...

...

Tell me something, I need to know
Then take my breath and never let it go
If you just let me invade your space
I'll take the pleasure, take it with the pain...

...

...

...

Rukia was nervous. She had spent all week looking for a dress that would be appropriate for the Christmas gala, as she didn't have anything appropriate to wear considering the party was going to be held in the living world instead of the soul society. The only clothes from the living world she had kept were the few dresses that she had worn when she had been there before. But they were too plain and simple, much too old and simply not right for a fancy event.

She had pulled everything fancy she owned and tossed them, one by one, onto her bed, shuffling through them in frustration. All of his coworkers would be there, which meant that she would be meeting them- a thought that made her nervous. Nervous because meeting people in his life meant her being ushered into a more and more important role in his life... a role that she wasn't even sure what exactly entailed.

Rukia gave an annoyed sigh, sinking down her bed. It hadn't yet been a complete year since Ichigo's divorce, and she worried about what was going on in his mind.. if he had thought everything related to her through. After all they had danced around each other for years before settling finally gathering the courage to admit that they wanted to be together... and then it all went up in flames anyway.

She shook her head. This wasn't time to feed her sorrows about the past. It didn't matter what Ichigo's intentions were with her... as long as she got to be in his company, she would be happy with that. She had already done too much in the past that ruined his life... the least she could do now was find a decent dress to wear and try to not make him look bad in front of important people.

But her clothes were still a dilemma. She had not been able to find something appropriate in her own closet, and there wasn't time to get something made in soul society... which meant that she would have to go to the living world in order to do so. She laid back on the bed, staring up at the tiny flickering, star-like lights that covered the ceiling of her room as she pondered about who she could ask for help. His sisters came to mind. She knew Yuzu and Karin would be more than happy to help her, but they were busy with school and with work, as they had a 3-way group chat and talked often. She didn't want to bother them with her small problem.. who else can I ask?

Maybe I should just venture into the living world on my own, Rukia thought. But her knowledge about stores and where to get things was very limited, mostly to food or very basic living necessities, like a comb or a pair of slippers. A fancy dress was another story entirely.. she would certainly need help.

Rukia rolled onto her side, reaching out to her nightstand table and grabbed her phone. She turned the screen on, scrolling in her contacts until she found the number for Urahara shoten. She pressed the button for loud speaker, listening to the dial tone.

"Hello, Urahara shop! This is Ururu, how can I help you?"

"Ururu-chan, hello, this is Rukia.. Rukia Kuchiki. I was wondering if Yoruichi-san is there."

"Oh, Kuchiki-san! Hello. Yes, just a minute."

There was silence on the other end, and then a familiar voice.

"Hello?"

"Yoruichi-san," Rukia replied earnestly, "It's me, Rukia,"

"Oh, Rukia-chan!" Yoruichi's voice came through the phone, energetic as always, "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, thank you." Rukia said, "Yoruichi-san, I was wondering if you could help me with something,"

"Of course! What can I do for you?"

Two hours later, Rukia and Yoruichi were loaded into a private car, headed to the mall. Yoruichi reached over and pressed a button, causing a privacy screen to rise up, separating them from the driver.

"So," Yoruichi leaned back in her chair, "You need an outfit for a formal Christmas party..."

"Yes." Rukia blushed slightly, avoiding eye contact with the older woman, "...Ichigo invited me. It's a workplace event."

"Ahh, I see.." Yoruichi trailed off, "..So, does that mean that you and Ichigo...?"

"Oh- no," Rukia waved a hand in front of her face shyly, "It's not like that. We've just been keeping each other company- We've always gotten along really well-"

"Relax." Yoruichi said softly, her hand on Rukia's, "I get it. You and Ichigo... always had a connection. That much was obvious." she leaned back in the seat again, smiling lightly, "In a lot of ways, you two remind me of Kisuke and I."

The older woman glanced out the window as the car came to a slow halt, and then the privacy screen rolled down as the driver called out, "We're here, Mrs. Urahara!"

"Thank you," Yoruichi replied, and she ushered Rukia out of the car, who looked at her with a curious expression.

"Mrs. Urahara?"

"He works for Kisuke," Yoruchi replied breezily. "Since I'm around a lot, people often assume I'm his wife. I used to correct them, but it gets repetitive after a while, and it doesn't really matter to me, anyway."

As they walked into the towering building together, Rukia found herself admiring her companion. Yoruichi was as lithe and tall as ever in a pair of straight legged, light blue jeans and a lavender crop top, a black bomber jacket pulled over it as the weather was a bit cold. She admired her confidence in herself and her confidence in her relationship with her long-time friend... it was obvious she and Urahara were closer to each other than anyone else. Were they dating? It was more than possible.

Rukia herself had dressed in the one of the two dresses from the living world that fit her- a white strappy knee-length sundress, with scalloped edges and a tiny perforated heart design on the edges and short puff sleeves. She had paired it with a pair of short-heeled sandals, and matching crossbody bag. She'd tugged on a lavender-colored cardigan at Yoruichi's advice; it was December, after all, and the weather was quite frosty.

The dress was more special to her- it had been a gift from Ichigo, who had given it to her so that she would have something casual for her to wear whenever she visited him in the living world. At least that was what she imagined to be the thought behind it. In reality, he had simply seen it when he was shopping with Kazui one weekend, and had had seen it hanging in a shop window . It just seem to call out to him; he could perfectly imagine her in it while walking in the sunlight in the middle of a park, or on the vast golden sands of a beach. It would be perfect for her- white was her color anyway.

Finally they arrived at the correct store, an expensive-looking little boutique by the name of La Vie En Rose on the third floor of the mall. Yoruichi-san pulled the shiny glass door open, the two entering together. They were greeted by a small, friendly woman with shiny brown eyes and blonde hair that was styled into tight curls.

"Shihoin-san, welcome back!"

Yourichi grinned back at the woman, "Ah, Mikako-chan, thank you. I've brought a friend today- she needs a formal dress for a Christmas event coming up."

The woman- Mikako-san- clasped her hands together, "Of course! Why don't you have a look around, and in the meantime I can pull a few pieces that might work for you. Do you have any specific colors?"

"Yes- the dress code is for either red or green."

Yoruichi went off to talk with Mikako-san, and Rukia took the time to admire the store. It was designed with a classical Victorian look, draping curtains in jewel tones, with a countless amount of fanciful, glittering dresses hanging from the walls of the store.

Mikako-san gathered some dress choices and showed Rukia to a changing room, while Yoruichi settled down on the very elaborate, beautiful couch and was even served a glass of champagne, which she happily accepted.

Rukia tried on dress after dress, some too long, some too large that hung off her like a curtain. While she wasn't exactly obsessive with her own image, she didn't want to... too out of place.

She tried on dress after dress, eventually reaching dress number eight, which she pulled on in frustration. She straightened it out before turning around to look in the mirror, where she stopped suddenly in surprise. It was a mini dress that stopped before the knees, in a shade of deep carmine red. The top had draping shoulders and an elegant false corset style, framed with matching red jewels that glittered every time she moved, the back was laced up in matching ribbon instead of a plain zipper, which was an added touch. The skirt was much shorter than the typical dress she would've worn, and it was quite sexy in her opinion. What surprised her most was how well it fit her, considering that most stores didn't often carry her size, but she suspected that the Mikako-san had managed to correctly guess what size she would fit her best.

Rukia pulled the curtain aside and stepped out, her face flushing slightly in embarrassment as she did so. "What do you think of this one?"

Yoruichi looked up from her champagne glass, "Oh, that's the one. It looks like it fits you perfectly! The color suits you too, and it's on theme... no doubt Mikako-chan is a genius." Her golden eyes glanced over to Mikako-san, who stood by with a triumphant expression, giving her a thumbs up before looking Rukia up and down once more.

"Rukia, turn around, let's see the back.." she watched keenly as Rukia turned. "It really fits you like a glove. What do you think?"

Rukia agreed, partially because she was right- the dress was perfect, and partially because they had been in there for what felt like hours and she wanted to leave. She paid for the dress and the two left the store, stopping at a shoe store to quickly get a pair of heels that would match.

The day finally arrived. Rukia rushed around the house, getting ready. She had planned all week long as to what exactly she was going to do, but now that the hour had arrived, she felt herself panicking, though things were going relatively smoothly. She wasn't late, had gotten dressed fine. Her makeup was relatively simple, dark red lipstick and black winged liner which she had felt was too much, but Yoruichi had insisted the look "wouldn't be complete" without it. She kept a diamond bracelet- an old gift from her brother- on her wrist, as well as the matching earrings.

Of which, one was apparently missing.

"Oh, where is that thing!" Rukia hissed to herself, searching under the bed and in every drawer. Was it possible Ichika had it? But Ichika had long grown out of her little girl habits of having her hands in her mother's things. She wouldn't have it, or she would've told Rukia she did.

Her phone rang.

"Hello?" Rukia answered hastily as she pulled open the bathroom door, searching for the earring.

"Rukia, are you here yet? It's starting to get late," Ichigo's voice held nervousness on the other end. Rukia sighed.

"Ichigo! I'm so sorry, I'm so irresponsible- my earring is missing- just go without me. I'll get there as soon as possible, I'm sorry."

"Are you sure? I can wait for you."

"No, you don't want to look bad," Rukia sighed, leaving the bathroom and glancing around her room again. "I'll take a cab there instead,"

"Okay, I'll send one for you to my place so just head there when you're done."

"Alright. Thank you."

Ichigo took a sip from his champagne glass, trying to avoid worrying about why Rukia was running late.

It had only been 20 minutes, but she had called him to let him know- something about a missing earring. A normal enough reason... right? Still, it made him nervous. Was she having second thoughts? This is all your fault, he chided himself mentally. 'After all this time you're still dancing around her instead of being direct. You never learn.'

He rolled his eyes at himself, looking down distastefully at the flute in his hands. It wasn't alcohol- just sparkling cider, as he hadn't touched alcohol in 17 years, having sworn off of it after that ill-fated night at Mizuiro's party. He wasn't the biggest fan of sparkling drinks, but busied himself with it anyway in order to look busy- he didn't want anyone looking at him in pity because he currently looked date-less. He glanced around the banquet hall, taking in the sights. It was rather grand, high vaulted ceilings, dazzling chandeliers, and what he would guess was a 20 foot tall christmas tree on one side of the hall.

"Ah, Kurosaki! Glad you made it!" called the booming voice of Koizumi-san, the company's director. He had a boisterous laugh and overly-friendly personality, a round, balding man who had handsome features despite it, "Didn't think you'd attend, after all these years! Plans changed?"

I changed, Ichigo thought to himself. But he merely replied, "Oh, I had the night free. Just thought it would be nice."

Eventually, he found Hideki-san, who was attending with his fiancé, and they chatted about what their plans were for the holidays and new year- Koizumi-san was going on vacation to the Seychelles; Hideki-san and his fiancé were going to Tokyo to visit family. It was then that Koizumi-san remarked, "Oh my, who is that beauty?"

They all glanced over to the door where Koizumi-san was looking, and Ichigo froze. There was Rukia, standing under the light of the beautiful chandelier. He could tell she had just arrived, as she had taken off her coat, handing it to the greeter at the door.

"La belle ange," he heard Koizumi-san hum, and he couldn't help but agree despite not understanding French.

Oh. She looked absolutely stunning, in a gorgeous, dark red gown that showed off her legs, and glittered with every movement she made. It seemed to fit her perfectly in every way, her dark, long hair fell in inky, voluminous waves down her back.

"That... is my date." Ichigo replied, trying very hard to control his voice from sounding overly elated. "Excuse me a moment."

He then made his way to the doors, straightening his tie as he did so, trying to push away the feelings of butterflies in his stomach.

"Rukia," he called out, and she glanced his way, her face lighting up in a smile when she recognized him.

She began to walk towards him. which allowed him to silently admire how her legs looked in the pair of strappy gold heels she had paired with her dress as he reached a hand out, feeling as if his blood was running too fast in his veins.

She took his hand in hers, smiling easily, "Sorry I'm late Ichigo. Did I miss anything?"

"No, not at all. Come on, I want to introduce you to my coworkers," he said, pulling her gently by the hand towards the group of people who were all looking at Ichigo with suggestive expressions.

Rukia was introduced to Hideki-san, Yamato-san, and of course Ichigo's boss Koizumi-san, who took her hand gently, raising it up and pressing a delicate kiss to it as he said, "Enchanté, Miss Kuchiki," he said, his low voice almost like a purr, "I had no idea Kurosaki-kun had such an magnifique woman in his life."

She blushed, rather embarrassed at the forwardness of the older man. "Oh, thank you- that's very kind,"

Ichigo rolled his eyes, smiling lightly, an expression which Rukia caught, and it made her relax in return. He lead her by the elbow gently, leaning close to her ear as he murmured, "I'm sorry about him, he's a bit of a pervert."

Rukia laughed at that, and Ichigo admired how she sounded like a bell. They spent the next two hours of the night together, flitting between groups, Rukia finding it an odd thrill how Ichigo seemed to never let go of her hand, even when they weren't walking. As the night went on, he pointed to one of the many open-door balconies that was unoccupied, suggesting, "Wanna go out for a bit? The view will be great from here."

"Sure," Rukia said, "Let me just get my coat. I'll meet you outside,"

Ichigo wandered onto the beautiful tile-floored balcony, admiring the beautiful cityscape below him. It was late and snow had just begun to fall, making it look almost magical. His eyes drifted shut, listening to the noise all around him- the chatter and classical music playing in the room behind him, the sound of the city below, and the quiet of falling snow. It almost felt like it wasn't real.. or like he'd been transported to the inside of a snow globe, where everything was pristine and perfect, as it should be.

Rukia returned a moment later, wearing the white-fur bolero, with a little white gift bag in her hand. Ichigo nodded towards her. "What's that?"

"Oh," Rukia held the little bag up, "Koizumi-san gave it to me- he said it's your gift from the company? But he told me I could have it instead, I'm not sure why..."

"Ah," Ichigo nodded, turning back to the view of the city below them and all of the tiny, twinkling lights, chuckling to himself, "Well, Koizumi-san could never resist a pretty woman."

"Hm?"

Ichigo choked in sudden realization that he'd voiced a thought. "I mean, they give little things out every year. Last year, it was a set of crystal salt and pepper shakers."

Rukia looked at him quizzically, then held the bag out to him again, "Well don't you want to see what's inside?"

Ichigo shrugged, "Why don't you open it then? Let's see what it is."

"Alright," Rukia replied as she opened the tiny little bag, lifting out a white cardboard box from inside. She removed the lid off of the box, and her elegant little fingers lifted out what Ichigo recognized as Christmas tree ornament. It was a large snowflake, made out of a crystal-looking glass, and he watched her admire it as it shimmered and caught the light beautifully, casting rainbows onto her face as she held up by the looped white ribbon it hung from.

"Wow," she said softly, then held it up for him.

Ichigo shook his head, his gaze on her soft, "Keep it."

"You don't want to keep it? You could hang it on your Christmas tree at home," Rukia said in confusion. Ichigo shook his head again.

"I already have too many of those things. Why don't you keep it? Then you'd have something from me to put on your own tree."

"But I don't have a Christmas tree," Rukia replied earnestly, her own eyes falling back onto the ornament as it glinted in the light. She was good at masking her expressions, but he had always been able to see through her- he could see the trace of sadness in her eyes.

"Well, that's not an issue. You could always hang it in the window, it would look pretty and it would catch the sunlight," he suggested lightly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Keep it, Rukia."

He watched her place it back in the box and close the lid before looking back up at him. "Thank you."

She moved closer to the railing then, closer to him as she looked down, admiring the view quietly. He stopped himself from reacting when he felt her take his hand in hers again.

The elevator ride down was tense.

He hadn't expected it... but it was. There they were, just the two of them, alone in a tiny box that was taking forever to descend from the 11th floor of the building, to the first. It wasn't a bad or negative tension, no, it was... he blushed at the thought. Sexual. He felt like his blood was on fire. She hadn't looked him directly in the eyes since they'd left, and from the pink in her cheeks he was wondering what was going on in her mind, too.

He couldn't help it, though. Not when she smelled as sweet as she did, and not when she looked like an otherworldly creature in that stunning red dress. He still held her small hand in his, and though he couldn't tell, she could tell that he was hot- too hot.

He drove her home in his car, not worried about Kazui, as he was spending the night at Orihime's place. The drive was somehow less tense, as he had to focus on the road, and Rukia listened to the radio on low volume.

He noted how she turned the channel when Love Me Harder played on the radio, her face turning even redder than before, eyes shiny. He knew she couldn't understand the words.. but with some songs, the music alone was enough to tell you what was being sung. It would've been funny, and he might've teased her, if he didn't feel equally as heated up by it.

She opened the private senkaimon that Byakuya had granted her once they got inside the house, entering through it and arriving right at her doorstep. He walked her up to her door, feeling like he was walking on clouds as he'd taken her hand again on the excuse of the snow falling- too slippery for her heels, he'd said. They stood under the lights illuminating her courtyard. She unlocked and pulled the door open, but did not go inside, instead turning back around to face him. Her beautiful, large blue eyes were on his, unwavering.

"Well," she said softly, "Thank you for tonight, Ichigo... I had a good time."

"I'm glad," he replied, his voice betraying his emotion as it was low and almost sultry. His eyes roamed over her face, her beautiful dark hair that fell almost to her waist, roaming down her body, too far down for his own comfort. He had a straining feeling in his heart, one that told him that he did not want to leave. He did not want to bid her goodnight and then just walk away, to see her tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. He wanted to tell her every single thing he was feeling in that moment, or at least to be honest with her about the way she looked. His heart felt like it was beating a million time a second as he leaned forward and daringly pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"You looked beautiful tonight." his voice was low murmur, and she blushed but didn't look away from him, her face tilting into his lips. He moved back slightly, just enough that their eyes met- and there was a bit of daring in her expression as she stared up at him, blue eyes as innocent as ever but the rest of her expression betraying her.

He looked down at her and then it suddenly felt as if the world were colliding, like their minds were linked in that moment. It took just that one moment of his eyes meeting hers, just that one moment, and their lips crashed down on each other's. He held her tightly, one arm around her waist, the other still gripping her hand, as if he was afraid that once he let go of her, she would disappear into thin air. After a few moments, he moved back, admiring her flushed cheeks and red lips, his smoldering eyes on hers, sincere and a little unsure.

"Goodnight, lady," he said, his voice so low it came out in a teasing murmur, before he watched her go inside, pausing for a moment at the doorway. She smiled softly at him, her voice coming out in a whisper of good night, before closing the door.

Goodnight.