Author's note: I do not own Bleach or its characters. This is AU.

Dawning Realizations

Shunsui was in a quandary. In the past few weeks he had easily slipped into a familiar pattern spending his time divided between the palace and the Shinigami Knight's complex. It had taken himself and his princess very little time to develop a comfortable working relationship. There was still a little awkwardness every now and then, but for the most part they fit together with the ease they had always had. Nanao was certainly keeping him busy with everything from sorting out the latest intelligence reports from the borders to advocating some of her harder to sell plans with council meetings. They made a good team.

He sighed, looking around the garden near the Eight Division. Jyuushiro was supposed to be meeting him. No, the problem was his princess. She was beautiful, intelligent, witty, funny, and too young for him. He was supposed to protect her, not develop an attraction that was impractical and unwise. He had always loved her, but it was a slightly different matter being in love with her. There were a number of issues here: he was too old for her, she needed to make a politically advantageous marriage, and lastly, he has always wanted to make a love match and he doubted his Nanao-chan was in love with him.

It was not something they needed to be dealing with right now. There was enough on both his and Nanao's plates without romantic complications. They both had their suspicions about Aizen, though Shunsui had not told her about Tousen's attempt to kill him when he was first exiled. Jyuushiro had revealed that the knights had a spy among Aizen's cronies, but he was not in a position to do more than slip them tidbits of information at the moment. There was also the matter of Nanao's ascension to the throne. Unless his princess married an older man, that was a year and a half away. It wasn't the best position to be in for until she was actually Queen, Nanao would constantly have to battle the Royal Council for power. It was a waste of her time and effort, especially in the event of an emergency like a border attack or a natural disaster.

"You look glum. What's wrong, Shunsui?" Jyuushiro sat down beside him. "You haven't quite been yourself lately."

"I think I'm in love with Nanao."

"You've been in love before, Shunsui. It typically passes after a while. Her highness doesn't really fit your typical profile but there are always exceptions."

He shook his head. "Not like this, Jyuu. Nanao has always been different."

"What exactly is your problem with this?" His friend smiled wryly. "Somehow I doubt that it's the fact that you're in love with her that's bothering you."

"I'm too old for her. Nanao needs to marry politically advantageously, and she could do much better than me. If I marry her, I want it to be because she loves me, not because she has to." The last slipped out without him realizing it.

Jyuushiro raised an eyebrow. "Her Highness is royal, Shunsui. Age is not a great matter. Half of the council's candidates are at least your age if not older. Furthermore, politically speaking, you would be a very good choice. You're a prominent noble from one of the oldest families in the kingdom and have extensive experience both militarily and in the court. I doubt she would find someone else who would both have the background she needs and be willing to accommodate her ruling. Most of the men that have been suggested would not share power with her without a fight. So, the only real issue is the matter of the princess' heart."

His friend patted him on his back. "If you are this serious about your princess, I would suggest you think about wooing her a little. Not that I think that much will be needed. You are the only man I have ever seen fluster Her Highness or make her blush. Somehow, I doubt that her feelings are that far from your own."

Somehow that didn't remove Shunsui's unease about the whole thing. For all Jyuushiro's wisdom, Shunsui doubted his insight extended to his princess' heart. Truthfully, what he wanted most was his Nanao-chan to be happy. If that was with him, that could be wonderful, but if her heart lay with some once else, he would do everything his power to make her happy. And romancing his Nanao-chan was out of the question. Even if she had the time for it, Shunsui rather thought she might hurt him if he tried anything. When she was younger, her books had proved rather effective when she needed to get her point across, and he knew that the Royal Library had some very thick volumes.