This is Rice James song choice. I'm rusty as hell. Forgive me.
Can I Call You Tonight?
By Dayglow
Was it weird to take your friend on a date if everyone already thought you where dating?
The amount of times Ichigo had to clarify what his definitive relationship with Rukia was starting to become unreal... From the human world and from Soul Society. If it wasn't Keigo teasing him it was Ikkaku asking for the hundredth time or his own old man wiggling his eyebrows suggestively every time her name was mentioned in the Kurosaki household. (Which was often considering the fact she was visiting again for the next few weeks...)
And maybe it was the humid summer air or the fact that he had to push Rukia out of the kitchen to ignore his father's taunting or the fact that Keigo was back to his usual antics in the now group setting. But something was definitely out of line in the universe for Ichigo when he snapped.
They had met at the empty soccer field to walk together to get ice cream in the late afternoon. Orihime was talking animatedly to a rather still Ishida while Tatsuki recapped her last match to Chad. Keigo was whispering something (apparently amusing) to Mizuiro who was sporting a very sly grin. Ichigo could already feel his eyebrow twitching at those two as Rukia huffed to keep up with his angry, hurried strides.
Tatsuki finally noticed them approaching and threw out a rather sarcastic "Well there you two are!" as the rest of the groups attention swung over to them.
"They where probably sharing some smooches!" Keigo said, following it up with some very over dramatic lip action as Mizurio hid a laugh behind his hand.
"Honestly Keigo, you're such a child!" Ishida snapped, rolling his eyes, knowing all to well what the routine would look like from here coming from the brunette.
"What?! We're all thinking it! It's obvious! And denying it just makes it all that more ridiculous!" Keigo spouted back, arms crossed in defense.
Ichigo could feel heat rise into his cheeks and tried to glance over at Rukia who was avoiding his gaze and looking questionably at the immature teen.
"Is it going to be like this every time we hang out? Or just when you're invited?" Rukia asked bluntly, honing in on the problem starter of the group.
Keigo's smile turned quickly into a grimace as he flustered for words.
"Honestly, he's not exactly wrong..." Tatsuki muttered under her breath, looking away from Ichigo with a guilty look. "I just know how private you are and all that..."
If looks could kill, Ichigo is putting all his thoughts into making Tatsuki drop dead right where she stands.
Ishida coughs before adding, "It would make sense..."
Even Chad nods in agreement before Keigo lights back up.
"HA! I told you! When are you going to admit you two are dating!?"
And this is when Ichigo's had the brilliant idea to snap back with, "Right now!" And roughly grabs Rukia's hand, giving her the same look of 'make a scene and I'll kill you' she had given him so long ago, watching her shocked eyes turn into a questioning ones.
"Wh-wh-wha-?" Keigo flusters, the full attention of everyone back on the two of them.
"Yep! We're going on a date right now." Ichigo declares, pulling Rukia away as Keigo cries about Ichigo leaving him and his bros behind.
His grip on her hand is rough as he at least keeps in mind to match her stride, walking them back onto the street away from the very surprised group. The longer they walk away from the school and into the city, the silence between them makes him increasingly uneasy. Rukia always has a retort, a way to put him in his place when he makes an irrational decision. And now... nothing?
It's not until Ichigo stops outside of the nearest café that he releases her hand and looks at his partner in crime.
She's wearing one of those looks that Ichigo feels stupid just for receiving it, knowing damn well he deserved it.
"Well?" She finally asks, waiting for him to fill in the blanks.
He sighs. "Yeah... yeah. I snapped. But I'm just so tired of it... are you? Is it so wrong to have a female best friend?!"
Rukia rolls her eyes and smiles now. "Apparently so. But since it looks like we're going to miss ice cream with the group-" she pauses, giving Ichigo a pointed look as he once again feels his face heat up. "-it sounds like we're going on a date."
Now Ichigo is floundering at the prospect of following through on his word.
"Oh come on now!" Rukia retorts. "You said that's what we're going to do. Besides..." She finishes a bit softer. "I've never been on a date before..."
Scratching the heated skin on the back of his neck, Ichigo feels a sheepish grin coming on. "Honestly... I haven't either. Lets start here I guess..." He nods over to the café and even opens the door for her to enter in first.
The small café is full of small tables with a few larger ones thrown in with patrons already sat down with teas and lattes. Rukia helps herself to a table, glancing over the pre-set menu's as Ichigo looks at anything but her. How did he get into this predicament? Damn Keigo and his own big mouth...
"How do dates usually work?" Rukia questions, eyes still browsing the menu as they wait for a server to greet them.
Ichigo grabs his own menu, mulling over how to answer the question.
"Well... there's usually a meal involved."
Rukia now makes eye contact. "I guess this fulfills that." she says with a grin.
Ichigo finds himself smiling just a little. "Yeah, something like this." he clears his throat before continuing. "Then there's usually an activity, followed by dropping your date off at home."
"That should be easy for you." Rukia rolls her eyes, now back at the menu. "And what, no goodbye kiss?"
Ichigo sputters before Rukia laughs loud enough to draw the attention of a few tables.
"You've been reading too many romance mangas!" He finally gets out as Rukia's laughs die down.
"Calm down, Strawberry! Joking on a date is still allowed, isn't it?"
And before Ichigo can answer, a server pops over to their table to jot down their order.
Halfway through their meal (Rukia's digging into some soufflé pancakes as Ichigo finishes his rolled crepes) both of their phones start going off.
Ichigo glances down at his to see Keigo and a few other group members asking him a series of questions. Where they seriously bailing on the group outing? Where they on an actual date? Where they kissing yet? (that one obviously came from Keigo) when Rukia grabs Ichigo's phone from his hand, swiping around on the screen before handing it back.
"It's on airplane mode now." She informs him, grabbing her fork again. "Mine is too... well, except for the hollow notifications, obviously."
"Thanks..." He replies hesitantly, putting his phone in his pocket with a scowl. "But what if my old man-"
"Ichigo," Rukia cuts him off "He's going to be thrilled you finally went on a date with 'third daughter', I don't think you have much to worry about."
She had a point there...
And as the server takes his now empty plate, Ichigo pulls out his wallet.
"Another rule about dates, the guy always pays." he mutters, as Rukia smiles into her next bite.
Boba teas in hand, they again walk down the street. The sun has finally begun it's decent and the shadows from the surrounding buildings and trees are long on the sidewalk. Rukia seems pretty relaxed about the whole ordeal, but Ichigo finds himself fidgeting. How "real" was this date? Was he supposed to keep holding her hand? What where her expectations for an activity? If it ends up going horribly, both of their experience with a first date is bad...
He sips again from the tea, chewing the tapioca and crinkling the receipt from the café in his hand, earning him a side eyed look from Rukia. His scowl deepens as she takes the receipt, puts it in her own dress pocket and then grabs his hand. The gesture surprises him, his stomach dropping for a second, but he lets her continue the hold. It's different from when he dragged her away. Granted, because he wasn't clutching her fingers like he had when he dragged her onto this misadventure, but because her fingers are laced through his lightly. And as much as it sends another blush to his cheeks, he can appreciate how her hand feels in his.
"Remember that arcade you took me, Yuzu, and Karin to?" Rukia asks. "Aren't we near there?"
Ichigo thinks about it, recalling back to when his dad had first moved a third bed into Karin and Yuzu's room for her. Ichigo had taken the three of them out for some bonding time since his sisters now had a new roommate.
"It's a few blocks away." He confirms, raising an eyebrow. "Is that a suggestion for our activity?"
She smiles up at him. "Only if you're ready for me to beat you into the ground at Space Invaders again."
"For the record, I let you win that one. You still sucked at Taiko no Tatsujin."
"I'm sure you did." She mocks him. "And if you let me win as friends, I'm sure you'll absolutely roll over and let me win everything as a date."
"Sounds like it's what I'm supposed to do." He confirms.
Rukia forces both of them to stop, a challenge in her eyes as she looks into his.
"Then how about a little wager?" She antagonizes him. "The loser has to tell your dad we went on a date."
He physically feels his blood run cold. "You're on." Ichigo replies, continuing their stride. "But I might have to take a few weeks to stay in Soul Society after that conversation."
It may have been in bad taste, but Ichigo does his best to beat Rukia at every single game. Telling goat chin about their date isn't what he had planned for this week, let alone in this lifetime. She surprisingly keeps up well enough, but years of experience in the real world leaves Rukia at a severe disadvantage. She's close on a few, as they curse at their bad aim in various games and groan when they loose the ones purely based off of luck.
She does beat him a Space Invaders again. Ichigo won't stop arguing that he allowed her to win it on purpose. She kicks him in the shin for that one and he begrudgingly moves onto the next game.
Holding their tickets as they wait for the prize counter attendant, he hands them over to the Shinigami.
"Another date rule, the girl always gets to pick the prize."
She raises an eyebrow at him. "These dates seem to favor the female side of things."
He smiles at that. "It's because the guy is always trying to impress the girl."
She drops her jaw with sarcasm. "If I didn't know any better, Ichigo Kurosaki, I'd assume you're trying to impress me."
He shrugs. "Maybe I am."
All it takes to shut Rukia up and make her blush is a bit of sincerity. She picks the smallest Chappy plushie, of course.
It's dusk by the time they're walking back home. His hand again finds hers as they both take their phones off of airplane mode. The notifications go haywire on both their devices, and after Ichigo makes sure he didn't miss anything from his family, he pockets it again.
As they near the house, Ichigo releases her hand to grab the house keys from his pocket.
"So, how does this thing wrap up?" She asks, smoothing down her hair with her free hand after a small gust of wind kicks up.
"Normally you'd say good bye at the door, but you kind of live with me." He explains, walking up to the front door. "So I'll be dropping you off at your room. You explain how you felt about the date, and if it was good one of us will call the other in a couple days. Maybe go on another one. Or just ghost them until they get the hint."
She sighs. "It's going to be really hard to ghost you living in the same household as you."
He bumps his hip into hers at this, inserting the key and letting her walk inside first.
Thankfully, the old man isn't anywhere to be seen as she walks up the stairs in front of him, hugging her small Chappy to her chest as they near her room.
"Here, I'll start." He says. "While this was... unconventional... I enjoyed my date with you, Rukia Kuchiki."
"And as an unwilling participant at first," he cringes at that. "I had an interesting date with you, Ichigo Kurosaki."
He frowns at this. "Interesting is what you usually say when the date isn't good. Care to try again, midget?"
She hits him with her Chappy plush. "It was interesting! Fine! It was better then to be expected."
"Try again."
She hits him with the plushie again.
"It was the best date I've been on."
"It's your first date!"
"That makes it the best one!" She retorts back, on her toes to match his stance.
"Why can't you be a normal girl?!"
"Why can't you date a normal girl?!"
She's got him there.
And right when he's about to snap back with something, she surprises him.
She kisses his cheek and goes back down to her heels again.
"Thank you for the first date." She says, leaving a shocked Ichigo in the hall as she slips into the girls room quietly.
He stands there for a few minuets, his heartbeat in his ears and heat all over his body.
'What was that about?!'
His brain is muddled as he slowly walks over to his own room, going over everything about the involuntary date. Could it have been a real date? Instead of something he did to spite Keigo? Rukia's lips on his cheek defiantly made his stomach flop and the butterflies are still flying around in there as he takes his phone out.
Rukia's phone rings twice before she answers.
"I'm just down the hall, you idiot."
"This is how dates work, remember? One of us calls the other to see if they want to go on another date."
He hears a door open in the hall and opens his own, seeing Rukia leaning against the door frame, phone in hand still.
"Another date, huh?" She questions into the receiver as Ichigo hears her though his own phone and within the small hall.
"Yeah." He replies lamely, seeing a hint of pink on Rukia's cheeks.
"So what you're saying is that Keigo was right and we're dating?"
Ichigo rips the phone away from his ears. "OH HELL NO! Keigo can't be right!"
She shuts her own old flip phone with a smug grin. "It sounds like he is."
"And what if he is and we're dating?!" Ichigo says a bit too loudly still.
"YOU'RE DATING?!" The voice of isshin Kurosaki floats up from downstairs. "Oh Masaki! It's a miracle! Our boy and third daughter have-"
"That was supposed to be your job." He glowers.
She walks up to him, a mixture of shy and confidence in her. "Thanks for being a gentleman."
"You're a demon."
"Shinigami." She corrects him teasingly, as Isshin rants and cries to Masaki about how their "Idiot son finally opened his heart to love that had been there all along!"
He grabs Rukia's hand again.
Perhaps he had.
Gods, I want to punch myself in the face. I promise they'll get better as I write more. ;) Amazing fantastic song choice by Rice James. BUT... why the hell did you choose a song about calling when it's between a human and a shinigami who live in different dimensions? DAD GAM.
Make sure to go check out Rice James take on this song under 'Jukebox Roulette'. I promise, it's gonna be good! 3
