Chapter 5

"Will you go to dinner with me?" Ichigo blinked in shock. Had he imagined that just now? Did Toshiro really ask him on a date? He looked down to the white haired man and watched him shift uncomfortably.

"I mean if you're not comfortable-" Toshiro began before Ichigo interrupted.

"I'd love to." He quickly answered, blushing at how fast he answered. The last thing he needs to do is embarrass himself before they actually go on a date. Peeking a look at Toshiro, he found him smirking. Because Ichigo said yes or how he'd said yes, he wasn't sure.

Ichigo immediately regretted looking at Toshiro's face. Those beautiful teal orbs sucked him in. And his body. Toshiro may look youthful, but damn he was attractive. Ichigo could easily see the lithe muscle underneath that perfect pale skin. Ichigo was so enveloped in his ogling; he almost missed Toshiro talking.

"It's a little short notice, but how about tonight?" Ichigo could feel his already fast paced heart pick up speed. He was filled with an unidentifiable mixture of delight, nervousness, and excitement.

"Yeah, that'd be great, I just need to clean up and change. Give me a few minutes?" When Toshiro nodded, Ichigo headed up to his loft.

Toshiro watched as Ichigo walked away. He was feeling a mass of confusing emotions much like Ichigo. He just shook his head, deciding not to try and decipher his emotions but just enjoy the night. He walked up to the front again to check on the two 'children'. There he found the two redheads giggling as they had most likely been eavesdropping.

"My little boss is all grown up!" Rangiku wailed, pretending to sob into her hands.

"There, there Rangiku. It'll be okay. He had to leave the nest eventually." Renji played along, patting her back dramatically.

Toshiro rolled his eyes at their antics. "You are both idiots." Was his bored reply. He would not encourage them anymore than necessary. The others just grinned at him, changing tactics.

"So Shiro," Toshiro twitched at Renji's childish nickname "where you going to go to dinner?" He merely glared at the redhead, not so vaguely telling him to mind his own business. Toshiro more or less ignored the two childish adults when they continued to pester him with questions.

It got so bad that Toshiro eventually snapped. "GET THE HELL OUT!" His voice startled both redheads, making them realize they had pushed the small man too far. They both began to sheepishly walk to the door, but Rangiku was quite done messing with her boss yet. As she was leaving she gave Toshiro another of her overbearing hugs.

"Have fun tonight Toshiro." He looked sharply into her blue eyes, seeing an unusual serious there for a split second, but it faded as mischief came back. Toshiro wondered for a second what she was planning, but realized when she shoved a small square packet into his back pocket. "Make it SAFE fun though." Rangiku skipped away laughing before Toshiro could smack her.

"RANGIKU!"

"Follow me this way to your seats, gentlemen." Once seated, she handed Toshiro and Ichigo their menus. Which was pointless since this was both their favorite restaurant and they knew what they wanted.

"So Toshiro, how are you feeling?" This was the first time Ichigo asked Toshiro about the other night. He was nervous if Toshiro would be offended.

"Pretty good actually. My head is a little sore but other than that I feel fine." Toshiro answered easily, his teal eyes smiling. Seeing those eyes happy made Ichigo in turn feel happy.

"That's really good." Ichigo said smiling. The waitress came and took their order, but Ichigo and Toshiro never looked away from each other.

"How long have you taught martial arts, Ichigo?"

"I think a little over four years now." Ichigo was going back and forth in his mind. Should he tell Toshiro about his past? It might make Toshiro leave and possibly hate him. But Ichigo didn't want to lie to him. "It kind of saved me in a way. For quite a few years I was in a gang. Working in the dojo helped after I left." Ichigo didn't want to but he watched Toshiro as he said this. While he didn't want to see revulsion from the white haired man, this was something he had to watch.

First the teal eyes widened in shock, but the disgust never came. Instead a more thoughtful expression appeared. Ichigo waited for Toshiro to say something. Which wasn't easy, Ichigo was not a patient man; he liked to jump into things.

"But you left right? You're not in a gang anymore?" Toshiro asked thoughtfully. He looked up, his eyes meeting chocolate ones. Ichigo shook his head no. "Well that's all that matters. Maybe you'll tell me about it. I'm sure there's quite a story there." Ichigo felt momentarily shocked. Toshiro hadn't reacted badly at all, he'd even been accepting. Ichigo felt so relieved, he wouldn't have to hide it from Toshiro anymore. So Ichigo did the only thing he could, he laughed. It was full, hearty laugh, something Ichigo hadn't done in quite.

Toshiro was smiling when Ichigo finally stopped laughing. The rest of the dinner was very enjoyable. They found things they had in common and even debated on things they didn't. When they paid and were leaving Ichigo got an idea.

"How do you feel about going to a club, Toshiro?" Ichigo asked as they were walking.

"Clubbing?" Toshiro asked.

"Yeah, you know they have drinks and music..." Ichigo stopped when an elbow hit his side, making him grunt in pain.

"I know what clubbing is, smartass. Why do you want to go clubbing?"

"Well Rangiku said for you to have fun."

"You heard that?" Toshiro asked, slightly embarrassed. Ichigo just nodded. Slipping his arm onto Toshiro's shoulders, Ichigo and Toshiro made their way down the sidewalk.