Eros

Shunsui/Nanao

They had been married for eleven months now...

Most people said the first year was the hardest, but as far as she could tell nothing was all that different. It didn't feel different anyways. For the most part, things just continued on as they were and the Society was still standing, so that was good. While their engagement might have caused some minor problems in terms of him still being a Captain and her still serving as his Lieutenant, it wasn't really all that important. Although occasionally she challenged his orders and watched the way he hesitated to correct her, which he never did anyways and never would.

Captain Ukitake joked that she must have taken over the Eighth Division since he listened to her more than she did to him.

Kyōraku just laughed with the Thirteenth Captain before he silently agreed.

She would just shake her head and move into another conversation.

It was ridiculous to think that this kind of situation hadn't happened before in the Society, perhaps other occurrences just hadn't been announced or spoken out loud about. She would've preferred if theirs had been the same, if anything she was looking forward to a small, quiet ceremony... but she should've known better than to think it would stay like that. It seemed like the moment she said yes, the entire Society knew about. Ten minutes after he popped the question, she had people coming up and congratulating her.

She may have voiced her slight dislike for a larger ceremony but it felt like it was out of their control now as everyone from every Division was talking about what to wear and who to bring. Suddenly, she had to plan for more than just signing a piece of paper and wearing a ring at the end of it. A lot of people offered to help. Matsumoto offered to help with the dresses and getting the rehearsals together, while Hinamori provided some reliable food catering services they could look into; she ended up taking up most of Isane's time as they spent almost every night up to the wedding getting the smallest details together.

Captain Unohana helped to provide the flowers, which the other female Officers helped to fashion into individual bouquets.

It was all very beautiful and some people still liked to talk about it even now, but... she still considered it to be over the top compared to what she originally wanted. Of course, Kyōraku really took to the celebration- she was still adamant that it was because he and a few of the other Captains had a bachelor party. She still didn't want to know what they did, but considering that the entire group of them were almost late for the rehearsal the next day... it had to have been bad or good either way you look at it.

The girls took her out for a bachelorette party but she remained tamed for most of it, choosing to just stand aside and watch as Matsumoto and Kiyone went topless in the fountain downtown. That was about it. In fact, she showed up at the rehearsal an hour before it even was scheduled to start.

But for the short journey they had shared so far, it was pretty much as she had imagined. Nothing different, nothing new... it was almost like it hadn't even happened in the first place; sometimes she was surprised to find a ring still on her finger. She just wanted to abide by some form of self-restraint and keep from making a public display of too much affection, which the Eighth Captain was purely capable of doing if she didn't keep her eyes on him. Not that she minded, she just didn't want to become a public act.

Setting aside her pen for a moment, she put her thoughts aside to keep her attention on the finished report in front of her; she had been working all morning to get it done so that she could take the rest of the day off. She gave a brief skim over the written words and felt pleased enough with what had been said.

The touch of someone else's lips against the curve of her open neck broke her concentration easily and caused her to jump slightly in her seat. One hand moved over her shoulder and came into contact with his face, which she pushed back against to put more space between them.

"Kyōraku, you made me lose my place."

"Come on, Ise, you've been inside all day."

She frowned lightly before she pushed him aside once more. "I had to finish this report first, you knew that."

He reached forward and lightly plucked the report from her hands, pulling it out of her reach before she could react. "It looks finished enough to me."

"Well it's not!" she complained, trying to reach up to retrieve the paper, only to have his longer range keep it away from her fingers. "I haven't even proofread it yet, let alone started a second final if I need to."

"I don't read these anyways, they just get filed until the drawers get cluttered and someone cleans them out." he assured, folding the paper enough to hide it in the front of his jacket. "Now come on, it's a beautiful day outside; the sun is shining, the weather is lovely and there's plenty to do."

There was no sense in trying to resist as he bent down and slipped his arms underneath her, lifting her easily out of the chair she had been seated in all morning. Sighing, she shook her head and allowed for the Captain to do so, allowing him to carry her bridal style.

Again.