She was still fast asleep when he re-entered the bedroom after making himself a quick breakfast. He wished he was passed out next to her. A hangover was kicking the crap out of his skull and sleep sounded amazing. Still duty called, and he'd fought through worse. Besides he knew his limits well enough and had been prepared for today to suck.

"Nanao-chan," he cajoled as he shook her shoulder. She made an angry noise and buried her head further in a pillow taking a page out of his book. He shook her gently again and the disgruntled sound became one of anguish. "Feeling like shit?"

"Urgh."

"Figured as much. Come on sweetheart, you have to sit up and drink this."

"Don't wanna. Wanna die."

He laughed. He didn't think he'd ever heard her sound more pathetic in his life. "This'll make it better, I swear." He set the glass down and dug for her under the covers. She tried to get away from him but her movements were sluggish and he pulled her upright. She went limp on him hoping he'd set her back down, but instead he just shook his head and maneuvered around so her back was leaning heavily against his front in a seated position. "Come on, Nanao-chan. It's a hangover tonic from the 4th. It'll take care of the worst of it, but it's going to knock you out for a few more hours." Which was the reason he was going to have to torture himself rather than take a tonic too.

"My family," she groaned knocking her head back softly against his collarbone.

"I'll take care of it. Come on." He pushed the glass in her hands and she took a few feeble sips. "All of it, Nanao-chan." He watched her drain the rest of the glass and then helped her settle back down. "Get some rest." She was out almost as soon as the words left his mouth.

Every fiber of his being wanted to crawl back into that bed with her. Maybe he and Jyuu would luck out and find and dispatch the hollow quickly. Then he could come back and have a nap with Nanao. Maybe she'd wake him up with a kiss? Bad Shunsui. She'd been drunk and if he hadn't been as well he would have had enough wits about him to stop it. Not that he hadn't enjoyed it. There was no way not to enjoy a kiss like that, but he also made a point of not taking advantage of inebriated women. Still the memory of her pressed against him and her soft skin and hair under his fingertips lingered.

He forced himself to get up and leave the room. Nanao would be fine, and he had to meet Jyuu shortly. It was still early, but he could hear her mother and sister talking quietly in the kitchen.

"I wasn't feeling well, and I was up early. I heard them come back, and they were together," Katsumi said in a hushed tone.

"Well that's a relief at least," her mother chimed in. "She hasn't completely lost him with her unruly behavior. Honestly she's lucky he's a bit unconventional."

Shunsui braced himself and walked into the kitchen. "Good morning ladies."

"Good morning Kyouraku-san," they chimed in unison looking like guilty new recruits who'd gotten caught gossiping about their superiors. He'd seen the look enough times around his own division, given it was usually his fault they were gossiping.

"How are you both this fine morning?"

"We're doing well. Can we make you something for breakfast, Kyouraku-san? I swear Ise women are capable of cooking even though Nanao's skills would say otherwise."

"No, thank you. I already ate, but help yourself to whatever you like." He debated adding a jibe about how he enjoyed cooking for Nanao, and he'd rather a wife who was his intellectual equal to a wife who knew how to fry an egg, but he refrained since what he wanted out of a woman didn't seem to help Nanao with her mother much one way or another. Besides if he was being honest cooking was not one of Nanao's strengths, and it seemed best to choose his battles with her mother.

"So early? You'd think after being out so late you'd want to sleep in. Where is Nanao?"

"Nanao-chan is in bed. She took a hangover tonic so she's going to be out for a while, probably best to leave her be as she won't be in any state to help you. I have to go on a patrol in the Rukongai. Not sure how long that's going to take, but do you all need anything? I could call for a carriage to take you shopping?"

"You have a patrol today?" her mother asked suspiciously. "I thought you both had the day off."

"The Gotei 13 is never completely closed. We always have coverage and when high level missions or assignments come in we're expected to report for duty."

"Of course, that makes sense." But her mother sounded skeptical and shared a quick look with her youngest daughter.

For the love of. Did they really think he was sneaking off to cheat on Nanao so early in the morning? And when she was hungover and passed out in their bed? He held back a sigh and sought out Jyuushiro's reiatsu. He was supposed to meet him by the gate in a few minutes, and as predicted Jyuushiro was already there early. Shunsui used his reiatsu to give Jyuushiro's a small tug that they used when they wanted the other one to come to where they were. He felt curiosity lace itself through Jyuushiro's reiatsu, but he didn't offer anything further, just pulled his own reiatsu back in.

"Would you like me to call a carriage then? Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm sure we'll be fine," Nanao's mother said curtly. "I think we all wanted a relaxing day anyway. We can entertain ourselves."

"If you're sure."

"When do you think Nanao will be awake?"

"Probably not until the afternoon. Please don't try to wake her. That particular tonic really knocks you out."

"She uses that often?"

"No, Nanao-chan rarely drinks to excess. Usually only when she's extremely upset or stressed," Shunsui said sharply although he tried to temper the tone. "I'm the one that has a great deal of experience with that particular tonic and how long it makes you sleep. She'll be fine. If I didn't have patrol I'd be in there with her blissfully cuddled up in bed."

Her mother looked unconvinced at that and he was thankful when Jyuushiro took that moment to let himself in.

"Hello? Shunsui? Are you ready to go?"

Shunsui saw her mother visually relax and held back from rolling her eyes. What sort of man snuck out on his sleeping hungover girlfriend to have a quickie first thing in the morning?

"Yes almost ready. Just trying to find my hat."

"I saw it when I came in on the front table. Haruka-san, Katsumi-san good morning."

"Good morning, Ukitake-san."

Jyuu glanced around. "Where's Nanao-san?"

"In bed," her mother filled in quickly. "She apparently got herself so drunk last night she's sick today."

"Lucky woman," Jyuushiro said blithely. "I could use a tonic and a day of sleep as well. We all had a good time last night. Unfortunately patrol won't let us."

Shunsui could have kissed him for making it so her mother couldn't insult Nanao without also insulting them. "You and me both, my friend. Sure you don't want to do patrol alone? I'm more than happy to take a tonic and crawl back into bed with Nanao-chan."

"How about you patrol and I'll keep Nanao-san warm?" Jyuushiro teased.

He grabbed Jyuushiro in a headlock. "She'd kick you out."

"You don't know unless you let me try."

Shunsui rubbed knuckles across Jyuushiro's head messing up his hair. "I'm going to let the hollow eat you for that."

"Fine, you win, Nanao-san would probably kido blast me out of the bed. Now get off, you idiot." Jyuushiro shoved on his arm and Shunsui let him up. "Can we go now?"

"Yeah. I just want to leave a glass of water for Nanao-chan in case she wakes up before I get home." He slipped past her family, poured the glass and ignored Jyuushiro's amused stare as he went back down the hall and into the bedroom. After all it was only fair after all the times she'd cared for him.

She'd sprawled herself out over the bed again, one long bare leg exposed where she'd kicked the covers off, and was sleeping soundly. He set the water down on the bedside table next to her and ran a hand through her hair gently. It was nice having her here. He'd had hungover women in his bed in the past, but he had mainly just been anxious for them to wake up and leave. Nanao, he hoped, would still be sleeping when their patrol wrapped up. If she was he was going to take his own tonic and use her like a teddy bear. Shunsui gently tugged the blanket back over her leg, trying to ignore the flash of blue striped underwear the bunched up shirt revealed, and headed out.

Saying goodbyes to Nanao's family he and Jyuushiro headed out, shunpoing across the Seireitei and out to the Rukongai.

"Want to tell me why I had to meet at your house this morning?"

"Her mother clearly thought I'd drugged Nanao-chan and was sneaking off to see some woman."

"It's a little early isn't it?"

"That's what I thought too. Regardless, I didn't want Nanao to wake up and get attacked by her mother for my infidelities again. As much fun as last night was I don't think my Nanao-chan's constitution can tolerate another night of hard drinking when her mother drives her round the bend again."

"Is that why you came out last night?"

Shunsui nodded as they started a patrol pattern that was so ingrained neither of them had to even talk about it or plan. "I can't wait for them to leave. Poor Nanao-chan is going to need about a decade to recover." He grinned. "I should instate my ultimate super fun recovery plan."

Jyuushiro laughed. "That plan is horrible and idiotic and in no way super fun." Jyuushiro had been upset over a breakup in academy and Shunsui had thought up a brilliant recovery plan that had included copious amounts of alcohol, pranks, fights, and trying to hook up with new women. "Besides it wouldn't work on Nanao-san."

"Of course it would. My plans are full-proof."

"The only reason that plan even got off the ground was because I lived with you and couldn't escape you."

"Nanao-chan lives with me too," Shunsui said and stuck out his tongue.

"You do realize she's going to leave when her family does right?"

"Oh." Right, that would put a wrench in it. "Right, didn't think of that."

"You'd think you'd want her out by now."

Shunsui shrugged. "It's sort of nice having someone to come home to. You should hear the terrible music she likes. It'd make your ears bleed."

"Um, great?"

"It's cute. Only you can't tell her I told you or I'll catch hell. I kind of enjoy living with a friend. Remember how long it took me to get used to living alone when we started earning enough that we didn't have to be roommates?"

"Yeah, you practically lived at my place even after you moved out. But you moved on quickly enough once you realized there was no one to complain about you bringing back women to hook up with, and I wasn't even sleeping in your bed."

Shunsui grinned. It was true enough. He'd lived an impressively rowdy life the first decade or so on his own – different women and parties almost every night. He'd definitely matured and grown to like his privacy and personal time more over the years. Guess that's what happens with old age. "All the same, I'll miss Nanao-chan when she leaves. She makes the bed every day you know."

Jyuushiro laughed. "You'll miss her because she makes the bed? You can hire a maid to do that." He held up a hand and both of them went on high alert – Jyuushiro obviously listening to something and Shunsui trying to figure out what he heard. Jyuu relaxed and started moving again and Shunsui resumed the patrol along with him.

"No, I don't care about the bed being made. I just like that she does it. It's very Nanao to make a bed everyday that no one is going to see. There's also something to be said for crawling into a tidy bed every night next to another warm body. I swear she straightened up my bathroom too, but she won't admit to it. She also makes tea for us every morning in these nifty thermoses that keep it hot all the way to the office. Oh, and she did this kido on that rug that was always curling up and tripping me up, that I've been swearing I was going to throw out for years, and now it stays put. She's brilliant, isn't she? Has a solution for everything. My living world clothing has also never seen a better use. I think we should petition Yama-jii about making it a rule that female shinigamis wear men's button down shirts and nothing else." Shunsui fantasized about that for a moment and then frowned. "Although perhaps I don't want the entire Seireitei drooling over her. I'm going to have to refine that idea. Perhaps only in the office?"

"You do know you sound like a man in love right?"

"I do not," Shunsui argued quickly as he thought back over his own words. "I mean I do love Nanao-chan, but like I love you. I just enjoy living with someone."

"You want to see me parading around your house in just a button down?"

"Ok, Nanao-chan is also sexier than you. Any man would enjoy that."

"Well it's an easy solve when she's gone then."

"What do you mean?"

"Just advertise for a roommate," Jyuushiro advised. "If you miss living with someone that badly you have plenty of rooms. You could even make some extra sake money. Request only females like you do with your division."

Shunsui pouted. "Nanao nipped that one in the bud. Lisa-chan allowed it because she swung both ways, but Nanao-chan said it was unethical. Luckily we still get mostly females, but it's not an official thing anymore."

"Well Nanao-san won't control your search for a roommate so you can do whatever you want."

"I don't want a stranger living there." Shunsui brightened. She had said she'd like to keep him after all. "Do you think Nanao-chan would do it? It'd save her money and she could have one of the guest rooms so it's all proper."

"Shun there is nothing proper about a Fukutaicho living in her Taicho's home even if she is in another room and paying rent. Nanao-san would definitely say no."

"I could bribe her by turning the other room into an art studio? She'd also have a much better diet if she lived with me, as I wouldn't allow her to skip meals or eat that unhealthy instant crap she feeds herself. She should really do it for her own well being."

"She'll say no and you know it. Maybe Matsumoto-san is looking to save money? She might be interested."

"But then I'd have all her man groupies traipsing in and out of the house. Besides we'd just make each other's bad qualities worse. Nanao-chan wouldn't allow it and neither would Hitsugaya-san."

"Well there are plenty of other women in the Seireitei you vaguely know. Or maybe you could convince Lisa-san to come back from the living world and move in?"

"Lisa-chan doesn't want to live with me. We'd drive each other mad long term. I suppose it would cause problems anyway if I had a roommate and Nanao's family decided to visit again," Shunsui said thoughtfully. "Then I'd have to deal with a roommate who I'd have to kick out."

"You can't seriously be thinking about keeping up this charade long term? I know this will buy Nanao-san some time, but she is eventually going to have to tell her family that the two of you aren't together."

"Why? It doesn't bother me or my family, and her family rarely ever comes to visit. I told her I'd marry her if it'd solve the problem, but she rejected me."

"You what? Have you lost your mind?"

"What? It's not a bad plan. I don't plan on ever getting married and Nanao-chan said she doesn't want to now either. We could just get married and her family will be happy and we could go about our lives without her harpy of a mother. Oh! Also! Wouldn't that make it appropriate for her to be my roommate then?"

"No! That would make her your wife, Shun. And of course Nanao-san still wants to get married one day or at least have an actual romantic relationship. I bet money that's just talk on her part because she got hurt. What do you think? That you'll marry her and get a built-in roommate and then just waltz past her on the way to your room with your latest dalliance?"

Right, the other women. He kept forgetting about those and hadn't really taken that into consideration. He supposed as the weeks went on it would come into play again. It wouldn't be like now when he got to come home to adorable Nanao-chan playing with illegal and deadly kido in their bed. "I guess it's not the best plan."

"No, it's a really really terrible plan. Thank goodness at least one of you has sense."

Shunsui pouted. "I wasn't the one who came up with this lie in the first place. So which one of us has the sense?"

"Still Nanao-san. One lapse of judgment doesn't make her less sensible than you."

Shunsui stuck out his tongue, but paused when he felt a strange power on the edge of his awareness. It flickered out of his senses just as quickly as it'd set them off. "Feel that?"

"Briefly."

"Guess we're on the right track."

"We'll have to be careful if it's stalking us."

"Better than it avoiding us. Maybe we can get this done with."

"You and I have very different definitions of 'better.' Better would be us sneaking up on it unawares and finishing it quickly, not it being confident enough to stalk two Taichos through the Rukongai."

"Whatever gets the job done," Shunsui answered with a shrug. His head was pounding from the hangover, but he didn't think telling Jyuushiro he was looking forward to a tonic and going back to bed with Nanao would go over well. Jyuu would probably just rail on again about him sounding lovesick.

"Just want you to live to see your next birthday."

"Almost there," Shunsui answered with a grin. "Hopefully this hangover will pass by then."

"I have a feeling your division isn't getting much work done on Monday or Tuesday."

"It's fine, Yama-jii gave up years ago on getting work out of the 8th near my birthday. Nanao-chan makes sure the basics are taken care of."

"You'd think a man would get over his birthday after having so many of them."

"Any chance to celebrate. How long do you think this thing is going to lurk?"

"Perhaps it won't engage at all." Shunsui groaned. "Bad hangover?"

"The worst. Nanao-chan is a terrible influence on me."

"Yes, those shots you did with Shinji-san had nothing to do with it."

"He challenged my honor," Shunsui defended putting a hand over his heart. "Saying Lisa-chan said he can drink me under the table. She and I are going to have a talk the next time I see her."

"I just assumed she said it so Shinji-san would try. Whatever you're suffering, he must be suffering times ten."

Shunsui paused at that. It did seem a very Lisa thing to do. He swelled with pride at her manipulation. "Clever girl. I'll buy her a drink the next time I see her."

"You know it's sociopathic to be proud of teaching her to influence people like that, right?"

"Says the saint next to me who would never manipulate someone for his own ends."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Uh huh. Save it for the recruits." The same odd power flickered once more around them. "Speaking of, wanna pull a new recruit?" That was what he and Jyuushiro had taken to calling a move where they split up to have the attacker follow only one of them. New recruits were stupid enough to panic and split often losing the advantage of numbers. Unlike new recruits the one that didn't get followed looped back around to sneak up from behind the attacker.

"I suppose. Might as well get this over with." The men nodded and headed off in separate directions.

A/N: Is anyone else playing the Bleach Brave Souls iPhone game? I got it and am obsessed, but have so far not been able to get Shunsui or Nanao and it makes me so sad. I did get Ukitake, but I wanted the three of them to put into a team. I have a problem, I know. Anyway, hope you enjoyed a chapter of ShunsuixJyuushiro!