I do not own Bleach, or any of its characters.

Her pale skin flared in a mix of anger and self-consciousness. His eyes traced the lines of her face, and stopped at her lips, slightly agape from shock… just waiting to be ravished.

He unconsciously licked his lips in anticipation.

"W—what do you think you're doing?" she blurted. "I told you, no!"

"No?" he repeated, absent-mindedly.

His senses were clouded by her scent; his heart was hammering against her fingers. Hypnotised by the bluish flecks of her purple eyes, he moved in, closing the gap between their faces so that their lips were almost touching. He could feel the warm puffs of her breath caressing his skin, tempting him and luring him in.

"How about now?"

Violet filled with slight despair. They seemed to ask, why are you doing this to me? Why are you making it so difficult?

"Still no," she breathed, but she did not pull away.

Ichigo's lips tugged into a small smirk before gently brushing against hers.

"And now?" he asked, against her soft lips.

"Ichi—" she started.

The end of her sentence remained trapped in her throat when he planted his lips upon hers. Her eyes widened at the contact, and she stiffened. But she relaxed after a few seconds, and her eyes slowly fluttered shut as he started nibbling at her lips. They were softer than he had imagined; she tasted sweeter than he had fantasised.

"You are mine, Rukia," he breathed in-between his light kisses.

And he knew that she had finally acknowledged it, when she started kissing him back. Tentatively at first, almost shyly. Her soft lips nipped at his own, sending tremors down his spine. It was innocent. It was pure.

Then, the tenderness turned to hunger—pressing, almost frenzied. Pure hunger.

He ran his free hand over the small of her back. His heart was racing; his breathing was getting heavier, in sync with hers. His whole body was aching to be closer to her, to feel her skin against his, to meld into her.

He grabbed a handful of her dress' cloth and pulled her closer to him. She whimpered almost inaudibly into his mouth. His other hand grasped firmly onto the side of her head, holding her face still, his long fingers entwining with her thick black hair. His whole body felt electrified, wired, ablaze. He ran the tip of his tongue over her smooth puffed lips, impatient to fully savour her, devour her, claim her.

But she abruptly pulled away, then, and slapped him hard across his face. He almost tumbled over, but it was more out of the stupor of withdrawal than the strength of the impact.

"You... You are a dense brat," she said breathless, cowering away from him.

His cheek stung where she had just struck him. His lips were tingling from her kiss, demanding more, already addicted to her taste. Like a starved child being stolen of his food after the first bite, he did not understand the sudden deprivation.

It took him a few seconds to recover.

"You're a good kisser."

"Stop."

"All you've been saying is 'no', 'stop', 'don't' and 'we can't', but I don't see you walking away either," he said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

She did not say anything. Her lips were pink and still glistening where he had licked her. He had to fight internally to not grab her and somehow make her stop being so obtuse and difficult.

Had she not enjoyed this? Had she not felt what he had?

He could see it buried in the depths of her eyes; buried under layers of uncertainty.

The hankering. The need. The knowledge that he could satiate her.

"You can't walk away," Ichigo said, more sure of himself than he had ever been. "You want this too. You want to be with me as much I want to be with you. But you are conflicted. Why? What's holding you back, Rukia?"

"Nothing!"

"Stop with this bullshit and be honest with me!" Ichigo snapped, his tone harsher than he had intended it to be. "Be honest with yourself," he said, more gently.

She remained silent.

He scratched the back of his head, a frown on his face, and let himself fall on his bed with a sigh. He was suddenly exhausted.

It was tiring to yearn for someone who was this close to you. It was tiring not to give in to your urges when their lips looked so tempting, and when you knew they tasted like everything you never knew you could find. It was tiring trying to convince them that they should be with you.

Multiply that by ten, because the one he wanted just had to be Rukia.

It just had to be the most irritating, obstinate and stupid person on Earth… and Soul Society.

To say he had chosen her would be only half true. From the moment she had stepped into his life, there had been little he had had control over. He had never realised Rukia had supremacy over any part of him until it had been too late. She had already taken possession of every one of his thoughts, actions and decisions by the time he had realised it.

Would he have stopped it, had he taken knowledge of it during its course?

He set his gaze upon the small woman in his room.

She was a constant presence in his life; one he knew somehow kept his world balanced. She gave him strength, and she made him weak. She made him a better Shinigami, and reminded him of what made him human.

It was not chance that had brought them together.

It was Destiny.

Rukia and him were darn Destiny.

She was looking at him too. Her mesmerising eyes shrouded by a cloud of confusion and despair behind her dark bangs. He just wanted to push her hair out of her face, and kiss away every single qualm she had about this.

Had he been given the choice of not being there in this room with her, in their current situation, would he have changed something?

Probably not.

"Come here," he stretched out his arm towards her, offering her his hand.

Her brows knitted in the way they always did when she was suspicious.

He sighed. "Just sit with me," he said.

Still no reaction.

"I won't try anything," he told her earnestly.

She hesitated for another second, and then took his hand. She was shaking slightly, but Ichigo decided he was going to pretend he had not noticed. When she had settled on his small bed next to him, she took back her hand, and held the hem of her dress with her two hands.

"Stop being so quiet. It's killing me," Ichigo said. "Scaring me a little, even."

After what seemed to be an eternity she replied, "I… I don't know what to say. I think you may be a little crazy right now."

"I may be. But I know it's not some phase. I am serious about this, Rukia. About us. I wouldn't risk what we have for anything temporary. And I would not still be having this conversation with you if I knew you did not want this," Ichigo said.

She looked down, and sank back into silence.

"What are you scared of? Is it because of Soul Society? Do they have a problem with people being together like that?" he asked.

"I am a soul and you are human," she answered. "Us meeting was inconceivable to start with. I would not be surprised if they had something to say about it. And no, you cannot barge in to plead your case. Or fight anyone for it."

Ichigo snorted and looked away. The woman knew him too well.

"So that's it?"

"Yes."

"And you're forbidding me from doing anything about it?" Ichigo frowned. "That's unfair."

"What's unfair is you spilling this milk. Now it's going to leave stains!"

"I don't care! We'll get a new bottle of milk and a new whatever's stained," he said. "So you're saying that if Soul Society permits it, we'll be together? I put my butt on the line for them one too many times, they should be able to grant me this. It's none of their business, who I decide to be with anyway."

She did not answer.

"Don't do that, Rukia. Don't give me goddamn excuses when I ask for solid reasons," Ichigo said. "I can't accept that."

"Why? Why do you have to try so hard when I already said no a thousand times?" she said loudly, turning towards him.

There was no anger in her voice, just plain despair.

"Because you want to be with me!"

"Stop telling me what I want! You know nothing!"

"I know you kissed me back and I know you want to do it again."

"Why are you doing this?" she asked.

"Because I can't stay this way any longer."

"That's not what I meant!" she said looking up at him. Her voice was strained. "Why wouldn't you just let it go? You took it a step too far, and now we can never be friends again!"

"Friends? I am not your friend, and I never was," Ichigo replied.

"What are you saying?"

"Friends is just what we used because there is no other word to describe us. But we have always been more than just friends. I don't let friends sleep in my bedroom," he said.

"I won't. Ever again."

"I want you to."

"Stop that!"

"I do!"

"I said stop!"

"Why are you so scared of the friggin' truth?! I want you, Rukia," he said. "I. Need. To. Have. You."

"Enough!" she shouted. Her eyes were full of tears by then, and her knuckles had turned white from holding the hem of her skirt too hard. "Shut the hell up! I cannot listen to this any longer! So shut up! Do you enjoy seeing me in such distress? Was this what you wanted?" she cried.

"No! Rukia, I—"

"Then stop insisting! Whatever the reasons, whatever you say it still yields the same result: I can't!"

He had never seen her cry like that, like something was stabbing her from the inside, and it was making him hurt.

She bent her head over her knees and clutched her stomach as she cried, "I can't," she repeated.

Had he been the one impaling her all this while?

"Rukia..."

He wanted to hold her, but he decided it would be best to stay where he was.

She cried for some time before eventually calming down. The violent spasms subsided, and her breath gradually evened out. She sat back up, and recomposed herself, her stoic mask falling back into place her tear-streaked face.

"I'm sorry," Ichigo finally said, reaching up to wipe her wet cheek.

She recoiled, and looked down. More tears spilled down her face. He drew back his hand.

"I'm sorry," he said again as she sniffled and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry I try so hard. I'm sorry I won't give up. I can't. I know I can make you happy. I will make you happy. I... I can't promise I will not want to punch you when you annoy me. I can't promise I will not say you are being a damn idiot when you are being a damn idiot. I can't promise I will not mock your drawings, or tease you about your ridiculous Chappy obsession. I will not agree to everything you say. And I also reserve the right to wear the pants in our hypothetical, probable relationship."

She opened her mouth to interrupt, but he pressed on.

"No! Shut up and let me finish—Rukia, I swear I would not be here right now if I was not certain that you are it. You are," he said. "And as my 'it', I promise you will be my priority. I will do everything in my power to make you happy. And if my power is not enough, I will surpass it. Because I know the world is a hellhole without you in it, and your smile... It's my solace. Because that's what you deserve. And I will do it for you. Everyday. I will make you smile everyday—" he stopped then. "Damn it. You're making me say romantic shit."

They bathed in silence for a while.

"I do not have a ridiculous Chappy obsession," she then said.

Ichigo's eye twitched. "Eh? Is that all you heard?"

"Liking Chappy is not ridiculous," she said firmly. "How dare you! And… you just don't understand the word stop, do you."

"Not when I'm sure of myself, no."

"You say that now, but you will end up being like everyone else," she muttered.

Ichigo stared at her. "What?"

He was genuinely confused.

"You will leave. Everyone... ends up leaving me," Rukia said, her head sinking between her narrow shoulders. "I somehow always manage to lose the ones who mean the most to me."

She suddenly looked smaller than she already was. Vulnerable and child-like.

"You will abandon me like my sister did, and I will have to live on without you. You will... leave just like Kaien-dono did, and I won't be able to do anything about it. What will you expect me to do then? Don't you see that what you are asking for only ends in heartbreak?" Rukia said. "It's trouble I cannot afford. I can't. And you are already so important to me, even without... that."

Ichigo took some time to assimilate her words. Then, he raised his hand and slapped the back of her head, hard.

She yelped out of surprise and pain, almost toppling off the bed.

"You bastard!" she let out.

She raised her fist to punch him in the face, but he swiftly caught her wrist, and pulled her towards him. She fell into his arms in a gasp, and a slight blush appeared on her cheeks as he held her head against his chest. He knew his heart was shooting off the monitor against her ear, and he hoped she knew she had caused that.

"You complete, utter idiot," Ichigo said nuzzling her hair, the ghost of a smile on his face. "Can you hear what you're saying?! Are you implying I will get killed or something? Don't you have faith in me?"

He felt her relax after a few moments, but she did not move.

"You're a reckless fool," she said softly. "You charge in without thinking. And when you fight you forget everything, you forget everyone except for who you are fighting to protect. I will not always be a priority. And I know I cannot ask to be one. I cannot ask you to stop fighting."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise," she looked up at him. Her eyes had taken on the shades of an early night sky. "That's what I have always liked about you."

"So you do like me," he grinned, slightly.

"They are few but you have your good points," she answered without missing a beat.

Kissing her to make her shut up sounded like a great idea right about that moment.

"I don't fight to lose."

"It's always a gamble."

"I'll always get back everything I stake and more. You showed me how to do that."

"You are a fool."

"I must be," he agreed. "For wanting to be with you so bad."

She scowled. "You are not helping your plight."

But he could feel her walls finally coming down. They had started breaking from the moment they had kissed. But now, she was letting them fall, instead of desperately trying to hold them together.

He could hear her heart speaking to him now. It said all right, all right you idiot, I surrender. I'll let you win... You win. It was loud and clear, no longer muffled by her doubts and unease.

"You like me this way," he said.

"Rude and mean?"

"Honest and true," he corrected.

A small smile finally found its way to her face. It was like seeing a rainbow appear after the rain.

"Maybe," she said.

"Rukia," he leaned in.

She looked into his eyes questioningly. She saw him leaning in, and he knew that she knew he was going to kiss her when her eyes hovered to his parted lips.

"I promise," he said softly. "I won't be like everyone else. I won't disappear. I won't abandon you. I won't leave you."

This time he did not have to do anything. This time, she closed the gap between them and kissed him, open-mouthed and open-hearted. He smirked slightly, as their kiss deepened, and Rukia fed his addiction.

A puppet in her hands—that was what he was turning into. Anything; he would have done anything she may have asked of him at that moment. So much for reserving the right not to be whipped.

"So?" he said pulling away, just enough to look at her face. "Can you be mine now?"

A frown appeared on her flushed face.

"Stop it."

Ichigo froze. Was she still going to play hard to—

Then she smirked, and trailed a finger down his neck and over his collarbones as she said,

"Stop asking for what's already yours."

NOTE: This turned out to be longer than expected, heh... Thank you for all your reviews/favs/follows! I may have squealed happily several times... and I hurried this up for y'all! Cannot say how much I appreciated the support!

I am not used to writing romance, fluff and stuff, so this feels a bit strange. I don't know if it's too much/too awkward? Haha. I never think of them as the overly romantic type of couple, but yeah... This was just for some fun and semi-lightness...