tampered | Log; complete

People always said Hitsugaya came with a permanent frown but he personally disagreed. It was a headache that seemed to be the only permanent thing with him these days, there was always something to fuss over or responsibilities to worry about and honestly, he was getting a little tired. Tired enough to feign illness and take a break from captaincy but that would have been entirely too irresponsible for him to try. At least the suite was quieter these days, a minor blessing in the afternoon. It wasn’t that he hated company; he just hated that made noise.

"What are you making?" were the first words from his mouth when he spotted Hinamori in the kitchen. He had wanted something to drink and perhaps even a short distraction, anything that wasn’t arrancar or City related would have been welcomed at that point.

That is, if Hinamori wasn’t going to shoo him away again.

Captains. They always snuck up on you without a word. Even if you were a vice captain. It took a second of just staring at him to register what he'd said, and a further second for Hinamori to remember what it was indeed that she was making.

"Ah, a cake. For... Everyone, really." Since she never knew who was coming or going around here any more. "It should be done in a minute, actually."

She wondered briefly if Hitsugaya wasn't really asking so much as to what as to why, but it didn't really matter. She'd answer anything he asked of her. "Did you need something?"

She was always making something in the kitchen. Or cleaning up after the ‘children’ that ran around in their suite. If he didn’t know any better he would have guessed Hinamori became their mother. They were short two kids the last time he checked, but then again that was two days ago, they could be coming back that evening for all he knew.

"How big?" He walked over to peer at her work over her shoulder before turning towards the fridge and opening it to scan the contents within.

Why were they out of juice? "I was thirsty." He said simply, "but there’s nothing in here besides milk so I’ll pass for now." He released his hold on the door and allowed it to close shut again. If she was about to be done in a minute then that meant she could leave the kitchen unattended for awhile, "Are you up for a walk?"

"Normal sized, enough for Yachiru to be happy. And then some, hopefully." Slipping the oven gloves on she tackled the hard part, facing the heat to rescue the cake before it burned. Not that she wasn't fond of heat, but it was still hot. And ready to be iced after it cooled.

Hinamori set the cake tin down, glancing over at the shorter shinigami. "Milk's not that bad. Or there's water." But if he wanted a walk... She smiled softly, slipping the gloves off. "Where did you want to go?"

Normal sized for Yachiru would be pretty big for the rest of the world and indeed, it was. Sometimes it made Hitsugaya wonder if their kitchen was really big enough for all of them.

"Milk is disgusting." He looked away, dairy products were only good for making ice cream or cheese since the taste changed. There wasn’t anywhere in particular he wanted to go, but after the plagues and curses last month, Hitsugaya had spent quite a bit of time holed up inside. "Anywhere is good, the sun is nice today. We could even stop by the café later if I’m still thirsty then."

She sighed slightly at his dislike of milk, but let it go. She'd never be able to change his mind on that.

"The gardens then? Nell always likes going there." Hinamori moved from the counter to the fridge, slipping her hand into the captains with a smile and slight blush. "I don't mind at all."

He wasn't sure he wanted to take a trip through one of Nell's favourite spots, but, if Hinamori wanted to, than so did he. "The gardens sounds perfect to me." He did like some flowers, and it would be a nice, quiet area that would be somewhat secluded...Hmm.

Her taking his hand surprised him a little, but it was a pleasant feeling that he didn't mind. He did however, look away for a second to hide his grin all the while sounding his usual gruff self, "Well then, let's go before the cake cools too much."

"It should be alright for a while, unless Yachiru finds it." Hinamori couldn't help but question why he'd glanced away but it was just one of those things she'd let slide. Not because he outranked her but- But because he was her whatever they were and she liked not having to worry too much that every little thing she did bothered him.

Not that it really stopped her from worrying. Which! "I'll be right back!" Pausing only long enough to make sure no one else was around and press a chaste kiss to his cheek, the darker haired shinigami held back a light fit of giggles as she fled the kitchen momentarily.

She returned quickly enough, gaze settled on the zanpakuto she was tying to her waist before glancing up to look at the captain from the doorway. "Just in case. Ready?"

He smirked a little at the thought of Yachiru finding the cake before they got home. "Oh, knowing your usual cakes, I think she'll be patient enough to wait for you to put icing and sugars on it." At least, Nell and the others would try to hold back in any case.

"Eh-?"Yet again she surprised him the second time that day, however this time Hitsugaya didn't turn away to blush or grin since Hinamori had fled back into the kitchen. Instead he held a hand over his cheek and smiled like a dork to himself until she returned.

It certainly made up for the lack of attention the week earlier.

The sight of her zanpakuto mellowed him out a bit, since realization of how safe the city was hit him. But, he had his zanpakuto with him too so they should be fine. "Just in case is a good idea. And I'm ready when you are." He offered her his hand.

His hand was out- Ah- They didn't- Well, they hadn't- Would that be alright? Or was Hinamori making herself worry about every little thing just because she could? It wasn't that she minded, certainly, her hand had gone ahead and claimed his easily enough while she was still pondering it. But the arrancar knew on some level, so was it really okay?

It would have to be. She wanted it to be. She liked it, if the colour in her cheeks was any indication. Which it no doubt was.

"I am," Hinamori managed to mumble, gaze set on their hands for a moment. The slightly taller shinigami smiled shyly before giving a small tug, heading for the door. "Um, and you know, Hitsugaya-kun, if there's anything bothering you, you can tell me, right? Even if it's a secret. I can keep them! I just don't want you to feel like you're alone," she concluded, risking a glance at him.

It would be all right, the fact that they were close was already noticed by the arrancar since her kidnapping anyways. There was no reason to pretend they were just acquaintances, no one was buying it either way if the teasing from Yachiru were any indication. He gave her hand a squeeze and took pleasure in seeing the pink flush across her cheeks.

Hitsugaya led them out the door and down towards the gardens. "Nothing really bothers me beyond the fact that people are dying left and right. But that's nothing new, is it?"

"The dues... That's over now, though." She didn't add the 'I hope' she was thinking. "So it should be okay. But that's not what I meant." Hinamori really wasn't sure how to tackle the things she believed kept Hitsugaya in sullen silence for the majority of the day. Mostly because she was worried that by talking about it, it would only bother him.

She worried a lot. "I meant about Matsumoto-san. And... Things like that." Hinamori would have rathered a more cheerful topic to discuss whilst walking with the captain - her captain, in some ways, but that was a silly thought really and she blushed at the mere fact that it had occured to her - so she attempted to save herself. "But if you say that's not bothering you, then I'll believe it and drop the subject!"

He glanced over at Hinamori cautiously, there were things like that that annoyed him but he wasn't sure if talking about it would be a good thing. For Hinamori anyways, he knew the girl tended to worry so much over other people's problems that she forgot to sleep.

"I do miss her, and I'm honestly not too fond of her current arrangements but I can't exactly order her to move." He had made it a policy of his not to trod on romantic endeavours by the other shinigamis, especially since most of them seemed to prefer people with questionable backgrounds.

Failure to dodge depressing topic, all her fault. Inwardly, Hinamori sighed. Outwardly she smiled softly, tightening her grip on his hand slightly. "You know, I always wondered if you preferred her to me. You were always with her more than any of your other division members."

Such silly thoughts and her feet were dragging. "I don't know why." She risked another glance at Hitsugaya, questioning if she should stop her babbling there and then or just give herself up for lost.

[ooc; I've got to go to work! ;o; Until 11 pm my time. D: Sorry that was horrible short. ]

Hitsugaya returned the squeeze and and shrugged nonchalantly, "Oh, don't know. Perhaps I did? A sexy, older woman like her by a man's side is bound to have some affect on you." He winked at her be for laughing, "She's efficient from what I could remember. I'm not sure why she's still just an unseated member now that I think about it." He also couldn't remember who his lieutenant was either, but he brushed off that worry to lack of sleep. Surely, his memory wasn't that whacked, and it would cause unnecessary alarm to others if they thought he was losing it.

She pouted. Wasn't he always the one saying age didn't matter, after all? Him and his height complex- But it was, hopefully, a joke. It had better be.

"There are lots of talented shinigami, in all the divisions. It's hard to give them all the positions they deserve. Though, with all the recent gaps, that should..." Still depressing. Hinamori sighed, free hand straying to touch Tobiume's hilt.

Could she honestly not think of anything good, happy? "Shirou-chan-" Nope, that wasn't happy. So she turned to something she still hadn't worked out, despite saying it didn't matter. "What are we?"

[ooc; I am overworked. ::weeps!:: And wow, the "be for" up there was supposed to be "before."]

He nudged her, shoulder to shoulder when he saw her pout. It was a joke, really, Hitsugaya would be the last person out of all the shinigami to go tail-wagging over physical atractiveness... though he had to admit, whoa.

"A lot of shinigami go up in ranks not because of their abilities but based on their level of responsibility." He sighed as scratched his head, "I noticed just how much work it apparently meant after I started." Her touch to Tobiume didn't go unnoticed by Hitsugaya, neither did the fact that he still hadn't seen her go all out with Tobiume yet. Not that he wanted to, those scenarios usually meant a death-match type battle was raging on.

He would let that nick name slide by this time, since it looked like she had something important to say. What were they? What were they? Hitsugaya honestly wasn't too sure himself, but, he did know they were something. He just wasn't sure he knew what that something should be defined as. "We're best friends. We're comrades at arms. We're each other's root in sanity. We're each other's limits. We're nakama. We're... important to each other." At least, he hoped the very last one was true mutually.

"You manage very well." She ignored the nudge, the whole thing not worth dwelling on. It wasn't like it mattered, after all, he was holding her hand, not Matsumoto's. She wasn't even sure how they had managed to get to this point but- Didn't matter, didn't matter.

They had. And while the last time they'd both had their swords drawn together he'd had to knock her out, and while she still questioned her sanity - through not fault of his own, to be sure, she knew where the issue lay - and she couldn't quite understand the reference to limits, the vice captain could agree to the other three statements.

"Only important, Shirou-chan? I really don't know what I'd do without you sometimes. I don't even know what to do with you half the time." It was a good idea to not look at him, and since the ground was only so interesting for so long, Hinamori turned her attention to the side, to the steadily growing sight of shrubbery and plants. The gardens. "I just mean..." Oh, she didn't even know the right words. She really didn't know much at all about this sort of thing. "I just feel like, sometimes, I'm not enough. You don't smile much anymore. And-" She sighed, attention torn between a particularly pretty red flower and her hand that seemed intent on doing its own thing, lacing her fingers through his. "I feel like you hide behind your captains rank and don't let anyone, not even me, help." Not that she was much help, previous indiscretions always coming to mind around Hitsugaya, around those she'd hurt. But she still wanted to be.

"Only because it was do or die for a little while." Maybe he ought to find himself a temporary vice captain while they were stuck in the city, maybe even two. There were a lot of them running around with nothing better to do other than get drunk or laid, at this rate all of them were going to go home as bums.

Did important not mean something special to her? He wished she would look at him while she spoke, Hitsugaya wasn’t sure what to make of her words, only that something was upsetting her. "You’ve gotten along fine without me before..." It wasn’t accusatory, not in the least. Hinamori had done well before Aizen’s betrayal, though part of the main reason was her dependency and adoration of her former captain. And then there was that lapse in time a few months ago when Hitsugaya wasn’t in the city, he had heard from a number of sources that she had found and been with someone else until her memory had been lost. He didn’t know what he would do if she was still with him now. "I don’t know what you want with me half the time,” he admitted, “Sometimes you make it seem like I’m your jailor." It wasn’t like that.

He stopped in his steps and turned to face her properly, urging her to look at him back.. "If I don’t smile much, it’s not because of you." Not usually, anyways. There were moments when he wanted to grant release to his soul and just smash his head into the wall because of her. "The city just gets to me, that’s all. I can promise you I won’t hide behind rank anymore, if that’s what you want from me."

She couldn't help it. Not when he was looking at her like that. "I don't think you're my jailer, Shirou-chan." She wasn't sure if getting along fine had really just been appearing fine. And the without him- Did he know she'd still thought about him? Even chasing after her captain - a lie, she corrected herself - Hitsugaya had still been someone she held dear.

Every word, every thought was forcing the vice captain closer, inch by inch, centimeter by centimeter. "All I want," beyond selfish needs, wants, desires, Tobiume and nightmares and scars aside, "is you. Happy. By whatever means." Mere inches and she couldn't move any further, once free hand having moved to his shoulder - she still didn't know if it had scarred, he'd never said - and gaze focused on him, trying to prove that she was still here, his, telling the truth.

"What makes me happy is you." He answered simply, taking advantage of their close proximity to lay his forehead against hers. "The Academy took all your time from playing with me, so I went and joined it too. Missions handed out to seated Shinigami are dangerous, I worked hard to become a captain so I could be in a position to watch out for you."

Those were things that he had never really told anyone, but a lot of his choices in life so far had pretty much circled around her. He wouldn't have pried as deep as he did with Ichimaru Gin's case back at Soul Society if it hadn't involved Aizen and ultimately her. "And I would keep working like this if it guaranteed your safety... you're my important person."

She was thankful that Xanadu was rather empty, that nobody was around to see how flushed she was. And she couldn't help but mumble a, "but you always told me you hated my visits home," gaze dropping on instinct though she didn't move. The dark haired shinigami didn't want to move even one step.

Hinamori wasn't sure what else to say, surprised enough that he'd admitted to those things. She was already mentally questioning if she was really enough, if he'd said any part of that only to make the slightly taller shinigami feel better.

So she settled, at least, for one thing she did know. "Hitsugaya-kun, you're important to me, too. And I want you to be safe as well." What was the point in trying to protect someone if all you did was get wounded all the time, right? Slender fingers tightened their grip on the fabric covering his shoulder, gaze moving to that area. Unohana had told her, after much demanding to know. And she had worried. "Why does safe and happy have to be so hard?"

"Because all you ever talked about were your new friends." He had heard that mumble, and that was partly true. All of Hinamori's new buddies saw a part of her that he never got to, kids never like sharing things they liked.

Her hand felt warm, even through the layers of fabric over his old wound. It was a constant reminder of when he had failed to save her and the whole of Soul Society all together. He had been there at that critical moment, and had he been stronger, he might've been able to change it. It was a mark of shame to him, and he reached over to move her hand from her grip on his shoulder.

"I don't know why, Hinamori. I just know it's the only route I currently see." The atmosphere was beginning to feel grim around them, after all that trouble they were finally alone, the last thing Hitsugaya wanted was for the past to ruin the moment. He tweaked her nose and tugged on her hand, "C'mon, what's with this mood? We're in a pretty garden, we should be enjoying the scenary."

She sighed softly in response. "I just wanted to share everything with you." But she let him move her hand, pulled a face at his abuse of her nose. "You're the one staring at me, Hitsugaya-kun." She'd seen just about every inch of Xanadu by now, but it had been her suggestion. And he was right.

And she knew what she wanted to show him. "Lets go this way," was her quiet response, moving to take a path to the left a little way in the distance. Hinamori didn't really have much she could think to say, so little having occured recently that could be considered good, memories of home betraying her. But he had asked her to come with him, and she did want to do whatever she could for him. "You stay inside too much, you know."

"I know," came his equally quiet reply. One day they would sit down and talk everything through, but right now, he just wanted a senseless happy time in the garden.

He followed her towards the little path she directed them on. There was only one other time he had been in Xanadu, and that trip had been cut short when news about another shinigami's injury had reached him. "Too much, huh?" Perhaps he did, he grinned wryly, "Maybe that's why my hair is white. I'm turning into a hermit at an early age."

"That won't do!" Hinamori could manage not being depressing. She hoped. "I don't know about anyone else, but I wouldn't appreciate that."

She ducked a fairly low branch from a tree, checking quickly to see his expression. "I don't think hermits are allowed to have girlfriends, either."

Oh- She blushed as soon as the words were out of her mouth. It wasn't quite what she'd meant to say, nor was it- Well, it was a bit late to take it back, and she turned her attention to the path in front of her, falling quiet.

"Eh? Not allowed to have what?" He glanced at her amused and clearly pleased. She did just say what he thought she did, right? And from there, that meant what he hoped it did, right?

He leaned into her as they walked, making the two of them stumble a step. "I shouldn't make Miss Momo unhappy, I guess I'll have to cancel plans of building a hut in the mountains."

She squeaked, muttering a terse "forget it" as quickly as she could. She hadn't meant to say it, it was meant to be a joke and- And maybe, just maybe it didn't really matter because it was just Hitsugaya anyway and-

And she promptly lost her balance as she stumbled, taking the shorter shinigami down with her. Wincing slightly at the fairly heavy landing, she mumbled an "ouch," before noticing what was to the side. "Ah! It's what I wanted to show you!" Forgetting the precarious situation of Hitsugaya more or less on top of her, Hinamori pointed at a gathering of lily of the valley and snowdrops, a pure patch of white admist the bright colours of the rest of the flowers, most of which she couldn't name.

Personally Hitsugaya would have preferred not to forget it that easily, but it seemed like Hinamori was more interested in showing a flower to him.

He forced his attention away from her and onto the flowers, they seemed like a bleached and chibified versions of bluebells to him. They were pretty though, and they stood out innocently amongst the variety of other colours. "Lilies, aren't they?" He leaned down closer to get a better look at them, unknowingly putting himself further over her.

"Mm, they're the fifth division-" Hinamori paused, unable to look anywhere but up. At Hitsugaya. On top of her.

And then words failed and she shut her mouth with a slightly aborted yelp, face utterly red, unable to not continue looking at him.

The yelp made him look at her again, and of course, realize their close proximity. Was that his fault? He really should get up, for all he knew he could be cutting off circulation to the rest of her limbs with his weight. However... she looked so cute right at that point, with her face all pink and eyes wide. He honestly didn't want to move, at least, not away from her. Just one moment, they were alone after all. Just one moment, he thought, and closed the remaining distance between them with a kiss.

The words, 'maybe we should get up' had come to mind, and then been lost with the majority of coherent thought. Who needed it, anyway? It was overrated, silly-

It was distracting.

Hands moved on instinct to wrap around his neck, hold him close while she returned as best she could - and somewhat nervously - the show of affection. It was different from the curse day, and far different from the one that had come after that.

Hinamori smiled softly, a little irritated at the need to break for air but giggled despite herself. "Hermits aren't allowed to do that, either, Shirou-chan."

It was sweet, slow and gentle, exactly like the way he thought of her. Both of his arms had settled on either side of her as if he made to cradle her in his arms.

He grinned back at her attempt at a joke, chuckling a little despite himself. "I guess I don't really want to be a hermit after all."

One more, he thought to himself keeping them close that their noses rubbed against each other, "because I think I'd like that to happen again."

She was vaguely aware that it was odd for hard ground to be this comfortable, but really, she didn't want to care. Thought was still eluding her, breathing a little hard in such close quarters and blush as pronounced as ever.

But Hinamori couldn't help but tease, one hand moving to play with his hair as she murmured, "Are you sure you have time in your busy schedule?"

Tease? Tempting was a better word, or maybe that was all in his head since Hinamori's breath against his face was doing funny things to his mind. He felt almost dizzy with happiness, especially since it wasn't a curse day that hew knew of.

It was real.

"I'm sure my busy schedule can wait," their lips had brushed against each other when he spoke, "or it can get tossed out the window."

"How irresponsible of you." Tobiume's choice words caused her to blush further, almost having forgotten the sword at her side. Her free hand - in that it currently wasn't buried in a mess of white hair - traced the pattern on Hyourinmaru's hilt, the hint of a small smile present.

Was Hitsugaya waiting on her? She didn't mind waiting, trying to work out what he expected from her. If anything. If she could do anything. If- Oh, there went her mind again, trying to think. She stopped it with another soft smile before commenting, "Are you sure that's the example you want to set in front of a vice captain?"

"We're off duty at the moment," so momentary indiscretions could be ignored, besides, he could tease back. "The little vice captain will have to figure out which examples to follow or not on her own."

He rolled to the side and got up from her, offering her a hand in the process. "But, perhaps we've played too much today. There's still a cake waiting to be iced." And he would rather not be chaperoned by their zanpakutous.

Pouting, she shot back, "I'm not little, you're still smaller than me!" Honestly, as if rank made all the difference. But she took the offered hand as she sat up, unable to hold the disapproving look for too long.

It had been fun. "There's no need to sound as if you're too old for games," she muttered, lacing her fingers with his. He wasn't too old for hand holding, either, after all. Hinamori had almost forgotten the cake, and regretted making it if only since it was a reason to have to go back.

"Just so you know," she blushed, stepped closer. "Off duty or not, it can happen as many times as you'd like." To prove her point - or merely satisfy herself for standing so close for no real reason, it didn't really matter which - the not so little vice captain smiled, granting her - boyfriend? significant other? something? - the second chance he had seemed to want with a gentle though short lived kiss.

Log; complete

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