A brief warning: Prompt 29 got away from me and ran with the material, so it's far too long. However, each part was like a beloved pet that I couldn't quite cast out and so it all stayed. Enjoy it, regardless of the length.
Prompt: 026. Breakable
"Be careful with that!" Jeez, why did Aizen have to touch everything?
A bit startled at the sudden break in silence, Aizen looked up at his captain before turning his attention back down to the small teapot he had found settled atop his superior's desk.
"I thought you didn't prefer tea?" he wondered, allowing the object to clunk down lightly against the wooden furniture.
"I can't stand the stuff," Shinji told him with a tone that added a silent duh to the end of his sentence.
"Then, why do you have a teapot here?"
Irritation flickered across Shinji's features and he moved to take a seat behind his desk. "Why's it matter? Just take it."
Aizen studied his captain's face for a moment before leaning forward to once again pick the object up. "Thank you for the-"
Shinji's fingers closed around the other man's wrist quickly and he frowned up at him. "Be careful with it," he repeated, catching Aizen's eye, "it's breakable."
The double-meaning was easy to see and as the grip was relinquished, Aizen gave a slight bow of his head. "I'll take good care of it. Thank you again, Captain Hirako."
Prompt: 027. Winter
"Man, I hate winter. All the pretty girls are all bundled up an' it's cold as fuck out."
Aizen quirked an eyebrow, not for the first time wondering what sort of train of thought could have led to his captain's outburst. It might not have seemed so strange, except they were currently seated outside in the warm, spring weather.
"It's not even close to winter, yet, sir."
"It's still gonna come," Shinji insisted with a frown. "Unless ya got a way t' skip past it."
"I don't believe that's possible." Though, for just a moment, Aizen's mind searched around its well of knowledge to imagine how one might skip an entire season. "It will be over with quickly enough."
Shinji slid a glance to his lieutenant, a serious expression coming over his face. "Will ya keep me warm when it gets cold out?" He saw Aizen's body tense as a surprised look cross his lieutenant's face and couldn't hold in the bubbling laughter that spilled from his lips. "As if!"
Prompt: 028. Ignore
"Sousuke."
Silence.
"Sousuke."
No response.
"Aizen!"
After a third, futile effort to get his lieutenant's attention, Shinji scowled and promptly shoved a hand in the other man's face, effectively knocking him out of his seat.
"C-captain!" the brunette exclaimed, a bit bewildered by what seemed to him as a sudden assault.
"You were spacin' out an' ignorin' me!" Shinji informed him harshly, though his expression wasn't quite as livid as usual. He attributed it to the alcohol.
Across the table, Kyouraku leaned in toward his best friend. "Do you really think they don't see it?"
Ukitake, who had come purely for the company, joined his companion in smiling at the pair as Aizen took his seat back and Shinji poured him another cup of the bitter liquid. "They really do seem to care for each other quite a bit."
Prompt: 029. Color
After phase one of Yamamoto's eight step program to join the divisions' captains and lieutenants closer to each other, Shinji was hardly ready to venture forward to the second part. He hoped, at the very least, Aizen would know better than to pull some stupid stunt like he had last time. The captain was still a little bitter about it.
Bored eyes scanned the list in front of them before switching to the waiting man across from him. He still had a desk between him and Aizen, but not much else and it didn't feel like nearly enough.
"Alrigh'," he said, finally, dropping the list to the wooden surface. "We gotta tell each other our favorite stuff, accordin' to this list." He wasn't quite sure he wanted Aizen knowing such details, but he figured they were mostly superficial things. Upon the nod of confirmation, Shinji frowned back down at the paper. "Favorite animal?"
Aizen honestly hoped all of the questions wouldn't be so, for lack of a better word, lame. "I like turtles."
"Turtles?" Shinji echoed, wrinkling his nose. "What sorta answer is that? Turtles are stupid."
"Please, give your answer."
"Tight ass," the blonde muttered, pondering the question. Well, he didn't have to give too much thought to these questions; Yamamoto never said he had to be honest with his answers. Or maybe he did, Shinji couldn't recall. "Sharks."
"How exotic," Aizen commented with a faint smile. He wondered if perhaps Shinji related to their teeth, though kept the curiosity to himself.
"Shaddup. Holiday."
"The plum-viewing festival."
Shinji peered across his desk. "Are ya fuckin' with me?"
"Of course not." Aizen seemed legitimately confused.
"Ya couldn't even just say 'flower viewing'? Ya had t' pick the borin' one!" The cherry blossom parties were much more fun, anyway.
"Dumplings rather than flowers, Captain Hirako," Aizen responded with a faint smile.
"Whatever," the blonde muttered, knowing that the following silence was imploring him to give his own response to the prompt. "Gotta be New Year's, of course."
"I would have expected no less."
"Favorite time of day," Shinji replied with a scowl.
"The latest part of the night." It was the only time he really got any peace and quiet or time to himself, which he valued highly.
"Creep," Shinji muttered. Probably so no one could see all the things he did under the cover of darkness. "Early mornin', when the sun's first comin' up." Neither of them needed point out the irony in their responses. "Favorite season? Jeez, old man, who would want t' know these sortsa things in the first place?"
Aizen gave an amused chuckle and sent a glance out the office window. "Late spring."
Shinji picked at his ear, distractedly, and grumbled a low, "Me, too," before narrowing back in on the list. He paused, surveyed the rest of the questions, then dead-panned at his lieutenant. "Favorite sex position."
"That can't possibly be on there," Aizen protested, his face paling slightly.
"Well, it is," Shinji said with a widening grin at his subordinate's nervousness. "What's wrong? Ya don't know any?"
"Captain, please keep to the list."
"Ya really don't!" Shinji threw his head back and let out a loud, barking laugh, silenced only when he felt the paper escape from his fingers. "Eh? Hey! Give it back!"
"For someone who was protesting this so much, you're quite content to drag it out," Aizen observed, a smile of his own coming to play at his captain's quiet huff. Upon scanning the list, he raised an eyebrow. "Sir, you missed the first one. 'Favorite beverage.'"
"What's the point?" Shinji wondered, leaning back in his seat. "We already know that much 'bout each other."
Aizen considered suggesting that perhaps the obvious wasn't the proper answer, but they both knew it would be a ruse. It was something very small, but it was still something, and he nodded his agreement.
"In that case, what is your favorite thing to do?"
"Make your life Hell." The grin that accompanied the answer was teasing, but Shinji offered no corrections to his response.
Aizen was almost inclined to believe him and closed his eyes in a brief moment of amusement. "My favorite thing to do is read."
"Goddamn, do ya just sit around an' try to think of ways t' be as borin' as possible, or does it just come naturally?"
"It's effortless," Aizen assured him, deciding to amuse the other for the time being. The questions were getting a bit more intense and he was sure one of them would tread on another nerve that Shinji didn't want touched. "Place to be?"
"The livin' world." That one was easy. "They're always thinkin' up new things t' do an' ways t' have fun." He eyed the other up and down. "Lemme guess, ya love sittin' behind your desk all day more than anything."
"Only second to following behind you," Aizen assured him and, to the brunette's credit, kept an even tone and straight face the entire time. Shinji even looked, for a moment, as though he might believe the guy.
"This ain't gonna work if ya aren't honest," he reminded the other man.
"And your favorite animal is really a shark?" Aizen wondered.
"Just gimme the next one."
"Your favorite memory."
Shinji was positive that if there was any question he wouldn't be honest about, it would be this one. And he was sure Aizen would return the favor with a falsity of his own, so he didn't feel the least bit bad about his response. "Remember the other day when I punched ya outta your chair in the bar?"
"I'm honored that your favorite memory involves me, captain."
Shinji scowled. "I ain't sayin' that's it!" he recovered quickly, a hand coming up to tug at his hair in light frustration. "I was just thinkin' back on it and considerin' doin' it again."
"Oh?" He had been positive that his response would elicit a slightly more honest reaction from the other man. "Then, what is it?"
Shinji decided to opt for honesty. "The day I became a lieutenant."
The answer piqued Aizen's curiosity, but the intense look he was being given told him that now was not the proper time to ask for an elaboration. After a moment of consideration, he sent the other a smile. "I believe I can share in that sentiment."
"Yeah, right," Shinji muttered, eyeing the paper clutched in his subordinate's hands. "Is that it?"
"One more," Aizen told him, folding the paper as he spoke, "color."
"Somethin' like that at the very end?" Shinji wondered, tilting his head back to look up at the ceiling. "Green."
Aizen waited until his captain's eyes found his own again before responding, a pleasant smile spread across his lips. "Red."
Prompt: 030. Grace
Shinji had emerged from his office just in time to see Aizen carefully heading his way, balancing a rather large stack of papers and books. His brow furrowed.
"Sousuke, what the hell's all that?"
"Old records and files," Aizen informed him, peering around the stack. "I thought, since there's very little work today, I would go through them and throw out what we no longer needed."
Shinji snorted. "Why don't ya relax instead?"
"It's nearly the weekend, sir. I'll have downtime then. If you'll please excuse me."
"Whatever." And Shinji couldn't help, as Aizen maneuvered around him into the office, but to stick out a foot and catch the other's leg. He grinned, satisfied, as he heard the other man stumble and fall the rest of the way into the room, promptly sliding the door shut behind himself. "Ya should learn t' be a little more graceful!" he called before sauntering off.
