A/N; Set after they rescue 'Hime from Ul-queer-ia.
Disclaimer; Not mine.
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Breathe, you idiot!
He waited, pacing and muttering to himself, trying all the while to remember to breathe.
She likes Ichigo. She loves Ichigo. Even if she didn't, it wouldn't be okay to... I mean, even if she'd never met Ichigo, it still wouldn't be okay. Well... if she hadn't met Ichigo, that would mean he wouldn't be here, which would mean that I, too, would have never met him, which means we would have never come together to be as close as we are in the first place, and that wouldn't be good. Not at all. Even so, she is much too good for something like the fickle whims of a naive Quincy... even without Ichigo, it wouldn't be okay.
Inhale. Exhale. Ishida glanced toward the door. A few giggling girls walked in, but not her. His feet wouldn't stop, so sitting at his desk would be impossible. She wasn't here yet. Handicrafts club would start in less than ten minutes. Where was she?
Calm down. Turning this into a stressful situation won't help your blood pressure. Instead, practice once more what you'll say to her.
Welcome back, Inoue-san.
It's so formal. But she's never minded. "Inoue-san" would probably be what he'd call her for the rest of their days together. Until she married. He could imagine the lucky man being tall, fit, kind, and very popular. Very much like Ichigo. Very much worthy of the princess.
That's right. Someone else. I'm not her type, anyway. Besides, it isn't love. It's just a stuffed bear. With lace. And a tiny satin heart. Maybe I should rip that out before she sees...
Ishida considered this while examining the door once again. She wasn't there. With a tiny, barely noticable slump in his shoulders, he took a miniature sewing kit to his desk and forced himself to sit. Picking a silvery blue spool of thread, the Uryuu took the bear by the ankle and regarded the Quincy cross on the sole of its foot. His own personal touch. He could change it, just this once. He had time to kill, anyway.
Quick as lightening, he began, threading stitch after tireless stitch.
Ichigo and Rukia. They've done most of the work in bringing her back. Much more than I was able to accomplish. Even today, I couldn't bring myself to say anything to her. Wimp. Ishida paused only once, at the very end. You can't even work harder...
"Good afternoon, Ishida-kun."
... to save the woman you love?
"Ah!" The startled boy jumped reflexively at the sudden vision of a face smiling into his own. "Y-yes! Good afternoon!"
"What a cute bear!" Orihime smiled. It was an exhausted smile. She looked so... drained. "Can I see it?"
"Oh... yes!" He made no move to hand it to her, and flushed when she laughed, taking it from him.
"Did you make it yourself?" She smiled at it, fingering the lace and poking at the heart with a giggle.
"I did." He pushed his glases further up the bridge of his nose nervously.
"For Kuchiki-san?" She held it back out to him. "Like the dress? I'm sure she'll be so happy!"
"Ah... no, it's not for Rukia." Another nudge of the glasses and he looked up at her intently. "It's for you."
"For me?" She blinked, and turned it around, looking at it once more as if waiting to hear confirmation from the bear itself. And, surprisingly, she recieved it with once glance at its foot. Over the black Quincy cross, blue thread in the shape of her old hair clip stretched neatly over the whole foot bottom.
"Y-yes." Ishida smiled ever-so-slightly at the light in her eyes, which seemed to glow a little bit brighter. "Welcome back, Inoue-san."