mistkitt | The In-Betweens (Reply)

Originally posted 4/24/2015

The HAPPY’S BACK. *delirious* Tell Yourself! Boom!

Mornings were a tangle of sheets and trying to figure out whose limbs belonged to who, followed by mild-mannered complaints like, “Stop it, I’m going to be late for class!” or, “I have work to do, you know.” Generally such complaints were accompanied by giggles, whines, growls, and another five minutes of unproductive activity before either of them made it out of bed.

And whoever left first was bound to feel a pair of watchful eyes on their bum.

After she’d told him she loved him, he began to notice just how much she’d changed in his absence. It was kind of hard not to notice when she did things like sit on his legs - a respectful distance from dangerous areas - and kiss him without preamble. There was never any objection to this on his part. He found it fascinating in an almost scientific way.

How she’d take charge, be the first to deepen the kiss, and the last to pull away. How she’d comb his hair back with her fingers and kiss his forehead, his eyelids, the corners of his mouth. And the way she looked at him - if looks could kill his heart would have given out under the weight of her gaze - left little to the imagination.

She loved him, and she wouldn’t have him doubting it. Not for one second.

When he went away for three weeks on business, she waved him off with a wide smile and he thought, it was only three weeks. They’d been separated longer than that before.

When he stepped through the door three weeks later, he wasn’t sure who grabbed the other first. They tripped over furniture, clothes, their own two feet. He’d never heard such sounds from her before, never thought that she could want him half as bad as he wanted her.

“I couldn’t sleep without you,” she later confessed, in such an innocent whisper that he had no choice but to make love to her again.

One morning, when there was neither work nor school to drive them out of bed, he noticed her daydreaming expression and asked her what was on her mind. “Marriage,” she said almost coyly, and his stomach flipped over. “My family would want me to have a traditional wedding, but I think I want mine Western style.”

“Is that so,” he murmured, kissing the back of her neck.

She snuggled closer to him. “A trumpet style dress, strapless, with a big veil! But, it should be a small ceremony. Close friends, and maybe some classmates, and the Gotei 13, and a few Arrancar…” She paused. “And no reception.”

“No reception?”

“You don’t like parties, so…”

“Oh, am I the one you’re marrying?” he asked airily.

She pursed her lips, unable to decide if things had been better before he’d developed a sense of humor. “No. My true love, Don Kanonji.” She had the satisfaction of feeling his body stiffen. “I’ll be Kanonji Orihime, and our baby’s first words will be bohahaha!” His arms tightened around her. There was an unhappy spike in his reiatsu that made her smile. “Don’t make jokes if you’re not going to play along, Ulquiorra-kun.”