AN: This is my first time writing a one-shot, so any advice is gladly accepted.
The pairing is Toshiro x Karin, and was requested by MirandaBrooke. Hope you like it!
The spiky white-haired captain sat upon a roof—in specific, on top of Ichigo's house—and heaved a sigh, his breath leaving a fast-fading frosty white cloud.
After all, it was literally zero degrees in the middle of the night. Snow had fallen the previous day and now had a nice crunchy layer on the top. A normal person probably would have gotten frostbite, but Toshiro liked the temperature. The air was just right, crisp and refreshing, and no one was bothering him. Even his annoying blonde lieutenant was at Orihime's house, allowing him some time to think.
Why do I feel so...strange? He pondered. In those sappy novels Rangiku always read, two people would fall in love at first sight and go out on a date. Everything was perfectly timed and they instantly knew they loved each other.
Am I...in love? He shook his head abruptly. No, that couldn't be right. In his world, romantic love didn't exist. Besides, he was a captain. He had responsibilities. Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya was not the kind of silly man to go around falling in love with a girl from the World of the Living. Besides, in his private opinion, love was something that happened after you'd been going with someone for a very long time.
Rangiku had teased him about Karin before, when he had sat atop a roof simply staring and watching her play soccer with her amateur team of kids. He'd abruptly told her off and stalked away in embarrassment, while she giggled and said he must like Karin.
No matter how much he thought about it, he kept coming to the conclusion that he liked her.
He had a right to be confused about whether he liked her or not. After all, he'd never had feelings or attraction of any kind to anybody before.
So, you like Kurosaki's sister, he thought. How ironic. So, what are you going to do? Rangiku knows about these things more than me. Maybe...
Without thinking, he jumped down and landed lightly on the grass before using flash step to arrive at Orihime's house. He stared up at the door, wondering how he had gotten so foolish in such a short period of time, and was about to leave when the door opened.
"Oh, hi, Toshiro! Why don't you come in?" Orihime smiled and gestured.
He muttered something, trying not to be too rude, and walked in. If he had pockets in his captain's haori, he would have thrust his hands in them. Understanding he wanted to be alone, Orihime disappeared promptly into the kitchen.
It took him no time to find Rangiku. She luxuriously sprawled next to a table laden with tea and—dare he call it food? It was some kind of strange mixture of red beans, mayonnaise, and other ingredients he did not care to identify.
She looked up at him without any trace of surprise and smiled. "Didn't take you long."
"What do you mean?" He said irritably, sitting on a nearby sofa.
"It's about Ichigo's sister, right?"
He promptly turned crimson, his blush even more obvious due to his pure white hair. "What?"
"Don't deny it. You like her, it's obvious. So, why don't you ask her out?"
Despite his severe embarrassment, he managed to choke out, "How the hell am I supposed to do that? She's a human, and I'm a soul reaper. It's never going to work."
She shrugged. "Why not? You come to the World of the Living frequently, and when she dies, she'll end up in the Soul Society anyway. Think about it. You're definitely going to regret it if you don't do anything."
"Fine. So how do you-" He paused, unable to finish the sentence.
"Ask her out? Simple. You saved her life from that Hollow, and you played soccer and saved her team too. Chances are, she thinks of you as a really cool guy."
"Really?"
"Yeah. So, just go up to her in the morning and tell her you didn't get a chance to properly introduce yourself. Say she plays soccer well, or that she has nice hair, or something. She'll probably get the point, and if she likes you, she'll keep talking. Then, ask her if she's free to go watch a movie."
"A movie?"
"First-time dates are usually at the movies."
"Oh."
"Then you can take it yourself from there. Don't stress too much about it, you'll be fine."
He rose. "All right. Thanks, Rangiku."
She smiled in an almost matronly manner. "No problem. Come ask me whenever you need to."
As he walked out of Orihime's house feeling like he had accomplished something, he smiled. Hopefully, everything would go well.
The next day, he awoke very early in the morning, as usual. He glanced irritably at Ichigo, who was snoring quite loudly, and decided to take a shower. It wouldn't do to ask out Karin with unwashed hair.
He walked as silently as possible so as not to wake anyone up unnecessarily, carrying his towel, and focused on his feet. Today, he didn't need to go around in his gigai, as his only job for the day was to help guard Karakura Town. He was so caught up in his busy thoughts that he did not notice another reiatsu present until he bumped straight into that person, who fell, dropping something.
He was about to apologize and help the person up, when he made eye contact and realized who it was.
Karin.
All his carefully-planned out words disappeared promptly as his brain froze. He managed to stutter out "I'm sorry," before attempting to pick up the basket and small soap bottles that had rolled out.
A small hand covered his, making his heart nearly stop. "Don't worry, it's okay. I can do it." He watched as Karin picked up the fallen objects and straightened up.
"Were you going to take a shower?"
"Yes. I mean, no! I mean, you can go first."
She looked at him in surprise. "Really? Thank you! If this was Ichigo, he'd have hogged the bathroom by now." He nodded and she entered the bathroom, setting her things down. As he was about to leave, she turned.
"Your name's Toshiro, right?"
"Yeah."
"I didn't get to properly thank you. You saved my life from that monster, and helped my soccer team defeat those bullies."
"Oh, it wasn't any trouble." Damn! He cursed mentally. Now I sound like an arrogant idiot.
He then blurted out, "You're good at soccer too."
"Thanks. I'm not nearly as good as you, though. You're like a professional," she said admiringly.
"I can teach you a little bit. That is, if you like," he said hastily.
"That would be great! I've mostly learned on my own after Ichigo taught me the basics."
"And Karin-"
"Yes?"
He gulped. "Are you free today?"
"Well, yes. It's a Sunday, so there's no school."
"Do you want to go watch a movie?"
Her eyes widened, and his heart dropped. Now I've done it! She doesn't like me! I'm going to kill Rangiku when-
"Sure!"
His jaw dropped, and he quickly closed it. "You mean it?"
"Yeah! How about after lunch?"
"That's good. I'll be back around one."
"Okay, see you then." She looked at him, smiling slightly, and he suddenly realized how close he was to her. They were nearly the same height and he had somehow inched forwards while talking to her. Her skin was white and surprisingly feminine, despite the tough exterior she always showed. He slowly leaned forwards unconsciously and-
Their lips met. It just happened without any thought, and they closed their eyes, feeling each other's soft lips. It was heaven, despite the fact that both were very inexperienced and thus very awkwardly kissing. A voice broke in.
"Hey, get out so I can use the sh-"
They broke contact and turned, annoyed at the interruption. It was Ichigo, whose mouth was a gaping hole.
He looked furious.
"KARIN!"
"Shut up, Ichigo," she said defiantly.
"He's a soul reaper!"
"And so is Rukia, and you two obviously like each other," she pointed out. Toshiro couldn't help grinning a tiny bit at this logic.
"Fine, but—argh! Just hurry up and get out already!" Ichigo fled and they smiled at each other.
"Looks like your brother's okay with us."
"Yeah. He'll come around."
They resumed their kiss, wrapping their arms around each other.