So. Just to clarify, Kensei doesn't want Toshiro to like Momo because he thinks it would be inappropriate. You know how he's so adverted to things that are inappropriate…

SO. We left off with Toshiro's birthday…

A couple hours after lunch, Toshiro received a call from Ichigo suggesting they all meet at the school to celebrate his birthday. Ichigo knew that despite his friend's monotone façade, Toshiro really did enjoy the cold weather. So, at the planned time, Toshiro and Momo set off in the snow, bundled up in layers of clothing and armed with several thermostats of hot chocolate that Ukitake had give them. Momo thought Toshiro actually seemed excited, which made her, in turn, more excited.

They were the first to arrive at the field, or so they thought until they heard 'ATTACK!' and suddenly found themselves victims of a mass snowball attack. Then, several of Toshiro's friends came into view: it was mostly the boys from the soccer team, but Momo was delighted to see Rukia and Orihime as well.

Rukia's maniacal laughter seemed to be consuming her as she approached Momo, who was brushing some snow from her hair.

"Oh man!" She said as she slowly caught her breath, "You-" pant "-should've seen-" pant "-his face…"She began laughing againat the memory.

"You totally frightened me! We had no idea!" Momo gushed, pleasantly surprised by the innocent prank her friends pulled.

"It was Ichigo's plan," Rukia said, finally calming down enough for normal conversation.

At this point, Ichigo began speaking loudly, attempting to direct the group, "Alright guys, so we're going to play a fun pick-up game of soccer for Toshiro. If you're in come over here, otherwise go sit your cold asses on the bleachers."

Momo looked to Rukia to see if she planned on playing. She nodded at Momo, understanding her unspoken question. The two went over to where the other players were standing. The ground crunched lightly under their feet, and Momo speculated that the white coating of snow was going to make this a very interesting game indeed…

Ichigo gave out a bandana to each player. Everyone fastened them around their heads. Momo's blue bandana was tucked under her earmuffs.

Then the group split to their respective sides of the field. Momo noticed she was on the same team as Rukia and Ichigo, but not Toshiro (much to her disappointment). Ichigo took charge of the group huddle.

"Alright, let's see… Tatsuki take center forward, Ishida, mid-field…" Ichigo quickly placed his teammates based on what he knew of their ability, "Momo, do you play?"

"A little…" She admitted, although in reality, her soccer experience had been quite a bit more.

"Where?"

"Defense, sweeper usually," She replied quickly.

"Okay, you'll go there," He relayed, "Rukia, you'll be left defense."

She nodded, then, with vigorous excitement, asked, "Awesome! Where's that?"

Ichigo brought a palm to his forehead, so Momo interjected. "I'll show you."

"Alright," Ichigo said, than continued giving directions as Rukia and Momo headed towards their positions near the goal.

The game began shortly after. Momo watched from afar as the action occurred on the upper part of the field. Her team was doing well, Ichigo and Tatsuki worked together to penetrate Toshiro's team's defenses, which were really just a couple of kids who didn't actually play soccer, so their attack was not particularly impressive. It seemed certain that Tatsuki was about to score when Toshiro appeared out of nowhere and stole the ball. Suddenly he was racing towards Momo, and she began to get nervous. She and Rukia were the only defense standing between Toshiro and the goal, and honestly, Rukia wasn't that much of a threat…

Rukia however, felt no need to calculate the circumstancesand instead rushed forward to attack! Momo was certain that Toshiro would deflect her with ease, but to her surprise, Rukia actually appeared to be doing fairly well. That's when Momo realized—Toshiro was going easy on her! His face was light with amusement at seeing Rukia's wild attemptsto get the ball. However, he realized backup was quickly coming and finally did as Momo initially predicted, and easily weaved around Rukia, getting closer and closer to his goal every second.

Momo went into action. She cut him off, and he attempted to weave around her. But she wasn't about to have that, in no way was he getting this ball past her!

--

Toshiro laughed to himself as he ran past Rukia. She looked completely dumbfounded when she realized he was already several yards away from her. It was then he looked up to see his new opponent, Momo. He grinned, that goal was his, no way wouldshe stop his shot. He attempted to pass by her, but found she had intercepted him. He feinted the other way, than tried to escape, but there she was. The snow was making it impossibly difficult to anticipate how the ball would move. A couple more failed escapes led him to his only other option: force. He began in one direction, and she was on his shoulder, constantly trying to steal the ball. Her body was pressed up on the side of his, which he frankly enjoyed, although he wasn't about to admit to it. It was while he was lost in these thoughts that he noticed the ball wasn't there anymore.

Momo had actually gotten it! And he wasn't even going easy on her! He lunged to regain the ball, but she had already pitched it off back to the other side of the field. Tatsuki had now gained control and was headed quickly towards the goal.

Toshiro gave a slight pant, then turned towards Momo, "Good job."

She pouted at him, "You were going easy on me."

He raised an eyebrow, "No, I wasn't."

She analyzed his face to see if he was lying, and Toshiro couldn't tell if she believed him or not. Suddenly cheering from the other side of the field alerted them to a scored goal. Momo and Rukia cheered wildly, as Toshiro ran back to his teammates. He put his mind in full focus, and watched the ball intently. His team was going to win!

--

Toshiro's team won with a score of 5-3. After the game ended, everyone returned to the bleachers, where many shed a couple layers of clothing. Toshiro had already taken off all his coats leaving just his long-sleeved shirt, undershirt, and scarf.

Momo was sitting on the bleachers with Rukia, Tatsuki, and Orihime. She was drinking some of the hot chocolate Ukitake had given her and Toshiro. It made her insides feel warm. The combination of hot and cold felt intoxicating.

"Wow, Momo," Tatsuki said, interrupting Momo's thoughts, "You're really good."

"Oh," Momo said warmly, "Thanks!"

"You're trying out for soccer right?" She asked.

"Oh!"' Momo said, surprised. She hadn't really given it much thought, but now was the time to figure it out. Pre season conditioning would be starting soon. "I don't know," She finally responded.

"You definitely should," Tatsuki encouraged, "You're sure to make the team!"

"Thanks! Maybe I will…"

"It's loads of fun!" Orihime burst in, "You'd really enjoy it!"

Momo thought for a moment. She really had enjoyed playing today, and it wasn't as though she had any real reason not to…

"I think I will." She decided.

"Great!" Orihime gushed, "This is going to be great! We can practice with some base-ball soccer! I'm so excited!"

--

Eventually, the cold ended the party, and everyone went their separate ways. Toshiro, Momo, and Ichigo were last to leave and the three began walking home. When it was time to part, Ichigo gave Toshiro one last birthday wish (in the form of 16 punches) than both parties headed towards their houses.

It was about dinner time when they arrived, and Ukitake informed them of the plan: they were going to one of Toshiro's favorite restaurants, so Toshiro and Momo went upstairs to change. Momo put on one of her favorite dresses and headed downstairs to find everyone waiting for her. Embarrassed, she quickly put on her coat, and they all went.

After eating, they came back to the house. They all had cake, and gave Toshiro his birthday gifts. He seemed genuinely happy; Momo even saw a full-blown smile a couple of times, particularly when he opened her gift. It was a book. She'd read it once, and thought he'd enjoy it. He seemed pleased with it, and she was relieved to find he hadn't already read it.

Toshiro went to bed reading the book, and Momo went straight to bed, tired from the day's events.

The next day, Momo went out shopping again with Granny, she really enjoyed her company, and the two had lots of fun. When they got back to the house, the boys were out, so the two began to wrap things. In the evening, Kensei, Ukitake and Toshiro came back with a small Christmas tree, which they set up. Toshiro went to the attic to get decorations and they all put them up together. Ukitake put on a Christmas CD. Every now and then, Momo got to enjoy a story about Toshiro and Kensei's childhood as they dug up their old handmade ornaments. Granny and Kensei eventually broke off to start dinner (and as the rest later found out, cookies!). The evening was warm and magical, and Momo felt like she completely belonged. It was a warm fuzzy feeling, and she loved it. It was like living in an old Christmas special! After the cookies, they all went to bed.

Momo slept in the next morning, and was actually awoken by Toshiro's knocking at the door, who normally woke up significantly later than her. It was about 10:30, and Toshiro was already up and dressed. He'd been checking to see if she was awake, as Ukitake was about to vacuum, but accidentally woke her up instead.

Momo quickly went downstairs, slightly disturbed by her late rise. She found the whole house wide awake and cleaning, preparing the house for their guests. She was embarrassed that they had been working without her, but Ukitake assured her it was fine. Upon insisting that she help, Ukitake offered her the bathroom cleaning duties and she accepted anxiously.

Promptly after eating her cereal, Momo raced upstairs and changed into proper cleaning clothes. She found Toshiro already in the bathroom cleaning.

"Oh no!" She cried.

He looked up, concerned, "What?!" He cried.

"I was going to clean the bathroom!" She pouted.

His panic quickly left his face, and his expression turned smugand chiding, "You wanted to clean the bathroom?"

"Yes!"

"Well aren't you the odd one…" He teased.

She glared at him playfully, "Come on! Let me help!"

He grinned, "Fine." He handed her the spray he was using on the mirror. "I'll go get the mop," He told her as he left.

Momo happily took over his job cleaning the mirror. He soon came back with the swiffer-like mop and liquid soap. He closed the drain in the sink and began filling it with water. He poured in a bit of soap, then stuck the mop in.

"Oh!" Momo cried, "Let me!"

Toshiro looked amused. He gave her the handle, "Go for it."

Momo hoisted the mop out of the sink and brought it to the floor. Soap and water quickly spread from where the mop met the floor. Toshiro jumped onto the counter and sat to watch her as she worked. Soon, soap was all over the floor, and Momo was sliding as she walked, earning chuckles from Toshiro. But soon, she slid just a little too much and was fell on her ass. Toshiro laughed but got off the counter to help her, but instead fell right next to her. Momo began laughing, as Toshiro got up, looking pretty annoyed. But much to her surprise, he grabbed a handful of foamy water from the sink and dropped it on her.

She gasped and glared at him, getting to her feet, "You did not just do that!"

"Do what?" He said innocently.

Her stare intensified as she retaliated, throwing more bubbles at him. Soon, they were in an all out war, both completely soaked as bubbles began filling the entire room. Momo shrieked with laughter as Toshiro slipped and fell into a pile of bubbles, but she soon yelped as he pulled her down as well.

And at some point during their fight, Momo had justa flicker of a hope, that maybe things would just stay like that moment forever.

--

I DEEPLY AND HUMBLY APOLOGIZE LIKE URAHARA DID WHEN ICHIGO CAME BACK FROM THE SOUL SOCIETY. O___O

Thanks to kaibasgirlx who beta'ed'ed this, whose comments were very excellent and made me laugh, and is encouraging me to work faster/better!