Chapter Three
Kushira had decided she was going to get it over with. Consequences be damned. She was going to tell him how she felt. Tonight.
Or not...
The redhead balked at the thought. She needed more time to think about it.
Or not…
There was a knock on the door. She recognized the reiatsu that was as familiar as her own. She swallowed. Apparently the universe had other plans.
She opened the door shakily. "Hey there..." she said weakly.
Jushiro looked just as uneasy, "hi...mind if I-?" she shook her head and stepped back allowing him in.
"Would you like something to drink? I just made tea," he cleared his throat awkwardly.
"That'd be great. Thank you," moments later she returned with two mugs of tea. "This is the honey and licorice one from that tea shop we went to?" he asked taking a sip.
Kushira nodded, "yeah, remember we liked it a lot? Well I went back to the tea shop the next day and bought some," she smiled, "I just hadn't had a chance to make it"
Jushiro smiled warmly, awkwardness briefly forgotten as their easy friendship surfaced, "it's just as good as it was there"
She smiled, "better than the beetroot one," she giggled and his breath caught in his throat, "remember?" Jushiro made a face and let out a low chuckle that caused Kushira's heart to flutter like a caged bird.
"I will never look at a beet the same way!" he laughed.
"I thought they were purple," she made a face.
"They are...supposed to be at least...but especially not orange and blue"
They laughed, the sounds mixing together in a harmony. After the laughter had died down, the awkwardness settled over them again.
Kushira picked at the edge of her shihakusho, "so...why did you come here?"
Jushiro swallowed and became fascinated with his cup. "Well, I guess...I felt like we needed to talk," Kushira blushed.
"About the awkwardness between us?" he nodded. Silence fell.
"There's no easy way to do this," he looked up, determined, "so I'm just going to come out and say it..."
"I love you!" Kushira blurted. Her hands flew to her mouth and her face turned the same shade as her hair.
Silence fell.
"Yes." Jushiro coughed, "that's what I was going to say," Kushira didn't meet his gaze, face burning brightly. Unbidden, Shunsui's embarrassing words blurted loudly came to his mind.
"Don't think. Act. Grab her by the shoulders and either kiss her senseless or kiss some sense into her"
Jushiro breathed in through his nose before sitting down next to his friend. Her face was still buried in her hands and she was too busy wallowing in her embarrassment to notice his movement.
He gently grasped her shoulders. Kushira looked up in surprise, momentarily distracted from her wallowing. Without warning, he pressed his lips to hers. Her eyes widened but slowly closed. Her hands went to his sleeves and held the white fabric. Their lips moved against each other's in unison. Jushiro decided to push things a bit further.
Cupping the back of her neck, he licked lightly at her lips, asking for entrance. Kushira parted her lips more than willingly and cognition failed her when he ran his tongue along her own and little bolts of electricity shot down her spine and her extremities. She let a soft noise into his mouth and wrapped her arms around his neck. He slid one arm around her waist and deepened the kiss.
When air became too much of a problem to ignore, they broke apart. Their breathing was ragged and he let out a soft cough. "Wish we had figured this out sooner," she murmured against his soft lips.
He brushed his thumb along her cheek, "me too," he whispered back, brushing his lips lightly across hers, sending tingles down her spine.
They stayed in each other's arms the majority of the day, talking the way they used to do but something had changed. The few barriers once up were no longer there, now they could talk about their relationship and what was going to happen. They could have stayed there all day as long as they were together but they suspected people would start to wonder.
Jushiro pulled her to her feet. "So what do you say to being my girlfriend?" he asked.
Kushira laughed, "the word girlfriend makes me feel like a teenager," Jushiro laughed too.
He entwined their fingers, "alright...significant other?"
She pretended to think, "too...bland," she teased.
He sighed, "better half?" she blinked.
"I thought I already was," she brushed her lips against his nose. Their normal banter had taken on a more intimate tone.
"Why must we have a label at all?" she asked pulling back to look at him curiously, "we're not Captain Kurotsuchi's experiments," Jushiro let out a low laugh as he pulled Kushira against him as though he was going to dance with her.
"I do think we were someone's experiments," sure enough, he started dancing with her. Kushira raised an eyebrow.
"Retsu," she said, allowing herself to be led in a music-less waltz.
He nodded in confirmation and began humming a tune. "She must've thought we were worse than bricks!" she sighed, "apparently everyone could see it but us"
He shook his head, "I wonder how long we've been oblivious," he spun her and pulled her close.
Kushira blinked, "I was thinking about that...I think it's been quite a while"
Jushiro nodded, "I was apprehensive at first because of Captain Otoribashi," Kushira looked confused.
"Rose? What about him?" Jushiro sighed, "I was under the impression you cared for him as more than a friend"
Kushira blinked, "I do but not in the way you're thinking. He's like my brother. Like Shun and Sajin. Like I thought you were until I realized I felt differently about you"
They continued dancing around the wood floor of her living room. Now that they had found out their feelings each other, they didn't want to let go. They wanted to make up for lost time. "Retsu is going to be pleased," they slowed to a stop, simply holding each other.
Jushiro smiled softly, "she will be," Kushira tilted her chin up and accepted a kiss.