Title: Late At Night
Author: Ragna (
afteriwake)
Fandom: Bleach
Rating: PG
Characters: Hitsugaya/Hinamori
Warnings: None
Spoiler: None, though it’s set after the end of the Winter War.
Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me. They all belong to Tite Kubo. If they belonged to me…well, things would be quite a bit different.
Author's Notes: For
kellenanne, who wanted HitsuHina fic for a meme at my journal. I literally just listened to "Velonica" on repeaat as I wrote this. Bleach music is such good inspiration...
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She was only dozing, so when she heard the knock on her door she awoke immediately. It was late, she could tell, and so she wondered who it was. She lit some lamps and opened the door, where she promptly stared in shock. “Hitsugaya-kun?”
He stood there, leaning on the cane he had been forced to use. “May I come in?”
She nodded, moving out of the way. “There could have been some other way for you to see me tonight. You didn’t have to walk here.”
“I used shunpo,” he said, coming in.
She smiled. “That’s good! Maybe that means you don’t need the cane anymore.”
“That is what I am hoping,” he said with a nod. “Though I still seem to need it if I stand for a long period of time.”
“Then please sit,” she said, shutting her door and moving back inside to the comfy chairs she had for company. He sat down first, wincing slightly as he did. Her heart broke the way it always did when she saw him in pain during a simple task. “Why did you come here tonight?”
“I was practicing, and then I realized I wanted to talk to you,” he said. “We didn’t get to talk very much today.”
“I have been very tired,” she said.
“Oh,” he said, beginning to stand up. “My apologies.”
“No, no, please sit!” she said. “I will stay up late to talk to you. I like spending time with you.”
He smiled slightly as he sat back down. “I like spending time with you as well. But I do apologize for the late hour.”
“I was not really sleeping,” she said. “I have had a hard time sleeping lately, and I do not know why.”
“Dreams?” he asked.
“Sometime.”
“I do not sleep well as well,” he admitted. “Sometimes because of the pain, but mostly because of dreams and racing thoughts.”
“If you wish, you may visit me when you cannot sleep,” she said. “I don’t mind.”
“Thank you,” he said, rubbing his thigh slightly.
“Does it hurt a lot right now?” she asked.
“Just a little,” he replied. “It’s nothing to worry about.”
“All right,” she said with a nod. “What would you like to talk about, Hitsugaya-kun?”
He was quiet for a moment. “When we are alone, it would be fine with me if you called me Toshiro. Or Shiro-chan again, if you want.”
She grinned. “Then you can call me Momo, if you want.”
“I would like that,” he said with a smile of his own. “I’ve thought for a while that I would like us to be less formal when we are alone.”
“I think that’s a good idea, Toshiro,” she said. “Would you like some tea as we talk?”
“That would be nice,” he replied. “Thank you.”
She got up and left him alone, preparing the tea. She knew he was probably looking around from his spot; he had not been there as often as she had been to his quarters and he must have found it interesting. When the tea was done, however, she took it out only to find him dozing in his chair. She set the tray on her table and went over to him. “Toshiro?” she said, shaking his shoulder gently.
He awoke with a start. “I fell asleep, didn’t I?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said with a nod.
“I must have been more tired than I thought,” he said with a sigh. “I should leave now.”
“Do you think you can make it back to your quarters on you own?” she asked as he stood up. He took a few steps and shook his head. “Then I will walk with you.”
“It is late, and I don’t want to inconvenience you,” he said, yawning again.
“I will be fine. Do you think you can stay awake long enough to make it there?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted.
“If you would like, you can stay here,” she said, her face turning a little red.
“Are you sure? If I am seen leaving here in the morning there will be talk,” he said with a frown.
“I am more worried about you than gossip,” she said, standing up. “I don’t want you hurting yourself or falling asleep along the way.”
“If you insist, I will stay,” he said, leaning on his cane.
“I insist,” she said with a nod. “You will take the bed.”
“I could not,” he said, shaking his head.
“I can survive a night in this chair,” she said, gesturing to the seat she had left. “It would cause you more pain and I do not want that.”
He looked as though he wanted to argue but instead yawned again. “Very well,” he said.
She headed towards her bed, knowing he was following. She went to the chest at the foot of it and pulled out a pillow and a blanket for herself. “Rest well, Toshiro,” she said, giving him a soft kiss before taking her bedding to her chair.
“Good night,” he called over to her.
“Good night,” she replied, settling into the chair and closing her eyes. This time, she slept soundly.