AN: Hey guys. I'm back. Somewhat. Really, I don't know if any of you writers out there experience it, but when I have free time, I don't write fanfic. When I don't have free time, I write fanfic. Should be the other way around, but what can you do. Anyway (though I'm sure there's no one out there who is really dying to read the next chapter anyway), I thought I might update. Now, don't worry, I will finish it, I actually know what's going to happen next, its just that, well, yeah, the universal excuse of real life happens to useful in my scenario as well. Sorry about that. Ok, here we go.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach

A Summer Job: Business Trip (Part IX)

The door of the inn swung open silently. Picturesque, would be the word to describe the sight, thought Ichigo, as he walked in from the cold night. There were two chairs on either side of a glass table, with a small pot plant in the middle. A white reception desk was placed towards the back of the room, with an attendant sitting quietly behind it.

She looks too innocent, Ichigo thought, staring hard at the attendant, as if to make her look up.

Finally the attendant did look up, and instantly Ichigo wished that she didn't. It was the crazy attendant from their last visit. There was something definitely weird about her.

"Oh, hello."

"Hi," he grunted, hoping that he would keep this conversation to one-syllable words only.

"Hello! I remember you!" Rukia exclaimed.

Damn. Looks like that wouldn't happen. He could swear that the attendant's eyes just glinted.

"Oh yes, the couple that I served a few days ago."

Ichigo bit his tongue to stop himself from screaming out that they were definitely not a couple – it didn't seem to hard, actually. He decided to interrupt Rukia's lively conversation so that they could get away from the attendant.

"We'd like a room."

"Obviously," came the attendant's dry reply.

"Please."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," said the attendant cheerily. "I was just trying to have a little fun. So," she said casually, looking down at her mark sheet, "Just like last time?"

"Yes," Ichigo and Rukia said at the same time.

"Oh?" said the attendant with a sly smile. "So the married couple's room did work for you two last time?"

Rukia instantly reddened, and turned away. Ichigo felt his face heat up. "Uh, no, actually, my mistake, uh, we want separate rooms this time please."

Why was there a twang of disappointment when he asked for separate rooms? He ignored it and waited for the attendant's reply.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," he said gruffly, regaining his composure. How dare this woman embarrass him.

"Very well." The attendant turned to face the woman, who seemingly had recovered from her earlier embarrassed state. "The room numbers are 10 and 11. The price is 90 gold pieces. Each."

She let herself smile a small smile as she watched their reactions. Finally the raven-haired woman spoke. "Sorry, did you just say 90 gold pieces?" 90 gold pieces was ridiculous.

"Yes. I did say 90 gold pieces," said the attendant, as blandly as she could.

"Can we have…a discount?"

"Nope."

The attendant smiled again, as she saw the raven-haired woman turn helplessly to her male counterpart, who was looking very stressed out. As if realising that the orange haired boy wouldn't be saying anything for quite some time, Rukia spoke up again.

"Are you sure there isn't any way for us to cut the price down…or something?"

"Well, no, I'm not really authorised to change the prices," she said, as she placed her elbow over a sheet of paper which said, if you could read upside down, "Single room price – 3 silver pieces".

"Anything?" Rukia said, sounding desperate.

"Well…" the attendant sad, trying to look thoughtful, which was hard, when all she wanted to do was crack up laughing.

"Yes…?"

"There is a way."

Ichigo didn't say anything until the attendant had well and truly gone. He then sat down on the futon, and crossed his arms.

Rukia, instead moved to the middle of the room, and stood there. It was just like before.

"What?" she asked, when she noticed Ichigo staring at her.

"That attendant is a hollow."

"What? How do you know?"

"She's evil. I'm going to kill her."

"What? Ichigo, you can't do that! And anyway, she isn't a hollow."

"How could anyone be that evil, and be a soul?"

Rukia sighed. Trust Ichigo to come up with such a bad explanation. "Ichigo," she said patiently, as if she were dealing with a child, which he was, compared to her, "You will not go kill her. She doesn't have control over the prices."

"Yeah right."

"She said so!"

"She's a liar."

"…"

"Oh, come on Rukia. What inn manager in his right mind would place a 90 gold piece fee on a single room, but make the married couple's room 5 silver pieces? That kind of stuff is unheard of."

"Maybe…"

Ichigo continued looking at her.

"Ok, alright, I admit it's a bit weird. But at least we have a room, right?"

Ichigo mumbled something incomprehensible.

Rukia couldn't take it anymore. Ichigo's mood had been weird ever since they had walked into the room. It was like he just couldn't handle being in the same room as her. Did she annoy him that much?

"Look, Ichigo, tell me what's wrong," she demanded, after they had changed into their sleepwear.

"Nothing."

Rukia raised a dangerous eyebrow.

"Nothing," he said evenly. "Apart from the fact that the attendant is a hollow, or a close relative, and I have to sleep in the same bed with you again," he mumbled, but loud enough so Rukia could hear it.

Rukia, actually couldn't believe what she was hearing. She could dismiss the comment about the attendant; they would know if she was a hollow or not, but she couldn't believe what he had said. He didn't want to sleep in the same room as her. She admitted that yes, things got awkward sometimes, but she didn't realise that he actually hated it. But why?

"Fine. You know what, since you're so concerned about sleeping alone, well then go ahead," she said coldly. "I'll just sleep in this corner here," she said, walking slowly over to the corner furthest from the futon, where Ichigo was sitting.

She saw his mouth open in protest, but she didn't care what he thought. He had offended her, and it would take a bit more than just words for her to heal.

"Piss off, Ichigo," she said so icily that it stopped him in his tracks. "Goodnight."

Ichigo sighed in the dark. It had been about an hour from when he was sure Rukia had gone to sleep, but it felt like ages. Why did he have to go blurt out all that stupid stuff. If he had told her what he really felt, she would do more than just go sleep in a corner. She'd probably go all the way back to the Court of Pure Souls. Well, it would be understandable, he thought. If he had said, "Oh, I'm uncomfortable in the same room as you because I like you," it would certainly be understandable if she just packed up and left.

The thought had just occurred to him – what would happen when they were in the same bed? He was, after all a hormonal teenager, and Rukia and him had done some stuff that was certainly not friend-like at all. He didn't know if he could trust himself in the same bed with her, really. But hearing her ice cold voice was not good at all.

Ichigo shook his head to clear his thoughts. He had to do something. He would hate for a rift to grow between him and Rukia. He didn't know what he would do if they weren't friends. Much as he didn't like to admit it, he actually had grown dependant on the raven-haired shinigami. And what was worse, and more recent, was that he actually liked her. He got up quietly, and listened to the sound of her soft, even, breathing. That meant she was asleep. He stepped tentatively towards the corner where she was sleeping.

For a while, he just stood there, wondering what he was going to do. He had two choices. One was to bring her back to the futon, which was extremely risky and would probably involve her waking up, especially since it was fairly recent that she had gone to sleep. The second choice was that he joined her. After debating silently in his mind, he chose the latter.

Quietly he slid down the wall beside her, and prepared himself for sleep. He almost leapt away when Rukia's head fell slowly on his shoulder.

He closed his eyes, and breathed in deeply, waiting for the moment where she would wake. Nothing happened. Good, she was still sleeping. But now, he wouldn't be able to sleep, worrying over what would happen if he moved and she woke up. A few more minutes passed, and Ichigo decided he had had enough. He needed sleep, as the journey had knocked quite a bit out of him.

Reaching around her, he grabbed both her shoulders, and as gently as possible slid her forward. Thank goodness the floor was wooden, he thought, as he eased himself behind her. He parted his legs slightly, so that she fell between them. His initial reasoning for this move was that she wouldn't wake up if he moved, whereas if her head was on his shoulder if he moved, it would probably result in her head hitting the ground, which wouldn't be good for his health. Now when he had got settled, he cursed himself for being so stupid. Great, he could move his shoulders, but what about the rest of his body? He tried to ignore the soft body in front of him, and concentrated on falling asleep. It did not happen.

After 10 minutes of trying to fall asleep he gave up, and placed his forehead gently on Rukia's raven-black hair. This woman had come to mean so much to him. He wouldn't admit it, and probably never would, but he would die for her. He was glad that she saved his life once, so that he could have an excuse to go save her. Even though, deep down he knew that that wasn't the only reason. But, the feeling never really arose until now, he thought. Oh, sure, he had liked girls before, and he knew how that felt like, but this feeling with Rukia was something totally different. Almost like it was lying dormant till now. He could be honest with himself, and say that when Rukia had lived at his house he didn't have any feelings for her – well those types of feelings anyway. Sure he had recognised that she was a grown woman, with all the body parts of a grown woman, but that was it. However, when she was at Soul Society, and he on earth, it was like the bond between them got stronger and stronger, instead of growing weaker and weaker. That was something he couldn't explain, but thinking back to one of his dad's stupid sayings – "Distance makes the heart grow fonder", or something silly like that, - that saying could probably describe what happened pretty good. He found himself missing her more and more every day, glancing expectantly at the wardrobe, thinking that she was there. Actually, just knowing that she was there made him feel…somewhat secure. When she left…

He felt her stir, and instinctively he placed his arms around her. A few moments of silence passed.

"I-Ichigo…?" he heard her say wanly. He didn't answer, but tightened his grip ever so slightly.

He hoped she wouldn't fully wake. He was way to tired for that.

"Mmm…" Instead of waking up, he felt her snuggle closer into his body.

He breathed a small sigh of relief and placed his head back up against the wall.

"You know…" he said softly knowing he wouldn't get a reply. "I…like you."

There, the words were out. But Ichigo knew, that he could probably never say that if she was awake. And listening. That would never happen. But, in the dark, holding her, it was kind of easy to say. Knowing she wasn't listening, made it easy to say, but knowing she was within hearing range posed a challenge. For him, anyway.

He gently combed her hair with his fingers. Her hair really was growing longer, he thought. And it looked great.

He whispered into the night. "I wonder…if you heard this for real, if you would say you like me back." He paused. "Probably not, since there are so many reasons why you wouldn't. Like, why would you, in the first place. I know what you think of me. Just a boy. A boy who never does the right thing. I always stuff up."

He stopped combing her hair. Heck, even that last bit was hard to say. If she had heard him, she would have probably asked him to say it again so that she could record it. He knew what she would say. It'd go something along the lines of, "What? The great Ichigo actually admitting that he does the wrong thing? This is too good. Can you say that again?"

He smiled in the darkness. It was just as well he would never tell her this. He would probably forget about it in the morning, but being so close to her put him in a weird state. He placed his arm back around her.

Actually, the position wasn't that bad. It was somewhat comfortable. And he would be lying if he said that he didn't enjoy holding her this close. If she was fully awake, he would never be allowed to do this, he thought wit ha small smile on his face as he closed his eyes for the last time that night.

However, a few minutes later, Rukia opened her dark blue eyes. "Ichigo…" she trailed off, listening to his even breathing. But he was already asleep.

AN: Ok, there's the update. Yeah, yeah, I know it was totally late. I got big exams coming up so don't expect me to pop one out tomorrow or something. Hehehe, but seriously, just mark that box that says alerts, give me a review, and you'll know when I update. You guys are awesome. Especially the ones that read this. Because you know, you stayed with me throughout the time of drought (metaphorically speaking). Thanks guys. Oh yeah, don't worry about me not finishing the fic. I basically know what's gonna happen. It's all sweet at that end of the line.