Well, most votes went to "Sugar Coated" so I bring you the Hina/Hitsu goodness. Enjoy!

Just as a little plug, in case you haven't heard, there's a new bleach-centric fanfic site called "Broken Coda" It runs just like but it's just for Bleach fiction. Pretty nifty, so check it out. I have this story up there as well. check it out at www .merquise .net/coda/ (take out spaces)

Anyway, on to the show. And check out the closing credits.

Sugar Coated

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in the same habit that he had been in the past few weeks with all the madness going on. Every time he would awake from those rare moments of sleep, he'd have to check back to make sure he hadn't woken up to a nightmare.

This time, he hoped deeply he wasn't dreaming.

The beds there weren't exactly five star. It was the 4th division's main building, a hospital/ward of sorts, and it's where he had spent some days recovering from a few different ailments. However his body healed faster than his heart did. Even though she was there beside him, breathing, he was still afraid one day he'd wake up and find it was all a cruel illusion.

He shifted slightly. They hadn't fallen asleep in a very comfortable position. He was leaning against the wall, his cheek propped up against the window sill, and her head was leaning on his shoulder, bent awkwardly since he was still shorter than she was.

His movements caused her to wake up abruptly. The uneasiness of the recent events still made it hard to rest deeply. He watched her as she yawned, stretching, and lifted her hand to her neck.

"Oww…" she bent her head side to side, loosening up the muscles. He was now gazing out at the mid-morning sunlight trying his best to focus his attention elsewhere. A small snicker from her broke his false concentration.

"What?" he said, turning. Her hair was in the rare state of complete freedom as it fell down a little bit past her shoulders. It had a slight wave from being tied back in a tight bun so often. He though she looked nice that way.

She lifted her hand and gently ran a finger down the side of his face. At first, he was confused and felt his heart do strange gymnastics in his chest. But, seeing his reflection in the cold metal bars of the bed, he knew what she was talking about. Leaning against the window had left a slight red indent on his face. He flushed.

"Looks like we both wound up with hard pillows," she smiled drowsily. He sighed.

"At least you got a shoulder."

"But you're boney."

"So are you!"

A quietness drew between the two. Her smile faded somewhat, but not completely, and she turned to gaze out into the otherwise empty room. He wanted to kick himself. He knew she hadn't been eating right, and the reasons why. That was a stupid thing to say.

"So… is it over yet?" she asked after a few moments.

"Not sure. I haven't really heard anything…"

"Ah."

"I kinda like it that way." She blinked and once again faced him.

"What? Why?"

He wasn't sure how to answer. He had regained consciousness three days before, and she woke up just yesterday. He had snuck in to see her and wound up staying after they spent hours talking, a little bit of crying, and a good amount of just sitting there next to one another. It reminded him a lot of when they were younger. Back then, every so often when they were alone and he wasn't being a brat, they could have the most amazing conversations. She was the first person to ever realize how brilliant he was because of it, actually. This current peace was a lot like that little world they shared, and it was nice to hide in there away from everything else.

Yet it was hard for him to express that.

So he just shrugged.

"It's quiet here, at least…" was what he finally decided on.

"Mm," she replied.

They sat side by side for a little while again in the softness of the day. Something had been bothering him about her presence, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It wasn't until he saw her sword lying on the table beside them that he remembered what it was.

She no longer had spiritual energy.

He had destroyed it. And it was strange not being able to feel her aura the way he used to.

"I wonder what I'm going to do now," she thought out loud. It was a little painful for him to think about it. She would probably have to leave.

"Maybe you can regain your powers…"

"Nah. Don't be silly."

"Why not? It's been done, y'know."

"Not often. Someone like me couldn't do that, anyway. It's no big deal."

"Maybe Yoruichi can help. I heard she was the one who showed that guy…"

"Toushiro," she said abruptly. He blinked. She hardly ever called him that. Even back in the "Shiro-chan" days. He let out a heavy breath.

"It's alright," she continued more softly. "I think it'd be better that way. I don't really have a reason to stay." It killed him to hear her say that, but he knew it was true. She always wanted to help people, but even so, the majority of her time there as a Shinigami was in the shadow of a huge lie, one that broke her terribly. It would be torture for her to keep on going.

Speaking of living lies, he suddenly felt flushed with guilt.

"I'm sorry…" he said finally.

"It wasn't your fault…"

"No. I should've been able to protect you. But instead, I just almost got myself killed. That…bastard. He destroyed your powers on top of everything else. And all I could do…"

She hushed him by putting a finger to his mouth.

"You're alive. And so am I. That's all that matters."

"But … I promised myself I'd protect you. I couldn't even do that." His eyes started to burn.

She turned his words over in her head a few times. She wasn't aware of that much, and it took her by surprise somewhat. She swallowed hard.

"Let's make a deal," she suggested. He raised an eyebrow. "I'll forgive you if you forgive me, ok?"

"Forgive you? For what?"

"I turned against you. I hate myself for it. And… it's hard to think you'd still stand by me even after that."

"You couldn't help it…"

"No, I should've known better. All this time, you were the only thing that stayed true, you know? So if you can forgive me, I'll forgive you. Everyone makes mistakes."

She watched him intently as she spoke, and he felt as though they had been through some sort of crazy metamorphosis. She seemed so much older to him suddenly. Then again, after what they had been though, it's hard not to change at least a little.

He nodded.

"Alright," he said shakily. What a child, he thought. You'll always be a little kid behind her…

"Even?"

"Even."

Without warning, she wrapped her arms gently around his ribcage and buried her face in his chest. He hesitated for a few moments before returning the gesture himself. There was always that comfortable akwardness, as strange as that sounds, between them. It didn't matter if either of them felt embarrassed for something like that, cause they both knew it was always alright.

He leaned his head forwards and closed his eyes, breathing in her scent. She still smelled sweet as she ever did, like sugar-coated candy. He felt himself drifting off to sleep again.

A little kid, he reflected.

Maybe not so much.

Because from now on, I'll always protect you.

Fin

Closing Credits

A/N: Well, there you have it. Sugar coated. Ah, my favorite pairing.

I'm starting to wonder if these are drabbles or one-shots… they're pretty long for drabbles but too short for one-shots.

Hmm. Drabshot? Onebles….

Not even. Xx Hahahaha.

I'm thinking of going into some more unconventional couples and stoof. Since these are mostly romance-centric, it'd be a cool challenge to try alternate pairings as well. Though I think it'd be kinda hard to write for pairings I loath (Aizen/Hina, even though that was starting to grow on me… for some reason. Xx) Yeah.

Next will be the Orihime centric fic. Not really too romantic, but it leans towards Ishi/Ori and Ichi/Ruki. I've started writing a Yoruichi/Urahara one, so that should be interesting. A bit more of a challenge, I think. After that I'm planning on doing Renji/Ruki, Yoru/Soi, and Kenpachi/Yachiru. They might not be so romantic but maybe more deep friendship.

Who knows. We'll see.

Review Corner

roomfishing: You're not the only one to say that about Gin/Matsu. I'm a bit surprised at the lack of attention this pair gets. Xx Haha, everything is Ichi/Ruki, I guess. Or yaoi. Mmmm. I think after a few chapters I might take a break from drabbles and try a longer -Matsu/Gin fic since people seem to enjoy that pairing. Oh, I'm glad you picked up on my little hopeful spurt there. I'm hoping for another "return" from him given all the drama in the manga. crosses fingers Thanks for the review!

Ceres: I'm rooting for them to pair up myself. XD;;; We can wish together.

StormBlazer: Haha, I hope I didn't let you down with the H/H drabble. Thanks to you too.

Neie: Ah! Fushigi Yuugi was so amazing. And I felt the same way with Nuriko. He became such an awesome person and I loved him. And then…well, you know. Haha, I'm not really sure what to think about Gin, but I do think he was super sweet as a kid. I wonder what on earth happened. Xx Together, Rangiku and Gin make a fun couple, but him on his own … arg. Dunno. Thanks for reading, I'll keep writing.

That's it for now. Thanks so much for reading, and please let me know what you think!