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


Find Me No Find

Nanao had dozed off curled up against him. Shunsui had estimated they had been in the archives for nearly seven hours now. He wasn't at all surprised that Nanao had fallen asleep. He doubted that she'd been getting enough rest lately, and it was definitely past the time that Nanao would have gone home. As they didn't have much else to do, Shunsui let her sleep. Besides, as Nanao was basically curled up in his lap with her head pillowed on one of his arms, Shunsui wasn't going to complain. He didn't know if he'd ever get a chance to hold her like this again.

Still, the fact that she had admitted that she would miss the university (including him) if she left had given him hope. It had almost sounded like she didn't want to leave. Shunsui glanced down at the young woman in his arms. He knew he didn't want her to leave. She hadn't protested any of his endearments lately either.

"Would you stay if I asked you too?" he spoke quietly, not wanting to wake her; he didn't think he could ever ask that question when Nanao was awake.

It would be selfish of him to hold her back if she wanted to go. Shunsui loved her enough to let her go and spread her wings if that was what she wanted. Nanao shifted in his arms slightly, and Shunsui sighed. He personally didn't think they were going to get out of here until tomorrow morning. Clearly, no one had realized that they were in here when they locked up, and Shunsui doubted that anyone would be looking for himself or Nanao until tomorrow. And sadly, this part of the archives did not have an emergency exit. Shunsui would have gladly dealt with the hassle of setting off a fire alarm in exchange for getting out. Unfortunately for them, the nearest emergency exit was in the staff area on the other side of the door.

Nanao shifted in his arms again.

"What time is it?" Her voice was soft and sleepy.

"Around eleven I think. It's not morning yet. Though my guess is I'll be taking you out to breakfast instead of dinner." Shunsui smiled down at her. "Anything in particular you want?"

"Waffles. Belgian waffles and bacon and strawberries. The berries on the side, not on the waffles."

Shunsui doubted that Nanao was more than half awake. She was incredibly adorable half asleep though. Of course, Shunsui considered her adorable most of the time. Nanao adjusted herself, so she could look him in the eye.

"If I left here, I think I'd miss you the most." She sighed softly. "Why did you have to be my professor?"

He kissed the top of her head. "I won't be your professor anymore once you earn your doctorate. Besides, Nanao-chan, what would you do if I wasn't your professor?"

Nanao wouldn't meet his eyes. "I might say yes to a date, or I might just ask you out myself."

Shunsui slid a finger under her chin, so he could force her to look at him. Nanao was blushing, but her eyes clearly said what she couldn't. He leaned in just enough to brush his lips across her.

"I think I can work with that."