Disclaimer: Bleach isn't mine, I just play with the people in it.

Fun in Autumn Leaves

Karin sighed as she shuffled her way home through the leaves on the ground. School had started again, and while it was great to be able to see her friends and practice soccer more often, school was still school, which meant lectures and homework and, well… even more homework. She wasn't like Yuzu who strived to be at the top of her class, preferring to spend her time outdoors, playing soccer and having fun. That wasn't to say that she didn't do well in school, because she did, it was just that work wasn't her idea of fun.

Speaking of workaholics, she rather missed a certain white-haired, emerald green-eyed, short-tempered shinigami by the name of Hitsugaya Toshirou. Their relationship was a complicated one, and although they tried to hang out as much as possible, their time together was always limited. After all, he was a captain of the Gotei 13 in Seireitei, while she was just a normal human girl in middle school. Of course, these slight details were nothing compared to the fact that neither of them had actually told the other that their feelings extended past that of friendship.

Oh, there were the one-on-one soccer matches that Toshirou always grumbled about, but she knew he enjoyed. There were the late afternoons spent sitting at the side of the road where they first met, watching the sun set. There were the watermelon eating contests that Toshirou always won, and Karin only participated in because she knew full well how much he liked watermelons. And there were the late nights that they spent lying side by side on her roof looking up at the stars above, not saying a word, just basking in each other's presence. But never once had either of them said anything, even when one or the other blushed at the accidental brushing of their hands

Karin was sure that Matsumoto-san had already guessed about her more than just platonic feelings towards Toshirou, and knowing her, was probably busy plotting something right now. Oftentimes, a voice in the back of her mind would tell her to hurry up and confess her feelings to Toshirou before Matsumoto-san decided that it would be a good idea to play matchmaker. But almost immediately, that voice would be crushed under the weighty fear of even possibly losing Toshirou's friendship, and so she kept quiet. If Toshirou felt anything for her, he would tell her. After all he was the brave, hollow-fighting, shinigami taichou. Not her. Hollows and bullies she could stand up to, but matters of the heart? Those were too dangerous.

A voice from above broke through her thoughts and caused her head to snap up. "You know, if you keep frowning like that, you'll start to look like your brother."

"Hitsugaya Toshirou!" She glared at him, "You take that back right now! I look nothing like Ichigo!"

Toshirou smirked as he jumped down from the tree. Karin, like her brother, was hot-tempered and easy to wind up. It was one of the many things that he liked about her.

"It's true though, you'll start getting frown lines if you're not careful," he teased. "What were you thinking so deeply about? You didn't even notice me until I started talking."

"Oh nothing really… just school stuff." She lied, glad that she didn't have a habit of talking aloud to herself. "What are you doing here?"

"I don't quite know… Matsumoto was muttering something about vacations, no paperwork and having fun when she pushed me through the senkai gate." He rolled his eyes. "Of course, whether she was referring to me or to herself, I'm not quite sure…"

Karin gasped exaggeratedly, "Hitsugaya Toshirou not knowing something and taking a vacation? What is the world coming to?"

"Urusai! You make it sound like I don't know how to have fun."

"Well, you don't!"

"What? Of course I do!"

"Oh yeah? Like…?"

Toshirou scratched his head, "Watermelon eating contests?"

Her incredulous stare was his only answer.

He crossed his arms and looked away. "Fine! I guess I'm just a boring person…" he trailed off, shoulders slumping. Why did he ever think he had a chance with her? After all, he was a grouchy, taciturn workaholic who didn't know how to have fun, someone who was totally opposite of her. Why did he ever let himself get his hopes up?

Maybe he had put too much faith in Matsumoto's good-natured ribbing about how he and Karin were perfect for each other. Maybe he shouldn't have listened to Matsumoto when she had, in one of her rare moments of seriousness, told him that he mustn't let his chance with Karin slip away because of fear. Maybe he had read too much into their moments together. Maybe he had mistaken those innocent blushes for something else entirely.

Karin's amused voice cut through his fretting. "Look who's lost in their thoughts now!"

"Oh shut it…" He looked down at her oddly, "What are you doing?"

"This?" Karin looked up from the leaves she was gathering into a pile, "I'm going to teach you how to have fun!"

Toshirou smirked. "You? Teach? Is that even possible?"

This time, it was Karin's turn to mutter "Urusai!" as she continued to push the leaves together. "Come help me!"

Sighing, he squatted down to help her bunch together the brown and yellow leaves, his larger hands speeding up the job considerably. Once they had a large pile, Karin stepped back and surveyed their work with a critical eye. Toshirou stood beside her, eyebrows raised, wondering how this heap of leaves had anything to do with fun.

Karin nodded and stuck out her hand. "Okay, now grab on!"

Toshirou's throat went dry. "Wh-What??"

"Just take my hand. Come on!"

Tentatively, he reached out and wrapped his hand around her smaller, warmer, one. Karin blushed slightly. She hadn't realized what she had told him to do until after the words were out of her mouth, and when he had hesitated, she couldn't just pretend like nothing had happened. That would have made everything even more awkward. Forcing herself to focus on the leaves and not the coolness of Toshirou's skin against hers, Karin shot a sideways glace at the boy standing next to her.

"Ready?" The only answer was a slight raising of the eyebrows followed by a questioning look.

"JUMP!"

And without giving him a chance to react, she lept into the pile of leaves, pulling Toshirou along with her.

"Oof!"

Catching himself with his left hand, the right still entwined with Karin's, his startled sea-green eyes locked onto her brown ones. Frozen in place, him on top of her, they were unable to do anything but stare at each other. Unblinking, barely breathing, and completely unaware of anything apart from each other.

As she stared into his mesmerizing eyes, the tip of his white bangs just touching her forehead, all of the feelings that she had tried to squash into a deep, dark, corner washed over her at once. The feelings that made her feel so exposed, yet so complete around him. The feelings that were too raw, too real, too frightening to deal with. The feelings that she was sure would one day ruin her precious friendship with Toshirou. Those feelings threatened to overwhelm her, and Kurosaki Karin fought to keep back the three words that desperately wanted to leap out of her mouth.

Looking down at her in the sea of bright orange and flaming red leaves, he couldn't help it. Maybe Matsumoto was wrong about him and Karin, maybe the times they spent together didn't mean as much to her as they did to him, maybe he had mistaken those blushes for something more. Maybe all the feelings he had for her were unreciprocated, but in that one moment, he didn't care. Here in the light of the setting sun filtering through the autumn leaves, with the woody fragrance of the trees weaving around them, Hitsugaya Toshirou couldn't help but slowly close the distance between them and gently brush his lips against hers.

Her soft lips were warm against his as he kissed her, cherishing this moment and wishing that it would never end. But it had to, and so he lifted his head reluctantly, breaking the connection. Eyes closed in an attempt to shut out the rest of the world, he clung onto the already fading sensations of their kiss, letting out a soft breath.

"Toshirou…"

Karin's voice jerked him out of the cloud of contentment surrounding him, throwing him back into the cold waters of reality.

He stared down at her, panicking. How could he have been so stupid? How could he have lost control of himself that easily? What must she be thinking now? His mind scrambled for some way to fix this, some way to cover it up, make her pretend it never happened, convince her to stay his friend and not push him away in disgust.

"I'm--" A finger on his lips halted his words and he fixed his eyes on her, dreading to hear what she had to say, yet vainly trying to smother the tiny flame of hope that had flickered to life within him.

Fingers gently trailing up the side of his face, Karin threaded her hand through the snow-white hair and met Toshirou's apprehensive gaze. An impish grin spread across her face as she pulled his head down towards hers for another kiss.

"Looks like you do know how to have fun after all…"

And Toshirou was only too happy to show her how right she was.

A/N:

Karin: Aw... I wanted to have Toshirou play in the leaves some more...

Toshirou: Urusai! It's bad enough that you even got me into them!

Me: Oh come on, it wasn't that bad. At least you got to have some (cough) fun in them right?

Matsumoto: Taaaiichou! See? I told you you'd have fun in the real world!

Me: Er... Matsumoto, you weren't supposed to tell him that it was your idea, not unless you wanted--

Toshirou: MATSUMOTO! (takes off after Matsumoto)

Matsumoto: (runs) Karin-chan! Call off your boyfriend!

Karin: (smirks and crosses her arms) No can do. Sorry Ms. Matchmaker!

Me: (turns back towards readers) Anyways, this is my submission for the DA Back to School 2008 contest. What did you guys think? Comments make the Toshirou and Karin in my head happy and cuddly, so review!