Title: Dress Up

Author: NotebookPaper

Pairing: ShunsuixNanao

Notes: Written for the ShunsuixNanao Challenge

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, nor Shunsui's coveted pink Haori. Damn.

With a final straightening of her glasses Nanao appraised the pile of completed papers with a certain pride. It was hard not to be proud whenever she tackled a good chunk of work, even if it was all rather mundane. Today's stack of paper work had not been quite as large as those in the past. The proof of that was the sunlight outside, which meant that if there were no catastrophies -because they weren't as few nor as far between as some might think or hope- she would have the rest of the day to herself. All she had to do was make sure that there weren't any of those catastrophies, and that was by far the hardest hump of the day to overcome. But Nanao was a thorough worker and thus she would do it,

Walking from her office and making her way to her captain's quarters, Nanao wondered just what would greet her eyes when she made it there. Would her captain be sprawled out on his floor, a random female shinigami giggling above him as he faked being overpowered for the sake of looking down her black robes? This first scenario made her close her eyes and point her nose towards the ground in annoyance as she walked, even though she knew it wasn't very likely he would be playing such games this time of day. It was possible, but not as likely as finding him asleep on the floor, rolled to one side with his head propped up in his hand, the other arm draped lazily over his upturned side, his pink haori open just enough to allow a small view of his chest. And why did she recall this position in perfect detail? It was absurd, and she knew it, that the loose posture of her superior made such a lucid picture in her mind. Hell, with any luck she'd find him actually working. Why wasn't that the first image to flit over her mind's eye? Wasn't it normal for a woman who just wanted, secretly, to be off work for the day to think hopefully of her superior being too wrapped up in his affairs to pester her with more work, or, worse yet, his flirting? Thinking of him being asleep was not the most opportune of circumstances, considering her captain slept like a rock when nothing terrible happened.

But either way, for now she would just attribute the asinine thought to her knowledge that she'd never really seen Shunsui hard at work on more than a few scant occasions. She was near disbelieving the man could really work, despite the fact that he did always seem to complete what labor was meant for him. Maybe, just maybe he would be scratching away at his abundance of papers as she did on a daily basis.

Hopeful this would be realized, as it would also mean she'd be able to leave rather hastily, she knocked on the door to his office. No one answered, and she sighed, sliding the door open to peek. So much for hoping. Shunsui was most definitely lazing in the sun that filtered through his window, the light behind him throwing the front of his body that faced the door into shadow. His wavy ponytail laid across the bicep of the arm that propped his head up, one of the only parts of him that caught the sun and shined in her vision. Notably, the wavy locks caught her attention.

"Taichou?" she asked quietly, coming fully into the room as she observed him.

He didn't move or make a noise in response. Neither was he snoring, which was her first sign that he was probably awake and trying to toy with her. She could swear that as she got closer the corners of his lips twitched, but it was such a tiny movement she wouldn't have been able to steadily call him on it. Quietly she continued towards him and felt her palm itch with anticipation as she brought herself down to her knees. He wasn't going to get one over on her today. No, she'd get to him first.

She leaned down a little closer and whispered, "Taichou?" not too far from his face, reaching her hand towards the side of his neck.

As soon as his eyelids twitched, a forced action she knew was meant to make him look as if he were just waking, she grabbed his ponytail and pulled it once. Hard.

He yelped and the arm that had risen from his side -which had been headed towards her back with doubtable intentions- shot to his head as he sat up.

"Shunsui Taichou should not be sleeping when he has work to do," she said through slightly grinted teeth, unwillingly feeling the ghost of the touch on her back he might have given her if she had not acted on pulling his shiny ponytail.

"Nanao-chan, you are truly cruel."

"I am truly finished with my work for today, Taichou. I came to tell you that I will retire for the day if you do not have any need of my services."

"Why, Nanao-chan, I am always in need of the services of-"

"Workwise, Taichou."

The man with the scruffy chin locked his gaze on her for a moment, then rubbed his stubble in defeat. His eyes closed as if it were hopeless and he rocked his way up to his feet, his absurd haori rustling with his movements.

"Straight laced as usual. Nanao-chan should loosen up."

"If there is nothing I will leave now," she finally stood, looking out the window and anywhere but at that man's handsome face. It was far too strange that such a ruggedly beautiful man could don such childish qualities and still flood a room with his virility. Strange and unnerving. Nanao clenched her fist and began her trek to the door. She was halted when the all too exuberant voice of her captain sounded behind her.

"That's perfect, Nanao-chan! I was just planning on taking a break myself. Where are we going?"

'Ever the pursuer. Does he know that he's toying with me?' Nanao cast a disdainful look at her Taichou, straightening her glasses just so she might appear to be trying to hide it. Shunsui was an anomaly; no matter how many times she seemed to doubt his leadership and make her irritation all too appearent he never showed the slightest desire to reprimand her. Of course all the thirteen captains had their odd points, but it was never far from her mind that Shunsui was her superior. That knowledge made hiding her distaste second-nature.

As well as hiding her feelings for the man, for that was far from proper as well.

She riveted her eyes back to the door. "I am going to my quarters. You may go wherever you please, Taichou." That was a mistake. She could practically feel the cocksure eyes and smirk on her back before he relapsed into his childish exuberance.

"That's great! Then I shall accompany you, Nanao-chan. Surely my company will cheer you for a while. You're always so tense after work."

And what could she say? Sure, it wasn't proper to have her Captain in her quarters, but how could she refuse him without insult or suspicsion? She had nothing, tangible, to hide, nor was she on any sort of bad terms with her Taichou his daily antics aside. And so, he ended up following her to her door, which she slid open unabashed, her face set into a forced calm as she walked in, her eyes closed. Perhaps if he was bored he would leave soon, and she was determined to ignore him to find the truth in that assumption.

"Oh, very clean indeed you are, Nanao-chan." She muttered a non-commital "hnm" to his compliment but otherwise remained placid and unresponsive. She walked over to her bookshelf, unaware of her Taichou's eyes on her backside as she knelt to gaze at the volumes on the lowest shelf.

Shunsui raised an eyebrow at her as she walked away from him, his head tilting appreciatively to the side to observe the curve of her derriére when her hakama tightened around her hips. Such a lovely specimen of her gender, something he had known when he first laid eyes on his leuitenant. It was a shame she was so strict with him, or perhaps it was part of the reason he admired her so much more than the average. He pulled his eyes grudgingly away from her and looked around absently as he recalled the many times he sought after her only to be reprimanded by both Nanao and his own inward knowledge of their situation. But lately that had changed.

Ever since the end of the Arrancar and Aizen he'd come to feel matters of propriety were even less of a concern. Whether it was the sudden reality that anyone could die, even in the Soul Society, or some other breaking of his own will to continue a charade he knew it was time to stop. Months ago he would have known to draw the line at entering Nanao's quarters, but Shunsui Kyouraku could no longer deny that he harbored feelings for this woman, nor could he continue to pretend he didn't notice her hidden interest.

Perhaps it was male pride that he wanted her to admit it first.

Coming out of his throughts Shunsui began to feel mischievous. Everything in this place was so neatly organized. Maybe some redecoration would pique Nanao-chan's interest and get her to stop ignoring him? With an inward grin he got straight to work.

For a while Nanao was able to sink into the first ten pages of a novel and delighted in the quiet that persisted behind her. Surely he had left by now? As she was about to rise, taking the clip out of her hair, she heard a rustling. Her locks already unbound and cascading around her shoulders, she glared at the page in front of her, the meaning of the words all but lost to her now. Her shoulders went rigid and she was determined once more to ignore her Captain, even if he was rustling about in her personal things. Well, at least she had nothing to hide.

She refound her place in the novel and continued reading, but every time he did something particularly loud she could feel herself cringe and her shoulders coil even more until she felt as if she would spring loose and the slighest new provocation. A tick developed in her brow and soon her eyes were clenched shut and the hands that held her book dropped to her lap, the pages in sure danger of being ripped if she did not let go soon.

He was having a feild day! Across the room he could feel her reiatsu increase and make the room heavy with her loathing of his actions. What was the most enjoyable part was that he had decided not to really do anything at all. He merely picked up random objects and set them down noisily. Who knew it could incite such a reaction from his Nanao-chan? She was taut as a bow-string! However, he knew he have to stop soon before she ripped her novel or she'd raise all hell.

He glanced around, looking for his final destination when a sort of dresser and mirror caught his eye. Of course she'd need something like this to keep up her impeccable, if endearingly plain, appearance. He smirked and ambled over to investigate. A brush and few clips were all that were already scattered about, so he decided to hunt through some drawers. Like any woman she had some ribbons, a headband or two and random scattered girly things even the most against-fashion-girl somehow aquires, not that Nanao-chan was against fashion or anything. He half wished he could see her in some of these, though he supposed he would always prefer the Nanao he had emblazoned in his mind's eye.

Pulling open the last drawer he found his own interest suddenly piqued. There was some make-up. He was sure that Nanao-chan wore at least some discreet powder everday, but what caught his eye was something of such bold color he had to double-take. He blinked a couple times and pulled out a tube of blood-red lipstick, slamming the drawer shut a little louder than he meant.

Nanao's head snapped up and she dropped her book. It wasn't like she thought of her make-up seriously everyday, not like someone who kept a secret under lock and key at least, but she did keep a good mental inventory of her own living space and the sound of the slammed drawer at her dressing table resounded ominously. She almost didn't dare to look. But she did, and when she saw the man holding up her tube of incriminating lipstick, rubbing his chin with a devious smirk on his face, she almost groaned.

The floor boards almost shook when she approached him, but she wasn't stomping. She was actually rather composed when he looked up at her and grinned, holding out the tube for her. Nanao didn't snatch it like he thought she might, but her eyes narrowed to slits as she crossed her arms.

"What are you doing?"

With a few quick thoughts he turned back to the mirror and, to her horror -which incited an asinine delight in him-, he began to apply some of the stuff.

"Nothing much, Nanao-chan. Don't I look pretty?"

"Aagh! Don't you have any male pride, Taichou!?"

He looked at her as he rubbed his lips together. "Wouldn't you say it takes a man with a vast amount of pride in his manliness to wear a woman's lipstick?" He didn't wait for an answer and turned back to the mirror. After making a few kissy-faces at himself -which made Nanao's jaw drop- his expression turned somewhat sour. "Ugh, but you're right, Nanao-chan. I see it now. It's definitely not my color. Have you any pink? A soft, light one preferably?"

Nanao didn't answer, and merely stared at him, her dignity still intact but an expression that worried for his sanity on her face. Shunsui frowned and sighed, lifting a towel to clean most of the color on his lips.

"No? Pity. This would look much better on you anyhow. Why not put it on?" He handed it to her and she took it numbly, moments passing before she looked down at the object in her hand. She dropped it like it burned, but Shunsui merely picked it up and handed it to her again. Her eyebrows drew down and she opened her mouth to protest, but he interrupted her.

"Didn't you ever play dress up when you were younger, Nanao?" Her eyebrows rose at the comment, and the surprise at the dropped honorific. It surprised her so that she forgot to respond. Thus, he pursued. "You know, to see what you could look like when you didn't have to act like you? Maybe you wanted to be like someone you knew, or just to make yourself different for a time? Didn't you ever play dress up, Nanao?" His tone was serious, and it made her expression drop to one of curious suspicsion as she nodded. He lifted her hand and placed the lip-stick in her fingers once more. "Play it again, Nanao."

She didn't know why the request sounded so foreign to her ears. There was something different in her Captain's voice that made her comply, something she could not figure out as she nervously leaned over him to look in the mirror. Just the fact that he didn't move when she leaned over him caused gooseflesh to ripple over her skin. His hand -which had touched her when he lifted her own- had been warm enough. Now nearly half his back? It was a miracle that she didn't faulter in applying the cosmetic, but when she finished she rubbed her lips together and observed herself in the mirror for a time before she dropped her eyes from the reflection.

Anyone who didn't know her would say it looked simply wonderful on her, and he had to admit that it did, but even with her hair cascading over her shoulders the lip-stick was simply out of place on his Nanao. Yes, he meant his Nanao.

Gently he lifted her chin and dabbed away the make-up, avoiding her eyes for the time being as he spoke.

"Do you know why you play dress-up, Nanao?" He waited for her to shake her head before continuing. "It's so you can appreciate how beautiful you are naturally, Nanao." He loved saying her name.

She loved the way he said her name at such a close proximity, his warm breath so close to her lips that it made her heart pound painfully as he wiped the rest of the make-up away. It was making her forget the difference between serving under him for years and her secret wish to be under him for years.

Wait. Did he mean to say that she was...

"You are beautiful, Nanao." He looked up at her as he dropped the towel and reached his hand into her hair. Her cheeks darkened as he continued, unable to take her eyes away from his. "Gorgeous." He was leaning closer, his voice lowering and becoming even more personal. "Alluring." His hand somehow settled itself firmly on the back of her neck without her knowledge, but she closed her eyes and leaned into him anway, his stubble just close enough to ghost its roughness on her skin. "Breath-taking."

The only one taking breath from someone was him. Even though she was ready for it by now the simple act of kissing Shunsui Kyouraku was so agonizingly perfect that she could barely get herself to breathe through her nose for a time. But she did, and she kissed him with all the enthusiasm she had been holding inside of her for who knew how long. His lips were rough, but strangely welcoming as she pressed harder and pulled herself closer to his body. She came down into his lap, his hands moving methodically over her waist and sides as if he knew exactly how to make her body squirm against him. In reality, he probably did, but that didn't matter at this point. She was blindly losing herself in him as her hands moved over his hair and back.

But then she realized that was most definitely a bad thing. It was against propriety, and their stations. Worst of all, she knew that Shunsui knew that. Why did he toy with her?

She shook her head out of the kiss and tried to scramble away, but when Shunsui did not let go she knew better than to fight it.

"Taichou, I ca-we can't do this. Let me go, Taichou."

"Call me Shunsui, and you know we're perfectly capable, Nanao."

"But this...this fling is against our station!"

"I think I know what our station is, Nanao."

'How can he be so damn calm about it!?' "Then don't you get it?!" Tears stung her eyes, but she would not let them fall. "We can't be together! And I will not allow you to use me. Dismiss me if you like, Kyouraku Taichou, but I will not let you do that to me!"

It was as good as an admission to her love for him as he would get. He was sure now.

Shunsui stared at her where she sat motionless and unresponsive in his lap. She knew he was stonger than he and wouldn't bolt until he let go, so he could stay there all the rest of the day until she realized he did not want to move. Thankfully her ire cooled fast enough and she looked away, attempting to salvage what dignity she had for the time being and listen to whatever he would say so she could make him leave. With any luck, he hoped she would not come to that.

"Who would care, Nanao?" She looked at him, hurt visible in her eyes. He realized he'd phrased himself wrong in light of her last words, and seemlessly remedied the situation. "If we were together, Nanao, who among us would care enough to give us trouble?" Her face cleared, the knowledge of just how rag-tag the thirteen divisions were sinking in, and he took the opportunity to wipe a tear that had escaped from her eye. "I would not use you, Nanao. Nothing even close to it."

His lips pressed against hers again, tentatively now incase she needed more convincing. But she responded to him once again and pulled herself closer to him. It felt perfect when he laid back and she remained atop him, their skin heating, their hands wandering over what they had hoped to touch for so long. Too long, really.

Later, Shunsui traced a calloused finger over her bare arm, idly letting the finger travel over her back and eventually allowing his broad hand to pull her a little closer in the darkness.

"So where'd the lipstick come from anyway?" 'Doesn't seem like something my Nanao would wear."

Nanao's eyes opened lazily. Somewhere in the back of her mind she realized she couldn't focus her vision, but she didn't care to hunt for her glasses at the moment. She kissed his jaw and settled her head against him once more, her eyes closing.

"A gift from Rangiku. I didn't have the heart to throw it away." She smiled into his neck. "If I could have gotten a picture of you wearing it it would have been worth it."

He chuckled, thinking that it was already worth it anyway.