Chapter 7
Official Date
There isn't even any light streaming in through Ichigo's window yet, it's that early when Rukia's eyes snap open, and she feels an intense heat on her face as she remembers why she moved herself to the floor. She isn't sure how she got into Ichigo's bed let alone trying to figure out how she was naked in his bed feeling things she'd only ever read about in books.
How will I face him now without dying from embarrassment?
Rukia continues to worry, but when Isshin pokes his head inside Ichigo's room and sees her on the floor, he gives her a big smile.
"How did you sleep Rukia-chan?" He asks her loudly enough that Rukia is sure he doesn't care if he wakes his son up or not.
"I slept well…" Rukia says, unable to meet his eyes for a very long period of time.
Isshin had been hoping to find Rukia had stayed in his son's bed the whole night through, but he hid his disappointment well.
"Yuzu should be up soon to start cooking, do you have any preferences you want me to tell her about?" Isshin asks the young heiress, but Rukia shakes her head no.
"I don't usually eat a large amount in the morning, so don't worry about me." Rukia tells him quickly, and Isshin smiles at her.
"It's no trouble Rukia-chan, just let me know if you change your mind." Isshin says, before backing away and closing the door. Rukia nearly jumps out of her skin when she hears Ichigo's voice.
"Good morning, Rukia." She turns her head away, hoping he can't see her face burning up in embarrassment.
"Morning…" Rukia just can't figure out what to say, since telling him never to touch her again is definitely out of the question.
Holy hell, I want it again!
"Don't be like that…I couldn't help reacting to you last night. You had to know I'd lose control if you were in my bed with me-" Ichigo says, desperately wanting things to be right between them, but the high pitched squeaking noise that came out of her mouth stopped him mid-sentence.
"Don't make it sound like I snuck into your bed!" Rukia snaps in as quiet a voice as she is able.
"Of course not, you're welcome in my bed anytime," Ichigo says unwisely, and Rukia guffaws at that.
"Oh am I now?" She grits her teeth, wanting to smack him, but not wanting to injure him.
This is quite a pickle I've gotten myself into now isn't it!
"I didn't mean it in a bad way!" Ichigo says defensively, but then Rukia's flashing eyes finally meet his own for the first time since he woke up.
"Don't worry Ichigo, I know exactly how you meant it." She says knowingly, which makes unexpectedly embarrassed, since she's insinuating something dirty.
Why in the hell do I feel happy on this inside! If any other guy said that to me, he'd be rolling around on the floor in pain right now from me kicking his ass…why am I so absurdly happy that Ichigo wants me!
"I'm sorry! Can we please start over?" Ichigo is clearly begging for forgiveness and Rukia sighs as she feels herself wavering and wanting to forgive him.
Should I really let him off the hook so easily? He'll take my virginity in under twenty-four hours if I'm not careful around him!
"Fine…" Rukia trails off, wanting to add so badly that they should forget about the night before, but she already knows she'll never forget it, since it was the first time she'd ever been touched in such a pleasurable way.
Ichigo looks so relieved that Rukia almost chuckles at him. She is feeling aware of the fact that he's attracted to her, and it makes her feel very powerful, in a feminine way which is a new feeling for her.
"I'm glad-" Ichigo starts to say, but Rukia cuts him off.
"But you owe me now." She warns him, and Ichigo just nods his head.
"I get the feeling I better get used to being indebted to you." Ichigo mutters, but Rukia nods enthusiastically at him.
"I'm glad you understand." She says with cool confidence, and he's torn between yanking on her hair, or pulling her into his arms for a hug. He figures he'd better get out of the bed if he's going to choose the latter choice, otherwise it'll be a repeat of what happened during the night.
Rukia's breath catches in her throat when Ichigo swings his muscular legs out of the bed, and stands, wearing only his boxers. She freezes as he steps forward and pulls her into his arms.
Oh my god if he started pulling my clothes off right now, I wouldn't stop him!
Rukia blinks at that realization, but luckily the handsome man holding her now is putting all of his focus into not mauling her on the spot, so she's safe for the moment.
He lets go of her and sits back down from feeling pain. Rukia notices immediately and heads for the door.
"I'll go get your pills and water." She says, before heading out the door and down the stairs.
Ichigo shakes his head in wonder.
"Even with this pain, I'm happy when she's around. I'm sure of it now. She's the one." Ichigo says quietly, wondering if he's got to hide just how quickly he's falling for Kuchiki Rukia.
Ichigo has never been in a relationship before, and now he's met a girl he wants to hold onto for dear life. Even though he knows the attraction is mutual, he wants her to want to hold onto him in the same way.
The ringing of a cell phone in Rukia's purse, snaps him out of his thoughts and he's tempted to go into her purse to see who'd be calling her first thing in the morning, but he imagines that kind of nosiness would push Rukia away. The ringing stops, and several seconds later a noise sounds, which makes Ichigo think she's been left a voicemail.
His curiosity only grows until Rukia gets back into his room. She hands him a glass of water and his pills.
"I think you have a voicemail." Ichigo tells her before he pops the pills in his mouth and takes a large gulp of water.
Rukia walks over to her purse, pulls out a protective phone case, unsnaps it and flips open her phone. Ichigo watches her face stay expressionless as she checks the number and then dials to check the message. No matter how much he strains his ears, he is unable to make out the content of what she's listening to, he can only tell it's a male voice leaving the message. She presses a button, then presses end, and then creates a quick text message that she sends before turning her attention back to Ichigo who is giving her a questioning look.
"Thanks, that was important." Rukia tells him with a small smile, but she can tell he's dying to ask what the call was about.
"Is something wrong?" Ichigo asks, hoping he can get the information without grilling her.
"It's about whether or not I'll be settled enough to take on a job in a month." Rukia says, still unsure of what he'll say about her true mission in life.
"We can start looking at what's available around here after we eat breakfast." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia shakes her head.
"I've been thinking about it, and I think I want to build…totally new." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo's eyes widen in happiness.
It would take awhile for something new to be completed…she could stay here the whole time.
"Usually I try to be sensible, and buying new isn't really sensible but it will be my home, and I can afford it, so I figured…" Rukia trails off when she sees the happy smile on Ichigo's face.
"So you can stay here." Ichigo finally says what he's been thinking and Rukia turns red.
"Actually…the job in a month will last for four months." Rukia's words hit him like a bucket of ice water.
"What!" Ichigo can't maintain his cool façade any longer, he looks absolutely horrified, which makes Rukia smile so hard, her face starts to hurt.
"You don't have to be brokenhearted over it Ichigo, why don't you come with me? You can't be around when I'm actually working, but you can certainly travel with me and we can hang out when I'm off the clock." Rukia says with a raised eyebrow, and Ichigo's eyes widen.
"What?" He looks flabbergasted, but very happy, which makes Rukia quite certain that their feelings for one another are mutual.
"You don't want to come?" Rukia asks, meaning to tease him, but he responds seriously.
"I do, it's just that after last night I was worried you'd want to distance yourself a bit…" Ichigo immediately regrets bringing up the night before when he sees the look that crosses her face.
"That's right, last night you had quite a bit of fun touching me didn't you?" Rukia asks in a soft voice which makes Ichigo's blood run cold.
"Rukia? What are you going to do?" Ichigo asks nervously as she advances slowly upon him, making him think his life might end momentarily. She stops right in front of him and puts her hands on his shoulders while leaning down a bit to look at him in the eyes while being nose to nose with him.
"Putting you on notice. I'm going to return it to you one of these days Ichigo, just you wait." Rukia says strongly before turning on her heels to walk out of his room.
Once out she goes over the entire conversation in her head.
Did I really just invite him on a four month trip when we aren't even officially a couple? What the hell is wrong with me, have I lost my mind completely? And what in the hell did I just threaten to do to Ichigo! I think I'm going to need a strong drink before lunchtime…
"Dad, I'm taking Rukia out now, we'll be back later." Ichigo calls out, and Rukia tosses her keys to Ichigo.
"You can drive." She tells him, and Ichigo grins.
"Alright…I still can't believe you did that Rukia, or that you actually already bought your plot of land…" Ichigo shakes his head.
After she got me all hot and bothered, she made a few phone calls, and she was signing a deed and writing a check for the land where her home would be built, and then she had a late afternoon meeting with the architect and engineer that were going to build her home to give them an idea of what she wanted. She has more done in a day than I anticipated would be done before the trip…
"I actually want it to be ready as soon as possible, because I'm excited about owning a home here." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo opens the passenger door to let her in the car first.
"Not me…" Ichigo mutters after he shuts the door with her on the inside.
He enjoys having her around so much, and he's certain that the feeling will only grow in intensity. She's too refreshing and interesting for him to feel like he could ever get sick of her.
He gets in on the driver's side and starts up the engine with a grin on his face.
With Rukia around, life is actually fun.
"So are you going to furnish the new house by shopping through catalogs?" Ichigo asks Rukia on the drive and Rukia blushes.
"Maybe a little. I'll shop in person too, but since money is not an issue, I just want to get it done quickly and painlessly." She answers honestly, and Ichigo glances at her out of the corner of his eyes.
"My dad might not let you leave us." Ichigo says in a low voice, not wanting to admit it will be him who'll hold her back harder than his dad.
"I can handle your dad." Rukia tells him, which makes him wonder if she was able to figure him out by now.
"What about me?" Ichigo challenges her, and Rukia ducks her head.
"Sometimes I think so…other times I think I could be getting in over my head." Rukia tells him with a smirk on her face, and Ichigo laughs.
"I know exactly what you mean." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia holds her breath, wondering if he'll say what she's been fearing he'll say.
He wouldn't be wrong if he said it. He has every right to say it…
There is a moment of silence, and Rukia practically bites her tongue in order to keep from asking him, to keep from sounding as pitiful as she's heard other women sound, and it made her want to puke.
Ichigo steals another glimpse of her out of the corner of his eyes, and he worries he might have said a little too much. It seems like his feelings are moving at a phenomenal rate, but if he pushes too much he might push her away, and he'd have only himself to blame for being too forward way too fast.
I hope she doesn't say it…
Then he remembers she invited him to travel with her for four months.
"Maybe I'm wrong to worry, since I think we might both be on the same page." Ichigo says quietly, which makes Rukia look at him curiously.
"What?" She asks, hoping for some sort of explanation for his quiet yet attention grabbing words.
Ichigo takes a deep breath and then takes the plunge.
"I was worrying you might think I was taking things too fast with us since we're only now having our first real date, but since we're already going to be on a trip together for four months, I'm thinking you might not want to move so slow." Ichigo says, and Rukia's eyes widen.
Is he talking about sex or a relationship!
"Huh?" Rukia says, stupefied since her answer is the same no matter what he was talking about.
He slows down and pulls into a parking lot before stopping the car and turning to look at her dead in the eye.
"I'm talking about us Rukia. The feelings I have and the feeling I have about us…about our future." Ichigo says, and Rukia blinks rapidly a few times.
"What are you getting at?" She asks him curiously, and Ichigo leans over to kiss her and Rukia doesn't back away, instead she returns his kiss quite passionately.
Ichigo finally pulls away and then looks back to make sure he can back out of the space he'd pulled into.
"It's just that…I don't think I'm going to want to let you go." He says, and when he hears her take a quick breath, he knows she's heard him fully.
I can't believe the impossible just happened…he just went ahead and said it all, with no fear. Maybe I should respond in kind…
"Like I'd try to get away from you." Rukia mutters back, and Ichigo raises an eyebrow as he remembers her darting out of his bed the night before.
Maybe now isn't the best time to bring that up…
"We're practically at the restaurant." Ichigo says instead, unable to rid his face of the amused grin that appeared ever since her last comment.
Rukia's lips are still tingling from when they kissed, and she's not even aware that his mind is already off that and what lies ahead.
It feels like my head is spinning and I feel like I'm some sort of giddy teenager…Ichigo is something else! Ooh, he's getting out of the car…I can check out his ass again!
…Nice…
A/N-Terribly sorry I've been away from fanfic so much in the past 7 months, life has been kicking my ass, so truly sorry! My writing days certainly aren't over, nor is my love for Ichigo & Rukia!