#the phrase 'i thought the world of you' with voice softer slash almost breaking in the middle

[tennessoui]

absolutely hate when i can't think of where a quote or saying comes from but i know it absolutely comes from some piece of media i've consumed in the past and i agonize over trying to trace it back to the source and then give it up, and then i'm watching a piece of media and bam i found the root of the phrase and it's like. thor ragnarok. or something.

[ramblingkat]

Fic: Storm(Bleach)

UraIchi discord is a terrible place if you are trying to hide from plunnies. 

Look, a coffee shop and a writer AU, all in one. My shame is out for all to see. There is a lot more of this to come as well. 

Characters: Kurosaki Ichigo, Urahara Kisuke, Unagiya Ikumi

***

Shutting his book, Ichigo rubbed his eyes and sat up, back popping.

Okay, enough of that. Time to take a bit of a break. College was fun at times, but it was also a lot of work. Which was why this job was such a good thing to have. 

Yeah, Ichigo worked a weird little night shift. It never seemed busy enough to justify staying open, but he wasn’t going to argue. It was pretty much the perfect time to work with his schedule of school and actually getting a chance to see his friends. Which was needed. Tatsuki and Ishida’s mockery was sometimes the only thing that got him out of his fog of English words and books. 

As he stretched a bit, Ichigo let his eyes roam the shop. There was only one person in the place, the scruffy blond man who came in regularly. He had been sitting in one of the corner tables, worn clothing still damp from the rain that had started to drizzle down not long before the man came in. 

His battered bag was on the ground next to him, strap looped around the arm of the chair he was in to secure it. On the table was the ugliest hat Ichigo had seen in a while, green and white, tattered on the edges. Next to it was a notebook, which Ichigo knew was full of some sort of scribbles. Ichigo was really curious about what they were about. He had a glimpse inside a few times while cleaning up. Sometimes there were notes, writing neat and in a language he didn’t recognize. Sometimes there were sketches, drawings and blueprints of things, neatly labeled.

When Ichigo had glanced up earlier, the man had been holding the cup of coffee he had bought, eyes shut, almost asleep. Though the noise of Ichigo setting his book down had brought the man’s head up, and he blinked at Ichigo. Then he gave Ichigo a smile and took a sip of the coffee. 

 Given the look of betrayal he gave the cup, Ichigo assumed that the coffee had gotten cold enough to be unpleasant. Since the guy had paid for the first cup with change scrambled out of his pocket, Ichigo assumed that he didn’t have enough for a second cup. 

But even across the room, he could see the shiver that ran through the man’s shoulder, and that tugged at Ichigo’s heart. As much as he liked to pretend that he didn’t have one. 

Since the guy was his only customer in hours, Ichigo knew what the man’s order was. So he remade it. 

When he set it down in front of the guy, Ichigo got to see the man’s eyes were grey for the first time. Usually, they were shaded by the guy’s hat and Ichigo couldn’t see them all that clearly. 

Though without the hat, blond hair was starting to fluff as it dried, and pale eyes were wide as the guy looked at Ichigo, Ichigo had a realization that the guy was hot. 

“On the house,” he said, and retreating rapidly. Was he blushing? Ichigo was sure he was blushing. That was horrifying. He just realized the homeless guy that hung around at the shop during the dark hours of the night was hot. Honestly, he wasn’t sure this could get worse. 

As if waiting for that phrase, there was a brilliant flash outside, and a rumble of thunder that was more sensation than sound. A second flash and sizzling pop followed and the power went out. 

Ichigo should have known better. He was an English Literature major. Why had he used the most cliche method of making things worse?

“I think the transformer exploded,” came a surprising voice, and Ichigo jolted as he realized that it was the customer. He scrambled from the man’s name. It was used from time to time when there was more than one customer at a time. 

Kisuke. A weird name, not one he had heard before. But it made it easier to recall than if he had some regular name. Still, the man was quiet, and other than some murmurs when he made his orders, Ichigo had never heard the guy talk much. 

There was a bit of a sigh from the other. “And no backup generator in here, it seems.” Kisuke tsked from the area his table was at. “I guess both of us are done with anything to do with reading or writing.”

Which annoyed Ichigo. He had a new book to read for fun, not one of his many books for class, and wanted to start that tonight. Yes, it was a trashy romance, but Ichigo didn’t care. It was a fun read, and there was a lot of interesting world building. And a great deal of smut, which was hilarious. Ichigo and Tatsuki had regular dramatic readings of the book for the entertainment of their YouTube followers. 

So the loss of power was really annoying. 

Pulling his phone, Ichigo texted the number they had been given to pass on the message of the power outage. Not that his boss could do much, but maybe she’d give Ichigo permission to shut down. Though it might take a bit to find out. 

“So, Ichigo-san, you seem to be reading a lot of books in English,” Kisuke said, apparently deciding that the silence was something to break. Ichigo had a moment of wondering how the man knew his name, but then remembered he had a nametag on. “College?”

Ichigo nodded, glancing to where Kisuke was sitting. His eyes were starting to adjust to the dim light from the city glow. Even if their section was offline, there was plenty of areas that were still lit up. Otherwise, he’d have the flashlight on his phone turned on. But he realized that it was still dim enough that Kisuke might not have seen the nod. “Yeah,” he said, feeling a bit awkward about having a such a normal conversation in the dark.

“English is an interesting language,” the blond said, switching to the language with an ease that spoke of practice. 

Ichigo could understand what he was saying and was pretty impressed. To have so little accent was something that was one of Ichigo’s goals for his own English speaking. No reason not to practice now, since he couldn’t do anything else at the moment. 

“Yes, though the way they structure their sentences is odd.” He took his time, making sure he had the words and the grammar correct. But he was pleased with how he sounded. 

There was a slash of brighter color from where Kisuke sat, the other obviously smiling in the faint light.

Another flash and rumbled, and even the dim light from outside faded as the sky opened up and rain poured down. Both men looked out, and then Ichigo yelped as his phone trilled. Fumbling it, aware he was blushing as Kisuke chuckled at him, Ichigo saw that it was Unagiya giving him a call back. 

Moving back to the counter, he answered it. “Hey,” he said, leaning against the counter as he watched the rain come down outside. It was soaking wet out there, and he was glad he had brought his umbrella today. Yuzu had called and insisted, and the thought of his sister made him smile, just a little. He’d have to say thank you when he talked to her later. 

“Lock up and go home,” his boss said. “The storm has half the city blacked out, so it’ll be while before it comes back on.” She sighed. “I’ll go through and clean up in the morning, toss the stuff that needed to stay cold. No need to try it in the dark.”

Ichigo glanced at Kisuke, then outside, frowning a bit. “All right. I can come in early tomorrow and help with any clean up if you need me to.” Because as much as they bickered, he liked his boss. Even if she was insane when her kid showed up. 

She snorted on the other side of the line. “Go home and sleep for once. I’ll see you are your regular time.”

Then she hung up, and Ichigo rolled his eyes. Blunt as always. Putting his phone way, Ichigo glanced where Kisuke had been sitting.

Only to yelp again as he realized the man was standing just outside of arms reach, hat in place and bag looped over his shoulder. 

Kisuke was close enough now that Ichigo would clearly see the shit eating grin on his face. “I assume you’ll be closing now,” the blond said cheerfully. “I hope you have a good night and a safe trip home, Ichigo-san.”

Huffing a bit at the man, Ichigo glanced outside again. “I will. Can I walk you anywhere? I have an umbrella….”

His voice trailed off, and he looked at Kisuke. The smile had faded, and he realized that Kisuke was studying him. Then the smile curled across Kisuke’s face again, softer and calmer as the man seemed happy at the offer. 

“Ah, I will fine.” Kisuke shifted so his bag was secure. “Though I appreciate your kindness.” He held up the coffee that Ichigo had just given him, and then moved, ignoring Ichigo’s startled protest as he managed to get to the door and then out, without even running into any of the chairs or tables. 

Ichigo grimaced. The guy was going to get soaked. 

He wondered if Kisuke even had dry stuff to change into.

Hopefully. 

Ichigo made a note to get him a free drink the next time he showed up. 

Because it was the right thing to do. Not because of the way Kisuke had smiled when holding the cup before leaving. 

Ichigo really needed to get better at lying to himself, honestly. With a sigh, he started to lock things up and head out. Something to consider later.

[ramblingkat]

Fic: Storm(Bleach)

UraIchi discord is a terrible place if you are trying to hide from plunnies.

Look, a coffee shop and a writer AU, all in one. My shame is out for all to see. There is a lot more of this to come

Characters: Kurosaki Ichigo, Urahara Kisuke, Unagiya Ikumi

***

Shutting his book, Ichigo rubbed his eyes and sat up, back popping.

Okay, enough of that. Time to take a bit of a break. College was fun at times, but it was also a lot of work. Which was why this job was such a good thing to have.

Yeah, Ichigo worked a weird little night shift. It never seemed busy enough to justify staying open, but he wasn’t going to argue. It was pretty much the perfect time to work with his schedule of school and actually getting a chance to see his friends. Which was needed. Tatsuki and Ishida’s mockery was sometimes the only thing that got him out of his fog of English words and books.

As he stretched a bit, Ichigo let his eyes roam the shop. There was only one person in the place, the scruffy blond man who came in regularly. He had been sitting in one of the corner tables, worn clothing still damp from the rain that had started to drizzle down not long before the man came in.

His battered bag was on the ground next to him, strap looped around the arm of the chair he was in to secure it. On the table was the ugliest hat Ichigo had seen in a while, green and white, tattered on the edges. Next to it was a notebook, which Ichigo knew was full of some sort of scribbles. Ichigo was really curious about what they were about. He had a glimpse inside a few times while cleaning up. Sometimes there were notes, writing neat and in a language he didn’t recognize. Sometimes there were sketches, drawings and blueprints of things, neatly labeled.

When Ichigo had glanced up earlier, the man had been holding the cup of coffee he had bought, eyes shut, almost asleep. Though the noise of Ichigo setting his book down had brought the man’s head up, and he blinked at Ichigo. Then he gave Ichigo a smile and took a sip of the coffee.

Given the look of betrayal he gave the cup, Ichigo assumed that the coffee had gotten cold enough to be unpleasant. Since the guy had paid for the first cup with change scrambled out of his pocket, Ichigo assumed that he didn’t have enough for a second cup.

But even across the room, he could see the shiver that ran through the man’s shoulder, and that tugged at Ichigo’s heart. As much as he liked to pretend that he didn’t have one.

Since the guy was his only customer in hours, Ichigo knew what the man’s order was. So he remade it.

When he set it down in front of the guy, Ichigo got to see the man’s eyes were grey for the first time. Usually, they were shaded by the guy’s hat and Ichigo couldn’t see them all that clearly.

Though without the hat, blond hair was starting to fluff as it dried, and pale eyes were wide as the guy looked at Ichigo, Ichigo had a realization that the guy was hot.

“On the house,” he said, and retreating rapidly. Was he blushing? Ichigo was sure he was blushing. That was horrifying. He just realized the homeless guy that hung around at the shop during the dark hours of the night was hot. Honestly, he wasn’t sure this could get worse.

As if waiting for that phrase, there was a brilliant flash outside, and a rumble of thunder that was more sensation than sound. A second flash and sizzling pop followed and the power went out.

Ichigo should have known better. He was an English Literature major. Why had he used the most cliche method of making things worse?

“I think the transformer exploded,” came a surprising voice, and Ichigo jolted as he realized that it was the customer. He scrambled from the man’s name. It was used from time to time when there was more than one customer at a time.

Kisuke. A weird name, not one he had heard before. But it made it easier to recall than if he had some regular name. Still, the man was quiet, and other than some murmurs when he made his orders, Ichigo had never heard the guy talk much.

There was a bit of a sigh from the other. “And no backup generator in here, it seems.” Kisuke tsked from the area his table was at. “I guess both of us are done with anything to do with reading or writing.”

Which annoyed Ichigo. He had a new book to read for fun, not one of his many books for class, and wanted to start that tonight. Yes, it was a trashy romance, but Ichigo didn’t care. It was a fun read, and there was a lot of interesting world building. And a great deal of smut, which was hilarious. Ichigo and Tatsuki had regular dramatic readings of the book for the entertainment of their YouTube followers.

So the loss of power was really annoying.

Pulling his phone, Ichigo texted the number they had been given to pass on the message of the power outage. Not that his boss could do much, but maybe she’d give Ichigo permission to shut down. Though it might take a bit to find out.

“So, Ichigo-san, you seem to be reading a lot of books in English,” Kisuke said, apparently deciding that the silence was something to break. Ichigo had a moment of wondering how the man knew his name, but then remembered he had a nametag on. “College?”

Ichigo nodded, glancing to where Kisuke was sitting. His eyes were starting to adjust to the dim light from the city glow. Even if their section was offline, there was plenty of areas that were still lit up. Otherwise, he’d have the flashlight on his phone turned on. But he realized that it was still dim enough that Kisuke might not have seen the nod. “Yeah,” he said, feeling a bit awkward about having a such a normal conversation in the dark.

“English is an interesting language,” the blond said, switching to the language with an ease that spoke of practice.

Ichigo could understand what he was saying and was pretty impressed. To have so little accent was something that was one of Ichigo’s goals for his own English speaking. No reason not to practice now, since he couldn’t do anything else at the moment.

“Yes, though the way they structure their sentences is odd.” He took his time, making sure he had the words and the grammar correct. But he was pleased with how he sounded.

There was a slash of brighter color from where Kisuke sat, the other obviously smiling in the faint light.

Another flash and rumbled, and even the dim light from outside faded as the sky opened up and rain poured down. Both men looked out, and then Ichigo yelped as his phone trilled. Fumbling it, aware he was blushing as Kisuke chuckled at him, Ichigo saw that it was Unagiya giving him a call back.

Moving back to the counter, he answered it. “Hey,” he said, leaning against the counter as he watched the rain come down outside. It was soaking wet out there, and he was glad he had brought his umbrella today. Yuzu had called and insisted, and the thought of his sister made him smile, just a little. He’d have to say thank you when he talked to her later.

“Lock up and go home,” his boss said. “The storm has half the city blacked out, so it’ll be while before it comes back on.” She sighed. “I’ll go through and clean up in the morning, toss the stuff that needed to stay cold. No need to try it in the dark.”

Ichigo glanced at Kisuke, then outside, frowning a bit. “All right. I can come in early tomorrow and help with any clean up if you need me to.” Because as much as they bickered, he liked his boss. Even if she was insane when her kid showed up.

She snorted on the other side of the line. “Go home and sleep for once. I’ll see you are your regular time.”

Then she hung up, and Ichigo rolled his eyes. Blunt as always. Putting his phone way, Ichigo glanced where Kisuke had been sitting.

Only to yelp again as he realized the man was standing just outside of arms reach, hat in place and bag looped over his shoulder.

Kisuke was close enough now that Ichigo would clearly see the shit eating grin on his face. “I assume you’ll be closing now,” the blond said cheerfully. “I hope you have a good night and a safe trip home, Ichigo-san.”

Huffing a bit at the man, Ichigo glanced outside again. “I will. Can I walk you anywhere? I have an umbrella….”

His voice trailed off, and he looked at Kisuke. The smile had faded, and he realized that Kisuke was studying him. Then the smile curled across Kisuke’s face again, softer and calmer as the man seemed happy at the offer.

“Ah, I will fine.” Kisuke shifted so his bag was secure. “Though I appreciate your kindness.” He held up the coffee that Ichigo had just given him, and then moved, ignoring Ichigo’s startled protest as he managed to get to the door and then out, without even running into any of the chairs or tables.

Ichigo grimaced. The guy was going to get soaked.

He wondered if Kisuke even had dry stuff to change into.

Hopefully.

Ichigo made a note to get him a free drink the next time he showed up.

Because it was the right thing to do. Not because of the way Kisuke had smiled when holding the cup before leaving.

Ichigo really needed to get better at lying to himself, honestly. With a sigh, he started to lock things up and head out. Something to consider later.