"He's going to leave me..." Shunsui whispered to his mother as tears fell down his cheeks. His head was resting on the woman's lap as they sat on the couch together, Hana's hand stroking chocolate brown hair in a soothing manner. "He'll hate me..."

"I'm sure he won't," Hana whispered back. She had grown used to her son coming to her in states like this, knowing the full extent of the damage her ex-husband had done. "He seems like a very understanding person. Have you told him yet?"

Shunsui shook his head, feeling as if he were about to throw up. "H-he'll leave..."

"You don't know that, dear." Hana wiped away the tears that stained her son's face, wishing with all of her being that she could go back and change things; it hurt her so much to see her beloved younger son like this, wondering every day if he would take the same way out her older son had to get away from the pain their father had inflicted on them. "You need to tell him because if you just keep things bottled up, you'll grow to resent him if he doesn't understand, and he won't be happy because he'll be walking on egg shells."

"I just..." Shunsui choked on a sob before he continued to talk. "...I don't want him to be disgusted with me..."

"My wonderful son..." Hana's hands reached down and pulled her son into a sitting position, holding him tightly. "My wonderful, charming son... You have a beautiful personality and you care about others. What he did to you was not your fault, and if someone you love can't see this, they don't deserve to have someone like you in their life. You deserve someone who will understand look past what happened, and see the kind of person you truly are. If he can't do that, than he doesn't deserve you."

"I love him so much, mom..." Shunsui sighed as he returned the embrace, resting his head on the small shoulder. "...I... He's all I have now that Lisa and Nanao are gone... I don't want to lose him..."

"You won't. I promise."

Hana stood up, pulling the younger Kyōraku along with her. She smiled up at her son, being much smaller than he was, and took his hand, leading him out of the house and towards Shunsui's car. Shunsui was silent, knowing that he didn't want to go back and face Jyuushiro just yet, but also knowing that his mother would know the best thing to do; she had always been the one person in his life he told everything to.

~~Back at Shunsui's home~~

Jyuushiro wasn't mad; he truly wasn't. He was a little upset about the ordeal, but he could live with it – he understood what it was like to be in pain. Maybe he hadn't had the kind of life that Shunsui presumably had, but he had still been through his own troubles.

When the front door opened after what felt like hours since Shunsui had left, Ukitake looked over and was rather surprised to find both his partner and Hana walking towards him. He stood up from the couch and closed the distance between them, knowing that from the look on Shunsui's face, he didn't want to be here.

"Shunsui, I promise I'm not mad or anything," Jyuushiro said once they were standing together. He allowed the brunet to grab his bandaged hands and inspect them, hoping that it would bring closure to the distraught male. "I really understand what happened. I'm just sorry I didn't give you space when I should have."

Shunsui shook his head. He croaked, his voice strangled with emotion, "Don't be sorry... I-I shouldn't have hurt you..."

Jyuushiro smiled in a gentle manner as he moved closer, wrapping his arms around Shunsui. He rested his chin on the older male's shoulder, smiling up at Hana. "Shunsui, I love you. Didn't I once tell you all those years ago that if I didn't love you in some way, I wouldn't have put up with you?"

"Yeah, but I never tried to hit you..." Shunsui mumbled.

Jyuushiro's hand reached out and found Shunsui's hanging limply by his side. He entwined his fingers with the brunet's, leaning up on his tip-toes to kiss the chapped lips before him. "I understand, Shunsui. I wouldn't leave you for that. I can look after myself. I told you; as long as you don't mistreat my children, I won't leave you."

Shunsui dared look Jyuushiro in the eyes. He could see the sincerity in the green orbs, and he couldn't help but let his own eyes well with tears. He returned the embrace he was receiving, crushing Ukitake against him as he struggled to hold his emotions back.

"I love you, Jyuu..." Shunsui whispered, not trusting himself to say anything else to the white-haired male.

"I love you, too, Shunsui." Jyuushiro kissed the stubbled cheek, so glad that he had finally decided to give in to Shunsui's advances.

"I'm so glad that this is resolved," Hana said as she reached out and patted both Shunsui and Jyuushiro's heads. "Shun was very worried about this, but I was sure you were a good man, Ukitake-san. Thank you for not proving me wrong."

"Please, call me Jyuushiro." Jyuushiro smiled at the woman as he pulled out of Shunsui's arms and moved towards her, engulfing her in a small hug. "I am just happy that Shunsui is happy."

Hana patted Jyuushiro on the back, smiling brightly at the younger male. "Shunsui has had a very rough past, but I would like for him to tell you so that you understand what upsets him. He finds it difficult to talk about, but I trust he will open up to you; you're a very sweet young man."

Jyuushiro thanked Hana for the compliment before he turned to Shunsui, not sure if the brunet would open up to him or not just yet, but knowing that he had to at least show him that he cared about what had to eventually be said.

"Shunsui, we can sit down on the couch and talk," Jyuushiro offered. "If you go make yourself comfortable, I'll put the kettle on. I'll make a tea for myself and bring you a glass of sake."

Shunsui nodded, his eyes distant at these words. He headed silently into the living room as he waited for his partner to return, knowing that it would be a good idea to go over what he wanted to talk about.

Jyuushiro turned to Hana, his warm, welcoming smile still on his face. "Could I get you anything, Mrs. Kyōraku?"

"It's Hana, my dear, and I'll take a tea as well. Thank you, sweetie."

Jyuushiro got to work on his tasks, carrying three cups into the living room just a few minutes later. He handed one glass to Hana and the other to her son before he sat down on the couch beside Shunsui with his tea in hand, sipping slowly.

"Whenever you're ready, Shunsui," Jyuushiro said. "We have all night."

"..." Shunsui fumbled with his cup or a few seconds before he downed the entire content of it.

Jyuushiro couldn't help but smile as he stood up. "I'll go and grab the bottle for you."

The younger male knew he shouldn't encourage drinking when Shunsui was stressed, but he knew that his partner was already an alcoholic and he suspected the reason being that Shunsui already drank to block out pain. When he returned, he poured more sake into the cup Shunsui was holding before he placed it on the coffee table next to him.

Hana was sitting on the chair opposite the couch, sipping at her tea as she waited for her son to begin speaking. She wanted to be with Shunsui while he spoke, knowing that her presence would usually be enough to calm him down if he got too worked up.

"When I was little..." Shunsui begun before taking another large swig of his sake, "...when I was little, I hated being at home..."

Jyuushiro glanced towards the stairs, hoping that neither of his boys had woken up; he knew that Shunsui was only speaking about this because he loved and trusted Jyuushiro enough for him to know about something that had clearly shaped him into who he was today. He nodded, not wanting to speak in case he said the wrong thing or discouraged Shunsui from saying what he really wanted to say.

"...I hated school just as much," Shunsui continued on in a quiet voice, stopping every now and then for a drink. "But school was better than being at home. ...My teachers always wondered why I never left the school after classes had finished; why they had to call my mother to come and get me every day... But more than that, they wondered why I always had bruises and cuts and never seemed to want anyone to touch me..."

Shunsui sighed as he clenched his fists, fighting desperately against the tidal wave of tears that threatened to overwhelm him. "...My older brother was the only friend I had, but... He killed himself when I was a teenager... And my dad... he was the reason for that..."

Jyuushiro looked down at his lap, his heart going out to his best friend. Though he had personally never lost someone that way, he could imagine how it would be if he were to lose his children like that. He'd probably follow after them from heartbreak.

"My dad hated me, but he loved Sora..." Shunsui rubbed at his eyes, gathering beads of tears as he did so. "He never hurt Sora; he let Sora do whatever he wanted. And Sora hated it. He knew I hated being second, and no matter how much he brought it up with our dad... things never changed... Even now, I... I-I can't stand being second...! It makes me remember how I was never good enough... no matter what I did..."

Jyuushiro sidled over on the couch, resting his head on the brunet's shoulder. He took the bigger hand in his, squeezing it so that Shunsui knew he had someone there for him.

"...That fucker treated my mom and me like shit, Jyuu..." Shunsui whispered. "He bashed my mom all the time and treated me even worse, knowing that because I was a boy, I could take more... He... He'd rape me all the time... He'd tell me just how worthless I was, how much he hated me... He broke me down emotionally and messed my mind up, and yet... Sora was always perfect.

"My teachers always wondered why I never did anything at school, Jyuu. I was always sleeping in my classes and if I was awake, I just played with the paper or drew. I couldn't tell them that my dad kept me awake at night, fucking me into hysterics. I couldn't tell them that I was too scared to do my work in case I screwed up and got beaten. But they never questioned me; they thought I did my work at home. Truth is, I never once wrote a single thing down in all my years; I just listened to what the teachers and students spoke about."

Jyuushiro shook his head, unable to understand how much pain Shunsui must be in. He cuddled closer, feeling strong arms encasing him and pulling him closer.

"...That's why I'm the way I am..." Shunsui whispered. He put his chin on his partner's head as he sighed. "...I... I'm truly sorry for how uncomfortable I always made you feel, but... I just couldn't help myself... All those sexual advances... It was all I knew..."

Jyuushiro understood – he truly did. After going through what Shunsui had, the brunet probably didn't know how to ask someone out, or what was acceptable behaviour in circumstances like when Shunsui was Jyuushiro's best friend and boss and nothing more. Kyōraku had always been forceful when it came to things like sex – at least in Jyuushiro's experience – but after hearing what his father did to him... It all made sense. Everything made sense.

"I get it now," Jyuushiro whispered softly. He kissed Shunsui's cheek again as he curled up onto the brunet's lap. "I didn't know any of this, but I feel like I now know what might upset you. I'll do my best to keep you happy, Shunsui."

A single tear dripped down Shunsui's cheek as he pulled Jyuushiro into a bear hug. He didn't know what to say, so he hoped that Jyuushiro would understand how grateful he was for the younger male to still be here in his arms; he had been half-expecting Ukitake to leave after hearing his story.

Hana stood up and put her hand on Shunsui's shoulder. She smiled down at him as she blinked back tears. "You truly have found a gem, so look after him, my beautiful boy."

Shunsui nodded as he rubbed his cheek against his partner's. "I will, mom. Thank you."

"I'm going to go back home now, so you two take care, okay?" Hana smiled as she leant down and kissed Shunsui's cheek. She placed a smaller one on Jyuushiro's pale cheek, too, a warm smile waiting for him when she pulled away. "Jyuushiro, you are a part of my family now, so if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

Jyuushiro nodded, not knowing what to say; this woman hardly knew him and yet, she was already welcoming him into her family.

Hana left a few seconds later, soft humming in her wake. Shunsui just curled himself around his partner, pulling them both into a laying position on the couch.

"I want to sleep here with you tonight, Jyuu-chan," Shunsui said as he repositioned himself so that he was half draped over the frail Ukitake. "I want us to be close tonight."

Jyuushiro chuckled, relaxing into the safe embrace he was becoming so familiar with. "Maybe we should get a blanket or change into pyjamas first, Shunsui."

"Nah~" Shunsui kissed Jyuushiro's cheek in protest. "We're fine. I'll keep you warm, love."

Jyuushiro chuckled again as he closed his eyes, finding himself lulled to sleep by the soothing scent of sake and sakura petals that was Shunsui. "Goodnight, Shunsui."

"Goodnight, Jyuu."

Within seconds, both males were fast asleep, safety and happiness radiating from them.