I'm careful but not sure how it goes

you can lose yourself in your courage

Past

"Well, this is boring." Karin drawled, breaking a miraculous twenty minute record of silence.

Toushiro remained detached. "Feel free to leave, then."

"Okay," she said all too happily, turning her full attention onto him. "But only if you come with me."

"And go where, exactly?"

She shrugged, smoothing out her clothes as she stood. "Anywhere but here…" She cast him a grin not a moment later, her rapid train of thought having made it's round. "I know, let's go get ice cream."

He wasted no time in shutting her down. "I don't care for ice cream."

"You don't like ice cream?" Karin pressed incredulously, forehead creasing at his curt nod of response. "What the hell's the matter with you?"

"You at the moment."

She merely chuckled. "Oh, come on." Grabbing his hand, she pulled him to his feet and began leading him off the rooftop. "Stop being such a loser and live a little."

It'd be easy enough to yank his hand away, shoot her a glare and return to his previous spot. Hell, he could even pop out this damned gigai and turn her into an ice cube. Yet, he didn't. He just allowed himself to be dragged along by this infuriating girl, the reasons why, he couldn't quite place.

Out of his peripheral, he saw her smirk, her smug and victorious smirk, and he tried, really strained, to keep his scowl intact as he consumed this forced-upon-him ice cream cone, the flavour being 'death by chocolate', upon her insistence.

He couldn't deny that it tasted good. Wonderful, even. It was like his first time having amanatto, but better, and he soon found himself wanting another cone, especially when his current one suddenly disappeared from his life, leaving him rather wistful.

He had a near-irresistible urge to dart back to the parlour, just around the block, and order seconds.

He didn't, though, simply wiping his mouth with his sleeve and stuffing his hands in his pockets, unwilling to let her know he'd actually enjoyed the god forsaken treat. So, with his slightly forced indifference and her jovial muteness, courtesy of the ice-cream preoccupying her mouth, they walked in silence. And oddly, he found himself enjoying it.

If only for a little while.

"Alright, this is me." It was only at her announcement that Toushiro realized he'd been unwittingly steered in an opposing direction of the Urahara Shoten, and now stood on the outskirt of a half-clinic half-home based property, immediately deeming it the Kurosaki residence from memory.

He cocked a brow at her. "Not going back to the party?"

"Nah…" She shook her head with a slight quirk of her lips, leaning back against the cement fence. "I'm kinda tired. Climbing up on that roof and dealing with your grumpy ass took a lot out of me." He barely resisted a smirk. "Could you let my dad and Yuzu know I came home, for me?"

"I think I can manage."

"Never cease to amaze," she remarked, her eyes gleaming with subtlety as she straightened up, planting herself just inches before him. "Well, this was quite a fun night, Toushiro."

He made no try at a comment, eyeing her intently whilst refraining, unfathomably, from correcting her informalities with regards to his name.

"I mean, stargazing and ice cream, ending with a nice long walk through the night," she feigned a dreamy-esque tone, channeling her inner shoujo manga protagonist. "It was rather romantic, don't you think?"

The lightest scoff escaped him. "If you're referring to being dragged around town by a puny nuisance such as yourself, then yes, quite romantic indeed."

"Oh, come on Toushi'," she jibed, features twisting too cutely for his liking. "There's no harm in having some fun once in awhile."

"First, don't call me 'Toushi'. And, I do have fun."

"Uh huh…" She raised her brows with a nod, no ounce of belief in her expression. "You know, I bet you're one of those guys that just sits around doing paperwork and barking out orders all day."

In the beam of streetlights, Karin caught the meager contortion of his face, and her eyes immediately broadened with amusement. "Oh my god, you are aren't you?!"

His scowl deepened. "Didn't you say you were tired?"

"Oh, I'm never too tired for this." He elicited a quiet groan at the back of his throat, frown unwavering while she just continued to smile that entrancing smile of hers. "But you're right, I should get to bed. I have a job of my own to go to in the morning."

It was annoyingly captivating, the way she spoke.

"I am gonna miss you, though," she added in lieu of his silence, her voice ringing sincerity. "So," if it were possible, her smile widened, "Don't be a stranger."

There was an evasive undertone to her final words that had the gears of his mind turning, working to decipher something that may not even be there, and with a chuckle, as if she had perceived his uneasiness, she stood on the tips of her toes to plant an out of the blue kiss on his cheek, evoking a chain of obscure emotions.

"Night." She spoke as if telling a secret, sending a tingle down his neck and through his spine as she drew back, sparing him the briefest of glances before turning on her heel and retreating from him, skipping lightly and gracefully up the path to her door.

He watched her go, with a flutter in his chest and a conflicted grimace on his face, all the while wondering how best to describe her. Eventually, one word came to mind.

Fickle.

Lyrics: For Me This Is Heaven - Jimmy Eat World