A/N: I'm back! I didn't want to keep you lovely people waiting too long :)

Thanks for all the reviews faves and follows!

Oh and OrihimeKurosakiInoue – Thanks! You're the fiftieth! :D

Disclaimer: Bleach = Not mine. Moving on.

I think I was hungry when I wrote this. Meh.

Enjoy!


Chapter 12

Kurosaki Ichigo

Ah, finally it was Friday. The week back at work had been pretty tiring. I stretched my arms and gave out a yawn. Reaching for my mug, I took a sip of my coffee. I removed my eyes from the computer screen and glanced at the clock. 12:50 pm. Ten more minutes to go till my lunch break. The bento that Hime had packed for me peeked out from under my desk and teased my hungry stomach. Sighing, I began typing again as I remembered the first time that she'd done that.

I didn't have any actual experience (though we'd all heard her recipes) with her cooking since we'd ordered from outside when our friends had come over. I had told her that she didn't have to bother about my lunch – she had to go to work too, after all – but she'd insisted. And I agreed. It wasn't even because of her stubbornness. It was because of the pout that went along with it.

The very first time she'd packed a bento, I'd taken one look at the box wrapped with the blue cloth and felt that I might need to make a doctor's appointment in advance. She'd got up early in the morning to make it, so yes, I would eat it even if it killed me. I had apprehensively taken off the lid, preparing myself to hold my breath and scarf everything down in one go when I noticed a small note.

Dear Ichigo,

I got you!

I bet your face looks something like this right now –

(Insert funny and accurate caricature of a frowning and grimacing guy)

But don't worry! I learnt how to cook normally, although it did take some practice ;)

Um, well I don't know how good it is because nobody ever wanted to try it so . . . B-But it's not like I'm using you as a guinea pig! If you don't want to eat it you don't have to! I don't mind at all!

But if you do try it, I hope it's alright!

Love,

Orihime.

I had three reactions after reading that. First, it was kinda sappy maybe but her 'Love, Orihime.' Still gave me this fuzzy, warm sort of feeling. Second, I was once again struck by how much she thought of other people and just how well she knew me. Third, I was still going to eat it no matter what.

As is turned out, her cooking wasn't alright. It was really, really good. And I finished everything – onigiri, tamagoyaki, rice with furikake and the karaage – in about fifteen minutes. All those other people who didn't try it were idiots. I will always remember that brilliant smile on her face when I told her I liked it a lot when I got home.

1:00 pm.

Itadakimasu.


Kurosaki Orihime

I was very lucky that I got off work early today. It gave me enough time to put my plan into action. It had a very hectic week for both Ichigo and I and so I decided that we could use a nice special dinner. And it's totally not like I have any ulterior motives. Nope. Of course not. Not at all.

Fine, I'll confess.

There's this very nice thing that had come to be. And that thing is the goodbye kiss every morning before we left for work. But I was kind of hoping that with this dinner thing we'd get to more than just kissing. Like even a little more is fine. The most I've actually seen of Ichigo-kun – apart from the very nice mornings – is when we come home from work. And since a lot of work piled up while we were away on our honeymoon, we've hardly had any time with each other.

I let out a small sigh and started the familiar process of talking myself into entering the grocery store. It was a pretty normal store. It's just that even though I've started earning, I haven't got used to having more money yet. So I have to convince myself not to be so frugal and spend a little because – hey! We can afford it!

I finally walked through and grabbed a shopping cart. And then I remembered that I had forgotten something important. I pulled out my phone and quickly dialed a familiar number.

The person picked up on the second ring.

'Hello?'

'Konnichiwa, Yuzu-chan!'


Kurosaki Ichigo

I don't know how and I don't want to jinx it, but things were finally going right for once. Since it was the weekend and Hime was probably as tired as I was, I thought we could have a nice evening tonight. I'd hardly seen much of her the past few days. I'd picked up a bottle of wine on the way home but I guess she had the same idea I had since she opened the door with a smile and an amazing smell of food wafted toward me as I stepped in and shut the door. Not that I was noticing much apart from the vision in front of me. She wore a simple dress that was my favorite shade of red and it brought out the cream color of her pale skin. Wrapped around her delicate frame and ending above her knees, the dress had a square neckline that accentuated her shoulders and killer figure. Swallowing whatever was lodged in my throat, I handed her the single red rose that I'd also got.

Her smile grew wider as she reached for the flower and I enjoyed the feel of her fingertips brushing mine.

'Thank you. You didn't have to.'

'I could say the same to you.'

'Eh?'

I couldn't resist taking her hand and giving her a quick kiss.

'Thank you. You didn't have to.' I whispered in her ear and then drew back to eye her meaningfully from top to bottom. My small effort was rewarded with the deep blush that spread on her face.

'Th-that I – '

'You look very nice, Orihime.'

'Thank you.' She said, her face growing redder by the second and I couldn't control my smirk.

The sound of the pressure cooker's whistle drew her attention and she returned to the kitchen, leaving me to toe off my shoes and socks before making my way up to our room. I opened my closet to yank out a deep blue shirt and black jeans. I wouldn't look as good as her, definitely, but that didn't mean that I shouldn't at least try.

I took a quick shower, the warm water and the thought of Orihime waiting downstairs quickly drained away my fatigue from the day.


Kurosaki Orihime

Remember when I said that we could use a nice dinner? Well we were having one and I couldn't even taste the food. For some reason all I could concentrate on was the husky quality of his voice, how his hair was still slightly wet as it fell over the collar of his shirt and how I felt my heart thud every time his eyes met mine.

I glowed with happiness when he told me he liked the food. Which reminded me that I had to remember to thank Yuzu-chan for the recipe of his favorite Karashi mentaiko. His smiles were making me feel giddy and I'm pretty sure I was grinning away. There was this unnoticeable spark in the air and a sort of electric feeling flowed through me.

His foot brushed mine under the table and even though my face burned, I didn't pull away. I got braver after a few minutes and stroked his ankle with my toes. His face bore a heated look and I was very tempted to look away from his direct and challenging gaze.

A little later, we were clearing away the dishes and I had just put a pile in the sink when he came up behind me and trapped me there, his arms on either side of me preventing any escape.

'Hime – 'he began but that was all he got out since I turned, reached up, clutched the collar of his shirt and kissed him. The welcome feel of his lips against mine made me forget all else.

He broke away suddenly and his hands came up on my shoulders.

'Orihime, do you want to . . .? Right now?'

His question was unnecessary but I thought that it was very sweet. It was so like him to ask.

'Yes. I-if you want to.'

'I do.' His firm reply sent tingles down my spine.

He closed the distance between us again.

And then a highly annoying sound broke through the happily cloudy state of my mind.

The doorbell was ringing.

He made a frustrated noise and let me go and I opened the door with a frown on my face.

'Yes?'

'Hello! I'm from the Karakura Insurance Company and – '

'I'm sorry we're not int – 'I tried to decline but the man carried on.

'We have an amazing offer – '

'That's nice but – '

'Oh no, it's not just nice, it's – '

'Oi.' Ichigo-kun growled from behind me, 'She said we're not interested.'

'But this is an excellent - '

'Know what? We're not home.'

'But I can see you.' The confused sales agent stated.

'Yeah? Now you can't.' And with that, Ichigo-kun slammed the door in his face.

I blinked my eyes in shock and then couldn't help but burst into giggles. That was when he surpiised me again. He reached down, scooped me up bridal style and began to head up the stairs.

It was probably very rude of him to do what he'd done to the salesman but at that moment, I didn't really care.


A/N: Tada!

Onigiri = Rice balls. Furikake = Japanese condiment for seasoning. Tamagoyaki = Egg rolls. Karaage = Fried chicken. Karashi mentaiko = a dish made of a specific internal organ of the pollock fish. Information about Ichigo's favorite food and color can be found online on wiki answers. And sorry if this bugged anyone but I like using authentic Japanese food names for their meals. :)

The next one is a lemon chapter people! All advice is welcome! :)

Hope you liked this chapter! Lemme know your thoughts!