A/N: This is my first story about Bleach, so just bear with me. I just felt like there wasn't enough stories with this pairing and then...well, here I am. The focus on this fic-is the Toshiro/Rukia relationship, so it's pretty au. By the way, I don't own Bleach-that honor goes to Tite Kubo.
He had a migraine.
Which was not an uncommon occurrence for the 10th Division Captain, but that didn't make it any less potent. And as usual the one responsible for his headache was his very own lieutenant, Matsumoto Rangiku. Or, should he say-ex lieutenant, as she had been promoted (incredibly) to Captain of the 3rd Division. And she left over a week's worth of paperwork in her wake. At least she was trying to, "MATSUMOTO!" Hitsugaya-taichou thundered. He glared pointedly at the buxom strawberry blonde who had appeared in his office this morning under the pretense of actually doing some work for a change. 'To ease the transition' she said. He scoffed. He should have known that it was too good to be true. She hadn't touched the mountain of papers on her desk, instead she searched for her leftover bottles of sakè when she thought he wasn't looking.
"Ne, taichou, don't you think you should calm down a bit? The day just started after all….," the new captain drawled.
Hitsugaya growled. "I would calm down if you actually did your work every once in awhile."
Rangiku smiled, "Look at it this way, it'll be as if I never left."
He snatched up a sakè bottle. "Was that supposed to cheer me up?" He retorted. His ex-lieutenant frowned at the loss of alcohol and Toshiro felt a small kernel of satisfaction; however, it was short lived because the redhead's face brightened considerably.
"Ah," she breathed, "My replacement is here." The announcement caused the "not quite as tall" captain to turn his head to the door.
"Hitsugaya-taicho," the newcomer greeted, "Lieutenant Kuchiki, Rukia reporting for duty." The raven haired shinigami kneeled before him in a textbook example of deference and submission. It was enough for the lazy 3rd Division Captain to snatch up the bottle and high tail it out of the 10th Division office. Only her bubbly, 'Good luck, Rukia,' remained.
"Rise Kuchiki," Hitsugaya commanded, having grown somewhat in the recent months, he was a good two or three inches taller than her and he relished in that difference. That wasn't the only difference he noticed. She had cut off her hair into a bob, almost pixie like and he found that it framed her face well. And she was certainly much curvier than before. Not that she was on Matsumoto's scale, but the overall package was more…..womanly. "I assume you know what is expected of you?" He questioned getting right to the chase.
She nodded. "And I've been briefed on how to file the paperwork, although it's a touch more than I anticipated…" He rubbed his head, grimacing at the flashes of pain brought on by his migraine. It was a shame that it hadn't yet faded. "Headache?" she asked and he could only nod distractedly.
And then he felt it. Small hands on his shoulder directing him to his chair. He remembered this about the female Kuchiki, that she was bossy. But he didn't fathom that she would behave so forward with a Captain-and they weren't even really acquainted. "What are you-" Toshiro's voice stopped at the sensation of slender fingers kneading through his scalp and neck. It was glorious.
"It's a kido massage," she explained still slipping her fingers through his silky white tresses. "Hanatoro taught me." She smiled as the normally stoic captain groaned from her attentions. When Byakuya-nii sama finally relented and let her take the officer's exam she never thought she'd be working for someone like Captain Hitsugaya. A prodigy, someone who was highly respected in all of Gotei 13, not to mention the Seireitei. Added to that, was the fact that she found him personally both extremely attractive and intimidating it was sort of a surreal experience for Rukia. "There," she said coming to a stop. "You should at least feel minutely better."
Toshiro cleared his throat, "T-Thanks, Kuchiki-fukutaicho." He shifted in his chair relieved, but uncomfortable. He wasn't used to such gentle treatment, save for that time he spent in the 4th's barracks after the war with Aizen. That was almost a year ago.
She smiled, "I guess I'll get started on this paperwork now," she announced as she moved to the desk Matsumoto once used.
The next day when he came into work the stack of papers were already halfway gone. And for the first time in years, his lieutenant had beat him to work. "Tea?"
A cup and saucer entered into his plane of sight and he accepted them blankly. Taking a sip, he arched a snowy brow as he took in the subtlety sweet and fragrant brew. "Who told you I like jasmine?" He asked defensively. He always got suspicious when people did nice things for him, it usually meant that they wanted something.
Kuchiki paused in her seat, "I'm sorry, should I have brought a different kind?" Violet eyes met his turquoise ones, clearly worried.
He shook his head, "You misunderstand me, I love jasmine tea."
She smiled again, with a warmth he was not used to seeing since his earlier days with Momo. It made his heart twinge. "Jasmine is one of my favorites too. I'll try to have a cup ready for you everyday if I can."
Hitsugaya hid his shock at that statement. Rangiku hadn't been nearly as accommodating. While she was an excellent partner in battle (he trusted her with his life) she was severely lacking in her day to day duties. Not Kuchiki, in fact as the morning passed that stack of papers dwindled down considerably. And that is the way it went on for the first month. Toshiro would come in and witness Kuchiki already hard at work and on his desk would be a steaming cup of tea.
As for Rukia, she was enjoying herself as a lieutenant. She had thought that the moody captain would be hard to please, but he hadn't yelled at her yet. But he was a workaholic. Most captains only stayed in their office for a short while, but Hitsugaya-taicho was there for hours on end. Even nii-sama didn't stay that long! However, she admired his dedication and she wondered if like her, he felt the need to prove himself. But perhaps she was reaching with that estimation. Still, she found that she was happy with her new placement at the 10th Division.