[Bleach fic] Tatsuki/Chizuru semi-slash "Third Wheel"
A little Bleach femslash! Well, sort of slash. I may write an *actual* femslash sequel later. But, you know. I think this works, in its own way, it's just 'light' slash. anyway. This is my crazy Bleach OTP. ^^


Orihime came back from that vacation at her Grandmother's and they both knew, right away, that something had changed. She was calmer, more centered, more focussed, and Ichigo was with her.

She didn't ever tell them whether she was seeing Ichigo; she didn't have to. Something had changed, and when she'd make excuses to duck out of cleaning duty early, or to not eat lunch that day, or say she had somewhere else to be than at Tatsuki's house or hanging at the park with Chizuru -- they knew what that meant.

Chizuru wasn't terribly surprised to see Tatsuki seated on the low stone fence, one leg drawn up as she stared off into the distance. Chizuru sighed, slinging her bag over one shoulder, and walked up to her, bending at the waist to peer up her skirt.

"Pink," she said, approvingly. "I like a girl who can make fashion choices-" She ducked as Tatsuki kicked at her face, but it was really a half-hearted gesture.

That worried her more than the expression on Tatsuki's face.

Tatsuki didn't say anything, and so Chizuru sighed, dropping her bag and hauling herself up onto the wall to sit beside her. "Ugh, I think I skinned my knees," she muttered. After a moment of getting only silence in return, she punched Tatsuki's shoulder.

"What was that for?!" Tatsuki spun to glare at her and got a grin in return. "What?!"

"For a moment, I thought you'd turned to stone or something." Chizuru mimed a tragic expression.

Tatsuki scowled. "Don't you *ever* know when to shut up?"

"The Jury's out on that one. So, hey, want me to cheer you up? I know a way or two that the girls swear by-"

"No thank you," Tatsuki snarled. "Can't you be serious?"

Chizuru sighed, tilting her head up to watch clouds passing by. She winced one eye shut as the sun came out and raised a hand to give herself some shade. "Sure I can," she said, quietly. "Orihime, right?"

Tatsuki didn't answer.

"Yeah," Chizuru said. She sighed again, tugging her glasses off and looking down at them, turning them over and over in her hands. "I want to ... I don't know. I want to go hogwild and challenge him to a duel for her. I want to kidnap her in the middle of the night and sweep her off to foreign, exotic nations!" She punched the air. "I want to tell her I'll never give up on her, no matter what!"

"But she's happy," Tatsuki said, voice low and miserable.

Chizuru nodded, lowering her fist. "Yeah. So I won't."

"It's that simple?"

"It's what we want, isn't it?"

Tatsuki choked, as if fighting tears.

"Hey," Chizuru whispered, and held out an arm, not grabbing her, just waiting until Tatsuki caved, pressed against her, buried her face in Chizuru's shoulder. "Hey, I know, okay? It's okay, it happens. Girls see guys sometimes. It happens."

"I just want her to be happy," Tatsuki insisted. "I'm not like you, I-"

"Sure," Chizuru murmured, and rocked her back and forth. "Losing your first girl's never easy."

"I'm not, I don't-"

"Either way, you love her," Chizuru said, and Tatsuki sucked a breath in, didn't say anything. "Love's love. She knows, you know. She loves you too."

Sighing, Tatsuki's shudders slowed to a stop. "Not like she loves Ichigo."

"I thought you weren't like that?"

"Shut up, I'm not." Tatsuki punched Chizuru's side.

Chizuru whined. "Tatsuuuuuki..."

"I didn't hit you that hard," Tatsuki snapped. "I just, what if she doesn't hang out with us anymore?"

Chizuru just looked at Tatsuki for a long moment, then flicked her in the ear with a finger. "Tatsuki, she's Orihime."

"Well, yes," Tatsuki was forced to admit.

"I'm okay with sharing her," Chizuru said. "And I can't imagine her leaving. Not for good."

Tatsuki nodded and pulled away, wiping at her face. "Never tell anybody about this, okay?"

"What, that you have a crush on Orihime?"

"No, that I cried on - I DO NOT HAVE A CRUSH ON ORIHIME!"

Chizuru smirked. "Methinks the lady doth protest too much."

Tatsuki frowned at her. "Your mind's in the gutter, isn't it."

"It could be a pure love! Romantic and moving! Two dinner dates and a movie before anything happens!"

Groaning, Tatsuki shook her head. "Well, thanks anyway." It was grudging but honest, and Chizuru grinned.

"Now I need your help," Chizuru said, seriously.

"Huh?"

She held her glasses up. "I got these smudgy," she said. "And my shirt's all coarse. Can I clean them on yours?"

"Yeah, s- Oh no you don't-!" Tatsuki tried to shove her away as Chizuru pressed her hands to Tatsuki's chest. "No, bad touchie, you- Gah, you stupid dyke-!" She shoved again and Chizuru squeaked as she lost her balance, tumbled backwards over the wall. "Shit! Are you all right!"

Trapped in a half-headstand, Chizuru grumbled. "I don't know why I put up with you," she muttered.

"White, huh." Tatsuki's voice was bland, bland, bland.

Chizuru yelped and tugged her skirt down. "You - hey." She flopped over, coming to her hands and knees, and squinted up at Tatsuki suspiciously. "...have you seen my glasses?"

"Yeah, they're up here." Tatsuki held them up, peered through them at the clouds. "Ugh, your vision's terrible, isn't it?"

"Give."

Tatsuki peered through them a moment longer and Chizuru leaned her elbows on the stone wall, watching her. Whatever quick cheer had grabbed her had faded -- probably, Chizuru thought wryly, as she remembered that Orihime was off somewhere with Ichigo.

"Let's do something," Chizuru suggested, kindly. "You need a distraction."

"Like I'd spend time with you willingly," Tatsuki muttered, and handed Chizuru's glasses down. "...Let's go for drinks."

Chizuru slid them back on and gave Tatsuki a dubious expression. "I don't know that I trust my virtue with you when drunk."

"You don't have any virtue, you whore."

"Can't argue with that logic," Chizuru sighed, and followed Tatsuki away.

***

Five shots of whiskey later, Chizuru was convinced this had been a bad idea.

"Oh Gooooooood," she whined, tugging at her blouse's neckline. It was too hot in there and she felt sweaty and cold at the same time. "I feel sick and unsexy."

"Shut up," Tatsuki ordered, blurrily. "We are going to drink ourselves into oblivion if if kills us."

Chizuru kicked her feet against the floor, staring up at the ceiling, and tried to remember when she'd ended up on her back. "It's gonna kill us," she pointed out. "It's killing me already, I'm dying."

"You are such a wimp," Tatsuki said, and shoved another glass at her. "Drink!"

Still whining, Chizuru took the glass and held it up to the light. "It's a poison, yanno, that's what they said. It's toxic, like, that's why it's intoxicatinging."

Tatsuki topped her own glass off with solemn unsteadiness. "To Orihime!" she exclaimed loudly, and tried to toss her drink back. She missed her mouth almost entirely and the liquid spattered down the front of her blouse.

"Look at you," Chizuru chided drunkenly, putting her glass down on its side as she sat up, swimming through the thick air, to pat at Tatsuki's blouse. "You're all wet-!"

Tatsuki reeled and missed punching her by about a mile. "You w, wish I were," she said. "Eh?"

Chizuru stared at her hands on Tatsuki's blouse and promptly forgot what she'd been doing as she squished her breasts. "Oooh, you're bigger than I tho-" A flailing fist hit her on the side of her head. "Owwww, Tatsukiiii-!"

"Two-timer," Tatsuki accused, pointing a wavering finger at her. "Y, y'said Orihime was the only one for you!"

Chizuru's brows furrowed as she tried to remember, hands still cupping Tatsuki through her blouse. "No, I didn't," she said with utter certainty. "I said Orihime was one for me. Like, one of many. Not the same thing."

"Well, Orihime's the only one for me," Tatsuki declared, and fell backwards, tugging Chizuru on top of her. "Oh god, I'm so horny-"

"It's not faiiir," Chizuru whined, burying her face in Tatsuki's neck. "Why did you have to do this when I was feeling unsexy? Why? Why didn't you do this normally? This was a plot, wasn't it? The whiskey was a plot! It was a torture Chizuru plot! An evil plot of torturing and Chizuru and evil!"

Tatsuki snored, quietly.

Chizuru grumbled, pushing Tatsuki's bangs out of her face. "Stupid," she muttered. "You're really stupid." She let her face fall forward again, cuddling into Tatsuki's warmth with one hand still cupping a breast, and let her own heavy eyes drift shut.

The scream of outrage Tatsuki made when she woke some hours later nearly burst a window.

Chizuru flung herself backwards a moment before her headache made itself known and they both spent a long, long moment whimpering and clutching at their heads, staring at each other in unmitigated horror.

"I'm sorry," Tatsuki rasped.

"So'm I," Chizuru groaned, mouth dry and tasting like that mouse had smelled when it had died under the floorboards of her room. "More sleep. Now. Oh god."

Tatsuki dragged herself upright with a martial artist's willpower and hit the lights before collapsing on the floor again.

"We are never mentioning this to anyone," Tatsuki moaned.

"I wish I were dead," Chizuru informed her, feelingly.

Tatsuki was silent a long moment. "You can take the bed," she rasped, finally.

"Your house."

"We share," Tatsuki whispered finally, decisively. "If you feel like I do, you won't try anything."

Chizuru managed a painful smirk, dragging herself vaguely towards the bed. "Just. Just wait until I feel better."

"If that means I feel better too, I might just let you. Oh god."

"I'll, I'll hold you to that."

"Kill you first."

They lay together in silence.

"Orihime would kill us if she knew we were being this stupid over her," Chizuru mumbled.

Tatsuki made a soft 'snrk' noise. "Orihime's too kind to kill us."

"Mm."

Tatsuki was silent long enough that Chizuru thought she'd fallen asleep before she heard a quiet, "Chizuru?"

"Mm?"

"Thanks. For keeping me company."

"I can't let you be stupid alone," Chizuru whispered, reaching out vaguely and patting Tatsuki's hair. "Being crazy and outrageous is my thing. You gotta back off my act."

"Go to sleep."

Chizuru grinned painfully in the dark. "Can't wait until I feel better and'll show you a bit of this and that, huh?"

"You wish." Tatsuki's voice was tired but fond. "Night, Chizuru."

Hand still on Tatsuki's hair, Chizuru closed her eyes again. At least, even despite the hangover, Tatsuki sounded different, almost content. "Night," Chizuru muttered, and waited for sleep.