The gloomy bedroom was at least eight degrees warmer than the rest of the house, nursed by the humidifier in the corner and the haggard breathing of the ill person. Tatsuki and Ichigo stared each other down over Yuuka's unconscious form. They were alone in the house, abandoned by their friends in favor of a ski trip, but neither spoke, preferring the awkward silence over even more awkward small talk.

Finally, Tatsuki took the bullet. "Ichigo? I'm going to go heat something up. Is chicken noodle soup okay?" He nodded, his unblinking gaze fastened on Yuuka's numerous quilts. Tatsuki grimaced weakly and slipped out, closing the door behind her.

When she returned Ichigo hadn't budged an inch. She set the platter on the rug before him and knelt down, her fists clenching and unclenching at her sides.

Back in middle school, she and Ichigo used to be like two peas in a pod. Best friends. The dos amigos. But since they started high school they'd grown apart, her time taken up by sports and Ichigo just plain disappearing for long periods of time with no explanation. They'd almost lost their friendship completely, until Tatsuki befriended Yuuka in judo club. She seemed to know all of Ichigo's new friends, calling them by their first names and eating lunches with their group. At Yuuka's insistence, she'd finally reestablished her friendship with Ichigo. And at Tatsuki's insistence, Yuuka finally confessed her feelings for Ichigo.

Now that she inspected Ichigo closer in the dim light, Tatsuki noticed he wasn't simply scowling and sulking like usual. There were dark bags beneath his eyes. His unnaturally orange hair was even messier than normal. He'd been here at Yuuka's side for over 24 hours now, she remembered. Of course he would be exhausted.

Tatsuki smiled as one of Ichigo's eyes slit open and he slurped a spoonful of soup.

So he was awake.

She had been curious about something for a while now, and seeing this side of Ichigo—the patient, kind, worried, vulnerable side—made her even more desperate to know.

Would it be okay to ask him? This was the first time she had been (relatively) alone with him since middle school. Would he be embarrassed? Well, that was a duh question.

Should she ask?

"I-Ichigo?"

"Hmm?"

"Why do you like Yuuka? I-I mean, what about her made you choose her?"

As she always did on Monday nights, she had been watching those reality dramas on TV again. During one of those "Marriage Ref" episodes, a wedding counselor had asked this "miracle question," and each time it either made or broke the relationship.

What was it that made couples so happy all the time? What sparkedthat, and what kept them together?

After almost an hour of Rukia listing off Renji's good qualities with a honeymoon glow yesterday, she looked forward to Ichigo's response, which was guaranteed to be more compact.

Ichigo was quiet for a long time, and Tatsuki worried that he had actually fallen asleep. She wouldn't disturb him; he'd been so preoccupied over the last couple days that he deserved any rest he could get.

"I guess…" his gravelly voice surprised her, "It's her… body."

Tatsuki couldn't explain the immense crackle that ran up and down her frame. Nor should she comprehend the frighteningly heavy heat that ripped through her. Nor did it make any sense how loud a noise her palm made when it smacked his cheek.

But she was darn proud of it.

"I can't believe you, Ichigo!" she shouted. "How could you? Yuuka loves you! To think that you only think of her as a—a—a piece of—!"

His big hand clapped over her mouth before she finished. "Sh... Tatsuki," he mumbled. "You're gonna wake her up."

She bit his hand, forcing him to withdraw. "You think that's the issue here? My friend's boyfriend doesn't really like her—"

"Don't ever say that." Somehow his severe tone caught her attention, despite her hysterics. "Don't ever say I don't love Yuuka. She's… everything to me."

Tatsuki glared at him through narrowed eyes while he regarded Yuuka's body (Yuuka, miraculously, was too sick to be disturbed by this). Fingers prodded her scabby knees and scarred calves.

"She got this playing soccer two weeks ago," he explained quietly. "She slid to make a shot, and the goalie's cleats found her legs. We needed a ton of disinfectant, but it was a pretty sick goal."

Tatsuki glared daggers, daring him to shimmy his hands any higher. Ichigo paid no mind, releasing his girlfriend's legs and brushing her shoulder. "And… Yuuka is always sore and beat up from football, even though she's technically not allowed to play. She tries to sub in for whoever skipped out on practice, and she never cries, no matter how much it hurts. Everyone on the team respects her for it."

He shifted so he could point to her feet. As he spoke, Tatsuki realized that her indignant expression had dissolved. "Yuuka's feet are calloused and hard because she's always running around helping people," Ichigo said. "It's just who she is."

His hands, noticeably calloused themselves, found Yuuka's, and Tatsuki smiled despite herself. "She's always got a cold because she gives people her coat when it's raining," he said. "Those scars and flaws on her face and arms? Her crooked nose? From keeping her mouth shut and fists still when she was bullied."

Yuuka had never admitted to her where those came from.

"Those ugly scars on her hands? They're from splitting her knuckles on some poor kid's braces when he made a crack about you."

Tatsuki had never seen Ichigo's face this tender before. He gazed down at the sick person for a moment longer before coming out of his trance and looking up at her. "But the most important thing," he breathed, "the part that I can never let go of, is here."

Tatsuki's eyes followed his hand, which traced up to rest above Yuuka's heart, and widened when he nudged open her collar and bared the skin there. Her vision started getting red again, and she found herself coiling her arm to slug him. He glanced up at her with sincere brown eyes and whispered, "Look."

To her surprise, Tatsuki noticed something in Yuuka's chest: a patch of irregularly-shaped scar tissue, easily distinguishable from the normal-colored skin around it.

"And Yuuka got this… because she jumped."

Tatsuki's patience was wearing thin, especially as a new thought came to her: "Ichigo, are you a sadist? All your favorite things about your girlfriend are her injuries. I never knew you were that kind of person."

Over the mound of blankets between them, Ichigo grimaced and continued, "she got this scar because she jumped in front of me. You remember Taji Ariwa."

Of course she remembered Taji. That violent, callous man had popped out of nowhere and committed all of his destructive energy to "ending" Ichigo. "What does he have to do with—"

She jumped in front of me.

"—oh."

"Yeah. That's why I'm not going to let something as stupid as the flu take the girl I love away from me."

Thank you so much for reading. I picked the name "Yuuka" at random because this isn't an actual OC of mine, just a scene idea. Hope you enjoyed, and have a nice day!