Laundromat

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A/N: Ahhh! It's been, I don't know, 2 years since my last Hitsukarin fic? Oh my god. Worry not! They are still the otp, and I will never leave this ship if it kills me.

Enjoy!

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"Stupid Old man... Stupid...stupid." Karin grumbled as she took the next left of the road to enter the small parking lot that was in front of various little shops.

But most importantly, the store she was forced to go because her oh-so-smart father had left his keys inside of his jacket when he placed it in the washing machine.

The Laundromat.

Lets say, Karin didn't know a washing machine could make so much smoke and make the noise of wannabe drum player.

And the many tears and whines of her father where almost pitiful.

"This is stupid." She sighed, a sour look on her face. Doing the washing was her only chore, she had to do something for the house.

All you needed to do was turn the clothes inside out, sort them by colour, chuck it inside the damn machine, put the required amount of detergent, twist and configure the settings and presto.

Done with the washing.

Now she was forced to take all the households dirty laundry and take it on a ride on the back of her cars' trunk to a public coin washing area.

Such a simple chore made hard. Her only chore apart from studying became hard.

Yuzu dominated in all the other aspects in the house. Cooking, cleaning.

Perfect home wife material.

She did not even let Karin touch a broom to clean up the mess she made from breaking a ceramic mug. Not that she argued, really. If her twin sister enjoyed doing this stuff, She'd let her be.

On the other hand, Her Older brother, a carrot-head named Ichigo, was out mostly working and studying; At the age of 22, he was really a busy guy and she barely saw him except when he had days off. Mostly because he lived on his own now. But he often visited with his girlfriend when she was over- which was a lot.

The 17 year old turned off the engine of her car and got out; Karin's breath suddenly hitched and she shivered slightly. It was only 5pm and the weather was cold enough for her windows to fog and her breath to become visible due to the temperature. Not much to be expected of Autumn bordering winter.

But, She'd need to bring a coat with her next time, until the washing machine was repaired.

Karin murmured a few curses under her breath towards her father as she rubbed her arms over her thin long sleeved black shirt and walked to the back of her car to retrieve the offending materials needed to be washed. The laundry.

"Yosh." She said to herself, grabbing the laundry basket and balancing it on the boot of her car, whilst she got another trash bag's worth of dirty clothes. She placed the back over the basket and lifted it.

It was a bit on the heavy side, but it was nothing compared to what she was used to carry.

She quickly closed the boot of her car with her leg and quickly scrambled for the keys so she could lock it. And she did.

She walked with caution, carefully balancing the mountain of clothes that where now under her domain. The Raven haired female pushed the glass door and walked inside the very bland and the very abandoned looking washing area. A bell rand as she entered.

Soft, laundromat-tish music was playing in the background as she walked in between the rows of washing machines and she finally picked one not too far to the door. It seemed cleaner somehow.

Hm. She thought, as she placed her basket down at the bench with a relived sigh. She later walked in front of the offending machine and eyed it with mild wonder and suspicion.

'Anyone could have used this' She thought as she stuck her younger out in mild disgust and amusement and smirked to herself. "Oh well."

"Now how does this work...?" Karin murmured to herself as she stood in front the apparatus. The thing had many slots and knobs and labels. But she soon learnt that she had to insert $2 worth of coins, detergent on a small slot and press a default button for it to work.

Karin eyed the numerous boxes of opened detergents and softening liquids. She quickly took a whiff of one before walking back to the bench where she had brought her own detergent. She quickly grabbed it and went to the machine and opened one of the slots and poured the required amount on one, before walking to one next to it and putting some on another.

She had both coloured clothing and underwear and she'd be damned if she mixed them up together because it'd be pretty unhygienic. She shrugged.

She put the pre-sorted clothes on each washing machine and closed their lids tightly, before digging her pocket for the needed amount of money in coins.

"There." She said, satisfied with herself after she had placed the last coin in the slot and pressed the buttons, and soon enough the machines roared to life.

It'd take a solid half hour before the things would be washed, and another hour and a half would be needed for the drying.

"How boring..." Karin said as she plopped upon a plastic blue chair and scrummaged her bag for her iPod and earphones; she took the buds and popped them into her ears before playing her music on shuffle.

Karin's onyx eyes studied the Laundromat vividly, not having anything else to do. The place was quiet, spare the noise of the street and the soft music played on the radio, and the music currently playing in her ears.

The place had at least 20 washing machines and another 20 dryers, she noted.

And she also noted they had a bending machine, which had a Coca Cola bottle in front that was calling her name.

"What the heck." She said as she stood up from the chair she had spent 15 minutes on and walked south towards the bending machine. She arrived, pressed a few buttons and out popped the sweet caries in a bottle.

"Now that's what I'm talking about..." She said as she took a sip of her drink and headed towards her chair, to continue waiting for her laundry to Finish.

Not even 20 minutes had past.

Her head was so fixated on the time remaining and the time outside that she tripped on herself causing her drink to spill on her blessed chest.

"Damnit, just what I needed." She cursed to herself as she looked down to her chest, the drink leaving an even darker spot on her dark shirt. Feeling sticky and uncomfortable she shrugged before tugging her shirt towards her head, attempting to remove it and put it to dry somewhere.

But her intentions where quickly withheld When a gust of cold wind entered the room and the bell rung from the door upfront, signalling that another human being had entered the shop, walking on her midst stripping.

Walking on her midst stripping.

Her top.

.

Well, shit.

"U-um..." Karin stuttered in shock. An attractive, young man about her age, give or take a year, with vibrant, gravity defying white hair and shining turquoise filled with pure shock had appeared through the door.

Well, his whole face and body where in pure shock. His face was slowly, turning a dangerous shade of red, at the sight of the attractive 17 year old Raven haired, Onyx eyed girl known as Karin Kurosaki who was in the midst of stripping her shirt off.

Leaving a very broad and nice view of her very blessed red-bra covered bosoms to the eye of the beholder.

Both parties blinked before Karin quickly reacted and screamed, or yelled, startling the young man back to his senses, allowing a bright red blush enter his face like a Christmas light.

Karin gritted her teeth in embarrassment, a blush appearing in her cheeks as she turned her back to him. Fuck the shirt. Wet stain or not she was not going to remove it.

Well, not now.

The Snow haired male quickly gathered his laundry and belongings and launched himself towards the nearest washing machine, hoping it'd be as far as it could from the woman he had just... accidentally run into in the midst of stripping.

What healthy woman STRIPPED in public domain?!

Was the world that corrupted now that now not even women had sense of DIGNITY?!

"ugh..." Karin spoke before he could. Toushiro, Toushiro Hitsugaya was his name, turned around slowly and stared at her from the corner of his eye, a blush still evident on his cheeks.

She was clothed now.

Thank god.

Toushiro slowly turned his body around to find the woman, avoiding his intense gaze with her head aside.

Karin's eyes closed and her eyebrows knitted together in frustration before she let it go with a sigh. A long sigh.

Why did this happen.

"I'm... Sorry for what you saw, okay?" She mumbled, the raven still had her eyes closed, but she pouted and her cheeks still had a very evident red hue on them.

Plus, she could feel his intense stare on her.

He blinked.

Sorry? Oh so she apologized, for what he saw? If she'd ask any other healthy male the question they'd probably wouldn't be sorry at all for the splendid sight that had bestowed in front of them.

Not that he...

"Oi" She grumbled, a little more in character this time. "Let's pretend that never happened, okay?" Karin said, turning her head around slightly so she could look a his reaction, while she placed a hand on her hip.

"If that's what you want." Toushiro shrugged. Sure, if she wanted to move on with that, good for her. It was better to move forward than live with the regret of something past.

He'd learnt that the hard way.

"Great!" Karin beamed, turning her body altogether, her hands joint; sporting a grin that cut Toushiro out if his train of thought.

"Let's start again... The past is past, even if it was damn embarrassing."

"Sure." Toushiro replied, pressing a final button and his washing machine roared to life. "But can you answer me something?"

"Yeah?"

"Why... Why were you stripping...?" Toushiro tried to say as calmly as possible. His voice slightly hinting the anxiety of the past events.

Call him an old man, because sure. He was like an old man trapped in a body of a 17 year old.

Karin kept silent, as she tried to bring up an explanation as to why, WHY, she was.

"..."

"...Would you believe me if I said I was changing because I spilled coke over myself...?" The raven looked up, her head at his eye level; her eyebrows furrowed and a awkward grin in place. Unsure if he'd buy it.

Even if it was the truth.

"Oh." Toushiro blinked. "...If that was the case... Um."

"Karin, Kurosaki Karin." Karin scratched her head, introducing herself.

Toushiro nodded. "Kurosaki-San-"

"Karin!" Karin snarled, startling the male. She absolutely loathed when people called her by her family name. She had a large family, and formalities were not her thing either, but he probably wouldn't know. "Call me Karin damn it." She said, furrowing her eyebrows and looking away in embarrassment.

He sighed. The girl was unpredictable. "Karin." He continued, trying to contain his amusement. "Next time if you plan on changing, I'd advice you not to do it near the front of a glass door, or if possible, in public." He smirked, his turquoise eyes glinting.

"Che." Karin scoffed, dismissing his advice. "Well, sorry, didn't know you where public security, Shorty." She stuck her tongue at the male at the other side of the room and smirked back with further intensity.

"Tch." Toushiro's eye twitched. "I am NOT short!" He yelled at the female. Sure he was shorter than he was supposed to be at his age but he had grown a considerable amount in the last few months!

"So don't call me that." He seethed through his teeth.

"What should I call you then?" Karin said, taking a sip of her soda and lifting an eyebrow. Clearly enjoying the short fused anger of the male she just met.

But on the upside, It seemed like he had forgotten what had just happened, becoming so flustered like that.

Good.

"If you must, call me by my name Hitsugaya Toushiro." Said person replied, crossing his arms across his brown-jacketed chest.

"Toushiro, hm."

"Hey!" Toushiro growled. He disliked being called by his name so causally. Unlike her, honourifics were a must. Even if his name sounded well by the way she said it. but Hell, he disliked people even talking to him!

So why was he acting so causally back?

"So Toushiro." Karin grinned as she leaned back to her washing machine, the vibrations currently massaging her back like a cheap Chinese massage. Ignoring his burst. "What are you doing here?"

"What's with that question?" Toushiro lifted a white brow.

"Bored." She simply replied.

"Hm." He tapped his fingers against his arm before gritting his teeth. "For Cooking asparagus perhaps- what do you think I'm doing here?" Toushiro snapped sarcastically at the stupid question.

Sure it was called small talk but really?

Small talk was unessecary.

it was idiotic.

Isn't like, usually a 'Hey what school do you go to?' 'What is your hair naturally white?' 'Do you like video games?'

But no.

Karin frowned for a second at his short temper before laughing softly and shaking her head, as if she was enjoying his pain.

And she was.

Damn her.

"No, Cap'n Grump-a-lot." She teased. "I mean, do you come here often? The place is like... Abandoned." She said looking around at the near empty place that only contained himself and herself alone.

Toushiro sighed, trying to regain his nerves he had no idea why they had bursted.

Oh wait, he did know.

"I have to." He replied sternly. "I can't do my laundry at home."

"How come?" Karin said shifting her weight towards the top of her back, and crossing her jean-covered legs.

The male covered his face with his tan hand. "I can't stand the thought of my aunt washing my clothes... It's just..." Toushiro trailed off before shivering. "Creepy."

Yes, he did own a washing machine. But he had to share it. He lived with his Godmother... aunt, And he wouldn't bring his clothes an inch close to his Aunt Rangiku's clothes or he'd be damned.

"Huh... I kinda know how you feel." She laughed at his expression before nodding understandingly.

She would only wash her stuff with Yuzu's, Her dad's stuff would go in a completely separate basket alongside her brothers, which she didn't really care about doing.

Her Father can be damned, she didn't care if he'd have to pay double for the water bills, if he already took one hour showers daily and finished nearly all the hot water.

"You?" Toushiro asked back sternly. Karin looked up with her eyebrows raised. "I've never seen you around." He continued.

"I've never come here, First time." She chuckled slowly, remembering why she was even outside the house. "My dad left his keys in his jacket and that destroyed the washing machine." It was all his fault.

"Really?" Toushiro's eyes widened in disbelief as his eyebrows rose, and the corners of his lips twitched upwards which revealed a ghost of a smile, which turned into soft chuckles. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard in a while."

His eyes crinkled on the corners as he chuckled.

It was cute.

But Karin caught herself daring at the male across the room and shook her head to snap out of it. "He does many things." She continued to talk to distract herself. "Say, you said you live with your auntie? Anyone else?" She asked.

"Just her is more than enough." Toushiro replied. "I used to live with my older sister who is actually my cousin as well, but after a certain incident she..." He stopped right there.

He Wasn't going to think about it.

And why was he even talking about it?

He couldn't even talk about it with his family, yet it was coming out smoothly to a complete stranger?

It was like the two had known each other for a while now.

"Toushiro" Karin said slowly, regaining the turquoise-eyed lad's attention. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to Toushiro, I... Sorry I brought it up." She smiled apologetically.

Hey, there were certain stuff a person can't discuss openly, and if he didn't want to discuss it, that's cool with her.

"It's okay." He replied almost instantly. "She's okay too, by the way." Toushiro smiled awkwardly. "She went to hospital after a certain incident and then she got better but now she lives alone, I don't really care about it, she's pretty annoying sometimes." He shook his head before smirking. "Now all I need is my auntie to leave too."

"Ah, don't be so mean." Karin laughed, before a PING was heard from behind her, signalling that one of the washing machines was done with the laundry. "Oh, one done-" she said before another PING was heard, signalling that now both we're done. "-Both done."

The washing took a little longer than expected now that she had put it on Rinse + spin for another 20 minutes. But now that was done and she could dry them and go home later on.

"How about you, Karin?" Toushiro continued, his back now facing Karin as he was taking his phone out of his bag. He was feeling specially chatty today. His aunt would be shocked.

"Do you live with your family or-"

"Family." She replied, pressing a final button and turning on the driers for her clothes. An hour more to bear. "Sister, Brother, Father, that's all."

'No mother?' Toushiro thought to himself. He quieted himself before even thinking of bringing that up. The least he wanted now was to upset the girl after he had already walked in on her changing.

Not that it was his fault, after all.

But of course, if there was a reason why she didn't bring up her mother, why would he even think of bringing it up?

It was a personal issue, its not like he was going to discus such a delicate issue!

Stupid. Stupid!

"Hn." He muttered...

Before someone poked his forehead.

"Oi!" Toushiro yelled at the culprit known as Kurosaki Karin, who had just poked his forehead and had an amused grin on her face. "What was that for?" He growled, rubbing his forehead from her sharp finger. Damn nails. "Is that how you treat a person you just met?" He scolded the girl in front of him.

"You frown too much." She said simply. "You already look like your frowning normally but relax." She said putting a hand on his shoulder. "Okay?"

"..." Toushiro said nothing, yet kept his hand on his forehead where she had poked him.

"Yosh." Karin nodded before walking off to her stall. Now that she'd cheered the shorty an hopefully the past was behind them, she could continue with her chores.

But unbeknownst to her the Shorty was still staring at her.

How did she know he was somewhat upset?

Why was he letting this stranger act so close?

Why did it not bother him?

She had taken a sip of her soda before turning her body around, only to find the, she wasn't going to lie, attractive male in front of her gazing straight at her.

And it wasn't even ambiguous, it was straight at her.

"Is something... Wrong?" Karin said slowly, successfully bringing the bleached haired lad back to his senses. "Toushiro."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, sorry." Toushiro closed his eyes and turned away. He was zoning out again, and now he didn't even have a decoy to save him because he actually was caught staring. "I-I was just looking at that poster over there!" He said flusterdly, raising his finger at the nearest poster to her in the speed of light.

The speed of embarrassment more like it.

"In direction of my face?" Karin replied teasingly, pointing at her own face, a smirk very evident that she had hit the right spot.

Damn her.

But what really caught him off guard was when she started laughing. Oh it was like Angels where creating a heavenly soundtrack to accompany her precious voice that was no longer of mockery or amusement, but pure enjoyment.

"I like you, Toushiro." She said once her laughter died down and she wiped a non existent year on her left eye with her finger. "You're a pretty interesting guy." She grinned. "Wanna go get a milkshake or something later?" She smiled at the shocked looking male on the other side of the room which reminded her of their first encounter no longer than an hour ago.

"Reverse gender roles, I see." He said, looking down and tucking in his hands on his pockets after adjusting his teal scarf on his lean neck, under his chiselled chin. "That should be my line." He said, shaking his head and smirking at what he was going to say. "You're a pretty interesting woman despite your stripping habit you displayed earlier on."

He had to say, he enjoyed seeing this girl become flustered and all.

He'd certainly enjoy seeing her out once again and seeing more of her reactions,

Once they finished their laundry, and all.

.

"Hey!"

Okay, maybe he wasn't going to forget their first meeting at all.

Because there was a very low chance for it being their last.

.

End.

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Geez...! I had forgotten how much I loved this ship, and writing. I have improved so much over time... Hopefully I will write more Hitsukarin soon!

Yeah, a random idea hit me when my own washing machine gave in and we had to get a new one! Ah, but Laundromats are pretty silent places, so it inspired this story... Hehe~

I hope you enjoyed it

And

Please Review!

~Cyndy-chan