Ate too much today, feel kinda sick, ugh. Another early morning, to bed I go.

Thanks to: blackteaplease, MissTeak, Sort of Ambiguous, Blueberry Absinth, LilyGirl101, Beautiful Nightmare07, and Care Bear on Fire. leftover easter candy for all!


56. Slow Down

Gin was exceptionally pleased at how well his apology had gone over. Only a day after the apology, Rangiku had come bounding into his room to tell him a funny story she had heard. He did not entirely understand why she was his girl again, but simply accepted it. He worried if he did start to analyze it, as he was wont to do, he would probably make it all fall to pieces. Gin was much better at breaking things than keeping them nice. Perhaps that was why he devoted much more time in keeping his relationship with Rangiku together than he did with anything else. That way, maybe, just maybe, he could hold onto Rangiku, if he gave it everything he could.

"Gin," Rangiku said. "You're not listening to me."

"Course I am."

"Then what did I say?"

Gin paused. What had she been talking about? "Yumichika discoverin' glitter."

"That was ten minutes ago," Rangiku said and rolled her eyes. "Where were you?"

"Right here, 'couse."

"But your mind wasn't."

"Nothin' important."

"Then why weren't you listening to me? I'm important, right?"

"Yer the most important," Gin said.

"I know. Now pick an ice cream flavor. Oh, no, I know, let me pick it for you!"

"Yer not pickin' fer me," he said. Rangiku loved to try new flavors and combinations of things. Some of them were disgusting, yet Rangiku still loved her creations. "Dark chocolate, wi' coconut."

"You get that every time."

"I like it."

"Fine, but you're paying."

Gin did not point out he paid every time. It did not bother him, though. He enjoyed being able to do so, and his rank of lieutenant gave him the excuse to do so. "Sure, sure. What're you gettin'?"

"Hmm…. Green tea and olive ice creams with cherry in the green tea and white chocolate and lemon drops in the olive. Oh, and sprinkles all over."

Gin had never heard of a worse combination. "You an' sprinkles." There was no way he was going to even try a bite of Rangiku's cone, no matter what she said.

A few minutes later, they were in a park, and even Rangiku had to admit the olive combination could have been better thought out. She did, however, adore the green tea scoop. "You have to try it, Gin. It's so yummy."

"I bet anything'd be good after that olive thing."

"It wasn't that bad."

"Ya spit it out. Ya don' spit nothin' out, never."

"Please?"

"Maybe," Gin said and worked on his cone, most of it still remaining. He licked it slowly, just barely stopping the ice cream from dripping down his hand. Rangiku was almost halfway done already.

Ice cream had never been something that had captured Gin's interest. He thought it was good, but it was not something he cared enough for to go out of his way to have. That was something he would never tell Rangiku. He enjoyed watching her enjoy the treat, eating with such gusto she got brain-freezes. Gin loved getting ice cream, though, because Rangiku enjoyed it so much, and he loved being there with her.

"It's almost gone, Gin. You have to try it!"

"Aight, aight, I'll try it."

Rangiku hurried over to hand him the cone, but in her excitement, the cone went sailing. They watched it land in the grass.

For a moment, Gin thought she might cry. "Don' worry, ya can have the rest of mine."

"But now you can't try it."

"Sure I can," Gin said. For a moment, he wondered what had possessed his mouth. Then, he wondered what was possessing his body. He tilted Rangiku's chin up with one hand and gently kissed the corner of her mouth, which had a streak of the green stuff. "S'not bad."

"Told you." Rangiku's voice was whisper soft in Gin's ear.

His lips were only a fingerbreadth from her skin. His heartbeat thudded in his ears, until it was all he could hear, but instead of the beating speeding up, it seemed to slow down until each beat lasted minutes.

Gin shifted just a bit to the left. Softly, he pressed his lips down. Immediately, Rangiku's lips pressed back and her arm wrapped around his waist, her other hand at his neck, drawing him nearer.

The second ice cream cone fell, but neither noticed, ice cream all but forgotten.


I think a lot of you have been waiting for this one