This Could Be the Day
Chapter 6
Bleach; Ichihime
Word count: 2634
Warnings: mild cursing
Disclaimer: all characters herein are the creative property of Kubo Tite
Revised: March 11, 2012
~o0o~
Orihime paced in the small area the alcove afforded and listened for Ichigo's returning footsteps. Her nerves stretched taut and her poor heart pounded out a call to retreat. She knew this was coming. Actually, she was surprised that they didn't talk about last night over breakfast. At the time, she was grateful for the reprieve, but now, she wished they had already talked things through, and then her stomach wouldn't be churning as it was now.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to keep the sweet memories of today in the forefront of her mind, but reminders of his anger last night crept in. Ichigo had been mad …and hurt.
Stopping her nervous pacing to stare blankly at the white wall before her, Orihime gripped her hands together. She could still feel the sand shift under her feet, smell the brackish water, and sense his anger vibrating in the air. It hadn't been wounded pride speaking, it had been injured feelings, painful and stinging. Ichigo felt them too, the same as she had.
Pulling her hands apart, Orihime pressed her fingertips to her temples. She once thought being in love was all hearts and flowers, and a prince galloping to her side on a pure white steed. But when the rose colored glasses were removed, that same love could bring out feelings of jealousy and rejection, and a prince charming that wasn't always charming who rode an insanely powerful horse.
Lifting her head at the sound of footsteps, Orihime felt like she might be sick as her heart pounded painfully in her throat. Spinning around suddenly, she almost tripped over her own feet. Catching her balance before she crashed to the floor, she plunked herself down on the cushioned seat and clasped her trembling fingers firmly in her lap all the while pretending great interest in the world outside.
With only a moment to calm down before Ichigo arrived, she closed her eyes and took a deep shuddering breath. Holding it for a second, she gradually released it and opened her eyes to be greeted by Ichigo's deep brown gaze reflecting in the glass.
She watched the restless motions of his hand in the pane as it reached up to knead the back of his neck before sliding down into the pocket of his jeans, only to pull out almost immediately and climb back up to his hair. It took her a moment to realize that he was as nervous as she was. This realization gave her the strength she needed to face him.
Turning from the window, Orihime bravely fixed her eyes on his and gave him a small, welcoming smile.
~o0o~
Walking down the hall with Tatsuki's directive repeating in his mind had unease spreading through him. What was I thinking? Ichigo wondered where his brain had departed to. Dammit, how was he supposed to talk to her? He was never going to be the conversational type. Words just didn't come easy to him.
Pressing a fist into his churning stomach, he fought for calm, but honestly, just how calm could he be. He needed to be able to tell Orihime what she meant to him, which would mean putting his feeling into actual words.
I'm doomed.
Stopping just outside the arch to the alcove, Ichigo squeezed his eyes shut, seeking to find just a tiny piece of his normally great courage. Unfortunately, for him, he was fast realizing that facing Orihime and this emotion called love might be a greater challenge than any arrancars, espadas, Aizen, or even death.
Blowing out a shaky breath, he opened his eyes and stepped forward.
Orihime's back was to the room and he could see that her eyes were closed. Apprehension coiled in his gut. His hand reached up to grip the smooth wood of the arch, halting his forward motion as his knuckles turned white from the strain. As he watched, her soft brown eyes slowly opened, sparkling with reflected light from the window and his heart hammered out a nervous rhythm.
Ichigo couldn't keep his hand still and sweat beaded on his forehead. Contemplating making a run for it, his foot tensed to turn. He was amazed that this small woman could turn him into a coward with just a hint of her unhappiness. Tensing further as her body turned towards him, he swallowed thickly and then she smiled at him.
It was the first smile Orihime had directed at him in weeks, and suddenly his world and his nerves steadied.
Releasing his death grip on the frame, Ichigo stepped into the room. Sighing, he leaned against the wall as he thought to himself, now what. He wanted to say many things to her. Words he should have spoken last night. Except, his mouth wasn't cooperating with his mind. Hell, now his hand was in his hair again, another part he had no control over.
Ichigo knew that he had to stop stalling and say something, quick. Knowing Orihime, she would blame herself for his silence, making up incredible scenarios in her mind, and bolt.
Instead, the front door crashed open and caused both their heads to swing in that direction. They could hear Mizuiro replying to Tatsuki while Keigo complained in the background, along with Renji and Uryuu discussing the weather before Chad snapped the door closed, shutting out the sound of the storm.
Ichigo's mind jarred back to attention when Orihime stood, her face pale. She had her gaze glued to the opening and he knew she was going to bolt any second now. Damn, he was screwing this up royally. Pushing off the wall, he stepped in front of her, blocking her route. She came to a sudden stop, her eyes staring blindly at the center of his chest, and her small white teeth digging into her lower lip.
Clearing his throat, Ichigo tried to spit out what he wanted to tell her, but all that spilled out was, "I'm sorry …"
Orihime's eyes drifted closed and she seemed to deflate in front of him, becoming smaller, frailer. Clenching her trembling hands before her, there was a strain to her voice as she stammered, "N-no, I'm sorry. Excuse me, I should just-"
Ichigo seized her clasped hands in his, pressing them between his own, he waited until her wounded eyes lifted to meet his. "No, I'm sorry." Squeezing her hands softly when she would have interrupted, he stated apologetically. "I upset you. I do have things I want to tell you, but I can't seem to get the words out."
"B-but-" She whispered timidly as she stared at their clasped hands.
Still holding on to her, Ichigo gently pried her hands apart, holding one in each in his. "I won't make you stay if you want to leave …but I wish you would."
They both looked up and turned towards the door at the sound of footsteps. Chad paused in the arch, nodded to both of them and gave a two-finger salute before continuing down the hall to the room he shared with Uryuu. Rukia's voice carried from the kitchen, announcing that she was going to bed followed by Renji quietly asking to talk to her. Ignoring Keigo's sniggers, she invited him up to her room, calling out their 'goodnights' as they headed up the stairs.
Ichigo assumed the painful sounding crash from the living room was Keigo being pummeled by an annoyed Tatsuki, that and the 'grow up you pervert' gave it away. Their voices were heard moving deeper into the room, further away. Tatsuki's doing no doubt. He owed her.
Reasonably sure they wouldn't be disturbed; Ichigo blew out a breath and looked down at her small hands wrapped in his. He never realized just how big his hands were, not until he compared them to hers. Her smooth soft skin and slender fingers fascinated him as he brushed his thumbs over the backs, tracing the delicate bones. Orihime's breath caught in her throat with a small gasp, the soft feminine sound had his eyes darting up to meet her wide surprised ones.
Dropping her hands like hot coals, Ichigo stepped back, his face flaming. Burying his fingers in his short hair, he stuttered out another apology, "Sorry."
Orihime's cheeks were equally red as she flailed her hands at his apology. "No, it's fine. I'm sorry, I was the one leaving and you jumped out all like …" She trailed off weakly and dropped her head in embarrassment as she whispered out another "sorry."
They both stood staring at the floor in silence, each at loss on what to do next. Fighting down his embarrassment, he searched for a way to begin. Damn. Groaning in frustration, Ichigo spun around and dropped heavily onto the window seat. With his elbows balanced on his knees and his head in his hands, he look through spiky bangs as she timidly sat beside him and he gave her a rueful smile. "Can we start over?"
Letting go of the breath she had been holding, Orihime glanced up at him quickly and whispering, "Yes" before looking down at her fingers playing with the edge of her shirt. "I would like that, Kurosaki-kun."
"You can call me Ichigo. You don't have to be so formal."
She was quiet for a moment, obvious mulling over his words before conceding with an "I'll try."
They both sat in awkward silence as the lights above them flickered a few times, and the wind and rain beat against the house with a steady cadence.
Glancing at her out of the corner of his eye before refocusing on his hands, Ichigo took a deep breath. "Can I ask you something?"
"Y-yes"
Gathering his courage to ask the question that has been plaguing his mind, he blew out a steadying breath. "Why didn't you just tell me how you felt?" Ichigo looked at her still face, watching her expressive eyes as he inquired quietly. "Instead of giving up on me, why wouldn't you just talk to me?"
She tapped her feet against the floor in an attempt to stall before admitting, "I …I was afraid."
Ichigo jerked upright, "Of what, me? My hollow?"
"Not you, never you." Orihime replied, her gaze sincere. "I didn't want to burden you with my feelings. If you didn't share my feeling, then things would be uncomfortable between us, and I was worried that we couldn't be friends anymore." She replied, rubbing the back of her head in an apologetic manner.
"But …"
She held up a hand to stop him. "Please, let me finish." At his supportive nod, she continued. "I always believed if you were happy, I would be happy, too. That was the only thing that mattered." Orihime nodded to herself in agreement, her brown eyes fixed on the archway.
"But, I was more worried about you, and others that I never took my own happiness into consideration." Releasing a deep shuddering breath, her eyes shifted to the floor. "Over time, I lost myself to self pity and petty emotions, and selfishly started to think only of myself."
"I never knew." Ichigo's voice was raspy as he lifted dark eyes to meet hers. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize how you felt."
"You don't have anything to be sorry for. It was all my own doing. I was upset and I unfairly took it out on you." Orihime turned her eyes to meet his and gave Ichigo a soft smile. "I'm the one who is sorry."
"No, it was my fault, too. I was blind and trampled on your feelings. In my mind, you were so far above me, out of my league as someone once told me. And I accepted it as the truth and never gave it another thought. I may be a funky haired punk-"
"You're not a-"
Bumping his knee against hers, he arched a single brow, reminding her, "My turn."
Orihime laughed at his expression. "Fine, it's your turn."
"As I was saying…" Ichigo glanced at her before he resumed, "I may be a punk but I'm also one who protects. And -as my good friend- you were someone I worried about and wanted to protect. As long as you were safe and happy, then I was too. It was enough for me."
His face burned with bright color; he had wanted to let her know what he felt, but now he was embarrassed. What if she thought he sounded lame. "What I meant to say was …" the gentle pressure of her fingertips against his lips halted his voice. His eyes flicked to hers in surprise and Orihime's wide smile left him speechless.
"That was lovely." She sighed out, still gracing him with her stunning smile.
He pressed a kiss to her fingertips before reaching up to clasp her hand in his. "Spend the day with me tomorrow." Ichigo requested impulsively. Orihime regarded him with curiously raised brows and he flushed and shrugged his shoulders. "It's our last full day here and I thought we could spend it together."
She hesitated for a moment. "Like a date?"
"Yeah." His face flushed darker and he dropped his eyes. "If you want."
Blinking in bemusement, she beamed up at him. "Yes, I would like that."
No one could smile quite like Orihime;Ichigo thought to himself, nobody even comes close. Giving her hand a squeeze and grinning self-consciously, he hesitantly asked. "Do you want to join the others? I'm actually a little surprised that Tatsuki hasn't come to check on you yet."
Ichigo knew that it would take time for Tatsuki to lose her guard dog tendencies. He could be patient, just as long as Orihime was happy. He would do everything in his power to have her continue smiling at him like that.
Orihime stood slowly, tucking her hair behind her ear as she glanced out the archway. "Yeah, I should let Tatsuki know that everything is fine."
He came to his feet too. "Is everything fine?" He asked her with concern even as the lights flickered again, causing him glance up at the fixture on the ceiling.
"Yes, everything is …wonderful." Orihime dragged him forward with a smile.
Letting one of his rare smiles break across his face, he followed her from the room readily. She stumbled forward with a shriek when the lights went out for good and he reached for her automatically, pulling her close.
"Orihime, are you all right?" Tatsuki carried from across the room, her tone worried.
"Y-yes …I'm fine. Just stay put, we'll find you."
"Give me a minute. There was a flashlight around here somewhere..." Tatsuki started searching through drawers blindly.
Taking her hand, Ichigo started feeling his way along the wall before stumbling over a rug and banging his shin on a low table in the darkness. Biting back a string of curses, he let go of her to rub his throbbing leg. Damn, he shouldn't have let go of her yet. There was something else he wanted say.
"I meant what I said last night," He whispered as he searched for her hand again in the dark and wrapped his hand around her forearm, giving it a squeeze. "I do love you."
Wait …did Orihime really have muscles like this?
"I find that truly disturbing, Kurosaki." Uryuu's voice answered from the darkness before he pulled his arm free from the substitute shinigami's grasp. "My feelings for you are tepid at best."
Tatsuki's shrill laughter rang through the stillness of the room, soon followed by Keigo's and then Mizuiro's.
Damn. Ichigo muttered to himself even as he felt soft, warm fingers from his opposite side skim down his arm and tangle with his. Orihime gently squeezed his hand and soothed his crushed dignity. No words were necessary.
~o0o~
A/N: Thank you once again to all of you who have read and reviewed. I appreciate your feedback and encouragement.