A collection of Ichigo and Rukia oneshots.

Summary: Ichigo is planning the evening to propose to his Soul Reaper best friend. But everything goes wrong, one thing right after the other. He's beginning to accept that romance was never them.

I reworked this oneshot because I realized it was stupid, and wanted to make it better.

Everything different, But still the same.

She was important, from the first moment she stepped into his life. Or if he were to be specific, the moment she stepped through his wall and into his bedroom. They formed a bond that he couldn't adequately explain with words. She'd given him the powers of a death god, trained him, and fought wars beside him. When it was over and balance restored to both the living and souls realms, She remained by his side even then.

Now Ichigo was twenty-one attending college, living in his own apartment. It was what you'd call normal, or as normal and it got for a substitute soul reaper. He worked a part time job while he attended school. Managed payments on his own car and even had a motorcycle in the garage. The bike needed a bit of fixing, and few new parts, but he could call it his own. Occasionally he went to the Soul Society to attend meetings, and keep himself sharp. He also patrolled his neighborhood along side Rukia, sending lost souls over to the afterlife and purging hollows.

Although his life was different now and so much had changed, one thing always stayed the same. And he loved it.

"Ichigo! Hey ICHIGO!"

That's right.. Rukia. She was still as short as ever. He didn't think she'd ever have another growth spurt. There she was yelling at him as was routine, her usual physical affections were not far behind.

WHACK!

She was annoyed that he was ignoring her, keeping his nose stuck in his book. Except, he wasn't actually ignoring her. He wasn't one to admit that even when he was busy his attention was always on her these days.

Ichigo felt the book he'd been reading connect with the side of his head. Rukia had torn it from his hands and struck him with it. The fact that he hadn't turned the page in the last fifteen minutes should have been proof that he wasn't reading, but she never noticed. She never noticed the way he watched her, or the way he tensed when other guys got near her. When they watched movies together and Rukia cuddled up against him, it seemed to go unnoticed that he was rigid.

He wasn't sure when he became attracted to her. At some point she went from comrade to interest, and it played hell on his concentration. More often than not, he caught himself appreciating her body, even going as far as to catch a glimpse of her cleavage. And then there were their talks, Ichigo could pick her brain for hours on end. Followed by the way she laughed, her smile, the way she walked, their little wrestling matches. His list could go on.

Rukia, how long has it been?

"HEY! Get your head out of your ass!" She reached over and grabbed a fistful of his hair.

A grin played on Ichigo's lips and he finally looked up at her. "What's got your panties in a bunch?"

She shot him a death glare before releasing his orange locks. "If you'd just listen to me, I said I was going to the store. We don't have any drinks."

"You don't need my permission for something like that, midget." He poked her in the forehead before snatching up his forgotten book. Rukia spoke before he could resume pretending to ignore her.

"I was going to ask if you wanted anything specific, Moron! But you can forget it." The sentence came off as a shriek, and despite her obvious irritation, Ichigo thought it was rather adorable.

"You can pick me up some raspberry tea and a bottle of schnapps!" He heard Rukia snarl something nasty under her breath before stomping to the front door and subsequently slamming it.

As soon as she was gone he dropped his book and jumped up. He wasted no time getting to her closet and pulling all the blankets and futons out. Despite the apartment containing enough room for her to sleep elsewhere, his soul reaper friend still preferred the confined space of his closet. It took a little more effort than he expected to hide the futons under his bed, but with that finished he made his way to the kitchen.

Neither roommate had eaten dinner yet, and usually Rukia would make something. Ichigo wasn't particularly talented in the culinary arts. The midget wasn't talented either but at least what she made was edible. Tonight though would be different. Ichigo was prepared. He took a moment to call a local Italian restaurant and ordered their dinner to be delivered. No cooking, great food, and they could eat it in private.

Next he drew a hot bath, filled it with lavender scented bubble bath, then tossed in a handful of rubber rabbit toys that he acquired at a local dollar store. Following this, he began to litter the ground from the bathroom to the front door with a trail of sakura petals. Said petals he had pilfered himself from Byakuya's own garden. Back in the bathroom, he helped set the mood by littering the counter tops with various sized candles, and tea lights.

He took a moment to step back and appreciate his work and gave a satisfied nod. It was cheesy, and stupid but if it worked, the effort would be worth it. The petals were Renji's idea, and the bubble bath Yumichika's. A glance at his watched informed him that fifteen minutes had passed, Rukia would be back within the next ten minutes. He absently fingered the box in his pocket, his calloused fingers brushing over the worn velvet. More often than not, he caught himself handling the velvet box, but it had never been the right time.

Rukia... How long has it been?

The orange-haired man quickly made his way into the living area, clicking on the stereo and surround sound. He slipped a CD into the player and pressed play, immediately the room was filled with Rukia's favorite music. He made sure the volume was adjusted to a low level. Loud enough to hear but quiet enough that he could speak softly and still be heard.

Next he opened the coat closet and extracted a few plain looking cardboard boxes. They were small and unassuming. If Rukia had peeked into this closet at all in the past week she wouldn't have thought anything of the shabby brown boxes. He placed them conspicuously on the table with a card on top. Bold bright orange letters spelled his roommate's name across the front, he was sure she wouldn't miss it.

Satisfied that he accomplished everything, he hurried into the kitchen and set the table with plates and silverware. The clamor of the entry door thrown open preceded Rukia's return. Ichigo felt his heart skip a beat, it was time. He wasted no time escaping into the hall and shutting himself in the bedroom, locking the door so that he wouldn't be disturbed. But he pressed his ear carefully against the door so he could still hear Rukia's reactions.

Tmp tmp tmp.

It was the sound of her feet against the hard wood floor. She was in the living room now, he could tell be the feel of her spirit energy. There was silence, then a bit of rustling. This was quickly followed by the an unadulterated squeal of delight. Ichigo had a hard time fighting the smile that crawled across his face.

"Hey Ichigo, are these from Brother? Did he stop by?" Her voice was easily heard. A question resonating down the hall. "I'd recognize these cherry blossoms anywhere." She added with confusion.

"The fuck?" The orange-head clapped his hand against his face. "Why the hell would she think they were from her brother?" he grumbled under his breath. Despite his irritation he continued to listen for his midget roommate. Next he heard her enter the bathroom, there was another cry of happiness, followed by some rustling, and then a loud collection of splashes.

She found the bubble bath. At that he pulled away from the door and began changing into a pair of black slacks, he fastened an old leather belt around his waist to keep them tight. Then slipped off his usual T-shirt, and pulled on a slate-blue button-down. Ichigo checked his appearance in the mirror for a moment, and grimaced at the formality of it. He reached up and un-fastened the first three buttons until he could easily make out his own collar bones. Then gave himself a nod of satisfaction.

Ichgio barely finished changing when a sudden blood-curdling scream erupted from the bathroom. It made all the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He dashed towards the bedroom door and practically threw himself against it before remembering he'd locked it. It took longer than he'd have liked to get the damned lock undone, but afterward he charged down the hall, and into the bathroom without a second thought.

"Rukia! What's wrong?! What happened?!" He came to a halt next to the bath tub, and was barely able to keep from slipping in a puddle of water.

"Spider! There's a huge spider!" The short, black-haired woman who had previously been relaxing in the bath tub was now frantically clamoring about and took advantage of Ichigo's sudden presence. Before the man could protest she grabbed handfuls of his dress shirt and climbed into his arms and subsequently onto his shoulders. Her goal was obviously to get as far away from the spider as possible via the orange-head in front of her.

He spotted the helpless and very wet arachnid. It was just as frightened and trying desperately to climb the slick wall of the shower, but it's hairy little legs slipped on the surface with each attempt. He felt a little bad bringing a wad of toilet paper upon it, squishing it. With it's demise Rukia calmed down. In the end Ichigo found himself standing in the middle of the bathroom, with a naked woman clinging to him, all his nice clothes drenched with soapy water and completely ruined.

As soon as the fear of the spider evaporated Rukia jumped off of Ichigo and snagged a towel hanging nearby to hide her nakedness. Her face had flushed a bright shade of crimson in the process. She sent a fist flying into his stomach, and began yelling at him to get out of the bathroom, and also not to look at her.

Despite the pain in his midsection Ichigo managed to hobble out of the bathroom, and practically got the door slammed in his face. "You're welcome!" He grouched at the door. When he didn't receive a response he left for the laundry room. "Damn shirt only lasted three minutes, if that," muttered the orange-head under his breath. He absently pulled off the ruined button down, and tossed it in a laundry hamper. Then he grabbed a clean towel off the dryer and and mopped up the rest of the water that had gotten in his hair, on his face, and all over his chest and shoulders.

"I-Ichigo?" Despite the fiasco just moments before, the sound of her soft voice caused him to turn. She sounded unsure, and almost apologetic. He noticed she was now wrapped in a soft robe, and even adorned a cute pair of bunny slippers. She was playing nervously with the belt on the robe, and looked up to take in his half-naked form. Slowly the look of subtle sorrow dissolved from her features and was quickly replaced with shock, and bright pink cheeks. "What the hell are you doing?! Where's your shirt?" She turned and walked out of the room as quickly as she entered. "And who the hell is knocking at this hour?"

"SHIT!" Ichigo let out a shout of alarm, barreling past Rukia and into the entry way. He wrenched open the front door and greeted the delivery man with a "God damn it all."

Said delivery man scrutinized Ichigo's bare chest with a little more appreciation than he should. "Rough night?" he asked.

"You've got no idea." Replied Ichigo.

"Maybe your dinner will help." He passed the food to Ichigo, and held out a receipt. The delivery man eyed Ichigo while he juggled the food and signed the receipt.

Rukia, had the worst timing as she poked her head around his side to see what was what. She met the gaze of the delivery man, and her brows formed a scowl when she realized what he was doing. Ichigo barely managed to hand the man the merchant copy before Rukia slammed the door in his face.

"What the hell Rukia! Could you be more rude?"

"You're such an oblivious moron," berated Rukia. "Don't answer the door half naked, it's disgusting!"

"I wouldn't be half-naked if you hadn't ruined my clothes!" He snarled back.

"Don't blame me for your ridiculous behavior! You've been acting weird all night. I mean what the hell is all this about?" She gestured to all of Ichigo's efforts with a flick of her hand.

That one single gesture pissed him off, as did her words. He tossed the food at her, which she barely managed to catch. "I ordered dinner, eat whenever the hell you want." Ichigo shoved his hands into his pockets, and the fingers of his right hand curled around the familiar worn velvet box.

"What?" Rukia looked at her long-time friend, and realized something was wrong when he set his jaw.

"AAARRGH!" The orange-haired man let out a cry of frustration, and swept his arm across the coat rack, knocking the coats all over the floor. Rukia jumped back just in time, and the coats missed their dinner by mere seconds. Then Ichigo grabbed something from his pocket and hurled it at the wall. The black object made a startling THWACK before it ricocheted, and bounced along the living room floor.

Ichigo's anger had finally gotten the better of him as he stormed out of the room and disappeared down the hall towards their bedroom. Rukia was left all by herself a little frightened, she wondered what had caused him to get so angry. Fighting wasn't unusual for them, but this time was different.

Back in the bedroom Ichigo curled up on his bed beneath a dark blue blanket. He was so angry he was practically seething. Everything that could have gone wrong, had gone wrong. First she'd misinterpreted his gifts as gifts from her brother. The hell? Then the bubble bath meant to soften her mood, and only succeeded in causing more animosity. Lastly dinner was ruined, and the significance of tonight seemed absolutely lost on Rukia.

"Why do I even bother?" He sulked.

A few minutes later, he heard Rukia's soft foot steps as she entered their bedroom. She didn't speak and he was silently grateful. He didn't know if he would be able to stomach anymore of her remarks at this point. He figured she would retreat to her closet like normal but instead he felt the bed compress next to his back as she sat down. The next few moments were filled with silence, and it was almost painful.

"Yes." She finally spoke. Her voice was a whisper, but it was firm and sure.

"What?" The orange-head pulled the blanket back and looked over his shoulder at her. She wasn't looking at him, just staring intently at an object in her hands.

"You heard me, idiot." Usually such phrases would be followed by playful punches to his side, but this time was different.

Ichigo sat up quite confused and peered over her shoulder to see what she was holding. He was surprised and a little embarrassed to find Rukia running her fingers over the worn velvet box that had inhabited his pocket for the last five months.

"This... It's an engagement ring is it not?" She opened the box and they both gazed upon the beautiful gold and silver ring. The design was a gold band with two silver bunnies holding a small round amethyst between them. One bunny had a slight scowl engraved on its face, and the other a cute expression. It was obviously hand made.

Ichigo turned away and tried to hide the embarrassed blush that crept over his face. "Y-yeah," he mumbled. "I guess... yeah."

"How long have you had this?" Her tone was not teasing, or mocking, just pure curiosity.

"Awhile." Came the simple low response.

Rukia... How long has it been since I fell in love with you?

"So tonight...?"

"Yeah..." Ichigo finally sat up and looked at her from the corner of his eyes, the soft amber color slightly darker than usual. He fought with himself for several long minutes before voicing the words he'd been trying to say for the past five months. "Rukia... Will you marry me?"

He hid his nervousness well as he waited for her to answer. No response came, so he leaned over to get a look at her face. A single silver tear slipped over a cream colored cheek, down to her chin, and silently dripped onto the velvet box.

If you have any prompt suggestions for any short shorts feel free to suggest them. I also welcome feedback on any of my oneshots, criticism, advice, thoughts, anything. Every comment is relevant.