Rukia, having personal boundaries? Perish the thought. "No. It sounds messy, don't you think?" Her grin softened into a fond smile, and she lifted her own hand to press her palm to his, fingers sliding forward to lace neatly together. Had their situations been reversed, she knew she would have been deeply wounded. Even remembering that projected future still left a tiny ache in her heart.

But those were her feelings. She couldn't really begin to guess how Raven felt about it. Death was temporary in this place, so for all she knew, he just twiddled his thumbs and slept in when she wasn't around to brew coffee or prod him awake for breakfast.

"So! What did I miss?" she asked, deciding to keep up the light-hearted mood just in case he really hadn't been all that affected.