An announcement comes over the loudspeaker about a passenger missing from his plane and Rukia cant stop the thought from tiptoeing into her head. What if she were to skip out of her own flight? But as if he can read her mind, the boy in front of her glancess back to make sur she's still there, and she realizes she's grateful to have some company on this of all days, unexpected as it may be.
It was just last year when it happened for the first time , this dizzying worry, a heart thudding, stomach-churning exercise in panic. As Rukia rode the elevator down to the lobby with her Dad, there was a sharp jolt and then they came to an abrupt stop. They were the only two people in there and they exchanged a blank look before Dad shrugged and reached for the emergency call button.
"Stupid elevator.."
She push the buttons randomly, lighting up one after another as a rising sense of panic welled up inside of her.
"I dont think that's gonna do anything ..." Dad began to say but he stopped when he seemed to notice something was wrong. "Are you okay?"
Rukia tugged her jacket then unzipped it. "No." she said, her heart thumping wildly. "Yes, I dont know I want to get out of here."
"They'll be here soon, there's nothing we can do till-
"No. Now dad.." she said, feeling slghtly frantic.
His eyes skipped around the tiny elevator. "Are you having a panic attack? has this happened before? Does your mom-
She shook her head, she wasnt sure what's happening ,all she knew was that she needed to get out of there right now.
" Hey.." Dad said, taking her by the shoulders and forcing her to meet his eyes. "They'll be here in a minute, okay? Just look at me. Dont think about where we are.."
"Okay.." she muttered gritting her teeth.
"Okay." he said. "Think about someplace else , somewhere with open spaces."
She tried to still her mind to bring some soothing memory, but her brain refused to cooperate. Her face was prickly with heat and it was hard to focus.
"Pretend you're at the beach.." he said. " Or the sky! imagine the sky, okay? Think about how big it is, how you can't see the end of it.."
Rukia closed her eyes shut and forced herself to picture it, the endless blue sky , the deepness of it, so big it was impossible to know where it ended. She felt her heart begin to slow and her breathing grow even , and she unclenched her sweaty fist. When she opened her eyes again, Dad's face was level with hers , his eyes wide with worry. They stared at each other for what felt like forever and Rukia realized it was the first she'd allowed herself to look him in the eyes since the divorced.
-x-
Now, in the middle of the crowded terminal, Rukia pulls her eyes away from the windows. Her stomach tightens again, the only time it doesnt help to imagine the sky is when you're thirty thousand feet in the air with nowhere to go but down.
She turns to see that the boy is waiting for her, his hand still wrapped around the handle of her suitcase. He smiles when she catches up. She was concentrating so hard on following his blue shirt that when he stops, she very nearly runs into him. He's taller than she is and he has to duck his head to speak to her.
"I didnt even asked where you're going."
"Tokyo.." she says, and he laughs.
"No, I meant now, where are you going now.."
"Oh.." she says. " I dont know actually, to get dinner maybe? I just didnt want to sit there forever."
This is not entirely true, but she cant tell him that she was trying to find another seat just to avoid his burning gaze.
"Okay.." he says, looking down at her, his orange hair falling across his forehead. "Where to, then?"
Rukia stands on her tiptoes, turning in a small circle to get a sense of the restaurant choices.
"You're too short.."
Not looking at him she replies. " No.. my height is just, cute.."
She could hear him laughs softly, she isnt sure if he'll be joining her but she can practically feel him waiting beside her and her whole body is tense as she tries to think of the option that's the least likely to leave her food all over her face, just in case he decides to come along.
After what seems forever, she points to a deli just a few gates down and he heads off in that direction, her red suitcase in tow. When they get there, he readjusts the bag on his shoulder and squints up at the menu.
"This is a good idea." he says. " I never liked the food in planes."
"Where are you headed?" Rukia asks as they joined the line.
"Tokyo as well."
"Really? What seat?.."
He reaches into the back pocket of his jeans and produces his ticket, bent in half and ripped at one corner. "18-C."
"I'm 18-A .." she tells him and he smiles.
"Just missed."
She nods at his bag which is still resting on his shoulder, his finger hooked around the hanger. " You're going over for a wedding too?"
He hesitates then jerks his chin up in the first half of a nod.
"So am I.." she says. "Wouldnt it be weird if it was the same one?"
"Not likely.." he says, giving her an odd look and she immediately feels silly, of course it's not the same one. She hopes he doesn't think she's under the impression that Tokyo is some kind of town when everyone knows everyone else.
Rukia's never been out of Karakura before but she knows enough to know that Tokyo is a huge city, it is in her limited experience, a big enough place to lose someone entirely.
The boy looks as if he's about to say something more then turns and gestures toward the menu instead. "Do you know what you'd like?"
"Do i know what I'd like?.." She thinks.
She'd like to go home.
She'd like to lie on her bed and hug her bunny.
She'd like to be going anywhere but her father's wedding.
She'd like to be anywhere but this airport.
She'd like to know his name.
After a moment, she looks up at him.
"Not yet.." she says. "I'm still deciding."
A minute later Rukia ordered her turkey sandwich without mayo, she can see the white goo oozing onto the crust as she carries her food to an empty table and her stomach lurches at the sight. She's debating whether it would be better to suffer through eating it or risk looking like an idiot as she scrapes it off and eventually settles for looking like an idiot, ignoring the boy's raised eyebrows as she dissects her dinner with all the care of a biology experiment. She wrinkles her nose as she sets aside the lettuce and tomato.
"That's some nice work there.." he says around a mouthful of roast beef, and she nods.
"I have fear of mayo, so I've gotten pretty good at this over the years."
"You have fear of mayo?"
She nods again. "It's in my top three or four."
"What are others?" he asks with a grin. "I mean, what could possibly be worse than mayonnaise?"
"Dentist, spiders, Ovens."
"Ovens? so I take it you're not much of a cook."
"And small spaces.." she says, a bit more quietly.
He tilts his head to one side." So what do you do on the plane?.."
Rukia shrugs. " Grit my teeth and hope for the best."
"Not a bad tactic.." he says with a laugh. "Does it work?"
She doesnt answer, stuck by a small flash of alarm.
"Well, claustrophobia is nothing compared to mayo-phobia and look how well you're conquering that." He nods at the plastic knife in his hand, which is caked with mayonnaise and bread crumbs. Rukia smiles at him gratefully.
As they eat their eyes drift to the television set in the corner of the cafe , where the we updates are flashed over and over again. She tries to focus on her dinner but she cant help sneaking a sideways glance at him every now and then.
Rukia twists her napkin underneath the table and finally leans across the table and asks his name.
"Right.." he says, blinking at her. "I guess that part does come first.. I'm Ichigo..And you"
"Rukia.."
"Rukia," he repeats with a nod. "That's pretty."
She knows he's only talking about her name but she's still flattered, maybe it's because the way he's looking at her with such interest right now, but there's something about him that makes her heart quicken in the way it does when she's surprised. She's spent so much energy dreading this trip that she hadn't been prepared for the possibility that something good might come out of it or something unexpected.
A/N:
Yeah.. cutted off the boring part and leaves the important part..
and change a few lines..:)Heh.
