I asked copper which story to update next, and she told me this one, so... Lol, here's another update. (I hope to get Long Way Down updated soon too, but we'll have to see. I recently got a cold and my aching head is making it kind of hard to write. Though I know for sure I'm not probably going to be updated my newer demon fic for a little bit. I first want to get another story out of the way before I start tackling that big one too. :P) Enjoy anyways! [/dead]

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Scritch scratch scritch was the small noises Orihime made while aimlessly doodling on the scratch piece of paper that had been on the table. Her fingers were tightly gripped around the yellow pencil with her tongue slightly peeking out from her between her lips. A soft hum was heard in the room, a small, simple melody that was pleasing to the ears.

The healer couldn't help but smile at her silly drawing of a boy with spiky hair and the girl next to him with flower hairpins in her hair. Many hearts where floating around them, but Orihime thought you could never have too many hearts.

As her eyes drifted to the clock on the wall, she smiled again at the time. It was 5:50, and she'd surely be able to get something to eat during the dinner hour. Turning her head again, she returned her focus to the drawing and flipped the paper over, starting to draw something new. So caught up in her sudden creative outlet, she hadn't noticed the figure that walked into her room and now stood at the side of her bed. She wouldn't have seen the person if he hadn't groaned and loudly fell into the nearby chair, something loud clattering onto the floor as well. She whipped her head up, startled.

"A-Ah, Ichigo-kun, hello!" She spoke, minding herself by keeping her voice quiet as to not to wake nearby patients if they were sleeping. A bright smile broke onto her face and her cheeks burned with nervousness. To finally see him while she was fully awake was a great thing to see, but she felt flustered for some reason.

Ichigo didn't say anything, but merely looked off to the side, as if possibly ashamed. With her features falling, the healer wondered if something happened. Perhaps she did something wrong? She shifted slightly closer to the edge of the bed, wincing lightly at the pain in her chest from the incision, but looked at him with worried eyes.

"Ichigo-kun... Are you alright?" She asked in that sweet tone that was like music to his ears. Closing his eyes for a moment, he took a deep breath, feeling the paper from the letters crinkle in his back pocket. Once opening his eyes again, he looked directly at her with deep, but soft eyes. The look alone from him sent a shiver down Orihime's back and her face flushed hard. "I-Ichigo-"

But he cut her off with a quick, but loose hug. He knew she'd still be hurting a but from the incision, so he had to give her some space, even though he wanted to hold her as close as he possibly could. With his right arm pulling her shoulders closer, he buried his nose in the crook of her neck, heart hammering with one too many feelings and that unrecognizable sting in his eyes. Shyly, Orihime placed her hands on his back, occasionally patting his back as a sign of comfort.

Sighing into her flesh, he laid a tender kiss on her neck. "You..." He paused, clearing his throat midsentence. "You think I have an adorable scowl?" He lips couldn't help but pull into a small smirk as he remembered the letter with words full of innocence. Orihime immediately turned red again, wondering just where he heard that information from.

"I-I, um... Y-Yes?" Orihime stuttered, clearly embarrassed. In a swift action, she pulled her small hands from his back and brought them to her face in an attempt to keep the blush away. "O-Ooooh, now I'm so..." She pouted, unable to finish her statement. He only smirked further and pulled away before taking her hands in his, moving them away from her blushing face. With her furrowed brows and slightly puckered lips, Ichigo found it hard not to zero in on her mouth and plant a hard kiss on her delectable lips. Orihime closed her eyes tightly and felt as if her face was going to explode. The things this man does to her!

He pulled away, grinning away like a silly schoolboy. She looked up to him with big eyes and bright red cheeks. Giving her one last kiss on the cheek, Ichigo raised his hand, bringing his fingers to her collarbone. Orihime swallowed thickly, wondering just what in the world he was doing. With his half-lidded eyes and hidden behind his orange locks, he made it seem like he was totally unreadable.

"I-Ichigo-kun?"

Letting his fingers trail down just a bit further, resting lightly on the upper part of her breast, a soft smile grew on his face.

"You have a new heart..." Was all the shinigami said, his own heart pounding with excitement at the thought. "Everything's going to be okay..." Orihime licked her suddenly dry lips and nodded, cautiously bringing her own hands to connect with his, their fingers lacing together in a tight hand-hold.

"Mhm..." She hummed, smiling lightly herself. What surprised her next, however, was how Ichigo lowered his lips to the same spot he was touching just moments ago, kissing the spot where her new heart was. Her heart definitely skipped a beat at his tender act, and she released one of her hands to let it rest on top of his orange head, her slender fingers lightly toying with the strands of hair. "Ichigo-kun..."

"Yeah?" He responded, his breath tickling her exposed skin a bit, a shiver going through Orihime at the action.

"Thank you..." She smiled as she spoke, her eyes glistening with nothing but truth and honestly. Raising his head up, he looked at her confused and questionably.

"What for?"

"Everything?" She shrugged, now bringing both hands to his head. Her light ministrations made Ichigo want to ravage her, but he knew this was neither the time nor the place. "For saving me way back in high school, for taking me in when I couldn't stay at the clinic... For l-loving me..." Her cheeks were still pink, but they were a light color compared to the earlier dangerously red hue. He pulled her close and nodded.

"I would've done that anyways, so there's no need to thank me..." He murmured against her cheek. Orihime nodded slowly and the two remained like that for a while, merely basking in each other's presence. That is, until Orihime remembered to check the time again. Whipping her head around without warning, her thick skull slammed into his cheek, sending him recoiling in the opposite direction.

"S-Sorry Ichigo-kun, I-I just... Ah, dinner!!" She apologized frantically to her boyfriend, and then turned to hit the button to call for the nurse. Ichigo, who sat bleeding a bit on the floor was wondering just what the hell had gotten into her.

"Hime, what's going on??" Turning around with gusto, Orihime's eyes were wide as if someone had just been murdered before her eyes. Only, the news wasn't as bad as he thought it'd they be.

"It's 6 o'clock!! I need to get dinner before the hour is up!" She replied fervently, then turning around to hit the nurse button a few more times. "I've been starving all day and my tummy certainly agrees!" Ichigo stopped rubbing at his aching head for a moment, looking up at her questionably. Remembering the box he had carelessly dropped on the floor earlier, he picked it up with his other hand and pushed it towards his girlfriend.

"What the heck are you talking about? You should be able to get food whenever," he told her, recalling general hospital information he learned from previous studies. She looked at him with the same confused look he was sporting. But she noticed the box and took it from his hands, their fingers brushing accidentally. "Are you saying you weren't able to get any food earlier?"

She opened the box before responding and found chocolate chip cookies, the ones that appeared to be from the bakery by his apartment. She vaguely remembered what day she went there, but definitely remembered the taste of the warm, chewy cookies. Her exposition only got brighter as she noticed a tube of red bean paste on the side.

"Oh, thank you Ichigo-kun!!" She cheered, forgetting the bean paste for a minute to ravage one of the cookies, feeling desperately hungry. Her stomach gurgled in appreciation. "But no..." She continued with a mouthful. "The nurse from before came in and told me I had to wait until designated eating times."

"Wait, wait, the nurse that took you into prep?"

She nodded and proceeded to munch away at the cookie. Ichigo scowled fiercely as he made his way off the floor and back into his seat. He had wondered if she was going to do something else to Orihime, considering her disgusting, fallen disposition upon finding he had already been 'taken' days before.

"Geez, that nurse is so fucking... Orihime, don't listen to her. The whole food thing is bullshit. You should be able to get food whenever you want," he explained to her in a frustrated tone. No one practically starves his girlfriend and gets away with it. Noticing some crumbs around her mouth, he took his thumb and casually brushed them away, soon igniting flames in the healer's face.

"T-Thank you Ichigo-kun..."

"You called?" The familiar rude voice called out from the doorway, sending a shudder down Orihime's back. Looking up from her cookies and bean paste, she noticed it was the same nurse that had heeded her call.

"A-Ah, yes, could I please get some dinner?" Orihime asked shyly, slowly placing the tube back into the box and closing it up. The nurse sneered and scoffed.

"Looks like you already have food now. Besides, we're all out."

"B-But..."

It wasn't a moment later that Ichigo had forced himself from his seat, the chair falling back with a loud bang, startling them both. He made his way to the nurse with a heavy frown on his face. Considering the woman's sudden posture, it falling a bit with an afraid expression on, she probably hadn't noticed him in the room in the first place.

"Don't you dare fucking tell me there's no food, and don't you dare tell my girlfriend she has to wait to eat," he clearly threatened her, fingers curling into a tight fist. The nurse opened her mouth to retaliate, but he cut her off with a menacing glare, warning her if she didn't keep quiet, she'd be in trouble. "And if you're thinking I'm nothing but visitor of hers, think again. I know how hospitals work and you're required by law to give them something to eat when the patient asks for it."

The nurse cowered in her spot, clearly bewildered as to how he got that information. She forced herself to stand tall and furrow her brows. "You are in no position to threaten me, I can-"

"Can what? Tell your director? Chances are I already know the guy anyways," Ichigo scoffed, closing the distance a bit between them. "But if you don't want me to report you, I suggest you go get my girlfriend something to eat." It wasn't even a second later that the nurse had bolted from the room, doing exactly was requested. He shoved his hands into his into pockets, growling from the act he just put up and in a hospital nonetheless.

Ichigo turned around and silently went back to his seat, sitting down without a word. Orihime looked at him both amazed and shocked. She knew he could potentially be easy to rile up, but never had she seen such anger from him in her life.

"I-Ichigo-kun..." She whispered, her brows falling slightly. He glanced up for a short moment before looking away.

"What?" He scoffed lightly, clearly frustrated with himself, but in the tone where she wasn't quite sure. His fingers brushed by the box in his pocket again and he swallowed thickly, telling himself he needed to calm down. Otherwise he'd scare her further.

Pursing her lips together, she shifted her own gaze away, now fearing she had done something wrong. 'Because I'm so stupidly hungry, Ichigo-kun is angry at me...' She thought, warily reopening the box and pulling out another cookie. She had wanted to eat another, but she suddenly felt sick upon realizing she'd done wrong.

A knock on the door startled them both and in the entryway stood a tall male nurse, smiling gently. The healer tilted her head to the side and looked at him curiously. If she squinted, she thought it looked like Ichigo a bit, only with brown hair and more... enthusiastic.

"Did a Miss Inoue Orihime request for food?" He asked in a low voice, causing her to tilt further to the side, eyes growing a bit wider. He sounded like Ichigo too. "You know, your head might roll off if you keep tilting it." The man joked, chuckling and placing down the tray of food onto the roll-over table Orihime had moved there earlier. Blushing, the healer moved her head back to its normal position and looked at the foods. It wasn't like the cookies from Ichigo, but it still looked yummy.

"Now, we have some lighter stuff here for you to eat, just in case you get nauseous from the IV still. Chicken noodle soup, a few types of crackers, and some juice," the man explained, pointing to each of the items. Orihime nodded in compliance and heard her stomach growl as if on cue. Blushing harder, she bit her lip, feeling ashamed for the loud noise. The man laughed and crossed his arms. "And speaking of IV, once you're done with your meal, click the nurse button again and we'll have someone come down and take it out. We'll also be looking at your incision as well."

Orihime looked up to the nurse in confusion, a cracker half in her mouth, half out. "Infision?" She mumbled to word together. Using himself as an example, the nurse pointing to his sternum, motioning the area that had been cut, only on her.

"The area they cut open to get to your heart," he explained. "We need to make sure it's healing properly and isn't at risk for infection." Orihime nodded slowly, still comprehending what he had said. "Will that be all?" Again, Orihime shook her head, remaining silent. The nurse smiled and left, leaving kind of amused there was such a man that looked like the one she loved.

Ichigo, on the other hand, was gripping the arms of the chair, now very pissed that he had pretty much been ignored in this situation. Growling to himself, he now wished he'd intervened and stopping his girlfriend's ogling of another man. Not to mention all the talk of incisions and IVs. He was plenty capable of telling her about all that himself! He was training to be a doctor too.

But then he froze, fully realizing the placement of the incision. It had been on her sternum, which obviously led right in between her breasts. His grip on the arms of the chair only growing tighter, he glared at the offending portal. He hadn't even seen her breasts period, and there was no way in hell he'd let that male nurse come back and feel his girlfriend up. At least, he assumed he would feel her up. Who wouldn't take the freaking opportunity? She was beautiful!

It wasn't a moment later that Ichigo realized Orihime was staring at him, her eyes still just as big as before. Again, her head tilted to the side and her slender fingers pushed the rest of her cracker into her mouth.

"What...?" He growled, her cute expression causing him to relax a bit, but not much.

"Are you mad?" She asked quietly, some words muffled by the crackers.

"A bit, yeah." Huge understatement.

"... A-at me?"

His expression fell a bit and the harsh hold on the chair soon became practically non-existent. Ichigo's own heart fell at bit at the thought of her thinking she was the cause of his irritation and frustrations. He wanted to tell her it was the female nurse and the second nurse that made him on edge, but he worried she'd find it stupid or something.

"Absolutely not, Hime... I could never be mad at you..." He told her coolly. Orihime brought her eyes back to her food and she grabbed the juice carton, pulling at the opening. He could vaguely see it, but there appeared to be some shaking she had in her small hands. Her eyebrows fell down a bit, causing her lashes to cover up her bright gray orbs. He determined that she still felt at blame, from just looking at her body language.

Taking the carton from her struggling hands slowly, he opened it for her, a serene expression on his face. "You didn't do anything wrong... It was just the people that came in here before," Ichigo lamely explained, handing the newly opened juice back to her. Taking a sip, she returned her look, eyes glistening with confusion and unanswered questions.

"Huh? But the last person seemed nice..."

Ichigo froze for a moment, noticing her sentence somewhat further backing up his thought of her ogling him. He took another one of her cracker packages and opened it up for her too. "I... You were staring at him..." He mumbled quickly and incoherently, face flushing up.

"Eh? I'm sorry, Ichigo-kun, I didn't quite catch that..." She quietly apologized, taking another cracker and shoving it into her mouth. Face and now neck growing hotter, Ichigo cleared his throat.

"You were staring at him," he spoke slowly and nervously. He wondered if she'd start laughing at him for saying such a thing. Orihime gasped lightly at the comment, but immediately recovered, understanding where he was coming from.

As a reaction, and very unexpected by Ichigo, Orihime took a graham cracker and split it down the middle, just the perfect size to eat. She shoved it into his mouth, startling him, but he took the cracker between his teeth and nodded in compliance. Only, what surprised him even more was when she latched onto the other end, a bright, silly smile on her face. She broke off the end, still grinning and pulled away coyly, now leaving the poor shinigami confused and very hotly bothered.

"Ichigo-kun is the only person I want to stare at..." she spoke sweetly and shyly, her own face turning a bit pink. Still flustered, he popped the rest of the cracker into his mouth, shocked at her bold actions. But he still grinned as well and grabbed her hand, pulling her close.

"Good... Because that's the way it should be."

And for a little while longer, the two kept in each other's company. Ichigo helping her eat, inciting many giggles, some laughter, and many, many smiles. As the shinigami watched her amusedly animated face, he knew in his heart things were starting to look up.

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R & R~