Snow Angel

It started with the most innocent of words.

"Kurosaki-kun, let's make snow angels!"

Alarmed, he had looked to her hoping she hadn't really said it, though already knowing she had.

What could possess her to think he would want to make snow angels?

Sure, there was the very slight possibility he had done it before, but if he had, it would have happened a long time ago when all he had wanted in life was to impress his mother.

There was no way he would ever perform such an act now; he had spent far too long sculpting his reputation to the present and he was not about to ruin it.

But then she was giving him that look again.

It wasn't the look she gave him every day he asked to walk her home. The look she gave him when he did that was innocent with a twinge of lost puppy.

How could someone at the top of their class always look so lost anyways? Ichigo didn't really know, but she always seemed to be the most lost when he spoke to her, oddly enough, but he didn't mind.

This look was different.

Oh it was still a very innocent look, however now she wasn't confused or lost but instead in complete control. This look was potentially much more dangerous for him, because usually she would have her way regardless of how he felt on the matter.

And damn it, this time the matter involved snow angels.

Sure enough, Orihime hadn't even waited for his reply and was already plopping down into the snow. Ichigo watched from above as she wriggled around for a moment as if trying to find the perfect spot. Seeming to find a suitable position, Orihime smiled briefly up at him before she unceremoniously began flapping her arms and legs.

From the determined set of her face, you would think making snow angels was a sort of art. To Ichigo it seemed like random waving of ones arms and legs through the cold wet snow.

When she finally ceased her movement, Ichigo let out a breath of relief.

Orihime on the other hand now had that lost look on her face again.

"The real trick is getting up once you're done," she confessed, as she turned her head in one direction and then the other, trying to find a suitable escape route.

Her face had turned determined now, and if Ichigo looked hard enough, he could almost see the wheels turning as she thought up various (no doubt) crazy ideas on how to get out of her current predicament. He could almost imagine the contortions she was trying to come up with using that wild imagination of hers.

Because he didn't trust himself with the poses she could come up with, he offered her a hand and hoisted her up and politely brushed loose snow off of the back of her jacket, and even (without her noticing) gave her hair a brief stroke.

"Thank you Kurosaki-kun! It works a lot better with a partner."

She smiled at him and he gave his semi-grin in return and they both gazed down at her handiwork. Well, she looked down at it and he glanced before looking back at her face which was changing once again.

This time she looked almost sad, and he couldn't figure out what the cause of the sudden sadness could be. The snow angel looked fine to him so there really wasn't a reason to frown like that.

"It looks so…lonely."

Uh oh.

Ichigo could feel his will crumbling now. He wasn't sure which it was, the pained sound of her voice, or perhaps it was the grim shape of her mouth, or maybe even the depressed gleam in her eyes, but it didn't really matter because Ichigo was already lowering himself down into the snow.

"Kurosaki-kun, what are you doing?" Orihime asked, but the way her hand covered a broad smile told Ichigo she was well aware of what he was doing.

"It doesn't look right with only one," he mumbled, and then with a resigned sigh he first moved his arms up and down followed by moving his legs side to side. It really only lasted for a few seconds and then Orihime was giggling and helping him stand.

Stealing a glance around the park, Ichigo was glad to see that none of his friends suddenly jumped out of the bushes as witnesses to the act he had just performed. He really wouldn't have been surprised if they had, but it seemed just this once fortune was smiling at him.

Well, actually Orihime was smiling at him, and he thought that seemed even better somehow.

"You are very good at snow angels Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime praised while looking gleefully down at their pair of snow creations.

Ichigo grimaced at the…compliment? He didn't really think of it as such, but there she was smiling again and he quickly forgot his discomfort.

"What are you talking about? Yours looks a lot better."

It was true, Orihime's angel was nicer. His looked rushed and sloppy while hers was perfect. Each side was exactly as its opposite and it held no smudges.

"That's not true! Look, yours is bigger than mine." She had said it as if that automatically made his the better of the two and Ichigo shook his head. But, she was looking determined again and he really didn't feel like arguing.

"They both look…nice."

There, he had said it and he had even sounded like he believed it.

"Mm, they do."

And even better, she had agreed.

Nice Ichigo.

She shared a gentle smile with him, and he had given her one of his rare real smiles in return.

Briefly Ichigo thought he might like to kiss her, but he wondered if maybe he was taking too many chances for that day. Not that he usually worried about these things, it was true he was the type of person to live on impulse alone, but this was very different than jumping into a dangerous battle.

So caught up was he in his inner debate, Ichigo didn't notice Orihime's expression had changed once again.

"Hey Kurosaki-kun? Now let's make butt-prints!"

A/N: There I did it! Finally an IchiHime fic for your enjoyment. Funny how this wasn't even what I had originally wanted to write about /laughs. But I like it, and it seems relevant to the season even. Hmm, now what pairing shall I try...

Merry Christmas!

--Miss Soupy