Author's Note: Hello everyone!

Welcome to the first in a series of HitsuRuki one-shots that have been in my mind for a while now~

I'm so excited to write for this pairing, I've been shipping them for a looooong while now! I'll be updating the tags as I go since chapters will be in unchronological order and I have multiple different genres planned! Look out for fluff, hurt/comfort, friendship and humour (and maybe even some smut) with appearances from your Gotei 13 and living world faves 3

Cheers~!

~Snowflakes dancing with the frozen heavens~

Whilst Soul Society is repairing itself after the war, Rukia finds comfort in the peace. For once, there is nothing in her life keeping her away from her duties and her loved ones.

Toshiro, on the other hand, finds himself longing for a new adventure. A way to distract himself from the monotonous stack of paperwork permanently on his desk.

After an accidental meeting draws them together, Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya's and Lieutenant Rukia Kuchiki's lives become intertwined in a way they had least expected.

A collection of HitsuRuki one-shots centred around the life of our favourite ice users, post TYBW

Beads of sweat dripped down flushed cheeks as Toshiro shifted in his position uncomfortably. The young Captain had never been one for hot weather, often shutting himself in an air conditioned office for the day. It was basic physics after all: ice melts in the heat and oh boy, Toshiro definitely felt like he was melting. It was the hottest day of the year so far and only set to get hotter, which his summer loving lieutenant painfully reminded him.

Every part of his shihakusho agonizingly clung to him as his body temperature kept rising throughout the day. If Toshiro Hitsugaya could choose any day to avoid wearing his scarf, it would be today. The fabric wrapped around his neck only constricted him further. He cursed his past self for changing up his fashion choice. If he could just go back to wearing the teal fabric as a sash, his neck could breath.

As the day went on, Toshiro found himself slumping further into his desk until his head was rested upon the hard wood, neck twisting uncomfortably to still see his paperwork. From the other side of the office, he heard Rangiku Matsumoto, his beloved yet lazy lieutenant, stretch and yawn.

"All this heat makes you sleepy, huh, Captain? I could use a nap!" Rangiku remarked.

Toshiro let out a disgruntled groan in response. Words were far too much effort at the moment. Hell, even breathing was difficult at the moment with how humid the air was. Hearing his lieutenant shift again as he tried his hardest to concentrate on his work, he silently prayed the rest of the day would go by quick. Only a few more hours of torture then he could throw himself into a bath of ice and forget about the world for the night.

As the minutes dragged on, Toshiro grew increasingly uncomfortable again but this time for a different reason. A pair of sky blue eyes had bore into him for a long while now as he felt his lieutenants gaze on him.

"You are blatantly staring at me, Matsumoto." Toshiro pushed down his brush with a bit more force than intended, head still resting on the desk since he was feeling too lazy to lift himself up. "What is it?"

Rangiku didn't respond, instead letting out a hum of curiosity. Patience wearing drastically thin, his eyebrow twitched in annoyance. This woman really knew how to get on his nerves. "Matsumoto." He kept his voice low, saying her name as a warning. She better get to the point before he attempted to freeze her. It was not wise to wake a sleeping dragon… or in this case a melting dragon.

Toshiro could practically feel the smirk on her face as she finally spoke.

"Tell her to bite lower next time, Captain. Your neck is a mess!"

Fuck.

Toshiro slowly lifted himself up, his teal orbs meeting icy blue ones. All day, Toshiro had tried to be so careful about the scarf around his neck. Small bite marks were etched into his skin after things got a bit... heated last night.

When your girlfriend is a fellow ice user, you both have to find a way to let off some steam during a heat wave.

Secret girlfriend, he had to remind himself. They had agreed to keep their relationship a secret for now. Toshiro had many feelings for Rukia Kuchiki now they were officially a couple and respect was definitely one of those feelings. Rukia had expressed her nervousness in regards to telling her older brother: the esteemed head of the one of the Four Noble Houses of the Seireitei and Captain of the 6th Division, Byakuya Kuchiki.

The icy couple agreed to keep it a secret until Rukia found the courage to approach her family about it. This of course meant most of their time together was confined to the secrecy of Toshiro's house where she could easily hide her spiritual pressure behind his. The risk of being seen in public was eliminated entirely.

Toshiro couldn't lie that he found the secrecy a little bit exciting. The war with the Quincies had ended quite some time ago and peace had finally come to Soul Society. This also meant they were soldiers with very little to fight, back to the easy threat of hollows. Days, weeks then months dragged on with no new threat so the focus was on rebuilding the Seireitei and repairing the damage. The same routine day in and day out.

This fling that Ukitake had unknowingly set up (or did he know ? Toshiro had suspicions the older Captain knew fine well what he was doing) was the exciting new routine change the young man had been craving.

Last night had definitely been an exciting one for the pair. While in the comfort of his own home, the Captain would frequently strip his top half down if he was too warm. When an already hot and bothered Rukia had arrived to find her boyfriend half naked, things got heated pretty fast for them.

There was one particular moment where Rukia's arousal got the best of her and she clamped down hard on her boyfriend's neck. Toshiro swore she started doing it on purpose as he felt her nip and suck tender parts of his skin. The normally porcelain, untouched canvas was now painted with spots of purple and one very noticeable bite mark.

Luckily he had his scarf to cover it up, which he agonisingly had to wear despite his rapidly increasing body temperature protesting the action. If he had known from the very start it wouldn't hide the marks from Rangiku, he would have just come clean straight away. Yet here he was. The white haired captain stared down his lieutenant.

The overwhelming heat had clouded his judgement and he had clearly become lax with his scarf placement while resting his head on his desk. Rangiku's playful smirk only grew the longer he stayed silent, racking his brain for any kind of excuse. Nothing came to him though.

No point in trying to deny it, Toshiro thought to himself. Rangiku was known as quite the gossip but they had respect for each other's privacy when it came to matters outside of work. Rangiku was not only his lieutenant but also one of his closest friends. She'd have to find out about this eventually and he didn't exactly have to say who did it to him.

Sighing deeply, the Captain ran a hand through his sweat soaked hair then adjusted the scarf to hide the marks again. "I'll be sure to tell her that next time."

Rangiku leapt over the couch, lunging towards him like an excitable young puppy and slammed her hands down on the desk. "So there IS a "her"?! There is actually a girl?! Who is it?! Captain why didn't you tell me?!"

Toshiro cringed at her response, almost instantly regretting telling her. "Listen, I can't tell you who it is yet to respect her privacy, but... yes. There is someone I've been seeing for a short while now."

"Oh? Must be someone pretty important if she's wanting you to hide it." Rangiku pouted, trying to ruse the truth from him.

"I guess you could say that." Toshiro shrugged his shoulders. Rukia Kuchiki was a pretty important figure in lots of ways. Her name would definitely be added to Seireitei history books due to her involvement with the substitute Shinigami, Ichigo Kurosaki. Being adopted into a Noble Family was a pretty big shock to everyone, too. Her insubordination to the late Captain Commander Yamamaoto when she went after Orihime Inoue in Hueco Mundo. Rukia's history was not a boring one.

She was also a pretty big deal to Toshiro. He had never felt this kind of attraction to anyone before. Toshiro would never admit that out loud to Rangiku though, she would tease him relentlessly if he showed any sort of love struck emotion.

Rangiku must have suddenly remembered about the marks, as she chuckled again and pointed to his scarf. "Things are clearly pretty serious if you're letting her do that to you."

A different kind of heat travelled up the young Captain's neck at that comment. Toshiro didn't get embarrassed often but being called out like that for his sex life was a new experience he wasn't used to. "What I do in my private time with my girlfriend is none of your business, lieutenant."

Toshiro felt his heart skip a bit. Finally getting to call Rukia 'his girlfriend' to someone gave him a small rush of happiness. It felt like a weight off his shoulders, although him and Rukia would definitely need to speak later about Rangiku knowing he's dating someone.

Leaning back from the desk, Rangiku rolled her eyes. "Oh c'mon Captain. You can trust me. You don't need to tell me who it is but give me all the juicy details at least!"

"No."

"Captaaaaain."

"Matsumoto, you-"

As if the universe heard his struggle, there was suddenly a knock at the door. Shooting a warning glare at Matsumoto, he telepathically warned her to be quiet. Toshiro made sure to double check his scarf placement then sat back in his chair. Rangiku couldn't help but snigger at his actions, clearly amused by her Captain's dirty little secret.

"Come in." Toshiro raised his voice slightly to the figure behind the door.

Toshiro and Rangiku watched as the door was slid open by none other than Captain Byakuya Kuchiki. The fellow Captains studied each other for a moment before Byakuya Kuchiki stepped into the room. His expression was hard to read as always. Captain Kuchiki always kept an impassive look on his face, unless something really shocked him or Rukia was involved.

"Kuchiki." Toshiro greeted him with a slight nod, "What can I do for you?"

It was at that moment a small figure timidly stepped out from behind the noble. Toshiro spotted the chin length, raven hair and instantly recognised the owner. Rukia had a sheepish look on her face as she fidgeted, twiddling her thumbs. It was a habit the younger Kuchiki only ever did when she was nervous, Toshiro discovered a few weeks after they started dating. A slight red tint dusted her cheeks as she too was either too warm or embarrassed. Or both.

She shot him an apologetic look before her eyes glanced to his neck for a split second. Relief flooded her, letting out a silent sigh as she glanced towards her brother.

"I would like to have a word, Captain Hitsuagaya." Captain Kuchiki's monotone voice rang out, eyes still fixated on the fellow Captain.

Toshiro raised an eyebrow. Why would Byakuya Kuchiki want to speak with him? They really had no business with each other. The Sixth and Tenth divisions had nothing in common and no reason to collaborate, especially not with the vast amount of repairs each of them had to do within their own barracks. So it clearly wasn't something work related. Unless…

Realisation hit the white haired captain as his eyes slowly glanced between the siblings. Byakuya wasn't here for work reasons.

He was here for Rukia.

She must have finally told him.

They had always agreed that Rukia would tell Byakuya in private, though they also agreed to give Toshiro a small warning so he knew when to expect this conversation. The stereotypical "protective older brother" talk. Rukia hadn't mentioned anything last night about letting the truth out. Of course, they didn't do much talking last night.

Toshiro allowed himself to smirk as he made eye contact with Rukia. "Is this what I think it is?"

Rukia straightened her back as all eyes were on her now. Between her boyfriend smirking at her, her brother raising an eyebrow and one of her close friends looking very confused at the situation, Rukia felt the tension in her rise. She nodded slowly and brought her palms together.

Taking a deep breath, Rukia closed her eyes for a few seconds to collect her thoughts. After what felt like an hour for her, purple eyes opened back up to address the room.

"Yes, Captain Hitsuagaya." Rukia calmly began, "It is what you think it is."

Using his official title was nothing new to him, though he let out a small chuckle at it. No point in formalities now the truth was coming out. Bringing his attention back to the older sibling, he pushed himself free from his chair and began walking around his desk to stand next to his lieutenant. "Well, I can only assume you're wanting to have this conversation in private then, Kuchiki?"

"Preferably." Byakuya replied, eyes shooting towards the tall blonde, clearly not wanting her here for this conversation. He really was the king of subtlety, Toshiro joked inwardly.

"Why don't we go on a walk, Matsumoto has work she needs to do here." Toshiro looked up to his lieutenant and nodded. It wasn't so much an order as it was a 'stay here and attempt to do the work I know you won't do.'

Captain Kuchiki responded by ushering to the door, letting Toshiro guide them out of the room and through his own barracks. As Rukia went to follow them, Byakuya rested a hand on her shoulder. After seeing how deeply Byakuya cared for Rukia during their fight with the Sternritter Gerard, it was really no surprise to him why Rukia would be nervous telling him about a relationship. Anyone who ever hurt Rukia would have to deal with Byakuya's fury. Not that Toshiro ever planned to upset her. Quite the opposite, actually. All he wanted to do was make her happy.

"Rukia, why don't you stay here for now. You've been outside for a while now, let your temperature regulate." Byakuya suggested softly. Toshiro saw right through his words again now just like he did back then during the war: Rukia was obviously not welcome for this conversation. She opened her mouth to protest but quickly snapped it shut again, giving her brother a small nod.

Toshiro gave Rukia a small smile before turning to leave again. He waved a hand to Rangiku as he left, Byakuya walking beside him. "Oh, Matsumoto. This is what you think it is." He said, paralleling his girlfriend's words from earlier on.

Rukia turned to face Rangiku, who was in deep thought. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion at everything that just transpired. There'd be no point in hiding it from Rangiku anymore as he knew Rukia would be stuck in here with her for the duration of this conversation.

As the pair of Captains made their way through the halls of the Tenth towards one of the empty meeting rooms, the pair of lieutenant stayed behind in the office.

With Toshiro on his way to face his girlfriend's protective older brother, Rukia was left to face her boyfriend's closest friend and lieutenant.

They were both about to have very interesting conversations.