I wrote this piece a long time ago and was quite fond of it, but never had the chance to do anything with it. however, it seemed fitting for the final theme of "new beginnings".
The gratitude he has for the life he lives now doesn't come all at once.
There are moments where he feels it deeply, like when he hears positive news on his subordinates' safety on inter-worldly missions. But most days, his gratitude is silent and subconscious, and comes out in his everyday moments.
It's cooler today, and there is gratitude in that. The breakfast he eats is fulfilling, tastes delicious, and there is gratitude. Sometime in the long day he takes a break from paperwork, and even in that there is gratitude. Later he goes outside to look at the setting of the sky, which is beautiful and blended in warm hues across the stratosphere. In the sea of nostalgia he feels, he finds gratitude, even though there is no name for it. Just the feeling of tightness in his chest as his breath leaves his lungs.
It's something he never places, never assigns when it makes itself known in the little moments. Despite this fact, it carries his everyday actions. It carries his being and motivation and willingness to wear the shihakusho uniform. It carries his reason to sit at the desk for hours when it feels uninspired. It carries his reason to complete the hours of grueling training sessions. It even carries his reason when the moments are sweet and restful on the days off.
Gratitude was in the way she slept, breathing calm, steady, quiet. A face so candid with lids drawn shut, head full of dreams.Â
On the day of their marriage, with that veil partially obscuring her face, still see-through were the brown eyes from his childhood underneath, wet and starry.Â
His entire being aches.
Before him, is the reason for it all. Before him is the smallest amount of luck that led him to the unbearable emotion he feels now. The reason why he forgave the world a long time ago, and will continue to forgive it, for as long as he lives. Before him, is his future waiting to be written.Â
And for that, he is beyond grateful.
~~~
thank you for reading! wishing you all love & light in the coming new year.
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(2nd submission for the theme "a quiet moment". this drabble is separate from the prior submission; I just had 2 different ideas for the same theme.)
~~~
Hitsugaya remembers the words Isshin spoke to him as they stood on a grassy hill.
"If you care about someone, you need to become strong enough to protect them."
Isshin's voice is clear, full-bodied.
"When you eventually become captain, you'll climb higher in rank," The lapels of those stainless white captain's robes flutter in the wind. Both 10th division seated members, one captain, one third seat, are standing on a grassy hill overlooking the entire Seireitei. The Soukyoku can be seen in the distance. "You'll be responsible for everyone under you."
Around where they stand, the long grasses bristle, some of the drier strands picked up by the wind to carry through the sky.
"And as time passes, you'll make more friends...and you'll have more people you'll need to protect."Â
Hitsugaya remembers, even in those old days. How the captain haori fit on Isshin. Not too loose, not too tight. How the simple cross mark branding the number '10' looked on his back. The only person in Soul Society allowed to bear the mark of it.
"It's a big responsibility, you get it?"
The young Hitsugaya's gaze never leaves the distant city of souls below them.
"...Yeah."
Isshin's gaze also stays on the horizon.
"That's why...If you care about someone, you need to become strong enough to protect them."
A moment of silence sinks between them as the grasses continue to whisper with the breeze. The words sink heavily in Hitsugaya's mind, too, where they'll follow past youth and into adulthood.
"No pressure. One day, you'll get there. You've already got the work ethic down." Isshin finally glances down, with that signature smile, a flash of perfect teeth, where it meets his equally beaming eyes.
Unbeknownst to Hitsugaya, it becomes the part of his captain he'll remember the most, even centuries later.
~~~
On the heels of autumn into wintertide, the crisp breath of early December was unselfish, and granted no impartiality.
Moments of apricity became sought for, however, when the sun was out just right, and shone just so. One early afternoon in the century post-war, she read as they rested under the sunlit tree of the 10th division garden.
Laying on the grass on his back, Hitsugaya's palms cushion behind his head, staring up at the sky. Beside him, Hinamori's knees are brought up to rest her book on, as she leans back against the tree's wooden trunk.
Nose buried into the pages, Hinamori looks up for a tad just to peruse the person in front of her. His expression, which she can find from his side-profile, appears to be deep in thought.
Placing her book down, she follows his gaze. The sky is fresh, blue as ice, with a few willowy clouds rolling by. She decides it's not the sky he's pondering about.
"Shiro-chan, what are you thinking about?"
It takes him a split-second to return to the present, to process her words and the fact she's speaking to him. That's when his eyes travel over to her, her form with her folded elbows on her knees, awaiting his response.
"Ah." His line of sight finds her curious features looking back at him. "I don't know if you still remember him...but I was just thinking about Shiba. Shiba Isshin. Used to be Shiba-taicho."
"Ah, yeah, Shiba-taicho..." Tracing back her memory, Hinamori could picture his face—jet-black hair, the angled arch of his brows. The captain who, against rumors of being killed in combat, had actually started an entirely new life in the World of the Living by starting a family. He was Hitsugaya’s first and only captain. His first and only mentor. "I remember..."
An easy silence spreads between the two of them.
Hinamori's fingers cruise along the edge of her closed book. "...Does Shiro-chan miss him?"
A bit of a pause falls between them, before Hitsugaya releases a shallow exhale.
"Yes, sometimes I do." His lids lower marginally.Â
Hitsugaya has nothing to hide. The truth lays in the fact that Isshin was the first real role model he ever had. Growing up around women, Hitsugaya never took his chosen family for granted—but in that same vein, it was also true he'd never had a father figure, nor brother figure, let alone, an exemplary male figure in his life to guide him. Perhaps his attachment to Isshin early on resulted from these circumstances, but aside from just those circumstances—Isshin was someone special.
Isshin was the type of person who others gravitated to, wanted to be around. He was funny, outgoing, iron-hearted. Sure, he was rough around the edges, didn't choose his words right sometimes, and had faults—but who didn't? Because of his faults, his authenticity prevailed that much more, and his charisma swirled into every room he walked in. His infectious joy. His hard work. His talent in breathing life into the 10th division. His ability to take it easy, and the effortlessness he had in doing it. His never-ending praise for the boy.Â
The way he loved him like a son.
"He taught me a lot back then...when I was still starting out." Hitsugaya speaks with a soft cadence. "I'm grateful he did. Because when I remembered those things, the pain of missing him became easier."
Hinamori can read the quiet longing in his eyes. The reminiscence, bringing out this unseen emotion in Hitsugaya when he talks about his former captain.
She moves from her spot. Gently, she lays down in the grass beside her childhood friend.
"I'm sure sometimes...he misses you, and Rangiku-san, too."
Hitsugaya's head turns slightly, bristling against the grass to meet her eyes. Her irises are rich, full of faith, accompanied with a smile.
"Hmmm." His eyes go back up to the sky.
Taking the lessons forward...
Shiba-taicho, I wonder, if we still look up at the same sky...
Hinamori brings her palms up in front of her, into the air, fingers spread like wings, as if to touch the clouds. "Oh! Now that I think about it, we've done this before, back home. Star-gazing on that hill. Do you remember, Shiro-chan?"
Isshin's hearty voice: "If you care about someone, you need to become strong enough to protect them."
Hinamori's sweet, pure-hearted voice: "Maybe next weekend, when we go back, we'll lay down like this when it snows. And make snow angels...! I read it from a book, you know..."
Isshin's handsome, smiling face. "So, Toshiro...is there anyone...you want to protect?"
Hitsugaya sighs. He gazes softly at Hinamori as she rambles.
(I'm not sure if this one exactly fits the theme of "a quiet moment", but I wrote this analysis with the feeling of "reflection/retrospection".)
bit of a character study/navigation of toshi and hina's healing journeys and how it weaves into their relationship later on.
~~~
The day Hitsugaya left for the Shinigami Academy was the same day he understood.
As he departed from the safeguard of his grandmother's home, from her finespun, wrinkled form waving at him as he walked away with his sling upon his shoulder, he understood, even from that young age—that protection often meant staying away.
He had not a clue of her underlying health status. And because of it, he felt that much more responsible. She was getting so thin. How could he have been so stupid? If that Shinigami woman hadn't come and told him—what would have happened? Would Obaa-chan really have...?
Protection often meant staying away.Â
He would never bring himself to say it, but that solitude ate away at him, even as a child. Even before his grandmother's declining health. The other kids next door seemed to have trouble being near him; as a matter of fact, they made substantial effort to avoid him entirely—despite being quite close to the girl with the pigtails, whom everyone seemed to get along with. They didn't understand, no one did; but on what grounds could he blame them? What right would he have to feel angry? Would he do the same, if he were in their place?Â
Hitsugaya never wanted to admit that perhaps distance was not only justified—but was the most logical option.
Because later on, there became moments where it was the only conclusion worth coming to.
To slowly kill someone you love, just by being within their proximity...it wasn't his first time being the perpetrator.Â
And it wouldn't be the last.
The trauma after the Winter War only seemed to excise it further into his mind, like a permanent scar, which even as a figurative metaphor, wouldn't be so far from the truth in reality. This incessant punishment of knowing he was at fault; he was dangerous because he could not control his power—left him with no other option than to protect others by estranging himself. Be it mentally, socially, physically. Try and convince himself that he had to protect from afar, guard from the sidelines. During these times, Hitsugaya only had room in his heart for two people. And yet, his very existence both threatened and jeopardized their lives to the brink of death.
However, later on, part of his eventual realization—besides casting aside his revenge—was acceptance for the illusion of choice. A feedback loop of working hard just to crumble in the face of it all, and the numbness it brought when it led him back to the same, twisted result, again and again. With such unwieldy hands, came the weight of choices that could make or break him at any second. But choices, he determined, could be made both as a result of—and separate of—the past.
One of those vows came easy. It was that he'd never leave the girl's safety up to anyone else.
Never, would he entrust her safety to anyone else, other than himself. Only himself. But again, even he knew the flaws in that, especially in the unrefined stages of his power, and only demonstrated by the events back then—and so the only way to protect her was not just to become strong, but to let others shoulder the weight when necessary, too.
To allow others, like Hirako—like Matsumoto—like Abarai—take part in their care for her, as well.
To remember to rest, to allow for proper recovery between days of labor and rigorous training.
Â
Because after all, if he falls ill, who will be first to protect her?
And so what became of his understanding, was to accept the core truth—to truly protect someone, one must be close to them—not far from them—even if it meant letting down their boundaries, opening their heart, not hardening it to whatever may happen. And, he found, to truly have conviction in saying "I can be close to you," one had to become strong enough to make it true.
This, combined with past traumas, manifested itself in the 10th division captain being doubly protective of this particular person. When the age of peace washed ashore, he still kept a watchful eye, by virtue of the hefty events of prior perils; but after being able to claim total control over his zanpakuto and attain true inner strength, in some ways, his safekeeping could border on near possessive without knowing.
Hinamori's navigation happened in her own way. Hesitation to feel deep emotions and trust others in the same depth also coincided with a fear of hurt, fear of loss of control, and the fear of hurting others in the process—all of which she needed time to mend and work from. Much of this was done in rewiring and reframing the understanding of the past; some parts, which had her question herself, found not to be indicative of her character, but rather, a product of manipulation and its distinct psychosis.
And perhaps one might expect such past traumas to manifest themselves in a constant need for reassurance, its resulting fear of abandonment and rejection—but the truth is, her recovery, and the unyielding support during it, only led her to pastures so green she'd returned to herself more radically than any other breadth in time yet.
Decades later, when she and Hitsugaya begin seeing one another officially, they navigate their first real intimacy together, side-by-side.
There are short moments, in the incipience, when she finds herself almost foolish to not have realized it sooner. To have realized the real thing was right in front of her all along.Â
But just the same, what becomes more important than anything else is the understanding that what she has with Hitsugaya is irreplaceable, singular, goes uncolored. Built on trust, friendship, health; but binding it altogether in all its intricacies is a mutual respect, an equal footing. An unpresuming love which sprouts of a ripened foundation. A phenomenon which has stood the test of time and storm, and now, blooms fully like the most beautiful, year-round flower.
As did Hitsugaya, Hinamori learned the same lessons of pain. To, despite the hurt, keep her heart open. And worth noting for her, part of her nature was to exist that way. To feel, deeply, fully, wholly. It was fundamental to her nature to be sensitive, and rejecting this part of herself would be rejecting what comprised her very cells. And it's this decision, along with Hitsugaya's, in opening their hearts bottomlessly, which would unravel an entirely new path for them.Â
Taking their lessons forward, they leave what they don't need behind. And looking into the horizon with hands held, they can still laugh, smile, look out for one another—as if to carry the burden of their pasts together.
hope u all had a merry christmas! sending love & joy to u all.
the song which inspired this story is "in a good way" by faye webster. (I used to listen to her music a lot during covid!)
~~~
120 years after the war, Hinamori reflects on her life. She reflects on Hitsugaya, as she watches him eat amanatto in front of her. She reflects on their infant child, who sleeps soundly in the crib.
She reflects on this better life.
~~~
"How was she?"
"She was fine. She's asleep, now."
Hinamori watches as her husband makes way toward her, to the short-legged table she sits at, where the green tea she's freshly brewed awaits him.
Early winter twilight. Sundown was approaching, and the fire in the sky was barely starting to burn out underneath the horizon.Â
She feels relief at his words.Â
"Hmmm. Lucky for you. She makes a fuss sometimes when I feed her." Hinamori's fingers wrap snugly all along the surface of the tea cup as if to function like a mini heat pack, gathering as much warmth in her hands as she can to tolerate the cold seeping in through their glass door.
Wisping clouds of steam decorate the space funneling out from their cups. Sitting cross-legged across from her, he responds only after he's taken a sip. Of course, the only way to enjoy it is while it's fresh and hot.Â
"Face it. She likes me more."
Hinamori can't help the childish grin that bursts across her mouth. "Aw, shut up."
He has a sly little smirk, too. "...Joking. She takes after you."
Hinamori lets herself contemplate this with the vestiges of a smile. She watches Hitsugaya untwist the baggie of candied beans on the table, helping himself to them. After all, they paired nicely with the robustness of the green tea.
"It's funny. For some reason, I feel it's going to be the opposite."
Both know it's still too early to determine the personality of their child. Physically, the child may take after her mother—but demeanor-wise, the little fledgling can barely lift their head, let alone crawl. Very new to the world, and only just beginning to interact with it.
"You think she'll be more like me?" He asks after popping a sugar-coated bean into his mouth.
"It already feels like it. She's quiet, she doesn't cry much...." Hinamori's gaze drifts to the side, where her mind filters through delightful observations of the darling creature. Her chin rests on her palm, supported by her elbow firmly planted into the table, pondering the wonders of her child with a warm dreaminess in her eyes. "I don't know, she just reminds me of you...when we were kids."
Hitsugaya notes her mild expression above the rim of his cup.Â
"...Well, when she does cry, it's like the world is ending," he remarks, "And, she's peed her crib more times than I can count." Hinamori's eyes shift to him, with ears perked up. "So if that doesn't convince you enough she takes after her mother, I don't know what will."
A small pause where her brain catches up to her. She merely stares at him with an agape mouth. Will he ever go one part of their lives wthout being such a tease?
Face going hot, her hands come up to cover her face in shy embarrassment. "Oh, stop with the jabs, will you? I already apologized so many times! After all this time, can't we forget that happened?"
"Forget? How could anyone ever forget that?" At this point, he responds matter-of-factly, wasting no time to pick at another candied bean to place in his mouth. "It took two days for Obaa-chan and I to clean that futon. What, you don't want to tell your daughter that when she grows up?"
The heat in Hinamori's cheeks feels tingly against the cold as it returns to its normal color, her fingers coming back down to her cup. She glances up to look at him through her bangs with a self-conscious glance. "No! No way..."
He returns her attention by meeting her eyes. Teal meeting brown. He places his tea down gently, and offers that clever half-smile. "I never said it was a bad thing. To be more like you...I think that's the highest compliment anyone could have."
A different flush replaces Hinamori's cheeks. She wears it with a smile.Â
"Then...I hope she gets a good mix of both of us."
A full moment passes before she moves to stand up. The sky is burning with color now.
"Come with me? I want to see her."
The young parents enter the still room reverently. Silent movements. Inside, the window's curtain lets some of the outside light seep through, painting the tatami floor with cherry and orange.
Both of them watch their child sleep in the crib. Lost in dreams, their daughter's fluffy plumage of dark hair curls delicately around her chubby cheeks, rosy and plump. Behind those shut lids are the most pigmented crystals of aquamarine. It's only for this occasion where Hinamori doesn't mind their hidden state.Â
Hinamori's voice comes out in a whisper.Â
"...It all went alright, huh?"
Hitsugaya's gaze is stuck on the little life in the crib, completely entranced. "...Hmm...?"
"No, better than alright...everything is perfect. So perfect...sometimes I wonder if I'm going to wake up from a dream."
I didn't know that I was capable of being happy right now
But you showed me how
On ordinary days, Hitsugaya snacks on candied beans as they drink tea after work. The assorted confection is fresh and tender, ones Hinamori buys from the market for him. And on these ordinary days, they watch the sunset from their veranda together.
For the millionth time, she can cherish the sight of Hitsugaya eating candied beans in front of her while the sun sets. To her heart's content, she can watch him as he smiles at her, teases her, drinks tea. Within some moments, if he smiles just so, he looks boyish, a telltale piece of the past. And it takes her back to those old, beautiful memories once again.
Those faded memories of youth, adolescence, which are held close to her heart, thread themselves into the present with every remembrance. Some memories of past feel more distant than others. In hindsight, it becomes apparent her life has become unrecognizable—as if every past hardship would pale in comparison to the beauty of her present.
I didn't know that you were right in front of me
Until I looked out
And now—as the sunset burns across the sky in their window, in their child's nursery—fist to her aching chest, Hinamori looks up at Hitsugaya with a flowering pool of moisture in her eyes.Â
You make me wanna cry, in a good way
His soft gaze moves to find her, too. Sees her tear-filled eyes, her wobbly smile. And he responds with a purposeful whisper.
"Yes...everything went alright."
She leans her head against his arm. As the sun sets in the window above the crib, neither of them move for a long time.
I forgot to mention, but I realize as I write, those who discover my works for the first time might be a little confused on the suddenness of toshi being captain commander, marriage, etc--I should've mentioned that reading my first work, "in the deepest ocean", contextualizes everything! please start with this one if you are so inclined--sorry for any confusion!
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exploration on toshi's affection in the official stages of his and hina's relationship.
*setting-wise, story takes place when both are married and toshi is captain commander.
~~~
"He isn't very romantic, is he?"
Shinji remarks with a bored gaze, random toothpick hanging from his lips, moments after the Captain Commander had left their office to speak to the division lieutenant. That afternoon, the Captain Commander was a quick in and out, had dropped by the 5th only to leave, and wasted no time carrying onto his next duties.
"Hmm?" The 5th division lieutenant stands to the side of the room, fully focused on organizing documents.
"Your little Shiro-chan. Now that I think about it, he doesn't seem like the romantic type."
She hums in amusement, stacking some documents away on the side. "...Shiro is Shiro."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Shiro is Shiro. He's always like that."
Shinji lazes back in his chair. "Yeah, but since you're his wife now, there's nothing to hide. You'd think he'd give you a little more loving before leaving, no? AÂ 'Mwah, love you, see you at home?'"
She giggles. "He's supposed to do that?"
"Well, I dunno, I've never been married."
"Well. There's your answer." She looks up with a teasing smile.
Ever since the young couple's marriage that prior June, their relationship hadn't changed much in all outward appearances. They walked together as normal as they did while they were "just friends". Only few caught sight of the occasional hand-in-hand strolls in more private areas of the Seireitei. But on a regular basis and on all fronts, the husband and wife kept their public relationship formally informal. They went to work together, went home together, and as far as others could tell, treated one other like the best friends they were as before.
Shinji knew the Captain Commander could, at times, have the capacity to be a gentleman in his own way. Nevermind how the white-haired enigma rarely addresses other captains with their proper titles (though, that particular character trait has existed for ages), Shinji's seen Hitsugaya's fair share of demonstrative respect in other division spaces. Proper greetings, considerate gestures of conversation. Recounts that the usually stoic Head Captain isn't one to shy away from walking division members home if they stay out drunk late from work parties. The Captain Commander has done such for Matsumoto on one or two occasions, not only because she's almost always too drunk—but especially because Hitsugaya knows no woman should be walking home at night by themselves, regardless of rank.
But between the (relatively) newly wed 5th division lieutenant and the Captain Commander, interactions were almost like they'd never changed compared to their platonic dynamic. At least, that was what Shinji thought. If anything, he wondered why Hitsugaya didn't just let loose, especially since it was common knowledge that the young man harbored particularly strong feelings for his wife.
But of course, Shinji had not a clue on how the Captain Commander acted in their private time. Perhaps it was this assumed juxtaposition which made Hinamori smile the hardest.
It was just the other day, in fact. The married couple was lying in the futon back at the tender space of their home.
Blends of golden afternoon light collected through the glass sliding door, brightening the room.Â
As they faced one another on their sides in their loungewear, Hinamori's hands were brought up into loose fists, resting on the futon.
"There's something I want to see in the World of the Living. Can we go together?"
Hitsugaya, with his head resting atop his bent elbow, let a beat pass where he gauged how puckish he wanted to be. He watched her with a half-interested expression.
"...What is it?"
Her voice, which tingled with energy: "Downtown...there's a famous library I want to see...huge! A spiraling staircase, with ten floors of books!"Â
Hinamori's expression flickered into a more introspective, thoughtful kind. "...Also, I want to eat chiffon cake at the bakery..." And then, finally—it melted and there came a blush across her cheeks, coupled with a meek smile.Â
"So, will you go with me?"
Hitsugaya could only stare.Â
So cute...
How did she single-handedly reach into his heart and squeeze it?
"No, I won't." As if to suppress the affection swelling in his heart, he pulled her entire body closer to him, burying his face into her neck.
It was sudden, so she had surprise on her features for a second, before it softened away with a smile. He was being wry. "Hehe..." Easily she returned the embrace, arms wrapping loosely around him.
He was nothing but a mumble into her neck as he held her squarely to him.Â
"...When do you want to go?"
Back to the present, Hinamori giggles at her desk. It only confuses Shinji more.
drabble in which they spend their first winter season together as a couple. hitsugaya is preparing to assume the role of captain commander. takes place 100 years after the main storyline.
"Do you know what you want to do?"
"For?"
"For your birthday, silly."
A pair of Shinigami watch seated members stroll by the barracks on an early winter afternoon. The sun is out, but it doesn't do much against the bite of the cold—the type of chill in the air which makes the skin pucker up. It brings one of them comfort, the other, not so much.
"Ah...right. I completely forgot."
The one who prefers it more seemed to have been too immersed in work recently. As it was already December, the responsibility of his upcoming position seemed to be all that took up the space of his mind for the past couple weeks, as the official inauguration was coming up in merely two more. Making sure everything from his division was ready to transition, all parts and pieces packaged and tied with a perfect bow on top, had every corner of his mind preoccopied, whether he knew it or not.
"I've not really planned anything," He answers truthfully, removing his eyes from the people-watching in front of him to glance to the one at his side.
"I don't remember the last year where you did." She returns the glance back, with a little laugh.
He sighs, an admission of defeat. "You know how I am."
"Hmm, that's right..." Her eyes cast downward, toe of her sandal pressing into the ground. A small pause. "Maybe this one can be different?"
His gaze lingers over her form before going back to the passersby. He witnesses a slew of 11th division members sprinting across his field of view. In the back of his mind, already dreading how he would need to keep those spirited members in check once he assumed role of Commander.
He sighs. "Like?"
"Like...this year, you can have a party."
A moment passes, then she looks up to see him. All that's returned is the suave tilt of his head. His bored eyes saying it all. "..."
"Oh, it can't be that bad of an idea...!"
"That's too much."
"I can plan it. I'll ask Rangiku-san, and...and since it lands on the weekend, we can plan it on the day!"
He watches her from the side, with an expression speaking of refusal. "I wouldn't make either of you do that. It's too much time. Plus..." His eyes stay to hers. "...Who even said I want to have a party?"
"Awww. But it'll be fun! We can invite Kuchiki-san, and Abarai-kun, and Takezoe-kun...and..." She pauses. "It'll be your last birthday ever as 10th division captain, too, right? So...let's celebrate it properly."
There's some peaceful pause between them, as she awaits his response with shining eyes, as he continues to stare at the sparse traffic of Shinigami.
"Like I said...who said I want a party?"
She puffs in annoyance. "Ah, I tried. Shiro is so stubborn. I can't do anything about that."
A short moment passes between them. "...You're right, it's my last year as 10th division captain." He shifts his weight off the wooden post he's leaning on to face her fully.
"...Ah?"
"If it's my last birthday like this, I'll spend it how I want. The parties can come another year."
"Another year?"
"Yes. Maybe once I'm settled in the position." He watches her staring up at him. "The parties can come another year."
She looks up at him with anticipation.
"So, then...this year...?"
"For my birthday this year...let's just plan for you and I."
Something faintly colors his cheeks. It's not the cold.Â
She grins.
"Okay!"
"Maybe this one can be different", huh...
On his birthday, they walk together through the interiors of the snowy Rukongai forest, where she's clothed from head to toe in warm garb. And he, with a simple tattered scarf.
Where their cold-bitten fingers are numb, but can still sense the pressure regardless when they intertwine.
It would be a funny thing to say.Â
He sees her with cheeks stung red with cold, tips of her ears red too, like an embarrassed elf. There's some icy fluff caught in her hair, fresh and stark against the dark of her bangs. When she smiles, it's like she'd always been a piece of this landscape.Â
His eyes soften. He pulls the scarf up to clothe his lips—but behind it, the line of his mouth softens, too.
it's been a while since I've been on tumblr--I decided create a new profile just to participate in the upcoming hitsuhina event!
as an establishing post, I write hitsuhina fanfiction on ao3 by the same username, "orangesnhoney". stories range from short-novel length works to poetic drabbles. several of these include character analyses which have more emotional weight, while other stories are purely for my own enjoyment (including mature themes! please heed the content ratings!)
https://archiveofourown.org/users/orangesnhoney
I'm also active on twitter to connect with the japanese hitsuhina community. their pixivs are worth checking out too, if you'd like to read their fanfiction or check out their fanart!
hitsuhina dedicated fanfiction @orangesnhoney - Tumblr Blog | Tumlook
