For LethanWolf's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOU QUEEN!

For The Seireitei's October Writing & Art Challenge, based off a stunning artwork by iz-stardust (cover art).

…

i like to hide in you

Toshiro Hitsugaya woke up late that morning, to a gloriously sunny Sunday. There was still a crisp coolness in the air as London's autumn turned to winter, so when he slipped out of bed, he pulled on the pair of cream-coloured joggers and the green hoodie that had been draped over the back of his desk chair.

Exiting his bedroom, Toshiro padded into his living room, stopping briefly to say good morning to Hyorinmaru swimming in his enclosure, before wandering through to the kitchen. Tea was made, and some honey toast that he still had the taste for after being at his Grandmother's yesterday.

Returning to the living room, he popped both on the coffee table and reached for the remote, flicking on the television. He turned on his Nintendo Switch and plucked the controls from the console, before settling on the couch while his devices booted up.

He ate his toast with one hand and texted with the other.

Toshiro
Good morning, Gorgeous. Sleep well?

There was a chance he wouldn't hear from her for a few more hours, she always slept late on her days off-

Rangiku
Good morning, Handsome :) Would have slept better if you were here x

Toshiro grinned widely.

A sunny Sunday, his most comfortable clothes, tea and toast, a new Pokémon game and flirty texts from his ridiculously attractive girlfriend.

Life didn't get much better than that.

He returned Rangiku's text, requesting to confirm their plans for that night. He was going to take her to a trendy pub he and Yukio had found near work. Supposedly, they did an excellent Sunday roast, plus the cocktails were fun and, as Rangiku liked, potent. The bar was in Chelsea, not far from Rangiku's fancy apartment, so it would be easy to walk home from there. He'd stay the night and in the morning, they'd both be close to work.

She wasn't as quick to reply to that but Toshiro wasn't worried. She had probably gone back to sleep or jumped in the shower.

He tossed his phone further up the couch and turned his attention to the television, where the Nintendo menu was awaiting him.

Toshiro straightened, taking a sip of his tea before delving into the new Pokémon game. It had come out last week but between work, Rangiku and helping his Granny re-pot her flowers yesterday, he hadn't had time to sink his teeth into it. Yukio had nearly completed it.

Cracking on with it, Toshiro found himself really enjoying the new game. He was unlocking levels and completing tasks and side quests. It was fun yet challenging, his brain solving puzzles again; it was nice to finally catch up on his gaming time – he'd been so busy lately. Not that he could complain when he got to wake up beside a gorgeous blonde.

By midday, he'd made significant progress, only pausing once to let out a restless Hyorinmaru. The Chinese water dragon was in need of some roaming time, so Toshiro pulled him out of his enclosure and carried him back to the couch before playing on. The lizard explored the couch for a little while before ultimately finding comfort on Toshiro's stomach, where a patch of sun shining in from the window made a good basking spot.

"So lazy," Toshiro muttered, stroking the lizard's head with one finger while navigating his Switch controls with the rest. "Might as well have a cat."

Rangiku had a cat; a short-haired, ash-coloured female named Haineko. Like her owner, Haineko enjoyed sleeping, eating and, when she felt like it, cuddles and endless affection. Most of the time, Haineko (well, Rangiku too) would sit on his lap, knowing he didn't have the heart to move her off him. She left her fur on Toshiro's clothes, and when he wasn't brushing grey cat hair off his jeans, he was pulling long blonde human hair from his shirt. It was worth it though, to have Rangiku Matsumoto in his life again.

He continued to play the game, forgoing lunch for another tea. He checked his phone – no reply from Rangiku but the line-up for the Tottenham vs Aston Villa football game had been released and Toshiro was glad to see his favourite players on both sides were playing today. It shouldn't be a close game, Tottenham had far too many big hitters, but he hoped to rake some high Fantasy League points from it.

Yes, today was a good day. Gaming, football and then a date with his new, definitely-out-of-his-league girlfriend. It didn't get much better than that.

But then there was a knock at his front door.

Toshiro lifted his head and frowned, trying to remember if he was expecting a visitor or delivery today. He wasn't.

There was another knock, so Toshiro sighed and paused his game. He lifted the lizard from his chest and placed him back on the couch, in the same sun spot as Toshiro had vacated it. Walking quickly to the door, Toshiro unlocked it and pulled it open.

There, beaming at him on his door step, was Rangiku.

…

Rangiku Matsumoto arrived at her boyfriend's house in time for lunch, and was greeted by a man who looked like he'd only just woken up.

"Hey, Babe!" Rangiku grinned at the bewildered Toshiro. He looked so cute surprised.

He also looked cute in his loungewear, with the hoodie that almost matched his eyes and the bed head that was sexy and familiar.

"R-Rangiku," Toshiro stammered. "I-I thought we had plans for tonight?"

"Oh, I know," Rangiku beamed. "I thought we could spend the afternoon together too."

Toshiro was staring at her, looking almost alarmed, so Rangiku held up her paper bag from Greggs. "I brought sausage rolls?"

She did have a slight ulterior motive to her visit. See, she'd been dating the man for three months and he had never once invited her to his place. She only knew his address because she had booked him a taxi home one morning when it was lashing with rain.

Toshiro looked like his thoughts were trying to catch up with him before he eventually nodded. "Let me get changed quickly and I'll grab my keys-"

"No, Silly," Rangiku laughed. "We can hang out here."

Now Toshiro really did look alarmed and Rangiku pretended not to notice that, although her heart was picking up pace and not in a good way.

Why didn't he want her to come to his house? At first she thought it was weird, but the longer they spent on his front step the more she got suspicious. What was he hiding from her?

Toshiro was nice guy, always had been, but he was extremely shy too. She had gone to the same school as him – a posh boarding school in the north of Scotland – but he'd always been somewhat of an enigma. Even when she had bumped into him at that bar those few months ago – eight years after school – he was quiet and mysterious. He didn't always open up or give much away, but she knew for certain that he had a big heart and cared for those around him so she had never worried about it.

-Until she realised they'd been dating for months and she had no idea where he spent his nights when he wasn't at her place.

It was mysterious, and Rangiku had come to find out.

"A-are you sure?" he asked her, still reluctant. "I haven't cleaned up, it's a mess-"

"Messier than my place?" Rangiku forced a laugh and took a step forward, basically inviting herself inside. "I doubt it."

She ignored the audible sigh as he stepped back, perhaps automatically, to let her pass.

Rangiku entered his house and poked her head around the first doorway she saw, quickly finding the living room. She slipped inside, hearing slow footsteps follow her. Her eyes scanned the room quickly and her brow dipped.

"It's not messy at all," she told him, feeling him enter the room behind her. Everything she saw looked tidy and clean.

"Well," Toshiro sighed. "It's small and I have a lot of stuff. It's more crowded than messy, I suppose."

Rangiku's frown deepened as her eyes re-scanned the room. It was a small living room, certainly compared to her rather spacious flat. It wasn't unexpected though; Rangiku knew she had a large apartment, given she had paid so dearly for it, while Toshiro lived outside of Central London, in a narrow terrace house.

Was that what he was hiding? Embarrassment of small house?

That would never bother Rangiku. She always pictured herself setting down in a place like this; the streets were quieter, there was always a park nearby – it seemed like a better place to raise kids than the heart of the city.

She stepped further into the room, walking behind the couch, her fingers trailing along the soft material. Her eyes were on the large bookshelf in the corner. One side was filled with books, so many there had to be at least a hundred. Rangiku recognised very few titles and she noticed some weren't even in English. It made her smile softly, remembering a much smaller Toshiro at school, always reading, even in class, often making small notes in the margins. Sure enough, when she plucked a book from the shelf, she opened it to find scribbles all throughout; sentences underlined, notes in margins, little cartoon drawings in corners, the odd exclamation mark where something had obviously excited him.

"I love this," Rangiku turned to grin at her boyfriend, showing him the open book. "Reminds me of you at school."

Toshiro's return smile was uneasy so she put the book back and turned to the other half of the bookshelf. This side was stacked with… well, all sorts of things. Manga, comic books, DVD sets of old fantasy shows – he also had a lot of cool toy-type objects. Dice sets, playing cards, figurines and-

"Oh these Funky-Pop things!" Rangiku exclaimed excitedly, picking up one of character she didn't recognise, turning to show Toshiro the box. "I got my God son one of these for his birthday! He loved it. Took his out of the box straight away-OH MY GOD, WHAT IS THAT?!"

…

Rangiku squealed and jumped back, pointing at the couch. Toshiro's eyes snapped to where Hyorinmaru was moving again, centring himself back in the sun patch after it moved an inch.

"Sorry!" Toshiro winced, scooping the lizard up quickly. "He's mine, I'll put him away."

"You have a lizard?" Rangiku asked, tone incredulous as she stared at him.

Toshiro's mouth was so dry he was surprised he'd been able to talk at all so far. In his mind, it was all thoughts to panic stations. Alarms were going off, voices screaming, sirens in the distance-

Rangiku Matsumoto was in his house.

The coolest girl in school, in his living room, holding his Prince Zuko Funko Pop ('Funky-Pop').

His girlfriend, who was miles and miles out of his league and quickly realising why, in front of his couch, squealing at his DAMN LIZARD PET that he had forgotten was out of the enclosure.

"Uhh, yeah," was all Toshiro managed in response, his other hand coming up to cover Hyorinmaru from view, though arguably they were well past that.

This was an absolute nightmare.

And that was while Rangiku was still yet to notice the Pokémon game on the television and three gaming consoles on the floor in front of his entertainment unit.

"What's its' name?"

When Toshiro glanced back up, Rangiku was closer. She had put Prince Zuko back on the shelf and now she was coming closer.

She looked good too, not that was a surprise, but today in her pink skinny jeans and his own grey t-shirt… oh God.

Toshiro swallowed. "H-Hyorinmaru."

"Hyorinmaru," Rangiku repeated, stepping closer again until she was so close that Toshiro could smell her perfume.

It was elegant, as was she. It ceased his thoughts, as her blue eyes dropped to his hands, trying to view the lizard he was hiding.

"Does he bite?" she asked then.

"No," Toshiro answered quickly. "He's very docile. He's used to being handled-"

"Can I hold him?"

Teal eyes snapped to hopeful blue, and again his brain was wiped of thoughts. Rangiku, who always wore the latest fashions and had manicured nails, wanted to hold his lizard.

"If-if you want?"

Oh and that seemed to delight her. She clapped her hands together and bounced on the balls of her feet; Toshiro hadn't seen her that excited since Gin Ichimaru asked her to prom.

With a somewhat queasy smile, Toshiro led Rangiku around the couch and sat her down. In case she dropped Hyorinmaru or the lizard decided to jump out of her hands, hopefully the couch was a smaller, softer drop.

Beaming, Rangiku held out her hands and Toshiro gently placed the lizard into them. He was almost trembling as he let it go.

This seemed like a recipe for disaster. He had avoided having Rangiku over for this reason. He had been hiding so much of himself to avoid it all. The less she knew about how much of a geeky dork he was, the better. As it was, he wasn't sure what she saw in him. She must not have remembered school like he did, because if she did, she wouldn't have been dating him.

He was the little nerd with bad acne and a Tamagotchi on a lanyard around his neck. Though he was good at football, and he had often beat out Gin Ichimaru for top of the class, he was not popular. He used to sit with Yukio in the back of glass, just hoping not to get noticed. At lunch, they'd go to the library or find an empty corner of the courtyard to play their games or read their books. Toshiro's book bag had been a ratty old thing that belonged to his late Grandfather, while Rangiku, Gin and all their friends had brand new designer bags.

They were mean and Toshiro had resented all of them – except Rangiku. She wasn't mean and he could never dislike her, not with that beautiful smile, or that musical laugh – not when she told Gin to stop picking on him and Yukio, not when she walked him back to the dormitories after he'd had his head flushed down a toilet.

She had always seen something in him, but he'd never known what.

"He's beautiful," Rangiku murmured and Toshiro glanced back up at her, his thoughts returning to the present as she cooed at the reptile in her hands. "So green."

"He's a Chinese water dragon," Toshiro stated, finding his voice again. "About six years old. I got him when I was in university."

Something in him told him to keep talking. He figured if he held Rangiku's attention where it was clearly satisfied, she wouldn't notice the game on the television. He couldn't remember where he'd dropped the remotes.

"He's cute," Rangiku grinned, petting the lizard's head gently before winking up at Toshiro. "Like his owner."

Toshiro flushed and looked away.

Unfortunately it was the direction of his television he looked and unfortunately, Rangiku's gaze followed his.

"Oh cool, what are you playing?"

Ah, fuck.

…

"It's uh…" Toshiro trailed off, before mumbling something incoherent.

"It's what?"

"Uh… Pokémon."

"Like the kids' show?"

"… Yeah."

"Sounds like fun," Rangiku shrugged.

She was starting to understand now exactly why Toshiro hadn't invited her over. She knew now what it was he was hiding from her.

He was hiding himself. Like he always had at school.

"It's um, it's new," Toshiro explained to her, as if justifying it. "Yukio said it was good, so I thought- I thought I'd try it."

Rangiku nodded understandingly, but as she continued to look towards his television and the entertainment unit it was sat on, she noticed the other consoles and a myriad of games. He was gamer, he just didn't want to admit that to her.

"You can keep playing," she told him. "I'm happy here with this cutie."

She lifted Hyorinmaru slightly and grinned at him.

He needed to know it was okay to be himself around her. She didn't turn her nose up at people with hobbies different to hers. She wasn't Gin, and she wasn't the same silly teenager she once was.

Though, even as a silly teenager, she had always thought Toshiro was gorgeous. He had those big teal eyes that she couldn't help but get lost in, and hair so wild nothing could ever tame it. He was shorter than her back then, but athletic. Rangiku used to watch him across the courtyard with Yukio as they played with their funny cards; she didn't know the game they were playing, but she distinctly remembered always wanting him to win each round, because his smile when he did was breathtaking.

He was a good guy. Even when Rangiku's friends were mean to him, even when Gin – her boyfriend at the time – had made his school life miserable, Toshiro was always nice to her, as he was everyone. He taught Rangiku functions in maths one afternoon when he found her crying in the library, a failed exam paper on the desk. He lent her his jumper to tie around her waist when she got her period unexpectedly on their class excursion to Stirling Castle.

He was kinder than anyone she knew, but Rangiku supposed Toshiro never saw that in himself.

"I can put on a movie-" he started.

"No," Rangiku whined theatrically. "I want to watch you play!"

"Why?"

"Because I do," Rangiku huffed, rolling her eyes playfully. "Besides, I think I owe it to you after last weekend. I made you watch six hours of back to back episodes of Sex and The City."

Toshiro's lips twitched; that beautiful smile was almost ready to come back.

"That was pretty horrific," he smirked at her.

"Oh you loved it," Rangiku teased him and there it was, that stunning curve of his lips and dimple in his cheek.

It lasted only a second before it faded away again to be replaced with a hesitant, somewhat nauseous expression as Toshiro slowly leaned back from her. As he moved, Rangiku spotted the little controllers for his game and she nodded to them.

"Go on," she encouraged him. "I want to see how you play the Pokémon."

The hesitation was obvious but Rangiku continued to beam at him until he eventually reached for his controls and, with one last uncertain glance, resumed his gameplay.

Again, she didn't understand the logistics of the game or what he was doing, but watching was interesting. He moved so effortlessly, so well-practiced. He knew what he was doing. At one point he almost cheered, like he forgot she was there for a second but caught himself quickly.

Rangiku didn't love that he was still holding back from her, but she was patient. She hoped he'd eventually relax when he got used to her being there and seeing her enjoying her time in his house.

Eventually they got hungry, so Toshiro paused the game again and took her sausage rolls to the kitchen to heat up now that they'd gone cold. He also put Hyorinmaru back in his enclosure, though Rangiku would have been happy holding him longer.

She used his bathroom to wash her hands and on her way back to the living room, Rangiku found a folder filled with football player cards. She had picked it up thinking it held CDs and was almost excited to find someone who still owned CDs, but when she opened it, she found sleeve after sleeve filled with collector cards. They were all Premier League branded; he must have had hundreds of them.

It wasn't too much of a surprise, most men she knew loved football. Besides, Toshiro had played for their school team, and if she remembered correctly, he'd been the captain of the team when they won the school championships.

"Which team do you support?" she asked Toshiro, showing him the folder when she returned to the couch.

He winced, and that was enough to tell Rangiku she wasn't supposed to have found this.

"I don't have a favourite team," he told her softly. "Just favourite players."

"Oh?" Rangiku queried. "You collect all these cards and don't have a team?"

Even she had a team; Liverpool, that's where she had been born.

"No, it's like…" Toshiro frowned and trailed off for a moment. "They're like human Pokémon, you know?"

That made Rangiku snort. Not in the derisive way, she just thought the comparison was funny.

"That's adorable," she murmured. "Okay, who's your favourite player then?"

She held out the folder and Toshiro took it from her, flipping back to the first page, in the first card slot of the first sleeve, and pointed.

"Sojiro Kusaka," Toshiro murmured. "Bit of an ass, but a sensational midfielder."

"Oh I know him," Rangiku perked up. "He's hot. Not you hot, obviously, but still hot."

She didn't glance back up at Toshiro but she saw him choke in her peripheral vision and his cheeks go an impressive shade of red.

Rangiku was nice though, so she ignored it and continued to look at Kusaka's player card. She recognised the name because she had been to a game of his before. He played for West Ham United, and she knew that because her company were a main sponsor of theirs.

"You know I can get us tickets to go to a game?" Rangiku told Toshiro, glancing up again to find him sipping water as if that would cool his flushed face. "We have a corporate box at the stadium, I take a lot of clients there."

She worked as a buyer for a rapidly growing online fashion retailer. It was the best job in the world – she got a seventy percent staff discount on all their brands!

And hey, if she could take her boyfriend to a football match so he could watch his favourite player run around a muddy field for ninety minutes, that was bonus.

"R-really?" Toshiro stammered, his teal eyes wide. "I wouldn't want to put you out."

Rangiku waved him off, unconcerned. She reached for her sausage roll and took a bite.

"You won't be. It will be fun; I always get free drinks."

…

Toshiro had no idea what he looked like on the outside but in his head it was like a carnival had come to town.

What was this powerful sorcery that made his girlfriend so content to sit around his tiny house filled with geeky things and hold his lizard and watch him play Pokémon and flick through his football cards and offer to take him to a game and-

Was he hyperventilating? In his head he was hyperventilating.

He mustn't have been, for Rangiku continued to eat her sausage roll, even leaning on him as she did. Her head fell to his shoulder and she sighed peacefully.

What was happening?!

"Are those Vogues?" Rangiku asked abruptly, straightening suddenly as she spotted the magazines by the arm chair in the corner.

Toshiro missed her warmth instantly, and then he wanted to kick himself. He had forgotten he had those; he would have offered them to her when she first walked in. Maybe that would have distracted her from everything else.

"Yes," he answered, getting up to collect the magazines and passing them to her when he returned.

"Why do you have so many copies of Vogue?" Rangiku asked, taking the stack and opening the first one.

Toshiro hesitated and made to make an excuse but then Rangiku gasped and swooned quickly after. She was grinning ear to ear as she showed him what she'd found.

His damn notes in the damn margins.

"You were reading these to learn about fashion," Rangiku cooed, reading the notes, "to learn about my interests. You're so sweet!"

Toshiro flushed red – again – and winced. Surely there was a limit to how pathetic someone could look in one afternoon.

"Well I don't know much about the industry," he looked down at his plate, and ripped what was left of his sausage roll in half, "and it's important to you, so…"

Rangiku swooned again. "You're so cute, I can't."

'Cute' wasn't exactly what Toshiro wanted to be called at twenty-six but he'd take it.

He shrugged casually as Rangiku went quiet again, absorbed in her magazine for a moment. He finished his food and took their plates to the sink, but when he came back Rangiku looked sad.

"Why did you hide your hobbies from me?" she asked him quietly.

"Uhh…" Toshiro didn't know how to answer that. He didn't want to lie, but he didn't think she like the truth.

"You've gone and bought fashion magazines to learn about mine," Rangiku continued, deflated. "Did you think I wouldn't want to do that for you too?"

Toshiro swallowed. "I didn't think you'd like my hobbies."

"Why not?"

"Well," Toshiro sighed. "You're cool."

"Cool?" Rangiku echoed, a slight chuckle on her lips but Toshiro couldn't tell if that was a happy laugh or an angry one.

"At school, you were so cool," Toshiro tried to explain better. "Popular, rich, confident, outgoing… Everyone wanted to be you. Whatever you said was cool, was cool. You set the trends."

"So?" Rangiku frowned.

"So you wouldn't have been caught dead playing Pokémon or collecting figurines," Toshiro winced, "or dating someone who did."

"I just told you about how I got my God son one of those Pop toys!"

"Kazui is five," Toshiro pointed out. They went to his birthday party two weeks ago, she had gotten him a Funko Pop of Stitch from Lilo & Stitch and he had indeed ripped it out of the box within two seconds of holding it. The collector in Toshiro had died a little at the sight, but he remembered being that age and wanting to play with all of his toys then too.

"Do you actually think I'm that shallow?" Rangiku asked him and she sounded more hurt than angry. "Do you think I'd be embarrassed of you because you like comics and video games?"

Toshiro stared at her, seeing the sadness in her eyes and remembering it from a day long ago. It was back in school and she found him crying at the student phone box. His grandmother had been ill with pneumonia and was in hospital – she ended up recovering and was still very much alive today, but that afternoon Toshiro had thought he was losing his last family member, and Rangiku had been the one to find him. She had sat with him in silence for an hour until he calmed down, and then bought him a chocolate bar from the vending machine. She didn't leave him until Yukio found them and took over.

That was the kind of kindness Rangiku had in her heart.

"No," Toshiro breathed. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't think that, I was just deflecting. I'm- I'm insecure. My hobbies… I'm not confident, I always think people are judging me and looking for a reason to make fun of me like at school. It's easier to hide it all inside. I never share this side of myself."

Except Yukio, who got it, and Granny, whose social hierarchy ignorance was certain bliss.

"We're not at school anymore," Rangiku spoke quietly, and she took Toshiro's hands in hers. Her blue eyes were still sad, but more understanding. "I really like you, and I want to share your interests with you. I think it's cool to be passionate."

"It's really not when it's midnight and we're dressed up in costumes at the newest superhero movie premier," Toshiro joked weakly. "I'm not sure you know what level of geekiness you're dealing with here, Matsumoto."

In spite of that, she shrugged and squeezed his hands.

"Passion is passion," she told him, her lips twitching into a grin, "and I find passion extremely sexy, Hitsugaya."

Toshiro pursed his lips to stop from grinning. This was a rather unexpected turn for his Sunday, but it was a great one.

He bit his lip and turned towards his television, where the Pokémon game was paused.

"Do you want to play?" he asked her. "I could teach you."

Rangiku's eyes lit up with excitement and Toshiro's heart must have skipped about five beats.

He reached for her then, pulling her into his lap and winding his arms around her waist. He showed her the controls and helped her move about until she got the hang of it.

As it turned, Rangiku was terrible at the new Pokémon game – but she was laughing and having fun so Toshiro was elated when she wanted to try other games too.

She hit her stride in the other game of Pokémon Snap instead, and she spoke to the Pokémon on screen like they were runway fashion models whom she was trying photograph. It had Toshiro in stitches, and it was arguably one of the best afternoons of his life.

…

Rangiku laid across Toshiro's chest, listening to his heart beating slow and steadily. His arms were around her and she was so utterly warm and comfortable.

She'd had the most wonderful evening, and they hadn't left the couch.

They had played video games for hours, until it was dark outside and their stomachs started to rumble.

Toshiro cooked them a simple pasta dish for dinner, and being the wholesome man he was, had packed the leftovers into containers for their work lunches tomorrow.

After eating, they had popped on a movie. Rangiku had made Toshiro pick, and by the way he reacted anyone would have thought she was torturing him. In the end, after Rangiku suggested he pick a superhero movie since he loved them so much, Toshiro reluctantly picked Iron Man.

It was good to be fair, and Rangiku didn't mind the eye candy. Robert Downey Jr was hot – again, not Toshiro hot – in a 'if she was going to date an older man' way.

Though, towards the end of the movie, Rangiku found her attention slipping and her eye lids growing heavy. She almost fell asleep but blinked back into reality when the credits music began to play and she felt Toshiro's hands slip under her shirt to stroke her back gently.

"Did you like it?" he asked her, tone soft.

Rangiku lifted her head to see his face, and once again teal eyes were uncertain, though they were perhaps more hopeful now, and certainly less terrified. Baby steps…

"I did," Rangiku smiled at him. "I almost fell asleep though, just because I was so comfy."

Toshiro hummed, a small smile on his lips. "Me too."

Rangiku grinned back at him as Toshiro's hand slipped out from under her shirt and reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear. Rangiku leaned in closer too, and their lips came together swiftly.

She hummed in approval, still loving his sweet kisses. His lips were soft as always, and his arms wrapped back around her and tightened. He laid back down and brought her with him. It was a tender moment, and she felt his muscles relax below her.

Rangiku pulled back from the kiss gently, her arm on his bicep as she pushed herself up a little.

"I don't want you to hide yourself from me," she whispered, cupping his jaw with her hand, "but if you want to hide from the world for a little while more, I'll hide with you."

It was romantic sap, but it was the kind she knew they both enjoyed.

"You'd hide in me?" Toshiro asked, a lazy half-smirk on his lips.

"I like to hide in you," Rangiku confirmed with an almost shy smile of her own. Her cheeks felt flushed but she didn't know why. "It's warm in you."

"It's you who brings the warmth, Rangiku," Toshiro grinned.

He didn't allow Rangiku a moment to respond as his lips found hers once more. She didn't mind, and any reply she had was forgotten instantly.

Melting against him, Rangiku kissed him back. She wanted him to know how much he meant to her, and how safe it was for him to be himself with her. She found it easy to be herself around him, that's largely what attracted her to him.

When they were together, they didn't have to hide.

But if they wanted to hide, they'd do it together.

…

Such sappy fluff. I hope you enjoyed it, Lethan!