"People should kiss more often," Orihime declared, despite being the only sober person in a decidedly tipsy crowd. Her small hand brushed against Tatsuki's arm, the two of them side by side leaning against a kitchen work-top.

Tatsuki knew Chizuru was out in the garden, but her eyes still swept the room, alert to stop anyone taking advantage of that comment. Two boys got warning stares, a third, who'd been sidling up lecherously, got an elbow in the gut. The plate of party-food he'd been holding teetered as he lurched backwards, and three tomatoes fell off and rolled along the floor.

Inoue's eyes followed them. Her lower lip pushed forwards with just a hint of a pout at the plight of the innocent vegetable, and, mere seconds later, her eyes widened as a foot descended. Splotch. Tatsuki – well aware that the misfortune of minor groceries was more interesting to her friend than social engagement - watched the shoe traipse onwards, its owner unaware of the mess their careless movements had left behind. The spiky-haired girl leant a little further back against the kitchen counter, waiting for Inoue's inevitable reaction.

On cue, the hand that had been brushing against Tatsuki's arm shifted position and clung, and – predictably – Inoue's eyes turned to her friend, eyebrows angled in a mournful frown. Not a glare-frown, though, not like Ichigo's scowling face. A gentler expression, sympathetic and soft. Attractive, because it emphasised Inoue's long lashes and the arc of her lips.

"People shouldn't kill fruit, either."

Tatsuki blinked. It took a moment to connect this comment to the last one, the one about kissing. Mentally revisiting Inoue's declaration on kissing made her blush, too. She found herself reaching up and brushing a hand through her hair, a little flustered.

Inoue turned accusing eyes on her at the movement, mostly because it had dislodged her from her hold on Tatsuki's arm. Tatsuki, thinking fast, came up with a cunning distraction:

"Isn't the tomato a vegetable?"

"Nope! It's a fruit, it's got fruit parts. Heehee!"

Tatsuki frowned a little more as Inoue laced her fingers together and giggled again. She didn't want to know what her friend was thinking about 'fruit parts'. In fact, she wanted to go home, but no way would she leave Orihime to the mercy of the idiots here. Coming had been an annoying obligation, but Inoue had looked so enthusiastic it had made her feel guilty about being so anti-social.

"Taaa-tsuki?" Inoue chirped, turned to her friend.

Tatsuki glanced over, not doing much more than tilting her head in Orihime's direction.

"Don't you think it'd be nice to kiss a girl?"

Tatsuki choked on air.

"I mean, boys are all so tall. Too tall, like towering over us. And they aren't comfy and soft, they're all bony and ... stick-y. Not nice and gentle."

Tatsuki wasn't nice and gentle, either. She turned to face Orihime properly, giving her friend theyou're-being-silly look, a look that had been entirely developed for Orihime's benefit. Ichigo had a look dedicated to him, too, but it was the you're-being-an-idiot look, which meant much the same but said it in a very different way.

Inoue ignored the look, despite knowing what it meant. She leaned forward, looking up at Tatsuki with content eyes that looked far too alluring.

"Tatsuki's nice and gentle..."

Inoue reached up, resting her elbow on her friend's shoulder. Her hand played with the very tip of a spike of her Tatsuki's hair, thumb flicking over the end of it back and forth. Tatsuki didn't like her hair, which stuck out watever she did to it. Growing it had only resulted in it getting harder to brush, so she kept it short.

But Inoue didn't seem to care that her own hair was silkier and prettier and softer. Her eyes were dreamy.

Tatsuki sighed, but only a tiny bit. She didn't want to upset Inoue; still... "Your hair's prettier."

"It's not," Inoue retorted, "Yours you can ruffle and fluffle and play with, and it's like a lion's mane. It's nice."

"Only boy lions have manes, Inoue," Tatsuki said, knowing the argument wouldn't get her anywhere. It didn't: Inoue had stood up straighter and leant in, arms going over Tatsuki's shoulders and fingers reaching up her friend's neck to entangle themselves in her hair. Inoue's face was close to Tatsuki's, but her eyes were half-closed, russet lashes brushing her cheeks. Tatsuki felt suddenly uncomfortable. But this was Inoue, trusted and liked and loved. Inoue could play with Tatsuki's hair if she wanted, because she was Inoue.

So she let Inoue's hands brush through her hair, palms flat against her skin. She even leant in, because the feel of Inoue's fingers against her head was pleasant like a massage, and because it didn't really matter. No-one else at the party mattered; besides, they were all out in the garden drinking cheap beer. Inoue was here, and warm, and soft, and caring.

Eyes half-closed, Tatsuki smiled, not noticing Orihime's breath on her cheek or how close they were.

Inoue had opened her eyes, pleased. Tatsuki looked sleepy and happy, her hair sprouting out from her head like the fur on a squirrel's tail. Inoue still had her hands caught in her friend's messy hair, thumbs against the join between Tatsuki's skull and her ear, little fingers meeting each other in the line where the back of Tatsuki's neck joined her head, all her fingers hidden by Tatsuki's hair, which was soft like the bristles of a fine paintbrush. And so Inoue smiled, and gently pulled her friend's head towards her.

Tatsuki's lips towards her own.

"Tatsuki is nice," Inoue told her friend, because sometimes Tatsuki didn't realise things like that,

and Tatsuki's eyes opened. The voice was pleased, and calm, and so near.

Inoue likes Ichigo, has a crush that's not just going to go away. So you've got to help them, kick sense into Ichigo, push Inoue along because she hasn't got the confidence or determination on her own. They both deserve...

...Something. Each other.

But Inoue can do what she wants. She's Inoue.

And, gently, soft, slowly... they kissed.

These two are so very cute together. I can totally see where shippers are coming from with the whole LAWL OTP TRU LUFF thing. So yes, Tatsuki needs more love and fics and attention, and so does TatsukixInoue since there wasn't even a name for the ship. I propose TatsuHime!

(Please review!)