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Entry tags:
Bleach, "Like Wildfire" (Ichigo/Orihime)
A proposal should be planned, not spur of the moment. It probably shouldn't have been inspired by someone else's baby. But if he'd thought about it too long he'd probably have messed it up and made it awkward anyway, so...
Containscaaaaanooooon shippy fluff and pre-existing relationship for Ichigo/Orihime. Contains other characters also shipping Ichigo/Orihime which is also canon, and enough goopy stuff to make Tatsuki sick. Written because September 3 is Orihime's birthday, and also ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
slayerofgod. Happy birthday!
.like wildfire.
The Kurosaki household was chaos long into the night.
Rukia and Renji were infrequent visitors because Soul Society kept them busy, but their absence had been unusually long this time. Whispers about complications with Rukia's pregnancy had kept them all uneasy, even though they had frequent communication from the shinigami that everything was alright. But no one breathed easily until they arrived for the appointed weekend, Rukia healthy and hale and carrying a bouncing baby girl in her arms, and Renji carrying a bundle of infant furniture and supplies that almost dwarfed him.
That relief was expressed in loud arguments, opinionated lectures, and friendly teasing for hours. Rukia had a lot of venting to get done about her period of confinement, and Renji had to endure many jabs at his excessive virility, sometimes from his wife. Tatsuki had appointed herself the equalizer and turned the mockery to Ishida, Chad, Keigo, and Mizuiro in turn. The other women were spared most aggravation, in part because Yuzu was bustling in and out constantly seeing to everyone's comfort, and in part because Ichigo scowled at anyone who glanced sidelong at his sisters and Orihime.
It was close to eleven at night and the baby had long been put to bed when Ichigo noticed that Orihime had disappeared.
"Did you see where Inoue went?" he asked Rukia, seated next to him with her legs folded and sake in hand.
"Are you seriously still calling her Inoue?" she asked witheringly.
Ichigo flushed instinctively. He wasn't, but it still felt strange to call her 'Orihime' in front of his friends, as if putting his feelings on display felt wrong. It was ridiculous to feel like her name was something private between them. He managed to mutter, "Doesn't seem like it's any of your business what I call her," and rubbed the back of his neck.
Rukia gave him a look that would have melted steel. "Seems to me like it's my business more than anyone's. You're my friend, and she's my friend, and I owe it to you both to put your head through a window if you're not treating her right."
"I'm kind of the head-through-window-putter around here, so you'd have to wait in line," Tatsuki said, shrugging one shoulder. "But there's nothing to worry about. Those two morons are so happy it's sickening."
Ichigo glared at her. "Feel free to stop coming over!"
Perhaps out of pity, Ishida admitted, "I saw Inoue-san go upstairs a half-hour ago, Kurosaki."
Concern shoved to the front of his mind, pushing out the irritation and embarrassment. Was she feeling unwell? He hadn't noticed -- she had seemed lively enough earlier, hanging off of Rukia's every word and squealing happily over stories about the baby. (She had actually cried when they told her the baby's name.) Maybe she was upset about something.
It was his job to look after her. "I'm going to go check up on her," he said, pushing himself to his feet.
"Good," Rukia said approvingly. She reached out to put a hand on Renji's knee, patting. "Keep that up and she might want to keep you around."
"Shut up. If I wanted relationship advice, I sure as hell wouldn't ask you."
Mizuiro put on his most angelic smile. "You could ask me, Ichigo," he said. "I happen to be something of an expert. My three girlfriends are very happy."
This comment created a predictable firestorm of scorn, during which Ichigo nodded at Chad and slipped upstairs.
It was quieter up here, with the sounds of lively discussion fading to a dull patter as soon as he left the staircase. Ichigo checked the bathroom first, and then continued on to his room. On his way he heard soft noises coming from the room that Rukia and Renji had taken over.
Inside, he saw Orihime standing next to the baby's crib, facing away from him. The graceful line of her back, the way her hair and long skirt flowed around her, hypnotized him for a moment and froze him in place. Then he heard her singing softly -- a lullaby, unfamiliar to him, probably some nonsense that she was making up on the spot to soothe the baby. It was murmured singsong, "The bird went wandering~ It wandered far and wide~ The bird looked for a star and found nothing but pie~" with all the finesse of a grade school chorus production.
She took a swaying, dancing half-step that turned her slightly so that he could see her face and the tiny infant in her arms, and Ichigo felt it sear into him.
It happened like that. There were moments of searing revelation that seemed intertwined with Orihime in his heart. The scorching instant when he first saw her in the clinic, crying with her brother bloody and limp in her arms; the wrenching shock of seeing her motionless on the ground with a Hollow standing over her body. He had felt it in the panic when she was flung away from him after they pierced the boundary of Soul Society, and in the realization that she was crying over him when he saw her next. The stunned moment when he'd sensed her reiatsu in his bedroom, and the sheer wildness he'd felt when Yamamoto had tried to forbid him from rescuing her, and a thousand more times in the days between her kidnapping to Hueco Mundo and seeing her safely home.
He had felt it on the day of Renji and Rukia's wedding. Renji had pushed him to say something to her, but Ichigo thought he might have done it anyway. Seeing Orihime there, looking beautiful even while she cried from happiness, as their friends gazed at each other with a love vindicated after years of denial... The thought had rocked him when he should have been thinking about them.
I want that with her.
It wouldn't leave his mind. The idea that they could be together, that she would look at him the way Rukia and Renji looked at each other, suffused his imagination. He had always admired her, always wanted her, and if he just said something...
So he had.
The best decision of his life.
"Orihime," he said softly.
Her head jerked up, and her eyes found his, wide and surprised. "Oh! I'm sorry-- I didn't--" The baby was startled by the motion and made an indignant noise, hands and arms flailing, and Orihime quickly returned her attention to rocking the infant with shushing noises.
Ichigo let her finish, because he hadn't thought about the baby's reaction when he'd called out to her on impulse. But the thought wouldn't leave his mind.
The look on Orihime's face as she gazed down at the tiny child had been sheer adoration. That image felt burned behind his eyelids. She was here, in his family's house, tenderly cradling an infant and singing a silly nonsense song to send her to sleep...
He thought, Orihime would make an amazing mother.
It wasn't the first time he'd thought it, because it was frankly obvious to everyone. But it was the first time he'd felt it deep in his bones. The first time that he'd seen how right it would be, how happy it would make her. She had so much love to give, and as amazing as it was that she chose to give that love to him, it was even more incredible to imagine her sharing that love with his child, their child...
He wanted that with her.
"Sorry," she whispered, sparing him a sheepish smile. "I shouldn't have disappeared like that. I just wanted to make sure that Ichika-chan was sleeping, and when I saw that she was fussy, I had to stay until she relaxed..."
"It's okay." Ichigo leaned against the door, watching as she settled the baby again and then leaned over to set her in the crib. The warmth that tightened his chest was hard to breathe through, but as long as he kept his eyes on her he barely even noticed.
Orihime skipped back to the door and shooed him outside, then closed the door behind them. "She's just so cute," she confessed. "I want to hold her all the time. Rukia-san is so lucky--"
Ichigo caught her up in his arms, pulling her close to him. She made a startled squeak and then melted into his body, wrapping her arms around him.
"What's this for?" she said, giggling.
"I love you," he told her.
Her breath hitched, their closeness making it impossible to hide. "I love you too," she murmured, sounding shy and happy.
The words escaped him before he thought about them. "Will you marry me?"
Then they caught up to him and he cursed himself for an idiot. He hadn't done anything right. He didn't have a ring and he hadn't prepared for the moment. There were no fireworks or sentimental speeches. He hadn't spoken to his family about his intentions, and he hadn't asked her aunt for her blessing. He hadn't even met the woman!
Tatsuki and Rukia would probably put his head through a window.
But Orihime's arms tightened around him, and she gasped, "Y-- Yes!" and all his other thoughts flew away. She lifted up on her tiptoes in the same instant that he ducked his head and he kissed her until he was dizzy. She was clinging to him desperately, shaking so much that he pulled back, placing a hand at the back of her head in gentle comfort. She was going to cry again.
"I promise I'll make you happy," he vowed, ignoring the ache in his chest. Tatsuki was right about that much, at least. They did make each other so happy that it was almost unbearable.
Orihime's voice was already unsteady with tears. "You always have. Always. I just can't believe... I mean, we've been going out for a year now, but somehow it was just like a dream, and I don't think I knew that it was my life, and I know it doesn't make any sense but I still can't believe you want to be with me!"
Ichigo smiled to himself and closed his eyes, resting his cheek against her hair. He let all those memories, all those searing moments, fill him up. "It was always going to be you," he told her. "Always."
And then he pictured them the way he knew they would be: cuddled close together, her fitting perfectly against his body, him holding her and her hands folded over her rounded belly and both of them aching with happiness and love for their family.
The warmth that filled him put all of those wildfire memories to shame.
Contains
slayerofgod. Happy birthday!.like wildfire.
The Kurosaki household was chaos long into the night.
Rukia and Renji were infrequent visitors because Soul Society kept them busy, but their absence had been unusually long this time. Whispers about complications with Rukia's pregnancy had kept them all uneasy, even though they had frequent communication from the shinigami that everything was alright. But no one breathed easily until they arrived for the appointed weekend, Rukia healthy and hale and carrying a bouncing baby girl in her arms, and Renji carrying a bundle of infant furniture and supplies that almost dwarfed him.
That relief was expressed in loud arguments, opinionated lectures, and friendly teasing for hours. Rukia had a lot of venting to get done about her period of confinement, and Renji had to endure many jabs at his excessive virility, sometimes from his wife. Tatsuki had appointed herself the equalizer and turned the mockery to Ishida, Chad, Keigo, and Mizuiro in turn. The other women were spared most aggravation, in part because Yuzu was bustling in and out constantly seeing to everyone's comfort, and in part because Ichigo scowled at anyone who glanced sidelong at his sisters and Orihime.
It was close to eleven at night and the baby had long been put to bed when Ichigo noticed that Orihime had disappeared.
"Did you see where Inoue went?" he asked Rukia, seated next to him with her legs folded and sake in hand.
"Are you seriously still calling her Inoue?" she asked witheringly.
Ichigo flushed instinctively. He wasn't, but it still felt strange to call her 'Orihime' in front of his friends, as if putting his feelings on display felt wrong. It was ridiculous to feel like her name was something private between them. He managed to mutter, "Doesn't seem like it's any of your business what I call her," and rubbed the back of his neck.
Rukia gave him a look that would have melted steel. "Seems to me like it's my business more than anyone's. You're my friend, and she's my friend, and I owe it to you both to put your head through a window if you're not treating her right."
"I'm kind of the head-through-window-putter around here, so you'd have to wait in line," Tatsuki said, shrugging one shoulder. "But there's nothing to worry about. Those two morons are so happy it's sickening."
Ichigo glared at her. "Feel free to stop coming over!"
Perhaps out of pity, Ishida admitted, "I saw Inoue-san go upstairs a half-hour ago, Kurosaki."
Concern shoved to the front of his mind, pushing out the irritation and embarrassment. Was she feeling unwell? He hadn't noticed -- she had seemed lively enough earlier, hanging off of Rukia's every word and squealing happily over stories about the baby. (She had actually cried when they told her the baby's name.) Maybe she was upset about something.
It was his job to look after her. "I'm going to go check up on her," he said, pushing himself to his feet.
"Good," Rukia said approvingly. She reached out to put a hand on Renji's knee, patting. "Keep that up and she might want to keep you around."
"Shut up. If I wanted relationship advice, I sure as hell wouldn't ask you."
Mizuiro put on his most angelic smile. "You could ask me, Ichigo," he said. "I happen to be something of an expert. My three girlfriends are very happy."
This comment created a predictable firestorm of scorn, during which Ichigo nodded at Chad and slipped upstairs.
It was quieter up here, with the sounds of lively discussion fading to a dull patter as soon as he left the staircase. Ichigo checked the bathroom first, and then continued on to his room. On his way he heard soft noises coming from the room that Rukia and Renji had taken over.
Inside, he saw Orihime standing next to the baby's crib, facing away from him. The graceful line of her back, the way her hair and long skirt flowed around her, hypnotized him for a moment and froze him in place. Then he heard her singing softly -- a lullaby, unfamiliar to him, probably some nonsense that she was making up on the spot to soothe the baby. It was murmured singsong, "The bird went wandering~ It wandered far and wide~ The bird looked for a star and found nothing but pie~" with all the finesse of a grade school chorus production.
She took a swaying, dancing half-step that turned her slightly so that he could see her face and the tiny infant in her arms, and Ichigo felt it sear into him.
It happened like that. There were moments of searing revelation that seemed intertwined with Orihime in his heart. The scorching instant when he first saw her in the clinic, crying with her brother bloody and limp in her arms; the wrenching shock of seeing her motionless on the ground with a Hollow standing over her body. He had felt it in the panic when she was flung away from him after they pierced the boundary of Soul Society, and in the realization that she was crying over him when he saw her next. The stunned moment when he'd sensed her reiatsu in his bedroom, and the sheer wildness he'd felt when Yamamoto had tried to forbid him from rescuing her, and a thousand more times in the days between her kidnapping to Hueco Mundo and seeing her safely home.
He had felt it on the day of Renji and Rukia's wedding. Renji had pushed him to say something to her, but Ichigo thought he might have done it anyway. Seeing Orihime there, looking beautiful even while she cried from happiness, as their friends gazed at each other with a love vindicated after years of denial... The thought had rocked him when he should have been thinking about them.
I want that with her.
It wouldn't leave his mind. The idea that they could be together, that she would look at him the way Rukia and Renji looked at each other, suffused his imagination. He had always admired her, always wanted her, and if he just said something...
So he had.
The best decision of his life.
"Orihime," he said softly.
Her head jerked up, and her eyes found his, wide and surprised. "Oh! I'm sorry-- I didn't--" The baby was startled by the motion and made an indignant noise, hands and arms flailing, and Orihime quickly returned her attention to rocking the infant with shushing noises.
Ichigo let her finish, because he hadn't thought about the baby's reaction when he'd called out to her on impulse. But the thought wouldn't leave his mind.
The look on Orihime's face as she gazed down at the tiny child had been sheer adoration. That image felt burned behind his eyelids. She was here, in his family's house, tenderly cradling an infant and singing a silly nonsense song to send her to sleep...
He thought, Orihime would make an amazing mother.
It wasn't the first time he'd thought it, because it was frankly obvious to everyone. But it was the first time he'd felt it deep in his bones. The first time that he'd seen how right it would be, how happy it would make her. She had so much love to give, and as amazing as it was that she chose to give that love to him, it was even more incredible to imagine her sharing that love with his child, their child...
He wanted that with her.
"Sorry," she whispered, sparing him a sheepish smile. "I shouldn't have disappeared like that. I just wanted to make sure that Ichika-chan was sleeping, and when I saw that she was fussy, I had to stay until she relaxed..."
"It's okay." Ichigo leaned against the door, watching as she settled the baby again and then leaned over to set her in the crib. The warmth that tightened his chest was hard to breathe through, but as long as he kept his eyes on her he barely even noticed.
Orihime skipped back to the door and shooed him outside, then closed the door behind them. "She's just so cute," she confessed. "I want to hold her all the time. Rukia-san is so lucky--"
Ichigo caught her up in his arms, pulling her close to him. She made a startled squeak and then melted into his body, wrapping her arms around him.
"What's this for?" she said, giggling.
"I love you," he told her.
Her breath hitched, their closeness making it impossible to hide. "I love you too," she murmured, sounding shy and happy.
The words escaped him before he thought about them. "Will you marry me?"
Then they caught up to him and he cursed himself for an idiot. He hadn't done anything right. He didn't have a ring and he hadn't prepared for the moment. There were no fireworks or sentimental speeches. He hadn't spoken to his family about his intentions, and he hadn't asked her aunt for her blessing. He hadn't even met the woman!
Tatsuki and Rukia would probably put his head through a window.
But Orihime's arms tightened around him, and she gasped, "Y-- Yes!" and all his other thoughts flew away. She lifted up on her tiptoes in the same instant that he ducked his head and he kissed her until he was dizzy. She was clinging to him desperately, shaking so much that he pulled back, placing a hand at the back of her head in gentle comfort. She was going to cry again.
"I promise I'll make you happy," he vowed, ignoring the ache in his chest. Tatsuki was right about that much, at least. They did make each other so happy that it was almost unbearable.
Orihime's voice was already unsteady with tears. "You always have. Always. I just can't believe... I mean, we've been going out for a year now, but somehow it was just like a dream, and I don't think I knew that it was my life, and I know it doesn't make any sense but I still can't believe you want to be with me!"
Ichigo smiled to himself and closed his eyes, resting his cheek against her hair. He let all those memories, all those searing moments, fill him up. "It was always going to be you," he told her. "Always."
And then he pictured them the way he knew they would be: cuddled close together, her fitting perfectly against his body, him holding her and her hands folded over her rounded belly and both of them aching with happiness and love for their family.
The warmth that filled him put all of those wildfire memories to shame.