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Tonight

Shunsui x Nanao (ShuNa?)

A New Years(ish) Song Fic(ish) - Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton

If Nanao hadn't thought about going to the party before, she certainly was now.

As it was, the tenth division fukutaichou had orchestrated a large gathering of every operating shinigami (and she suspected non-shinigami alike) to celebrate the ending of a decidedly terrible year. A sort of good riddance celebration more than a New Years one - which Nanao planned on spending in a more traditional way and with what she hoped would be far less alcohol.

Honestly, when Rangiku had come to her about the party in the first place a week prior, she'd already known in her mind that she wasn't going to attend. Not that she had any problem with it being held, or that the reason behind it wasn't a good one, which might on it's own have been a rather large shock, considering her busty blonde friend could and would make up just about any reason to consume alcohol in large amounts with equally as many people. It was just that Nanao wasn't much for the social scene, and hadn't attended many celebrations that weren't mandatory or having something to do with the SWA.

All of this however, had been decided before her taichou had shown up on her doorstep, a lazy smile gracing his lips and wearing a very nice deep pink shaded button down shirt and slacks. She wasn't confused by his arrival, nor was she particularly surprised. . . she was, however, slightly annoyed.

"Nanao-chan!" He grinned, going down for a kiss. Nanao side-stepped him easily, and was in mid-back step when it registered that Shunsui meant to take the opportunity to allow himself easy access into her home. . . Which he did.

"Sir." She stated, sending a piercing gaze as he walked to a bookshelf and absentmindedly shuffled through it. He turned back with another smile.

"Well, my lovely Nanao-chan, that is not appropriate party ware." He pouted a little for effect as he examined her pajamas.

"That is because I'm not attending a party." She shot back. He tsked.

"Of course you are!" He smiled, "my Nanao-chan should get out more, and what better way than by the side of her taichou and attending the largest party we've held in months?"

Which, though Shunsui knew she would not speak of, would also be the first real gathering since the war. A nice reminder that they'd been extraordinary lucky to have as many returning bodies as they had, and a remembrance to those they did not. She wouldn't speak of it, but he'd been around longer, and knew how to address such things.

"I'm not your Nanao." She muttered.

"Please Nanao-chan?" He smiled, it was charming and warm and solemn enough for her to get the drift of his thoughts. "It'll be nice to feel like we're living again."

Nanao wanted to deny him and push him out the door, but his words were true. Between the stress of work, and he having been gone, and she having been missing in action, feeling helpless as she watched him fight, and secretly very scared, this might be nice. And not just for them, but for everyone. She sighed in exasperation - in hopes that he wouldn't catch on to her melancholy - and muttered a simple "Fine." Which had him grinning ear to ear.

"Well then, go get ready lovely Nanao-chan~"

He followed her into her bedroom and had sense enough to sit on her bed and not follow her into her closet.

For a couple of minutes at least.

When she'd been in there for over fifteen, he'd decided that a slap on the wrist wouldn't be so bad, and if he got lucky, she might not even be fully clothed.

"Nanao-chan?" He asked, sticking his head in, aware that Nanao was small and able to fit into small-ish places. . . he was not. What he saw made him smile a secret smile.

Nanao blushed red to match her dress, and Shunsui wasn't even concerned that it was the blush of anger, and not embarrassment. The dress was simple, dipping modestly in the front and less so in the back and of a material that gave it a more casual appeal. Her hair was down, and surprised as he was, Shunsui did not comment on the fact that she looked like she was deciding whether or not to put light make-up on. She put her glasses back on and fiddle with them slightly in a way Shunsui knew meant she was uncomfortable. He wasn't sure is she herself was aware of the fact.

"Do I look alright?" She finally asked, looking haughtily off to the side. He chuckled.

"Yes, you look wonderful."

It's late in the evening; she's wondering what clothes to wear.

She'll put on her make-up and brushes her long black hair.

And then she asks me, "Do I look all right?"

And I say, "Yes, you look wonderful tonight."

The walk was mostly in a silence of the comfortable kind. Shunsui had convinced Nanao to leave her hair out of it's usual up-do. Not that she looked much different, but the change was nice and he spent a large part of the walk admiring how silky and free it looked swaying as she walked and with the light wintery wind. Nanao seemed unconcerned with the staring, or was pointedly trying to ignore it in the hopes that, he thought, he would stop. He wasn't going to, but he grinned down at her to let her think she'd caught him. He was met with an eye roll.

When they got to the party Nanao spotted Rangiku.

"I'll be back shortly taichou." She stated. He chuckled.

"We aren't working Nanao-chan." He reminded lightly. She frowned.

"It would be improper for me to address you as anything else."

"It would also be improper for you to hit me with books and fans-" He grinned teasingly. She huffed.

"-Without good reason." And satisfied that the fight had been won she made her way to Rangiku

As she walked away Shunsui observed more than a few lingering gazes in her direction. He couldn't say he blamed them, though he certainly didn't appreciate it.

"I'm surprised,"

Shunsui turned around to see Juushiro heading toward him.

"I didn't think you'd get her to come." He finished lightly. Shunsui held a hand to his chest.

"I'm hurt you have so little faith in me." He grinned. Juushiro chuckled in return.

"And hair down, dressed up, no less."

"I think she does it just to tempt me." Shunsui sighed, throwing a weathered look in his fukutaichou's direction.

"You haven't given her any reason to try and tempt you, I'm sure she did it for everyone else's benefit." His friend chuckled.

"I compliment her all the time." He muttered, pouting.

"You play around." Juushiro corrected, patting his friend sympathetically on the back. "You might consider getting back to her now; seems they're flocking."

"We'll be talking further about this problem later." Shunsui grinned, leaving his friend behind him. He was fairly sure he'd heard something of a sigh and part of an 'I know' as he left. When he got back to Nanao's side she scrutinized him for a moment, seeming to think something might have been off, which wasn't far from the truth as he stood their thinking of ways to make her see. . .

"Do you feel alright?" She asked.

"Yes, I feel wonderful." He answered truthfully.

. . . that he loved her.

We go to a party and everyone turns to see

This beautiful lady that's walking around with me.

And then she asks me, "Do you feel all right?"

And I say, "Yes, I feel wonderful tonight."

I feel wonderful because I see

The love light in your eyes.

And the wonder of it all

Is that you just don't realize how much I love you.

The strange thing about war is that it has a tendency to put certain things into perspective. For Kyoraku Shunsui it wasn't so much that the battle had put things together for him. As it was, Shunsui was not young, not naive (in all aspects, most would tell you) and not ignorant of the hardships of war - Which was, in part, why he did not allow his young fukutaichou to participate when it came time to make their ways to the front line - because he'd been in battles before, and he'd made many mistake, too. One of the mistakes he'd made and also his greatest regret, was sending his previous fukutaichou out one-hundred years ago. And while seeing her did not alleviate his guilt in all the ways it had accumulated over the years. It made him realize that where Lisa had taken a situation, she had grown from it and moved forward with it. His joy to see her alive had only been one of the joys she'd presented him with in their brief reunion, and in a way, as he leaned heavily on Nanao, tipsy from a night of drinking, and warm, hovering over her body, and not alone in the crisp air, he was glad that Lisa had been there on the battle field, to remind him that great things happen very unexpectedly. Like living when one felt dead.

"Taichou, if I'd known I was going to be your designated babysitter, I would have stayed home." Nanao muttered, her tone betraying the lightheartedness Shunsui knew she was feeling, he'd seen her enjoying herself. Laughing and smiling, and even drinking a little. Surprisingly enough, it seemed she held her liquor rather well. He chuckled deeply resting his head on top of her own as she guided his footsteps.

"You had fun Nanao-chan." He stated. She stopped slightly and he bumped into her enough to jostle him.

"You're right." She stated after a moment, nodding her head so that her hair tickled his chin.

The remaining walk was silent, Shunsui was not as exhausted as it appeared that Nanao was. She opened his door, leading him the familiar route through his house to his room, like she'd done so many times when she brought him home drunk, and set him down on the bed.

"Nanao-chan." He stated, patting the bed. She sat down properly and gave him a quizzical look. "I'm not nearly as drunk as I could be, and you're exhausted," he smiled. She gazed sleepily at him. "Stay here tonight, I'll take you home tomorrow morning."

Nanao knew somewhere deep down that the walk home was much faster with shunpo, and that even if she stayed, there was a perfectly good couch, and she wasn't so tired that she couldn't get up and go to it. And as she lied down, finding the covers and putting them over herself, she knew that sleeping in a dress would wrinkle it, and this was highly improper. And as she closed her eyes and fell asleep, she knew most everything about the type of man Kyoraku Shunsui was, and that this was his house, his room and his bed.

"Goodnight my Nanao-chan," His voice was warm and sounded like it hinted at a smile, "you were wonderful tonight." There was a click of the light.

And Nanao just knew she should have said she wasn't his.

It's time to go home now and I've got an aching head,

So I give her the car keys and she helps me to bed.

And then I tell her, as I turn out the light,

I say, "My darling, you were wonderful tonight.

Oh my darling, you were wonderful tonight."

I would be lying if I didn't say this was hard to write, but there you go; my first song fic. :3 (kind of :P) I heard this song originally when I was about five years old and again about two weeks ago, and I've been reading a lot of Shunsui x Nanao for a couple of weeks also, so I guess my brain is in that weird nerdy-ness where I just automatically connect songs with fictional couples -.-

I regret nothing.

The song is a country song, and while I personally like it, if county makes you gauge your ears out like apparently it does for some people, I'd just as well advice you not to listen to it. :P I hope you like the fic regardless. Sorry for OOC-ness and cliche-ness. I'll work on that at another time. ^^

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