I come bearing a short and simple piece for Bleach. It's a gen Ukitake/Shunsui (the two in the icon for those unfamiliar), though it can be interpeted any way you'd like. No spoilers, it's a flashback.

Disclaimer: Characters are the property of Tite Kubo.

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The sun had begun its descent beneath the horizon when the head of the acadmeny had dismissed his prized students. The two young men walked through the court of the academy at a slow pace, one looking far less composed than his partner.

"What was up with the old man today?" Kyouraku Shunsui sulked his way into his room, falling back against the tatami mat with a loud sigh. He ran a hand through his wavy, dark brown hair as he immediately settled further into the mat. "Man, I could go for sake right now."

Ukitake Jyuushiro followed behind, shaking his head at his best friend's rakish behavior. "Perhaps you should take his recommendations to heart, Shunsui."

"I shaved!" Shunsui exclaimed, his deep voice lowering to a dramatic pout. "This from a man with a beard that he could trip himself on..."

"Missed a spot." Ukitake crossed the mat to sit directly on Shunsui's legs without ceremony. He found it less likely for Shunsui to lose attention and rarer still to drift off to sleep that way. He pinched the sliver of hair that was on Shunsui's chin. "It isn't the length, but the appearance of it. You look, well, unkempt."

"I," Shunsui patted his chest, exposed from his loosely tied kimono. "look sexy."

"Unkempt is a sexy look now?" Ukitake shook his head and began to adjust the folds of Shunsui's top himself, ignoring the dramatic whining beneath him. "You could at least wear your uniform correctly."

"Come on, it drives the Keiko-san wild." Shunsui gripped Ukitake's wrists with his hands, grinning up at his friend playfully.

His companion was nonplussed. "Ono-san cannot watch our lessons with Yamamoto-sensei. Perhaps, when you are not at the academy-"

"We're -always- at the academy-"

"When sensei is not around, Shuns-"

"You won't get to see my manly chest anymore." Shunsui countered smugly. Ukitake wrinkled his nose and dissolved into a fit of laughter.

"Hairy."

Shunsui laughed. "I'm a hairy guy."

"Shady is more like it." Ukitake slapped Shunsui's stomach before he stood. Without even looking, he knew the kimono was being loosened to its former state. "You will attract just as many women looking put together than as if you fell out of bed."

"I put a lot of effort in looking this way."

"It will not kill you to try a new look." Ukitate crossed his arms, still chuckling. "Besides, as students we have to follow the guidelines set out for us."

"Guidelines do not have my sense of fashion."

"We can only be thankful for that."

Sitting up quickly, Shunsui placed a hand over his heart, his expression pained. "Why must you wound me so?"

"I am just pointing out that not everyone could fit your style." Ukitake walked over and combed fingers through his friend's unruly brown locks. He tugged lightly at the ends and stepped away to appraise his handiwork with a slow grin. "A small improvement, but it might keep you out of trouble."

Shunsui stood, patting at the dust on his hakama pants, the point of the conversation immediately put behind him. "Well, the party's not going to start without me."

"What party?"

Laughing, he draped an arm across Ukitake's shoulders and lead them both out of the room, leaving the answer open for a more tangible answer.