Title: I Dare You
Disclaimer: Prosecute. I dare you.
Rating: PG ( K+ ) – for ever-so-slight innuendo.
Spoilers: Nothing more than your dinner.
Summary: OneShot. "You can't say no, Uryuu-kun, it was a dare!" IshiHime.
Truthfully, I didn't make this up...
"Truth or dare?"
Blinking, the suddenly distracted Ishida Uryuu glanced up from his page, shifting his focus to the face resting in his lap. "'Truth or dare,' Orihime-san?"
"Pick one," Orihime insisted, fluttering her lashes at her easily-swayed lover.
Ishida closed his book around one of his fingers, temporarily marking his spot to better address the conversation he had been pulled into. "Why?"
"Because I'm bored," the buxom flower child pouted, legs bouncing and twitching impatiently over the arm of their shared piece of furniture. "It's raining out and there's nothing on television, so I want to play a game with you."
Rain pelted the condensation-frosted glass of the couple's living room window at an unsteady, lazy beat that dreary Sunday afternoon, making it possible, but not preferable, to venture outdoors. The moisture had started early that morning, ruining the entire day for potential springtime activities, and hadn't ceased for longer than a few minutes at a time. If it had been a more interesting storm – perhaps with some thunder and maybe a touch of lightning for effect – Orihime wouldn't have minded staying inside to watch the show (or, even better, dragging Ishida outside to play in the rain!) However, the cold, fat raindrops spawned by clouds of steel wool made for a dull adventure; the only trace of energy the weather sparked in Orihime this day was an unfulfilled desire to see the sun again.
So inside they remained, draped across an old, faux-leather couch in their sparse apartment with no excitement in sight. Orihime had seemed content for awhile with the quiet atmosphere – finding it cozy and intimate, at first, to share the loveseat with the one she loved most – but two hours had passed and the romantic novelty of the scene had waned.
Ishida, on the other hand, was far more content with the situation than his antsy girlfriend. Even on the brightest of summer days he could be found in the nearest patch of shade, pointed nose buried deep in a book. It made very little difference to the introverted Quincy if the sun, moon, or a gigantic flaming ball of hair was present in the sky as long as he had his glasses and a convenient light source to accompany his reading material.
"Please, Uryuu-kun?" she cooed, rolling over onto her side to beg properly. She placed her hand over the cover of his book, stroking the hand that she knew was hidden inside.
A moment for deliberation was unnecessary, prompting Ishida to start feeling around for the bookmark he had misplaced earlier. "Alright, but you'll have to explain the rules. I'm not very familiar with games."
"Okay!" she brightened, flopping over onto her stomach to face him better. "Chizuru-chan taught me this game, it's lots of fun! You have to give someone a kiss every turn, though. And you can't kiss the same place twice!"
Ishida somehow doubted that this was a legitimate rule, but far be it for him to correct the love of his life if she wanted to kiss him. Besides, she would soon run out of innocuous places to put her lips...
Ishida shivered, but the girl resting in his lap didn't notice as she continued, "Basically, someone asks another person to pick between 'truth' and a 'dare.' If the second person picks truth, then they have to answer any question that the first person asks truthfully. If they pick dare, then they have to do anything that the first person tells them to. Got it?"
Ishida shivered again, "I...I believe so."
"Okay, then you go first! Ask me 'Truth or dare.'"
"Alright...Truth or dare?"
"Umm...," Orihime pressed a finger to her lip in deep thought. "Truth."
Damn.
"Ah...," this was the hard part. "Have you ever...um...gotten hit by a car?"
Sure, it was outlandish, but first-time players couldn't be expected to be masterful interrogators, could they? Plus, the easier the question, the quicker they could get to the first rule.
"Yep!" Orihime chirped.
"What? When?"
"Umm...I dunno, I lost count."
"You've been hit by more than one car?"
"Of course, silly! Everyone doesn't drive the same car."
Time to rephrase.
"I meant, you've been hit by a car on more than one occasion?"
"Oh, yeah. Loads of times. I got hit by one last week, I think."
Blink once. Blink twice.
"...you think?"
"Okay, you've already asked too many questions for this round, mister!" Orihime waggled a finger at him. "It's my turn! Truth or dare?"
Leaning over to lustfully capture his playful lovers lips, he replied, "Dare."
— — —
A couple hours, a change of location, and only a few body parts left to kiss, it was Orihime's turn again.
"Mm...Truth or dare?" she yawned, nuzzling Ishida's bare chest. She had lost count of how many times she had kissed there already.
Ishida stroked back her tangled tresses and drew her closer. The sheets rustled as Orihime shifted positions to accommodate this new proximity. "Dare."
"Umm...," Orihime's eyes fluttered closed as she sought a new idea for a dare. They were running out after nearly thirty straight in a row. "I can't think of one," she giggled.
"You don't have to," Ishida kissed her forehead. She could feel his smile spreading across her skin. "You seem tired."
"No-ooooh!" another yawn extended her speech. "I want to...finish the...game..."
The Quincy agreed easily, "Alright, then, since it was my turn first, we can end the game after this last one of yours."
"Aww..."
Ishida chuckled into her hair.
"Okay...umm...I'll have to think of a really good one, then...," she curled around her bed-mates chest and began to concentrate on her question.
The rain had kept falling while the pair had enjoyed their little pastime to its fullest extent. It was heavier now and, thus, more worth watching, but neither party was interested in the world outside any longer. Why leave when everything you wanted was laying in your arms?
"I dare you to marry me!" Orihime finally blurted, a silly titter of laughter borne of fatigue dispelling the comfortably sincere atmosphere.
The young tailor's eyes were open in a flash, blue irises reflecting the minimal light in the darkness.
Orihime snuggled closer to his tense body, still chuckling at her little joke. "You can't say no, Uryuu-kun, it was a dare!"
Ishida's free hand rose to clasp Orihime's, holding it to his wildly fluttering heart. "True...I can't say no to that, Orihime-san."
"Eh?" the buxom Hollow-slayer tilted her head to look into her partners eyes. They were as dramatic and serious as she had ever seen them. "I-I was just kidding, Uryuu-kun! You don't have to marry me..."
"I would like to."
Orihime wasn't the sort that blushed often, but in this case she felt she had no choice. "Uryuu-kun, you're so silly!" she tried to slap his chest, but he held onto her hand tightly. "You shouldn't tease me like that!"
Leaning down close to her ear, he whispered, "Why would I tease you...?"
Orihime gulped.
"Truth or dare?" Ishida asked, nuzzling her ear. "Please, pick truth."
"Um...okay, truth."
"Will you marry me?"
Orihime sat up, nude silhouette stark against the only window in their bedroom, and stared down at Ishida with her mouth agape. Her hand was still trapped within his grasp. "W-what...?"
"Will you marry me?" he repeated, remaining stretched out on his back with a confidence he rarely felt when attempting romantic gestures. "You have to answer truthfully. It's the rules."
As the sharply-curved young woman's heart began to beat hard against her breast, tears began to fall from her eyes. It would have been impossible to express the overwhelming feeling – Joy? Affection? A small touch of fear? – overtaking her body, but she felt assured that it was, overall, positive in nature. Orihime's nerve endings tingled with a vibration that even physical love didn't inspire in her, leaving her at the mercy of a body weakened by emotion.
Ishida wasn't entirely sure if he should panic yet or not; nearly a full minute had passed with no response from Orihime, indicating that her expression was one of either horror or repulsion, not love an acceptance. "O-Ori...Inoue-san?"
She mumbled something unintelligible.
"What was that, Inoue-san?"
"I...I said...," she licked her lips. "Yes. I said yes, Uryuu-kun, I'll marry you."
Ishida leaned up and collected her in his arms, ravishing Orihime with a newly awakened fervor. For the rest of the night, and even a little into the early morning, they didn't pause to ask each other silly questions between kisses.
Authors Note: Believe it or not, a game of "Truth or Dare" late one night inspired my own engagement. Out of sheer boredom and an inability to sleep, I insisted that Nic and I play it together (without the kissing rule; I just made that part up n.n; ) to pass the time until we were both tired enough for sleep. I was running out of dares (they're really hard!) so, just to be a smart ass, I said "I dare you to marry me!" Nic then turned all serious on me and REALLY asked me to marry him, I started to cry, and now here I am...five years later and still engaged --; (long distance relationships suck, man.)
The primary difference between MY story and the one I used for this fic is that Nic proposed over the phone n.n; Oh well, it was magical even if we weren't right next to each other...I'd use my "first kiss" story for another IshiHime, but I imagine that it would be totally OOC for Ishida to grope Orihime. (Then again, it COULD turn into a funny accident...hmm...)
Wow My love life is really inspiring for fanfiction.
Oh, and many thanks to MyAibou, my wondrous beta, who helped me with POV shifts. I tried my best to make one part Ishida-centric and the other Orihime-centric, but if I missed something then I'm sorry.I'm not giving up my adjectives, though, so you can just go ahead and let that go, beta-sama:-P
— — —
.:ObscureAnimeWriter:.
– Every nerd has his day. With Inoue Orihime, Ishida Uryuu will have an entire afterlife.