Work Text
"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked."
-Bernard Meltzer
He watched her sigh, reading her book under the shade of a nice big tree. He'd been following her for a little while, intrigued by her. She didn't seem the same as the others he'd met, and it fascinated him.Gin snuck up on her quietly, like a snake in the grass. She was unsuspecting prey... and hopefully, this time he'd catch her off guard. He'd been following her and seen —well thought he'd seen — the same loneliness about her that he carried with him.Rangiku smiled as she sensed the reiatsu moving closer, pretended to continue to read her yaoi manga and waited to see what he'd do. She'd seen the strange silver haired kid around a lot, always lurking in the shadows it made her curious.He had a lot to learn about sneaking about though. The kid was leaking spiritual energy like nobody's business. She could sense him coming from ten miles away.His reiatsu circled around, weaving through the cover of the tall vegetation as it came closer until he got within pouncing distance. She waited... and waited... and then when he pounced, she quickly rolled to the side. Grinning, she looked at the startled boy, crouched where she had just been."You gotta be better than tha', kid," she said, her Rukon accent not as thick as some other people's. She stood up, brushing off her yaoi manga and her clothes. "Why are you tryin' to sneak up on me?"She watched him fumble about for words. Shy and awkward."I...uh...I was tryin' to scare ya?" he offered, blushing. Because really, how do you explain that you were stalking someone without coming across like a total creep?He felt like an idiot and turned to slink away.Rangiku quickly moved in front of the boy to stop him from going anywhere. "What's your name?"He swallowed. Cursing his awkwardness and nerves."It's Gin," He answered, trying to sound confident. He felt so small... but that may have been because she was a fair bit taller than him. "I-Ichimaru Gin."Rangiku looked him over, appraisingly. He was surprisingly shy for someone who openly tried to scare strangers, and scrawny as a weed. Clearly not eating enough. But then, neither was anyone around here. "You wanna go look for some food?" she asked, packing away her book.Gin scratched his head, unsure why she was being so friendly. Friendly people were usually the worst. They'd turn on you quick as spit. So he was a little apprehensive. And ready for a fight, or an ambush, or both. If only because he'd learnt the hard way people couldn't be trusted. "Umm, sure, I guess?"The tall girl led him around to the edge of the field to where the buildings started. A row of dinky shops sat along the lane, and his new companion pointed to the backside of them, where the trash and expired or ruined items went. "Down here. I saw a lot of stuff getting thrown away earlier.""Right," Gin said still trying to sound confident. Knowing he was failing miserably. His stomach growled and he reddened as he followed the girl to the trash. She appeared to have no qualms about scavenging and dove in with obvious excitement. Gin weighed pride against his hunger for a moment before joining her. Survival was more important than pride. Something some shinigami around here should really learn.They found some stale bread and a whole basket of wilted vegetables. Taking their haul into the woods, they found a small clearing and sat down to divide everything. Although taller than him and possessing a fair amount of reiatsu she divided it fairly without a fight. And that was when Gin knew he could trust her, and let himself relax a little. As they ate, Rangiku introduced herself, "Rangiku Matsumoto. But you can call me Ran."Gin nodded, forcing himself to eat slowly, "Hi then...You're strange.""Strange how?" she asked around the food in her mouth."Well fer example most people would be offended 'stead o' askin' why they're strange," he explained. Most people would have run for the hills from some stranger who snuck up on them for no reason.Rangiku nibbled on a wilted carrot as she considered Gin's words. "Well, I look at it this way: s'not many people you can be friends with ou' here. So I plan to take advantage of this and get a new friend out of it."For the first time, she saw a flash of red as Gin's eyes widened in surprise. "You...wanna be frien's wi' me?""Yeah, sure," Rangiku said easily completely missing the shock and devotion in Gin's gaze."Cool," he said choking up a little. He tried to compose himself, because this was not how one reacted when offered friendship, dammit!"Yup." She smiled. Gin returned to eating and was about to take a big bite of the stale bread when he heard her giggle."What?" He asked."I like when you smile. Improves your look a lot." Immediately his cheeks coloured. "Makes you look real cute."Gin's cheeks coloured further. "We-well maybe I didn' 'ave reason to smile before now," he said. Stammering. "Maybe I didn' have friends before." He took a big bite of the bread and chewed. Shit he hadn't meant to say that.She just smiled softly, "Maybe I didn't either."Gin beamed back and looked at the remains of their 'feast' still hungry. "You want to get some more?""Definitely," Rangiku replied happy that she had a partner in crime now. "Oh, and you can stop blushing like a maid now," she added playfully."Shu'up." he shot back, grinning.She sighed, her laughter dying down. "Though you'll make some girl really happy one day, if you keep smiling like that."Gin scowled at her. Really, romance was the last thing on his mind. Surviving the horrors of the Rukon took priority."Or maybe a nice man..." she mused. Gin playfully threw his slice of the stale bread at her and the pair of them burst out laughing.