5 New feelings

After the late dinner the two girls retired to the couch to watch a movie before bed but ended up watching more then one as it managed to keep Rukia's mind off of matters with Ichigo. They were already halfway into the second movie and Rukia was watching it almost intently. It was a movie that took place in the Edo Period and she found it very interesting. The first movie they watched took place in the current period and Rukia found it difficult to follow along sometimes as the technology and terminology used was unknown to her as it wasn't present in Soul Society.

Rukia was completely into the movie as a fight scene started and she studied the moves being made by the samurai and found some of the moves were flawed. She was so lost in it that when Orihime fell onto her shoulder she was startled. A slight smile formed on her face as she found that Orihime had fallen asleep. Her smile warmed as she gently repositioned the girl so she would be more comfortable. Orihime's head rested on Rukia's lap and the movie was quickly forgotten as she noticed how cute the girl was while she slept.

Everything else was forgotten as Rukia just watched the girl sleep with a small smile. She had never noticed how peaceful this girl could look. No matter what the situation was Orihime could always be happy and cheerful but Rukia had never seen her while she was this much at peace. Rukia's smile warmed as she placed a hand gently on the girl's shoulder and she cuddled up a little. A part of her felt happy at the sight of this amount of peacefulness. It saddened her to know that the moment she woke up all her concern would come back and she would do whatever she could to accommodate any of Rukia's needs or anything else on that matter.

For a long time Rukia just watched Orihime sleep on her lap and she had long since forgotten about the movie. She didn't even know what time it was nor did it even matter to her for at this moment she felt a little happy and a lot closer to Orihime as well. There was no way of knowing when her hand abandoned Orihime's shoulder to play with her hair as it was all done absentmindedly. Even after doing it for awhile she was completely oblivious to her own actions. Until, at least, Orihime showed signs of waking up then she became overly aware of what she was doing and that the movie had ended.

As she brought her hand away from Orihime's hair the girl's eyes slowly opened. Orihime found herself on Rukia's lap as she was watched with a warm smile. Her eyes widened a little and she sat up quickly with a blush, "I'm sorry, before I knew it I was passing out."

"It's alright, Orihime." Rukia said gently. "It was pretty late when we put the movie on."

"Ah, I completely forgot about the movie." Orihime said frantically as she looked back at the tv to find that her timer had shut it off. "How long was I asleep?"

"I don't know." Rukia replied. "I wasn't keeping track of the time too much."

Orihime gave her a worried look only for it to fade as she found how much better Rukia looked now. She no longer held a slumped posture and she didn't look completely defeated in fact she even looked a little happy now and that was a major step forward. Orihime smiled warmly at the other girl and her smile was returned without hesitation or force. This made Orihime's smile warm to a new degree as she felt happy that Rukia was doing better now. She didn't know how much better she was but it was enough for her to smile like this without anything being said.

"Do you want to go to bed?" Rukia asked kindly.

"Are you tired?" Orihime asked in response.

"You don't have to be so considerate." Rukia chuckled. "If you're tired then we'll go to bed."

Orihime frowned a little before Rukia gave in and said, "I could use some sleep."

This time Orihime smiled and said, "Then we'll go to bed together."

A slight blush formed on Rukia's face at how casually Orihime had said something so misleading and hadn't even noticed it as she got off the couch in a happy mood. The blush on Rukia's face deepened as she wondered what exactly Orihime had implied by that. Her nervousness increased a little as Orihime went to the room ahead of her with little more then a back glance and a look in her eyes that Rukia couldn't read. She nervously followed Orihime into her bedroom and found her going through her dresser looking for something to sleep in for both of them. Once more she gave Rukia an apologetic look and said, "I don't think I have anything that will fit you."

"That's alright," Rukia replied with a smile. "Anything will do."

She was given another apologetic look as Orihime handed her some pajamas, "If they're not comfortable then tell me and I'll try to find something else that will fit you."

"That isn't necessary, Orihime." Rukia said as she accepted the pajamas. "This will do just fine for me."

Orihime gave her a worried look that was ignored as Rukia began to change with her back to the other girl. After a moment Orihime began to change as well. When Rukia finished changing she turned back and found Orihime in the middle of changing so she quickly turned back around as a deep blush formed on her cheeks and she found herself a little less jealous of the other girl's height and bust then she normally did when she found Orihime a little exposed or obliviously flaunting her figure to others.

After awhile Rukia chanced another glance and found she was finishing so she turned back around completely oblivious to the blush that still held her cheeks. When Orihime noticed it she became overly concerned and went over to her, "Rukia, are you alright? Your face is all red."

She was completely taken aback as Orihime placed their foreheads together in search of a fever. Rukia's heart raced and the blush on her face got even worse at how close the other girl was to her now. Orihime pulled away with an even more worried look and said, "You're really warm, are you feeling okay?"

"Y-yeah," Rukia stuttered only to make things worse.

Orihime took her by the wrist and brought her over to the bed. Rukia was too nervous for words as she was laid down on it. Her body shook a little as Orihime was propped over her for a moment before she left the room quickly. She placed a shaking hand on her forehead where Orihime's forehead had been only moments ago and found she was indeed warm but knew it was just from the blush on her face caused by the sudden action. A small sigh escaped her as she sat up on the bed knowing Orihime's concern was just a misunderstanding and nothing more.

It was only a moment before Orihime returned with a cold compress. When she saw Rukia sitting up she began expressing her concern once more while Rukia tried to explain she was fine without letting on to the slight arousal the girl had caused with her actions as it probably wouldn't go too well between them. Once more Rukia was forced to give into Orihime's will and was laid down and the cold compress was on her forehead to cool down the fever she didn't even have.

While Orihime nursed Rukia she began to notice how deep the girls concern for her was. It was too deep for just a small fever that wasn't even present. It was like something worse had happened and Orihime wanted to do everything possible to get her better faster. Rukia questioned this for a long time before recalling why she was there in the first place. She had completely forgotten her reason after finding that Orihime had fallen asleep during the movie.

At this realization a wave of guilt overflowed her as she recalled the arousal she had felt when Orihime had checked her temperature and how much she admired the girl while she had slept. Rukia looked away from the other girl now ashamed of her actions and out of fear of using this girl as a form of rebound. She felt a hand on her shoulder as Orihime said, "Try not to think about him so much right now and just focus on getting better. You've been under a lot of stress lately haven't you?"

Rukia nodded but couldn't stop thinking about it regardless as it had been completely taken away by Orihime's presence before and now that knowledge startled her. It began registering to her that Orihime's presence took away the pain she felt as if it were being healed just from her kindness but now that it was misplaced the pain was returning to her and it wasn't something she wanted to feel. She looked back over at Orihime and found how worried she still was.

"I don't have a fever, Orihime." Rukia said once more. "I just got a bit flustered and nothing more then that."

"But your face is still all red." Orihime said with a worried tone.

"I'm fine," Rukia said reassuringly. "You're worried too much about me."

Orihime gave her a concerned look once more and removed the cold compress and checked her temperature once more. This time Rukia was able to control herself a little more and didn't become nervous with the action. When Orihime moved away Rukia began to sit up without a hassle or argument. She smiled at Orihime and said, "See, I'm perfectly fine. No need to worry."

This time she got a warm smile without unease so she smiled back. As they smiled at each other Rukia began to feel the pain go away once more. Her smile warmed considerable as Orihime sat next to her on the bed. They shared a smile for awhile before Rukia leaned over and kissed Orihime. When she pulled away they both held a deep blush but it wasn't long before Rukia kissed her once more and brought her down to the bed where Orihime gripped her shoulders tightly.

Rukia pulled away quickly, "Is this alright, Orihime?"

Orihime avoided her eyes and shook her head as she was too embarrassed to do anything else. Rukia released her immediately and got off of her and the bed before hurrying out of the room. Her hand covered her mouth in her shock of her own actions. She hadn't even realized what she was doing until Orihime gripped her shoulders. After that she realized what was happening and she found how wrong it was. Orihime was doing what she could to be a good friend and Rukia was trying to use her body to forget Ichigo's. What must be going through her mind right now?

Orihime laid on her bed with wide eyes and a deep blush as her fingers unconsciously rubbed her lower lip. She was in a complete daze as she relived what had just happened and each time it replayed in her mind her blush deepened and her arousal grew. She didn't move at all for a long time and sleep was the last thing on her mind as all she could think about was the look in Rukia's eyes when their lips separated for that one moment before she was lowered to the bed. There was more then just pain in them so this wasn't just an attempt at a rebound.

Rukia laid on Orihime's living room couch with a pale face. She didn't keep track of time at all but she knew it was really late as she had been there for a long time and it was almost pitch dark in the room. The only light was from a small space in the curtains that allowed some light to creep into the room and no more then that. One hand was resting over her chest as her heart continued to race as she feared what would happen when the sun came up and the two confronted each other. It was unlikely that she would be able to meet Orihime in the eye properly.

Both laid on their back staring up at the ceiling and wondering if they'd be able to face the other in the morning and they each tried to comprehend the actions that took place between them. The whole night passed them by and there wasn't a moment of sleep between them as they continued to go over the situation and how to even go about it. As the sun began to come up there was no movement in the small apartment at all even with the sound of Orihime's alarm going off.

Orihime blinked and came out of her thoughts and found that her alarm was beeping. As she shut it off she found that it had been going off for half an hour already leaving her only half an hour before she would have to meet Tatsuki. She glanced over at the door and feared what was to come on the other side. Whatever happened could not be avoided however and would happen the next time they managed to meet eyes with the other.

Rukia barely heard the alarm stop and she slowly sat up in wait of whatever was to come. She knew very well that Orihime was a kind person and was also very accepting but she had crossed a line last night and there was no way she would be forgiven for her actions. At least she had controlled herself enough to stop when Orihime became frightened. She was even able to stop completely when the actions were denied and she even left the room afterwards also so that must count for something.

After a few minutes the bedroom door slowly began to open and Rukia hesitantly glanced over. Even with someone like Orihime there was no way of playing it off as a joke especially in this situation. Orihime stood in the bedroom doorway looking at Rukia nervously before coming out. She had already changed into her uniform and was ready to leave for school. The look in her eyes told Rukia that she was not forgiven or even trusted now as it was unreadable.

A painful throb started in Rukia's chest because of this and it made her want to take everything back even her confrontation with Ichigo the previous day just to have things return to normal between them. She slowly rose to her feet as Orihime walked towards her. She was at a complete loss of what to say to her right now so she just said the first thing that came to mind, "Orihime, I need to apologize for last night."

"It's alright, Rukia." Orihime said kindly. "I care about you a lot and I don't mind doing those things with you. I just don't want you to use me to get over Ichigo."

Rukia was so speechless at this development that she didn't even believe it were possible. She had never said anything about dating Ichigo so for her to figure that out was pretty amazing though she had implied that she had figured it out when Rukia told her and Tatsuki that she had lied a little about the guy she was with. Orihime made her way over to Rukia and pulled her into a close embrace, "I don't want to be just a fling for you to get over him. I love you too much for that.'"

"I could never do that to you, Orihime." Rukia insisted. "I just couldn't help but kiss you last night but then I didn't want it to end at just one kiss."

The two shared a smile before Orihime leaned down and kissed Rukia. When they parted Rukia held a nice blush across her face and Orihime smiled slyly down at her, "Now we're even."

Rukia's blush deepened considerably at her words and sly smile. It deepened even more as she found that Orihime wasn't all that willing to let her go. She hesitantly wrapped her arms around Orihime as she recalled that she had been pretty quick to hold her the day before as well. This made her wonder how much she liked doing the things that were done the night before or if it were even her first time. But if Rukia had been Ichigo's first then there was no way a girl such as this could have been doing those things at any time or day. She was simply far too innocent for any sort of intimacy with anyone.

They both held each other for a long time and looked deep into the other's eyes. The longer they looked at each other, unable to look away, Rukia began to realize what it was that took away the pain of her breakup and all the reasons she wanted to be around Orihime now and not anybody else. She even understood why she felt safe enough around her to show how vulnerable she could really be. At some point she had fallen in love with Orihime.

All her problems now were completely forgotten as Orihime's loving smile banished them with ease. Her blush deepened a little as she placed a hand on Orihime's cheek and asked, "Is it alright if I kiss you right now?"

Orihime's smile widened as she said, "It's alright."

Rukia smiled as they leaned closer to share a kiss. Their lips lingered against one another for a moment that was utter bliss for them before they parted with even warmer smiles. It wasn't long before Orihime leaned down for another kiss but this one didn't last as long before it ended and it didn't hold the same amount of bliss as their last one had. They parted with a warm smile but the warmth didn't last as their embrace also came to an end.

A surge of empty bitterness hit Rukia as she once more recalled why she was here and what she was doing with Orihime. Even with her feelings for the other girl it was wrong to do those things so soon after she broke up with Ichigo. No matter how much she wanted to stay in Orihime's arms she couldn't do that until she was completely over Ichigo to be completely sure that she wasn't using the other girl in any way or form. The thought of doing that was more devastating then her thoughts of losing Ichigo had been just the day before.

She stepped away from Orihime as she spoke, "Orihime, I really care about you a lot but until I get over Ichigo completely I don't want any intimacy between us. As soon as I'm in you arms I just completely forget about what happened and I don't want to keep doing that to run away from it. I don't want to use you at all."

"Alright, but before we start that…" Orihime trailed off and stepped forward to claim Rukia's lips once more with a bit more passion as they open mouthed kissed. This kiss lasted a few minutes before Orihime pulled away with a smile.

"W-what was that?" Rukia stuttered with a full blush.

"It's incentive." Orihime said with a smile and a wink.

Rukia's blush got deeper as she slowly sat back onto the couch at a complete loss for words. A quick knock on the door snapped her out of her daze enough to find that Orihime wasn't even in the living room anymore making her wonder what just happened. When it slowly registered to her a slight anger rose at what Orihime had done to her. It was bad enough she had called it 'incentive'. She turned around on the couch and loudly said, "That was not necessary, Orihime."

She heard the girl giggle in the other room making her get up and follow the source of the laugh in a bit of anger only for it to fade at the sight of the cheerful girl and the strange look she was getting from her best friend. When Tatsuki noticed Rukia had joined them she seemed a little surprised, "Shouldn't you be in your uniform?"

"No, I'll be gathering my stuff from where I stayed before then arranging a place to stay before I go to school." Rukia said. "I just have to wait for him to leave before I can go back to avoid things getting awkward."

"Who cares if it gets awkward?" Tatsuki asked. "Just go over and get your stuff and if he makes it awkward then kick his ass."

"I don't think I can face him just yet." Rukia said sadly. "Not with how things ended up."

She noticed a sly smile on Orihime's face, that was unknown to Tatsuki, and her face reddened with a blush. Orihime was completely aware of what she had done and was silently boasting about it. The blush on Rukia's face was easily noticed by Tatsuki as she asked, "Are you alright?"

"I need to go lay down." Rukia said and left the kitchen quickly.

Tatsuki watched her awkwardness with a strange look before looking over at Orihime with an even stranger look as she went about her things without even seeming to notice what had just happened. She was tempted to question her about what had just happened only to think better of it. Rukia didn't seem as down as she had yesterday except for when she mentioned going to get her things after that there was no hint of sorrow in her. Something had definitely happened after she left last night or before she got here this morning.

If anything was going to be brought up on the matter it should be Rukia's better mood, "Rukia seems a lot better now."

"Yep, she's moving on." Orihime said happily as she packed a lunch for school.

"That was fast." Tatsuki said taken aback at how she had been so hurt by the breakup only to move on the next day. "What made her move on so fast? Did she not really like the guy she was dating?"

"She did but she may have fallen for someone else." Orihime said happily.

"What did you do?" Tatsuki asked with a slight sigh.

"I didn't do anything but give her some incentive." Orihime smiled.

Tatsuki didn't say anything further as she just watched the other girl go about things in a cheerful manner. She let out a sigh and walked out of the kitchen, "I'm going to ask her myself."

Orihime continued happily without paying much mind to Tatsuki going to talk to Rukia as she made an extra meal for her to eat whenever she got hungry. She was completely absorbed in what she was doing that she barely noticed Tatsuki had returned to the kitchen almost immediately after leaving it to see what was going on. Despite how absorbed in what she was doing she looked over at Tatsuki almost questioningly about what the two had talked about and found she had a slight smile on her face.

"What happened?" Orihime asked.

"I thought she was moving on too fast but I guess I was wrong since she's completely passed out right now." Tatsuki said. "You two must have been up pretty late talking about things weren't you? I can see how tired you still are also."

"I'll be fine but I wasn't aware she hadn't slept last night either." Orihime said with complete worry. "I must have really upset her."

Tatsuki gave her a worried look but didn't question what happened as she sat at the kitchen table while Orihime had completely stopped what she was doing. Her worry increased for her friend as she hunched over the counter a little as if trying to fight off tears. It wasn't long before Tatsuki was by her side with an arm draped around her shoulder in comfort while she did her best to make sure the other girl was alright, "So why don't you tell me what happened last night."

"Quite a few things happened last night." Orihime said with a distant smile. "Even though it was just a mistake at first I know it wasn't this morning."

Tatsuki's eyes widened as she turned Orihime so that they faced each other properly and her hands held the girl's shoulders. There was anger in her voice as she spoke, "What exactly happened between you two last night, Orihime?"

"We kissed a little." Orihime said with a smile.

"What did she do to you?" Tatsuki demanded as if looking for a reason to start a fight.

"Nothing, she stopped when I told her to and she stayed on the couch last night." Orihime said.

"What about this morning?" Tatsuki asked.

"I kissed her and told her how I felt about her." Orihime said happily as if no anger was present in Tatsuki's eyes. "She wants to get over Ichigo completely before we do anything else though."

"Wait, she was dating Ichigo?" Tatsuki said in complete shock before considering it for a moment. "How was it so obvious but no one figured it out?"

Orihime was so stumped with the second question she hardly cared that Tatsuki had found out who Rukia had been dating. Both wondered about it now but only one was on a more reasonable track as Tatsuki said, "Maybe it's because they're complete opposites of each other that no one realized it. Not to mention they never even acted like they were in a relationship."

"They weren't able to." Orihime said sadly. "Rukia can't be in an open relationship. No matter who she's with it will have to be a secret from everyone. If she's not she could get into a lot of trouble."

"Then don't get overly excited or you'll get her in trouble." Tatsuki said with a slight smirk.

"I'm not going to get her into trouble." Orihime pouted. "Why would you say that, Tatsuki?"

"Well it's pretty obvious the two of you are going to end up getting together eventually and you're definitely going to be too excited about it." Tatsuki said.

Orihime looked almost hurt as she hadn't even thought about how their relationship would be when they started dating. She let out a sad sigh as the realization that they wouldn't be able to do very much together set in. Tatsuki smiled at her and said, "Since you're both girls though you can get away with going on dates as long as they aren't too obvious and not many people would really suspect anything since two girls spending time together and doing a lot of things is completely normal, right?"

Her expression went from hurt to bright in an instant as she hugged Tatsuki tightly, "I didn't even think of that."

"I know that's why I said it." Tatsuki laughed as she held Orihime awkwardly.

Even if she would never admit it knowing that Orihime held feelings for another girl was a little odd for her. As long as Orihime was happy she wouldn't voice any complaints about what she did or who she dated as long as they didn't hurt her in any way or force her into anything she didn't want. Tatsuki didn't care that she wanted to be with another girl but she had no idea about her feelings for Rukia so the sudden knowledge of it left her a bit off but no more then that. She already accepted that Orihime had found someone and was happy for her.

It wasn't long before Orihime stopped hugging Tatsuki. When they separated Orihime's smile was brighter then ever. Tatsuki smiled in return before going back to the table as she said, "You know, you really shouldn't have said who Rukia was dating so easily."

Orihime's smile vanished as she quickly said, "I was caught off guard so I didn't think about it properly and I don't like to keep things from you."

"I know you don't but this isn't exactly your secret to keep." Tatsuki said as she sat down. "It's up to Rukia if she wants to tell people who she was with."

"I'll go apologize to her then." Orihime said as she started for the living room.

"You shouldn't wake her up, Orihime." Tatsuki said.

"I won't wake her up." Orihime smiled. "I'll apologize with a kiss."

"I thought you two weren't going to do anything until she got over Ichigo." Tatsuki said.

"She's asleep so it doesn't count." Orihime said as she left the kitchen.

"It does if I know about it." Tatsuki called. "I'll be sure to tell her all about it next time I have the chance."

She let out a sigh as she knew Orihime wasn't going to listen to her about this. Tatsuki waited patiently for Orihime to come back completely oblivious to what was going on around her just like she always was when she fretted over someone she liked. The only difference between this time and all her other crushes was that this was actually going to go somewhere eventually. The moment Rukia get's over Ichigo they'll get together without hesitation and without word, if Orihime could really stay quiet about it, though Tatsuki would still be told about it and she would happily listen and tell her friend how happy she was for her.

After awhile she glanced at the time and found that they would be late for school if they didn't hurry up and leave but even still they'd have to walk fast just to make it for the bell. Tatsuki got up and went to the living room in hopes of not interrupting anything that she didn't want to see. When she found Orihime however her irritation rose a little. Orihime was lying on the couch all cuddled up with Rukia and completely passed out. There was no way either of them were going to get up for school that day.

Tatsuki turned to leave but stopped as she noticed something out of place. She glanced back and found where Orihime's hand was. There was a slight twitch in her face as she reached over and shifted Orihime's arm so it was placed more appropriately before going back to the kitchen to leave a small note to state that she didn't want to wake her since she had already admitted to not getting a lot of sleep and also to say she would be back after school to see how things were going. The note was written quickly and Tatsuki excused herself from the house and locked the door with the key she had.