Blah, have work tomorrow, not feeling great today. Probably because I was stupid and ate ice cream. Lactose-intolerance sucks haha.

Thanks to: LilyGirl101, Renji's Girll, Solar Kitty, blackteaplease, gaasrasracoon, PunkRockHolly, Beautiful Nightmare07, Sonozaki-sama, and Care Bear on Fire (the rum n' coke was quite tasty, by the way.)


66. A Moment in Time

Rangiku lay sprawled across a couch, her arm shielding her eyes from any light in the dim room. With every shift she groaned and at every sound she winced. Gin leaned against the doorway and sighed softly. Rangiku would drink and drink, and stumble back to her room, or Gin's. Whichever was closer, he supposed. Then she was gone for the rest of the day, victim to her hangovers. She just never learned.

"Ya know—"

"Shh," Rangiku said. "My head is dying, it's being trampled by zebras and Chihuahuas."

"Chihuahuas ain't heavy enough ta trample anythin'."

"Shhh."

"Fine, I'm whisperin' fer now," Gin said, voice soft and low. "But if ya'd stop drinkin' all them sake bottles ya wouldn' hafta lie here all miserable an' I could talk like a normal person."

"Not you too."

"Someone else's agreein' wi' me?"

"Nanao-chan is such a harpy, always going on and on about how drinking and partying is so bad, how I need to work harder, blah, blah, blah."

"Gotta say, I migh' even work harder than ya."

"I work plenty."

Gin bit back most of his laughter. "Whateva ya say. Still, yer always so miserable after ya drink. Why don' ya lay off."

"No, I like going out," Rangiku said, sitting up slowly, cradling her head on her knees once she made it up. "And you can't tell me not to."

Gin ran a hand through his hair. "I ain't tellin' ya not ta have a good time, but maybe ya shouldn' drink so much."

"Maybe someone should take that stick out of his ass."

Gin paused. He had not been expecting that. "Now, now, Ran-chan, ya know tha' ain't true. I ain't never put a stick up there. That don' sound like fun at all."

"Could've fooled me. Seems to me you've got a great big on up there."

"Y'know, Ran-chan," Gin said. "I love ya an' all, but I think yer still drunk, an' bein' ridiculous. Think I'm jus' gonna leave fer now."

Rangiku sat up straight. "Well, you know what? I think you should just go to hell. Don't bother coming back, ever, you arrogant son of a stuck-up bitch!"

Gin's heart went still for a long moment. He could not breathe, his mind was blank, and a numb feeling spread over him. He turned and made his way to the door as fast as he could get the next foot in front of him. The only thing that mattered was getting out of there as fast as he could.

Until he heard the hiccupping belch of a moan from Rangiku that had become unfortunately familiar to him after some nights of her worst drinking. He got the bucket there just in time.

"Thank you," Rangiku said a few minutes later.

Gin said nothing and began getting Rangiku and the bucket cleaned up.

He brought Rangiku a glass of water, intent on leaving again. Rangiku caught his wrist, pulling him towards her until he sat down on the couch. She laid down and put her head on his lap. Within minutes she was asleep again. For a moment, Gin had been afraid she had been those words. He would not admit to himself he had thought it was all in pieces for longer than that, because then he might have to ask why he thought that. The answer, that he did not deserve her because he had already betrayed her was something he could not yet face.


I have mixed feelings about this one.