Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach

Matsumoto sighed softly and gently brushed a silver lock away from his eyes to reveal the beauty of his calm features. She couldn't help it but adore the way he looked when he slept… It was a rare sight to witness the lack of a stressed expression on his face… Which was such a terrible pity… since she couldn't remember ever seeing anything that touched her that deeply…

How will you react…? she bit her lower lip as the disturbing thought entered her mind yet once again. Rangiku let out another sigh and leaned forward placing a loving kiss on his cold forehead. She feared it could be the last kiss she gave him…

Hitsugaya slightly shifted, burying his face deeper into the pillow and a small smile appeared on his lips. Matsumoto watched him for few more seconds, then carefully got out of the bed. She didn't bother dressing, just silently walked out of the bedroom. Bare-footed and wearing only a pale-pink nightgown she entered the small living-room and sat on the couch, tucking her legs beneath her. Her eyes fell on the object in her hand.

How did I get myself into this mess…? She bit thumb-nail as she remembered how it had begun Oh yeah… It all started with few drinks…

Flashback

Matsumoto hiccupped as she almost tripped over her own feet and continued reeling down the dark street along with Kira, Hisagi and Ikkaku. They were going back home after another one of their 'binges', their minds blurry from the huge amount of alcohol they had engulfed.

'I want to play a game!' Rangiku groaned, catching up with Ikkaku who had Kira's hand over his shoulders and was almost dragging the half-dead blond. Hisagi redirected his hazy eyes to her bored expression.

'What kind of game?' he asked, then lifted his hand with a half-empty bottle in it and poured some of the content into his mouth.

'OOH! I know! Let's see who can count all the ants we see on out way home!' Rangiku cheered almost making Hisagi swallow the bottle.

'That's soooooooooo…what's the word?… lame.' Ikkaku announced and Kira agreed with a low groan.

'Then… how about we go hit on somebody?' Matsumoto offered before she slipped and fell on her back.

'Do you think that we'll look attractive to anyone in our current state?' Hisagi sadly shook the almost empty bottle 'I think… not…'

'Bullshit!' Rangiku sat up, looking like she had some ants spinning around her head 'I… I can make anyone fall in love with me… anytime… I'll willingly run naked around the whole Sereitei if I'm wrong…'

Hisagi and Ikkaku exchanged sly drunken looks.

'Anyone?' they repeated in unison.

'You bet!' with that she managed to stand up.

'Ok, then… We'll pick you somebody, ANYBODY and if you make him fall in love with you in a month, we'll buy you your drinks for three months.' Ikakku announced, suddenly looking very sober. Matsumoto's face lit up at the thought of free drinks for such a long time.

'If you can't do it… you'll have to run naked around the whole Sereitei!' Hisagi added with a very wily smile on his lips.

'I agreeeeeeeeeee!' Matsumoto shouted, free drinks being the only thing she could think about at that moment.

'Wonderful!' Ikakku let Kira's limp body fall on the ground and walked to Hisagi. For few moments they discussed something quietly. When they were done they turned to Matsumoto.

'We decided who's going to be the lucky guy!' Ikakku grinned 'The winner is… Hitsugaya-taicho!'

End of flashback.

Matsumoto sighed as she looked at the tape-recorder in her hands.

The morning after she had made the bet she had woken up and realized what she had agreed to. She had immediately tried to cancel the bet, but Hisagi and Ikakku had objected. They told her the three of them had made a deal, period. She hadn't been able to do anything against that. It would've ruined her reputation as a woman of honor that always fulfilled her promises.

At the beginning she had thought about the possibility of actually admitting that she wasn't able to make any man fall in love with her and just do whatever she had to do in that case. But being the shy person she was, she really didn't want to run naked around Sereitei. So she had gathered all her courage and had begun her mission. For her surprise it hadn't been hard to make the diminutive taicho fall in love with her. She even had wondered whether he had had some feeling for her before that…

The hard part had been to make him relax and spend some time with her. But then everything had gone smoothly. She had managed to make him laugh, smile and blush umpteen times. And somehow in the end a month had happened to be more than enough…

But right now Matsumoto wasn't sure what to do. She didn't want to break his heart; she didn't want to hurt him… And that was exactly what was going to happen if she told him about the bet.

Rangiku frowned. Maybe that was it. She simply wouldn't tell him. Though… she really suspected some of her friends could just blurt out the truth. And the gossip-factor… Somehow when something more dramatic happened, everybody in Sereitei found out about it. It was really troublesome to keep your personal life to yourself.

Matsumoto sighed. She didn't have a choice. She just had to threaten everybody that if they opened their mouths she would kill them and make sure her little Shiro lived in pleasant ignorance. Period.

She reached for the phone and picked up the receiver. Few seconds after dialing the number Ikakku answered.

'Rangiku!' he cheered 'Are you ready to show your naked beauty to the world? It's the last day, remember?'

'Yes, I remember.' Matsumoto smirked 'And I've got little Shiro's confession of love right here, recorded.'

There was silence for a couple of seconds. Rangiku waited patiently. After all, her bald buddy needed some time to comprehend the new information.

'SAY WHAT!' he shouted 'I want to hear it!'

Rangiku lifted the tape-recorder near the receiver and turned it on. There was some noise in the beginning, which was probably the sound of a nervous Rangiku placing the recorder on a proper place. Then there was a knock. A sound of door, being opened…

'Um… Hi.' Came Hitsugaya's voice.

'Hello, taicho!' sound of Matsumoto closing the door behind the boy. 'You sounded strange on the phone. What is it that you wanted to tell me in personal?'

Rangiku remembered his stressed expression and the way he wouldn't stop biting his lower lip every few seconds or so.

'Yes, well… You see… I…' a sigh, then his voice became softer 'You better sit down.'

She remembered doing so, though she never broke the eye contact.

'Am I fired?' Mastumoto's voice asked. The question was followed by Hitsugaya's low chuckle.

'No, no, of course not!'

'Then what is it?'

Pause. Then Hitsugaya spoke once again, softly and uncertainly.

'You're a very special woman, Matsumoto Rangiku. You're intelligent, skilled and beautiful. No normal man can stay indifferent to you. Indifferent to the way you smile, the way you laugh, indifferent to your voice and the way you move… And so, I'm no exception.' There was a pause, then the sound of him taking a deep breath 'During the last month my simple attraction to you grew into something more. It turned into a feeling I never felt before. And I spend lots of time thinking what that feeling was. It was a mix of many other emotions and it was… so powerful it was almost scary. It was happiness and sadness at the same time, it was torn between admiration and confusion… desire, longing, tenderness, helplessness, pain and more. So much more. My heart was ripping apart when I couldn't see you and it was aching so hard when you were near and I couldn't touch you… And… What I mean to say is…' pause 'That I love you. I love you with all my heart.'

Matsumoto's gasp was heard. She remembered how Hitsugaya's face had softened as he had shaken his head and smiled sadly.

'I don't expect you to return my feelings. Please don't feel responsible to do so. But I needed to tell you this. It was something I couldn't bear to keep in myself anymore. I beg you, don't let this conversation ruin our friendship. I…' at that point Matsumoto had had grabbed his arm and pulled him towards her, their lips meeting for a first time. He had been stunned at first, not being able to move at all, but then relaxed and let her pull him into her lap and slid her tongue into his mouth. The kiss had been gentle and slow; she had been afraid she would scare him off if she had gone too fast for him to handle.

After that it hadn't been too hard to convince him to stay with her for the night. They had kissed and talked the whole evening, then she had made him sleep in her bed. She had teased him until he had finally agreed and then she had gotten her dream come true – she had finally been able to actually cuddle him.

'Oh my GOD! I can't believe he actually said that!' Ikakku exclaimed.

'I want you to promise not to tell anyone about the bet!' Matsumoto said as she turned off the tape-recorder.

'Why not?' Ikakku asked.

'Because I don't want you to! Period!' Matsumoto growled 'Nobody needs to know.'

'Are you kiddin' me? Hitsugaya confessing his love to his fukutaicho in such way!' He giggled 'Scandalous!'

'Ikakku!'

'Why are you so worried about this? You don't have a crush on the little blizzard, do you?'

At that point Matsumoto got really angry.

'LISTEN TO ME BALDY! IT WAS JUST A STUPID BET! I SAID I CAN MAKE ANYONE FALL IN LOVE WITH ME AND I DID IT! I MADE MY TAICHO FALL IN LOVE WITH ME AND RECORDED HIS CONFESSION TO PROVE IT! YOU GOT WHAT YOU WANTED, I WON THE BET AND NOW IF YOU EVER DARE TO TE-' Matsumoto stopped mid-sentence as she suddenly noticed a small figure standing near the door. Her heart missed a beat as she found herself staring into a pair of shocked jade eyes.

'Oh God…' she whispered 'How much did you hear?'

'Enough.' Hitsugaya answered, his voice almost a whisper 'So… this was all actually… a bet, huh? You planned it…'

'I-it's not what it looks like.' Matsumoto stammered as she managed to stand up. Hitsugaya's eyes suddenly became angry.

'I'm sure it's not.' He answered, his cold voice making her shiver. He turned around and disappeared into the bedroom. Matsumoto hurried after him. He was gathering his things and when she tried to place her hand on his shoulder, he pulled away and glared at her – his big jade eyes filled with hurt.

'Don't touch me!' he snapped and hurried pass her, wearing only his trousers and the captain haori. 'I'm such an idiot... Thinking that someone like you may actually have some feelings for someone like me...'

'Toushiro, please, just listen to me!' Matsumoto pleaded as he walked out of the apartment. Hitsugaya turned around to face her.

'Don't call me by my first name! I'm your taicho, so address me properly.' His cold angry voice was trembling and his shoulders were contracted.

'Hear me out!'

'Save it. I don't care.' He pursed his lips and turned around.

'No wait, I need to tell you…' she started but it was too late. He had shunpoed away.

'…I love you…' she finished, staring at the spot where he had been standing moments ago.

Ok, so this is actually going to be a two-shot. One more chapter. I hope you liked this one, please review!