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It was past midnight when Ichigo's phone ringed and he chose to ignore it. It was way too late and all of his friends knew that he rarely picked up when someone called and it was best to just send him a message. He gave up on the fifth time it rang though, rationalizing that it was probably an emergency since the person wouldn't give up.
"What do you want?" He didn't even look to see who was calling.
"Hello to you too, fucker. I called you five times!" He winced at the sound of Tatsuki screaming.
"Yeah, well, it's one in the fucking morning. Forgive me." He retorted.
"Shut up. I know you were up, dumbass. You never sleep before four am. Loser." He could imagine her annoyed face in his head.
"Can you just tell me what you want?"
"I want you to come pick up your girlfriend."
At that, Ichigo straightened up. He was definitely paying attention now. He felt apprehensive all of a sudden, even though a small voice of reason told him he was letting his anxiety get the best of him. Tatsuki would always call him an overprotective and paranoid asshole.
"Why? What happened?" He tried to sound relaxed, but his words came out too fast. "Is she okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. The princess is alive and well." As if on cue, he heard Orihime's laugh. He exhaled. "Just drunk. She wants to go home but I don't think she should. I think she should stay with someone and, you know I'm with my girlfriend today so you should be with yours." He heard Tatsuki whisper something to Orihime and he heard her giggle again.
He knew she was going to this party today; she invited him, more to be mindful and polite than anything because they both knew he would deny. He didn't have her energy or social battery. He would be sulking and rolling his eyes in no time.
But he felt a little content that she was still going to see her. He missed her — even though he saw her three days ago and was planning on seeing her later, anyway.
"Yes. That's fine. Send me the address, please."
"She's not like, blackout drunk. Nothing crazy. She's just a lightweight, you know, and they had all these fruit drinks and she wanted to try them all. The airhead." Tatsuki commented, affectionately, patting Orihime's head while she laughed at her words.
"I feel so happy." She now looked at Ichigo and he couldn't help but smile back. That seemed to make her even happier and she threw her arms around his waist, squeezing him. He knew his cheeks were red.
"I'm glad you are." He rested his cheek on the top of her head.
"You should be saying 'Oh no, my love, don't make the kind Tatsuki babysit you, you have to be careful with how much you drink' yet here you are with your pathetic ass blushing because your girlfriend happens to like you." Ichigo didn't bother responding, and Orihime got out of his embrace to hug Tatsuki instead.
"I love you so much, Tatsuki. You're my best friend in the whole world. You're so good to me." She said it with a jingly voice that made Tatsuki grimace, but he could see she was fighting a smile. That's what most people did when next to Orihime.
"Yeah, I love you too, whatever." She patted Orihime's head again and them disentangled from her. "Now go with your ugly boyfriend."
"Don't call him that." Orihime held his hand and gave a look to Tatsuki, who just rolled her eyes.
"But hey, thank you for calling me. And insisting."
"Yeah, next time just answer. What if it was a real emergency? Why do you even have a cellphone if you don't use it?" Tatsuki crossed her arms.
"I love you so much, you're my best friend in the whole world?" He tried, with a half smile.
She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Bye." She turned around but then turned again to scream at them to drive safely, before going back inside the house where the lights were colorful and flickering.
"Come on, let's go home."
[...]
Orihime just could not stop talking, giggling and having hiccups. She was going on about the people in the party, about a guy who asked her out and a girl who complimented her hair, then changing the subject entirely to talk about things like Oh, I forgot to do the laundry or Do you think the sea is scarier than outer space?
Drunk Orihime was just like Orihime on a day-to-day basis, just more hyper, if that was even possible. She didn't drink much, she was truly just a lightweight and she liked to try every food or drink people put in front of her. She had this eagerness, this longing for living to the fullest in every little way she could. Ichigo thinks it makes sense, with how she grew up deprived of so many "essencial" things for kids her age. So it makes him happy, seeing her stumbling and giggling and twirling randomly just because she's so full of energy.
She was always just like the sun for him; he bathes in her rays, he waits for her light so he can feel awake. He thinks that he has always longed for her, in one way or another, and that's why he fought so hard to protect her. Fought even against death. Just the thought of living in a world without her seemed absurd. Impossible. How do you live without the sun?
"I need to take a shower." She announced when they entered his house, taking off her shoes.
"Are you okay or do you need help?"
She smirked.
"Don't get any ideas. You're drunk. I'm only asking so you don't fall and open your head." Ichigo flicked her forehead, affectionately.
She grimaced. "So you hate me and you're not attracted to me anymore...Oh, I should've gotten that boy's number." She said in a dramatic fashion, with exaggerated gloomy eyes and a long sigh.
"Go take your shower." He opened the door of the bathroom for her and handed her some of his clothes. He waited for her to go inside, and she did, but not before sticking out her tongue to him. He chuckled.
He took his pants off and laid on his bed again, going back to his books and annotating as much as he could before Orihime got out of the bathroom. She didn't like when he spent the night studying and would often find other ways to keep him busy.
The door opened and he immediately looked up to see Orihime wearing his Pearl Jam t-shirt and his pants that were long but seemed to fit well since she had thicker thighs. She had put her hair up in a ponytail and cleaned her face from the makeup. She now looked exhausted, but adorable.
She flopped into the bed dramatically, falling with her head on his legs.
"I'm sorry for troubling you when you're busy. I will make sure to make the most gross combination of foods for breakfast tomorrow." Her eyes were closed but she was holding back a smile.
"Can't wait."
"You shouldn't read so late...Your eyes will come off...Or something." She yawned, resting her hand on his tight and adjusting herself. He played with her ponytail, absentmindedly.
"You can heal them for me." He planted a kiss in between her eyes. "Just this chapter and I will go to sleep."
"I will be sleeping by then so move me gently, please." She whispered, eyes closed already.
"Sure." He chuckled again. "I love you."
"Tell me tomorrow...when I'm sober." She said it slowly, her voice gradually vanishing at every word, and he could tell she had fallen asleep already.
He kissed the top of her head this time and rested his forehead there for a while.
"I will tell you every day."