You guys are so beautiful ya know that? Thank you for reading! Ichigo will seem like a bit of a prick to some of you, but roll with it! Please leave a review so I know what you thought! And tell me if you think the next chapter should be Orihime's POV or Ichigo's!

Summary: Ichigo hates Christmas. Orihime loves it. What happens when the healer invites Ichigo for a Christmas Eve dinner - and Ichigo refuses? What will the Berry do when he finds out Orihime will be alone for this important season. Surely lemons.

A Very Berry Christmas

o-o-o-o Two days before Christmas... o-o-o-o

Oh, fuck no.

A bright red invitation had been set to lay in his shoe locker almost ominously, lace decorating the edges prettily. Too pretty for this punk's liking. In white glitter, the words Christmas Dinner! were artfully - and clearly painstakingly - formed to an elegant cursive twist. If that wasn't bad enough, the bright pink cartoon present and purple teddy drawings were the worse.

The moment he reached out to brush it into his bag (intending to keep himself from prolonged contact), that colorful bit of handmade hell made itself known with a loud musical "HAVE A HOLLY, JOLLY CHRISTMAS!" before he reflexively grasped it in a tight and damaging hold. The circuit inside was broken, and the paper wrinkled as it was pushed roughly into his coat pocket..

"Hey! Ichigo-baka!" A voice hollered through the mass of chattering students around him, many of whom had already slipped their shoes on. His eyebrow twitched slightly as he discreetly moved the invite to his bag and slung it back over his shoulder. Rukia's small frame shoved through the crowd until she stood only a few feet away, hands on her hips.

"I've been waiting outside for you!" She hissed, eyes narrowing unhappily at the Strawberry Punk.

"Eh... Gimme a break..." He mumbled, that ever present scowl in place as he turned to head out the front doors of the school and into the courtyard. The chill of the winter air bit into his cheeks almost right away, aided by the ever present wind. The trees had long since lost their golden leaves from the changing of the seasons. Distantly he could hear Rukia shouting for him, accompanied by Renji's voice trying to distract her.

Those chocolate brown orbs of his remained trained thoughtfully on the sky, lips pressed into a firm line as his eyebrows drew close together. As his mind strayed to the invite, he found himself scowling and yanking the offending bit of paper out of his bag and flipping it over in his hand. His eyes narrowed toward it almost accusingly as he came to a halt outside a familiar row of shops. The glitter was still in place, glittering like... glitter...

The dark storm clouds above head seemed less ominous than the invite in his hand.

With a weary gaze, he flicked the crinkled flap open with the full intention to toss it to the ground and stomp on it if that awful song started up again.
Thankfully it did nothing more than crackle once before going quiet.

Killed it... A part of him said smugly at the small victory. And so his eyes began to slowly slide over the words, so delicately pressed into the paper he could hardly read them through the wrinkles he had caused. The words were surrounded by now broken lines of glitter, which seemed to have once formed small loop designs.

Join us for a Christmas Dinner!

Time: 6 pm - 8 pm, Christmas Eve
Date: December 31st
Place: Inoue Residence - Apartment 403
RSVP: Any time you can! Call or talk to me at school please!

Food will be provided! You can come and help make it as well though!
Come early if you do please!

He blinked slowly, eyes running over the words once more. The fact that she managed to make it half formal and half-

That train of thought stopped in its tracks as something collided suddenly with his back. Soft and noticeably warm for the smallest instant, before it seemed to bounce backwards and produce a small startled yelp.

The Strawberry turned automatically, forming a small expression of shock which soon became a softer gaze. A petite but voluptuous young woman by the name of Orihime Inoue stood just before him, a small almost stubborn pout forming upon her lips as she rubbed her forehead. Those gentle grey hues were turned upward as if to see the offending "injury". As always her auburn locks were set in slightly curled waves down her back, seeming to bring about an entire air of beauty to aid her warming presence.

Damn King, turning into a poet eh? Where art thou dick?

Shut the fuck up.

"A-Ah! Kurosaki-kun!" Her frame bounced upward slightly as she straightened her spine, doe like eyes gazing up toward him with a kind of gentleness that only the kind Healer could manage. "I'm so sorry! I was on my way to the Bakery, and, well you're standing right in front of the door and I wasn't paying attention because the penguin and sealdolphin were-"

He raised a hand upward to cut off her chatter, fighting off a chuckle at her antics, while also mentally questioning what a sealdolphin was. Probably something he didn't want to imagine.

"Don't be sorry Inoue. Its my fault any-" And this time it was her turn to cut him off.

"Oh! You got my invite!" She exclaimed happily, her body seeming to bounce up and down with the excitement of the news. A delighted smile took her face as she shifted her shoulder bag up higher onto her shoulder, eyes flickering from the invite to his face eagerly. Just the simple warmth in th way she looked at him made the back of his neck feel warm.

He hadn't even realized he had held up the hand holding the invite until she pointed it out, and felt a pang of regret as he saw the hope in her eyes.

"I-"

"Oh it'll be so much fun Kurosaki-kun! And don't worry, I've been working on my cooking skills! Tatsuki-chan said I need to learn to make normal food because my food isn't good for other people! Which is really weird because I eat it just fine you know?" She giggled, shaking her head as if Tatsuki was the one being weird in the issue of her cooking skills. Her eyes gazed off toward the bakery windows just behind him, seemingly at the pastries and cakes if not for the glazed look to her eyes.

"Inoue..." Ichigo began, mentally cringing as she turned her attention back toward him with bright eyes. "Listen... I'd love to come but... I just don't celebrate Christmas anymore ya know?" His mother had favored it almost above any other holiday, and preferred a quiet Christmas at home. If quiet included his father yelling about manhood and his "lovely Misaki" 90% of the time. Since she had died he hadn't had a single real Christmas. And at this point he didn't bother with the holiday.

The happy glint to her eyes dimmed ever so slightly, and a flash of disappointment ran across her features before she offered him a bright smile. A strong stone of guilt lodged itself in his throat, sliding down slowly to his stomach to leave him with a feeling less than pleasurable.

"Its alright! I understand! Its a family holiday after all, so I shouldn't really have asked!" She chirped, folding her hands behind her back and rocking back and forth on her heels. Her bag tapped lightly at her hip as she did so, the thick orange and white striped scarf around her neck fluttered slightly in the wind.

"Inoue-"

"Oh! I have to be going! Have a Merry Christmas Kurosaki-kun! And tell Kurosaki-san, Yuzu-chan, and Karin-chan as well for me!" And with a cheery wave, she turned on heel and trotted off into the Bakery.

As he watched her vanish beyond the counters inside, he felt a strong bubble of guilt grow in his chest.

o-o-o-o Later that night... o-o-o-o

"What do you mean you said no?" The violet eyed imp glared, hands braced on her hips. The short female tapped her foot irritably, her other half stood just behind her as if ready to hold her back from strangling the orange haired teen. Unfortunately from the look on Renji's face, he wasn't making any promises.

Ichigo lay on his bed with a small huff, folding his arms behind his head as the fuming female glared at him from across his bedroom. When the teen had arrived home, Rukia had been in the process of packing her things to head home for the season with Renji. It was then she had pounced on him regarding a text from Orihime asking if she was going to be able to come to the Christmas dinner. It seemed when Rukia had suggested the orangeheaded wonder, Orihime had told her Ichigo did not celebrate the holiday.

And Rukia figured that was a load of crap.

"You told me you weren't going on that trip! Whats so wrong with going over to her's? You'll still be in Karakura! Didnt you ever go OUT and eat even?"

"No." The teen glared back accusingly. What the hell was she getting at? He didn't want to celebrate at all. The season only made him grumpy as all hell; no need to make it worse.
"It'll be fine. Tatsuki will be around wont she? And Ishida never eats with his father. He hates the guy as much as I hate him." Chad wouldn't be an option. He'd been gone two weeks already to visit his family in Mexico.

"Thats not the point baka!" She hissed, and in a few strides her fist connected with the top of his head harshly, causing him to yelp loudly.

"What the fuck Rukia?" He growled, sitting upright to cross his legs Indian style on his bed with his hands cradling his throbbing skull. Renji in the mean time had managed to grab her other wrist before she could inflict a second blow, and was withstanding the small feet stomping on his own. However it seemed Renji was only putting in a halfhearted attempt as he further listened to the argument. It seemed the tattooed wonder had no immediate need to involve his usual annoying input into situations. Smart of him. Ichigo wasn't as lucky.

"Tatsuki will be gone remember? Her tournament? And Ishida left to Tokyo for the holiday!"

Ichigo looked up, his scowl deepening. Yet there was an underlying sadness to his angered gaze. For a moment Rukia almost seemed to regret her actions, but that fire was back in place in a snap. This really was dense as hell, and someone had to teach him a thing or two right?

I basically told Inoue she'd be alone on Christmas Eve... He realized, fighting back a reflexive wince at the thought. Looking back he hadn't really been kind about it either. At least as kind as he could have been.

"Shit..."

"Damn right "shit" baka!" Rukia barked back, "Now you're going to go to that dinner, and you're going to have a great night got it? Stop being such a wuss and grow some balls!" Her left eye had begun to twitch. Never a good sign for anyone she was speaking with, or about.

Of course Ichigo, being a master of words, had one (not thought through) response.

"Go fuck yourself."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The Strawberry sat grumpily at his desk, leaning back in the swivel chair with an ice pack held to the right side of his face. Rukia had left an hour before after nearly shoving his head through the wall - the dent made above his bed proving this fact - and he was sporting a large bruise. It would heal in no time, sure, but it hurt like a bitch.

What that frustrating know-it-all didn't understand - having defended herself by stating he'd had a lot worse - was that the body coped with pain in a simple way. The more violent the injury, the less pain due to adrenaline. The bruise? Not the worst thing he'd had by far. He'd been bruised up before, but usually there was a fucking gaping hole in his stomach or arm to take his mind of things.

And so here he sat, cursing the damn pixie to hell and back while tapping a new event in his phone. Inoue's dinner would be on. He owed the kindhearted healer an apology, and more. Picking up a present on the way wouldn't be a bad idea... Though Christmas Eve shopping was going to be hell. He knew the shops would be damn impossible to get through now more than ever.

"Wait..." He froze, blood running cold. "What do I get her?"

Shit she likes... Wasabi right? Crap no thats not a Christmas present. What the fuck do people get each other they get... Fuck whats it called... Egg Nog? I guess I could pick some up but knowing Inoue she has some right? She's always festive... His eyebrows drew together slowly.

Unless she spiked it with Mustard...

It was then decided upon picking up and "extra carton" on the way there.

Distantly he could hear his father rushing up the steps, shouting with too much enthusiasm for his "lovely daughters" to prepare for "the best Christmas of their lives". And there was no telling what he had planned this far. He didn't envy them, but he knew Karin would keep Yuzu from following after the crazy old goat. It wasn't a secret she could be just as excitable as he was.

Most wonderful time of the year my ass...