Author's notes: Just because I felt really guilty for torturing poor Uryu in my last fic, Reading Between the Lines of the Wrong Book. After putting him through what I did, I thought he deserved for things to go a bit less wrong. Therefore, fluff. Yay! :)
Orihime walked down the corridor in the direction of the classroom, keen to get away from the sound of Keigo Asano and his compressed-air horn. Orihime would have preferred to have eaten her lunch with Tatsuki, but it was next to impossible to stay outside with that horn interrupting her thoughts every three seconds. She knew that Tatsuki understood.
Reaching the classroom door, Orihime opened it and was confronted by the sight of Uryu Ishida, sitting at his desk and sewing something. Orihime approached him.
"Hi, Uryu!" she exclaimed enthusiastically, bounding up to his desk and taking a seat next to him.
Uryu almost jumped out of his seat at the sudden sound of her voice. "Oh, hello, Orihime," he said, his head snapping up in surprise as Orihime sat down. However, his astonished expression quickly turned into one of irritation as the sound of a horn blasting out in the courtyard blew in through the window. "I see you were attempting to get away from Keigo and his new toy."
Orihime nodded her head. "It seems as though that noise is everywhere. Even the library isn't safe, I came here as a last resort."
"I see," Uryu said quietly, looking down at the item he was sewing.
"Oh, no, I didn't mean it like that," Orihime quickly said, smiling broadly as Uryu raised an eyebrow and continued sewing. "Hey, what is that you're making?"
Uryu set down his needle and pushed his glasses further up his nose, before resuming his sewing. "A skirt."
Orihime stared at the fabric and realised that it was, indeed, a skirt made out of a floaty, white material. "It looks really pretty!" she declared, examining it. "Is it for anybody in particular?" Orihime asked, mentally picturing Rukia wearing the skirt.
Uryu gave a small smile as he glanced sideways at Orihime. "Perhaps," he said, pushing up his glasses again in an attempt to hide the slight reddening of his cheeks.
"I knew it!" Orihime said, quietly, too busy watching Uryu's hands sewing the hem to notice the way his face took on a stunned expression.
"You knew, er, what, Orihime?" Uryu asked, closely observing the brunette's face.
"Nothing, nothing!" Orihime replied slightly too quickly, pushing the thoughts of a suit-clad Uryu standing next to Rukia in a white dress out of her head, just in case Uryu could read her mind.
Uryu shook his head slightly and gave Orihime an uncertain smile, before returning to the hem of the skirt. The two sat in silence for a minute as Uryu quickly completed the hem, before holding up the skirt and examining it closely.
"Is it finished, Uryu?" Orihime asked, smiling. Uryu took another couple of seconds to examine his handiwork.
"No, I think it looks a bit too plain for its recipient," he said, setting the skirt back down on his desk. "She could make it work as it is, she could make anything work, but I think that she's more exciting than just plain white."
"Yeah, I agree," Orihime said quietly, as Uryu raised his eyebrow again.
"I think it needs some colourful ribbon," he said, holding the skirt up again. "Perhaps a band around the waist, and then some roses for decoration."
"That sounds lovely!" Orihime said, animatedly. She pictured Rukia, mentally focusing on her friend's enormous, violet eyes. "I think you should make the ribbons blue!" she proclaimed, noticing that Uryu was still watching her.
The Quincy smiled. "Funnily enough, that was precisely what I was thinking," he said, removing his eyes from Orihime and rummaging through his bag, before taking out a long, sky-blue ribbon and a spool of matching thread.
I was really thinking a slightly darker blue, Orihime thought as she watched Uryu cut a long strip of the ribbon and sew it to the skirt's waistband, leaving enough at the side to tie a thick bow. After he had done this, Uryu took out a narrower strip of ribbon and deftly cut it into smaller sections, his slim hands expertly manipulating the pieces into small curls resembling roses before he skilfully stitched each individual rose onto the white fabric, until the entire skirt resembled a field of bluebells after a late-season snowfall.
"I think I'm finished," Uryu said decisively, holding the skirt up to the window and allowing the light to shine against it. "It looks opaque enough, wouldn't you say? There's nothing worse than a translucent skirt, I sometimes see girls wearing them and I just feel embarrassed for them."
"No, it looks fine!" Orihime said, watching as Uryu's face broke into another smile.
"I'm glad to hear it," he said, holding out the skirt. "Would you mind quickly wearing it so that I can take a picture for my portfolio?"
Orihime nodded enthusiastically, taking the skirt and slipping it on over her school uniform. Orihime noticed that Uryu was averting his gaze, even though she wasn't taking anything off. What a nice guy, she thought.
Once the skirt was on, Orihime admired her reflection in the glass pane of the window and saw that the skirt really was beautiful. Also, the blue ribbons perfectly matched her hair clips and the waistband fitted her perfectly! Orihime frowned slightly, wondering how on earth Uryu thought it would ever remain in place on Rukia's narrow hips, before shaking her head slightly. Rukia can always tie the bow tighter, Orihime thought. "You know, you can look now," she said, and Uryu turned to face her.
His eyes widened as he took in the sight. "Gorgeous," he murmured to himself, taking out a camera. "Do you think you could stand against the wall over there?" he asked Orihime, gesturing towards an area at the back of the classroom. Orihime obligingly floated over, and stood against the wall in question, beaming as Uryu took out a digital camera and snapped her picture.
"Can I see?" Orihime asked excitedly as she bounced over to Uryu and examined the image. "It looks absolutely amazing!" she announced, grinning at her friend who proceeded to blush slightly and put the camera away.
"I'm really glad you think so, Orihime," he said quietly. "I think it really suits you."
"Whoever it's for is really lucky!" Orihime exclaimed.
"It's yours," Uryu replied, softly, before returning to his desk and putting away his sewing supplies.
Orihime blinked. "But what about R... I mean, the intended recipient?"
"I, er, think she would want you to have it," Uryu said distractedly, winding up the remaining ribbon and placing it back in his bag with his scissors. "Anyway, it wouldn't look half so good on anybody else."
"Are you absolutely sure?" Orihime asked, making her way over to his desk to help him pack up.
"I'm positive," Uryu responded, moving his hand to push up his glasses again.
However, before he could do so, Orihime had thrown her arms around him in a hug and Uryu straightened up in surprise, unable to move. "Thank you so much!" she cried gratefully, eventually letting him go and giggling as she noticed his face turning pink behind his hand. Perhaps the skirt hadn't been intended for Rukia in the first place.