"I can tell just by looking at the two of you that you have great voices, so why don't you both serenade us and show off that fabulous vocal talent?"
Ichigo's blank stare of surprise gradually turned into one of disinterest, boredom and with just a hint of disbelief. He was fully prepared to politely decline the woman's offer, but Ichigo's companion opened her mouth and responded before he had a chance to process what was going on.
"That sounds like fun! Would you please sing with me Ichigo?"
After the question was asked, unfortunately Ichigo had been about to say something, but the shock of what had just happened caused him to hesitate and as a result his mouth was left hanging open in a rather dumbstruck and stupid expression. His jaw still slack, Ichigo turned his confused gaze to meet the excited, inquiring light dancing in his companion's eyes which quickly turned into mortification.
"Oh, if you don't want to sing Ichigo, I don't want to force you to, so why don't we just forget all about it and go on and do something else li-"
As his companion had been rambling on at top speed, Ichigo had closed his mouth and adopted a face of patient resignation before he stopped the constant flow of words with two well-placed fingers on the person's lips.
"Who knows? Maybe this could be fun."
To the karaoke manager, Ichigo said shortly, "Nothing too cheesy, too lame or too girly, you got it?"
With a wide smirk, the manager replied, "Of course. I think I have just the song you're looking for."
Once they were organized with the monitor facing them and microphones in their hands, Ichigo began to have second thoughts. Looking around him at all the people milling around, seemingly not paying attention at the moment, Ichigo knew that the moment the music came on and he opened his mouth to sing he would have quite a number of people paying attention to him and his wife. He suddenly felt rather vulnerable and uneasy.
However, ready or not the music started and Ichigo was forced to look at the monitor that would reveal the lyrics of a song he did not recognize by the musical introduction. Then the screen flashed the words "Love, Love, Love by Hope (feat. Jason Mraz)" briefly before the first set of words from the song took their place. Ichigo figured that because the words were in a bright pink color that this would be Orihime's part and it seemed that he guessed right because the next moment his wife began singing.
"Love is so distracting. Am I overreacting for feeling this way? Whenever since I met you I can't keep my attention and you are to blame."
Her voice was clear and beautiful with just a hint of raspiness to give her tone a kind of smoky quality. Thinking back, Ichigo didn't think he had ever heard Orihime sing, but now that he heard her voice he began trying to come up with ways to get her to sing for him in the future.
Looking at her face, Ichigo saw that she was enjoying this experience immensely if the slight smile pulling up the corners of her mouth as she sang was any indication. The song had a Caribbean feel to it and it seemed to suit her well as she was subconsciously shifting her feet, swaying her hips and patting her free hand on her side to the beat.
Watching his new wife interact with the music made him remember what had given him the idea to have them honeymoon on a Caribbean cruise in the first place. It had been less than a year ago while they were engaged and spending time together after a long day of planning for their future. They had been walking down the street when they passed a foreign store called "Fun In the Sun" which sold touristy island wares like shirts, sandals, sunglasses, figurines, jewelry made of shells and other trinkets. As a promotional enticement, the store had decided to hire a band to play Caribbean music outside on the street. Orihime had been so entranced by the music that she stopped dead in front of the band in order to listen to them avidly for about two full songs before the music finally managed to pull her away from Ichigo so that she could move more freely to the music.
Ichigo had watched appreciatively as his fiancée had danced gracefully and naturally and she was not bothered by the fact that other people would stop and stare at her before moving along. A couple of times Ichigo had had to give some other guys a fierce scowl clearly telling them that the dancing girl was off limits since they seemed to be contemplating approaching her.
After two songs, the band had given Orihime an appreciative round of applause which made her blush. Ichigo and Orihime had talked with the band for a few minutes before they had parted ways and not before Ichigo had purchased one of the band's CD's for Orihime.
"Your love's a permanent distraction, a perfect interaction, a feeling so extreme. I lost my appetite to eat. I barely get to sleep 'cause you're even in my dreams. And I thought that I was strong, but I knew that all along this was out of my control. So I fell into your hands and I don't know where we'll land. I'm just going with the flow."
Ichigo was so focused upon his wife's singing during the verse and chorus and his own reminiscing that he nearly missed the bright blue letters popping up on the screen meaning that he was to sing next.
"Some days I want to run away. This feels so perfect it's breaking my heart. Yeah, we could stay here happy or after summer be two worlds apart."
As Ichigo began singing his part, Orihime looked over at her husband and a wave of affection filled her. Even though he had had misgivings about doing this with her, he had done it anyway because he thought it would make her happy. Ichigo was always doing thoughtful things for her and especially now that they were on their honeymoon and able to spend all their time together and not having to make sure that the other got home safely after a lovely date.
Just then, someone passing by the stage on which Ichigo and Orihime were singing happened to be carrying a plate of pizza and the mouth-watering aroma caused Orihime to remember one of their most memorable dates.
They had begun dating shortly before going to college and once classes started both time and money were tight for Ichigo and Orihime so their dates were cost-effective and sometimes rather sporadic. Finally, after three hard months of studying, Ichigo and Orihime were able to spend Christmas Eve together. The beginning of the day had been about spending time with family and friends so that the evening could be a time when they were able to be alone. Unfortunately, the restaurant Ichigo had made reservations at earlier that month had been closed due to the pipes bursting for some unknown reason and flooding the restaurant.
At first, Ichigo had been rather irritated since his carefully laid plans had been thwarted, but with a bit of gentle nudging and encouragement Orihime had eventually soothed him enough so that they began looking for somewhere else to eat. Quite by chance, they had come across a restaurant that served authentic style pizza from Italy, New York and Chicago. That night, Ichigo and Orihime had tried an Italian style margherita pizza and they had both enjoyed the food so much that the next date they had they had returned to the same place.
After Ichigo finished singing his verse, Orihime joined him in singing the chorus and then they arrived at the bridge.
"Your love is coming like a freight train ain't nothing gonna stop it. It's headed for my heart. Your love is bigger than a rain cloud covering up my whole sky. It's filling up my heart with love."
At the lyrics describing love being like a rain cloud, both Ichigo and Orihime looked at one another and each could tell that they were thinking about the same thing at that moment.
The day on which they had started dating had been at a Tanabata Festival in Soul Society. They had crossed over to join in the festivities with everyone else and as one thing led to another they had wound up being brought together as a 'couple' pretending to take on the roles of the Weaver Princess and her Cowherd lover for that night. All of a sudden, a thunderstorm had struck, Ichigo and Orihime had run for cover under a tree and as they stood talking together certain emotions and feelings were brought to light. Their first kiss had been shared out in a field with the rain beating against their skin, but neither had really minded. After that, their previous friendship had taken on a deeper and more romantic quality that had continued to blossom and thrive over the next couple of years.
When the song ended, some onlookers applauded politely for a few seconds before they burst out in louder cheering as Ichigo and Orihime decided to engage in a PDA. As they broke apart, Ichigo looked down at his bride while Orihime gazed up at her husband and they both basked in the love they shared together.
Already in the seemingly short time since they had really gotten to know one another at the ages of fifteen, they had made shared so many varied experiences and memories together. In the years to come, they would add many more and in that time they would also continue to grow and cultivate their love as they made those memories.
