Main POV
"Hey."
I poked Ichigo in the side. He was laying sleeping after many hours of staying up late last night pretending to do homework as he watched me file Urahara's invoices and bank statements. We were in the back room of the shop, Urahara had dedicated it to us after Ichigo and I had spent most of our time here since arriving in his care. The far side of the room had two kneeling desks, Ichigo's book bag that was spewing out it's contents and numerous stacks of paperwork.
Ichigo shifted on his futon. I poked him again. I mumbled slightly in his sleep and I smiled softly, he was almost too cute to wake up.
"Hey." I shook him this time.
"What?" He grumbled and rolled into his pillow.
"I wanted to ask you something. Come on, I can't sleep," I shook him some more.
"Unless it's about how I can help you get back to sleep, it can wait until morning." He rubbed his face into his pillow.
"It is morning," I sighed.
"It's not morning until the sun comes up you horny little troll, now stop using that damn brain of yours and go to sleep," he ordered and I started laughing.
"Wow, sleepy you is cranky. This is my new favourite Ichigo," I giggled.
I got up off my knees and pulled back his blankets, ignoring him fighting against me as he tried to pin them down to the bed. I slid inside the single bed beside him and wrapped my arms around his back.
"Oh, if you were just going to get in why didn't you say so? I wouldn't have fought as hard," he told me as he rolled over and wrapped his arms around me, naked chest burning through my t-shirt.
"You said yourself you were too tired to deal with my antics, I figure what I wanted to talk to you about can wait till morning," I nuzzled into his chest
"I wished you'd decided that about 10 minutes ago, I'm wide awake now," he grumbled.
"Oh yeah?" I raised an eyebrow in the dark. "If only there was something we could do about that," I chuckled. I slid my hand round from his back and brought it to the front of his boxer shorts. I palmed him and he growled at me.
"Uo, everyone is asleep!" He scolded through whispers. "You know fine we'll wake them up, the walls here are super thin."
"It'll be just like our first time," I winked, deepening my movements. "You remember how to be quiet, don't you?"
"Is this why you woke me up in the first place you little monster?" He growled.
"No, thanks for asking," I grinned at him. "I actually woke you up because I wanted to ask you something. And since you're awake and can't get to sleep now is the perfect time to discuss it."
"Did you plan this?" He scowled at me. "You little manipulator." I grinned cheerily at him. "I don't believe it, I'm dating the female version of Urahara."
"Oh come on, I'm way cuter than Urahara," I giggled.
"Alright fine, what did you want to ask me?" He sighed, propping himself up on an elbow and giving me his full attention.
"Listen, I know you want to keep me from harm's way and and that's totally fine, I'm happy for you to protect me," I explained. "It's just," I sighed.
"You feel helpless?" He asked, seemingly understanding.
"I just feel useless sitting here on the sidelines. Like I'm okay with waiting for you to come for me, to protect me, but it doesn't always work like that," I replied. "I can't do anything for myself. Until Renji taught me, I could barely even throw a punch. I just want to be able to defend myself. Hold the bad guys off until you and your undead buddies can come get me. What if Keigo, Kon and I get stuck again and none of us can defend ourselves? I don't want to leave you."
"You don't have to ask my permission to get some training? Do you think I'm the kind of guy that couldn't handle his girlfriend getting stronger? I only keep you out of the fight completely because you can't fight. I'd still protect you if you were stronger, but I'd let you fight, you know that right?"
"I know," I replied. "I actually wanted to ask you if you'd be offended if I asked Renji or Ikkaku to train me."
"Offended?" He scoffed. "Why would I be offended? Those guys taught me to fight. I'm as strong as I am because of them, because they helped me get better. Why did you think I would be upset? I know we spend a lot of time together but I don't have to be the one to teach you if you don't want me to."
"It's not that I don't want you to," I replied. "I just think you'll be too gentle."
"Gentle?" He raised an eyebrow.
"You won't hurt me, ever," I explained. "Ikkaku and Renji are experienced fighters, they're stronger than me but they can attack me with enough strength to hurt but not too much that I'm down before I learn anything. So I trust them to train me. After everything I've learned while watching Bleach, from watching you fight, and everyone else, if I don't think I can get any stronger, any better unless I push myself to my limits. And I know you're not going to hit me hard enough to hurt."
"Are you sure that's what you want?" He asked me. "Because you're right, if you ask them, they'll hurt you."
"I'm sure. I'm no use from the sidelines and I want to be able to do something more than just cry for help," I replied. "I used to be able to do everything for myself. Now I can't even open jars without your help."
I could hear him chuckling lightly. I raised a brow as I watched him continue. He was shaking the bed he was laughing so hard. He couldn't stop.
"What?" I asked, amused, almost laughing myself.
"You remember that one time at your apartment when we got into that huge fight?" He asked, wiping the tears out of the corners of his eyes.
"Yeah, I remember, it was my first period in this world and you told me I was being irrational and childish," I replied.
"You were!" He argued.
"Not what you tell someone who's that hormonal!" I folded my arms.
"Well I know that now!" He grumbled in response. "Not the point."
"Are you seriously drinking milk out of the carton again?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Yes," he nodded. "You're as bad as my sisters. It's like, one time, and I just did the dishes. I'm not going to dirty a glass for one sip of milk. I mean come on Uo, we make out all the time, so don't give me the you don't want my spit in your mouth argument."
"Ichigo you do it all the time and it's disgusting! You kissing me and you drinking from the carton are two different things. For starters your spit doesn't bree bacteria in my mouth."
"Don't you think you're being a bit ridiculous?" He replied. "It's just milk. Also, if you wanna get on at someone for being gross, let's get on at Renji for always leaving the milk on the counter after he drinks it from the carton. At least I'm not letting it go sour or using the room temperature to speed up the breeding of bacteria."
"Don't bring Renji into this," I glared at him. He sighed and rolled his eyes. How dare he roll his eyes at me.
"I'm going for a shower," he told me and headed for the bathroom.
I stood in the kitchen for a few moments, arms folded over my chest and breathing deeply, trying to calm myself down. Eventually I went through to the bedroom and grabbed the manga I'd been reading, flopping down on the bed and sighing. Maybe I was overreacting. I had about ten minutes peace to read before Ichigo came out of the shower, towel wrapped around his waist and dripping wet. I bit my lip. Didn't he know what he was doing to me? I couldn't wait until I finally got to have sex with him. So far it had just been heated makeout sessions and this was torture. But I had to remember and take is slow for him. I was his first after all.
I was shaken out of my horny daze when I watched Ichigo dig around on the floor for a clean t-shirt to pull on. He sniffed one and scowled, throwing it on the floor again. He walked over to another, smelled it, shrugged and then pulled it over his head. He then tossed the towel on the bed beside me and went over to the desk. That set me off. He'd made my bedroom into a giant laundry heap, my milk into a bacteria pit and now my bed was always damp because he always left soaking wet towels on it. And on MY side.
For some reason everything Ichigo was doing today was making me want to murder him but I didn't want to say anything for fear of that classic, "You must be on your period" line. I hated how it made everything I was hurt by and feeling suddenly illegitimate. I didn't think I was being irrational. It was his clothes everywhere. The milk thing was gross and I was tired of sleeping in a wet bed.
"You're a fucking asshole you know that?" I snapped and he whipped his head around so quick I thought his neck would snap.
"What?!" He cried out, surprised at my random outburst.
"You heard me," I told him. "You are a fucking mess. Look at this place. Do I look like Yuzu? Do you think I'm going to pick up after you for the rest of my life? No. Put your damn clothes in the hamper, it's right fucking there. And you can put your towel in there while you're at it you soggy oversized beanpole. You're creating a permanent damp patch on the bed and it's on my side! And you steal all the blankets so I'm not just damp I'm cold too. It's the middle of winter Ichigo. You might spend your life permanently on fire but I don't. Oh and another thing, I'm not done talking to you about the milk. Quit it, you're so gross! And if you're gonna use up all the shampoo just fucking tell me about it. I'll buy more. Do you think I just like to stand in the shower and get soaking wet for no reason?"
"Uo." Ichigo looked at me like I'd lost my mine. "Are you okay?"
"Am I okay?" I snapped. "NO. YOU'RE BEING A JERK!"
"I'm being a jerk? You are the one who just randomly started screaming the house down over stupid little things Uo. You're acting crazy!"
"Oh so now I'm crazy? Because I care about damp bedding and clothes on the floor?" I growled.
"No, because you're throwing a tantrum over them? Don't you think you're being a little irrational about this?" He asked and I flew up off the bed.
"What?!" I yelled. "How dare you? You're just trying to turn this around on me so you don't have to deal with your own problems."
"How dare I? I never said I didn't want to deal with my own problems, Uo, you're making a mountain out of a molehill."
"Excuse me?" I scoffed. "More like I'm making a mountain out of your dirty clothes pile! Fucking clean up after yourself for once."
"I literally just did the dishes before I went in the shower, and a lot of those, were your dishes. And I cleaned the bathroom. So what if I leave a little laundry on the floor from time to time, I'll clean it up, I'm just doing my math homework right now, or I was before you went all psychotic on me. Jesus, you're acting like a child."
"Excuse me?" I snarled at him. I felt a sharp pain in my side. "I'm fucking what now?"
"You heard me," he dared. "You're being irrational and childish."
"Don't fucking talk to me," I told him and stormed out of the room. How dare he?
"Uo!" He called after me. I ignored him. I went out to the kitchen. He had cleaned up in there. He'd not just done the dishes but wiped up all the surfaces too. I felt the sharp twinge in my lower left side again and held my abdomen. Maybe I was being a little irrational. These were legitimate issues, but there were small problems and not reason enough for me to call Ichigo a fucking asshole.
I sighed and went through to the bathroom, gripping my side. Now that I thought about it, I'd had a dull throb there all morning. I wondered if I was getting sick or something, I did feel a bit queasy. Suddenly, I was very queasy. I cut and ran to the bathroom, bursting through the door and dropping my head down into the bowl. I purged myself of the lunch we just had and then I heard footsteps in the hall. Hands wrapped around the sides of my head and pulled my hair back out of the way, holding it tightly and rubbing my back.
"You alright?" Ichigo asked softly, as if waiting for me to bite his head off again.
"I guess you did clean the bathroom, huh?" I replied softly. He scoffed lightly.
"Come on," he told me. "You need to get showered up, you have vomit on your face and hair, as well as all over this t-shirt. Which is mine by the way."
"You're not getting this one back either," I told him.
"I don't think I want it back," he replied laughing. "Come on," he pulled me up off the floor, not bothered by the vomit covering me now spreading to him. "You get in there and leave your clothes by the door, I'll head into the other room and do some of that laundry all over the floor in the other room, huh?"
"Okay," I nodded, stumbling forward over to the tub. Ichigo grabbed my waist and lifter me over the lip of the large basin and under the shower.
"Let me know if you need help getting out or anything while you're in there," he told me. "Is there shampoo?" He asked. I shook the bottle and nodded. He smiled a breath of relief. "Good."
"Ichigo.." I started.
He shook his head and headed out the bathroom door. I stripped while he was gone, pain in my abdomen getting worse by the second. I pulled my jeans, panties and t-shirt off, throwing them by the door and turning the taps on. The hot water cascaded over me and ignited my skin, relieving my body of all the aches and pains. After a while of just standing in the water, letting it sooth my muscles and run over my throbbing abdomen I started washing up.
I washed through my hair and looked down at the bubbles as they washed down the drain. I grabbed the soap and started scrubbing myself clean and then hunched over, I almost let out a cry as the pain in my abdomen grew sharp. I stood back up, leaning against the tiled wall. I looked down at myself as I clutched my stomach, blood was trickling down my leg. Of course. This was why I was being such an asshole. I kind of felt bad about all the things I'd said to Ichigo now. I finished bathing and then filled the tub, wanting to sulk for a little while more. I watched the water surrounding me wave slowly, water lapping as the sides of the tub while I swished my hands about. The hot water helped.
Ichigo POV
I wondered what the hell was with Uo today. Seriously, she'd been acting like an asshole all day. And somehow I was the jerk. I sighed and tried to get back to my homework, I couldn't deal with her moods right now. She maybe did have a point about the clothes, they were kind of everywhere. And it wouldn't kill me to hang my towel up on the door or something. I wasn't going to stop drinking milk from the carton though.
I'd had enough of this, that was for sure. I stormed into the kitchen. I'll show her who's an asshole. Let's see her try and do anything without kind Ichigo's help. I laughed to myself. I was a genius. I grabbed the jars out of the pantry and started twisting. I took a deep breath and concentrated my spiritual energy, I screwed all the lids as tightly as I could. No one without a significant amount of spiritual pressure could open these. Ha. Who's an asshole now?
I heard retching from the bathroom. Uo was the only one here, was she alright? I left the kitchen, and walked down the hall, padding over to the bathroom. I held her hair back behind her head, she looked so worn out. I hadn't noticed earlier but now I thought about it, she'd been looking pretty pale. Maybe I shouldn't have been arguing with her while she was ill. Clearly something was wrong, and it was more than just our messy apartment. Her. Her messy apartment, that was my fault.
I helped her up into the shower and went back through to the bedroom to gather up all the clothes off the floor, Yuzu had taught me how to do the laundry a couple of times, despite always doing it herself, so I knew how. I went back to the bathroom to grab her clothes. I opened the door a crack and grabbed the pile up off the floor and headed through to the kitchen to the machine.
I sorted the laundry out into colour piles and put her vomit clothes in first. I picked up the jeans she'd been wearing to check for puke. Blood. Ah. It all makes sense now. My sisters always gave me hell during their cycles, and they were in sync. I smiled softly. At least I knew I wasn't an asshole now. I put the load on and headed over to the apartment door and pulled on my shoes. She did say she didn't really like chocolate, but, there wasn't really anything better at that time of the month, according to Yuzu.
Main POV
"Ichigo?" I called out into the apartment.
There wasn't anyone around. I sighed, I'd been kind of rude to him earlier, I couldn't blame him for leaving. Maybe he'd gone for a walk to clear his head, maybe he'd gone home for a while, or stopped by to see Ikkaku, Yumichika and Keigo next door. Either way, he wasn't here and I felt guilty. I'd been so mean to him for no real reason. Yes, they were all legitimate grievances but they were just small things. It was a bit extreme to call him a fucking asshole over a damp towel and some dirty socks on the floor.
I suddenly felt like I was falling apart. I'd driven Ichigo away and all over my stupid hormones. I started to cry, tears rolling down my cheeks as I stood in some sweatpants and one of his t-shirts. I curled up into a ball on the couch, hugging a pillow as I sobbed. What did I do now? Should I call him, tell him I'm sorry for being so mean? Did I explain why? Sorry I'm such a bitch, I'm hormonally challenged? It was better than nothing. I pulled out my phone and held down the number 2. He picked up in a few moments, sounding warm and happy, like our argument hadn't even happened.
"Hey," he breathed. "I stepped out for a bit, is everything alright, do you need anything?"
"No," I replied, wiping more tears off my face.
"Listen, I'll be home soon. Go turn the heater on in the bedroom, I'll meet you there in 10."
Sure enough, 10 minutes later he was climbing into bed beside me with a bag of snacks and drinks and an already hot ricebag.
"I'm really sorry," I said.
"Don't worry about it, I know you didn't mean it," he smiled. "You forget I have two sisters. I may not have realised right away, but give me some credit, I'm not a complete idiot. Come here," he instructed and pulled me closer, holding his hot hands on my stomach under the heat pack, stopping the hot rice from burning my skin.
"So what's so funny?" I asked, thinking about that day all those months ago.
"Before I went to check on you in the bathroom I went into the kitchen and tightened all the jars so you couldn't open them without my help," he explained and I scoffed. After a few minutes I started laughing. Really laughing. That jerk. Here I was thinking he was a saint that day. Now who was being childish?