I DON'T OWN BLEACH

For Echo!

Frozen Passion

"Genius - to know without having learned; to draw just conclusions from unknown premises; to discern the soul of things."Ambrose Bierce

Night Four; Stay

"What do you mean you are sorry?!" Rangiku asks throwing open the door and looking around for his tall white head. "He left." She walks over to the desk she had let herself be kicked into by Momo, and sits down in the nearby chair. She sticks out her lower lip and moves around a piece of paper on the desk with her index finger. "Don't say your sorry, don't be like him."

"Don't be like who?"

"Oh Orihime? What are you doing here?"

"Come by my house around seven, See ya!" Orihime bolts out the door before Rangiku can think of a response.

XX

Hitsugaya drags his feet down the street walking to Orihime's house. He had spent the afternoon at Urahara's store helping him carry boxes from one room to another. He is hot and tired, on top of that he wants to talk to Matsumoto. He needs to apologize for his horrible behavior. I need to see her face, I need to hear her laugh, and know everything will be fine. Walking past the window he sees Matsumoto drinking milk from the carton with a towel wrapped around her curvy body.

Matsumoto glimpses her captains form as she drains the milk carton. Grinning slightly she let's the bath towel drop to give her peeping tom a decent show. She tries not to laugh when she hears him trip into the rosebushes.

"Damn it!" Hitsugaya pulls his torn shirt from the rosebush and frowns. "Leave it to Orihime to have rosebushes from hell."

"Captain is that you?" Matsumoto pops her head out the window to Hitsugaya covering his face. "Captain, did you get mauled by a dog?"

"Eh, no." He reluctantly peeks through his fingers finding her fully dressed in her shinigami clothes. "Thank god she is dressed."

"You say something?"

"Um, no."

"Well, get in here I'll take a look at your cuts."

Stepping inside Orihime's house, soon as he had slipped off his shoes she shoves him into the bathroom. He didn't put up much of a fight his fatigue from carrying boxes all day was setting in. His shirt was yanked off and the water turned on full blast. Soon as she left he felt relieved and got in the water to relax. However, Matsumoto barged right back in carrying towels and a small yellow rubber ducky.

"Matsumoto! What are you doing in here!" Toshiro snatches the towel hanging on a nearby hook to cover himself with.

"I brought you a bath buddy." Squeak! She squeezes the ducky before set him to float around in the water. "And I thought I'd wash your back for you!" She pulls out a bar of soap with a wash rag and walks to the tub.

"GET OUT I'LL WASH MYSELF!" Hitsugaya turns blood red then pale as he throws everything he can get his hands on to chase her out of the bathroom. The only thing left was the rubber ducky bobbing near his knees.

"Awe, so mean!" She grumbles shutting the door.

"Matsumoto, you still out there?"

"Yeah."

"You are never far away. I have always liked that about you." This is an ideal situation to apologize. He can't look at her and have to fight the urge not to touch her again. "If it weren't for you my granny and Hinamori would be dead. I-I want to tell you something." He lifts out of the tub and wraps a towel around his waist.

"What is it?" She slides down the door to listen to his voice.

"About what I did at the water tower." He puts his hand on the doorknob, shutting his eyes he leans his head against the wood. "I-I'm so-"

"I don't want an apology!" She turns around and pushes the door open smashing into his nose.

"Are you seriously trying to kill me Matsumoto!" Blood drips down his lips from his nose.

"No." Rangiku pouts holding up her hand and activating a healing kidou.

"I-I sho-"

"Don't take it back I liked it!" Rangiku whirls around with tears filling her eyes, and runs to the door. She was definitely getting reassigned or fired. She would never be able to watch him sleep or sneak up on him to surprise him again. The worst part of all would be she wouldn't be the person he trusted most to back him up.

"Stop right there Rangiku!"

She froze with her hand on the door. Did he just call me Rangiku? She felt his warm hand wrap around her wrist and his other push the door shut.

"Don't run away from me. I know I ran away earlier, I won't do that to you anymore." He stood next to her water dripping down from his hair down his chest. His cheeks are flushed his heart pounding in his ears, terrified she will vanish. "I should have asked before kissing you." Letting her wrist go he drops his hand to his side.

Her name on his lips is enough to disarm any defense she might be able to launch at him. She simply didn't want to be anywhere but under his gaze. "Things are changing between us."

"I know, but I refuse to just ignore it." He moves his other hand off the door and threads it through his damp hair. "It's your choice, I would never force my feelings on you." He leans over her slightly as she backs into the wall behind her. "No matter what happens, I won't let those old bastards separate us, unless you desire it."

"Promise?" Her voice cracks exposing her weakness; the weakness he already understands.

"I swear." He whispers his voice heavy with feeling, his large turquoise eyes pleading. "Even if they tried I would find you. Please Rangiku... Stay?"

Author's Notes; TADA! Here is the next chapter I hope you all enjoy! It took me four rewrites to get the dynamic between them believable. Was very hard. Did I do a good job? Shiro is very smart so I know he would understand her fears without her having to tell him. He has noticed in the anime the effect of Gin leaving her, but he hasn't come right out and said anything. Why? Because in my opinion it's respect. He respects her enough to believe she will be alright. She has proven to be alright enough to continue to function as his vice-captain.

Shiro is quite possibly the most intelligent character in the manga. He has excellent instincts for the truth. Face it we are all in love with him a bit. The manga could be rewritten just with him and I would drool into the keyboard watching it. Sorry about my rant, I had a rant about Hinamori but I deleted it LOL! Long story short....Rangiku didn't fall apart when Gin left, Hinamori should have recovered when the spell was broken. ( Aizen did in fact release it watch the epi where Aizen stabs her again.) They both were left and reacted differently. END RANT

Thank you to wonderful reviewers. Next chapter; Epic FIGHT round two! Reviews are love and I need love.