Hey everyone! Sorry I kind of disappeared from this story for a bit, but I'm back and ready to pump out Ichihime content!

I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer- I do not own Bleach or its characters

Orihime:

I was warm and comfortable. Wearing nothing but my skin as Ichigo traced small circles over my stomach. He had his head propped up on his palm as he laid beside me, his hair wild across his forehead.

It was so late in the night that it felt as if we were the only souls still awake.

"Do you remember the first time you loved something?" He asked but before I could answer he continued, "Not even a person but just a moment, an object, anything."

Whenever he got really tired, and the world outside my apartment grew quiet and dark, Ichigo's questions always held a newfound weight to them. Like he's been holding them inside himself all day, and could finally give them air.

And so I thought seriously for a moment, my eyes on the ceiling. "When I first started middle school I had this pink frog eraser, no bigger than my thumb nail but I took it everywhere with me. Sora would scold me for taking it into the bath or giving it pieces of my food." I paused. I'd never thought to put it into words when I was a kid but I suppose that had been love. "Then a girl in my grade stole it from me and when I demanded it back she swallowed it. I cried for days. I guess that little frog was also my first heartbreak."

Ichigo clicked his tongue, his hand now lying flat against my stomach, "She ate him? Tatsuki should have punched her in the stomach to make it come back up."

Chuckling, I pinched his chin, "What about you?"

His face was tender as he said, "It was when I first saw Karin and Yuzu. I remember thinking how weird it was that I was so much bigger than them, how I couldn't let them out of my sight or they'd get lost cause they were just so tiny." I traced a finger over the bow of his lip, "I can't even think of any memories before that one… as if there was never a time when I wasn't their big brother."

He met my eye and smiled, causing my heart to leap into my throat.

I had to swallow before I could speak, "Do you ever think about how one different decision could have made you live an entirely different life? Like…" I shook my head and he scooted a bit closer beside me, "What if I'd never gone to high school? Or chosen a different one? I would have never met you or Sado or Ishida. It's so scary to think about."

Ichigo lifted his hand from my stomach to brush my bangs from my face, "I would have met you. I'd have gone to the bakery everyday just to have an excuse to talk to the pretty girl behind the counter."

Grinning, I gripped his hand, pressing it to my cheek. "You would have gone for the bread."

He leaned in close, his lips brushing mine as he spoke, "I can multitask."

Unlike earlier, his kiss was gentle and slow. And when he pulled back I could barely open my eyes to look at him. His eyes were honey gold as he stared down at me, his brow utterly relaxed and when I ran my hand through his hair he practically purred in response.

It felt like a dream. To be here with him like this, to touch him without a moment of doubt, of hesitation.

I never want to wake up.

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Word of Asana Tako's confession spread quickly. As did the stares at Ichigo's neck and the snickers heard from behind manicured hands. I told myself it didn't matter, told myself that if Ichigo didn't pay any mind to the long stares and the whispers left in our wake then neither would I.

But as the days drifted by, they became less like whispers, less hidden behind hands. And with Ichigo gone for long periods of the day fighting hollows, without the strength of him beside me, I found myself wavering. Shrinking.

Him drifting out into our real world just made me realize how regardless of how wide and broad that world might be, how much bigger those problems are in comparison, I am still just a high schooler. And when I'm within these walls, the politics of school girls can have me in a deathgrip as surely as any hollow could.

Ichigo stretched out in our little bit of shade, his head in the nook of my crossed legs as I bit into my apple. He grinned up at me as my fingers slid into his hair to massage his scalp.

Keigo disrupted the tranquil moment as he threw the roof door into the wall. "Ichigo! Ichigo?" I watched as he grabbed a random boy by the shoulders and shook him, "Where is he?"

My boyfriend didn't even lift his head, "Yo, Idiot! I'm over here."

Keigo threw his innocent victim away and ran toward us, screeching to a halt just shy of tripping over Ichigo's feet. "You're getting a head massage at a time like this?!"

A tiny vein was starting to make an appearance on Ichigo's forehead. I couldn't help smoothing it out with my finger as he said, "What are you going on about?"

My fingers drifted down his temples until they were squeezing his cheeks. His grin made me want to lean down and capture those lips with mine but Keigo's words broke the moment before I could act on it.

"Oh just the little thing of some guy going around talking about how he's stealing Orihime from you!"

My head snapped up just as Ichigo rose from my lap, the muscles of his back tensed along with his voice, "What'd you say?"

Keigo was practically jumping from one foot to the other, "It's true, I heard it with my own ears."

Ichigo glanced at me over his shoulder, his eyes puzzled. I shrugged with a shake of my head. I hated that my mind went directly to Kaz, hated that I didn't know enough about him to say if he'd go around spreading such blatant lies. He'd been crass and outright rude but I didn't take him for a liar. Every interaction between us had been him laying his misinformed truths directly at my feet, not behind my back.

While I was lost in thought, Ichigo had gotten to his feet. "You saw his face?"

Keigo didn't hesitate, "Yeah, I saw it. And he was standing right by our class door just a minute ago."

I scrambled to untangle my legs enough to stand yet they were already halfway down the stairs before I'd even reached the door to the roof. I gripped the railing and yelled down, "Ichigo, don't!" but their footsteps had already faded as they entered the hallway.

Barely keeping my feet under me, I took the stairs two at a time before bolting around the corner- colliding nose first into someone's chest. I rubbed at the ache before glancing up right as he said, "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

I stared at Kaz's confused face then glanced past his shoulder where a crowd was beginning to form, "But if you're here then who…"

Without any further explanation I ran into the frey of my classmates, pushing and shoving them out of my way. Once they saw who it was trying to get past they parted so I could break out into the small circle where Ichigo stood with a boy I recognized as the lead soccer player, Aki Takeshi.

My heart was pounding, my blood rushing past my ears at an alarming rate but I still heard every strand of coiled control in his voice as Ichigo addressed his old teammate, "All I'm saying is if you have something to say you should say it to us directly. Don't embarrass Orihime by spreading rumors to her friends."

Aki scoffed, "Are you gonna pretend you're here to protect her? You're only here to stake your claim on the hottest chick in this school and we all know it, Kurosaki."

My cheeks flamed as I felt more and more eyes fall onto me. I scanned the crowd for a familiar face but didn't see any of our friends apart from Keigo. I took a step forward to separate the both of them but a sudden grip at my wrist had me glancing back.

Kaz only shook his head before releasing me.

"I came down here to talk but keep talking about her like that and you'll be going home with a few less teeth."

With the reiatsu blocker he currently wore as a bracelet on his wrist, I couldn't feel any flux of his spiritual pressure but I could hear it in his voice. I'd been sidelined at too many of his fights to not notice that tone of rage.

Aki stepped closer to Ichigo, until they were chest to chest. The two of them shared the same height but Ichigo was still much larger and I couldn't fathom what would prompt Aki to think he would win if it came to a fight.

"Who the hell do you think you are, anyway?" Aki asked, "You walk around like you own this place, like we all owe you something. Maybe it's time someone knocked you down a few pegs."

The boy couldn't know, of course. How much he really did owe to Ichigo Kurosaki. I shouldn't hold his words against him since they were spoken in such ignorance, but even still I did. They burned a hole in my throat. My vision.

Ichigo only blinked past it, "You think you're the one up to it, Aki?"

"Maybe I am. How bout it, Kurosaki? Winner takes the girl and the glory."

My nails broke the skin of my palms as I clenched my fists. I took another step forward and felt for the very first time in my life that I could truly hurt someone. I had half a second to wonder if this was the weight Ichigo carries with him, always- when he spoke.

"Do you think her life is a game? You think just because she lets me stay by her side I get to make her decisions for her?"

Behind all the commotion, I saw a glimpse of Chad's large figure as he turned the farthest corner down the long hallway. I opened my mouth, half in relief and half to call out for him.

Aki laughed, not a shred of humor in it, "You don't even know what you're confronting me about, do you?. I don't want to date your girlfriend, Kurosaki. All I said was if I had half a chance I'd bend her over and-"

Chad's name turned to a gasp on my lips as Ichigo's fist connected with Aki's jaw. The athlete collapsed but Ichigo didn't stop. He followed him to the ground, his fist connecting again and again. Everyone was shouting but I barely heard it over the sound of bone connecting with bone.

In what felt like an eternity but was only a blink, Chad was there. Hauling Ichigo off our classmate and retraining him with all his inhuman strength.

Aki simply laid there, blood dripping from his nose and split lip.

At the rising sound of gathered students, three teachers came running, causing the audience to scatter, even Kaz. Leaving only Aki, Chad, Ichigo and me remaining. Two of the teachers rushed to check on Aki, but I knew just from a glance that Ichigo hadn't broken any bones; and that he'd been pulling his punches.

Even still, the one remaining teacher grabbed Ichigo by the collar and dragged him down the hall yelling at Chad to follow. Ichigo strained to glance back at me as he was pulled away, blood sprayed across his cheeks that I'd been caressing only a few minutes ago, but all too soon he disappeared around a corner.

Leaving me behind in the aftermath. Feeling as if I'd been startled awake.

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It feels good to be back! I hope it was worth the wait.

I'll see you next chapter (: