Author's Note: My first fic about these two! I actually hadn't ever planned on writing about them, but more and more, I find myself really seeing myself in Nanao's position, and having just watched ep. 37, I couldn't resist the challenge of these two… but please let me know what you think! And thanks for reading : )
A Drop of Wine and Moonlight
Scene 1:
"More wiiiiiiine, Rangiiiiiiiiiikuuu!" Hiccup!
"Nanao-san, you've probably had enough for tonight," Hinamori counseled. Nanao was never usually like this.
"Wiiiiiiiiiiinnnneee! Come on, Ran… you know… you want a little more… lovely wine… (hiccup!)… don't you, Ran? Let's sing a song, Hinamori… let's sing a song about how we love our lovely wine… it'd go like this… come on, we'll sing together!" Nanao begins to sing off key, while Rangiku and Hinamori look at one another with furrowed brows about how to continue. While thinking, suddenly, the singing stopped. They turned to see why…
Nanao had just fallen out of chair.
"NANAO!" both screamed.
"Hai, hai. I'm fine, I'm fine! But I'm not done with my soooooooong…"
"Oh, yes you are, my darling." A voice said sweetly from the doorway. It was followed by the long shadow of a blurry figure.
"Shunsui-taicho…" Hinamori whispered.
He was such an odd man. With his pink robe, his straw hat, and horse tail for hair, Shunsui-taicho was a rainbow against the black and white clouds of the Gotei 13.
"You ladies have done a great job, but I'll take it from here," he announced as he walked toward her. Kneeling down, he whispered with great care, "Nanao-chaa…"
"I don't need youuu to take me anywhere!" she interrupted with a heavy slur. "I am quite fiiine taking care of myself." Hiccup! Stumbling as she rose, she hoisted herself up with the aid of a nearby chair. Facing him but drooping a little, she said with confidence: "Kyouraku-taicho, I can take care of myself. Now, if you will excuse meeeeee…"
She meant to finish the sentence by flouncing out of the room in front of him. Instead, she made it successfully two steps in front of the chair before collapsing like a bag of potatoes into his arms.
Struggling for only a moment with her sudden weight, he held her and swung her up. Then, as with all chivalrous men who save women, he flashed a bright smile to her friends while whisking her out of the room and down the hall with her leaning against his neck.
"Wonder what he's going to do to her," Rangiku offered.
"Oh, Rangiku-san. Don't say such things," Hinamori answered.
Scene 2:
She knew her eyes were open.
And yet, all was black. She could see nothing. But her head did see something. It saw a headache of rockslides and eruptions. It saw color explosions at the back of her eyes.
"Uhhh…" she groaned, placing her hands instinctively to her temples.
"You're awake, my Nanao-chan."
She closed her eyes. He's not here. He's not really here. He's not…
"Nanao-chaaaaaaaa…"
He is here.
She blinked. Again. And once more. Then, suddenly, dark lights began to illuminate things in the room. The moon, hidden behind sheepish clouds, lit her room only enough for her to see two things. First, he was sitting by the window, looking out at the trees in front of the building. His hat lay next to him. Second, she was in her inner robe, with his pink robe laying over her.
Inner ROBE! Did he take my CLOTHES OFF?
She hastily grabbed the lapel of her robe.
"No, my Nanao. I didn't take that off. We had an accident on the way back, and so I couldn't put you to sleep in your uniform."
Accident? Then, the smell hit her. She had vomited. Presumably, on herself… and then, remembering he had carried her, presumably also on him. Ughh… I… on him… ugghh…
She closed her eyes again, exercising her every patience. He's not here. He's not really here. I'm not really he…
"Nanao-chan, I'm glad you enjoyed good sake, but what happened tonight? I can't bear to watch my lovely Nanao-chan do that every…"
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" she screamed with drops of venom in her voice.
"Call you what, Nanao-cha…"
"THAT! DON'T SAY "MY"… DON'T SAY "CHAN"… DON'T SAY ANYTHING!"
"Nanao, why are you so angry?" He was utterly puzzled.
"I'm not angry!" she shrieked.
Pausing for a moment, he replied, "Yes, well, you're not angry. But you're very cold today, why my lovely…"
She faced away from him, now sitting up, but slouching in an effort to support her weight.
"I am not your lovely anything! I am your fuku-taicho, and nothing more! Do you hear me, Kyouraku-taicho? I am your fuku-taicho, and nothing else! I worked very hard to get here, and I deserve to be here. I deserve to be taken seriously, not laughed at by you. Nor protected by you. I can take care of myself, and I ask you to remember that!" She cried breathlessly. Such a speech drained her.
She thinks I laugh at her? he wondered. Why would I laugh at her?
"Nanao-chan, I am not laughing at you. And I protect you because I care for you, and wouldn't want anyone to hurt my Nanao…"
She laughed from a mix of hysteria and disappointment. "See? See Kyouraku-taicho? You haven't heard me at all. You can't and won't take me seriously. I don't know why I try…"
She was crying now. She ordinarily would never allow anyone to see her cry, but her hangover had effectively destroyed her all of her barriers.
"Of course I take you seriously, Nanao…"
"Oh really?" she said with sordid vengeance leaking from her words. "Then why did you stop me from fighting the ryoka today? Huh? Huh? It's because you thought I wasn't good enough! I could have beaten him!" More sobs escaped her grasp. And a hiccup.
Is that what she thinks? She thinks I don't have faith in her?
"You toss me aside every time there's work to be done like some old toy, and treat me like a child otherwise. I hate working with you, I hate being next to you…" She couldn't bear to look at him, and was beginning to fade in strength, leaning closer and closer to her pillow.
She hates me?
"I hate having been assigned to you… I hate being your servant… I hate how you treat me… I hate…" she couldn't finish her words. Her chokes of sobs stole them. Instead, her head rested on her elbows, letting tears plummet onto her unfortunate pillow.
He didn't know how to respond. He didn't know how to tell her she was wrong. So, he did the only thing he knew to do. With only the sound of the moon on the windowsill, he slid to her side, gently pulled her up to face him and hugged her, all in one fluid movement.
"What are you…" this time, her surprise stole her words.
"Nanao," he sighed gently. "Nanao, I think you're the best of all the shinigami in Soul Society. I wanted you to be my fuku-taicho because you're the best. I see the power in your eyes, and I know what you can do. And that part of me loves you. It admires you."
His words drifted lightly through her body, and exited through the confusion in her mind.
What is he saying…
"But Nanao, there's another part doesn't want to lose you. To anyone… ever. That part cares for you. I know I bother you sometimes, but I wanted you to be my fuku-taicho so I too could be the best. I wanted to be the best for you, so I could stay beside you. Does that make sense, Nanao-chan? I'm sorry I was selfish for wanting you, and I'm sorry I hurt my Nanao… I never meant to hurt my Nanao…"
His voice faded in vulnerability. He held her more tightly. She was lost in the warmth of his arms, complimented by his breath on her neck. His smell was deep and comforting to very tips of her fingers, and she experienced it with long breaths, while she quietly let the strength of his arms steal away the points of her stress and anger. Placing her hands lightly on his side, she smiled a quick smile.
She still hated this man… this man who drank all day… slept all day… did no work… needed flower petals for his entrances… and thought of her as a child… but suddenly, "my Nanao-chan" didn't seem so bad to her. He was her opposite in every way, but well, she could put with up it.
Yeah, I guess it's not so bad, Shunsui-san. You're not so bad.
She hugged him too.
La Fin!
As always, I'd love to hear what you think, and especially if you think it's horrible… because then I'll stop plaguing people with my horrible long stories… but please tell me anyway: )