A/N: Well, here it is! Not quite so quickly this time, but that leaves more time for people to read the other chapters. And I guess you're all itching to know what the outcome of the review challenge was, so...I'm gonna tell ya'll later! I'm such a sadist...*evil smirk*

Well, let's see. Things to ramble on pointlessly about. It is Saturday. I am updating this when I should be doing my homework. My hair is huuuge today, so I've fluffed it up even more, stuck a load of eyeliner on and pretended to be a rock-chick wannabe. The looks I've been getting from respectable old ladies are hilarious! XD

Uh...I made a cheese toastie today (so random...). But...let's just say I'm not exactly a Michelin Star chef, so the toastie machine started spurting melted cheese everywhere. Had to clean up afterwards. Fun...

I am now addicted to the song Halo by Beyonce. I know it's not exactly new, but it is to me; I'm not usually a Beyonce fan. Ya'll should look it up on Youtube if you haven't seen it. C'est formidable! *excercises her 'interesting' (quote French teacher) French skills*

I am running out of things to babble on about. So...PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR THE FATE/DOOM OF THIS FIC! I recieved...a grand total of...EIGHT REVIEWS! So, as I'm sure you are all relieved about (I sure as hell am!), Gin and Rangiku will not be breaking up! Yaaayyyy! The people you have to profess your eternal gratitude to are:

chesxca

Rainbow Fruit Loop

xXxAizen's SmilexXx

agoodcupoftea

dragonballzlover2499

angelprincess ino

splitheart1120

and elyzmaki! (Btw, I did not understand your review. Will type it into Google Translate now! Naw, thank you!) Woo! Thank you all so much, you are review ninja people!

Unfortunately, (everyone reading this is filled with a horrible sense of dread, no?) as they are not breaking up, this fic is drawing to a close! NOOOO! *cries, making her copious amount of eyeliner run. Ew.* I have had so much fun writing this! After this chapter, there will be three more, and then...that's it. I'm not going to do an Epilogue this time, I don't think it'd really work. But for the sake of GinRan, I swear to try to make the following chapters the best I possibly can! *determined look*

I really, really like this chapter! I don't know why...well, I do. Kind of. It's not exactly fluff, per se, which is what I usually adore, but for some reason...Ah, I dunno, I just like it! I hope you guys do too, enjoy reading, I won't keep you here any longer!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. All credit goes to Kubo Tite, King of Bleachworld! I also do not own the song Genie in a Bottle by Christina Aguilera which I probably completely got the wrong idea of in this chapter (yeah, I really did), but the title was just so perfect I had to use it!

Genie in a Bottle

"If you want to be with me,

I can make your wish come true."

Gin and Rangiku were sitting in an awkward silence, something which didn't happen often. Gin knew he should be at least slightly nervous over what was to come, but he couldn't bring himself to even speed up his heart rate slightly. He knew Rangiku too well.

Still, she was being quiet longer than he thought she'd be. The outburst was inevitable, but she wasn't the kind of person to bottle up things. It was only a matter of time.

'Wait for it…

'Wait for it…

'Three, two, one—'

"Gin?"

And there it was.

"Yes, Ran-chan?" he questioned smoothly.

"Why did you kiss me yesterday?"

Always to the point.

Gin took a deep breath. Here were the nerves. "Well, I—"

"If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. I mean, I can't force you to do anything you don't want to and I understand it may be private, but I'd still really like to know and it would take a huge weight off my shoulders but I'm not trying to guilt-trip you into anything, promise, I just—"

"I love ya, Ran-chan."

She babbled on. "Yeah, I know, but—"

"No, Ran-chan. I love you."

Silence. Finally.

Rangiku stared at him with a blank face. Then comprehension slammed into her. "You—ohmigawd, but—I can't—how…? You never—I—what?" she covered her ears.

"Calm down, Ran-chan." Gin soothed, attempting to put a hand on her arm, only to have it slapped away. "I—sorry." he apologised quietly, bowing his head.

Rangiku looked at him in concern. No, Gin, I—wait, I—Oh, I'm so confused!" she wailed, covering her face with her hands.

"Yeah, I know. Sorry." Gin repeated, losing his grin.

"It's not your fault. I just…can't believe it's true. How long have you…" Rangiku trailed off.

"Since forever. But ya don't haf'ta feel obliged ta return my feelin's, I just wanted ta tell ya. It don't feel right ta keep secrets from ya."

Rangiku eyes filled with tears. They trickled down her cheeks, leaving a shining path in their wake. Gin desperately wanted to wipe them away, take her into his arms and make it all better like he usually did. But now it was different, and he didn't want to break her any more than he had already.

"Gin, I…I just can't. I'm sorry." Rangiku was still crying.

Gin sighed. He'd known he was going to be rejected. "Right. Well, I guess I expected that. Lemme guess; ya never really thought of me in that way."

"No, no, I did," Rangiku surprised him by saying. "I just…didn't really consider it as a possibility. Not real, you know?"

Gin slumped in his chair even more. He felt like crying now, though he knew it was pointless.

"Gin? Oh, Gin, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad, I'm just so confused right now…Everything's changing, and I don't…well, I don't like it. I don't mean I don't like the idea of you l-loving me, I just…don't like change." she finished lamely.

Gin sat up slowly. "Yeah, I know. I shouldn't've just dropped it on ya like that. I was impatient, I guess. I really am sorry, Ran-chan. What can I do ta make it better?" he pleaded, kneeling on the ground in front of her.

"No, you don't have to do anything! You haven't done anything wrong!" Rangiku protested his side out of habit.

"Yeah I have. And I want ta make it up to ya. I'll do anythin', Ran-chan. I can go stay somewhere else, if it'll make things easier fer ya."

"No!" Gin snapped his head up. Rangiku had latched herself onto his front and buried her head in his chest. "Don't go, Gin." she moaned, her lips brushing his collarbone and making him shiver.

Gin slowly circled his arms around her. She stiffened then, and he pulled away.

"Sorry," he muttered again.

"No, I'm sorry; I shouldn't have jumped on you like that. It was impolite." Rangiku smiled wanly at him, her eyes laughing weakly at her own slip-up.

"To be frank, I didn't really mind." Gin told her, smiling back. She giggled, only slightly hysterically, and took his hand again.

"But really, Gin. Don't go away. I want you to stay here."

"Then I won't. Whatever ya say, Ran-chan. But I still want to give ya somethin'. How about…you can ask me somethin', anythin', an' I'll do it for ya. I'll be yer own personal genie in a bottle."

Rangiku smiled shyly. "Can I get three wishes, then?"

"Ya can have all the wishes in the world." Gin assured her, squeezing her hand lightly.

She returned the gesture. "Well, I think I'll stick with three for now. I'll probably have calmed down again tomorrow morning, you really don't have to—"

"I want to, Ran-chan."

She rolled her eyes at his masochism. "Fine, whatever." she said, returning back slightly to her old sarcastic self. "I'll tell you my first wish tomorrow, little genie. But right now…I'm bushed. See you." she waved, smiling over her shoulder at him while setting off to her mattress that they'd bought at a sale the week before.

Gin waved back, settling down to watch TV or something. It'd gone better than he'd thought it would; she was still smiling at him, at least.

But, even though he knew he shouldn't, he hoped she'd return his feelings some day.

A/N: Gin's so sweet! Yayyyyy, I luvvim so much! Kubo Tite better bring him back! *Death glare*

So, what did you guys think? As you know, I like it, but you're the readers, and what you say goes! Review please! ^o^