tampered | Order

Order

When; Morning after Ran's fight
Rating; PG13
Characters; Sands (

10thdiv_haineko)
Summary; Sands is watching over his hurt body guard pretending she needs it.
Log; just don't know when to lay down and give it a rest. Two of these people are in Ran's apartment.
Sands comes in from his smoke break, walking into the living room and cocking an ear for the woman he had been guarding over all night. She seems more tired then injured to him but still he refused to sleep in case she woke up needing him.
Except for maybe a few moments when he crawled into bed with her. Not holding her too close in case it would have woken her up, instead he lay down with one hand resting on her side.
He might have slept then some but it's so hard to tell when you're always in the dark.

He makes his way back to the bedroom to scold her for getting up.
"Rangiku, bed! Now. That's an order." He tries.

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He picks the robe up and hangs it on the back of the door before sitting back down on the edge of the tub.

"Okay. I get the hint."
Sands is quiet for a long time. Then he starts to hum a sea shanty. He's hoping she starts talking just to shut him up.

It doesn't take much time before she's halfway dozing in the warm water. Even though her eyes are closed, she can tell he's there, near her. When he starts to hum, blue eyes crack open just enough to let her know that she really is almost asleep in the water.

"Lost... I lost."

His finger tips are dipped into the bath water above her legs and skim the surface. Little things like water and texture grab his attention now. When she admits to losing he nods softly letting the water drip off his hand.

"I'm sorry to hear that, sugar. What will happen now?"
He seems very calm. This means he's half way to freaking out. Sands has no idea what was at stake, if she had died once again, if she's in even more danger now... but he's guessing yes to all those things.

The muscle soreness is fading in the heat, and she can feel the gentle currents his fingers swirl in the water. Her legs shift enough that her knees rise over the water, not an inch from his fingers.

"There are several more shinigami that have entered the City, including my Captain. If Aizen and Gin cause problems here, I'll fight them again."

She sighs and sits up in the water, the fuzz of sleep gone from her mind.

"I was lucky he didn't kill me. I still can't figure out why he didn't."

"He wants you to think about him. You'll go about your day. Cooking food and eating it. Drilling and sleeping. And the whole time you wonder why he spared you. It's power."
The back of his fingers brush against her leg. He pauses, forgetting what he was talking about for a moment.

"..What kind of problems would they cause? Perhaps- Ran, we could use fighters."

There's truth in his words, but she doesn't want to admit it. The admission doesn't matter, though. It's already on her mind and it will be for some time. The muscles of her leg flexes unconsciously under his fingers, bringing her back to the moment.

"I'm not sure why they're here. I didn't really have time to ask much... they came close to killing several people that are special to me. I won't allow them to do the same here, no matter the cost... and I don't think I can convince any of the shinigami to join the fight, if that's what you're thinking."

Making his voice as casual as possible might not help but he's willing to risk a punch in the face for suggesting. "Aizen and Gin would never consider joining us against the Gods of this city? It seems to me they would aim for early parole. If they are as strong as you are we could use them. And it would force a truce until we get control."

This isn't a conversation she's wanting to have. Normally, she's the kind to argue, but she just hauls herself out of the tub and grabs a towel as she walks back into the bedroom.

"No... just... no. Aizen won't care about the issues in this city, and Gin... is just Gin. Life is a source of amusement to him, and everyone around him are playthings. I will not ask them."

ands makes a face and mourns the loss of bath time as she leaves then follows her.
"Alright. I was just trying to scratch both our backs here. Wait-"

Stepping in front of her he takes her arms.
"I mean it. No Gin or Aizen. I just thought it would help us. If it doesn't then I don't ned them."

She stands there in silence, his hands locked around her arms, for several moments. "You just asked me to ally myself with the man that tried to destroy my world. That isn't 'scratching our backs', it would be suicide. He'd play with us as long as we amused him, then he'd kill us."

Her voice is rising with each word, so she decides it's best to stop. Instead, she just shakes her head mutely, muscles tense again. Finally, she takes a deep breath and forces herself to relax.

"His power could be useful, but I'm unsure if the risk would be worth it." Her words then are colored and shaped by years of soldiering and leading.

Sands speaks very clearly. She has every right to be angry at him and he wants her to hear what he's saying.
"Don't think that before asking you that I hadn't thought long and hard about what I would do if Aljerez was here."

Nodding he loosens his hold, now rubbing her arms in comfort.
"That's all I need to hear."

"Is it?"

The instant he releases her, she heads to the bed and flops gracelessly on it, not caring that her hair was wet, or that she still had her towel wrapped around her. As tired as she is, she knows sleep won't come anytime soon.

"His power is dangerous... it can't be trusted. It held everyone in Seireitei under his thrall for years. Years."

He doesn't follow again. Even he can get that hint.
"I wont go near him. I wont send my people near him. I understand. No touchy Gin. I had to ask."

Her arms tuck up under her head as she glances at him. When it's apparent he isn't going anywhere near her, she sighs softly and closes her eyes.

"'M sorry. Fighting with Aizen wasn't pleasant. It took more out of me then I'd like to admit. That's no reason for me to be a bitch to you."

"It was a terrible thing for me to ask. I've never been close to my fighters. It adds a difficulty to commanding."
He shrugs. Forgiving her instantly and being utterly casual about what he did to start the fight. Neither mean much to him. He wasn't angry at her and doesn't regret asking.

"Are you going to fight him again soon?" He swore not to ask any more questions. But that was for last night and he feels he's in the clear now. Though he is holding a lot back.

The thought of fighting Aizen again brings a disbelieving laugh to her lips. "If I have te, yes. If not, I plan to stay the hell away from him."

She shook her head, still laughing softly. "I'm not going to bite you if you come over here, you know."

Laughing is a great sign. So he does come over- shooting her a suspicious look and moving slowly for comedic effect.
"You know how to keep a man on his toes."

He lays down on his side throwing an arm over her.
"What if I ask real nice? Would you bite me then?"

The laughter dies down gradually as she settles under the pleasant weight of his arm.

"You know, I just might, if you're really nice."

Sands is concentrating very hard on kicking his shoes off. Finally he's free and scoots as close to her as he can get without actually being on top of her.
"I have been so nice. This is me on my best behavior. In fact, it might be a personal record. The fact that you were sleeping through most of it helps. I only had to control my urge to cop a feel or stick your hand in some warm water."

She rolls to her side to facing him, curling up close to him. "Shame I missed it... but such good behavior usually deserves some kind of reward." Her lips curled up into a slight smile.

"Is there something you want?"

Laying on his side in sunglasses isn't easy so his head is sort of propped up on his arm.
"I have what I want. More then what I want in fact. These clothes and your towel were not in the plan I had last night. But here they are. My cup runeth over."

She's curled as closed as she can be to him. "Is this really all you want?"

"No. But it feels good anyway. Stop worrying about my needs right now. It's wonderful but I came here for you tonight. This selfless act only happens once every... well, this might be the first time. Hey. I'm a virgin. Be gentle with me."

"You'd never be this selfless," she mutters, but there's no force behind her words. Not when she's snuggled up to his chest, eyes threatening to slide closed again.

"Still don't understand you sometimes."

"It's all a trick to lull you into complacence." Sands strokes her hair softly.
"That or I'm trying to make you happy. One of the two. Since this wont give me a free pass to do whatever I want it's more likely that second one."

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