Aniston opened her eyes groggily, propping herself up on her elbow. She suddenly realized she wasn't alone. She yelped and rolled, falling off the bed and onto the floor. She groaned, sitting up.
"Wha—?" Izuru sat up, rubbing his face sleepily.
Of course. They'd been laying on her bed, chatting late into the night—they must've fallen asleep. She mentally chided herself for freaking out like that. She stood, glancing at the alarm clock on the table on the other side of the bed. 3:42am. She hadn't been asleep long—an hour or two.
"Go back to sleep, Izuru," she said, climbing back onto the bed. She pushed on his chest lightly, making him lay back down. She unfolded the fluffy purple blanket at the end of the bed, pulling it over them.
She couldn't resist the urge to cuddle up to him, laying her head on his chest.
Comfy.
Brook's curiosity got the better of her as she crept up the stairs toward her room. She stopped by Aniston's room, cracking the door open to peek in. Her little sister was laying in bed with a blond. Toni's head was on his chest, her purple blanket hanging haphazardly over the edge of the bed.
She slipped in and padded up to the platform, tugging the blanket back over them.
They were so cute. His blond hair partially obscured his face, giving him a soft, gentle appearance—consistent with Capri's rather brief description of him. His arms were wrapped loosely around Aniston. Her hand lay on his chest beside her face, loosely gripping his shirt. They looked so comfortable and peaceful.
Brook smiled softly, brushing Aniston's bangs from her face. She turned and crept out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
She couldn't wait to officially meet him.
Izuru blinked his eyes open. This… was not his room… and there was a weight on his chest…?
He jumped; there was a girl in his arms, her head on his chest.
Purple hair, blue streaks.
Aniston.
Aniston's room.
Aniston's bed.
They'd been talking. They'd been laying on her bed and talking. They must've fallen asleep…. He vaguely remembered waking up to a shriek in the middle of the night and seeing her on the floor—she must've woken up and had a similar reaction to his.
Well, she'd gotten back in the bed with him; he supposed that meant she was ok with it….
He exhaled slowly, manually relaxing his body. He looked down at Aniston, lightly brushing his fingertips across her cheek. She was really cute, and she obviously knew it—she wasn't shy in the least. He wasn't sure why she bothered with him, but he was glad she did. She kind of intimidated him—she was so… forward—but he liked her. A lot. She was his polar opposite—cheerful, outspoken, confident.
Maybe she was just what he needed.
"Izu…?" Aniston stirred, opening her eyes halfway. She looked up at him sleepily. "What's wrong?"
"Ah—n-nothing!" he stammered, blushing.
She blinked, giving him a blank stare.
"You sure?" she asked.
"Y-yeah…."
She reached across him, turning the alarm clock toward her. 6:13am. She groaned, dropping her arm and burying her face in his chest.
"Go back to sleep, Izuru," she mumbled.
He didn't say anything, just continued to look down at her. After a minute, she looked back up at him.
"What is it, Izuru?" she asked, propping herself up.
"N-nothing..." he glanced away unsurely.
"Izuru," she turned his face back toward her.
His already dark blush deepened further. She tilted her head thoughtfully.
"Are you uncomfortable sleeping with me?" she asked.
"A-ah, I-I, um, I don't, I mean—"
She giggled. His mouth snapped shut.
"You can be honest with me, Izuru," she said softly.
"I-it's just… unusual," he muttered.
"Not used to having a girl in bed?" she grinned.
He looked away again, and she laughed.
"It's ok, Izuru. It's new to me, too," she lay back down next to him.
She didn't lay her head on his chest, but she lay right next to him and draped an arm over his chest. He hesitantly put his arm around her.
"Yeah," he whispered. "New…."
"New, but not bad," she said.
"No," he agreed. "Not bad."
She smiled and snuggled closer to him. Her smile widened when she felt his arm tighten around her, his other arm sliding over her side.
"Get up get up get up get up!"
"Get up get up get up!"
Hunter and Capri were running through the house, banging on doors and shouting at the top of their lungs.
"Shiro, get up!" Hunter ran into her room and dragged Toshiro out of her bed, then ran back out into the hallway.
A disgruntled Toshiro appeared in her doorway a moment later, watching his friend run around like a maniac. Faces—some amused, some sleepy—gradually popped out of doorways as the two continued to shout.
"Toni!" Hunter slammed Aniston's door open. "Get up get—Whoooaaa you have a boy in your bed!"
She slid to a stop in the middle of the room, staring wide-eyed at the bed. She narrowly dodged the fluffy black pillow Aniston threw at her.
"Yeah, Hunter," Aniston sighed, sitting up. "I have a boy in my bed. What of it? I'm pretty sure you did, too."
"Oh, yeah, that's true," Hunter giggled. "I was just surprised. Ok well you're up so stay up!"
She ran back out of the room, slamming the door shut. Aniston sighed as she heard Hunter go back to her wake-up call.
"You ok, Izuru?" she asked, looking down at him.
"Yeah," he sat up, "that was just… awkward…."
"Ha, yeah," she agreed, "but it's not that big a deal. C'mon, someone's making breakfast."
She rolled out of bed, grabbing his hand and tugging him out the door after her.
"Not a word!" Aniston said, leading Izuru into the dining room.
Avalon snapped her mouth shut, pouting. She grumbled something under her breath, shoving another piece of pancake in her mouth.
"Hey, guys," Jaedelyn laughed. She was sitting across from Avalon on Gin's lap, eating off his plate. Avalon made a face as Gin fed her a bite of pancake.
"You guys are so gross!" she groaned.
"I think it's cute," Aniston giggled, sitting down next to Jaedelyn and Gin. Izuru followed, sititng on her other side.
"Thanks, Toni," Jaedelyn grinned.
"Oh, you're up."
Aniston looked up as Brooklyn walked in, carrying a platter of pancakes.
"Capri, bring in some more plates!" Brook called back into the kitchen.
"'Kay!"
"You must be Izuru," Brook smiled, setting down the platter on the table. "I'm Brook."
"Ah, n-nice to meet you."
Capri bounced in with a stack of plates and silverware. She set them on the table.
"Hey, Izuru!" she chirped. "Morning, Toni."
"Help yourself," Brook patted Izuru's shoulder as she walked back toward the kitchen, grabbing Capri by the arm and pulling her along.
"Eek! Bye!" Capri giggled, stumbling and running behind Brook.
"I better go get ready," Jaedelyn said, standing and stretching. "C'mon, Gin."
"Bha," Aniston mumbled through a mouthful of pancake.
"Don't talk with your mouth full, Toni," Kailyn scolded, walking in.
"Shurry Kaiwyn."
Kailyn sighed, sitting down; Aniston giggled.
"You'd think you'd be on your best behavior."
Theia walked in, a soft, playful smile on her lips. Her orange eyes were framed by long red-brown bangs, her hair falling just past her shoulders.
Aniston swallowed before replying.
"Now why would I do that, Theia?" she grinned.
"To make a good impression."
"Yeah, but he'd find out what I'm' really like eventually—there's no point in prolonging it."
"Mm-hm," Theia laughed softly, sitting down next to Kailyn.
"Did you finish your exam, Theia?" Kailyn asked.
"Mm-hm," she nodded.
"Oh, how'd it go, Thei?" Aniston asked. "What did they have you do?"
"Fight a hollow and demonstrate my healing Kido."
"Oh. That's it?" she asked, surprised.
"Yeah," Theia nodded. "It wasn't particularly difficult."
"Well, that's good to know," Aniston grinned. "Ah, speaking of which, I'd better get ready!"
She jumped up and bolted out of the room.
"Whoa—slow down, Toni! You'll hurt someone!" a girl's voice floated in from the stairwell.
Aniston's twin sister, London, walked in moments later, laughing. Her long purplish-black hair hung about halfway down her back, her long bangs falling to the left side of her face, partially obscuring the left purple-grey eye.
"She's getting ready for the exam," Theia explained.
"Ah, that explains the rush."
"You're right after her, aren't you?" Kailyn asked.
"Yep. I'm all ready, though," she grinned. "Hey, you're Izuru, right? I'm London—I'm Toni's twin. Are you going to watch her today?"
"Yes," he nodded.
"That's good," Kailyn smiled softly. "She'll try harder."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Aniston won't pretend to be something she's not," Theia explained, "but she does want to make a good impression."
"Yep," London nodded. "From what Hayden told me about your guys' outing last night, Toni likes you a lot—she's outgoing and friendly, but she doesn't flirt with guys she doesn't genuinely like."
"Are you guys talking about me?" Aniston asked, walking back into the room.
"Yes, yes we are," London grinned.
"Cool. You ready to go?"
"Yeah," she nodded.
"Ready, Izuru?"
"Yes," he stood, letting Aniston drag him by the hand out of the house and through the Seireitei.
London followed, amused by her sister's antics. She was further amused by Izuru's… nonchalance? No, that's not the right word…. Indulgence? Better. He indulged her, simply going along with whatever she wanted.
It was kinda cute.