Chapter 10: Boys' Night

Toshiro frowned as he watched Ichigo flitter around the dorm, preparing the room for his "boys' night" with Renji Abarai, Shuuhei Hisagi, Izuru Kira, Ikkaku Madarame, Yumichika Ayasegawa and Chad. Chad…It annoyed Toshiro beyond belief that nobody seemed to know the gentle giant's last name, everyone telling him that the man's name was simply 'Chad' and that was all there was too it. Toshiro was uncomfortable calling people by their first names out loud – besides family, Rangiku, and on the odd occasion, Ichigo – as it seemed to promote some sort of familiarity, and that usually caused people to want to befriend him.

He didn't like making friends.

As Ichigo moved the coffee table from in front of the couch and placed numerous blankets and pillows on the floor, Toshiro had to wonder about his relationship with Ichigo. He had taken a long time to come to the conclusion that they were, in fact, friends, and begrudgingly, he had to admit he was rather glad to have the strawberry's enthusiastic company. The twenty year old medical science student had been utterly amazing lately, with all Toshiro had going on. Ichigo and Rangiku; Toshiro honestly didn't know what state he'd be in now if they hadn't been so damn persistent about comforting him since they'd found out the news.

He didn't like to think about it, and for the most part, he didn't have to. He was usually pretty good during the week while he was busy with his university studies, as well as his work, soccer and karate. He'd even started tutoring the Kurosaki girls and Jinta after soccer training and volunteered to help Ikkaku teach his junior classes on Saturday afternoons. The bald fighter had recently taken up a job at the Karakura Town Junior Karate Club as a weekend instructor, and although he was a brilliant fighter and teacher to other college students, little kids were out of his comfort zone. The kids seemed to react better to Toshiro, perhaps because of the closer age and height gap or maybe just because he had hair. Either way, it meant that he was busy all day Monday to Saturday, from as early as 7am to as late 10pm on some nights, and then come Sunday, all he would do is sleep or study.

Saturday nights were the hardest; he'd finish helping Ikkaku around 6pm and then he'd call Granny to check up on her. He swore that as the weeks went on, she sounded frailer and weaker each time she answered his calls. Every conversation was the same, she would insist that she was okay and 'feeling better this week', and every time she would deny him permission to come home and take care of her. She wouldn't let him take time off school or put any unnecessary strains on his currently perfect academic record. Still at home, Granny had a nurse staying with her, providing around the clock care and driving her to her doctor's appointments at the hospital, but Toshiro wanted to be there himself; he didn't want her to be without family. Granny always coughed when she was on the phone, and they always sounded wet which usually meant she was coughing up blood. When Toshiro would eventually hang up the phone, he felt like there was a heavy anchor in his chest, slowly but surely sinking his heart into his stomach. He felt like someone had put a choker collar around his neck and was gradually pulling it tighter.

Toshiro now only made the call when he was safely behind his bedroom door, but with either Ichigo or Rangiku or both somewhere else in the dorm room. Ichigo had caught on to his behavioural patterns quickly and now at 7:30pm every Saturday night, Ichigo would enter his bedroom with a cup of lavender tea – the strawberry had actually googled 'calming teas' – and an oversized bottle of chilled water. Toshiro would gratefully accept the gifts and Ichigo would usually hang around until he was sure the prodigy was feeling better, or at least, until his hands stopped shaking and he could hold his tea properly. The two of them would later sit down and watch a movie together. Toshiro found out that his roommate's favourite type of movies were the superhero variety, which he didn't mind himself – seriously, who could resist Chris Hemsworth as Thor? – And it was a major step up from those ridiculous sappy chick flicks Rangiku liked to bore him with.

"Okay, I think we're ready!" Ichigo suddenly exclaimed from the middle of living room.

Apparently the orange-haired male had finished setting up for his boys' night. With all the cushions and blankets lying in front of the TV, it actually looked pretty inviting, although strikingly similar to Rangiku's girls' nights. He shuddered at the memory; at least at this one, he probably wasn't going to have to paint anyone's nails.

"Remind me again," Toshiro commented from his place at the kitchen table, "What are you doing tonight?"

"Boys' night!" Ichigo chirped happily, "A couple of beers, a bit of poker and then a marathon of the Avengers movies…"

Toshiro frowned, he wasn't sure if you could call two films a marathon but he didn't want to burst his roommate's bubble.

"You know, you could join us…" Ichigo smiled cheekily at him, "We don't bite."

"Ayasegawa does after a couple drinks…" Toshiro muttered, "And I wouldn't put it passed Madarame."

"Well I suppose they're perfect for each other then," Ichigo smirked, "Come on, Tosh, we just got the new Avengers DVD and I know you want to watch it too! It will be fun."

Toshiro frowned. Today was Sunday, so he had no commitments and he'd already spent most of the day asleep. Now he was awake – although he still felt exhausted and like he hadn't slept at all – and was without an excuse to not participate. He felt uncomfortable though, as he usually did in these sorts of situations. He knew all of Ichigo's friends and they all knew him, but he wasn't very comfortable around them– not even Izuru who was dating his cousin, or Renji and Ikkaku who he did karate with. It was his own fault really; he wasn't comfortable around most people.

"I think I'm just going to study in my room," Toshiro sighed, packing his notes up in preparation to move into the bedroom.

"All your spare time is spent studying these days," Ichigo frowned, "You need to take a break."

"I slept until lunch time today," Toshiro argued, "I think that was a big enough break."

"Only because you were so exhausted from the rest of the week," Ichigo retorted, "And you've been studying for 5 hours straight now. Please, Toshiro, take a break, do something fun."

Toshiro glanced up and raised an eyebrow at Ichigo, who mirrored his expression perfectly. They did this often; each challenging the other to step down. Toshiro usually ended up admitting defeat – unless he was super desperate to get his own way – because Ichigo was bloody stubborn, and Toshiro was, as painful for him as it was to confess, a bit of a sucker for those imploring puppy dog eyes.

"I will study for a while," Toshiro compromised, pushing his thick rimmed reading glasses further up his nose, "And then join you for the movie."

"Both movies?"

"The second one only."

"No, you need a bigger break," Ichigo crossed his arms like he actually had authority in this situation; "You may sit out the first film, but join us for dinner, poker and The Age of Ultron."

"Counter proposal," Toshiro stood straight and folded his arms over his chest as well, "I'll eat dinner with you guys – provided it's in the dorm, not the dining hall – skip poker, and then return for the second movie."

"What do you have against poker?" Ichigo questioned, "We don't bet real money or anything…"

"Well, obviously I'm really good at it," Toshiro shrugged with an arrogant smirk, "And I wouldn't want to embarrass you in front of your friends."

Ichigo scoffed, taking a few steps closer to Toshiro, "I highly doubt that; you're good at a lot of things, Toshiro, but poker is an adult's game and, well, you know…"

Toshiro gave a mock laugh and quickly bridged the gap between them, grabbing a fist full of the idiot's shirt collar and pulling him down to his eye level. The strawberry's eyes were wide with shock, obviously not expecting the aggressive move, and he swallowed hard. Toshiro had to smirk at that stupid expression on his face; like he was actually going to hurt the fool.

"Let's play for it then," He hissed, somewhere between playful and annoyed but strikingly dangerous, "Right here, right now. You win, and I'll take the whole night off. I win, and I go back to studying – taking breaks only if I want them."

Ichigo's shocked expression turned cheeky, as his eye's gleamed sinisterly, "You're on."

Toshiro released his roommate's shirt and Ichigo scrambled off to find some playing cards. He returned a second later, as Toshiro finished packing up his study notes and putting them in the bedroom; he'd be coming back for them in a minute.

"Basic Draw Poker," the twenty year old announced, "I'll give you five cards, and you may trade three for new cards or four if you have an Ace. Good?"

"Excellent."

About ten minutes later, Toshiro sat staring blankly at Ichigo as he stared back at him with an equally emotionless expression; it was actually probably the first time he'd ever seen that strawberry face look so impassive. It seemed as if they were finally going to play; the first few rounds had never gone anywhere since each time one of them had folded. There was a lot on the line tonight, Toshiro believed, and he wasn't going to risk it with a low hand.

"You ready, Kurosaki?" He smirked.

"Sure am, Hitsugaya, get ready to spend all night with the boys."

"Finally calling me by my last name; miracles do happen."

Ichigo grinned manically before flipping over his cards, and spreading them in front of Toshiro. He waved a hand in front of them, like one of those presenter ladies on game shows.

"Full house," He announced triumphantly, "Beat that, Prodigy!"

Toshiro squinted down at the cards with a frown. Full house indeed; three 10's and two Kings. He glanced back at his own hand briefly before flicking his eyes back up to a smirking strawberry. That idiot.

Toshiro sighed and flipped his own cards over.

"Four of a kind," He stated dryly, "Sorry not sorry, Kurosaki, but you better keep practising."

Ichigo stared down at Toshiro's cards dumbly as he comprehended what had just occurred. Toshiro himself got to his feet, and marched over to his bedroom door.

"Make sure you boys aren't too loud tonight, okay?" He called over his shoulder and flashing Ichigo a wicked grin, "I've got a lot of study to get through."

Toshiro had barely closed his door behind him when he heard the frustrated and indignant roar of his roommate.

"FUCKING PRODIGY!"

…

Ichigo's friends had been arriving over the last half hour or so, as Toshiro could hear through the thin walls. He could hear Ikkaku and Yumichika bickering over stupid topics and then they'd go silent, and he'd hear Renji call across the room, telling them to "Get a room if you wanna fuck." Toshiro just prayed they didn't try come in his room. They all seemed to know he was in here though, given that Ichigo was still sulking about losing poker and was grumbling to whoever would listen. Toshiro also knew that Chad was in the dorm, but only because Ichigo had greeted him in a loud, rather enthusiastic voice, but the shy Mexican had not said much since.

Another knock on the main door, and Toshiro heard Shuuhei and Izuru arrive; that was everyone accounted for. Toshiro returned his concentration to his astronomy readings; he couldn't have cared less about what crude jokes Shuuhei was telling or what loud mouth comments Renji had up his sleeve. His attention was brought back to the visitors about ten minutes later, however, when he heard Izuru mention his name.

"How is Hitsugaya coping with the news?"

Toshiro cursed under his breath; he'd forgotten that Izuru knew about his grandmother's illness, he was dating Momo after all. He'd actually called Momo when school had returned to see if she was okay – they had their issues, but they shared a grandmother and Toshiro still cared for her deeply – since he hadn't seen her around campus yet. She had started crying on the phone and he could hear Izuru in the background trying to sooth her. Momo had probably known for about a week at this point, as Granny had called her and her parents a couple days after she and Toshiro had spent that horrible afternoon at the hospital getting her test results. It kind of stung that Momo hadn't tried to call him first, but he was used to it by now; she'd simply forgotten since she was so wrapped up in her own suffering. Toshiro couldn't really blame her though, since it'd taken him close to ten days to pick up the phone.

"He's okay, I guess," Ichigo answered, "He keeps himself busy so he doesn't have to think about it much."

Toshiro raised an eye brow at his roommate's response. He was grateful that Ichigo had been rather vague about that; the last thing he needed people knowing about was his panic attacks or that night Ichigo and Rangiku had spent holding him in bed while he fought back tears. The strawberry was a gem; Toshiro gave himself a half-smile, Ichigo would never sell him out like that.

"Momo is heartbroken," Izuru stated, voice solemn, "It's terribly sad. Granny was such a lovely woman."

Granny is such a lovely woman, Toshiro clenched his jaw; she's not dead yet.

"Oh, she's the best," Ichigo agreed, "They are lucky to have her."

So lucky, Toshiro nodded to himself, pleased at the strawberry's use of the present tense. That seemed to end the conversation as Ichigo herded them towards the TV and soon after, Toshiro heard the Avenger's theme playing as the guys shuffled about, presumably getting comfortable. Sighing, Toshiro turned to his laptop to play some of his own music softly – as not to be heard through the walls – and returned to his study. He put his readings aside, and moved on to the written work that required more concentration on his part.

…

"Come on, Toshiro," Ichigo's soft voice called out to him from somewhere above, "Wake up."

Toshiro opened his eyes and frowned; why was everything on his desk so close to his face? And blurry too?

"Up you get, Princess," Ichigo shook his shoulder, "I'm putting you in bed; you can't sleep at your desk."

Sleep at his desk? Why would he do that? Toshiro's frown deepened as his muggy thoughts tried to sort themselves out. Did Ichigo just call him a 'princess'? He blinked a few times before he realised that his head was resting upon his curled up arm, which lay atop his maths textbook. His glasses were hanging loosely at the tip of his nose, explaining his previous questions. His music still played quietly in the background, barely audible over the sounds of Ichigo's friends; apparently they were still here.

He was vaguely aware of something warm rubbing his back in a circular fashion before he remembered the strawberry standing over him. Pushing himself up slowly, Toshiro found his other hand fiddling idly with the fingers on Ichigo's free hand; alternating between tugging them gently and stroking them like he would pet a cat or something. He didn't know why he did stuff like that, his hands just sort of moved without his conscious permission. Ichigo didn't seem to mind, chuckling softly; he was probably used to it by now. Toshiro sluggishly pulled his hand back and mumbled something akin to an apology.

"Come on, you're exhausted," Ichigo continued as the warmth left Toshiro's back, "You need to go to bed."

"No," Toshiro slurred tiredly, stretching out his arms and back, "M' study now."

Ichigo released an exasperated sigh, and leaned over Toshiro to reach his laptop; saving the work and shutting it down. Toshiro watched him stupidly, making weak protests. He quickly grabbed a hold of his textbook and clutched it to his chest before Ichigo could take it from him. The strawberry tried to pry it from his grasp, but Toshiro held on tightly; he still wasn't completely mentally aware, but he knew he wanted to keep his book to study with. His mind would catch up soon; he just hoped he wouldn't lose his book before then.

"Toshiro," Ichigo warned sternly and suspiciously similar to the way Granny would, "I'm not letting you study anymore tonight."

Toshiro tightened his grasp around his textbook and pouted up at his roommate. He didn't want to go to bed now; it was only…actually he didn't know what time it was since his glasses had now fallen off and he couldn't read the time on his alarm clock.

"No," He whined, yawning a little and twisting away from Ichigo's meddlesome hands.

The twenty year old sighed again, and ceased his attempts to remove Toshiro's prize. The hand that had been rubbing his back previously returned to its job.

"You have two options, Toshiro," He spoke calmly, "Put the book down and go to bed, or you can come out with me and watch the movie. It's your choice."

"The second one?" Toshiro asked sluggishly, weighing up his options and ignoring the voice in the back of his mind that was suggesting he wack his roommate over the head with his book and return to studying. He was aware that he was brain was slow upon first waking up as it always was, but he felt slower than usual tonight. He felt like he was drunk, but doing his best to appear sober in front of an adult.

"The second one," Ichigo confirmed with a small smile and an encouraging nod.

"Oki," Toshiro murmured with a small frown, what was he agreeing to again?

Ichigo helped Toshiro to his feet, holding him up tentatively while he swayed on the spot, before turning to grab the spare blanket of the end of his bed; the blue one Granny knitted for him when he was a child.

"Let's go," Ichigo gestured towards the door, and then he frowned at the book still in Toshiro's grasp, "Give me that."

Toshiro looked down at the book; he'd forgotten that he was still holding it.

"No," He grumbled, "It's mine, get your own."

And with that, he stormed passed Ichigo into the main room, but not before catching a glimpse of a smirk on his idiot roommate's face. The bright lights blinded him for a second as he left the considerably darker bedroom and stepped under the threshold into the shared space. Ichigo's friends were gathered around the kitchen table; pizza, playing cards and poker chips scattered across the surface.

They greeted him with enthusiastic hellos and wild hand gestures. He wasn't sure if they were drunk, or just excited to see him, or perhaps he was imagining the whole thing. He still didn't feel like he was awake – kind of like he was dreaming. He waved dumbly in return.

"Are you okay, kid?" Probably Ikkaku – since he was usually the only one brave enough to call him that – asked.

"He's fine," Ichigo appeared beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder, "He just gets a little loopy when he's tired. He's going to watch the movie with us."

"Sweet," Renji hollered with a mouth full of pizza, "I never got to see it at the cinemas."

Ichigo led Toshiro to the middle of the couch before turning to the TV. The other guys came and sat down on their various spots on the floor, except Chad who sat on the couch on Toshiro's left. Turning to face the large Latino, Toshiro prodded his cheek gently.

"What's your real name?" He asked bluntly. Apparently, his mind wasn't coming back to him anytime soon and now he was going to over step his boundaries and poke people's faces.

"Yasutora Sado," the Mexican answered softly.

"Sado," Toshiro echoed the surname, pleased with the information.

Ichigo plopped himself down on Toshiro's other side with a fresh beer and began adjusting his own blanket before Toshiro turned on him and flicked his nose. Ichigo glared half-heartedly at him, raising an eyebrow expectantly.

"I told you 'Chad' wasn't his real name," Toshiro muttered.

Ichigo sighed again – he sure did sigh a lot – and Toshiro grinned at him.

"Normally you only act strange for a few minutes after waking up," Ichigo grumbled, "Obviously, you're so exhausted now that you're still not with it after fifteen minutes."

Toshiro was mildly aware of the confused looks he was getting from Ichigo's guests, and the odd chuckle throughout the room. Ignoring it, he dropped his textbook to his lap and opened it, flicking absently though the pages looking for pictures. He didn't want to tell Ichigo that he was right, but he did feel extremely tired.

A second later, Ichigo was pushing a mug of tea under his nose.

"It should have cooled down enough for you to drink it now," Ichigo murmured softly, placing the mug into Toshiro's small hands.

The prodigy took it with an appreciative smile in his roommate's direction, and sipped quietly on the warm beverage. Camomile with honey; his favourite night time beverage. It tended to make him sleepy though, which might just have been Ichigo's aim.

Someone flicked off the lights, and Ichigo used the remote to start the movie. Toshiro's mind was now back in action, for the most part, and he was glad to have the darkness of the room to hide his blush as he recalled all the dopey things he'd said and done since Ichigo had woken him up. Oh god, he'd acted like a child…and he'd done in front of people.

He had actually poked Chad's face…Yasutora Sado's face.

Ichigo would be fairly accustomed to his odd behaviour when tired by now, but still, it was highly embarrassing. He still had his textbook in his lap after all this time, for God's sake.

Looking around the room, everyone was deeply engrossed by the film. Toshiro and Ichigo had seen it at the movies a few months ago, with Rangiku who had the hots for Captain America and Ichigo's best friend from high school, Tatsuki – a black belt like Toshiro – who was a lesbian in love with Scarlet Johansson. Ichigo seemed to be the only one there for the storyline, while the rest of them were just there for the eye-candy.

As if reading his mind, Ichigo nudged Toshiro's side suggestively at the first shot of Thor.

"There's your boyfriend," Ichigo whispered, loud enough for only him to hear. Maybe Ichigo had a few beers at this point; it'd probably explain why he was so tolerant towards Toshiro's nonsense this evening.

"Please, we all know how you feel about Hawkeye," Toshiro retorted.

"Nah, I'm more into Iron Man," the strawberry grinned, "I love a smart-mouth genius."

Toshiro punched his arm, ignoring the chuckle from Ichigo. Sometimes he wondered if the strawberry had feelings for him, or if he was just naturally flirty. He was betting on the latter; there was no way Ichigo would fall for a guy like him. The man probably saw him as a little brother, if anything, since he was actually younger than his baby sisters.

As he glanced over at Ikkaku, who was spooning Yumichika and nuzzling his nose into the feminine man's ebony locks, Toshiro couldn't help but feel a little sad. Sometimes he wanted a boyfriend; someone to lie in bed with all day, or just to snuggle with while they watched movies. He frowned at the 'snuggle' reference but, as lame as it was, that's what he wanted. Other times, however, he was reminded of what assholes people can be, and he remembers that he is better off alone.

He punched Ichigo in the arm again, almost causing him to spill his beer.

"Ouch," He hissed, "What was that for?"

"That's for calling me 'princess', you idiot," Toshiro growled.

Toshiro could see Ichigo's ridiculously white teeth as he smirked in the dark. He'd deserved that.

It was about half way through the movie when Toshiro felt the tiredness consume his body again and he started to lose the battle against his eye lids as he fought to stay awake. At some point, Ichigo had removed his thankfully now empty tea cup from his rapidly loosening grip and ensured his blanket was tucked around his legs. Every now and again, Toshiro would feel his head drop limply, so that his chin rested against the top of his chest, before he'd jolt awake again for another couple of minutes, only to repeat the process.

Eventually Toshiro felt a strong arm wrap around his shoulders and pull him against Ichigo's chest. He was too exhausted to argue, and besides, it felt quite nice. The strawberry's warm body and steady heartbeat was enough to lull Toshiro into a comfortable sleep, not to mention the protective hold the older male had on him.

The last thing Toshiro was conscious of was a wickedly mischievous voice from the ground below; the low baritone that could only have been Renji Abarai.

"Comfortable there, Strawberry?"