It Takes Time

By: Le tired

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or its characters, blah blah blah, etc.

Rated: T for some language and…stuff?

metal chick crisis 2040: Thanks very much, I'll try to update on a timely basis!

Pseudo Psyche: Thank you! I also thought the pairing was kind of odd, which was why I was attracted to writing my first serious fic about them. Most of the fics I've read about them have Matsumoto just sort of overwhelming or seducing Hitsugaya (which can be fun and enjoyable to read :P) but I feel the dynamic portrayed at least in the anime isn't really like that, so I tried to make this more realistic-feeling.

kinichi: Thank you!

Etinarg12: Thanks for the review! I do want to include more perspective from Hitsugaya, but it's hard to have two characters reflecting on one another without it getting overly saccharine, I feel (at least I'm not awesome enough to pull it off). It'll just be what comes naturally and what sounds good to me, most likely. Haha I'm not entirely sure where this is going, but I think I intend to move into the present and that there will be more story elements, but as the title suggests, things take time . Thanks again, and I hope you'll keep reading!

megami kitty: Thank you, hopefully I won't disappoint you!

Chapter 2

After that little heart-to-heart, the healing process went faster for Matsumoto. Slowly, more and more, she began to feel more like her old self. Some days went by when Gin didn't even occur in her thoughts and when he did, all she had to do was recall Hitsugaya-taichou and their conversation to push her darker thoughts away.

It was pretty much inevitable then that she would begin comparing Gin and Hitsugaya-taichou, the two men most predominant in her life so far. The first comparison that struck her of course was how differently they treated her. Gin had always had a smile and warm word for her. He was not above teasing and joking and just saying odd things to make her puzzle or laugh until their duties as taichou and fukutaichou drew them apart once more. And yet…Gin had never truly opened himself to her. As much as he enjoyed being a part of her life, he hadn't been willing to let her become a real part of his. After all, here he'd been planning to revolt with Aizen for who knows how many years, and she'd never so much as had an inkling of an idea. Would they really have become closer as she envisioned…or would they have continued exchanging empty pleasantries and talks of the weather for an eternity?

Hitsugaya-taichou, on the other hand, had never kept anything from her, as far as Matsumoto could remember. He always kept her up to date on where he was going, what he was doing. Every mission, every meeting, every suspicion he encountered was solemnly discussed with her. Obviously, it was because he felt she would perform better as his fukutaichou if she was well-informed, but the deeper truth was that he, unlike Gin, simply didn't believe in artifice or pretense. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to believe in smiling unless it was for Momo. No joking or teasing or fun of any sort. Matsumoto was positive that had she been a less open and friendly person who genuinely liked most of the people she met and worked to make them like her back, the two of them would have remained very distant indeed. More often than not, when he spoke to Matsumoto, it was work-related. Even after all these years, he never once expressed interest in getting to know her more as a person.

Yet…both protected her and cared about her to some degree. Gin, she knew, had meant to protect her as long as possible by not telling her anything. He hadn't used her the way he had used Kira, the poor boy. And as he had left for Hueco Mundo, his last words were to her, her form was the last thing his eyes lingered on. He had chosen his path, but that didn't mean he didn't have his regrets. Hitsugaya-taichou protected her mostly during battle, although he did expect her to do her share of fighting. The few times she had taken an especially strong blow while fighting alongside her taichou, she would often hear his voice ring out, hoarse with concern and anger and the tiniest underlying of fear, "Matsumoto!" It was at these times, upon hearing her name on his lips, that Matsumoto could almost see a bond between the two of them. No sparks of electricity or strange chemistry, just true friendship and camaraderie.

The next very obvious difference between Gin and Hitsugaya-taichou was their looks. Matsumoto didn't consider herself particularly shallow, but hey let's be honest, it never hurts if a guy is easy on the eyes. Both were pretty good-looking in her opinion, although they hardly ever garnered looks from the female Shinigami when there was Kuchiki Byakuya, the typical morose bishounen with a rich side helping of aristocracy or Abarai Renji, the typical bad boy complete with sexy tattoos. And Ukitake-taichou had a pretty large female following with his gentle smile and calm demeanor.

Gin was good-looking in a very unorthodox and striking way, Matsumoto thought. She'd always loved his floppy hair that looked downright boyish sometimes and found comfort in his oddly smiling face. His eyes, on the very rare occasion that they opened, were quite beautiful, shining blood-red orbs that somehow made him appear softer and deeper in thought.

Hitsugaya-taichou, she was pretty sure, had some real promise whenever he grew up. He was certainly handsome for his age and Matsumoto sometimes daydreamed in amusement about the future when her darling little taichou became a heartbreaker. At the moment, however, his age continued to get in his way of being seen as little more than a child genius whose prickly personality and spiky hair also contributed to the image of a short-tempered punk. Naturally the women, who were generally older, didn't give him much thought.

Which made the thoughts occurring in greater frequency to Matsumoto all the more…disturbing. Physically, her taichou was still a child! Did it make her a cradle-robber to actually find him—dare she say it—kinda sexy? That she actually entertained the thought of a relationship with this boy? What would Hitsugaya-taichou say if he knew? He would probably be disgusted, his preferences clearly leaned towards younger, innocent girls like Momo, not overly sexed women like Matsumoto who might have passed for his mother (a very very young and lovely mother, she added to herself).

She had never really meant to ask him about his preferences for women, but one day when she popped into the office to model off some of the new clothes she had bought and he remained impassively writing some authorization or another, she finally demanded before she really thought about it, "Taichou! Honestly! Don't you think I'm least bit attractive?"

He'd looked up, slightly startled, but the astonishment quickly faded back to tired resignation and boredom, and he resumed his work as he replied. "You're plenty attractive, Matsumoto, but that doesn't mean you should go around flaunting it while shirking your duties."

She was more pleased with his response than she'd expected. "Ooohh, so you think I'm pretty, do you, Taichou?"

"…yes." Funny, the look he shot her lent little credence to his words. "Matsumoto, are you really so hard up for entertainment that you're actually flirting with me?"

"Why ever not, taichou? You're still male, aren't you?" She giggled, inwardly pleased that she had covered her shock at his rather direct question so nicely. She hadn't really meant to flirt or fish for compliments; she'd only wanted him to notice her a little, and her appearance was what usually drew people's attention. "And you're c-u-t-e." She tapped her index finger on his nose for emphasis.

She could see his vein begin to throb. "Matsumoto, I swear…"

"Yes, yes. Okay, how about this, taichou? Say something nice about how I look, and I'll put the clothes away and get back to work. What do you say?" She stood back and pirouetted a few times in her new outfit.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, her constipated taichou leaned back in his chair, and finally looked at her. Now that he was actually appraising her, Matsumoto felt a slight shiver of unease. She hadn't really expected him to go along. With any other man, she'd have been 100 confident, but this was Hitsugaya-taichou. Suppose…he really didn't find anything nice about her looks. Even if he managed to say something, maybe inwardly he was growing more repulsed by the second as his eyes catalogued every blemish of her skin and every tiny extra bit of fat on her body (she couldn't have that much, but she still wished she'd maybe practiced her shunpo just a little more often). The fact that he was taking his damn sweet time with this didn't make it any easier. His eyes roved up and down her body, flickered to her face, then returned their scrutinizing. No desire, no emotion at all. It was so typical of Hitsugaya-taichou to act this way, Matsumoto thought with an inward sigh, treating even this little game as an assignment personally handed down to him by Yamamoto-taichou. Yet at the same time, she knew it was just another of his characteristics that she admired; when he decided to do something, he put everything he had into it. She wanted a compliment, he'd give her the best compliment he could muster.

After what seemed like hours but couldn't have been more than a minute, Hitsugaya looked back up at her. "The jewel on your necklace matches the color of your eyes very nicely."

Jewel? Necklace? Matsumoto blinked, nonplussed. She looked down at the aforementioned necklace resting just above her cleavage. It certainly was a cute piece of jewelry if she did say so herself, although she never really gave that much thought to her purchases once a cursory first glance told her she liked it. The necklace's pale blue stone felt cool as she held it up in her palm and rubbed a thumb over it. She smiled a little to herself. It was a very nice piece of jewelry indeed.

So her taichou had some taste. But she wasn't letting him off that easily, especially if she was going to be doing paperwork for the rest of the afternoon. "Mou, taichou! That's all you could come up with? My necklace?? Do you even like girls?"

Her taichou's eyes widened comically at her response, then quickly began burning with anger and indignation. "What-what is that supposed to mean?! What's wrong with what I said??"

"I didn't even buy this necklace today! I've worn it several times, you know! I come here to show you all my new possessions and you point out the one thing I'm wearing that isn't new!" She mock-pouted, then sighed and examined the necklace dramatically, pointing out its flaws. "…see, this necklace is even a little scratched up and there's a kink in the chain here..."

Hitsugaya stared long and hard at Matsumoto for a moment, as if he couldn't believe he was having this conversation. "Of course I know your necklace isn't new!"

Eh? It was Matsumoto's turn to stare. "…you do?"

Hitsugaya continued irately, appearing not to have heard her. "Honestly, do you think I'm blind? Of course I've seen the necklace before, it's been the last thing I see several times before you shoved my face into your breasts!" He stopped, realizing he was shouting, then continued more softly, "Besides, why should I say something about your newer things if I really liked your necklace the best? Really, how am I decide if I think something looks nice when I've seen it on you for only a few minutes? It takes TIME to really understand if you like something and why you like it, Matsumoto."

He really had thought hard about this. Matsumoto was more than a little touched. "Thank you then, taichou. I hadn't realized…"

Hitsugaya waved away her explanation. "Whatever. I said it. Now keep your end of the bargain and do some work for a change." He glanced at the clock on the wall. "Tch, and now it's time for my meeting with the other taichous." He cast her one last skeptical look as he walked out the door. "You'd better not be napping when I get back."

Matsumoto smiled at after his disappearing figure. "We'll see." It takes time to really understand if you like something and why you like it. There was nothing romantic in the statement, nothing that profound. It was simple yet sincere and full of understanding, and when he'd said those words as he looked gently in her eyes, it had made her feel as warm as Gin's smile had. "Well," she said to the now-empty room even as she reached for the first manuscript on her desk, "I think I'm in love with Hitsugaya-taichou."

Author's Note: I think Gin's eyes are supposed to be blue/green in the manga, but I liked the red in the anime, so that's what I went with.