Recovery
AN: Thanks to all who reviewed! I'm updating quickly because writing makes me happy, and today has sucked. People can really suck sometimes. Onward with the fluffy story! Fluff is the answer to all of life's problems!
It had all started with an experiment. Mayuri, being the crazy, scheming, and evil bastard that he was, had isolated the flu virus and had been intending on injecting it into someone's brain to see what would happen. Ethics be damned. He wanted to see a flu virus live in a brain. Naturally, the Soul Society wasn't sure why he was conducting this experiment, and they said no.
The odd and lovably insane clown had thrown himself a tantrum, and somewhere in between fighting everyone and insisting to perform the experiment, he had knocked over the supply of the virus, and sent in crashing to the floor.
Long story short, he had some explaining to do, and half of Soul Society was ill with the flu. Including Kira. Hisagi and Rangiku, with their strong immune systems, had not caught it. Kira seemed more than a little irritated to be sick.
"I hate him."
"We know. I'm sure Mayuri Taicho is getting a lot of that today." Rangiku assured him kindly. Hisagi felt almost bad for the weirdo. It must have been an accident. Then again, who really knew when it came to him?
"At least one good thing came out of this whole thing. Nemu has made a new friend." Kira murmured. He liked to gossip more than Rangiku did, and that was saying something.
"She did? Who?"
"She barfed on Kuchki's shoes. He looked more than a little irritated, but he helped her walk home." Kira winked suggestively. The fever was making him act a bit odd.
"That's adorable. We need to get them alone together!" Rangiku got out her soul pager. Hisagi shook his head.
"No matchmaking."
"What? But it's so much fun! And they're both so beautiful and stoic…"
"No." She fixed him with an intense glare. Hisagi sighed.
"Okay, do what you must." Kira laughed at how quickly he had given into her glare. She had a great glare. She could melt Toshiro's bankai if she ever really wanted to.
Rangiku was telling Nanao about her plan, and Kira only stopped teasing Hisagi when he ran off to throw up. It was an interesting scene indeed.
A short while later, Kira was dead asleep, and Rangiku was tired of playing nurse. Healing with Kido was easy when it came to burns and wounds, but viruses were a little tricky. Kira seemed like he would make a full recovery, anyways.
So when he had a fever of 103 by dinner time they were more than a little concerned. After talking to Unohana, she explained that Mayuri had lied about it being the flu virus, and that it was a virus he had concocted in his lab to kill the many mice that inhabited the Twelve Division. He wasn't allowed to have any funding for experiments for the next decade or so.
"His fever shouldn't get any higher. It's too high as it is." Rangiku was undressing him, intent on putting him in a cool bath. Hisagi helped her lift. Kira seemed okay with all of this, and he didn't even wake up.
"He'll pull through. He's a tough guy. I'm sure that the Fourth Division is working on a cure." Hisagi lowered his friend into the tub, and Rangiku held his head so he wouldn't slide underwater.
"I've already lost one friend. Excuse me if I'm a little worried." She seemed bitter, frantic. She was lost in the moment.
"Don't be like that. There's nothing wrong with being worried, but you don't have to be scared. Okay? He'll be fine." Hisagi smiled at her, and she continued giving him a smoldering glare. He laughed nervously.
"You're right." She admitted at last, "I hate it when you're right."
"I'll get right on that." They laughed.
"Why'd you bastards put me in cold water?"
"Hello sleepy head." Kira got up and pulled the curtain on himself.
"Undress me while I'm sleeping, put me in damn cold water." Rangiku swallowed a laugh and handed him his clothes. He continued grumbling.
"To our defense man, you had a high fever." Hisagi reasoned.
"Whatever."
"We're sorry." They proclaimed in unison. When he was drunk, sick or tired, Kira tended to act like an angry child. It was actually kind of funny.
"It's almost dinner time. Do you feel up to eating anything, Kira?"
"No. God no."
"We'll feed ourselves then." They left the room, and went off to make dinner. Hisagi decided that soup would be good, since Kira might want something light to eat later.
Rangiku stirred lazily. Hisagi was lost in thought. She was such a good person, and she was doing so well after Gin's death. It hadn't even been a year. Hell it hadn't been 6 months. Already she seemed so much better. She was already so much more at peace. It wasn't because she was hiding from her emotions, right?
"Are you happy, Rangiku?"
"Me? I guess. I should still be grieving, shouldn't I?" She paused, setting the spoon down. "I guess I always knew that he would leave."
"He died. That's different than leaving." He added another ingredient into the pot.
"He was so aloof. I told him more about myself than I ever learned about him. It was a one sided relationship and I don't think any of it was worth it." She resumed stirring, looking tired, but not physically. She looked tired emotionally.
"So you don't think he loved you?"
"At one time, yes. I think his love for me died somewhere along the way and I just never noticed." She had kissed him, confided in him, tried for him. And he just smiled and said all the right things. He had loved her once, but he didn't love her anymore. It was a toxic kind of affection, and she didn't understand, or know where it had gone wrong.
"I think the soup's almost ready." Hisagi turned off the stove and regarded her with concern. It seemed like her world was crashing down.
"Killing Aizen, that was all he ever did for me. He never made any other effort. He said he loved me, but he was obsessed with avenging me. He didn't quite love me. Ever."
"You don't know that for sure."
"Yeah. Yes I do. Isn't love supposed to make you happy? It's not supposed to tear you up and make you feel raw." The soup needed to be taken off the stove, but she didn't seem to notice or care.
"I don't think I can love anyone again. Not if it hurts that bad." He sighed and he reached for her. She buried her head in his chest, and started crying. He held up her face and made her look at him. She looked so pretty, with her soft eyes blurred with unshed tears.
"You'll find someone. I promise." He pressed a kiss to her tiny nose.
"You're so nice to me. Why are you so nice to me? I don't know what I would do without you." She tipped her head and he let her rest it on her shoulder. He smiled into her hair, feeling hopeful. She might not love him yet, but if she needed him, that he could work with. For now it was nice just holding her in his arms.
"Let's get that soup to Kira okay? I bet he'll eat a little."
"Okay. I bet you'll find someone too." He laughed under his breathe. He had found someone, she just wasn't ready yet. And that was okay for the time being.
AN: What did ya think? Was it cute? I like the cuteness:] I like the buildup, but should I might make them kiss soon?
