I can't honestly say exactly how long this one has been sitting around, other than to point somewhere shortly after the canon events mentioned occurred. Looking over it, quite randomly, I decided to polish it up a bit and post. It was originally supposed to be longer and more dramatic, but it has now become just another silly of mine. :)

DISCONNECT

This most unexpected of events posed quite the emotional conundrum, being both oddly simple and quite difficult to absorb all at once. Rose sat behind a desk he'd never thought to see again, seeking the best frame of mind in which to contemplate this newest of many strange occurrences in his life. That he found himself decidedly out of sorts held little surprise, he supposed.

He ran a hand along the smooth white cloth draped across his lap, folded in such a way that the pale green lining did not show, not ready yet to pull it into place across his shoulders. Soon enough, the start of the working day would require it of him, but the captain's haori of the Third would stay were it was until then. Perhaps things would normalize with the passage of time, though he did find himself already rather taken with his young lieutenant. It occurred to him to ask Kensei and Shinji if they suffered the same odd emotional disconnect, but he held no illusions that either would give him a truthful answer.

"You know, I heard Byakuya referred to his old captain's haori as cheap," Jushiro said with amusement. The sickly captain stepped into his office through the open door and stood on the far side of Rose's desk, come to visit like an old friend. Beside him, posture much less perfected, lounged Shunsui, hat tipped behind his head and floral kimono atop his uniform as flamboyant as ever. How one managed to lounge while on their feet, Rose was unsure.

A smirk played across Shunsui's generous mouth as he added to the conversation. "The way I hear it, our sweet little Captain Kuchiki voiced his opinion several times."

Rose huffed a faint laugh and shook his head. He had never known the boy before things went sour all those years ago, not beyond vague knowledge of him as the aging Ginrei's grandson. "Well, it is not precisely the very best quality cloth," Rose said, his gaze remaining trained on the white draped across his legs, "so I can't really fault him for that. However, I fail to see the reasoning behind wearing anything more expensive when one goes into battle."

The laugh that garnered from Shunsui was robust, but quickly tempered by a sharp elbow to the ribcage by Jushiro. "Perhaps it's better we not question it," Jushiro said with a smile, folding his hands into the wide sleeves of his own brilliantly white haori. "I think it's a matter only the exorbitantly wealthy can truly comprehend."

Finally lifting his gaze to survey his guests, Rose offered them the barest of smiles, his expression still much more heavily weighted with his usual mien of boredom. "Probably," he agreed. "It's certainly never anything I've considered before, myself."

A soft patter of approaching footsteps heralded the arrival of his new lieutenant, the somber Izuru Kira. "Captain—" his lieutenant began as he stepped into the mostly bare office. A bit surprised to find himself in the company of three men holding the rank, he quickly added a name, "—Otoribashi, there's an urgent division matter that requires your attention."

Shifting his gaze from his fellow captains onto his lieutenant, Rose offered the younger shinigami a look he hoped displayed at least a touch of curiosity. He knew from years of annoyed comments that his was not the easiest of faces to read. "How urgent is it?"

Izuru paused, staring down the man that was his new captain. Much to Rose's amusement, the question took him quite obviously off guard. All things considered, Rose was also fairly certain that there really could not be anything too terribly desperate for his attention. With the fall of Aizen and his henchmen, there really was not much instance of Gotei captains being required for anything outside of paperwork. It made his day increasingly boring, honestly. At least in the living world he had access to his guitar and the latest manga whenever he wanted them. Though, he considered, bringing along his guitar to the office to fill in the quieter moments would not necessarily be entirely against protocol.

Further contemplation of the idea was put on hold when Izuru successfully leaped the mental hurdle, small as it was, Rose had thrown at him. "Urgent enough to require your immediate attention, sir," Izuru said. His blue eyes shifted quickly over Captains Ukitake and Kyoraku before returning to Rose. "I suppose it would keep, though, if you have business to finish beforehand."

A pair of chuckles rose from Jushiro and Shunsui, accompanying the small smirk that played across Rose's mouth. "Only mostly urgent, then, rather than entirely so," he said. "Jushiro, Shunsui, maybe you can seek me out later to finish this chat. It seems my attention is required by my division."

Those words still hit him oddly, like a hard fist slammed into his gut or a tight squeeze over his heart that threatened to pop the organ. Certainly not words he'd ever expected to say again, whatever strange and imaginary punishment his viscera decided to inflict upon him.

"Of course," Jushiro said with his customary smile, hands disappearing into the wide sleeves of his haori.

"Dinner at the old standby?" Shunsui asked Rose before Jushiro could turn them toward the office door where Izuru still lurked. He quirked one thick, dark brow upward and scratched at the scruff lining his jaw. "We've already badgered Shinji into it."

"And Kensei?" Rose asked in return, standing from his seat and pulling on his haori in a smooth sweep of fabric. The drape across the broad stretch of his shoulders and down the length of his lanky frame was better than he remembered in the cut of the old one, so long ago. He hadn't had much time to let that old one settle, honestly, though. Luck, so far, seemed to dictate that perhaps he'd be wearing this new one a good deal longer. "I'm certain you've at least asked him, but I do wonder if you managed to coax him along, as well?"

Shunsui let loose an inelegant snort as Jushiro quietly laughed. "You guess right, Rose," Jushiro said. "And no, we were unsuccessful in getting him to join us."

"Unsurprising," Rose replied."I don't think anyone has ever managed to talk that man into anything of the sort in all the time I've known him. Unless, of course, it was his idea in the first place—and that rarely happens." He shook his head, reminded of the shortened length of his hair when it touched off a bit of lightheadedness.

As Rose placed a bracing hand to his temple, Shunsui swept around the desk and caught him by the arm. "Come along, now, Rose," he said, pulling him toward the door and his waiting lieutenant. "Your men await you."

Rose arched one brow and smirked at the older captain. "And the women?"

"Ah, yes," Shunsui replied in a manner frighteningly similar to a purr, his face pulling into a lascivious mask of prurient suggestion. "I'm sure they're waiting, too. Let's go inspect them, shall we?"

While Kira's cheeks took on a decidedly pink tinge and Jushiro simply rolled his eyes, Rose made a show of looking around the room before answering. "You're quite lucky to be out of earshot of your own lieutenant after a comment like that, Shunsui. However did you manage it?"

He nearly stumbled as Shunsui's arm swung up and around his shoulders, yanking him in closer to the much more muscular frame with ease. "Now don't go and ruin my moment of luck, Rose!" he exclaimed, as if completely unaware of his strength. "Give her even the slightest whiff of a hint that I've said or done something and I'll be at the mercy of my sweet Nanao's corrections!" There was a long pause, quickly followed by, "On second thought, feel free to say a little more."

Rose shared a beleaguered glance with Jushiro before he was dragged from the room.