Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Bleach series in any way. All copyrights go to Tite Kubo. The only original characters I do own are Tatsuya Hinamori, Miyako Hinamori, and Naomi Yoshida-Hitsugaya.

Synopsis: The 2011 HitsuHina Christmas One-Shot. Momo is planning to give Toshiro a knitted scarf for Christmas, but her gift somehow went missing! What will she do?

Author's Note: Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the holiday so far! Here's my gift to you: a HitsuHina one-shot that is dedicated to you all! Enjoy!

LEGEND

"Talking." "Thinking."

The Missing Gift

Momo is humming a random Christmas tune as she sat on the sofa, knitting something using a ball of red yarn. She stopped for a moment to look at her current progress. She let out a smile before she returned to work. During this time, Tatsuya walked past by from behind and noticed her. He stopped for a moment and looked over her shoulder. He asked, "What are you doing, Momo?"

"I'm knitting a scarf."

"Aw, that's nice." He smiled. "Who is it for?"

"It's for Hitsugaya-kun."

"Hitsugaya, huh?" Just as he is about to leave, he froze and resumed his attention to her. "You mean that brat, Toshiro Hitsugaya?"

The peach girl glanced over her shoulder and shot him a glare. She didn't like the way her father addressed her childhood friend especially after all these years. "Well yeah, who else would I make this for? This is going to be Hitsugaya-kun's Christmas present from me."

"Really?" said a voice. The two family members turned their heads to see Miyako walking over to them. She took a seat next to her daughter and asked, "May I see?"

"Sure."

Momo stopped for a moment to show her mother the scarf. "Sugoi, you're almost done!"

"I hope it looks good."

"It looks just fine. I'm certain Toshiro-kun will love it."

As the two females continued to chat, Tatsuya stared at the almost completed scarf. Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes and walked off to the kitchen.

Once he's there, he raised a hand up and turned it into a fist. If her beloved peach gives the scarf to him and he likes it, their chances of becoming future soul mates will skyrocket to the roof.

He could tell from his daughter's happy expression whenever he sees her with him. As for the white haired teenager, he also could tell he has similar emotions for her. That's what his intuition is telling him. "I have to do something about this. There's no way I'm going to allow my daughter to be together with him!"

"Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way. Oh, what fun it is to ride a one horse open sleigh? Hey! Jingl-"

"Okaa-san, can you stop singing that song?" Toshiro asked after placing an empty plate on the table. "This is the tenth time you've sung it."

Naomi stopped for a moment to think about it. "Really? I didn't realize it. Okay, what song do you want to sing along to?"

He gave her a stern look. "I'm not singing."

"Eh, why not?"

Hitsugaya turned his head away. "Just because..."

As he is leaving the room to get some eating utensils, Naomi stared at his back for a moment. All of a sudden, she said, "Is it because Momo-chan might barge in and hear your angelic voice?"

The white haired teenager stopped. He glanced over his shoulder and shot her a glare. "No, that's not it. I just don't want to sing."

With that said he resumed his attention to the front and left his mother alone in the dining room. He let out a soft sigh. Why does his mother always get Hinamori involved in conversations where it is not necessary for her to be in? He placed his hand into his pocket and took out a small silver chained necklace with a peach pendant. He saw it on one of his window shopping days and thought it would look nice on his childhood friend. So, he bought it. Now, he's starting to get second thoughts. What if she doesn't like it?

Suddenly, he heard the doorbell ring from the front entrance. Then, he heard his mother call out, "I got it!"

After quickly stuffing the necklace back into his pocket, he went to the front to see who is at the door.

"Hey Miyako-chan!" The female Hitsugaya hugged her best friend. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas to you too, Naomi-chan!" the other woman happily replied. She pulled away from the embrace and noticed Hitsugaya's presence. "Merry Christmas Toshiro-kun."

He gave her a short bow. "Merry Christmas to you too, Miyako-san."

Hitsugaya then turned to the male Tatsuya and did the same.

"Merry Christmas Hinamori-san."

"Merry Christmas," he replied.

The white haired teenager then noticed the absence of a certain raven haired girl. Miyako noticed. "Momo-chan will come a little later. She just needs to finish making the dessert."

"I see."

As he watched the Hinamori parents walk into the living room, Naomi closed the door behind her and walked up to him. Placing a hand on the side of her mouth, she whispered, "Can you go over to check up on Momo-chan? She might need your help carrying the dessert all the way here."

At first, Toshiro shot a glare at her. However, it didn't take long before he closed his eyes and sighed with defeat. He walked over to the coat hanger to grab and put on his coat. After he finished buttoning up, he put on his shoes. "I'll be back soon."

Naomi nodded with agreement and smiled. While she watched him leave, she said, "Take your time coming back here, Lil'Shiro."

Upon hearing her comment, Hitsugaya rolled his eyes with disbelief. Why can't she just call him by his first name? The white haired male stepped out of the house. After he closed the door, Toshiro stuffed his hands into his pants pockets. He raised his head for a moment to see the snowflakes falling from the cloudy sky. He let out a deep sigh and began walking to the Hinamori residence.

"Mou, where is it?" Hinamori said as she got down her hands and knees. She looked under the couch only to find nothing there. "I could have sworn that I left it somewhere around here."

The peach girl turned her head to the other side to check what's under the table. Momo sighed with defeat. She found nothing as well.

"I have to find it soon or else I won't have any gift to give to Hitsugaya-kun."

All of a sudden, she heard the sound of the doorbell. Wondering who it is, she got back on her feet and walked over to the door. She got on her toes and looked through the peek hole. She gasped and quickly pulled away. Her childhood friend is standing on the other side of the door.

"Oh no, what should I do?"

Her first thought was to ignore him. However, she didn't want him to stand out there in the cold. Besides, her parents must have told him that she's currently in the house. Momo let out a defeated sigh. She placed her hand on the doorknob and opened the door. "Hey Hinamori."

The peach girl cracked a faint smile on her face. "Hey Hitsugaya-kun, what brings you here?"

"Oh, I just want to help out bring the dessert back to my place. Is it almost done?"

"Ah yeah, it is. I just need to add the toppings," she replied. "Why don't you step in for a bit?"

With that said, the white haired teenager walked into the house and closed the door behind him. After taking a moment to unbutton his coat, he took off his shoes and followed the younger teenager. Along the way, he noticed her looking around as if she's looking for something. "Hinamori, is there something wrong?"

Momo froze and turned around to face him. After raising both her hands, she stopped him and said, "Eh, nothing! It's nothing!"

However, Hitsugaya isn't convinced. He knows her too well to notice when she's acting strange or not. "If there is something wrong, I can help."

Hinamori gave him a hard look before breaking to a defeated sigh. "Fine, I'm actually looking for a scarf."

He raised an eyebrow. "A scarf?"

"Yeah, it's a red knitted scarf."

"Okay, when was the last time you saw it?" Toshiro asked.

"I left in the living room to help Okaa-san prepare the soup in the kitchen."

Hitsugaya began looking around. "Then, it must be around here somewhere."

"I've already looked," Momo replied, "but I couldn't find it."

As he is looking under the cushion on the sofa, he replied, "We're going to search for it together. If we don't find it in this room, then we're going to have to search the other rooms of the house."

Hinamori nodded with agreement. "Arigato."

With that said, the two childhood friends began searching for the missing scarf around the living room. They searched high and low, over and under, and from side to side. However, there is no sign of it. So, they expanded their search to the kitchen. Once they found nothing there, they searched in the washrooms and then all the bedrooms. Unfortunately, their efforts were futile.

After a full hour of searching, they returned to the living room to take a break. By the time Momo sat down on the sofa, she let out a defeated sigh. When Toshiro took a seat, he noticed the sad look on the raven haired girl's face. "Is it really that important to you?"

She looked at him and slowly nodded with agreement. Judging by the look on her face, he could tell that she's moments away from tearing up. Hitsugaya placed his hand into his back pants pocket and took out a folded light blue handkerchief and held it out to her.

"Here."

Upon noticing it, she raised her head up to see the compassionate look on the white haired teenager's face. Hinamori let out a soft smile and accepted his offer. She used the handkerchief to wipe a few tears from her eyes. "Arigato."

Toshiro extended his arm out and placed it over her shoulder. After pulling her close, he planted a soft kiss on her forehead. He said, "Please stop crying; it hurts me to see you like this."

Momo asked, "What do you mean? You didn't do anything wrong."

"I know, but I still feel this way regardless what happens." He took a moment to wipe a loose tear from the corner of her eye with a finger. "Do you know why?"

She sniffled. "...I think so. You care about me."

The older teenager smiled. "Then, wipe the rest of your tears away and we'll go back to searching for the scarf even if it takes us the whole night."

"Thank you," she said after doing what she was told. She then smiled back. "You're the best, Hitsugaya-kun."

"Let's search for it again."

"Hai."

As he sat on the living room sofa with his arms crossed over his chest, he was tapping on one foot. It is seven o'clock at night and they still haven't eaten dinner. Miyako and Naomi insisted on waiting for their children to come over and eat together as a big family. Suddenly, Tatsuya's stomach growled...for the third time in a row. "They're taking too long; let's ea-"

"No, we're not," Miyako interrupted. "We're going to wait for them."

The older Hinamori growled with frustration. "Argh, fine..."

Once the female Hinamori resumed her attention to her best friend, she said, "About what I was saying before, Momo-chan's actually still at home because she's searching for her missing present for Toshiro-kun. You know the knitted scarf I talked about the other day."

"Eh, Momo-chan's scarf for Toshiro suddenly went missing?" Naomi asked.

She nodded with agreement. "Yeah."

The female Hitsugaya folded her arms over her chest and thought out loud, "Hn, maybe I should have not sent him to check up on her."

"It's alright." She smiled. "At least, they'll be together for a while..."

Suddenly, Naomi let out an amused grin. She added, "...and alone in the house."

Upon hearing her say that, Tatsuya shot them a glare. "Oh no, I'm not leaving my sweet peach alone with him. I'm going ho-"

"Don't worry Tatsuya-kun, I didn't raise my son to be a rapist," Naomi pointed out. "Besides, he values Momo-chan as one of his closest friends. Because he thinks that way, he will protect her from any harm and be considerate of her feelings."

The male hissed between his teeth. "I don't believe that. Guys nowadays only think about satisfying their lust."

Both women then gave him a stern look. Miyako suddenly asked, "Hn, is that so? Did you feel that way while we were dating years ago?"

"O-Of course not!" Tatsuya sputtered. "At the time, I-I was deeply in love with you! There's no way I would allow my obsession to get out of hand!"

She grinned. "Well, that could be said the same way for Toshiro-kun."

Naomi nodded with agreement. "Oh yeah, my Lil'Shiro loves her so much that he would do anything to make her happy! He's just so adorable like that!"

Without any warning, Hitsugaya sneezed. "Are you alright?"

Turning to the worried peach girl, Toshiro replied, "Yeah, I have a pretty good feeling that Okaa-san is talking about me right now."

Momo hesitantly laughed. "For some reason, I can imagine that."

All of a sudden, they heard a noise. The two teenagers stopped what they were doing and followed the noise to where it is coming from. It turned out to be coming from a certain white haired teenager's stomach. "Darn, I'm starving."

Toshiro took a moment to look at the wall clock.

"That's no wonder; it's seven thirty."

"I'll go fix you something to eat," Momo replied as she stood up from her seat.

"You don't have to do that. I can still wait."

Hinamori turned to him and shook her head. "It's alright. Besides, I'm hungry too."

With that said, she went to the kitchen to find some food in the fridge. Hitsugaya left his seat and followed behind her. "Is there even any food in the house?"

"Yep, there's plenty," She glanced over her shoulder to see him, "at least for the two of us."

"I see."

The peach girl took another look in the contents of the fridge. "Unfortunately, we don't have any fresh food at the moment. I guess we're going to resort to eat instant noodles."

As she closed it, Hitsugaya replied, "That's fine by me."

With a short nod, she walked over to the cupboard and opened it to reveal several different types of instant noodles. "Take your pick."

"Anything is fine."

"...Fine, let's eat beef flavoured instant noodles."

After a few minutes of food preparation, the two teenagers carried their cups of noodles and chopsticks back to the living room. They took their seats at the low table and said their thanks before eating their meal. It didn't take them long to finish because neither of them stopped to chat with one another. "I'll be right back."

"Okay."

As Hinamori continued to clean up, Hitsugaya went to the washroom to wash his hands. After turning off the tap, he borrowed a small towel to dry his hands. He put it back where it belongs. Then, he took a moment to look at the mirror and fix a few strands of his soft white hair. Once he is done, he turned his body to the side and noticed something red inside the laundry basket. Curious, he opened the top and began taking out some of the dirty clothes. By the time he is able to reach it, he picked it up. It's a knitted scarf. "This must be what she's looking for."

After putting the clothes back where it belongs, he returned to the living room to find the peach girl sitting on the sofa. He extended the scarf out to her.

"Is this it?"

She glanced over to the side and gasped. Then, she took the red knitted item. "Oh my gosh, you found it! Thank you so much!"

Toshiro smiled. "You're welcome. I found it in the laundry basket."

"The laundry basket? How did it get in there?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea." Momo lowered her head and thought for a moment. By the time she raised it up again, she held the scarf out to him. "Here."

"Hn?"

Momo's cheeks turned pink. "I know it's a bit early, but Merry Christmas Hitsugaya-kun. I-I knitted this for you."

"Hinamori..." Hitsugaya looked down at the present and then at her. He soon accepted her gift. "Thanks."

He took a moment to put the scarf around his neck. "I-I'm sorry if it got a little dirty or anything."

"It's alright. I can always wash it."

The peach girl smiled. "It looks good on you."

Toshiro blushed. He stuffed his hands into his pants pockets and quickly turned his head away. "Thanks."

At that moment, he remembered about his gift to her.

"Um, Hinamori..."

"Yeah?"

Hitsugaya took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. With one swift movement, he took out the necklace from his pocket and held it out to her. He looked at her in the eyes and said, "M-Merry Christmas. This is for you."

All of a sudden, Momo's face lightened up. She took the peach pendant necklace from him to take a closer look at it. "Aww, it's so beautiful. Can you help me put it on?"

With a short nod, he took back the gift and watched his long time friend turn around. She eagerly waited for him to wrap and clip it together around her neck. By the time he's done, Hinamori faced him again and asked, "How does it look?"

"It looks nice on you."

"Arigato!" The two childhood friends smiled at one another. Moments later, Momo raised her head up and noticed something. "Eh, since when that was there?"

Wondering what she's talking about, Toshiro did the same to see the mistletoe hanging in the middle of the top door frame. They looked at one another and blushed. Instinctively, they turned their gaze away and fell silent. "W-We don't need to follow that tradition."

"Y-Yeah..."

"Let's head over to my place. O-Our parents are waiting."

Momo slowly nodded with agreement. After picking up the dessert dishes from the kitchen, the two teenagers left the house and went to the Hitsugaya residence.

As Tatsuya is washing the dishes in the kitchen, Miyako and Naomi were talking in the living room when they heard the front door open. "I'm home."

"Sorry for the intrusion!"

They looked over to the side to see the two childhood friends walking through the hallway. Naomi greeted, "Welcome back Toshiro! Hey Momo-chan!"

Noticing the two women sitting on the couch, they stepped into the living room. All of a sudden, Miyako exclaimed, "Okay, hold it right there!"

Hitsugaya and Hinamori stopped and asked, "What?"

The two females smiled. Together, they raised a finger up and pointed at an object that is hanging above their heads. "Look up."

The childhood friends raised their heads up to see a mistletoe stuck on the top of the door sill. They turned a few shades darker and exclaimed at their mothers, "Okaa-san!"

Miyako and Naomi grinned with amusement. The Hitsugaya female said, "There's no use running away now. We'll just drag you two back here to do it."

The two children let out defeated sighs. By the time they made eye contact with one another, they blushed and looked away. After an awkward moment of silence, they took another glance at each other. They eventually had to get over this sooner than later. Hitsugaya apologized, "Sorry..."

"I-It's okay."

Toshiro leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. He then turned to his mother. "There, are you happy now?"

She gave him a stern look. "No, you're doing it all wrong! You're supposed to kiss her on the lips!"

"L-Lips?" Momo turned red as a cherry. "No way, I don't want to do that in front of them!"

"Well, it's too bad!" Toshiro protested. "You didn't specify it the first time. So, you're just going to wait until the next time you catch us under the mistletoe."

He turned to the peach girl.

"Let's go put these away in the kitchen."

Hinamori nodded with agreement and followed his lead. As they walked past their mothers, they didn't notice the snickering grins on their faces. All of a sudden, Miyako exclaimed, "Stop!"

Hitsugaya and Hinamori stopped and turned around. The white haired teenager asked, "What is it this time?"

Naomi smiled. "You just did it again."

Toshiro and Momo raised their heads up to see another mistletoe. He snapped at the older Hitsugaya, "You've got to be kidding me! Stop hanging mistletoes around the house!"

"Yeah yeah, you know what this means," Naomi said. "You have to kiss Momo-chan again, but it's on the lips this time!"

The two childhood friends glanced at one another. They blushed and quickly turned their heads away. For a long time, they've been consciously aware of each others' feelings. However, they've been having problems expressing it properly. Now that the opportunity is here, they have no other choice but to take that first step.

Toshiro and Momo looked at one another once again. Hitsugaya gulped and took a step closer to the raven haired girl. Then, he began leaning over. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest. They are seconds away from sharing their first kiss. Momo slowly closed her eyes and waited for him to make the move. Upon noticing her actions, he shut his eyes and closed the distance between each other with a kiss.

As they watched their children share their special moment together, Miyako and Naomi placed their hands together and cooed. Naomi suddenly wiped a small tear from the corner of her eye. "I'm so proud of you, Lil'Shiro. You have finally taken that step, isn't that right Miyako-chan?"

She smiled and nodded with agreement. "Oh yes, I'm so happy for them too. All he needs to do now is for their love to blossom and he takes her hand in marriage."

"Kyaa! I can't wait for that moment to happen!"

At that moment, Tatsuya is about to enter the living room when he spotted what the two children are doing. Blood quickly boiled in his veins. He soon shouted, "Oh no, you don't!"

Recognizing the voice, the two childhood friends opened their eyes to see the angry Hinamori. They blushed and immediately broke the kiss. Momo turned to her father and said, "Oto-san, i-it's not what it seems!"

"There is no need for an explanation," Tatsuya protested. "I know what I saw!"

Noticing her father is walking up to them, the peach girl stood in front of Toshiro. She is ready to defend him at any moment. Just as he is about to say something, Tatsuya felt something took hold of his ear and began pulling on it. He then noticed his wife's presence.

"Ow ow ow! That hurts!"

"Why don't you take the dessert to the kitchen?" Miyako asked sweetly.

Momo slowly nodded with agreement. "H-Hai."

Just as they were about to leave, Naomi noticed something peculiar about her son. "Hn, is that a new scarf Toshiro?"

Hitsugaya stopped for a moment to face her. He replied, "Yeah, Hinamori gave it to me."

All of a sudden, she let out an amusing grin on her face. Toshiro then shot her a glare, knowing exactly what she's thinking at the moment.

"Don't even dare make my life worse than it already is."

She merely smiled. "What are you talking about?"

"Okaa-san..."

Naomi giggled. With a single hand, she began shooing him away. "Hai, just run along now."

Toshiro sighed with defeat and walked into the kitchen where he found the peach girl already setting up the plates for the dessert. He stood next to her and began assisting. After a brief moment of silence, she suddenly apologized, "Sorry about my father."

"It's alright," he replied. "I can understand why he's like that."

Then, their hands touched one another. They became conscious of it and quickly pulled away. They turned their gaze away, trying to hide their red faces. "Mou, things are getting too awkward for us."

"Damn Okaa-san, she shouldn't have done that," Hitsugaya thought. All of a sudden, the image of their first kiss flashed in his mind. He turned a few shades darker and lowered his head. "Idiot, stop thinking about it!"

"Hitsugaya-kun."

He snapped back to reality and turned his head to see the younger teenager. "Yes?"

"Mou, I don't know what to say..."

Meanwhile, Naomi is standing by the door sill and spying on them. Beside her, Miyako is punishing Tatsuya for interfering with their daughter's chances to be with her best friend's son. The female Hitsugaya cooed, "Aw, they're shy now. How cute..."

"Shh Naomi-chan," Miyako whispered. "What if they hear us?"

"Don't worry; they won't."

"Oi Mi-"

Without any warning, Miyako covered Tatsuya's mouth with her hand. She said sweetly, "You're too noisy, honey. We can't hear the conversation."

"This is getting too awkward," Toshiro said. "We can't let a simple forced action affect our relationship."

"Y-Yeah, you're right." Momo "There shouldn't be any problem. We already said sorry. So, we should just...move on with our lives. Besides, it's not like we can change the past."

They fell silent. "However, we're finding that difficult to do."

She slowly nodded with agreement. "Yeah..."

"No, it's not complicated!" they heard a familiar voice. "It's obvious that you two love each other! So, kiss each other and start dating already!"

They turned their heads to the side to find the female Hitsugaya in their presence. Toshiro turned red and exclaimed, "Okaa-san!"

Momo sputtered, "Naomi-san, we're not goi-"

"Just do it," Miyako interrupted with a bright smile on her face. "There's no harm trying it out."

"Okaa-san!"

"Not you too, Miyako-san," Hitsugaya said.

At that moment, Tatsuya broke free from his wife's grasp. He exclaimed, "Okay, that's enough! There is no way I'm going to let those two get together!"

"Hey, you don't have the authority to interfere with their love life!" Miyako protested. "As parents, we should support them!"

"What are you talking about? You're not supporting them! You're forcing them to love one another!"

As the adults began arguing with one another, Momo and Toshiro sighed with defeat. Hinamori asked, "Mou, do you wish sometimes they would just leave us alone?"

"Oh yeah, I have to agree with that," Hitsugaya said. "Some Christmas we're celebrating."

"Ditto." They looked at one another. Both friends cracked a faint smile on their faces and joined hands with one another. "Merry Christmas, Hitsugaya-kun."

"You too, Hinamori."

~ OWARI ~

Japanese World Translations

Sugoi - Amazing, Okaa-san - Mother, Arigato - Thank You, Hai - Yes, Oto-san - Father, Owari - The End

Author's Note: Tsk tsk tsk. Too bad Tatsuya. No matter what you do, Momo's and Toshiro's love for one another always prevails! LOL Once again, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! I'll be back soon with another HitsuHina short shot. Laterz!