Tatsuki awoke the next morning, slightly confused. Orihime was no where to be seen. Had she merely arrived at Orihime's house and fallen asleep in her bed? How monstrously unfair she thought bitterly, that the best night of her life was just a dream. She put her jacket and shoes on grumpily. Last night had seemed so real. She would go back home and just have to wait for Orihime. She looked around the apartment, half expecting Orihime to pop up from behind some piece of furniture, before grabbing the door and wrenching it inward.
Orihime, who had been holding onto the opposing side of the doorknob, was pulled inside due to the force of Tatsuki's actions and flung on top of her. Tatsuki took at moment to appreciate what was going on. She stared up at Orihime blankly. "You know, Tatsuki I really don't mind you doing cute things like this but maybe a little less violent next time, okay, sweetie?" She kissed the tip of Tatsuki's nose and rose gracefully to put her groceries away. Tatsuki continued to lay there motionless; reality was slicing through her depressing assumptions of Orihime's disappearance. More over, Orihime had called her "sweetie". She could have purred with pleasure. She rolled over with a wolfish grin on her face and crawled towards Orihime. It was her turn to make Orihime blush.
She kneeled next to Orihime's leg. She pressed her tongue against Orihime's calf and dragged it against her smooth skin. She pressed her lips down and sucked. Orihime's face was red as she looked down at Tatsuki. Tatsuki rose up and asked playfully, "What, did you like that?" Orihime managed to stutter out, "Well…it was…it felt…I liked it. A lot."
Tatsuki laughed. "Let's go to the beach today. It'll be a nice way to get the stress off and I think it'd be cool for just us to go on a date." Tatsuki liked how that sounded. Orihime agreed eagerly, grabbing a towel and a bathing suit and smiling at Tatsuki. Tatsuki was happy to see her in a good mood, and would be even happier when Orihime had that rather nice bikini on. She liked how the day was going. They walked hand in hand to Tatsuki's house to get her things. When they arrived, Tatsuki found a note on the refrigerator from her parents. They were going to be away for about a week. Orihime, who was reading over her shoulder, wrapped her hands around Tatsuki's chest, teasing at the buttons on her shirt. "A whole week to ourselves, huh? Sounds…"she leaned closer to Tatsuki's ear, "Fun. But today, let's just go to the beach."
They got on the bus and rode for an uneventful hour. Orihime fell asleep on Tatsuki's shoulder a few minutes into the ride. Tatsuki had sometime to think about her and Orihime. Sure, a whole week to themselves probably would lead to some…enjoyable…type of conduct, but was Orihime ready for that? She had gotten such fruitful responses from her from the little things she did, would it take much to get more from her? Tatsuki smiled inwardly as she struggled to not to imagine what Orihime would look like writhing on the bed, moaning with pleasure. She blushed a deep shade of red. But these things took time. Which is something they both had enough of.
They got of the bus and sprinted to the water. They splashed about and swam out as far as they could. They laughed as they treaded water. Tatsuki pressed the water from her hair and smiled at Orihime. "Get on my back", she said spinning around to make it easier. Orihime quickly obliged. "Take a deep breath and hold on tight!"
Tatsuki, with muscles toned to perfect from her karate, gave a powerful kick to get deeper underwater. She was swimming pretty fast, for having Orihime on her back. The reached a rocky reef in moments. She sifted through the sand at the base of rocks. Some colorful fish flitted past. Orihime grinned with excitement. Tatsuki clutched her new found item and pushed from the bottom back to the surface. Orihime laughed as she took a few deep breaths.
"What was that all about?" she asked, sounding genuinely curious.
"You'll see. Back to the shore!" Tatsuki responded, happy to keep her in the dark for a while.
When they got to shallow water, they just floated and let the waves carry them in, feeling like children. They lay in each other's arms on the sand for several moments, the waves lapping gently against their wet bodies as they watched the sun set. Tatsuki showed Orihime her prize from the deep. It was a small circle of glossy abalone shell. It shone brightly against the sun's retreating rays. At the top of the shell was a small hole. Tatsuki pulled a bit of string from the pockets of her board shorts and fit it through gently. She pulled Orihime close and wrapped the string around her neck and tied it tightly. Orihime held it in her hand admiringly.
"There", said Tatsuki looking at the makeshift pendant, now hanging and inch or two above Orihime's breasts, "now you have something to remind you of me and today. And how much you love me." Orihime smiled and kissed her on the check, saying "Why would I need something to remind me of something I always have with me?" Their faces were just inches from each other. Tatsuki, closing eyes as she bent her head sideways, quickly responded, "Insurance". They kissed each other as the sun sank bellow the horizon.
They packed their things and got on the bus. Orihime fell asleep again. Tatsuki watched her protectively. Tatsuki was surprised at how sleepy Orihime was. When they got to Orihime's house, Tatsuki suggested that she go home and let her sleep. Orihime gave her a long kiss, now gently sucking on her bottom lip, now with tongues moving against each other slowly. Tatsuki let out a short moan of pleasure. She begged Tatsuki to say. Tatsuki quickly changed her mind, saying "Well, you're very…convincing". Orihime fell asleep the moment she touched down on the bed. Tatsuki chuckled and tucked her in. She lay next to her, quietly stroking her face and hair, before falling asleep herself.