Author Note: Hi! This is CrazyAce'n'PokerFace with a drabble and/or one-shot series. We've seen this sort of collection around, and personally I thought I'd try my hand at it, see if I could actually write something SHORT. These drabbles will be mostly unconnected, spanning a number of years and situations, set in both Bleachverse and AU. There might be mentions of other couples, but for the most part it will concentrate on the awesomeness that is the Hitsugaya and Karin love story. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. :)

Chapter One: First

The first time he ever kissed her was on a sunny winter day, the light glinting off the freshly fallen snow, the white expanse stretching before him.

Until a blur of black and scarlet entered his peripheral vision. A teenage girl wearing a glaring red scarf careened wildly past him, pushing him aside and jumping into the nearest pile of snow with a loud whoop.

"Come on, Toushirou!" shouted Kurosaki Karin. "Keep dragging that sled! We've got to get it to the top of the hill!"

Grinning madly, she picked herself up and raced back towards him, brushing the powdered snow off her legs and stretching out a hand to grasp the rope connected to an old wooden sled, fingers brushing against his as they both pulled it uphill, defying the forces of gravity. Karin continued talking to him, her topics ranging from snowboarding to Hollow-killing, from soccer practice to Hyourinmaru. Actually, she spent quite a bit of time asking after his dragon, inquiring about his health and how he was doing, causing his zanpakutou spirit to rumble contentedly in answer. Hitsugaya just replied with one-word sentences, occasionally smirking at a particular comment or observation of hers, easily falling back into their familiar camaraderie.

At the top of the hill, she placed herself firmly at the front of the sled, patting the space behind her and telling him to hurry up and get on. Sighing, he still obliged her, folding his legs next to hers and reaching around her to take hold of the rope, fully planning on steering the sled himself. Pouting, she turned around and stuck her tongue out at him, but nevertheless leaned back against him, the top of her head nestling comfortably under his chin. He blushed a little once he realized the intimacy of their position, and coughed once to get rid of the sudden discomfort in his throat.

"What's the matter?" she asked, pushing at his wrists. "Aren't we gonna go sledding already?"

"Yeah. Sorry, got a little lost in my thoughts for a minute," he replied, tightening his hands on the rope.

"Oh, really?" she asked teasingly. "Well, you better start paying attention now," she finished as they began the swift journey downhill. Throwing her hands up and laughing in exhilaration, she inadvertently jostled him and caused him to lose control of the sled, sending them spinning wildly about in the last half of the ride, the sled landing unceremoniously in a nearby snow-bank.

As he picked himself off the ground, grumbling to himself about crazy girls and stupid sleds, he spared a glance at Karin.

And saw her sprawled out beside the overturned sled, a contented smile on her face as she lazily moved her arms though the snow, making an angel on the ground. His heart squeezed a little, and he walked over to lie down beside her. Still smiling, she turned her head to face him and spoke, "You know, Toushirou, I really love snow. It's the best thing ever…" and here she glanced away from his blue-green gaze, "…partly because it reminds me of you."

And he knew she was telling him she loved him.

Grinning, he stood up and offered a hand to help her up, and sheepishly she took it, risking a look at his face to judge his reaction. In answer he simply pulled her up, then gently took her other hand, until they were standing toe to toe, staring at each other.

"Toushirou, I—" she began before he suddenly cut her off with a kiss.

It was short and sweet, a little cold and a little awkward—just like him, she thought hazily—and then he was pulling away, bending over to pick up the rope and start dragging the sled uphill once more.

"You coming?" he said, a satisfied smirk on his face as he turned to look back at her.

Scowling at his knowing expression, Karin opened her mouth to yell at him before shutting it again as an idea occurred to her.

"Toushirou?" she asked sweetly.

"Yes?" he said turning around again, his brows lifted slightly. "What's the pro—"

Only he never finished the sentence, because a fistful of snow hit him squarely in the face. And really, after that there was only one option left.

Fifteen minutes later, when Yuzu stopped by to check on them, she found them furiously engaged in a snowball fight, both of them laughing without a care in the world, just enjoying an ordinary winter's day.

Endnote

CrazyAce: So that's one drabble down—a hundred to go! *pumping fist in air and jumping up and down like crazy*

PokerFace: Ummm…yeah. Please ignore the madwoman, and review if you can. :)