Too Cute To Pinch - Hitsugaya Oneshot

~❄🌸🍀✨~

It was a normal day in the Soul Society. Some reapers were heading down to the world of the living to fight Hollows while others were defeating the ones scattered across the Soul Society. Still others, especially the higher-ranking officials had other worries:

Paperwork.

Some captains were ill and couldn't complete their paperwork. Others were lucky enough to have lieutenants that actually helped pull their own weight. As far as anyone is aware of, there is one squad that the captain basically does the paperwork on his own due to his lieutenant's drinking habit.

On this particular day, he had overslept since he had stayed up much later than usual finishing a certain group of documents that needed to be delivered to another barrack immediately. He awoke with a groan, turning facedown onto his pillow to try and block out the light filtering through windows he hadn't closed last night. With a sort of finality, he finally sat up, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. After some effort, he stood up and crookedly walked to his bathroom.

After taking care of business, he brushed his teeth while blinking blearily at his reflection. His hair was a mess, even more than usual. Silently cursing to the best of his ability, he spat out the mixture of toothpaste and spit into the sink, rinsing his mouth and wiping it with a towel.

Not even bothering to mess with his hair, he wandered straight to his closet, pulling out the standard captain's haori and traditional soul reaper uniform. He changed rather quickly, since he knew he was running late and Matsumoto was definitely not doing her paperwork. Per usual, he sighed to himself. Maybe one day.

Before leaving, he grabbed his scarf and wrapped it twice around his neck. The store he'd gotten it from had given him something much bigger than he'd anticipated, but he made it work. Besides, it would've gotten cut by something eventually anyways, and he liked how the scarf brought out the color of his eyes. He also knew no-one would expect him to like something as simple as that.

Closing the door, he used Shunpo to get to his barracks, soaring over the various rooftops in his path. Once he got there, he made a beeline for the kitchen so he could make himself some tea. He found that a steaming mug of jasmine green tea was perfect for waking himself up. It also came out of clothing relatively easy, in case he accidentally spilled it.

Turning on the light, he opened the cabinets only to find nothing inside. Confused, he opened the next cabinet. There were bowls, but since when did people use bowls to drink tea? Furrowing his eyebrows slightly, he opened the cabinet on the opposite side of the first one.

Front dead and center. One mug, with 4 words on it written in green. He grabbed the mug, scrutinizing it closely. There was a four leaf clover under the writing, making him scowl in slight disgust. Setting it down, he checked the rest of the cabinets for any other mugs or cups he could use.

Nothing. He glared down at the mug suspiciously. He had never seen it before in his time at the Squad 10 barracks, not as third seat or as captain. Gingerly, he picked it up and let out something that was half groan and half sigh. He opened a drawer and pulled out a teabag (at least those were still there), poured in some hot water and headed for his desk in the main room.

Pushing open the doors, he confirmed two things right away. One, the stack of documents from last night had been delivered to their proper place. Two, Matsumoto was indeed off day-drinking. He let out a frustrated groan and made his way to his desk. He set down the mug and got to work immediately.

Periodically, he sipped the hot tea as he scanned the documents in front of him, scribbling a signature when prompted to. He honestly didn't know why Matsumoto found this difficult to do. Within an hour and a half, he had finished the paperwork on his desk along with the pile on his lieutenant's desk. Now at a loss for anything to do, he checked the time. It was about 10:15, and if any documents were to come, they wouldn't be there for another 45 minutes. He allowed himself to relax and refocused his attention on the strange mug.

He realized it was starting to grow on him and stiffly smiled to himself. If he were to start using this mug regularly, he knew he wouldn't hear the end of it from Matsumoto. And if Hinamori ever found out... Let's just say he would never have a chance of getting her to stop calling him "Shiro-chan" anywhere.

For now though, he could thoroughly enjoy himself without any distractions. He leaned back in his chair, taking a big swig of his tea and putting his hand behind his head. Closing his eyes, he could hear the birds singing outside and sighed. He downed the rest of his tea in one gulp and got up to dump the tea bag and wash the mug. As he did, he glanced out the window to see a brilliantly blue sky with a few clouds here and there. Maybe I'll go for a walk later, he mused to himself. I'll likely be bored again if nothing else comes in.

Before he could reach the kitchen, however, he heard someone else chattering about inside. A distinctive female voice, with another voice he definitely recognized. He cursed to himself for the second time that morning and then yelled.

"Matsumoto! Just what the hell are you doing in there?!"

He reached the doorway in time to see Matsumoto jump a foot in the air. "Captain! I didn't expect you to be here at this time in the morning!"

He raised an eyebrow at her, then directed his attention to the other person in the room. "Hinamori. What are you two doing in the kitchen?"

Hinamori smiled at him. "Hi Shiro-chan! We were washing the dishes."

He can practically hear the smile in her voice, but ignores it because that wouldn't prove his authority in this situation. "What dishes? There weren't any when I got here."

He peers into the sink to find all of the mugs that were missing this morning. Immediately he turns his steely gaze to his lieutenant, who visibly tenses. "Well, Matsumoto? Is this what you did instead of your paperwork? Take all the mugs to who knows where? Plus dragging Hinamori into it?"

Hinamori gives a little wave and he has to resist the urge to facepalm. "You shouldn't be goofing off when there is paperwork to be done, let alone dragging other people into your shenanigans."

Matsumoto nods her head solemnly. "Yes, sir." Then she smiles. "What'd you think about the mug?"

This catches him off guard and he takes a moment to gather himself before answering. "It's just a mug, but I do not appreciate this little stunt of yours."

Matsumoto smirks a bit and opens her mouth to say something, but he cuts her off swiftly. "Get back to work, lieutenant. You too, Hinamori. Don't you have other places to be?"

Hinamori smiled and nodded, but as she left she sort of whispered, "I know you like it."

"I do not. This thing is not my first choice for anything," he replied crossly. 

Hinamori shook her head and waved as she jogged down the hallway. "Bye Shiro-chan!!"

"It is Captain Hitsugaya, Hinamori. How many times do I need to tell you that?"

He waited until he was sure they were both gone, then looked at the mug again and smiled. Yeah, he did like it.

~

1277 words, guys. I hope y'all liked it, since I know St. Patrick's Day is coming up relatively soon. Anyways have a good day :)