Her breaths were heavy as the dreams cycled in and out of her mind. She woke quickly as the final one left her feeling uneasy. She woke only to instantly forget why she was breathing so hard. Her neck hurt and she immediately fell over to the other side of the couch as she still could not chase those last bits of the desire to sleep from her. She drifted off again and was woken to the squeaking sound of Kon's paws hitting her face. She opened her eyes slowly, taking in the angry looking stuffed lion in front of her.

"Hey Orihime, wake up! Ichigo's awake."

She shot up and looked over to Ichigo. He was covered in a blanket, but his eyes were looking at her. A faint smile was painted on his lips. She smiled back and scooted over to him, placing a hand on his head and softly running her hand through his hair. "Good morning. How are you feeling?"

Kon answered for him. "He left the gigai twice since you were asleep. We were able to get him back in just a few hours ago. He was able to stay in the same spot so you weren't woken up."

Orihime felt a warmth in her stomach. He was concerned with making sure I didn't wake up, even though he was struggling so hard to stay in the body? He really is amazing. "What can I do to help Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo looked at her, eyes half open. "Y..you can start by calling me Ichigo." His voice was hoarse and barely above a whisper. She stopped touching him and put her hands in her lap. Her cheeks flushed and she looked down.

"I..Ichigo then, uh, what else can I do to help?"

Kon smirked and stomped his foot on the couch. "You can give him a hug Orihime. He probably needs one pretty bad right now." Kon saw her blush more, and Ichigo's eyes widened slightly, but he still had no energy to even lift a hand to smack him.

Orihime looked at Kon. "You're right." She turned slowly towards Ichigo and hugged him through the blanket. Kon tugged at the blanket, causing Orihime to pull back. She realized that Kon was trying to get her to give Ichigo a better hug. She pulled the blanket down and helped Ichigo up into a sitting position. She slowly wrapped her arms around him. She didn't know if he was in pain, or could even feel pain, so she wanted to be gentle. She lowered her head down to his shoulder and exhaled deeply. Kon nodded and looked at Ichigo. His eyes were wider and Kon could see the struggle within them. Kon then saw Ichigo's hands shake and realized he was trying to lift his hands. Kon ran over to Ichigo and lifted up his right arm, giving him the best support he could while Ichigo continued to try and raise his arms. Orihime could feel this, and knew that she could not let go. She could not let him feel like she was pitying him by saying it was ok or by changing positions so it was easier for him. She had to stay as she was and let him do this. She closed her eyes and focused her thoughts on the arms behind her. She imagined them holding her tight and the warmth that she felt from the strong hands. She could feel something on her back now. He let out one final grunt and the hand was heavily placed on her right shoulder. She hugged him tighter and watched as Kon went over to the left hand and they repeated the process. This time, it took almost a minute for the left hand to finally find its place. They sat there, arms locked in place, staying quiet and not letting the other break free. Kon sat back down once it looked like Ichigo was ok. "You did it Ichigo. Now take as much time as you need. I'll leave you two alone." Kon hopped down and rounded the corner into the hallway.

Orihime finally spoke. "Good job Ichigo. You've come so far. I'm so proud of you." She smiled and slowly moved up and kissed his cheek. He jolted and she was startled by the movement that she almost let go. "Kuro.."

"Kiss me again." His voice was still hoarse and quiet, but it had a bit more clarity in it than last time. Orihime kissed him again on the cheek and then took her place back on his shoulder. She smiled and spoke softly into his ear.

"I'm glad I could help. Would you still like to keep hugging, or do you want to lay back down and rest?" Ichigo slowly angled his body towards her, and she lifted her head up to let him do that. She felt his hand move slowly up her back until he had his hand positioned behind her head. She flushed immensely at this and looked up to see that he was looking right at her.

"Close your eyes Orihime."

Her stomach tightened, and she was pretty sure she stopped breathing. She closed her eyes and was surprised when she could feel her head being pulled. Moments ago, he didn't have the energy to speak. She felt her lips connect with his and she could immediately feel the energy flow between it. It was intense. She felt his hand lower back down to her back, which made the kiss even more intense. Kon picked this time to peek out from the hallway. He chuckled and plopped down on the floor with a satisfied look. Orihime finally pulled away and let in a large breath, taking a moment to catch her breath. Her arms were still wrapped around him. She looked up and could see him smiling in a weird way.

"What is it?"

"I feel good. A lot better than I did before. I think it might have been the kisses."

Orihime's face couldn't get any redder. She giggled and gave him a quick kiss before asking, "Do you think we should stop hugging for now? I..I mean only if you feel better. I can hug you all day if it would help."

He chuckled. "You can let go now. As much as I want to stay in your arms forever, I'd like to try out how I feel now." He looked over at her as she let go. Her eyes said there were a million things running through her mind. Her arms dropped to her sides and she seemed to be mumbling to herself. He smirked again and lifted her chin with his hand. Their eyes met and he said the one thing she wasn't expecting to hear. "I think I'm falling in love with you Inoue Orihime. I hope you can one day feel the same way." She struggled to reply. No words were coming out, only noises. He leaned in and kissed her again. He rose up from the couch slowly and left Orihime in her dazed state on the couch. He walked around slowly, knowing that he may have gotten an energy boost, but he was still very much low on energy. He walked over to Kon, who was still seated on the floor. "Hey."

Kon looked up. "Hey."

"Got any more ideas on how I can regain energy?"

Kon thought about it for a moment and then ran off. Ichigo shrugged and walked back over to Orihime, who had not moved yet. He looked at her, but could feel a sudden rush of something coming over him and he quickly moved in front of Orihime as a knife bounced off his chest and onto the floor.

"What the hell was that for Kon?!"

"You said you wanted more sources of energy, so I thought I'd try this. Your desire to protect her probably gave you a good boost. How do you feel?"

Ichigo had been clenching his fists, but loosened up as he realized he felt better. This was not going to be an option. He was not going to risk her life just so that he can feel better. "Absolutely do not do that again or I will have you hanging from the clothesline."

Kon shrugged. "Yeah, yeah."

Ichigo then sat on the couch and looked at Orihime. It looked like she had teared up, so Ichigo ran his hand under her eyes and grabbed her tears. "Don't cry. Sorry if I said something that upset you. I'm try..."

"I'm falling for you too!"

"You are?"

Orihime's eyes shut and she lowered her head. "Over these past few weeks, I've grown to know you so well and the more time I spend with you, the harder for me it is to think of you leaving. Every moment with you feels so, I don't know, real. My heart flutters around you and my dreams have only been of you. I can't get you out of my head, but I don't think I want you out." She opened her eyes and looked up. "When you have your regular body, do you think you could stay here a while?"

Without hesitation, he answered, "Of course I would. I think I'd want to travel around a bit once I'm able to, but I want a place to come home to. Right now, that home is with you."

They kissed again, and held each other for a few moments. Finally feeling relieved that their feelings were out there. At that moment, Orihime's stomach decided to announce its disapproval of the lack of food inside it. Orihime shrieked and got up from the couch with a nervous laugh. "I guess I should go make some food. You lay there and rest."

Ichigo nodded and laid back down, pulling the blanket over him and watching Orihime go in and out of the kitchen. He looked back up at the ceiling when the phone rang. Orihime answered it and it sounded like it was exciting news. He could hear her excited squeaks and chuckled at how cute she could be. She ran back into the living room and made the announcement. "Your body is done!"