Title: Summer's Rain
Characters/Pairing: IshiHime
Summary: The movie will be lousy, but at least the company will be good.
Author's Note: Again, I know, not fluffy, but I don't do fluff.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

When Orihime shows up at his apartment completely out of the blue one quiet Friday evening, Ishida wonders if she's truly incapable of leaving him in peace or if he should thank whatever kind higher power actually exists that she won't leave him alone in peace.

He can't deny that he's happy to see her. However, that doesn't mean Ishida will readily agree to what she's asking.

"Oh come on! Have you ever actually been inside that movie theater?"

Ishida scrapes the stone cold remains of his food—he was eating when Orihime knocked on the door—into the trash can and methodically goes over the process of washing the plate, even while he's talking to her. "No, I haven't," Ishida responds, trying not to raise his voice, though the bite of annoyance is there plain as day. "But I've got a pretty good idea of what it looks like inside: greasy, untidy, and with carpet that shouldn't be nearly as sticky and grimy as it is. You turn the lights on and it's a horror show."

Orihime pulls a face and mock glares at him. "Do you honestly think I'd go in there if it were like that? Really, you've got it all wrong, Ishida-kun."

Ishida doesn't really have much to say to this, placing the plate on the dish rack, so Orihime takes the opportunity to go to work again. "Please? No one else will agree to come."

"So I'm the last resort?" Ishida snorts, though he can feel his resolve starting to crumble at the pleading note in her voice.

"What? No, of course not!" The sheer level of indignation in her voice gives him some reassurance. "I tried asking the others; I thought we could all go together. But they all had plans."

Ishida winces mentally when he realizes that he's giving way in earnest. Good grief, am I really that much of a pushover? He's just discovered what Orihime has known for months. "What movie?" he asks reluctantly, face tingeing red just a little bit when he sees her face light up.

Orihime tells him, and Ishida promptly balks again.

"Chick flick," he says flatly, now washing the fork and knife in the sink, trying to keep the water from splashing on his shirt.

She gasps, scandalized in such a way as to be slightly overdone. "It's not a chick flick. It's a beautiful love story about—"

"Chick flick," Ishida states again stubbornly, deciding that cutting Orihime off is the only way to keep her waxing eloquent and embarrassing herself.

"I don't want to go alone." Orihime has that big, hopeful smile on her face, the sort that can make any boy's knees melt, and, unfortunately (or maybe not so unfortunately), Ishida is no exception. "It's no fun by myself."

Ishida squeezes his eyes shut and decides that Orihime must be aware of how effective her smile is as a weapon; otherwise she wouldn't be able to use it to such devastating effect. "Inoue-san, it's raining," he offers up weakly as a last excuse not to go.

It is raining. It had just started to rain when Ishida heard the knock on his door and Orihime's hair was slightly damp when she burst inside, glistening with water droplets.

Orihime shrugs as though this is nothing more than a minor inconvenience. "Bring an umbrella," she supplies innocently.

There's nothing for it. Ishida has no more excuses, and honestly, he's not sure he wouldn't go now even if he still had one. He nods in defeat. "Fine. Let me get my umbrella out of the closet."

Her face lights up again and it's all Ishida can do not to smile foolishly. "Great."

As Ishida searches through the closet for his battered umbrella, he muses over his fate. The movie, he's sure, will be lousy. But, at least, the company will be decent.

And he can't say he's complaining if it gives him a chance to be (somewhat) alone for a few hours with Inoue-san.