IH WEEK 2023 ➞ DAY 02. We Do Knot Always Love You
They walked side by side together to her apartment, a heavy silence and a measured distance hanging between them. Ichigo and Orihime parted ways with the others upon arriving back in Karakura Town, Chad and Uryu both having read the mood and politely excusing themselves to give them some much appreciated privacy. From his periphery, Ichigo noticed Orihime tense, holding back a shiver against the chilly night air. He shrugged out of his suit jacket (Yuzu had insisted on pressing it for the wedding) and wordlessly draped it around her shoulders. The corner of his lips turned upwards when he saw her relax into its warmth, just before her wide honey eyes flickered up to meet his gaze. “It’s cold out tonight.” he explained, answering her question before she had a chance to voice it. His throat felt dry, and he had to concentrate on his words to ensure his voice wouldn’t catch. Inwardly, he cursed himself for being so nervous. “Yes, it is.” she agreed, her voice barely above a whisper as she nodded once. She smiled warmly as she looked at him, a light pink dusting her cheekbones. “Thank you.” “O-Of course.” he said without thinking, the words coming to him more easily than he’d have thought. Ichigo tried not to focus too much on how naturally it came to him; caring for her, that is. Instead he forced himself to breathe in and out, to count each step he took (each one far too many), to ignore how his fingers just barely brushed against hers for the third time as they drifted too close together as they make their way to her home — only for them to pull away sharply, as if burned by drifting too close to one another. Like planets, drawn into one another’s orbit. He remembered their exchange before stepping into Senkaimon, how he steeled himself to ask her for something he wasn’t quite certain she wanted to give; how he swallowed the thick lump of fear in his throat, and how her quiet, breathless utterance of “There’s no time better than the present, Kurosaki-kun.” sent his heart fluttering, untwisted all the knots in his stomach, and made his face burn with blush. Ichigo had never anticipated her bold reply (and it was bold of her; even as she clasped her hands tightly in front of her heart and stuttered over her words), but it made his heartbeat race in his ears. How had he quieted his feelings for so long? And if he were to truly believe Renji’s words, how had she?