everything you take makes me more unreal

[persimmonsplz]

Who: Aizen Sousuke (alapimp ) ; Ichimaru Gin (persimmonsplz )
When: September 17th, morning
Where: Cottage de la Aizen
Summary: Comrades reunite. Again.
Warnings: … Gin.

Comments

[alapimp]

Sousuke was happily asleep in the warm cocoon of his bed when he first felt the prod of a familiar reiatsu, much in the same way a child could easily recognise its mother's hand; not the best comparison, but even so. Cracking open an eye, he glared at his bedside table and focused on unraveling the reiatsu-kidou net around his front door, inviting Gin inside despite feeling it necessary to lay down some ground rules in the future for appropriate visiting times.

He made no move to get up, however; the clock read 06:43AM and he didn't need to get up for at least another half an hour.

[persimmonsplz]

There was his invitation~ Like he had done so many times in the past, Gin walked casually and confidently through what would otherwise be an onslaught of Aizen's power. He wouldn't think of it as a shell of protection anymore, though. Gin had forfeited that right himself when he had-

The door was unlocked, and Gin wasn't terribly surprised. With a security system like the one Aizen had invested himself into, Gin could almost expect all the windows to be open for a lovely evening breeze.

Once inside, his attention was captured at once by the girl on the sofa - Aizen had mentioned a roommate - and with a grin (and after a brief moment of watching), Gin proceeded to move through the house, as silent as the ghost he looked like.

Gin wouldn't advance into the room once he had ascended the stairs, though. Instead, he sat on the top step, setting the loaf of bread down on the floor of the bedroom, pointedly, and gave an airy sigh.

"Sleepin' in?"

[alapimp]

He kept a close watch on Gin's reiatsu and the fluctuations thereof, rolling onto his back when his lieutenant perched on the top of the stairs that led into the reformed attic. Stretching, Sousuke sat up and allowed the blankets to fall where they would, brown hair messy and sticking up in decidedly unregal angles.

He looked, for all the world, like any other handsome, gentile man who required a newspaper and cup of tea, perhaps a little ruffled.

"Good morning," was all he bothered with, rubbing his face. No one else (save Rikku, most recently) was granted the privilege of seeing him so unguarded.

[persimmonsplz]

Gin couldn't believe the amount of control it was taking to keep Shinsou in its sheath, and out of Aizen. Luckily he had a loose thread on his hakama to pick at in distraction.

"I can't believe yer still sleepin'. I feel like it's been ages since I last saw ya sleep, even."

[alapimp]

"For me, it's been mere months," he said, clearing his throat as he swung his legs out of bed and slipped his arms into a loose yukata draped across a post. Tying off the middle, he stood up with a generous smile. "The last time you did, I believe you brought me tea. Is that fresh bread?"

Walking over barefoot, the boards creaked under his feet, a testament to the old house as sunlight blazed through the windows; when he dropped the wards around the house, birdsong increased in volume.

He patted Gin on the shoulder as he passed into the en suite.

"Put some toast on for us, would you?"

[persimmonsplz]

"Of course, captain."

The word was bitter on Gin's tongue, but the taste only made his grin broaden. Grabbing the loaf of bread back up, he stood and made his way down the stairs. Aizen wouldn't miss the piece of bread that Gin tore off for himself to eat in the process of toasting.

Ah, toast.

Should he crisp the bread in the oven?

[alapimp]

Gin could enjoy working out whether to use the grill in the oven or the toaster on the side. Either way, Sousuke enjoyed his fluffy lilac-scented shower to the fullest, humming an old tune he had picked up from Momo during her initial days as his vice-captain.

[persimmonsplz]

The oven would do, and after slicing the bread and locating whatever butter Aizen had in stock, Gin began phase two of project breakfast:

Figuring out how the oven worked. They were all typically the same, yeah? Especially the older models, and in the end, it was probably fortunate that Gin's tinkering didn't cause an explosion or something equally horrifying.

Instead, it produced warm bread. It wasn't cripsy, of course, but it'd do.

[alapimp]

Rubbing his head in a towel, Sousuke appeared downstairs wrapped in a larger second, carding back his hair. He cast a glance at Rikku - still asleep on the couch in the shadowy lounge, it was early for her - and laughed quietly as he leaned on the wall leading into the narrow kitchen.

"You should put those slices back under the grill for another couple of minutes," he suggested, his expression almost as warm as the bread.

Half-naked, he reached around Gin and flicked the switch on the kettle.

[persimmonsplz]

The way Gin's hand jerked and knocked the butter knife off of the counter and to the floor was totally unrelated to Aizen's reach. Really.

"If I do that, they're gonna get soggy."

[alapimp]

So jumpy. Whatever Gin alluded had happened in Karakura, it had been between himself and Sousuke.

He had made his move, of that his former captain was sure. This, in the here and now - a dropped knife when it might have been used to finish the job it was intended for (and more) - was proof he had shaken his own sensibilities as much as Sousuke's world. Had he succeeded? His anxiety implied he hadn't expected to ever see Sousuke again, perhaps because he had done away with him (impossible) or ...

"This is a toaster," he said patiently, tapping it. "You put the bread in here, push the side down and it'll brown in a minute. Would you like some tea or juice?"

All of this, he said while standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him in the four-feet wide kitchen, head bowed to avoid banging on the low-slung beams. In short, it was a very confined space and put Gin between himself and a wall.

"Plates are in the cupboard to your left, if you'll serve us up."

[persimmonsplz]

"... A toaster. Imagine that~" Never mind Gin's white-knuckled hold on the counter edge where he kept himself centered. He took a deep breath, ducking away from Aizen as much as he could as he released the counter and turned towards the recommended cabinet in search of plates. (Obviously he'd toast bread for real some other time.)

"Is there water? That's what I want to drink."

[alapimp]

"Help yourself to the taps, they're clean."

Behind him, Sousuke continued brewing green tea, occasionally stretching as he opened the fridge and spread jam over his ... warm bread. Really, Gin, that wasn't anything worth serving to your captain.

He paused before taking his plate out, peering over a shoulder.

"Try not to break anything," he softly added, the only indication he knew something was wrong.

[persimmonsplz]

Gin gave a huff of a laugh under his breath as he rifled through cabinets until a cup was located. "I doubt you'd notice if I did. This place sounds like it's on the verge of collapsin'."

[alapimp]

"I'll be very annoyed if you do," he intoned, mostly to contrast against whatever it was keeping Gin so tense. Sitting down in an armchair, he ate and switched on his NV, checking the morning network.

[persimmonsplz]

Aizen's purposeful tone did nothing to ease Gin's nerves.

He ate, though, mildly enjoying his warm, buttered bread more than the previous snack of plain bread, and he helped himself to water, like he wanted. It was breakfast, easy enough. (Nevermind the orange Gin ate on the way to the cottage.)

"When do you do yer teachin' thing?"