.Hello

Hello
(AU)
Rukia sighed, she hadn't been looking forward to today for a long time... ever since she heard that her co-pilot Renji was switching to another airline and she was getting a new partner.... she was just CERTIAN this wasn't going to be good...

"Are you Captain Kuchiki?" at the sound of her name Rukia looked up and saw a tall, orange-haired man standing before her, his eyes were a gentle brown wich contrasted with his harsh and loud hair color, "Um, yes," she replied, craning her neck to look up at him, "I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, your new co-pilot," he said, shaking her hand, 'He has a strong grip...' she noted, "So were's our first flight of the morning?" he asked as they walked through the airport, "Oh, we're leaving here and going to Tampa," "Alright," there was a short silence as Rukia tried to think of a way to break the ice, she always wanted to be freinds with her crew and she certainly didn't want there to be any tension, "So is this your first flight?" "Nope," "Oh... then you switched air lines?" she guessed, "Wrong again," ".. You weren't in the militairy were you?" "Didn't have the stomach for that," she sighed in defeat, "Alright then, I give," he smiled at her and slipped her hand in his own, "Well I flew a private jet for three years but then the economy struck and the big wig who hired me had to get rid of his second jet, the one I piloted," "Oh, sorry to hear that," she muttered, if he was flying a private jet he must have been loaded... "It's alright, atleast I get to come back to my home town for a wile," he said with a smile, "Your home town is Karakura?" "Yep," "Cool, it's my hometown too,"

~~~

Rukia yawned quietly as she walked into her house, she had just gotten home from her day of flying and she had to admit, she liked her new co-pilot quite a bit, it didn't make her any less tired though... she threw her purse on the couch and clicked on her answering machine as she shed her jacket, "Hi Ms. Kuchiki, this is Mana from Walden Books, just calling to tell you that your manga is in," the voice said, she sighed and decided to go upstairs and change clothes so she could go pick up her book, wich she had ordered a few weeks ago and was quite eager to read, she COULD just set her alarm clock and go pick up the book before work.... but she wanted to read it now so she would risk falling asleep wile she was walking

Rukia sighed in delight as she held the next volume of Ginga Desu Weed in her hands, along with the new volume of Shounen Jump, she decided, as she walked, to flip through the magazene and get a glimpse of this week's issue on her way to buying it wen she bumped into someone, "Ah, sorry," she muttered as she was nocked back, "Rukia?" she glanced up and stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the person standing before her, "Ichigo!" she nearly yelped, they were on a first name basis at this point, but honestly, wat were the chances of the two of them meeting up in a bookstore like this? "Hey," he laughed, seeing that they were both holding the newest issue of Shounen Jump, "Manga fan huh?" she asked with a smile, "Y-Yeah..." he replied, "No need to be embarressed I mean.. I clearly am one too..." she said with a slight shrug, he nodded once and there was a very slight pause, "Um, listen, if you're not busy, do you want to go get some coffee or something? I mean ... that came out kind of wrong.. not really a date exactly but-" "Sure," she replied with a smile, he smiled back, "G-Great," he said, a little releved that he wasn't rejected

"So how did you like your first day?" Rukia asked as she took a sip of her tea, "Oh it was alright, alot better than my first day as a private jet pilot," he replied with a slight laugh, "Was it that bad?" Rukia asked, "Well.... it certainly wasn't that GOOD," he replied, "The guy I worked for wasn't exactly a kind boss, let's just keep it that," she nodded slowly, "Understood," she replied, she had had bosses in the past, before she was a pilot, who "weren't that nice" either, so she perfectly understood that much, "Rukia," she looked up and smiled at him, he was going to tell her that he really liked her... but he decided to keep it to himself, for now atleast... "Nothing, never mind,"

~~~

Rukia yawned quietly and rolled over, slowly opening her eyes to find that she was in complete darkness, 'I don't even remember falling asleep...' she mused, and then she started to notice that she wasn't in her bedroom... her heart raced and she started to sweat, leaping out of the bed she was in she felt her way around the room for a door, the second she found one she opened it and pushed out into a large lighted room, she frowned as her eyes tried to adjust to the light and she looked around the room for anything familiar, "Hey," she looked to her right and saw Ichigo sitting on a couch smiling at her, "Y-You! How did I get here?! Were am I!?" "Relax, you're at my apartment, I offered to drive you home, you accepted and before I could ask were you lived you dozed off, I figured you must have been really tired so I decided not to wake you up, I swear I didn't do anything but put you in my bed ok? Scout's honer," he promised, she sighed lightly as it all started to come back to her... "O-Oh..." she mumbeled, "Anyway, go on back to sleep, I'll sleep on the couch and you don't have to be at work until tommorrow afternoon, so just... relax a wile, alright Captain Kuchiki?" she smiled at him, "It's not 'Captain Kuchiki', it's just Rukia, Rukia Kuchiki," he smiled, "And I'm Ichigo Kurosaki," and thus the weel of fate started to turn, the pendlum swung, and the story of destiny began