So yeah... this is my very first Bleach fanfic! I hope it's not too OoC. I tried really hard not to change their character too much, but then the story wouldn't progress smoothly if I didn't! Damn it Ichigo! Grow a pair of balls already! (You'll understand when you read...)

Summary: Ichigo and Orihime are paired up for a new project. Will they survive parenthood?

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, but it'd be cool if I did. :D Then I'd make sure that Ichigo and Orihime end up together! :3

The Winter War was over, Orihime was safely (kind of) returned, and all of Seireitei just HAD to celebrate Christmas Eve at Orihime's place as a victory and a welcome home party. But as suspected, half of the guests were trashed by midnight, causing many complaints from Orihime's neighbors and the eventual dispersion of the party- leaving her to clean up by herself. What a great way to be welcomed home.

Inoue Orihime thanked everyone for coming to the party they threw for her/themselves as they left, making sure that everyone had a safe way home. By the time the party was over, everyone was either drunken off their ass or just plain tipsy. Even Ishida let his guard down and got drunk with the shinigami he supposedly hated.

"Sado-kun, are you sure he'll be alright?" Orihime asked as Sado supported Ishida while they walked out the door.

"Hey man, I'm right as rain! " Ishida said merrily, wobbling back and forth even when Sado was attempting to stabilize him.

"You ain't 'right as rain,' dumbass." Tatsuki said, trying to stabilize herself with the help of Sado's shoulder. Once Orihime was brought back to the real world, Tatsuki immediately sensed her. She came rushing over to wherever they were, and eventually Ichigo and Orihime told their raven-haired friend everything. Tatsuki wasn't fazed by the truth and merely joined the party. "You're drunk."

"You're sexy!" Ishida replied with an even deeper hue of pink on his cheeks.

"They'll be fine. I'll make sure that they get home safe." Sado said while hoisting Ishida over his shoulder. Tatsuki was more able to walk on her own.

"Okay, good. Thanks Sado-kun." Orihime said as she closed the door behind her. "Tatsuki-chan, you'll be alright… right?"

"Yeah, I'm right as rain! You sure you're gonna be alright cleaning by yourself?" Orihime nodded and assured her friend.

"I can come back over after dropping these two off and help you clean Inoue." Sado offered. Orihime denied his request, telling him it was more important to make sure those two would be fine. With that said, Sado walked down the staircase, Ishida talking with Tatsuki while still over Sado's shoulder. Orihime watched them leave from her balcony.

'I guess everyone's gone. Ah, I didn't see Kurosaki-kun leave, but then again I didn't see most of the people leave. He probably walked Rukia and Renji home.' Orihime smiled to herself recalling the event that began the dispersion. Orihime's neighbors threatened to call the cops, but Rukia and Renji misinterpreted the threat in their drunken state as "we called the cops." The two grabbed as much alcohol they could carry and dashed out the door. Only a (semi) faint "Save the booze!!" was heard down the street. Afterwards, a herd of people followed.

Orihime sighed. She turned around and walked towards her door. Clutching the door handle, she stopped and rested her head against the door. 'I guess everything's going to get back to normal now.' She sighed once again, thinking about the tedious task ahead. She went inside, scanned the room, and immediately began sorting through the trash- until she heard some rustling.

She jumped at the sound, causing her to fall backwards.

"Oi, Inoue, you okay?" He asked, walking over to her with a trash bag in his hand.

"Kurosaki…kun?" She said surprised, grabbing his hand to help herself up. 'I guess he didn't leave after all.' She lightly dusted herself off, fixing her red Santa's helper outfit that Rangiku made her wear. "What are you still doing here, Kurosaki-kun?"

"It's pretty obvious- I'm helping you clean." Ichigo said as he began tossing the random plastic cups, plates, or whatever he came across into the garbage bag. "It's insane that you fit so many people in you apartment. How'd you manage to do that, Inoue?" He seemed strangely chatty, didn't he? But that didn't matter, Orihime started to answer his question with enthusiasm. "Well, Urahara-san put an alternate dimension in that corner- "Then it suddenly hit her. "Ah, Kurosaki-kun! You don't have to help me clean!"

She began waving her arms around frantically. Like that was really going to make him stop…

"Nah, it's fine. " He continued cleaning without even glancing at Orihime. "Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime walked towards Ichigo and reached out for the trash bag. When he wouldn't let go of his grip, she found the courage lightly place her hand on his. "Kurosaki-kun, it's okay. I can clean this by myself. You should probably go home, it's late and-" Ichigo cut her off. He gently took her hand into his and dropped it down by her side.

"And I'm telling you, it's fine. I want to help." Orihime could tell he still had some alcohol in his system since his cheeks were slightly pink. He began cleaning again.

"But Kurosaki-kun, what about your family? You should be with them right now."

"Inoue, it's one in the morning." He stopped cleaning and faced her. "I highly doubt they'd want to spend time with me right now. Besides…I-I don't want you spending Christmas by yourself." Orihime smiled at the sentiment, but began to worry.

"You should rest Kurosaki-kun. I know that you're still, um… intoxicated…? Don't push yourself too hard." Orihime caught a glimpse of a smile on his forever frowning face. "I'll be alright. I've been through worse."

"Ah, fine. But you really should go home afterwards." Orihime gave up and the two commenced clean once again. They chit-chatted about the mischievous mishaps that often occurred during the previous party. As they were almost finished cleaning the huge mess, Orihime found courage once again. "Kurosaki-kun, since it's already so late, why don't you… why don't you…" She felt strange being so forward.

"How about I stay here until morning? I can-"

"Okay! But you should go in the morning though… your family really might worry about you." Ichigo piled all the trash bags into a large heap, which he then lifted into both of his arms. "Alright, I'm gonna throw this out." Orihime opened the door for Ichigo and promptly began preparing for bed when she had her second epiphany for the day. 'Kurosaki-kun and I are going to be sleeping under the same roof…' She blushed, but continued straightening her room.

As she fixed her bed on the floor, Tatsuki's words from a long time ago kept running through her mind. "… when he's walked you to a place where nobody's around, pull him into a dark place and TAKE HIM DOWN!!" Orihime knew her best friend was joking, but what really disturbed her was what she said next, "Just grab your breast and he'll be the aggressive one." Would he really be aggressive…?

'Ah crap. I'm sleeping in Inoue's apartment?' Ichigo felt heat rise in his cheeks, but quickly waved it away with daunting thoughts of his father's reaction. 'Oh, my son! Sleeping at a girl's apartment at such a young age! So scandalous! You truly are growing into a fine young man!! Aren't you proud Masaki?!"

Ichigo walked through the front door to Orihime's apartment, noticing that she left it wide open for him. 'Good thing I'm staying the night… (o.o)' He silently closed the door and made his way over to her room. "Oi, Inoue-" But before he could finish talking, he became mighty distracted…

Orihime was changing…

'Damn it, this girl leaves her front door wide open, and now she leaves her bedroom door cracked open. It's a miracle that nothings happened to her.' Ichigo caught a glimpse of Orihime putting on her pajama pants when he backed away from the door. He tried to walk away, but he felt gravitated to watch. Heart pounding in his chest, cheeks becoming flushed, and blood rushing… somewhere, he peeked through the crack once again.

He saw her naked back exposed as she began to slip on her green tank top. It hung loosely around her, but it clung to the right places. She fixed her hair into a high ponytail, showing the low cut of her top. Then she suddenly-

"Just grab your breast and…"

Orihime grabbed her breasts. 'Would that really work?' Ichigo's eyes widened with shock and intrigue, he felt something stir inside of him. He clutched the door, holding his breath, trying not to make a sound. Orihime just starred at them, pouted, and walked towards her closet. She got onto her tiptoes and reached for something on the top shelf, exposing part of her stomach. She struggled, stretching even more, exposing even more. Knock knock.

Ichigo barged into the room. "Oi, Inoue." He obviously startled her since she jumped back, tripping over the bed she had just made. Ichigo's quick reflexes allowed him to catch her- or more so have her fall on top of him.

The two of them fell backwards. The futon Orihime had set up cushioned their fall, but the weight of Orihime slightly knocked the wind out of Ichigo- not that he didn't mind, she was on top of him after all. Ichigo felt the warmth of Orihime's skin against his arms, which he unknowingly wrapped around her as they both fell. Clutching at his chest, Orihime slowly opened her eyes. Both their faces were flushed.

Orihime quickly got off of Ichigo, apologizing like mad. "Ah, gomen, gomen nasai Kurosaki-kun! You scared me! I was trying to get those sheets and pillow from the top shelf of my closet." Orihime turned and tried to reach for the items in the closet. "Ahhh, if I was my future self I would just detach my arms and grab them. "

"Oh wait! Kurosaki-kun! Are you okay? I remember that you said I was kind of heavy back in Hueco Mundo, and I did fall on-" A hand grasped Orihime's shoulder as she began to turn to face Ichigo. "-you." Orihime blushed at his touch. "…he'll be the aggressive one." Did he see? Is that why he barged in? How long was he there? Well, we are alone… She felt him push his body against her back."Wait, Kurosaki-kun!"

"Wait?" With his hand still on Orihime's shoulder, Ichigo pressed forward, his body against her back, and reached for the sheets and pillow at the top of the closet. "I thought you needed help with these."

"Aw, come on King. That was the perfect opportunity!" "Shut up, shut up, shut up! I'm not that kind of guy!" "You pussy, it's perfect! We're all alone, she wearing that thin little thing she calls a night dress, and you've got stamina like no other! Once your finished with her, give me a try!" With the last comment, Ichigo quickly suppressed his inner hollow.

Orihime sighed a breath of relief. "Darn my naughty mind! I blame Tatsuki-chan for corrupting it! I guess he really didn't see. And if he did, then he really is a gentleman- or my prince charming! " Orihime smiled, suppressing her laugh.

"Thank you, Kurosaki-kun." She reached out for the sheets that Ichigo quickly denied her of. "These were meant for me, right? So I can make my own bed on your couch."

"Wha? " was all that Orihime said with a confused look on her face.

"I'm going to sleep on the couch."

"Wha?" She said again. "No, I'm going to sleep on the couch. You're my guest, so-"

"So, what? You want me to sleep in your bed?"

"Well, yeah! You are my guest; I can't have you sleeping on the couch!"

"Why not?! I can't take over your bed."

"Argh. Fine." Orihime pouted. She knew Ichigo well enough to know that once he set his mind on something, nothing's going to change it. "At least let me set up your bed."

"No. It's okay." Ichigo said, already out of her room, making his 'bed.' "Oi, Inoue. Out of curiosity, where did Rangiku-san and Toshiro sleep?" Orihime, who moved from her room to the living room, sat by the table in front of the couch. She rested her arms and head on the table while watching Ichigo.

"Rangiku-san slept in my room with me. She was my guest and she slept in my bed." Orihime pouted, trying to convince Ichigo to sleep in her futon instead of the couch once again. Ichigo ignored it and sat on the couch. "Toshiro-kun didn't really sleep here; he kind of stayed on the roof! I offered him my reversible sleeping bag, but he refused 'cause he wanted me to use it instead of sleeping on the ground. It's really neat though!" Orihime dazed off, mouth open, thinking about her reversible sleeping bag and the joke she played on Tatsuki.

"Why didn't he -or you for that matter- sleep on this couch?" Ichigo asked confused. He knew that this girl's logic was a bit off, but it was common sense- three people and three things to sleep on/in, so why didn't she add it up?

"Huh? It's not my couch. Tatsuki-chan let me borrow it for the party! It normally goes in her room, but she thought it would be nice to have the guests sit on a couch instead of the floor. So here it is! I can't have a lot of really big furniture since I move a lot! Otherwise, I'd have a bed like yours instead of that futon! It's so squishy- it's nice, but it's too squishy sometimes, you know? Hmm…" Orihime mind began to wander. 'I kind of liked that gigantic couch they gave me in Hueco Mundo…"

"Wait, how do you know what my bed looks like?" Ichigo asked, staring at the daydreaming girl in front of him. Orihime blushed. "Well, before I went to Hueco Mundo, Ulquiorra said that I was allowed to say good-bye to only one person, so I came to see you," she said, attempting to bury her blushing face in her arms," I followed Tatsuki-chan around all day, and I wanted to say good-bye to everyone before I left. But, I just wanted to see yo-"

"Is that why my hand was healed?" Ichigo asked curiously, unknowingly cutting Orihime's confession short.

"Eh? I healed your hand?" Her head perked up from her arm cocoon. "What, you didn't mean to?" Ichigo slid down the couch, onto the floor, as he asked her. He leaned against the couch with his hands behind his head, waiting for his answer. "No, I didn't. That's strange. I didn't call Ayame and Shuno out. So I wonder how I…" Orihime brought her hand up to her chin and thought hard. Ichigo patiently watched her think. "When I woke up the next morning, I felt your reiatsu on my hand, so I knew it was you-"

Orihime suddenly gasped. Mouth agape, she placed her fist into the palm of her other hand emphasizing the fact she had her third epiphany of the day. (Yay!)

Startled, Ichigo asked, "You remember now?"

"Yeah!" Orihime replied enthusiastically. "So how'd you do it?"

Orihime's excited face suddenly dropped and turned a bright shade of red. "Oh goodness, look at the time!" She got up. "You should be sleeping now, since you're going to be waking up early in the morning! Good night Kurosaki-kun!!" And she dashed into her room, leaving the door slightly ajar.

"O-kay…" Ichigo was left there, stunned. Should I go in there and ask her? (Inner hollow: Yes!) Was it really that embarrassing? Deciding to leave it be, but still thinking about it all the same, Ichigo crawled into his 'bed' and attempted to fall asleep.

"Oh no, that was too embarrassing!" Orihime hid herself under her comforter. "I hope he doesn't think that was weird… Ah, I almost forgot!" She got out from under her covers and knelt before her brother's photograph. She said as softly as she could, "Merry Christmas, Onii-chan. I'm glad that this year, I wasn't alone." Orihime looked at the clock; it was already four in the morning. She crawled back into her futon and quickly fell asleep.

Ichigo watched Orihime through the crack she left open. "If only he knew I was the one keeping her company, then he really would kill me." Ichigo lay on his bad, eyes fixed on the lump in Orihime's futon. "Now, what should I do with this…" He looked down, but quickly turned onto his side. "I'll give it to her in the morning…"

6:00 am- Two hours later…

Orihime silently slid out of her bedroom.

She crept towards her refrigerator and, as quietly as she could, took out a few things: strawberries, whipped cream… etc. After getting some other materials, she went back into her room, making sure Ichigo didn't wake up.

Once she was finished mixing up her concoction, Orihime entered her living room once again. She placed the bowl onto the counter, glancing at Ichigo who still hasn't wakened up. She tiptoed her way over to him. His sheets had fallen on the ground- only a throw pillow was on his stomach keeping him warm. Orihime picked up the sheets, and slid them back over Ichigo.

He gave a satisfied grin in his sleep.

She smiled- his face wasn't so funny after all. "He matured a lot over the past couple of months, in more ways than one." Orihime tiptoed her way back to the counter, and began cooking.

Ichigo slowly fazed out of his dream. He smelt something delicious in the air. Flick flick flick. His senses began to return to normal as he opened his eyes. Orihime was standing by the counter, slicing up some strawberries, glancing at the pan next to her every once in a while.

"Inoue's cooking…?" Ichigo sat up. "Oh my God, Inoue's cooking!?"

Orihime heard his rustling. "Good morning, Kurosaki-kun! I hope I didn't wake you up!" Ichigo sat there, watching her cook. "I made us breakfast!" Ichigo's heart stopped. "Oh no, not one of her crazy recipes! But then again, it smells pretty good…"

He got up, fixing and folding his sheets. "What are you making?" he asked nervously.

"Pancakes! I saw it on the T.V. the other day! So I decided to make some for us." She was making something…normal? "I put some red bean paste in the batter!" Ichigo's heart sank and his stomach churned. "But don't worry, I only put it in my batch."

Ichigo got all his stuff and put it in Orihime's closet, noticing she already put up her futon. By the time he came back, she already had everything plated and set on the table. He sat down in front of her. On his plate was a stack of pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream arranged to look like Santa Claus.

"I hope it tastes alright!"

Ichigo apprehensively took a bite. And surely enough, it was delicious. The two quietly ate breakfast, unsure of how to break the tension from their last conversation. When they were finished eating, Orihime silently stacked their plates. She put her hair into a ponytail again and began washing the dishes.

"Oi, Inoue. Want me to put the table back into your room?" Ichigo felt kind of useless sitting there not doing anything, not even talking to his generous host. Orihime glanced at him with a smile. "Sure! Thank you, Kurosaki-kun!"

When he was finished with his simple task, she was already done with hers. "I guess I'll go now. It's already eight o' clock, and Yuzu and Karin are probably already awake." He began to head out the door. Orihime nodded her head and followed him.

Once out onto the balcony, Ichigo turned to face Orihime. "Um, thanks for letting me stay here tonight, Inoue." He said while looking down and scratching the back of his head. Orihime blushed. "Anytime, Kurosaki-kun. Thank you for keeping me company!" Then there it was again, that awkward silence…

"Ah! Look Kurosaki-kun! It's snowing! " The two walked over to the railing, poking their heads out to feel the snow on their faces. Ichigo pulled back and looked at the easily entertained Orihime. She noticed he was looking at her and smiled. He outstretched his hand. Ichigo wiped away the snow on top of her head, making her blush even more.

"Merry Christmas, Inoue."

"Merry Christmas, Kurosaki-kun."

With that, he turned away and walked home. Orihime watched as he left. Sighing when she went back into her empty apartment, Orihime kept replaying that night over in her head. She plopped onto the couch with Ichigo's warmth still present. She snuggled up to the pillow he was holding, and fell back asleep for a moment.

Knowing what the day had in store for her, she unwillingly got up from her comfortable spot. She stretched her arms over her head in an attempt to wake her up some more as she walked into her room.

On the table in her room was a gift bag with a small note inside.

Merry Christmas Inoue

-Ichigo

That's all it said.

What was in the gift bag, I wonder? You'll find out next chapter!

But man this chapter was uberly long! I wanted to make a really really short prologue, but it ended up being kind of like a one-shot! Granted, if it was a one-shot, I would have put more fluff in there! I and hope someone caught the dialouge from Family Guy. XD I had to throw that in there.

On with the story and review if you like. :D

Next Chapter: Breaking the News

It's valentine's day. Will Orihime have the courage to tell Ichigo how she feels? Or will their new project just get in the way?