title: cheers
pairing: ichigo/rukia, hitsugaya/hinamori, a one-sided hitsugaya/rukia
type: alternate universe.
notes: dedicated to my best friend kissuzumaki. it was her birthday on tuesday and i wanted to do something for her. i'm not exactly the best bleach writer (hence, the AU), but i did my best. and yeah. okay, read on. and warning: there are hints of other pairings here as well. try not to flame please.

cheers

Taking a sip of your shooter, you sigh heavily, while watching the happy couple mingle with the guests. Crossing your bare legs, you lightly scold yourself for going on with this. You never really liked dresses. Or parties. If anything, you hated them. But for him, you'd do anything.

"—Hey," He calls, laying against the tree, pulling out bits of grass and throwing them in the air. Sprawled on a branch, you shout, "What?," before plopping yourself down, gracefully.

He looks up to the sky and announces, "I'm going to ask her," You take your usual place next to him and stare at his face. "Ask who and what?," You reply, boredly, mimicking him, but dropping the grass on his pants.

He rolls his eyes and murmurs, "Momo. I'm going to ask her to marry me," while brushing his clothes off and getting up.

You let go of the grass balled up in your hands and suddenly forget how to breathe.

Swinging your legs around, while swirling the liquid in the glass you are holding, you barely notice when he approaches you.

"—Hey,"

Toshiro. You think back, trying not to stare too hard at his and her hand's together, and the rings on their fingers.

He nods and this time Momo speaks. "I'm really glad you came. It means a lot to me," She smiles, sweetly, hugging you. You bite your lip and try to hug back, but it comes off awkward and uncomfortable.

But Momo still has that smile on her face.

Toshiro puts his hands in his pockets and looks away, but Momo nudges him, forcebly. He sighs and says, "Thanks for coming,"

You try to plaster a smile on your face. You knew it was hard to make Toshiro say 'Thank You'. It hurt even more that Momo was able to do it, while you couldn't. So you stand there, in front of them, and the silence is straining.

"Congrats," You murmur, attempting a toast. You raise your glass and they do same. The cups clink together and soon, they're off talking to other guests.

Confused and perplexed, you sit back down onto the high-seat, and play with your glass, occasionally bringing the rim to your petal colored lips.

Abruptly, there is a "—Can I have a Bacardi Dragonberry?" and you turn around to see who it is. The person turns too and your eyes lock.

When the bartender puts the glass on the table, you suddenly look away, and he does as well. From the corner of your eye, you observe his face and try to remember where he's from.

He sees you staring, again, and murmurs, "Like what you see?" before laughing a little. He settles himself into the seat a little more and faces you.

You bite your lower lip and retort, "No. You just look familiar, that's all,"

"Well, we did just come back from a wedding," He grins, fleetingly checking your ring finger. You noticed and subsequently hid your left hand in your coat pocket.

He chuckles again and you sigh, "How do I know you're not a wedding crasher?" you ask, admiring the gold flakes at the bottom of your glass.

"Because I'm the bride's best friend,"

Eyes widening by a fraction, you try not to look surprised. "Hinamori's...," You whisper, looking at him again. "Yeah," he answered, but you weren't asking.

"So, how do you know Momo?," He asks. "I haven't seen you around,"

You spin around on the chair, facing the dancing guests, trying not to cringe from the happy aura. It's something foreign to you and your solitude.

"I don't," You reply, lowly, pulling out a necklace, hidden beneath the dress you are wearing.

Laughter.

"—Here," He pushes it towards you, a hint of a blush appearing on his cheeks. You stare at the box, trying to figure out what it was. "What is it?," you ask.

He mumbles something.

"What?,"

"Just open it!," He sputters, crossing his arms and looking away. Slowly opening the box, your face glows with joy when you see it.

"It's so cute, 'shiro!," You laugh, pulling it out of the box and putting it on quickly. He breathes out, full of relief. You spin around and hold the small pendant.

It's a small, pink, bunny, with a small little butterfly on it's stomach. You squeal a little bit and say, "Thank you!," giving him a fleeting hug.

He merely shrugs. After a while of watching you squeal, he says, "I have one too," and pulls out a necklace from his pocket.

It's a small, blue, bunny, with a snowflake on it's stomach.

He comes closer to you and connects the arms of the bunnies together. "That's so cute!," She squeals some more. He covers his ears and yells, "Quiet down, will you!,"

She sticks her tongue out and then grins to the sky.

"I think I'll name mine's Chappi!,"

"What?,"

"The bunny! I'm going to name it Chappi,"

"That's a stupid name...,"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY—,"

"—Are you okay there?,"

Suddenly, the laughter in your head is gone and you're back at the dreary reception. Then, you remember the guy with the orange hair sitting next to you.

"Yeah, why?," you reply, curtly. He scatches his head before saying, "You spaced out for a minute there,"

"Mm," You murmur.

Awkwardly, he repeats, "So, I'm guessing you know Toshiro, since you don't know Momo...," You watch him lick his lips and you feel the heat rushing to your face.

It's like when the clouds clear, revealing a sunny day.

You realize that you're sitting across from a guy who's really attractive. Though, his spiky hair is a little out of place and the buttons on his suit are... well, unbottoned, he didn't look that bad.

"Staring again, huh?," He chuckles and you puff your cheeks out in irritation.

"Yeah, well, maybe you should button your shirt or something,"

"So, you were staring...,"

"—No!,"

He laughs and you're getting even more annoyed. "Go away," You mutter, stepping down from your seat, searching the crowd for Toshiro. He gets off too and puts his glass down on the table.

"Care to dance?," He asks, holding out his hand. You stare at it before replying, "No," and going off into the crowd. You flit between the small spaces, but the dress you are wearing is getting on your nerves. It reaches at your ankles and in order to run, you have to pull it up a bit, revealing some skin.

And you hated that.

You tried to look for white, spiky, hair, but it was futile as there were so many people on the dancefloor.

Suddenly, you see red hair and run towards it's owner. "Renji!," you call out and the said person turns around. "Oi! What's up?," He grins, patting her on the shoulder. She swats his hand away and asks, "Where's 'shiro?,"

Renji looks around, then shrugs. "I don't know. But I saw him and Momo go out on the balcony earlier. Maybe they're still there,"

You nod and thank him, before sprinting. You really don't know why you want to find Toshiro anyway. Maybe it's because he's your only real friend at the party. Or maybe it's because you miss him.

You reach the sliding doors, away from the bustling crowd, and breathe out in exasperation once you close the door behind you. "—Shiro—," you call out, with what breathe you have left. You open your eyes and do not expect to see him and Hinamori together.

It's not surprising, you repeat to yourself. They are now husband and wife, it's natural for them to be together. To touch each other, to hold each other. They don't notice you, but that's simply natural as well.

They're on the bench, snuggling up against each other. Toshiro is smiling, smiling. Since when has he ever smiled?, you think bitterly. Momo giggles and he whispers something in her ear. She pecks him on the cheek and burrows herself into his side, furthur.

When Toshiro leaves an imprint on her forehead, you're gone.

And the door closes forever.

"I'll take you up on that dance," You murmur, staring at the lonely orange-head drinking his Barcardi. He looks down at you and his mouth forms into a small grin. "'bout time,"

He gets up now and wraps his arm around your waist. You stiffen and whisper, "What are you doing?" angrily.

He all but merely laughs and takes you to the middle of the dancefloor. You are completely exposed to the world now, the light shining upon you and the man.

You sigh when he puts his hand on your lower-back and places your hand on his shoulder.

"You're kind of short," He says, chuckling at their height differences.

Irritated, you stomp on his left foot and he cringes a bit.

"—I am not short!" You shout, in his face. "What the hell was that for!" He shouts back, comforting his foot, while sobbing inwardly. "Moron," You mutter.

"I thought you were a nice person," He mutters, below his breath. You hear it and punch his shoulder. "I heard that!,"

He rubs his bruised shoulder and shouts, "I'm not your punching bag!" ignoring the looks they are getting from the rest of the crowd. You roll your eyes and reply, "Maybe if you'd stop the flippant remarks, I won't treat you as one,"

"Flippant what—,"

"—Everyone," A voice calls out and there's the sound of someone tapping a spoon against a glass cup. You turn around and see Toshiro and Momo standing at the tables, with Renji and Izuru holding a microphone.

"Is there anyone who wants to say something for the happy couple?," Izuru says, into the microphone, looking into the crowd.

There's a silence and the orange-head next to you reluctantly raises his hand.

Renji spots him, but ignores it.

"Oi! You should say something, you are afterall Toshiro's closest friend," Renji calls out, pointing at you. Shocked, you shake your head in refusal, but he waves his hand, demanding you to come forward.

Annoyed, you shake your head once more and pretend that you hadn't heard him in the first place.

Renji deadpans but then snaps his fingers and a spotlight appears on your form and the orange-head's. Everyone turns to you now and there's nothing else for you to do but walk up to the tables, where they are.

You spot Toshiro and fleetingly notice how his eyes have a lighter look.

Renji grins and hands the mic to you, Izuru gives you a thumbs up.

"Congratulations, Toshiro. And Hina—," You breathe, remembering the closed door. "—Momo,"

The orange-head from the crowd, nods in reassurance. Not that you needed any.

"I wish you the best...," You murmur, looking down, spotting the small, pink, bunny hanging on your neck.

It's quiet now, but you really have no idea what to say. Silently, you give the mic back to Renji, and then there's the awkward applause.

You walk down the aisle, back to the orange-head's side.

"Uh, well, there you go! Words of wisdom from—,"

Licking your lips, you block out the rest of the commotion, pulling the orange-head's arm, back to the bar.

"I didn't know you were the best friend of Toshiro's that everyone was talking about," He says, nonchalantly, getting back in his seat. "You seem a little shaken, why?," He raises his hand in the air, to call over the bartender.

You ignore the part about people talking about you. You didn't care much about what they have to say.

"It's nothing," You whisper, staring at your hands.

He nods, not pushing the topic furthur.

"I still don't know your name you know," He laughs, a little. "I'm Ichigo,"

"What a stupid name...," You laugh, but it sounds broken. He shouts, "No it's not!," crossing his arms across his chest. "Strawberry," You tease, giving him a small smile. He looks irritated and his face becomes a little red.

Giving one last look to the newlyweds, you get up and start towards the exit.

"Where are you going?," Ichigo calls, his face full of an emotion you didn't understand. He runs after you, almost tripping over himself. You stop in front of the entrance

"I have to go," You murmur. "You're leaving? But I thought you were Toshiro's—,"

"He'll be fine," You say, but it sounds much more like you're trying to reassure yourself. You turn around to face Ichigo, your violet eyes shining. You push away the small strand of hair from your face.

You salute him and walk half-way out the door.

"Wait, I still don't know your name—,"

"—It's Rukia," You say, turning your head a little bit. You stare into his brown eyes and then disappear around the corner.

a/n: i have no idea what this is. i'm pretty sure everyone is ooc. but i still get points for effort, right? ...