Author's Note:

Happy Valentine's Day! I will probably be spending tonight mentally preparing for my interview tomorrow, writing my Abnormal Psych paper, and drinking wine/butterscotch schnapps. Hopefully someone will bring me candy and/or bread.

Kaleidoscope
a Bleach (© Kubo Tite) fanfiction

Theme #90
Valentine's Day

Opening Song: "Love Love Love" — Of Monsters and Men

Rangiku is used to getting valentine's gifts (her favorites are the boxes of a hundred different chocolates), but she can't help but blink in surprise when Gin shows up on her door step before school with flowers and a bag of dried persimmons in his hands. "Uh, what are you doing here?" is all she can say. She scrutinizes him closely, searches for any sign of deception; Gin must have an ulterior motive to be here.

"I thought it was obvious," he replies, rocking back and forth on his feet. "It's Valentine's Day."

"I know it's Valentine's Day. … Why are you here?" she repeats.

"Aren't'cha gonna let me in?"

"No."

They stand there for what feels like hours, with Rangiku narrowing her eyes at him and Gin grinning (though that's hardly something out of the ordinary). Finally, she folds her arms across her chest and sighs. "This isn't going to make up for the fact that you didn't pick me up and showed up to the dance late. Also, I hate roses. They're so cliché."

"I put some chrysanthemums in there too," he says.

"Still cliché. Still stupid. I get chrysanthemums every day because people think they're being creative," she says, rolling her eyes. "And that's not the point. The point is that I'm not forgiving you and you're a jerk." Just as she moves to close the door on him, Gin moves quickly and nudges his foot forward to keep her from doing so. She yelps from the sudden proximity of their bodies. "Gin! Quit it! I swear, I'm gonna punch you in the face."

He actually pouts. "C'mon Rangiku, jus' hear me out, will ya? I promise I didn't mean to stand you up. Besides, I showed up in the end, didn't I?"

"With a half hour left!" she shouts angrily, applying more pressure to the door.

Gin is stronger though, and even with his arms full of valentine apologies, he manages to keep the door open. "I promised Grimmjow I'd play DD for him, and we had to take a minor detour 'cause his parents'd have a fit if he came home drunk again. I tried to make it on time, honest I did, but it kinda got outta hand. A-and I even got ya that corsage ya said ya really wanted."

"Grimmjow sat on it and there were five petals on it," she says, deadpan. "I don't even know why I asked you. I knew you were going to do something like that."

"I'm sorry."

"You're always sorry." Whether the shock is from her words or her absolutely scathing look, Gin steps back, which allows her to promptly slam the door in his face. Blowing a wisp of hair out of her eyes, she presses her back against the door; on the other side, Gin leans his forehead against it. "Please leave," she says. "I need to get ready and go to school, and I can't do that with you hovering. I've got plenty of valentines waiting for me."

Silence passes between them, but she doesn't leave and she's sure he's still there as well. For some reason, she waits.

"I really messed up, huh?" he asks.

"Yeah," she says.

"You're really mad."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

"I'm really sorry. You know you're my best friend."

She doesn't reply.

"… Rangiku?"

Again, nothing.

His fingers wrap around the door knob, twist, and push; she steps away and lets him in. They watch each other in tense silent, but only for a moment before she grabs the decorated bag of dried persimmons from him. "I still don't forgive you," she says as she takes a bite out of one. "You're still the worst. I still kind of hate you."

As she turns around to head back to her room, she notices that he's not grinning anymore — he's smiling. It's soft and full of something she can't quite read. "I'll make it up to you," he says.

Honestly, she doesn't believe him (he's said that to her so many times that it means nothing now), but she still nods. "Yeah, you better."

Closing Song: "Six Weeks" — Of Monsters and Men

Here's some more fluff to counterbalance your daily dosage of angst.

xx, der kapitan