A/N: I haven't added over here in forever! I think I may put some projects on temporary hiatus until I finish some of the passel, but I really want to finish this. So. Bad. But I've got a lot of plans for over here, so I can't just do it in one night. Anyway, I bet you want story. Here you go.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. I make no profit off of this. I do own Akina, so please ask to use her, ok?
"Shuuhei?" Akina's voice came from the bathroom. She cracked the door, barely peeking out. When he came to the door, waiting, she smiled sheepishly. "I forgot a shirt. Do me a favor, please?" Her hair was dripping down her shoulders, and she was genuinely embarrassed. But, Shuuhei did notice that she seemed to be hiding her chest more than her scar, which made him feel a little more secure. He retrieved her a black tank top, what she had taken to wearing under her shihakusho.
"This?" He held out the shirt, trying not to stare at the amount of bare skin he could see. Damn it, he wasn't a pervert by any means, but he was a man. He couldn't help looking a little bit.
"Thank you!" Akina skinned the shirt on, and then exited the bathroom. "I have to go back into the fourth for a little while, so I'm going to miss dinner. You can manage, right?"
Shuuhei nodded. "What do you need to go back into work for?" He was all too familiar with Akina's nearly workaholic ways. She pushed herself to the max every day, to the point of exhaustion, and lately she was going back into work and missing dinner. Shuuhei's eyebrows drew in with worry.
"Oh, new recruits." Akina smiled, and Shuuhei could tell exactly how exhausted she was when it didn't reach her eyes. She loved new recruits too, she loved teaching and helping, but she was pushing herself much too hard lately. "Isane and I offered to do some division specific training workshops with them. I'll only be gone for a few hours. I'll be home by eleven at the latest." Gods. At that Shuuhei almost wanted to stage an intervention. Both he and Isane had enabled her much too long.
"I'll come get you." Shuuhei sighed. And while he was there, he could sneak into Captain Unohana's office and have a little chat with her about Akina's hours. He did have some jurisdiction over Akina's hours; even though he was in a different division Shuuhei was several seats higher than her. And he lived with her, so he could see the toll it took on her.
"Shuuhei, honestly." Akina shook her head. "You trained me, I'll be ok." She grabbed her shihakusho and pulled it on over the thin clothes, tying it shut. "Don't you have any faith in me?" She was frowning a little, so unlike her.
"Just let me do it." Shuuhei pressed. "I was going to go visit Komamura anyway." Akina heaved a sigh, but she didn't argue after that. "Wear your coat. It's going to get cold here in a few hours." Shuuhei felt a little like an overprotective parent, but at the same time he didn't want to let her get hurt or sick, even if it meant sounding like a Mother. Akina looked at him for a long, quiet moment, and then turned to him, hugging him and chuckling softly.
"Thank you." She whispered, smiling up at him.
Shuuhei didn't even have to ask what she was thanking him for.
"Shuuhei." Komamura smiled briefly at his friend as he entered the office. "I haven't seen you in a long while. How have you been?"
"Well." Shuuhei slumped into a chair. "You're working late." When that comment was met with only a grunt, Shuuhei added, "Akina isn't doing well."
Komamura blinked, he was likely just as attached to Akina, though in a much different way. Shuuhei could only guess that Komamura had taken to her in a very parent-like way. "What's going on with her?"
"She's working too much." Shuuhei shook his head. "And I can tell she's exhausted and then she takes extra shifts and jobs, misses dinner completely and won't eat leftovers, and falls asleep in her clothes." Running his fingers through his hair and further mussing it, he shook his head. "I don't know what to do."
"I'll talk to Unohana for you." Komamura glanced at the window. "I have more authority, so I can probably convince her to cut down on Akina's hours, at least for a little while."
"Thank you." Shuuhei felt a little guilty about not just doing it himself, but he realized that Komamura probably wanted to help too. What was the harm in letting him?
"Where is she now?" Komamura stacked some papers, setting them in another pile to be taken where they needed to go next. "Is she working?"
"Yeah. Teaching workshops with Isane." Shuuhei stood. "I'm going to put in my two cents with Captain Unohana too. So I'll talk to you later." When Komamura gave a nod, Shuuhei slipped out the door.
"Akina, do you need to sit down?" Isane was all but holding the smaller girl up. The students were safely grinding herbs for ointments, but Akina had started to sway on her feet and now she seemed too dizzy – or maybe fatigued – to stand.
"Sorry." Akina let Isane hold onto her. "It's just that I've been having some trouble sleeping, and then I wanted extra jobs to keep me busy..." She sighed. She really didn't mean to do herself any harm by doing it, but everything had just hit her like a tidal wave lately. She felt like everything was stressing her out more than it probably should, and being nervous around her boyfriend, Shuuhei, wasn't helping at all. Especially when he lived just down the hall from her.
"You're going to sit down until Shuuhei gets here." Isane pulled a chair over from where the students had sat for the lecture and eased Akina into it.
Akina felt absolutely terrible. She didn't want people worrying about her, but it seemed that was all she was doing by trying to pick up more jobs and shifts. She just wanted to help, and be busy. It seemed that she was just making everything worse by wanting those things though.
Finally, the students were released for the night, and Shuuhei came in, raising an eyebrow at Akina collapsed in a chair. "Can you walk?" He asked, leaning down to her. It was just like Akina to get herself in over her head.
"I'm in a chair." Akina muttered, though it didn't come off as rude. It came off as completely exhausted and somewhat unintelligent because of it.
"Alright, come on." Shuuhei scooped her up – why was she so light? How many meals had she missed lately? – And proceeded to take her home.
"Shuuhei?" Akina murmured, tucking her face against his collarbone. She couldn't remember the last time someone had carried her, but in her sleepy stupor she found it very nice.
"Yeah?" Shuuhei didn't glance down, but he was clearly listening. "What is it?"
"You can sleep in my room tonight." Akina said softly. "If you want to." Shuuhei blinked; did he dare trust that? He'd never slept in Akina's room once, even though they'd been dating for a while now. "It would be nice." Akina added.
"Alright." Shuuhei smiled slightly. Maybe it would help her get some of the rest she'd been missing out on the past few weeks. He realized that she had started to doze in his arms, and he held her just a bit closer. He doubted she'd be changing into her pajamas for the night, so he took her into her room, tucking her in before lying on top of the covers next to her. Akina shuddered slightly as his hand grazed hers, and then slowly curled around it.
She'd been through so much, Shuuhei knew. And she would be doing so well if she weren't so obsessed with her work. Holding her hand lightly, he stared at her sleeping face. Would she ever really heal? Could he have somehow managed to save Kaname for her? There were too many thoughts in his head and not enough room. Shuuhei contemplated getting up to change into something more comfortable to sleep in, but didn't want to disturb Akina. Damn it was cold in there. After a little hesitation, Shuuhei slowly started to move to get under the covers with her.
"Don't go." Akina whispered in her sleep. Shuuhei looked at her, his brow creasing with worry. Could she possibly, subconsciously remember Kaname leaving?
"I'm not going anywhere." Shuuhei murmured, kissing her forehead lightly before slipping under the blankets next to her. Cautiously, he draped one arm over her, trying to let her know that he was there without waking her.
"Mm..." Akina snuggled against him. Shuuhei couldn't help the smile that came across his face. He was there, and he'd always be there for her. And if she knew this, everything would be ok.
A/N: This chapter took friggin' forever! I tried so hard to have it done in one night but it ended up taking almost a week. But I did it. Take that writer's block. Anyway! What did you think?