Daltonian
"Would you sit still for two minutes?" She sat upright and straightened her head. His fingers moved gently through her hair, deftly drawing lose locks into the growing braid. She turned and smiled at her boyfriend,
"I love the necklace you got me. How did you know I wanted it?"
"I just knew it." He answered, his eyes never leaving the tanned fingers and the way they glided through his girlfriend's hair, remembering, painfully, that those fingers had picked out the first good gift he had ever gotten his own girlfriend, the one she termed 'her favorite' and never took off.
"It's because you have such bad taste." Renji teased, to which Tatsuki jabbed him playfully in the side.
Orihime watched, disquieted, as Renji braided Tatsuki's hair with gentle precision. He hadn't asked and she did not object, Renji had simply knelt behind her and begun braiding her hair all the while teasing her about its poor condition.
"Hey," Tatsuki motioned for him to lower his head; she raised her lips to his ears and whispered something into his ear.
Orihime stared, dismayed, at the scene before her; Renji's chest pressed firmly against the Tatsuki's back as he leaned slightly over her shoulder, his fingers still tangled in her half-braided hair.
The other occupants of the room fell silent, they too entranced by the pair.
"Don't be silly." Renji laughed. Tatsuki looked up and flashed him a smile and their eyes met; they stared deeply at each other for what seemed like an eternity before Renji playfully pushed her head down, "What did I tell you about sitting still?"
"That it is bad for me?" Renji lifted one eyebrow, his eyes still fixed on hers.
"Sit still." He flashed her a look of mock annoyance. Tatsuki stuck out her tongue at him before she turned towards her boyfriend and continued chatting about the film they had just seen together.
Orihime watched the pair, her heart breaking with each interaction; they were going to hurt Ichigo. She had always felt that they pushed the boundary of platonic but it was only now that she realized that they were going to hurt Ichigo, not intentionally, of course, but they were going to – sooner or later – break his heart.
A month ago Ishida had asked her if she had given up Ichigo for nothing, she had said 'no'. Now she realized that she had been so wrapped up in her desire to sacrifice for them that she could not see that giving up Ichigo was the worst thing she could have done for either of them.
Renji placed his hands on her temples and moved them upwards and across her hair, brushing down lose strands of hair. "Done" He smiled, "you finally look decent."
He rose to his feet and held out his hand. More painful than watching Tatsuki place her hand in his and allowing him help her to her feet, was watching the way her hand lingered in his for much too long.
She looked at Ishida who looked back at her.
She looked at Rukia whose eyes, full of pity, were fixed on Ichigo.
She looked at Chad whose carefully blank face – for the first time – could not hide his discomfort.
Had she been the last to see it?
The occupants of the room watched, forced to bite their tongues as Tatsuki picked Renji's shirt off his chair. "Do you know what this is?"
"A mystical object that will protect me from the wrath of fire-breathing dragons." Renji smiled as Tatsuki casually slipped the dark blue shirt onto him.
Tatsuki laughed lightly and nudged his shoulder. It was an inside joke that only the two of them understood, Orihime could see that even Ichigo did not understand and somehow that hurt her more than losing him to her best friend.
"It's a magical tool that will hide your hideous tattoos thereby sparing us all."
"Oh please," he pulled at her braid playfully, "you like my tattoos; they are the only reason you put up with me."
"The only reason I put up with you is that your sakura print kimono." Tatsuki replied with a grin as she swatted his hand away.
Orihime could see it. She was pretty sure Rukia could as well. She knew Ishida knew it but had already said as much as he would. She knew they themselves did not realize it and neither did Ichigo – but he could feel it, she could see it in the way he held Tatsuki's hand tighter and always tried to keep her by his side whenever Renji was around.
She watched Renji buttoning up his shirt and Tatsuki running her hand over her braid, admiring the handiwork, and wondered how long it would take them to notice and if they would hate themselves for it.
A/N: This is for my friend Kathy, who is a diehard Renji/Tatsuki or Grimmjow/Tatsuki shipper – depending on her mood.