Jyuushiro sighed as he moved through his garden. It'd been awfully nice of his third seats to want to help him plant, but it'd created the most happenstance garden he'd ever walked through in his life. He wondered vaguely if it was worth trying to fix. He sighed again and deciding he had nothing better to do that day, started heading for the Seireitei wall. There was a small garden shop in the 1st district that always had the best plants. He'd pick them up this evening and then spend the next day putting things to right.
He was walking through the gate into the first district as two familiar figures were walking up. The woman pushed the man's face away as he tried to kiss her and laughed. "Shunsui, Nanao-san," Jyuushiro called easily, smiling at his oldest friend and the dark haired woman he'd come to care deeply for over the years.
"Jyuu!" Shunsui exclaimed, bouncing up to him like an over excited puppy. "Where are you going?"
"Picking up some plants to fix my garden," he commented. "Aren't you back early?"
"Nanao-chan has a terrible life-threatening headache," Shunsui said happily.
"Are you alright?" Jyuushiro asked, glancing over at the woman.
"Oh, I'm in terrible pain," Nanao said sarcastically. "Or at least just enough to return to the Seireitei a night early."
"Family troubles again?" Jyuushiro asked rhetorically.
"My mother tried to make us sleep on the blanket she conceived me on," Shunsui said shuddering.
"That's a new one," he said, honestly surprised.
"It was awful," his friend whined. "I even accidentally touched it."
"Like I said, I'm sure it's been washed," Nanao added laughing.
"Do you see how she likes to laugh at my pain, Jyuu-kun?" his friend pouted.
"You should definitely break up with her," Jyuushiro suggested, smiling over at Nanao. "I'll be sure to provide her a shoulder to cry on."
"You're always so kind, Jyuushiro-san," she said grinning back. It'd taken him a while to convince her to call him by his first name, and she still only did it in casual situations, but he was happy she finally would. Dating Shunsui had loosened her up a bit, and Jyuushiro was of the opinion that it was a good thing.
"I refuse," Shunsui said, grabbing the woman around her waist and sticking his tongue out at Jyuushiro. "Get your own."
"Why is your kimono covered in grass stains?" Jyuushiro asked curiously, ignoring his two friends' antics as Nanao tried to wiggle out of Shunsui's arms.
"Because someone thought it'd be a good idea to convince all the children in his family to go rolling down a giant grass hill," Nanao said rolling her eyes.
"It was an excellent idea," Shunsui replied, grinning down at the woman. "I only wish you'd been there so I could have tumbled you down with me."
"We could have left an hour earlier if you hadn't had to listen to your father's lecture," she pointed out. "By the end of that thing, I really was getting a headache."
"Poor, sweet, Nanao-chan," Shunsui said laughing. "I shall have to nurse you back to health. I know just the cure, and it's in my bedroom."
"You're a pervert," she said shoving him off of her. "Your friend is a pervert," she added to Jyuushiro.
"I should tell you about the time I caught him with our math teacher when they were serving pudding in the cafeteria," Jyuushiro commented offhandedly.
"Don't you dare," Shunsui threatened looking horrified.
"This I've got to hear," Nanao said, wrapping her arm through Jyuushiro's and starting them both back towards the 1st district that she and Shunsui had just come out of.
"Nanao-chan doesn't need to hear these things," Shunsui said, trailing after them and looking grumpy.
"I always told you one day I'd get even for all the torture you put me through during the academy," Jyuushiro replied happily.
"She was a very young professor," Shunsui commented sulkily. "Jyuushiro-kun, you are going to hurt my Nanao-chan's perception of me."
At this both Jyuushiro and Nanao started to laugh. "I think my perception of you pretty much went down the drain the night I found you drunkenly reciting love poetry to a horse when I was your 6th seat."
"I don't even remember that," Shunsui protested sullenly.
"You wouldn't," she said shrugging. "You were blackout drunk. You also spent most of the walk home lecturing me about how men would say anything to get a woman into bed and how I shouldn't trust any of them."
"I never," he defended.
"You did," she argued confidently. "Told me that, for example, if you were trying to get me into bed you'd give me flowers, compliment me on my eyes, and tell me you'd write a sonnet about them. Which you then proceeded to do, sober, twenty years later."
"That's why you hit me so hard!" Shunsui said surprised. "And refused to talk to me for a week."
"A week was being kind," she said tossing her head. "Now tell me this story, Jyuushiro-san."
"On second thought, I don't think I want Shun drinking copious amounts and sleeping in my home for the next few weeks while he mopes about how you aren't speaking to him," Jyuushiro said smiling.
"Oh please?" she begged.
"I'll make sure to drink until I throw up all over your new garden too," Shunsui threatened.
"I'll call his mother and have her come get him," Nanao offered.
"I'll tell my mother you're looking for a wife and need her help," Shunsui countered.
"I think I'd prefer my garden vomit free and my life without his mother's interference," Jyuushiro said calmly. "Sorry, Nanao-san."
"There's my wonderful bestest best friend," Shunsui said, tackling Jyuushiro from behind and hooking an arm around his neck.
"If you even contemplate giving me a noogie, I will hurt you," Jyuushiro said lightly.
"Would I ever?" Kyouraku asked innocently, releasing his hold on Jyuushiro.
"You are such a bad liar," Jyuushiro commented shaking his head. "Now I have to hurry or the store will close."
"Let us know if you need help planting tomorrow," Nanao said kindly as she avoided the arm Shunsui tried to place around her shoulders.
"Thank you," he replied. "I'm sure I'll be fine."
"You know where we are if you need us," Shunsui added.
"Hiding out from Nanao-san's cat at your place?" Jyuushiro asked innocently. The woman laughed and Shunsui pouted.
"I'm not scared of that little monster," he defended.
"And we all believe you." Nanao soothed, giving Shunsui a quick chaste kiss on the cheek. "You aren't afraid of cute little innocent Boo in the least."
"Cute and innocent, sure," his best friend grumbled. "We'll leave you to your shopping then."
"Enjoy your evening," Jyuushiro said smiling. Nanao said a polite good bye and the two started back towards the Seireitei gate. Shunsui continued to try to get an arm around her as she danced away, and when they finally got to the gate he ultimately got a hold of her, threw her over his shoulder as she gave a small shriek, and then shunpoed away.
Jyuushiro shook his head and continued to stroll into the 1st district. Even a year ago Nanao would have still kido blasted his friend for man handling her like that. He was happy for both his friends. They'd been putting off the inevitable for years, and it was good to have Nanao less frightened of a dark past that no one had been aware she was shouldering. It had also made Shunsui more light hearted, although no one who didn't know him well would have said Shunsui had ever not been light hearted to begin with. As it was, Jyuushiro knew Shunsui very well and had seen the change in his friend quite clearly.
When he'd first met Shunsui he'd thought he was like every other self important noble he'd ever met. Being one of the lesser noble families, Jyuushiro had been right on the edge of where he'd had to attend noble events, and yet was only there to be looked down upon by the other higher-ranking nobles. He'd been forced to be Shunsui's roommate after his mother had begged and pleaded with Yamamoto to get him a private room due to his health. The first few months had been spent trying to ignore his increasingly annoying, playboy drunkard of a roommate. When they'd finally had a fight, mutual disgust had turned into tolerance, but not much more than that.
It wasn't until a family day was held at the academy that Jyuushiro had seen anything even vaguely redeeming in his roommate. His mother and all of his younger siblings had shown up on his doorstep unannounced, and his first thought had been how to hide his slovenly roommate who was currently passed out hung over and naked in the bed on the opposite side of the room.
"Er, Mom, I didn't know you were coming," Jyuushiro had said, glancing over his shoulder. "Give me a moment." He'd shut the door and hurried around the room trying to shove some of his roommate's clothes and junk under the desk and bed. Then he shoved Kyouraku's shoulder hard. The other boy just groaned and rolled over shoving his head under a pillow. Thinking fast Jyuushiro had taken the glass of water next to his own bed, jerked the pillow away, and dumped it over the brown haired boy's head.
"What the hell?" Kyouraku had yelled, jerking upright.
"Look, I know you don't care about anyone else, but my family is here and I need you to at least put some clothes on," Ukitake had explained quickly.
"Why are they here?" Kyouraku had asked as he winced and rubbed his hand over his face.
"It's family day at the academy," Ukitake had said, glancing at the door and wishing his roommate would move faster. "I didn't think they were coming, or I would have warned you. Look, I'll find somewhere else to sleep for a week, all I'm asking is that you aren't a total ass."
"Yare, yare," Kyouraku had grumbled. "Calm down." The boy had stood up and started pulling on an academy uniform slowly. "Do you have any painkiller?"
"Here," Ukitake had said shoving some pills in his roommates hand. Kyouraku took them dry and moved to slip on a shirt as Ukitake had gone back to the door.
"Shiro-chan, what's taking so long?" his mother had asked, adjusting one of his younger sisters on her hip.
"Sorry, Mom, had to clean up a little," Jyuushiro had said.
"Oh, Shiro-chan, have you been having troubles keeping everything in order? I knew I should have visited sooner," his mother had commented looking worried.
"No, really I'm fine! Just a few clothes lying about was all," Jyuushiro had lied. His mother had always been overprotective due to his health, and the academy was the first time he had even remotely been on his own. He wasn't about to give her any reason to take him home now.
"If they're giving you too much work, you should really let me know," his mother had said, trying to look over his shoulder into the room. At this point, she'd started edging past him into the room, and one of his little brothers had bolted in between his legs. All he could do was hope Kyouraku hadn't vomited all over and passed back out.
"Oh, hello, you must be Shiro-chan's roommate," his mother had said as she entered the room fully.
"Ukitake-sama," Kyouraku had replied giving her a respectful bow. Oh kami, Jyuushiro'd thought, he must still be drunk. "Pleasure to meet you ma'am."
"Oh, no need to be so formal," his mother had said waving a hand at his roommate and blushing lightly. "What's your name dear?"
"Shunsui," his roommate had introduced himself, and Jyuushiro had wondered briefly at the lack of a last name. That was until he'd noticed one of his little brothers digging through his roommate's pile of manga. His fear had been two fold, one that his little brother would bend up the books, and two that his roommate's pile probably contained more hentai than he wanted to think about.
"Toshiaki, don't touch things that aren't yours," Jyuushiro had reprimanded lightly, getting a hold of his seven year old brother's hand.
"It's fine," Kyouraku had replied easily. He'd reached into the pile and pulled out two or three books, which he'd stuck up on a high shelf and then had said, "You can take whatever you like from those. I've read them all." Toshiaki had instantly dived back for the manga. Their family didn't have tons of money, and since their father had died a year ago his mother had focused all their expenses on necessary things. Being allowed manga was a rare treat for the boy.
"You really don't mind?" his mother had asked looking apprehensive.
"Not at all. He can have them all if he likes," Kyouraku had said unconcerned.
"That's very kind of you," she'd said as some of Jyuushiro's other brother's had joined in digging through the pile. "You're lucky to have such a nice roommate Shiro-chan."
"Uh, yeah," Jyuushiro had agreed rather half-heartedly. "So this is it. We should probably get out of Kyouraku-san's hair. I could show you around the academy?"
"You're a Kyouraku?" his mother had asked, and Jyuushiro had been startled to see his roommate sigh.
"Yes, Kyouraku Shunsui at your service," Kyouraku had said with feigned cheerfulness, giving his mother a ridiculous bow.
"Oh my, are you Hana-sama's son?" his mother had asked looking surprised.
"You know my mother?" he'd asked curiously.
"We grew up in the same area," his mother had said lightly. "How is she?"
"Very well," Kyouraku had said formally. "I'll take her your regards. I'm sure she'll be pleased you remember her." That was when Jyuushiro had figured out that Kyouraku must have finally drank away part of his brain cells. This person talking to his mother was not his annoying self centered roommate, he was some strange impersonation of the impulsive boy.
"That's all very nice, but we should probably get out of Kyouraku-san's way," he'd commented as one of his younger sisters moved around to peer out at his roommate from behind his legs.
"Have you eaten yet dear?" his mother had asked Kyouraku politely.
"Not yet, Ukitake-san," Kyouraku had replied.
"Well then, you must join us all for lunch."
"Mom!" Jyuushiro had intercepted quickly. "You really shouldn't impose on him so much."
"I'd be happy to," Kyouraku had said smiling.
"Wonderful," his mother had answered happily, "Come along, everyone. Boys we can get the manga when we come back." Jyuushiro had watched two of his brothers reluctantly leave the piles of manga to join the other three and follow his mother out with his baby sister on her hip. His other sister had still been hiding behind his legs as he had glanced over at Kyouraku.
"What are you doing?" he'd hissed at his roommate.
"What? I'm hungry and I used all of my money on drinks last night," his roommate had explained with a shrug.
"I won't allow you to be rude to my family," Jyuushiro had said seriously.
"Do I look like I'm being rude?" Kyouraku had asked rolling his eyes. "You're just fun to annoy. I'm not going to be a jerk to a nice woman and a bunch of children. I've had etiquette beaten into me since the day I was born. I am capable of holding up a conversation."
"Be nice if you showed it more often," Jyuushiro had grumbled.
"It is such an awful effort though," Kyouraku had sighed dramatically before focusing on his younger sister. "And who might you be?"
"My name's Yuki-chan," his little sister had introduced, pressing more firmly into the back of Jyuushiro's legs.
"Yuki-chan being your given name?" Kyouraku had asked grinning down at her. "Does that mean that when people call you by a nickname they call out Yuki-chan-chan?"
"You're funny," the little girl had giggled.
"Well, Yuki-chan-chan, what are you doing back there?" Kyouraku had asked, winking at Ukitake.
"Hiding," the girl had explained bluntly. "I don't know if you're a good guy or a bad guy yet, and if you're a bad guy then my big brother will beat you up before you can get to me."
"Has he beat people up often?" Kyouraku had asked curiously.
"No," she'd said looking at him like he was an idiot. "My brother's a good guy, but he'd beat them up if they tried to hurt any of us. He's gotta lot of ratsoup."
"Reiatsu, you mean," Kyouraku had corrected gently.
"That's what I said," the little girl had replied with a snort.
Jyuushiro was surprised to hear Kyouraku laugh whole-heartedly. He'd heard his roommate laugh often, but it was usually that insipid laugh he used to get a girl in bed or to pretend he was even remotely interested in what she was saying. This laugh had been completely different, genuine. "Well, I have no intention of making your brother beat me up," Kyouraku had said smiling. "I'm a good guy after all."
"Are you sure?" Yuki had asked carefully.
"Are you lot coming?" his mother had called back from down the hall. It always took her a while to notice someone was missing with six boys and two girls.
"On our way," Jyuushiro had called back.
"I'm super sure," Kyouraku had nodded.
"Prove it," Yuki had demanded in her own audacious way.
"Yuki," Jyuushiro had reprimanded quickly.
"Yare, yare," Kyouraku had said. "Would a bad guy wear pink?"
Jyuushiro had looked up from chastising his little sister, only to find that his roommate had grabbed the pink yukata that one of his bedfellows must have left, and had draped it ridiculously over his shoulders. Jyuushiro just stared at the stranger before him in shock. Kyouraku Shunsui did stupid things all the time, but he rarely made himself look so completely uncool by doing them.
"If you take it off though, then you become a bad guy again," his sister had giggled.
"Yuki," Jyuushiro had said exasperated.
"Fine then Yuki-chan-chan, we need to hurry or your mother will leave without us," Kyouraku had replied easily.
Yuki had giggled again and darted out from behind Jyuushiro's legs to latch on to his roommate who had strolled out the door with the pink yukata fluttering behind him. Jyuushiro had stood there a moment in shock, wondering what the hell had just happened. Then he'd hurried to catch up and had hoped to survive the lunch.
"What are you doing?" Jyuushiro had demanded after they'd eaten, as all of them had strolled through the academy gardens. His younger siblings had been darting all around while his mother had tried to keep track of them in her own laughing way. Kyouraku had been pleasant and entertaining throughout lunch. He'd even done magic tricks for his youngest siblings and had let Yuki steal food right off his plate. Now they were in the gardens and he still had the pink yukata on, despite all the points and laughter from their fellow students and their families.
"I thought you told me not to be an ass," Kyouraku had said shrugging and then quickly reaching up to keep the pink material from fluttering away in the breeze.
"Yeah, but I didn't think you were actually capable of it," Jyuushiro had replied honestly.
"I like kids," Kyouraku had replied simply. "They don't expect you to be anything except fun. They're easy to get along with, and besides your mother is nice. Why would I be a jerk to her?"
"You're a jerk to a lot of nice people," Jyuushiro had snorted.
"Name one," Kyouraku had replied.
"Uh, all of our professors, all the women you sleep with, and me," Jyuushiro had listed, shocked that Kyouraku had even asked.
"I'm not a jerk to any of them. It's not my fault they keep expecting things out of me and then get pissed off when I let them down. I never lie. I never tell them I'm going to do something I'm not. If people build up their own expectations and they don't come true, then that's their problem not mine," Kyouraku had defended. "I didn't ask to be who I am."
"All I ask of you is that you're quiet occasionally and pick up your crap," Jyuushiro pointed out.
"And I've been better about it, so relax," Kyouraku had said shrugging.
"Don't you ever want to accomplish anything besides sleeping, screwing, or drinking?" Jyuushiro had asked boldly, considering his roommate had been in an uncharacteristically sharing mood. "Isn't that why you came here?"
"No," Kyouraku had said, looking even more distant than usual. "That's why you came here. I came here because I had to. Nothing less, nothing more."
"So what everyone else sees as an honor, you just see as a punishment?" Jyuushiro had demanded.
"Isn't it always like that?" Kyouraku had asked offhandedly.
"Good guy-kun," Yuki had yelled as she darted back to them and interrupted their conversation. "Toshiaki said there's no such thing as fairies. You have to tell him there are. He won't believe it if Shiro-nii tells him, because he says Shiro-nii will just lie to make me happy."
Jyuushiro's little brother had sulkily followed along behind his sister and glared defiantly up at his roommate. "Well of course there are fairies Yuki-chan-chan, but they hide in the flowers. You have to go over to the flowers and ask them very sweetly to come out."
Jyuushiro had raised an eyebrow at his roommate as his little sister went over, wide-eyed, to whisper to a bunch of flowers. Suddenly flickering glowing pink lights had seemed to appear from behind the stems and whirl into the air in a dance of their own. Yuki laughed delightedly and chased off after them as they swirled around the garden. Even Toshiaki had looked suitably impressed and darted after his sister.
"If you can do that spell so quickly and easily, why are you failing out of our kido class?" Jyuushiro had asked, looking at his roommate in surprise. It had been a delicate spell, and Jyuushiro had gotten the impression that, while his roommate obviously had a lot of reiatsu, he must only be able to wield it like a sledgehammer.
"Because that was fun," Kyouraku had replied simply. "Kido class is dull as hell, and I sleep through the tests that I show up for. Besides you won't see them teaching you that in kido class. All they are teaching you is how to destroy things. You're never going to make anyone laugh sending off a shot of red fire unless you screw it up."
"If you don't want to fight anything why are you here?" Jyuushiro had asked confused.
"Like I said, I'm here because I have nowhere else to go," Kyouraku had replied. He'd shifted his hand subtly and the firefly sparks he'd generated went shooting the other way as more children from other visiting families joined in the game.
"You're a noble. Why not just go home, get married, and be waited on hand and foot?" Jyuushiro had asked bravely.
"Turns out, I'm not very good at that either," Kyouraku had said rather darkly, and his spell had flickered momentarily as he lost focus and then regained it. "Why are you here? You want to kill hollows that badly?"
"I just want to exist on my own will power, without anyone else telling me what I can and can't be," Jyuushiro had replied, surprising even himself with his honestly.
"Well, then maybe we aren't so different after all," Kyouraku had replied cryptically. "Come on, this is getting boring. Don't you think it'd be more interesting if there were another group of fairies to start a race with?"
Jyuushiro gapped at the boy, who was apparently his roommate, and then shook his head. He focused briefly, and a squad of glowing blue lights rose up from behind the bushes where some children were catching their breath and suddenly the game was on. "Yamamoto-sensei is going to be angry when he sees how much damage all the children have done running through the gardens."
Kyouraku had grinned and made his pink sparks fly through a particularly dense patch of flowers as the children paraded after. "What's he going to do? Scream at a bunch of children?"
"More than likely scream at us," Jyuushiro had pointed out.
"Don't worry so much, he wouldn't suspect his golden boy for a moment," Kyouraku had said with a laugh. "And I'm used to getting yelled at. Now make those pansy blue fairies do something interesting."
The rest of the afternoon and most of the evening was spent with children screaming and jumping around the gardens and lawns as the adults congregated and talked. Many other academy students joined in, if only to show of their newly acquired skills, and soon a giant game of tag was started between teams of multicolor fairies and the children who chose sides with them. It wasn't until it was getting dark that children started dropping off and families started packing up to head home.
"Do we really have to go?" Yuki had asked yawning in her mother's arms.
"Yes, dear, your brother needs to study."
"Does good guy-kun need to study too?" she asked sleepily.
"More than most," Jyuushiro had answered with a snort.
"Shiro-chan! Don't be rude!" his mother had scolded. "We'll come back another time, if you boys don't mind."
"Whenever is fine, Ukitake-sama," Kyouraku had said grinning. "After all, Yuki-chan-chan never did catch her fairy."
"I was this close," his little sister had defended fiercely holding her fingers close together to demonstrate.
His family had headed out, and they had headed back to the dorms. "I know it doesn't mean anything, but thank you for been kind to my family," Jyuushiro had said as the easiness of the afternoon began to wear off and the stiffness of their previous relations began to reassert itself.
"They're a nice family," Kyouraku had said shrugging. "I have a lot of little cousins. It was nothing."
"Still, thanks all the same," Jyuushiro had reiterated. He'd been surprised when Kyouraku had stopped walking and started glaring up at the doors of the dorm. He'd glanced at his roommate and then back at the doors and noticed two men and a woman standing stiffly and looking uncomfortable.
"Shunsui?" The woman had asked peering into the darkening evening.
"Mother," his roommate had greeted stiffly. "What are you all doing here?"
"It's family day," the man beside the woman had answered harshly. "What do you think we're doing here?"
"I assumed you weren't coming," Kyouraku had said rigidly.
"Well, you know what they say about assuming," the man, who Jyuushiro assumed was his father, said darkly. "Now we've been made to stand here looking like idiots for an hour."
"Then you should have gone home and saved your dignity," Kyouraku replied coldly. "It's not like my reiatsu wasn't flaring all over the garden, and you had no idea where I was."
"Your elders do not come to you, you ungrateful brat," his father had hissed. "And what are you wearing?"
"Like it?" Kyouraku had asked grinning, only there was little kindness in the smile. "I think it rather suits me."
"Take it off now, you're making a mockery of the Kyouraku name," the man had demanded.
"Make me, old man," Kyouraku had replied.
"Now, now boys," the woman had interceded. "You're both clearly in grumpy moods."
"Obviously, we've just been informed by all his teachers that the boy is a complete waste," his father had said gesturing towards Kyouraku.
"I'm sure Shunsui has an explanation," his mother had defended. "Are they being unfairly hard on you due to your name, dear?"
"You don't really want me to answer that," Kyouraku had said stiffly. "Are you pulling me out of school or what?"
"More like disowning you," his father had spat out.
"Say the word," Kyouraku had replied.
"Both of you knock it off this instant," his mother had demanded. "No one is disowning anyone, and you both ought to be ashamed doing this in public. I'm sorry dear," she'd said turning to Jyuushiro.
"It's fine Kyouraku-dono, I was just headed inside," Jyuushiro had responded, snapped out of his surprise.
"And you are?" she requested kindly.
"Ukitake Jyuushiro ma'am," he answered.
"Ukitake, where do I know that name?" she'd wondered aloud.
"My family lives rather close to your blood relations," Jyuushiro had supplied.
"Oh yes, thank you dear."
"Barely even counts as noble," his father had harrumphed from the side. "Run along boy, we have matters to discuss."
"Lucky you," Kyouraku had muttered.
"Do wish your mother well for me," Kyouraku's mother had added.
"Of course, ma'am," Jyuushiro had replied, glancing over at his roommate once more and seeing yet another person he hadn't met until tonight. He'd hesitated for a moment, but then gone on his way.
He'd not heard the rest of the conversation, but Kyouraku had come back an hour later with his reiatsu flaring all over the place and had slammed himself down in his bed so hard Jyuushiro had been rather worried it would break. His roommate hadn't spoken for the next couple days and had spent most of the time drinking. For the first time in a very long time, Jyuushiro hadn't complained about it once.
Four days later he'd come home from classes to find Kyouraku playing a shamisen and making up dirty lyrics gleefully. A brand new pink haori was lying at the end of his roommate's bed and all seemed to be right with the world again. "You're bothers forgot the manga," he'd commented casually, as Jyuushiro moved around the room. Jyuushiro had glanced over at the pile and noticed it'd gotten rather larger with some new looking manga on top. "I'll have a messenger take it over if you give me your address."
"I'm sure they'd appreciate that," Jyuushiro had said lightly. "My mother told me to invite you over for our town's festival in two weeks. Yuki hasn't stopped talking about fairies since they got home."
"I'd like that," Kyouraku had said nonchalantly, though Jyuushiro had had a feeling he was being honest. "Now what rhymes with thrust?"
"Must, lust, and bust are the three that come to mind first," Jyuushiro had replied tolerantly.
They hadn't been friends after that, but they'd had a better understanding of each other, and strangers had become acquaintances. Even then Jyuushiro hadn't imagined their relationship would go much beyond that.
"Ukitake-san, back for more flowers already?" the shop owner asked kindly as he returned his focus to the present.
"Yes, well, we had a few accidents with the ones I bought the other day," Jyuushiro said smiling. He'd put his gardens to right in the morning and then perhaps he'd drop in for dinner with Shunsui and Nanao tomorrow evening. Well at least as long as it was Nanao, and not Shunsui, doing the cooking. After all it was good to stay connected to your family.
A/N: So there was some time between updates, but it was a long one so don't hate me! Also as you can probably tell, as much as I love Nanao/Shunsui, this isn't going to be Nanao/Shunsui 100% of the time, which honestly would get pretty boring pretty fast. Hopefully that's ok :)
I also had some people ask about Shunsui's mother's name so it actually worked out really well that I already had it in this chapter. Anyway as always I love reviews and they encourage me to update faster!