Orihime wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation. She had come home after running some errands to find something on her bed that hadn't been there previously.
A snoozing Kurosaki Ichigo covered by nothing but two ridiculously large ribbons, one of which placed quite strategically and the other around his neck.
"Oh dear..." she thought, blushing madly.
Tentatively, she tiptoed over to see if what was there was indeed the real thing, and not just some silly thing that had been placed there as a joke. Sadly, no, the Ichigo that was lying there sleeping wistfully unaware was indeed completely human, as his chest (oh, that chiseled chest) rose up and down rhythmically.
"Oh dear..." she thought again.
Then, she spotted a small white card beside him. Curious, she picked it up and unfolded it to read the inside. The top half was obviously Rangiku's writing, followed by several familiar signatures.
"Happy Birthday, Orihime-chan! We all worked hard to get this for you, so we hope you enjoy your present! ; )
Rangiku, Rukia, Tatsuki, Yoruichi, and the entire Shinigami Women's Association 3"
Oh my.
There also appeared to be more writing on the other side, and it was hastily scribbled scrawling she didn't recognize at first.
"Here's to Ichigo finally getting laid and becoming a man!
Renji, Ikkaku, Hisagi, Yumichika, Urahara, the Vizords, the rest of the 11th Division and the Society of Male Shinigami."
Apparently, that one wasn't meant for her eyes, she mused as her gaze flickered over to the still sleeping substitute shinigami and she blushed a brighter red.
She wasn't sure how her friends got her such a 'present' (and what they did to get it) but she decided that maybe in the future she didn't want any presents from them. It was taking all her willpower not to pass out from too much blood rushing to her face. But there wasn't much she could really do about it.
"M-Maybe I should find him a blanket..."
With that thought, she shuffled over to the closet to get out something to cover him up with, because it was a little chilly in the room (or maybe that was just from the excessive heat coming from her face). However, soon after she opened the door, she slammed it shut and her face, though it thought impossible, burned brighter.
"Have plenty of fun with these too! 3"
She stared at the little pink Post-It note she swore hadn't been there previously, and a very mean-sounding voice in the back of her head suggested that she get new friends.
A groan startled her out of her reverie and she swung around to look at the bed. Ichigo stirred, but soon turned over blissfully ignorant. She sighed, putting a hand to her chest to calm her heart as it thudded against her chest.
"Well...there's not much I can do..."
Shyly, Orihime padded over to the bed, standing by the side where Ichigo's back faced her. She slowly, cautiously leaned over and tapped Ichigo on the shoulder. She wasn't entirely sure if the sparks that seemed to shoot through her whole body from the contact were a good or bad thing.
"Kurosaki-kun..." she whispered.
No response. She frowned a bit awkwardly, and decided a slightly new tactic. Once more, carefully, she leaned over, but this time poked the Deathberry in the side a couple times.
"Kurosaki-kun..." she hissed a little louder.
This time Ichigo grumbled something incoherant and turned back over towards her. Orihime froze at this, since his face was in close proximity to the hand she was using to support herself on the bed, and she could feel his warm breath. Gulping in an attempt to restore her resolution, she tapped him once more on the shoulder, but with a little more force.
"K-Kurosaki-kun," she murmured, raising her voice a little more.
"Mmm, gimme five more minutes, Yuzu..." he muttered, curling up and grabbing her supporting arm to snuggle with.
"Eeep!" Orihime squeaked as she almost lost her balance and toppled over Ichigo.
Oh no...
Now she was in a truly compromising position.
"I wouldn't have really thought Kurosaki-kun to be a snuggle kind of person..."
In any other situation, she might have thought it cute, but there were more pressing matters. Resolutely (or at least as best as she could muster), she gently placed her hand on his shoulder and shook him.
"Kurosaki-kun, please wake up," she said.
Another grunt, but she wasn't having that.
"Kurosaki-kun."
"Whaddya want?" he grumbled.
"For you to wake up...please?"
Once more, he grunted. Orihime suddenly suspected that their friends may have slipped something to Ichigo, as she thought him to be less stubborn about waking up.
"U-um, I kind of need my hand back..."
Silence.
"Kurosaki-kun?"
She bent over as best she could to check his face and see if he was waking. Surely enough, chocolate brown orbs cracked open drearily, blinking several times before taking in his environment. Upon seeing her flushed and awkward yet concerned face in close proximity to his, his eyes snapped open with sudden alertness.
"GAH!"
She jumped a little, and in half a second he let go of her arm and flew back...and off the bed.
"I-Inoue, w-what are you doing here?!"
Orihime went red and averted her gaze elsewhere. Ichigo looked down and seemed to notice his state of undress.
"AHH!" he screamed, and grabbed the comforter off her bed to cover himself as he matched her blush. "What the hell's going on?! Where the hell am I?!"
"My apartment...my room," Orihime managed to squeak out.
"How?!"
Orihime handed him the card. His brow furrowed in confusion, but he took it and glanced at the handwriting. She noticed his eyebrow twitch with the first one, then he scowled with the second, but his face went a deeper red in a mix of anger and embarrassment and he threw the card away.
"WHAT THE HELL KIND OF PRESENT IS THIS?!"
A good eyeful, Orihime thought passively before frantically squashing the thought down.
"I-I'm sorry Kurosaki-kun. This is my fault...I don't really know how it is, b-but it appears our friends thought this would be a good present for me a-and-"
She heard a ragged sigh and from the corner of her eye she watched Ichigo run his fingers through his hair.
"No, it's not your fault Inoue. Blame our friends," he said, with a muttered "I'm gonna kill them all later..."
"U-um, Kurosaki-kun? Please don't hurt them too much...I-I-I-I-I r-r-r-reall-l-l-ly don't m-m-mind...this...p-p-present..." she mumbled, her voice getting quieter.
Ichigo gawked at her in surprise and the apartment went silent.
Dark: This one was completely spontaneous, and inspired by something tite from FLOL said about what Hime should get for her birthday (yes, it did involve Ichigo and a bow). It's a month late, but I already did something for Hime's birthday, so this is just a plot bunny that rabidly attack me.
It's up to you what happens after that and as to what kind of things were in the closet. Reviews are always fun. And for the record, I was thinking this was set in their third year of high school. No, they are not dating, but they might be after this XD
EDIT: Hopefully this shows up D: I have to apologize to those who have put this on their story alerts, because this wasn't actually meant to be continued, and I hadn't realized that I forgot to label it as Complete. I might (read: might) write an omake for it regarding the events leading to Ichigo being in Hime's room, but this was something wrote completely spontaneously, so unless a plot brick hits me and the bunnies steal away with me, don't count on anything being added. Sorry again.