A/N: Phew, I managed to do it before the new year after all. This was a difficult chapter to write, but I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless.
(I got a little sidetracked and wrote a new story. Ichihime, of course. It's called 'Just a habit' and it's very very different from this. It's not nearly as light and actually a little sad, but I'm a sucker for happy endings so don't fret, my dearies. It's a two-shot and the second chapter is almost done. I'd appreciate it if you read it, because feedback keeps me going. 😊)
Now enough with the shameless self-advertising, enjoy this chapter!
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Chapter 12 – burning
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Orihime felt slightly flustered. While they had eaten the delicious food that Kurosaki-kun had prepared, they had engaged in amiable conversation. With a cheeky grin, he had suggested a game of questions, where they each got to ask the other ten questions and had to answer truthfully. She had gladly agreed, happy with the prospect of quenching her curiosity about him. Sticking to light topics, Orihime had been thrilled to learn that Ichigo's favorite color was coral (because that was awfully close to the color of her hair and maybe that meant something) and that he knew how to ice skate (because well- that was just hot). However, she was still flustered, because every so often the corners of his mouth would twitch and his chocolate eyes would twinkle like he was covertly amused, like he knew something that she didn't.
Now was one of those times.
"Tell me Inoue," he started with an innocent expression that felt far from innocent to her.
"What's your favorite body part?"
What kind of question was that? Somehow, she had a feeling like he was pulling her leg. And it felt very intentional. Orihime threw him a scrutinizing look which he met with eyes of challenging curiosity. She decided to roll with it. It was time to get back to the plan, anyways. Back to business. Gone be the flustered schoolgirl. Seductress Orihime was single and ready to mingle. Resolve built up inside her. She was prepared to take back some control. She lifted her finger to her chin and looked up as she recalled the very beginnings of her research on seducing. Subtlety combined with boldness was the (somewhat contradictory and confusing) motto. A smile started to play with her lips.
"Eto… My favorite body part… Do you mean on myself or on others? Because if you meant on me that would be easy to answer but if it was on others…" She finally allowed her eyes to roam across his body freely and with unadulterated interest before she continued. "…that would be a different question entirely."
She cocked an eyebrow and smirked lightly at him. For a moment, neither of them said anything as they stared into each other's eyes. The air began to sizzle around them. Then, he broke out into a mischievous grin.
Orihime flailed inwardly as she tried to commit that look to her memory. It had her burning up like a hay barn on fire. Goodness gracious, he was hot. So hot!
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When Inoue blatantly checked him out and gave him that devious look, Ichigo couldn't help but for once show his emotions on his face: He grinned. Since they had started dinner, he had wondered how he could use his new-found knowledge about her advances. It had been almost impossible to not break out smiling from knowing that she was into him. Finally, he had come up with that question for the game, and while it was somewhat random and slightly inappropriate, he just wanted to see what would happen if he put her on the spot. He had not foreseen that reaction. And damn. He felt very hot all of a sudden.
"Well, I actually just meant in general… But now that you've rephrased it that way, I kind of want to know the answers to those questions more."
He was resting on his forearms on the table, watching her as he waited for her answer. Since they had started the meal, the candles and their body heat had warmed up the wagon enough that she had taken off her coat – an action that he very much welcomed. Now this game was shaping up to be very interesting. It was like a switch had turned in his date. And while he had enjoyed teasing her blushing and flustered self, this forward Inoue was… exciting.
"Well, that's not fair, Kurosaki-kun," she spoke with a smile. "Those are two questions and you only get one per turn. I think you need to decide which one you want me to answer."
He cocked his brow at her, grin still in place. He was enjoying this. Though he was still clueless how to close the deal.
"Fine then," he allowed himself to openly let his eyes wander up and down her body, like she had done to him. She blushed profusely. She was still Inoue after all. "What's your favorite body part on your own body?"
She seemed to think for a moment. Then her eyes twinkled.
"My favorite body part on myself is…"
She paused before leaning forward. Her face was only inches from his as she lowered her voice to a murmur. When she spoke, he felt her breath on the side of his neck.
"…my tongue."
He froze and his heart stopped beating for a split second. Electricity charged the air around them. Damn, she was definitely better at this than him. He tried his best not to blush as he furiously kept his mind from wandering at her answer.
She leant back and gave him a look of feigned innocence. "Obviously it has to be my tongue, Kurosaki-kun, my tongue holds my tastebuds, and you know how much I love to eat," she exclaimed cheerfully. And once more, she managed to defuse the electricity in the air with a simple statement and a beautiful smile.
"You seem a little bothered, Kurosaki-kun, are you okay?" She asked him cheerfully.
His forehead furrowed and he cleared his throat. She was teasing him. Inoue. Was teasing him. What an odd occurrence.
"Actually, it has gotten a little warm in here." The corners of his mouth twitched as he said it, but he suppressed the oncoming smile. "Wouldn't you agree?" Her smile widened with mirth and she nodded.
"I actually have one more thing planned. It's outside again. You're done eating, right?"
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Orihime's heart was pounding furiously in her chest as she spoke the most forward words that had ever left her mouth. But she managed to keep her voice even and Rangiku would have been so proud. She was pleased with herself that she had come up with that double-entendre to answer his strange question. And it was even better because Kurosaki-kun's spiritual pressure spiked dramatically as his eyes widened ever-so-slightly. Score. Who's flustered now?
She couldn't help beaming when he told her that he felt warm. That was basically him admitting that she affected him and she loved that. In general, she felt like they had taken more than one step forward tonight. It seemed like her bold plan was finally getting her somewhere, like he was finally looking at her in the way that she wanted and she was elated by it. Now, she just needed to close the deal somehow.
Make him lose control and kiss you.
She remembered what she had written down on her note pad. How was she going to achieve that? Physical proximity would probably help. He always seemed a little less in control when they were close. And she needed to signal to him that she wanted it without being to forward about it. She bit her lip. That seemed like a difficult feat to her. It could be so much easier. An image flashed before her eyes. Small hands, grabbing him by his shihakusho, pulling him in and just crashing her lips onto his. And he'd respond instantly, wrapping her in his strong arms, and returning her kiss with feverish fervor…
"Inoue?"
She snapped out of it. Darn it to heck, she had been caught spacing out again. She forced her eyes, which were staring off into space, to focus and realized that they were fixed on that patch of skin beneath his collar bones. Of course. Really, it was all his fault for being so… delicious. She blushed at her thought process.
"Can I help you with your coat?" He asked it gently, but there was some amusement in his voice.
She felt her cheeks get warmer yet and nodded. "Thank you, Kurosaki-kun!"
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They stepped outside of the railway car, cold air hitting their faces instantly. Orihime turned to look at her date expectingly. She was excited to see what else he had planned. This evening was already everything she could have hoped for in a first date. She was suddenly infinitely glad that she hadn't given her first-ever date to Takahashi-san. When Kurosaki-kun had asked her out, her joy and excitement had glossed over any expectations she might have had for a date. Really, she would have been content to sit in a car and eat fast food if it was with him. But here they were, having the most romantic evening ever. She had not seen that coming. She had not expected him to even have a romantic side. And now he was showing it to her. To her!
She was interrupted in her thoughts when he suddenly scooped her up into his arms. She couldn't stop the small squeak of surprise that escaped her throat. Orihime felt weightless for a second as he just leapt up onto the top of the railcar. He immediately put her down on her feet again, but his hands lingered on her arms, sending her heart into a frenzy.
"Sorry," her date said sheepishly. "Should've warned you."
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Ichigo reprimanded himself for not asking her permission to invade her personal space like that. Just because he thought she was into him didn't give him the right to be so forward. He really needed to get a grip and respect social boundaries. But her inviting and flirty behavior had him all confused. He glanced down at her and was startled to see her looking back at him with glazed eyes. Her lips parted lightly as their eyes locked. Damn, she was so appealing. He felt the urge to pull her close and fought it vigorously. It was definitely too soon for that. Reluctantly, he pulled his eyes away from her and motioned his head to behind her as he stepped beside her.
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When he'd checked the weather report the day before, he'd been pleased to see that it would be clear. This spot they were standing in, on the roof of the railcar, was secretly his favorite place for star gazing. Outside of the city there was barely any light pollution and he'd spent many a night here, when he was too restless to sleep after a night of fighting hollows. He had also come here often when his own hollow had been acting up before the Visoreds showed him how to control him. Somehow, looking up into the endless depth of the galaxy had a way of calming his troubled mind.
"I thought I'd bring some blankets, so we wouldn't be cold," he stated to the beautiful ginger next to him. He observed her as she took in the little camp he had prepared for them. He'd borrowed Yuzu's favorite cozy blankets and brought some sleeping mats from his family's supply of camping gear. Her eyes widened and she giggled. The little sound made his heart skip a beat. It sounded gleeful, yet nervous.
Only realizing now what the set-up looked like, he felt his face heat up and started to mumble and explanation along with an apology. What an idiot he was. He had basically prepared a bed for them here and just expected her to lie down in it with him. He stumbled over his words as he tried to explain, throwing in the word star gazing in slight panic, hoping she would forgive his audacity.
While he spoke, it dawned on him that she had not seemed uncomfortable upon seeing the blankets. Surprised, yes. But not opposed. He analyzed her face in his short-term memory. Her eyes had widened, her eyebrows had risen, she had smiled. He didn't know if it was the dim lighting, but he swore he saw a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.
His heart started to pick up its pace again. He was not great at reading people. He did not want to jump to conclusions. But Inoue's actions seemed an awful lot like she was willing to do… things with him and how the hell was he supposed to deal with that? Because, damn, he knew what he wanted to do with her, but he couldn't possibly, could he? This was still Inoue they were talking about and flirting was one thing, but… Inside of him, he heard his hollow growl in annoyance.
He suddenly felt her small hand in his as she entangled their fingers. She threw him a look that was full of determination and fire and made all the hair on his body stand up.
"Come on, Kurosaki-kun," she said lowly as she tugged at his hand. "Let's look at the stars!"
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A/N: Oh, they'll see stars alright. *wiggles eyebrows*
Okay guys, this chapter was terribly hard to write because now they both know they're into each other and I just wanna have them smooshing booties, but they're still teenagers and so freaking shy and inexperienced, it's like whenever they do something forward, they need like half an hour to recuperate from it. But we're getting somewhere, I'm sure you agree. I'm thinking the next chapter is the last for this date and maybe even the last for this story. Although you (and Orihime) were promised lemons and I don't know about that yet. Maybe this story just needs a lemony epilogue. Lol. We'll see where my muse takes me. Honestly, you would think I'm in control of this story, but I always just have a rough idea where I want it to go and then the rest just kind of happens.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Leave me a review with your thoughts because I love knowing what you guys think!
Have fun on New Year's Eve, be safe and get over to 2022 in one piece!
Oh and read my new story if you find the time for it. 😊