Title: Parts of a Whole (Or Hitsugaya Toshirou's ten most favourite parts of Matsumoto Rangiku)

Disclaimer: Tite Kubo owns Bleach and its characters. This story is for fun and not profit.

Pairing: HitsuMatsu

Rating: M

Warnings: Sexual themes. Gaspies! Oh noes! Not the smex! My eyes, they burn! Blarg, srsly. Oh and s'abit disjointed because it doesn't really follow a time line. Heehee neener neener.

A/N: Okay here we go. My first HitusMatsu. Awrigh' lets have some fun. xO

Summary: It wasn't that he didn't appreciate her indecent exposure of cleavage, there was just so much more about her that he valued more. HitsuMatsu, rated M for references to sex.

People always thought he was crazy when he struggled away from her suffocating hugs, cursing and angry (especially once he was finally taller than her and she still tried to force his face to her bosom) and not appreciating the wonder of womanhood that any other red-blooded male would kill for the chance to stick their faces in. That or they just thought he was too young, too much of a child, to appreciate her beauty (but, they always said this quietly because if he ever caught wind of it, he would turn them into popsicles). It wasn't that he didn't appreciate her indecent exposure of cleavage, there was just so much more about her that he valued more.

He loved her toes. They were so small and straight and perfect, not squashed or deformed like every other persons toes he had ever seen. And he had seen a lot of feet over the years; the most unfortunate incident involved walking into the 11th division during a mass training exercise in which several squadrons of unseated officers walked over hot coals with no footwear. Some kind of pain endurance test, he supposed. He didn't he care to ask, all he knew was that the smell was awful and the men of the 11th division had the most disgusting feet he had ever seen. Even Kusajishi-fukutaichou, the little bundle of exuberance, had a pinched look of distaste on her small pixie face as she and Zaraki-taichou oversaw the excercise.

Hinamori had curled pudgy toes and, while they were somewhat adorable on their own, they didn't have the same delicate elegance of Rangiku's. He was especially fond of the soft, breathless giggles Rangiku would make when he would press his mouth to the flat of her heel, drawing his lips up the soft arch of her graceful feet and pressing teasing kisses to the underside of her dainty toes. She would bite her bottom lip, the corner of her mouth curling into a reluctant smile as she tried to stifle her breathy giggles, trying not to give away how ticklish her feet were.

He loved the backs of her knees. The skin there was so soft, softer than any other part of her body, and the tips of his calloused fingers tingled when he brushed them up a trim calf to rest in the silky, hollow curve, his thumb tracing the indent of her knee cap. Rangiku was ticklish there as well, especially when he would trace small circles into her flesh using only the softest feather-light touches with the very tips of his fingers.

Toshirou would most often do this when Rangiku was drifting off into a nap, sprawled out on the couch with one arm curled under her head and the other wrapped around her midsection, luscious red-gold hair spilling across her collarbone in waves of silk. It would be well after dark, usually once he was completely fed up with the day's paperwork. He would sit back in his chair, stretching his fingers and arms, rolling his shoulders and reclining in his seat. As he tried to work the kinks from his hands and arms, he would look to his fukutaichou and, seeing her asleep, would rise from his chair, drifting towards the couch to kneel beside her. He would watch her face as he dipped his fingers beneath the hem of a black pant leg, tracing his fingers up her calf until his fingers rested at her knee.

She would try hard not to smile- because by this time she was always awake- but as he repeated the motions of his fingers down her leg again, revelling in the softness of her skin, a wide smile would creep across her face as her knee jerked away from his touch. One eye would crack open, watching him with a cat's slyness as a slim hand slithered into his hair. The other eye would open and she would gaze at him with eyes the colour of slate, pupils large and black as her full lips parted in a sigh. In the next moment he would usually find himself either pulled atop her, or on his back on the floor, Rangiku straddling his waist.

He loved the inner flesh of her thighs. He loved kneeling between her bare legs and dragging his blunt nails across her skin, watching her thigh quiver under his fingers with fascination as a raw sigh followed the pale lines his nails traced into her skin. He loved lapping at her flesh and then blowing frosty air onto the moist patch of skin, watching as she threw her head back onto the futon, beautiful storm eyes clamping shut. Rangiku would let out a sharp gasp, her fingers instantly flying to his hair as her thigh shuddered under his touch.

She had such long, strong thighs; milky white with supple muscles robed in satin flesh, tempered by decades of graceful swordsmanship and the lightening intensity of shunpo. There was a game they would play late at night, modelled after a group of children they had seen in a park in the living world. Kurosaki had turned from Kuchiki, given Rangiku a look of disbelief and explained it as tag, a game of chase. The next night Rangiku had come to him, proclaiming a great training exercise for shunpo endurance and disappeared in a whirl of movement. Toshirou gave a wry smirk to the empty air in front of him before disappearing after her. When he would catch her, he would tackle her to the ground and they would roll across whatever patch of grass she had been standing on. He would smile at her breathless laughter and press kisses to her neck as she wound her long legs around his hips, holding tight as he moved with and within her, her thighs clenching to the near point of pain as she reached the peak of her passion.

He loved her hips. He loved their roundness, how his thumbs fit perfectly into the valley between them and his hands around the graceful curve of her backside. He loved running his fingers up and down her hip bones, tracing the underside of her thigh where her sleek flesh swelled into the firm arch of her full, milky rear. He loved pressing into the soft globes of flesh as she moved above him, his touch marking her skin with soft white indents from his tenacious grasp. She would place her elegant hands on his chest, pressing him undeniably onto the futon, her hair draping over his face and neck, surrounding her face in waves of curled corn silk.

She would pin him with a look that rendered the hands on his chest virtually unneeded in keeping him motionless. All he could do, when she got that look in her eyes which immobilized him in their intensity, was sketch the line of her thighs with the tips of his fingers and settle his hands on her round hips, holding on desperately as she swept him away in a storm of silken fire that should have gone against the most basic part of his frozen soul in its heat. But only managed to entice him further into her embrace as his blood boiled and his heart liquefied under her touch.

He loved her wrists. They had a delicacy to them that belied the skill and strength with which she wielded a blade. Toshirou would wrap his fingers around her wrists, placing soft kisses to the small pale scars that decorated her fingers and hands, the evidence of her devotion to her zanpakuto and the years of training she had undergone to master her Hellcat, injuries and all.

Rangiku had once had a brief fascination with silver bangles during a full blow girl's-night with Inoue, Kuchiki, Arisawa and Kurosaki's two young sisters (although they weren't very young at this point, considering it had been a good ten years since he and Rangiku had last occupied Inoue's home). They had spent the better part of the evening participating in a mass of feminine torture rituals (at least in his opinion), painting gunk onto their eyes and using hot metal on their hair. Rangiku had left the window open for him, since he was spending the night on the roof, so when a pained shout shot through the air, followed by a surprised blast of reiatsu, he had the misfortune of swinging down into one particular scene of a feminine aesthetic practice that horrified him for years.

When he flew through the window, haori blown out behind him, Hyourinmaru's hilt in his hand, he expected to be confronted with nothing less than a Hollow. To his misfortune, the scene he came upon was Rangiku kneeling beside Arisawa's legs, a strip of an adhesive substance in her hand and a surprised look on her face. In fact, all of the women in the room had looked up at his entrance, the expression on their faces ranging from surprise to curiosity to, in Rangiku's case, amusement.

"Yes, taichou?" Rangiku had asked a smile of coy innocence blooming across her face as she dumped the strip of adhesive in a small waste basket off to the side. Toshirou blinked, looking from between her and Arisawa and, upon seeing other strips of the same glue attached to Arisawa's legs, frowned, a look of dismay creeping across his own countenance as he recalled earlier on in the night one of the women complaining about leg hair and ways to get rid of it. He immediately spun around, his face taking on a suspicious burn as he leapt back through the window, Rangiku's delighted laugh and the soft chime of jewellery following him out.

Later on that night (or very early in the morning, depending on the point of view), Rangiku had snuck up onto the roof, a toothy grin on her face as she settled down beside him. He turned a half hearted glare in her direction before looking back up towards the stars.

"Sorry you had to see that, taichou," she breathed into his ear, lifting a hand to run through his hair, the circlets around her wrists jangling. He caught her arm, eyeing the shiny bracelets around her wrists before sending her a questioning glance. She only cocked her head to the side, flicking a stray strand of hair over her shoulder with her free hand.

"Like them?" she cooed, twisting her wrist so the bracelets rattled against each other before adding, "They're Orihime-chan's. They make me feel pretty." Toshirou raised an eyebrow before he leaned forward, taking one of the bangles between his teeth as his eyes sought out hers. The cheeky smile on her face drooped to form a small O, her thin eyebrows shooting up in surprise. Toshirou slowly drew all of the bangles off her fine wrist, using only his teeth and only letting his lips leave her skin when he dropped the bracelets to the roof. His eyes never left hers and when all of the bracelets were gone, he pressed a firm kiss to the pulse point of her wrist.

"You don't need jewellery," he muttered roughly against her wrist, letting his tongue dart out to taste her skin. "You never need jewellery, or anything else for that matter. Don't let anyone tell you differently." Rangiku's eyes went wide and, to his immense surprise, a fine blush dusted her cheeks. He didn't have time to comment before she threw her arms around his neck and tackled him to the roof, her soft laughter ringing in his ears.

He loved the fragile skin of her elbows. She was ticklish there as well, especially when he would gather small sparks of reiatsu in the pads of his fingers and brush small lazy circles into her flesh, starting with her elbow and dancing up to her inner bicep, sending bursts of tingling power rushing up her arm that had her blurting out surprised yelps of mirth.

Toshirou had found this sensitive spot on her arms on a sunny afternoon. He had taken a break from the ever growing mountain of paper work on his deck and was out inspecting the training exercises of his subordinates. He had been walking for about an hour, examining forms and offering advice when needed, before he settled down in a small courtyard made specifically for the 10th division's seated officers. Despite himself, he ended up falling asleep in the middle of the yard, leaning up against a tree overlooking a large coy pond.

When he awoke, he was lying on Rangiku's lap, he head cradled in the crook of her arm. He must have been more tired than he thought not to have awoken when she had entered the courtyard or when she had rearranged him onto her lap. Feeling slightly mortified that he had been caught napping when he was supposed to be working (that was Matsumoto's job, not his!), Toshirou attempted to remove himself from her lap. Rangiku seemed to have other plans seeing as she used the hand not holding up his head, to press him back against her legs. He half-heartedly scowled up at her but when he caught the pinched smile on her face, he consented to lying back. He'd seen that look before. Right after Ichimaru's defection, and the months that followed afterwards, Rangiku would sometimes get a pained look on her face, her ever present smile would disappear and she would actually do paperwork.

The first time it happened, he had thought it was because she was as upset as everyone else for not realising Aizen's treachery and thought that after enough time she would be back to her exuberant self. So he left her to her duties, even though Matsumoto doing paperwork was a frightening idea to comprehend. However, as the weeks progressed and Rangiku continued working diligently, not touching a drop of sake the entire time, Toshirou was forced to realise that she was more deeply affected by the desertion of her childhood friend than he had previously thought. He hadn't known how to comfort her back then but now he knew that just being there and offering her his presence was usually enough to cheer her up.

It had been years since he had last seen that look in his eyes, so he turned his face to the side and pressed a warm kiss to her arm, silently vowing unpleasant things on whomever had put that expression back on her face. He watched as she let out a soft sigh and her pinched smile relaxed into a soft grin. He pressed another kiss to her arm, this time higher up on the inner crease of her elbow, and she jerked in shock, a soft laugh breathing passed her lips. Toshirou smirked and did it again, continuing until the shadows were truly gone from her eyes and she was leaning down for a kiss.

He loved her collarbone. It stood out in defined contrast from her neck and he loved marking the smooth skin there with fervent kisses as Rangiku wound her arms around his shoulders, her breathing sharp and rapid in his ear as her long fingers curled into his hair. The only thing he didn't like about her collarbone was the fact that she wore her uniform so loose in the front that the fabric offered no cover from wandering eyes. And since almost all the men around her seemed to watch her ample bosom with a devoted fascination, any marks left on her neckline were dually noted and examined with a clinical efficiency that was later discussed in private with almost an air of jealousy.

Toshirou knew this because he had been present on one such discussion. It had only been a few weeks since the beginning of their intimate relationship and they both wanted it to remain private. Toshirou more so because he didn't want Rangiku's reputation hurt by her association with him, and Rangiku because she didn't want her taichou suffering any flak for whom he decided to shack up with (his face went so red when she said that, it was adorable!).

However, one night during their more... enthusiastic romps, Toshirou had bitten the skin of her collarbone, intent on leaving his mark due to his growing frustration at the amount of attention she garnered from the male population of Seireitei. It had bothered him before, but now it was positively irksome how much time men spent staring at her chest. He just wanted them to stop eyeing her like a piece of meat and if he had to claim territory to make them stop, then so be it (Hourinmaru had been quite pleased at his possessiveness). He had forgotten about it by the next morning, and had gone about his day as usual, the only difference being the surprise visit from Kyouraku and Ukitake.

Evidently, they had wanted to play the 'let's annoy l'il Shirou-chan,' game. Ukitake wanted to give him another bag of candy and another unneeded warning about working too hard, and Kyouraku wanted to give him advice about women so that he would stop being such a 'stick in the mud,' and find a nice girl to 'shack up with.' He only had a moment to reflect on the irony of hearing nearly that exact statement from Rangiku, before she made her appearance in the office. She strode up to his desk with a pot of tea and three cups, placing them gently on the wooden surface before turning to their visitors with a big (evil) smile.

Toshirou had just taken a sip of tea when he noticed the very red mark that he had placed on her the night before and very nearly choked on the hot beverage. He hadn't broken her skin, but there was a very definite love bite decorating her neckline right above her breast (he could see the faint outline of teeth for heaven's sake!). Kyouraku had taken that unfortunate moment to notice as well and very nearly choked on his saliva. Ukitake noticed a moment later, but was more successful in controlling his features and managed not to gape like Kyouraku. Rangiku then tossed them a wave and left the office, saying she had errands to run. Hitsugaya scowled, knowing she didn't have anything she needed to go out to do, but didn't have the courage to call her on it in case she ended up staying.

As soon as she was gone, Kyouraku let out a loud bark of a laugh.

"Well now, I guess Rangiku-chan's finally found someone to settle down with. Oh what a lucky guy, did you see the size of that hickey? I'm so jealous!" he exclaimed. Loudly. Toshirou grimaced but managed to catch himself before he was noticed. At least that's what he thought. He failed to spot the curious look Ukitake, gave him as he placed his cup back on his desk. He pasted on his best bored-yet-curious look and settled back in his chair.

"What do you mean?" he asked dryly before he could stop himself (he couldn't help himself, he was curious about what Kyouraku meant, damn it!), then he added, "And why does it matter? Are you only here to bother me? Or do you need anything else?" He shot off the questions in quick succession as he started fiddling absentmindedly with the arms of his chair. Kyouraku's face lit up in a grin that threatened to split his face and proceeded to tell him exactly what he meant, ignoring Hitsugaya's last questions as if he had never said them. Ukitake looked amused.

"Ran-chan always said she would never wear the marks of any man she wasn't serious about." He threw his arms in the air, adding, "Oh what a terrible day for men everywhere, our Ran-chan has fallen in love and is forever lost to us. How will we mortal men ever survive knowing that we will never have the chance to dine upon the ambrosia that is her golden flesh?" he exclaimed, a just a hair on the side of melodramatic. Kyouraku then proceeded to go through the motions of weeping hysterically into his hands. Ukitake rolled his eyes at the display, and then turned to Hitsugaya who was eyeing Kyouraku with distaste, his cheeks warming just the slightest bit in satisfaction at Kyouraku's words.

"Do you know who she's seeing?" he asked with a benign smile of curiosity that immediately set Hitsugaya on edge. Kyouraku shot to his feet, slamming his hand onto Hitsugaya's desk and looking at him with an intense look of concentration. Hitsugaya was pretty sure that Kyouraku was about to start frothing at the mouth.

"Yes, you must tell us who had stolen our lovely goddess! You must tell us who has marked her wondrous flesh!" Hitsugaya scowled and removed his hands from the arms of his chair, crossing his arms across his chest as he gave Kyouraku a nasty look.

"Even if I did know, I wouldn't tell you. It's none of your business whom she spends her time with, so refrain from speaking about her like she's an object unless you wish to be thrown out of my office," he snapped, the frustration he felt over the commonly held opinion that Rangiku was someone's plaything boiling darkly under his skin. Kyouraku looked at him in surprise, not expecting the harsh words. Ukitake also looked surprised but he was giving Hitsugaya a speculative look that he instantly dreaded. Ukitake leaned back in his seat, folding his hands carefully in his lap before speaking carefully.

"You wouldn't have happened to have been the one who gave her that love bite, would you?" Kyouraku's eyes looked ready to bulge out of his head as he whipped his head back and forth between Ukitake and Hitsugaya. To Toshirou's immense horror, he could feel the beginnings of a burning heat rising to his cheeks. He spluttered, tried for an articulate argument, failed, and burst out with a shrill,

"What?! No!" Kyouraku's mouth was gaping so wide his jaw looked ready to fall off his face. He started flailing his arms around and was spluttering in amused indignation.

"Shirou-chan is shacking up with Ran-chan? Shirou-chan is shacking up with Ran-chan?!" He positively shrieked, jumping back and pointing accusatorily, knocking his chair over in the process. The sharp bang the chair made at it hit the floor went unnoticed. "Shirou-chan, thel'il taichou of 10th division, is shacking up with the Goddess of Sake, Matsumoto Rangiku?!" Kyouraku's voice shot up another few octaves. Toshirou scowled, his face darkening to a lovely horrified crimson (it didn't help that he was getting angry over being called small, he was as tall as Ukitake-taichou, damn it!).

"Why don't you say it louder? I think there are people in the living world who didn't hear you," he snarled caustically through clenched teeth, his fingers curling into fists atop his desk.

"So it's true?!" To Toshirou's credit, he did try as hard as possible to persuade (read: force) the two captains from spilling the beans. Now, Ukitake wasn't so much a problem, considering that he understood peoples need for privacy, but once Kyouraku got an idea in his head, there wasn't a force in the world that would stop him from sharing it with everyone. By the end of the week, all of Seireitei knew of his and Rangiku's relationship and Toshirou ended up hiding in his office to escape from the well-wishers and congratulators. Rangiku thought it was absolutely hilarious and said that that was what he got for being so anal retentive.

He loved her ears. He loved giving little nips to the edge of the firm shell of cartilage and listening to Rangiku's sharp gasp as he did so. He loved dragging his teeth down the soft fleshy lobe, pulling it into his mouth and then releasing it with a small wet pop. Rangiku would shudder in delight and twist her head from side to side; giving him perfect access to plant lingering kisses on her elegant neck. He loved licking the hollow valley behind her ear, his nose buried in her soft red-gold tresses, the delicate baby curls of her hair-line tickling his cheeks.

Now, there was something to say about being a genius. Toshirou had an excellent vocabulary and he took full advantage of his knowledge whenever he could. Especially considering that he could whisper things in Rangiku's ear that set her lovely face aflame and keep a straight face the entire time he said it (which was saying something, because Rangiku had spent the better part of her life hanging around drunken idiots who could swear like the raunchiest sailors of Rukongai and not still not crack a smile if she didn't want to)

In retaliation for letting the secret of their relationship loose (although in all honesty, it was mostly his fault) Toshirou had, during a meeting of the Captains and their Vices, murmured softly in her ear, lips barely moving, what he was going to do to her after the meeting, how he was going to do it and how long he was going to do it for. By the end of his speech her face was so red that Ukitake had interrupted Yamamoto-soutaicho and asked her if anything was wrong. She had just coughed lightly and said she wasn't feeling well as Toshirou looked on in blank interest.

He loved her hair. The waterfall of red-gold tresses was always tempting him to gather up handfuls, enticing him to twirl the long strands of silk around his fingers and grasp the hair at the nape of her neck to bring her close for a lip-searing kiss. He loved how her long curls would spread out over his chest when she would lay her head on his shoulder and especially loved drawing his fingers through her hair when wet, when the locks of red-gold were slick and smooth and grasped at his fingers with almost a life of their own.

There was a time when he had been so overdrawn with his work and duties, that he had been forced on stress leave by Unohana-taichou for a week of rest and relaxation. He had been understandably upset but, despite his protests, he was still prohibited from his captain duties until Unohana-taichou deemed him in good health. He had been so incredibly frustrated that he had actually decided to go to the baths, as per suggestion of Unohana, and should have known that Rangiku would have taken advantage of the situation. He had just settled down into the steaming water (which for some reason was devoid of any other shinigami) when he found his lap filled by a buxom red-headed goddess. He actually jolted in surprise and Rangiku gave him an enquiring look, a graceful brow raised in question.

"You really must be under the weather if you didn't notice me nearby," she purred softly as Toshirou lifted his hands to her hips, giving her a flat look that told her he wasn't appreciative of her comment. He used his grip on her hips to tackle her into the water, sending them both under. When they resurfaced, she was spluttering in indignation, a pout on her face. He smirked and threaded his hands into her hair, his fingers slipping through the slick locks that were plastered to her face and shoulders, curling around her arms and chest like perfectly painted ribbons. He didn't get much rest that week, but in the end he felt more relaxed than he had in years.

He loved her jaw and lips. He loved drawing the backs of his fingers across her cheek, taking pleasure in the softness of skin he found there as he followed the trail of his knuckles with his mouth. He loved watching Rangiku's full lips as they parted in soft sighs and shuddering gasps. He loved watching her bite her bottom lip with her straight white teeth, throwing her head to the side as he ran his fingers down her sides and took her with slow rolls of his hips.

Rangiku told him once that one of her favourite memories was of kissing him on the roof in the living world. Toshirou had been watching the stars, keeping away from the small party Kurosaki was throwing in accordance to his anti-social tendencies. The party was still going strong when Rangiku crawled up to the roof and sat down beside him.

"Why don't you come inside?" she asked quietly, only enquiring for the sake of propriety. She already knew the answer, but she always asked just in case he decided to surprise her by actually agreeing to socialize. He just turned a dry look in her direction. She rolled her eyes and levered herself up on her elbow, leaning over his face to press a quick kiss to his lips. It was at that moment that one of Kurosaki's friends (the perverted one that tried to cop a feel of Rangiku every chance he got, Toshirou thought in annoyance) clambered up to the roof, supposedly looking for them as per demand of Kurosaki. He caught sight of them and let out a horrified shriek of indignation.

"How...How? The little kid...and, and...Naughty school girl?" he promptly fainted in a heap, leaving Toshirou and Rangiku lying there in surprised silence. After a moment Rangiku burst out laughing, lips red and full and stretched into a dazzling smile as she pressed her face into Toshirou's shoulder, shaking with amusement. Toshirou just watched her silently, a small smile growing on his face as a feeling of contentment washed through him with a sudden warmth that left him breathless.

What he loved most about her was her mind. Rangiku was witty and had a dryness to her humour that rivalled his in its caustic quality. The insight she had on the minds of their subordinates was also indispensible to Toshirou. He didn't think that he would have made it through the first through years of his captaincy if not for her knowledge of the inner workings of the division. Being as young as he had been, his experience was constantly called into question so Rangiku's awareness of their subordinates and her ability to merge the bridge between taichou and division members was crucial in the eventual unification of the division.

He loved her for all of who she was, mind, body and soul. So while he did enjoy her ample bosom, he just couldn't see how anyone could focus on just one part of Matsumoto Rangiku and then turn around and call him crazy for not appreciating it when there was so much about her that was just as fascinating.