Love knows its bounds

She walks a step ahead of him, laughing at him over her shoulder. He occasionally grunts wordlessly, scowls, and looks disgusted. She floats in small, curvilinear sashays as he prowls forward without looking to either side. They are observed, briefly, without overt interest, as this has become a common sight. This combination makes no sense, and yet, it exists in a partnership that not only works, but flourishes in harmony that is rarely matched.

When younger members gawk at her beauty and her prodigious assets, they are met with a wintery and particularly dour look as the white haired Captain paces by. They don't understand the pairing, yet are forced to accept it, as she only acknowledges their staring once she notes her Captain's altered scowl. She smirks at them, daring for them to gawk further. The temperature drops, and ice crystals begin to hover ominously in the air. The younger members decide, abruptly, to go about their business and stop staring at the golden haired beauty, seeming to lead her surly, white haired Captain along. One has to wonder how much she leads her Captain on, with those blue eyes and well, afore-mentioned assets, and how easy it could be for her to wrap him around her finger.

Hitsugaya pauses, and without looking backwards, Matsumoto also pauses. He turns his head, looking toward the 4th Division building. She nods, and begins to head in the direction that he is looking. She waves cheerily to different members and asks where some supplies, basic splints and muscle balm, as well as liniment and bandages are stored. They head into the building, Matsumoto humming some undetermined song under her breath. They stop in front of a supply cabinet, and she begins pulling the balm and the liniment from the top shelves, while he finds the splints and bandages in the lower. There is a certain dance as they move around each other, without reaching for same items and without collisions. She moves right, he moves under and left, as she corrects and moves back to the left and up. They both stop pulling supplies from the cabinet, Matsumoto gracefully twirling around in a pirouette, as her Captain swivels on the balls of his feet. They turn to walk back to their own division.

Hitsugaya has not spoken a word.

As the enter the 10th Division headquarters, they deposit their supplies in their own cabinet. Matsumoto has begun boiling water, while Hitsugaya records the supplies in the logbook. He finishes the entry as she pours the water into their teapot. He waits, patiently, as the tea steeps. She laughs as she notices his finger tapping out the beat of the song that she had been humming on their walk. He sighs with pleasure as she pours, then serves him the tea. They sit in silence while sipping their tea.

He finishes his tea, and sets down his cup. She refills it, then puts her cup down as well. She sighs, and he smiles, not just a lightening of his usual frown, but a genuine smile, at her. She smirks in a blatant imitation of his own scowl, and he stifles a cough, although by her dancing eyes, she knows he is struggling not to laugh.

He looks over towards the stack of paperwork, and without looking at her retreating form, roars, "Matsumoto!" even as she flashes away from him. He doesn't know where she is going today, and he forces his scowl back onto his face as he gets up to chase her down. He knows perfectly well that if he was truly overwhelmed with the division's paperwork that she would return to the office, unhappily, but obediently finishing the mountain of paperwork. He just doesn't want to have to do it all, which is why he would much rather chase her around the compound, at least out of the office, in the sunlight. He knows, as well as she, that this is a game. A game they play that manages to hide what they are to each other from the rest of the compound.

Although, he also knows that her disappearing act is absolutely true to Matsumoto's entirely real hatred of paperwork as well. Which is why he will return to his office, swearing and scowling, and finish her stack as well as his. There are some things that he will not test her love with.