Ah, how the stars sparkled. The moon shone among them, high in the sky, shedding her light across the barren white deserts. The wind sung songs across the expanses of nothing. This was where he belonged. This was true beauty.

"Gin," He asked, "How do you make a woman fall in love with you?"
The fox-like man smiled lazily, knowing the answer to this question. "Ya act like ya love her first…Aizen-taicho."

"That is correct." He turned away from the window, looking to him, and for a moment the moon flashed in his deep brown eyes. "You learn well."

"Thank ya," He replied, with the ever-present grin, though any idiot would have gotten it by now. Aizen posed the question more often than he realized, placing a great importance on the emotions of others. Emotions, he said-

"-are the best way to manipulate." Gin recited with him. He wondered for not the first time whether his captain was overtired. "Don't ya think ya oughta take it easy fer a while? Ya've been workin pretty hard. Me 'n Tousen got this."
Aizen smiled warmly, the ironic honesty of it lighting the room. "Thank you," he said, "Perhaps I will take that rest after all. I'm quite tired." He inclined his head slightly and took his leave with a swish of his robes.

"…Still hasn't forgotten her, has he?" Tousen ventured, his deep voice little more than a quiet drawl with the revelation. He couldn't figure out how he knew when Aizen was thinking about that woman. Perhaps it was in the way that he spoke, or rather, the way he stayed silent, that revealed it.

"She ain't one to be forgotten, Tousen-taicho." Gin grinned, not losing any of the teasing edge to his voice. He too, remembered that woman. He thought about her sometimes as well, though more in passing than anything else. She was a person that shone radiantly in the darkness. She shone so bright that years and years later, people were still basking in her glow. She was a woman that was truly unforgettable.

Aizen's footsteps echoed through the empty hall, as careful and quiet as they had always been. As he walked, he allowed his gaze to wander. The doors, pillars, arches…they were all the same. That was how he liked it. His citadel was intimidating and malicious in its simplicity. It was ironic that he chose this place as his stronghold. Simplicity and repetition were refreshing sometimes, but as a whole he liked change. True, dynamic, unpredictability. It kept things interesting. It kept things new. It kept things exciting. It kept him from dwelling in the past he only wished to visit occasionally.
He came soon to his room. That, too, was simple black and white. His bed was big enough for him and three other people, something he utilized occasionally. After walking in, he closed the door quietly behind him. He didn't turn around right away, and instead stared at the blankness of the door, trying to clear his mind.

"You've been thinking about me again," The voice, like a cool glass of water after a summer of dehydration, entered though his back and melded into his body, becoming one with his bones, his blood, his core. "Sosuke."

He closed his eyes and relished the feeling for a moment before turning and grinning at the figure sitting cross-legged on his bed. His eyes flicked up and down her perfect body, taking in the smoothness and even tone, the muscles just barely peeking out from under her bare curves. "Rena. How lovely to see you." He turned and closed the distance between them slowly, lazily, as a cat advances on already crippled prey. He looked down at her, the clear aqua-green eyes, the light brown hair that fell in waves down her back. The curves of her face that intersected perfectly. He leaned down and kissed her soft, perfect lips. "Mm," He said. "You've gotten colder."
"Well," She said, "With this outfit you have me wear…" She gestured to the arrancar-themed tube top that left nothing up to the imagination. "…Who could keep warm?"
"You have me to keep you warm," Aizen said with a smirk, and moved forward, pinning her beneath him. "You'll never have to worry about being cold." He leaned forward to kiss her once more.

Rena put a finger on his lips, and with that simple motion, managed to keep him from advancing further. "Ah-ah-ah." She chided gently. "You came in here to sleep, remember?" And just like that, she was gone.

Aizen straightened himself silently. It was true, he came in here to rest. Shrugging, he removed his robes and climbed into his bed, sleep overtaking him.