The secret of the wings

After a moment Mary pulled herself together and straightened up. Her eyes locked on Ichigos and Rukias joined hands for a second before she met Rukias eyes.

"Well, now that the coronation is over, you are free to do as you like. You are free to go back to earth as a shinigami, but you should know that if anything happens in the realm of the angels you will be informed one way or another. We might need both of your help sometime."

Rukia looked seriously at her.

"Accually, there is one thing I would like to ask you before we leave. About our wings."

Mary studied her face intently. Rukia looked nervous, but also a little hopeful. Mary couldn't hold back a smile. She knew what the girl wanted to know.

"Well, I told you before right, that an angels wings can only grow out the first time when you trust and believe completely in a person."

"Yes, you told me. But that doesn't make any sense to why Ichigos wings materialized when they did, right?"

Mary saw that Ichigo was looking puzzled over the conversation, so she decided to tell them the truth.

"Yes. The truth is that I wasn't completely honest when I said that. The truth is that your wings first grow when you love somebody with your entire heart."

Both Rukia and Ichigo gasped and looked at each other shyly when they heard this, but Mary pretended not to notice as she continued.

"Usually that happens when an angel is born, from their love for their parents, but in some cases it doesn't happen until they fall in love with someone. It's very rare, but in your cases it's pretty natural. To start with Ichigo, you are only half angel, so your angel instincts didn't develop until much later, and in your case your highness, you were raised in Soul Society, without parents so it's not very surprising that you haven't materialized your wings until now."

She smiled gently at the two of them, who were still holding hands, and said softly:

"Take care of that love and each other and go back to where your home is. I will make sure to come visit you one day."

With that she stood up and left them alone.

Ichigo didn't know what to say or do. He had been keeping his feeling locked in safely because he didn't think that they were mutual, but after hearing Marys' words, he wasn't sure. After all, he didn't know how Rukias wings had materialized. He soon got his answer though, because Rukia squeezed his hand and turned to face him.

"Why didn't you tell me? All this time I thought..."

She didn't continue her sentence so he decided to answer her.

"Well, I always thought that it was one sided. If so, and I would have told you, working together would have been really akward."

"Idiot. And here I was thinking that you didn't see me as anything else than a friend, somebody you worked with."

Ichigo looked at her in surprise. She was smiling, but tears was running down her face. He gently put his arms around her and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry Rukia." He whispered into her black hair.

Rukia returned the hug happily, but when he said I'm sorry she pulled back a little and looked him in the eyes.

"No apologies" was the only thing she said before she leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

"Let's just go home, Ichigo."

She stood up and pulled Ichigo with her. When they were both standing up he bent down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before looking around.

"So, Rukia. Do you have any idea how to get out of here?"

She giggled a little and took his hand again, leading him to the place where he had first shown up. A bright light was shining there and she led him straight into it. As the light engulfed them on their way back to earth she thought: "I have a feeling that everything will be different from now on."

This is the end of this story about Ichigo, Rukia and the angels, but there will be a sequel at some point. I have the story figured out, but I have to put it in words, and since I have a few other stories that need to be continued it might take some time. But for those who would like to, keep an eye out for the sequel Angels War. It will be here one day. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it.