Gin woke up slowly the next morning slowly, blinking his eyes open as they grew accustomed to the light. He lay in bed with his pet fox Cherry curled up in his arms. So very comfortable and content. Still thinking about yesterday and his brush with Aizen Sousuke. Daydreaming.
At least he was, until he slowly rolled over and glanced at the clock on the bedside table.
"Shit!" he cursed, sitting bolt upright and jostling the little white fox from her beauty sleep. "Shit, shit, shit I'm late!"
He threw the covers off and sped to the bathroom to brush his teeth, hurriedly dressed, grabbed his bookbag and ran out of the house towards the school. Cursing his failure of an alarm clock with every step.
"Damn, I hope I aint too late," he panted as he ran.
He came speeding around a street corner, hoping to gain more time with a shortcut, but instead ran smack into something so hard he bounced off and ended up on the floor.
Gin looked up at the one who'd blocked his path with a snarl on his lips. "Hey! Watch where yer goin, ya nitwit!" he snapped. Realising a little too late who he'd ran into. Literally.
"Oh," he said softly. "Hi, Sou."
"And where were you off to in such a hurry?" Sousuke asked, a warm smile on his face as he helped Gin to his feet.
Gin just stared at his hand, still being held by the man, and felt heat flood into his face again. The moths in his belly having an absolute field day.
Oh god I'm still holding his hand! What do I do? Help me!
"I was on my way to class," Gin answered, finally recovering some of his brain function. "I'm late."
He looked at his watch. "I'm really late."
Sousuke nodded. "Ah, I see. You overslept."
Gin's face heated up even more. "Yeh. It's kinda embarrassin'."
Sousuke kept smiling warmly at him and handed him his bag back. "Don't worry. It happens to the best of us," he reassured. "Even me," he added, with a conspiratorial grin.
Gin somehow doubted that, but he was glad Sousuke was trying to make him feel better instead of just getting mad or laughing in his face. So his smile wasn't forced when he answered. "Tha's good ta know," he nodded. "Sorry fer runnin' inta ya like that."
"Ah, don't worry about it," Sousuke beamed at him, looking for all the damned worlds like the sun god Helios. "You can run into me anytime."
The man smirked at that, the suggestion clear in his tone, and gin's face flushed beet red. He was so flustered at the remark and all it implied, he laughed nervously. The sound high and shrill as he stumbled over a reply. If one could even reply to that.
"Oh, um, thanks f-fer that," he began, still fumbling around for a coherent sentence. "W-well, like I said 'fore, I'm real late, so I better gay."
There was a pause. And after realising what he'd just said, he wanted the earth to open up and swallow him whole.
"Er, I mean, go!" he blurted out the correction before the man could even say anything. "Go, I gotta go!"
And with that, Gin took off running, not even giving the man a chance to say goodbye. Dying of embarrassment and praying for the ground to swallow him whole all the way to class. Shinsou cackling like a fiend for the rest of the day.