AN: Ugh! Kill me! I can't stop writing HitsuKarin and it's driving me nuts! My IchiRuki!muse is giving me no love though, so what else can I do? T.T Not only that, I can't seem to read fics without getting the need to write and so I haven't read anything for days. I'm going into withdrawal, no lie.

Anyway, I'm gonna dedicate this to my BFF Ofeehut (she doesn't know, but whatever!) for her birthday. How do you know when you're BFF's? When you don't see each other for nearly two years and yet you're still the same and all your pairings match up. For example:

(In the car talking about my renewed Bleach!obsession)

Me: Sooo, I really like this couple and I think you will too. It's kinda crack cuz it's on the very edges of canon, but I don't care. It's HitsuKarin, as in Hitsugaya Toushirou and Kurosaki Karin.

BFF: Dude! No, that's not crack! THAT SHIT'S REAL!

(We then proceed to laugh, fangirl and watch episode 316 together because she hasn't seen it)

And, that is our friendship in a nutshell.

Anyway, enough ranting! On with the fic!

Summary: [ONE-SHOT] Karin receives gifts from Toushirou for every occasion. But when her latest birthday passes without his signature present, what starts as a need for an explanation turns into the love that's been a long time coming.

Warnings: Umm, there's a slight back story but it's supposed to be vague. This was supposed to be a part of A Lifetime With You when I wanted to make it a two-shot but then everyone was kind of not sure if these two even deserved each other. So! This worked as a standalone with some tweeking and it even has a little of Matsumoto guest starring. Enjoy!

It's a week passed her birthday when she storms Toushirou's office with a vengeance.

She's greeted with the sight of many workers in their cubicles, looking at the pretty dark-haired woman dressed in scrubs and a doctor's bag in her hand. Finding her way to a small office, she stands in front of the receptionist, completely unaware of the whisperings going on behind her.

"I'm here to see Hitsugaya Toushirou." Her voice is demanding, despite her rather rushed entrance. She sees that the busty, blue-eyed secretary is glancing up at her from her rectangular glasses, assessing the overtly angry woman and appraising her sharply behind that well-placed look of boredom.

"Do you have an appointment?" is her only reply, as she looks back down at the magazine in her lap, not even pretending to check the computer at her side for her boss's schedule. It causes Karin even more frustration when the woman turns the page without another glance at her, chewing her bubble gum with that smacking sound as if to intentionally annoy her.

"No, but he and I have some business to settle. Just let him know I'm here and he'll see me." It's not arrogance in her voice, only pure stubbornness to see this man. She'd just gotten off her night shift so she was still a little high from the caffeine she'd ingested over eighteen hours ago. Presently she's running on troublesome adrenaline and half of her common sense, otherwise known as a recipe for disaster. But in her current state of mind, now was the perfect time to make sane decisions and determine the outcome of her rather precarious relationship with her best friend. After all, good choices were always made when one's brain was partially dissolved into pudding.

"He's currently busy right now," she says nonchalantly, not even bothering to hide her yawn. All it does is make Karin see red, as she fights the urge to knock down his door and cause a scene if she doesn't see some results. But the woman continues, as if not noticing the young resident's murderous intent. "If you could leave me your name, then I'll be sure to inform him at his earliest convenience." But the lazy, singsong tone makes the girl think that she'd be lucky if this woman even remembered her name.

Getting fed up and feeling just a little bit light-headed from the coffee she's consumed, she slams her hands on the desk and brings her head down to look straight into the office worker's eyes. The responding glance is equally unkind, darkened in a protective, almost sisterly sort of way that reminds her of herself when she's with Yuzu. It tugs at her heartstrings, and vaguely she's beginning to wonder if she's really fit for this kind of confrontation right now.

"Could you just leave him a message, then?" she asks quietly, instantly ashamed of her irrational behavior. It makes some color return to her face, as she backs off and glances to the side. "Just tell him Kurosaki Karin is looking for him."

"I'm sorry, did you say 'Karin'?" The woman rises from her chair, just as she's turning away to leave. Looking over her shoulder, the girl nods lightly, a bit surprised she recognized her name even though she'd never met her before now.

"Well why didn't you say so earlier?" The blonde's attitude changes in a second, smiling widely and going over to grab her shoulders before pushing her towards the small mahogany door. "Of course Hitsugaya-san will see you! I mean, you're the mysterious 'Karin' who he sends all those gifts to, aren't you?"

The question makes her blush, but before she can inquire how she knows that the door is open with a visible young man at the far end. Without another word, the young doctor is shoved unceremoniously into the small office, where a wide-eyed Toushirou is at his desk, paperwork stacked well above his head. His eyes dart between the two intruding females, his eyes narrowing particularly on the older woman, who was shooting him a Cheshire grin from over Karin's left shoulder.

"Matsumoto, what have I told you—"

"Oh, Manager, would you look at the time? I have so much paperwork. I'll just leave you two alone," she rushes through her obviously rehearsed speech, before slamming the door shut. And soon, the awkwardness sets in.

"Kurosaki," he says after a long pause, assessing the young woman with heavily shielded eyes. It almost makes her wince outwardly from the sheer strength of it. But she's not disillusioned; she knows she deserves the treatment. Two years of constant but one-sided devotion was hard, Karin had firsthand experience, after all. She'd been in love with him first, longer, and it had jaded her painfully. Because of it, she hadn't tried to reach out to him, to return his feelings because she'd been so convinced of his lack of real affection for her. But Toushirou was definitely made of sterner stuff, taking each of her rejections and pushing forward with his promise to wait, as each gift after became even more touching, more personal than the last.

Until, on the one day she was waiting for one, it never came.

"Toushirou…" she replies, the name falling from her lips with care she rarely gave anyone. It's been a long time since she's said it, not since he'd confessed to her beneath the moonlight and it had slipped out unconsciously. It hurt to have him call her by her family name, so distant and unlike them, and yet that's what they had become to each other.

Hazily she wonders just what kind of relationship they could have if this was their way of committing to one another, trying to protect each other's feelings and themselves from the vulnerability that came with being weak in love. Is staying worth the risk of him breaking her heart, just as he'd done so many times before? Or was she worth all the trouble she'd put him through, all headstrong unwillingness and no room for argument? Were they just too incompatible to love each other the way that every human wanted to love another, even if their feelings were the same and had been forever? She gathers her courage deep within, and hopes that maybe they aren't as far gone as she thinks.

"We need to settle this, Toushirou," Karin speaks steadily, her voice not giving way to the nervous thumping in her head. He nods, acquiescing because both of them know this has gone on far too long with no end in sight. Taking a deep breath, she finally says to him the three little words that have scared her more than anything.

"I love you." She knows she's never spoken anything more true.

But he has no reaction.

Ah, so this is what real rejection feels like, she thinks, as he looks at her with those same blank eyes. Her stomach drops as she says the little sentence, but it's her nerves that get her. She feels her body tremble against her will, even as she pushes to hide it. Turning her face away from his, she wraps her arms around herself, steeling her body against the painful shattering of her heart. But she won't cry, hasn't cried since her mother passed, and now wasn't the time to start. So she shuts her eyes tightly, taking in deep breaths and praying that she walks out of this with just a little of her soul intact.

He moves so softly that his steps don't reach her ears. It's his arms around her than snaps her to attention, gaze too stunned and glassy that she's surprised none of those tears have fallen down her cheeks. He holds her gently but closely, as if she could push him away again and never look back. Her hands reach for his shirt, tangling in the button-down with shaky fingers, as her face finds his neck for comfort. It's the strangest feeling, to be so close for the first time and yet have the impression that she'd always been there, protected and loved without question.

Maybe it's because he'd always managed to make her feel that way.

"God, Karin… Sometimes I really hate you," he mutters into her hair darkly, but it's completely opposite of how he feels. He pulls her even closer, as if he wants her to dissolve into him so he'd never have to let her go. They both know that this doesn't erase their pasts, their obvious mistakes and lack of good communication, but somehow their future together seems so much brighter than it did before.

Tearing herself away just a little, Karin looks up with her defiant eyes that has Hitsugaya looking perplexed and just a little bit fearful. "Where's my birthday present, you jerk?" is what comes out of her mouth and he's not sure if he feels relieved or just put out. When he doesn't make a move, Karin pouts deeply opting to voice a few more of her 'opinions' when—

He kisses her.

It's not how she imagines her first kiss with him (and believe me, there have been many imaginings). She had pictured soft, sweet, treating her like one of those princesses who was awakened by a knight's kiss. It would be innocent in nature, overtaking her senses and causing her heart to drum happily in her chest. But, this isn't like that at all.

Toushirou's lips are as soft as silk and sure in their movements, but are nowhere near the daydreams she's had. Instead, his actions are dominating, the type that steals one's breath and doesn't let go. It's full of skill that has taken years to master, as he tilts his head sideways to part hers and slide his tongue against her jutted upper lip. It makes her gasp loudly, as her fingers tighten in his clothes, unsure whether to pull him just a little closer or to push away for some much-needed air. He makes her decision when he tangles a hand in her ebony locks, catching the back of her head to crush their lips together, and makes her knees tremble because of it. Karin can do little more than bite back a moan, as his mouth takes over hers, reaching in deeply to taste her, as if he'd never thought he would and that this would be the only moment he'd get. He kisses her like he needs her, and that's all that she really wants anyway.

He pulls back swiftly, breath ragged and looking distinctly mortified at himself. Karin barely has the peace of mind to look at him, lust-filled haze clouding her head. He meets her eyes and curses himself, looking thoroughly disappointed in his actions. When she asks him what's wrong, feeling that she might have read him incorrectly, he just nuzzles her temple and pulls her close, his arms a security blanket around her.

"I'm sorry about that. I lost control for a second," he apologizes, and it makes her flush. For a man who made few mistakes and even more rarely asked for forgiveness, it's the oddest sensation to be on the receiving end of one.

"It's okay, I'm not mad." Understatement of the universe. That's what the coloring on her face seemed to scream.

"Oh really?" he smirks, not even needing to look down when she buries herself into him, arms finding his waist. His tone only makes her blush more, but more in annoyance than pleasure.

"I still haven't forgiven you." She looks up at him from beneath his chin, still scarlet in spite of her best efforts. He only raises a brow, questioning and disbelieving she'd ruin the moment with some random demand. "You still forgot my birthday. How do you forget your now girlfriend's—" her face heats uncontrollably at the admittance "—birthday?"

"Forget? I didn't forget anything," he replies, easygoing as ever but with a flash of his own irritation. He'd been sending gifts for years now, on every holiday and occasion he could think of, making excuses in the form of quickly written letters to justify a number of them. He'd never be so careless.

"Oh yeah? Then where is it?" she challenges, her head and neck almost vertical as she tries to look as intimidating as possible from beneath his own. He bites back a smile (because Karin is the only woman he knows who would try to use her lack of height as a threat), as he motions behind her. She looks over to see her bag, fallen to the floor because of her reckless entrance.

"Go. Look inside it." Hitsugaya releases her from his arms, silently urging her to move. She eyes him distrustfully for a second, as if turning her back to him was a terrible idea. That obliging smirk is only telling her to continue, a promise that he won't attack her from behind like she so thinks. It doesn't matter what he says though, she doesn't trust him in the slightest.

Picking up her bag from the floor, Karin rummages through the many small pockets on the outside first, finding nothing but a few pens and some old candy wrappers. She continues to frown, as she opens up the largest part and sifts through her papers, files and other thrown in paraphernalia, along with a few more pieces of trash (who knew she ate so much candy?). Just when she's about to chew him out, she comes to the smallest pocket that's stitched along the inside of the black carrier and comes across something that she's sure wasn't there a couple days ago.

Out comes a black velvet box, the size that would normally hold a ring or something similar. Instinctively Karin knows it isn't one, as she opens it and her eyes go large in astonishment. Sparkling up at her are two perfectly cut emerald earrings set in what she's sure is white gold. It's extravagant, over the top in a way that is completely unlike Hitsuagaya, and yet somehow they're the most thoughtful things she's ever received from him.

"That was supposed to be my final gift," he says after a moment, as she takes them out of their holder and places the stubs in her hand. "If you rejected me again, I wanted it to be the last thing you got, to remember me by."

"Idiot…" she murmurs softly, not meaning the insult in the slightest, as she toyed with the gems before replacing hers with the new ones. It doesn't escape her as to why he chose them, the seductive shape and reflective coloring almost identical to his eyes, a way to tell her the one thing she had always known. That he would be beside her as he had been in the past, as he was right now, and as he would always be in the future, the ever watchful gaze keeping her from harm even without her knowing.

And while the gifts might stop coming, Karin knows that Toushirou will be there to give her so much more.

AN: MUST... STOP... WRITING... HITSUKARIN... T.T Yeah, not much else to say. Go Against the Grain is coming along so well that I'll probably post the next two chapters this week. However, be forewarned that the real story (as in the HitsuKarin-ness I know everyone is waiting on) will begin a little later. Their relationship needs a build-up and what I'm writing now is where their first steps are being taken (but I won't tell you when that is!). Yes, I am evil. :D

Also, a new poll is up on my profile. Please read it and vote because it concerns you, my lovely readers. Thank you so much again for your support. I'll try and update as much as I can before I have to start reviewing for finals and clearance. Wish me luck! :)

Until next time!