Well… if you've read 'Dress', then you know we about to have some DRA-MA.
…
Beach House
"I know you're wearing dark sunglasses, but you're not being as subtle as you think."
Rangiku sighed. "I regret telling you."
Beside her, Rukia shrugged.
"I'm just saying to be careful," Rukia spoke lowly. "It's a dangerous game you're playing. Someone will get hurt."
Rangiku said nothing, simply taking a sip of her wine and continuing to watch the scene below. She now knew she was not being as discreet as she thought but nothing could tear her stare away from Toshiro.
He was down on the beach with the guys, and boys being boys, they had decided to build a giant sand castle after all the girls (and Yumichika) had retreated to the house for wine and cheese on the balcony. It was the hottest day they'd had all week, and after a day spent at the beach, Rangiku was glad to sit in the shady breeze in her sexiest pink bikini and watch the fine specimens below complete some unnecessary manual labour.
And Toshiro did look fine. After four days at the beach, his hair had gotten lighter and his skin had gone a beautiful golden tan. He looked healthy, and Rangiku certainly wasn't opposed to watching him walk around shirtless most of the day.
His skin was glistening in the sun, the light really highlighting those delicious muscles of his. He wasn't buff like Renji and Chad, he was leaner like Ichigo and Ikkaku, but his muscles were defined and Rangiku stared at the dips and crevices over his abs, unable to help but picture her tracing them with her tongue. He was the shortest of the boys but his athletic body showed his physical strength; Rangiku knew he could lift her and something about that made her tingle between her legs. Her eyes dropped a little, to where his swim trunks sat low on his hips; she knew what he was hiding in his shorts and she bit her lip, feeling horny again.
But then he laughed, and Rangiku's gaze lifted to his wide grin. Ikkaku had just dumped a bucket of water on Renji's head, and Ichigo and Toshiro were holding onto each other in their fit of laughter. Rangiku chuckled, grinning too. She loved Toshiro's laugh, and his smile was possibly the most heart-warming sight she got to see. From the balcony, she couldn't see into the depths of his eyes but she knew teal was sparkling with happiness and the thought of it made Rangiku's heart swell.
But Rukia was right; it was dangerous. Rangiku had only thought that recently. Without her mind knowing, her heart had been creeping into uncharted territory. It was starting to develop feelings that it had never felt before.
She was starting to have feelings – romantic feelings – for her best friend.
Ever since that night out in the rain, and the phenomenal sex that followed, Rangiku had found her mind straying to a future in which she and Toshiro were together.
It was like how she felt just before they had slept together the first time, when she was constantly imagining him doing things to her and dreaming of him at night. She was doing that again now, but these new fantasies were entirely lust-free. She was imagining him running up to her in the rain, telling her he loved her. She imagined him holding her in front of their friends. She even dreamed of them in the future, sitting under Oma's Christmas tree with a baby in his arms while a white haired toddler ran up to Rangiku, calling her 'Mama'.
It wasn't hard to work out where that dream had been pulled from in her subconscious, but Rangiku found herself not hating it. In fact, she'd almost decided that was exactly what she wanted for her life (well, the children could wait several more years).
After all, no other man was ever going to make her feel as safe. She was never going to find another person in the world she trusted as much, or got along with so well. And if Toshiro was at the top of all those categories, then why the Hell was Rangiku looking for anyone else?
Since then, Rangiku hadn't been able to stop thinking about it. Toshiro, as her boyfriend? Was that what she wanted? She was starting to think yes, but the idea was mad.
She and Toshiro had been best friends for around ten years now, they were both so deep in each other's friend-zones there was no going back.
Besides, he'd been more reserved with her since coming up to the beach house. There hadn't been the same level of casual touches as before, and they hadn't spent much time alone, aside from the late night moments after all their friends had gone to sleep when Rangiku snuck into his guest room. The sex was still incredible, but she felt like he was almost holding back from her in some way. He certainly wasn't initiating anything, and even the post-sex cuddles seemed to be short-lived these days before he rolled away with his back to her.
It was weird, but Rangiku put it down to them staying with their friends for the week. They had to be even more cautious than usual.
And she wasn't that worried. The morning after the rain, he had been very affectionate and had even carved a heart onto her bedpost, around the initials he had previously left there after her drink had been spiked. The awkward moment when he'd been drunkenly convinced he wanted her baby had passed, completely out of mind. Out of his mind anyway, obviously Rangiku was still mulling it over in her dreams.
"Okay girls," Orihime appeared then, entering through the glass sliding door from the living room to the balcony. "I have assembled an afternoon feast!"
She was grinning ear to ear as she gently placed a tray of snacks on the low coffee table. Rangiku smirked and Rukia raised an eyebrow over her sunglasses as they saw the food. Orihime had been under strict instructions from Rukia to bring only cheese and crackers – maybe some grapes if there were still some left in the fridge – and that was it, but Orihime had gone above and beyond, as Rangiku had totally expected. There was cheese, crackers and grapes as requested, but there were also Oreos stacked to look like skyscrapers, and little people made out of chunks of fruit held together with toothpicks.
"I also brought out the hot sauce!" Orihime beamed, producing an angry orange-red bottle from the waist tie of her sarong
"To put on what?!" Rukia sounded alarmed.
"The fruit people, Silly. You need to draw smiles on their watermelon faces."
Rukia stared. Rangiku chuckled.
Orihime was unfazed, and took a fruit person from the platter before drizzling hot sauce over its 'face'.
Yumichika followed with a fresh bottle of wine and without asking them, began topping up all their glasses before he collapsed into the deck chair beside Rangiku. Kiyone, who had been lying in a hammock and engrossed in a book (thankfully missing Rukia's discreet comments), sat up and joined them on Rukia's other side. Orihime took up residency on a bean bag (who knew Byakuya Kuchiki owned bean bags?!).
"I'll tell you what, Ladies," Yumichika sighed dreamily, staring down at the boys in the sand. "We have some fit men in our group."
The girls all looked and Rangiku's eyes fell naturally to Toshiro. He was carrying a bucket of wet sand up to their sand castle site, his biceps flexing.
Beside her, she knew Rukia was staring at Renji, Orihime at Ichigo and of course, Yumichika at Ikkaku. Subtly, Rangiku tried to glance at Kiyone to find out who she was looking at (and hoping not to find her staring at Toshiro too), but she found the girl looking at her instead. Their eyes met for a second before they promptly looked away from each other.
That was uncomfortable, and Rangiku barely knew why. Maybe Kiyone was still upset about that night Rangiku had interrupted their date, crying and in a see-through wet playsuit.
Down on the bean bag, Orihime sighed sadly. She probably hadn't meant too, but they all heard it.
"Why don't you ask Ichigo out, Orihime?" Rukia suggested. "There are a lot of cool bars in town, even a movie theatre."
"He doesn't like me like that," Orihime pouted. "He likes… other girls."
"Well he's an idiot then," Yumichika rolled his eyes. "You're beautiful and you have a banging body. He'd be crazy not to want to go out with you."
Rangiku would cheers to that, and she did, clinking glasses with her flamboyant classmate.
"And you're kind," Kiyone pointed out. "Ichigo seems like someone who appreciates kind people."
Rukia nodded in agreement and the four of them looked down at her with encouraging eyes.
Orihime smiled shyly, a bit of pink dusting her cheeks. "Thanks everyone, but I don't think I'll ask Ichigo out any time soon."
"Why not?" they all asked in unison, tones whining.
Orihime shrugged sadly. "I don't want to risk it. I'd rather be just friends than make things awkward."
Rangiku pouted and sighed, but she understood that. She was worried about that happening with Toshiro too if she told him about her developing feelings. On one hand, she wasn't scared to tell him, because she knew he'd handle it well and say the right things, even if he was telling her he didn't feel the same. For Rangiku, the risk lied in two scenarios – the first, where he didn't like her back and called off their sexual relationship in an effort to not lead her on and keep her from getting attached, and the second, where he did become her boyfriend but then they broke up down the line. They'd never get their old level of friendship back after a thing like that and Rangiku was not totally prepared to risk that.
Besides, she wasn't even sure if these feelings she was having were genuine. It was possible she had just made up these feelings in her head because she was too lazy – or scared – to meet anyone else.
"Looks like they're coming up," Rukia murmured and Rangiku returned to reality, seeing the boys take one last look at their handiwork before they turned and headed back up to the house, disappearing under the balcony and away from view.
"Peace and quiet ruined," Yumichika sighed, "but I am pretty horny and Ikkaku will be too when I inflate his ego over that silly sand sculpture."
Rangiku snorted, imagining Ikkaku getting turned on by a compliment on his work out there. To be fair, they had done an incredible job with their castle, Rangiku would give them that. It was a mini fortress in the sand, complete with multiple towers, a moat and a bridge.
A minute later they heard the voices, and peace and quiet was indeed ruined because they were loud and excited. They were in the kitchen getting drinks by the sounds of things and a few minutes later they joined them on the balcony with their beers.
"Good job on that beautiful castle, Babe," Yumichika drawled, as promised, his eyelashes batting. "You looked good lifting those buckets."
Rangiku was grinning behind her wine. She didn't know why he felt the need to lay it on so thick around the guy he had been dating for over a year but she also knew Yumichika didn't do subtle. Besides, he was saying exactly what Rangiku was thinking about Toshiro.
Ikkaku smirked and held out his hand, helping Yumichika up and out of the chair. He winked at the group as he led Yumichika back inside, hand on the small of his back.
"I'm so glad I put them in the room at the back," Rukia muttered.
"Yeah, lucky you," Toshiro sent her a glare and the group laughed.
Poor Toshiro was in the room next to theirs and heard all sorts of things. Rangiku did too when she snuck into his room late at night, but that also worked in their favour. After all, who was going to hear them when they had that going in the background? Well Toshiro also shared a wall with Ichigo on the other side, so they were still being as quiet as possible.
"Hopefully they'll tire themselves out?" Rukia winced but it was clear she didn't believe it. She sighed then and sat up. "I better get started on dinner."
Kiyone went with her as they disappeared back into the kitchen, and Renji quickly stole Rukia's deck chair. Orihime patted her bean bag for Ichigo to join her and her smile was wide when he did, his arm resting casually on the back of the bag behind her. Chad took Yumichika's old seat and frowned slightly when he saw Orihime's platter of fruit people in an Oreo city. Toshiro seemed happy where he was, leaning against the balcony rail. Rangiku pulled her legs up so he could sit at the end of her long chair, but he didn't, turning out to the ocean and watching the waves crash on the beach for a while.
It was a relaxed afternoon, as they sat and drank their drinks, nibbling on Orihime's platter while they waited for dinner. The sky changed to a pretty pink hue as the sun began to set. Rangiku's eyes kept slipping to Toshiro's back, wondering if she was overthinking things or not. After all, she hadn't asked him to sit with her. Should she ask him? Or would that be weird?
Ugh, this feelings shit was a pain in the ass.
Thankfully it was Orihime who actually provided the perfect window of opportunity.
"You're looking a little pink, Ichigo," she tapped his nose with her finger gently. "Maybe a little sunburned?"
"Yeah, I think my back got burned too," Ichigo sighed.
"Me too," Toshiro murmured and that's where Rangiku seized her chance.
"I have some after-sun lotion!" she announced and got up quickly, running into the living room where she had left it. She returned to the balcony and sat back down, calling Toshiro over. "Come on, Nerd. I'll rub this on your back before you start peeling."
Toshiro didn't move at first, but then he turned around and obediently made his way to her. Rangiku hid her frown as he sat on the end of her chair without once looking at her. Again, she was probably overthinking it. She squeezed a healthy amount of the lotion onto her hand before tossing the bottle (and a wink) to Orihime so she could help Ichigo. Toshiro turned his back to her and Rangiku began to work her magic.
Carefully, she started to spread the lotion on Toshiro's back. He flinched when she first touched him and muttered about it being cold, but after a minute Rangiku felt his muscles relax under her hands.
It was nice. Rangiku slid her palms over every inch of his back, ensuring to rub in the lotion into his soft skin. She loved his back but over the last week she'd had to be conscious of sticking her nails into him during sex because he was walking around shirtless most of the time now. He hummed appreciatively when Rangiku began kneading him with her thumbs, giving him a bit of a spontaneous massage.
She really wanted to kiss his back and neck, but she was already toeing the line with their friends sitting around them.
Eventually she couldn't pretend to rub the lotion in any further; it had absorbed completely minutes ago. She removed her hands from him and leaned back in the chair.
"Thanks, Matsumoto," he murmured, his shoulders more relaxed after the massage.
Rangiku grinned as she swapped the lotion for her wine. Her massage must have worked because Toshiro stayed where he was on the end of the chair, even leaning back to use Rangiku's bent legs as a rest. His back was on her shins and he seemed comfortable there.
Below them, Orihime had finished Ichigo's back long ago and now he was rubbing lotion into his own arms. He did ask for Orihime's help when it came to his face and the girl looked thoroughly delighted with that.
…
Despite the sun setting hours ago, the heat of the day never really faded.
Rangiku laid awake in her bed, tossing and turning under the thin sheet. She was waiting for Orihime to fall asleep as they were sharing a room, but it took longer than normal in the heat.
Finally, the girl began her silly dream mutters and Rangiku sighed in relief, pulling herself out of bed and creeping out of the room.
It was two in the morning, and she was worried Toshiro would be fast asleep by now, but she found him awake.
"Can't sleep?" she whispered, slipping into the room.
He was lying on the bed in nothing and he shook his head.
"Too hot," he groaned.
Rangiku agreed, but she hoped it wasn't too hot for sex. She slipped off her pyjama shorts and crawled onto the bed in just her t-shirt and underwear, and laid down beside him.
His skin was hot and sticky, and so was hers. It wasn't very sexy.
"I feel nauseous," Toshiro murmured. "Give me a minute."
Rangiku grimaced and reached up to cup his face with her hand. He did feel hot and as she touched his face, she felt the crease in his brow. He really wasn't feeling well then, but she wasn't surprised. He was never great with the heat, often getting heat sick in summer when they were kids.
"Want to go outside and get some fresh air?" she murmured. "It's probably cooler out there now."
Toshiro agreed with a low groan before he pushed himself up off the bed and pulled on some shorts. Rangiku followed and together they crept quietly through the sleeping manor and slipped out the front door.
It was indeed cooler outside thankfully, only due to the light sea breeze, and Rangiku caught Toshiro's hand and led him down onto the sand. They walked for a little while in the fresh air, Toshiro navigating quickly to the water's edge and walking through the gentle waves pushing up on the sand.
"Better?"
"Much better."
They walked until they couldn't see the dark outline of the manor anymore, and then found a spot on the dry sand to sit. Toshiro laid back, his arms folded behind his head. Rangiku laid back with him, and rest her head on his chest, her body curling into him.
"I would have thought the stars would have been easier to see out here," Rangiku murmured, making conversation.
"Full moon," Toshiro sighed. "It's too bright."
Rangiku hummed. It was bright and the moon was big and clear in the sky.
"Are you okay?" she asked him.
"Yeah," Toshiro sighed. "It's much nicer out here."
"No, I mean in general," Rangiku tiled her head to look up at his face. What she really wanted to ask him was if they were okay. "You seem quiet."
"I'm always quiet."
"Quieter than usual," Rangiku clarified. "I just want to check nothing is wrong?"
Toshiro glanced down at her and their eyes met. His lips twitched and then he lifted his head, pressing a chaste kiss to Rangiku's forehead. His lips touched her skin and her eyelids fluttered closed. She loved when he did that.
"Nothing is wrong," he confirmed, tone soft. "I'm just aware of all our friends around us."
He knew what she was asking then, so it obviously wasn't just in her own mind; he had been pulling back from her. Rangiku gave a disappointed sigh, her eyes opening again. She didn't like it, but she understood.
"We do have to be careful," she murmured. "Ichigo almost found out at the party."
"Sorry again," Toshiro grimaced.
"Don't be."
Yes, it was Toshiro's fault Ichigo had almost found out, after all it was him who drunkenly told Ichigo he wanted to have Rangiku's baby. It wasn't all on him though, it was Rangiku who had underestimated the impact of their earlier conversation about her pregnancy scare.
And it was Rangiku who had let the secret slip to another one of their friends.
"Rukia knows."
"I know," Toshiro sighed, and Rangiku's eyes snapped to him. "She punched me."
"What?"
"In the arm," Toshiro continued. "I lost feeling in it for an hour afterwards and I couldn't use it all class."
Rangiku's brow furrowed. Rukia must have attended her classes with Toshiro the day after the dorm party – the day after Rangiku had told her their secret.
"She doesn't approve," Rangiku murmured.
"Not at all," Toshiro agreed.
Well… it certainly made sense that Toshiro had been so quiet lately. Rukia was with them every day – they were staying in her brother's beach house.
"Does that bother you?" Rangiku asked him. He and Rukia had become close friends over the near two years now that they'd shared classes. He respected her greatly.
Toshiro seemed to consider that for a while. Rangiku waited patiently, tucking her head under his chin. In one ear she could hear his heart beating steadily inside his chest, and in her other ear, she was listening to the peaceful waves crashing further out in the water.
"At the end of the day," Toshiro started, his tone thoughtful, "this is between you and me. I don't want to hear anyone's else opinions. Just yours."
Rangiku felt her lips tug into a smile and she grinned against him. She grasped a handful of sand and lifted it up, letting it slide through her fist, grains falling from her hand to his chest like an hourglass timer.
"Well my opinion is that there is nothing wrong with two best friends enjoying each other's company," she murmured lowly as the final grains of sand slipped from her hand. She then began to trace her finger along the lines of his muscles, spreading the sand over him. "Or each other's touch."
Toshiro hummed lowly before he shifted, and Rangiku felt his finger under her jaw, manoeuvring her out from under his chin, and she moved with him until their lips were connected. It was soft but firm, and his lips moved with hers. Though it was gentle, heat immediately flooded to her most sensitive areas.
She heated up the kiss, her hand sliding into his hair to hold him against her while she slipped her tongue between his lips. He hummed, reciprocating and leaning over her, switching their position as she felt her back being pressed down on the sand.
His lips left hers and found her neck, and Rangiku groaned quietly. She felt his hands on her ribs, sliding up her side until he found her breast. He squeezed her and Rangiku gave a soft moan when he then pinched her nipple.
Toshiro's lips pulled away from her and they curled into a cheeky smirk.
"Care for a moonlight swim?"
Rangiku grinned widely. "I don't have my bikini," she pointed out teasingly.
"You don't need one."
The stood in a hurry and Rangiku giggled as she quickly removed her shirt and underwear. Toshiro removed his shorts and in a second they were both completely bare.
They ran towards the water together and thankfully it was as warm as it was earlier in the day. They splashed through the shallow waves and dived under the water. It was refreshing after the heat of the bedrooms.
Rangiku burst back through the surface of the water and squealed when Toshiro caught her waist and swung her around in the water.
His hands came under her thighs and he hoisted her up to his hips, Rangiku's legs wrapping around him as she clung on. Her arms looped around his neck and when he finally stilled, she kissed him deeply.
Tongues met instantly as this kiss skipped the sweet and soft stage and moved straight to hot and heavy. One of Toshiro's hands slipped further around her thigh and between her legs; he found her clit immediately and pressed his fingers firmly against it, causing Rangiku to choke mid-kiss.
It was probably illegal what they were doing, but the beach was empty and it was some ungodly hour of the night. No one was around and she couldn't bring herself to care.
They separated, breathlessly leaning their foreheads against each other as Rangiku concentrated on the feeling of his fingers pressing her clit, rubbing her under the water. She gasped and clutched Toshiro's wet hair, her eyes lifting to meet his.
Teal shone in the moonlight, but they were overtaken by blown pupils. His lips were parted as he breathed and they were swollen from their kiss. His hair was swept back and dripping wet, droplets glistening over his skin.
"You have no right to look that good wet," she panted, her eyes sweeping his shoulders and chest, where the droplets were racing down over his muscles. Between her legs, fire was spreading quickly and it was making her squirm.
"You have no right to look that good ever," Toshiro muttered back. "I've been wanting to do this for days. Every time I see you in your bikinis."
Rangiku chuckled but it was shortly cut off by her own moan as Toshiro pressed her clit harder and changed the direction of his circles.
Her forehead fell to his shoulder, processing his words. He'd kept his desires hidden well.
"Which bikini is your favourite?" she asked him breathlessly, and somehow she had the presence of mind to reach between them and find his cock.
She found it rock hard between them, Toshiro grunting in confirmation that she had indeed found it. She began to stroke it under the water, her thumb pressing into the slit.
"The pink one," he gasped and Rangiku moaned as he pinched her clit harshly.
The pink one. Today's one. Her favourite too.
The bottoms were basically a thong, showing of her ass cheeks and leaving very little to the imagination. The top was more complicated; triangles covered the important bits but it pushed them together creating a level of cleavage that made Rangiku horny for herself (was that okay to say?). The strings wrapped around her back and ribs, almost like bondage-inspired lingerie. It was a lot (or a little) but she looked like she could be on Love Island.
And it turned Toshiro on, that had kinda been the whole point. She was excited that he had been staring at her, wanting to pull her into the ocean to touch her.
He pressed her clit harder and Rangiku moaned into his shoulder. He wasn't even penetrating her, nor did he seem to have any desire to (probably for the best, given they were in the ocean and that couldn't be the most hygienic place for intercourse), but it was the most arousing night they'd had on this trip.
Rangiku's orgasm was building quickly, blinding her. She'd had to let his cock go in favour of grasping both of his shoulders and holding on for dear life.
"Do y-you want me?" she asked between pants. It felt like she was drunk on him, intoxicated by the lust. She wanted him, more than anything. She wanted him to fuck her. She wanted him to take her home and love her. She wanted him to call her his girlfriend.
"I want you," Toshiro whispered in her ear. "I want you so bad, Rangiku."
With those words, Rangiku came hard. Her body convulsed against him before she went stiff in his arms. He rubbed her gently through it, until her body finally went limp against him.
Finally she did see stars, stars that no full moon could ever out-shine
She held onto Toshiro's shoulders, her eyes staring through the water below them as she focused on her breathing.
She knew, in reality, that when Toshiro told her he wanted her, he had meant it sexually. That was what Rangiku had meant when she asked him, but she also meant much more.
Damn these feelings.
...
The last night at the beach house was mellow as Rangiku and her friends lounged around the manor. Chilled music played from Byakuya's state of the art sound system and the dishwasher hummed quietly in the background, cleaning their dinner plates. The guys (all of them) had proudly served up a barbeque dinner, complete with salads (thanks to Yumichika) and bread rolls. Everyone was full, and a little bit sleepy, but determined to enjoy their final night away from college.
The sun was setting slowly outside, and Ichigo, Orihime, Renji and Ikkaku watched it from the balcony. Rangiku had been watching it from inside, where she was situated at the dining table, playing cards with Toshiro, Yumichika and Chad.
She was distracted quickly however, when she turned to mention the sunset to Toshiro beside her, only to find herself entirely lost in his face.
The orange glow was beautiful against his skin and his teal eyes were brightened in the light. For a moment, Rangiku's thoughts ceased.
She was torn between dreading returning to school (classes and final exams, ugh) and feeling excited to go back because she and Toshiro could go back to their previous routine of easier sneaking around.
She wanted to settle back into her everyday life, and see if her feelings for him stayed. If they did, she wanted to talk to him about it, and see how he felt about her, if he'd ever consider them in a romantic relationship.
There was a lot on her mind about it, and it frequently left her zoning out. That was fine when they were lying on the sand or watching a movie, but not so good when she was supposed to be playing Uno.
"You can't put that card down, Matsumoto," Toshiro tutted over his own cards. "You need to pick up four."
"Four?" Rangiku spluttered, returning mentally to the game. She glanced down at the stack of cards in the middle of the table and snarled at the '+4' card staring up at her. "Who did that?!"
"I did," Yumichika sighed nonchalantly as he flipped his hair over his shoulder. "You only have two cards left. Naturally, I had to destroy you."
Rangiku threw him a disgusted look before she turned back to Toshiro, her best puppy dog eyes pleading for him to save her somehow.
Toshiro's shit eating grin was as frustrating as it was sexy. "Rules are rules, Matsumoto."
Betrayed. Totally betrayed. Rangiku turned to Chad next, he was opposite her in their circle of four but he stayed silent, seemingly finding rearranging his cards in his hands far more interesting.
"Fuck the rules," Rangiku hissed then. "I don't want to play anymore."
"Don't get sulky now," Toshiro smirked at her. "Just pick up four."
Rangiku pouted at him. Why did she like him again? How did she find him so fucking gorgeous?
With extra sulkiness and attitude, she picked up her four cards and scrunched her nose up at them. They were all boring cards that wouldn't make anyone suffer and would undoubtedly cost her the game.
"I'm getting a glass of wine," she huffed as she stood from her chair, "and then I'm never playing Uno again."
She snatched up her empty glass and stormed off before they could reply. She moved quickly into the kitchen to where Rukia and Kiyone were sitting either side of the island bench and were giggling as they watched the game down at the dining room table.
"Uno sucks," Rangiku sighed as she passed them, opening up the fridge and topping up her glass from the wine bottle inside.
"Yeah, I'm not allowed to play it anymore," Rukia smirked. "I bit a girl at school who beat me and Byakuya got called by the principal."
Rangiku snorted and Kiyone burst into giggles.
"How old were you?" Kiyone asked through the laughter.
"Not as young as you would hope," Rukia sighed, a slight frown on her features.
Rangiku laughed more at that. She had been thinking Rukia must have been five or six, but she was now envisioning an angsty teen version of Rukia, like fourteen or fifteen, biting her poor classmate. Byakuya would have been furious no doubt.
Ignoring her game for a moment, Rangiku took a seat beside Kiyone, preferring to sit with the girls drinking wine over the boys who were trying to destroy her in an Uno game. Toshiro would know she wasn't coming back and play on without her.
Rangiku sat with her wine and picked at the grapes sitting between them as Rukia continued her story. It was funny and far more entertaining than Uno.
"You're still a biter," Renji smirked as he entered the kitchen, catching the last of the story. He stopped by Rukia and leaned down to bite her neck gently before she smacked him quickly.
"Someone will see you," she hissed as Renji chuckled.
"Rangiku and Kiyone already know," he murmured, straightening as he smirked. He then gestured to the rest of the living room and balcony, "and no one else is watching."
Rukia rolled her eyes but she did a double take, scanning the room to see if Renji's claim was correct. Rangiku glanced around too and found Renji was right. Their friends were either engrossed in a card game or outside watching the sunset with their backs to the kitchen, and the music covered most conversations.
She turned back to find Rukia grinning as she met Renji's lips in a kiss that quickly turned from a sweet peck to something hotter.
Kiyone giggled and shook her head as she looked away, and Rangiku smirked into her wine as she took a sip and watched.
It was a bold move, with everyone around, but Rangiku loved it. She was considering spicing things up with Toshiro in the same way – brave, public moments captured in secret. Hand on his thigh under the dinner table, kisses on the dancefloor, little but obvious things that could be done in a crowded room, yet no one would see or notice. There was something so dangerously sexy about it. If they didn't get caught, nothing would be wrong with it.
-if they didn't get caught.
Alas, Renji and Rukia got caught.
"What the Hell?"
Rangiku choked on her wine as she registered Ichigo's voice from behind her. Renji and Rukia separated instantly, and all of them turned to see Ichigo standing in the doorway between the living room and the balcony. He was carrying an empty beer bottle, obviously coming back inside to swap it for a new one.
For a moment everyone stared, silence in the room except the music which hadn't stopped as abruptly as Rangiku's heart. Toshiro and the group playing cards had frozen, their wide eyes darting between Ichigo and the couple in the kitchen. Behind Ichigo, Orihime stood covering her mouth with her hand in shock, and Ikkaku was wincing.
Rangiku briefly wondered if he had known too. He was Renji's roommate after all.
"What the Hell?" Ichigo repeated, voice more strained now.
Rangiku quickly looked away, turning back in her seat and trying to forget the hurt she had just seen in Ichigo's amber eyes.
This was not good.
"Ichigo," Rukia breathed, moving around the island bench as Renji stepped back to give her space. "Let's go have a chat."
"No, let's talk here" Ichigo insisted; he sounded furious and Rangiku could picture him standing rigidly, his emotions burning furiously. "So you two are together now? Did everyone know but me? Did it occur to you to let me know?"
"It's not like that-"
"Then what's it like, Rukia?" Ichigo snapped then. "You knew how I felt. I told you how I felt."
Rangiku stayed deadly still. She didn't know that Ichigo had told her how he felt. Of course it was very obvious anyway, but it felt different that he had explicitly stated his feelings for her.
"That was a year ago," Rukia tried to argue. "I told you I wasn't sure what I wanted."
"You led me on," Ichigo sounded hurt. "You left me thinking I could still fight for you."
"I was too uncomfortable to tell you the truth," Rukia's voice was thick now and Rangiku could see her eyes starting to water. "You came on so strongly and I didn't want to hurt you or make things awkward between us."
"You're right," Ichigo scoffed sarcastically. "This is much better. Thanks for considering my feelings, Rukia."
"That's not fair," Renji piped up then as he straightened and moved around the bench too. "We were going to tell you, Mate. We were just waiting for the right time."
"You're not my mate," Ichigo spat. "Mates don't lie to each other."
He was getting worked up now and Rangiku stayed perfectly still. She wanted to turn around but she couldn't.
"Why don't we all step back for a minute," Orihime's gentle voice called them back. "Ichigo, let's go back outside-."
"Not now, Orihime!"
Okay now Rangiku did have to turn around. She had missed it but it seemed like Orihime must have tried to hold Ichigo's arm, maybe to calm him or pull him back out to the balcony, but Ichigo was far too highly strung in the moment. He shrugged her off, rather aggressively, and Orihime flinched back like she had been burned. Rangiku's heart went to her; she was only trying to help, but now was the wrong time.
"Ichigo," Orihime's voice was timid, "I just-"
"Stay out of it!" Ichigo snapped again. "This is about Rukia."
Now that did make Orihime look like she'd just been slapped.
Ichigo glared at Rukia for a moment longer, but she said nothing back. She looked furious too, but her angry expression was undermined by the guilt in her violet eyes. Renji squared his shoulders, straightening as if preparing for a bigger fight, but he never got one. After a tense minute, Ichigo shook his head.
"I thought I meant more to you," he said, his tone undeniably hurt as he looked at Rukia. It reminded Rangiku all too well of Toshiro's tone, after she told him he couldn't have her baby. Ichigo then turned to Renji, "I thought I meant more to both of you."
They didn't get to respond before Ichigo turned sharply and stalked from the room. It was deadly quiet again, though the music continued ignorantly as the front door slammed loudly outside. For several beats, everyone stopped to process the scene that had occurred.
Both Orihime and Rukia looked ready to cry, while Renji sighed tiredly.
Rangiku's eyes found Toshiro's and they were unreadable. After a beat, he stood and followed Ichigo out the door. Again, they heard the front door open and shut, though far more gently.
Yumichika broke the silence with a low whistle. "Damn."
"I should go talk to him," Rukia murmured but Renji stopped her, his hand on her shoulder.
"He needs to cool off," he told her. "He won't want to see us until he does."
Rangiku grimaced seeing Rukia's face. She looked so upset, but at least she had Renji, and Kiyone too. Rangiku turned towards Orihime and slipped off her stool to make her way over.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Orihime said, though her eyes were filling with tears. "Besides, it's not about me. It's about Rukia." Ichigo's words off her tongue were bitter in a way Orihime had never sounded before. She swallowed and released a shuddered breath. "It's always about Rukia."
It was a pained whisper, but Rangiku heard it.
Orihime's face crumpled, and she ran quickly from the room. They heard her footsteps hurrying up the stairs to the bedrooms.
Rangiku sighed, turning to see Rukia's even more hurt face. She had obviously heard the comment too.
"She's just upset," Rangiku murmured. "She didn't mean it."
It must have been hard hearing the guy she liked constantly talking about another girl and never being his focus.
"Don't worry about it," Renji held Rukia. "It's not your fault."
But Rukia looked close to breaking again, just has she had the night at the party. Once again the attention was on her as everyone stared, watching that feisty façade crumbling before their eyes.
"I'll go see Orihime," Rangiku murmured. "Chad, come with me?"
Their tallest friend nodded silently and stood, following Rangiku upstairs after their crying friend. She figured Chad, who had known Orihime as long as Ichigo and who was an expert comforter, would be useful.
They were Orihime duty, while Toshiro went after Ichigo. Rukia and Renji had each other and their own roommates. Everyone needed a shoulder to cry on.
Their last night at the beach house had turned into a disaster.
...
To no one's surprise, the next day was painfully awkward.
Ichigo spoke to nobody, in fact he was avoiding the common areas altogether. Orihime didn't look anyone in the eye. Rukia and Renji stayed well away from each other, as if they were scared of being caught again despite their secret no longer being secret.
It was awful.
Last night Rangiku had held Orihime's crying form for an hour as she tried to calm down and explain her pain rationally. It seemed like her emotions had been building for a long time, but she had been keeping them all inside. She didn't want people to know how much it hurt.
Rangiku had always seen the hurt expressions when Ichigo turned away from her or brought up Rukia again, but even she had underestimated how much Orihime had been struggling with it.
Still, between Rangiku and Chad they calmed her down. They told her to make sure Ichigo apologised for snapping at her (and Rangiku would have a word to him about that… when he calmed down of course). They all understood Ichigo's pain (and Rukia's uncomfortable positon too), but regardless, he shouldn't have spoken to Orihime, one of his closest friends, like that.
"He'll never like me," Orihime sniffled, whipping away the last of her tears. "I'm nothing like Rukia."
Eventually Rukia did come up to speak to Orihime, and they shared a hug as they talked it out.
When the night was over, and everyone else quietly excused themselves to their rooms, Rangiku waited until Orihime fell asleep before she slipped out of their room and crept down the hall.
Toshiro's room was empty as he and Ichigo had still not returned.
Rangiku curled up on his bed and waited, but she soon fell asleep herself and when she woke up in the morning, she was alone and the other side of the bed was cold.
"Where did you end up last night?" she asked Toshiro when she found him in the kitchen, helping Rukia tidy the place before they left.
"We just sat on the beach and talked," Toshiro answered quietly as Rukia pretended to look busy and like she wasn't trying to listen intently.
"All night?"
"Until quite late, yes."
"Did you sleep?" Rangiku asked with a frown. She knew where he hadn't slept and for a moment, Toshiro didn't seem to know what to say in response.
"On the couch," he admitted then. "I must have fallen asleep there after Ichigo and I got back."
Something was off in his response, and Rangiku knew him well enough to know when something was quite right with him. Toshiro walked off quickly then, leaving her behind with more questions than answers and when she looked at Rukia, the girl glanced away quickly, returning to her task of packing away her brother's wine glasses into their boxes.
"How are you feeling?" Rangiku asked her.
Rukia sighed. "Tired. It's going to be a shit couple days."
Rangiku nodded before she paused, wondering if Rukia had strictly meant that about her situation with Ichigo, or if she meant for all of them. Either way, she ended their conversation by sending Rangiku off to strip the beds and put all their linen into laundry bags which her brother's cleaners would collect for washing.
The rest of the day was the same. Awkward interactions as people ran into each other between their Rukia-assigned leaving tasks. Rangiku was up to the third bedroom when she spotted Ichigo out the window. He was packing the cars – a job he must have assigned himself – with Orihime. He was speaking to her, and Orihime was nodding as she passed him bags. Rangiku hoped he was apologising to her, but she doubted their conversation was going much further than that.
By midday the house was tidy and everything packed away. Rangiku found herself herded into Chad's car with Ichigo, Toshiro and Orihime, while Renji filled his car up with everyone else. No one spoke of stopping somewhere for lunch together, and they drove off separately, heading back towards campus.
The car ride was as painfully quiet and awkward as the rest of the morning, as Ichigo stayed uncharacteristically silent and no one seemed to want to test his patience.
Rangiku sat in the middle of the back seat, and rested her head on Toshiro's shoulder beside her. He didn't react, continuing to watch the world go past his window. Rangiku's eyes fell to his hands that sat in his lap. She wanted to hold them, like that night in Isshin's car.
…
"Can we talk?"
"This sounds ominous."
Teal eyes were guilty, and it told Rangiku she was right.
They were sitting in the stands, overlooking the university's soccer pitch. It was next to the student car park where they had pulled up not long ago. Ichigo, Chad and Orihime had left, marching back to their dorms with their bags, when Toshiro had pulled Rangiku to the side for a private conversation.
"We need to stop," he told her quietly. He wasn't looking at her anymore, his eyes cast down to the field below.
Without him explaining, Rangiku knew exactly what he was referring to.
"Why?"
"Because I'm worried we'll end up like our friends. I never want us to fight like that."
"We're not the same as them."
Toshiro said nothing as he leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. Rangiku stared at him, waiting for his response.
She was trying to be calm but inside her, all her alarm bells were ringing.
She realised now that while she had spent the car ride home deciding she would tell Toshiro how she felt, he'd gone the other way and decided to end their sexual relationship.
He clearly didn't feel the same as Rangiku did. He didn't see last night's drama as a wakeup call to make them officially dating so they would never have someone come between them like the love square that was Orihime, Ichigo, Rukia and Renji. He saw it as a wakeup call to cut off any future with Rangiku, probably for the same reason though. It was two different perspectives on the same scenario.
"You're my best friend, Matsumoto," Toshiro murmured at last, but it was all he said.
Rangiku swallowed, grateful he couldn't see her face right now.
She felt suddenly insecure. She felt embarrassed for developing feelings for him – just like in that dumb 'Friends with benefits' movie she swore would never happen to them. They were best friends, and that was all they would ever be.
"Okay," she agreed out loud, though her chest hurt. "Let's stop."
Toshiro nodded and leaned back to look at her. Rangiku kept her face perfectly placid as his arms came around her, pulling her into a loose hug.
"I love you, Matsumoto," he murmured. "You deserve to be happy."
"You too," Rangiku managed, and she smiled weakly at him when he pulled back and smiled back at her.
He stood then, pulling his bag up onto his shoulder. "I'm going to eat and then pass out until tomorrow. See you later."
"See you later," Rangiku murmured back, and she watched him hop down the rows until he reached the ground again.
He didn't look back as he walked through the car park towards the dorms.
It was quiet as Rangiku sat alone in stands, but she thought she heard the sound of her heart breaking.
…
Poor Ran, Orihime, Rukia, Ichig- you know what, poor every character in this chapter.