title: theatrically subtle
pairing: ichigo/rukia
summary: "If I didn't know you better, I would say you had a crush on me."
notes1: shameless fluff time. (it's funny, because usually i am completely incapable of writing fluff. bahaha.)

disclaimer: nope, i don't own bleach.

With them, things never happened normally. Ever.

So when Ichigo woke up to a tangled mess of ebony, he wasn't surprised. Or, well, he was, but in the good way that made his heart flutter like a hyperactive butterfly. Vaguely, he noticed that he felt whole with her in his arms, and that he wouldn't mind waking up like this every day. Really, it was ridiculous how much he adored her. Not that he would ever mention that to her. She would probably exploit it in the worst way possible.

It was still somewhat dark, he noted with annoyance. It was that awkward space of time when the sun was still waking up, but the moon was already sleeping, suspending the world in shades of indigo. He had half a mind to go to sleep. After all, it was impossibly early. He shook his head, his scowl softening considerably. He settled down on watching the woman in his arms blink sleepily and attempt to stretch her arms. Except their limbs were so hopelessly entangled with each other that she found that she couldn't.

She shrugged and found herself drifting to the possessive arms of sleep. Then she tensed, because she realized who's arms she was actually in. She looked up at him with stunning violet eyes, still a bit bleary with sleep, and he found himself charmed.

"Oh. Hi," she yawned, slowly relaxing into his embrace.

"Hey," he replied, a bit too breathless. He thought that it was nice when they actually had civilized conversation, and that they should do it more often.

"So, may I ask why you are holding me?"

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "This is my bed, Rukia. I think I should be asking you that."

She rolled her eyes in typical Rukia fashion. "Fool. I'm asking for the reason why you are holding me, not why you're in the bed with me. I laid down as far away from you as possible."

He roved his eyes around his room. "Midget, my bed isn't even that big."

Her face darkened. "Yeah, I noticed."

They lay in a comfortable silence and watched as his room slowly brightened up. Rukia closed her eyes and listened carefully for the birds that chirped in the morning. Ichigo just watched her peacefully. After a good half-hour, he nudged her gently. "My dad is going to wake me up soon."

"You're already awake," she mumbled into his shoulder. He almost smiled at her.

"Idiot, he's going to attack me and then wonder why you're here and not in the twins' room. And continue to make perverted jokes about us."

"Shut up and enjoy the moment, moron."

"Rukia, seriously, get up."

"Yeah, no."

A pause.

"If I didn't know better, I would say you had a crush on me."

Rukia scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself."

Ichigo smirked smugly. "Why are you in my bed, and why are you refusing to budge from my arms?"

"You're warm, it's winter, and this gigai is infuriatingly sensitive to the cold," she replied breezily, nestling her head into his chest. She sighed as his body heat washed over her in calming waves.

"Admit it, you love me."

"How about you admit that you love me first?"

"I asked first."

"You're the one who's not even making a move to throw me off the bed. If you really didn't want me here, you would have already acted on it," she pointed out. "So admit it. You love me."

"Sure," he said without a hint of sarcasm.

Her lips curled up slightly. "...Oh. Okay, I'll admit it, then. I'm still not moving, though."

"Well, that was easy," he murmured.

"What do you mean?"

He held her petite form against him closer. "I was thinking that our confessions would be more... angsty. Dramatic."

"Really? I thought it was just a matter of time. Even though our relationship is forbidden and wrong and highly inappropriate for a noble like me to partake in."

He grins and breathes the ethereal scent of her. "You don't sound very concerned."

She maneuvers her face up and kisses his nose. "Nope."

All in all, it was a very pleasant morning.

notes2: and then isshin burst in with tears streaming from his face with the demand of grandbabies.
notes3: i feel like the ending was half-assed. i just didn't want to continue it. whoops.