AN: Fluffy fluffy fluff~

I had so much fun with these~ since I'd made quite a few short little fluffy fics, I decided to compile them all together in one big chapter~ ^_^ My nee-chan helped me on a few of 'em with basic plot or story ideas, so thank heartofmemories as well ^_^

Some of these take place during the blank between the time when Ichigo last sees Rukia, and when he's in his last year and 17.

Enjoy~~

He Won't Say 'Yes'

Ever since that day, a few stubborn lieutenant and captain classed Shinigami had disobeyed Head captain Yamamoto's orders not to return to the world of the living, and snuck out of the Seiretei to watch over the ex-Substitute Shinigami. They may not have gone to Urahara for Gigai, but they still watched over him, whether he was aware of their presence or not. They knew that if they'd asked for gigai, someone would have found out and snitched to the head captain, but they to them, as long as they could watch over him and know he was safe, they were fine. Toushiro Hitsugaya was obviously one of those few.

The day that he'd heard the orders from head captain Yamamoto, he'd nearly lost it, and the other captain-classed were surprised by his reaction. He was usually never one to step out of line and talk back to the head captain. But really, they couldn't blame him. While the head captain's orders did have good intentions, it meant possibly never seeing Kurosaki Ichigo again. And considering the captain of 10th division and he had been going out, of course he would be upset. So when he noticed Renji and Rukia going to sneak out one night, he'd decided to bend the rules a bit and go with them.

After more and more people had started to participate in disobeying orders, however, Head Captain Yamamoto was bound to notice. What took everyone by shock though, was that instead of punishing everyone, he actually revoked his previous order… Although there was one condition. They were still not to make any contact with the people in the world of the living.

Once again, Toushiro and the others were rather aggravated, but they took what they could get. Every chance he'd gotten, Toushiro would go to the world of the living and watch over Ichigo. Through Ichigo's depression, anger, fights, happiness, and even during the times when he'd forget to study for tests and would get flustered, Toushiro was always there, along with Rukia and the others. Karin And Isshin of course found out about their secret visitors after a while, but neither seemed to be upset, and in fact welcomed it. They wouldn't say a word to any of them, and just went about their day, but every now and then, they'd give glances in their direction. After Karin had noticed them coming, she seemed to be glad that her brother's friends- family- was right by him, even if he didn't know it.

It was now the night after Ichigo's first year as a senior, and Toushiro was grumbling up a storm as he and Rukia stayed at Ichigo's house that night. One of the lower-classman girls had stuffed a letter into Ichigo's locker, revealing it to be a love letter that asked him to reply the next day. Needless to say, Toushiro actually got a little jealous. Ichigo had been staring at it for nearly a whole hour before he'd gone to bed without a single word, and Toushiro wondered if he was actually debating on saying yes or not. After a moment, Rukia let out a giggle,

"I'm sorry, Hitsugaya-taicho, but you are just acting too ridiculous." Toushiro looked at her before huffing and looking away, closing his eyes,

"Well, I am sorry if I'm getting jealous of someone who's confessing their love to, and trying to steal, my boyfriend." Rukia smiled widely before looking at Ichigo. After a long moment, she spoke up again,

"He won't say 'yes', you know." Toushiro blinked and looked at her with a look of confusion, which was returned with a smile.

"Ichigo loves you, Hitsugaya-taicho. Not once since the time he last saw us did he ever even look at another person like he did you, or did he ever mention thinking of getting another girlfriend or boyfriend. He can't return those feelings to that girl."

Toushiro stared at her for a moment before he turned to look at his boyfriend's sleeping form. After a moment, he smiled faintly and nodded.

Snuggle

Many people who knew Toushiro personally knew that he wasn't big on physical contact. He wasn't a hugger, hated it when his lieutenant would hang all over him, despised it when you would even go near his hair, and absolutely loathed it when you picked him up. He'd never been too keen on physical contact while he'd been in the 13 Court Guard Squads, as far as most people knew. However, even with some people knowing this, they completely disregarded that fact. Many people thought it was just because they either didn't care, or because they were close to the tiny captain.

No doubt, Ichigo Kurosaki knew this fact. But did he ever really care? No. But, come on! They'd been going steady for over 4 months, now! He had a right to hug and pick his boyfriend up, didn't he? That's what he thought; completely ignoring protests and annoyed glares from Toushiro.

Today was especially no exception. They had been through a rough week, dealing with a lot of fights, and a chase that left them running in circles. Needless to say, they were both fairly stressed, and the sanctuary of Ichigo's house felt like heaven after such a long week. Ichigo's family had gone out to visit a relative, and his house was a lot closer than having to go all the way back to the Seiretei and to the 10th division, so they'd decided to just stop and take a breather. And, the fact that they had the house to themselves, and wouldn't have to worry about having to explain to Yuzu or Karin what happened to them made it a lot better.

They were sore, battered, and bruised, and even though Ichigo was able to dress both of their wounds, and drugged them both up with pain killers, it was still very uncomfortable to move a whole lot. They both resigned to the couch, simply watching a pointless show on the TV together, not really up to doing much else. Toushiro had a strange look on his face, as if he had just been offered some of Orihime's cooking, as he watched the show. He didn't understand most of the shows from the World of the Living, but after a while, he just stopped asking about things and just watched… though he was still confused about them. Ichigo chuckled to himself as he watched Toushiro's expressions, not able to help but laugh.

After a while, though, Ichigo reached over and put his arms around Toushiro, pulling him in close and nuzzling into his hair. Toushiro's eye twitched as he looked up at Ichigo,

"What the hell are you doing, Kurosaki? Get off." Ichigo just pouted, grumbling and holding Toushiro closer, with no hope of escape,

"Oh shut up, Shiro. You like it and you know it. Now just let me hug you." Toushiro looked up at him before snorting and grumbling. But, after a moment, he caved in and snuggled into Ichigo's hold.

"… Baka strawberry…"

Hold My Hand

He normally wasn't the clingy type. He usually didn't like being affectionate, especially around other people. And he found it hard to actually convey his feelings to people.

But his lover was surprised when one day he suddenly reached over and just held his hand tightly. He looked away, seeming to be embarrassed by his own actions, and the other turned to him,

"… What's wrong?" He made a slight, stubborn pout as he looked down and away, a faint blush crossing his cheeks. But even so, he still held onto the other's hand as he spoke,

"Just… hold my hand, alright…?" The other blinked before a warm smile spread across his lips, and he gave his hand a squeeze, holding it tightly,

"Of course, Toushiro."

Mine

"Just leave it! It will be there tomorrow!"

"No."

"And the next day, and the next day, and the next day—"

"Damn it Kurosaki, if you don't put me down this instant, I will use Hyourinmaru and freeze you between your legs!"

The substitute Shinigami continued to attempt to get the captain of tenth squad to put his paperwork aside again. At the moment, the teen was literally trying to pry the captain from his desk, enough to where he was holding him up in the air. The young captain was trying hard to keep a tight grip on his desk, and he was doing a pretty good job of it, as he wasn't budging.

"Man, Toushiro, why are you so stubborn? You can always do it later! It's not like the worlds are going to self-destruct because you miss a day or two of your paperwork!" As he said this, he continued to try to get said snowflake to let go of the desk. It seems he'd completely disregarded the previous threat.

"Because if I don't get it done now, then it will just pile up and I'll never get it finished! We both know that the woman I call my lieutenant won't do it." At this, Ichigo huffed. It was true. Rangiku loathed paperwork, and would steer clear of it no matter what.

After a moment, Ichigo growled, getting even more annoyed with the snow-haired boy.

"Toushiro, if you don't just leave it, and come to bed, I'm going straight home. I finally get some time to visit the Soul Society and spend some time with you, and all you're doing is paperwork. It's already almost midnight, just come to bed, dammit."

After a moment of thought, Toushiro finally admitted defeat (more like he grumbled like a dragon and slowly released his iron grip), letting the strawberry pull him away from the desk. He was right. It was already late, and even Toushiro himself was feeling fatigue from having been up for so long. After organizing his desk a bit and turning out the light, he allowed Ichigo to pull him back to his own captain's barracks.

Ichigo had no problems getting comfy with Toushiro once they were finally lying down and getting to sleep. He'd pulled the small captain in close as if he were a human-sized teddy bear, ignoring any and all grumbles he'd received from the captain in the process.

It had taken Toushiro a while to fall asleep, even with how tired he'd felt. In the morning however, he'd woken up bright and early, as usual, still held close in the sleeping substitute's arms. Ichigo was dead to the world at the moment, and Toushiro doubted that even an explosion could wake him.

He took this chance to try and wiggle out of Ichigo's grip, having every intention to go back to his paperwork and start back up on it where he left off. However, his plans to get up were stopped short when the muscular arms of his boyfriend wrapped around his waist and pulled him back down again, flush to his chest. Toushiro grumbled a bit,

"Kurosaki, let go. I need to go get back to work." All this earned was a grunt from the still half-asleep Ichigo. Toushiro sighed in exasperation and tried once again to get up. However, once again, he was pulled back down into the teen's arms. What escaped the teen's mouth in the next moment, however, surprised Toushiro a bit;

"Mine."

Toushiro looked back up at Ichigo, who was falling back asleep again, before he chuckled faintly and smiled a bit, shaking his head. He lay back down again and settled into Ichigo's arms. He'd humor Ichigo for just a bit longer… seeing as how Toushiro was his.

I missed you.

It had been about a week since Toushiro had left for his previous mission. It wasn't very difficult; only getting rid of a few smaller hollows in an area in the World of the Living. However, while it wasn't difficult, he and Rangiku had been ordered to stay there for as long as it took until they knew that there were no more hollows in that area. As of the moment, he was listening as his lieutenant rambled on about what activities she would partake in when they got back to Karakura to rest until they went back to the Soul Society again… needless to say, he'd tuned her out quite a while ago, after the mention of getting some of Orihime's cooking.

After parting ways with Rangiku halfway to Orihime's house, Toushiro made his way to the Kurosaki clinic. He just knew he was in for an earful when he got there; he'd forgotten to tell Ichigo about his mission before he'd left. Surely the young teen would give him a fierce talking to, but he knew he needed to go check in with him sooner or later. And he was sure his boyfriend would prefer sooner rather than later, especially with the fact they'd stopped in Karakura. So on his way, he enjoyed the peace and quiet as long as he could.

When he got to the teen's house, however, he was surprised to find that no one was home. After some thought, he remembered that it was a school day today, so Ichigo was probably picking up his sisters. And if he recalled correctly, Isshin Kurosaki had been talking about how he'd needed to take a business trip for a few days this week. After a moment, Toushiro sighed, a little loudly.

Toushiro jumped slightly when he heard someone speak up behind him,

"And just where have you been?" Toushiro turned to see a not-so-pleased Ichigo.

Here came the earful.

Toushiro blinked when he didn't see Karin or Yuzu

"Where are your sisters?"

"They went to a friend's house for the night. Don't change the subject." Toushiro sighed a bit and shook his head,

"I was on a mission, Kurosaki. I don't understand what your concern is; I go on missions all the time." Ichigo growled a bit and stalked forward a bit to stand a few feet away.

"Yes, but when we started going out, you never went on missions without telling me where you were going and how long you'd be gone. I don't see you for a week because I have to study for my exams, and when I finally get to the Soul Society to see you again, I find out you're gone, and I can't see you for another week!" Toushiro winced faintly at this. He'd forgotten that he and Ichigo hadn't seen each other for a while since he'd been studying. Toushiro himself had even said that they were to take a break from each other so Ichigo could concentrate on his studies…

He sighed and looked down,

"…. Mm.. sorry, Kurosaki."

For a moment, Ichigo was silent, before he pressed forward once again, stopping just in front of Toushiro. For a moment, Toushiro was expecting a whack on the head… His eyes widened slightly when he felt Ichigo pull him into a warm embrace, nuzzling into his snowy locks,

"…I missed you, my snowflake."

He won't say 'yes'

It had only been the first day, and Ichigo had already gotten a love letter from a younger classman. He'd stared at it for nearly an hour that night, and for half an hour the next morning, before he had to go to school. In all honesty, it kind of pissed Toushiro off. While he'd thought that he'd be happy if Ichigo would be able to move on, and not dwell in that depressed state he had for so long… but he couldn't help but feel a little jealous. After all, Ichigo was his boyfriend.

Despite his better judgment, Toushiro had decided to take a visit to Karakura High's campus at the end of the school day. He just couldn't keep wondering about what Ichigo would tell the girl who left the note in his locker. He managed to keep out of sight of any of the people who would be able to see him, and kept his spiritual pressure to nearly bar-none. He was honestly surprised that the Quincy didn't notice him that day… or if he did, he mentioned nothing of it.

He soon found the strawberry on the side of the school, nearly after everyone'd left. Across from him was a girl who was apparently in a junior class, so not much younger than Ichigo, himself. Unfortunately, Toushiro had to admit that the girl was rather cute. She seemed a little timid, but he honestly couldn't blame Ichigo if he'd actually thought she was cute. Toushiro sighed a bit and shook his head as the girl spoke up, a little nervously.

"S-So you really did get my letter?" Ichigo shifted his weight onto his other leg, keeping one hand in his pocket and holding the letter up, looking at it.

"Yeah…."

"Well…? Wh-What's your answer?"

Here it came. Toushiro began to turn and start heading back as Ichigo spoke. He honestly didn't think he'd had the heart to hear what he'd thought Ichigo's reply would be.

"… You seem like a really nice girl… But…"

"But?"

Toushiro turned in time to see Ichigo hand the girl back her letter, and she stared at it with wide eyes before looking back up at him

"I'm sorry. I'm going to have to say no."

Toushiro frowned a little in sympathy at the crushed look that appeared on the girls face. That definitely wasn't the answer she'd hoped for. Ichigo looked away and rubbed the back of his head.

"See, I already have someone I'm in a relationship with."

Both Toushiro and the girl looked at him, though with the girl, it was more hurt than anything. She spoke out, a little louder than she had when she first spoke,

"But how? I've never seen you together with anyone like that on campus or anything!"

"That's because they don't live here. They live… pretty far away. I haven't seen them in quite a while…"

The girl seemed to make a face at this, almost bordering on a stubborn pout,

"Then why are you still together with them?"

Toushiro looked at Ichigo as he paused, wondering what this answer would be. After a long moment, Ichigo chuckled a bit and spoke up,

"You know, I couldn't really say. Sometimes they can be the most stubborn, arrogant, cold person I've ever seen. No matter how many times I tell them I'm there for them, they just don't seem to get the picture, and just face their problems by themselves. Even though we'd been going out for quite a while, they basically refused to call me by my first name, and very rarely acted 'lovey'…"

Toushiro seemed to sag at this. Hearing all that come out of Ichigo's mouth like that… who wouldn't think Toushiro was an asshole? Before the girl could speak to this, Ichigo looked up at her, a faint smile on his face,

"But even then, I love them. I always will. It's fun to tease them and see their reaction, and the times when they're not ice-cold, they're one of the kindest people I've met. They may not even really care about me a whole lot after we last saw each other… but I'm never letting them go."

Toushiro watched, stunned as Ichigo turned and began to walk away, his bag on his shoulder. Even after everything he knew he'd put Ichigo through, and after nearly half a year, Ichigo would still say he loved him; enough to never let him go?

After a moment, Toushiro smiled. Rukia was right. Ichigo wouldn't let go of Toushiro that easily. They were talking about the bullheaded teenager who almost always refused to listen to reason and completely disregarded any kinds of orders the Head Captain gave. There wasn't any way he was going to give up on something like this any time soon.

With a last stubborn cry, the girl called out,

"Long distance relationships never work out, you know!"

At that, both Toushiro and Ichigo chuckled.

That night, Ichigo actually seemed to be in a bit of a lighter mood, and Toushiro couldn't help the smile that spread on his face as he leaned against the wall. After a moment, Ichigo laughed a bit, shaking his head,

"God, if Toushiro heard the things I'd said about him, I'd be in for hell." Toushiro snorted a bit and shook his head, a slight smirk on his face,

"Oh, you're really in for some big trouble when we find a way to see each other again, Ichigo. I'm not gonna let you get away so easily for those things you said. Ice cold and arrogant, am I?"