redamancy- (n.) the act of loving the one who loves you; a love returned in full.
It was a constant source of intrigue and amazement to Rose that he was friends with the most complicated and unlikely threesome ever.
He was never able to predict what was going to happen with the three of them- although he had predicted that they would all end up together. Yet, on days that he felt that romance was dead in the world, that no one appreciated unpredictability anymore, all he had to do was look at them, and smile.
And of course, they began as a couple, as most stories usually do.
Aizen and Shinji were the most unlikely couple ever in the history of Sereitei High, for quite a few reasons.
One. No one had expected Shinji to swing to the other side so abruptly. He had always been such a womanizer, and he was the last person anyone would have thought to be bisexual. Aizen was a different story. No one really knew him, except for Ichimaru Gin, but no one really cared to know anything.
Two. Aizen and Shinji hated each other's guts. Secretly, Rose had already shipped the both of them since their sophomore year, when Shinji had vehemently announced that he hated Aizen's guts and thought that he was a sly, sneaky bastard. From that moment onwards, Rose knew that there were big things just waiting to happen for the both of them. Their relationship already had the perfect makings of a love-hate relationship, and there was nothing better than a passionate, stormy affair, in Rose's opinion.
Three. They were on completely opposite ends of the social spectrum. Shinji was a natural leader, unafraid of speaking his mind, and perpetually surrounded by people, like a glorious god. Aizen was quiet, polite, and studious. He excelled in his studies, but blended into the background, except when picked on by Shinji. And even then, he would merely smile enigmatically and return to whatever book he was reading.
And all of a sudden, during the beginning of their junior year, Aizen suddenly flourished like a parched flower, taking everyone by surprise. He strolled in casually on the first day of school, completely different- gone was the quiet boy that they had all known, been tricked by. Aizen was replaced by a calm, commanding and utterly hypnotic version of himself.
Even Shinji had been taken aback, leaning casually against his locker. Rose had glanced at his friend (to see what his reaction to his declared enemy was, of course.) If Rose had to describe Shinji's expression, it would have been one of finally, what took you so long?
And so Aizen had strolled up to Shinji oh-so-slowly, the hallway seeming to stop for their very interaction, waiting, watching to see what these two gods were about to do.
Rose heard it all, of course, being the one closest to Shinji at the moment. He couldn't believe his ears that day, and to this day, he still doubts what he saw that day, and heard.
"This is what I think of you, Hirako Shinji." Aizen had smirked carefully, deliciously. Rose almost looked away, feeling that he was intruding on an important and extremely private moment, but somehow, he found that his eyes could not leave the pair, and his muse grew and blossomed, his ideas spinning and weaving. This was passion, he decided.
"Oh really? And what do ya' think of me, Aizen?" Shinji had said, as softly as Aizen had, and they were so close that they were almost touching (but not quite).
"This." Aizen had repeated calmly, reached out to grab Shinji by the tie and smash their faces together in a none-too-gentle, utterly soul-wrenching kiss, that was over as soon as it had begun.
In the end, half of the school would swear that they had seen Aizen and Shinji kiss in the hallway. Other rumors floated around, of various lewdness, and no one could really say what they had heard or saw that day. It probably didn't help matters very much that Aizen's new defense squad seemed particularly fearsome (no one wanted to face the wrath of Grimmjow or Ulquiorra very much). And whenever Rose got the chance to ask Shinji about it, the latter would just smirk annoyingly and say it was none of his business.
It was only when Aizen started hanging out a lot more around Shinji that Rose finally realized that they were dating.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Hirako Shinji absolutely cannot resist a damsel in distress.
It is also a truth universally acknowledged that Sarugaki Hiyori was absolutely not a damsel in distress.
Yet, somehow, Shinji and Rose found her, on the rather bad end of a fight between the two 'queen bitches' of the school, Loly and Menoly. Apparently Hiyori had done something to displease them (not surprising, given the way her mouth ran on), but what Shinji didn't expect was to get a kick in the face from her.
(Honestly, Rose felt that he deserved it.)
"What was that for, baldy?" she spat at the pair of them, flecks of blood coming out of her mouth.
Rose had to stifle his laughter as Shinji looked so utterly outraged; it was probably the first time he had ever been rejected so violently by a female.
When she had stormed off, Rose had glanced at Shinji, and raised an eyebrow at his friend's murderous expression.
Oh yes, Sarugaki Hiyori would be a very interesting player in all of this.
Hiyori was in her sophomore year, but she didn't quite get along with anyone else in her year, (or anyone else for that matter). So slowly, gradually, she became conjoined at the hip to Shinji and his gang, hanging out (beating up) her seniors more often than not.
No one knew what was so appealing about her, but she had a sort of undeniably feral sort of grace, like a vixen with glowing eyes, and that what are you looking at huh? aura around her, like a time-sensitive bomb, just waiting to go off (which she did more often than not).
For one, she didn't bother with social rules. If she liked you, she liked you. And if she hated you, beware. She and Shinji were constantly at each other's throats: this was completely different from Aizen and his sly personality. Shinji and Hiyori were violent and loud, flamboyant and clashing. It wasn't a big surprise that Rose shipped them quite as much as he did Shinji with Aizen as well.
As for Aizen, he mostly sided with Hiyori is her arguments with Shinji, grinning ever so slightly at her, like they were partners in crime. Mostly Rose assumed that he did it to annoy Shinji, which it never failed to do. He and Hiyori turned out to be an odd pair, although he treated her much differently than everyone else- more like the old Aizen instead of the new one, his expressions only softening for her and Shinji, and he was unusually protective of her.
Eventually, Rose was not able to tell who fell in love with her first.
He always suspected it was Aizen, although Shinji boasted that he had first- Rose hardly listened to him.
The three of them were subtle- quite obvious to Rose, who shadowed their every move, but quite subtle. They weren't like other couples, who lost no opportunity to proclaim their love for each other in the most obnoxious ways. You could clearly see it in the way he smiled, or the way she flashed her fang at one or the other.
They were absolutely, and irrevocably in love with each other.
End notes: I don't know what happened. This was supposed to be a light and funny thing but it turned into an exercise in shipping. And it's very messy TT_TT but heh I'm pretty happy with how it turned out in the end!