Every Journey Always Brings Me Back To You (5/?)
Title: Every Journey Always Brings Me Back To You
Author: Ragna (afteriwake)
Pairing: Ishida-centric with mentions of past Ichigo/Orihime and current Ishida/Orihime/OFC friendship. Eventual Ishida/Orihime.
Rating: PG
Spoilers (if applicable): Set after the Lost Substitute Shinigami arc but before the new one that just started.
Warnings (if applicable): None
Summary: He had moved on, but when it came to her, he’d still do anything for her, even while he’s an ocean away.
Authors Notes: Finally time to move things forward!
---
The rest of Leigh’s week with Orihime mostly to herself drew to a close, and on Monday Ishida got on the bus to get to her place. About a month ago Leigh had entrusted him with his own key, in case he needed a break from dorm life or needed to rest his head after a hunt alone. He knew her classes started at 9 AM, and he figured by then Orihime would be up.
He got to her apartment and let himself in. He was surprised to see Orihime still sleeping, and he spent a few moments watching her sleep. There had been frustrations in the plan for her to move there, but the concerns didn’t show on her face when she slept. Orihime was determined, and she would do what she could. She would have to wait until next fall at the earliest, and there was testing and fees and applications ahead of her. He had offered to help with the fees, at the very least, and she had accepted his help graciously.
But his foremost thought was that she probably looked more beautiful when asleep then awake, because of the peacefulness on her face. And considering the fact he thought she was one of the most gorgeous women he knew already, that was saying something. But they had plans, and they needed to catch a train to travel. He sat down near her on the pull-out sofa and put a hand on her arm, shaking gently.
“A few more minutes, Sora-kun,” she mumbled. He shook a little harder, and her eyes slowly fluttered open. She blinked, then smiled at him. “Oh, hi. What time is it?”
“A little after nine,” he replied.
“I was having the best dream,” she said, sitting up. “But you said we were going to do something fun today, so it’s okay that you woke me up.”
“Well, it’s going to change a bit. By the time you eat and get dressed we won’t be able to make the train,” he said. “But I can pay more and we can take the Amtrak.”
“Oh, okay,” she said. Then she smiled. “Could we do it tomorrow?”
“Yes,” he said, slightly confused. “Why?”
“I figured I would make you breakfast and we could go to the park for a while. Leigh and I went to Mitsuwa and got all sorts of good food. I was thinking we could have a picnic.”
He grinned. “You know, if we wait until Thursday there’s two farmer’s market in Oceanside, one in the morning and one at night. That would probably be more fun anyway.”
“Great. Then let me make you some pancakes.” She pushed the covers off and got out of the bed. She was wearing some of Leigh’s pajamas, the ones she liked to wear to tease him with the shorts and tank top. Leigh might be gay but she was still attractive, and he had noticed. It looked better on Orihime, though, and he tried not to stare.
“What kind?” he asked, following her into the kitchen.
“Pumpkin,” she replied. She caught a look at his face and giggled. “They’re really good, I promise. Leigh made them yesterday, and I have a good memory.”
“Okay,” he said with a nod. He watched her get all the ingredients together and start making the batter. They talked as she mixed, and then as she poured the batter into the skillet. He had to admit after having one that was a little too crispy as a teaser that they were good. Soon they had a whole plate of them and were digging in.
“I like these,” he said as they ate. “I can see the lessons are going well.”
“They are,” she said with a smile, cutting one of her pancakes. “I really like her. I’m glad she’s your friend.”
“I am too,” he said with a grin. They kept conversation light as they ate, and then Orihime started to gather the dishes and take them to the sink. “I’ll do it,” he said, taking the last bite off his plate and meeting her at the sink.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“You cooked,” he said, taking her plate from her. “I should clean.”
“Oh, okay. I can get a shower and get ready, then.” She gave him a smile and went to her things, then went to the bathroom. If he tried really hard, he could ignore the fact that she was taking a shower about thirty feet away from him. He finished the dishes, then went looking in her fridge for something to drink.
“Ishida-kun?” He turned and saw Orihime sticking her head out from the hallway by the bathroom She was apparently clad only in a towel. “I left my conditioner in my bag, and I don’t want to use Shinoda-san’s. Could you get it for me?”
“She wouldn’t mind,” he said, trying hard to breathe. He could see a shoulder, and leg. Not that he hadn’t seen them before, but she’d been in a strapless shirt and short skirt, which was more than the towel she was in now.
“Really? Okay. I’ll just use a little,” she said with a smile before heading back to the bathroom.
He got himself together, and realized if he didn’t get a grip on himself he wouldn’t make it through the day, let alone be able to live with her if she moved here. He found some of the sparkling juice that Leigh had and pulled out a cold can, drinking it as he waited. Orihime had, thankfully, taken her clothes in with her because she was wearing a long flowery skirt and a white tank top with her hair wrapped in a towel when she came out. “You look nice.”
“I don’t even have any make-up on,” she said with a slight blush.
“But you look nice without it,” he said.
Her blush deepened. “Thank you,” she replied. She walked quickly to where her things were and rummaged through until she found her brush. She brushed her hair, and by the time she was done the blush was gone. “What do you want to do until it’s time for lunch?”
“We could watch some movies,” he suggested. “I’m sure there’s something you might like.”
“We stayed up watching anime the last night you had to study all night,” she said with a grin. “She has Detective Conan and a bunch of other ones I like.”
“Then let’s watch some anime,” he said. They went to the TV and he opened up the cupboard with her DVDs and pulled out a DVD. He put it in as Orihime got the couch back to rights and then they settled down on it and watched. She sat close, but not so close he spent time obsessing on it. And it was nice to just relax and do something fun, even if he didn’t normally watch anime. He actually enjoyed it by the time the fourth episode was done, and it helped that Orihime was explaining things.
Even after it was done they talked for a little bit, with her telling him about the TV shows and movies she had seen since he was gone, and before he knew it it was 12:30. “Do you want to go do that picnic now?” he asked after a lull in the conversation.
She nodded and got up. “Shinoda-san got croquets and more tankatsu and other stuff,” she said, going to the fridge, with him following. She began pulling things out, and saw that Orihime had grabbed mostly Japanese food, but there was some cold friend chicken and her homemade potato salad as well.
“she makes the best potato salad,” he replied.
“I did a lot of it,” Orihime said. “She said she was sharing the recipe someone at a New York deli had given her. I can’t share it with anyone else on penalty of death.”
He chuckled. “Well, if you made it the way she does it’ll be something worth keeping a secret. It will impress anybody.”
“I hope so,” she said. She got all the items together, and then frowned. “What are we going to take them in?”
“I think she’s got a picnic basket somewhere,” he said, going to her pantry and opening it. It wasn’t there, so she went to the linen closet in the hallway. “Found it,” he replied. He brought it over to her and she packed it as he went back and grabbed a blanket from the closet.
“Okay, I’m ready,” she said. She lifted up the basket, and then set it back down. “I forgot to get something to drink.”
“How about I carry the basket and you carry the blanket?” he suggested as he watched her pull out some twenty ounce drinks to put in the basket.
“Okay,” she said with a smile. “It wasn’t heavy before, but now it probably is.” She took the blanket from him and he picked up the basket. It wasn’t too heavy. “Is it too heavy?”
“No, it’s fine,” he said. With that, they headed to the door and then left. It wasn’t a very long walk to the park entrance, and there was a nice place that was shady. He set down the basket as she laid down the blanket, and they sat down.
“What is the date today?” she asked. “I forgot.”
“It’s February 11th,” he replied.
“Ah,” she said. “It’s almost Valentine’s Day.”
He nodded. “It’s done a little differently here. It’s not just girls who gives gifts. Guys give them too. It’s supposed to be a big romantic night. Leigh and I had made plans to have what she calls ‘Singles Awareness Day,’ though. I guess that is the term for people who do not like Valentine’s Day here.”
She giggled. “I can’t imagine not liking Valentine’s Day. Even when I was too scared to give someone chocolate, it was still a fun time.”
“I used to get chocolates, but I don’t know who they were from,” he said.
“Last year, one box was from me,” she replied. “I thought I put a note on it.”
“No, I don’t remember a note,” he said, reaching into the basket for a soda. “I had four boxes last year, and I know one of them was from the exchange student, because she didn’t quite understand the custom. Everyone got one from her.”
“Every boy got a gift. She gave us girls notes that said she was glad we were her friend,” Orihime said with a smile. “I thought that was nice.”
“I remember she was very surprised the next month,” he replied, chuckling. “I don’t even think she could sit down at her desk, there was so much chocolate.”
“Did you give her some?” she asked.
He nodded. “It was only right. She got to be a friend, towards the end. We e-mail each other sometimes, now that she’s back in Florida. She’s considering coming out here for some convention known as Comic Con, but I’ll be back in Japan. We’re working out details to see if she can come earlier.”
“You have so many female friends, and no girlfriend,” she said. “I’m surprised.”
“I’ve had dates, but not many. There are not a lot of people who will put up with me missing so many dates, or spending so much time with Leigh.”
“She told me one of her girlfriends threw grape juice in your face,” she replied with a slight smile.
“That would be Annabelle,” he said with a sigh. “I didn’t really like her. She was very…clingy, I suppose is the best term. And very easily jealous.”
“Do you think I’m clingy?” she asked.
He shook his head, a little more forcefully then intended. “Not at all. You let Kurosaki do whatever he needed and wanted.” He paused. “Do you wish me to be absolutely truthful?”
“Yes,” she said.
“You let him walk all over you. As long as he showed you some attention, you were content. But he should have paid more attention as time went on, once he got used to having a girlfriend, not less. But you let him. If you had told him you wanted more time with him, maybe things would have turned out differently.”
“I had thought it might be partially my fault,” she said with a dejected sigh.
“It wasn’t really your fault, because he was your first boyfriend and you didn’t really know any better,” he said. “But I bet over time you wanted more of his attention, correct?”
“Yes,” she said with a nod. “I did.”
“He may have spent more time with you, but eventually he still would have put Karakura Town first. If it had been longer, it might have been harder on you.. I mean, what would it have been like if you were engaged? Or even married, possibly with children?”
“I hadn’t thought about that,” she said, tilting her head. “I probably would have been more heartbroken.” She looked at him intently. “Why couldn’t he have been more like you?”
“It’s not in his nature,” he said with a shrug, ducking his head so she wouldn’t see the blush on his cheeks.
“Maybe I should have been pining after you instead of him,” she replied. “In the end, I would have been happier, I think.” He didn’t look up, and she reached over and placed a hand on his knee. “I’m sorry if I’m embarrassing you, Ishida-kun.”
He lifted his head up, looking at her intently. “I’m not going away, you know. I may live thousands of miles away, but I wouldn’t abandon you the way he did.”
“I know,” she said with a smile. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking this week, and I’ve come to realize that you cared about me, probably more than Ichigo. Up on the dome, you protected me just as much as he did. You were always there when I needed you, and it was because I was so in love with him that I didn’t realize you were in love with me. Has that changed?”
“No,” he admitted. “Part of the reason none of my dates ever worked out was because I compared them all to you.”
“Well, that makes this easier,” she said with a laugh. “Would you like to go out on a date with me, Ishida-kun?”
“I thought I was supposed to ask,” he said, though with a grin.
“Well, I just beat you to it,” she said, laughing. “So? Is the answer yes or no?”
“The answer is yes,” he said.
“Good. Then Valentine’s Day, we’ll go out on a date date. And I’ll pay, because that’s the custom.” She removed her hand and began to rummage through the picnic basket, humming to herself. He watched, still a little in shock, but overall happy with the turn of events. Now he just had to wait three days to see if there really could be anything between them. For now, though, it was just the two of them, and he was bound and determined to enjoy her company.
Author: Ragna (afteriwake)
Pairing: Ishida-centric with mentions of past Ichigo/Orihime and current Ishida/Orihime/OFC friendship. Eventual Ishida/Orihime.
Rating: PG
Spoilers (if applicable): Set after the Lost Substitute Shinigami arc but before the new one that just started.
Warnings (if applicable): None
Summary: He had moved on, but when it came to her, he’d still do anything for her, even while he’s an ocean away.
Authors Notes: Finally time to move things forward!
---
The rest of Leigh’s week with Orihime mostly to herself drew to a close, and on Monday Ishida got on the bus to get to her place. About a month ago Leigh had entrusted him with his own key, in case he needed a break from dorm life or needed to rest his head after a hunt alone. He knew her classes started at 9 AM, and he figured by then Orihime would be up.
He got to her apartment and let himself in. He was surprised to see Orihime still sleeping, and he spent a few moments watching her sleep. There had been frustrations in the plan for her to move there, but the concerns didn’t show on her face when she slept. Orihime was determined, and she would do what she could. She would have to wait until next fall at the earliest, and there was testing and fees and applications ahead of her. He had offered to help with the fees, at the very least, and she had accepted his help graciously.
But his foremost thought was that she probably looked more beautiful when asleep then awake, because of the peacefulness on her face. And considering the fact he thought she was one of the most gorgeous women he knew already, that was saying something. But they had plans, and they needed to catch a train to travel. He sat down near her on the pull-out sofa and put a hand on her arm, shaking gently.
“A few more minutes, Sora-kun,” she mumbled. He shook a little harder, and her eyes slowly fluttered open. She blinked, then smiled at him. “Oh, hi. What time is it?”
“A little after nine,” he replied.
“I was having the best dream,” she said, sitting up. “But you said we were going to do something fun today, so it’s okay that you woke me up.”
“Well, it’s going to change a bit. By the time you eat and get dressed we won’t be able to make the train,” he said. “But I can pay more and we can take the Amtrak.”
“Oh, okay,” she said. Then she smiled. “Could we do it tomorrow?”
“Yes,” he said, slightly confused. “Why?”
“I figured I would make you breakfast and we could go to the park for a while. Leigh and I went to Mitsuwa and got all sorts of good food. I was thinking we could have a picnic.”
He grinned. “You know, if we wait until Thursday there’s two farmer’s market in Oceanside, one in the morning and one at night. That would probably be more fun anyway.”
“Great. Then let me make you some pancakes.” She pushed the covers off and got out of the bed. She was wearing some of Leigh’s pajamas, the ones she liked to wear to tease him with the shorts and tank top. Leigh might be gay but she was still attractive, and he had noticed. It looked better on Orihime, though, and he tried not to stare.
“What kind?” he asked, following her into the kitchen.
“Pumpkin,” she replied. She caught a look at his face and giggled. “They’re really good, I promise. Leigh made them yesterday, and I have a good memory.”
“Okay,” he said with a nod. He watched her get all the ingredients together and start making the batter. They talked as she mixed, and then as she poured the batter into the skillet. He had to admit after having one that was a little too crispy as a teaser that they were good. Soon they had a whole plate of them and were digging in.
“I like these,” he said as they ate. “I can see the lessons are going well.”
“They are,” she said with a smile, cutting one of her pancakes. “I really like her. I’m glad she’s your friend.”
“I am too,” he said with a grin. They kept conversation light as they ate, and then Orihime started to gather the dishes and take them to the sink. “I’ll do it,” he said, taking the last bite off his plate and meeting her at the sink.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“You cooked,” he said, taking her plate from her. “I should clean.”
“Oh, okay. I can get a shower and get ready, then.” She gave him a smile and went to her things, then went to the bathroom. If he tried really hard, he could ignore the fact that she was taking a shower about thirty feet away from him. He finished the dishes, then went looking in her fridge for something to drink.
“Ishida-kun?” He turned and saw Orihime sticking her head out from the hallway by the bathroom She was apparently clad only in a towel. “I left my conditioner in my bag, and I don’t want to use Shinoda-san’s. Could you get it for me?”
“She wouldn’t mind,” he said, trying hard to breathe. He could see a shoulder, and leg. Not that he hadn’t seen them before, but she’d been in a strapless shirt and short skirt, which was more than the towel she was in now.
“Really? Okay. I’ll just use a little,” she said with a smile before heading back to the bathroom.
He got himself together, and realized if he didn’t get a grip on himself he wouldn’t make it through the day, let alone be able to live with her if she moved here. He found some of the sparkling juice that Leigh had and pulled out a cold can, drinking it as he waited. Orihime had, thankfully, taken her clothes in with her because she was wearing a long flowery skirt and a white tank top with her hair wrapped in a towel when she came out. “You look nice.”
“I don’t even have any make-up on,” she said with a slight blush.
“But you look nice without it,” he said.
Her blush deepened. “Thank you,” she replied. She walked quickly to where her things were and rummaged through until she found her brush. She brushed her hair, and by the time she was done the blush was gone. “What do you want to do until it’s time for lunch?”
“We could watch some movies,” he suggested. “I’m sure there’s something you might like.”
“We stayed up watching anime the last night you had to study all night,” she said with a grin. “She has Detective Conan and a bunch of other ones I like.”
“Then let’s watch some anime,” he said. They went to the TV and he opened up the cupboard with her DVDs and pulled out a DVD. He put it in as Orihime got the couch back to rights and then they settled down on it and watched. She sat close, but not so close he spent time obsessing on it. And it was nice to just relax and do something fun, even if he didn’t normally watch anime. He actually enjoyed it by the time the fourth episode was done, and it helped that Orihime was explaining things.
Even after it was done they talked for a little bit, with her telling him about the TV shows and movies she had seen since he was gone, and before he knew it it was 12:30. “Do you want to go do that picnic now?” he asked after a lull in the conversation.
She nodded and got up. “Shinoda-san got croquets and more tankatsu and other stuff,” she said, going to the fridge, with him following. She began pulling things out, and saw that Orihime had grabbed mostly Japanese food, but there was some cold friend chicken and her homemade potato salad as well.
“she makes the best potato salad,” he replied.
“I did a lot of it,” Orihime said. “She said she was sharing the recipe someone at a New York deli had given her. I can’t share it with anyone else on penalty of death.”
He chuckled. “Well, if you made it the way she does it’ll be something worth keeping a secret. It will impress anybody.”
“I hope so,” she said. She got all the items together, and then frowned. “What are we going to take them in?”
“I think she’s got a picnic basket somewhere,” he said, going to her pantry and opening it. It wasn’t there, so she went to the linen closet in the hallway. “Found it,” he replied. He brought it over to her and she packed it as he went back and grabbed a blanket from the closet.
“Okay, I’m ready,” she said. She lifted up the basket, and then set it back down. “I forgot to get something to drink.”
“How about I carry the basket and you carry the blanket?” he suggested as he watched her pull out some twenty ounce drinks to put in the basket.
“Okay,” she said with a smile. “It wasn’t heavy before, but now it probably is.” She took the blanket from him and he picked up the basket. It wasn’t too heavy. “Is it too heavy?”
“No, it’s fine,” he said. With that, they headed to the door and then left. It wasn’t a very long walk to the park entrance, and there was a nice place that was shady. He set down the basket as she laid down the blanket, and they sat down.
“What is the date today?” she asked. “I forgot.”
“It’s February 11th,” he replied.
“Ah,” she said. “It’s almost Valentine’s Day.”
He nodded. “It’s done a little differently here. It’s not just girls who gives gifts. Guys give them too. It’s supposed to be a big romantic night. Leigh and I had made plans to have what she calls ‘Singles Awareness Day,’ though. I guess that is the term for people who do not like Valentine’s Day here.”
She giggled. “I can’t imagine not liking Valentine’s Day. Even when I was too scared to give someone chocolate, it was still a fun time.”
“I used to get chocolates, but I don’t know who they were from,” he said.
“Last year, one box was from me,” she replied. “I thought I put a note on it.”
“No, I don’t remember a note,” he said, reaching into the basket for a soda. “I had four boxes last year, and I know one of them was from the exchange student, because she didn’t quite understand the custom. Everyone got one from her.”
“Every boy got a gift. She gave us girls notes that said she was glad we were her friend,” Orihime said with a smile. “I thought that was nice.”
“I remember she was very surprised the next month,” he replied, chuckling. “I don’t even think she could sit down at her desk, there was so much chocolate.”
“Did you give her some?” she asked.
He nodded. “It was only right. She got to be a friend, towards the end. We e-mail each other sometimes, now that she’s back in Florida. She’s considering coming out here for some convention known as Comic Con, but I’ll be back in Japan. We’re working out details to see if she can come earlier.”
“You have so many female friends, and no girlfriend,” she said. “I’m surprised.”
“I’ve had dates, but not many. There are not a lot of people who will put up with me missing so many dates, or spending so much time with Leigh.”
“She told me one of her girlfriends threw grape juice in your face,” she replied with a slight smile.
“That would be Annabelle,” he said with a sigh. “I didn’t really like her. She was very…clingy, I suppose is the best term. And very easily jealous.”
“Do you think I’m clingy?” she asked.
He shook his head, a little more forcefully then intended. “Not at all. You let Kurosaki do whatever he needed and wanted.” He paused. “Do you wish me to be absolutely truthful?”
“Yes,” she said.
“You let him walk all over you. As long as he showed you some attention, you were content. But he should have paid more attention as time went on, once he got used to having a girlfriend, not less. But you let him. If you had told him you wanted more time with him, maybe things would have turned out differently.”
“I had thought it might be partially my fault,” she said with a dejected sigh.
“It wasn’t really your fault, because he was your first boyfriend and you didn’t really know any better,” he said. “But I bet over time you wanted more of his attention, correct?”
“Yes,” she said with a nod. “I did.”
“He may have spent more time with you, but eventually he still would have put Karakura Town first. If it had been longer, it might have been harder on you.. I mean, what would it have been like if you were engaged? Or even married, possibly with children?”
“I hadn’t thought about that,” she said, tilting her head. “I probably would have been more heartbroken.” She looked at him intently. “Why couldn’t he have been more like you?”
“It’s not in his nature,” he said with a shrug, ducking his head so she wouldn’t see the blush on his cheeks.
“Maybe I should have been pining after you instead of him,” she replied. “In the end, I would have been happier, I think.” He didn’t look up, and she reached over and placed a hand on his knee. “I’m sorry if I’m embarrassing you, Ishida-kun.”
He lifted his head up, looking at her intently. “I’m not going away, you know. I may live thousands of miles away, but I wouldn’t abandon you the way he did.”
“I know,” she said with a smile. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking this week, and I’ve come to realize that you cared about me, probably more than Ichigo. Up on the dome, you protected me just as much as he did. You were always there when I needed you, and it was because I was so in love with him that I didn’t realize you were in love with me. Has that changed?”
“No,” he admitted. “Part of the reason none of my dates ever worked out was because I compared them all to you.”
“Well, that makes this easier,” she said with a laugh. “Would you like to go out on a date with me, Ishida-kun?”
“I thought I was supposed to ask,” he said, though with a grin.
“Well, I just beat you to it,” she said, laughing. “So? Is the answer yes or no?”
“The answer is yes,” he said.
“Good. Then Valentine’s Day, we’ll go out on a date date. And I’ll pay, because that’s the custom.” She removed her hand and began to rummage through the picnic basket, humming to herself. He watched, still a little in shock, but overall happy with the turn of events. Now he just had to wait three days to see if there really could be anything between them. For now, though, it was just the two of them, and he was bound and determined to enjoy her company.