A/N: This was supposed to be part of the IH Snapshots series, but then it grew and grew and I had to make it into a separate fic -_-; This has to be the longest fic I've written so far.
And yeah, its more IchiHime fluff, coz that's all I'm capable of writing…ehehe...
Green-eyed Shinigami
There were times when Orihime was thankful for Ichigo's clueless nature. This happened to be one of those times.
She glanced in irritation at the bunch of giggling school-girls standing at the corner of the shop, pretending to be going through the selection of bags. But it was obvious enough to Orihime that they were much too busy ogling at Ichigo, pausing to whisper comments and then promptly giggling again.
The orange-haired Shinigami was of course completely oblivious. He was flipping through the catalog of latest eyewear, face set in a scowl. The scowl was to be expected; Ichigo hated shopping. It had taken a lot persuasion on Orihime's part…read as pouts, sighs and veiled threats spoken with a sweet smile (the latter of which she had learned from Rukia's experience with Renji) When Ichigo had finally agreed grudgingly, she had made him wear the black button-up shirt she'd bought for him on his birthday. Now she found herself regretting that. Apparently, black really was Ichigo's color.
It wasn't just what Ichigo was wearing. Since they had started going out, Ichigo had become irresistible to the girls in their school for some inexplicable reason. Though, it could have something to do with the little incident when many of the girls had spotted him playing soccer bare-chested. The swooning and drooling had made Orihime uncharacteristically grit her teeth in annoyance. But the ensuing 'Orihime, you're so lucky' 'Gods, Orihime, I'm so jealous of you' had made up for it.
"Ah, if you ask me, this dress would look lovely on you, Inoue-san!" Kyoko, the chirpy salesgirl flaunted a crimson red dress and held it against Orihime's body. Nudging the auburn-haired girl to look in the mirror, she asked. "What do you think, Inoue-san?"
Noticing the plunging neckline and the deep slit, Orihime hesitated. "Isn't it a bit too revealing?" she asked unsurely.
Kyoko waved her hand dismissively. "Oh come on, Inoue-san. Just look at you! You have such a great body!" She stepped behind Orihime, placing both hand on her shoulders. Catching the auburn-haired girl's eye through the mirror, she whispered. "You shouldn't be afraid to flaunt those lovely curves of yours…" Kyoko grinned.
Orihime blushed. "Uh…um…well, I'm not too sure…" her gaze flickered to her boyfriend, who was still engrossed in the catalog. "What do you think, Ichigo?"
Ichigo gave a cursory glance to the dress she was holding up. "Don't like it," he said shortly before going back to reading the catalog.
Orihime sighed wearily. Ichigo could be so difficult sometimes. The scowl on his face hadn't diminished in the least. 'Does he really hate shopping with me that much?' Orihime was starting to think this was a bad idea. And it wasn't just because of Ichigo's indifferent behavior, but also the unwanted attention from his unofficial fanclub.
As if on cue, the giggling got louder. This time Ichigo heard them and looked up from the catalog. Catching his gaze on them, the girls waved at him madly. He blinked, raising one hand to wave back reflexively. He gaped when the giggles turned to squeals.
There was a ripping sound, followed by a shocked exclamation of "Inoue-san!"
Orihime's attention turned to the dress in her hand and gasped. She had accidentally ripped the soft material where she had been clutching at it tightly. "Oh, Minami-san, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize…" she apologized to the dark-haired salesgirl.
Kyoko smiled in a reassuring way, but Orihime could see she wasn't too happy about the situation. "Ah, it's alright, Inoue-san…a minor accident," she took the dress from her hand and carelessly threw it on a table. Bringing her face closer, Kyoko whispered conspiratorially, "Let him pay for it…serves him right for ignoring you like this…" she gave Ichigo a dirty glare.
"Say, Orihime, do I know those girls?" Ichigo's voice interrupted their conversation, jabbing his thumb in the direction of Orihime's irritants. " 'm just bad at remembering faces…"
"They're from our school," Orihime replied, trying to keep her voice light, "one year below us."
"Oh…" he scratched his head. "Um…what's so funny? Is there something on my face? Why are they laughing so much?"
Orihime chuckled. Really, how thick could you get? She shook her head, bringing one hand to rest on his cheek, "There's nothing wrong with your face, Ichigo." Her gaze met his and she had the mad urge to close the gap between them and kiss him, just to spite the band of giggling girls and tell them 'Now look here, he's my boyfriend!' But Ichigo was very uncomfortable with public displays of affection, and so was she.
'Jealousy can make you want to do the strangest things…'
"Ah, this is the dress for you, Inoue-san!" Kyoko's chirpy voice interrupted her thoughts. Orihime's gaze fell on the bright purple dress she was holding up.
"Hmm?" she asked distractedly.
Looping an arm around Orihime's arm, Kyoko dragged her towards the mirror. Again, holding up the dress against Orihime, she smiled brightly. "Lovely, isn't it?" Turning around to face the auburn-haired girl, Kyoko closed in till she was mere inches away from Orihime's face. "Brings out that tinge of purple in your eyes…"
Orihime couldn't help but smile at the enthusiastic grin on Kyoko's face. "You think so?"
Kyoko moved away and clapped her hands. "Of course! You should definitely try it on and see-"
"I don't like it," came Ichigo's curt voice.
Orihime blinked. "You don't?"
He walked towards the dress rack, randomly pulled out a hanger and held it out to her. His face turned the other way as he did so, one hand pushed into his pocket. "Here, try this."
Mouth open, she wordlessly took the dress from him. It was a light shade of green and the material was exceedingly soft. She took a liking to it immediately. Smiling slightly, she nodded. "Okay…"
"Ah, you can try both on, Inoue-san. Then you can decide which one's better-" Kyoko started saying.
"No, I'll just try this one…" she indicated to the green one.
Kyoko looked a bit put-out. Putting away the purple dress she said, "Alright…if you say so, Inoue-san. The trial room is that way." She pointed towards the left.
…
The dress was lovely; simple yet elegant. Observing herself in the mirror, she admired the way it fit her almost snugly. She ran a hand over the silky soft cloth, idly tracing the embroidered patterns. She smiled. 'Ichigo couldn't have picked this at random, could he?'
She pushed open the door of the trial room and stepped out, feeling slightly self-conscious. Her smile faltered as she noticed that Ichigo was now surrounded by the bunch of girls from earlier. He appeared extremely uncomfortable by the sudden attention, but the girls continued their laughing and gushing.
'The nerve!' Her hands clenched into a fist. 'Flirting with him when they know he's with me.' She had the wild urge to throw something at them.
'Maybe if I launched Tsubaki at them, they'd go away…'
"Oh my! Inoue-san, you look so pretty!" Kyoko's exclamation startled her, "Green truly is your color!"
Orihime managed a feeble smile. "Thank you…"
"So pretty!" Kyoko exclaimed once more before launching herself at the auburn-haired girl and hugging her tightly. Her hands dipped below to grab her around the waist in almost intimate manner.
Orihime gasped in surprise. "Minami-san?"
The next gasp was much more audible as she felt a sudden angry pulse of a familiar reiatsu. It was so strong that even Kyoko stepped back in confusion, brows furrowed. The air around them throbbed in anger.
Orihime warily brought her gaze to the orange-haired Shinigami who had managed to break free from his throng of admirers and was now standing right behind Kyoko. She didn't have to see his face to know that he was practically fuming. What she didn't understand was why.
Ichigo was glaring at the dark-haired salesgirl who was nearly cowering under his gaze, eyes wide and confused.
"Keep your hands off my girl." His voice was low and frigid.
Orihime felt her jaw drop. 'Was he…is he…jealous…? Of Minami-san…?'
Kyoko stepped back further. The coldness in his voice coupled with the intensity of his gaze was bound to shake even the most thick-skinned.
"Ichigo…" Orihime called out softly, deciding that letting him take out his ire on Kyoko wasn't a good idea.
Ichigo's gaze snapped towards her instantly and the brown eyes softened as they saw her. She gave him a shaky smile. He paused only for a moment before walking towards her slowly, taking in her appearance as he did so. Orihime inclined her head upwards when he stood right in front of her.
Bringing his hand to her face, he tucked one strand of hair behind her ear, smiling faintly. "You look nice…" he breathed. His anger seemed to have completely cooled down.
Orihime smiled. Coming from Ichigo, that was definitely a genuine complement.
Without warning, Ichigo's soft gaze hardened, taking an almost possessive glow. And before Orihime could register what was happening, he had grabbed her face with both hands and kissed her.
Orihime stiffened, aware of the several pairs of eyes on them and surprised that Ichigo would initiate a kiss in a public place. And it wasn't a gentle kiss either. It was demanding, hungry. Possessive.
She gasped and Ichigo took that as an invitation to slip in his tongue, tasting and exploring her mouth in earnest. She melted into his embrace, knees giving way at his ministrations and mind completely forgetting where they were.
In the brief period they had been dating, Ichigo had never been shy of kissing her when no one was looking. But even then his kisses were soft and gentle, as though he were afraid of scaring or hurting her. Now this. This was something new. Holding her close and nearly devouring her lips…it was like he was a demon marking his territory.
Orihime found herself quite liking this new side of Ichigo.
When Ichigo finally pulled back, her mind was reeling. She was breathing fast as she gazed at his brown eyes, darkened with emotion.
"Mine," he whispered.
For the life of her, Orihime couldn't argue otherwise.
There was a brief pause before Ichigo coolly turned to the shocked salesgirl who had been watching them with wide eyes. "We'll be taking this one then," he informed her nonchalantly, lips split into a smug grin.
Taking in the outraged and dismayed stares of Ichigo's little fanclub, Orihime barely suppressed a smug grin of her own.
'Mine,' her mind echoed happily.
…
"It's bad enough trying to beat away your male admirers…" Ichigo was grumbling as they walked back home. "I was this close to going Bankai on that salesgirl. I swear if she had said "Inoue-san" in that sickeningly sweet voice one more time…"
Orihime bit her lip, trying hard to stifle her laughter. Ichigo still seemed pretty annoyed.
"The bitch couldn't keep her hands to herself, and she knew you're with me…" he scowled. "And what with you encouraging her when she was flirting with you so obviously. Really, how thick can you get?"
Orihime couldn't stop a light chuckle at her thought about Ichigo from earlier being thrown back at her. "I'm sorry…?" she offered. "I didn't realize Minami-san felt anything like that for me…" she said honestly.
Ichigo shook his head. "See, this is why I don't like to go to that place."
Orihime smiled and looped an arm around his arm. "Fine, from now on we won't."
He looked down at her, surprised. "Really? I thought you liked that place?"
She shrugged. "Not that much. I'll live." She rested her head on his shoulders and they walked in silence.
Orihime had never considered Ichigo to be the jealous type; he simply seemed so casual about everything. On the other hand, her own insecurities had always made her feel envious. Now seeing Ichigo getting all possessive about her…well, she knew she should be annoyed at him for making a scene like that…but she couldn't stop the betraying thrill at the feeling of being wanted by someone she cared so much for.
She looked up at him, seeing him stare distractedly at the vehicles passing them by. Nudging his arm gently, she said, "Let's forget shopping. We'll get something to eat. How about that place?" she pointed enthusiastically at a restaurant at the end of the road. "I liked the food there last time."
Orihime realized she could possibly fall in love with this possessive side of Ichigo…
"No," Ichigo's voice cut through her thoughts. The scowl on his face was back. "Last time that waiter there couldn't stop staring at you…"
…or maybe not.
fin
A/N: Phew! Okay…it wasn't that long…but it was long by my standards :P I badly wanted to write a fic featuring a JealousPossessiveIchigo coz I love JealousPossessiveIchigo and there needs to be lot more JealousPossessiveIchigo fics in the world!
Your comments are much love :D