This is a very silly bit I wrote just to make myself smile. It's completely divergent from any and all canon. It's just for happy

Rangiku watched Gin leave a table full of Nanao's close relatives. He was grinning hugely, and they were looking annoyed. Neither was surprising. They really shouldn't have invited him if they didn't want to be insulted, embarrassed or some combination thereupon. But then there probably wasn't any way not to invite the groom's father to the wedding.

Kinta married, the very idea made her cringe. Of course she'd seen it coming, everyone had. Like his father, Kin-chan had had eyes for exactly one girl. Aiko really had done her best to discourage him. She was a sensible, career-minded girl much like her mother, and Kin-chan, well, the best that could be said for him was that he was a very likable underachiever. In the end, it turned out there was one thing Kin-chan was willing to work for: Aiko. And like every other member of his family, when he put his mind to something he found a way to make it happen.

And Rangiku was happy for her son; she really was. And she loved Aiko, and having Nanao and Shuhei for in-laws would be fun, but really, she wasn't nearly old enough to have a married son. It wasn't right.

Gin finally returned to their table and he sat down next to Shiba, grinning. "Hello, Shiba-kun," he said pleasantly. "Maybe you can tell me because I haven't been able to work it out, are all the Kyorakus and Ises etc. more annoyed at me because I'm irritating or because they're actually having to treat a commoner like an equal?"

"I'm sure you're irritating enough that they've forgotten you're from Rukongai," Kaien answered. "I know I couldn't care less."

"Thanks for that," Gin answered, patting Kaien on the back. "I appreciate it."

Then he noticed the empty space beside Rangiku and asked, "Where has Yuki gotten to?"

Rangiku looked around. Her daughter was not exactly known for being social. She wouldn't have run off to be with the other young people.

"She's flirting with Kuchiki," Toshiro said in annoyance. He was sitting on the other side of Yuki's empty place, leaning on one elbow and glaring across the room.

Rangiku turned, following Toshiro's gaze across the hall to where Kuchiki Byakuya sat with his sister, several other painfully important people, and poor Renji. Her daughter was also sitting at the table, looking so beautiful it was almost painful. She was as pale as her father, and her hair was like a sheet of ice, perfectly straight and so long it touched the floor when she sat. It was drawn back out of her face with silver combs set with blue stones, combs Rangiku would not be surprised to find Gin had 'borrowed' from the World of the Living--he had a terrible habit of spoiling the girl. Yuki's face had her father's angles without the harsh edge, and she had her mother's wide gray eyes. She held her head like a queen and showed as much emotion as Byakuya himself. However she was not speaking to him. In fact, she seemed to be pointedly ignoring him as she spoke to his sister.

"She's not flirting with Byakuya," Rangiku protested. Toshiro had really scared her for a minute there. "She's not paying any attention to him at all."

"How do you think you flirt with Kuchiki?" Toshiro asked. "Be the only woman in all of Soul Society who dares look down her nose at him. She's driving him out of his mind."

Rangiku's eyes went to Byakuya. He was watching Yuki out the corner of his eye as he spoke to some noble or other. She could see it in the slight downturn to the corner of his mouth; he was definitely annoyed. She really hoped Toshiro was wrong and that was not the first step to attracting a Kuchiki.

"Well, that's easy enough to fix. I'll kill him," Gin declared, and if Rangiku hadn't caught hold of his arm he would have jumped to his feet.

"You think I didn't think of that?" Toshiro said. "You'd be playing right into her hand. Her dad or her brother tries to tell him she's off limits, and she'll be irresistible. There's never been anything he's ever been told he can't have in his entire life."

Gin's smile faded from his face. "Killing him is sounding more and more like the only solution," he said.

Toshiro shrugged. "Just don't make a scene. It's Kin-chan's wedding. Leave that to him."

Rangiku turned her attention to the extremely boisterous table of the bride and groom. Traditionally, they would sit on somber display in layers of uncomfortable silk clothing--to show off the wealth of their various families, Rangiku supposed. She had never before seen a really happy couple at a noble wedding, but Kin-chan probably wasn't even aware he wasn't behaving according to expectations.

Kin-chan had an arm around Aiko, and she looked more than a little drunk herself, what with the way she was leaning against him and looking up at him with a ridiculous doe-eyed expression. Kin-chan was definitely drunk and he was talking with great enthusiasm to a dozen of his closest friends, and anyone else willing to get drunk with him, which just happened to include his grandfather-in-law, Captain Kyoraku. It was, Rangiku was sure, in the minds of the noble half of the family, a terrible scene.

"I can't believe Kin-chan's going to be a noble," Toshiro said, as he watched his younger brother guzzle sake direct from the bottle. "On the other hand, his resemblance to Captain Kyoraku is frightening."

"You should join them, Ran, while there's still sake to go around," Gin suggested. "The rate they're going it's not going to last long."

"I'm good here," Rangiku answered.

"But you haven't had any sake," Gin protested, picking up one of the bottles on the table. "Here, let me--"

Rangiku's hand went over her cup. "I said I'm good," she said firmly.

Gin froze, and Toshiro sighed.

"Ran, that's not even funny as a joke," Gin said, finally.

Rangiku turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "When was the last time I joked about sake?"

"Rangiku, you know I would die for you, but if you think you're going to talk me into another baby at this point, when we're finally--" He broke off at her expression. "You're not trying to talk me into it, are you?"

"Have you ever heard the human saying, 'it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission'?" She offered.

Gin sighed. "And here I was thinking in another decade or two I'd be old enough to spend my days napping on the division roof."

"You did that last week," Toshiro felt it necessary to point out. "It took Kira four hours to find you."

"But I planned to take it up full time, maybe even work up a tolerance for sake, get a round hat--you know, the whole Kyoraku retirement plan."

"You'd be bored inside a week," Rangiku told him. "My plan is much better."

"How are midnight feedings and dirty diapers preferable to napping all day while Kira cries over paperwork?"

"When did you ever do any of that? It's going to be so much fun, Gin. We'll get to be Mommy and Daddy again, and we'll just spoil the new baby to within an inch of its life! It'll be just like before when we were young and everything was crazy. It'll be so much more fun than just giving up and getting old and fat and boring, and only having grandchildren to look forward to."

Toshiro groaned. "Oh, God, somebody mentioned grandchildren to you, didn't they?"

"That doesn't have anything to do with anything, and it isn't any of your business anyway," Rangiku snapped, and then she turned back to Gin, looking a little worried as she looked into his face. "What do you think?"

"Why not?" He said, smiling hugely. "If Ran-chan's happy, I'm happy. Besides, you're right, kids are great entertainment."