Three weeks later Rangiku stood in her captain's office twisting a singular sheet of paper into a tighter and tighter roll. The demon spawn was just as restless. It kept kicking and pushing against her stomach, insisting she give it at least as much attention as she was giving the paper.
"Hush," she whispered, rubbing one hand against her growing belly, just as the door opened.
Isshin stepped into the room with his lieutenant in tow, but the moment he saw Rangiku he froze. Miyako had given him a mouthful about embarrassing his officer in public and the lecture had led to him almost avoiding Rangiku entirely. He seemed to be terrified of saying the wrong thing and upsetting the pregnant woman again.
"Ran-I mean Fifth Seat Matsumoto-san, what can I do for you?" he asked.
Rangiku grinned suddenly. "It's Ichimaru, sir," she said, happily, holding out a copy of the marriage record for the division files. "Gin's got a little house, and I-"
Her captain enveloped her in an enormous hug. "Congratulations, Ran-chan!" he declared. Then, as he set her back down, another thought occurred to him. "But I wanted to go to your wedding! How could you go and get married without me! I have a speech prepared and everything!"
"We just don't have the money, sir," Rangiku said. "So we thought we would just keep it quiet, not make a fuss or anything so no one feels hurt or left out."
"That's not any fun!" Isshin exclaimed. "What about a party, aren't you going to celebrate at all?"
"I was hoping you might give me a couple days off, to move into our new home, if that would be alright, Captain?"
"Of course, of course! I am terribly happy for you, Rangiku, really, very happy. I must admit I was beginning to doubt Ichimaru; how he could treat such a wonderful girl-but he pulled through in the end, so good for him. I do hope he'll make you happy, Rangiku."
"He always has, Captain," Rangiku answered.
"If he gives you any trouble, you just let me know, and I'll take care of it for you."
"Thank you, Captain, but if Gin ever does anything he deserves being beaten to a pulp for, I'm sure I can handle it myself."
"That's my girl," Isshin agreed proudly.
Rangiku woke slowly to the sensation of fingers tracing slow patterns across her bare back as she lay on her side. She smiled faintly without opening her eyes, and said, "One of us is going to have to venture forth in search of breakfast. I nominate you."
Lips replaced fingers dropping light kisses on her sensitive flesh and one hand slid around her waist, following the gentle rise of her belly. "I have everything I want right here," Gin argued. "My very own warm, soft woman in my very own warm-"
He was interrupted by knocking on the front door and raised his head to glare at the source of the interruption. "Go away," he suggested, though not loudly enough the visitor could have heard.
Rangiku opened her eyes, looking across their entire tiny home, all of two six mat rooms and the low flagstone entry. The place was an absolute mess. Her things were still in a pile just on the edge of the tatami. They'd been dropped there when Gin had pounced her on her arrival. His clothing was in the back corner of the second room, his folded shihakusho being the only things in the entire place that looked at all tidy. The rest of the room was filled with piles of books, loose papers, and paraphernalia from the world of the living that apparently Gin had been collecting for years. She wanted to know where he'd been storing it all before he had an entire six mat room to keep it all in, because there wasn't even room for them to sleep in there with all that mess.
Instead, the futon they were currently sharing was laid out in the doorway between the two rooms. The second futon was still folded by the entry with a vase of chrysanthemums spilled across it. Gin had bought her some of her namesake flowers as a welcome gift and had promptly knocked them over while greeting her. Last she'd checked, the futon was still damp, not that they had room to lay out two futons side by side anyway.
The rest of the front room was a scattered wasteland of dirty dishes and empty food containers and creatively discarded clothing. Even the entry itself had been wrecked with a pot of burnt rice on the stove and the remnants of an over boiled hot pot she had attempted their first night. There was a reason the rest of their meals had been bento. It was impressive how thoroughly they had trashed their home in only two days.
The knock was repeated more loudly.
"Oh, shit!" Rangiku said, shoving Gin away. "Nobody can see this place!"
Gin rolled onto his back and ran his fingers through his already tangled hair. "So ignore them," he suggested.
"They can tell we're here," Rangiku said, grabbing a kosode and yanking it on as she scrambled to her feet. "Put something on," she commanded, as she scanned the room for an obi.
"Nope. This is my vacation. There are only two reasons I'm getting out of bed. One is the toilet, the other is sex in the bath, and neither require clothes, so whoever it is is just going to have to be grateful it's cold enough to keep me under the blanket."
"Only because you let the fire go out," Rangiku answered. Giving up on the obi and wrapping the kosode around herself as tight as she could, she dodged through the refuse to the door.
"Nanao-chan!" she declared in surprise the moment the door was open. "Good morning!"
Nanao looked up and down, taking in Rangiku's lack of clothing slowly. Then she leaned to one side to look curiously into the tiny house. "Oh, my," she said softly.
Gin smiled at her and waved, "Good morning, Nanao-chan!" he said pleasantly as he leaned on one elbow in bed.
"Is there something you need, Nanao-chan?" Rangiku asked, uncomfortably.
"Have you done anything in the past two days?" Nanao asked in clear disbelief.
Rangiku blushed. "We have to go back to work tomorrow," she offered as an excuse.
"I wouldn't have intruded, but Miyako sent me to warn you, as she's too busy to come herself," said Nanao finally.
"Warn me about what?" Rangiku asked, getting a really bad feeling about it.
"Your captain has persuaded several other captains to help him throw a wedding celebration for you and Lieutenant Ichimaru. He said that, as you are both orphans, the Gotei is your family, and we have a duty to give you a proper wedding."
"But that's just what we didn't want," Rangiku protested, pointlessly.
"That's what Miyako said, but she's been roped into preparing, as have I as Captain Kyoraku is one of the celebration's most enthusiastic supporters. Miyako wanted you warned because your division has every intention of coming and kidnapping you in a little over an hour and dressing you for your wedding. Squad Five will be coming for Lieutenant Ichimaru a little later."
Rangiku sighed. "I suppose we should have expected it."
"Yes, well, that's true," Nanao agreed. "Captain Isshin could not possibly have let you escape without making a fuss. Well, I've done my duty. I suggest you dress and do your best to clean up before they arrive, or all of the Gotei is going to hear about your lack of housekeeping."