Just a few notes/definitions: Taichou Captain
Oi Hey
Rukongai One of the two parts of Soul Society
Papercuts and the Sunflower
Chapter Three: Our Love
Emerald-green orbs remained focused on the woman before them. Blinking was rapid after a realization had hit the silver-haired taichou; Matsumoto was lying beside him…inside his bed. However as was his nature, he still wasn't completely convinced that this wasn't a dream. Trying desperately to make sense of what was going on he tilted his head slightly and scratched his head in confusion as his thoughts were interrupted by his vice-captain's soft voice.
"Hello? Is anyone home?" Matsumoto waved a hand slowly in front of his face, tapping him on the nose to finally get his full attention. "You're not that stunned are you, Shirou-kun?"
'Shirou-kun,' he thought as he raised an eyebrow. 'She called me that again.' At first Hitsugaya had thought he was hearing things, but was sure after the second time that she was calling him that name he had wanted to escape her lips. Not trying to delude himself any longer that this situation was all in his mind, Hitsugaya shook his head and placed his usual scowl on his face as he planted his hands on the mattress to hold up his body. Not exactly the way he wanted to begin his part of the conversation. "Matsumoto…what are you doing here?" Not exactly the words he wanted to say either.
Matsumoto blinked slightly, a small smile began to grow wide on her lips. 'As expected, he always puts his guard up in these kinds of close situations,' she thought while adjusting a part of her uniform. "Well…you fell asleep. You've been out for at least three hours."
"Hmmm." He nodded, looking at Matsumoto out of the corner of his eyes. "That still doesn't explain why you're here and in my bed." He could've sworn that he felt himself almost wince because he couldn't say a simple 'thank you' to her for carrying him all the way to his room.
Sighing softly, Matsumoto fell back on to one of his pillows and placed her arms under her head. 'He can be so difficult at times.' She smiled once more as she closed her eyes. "I was bored and thought that I'd stay here until you woke up."
That definitely wasn't an answer he had expected to hear but that did not throw him off of his guard. "I've never heard something as ridiculous as that come from you."
Her features softened as she stared up at the ceiling. "To be honest," she paused to bite her down on her bottom lip. "I didn't feel like being alone tonight."
Hitsugaya remained silent, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes in thought of what to say next.
"You seem nervous, Shirou-kun." Matsumoto voiced her concern for his silence.
"Oi, Matsumoto," he breathed out once more as he looked over his shoulder. "I'm your superior, y'know. You should be calling me Taichou."
Smiling slightly, Matsumoto turned her head towards. "You're absolutely correct," she paused and tugged lightly on his sleeve. "But…is that what you want?"
His thoughts were running wild, which wasn't a normal thing for him to experience. 'What is she saying? Could she have…?' His eyes wandered over to his desk, locating the letter he mistakenly left out in the open. Shaking off his folly a quick response came to him, "What are you talking about?"
Matsumoto sat up against the head of the bed and slowly edged her way towards his side. "Y'know…" She whispered near his ear. "…you don't always have to be so guarded."
Hitsugaya could only close his eyes at the feel of her breath grazing his neck. His eyes wandered over to one of the lamps along the walls in an attempt to hide his reddening cheeks. "Matsu-"
The blonde placed a finger over his lips to cease his words. "You can call me the name you want to." She closed her eyes and wore an assuring smile. "Really, I don't mind."
"You don't know what you're saying aren't you?" He asked, still not looking in her direction.
She placed her hand on his knee, feeling his body immediately tense under her simple touch. "I read it."
His eyes finally shifted off of the lamp and found their way into hers. "What?"
"I read your letter." Her voice was soft and gentle. "I'm sorry."
Now he was sure that she had seen it. He wanted to slap himself for even writing it now. It wasn't that he didn't mean each word he had written but he was just…afraid. Afraid of what she might say, and only slightly concerned about what others might say if they ever found out. He slowly stood to his feet and folded his arms. "Does anyone else know?"
She blinked in confusion of the question. "Know what?"
"About the letter," he replied as he kept his back turned to her. "That I…"
Matsumoto placed her hands on her knees as she looked at the short yet strong young man before her. 'I really don't want him to fight so hard to keep all those feelings inside.' She blinked to refocus her attention on to Hitsugaya as she replied, "Of course not. I would never betray my taichou."
Hitsugaya walked over to the desk and picked up the sheet of paper. He wasn't sure why he was even trying to hide his feelings even after it was blatantly obvious that she knew about them. He cursed himself for being so stubborn and stuck in his ways of keeping people out. But now he was trying his best to pry open what most thought to be an invincible dam that guarded his feelings and his heart. "Rangiku-chan…"
Matsumoto's eyes brightened at the sound of her name finally escaping from his lips. She had only seen it written by his hands so far but to hear it was a delight to her ears. She smiled, knowing full well that he was trying his best to speak freely without interference from his usual behavior. "Yes, Shirou-kun?"
The way his name rolled off of her tongue actually warmed his heart. Normally he'd glare and scold anyone that referred to him so casually, but right now he'd make an exception. An exception that he'd only give to her…his vice-captain.
"I meant it," he finished his delayed sentence.
Matsumoto tilted her head, wanting to look fully at his face. "Hmmm?"
Hitsugaya folded the paper and placed it on the desk, fastening his hands onto the chair in front of him. "I meant every word."
"I know," she replied in an assuring tone. Matsumoto rose up from the bed and smoothed out a few wrinkles in her clothing. "I know you did."
She walked over to his side and placed her hands on his shoulders. His body tensed almost immediately once more. The silver-haired taichou wasn't used to such close body contact after all. "Can you tell me how long?"
He shifted his head to the side. "How long...?"
"How long have you felt this way about me?"
"Oh…" Hitsugaya paused, turning his head back towards the mirror in front of them. "…a little after you became my vice-captain."
"Oh? Is that so?" She replied as her hands slid down his shoulders, forming a gentle embrace.
He nodded as he continued. "At first I wondered what they were thinking assigning the two of us together. I thought you were going to be another one of those adults who looked down on me because of my height and my age."
Matsumoto listened carefully to his every word, not wanting to interrupt him as she mentally encouraged him to continue.
"Up until then I…I never saw anyone as beautiful as you are. Rukongai didn't really have anyone that stood out, so it came as a surprise to me to see someone that was so gorgeous. But I never thought of telling you because it wasn't something I was used to doing. I still had it in my mind that they assigned you as my vice-captain to simply baby-sit me, but I was proven wrong after seeing just how strong you were and how you respected me without question of what I did. That and the fact that I was the one who did the baby-sitting."
"That's not a nice thing to say," Matsumoto pouted and shook him gently as a smile quickly found its way on both of their lips.
Hitsugaya laughed and smiled at her actions. He never thought it was feel so good to be able to express himself so openly. "However, the major reasons I didn't ever dare to tell you was because I thought you'd put off my feelings as a simple crush…or that my hormones were simply raging because I was still a kid."
"It must've been hard for you too to hold in all those emotions, Shirou-kun." Matsumoto echoed against his ear as she cuddled closer to him.
"Me…too?" He questioned out of confusion.
She ran her fingers through his silver strands as she took in a deep breath. "Of course. I couldn't help but admiring my cute little taichou." She pinched his cheeks, causing him to pull away while rolling his eyes. "Honestly, I've always thought of you as more than just my taichou. My loyalty to you wasn't just out of duty as your vice-captain but as someone I cared about deeply over all of these long years."
Hitsugaya turned in her embrace, almost hitting his head into her large chest as he looked up into her blue orbs as his ears almost couldn't believe what they were hearing.
"I always knew that you had feelings for me Shirou-kun." She smiled brightly down at him. "After all, what other taichou just lets his subordinate sleep for hours on the office couch and take on all of the paperwork assigned to the division all by himself?"
A grin appeared on his face at her words. "A crazy one I think."
"I'd say a love-stricken young taichou," she replied as she tapped a finger on his nose.
He went silent after a few minutes of laughing, thinking of something he forgot to mention.
"Is something the matter Shirou-kun?"
"Well…" He paused to properly form the words. "…it's just that…what about the others?"
"Oh them? I think a time will come when we can tell them." She replied as she led him over to sit back down on the mattress. "Besides who cares about what they think?"
He nodded in agreement with his usual scowl. However it faded as her words finally registered. "Wait…you mean you…?"
Matsumoto threw her arm around his shoulders, pulling him right under her body. "Of course."
He was slightly confused. "Of course?"
She rolled her eyes and sighed deeply. "It means that Shirou-kun is officially my b-o-y-f-r-i-e-n-d."
He raised an eyebrow with an almost stunned expression present on his face. "O-Oh. You don't waste any time do you?"
"We both have already wasted enough time." Her eyes wandered over to the cabinet she was looking at earlier. "Too bad you can't brag about how I'm your girlfriend now."
He looked up at her sly smile and laughed. "Oi, I don't care about those kinds of things." He managed to wrap an arm around her waist, trying his best to get used to such intimate situations. "As long as I know I really don't care."
"That's good to hear. As usual my taichou has wise words." She teased as she tried to tickle him. He attempted to wiggle out of her grip but failed as she tightened it. "Too bad we don't have a camera right now."
"A camera?" He asked. "What for?"
"To add to our memories silly." She pointed over to the large cabinet.
He shook his head slightly. "Figures you looked inside there while I was asleep. You need to put that amount of effort into doing your paperwork."
"Don't you dare talk about paperwork right now." She quickly scolded him with a large smile. "Besides I finished the ones you gave me."
"You mean the four out of the total of sixty?" He folded his arms across his chest, looking at her with narrowed eyes.
"Oh just shut up and come here." Matsumoto wrapped her arms him, bringing their faces dangerously close together.
"W-Whoa…R-Rangiku-chan…what are you doing?" He stammered, getting almost completely lost into her deep blue eyes.
"Our paperwork of course," she smiled as she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his gently, feeling him now kissing back as well. Pulling back for a moment to look at Hitsugaya in his dazed state she planted yet another soft kiss onto his lips before letting him go and taking his hand into hers.
"I suppose now we should be going to bed," Matsumoto replied as she slid off her shoes.
"Eh?" He raised an eyebrow after looking at her feet pushing away the footwear. "What?"
"Well it's too late for me to be walking around alone at night." Matsumoto breathed as she threw herself backward onto the bed, climbing on the other side and resting her head on the pillow. "So I'll sleep here for tonight."
"A-Are you sure?" Hitsugaya asked wide-eyed.
"Don't worry." She patted the side of the mattress beside her. "No one will see us leaving in the morning alright? Now come and get your rest."
Hitsugaya sighed deeply, adjusting the pink scarf around his neck. He quickly climbed into the bed after shutting off lights and settled beside Matsumoto. He faced the door as he fluffed his pillow, feeling a little uneasy as he finally settled down. A moment later he felt Matsumoto moving closer under him and almost jumped up as he felt her arms wrap around his waist, pulling him up under her body. A few minutes passed before he broke the silence. "R-Rangiku-chan…?"
"I was getting cold," Matsumoto whispered behind him. "But I'm warm now."
"Oh." He closed his eyes and tried his best to fade away to sleep. Feeling her nuzzle against him one last time before finally drifting away he whispered, "I love you…Rangiku-chan."
Matsumoto moaned softly as she too was about to fall asleep. "I love you too, Shirou-kun."
The room fell almost completely silent, the only barely audible sound coming from the wind blowing through the slightly opened windows. That night, two people who finally were able to confess to each other their feelings slept peacefully in each others arms. Both captain and vice-captain, male and female, young man and young woman, were able to enjoy this night alone without the worries of their endless paperwork in the office or the concern of others finding out about their newfound relationship. Indeed tomorrow, and many a time thereafter, will bring yet another day of the young silver-haired taichou laboring over paperwork while his vice-captain…his sunflower sleeps peacefully before him. This time, however, Hitsugaya can smile knowing that the sleeping angel in front of his desk loves him and Matsumoto can rest peacefully knowing that the young man that loves her is protecting and watching her lovingly.
A/N: There you go the third and final chapter of Papercuts and the Sunflower. Thanks for all the reviews so far and I apologize for being so late but you know what they say 'better late than never'. :P