They walked through the senkai gate and Yuki barely caught a glimpse of Soul Society before Shuuhei flash stepped them to his quarters. His mouth came down on hers and Yuki wrapped her arms around him. They had missed the actual sunrise because they had been so wrapped up in each other.
"You better go before you're late," Shuuhei said as he kissed her forehead.
"I won't stay long."
"I'll wait for you." He kissed her lightly and found it was a struggle to let her go. Even if it was for a couple of hours.
Yuki flash stepped to her parents' house. Auron saw her first. "Are you still…?"
"We stayed out all night." She smiled at her brother. "He asked me to move in with him."
"Are you?"
"Yes. Later today after we get some rest."
"Yuki, did you dressed up for us?" Shunsui asked as he walked into the room to greet her.
Yuki grinned at him. "Just for you." She hugged him and then Captain Ukitake.
"Yuki was out on a date all night," Auron explained to them. Shunsui looked at Auron. "There were a few of us who went out together. I didn't stay out all night."
"Who were you out with?" Shunsui asked.
Yuki smiled. "The man I love."
"Does he have a name?"
"Of course he does. The question is am I going to tell you his name?" Yuki kissed his cheek and walked past him into the kitchen to greet the rest of her family. She didn't see her father's glare at the way she was dressed. Yuki was too excited and too much in love to pay attention to anything else. Sometime before the sun had crested over the horizon, she found herself falling even more in love with Shuuhei.
…
Yuki sat at the table and ate breakfast with her family.
"Yuki, take your jacket off at the table," Hitsugaya said.
"But I'll get cold if I take it off."
"You should have thought about that before you stayed out all night."
Yuki looked down at the plate of untouched food. "I didn't know I'd be out all night."
"You said Auron went with you and he made it here on time. He didn't stay out all night."
"No. Auron left early. He helped one of our friends home." She looked across to her brother for help.
"Yuki, just take it off," Hana said. She didn't want an argument at the table. Things had been tense between her and her husband for a while. Hana wondered what had changed him. What had made him harden his heart?
"Fine." Yuki shrugged out of her jacket carefully and laid it between her and Captain Kyoraku.
"You went out dressed like that?" Hitsugaya asked her.
"No. I wore my jacket all night."
Hitsugaya glanced at Auron. "She had it on when I left. I'm not responsible for what she wears." Auron waited before continuing. "I'm sure Yuki's tired. We should let her finish so she can go rest." They were quiet during the remainder of breakfast. Yuki picked at her plate. Shunsui noticed the tears threatening to spill over. He wanted to do something to comfort her.
Yuki reached for her water glass, hoping to hold herself together until she could leave. It was a move she would regret.
"Yuki, what's on your shoulder?"
"On my shoulder?" she asked, genuinely confused. Hitsugaya leaned over to brush her hair aside. Yuki's body froze. Her eyes were wide with fear as she looked at Auron.
"Is this why you were out late last night? Were you getting a tattoo?"
"No." She was afraid to look away from her brother.
"Auron, when did you get them done?" Hitsugaya asked. Hana stood and walked behind Yuki. She looked at her daughter's tattoo.
"I don't understand..."
"I saw yours long ago. Do not make me repeat myself."
"After graduation."
"Yuki, you may leave." The quiet ice of his voice ripped through her. She stood and walked out of the room. Shunsui grabbed her jacket and hoped he could return it to her.
"It wasn't Yuki's idea. It was mine. If you're going to be mad at anyone, it should be me."
"Why did you do it?"
Auron shrugged. "Because we could." Auron stood and walked out.
Yuki flash stepped to Shuuhei's quarters. He looked up when he saw her.
"Yuki, what happened? Are you okay?" He could see the tears streaming down her face and he took her into his arms.
"I never thought he'd talk to me like that. I'm his daughter." Shuuhei held her as she cried. It was the first time he had seen her cry. He didn't know how long he held her. It could have been hours, it could have been minutes. "Shuuhei, I'm tired. I want my pajamas and I want to lie down and I want you to be there with me."
Shuuhei kissed the top of her head. "You can have all of that." He led her into the bedroom.
"My pajamas are in my room. I need to go get them." Her voice was heavy with sleep.
"I went and got some of your things while you were gone." Shuuhei handed her the pajamas. "Did you think I'd make you go around naked?"
She gave him half a smile. "Maybe." He helped her change and then she laid down on the futon. Shuuhei sat next to her. "Sleep with me," Yuki said, barely able to keep her eyes open.
"I will." He stroked her hair and watched her sleep. Shuuhei wondered what had happened. She had been so happy when she had left. How had things gone wrong in just a short amount of time? What had her father done? There was a soft knock on the door and Shuuhei hesitantly left her to answer it. "Captain Kyoraku," he greeted.
Shunsui held out Yuki's jacket. "You picked a good one."
"Thanks. I like to think so," he said, taking the jacket.
"How's she doing?"
"She's sleeping. Can you tell me what happened? All she said was something about her father."
Shunsui sighed. "He saw her tattoo and he wasn't pleased. He asked her to leave in that cold tone only he is capable of. She forgot her jacket. Luckily I got it instead of her father."
"What about Auron?"
Shunsui chuckled. "He stormed out shortly after Yuki left."
Shuuhei smiled. "That sounds like something Auron would do. How did you know she would be here?"
"The only thing in her jacket are photos of you and her. My guess is they were taken last night."
"They were."
"Well, take good care of her. Like I said, you picked a good one."
"Thank you, Captain Kyoraku. I will." Shuuhei watched him walk away. He closed the door and soon crawled into bed next to Yuki.
...
Yuki woke up alone. She lay in the bed and wondered where Shuuhei was and why he left her. Yuki let out a sigh. Her heart felt heavy. As she debated going back to sleep, she heard running water. She got up and walked to the bathroom. Yuki stripped off her pajamas and joined Shuuhei in the shower. His back was to her and she wrapped her arms around him.
"How did you sleep?" he asked.
"Good."
He turned to look at her and smiled. "I would hope so. You slept all day yesterday and all night."
"You let me sleep all day?"
"I tried to wake you up." Shuuhei kissed her forehead. He had tried several times but she hadn't woken up. He didn't leave her. He had pulled her close to him and sung to her, hoping it comforted her as she slept. "You should take today off."
"Is that an order, Captain?"
Shuuhei looked at her, unable to tell if she was being serious. "No," he said quietly. "It's just a request from me." He kissed her. "Take today off. Clear your head. Go thank Captain Kyoraku for bringing me your jacket. I'd hate to think what would have happened if your father had found the pictures in it."
Yuki smiled. "I love Captain Kyoraku. He's always looking out for me. He never treated us like we were kids even when he talked to us about sex."
"Why does it not surprise me that you asked him about sex?" Shuuhei reached around her and turned off the water. He handed her a towel and grabbed one for himself.
"Shuuhei, before you leave, will you make love to me?"
"You have to ask?" he said quietly as he covered her mouth with his. There was a sad look in her eyes and he wanted to get rid of it. Shuuhei wanted to go back to yesterday morning when they had come through the gate. He wanted to keep her here with him and away from her father. He wanted to do something, anything, to make her happy again.
...
Hitsugaya walked down the 9th division hallway. It took a lot for him to come to her. He knew he needed to apologize. It had been Hana that had pointed out the design of Yuki's tattoo. He had only seen the dark ink against his daughter's pale skin. He walked to where Yuki's office was located and saw it was empty. He continued on to the Captain's office. "I need to speak with my daughter. Have you seen her?"
"Yuki took the day off," Shuuhei told him, trying to keep his composure. He wanted to yell at the captain of the 10th division and tell him exactly what she looked like yesterday when she had come to him. Her own father had broken her heart. It tore at him to remember her like that. "Besides, what makes you think she wants to talk to you?"
"I fail to see how that's any of your concern."
"You hurt her more than I ever could."
Hitsugaya glared at Shuuhei. "What exactly is your relationship with her?"
"I fail to see how that's any of your concern," Yuki said as she walked into the office, closing the door behind her. Hitsugaya turned to look at her."If I want to have a relationship with Shuuhei outside of this division, I don't see how it's any of your concern."
"I'm your father."
Yuki shook her head. "No. My father used to play with me in my room after work. We played tag and he used flash step. He used to tuck me in at night, read me a story and tell me he loved me. The day I joined the Academy, I lost my father."
"I lost my daughter and my son the day you both joined the Academy. I couldn't be your father. I couldn't show you favoritism. I couldn't be proud of you. I couldn't offer you a position in the tenth division. When you joined the Academy, I had to give you up and that was the hardest thing I've ever done."
"I didn't know," Yuki said quietly.
"No one did. Not even your mother." He met her eye. "I would like to have my children back but you've grown up. I don't think you'd want to play with toys or play tag or have me tuck you in. Isn't that what you have him for?" Hitsugaya asked, jerking his head back toward Shuuhei.
Yuki looked at Shuuhei and he winked at her. "A tattoo is the worst thing I've done. We wanted to do something rebellious."
"Auron said it was his idea."
"It was."
Hitsugaya sighed. "I'm assuming very few people know about it."
"Just our family and Shuuhei."
"Yuki, I'm sorry. I overreacted yesterday."
"Part of me will always be your daughter but I can't be a child anymore. I would like it if we could be friends."
"That would be nice." Hitsugaya walked over to her and hugged her. "I am proud of you. I love you."
"I love you, Daddy," she whispered.
Hitsugaya released her and looked back at Shuuhei. "Hisagi, you hurt my daughter and I'll have to hurt you."
"I'll try not to." They watched him walk out of the office and Shuuhei looked at Yuki. There was no more sadness in her eyes. He walked over to her and touched her cheek.
"He approves of you."
"Of course he does. You could have done a lot worse."
Yuki laughed. "Even if he didn't approve, it doesn't change how I feel about you." She kissed him. "I'm done."
"Done?" he asked confused. "With what?"
"Moving my things to your quarters. Did you forget already?"
"I was more concerned with how you were feeling."
"I am feeling much better thanks to you." Yuki kissed him again. "I felt lost and unwanted but you were there to soothe me. You loved me when I thought no one else did."
"Yuki," he began. Shuuhei was at a loss for words. He hadn't realized that she felt so unloved.
She rested her head on his shoulder. "I was dreaming that I was alone, completely alone. There wasn't anything around me. It was dark. I was there for a long time. After a while I could hear something. It was you. I could hear you singing. I couldn't find you but you found me. You took my hand and I wasn't alone anymore."
Shuuhei tilted her head up and kissed her. "I didn't want to leave you today. I wanted to stay with you." He kissed her again.
"I'm taking your advice. I cleared my head while I was moving my things. I came by to tell you that I was going to go visit Captain Kyoraku and I'll be home for dinner."
"I like the way that sounds."
Yuki smiled at him."I'll bring home dinner." She kissed him again and flash stepped as someone knocked on Shuuhei's door.
...
Hana walked into the 13th division office to find a white haired captain waiting for her. He was not the white haired captain she was expecting.
"Toushiro, what are you doing here?"
"I owe you an apology. Things have been..." he trailed off trying to think of the right word. "Things have been tense between us and you had no idea why." He paused for a moment. "I had to sacrifice my relationship with Yuki and Auron when they joined the Academy. In doing so, I alienated myself from you also and I'm sorry."
"Toushiro, I love you. I have always been there for you."
He walked over to her and touched her cheek. "I apologized to Yuki today. It was you who made me see the error I made with her and in doing so, I saw that I had wronged you also. I'm sorry." He surprised her when he took her into his arms and kissed her. "I do love you, Hana." He flash stepped them home and spent the afternoon showing her how much he did love her.
