A/N: Hi! It's actually my first published HitsuHina fan fiction. I don't really know if anyone will stumble upon this story, seeing that there are actually a lot of fics out there which are far more interesting than this one I managed to come up with, but hey, I just want to contribute something — anything — to the HitsuHina community, and so why not post this? I don't think it is something people haven't read before but please bear with me. And so, I hope you, fellow HitsuHina shipper or my dear reader, will enjoy this story of mine. Douzo!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach and its characters.

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MOMO AND TOSHIRO were living together in the same house. They were not lovers — not officially — since both of them hadn't confessed their feelings for each other yet.

Momo was feeling guilty about persuading Toshiro to live with her. They were currently attending the same university, and renting an apartment together which she suggested for the sake of convenience. The two had been best friends since high school but they'd had an earlier encounter years ago, back when they were still in third grade.

It was a nice afternoon; the weather wasn't too hot nor was it too cold. Children were busy running around the park.

Momo was on the swing set, humming to herself. She got up and skittered towards the long, faded blue slide. She climbed up and prepared to glide down. Swiftly hurtling towards the ground, she panicked and slipped roughly. Falling on the cemented earth, she cringed at the impact of her knees hitting the floor.

From afar, a white-haired little boy saw the whole incident. For a moment, he hesitated whether he should approach her or not; his concern for the chocolate-eyed girl got the best of him. He walked to where she was and offered his hand to help her up. She looked up gratefully to the somewhat cold countenance of the diminutive stranger and took his hand. He, then, examined her wounded knee and took out his hanky and wrapped it around the wound tightly.

They continued to play on that day, albeit Momo was limping a little. The day ended with them having to part ways. They waved goodbye to each other hoping that tomorrow, they'd be able to play again together. But unfortunately for them, that didn't happen. That one chance meeting was soon plunged down their memories but wasn't entirely forgotten — just being pushed down deeper below the manifold of thoughts, waiting for the day it would see the light once more. Surely, fate had so much more in store for them in the not-so-distant future.

Back to the present day, Toshiro noticed Momo's odd demeanor during the past few days. She seemed somewhat alienated, as if avoiding him. For the first two days, he let her be. He thought if she wanted to tell him what the problem was, she would — at her own time. But patience seemed to have run out of his system; it was currently the fourth day of this continuous treatment and he couldn't stand anymore the cold shoulder she was giving him.

He would get the truth out of her.

It was already lunchtime and they had no classes today so there were absolutely no chances of her escaping Toshiro's resolute plan of obtaining the much needed answers from her.

During their meal, the uncomfortable silence hung above them. It continued on and on, neither of them trying to break it, not yet on Toshiro's part anyways. Momo was looking anywhere but him. If only she glanced — even for a split second — she would've noticed the determination etched on his features.

Finally, at long last, the time had come. She would give him what he needed no matter what it would take.

Toshiro sat on the couch waiting for the perfect time she would walk into the living room. He was pretending to be reading a book so she wouldn't suspect that a confrontation was soon going to occur.

Momo walked at such a speed that it looked like she was being pursued by an unknown force. She took the turn towards her room but a firm hand on her arm stopped her. She did not need to look to know who it was; after all they were the only ones living there unless there was something else. Being the scaredycat that she was, she shivered at the thought.

"Momo." So it was definitely him.

"Toshiro," she whispered.

He made her turn to him. She was looking down and not meeting his gaze.

"Let's talk." It did not sound like a suggestion, more like a command. She weakly nodded her head, realizing that there was no way out of the situation unless she agreed to him.

They walked together towards the settee Toshiro was sitting on just a few moments ago; they both plopped down on it.

"So . . ."

"What is it?" uttered Momo still refusing to look at him.

"What's wrong? You know you can always tell me anything," said Toshiro with a trace of worry and concern lacing his voice.

"I, uh, nothing."

"If there is nothing wrong, you won't have to act the way you do." No, he refused to back down easily.

"I-it was just that . . ." she stuttered. "I was thinking if it was really a good idea for you to be here. I-I mean, it wasn't like I didn't want you to be."

He was surprised but didn't say anything. He nodded a little, signaling for her to continue.

"I was so selfish for asking you to live with me. I didn't consider what other people might say about us. I mean, you have your own life and I just called you one day telling you that I wanted to live here and that I wanted you to stay with me."

She was walking on her way to her dorm when she noticed a sign saying 'Apartment For Rent'. She quickly considered the idea that just came through her mind. She took out her phone and saved the contact number situated just below the larger prints.

Later that night, she decided to dial the number and an overly cheery voice of a woman answered her. She asked for them to meet up at the apartment on Sunday. The woman agreed happily, glad at the possibility of a new rentee.

Living in a dorm, she had thought, had some, well, if she was being honest, a lot of disadvantages. She was used to having the house mostly to herself because her parents were almost always gone, what with their work and stuff. But that didn't mean they didn't get along well. During their days off, they would always bring her out to eat or to watch movies or to go to museums or amusement parks. She had the best family ever, and she was truly grateful for that. Now, she realized that living in an apartment would be like living in a house where you could do all the things you wanted. That will surely be nice, she thought.

She called her best friend, Toshiro, first thing in the morning, asking him to come with her to which he grunted 'It is Sunday and I want to sleep some more!'. After a little persuasion — and some halfhearted threats — she managed to convince him, and they were now standing inside the apartment.

Upon seeing the interior, Momo fell in love with the place. It wasn't so big, just enough to suit two to three people. This is perfect, she mused. The walls were painted a grayish white color and the floor was patterned with black-colored tiles having rich-wrought designs.

She talked to Toshiro, asking about his opinion on the matter. The rent was a little pricey so she decided sharing the fee with someone would be a great idea. But with whom? Oh, of course, with her beloved friend, no? He wasn't that thrilled with the idea of having to pay a lot more than he was already paying for his dorm.

"Alright. If you don't want to, I'll just offer it to some people I know. Hmm, who to choose? Who to choose . . ." she wondered out loud. He just rolled his eyes.

Remembering her other close friend from back home who studied at the same college, she said, "What about Kira? Yep, that will do!"

Hearing what she just stated, his eyes widened and an unexplainable feeling went over him. Just thinking about her and Kira living in the same roof, he was having the urge to punch the living daylights out of the poor guy. She continued to talk about other possible choices from her list of acquaintances but he wasn't listening anymore.

"So . . ." she said after awhile. "Aren't you going to change your mind?"

He looked down and saw her pleading expression. That damn thought a little earlier and her puppy dog eyes directed at him and only him made his decision. He will live in that stupid apartment with his precious friend.

"Momo! Hey!"

"Huh?" She was sucked out of her train of thought.

"What now?" he pressed her to go on.

"I recently saw you with someone and I realized you hadn't actually told me anything about your love life," she uttered while she fiddled with her fingers. "And if she is your girlfriend, I don't want her to get mad at me once she knows we are living together."

So that's it?! That's her problem?! Anger boiled inside him but he chose to remain silent. Clearly, she wasn't done explaining whatever silly thoughts she had conjured up in her mind.

"You can always leave, you know." She finally said it. This very idea was plaguing her mind for days and nights. She would let him go if he wanted to, even if it would break her heart once he agreed to it.

She sighed, waiting on what his decision would be.

"You've got to be kidding me," he said in such a low voice that evidently showed his frustration.

"But it will be for the best!" she raised her voice a little higher to get her point across.

"Huh! I am wondering if this is really about me. Do you actually believe I will just let you live alone here?" he almost yelled. "Or is it about you? You want me to go so you can invite someone else to live here with you!"

"That's not true!" she cried out.

"Then why?!"

"I just don't want to be a bother to you. I don't want to hold you back from the things you truly want." She was mumbling now, barely audible.

Seeing the truth in her eyes, he couldn't help but feel guilty for the things he recklessly said to her. She was clearly hurt, and he wanted to slap himself for it.

"Silly Momo, you aren't holding me back from anything . . . so stop worrying, okay?" he said softly.

"Bu—" She was cut off.

"No buts. And just so you know, seeing me with a girl doesn't automatically mean that she is, in fact, my girlfriend. I know you're smart and all, but you need to work more on your logic. Clearly, you're lacking it," he teased.

She blushed furiously at his comment on her intellect but didn't say anything. He was right and she felt ashamed of herself because of her stupid assumptions.

"And if people had the same way of thinking like yours, what would they have already thought about us?" He was looking intently at her and the sight of her pink cheeks made him want to tease her more.

His remark didn't make it easier for her to suppress her rising blush; it only made her face a lot more hot than it already was.

"But we're just friends," she finally croaked.

His heart felt a painful squeeze. She was right but he wanted so badly to prove that she wasn't. "No," he uttered. "If anything, we're more than that."

She blinked, surprised and confused at the same time. "What do you mean?"

"I cannot believe how blind you are." He was now risking everything they ever had. He loved her, always had and always would. If she felt the same, he swore that he'd never let her go but if she didn't . . . well, he couldn't even begin to think what would become of their friendship after his confession.

"Momo, I love you."

Astonished, she surely didn't know what to say; she was utterly speechless. Ah, how long had she dreamed and longed for those words to come from him? Ever since that fateful first day of high school, once her eyes met with teal ones, she knew, oh she just knew, that something had definitely been set into motion; she just wasn't sure what it was at the time. Now, everything made total sense.

"I-I understand if you don't feel the same. I just hope . . ." he trailed off, seeing that she wasn't listening.

She didn't know what to do! Would she confess her sentiments towards him or would she try and play safe? She didn't want things to get awkward between them but . . . he loved her, wasn't that more important? If something this wonderful was presented before your very eyes, weren't you going to accept it?

She had already decided. "I don't think I can do this. I mean, I—"

"It's alright. We're still friends, aren't we?" Toshiro managed to state calmly though he felt like his world was crumbling.

"Hitsugaya, when are you going to let me finish what I was going to say?" she said, a smile starting to reach her eyes.

He was a little taken aback. What was she saying? He had absolutely no idea.

"As I said, this won't do. I cannot and will not stop myself from wanting you so bad — not anymore." She blushed. "I love you, too, Shiro." She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding; it was as if a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

Momo closed the gap between them. She snaked her arms around his waist and rested her head in the crook of his neck.

He was breathing hard as if the air was knocked out of his lungs. It didn't take long for him to hug her back. He was in full bliss. He felt complete; the missing puzzle piece of his heart was finally put in place. She was his world, his love. He couldn't imagine living life with somebody else; he'd rather live alone than with anyone who wasn't her.

"What took us so long?" Toshiro whispered.

"I don't know . . . but it doesn't matter anymore, right?" She laughed her melodious laugh and he couldn't help but chuckle with her.

Words weren't enough for that perfect moment. They needed not say anything anymore. They just stayed like that, cradled in each other's arms.

Things were definitely going to change. They would be taking a huge step towards the unknown. Another chapter of their intertwined fates had just begun although there were a lot more to be unfolded. They would take the journey together as they hoped for the best of things to come.

- The End -

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A/N: So there you have it! I am so glad you made it up to this point. This story just popped into my head while I was resting after my exams! Also, the apartment stuff was added because I wanted to see Momo and Toshiro living together, not as a married couple, but as friends (or a little more than that!). I know it's not a very creative concept but I still had a lot of fun writing this. I hope you enjoyed it, too. And I'm looking forward to writing more stories in the future! Anyways, please review! Arigatou gozaimasu! Till next time!