Each time he kisses her, it's as though he leaves a piece of song against her skin.

Sometimes, he sweeps butterfly brushes at the corner of her mouth. Sometimes, his lips linger, soft and warm, by her ear. And sometimes, his arm easily circling her waist, he presses shy words to her temple.

He kisses her until her heart is warm and aglow from behind her ribs, lovely light flooding her face and eyes. He kisses her so that she berates herself for wanting more—more of his touch, his taste.

"M-maybe we should practice," she murmurs one day, doodling in the margins of her homework.

His shoulder bumps against hers as he turns. "…Practice?" he echoes, his voice low and tantalizingly close.

"Y-yes," she stutters, glancing up to gauge his reaction.

Soft evening light dims his hard lines and angles, but he's near enough that she can clearly see his features. She's distractedly counting his eyelashes when he frowns.

"I'm not… I'm not good at it?" He sounds slightly strained.

She flushes, suddenly all too aware of how close he is to her heated skin. "Ah, n-no!" she stammers, gesturing wildly. Her fingertips graze his shirt and she swears his breath catches. She stills, glancing up. Gently, her hands rest against his chest. "I just…"

His eyes are lidded and dark. She lets her gaze flicker lower to watch him wet his lips in an attempt to say something. The air between them feels charged.

"Orihime-"

She tips forward before she can think twice, stealing away his words. Time snakes around them, crushing them closer and burning his flesh against hers. She somehow manages to pull away, lightheaded and dizzy, because she vaguely remembers that there was something that she had been saying, something possibly important-

"Um," she gasps, drawing breath back into her deflated lungs. He pulls her back again, brushing his mouth lightly over her throat. "We-"

"Practice," he pants, pressing his forehead to hers so that warm breath clouds over her cheek. His eyes open and she shivers under his smoldering gaze. "We'll practice."

I just wrote a full-fledged IshiHime fic (which I'm actually rather proud of and enjoyed writing!), so I figured that I ought to go back and add to my OTP's collection. hope you enjoyed this mindless sexiness XD