"Orihime… Orihime!"
"Hmm?"
"Don't lean too far, you'll fall out!"
"Okay!" she agreed gaily.
Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief as she retook her seat in their little rowboat. He had decided to take them out for a row on the outskirts of Karakura, but he should've thought to bring a seatbelt or something for her.
"Are there fish in this lake, Ichigo?" she asked happily.
"Uhh, I guess so." No doubt she had been looking for them when she leant over the edge of the boat.
"Oooh, I hope they're the giant chomping piranha kind!" her eyes widened in horror. "But then they might bite through the boat. That'd be no good!"
"… I'm sure we don't have that type of fish here, Orihime."
"Hmmm… well, I suppose that's for the best then!"
His arms were slowly tiring from all the rowing but being a manly man didn't want to admit it, so he suggested, "How about we stop soon and have some lunch?"
"Okay! I packed us some pickle and jam sandwiches today!"
Ichigo hoped his stomach would hold out until dinnertime.
"I've always liked lakes since I was little." she said softly. "My brother used to bring us here and we'd skip stones." her eyes softened slightly with sadness, but she brightened up again after a moment. "Plus, I loved the idea of rowing since I saw The Little Mermaid!"
Ichigo cast his mind back to the film but remembered he had fallen asleep before the end.
"What happens?"
"You haven't seen it?" she asked incredulously. "There's the scene where the prince and the mermaid are rowing in a little boat and the crab sings to them with the frogs and birds!"
Considering it was a Disney film, Ichigo was curious as to whether this was Orihime being Orihime or actually part of the film.
"So… you wanted to go rowing so… little animals would sing to you?" he hazarded a guess.
"No, silly." She laughed as Ichigo brought them into shore. "The prince and mermaid almost kiss in the boat."
"Almost?"
"The eels flip the boat over before they can." she explained matter-of-factly.
"Right…" Ichigo nodded, deciding to watch the film so he'd know what she was talking about.
Then he got the hint.
He took her hand gently to help her out of the boat.
"Thank you, Ichi—" before she could finish, Ichigo, still clasping her hand, pulled her closer and kissed her softly.
When he pulled away, Orihime smiled radiantly and squeezed his hand.
Oh well, he figured one pickle and jam sandwich couldn't hurt him if she continued to smile at him like that.