Author's Note: Um, this is one of my first Bleach fics, so be kind. Everyone might be a little out of character, and I'm not very fond of my writing style myself...

Takes place during the Arrancar arc when Hitsugaya and Co. are in the real world. If I remember correctly, I believe Hitsugaya and Matsumoto were staying over at Orihime's place.

And yes, I am aware of the fact that Hitsugaya's first name is Toshiro, but I will be referring to him as Hitsugaya.

So, here goes.

Ichigo had only seen the kid a few times in his life, and yet, he was already madly in love.

And he had been stupid enough to admit it to Yuzu, who had excitedly and promptly told Isshin, who, in turn, had hurried to his son's side to offer encouragement that was both unwanted and unneeded.

"You've got to snag him like a fish on a hook, and then reel 'im in!" the overly dramatic doctor declared, thumping poor Ichigo on the back, whose facial color at the moment resembled an overripe tomato. "At least, that's how I got your mother."

Not appreciating this advice at all, Ichigo attempted to sulk off to his room. Renji had popped in for a visit, and was stifling his laughter, so one could only imagine how humiliated poor Ichigo was.

He had no such luck.

"Daddy!" Yuzu shrieked, pointing excitedly at someone out the window. "That's him! That's the boy onii-chan likes!"

Indeed, a white-haired and emerald-eyed boy was walking by, toting several grocery bags, obviously on his way back to Orihime's humble abode after a grocery shopping trip.

"What!?" Renji spluttered after taking a look out the window. "Ichigo likes Hitsugaya-taichou!?"

Isshin rushed to the windowsill as fast as his legs would carry him, peering out and exclaiming, "Aha! So that's Hitsugaya Toshiro!" A smile crossed his face. "A real catch that is! I'm so proud of you, son!"

Ichigo blinked. "You're acting like we're dating," he muttered sullenly. "We barely even know each other."

"Then what are you waiting for!? Go get him!"

Without warning, Isshin planted his foot on Ichigo's back and kicked him - hard. The impact sent the poor strawberry hurling out the door like an orange-haired missile, slamming right into the unsuspecting Hitsugaya and bowling him over.

Ichigo moaned in pain, but froze instantly when he realized a smaller body was trapped underneath his. Mortified, he instantly scrambled back to his feet to reveal a very frazzled-looking boy whose groceries had spilled all across the sidewalk.

"Um, hi."

"Oh. It's you," was the blunt reply.

Ichigo rubbed the back of his head awkwardly before finally saying, "Um, this might sound really weird, Toshiro...but, um...I was going out to eat tonight...and, er...I was wondering, if you'd like to come with me?"

Hitsugaya gave Ichigo a long, surprised stare.

"Erm, yes...I would love to."

"Great!" the ecstatic teen exclaimed as he took Hitsugaya's hand and helped him to his feet. "You're staying over at Inoue's place, right? I'll come by and pick you up at around six, okay? Okay, great! Oh, wait - Let me help you with those." He knelt on the ground and frantically began scooping up the spilled groceries, placing them back into their respective bags and handing them back to Hitsugaya.

"There you go."

"Thank you."

"See you later then, Toshiro!"

"You too." And then he was gone.

Feeling light and carefree, Ichigo watched Hitsugaya leave before cheerfully making his way back into the house.

Instantly, Isshin, Renji, Yuzu, and Karin were upon him before he had the chance to close the foor behind him.

"How'd it go?" Karin demanded.

"Um, I asked him to dinner."

"And what'd he say?"

"He said he'd love to."

Renji's jaw dropped. "Wow," the redhead managed to choke out increduously. "He must really like you."

"You think so?" Ichigo inquired.

"Yeah," Renji answered. "He never says 'yes' to dates. You have no idea how many times he's been asked out in the past."

Ichigo blinked in disbelief.

"Almost everyone has at some point," Renji explained. "Ikkaku kept asking, probably about eight times, before Hitsugaya-taichou finally smacked him across the face and said that bald guys disgusted him. Even Byakuya-taichou tried!"

"You're kidding! And how about you?"

Renji's expression changed into one that looked extremely dejected.

Ichigo sighed. "I take that as a yes."

AN: Um, yeah. That was it.

I know, it sucks.

And I know, I'm a terrible fanfiction writer.

But hey, IchiHitsu is my favorite Bleach pairing, so why not.