Title: A Kind of Magic

Rating: G

Characters/Pairings: IshidaxOrihime

Word Count: 535

Warnings: Extreme WAFF, as in "gag me with a spoon because of the complete and utter WAFFiness"

Summary: Ishida wonders why Orihime loves him.

A/N: Okay, since some of you are going, "wtf?" and the rest of you probably don't care, I'll explain myself. I had to take down "Ishida and the Eel" because, as I was writing the rest of it, it turned into a full-fledged one-shot without my permission. So, I'm going to post it as a separate story, and I should have it up in a little bit, so keep your eyes peeled. That said, since I feel guilty for reneging on my story, I brought a peace-offering .:waves white flag:. Please enjoy the excessive WAFFiness below.

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Ishida often asked himself why Orihime loved him.

He noticed the stares they got whenever they went out together; incredulous gapes that spoke loud and clear, "How the heck did he get her?" He noted the envious glances and obvious ogles. They would gaze at her and wonder what was wrong with Orihime that would induce her to go out with such a loser. Then, they would be back to staring at her assets, as if Ishida wasn't standing right there the whole time watching them size up his girlfriend. He knew that people thought that they were wrong for each other; that they didn't fit.

A beauty and a geek.

Over the many years they had been together, Ishida had learned to shrug it off. He loved her, and he had no doubt that Orihime loved him in return. That was enough to allay the stares.

But not the feeling they left behind.

Not for the first time, Ishida wondered if those stares had a valid point. After all, he was the luckiest man in the world to have gotten Orihime. She was wonderful and amazing and beautiful and, by some incredible fortune, all his.

She made him so unbelievably happy, with her bright smiles and optimistic disposition that would take all his anxieties away. And whenever she would break something or cook something that should never have been cooked, she would laugh it off and shrug her shoulders in a way that made Ishida smile and shiver at the same time. And sometimes, she would turn serious, and he would marvel at her intelligence and the way she would bite her bottom lip when she was deep in thought. Then, when she would finally notice him watching her, her face would light up and she would smile that smile of hers that never failed to send his heart soaring.

He was, without a doubt, the luckiest man in the world.

But how did he get so lucky?

Why did Orihime love him?

He was quiet and calculating where she was open and cheerful. He was pensive and reserved where she was candid and amicable. He was cool and collected where she was warm and caring. He hid behind his glasses where she wore her heart on her sleeve.

A princess and a frog.

"Uryu?"

He snapped out of his thoughts to a pair of storm gray eyes staring straight at him.

"Why do you love me?" he blurted, unable to stop himself. He had not intended to ask her that question, and rather regretted it the moment it came out of his mouth. He never wanted to express his doubts to Orihime, no matter how much they involved her. But it was too late for that now.

She blinked at him as if he were the dumbest man in existence, making Ishida turn his head away and shift uncomfortably.

"Because…you're… you." She said it like it was the most obvious answer in the world. She flashed him the smile he loved the most, the one that illuminated her whole face and radiated out of her body.

"I don't need a reason. I love you because you're you, my Uryu."

He never asked again.

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END