Orihime paced the hallway. She had tried going to sleep, and it had not worked. She wanted to play a game, anything that might use up all this extra energy she had. She had been babied by Ishida for far too long for her own good. She was used to doing all the chores for her own place, and now there was a void. At least, she hoped that was all that was going on.

When the silence felt like it was choking her, she finally broke down her own sense of common decency- and nearly Ishida's bedroom door as she bounded in like a bouncing rabbit. She stopped a few centimeters from the startled young man, grinning like always.

"Play with me!" She said rather bluntly. He looked at her like she was insane. The silence was unending. "Say something, at least!" His eyes darkened slightly, and it made her heart race. This was good at the moment because it beat being bored.

"Orihime," He said, speaking her first name. It sent electricity up her spine. This was good! Something was happening for once! She couldn't be bored with whatever he was about to say with such a serious face! She felt his hands rest on her shoulders, before his fingers worked their way down her arms so gently it made wherever they touched positively tingle. This was always the way he was. Feather light touch, there, but almost not there. It made her ache to reach out and make sure he wasn't just a ghost. "Those aren't words you should say to a man."

As he turned away, many things ran through her mind. The first, she hadn't noticed that his glasses weren't on until that moment. Second, his shirt was also missing and she had failed to notice that as well until his smooth back was to her. She wondered what it felt like. And then, the final realization of why she was so restless.

Ishida was sure she'd leave. Pack up and never come back. As much as that might hurt, it was best to take care of this now before she became even more important to him. Having her here had been a night mare. It was too easy to dream that she was here because she was his. They ate breakfast together, co-habitated and even if they weren't speaking, generally stuck near to one another. Sewing or reading on the couch was not sewing or reading unless she was there beside him, her quiet breathing setting the rhythm to his needle. He didn't need to finish the job quickly, because it would leave him with nothing to do and no reason to stay here by her side. So it was all for the best.

But Ishida Uryuu always knew he had the worst luck.

He felt her suddenly fling her arms around him and rest her cheek against the back of his neck. He really wished right about then that he'd been wearing a shirt and not changing for bed as he could so acutely feel where his form ended and where hers began.

"Ishida… would you… do that again? It feels like butterfly wings. Please?" He was silent, her soft breaths seeming a bit faster than normal. What was a Quincy to do? What would his grandfather advise?

"Uryuu…" She pleaded in a voice whose need was clear. All thoughts of his grandfather, advice and any logical thought left Ishida's mind. He removed her arms from around him, turned to her before bending to press his lips to hers.

Orihime awoke groggily, as usual. She was oddly… pleased. She was very warm. Not overheating, but warm. There was something hanging over her side, and she felt about for whatever it was to inspect. As first thought, it was indeed an arm. Not her own, of course, it wouldn't bend in such a strange way. It was warm, like her. That's how she realized it wasn't Ichigo. It didn't burn. It didn't make her heart twinge in her chest. She felt valued, protected. She was tempted to sleep again regardless of what was going on. A moment like this to calm her mind was exactly what she had needed. To feel loved, in her own right, to feel special and not like the third wheel. It was blissful.

"Orihime?" The arm was trying to get away. She grabbed it quickly, and pulled the hand to her face like a comfort object.

"Hush, you'll make the good dream go away," She murmured. Then the voice finally registered as he sighed.

"Orihime, I'm sorry about last night. I shouldn't have done that."

"Then you can be sorry for the both of us."

"Huh?"

"Because I'm not sorry at all, Ishida Uryuu." She was sure she sounded like she was babbling, but she was too happy for anyone to ruin this moment for her.

"You'll be sorry when you wake up with no breakfast because you won't let me have my arm," He responded, a smile in his voice. She groaned.

"Don't be silly. I'm sure you can manage to make it with one arm." She begrudgingly let go as she felt him lightly kissing her temple to appease her. He really did know her too well.

Before the warm morning could continue for Inoue, the cell phone rang. She pulled the sheets around her before jogging into the living room to fish around for it.

"Hello!" She said exuberantly. The day was beautiful and breakfast was sure to be lovely. She felt happiness bursting from her very being.

"Inoue, you sound healthy today." Her heart fell where she was standing.

"K-kurosaki-san? What's wrong?"

"Does something need to be wrong for me to call you?"

"Well, no but… you call a lot. It would be nice to sleep in a little."

"Do you want me to call back later?"

"Well, if you think it's necessary…"

"Necessary? Inoue… I don't understand. What's wrong with you this morning?"

"Nothing, nothing. I'm just tired."

"I hope so. Don't forget, Rukia and I wanted to discuss something with you tonight when you get back from Ishida's."

"…Ah. I'd almost forgotten. Well then, I'll see you then." She hung up the phone before he could say more. She didn't want to hear any more. Why did she have to wake up from her beautiful dream? She didn't know what to do. She was afraid. She wanted to hide.

Ishida looked up from the rice maker with a frown on his face. There was no way this would be ready in time. He'd need to make something to stave them off until later. Toast, perhaps? He heard her breathing, as if it were his own and saw her in the doorway. She was still wrapped in the bed sheets.

"Were Kurosaki and Kuchiki-san asking you strange things again?" He asked, wondering if she had finally answered 'yes' to one of their perverted inquiries. The look on her face was very upset for the moment. He worried. He stood up straight, as if examining her face would give him some essential clue to what was wrong. The sight of the bed sheets being brought along as her attire made it seem as though she were a bird flying into his arms.

"Uryuu. Just hold me, okay?" He wondered what power she held over him. But his name seemed to be the key. He could refuse her nothing when she called him that.

Ishida didn't ask what was bothering her that morning, but did hope she'd tell him before she left. But she didn't. She really was going to kill him one of these days. He'd never worried about someone so much in his life. But as she gave him a timid kiss on the cheek before he left, he had to wonder if there were benefits to be reaped from such worry.

When Inoue arrived back at the Kurosaki residence to have this "talk" with Rukia and Ichigo, her face was grave. She had, indeed, returned to normal health which had out the colour back into her face but it was her expression that caused more alarm to the orange headed shinigami. They led her to the table where dinner was being set up, and made her the guest of honour. As the time grew on, Ichigo found that he was becoming more and more paranoid. It used to make her so happy to be here with his crazy family. She'd even laugh at the strangeness of their random fights. But instead, she merely played with her food (and didn't actually eat more than a bite, he noted) and looked dazed. Like she wanted to be elsewhere. What he was most afraid of, was that he was right.

"Inoue-san! You look so much healthier now," Rukia said, hugging her once they had retreated upstairs after dinner. "I guess we owe Ishida more credit from now on." Ah, that name. It made her drift off again. She wondered what he was doing now. Would he be finishing that purse? Or perhaps-

In reality, Ishida was out taking a walk when he happened to pass Tatsuki throwing rocks into the river. Convinced it was none of his business, he was going to move on however she suddenly spoke.

"Oi. How is Orihime-chan? I heard she fainted."

"She's much better now. Kurosaki's dad said she just needed rest."

"Listen… I'm worried about her. She said something odd a little while ago, and I didn't even take it into consideration. What relationship do you think there is between Kurosaki, Kuchiki and Orihime-chan? Don't you think they've all been acting a little odd?"

"Orihime-chan!" Rukia called impatiently. She was unused to the girl drifting off so much on them. She looked at the two of them.

"Huh? Were you saying something?" She asked, blushing. She hadn't meant to do that. They looked rather disappointed.

"We had just gotten to the most important part of our discussion," Rukia said, watching her as though she had a tail.

"Which was?" Inoue said, trying to catch up.

"We were thinking…" Ichigo began, looking at Rukia.

"That you might consider moving in. I mean, you do live alone, and everyone here would love to have you around. Ichigo's father really likes the idea, as you know he was always very accepting of our 'special relationship'" Rukia finished.

"Move… in?" She looked at them like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Inoue? What's wrong? You don't want to?" Ichigo asked, reaching out to take her hand. It burned. No, more than that. Today, it was scalding. She recoiled from him, crouching like an attacked animal.

"I…"

Ishida's eyes were wide open by the end of the conversation. So… that had been what was on Inoue's mind that morning. Had she… been afraid to go back? He was now sitting on the grass beside Tatsuki.

"… I see. It must have been very hard on her, trying to be happy when she was in such a position. Especially since Kurosaki was always in love with Kuchiki-san," He remarked. He stood up, and brushed off his pants.

"But you can't really blame Kurosaki-san, Orihime-chan reminds him of his mom in a strange way so as long as he has her it's like he's re-living his happiest days."

"I can blame him. Using Orihime like that is wrong. He could have broken her beyond repair that way."

"What are you…? Huh? Where are you going?" Tatsuki saw him walking away. He didn't turn when he answered.

"I have a princess to save." She stared after the figure in confusion. For one, since when did he start calling Orihime-chan by her first name? And for another, wasn't he gay?

When they heard a knock on the door, Ichigo ran to answer it like his life depended on it.

"Inoue!" He yelled, opening it. Unfortunately, the person on the other side was not the beautiful red head but an annoyed Quincy.

"Where is Orihime?" He asked bluntly. The look in his eyes was… dangerous. Rukia stepped into the door frame beside him. He knew. That much, she could tell.

"We asked her to move in, but she burst into tears and left with all her stuff," Rukia answered, examining his reaction.

"She said she had somewhere else she was moving into so she wouldn't be living alone anymore. Do you know what she was talking about, Ishida?" Ichigo asked.

"You're a great idiot, Kurosaki. But you can't hit a blind man for not seeing your favourite colour," Ishida responded. Ichigo stared at him for a few moments. This was making some dots connect, but he wasn't sure where he was going with it.

"I thought as much," Rukia said, smiling at the protective gleam in his eye. This had turned out much better than she had hoped. She knew, as a woman knows, that something was wrong. She saw the subtle hints, the sadness in Inoue's eyes and the way she no longer stayed the night. It had been breaking Rukia's heart. She really did care for Inoue as a good friend, and she had known there had to be a way to save her dense friend before Ichigo destroyed her with his selfish blindness. "However, I'm not as honourable as you, Quincy. I can hit a blind man. Especially when he can see."

Without another word, Ichigo found himself on the painful end of Rukia's backhand slap- which was quite powerful.

"You two make a good couple," He said, before stoically leaving (as was his custom).

He found her just where he thought he would. Bawling her eyes out surrounded by bags of clothing in front of his door.

"Orihime-chan, don't cry," He said, making her look up. "Shouldn't you be unpacking?"

(A/N)

I don't own Bleach. If I did, I would have paired Inoue with everyone just for kicks.

Yeah, I wrote this at between the hours of 11PM and 6AM. I keep wondering if this ought to be something better suited to in case I need to cut out parts for the sake of the rating. I'm kind of worried it's a little over the top for fanfiction, but I don't usually write this sort of stuff. I've been reading too much Ishihime fanfics, clearly.

But worry not! I'm going back to my Ouran idea, and hopefully to finish some of my fanfics. This began as a one-shot in order to avoid leaving it unfinished like many of my fanfics. Which, of course, led me to write for eight hours and not sleep.

Please review, if only to show me that losing sleep was worth it.