A/N: Look, your patience has been rewarded! Chapter thirteen is now here! (Honestly, I'm amazed…I really didn't think it would be this long…). But, I digress! So, anyway, the good news is: the story is reaching its climax! The bad news is: the next chapter is probably going to be the final one. I say 'probably' because I don't like to presume I know what's going to happen in my stories…. LOL Alright, well, please enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: Nothing has changed since the last time…or any of the times before that, for that matter…which means that, no, Bleach is not mine.

Second Chance

Chapter Thirteen: It Takes Two

Ichigo looked around at the gathered Soul Reapers and decided that, while they didn't have the numbers, they certainly had the power. And with a little luck, that'll translate to 'skill', he hoped.

"So," Ikkaku began carefully, "let me get this straight: you wanna completely rebuild your girlfriend's house without telling her?"

Ichigo tried not to grind his teeth as he replied, "That's the basic idea behind a 'surprise', yeah."

Renji smirked and crossed his arms. "You are so whipped."

Rukia glared up at him and stomped on his nearest foot pointedly, earning a sharp yelp from the larger Soul Reaper. Then she turned a smile to Ichigo and said, "We're in."

"That goes double for us!" Rangiku declared, throwing an arm around both Toushirou and Nanao.

With a laughing smile, Shunsui announced, "If Nanao's participating, then you know I'm game."

"Yeah," Ikkaku said with a shrug, "alright." Beside him, Yumichika nodded silently.

"You can count on us," Shuuhei promised with a nod. Izuru nodded as well, but said nothing.

Rounds of agreement continued, including Byakuya, Isane, Juushirou, Kiyone, Sentarou, Tetsuzaemon, and Hiryu.

Ichigo hadn't bothered to invite either Kurotsuchi, and both Choujirou and Soi Fon declined their invitations. Hanatarou and Unohana were in on the idea as well, but both were going to spend most of their involvement making sure Orihime remained unaware. It would, after all, be a difficult task to accomplish.

With everyone on board, Ichigo got right to business. They had to move quickly if they were going to manage it, but he had confidence that they could get it done. He was sure that most of them would turn the rebuilding into some sort of ridiculous competition, but he figured that would probably encourage them to work faster – he could only hope it also meant that they'd work better.

Orihime slumped against Ichigo's shoulder later that night as they sat on his couch. She had spent so much of her day helping Unohana do some last-minute touch-ups in the repairs at Squad One that it had put her own repairs back nearly a full day. Not to mention she had worked herself nearly into a state of exhaustion.

Ichigo wrapped his arm tightly around her, holding her close, and rumbled, "You should probably try not to stay up too late, Hime. You're exhausted."

"I know," Orihime said on a sigh. This was not how she'd wanted her night to go. Not after the way the night before had been interrupted.

He was glad she couldn't see his grin as he leaned forward enough to drop a kiss on the crown of her head and whispered, "You can stay the night if you want."

Orihime's eyes were already mostly closed as she asked, "Do you have to be up early?"

"Yeah," Ichigo replied. "And I'll probably be busy most of the day, too."

"That's okay," Orihime replied, her voice quieter than it had been a moment ago. "I have to be up early, too. And I know I'll be busy."

Ichigo shifted, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, and turning to slip his other beneath her knees. He stood, then, and pulled her easily into his arms. He felt a bit guilty when her only protest was a sleepy moan, which was immediately followed by her shifting to snuggle into him.

He was pretty sure she fell asleep before he made it to his bedroom.

Still, he was careful to jostle her as little as possible when he set her down, and he was incredibly grateful that she'd already removed her haori. Once she was tucked beneath the comforter he stepped out of the room in order to change.

As he prepared to head back inside the bedroom, he could only hope that no-late night messengers decided to drop in on them.

"I hear rumor you finally finished renovations today," Ichigo said with an honest smile as he and Orihime sat down for dinner.

Orihime beamed at him from across the table, looking significantly less drained than she had the night before. "We did! We had so many little things to get done today, but it was all worth it. The infirmaries will be open first thing tomorrow, and we can take down those horrendous tents in the main courtyard."

"That's great," he said. With a faint chuckle, he added, "I know you hated those things."

She scrunched up her nose and nodded, pausing to swallow a mouthful of noodles before she said, "Oh, I did. I know I shouldn't hate them, they're just objects, and they were helpful when we didn't have any other options, but they just bothered me. Is that silly?"

"Not really," Ichigo replied easily. "I think everyone has things like that."

She smiled, and he returned the gesture silently. After a moment they both returned their attention to their dinners, having worked up quite the appetite during the day.

It was several minutes before Orihime resumed their conversation, asking, "So how was your day? I hope nothing too frustrating came up."

Ichigo took a moment to wash down his dinner before he replied, "It was decent. I had a lot of errands to run, and Kiyone and Sentarou needed help with some things, but it all went well."

"That's good," Orihime said with another smile.

Silence resumed for a minute before Ichigo asked, "You're not planning to jump right into renovating your house, are you?"

Orihime nodded around a mouthful of noodles. Once she'd swallowed, she said, "Yes. It's just collecting dust right now anyway."

Ichigo scowled, not actually at all surprised with her answer, and argued, "So let it collect dust for a couple more days. You've worked hard on those infirmaries, you should take a break; give yourself time to appreciate what you've accomplished. It's not like you're homeless."

She hesitated, clearly weighing his words against her original intentions.

At length, she said, "That does sound kind of tempting…but I hate to impose anymore than I already have."

His scowl was genuine this time as he held her gaze firmly. "Orihime, listen to me very carefully: you are not imposing on anyone. Captain Ukitake has no problems with you staying here, and I should hope by now you know you're not bothering me."

Orihime laughed faintly, looking down at her now-empty plate and mumbling, "Have I mentioned that every now and then I get incredibly self-conscious? I'm sorry, I know you don't mind me being around, and I don't mean to imply that I'm uncomfortable or anything."

Ichigo set down his chopsticks and pushed to his feet, moving around the table until he was standing beside her. Silently, he held out one hand and waited.

She looked up at him, hesitating only due to her confusion, and placed her hand in his.

He tugged her to her feet easily, pulling her all the way into his chest and then wrapping both arms securely around her waist. When his lips were only a hair's breadth from hers, he murmured, "We're gonna have to work on breaking that habit. You don't have anything to be self-conscious about, Hime. Trust me on that."

He leaned in and captured her lips in a hard, deep kiss before she could reply. She returned the kiss immediately, her arms lifting to curl around his shoulders as he plundered her mouth.

And then he pulled away, breathing deeply and locking his eyes onto hers once more.

She smiled and, still regaining her breath, said, "You're a hard man to argue with…when you put it like that."

He smirked and pressed a light, lingering kiss to her lips before whispering, "Good."

"I think I'm done with my dinner," Orihime breathed, her lips brushing teasingly over his.

Ichigo's only response was to pull her into another sensual kiss. He tugged her body flush against his as he angled his head to deepen the kiss, lifting one hand to tangle it in her hair.

Orihime returned his kiss eagerly as she melted in his arms. She felt like she had been yearning for him – for this kiss, this promise – all her life.

"Orihime," Ichigo groaned as he dragged his lips from hers. She opened her eyes and blinked up at him, and he knew he wouldn't be able to stop himself this time. He doubted she wanted him to, anyway. Swallowing heavily, he adjusted his hold on her and swept her into his arms without saying a word.

She squeaked in surprise and then let her head fall onto his shoulder, laughing softly, as he turned and walked out of the kitchen. Her fingers danced lightly along the nape of his neck, dipping beneath his collar and lifting to comb through his hair at random intervals.

She barely noticed when they passed the threshold to the bedroom, at least until he looked down at her and said quietly, "I love you, Hime."

A sweet smile curved her lips and she moved one hand to trail along his jaw as she softly replied, "I love you, too, Ichigo."

Ichigo set her down on the futon a moment later, immediately shifting to settle beside her and letting one hand land on her hip.

Their eyes met, and for a moment, neither moved.

Orihime gave in first, rolling towards him and curling her hands into the loose collar of his shihakushou in order to pull him to her. Their lips met, and the kiss was tender and loving for a moment, before the heat returned to their blood.

Her hands shifted, releasing the fabric in favor of slipping beneath it and running along his smooth, muscular chest. One of his arms moved beneath her, his hand coming up to support the back of her head as he leaned forward. His other arm curved over her waist, holding her firmly in place as he devoured her lips.

Then Orihime's hands slid up, onto his shoulders, and she shoved at the fabric covering them.

Ichigo reluctantly pulled away from her lips, releasing her altogether in order to yank the top of his uniform free and toss it aside. He would have contented himself with stopping there – at least for the moment – but Orihime had taken the opportunity to sit up and begin untying her own shihakushou.

He could do nothing but stare as the uniform slid from her shoulders, slowly revealing more and more of her smooth, pale skin.

Orihime looked up, trying not to blush (she was a grown woman, and they knew what they were getting themselves into), when she noticed that Ichigo had stopped moving. She realized quickly that his gaze was fixated on her shihakushou as she removed it, and a strange urge struck her. Unsure of what had come over her, Orihime shifted until she was kneeling, and slowly, deliberately, pulled the top off. She let it fall at her feet, pooling around her calves, as she watched his face.

It was a long minute before Ichigo was able to drag his eyes up to hers, even though he knew she was watching his reaction. He had thought he was prepared for this, but already he was coming to realize that nothing could prepare him for her. She was more beautiful than he had dared imagine, and he couldn't even fathom what it might be like to run his hands, lips, or tongue along all of that freshly-exposed skin. But he desperately wanted to find out.

Swallowing again, he finally looked into her eyes, only to find her smiling at him with a strangely mischievous curve to her lips. So he decided to see if he couldn't torture her just a little bit, too.

He smirked and pushed to his feet, watching as her eyes went wide and her confident, mischievous look vanished when she realized what he was doing. His hands went immediately to the knot at the front of his uniform and he easily tugged it loose. But instead of quickly kicking the fabric aside, he opted to hook his thumbs into the sides – gathering all of the fabric around his hips – and shove it down just enough that, when he let go, it would all pool at his feet.

It was her turn to find herself staring in awe, swallowing heavily and blushing despite all of her best efforts. Her eyes only barely pretended to follow the fabric once it was past his hips.

His patience was quickly disappearing as he watched her lick her lips for the third time.

He was still standing, and she was still kneeling, and there was barely a foot between them, and he was coming to realize that he hadn't thought this plan entirely through. All sorts of private, delicious, probably inappropriate, thoughts were beginning to swarm his mind. And if she kept staring like that he didn't know how he'd talk himself out of any of them.

With an embarrassed grunt, Ichigo reached down, grasped her upper-arm, and tugged her effortlessly to her feet. The motion yanked her eyes back to his and caused her face to nearly go crimson, and as endearing as it was, he needed to distract himself. So he let his fingers skim down her bare sides, both of them biting back small moans from the new contact, until he'd found fabric again. He hooked his fingers beneath the hem of her pants, making sure that his knuckles were brushing against soft, tender flesh, and tugged.

This time, when her clothing hit the ground, his eyes held hers firmly. Yes, she was gorgeous, and yes, he intended to memorize every inch of her, but he didn't want her to have any cause to think that this attraction was purely physical. So, after the faint rumpling of falling fabric had stopped, Ichigo planted his hands over her exposed hips and pulled her in for a long, deep kiss.

Orihime couldn't describe the sensations coursing through her. Her skin was on fire from everywhere his hands had touched, and she knew she ought to be embarrassed about standing there, completely nude, on a borrowed futon, but she wasn't. And desire wasn't the only feeling building up inside of her. But that certainly didn't mean that she didn't want him – badly.

Ichigo pulled his lips from hers and began trailing hot kisses along her jaw and down, over the column of her throat. Her head tilted back automatically, and she released a sound that went straight through him when his lips found her pulse-point. He sucked on the delicate skin lightly and her hands fisted in his hair, her back arching and causing her breasts to push more firmly into his chest.

Removing one hand from her hip, Ichigo skimmed his fingers up along her toned stomach before lightly dancing them across the underside of one of her breasts. She sucked in a sharp breath, unintentionally tugging on his hair, and he took that as a good sign. Wrapping his other arm around her waist, he curled his hand around her breast and gently kneaded the soft flesh.

The moan that greeted his ears made him squeeze his eyes shut and drag in a heavy breath to keep his control.

Planting a light kiss along her collar bone, Ichigo made up his mind and slowly loosened his hold on her waist. He ran his thumb across her nipple as he deliberately lowered himself, planting more light, lingering kisses over her skin. When his lips were low enough, he shifted his raised arm to her side to help support her before closing his lips around her breast.

Orihime's grip had been shifting, as necessary, toward his shoulders, and when he sucked on her breast she threw her head back and dug her nails into his shoulders. She couldn't believe the delicious sensations he was bringing to her. His tongue swept sensuously over her nipple and she sucked in a breath, which was immediately released in a throaty moan when he followed the same path with his teeth.

After lingering over her breast for a short while, wringing forth all sorts of sounds from her that he knew he'd be dreaming about for decades, Ichigo pulled his lips back and continued moving lower. He trailed more wet kisses across her stomach, pausing to dance his tongue around her bellybutton, before he settled in front of his goal. His hands slid down her back until he was holding her hips once more, and he stole a glance up at her face as they stilled.

She was suddenly very aware of his plan, and as embarrassed as she wanted to be, she couldn't deny that she was eager to continue. With everything that he had already made her feel, she could only imagine how much more was to come. And she was trapped in his stare as he watched her.

He kept his eyes on her face as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to the curls at the apex of her thighs. Her hands tightened immediately over his shoulders and a startled, half-swallowed moan slipped past her lips as her eyes fluttered closed. Ichigo dipped his head just slightly then and leaned in again, pressing his lips lower.

Keeping one hand firmly over her hip, Ichigo dragged the other down a bit and gently nudged her legs further apart. Then he wrapped that hand around her thigh and his lips found her most sensitive spot. He kissed her hard, wasting no time in letting his tongue dart out to entice more erotic, beautiful moans from her lips.

Orihime couldn't breathe as his lips and tongue began pleasuring her. One of her hands trailed back up, into his hair, and tangled itself there. Her knees were weak and she was amazed she hadn't fallen on top of him. And then he shifted her again, guiding one leg over his shoulder and granting him unrestricted access to her most private place.

Before she could think about it enough to be embarrassed once more, his tongue was inside of her and her whole body was tingling. She moaned more loudly than before, barely aware that her hips had developed a mind of their own and were beginning to roll forward. What he was doing felt so good that she only wanted more, and she didn't care that she was grinding her hips into his face.

His tongue slid into her, swirling around sensuously before slipping back out, and then he gave a hard suck that had her digging her nails into his flesh. She groaned loudly and threw her head back again, arching her hips forward. And then his tongue returned, but this time it was joined by one long finger. Together they plunged inside of her, and his thumb rubbed over the same spot he'd sucked on, and all of a sudden she was seeing stars.

She cried his name as ecstasy flooded her, rolling her hips into him a moment before her limbs gave out on her.

Orihime half-collapsed on top of him as Ichigo withdrew from her, and he couldn't quite contain the smirk of pride that surged within him. He shifted his hold in order to catch her properly and easily guided her back to the futon, where he laid her down gently.

Once she was settled, he crawled up, tenderly sweeping the hair from her face and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Her breath was still coming in short, ragged, gasps as Orihime said, "You're…not done…are you?"

"Not even close," Ichigo promised with a faint chuckle. He held her gaze for a long moment, smiling softly at her, and added, "You don't need to be up early, right?"

Orihime laughed, reaching up again and wrapping her arms around his torso. "Come here," she said, her voice unusually breathy.

Ichigo obediently leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. Their lips moved together, parting and allowing their tongues to dance, for a long minute. Then he skimmed one hand again over her side, using the other to prop himself up above her.

When he pulled back again he shifted, using his knees to ease her legs apart until he could settle between them. As he moved, Orihime dragged one hand up his chest, lingering enough to really get a feel for the contours of his muscles. Her touch sent scorching heat racing through his veins and he sucked in a breath, his eyes lifting back to hers.

He watched her as he pulled his hand around and dipped one finger inside of her again, testing her. Orihime groaned, arching at his touch, but managed to hold his gaze. He withdrew his hand and returned it to its place at her hip, all the while keeping his eyes firmly on hers.

Neither was able to maintain eye-contact, however, when Ichigo slowly eased himself inside of her.

Orihime was the first to break the connection, her head falling back and eyes squeezing shut as she savored the feelings suddenly coursing through her.

Ichigo groaned, free fist clenching, and his forehead landed on her shoulder as he filled her.

When he was completely sheathed within her he stopped, lifting his head and looking for her eyes.

She smiled encouragingly when their eyes met and lifted her hands to frame his face as she pulled him down for a kiss. Her hips rolled into his as their tongues met, and Ichigo pulled back only enough to roll forward again.

The hand he'd had at her hip slid around her, shoving itself between her back and the futon and subsequently pulling her closer.

Her arms slid down, fingernails scraping lightly over his chest, until she could once again wrap them around his torso.

He bowed his head, lips and tongue trailing down her throat, licking and sucking intermittently.

She moaned loudly as he continued to thrust into her. He would pull out – sometimes entirely, other times only partially – and immediately surge forward again. Each thrust had her arching her back and rolling her hips to greet him.

The arm around her waist tightened as he groaned against her throat, teeth grazing the skin. He immediately followed with his tongue, tracing it over the same spot, as he picked up the pace.

Orihime dug her nails into his back unintentionally and, as she arched, one leg curled up, over his hip. He seemed to like the change, because he grunted something unintelligible and pounded into her with slightly more force than before. Groaning with each new thrust, Orihime tightened her hold on him and curled her other leg deliberately around his hip.

Ichigo trailed his tongue across her collar, moving to the other side of her throat, as his pace increased again. He was dangerously close to the edge now, but he refused to go over alone. His lips found the pulse-point and he sucked hard on the sensitive skin as he surged into her once more.

Their hips were practically molding together as her legs tightened around him, and she cried out when he slammed into that spot. Two more quick, sharp thrusts had her clinging to him desperately as pure, unadulterated bliss suddenly exploded within her.

He wasn't sure if it was the sound of his name on her lips as her orgasm crashed into her, or the way she was holding him, her body pulsating around his, that had him flying toward the horizon. But, either way, her name tore from his lips as he groaned, his hips thrusting shallowly into her as his head fell to her shoulder.

Her legs slowly slid off of his hips, and her arms loosened around him as she dragged in ragged, gasping breaths.

Ichigo reluctantly lifted his head, realizing that he was practically crushing her, as he loosened his own hold on her. But it was another long minute before he carefully withdrew from her, simultaneously pulling his hand back around to her hip.

He rolled off of her then, half-collapsing onto his back. Orihime immediately rolled into him, curling up against his side and using his chest as her pillow, one arm curving loosely around his stomach. His arm – the one he'd used to support himself – curled around her to hold her in place.

"Ichigo," she whispered after another moment, once her breath was somewhat stable.

Realizing that his eyes were only half-open, Ichigo murmured, "Hmm?"

Her voice was sleepy when she said, "I think you should stay over tonight."

A chuckle rumbled up from his chest and he found the energy to tighten his arm around her slightly as he replied, "Yeah, I was thinking that, too."

"Besides," Orihime continued as her eyes began to droop and her hand slowly stilled, "I've discovered…that I like waking up…with you…."

Ichigo couldn't help but grin, despite his own increasing tiredness, as he remembered that morning. It was the first time they had woken up together, and it had taken a lot of willpower to keep from rolling over and pinning her beneath him for the rest of the morning.

"Me, too," he replied, though he was pretty sure she had already fallen asleep.

His gaze lowered to the side and he smiled faintly at the mass of auburn that occupied his vision. He was exhausted – for more than one reason, really – and he had to be up early again in the morning.

But it was so worth it.

To Be Concluded…

A/N: Whew, now wasn't that fun? LOL Ahem, I mean, another chapter is done! And of course I hope you enjoyed it! ^_~ Now, I'm sure some of you noticed already, but yes, there really is only one more left…. I know, it's sort of bittersweet, isn't it? Heh, don't mind me! However, if you would be so kind, please take a moment to review before you go rushing to the next one!