Birthday Wish - Peroxidepest17

Bleach Drabbles 305. Title: Birthday Wish Author: peroxidepest17 (FF) Rating: PG-13 Pairing/Character/s: HitsugayaxMatsumoto Word Count: 825 Warning/s: Erm… rampant speculation on the future, I suppose. But no spoilers, really. Summary: Hitsugaya has had only one birthday wish for many years now. Dedication: tokkichan- I am bad and haven’t written the tenth division for like, the longest time. --;; A/N: Er, something more directly birthday related for Hitsugaya’s belated birthday. --;; He was tired of being treated like a kid. Especially today of all days, because it was supposed to symbolize the fact that he’d become older. Again. He was taller than her by a head now (and had been for some time dammit), but she could still reach up and ruffle his hair like it was nothing, still flirt with him half-seriously and expect him not to do anything about it but blush and grumble and keep to himself until the heat in his cheeks had cooled. He wasn’t a child anymore. But Matsumoto didn’t seem to be able to acknowledge that, and so here he was on another birthday, a young man now, and she’d made him a cake. And bought balloons. And stupid, pointy hats for everyone to wear. Maybe it was the fact that she’d been there pretty much the entire time, watching him grow up. She still saw that baby-faced kid with an attitude she’d been assigned under many years ago when she looked at him now, the one she’d been there to guide and teach and tease, every step of the way. Maybe that was why she wouldn’t recognize the fact that he was all grown up now. Other women recognized it. In fact, a lot of them chased after him with an abandon that he considered almost shameful. But Matsumoto was the only one who didn’t really, the one who just smiled and winked at him like he was still breast-high on her and grumbling about being hit in the face with her chest whenever they bumped into each other. She hadn’t even noticed how he’d stopped complaining about that years ago. He sighed as everyone sang to him and blew out the candles with a sort of mechanical familiarity, managing a smile when everyone asked him what he’d wished for. “He can’t say or it won’t come true, you know that,” Matsumoto tsked, before cutting the cake. “Go ahead and open your presents, taichou.” “Aa, thanks,” he murmured, trying not to stare at her in her ridiculous party hat while she leaned forward and started to dish out cake and tea to everyone present. He got a bottle of wine from Hinamori, a new pen set from Ukitake, and something naughty and unmentionable from Kyouraku, who winked at him from across the table and flashed him a thumbs up, shouting, “Go for it, young man!” as he drank from his ever-present sake dish. Ukitake blushed and thwacked the boisterous eighth division captain on the shoulder for that while Hinamori, brow knit, inquired as to the nature of the gift. “It’s…something,” he assured her quickly, shoving the box under the table and gratefully accepting the cake from Matsumoto. His vice-captain had knitted him a scarf for his birthday this year.

She fussed over him about it, wrapping it around him in front of everyone and looking up at him critically, smoothing the ends against his chest and straightening the tassels. “I was right,” she murmured in satisfaction, putting her hands on her hips and stepping back to study him. She winked. “Taichou looks very cute, ne Hinamori?” Hinamori laughed and nodded. “Very handsome.” Hitsugaya wasn’t quite able to stop himself from rolling his eyes at them. They giggled together and Toushirou supposed that it was time to stop complaining about no one treating him like an adult and actually act like one. And that meant if he really wanted it enough, he’d have to go and get the present he’d wished for later, by himself. Eyeing the chattering girls, he definitely couldn’t count on either of them to figure it out for him. Sighing, he bore Matsumoto’s teasing, Hinamori’s quiet help, Kyouraku’s waggling eyebrows, Ukitake’s blushing looks of apology and the ridiculous pointy hats for a few hours more, waiting for the end of the celebration. Later in the evening, when they were finally alone in the tenth division headquarters again, Matsumoto smiled and asked him, “So, did you get everything you wanted this year, taichou?” He eyed her. “Not exactly.” She frowned. “No? Well, I admit the pen set was a little boring, but at least you can use it, ne?” She held it up, examining it critically. “It’s a nice one, that’s for sure.” He sighed. Now or never. “Hey Matsumoto…” he started, reaching out and taking the pen set from her hands. She looked at him “Hmmm?” He put the gift back on the table, took a deep breath, and leaned down and kissed her. It was just a quick touch, but a solid one, firm and decisive. And then he was pulling back and standing up, cheeks pink but winking at her anyway. “Alright, now I got everything I wanted.” On her stunned look, he smirked. Walking out of the room before she could say anything, he grinned and thought to himself that after that, she’d know exactly what present he wanted for next year. END