She walked in short circles, impatiently waiting for Mint to knock on her door, looking up at the clock on the wall once every few seconds to see if, perhaps, Mint was late, if something had gone wrong, but by then Ichigo could not deny that she was the one who was overly eager, the one who could not wait, and it left her with a bitter taste in her mouth.
Ichigo paused to take a breath and gather her thoughts, but found that they raced too recklessly for her to make sense of them. She put a hand on her own face and felt it to see if she had began to sweat, so nervous she was. If she opened the door to Mint only to greet her with her face red and soaked with sweat, then what would she think? But even though she knew she ought to calm down, it was always difficult for her to do so.
Knowing she still had some time, Ichigo ran upstairs, to her bedroom, and there she brushed her hair again, and even considered changing to something more elaborate, but Mint had promised her that dressing casually was just fine, that where they would go there would be no need to impress anyone, and true as that might be, Ichigo still felt the desire to impress Mint, at least. She wondered if that was petty of her, a foolish thought, but it was still how she felt.
Even so, for the sake of not looking like she desperately wanted to make a fine impression, she dressed - just as Mint had recommended - as casually as she could, save for a tiny frill she did not wish to give up on: a small black ribbon worn atop her head, adorned in silver and engraved with a cat's paw, because Ichigo was nothing if not predictable. At first she had thought of going with a red or pink ribbon, but suddenly felt extremely self-conscious that those were always the colors she would choose, in the end. It was, after all, what had happened that very night. She had wondered what clothes of hers could best look simultaneously casual and posh, and though she pondered for a long time, in the end she chose, of course, pink.
Pink is just fine for you, she remembered Mint saying that, once. Ichigo wondered if that was a veiled compliment from a girl who was usually bad with compliments, or if Mint just didn't particularly care. She preferred to think that it was the former: it made her happier to believe that.
She wondered what exactly they would be doing tonight; she figured that someone as wealthy as Mint could do whatever she could possibly want, go wherever might strike her fancy. Probably nothing too elaborate, given how lax she had been about it, but Ichigo couldn't figure out what. Surely it was not dinner to a fancy restaurant, and-
She struck herself weakly. Dumbass! Why would Mint take her to a fancy restaurant anyways, especially so soon? Her heart felt lighter for a moment as she laughed at the notion of her bumbling through a place full of classy people, bumping against every server on her way… It was probably for the best that they did no such thing.
The doorbell rang faintly, but even that pleasant sound was enough to shock Ichigo, so deep in thought. She rushed down the stairs, careful not to trip and fall (the sort of embarrassment she was, sadly, far too familiar with) on her way. She made excellent time, bolting through the house like… Like a scared cat running away, a blur. That was not the most flattering thought, Ichigo realized, but was too nervous to care. She put a hand on her hair, making sure it was not a wild mess, just as she made certain that her stockings were not mismatched, that she had not worn her blouse on the wrong side again. She relaxed when she was certain that everything was fine, and she opened the door.
"Good evening," Mint said, her face hidden behind a large bouquet of pale violet orchids, the sight of which brought Ichigo this close to freaking out. Flowers were serious! Too serious, even!
"H-Hey!" She tried to remain casual, but as she spoke she knew she failed. "S-Step inside! It's cold out there!"
"Hm? No, it isn't," Mint said, walking past Ichigo. Outside, a car was speeding off, and Mint waved goodbye in its direction. "It's very pleasant, really. Are you cold?"
"Cold? Haha, no, I'm not cold, wow, gosh, I'm hot!" She said, trying to giggle, and choked on her own laughter. "I mean, it's warm, so my body is feeling hot, and- Ah, that's not what I wanted to say, I did not mean it like-"
"Breathe," Mint said, making a gesture with her palm. Ichigo breathed to the rhythm that Mint made moving her hand. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, yeah," breathing did make her feel, if not better, less astonished. "It's just that the flowers really shocked me! A bouquet… I didn't think of getting one for you, I didn't think that was, you know, appropriate, it's so soon, the first time, and, ah, erm… What I mean is that it was really bold of you to bring me flowers!"
"They're for your parents, Ichigo," Mint said nonchalantly. "A gift, since I'm visiting your home. Do you have a vase?"
"A-Ah," Ichigo's face became pink, and she could feel a slight headache as her ears threatened to peek out. "There's one in the living room, I'll show you…"
With a gentle mhm Mint followed Ichigo's direction. The vase was too small for such a huge bouquet, but it was the only one they had, so they had to make do, regardless of how comically cramped the vase looked.
"Would you like something to eat?" Ichigo asked, trying to play the part of the responsible host. "You can sit down if you wanna, and-"
"I think we'd better get going," said Mint, extending her hand to Ichigo. It took her a second before she understood what that meant, and when she did, Ichigo grabbed her hand in a hurry, struggling between a firm grip or a gentle one.
They walked outside together, and closed the door behind them. Just as Mint had said, it was quite pleasant outside. The air was a little bit warm, but a chilly breeze blew now and then, soft and comfortable. It was already night, but lights still shone through all windows around. The streets were silent, though, peacefully so.
Ichigo then took a moment to look at Mint. She figured that her dress might be blue, but its fabric drank the colors of the night and was so dark it might as well be black but for the white of its bow. That small spot of white seemed aglow when the moon cast its light upon Mint.
"You look… Really fancy."
"No, I don't."
"Yes you do! You look so elegant, with these, with these… These fancy clothes!"
"This is just how I dress, Ichigo."
"Are you sure you're not taking me to a really classy place I have no business going?"
"Why are you so worried about that?" Her eyes made her disappointment obvious. "We're not going to a classy place. I wanted to surprise you, but if you really must know, I'm taking you to a play."
"A play?" She let go of Mint's hand. "But that is classy!"
"It really isn't, Ichigo. I go to plays all the time."
"That only makes them sound even classier…"
This time Mint was the one to take her hand, and she made Ichigo look at her. She could never quite understand how a girl as tiny as Mint could look so commanding, at times.
"Let's go, Ichigo. You'll have fun, I swear. It's a very nice play. What do you think I'm taking you to see, the Royal Shakespeare Company? No, it's just a small theatre, okay?"
Ichigo nodded, and began to walk alongside Mint. They were not too far away, Mint said, so they could get there by walking. Ichigo had no problem with that: she enjoyed spending time with Mint even in a mundane manner such as this, and from the way she had a gentle smile as she stood next to her, Ichigo knew that the feeling was mutual. That felt very comforting, and even made some of her fears go away.
Not all, though. She could not get the idea out of her head that she was going to look embarrassing dressed like that in a place as fancy as a theatre. Mint said it was nothing out of the ordinary, but she was ordinarily fancy! Way fancier than a girl like Ichigo, who completely lacked any sort of class, who always spoke and laughed too loudly, who slurped when she drank tea, who thought a chauffeur was a sort of cake. She sighed, and Mint didn't fail to notice. They were waiting for a streetlight to turn green before crossing, but this one seemed to be in no haste to do so, giving them plenty of time to talk.
"What's troubling you, Ichigo?"
Ichigo didn't want to talk about it, but she also felt bad hiding her feelings from Mint. The girl had always been perceptive enough to figure out when she had something on her mind. Ichigo appreciated it, truly, but she also didn't always know how to express what she felt.
"I… I'm a little bit scared. Well, maybe not scared, I don't think that's the right word, but I'm worried."
"About what?" She asked softly. "About what you were talking about earlier?" Ichigo nodded. "Why would you worry about that, Ichigo? I already told you that you're fine. You look very pretty."
"I know you think so, but…" Again she blushed. Mint's compliments always seemed to be worth a lot more than most people's, given how rarely she'd give them. "I feel kinda bad because I have no class whatsoever. I'm not gentle or dainty like you, and-"
"I think you are gentle," said Mint. "And you have an energy that I find wonderful."
"You may say that, but still… I don't wanna embarrass you, you know? I don't wanna look like a slob or something like that when you're so pretty, and I don't want you to be ashamed of me, or-"
"Shut your stupid mouth," Mint lashed out. "Why would you say that about yourself? Why the hell would I be ashamed of you, or embarrassed? If anything, I'd want to show you off. Do you think you're not good enough?"
"Yeah, kinda," Ichigo tried to laugh, thinking that maybe if she didn't sound so serious she wouldn't seem so stupid, but that didn't seem to help any.
"You are more than good enough," said Mint. "You are perfect. You are exactly what I love, you know, all of you, all you are, with no need to change anything about you. Or, well, I suppose I'd like it if you could think a little bit higher of yourself."
"It's not like I constantly feel this way," Ichigo explained. "Usually I'm always happy when I'm with you. It's just that tonight I couldn't stop thinking about how elegant and delicate you are, and how maybe it's bad that I'm clumsy the way I am, and that I should be more like you."
"You don't have to, though," said Mint. "And, besides, why would you think you should be like me?"
"Well, it's mostly because you're the prettiest person I know."
"I-I'm not," she said, her cheeks flushing. Ichigo had never seen her this way, being the one getting flustered, and it felt like a reward to see it.
"I think you are," she said, bending gently to be on Mint's eye level, and gave her a soft kiss. She smiled as she remembered their first time, when Mint had to stand on the tip of her toes, and how embarrassed it had made her.
When Ichigo looked up again, she saw that the light was green, but just as she began to cross, it turned red, and passing cars were blocking her way again. Ichigo sighed, and Mint tapped her foot.
"Damn it," Mint complained. "We must not have noticed that the light turned green while we were talking."
"Well, I'm glad we talked, at least," Ichigo said, and smiled, lightening Mint's mood. "I'm sorry I'm stupid sometimes."
"I forgive you," she teased, putting on airs, "but don't let it happen again."
"Alright, princess. I'll do my best."
The two giggled. Though at first Ichigo called Mint princess only to mock her, the two grew to learn that it was one of the sweetest terms of endearment they could think of.
"What time's the play, by the way?" Ichigo asked. "This light doesn't look like it's opening any time soon…"
Mint picked two tickets from her purse, and even before she answered, Ichigo already understood that they were screwed.
"Okay," Mint said, somber. "We're gonna have to run. Like, really run. I… I may have misread the time. I thought we had plenty to spare, but…"
"But…?"
"We have like fifteen minutes to get there."
"Yeah. Let's run."
And as soon as the light was green, they did so, their arms wrapped around each other. They broke into a desperate, clumsy run, the two helping each other up whenever they tripped and fell. Ichigo felt her body all warm, and when she looked to Mint, she could see that their rush had made her brow sweaty, but the sight only made them laugh, and so they made her way to the theatre, with guffaws and long graceless steps that did not have the slightest trace of class, and somehow it felt perfect just like that.