Happiness
Disclaimer: I own nothing!!
The howling wind beat against the thin walls of the small shack. A draft of cold air went through the small room, making it's occupants shiver, making the little girl wrap herself more tightly in her thread-bare blanket and the little boy huddle closer to the fire. Gin put all the cockroaches he had killed in the small rusty pot, frying them the best he could. He had thrown in some very old, very dry mint leaves he had found in corner of their shacks pantry. When the cockroaches had stiffened enough, he took them off the stove and placed some in a bowl and called out, "It' done, Rangiku, come eat!"
"I don't want any! You have it all," said the girl, not bothering to get up. She was so hungry her stomach hurt. But the though of leaving her warm bed and forcing herself to eat those disgusting cockroaches did not appeal to her. She was ready to call it quits. Ready to just die under the scant warmth provided by the blanket.
Gin sighed, crawling over to her he slipped in under the blanket and wrapped an arm around her, "Ya got ta eat, Rangiku."
"I don't want to," whispered Rangiku, "It's not worth it."
"Liv'n always worth it," countered Gin.
"But I am so tied!" wailed Rangiku, "Just leave me be."
"I can' do that," said Gin, forcing her to turn over so they were face to face, "I would be terribly lonely if ya were gone," he said, his ever present smile still gracing his face.
"How can you smile all the time!" she demanded, "You can't always be happy!"
"But I am happy, Rangiku," Gin assured her.
"Why?" she demanded, "We live in an old, drafty shack, we have one blanket between us and we have cockroaches for dinner! Where's the happiness in that?" she wondered.
"I happy cause ya're with me," Gin promptly replied, "I have a roof over my head, I have someth'n ta eat an' it don' matter that it' drafty in 'ere or that we have only one blanket, cause ya are soft an' warm an' fun ta cuddle with. In fact, I'm kinda glad we have only one blanket," he said, snuggling closer to Rangiku.
"You are full of it," she declared but found herself smiling nonetheless.
"Now come eat," he said again, "I know it don' taste so good but if ya put up with it today, I promise ya I'll find ya something really tasty tomorrow," even if I have ta kill someone ta get it, he added to himself.
"I'll eat," whispered Rangiku, "But you don't have to do anything special for me. I don't want to wake up and find you gone. I would rather eat rat dropping then to find you gone."
"I wouldn' make ya eat something that disgusting," protested Gin, "And don' worry, I won' be gone fer long. It' no fun stay'n away from ya dur'n the winter. That would make me sad, not haven' yer warmth. Now come on," he nudged her up and pulled the bowl of cockroaches to them, "Open up," he said as he slowly began to feed her the fried insects.
After she had a few she said, "That's enough, I really can't have any more."
Gin didn't insist on her eating any more. He let her lie back down as he ate what he could. When he was done, he slipped into bed with her and whispered, "I know ya think I was ly'n but I mean' wha' I said, Rangiku," he whispered as he curled his body around hers, "Happiness fer me, is hav'n yer warm body next ta me. I can get food, shelter and everyth'n else I need. But if I ever lost ya, that would be it, wouldn' it. I could never get ya back. I could never replace ya an' that would be very sad an' ya know I hate sad stories."
Rangiku closed her eyes and pressed herself against Gin, "I'll never leave you," she promised, "You're the one who always does the leaving."
"But I always come back," Gin pointed out, "An' I always will."
"Promise?" asked Rangiku.
"Promise," Gin assured her.
Author's note: Written for NaruHinaFanboy and Turie-chan, who were the only people to review my last Gin x Rangiku fic "Dead" and both asked that I write a happy Gin x Rangiku story. So I did. What! This story is happy! No one dies and they get to cuddle!