Hey all, this piece is a mini 'Bing' event I've done for the #BringBackBleachBANG event 2019.

If you're interested in what that is, the tumblr link can be found at the bottom of my profile. I had to write this xmas themed fic within a time window so please enjoy. It isn't proofed at all hahaha.

There are sexual references and one character ends up almost naked so if that makes you uncomfortable please don't read. Also it's canon Tosh so if you see him as being too young and that isn't your gig either then please also don't read.

Matsumoto had been acting strange.

And that was saying something.

Toshiro dabbed his ink brush onto his page, his elegant scrawl tackling the finances for the most recent repairs to his division. Matsumoto was lounging over the sofa in a normal fashion but what was odd about today was there was no snoring.

Normally her light breaths filled the office and Toshiro was more than able to tune them out… actually he often found them rather comforting to listen to. A sign that someone else was there beside him but not as loud and obnoxious as she often was when she was awake.

Hence why she'd been acting strange. She wasn't saying anything, she was just lying there, gazing off into the distance and not making a noise. Normally she'd have a magazine in her hand and be reading it at full volume at him while he tried his best to tune her out.

'What's wrong?' he asked finally, when the silence was literally cutting him too deep.

'Nothing,' she sighed, her giant baby blue eyes turning to watch him. He studied her face for a while, a face he'd seen go through many emotions; grief, loss, pain, happiness, laughter, even sleep and illness. He'd not seen this look though before, if he had to analyse it he'd say she looked almost curiously at him. Her eyes were wide, a dull sparkle to them in the office light, her body language looking almost tense, like she was expecting him to start shouting at her. Not that it was uncommon for him to do so, usually he was shouting at her lack of work and she would simply laugh him off with a wave of her hand.

This was different though, she was different.

'Matsumoto,' he sighed leaning back on his chair, his voice with a tinge of exasperation. He needed her to help him out, he was only a man after all, he wasn't a mind reader.

'Did you get the paperwork about the Christmas Party Captain?' she asked, her voice sounding a little brighter, the question causing her pitch to go up at the end.

Toshiro raised a white eyebrow in her direction, holding up the most disturbing red and green picture with poorly drawn illustrations announcing that the SWA were hosting a Christmas Party and that it had been signed off by the Head Captain as mandatory for everyone to attend.

'You mean this piece of work?'

'Yes,' Rangiku's eyes were sparkling, a little bit of that light having come back into them. Her hair falling away from her face in recently washed waves.

'Yes, I got it,' he said making sure to hold the edge of the paper with two fingers only, in the hope none of the glitter got all over his immaculate office flooring, 'and I will not be going.'

'What?' she gasped, her voice piercing him in a way he was sure dogs felt whenever their owners used a dog whistle.

'I said-' he started being cut off by her.

'I heard you but Captain,' she whined, her body leaning dangerously over the side of the couch, the fabric pressing against her chest in a way that made it look like she was two seconds away from exposing herself. He gritted his teeth to try and stop his annoyance from showing on his face. They'd already had this discussion multiple times… it wasn't an appropriate way to wear her uniform and yes, it was the men's responsibility to control their thoughts but it was also borderline public indecency sometimes with what she chose to wear.

'I'm not going,' he said more firmly this time, his eyes quickly swiping from her nearly exposed chest back up to her face, a sight that would normally have her laughing and teasing him for "having a look" but she ignored this time.

'But Head Captain orders-'

'Do you really think the Head Captain will fire me if I choose not to go to a Christmas party?' Toshiro asked rolling his eyes, honestly it was absurd. The man in question Head Captain Shunsui Kyoraku was likely using this as an excuse for a good drink. With all the new Captains in their posts and most of the destruction of the Quincy war cleaned… it wasn't a bad idea to rally the masses with something fun and light hearted. But that didn't mean it was Toshiro's scene.

'But Captain, the whole point is for us to relax and let our hair down, ban together again… emotionally.' She was frowning at him and leaning even further over the side of the couch, the side of her breast slipping a little and her nipple almost being exposed. Toshiro's eyes naturally followed it and he groaned leaning back in exasperation on his seat and covering his eyes.

'Matsumoto please,' he begged, 'we've talked about this.'

'Captain,' she whined ignoring him. He'd cared about this a lot less when he was younger, the prospect of breasts and other girl parts mostly freaking him out… but he wasn't that young anymore, he was grown and though his physical appearance couldn't have been older than sixteen mentally he was well over a hundred years old… and one couldn't remain a child forever. The things he used to recoil from he now found himself curious of and that thought alone was dangerous. These thoughts had started to get worse after he'd reached his mature bankai, it was like an explosion of hormones so incredibly obvious that even Rangiku had laughed at him when his voice had started to break.

It was horribly embarrassing, as a slow aging soul he was having this process dragged out much longer than an average human would. Normally for a human the process would last a couple of years not a couple of decades, it was torture.

And of course the breaking of his vocal chords was the most obvious thing to all the other souls, so he couldn't exactly hide it from anyone. What was worse and what he hadn't been expecting were the random boners. They always arrived at the most inconvenient of times and really? It was something he could honestly do without. He didn't need to be reminded of his male anatomy while he was casually filling out a sheet of numbers at his desk… but alas, it liked to make itself known.

'Captain,' she whined again and he felt his blood rushing passed his ears in annoyance.

'I'm not going,' he snapped at her, causing her to pout and, thankfully, pull back so that her breast wasn't at risk of slipping completely from her uniform.

'The event is meant to be men asking women,' she mumbled softly and he glanced back down at the glittery monstrosity he'd just placed back down on his desk. He could barely make out those words written in red on the dark green background and he rolled his eyes.

'I am sure someone will ask you soon.' He said it and turned to get back on with his work.

She didn't move for quite some time, instead she stayed on the couch, her arms folded under her chin, leaning on the back of the couch and gazed across the office space. He managed to focus for a few minutes before his eyes glanced curiously back at her.

'No guy will be able to find you if you're hiding away in here all day.'

She made a comment under her breath that he missed, because she spoke so softly. Then she sighed and turned around so that her back was pressed against the fabric of the couch and all he could see was the back of her head.

He focused on the wavy strawberry blonde locks for a moment, trying to process what was maybe going through her mind. She'd been hiding away in his office all day, more accurately, all week it felt…

'Is this about Gin,' Toshiro asked finally, noticing her body language go rigid at the comment. It made sense though, if Gin had been here… he would likely have asked Rangiku… in his own round about Gin kind of way.

'Is this about Momo?' she fired back. Toshiro blinked in surprise… and watched as Rangiku turned to look at him. Her gaze looked like she was glaring, he doubled back over the conversation in his mind trying to work out where he'd gone wrong.

'No…?' he said slowly and carefully, still trying to process at which point in the conversation that he'd given the impression this had anything to do at all with Momo.

'If Momo was well, would you have asked her?' she asked in a tone that was unlike any she'd used with him before. Toshiro frowned, he seriously wanted to scream out, what was up with girls anyway? Why couldn't they just ever say what was on their minds? Clearly something was bothering her and he wasn't sure what he had said that had caused such a reaction.

'I-' he started slowly the frown still etched onto his face as Rangiku turned to look at him, her eyes now looked misty like she was getting emotional and Toshiro wished he had some kind of 'S.O.S' help button under his desk he could press in case of emergency.

Was she hormonal? Toshiro frowned, no she was a week away from that point in her cycle. He had the weeks on his calendar in his house blanked out every month so he knew when he was walking on eggshells.

'You would,' she said her eyes growing wider and they were shining now. He would what? He tried to back track the conversation in his mind, he had no idea what the hell was happening. 'That explains so much,' she sighed and blinked back the tears in her eyes then a smile graced her lips and she was laughing. It was in that strained way, like when someone was laughing out of sarcasm than real laughter. 'It's nice to finally understand.'

'I don't know what you're talking about,' he sighed eventually, giving up, 'you've got to help me out here Ran,' he used her nick name to try and soften whatever emotional outburst was threatening to spill. It seemed to work a little, a genuine smile appearing on her face for a moment before she shook her head, standing up.

'It's fine,' she muttered, 'I understand.'

'I don't,' he scowled as he watched her walk toward the door, her voice cracked and it genuinely sounded like she was starting to cry.

'I'll see you tomorrow Captain.' She left with a swish of her shihakusho and Toshiro felt a tick in his brow. What the hell had just happened?

As soon as the door was closed, Toshiro tried to revisit the conversation in his mind for a third time but there was literally no part of it that made any sense to him. It was also very unlike his Lieutenant to get emotionally upset when she wasn't due her period… he'd at least educated himself on that whole ordeal after a number of rather emotional outbursts.

Toshiro scrubbed his hands up and down his face, pressing his palms into his eye sockets and watching the splotches of colours penetrate the darkness of his vision. He needed a book, "how to speak women" because it was very much another language he was sure of it.

'Hey kid,' a familiar voice called and it had Toshiro's head snapped up quickly. There standing in the door, grinning broadly, was Isshin, his tall ass son with wild ginger hair standing directly beside him.

'Captain Shiba,' Toshiro said automatically, his eyes sliding over to the grinning strawberry at his side, 'Ichigo!'

'I'm not a Captain anymore,' Isshin laughed heartily, his loud voice booming across the office space, 'you took over that role and what an outstanding job you've done.' His eyes were on the neatly organised piles of paperwork piled at the edge of Toshiro's desk.

'You'll always be Captain Shiba to me,' he said in a voice he was sure made him seem a lot younger.

Isshin's grin slipped into a fond smile on his face as he stepped into the office. He had his arms hidden in the sleeves of his shihakusho and Ichigo stepped in behind him.

'Hey Tosh,' Ichigo boomed loudly and Toshiro's brow ticked in annoyance.

'It's Captain Hitsugaya-'

'Have you seen Renji or Rukia around?' he asked ignoring the order.

Toshiro sighed and shook his head, 'they will be over in Squad six I'm sure.'

'I thought that too, but I couldn't find them,' he frowned and glanced around, 'I was hoping Rangiku may know where they are.'

When he said her name, Toshiro winced and shook his head.

'Sorry, I can't help you.'

Ichigo didn't look disappointed with the answer and instead ducked out of the office and ran off in search of his friends, leaving Isshin and Toshiro behind in the small space.

'Alright kid what's going on?' Isshin said, closing the door immediately following the departure of his son.

'What?' Toshiro blinked up at him and Isshin shook his head.

'Toshiro I have raised three teenagers, I've also known you and Rangiku a very long time. It doesn't take a lot for me to work out that something has happened between you two.'

'How on earth did you get that?' he frowned and Isshin smirked at him.

'When I came in you had your head in your hands like a man who is on his final straw with the world,' Isshin grinned, 'then you wince and tell my son you can't help him find your Lieutenant.'

'Yes well,' Toshiro sat back in his seat as Isshin came over and leaned against the back of the very couch Rangiku had been mopping in. It was maybe a good idea to have another male perception on the situation because Toshiro was at a loss. He revisited the entire ordeal in his head and recounted it to the best of his ability for Isshin who listened calmly without interruption.

When he'd finished he glanced over to see Isshin staring at the floor, a deep frown etched upon his usual smiling features. It was odd to see the man standing there looking so intensely focused. Toshiro had only ever seen that look on his face in the throes of battle.

'You said she'd been mulling around here all week?' Isshin asked, lifting his head and meeting Toshiro's gaze.

'Yeah,' Toshiro said, 'well, not a week exactly, since Monday.' He confirmed, it was now Friday and that silly party was meant to be the next again evening.

'When did the posters arrive?' he asked nodding his head to the abomination on Toshiro's desk.

'Probably last weekend some time,' Toshiro said glaring down at it.

'Interesting,' Isshin said with a smile now gracing his lips.

'What?' Toshiro asked with a scowl, he felt like he was being kept out of a secret.

'Okay,' Isshin said, smile now turning to a grin, 'when women confuse me I imagine myself to be one.'

There was an image that Toshiro really could have done without on a Friday evening.

'If you were a woman-'

'But I'm not a woman-'

'Yes but if you were Toshiro, use your imagination,' he frowned at him and Toshiro sighed heavily.

'Yes okay fine,' Toshiro tried to imagine it without all the… explicit detailing.

'Imagine there was a dance coming up and you wanted to go to the dance,' he continued and Toshiro really had to work hard to picture something so obtuse. 'Then imagine it was a "boys ask girls" deal… and there was a particular boy you liked… what would you do?'

Toshiro frowned and sighed, he wasn't good at all this, but he tried his best. If there was a guy he liked and he wanted them to ask him… then he'd probably spend a bit more time around the person in the hopes that maybe they would ask him?

'I'd spend time with the person,' he said after a few moments. Isshin leaned forward toward Toshiro as if he was waiting for something. Toshiro stared up at him, still not fully understanding. Then it clicked.

'Wait,' he said suddenly jerking his head back harshly as realisation of what Isshin was alluring too settled into his brain.

'There it is,' Isshin laughed, as if he'd been waiting on the metaphorical penny drop.

'No, you can't seriously be suggesting that she… I'm her Captain.' Toshiro couldn't believe what he was hearing. He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks and rushing passed his ears as Isshin laughed heartily in his office.

'Captain has nothing to do with it kid,' he chuckled, 'Head Captain was dating his Lieutenant last time I checked, if she's not murdered him yet.'

'Yes I know but…' he frowned, there were so many thoughts now flying through his mind. How would this even work? She was still a head taller than him at least, and… on what planet did she… did they… how could she?

He was glaring at the oak wood desk hoping it would give him some answers.

'Welcome to the confusing world of women Toshiro.' He laughed as he walked over and clapped him on the back.

'What on earth are you doing here anyway?' Toshiro asked looking for a quick topic change while he processed the new information. He would have to do something about the situation of course, if Matsumoto really did want him to ask her to the dance then there was certainly a conversation that they both needed to have.

'Well,' Isshin grinned, 'Ichigo and I got an invite to this party too, we're not missing it for the world. Ichigo has invited Orihime, I was going to be a gentleman and ask Yoruichi but it seems that Urahara beat me to it.'

Toshiro nodded along, only partly listening as Isshin went on the tell him the story of how much difficulty they had even getting to the Seireitei.

An hour later and Isshin had finally left the office, promising to stop by the next day before the party in the evening to find out how Toshiro got on with his chat with Rangiku. The young Captain wasn't looking forward to it… he wandered across the solid wood panel of their division barracks and out towards the Captain and Lieutenant living quarters. They both had their own space, but they were close by each other. Toshiro had only been inside Rangiku's place once before, whereas she'd spent many nights in Toshiro's. He'd never put her in her own bed when he found her drunk, worrying too much for her safety and someone taking advantage of her, so he'd usually bring her back to his and drop her off in his bed before retiring to the couch to try and sleep.

Now he approached her living quarters with a weighted feeling making its home anxiously in his stomach. He stopped in front of her door, seeing light spilling out from the window to his left and knowing that she was home. He nervously grabbed at the obi sash tying his zanpakuto to his back before raising his hand and knocking.

The sound of approaching footsteps set his nerves on edge even more and he watched the door slide open to reveal an equally shocked Lieutenant.

'Captain?' she asked, her beautiful brows shooting up into her strawberry blonde hair. Toshiro cleared his throat, he'd prepared exactly what he was going to say all the way over but now that he was stood here in front of her, with her wearing a very light, figure hugging robe, all the words he'd prepared popped out of his mouth.

She seemed to sense his internal conflict, because her expression softened in pity and she stood back from the door, keeping it held open.

'Do you want to come in Captain?' she asked and Toshiro nodded, not exactly wanting to have this conversation out in the open where anyone could overhear him. He stepped inside and she slid the door closed behind him.

He glanced around the living space, it was modelled more after the living Western world which he knew Rangiku loved more than anything. A large corner sofa dominated most of the room and centred itself around a beautiful glass coffee table which had two empty cups sitting on coasters on the surface. There were a few articles of clothing tossed over a chair in the corner but surprisingly the place was a lot tidier than he'd been expecting… especially given the state of the office desk any time Rangiku had been doing paperwork.

'Did you have company?' he asked nodding to the cup on the table beside hers.

'Yes Nanao was here,' Rangiku said tying a sash at her waist and Toshiro quickly averted his gaze. He shouldn't have come around here, it was really inappropriate for a male colleague to come knocking in the evening when he wasn't invited. He felt a tinge of heat dusting his cheeks and he cleared his throat.

'You're still such a prude,' she chuckled and he turned to glare at her. It wasn't his fault that his hormones were telling him to take in as much of this experience as he could. She wore a very thin fabric robe, tied loosely and he was sure if he let his eyes wander he could easily see through it and catch a glimpse of whatever kind of underwear she was wearing, alas he was a gentleman not a prude and he decided to remind her of that.

'A gentleman,' he corrected.

'A gentleman who calls this late and uninvited,' she quirked a brow at him, her mouth ticked up at the corners in amusement and he sighed in defeat. Checkmate.

'Yes, well, sorry about that.'

'What brings you here at this time anyway Captain?' she asked again and he turned his gaze back around the room. This was it, he would have to talk to her now, he'd have to look at her and talk to her like an adult and not get distracted.

'Well,' he sighed, 'after you left I was doing some thinking, trying to process whatever the hell happened,' he rubbed his left temple with his left hand and turned to gaze back at her. 'Then Isshin showed up for a visit and I told him about our conversation, he seemed to be under the impression of something…' he trailed off and Rangiku stood a little straighter, her eyes curious and her long strawberry hair falling down one side of her face framing it beautifully in the low glow of the living space.

'What did he say?' she asked, her voice a low whisper and Toshiro fidgeted uncomfortably for a moment in the middle of her room.

He came right out and said it.

'Rangiku…' he started and took a deep breath, 'were you staying in the office all week in the hopes that I'd ask you to the dance?'

There was a lull of silence over the two of them in the room, her shocked expression making him believe fully for a moment he'd gotten this whole ordeal wrong and that she was about to genuinely start laughing at him. The fear was short lived though because regardless, this was still his Lieutenant and she'd never laugh at him in such a way.

'Yes,' she said finally, her beautiful eyes opening impossibly wide like she was shocked that he hadn't worked this out already. He swallowed thickly, his theory now being confirmed, but he'd mostly prepared himself for rejection, never having believed any of it could be true. The two stood in shocked silence for a moment and Toshiro stared at the tartan throw over her couch, taking his time before answering.

'I… Rangiku,' he cleared his throat which had just decided that very moment to crack in its slow process of becoming an actual grown mans' voice. The sound of his cracked voice caused an adoring smile to twist its way onto her features and Toshiro tried not to blush at his mistake.

'I'm not good at those kinds of situations,' he replied finally. 'I'm incredibly awkward, you know that.' He mumbled the last part because it was embarrassing to admit but it was true. He told her loads of things, things he couldn't tell anyone else because she was his Lieutenant and they always had each other's' backs.

'I know,' she smiled, her perfectly pink lips pulling back over rows of exquisite white teeth. 'I didn't want you to ask me, I just wanted you to want to ask me.'

He frowned, concentrating on that sentence for a moment. It was girl speak again and he tried to digest exactly what it was she was trying to say to him. Laughing adorably at the concentrated look on his face she decided to help him out. She walked around the side of her large sofa and sat down, bringing her bare feet up onto the fabric and gesturing for him to join her. He did, perching as far away as he could on the very edge of the fabric and she turned to him, one hand holding her robe closed and the other arm propping her elbow on the back of the cushions, so she could prop her head on her hand.

'What I mean,' she started, 'is that I don't care about actually going,' she shrugged and he blinked at her. 'What I cared about was that you wanted to go with me.'

That one was a little easier to understand and only took Toshiro a moment to break it down. He nodded his head slowly and tried not to let the heat spread down from his cheeks across his neck like it did when he was really embarrassed.

'I see,' he said after a moment, 'well I still want you to have a good time, even if I can't go.'

'I don't want to go without you,' she said truthfully and he felt his heart flutter at her words, her voice was low, gravelly with sleep and her tired looking eyes gazing at him.

'I-' she was being incredibly open with him, but Toshiro wasn't at all sure how he felt about all this. He'd not properly had any time to digest anything from that evening, he wasn't even sure of his own feelings yet. He knew what his hormones wanted but he could never do that to her… if he was going to allow himself to get involved, it would have to be for real. It would have to be because he had feelings for her and two hours wasn't enough time to work out what those feelings were yet. He cleared his throat and thought about it, what was one date? Maybe he could invite her to his own private event and then see where things went from there.

'Well,' he paused, 'I will pick you up tomorrow at seven in the evening.' He finally decided, standing up and dusting his haori with his hand to get rid of the creases from where he'd sat.

'Wait,' she sounded shocked and she leaned forward, her robe slipping down over her shoulder in her haste and her eyes looking shocked. 'You're taking me out?' she seemed excited and Toshiro felt his cheeks redden once again. He tried in vain to stop his eyes from sweeping across her exposed throat and shoulder.

'Yes I am,' he admitted, 'and as I said I will be here at seven in the evening sharp, unless you don't want to-'

'No I do,' she said quickly sounding impossibly keen, her whole face breaking out into the first genuine smile he'd seen from her all week. He swallowed back his emotions and nodded his head. He would give her a chance to properly think about this and give him a chance to do the same. It was very clear what his body wanted but he needed to know how he felt about her emotionally. Toshiro bid her a good evening and waited outside long enough to make sure she remembered to lock her door before departing. He knew exactly what he was going to do with her for their date the following evening and he only hoped that whatever the outcome their friendship would remain unaffected.

The next day rolled around quickly, Rangiku actually skipped into the office and greeted him in a chirpy cheery voice. She took a moment to ask what would be appropriate to wear and he gave her a little direction by informing her that she should just wear what made her most comfortable, the two of them understanding right away that meant some kind of Western style dress.

The rest of the day was spent in companionable silence, until Isshin showed up and Rangiku launched herself into his arms for a massive bear hug. The two reuniting like two best friends after years of being apart which wasn't too far from the truth. Toshiro watched with a font smile on his face… definitely not jealous. Not jealous at all.

From over the back of her shoulder he fixed Toshiro with a raised eyebrow in question and Toshiro nodded his head with a smile. It was silent conversation, Isshin asking if they were okay now and Toshiro confirming that yes, they were.

Isshin then stayed, choosing not to bring up the discussion that he and Toshiro had been having the day before, his distraction proved useful, he kept Rangiku busy while Toshiro battled through a mountain of paperwork, only needing Rangiku to sign off on something that required a double signature. Usually it was the Lieutenants job to do the initial report and the Captain to read it through and sign it off, but in their relationship it worked like this; Toshiro did the paperwork and Rangiku signed it without reading it all.

She signed off on the paperwork with freshly painted nails and chatted away to Isshin as she prepared to leave.

'I'm going off to get ready,' she said to Isshin with a grin, tossing her long hair back over her shoulder, 'I have a hot date tonight.'

Toshiro choked on his tongue but she'd swept out the office without another word as Isshin turned to him and raised a questioning brow.

'Are you the hot date?'

'No.' Toshiro said sound abashed and Isshin's smile slipped from his face.

'Wait I thought everything went okay between-'

'I mean I am the date,' Toshiro quickly confirmed and Isshin laughed heartily, 'just not the hot date.'

'Toshiro you're a very attractive man,' Isshin said with a grin, 'if I was a girl I would-'

'We're not having this discussion,' Toshiro said, his whole face on fire as he prepared to pack up the last bits of paperwork to do at home.

'I'm just saying,' Isshin put his hands up in defence.

'Please don't,' Toshiro walked behind him and shoved him gently in the back to get him out the office. The two left, Toshiro feeling really embarrassed and Isshin laughing heartily as Toshiro locked the building down.

'I brought your order,' Isshin said as they made their way back towards the barracks. Toshiro nodded in understanding and they greeted soldiers as they went. The soldiers were preparing for their own parties that evening, the one being held by the SWA had broken up into sections, one for ranked officers, Lieutenants and Captains and one in each squad for everyone else. Toshiro wasn't looking forward to the mess of his division the next again day but was happy that his soldiers had a chance to let their hair down after all the tragedies that had befallen them recently.

When he made it to his private living quarters, he opened the door and the two of them slipped inside, Isshin nodded over to the corner. A bag was zipped up in the corner and Toshiro walked over to it and unzipped it. Inside was the outfit he'd seen a while back on another routine mission to the world of the living, one he'd fallen in love with. It was a pair of black trousers, a white shirt with a black waistcoat, turquoise tie and matching cufflinks. The buttons of the waistcoat were a silver and matched the colour of the light grey belt. Toshiro let out a sigh, he was concerned since he'd not managed to try it on himself but Isshin handed him his paper back.

'There's your uniform measurements,' he smirked and Toshiro nodded. It had been a ballsy ask and a very last minute decision before Isshin left the office the evening before. He knew the suit wouldn't be super fitted and tailored but would be off the shelf things that were as close to his measurements as possible. He'd used his last uniform measurements and just given them to Isshin since they'd only been done two months ago.

He picked the suit off the hanger and Isshin left the room after a bit of coaxing from Toshiro so he could get dressed in privacy. He paused at some point during getting ready, the hormonal part of his brain started screaming at him to put a pair of more mature underwear on. White was normally his colour but it didn't exactly scream sexy, neither did the Christmas pair he'd been saving for Christmas day. He shuffled through his drawers and found a packet of unopened boxers that had actually been a gift by Rangiku herself. Apparently they were expensive because they had some kind of popular Western name on the top of them. He rolled his eyes and sighed, opening them and taking them out. The fabric was nice and his eyebrows rose as he let his fingers ghost over them… no wonder they were popular if they felt like that.

They felt even better on, he tried not to get distracted by that thought and set about putting the rest of the outfit on.

The fit wasn't perfect, but it was good enough, the sleeve length and the trouser length didn't make him look like he was too short at least and that's what had concerned him the most. The tie looked a bit long that was the only thing. Isshin came into the room and spotted it right away.

'You look amazing,' he pursed his lips, 'but the tie, come here.' He gestured and Toshiro stepped forward with a sigh. The older male undone his tie and proceeded to do some kind of fancy knot that used up more of the length. With the Eldredge knot done and the bottom of the tie no longer sticking out the bottom part of his waistcoat, Toshiro finished the look off with a black suit jacket and Isshin nodded his approval.

'She's going to love it.' He said firmly, and Toshiro knew he was right, Rangiku loved anything and everything Western.

'I've got other things to do before I go and see her,' he said glancing at his watch, 'so I'm going to have to take off.'

'I need to go and get ready for the party anyway,' Isshin said with a grin, 'good luck kid.' He pressed a firm hand into his shoulder and squeezed it before departing. Toshiro made his way into the kitchen and set about preparing the final pieces of the evening.

By the time it came to pick Rangiku up, he was a ball of nerves. He'd been so busy making preparations that he'd not properly sat down to think about what this relationship might mean for them or their working relationship. He'd tried to give himself time for it but the majority of that time was put to use doing other things.

'Damn it,' he mumbled, his doubts resurfacing, what if this went horribly wrong? What if they couldn't even stand to be in the same room as each other again? What if Toshiro got really attached only for her to rip his heart out and look at him with pity in her eyes?

He shook his head, Rangiku would never look at him like that even if this didn't work out. She'd always been so respectful of him and his position which was amazing given that she was technically next in line to be Captain and not him. His doubts and worries continued to hound him though all the way up to her door and as he started to knock at bang on seven pm.

There was the sound of movement and then the door slid open and all doubts and worries were literally wiped from his mind. He'd been wrong, she'd not gone fully Western… her Asian dress was red and black, patchwork and floral by the looks of things and hugged her figure beautifully, it came all the way up to her neck and she had her hair swept out her face and pinned up at the back, a few loose strands falling away from whatever was holding it in place. Up the side of the leg was a slit and she wore black heels with her toenails painted red. She'd obviously put a lot of effort into it and he stepped back quickly, his mouth hanging open in a stunned display of affection.

She smirked at him as she stepped outside, turning to close and lock her door.

'I'm assuming that means you like what I'm wearing?' she asked and he spluttered. He'd have to be an idiot not to like what she was wearing, she looked flawless. Totally and completely flawless… she always had though even he knew that. She'd been voted the most beautiful Soul Reaper of the Seireitei for fifty years running now.

'You look,' his words were lost and he tried his best to tear his hormonal stare away from her figure but he just couldn't. He was going to be a distracted mess all night. Judging by the look on her face she was more than happy with his outcome. 'You look stunning,' he sighed finally settling on an adjective that just didn't do her justice.

'You take that long and that's the best you've got?' she quirked a brow at him, smirking.

'Pulchritudinous?' he offered instead and she smiled at him.

'That's better,' she replied as he held out his arm for her to take. She did so with a blinding smile that literally made his cold heart heat a few extra degrees.

'You look stunning too,' she whispered in his ear and the sound of her low throaty voice went straight to his groin. He shuddered and tried desperately to stop his thoughts from spiralling. This night was going to be full of him trying constantly to keep his mind in check.

'Thank you,' he mumbled shyly as he led the two of them down through an empty Seireitei. The parties had all started at 6pm with a meal, which was why he'd picked a slightly later time, wanting to avoid bumping into anyone else.

'So where are we going?' she asked as he led her.

'You'll see,' he smiled leading her around the back of one of the buildings hosting the Lieutenant and Captains party for the evening. Light Christmas music filtered out from the open windows and they were hidden from view. He crossed the grounds and she gasped when she spotted where he was leading her.

It was often a place dominated by souls during the day, taking their lunches to this spot or sometimes used for training. It was a grassy field with a few trees dotted around that looked out over a very small lake of water. He'd hung lights around the trees and laid out a cover where a picnic basket lay waiting for them.

It was private, secluded and they still had the music in the background.

'It's perfect,' she breathed, not trying to hide the excitement in her voice as he came to a halt and held his hand out to gently help her seat herself. Despite his concern over how she'd be able to sit in the dress, the material gave with no issues at all, stretching beautifully and comfortably while still hugging her curves. He swallowed and opened the basket where he'd done his best to pack some Western style food for the two of them.

He'd tried to keep the Christmas theme going, even if he didn't have a whole turkey he could serve.

'I'm glad you like it,' he pulled the bottle of wine out and offered some to her, filling her glass halfway and ignoring her request for more. He poured himself half a glass and started to lay the food out while she chatted away about how difficult a time she'd had trying to get ready and what outfit to wear.

'Guy's worry about these kinds of things just as much as women do,' he said as he leaned back against the tree beside her.

'Yes but you don't have to worry about what colour to paint your toenails to make sure they match with your outfit,' she giggled at him and he smirked.

'No I suppose that's true,' he replied.

'What are these?' she asked picking up a small sausage wrapped in bacon and Toshiro chuckled.

'They're called pigs in blankets,' he said, and she laughed before biting one off the little cocktail stick that he'd supplied with them.

'They're really good,' she smirked at him and he felt his face flush. It was weird because she often smirked and teased him and it had no reaction on him. Tonight was different though, the circumstances had changed and he wasn't looking at her as his annoying second in command he was looking at her as a potential romantic interest… and he was interested.

'I was worried about tonight,' he finally admitted, swirling his wine in the bottom of his glass and watching the liquid slosh around inside it.

'Why?' she asked, her voice a little softer and he took a deep breath.

'Because now I'm looking at you different and I was worried how it would impact our working relationship,' he said truthfully, 'I still am.'

'I've had the same reservations about that too,' she said after a moment and he turned to look at her. She was lit beautifully with the small lights he'd hung around the area, 'but we just seem to fit together as effortlessly as breathing when we're fighting…'

'So you figured it would be the same?' he asked watching her, fuck she was so beautiful, it was distracting.

'Exactly,' she smirked at him and raised her glass to her lips, taking a drink. Toshiro would be lying if he said he hadn't stared at her lips while she drunk. 'Even if this doesn't work out, I'd like to think we were both adult enough to fall back into a working relationship.' She shrugged her shoulders but she looked about as happy with the prospect as he did.

'Well we should be sure that before we get into it that it will work,' he offered and she nodded her head.

'That makes sense,' she took another sip of her wine, finishing the glass off and Toshiro raised his to his lips as well, aware he hadn't drunk much and not wanting to seem like he couldn't handle his liquor. 'How do we do that?'

The question stumped his brain, mostly because his eyes had been on her fully exposed throat. He took a moment to tear his eyes away and finish a couple of gulps of his wine as he contemplated. The logical course of action would be for the two of them to take things slow, build up to the physical stuff, see how they handled the emotional parts of a relationship first.

There was a big issue with that, the hormones pumping through Toshiro's veins were telling him what a very terrible idea that was.

'We could take things slow,' he said shrugging and gazing down at the liquid still in his glass. 'Not rush things, that would be the smart, logical thing to do.'

He didn't even know she'd moved until he felt a finger hook under his chin and his face turning to look at her. Her pale icy blue eyes were fixed on his, expression full of an emotion Toshiro had never really seen before.

'I'm happy to go slow if that's what you want,' she said, her voice dropping a little lower and having an entirely different effect on him and their surroundings. Toshiro now had complete tunnel vision, she was the only thing that existed in that moment. 'However you should know, I've been wanting you for a while now, I'm not sure how much longer I can wait.'

He spluttered at that comment, and when he didn't properly respond she continued.

'And I know you've been lusting after me as well,' she smirked at him, her eyes travelling down to his lips, 'Hakama pants don't hide things as well as you'd expect.' Her face was coming closer, her breath ghosting over his lips and wiping every thought clean from his mind. Where was he again? What had they been doing? What time zone was this?

Last possible second she pulled back and like a magnet Toshiro followed her. Rangiku chuckled at him as his brain finally caught up to everything she'd been saying… she wanted him? Physically? He felt his face flush at the thought.

'How long?' he asked hesitantly.

'A few years,' she shrugged, 'it's been growing, I was going to make a move before the war but… then it hit and,' she waved an arm around them. The Seireitei was in a state of constant repairs right now, but the area they were in wasn't too bad. A few chips off a few of the buildings and some tiles missing, these buildings wouldn't be patched until the majority of the worse affected areas were repaired first.

'I see,' he mumbled, he tried to break the spell she held over him by leaning a little further away. 'I'm worried,' he decided to be completely honest with her, he didn't want any more miscommunication. 'I am worried that it's just an…' he jerked his head, 'urge, that I'm feeling more than emotions. I don't want to do that to you.'

'I thought about that for a while too,' she smiled at him, 'which is why I think maybe it's a good idea to get that part out of the way… right? Then after tonight we'll be able to think a little clearer.'

Wait.

Wait!

Had she just said… did she mean… surely she didn't?

'Y-you want to have sex tonight?' he hadn't meant for it to come out sounded as strangled as it had, alas she laughed at him anyway.

'Yes but only if you want too, I think it would clear the air don't you?' she smirked at him.

It would definitely clear something alright. The straining in his pants.

He cleared his voice, his whole being in two arguments against each other, one side wanting them to be rational and objective about this the other side of him just wanting to get laid.

'Wh-where?' he asked, one side a clear winner, 'we shouldn't do anything here…'

'Mine or yours would be fine,' she smirked at him, 'I'm happy to do things out in the open just don't think it's very appropriate for a Captain and Lieutenant to be caught doing those things together.' She was laughing, she was so relaxed compared to him. Toshiro had tensed his shoulders a few minutes before and hadn't untensed them since.

'Mine then,' Toshiro said quickly, since she often crashed at his place she was a lot more comfortable there than he was at her place. Also she'd also left quite a lot of things at his place, such as a toothbrush, hair brush etc… she'd practically moved in.

'Alright,' she stood gracefully in her dress and reached down to tug him up. His eyes watching her pale vast thigh being exposed for a moment before disappearing back inside the dress. Fuck. He was so fucked.

They made it back to his chatting amicably about everything else other than what they were about to do. It helped settle his nerves because he now realised… he had no fucking clue what he was doing. He'd never checked out a book… the internet didn't exist in the soul society… he'd not thought to research anything, at all.

He was now very much regretting every choice in his life that had led him to this moment unprepared. He stood rigid just inside his front door after letting her in and stared at her like she was some kind of new being he'd never seen before.

Then she started taking her dress off and he really started freaking out.

'What are you doing?' he hissed at her, his eyes watching as she started to unzip the back of it.

'Taking my dress off,' she turned and gazed at him, 'you do know you have to be naked right?'

'I-' he spluttered, 'I know that!'

'Did you change your mind? Did you not want to do this?'

'Of course I do,' he snapped and she pursed her lips in amusement.

'Did you want to take my dress off, would that make you feel better?'

'Yes,' he'd said it quickly and she quirked a brow at him as he slowly came closer. She looked amused and he hated it, he hated that she knew how inexperienced he was, it was embarrassing. Allowing himself time to unzip the dress though at least mentally prepared him for what was coming next, at least it would have, if the dress didn't catch in the zip.

In his embarrassment he tried tugging a little harder, watching as her body slowly started to shake with laughter.

'You managing?' she asked.

'I'm fine,' he bit back, 'just give me a second.'

A bit of fabric was jammed in the zip and it was jammed good, he tried to backtrack, tugging the zip back up the direction it had come but he'd used too much force before and it wouldn't budge the other way either. He tried pinching the fabric at the side in order to get it out but just pinched her skin instead. With a little yelp she jumped away from his touch and he felt the heat flourish onto his cheeks.

'Sorry.'

'Is it stuck?' she asked.

'Yeah,' he pulled back as Rangiku's own fingers came around and tried to undo the zip.

'Can I just rip it off you?' he asked, he'd seen that in a movie before in the world of the living, it looked sexy.

'No this is an expensive dress,' she huffed at him, 'honestly, have you no respect for fashion?'

After a bit of toing and froing she finally wriggled it free and he pulled the zip down the rest of her back. Her face looked far too amused when she turned back to him and he groaned, bringing a hand to his face in shame.

'I'm not good at this at all,' he mumbled into his hand.

'Are you sure you don't want to stop,' her voice was teasing him and he felt the little blow to his ego, he peaked at her through his fingers, finally pulling his hand away and frowning. She was holding her dress at the front, her back nearly fully exposed except for where the clasp of her bra lay waiting for him… another challenge. He let his eyes rake over the pale milky flesh exposed though and swallowed.

'No,' he said, his eyes only leaving her skin for a moment to travel to her eyes. There was amusement there, her eyes twinkling with it and he hated it, hated that she knew how inexperienced he was.

'Are you sure?' she asked, pursing her lips when he glared at her.

'When I say I'm fine to continue Matsumoto I mean it.'

'Okay sir,' she kept her lips pursed after that and turned her back to him again so he could continue. His fingers gently touched the skin at the top of her spine, she shivered against his cool touch and he traced them down her flesh until they came to the bra clasp.

It looked easy enough, two little clips secured in two little wired loops on the opposite side. He continued down her back and found the zip again, slowly bringing further down until it would go no further… until it stopped just above the line of her underwear. Toshiro swallowed thickly, his mind going wild when he saw the lacy black top of her pants which matched the look of the bra.

Slowly Rangiku turned to him and he leaned in toward her. They'd not even kissed yet, he realised, he wasn't sure if this were all backwards and he should have done that first. Rangiku didn't seem to mind though and that teasing glimmer was gone from her eyes, now her eyes just looked at him, half lidded and her lips slightly parted.

Without a clue in the world to what he was doing he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers for a second when she giggled against him.

'What?' he asked pulling back and she had to turn away to stop herself laughing at him.

'Nothing,' she said and he frowned, he'd obviously done something wrong.

'What did I do wrong?' he asked, feeling increasingly foolish… did she have to laugh at him.

'I'm sorry, you're so cute,' she shook her head, 'I'm really sorry, just… you're meant to close your eyes when you kiss someone.'

'Oh,' he frowned, 'why? Then I can't see what I'm doing.'

'Because it's weird otherwise,' she chuckled, 'here let me show you.'

She leaned in and pressed her lips against his, keeping her eyes open and suddenly he knew what she meant. The two of them stared at each other with their eyes that close, it felt unnatural.

'Point taken,' he said as he leaned back with a frown, 'are you just going to let me make all the mistakes or are you actually going to help me out here?'

'I'm sorry,' she chuckled against and let go of her dress in favour of placing two hands on either side of his face and bringing his lips back to hers. This time he had his eyes closed and it felt a lot more natural. With a little bit of direction and steering from her, he began to melt into it and really enjoy the kiss. She kept it simple, just a gentle press of the lips, then led him into opening and closing of the mouths, he wasn't sure if he was ready to use tongue yet. That felt like a difficulty setting he wasn't comfortable with yet.

Rangiku led well, she didn't push him too far and Toshiro began to grow a lot warmer now that he wasn't as concerned about looking stupid in front of her. His hands grew bold, wrapping around her and pulling her close. She made a noise against his lips that sounded like she was happy with the shift and he grew bolder on the back of it, letting his hands explore her back. He decided if he could battle arrancars and quincy's then he could tackle a bra, his fingers slid across to it and he attempted to undo the latch.

"Attempted" being the key word because this little Kobayashi Maru wasn't for budging.

Toshiro continued until eventually he could feel Rangiku's laughter as her body shook. He pulled back and drew his hands away from the little devils latch.

'What the hell?' he snapped, his frustration coming out very clear, 'this thing has got to have been designed by a woman trying to keep a man out.'

'I'm pretty sure it was,' she giggled and he huffed at her, folding over his arms and glaring to the side.

'Are you sure-'

'YES!'

He tossed his hands up, an angry blush on his face, 'but I'm about two seconds away from giving up.'

'You're so cute when you're frustrated Captain,' she smirked at him and winked. Rangiku turned her back, exposing the puzzle to him and he watched as she effortlessly undid the clasp with just two fingers on one hand.

How.

The.

Fuck?

His mouth was open in shock when she turned back to face him.

'No way,' he said, 'put that back on, I'm learning how to do that.'

The next ten minutes was spent as Rangiku reclipped her bra and Toshiro went about removing it. With her guidance he quickly became an expert and he realised the trick was also to keep calm and not freak out, apparently freaking out didn't help the situation at all.

With the mood once again ruined, Rangiku turned back to him and raised an eye brow questioningly in his direction. This time he answered her with a bold press of his lips against hers (his eyes closed). She responded happily and pulled him close, slipping his jacket off his back as he pulled down the front of her dress and threw her bra on the floor. He was excited to see… what they looked like properly out of their confides of her uniform and her dress. In his excitement he pulled back and glanced down, blood rushing passed his ears and southward. He swallowed.

Fuck they were big, her nipples were erect against his cold touch and the suffocating lumps waiting… begging to be touched. He brought a hand down to them and experimentally touched them. Rangiku closed her eyes as he did his best to massage them, his thumb flicking over the nipple and doing it again and again when she made a noise of content and arousal. She was so incredibly attractive… and these massive weapons that he'd been subjected too so many times in his childhood, he'd never ever once thought of them as anything other than a death trap… now here he was, dirty visions filling his mind of exactly what he'd like to stick between them.

'I think you're a little over dressed,' she mumbled against him and Toshiro leaned in claiming her lips once again, his hand still playing with her breast while her hands came up to undo his tie.

That's when they hit another snag. This tie wasn't as easy to undo because of the fancy knot Isshin had put in it and Rangiku frowned, eventually pulling away herself for a better look at it. The two of them spent about a minute in their frustration with the tie before he tried desperately to yank it off over his face, which resulted in a very unattractive look. A tie stuck, halfway up his face, Rangiku in a fit of uncontrollable giggles on the floor and Toshiro yelling at her to go and get the butter.

By the time the tie had come off, the two of them had lost the urge. Rangiku had even tossed one of her sleep shirts on that she'd come to keep at his place.

'Well that was a disaster,' he sighed, running a hand down his face and grumbling something out into the universe.

'It wasn't completely,' she smirked rolling over to him, the two of them lay on his bed, side by side. She placed a hand on his chest and he glanced down at it, smiling at the colour of her nails. She'd painted them that night in a bid to go with her dress… because she wanted to look good for him. She wanted him to be attracted to her and how could he not?

'I'm sorry,' he sighed for what felt like the millionth time that evening, 'I ruined it all.'

She leaned over and pecked his cheek, his embarrassment dissipating for the time being.

'We'll go with your original idea,' she said with a smile, 'we'll take things slow.'

'Okay,' he nodded and though his hormones were raging at that fact, the truth was, after the events of that night, it was proof they just weren't ready yet.

'We can take our time,' she smiled, 'get to know each other's bodies slowly and then when we're in a better place we can take things to a more physical level.'

'That makes sense,' he nodded his head. He still had doubts, he was worried that his feelings for her was based purely on a physical need.

That was eventually proven wrong, when, one year later, they were still together and finally moved their relationship into a more physical one. Toshiro had been glad he'd taken his time, glad that the first time had failed because it meant he got to learn about her slowly. They had spoken plenty beforehand and he'd learned what she really enjoyed, what she didn't like and how he could make it enjoyable for her.

He'd also learned about himself too, realising that his connection to her was so emotional it was like they were two pieces of a puzzle and whenever they were together they just fit. He'd finally learned to cook now that he had someone to cook for and Rangiku had learned how to clean up, now that she had someone nagging at her to do it. She also did more than her share of paperwork on date nights when she didn't want him locked away all night in an office.

They melted together beautifully and it translated into their training just as effortlessly as it did in their day to day lives.

She melted down his walls and he kept her grounded.

They were perfect.

It's Christmas... so how about leaving me a review as a gift! :D