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“Are you even listening to me?” Rukia’s voice is sharp, but Ichigo just leans over with a dreamy expression on his face.
“Uh huh,” he murmurs, brushing his lips against her neck. Summertime in Soul Society is hot, but Ichigo doesn’t care; he has an entire month before he has to go back to the World of the Living for his last year of university. An entire month without writing essays so long that his fingers ache, or reading entire books in a single night just to keep up, or early morning wake-ups and all-nighters.
Instead he has an entire month with Rukia, and he intends to savor it. He has an entire month of nights spent at her side, in her quarters at the Thirteenth Division, and Ichigo intends to take full advantage of her closeness.
“So you’ll join me for tea with Nii-sama tomorrow afternoon?” Rukia asks.
Well…he’ll take full advantage of her closeness when Byakuya can’t see them. “Mhm,” he agrees, and traces the line of her neck down to her shoulder, partially revealed by the sleeping yukata she wears.
“Ichigo.” Her voice is a little strained, as if she’s trying to be stern, and Ichigo just lifts his head and grins up at her.
“What? I’m fine joining you for tea tomorrow. Byakuya and I have an understanding,” he explains, and goes back to kissing her neck and shoulder. Stretched out alongside her petite frame, Ichigo is wearing only a pair of pale blue boxers; without air conditioning, it’s too hot for anything else. He wonders if he can convince his lover to start spending summers in the World of the Living, where they can rely on that wonder of modern life to keep them cool.
“An understanding,” Rukia says skeptically, and rolls over to face him properly. “Byakuya thinks you’re sleeping in the lieutenant’s quarters instead of in here with me.” Being acting captain has its perks: two years after the war, Rukia has finally consented to moving into the rooms set aside for the Thirteenth Division captain.
“That’s part of the understanding,” Ichigo insists as he brushes a lock of hair from her face and grins again. “He gave me his blessing to court you, he knows that I’ve been accepted into the Fifth Division, and we both pretend that I don’t,” he stops to slide his lips down to the rise of her breast, “kiss every inch of you every chance I get.”
The words make Rukia’s cheeks turn pink, but she scoffs at him. “If he knew, he’d make you stay in the Sixth Division barracks with Renji.”
“Please. Renji would get sick of you mooning over me every time I said goodnight to you,” Ichigo teases.
“Mooning! Idiot, you’re the one who uses that soul pass every chance you get just to come see me,” Rukia argues. “You’d be utterly lost without me.” But there’s a teasing note in her voice, too, and her eyes are soft. Still, the words hit a little too close to true for him and Ichigo rolls so that she’s under him, pinned and pushed against the futon.
“Yeah, that’s why I’m marrying you,” he retorts, and lowers his mouth to hers again.
She meets him halfway and they kiss for a time despite the heat, his lean body arched over hers. Then: “Who says we’re getting married? You haven’t asked me, yet.”
Ichigo huffs out a laugh and kisses her again. “Next year,” he promises. “Once I’ve graduated and moved here for good. I’ll ask.” He stops and kisses his way back down her neck. “And you’ll say yes.”
She melts beneath him as his lips find her breasts and then kiss lower. “Will I?” Rukia asks, eyes gleaming in the low light of the moon.
“Mhm. We’ll get married,” Ichigo continues, “and we’ll build a life together here.”
“And then?” Her voice is just a whisper.
“And then I’ll make you as happy as I can for the next thousand years,” he promises.
“Sap,” Rukia whispers.
“Mhm.” Then he shifts his weight – and starts making good on that promise.