Um, Happy One Year Anniversary to me? I guess one year of officially being here and posting things, although I had been reading long before that. It might already be the day after in whatever time FF is in, but it's still the day of where I am. I have five minutes actually.

This was only supposed to be like eight hundred words, but got away a little from me. Oh well. It works. Keep in mind that I am not caught up and I don't really know what's happening to the T. If it's way off, you can just call it AU or something. I was thinking a possible companion fic? What say you?

Uh, and there was something else I wanted to say but I forget. SotS, if you're following it, is being worked on. Soon, I promise. Happy Easter to those that celebrate it.

Home

This would have been a typical Tuesday in the life of Nanao Ise if it had been any other time but right now. Last week was regular, and if you were to fast forward to a time a month from now she was certain (or at least deeply hoped so) that would be a standard issue day too. Today was a day that she wasn't doing paperwork, and she wasn't busy running around on any Division business. She wasn't doing any of the normal, hard, and annoying tasks she was known for.

Today she wished that it was any other regular day.

On any other day, she would be scribbling away on a heaping stack of paperwork that her captain had skirted his way around, all the while scolding him while holding back a smile. She could be chasing him around, bribing or threatening for his signatures, knowing she would just have to forge them again anyway. She could even be instructing members in advanced kido that she was known to do sometimes. On any other day she wouldn't be pacing around wondering if her captain was still alive at all.

It was odd in a sense, she thought, that she wished for something she normally didn't want to do. Then again, at least that was routine. Routine was something she could handle.

She ran her hand through her messed-up hair while sliding down to sit on the floor against the wall by the office window. The dark locks had fallen out of her clip long ago. She sunk slowly, her aching muscles protesting every slight movement she made. Heaving a heavy sigh she rested her cheek against her propped up knees.

Even if her own and the other captains were fighting Aizen's troops on the front lines, they still had their share of conflict here.

Today was the day that everything had been put into motion. The strike had been made today. All captains had been sent out to the world of the living for a final confrontation with the traitor and his hollow army. Even the head captain had decided to take action. Unfortunately, only some of the lieutenants and division members were chosen to accompany their captains.

She was not one of them.

It bothered her to no end, but she couldn't refuse a direct order from Yamamoto without consequences. Not in a time of war like this. Still, she felt out of place when she wasn't at her captain's back in battle. That was her place. Standing beside him. Not here, waiting for an outcome that she had no part of.

Of course there was reason to keep soldiers back, but the rational side of her wasn't in attendance at the moment. She could've easily switched with one of the others. A part of her thought that maybe she was held back because she was a woman, seeing how most that had been left behind were, but then she thought of Yachiru and Rangiku who hadn't been given a second glance as they stood up beside their captains.

She didn't want to waste too much energy on it, as it was out of her control even if she didn't like it. It was a good thing a few soul reapers with an authoritive background had stayed nevertheless, as they had to fight their own mini battle earlier. That was what she had just come back from.

Things had been going well as far as she could tell. They were keeping contact with those on the front lines via communication from the main building. It was easier to get an idea of what was going on down below from there. Her, like many others, had gathered there to hear the commentary that came through when they could spare the breath. It was only generic for the most part, but it was better than nothing.

The main conflict was centered around Karakura, so that's where most of Aizen's army had gathered and in response, their own troops. Aizen himself had been seen on the battlefield, according to one of their informants. Still, they were still cautious up in Soul Society. Of those that were left, a double guard shift had been sent on watch, and squads were keeping in contact directly at all times.

They had lost contact about an hour or so ago when the link crackled and cut out entirely. There had been slight static at first, and then there was what sounded like the beginning of an explosion before the line went dead. They hadn't been able to reestablish communication since then. It was nerve racking not knowing what was going on.

It had only been about fifteen minutes after the line cut that they had their own share of explosions. A few squads of arrancar had broken through the gate between the worlds, and within moments they had been caught up in fighting off the intruders. Thankfully there weren't any more, or else they may have been in trouble. She definitely had been given a workout. She had the kido burns on her hands to show it.

Thanks to her and many others, there was a lull and things were quiet for the time being. She was going to take advantage of this moment to rest. Since they had no idea of what was happening in the world of the living, they had no heads up of any coming attacks. Not that they had one the first time.

There was a part of her that didn't like these in-between times though. Being who she was, it meant that she thought too much when she wasn't focused on a task. Right now, she couldn't steer her thoughts away from her captain. At least paperwork made her focus on numbers and words, instead of blood and death that she wasn't sure was happening or not. Ink bleeding onto paper was easier to think of than red seeping though soft pink.

She sighed again and leaned her forehead into her hand. It was constant now, and she almost couldn't stand the thought of Shunsui not coming back at all. It twisted her insides to imagine it, and the unsettling bile in her throat was almost making her throw up. Instead, she opted to push those types of thoughts away.

She didn't know what they had exactly. It wasn't something she could really spell out for a general audience. Besides lieutenant and captain, she wasn't really sure if there was anything at all even. She knew what they could be, perhaps, or maybe it was just what she wanted it to be. She wasn't even sure of that.

For so long, it always seemed out of reach or wrong on some level. She always declined his advances, or made excuses for herself. It was funny that now she was missing those same antics she tried to avoid.

She had danced around the topic in her head for the longest time, but now she was pretty sure that she was in love with him. If anything else, she had made up her mind that she wanted to try something with the man she had worked under for so many years, even if she risked the chance of getting hurt. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, she remembered someone saying.

Haunting herself with the idea that he wasn't coming back made her eyes burn with an intensity she hadn't felt in a long time. She felt…empty and alone. Something she hadn't felt in a long time. She didn't like it.

Stretching her head back, she caught a better look at the fading sun coming in through the window. Darkness was approaching fast. Had that much time gone by already? She had heard nothing from the patrol that had been sent out after their battle, so she assumed that all was well on this end. Now they were left to play the waiting game until something happened.

She didn't know how much time passed while she sat there against the wall, watching the sun disappear from the sky to be replaced my the moon. The light shone through the opening, and she found herself blankly staring at the beam it created on the floor. It sat at the base of the door, strangely enough, so after a while, she started staring at the doorway as if she could make it move with her thoughts alone.

Every minute that ticked by was one more chip falling off her sanity. She may be a patient person for the most part, but even she had her limits. The night wore on, and she felt herself falling deeper into the pit of despair she was starting to dig herself into.

After being up so many hours, she started to doze off every now and then, only to jostle herself away when she thought she heard something. Nanao had even removed her glasses.

She was in double digits when she decided that maybe she should just go home and get some rest. When she tried to get up though, she found her body reluctant to leave the office, as if abandoning this spot would abandon the man she was waiting for. In the end, she chose to just rest there for a few minutes more.

She had her eyes closed and her head propped against the wall when she first felt it.

She opened her eyes slightly, waiting a few seconds to see if it was a false alarm like all the times before. She felt nothing so closed her eyes once more. A few moments later they opened with a snap, feeling that same pulse again. She would know that signature anywhere.

It was faint, and she knew it probably wasn't because it was being repressed. This feeling bode weariness, and it had her fully paying attention. She rose to her feet, and she wondered for a moment if she hadn't finally fallen into a deep sleep and was just dreaming up the whole thing. Then again, maybe she was hallucinating.

She pushed the thought away as she felt it again. Somehow she just knew that it had to be real. She braced her hand against the wall as her legs regained their lost strength from sitting in a similar position for so long. If she wasn't mistaken, it was coming this way. The knowledge made her tense with anticipation.

She stared at the door with unbound eyes, and she wouldn't be able to describe the massive wave of relief that washed over her when she first saw the first threads of that familiar pink fabric appear between the sliding door.

She didn't waste any time launching herself at him, and she felt Shunsui rock back at their impact, one of his arms having to come up and grab the door frame.

She clutched at the front of his robes as tight as she could, like if she let go he would just disappear. She felt him tense, but she didn't really blame him for being surprised at her usual out of character action. She didn't care about anything at that moment in time but the fact that he was there and alive and she was really seeing him.

She finally felt his arms circle around her and his nose in her hair. She had never felt more content than she had in that instant. Things were right in the world for that one second, and she didn't care what else was happening. She didn't want to know how the battle went, how many people had given their life in the struggle, or what was going to happen next. All she wanted was right now.

She pulled her head away to look at him, and she found that he was blurry. Only then did she realize that she had tears rolling down her face. She gave him a smile as she felt him sweep his hand under her eyes, wiping them away. Despite the exhaustion all over his face, she could still see joy overtake the physical state of him. He had a smile on his face as well, and it wasn't the same as the one that was always plastered on his face. It was genuine, and it only gave Nanao more confidence.

She kissed him with all she had then, pouring every ounce of feeling she could of promises of things to come and apologies for belated actions.

She didn't care if she might become heartbroken, or if they never took off. If she didn't try, she would never know. Besides, she liked the feeling of his hands running through her hair.

The broke apart for a second, giving them just enough space for air. With a hushed whisper she spoke to him, and decided that everything else could wait just a little bit longer.

"Welcome home, Shunsui."

-Fin