Pairing: Hitsugaya T. and Rukia K.
Genre:Romance/Drama (and many other sub-genres)
Rated:M to be on the safe side.
Setting:Somewhat AU. Takes place in the Soul Society, as if Rukia, Ichigo, and co. had stayed after the Rukia's Execution arc. Rukia is lieutenant instead of unseated, because I said so and if it weren't for Byakuya she'd be there.

Summary:Rukia likes to sit on the tops of buildings, when all is quiet, and the stars are out. When Hitsugaya discovers this, he finds himself joining her. But when many obstacles from many opposing people intervene, they may have to end their peaceful nights.

Beginning Note: This is my first attempt at this pairing, and I'd like to thank Evilmoose's White Phoenix for getting me hooked on it. Hooray for crack pairings! I'll try my best to keep them in character ;)

Starry Night

Twilight Midnights

Some things are better left unsaid, and sometimes even unthought-of. For Rukia, they were both true, but hard to abide by. Sitting atop one of the many buildings, silence and tranquility surrounded her. Most shinigami were asleep, save the few captains who stayed up late doing work, and also some who were just hanging around. But for the most part, it was quiet, and the slight murmurs of people below her went unnoticed.

Bleach white stars littered the clear, navy sky, creating a most appreciable atmospheric view. The quarter moon stuck out prominently, as if mocking the small size of the dots speckling around it. It was peace. And it provided a most satisfactory setting for Rukia to allow her thoughts to run wild. 'Something tells me that he felt obliged to save me.'

Ah, still on those memories. While she now had come to terms with being saved, she was quite angry at first reaction when Ichigo saved her. She had planned to resign herself to death, and in fact, she already had. But now that she appreciated the notion of being saved, she wondered if it was because he truly cared, or because he felt guilty.

This was what she loved about sitting there, under Mother Nature's skies. She was free to think as selfishly as she wanted without guilt tugging at her conscience because no one was around. No one was there to maybe read her thoughts and scold her about how she should just be grateful. She could just...think.

Hitsugaya bounced from rooftop to rooftop, making his way back to headquarters. He would undoubtedly find Matsumoto stretched across the couch with a pile of paperwork next to her. Uncompleted paperwork, that is. He stopped on one of the buildings and glanced around. It was a nice night out, he noted. He then continued his jumping until he came across an unexpected sight. He knew who she was just from the back of her head, even if he barely knew her. "Lieutenant Kuchiki," he said quietly. It came out as a reprimand, strong and sturdy. But inwardly it was peaked from curiosity.

Rukia turned around to see who was distracting her from her alone time. Her back straightened and she stood up. "C-Captain Hitsugaya..."

"You should be sleeping Lieutenant. Captain Ukitake is known for his workload," he said in a monotonous tone, as if she didn't know her own captain.

Rukia couldn't help but notice the resemblance between his attitude and her brother's. They both almost never showed any sign of emotion. And though Rukia was starting to be just the same (for Byakuya had influenced her more than she thought), she still loosened up around her friends. In fact, she was quite the character around most of her squad, Ichigo, Renji, and a select few others. "I can handle it, but thank you for your concern, Captain."

Hitsugaya glanced upward and took a gander at the midnight sky. He almost lost his train of thought, taken aback by its beauty. He looked down to the young shinigami and gave her a slight nod before taking off again.

Rukia bowed slightly, and waited until he was out of sight before sitting down once more. 'I wonder how Lieutenant Hinamori ever dealt with him.' And once again, she was thankful for the privacy her thoughts permitted her.

Hitsugaya arrived at his office and walked inside. Not to his surprise, Matsumoto was asleep. With pretty much all of her day's work on the floor. His eye slightly twitched. "Matsumoto!"

Rukia walked down the hall, every so often getting a greeting from her subordinates. She walked into her captain's office to gather her work for the day.

"Ah, Rukia. Running late today I see?" he teased her.

"Wha-What? I'm not late!" she said and looked around his office for a clock.

He chuckled slightly. "No, no. You're never late," Ukitake replied and then looked down at his desk. "I need you to deliver some documents and a few packages for me, and then you'll have your usual paperwork to do. So if you finish early..."

"Got it!" she exclaimed, rushing to his desk and grabbing the pile of papers he needed to be delivered. If she finished early, she'd have no more work! She wouldn't waste any time if that was the case. "I'll be back to grab my paperwork later, Captain." she said and bowed, then left and quickly started her errand.

"4th Division..." she muttered, reading where the first package would go. She used her shunpo to get there quickly.

"Good morning Lieutenant Kuchiki." Captain Unohana greeted.

"Good morning Captain." she bowed and handed her the package.

Rukia wondered what were in the packages she delivered, and why Ukitake had her do it. She shrugged as she headed back to her division, having finished her first assignment. She grabbed her work for the day and headed to her office where she busily scribbled down endless words, determined to finish before too much longer.

In a few hours, she stared down at her throbbing hand. "Does he want me to get Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or something?" She winced, shaking her wrist to relax her strained muscles. Looking down at her work proudly, she smiled.

Where to go first? That was the question. Maybe she would bug Renji today. Or maybe Ichigo. Decisions, decisions. She was forced to pick Renji, however, seeing as he was heading in her direction.

"Off early?" Renji asked, looking down at his petite best friend.

Rukia nodded. "Yeah, you?"

"Yup."

"Let's go see if Ichigo's off, too." she said, feeling warm inside. It was rare that she, Renji, and Ichigo all were off at the same time. And when they were, they wasted no time celebrating the fact.

Renji walked into Ichigo's office, giving him a small "Hey."

Rukia stood angrily behind Renji, who was rudely blocking the way and view. "Would you move?!" she yelled, shaking angrily as her attempts were futile to get around him.

"It's not his fault you're so damn short." Ichigo commented as Renji moved to the side and Ichigo walked out.

Rukia's eyes narrowed. "It's not my fault you're an idiot!"

Renji caught sight of some young shinigami walking by the feuding two, shooting them awkward looks and whispering amongst themselves. "Would you two quit? You're making a fool of yourselves!" Renji snarled.

Ichigo let go of his grip on Rukia's head, which further mocked her vertical loss.

"See ya." Ichigo waved as he headed back toward his barracks for the night.

Renji nodded. "Well, hopefully we'll all be off again sometime soon. See ya Rukia."

Rukia flashed him a small smile and started walking toward the 13th division. The sun was setting fast, and the moon was already out. People became scarcer by the minute. When it was relatively dark, Rukia jumped on top of the roof of her division and took her usual seat under the stars.

She sighed as she thought about her friends. They were really great guys, and she didn't know what she'd do without them. She lay on her back, folding her hands behind her head as a makeshift pillow. The sky was her ceiling, and she immensely preferred the outdoors as opposed to her room.

Toushiro walked along the 13 Division's grounds at a slow pace. He strolled down the cement, noticing the fact it was yet again a beautiful night. It was quieter than usual, and for the first time in a while, no one was outside. The quietness was nice, and he took in a cool, refreshing breath. After holding it in for a moment, his lungs exhaled with a sigh.

Icy eyes glanced upward and caught sight of someone lying along one of the rooftops. 'Does she come out here every night?' he mused. In one fluid motion, he jumped up to the roof and landed gracefully with an ever-so-slight 'thud'.

Rukia let out a small "Eh?" and tilted her head back slightly, an upside down Hitsugaya in her line of sight. She quickly scrambled up, embarrassed at her lack of posture.

"Don't fret, Lieutenant." he reassured her. Once he saw her sit back down, he sat in his spot as well. His eyes traveled to the sky once more. He didn't make small talk, nor did he usually engage in it. So there he sat, in silence.

Rukia looked to him quizzically. "Uhm...I can leave if you'd like, Captain."

Without even sparing her a glance, he simply replied, "It's not necessary. You are welcome to stay. After all, you were here first."

Rukia nodded, not being able to help the small upturn of the corners of her lips. She rested back on her hands, looking up at that unreachable horizon. Okay, so she wasn't alone tonight, but she may as well have been. Hitsugaya looked like he had no intention of saying anything, and she was somewhat glad. She felt as if she wasn't so weird for wanting a quiet night, just staring at stars, because the Captain a few feet away from her seemed to enjoy it, too.

Rukia yawned from her bed, stretching her limbs out. Boy did she get a good sleep. Her hair was in a frazzle. Major bedhead. She laid there for a moment, looking at the stark white ceiling above her. She was not a morning person, but she was tolerable.

She already had a feeling that today was going to be a long day. Because, like everything else in the Soul Society, things were well-balanced. Everything was equal. And because she had slack work yesterday, today would be Hell.

Slipping on her uniform, she donned her white sash and tied it securely. She slid open her door, only to feel something wet crash into her face. She reached up and stripped the red piece of the popped balloon from her cheek and stared down evilly at the offender.

"L-L-L-Lieutenant...Kuchiki...I-I-..." stuttered a very frightened soul reaper, "I was aiming for my friend and..." he pointed to a boy on his left, who was clearly giving him the 'don't drag me into this' sign.

"Don't you have some work to attend to?" and before he could answer, she added, "Then get to it!"

"Y-Yes Lieutenant, s-sorry." he replied, bowed, and then quickly scurried off.

Since when did Soul Society get water balloons? She had thought that was only something from the human world.

She rushed toward her Captain's office, having been late due to the previous incident.

"Why are you so wet?"

"I uhm...I..."

"No time for that. Today I'm having you train some of the academy students is preparation for their placement exams." Ukitake interrupted and looked up at her. "Unfortunately, you have the class of students who are having a bit of trouble keeping up with where they need to be."

Rukia smiled. "No problem."

After making her way to the academy, Rukia was given her tasks and class. "Alright, who'd like to go first?" she asked, holding a long stick in her hands. She nodded toward a female who raised her hand. "No, no, your stance is all wrong."

This really would be a long day.

Hitsugaya sat at his desk, scribbling away at the papers in front of him. He liked this feeling. This feeling of being busy, needing to do something. Because face it, if he didn't have any work, he'd be at a lost. What would he do? Go drinking with Matsumoto? No. Most definitely not. He knew. He'd probably keep to himself and just think. Like...

Looking up to the stars. Heh, ironic. His mind wandered back to the previous night. He'd never known someone who simply wanted silence. His first thought, to be honest, was that she was too intimidated to start up a conversation. But then he thought of her ties. Her brother was Byakuya Kuchiki. She was good friends with Ichigo Kurosaki and Renji Abarai. There's no way she was the innocent, quiet, little, timid member of the group. So he had concluded they were alike in the sense that peace was what they enjoyed.

Gahh, why was he being distracted? He had work to do! He looked back down at his papers to see that he had only a few left. Wow, that had gone fast. Signing his name at the bottom of the last one, he set down his pen and stared forward. Oddly enough, he didn't feel like being alone. But...he didn't feel like talking.

He knew how to solve his problem.

Bouncing from rooftop to rooftop, his assumption that Rukia Kuchiki would be on one of them was correct. He sat down a few feet away from her, his stoic expression unflinching.

Rukia glanced his way with her mouth slightly open in small shock he was there again. She then closed her lips and smiled before laying back and staring upward. When she saw a light flash across the sky, she cupped her hands together quietly and closed her eyes. "Quick, make a wish." she commanded, forgetting her formalities.

Hitsugaya looked over to her curiously. Was she so childish and naive that she actually thought those things worked? Maybe he had overestimated her personality.

"I know it's silly, but whenever Renji and I saw one in the Rukon Disctrict when we were kids, we'd always wish on it to escape that place." she said softly. And after dozens of wishes, it had finally worked.

Hitsugaya's eyes slightly softened. He suddenly felt like a bastard for thinking little of her. However, all he said was "I see." Because for him to keep talking meant opening up. And he didn't "open up".

Night after night, the two found themselves under the midnight blanket. For the most part, nothing was said. And they enjoyed it. It gave them a slight reprieve from the day's work to know that they could look forward to a quiet night.

They hadn't taken much notice to the fact they were together almost every night. It had become like second nature. In fact, it was no set routine, because there were some nights when Rukia was alone, due to the fact Hitsugaya had work, or vise-versa. And sometimes neither found themselves on the roof.

But for the most part, for most of the nights, most of the endings to all-work-no-play days, they found themselves on the rooftops.

One of said nights had been slightly different.

Hitsugaya laid back in a carefree position, arms behind his head as he let his thoughts go round and round with one another. When he noticed it was late, he decided to leave. And in contrary to most nights, Rukia was still there. She had always left before him, save the times she knew she had little work the following day. But she was so still, and he concluded she had to be asleep.

He stood up and walked over to her to have his assumption proven correct. He sighed slightly and crouched down next to her. "Lieutenant." he said softly but sternly, poking at her arm.

Rukia yawned and rolled over. "Go away Ichigo."

Hitsugaya's eyebrows furrowed slightly and he stood up. "Lieutenant." he repeatedly loudly.

Rukia's eyes opened and she sat up. "Hmm?" she let out and looked to her side. She jumped to her feet. "C-Captain, I'm so sorry! Thank you for waking me." she replied, trying to erase the grogginess from her voice.

Hitsugaya nodded and leaped off. 'Until tomorrow, Lieutenant Kuchiki'.

Rukia tossed and turned in her bed, a nightmare holding her in a vice-like grip as she relived the night she would never forget. "Kai...en." she mumbled with a strained voice in her sleep. Her eyes jerked open and she shot up, breathing painfully hard. Her chest heaved up and down until her senses came to her and she realized she was no longer dreaming.

Going back to sleep was not an option. No. She didn't want to risk going through all of that again. She looked over to her clock, noticing she still had about three hours until she needed to be up. There was a Captains and Lieutenants meeting first thing in the morning, and Rukia had heard rumors that it was in accordance to filling the missing three Captain positions. However, she highly doubted they would be filled soon. The only one she could think of who even could be considered for Captain was Ichigo.

Three hours took seemingly three days to go by. She simply sat there on her bed, waiting until her alarm clock buzzed. She had already dressed, figuring it might be good if she were a few minutes early so she'd have time to talk with Ichigo and Renji. She jumped slightly at the sound of her alarm. Standing up, she took one last look in the mirror.

It was safe to say she looked like shit. Bags lay unwanted under her eyes, her face was pale, and there was a clear break in her composure. But she had to regain it, for she was going to be sitting amongst all of the captains and head captain.

Once she arrived, she saw Ichigo and Renji waving her over, and she quickly walked over to them.

"Man, Rukia, you look like crap." Ichigo was the first to comment. Renji nodded in agreement.

If it hadn't been for the surrounding superiors, she probably would've kicked him in the shin. "Gee thanks."

Everyone took their seat, and Yamamoto started by clearing his throat. "Some of you may have already heard why this meeting was called. It is to discuss the matter at hand of the missing captains from the Third, Fifth, and Ninth Division. There have been many recommendations as to filling these positions, and we are here to see if there are enough to appoint a new captain." he began.

"Now, you all are aware of the three ways of becoming captain, and the second way is to have personal recommendations from six captains, and approval from three of the remaining seven. And even though we are in lack of three, they will still need approval from three of the remaining four."

Rukia's eyes closed and she started slumping, but was quickly awoken by an elbow to the side from Ukitake. She jerked up and tried her best to pay attention.

Hitsugaya glanced around the room, noticing her near state of sleep, but didn't ponder any further as Yamamoto finished up.

"The first recommendation I have received is Lieutenant Kurosaki Ichigo, 1st Division. I have received recommendations from the following: Captain Unohana Retsu, Captain Kuchiki Byakuya, Captain Komamura Sajin, Captain Kyouraku Shunsui, Captain Zaraki Kenpachi, and Captain Ukitake Jyuushiro."

Rukia glanced over to Ichigo who had a serious countenance, but she could see the pride in his eyes.

"Now, I must have approval of at least three of the remaining four captains. Captain Soi Fong." he asked, and when he saw her nod, he continued. "Captain Hitsugaya Toushirou."

Hitsugaya nodded. He had witnessed Ichigo in many accounts, namely in the rescue of Rukia Kuchiki. If there was anyone deserving and had the right qualifications of becoming a captain, it was him.

"Captain Kurotsuchi Mayuri." Yamamoto paused after Mayuri shook his head. "Well then, Kurosaki Ichigo. The last vote falls upon me, and you need it in order to attain a Captain's level rank."

Rukia waited anxiously for the announcement. Come on Ichigo!'

Rukia walked in between Ichigo and Renji. "Congratulations Ichigo." she said with a slight smile. "Or should I say, Captain Kurosaki."

"Yeah, good job." Renji said with a goofy grin.

"Heh, thanks you guys."

A few others had received recommendations, but none had enough. Even Renji had only been a few approvals off.

"Well, I've got to go get ready to move my stuff and then old man Yamamoto says I have to have some sorta training before I can officially become captain." he added and then headed off.

Rukia and Renji waved. "Have any work today?" Renji questioned.

She sighed in reply.

"Well, maybe next time." he waved her off.

Rukia awaited tonight. Where she could relax and just breathe for once.

And it came. After hours and hours of strenuous work, which took its toll on her both physically and mentally. She jumped up to her usual rooftop and lay down with a dramatic sigh. She could've fallen asleep right then and there.

"Tired I see."

Rukia's eyes opened (when the Hell had they closed?) and she saw Toushirou beside her. "Yeah."

Normally, this would be the time when the guy asks the girl "What's wrong?" or "Wanna tell me what's up?"

Sadly, Hitsugaya was not normal. He laid back, opposite direction of Rukia so they were head to head, a few inches in between. His thoughts wandered back to the day he found out Aizen had nearly killed Momo. God, he hated that man. And he swore he would kill him and Gin for causing her pain. Bastards. How could they just use her like that? And the worst part was, she had at one point held her hatred toward him. Her closest friend of all people! God, he hated that man.

He was jerked from his thoughts as he heard small grunts. He sat up and looked over to Rukia. 'What is she doing? Is she dreaming perhaps?' How unprofessional she was. This had been the second time she'd fallen asleep, and this time she was noisy about it.

"Kaien."

His eyes adverted to her once more. Yet again he had misjudged her.

"Kaien." she repeated.

A nightmare? Was that what she was having? He knew all too well about those. "Lieutenant."

"Please...Forgive me."

Hitsugaya sat still, looking down at her strangely. He knew of her story, and how she was forced to kill her superior, one she admired greatly. When she let out a wince of what seemed like pain, he gave her a slight shake.

This only seemed to further her dream.

"Stop." she said in a threatening tone, which shocked Hitsugaya, though he didn't show it.

He gave her another shake, this time more sternly and her eyes peeked open, revealing a wet glaze.

She sat up slowly, wiping her wet eyes quickly. She hoped he hadn't seen her eyes; showing tears would make him assume she was weak. And boy was she anything from it. "I'm so sorry Captain."

He pulled a leg half-way to his body and rested an arm on his knee. "I can feel your pain over him."

Rukia glanced away. Had she been talking in her sleep?

The two failed to notice the eyes watching them. Filled with jealousy and hurt. Filled with malice that contrasted the innocence everyone believe she withheld. Toushiro never sat under the stars with her. Toushiro never did. Never.

A/N: So, this is my first attempt here, so cut me some slack, will ya? But on the other hand, I'd appreciate any suggestions you have. I may have changed some of the stuff in here. Like the whole becoming a captain thing. I know that you can do it that way, but I just randomly threw in the whole vote thing because I was unsure how it went.

So, I guess in essence, sorry if it sucked. And this won't be a super fast relationship, because I believe it takes time to build up that sort of thing, and I don't want it to be like "Rukia, I know we've barely said a word to each other, but I love you. Do me."

Also, a big thanks to my beta, Saint Sky, for helping me with the story :D

Thanks in advance to those who read and review (: -Ami