A/N: Hey! I have finally come out of hiding and wrote a new chapter! This came from sitting in my office at my internship, where the word "heat" has not been invented yet. If there's something you want to see, feel free to review/PM with the idea!

Thank you so much to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed this story!

Enjoy!

Karin wrapped her hands around the steaming violet mug of hot cocoa Toshiro handed her. "Thanks," she muttered, enjoying the warmth of the cup.

"Don't mention it." He sat down across from her, clasping his hands in his lap. "So...what were you doing out in a blizzard?"

"What, you can do it but I can't?" she retorted hotly. At his raised eyebrow, she rolled her eyes. "Last year. You showed up on my doorstep without a coat and wound up getting snowed in with us for a couple of days. Ringing a bell?"

Toshiro took his glass of cold soda from the low table between them and leaned back. "Yes, but Hyorinmaru is ice-based. I can withstand most extremely cold temperatures. However, you're still human. Or at least, your body is human." He easily ducked the pillow she threw at him.

"Where are your parents? And sister?" Setting the mug on the table, Karin pulled the sleeves of the sweatshirt she had borrowed from Toshiro over her hands. "Can you turn the heat on?"

"Sure. They're in Seireitei. Gin has some sort of captain thing going on and Rangiku is supposed to be filling in for me. Aiko went with them." Toshiro got to his feet and headed to the thermostat on the other side of the room. "You could've turned the heat up by yourself. You make yourself at home here most of the time already."

"Yeah, but it's just so much easier to have you do it for me." She gave him a wide grin before sneezing.

"If you are sick and get me sick..." Giving her a sharp glare he sat back down on the sofa across from her. "I can't miss more work. It's enough I'm here - "

Karin raised an eyebrow. "Don't make it seem like I'm the one who forced you to come. You decided that on your own, you know."

"That doesn't mean I can't complain about it. I'm still working hard." He stretched himself out on the couch, propping his feet up on the arm. "So I presume you are staying here for the night?"

"Hm?" Looking over her shoulder, the girl groaned. "I guess so. There's no way I can find my way home in this weather."

"How did you even get here?"

She shrugged, looking down into her mug. "I just did. I was nearby, in the library, and I figured I'd stop by, warm up a bit, and then continue on home. Doesn't look like that's happening."

"Not quite." Toshiro took a sip of soda, thinking. "If the weather is this bad, I highly doubt my parents or Aiko are coming back tonight. You can use the daybed in Aiko's room if you would like. Gin has a large selection of movies here, so we have plenty to do."

"Food?"

The captain rolled his eyes. "There are enough ingredients for me to put something together. What are you in the mood of?"

"Not sure. It's only five-thirty, we don't need dinner just yet." She ran her fingers through her hair, catching Toshiro's attention. "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead." He looked at her carefully, knowing something was wrong. The girl usually didn't toy with her hair unless there was something bothering her. "Everything okay?"

"There's nothing...wrong, exactly. It's more..." Karin sighed. "Do you think I'm too much of a tomboy?"

Toshiro coughed as the soda went down the wrong way. This was not what he had been expecting at all. "Well...you're not like Yuzu, or that other girl in our class...Sakura? But I don't think you're too much of a tomboy. If you were like your twin, I probably...I probably would not go out with you. You would drive me insane."

To his satisfaction, she let out a laugh. "That's true. I can't see you spending much time with Yuzu, or shopping with her, or anything like that. Now, you mentioned movies?"

U_U_U_U_U_U_U_U

"I can't believe you can cook real food," Karin commented, leaning her elbows on the counter.

Toshiro ignored her, his white head bent over the pepper he was chopping into small pieces. "What, why are you ignoring me?" Seeing that he wasn't going to answer, she waited until the knife was back on the counter and poked his shoulder, making him jump.

"What was that for?!" He glared at her. "I'm trying to make you dinner!"

"What are you ignoring me for?" she shot back.

"I'm concentrating! That's how you cook good food without hurting or poisoning anyone." Pulling a cucumber from the fridge, Toshiro continued, "We can't order takeout or go

get more ingredients in this weather. So if you want to eat, I suggest you quit bothering me."

Karin laughed and, on a whim, leaned on his shoulder, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I'll go see what you have for me to do."

She didn't have to turn to see that he was watching her leave, his face bright red.

U_U_U_U_U_U_U_U_U

Toshiro sat down on the couch, setting the final dish on the coffee table. "There. One meal, served."

"Thank you. You're the best boyfriend any girl can ask for." Karin grinned at the light blush spreading across his cheeks. "Come on, you know we're officially going out, right?"

"Well..." He awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, avoiding her gaze. "I suppose I did know, I just..."

"You're the most insecure guy I've ever met. Yes, we're going out, yes, you're my boyfriend." Sitting down, she began to fill a plate with salad and pasta. "Eat. You should enjoy what you've worked on."

"I'll take in a minute." Toshiro poured himself a drink, then sat down beside her. "Found a movie you like?"

Karin nodded and pointed to the laptop she'd set up. "Harry Potter. It's about a boy who goes to a school for magic. Books are so much better, but you have the movies, so we may as well take this one."

"Am I going to be annoyed with it?"

"Mm?"

He gestured with his fork. "As in, is there excessive singing? Girls going off with the first guy they meet?"

"Oh, no. This is nothing like Disney." Karin flapped her hand. "You'll like this much more than Frozen."

"I'm holding you to that."

U_U_U_U_U_U_U_U_U

They found themselves curled up on the couch later that night, a bowl of popcorn on the table in front of them and the laptop playing the fifth Harry Potter movie. Toshiro had his arm around Karin's shoulders, her head propped on his. She was staring blankly at the screen, her eyes glazed over. "Come on, Kurosaki. Bed," Toshiro whispered into her ear, gently pushing her up.

"No. Stay." The girl curled herself up against his side and wrapped her fingers around his hand.

"You'll be much more comfortable in a bed. The couch isn't conducive to – " He sighed and reached behind them for a blanket, seeing that she was already asleep. "Never mind."