Sorry this chapter is a little short, but the last one was really long, so maybe that makes up for it. Also, sorry for the late post, but I was out of town this weekend. Anyway, on with the show :)
Tears of laughter ran down Matsumoto's face as Karin pounded her fist on the table, attempting vainly to regain her ability to speak. Momo and Kira looked aghast and Inoue suppressed a giggle and scolded Hitsugaya at the same time.
"I can't believe you never told me!" Inoue whined. "You are so lucky you didn't get caught. You really shouldn't do things like that, Hitsugaya-san." Hitsugaya smirked.
"Yeah, but I just couldn't resist. They deserved it for beating me up." Matsumoto wiped her eyes on her sleeve.
"Oh, we never had so much fun when I was in the army," she chuckled.
"I thought the army was hell on earth!" Karin stuttered, having finally calmed down enough from her laughing fit to talk again.
"It was!" Hitsugaya insisted. "Just because I pulled some silly, childish prank doesn't mean I enjoyed myself."
"Yeah, but that was brilliant!" Karin continued. "I mean, filling those jerks boxers with dehydrating powder? Priceless."
"I'll bet Ito-chan enjoyed her time off," Inoue noted.
"I'm sure she did," Hitsugaya replied.
"What?" Karin asked confused.
"Nothing!" Hitsugaya, Inoue, and Matsumoto all answered at once. Karin glared at them suspiciously.
"Ok, what don't you guys want me to know?" she asked threateningly. Hitsugaya gulped. How on earth was he supposed to explain the concept of mattresses to her? Especially when both Inoue and Matsumoto had been them? Luckily, a saving grace came in the form of an enormous yawn, courtesy of Yuri.
"I think we should get the girls to bed," Karin said, her motherly instinct overwhelming her curiosity. "It's way past their bedtime."
"Can I help?" Hitsugaya asked hopefully. He wanted to spend as much time with his daughters as possible, but so far, he hadn't had a chance to be alone with just them and Karin since their first encounter.
"Of course touchan!" Karin said brightly. Hitsugaya's heart fluttered at the word. He didn't think he would ever get used it. He lifted Yumi, who had been on his lap, into his arms, and took Yuri from Matsumoto. Karin scooped up Yuki from her own lap.
"Matsumoto, you'll show Inoue-san her room?" Hitsugaya asked.
"Of course!" Matsumoto replied. Hitsugaya and Karin wished everyone a goodnight before heading upstairs.
"We should go to bed too," Momo said, looking over at Kira, who nodded.
Once they were alone, Matsumoto turned to Inoue.
"Hitsugaya-sama was your tyrant, wasn't he?" she asked without preamble. Inoue nodded.
"Oh, but nothing happened!" she exclaimed, shaking her hands back and forth. "We just worked in the smithy together, he never once called me at night…"
"I know," Matsumoto cut her off. Inoue gaped at her.
"But…" Inoue stuttered. Matsumoto smiled.
"Hitsugaya-sama has a stronger sense of morality and commitment than anyone I've ever met. Even if he hated Karin, he would never cheat on her. Although, I think the fact that he's completely and totally infatuated with her didn't hurt. Besides," she chuckled, "you look way too much like me for him ever to be attracted to you!" Matsumoto laughed at her own joke and Inoue managed a giggle.
"He's a very special man," Inoue said with a sigh. "I wish I could meet someone who loved me half as much as he loves his wife." Matsumoto looked at her thoughtfully.
"You know what Orihime," she pondered. "I think I might just have someone for you. He's a good friend of Karin's brother and I met him a few times last year when they came to visit. His name's Ishida Uyruu…"
oooooooooooooooo
"You're really not mad about Inoue-san?" Hitsugaya asked as he helped Karin change the girls' clothes. Karin sighed.
"Well, I can't say that I'm particularly thrilled," she admitted. "I mean, you spent every day with that beautiful woman. And it was so soon after our marriage. And you clearly cared about her enough to bring her home with you."
"It bothers you doesn't it?" Hitsugaya said seriously. "I know it does."
"Actually," Karin replied, "I think I'd be more bothered if you hadn't brought her home." Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow.
"It shows that you weren't afraid to have me meet her," she explained. "If you had cheated on me, you wouldn't want to parade your affair around in front of me, now would you?" Hitsugaya thought about that. It seemed logical enough.
"Yeah, but I still shouldn't have done it. It's not fair to you to have her around. I just felt bad that she had nowhere else to go, and she was really helpful to me. She drove me up a wall at times, but I mean it when I say I never would have gotten out of there in three years without her help. But I should have thought about it a little more." Karin shrugged.
"What are you going to do here that you couldn't have done back in the army? At least this way I can keep an eye on you." She winked at him.
"I told you, we didn't do anything!" Hitsugaya scoffed. "I could have. Easily. Everyone else did, all the time. No one would have said a word. In fact, it was weirder to them that I didn't do anything with her. But I never even thought about it. Not once. I could never do something like that. I love you too much." He hadn't said that since he'd been home. It felt...nice. Really nice. So he decided to say it again.
"I love you Karin." Karin looked at him curiously.
"I love you too," she replied, surprised at how much she also enjoyed saying it. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment as new waves of affection washed over them.
"Touchan?" Yuki asked, bringing Hitsugaya and Karin back down to earth as their daughter shuffled back and forth eagerly in her crib. "Will you tell us a story?"
"A story?"
"I tell them one every night," Karin explained. "Do you know any?" Hitsugaya smirked. Thanks to Inoue, he knew a thousand stories that would be more than appropriate for two year old girls. But he could tell those anytime. Tonight, there was only one story that he wanted to tell.
"As a matter of fact," he replied, with a glance at Karin, "I do."
"Once upon a time," he began, using Inoue's techniques for telling a fairy tale, "there lived a beautiful princess who was engaged to be married to a wealthy prince from a far off land. But the princess was not happy about the engagement. She didn't like the prince at all. Her father the king had to practically drag her to the wedding, and when the time came for the newlyweds to kiss, she punched him in the face instead. The prince was very sad that his new bride hated him so much. They spent the entire next day avoiding each other, but eventually, the princess decided that she should give the prince a chance. They started talking, and the princess learned that the prince wasn't the spoiled, selfish, lazy person she thought he was. And the prince discovered that his princess was actually very kind, funny, and adventurous. The more time they spent together, the more they got along, until one day, they found that, even though they had started off on the wrong foot, somehow, they had fallen in love. They had learned their lesson about how wrong first impressions could be. And so the prince and his princess lived happily ever after." Hitsugaya finished the first fairy tale he had ever told in his life and looked up at Karin anxiously. She had an extremely amused expression on her face.
"Touchan," Yumi asked in awe. "How do you know our favorite story?"
"Huh?" Hitsugaya gasped. Karin blushed.
"Kaachan tells us that story all the time!" Yuki agreed.
"They ask for it," Karin explained. "They think it's funny." Hitsugaya smiled affectionately at his wife.
"Ne ne, touchan!" Yuri chimed. "Do you know our lullaby too?"
"Lullaby?"
"Yeah, the one kaachan sings to us!" He glanced at Karin who nodded.
"I think I might," he told his daughters. He took Karin's hand and sang the only lullaby he knew.
Oh little bird,
Where do you go?
When the snow starts to fall,
And the wind starts to blow?
Oh little bird,
Do you still sing your song?
When the days are so cold,
And the nights are so long?
Oh little bird,
For spring do I yearn.
And so until then,
I await your return.
ooooooooooooooo
"I can't believe you told them that story," Karin said as they left the dragon room. Hitsugaya shrugged.
"Why not? It's a good story." Karin chuckled. "But, do you think maybe I should have told them that it's true."
"They know," Karin assured him. "They just like it better when it's about a prince and a princess."
"I have so much to learn about them," Hitsugaya said sadly. "They're my daughters, but I know nothing about them."
"Don't worry, they're delightful. Trust me, you won't lack for attention from them. They'll drive you crazy before you know it." Hitsugaya smirked.
"Now," Karin began, taking Hitsugaya's hands in hers and looking at him with a gleam in her eye. "Would you like a proper welcome home party?" Hitsugaya's response was to push Karin up against the wall as he kissed her with such lust and intensity that he surprised even himself with the passion he was able to generate. His hands roamed up and down her sides, over her arms, and through her hair, wanting to touch every part of her he could reach. She gripped onto him as tightly as a lifeline, as their love and need for each other reached a breaking point. The years of separation seemed to float away as their bodies brought them closer and closer together. All their limbs intertwined until Hitsugaya couldn't tell where he ended and Karin began. And that was just the way he liked it.
For the second time that day, the couple was interrupted by the arrival of Matsumoto, who had just entered the hallway.
"Get a room!" she catcalled. Hitsugaya didn't even have time to register his embarrassment at being caught in that state before Karin yanked him into their room and slammed the door behind her, leaping back into his arms the second the door was shut and kissing him with ferocity and fervor. As they fell into bed, Hitsugaya decided that today was officially the happiest day of his entire life.
There you go, a little more smut for those of you who thought I didn't add enough last time. Don't worry, the story's not over yet, but unfortunately, I think the next one will be the last. Sorry, but I'm out of material.
Also, shout out to littleva for totally calling the Ishida part :)
