Disclaimer: If I owned BLEACH I never would have cut Rukia's hair. I adore you Kubo-sensei but seriously what were ya thinking?

A/N Right then right so its not October but this series needed to be finished.

Why Go Bobbin for Apples When You Can Go Bobbin for berries, pineapples and ravens…?

Ichigo had his time to shine…Renji played his part and now last but certainly notleast…the wild raven-ness her self-Rukia!

Warnings: AU, OOC-ness, loose plot, randomness, flashbacks, not always in order, GrimmIchi, SzaRen, RenRuki, RukiHIme, others…

3)

Hallow Tease

Rukia used to love Halloween. In fact it used to be her favorite holiday…

()()

Up before sun rise hustling and bustling about the kitchens, carving pumpkins, frosting cakes and pies and cookies, hanging ornaments in every nook and cranny of the house or (mansion) while she hummed along to the old record playing through the speakers. Humming yes because the raven couldn't carry a tune to save her life.

At a quarter past six Byakuya-nii-sama and Hisana-nee-san would come bouncing down the stairs (well not bouncing since her siblings were far too uptight to actually let loose and have fun-but details-details) pressed and dressed, raising twin threaded brows and then scrunching their regal noses up at their youngest sibling.

"Honestly Rukia, must you always make such a mess of the kitchen?"

"And would it kill you to take a bit more pride in your appearance? What will the neighbors think? What will grandfather think-he's coming for afternoon tea you know?"

Rukia did know. She simply didn't care.

"Obaa-san said I could enjoy the holiday as much as I want to so long as I return everything into its rightful place, which I will."

Hisana flipped her hair over her slim shoulder as Byakuya narrowed his silver-amethyst eyes "Well if you must so long as you don't- / "Do what you will but do not-

"-Embarrass us."

"Hai, hai no worries run along now you don't want to be late."

Rukia beamed brightly as she ushered her twin siblings out of the kitchen.

()()

At a quarter to 7 Rukia grabbed her hat, scarf, gloves and jacket and raced out the front door and headed for the train station to meet her friends.

Instead of going straight to school (like good little girls and boys) the group would make a quick little (not-so-little) detour to the next town over in order to pick out and reserve their costumes for Halloween.

()()

Yes Rukia used to love Halloween…key word is used to…til her boyfriend broke her heart.

()

"You can't ignore me forever Rukia, we have to talk about this!"

Talking to Renji was the furthest thing from Rukia's mind. If she were to open the door now the tattooed redhead would wind up in a hospital bed-yes she was that damn angry.

Not because her boyfriend (now ex) had cheated on her (Rukia's been expecting it for a while that Renji's feelings towards her had changed)-not that it didn't sting for it did but what really boiled the raven's blood was the fact that the red head had lied to her about it.

Rukia had one rule and Renji had broken it.

"Go away Renji I don't want to see you right now (possibly for a full year)"

Maybe she should talk to Ichigo about this.

()()

Rukia had grown up in a family of 12 with 11 brothers and 1 sister so when it came to nudity she was more or less unfazed. Walking in on her orange berry friend just as he stepped out of the shower with a very thin towel on didn't faze her in the least.

A slight smirk tugged at her lips as she took in Ichigo's appearance. "You really should put something on those bruises Ichigo, people might get the wrong idea and think you're boyfriend is abusing you."

The berry blushed several shades of crimson and screamed "WHAT THE HELL RUKIA HAVEN'T YOU HEARD OF KNOCKING?!"

Rukia did not bother to hide her amusement as she took her time to shamelessly look her friend up and down. "I did knock-twice when I heard no response I just figured I'd let myself in. Not my fault you were too engrossed in your lover boy to hear it."

Ichigo rolled his eyes, grumbled under his breath and then disappeared into the next room. Probably to dress for the day or the afternoon since morning was basically over.

Rukia decided to make herself right at home. She sat down on the couch and flipped through some random magazine left out on the coffee table. 'Awesome Abs in 30 MINS' she read.

Ichigo wasn't the type of guy to drown his brain in muscle magazines so that could only mean…

"Kuchiki huh? Shoulda guessed. I thought I heard scratching at the door."

Rukia tossed the magazine to the side and shot a scathing glare at the blue pussy cat who had just entered the room. Well he wasn't really a cat and there was nothing pussy-like a bout him-he was just an egotistical ass who happened to be dating Ichigo and while the raven didn't hate the guy she had never been (nor would ever be) all that fond of him.

"Finished grooming yourself for today Grimm-kitty?"

Electric blues flashed in warning. Rukia yawned in boredom. She had no reason to fear this guy. Grimmjow wouldn't harm one hair on her head-not if he wanted to stay in Ichigo's pants.

"What do you want Kuchiki?"

Rukia smiled pleasantly and answered, "I'm here to talk to Ichigo."

An eye roll, "Let me guess this is about Abarai ain't it?"

"How did y-?"

A snort "Not exactly rocket science." Grimmjow sat down in one of the lounge chairs and continued, "You can talk to me Kuchiki, any and all questions you have concerning Abarai I can tell you what you need to know."

Rukia could tell by his tone that Grimmjow wasn't lying still…

"I'd rather talk to Ichigo."

A careless shrug, "Suit yourself."

"You two better not be at it again!" Ichigo hollered from the next room over.

The raven and the pussy cat shared a knowing look.

And Rukia laughed. Sometimes her berry friend could be such a mother hen.

"We wouldn't dream of it now get your berry butt out here so we can talk!"

Grimmjow growled out and narrowed electric blue eyes at Rukia "Hey! That's my line! Stop stealing my lines Kuchiki!"

Rukia only laughed harder.

()()

When the berry finally returned to the living room wearing a shirt that was 2 sizes too big for him Rukia shot Grimmjow another look. And Grimmjow grinned and patted his lap.

Ichigo ignored the obvious invitation (much to Grimmjow's irritation) and joined Rukia on the couch. Tone casual, complete attention focused on his raven friend

"What's up?"

"Renji lied to me and I don't know what I should do about it."

Orange brows furrowed. Not surprisingly Ichigo didn't quite follow along and so Rukia elaborated…

"Well the other night when we were sitting down at the dinner table with Nii-sama and Isane, Byakuya-nii-sama crowded in to Renji's space in a very un-Byakuya-ish kind of way and asked Renji point blank when he intended to put a ring on my finger…"

()()

FLASHBACK

"You have been dating my sister for two and half years now. Next year she is going off to college and I expect you to make an honest woman out of her before that happens."

()()

"Or something like that. You know how Nii-sama is-he always has this way of talking like a damn history text or something and its kind of hard to follow," Rukia shook her head when her friend merely just raised a brow at her, "Anyway point I'm getting at here is this: Instead of giving Nii-sama an answer Renji just sat there and stuffed his mouth with pie. And then at the end of the night when we were making our way out the door Byakuya-nii-sama caught Renji by the arm and repeated his question."

"And?"

"And once again Renji did not offer a reply. Hell the only indication that showed he was even listening to Nii-sama was the noticeable twitching of his tattooed brow and the way his left foot did that annoying bounce thing it does when he feels cornered or hounded."

"Maybe he was just nervous Byakuya can be kind of intimidating and-

Rukia cut Ichigo off with another shake of her head "No. No it wasn't-Nii-sama grew tiered of the silence and turned away in disgust-didn't even so much as tell me good night. He didn't have to though his body language spoke for itself.

He was disappointed in me. Disappointed in my decision to love someone whom he felt was clearly undeserving of me.

Ichigo flinched as if burned and the scowled. "Why does Byakuya always have to act like such a hard ass? You can't help being attracted to Renji."

Rukia sighed and rushed to her beloved brothers' defense, "Nii-sama only wants the best for me. I admit sometimes he passes unfair judgments but in this case…well Renji was a disappointment to me as well and so on our way home in the car I let him have it…!"

()()

FLASHBACK

"What the hell was all that about? How could you embarrass me like that in front of Byakuya-nii-sama?"

()()

Renji flinched but kept his gaze stubbornly focused on the window-now normally I preferred it this way since I didn't like to be distracted while I was driving but I felt angry and confused and insulted that he refused to even look at me and pulled over to the side of the road, shutting the engine off. This would probably take awhile.

()()

I may be small and petite but I am by no means weak and so I forced Renji to look at me

()()

"Tell me honestly do you love me?"

()()

Renji blinked as though coming out of some sort of dreamy daze or fog or something and then slowly turned to face me.

And in the moment I felt my heart and stomach drop all at once. I could tell-I could see it in his eyes-his body language. The reason he couldn't-the reason he hadn't-he'd been so distant all night because he didn't-

()()

"You don't love me anymore."

()()

"Voice rising ten octaves higher than normal. You know how he gets when he's protesting against something?"

Ichigo nodded.

And Rukia continued

()()

"What? Of course I do! Look if it means that much to you we'll drive to the States and get hitched right now!"

()()

I shook my head and felt my voice crack as I screamed out a brokenhearted

()()

"Don't lie to me Renji!"

()()

"Renji looked desperate and regretful and guilty all at once. And I-I couldn't stand to look at him any longer."

Rukia finished her story and hadn't even realized the tears running down her face until Ichigo passed her a box of tissues.

The raven sniffled and sent her berry friend a small smile "Thanks.'

Ichigo pulled Rukia into a tight hug and let her cry. He hadn't known. He was under the impression that Renji had broken up with Rukia before he went ahead and- the berry released a sigh. He couldn't stand to see the sight of his raven friend crying. He didn't know what had gotten into Renji-why his redheaded friend would do something so heartless and out of character-didn't know.

Ichigo clenched and unclenched his teeth. How dare Renji do something so-! A moment after the thought made its way into the berrys' mind he shook his head. No something wasn't right. Something didn't add up.

There had to be more to it. There had to be a reason why Renji-there had to be. Shit. There had to be a way to make things right. Ichigo didn't want to see either of his friends miserable but he wasn't sure how he was going to fix this. If he could even fix it? Well first things first he had to get the full story. Talk to Renji.

He was supposed to meet the tattooed redhead at the park and shoot some hoops in an hour but Ichigo couldn't think about something as pointless as sports when Rukia was sitting on the couch with a bleeding heart.

The berry rested his chin on top of Rukia's silky raven head and glanced over at Grimmjow. Not the least bit surprised to find his boyfriend glowering at the pair of them.

Cinnamon and coffee brown eyes rolled and Ichigo mouthed, "Don't be such a jealous ass-Rukia is like a sister to me and I've known her forever where as you are just a recent development and- (electric blues flashed and Ichigo back tracked and corrected himself "Okay so maybe you're a lot more than just a recent development but argghhh whatever look I'll make it up to you. I'll let you do whatever you want to do to me later."

And just like that the pussy cat's expression changed "You mean it?"

Ichigo inwardly groaned knowing he would probably regret his words but- "Yes I mean it. Hell you can even cuff me to the bed and throw away the key for a few hours-

Full on lecherous grin "I'll hold you to that."

Ichigo ignored the shiver that went up his spine and stayed focused on the matter at hand "Later. Much later right now I need to be here for Rukia because she needs me."

And that was that.

()()

Rukia wasn't sure how long she had been crying but after awhile Ichigo stood up and announced

"I'm going to talk to Renji. Find out what really happened that made him change and why."

"I don't want to see him right now." Silver blues were red and puffy. Rukia knew she did not look even remotely cute let alone pretty right now. She released a sigh of relief when her berry friend hurried to say, "No you don't have to go anywhere Rukia. You can just stay here and relax."

"Here?" the raven scrunched up her nose as silver-blues flicked over in Grimmjow's direction "You want me to stay here with him?"

"Hey! It ain't exactly gonna be a picnic for me either Kuchiki. Figure you can stay here and watch the sappy chick flick Ichigo rented and I'll head down to the gym."

Well it wasn't the worst idea Rukia had ever heard but she wasn't really in the mood for romance. "How bout horror instead?"

Ichigo frowned not just at her but at his lover as well. And then shook his head "Going off on your own separate ways won't help anything. Instead Grimmjow, you are going to be the good loving boyfriend I know you can be and stay here and keep Rukia company-remind her that she is still as beautiful as she has always been and that their will be plenty of other guys out there wanting/wishing to date her."

Rukia didn't think Grimmjow would cave in and agree to Ichigo's suggestion/demand but he did…strangely enough.

Electric blues flashed. Brown eyes burned. A silent "conversation passed between the two lovers.

"Fine but I expect to be paid back in full."

()()

Half way through the movie Rukia decided she wanted something to snack on. She turned to her blue haired companion "You got any popcorn or chocolate around here?"

With a snort Grimmjow jumped off the couch and headed for the kitchen.

Rukia put the movie on pause and followed a few minutes later.

The afternoon was just full of surprises as she walked into to find the pussy cat pulling out several mixing bowls, pots and pans and necessary ingredients to make uber delicious desserts.

"You can bake?"

Never in a million years would the raven have pegged Grimmjow to be a Betty Crocker type.

Grimmjow tied an apron around his waist and shot the raven a look like 'Are you some kind of dumbass' and then half snarled half grumbled out, "I was raised by my mother," a shrug "picked up a few of her recipes along the way-its no big deal."

Rukia begged to differ but she kept her comments to herself…well for the most part.

"And here I thought Ichigo was the domestic housewife."

A glare and then a snarling, "You gonna stand around and gawk all day Kuchiki or are you gonna give me a hand?"

()()

Course there was always a rainbow after a storm…

"TADAIMA!"

"In the kitchen, Hime."

The voice was distinctly female, which prompted Rukia to raise a brow "Is there something I should know?"

An eye roll followed by, "Could you please stop acting so thick Kuchiki? Seems like that ex-boyfriend of yours rubbed off on you in all the wrong ways."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Rukia demanded with her hands on her hips.

Another eye roll and then, "Its Hime as in my cousin as in the same girl whose sat behind you every day since middle school-as in the punk-rock cheerleading princess who sent you the sneezing plushie 2 winters ago-as in-

"Okay, okay I get it. What's she doing here?"

"She pays the other half of the rent. We live together." The duh was left unsaid but it didn't have to be said. Rukia wasn't a dumbass she was just…

"Well excuse me if I'm a little sensitive or tend to overreact a bit right now-I did just have my heart broken and I'll be damned before I let the same thing happened to my best friend."

Grimmjow sneered at her "If you are implying what it sounds like you are implying I'm going to cut you off right there-

Something strange happened…well stranger…a sort of soft…vulnerable type of look came over the blue haired males rough and sharp features just then-his voice carried a tone that Rukia never imagined she would hear as Grimmjow looked her straight in the eye and said/declared, "Ichigo. Is. The. Only. One. For. Me."

And in that moment Rukia's opinion of Grimmjow was altered…to a certain degree. He was still too damn arrogant.

"Mmmm what is that delightful smell? Alright ready for me or not I'm coming in!"

Without further warning the buxom brunette burst into the kitchen, all bright eyes and radiant smile. Even with the tiny rhinestone in her left nostril she looked as flawless as any punk rock princess should look-not that Rukia was looking.

No really she wasn't. No more so than usual. In fact the raven kind of thought the princess was kind of annoying-the other girl was almost too damn bubbly to be a "rebel punk rocker"- a walking contradiction with her water melon jugs, purple and pink streaked auburn hair, tight leather ensemble, hello kitty anklet and silver kitten heels.

Rukia sometimes felt like screaming. Just pick one damn style/trend whatever the fuck and just stick to it!

The princess waltzed around the island style kitchen and came around to plant a kiss on her cousins' cheek, then she frowned a bit and punched the cat in the arm when she noticed he wasn't alone, "Idiot why didn't you tell me we were having company? I would've blown off work and come home to play houseguest."

And when gray eyes swept over Rukia's petite frame the raven couldn't help but feel as though she were violated by the other girl and it sent chills (non-delightful ones) up her spine.

Grimmjow noticed and chuckled, "Take it down a notch Hime or you'll scare the lil' raven away."

The princess looked abashed and stepped out of Rukia's personal bubble, "I'm sorry I didn't-well anyway now that you're here let's make the most of this day yes?"

()()

Making the most of the day apparently meant making a mess out of the kitchen-forcing Grimmjow to clean up said mess and letting the princess drag her out of the apartment and down the street and into a little diner round the corner.

Then the princess gave what the raven thought was surely an award-worthy love confession.

Apparently Orihime or Hime as she preferred to be called, has had a crush on Rukia for quite some time. No crush didn't cover it-the punk rock princess was head over heels for Rukia.

"Of course I understand if you need a few days to think things over but," a pause and then a soft breathtaking smile, "I think we could be good together and I would really love it if you could accompany me to the Hallow's Tease bash on Friday.

Right because apparently people celebrated Halloween all week long.

Rukia nearly choked on her coffee- "Be-beg your pardon? Hallow Tease?"

The princess smirked over her cappuccino, "Surely you don't think I'd waste time with a regular old boring Halloween bash do you? There's no fun in that," Gunmetal gray eyes glittered as Hime added, "And I'll finally have a reason to use my feather on you."

This time Rukia did choke. And the princess (being ever oh so helpful) leaped across the table with the kind of grace that could rival a ballerina and saved the stunned ravens' life.

Then proceeded to smash her pearly pink stained lips against the ravens' open mouth.

It didn't stop there. Oh no. Some how some way Rukia wound up with the princess' head buried underneath her skirt after a pumpkin and vanilla cream pie "accidentally" flew out of a clumsy waitress' hands and into the raven's lap.

()()

There was dip in the queen sized bed pulling the raven from her not-so-distant memories.

"You got that far off look in your eyes again, whatcha thinking about Ruki-bunny?"

Rukia released a sigh and made some room on the bed so her very close female companion (she wasn't quite ready to call Hime her girlfriend) could join her.

The raven still hadn't completely gotten over Renji but she was trying.

The princess bounced on the bed wearing nothing more than a black bra, stockings and jack-o-lantern printed panties before curling up next to the raven.

Rukia rested her head in the princess' lap and let the other girl play with her hair.

"It's nothing Hime, just thinking about the past is all."

The princess remained quiet for a few minutes and then resumed petting Rukia's hair. "I know it may not see like it but it will get easier."

Rukia couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Even with out giving details her princess knew. Some how she just knew. But she didn't hold it against the raven.

Something Rukia didn't quite understand. If she was in Hime's shoes she'd be pissed-jealous-both.

"Why do continue to stay with me?"

The hands on her head stilled once more and Rukia sat up so she could look Hime in the eye when the other answered.

A part of her…a very small part was worried about the response. But a moment later she realized how silly it was when the princess reassured her with a charming smile and genuine "Because I love you Ruki-bunny."

"That's the only reason?"

What the hell was she doing? That was a pretty damn good reason. Rukia mentally slapped herself before Hime's giggling reached her ears and she was pulled into a tight hug "No that's not the only reason silly, I also happen to be a very confident gal," here she winked, "true to the Jeager-Oue name even you are destined to succumb to my natural charm one day."

Huh? Well when put that way-wait a minute Jeager-Oue-what was up with the hyphen thing? She knew the princess was the pussy cat's cousin but…The raven shook her head. It didn't matter. Not really.

Rukia snorted, "What you really mean to say is you want another taste of my pie."

Hime grinned, "Yes that too."

()()

END

YEP END. QUESTIONS? WHY BOTHER…LET YOUR IMAGINATIONS TAKE U THERE.

THANKS FOR READING.

~SLY~