[To say he wasn't startled by the sudden light filling the room or the way she jumps out suddenly would be a bold faced lie. The look of shock on his face and the way he jumps a little is evidence of it. Ichigo has to actually tell himself to chill the hell out and try to diffuse the tension he'd gotten just from that.
Shock bleeds into confusion though, because it just isn't clicking for him why there are lights and little star stickers all over the apartment. Why Inoue would go through the trouble of, and now it makes sense; the errand she'd sent him on to keep him out, doing this is lost on him. Ichigo moves, eyes not really leaving all of the twinkling in their living room as he sets the bag down on the kitchen counter.]
Now the cabbage and oranges make sense, you were trying to keep me away, but why did you--
[Ohhhhhhhh. It's July. It's July 7th, to be exact. Tanabata. Ichigo has been so withdrawn and jaded with everything that anything like this has just. Slipped his mind completely, or, in the case of his fast approaching 18th birthday, has been just shoving it all aside and ignoring it. And the cheerful, pleased look Orihime has right now makes him feel guilty for taking that route.
Ichigo hasn't wanted to acknowledge things about home lately, partially out of defiance at the fact it's out of his power to return so far... but also because deep down, he is really homesick. Admittedly, he absolutely just forgot about Tababata altogether, but. The idea that he might have to endure his birthday for the first time without Dad, Yuzu, and Karin has been like a punch to his gut. And that's not fair to the girl standing before him, the one who has gone through the effort to surprise him with a living room full of stars and twinkling lights. The one who is in the now with him, who has been there with him during his worst moments in Deerington. It's been too easy to try to close himself off, even to Orihime, and that alone is one of the worst things he could be doing right now. It's like giving her the middle finger, and that's was never his intention.
You're such an asshole, sometimes. Ichigo thinks it to himself as he moves to admire one of the strings of lights, hand coming up to touch one of the bulbs. Then he looks to Orihime, a small but appreciative smile, masking all of that deep shit he'd rather not dwell on anymore in an instant.]
Tanabata. Got it. I totally forgot about it, honestly. How long've you been planning this?
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Shock bleeds into confusion though, because it just isn't clicking for him why there are lights and little star stickers all over the apartment. Why Inoue would go through the trouble of, and now it makes sense; the errand she'd sent him on to keep him out, doing this is lost on him. Ichigo moves, eyes not really leaving all of the twinkling in their living room as he sets the bag down on the kitchen counter.]
Now the cabbage and oranges make sense, you were trying to keep me away, but why did you--
[Ohhhhhhhh. It's July. It's July 7th, to be exact. Tanabata. Ichigo has been so withdrawn and jaded with everything that anything like this has just. Slipped his mind completely, or, in the case of his fast approaching 18th birthday, has been just shoving it all aside and ignoring it. And the cheerful, pleased look Orihime has right now makes him feel guilty for taking that route.
Ichigo hasn't wanted to acknowledge things about home lately, partially out of defiance at the fact it's out of his power to return so far... but also because deep down, he is really homesick. Admittedly, he absolutely just forgot about Tababata altogether, but. The idea that he might have to endure his birthday for the first time without Dad, Yuzu, and Karin has been like a punch to his gut. And that's not fair to the girl standing before him, the one who has gone through the effort to surprise him with a living room full of stars and twinkling lights. The one who is in the now with him, who has been there with him during his worst moments in Deerington. It's been too easy to try to close himself off, even to Orihime, and that alone is one of the worst things he could be doing right now. It's like giving her the middle finger, and that's was never his intention.
You're such an asshole, sometimes. Ichigo thinks it to himself as he moves to admire one of the strings of lights, hand coming up to touch one of the bulbs. Then he looks to Orihime, a small but appreciative smile, masking all of that deep shit he'd rather not dwell on anymore in an instant.]
Tanabata. Got it. I totally forgot about it, honestly. How long've you been planning this?