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?

Author's Notes: And now…for the most anticlimactic semi-love scene of all time. When I started out fangirling and wanted to write a HitsuMatsu fic, I was imagining the typical dramatic love confession and passionate smooches. And I must have tried this like five or six times, but I honestly don't see it. Hitsu and Matsu are like the king and queen of hidden meanings. One of the scenes in the manga that gives me shivers is when he's all like, 'Matsumoto, I hope there's no hesitation in your heart' or something, and she's like, 'What do you mean?' and then he just says, '…nothing.' And then Kubo Tite just draws this panel with him STARING at her and you know they're both talking about Gin and it's awesome. God I'm such a sucker for unspoken communication. Anyhoo, this whole love confession thing is deliberately vague because I think Hitsu and Matsu have always understood each other deeply enough that they don't really need words once they sort things out in their heads. It almost lessens the feeling in a way for me if they just sort of cry it out and embrace each other. So…apologies if it's not your cup of tea; I wanted Hitsugaya and Matsumoto to reach their feelings at their own pace :).

therealester: Hey, it's good to hear from you again and I'm glad you still like how it's going! I'm trying to churn out as much as I can before my schedule gets more packed, so there should be a few more updates these next few weeks, I hope :).

sagitgirlth: It was definitely fun switching POV and examining a different way that feelings can develop in a person. In some ways, I think Toshirou is inwardly even more passionate than Matsumoto because he doesn't have any outlets to express himself. Anyway, enjoy!

Writing bunny: Haha ohh yes he's confused. Then again, when isn't love confusing? :P

Prince of Winter Dragons: Thanks again for reviewing, always a joy to hear feedback! It sounds like my Toshirou POV is not too OOC from the reviews, so I'll definitely continue writing in it. I actually do both him and Matsumoto in this chapter. Peace and love!

Chapter 10

Hitsugaya Toshirou, the lauded child prodigy captain of the tenth division, was at an utter loss. Matsumoto Rangiku, his lieutenant and erotic fantasy for probably every male Shinigami (and maybe some female ones too) from here to the Eastern Gate, was regarding him with the same deep unnamable emotion that she had always reserved for Ichimaru Gin. …well, no that was a lie. There was a name for that emotion. Love.

Logically, that meant…uhh…Matsumoto lov—like, let's go with like for now, that was easier—she liked him. All right, that wasn't so hard. It would help explain a few things about last night, but at the same time…it made NO SENSE. Every time Toshirou tried to feed the notion into his brain, it projectile vomited it back out.

How and when did this happen?

Their relationship was definitely weird and probably unprofessional—and hell, screamed sexual harassment of a minor—but from the moment they met, Toshirou had instinctively known Matsumoto was just playing around and it was easy to take her flirtations in stride. If Matsumoto liked to wield her body as a goofy gag weapon, he'd see it as such. In a bizarre way, he knew it was a display of faith for Matsumoto; she trusted him and whoever else she flung her chest at not to take advantage of her.

Besides, what could you do when you were born with that sort of figure? Her breasts were like the big soft sexy elephant in the room. Might as well bring it up and get it over with.

In a way, Toshirou supposed his equally careless attitude about Matsuomoto's obvious physical traits was a gesture of respect—that he was capable of seeing beyond them and realizing there was more to her than an object of lust. Not that he'd thought this all out beforehand. He and Matsumoto just had an uncanny understanding. They both knew when it was time to joke around and when it was time to get serious. Granted, Matsumoto had a much more flexible interpretation, but Toshirou knew he could count on her when he really needed her. The rest of the time, when they bickered about paperwork, Toshirou didn't really mind. Matusmoto would be Matsumoto, and if the price he paid to have her as a lieutenant was a few more hours of mindless deskwork, then so be it.

The problem was, all of a sudden, Matsumoto was no longer Matsumoto. Matsumoto was Bizarro Matsumoto. Here she was, saying all the things she normally did in jest, but she was actually serious. And she expected Toshirou to be serious too.

There was Soul Society to repair, Hinamori to worry about, and paperwork to do. Now this. He couldn't take it anymore.. Toshirou could only do what he always did when Matsumoto pushed him to his limit. He exploded. "Aaargh what do you want from me, Matsumoto?" Papers flew from the force of his shout.

"Eeee!" Matsumoto yelped and scampered back. If this had been the usual mess she'd caused for Toshirou, she would have been out the door before you could yell bankai. This time, Matsumoto didn't retreat completely. She zipped behind a couch, then peered back at him. "Just asking what you thought of last night, taichou."

Fine. FINE. Just give her what she wants. No need to delude himself; that's what he always wound up doing in the end. "It was good." Exhausted, he slumped back into his chair. But for a moment, his eyes met hers. "And you can call it a real date if you want."

If Toshirou was having a rather hectic day, Matsumoto was having one of the greatest in her life, short of the day she met Gin. The minute she had stepped out of her quarters this morning, she could already hear the whispers circulating about her naughty night out with her captain. She'd forgotten all about the Shinigami who had caught them by the river. What a bonus!

Sure people had gossiped about her and Hitsugaya before, but after so many years of watching them show as much as interest as a dead fish to one another, Matsumoto suspected most of Seireitei knew it wasn't true. Really, if people truly believed she and Hitsugaya were an item before, they wouldn't be anywhere near this shocked now at a little riverside rendezvous. This time, there was evidence, a kernel of truth behind all the fuzzy speculation. Eyewitnesses to the lovers' magic moment. There really might be something going on between the captain and lieutenant of the tenth division!

It was especially funny greeting the other officers of her division. Almost all of them had telltale blushes on their cheeks as they addressed her, no doubt trying to imagine her in the throes of lusty lovemaking. A few even developed nosebleeds and had to run off yelling, "Excuse me, fukutaichou!" Matsumoto waved them cheerily away. Ah, rumors were too much fun.

This rumor, however, was the best of all. Because of that kernel of truth. Because she'd gone out with her captain and despite all that had gone wrong, he hadn't left her—something he often did when he found her smashed. He'd even walked her all the way home! Maybe it was just because he thought she was his responsibility or something, but he definitely treated her differently that night, whether he realized it or not. Matsumoto dared to believe there might be hope for them after all.

She'd been positively giddy when she skipped into the division headquarters and greeted Hitsugaya. From there, the conversation had quickly turned to last night and its aftermath. Naturally, Hitsugaya was less than ecstatic, which always led Matsumoto to tease him all the more perversely. Besides, if Hitsugaya really detested the date and didn't want to discuss it, no amount of prodding would do the trick. He was almost as stubborn as she was.

So Mastumoto didn't back off and in her elation, didn't realize that at some point she was meaning every word she said. Hitsugaya sure did, though. She could see it in his eyes, the way they darted back and forth, and the way he gripped the arms of his chair. He knew the two of them were suddenly treading in unfamiliar waters, and he was trying to stay afloat amidst his confusion.

In that, he was again the polar opposite of Gin, Matsumoto couldn't help thinking. It seemed to her that Gin knew her better than she knew herself. He knew exactly how to please or hurt her, and he wasn't afraid to use it. He had to know her feelings for her, but chose to deflect them every time with his phony smile and smooth words. He'd kept her closed off from his thoughts, leaving her tongue-tied and confused how to climb over his barriers the way he'd nimbly skipped over hers.

Hitsugaya, on the other hand, didn't have the preternatural ability to access her mind like that. In point of fact, she knew her actions and habits left her small captain bewildered and frustrated at times, but he accepted it all the same. And when she finally was ready to open herself to him, as she was now, he wouldn't shy away the way Gin had. He wouldn't pretend he wasn't aware of what she wanted from him. It made her wonder…who was the real Matsumoto Rangiku? The once lonely and scared little girl that clung to Gin, or the bold flirty woman she was with Hitsugaya? She'd always thought it was the former, that no one but Gin knew her origins and therefore her true self. But she never felt contrived around Hitsugaya either. Perhaps it wasn't her feelings for each man that caused her to act so differently, but the way in fact that they treated her.

She saw it immediately, when the flash of realization entered Hitsugaya's eyes. Extreme turmoil followed. That made her feel pretty bad, blindsiding him like this. It hadn't been her intention to verbally corner him when she set out this morning. He was just someone she knew would never judge her unfairly, and so Matsumoto kept confessing her true feelings to him.

But it seemed to have been the right decision. Despite the confused emotions written all over his face, Matsumoto could see that one never made an appearance—the one she had feared most: rejection. Whatever happened, her captain was at least willing to hear her out, consider her words. He wasn't going to say, "Sorry Matsumoto, I only see you as a friend." or maybe "Sorry Matsumoto, I'm just not into women like you."

And when Hitsugaya acknowledged the date, she wanted to run around the room and shriek madly like a schoolgirl after her first kiss. But her taichou wouldn't appreciate that. So she settled for clapping her hands ecstatically. "Thank you, taichou!"

He cast her a grumpy look. She knew what he was thinking: their paperwork was not getting done today. But he knew this issue had to be resolved. "I don't really get this," he complained with a sigh, propping his head up with one arm on the desk and looking properly martyred. "Honestly, why me?"

She shrugged. Way too much to go into for now. "I don't know. I just like you, taichou. Is that so bad?"

"No, but this could get troublesome." He paused and frowned, those deep aquamarine eyes studying her intently. "If you're just lonely, Matsumoto, it would better if you found someone else—"

"Absolutely not, taichou!" She bolted straight up, terrified for an instant that he had misunderstood her. She looked down. "It's true, I am lonely, but that loneliness can't be filled by just anyone, you know…taichou, it has to be you!"

"…fine." She could see a hundred and one other questions zooming through his head, but her captain finally shook his head and looked at her again. "So what now?"

"Er…well…ahahaha I honestly hadn't thought that far. You're such a stick in the mud, taichou, that I didn't think you'd—" She stopped at Hitsugaya's murderous expression. "…uhmm, never mind. …oh okay, I know! Taichou, why don't we go on a second date? That should be fun!"

"Fun," he repeated slowly with zero of her enthusiasm. "It should be 'fun', you say. Have you already forgotten last night?"

"Well, it's the only way to get to know one another better, taichou. Unless you have a better idea?"

He flopped back in his chair again, clearly defeated. "No…"

"Well then, taichou, it's decided!" She stood up, brushing off her hakama. "Let's go out tomorrow night! Pick me up at 6:30pm, okay? Ah, and I don't want to see you in your work uniform. Dress nicely!"

"What? Tomorrow night—waitaminute, where are you going? We still have work to do."

Matsumoto paused in her exiting of the room. "Where else could I be headed, taichou? I have to go tell all the girls at the SWA! They're going to be so excited!" With that, she dashed out of the room. Hitsugaya's roar could be heard all the way to Rukongai.

"MATSUMOTO!"