Author's Notes

..Okay, wow. Seriously. Its amazing what runs through my head when I listen to a song on repeat. In this case, I was listening to the Kingyo Hanabi by Ai Otsuka. And I just kept thinking 'HitsuHinaHitsuHinaHitsuHina.' My mind is weird that way. Oh, and for the record...I believe I stopped thinking about what I was writing by the fourth paragraph. So if it seems weird..that's why. XD

Title: Winter's Hope

Rating: I give it K+ to be safe

Pairings: HitsuHina

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Simple as that.

"Hitsugaya-kun, I think you've gotten taller!"

It would always be a mystery to her, Matsumoto decided. Had anyone else besides the fifth division vice-captain told the boy genius that he'd gotten taller, they would be in for a marvelous freezing. But here Hinamori Momo was, smiling as she ran her hand over the top of her head, fingertips brushing through his hair, trying to see how much taller she was than the white-haired shinigami.

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Hitsugaya's eyebrow twitched, brushing Hinamori's hand away with a quick flick of his wrist. At this point, he had determined that getting her to call him 'Hitsugaya-taichou' was a rather impossible goal. So he simply made an attempt to ignore it. He couldn't find himself getting angry at her; after all, it had never truly been her fault.

The battle with Aizen was over, and Hinamori was slowly recovering. The white-haired captain didn't need to be a genius to notice that she was still pale, and that some of the light was still gone from her eyes.But she was alive, and Aizen was gone. And Hitsugaya was learning.

A gentle, childish tug at his hand snapped him back to attention. Arching an eyebrow at the dark haired girl pulling on him, Hitsugaya scowled. "What?"

"Ne, Hitsugaya-kun, I want to show you something!" Pulling on his hand again, she frowned in determination until, with a groan, he allowed the slightly taller girl to pull him. A glance was given back to his vice-captain, who waved him off before heading off with Kira and Hisagi in the other direction; Matsumoto would probably end up goading the three into a drinking contest. As long as she didn't throw up in his office or complain about her hangover tomorrow, he didn't care.

Pulling his hand free from Hinamori's grip, the boy captain wondered with a hint of annoyance where she was leading him, until at least, the dark haired girl stopped. Arching an eyebrow, he was silent for a moment before opening his lips to speak. "Oi; why are we all the way out here?" He didn't get an answer for a moment, a fact which caused his irritation to rise. "Oi, Hinamori," he called out again. Seeming to snap out of something, the vice-captain glanced at him, smiling, then pointing.

Following the direction of her fingertip, Hitsugaya found himself looking at a shrub with white flowers. "A camellia. What about it?" Putting her hands on her hips, Hinamori frowned. "Its a certain type of camellia!" Kneeling, her fingertips brushed lightly over a blossom. "Winter's Hope...that's what its called."

He realized it then. The way she carried herself, the look in her eyes as she gazed at the flowers, her smile... He was so stupid not to realize it. In a moment, he was on his knees behind her, and his arms found a life of their own, wrapping around her shoulders. He felt her stiffen momentarily, before she looked at him in suprise. "Shiro-chan?"

The way she said his name, her quiet voice...

"Hitsugaya-kun, what's the matter?"

And to think he'd almost missed it.

Holding her to him, he finally opened his lips. "I'm sorry." Once again, he noticed her eyes widen, but he kept his aqua gaze on a single camellia blossom. "Its fine to cry. No matter what you're crying for, even if its for that bastard Aizen, you can cry." And then, she did. And he finally understood.

She'd always been his hope. She'd been the reason he kept fighting, kept trying. But, in a way, he was her hope too. He was her reason to keep living when her false hope abandoned her, her reason to keep living.

And for him, that was good enough.