Matsumoto Rangiku & Ichimaru Gin.

I don't own Bleach or its characters.

Summary: On a drunken stupor, does Matsumoto imagine things? Or is it that maybe, just maybe, Ichimaru Gin had let his mask fall down and had been honest to her for a moment— however short it had been.

** THIS MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS ** It dependes on how far up the manga/anime you are, tbh. You've gotten to the final Ichigo vs Aizen fight? No problem, then.

YOU IMAGINE ME

Matsumoto's eyes were fixed at the bench, and her smile stretched slowly. She let out a small laugh and wobbly made her way to it. Ungracefully, she let herself fall into it, and sighed loudly. Maybe this time she had drank more than necessary. She softly hummed, feeling the cold air of the night hit her flushed cheeks. Leaning against the wall behind her, she looked up, at the bright moon that shone high up in the dark night sky. She let herself be carried away, and simply stayed there, enjoying the view and trying to count the stars every now and then.

Most probably, she'd wake up hungover from this, and her Captain would not give her a break as he'd probably rebuke her behavior, as usual. But the fuzzy feeling she had wouldn't allow her to worry about it. She could always figure out ways to slip through her Captain's stern ways. Taking a deep, refreshing breath, she let her eyes rest as she closed them, simply enjoying the quiet and cool night.

"My, my, Rangiku-chaan. You've gon' 'n' gotten yerself drunk again, I s'pose?"

Rangiku's clear blue eyes snapped open, and her head turned to look at the figure that stood next to her, tall and imposing, the smile drawn on his lips one she could never forget, no matter the amount of alcohol that entered her body. Her brows rose up as she covered her mouth, stifling a yelp. She looked in disbelief at the ex-Shinigami, who just kept smiling at her, a softness to it that made her heart throb painfully. Tears clouded her sight, and after finding her voice, she spoke up gingerly.

"G-Gin?"

The aforementioned man's head tilted to the side, a confused look on his face. "Who else could I be?"

Matsumoto hiccuped at the sight of the former Captain, and she pressed both of her hands over her chest, her fingers twisting in a nervous sign. She did not know what to do with her hands, and she feared that if she were to reach out for Ichimaru Gin, she'd never be able to go back to her usual routine. As if the man standing before her was the getaway to a place one could never come back from, as if just touching him would poison your essence, tainting you and taking you to his embrace, to never be seen again. She laughed at her thoughts. That was not the Gin she knew. It wasn't the soul she kept following after. Even if his exterior looked like that and Gin gave that vibe, Matsumoto could never bring herself to think ill of Gin. If she reached out to him, would he stop for her? Would he wait for her, or would he go his lonely way?

Back when he had betrayed Soul Society, she had looked critically at the facts, and had accepted them as such, but her brain could only tell her there must be an ulterior motive to it, that there was no way he'd leave her behind again. Had Gin returned to her to explain this motive to her? To tell her this had all been a set up, and he had returned to make amends?

Soft, long fingers brushed against her cheek, and Matsumoto's fingers hovered near the hand that offered some warmth. When Gin removed the trail of tears that had left her at this shocking surprise, she found herself frozen, uncertain on how to act. "Ya should be takin' more care of yerself, Rangiku." Came the soft words of Gin, laced with what Matsumoto could only think as worry. "Gettin' drunk an' then wandering on yer own is notta' nice habit." His thumb pressed against the corner of the 10th squad vice-captain's eye, and he huffed at the woman's silence. "Yer awful quiet. Ya hav' me worrying, Rangiku."

Blinking away the tears that blurred her vision, Matsumoto let her hands fall to her sides, resting on the bench. She offered a wide smile at Gin, and shook her head a bit, before letting her cheek press against Ichimaru's touch. "I guess it's a… bit shocking to see you here, Gin." Her words held no malice, no resentment against the light-haired ex-Shinigami. They came out casual, as if the whole ordeal of Aizen's betrayal hadn't happened. As if they were those two lonely kids that cared for each other. Her eyes fixed on the man's face, and she couldn't help her smile widening upon noticing there was no trace of a mask on Gin's face. She was happy he wasn't hiding himself behind the mask that held a wide grin at all times. "What're ya doing here, Gin?"

"Funny how I was asking myself the same thing, Rangiku. What yer doing here, alone and drunk?"

"No fair," Matsumoto whined in a playful manner, "I asked ya firsst…" Her last word came out dragged, and she had to blink a few times to get over the sudden dizziness that hit her.

"Just came tha' see ya. And to tell ya to take care of yerself. I couldn't live with m'self if something happened to ya."

Matsumoto's smile came out honest, and something inside her chest bubbled, making her giddy. Perhaps it was the alcohol, perhaps it was the way Gin had opened up to her one more time, after so many years of keeping himself distant. "I'm ta-takin' g'care of… of myself." She struggled to get out, suddenly feeling sleepy. Probably the amounts of alcohol in her system. Or the fact it was late night.

"Mmh, good to see it. Guess it's mah time to take mah leave, then."

Hastily, Rangiku stood up, forcing Gin to step back. The way the world spun for a moment and blurred out made her take a second to get her bearings. "You're leaving?" Matsumoto asked, eyes wide and with a hint of desperation. She didn't want Gin to leave, not after such short-lived encounter.

"I hafta. Yer about to fall asleep, Rangiku-san." Gin said with a smile and a sing-song tone. He took Matsumoto's chin between his fingers for a moment, and cooked his head as his eyes opened ever so slightly, analyzing the woman's eyes. "Yup, yer falling asleep real fast." And his fingers left Matsumoto, with a lingering touch similar to a caress.

An uncertain hand reached out, and she stepped forward a bit, trying not to lose her footing. "Gin, stay! We can talk about—"

The worry did not leave his features, but his usual grin returned to his face. "Talk? Whatcha speakin' 'bout?"

"But you can't leave so soon, Gin!"

"Ho, ho." His mask slipped back into place, and he felt amused by Rangiku's desperate attempt to keep him here. He did not belong here, not anymore. Not while he had unfinished business to attend. "But I can… After all, Rangiku-san, aren't you only imagining me?"

Matsumoto blinked at the words, and shook her head. She reached out to Gin, to grasp his clothing firmly between her fingers and make it obvious she wasn't just imagining him in her drunken stupor. But just as she was about to do so, her vision blurred and faded to black, just like Gin's image before her did, vanishing just before she could touch him. Ichimaru vanished as quickly as her consciousness did.

When she came back to her senses, the light was blinding her sensitive eyes, and she groaned and turned to her side, throwing her hand over her face.

"Matsumoto!"

The loud yell ringed on her ear, and she sat up straight, eyes open wide and an alarm bell ringing in her head.

"What do you think you're doing, Matsumoto?! You arrive at unknown hours and now are slacking off in my office, no less! There's still work to be done, you know!"

Rangiku looked blearily at her Captain and moaned once she processed those words spoken to her. Her head was killing her, and her Captain's loud tone didn't help at all. The mention of work only worsened her pain. "Captaaain" she drawled, looking with puppy eyes at the white-haired kid in front of her. "It's too early for work, let me rest, yes?"

She laid back down on the couch, giving her back to the angry Hitsugaya. She was ready to go back to peaceful slumber in the small short time it took her Captain to calm his anger and find the right words, but instead her drowsiness left her as soon as she realized she didn't remember getting here. Last night… Last night she had met with Ichimaru— he had— she had… had she imagined him? Her heart skipped a beat at the memory of Gin's true facet, at the look of a sincere smile, and she knew, deep down, there was no way she'd imagine such things when drunk. Not even when lucid would she think of Gin dropping down his mask. Had she been delirious for a moment?

"Oi, Matsumoto! I'm speaking to you!" Toushiro roared, before huffing loudly and stepping away and out of the room. Once at the door, he yelled, "I'll lock you in here! When I come back I better see all those papers in my desk done!"

Thoughts being pushed aside, Matsumoto peered over the couch to look in disbelief at her Captain. "Ehhh?! Captain, please—"

"I'll come back in two hours!" Toushiro sentenced, before slamming the door shut and freezing it, the ice of Hyourinmaru reaching up to the ceiling of the inside of the room.

"EHH?! Captain!"

"Gin, were did you disappear last night?" Aizen questioned as soon as he sensed the other's presence.

He didn't receive an immediate answer, but Gin had the mind to get closer to him before answering him. "Just went for a walk in Soul Society, Captain."

"Are you aware of the repercussions your actions could have brought if someone had found you out?"

Gin smiled at that, and he shrugged. "I wanted to see how's my vice-captain faring without me, Captain Aizen." His lips stretched further, "Is it so bad I want to see how Izuru's doing?"

Aizen's brown eyes stared at him, searching for a crack that would allow him to say if Gin was lying to him, "Are you sure that's all the truth? Was that all you did?"

Gin's mask put on faux hurt, and with a hand over his chest, he answered, "Ouch, Captain. Distrusting my word I see. You're imagining improbable things, perhaps… But do I have any reason to lie to you, Captain?"

"I can't think of any." Aizen replied, closing his eyes and stepping aside, leaving wide space for Gin to pass through. Ichimaru simply smiled, and kept walking.

'But I can, Captain.', Gin thought to himself. He had in fact gone to see the reason as to why he was troubling himself this much. Why he was willing to leave it all in order to make the one goal of his life become true. He was just relieved Rangiku was doing fine, that she was still capable of smiling at him and that she wasn't holding an apparent grudge towards him. It brought him comfort, the sight of her still so lively, and with her bad habit of getting drunk. It only helped his step be more secure. He was willing to blemish his name in order to see it— to see Rangiku happy. To see she would never again feel sad, and to see she would never again be hurt under the hands of those he hated. He was willing to do whatever was necessary for it to happen. If it meant turning his back to Soul Society, so be it. If it meant giving his life for it to happen, he was willing. He just wanted to make sure Rangiku would never again suffer. He wanted, more than anything, to see her happy.

.

I swear I cried when Gin went against Aizen. Seeing Matsumoto shed tears as Gin laid there... man, it was heartbreaking. I hate it and it was a painful moment to me.

So, I just wanted to write out something between these two, honestly, and what I most wanted in the moment was Gin caring for Rangiku and viceverse. I'm bitter about how much time they lost because of Aizen. They could have had more moments!

If I made any typos, grammar mistakes, or butchered any sentence (or their personalities) I apologize for it!