"...be fine. So don't eve..."

"..know tha..."

"..how about..."

Your head throbbed as you faded in and out of consciousness. You could hear soft voices somewhere nearby.

"...says you, who..."

Throb.

"...well, why don't you ju..."

Throb.

"...ow I wouldn..."

Throb.

"OH my GOD, shut your faces! I don't want to hear this right now!" you snapped, lifting yourself with vigour. Your eyes flew open and you blinked quickly, willing for them to focus so you could figure out who those colourful blurs were.

"(Y/N)!" someone demanded, grabbing your shoulder.

"I don't know who you are, but you need to let go of my shoulder before I damage you," you yawned. You rubbed your eyes and then the people next to you began to focus. Black hair, orange hair and white hair.

Hanatarou, Rangiku, and Toshiro.

Toshiro.

Toshiro?

"Toshiro!" you yelped, standing up fully on the bed you were laying on. "Aizen! Toshiro, what are you doing here? What am I doing here? Where is here?!"

"(N/N)!" Rangiku exclaimed, standing up quickly. "You're finally awake!"

You surveyed the room, and realised you were in the 4th division. You nodded slowly.

"What happened to me? Last I remember, I was fighting Allon... and then, swords... and then..."

Your head throbbed and you let yourself plop back down onto the bed.

"Don't exert yourself," Hanatarou pleaded. You nodded slowly.

"What happened? Did I get hurt?"

Toshiro winced a little.

"Yes. You definitely got hurt. A lot."

Your eyes found his at that point. You searched his face for any sign of emotion, and surprisingly enough, you found a vibrant array of it. He looked relieved, worried, happy, did I mention relieved?

Rangiku nodded eagerly.

"Oh my goooosh, Toshiro has been such a pain! He's visited you every day since Aizen was defeated. He even brought his paperwork in here and did it. One time I walked in on him just staring at you with his head in his hands. Kinda creepy if you ask me. He's been so snappy!"

You laughed a little as you thought back to the first time you woke up in a hospital bed. Deja vu, much.

"Aww, little T- Wait, repeat that, Rangiku?

"He's visited you every day since Aizen was-"

"Aizen was??"

"...defeated?"

"AH!" you burst out, your jaw slack. You shot up on your two feet again, both sinking into the bed. All eyes were on you, so you slowly lowered yourself in embarrassment.

"You're kidding, right?"

"I'm not kidding," Rangiku deadpanned.

You eyes shone and your mouth widened into a grin after you took in the news.

"No way! Why don't you guys look happy?"

Rangiku laughed at you.

"I'm happy, trust me! It's old news. I'm also happy that you're awake, though! They thought you were going to be in a coma for a while, but it turned out fine in the end. Taichou was so worried. Weren't you, Taichou?"

You simpered in his direction, looking quite pleased with yourself.

"Well?" you questioned, pointing to your face and smiling. "Were you?"

He just smiled, and that was all you needed before you pulled everyone in the room into a hug.

Including poor Hanatarou.

You smiled sweetly as they submitted into your hug, and you released them after what felt like five minutes.

"Anyways, I'd better go tend to... something," Rangiku said, which made you narrow your eyes in suspicion - especially when she shot a glare at Hanatarou.

"Er... yeah... me too! D-Don't stand up, (L/N)-sama!"

"Um, okay, bye...?" you said, unsure. Toshiro frowned a little and stood up too.

"I'd better go too. Make sure you rest," he said simply, and started to walk out. You felt your heart thump, and every fiber of your being told you to stop him.

"Wait! Taichou-"

You felt your throat close up when he turned back to you, eyes glimmering with confusion.

"What is it?"

You managed to lift yourself up and out of bed, feeling completely unbalanced and dizzy.

"I-"

You cut yourself off when you stumbled forward. You braced for the impact, but you found yourself in the arms of your short captain.

"What are you doing?! You only just woke up!"

You gave a half-supressed laugh.

"How smooth, you actually caught me," you teased. He gave you a glare, then his face softened.

"Obviously. I wouldn't want your stitches opening up, stupid."

You smiled at him warmly, then realised he was leaning in closer, his eyes on your lips. You felt your heart rummaging like crazy in your rib cage as he got closer, and you closed your eyes and parted your lips in anticipation. You waited, but nothing came, which made you pout and open your eyes.

"Hey, don't be such a d-"

Suddenly you felt his lips on yours and your knees gave out underneath you, but he supported your weight so you didn't fall. You felt butterflies - no, fireworks - in your stomach. It was as if the room got colder, and you wrapped your arms around his back, grasping the fabric tightly. Your right hand gradually made its way up to run through his soft, mint-scented hair. Eventually you both moved back a little too quickly, both of you embarrassed, awkward and very inexperienced.

"Why'd you do that?" you whispered, your breath mingling with his.

"Because I love you," he said simply.

You felt a smile spreading, but replaced it with a look of pity.

"That's disappointing. I'm sorry, but I can't say the same."

Toshiro's face fell.

"Are you kidding me?"

You pretended to think for a second.

"Yep," you chuckled. "I love you too, Toshiro."