Dreaming

Hitsugaya slipped into her room that night, not thinking of what would happen if someone caught him. His mind, too full with thoughts of her, ignored all screams of logic. The room was rather impressive for being a lieutenant's room. Aizen obviously pampered her, or tried to at least.

He had a feeling that she turned down many offers from him over the years.

Still, the room was nearly as big as a captain's, with a massive bed the jewel of it all; though in his eyes the true jewel slumbered on top of the silken covers.

Momo, he thought lovingly as he crept closer to her sleeping form. Ah, what a fool I've been all this time… So many opportunities have arrived for me to tell you, yet I never took advantage of any. I've been so blind, and for that I'm truly sorry. If only I'd seen what's right in front of me this entire time.

"I love you, Momo Hinamori," he whispered out loud surprising himself. He hadn't meant to speak, and the volume of his voice had come out a bit louder than he would've ever intended. Momo mumbled tiredly in her sleep, and he froze. Please don't wake up, Sweetheart. He pulled a face—now he was using nicknames in his head. What's next?

"T'shiro?" she questioned drowsily.

Not good.

Well, what did he have left to lose?

"Momo, can you hear me?" he asked quietly.

"Little Shiro?" she asked.

"Yes, it's me," he responded eagerly. "Come on now, you're dreaming."

"This is a dream?" She sounded confused.

"Yeah, Idiot, it's a dream." His eyebrows twitched impatiently.

"No, it's not a dream," she corrected gently. "In my dreams… Little Shiro is always Little Shiro. Not the mean captain he's turned into over the years."

"I was hardly kind when we were kids, Bed-Wetter," he scoffed, hands dangling at his side as he carefully watched her semi-slumbering form. She didn't seem totally aware of where he was, just that his voice was floating to her from some undisclosed location.

"Maybe… maybe not the nicest child, but you were so… so much sweeter, and…" She suddenly stopped speaking.

"Ah, what is it Momo? Come on, don't leave me hanging!" he quickly replied, hoping to talk to her honestly for a few more moments if at all possible.

"You were so cold, Shiro," she said between a yawn. "Your reiatsu, that is. You, yourself, though… you were full of so much warmth."

A single tear trailed down her cheek.

"Momo?"

"Was it me, Shiro? Did I freeze that loving heart of yours?" She sniffled softly before continuing. "I'm so sorry, Little Shiro, I'm so sorry."

"Hey, come on, you have nothing to be sorry for, do you hear me?" he gently chided. "After all…"

He paused and looked away from her briefly. She thought it was a dream, so he could say whatever he liked without repercussions—right? She looked in his general direction, her face slightly confused, but more dazed than anything. Smiling slightly, Toshiro walked forward and turned to lean against the edge of her bed, turning his head to gaze at her for a moment before responding.

"If it weren't for you, my heart would've frozen over long ago. Without you, I would've lost myself to this mess—to being a captain. I love my job, don't get me wrong, but… For the longest time, I forgot what it felt like to have a friend, and I forgot…"

He cut himself off, swallowing nervously and frowning. Even half-asleep as she was, Momo noticed this and sat up, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. He turned towards her with a single tear trailing down his face and said, "I almost forgot what it felt like to be in love with my best friend."

Momo's gaze became one of slight confusion and shock. "Toshiro is—is that true? But, no, it can't be right?"

His heart started to race as he responded heatedly, "Of course it's true!"

She laughed, a gentle sound in her state. "No, I mean, this is a dream right? So I guess it won't be true when I wake up?"

"Yeah, this is a dream. A dream where we can do whatever we want… right?" he asked, starting to feel a little daring.

"Yes. You're right. I just wish… what you said… well I wish I could've heard it from the real Shiro first," she mumbled. He frowned a little more as she said this.

Little did she know…

Without another moment of hesitation, Toshiro leaned in and pressed his lips firmly against Momo's. She quickly pulled back, truly surprised now.

"Sh-Shiro?" she stuttered uncertainly.

"This is a dream, right?" he said, half mocking, half serious. "So why not enjoy it?" And that went double in his case. He leaned towards her again, slower this time to make sure she was all right with it, before proceeding. Suddenly nothing else matter except her being there with him.

The kissing started out slow, but with every passing second, became more heated and lively. A cold kind of fire overtook their senses as they went from these vigorous kisses to rolling onto the bed, silent demands being met. By the time the sun appeared in the morning sky, Toshiro had made very clear to Momo his feelings, and she hers.

He also assured her that it was all a dream, as much as it pained him.

It would be kind of hard to explain to your best friend that you snuck into her bedroom in the middle of the night, and then proceeded to deflower her.

The next morning everything seemed back to normal as he sat at his desk shuffling through papers. Irritable intruders or boring peace—either one somehow resulted in obscene amounts of paperwork. Someone really needed to take a look into re-doing the paper system around here.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, and absently he granted entrance.

He looked up to see not his lieutenant or one of his squad's men, but rather his best friend—Momo herself.

Nearly falling off his seat, he quickly regained his composure, folding his hands on the desk and waiting for her to speak. She twisted her hands together nervously and took a seat upon the couch in the room, not daring to look him in the eye.

"What is it, Momo?" he asked in concern—not only for his actions last night, but for anything that might actually be wrong.

"I… I had a dream last night Toshiro," she explained, as a sinking feeling dragged his stomach into a bottomless pit. She remembered—everything.

"What about it?" he managed, not letting his voice to slip up and crack or anything embarrassing like that. He either had to think of a way out of this, or a way to amend the situation and quickly.

"Toshiro, please don't think too poorly of me if—if I told you…" she trailed off, hands clenching into fists. He could feel cold sweat rolling down his back. Was she about to confess her love? He couldn't accept that and then not tell her about what transpired the night before. But could he accept it and tell her about what had happened?

Neither choice seemed to hold very favorable results.

"Momo, I—," he started, knowing he had to tell her first. But she interrupted him.

"Please don't hate me!" she said with a sudden intensity. "But I was awake the whole time! I'm sorry!" She bowed her head, shame coloring her face red—her face, when he had been the one to do such things to her while thinking she was unaware.

He was the villain, yet here she was acting like a crook that'd been caught!

"Please don't apologize," he said stiffly, barely able to hold her gaze when she looked at him. "If anyone should apologize, it's me for taking advantage of you. I would understand if you deemed it appropriate to report my actions."

"What—no! I would never!" she exclaimed, rushing to her feet. "I—I just wanted to say that I enjoyed it, that's all! A-and maybe next time neither of us will have to pretend to sleep for it to happen!" As soon as she finished she bowed quickly, making a small meep sound, before hustling out the door.

Leaving behind one surprised captain.

He leaned back in his chair, feeling his body shake from suddenly loosened muscles that had been standing taut since her arrival. A breath of air, almost a mix between a sigh and chuckle crept out from between his lips and relief washed over him.

Not only had the whole mess turned out to be acceptable to both of them…

But if he was really lucky, he'd be able to experience it again.

He smirked smugly to himself and resumed his paperwork.