10 Ways To Annoy The Bleach Crew
(Not that I'd ever do any of this, *wistels suspicously*)
Rukia
1. Tell her that Ichigo spies on her every night and holds a mirror under her mouth to "make sure the midget was breathing"
2. Release a thousand Chappy Bunnies and tell her that if she dosen't catch them all soon Ichigo will get them
3. Pretend to spill hot choclate on her wedding dress and run for your life!
4. Tell her to watch "Kudjo"; then make Ichigo scare her; watch the fun
5. Tell her that Ichigo bought her a Chappy for Christmas and watch her destroy the house
6. Tell her to sing the Chromatic scale as fast as she can; watch how many times she gets tounge-tied
7. Pin her giant bang up and then smoothe the rest of her hair so hard that her eyes bug out
8. Show her fan websites...espically hentais
9. Find episodes and screen caps and tell her that someone's spying on her
10. Tell her that she reminds you of Alice Cullen and ask her to bite Ichigo ^^
Ichigo
1. Undress in front of him (if you're a guy do it anyway)
2. Release a thousand Chappys in his house
3. Paint a Chappy on his door
4. Watch him undress and wistel very loudly
5. Wen he's walking with Rukia say "Hiya Ichi Baby" in a flirty voice and wink at him
6. Tell him he made Rukia cry
7. Die is hair black
8. Call him "Kian 2"
9. Call him Strawberry
10. Cover him in wipped cream or Choclate and strawberries; lick him clean and tell him you were giveing him a bath
Renji
1. Tell him Ichigo is better in every way
2. Dangle a bannana in front of him and call "Here Monkey Boy!"
3. Dye his underwear pink
4. Tell him chicks dig flower tattoos...watch the fun
5. Tell him his hair would look better like Ichigo's (couler included)
6. Tell him he needs to loose weight
7. Train a puppy to follow him around and tell him that if he hurst the puppy Rukia will kill him
8. Unleash the fangirls
9. Make him do the Criss Angel Prison Escape in front of a hundred loyals
10. Tell him the "Macerana" is the coolest dance ever
Orihime
1. Show her IchiRuki hentai
2. Show her as much IchiRuki stuff as possible
3. Lie and say that IchiHime won....
4....Then tell her that that's a bad joke
5. Ask her to drive and watch her crash Isshin's car
6. Come at her with a pair of hedge clippers and a hat
7. Ask if she's 3rd in the class why can't she see that IchiRuki is cannon
8. Give her sugar
9. Tear apart her house
10. Make her watch "Romeo And Juliet" ask her if she wants to be Juliet
Uryuu
1. Fill his room with buttons
2. Repeat the word "haphazard" as much as you can
3. Tell him Soul Reapers are better
4. Tell him "Quincy Pride" is stupid
5. Dye his clothes black
6. Shoot him in the butt with an arrow...
7. ...Tell him you're his long lost sister and you missed (if your a guy do it anyway)
8. Take his sewing kit
9. Tell Kon that Uryuu has a nice dress for him...
10. ...Watch him destroy the house
Kukkaku
Do anything and it will annoy her (hides under bed)
Kisuke
1. Kill his hat
2. Call him a "Soul Reaper Wannabe"
3. Hide his cane
4. Tell him that Ichigo is not amused
5. Get mad and tell him to go poke a Strawberry (Ichigo)
6. Make him watch reality TV for a week straight
7. Take his hat wen he isn't looking...
8....RUN!
9. Call him a mad scientist
10. Ask him were his lab is
Yoruichi
1. Give her cat toys
2. Wen you're mad at her spray her with water
3. Meow at her
4. Call "Here Kitty! Kitty!"
5. Call her slow
6. Give her a toy cat
7. Unleash a bunch of mad dogs...
8.....Wile she's in her cat form
9. Call her Scientest's Assistant
10. Give her a bunch of strawberries and milk
Soi Fon
1. Remnd her that Yoruichi is better in every way
2. Tell her that she reminds you of a hornet
3. Remind her that she was wrong
4. Pull on one of the rings in her hair ......
5. .....and ask if it was an ear ring gone wrong
6. Ask her to play tag....
7. ...Make a bet that you can win....
8....And pretend to be Edward Cullen
9. Buy a stuffed black cat and play keep away with it
10. Remind her that Yoruichi left her for Kiuske
Izuru
1. Put on a captin's haori and call him "Izuru"
2. Remind him of Gin Ichimaru in every way possible
3. Call him "Scaredy Cat"
4. Laugh at him
5. Make him do your paper work
6. Make him get a foot masage (refer to Shinigami Cup Golden)
7. Ask if he'll date you (if you're a guy do it anyway)
8. Sing loudly and challenge him to get mad at you....
9....Wen he dosen't call him a sissy
10. Call him Sodapop ("The Outsiders" refrence)
Momo
1. Remind her of Aizan
2. Show her superman movies and ask if she is reminded of anything
3. Shoot her with watermelon seeds
4. Call her "Bed Weter Momo"
5. Call her a puppet
6. Call her a sidekick
7. Remind her that she was used
8. Ask if Toshiro has forgiven her
9. Remind her that he is no longer "captin" Aizan
10. Call her childish
Byakuya
1. Call his hair things "hair noodles"
2. Lick him
3. Call him a bad brother
4. Wistle loudly and yell, "Nice Bod!" in his ear (if you're a guy do it anyway)
5. Steal his clothes and take pictures
6. Cut off his hair
7. Steal his sword and burry it
8. Write "Flower Power" on him and everything he owns
9. Tell him that Ichigo and Rukia are elopeing
10. Tell him you're his long lost child and hug him tightly
Shuhei
1. Tell him that he should use some "prefer on" on his scars
2. Ask if he was aiming for a Cancer simble and point to his 69 tattoo
3. Tell him he stole Kian's hair
4. Make him model for a magezene
5. Ask him how the sixties are treating him
6. Ask him if he ever suspected Tousin of treason
7. Wen he says "no" ask if he's blind or stupid
8. Take his shirt
9. Ask if he and Izuru are brothers
10. Make him get a foot masage
Toshiro
1. Make him skip his paperwork
2. Call him a child in every way possible
3. Ask if he'd only an inch tall
4. Take his sword and tell him that kids shouldn't play with sharp objects
5. Give him candy
6. Dye his hair pink
7. Ask him to sing to you...
8.....Tell him he sounds like a girl
9. Show him his credit card bills
10. Tell him it's his fault that he didn't protect Momo
Rangiku
1. Tell her that she and Ichigo look alike
2. Ask if she likes cats (kinda an inside joke)
3. Tell her Izuru and Shuhei want to go drinking with her...
4. ....Don't tell her that all three of them are supposed to be on an aisghnment
5. Make Uryuu sew her shirt shut
6. Ask how much make up she's wearing
7. Tell her to hide her recepts and un-done papperwork under a plant...
8. ...tell Toshiro exactly were it is
9. Show her this website
10. Wen she's drunk tell her to dance, tape record it, and use it as blackmail
Kenpachi
1. Tell him that you won't fight him
2. Tell him that Ichigo said that he'll never fight again
3. Take his sword
4. Leap up and cut his bells off
5. Write "Please don't hurt me" on his haori ('cause "kick me" won't work, no one'll do it)
6. Burn his clothes and replace them with dresses
7. Tell him swords are stupid
8. Laugh at him
9. Call him "Mr. Muscels"
10. Tell him you wuv him (if you're a guy do it anyway)
Yachiru
Let's face it, you couldn't annoy her if you tried -_- (unless you bothered her dureing Kenny's fight)
Ikkaku
1. Take his sword
2. Call him "Baldy"
3. Call him "Cue Ball"
4. Spit on his head'
5. Purposely "mistake" him for the moon
6. Point and laugh at him
7. Try to wipe off his eye make up
8. Tell him that his lucky dance is stupid
9. Call him weak
10. Bite his head and say that you thought it was a big shiney jaw breaker
Yumichka
1. Tell him that he isn't pretty
2. Tell him that saying weather something is beautifull or not is ugly
3. Blow his hair into an affro (again)
4. Try to pluck his weird eye lashes
5. Tell squad 11 about his sword's abbility
6. Put oil in his bath water
7. Tell him he screams like a girl
8. Poke him
9. Draw on him
10. Make him cry
AND THE BEST WAY TO ANNOY ALL THE BLAECH CHARECTORS.....
Release the fangirls/fanboys!

Hold My Heart
"Ichigo!" Rukia shouted, Ichigo growled and quickly disposed of the hollow in front of him, "I'm fine Rukia! Just a nick on the arm!" she snorted, "Hmph... gushing out gallons of blood isn't 'just a nick' Idiot," she muttered, not loud enough for him to hear her ofcourse, "Man, where do all these stupid hollows keep coming from!?" Ichigo shouted, slashing down another one, "I don't know! Someone must've dropped some hollow bait or something!" "There must be hundreds," Ichigo muttered, "GETSUGA TENSHOU!!!!" he successfully destroyed quite a few hollows, "I hope we don't have to use Bankai," he muttered, Rukia snorted, "Please Ichigo, these hollows are small fry, there's no need to overdo it," she hopped out of the way of one of the hollows, "Hakuren!" she shouted, destroying quite a few hollows as well, "Rukia!" she turned around towards Ichigo, "Menos at 3:00!" she turned in his direction and spotted it, "Let's do this together," she said with a smirk, he smirked back, "Right," "Tsuki Shiro!" she howled, once the Menos was frozen Ichigo took his turn, "GETSUGA TENSHOU!!" successfully destroying the other Menos, Rukia flicked some of the ice off of her sword, "Now, let's get back to the rest of thes-" "RUKIA!!!" she paused, mid-sentence, when one of the hollows came up behind her and slashed her back, blood drizzled out of her mouth and she coughed once, before loosing her ballence and falling out of the sky, "RUKIA!!!!!!!!!!" Ichigo yelled again, everything from then on was in slow motion for her, Ichigo unleashed his Bankai and slaughtered every hollow near them, she was falling and she knew that but she didn't have the strength to stop, her arms out-stretched, her face depictintg one of horror and regret, it was ungracefull and unbecoming of a Kuchiki, but the truth was that she really didn't care at the time, she couldn't hear anything anymore, she had lost that ability now and was slowly loosing conciouseness, she saw Ichigo rushing towards her but it seemed that even with his Bankai he was slow because she felt her foot crack the ice covering the lake below her, it sunk in and she felt her already injured back hit the ice as well, as it cracked beneath her her head hit it, she felt the water seep through her clothes and open wounds, the water soon surrounded her completly and she couldn't see, so she willed her eyes to close, strangely though she could still breathe, see, and even hear now, there was no pain, there hadn't been any even with her injurery, she saw Ichigo smiling at her, the world around him was a blank slate, "Rukia," he said, "I'll help you," he held his hand out and she took it


"Rukia! Rukia!" Ichigo cried, shaking her again and again, he was dripping wet and freezing with the low temperature and snow outside but he couldn't even tell, "PLEASE Rukia!" he cried, feeling the warmth of tears prickle his eyes, she still wouldn't move, he gulped, she was absolutely drenched, when he dove after her and pulled her out of the water she wasn't breathing, not a single breath, her eyes were shut and her face was so peacefull, he refused to think that she was dead, even though that was the way she appeared to be, "Please," he wispered, the tears wouldn't stay back any longer and they were freely falling as he tried in vain to wake her from her eternal slumber, "You're not..." he sucked in a breath to steady his trembeling voice, "You're not Sleeping Beauty Rukia, you're... you're gonna wake up, you have to wake up... please.... please wake up," he cried, his efforts stalled and he couldn't will his arms to shake her anymore, he didn't want to do this, he didn't want to because if he failed it would be the last straw and she would be undeniably dead, he didn't want to know that she was gone, but he had no choice, so he gently turned her onto her back, staring at her stilled face, he tilted her chin up, pinched her nose, and parted her lips, he took in a breath and then placed his lips over her's, pumping two breaths into her, no response, "Please Rukia," he sobbed, starting the compressions, "Please come back to me," he repeated the process another time and this time he got something, during the second round of compressions, she started to cough violently and water flooded out of her mouth, "Rukia!" he screamed in a panic, giving her a few wacks between the shoulder blades to help her get the water out, once she had finally coughed it all out she leaned against him, "Ow," she wispered, he had forgotten about the severe injurery on her back wen he tried to help her with the water, "I'm sorry, that must hurt," he wispered, traces of tears quickly disolving from his voice, "It does," she replied with a smile, her voice was hoarse and uneven, he had never heard it like that before, and he had never seen her like this either, her eyes were so bloodshot that they were nearly completly red and swollen, her body was so achingly pale, her robes drenched in water, sweat, blood, he didn't no which he hated worse, and she looked so frail, it was killing him, "You look tired," he stated dryly, standing up, "I'll carry you home," he offered, she attempted to stand up as well but before she was even on her knees he had scooped her up in his arms, "I-Ichi-" "I know riding on my back must be uncomfortable for you, what with my sword and all," that was enough explination in it's entierty, she held onto his robes as they flew through the sky, she felt her eyes getting heavy and she closed them without objection


Ichigo was doing something he never did, he was actually biting his nail, finally Orihime raised up, her six flowers returning to their proper places, he jumped up, "How is she?! Is she ok!?" "Well, her wound is healed but I wouldn't say she's ok," he stood, ready for the bad news, "I couldn't reject the affects of the ... drowning... so she'll still be pretty weak and raw after that, please be carefull with her Ichigo," "Why do you say that as if I'm gonna hurt her or something?" "N-N-No!! That's not what I meant at all! I just... it's just that Rukia is a very stubborn person, she'll say she's ok when she isn't and Ichigo... she isn't, so please don't let her fool you," "I won't Orihime, I can see her better than that," Orihime nodded once and left, Ichigo sat next to Rukia and picked up her hand, shocked and ill at how freezing cold she was, she was someone who had always given him warmth despite her cold exterior and now she was like this? His strength, his pride, his sun, diminished, destroyed, eclipsed, it wasn't fair, not to her or to him, all because of that stupid hollow! A hollow that she could take out with the flick of her wrist... has done this to her simply because she couldn't turn around fast enough, knowing that was the most destroying fact of all, if he hadn't been showing off so much then maybe he could stop it, he let go of her hand and walked over to his closet, grabbing every spare blanket he could find


Nearly a half hour had gone by and Rukia hadn't warmed up at all, he was quite tempted to wake her up, but she looked so peacefull that he couldn't bare to, and he was even a bit frightened, he didn't want to see her face in so much pain again, never again, so he did the only thing he knew to do, he laid down with her and tried to give her as much body heat as he could 'Please Rukia... please warm up soon so I don't have to take off my clothes....' soon after he could feel her start to warm up, that was a huge releif to him, "Rukia," he wispered, gently brushing some of the hair out of her face, 'Please be ok,' he thought, he couldn't imagine a life without her, he had to live through it once but he never wanted to do it again, he would never do it again, "Please be ok," he wispered


Rukia's eyes opened slowly and she was a bit surprised to find Ichigo's face so close to her own, luckily though he was sleeping, she examined their perdicament, she was in his bed.... in diffrent clothes than she was when she last lost conciouseness.... being held closely by a teenage male... yeah this didn't look good at all, 'Luckily I don't think any of the elders will be seeing me like this....' she mused, sighing and wondering what had compelled this situation, Ichigo, after all, wasn't a touchy-feely person, the last time she accedentally touched the back of his neck wile using her Kido on him he had blushed twelve shades of red, she smiled at the memory, gently running her finger down his strong jawline, "I don't even remember.... what happened to me Ichigo?" she wispered


He yawned and unconciously shifted closer to her, "Eek! Don't crush me!" Rukia yipped, he opened one eye, then the other, "Rukia? RUKIA!" he shouted, grabbing her in a sudden hug, she wasn't sure what to do, the only people that ever hugged her like this were people she could easily beat off of her, but she... she didn't want to make him stop, this felt good to her, warm, sweet, and he had a nice scent too, everything piled together made her want to stay this way, made her want to keep him like this, but she didn't quite know how to react to him, so she did what her heart told her to do, something she had tried to keep from doing since becoming a Kuchiki all those years ago, but she ignored everything she had learned in life and relied on her instincts for the first time since she was a child, and she hugged him back, burrying her head into his shoulder, "Rukia," he wispered, "Ichigo... I think you're squishing me... I can't breathe!" he moved away and held his hands up, clearly he really HAD been holding her too tightly, her face was redder than it had been wen he woke up... "What? Forget that you suddenly decided to crawl in my bed and trap me underneath your huge body did you?" he was a bit speechless at first, he didn't understand how she could joke about what happened, ".... Don't you remember?" "Remember what?" suddenly every ounce of releif that had been filling him when she woke up was gone and he was worried again, she can't have amnesia...can she....? "R-Rukia... you don't remember what happened?" "No! Clearly I don't so tell me!" she was starting to get worried herself, did something chatstrophic happen? Did they....? "You... the last thing you remember, what is it?" "We were fighting hollows then I... I ... fell..." "And?" "Then... then it's black," "You drowned," he choked out, "You uh... you nearly died, and then Orihime healed you and uh..." he looked away from her, "You just weren't warming up, you had hypothermia or something, so I .. I just did the first thing that came to mind ok?" she tilted her head, "Do you think I'm mad at you or something? Ichigo I'm just CONFUSED," "Well that's all that happened," he wasn't going to tell her about the moment on the bank when she first opened her eyes, he didn't even want to remember how horrible and frail she looked then, "So... we got home and you took off my clothes-" "Y-Y-Y-YOU did that yourself!" he stuttered out, nearly falling off of the bed when she actually brought that up, she gave him this LOOK like she didn't believe him, "Funny.... I don't even remember having this nightgown," he crossed his arms over his chest like a pouting child, "I got it out of Yuzu's closet for you and Orihime helped you put it on ok?" "Oh so it was ACTUALLY ORIHIME who did this... and you somehow couldn't tell me that? Oh MY Mr. Kurosaki I DO hope you didn't do something nasty to me in my fragile state of slumber," she teased with a ear-peircingly fake high pitched voice and a "you-moron" look on her face, he growled, "Shut your fat mouth Rukia,"


Rukia sighed, "Why do I have to do this again?" Ichigo slapped himself in the head, "Great, you ruined it," he muttered, taking the thermometer out of her mouth and getting a new one, "Didn't I tell you not to open your mouth? And to answer your question it's because I'm trying to see how low your body temperature is so I'll know if I need to take you to a hospital," she groaned, "I hate being treated like a kid," "I'm not treating you like a kid! I'm treating you like a person!" he protested, shoving the thermometer in her mouth, she rolled her eyes, watching him re-start the timer on his watch, "You just don't get it ... do you Rukia?" she blinked, "You scared me really badly, I was so afraid that I had lost you, more than I had ever been, you just... you just wouldn't wake up, don't you get that? Don't you understand how it felt to think that I'd never get to see your eyes open again? It... I ... I don't know ... I've just never seen you like that before, ever, you've always been strong in my eyes, always, but in that moment you were suddenly so fragile that I thought touching you would shatter you completly, I couldn't bare it, you were, you ARE my strength, forever, my strength, and yet you weren't even strong enough for yourself then, it was like I had lost my world," he took the thermometer out of her mouth and sighed in releif, only a few degrees low, "You're wrong Ichigo," she stated, he looked down at her, "You're wrong and so naieve, you see... I DO understand, I've had my world crash down before my very eyes as well, I've seen it happen, I've tried to wake someone that would never open his eyes again, and I know what it feels like to fall apart in front of that person because they're gone, I've felt it before, the non-stop heartache, the feeling wen you... when you keep shaking someone and shaking them again and again and yet... they won't wake up, they just won't wake up, and I know what it feels like run out of energy crying and yet continue trying to wake that person, and it is a TERRIBLE feeling that I NEVER wanted to feel again, and I've felt it twice, I never wanted anyone around me to expereince that," he looked away from her, he knew what she was talking about, the second time she mentioned was at the end of the war wen he collapsed on top of her, and he knew that that had caused her a deep, deep pain, now he was looking at the floor and she was looking at the ceiling, "It's snowing," she wispered, he nodded once, "Yeah," "Don't you know what snow means?" he shook his head, "Snow means it isn't raining," and just like that he understood, he understood what she meant better than he understood anything, when something bad happened it always rained, that was true for him and it was true for her too, but snow was diffrent, "Snow means that there isn't rain" that's what she said, but what she MEANT was "Snow means I'm not leaving, nothing bad will happen" and that was all it took for him to feel at ease, "I know what it sounds like," she wispered quietly, watching the snow, "I no what it sounds like to hear your own heart breaking, and I know what it feels like to stand by and watch it break and not be able to help it, it's a horrible, helpless feeling, and I swear Ichigo," she looked at him with sincere eyes, "I won't make you witness that," he flinched, it was a hard promise to keep, an easy one to make, he sat next to her and held her close to him, "You better keep that promise," he wispered, "I will, as long as you keep that same promise to me," "I will," he wispered, "I don't break the hearts of the people I love Ichigo," "Neither do I, so I won't break your's," it was that simple, she leaned up the same moment he leaned down and the result was the meeting of their lips, it was as simple to them as the snow falling outside his window, the snow falling meant that there was still life for them, it meant that their hearts would not break, and that's all they needed to hear

"If you're everything you say you are,
Would you come close and hold my heart?"

-"Hold My Heart" by Tenth Avenue North

Babysitting
(AKA: Espada Act Like Little Children.... And Soul Reapers Do Too)

Freindship never comes without risks; and keeping your life never comes without risks either, that is why Ichigo was currently straightening his necklace and looking in the mirror, "I hate my life, with a flaming, BURNING passion, I. Hate. My. Life." he said to himself, "And, WHY do you hate your life?" chills went up his spine as he spun around to see Rukia leaning against the wall, her eyebrows slightly raised and her mouth curved in a slightly-amused grin, "R-Rukia! I thought you'd be gone today!" he said, "Aw not happy to see me? That hurts my feelings," she joked as she walked over to his desk, "I never said that, but didn't you say you'd be gone ALL DAY and wouldn't be back until late tonight?" he asked accusingly, "Would you relax Ichigo? I was on my way out when I remembered I wanted to show Orihime that new manga I bought, jeez, are you about to go pull out your hidden porn stash or something?" now he was thoroughly in a mood, "P-P-P-Po-.... where did you learn that word!?" he yelped with a blush as she took the manga out of the closet, "Good greif Ichigo what is your ISSUE today? I was just kidding, seriously you're acting like you're hiding militairy secrets or something..." she muttered, he gulped, she was awfully close to the truth.... "I just... I just am a little worried about you is all, I mean you're always closed up here in the house with me, you're always AROUND me, you need to go spend some time with some females is all," she stared at him for a long moment, "Ichigo aren't we past the point of lieing? What's your problum today?" he sighed lightly and rubbed the back of his head, truthfully he had learned a few days ago that wile he was fighting Aizen two years ago Orihime had revived Ulquiorra and had been keeping contact with him, now the Cutra Espada was curious about humans enough to want to come to the living world and look around, then Grimmjow jumped on the band wagon.... but if Soul Society found out he was dead meat..... "Rukia promise you won't tell anyone?" she nodded once, "Ofcourse," "Well it's just.... I sort of got roped into taking Ulquiorra and Grimmjow on a tour of the living world today.... it's just for a little wile and they threatened to destroy the city if I didn't...." she raised her eyebrows, "I thought they were dead," "So did I... anyway look, just promise not to tell anyone ok? If Soul Society finds out I'll be so dead the after life won't take me," "OFCOURSE I can keep a secret," "Thanks," he said with a smile, "You don't need to thank me," she replied with a smile

"Oi Kurosaki, I thought this was a MAN'S trip just for the three of us!" Grimmjow shouted in anger, "It IS," Ichigo replied as he walked out of his house with Rukia behind him, "Then why is SHE with you?!" he snapped, "Rukia just happens to be going to the same train station we are, she's going to Osaka with Orihime for.... what again?" he asked, "A new bookstore opening, there's going to be an opening sale, a poetry slam, all sorts of stuff," "....Sounds fun...." he muttered, "Orihime will be joining us?" Ulquiorra asked with just an ounce of happiness in his voice, "Er.... no.... she and Rukia are gonig to be on our train, they're going on a SEPERATE trip," "Hey Ichigo! They have a book of Shakespere poetry on sale for half price! Want me to get it for you?!" she asked as she looked through the catalouge, "SShhhh!!" he shushed her, "What is a .... 'Shakespere'?" Ulquiorra asked, "Nothing! Never mind!" "Ichigo-" "Yes, ok?" he muttered, "Good thing that little dwarf isn't coming with us, this is a MAN'S day," Grimmjow huffed, Rukia frowned and put her catalouge back in her purse, "HEY! FYI Sasquatch, I wouldn't WANT to go anywhere with you, AND I happen to have more testostoroun than either of you hairballs put together! You're just lucky I happen to be a good freind and don't want Ichigo to get in trouble, otherwise I'd have turned you both in," "Oh pipe down you chihuaha!" she stood on her tip toes and glared at him, "You know what they say about chihauhas Sexta? They're more dangerous than pitbulls," she growled, "Alright! Alright! Would you two give it a REST!? We GET it, you HATE eachother!" Ichigo groaned, "Hi Guys!" Orihime said as she popped around the corner, "Grimmjow? Ulquiorra? Why are you here?" Ichigo sighed and for the third time that day regretted the fact that he lives

Ichigo took in a deep breath, you could cut the tension on the train with a knife.... on one side he had Grimmjow, glaring forward, on the other was Rukia, legs crossed and staring at a catalouge, next to her was Orihime, humming quietly to herself, and beside her was Ulquiorra, who was staring all around like a dazed puppy..... not a phrase Ichigo ever thought he'd use to compare with the thing that killed him twice and gave him a bad case of depression for over a year.... he cleared his throat and reached into one of his pockets, "Hey Doofuses, take these," Ichigo said, handing a blue cell phone to Grimmjow and a green one to Ulquiorra, "Those are cell phones, they're already turned on, if either of you happen to get lost just open them and press the green button twice, got it? That will call me and I'll tell you what to do from there, since my number is the only one in those phones it's hard for you morons to mess this up..." he muttered, Grimmjow huffed and shoved it in the pocket of his jeans, Ulquiorra on the other hand was busy inspecting his... "Ichigo do you have another one of those? I forgot my phone," he sighed, "Lucky for you I predicted an issue..." he muttered, handing Rukia a purple phone, "Thanks Mr. Mother Hen~" he rolled his eyes, "When will you stop calling me that?" "When you stop acting like it," she replied, "Hey, do you guys want some gum?" Orihime said suddenly, pulling a pack of gum from her purse, "Eh.... what flavour is it?" Ichigo asked, "Strawberry," "I'll take one!" Rukia, Grimmjow, and Ulquiorra said in unison, 'Why do I get a bad feeling from this...?' Ichigo wondered as the three each took a stick of gum, reluctantly, Ichigo took one as well, "So what do you do with it?" Grimmjow asked as Rukia put the stick of gum in her mouth, "You chew it until the flavour runs out," Ichigo replied as he put a stick in his mouth too, Grimmjow and Ulquiorra copied him, "What's the point?" Grimmjow asked, "Relieves tension, tastes good, a tool for dieting...." "I don't need any of that," Grimmjow muttered, Ichigo sighed, "Well whatever, just don't-" *gulp* "....-swallow it...." Ichigo muttered as the four gum-chewers looked over to Ulquiorra, who apprently had swallowed his, "That 'gum' as you call it has an interesting texture," Ichigo leaned back and slammed his head against the wall of the train, "So what happens if you swallow it?" Grimmjow snickered, "Ichigo says it glues your insides together," Rukia replied, blowing a bubble in her gum as Ichigo had Orihime give Ulquiorra another peice and tried to explain to him why NOT to swallow it, "Hey.... how'd you do that?" Grimmjow asked, "You mean this?" Rukia replied, blowing another bubble, "Uh-huh," "Ichigo taught me~" "Hey Kurosaki! Teach me how to do what she did!" he demanded as he grabbed Ichigo's shoulder, Rukia blew another bubble in her gum and Ichigo sighed, instructing Grimmjow on what to do and how to do it, Grimmjow copied Ichigo's motions but when he went to blow a bubble... *splat* the gum shot across the train and landed on a woman's forehead......

"Alright, just call us when you guys get ready to go back to Karakura and we'll meet you ok?" Rukia said as she waved to Ichigo, "Will do, see you later," he replied as Orihime and Rukia parted from the group of boys, "SO! What do you two want to do first?" he asked, "I'm hungry," Grimmjow replied, "Alright then.... do you guys like spicey food?" "No," "Yes," they said in unison, "....Any prefrences?" "Not tea," Grimmjow huffed, "Well that's vague... how about hot dogs? Everyone likes hot dogs," Ichigo suggested wile Ulquiorra's attention wandered, "You people eat dogs here? That's pretty sick even by my standards," Grimmjow huffed, "No we DON'T eat dogs, they're just CALLED that," "Why? "I don't know!" suddenly Ichigo realized that his second Espada was missing, "Ulquiorra?" he asked, turning around and seeing that the man was walking... straight into head-on traffic, "ULQUIORRA!" he shouted, making the former Espada turn around, "Get OUT of there!" Ichigo growled, dragging him out of the road by the arm, "Arlight, lesson one, NOBODY walk into traffic you understand? If you're going to cross the street do it with ME.... now let's go find a hot dog place...." "You people eat dogs here?" Ulquiorra asked, Ichigo sighed and hung his head

"Oooh Rukia! Before we go to the bookstore do you want to get a snow cone?" Orihime asked chiperly, "Sure," she replied as Orihime pulled her over to a shaved ice vendor near the store, "What kind do you want?" "Cherry," she replied, "Orihime?! Rukia!?" they both turned around as the woman behind the cart started to put together their snowcones, "Rangiku!? Why are you here?" Orihime asked curiously, "It's Officer's Day Off, didn't anyone tell you two?" "No, what's that?" "It's for Captains and Leuitentis, they have the day off today!" "Really?!" "Mm-hm!" "So how many of you guys are here?" Rukia asked nervously, "Um.... my squad, squad eleven, thirteen, six, eight, five, three, nine and two I think...." Rukia groaned slightly and took out her cell phone, "Would you both excuse me a moment? I need to make a phone call...."

"I want another one," Grimmjow said with a burp as he licked his fingers of the hot dog toppings, Ichigo sighed and shook his head with dissapointment, Ulquiorra was nibbling on his, trying to decide if he liked it or not, Grimmjow had just downed his fourth weener and Ichigo was tired of getting glared at by people who were bothered by Grimmjow, he noticed his phone ringing in his pocket and took it out to find that Rukia was calling him, "Fine, get another one, but don't offend the waiter this time," he muttered, standing up from his chair and walking out of the small diner to talk peacefully, "Yo Rukia, you get lost or something?" "No I need to warn you, it's Officer's Day Off, a bunch of captains and leuitnits are in Karakura now so make sure your...... company..... keeps their reitsu to themselves alright?" "Yeah got it, thanks Rukia, bye," "Bye," she said on the other end of the phone

"Captain Kuchiki I'm STARVING! Can we PLEASE stop and get something to eat?" Renji groaned, Byakuya sighed and rolled his eyes, "Fine, as long as we hurry, I want to be at the museum within the hour," "Sir yes sir!" he replied with a smile as they started walking towards a nearby resturaunt, "Pika pika!" he heard, turning around and seeing a set of TVs in a local electronics shop, he paused and stared at the TVs... then gasped, "CAPTAIN KUCHIKI!!!!" "What is your problum?" he replied coldly as he stared at his sobbing leituenit, "Captain they STOLE my art style! Look at that!" he said, pointing to the TVs wich happened to have Pokemon playing, "Renji I highly doubt that, are you certain that it is not you who subconciously remembered THEIR art style and copied it?" "Captain Kuchiki how could your doubt me like that?! Ofcourse not!" he replied, "Renji, were you not saying moments ago that you are hungry?" "O-Oh right... let's go Captain," he muttered, turning to leave.... "Do you like Pokemon? Do you like cookies? Then you'll LOVE the new Pokemon Cookies!" Renji turned around... and screamed, "MY COOKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Hey can we go in there?" Grimmjow asked as they walked by a clothing shop, "Ehh... sure," Ichigo replied as the three of them walked in, "Now remember you two, I'm on limited funds, don't run me dry," Ichigo said as Ulquiorra split off in his own direction, "That sounds dirty," Grimmjow snickered, Ichigo sighed and shook his head, "Child...." he muttered as he went to look at some new jeans, Grimmjow considered looking around for a moment but decided against it and went to follow Ichigo, "What?" the younger man asked as he started going through racks of denim pants, "I'm hot," Grimmjow said, "Then take off your jacket," Ichigo replied with a huff, "And do what with it? I don't want to carry it around with me all day!" Ichigo rolled his eyes and unzipped Grimmjow's jacket, then wrapped it around his waist and tied it by the sleeves, "There," he muttered, "Oh...." Grimmjow muttered, "How come your vest is unzipped?" Ichigo asked as he went back to sifting through jeans, "Felt like it," he muttered back, "Ahem," Ichigo turned around to see Ulquiorra holding a pair of leather pants, "You want to try those on? Go to one of the rooms with the curtains back there," he instructed, turning back to Grimmjow to see him taking off his open vest, "Grimmjow..." "I wanna try on this shirt," "Go to a changing room then!" the chaos was interrupted by a loud cry, Ichigo turned around to see a sobbing little girl standing in the middle of the store, "What's the matter?" he asked with concern, crouching down to her level, "I can't find my mommy," she sobbed, "Aw, well let me help and see if I can find her," he said, leading her off and hoping that the two Espada wouldn't blow up the store wen left to their own devices....

"Yay!!!!!! Candy candy candy candy candy candy candy candy!!!!!!!!!!!!" Yachiru shouted as she ran around the candy store, the poor schmuck of a store clerk who had asked Kenpachi to "kindly keep his daughter quiet" was now shaking in a corner wile the pink-haired child took control of the store, Kenpachi was encouraging her, telling her she could have anything she got her hands on, in the mean time Ikkaku had been dragged to a shop next to the candy store to find some "beautifull clothing" for Yumichika, though sadly.... the two could easily hear their leiutenit from miles away...."You have your fun now Yachiru, once you're done here I'm findin' Ichigo and I'm gonna beat the snot out of 'im on his own turf!" Kenpachi cackled, "YAAAAYYYY!!!!! Snot!!!!" she screamed as she grabbed a bag of gumballs

"What do you MEAN you don't know where he went!?" Ichigo shouted as Grimmjow looked through some belts, "You heard me, one minute he was here and the next he wasn't," he replied, "AGH! I leave you two alone for FIVE MINUTES to go take a little girl to her mother and you-!" "Hey, do you think this would leave welts if I hit people with it?" Grimmjow asked as he showed Ichigo a black leather belt, Ichigo sighed and grabbed the thing from his "freind" and put it back, "Come on you... we're gonna go find Ulquiorra...."

"Thank you," Ulquiorra said as he walked away from the "truck" with his ice cream, he was glad that Kurosaki had given him some of this "money" stuff so he could buy an "ice cream", he got a cone with a scoop of mint chocolate chip and one of strawberry on top of that, but he decided to eat it with a spoon so he wouldn't get messy, he closed his eyes slightly as he walked, savouring the taste of the cold, sweet treat in his mouth, when he heard a strange noise.... putting his spoon in his ice cream, he looked at the dangling cell phone on his arm and frowned, he couldn't make the ringing stop AND eat his ice cream.... favouring the ice cream, he decided to let it ring and go back to eating

"Why the hell did it take you so long to pick up the phone Ulquiorra?!" Ichigo snapped as he and Grimmjow walked down the street, "... So long to get what?" he heard on the other end, "THE PHONE!!! This little thing you're speaking into right now..." Ichigo clairified, "Psh, hopeless brat...." Grimmjow grumbeled from beside Ichigo, "...Kurosaki?" Ulquiorra asked on the other end of the phone, "Uh?... You didn't know it was me??" "I was just surprised... How did you get in such a tiny object?" "I'M NOT INSIDE THE PHONE MORON!" Ichigo shouted in frustration, "You gotta wonder just how the hell he maneged to even answer the thing..." Grimmjow muttered, "After you training him for a week it's no wonder Grimmjow..." "Is Grimmjow in there as well?... What would you both be doing in such a tight space?" Ulquiorra asked, "Wait! We are NOT in the phone! Don't go assuming things like that!" "Is it fun?... How may I join you?..." Ichigo wanted to hit himself... he wanted to go jump off the nearest bridge actually but he felt that was a bit extreme.... "Aww crap... just forget the tight space for a second," "We should find him by reistsu," Grimmjow suggested, "Sooner I can shove this lot of drinks in HIS 'tight space'...." he muttered, referring to the soda he forced Ichigo to stop and buy a few minutes ago, "Shut up, Grimmjow! I can't let Soul Society know you guys are here, remember?" Ichigo snapped, "Che..." "Listen, Ulquiorra. Go back to the train station, I'll pick you up there." "What is a train station?" "Ack.... you know that place we just got off of? ...That metal running thing?" Ichigo said, trying to make him understand, "Oh... so that place is called a 'Train Station'...." "Yeah! But whatever you do, remember, do NOT use your reistsu," "...Hmm...." "What is it now?" "If that is a train station... then where am I now...?" Ichigo slammed his head into the nearest phone poll, "WHAT!?" "Please don't tell me what's going on... I don't want to devastate this place..." Grimmjow muttered, "Are you sure it isn't easier if you get out of there?" Ichigo groaned loudly, he couldn't BELIEVE he lost an Espada in the city... this was just great..... "Ichigo? Ichigo?" he perked up, "Rukia?! How'd you get Ulquiorra's phone?!" "He maneged to wander into the bookstore Orihime and I are at, we'll keep him here until you and .... Hairball.... can come pick him up," Ichigo nodded once, "We'll be right there, you're a life saver Rukia," "Mm, I'm aware of that,"

"Fish! Selling fish! Oh Captain Hitsugaya would you come here a moment?!" Urahara shouted, causing Toshiro to reluctnatly walk over to the shop merchant, "What is it Urahara?" "I'm selling fish! Would you like to buy some?" he asked, pointing to a crate of dead fish, Toshiro just stared for a moment, just..... STARED.... "No ... .thank you...." "Oh ok then.. will you atleast spread the word?" "I guess...." "Alrighty then! Just remember! Urahara, SELL FISH!" "Right....."

"WHY did you just walk off like that?!" Ichigo snarled as he stared at Ulquiorra, "I heard a bell and followed it, it was an ice cream truck," "...An ice cream truck...?" "The ice cream was good," Ichigo sighed, "Thanks again Rukia," "No problum, hey... can Orihime and I come with you? This opening is sort of a bust..." "SURE! I'd LOVE the help," Ichigo replied, "Hey look I found a cat!" Grimmjow said as he walked into the bookstore with a big grey cat, "Go put the cat down Grimmjow...." Ichigo muttered, Grimmjow then put the cat down... on the floor.... and the cat then went over to Rukia and rubbed against her leg, purring as he did so, "Hey! Get away from that snotty ice queen Grimmjow Junior!" Grimmjow demanded, "SNOTTY?! Ichigo if he gets a cat I want a bunny! That isn't fair! I've been asking you for a bunny for a LONG TIME!" "No one is getting ANY pet! Go take the cat outside Grimmjow!" "Hey aren't they Espada!?" Rangiku shouted as she walked around the corner and spotted the two, Ichigo sighed, "Great, she found out anyway," "I'm TELLING you Captain Kuchiki they STOLE my cookies!" "Shut. Up. Renji." Byakuya muttered as the two walked into the bookstore, "Kurosaki, here you are, tell me how do I get to the national museum?" Ichigo turned to the two and Renji stomped off, still muttering about his cookies, "It's NATURAL museum Byakuya, not NATIONAL.... and you need to go to Baker station and-" "CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY!!!" they heard as Yachiru and Kenpachi came in, Yachiru clinging to Byakuya's leg like a koala, "HAHA! I found you Ichigo!" "CRAP! Kenpachi!" he shouted, running through the bookstore, "Such an ugly affair," Yumihcika muttered with  Ikkaku nodding behind him, "Hey wait a minute... Espada! My day just got better!" Kenpachi howled, "I'll fight you later Ichigo, they're mine!" he cackled, running after Grimmjow, "Get away from me you phsyco!" "Oh by the way Ichigo, here's your poetry book!" Rukia shouted over the nosie, handing him a thick book, "Oh Rukia, did you HAVE-" "Poetry?!" Ikkaku cackled, "What a pansy!" "I happen to find poetry refined, good for you Kurosaki, some culture will certainly make you more intellegent," Ulquiorra said, Ichigo groaned, "Urahara sell fish!" Rukia blinked, shouting over the noise, "Did you say Urahara's SELFISH?" "NO! I said he was SELLING FISH," "Oooooh I could go for some sushi right now!" Rangiku said, "Yeah with pickles and honey and ketchup!" Orihime mused, "Fish? I could go for fish," Grimmjow noted as Kenpachi tore through a bookshelf trying to get to him, Ichigo in the mean time slouched against the wall and sighed, "I hate my life,"

Reach
He reached for her

His fingers curled and uncurled

Skidding across the soft sheets of the bed

But sheets, soft as they may be, were not what he was looking for

The muscles flexed in his hand and the veins underneath his skin bubbled and stretched along with him, making it all too visable to the naked eye

His neck had a dull throb from his unusual sleeping position

But then again it usually did, he was starting to think it was his mattress...

His spine popped and cracked and curled as he twitched and re-awakened his muscles

His bones growled out of their stillness as he forced them, too, to come alive again

And still he reached

As the fact that he was awake became all too clear his eyes fluttered open and he found himself staring towards his closet

His dream was nothing more than just that

A dream

An impossible reality

Because, as he noticed his fingers reaching out to her

He noticed that she wasn't there

She wasn't

And she wouldn't be

And she hadn't been for seventeen months

And so, as he found the aching truth lieing next to him like he did every morning

His fingers stopped flexing

His hand stilled

His bones settled unevenly in their places

And his eyes stilled on the closet, boaring a hole into it as if somehow, it would magically make her appear before him

He was still

Completely

Utterly

Unmovingly still

Even his eyes didn't dare to blink

But still, as unmoving as he was

Still he reached

And he found nothing

~+~

He reached for her

He took in a sharp breath after breathing a suffocating amount of air through his nose all night

And his face twitched uncomfortably as light streamed through his windows

But he reached

His entire body twitched and trembled as if he were spassming out of control

It could have been his mattress causing his muscles to cramp up

It could have been him sleeping all weird and throwing his spine out

It could have been his dream being only a dream and his childish wishing that maybe if he reached for her she would appear

She never did

His legs kicked the blankets up and he sat up before opening his eyes

The uncomfortable summer heat causing more sweat to run down his skin

And with the most reluctance he opened his eyes

And he found nothing

He got out of bed and took a few short strides to his closet, jerking the door open

She was there

Well

She had been there

Her drawings still in their sketchbook

Her crayons still out of their box

The smell of her hair from that strong but subtle shampoo she used still caught up in the closet baking like a human-scented cookie

But he refused to leave the door open and air it out

He took a step back and continued to stare

His nuckles popping and cracking as he stretched his limbs and looked at the calender

A month...

Huh...

A month ago she had returned to him

And every day the lingering, aching, nausiating thought that he'd wake up and she'd be gone plauged him

Every day he was constantly reminded that as soon as she was here, sitting across from him, skin almost touching

She could be gone a day later

And he'd be aching again

"Ichigo,"

He turned and there she stood

Coffee met amythist jewls and a silent moment passed between them

Neither spoke

Neither had to

She had caught him in a moment of weakness

She had caught him wile his guard was down and he was still feigned in sleep too much to put up his guard yet

She was the proverbial fox catching a sitting duck

But

Like any nice fox

She merely sat by the pond and watched him intensely

She didn't move

She didn't pounce

She didn't make him her prey

She simply stared and understood that a moment of weakness was not the time to strike

Not here

Not now

So she stayed there

Paused

In his doorway, one hand on the frame, other by her side

And only when he allowed himself to blink did she continue speaking

"I just came to make sure you were up for breakfast," she said

And instantly she was gone

Despite that just as she had turned around he caught himself reaching for her

She was gone before he could make contact

~+~

He reached for her

His chest heaved and his breath caught as he felt one nostril flare up and cause him to start breathing through his mouth

He gripped the sheets around him unconciously and was pulled awake

Reluctantly awake

He turned over and felt the cool chill of the winter air against his upper body and shivered

But he didn't make a move to adjust the blankets

He didn't want to wake up

Not yet

It was one of those lazy days where the very thought of opening the curtains or leaving the bed would be certain death to the chill of the Feburary weather

But

Instinctively

He reached

His finger tips curling and uncurling

Reaching with all of his arm

And this time

They touched something

The tips of his fingers brushed against the soft, smoothe object and felt goosebumps rise as his fingers continued to trail upwards

His palm covered over it and he finally curled his entire hand around it and sqweezed for assurance

And he elicted a response

"Ouch,"

His eyes slowly cracked open and the blurry image in front of him came to light

Hazy still with sleep, he blinked a few times to register and a lazy smile passed over his lips

A breath of releif passed through his lungs and he stared continuiously

His eyes met her eyes

Brown and purple

Chocolate and grape

Light and dark

And he knew instantly that her previous agitation had dissapeared

His hand refused to let go of her arm but he did loosen it a bit

His eyes glanced over her

All of her

Her dark hair spilled over the pillows like an ink stain

The creamy, milk colored skin stretching over her face with a light rosey tint that signaled her life force

Pale pink blush over her cheeks weather it be from the cold air or the intense stare he was giving her or just because that was her natural color

Back down to her eyes

Colorfull and soulfull and full of the understanding that she should be still and let his eyes examine her in that comfortable, "I know all of you and I'm making sure you're still in one peice" kind of way that his protective behaviour dictate he do every now and then

It averged once a month

At first these little explorations annoyed her but she realized that the more she tried to make him quit and stop staring like that the more he would do it

She figured she could endure this every now and then if it at all reassured him of her pressence for the rest of the day or week or month

Her nose curved in a very European way that was so very different from his own long, straight nose and that interested him

It made him wonder about her heritage

But he never asked

She wouldn't know even if he did

Her lips were small and slightly rounded in the center like she was about to speak but that was just the way she was

Hard to believe such small lips were accompanied by such a big mouth

Figuratively speaking mind you

His eyes started down her neck and collarbone

Her bones resting underneath a coat of skin that outlined her bone structure perfectly

But not in a scary way

She was thin

Not unhealthy

But thin

And this was further confirmed as he looked at her arms and hands and fingers

Her wrists having an uncomfortable blue tone to the inside where her veins stuck out like little vines weaving their way through her skin

It was from no doubt all the work she did with her hands

Between writing on pappers and handling a sword it left no surprise to him

However

The sheets wrapped around her were leaving him with a source of annoyence

She didn't fail to notice his gaze flickering back to her eyes

And for the first noticable time that morning he blinked

It was the unspoken, otherwise unknown signal that it was comfortable to speak

"Enjoying yourself?" she asked with thin, raised eyebrows

"Psh, what kind of question is that?" he replied, rolling over and further tangling his lower half in the sheets

He knew

He knew she would call his bluff and this was a silent invitation for her to do as she pleased

"You always do this, every few weeks," she said as he felt her inch closer

"Do what?"

And that was their game

She pretended not to notice

And he pretended not to do anything

And that was their way of quilling his worries

He didn't admit he was uncomfortable

And she didn't fuss over the matter

"I wonder, what would you do one morning if I got up early and decided to make breakfast for you?" she asked with a smirk as she leaned over him

"You can keep wondering, why would you do anything that nice?"

She was getting too close

She was tip-toeing the bounderies that they had and she knew that

Even though there was nothing to hide and no secrets between them

Some things just weren't to be spoken of

The seventeen months apart had dealt damege to them both in different ways

This was one of his scars from that time

He never showed it, not unless it mattered

But his worry nearly ate him alive on a regular basis

He just couldn't go a morning without cooling his hot headed worry by making sure she was there

Not in a dream

Not a ghost

Actually there

He'd breathe her in and she would let him

Because he wasn't the only one with these issues

Wile his worry took on a more physical form of the need to touch her, to see her, to feel her

Her's took on a different form

Not with touch

Not with sight or sound or taste or scent

Her worries arose when her nightmares plauged her

On any normal day the past scars were hidden under a new layer of skin and she didn't dare to cut them open again

But on the occassion that one does open it opens them all

Like a flood gate

Her way of dealing with worry is being alone

Well

It was

Until Ichigo became aware of this and he started making sure she couldn't use that coping method anymore

They didn't have to talk

Or touch

Or do anything other than watch TV and stare into space with eachother

But his pressence warmed her cold scars

A simple gesture reminded her that her nightmares were only nightmares

Scars were only scars

And there was no reason for her to blame herself for any of it

His thumb padding over the back of her hand

His foot brushing against her's

A mindless comment about a mindless thing

His pressence and that alone was her reassurance

He gave her that "security blanket" to clutch onto when she couldn't hold up anymore

And so she gave him his in return

"Pancakes or waffles?"

And the steady flow began again

The previous hiccup in communication where he couldn't bear to bring up his guard again was gone

The rythem was back

"Neither, it's Valentine's Day, I want chocolate," he replied childishly

"Not for breakfast,"

He huffed

And she didn't budge

And he muttered what sounded like "waffles" before she removed herself from his back and sat against the headboard, holding the sheets against her body

"You'll get your chocolate when I decide to give it to you," she teased

"How would you like it if I treated you like this on Wite Day?" he cried

She didn't answer but he could feel her start inching off the bed

"I'm going to be a mom soon, I have to learn how to be tough but fair,"

"You already know how and don't say 'soon' like it's tommorrow, you're barely in it two months," he replied

One foot dangled off the bed

"Seven months IS soon,"

Another foot

"Not to me,"

And he rolled over and put his hand over her's

The hiccup was back

And his hand skimming over her's made her pull her legs back into bed and she restrained herself from sighing as she laid back down

He must have had a bad dream to be acting like this

A really bad dream

"To a Soul Reaper it is, especially when children are concerned," she replied

And this time they retained both their usual ways of communication

The push and pull of teasing

But all the wile she was letting him seek his comfort in her

"Ah yeah you people aren't known for your big happy families,"

A sharp laugh returned from her and her fingers tangled in his to reciperocate his longing for comfort

"Don't say 'you people' when you're a Soul Reaper too you fool it's contradictory," she replied with an eye roll

And his leg reached over and pulled her's over towards him wile his arm snuck around her back

"Can't help that I wasn't born here," he replied

"Oh that has nothing to do with it," she laughed back as their faces inched closer together

His forehead touched against her's and she leaned up to initiate their first kiss of the morning

And there it was

Her signal that he could proceed as he wished

She was open to comfort him in any way he would seek it

It was the way it always was

The natural flow of things

His wedding band scraped against her's and made an uncomfortable sound echo through the room

His hand reached for her

And her hand for his

And at some point

They met in the middle