This is the third and final chapter, not sure if IchiRuki fans will love me or hate me for this one since I've done things a little differently, although the first one is preferable ;).
Anyhow, enjoy!
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Ichigo had loved Rukia for a while now, not that he'd ever been able to tell her that. He'd felt something for her, something that made him want to be more than just friends, for much longer. But in the last couple of months there had been fewer hollows for him to chase after, which left him with time to think.
He'd usually think about all kinds of random stuff. It could range from ways he could beat strong people such as Zaraki or Byakuya, to how his father drove him insane with his antics. Every now and then he'd be thinking about how his life had changed since he had become a Shinigami, about how it had changed since he'd met Rukia.
Rukia…
There he was thinking about Rukia again, just like that. At first he thought about her as much as he thought about anything else. But as the days grew into weeks, and the weeks into months, he found himself thinking about Rukia more and more.
Nowadays, he'd be rarely be thinking about anything else.
"Attention! The fireworks display will be starting in ten minutes." A nearby speaker blared out.
"Not long now." Orihime said excitedly, "I can't wait!"
"I know! It's supposed to be a big display this year." Ishida stated, "We should go on the Ferris wheel so we can get a good view."
"Good idea." Ichigo agreed, "We should probably start heading there soon or else our carriage won't be that high when the display starts."
They arrived shortly at the ticket booth for the Ferris wheel. As they went to pay their fees the owner shook his head.
"Only four people can go in a carriage at a time." The owner said, "If you all want to go on then you'll have to take different carriages."
"Ohh…" Orihime sighed disappointedly, "It won't be fair if not all of us can go on together."
"How come only up to four people can go on at once?" Renji asked.
"Weight restrictions." The owner replied.
"Weight?"
"Yeah, if there's too much weight then the carriage could fall. It's not worth the risk to have more than four people in a carriage at once."
"Do any of us look obese to you?" questioned an annoyed Renji, slightly missing the point.
"No, you don't." The owner replied. "But I've been told that muscle weighs more than fat, and that guy there is as big as all outdoors." He said as he pointed at the muscle-bound Chad.
"He's got a point." Ichigo added as Renji looked up at Chad defeatedly.
"It runs in the family ." Chad said apologetically
"So what do we do now?" Ichigo asked.
"We could go and buy some snacks." Ishida suggested, "Then we can just go and find somewhere else to watch the display."
"Yeah, I am a little hungry." Said Orihime with a slightly embarrassed smile.
"It's settled then. Let's go and find a food stall."
As everyone nodded and set of in the general direction of the stalls, Ichigo grabbed for Rukia's arm.
"Huh?" she said as she turned around to see what was wrong.
"I've got an idea." Ichigo said. "How about we go on the Ferris wheel while the other go and get some snacks?"
"Oh, well…" Started Rukia as she looked round to see if the others were out of earshot.
"Come on," Ichigo said with a sly smile, "They won't even know we're gone."
Rukia turned back around with a grin.
"Okay."
Rukia and Ichigo were soon climbing inside one of the carriages. Ichigo sat down in the middle of the seat whilst Rukia sat nearest to the window between him and her rabbit. The wheel started moving as they were getting comfortable.
"You know, you're lucky it was only a weight restriction." Ichigo said.
"What do you mean?" Rukia asked.
"If it was a height restriction instead then you'd have had no chance of getting on." He joked.
"Idiot!" she replied as she gave him a swift punch to the side of his leg.
"Ow!"
"Serves you right!"
"It's been a while since you've hit me." Ichigo laughed, "I was starting to miss it."
The disapproving expression on Rukia's face broke into a smile.
"I can never stay angry at you."
"That's good." He smiled, "Because I'm never going to stop with the midget jokes."
"Well your going to have a very sore leg then!" she said as she hit him again.
"Ow! Hey! I didn't say anything that time!"
Rukia let out a small giggle.
"Attention! The fireworks display will be start shortly." A speaker announced. "We hope that you enjoy the show."
"Good, I'm getting tired of waiting." Renji said as he sat on a nearby bench and opened a bag of peanuts.
"Hmm. Where did Ichigo and Rukia go?" Ishida wondered out loud.
"They're not here?" Renji asked as he looked around.
Chad scanned across the heads of nearby people for ginger hair, "They must still be at the Ferris wheel."
"Maybe they went on it without us?" Ishida suggested as he took a slurp of his drink.
"What? Why'd they do that?" Renji inquired angrily, "I thought we agreed that we'd go and find somewhere else to stand and watch!"
"Oohhh! That's so romantic!" Orihime said dreamily.
"Huh?" Renji said with a confused look.
"Oh yeah, you weren't here earlier." Ishida remembered. "Ichigo won at that coconut shy stall. Rukia liked one of the toy rabbits that was a prize so he got her it as a present."
"So?"
"So maybe there's something going on between them."
"Oh…" Renji said with a disappointed expression. "Well… I'll just have to go and find out then!" he decided as he stood up.
"You'll have to climb up quite far." Ishida said as he took another sip of his drink, "If they went on the Ferris wheel then they'll still be on it."
"Oh. Yeah." Renji sat back down.
"Sorry we didn't tell you earlier." Orihime apologized.
"Nahh it's fine." Renji said in a dismissive.
"..."
Chad thought he'd ought to break the tension.
"I won a parakeet." he said.
"This is actually pretty nice." Ichigo said as he looked out across the fairground.
"Yeah, it is." Rukia nodded as she stared out of the carriage window, absent-mindedly fiddling with her hair.
He looked down at her and followed her shoulders nervously with his eyes. The familiar feeling of having butterflies in his stomach was back in full force.
"You know…" he said as he put his arm around her, "It's pretty cold up here."
"That was awful!" She laughed.
Rukia looked round to see Ichigo smiling down at her.
"But I'll let you off for the terrible chat-up line because you're going to be my substitute for a hot-water bottle, aren't you?" she asked as she batted her eyelashes.
"Yeah I suppose I am."
He smiled contently as she snuggled up against him. He was quiet for a few moments, capturing the feeling of her warm body cuddled up against him into his memory.
"Rukia?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you still want to know what I was trying to tell you up in the umbrellas?"
"Sure."
He closed his eyes. The butterflies in his stomach were dancing like angry tribesmen now. He knew that there was something there between them, she definitely felt something towards him. Nevertheless his mind was apprehensive, but in his heart he was sure that now was the time to tell her. It was now or never.
"I love you."
"…"
"…Rukia?"
She wasn't saying anything.
"…"
He felt her pull away from him. Was he was wrong? Maybe she didn't feel the same about him?
He nervously opened his eyes to see Rukia staring at him with her big violet eyes. Her mouth was slightly agape, a look of surprise thrown across her face.
"…Really?"
"Yeah."
He slowly turned his head away from her and took his arm off her shoulder. He could feel his stomach tie knots in itself. He had been so certain. But she didn't feel the same way about him, she couldn't have. She wouldn't have looked so shocked if she did.
"…"
He ran his hands through his hair before bringing them to his face and burying his head in them. A desperate sense of despair was slowly coursing through his body. He felt like he had just ruined everything that they once had.
All the times they'd smiled, laughed, argued, fallen out, and made up back up again. All the things they'd been through together and all the memories they shared. He'd ruined all of them.
He squinted his eyes shut and groaned inside. He'd been so stupid…
"Ichigo…"
He'd lost everything because of three little words…
She pulled his hands away from his face and held them in hers.
…Three stupid little words…
"…I love you…"
…that had ruined their friendship.
"…I love you too, Ichigo."
She reached up to his face and softly stroked it with her hand.
What had she said? He turned his head and opened his eyes, both stinging a little.
She was looking at him, gently smiling; a tear rolling down her cheek.
Had he heard her right the first time?
"What?"
"I said I love you too."
"You love me?" he asked, his mind numb.
"Yeah."
"Then… why are you crying?"
"Because I'm happy, you idiot!" she cried out as she pulled him into an embrace.
She…loved him…?
"!"
She loved him!
It suddenly dawned on him what she was saying. He was right after all, he thought as he felt the knots in his stomach loosen. Ichigo looked down at the small shinigami whose head was buried in his chest. He moved his head a little closer to hers; the clean fragrance of her hair filled his airways as he breathed in.
"Rukia?"
"…Yeah?"
She looked up to meet his eyes; Ichigo wore a quiet smile on his face as he gazed passionately back into her big, violet irises. He glanced down at her tender lips before closing his eyes. She smiled lovingly as he leant in to kiss her.
Their lips met as a soft orange light flooded the carriage, the first firework erupting in the backdrop. A series of booms echoed across the fairground and the crowds below gave a distant cheer at the onset of the fireworks display.
For one night, his life was perfect.
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So there you go everyone, I hope you've enjoyed my first venture into the world of fan ficition. Whether you loved it or hated it, drop off a review and tell me your opinion. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed the last two chapters, your support is appreciated :)