Notes: not safe for work at all near the end, some Heirverse foreshadowings: specifically to "sunrise in the west" which if I remember rightly is ch73 of Heir, and a hint at Heir!Gin throwing people under busses to get Aizen's full attention and stuff he wants. And the introduction of the Victorian language of flowers that will be used a lot in this while these idiots are courting each other. It is a language i have studied for several years, and all the meanings are correct to the best of my knowledge.
Chapter 12: Cat and the Mouse
Gin groaned and buried his face in both his hands. Gods, why? He wondered, Why does he always do this to me? How can he make me blush like a schoolgirl with just a few words?
You'll get used to his flattery,Shinsou told him levelly, His advances, his dirty words.
Gin frowned at his zanpaktou, who had chosen that moment to materialise beside him on the bed in the form of a silver fox.
"Yer assumin' I'll be around him long enough ta get used to it."
Shinsou tilted his head and regarded Gin quizzically for a moment before replying. "You're assuming you won't be?"
Shinsou's answer surprised Gin. Did his zanpaktou know something he didn't?
Gin sighed deeply and lay back on the bed, head hurting too much to puzzle it out. He'd work it out later, at home, where a monster headache wasn't competing for his attention. Or Aizen, either.
"Rangiku has the right of it, you know," Shinsou added. Again using the tone that suggested he knew more than he was letting on. "He may be a complete pervert and a self-serving charmer, but that fool would make the sun rise in the west for you, if he could."
Gin closed his eyes, deciding to rest for a moment. I doubt it.
Shinsou made a hum that indicated his disagreement, but he said nothing else on the matter. Thankfully. Gin really wasn't in the mood to argue with his zanpaktou. Especially when he had this terrible hangover and a throat like sandpaper. He was so thirsty, too. He should have asked Aizen for a glass of water before he left. But he'd been too distracted by the possibility of seeing him naked.
"If you're thirsty, he left you a glass of water on the bedside table." Shinsou told him.
"What?" Gin looked around, finding there was indeed a glass of water next to him, with a jug of water beside it. "Has that been there the whole time?"
"Yep."
"How th' hell didn' I notice that?"
"Well," Shinsou began, his voice light and teasing, "You were too busy thinking about seeing his body." Gin felt heat rise to his face again, practically hearing the zanpaktou's smirk in his voice. "Seeing his penis."
Gin's face went red, and Shinsou laughed lightly.
"You're thinking about it again now." the spirit teased him.
Gin felt his face and neck turn ten degrees hotter, which only made Shinsou chuckle more.
"Yer just as bad as him, ya know." Gin scowled. But Shinsou only snickered.
"And you call him a pervert."
"Leave me alone will ya?" Gin scowled at him again. Shinsou kept snickering, but he obeyed the command, leaving Gin alone with his thoughts again. Gin sighed with relief. At last he'd have some respite from all the teasing. At least the teasing from his zanpaktou. Aizen was another story entirely. Who knew what dirty things he'd say when he returned?
Gin shook his head, banishing the ideas springing into his mind. He'd worry about that later. First, he'd take care of his dry throat and slake his thirst. He took the glass of water and drank it greedily, emptying it before pouring himself a second glass. Once he'd emptied out the glass a second time, he set the glass back on the table again, hoping the water would help to get rid of the headache as he took in his immediate surroundings.
Aizen's bedroom wasn't overly large, but it was a good size, and like the rest of the house it was elegantly furnished. The bedside table was also mahogany wood, and there was a bookcase, also made of mahogany wood, against the back wall that held an extensive library.
So, he likes to read, Gin noted, his curiosity piqued. I wonder what sorta stuff he reads...
Gin let his eyes wander slowly across the books on the shelf, noting they spanned a great range of topics. Anatomy. Psychology. One called "How to Win Friends and Influence People."
There were novels there, too. Shakespeare, Dickens. Some Gin had never even heard of. Who was this Vladimir Nabokov? But then, Gin had never been one for reading books unless he absolutely had to.
There were some books on the bedside table, too. A copy of Lolita, and on top of that, a copy of The Language and Sentiment of Flowers.
The language of flowers? Gin pondered, a little perplexed.
"It's a language that was once used in the Victorian times," Shinsou elaborated. "Traditionally a language of courtship."
Gin snorted quietly. "Do women actually fall fer that crap?"
"Probably."
Gin picked up the little book, frowning at it. Wondering what possible use Aizen Sousuke could have for it. It must be one of his tactics to seduce people, Gin reasoned, flicking the book open to a random page, eyes scanning down the flowers and their meanings. Whole pages filled by lists. It was more like a dictionary than an actual book. Who knew there were so many flowers? And that each had a unique meaning. Sometimes a flower had two meanings, if the hand-scribbled notes in the margins were to be believed.
Jeez, does he deface all his books like this? Gin wondered, finding an entire section dedicated solely to the different coloured roses. Of course, he'd already known that roses were a way of expressing love, but he hadn't known the different colours meant different things. He hadn't known yellow roses signalled infidelity, or jealousy depending on the context. That white roses meant a heart unacquainted with love, or pink ones meant secret love. Even withered roses had a meaning: transient impressions. And those were just the roses. There were so many other flowers. Tulips, daffodils... and the prickly cactus Gin always thought meant stay away that was actually an expression of ardent love.
Setting the book down on his lap, he examined the pile of books on the bedside table again.
"The fuck is a Kama Sutra?" he wondered aloud, picking up the book and opening it to a random page, not really looking at the cover. Maybe it was just a weirdly titled story, he thought, but he quickly found otherwise when he saw the contents.
"Oh."
Shinsou's mad cackling bounced around the insides of his head, banging against his skull, and reverberated in his eardrums. His face turned red again. The zanpaktou snickered at Gin's embarrassment, "Well, what were you expecting?"
"Shut up!" Gin hissed, but curiosity won out over the initial embarrassment and he slowly flicked through the pages.
"I didn' know there were so many ways ta do it." Gin mused, holding the book up and studying the photos of man and woman united in ecstasy.
"Is this one even physically possible?" Gin asked, squinting at the photo. "It looks pretty uncomfortable to me."
"Well," Shinsou widened his grin, "You could ask Aizen-san. I'm sure he'd be happy to show you. Maybe he could even demonstrate..."
Gin's face turned beet red. "I aint askin' him!" he spouted. But Shinsou just laughed in response.
"I'm just saying, Gin. He could."
"Well, don't." Gin told him firmly. "It's bad enough he teases me without you teasin' me, too."
"Oh, please. Like you don't enjoy it."
Gin scowled at his zanpaktou, and Shinsou took his cue to be silent.
. . .
Sousuke hummed happily as he cracked the eggs into the frying pan next to the bacon.
"Someone's happy." Kyouka Suigetsu commented, "I haven't seen you smile so much."
"Well, of course," he told her, "Everything is going so well. My plan is coming together nicely."
He flipped the bacon over with the spatula in his hand. "It is only a matter of time until he succumbs to me."
He pressed the bacon into the frying pan with the spatula and stirred the baked beans in the saucepan on the hob next to it so they wouldn't start burning and sticking to the pan.
"Oh, I think it'll be the other way around." Kyouka mused, making an appearance in the kitchen beside him. Her form of choice this time was that of a young red-haired woman, green eyes, and freckle-cheeked. Her hair fell in soft ringlets down to her shoulders, and the dress of the day was a white floral print summer dress that was perfectly suited for a high tea garden party. The length of it came down to her knees, and it was paired with some flat white sandals.
"The other way around?" he lifted his head, studying her with more than a little skepticism.
"Yes."
He frowned, trying to work out what she meant. Kyouka was often a tricky and cryptic sword spirit. And while those were often traits he valued, particularly when deceiving his enemies, there were also times he appreciated direct answers. Like now.
"Please elaborate."
"What I mean is," she said, flicking her hair with her fingers, "I think it will be you who falls flat on your face for him before he falls for you."
He managed a snort at this statement as he put the bread into the toaster and pressed the lever. "I highly doubt that. I'm just going to play with him for a little while. I know what I'm doing."
"Those are famous last words, Sousuke."
"What was that?"
"I was just wondering what making him breakfast in bed has to do with 'toying with his feelings', as you put it." She flicked her hair again, "Not that I'm complaining at all. I quite like this soft side of you."
He smiled to himself, quietly pleased with himself. She didn't understand that half the fun was making people fall hard for him before he crushed them. But she would.
"My dear Kyouka," he said, plating up the eggs, bacon and baked beans for Gin's breakfast, "It's all. About. The chase. The breakfast is a part of that."
The toast popped out of the toaster and he put that on the plate, too. His zanpaktou made a noise that indicated she disagreed, but he ignored it. He took the butter out of the fridge and spread it over the warm toast with a knife. He then grabbed a tray from one of the cupboards and set the plate on it, ready to carry it upstairs to Gin. There was just the tea left to make now.
"Of course, Aizen-sama," Kyouka said as he boiled the kettle for the tea, "How silly of me. It's definitely the thrill of the chase before you break his heart that's got you feeling so happy. Not the fact that Gin likes you enough to consider pursuing a serious relationship with you."
"Make all the snarky comments you want." he told her, pouring the hot water into a clean mug and stirring the tea into it. "The game is still afoot."
He heard her sigh tiredly as he walked past her with the tray with the tea and breakfast on it. "If you say so, Aizen-sama. I just hope you won't get bored of him too quickly. He's cute when he's trying not to picture you naked."
"Ah," Sousuke grinned, "Now that's something we can both agree on."
. . .
Gin was still flicking through the pages of the book when he heard Sousuke's footsteps and his humming as he came back up the stairs. Panicking, Gin quickly shut the book and hurriedly placed it – and the book on the flower language – back where he'd found them. So hopefully when Sousuke entered the room he'd see that nothing was amiss. Shinsou disappeared as well, and just for good measure Gin lay back down again and buried himself under the warm duvet to make it look like he'd been dozing instead of nosing through Sousuke's things.
Sousuke walked into the bedroom a few moments after, carrying a tray with Gin's breakfast and a mug of hot tea. Gin sat up and watched him walk the few paces over to him and sit beside him. Gin had to admit the smell of the food was a welcome one. Especially since his stomach was empty and crying out for something to fill it and settle it down. Gin couldn't help his mouth watering as the smell of bacon drifted into his nostrils.
"Smells so good." Gin told him, watching eagerly as Aizen set the tray onto his lap. Gin picked up the cutlery the second the tray touched his legs and cut off a piece of bacon. The meat was already in his mouth when he realised Aizen hadn't made himself anything.
"Aint ya eatin' anything?"
Aizen smiled at him, "I'll get something in a bit."
Gin shrugged and stuffed more bacon into his mouth. "Suit yerself."
Gin's interest lay firmly in filling his belly with the delicious food in front of him, so he didn't notice Aizen's gaze drift over to the books on his bedside table. Neither did he notice Aizen's amused smirk. He did, however, hear the drawling amused tones in his voice.
"Were you looking up ideas?"
Gin wrenched his gaze away from the food, a forkful of baked beans halfway to his mouth. "What?"
He followed Aizen's finger as it pointed to the books.
"Sexual positions." Aizen elaborated, and Gin's ears and face turned a red that would have been the envy of any tomato.
"No!" Gin spouted, "I thought it was a story, an' I was curious what ya were readin'. I didn't realise what it was."
Aizen smiled at him. "You know, if you are going to snoop, at least leave the things you looked at the same way you found them."
Gin burned with embarrassment as the man chuckled, laughing at him again.
"Ya don't hafta laugh at me." Gin scowled.
"I'm not laughing at you." Aizen's voice became softer, gentler, but Gin was still dubious. "I've just never met anyone so adorably innocent, that's all."
"Sure sounds like yer laughing at me." Gin pouted. "And I aint innocent."
"Alright," Aizen smiled softly, "If it makes you feel better, I'll stop laughing. Deal?"
"Deal."
Gin put the baked beans still on his fork in his mouth and chewed and swallowed them. "Bu' wait, aint ya mad I looked through yer stuff?"
"And why would I be angry?" Sousuke asked him, still smiling, "It's just a book. And I have nothing to hide from you. You can look at my things if you like. My house is your house."
Yeah right, you've got everythin' to hide from me, Gin thought, polishing off the rest of his breakfast. Though he knew better than to go voicing the thought. It appeared he'd have to figure out what the man was hiding on his own. When his body wasn't betraying him simply by reacting to the man. Especially if just his kisses sent sparks through him, and set the moths fluttering in his stomach.
Gin set down his cutlery on his empty plate and drank some of his tea, setting the mug on the bedside table, smiling back at Sousuke. Because Gin had things to hide, too. His mistrust. His desire to monopolise Aizen's affections. His wish to be the only one the man had eyes for, no matter who he had to throw under the bus.
"Alright, if you say so." Gin smiled sweetly. And then, because two could play at this, he added, "Maybe one day we can read through it t'gether. Ya know, when I'm less hungover. An' you can explain ta me some things..."
Gin grinned as he watched the subtle raising of Sousuke's eyebrows as he took the tray and set it on the floor out of the way.
Wow, I didn' know it would be this easy! Gin thought, excited. Perhaps a little too excited, because the next sentence tripped out of him without any thought at all.
"Maybe we can even try some of the positions in there, too." he added jokingly, but Sousuke's eyes lifted to meet his, the arousal in them hard to miss, and Gin knew instantly those words were a mistake. But he'd said them without thinking, in the spur of the moment. He hadn't thought of the consequences of saying them. Or if he had, he hadn't thought them through carefully enough. Especially since those consequences involved him being pushed down onto the bed, laying on his back, with Sousuke's lips pressed against his. With Sousuke's tongue tasting his again, making him moan helplessly into the kiss just like the last time. His hips were pressed down firmly under the older man's thighs so he couldn't move even if he wanted to. Gin thought of resisting, but he tasted so good, and the sparks were already flying about his body, and his arms – his traitorous arms – were already wrapping themselves around Sousuke's neck, pulling him close. His heart was racing and his mind was keenly aware of just how many layers of fabric lay between their naked bodies. And to top it all, his lust-addled brain was urging him to take those layers away and screw the consequences.
Aizen broke the kiss a moment later, breathing heavily. But Gin's breaths were heavier, his chest heaving.
"I..." Gin breathed, "I want..."
But before Gin could finish the thought, Aizen's warm fingertips were on his lips, silencing him.
"I know what you want." Aizen smirked, letting his fingers trace an invisible line down Gin's neck, "The question is, will I give it to you?"
"Aizen-sama," Gin panted, "Please. Touch me."
Gin couldn't have known what those words would do to him. To the man who craved total control, power and influence over everything and everyone around him. Especially over the current object of his desires pinned under him being driven crazy with lust, with desire overriding all his reason and sense. Desire newly awakened and fresh. It caused a sly smile to tug at the corners of his mouth as he gazed down at Gin. His Gin, who was both flushed and breathless. No doubt those words had come out of him without any thought, too. In fact, Aizen doubted Gin could form any coherent thoughts. The knowledge pleased him, and he leant down again to capture Gin's lips with his own. Rewarding his darling with a passionate and deep kiss, drawing out another soft moan from Gin.
When Aizen broke away again, Gin's chest heaved with the effort of breathing, and Aizen could hear Gin's heartbeat loud and clear, mirroring his own that thrummed in his ears.
"How can I refuse such a polite request?" he purred softly, enjoying Gin's gasp as his lips kissed the skin of his darling's neck.
Gin's fingers gripped onto Aizen's clothes wherever he could reach, as those lips kissed and sucked his soft skin. Driving his crazy. Filling him with renewed desire. With lust. Gin could feel those lips and tongue gradually move down his neck, and sometimes his teeth gently nipping his skin, pulling the odd moan out of him.
"Sousuke... oh..."
"Mm, hush now," Sousuke ordered, pressing Gin down onto the bed and capturing Gin's lips again with his, "Let me take care of you."
"Aizen-san," Gin gasped, trying to protest, to backpedal, "I-"
But his words were cut off by Sousuke's lips and his tongue, and his traitorous body did not resist them. He wanted to take the words back, because they were a mistake, because he'd said them without thinking. And these were not the consequences he'd intended to happen when he said them.
But Sousuke's body was pressing close to him, legs straddling him, pinning him down. Lips kissing their way down his neck. Sousuke's hands were roaming across his chest, fingertips softly tracing over his collarbones. Every touch, however minute, sending sparks of electricity through his whole body.
"I wonder," he heard Sousuke muse aloud, "Are you silver from head to toe, under your clothes?"
Gin didn't even try to fight the moan that left him as Sousuke shifted to slide between the sheets, his hand moving between them to caress Gin's thigh. Sousuke smirked down at him.
"I'd love to find out." he purred into Gin's ear, breathing slow and steady. A world apart from Gin's erratic and heavy breathing. Sousuke pushed Gin's thigh gently, and his traitor's legs obediently spread apart at Aizen Sousuke's gentle, wordless command.
"Mmm, Sousuke..."
"Yes, that's my name," Sousuke hummed, "Though the way you're saying it now, you can wear it out if you want to."
He moved his hand up Gin's thigh, dangerously close to his manhood, and gazed down at his beloved. His Lolita. His Gin. With a smile spread across his face that rivaled even Gin's trademark grin.
"Hm," he paused for a moment, for thought, though his hands remained busy, continuing to trace lines up and down Gin's thigh, before sliding into Gin's underpants and moving to take a hold of his firm erection and stroke that too. "I wonder what you taste like."
"Bu' ya have," Gin told him, "Ya have tasted me."
But Sousuke only shook his head slowly, smiling down at Gin indulgently. His voice was low and seductive when he spoke, "I'm not talking about your tongue."
Gin's eyes widened just enough to let him see those gorgeous red irises, and Sousuke covered Gin's body with his to give Gin another deep, languid kiss. All lips and tongue and full of passion and desire. Gin moaned into his mouth again, and at once Sousuke felt Gin's arms move to encircle his neck, pulling him close as his darling returned his kiss with equal passion and fervour. Creating a stirring in his groin, and sending sparks of electricity shooting up his spine, over his skin. And judging from Gin's reaction to his touch, his kiss... Gin was experiencing the same thing.
He let his lips move down to Gin's neck, kissing his way down the soft flesh, enjoying Gin's low moans and gasps. His tongue circling over Gin's pretty, soft skin.
"Oh gods," Gin rasped, gasping for air, pleading for more, "I love- I love-"
Sousuke paused for a moment, reluctantly. Slowly pulling his lips away from his darling's delicious skin as he digested the words that had come so beautifully and breathlessly from Gin's mouth. He lifted himself up, so his face was level with Gin's. His breaths were steady yet laboured, and again a vast contrast to Gin, who was gasping and panting and trying to think through a thick fog of sexual desire.
Sousuke lowered his face to Gin's ear, a soft sigh escaping him and tickling the shell of Gin's ear. His voice was low and husky, belying his amusement.
"You love?" he asked, though he knew the question ran deeper.
Gin sucked in air through his teeth and hissed his answer. "Yes. Gods, yes."
Sousuke smiled. Those words came out of him without thought, too.
He brought his lips down onto Gin's neck again, kissing and nibbling the soft skin, listening to Gin's ragged breathing and moaning as he carried out his ministrations. Steadily moving his lips down over Gin's collarbones and chest. His hands moving up to push the yukata off Gin's shoulders so he could suck on Gin's nipples. Kiss down his chest and navel, hands caressing Gin's shoulders before they roamed down Gin's body, creeping down to undo the knot holding the yukata together, so he could push aside the garment, revealing Gin's pale body. He kissed his way down Gin's chest, hands running over his darling's ribs, his waist, his hips, lips kissing a trail down his stomach and navel. With Gin gasping when he felt Sousuke's tongue lick its way back up his navel, before Sousuke shifted his body to cover Gin's again, deftly sliding his hand under the waistband of Gin's underwear to grasp Gin's hard cock.
"Mm, perfect," he said, giving his Gin a most seductive grin, "You're excited for me."
Gin let out a deep, low moan as Sousuke's fingers slowly stroked the length of him, and gave the man another deep, impassioned kiss when he clamped their lips together.
"Gin," Sousuke breathed after he pulled away, his voice soft and seductive, "You're beautiful."
Gin's eyes were fixed on his face, smouldering with hunger and need. Beautiful and red.
"Sou..." Gin whispered, gasping when those skilled fingers moved again, "Oh!"
Sousuke's fingers increased their pace, and Gin's gasps turned into strangled moans, his back arching. Sousuke's lips curled into a very satisfied smile as he lowered his body again, his free hand pushing the duvet off them so he had easier access. It also allowed Gin a better view of what he was doing, should he choose to look.
He brought his lips down onto Gin's chest again and resumed kissing his way down to Gin's navel. Hands moving over his darling's body again – over waist and hips – and pushed down the boxer shorts to expose Gin completely.
Perfect, he thought, drinking in the sight of his Gin before him; completely exposed and undone for him, looking at him with lust and desire. Absolutely fucking perfect. And just as I thought, silver from head to toes.
