tampered | (no subject)

(no subject)

When; January 28th, evening
Rating; PG
Characters; Rangiku and Gin
Summary; Bed rest is boring.
Log;

Even though she was still physically worn out, Rangiku wasn't anywhere near mentally tired enough to chance closing her eyes. Not after her forced 'sleep'. Still, she stayed still and quiet, one hand stroking soft silver hair. He was the last thing in her mind when she'd died and the first thing she'd seen when breath found her again. He'd been such a comfort while she'd tried to get used to breathing again, but she hated that he'd seen her so weak.

After a little while, when she was sure he was finally getting the sleep he needed, she carefully, slowly moved away from him, thinking she would try and get out of bed and go... somewhere...

Maybe the living room.

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Gin had been asleep, though lightly. He hadn't left her side since he found her in the forest, not to eat or sleep, and didn't plan on it. And though it was mostly to make sure she recovered, part of the reason was because seeing her dead had struck a nerve. He didn't want to be away from her, and wouldn't for a while. And as she had slept the previous night, knowing she would come back had barely helped. He had seen her dead. He had carried her cold, lifeless body back to the apartment. The one thing that he feared the most.

Feeling Ran moving away, one of his hands crept towards hers, grabbing it lightly as he sat up and faced her. "Somethin' wrong?"

She had her shaky feet on the floor when his hand settled over hers. The touch gave her pause, some disconnected part of her mind confused at when his fingers had grown so warm. Then, she realized that it wasn't that he was so warm... she was so cold now.

With a soft sigh, she shook her head. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just... a little muzzled right now. I'd... forgotten how it was." She gave a push off of the bed, only to have her legs disagree that weight should be on them. With a muffled curse, she ended up heavily sitting back down on the bed.

Ran was stubborn, and Gin knew it. If she didn't want to rest, she wasn't going to rest. He slid next to her on the bed, wrapping and arm around her and rubbing her shoulder. She felt cold, and though her knew why, he continued to rub her as if it would make a difference.

Rather than argue that she should keep laying down, he offered, "I'll help y' up, jus' take it slow, alright?"

She didn't lean against him, even though she wanted to. She wanted to climb into his lap and soak up his heat, but she knew it wouldn't be enough. "... you need to be resting, Gin."

Her protest sounded hollow in her own ears.

Gin leaned in close, whispering into her ear, "I had a nice nap, 'm alright now." He wrapped his other arm around her, covering the back of her body with his own, warming her as best as he could.

His breath on her ear made her shiver, but it wasn't from the usual sensuality they shared. Finally, she sank back against him, wincing as overtaxed muscles protested the movement. "You didn't sleep that long, and 'hime told me you were up all night." Her voice wasn't accusing, or even anywhere near her normal tone. It was soft, and hesitant, as if the breathing to keep the words going was hard.

Her mind had been wandering back to the fight that had killed her, and the odd dreams during her 'sleep'.

Gin eased her back into his arms, not wanting her to strain herself at all. Now that he was awake, she'd probably try to get him to go back to sleep before struggling to get up again. He'd setting for holding her on the bed. "Don't worry 'bout it, 'm fine now."

Rangiku doesn't snuggle close like she normally would; like she wants to. "... it's gonna take days for me to be back up on my feet... you're gonna need to rest sometimes..." And so would she, but she wouldn't think of saying that.

She allowed herself to be still for a moment before sitting back up, looking around the room.

"... where is she? She stopped talking to me during the fight..."

[ooc: Just checking before I post, would it be fine for Gin to have brought her back? If so, I'll just say he set her in the living room.]

[ooc: of course]

Gin pulled back a little, turning to face her. "'m takin' care o' you, I'll get rest when I can." He dropped his hand into her lap, grabbing one of hers in the process.

"I set her down 's soon as I got in. She's in th' other room." He scooted to the edge of the bed and leaned over, as if to get up. "Do y' want t' go see her?"

She squeezed his fingers, but it was to reassure herself as much as him. Her face determined, she nodded quickly and was at the edge of the bed in a flash. This time, she got to her feet, but wobbled and quickly went down under her own weight.

Gin reacted quickly, balancing her weight on top of him, wrapping her arm around his shoulder and grabbing her around her waist. "Take it slow. 'm right here with you." He led her forward, taking slow small steps towards the door connecting the rooms.

With a grimace, she clung to him. It was obvious she hated feeling so weak, but she knew that, at the moment, she couldn't do much of anything. Her feet finally decided to follow Gin's movement, sending them into the living room on slow, careful steps. The instant they entered the living room, her eyes locked onto where Haineko lay, silent and still on the table in front of the couch.

Ran wasn't expecting the cold sword. She was hoping for an the spirit inside, someone else to curl up with. Something else to help make her feel alive again. No matter how she called to her, Haineko didn't answer.

"... you probably think it's silly, worrying over a sword..."

"'f I didn't have a zanpakuto myself, I might. But I know she's more 'n just a sword." Gin guided her carefully over to the couch, setting her down gently not letting go until she was completely stable. He reached over for Haineko and set the sword across Ran's lap before sitting down next to her, silently willing the spirit to talk to her again, though he knew there was nothing he could do.

She sat in silence for several long minutes, her eyes taking in nothing else but the blade she now held in her hands. The edges bit into her palms, but she didn't let go. Finally, she sighed and let go, but didn't move it from her lap. "She jumped him after he choked me... tried to protect me, but he blew her apart before he came for me."

Her lips curled into a tiny smile, one that could easily be missed if one wasn't looking. "She didn't talk to me at all at first. I kept talking and talking until she finally told me to shut up. She's been just as bad since then, the lazy thing..."

Gin noticed the smile and it was a relief to see, and it brought a warm grin to his own face. He reached around her, pulling her to lean against his shoulder, and set a hand on hers. "She probably jus' wants you t' sleep too." Gin almost flinched as Ran mentioned the man who had killed her, and took a deep breath to control himself before his emotions got the best of him again.

She settled against his side with a soft snort. He was wonderfully warm and she finally allowed herself to bask in the heat he gave off, hoping it would chase away at least some of the chill. "Mmmm... maybe. She mothers me as much as you do." The comment, while softly spoken, was affectionate. Her hand turned over under his, letting her twine her fingers with his, though the grip wasn't very strong.

"I'm remembering more and more about the fight..."

Gin chuckled, and leaned his head against hers, staring down at the blade. As if Haineko could read his thoughts, he thanked her for watching over her so much. Even when Ran went off on her own, she had someone looking over her, and he was grateful for that. He squeezed her cold hand, finding comfort in the fact that even if it was weak, she could squeeze back.

His emotions settled, the talk of her fight didn't get to him as they did before. "Is it somethin' you want t' talk about?"

Ran closed her eyes and tilted her head against his. "Nah.... just thinking, really... I did this a lot they first time I died." She moved her free hand just enough to shift Haineko off to her side, but kept contact with it.

"...... you found me, didn't you?"

He squeezed her hand tighter as she mentioned dying, the thought still bothering him. And the constant coldness of her body didn't help him to get over that fact. He nodded slightly in response to her question, adding, "I did, but...I was too late t' do anythin'."

She brought his hand to her lips and pressed a gentle kiss against his knuckles. His skin was warm against her lips and she found she didn't want to let his hand fall back to where it had been. "... even if he hadn't... I was already dying when he finished it." She squeezed his hand as hard as she could, but it wasn't anywhere near her normal strength.

"'m sorry, love. So sorry..."

Gin's hand shook in Ran's for a second. Before the previous night, he couldn't remembered the last time he had shed a tear for anything. And he wouldn't do it in front of her. He reassured himself that she was still there, laying on him, that she would be fine. His breath short, he opened his mouth to respond, but couldn't find any words.

Moving gingerly, she turned in his lap, not stopping until she faced him, her hand leaving Haineko's cold steel. Cool fingers slid over his cheek, stilling on his lips. ".... 'm sorry you found me like that... and that you see me like this."

Cold fingers were much better than no fingers at all, and he found himself soothed at her touch. "What matters is you're here now." His eyes opened from their normal slits to look into hers, a reassuring smile appearing on his face, and a solitary tear rolling down onto her fingertip.

She couldn't help but smile a little when she saw his, but it faltered when the dampness hit her finger. Her fingers twitched against him as her hand shook a little. "... no.... don't do that." She'd already cried before she'd accidentally woke him, and there was no way in all the little hells she wanted him to see it.

He reached up and steadied her hand in his, leaning forward to lightly kiss them. "It's okay," he said, voice calm. "It's because I'm happy...because I love you...because you're right here with me." He suddenly leaned forward and pressed his lips lightly against hers for a second then pulled back a little, his forehead pressed against hers.

Her eyes slid shut as his lips touched hers and didn't reopen when she felt his forehead against her own. Content, she sighed softly, the settled a bit more against him, moving enough so she bury her face into his neck.

"I dreamed about you while I was sleeping.... 'm glad you were there."

Gin let a hand trace up her back and get lost in her flowing hair, lightly massaging the back of her neck as she leaned against him. He leaned over, resting his head on hers again, squeezing her hand and saying, "I always will be."

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