The Proposal
A/N: Uh, hi? So I know it has been far too long since I last updated, and that you lot have all the right in the world to be mad at me and just ditch this story, but I really wish you guys wouldn't (obviously). All I ask is for you guys to please, please, please be patient with me and this story. Thank you.
Disclaimer: I don't own a thing. Like, at all. Bleach and The Proposal belong to their rightful owners. Everything from the setting, plot, and characters do too.
xx
Rangiku and gammy finally arrived at their destination a short while later, albeit the way back felt much, much longer than that. They had to hike and trek up a small hill before they reached civilization and popped through a secret shortcut by a big oak tree. They came out at an opening between Sitka's line of stores. Gammy then lead a now leafy and thorny Rangiku to the far end of the crossroad and pushed opened the door to a practically ancient looking store.
"Hello? Anybody here?" Rangiku asked precariously. Rangiku, after all is a woman of manners.
She circled around the store and due to her advanced sleuthing skills, found that the store was called 'Fine Line Tailors'. She may or may not have just read through the wooden signboard hanging pathetically above the entrance door. Walking further inside, she found everything was made of parquet and the small store room deep behind was filled with racks and racks of clothing. The air in there smelled like age old dust and the only source of light was flickering non-stop.
Rangiku headed back and turned to look for Gammy. She frowned when she couldn't spot Gammy instantly, which she should be able to, as she and Gammy were the only ones in the store.
"Gammy?"
No answer.
"Gammy?" Rangiku rang out much louder this time.
"Oof! Yeaph, I'm in hereph." Came the muffled reply from the other end of the store.
Rangiku followed the voice tentatively, all the while waving her hand in front of her face to clear the space from dangling cobwebs. She soon found gammy hidden behind a looming cabinet overflowing with clothes. "Gammy! What on earth are you doing back here?"
Gammy heed no attention to Rangiku and instead continued fumbling in a cardboard box below a counter.
"Rrright. Let's fumble around other people's stuff after we just took a hike in Mount Everest, why don't we? Gammy, I think we should just leave." Rangiku sighed. "I don't even know what we're doing here and the owner might come back here any minute. It most definitely wouldn't look good if we were caught here, fumbling with his or her things. Plus, I'm dying for a bath."
"So restless! So many questions! Silly girl, this is our store! It's a family store. It belongs to the Hitsugaya family." Gammy was still bent over at her waist, still searching for God knows what.
Rangiku stared gob-smacked at Gammy. Then she gave her eyes a good look around the store. It was small, yes. But still, something about the place called out to her. Rangiku was so deep into her thoughts she didn't realize she'd been staring at the store for a long time. "There it is!"
Rangiku broke out of her wandering system and jerked her head back to Gammy. "What's that?"
Rangiku's eyes widened in surprise as she gasped in shock at what greeted her. In Gammy's frail hand clutched an elaborate gown. Said gown was an ombre mixture of beige and coral, with an upper section of tight corset, with a silk bodice. The hems were flowing with vintage lace and even has a matching collar to go with it. Rangiku reached out to trail her fingers over the gown gingerly.
"Beauty, ain't it? My mother made this dress by hand. It was made in this very shop in 1930. It's funny how things come back in style, isn't it?" Gammy finally said. She looked wistful for a brief moment, but soon recovered. She thrusted the overflowing gown towards Rangiku. "Here, take this. The fitting room's right over there, next to the sewing machine thing."
Rangiku held on to the gown awkwardly and was about to protest when Gammy began fussing and pushing her towards the fitting room.
Alas, Rangiku kept her protests to herself and stripped down to change all for the sake of humoring Gammy. Rangiku emerged from the fitting room a few minutes later, simply radiant in the gown. Her blonde hair flowed by her side and further complimented the gown. She, herself, however was not so certain about the chest part. She gave a small twirl and posed for Gammy.
"Oh! It looks perfect on you!" Gammy gushed when she set eyes on the younger woman. Gammy's small frame was almost buzzing in excitement. She looked at Rangiku's anxious face and continued, "Don't worry about the fit, sweetie. Yumi's the best tailor in Sitka." Gammy altered and measured the fabric and stuck some pins in, all the while. "And I was a bit chesty when I wore this."
Rangiku smiled, both at her reflection and at Gammy's remark in spite her situation. "What's this for though? And really, you're being too kind. I look like a walking mulberry bush! And I just... It's really too much, Gammy. All this." Rangiku motioned at the gown for emphasis.
"Oh hush, sweetie. Nonsense! Now, let's make this beyond perfection." Gammy tottered off and came back with an illuminating pearl necklace. She was just about to step back to clasp it on Rangiku's neck when, "Gammy. Seriously, it's too much. It's too beautiful and I don't think-"
Gammy gave Rangiku a sharp look. "I wasn't finished."
Rangiku in turn, just gave her an exasperated look. She sure as hell wasn't going to start defying an old woman.
Gammy cleared her throat and continued her story, "This has been in my family for more than 150 years. My great-grandfather gave it to my great-grandmother when they got married. They were quite a scandal, you know. He was Russian and she was Tlingit, and back then you had to get approval from every member of the tribe before you got married. Almost broke them up. She was tough though. Like you, deep down. Wouldn't take no for an answer…" The older woman then leaned down and smoothed the invisible knots on the gown. "I want you to have it."
"I... I can't." Rangiku finally said, with an adamant shake of her head.
"I don't want to hear it. Grandmothers love giving things to their grandchildren. It makes us think we'll be in their lives until we're gone. It's yours, honey." Gammy pushed lovingly.
Rangiku stilled on the spot and out of nowhere, big fat tears welled up in her eyes. She hastily brushed a few away.
"I- Are you alright, sweetie?" Gammy asked tentatively, clearly sensing the mood change.
"I... Well, I just... I just wanted to make sure if there was enough time to get all this sewing done." Rangiku managed in between soft sobs. She lifted the gown and put it down again heavily.
"Don't you worry about that. You'll be shining when we're done." Gammy confirmed. "Now let's get you out of these pins alright?"
"Okay." Rangiku could only nod.
An hour later, docks
After one freaky and another sentimental encounter with Gammy, Rangiku and Gammy finally went home in silence, dress in tow. The blonde didn't felt like talking much. At all, really. Once home, Gammy immediately began talking and discussing about dress designs for the wedding with Yumi. Rangiku herself, hurried out of the house. She felt claustrophobic simply being inside the house. Which was no sane reason, seeing as the house was practically a mansion. Still, she felt she needed to get away from everyone. To get some air.
Rangiku all but ran to a nearby dock where overhead, a group of seagulls sang their anthem, loud and clear. Rangiku took a deep breath of sea air to calm her nerves. Just then, she spotted a white speedboat, with Toushiro's back facing her. She rushed down the wooden stairs, untied the rope and hopped in quickly. After that combo, Rangiku stepped on the gas pedal hard.
Toushiro, who was lounging at the speedboat's couch-chair just a few moments ago, jumped up, startled. "Whoa... Mind telling me what's wrong?"
"I just... I needed to get away from everyone." Rangiku answered, jerking right suddenly, avoiding another boat heading back home.
"Why? What's wrong?" Toushiro repeated with more force. He wasn't backing down, apparently.
"Nothing! Just..Just stop talking, please." Rangiku said desperately, hands tight around the wheel. She didn't even care about the splashes of water imprinting her jeans. She was sure she was going to be arrested at the rate she's going, but she didn't even care about even that. She just knew she needed to get as far away as possible. Rangiku stepped harder and the boat zoomed away into the open water.
After a while, Toushiro tried again. "Mind telling me now, Rangiku?"
Silence.
"Rangiku," Toushiro glared at the woman beside him. The latter's eyes was still aimed at the front, not about to get distracted from target anytime soon.
"Rangiku!" Toushiro shouted at last, shaking Rangiku's shoulder roughly.
The woman flinched visibly, "I forgot, okay? I forgot what it feels like to have a family! I've been on my own since I was 16, and I forgot what it felt like to have people love you, and make you breakfast, and say, "Hey! We'd love to come down for the holidays." And I'd say, "Well, why don't we come up and see you instead?" And give you necklaces! And you have all that here, and you have Sara! And I'm just screwing everything up! Everything!" She gulped when she finished, desperate for air.
Toushiro raked a hand through his hair, clearly perplexed. "You didn't screw up anything, okay? I agreed to this, remember? I was there!"
"Your family loves you!" Rangiku spat at the man incredulously. "Do you know that?"
"Of course, I do!"
"And you're willing to put them through all this?"
"They're not going to find out!"
"Yeah, but what if they do? Oh, God. If Yumi finds out… If Gammy finds out... Oh God!" Rangiku mumbled incoherently to herself, walking away from the wheel and burying her head in both her hands on the tail end of the boat.
"The boat's still moving!" Toushiro yelled incredulously above the roaring engine.
He hastily took control of the boat and began chastising Rangiku for her careless action. Not that this was the first time she did something so crazy, though.
"What is wrong with you?" Toushiro demanded angrily, hands still poised on the wheel.
To which Rangiku just shook her head a few times, "Oh my God. Gammy's gonna have a heart attack."
"She won't find out! Now hold on!" Toushiro ordered, as he turned sharply around a lone buoy.
After they were in clear water again, he slowed the speedboat to a comprehensible speed and said, "Now, I don't think that hijacking a boat is a proper way to express your frustration, Rangiku." Toushiro continued before reaching down to pull the brakes. "Oh, great. Now you decide to shut up!"
"Rangi…" Toushiro repeated, this time turning his head to his right in concern. No doubt he was beyond baffled to see he was all alone on the speedboat.
To be Continued..
A/N: How'd you guys like this chapter? It's one without Toushiro in it for a majority of the first part eheh. Thanks for the patience once again!