"Che," Ichigo smirked, "So you ARE self-conscious about your height."
Angel's face reddened. "A-am not! I'm fine the way I am!"
"Sure you are," he said sarcastically, "You only hit me when I comment about your height because you want to stretch out your new shoes."
Angel glared. "And what about you? I'm sure you're self conscious about that blinding hair color of yours!"
"This?" he pointed at the bush on top of his head. "Please, I really don't give a damn."
Ichigo felt steam shooting out of her ears. "SHUT UP!" she screamed before stomping towards the house again. She could hear Ichigo laughing behind her as he followed her lead. He didn't stop and it was irritating her more and more with each passing second that once she reached the front patio of the house Angel grabbed one of her sandals and chucked it at Ichigo's face before retreating into the house.
"EUGH!" After getting hit straight in the face Ichigo fell over with all the bags in his hands. He was on his ass, rubbing his sore jaw as he watched Angel disappear into the house. "Fucking bitch," he grunted. Where did she learn to throw that hard?
"ICHIGO! HURRY UP!" Angel shouted through the open door.
"Alright alright," he groaned, slowly picking up all the bags he dropped and making his way back inside. He went over to the kitchen and placed the bags on the counter.
Angel quickly came over and started rummaging through the stuff they just bought. "Here," she handed him some items, "Take these to the bathroom…and these are yours…I need these…" she mumbled on as she organized everything.
Ichigo reluctantly obeyed her like a loyal dog, taking this there, that there, this over here, so on and so forth. He already got enough bruises from her today so there's no way he's going to aggravate her even more to get another one.
When he came back to the kitchen, he saw Angel washing her hand in the sink, getting ready to prepare dinner. "What are you going to make?" he asked.
Angel smirked. "Just eat whatever I make you."
Ichigo raised a suspicious brow. "Just as long as it's not poisonous."
Angel rolled her eyes as she grabbed a big pot from the cabinet. They both knew Ichigo wasn't being serious. After all, her cooking skills have improved immensely after she started living with him. She's actually been making a lot of their meals, giving Ichigo more time to focus on his work.
"I'm going to go take a shower," he said, "Call me if you need anything."
"'kay," she answered back as Ichigo went down the hallway.
Minutes passed as Angel worked around the kitchen. Making dinner was no longer a challenge for her. But she—and Ichigo—still couldn't believe she was actually capable of creating eatable food now. Back when he first taught her, even the sink coughed back up all of her failed attempts, unable to let it go down the drain. That was one weird day.
Ding dong!
"Hai!" Angel called out. She quickly turned off the stove (something she learned to do a few weeks ago when she almost burned down the apartment), and made her way to the front door. She undid the locks and swung it open. In front of her stood an old couple, both of them looking shocked upon seeing her at the door. "Can I help you?" she politely asked with her sweet smile.
"I—uh…um—y-you—" they stuttered, opening and closing their mouths like a fish, "A—ano, is Walker Ichigo h-here?" they asked.
Just as Angel was about to answer, she was interrupted by someone behind her.
"Oi, Angel, you done with dinner yet?" Ichigo asked as he came out the bathroom and appeared before her. He was still wiping his wet hair with a towel while wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and his own skin. Ichigo saw Angel standing by the open door and frowned. "Is somebody here?" he asked as he walked over.
Angel quickly stepped to the side to show him their unexpected guests. "These people were looking for you."
Ichigo stood next to her and smiled upon seeing who was at the door. "Watanabe-san, long time no see." Ichigo turned to Angel and pointed to the old couple. "These two are our neighbors. They've been living here as long as I can remember and take care of this house when my family is away."
Angel nodded and bowed to the couple. "Good evening. My name is Bushū Angel. It's a pleasure to meet you."
The two couple were brought out of their daze and returned the bow. "Ah, good evening. Sorry if we startled you."
"No, not at all," Angel shook her head and kept her sweet smile. "I guess it was to be expected when a stranger opened the door to your friend's house."
The old man smiled back. "Well, we just came by to see Ichigo-kun since we haven't seen him in years."
"Ah," Ichigo nodded, "It's been almost ten years since I last came here."
The wife smiled and extended the small box she was holding towards them. "I remember how you used to like my hand-made mochi so I brought some with me. Why don't you share it with your cute friend here?"
Angel's smile widened as she accepted the box. Her eyes immediately sparkled. "Arigato!"
The old man looked at his wife and smiled sweetly at her. "Well, my dear, I think it's about time we take our leave."
"Yes, I do agree," she smiled back at him.
"Oh no, you don't have to leave now," Angel said, "Why don't you come inside for a bit? I'm sure Ichigo wouldn't mind it."
Ichigo nodded. "Please, come in. I haven't seen you guys in so long, it'd be nice to catch up."
The old man chuckled. "There's plenty of time to 'catch up' later, Ichigo-kun. But you arrived not too long ago so you must be tired. We'll just come by later and leave you two lovebirds to yourselves."
"You don't have to worry—" Ichigo stopped when his brain finally registered what Watanabe-san just said. His face reddened. "W-wh-what?!" He didn't have to look to know Angel was also blushing from his words.
The old woman giggled behind her hand. "I agree," she said again. She immediately grabbed her husband's extended hand and the two made their way down the patio and towards their own place.
But before they went too far away, Ichigo and Angel heard the old man sighing in memory. "Ahhh, to be young again," he chuckled.
"No! That's not what—" Ichigo's voice died down as their laughter cut off out his explanation.
Suddenly, they stopped before turning the corner. The old man faced them and shouted, "DON'T FORGET TO INVITE US TO THE WEDDING!"
Ichigo and Angel stared in utter disbelief as the old couple disappeared behind the corner.
Rubbing his face in annoyance, Ichigo groaned as he slammed the door shut, muttering about how everyone in his life were crazy and out there to make him miserable.
Angel was still standing by the door with the box of mochi in hand, staring at the now-closed door with wide eyes. Did they—Ichigo and I—wedding?! Her mind started racing with all the words that the Watanabe couple threw at them. And the more she thought about it the warmer her face was becoming.
Ichigo was about to head back to his room to put on some actual clothes when he noticed Angel wasn't moving a muscle. "Oi, midget? Are you just going to stand there all day or make dinner?" When he got no response, he placed a hand on her shoulder and gently shook her. "Are you listening to me, midget?"
His shaking succeeded in getting her out of her trance. "Huh?" Angel quickly turned around but Ichigo was standing too close because the next second she collided with his wall of muscle. She lost her balance and was falling backwards.
"Angel!" Ichigo quickly caught her around the waist and lifted her up as she held onto his toned shoulders. The box of mochi that she held fell to the ground, it's 'clank'-ing noise echoing throughout the house before followed by dead silence.
Angel , who had shut her eyes when she started to fall, slowly opened them to see what kind of position she was in. And it only made the red on her face darken several more shades which she quickly hid by lowering her head. She was being held up by his tight grip around her waist, lifting her up slightly that she was on her toes, while her hands were holding onto him as if for dear life.
"You okay?" Ichigo breathed out. When he didn't get an answer he leaned closer to see a blush on Angel's cheeks. "Oi, why are you red midget? You sick again?"
Normally Angel would retort with either a kick or a punch but she merely shook her head, making sure to keep her eyes anywhere but his face.
Ichigo scowled and was about to say something back when he then noticed the position that they were in. And this time his face got warmer.
Time passed before Angel finally mumbled, "Ichigo, can you put me down now?"
So this was the point where Ichigo would just place her on her feet and make fun of her incapacity to stay upright.
But…nothing happened.
Instead, his grip tightened.