AN: There will be at least one more chapter of this (maybe more), they are still whispering their story in my head. Depending how the tale plays out, the rating may change as well.
Renji Abarai was having a tough day. He sighed, his hand curling a bit more protectively around his sake bowl as he tipped the last few drops of the last bottle into it, raising the bowl to his lips and draining it dry in one go. Okay, maybe it wasn't just a tough day. Maybe, if he was honest with himself, it had been more like a tough month. Or two. Or more. Today was just the culmination of something he had known was coming ever since Ichigo had turned up in Soul Society to save Rukia. Ichigo finally got his head out of his ass long enough to realize he loved Rukia. And Rukia finally admitted to her brother that she loved Ichigo. Then the two of them threw this dinner party for all their friends to announce that they were planning to get married this coming summer. Happy, happy, joy, joy, right? Unless you happened to be a certain Lieutenant who had been carrying a torch for the newly-engaged girl since you were a kid. The red-haired shinigami made a face, leaning back from the table a bit as he squinted at the rows of empty bottles littering its surface.
"Figures." He muttered to himself, his voice a low rumble as he double-checked bottles he knew were empty, hoping against hope one still had some sake in it. "I didn't have the guts to speak up when I should have...I lost the girl to a friend...and now, I don't have enough sake. Life sucks." He looked around with bleary eyes, noticing for the first time that said friend and girl were gone, as were most of the other invited guests. Those remaining were a few unfortunates who had managed to drink too much sake and passed out at their tables and a few of the members of Squad 4, who were already beginning to clean up the tables at the far end of the room and help the drunks back to their respective barracks. His lip curled faintly and he pushed himself unsteadily to his feet. Maybe there was more sake at another table.
He blinked as the room spun around him when he stood. Huh. Stuff must have been stronger than he thought. He closed his eyes, letting the room stabilize around him for a few long moments before opening them again. The spinning had settled down to a gentle sway and he grinned to himself. Ha! The infamous Abarai constitution wins again! He took a few stumbling steps forward, then went down in a graceless heap, his head catching the edge of a table as he hit the mats. The pain bloomed instantly, white hot, surprising a rough grunt from him. He raised his hand to his head, gingerly checking for blood, only to find his hand gently batted away.
A blur of silky, orange hair obscured his vision as he opened his eyes, a beautiful face hovering over his own.
"O..o'hime?" The name slurred from his lips.
"Hai, Renji-san." There was no mistaking the soft tones as cool fingers stroked the hair back from his face, gently probing the red welt on his temple. "Don't worry, you'll be good as new in a jiffy!"
A golden glow surrounded him, making him close his eyes against its light. He tuned out her voice, aware of her babbling on as she healed him. The alcohol was still working through him, making him heavy, tired. The glow of her healing was warm, her voice quiet - he could feel himself drifting away. A sudden, vivid memory from earlier in the evening filled his mind for a moment - Ichigo and Rukia standing before their friends, hands clasped...Ichigo's voice carrying through the room as he announced their wedding plans...the happiness radiating from Rukia's eyes...and the memory of hearing a glass fall, his eyes diverting from Rukia to Orihime...the stricken, heartbroken look in the younger girl's face, there for just a moment before being replaced by a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and her usual fuss over her own clumsiness as she loudly congratulated the couple and cleaned up the spilled drink. He didn't recall seeing much of her at the party after that and had assumed she left with the other guests. Of course, he didn't remember much of the rest of the party period. The rest of his thoughts slipped away as his body gave in to the sake and the warmth of Orihime's healing and he finally passed out.
Orihime Inoue was having a tough day. The smile on her face felt like it was going to crack her head in two. The cool drink she had spilled was soaking into her best kimono, worn just for this party because Ichigo said it was a special day and because he had made an offhand comment once that she looked pretty in that shade of green. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, and really, from the looks on everyone around her, she must have been dense as a board not to have guessed when he stood up and made his announcement. Ichigo...her Ichigo...was marrying Rukia. For one instant, she thought she had misheard and then in the next, she felt her heart breaking. If she was honest with herself, some corner of her heart had known this day was coming. The crash of her glass breaking on the table pulled the attention of everyone to her and she covered swiftly, laughing at her own clumsiness and wiping up the spilled tea while rattling on and on about how happy she was for the couple and what a prosperous life she wished for them and making an offer to help cater the wedding. (Honestly, she LIKED her cooking and didn't understand why no one else except Masumoto did too, although bringing up her cooking was always a good way to refocus people's attention!) The rest of the evening had passed in a blur for her. she remembered smiling...smiling until her cheeks ached...making small talk, going from table to table chattering at her friends and people she knew from Soul Society. She managed to keep herself away from the happy couple, managed to not have to face Ichigo or Rukia alone. She vaguely thought that Ishida, or maybe Chad, had been by her side for a chunk of the time, but she was unsure. Heck, she couldn't have repeated a single conversation she'd had all night if her life depended on it - the only thing that kept echoing in her head was Ichigo's words.
"Thank you all for coming tonight. It means a lot to me...to us..." she heard his voice again, saw the smile he gave to Rukia sitting beside him, "for you all to share in our happiness. Rukia and I are getting married this summer."
She had missed Ichigo and Rukia leaving the party and once they were gone, she had quietly collected another cup of tea and slipped out onto the veranda, wanting simply to be alone. She had no idea how long she sat there, the tea untouched and going cold, hugging her knees to her chest as she resolutely concentrated on trying to be happy for her friends. By the time she came back inside, the party was over and most of the partygoers had gone home or headed out to other bars to keep the celebration going. A flicker of red caught her eye, and she saw Renji alone at a corner table. She intended to slip out quietly without a word, but when she saw how badly he was swaying, she altered her course towards his table. She hadn't gone more than a few steps when she saw him stumble and go down, the clunk of his head hitting the table echoing in the quiet room.
She reached his side before the Squad 4 members did, cradling his head in her lap. She smiled softly at the medic, refusing their offer to take the drunken Lieutenant back to their hospital. Renji wasn't seriously hurt and she was more than capable of healing the lump on his head. She had seen him drunk before, naturally, but she had never seen the tall shinigami so out of it that he couldn't walk straight. She had a feeling that the news hit him just as hard as it did her, after all, there wasn't a soul in Soul Society who didn't know about his feelings for Rukia. She watched him as her shun shun rikka did their work, the golden light bathing him and the healing bringing an easing to the pained lines of his face. She stroked his hair lightly, brushing back strands which had fallen from his usual ponytail, her heart going out to the unconscious older man, knowing the pain he must be feeling to see someone precious to him belong to another. When her healing was finished, she shook his shoulder gently to awaken him.
"Come, Renji-san. It's time to go home. The party is over." She smiled at him, pleased to see him crack an eye open, then smile at her at the lack of pain in his head.
He was startled to find himself with his head in her lap and jumped up, apologizing. The room spun once more and he realized that, while she had healed his head, she had not completely obliterated his drunk.
"Thank you, Orihime. I feel much better." He looked around, not seeing any of the others from Karakura Town. He swayed slightly, her light grip on his arm keeping him steady on his feet. "Where are you staying tonight, or are you going home to Karakura?"
She laughed lightly, shrugging in that self-deprecating way she had when she was unsure of herself. "Oh, I will find someplace. I really hadn't thought about it yet. I think the others are staying..." Her voice trailed off as she looked around the room too. "U-usually I stay with Rukia." She didn't say anything else, just looked at her feet.
He nodded once, firmly, and then slung an arm around her shoulder, surprising a squeak out of the girl. "It's settled then. You're coming home with me." He laughed; leaning into her a little more then was proper, but completely necessary as the room spun once more around him. The blush on her cheeks and the wide, open eyed look she gave him were priceless. He knew instantly she had taken his words the wrong way, but the look on her face was adorable. He grinned, then set her mind at ease. "It's too late for you to head back to Karakura. You need a place to stay, and I need to get home in one piece. It would be a shame if your healing was wasted by me falling and cracking my head open again on the way home. You can have my bed, and I'll take the couch."
She gave a tiny giggle at that, looking up at him with earnest eyes. "I can walk you home, Renji-san. But you don't have to give up your bed for me, I don't want to be a bother. Just toss me in a corner and I will be fine!"
"Tch! I may not have many manners, but there is no way a friend like you is sleeping on the floor. Come on, Orihime." He swayed again, turning her and heading for the door. "We both need sleep. Things will be better tomorrow."
"Hai, Renji-san. Things will be better tomorrow."
They leaned into each other and slowly began the trek to Renji's small house in the Sixth.