Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ The Project ❯ The Nap ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, I just enjoy the anime, perhaps too much since I'm writing this. Anyway, Kubo Tite owns Bleach, not me, so don't sue. I'm just a lazy-assed teenager who likes to write.

 

A/N: Edited and revised.

 

 

The Nap

 

They stood together, arms wrapped around each other just outside of Ishida's kitchen. They had both confessed their love to each other and embraced, attempting to mesh their bodies into one. He looked down onto the top of her head. Her hair flowed to her back and covered her shoulders. Ishida couldn't help but stare in awe at her. Her smell drifted from her body to his nose, gracing him with the most beautiful scent. He loved her and won her love, he was so happy that his eyes lost focus. His face was warm and his body hurt, but he didn't care. Why should he care? Every thought, every emotion was trained upon her. He wanted nothing but her love and he had it.

 

Her eyes blurred into his chest, everything was only gray so her now heavy eyelids closed slowly. Images filled her mind; images of Ishida and she was happy. Her arms clung to him and her body longed for his touch, for him to hold her. Her mind was going blank but she didn't care, he was holding her. She felt his arms tighten slightly around her and she loved to feel his arms around her. Her mind began to wonder if it was years of mastering archery that skilled such magnificent arms but stopped. Inoue quickly remembered that she was the reason he lost the most important part of his heritage. She began to wonder if he would ever forgive her for that when he interrupted her thoughts.

 

“Orihime,” his tone was friendly and his embrace was warm, there was no way he would blame her for such a thing, right? “Orihime, are you okay?” His soft question threw her off a little bit.

 

“Yes, Uryuu,” a soft yet questionable reply escaped her lips. “Damn it! He can tell something's wrong, can't he? What do I do? What can I say to get him distract-…” her thoughts were once again cut short by him. Inoue really didn't mind it, it was actually pleasant to be disturbed by his warm touch, a soothing combination of pleasure, longing and slight anger that evaporated instantly when she remembered where she was. It was nice.

 

Ishida could tell something was up, Inoue was fidgeting ever so slightly, but in his embrace, he could feel her every move. His voice caused her jump a little as she was yanked away from her internal squabble. Slowly he bent his neck down and brought their lips together, attempting to free her of her troubling thoughts. Ishida felt her body relax in his arms and relished her reaction by a small show of affection. His tongue gently rubbed her lips asking for entry and he felt her mouth grant access. Ishida's tongue snaked its way into her mouth and massaged her tongue. He was in pure bliss.

 

Reluctantly, Inoue pulled away and broke the embrace and the kiss. “Oh shit! Was that too soon!” His mind raced, replaying the last twenty-two seconds over and over. “She thinks I was asking too much! Orihime might be offeneded at me! Why? Why did I go too far so soon?” He was so entranced by his thoughts, he could barley hear her calling his name. “Ishida…” her voice was so soft. “Oh dear God, she called me Ishida! I've screwed it all up!”

 

“Ishida, I need to know…” Inoue's voice was almost nonexistent compared to his berating of himself.

 

Inoue was perplexed as to why he was still ignoring her when his eyes flicked open and stared at her. “Ishida,” she began, “I need you to tell me that you will forgive me,” her voice was hollow and laced with doubt.

 

These words blew him away. Ishida felt heavy with confusion at her words. “Forgive her, why? I thought I offended her…?” His thoughts still were focused on his actions from a minute ago. “Ori-” he stopped, still confused as to how to take this. Was calling the woman almost in tears before him by her first name being presumptuous? “What do you mean? Me forgive you?” He drawled out, still attempting to focus his thoughts on her question.

 

“I made you… I made you… lose your powers,” the last part of the sentence was quite, “back in Seireitei… you lost them because of me.” She finished the statement looking at the floor, unsure if he would accept her back.

 

The silence dragged on for what seemed an hour as they both stood next to each other, feeling cold, drained of energy, and scared for the other's reaction. Ishida's voice broke the barrier between them and brought them to reality. “Orihime, I… I lost my powers because of my own incompetence,” the sentence brought back grave memories for the both of them. Ishida attempted to shrug it off, but the burden was too much. “Orihime, if had not been for you, I would have died several times before. If anything, I owe you my life. Please don't take my troubles upon yourself, it was my own fault. I'm sorry.” Ishida was unsure how she would take this. “God damn it. She's been thinking I've secretly hated her since we got back. How could I let her think that!? We've spent almost every day together for the last three weeks and she's thought I hate her? Damn it,” his thoughts grew darker as Ishida began to plot out how he punish himself for this.

 

Her sudden movements threw him off guard. Inoue moved in close and curled up into his chest. Ishida lost control of his arms as they shot up and wrapped themselves around her quivering body. “I can't believe I let her think that,” he silently scolded himself. Ishida felt his shirt dampen and guessed that she was crying. Slowly, his hand came up and rubbed her back in an attempt to comfort her.

 

Inoue sighed in relief at his acceptance of her once more. Her throat was clogged yet she still tried to thank him, the words lost to his chest. “I love you, Uryuu…” her voice trailed off at the realization of how tired she was. Inoue had never taken into consideration how admitting to love someone then feeling sorrow at potentially losing them, just to have them reaccept your love in a single hour could take such a huge toll on your body. Her jaw stretched at her inability to contain her yawn.

 

Ishida felt her body move underneath him and began to worry if his love might be at some discomfort. “Are you okay?” his voice sounded tired and worn down. His body was just put through the same emotional stress and he felt just as exhausted, despite the fact he was had only been awake a few hours.

 

“Yeahhhh…” came a smooth reply as Inoue finished another yawn, “I'm just so tired after having a rough night.”

 

“What does this mean? Does she want to stay the day with me here? Does she need to leave? Wait, does this mean we might sleep together? Does she expect me to ask? What if she wants to stay? Should I stop her?” More and more questions began to surface only to go unanswered in Ishida's mind. “Want to take a nap?” The words jumped out before he could do anything about it. “Holy shit! Now she's gonna think I'm a pervert. Why the hell can't I stay shut up?”

 

“Okay,” her reply once again shocked him. Never had he known someone so spontaneous and confusing, but it only drove his love for her further. “I mean, my apartment is all the way across town and I've already slept here once. Besides, your bed seemed big enough for two people.” Her seemingly flawed logic left Ishida speechless. Not only was she staying over, but in the same bed as him! It was the answer to his prayers, yet simultaneously a curse from Hell. “What if I fall asleep and wake up on top of her or what if I get a hard-on while I'm sleeping? She'll be completely repulsed by be! Why the hell is this going to happen? Wait, you jackass! Are you seriously questioning why the hottest girl in high school wants to crawl in bed with you while you fall asleep holding her in your arms? Good point.” Ishida finally relaxed as his fantasy was playing out before him. “Why question it?” he decided.

 

It took several moments before he realized that Inoue had broken their embrace was leading him to his bedroom. Inoue let her hand fall away from his as she turned around to face him. “Uryuu, do you mind if I try to uh… get a little more comfortable?” His gaze drifted downward towards her clothing. She was still wearing her school uniform from yesterday, it had to be uncomfortable. “Sure?” the uncertainty in his voice was obvious. His eyes quickly focused on Inoue's hands as they drifted down toward the edge of her blouse, slowly removing the top. Her undershirt began to become noticeable, hanging loosely around her skin, almost dancing around her body. The very idea of a half naked girl in his room made Ishida uncomfortable, but a little turned on.

 

“What about you?” her voice seemed mixed with something Ishida couldn't quite place. “Oh… alright…” his quick response was lost as his shirt began to cover his face. He tossed the garment onto his dresser and began to head in the direction of his bed.

 

Inoue had known that years of being a Quincy would have made Ishida athletic, but she didn't fully comprehend it until he had shown off his muscled body just now. She felt a little shy about sharing a bed with the man she had been through so much with and felt such strong feelings for. She still found it odd that he had suggested it but even odder that she had accepted it so quickly. Still, she joined Ishida on the bed and began to get comfortable.

 

It felt right doing this. Ishida was lying down next to a beautiful woman that loved him. What more could a guy ask for? Sleep began to overtake his body as he drifted off thinking about the last eighteen hours. In eighteen hours, Ishida had told a woman he loved them, received their love in return and had that same woman lying down against him.

 

---

 

Ishida woke up, feeling slightly better, until he realized that Inoue was next to him. “Oh, that's right,” he murmured to himself, “I hope she's finally sleeping better.” Her body stretched in his arms then relaxed once more. “Its amazingly mind numbing how much better we know each compared to yesterday,” Ishida continued to ponder what this would mean for them, “Wait, does she want this to be social? Will she want people at school to know about us? I mean, we technically have been together for about four hours at most.”

 

“Uryuu,” her heavenly voice dragged Ishida back into his bed, where he was still holding her. His thoughts would have to wait, right now, Inoue needed him. “Uryuu? Are you awake?”

 

“Yes, Orihime,” he mumbled into her hair. Ishida loved how she smelled, something like flowers, maybe lilacs. “Do you need something?”

 

“Can I um… take a shower?” Inoue's voice melted in the air as her question reached his ears.

 

“Sure,” his reply was quick, almost automatic, and slightly reluctant. After all, if she went to take a shower, how could he continue to savor this feeling? Inoue began to crawl away form his warm touch, towards the edge of the bed. His eyes watched every move as her body disappeared around the corner, heading towards the bathroom.

 

Inoue began to lift herself off of the bed, half-expecting her boyfriend to ask to join her. He did ask her if she wanted to nap together. “How would I've answered if he'd had asked? The most we've done together is kiss and nap together. Would it be wrong to see each other naked so soon? Would it have offended him if I had offered? Does being a Quincy prevent him from doing that?” Inoue wanted to know so much more about him, things he wouldn't ever divulge to only friends. Things he would tell someone whom he trusted and loved. Just being away from each other made Inoue feel a little lonely but the thought of being in his arms again made it worth it. She continued to think about him as she dropped her remaining clothing on his clean bathroom floor. Inoue's hand grasped at a navy blue towel from a neat pile

 

Ishida knew he had to do something about her clothes; she had been wearing them since school yesterday. He pulled himself off of his bed that smelled a bit like lilacs. Ishida pulled on his top drawer to reveal a stack of loose shirts and some long pants. He would usually wear them to bed or around his apartment when not feeling too well. “I think these will do nicely, at least until I'm finished with her gift…” he thought of the clothes he had been planning to give her that Ishida made himself. “The fabric cost me a lot yen, but it's worth it for her…” his thoughts lingered at the idea of accepting his gift with glee.

 

Inoue loved the feel of the soft towel wrapped around her skin, but it paled in comparison to his arms around her. She reached down a little to pick up her scattered clothes on the floor to notice that she hadn't locked the door. “I wonder if he thought of it as an invitation?” she continued to pick up the clothes after immediately dismissing the thought. The door creaked a little as she pulled it swiftly open. Inoue looked down the short hallway and then continued on towards to Ishida's bedroom. His bed was made and a small pile of clothes were on top. She closed the door and began to change into the clothes, relishing the scent of him around her. She moved quietly down the hallway to find him continuing the chore she had interrupted him doing earlier. “Thanks for the clothes,” her voice feeble but grateful.

 

Ishida put down what he was holding to turn around and admire her. What he saw made his jaw hang a little. She was there, in his presence, hair still wet and hanging around her back, dressed in his clothing and looking at him with a warm look in her eye.