Crossed Paths: Birthdays

A.N./ Hey guys, spoiledpuppy here. Today is my birthday and I thought, 'what better way to celebrate than to put up a birthday special?'

This is a tack-on to my HitsugayaxHinata fic 'Crossed Paths'. You don't really need to read it before this if you haven't read it before now, but there will be references to stuff you might not know about so… Heheh. Nothing too confusing so, er, enjoy! :'D

To people who have read and liked Crossed Paths, think of this as a gift to you guys. All your support and love for that terrible fic was able to get me to finish it so think of this as a 'thank you' on my special day.

Also, I will maim anyone who asks how old I am. *_* (What is it with kids these days, asking such rude questions?)

Warning: This fiction contains a crack couple- if you do not like HitsuHinata then don't read. D:

I do not own Bleach or Naruto.

"It's happened." One man cried fat wet tears as some of the other people gathered around began to tear up. Matsumoto stood to the side, slowly backing up as her captain's face started to become scary.

"It was only a matter of time." One person sobbed, holding another devastated male. Hinata blinked at their faces as someone looked at the ruler beside her and burst into tears again.

"She's three centimeters taller than Captain Hitsugaya now!" The man cried out, sobbing into another person's shoulder. Toshiro looked ready to kill by this point as he took in his subordinate's reactions.

The Hyuuga wasn't sure how she got into this situation, one minute someone had been commenting on the length of her hair and suddenly all mayhem broke loose and everyone started running around looking for a ruler.

The last year in the tenth division had been great; for the most part everyone took to her well. Though that was probably because she and Hitsugaya were a couple. She still blushed when she thought about it sometimes. She'd even been on a couple trips to the 'living world' so far, no hollow encounters yet. And she hoped to keep it that was for awhile.

Hinata couldn't look in Toshiro's direction for several reasons: Embarrassment, awkwardness, and fear because he looked ready to maim someone.

"You guys have work to do," He hissed out, his eye was twitching, "Stop messing around!" Immediately the crying mob straightened, fear in their eyes.

"Y-Yes, Captain!" They replied before dispersing quickly to where they were supposed to be. When they left Matsumoto, Toshiro, and Hinata were all left standing in the room. The lieutenant seemed to remember that she should have run off too and tried to sneak away.

"Matsumoto, I know where you hid your paperwork," She jumped at the acid in his voice, "If you're not in there working on it in five minutes…"

She turned around opposite of where she was headed and sadly addressed him, "I'm on it, Captain." Her reply was anything but cheerful and Hinata felt a wave of sympathy at the expression on the older woman's face as she glumly walked down the hallway toward their office.

Apparently content with that answer he turned to the lavender eyed girl, "Hinata, I want you to keep an eye on Matsumoto, she'll sneak away if you let her." She smiled at him softly, he may say that but she knew he wanted her to help Matsumoto get the work done, the lieutenant was strong but she hated doing paperwork more than anything. A month ago she had been in their office delivering reports when she noticed the older woman struggling with the work and ended up helping her finish it. For once the paperwork was done on time and the captain was more than willing to send Hinata in to help Matsumoto if it meant he wouldn't have to pick up after his lieutenant as much anymore.

"I'll get right on it, Captain Hitsugaya." Hinata turned to leave.

"Ah, wait a minute," Toshiro told her. She paused and looked back at him, his turquoise eyes were staring at her intently. As he crossed the distance between them she felt her face heat up on its own, what was he looking at? His hand lifted up toward her face and she wondered if he was going to-

"Your bangs are getting too long." He said, pointing at her hair. Her thought process stalled for a moment until she realized that he had just noticed the length. Feeling stupid she lifted a hand to tug on one of the longer strands of hair.

"Oh, um, I was thinking of asking Matsumoto or one of the other girls to cut my hair back to how it was before." Her crow cut style she had when she first came to soul society was almost gone now, her hair reaching to her ears now. The Hyuuga had never gotten around to trimming it the last few months and before she realized it, it had gotten too long for her to simply adjust now and then.

Toshiro huffed, "You don't have to have it all cut, just your bangs."

Matsumoto's head popped around the corner, startling Hinata, "In other words: he thinks longer hair would look cute on you."

"Matsumoto, if you don't shut up right now…" There was an undeniable flush on his cheeks even as he threatened her that both females noticed. The busty woman hummed softly as she disappeared around the corner again.

Hinata stared at the flooring, too embarrassed to look him in the eye now. An awkward moment passed as they waited for the other to say something. "U-um, I think I'm going to go help the lieutenant now." She supplied, walking away quickly before he could say anything. That was awful, she thought to herself. First the height thing, then Matsumoto's comment...

'You guys just don't get any time alone these days,' Miharu giggled, the zanpakto's teasing was accurate.

'That can't be helped,' Hinata replied, looking at the weapon strapped to her waist, 'He's really busy, and I have my own work to do most of the time.'

'You should be more upset!' The zanpakto complained, 'Just seeing each other for a minute in the hallway or in his office aren't exactly romantic moments, admit it.'

The Hyuuga sighed, what did Miharu expect her to do? Kidnap him?

'That would work.'

"Don't even joke about it." The girl grumbled as they reached the office. The door was slightly open and as she stepped inside Matsumoto's turned her head to look at her. A large stack of paperwork was set on her desk, her face immediately brightened.

"Have you come to liberate me?" The older woman had a begging gleam in her large eyes. Hinata smiled and shook her head.

"Sorry, but Captain Hitsugaya told me to keep an eye on you." Even as she said it, she crossed the room to set a chair across from the woman. Matsumoto understood the code word and cheerfully handed the girl a stamp and ink dish. They split the stacks between what Matsumoto had to sign and what needed a stamp of approval.

After a few minutes of boring paperwork, the lieutenant straightened in her seat, "Oh, Hinata-chan," Matsumoto began, grinning when the girl looked up at her, "Did you know that Hitsugaya's birthday is coming up?" The younger girl blinked.

"It is?" She'd never even thought of asking when it was, she probably would have missed it otherwise, "What day is it?"

"December 20th."

Hinata blinked, "I-Isn't that tomorrow?"

"Sure is." Matsumoto replied blissfully, going back to her work.

She felt dread settle in her stomach, it was tomorrow! Without her notice the stamp she was holding slipped from her fingers. She had to do something for it, but what? There wasn't enough time to go out and get something; she had to clean out the storeroom today and that would take hours. As she mentally ran circles around herself, Miharu started giggling at her reaction.

'Relax; you don't really have to give him an object as a present.' Feeling the girl's confusion she started giggling again, 'Just trust me, you'll know exactly what to give him when the time comes.'

"When is your birthday, Hinata-chan?" Matsumoto interrupted their conversation, smiling at the younger girl. The Hyuuga scrambled her brain together again.

"Um, December 27th."

The older woman blinked, "So soon? I would have pegged yours to be in spring. It's shocking that your birthday is so close to such an ice cold person."

"I'm ice cold, huh?" Matsumoto stiffened noticeably as Hinata turned in her seat to look toward the door.

"Oh, hello Captain." She greeted him, though Hitsugaya didn't acknowledge her, preferring to glare at his lieutenant.

Abruptly he turned to walk to his desk, "Hinata, I think Matsumoto can finish the rest of her paperwork on her own. You can go work on your other duties." He stated coldly, the woman began to whine at her captain but he just ignored her complaining. Hinata held in a chuckle as she left, he was such a bully to Matsumoto sometimes.

On her way to the storeroom she thought about what the lieutenant told her, his birthday was tomorrow, huh. Miharu kept silent, strangely, as she wondered what to do for him. Thee was no way she could go and buy something on such short notice, nor could she make him anything due to a lack of materials and time. If she'd been told even a week earlier she could have gotten him a scarf or something, but that wasn't really necessary since he already had one. She'd heard some people mentioning fireworks being shot for his last one, no way she could do anything to top that.

Miharu had told her that she'd figure out something 'when the time came', but what could that be?

'Figure it out on your own.'

The Hyuuga sighed in defeat; guess she'd have no choice but to go along with the zanpakto's advice for now.

-o-

The next day she was even more anxious about the situation, fretting over it as she walked through the hallways. Miharu was humming in the back of her mind but Hinata didn't even notice. She was so caught up in her worries that she walked into someone.

"Oh, there you are, Hinata-chan." The man she had walked into grinned and grabbed her hands, pushing something into them. "We were starting to think you weren't going to come in time. Come on, we have to get there before the captain comes out!" Her arm was immediately seized by one of his beefy hands as he dragged her towards Toshiro and Matsumoto's office. Dazed, and very confused, she looked at the object in her hand. A confetti popper.

As they reached the hallway along the office, Hinata noticed the huge crowd squatting up and down the corridor, trying to remain as quiet as possible. It was then she realized that her comrades were trying to surprise the captain on his birthday. Even though she knew he probably wasn't going to react favorably, she found herself crouching amongst the others anyway.

She couldn't help it, a part of her wanted to see how he'd react and judging from other's faces she wasn't the only one who was curious. Hinata could hear Matsumoto talking loudly inside and briefly wondered if she was in on it too. Her train of thought was interrupted when the door opened abruptly. The hallway erupted into confetti-filled chaos as a sea of black cloaked people leapt to their feet.

"Happy Birthday, Captain!" The sounds of the confetti poppers going off all at once sounded like thunder as the colorful pieces of paper coated Toshiro.

Miharu immediately began laughing hysterically at the surprised expression on the young's captain face as all his subordinates cheered and congratulated him. Though Toshiro's shock quickly faded and he scowled at them.

"Where did you all get those?" He grumbled, his lack of cheer didn't affect the assembled shinigami's cheerfulness. Matsumoto leaned around him, raising one hand to point at herself.

"It was my idea, did we surprise you?"

Toshiro's scowl deepened as his face turned an interesting shade of red, and for a moment Hinata thought he was going to yell at them for being silly. "Yeah… I didn't expect it at all." Everyone in the corridor hushed, staring at the captain. His cheeks were slightly flushed as if from embarrassment from being caught off guard, though he was still scowling at the floor. When he noticed their attention his expression soured.

"Don't you guys have work to do?" He complained. Seeming to remember their normal routines, everyone in the hallway flinched and began scrambling away. Hinata squeaked at the sudden movement and went to one wall to avoid the mob. When they finally dispersed, Hinata sighed in relief and to her surprise it was joined by a huff from Toshiro.

The lavender eyed girl glanced up at the two people still standing in the doorway. Toshiro was scratching the side of his head, a light flush still on his face. Even though he seemed irritated, she could tell that he was actually flattered by the attention and she smiled at him. The white haired captain noticed her presence and his attention immediately went to her hand.

"You were in on it too?" Hinata looked at the confetti popper, still clenched between her fingers.

She giggled lightly and walked over to join them, "I guess. I got recruited on my way to work but I didn't realize what was going on until I got here." He just frowned at her explanation as if she should have known better and then turned to go back into his office.

"I had been wondering why Matsumoto insisted on going outside to look at the clouds," Toshiro muttered darkly as he went to his desk, "I knew she was up to something, but nothing like that popped into my mind…"

Said lieutenant giggled mischievously before turning to address the Hyuuga, "I meant to let you in on it yesterday, but he came back too early," She gestured to her irritable captain who just huffed and began sorting through the paperwork on his desk. Hinata remembered the conversation she had yesterday with Toshiro and looked up at the older woman.

"Um, Matsumoto-san, could you help trim my hair later? It's a little uneven in some places in the back. I-If you wouldn't mind that is."

Matsumoto stared at the girl before hugging her fiercely, nearly strangling the shorter female, "Of course I would! Only a trim, are you planning to let it grow out? I wonder why?" She teased, glancing over her shoulder at Toshiro who ignored the jibe.

Hinata wiggled in her arms, thankful when the vice-like hug ended, "How about we go ahead and do it now, while we have some free time?"

"What free time? You're supposed to be working," Toshiro grumbled under his breath but didn't stop his lieutenant from dragging Hinata into the room. Matsumoto proceeded to search the room for a pair of scissors, not locating any no matter where she looked.

"Geez, I know I had some in here!" Hinata stood to the side, watching the lieutenant pout after having checked under the sofa cushions. The red-haired woman thought for a moment, "Wait here, Hinata-chan, I think I have a pair back in my room. Be right back." She promptly ducked out the door, closing it behind her. The Hyuuga realized how quiet it was after Matsumoto left, even Miharu was silent for once. She looked over her shoulder; Toshiro was reading over a document, apparently oblivious to her attention.

It was his birthday, some girlfriend she was she didn't even have a present. She should have asked months ago when his birthday was, she berated herself. The captain's eyes glanced up from the page, his sharp turquoise eyes examining her.

"Something wrong?" She jumped and looked away quickly.

"Er, n-no." When he continued to cross examine her she sighed, "Well, the truth is I didn't get you anything for your birthday. If I knew sooner I would have but…" Hinata bowed her head in shame, wanting to disappear.

Toshiro sighed, "Hinata, you don't need to get me a present for my birthday, its fine."

"But-!" The lavender eyed girl looked up sharply, ready to protest but her words died in her throat when their eyes met. The blue green irises burned into hers, making her heart stutter.

"Don't worry about it, I'm just happy having you here." He smiled softly, surprising her. Before she realized it, her mouth dropped open in surprise. Toshiro seemed to realize what he said and coughed awkwardly, looking back down at his paperwork. "Anyway, you should get to work. You have to go to the living world today, right?"

He was blushing deeply, which made Hinata blush. He almost never said sweet things like that, which made it more amazing. It was then that she realized Miharu had been right, she knew what to give him now. The captain looked up when she walked over to stand in front of his desk.

"Hinata what-?" The Hyuuga leaned across the desk, cutting off what he was about to ask when she pressed her lips gently against his. She remembered being hypnotized by his eyes the first time they kissed, but right then the only thing that went though her mind was how soft his lips were.

When she pulled away, his eyes were wide. Hinata giggled at his expression.

"Happy Birthday, Toshiro." Before he could react she ducked out of the room, the second the door closed behind her the realization of what she just did kicked in and she felt her face turn tomato red. In a daze she started wandering down the hallway, elation kicking in. Hinata was so busy thinking about the kiss that she didn't even notice passing Matsumoto.

-V-

After the door closed, the young captain felt a blush on his cheeks.

"It's 'Captain Hitsugaya'…" He muttered, covering his mouth with one hand. Hyourinmaru chuckled but didn't make any comments on it. Matsumoto opened the door, her head turned to look down the hallway.

"That sure was strange, I tried talking to Hinata-chan on the way here but she didn't even acknowledge me. I thought we were going to…" The woman paused, noticing her captain's face. She smiled, "Did something happen while I was gone?" Her tone was light and teasing, but he didn't reply. Instead his hand lowered, a small smirk on his lips as he picked up the document he had been looking at before.

"That was hardly a birthday kiss," He muttered quietly, "I'll have to show her the mistake on her birthday." Matsumoto giggled as she turned around in the doorway. "Where do you think you're going? You still have paperwork you need to finish from yesterday, get to it."

The busty woman groaned pitifully before walking back in and closing the door behind her.

A.N./ Gah, so fluffy! I haven't written such a fluffy scene in so long… heheh. Hope you guys liked the oneshot. ;D (gets back to work on BG Noise) I haven't written dialogue for Miharu in so long D: I miss that teasing zanpakto! D'X

Reviewing = Loving btw