Wet

Still in disbelief about where my mind wandered earlier, I stay in the kitchen trying to repair the soup. Steam has also made my clothes heavier against my skin. I’m somewhat refreshed from it, but my drenched shirt is stickier than ever. My skirt is just plain uncomfortable. I’ve loosened my tie and taken off my socks at least, but I’m still tempted to take something else off. And considering what just happened, I feel weird doing anything that involves the removal of clothing.

I want to give her space. She’s taken longer than she usually does after a shower. I’ve nervously waited around for her to let me use the bathroom, but I’m going to say something now. I want to see what’s going on anyway. Maybe something is wrong?
I turn the doorhandle and open it slightly, still a little nervous that I might catch her changing. But she’s sitting on her bed, wrapped in a towel. She’s absentmidedly combing her hair, but she has that hard-to-read look in her eyes. At least for everyone else. For someone as close to her as I am, I can tell that she’s trying to keep the cheery look, but can’t deny that something is wrong. She always tries to be strong- I admire that. She’s so worried about people worrying about her.

“Um- Tatsuki-chan! Come in!” She chirps. She pats her hand next to herself to tell me to sit with her. Right when I plop down at her side, I know what she’s thinking about. She’s staring at a photo of her brother. It absolutely kills me inside to see her like this. Forgetting about him is possible for her most of the time, but even though she’s always looking on the bright side, she has to remember him time after time. From the photo, he was a handsome guy. He looked friendly. I’d never met him. He must have meant a lot to her, being her only family.

She know’s I’m onto her and tries to lighten the moment. “Tatsuki-chan, aren’t you uncomfortable? You could’ve come in here and borrowed some of my clothes. I don’t care.” I say something for the first time in a while. “No, I couldn’t…I just thought I’d be patient.” She answers a little too quickly by joking about my clothes again. “You could’ve at least taken that shirt off. I can see through it anyway.” Giggles.
I’m actually glad she said something about it, and took the opportunity to undo the first button and just pull it over my head. I feel a few degrees cooler and don’t have cloth stuck to myself. It actually doesn’t feel weird to be in only a bra in front of her; she was in a towel anyway. Orihime glances down and giggles again. Is she looking at me the same way I’ve been looking at her all afternoon?

I give a long sigh. “Inoue-” My hand is on her shoulder now, and I look her square in the eye- “Talk to me. It’s about your brother, isn’t it?” She widens her eyes and tries a warm smile. “No! Really, it’s not. I’m fine.” Giggles again. She seems to giggle a lot when she’s nervous. “I know it is.” I answer. She looks up at me while I pull her close and hold her as tightly as humanly possible, my nose buried in her fiery hair. She leans into my chest. Show emotion, damn you! I squeeze her even tighter and feel a few warm tears slide down my breast. I want to just tell her to let it all out, but I know she won’t. So I just hold her and brush a kiss on her forehead. She wouldn’t think anything strange of it though; I’ve actually done that before. I sink my head down. I want her to know how much I love her, and this just doesn’t feel dirty anymore. My next kiss is on her collarbone, and I hold it there for a little longer. She lets me hear her inhale a little. But I still don’t know if she got the message, though it seems obvious. I tilt my head to the right and press our lips together. Such sweet, sweet lips. I can feel her nose flutter a little. She knows now. My eyes open for a few seconds and our lips peel apart. I smile disarmingly. “You’ve got sweet lips, Orihime.” Her response comes softly but surely.
“Thank you, Tatsuki-chan. I love you. You're the closest person in the world to me. I really won’t mind if you take me.” She didn’t speak. That’s what her eyes said. She buries her face in my breasts, and I let her fall asleep there. Let her feel protected by me, even in sleep. I lay back and doze off with her. “It’s so easy to have a crush on you, Orihime.” I whisper against the still-pouring rain, even though she can’t hear.

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