AN: Here's the next chap and it happens to be my favorite so far. Maybe because it's from Rukia's POV and she's my fave, or because there's more mature topics in this one. Who knows.
Rukia smiled gently hearing it, he always made her feel warm to the very core. Hearing him say that aloud was even more special because of how bashful of a man she knew he was.
"Ooh, let me guess, was that Ichigo?" A flirtatious voice cooed. "Oh of course it was, you said his name like 50 million times."
Rukia looked up from her phone, she had been staring at the background of her and her best friend smiling happily after graduation. They were still in their cap and gown, his cap being held in his hand instead of on his orange head like hers was. He had pulled her up in his tight grip so that their faces were smashed together as he took a surprise selfie with the phone in his other hand.
Even though she didn't know they were taking a picture, she couldn't help but smile at him while being in his joyous presence. Ichigo always had this aura about him that was warm and protective, and when he was happy his presence never ceased to make her just as happy with him no matter the cause.
That had been her favorite picture since he sent it to her while she was on an airplane to Europe, the message under it, Don't forget, I'll always be you best friend. Comforting her on some of her darkest days in college. Not all of them were because of the Dokugamine Princess either.
"Uh, yeah." Rukia said distantly, looking outside the window once she put her phone to sleep and thinking about her days at the University.
Like Ichigo, she had been in a relationship that one could consider toxic.
When she had gone to Cambridge, not a few days later she had learned, that Masaki had died. Masaki was a mother like figure for her when her parents had died. She and Isshin, having been close friends to the Kuchiki's, had taken her in when she was just a small girl for a couple years while her brother Byakuya finished college and Hisana finished high school. That family was all she knew at the time. They were warm and loving and never discriminated against blood. She always felt like family in their home, even till this day.
When Hisana had died a few years after she'd moved back in with her siblings, they were right there for her and her brother again, helping him believe he could make it to his dreams in taking over the family business from their grandfather, while they took care of Rukia throughout highschool.
Rukia chuckled remembering the days she would sleep in Ichigo's closet, preferring it there sometimes rather than the twins' room. Don't get her wrong she loved the twins like they were her own siblings, but there was just some weird comfort in being next to Ichigo. The thought made her blush.
"So tell me again why you two aren't together?" Rangiku asked, spotting the blush on her friend's cheeks a mile away.
Rukia sighed and directed her attention back to her female best friend. Rangiku Matsumoto was a very buxom lady who many people found it hard not to turn an eye at. Whether because of her scantily clad and loud clothing, or her drop dead beautiful face and body, Rukia would never know. Maybe it was both. "It's not that easy Ran."
And it wasn't. She may admittedly - admittedly meaning it took a long time for her to realize and even admit - have those type of feelings for her best friend, but that didn't mean they could be together. There was the whole, does he also feel the same way aspect, and the drama that could ensue between outside parties, and her own inner demons on the topic.
"Why not? You love him, I can tell he loves you just as much
with the way he dotes on you hand and foot, and puts up with your Chappy obsession. You both have a strong foundation for a relationship built on years of trust and understanding. I say, take love to the wind!" Rangiku shrugged and took another sip from her frappe.
Again, it wasn't that easy. Rukia had been in a relationship where she'd done that before. Took love to the wind thinking as long as you loved enough everything would be alright. Spoiler alert, it didn't end that way.
Kaien Shiba, the man she had been with during her stay at Cambridge. It was a taboo relationship already as it was. He was a teacher she a student, but would you believe her if she said she didn't know that? He didn't teach at Cambridge but at another school in Europe, he'd visit the University every other day for what? She didn't know at the time.
She'd met him one of her nights staying after in the art department to finish a painting she was working on, and from then on began talking, bumping into each other more than every now and then, and quickly became friends. From the start she had an undeniable attraction to the older man, he had a warmth about him that was fairly rare to find, as he quickly became one of the only friends she had at the school. He took away her loneliness from being there, and helped her start to believe she could make it through the four years she needed to graduate.
It was especially so, when her calls to Ichigo became less and less and when their relationship took a physical turn one starry night. I know, how cliché.
He had never pressured her into that realm, but regrettably she did to feel closer with someone and feel like she belonged. Kaien made her feel that way and more, so thus they started their scandalous affair. Every odd or few nights in a different place, her place, a motel, embarrassingly even at the school. It wasn't until that fateful day did she realize why she never stayed at his place before or why he desired them to change their meeting place every night.
How stupid she felt now that she realized.
Kaien was married.
Yet another surprise, that all but blew up in her face on the day the Dokugamine Princess intervened and let the school know of her transgression. Some how the girl found out by putting a detective on her, to take photos and cash evidence. It was just as much a surprise for her and her Art professor Miyako-sensei, to know that she had been sleeping with her husband, whom was also a teacher. The woman she so adherently looked up to, looked at her with so much scorn and betrayal, that Rukia couldn't help but take all the blame. Even if she was just a naïve girl who believed she'd fallen in love, it was her fault for being so stupid.
Who knows, maybe she was just too naive and too ignorant and unprepared at the time for a relationship. But what happened then made her cautious and wary to any future prospects of a serious relationship.
Rukia sighed, blinking back the pain from all those years ago. She'd never told Ichigo the full jist of what happened, just mainly about her relationship and how it had gone down, but never anything explicit especially the extra unnecessary things Riruka had done.
She'd gotten over the incident by now, long ago actually, and realized that what she felt for Kaien wasn't actually love, but mainly admiration and lust. She desired who he was as a man but never him. She'd always only wanted one man in her life.
"Not to mention the sexual tension between you too is like wildfire, after so many damn years, how the hell have you guys never sacked each other?"
Rukia almost wanted to laugh out loud, instead she settled for a crooked grin, "Whose to say we haven't?"
There was a loud bang on the table, "WHAT!?" Rangiku screeched, everyone in the coffee shop around them looked towards the ruckus, making Rukia bend down and hiss at her friend.
"Why are you so loud!?"
"What do you mean why am I so loud? You slept with Ichigo before, AND YOU'RE JUST NOW TELLING ME?"
"Yes! Now lower your voice before I leave you!"
Rangiku cleared her voice, looking around and smiling brightly to the interested bystanders. "Sorry! Go back to your meals please." The strawberry blonde woman whipped her head back quickly and stared deathly serious back at her petite friend. The most serious Rukia'd ever seen her be and it was a little disgruntling. "Why the hell are you just now telling me this missy?"
"B-because... it's none of your business. And it happened way before I met you at Tokyo University." Rukia pouted.
"But we tell each other everything!" Rangiku whined, slamming her manicured fists to the table but a lot quieter than before.
"Sorry," Rukia sighed, looking down to flatten her skirt and take a sip of her tea , "it's just not something I like to talk about with others."
"What, does that mean he was bad?" Rukia spit out her drink and quickly moved to wipe her lips. "So he was? Oh I'm sorry Ruki, maybe we could-"
"No, no! Nothing like that." Rukia smiled out the window at the memory. "It's just that we were each others firsts."
"So he was bad. That's understandable since it was your first time."
Rukia cut her off with a hand wave, "Can you please get your mind out of the gutter for a second and let me tell you the story without any interruptions?"
Rangiku zipped her lips with her fingers and smiled, waiting.
Rukia rolled her eyes then huffed. "It, it was a very special moment for me, and him also. He told me that it was anyway." She smiled again, "We were only 16 at the time and somehow after a night with some of our friends, it just happened." She finished with a shrug. "We were too young to fully grasp what we did, nor did we say any words of love or any crap like that. Though it was gentle and wholly gratifying. Even though it was my first time, it was probably the best sex I've ever had in my life."
"Aw, so was that the only time you two did it?"
Rukia raised her eyebrows and the side of her lip nonchalantly, "Eh maybe once or twice. I don't know, who counts these things?"
Rangiku gasped, placing her hand on her chest. "Oh you really have explaining to do now missy!"
"Okay, okay. Settle down Ran, it's not that big of deal."
"But it sounds like it was." Rangiku smirked, while Rukia just gave her a look. Not declining the statement at all.
"Anyway, we had sex one more time before I left to Europe. The first time, we agreed to it just being a one time thing. Since we were so close, it was only natural for us to experiment like that. The second time was just from all the excitement." It was actually the day of graduation after her favorite picture was taken, how ironic. "There were no ill feelings in that neither, we both were a little drunk after a party and we knew we were going to miss each other terribly, so we.. kinda just did it!"
"Oh, I bet he was better then huh?"
Rukia bit her bottom lip and blushed, "He seemed to know more about what he was doing then, so I guess physically it was more pleasurable. At that time I had a better grasp on my feelings for him, so it was a little overwhelming for me, especially when it was over. I really didn't want to leave him then." She exhaled deeply to lift the weight forming on her chest, "I felt so lonely without him, and then Kaien came into my life, and everything just went to hell."
"Oh Ruki.." Rangiku looked at her with sympathy, her icy blue eyes gentle.
"When I realized how much I loved him when I went to Tokyo with you guys, it was too much for me at the time so I just blocked it out. Now the feelings are just filling me, and its getting hard to ignore them day by day. That's... that's why I had sex with him again."
"Again?" Rangiku was irritated to know this fact, but tried to keep the look off her face.
"Yeah.." Rukia was so into her thoughts on retelling the events she didn't even notice. "A few weeks ago when that.. that woman." Rukia's eyes narrowed at the thought of her.
"-bitch." Ran, cut in for her.
Rukia smirked, "Well after he found out that she was going to be his marketing manager, he came to me and we kind of ranted at each other at his place and got drunk to ease off the edge. Then he asked me to give him a massage. Something I do for him every so often. Things kind of went places from there... but we didn't actually have sex per say."
"What did you just do foreplay?"
"Pretty much..." Rukia left it at that with a shrug and started taking out her money to end the conversation, placing a wad of bills for her tea and bagel, then patted down her coiffed hair. She had just had a meeting with Byakuya so she was dressed a little more primly than usual with a silk grey shirt, and a high waisted, flowy deep red skirt that came just above the knee. It had sewn in bunny and flower designs in the same color gray. She had some black mary janes with lace to finish the look.
Rangiku growled and held down Rukia's thin wrist, "Details Rukia. You owe me for this."
Rukia stared blank faced, prompting Rangiku to angle her head to the side in a way that read, I'm waiting. Rukia sucked on her teeth in displeasure, "Why are we talking about me, what's going on with you and Gin?"
"Same old, same old. We're sleeping around on each other until we want to settle down." Rangiku smirked, "Now about you and Ichigo."
Rukia huffed and got settled back into her seat. "Okay, he may have gone down on me after giving me a massage."
Rangiku's smirk turned into a full blown grin, "He ate you out!?" Rukia glared icy daggers at her friend with her teeth bared and her cheeks burning. "-A, at the store! For some cereal!" She tried saving it.
"Oh just shut up, you're making it worse!" Rukia peeped, looking around the room with embarrassment as she fixed to stone her face to hide most of her mortification. "This is why I didn't want to tell you all the details."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I promise I'll keep quiet from now on." Rangiku smiled hopefully.
Rukia looked spitefully at her friend but acquiesced anyway, it was better that she told her now so that the woman doesn't chew off her head about it later. They worked part time at the same gym so Ran could bug her any time she wanted. She'd rather, Ran put her information on blast here in front of random people than her coworkers that she had to see pretty much everyday.
"So... did you give him a blow job too?"
Rukia crossed her arms defensively, "No, he just went down on me."
"Oh wow, he must have tons of control to have not jumped you afterwards, you seem like a screamer."
"Wha-wha..." Rukia's cheeks were starting to hurt.
"Moaner too." Rangiku nodded, agreeing with herself. "How the hell did he not just plow into you? Did he not get hard?"
Rukia blinked trying to edge away her discomposure, "N-no, he was hard. Gah! Why am I telling you all this?" This was definitely not a conversation she wanted to be having right now. Especially since the memory of the night had her crossing her legs.
"Ohhh, you're crossing your legs. He was really good wasn't he?" Rukia wouldn't answer, but instead bit her plump bottom lip. "Yep he was." Rangiku answered for her smiling wickedly, and taking another sip of her coffee. "So tell me, how do you know he was hard?"
"Um, he put me on his lap and we started making out afterwards."
"Wait, wait. You were naked, on his lap, making out and tasting your own...and he didn't jump you?"
"Hey, I had some clothes on. I had one of his old shirts on the whole time. But yes..." Rukia pouted. She had ended it soon after their make out session started to get her heated again and she was grinding on his lap. Ichigo had looked near tears when she told him they needed to stop but he let her loose once she directed him to the shower.
"Oh my god." Rangiku fainted dramatically, the back of her hand on her head as she held desperately to the table, "He's either a saint or he's head over heels in love with you!" She leaned forward to whisper the next part. "Considering what he did to you could make the devil blush, we'll have to go with reason B huh?"
She had a point.
"Listen Ruki, I think its about time you considered trying to have a real relationship with Ichigo. Neither of you sleep with other people, you talk to each other everyday, you're best friends, you have chemistry, and he makes you undeniably happy." Rukia twiddled her fingers as if considering it. "I really do believe he won't hurt you like Kaien did, for one, he actually loves you, and after all of these years I can't help but believe its real. If only you could see the way you two look when you think about each other or in each others company."
"Alright Ran. I'll think about it." Rukia wiped her face with her hand dejectedly but in truth her heart was pounding with excitement and happiness.
"Good." Rangiku huffed happily, getting her stuff together and putting down some money. "Are you going to go see him now?"
"Uh yeah, I'm going to teach him some yoga, he's been complaining about his muscles aching. I actually should be going now, we're going to meet at 6 and I have to get changed and ready."
Rangiku smiled mischievously.
"What?" Rukia asked, suspicious over that look on her friends face as she got up from her seat.
Rangiku stood up herself and ushered them out the door. People looked at the woman with the bouncy dark blonde curls, red tube top, blue skin tight skinny jeans and red pumps. She really could've been a super model, but no matter how she looked Ran took it all humbly. That's one of the things Rukia loved about her. She always made the people around her feel good about themselves even if she could make them feel the opposite.
"You know what you should do?" Rangiku bit her lip as she pulled Rukia closer to her side, her voice infinitesimally suggestive.
Oh god, here we go.