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She wasn't quite sure how to go about it…
It had been a month since Rukia and Renji’s wedding, meaning that it had been a month since Ichigo asked her for more of her time, and well, their time since then has been spent more together than apart! He's always been so attentive to her, more caring and considerate than with any of his other friends, even before they clarified their feelings for each other. And now? She had no idea he could have ever been this nice. From walking her home after each date, to taking her to her favorite cafés and letting her get anything she wanted, no matter the price. His attention was always on her when she'd ramble about her crazy dreams, and he never made her feel embarrassed or like she was too much. He's a dream come true really, but after a month of just a few shy hugs and some hand holding, all initiated by her… a girl would expect a little more… intimacy? All Orihime wanted, after a month of the most picturesque dates you can think of, was one little kiss! Was she really asking for too much?
She was determined to have her way regardless. One phone call to Tatsuki and the scheming for a perfect plan began. Tastuki thought Orihime could easily just suckerpunch him and have her kiss that way, but she knew that wasn't exactly Orihime’s style, and probably not Ichigo's either. Instead, they thought a cute date for their upcoming “one-month-iversary” would be the best option. After they made the general outline of it, Tatsuki wished them good luck and went home. All Orihime could do after that was go over the plan over and over again. She thought about Ichigo, and all that she's yet to experience with him.
…
“Inoue, it's me.” A knock at the door. Part one of the plan titled ‘Most Perfect First Kiss with Ichigo’ (with a ridiculous doodle of the two of them drawn below the title) included him picking her up for their date, you know, to invoke some sense of chivalry in him! Orihime thought of herself as a fair lady, who was sure to reward her beloved knight with a kiss, if he should deserve it.
“Ah, be there in a sec!” She tip-tapped across the floorboards. Before opening the door, she took one deep breath.
“Hey, are you ready to- Uh. Wow. You look…”
Part two of the plan was obvious, getting as dolled up as possible to make Ichigo weak to her girly charm. The outfit consisted of her cutest lacey top, ribbons abound, frilly white skirt and her favorite pink tights. But the outfit was mostly secondary to the real star of the show, her new Berry Kiss glitter lip gloss, sure to make her lips look irresistible to Ichigo!
“Y-yes?” Oh gosh, was her plan already falling apart? Was her look just too gaudy? Too pink? Too much in general? Overthinking was in her blood.
“You're so pretty...” His signature soft smile… Crisis averted! New crisis incoming, how to calm your heartbeat after seeing your boyfriend's beautiful smile?
“I wish I put in more effort into my outfit now,” He said with a laugh. “You always look so nice, but is today something special? We're only going to the park. Oh, and I brought you the snacks you wanted, too.” He shuffled around in his backpack for her favorite red bean flavored candies.
“Awh, you remembered those? I only mentioned them as a joke, since I'd be bringing all the food. I didn't think you'd actually get them!” A hug. He's stiff at first, like with any contact she initiates, but he quickly reciprocates and places a hand on her head.
“Um, and to answer your question, today is special! It's our one-month-iversary!” She let go of the embrace.
“Our what? You mean we've been together a month? Huh...” That gave him pause. She had no idea what he was thinking, but his cheeks were red, so she assumed it was all good.
“Also, thank you for the compliment… I think you look really handsome today too!~”
They really weren't used to this yet. Finally, they got to say everything that they'd been thinking all these years. All those stolen glances in class, the protective embraces of battle, they didn't need to be so discreet anymore.
Orihime packed the pastries for their date and they set out. The park was a 10 minute walk away, which set in motion part three of her plan: Talking about only the most romantic things she could think of, all while the Sun slowly sets, making the mood perfect for some romantic action by the time they get to the park. This idea seemed simple enough when she came up with it, but Orihime’s awkward mind was blanking. Her nerves were starting to get the best of her, so she decided to just let instinct take over.
She placed her hand in Ichigo's, noting how much bigger it was compared to hers, and she slowly intertwined their fingers as they walked. A blush overcame them both. While not the first time they held hands, this was the first time they'd done it in public. People passing them by would see them as a couple, a boyfriend and girlfriend, perhaps even more than that? But most importantly, Ichigo would see them that way as well, surely inspiring him to take the next step and-!
“So hey… Since we've been together for… a month you said? I was just wondering what you, um, thought of me?” Ichigo blurted out, breaking their awkward hand-holdy silence. He was looking off to the side, away from Orihime.
“Oh? What do you mean exactly? Because honestly, I think about you so much you'd have to be a bit more specific!” She giggled.
“Really? How often exactly?”
“Um… I'm not sure… Probably for every meal? Oh, and before bedtime too. Ooh and one of the first things I do when I wake up is think of you. When I watch TV and there's a romantic scene I think of us! When I see couples outside too…” She was listing things off as she recalled them, ranting a little about all her favorite romance shows as they went. More or less, she thought about him all the time, and was becoming embarrassingly close to realizing this.
Ichigo was looking at her now. Softly gazing as always. It made her nervous.
“W-well what about you? Do you think about me?” She asked.
“I do… a lot.” A rather short response, she thought. She wanted to pry more, but right at that moment they got to the park. Ichigo guided her to a secluded spot under a pretty tree. He took out the blanket for them, and they sat down, their hands parting.
He leaned on the tree, eyes closed. Orihime stared at him for a moment, worried she overwhelmed him with all the incessant romance talk, that she couldn't expect something as panic-inducing as a kiss tonight. Her phone started beeping, a total moodkiller. He opened an eye, and smiled at her. She smiled back. She turned her phone off quickly and shaved it into her bag to avoid any more distractions from the task at hand.
“Sunset’s beautiful, isn't it?” He started.
“Um, it is! I prefer looking at you though.” What! What was she saying? As clumsily as she could, she tried to make the conversation more flirty. She shuffled around nervously.
“Well, aren't you forward?” They both laughed, he seemed more calm.
He threw her the sweets he got her and encouraged them to eat. He teased her for picking too many pastries with strawberries in them, but she can't help it! They're tasty and remind her of her boyfriend! What else could she do? The sweets certainly helped with settling her nerves, and she became her typical blabbermouth self, like she always did on their dates. First she recollected the dream she had last night, and after explaining its plot she realized it reminded her of a movie she loved in highschool, and oh! Isn't it getting a sequel? They should go watch it when it's out!
Whatever thought came to her, she happily shared it with Ichigo. She was so comfortable around him, it almost made her forget about the plan completely.
Ichigo chimed in here and there, mostly with nods and mhms, but he mostly just watched her. The warm light of the sunset was glowing on her skin. Her eyes were sparkling, the color of honey. He wasn't even sure if he was paying attention to her words anymore, or just the movement of her pretty lips. Her cupid's bow had soft edges and it was shiny from her lip gloss. Her lower lip was plump and looked soft, it always distracted him when she spoke. He never did anything about this, though. He looked away when she quieted.
She smiled, then leaned over to him, laying her head down on his chest. “We haven't been this close before!” she thought. The worry made her fiddle with the buttons on his shirt, until the thought of unbuttoning him and seeing him shirtless made her feel embarrassed. She placed her hand on his shoulder instead, slightly grazing his cheek in the process.
“This is nice…” She thought she'd let him have a chance to talk now. He only agreed, placing his hand on her head again. He seemed to really enjoy doing that, but he didn't start up a conversation.
Both charming and frustrating, those silences of his. They always brought her back to her main worry of the month: Was he really content in their relationship? Don't get her wrong though, she knew how much he was willing to do for her, and how much he’d already done for her all those years they've known each other… She just wanted to hear him say it, that he's happy with her. She's certainly more than happy with the way things are, she's dating her high school sweetheart! The only boy she'll ever really love! She just wished they could be less like clumsy teenagers about it, especially since they've been feeling this way for so long…
Well actually, have they? She knew that she’d liked him since basically the first week of high-school, his tough-guy exterior was cute to her, and the more she got to know him for who he really was, the deeper her feelings became… She was already in love with him by the time they were sixteen! But she never really found out when he fell for her, he never told her! All he said was “Inoue, I've liked you for a while now. Would you want to go out with me some time?” but ‘a while’ could be just a few weeks! Maybe that's why their pace in the relationship had been so mismatched? Oh gosh, was she rushing things too much? Maybe he'd only really liked her for a month at best and she was totally freaking him out with how touchy she was, and so quickly after their first date? Sure, they'd been friends since forever, but friendship and romance aren't the same! She knew his heart, how sensitive it was, she knew how difficult it was for him to deal with his emotions, let alone express them. She felt that she understood him, but clearly she had it all wrong. They were supposed to be kissing by now, but instead? She was slowly starting to realize that the whole Perfect Kiss plan idea was stupid in the first place and totally inconsiderate of Ichigo's feelings! Gosh, how could she be so-!
“Inoue, a-are you alright?” He asked all worried. Wait, why does he sound worried? And why is he so, blurry? She was shaking, so he lifted her up a bit by her shoulders, she barely came to.
“I'm okay, I'm just feeling a bit lightheaded, that's all!” She didn't know what she was feeling, really. Did her panicked jumps to conclusions finally fry her brain for good?
“Doubt that, you've gone all pale! C'mon, the Sun's already set and it's getting colder, I'll take you back to your apartment.” He helped her up on her feet and packed everything up. She was barely standing so he leaned her against the tree.
“W-wait, Kurosaki-kun, we can't go yet...” she murmured, her throat was tightening, like she was about to cry. Her plan totally fell apart, and deservedly so she thought, but she still wanted to be with him!
“But you're not feeling well, and you'll feel even worse if we stay here in the cold. Here.” He pulled out his sweater and covered her with it. Chivalrous!
“Now, we're gonna take you home and I'll uh, help you feel better! I'll make you some tea and I promise I won't leave until you're feeling okay again. That sound good?” He was smiling at her, she nodded, it did sound good.
They started walking back to her place. He was holding her by the shoulder, a half hug.
“I'm sorry I ruined our date.” She was convinced her sudden affliction soured the whole experience for him.
“Don't be silly, it's not like you to be so hard on yourself. You probably just caught a cold or something. Or maybe it's that discarded bread you brought. Yeah, probably that.” His usual tease, it managed to make her giggle a bit.
“If that were true, you'd be worse off than me. You ate most of the Danish pastries with the strawberry jam. I doubt it's that!” She was feeling a little better already, mostly physically.
When they got to her apartment, she was struggling to unlock the door, so he did it for her. Then the idea of a shared home hit her and made her heart all fuzzy. She giggled, but it sounded loopy to him. They went inside, took their shoes off, and Ichigo quickly helped her to her bed.
“Alright, there. You take a little nap while I make you some tea.” He said as he tucked her in. “Oh! And I almost forgot…” He placed his hands on each of their foreheads to compare their temperatures. She stared longingly, with their faces so close together, but his eyes were closed.
“Phew, you don't seem too warm, we'll check later after you rest a little. Now let's see… Do you want green tea, ginger and orange, or mixed berries? Oh, what's this one? Strawberry. Should've seen that one coming, huh?” He laughed a little.
“Mmm, I think green tea would be good. Thank you, Kurosaki-kun.”
“Don't mention it. This is what a boyfriend is supposed to do for his girlfriend… Anyway, I think I'll have the ginger tea.” He kept himself busy with the tea making. Orihime fell asleep rather quickly as the sound of boiling water and mugs clanking quieted her mind.
…
Probably an hour passed, she didn't dream, or at least she couldn't recall any dream if she had one. Ichigo was sitting on the floor across from her, drinking the tea he made them, hers was on the table. He was reading something.
“Oh hey, did you sleep well? Feeling any better?” He smiled really wide at her, his voice uncharacteristically giddy.
“Oh, yeah, I think so? I'm not sure what happened to make me so weak all of a sudden. Thank you again for taking care of me, I already feel better!” She smiled back. Ichigo got up to bring her the tea.
“What did you do while I was sleeping? I hope you weren't too bored or anything!” She asked, something seemed a bit off about him.
“Nah, I was skimming through some of your magazines. I saw some of your scribbles in them too. Thought they were cute.” He looked off to the side. Every time he said something a bit flirty, he would do that classic scowl of his, then look away to make his blushing face less visible.
“Also… I saw something else I wanted to ask you about.” He pointed to her desk.
Markers and colored pencils were sprawled over its surface. Some small sticky notes with crossed out words and dozens of little hearts were stuck onto the desk here and there, but front and center, there it was. The ‘Most Perfect First Kiss with Ichigo’ plan, with a colorful doodle of the two of them smooching right beneath the title, Orihime's signature on the side. Each step of the plan was accompanied by an even smaller doodle of what that step entailed. She even drew the actual planning of the plan, Tatsuki resembled a sea urchin.
Orihime stared. Her face slowly reddened as she realized what was happening.
“Well, before you freak out, I thought it was really endearing. I had no idea you were being so pedantic about our dates. Or how much you wanted to kiss me.” He tried to act as if this wasn't a big deal, like it was just something silly she always did. He wanted to ease her mind, which was racing a hundred miles per hour with “How could I be so stupid?” She couldn't speak, so she just covered her face and fell over on the bed… And then off the bed.
“Inoue!? Hey c'mon, I'm sorry for snooping. It was kinda hard to miss though!” He moved closer to her to see if she was okay.
“I… I'm sorry too…” She squealed out. He looked puzzled. She slowly sat up, rubbing her aching forehead.
“I know you don't know what I'm talking about… I'm sorry for rushing you. I know you've only really liked me for a short while, so I shouldn't have been so pushy with the hugs and the touchiness and… All this.” She gestured to the kissy plan. “It wasn't fair to force my feelings onto you. You've been such an amazing boyfriend, and an amazing friend before that as well! I should've just been more grateful, more patient.”
“Inoue…” His voice was soft, barely audible. The distance between them was shrinking, she could hear him just fine. He placed his hand on her cheek, cold against her flushed face.
“I don't know where you got these ideas from, but I… Damn it.” This wasn't something he was ever good at. A chance to improve?
“Kurosaki-kun…” A sad murmur.
“I got this, just give me a sec.” Deep breaths. He placed his hands on hers.
“I've had feelings for you for much longer than you think … Since we were only classmates.” He said that as if he was confessing to a crime.
“It took me a while till I realized it. It was a small crush at first. I didn't think I'd ever have a shot with you anyway, you know? I was convinced you were way out of my league, and everyone around me told me so too.” That made her sad.
“Anywhere you went, everyone would be totally obsessed with you, and why wouldn't they be? I mean, you're Orihime Inoue, the nicest, prettiest and funniest girl I've ever met. You were always so kind to everyone, no matter who they were or what they'd done. I started to push my growing feelings aside, thinking there was no point in them, thinking you'd find someone better, more deserving if you. I tried just being your friend, but I had no idea why you ever wanted anything to do with me.”
She could only look at him, her eyes glossy.
“But…” He stopped.
“But what?”
“Being just your friend… Was both incredible and agonizing. I liked spending time with you, being there for you, supporting you, having you support me. But at the end of the day, we were just friends. I couldn't bring myself to show you how much I really cared, to hug you when I was happy you were safe from harm, or to hold your hand when you were afraid or hurt. I can barely bring myself to do it now.” He squeezed her hands a bit.
She felt guilty for making him do this. His eyes were shut, he was doing his best to open up, but it's not his fault that they only got together now, after years of pining. She could've done something about it a long time ago as well, but couldn't bring herself to. Why couldn't either of them take that next step sooner? Why was this so hard for the two of them?
“Why?” A simple question, but he didn't understand it.
“Why are you so scared of being intimate with me?” She continued. “Why are we both so scared of being honest about our feelings? Don't we love each other?”
“I don't know… Ugh, I'm sorry I'm so bad at this. I want to show you how much I really care, but-”
“Then kiss me…” She interrupted. He couldn't, not yet.
“Hug me, touch me, do anything to show me you care. Because I love you, Kurosaki-kun, so much. I love you, that's all I can think about!”
She planted her face into his chest, and clung to his shirt. This was so embarrassing, for both of them. He hugged her back, tighter than usual. He placed his hand to the side of her face, gently lifting it.
“Are you sure?” He asked. “Are you sure it's me you want?”
“More than anything.” She wiped her tears. He kissed the top of her head.
“I love you too.” He could finally say it.
…
“I hate seeing you cry, Inoue. So I'll make you a promise.” After a couple of minutes in cuddly silence, he finally spoke out. She looked up at him.
“I promise to show you more affection. Then you won't ever have to worry about how much I really love you again." He was serious. His gaze piercing.
She giggled into his shirt.
“Wh- What are you laughing at?”
“You’re talking about being more affectionate im such a grim tone, hehe. And you said you love me, twice!” She threw up her index and middle finger. He sighed, a bit exasperated.
“Yeah yeah… Well, now that we got all that out of the way, are you feeling better? I mean, are you still feeling sick?”
“Hmm, I guess I'm okay, better now for sure. My throat hurts a bit and my head’s pounding, but other than that I feel great!”
“A-are you sure that's okay? Do you need a painkiller or something?”
“No, no! I'm really okay. You know me, like a horse!” She flexed her nonexistent bicep.
“Yeah, but you are still sick. I should stay a while longer to make sure you're really okay. That way you can tell me more about your little plan too.” He said, clearly scheming to stay over longer, now that he was sure his girlfriend actually liked him as much as he did her.
As soon as Orihime's mood lightened up, so did the general atmosphere.
“Well, not much of a plan was it, seeing as I collapsed in the middle of it, ehehe.~” She scratched her head. “I was just trying to make the date extra romantic, that's all! I guess I sorta got what I wanted in the end!” She laughed with relief.
“Was putting on lip gloss really part of the plan though?” That part made no sense to him, she wore lip gloss for every date.
“Well of course! How else would I get you to think about my lips?” She pouted a bit to show them off.
“You didn't have to do anything extra, I always paid attention to them.”
“Oh really?” She was feeling cheeky. The crying mixed with the pounding headache mixed with their little love confessions made her inhibitions disappear. She moved her hands to his neck. Their faces were inches apart, she could feel his pulse on her fingertips.
“Well yeah, you have pretty lips.” His voice was trembling a bit. “Hard not to notice them, especially since you talk so much. I mean- Not that I don't like it when you talk! It's one of the things I like most about you! You always have something to say, listening to you is nice.”
“Kurosaki-kun.” She moved one hand up his cheek, her voice was light. “Do you want to kiss me?”
He nodded.
Maybe after all the talking about it, it was time for them to actually do it. It wasn't picturesque, it wasn't under a beautiful sunset, nor under a beautiful blooming tree with a breeze rustling through it, the sweet smell of nature in the air. It was on the floor of her cramped one room apartment, with the mingling scent of their half-drunken teas, her face was stained by tears, and the lip gloss she so proudly wore was all but gone, save for a few sparkles.
“Is this really how you wanted it to be though? I looked at your whole plan, I know how much this means to you, and I won't mind waiting… But I guess if it makes any difference, I don't care about where we are. I would want to kiss you anywhere and anytime. Because I love you.”
He said it again, seeing as it made her so happy. The repeated confession made her heart flutter. It was beating so fast she felt like it was trying to escape up her chest and through her throat to kiss him all by itself. She'd beat it to it.
She grazed his lower lip with her thumb, and moved a bit closer. Their foreheads slowly pressed together, closer. Both were breathing the same heavy air. They closed their eyes, and moved closer.
…
It was handsy. Their lips probably didn't part for a solid thirty seconds before Ichigo thought “screw it” and locked their lips properly, to Orihime's welcome surprise. They were both so eager to finally taste each other, to touch each other without guilt, to connect on a new and exciting level. It was messy and childish, but the laughter sprinkled in between breaths made obvious how good this was for the both of them. He moved from just her lips to her cheeks, jawline, neck, not daring yet to go lower. He left her a little hickey on her collarbone, while she whispered praising oohs and aahs in his ear. She kissed his whole entire face after, making his nose and chin slightly rosy and glittery.
That there was too much tongue is an understatement, Orihime managed to even drool a bit, luckily Ichigo found it funny. At one point she moved them up from the floor and onto the bed because her butt was starting to hurt, and they didn't break apart even once. Her hands were on his cheeks, his were up and down on her waist. They kissed and kissed until they could barely breathe. While it certainly wasn't an experienced or skilled makeout session, it was a solid first kiss. They thought no kiss could ever be better than this one, but each one that followed after would have them thinking the same thing all over again.
“I don't know why we haven't done this sooner.” was the first thing Ichigo could think to say. He was lying on his back staring at the ceiling, out of breath.
“I know right?” Orihime jumped up from above him and gave him a big peck on the forehead.
“Was it as good for you as it was for me?” Already he was growing a taste for her praise.
“Of course it was, silly. It was better than I could've ever imagined.” She couldn't imagine better anyway.
She laid down in his arms, he played with her hair. Not long after, Ichigo’s phone beeped with a message from Tatsuki. “Yo, tell Orihime to check her phone. Hope the date went well!”
“Oh shoot, I completely forgot I turned it off. Let me go see…” Orihime got up quickly to find it in her bag. Ichigo texted Tatsuki back with a “Thanks, I'll tell you how it was in person.”
She found 5 unread messages from Tatsuki. Oops.
“Orihime, I have a fever!!! ( ;｀Д´) I thought I'd let you know just in case! I hope you didn't get sick from me. It would be funny if Ichigo got sick though. That way you could nurse him back to health, and when he's finally better, and just as he's about to thank you with a kiss, YOU SUCKERPU-” That was enough.
“Sooo, looks like we know why I suddenly got sick. Tatsuki’s got a fever.” She smiled awkwardly.
“And you tell me this after we exchange saliva for an hour?” He had a smirk on his face.
“Don't say it like that!” He pulled her into an embrace by her hips. “I'm sorry, but you already knew I was sick when you kissed me!”
“I wasn't thinking, I just really wanted to kiss you.” That made her heart jump.
“W-well it's fine anyway, my Rikka can heal anything, so if you start to feel a scratchy throat, I'll make it go away!”
“Wait yeah, why didn't you use them on yourself?” A pause. She always forgets she could heal herself if she wanted to.
“I guess I forgot I could! I'm glad you were there to take care of me though.” She put her arms around his head.
“Don't mention it.” He tried to stay cool even though his face was planted into her chest.
“Say, since it's already so late, I was thinking about staying over, if you don't mind. It is our one-month-iversary, isn't it?” He said that with a certain look in his eyes that Orihime wasn't sure she ever saw before.
“Oh my gosh, you’re a genius! We could do our skincare together, and I probably have some of your shirts in my closet you could use for pajamas. I don't have any of your pants though, hehe. Come on, let's get ready for bed!” She pulled him up from the bed and began her preparations.
She gave him the hoodie he gave her on their third date, and found some baggy shorts he could probably fit into. She found a spare toothbrush and they brushed their teeth together. She pretended they were married for a second and that this was their usual nightly routine. Unbeknownst to her, Ichigo had the same thought. She almost spat all over the mirror at the thought of showering together, like most married couples do, before she ushered him out of the bathroom to let her take a normal solo shower. He went in after she was done, giving her time to sort her bed a little, well, their bed, at least for tonight. When he was done (in less than five minutes, compared to her twenty) she had them wear some face masks for fun. When the skincare routine was finished, and they had gone through all the conversation topics they could think of, they called it a night and tucked themselves into bed. Orihime immediately snuggled into his chest, intertwining their legs. He put his arms around her and held her tight.
“One last goodnight kiss?” She pleaded with a sweet look. He complied, kissing her with a satisfied grin.
“Goodnight, Kurosaki-kun!”
“Goodnight Inoue.”
“I love you!”
“I love you too. That's the third time you said that today.”
She looked up at him. He held out three fingers to tease her like she did him. They both laughed. They started whispering about random things they found funny because they were still too excited to actually sleep. Pretty soon though, Orihime fell asleep, but Ichigo couldn't for a while after. He watched her, listened to her breathing, trying to match his to her tempo. He felt her pulse against his, counted its beats in a minute. She mumbled a few times in her sleep, something he thought was probably his name. He had no idea what gods decided to bless him with having a girl like Orihime by his side, but knowing she was just as happy to be with him as he was with her was comforting, to say the least. He's not sure he'll ever stop feeling a little unworthy of her, but if his love makes her this happy, he'd happily vow to give his whole life to her, for as long as she wanted him.
…
The next morning, Ichigo woke up with a sore throat, and it was the first time ever that he was happy about it.