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


Groom Me No Groom

Nanao let out a soft sigh as Shunsui's hands worked out the kinks in her neck. Part of her kept pointing out that this was rather inappropriate while a larger part was enjoying the fact that her neck had stopped hurting. Besides, it wasn't like anyone was going to see them. Nanao was fairly sure that they had been forgotten about, but she was really trying not to think about it. She shivered a little.

"Cold, sweetheart?" Shunsui's voice rumbled in her ear.

Nanao nodded, not really trusting her voice at the moment. The archive was climate controlled in order to protect the books, and right now that meant it was colder than was really comfortable. Shunsui pulled her a little closer to his body and spread his jacket over their legs. Nanao let herself lean back against him. This was surprisingly comfortable, and Nanao continued to ignore the part of her mind that was insisting that she was treading on dangerous ground.

Shunsui tucked an errant lock of her hair behind her ear. "So, do you already have plans for what comes next after you've received your doctorate, or have you not planned that far just yet?"

Nanao shrugged a little. "I haven't planned that far yet. I didn't want to assume that I would get my doctorate and then have plans fall through at the last minute because I didn't get it."

And she didn't really know what she wanted to do next. Nanao was rather reluctant to leave the university. It had been her home for a number of years now, and she was quite happy here. Most of the people she knew either were students here or worked for the university. But she also didn't really know if she wanted to teach either. Research was her main passion in the academic world, but there weren't many jobs out there that would let her simply spend her days researching and writing.

"That's my practical Nanao-chan. I'll miss you when you go, you know. And not just because you make running the English department so much easier." Shunsui sighed, resting his chin on her shoulder. "You're so much more fun to debate literature with than most of the other faculty, and you've never sacrificed your own opinions on things in order to attempt to please me. And of course there's the fact that you're absolutely gorgeous when you get passionate about something."

Nanao knew that she had to be blushing furiously. Kyoraku had never really said something like that before. It was a lovely compliment. She hadn't realized that he'd enjoyed their debates so much.

"I'll miss you too if I end up leaving," Nanao admitted. "I've felt at home here."

Silence descended upon them at that point.