A/N: So this is just a fun lil story that's been floating around my head lately haha
Set about 50~ years after the 10 year timeskip, where I believe Toshiro and Momo would be pretty much young adults (not full on Mature Bankai!Toshiro age but gettin' there)
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo.
Toshiro looked down at the flowers being handed to him by his childhood friend, Hinamori. They were absolutely lovely, a snowy white bundle of a mixture of his and her's respective squads symbols. Holding them together was a turquoise clothe tied in place with a brown ribbon.
The captain was shocked. Today wasn't a particularly special day, far as he could recall.
"Thank you," he told her first. He wanted to be sure his gratitude was known before asking, "What's the special occasion?"
Hinamori turned her head away, looking down toward the floor. "Ah, I thought you might like them, so... I got them for you."
'Oh, damn it,' he thought to himself. He'd embarrassed her.
"Sorry. I do like them; they're stunning," he reassured her.
Toshiro watched Hinamori as she raised her face back, her eyes going back to his. He thought he noticed a slight redness to her face.
"I know they are," she said, he assumed in reference to the flowers, "since they reminded me of you," she finished quietly, the redness turning into a full blown blush.
"Ah,' he thought to himself. He chuckled under his breath. He was sure that such comments about him being "so pretty" had died down somewhat since he's grown some, but they obviously haven't. "Thank you," he said, somewhat sarcastically. He took the flowers from her hands and told her more seriously, "I'll be sure to take care of them."
Hinamori looked at him, eyes slightly wide. It took a moment for her to say anything. "A-Ah, yeah! Thanks! Well, I'll see you around Shiro!" She quickly turned around and ran out his office.
She must be on a time crunch. He looked down at the flowers with a greater appreciation. That she took time out to give him these despite that touched him deeply. He smiled.
A week later
Toshiro was sitting at his desk, doing his usual rounds of paperwork. Rangiku of course was no where to be found, but he couldn't bring himself to care. If she were here she wouldn't do any work so it really made no difference. He did wonder where she's been spending her time though. It seems like she's been in the office even less than usual, which is quite impressive.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his office door opening.
"Ah, Hinamori. Welcome."
The young woman walked in, looking slightly nervous as she stood in front of the doorway holding something behind her back. "Hey Shiro," she said as she moved in front of his desk.
"Come on Hinamori," he groaned at her. "Captain Hitsugaya. Is it really so ha-"
His complaint was cut short as the woman swung what she was holding behind her in front of his face, revealing what it was. It was a package, pink and opaque. He took from her hands and sat it down, opening it and looking inside.
Two sugar cookies, both shaped like hearts. One had a snowflake design against a light blue background, and the other had an orange flame against a purple background, all of which was made of frosting.
"Wow," he said. He felt a little silly thinking about how pretty the cookies were, but he couldn't deny it either. "Can I try it?" he asked.
Hinamori nodded her head vigorously.
Toshiro went to the bag and took out the blue treat. Taking a bite he couldn't help the quiet "Mm!" that came out. It was delicious! The smile that spread across Hinamori's face showed off her own happiness.
"Hinamori," he started after swallowing his first bite, "This is amazing!" He pushed the bad with other cookie to her.
She chuckled, a blush spreading on her face. "Thanks Shiro. I-I tried some new things with them, so I'm glad they worked out." She looked down at the bag now in front of her. He saw her give a slight shrug before taking the cookie out of the bag and taking a bite.
They ate together like that in silence, enjoying the other's company. Toshiro certainly enjoyed the distraction from his paperwork. Soon enough though they finished their treats.
"Thanks, Hinamori," he told her. Taking time out of the day to do something so simple was nice, to say the least.
She gave out a small laugh. "No problem, Shiro."
He couldn't help but smile too. Then he thought about something.
"Why the heart shape?"
He couldn't think of a time he's seen a face change emotion so fast. Hinamori went from content to shock in an instant. "What." It wasn't really said like a question so it must have been obvious what it was.
"Ah, sorry. Guess you were just trying out new shapes is all," he said. They certainly came out beautifully.
He entertained the thought that maybe this was her way of showing some deeper feelings. He'd realized his own for her some years ago but never tried to act any differently with her in case she hadn't felt the same.
In the end he discarded the idea. Probably him just being too hopeful.
"Y...Yeah," she finally responded after a pause. "That's... ah... I have to go..." She slowly turned around and left his office.
"See you around," he said back, slightly concerned due to the pauses in her words before she left. Hopefully everything was alright.
A week later
He really was going to have to send someone to find Rangiku. The past couple weeks he's barely seen a glimpse of her. It was starting to get more than a little annoying.
He was about to get out of his thoughts and back to his work when the door to his office opened. He looked up at the sound and saw Hinamori standing at the doorway, looking tense.
"Hinamori, come in," he said, concern almost making him rise from his seat but he kept his composure. She look troubled. "Is something the matter?"
She didn't say anything, instead coming to his desk. She took a deep breath and pulled something out of her pocket, looking away from him. "H-H-Here!" she stuttered.
He looked at what she was holding to him. It looked like a letter, sealed in an envelope. Upon taking it it was clear from its pink coloring and the heart sticker sealing it closed what it was.
A love letter.
He coughed into his hand to hide his embarrassment. Well, it's clear that Hinamori wanted him to read it - it would be strange to just hand over a love letter otherwise - so he supposed he would. He carefully opened it and took it out the package. The paper itself was a nice light blue.
It became clear who the letter was addressed to when he started to read it.
Hitsugaya.
It took me many years to come to terms with my feelings for you, but I finally have. I love you. I love your beautiful white hair, how soft it looks and must feel, the cute tuff at your neck. I love your eyes, gorgeous as the sea, and how they glint the few times you let yourself show how happy you are. I love the sound of your voice, how it soothes me when I'm feeling troubled.
But more than that, I love you. Your fierce loyalty, and how you never let a friend go unless given no other option. I love your strength, and how you use it to protect those you love and never for anything selfish - well, almost never. I love how smart you are, how quick-witted your mind is. I love your hidden kindness that you try to hide from everyone. I even love your teasing, your yelling fits at Rangiku, your workaholic nature - though that can be turned down a bit.
I love you, Hitsugaya. I want to be worthy of being by your side. I want to grow strong with you, grow more mature with you, and grow old with you. But only if you feel the same.
It was a very touching letter; he won't even try to fool himself otherwise. It clearly came from the heart. He looked back up at Hinamori, who was staring him down.
"W...Well?" she said finally. "What do you think of it? H-How do you f-feel?"
He looked back down at the letter in thought. "I... have no idea what to feel," he answered. It was a beautiful letter, emotions pouring off of every word.
But...
"Who do you suppose wrote it?"
He's had many a love letter come to him during his time as a captain. Many had been far more frivolous, proclaiming his "cuteness" profusely and how much they wanted to hug him. Others were... something, to say the least. "You look so ravishing when you train." "I collect every photo of you from the Seireitei Bulletin." "I know you let me get that lock of hair from you while you were sleeping and for that I will kill for you." Unsettling, but nothing's happened yet.
This one is so different from any other letter's he's received he isn't sure how to respond.
The silence which had fallen over the room was broken soon enough.
"What."
Toshiro jumped at the sudden noise and looked at the source of it. Hinamori stared down at him, a look in her eyes so dead he was surprised she was still breathing. Her previous nervousness at what he assumed was due to her anticipation of his reaction was erased entirely, replaced with this strange stillness.
He was worried, but since there couldn't have been any real harm to her he continued with his musings. "Well, the letter isn't signed. Perhaps we can track down who wrote it. Where did you find it?"
Silence was his answer. Hinamori kept looking at him with an unfocused gaze, as if her mind were somewhere else and left her body behind. He was about to ask if she were alright when she leaned over his desk and took the paper from his hands before flash-stepping away.
"H-Hinamori?!"
In Captain Hirako's office
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"KAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Puhhhh... Ohhhh my God!"
There was a mighty ruckus going on in Captain Shinji Hirako's office. A young woman, the lieutenant of this division Momo Hinamori, came in screaming her lungs out in agony. Her captain, Hirako, and her friend, lieutenant of the 10th division Rangiku Matsumoto, guffawed at said screaming, for they knew why it was happening.
Tenth division captain Toshiro Hitsugaya, aka the Most Oblivious Man in the Soul Society.
Momo sank to the floor, taking out the letter she poured her soul into. At least he didn't reject it, or say it was cheesy. It even looked like he liked the letter!
But!
"How come he didn't know it was meee...?" she cried, eyes shiny with big fat tears as she pouted at the letter. Then she shot up back up, yelling even loud. "I HAND DELIVERED TO HIM! I DID! I WAS THERE, I SAW IT HAPPEN!"
She watched as Rangiku slapped a piece of paper into her captain's hands. Probably another check, seeing as she has once again failed to get Shiro to see her feelings.
"Seeee Momo, this is what you get for waiting so looong~" Rangiku sang, looking surprisingly happy considering she's just given up half her pay. "Now you have to go the extra mile!"
"HOW IS THIS NOT AN EXTRA MILE TOO MANY?!" Momo yelled, leaning on the edge of her captain's desk for support for she knew she was going to fall out of pure annoyance.
"Don't give up now Momo!" her captain encouraged. "Sure, only a true fool can ignore so many blatant signs, but you must remember some things. 1) The letter, while some of the most beautiful literature I've ever laid mine own eyes upon, has probably mixed in his head with the shit ton of other letters he's probably gotten from all those weirdos I've seen looking into his office here and there over the years.
"That combined with 2) you two dummy's years long pine fest and 3) his lack of experience in anything romantic from what Ran here has told me, probably has him convinced of platonicity -which is absolutely a word. The cookies definitely shoulda clued him in though."
"Tell us, how'd he react to the letter?!" Rangiku chimed in, eyes wide and eager for the answer.
Momo took a deep breath and thought back. "He was speechless..." she said after a moment. "And he looked really touched..."
"YOU HAVE HIM ON THE ROPES!" the two older officers yelled at her simultaneously.
"His walls of stupidity can't hold for much longer!" Hirako shouted confidently.
"You know what you do now Momo?!" Rangiku jumped out of her seat and stood right next to the younger woman. "You take him out on a date. A full on date! In a moonlit meadow, with just the two of you, nice and quiet and beautiful. Then, you tell 'im right there, the three words; he'll melt right there!"
"Ran, no!" Shinji yelled dramatically, feigning to faint on the ground. Rangiku flash-stepped from next to Momo to where he would fall, falling right into the act with him. "My beautiful son-in-law, my dumb boy, she'll kill him right there!" Crocodile tears fell from his eyes.
The same was true for Rangiku, wetting Shinji face with her own tears. "It needs to be done." she said with exaggerated melancholy. "There's no other way.
Momo couldn't help the small laugh that came from her eccentric friends' performance. She then thought about Rangiku's suggestion, and after thinking it over she smiled and nodded to herself, ignoring the increasing volume of the two near her as they get too into their act.
The Most Oblivious Man in the Soul Society, her captain described Shiro. Well, it wouldn't matter. With this, she'll get him for sure!