Shuhei couldn't believe his good luck. Nanao's captain had pulled out all the stops for them and given him a spring board. Shuhei stood outside the tiny restaurant where the letters had told them to meet each other, he clutched the pink begonias close to his chest, his heart hammering.
He'd offered to walk her, but being ever the astute lieutenant that she was, once they'd worked out the restaurants location, had decided to meet him there instead to stop him doubling back on his path. Shuhei had tried to argue that he didn't mind, but she'd insisted and he didn't wish to start an argument with her on the very day he was taking her out. He'd resolved to walk her home at the very least, and he'd argue that point if he had to.
Nanao rounded the corner to his left, her long dark hair wasn't pinned back this time, but was left flowing down her shoulders, strands of it caught around her neck in the evening breeze. She wore a traditional floral kimono tied around the waist. The colours were pale lilac and blue, complimenting her eyes.
'You look beautiful,' Shuhei said nervously as he held the flowers out to her. A light dusting of pink ghosted under her glasses and she dipped her head to sniff the flowers.
'Thank you,' she straightened back up, 'you went with the colour of my squad.'
'I- thought you'd appreciate it,' Shuhei chuckled, rubbing his neck. He still couldn't believe his good luck, there was at least a fifty percent chance that she could have stood him up tonight. He turned and opened the door for her to enter.
The entire restaurant had been booked out for them by Kyoraku, their server bowed as they entered. The place was tiny and private, only able to seat around ten or so souls at a time. They knelt down at the traditional table and placed their orders, drinking as they waited for the food to cook.
'How has Rangiku been?' Shuhei asked. He'd absolutely, one thousand percent, not done research into what topics to chat to a girl about on a first date. And his non-existent sources had one thousand percent not told him to speak about her and her friends.
Nanao's lips twitched, as if knowing exactly where he'd gotten the idea from, 'she's been better.'
Shuhei grimaced, 'I've not been out drinking with her and Izuru for a while,' he inclined his head with a sigh, 'I'm worried about all of them, Momo too.'
'They've all seen better days,' Nanao sighed, she leaned back and studied him, as if trying to figure out how much she should tell him. 'Rangiku is meeting Gin tonight.'
'Wh- what?' Shuhei stuttered, 'isn't he in the maggots nest? That's the last report I saw.'
Nanao hummed in confirmation, her slender fingers touching her own chin thoughtfully as she stared at a point on the wall above his shoulder, 'it's a terrible situation. She still cares deeply for him. I said to myself that I would never date a colleague after everything she went through.'
Shuhei watched as the corner of her mouth ticked then her eyes found his.
'Here I am.'
'Here you are,' Shuhei chuckled, taking a sip of his drink to try and hide the tremor in his hand. 'What made you change your mind?'
It was a loaded question, but one he felt he deserved the answer to. Nanao considered him for a moment, her intelligent eyes critical behind her glasses.
'After everything that has happened, in driving our divisions apart, what I once thought a military approach could prevent, I see now only an emotional one can.'
'What do you mean?' Shuhei asked, only partly understanding what she was getting at.
'The people who left, who betrayed us, were not the most empathetic people, otherwise they would never have done what they did. They might have thought they were doing the right thing, but if they held real love⦠real ties to the people around them, they'd never have done it.' Nanao shrugged, 'it's my assumption anyway, the bond between a captain and lieutenant when built on military standards alone, might not be enough to prevent a future situation similar to this happening again.'
'But didn't Gin love Rangiku?' Shuhei asked, still not really understanding.
'She did, but she loved captain Hitsugaya more,' Nanao finished.
'What?' Shuhei blinked.
'He's like her little brother, she adores him, she practically raised him. There wouldn't be a single thing in this world that would cause Rangiku to turn her back on him.'
'What about Momo?' Shuhei asked.
'She held more love for the wrong man,' Nanao smiled sadly. 'And if she'd spent more time with captain Hitsugaya, if Momo had spent more time with her friends Izuru and Renji, maybe things would have gone differently. I can't say for certain, but it's what my heart says.'
Shuhei digested her words. 'I guess we have to choose to close ourselves off to the relationships that could hurt us and vow never to feel, or give it a chance.'
'Exactly,' she smiled sheepishly at him, 'While I've always lived by the former I am now choosing the latter.'
'Well I am glad you're giving me the chance,' he said grinning at her as their food arrived. They picked at the meal on the table, turning their attention to lighter topics.
'Do you think it was just us that got given these love letters tonight?' Shuhei asked her.
'No, it wasn't,' Nanao lifted a dumpling and bit into it, 'I cornered my captain and had him confess that he'd written a letter to two other pairs.'
'Did he say who they were?' Shuhei was genuinely curious now, leaning across the table, he loved gossip as much as the next soul.
'Maybe,' Nanao smiled, a beautiful twinkle in her eye, 'but short of it ending up in the Seireitei Bulletin I don't think I'll be telling you.'
Shuhei pouted at her and she laughed.
It was the first time he'd seen her laugh, it was nice, to be reminded that there could be some happiness in the world. That they could be happy, despite the world crumbling around them. He spent the better part of the next twenty minutes trying to guess names, while Nanao just shook her head and promised that she wasn't going to tell him anything.
'I will tell you,' she said, waving her chopsticks at him, 'once the evening is over and I find out how they all got on.'
'Does that mean I get to take you out again?' Shuhei grinned and she smiled at him over the top of her glass.
'Maybe,' she confirmed.
He was pretty sure she never outright said "yes" to things.
'Perfect, how about this weekend?' he asked and she nodded her head. Talk swapped to hobbies and interests, he listened patiently to her while she gushed about the latest series of books she was reading and he spoke to her about his bankai training. They were ushered from the restaurant fifteen minutes after closing, having not realised the time. Shuhei managed to walk her back to her quarters without much of a fuss where she stopped in front of him.
'This is me,' Nanao said with a soft smile. They were in the heart of the eighth division, the small lieutenant living quarters close to her captains where Shuhei was sure he'd seen the curtain twitch.
'I had a wonderful time tonight,' Shuhei grinned down at her, 'it's the first time I've felt happy in so long.'
'Me too,' she ducked her head, but her legs didn't move. Feeling brave, Shuhei leaned forward and she met him halfway. Their lips met in a delicate press, nothing more, and he didn't push to deepen it. He pulled back and grinned down at her, a beautiful pink hue dusted her cheeks.
'My captain is watching, isn't he?' she asked.
Shuhei's eyes flickered up to where he'd seen the curtain twitch earlier, only to see two sets of eyes quickly disappear back behind it again. He chuckled and nodded his head, 'so is his husband.'
Nanao sighed in exasperation as she turned to glare at her captain's house.
'Maybe next time we'll get more privacy,' Shuhei said with a fond smile.
'I doubt it,' she murmured under her breath. Shuhei laughed, his heart feeling giddy and light, he leaned down and pecked her cheek which had her face heating up even more.
'Goodnight, Nanao,' he said before turning and walking away. He double checked she got in safely over his shoulder before he departed from view, barely resisting the urge the skip as he went.
