It's a short chapter, lol, but oh well... It's also a big chapter! Just read! And quite honestly, this story could probably be finished in 3-5 more chapters. Maybe. XD We'll see... Enjoy!

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Eyes fluttered open slowly, fatigue washing over the healer's body as she lay on the comfy… something. 'Where am I?' She wondered, her mind thinking nothing else. She guessed it to be night, as she could not see much. She opened her eyes completely and could barely make out a familiar redhead lying within inches next to her. Cheeks growing dangerously warm, she bit her bottom lip. 'H-How did I get here?' Her eyes hovered over the rest of the room, and upon further inspection, she was in Kurosaki-kun's room.

She looked back to the man sleeping next to her, taking in his adorable yet masculine features. Slowly she brought her hand to his face, lightly touching his cheeks with her fingertips. Her own cheeks threatened to grow hotter the longer she watched him. Soon her hands traveled down his jawbone and gently over his neck, just curiously tracing an invisible line. She loved this man with all her heart, and he appeared to feel the same, though not much had really happened between the two. Orihime's digits eventually went straight to the exact spot his heart should be, and she laid her hand on his chest.

'I love you, Kurosaki-kun…' She thought, watching him with careful eyes and heart swelling with warmth and love at the sight of him.

"Do you normally feel people up when they're sleeping…?" A familiar low voice asked out, startling the girl. She quickly retracted her hand and held it close to her body, cheeks very red. Ichigo cocked his head to the side, looking at her with sleepy eyes and a small smirk playing on his face.

"I-I… Sorry…" Orihime quickly apologized, blinking slowly to herself. His sneer grew wider and he repositioned himself so he was lying on his side, facing her. Orihime only grew more embarrassed the more amused he looked. "U-Um, w-why am I…"

"In here?" Ichigo finished for her, taking her small hand into his. "You fell asleep after crying. And I, er… was just so tired, I crashed here too." Orihime noticed the small blush creeping onto his face and rose her brows in slight confusion. Had he been embarrassed too? But for what reason?

"Oh…" She pouted, mentally commanding her face to cool down. Surely her face would explode from all the heat. "I, um… I'm still sorry for all that's happened, Kurosaki-kun." She apologized yet again, although she knew how he would react. He frowned, as expected, and furrowed his eyebrows.

"You've done nothing wrong, Inoue, so don't apologize," he firmly told her, snaking his hand from her hand up her arm a bit. "Oh, and before I forget…" Ichigo appeared to turn redder causing Orihime to question whether he was feeling okay. "Call me Ichigo."

"E-Eh?" Orihime's eyes grew wide and her attempt to be further embarrassed had failed all by three simple words. But he showed truth and honesty in his eyes, like he really wanted her to do this for him.

"We've been through so much, there's no reason we can't call each other by our first names," he explained further, clearly still flustered. "I-I mean, unless you still want me to call you by your last name, I-" She cut him off with a smile.

"I'd like that… Ichigo-kun…" She replied quietly, genuinely happy. A smile threatened to grow on his face. Very amused about the situation, he quickly took the healer into his arms and rolled back onto his back, causing her lie partially on top of him. A small squeak emitted from the small girl and her eyes grew wide.

"I-Ichi-"

"I love you, Orihime," he suddenly blurted out, showing no signs of hesitation. Orihime on the other hand, felt her heart race faster and was both happy and flustered. This had been the first time he had actually said the same words to her. Swallowing thickly, she desperately tried to keep from showing the growing pain she felt in her chest. Now was not a time for her to concern him because she was having another problem.

Ichigo kept one hand on her back, and positioned the other one on the back of her neck, gently lower her head towards his. He pressed his lips against hers, giving her a soft kiss. They stayed still and kept in the same position for a few moments, eventually separating, leaving Orihime flustered with a half-lidded, heated gaze. 'Damn, she's beautiful…' Ichigo thought before reclaiming her lips once again. Orihime happily complied with his wishes and returned the kiss.

Her fingers bunched up the fabric of his shirt that lay beneath her and kept her eyes tightly shut, still trying to repress the pain. She held back a whimper of both pain and embarrassment as she felt his hand toying with the hem of her own shirt and slowly but surely sneaking under.

"I-Ichigo-kun…" Orihime breathed, pulling away for a brief moment. They hadn't even done much, but he still managed to take her breath away. She brought her lips down to his again, being bold by inciting another tender kiss. His hand began to pull at her shirt, trying to bring it up, when Orihime broke apart, cheeks heavily flushed. "W-Wait," she pleaded.

"Orihime, what's-"

And as if on cue, a familiar beep rang though his room. Orihime looked around, questioning where the sound was coming from. "Fuck…" Ichigo swore harshly, his grip on the small girl's waist growing tighter.

"What's wrong?" She questioned, looking at him with honest eyes and slightly out of breath.

"Stupid badge…" He replied wearily, pulling her back for just a hug. "I'm surprised though. Damn thing hasn't gone off in a while…" Orihime rested her head lightly on his chest, blushing a bit as she heard his own heart beating at quite a frantic pace.

"Really?"

"Yeah… Must mean the new stupid shinigami they've sent was actually doing a decent job," he additionally commented before placing a kiss in her hair. "Sorry, but I have to take care of this…" Orihime both thankfully and reluctantly got off, letting him sit up as well. She shook her head, still mentally commanding her heart to calm down. Blinking slowly as fatigue started to take her over, she grasped the blankets in an attempt to keep upright.

"It's fine… I'll see you later, Kuro- I mean, Ichigo-kun," Orihime whispered, giving him a smile, watching him pull his shinigami badge from the nearby nightstand and put it forcefully against his chest, causing his body and soul to separate. He soon turned to the healer again and smiled.

"Yeah… Talk to you later, Orihime," he spoke quietly before leaning in again and placing yet another light kiss on her forehead. Within minutes, he was out the window to fight the hollow, leaving Orihime and the body of the boy she loved lying next to her.

She flopped back onto the bed, heart hammering in her ribcage dramatically. Burying her face into the pillow, she let a sob escape and bit her lip as she the pain being felt could finally be expressed. Inwardly she complimented herself on somehow managing not to show anything to him.

Letting her tired eyes flutter back closed, Orihime took in a final shuddering breath before falling into the familiar thing called sleep.

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Ichigo returned quite some time, only after having an argument with the shinigami stationed in Karakura about stupid conditions. The stupid replacement bickered with him about letting him fight the hollows himself, talking about Ichigo somehow getting "up in his grill", whatever that meant. Shaking it off, he let himself think of better things. Like… Orihime.

It was interesting how the mere thought of her name gave him a goofy smile.

Ichigo stepped back into his room, trying to remain as silent as possible as he didn't want to wake the girl still slumbering on his bed. The smile on his face threatened to grow wider as he just sat for a moment and watched her sleeping expression. How he got to be this lucky, he didn't know.

Eventually putting himself back into his body, the shinigami still remained still, now watching the healer at a closer view. Though something bothered him, upon further inspection. Despite it being pretty dark, light from nearby streetlights still managed to show into his room, somewhat illuminating the place. He noticed that she seemed awfully pale again and appeared to have a distraught expression on her face.

Quickly frowning, he brought the girl back into his arms, her body limp from deep slumber. He repositioned her so she was again lying partially on his chest, her own chest lightly rising and falling. (Which was a good sign to him, as he noted nothing was particularly out of the ordinary.)

"Ichi…" She sighed, carelessly bringing her hand to his chest, grasping at the fabric of his shirt firmly. Allowing a small, tired smile to appear on his own face, he placed his own larger hand on hers, taking in a deep breath before closing his eyes.

It was moments like this he wished could last forever.

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Orihime slept in again the next day and Ichigo, for some reason that could be later be deemed fate, decided to skip classes. The shinigami busied himself with making breakfast, although it was late in the morning.

It wasn't until almost lunch that Orihime stumbled out of his bedroom, still looking very sleepy.

"Morning sleepyhead," he teased, placing a plate in a nearby spot as she sat down.

"That's not nice…" She pouted, feigning a look of sadness. Picking up a fork with one hand and rubbing her eye with the other, Orihime blindly stabbed at the food on her plate, hoping she'd attack something on the dish.

"You slept for hours, Orihime, thus dubbing you the queen of slumber," he commented additionally, placing his own plate on the table, though he didn't take his seat quite yet. He continued to look at her, a curious, but worried expression on his face. "You okay?"

Orihime nodded and blinked slowly. "I think so…" She replied, still drowsy. Ichigo made his way to her side and kneeled down next to her seat, causing her to open her eyes and raise her brows in question.

"You'd be honest with me, wouldn't you?"

Orihime smiled and set down her fork, nodding fervently. "Of course. I'm just sleepy is all, it's normal." Ichigo's famous scowl soon returned to his face, and he put a hand lightly on the side of her face in concern.

"Right… Though you forget I'm still getting used to all this," he commented, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb. 'Boy I'm acting so damn smitten…' He inwardly scoffed. Orihime smiled wider and leaned into his palm, putting her hand on top of his.

"You seem to be doing pretty good about it lately though," she slyly replied, gray eyes shining with a bit of mischief. "I'm kidding…" She finished. "Take as long as you need, Ichigo-kun." He smiled in return and leaned in a bit.

"Thank you…" Ichigo whispered, just inches from her own face. He was about capture her lips in another sweet and oddly addictive kisses, when the ring of a cell phone began blaring, startling the shinigami and causing him to fall to the floor. Orihime jumped the same, only remained in her spot. Noticing it was her own phone, she leapt out of her own seat and rushed to the kitchen counter, where her small cell was sitting at. She promptly picked it up, too rushed to look at the caller ID.

"Hello, Inoue Orihime speaking!"

"Ooooh, I'm so glad I caught you Orihime-chan! I have terrific news!"

"E-Eh? What is it Kurosaki-san?"

"I just got a call from your Kyoto hospital! They have one! They have one!"

"K-Kurosaki-san, calm down… What do they have?"

"A heart! Orihime-chan! They have a heart for you!"

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