Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach!

Summary: "Just kiss me, you idiot." And, with all the subtle roughness he knew her for, she grabbed his head and smashed her lips against his. IshiRuki, oneshot

So, here's something new. Taking a break from all the DBZ mania that has suddenly overwhelmed me and am writing a little Bleach fic to get me back into the fandom. And it involves one of my absolute favorite crack pairings - Ishida and Rukia! This pairing has a soft spot for me because, well, it is one of the onesided pairings in my HitsuRuki fic, and it has just grown on me so much, so here is a fic where Ishida actually gets the chick!

Enjoy!

Foolhardy Romanticism

He often found himself watching her.

Ishida Uryu often wondered why he always ended up watching someone like Kuchiki Rukia.

Something like that, he had no control over. He knew she was pretty - beautiful, even - and he watched her. But that wasn't the sole reason he always kept a watchful eye on the raven haired girl.

There was something about her that drew him to her, like a moth to a flame. Out of all the girls in his school - even the radiant Orihime and the tomboyishly cute Tatsuki - he found his eyes trained solely on her.

Not that he could control the urge to look at her. No, he had tried, but his eyes always seemed to drift to her anyway. It was odd. A feeling that he couldn't deny, no matter how hard he tried.

It wasn't a feeling usually associated with someone like Ishida. He was known to be rough, rather abrasive, almost always clashing with Ichigo, and having a slightly icy exterior, but not nearly as bad as some of the people or shinigami he knew. The feeling of warm, unadulterated adoration was something that Ishida had rarely felt, and now he was feeling it for the most impossible of women.

Rukia was not only headstrong, but also very polite and strange - the strangest type of woman he had ever encountered. While he had been able to pinpoint certain personality traits about her, they were all scattered. She was outspoken, yet shy. Innocent, yet mature.

He was never able to keep his eyes off of her.

Ishida sighed and made his way to his house. A menial task, one that he had completed many times over the course of his life. He could sense the various energies around him. Ichigo's, Orihime's, Chad's, even Tatsuki's. He could tell that they were all safe, and that was something that made him doubly happy. He could also tell that there were no hollows around, which was something rare these days.

And then he sensed it.

Rukia's familiar energy pulsated and he felt her warm aura surround him.

She was close.

"Ishida!"

Okay, very close.

The bespectacled man turned and locked gazes with the smaller Kuchiki woman. She was running to catch up to him, her slender legs pumping beneath the skirt of her school uniform.

She arrived at him, hands on her knees, and panting slightly. Looking up at him, she gave him a brief explanation, "Gigai aren't always in the greatest shape." She said with a scoff, her tone not too appreciative of the people who made them.

I'd beg to differ. Ishida thought, his eyes glancing at her.

"And you wanted me to wait, because?"

Rukia looked up, her cheeks flushed and her breathing quieted from the rapid panting. "You didn't want to wait?"

"Huh? I mean…yes…er…" Ishida said as he felt the blood rush to his cheeks. His heart started pounding and he pushed his glasses up with a solitary finger.

"I thought so." The Kuchiki girl smirked, straightening up and stretching her slender form out, raising her arms above her head as she continued walking.

The Quincy looked at the girl who was now walking beside him with barely concealed wonder, "Uh…why did you want me to wait for you?" Not even he could hide the surprise or the delight that he felt that Rukia wanted to walk with him, even though he knew he should.

"I thought we needed to talk." She stated simply, her nonchalance almost palpable.

"Talk?" Ishida asked incredulously, his glasses slipping slightly down the bridge of his nose. He pushed them back up yet again, the Quincy cross dangling from his wrist, swaying from the action.

Rukia nodded sharply, but there was a glint in her eyes that betrayed some other motive. "Yup."

Ishida was puzzled. "About?"

"About why you're always looking at me."

That was enough to stop Ishida in his tracks.

Actually, he stumbled a bit, nearly falling, before finally coming to a stop just a bit ahead of Rukia's smirking form.

"Wh-What?" He sputtered out, his face taking on the color of a tomato.

Rukia's laughter could be heard and he turned around, not even bothering to hide the fact that he'd been caught off guard. Not that he could, it had been rather widely displayed and exaggerated.

"You heard me." Rukia said, a teasing lilt to her voice, "Obviously, you wouldn't have reacted like that if you hadn't."

"Of course." He replied shakily, his eyes darting to the smaller woman's form. Her arms were crossed beneath her breasts and she looked at him expectantly. "So…"

"So, you stare at me." Rukia bluntly stated, "And people talk."

"People?" Ishida asked, "As in more than one?"

"Well, you're not exactly subtle." She continued, her face betraying no hint of embarrassment or regret at having this conversation. The raven haired girl looked as if she actually wanted this conversation to go down like this. "I mean, really? Everyone and their mother knows you stare at me."

"And…"

"Well," Rukia stepped forward, her eyes contemplative and yet knowing at the same time, "what they're saying is just talk. Idle chatter."

She was face to…well, chest with him now. Her eyes moved upward before connecting with his wondering navy blue pools.

"What about it?" Ishida ventured, feeling his voice crack in places it shouldn't.

Rukia smirked at that.

"I figured that since they're already talking, then why don't we make those rumors…valid? Really give them something to talk about."

For someone as smart as Ishida was, he was clueless at what the short shinigami was trying to imply. "What are you talking about?"

Large, luminous eyes rolled in response to his dullard answer.

"Just kiss me, you idiot." And, with all the subtle roughness he knew her for, she grabbed his head and smashed her lips against his.

Ishida was shocked - his navy eyes were wide, wavering with surprise, and he looked down at the short girl, whose eyes were closed tightly, and her lips working feverishly against his. His heart was hammering away in his ribcage. He found himself kissing her back, feeling slightly awkward as his large hands knotted themselves in her dark locks and her arms wrapped around the back of his neck.

She finally parted and looked up into his eyes, her large, violet orbs glimmering with a smile, along with confidence. She grinned at him and he felt himself blush. His eyes trailed over her features, and he saw that her lips were swollen just a bit and he felt a swell of pride go through him, knowing that he had been the one who made them that way.

Suddenly, she looked shy, and downcast her eyes. That was one of the other things he found so infuriatingly entrancing about her. And then she looped her fingers through his.

Ishida looked at her with a wondering glance, and Rukia just gave him a small smile, with a hint of blush on her cheeks.

"So…does this…"

"It means what you think it means." Rukia glanced up and grinned broadly again.

"So we're…"

She sighed in faux exasperation, "Don't question it, Ishida."

So, instead of posing another malformed statement, the Quincy bowed his head and pressed his lips against the crown of her forehead.

"That's what I'm talking about." Rukia said, her voice playful as her fingers gave his an assuring squeeze.

He often found himself watching her.

And, inadvertently, it had gotten him what he wanted most.

End.

Well, there's my first new Bleach fic in a while, starring one of my favorite pairings in the fandom. And I hope I did a decent job! Haha. I hope y'all like it! I would love to hear your opinions. They mean so much to me!

Anyway, thanks for reading!