The moonlight illuminated the Captain as he trudged through the greenery of the forest, ever loyal Lieutenant tailing behind him. It was always like that, so it seemed to Shinji; Aizen chasing after his shadow, always a step or two behind him. It was quite the opposite, really. It was Aizen that was a step or two in front of his blond haired Captain.
The bespectacled man followed behind Shinji, his Captain's slim back before him. It was quite the opposite, really. His Captain would never bare his back to him, never in a million years.
The two walked in silence, uncomfortable but never unusual. If Aizen didn't know any better, he would think his Captain was a reserved man with the way he never spared any words for his Lieutenant. It was quite the opposite, really. Shinji Hirako was a talkative, wild man, always the center of conversation. He was never short of words, never afraid to speak his mind, unless it involved his Lieutenant. Shinji seemed to go against everything that made him him, if it meant keeping Aizen at arms length and in his sights at all times.
Sandal clad feet tread lightly on the autumn leaves before coming to a stop. When Shinji could no longer hear the rhythmic sound of Aizen's footsteps behind him, he paused in his steps, not bothering to face the man behind him. He braced himself for words he knew were coming.
'Captain?'
His voice was small, quiet, but not at all fragile or soft. He wanted to grit his teeth.
'Whadya' want?'
It wasn't 'what is it?' or 'what's the matter?'. It was always 'what do you want' with them, because Aizen always seemed to want, to take, to steal from him. He stole his piece of mind the second his spiritual pressure could be detected, stole the opportunity of trusting his subordinate like all the other Captains. He stole his rest; sleep exchanged for skeptically watching his Lieutenant wander and stalk under the shadows at night. He stole the air from his lungs when he spoke those innocent words, or smiled that faithful, fake smile of his; leaving his lungs empty and crushed in a burning desire to just tear at him.
Shinji turned around then, dusky irises immediately locking with walnut brown. There was something different in Aizen's eyes, something resembling vulnerability, and though the Captain made a show of how unamused he was, he was actually interested in what the man had to say.
'Sometimes, you send shivers down my spine.'
The scent of plum and jasmine and just Shinji lingered in the air in front of him, soon followed by the man himself staring down at his Lieutenant. Strands of golden hair lazily fell back to narrow shoulders, momentarily airborne from the sudden movement. He was so close, his skin tingling from the overwhelming scent of his Captain.
Shinji didn't know why he moved, his senses and emotions acting before his mind had time to process it. He was suddenly standing in front of his smaller Lieutenant, faintly detecting the crispy scent emanating from his body and staring into his large eyes. It was the first time he had ever heard such words from him, they seemed almost real. For a second, Shinji thought he had glimpsed through Aizen's innocent facade and he took his time to study him carefully. His next words were almost as true.
'You took the words right outta' my mouth.'
He watched as Aizen's eyes widened still before his face settled back into its composed, innocent mask. Shinji's eyes trailed further down his face and settled on his parted pink lips. He hadn't noticed the speck of blood on his bottom lip before, and the somewhat tentative moment between them shattered as Shinji raised a pale finger to the man's lips, the pad pressed lightly against the drop of blood. Shinji could feel Aizen's irregular breathing against his finger as he traced the feathery touch over the bottom lip, rubbing off the blood and pulling his finger away. His heated gaze lingered over his lips a while longer, before he swiftly turned around and walked into the darkness of the night sky.
Aizen couldn't stop the shiver if he tried.
