Authors Note:
First of all: This is my very first fanfiction and I feel like I cound greatly improve my writing skill if I got some productive feedback. Tell me what I did wrong and what I could do better. (And of course, tell me if you like it.)
I furthermore liked to apologize if there are any awkward sounding phrases (please point them out to me), because I'm no natural English speaker.
This fic was inspired by Gordon Lifghtfoot's song: Talking in Your Sleep (hence the title ;) )
I hope that you will enjoy this short story as much as I enjoyed writing it (very much!^^).
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters. They are all property to Kubo-sensei.
Talking in Your Sleep
It was one of these days again.
One of these days when he would cough up blood more often than usual, chained to his futon, because his body – set aflame by fever – was too weakened to carry out routine tasks as standing up, walking over to his desk and caring for the pile of paperwork left there by his third officers.
Speaking of which, although his officers were always very concerned about his well being and tried to make his ''suffering" as comfortable as possible, they failed at giving him the rest his body needed so desperately to recover.
Their constant bickering over small things like bringing him a new cup of tea left a tiny but restless ache in Jūshirō's head. It left him unable to sleep for a longer period of time and his officers bursting into his room every 1-2 hours didn't help either.
Just when he finally was about to fall to sleep the door to his room opened and Kiyone and Sentarō walked into the room. The both kneeled in front of him and Kiyone spoke up: ''Ukitake-taicho. I want to inform you..'', but was interrupted by her male counterpart ''I saw him first, so I should be the one to tell Ukitake-taicho, don't you think?'' Kyone loudly started to protest and the usually calm captain of the 13th division felt like losing his patience when his officers started fighting and drifting farther and farther away from the reason they originally came for.
He was about to open his mouth to tell them to finally shut up and let him rest when he felt the most familiar reiatsu he knew mingle with his own and calming his nerves. Only one particular person's reiatsu had this effect on him and Jūshirō felt himself relaxing as it approached.
When this comforting feeling was nearly at it's highest and he could almost taste the other reiatsu signature the door to his room gently eased open and a deep baritone voice rumbled with laughter. Jūshirō's officers fell dead silent. ''Yare, yare... I could have introduced myself alone. You didn't have to do that for me. Over that you really shouldn't make such a fuss over Ukitake-kun. He needs to rest.''
This warm but unmistakeably commanding sentence made Sentarō and Kyone scramble out of the room and mutter apologetically but when the door closed behind them and the tall brown haired man had stepped inside the room both captains could hear them quietly arguing again and hurrying away.
Jūshirō laid his eyes on his friend and fellow captain and sighed. ''Thank you Shunsui. I don't know how long I would have survived that'' and the addressed shinigami chuckled while he could only manage a tired smile.
''I really would have come sooner, but Nanao-chan made me do all the paperwork I left the last two days when I came to visit you.'' Shunsui chuckled again, when he slipped off his sandals and strolled over to the other man lying on the futon in one corner of the room. He looked warmly at his friend and knelt down beside him to feel the sick shinigami's temperature. ''Ukitake-kun! You are almost burning!''
Jūshirō frowned and threw his friend a scolding look. ''Leave the formal addressing where it belongs. In public. My officers are gone, dammit, so don't act as if we don't know each other for centuries...''
Shunsui grinned from ear to ear and lifted his hand to first smooth out the crease between the other one's eyes and then ruffle through his waist long white hair. ''Aw, Ju... Don't be so mean to me, I'm only joking'' Then his brow furrowed and he moved his hand – still touching white strands – to the other one's forehead and he exclaimed: ''But you seriously are far too hot – and sticky if I might add – so you go take a cool bath and then sleep!''
Jūshirō threw his friend a death glare. ''You might not have noticed it but I'm not really in the condition to move around let alone walk to the bathroom alone.'' – ''Well, then I'll help you,'' Shunsui simply stated and grabbed the startled shinigami under his arms and lifted him effordlessly up into his arms.
Shunsui frowned and his eyes filled with concern when his hand situated itself on the white haired man's waist. ''Ju... I really think you should eat more, you feel as fragile as if I could snap you in half like a twig'' And indeed the other man's weight felt not as much as the times when he had to carry his friend before.
He walked to the rather tiny bathroom with the small bathtub and sat Jūshirō carefully inside. ''I think you can manage the rest well, I'm going to make some tea. I'll be back in twenty minutes.'' He flashed his friend a last gentle smile, left the room and shut the door quietly behind him.
Jūshirō sat motionless in the cold and empty bathtub. He already missed his friend's warm hands. While he undressed he thought about his relationship with the taller, brown haired shinigami. They had overstepped the borders of friendship to something indefinite neither of them could quite catch. They were closer than friends even than brothers and they felt empty without at least a trace of the other's reiatsu mingling with theirs. They would be most comfortable wrapped up in each other's soul wavelengths. But were they lovers? They never had more extended physical contact than a sloppy drunk kiss in their early academy days when they were both frustrated and depressed and decided to drown themselves in sake. But Jūshirō couldn't deny the attraction he held for the other man. He was after all extremely handsome and a loving and caring person.
He sighed and let the water flow into the tub. There was no way that Shunsui felt the same things, after all, he still chased Ise-san's and every other woman's skirt around Seireitei. When the water started flowing around his body he looked at himself. He was bony and slim, though he had some wiry and hard muscle. He wasn't as fragile as one could think but every time he was confronted with the heap of pure muscle and masculinity that was Shunsui he found himself looking weaker even if he could hold up in battle with his friend.
The lukewarm water now filled most of the tub and Jūshirō turned off the tab, laid back and relaxed. He almost felt his body temperature sink to a pleasant one. The distraction of the water stilled his thoughts when he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
After Shunsui had made two cups of steaming green tea, he went back to The other one's room and carefully placed the cups on the small table next to the futon. He then waked to the narrow dresser on the backside of the room, opened the door and picked out one of Jūshirō's favorite sleeping kimonos, a black one with a soft green leaf-pattern all over it. He tucked it under his arms and made his way over to the door leading to the bath. He knocked and when he didn't receive an answer he eased open the door quietly and smiled when he spotted the form of his sleeping friend in the tub, completely unmoving and totally relaxed.
He put the kimono next to the tub on a small closet and grabbed one of the fluffy white towels he knew Jūshirō had in there. He stood next to the tub and gently tapped the sleeping man's shoulder who slowly opened his eyes and let a tired and happy smile grace his features.
Shunsui smiled back. ''Do you feel better now?'' - ''I do, but now I'm so tired that I don't want to move...''
Shunsui chuckled. ''That is not the problem. Pull out the plug and let me do the rest.'' Jūshirō did as he was told and when the water had drained away he was wrapped in one of his favorite towels and slowly lifted out of the tub. Shunsui set him on the edge of it and started rubbing him dry. When Shunsui reached his hair Jūshirō spoke up: ''Why do you do that?'' His voice was quiet an nearly trembling. '''Cause I love ya, dont'cha know?'' Jūshirō's heart nearly stopped when he heard these words but with one quick glimpse in Shunsui's laughing face he realized that it was just one of his usual jokes. ''Of course... Thank you.'' He sounded a bit disappointed but Jūshirō missed the almost sad look on Shunsui's face.
When the smaller shinigami was mostly dry Shunsui took the kimono and wrapped it around Jūshirō's naked form and picked him up again. He felt the other one snuggling against his chest and burying his face in the fabric of his haori. Sunsui smiled down at his friend, threaded his hand through thick white strands and started stroking him. The tea forgotten, he made his way over to the futon and was about to lay down the other man when Jūshirō's grip tightened on his haori and he heard him whisper. ''Don't go, please. Just don't go.''
Shunsui looked into the face of the most important person in his life and made the decision he hoped he wouldn't regret. He bent down and pressed a single gentle kiss on Jūshirō's forehead. ''I won't go. I'll never go,'' and he lowered both his and Jūshirō's body on the futon and rolled onto his back so that the white haired man was nuzzled to his side.
He left his eyes open so that he could watch the slighter male smiling up to him and closing his eyes. Soon after that Jūshirō's breathing evened out and he was fast asleep. Shunsui lifted his hand to tuck some strands of soft white hair behind Jūshirō's ear and noticed that he still wasn't back to his normal temperature. Well, – he thought – sleep should cure it completely.
He closed his eyes and when he was just about to fall asleep, too, he felt Jūshirō shift next to him and muttering something. Shunsui opened his eyes again to see a soft smile on the still sleeping man's lips when Jūshirō spoke again.
''I Love ya, Shun.''
Dark lashes lowered over dark eyes and Shunsui smiled.
''I know my heart. I love you, too.''