[Log] Aizen, Gin
Title: Rise and Shine
Characters: Sousuke Aizen (lcpdragonslayer), Gin Ichimaru (formative)
Timeline: November 16, 2006
Rating: G
Summary: Gin wakes up alone in Aizen's bed. Aizen needs a new alarm clock.
It was not yet light out and the display of the clock on the nightstand said it was 5:59 am. Almost time to get up.
Gin was fast asleep, sprawled on his stomach, in the middle of Aizen’s bed, almost completely buried under the heavy blanket. Only a mop of pale blond hair and the tip of his nose were visible. As he shifted in his sleep, the blanket slid down and revealed a small smile on his lips.
A soft beeping noise filled the room. 6:00 am. Time to get up and get ready for work. The publicist pulled a pillow over his head and turned away from the noise, hoping it would stop by itself.
It grew steadily in volume until the soft beeping had turned into a loud blare. A pale bony hand emerged from under the sheets and felt around for the clock. He stretched his arm out as far as possible and slid his fingers across the surface, searching for the snooze button.
The alarm grew louder with each passing second, grating on the blond’s nerves. Where was the damn snooze button? The bony fingers wrapped themselves around the clock and threw it across the room where it hit the wall and dropped to the ground.
It gave a last pitiful squawk before it died and Gin rolled onto his side, wrapped the blanket around his body and snuggled into his pillow with a satisfied sigh.
Where had the snooze button gone? And since when did his alarm clock sound like a strangled duck?
The publicist sat up, wide awake and looked around. This wasn’t his bed. This wasn’t his bedroom. He was not at home. Slowly he realised that he was at Aizen’s place. Right. No need to panic. But where was Aizen?
Sliding out of bed, he draped the blanket around his shoulders and shuffled into the hallway. No lights were on. Had the other man got up early? Gin shuffled upstairs and peeked into the empty kitchen before he made his way towards the living-room.
Sousuke was lying on the couch with a laptop on his stomach. Had he been here all night?
“Hey,” the blond called softly from the door. When he got no reaction, he shuffled back into the bedroom. If Aizen wasn’t up, yet, he didn’t have to be, either.
Aizen's alarm clock had blared so loud that he was adamant even his neighbours could hear it. He cracked one eye open, and then the other, stiffening for a moment before stretching, yawning.
As soon as he stretched his arms out, the laptop nearly fell off, and he grabbed for it, fumbling around.
The black screen saver flicked off, and there was Lotus Notes open. Had he fallen asleep during the conference call?
Apparently not, seeing as the meeting minutes had arrived in his inbox at 4.49am. He must have fallen asleep straight after. Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose and closed the laptop screen, lying back down on the couch.
He heard the alarm finally die, making the most painful sound, and what had to be Gin emerged from his bedroom after a little while.
"Good morning, Gin," came Aizen's delayed response.
"Had a good sleep?"
Gin was half-way down the stairs when Aizen’s question reached his ears. He stopped. He looked up. No Aizen on top of the stairs, meaning the other man wouldn’t know whether he’d been heard or not.
Excellent.
The blond darted down, raced down the hallway and back into bed. He covered himself with the extra blanket and snuggled into one of the large pillows, hiding himself from view.
Not getting up before Sousuke.
Well. Gin did not seem to bother to respond to the question, except to run back downstairs. Aizen was expecting to hear a door slam shut, but everything went reasonably quiet.
Sighing, he took his time in sitting up, shifting the laptop over to the table. He massaged his shoulder and the back of his neck, tilting his head to one side to allow his hand better access.
Slowly, he got to his feet. He was still in last night's work clothes and was probably going to take a quick shower before heading off to work.
He made his way downstairs to his bedroom and peered in. He noticed his broken alarm clock - did the publicist dislike all forms of electronic devices? - and Gin was probably the subtly moving lump underneath the blanket on his bed.
He opened his cupboard and his eyes glazed over the spread of shirts, suits and pants. Picking out what he needed, he placed them over on the corner of his bed and retrieved a towel.
"I don't think I have any clothes in child sizes," he said, his almost monotone comment making it sound less of a tease than it actually was. "But if you would like to have a shower as well, there's another bathroom down the corridor, and you can choose anything you want from here."
When Aizen entered the bedroom, Gin curled up into a ball under the covers. He had been on the brink of dozing off again and he clung to the hope that if he remained really still and quiet, he might be able to get a bit more sleep.
The publicist ignored the sound of cupboard doors being opened and the rustling of clothes; ignored the sound of footsteps on carpet and ignored…
Did Sousuke just say child size?
The lump on the bed shifted and heaved, growing taller until the sheets slid off, revealing a tousled blond head and a pair of narrowed blue eyes. “Not a child,” the lump with eyes and hair mumbled sulkily. It watched the CEO move back from the cupboards, a towel in his hand.
“Why do I have to use the one down the hallway?” it questioned Sousuke petulantly. “I was here first!”
Not a child, huh. From the way Gin was acting at the moment, it was very hard to tell.
"Well," Aizen started, scooping his clothes up and making his way to the bathroom. He placed one foot into the bathroom and turned to look back at the disgruntled blond.
"I stepped into the bathroom first," Aizen said, using Gin's tactics. He smiled and gave Gin a wink before stepping onto the cool tiles, hanging the hangers up on the hook behind the door.
Aizen’s stooping down to Gin’s level of reasoning left Gin speechless. Couldn’t argue with his own faultless logic, after all. He glowered at the other man until he vanished into the bathroom and flopped down on his back again.
“Ya think yer like sooo clever, don’t ya?” The publicist mumbled. “But, ya know, yer jus’ like totally lame. Totally.” Valley girl speak was in no way satisfying and it gave him headaches.
The blond stared at the ceiling, a bit mystified by the fact that he had actually spent the whole night in this room. Usually, he would wake up in the middle of the night and wander off and end up in one of the guest rooms or the couch. Maybe it was because Sousuke hadn’t been there?
Why not? Frowning, Gin slid off the bed and padded towards the bathroom, dragging the sheet with him. He nudged the door open and stuck his head inside. “Why weren’t ya in bed?” he asked Aizen's back.
"Well, I had a couple of reasons," Aizen said, undoing the last button on his shirt and shrugging it off his shoulders. He looked over his shoulder at Gin for a moment, and placed the shirt over the towel rack.
"You would disappear on me in the middle of the night, so I thought I would spare you the trouble. Anyway, I had a conference call from 2 to 4, and I didn't want to wake you up," he explained as he unbuttoned and unzipped his pants.
Gin blinked. A conference call from 2 to 4 meant that Aizen had got… um, two hours of sleep max? And he seemed more energetic than Gin.
The publicist bunched up the blanked into a make-shift pillow and dropped it on the ground. He settled down and pulled his knees up, wrapping his arms around them.
“Yer gonna work yerself to death sooner or later,” he sighed, his gaze travelling down the other man’s back. “And I’ll be all alone, with no one to take me on crazy adventures. Ya gotta be more considerate, apple pie.”
"Mm, well. Living in different timezones does make things a little more inconvenient."
The black pants dropped from his waist and pooled on the ground, and Aizen slipped out of his briefs, stepping out of them. He bent over to retrieve his pants and placed it over the towel rack as well.
"Though I will try not to die from work, if that is of any consolation," he added.
"Are you just going to sit there and watch?" Aizen asked as he looked over at Gin, smiling, his head tilted to one side a little.
If Gin had to get up in the middle of the night to work, he’d go crazy. It was good he never had to because, well, a tired Gin had no self-control or self-restraint at all.
Dull blue eyes still foggy with sleep peered up and tried to focus on Aizen’s face which was a bit difficult because of the lights. Yeah, sure.
“It’s alright. I like watching.” The publicist tilted his head, mirroring the other man. “Did that a lot before I met ya. Was less tired back then, too,” he added and smirked. “Ya don’t mind, do ya?”
"No. I don't mind."
Aizen stepped into the shower and turned the tap on, and water rained down over strands of brown hair. It was relaxing, and all the tension built up in his back and in his shoulders immediately eased away.
A soft sigh escaped his lips, and he lowered his head, water dripping down from brown tendrils. He ran a hand through the wet strands of brown, solemn eyes gazing at the way the water trickled down from the wall, pooling in the floor, spiraling away into the small drain.
"Though, I will mind if it's going to make us late for work," Aizen called out, reaching for the shampoo.
As the water poured down on Aizen, the fog drained from Gin’s eyes leaving crystal-clear pools of blue behind. Leaning, his cheek against his upper arm, he watched the rivulets of water run down the other man’s body and sighed contentedly.
“No worries,” he chirped from the floor. “I ain’t got any appointments until three in the afternoon anyway.” The blond had no intention of making Sousuke late for work. He was happy where he was, enjoying the view and he was too lazy to move.
He would probably sleep a bit longer after Sousuke left, indulge in a late breakfast and drop by the office around one o’clock.
The tap was turned off, and Aizen's limp brown hair was covered in a layer of foam while he massaged his scalp.
"Alright then," he said, and water started raining down over his head again, pulling the foam away, streams of white trailing down his body.
"Would you like me to come pick you up?" he asked when he turned the tap off again, this time to get some liquid soap, running his hand down his arm and over his chest.
The stall was filling with steam, obscuring the publicist’s view and he pouted. It was warm in here, though, and Aizen was here, too, so he tugged and pulled at the blanket under his ass until it was messily spread out on the tiles.
“No, ya don’t have to,” Gin yawned, stretching out on the floor, his hands folded on his stomach. “I can ride the subway or take a cab. And you should take a nap when ya can. The couch in yer office’s really comfy.” Turning his head to the side, strands of hair falling across his face, he looked at the shower. Sousuke’s head and part of his shoulders were still visible. Everything else was hidden in a cloud of steam. The CEO looked like a… fluffy sheep.
‘Mary had a little lamb,’ the blond sang in his head and giggled. He bit his bottom lip to suppress it. The image of lamb Aizen, however, was now firmly lodged in his head and his mind continued down the path, picturing Gin as Mary and the publicist was lost.
The sound of uncontrollable laughter filled the bathroom.
"Napping in my office?" he reiterated. He had never seriously considered that prospect before - the couches were solely for entertaining guests. Perhaps only Gin could be let off for doing something like that.
Aizen's eyes fluttered open a little, and he looked over his shoulder to gaze down at Gin. A random burst of laughter? That was interesting.
He smiled and turned the tap off, ruffling his hair as he stepped out of the shower and grabbed the towel, shaking and drying off his hair. Eventually, he dried off his body as well, and he left the soaked towel spread out hanging on a steel bar. He made his way past Gin and grabbed his fresh pair of underwear and pants, slipping into them.
Hovering over the sink, he reached for the little, odd-shaped plastic container to the side and unscrewed one side, revealing a contact lens floating in some solution. He carefully placed them over his eyes, blinking a few times.
He looked a little worse for wear, but really he was not that tired. Early morning conference calls became more of a habit than an occasion. At the most, perhaps he could come home a little earlier today.
"What time will you be finishing work?" he asked, holding the shaver in one hand.
Rolling onto his stomach, Gin squirmed around a bit and eventually pushed himself into a sitting position when he realised that the tiles would bruise his hips. He really needed to eat more.
The publicist rubbed his hipbone and cringed when saw Aizen put his contact lenses in. Finger-touching-eye was one thing he could never ever do. That arty-farty movie in which a razor blade cut into an eyeball still gave him nightmares sometimes.
“I dunno. When do ya want me to finish?” he asked, rising from the too cold, too hard ground, and padded towards the older man. He wrapped his arms around Sousuke from behind and rested his cheek in the hollow between the man’s shoulder blades.
Mmh, soft and warm.
“Don’t think there’s much work to be done,” he muttered.
The CEO paused for a moment, at least until Gin grew a little more still, before switching the shaver on running it over his chin. The publicist was unusually warm, pressed against his back, and it felt... rather soothing.
"Well, I have a meeting at four," said Aizen as he switched the shaver off after a few minutes. "We could have dinner together afterwards," he suggested, in a tone that hinted that it was not so much a suggestion as it was a request. Replacing the shaver in its pouch to the side of the sink, he picked up the toothbrush and toothpaste, squeezing a strip of toothpaste onto the toothbrush, brushing his teeth. Rinsing his mouth out, he dried his chin off with the face towel. Placing the towel to one side, his hand shifted over to the hair gel adjacent to the electric shaver.
He spread a copious amount of clear gel over his palms and ran them through his hair, tilting his head to one side so as to not get any on Gin's head.
Gin felt muscles shift with every movement Aizen made and purred softly. It was comforting and calming and made him sleepy. A slightly louder purr was his reply to Sousuke’s suggestion.
Smelling and hearing the goo Sousuke liked to put into his hair, the publicist knew that he would be removed from his comfy position soon and tightened his arms around the other man’s waist. He folded his hands on the CEO’s stomach, drawing small circles around the bellybutton with his thumb.
“Don’t go, yet,” he sighed, sounding half-asleep. “‘S nice bein’ like this.”
The hair stayed in place even when Aizen's hands left it, and after combing through his hair with his fingers and the gel a few more times, he leaned over a bit and placed his hands under the tap, washing the excess off.
He leaned over to reach for the hand towel and dried his hands.
"I would very much like to stay," he said, putting the towel onto the counter and placing his hands over Gin's. "But I have to leave soon, or I'll be late. Being caught in traffic will be troublesome as well."
He made his way over to the back of the door and slipped his shirt off the hanger, unbuttoning all the buttons.
"I don't think you'll be able to find much breakfast food in my kitchen, so you might want to eat out instead."
“Rent a helicopter? No traffic trouble in the air.” Gin followed or rather let himself be dragged over to where Aizen was going, moving his feet as little as possible, his arms still wrapped tightly around the other man.
“Stay, please?”
As soon as those two softly uttered words had left his mouth, the publicist stiffened a little and frowned.
Stay, please?
Unlacing his fingers, he let his arms fall away from Sousuke’s waist to let the other man put on his shirt, he told himself and went to retrieve the blanket he’d brought to the bathroom.
The blond shook it out and folded it over his arm, moving towards the door to return it into the bedroom.
Stay, please?
“Yer kitchen never has any food. It’s sad ‘cause it’s a nice kitchen. Yer doin’ it injustice by jus’ keepin’ that coco pops ‘n instant stuffs around,” he sniffed and shuffled out of the room.
After dumping the blanket on the bed, Gin began to pick up his clothes. He should go to his apartment and shower there and get changed and make a decent breakfast and go to work and what the hell was wrong with him?
Sighing softly, the publicist slipped into his shirt and put on his trousers. Sometimes, he really annoyed himself.
Aizen's gaze fell to where Gin's hands had disappeared, and it lingered for a little while before he slipped into his shirt slowly, straightening out the collars and sleeves before buttoning it from the bottom, working his way up.
He pulled at the sleeves again once all the buttons were done, picked up all his old clothes and headed out of the bathroom.
"I barely ever eat at home," he said, leaving the clothes in the laundry basket. "There's no point in keeping food here if it's just going to rot."
He opened the cupboard door and picked out a tie from the hundreds he had hung on the hooks on the door and in drawers inside the wardrobe. He slipped the tie around his collar and did it up, pushing the wardrobe door close with his foot.
"Take care, Gin," he said as he headed for the door, folding his collar back down over the tie. "I'll see you in the office."
Gin let his hands fall to his side and thought of the food, which, due to his eating out with Aizen almost every evening, was by now definitely rotting away in the fridge at his apartment. It had probably evolved into a sentient being and was thinking of ways to break out of its prison. He should stay here.
‘How could people be so energetic in the morning?’ the blond wondered as he slid out of his shirt again. Just watching Aizen being all awake and efficient made him want to go back to bed again. Maybe he should. He could set the alarm… His eyes strayed towards the broken thing on the floor. Or not.
The publicist kicked off his trousers and tried to sit down on the bed but missed it by half a butt cheek, landing himself on the ground with a thud. That hurt!
“Too late,” he mumbled, resting his chin on the edge and glared at Sousuke’s retreating back like it was the other man’s fault. “Don’t talk to strangers ‘n don’t take candy from weird men, ya hear me?”
Grabbing a blanket, he dragged it off the bed and stretched out on the floor, figuring that if he didn’t get too comfortable, he wouldn’t oversleep. Lifting a hand he waved it in the air and added a gloomy ‘bye bye, boss’.
Candy from weird men? Since when did he take candy from weird men? He passed it off as one of Gin's bizarre, out-of-context comments and waved goodbye to Gin from behind him as he went back upstairs. He needed his jacket, laptop, some papers and his personal items before heading down to the porch.
With everything packed away in the briefcase and his suit jacket draped over his arm, he made his way back downstairs again. He stopped by on the floor directly below. He poked his head into his room, looking at the lump on his bed.
"Oh and uh. Don't forget about the meeting at 4.30," he said with a small smile.
He made his way back to the stairs and headed down all the way to the bottom floor. Slipping into a pair of fresh socks, he slipped into his shoes and headed out of the door into the fresh morning breeze. There were no cars on the road at the moment - hopefully the trip to work would not take too long.
Realising that the floor would hurt its back, the lump that was Gin had returned onto the bed and got comfortable when Aizen dumped the meeting info on him. He was certain that had no meetings scheduled for today but the other man sounded so…
“What meeting?” the publicist asked, sitting up only to realise that Sousuke was already half-way down the stairs. Tossing the covers aside, Gin jumped off the bed and chased after his boss.
“I have no meetings today!”
Gin had stopped Aizen just before he climbed into the car, and he stood with the door open, leaning over the roof of the car, looking at the disgruntled Gin standing at the doorway.
"Perhaps you should check your schedule more often?" Aizen suggested, a small smirk tugging at the edge of his lips. It certainly was true that Gin had no meetings today - if he checked his schedule last week. The meeting was only added a couple of days ago, pending talks with the rest of the Board to arrange a time suitable for discussing their Board of Directors Interim Report.
"It shouldn't take too long," the CEO added. "But it would be nice if you turned up looking at least a little lively."
Gin was glaring daggers at Aizen and if he hadn’t been clad in just his underwear, he would have followed the CEO to the car and tried to argue his way out of it. He had checked his schedule and he was sure that he would have noticed a big meeting unless his assistant had deliberately not put it in to prevent him from freaking out on her.
“Fine!” the blond snapped, wrapping his arms around himself to stop shivering. “I’ll be lively. Anythin’ else ya need? Snacks? Coffee ‘n tea? Want me to dress up?”
"No," he said, ignoring the sarcasm in Gin's tone of voice. He knew the blond disliked going to meetings - and Board of Directors meetings were usually no fun, even for the CEO, but some things just had to be done.
"Well. Do at least put something on, if that is what you meant by dressing up. It is not a good image for our publicist to be turning up in just underwear."
"Keep yourself warm," he said, raising his voice a little just so that he could be heard from that bit of distance. "Wouldn't want you to catch a cold."
Turn up in his underwear? Catch cold? Gin stared at Aizen. He was so not in the mood for teasing and mockery and looked around for something to throw at the other man. Unfortunately, there was nothing in grabbing range which forced him to behave like a grown-up.
Turning his nose up, the blond stepped back and slammed the door shut. He could forget trying to catch a bit more sleep and the breakfast now. Stomping upstairs he kept cursing under his breath.
Great. He would have to go home and grab fresh clothes. Better yet. He should make Sasha fetch them for him and ask her to bring the week-old salad from his fridge.
Characters: Sousuke Aizen (lcpdragonslayer), Gin Ichimaru (formative)
Timeline: November 16, 2006
Rating: G
Summary: Gin wakes up alone in Aizen's bed. Aizen needs a new alarm clock.
It was not yet light out and the display of the clock on the nightstand said it was 5:59 am. Almost time to get up.
Gin was fast asleep, sprawled on his stomach, in the middle of Aizen’s bed, almost completely buried under the heavy blanket. Only a mop of pale blond hair and the tip of his nose were visible. As he shifted in his sleep, the blanket slid down and revealed a small smile on his lips.
A soft beeping noise filled the room. 6:00 am. Time to get up and get ready for work. The publicist pulled a pillow over his head and turned away from the noise, hoping it would stop by itself.
It grew steadily in volume until the soft beeping had turned into a loud blare. A pale bony hand emerged from under the sheets and felt around for the clock. He stretched his arm out as far as possible and slid his fingers across the surface, searching for the snooze button.
The alarm grew louder with each passing second, grating on the blond’s nerves. Where was the damn snooze button? The bony fingers wrapped themselves around the clock and threw it across the room where it hit the wall and dropped to the ground.
It gave a last pitiful squawk before it died and Gin rolled onto his side, wrapped the blanket around his body and snuggled into his pillow with a satisfied sigh.
Where had the snooze button gone? And since when did his alarm clock sound like a strangled duck?
The publicist sat up, wide awake and looked around. This wasn’t his bed. This wasn’t his bedroom. He was not at home. Slowly he realised that he was at Aizen’s place. Right. No need to panic. But where was Aizen?
Sliding out of bed, he draped the blanket around his shoulders and shuffled into the hallway. No lights were on. Had the other man got up early? Gin shuffled upstairs and peeked into the empty kitchen before he made his way towards the living-room.
Sousuke was lying on the couch with a laptop on his stomach. Had he been here all night?
“Hey,” the blond called softly from the door. When he got no reaction, he shuffled back into the bedroom. If Aizen wasn’t up, yet, he didn’t have to be, either.
Aizen's alarm clock had blared so loud that he was adamant even his neighbours could hear it. He cracked one eye open, and then the other, stiffening for a moment before stretching, yawning.
As soon as he stretched his arms out, the laptop nearly fell off, and he grabbed for it, fumbling around.
The black screen saver flicked off, and there was Lotus Notes open. Had he fallen asleep during the conference call?
Apparently not, seeing as the meeting minutes had arrived in his inbox at 4.49am. He must have fallen asleep straight after. Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose and closed the laptop screen, lying back down on the couch.
He heard the alarm finally die, making the most painful sound, and what had to be Gin emerged from his bedroom after a little while.
"Good morning, Gin," came Aizen's delayed response.
"Had a good sleep?"
Gin was half-way down the stairs when Aizen’s question reached his ears. He stopped. He looked up. No Aizen on top of the stairs, meaning the other man wouldn’t know whether he’d been heard or not.
Excellent.
The blond darted down, raced down the hallway and back into bed. He covered himself with the extra blanket and snuggled into one of the large pillows, hiding himself from view.
Not getting up before Sousuke.
Well. Gin did not seem to bother to respond to the question, except to run back downstairs. Aizen was expecting to hear a door slam shut, but everything went reasonably quiet.
Sighing, he took his time in sitting up, shifting the laptop over to the table. He massaged his shoulder and the back of his neck, tilting his head to one side to allow his hand better access.
Slowly, he got to his feet. He was still in last night's work clothes and was probably going to take a quick shower before heading off to work.
He made his way downstairs to his bedroom and peered in. He noticed his broken alarm clock - did the publicist dislike all forms of electronic devices? - and Gin was probably the subtly moving lump underneath the blanket on his bed.
He opened his cupboard and his eyes glazed over the spread of shirts, suits and pants. Picking out what he needed, he placed them over on the corner of his bed and retrieved a towel.
"I don't think I have any clothes in child sizes," he said, his almost monotone comment making it sound less of a tease than it actually was. "But if you would like to have a shower as well, there's another bathroom down the corridor, and you can choose anything you want from here."
When Aizen entered the bedroom, Gin curled up into a ball under the covers. He had been on the brink of dozing off again and he clung to the hope that if he remained really still and quiet, he might be able to get a bit more sleep.
The publicist ignored the sound of cupboard doors being opened and the rustling of clothes; ignored the sound of footsteps on carpet and ignored…
Did Sousuke just say child size?
The lump on the bed shifted and heaved, growing taller until the sheets slid off, revealing a tousled blond head and a pair of narrowed blue eyes. “Not a child,” the lump with eyes and hair mumbled sulkily. It watched the CEO move back from the cupboards, a towel in his hand.
“Why do I have to use the one down the hallway?” it questioned Sousuke petulantly. “I was here first!”
Not a child, huh. From the way Gin was acting at the moment, it was very hard to tell.
"Well," Aizen started, scooping his clothes up and making his way to the bathroom. He placed one foot into the bathroom and turned to look back at the disgruntled blond.
"I stepped into the bathroom first," Aizen said, using Gin's tactics. He smiled and gave Gin a wink before stepping onto the cool tiles, hanging the hangers up on the hook behind the door.
Aizen’s stooping down to Gin’s level of reasoning left Gin speechless. Couldn’t argue with his own faultless logic, after all. He glowered at the other man until he vanished into the bathroom and flopped down on his back again.
“Ya think yer like sooo clever, don’t ya?” The publicist mumbled. “But, ya know, yer jus’ like totally lame. Totally.” Valley girl speak was in no way satisfying and it gave him headaches.
The blond stared at the ceiling, a bit mystified by the fact that he had actually spent the whole night in this room. Usually, he would wake up in the middle of the night and wander off and end up in one of the guest rooms or the couch. Maybe it was because Sousuke hadn’t been there?
Why not? Frowning, Gin slid off the bed and padded towards the bathroom, dragging the sheet with him. He nudged the door open and stuck his head inside. “Why weren’t ya in bed?” he asked Aizen's back.
"Well, I had a couple of reasons," Aizen said, undoing the last button on his shirt and shrugging it off his shoulders. He looked over his shoulder at Gin for a moment, and placed the shirt over the towel rack.
"You would disappear on me in the middle of the night, so I thought I would spare you the trouble. Anyway, I had a conference call from 2 to 4, and I didn't want to wake you up," he explained as he unbuttoned and unzipped his pants.
Gin blinked. A conference call from 2 to 4 meant that Aizen had got… um, two hours of sleep max? And he seemed more energetic than Gin.
The publicist bunched up the blanked into a make-shift pillow and dropped it on the ground. He settled down and pulled his knees up, wrapping his arms around them.
“Yer gonna work yerself to death sooner or later,” he sighed, his gaze travelling down the other man’s back. “And I’ll be all alone, with no one to take me on crazy adventures. Ya gotta be more considerate, apple pie.”
"Mm, well. Living in different timezones does make things a little more inconvenient."
The black pants dropped from his waist and pooled on the ground, and Aizen slipped out of his briefs, stepping out of them. He bent over to retrieve his pants and placed it over the towel rack as well.
"Though I will try not to die from work, if that is of any consolation," he added.
"Are you just going to sit there and watch?" Aizen asked as he looked over at Gin, smiling, his head tilted to one side a little.
If Gin had to get up in the middle of the night to work, he’d go crazy. It was good he never had to because, well, a tired Gin had no self-control or self-restraint at all.
Dull blue eyes still foggy with sleep peered up and tried to focus on Aizen’s face which was a bit difficult because of the lights. Yeah, sure.
“It’s alright. I like watching.” The publicist tilted his head, mirroring the other man. “Did that a lot before I met ya. Was less tired back then, too,” he added and smirked. “Ya don’t mind, do ya?”
"No. I don't mind."
Aizen stepped into the shower and turned the tap on, and water rained down over strands of brown hair. It was relaxing, and all the tension built up in his back and in his shoulders immediately eased away.
A soft sigh escaped his lips, and he lowered his head, water dripping down from brown tendrils. He ran a hand through the wet strands of brown, solemn eyes gazing at the way the water trickled down from the wall, pooling in the floor, spiraling away into the small drain.
"Though, I will mind if it's going to make us late for work," Aizen called out, reaching for the shampoo.
As the water poured down on Aizen, the fog drained from Gin’s eyes leaving crystal-clear pools of blue behind. Leaning, his cheek against his upper arm, he watched the rivulets of water run down the other man’s body and sighed contentedly.
“No worries,” he chirped from the floor. “I ain’t got any appointments until three in the afternoon anyway.” The blond had no intention of making Sousuke late for work. He was happy where he was, enjoying the view and he was too lazy to move.
He would probably sleep a bit longer after Sousuke left, indulge in a late breakfast and drop by the office around one o’clock.
The tap was turned off, and Aizen's limp brown hair was covered in a layer of foam while he massaged his scalp.
"Alright then," he said, and water started raining down over his head again, pulling the foam away, streams of white trailing down his body.
"Would you like me to come pick you up?" he asked when he turned the tap off again, this time to get some liquid soap, running his hand down his arm and over his chest.
The stall was filling with steam, obscuring the publicist’s view and he pouted. It was warm in here, though, and Aizen was here, too, so he tugged and pulled at the blanket under his ass until it was messily spread out on the tiles.
“No, ya don’t have to,” Gin yawned, stretching out on the floor, his hands folded on his stomach. “I can ride the subway or take a cab. And you should take a nap when ya can. The couch in yer office’s really comfy.” Turning his head to the side, strands of hair falling across his face, he looked at the shower. Sousuke’s head and part of his shoulders were still visible. Everything else was hidden in a cloud of steam. The CEO looked like a… fluffy sheep.
‘Mary had a little lamb,’ the blond sang in his head and giggled. He bit his bottom lip to suppress it. The image of lamb Aizen, however, was now firmly lodged in his head and his mind continued down the path, picturing Gin as Mary and the publicist was lost.
The sound of uncontrollable laughter filled the bathroom.
"Napping in my office?" he reiterated. He had never seriously considered that prospect before - the couches were solely for entertaining guests. Perhaps only Gin could be let off for doing something like that.
Aizen's eyes fluttered open a little, and he looked over his shoulder to gaze down at Gin. A random burst of laughter? That was interesting.
He smiled and turned the tap off, ruffling his hair as he stepped out of the shower and grabbed the towel, shaking and drying off his hair. Eventually, he dried off his body as well, and he left the soaked towel spread out hanging on a steel bar. He made his way past Gin and grabbed his fresh pair of underwear and pants, slipping into them.
Hovering over the sink, he reached for the little, odd-shaped plastic container to the side and unscrewed one side, revealing a contact lens floating in some solution. He carefully placed them over his eyes, blinking a few times.
He looked a little worse for wear, but really he was not that tired. Early morning conference calls became more of a habit than an occasion. At the most, perhaps he could come home a little earlier today.
"What time will you be finishing work?" he asked, holding the shaver in one hand.
Rolling onto his stomach, Gin squirmed around a bit and eventually pushed himself into a sitting position when he realised that the tiles would bruise his hips. He really needed to eat more.
The publicist rubbed his hipbone and cringed when saw Aizen put his contact lenses in. Finger-touching-eye was one thing he could never ever do. That arty-farty movie in which a razor blade cut into an eyeball still gave him nightmares sometimes.
“I dunno. When do ya want me to finish?” he asked, rising from the too cold, too hard ground, and padded towards the older man. He wrapped his arms around Sousuke from behind and rested his cheek in the hollow between the man’s shoulder blades.
Mmh, soft and warm.
“Don’t think there’s much work to be done,” he muttered.
The CEO paused for a moment, at least until Gin grew a little more still, before switching the shaver on running it over his chin. The publicist was unusually warm, pressed against his back, and it felt... rather soothing.
"Well, I have a meeting at four," said Aizen as he switched the shaver off after a few minutes. "We could have dinner together afterwards," he suggested, in a tone that hinted that it was not so much a suggestion as it was a request. Replacing the shaver in its pouch to the side of the sink, he picked up the toothbrush and toothpaste, squeezing a strip of toothpaste onto the toothbrush, brushing his teeth. Rinsing his mouth out, he dried his chin off with the face towel. Placing the towel to one side, his hand shifted over to the hair gel adjacent to the electric shaver.
He spread a copious amount of clear gel over his palms and ran them through his hair, tilting his head to one side so as to not get any on Gin's head.
Gin felt muscles shift with every movement Aizen made and purred softly. It was comforting and calming and made him sleepy. A slightly louder purr was his reply to Sousuke’s suggestion.
Smelling and hearing the goo Sousuke liked to put into his hair, the publicist knew that he would be removed from his comfy position soon and tightened his arms around the other man’s waist. He folded his hands on the CEO’s stomach, drawing small circles around the bellybutton with his thumb.
“Don’t go, yet,” he sighed, sounding half-asleep. “‘S nice bein’ like this.”
The hair stayed in place even when Aizen's hands left it, and after combing through his hair with his fingers and the gel a few more times, he leaned over a bit and placed his hands under the tap, washing the excess off.
He leaned over to reach for the hand towel and dried his hands.
"I would very much like to stay," he said, putting the towel onto the counter and placing his hands over Gin's. "But I have to leave soon, or I'll be late. Being caught in traffic will be troublesome as well."
He made his way over to the back of the door and slipped his shirt off the hanger, unbuttoning all the buttons.
"I don't think you'll be able to find much breakfast food in my kitchen, so you might want to eat out instead."
“Rent a helicopter? No traffic trouble in the air.” Gin followed or rather let himself be dragged over to where Aizen was going, moving his feet as little as possible, his arms still wrapped tightly around the other man.
“Stay, please?”
As soon as those two softly uttered words had left his mouth, the publicist stiffened a little and frowned.
Stay, please?
Unlacing his fingers, he let his arms fall away from Sousuke’s waist to let the other man put on his shirt, he told himself and went to retrieve the blanket he’d brought to the bathroom.
The blond shook it out and folded it over his arm, moving towards the door to return it into the bedroom.
Stay, please?
“Yer kitchen never has any food. It’s sad ‘cause it’s a nice kitchen. Yer doin’ it injustice by jus’ keepin’ that coco pops ‘n instant stuffs around,” he sniffed and shuffled out of the room.
After dumping the blanket on the bed, Gin began to pick up his clothes. He should go to his apartment and shower there and get changed and make a decent breakfast and go to work and what the hell was wrong with him?
Sighing softly, the publicist slipped into his shirt and put on his trousers. Sometimes, he really annoyed himself.
Aizen's gaze fell to where Gin's hands had disappeared, and it lingered for a little while before he slipped into his shirt slowly, straightening out the collars and sleeves before buttoning it from the bottom, working his way up.
He pulled at the sleeves again once all the buttons were done, picked up all his old clothes and headed out of the bathroom.
"I barely ever eat at home," he said, leaving the clothes in the laundry basket. "There's no point in keeping food here if it's just going to rot."
He opened the cupboard door and picked out a tie from the hundreds he had hung on the hooks on the door and in drawers inside the wardrobe. He slipped the tie around his collar and did it up, pushing the wardrobe door close with his foot.
"Take care, Gin," he said as he headed for the door, folding his collar back down over the tie. "I'll see you in the office."
Gin let his hands fall to his side and thought of the food, which, due to his eating out with Aizen almost every evening, was by now definitely rotting away in the fridge at his apartment. It had probably evolved into a sentient being and was thinking of ways to break out of its prison. He should stay here.
‘How could people be so energetic in the morning?’ the blond wondered as he slid out of his shirt again. Just watching Aizen being all awake and efficient made him want to go back to bed again. Maybe he should. He could set the alarm… His eyes strayed towards the broken thing on the floor. Or not.
The publicist kicked off his trousers and tried to sit down on the bed but missed it by half a butt cheek, landing himself on the ground with a thud. That hurt!
“Too late,” he mumbled, resting his chin on the edge and glared at Sousuke’s retreating back like it was the other man’s fault. “Don’t talk to strangers ‘n don’t take candy from weird men, ya hear me?”
Grabbing a blanket, he dragged it off the bed and stretched out on the floor, figuring that if he didn’t get too comfortable, he wouldn’t oversleep. Lifting a hand he waved it in the air and added a gloomy ‘bye bye, boss’.
Candy from weird men? Since when did he take candy from weird men? He passed it off as one of Gin's bizarre, out-of-context comments and waved goodbye to Gin from behind him as he went back upstairs. He needed his jacket, laptop, some papers and his personal items before heading down to the porch.
With everything packed away in the briefcase and his suit jacket draped over his arm, he made his way back downstairs again. He stopped by on the floor directly below. He poked his head into his room, looking at the lump on his bed.
"Oh and uh. Don't forget about the meeting at 4.30," he said with a small smile.
He made his way back to the stairs and headed down all the way to the bottom floor. Slipping into a pair of fresh socks, he slipped into his shoes and headed out of the door into the fresh morning breeze. There were no cars on the road at the moment - hopefully the trip to work would not take too long.
Realising that the floor would hurt its back, the lump that was Gin had returned onto the bed and got comfortable when Aizen dumped the meeting info on him. He was certain that had no meetings scheduled for today but the other man sounded so…
“What meeting?” the publicist asked, sitting up only to realise that Sousuke was already half-way down the stairs. Tossing the covers aside, Gin jumped off the bed and chased after his boss.
“I have no meetings today!”
Gin had stopped Aizen just before he climbed into the car, and he stood with the door open, leaning over the roof of the car, looking at the disgruntled Gin standing at the doorway.
"Perhaps you should check your schedule more often?" Aizen suggested, a small smirk tugging at the edge of his lips. It certainly was true that Gin had no meetings today - if he checked his schedule last week. The meeting was only added a couple of days ago, pending talks with the rest of the Board to arrange a time suitable for discussing their Board of Directors Interim Report.
"It shouldn't take too long," the CEO added. "But it would be nice if you turned up looking at least a little lively."
Gin was glaring daggers at Aizen and if he hadn’t been clad in just his underwear, he would have followed the CEO to the car and tried to argue his way out of it. He had checked his schedule and he was sure that he would have noticed a big meeting unless his assistant had deliberately not put it in to prevent him from freaking out on her.
“Fine!” the blond snapped, wrapping his arms around himself to stop shivering. “I’ll be lively. Anythin’ else ya need? Snacks? Coffee ‘n tea? Want me to dress up?”
"No," he said, ignoring the sarcasm in Gin's tone of voice. He knew the blond disliked going to meetings - and Board of Directors meetings were usually no fun, even for the CEO, but some things just had to be done.
"Well. Do at least put something on, if that is what you meant by dressing up. It is not a good image for our publicist to be turning up in just underwear."
"Keep yourself warm," he said, raising his voice a little just so that he could be heard from that bit of distance. "Wouldn't want you to catch a cold."
Turn up in his underwear? Catch cold? Gin stared at Aizen. He was so not in the mood for teasing and mockery and looked around for something to throw at the other man. Unfortunately, there was nothing in grabbing range which forced him to behave like a grown-up.
Turning his nose up, the blond stepped back and slammed the door shut. He could forget trying to catch a bit more sleep and the breakfast now. Stomping upstairs he kept cursing under his breath.
Great. He would have to go home and grab fresh clothes. Better yet. He should make Sasha fetch them for him and ask her to bring the week-old salad from his fridge.