be assaulted. She remembered Ichigo speaking of the woman he slept with exactly the way Ginjo would have spoken. She had heard Ichigo belittle them and listened to Ichigo kick them out of the house after he have had his fill. Had Ginjo thought of her that way as well? As a conquest? As a prize? What was worse, being Ginjo's plaything or being the scum under his shoe? She hadn't wanted to entertain anyone other than Aizen Sosuke aiming to ruin her life but it had seemed that she had no choice but to entertain that idea because she wasn't safe anywhere, not even with Ichigo Kurosaki as her husband.

"Was it something I said?" Ginjo asked as the bedroom door slammed shut behind Rukia.

The boys all looked at Ichigo, wide-eyed which Ichigo simply shrugged. "She's on her period." He muttered distractedly, successfully getting them to shut up. At this moment, he was 100% sure that there was something wrong with Rukia. Rukia had been through hell these last few months, largely by his hands yet Rukia hadn't reacted like that before. Ichigo suddenly had an urge to go to Rukia and help her, he simply had to get these fuckers out first. "All right, boys. Party's over." Ichigo declared, gulping the last of the wine, causing his colleagues to gaze at him. "You heard me, I have shit to do."

Grumbling, all of them got to their feet, apparently too buzzed to give a shit about Ichigo's lack-of-manners. As they approached the elevator, Ginjo stopped in front of it, letting the doors close with the rest of the men inside. "I do hope your wife is okay."

Ichigo pressed the button to call upon the elevator. In a hurry, he pressed it again. "Me too."

"Please give her my regards, I hope I have the chance to see her soon."

"We can call and set something up." Ichigo replied smoothly and fumed at the elevator for taking so long.

In his fuming mind, he tuned out Ginjo's reply. Finally, the elevator doors slid open again and Ginjo smiled and patted Ichigo's arms as he stepped inside. "If not, I will cherish the memory of last year's gala!"

The second Ginjo disappeared, Ichigo had headed for the bedrooms. He was in front of Rukia's bedroom, hand on the doorknob when he had remembered Ginjo's parting words. Last year's gala? What the hell was that supposed to mean? Had Ginjo and Rukia met at the gala? A sudden thought occured to him and his hand tightened its hold on the doorknob. Was Rukia the girl of his story? Was Rukia the wanton whore he had described? A familiar anger ran through Ichigo as he threw the bedroom door open. "Rukia?"