Adult-FanFiction.org : Bleach

Oh Captain! My Captain!	By : BlueDragon Category: Bleach > Het - Male/Female Views: 38885 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own nor make any profit off of Bleach and its characters. That all goes to Tite Kubo and affiliates.

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
- 6
*~****~*
A/N:
- UPDATE 10/31/2019:: To all my awesome readers/reviewers: Thank you so much for staying with me. Yes, I plan on finishing this story! Work is sucking my soul from my body. Sometimes it's hard to stay awake long enough to make dinner. Chapter 6 is almost done! I've really made some headway in the last few days. Chp 7 is mostly there but I need to sit down with it for a bit --and yes the lemon is DELICIOUS... ;) Big time XOXO to my reviewers! Thank you bloodredrosez, Radium223, and the different anonymous' for the out-of-nowhere reviews reminding me that people are still reading this monster!! bloodredrozes, I'll consider posting this on the other site, but you are correct in your assumption that I don't really want to censor my stories. Where the heck is the fun in that?? ;) Thanks again!!!

- Movies quoted or manipulated*: Robin Hood (shout out to Alan Rickman); The Village

- Warning: Adult+ content

**~*~****~*~**
Chapter Five
**~*~****~*~**

Rangiku’s panic-fueled gasps echoed around her as she ran down the dark alleyway. Her breathing seemed louder than even the swift, sharp clicks of her heels on the asphalt. She could barely see where she was going. There was no moonlight and the sputtering bulb back behind her only served to heighten her anxiety. Like a seizure-inducing strobe light, the path in front of her disappeared into black nothingness and reappeared erratically. Dark, light, dark, light, dark, light; each step she took, every heart beat; dark, light, dark, light.

Rangiku looked over her shoulder to see if he was still following. Dark, light, dark, light. Where was he? He’d been right on her tail before she’d dodged him, losing him in a confusing labyrinth of narrow, inconsistent passages. Dark, light-light, dark, light.

She slowed to a stop and listened. She held her breath; her heart pounded in her ears as she looked at the last corner she’d turned from. Dark, light, dark, light. A tall, male figure suddenly slid confidently sideways to a stop in the narrow alley. Although cast in shadow, she caught the distinct highlighted outline of spiked, white hair.

Until he took a slow, predatory step forward.

Light, dark, light-light, POP!

Darkness engulfed the narrow passage and a pair of eerie red, viper-like eyes glowed briefly back at her and disappeared. Rangiku’s heart leapt into her throat and she screamed. Fright filled her when nothing but the sound of air grinding through her vocal cords escaped.

Rangiku slipped as she tore off again; foreboding washed over her. She didn’t know where she was going. She could hardly see anything at all. The black shapes of garbage cans flew by and were the only visual markers she had to keep from falling or running into a wall.

Her elbow suddenly was grabbed from behind and she shrieked in alarm when her pursuer spun her around and pushed her front against the wall. Rangiku’s palms and forearms pushed against the abrasive surface and she cried out when the man’s hands roughly gripped her hips, slid up her ribs, and forcefully caressed her breasts through the fabric of her lightweight dress. His big, hard body pressed into her from behind and she quivered feeling the bulge of his erection grinding against her bottom.

Smooth, firm lips drug over her bare shoulder as he breathed her in. Warm, moist air tickled her neck and she whimpered when the shell of her ear was nipped playfully. A sinful chuckle rumbled from behind and he pressed the side of his mouth against her ear before growling out in a whisper, “No matter where you run,”—his hands slid down to the front of her hips—“I’ll always find you.”

Rangiku trembled against him and his hands roughly jerked the knee-length skirt of her dress up to her waist. The cool night air washed over her flesh. His right hand skimmed down to her inner thigh before rubbing against the black, lacy panties covering her core. The saturated fabric was moved aside and two hot fingers swooped in to stroke her clitoris; he ground the bulge in his pants against her. Rangiku mewled and he growled into her ear, “The scent of your sex,”—his fingers slid down to tease her soaked entrance—“your musk,”—they thrust into her drenched core and she moaned raggedly—“drives me wild,”—he groaned and nipped her neck—“and guides me to you.”

His hands left her and the heat of his chest and stomach disappeared from her back; she crumpled, resting her forehead against the wall. The sound of a zipper got her immediate attention and she gasped when she felt her panties stretching and ripping from her body. His hands grasped her hips; his index fingers and thumbs gripped her ass and spread her cheeks wide. A feral rumble vibrated behind her and he slid his burning hot length against her drenched entrance, teasing her.

Rangiku arched her back, pushing her ass out; she stood on trembling legs and wiggled her rump persuasively. His hands released their strong grip and slid up her ribs. She gasped when her halter top got jerked down. Her breasts bounced in freedom and his warm hands cupped her. His fingers spread wide and clamped closed around her nipples sending stinging pain and white hot pleasure straight down to her quivering vaginal muscles. The scalding heat of his body pressed into her back and Rangiku felt his lips glide over her skin. His teeth clamped down hard onto the trapezius muscle of her left shoulder and she sucked in air through her teeth, hissing in pain and reveling in it as her channel ached hollowly, begging to be filled.

She rolled her hips against him and moaned when his large member moved with her, sliding between her soaked lips. He snarled into her shoulder and she cried out when his hand slid down and teased her sensitive nub. The man’s teeth released her shoulder and he whispered, “I’ll always find you.” His fingers spread her slippery lips apart and he pressed the tip of his penis into her weeping entrance. “You cannot escape me,” he growled and thrust home.

Rangiku’s eyes popped open. Instantly transported into her bedroom, she blinked up at the ceiling. She could feel her breasts jiggle rhythmically from her pounding heart and her vagina was happily squeezing away in a rapid-fire orgasm. It was a mild one —nowhere near the level of intensity her toys or a talented man could take her— but it was still an orgasm.

She rolled over onto her side and clenched her thighs together, hoping to extend the pleasant pulsations.

Holy cow that was one hell of a dream! Why couldn’t she have more like that? So many times wet dreams never made it to the finale, but she supposed an aggressively insatiable Toshiro chasing her down and taking her against a wall did it for her. She chuckled. Oh, if only he’d do that in real life.

It had been nearly two miserable months since her birthday. Foolishly, she’d left him alone that weekend hoping that giving him some time to think would be good ju-ju, but she’d been wrong. It had taken her two weeks of hounding him —two weeks of him refusing to talk about anything that happened that night— before he’d finally given in and informed her only that “this can’t happen”. Just what in the hell was that supposed to mean? “This can’t happen,” she mimicked petulantly. It already had happened!

She’d even looked up the section within the stupid Codex regarding interdivisional relationships. There were no rules or regulations; not even amongst the captains and lieutenants.

So, the simple fact was that the stupid jerk had gone all noble on her. Despite the growing sexual tension, she knew he thought he was doing the right thing. And that bothered her because she could only think of two disturbing reasons for that line of thought. Either he thought them being together was wrong —maybe even immoral— or he didn’t desire her enough or feel the same way she did. Neither option made sense to her. First of all: how could something like two people simply wishing to satisfy their mutual, red-hot passion for each other, be anything other than right? She could think of at least a dozen different benefits in doing the dirty with him; the foremost being habitual, oh-so-good orgasms. And, yes, she knew they would be good. He turned her into a trembling pile of jello with one fleeting make out session and Rangiku had a hunch that Toshiro had what it took to finish what he’d started. That he could give her what she needed and wouldn’t stop until he got the job done.

That brought her to her second point: a man who’s “just not really into you” doesn’t devour you against a doorframe with enough scorching vigor that you’re left with fingerprint-like bruises on your thigh and kiss-swollen lips; especially if that man was disciplined Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya.

No. The way he’d been looking at her as of late combined with what happened that night... He wanted her. She refused to believe her instincts were that far off.

Rangiku scooted to the side of her bed and sat up. She’d been mulling over this conundrum ever since the Monday after her birthday. She’d been nervous that morning; had no clue how he’d act or how she should and, when he’d feigned his normal Captain-self, she’d honestly been relieved. Until she realized he dodged her every advance and would flat-out leave the room if she’d tried to discuss the kiss. She’d wanted to know what he was thinking! Was that too much to ask?

Rangiku had been utterly confounded by his behavior. They’d had an amazing moment! Granted, she hadn’t expected him to skip into work that day, but she never would have predicted that he’d practically run away from her if she didn’t have paperwork or food in her hands. Thankfully, he’d settled down after a few days —once she’d clearly gotten the message— but she was still stumped and it was almost December.

She got out of bed and made a quick trip down the hall to the kitchen. Eyeing her stove and the burner her kettle was resting on, she clicked it on and headed back toward her restroom. Rangiku’s teeth chattered a bit as she shivered and she cupped her bare breasts, rubbing her puckered nipples to warm them. It was pretty freaking chilly inside her apartment. She needed to remember to run by the storage shed and load up her firewood caddy for the night.

Squad Twelve’s climate doohickies were predicting one of the coldest winters in twenty years and many of her friends were placing bets on when the first snow would fall. She hadn’t placed hers yet. Was it really getting colder each day they got further into the season, or was Toshiro’s attitude influencing the weather?

He swore up and down that he couldn’t change the climate to that magnitude but she had her doubts. Logically speaking, sure, it would be an immense energy drain and it was unrealistic that he could do anything large scale for a long period of time. Nevertheless, it was oddly coincidental how often it reflected his temperament this time of year. And ever since that night, his mood had been so unpredictable.

Then again, so had hers. Her emotions had been spiraling in a vortex of sexual frustration, confusion, and infuriation. If it didn’t involve work or mundane things, he wouldn’t even talk to her! His detached attitude drove her crazy and all she could do was wonder what the hell she did wrong.

Sighing in frustration, she turned the knobs of her shower on and wrapped her hair up in a towel. As the bathroom began filling with steam, she looked through the extensive candle collection on the shelf above her toilet, selected one, and lit its wick. Making sure the towel on her head was secure, she stepped in and sighed with pleasure as the scalding water hit her chest and instantly warmed her cold toes.

*~****~*

Toshiro finished reading the report from Squad Twelve and set it on his desk; he pinched his eyes closed and rubbed his temples.

It looked like an entity, likely a Hollow, was prowling around the forests of West Rukongai. Rumors had been circulating recently that souls were going missing out there, but not much had been done so far. Squad Twelve had sent several officers out to do some investigating, but little evidence had been found. Beyond villagers claiming someone had disappeared, there wasn’t much to go on.

Until today. This latest report disclosed that a girl, age approximately that of a young teenager, had been found dead way out in District 63. When souls die in the Soul Society, they get reincarnated back into the World of the Living —it’s what keeps the balance between the two planes— but this is not what happened in the case of this young woman. What was left of her spiritual body had basically been described as a dried up mummy and, when they’d merely touched her to begin a physical examination of her remains, she’d literally evaporated before their eyes. Fortunately, before this had occurred, the officers had scanned her with some sort of device and had collected some information. Unfortunately, the equipment had indicated that she’d been an empty husk; a hollow shell, void of all reishi. And that was beyond weird. Everything in the Soul Society was made up of reishi —buildings, nature, souls, everything— so for something to be sitting there quite visible and have zero reishi was not normal.

The report additionally stated that the girl had been found devoid of clothing but, since she’d deteriorated so rapidly and a proper examination hadn’t been performed, no further details as to what actually happened to her were given. That sent a chill up his spine. There weren’t very many reasons why a woman would be found dead and naked other than sexual homicide. He prayed that wasn’t the case because one of the last details in the report had been that all the missing persons had been young girls.

“Hey, Captain?”

Toshiro’s eyes snapped open and Rangiku looked at him curiously. He looked unsettled. “You alright?” she asked.

Toshiro blinked a few times and gazed up at her as she fingered his incoming bin. He nodded and frowned, “Yeah. That report from Squad Twelve was just,”—trailing off, he glanced at the paper—“disturbing...” She looked at the report with concern. It had been sealed and delivered directly to him, so he knew she was curious about it. Wondering what brought her to his desk this time, he folded his arms across his chest and leaned back into his chair, “Anyways... So, what do you want?”

Rangiku thought, You, you big, fat jerk! But she resisted and replied, “I’m going on my lunch break. I’ll be gone for probably an hour.”

His eyebrow arched, “An hour?”

Her expression dried out, “Yes, an hour,” she countered testily. She put a hand on her hip, “Remember? I said I was meeting the girls for a late lunch.”

Not really surprised by the attitude, he nodded, “Oh yeah.” He bobbed his head toward the open door, “Well, go on then. Don’t raise too much hell.”

She snorted. That was the first joke he’d cracked since probably her birthday. She tried not to act like it’d been weeks that she’d heard that wry tone and sighed like he was asking her to do the impossible. “Fine,” she drawled out.

The corner of his mouth quirked and she headed for the door, hiding her smile as she adjusted the strap of her purse on her shoulder.

His voice called out and stopped her, “Hey, you’re not going anywhere outside the Seireitei, are you?”

Rangiku frowned at the odd question and looked at him in the doorway, “No... Why?”

Toshiro looked up from gazing at the report on his desk. He didn’t want to alarm her. Besides, whatever was out there couldn’t possibly make it into the city. He sighed, “Just don’t... make any detours...”

Her eyes narrowed in concern, “What are you not telling me?”

He scratched the back of his head, “Don’t worry about it. Go enjoy your playtime with the girls and I’ll tell you about it later.”

Rangiku stared at him for a long moment and then shrugged, “Okay. See ya.”

*~****~*

The cold, stiff wind whipped at Rangiku’s hair and she dashed inside the restaurant and closed the door with a dramatic huff. A wall of cozy heat greeted her and she breathed in the soothing aroma of good home cooking. Yum Yum was a hidden little jewel in the northern section of the Seireitei with only six tables. With the best soup and hot pots around, it was not unusual for her to be hiding from the bitter cold in here with a steaming bowl of comfort food. Although small, it was still a pretty popular refuge amongst soul reapers and always had a queue of people waiting for a hot cup of goodness to take with them back out in the cold.

She spotted Momo and Nanao and grinned when she saw that they had already grabbed the table closest to the bar. They’d read her mind.

It was strange; all these years they’d been friends but now it felt like they were finally getting past that “friend and colleague but not after work hours” stage. Ever since her birthday, they’d been going out at least once a week —usually two or three times— to do girly things like get manicures, try out different tea houses, or explore the different restaurants in the area. Both she and Toshiro seemed to use any opportunity to escape the unusual tension that had developed recently and both women had been a tremendous help in maintaining her sanity.

She was definitely benefitting from the girl time. So often they got stuck in a rut —doing the same thing day in and day out, secluded in their own divisions— and it was nice to get out and socialize in a non-bar scene.

She smiled and loosened the pink scarf around her neck as she headed to the table. The young man behind the bar smiled at her in recognition and she winked at him before plopping down in a chair. She greeted the two ladies, before sighing cheerfully, “It’s so toasty in here!”

Momo rubbed her hands together to warm them up and grinned, “We’ve already ordered some hot sake.”

Rangiku rubbed her own hands together greedily. “Excellent,” she murmured mischievously.

Momo laughed and then fussed at her, “But only one bottle! The last time we had sake in the middle of the day I was completely useless and had to take a nap.”

Rangiku chuckled, “That’s the idea...”

Nanao shook her head in amusement, “So we’ve narrowed it down to sharing oden or a nabemono. What do think?”

Rangiku eyed the menu on the table hungrily, “I’m thinkin’ oden sounds amazing...”

They placed their order when the waiter brought the sake. Rangiku knocked back the first shot and sighed happily when the heated rice wine burned its way down into her stomach. Pleased to feel the beginnings of its warming effects, she unwrapped the scarf from around her neck and left it around her shoulders.

Momo refilled her cup and looked at her curiously, “So, any updates with the Snowman?”

Rangiku shrugged, “He actually cracked a joke before I left but, other than that, not really.”

Nanao grumbled in her favor, “What an idiot.”

Momo muttered, “I was just so sure that, if you guys kissed...”

Rangiku looked at her dryly, “Yeah, you and me both.” She took a dainty sip from her small cup, “I feel like we were taking so many progressive steps forward and now we’re twenty steps behind.”

Her two friends gave her sympathetic looks. They’d been over what had happened a hundred times. Until Toshiro decided to spell out what “this can’t happen” meant, all they could do was offer up possible excuses of why he was acting the way he was.

Momo sighed, “I think he got spooked.”

Rangiku scoffed, “Well, obviously, but... I mean, what the hell? I’ve only known him for 30-plus years; it’s not like I’m moving fast!”

Nanao smiled, “Yeah, but 98% of that time, you were Lieutenant and Captain in every aspect. Romantic feelings have only been in the picture for —what— a year?”

Rangiku frowned, “Still, it’s not like I decided to go through with this on a whim.”

Nanao shrugged and stared at the sake cup in her hands, “You know... Before I got involved with Shunsui, my biggest fear was losing the respect of my peers and... possibly in myself... if anyone found out.” Rangiku and Momo gave her identical looks that said But we love you! and Nanao smiled, “I know it’s silly... but it took me a long time to get past that.” She laughed softly, “It’s a really good thing Shunsui’s a patient man...”

Rangiku smiled but then pursed her lips in thought, “So, are you saying Toshiro might be afraid of losing respect?”

Nanao frowned, “No.” She sighed in frustration, “I guess the point I was trying to make was that it took me a while to make up my mind... But I think it’s safe to say that we have no idea what he’s thinking,”—Rangiku snorted—“and we shouldn’t assume. After all, assumptions are like bombs; they can easily blow up in your face when you’re making them.”

Rangiku smirked, “Look at you getting all philosophical.”

Momo smiled, “That’s what I was thinking.”

Nanao rolled her eyes but refrained from responding as the waiter came back with a small cart. The three women leaned back eagerly as he set a thin wooden pad in the center of the table, followed by a small gas burner. He clicked it on, turned it to low, and used a pot holder to grab the domed handle of the cast iron nabe pot and set it on the burner.

Rangiku rubbed her hands together and smiled as he set their bowls down in front of them and removed the lid from the nabe pot.

Delicious steam gushed out and the waiter set a ladle across the assortment of fish cakes and vegetables before bowing politely, “Enjoy, ladies.”

He set the lid on the cart and rolled it away. Twelve inches of pure heaven smiled up at them: different kinds of fish cakes and fish dumplings, kabocha squash and daikon radish chunks, carrots, mushrooms, and so much more; all floating in a steamy, shallow sea of golden dashi broth.

Rangiku hummed with hungry eyes, “Oh, yes.”

The three women grabbed their larger set of red, wooden serving chopsticks and began plucking out the bobbing chunks they desired.

Rangiku set her serving chopsticks down and waited a moment for Momo to finish ladling some broth into her bowl before she did the same with her own. Picking up the regular length chopsticks laying on the small rest, she snatched up a cylindrical fish cake from her bowl. “Come to mama,” she whispered greedily. Chewing around her first bite, she sighed, “I’ve been thinking about this all morning.”

Nanao bit into a hard-boiled egg and nodded, “Me too.”

Momo smiled and dipped her squash into some hot mustard. Right before she took her bite, she remarked, “We should have a nabe party one of these weekends while it’s still cold.”

Rangiku swallowed and had to tease her, “While it’s still cold? You realize we won’t feel the warmth of the sun until at least March, right?”

Momo rolled her eyes dryly, “So that gives us how many weekends to lie around a nabe and be bums all day?”

Rangiku grinned and Nanao suddenly smirked and set her chopsticks down on her rest, “You know what would be funny?” The two women eyed her curiously and she smiled, “If we did it in Captain Hitsugaya’s apartment. Don’t tell him; just barge in and start cooking.”

Rangiku laughed and her eyes widened as she thought about it more, “You know; that’s not a bad idea...”

Momo grinned, “You know he wouldn’t take off because food is his favorite thing in the whole wide world.”

Rangiku laughed and bit into a piece of braided konnyaku and sipped some of the broth. She smiled while she chewed, but thinking about his recent behavior she pondered aloud, “Maybe it’d be better to do it at my place the first few times and then just invite him down.”

Nanao finished chewing and swallowed, “You think he’d kick us out?”

Rangiku frowned uncertainly, “I don’t think so...” She looked at Momo, “Don’t you think he’d get pissy if a whole bunch of people took over his house and bummed around all day?”

“Hmmm, you’ve got a point there,” she murmured. Taking a sip of sake, Momo considered aloud, “And if his mood’s just now improving, we don’t want to mess that up...”

Nanao smirked wryly, “And we can’t hold up your love life any longer!”

Rangiku chuckled, “That’s right! I need me some nookie!”

Momo rolled her eyes in exasperation and Nanao cleared her throat daintily before holding up her sake cup, “To Rangiku’s... la petite mort.”

Rangiku laughed and picked up her cup, “Cheers to freakin’ that!”

Momo shook her head in aggravated amusement, “May it happen sooner, rather than later.”

Rangiku pouted mischievously, “And not by my-damn-self.”

The three women laughed and clinked their cups together.

*~****~*

Toshiro’s stomach grumbled. She said she’d be gone for an hour and it’d been almost two. Was it naïve to hope she’d bring him something? He’d been procrastinating in going to the food hall, waiting for her to come back, but it was his own damn fault if she didn’t bring him anything...

He’d been an unmitigated ass. He’d committed one of the ultimate faux pas and had essentially taken the kiss back; said through his behavior, “I didn’t mean it.”

The truth was... that kiss was all he could think about. Every day he agonized over the details. When his mind strayed from work or Rangiku did something subtle, like worry her lower lip, his mind flashed back to how her curves had felt under his hands; how their lips and tongues had moved together; how she’d moaned against him... The only way he could act halfway normal was to basically not be normal. He’d done everything from spinelessly leaving the office for hours to flat-out ignoring her. If he was ever working at his desk, he was completely miserable. She’d gotten into the habit of either glaring daggers into his face or staring at him in confusion.

He’d hurt her feelings and he was entirely to blame. Toshiro knew she didn’t understand and every time he tried to tell her what was going on inside his dense head, he locked up.

He didn’t know what to do. The uncomfortable atmosphere had eased somewhat as of late, but reality was always glaring him in the face. He’d kissed his Lieutenant; his first in command. It’d been sexy and demanding and his body and soul had raged, trying to show her what his stubborn mind refused to admit.

Toshiro had broken one of his unspoken rules and he was paying for it every day. Didn’t she realize what a bad idea it was to start having sex? That was the next step, wasn’t it? To become physically involved? Yes, it sounded amazing —More than amazing; it sounded fucking fantastic— but what about afterward? If they were like this after one kiss, then how would they handle things not working out after sex?

Another series of questions haunted him, as well. A line of thought that Hyorinmaru had taunted him with when he’d tried meditating. What if not giving in turned him into someone he wasn’t? What would happen to him if he remained resolute; maintained the icy bulwark he’d thrown up against her warm nature and melting sensuality? Would he become a frozen, unbearable asshole? Would she come to hate him, or he himself?

What was worse was that, even though he’d told himself over and over that she was off limits, in the back of his mind he felt anticipation for what would happen next; like it was only a matter of time.

He growled and rubbed his face in frustration. Why couldn’t it be the way it used to be? All these warring emotions made him want to scream!

Roughly pushing his chair back, he walked over and threw open the two halves of his window and shoved the sliding shutter out of the way. Taking a deep, cleansing breath of the crisp, wintry air, he sighed heavily, savoring the small amount of relief it provided.

It felt good outside. Others would disagree, of course, but he was in his element in this kind of weather; quite literally. God, he hoped it would snow soon. He was growing impatient waiting day after day and could practically taste it in the air. The last several winters had been disappointing to him —barely any significant snowfall and none that lasted— but this was going to be a good season, he just knew it.

He looked up into the frosty, overcast sky and watched the endless pale blanket of clouds surging from the north. Maybe a quick run would help clear his head a bit. Lately, it’d been one of the few things keeping him from losing his damn mind. It allowed him to shove everything aside and focus solely on the literal path ahead of him. The drum of his heart and the sound of his breathing would drown out all the racket and chaos, allowing him to concentrate exclusively on his rhythm and speed. It was a nice feeling.

His typical route took him way out to the main western entrance of the Seireitei, the White Way Gate that was guarded by Jidanbo. After that, he usually travelled south alongside the sekkiseki wall for several miles before heading home. One of his squad members had asked him how far he went on these runs, but he wasn’t sure about the total distance. He’d never felt the need to calculate the miles because it didn’t matter how far he was going. He flashstepped the entire run and only cared about how fast he was going and how winded he was by the end of it.

Making up his mind, he closed the shutter and shut his window. Finding his stopwatch in the top drawer of his desk, he made his way to the open office door and shut it behind him. Going out the back and onto the porch, he walked up to a large pot that was being taken over by an ornamental kale. At the time, he couldn’t figure out why Rangiku had gotten someone to plant a vegetable, but as it got colder the giant rosettes of frilly leaves transitioned from a healthy green to a vivid lavender that stood out against the gray weather like a splash of color in a black-and-white photo.

Setting the stopwatch against a cushion of leaves, Toshiro clicked the button and disappeared.

A great yowling noise rumbled past Jidanbo’s huge maw as he yawned. He blinked blearily. God he was bored. He took enormous pride in his job. He was the great Gatekeeper of the West Gate, but it was being stuck out here on cold, dull days like this that took the elitism out of his job description. The cold didn’t bother his big body too much —he liked to think his zeal as a guardian of the Seireitei was what kept him warm— but his friends and the infrequent travelers tended to hide indoors during this kind of weather and he got lonely out here all by himself.

Stretching his stalwart arms out to his sides, he couldn’t stop another jaw-cracking yawn from escaping again. Deciding he needed to stretch his legs, he pounded his massive fists into the ground and got to his feet. Walking slowly closer to the gate, he turned and started moving his broad back against the course-grained sekkiseki, much like a great bear would scratch against a tree. “Ahh, that’s the spot,” he murmured.

A great, icy gust of wind suddenly blew his red, tasseled hat off. With a quick hand he caught it, but as he did he knew he heard a male voice call out an apology to him. Standing to his full height, Jidanbo peeked over the gate and saw the flash of a white captain’s haori dashing southward along the wall with the number ten slashed across the back. It looked like Captain Hitsugaya was on the move again. He sure was frisky this time of year. He liked the young Captain; he was a proud man of the West, like Jidanbo, and usually took the time to say hello whenever he was on this side of town.

He wondered if these almost daily runs the Captain was doing were some sort of training. Although he wasn’t close friends with the young man, he sometimes felt a twinge of discontent mixed in with his cold reiatsu.

Jidanbo turned and finished scratching his back against the wall. He hoped everything was alright. Captain Hitsugaya was a good man.

Rangiku chuckled as she walked down the hallway toward the office. Nanao had jokingly asked her —right before they’d parted at Squad Eight— if Rangiku thought herself old enough to be considered a cradle robber. She snorted. If anyone was a cradle robber, it was Shunsui.

“Dirty old man,” she snickered.

No, if she was going to be called anything it should be cougar. Rawr.

She chuckled again and arrived at the closed door. Pausing, she put her ear warily up against it; she didn’t hear anything. Cracking the door enough for her cautious eyeball to peer inside, she sighed to see he was gone. She was only an hour late and buzzed; no big deal. Pfff.

She slid the door open with a loosely swinging arm and sighed loudly as she stepped in. Shivering a bit, she rubbed her arms and steered toward her favorite thing nestled within their personal little library. The fireplace was snuggled in the middle of the floor-to-ceiling shelves that encompassed the wall space between Toshiro’s desk and hers and she was relieved to see a merrily crackling and popping blaze. Walking up to the hearth, she sighed as the heat seeped into her chilled body. It was too bad her desk wasn’t here next to the toasty warmth. Toshiro would probably have an aneurism if she set up a pallet and did her paperwork next to it.

Eyeing the fireplace toolset, she set the large cup in her hands up on the ornate mantle and used a fire iron to stab at the smoldering coals. One of the thinner logs crumbled into charred gray and glowing orange pieces and she fished out another log from the dark, copper-finished hearth tub nearby. Plopping the firewood about where she wanted it, she used the poker to nudge it into a good spot and placed the tool back in its rack.

Now if only she could curl up like a cat and take a nap next to it. Then her afternoon would be almost ideal...

Toshiro landed in the yard with a huff and jogged over to pick up and click his stopwatch; 3.7 seconds faster than yesterday. Nice. His mouth was open as he sucked icy air into his lungs and he walked over and opened the back door. Just as he was about to click it closed behind him, a horrible, steady screech sounded from inside his office. The alarming noise startled him so much he almost dropped his stopwatch. It was like nails on a chalkboard only... heavier.

He heard an absolutely recognizable feminine grunt followed by another dreadful screech and his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Rangiku narrowed her eyes in concentration and heaved the sofa closer to the fireplace. This sucker was a lot heavier than she’d anticipated. It wasn’t scratching the floor; so she figured, Meh, why not. She pulled with all her might and the furniture slowly followed her. The awful noise made her wince and she murmured with a strained groan, “Almost there—!”

“What the hell are you doing?”

At the sudden, ominous tone, her fingers slipped in fright and she shrieked as she went sailing backwards, “Gah!”

Rangiku landed hard on her butt in front of the hearth. Quickly moving onto her hands and knees, she peeked up at him cautiously from behind the armrest. He was breathing a tad heavily, like he’d been out training, and his eyes were narrowed in incredulity.

Toshiro looked down at her. He’d had a hard time not laughing at her graceful fall but, seeing only enough of her face to allow her eyes to peep at him comically, he couldn’t stop the “Pfff” from escaping his lips.

Her light blue orbs glared at him dryly and she whined, “Don’t laugh!” Grabbing onto the couch, she hauled herself up onto her feet and dusted her rear end off. She settled her hands onto her hips and saucily announced, “Well, don’t just stand there. Help me move this thing.”

Toshiro’s eyebrow arched, “I’m sorry. Explain to me why I should enable you and your bad habits?”

Rangiku huffed, “What bad habits?” She waved her hand around flippantly, “I simply wish to sit by the fire and do my paperwork.”

Toshiro slid the door shut and strode across the room. He stopped at the other end of the sofa and griped, “Paperwork, my ass! You’re an hour late! The fact that you’re lugging this across the room says I’m just witnessing another one of your calamitous sake adventures!”

Rangiku yelled back, “Okay, fine! I was warm and toasty, eating hot food and drinking hot sake! So there! You got me!”

Toshiro’s eyes widened as she shouted at him forcefully. Why was she yelling at him? She was the one being insubordinate; he should be the one who was angry!

Most of the things that had been bothering her lately started whirling inside her head and —even though it was a ridiculous topic— she sucked in a breath and raised her voice heatedly, “You drive me crazy! Do you know that!?”

His head wheeled in disbelief and he shouted, “Me!?—”

“Yes! You! All I wanted was a little help moving this stupid thing,”—she gestured theatrically to the sofa—“and you have to fight me every step of the—”

“Because I know you!” he interrupted with a roar. “All you’re going to do is take a goddamn nap!”

Of course she was, but Rangiku squealed in anger anyway and pinched her eyes closed. Taking a deep breath, she tried to rationalize with herself. He wasn’t going to respond well if she was screaming like a lunatic. She could do this; she could be civil. Gritting her teeth, she made an effort to keep her voice steady and spoke slowly, “If you help me, I will give you my leftovers.” Opening her eyes, she noticed his left eye twitch. Thinking that she should specify before he could get a word in, she said quickly, “I also want that nap.”

Toshiro growled in sheer frustration. “Stop trying to control me with food!” he hollered.

“Stop getting hungry!” she fired back sarcastically.

He gaped at her for a fraction of a second, incensed shock written all over his face.

It was a preposterous suggestion, she knew, but his apoplectic expression made the comment totally worth it.

He then gnashed his teeth furiously and turned in a fuming circle, growling and clenching his fists. When he made the full turn-around, the look in his fiery teal eyes said he was about ready to kick a hole in the wall, but Rangiku wasn’t scared of him. She merely stepped to the side, picked up the large to-go cup, and took off the lid; taunting him by fanning the soup’s aroma his way.

His chest heaved as he tried to control his temper. What was her deal!? Why was she deliberately provoking him!? Eyeing the cup belligerently, he barked, “Well, I’m not hungry! So, keep it!”

An absolutely pitiful warble sounded from the direction of his stomach the second he finished his sentence.

Rangiku’s golden eyebrow rose smugly.

His jaw clenched tight and he pinched his eyes closed in disbelief. Toshiro wanted to throw something. He couldn’t believe his body betrayed him at a moment like that! The instant his empty stomach had made itself known, he’d felt himself regress from an elite Captain to a five year old kid.

What the hell was wrong with him? He was having a screaming match over a piece of furniture, for crying out loud!

Taking a deep breath, his eyes opened to glare at the couch. She gasped when he marched over with malevolent intent and barely got out of the way before he pushed the sofa viciously forward. Toshiro cringed when the screech rang in his ears, but shoved until it was a few feet away and facing the hearth.

Rangiku’s eyes were wide as he moved aggressively by the fire. Rage was a notoriously effective fuel for getting something done, but it was still irritating to see how easy the task had been for him. However, what was slightly more irritating then that was how his violent behavior was kind of turning her on. All that brute force and animal grace had her struggling to remember that she was mad at him, and for several good reasons.

All of a sudden he was standing directly in front of her. She blinked up at him in surprise and his hand wrapped around the large soup cup in her grasp. His eyes hadn’t cooled; the fire still boiled inside those dark blue tourmalines and Rangiku’s throat went dry. Swallowing, she felt her heart flutter expectantly at his nearness and a resulting heat rushed across her skin.

She let him take the cup and he turned temperamentally, heading for his desk. Setting the cup on the right side of his desktop, he snapped with scorn, “Go on, then. Sleep off your drink. It’s all you’re good for this time of day, right?”

Rangiku gasped. All the little fuzzy tingles she’d felt while watching him vanished like she’d been doused with a bucket of ice water. That stung. All of her conflicting emotions, frustrations, and unanswered questions —everything that had been building up inside— ruptured and she lashed out, “You’re the reason I was drinking in the first place!”

Although it wasn’t entirely true, it certainly got his attention.

He stood unmoving, hand poised above the soup. His head swiveled slowly her way and they stared at each other, offended anger shining equally in both their eyes.

He took a slow, predatory step in her direction. His dragon eyes narrowed in resentment and he hissed, “Excuse me?”

Rangiku squared her shoulders and decided to let him have it. “You won’t talk to me!” she shouted. His face jerked in confusion and she pushed ahead, refusing to hold back. “That kiss was hot,”—his eyes widened—“and you were just as into it as I was! You can’t keep denying what happened!”

The moment he’d been trying to avoid so ardently slapped him in the face. Turning on his heel, he started for the door, “I’m not discussing this.”

Rangiku saw him walking away. An odd combination of panic and anger filled her. She was terrified that, if he walked out that door in the middle of this argument, their situation would only get worse; possibly crippling their current and future relationship for good. And, seriously, how could he just leave like that!? What an arrogant ass!

“Oh, fine!” She hurried toward his desk, “Just run away! That’s all you’re good for, right?”

Toshiro jerked to a stop. Was she calling him a coward?

Rangiku’s challenge had him practically snarling as he spun around; almost charging her as he went to confront the angry woman behind his desk. He scowled when he was stopped short by an insistent pounding at the office door.

A muffled male voice called out urgently, “Captain Hitsugaya? Lieutenant Matsumoto?”

Pissed off, he roared, “WHAT!?”

The small crowd that had gathered out in the hall jumped in fright. The suppression spell placed within the room prevented any of them from hearing anything beyond loud muffles —a mandatory bakudo for any commander’s office— but their Captain’s bellow resonated with startling force and clarity. Yuri Sonoda blanched as she looked at the door and then up at her Third Seat. Ichijin Nakahara eyed the entrance worriedly. They had heard them all the way down in the Officer’s Lounge; some even out in the breezeway. He had never heard the two fighting like this before and it was honestly a bit alarming.

Toshiro heard his Third Seat call out uncertainly, “Sir, is everything alright?”

He growled in frustration and hollered, “Everything’s fine!”—he glared briefly at his Lieutenant—“Go back to what you were doing!” Immediately dismissing them from his mind, his eyes reconnected with Rangiku’s ice blue orbs and he hissed, “This is all your fault!”

Rangiku’s eyes widened and she hissed back, “How dare you! You’re the one who won’t talk to me about what happened that night!”

“That’s because there’s nothing to discuss!”

“Wha–! There’s everything to discuss! We kissed!”—she waved an arm around—“It changes everything and yet all you could tell me was ‘this can’t happen’? What does that even mean!?”

Toshiro growled and took a threatening step forward before shouting, “It means this can’t fucking happen, Rangiku!”

She gasped at the rarely used explicative and shoved against him, “What can’t happen!? Huh? We had an amazing, mutual moment! It’s not complicated!”

His arms flailed and he screamed, “You’re the one who just said it changes everything!”

She growled and set her hands on her hips, “It does, but there’s nothing complicated about a kiss!”

Not comprehending, he yelled in vexation, “What!?”

She rolled her eyes and sighed before saying loudly, “A kiss, at its basest level, is a way to express yourself!”

His eyes narrowed at her meaning, “That’s irrelevant. We can’t let this go any further then it already has because doing so will change everything as we know it—”

“Everything already has changed!” she wailed. She stepped closer, “And it doesn’t have to be for the worse, you know!”

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing! “It’s reckless!” he exclaimed. “If anyone found out, it could—”

“Oh, please!”—she groused—“Everyone already thinks we’re sleeping together anyway!”

“So that makes it alright?” he shouted incredulously.

Rangiku shrugged, “Well, it’s not against the rules—”

“I know it’s not against the goddamn rules!” he bellowed impatiently. “I think we’ve established that!”

Her eyes widened at his tone and she shoved against his chest vigorously, yelling back, “Then what’s the problem!?”

Taken aback by her vehement question, he hesitated, “It’s not that simple. You know that.”

“It’s also not that hard, either,” she pointed out grouchily. Why didn’t he get it? Didn’t he see the wonderful possibilities? She ran her hands through her hair distractedly, “What did you feel when we kissed?”

His eyes widened in surprise and he shook his head, “It doesn’t matter.”

She breathed out a humorless laugh, “If it didn’t matter, then why are we fighting? Why have you been avoiding me like the plague for the past two months?”

Toshiro remained silent, unable to answer her, and he flinched when she poked him hard in the chest.

“I’ll tell you why,” she said bluntly. Rangiku poked at him again, “Because you felt exactly what I did —passion; need; desire— and that scares you!”

He grit his teeth and caught her wrist when she tried to stab at him again. She growled and pulled, but Toshiro held on and jerked her closer to him, “Okay! Yes! We kissed! And it was passionate! But we were also intoxicated, Rangiku!”

She swung her free hand at him angrily, “That’s just a lame excuse!” He caught her other wrist and she hissed, “We weren’t nearly as drunk as you’d like to pretend and you know it!”

Yes, he did know it, but Toshiro was grasping at straws here. He didn’t want to hear anymore; didn’t want to fight anymore.

She fought to release her arms in defiance, but he yanked her closer still in an effort to subdue her. Rangiku screamed in frustration and his racing pulse pounded in his ears. Damn, was she a wildcat when she was mad!

Despite the fact that he was restraining her wrists, Rangiku kept trying to beat on his chest. Her arms jerked and twitched in an odd, slow motion and it only served to piss her off more that he could so easily overpower her.

The deluded nerve of this man! Was he really just going to stuff his head in the sand and hope for the best?

Not if she had anything to do with it. Growling up at him, she whispered heatedly, “You wanted to kiss me, Toshiro,”—a muscle in his jaw tightened as he scowled down, inches from her face—“and I had bruises all over my body to prove it!”

He froze. He’d marked her?

An instantaneous image of her writhing against him on the doorframe flashed through his worked up mind. It never occurred to him that she was referring to where his hands had been, but the mere implication of a hickey —of placing possessive little love bites on her peachy skin— sent a howling fissure splintering up the icy wall he’d created to keep her out. Something snapped inside him and he let go of her arms. She gasped at her sudden release, but he abruptly grabbed a handful of her long, golden hair and roughly tugged her head back. Rangiku cried out but he shut her up by crashing his warm lips into her soft ones. Toshiro growled savagely into her mouth and she whimpered in surprise at the bruising force.

When his mouth opened against hers, Rangiku immediately relinquished control and forgot how to breathe. His hot tongue swooped in and devoured her, dominating her mouth with punishing strokes, and she sagged against him. Moaning into his steamy mouth, she snaked her arms around his neck. Smoldering skin burned her fingertips as they dove into his chilly, white hair and she couldn’t think beyond the consuming desire for more.

As her fingers painfully gripped the back of his scalp, Toshiro groaned and let her silky tresses slide through his fingers. Not even a minute ago, he’d been on the verge of wringing her defiant little neck. Why he’d wanted to do so, now completely eluded him. The instant she’d gone all warm and soft in his arms changed everything.

He smoothed his hands down to the small of her back and brought her fully against him. They both moaned when her soft curves pressed into the searing hot length of his hard body; their mouths panted apart with the added stimulation. Rangiku whimpered as his erection rubbed against her lower abdomen and she nipped at his lower lip, begging for more.

Gently nipping the small beauty mark as a soft reprimand, he was pleased to see both luscious lips part in a shaky breath and he claimed her mouth again with much less hostility. She sighed into his mouth as he fed her kisses. Over and over again their tongues glided and rubbed; never satisfied, always greedily seeking more. When she leaned up on her toes, his hands slid over her hips and further down to each grab a handful of her ass. His grip tightened and her hum of approval swiftly turned into a gasp when he lifted and hoisted her up against him. Rangiku wrapped her long legs tightly around his hips and they both groaned when the bulge in his pants ground against her core.

As each slow second passed, Rangiku felt herself getting wetter and wetter. The painfully hollow, achy place between her thighs clenched and the dull throb was becoming unbearable.

She squeaked when her bottom made contact with the edge of his desk. Toshiro pulled his lips away and, as his warm breath mingled with hers, she whined softly in protest. Setting her legs down on either side of him, she slid her hands inside his haori to clench the warm, black fabric of his kosode.

As she started nibbling her way along his jaw, Toshiro struggled to breathe. “I can’t think straight,” he whispered gravelly.

Rangiku breathed in his intoxicating male scent and opened her mouth against the side of his throat. She gently sucked at the warm, salty skin, “Mmm, you taste good,” she murmured. Like a man. Like a big, strong man she wanted to kiss all over.

Toshiro’s eyes pinched closed, trying to concentrate. “Rangiku,”—he gasped when her tongue rubbed against his pulse point and his voice was hoarse—“we need to stop!”

She sucked harder, “So good...”

His warm fingers dug into her thighs; as if he were in real physical pain, he groaned, “Rangiku, please...”

She bit his earlobe and whispered, “Kiss me, Toshiro. Please... Don’t shut me out.”

Toshiro’s heart echoed in slow motion. He wanted this. Needed it. The dragon within his soul rumbled possessively and, in a moment of liberating clarity, he stopped caring about what was right or wrong.

Clearing some space on his desk, their mouths joined again and their tongues moved together on a steamy groan. His warm hands slid across her back and his chest pushed forward, urging her to lie back.

Rangiku wrapped her thighs around him again and he growled in response. Palms flat on the desk; he hovered over her and rocked his hips, slowly thrusting against her; her hips rolled instinctively. The torturous friction made her back arch and a wanton moan escaped her lips.

She heard him groan huskily, but couldn’t seem to breathe properly when he started a trail of wet kisses down the column of her throat.

Toshiro relished her response. The heady sound of her gasps served only to fry his brain more. They came and went in shaky, little bursts and his subsequent thoughts narrowed solely on where to place his mouth next; on how to elicit even more from her sweet mouth. Good lord, Toshiro just couldn’t get enough of her! She tasted great —like warm, clean skin— and smelled even better. The necklace he gave her glittered up at him and the subtle metallic scent of gold tickled his nose. He pinpointed the rousing floral aroma of honey and the exotic combination had him swirling his tongue hungrily within the heart-shaped hollow at the base of her throat.

He rumbled against her racing pulse point and Rangiku’s lashes fluttered as she gazed up at the office ceiling.

Gasping when he grasped her hips, she shivered in anticipation when his scalding hot, nimble hands slid up her sides. Her skin tingled feverishly under her clothes and her body trembled eagerly as his right hand slid further north. He breathed in her fragrance deeply, nibbling his way across her collarbone, and just as his exploring fingers started to skim up the fleshy globe to finally cup her breast, another knock sounded at the door.

Although the rap of knuckles wasn’t loud, it was enough to jolt Toshiro from his sexual stupor. His head jerked up furiously. Goddamn it!

His chest heaved as he focused on the door. Trying to control his breathing, he listened and heard a tentative female voice he recognized.

Rangiku sighed wistfully and her hands smoothed up his pectorals and across his hard shoulders. His head turned back so he could look into her alluring eyes. God, she was gorgeous. An aroused flush heated not only her cheeks but had also migrated south to spread across her chest. Her kiss-swollen lips and lilac-tinged orbs smiled up at him sensually.

His eyes softened but, as a little more air circulated to his brain, his brow knit somberly. Rangiku’s soft fingers reached up and caressed the crease between his snowy eyebrows, as if trying to smooth it away. They both understood this latest interruption had put a stop to their lustful encounter.

Exhaling slowly, he pushed up from the desk gradually and straightened, letting her cling to him as she sat up. Still trying to slow her own breathing, Rangiku held him there and didn’t let him step back. Clutching the black fabric across his back, she laid the side of her face against his warm chest and listened. His thundering heart beat made her relax, knowing she wasn’t the only one who was a wreck.

Now that Toshiro’s painfully aroused sex wasn’t snuggled against her clothed womanhood, he felt a little saner and slid his hands up to her shoulders. Breathing deeply, he gently pushed away from her and murmured slowly, “I need some time alone... to think...”

Worried, she leaned her head back to look into his eyes, “You’re leaving?”

He saw the apprehension in her lovely features and replied earnestly, “It won’t be like before. I promise.” She blinked in surprise and he stepped back, away from her tempting body, “I just... I need to sort my mind out...”

Another knock sounded at the door and Toshiro growled feeling provoked as he glanced at it. Looking back at Rangiku quickly, his eyes widened at the sheer chaos that was his work station. He’d shoved almost everything off the desk in his crazed effort to make room for them. In fact, the only items that remained intact were his organizing bins in the far right corner and the damn soup cup next to it. He huffed in annoyance. He’d deal with that mess later.

Rangiku looked around in amusement and saw the food container, as well. Hoping that he’d keep his word, she decided to give him his way out. “Don’t forget your chopsticks.”

Yuri Sonoda’s cheeks were bright red, “Captain, is everything okay in there?”

Third Seat Nakahara and the others had gone to make sure no one interrupted the Captain again but she’d stayed behind. She couldn’t help but wonder what was going on in there; it sounded like they were about to kill each other. The Captain and Lieutenant never fought like this and even after Nakahara had insisted everyone give them their space, the two superior officers still kept going at it. For several long minutes, angry shouts hurled back and forth; then silence. She’d heard some other noises, but what really got her attention was a loud, tumbling crash. And right before she’d gathered the courage to knock, she could have sworn she’d heard a lustful, feminine moan.

Yuri’s face heated up. Had she really heard that right?

The door slammed open, giving her a fright, and Captain Hitsugaya stormed forward and shut the door behind him. His large form and intimidating presence made her back up several steps. He looked riled up and his vexed frown made her gasp in surprise.

Toshiro’s voice was low and raspy, “Don’t you have better things to do then be a hall monitor, Miss Sonoda?”

The hard look in his eyes made her blush even more prominent. Mortified he might think she was eavesdropping, she exclaimed, “I’m so sorry, Sir! It wasn’t my intention to snoop! It sounded really serious—”

“It’s none of your business,” he cut in sharply. Her mouth snapped shut at his authoritative tone and he nodded toward the hall, “Now get going, Sonoda.”

She blinked in shock. Unaccustomed to his curtness and feeling suitably reprimanded, she bowed stiffly and responded in a hushed tone, “Yes, Sir.”

Writing the young woman off, Toshiro turned and headed for the back door. He didn’t want to be harsh with her, but when he’d told them to go away, he meant go-the-fuck-away. There shouldn’t have been any misunderstanding. Yes, he recognized everyone’s concern, but he’d been quite clear in his damn order.

Exiting the building, he flashstepped out to the street and started walking quickly. He was almost positive Yuri hadn’t noticed, but he was still hard as a rock inside his hakama. He’d adjusted himself and straightened his clothes right before he’d left the room, but he hadn’t exactly had enough time to gain control over his raging hormones.

Thank god for snug underwear and a loose uniform...

Popping off the lid to the cup, he slurped some of the warm, golden broth and sighed heavily. It was really good. Turning a corner, he grabbed a tubular fish dumpling with his chopsticks and bit into it. Toshiro sighed as he chewed. He was hoping the cup’s blissful contents would soothe his agitated nerves and was grateful when his stomach settled down a bit. It would probably be better —for both his stress level and digestion— if he went somewhere to sit down and eat, but his mind was far too worked up to be able to sit still.

He still couldn’t believe he’d cracked like that. He’d kissed her a second time. A second time! A first kiss could be blamed on a thousand different things, but a second one had purpose and meant that the first was no longer a coincidence.

Did he really have so little control? He took pride in his self discipline —in all aspects of his life— and one mind-numbing kiss from her made it all seem like an illusion.

Toshiro no longer had an excuse for his behavior. He had to stop lying to himself. They had smoking hot chemistry and he wanted her despite all good sense. No longer could he deny it or chalk it up to something any normal guy would feel when they looked at her. No... He craved her more than he ever had and this little bender he’d partaken in was proof that he was losing his composure.

So he kept walking and didn’t stop to eat his oden. A few people looked at him strangely as he hurried along the sidewalk shoveling vegetables and fish products into his mouth, but he didn’t care. By this point, he was just happy the shock of frigid air and distraction of food had cooled his ardor enough that he wasn’t walking down the street with a huge boner.

Toshiro stopped walking less than ten minutes later and turned the cup almost completely upside down. The last dregs of the broth dripped down into his open mouth and he used his chopsticks to slide the last stuck carrot down. As he chewed the vegetable, he looked around.

He had no idea where he was at.

Toshiro snorted and hopped up onto the roof of the closest building and perused the area. Apparently he’d eaten his way into the streets around Squad Seven. That was random. He guessed this is what happened when the only thing on his mind was sex and food.

Toshiro huffed in aggravation.

His mind was a little clearer now because of the food, but an anxious, frustrated fog still lingered, permeating his thoughts. He felt like a jittery bundle of raw nerves and cracked his neck uneasily.

If he thought the first kiss had left him in bad shape, it was nothing compared to now. What they’d done behind and on his desk had been nothing short of foreplay. Hypothetically, if they’d been in a more intimate setting, he’d have been about to rip her damn clothes off. And in knowing that, he was so keyed up that it was essential he find an immediate outlet to release the restless tension building within him. Fortunately, he had two pretty reliable options: fighting or fucking. The phrase was indeed crude but both would most likely do the trick. If anything, either would help take the edge off.

Regarding Rangiku, the latter was out of the question. Even if his body fervently disagreed, he wasn’t ready to take that step yet and he refused to rush a decision on something that could drastically alter their lives.

Although it was tempting to make a trip out to one of the pleasure districts, he was much more in the mood to go out and kill something. Sating his bloodlust would be far more effective than the fleeting relief any purchased romp in the sheets could provide.

Unfortunately, he didn’t recall any Hollow sightings today, so he’d have to think of an alternative solution. Besides, he couldn’t very well run across the countryside hoping for something to pop out; that was assuming if, in fact, anything actually did.

He sighed and grumbled aloud, “I guess it’s to the West Gate then...” He couldn’t believe he had to make another trip out there today.

An hour later, he landed on a high rooftop. After the first four times around, he’d stopped counting. No matter how fast he ran or which route he took, it wasn’t enough. The only thing he'd accomplished was to get decently winded, but that was worthless if it wasn’t working. He’d have had better luck trying to cut his own heart out with a spoon.*

Damn it, this was vexing! What the hell was he going to have to do to calm down?

Growling in frustration, he looked around and a ways off he spotted his courtyard. Toshiro’s eyes followed up to the office and an unanticipated wave of longing washed over him when he saw his window.

He shook his head. No! He would not go back there until he was in the right state of mind! Or at least in a state that didn’t involve him jumping Rangiku the second he laid eyes on her.

He sighed heavily and looked up. It was only around 5 o’clock but the overcast sky made it feel much later. Toshiro frowned. He loved winter but the palette of grays combined with that of all the dying vegetation tended to look rather bleak.

A loud boom and eruption of smoke and dust got his attention a ways off to the right. That’s in Squad Eleven, he thought.

Enlightenment struck him like a bolt of lightning and he took off in that direction.

Ikkaku coughed and blinked as the dirt and smoke hung in the air like a hazy miasma. He couldn’t see much further than the hand in front of his face. Through the dirt cloud, he heard Yachiru giggling her ass off over by where he’d last seen Captain Zaraki sitting.

That little bitch! Why did she do things like this to him!?

He’d been training with the men out in the courtyard minding his own business when he’d stepped on something sharp. Buried in the ground was a thumbtack-like thing that had stabbed right through his sandal and into his unsuspecting foot. Crying out in pain, he’d jerked his foot up and the second he’d done so the earth exploded around him like a volcano clearing its throat.

Apparently, the act of removing his foot had released the spring-loaded trigger to her devious plan. How shitty was that!?

One of these days, he was going to get her back for all her rotten fucking pranks!

He looked around and still couldn’t see much. Listening to his surroundings, he heard a few of the others coughing a ways off. Yachiru was still laughing.

Why that little...

Suddenly a hefty, cold reiatsu materialized nearby. Ikkaku closed his eyes as it cleared the courtyard in an aggressive burst of abrasive dirt and biting wind. He blinked and saw Captain Hitsugaya standing several feet away looking at him with a mocking eyebrow.

“Nice dress,” he said dryly.

“Huh?”

Nearby, Yumichika burst out laughing with tears in his eyes, “Look at your legs, Ikkaku!”

Ikkaku looked down and saw bare skin. It seemed the dirt bomb had blown off and shredded his hakama above the knee. It looked like he had a shaggy fucking skirt on! He screamed in outrage at his filthy, charred skin and spun toward the back porch of the dojo. He pointed at the evil, pink-haired tween beating the porch floor hysterically, but was abruptly cut short when a bloodthirsty grin stretched across his Captain’s face.

“Clear the yard,” ordered Kenpachi Zaraki ominously.

Confused, Ikkaku looked around as his fellow squad members took off for the sidelines and Captain Zaraki casually stood up. For a split second, he wondered if his venerated Captain had finally decided to kill him, but then he felt a familiar, icy reiatsu billow out behind him in a clear challenge. Ikkaku’s head jerked around to see Captain Hitsugaya looking intently into Captain Zaraki’s unruly, brassy eye.

Ikkaku wasn’t stupid; he got the hell out of the way. Landing beside Yumichika, they looked at each other briefly and then between the two captains.

Captain Hitsugaya was one of the most disciplined persons he’d ever met. Had Ikkaku not seen the initial stages of a more extreme version of Toshiro’s violent side, he might have dismissed how the young Captain’s reiatsu whipped testily around his body. However, the volatile, almost savage, glint to his odd eyes and the smallest hint of a smile were clear warning signs of the havoc raging within.

And his Captain had clearly seen it.

Kenpachi Zaraki stepped down off the porch and his ferocious reiatsu shoved out to match Toshiro’s. Zaraki began walking toward him and sneered, “What, no shovel?”

The corner of Toshiro’s mouth lifted in a kiss-my-ass smirk and he reached up to pull his zanpakuto from the scabbard on his back. He casually laid the blade’s back against his right shoulder and asked brusquely, “I need to blow off some steam. Care to oblige?”

Zaraki’s coarse laughter echoed around them. As the older man laid his hand on the handle of his zanpakuto, he grinned wickedly, “I thought you’d never ask.”

*~****~*

Toshiro landed in his backyard with a pained grunt. Straightening to his full height, he started to take a breath but a sharp pain made him hiss. He winced and touched his ribs tenderly.

The fight had been vicious and he’d pretty much lost. Bearing in mind that Zaraki didn’t even know the name of his zanpakuto and was infamously known for his sword skills, Toshiro actually thought he’d performed rather well; considering he hadn’t actually released Hyorinmaru.

Zaraki hadn’t been too happy about that. When he’d realized no amount of taunting would make Toshiro even use his shikai, he’d taken his own anger out on the younger Captain. Nevertheless, the purely physical nature of the dispute had brightened his mood. Toshiro had held nothing back in that regard and that had had the Captain of Squad Eleven laughing like the deranged lunatic that he was.

Toshiro gazed at the faint glow of firelight emanating from his window and went over the fight in his head.

Neither had paid attention to those that had proliferated along the sidelines. The horde jeered and shouted out groans as the two tried their best to beat the shit out of each other. Toshiro unleashed his rage, using everything he had in his hand-to-hand combat arsenal, and Zaraki seemed to revel in it. Blow after powerful blow, they came at each other again and again. It had been nothing but swinging fists and elbows; dirty kicks; and clashing, hacking swords. Exactly what Toshiro had wanted and needed.

By the time the sun’s last glowing remnants faded into the dark night sky, the two men were facing each other, panting, and tiredly admiring their handiwork. Zaraki had a broken nose —courtesy of Toshiro’s elbow— and Toshiro was sporting a darkening shiner and likely a few cracked ribs.

Zaraki laughed like he’d thoroughly enjoyed himself. “Have you had enough?” he’d asked before spitting blood into the dirt.

Too busy working oxygen into and out of his lungs, Toshiro responded with a curt nod. The noise of the rowdy crowd easily doubled in volume. Coins and cash began swapping back and forth and the spectators laughed or grumbled at the results of their bets.

Zaraki walked up to him, tapping the back of his ragged zanpakuto against his shoulder. He clapped Toshiro on the back and gripped the back of his neck before grinning, “Come on,”—he nodded toward his training facility—“you need a stiff drink.”

Preferring not to get dragged off by the scruff of his neck, Toshiro conceded and both sheathed their swords. As they turned toward where Zaraki had indicated and the mob parted as they passed, Toshiro observed a wide variety of facial expressions.

There hadn’t exactly been a loser or a winner, but the fact that Toshiro had agreed to conclude the match meant a forfeit in at least Squad Eleven’s eyes. He could see several smug grins, as if to gloat about the outcome, but Toshiro wasn’t too bothered by it. He’d still put up a damn good fight and most of them knew it. In fact, Toshiro was willing to bet everyone there would’ve never imagined that he’d be the instigator in this situation. He was sure he’d surprised the hell out of a lot of them and the resulting buzz of curiosity was almost overwhelming. You could practically see the wheels turning in their heads. Well, he supposed if he were in their shoes, he’d be wondering why the Captain of Squad Ten had picked a fight with that of Eleven. That was typically a suicide mission. Only a select few had lived to tell the tale and Toshiro could tell a lot of the onlookers were grudgingly impressed that he was still alive.

He didn’t know why everyone was so damn surprised, though. It wasn’t like he’d been a soul reaper for over thirty years or anything.

Toshiro rolled his eyes.

Not that he actually cared what they thought. He didn’t give a damn if they only saw it as a Zaraki victory. He hadn’t been there to get his ego stroked. He’d been there to clear his head and vent. And he’d done just that. Yeah, he hurt all over, but it was a good kind of pain; the kind of pain that distracted him from all the shit going on in his personal life.

For that reason, he was extremely grateful to the maniac. Zaraki was notoriously unpredictable with things like this. He was always looking for a good fight, but if the probability of getting killed was low he was just as likely to walk off in disinterest. Luckily for Toshiro, Zaraki had sensed just how on-edge he’d been and seized the rare opportunity. If he hadn’t, Toshiro would have been in serious trouble.

He blinked when he realized he was inches from the back door. His hand was resting on the handle and he was just standing there, staring through the wooden barrier. Sighing, he opened and closed it behind him. Toshiro wavered in the hallway as he eyed the closed office.

Judging by the glow from the window outside, the lights weren’t on, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t in there waiting for him. He wasn’t fooling himself in thinking their conversation was over; he hadn’t gotten out of it. Not by a long shot.

A wave of exhaustion hit him and his hand shot out to press against the wall for support. Every muscle, tendon, and bone in his body ached, protesting the fact that he was still standing, and he knew that whatever was left of his dwindling energy was currently being allocated toward keeping him vertical.

He was really tempted to just go home, pass out, and avoid this altogether.

Walking forward, his hand slid lightly along the wall as he approached the office door. When he arrived, he sighed and watched his fingers glide up the grain of the wood. He sighed again. Why was this simple, inanimate object being such a mental obstacle right now?

Toshiro’s forehead leaned against the doorframe and he huffed; his thoughts were contradicting one another. After they’d left the courtyard, he’d been forced to endure Zaraki’s hospitality for an hour or two. The older man had felt the abnormal need to be a generous host and now Toshiro couldn’t decide if he’d had one too many or if he should have stayed and had one more drink.

Toshiro shivered in disgust. The mere suggestion of consuming another drop of Zaraki’s “grog” —some sort of homemade distilled liquor that tasted like paint thinner— made him want to gnaw on some antacids. That shit was nasty. He’d rather kill some brain cells by sucking on fresh wasabi than drink anymore of that shit.

“This’ll put hair on your chest,” Zaraki had laughed.

Toshiro seriously doubted that. Considering how it’d burned a hole in his stomach, he figured it’d be more useful as a household disinfectant. How Zaraki didn’t have chronic stomach ulcers or a failing liver was beyond him.

Thank god for Yumichika and Ikkaku’s foresight. They’d brought the two Captains an enormous platter of food from Eleven’s chow hall and it was the only reason he wasn’t currently suffering from alcohol poisoning. Although Toshiro knew they’d been hanging around trying to snoop, both had kept their mouths shut. Zaraki hadn’t asked either. Of course, that probably had more to do with the fact that he didn’t care, but the other two seemed to clearly understand that whatever was going on with him was none of their business.

Toshiro lifted his forehead away from the doorframe and quietly opened the door. He peered inside and didn’t see her. Just when he thought he’d lucked out, a golden shimmer got his attention. His eyes narrowed curiously and he closed the door behind him and started walking toward the fireplace. As he neared the sofa, he realized it was a wave of glossy, flaxen locks tumbling over the armrest. Toshiro slowed to a stop beside the couch.

Rangiku was asleep on her side, enfolded in a soft, dark blue blanket; arms wrapped around that ridiculously smiling, pink and white shrimp pillow he’d won for her. Toshiro’s eyes softened and he gazed over her slumbering form. The firelight enhanced everything, making her skin glow and her hair glitter like spun gold. Why did she have to be so damned beautiful? Before he could further contemplate what trickery the Fates had in store for him, another wave of fatigue had him sinking to the floor.

Sitting down before he collapsed, Toshiro removed the sheathed sword from his back and leaned against the left end of the sofa. Making sure he didn’t trap any of her long hair behind him, he relaxed and stretched out his left leg away from the hearth. The sound of Rangiku’s even breathing and the dancing firelight lulled him into an almost hypnotized state. He didn’t know how long he sat there staring into the flames, but the feel of cool fingers gently combing through the hair on the back of his head soon had him closing his eyes sleepily. The soothing strokes didn’t stop and he found himself leaning his head to the right in the hope that she’d keep going.

Rangiku smiled when she saw him lean into her touch. He looked exhausted; almost vulnerable.

She studied his quiet, shallow breaths and the bruised swelling across his upper cheekbone. If the clashing reiatsus outside had been any indication, the bruises and grime only verified the fight she knew he’d been involved in. Rangiku didn’t really know how she felt about that. While part of her wanted to roll her eyes at the stupidity of men, another part felt guilty that he’d felt the need to go off and do that.

“You have no idea how hard it was not to go and watch,” she murmured.

His eyes opened and he turned his head to gaze at her earnestly, “I’m glad you didn’t.”

Toshiro watched her expression turn into a frown and didn’t move away when she gently smoothed her fingertips across his cheek. The tender gesture made him close his eyes briefly before he turned his face away.

He heard her slide softly down to the floor beside him and jerked when she gingerly touched his side. Burning pain made his lungs lock up in response and he grunted stiffly.

Rangiku’s eyes widened in surprise and she pulled her hand away quickly. She gasped in dismay, “Are your ribs broken?”

Toshiro frowned at her worried features, “I’m fine.” Once his reiatsu recovered from a good night’s rest, it would only take a day or two for his body to heal. He knew she knew this; it wasn’t like it was a big deal.

She frowned stubbornly and held her hands in position over his ribcage, “No, you are not fine, Toshiro.”

As her palms began to glow green with healing energy, he stopped her. Holding each of her hands in one of each of his own, he sighed tiredly, “Let it go, Rangiku.”

“But you got hurt because of me,” she whispered guiltily.

His eyes widened in understanding and he shook his head, “I got hurt because of my own actions.” Toshiro let her cool fingers slide from his hands and shrugged, “Besides, you know I’ll be as good as new in a day or two.”

Rangiku frowned, “Why won’t you let me heal you?”

Toshiro gazed at her for a long moment before turning his eyes toward the fireplace. Why wouldn’t he? Because he’d tried very hard to nearly get himself killed, that’s why. If she went and restored his reiatsu to mend him, he’d be in the exact same anxious mess he’d been in a few hours ago.

He heard her huff, “What is this? Some sort of pride-driven, macho man sort of thing? You can’t get healed because the guys would think you’re a wimp?”

Toshiro blinked. He hadn’t thought of that. He seriously didn’t care what those bozos thought, but he supposed he could let her think that...

Evasively, he sighed and muttered, “You wouldn’t understand.”

There was a long pause before Toshiro heard her low voice, “You know... I consider myself a pretty understanding person...”

Toshiro glanced her way and mentally cursed. Shit. He’d hurt her feelings again.

Rangiku stared at him with wounded sky blue eyes. “Especially... with you,” she whispered.

Toshiro looked away. Damn it.

He heard her take a deep breath and exhale slowly. “Let me at least fix your ribs,” she protested softly.

Toshiro turned his head and stared at her for several seconds.

She tried to blink away her unsettled expression and muttered, “We can’t have you being useless if you’re needed in a fight tomorrow...”

Toshiro sighed deeply. He supposed she was right. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad if she just healed that. “Fine,” he grumbled.

An annoyed golden eyebrow quirked at his reluctance, but Rangiku was glad he’d finally given in. She held her hands up to his side again and focused her spiritual energy into her palms.

As the green glow instantly eased the pain, Toshiro stared into the fire and tried to clear his mind as he felt his ribs begin to mend. The process was uncomfortable and the rate at which he healed would depend entirely on the state of his reiatsu. At the moment, he was so physically drained he couldn’t even guess; they could be there all night or not even 15 minutes.

The nerves in his side hummed to fiery life as her healing energy pulsed into him in subsonic waves. As he stared straight ahead, it didn’t take long for Toshiro to tune out the pain and lose himself within the brightness of the yellow and orange flames.

Rangiku was trying really hard to focus on finishing up his ribs. For every healing ripple her kaido would produce, his body would send out a throb of heat. It was incredibly distracting; stimulated every nerve ending across her skin. She watched goosebumps race up her arms and shivered when the sensation tingled up her spine and made her breasts tighten in excitement.

Damn him. Even just sitting there, zoning into the fire, all she wanted to do was rub herself against him.

She closed her eyes in frustration and blew out a shaky breath.

Focus. She needed to focus.

Realizing her hands were hovering down by his hip, she raised them back up and amped up the distracted pale green to a more potent glow. Toshiro appeared to be in his own world and she was grateful he hadn’t seemed to notice her lapse; especially when she could barely look at her trembling hands without remembering where his had been.

Her gaze lifted and she zeroed in on the profile of his muscular neck and attractive adam’s apple. Memories of that salty skin on her tongue flooded her mind and she couldn’t help but worry her lower lip. Had it really only been a few hours ago that he’d kissed her; touched her like his life depended on it?

Deep down she knew he’d finally given in, but somehow she also knew that he wasn’t completely convinced yet. That was likely why he’d gone off and gotten into a fight with Captain Zaraki...

Rangiku glanced at the swelling along his cheek.

Was he going to run off and try to kill something every time he decided he needed to deny himself? Why was he trying to? Did he not see what he did to her?

Oh, this was so confusing! Any other man would have fucked her right on that damn desk.

Instead of doing that, however, he’d run out on her. Again.

This time was different, though. She had to keep telling herself that. When he’d left her sitting there, she’d told herself to believe that he’d keep his word; she had to believe it. She had to believe that things wouldn’t be like how they have been and that maybe he’d start talking to her again. Even if watching him leave had made her want to run after him like an insecure, crazed woman from some sappy romance novel, she had to trust him.

He said it wouldn’t be like before.

It certainly wasn’t like they hadn’t made their physical needs known. Even if he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, she was pretty sure they were at least on the same page now. How could they not be when the only thing that had indirectly stopped them from having sex had been a few insignificant layers of clothing?

Rangiku briefly glanced at Toshiro’s desk from over the back of the sofa before she looked back at him. She was a patient woman, but she needed some answers.

Gathering as much nonchalance as she could muster, she focused on her hands, “So, did you get any thinking done?”

Unsure when he stiffened for a split second, she clarified softly, “About us?”

Toshiro forced himself to look forward and tried to calm the whorl of anxious thoughts that crowded his mind. He wouldn’t shut her out this time; he’d promised her. Hell, he owed her that much. But he hadn’t gotten any further in this mental battle with himself. All he knew for sure was that he wanted her, but that was no help at all.

He rubbed his hands over his face in frustration. “Not really,” he sighed.

When it looked like that was all he was going to say, Rangiku wanted to smack him and his one-to-two-word answers. How like a damn man. Why couldn’t he just give her a straight answer? Was it really that hard to tell her how he felt?

Toshiro felt her balmy reiatsu agitate heatedly, but didn’t know how to respond. What did she want him to say? He had never been very good at the whole talking-about-your-emotions crap and he certainly didn’t comprehend why she thought he’d suddenly start to. Toshiro was more tongue-tied now then he’d ever been and it was all her fault!

Her reiatsu settled down almost as soon as it’d gotten riled up. She sighed before asking quietly, “Why can’t you just say what is in your head?”

A humorless laugh escaped his lips before he looked at her somberly. “Why can you not stop saying what is in yours?”*

Toshiro watched her beautiful mouth open and close, taken aback, and he looked down at his hands. “I know I owe you an explanation but,”—He paused, frowning as if looking for the right words—“it’s difficult for me... to express myself. I’m not like you...”—He looked into her eyes before going on—“To be honest, I was trying not to think about us... I was focusing more on cooling my head than... the actual reason behind why I needed to,” he admitted.

The howl of icy wind echoed down the chimney and filled the quiet room. Rangiku’s eyes softened, immediately registering how hard that confession had been for him. Toshiro looked away again and they both listened to the hushed crackle and pops from the fire.

The calming noises helped keep the silent moment from becoming uncomfortable and Rangiku watched him quietly. She shivered when the wind whistled through the thin, vertical space between his windows and shutters and this time he saw it out of the corner of his eye. Toshiro huffed and grabbed the blanket she’d been using off the sofa and draped it over her shoulders. As he tucked it around her, she smiled softly and whispered, “I’ve missed talking with you.”

His warm hands stilled for a moment before he finished tucking the soft fleece around her throat. He knew she was referring to the past two months, but as he guided a golden wave of hair behind her ear, he murmured gruffly, “We talk every day, Rangiku.”

She savored the gentle touch and leaned into his warm fingers, but shook her head, “You know what I mean.” Her crystal blue eyes seemed to hold him in place, “We kissed and you freaked out.” Toshiro started to pull away, not wishing to discuss the unpleasantness of his behavior; her hands grasped his forearms. The heat of his skin burned through the black fabric and made her fingers tingle. She held on and looked into his troubled eyes, silently begging him not to leave. “We both know it, so don’t bother denying it,” she whispered.

He paused for a long moment and whispered back roughly, “I wasn’t going to.”

Rangiku blinked. He’d admitted it... She decided to push her luck a little more, “And now we’ve kissed again...”

Toshiro scoffed. ‘Kissed’ was the understatement of the year. But somehow, despite his exhaustion, he managed to keep his thoughts to himself and growled out, “I know.”

They gazed into each other’s eyes for several moments before Rangiku released him. She watched him relax back into the sofa and focus on the fire again. She was a bit surprised he hadn’t taken the opportunity to bolt and felt a little encouraged by his body language. She figured she might as well say what was on her mind while he was acting this way. So, despite the very real possibility of her next words scaring him off, she felt compelled to tell him what she’d figured out so many months ago.

“I want you,” she stated simply.

Toshiro’s face whipped around to look at her in shock. Her relaxed posture and honest eyes told him that, yes, she really did just say that; he couldn’t believe she’d done it with such ease. “Rangiku...” he trailed off.

Rangiku watched a myriad of emotions wash over his features: confoundedness, longing, desire, frustration.

It was the frustration that made him whisper hoarsely, “Why would you tell me that?”—he looked at her helplessly— “How is that supposed to make anything easier?”

She shrugged, not knowing what else to do. “It’s the truth,” she murmured with a vulnerable smile. His pupils dilated at the simple response and Rangiku’s hand trembled on its way up to tuck an imaginary lock behind her ear. “You needed to know... before you made a decision based on principles.”

He blinked hard and Rangiku watched his jaw clench tight before he stared down into his lap. His voice was a rough whisper, “Can’t you see what a bad idea this is? How it could screw up everything we’ve worked so hard for?”

Toshiro heard the swish of fabric and belatedly realized she was crawling the incredibly short distance his way. He was so tired; all he could do was watch while she settled her bottom onto his thigh, effectively utilizing his bent right leg as a seat.

Rangiku’s hands smoothed up his collar and she slowly draped her arms around his neck. His snowy brows were lifted in surprise and Rangiku saw the heat come to life in the teal depths of his eyes.

Toshiro watched her light blues shift into a misty lilac as her lids lowered to half mast. What little was left of his resolve crumbled in that instant and he didn’t move away when she pressed her soft lips into his own.

They both sighed into the other and greedily breathed in their scents.

Rangiku barely pulled away, “All I know,”—she rest her forehead against his and breathed in deeply—“...is how I feel...”

She kissed one corner of his mouth, “...When I kiss you...”—she kissed the other—“...when you kiss me...”

Her lips brushed against his, “And I don’t understand how that could be wrong...”

Toshiro met her halfway this time, unable to resist her beautiful mouth. His hands slid up over her curves and across her back. She sighed against his mouth and he tightened his hold on her, bringing her in closer to his warmth when she trembled.

Rangiku pulled her lips away, smiling softly when he tried to steal another kiss. She sighed happily and let him get another one —or five— in. She and Haineko were hopping around in a circle doing a happy dance together inside her head. Despite the fact that they had already kissed before, this felt like the first voluntary one on his part. He wasn’t pissed off; he wasn’t intoxicated; he wasn’t an emotional wreck. Yes, he was clearly fatigued, but right now he was kissing her because he wanted to. They might not be the tongue-twisters the previous two incidents had been, but these were slow and oh-so-sexy; each one leaving her breathless and craving more.

Toshiro was having a hard time keeping his lips to himself. Rangiku smelled so damn good. The scent of honey and smoke from the fire still clung to her skin and the fact that she was practically melting into him didn’t help one bit. Each sigh was like a caress and he found himself squeezing her tighter and tighter against him until she was plastered to his chest. It took him a few minutes to realize he was actually having a hard time breathing. Even then, it wasn’t until Rangiku adjusted her legs to get closer and her knee brushed against his side that he had to pull his lips away to focus on getting oxygen into his lungs.

When his hand reached over to gently push her knee away from the tender area, she gasped, only just remembering what she hadn’t completed healing. Still perched on his lap, she gingerly touched his ribs, “Did I hurt you?”

“No,”—his mouth quirked sarcastically—“but Zaraki’s iron fist certainly did.”

Rangiku rolled her eyes in exasperation and slid off his leg. “You know what I mean,” she grumbled.

“I’m fine,” he repeated and leaned back into the sofa.

“Yeah, that’s what you keep saying,” she replied dryly.

She smacked his hands away when he began to protest, but he resigned himself to staring at the fire when she started the healing process all over again.

After a few minutes of quiet, Rangiku murmured out of the blue, “I like kissing you, Toshiro Hitsugaya.”

He’d been busy listening to the wind outside, wondering if it’d finally snow tonight, but her comment got his full attention. The reality of what she was really saying made his heart stammer and after a long pause, he replied honestly. “I like kissing you, too, Miss Matsumoto.”

The resulting happy pink that fanned across her cheeks made his eyes soften and they both quietly returned to what they had been doing. Toshiro stared at the diminishing flames and tried to calm his mind. Rangiku focused on healing his ribs and tried not to get too excited about what he’d admitted tonight.

They spent the next half hour in companionable silence, both quietly contemplating. It wasn’t until Rangiku was satisfied with his ease of breathing that she sighed tiredly and moved to heal his blackening eye.

Toshiro gently pushed her hands away, “That’s enough.”

Rangiku frowned at him for several seconds before the stubborn determination in his dragon eyes made her relent. “Fine,” she grumbled. There was an awkward pause. Besides going to bed —separately— there wasn’t anything really left to do...

Rangiku decided to go easy on him and was preparing to stand when Toshiro started moving as well. As he helped her up off the floor, she muttered, “Although, I still don’t understand why you’d rather walk around with a black eye when I can totally fix it.”

Toshiro’s mouth quirked as he picked up his zanpakuto, “Maybe this is one of those ‘Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus’ things.”

Rangiku couldn’t help but chuckle as he followed her to the office door, “I was thinking it was more along the lines of ‘Guys are dumb,’ actually.”

Toshiro sighed as he opened the door and let her go ahead of him. “That too,” he murmured with a hint of a smile.

As Rangiku passed him, she smiled and nodded back into the room, “Oh, I tidied up your desk.” He peeked inside and as he shut the door, she shrugged, “Everything’s probably in the wrong spot, but I figured it was better than...”

Toshiro smiled in gratitude as he looped his zanpakuto over his shoulder, “Than having it look like I threw a temper tantrum? Yes, I agree. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

They both smiled at each other. Both remembered exactly how his desk got to looking that way and the undercurrent of heat passing between their eyes made both of their cheeks rather rosy as they stepped outside onto the deck.

The biting wind rushed past them and whipped her long hair back. Rangiku gasped, “Holy crap, it’s cold out here!” She looked around and exclaimed, “It must have dropped another ten degrees since I came back from lunch!”

The cold didn’t seem to faze him. In fact, his eyes became more alert as he breathed it in, glancing up at the overcast night sky.

Watching the clouds blast in from the north, a small smile graced Toshiro’s features. This was what he’d been waiting for all month. “Snow storm,” he murmured.

“You think so?” Rangiku smiled at his pleased expression and looked up at the fast paced, dark blanket up above. She shivered violently beside him.

He breathed in the crisp air and nodded in satisfaction, “Oh yeah.” Between Rangiku restoring his reiatsu enough to fix his side and the invigorating, stiff wind, Toshiro was feeling considerably better. Her whole body shuddered next to him again and she rubbed her hands over her arms vigorously. “Where’s your scarf?” he asked.

Her teeth chattered comically while she spoke, “On the sofa, I think.”

Toshiro rolled his eyes before ushering her toward their quarters. They both flashhopped over to her door and he huffed, “Don’t you have any other cold weather gear?”

They were a little more protected from the wind here and Rangiku sighed with mild relief. “Yeah, but it’s buried somewhere in The Abyss,” she said.

As she went through the process of opening her door, Toshiro asked, “The Abyss?”

She cracked open the door and turned to him with a surprisingly grim expression on her face, “My closet.”

Toshiro couldn’t help but snort, “That bad, huh?”

Rangiku wrapped her arms around her middle and grimaced playfully, “Well, it’s certainly not good and I’m too lazy to go searching through boxes.”

They smiled at each other and Rangiku shivered again when an icy gust of air whooshed past them throwing her door open. “Geez!” she hollered before grabbing her door knob and closing it most of the way again.

Toshiro smirked at how she glared at the sky and nodded toward her door, “You better go inside and get warm. Dig through that closet a bit, won’t you? You’re going to need some extra layers.”

Rangiku sighed, “Okay.” With Squad Twelve and now him telling her it was going to get really cold, she supposed she should take the winter weather seriously.

The urge to kiss him one more time, a goodnight kiss, had her turning around to do so before she caught herself. She stood on the threshold in her doorway and wavered. After so many weeks of turbulent emotions and walking on eggshells, they were finally ending things on a good note. They had made a silent truce tonight and she didn’t want to push him too far and have him relapse. The thought of having to make up all that lost groundwork all over again made her breath catch anxiously.

Toshiro saw her troubled expression and wondered what would make her linger out here in the cold. She’d opened up to him so much tonight; he’d almost forgotten how he hadn’t done the same. “Rangiku,” he murmured. She looked up and he swallowed thickly, “I’m sorry... For everything...”

Rangiku’s eyes widened. She couldn’t remember the last time he’d truly apologized to anyone... for anything.

When she didn’t respond right away, Toshiro shifted his weight uncertainly and leaned his back against the wall by her door. His fingers roughly swiped through his hair, “I handled things badly,”—he heard the air puff from her nose as if she was agreeing with him—“and... I know I hurt you.” He sighed and scratched the back of his neck, “I’m so sorry, Rangiku.”

“It’s okay,” she said softly. Toshiro shook his head and opened his mouth to disagree, but she cut him off before he could start, “It’s okay because...”—she paused briefly to emphasize her point—“I know you’ll make it up to me.”

Toshiro stared at her for a moment; his face was somber. “What do you want from me?” he asked quietly.

Oh, what a loaded question, she thought. Before she stated the obvious, Rangiku pondered the issue for a few moments and decided to go with a safer subject. “Well, I can tell you what I don’t want...” When his snowy eyebrow lifted curiously, she continued, “All of this negative energy? All of the avoiding and never talking to each other? I don’t want that. I hate it. I’ve been miserable this whole time because... Well, I’ve missed you! I’ve missed my friend! I mean, I know it’ll never be like it used to be, but that doesn’t mean it has to be this way...”

She paused to think about his question again and the answer to it made itself clear, “What do I want from you?” Their eyes met and she reached out to hold his warm hand, “I want you to try, Toshiro...”

His eyes widened and it looked like the air was stuck in his lungs. He stood there, seemingly frozen, and Rangiku asked the one thing that she feared was holding him back, “Do you think... it’s wrong to be with me?”

His first reaction was to deny it, but then he wanted to say yes. However, the more he thought about why he’d been struggling with what was “right” or “wrong,” the more he realized it had little to do with anything in the Codex. Did the public’s opinion of Captain-Lieutenant relationships affect his decision? Well, today was certainly a perfect example of how he didn’t give a rat’s ass what anyone thought. On the other hand, when he was younger and before he’d ever had any interest in Rangiku, he’d adamantly believed that this sort of situation should be discouraged because of the many consequences.

He heard her gasp and his eyes jerked up when he heard the pain in her voice, “Oh my god... That’s it, isn’t it? You do think it’s wrong.”

Toshiro was confused for a second before he realized that he still hadn’t answered her; she’d obviously been waiting. Her eyes were shimmery as she pulled her cold fingers away and she started blinking a lot.

Rangiku’s heart skydived down into her stomach. The temperature outside was nothing compared to the cold chill of dread that washed through her at his silence. She turned blindly so he wouldn’t see her trying to choke back tears. She needed to get inside before she broke down in front of him.

He saw her rush to cross the threshold of her still open door and moved instinctively. Toshiro pulled her back around to face him and, although she weakly fought to get away, he wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. He buried his nose in her cool hair and his voice came out gravelly, “I do not think it’s wrong.”

He blinked in mild surprise. He meant it. To be with her... would be so easy —easier than breathing— and deep down it was what he wanted more than anything. But that scared the shit out of him. He was a strategist by nature. He was always thinking ahead, regardless of the subject matter, and any scenario involving the two of them —whether it was something along the lines of friends with benefits or even being a couple— always ended poorly. The logical side of his brain told him to avoid anything that was seemingly doomed to end in pain, but the primal side roared for the release only she could give him. Something savage inside of him wanted her regardless of the risks.

Rangiku stopped struggling and sighed in relief. Hiding her face, she buried her nose in his collar and sniffed. Toshiro felt her lashes flutter against his skin and swallowed thickly when the distinct points of her tight nipples stabbed against his chest through the many layers of their uniforms.

Her hands slid around his waist and clenched the kosode behind his back. She couldn’t stop shaking, “You really left me hanging there...”

As she trembled in his arms, Toshiro tightened his hold, silently cursing himself for being so slow-witted tonight. “Sorry,” he mumbled. He sighed tiredly, “I was just lost in thought...” She lifted her head and they gazed into each other’s eyes for a moment. Toshiro noticed a drying tear streak that ran down her cheek near her nose. His hand cupped her jaw and he gently swiped his thumb across the rosy flesh. His voice was gruff, “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

Rangiku’s lashes fluttered at the tender touch and she sighed shakily. She felt like she’d been on an emotional roller coaster today and it was all his fault. Not bothering to hide her amusement, she huffed in irritation, “You know, despite what I’m sure was an entire academic career of exceptional grades, I’m beginning to think you’re a bit of an idiot.”

A snowy eyebrow rose dryly, but he sighed and shook his head. “Me too,” he grumped.

She smiled and laughed smoothly. The sound made his eyes soften and he smoothed an errant lock of luminous hair behind her ear.

Rangiku sighed and looked up with troubled eyes, “Toshiro?”

“Hmm?” he hummed.

Her hands moved from behind his back and rested on his chest. He watched as her fingers fiddled with the two loops of bronzy chain he now used to hold his scabbard in place. She focused on the matching bronze, star-like clip that held everything together and murmured, “You’re not going to shut me out again, are you?”

He studied her for a moment. “No,” he replied simply.

Rangiku’s eyes closed and she let out the shaky breath she’d been holding. The wind picked up around them and she shivered in his embrace. Although she loathed the idea of leaving his body heat, she really needed to get inside. Her door had been open for at least ten minutes and she needed to get a fire started in her fireplace if she didn’t want her apartment to be the same temperature it was out here.

Stepping back, she took pleasure in how his warm hands lingered and trailed down her arms as she backed up to her door. She paused when her cool fingers slid into his. Callused thumbs brushed over her knuckles and instantly thawed them out. “Good,” she murmured. “Because I don’t know if I could handle...”

She trailed off, but Toshiro knew what she was referring to. He looked down at their hands and replied quietly, “Honestly? Me neither.”

Rangiku sighed in relief and he continued gruffly, “If it’s any consolation, it’s been hell for me too.”

She smiled almost ruefully, “Actually, that does make me feel a little better.”

Air puffed through his nostrils in amusement and he watched her hands slip away from his.

She opened her door, finally stepping over the threshold. Rangiku turned around to look at him, “So, are we good?”

Toshiro blinked and frowned in thought, “Yeah... We’re good; for now, at least.”

“Until you do something stupid?” she asked dryly.

He crossed his arms across his chest and nodded matter-of-factly, “Yup.”

She smiled but a stiff breeze had a violent shiver wracking through her body.

He huffed at her, “Go get warm.”

Refraining from reminding him that he was the reason she was still out in the cold, she smiled, “Night.”

As she started shutting the door, he called softly, “Hey, Rangiku?”

Her head poked through the narrow opening, “Yeah?”

Toshiro gazed at her beautiful face in the dimness of night, “Just... be patient... Okay?”

She looked up at his uncertain, worried features and Rangiku suddenly remembered how young he was. He might be a man in every aspect of the word, but he still hadn’t taken certain risks that men her age, or older, had. He needed to figure this out on his own and, if she wanted it to work, she was going to have to let him take his time.

“Okay,” she whispered.

Her small smile soothed his nerves and his mouth curved in response. “Goodnight,” he murmured.

“Night,” she smiled.

*~****~*

Little Cho’s hysterical sobbing had tears streaming down her little face as she ran blindly into the dark forest. The blanket of snow-bearing clouds that had had her so excited earlier smothered the thin crescent moon and only made the trees and shadows more terrifying in the spine-tingling darkness. The monster’s heavy footsteps sounded so close behind her; she could feel its moist breath on her neck.

Why was this happening to her? She should have listened to her papa! He’d told her to be patient and wait until morning to play in the snow, but she’d snuck out of her bedroom window hoping to see the first snowflakes fall.

With every step her cold, bare feet took to keep her out of the monster’s grasp, the further away she went from the safety of the village and her papa’s arms.

She screamed in fright when she crashed into a wall of tapered trees. Scrambling back onto her feet, she squeezed through them narrowly missing being snatched up by the creature’s massive claws. She couldn’t stop whimpering and didn’t know where she was going, but little Cho kept running because she knew her life depended on it. She heard her papa screaming her name far back in the distance; the panic in his voice scared her even more.

She didn’t hear the monster crashing through the forest anymore and the tiniest flicker of hope entered her racing heart. She stopped running and held her breath to listen to her surroundings. Little Cho swiped away her tears and used her sleeve to wipe her running nose. She heard her papa’s voice carry through the trees. Several torches from other men were in the distance coming from the village. They were coming for her!

“Papa!” she cried out.

“Cho! Where are you!?” he called.

“I’m over here, Papa!”

A slithering sound made her freeze where she stood; the sinister, growling chuckle sounded somewhere in front of her. She turned her head back around slowly, her body shaking more from horror than the bitter cold. The last time she’d heard the beast, it’d been behind her! How had it gotten ahead of her!?

A few yards in the direction she’d blindly been headed came an electric blue glow ten feet above the ground. Everything inside her told her to run away but bone-chilling fear had left her frozen feet immobile. As it stalked closer and her vision was able to focus, two sets of evil blue, hungry eyes materialized from the eerie glow. Her terrified scream was cut off when something cold and solid smashed into her middle and slammed her into the ground. She tried to breathe, but the wind had gotten knocked out of her. A large, heavy foot pushed down onto her chest, effectively pinning her down in the icy soil. As winter’s first fluffy snowflake fluttered down to land on her tear-streaked cheek, despair washed over her when menacing blue eyes laughed down at her.

Little Cho’s bloodcurdling scream echoed throughout the forest and when her father smashed into the clearing with a torch in hand, nothing was there but the foreboding imprint of a child’s body in the frosted earth.

**~*~****~*~**
A/N: Please R&R!
- I can’t begin to describe how sorry I am that this story is taking me so long! I'm slowly trudging through the Great Swampy Middle of my story. I hope this chapter isn’t too choppy. I got tired of staring at it when I finally “finished”.
- Thanks again for the reviews and staying with me! Please be patient and know that I’m not abandoning this story! Send good ju-ju my way!
-Just a few more chapters to go. Sorry for not ending their misery, but I feel the sadistic need to make them suffer just a bit more (So sorry to burnishedvelvet and all my other reviewers dying for lemon meringue pie). I do feel a bit guilty about that...

XOXO! (^_^)
- 4
- 5
- 6
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Oh Captain! My Captain!