A/N: Aww, of course I can make you wait for the The Little Black Dress to be revealed! As I'm sure most of you understand, authors have a very good sense of sadistic patience...Hehe.

No Peeking

Ichigo flopped down on his bed and heaved a great sigh, his face planted in his pillow. He was glad of the silence, letting ideas of how to give Rukia her gifts float lazily through his head. It was so hard to hide things from her. No place was a safe place for a present if she was suspicious.

Kon pounded relentlessly at Yuzu's door, begging Ichigo to let him out. His sister had locked her door, explaining that she was making Karin a surprise kimono for Hanabi Matsuri (Firework Festival) and didn't want her to get curious while she was gone getting supplies. Kon was stuck in her room, apparently dressed as Sailor Moon…

"Forget it, Kon. I'm not letting you out of there," Ichigo snickered, his grin widening as the toy begged and pleaded. He could imagine the little lion flailing his arms, tears streaming dramatically down his fuzzy exterior behind the door and it brought him an evil sort of joy.

"PLEASE?!?!?!?!!!!?!?! Iiiichigo, I'll break through the window if you don't let me out of here!…" Silence. "I SWEAR I WILL!" Kon threatened. With a groan, Ichigo pulled the pillow out from under him and threw it at his door. It slammed shut with a satisfying echo and the stuffed animal down the hall reduced himself to sniffling pitifully, knowing he had been successfully ignored by the shinigami representative.

As the house grew quiet once again, he turned over onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. It wouldn't be long until Rukia came home. With a tired breath, he sat up and dumped the remaining contents of the paper bag on his comforter. The keychain was easy. He hooked it onto the zipper on her backpack and left it there, hoping she never questioned where it came from, or even noticed it had appeared. Similarly, he stuffed the notebook set between two folders and zipped her bag back up. Plopping back down on his bed with a little bounce, he inspected the stuffed Chappy. With a sigh, he pushed it into the bottom drawer of his desk tapping his fingers against the wood of its surface. It would be hard to find a reason to give it to her. If only he knew her birthday!

Then it hit him. Inoue. If anyone knew, she would. And if she didn't, she'd be so curious afterwards that she'd ask. It was perfect! With a cocky grin plastered to his face, Ichigo let himself fall back on the sheets.

Rukia appeared on Ichigo's windowsill looking exceptionally pleased with herself. He glanced her way as she dropped a few coins on his chest and hopped into her closet, numerous shopping bags in her hands. She flashed him her brilliantly fake smile and slammed the door. He could hear her rustling behind the sliding door as she pulled things from her bags. As if the mouth of a ravenous beast, the closet slid open just far enough for three rather crinkled bags to be spat from inside. Before Ichigo could catch a glimpse, it slammed shut again and he could hear Rukia laughing to herself. The sound sent shivers down his spine, a sense of foreboding much like a heavy, gunmetal grey cloud promising rain.

"Rukia?" he called tentatively, propping himself up on his elbows. The sounds of folding clothes stopped and he heard her shoving stuff out of the way. Slowly, her fingers pried the door open and she peeked out. Ichigo had to stop himself from smiling at how child-like her gestures were.

"What?"

"How much did you buy?" he asked, counting his spare yen. "You couldn't have gotten that much, I only gave you fourteen thousand yen ($140) or so."

"Megumi-san gets discounts at all the stores along the street because she's a manager at the lingerie shop. I got half off just about everywhere!" she said. Ichigo froze. Papipupe was on that street too…

"Can I see what my money bought you then?" Ichigo said, attempting his usual scowl. Rukia peered at him suspiciously.

"No, why?"

"Because I bought it?"

"No! They're my clothes! You'll see 'em when I wear 'em!"

They shared a deadly glare and both weighed their chances of victory. Ichigo thought about the woman that had taken Rukia shopping. She was very high-class and fashion oriented. She probably wouldn't have even thought about the end of the street. Most of the shops there were practical: kitchenware, office supplies, groceries…It was highly unlikely they would have gone, ne?

Rukia didn't think he had overheard Megumi-san and her conversation at the register in the lingerie store, but she could be wrong. He had a habit of popping up and hearing things he probably shouldn't hear. She squinted at him interrogatively, sizing him up. His scowl deepened and she could tell he was going to give it up. She let out a quiet breath and averted her eyes. They shared an awkward silence and Ichigo scratched the back of his head.

"Ah, Rukia. I thought you might need some closet space or a drawer or something," he mumbled a little begrudgingly. The thought actually had crossed his mind several times that night, but he was using it as a redirection of their conversation. The small woman raised an eyebrow and nodded her head slowly, agreeing.

"Yeah, I guess I do."

"There should be a drawer under your futon where you can put them."

"Baka, there aren't any drawers under my bed."

"Yes there are. Let me show you."

"NO!" Rukia said, smooshing Ichigo's face with her petite hands. He mumbled an 'oomph' against her palms and growled, batting her hands away.

"What the hell, Rukia!"

"You can't come in!"

"WHY NOT?!"

"BECAUSE!"

"THEY'RE JUST CLOTHES, GOD!"

"NO PEEKING!" Rukia yelled, nearly shaking the foundations of the house. They seethed, glaring fire into each other's eyes as they struggled to keep their breathing under control. With great force of will, Ichigo backed off and took a deep breath. He snatched up the bags next to his feet and shoved them into Rukia's chest.

"Put them back in their bags and I'll clear out a drawer for you, idiot," he grumbled, his face turning red from strain. She slammed the door in his face and he bit his lip, trying desperately not to yell at her through the divider. When she opened the door again, Ichigo had his worst scowl readily available. She hopped out of the closet, hugging her bags of clothes like a precious stuffed animal after a nightmare. Ichigo's mind briefly strayed to the toy hidden in his desk.

Ichigo approached the base of Rukia's makeshift bed and lifted a wooden cover, sliding it under her futon. Three large drawers were revealed, two holding pillows and bed linens. The space highest in the futon cabinet was nearly empty. He smirked with an "I told you so" kind of attitude and let the expression sink into Rukia's head. She hmphed and looked away nonchalantly, clutching her bags, which were slowly falling apart in her arms.

After Ichigo had pulled the remaining comforter and sheet from the drawer, he shoved them on the top shelf, high above his head and strolled away, finding great interest in his Classical Japanese homework. Rukia snorted arrogantly and climbed back into her closet. Ichigo heard the light click on and listened distractedly as she began folding and putting things away. He didn't catch it for several minutes, but a smile had crept onto his face.

A/N: Wait until you see what's coming next!...Not quite sure what it is, since I wasn't planning on getting reviews the first twelve hours it was up, but you'll see! I'll have the chapter up by the end of the day, maybe even two more. Hope you like this short'un!