Title: Shut Up And Kiss Me

By: Kunoichi Thorny21

Pairing: Chad X Ritsuko

Warning: None

Summary: Ritsuko and Aika are at the beach with their friends but Ritsuko is too nervous to go near Chad. The tall brunette teen feels the same way about Ritsuko and their friends are getting frustrated that they won't talk to each other. How are they going to get their love struck friends together?

"Why are you dragging me to the beach, Ai-chan?" Ritsuko Yamamoto asked her best friend for the umpteenth time that morning. She looked around at her friends that were walking with them. Aika Hayashi, Orihime Inoue, Rukia Kuchiki, Momo Hinamori and Rangiku Matsumoto had showed up at her home an hour earlier and informed her that they were going to be spending the day at the beach. Ritsuko had protested at first but having all five girls jump her made it impossible to get away.

"You work too much and it's a nice day!" Aika said cheerfully.

"Besides all the guys are gonna be there, too," Rangiku pointed out. Ritsuko stopped walking and gulped audibly.

"The…guys? You mean even he's…" she trailed off.

"Of course! We said all the guys," Orihime giggled.

"If I would've known that I…" Ritsuko started to say before getting cut off.

"You wouldn't have come," Rukia finished for her. Ritsuko shook her head.

"That's soo not the point!" she whined.

"Come on, Rits-chan! Loosen up a bit, will ya?" Aika stated. "He won't bite ya know."

"I know that! But you know I can't be around him like that," Ritsuko said in almost a whisper. Momo put her hand on the teal and brown haired girl's shoulder.

"Have you tried talking to him yet?" she asked softly.

"No…I don't even know what to say to him," Ritsuko replied. "Or if he even likes me."

"That's just silly! We all know he likes you," Rangiku said.

"Yes he does talk about you a lot," Orihime confided. Ritsuko fell silent going deep in to thought. The five girls around her exchanged glances with each other. It didn't take them long to get to the beach by the ocean. They hurried into the changing rooms and quickly threw on their bathing suits. Rukia opted for a simple white tankini with matching boy shorts. Orihime and Rangiku both wore string bikinis, although Rangiku's just barely covered her breasts. Hers was a bright yellow while Orihime's was a light purple. Momo wore a simple black bikini that tied around the neck and back with bikini bottoms. Aika emerged with a neon pink bikini top with black straps and black boy shorts with neon pink straps tied on either side of her hips. Everyone was gathered outside waiting for Ritsuko to come out and join them. Ritsuko walked out wearing a pale blue bikini that tied around her neck and had a diamond shaped hole in the front that showed off her cleavage and matching boy shorts.

"Hey look! There's Ichigo-kun!" Orihime cried, pointing to the volleyball court that had been set up. Everyone else turned to look in the direction she was pointing to see Ichigo, Chad, Uryuu, Renji, Toshiro and Gin playing a game of volleyball.

"Oh kami he's here," Ritsuko said before backing away towards the changing rooms once more. Rukia and Aika noticed her movement and immediately latched onto her arms.

"There's no going back, Rits," Rukia scolded. Ritsuko tried to get away but Orihime and Rangiku got behind her and pushed her towards the sand where the guys had been set up.

"Point for our team, Ichigo!" Uryuu cried as the ball landed with a soft thud between the two red heads.

"Hey we're here!" Rangiku called out, gaining the guys' attention. Ichigo, Renji, Toshiro, Chad, Gin, and Uryuu looked over at them. Ichigo was wearing a pair of red board shorts while Renji was wearing a pair of pure black ones. Toshiro and Uryuu were both wearing white shorts, but Uryuu's had a cross design on the left leg. Toshiro's had a blue dragon that wrapped around it. Chad wore black board shorts with a gold rose on the right leg. Gin wore black shorts with little smiley faces on them. Ichigo rushed over to where the girls were standing. The others stayed behind and held the court for later play. Ichigo wrapped his arm around his girlfriend's waist and gave her a funny look.

"What's up with Rits, Ai?" he asked before giving her a kiss on the lips.

"She's still nervous around him," Aika replied. Ichigo raised a brow at Ritsuko.

"Come on, Rits. Just go up and say hi to him," he said. "I bet he'd like that."

"I don't know, Ichi," Ritsuko said. "He might not like me like that."

"Look, I know he likes you. He talks about you a lot," Ichigo stated.

"See? We told you that!" Orihime giggled.

"Hmm…maybe," Ritsuko said.

"Ichigo! You're holding up the game!" came the icy voice of Toshiro. Ichigo looked back at his friends waiting for him.

"Yea I'm coming!" he yelled. "Lets go." Holding Aika's hand he took off running towards the guys, leaving the others to follow behind. As the girls drew closer Renji and Uryuu noticed Chad tense up.

"What's wrong, Chad?" asked Renji.

"Huh? Oh nothing," Chad replied. Uryuu studied the brunette for a moment before pushing his glasses up on his nose.

"It's Ritsuko, isn't it?" he said. It was more a statement of fact rather than a question. Chad swung his gaze to the raven next to him.

"No, what makes you say that?" he asked, averting his eyes.

"Come off it, Chad. You were fine until the girls showed up," Toshiro chided.

"Yes, and as the rest of them happen to be our girlfriends, it couldn't be anyone else," Gin piped up.

"Not to mention you talk about her a lot," Renji added in. Chad had an anime sweat drop slide down his face. He thought for sure he had hidden his feelings for the teal and brunette girl pretty well.

"Just go say hi to her. It won't kill you," Toshiro said as he crossed his arms.

"What? I couldn't do that!" Chad exclaimed. He looked over to see Ichigo and the girls were almost to them.

"Its easy. Just walk up to her and say hi," Renji stated. Chad's eyes went wide and he quickly looked at the guys.

"I'm going to get a drink," he said as he hurried away from the group.

"Chad wait!" Uryuu called after the normally silent teen.

"I'll go talk to him," Renji said as he ran after the brunette.

"There has got to be an easier way to do this," muttered Gin.

"But how?" asked Toshiro.

"Hmm…," Uryuu hummed as he brought his hand up to cup his chin, lost in thought. He was brought out his thinking when he felt a pair of lips on his cheek.

"Hi, Uryuu-kun," Orihime said with a smile. Uryuu dropped his hand from his chin and wrapped his arm around the red head, pulling her in for a better kiss.

"Rangiku, so glad ya could make it," Gin said as he pulled the busty red head against him and gave her a chaste kiss.

"You know me, Gin. Where there's a party I'm gonna be there," Rangiku laughed.

"Got that right," mumbled Toshiro.

"Be nice, Toshiro," Momo scolded lightly as she pressed her lips to his in an effort to distract the white haired teen.

"Where's Renji?" asked Rukia looking around.

"He ah…went with Chad to get a drink," Gin said vaguely.

"A drink? But aren't there drinks in the cooler over there?" Orihime asked looking at the blue and white Igloo ™ cooler.

"Yea but I guess he wanted something else," Toshiro stated. Ritsuko looked around at all the couples and let out a sigh. She knew this wasn't a good idea. What were they thinking anyway? Spending a whole day at the beach then having a bonfire later that night to watch the fireworks together.

"Oh here they come," Rangiku said when she saw Renji and Chad coming towards them. Ritsuko's eyes went wide before she stepped back.

"I'm…gonna go for a swim," she told them before running away across the hot sand and diving head first into the water. They all watched as the teal and brunette haired girl popped up to the surface before she swam away.

"Where's Rits going?" Renji asked as he wrapped his arms around Rukia.

"Obviously for a swim," Aika deadpanned. "Think I'll join her." Aika pulled out of Ichigo's arms and began to walk away.

"Wait for me, Aika-chan!" Momo shouted as she hurried after her friend. Rangiku kissed Gin once more before following after them silently.

"Guess I better go too," Rukia said. Renji leaned down and kissed her on the cheek before letting her go.

"Have fun, babe," he said. Rukia waved to the guys and ran down to the water where the other four had gone. The guys looked around only to see Chad wasn't standing with them but instead was sitting in the sand by the volleyball court, watching the water.

"We have got to do something about them," Uryuu sighed.

"We'll think of something eventually. Lets get back to the game," Ichigo said.

"Right!" the others agreed before they ran over to join Chad.

"Come on, Chad. Lets get this game started," Renji said, gaining the tall teen's attention from the water.

"Okay," Chad replied as he got to his feet. The guys squared off again, Renji, Chad and Ichigo on one team with Gin, Toshiro and Uryuu on the other. Toshiro threw the ball into the air and hit it, sending it over the net. While the guys were busy playing their game, the girls had come out of the water.

"Well that was refreshing. What do we do now?" asked Rangiku.

"How bout a game of Frisbee?" suggested Orihime as they walked back to the umbrella where they had dropped their stuff. She grabbed her bag and pulled a yellow and white Frisbee out of it, holding it up for the others to see.

"Sounds like fun," Rukia agreed. The girls walked over to an empty part of the beach and Orihime threw the Frisbee towards Aika, who caught it with ease. She in turn threw it to Ritsuko who had to run and dive for it.

"Got it!" she cried before standing up with a smile. "Heads up, Ran!" Rangiku moved to catch it as Ritsuko threw it straight at her. Going past her, Orihime jumped into the air and caught it instead.

"Hehe, I caught it," she giggled before sending it flying at Momo. The little raven haired girl ran as fast as she could and easily caught it. She threw it back towards Aika who caught it and whipped it at Ritsuko. The brunette and teal haired girl ran away intending to catch the Frisbee but it ended up flying over her outstretched hand and landing between Chad and Renji. Ritsuko looked back at her friends hoping one of them would go retrieve it for her but she had no such luck. Aika waved her hand at her, motioning her to go get it. Shaking her head she ran over to the volleyball court where Renji was holding the yellow and white object.

"This yours?" he asked with eyebrow raised.

"Yea, Aika overthrew it," Ritsuko stated as Renji handed it to her. "Thanks."

"No problem," Renji said with a smile. Ritsuko turned and began to make her way back to her friends when she heard a shout from behind her.

"Look out!" Ritsuko turned around in time to see a tall blonde teen pointing up towards the sky. She looked up to see a horseshoe coming at her. She quickly covered her head with her arms as she shut her eyes, preparing to take the blow she knew was coming. After a few minutes when the blow didn't come, she opened her eyes and dropped her arms. She looked confused for a moment when instead of being in sunlight she was surrounded by a large shadow. She looked up only to see Chad was leaning over her, covering her with his own body.

"Chad?" she asked hesitantly. He let out a small groan as he looked at her.

"Are you alright?" he asked in concern. Ritsuko nodded as he straightened up, her eyes growing wide when the horseshoe fell to the ground behind him.

"Chad!" she cried, moving to stand behind him. Gingerly she stuck her hand out, almost touching the red welt that was beginning to show up on his back before withdrawing her hand. Shaking her head she reached out again and carefully touched it. Chad pulled away from her touch and turned around.

"It's okay, Rits," he assured her.

"Does…does it hurt?" Ritsuko asked, worry evident in his eyes.

"No I've been hit by harder things than that," Chad tried to reassure the girl. Soon the blonde that had called out to warn her came running up.

"Oh man, I'm so sorry. You all okay?" he asked.

"We're fine," Ritsuko said with a small smile.

"I'm glad," the blonde stated. "I'm Izuru Kira."

"I'm Rits and this here's Chad," Ritsuko replied. Soon the others ran up to them.

"Rits-chan! Chad-kun! Are you both okay?" Orihime yelled as they got closer.

"Yea," Chad said. As soon as Aika reached them she walked right past them and started jabbing Kira in the chest angrily.

"What the hell ya think you were doing?" she demanded. "You coulda killed her!" Kira looked helplessly as the tiny pig tail wearing brunette continued to poke him in the chest, making him back pedal away from her.

"You better get hold of Aika, Ichigo. She looks ready to kill blondie over there," Renji stated. Ichigo nodded and hurried after his girlfriend. He grabbed her round the waist and held her tight to his chest before looking at the blonde.

"If I was you, I'd run. If Ai even smells the hint of blood, you're dead," he told him. Kira's eyes went wide as he picked up the horseshoe Toshiro tossed near him and ran away back towards his friends.

"Aww Ichi…you ruined my fun," Aika pouted as she turned in her love's arms.

"Yea and I saved you from a murder wrap, too," Ichigo said with a smirk.

"Ichigo!" Aika whined before the strawberry teen pressed his lips to hers, cutting off anything else she was going to say. When they broke apart for air they hurried back to the others, Aika instantly going to Ritsuko's side. Rangiku, Orihime, Momo and Rukia had surrounded her and moved her away from the tall brunette. As she got closer she could see that Ritsuko had tears in her eyes though she was doing her best not to let them fall.

"Rits what's wrong?" Aika asked. Ritsuko looked up at her best friend and almost sister with what looked like pain in her eyes.

"He got hurt…cause of me," she said quietly as a tear started to fall.

"No honey. It wasn't your fault," Rangiku soothed. "He was protecting you."

"Yea it was that other idiot's fault," Rukia chimed in.

"But if I hadn't been standing there he wouldn't have…" the distraught teen broke off as a sob tore from her throat. Momo patted her on the shoulder, gaining her attention.

"Why don't I go over to check on him?" she suggested. "I'm sure you'll feel better." Ritsuko simply nodded as Aika pulled her into a hug.

"I'll go with you," Rangiku stated before walking away with the tiny raven. They crossed the beach to where Ichigo and the others were sitting with Chad.

"Dude that was wicked fast moving," Renji exclaimed. Chad had moved so fast no one had seen him leave the volleyball court. He said nothing but simply remained silent as Ichigo tended to his back. Being the son of a doctor had its perks sometimes. Renji, Toshiro, Uryuu and Gin tried to get the big man to talk but his eyes were riveted on the crying teen that was being held by her friends.

"How is he?" Momo asked upon reaching the group.

"It's gonna bruise but no permanent harm done," Ichigo said as he stood up. Chad really was tougher than most people gave him credit for. "How's Rits?" Rangiku pulled Ichigo aside while Toshiro and Renji followed.

"She's very upset about all this. She thinks he got hurt because of her," Rangiku explained.

"What? That's ridiculous!" Renji all but shouted.

"Keep your voice down," hissed Momo, glancing at Chad out of the corner of her eyes.

"Got ya," Renji said. Even though they were trying to keep their voices low, Chad heard every word they said. He continued to watch Ritsuko as she was being comforted by her friends. He hated that he was the one to cause her tears, even if he had not done it intentionally. His blood ran cold when he heard Kira shout and he saw Ritsuko freeze up in the sand. His mind went blank and the next thing he knew he was leaning over the girl protectively and he took the full blow from the metal horseshoe. He only knew he had to protect her from getting hurt and he had acted on instinct. Now he was sitting in the sand feeling helpless with Gin and Uryuu standing next to him.

"You should go talk to her, you know," Uryuu said while pushing his glasses up on his face. Chad looked up at the raven and shook his head.

"I don't know. She looks really upset," he replied, his gaze going back to the girls.

"That's the whole point now, isn't it?" Gin asked before reaching down and grabbing hold of the brunette's arm tightly. Chad looked up at him questioningly when he pulled on his arm. Getting the idea, Uryuu grabbed his other arm and they both yanked until the brunette was on his feet. Once on his feet, Gin and Uryuu moved behind the big man and pushed him towards Ritsuko.

"Guys I don't think…," Chad started to say.

"Just shut up and go," Gin stated firmly, his ever present grin in place. With a sigh, Chad relented and began to walk towards the girls. Rukia, seeing the brunette coming at them tapped Aika on the shoulder and nodded with her head in his direction. Aika looked only to see Chad coming towards them and quickly stepped back from her upset friend. Ritsuko looked confused for a moment until she turned around and saw the tall teen standing behind her.

"Chad?" she said questioningly. Chad rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he looked at her. Rukia, Aika and Orihime backed away when they weren't looking and hurried to the others.

"I'm really not hurt, Ritsuko," Chad said after a moment.

"But…," Ritsuko trailed off, unable to look him in the eyes. Chad dropped his hand down to his side and looked around uncertainly. He noticed all their other friends had disappeared, leaving them alone. Growing bold, he reached his arms out and pulled the upset teen to him. He was surprised when she didn't resist and laid her head against his bare skin.

"Really I'm okay," Chad said into her hair. Ritsuko bit out a sob as he pulled her tighter against him. She shook in his arms slightly from the tears flowing down her face but he whispered words of comfort to her and soon she stopped crying. She pulled back just enough to look at him while wiping her eyes.

"I'm so glad you're not hurt, Chad," she said as she looked up, meeting his eyes. Chad gave her a genuine smile meant only for her and she smiled back a him. They stepped back away from each other when they heard the others come running up to them.

"Everything okay?" Aika asked when they stopped in front of the two teens.

"Yea, everything's great," Ritsuko said with a smile.

"Good, we're all gonna go dive off the dock, wanna come?" asked Renji.

"Sounds like fun," Chad said, looking at the teen next to him.

"Oh yea I am so into that!" Ritsuko shouted.

"Lets go then!" Aika yelled, throwing her fist into the air. Everyone whooped in excitement as they raced towards the waters edge. Anchored out a little ways from shore was a metal dock that allowed the stronger swimmers to dive off and swim around. Renji and Aika tied as they both reached the dock at the same time. Renji climbed up first, helping Aika up before they both pulled up Rukia, Orihime and Uryuu. Ichigo, Toshiro, Ritsuko and Momo came up next followed by Rangiku, Chad and Gin. They all lined up on the dock looking out at the water.

"It's so pretty out here," Rangiku mused looking around.

"Isn't it though?" Momo agreed. "How we doing this?"

"Farthest two jumpers wins?" Toshiro suggested. "Guy and girl?"

"Works for me," Rukia said. "What about shortest jump?" Ichigo thought for a moment.

"Shortest jumps have to kiss each other," he said. "Regardless of who it is." Everyone thought it over and nodded.

"Alright!" they agreed. Everyone dove back into the water except for Aika who walked down the dock a little ways.

"On the count of three go," Ichigo told her.

"One…" Toshiro said.

"Two…," Ritsuko counted.

"THREE!" everyone shouted. With that Aika took off running and leaped off the dock, flying out quite a ways into the water.

"Damn that was fun," Aika said as she popped back up to the surface. She swam back over to the others while Renji took his turn. Everyone did the count down and Renji flew off the end of the dock like Aika had done. He landed in the water at about the same spot as the pig tail wearing brunette. He surfaced and swam over to the others as well. Everyone took their turns running and jumping off the dock. Once they were all back together they had all agreed Toshiro and Aika were the winners for farthest jump.

"So who has shortest jump?" Gin wanted to know.

"Shortest were Chad and Ritsuko," Rangiku said with a smirk. All eyes turned to the two teens who looked at each other and blushed.

"Come on, we all agreed to the terms!" Aika cried out.

"Just do it and get it over with already," Toshiro said impatiently. Chad and Ritsuko swam towards each other and treaded water just inches from the other.

"Ritsuko…I uhh…," Chad trailed off, averting his eyes after a moment. He wasn't really sure what to say to her. He still wasn't sure if she liked him as more than a friend but the others assured him she did. He whipped his head back around when he felt arms wrap around his neck and a body pressing close to his.

"Rits…what are you?" he asked, eyes wide as he took in the slight blush on the girl's face.

"Just shut up and kiss me, Chad," Ritsuko breathed, moving her mouth closer to his lips. Chad swallowed hard before closing the small gap between them and pressed their lips together. The sensation sent little jolts of electricity through both teens and Chad found himself pulling her tight against him, wrapping his arms around her. Experimentally he licked at her bottom lip and she instantly opened her mouth to him. He darted his tongue inside, caressing her tongue with his own. Ritsuko let out a small mewl against his mouth when he dropped a hand down to gently cup her ass lightly. They broke apart when the sound of cat calls, shrill whistles and whoops and hollers were heard from their friends.

"About damn time!" their friends all shouted as they swam up to them. Ritsuko turned in Chad's arms but she never moved away from him as he still had one arm snaked around her waist.

"Lets go back and get the bonfire set up," Ichigo said. "Its getting dark." Everyone agreed and swam back to shore. Since it was beginning to get dark everyone went up to the changing rooms and got back into the clothes they had been wearing earlier. Ritsuko was wearing a plain black half shirt that went to just below her breasts and a pair of dark blue denim shorts. Aika had on a pink spaghetti strap shirt that said "I Love Strawberries" on it with a pair of black shorts. Momo and Rukia were similarly dressed in green and yellow tank tops and white and tan shorts. Rangiku was wearing a half shirt like Ritsuko except hers was silver and said "Foxy" on it with a pair of short white shorts. Uryuu was the first guy out wearing a plain white t-shirt and black denim shorts. Gin wore a blood red t-shirt and tan cargo shorts. Ichigo wore a grey wife beater that hugged his body nicely and a pair of stone washed cut-off shorts. Renji had on a black wife beater like Ichigo's with a pair of dark green board shorts. Toshiro was wearing a blue t-shirt with light denim shorts. Chad was the last to appear and Ritsuko's breath caught in her throat upon seeing him. He wore a white wife beater that clung to his well defined abs nicely and a pair of silver and white gym shorts.

"Rits close your mouth," Rangiku whispered in amusement.

"Yea, you're drooling on the sand," Aika added. Ritsuko shut her mouth and turned to her friends.

"Shut up," she hissed, making them burst out laughing. Momo and Toshiro were busy building up the bonfire with Uryuu, and Renji. Orihime and Rukia were looking for any sticks they could add to the fire to keep it going. Soon it was going full force and everyone had gathered around it in their lovers' arms. It grew dark rather fast and the first sounds of the fireworks started exploding over the open ocean. Everyone's eyes turned to the sky as they watched the vibrant display of colors above them.

"It's beautiful," Ritsuko said breathlessly.

"Yea," Chad agreed, looking at her and not paying attention to the light show overhead. Ritsuko turned her attention to him for a moment and just stared at him. She liked being held by the large teen, she felt safe in his arms. Their eyes locked for a moment and Ritsuko opened her mouth to speak.

"Chad, I…," she started to say but five little words killed the words she was about to speak.

"Shut up and kiss me," Chad said with a smile before bringing their lips together once more.

A/N: This fic idea just popped into my head and it nagged at me to write it. I hope you all like it so please Read and Review! As always, any flames will be used to melt the marshmallows for my s'mores!