A/N: I don't know what compelled me to write this. Perhaps a little Christmas spirit is needed in the dead of summer. And I just watched Episode 303 when it's New Year's Day and Orihime has no one to spend it with.
Disclaimer: If I owned Bleach, I probably wouldn't have written this.
Snowflakes floated through the purpling sky, dancing toward the ground in a steady, silent sheet of white. Inoue Orihime ambled serenely through the streets toward her apartment, admiring the weather. Christmas always brought a torrent of people down town to do last minute shopping or hurry home to their families. However, the section of town Orihime was in was completely empty.
She carried with her two shopping bags carrying all of the ingredients she needed for her special Christmas dinner. It was different every year; she tried to keep them unique. As she strolled down the quiet street, humming Christmas carols, she wondered how this year's meal would turn out.
Orihime was about to round a corner when she slammed into something very solid. She flew backwards on to the sidewalk, scattering her groceries on the snow-laden street. "I'm so sorry!" she cried, "I wasn't looking where I was going!"
"Inoue?" Orihime looked up to see Kurosaki Ichigo standing over her, concern written all over his face.
"Kurosaki-kun!" She was certainly delighted to see him. Ichigo helped her to her feet.
"Are you alright, Inoue?" he asked. She nodded her head vigorously, unable to stop smiling.
"Oh yes I'm fine!" she assured him. "I'm always falling down so I'm quite used to it!" Ichigo seemed to be fishing for words, so he bent to gather the spilled contents of her shopping bags. She helped him, and soon everything was off the street. When she went to take her bag from him, he pulled his hand away.
"Come on, I'll walk you home." Orihime's only response was a wider smile. They wound their way through the streets back to her apartment, Orihime chattering happily away about nearly everything. It was mostly a one-sided conversation, but Ichigo seemed content to just listen.
Orihime unlocked her door and Ichigo followed her inside. He put her bags on the counter in the kitchen and looked around. "Inoue, are you all alone tonight?"
"Oh, well I have Onii-chan…"
"Why don't you come back to my place for dinner?" Ichigo suggested. "Yuzu's making a turkey."
"I couldn't do that," Orihime protested. "Christmas is a time for you to spend with your family."
"Christmas is a time to spend with the people you care about," Ichigo corrected her. Orihime fell silent. She was suddenly aware of how close she was to him. She had to look almost directly up to see his face, and she could smell his cologne, a faint yet distinctive scent, on his jacket. He looked down at her and she seemed to be drowning in his liquid brown eyes, unable to resurface. Ichigo sensed this helplessness and smirked, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer.
"Kurosaki-kun…" she whispered as if to question his actions. In response, he lifted his head to look at the doorway they were standing under. The spell briefly broken, she followed his gaze upward. A sprig of mistletoe hung there, a burst of green and red in the otherwise colorless kitchen.
Surprised, Orihime returned her eyes back to Ichigo's, but he was already moving closer to her. Before she knew what was happening, he brushed his lips against hers and her mind went blank.
"Merry Christmas, Orihime…"
A/N: I thought it would be cute for him to call her Orihime, since he always calls her Inoue for some stupid, boneheaded reason. But that's just my opinion.
~Cottonpaw