Author's note: I do not own Bleach or its characters.
Eight
Most people wouldn't read much into the fact that Nanao was sitting much closer to him than usual. Shunsui knew better. It was just one of the several little changes he'd begun noticing in her manner lately. Of course, nothing could top the fact that Nanao had kissed him on her birthday. Shunsui was still in shock at that. He hadn't expected her to be quite that bold. Not that he minded though.
Their fingers brushed as Nanao passed him the plate of grilled chicken. There was a rosy flush on her cheeks, but she smiled at him and met his eyes. Shunsui didn't know what exactly had prompted his Nanao-chan to suddenly act on her feelings for him, though he did have his guesses. He had known she shared his feelings for some time, but until five days ago, she had never taken direct action on them.
Shunsui would put his money on the combination of the approaching war with Aizen and the events of the ryoka invasion as the reason for her finding the courage to act. Not that he blamed her. Shunsui had never been quite as terrified as the moment he realized that his Nanao-chan was suffocating under the pressure of Yama-ji's reiatsu. He hadn't wanted to leave her to return to the fight. He had wanted to wrap himself around her and take them both far away to someplace safe. Of course, Nanao would have been pretty annoyed with if he had.
He took the opportunity to capture Nanao's hand and press and kiss to her palm. Her blush deepened, and she glanced around to see if anyone else at his birthday dinner had notice. Shunsui just smiled at her. His brave Nanao-chan might have made the first move five days ago, but now that she had, he wasn't about to let the opportunity pass him by.