So, yeah. Not a TBBU update, and I apologize. Lot of personal stuff going on right now and writing has slowed to a crawl. I decided to put up this little guy to fill the gap in between updates. It's something I've been working on for about two months off and on, as an exercise. It's one of those ABC one-shots where you write a drabble for each letter of the alphabet. I thought I'd give it a swing. It's extremely IchiHime and pretty fluffy at parts, and a bit naughty for one drabble. If it still sounds appealing, give it a read and hope you enjoy :)

A for Aphrodisiac – He could shrug off the coldest of glares or the most searing wounds, but Orihime only had to send him an inviting smile and Ichigo could feel his knees start to buckle and his pants tighten.

B for Burden - Orihime knew she couldn't bear a lot of the weight Ichigo carried on his shoulders, but she was determined to ease them with tender kisses and encouragement. He never verbally acknowledged her support, but she could feel it every time he held her in his arms: thank you.

C for Consciousness – The noises and sights blurred into a swirl of color and sound as his fever spiked and his head screamed in pain. It was only Orihime's soothing voice and her cool hand on his head that his mind registered, and it tethered him to reality.

D for Discovery – Ichigo had a weakness, Orihime found out one day while they were in bed. Her battle-hardened, powerful warrior was extremely ticklish under his feet. There was something satisfying about seeing him screech and try to get away, only for him to unceremoniously fall out of bed and hit the floor.

So much for those reflexes, Orihime thought with an amused smile.

E for Empty – After Ichigo learned Orihime had disappeared, then later finding out she had gone to Hueco Mundo, he had been in shock. However, once it wore off, nothing replaced it. His head and his chest felt empty, and his eyes reflected the void he felt in Orihime's absence. It was worse than anger or sorrow; those were signs of life. This inexplicable cavity felt like death, and he had no way of fighting it.

At least until the day Tatsuki punched it out of him.

F for Fiery – "You should dye some of your hair red, and some of it yellow!" Orihime told him with a grin. "Then your hair will look like a fireball!"

Ichigo mentally swore to never let his eccentric girlfriend anywhere near hair dye after that.

G for Gift – His friends had given him many things. Rukia gave him the power and guidance he needed to protect those precious to him. Ishida gave him someone to compete with, and to constantly test him. Sado gave him silent support and someone to watch his back. Even Renji had given him something: a friend and an equal, if not in power than in that dogged determination they both shared.

But the best thing he had ever received was from Orihime, who gave him love and a sense of peace. There was hardly more he could wish for.

H for Happenstance – She hadn't meant to run into him in town. He hadn't meant to walk her home. But their paths crossed and with both of them going nowhere in particular, they walked side by side on that warm June night, letting their feet take them wherever. For the first time in ages they just talked about everything and nothing, and when they got to her house, Ichigo bent down and pressed a kiss to her lips because – hell, he didn't know. It just felt right and Orihime wasn't complaining in the least.

I for Instigation – Orihime seemed to be the perfect bait when it came to goading Ichigo. Aizen, Grimmjow, Nnoitora, Ulquiorra, even Ginjo – they all used her in some way to get Ichigo fighting. The funny thing was, it always worked. No matter how much he may not have wanted to fight at the time, if she was there his hesitation went out the window.

Ichigo was beginning to wonder if his past instigators knew something that he didn't.

J for Jump – Ichigo had heard plenty of weird things out of Orihime's mouth, especially in her sleep. The strangest by far was something she mumbled one night that caught him completely off-guard: "Why doesn't Kurosaki-kun go splat when he lands after he leaps off of high buildings? If you tossed a pancake or a muffin or even a coconut, they'd go splat. But Kurosaki-kun doesn't." She paused, and then added, "Kurosaki-kun is a super hero, I think."

Even half-asleep and completely confused, Ichigo couldn't help but smile.

K for Karaoke – Ichigo and karaoke bars did not usually mix, but Orihime was determined to see her boyfriend get up there and sing. Rukia's solution to the problem was to make Ichigo drink three kamikazes and lie about what was in them. With Tatsuki and Mizuiro "assuring" him that the drinks were perfectly harmless, he downed all three of them.

To Orihime's delight and to Rukia and the others' endless amusement, they got to hear Ichigo's rendition of Lady Gaga's "Alejandro".

L for Lips – Orihime told Ichigo he tasted good when they kissed. "Like strawberries?" Ichigo asked blandly, expecting that to be her answer.

"Nope," she said with a smile. "More like wind and a hint of chocolate."

"Wind has a taste?"

"It does now," she said before pressing her lips against his.

M for Monarch – Ichigo was the King, his Hollow the (not so valiant) steed, and the day Ichigo finally understood in his soul that he would live out his days with Orihime by his side, the horse semi-reluctantly conceded that she was therefore the Queen.

N for New – Kissing. Hand-holding. Touching. Dating. Ichigo-kun. Sometimes her budding relationship with Ichigo overwhelmed Orihime. One night she admitted this to Tatsuki, and by the time she was finished, she was on the verge of tears. "What if I'm not cut out for it? What if I'm not the right one?"

Tatsuki merely clucked her tongue and said, "It's not wrong, it's new. And you always get used to the new."

The day Orihime finally didn't blush when she kissed Ichigo back was the day she realized Tatsuki was right.

O for Orange – "The baby's going to have orange hair," Orihime declared, her hand fisted in determination.

"Eh?" Ichigo raised a brow at his pregnant wife. "Why? It's a terrible color."

"I want it to," Orihime said with a sniff. "I want it to look just like you and – and-"

Damn hormones! Ichigo ran to his wife as the waterworks started. "Sorry," he muttered as he held her close. "If you want it, it'll happen. I promise."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Just wait."

Please, please let this child have orange hair, Ichigo thought with a mental wince.

P for Positive – Orihime was just positive. The glass was half full, the grass was green on both sides, and people were inherently good. Ichigo was usually the opposite. While Orihime talked and trusted everyone, Ichigo doubted his own allies at times. When he doubted his own strength, she still believed in him. To her, he could do anything, and thanks to her he was starting to believe again.

Q for Quirk – Shakespeare and chocolate: Orihime was sure if the two were combined, Ichigo might die of happiness. She might have been the "odd" one in their relationship, but that didn't mean Ichigo didn't have his own weird habits. One time she pointed out to him that he had a strange habit of stretching his right arm but not his left every morning.

"I do?" he asked, frowning in confusion.

"Yup. I keep waiting for you to stretch your other arm, but you never do."

But that begged the bigger question, "How do you even notice that kind of thing?"

She smiled mysteriously. "Just a quirk of mine, I guess."

R for Ritual – Orihime always told Ichigo to have a good day. It started when they began going out, when she would part ways with him at school and she would always say, "Have a good day!" It wasn't until later he realized that it may have stemmed from her brother's accident, since it had been the one morning she hadn't wished him a good day.

So every morning, even after they graduated and moved in together, he always made sure to wake her up so she could bid him a good day.

S for Safekeeping – "Is this a ring? Oh! Is it for Orihime? You're gonna-"

"Stuff it, Rukia. I want it to be a surprise. Not a word to her or anyone."

"Fine, fine. Your secret is safe with me."

T for Twelve – They were twelve years old when they first met. It wasn't a happy meeting: Sora was dying on Orihime's back as Ichigo ushered them inside the clinic. When her brother passed away, Ichigo was left to try to comfort her as his father talked to the paramedics who had arrived to take Sora to the hospital.

"I'm sorry," he murmured to her as she cried. He knew her pain all too well.

She didn't say anything in response. She merely sniffled as she buried her face into her drawn up knees.

At a loss, his gaze wandered around and he caught sight of a stuffed bear tucked into the corner of the couch. "Hang on," he said before getting up to grab it. When he returned with it, Orihime was staring at him with wide eyes. "Here."

She took it and held it close to her. "Is it yours?"

It was likely Yuzu or Karin's, but he doubted they would miss it much (they had enough bears as it was) and he figured the girl in front of him needed it a lot more than they did. "Um, yeah," he lied, scratching the back of his head. "You can have it."

"Thank you," she said, nuzzling its soft fur. "I'll call him Enraku."

They were only twelve, but somehow Ichigo already felt a connection to this girl as he sat down next to her. It'd take him a few more years to understand what it was.

U for Unfading - Ichigo never understood how after being kidnapped, mentally and physically abused, forced to feel (and in his case watch) her friends fall and nearly die, and all the other countless horrors she experienced in Hueco Mundo (most of which he blamed himself for), Orihime still found the strength to smile. Like a candle that never went out, it remained resolute in spite of everything. He might have been powerful, he realized, but she was by far the strongest.

V for Victim – "We were victims, weren't we?" Orihime said to Rukia one day.

"Of what?"

"The war. Manipulation. Lots of things, really. Kurosaki-kun was victimized the most," she said, her voice hardening. "I feel like so many people have used and abused him: Aizen, his enemies, even Ginjo. It hurts to remember it and what he went through."

Rukia nodded in understanding. "I thought of that, too. It's not fair, is it?"

"No. That's why I am going to make sure it doesn't happen again. I'll protect him this time."

W for Wicked – Orihime wasn't evil by any stretch of the imagination, but Ichigo knew she had a small, secret dark side. He saw it when the lights went out, and when they tumbled into bed and she would do the most deliciously evil things with her lips and tongue. Even in the pitch black, he could still see her wicked smile when he begged for more.

X for Xyst – The night before he was to be married, Ichigo returned to the veranda where he had proposed to Orihime. He was getting nervous about tomorrow, and he had to find the reassurance he desperately needed.

She was so surprised, he thought with a smile as he thought back to that night. She was speechless for what felt like forever. Then she had said yes and Ichigo almost made them both look like idiots as he picked her up and spun her and nearly knocked them into the supporting pole.

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply to calm his nerves. He recalled that determination he had that night and searched within himself to summon it again. Just like his sword and his past victories gave him strength for every new battle he faced, that night and the memories of their growing relationship over the past several years began to yield him the strength he was looking for. When he opened his eyes again, his nervousness had faded – mostly.

Here goes nothing, he thought as he turned around to head home. He would need all the rest he could manage for tomorrow –and for the rest of his life.

Y for Young – "We're skinny dipping?" Orihime squealed in surprise as Ichigo stripped off his shirt. "In the river?"

"Why not?" Ichigo grinned boyishly as he began to discard the rest of his clothes. "It's stupid and reckless. I like it."

"But what if we… I mean, someone could see us!"

(Temporarily) ignoring Orihime's protests, Ichigo jumped into the river in his birthday suit, gasping when his body hit the cold water. Once he was partially submerged, he looked over his shoulder at his hesitant girlfriend. "Yeah, maybe. Then we just run."

Orihime was looking at him like he had lost his mind. He probably had, truthfully. "Why?"

"I grew up too fast," Ichigo said quietly, so much that Orihime almost couldn't hear him over the running water. "The war, all the battles… we had to grow up and be adults when we really shouldn't have had to. Not that soon. I wasn't ready." He shrugged one shoulder. "I guess I just want to get some of my youth back, that's all. If-"

He trailed off when he saw Orihime coming towards him, bare-naked as well. She was flushing furiously, but she was determined. "Orihime…"

"L – Let's get our youth back," she said, teeth chattering in the cold. "Then we can warm up by running into a store and playing with all of the stuff until we get thrown out," she added with a grin.

Each to their own fantasies, Ichigo thought with a smile. "Yeah. Let's do it. Thanks, Orihime."

She nodded, beaming back at him before she blindsided him with a splash, and started a water war that lasted until their lips turned blue and tired from the laughter.

Z for Zero – Orihime and Ichigo were considered by most to be two very different people. Actually, most people believed they had nothing in common at all. No comparable traits. No common ground. Nothing. Zilch. Zero in common.

But their closest friends knew better. They knew the two of them had the same strong heart, the same love for their friends (and each other). They both carried too much on their shoulders and tried too hard to protect everyone (and each other, again). And they knew that what was different between them only served to make them two compatible halves to a whole.

Everyone else knew nothing about them, and Ichigo and Orihime were just fine with that.

Just in case you were wondering, xyst is a kind of veranda used during Roman times. It's a bit of a stretch, but there are not nearly enough "x" words out there, and I refused to use xylophone.