"Wasn't she drunk?" Jyuushiro asked critically. It wasn't that he enjoyed crushing Shunsui's hopes, but he found he was always necessary to put some reality into his friend's day.
"She was the first time, but when she woke up today I asked her again," Shunsui said happily, lying in Jyuushiro's almost restored garden.
"And then you were so extremely happy that you thought it'd be best to leave your hung over girlfriend at home and come tell me?" Jyuushiro asked, using his arm to wipe the sweat off his forehead. He stood up and moved back to make sure he was planting everything where it would look best.
"Hey!" Shunsui said, pushing himself up on his elbows and tilting his hat back. "I had a hangover tonic for her, and I wanted to stay, but then her and Rangiku-chan kicked me out of my own home to have a girls' 'hangover day'. Whatever that is. You should have pity on me, not be scolding me."
"Wait, did Nanao-san kick you out or did Matsumoto-san?"
"I think it was more Ran-chan," Shunsui said contemplating it. "I think Nanao-chan would have just crawled back in bed and slept all day if given the choice. Why?"
"Well, for a moment I thought it was Nanao-san, which would mean once she moves in this kicking out would become a permanent thing, which then means you'd be over here all the time."
"I'm starting to think you don't like me very much," Shunsui whined, plopping back down on the ground. "You better be careful, or I'll just disappear one day.
"It's a good thing you don't have any other friends to replace me with," Jyuushiro said with a laugh, going back to his digging. "And I have no fear that wherever you were hiding, Nanao-san could sniff you out in a few minutes. The woman has an unmatchable talent for being able to find you."
"That's because we're soul mates, and when we are separated from each other our reiatsus cry out to one another from across the gulf," Shunsui declared dramatically.
Jyuushiro just snorted. "That or she's been with you so long that she just has a very good grasp on how your twisted mind works. Besides, eventually anyone can find you if they wait long enough. Just stake out the biggest sake cache and you will show up sometime. Come on, I think I'm done here for now. Let's go get something cold to drink."
"Chilled sake?" Shunsui asked hopefully.
"I'm sure I can find some," Jyuushiro replied rolling his eyes.
He distinctly remembered one of the noble women Shunsui's mother had tried to match Shunsui with decades ago who had spent most of her time trying to cure Shunsui's "alcoholism". All it had served to do was make him drink more, if only to annoy her. It'd been amusing to watch Shunsui sometimes act like he was completely wasted around her when the truth was he hadn't had a drop of alcohol at all. Any normal girl would have given up quickly, but she'd been convinced she'd make the perfect rich Kyouraku wife. The woman had only given up when Kyouraku had gone on a "drunken" tangent about how he'd used up all his share of the family fortune and owed the debtors a bunch of money. Then he'd asked her for a loan, and the woman had left and never looked back.
"Jyuu?" Shunsui asked, drawing his attention back to him.
"Yes?"
"I told Nanao-chan about my little family problem," he said casually.
"Any particular reason why?" he asked curiously. Jyuushiro was well aware that he was one of the very few people that new the truth about Kyouraku's family. He'd been there when Shunsui had had a pregnancy scare right after academy where he'd thought he'd gotten one of his random hookups knocked up. Shunsui had freaked out for about a week that he was going to be stuck with the girl for life, and then she'd gotten her monthly and all had been right with the world.
"My mother was pressuring her again," Shunsui said shrugging. "Told her my life was in danger, and you know how Nanao gets. She'd have either beaten it out of me eventually or would have refused to talk to me for weeks until I broke and gave her what she wanted anyway."
Nanao always had been the master of the cold shoulder, although she caved to Shunsui more than Jyuushiro thought she altogether wanted to. "You could have lied," he offered. "Your mother is nuts, she'd have believed whatever you told her."
"I thought maybe she should know," he answered unsurely. Nanao was also one of the rare things that made Shunsui lose some of his confidence. "I mean I plan on marrying her anyway so it will eventually affect her on some small level. Regardless of whether or not I think it is an actual threat, it still puts any male children we have in a more vulnerable spot."
"So it sounds like you made a wise decision," Jyuushiro commented lightly. "What's the problem?"
"I think she might be moving in with me because she's worried about it," he sighed, taking the bottle of sake Jyuushiro had just produced from one of his cabinets.
"And that's a problem?" Jyuushiro prompted.
"I don't want her to be with me because she's scared," Shunsui said.
"I don't think you really have to worry about it," Jyuushiro said calmly. "Nanao-san loves you and chose to be with you long before this revelation. If it just prompts her to move a little faster, well, really what's the trouble in that? You plan on being with her forever, and you aren't getting any younger."
"You know what? I don't need to be told I'm getting old by a man who's seven months older than me," Shunsui shot back.
"Well I'm just saying, maybe you should convince her to have children with you before your old knees give out," Jyuushiro teased. "Your children are probably going to be little barbarians so you're going to be chasing them down quite a bit."
"You're getting as mean as my family," Shunsui pouted.
"Stating facts isn't being mean," Jyuushiro said laughing.
"Yare, yare," Shunsui said, sitting down and pouring the sake. "So how're your siblings doing?"
"They're well. Yuki's about to have her third child, so I'm sure I'll take some time off to visit. You should come. Yuki would be happy to see you."
"When did Yuki-chan-chan get so big?" Shunsui said with a sigh.
Shunsui had called his little sister that since their first meeting, and despite her being a grown woman now, she still allowed Shunsui the luxury of the ridiculous name. She'd been madly in love with his best friend when she was a teenager, and Shunsui had always been kind to her without encouraging her affections. Jyuushiro had made it clear that he would destroy Shunsui if the boy slept with his little sister and then dumped her. Like most teenagers, she'd overcome the crush and moved on, but she'd always been fond of Shunsui.
"You should bring Nanao-san with you," Jyuushiro said. "Yuki wanted to meet her the last time I was talking about you getting boring and settling down."
"Oh, Yuki-chan-chan and Nanao-chan would get along well," Shunsui said thoughtfully. "Although that would just mean two women harassing me at once."
"You just got kicked out of your own home by two women," Jyuushiro pointed out. "I don't think it'd be much of a change from usual."
"What can I say? I'm just a lady pleaser," he replied with a wink. "Let me know when you plan to go, and I'll see if I can convince Nanao to come along. Now, tell me about the new treatment Retsu is trying."
"What's there to say?" Jyuushiro asked with a slightly depressed sigh. He hated talking about his illness, but Shunsui insisted on being kept up to date. He'd just go and harass Retsu if Jyuushiro didn't tell him. "It's just another thing that probably won't work."
"All the same," Shunsui said. "Tell me about it. If nothing else, it must be fun getting physical exams by such a lovely lady."
"You're incorrigible," Jyuushiro said with a smile, which he was sure had been Shunsui's intention all along. He was a good man in his own ridiculous way.
"Nanao, come on, I can't figure out how to make it," Matsumoto whined pushing ingredients in her friend's face.
"Go away," Nanao demanded, rolling over to bury her face further in Shunsui's couch. She felt horrible, and she wasn't sure how Shunsui and Rangiku put up with this feeling on a consistent basis. Although then again, neither her Taicho nor her friend ever seemed particularly hung over the next day. They must know something she didn't.
"Please, I'm hungry," Rangiku cajoled.
"Then go buy something, and leave me alone," Nanao said firmly.
"We're having a girl's day," Rangiku argued. "I can't leave."
"You were the one that decided that," Nanao replied. "Why'd you send Shunsui away?"
"Oh, is the fragile Nanao-chan missing her man?" Rangiku teased.
"At least Shunsui is sympathetic," Nanao defended, glaring over at her friend. "Times like these are the only ones where his babying and over protectiveness come in handy."
"Should I go get him and tell him poor, tiny Nanao-chan is in desperate need of her big strong boyfriend?" Rangiku taunted, trying to shame Nanao into having a girl's day with her and making lunch for them.
"Yes, please," Nanao moaned. Her stomach hurt, her head hurt, her legs hurt, and she was so tired. All she wanted was someone to give her some bland food, rub her back, and carry her back to the bed. She was more than sure that Shunsui would be happy and willing to do all of those things.
Rangiku started laughing hard, and Nanao cringed at the sound. "Only a couple of months ago, you'd have killed yourself before you let me go say that to him, let alone encourage me to."
"A couple of months ago I didn't make the stupid decision to drink this much," she whined.
"Shunsui-kun is making you into a big mush," Matsumoto said still giggling.
"I'm in pain, Rangiku," Nanao argued. "Be helpful or get someone who will be."
"You are such a lightweight drinker," Rangiku commented. "Does Shunsui know how to cook?"
"If you count setting things on fire and poisoning people as cooking, then yes," Nanao said.
"Well, then what good is he to me?" Rangiku asked.
"He can buy lunch on the way back here," Nanao proposed.
"Are you allowed to offer his generosity out like that?" Rangiku asked with another laugh.
"Yes," Nanao said confidently, trying to readjust on the couch as her stomach cramped up again. "Can you go get him now? He's at Jyuushiro-san's."
"Come on, you're the vice president of the SWA," Rangiku said. "When did you get this pathetically dependent on a man?"
"When a stupid woman got me drunk by ordering fruity drinks that I couldn't taste the potency of and then thought it was ok to come bursting into my bedroom at seven in the morning screeching about finishing our girl's day," Nanao growled at her.
"I had to come in early before Shunsui-kun would have woken up, otherwise who knows what I would have walked in on?" Matsumoto pouted. "I had to get to you before you two started going at it like rabbits."
Nanao gave her a disgusted look and rolled over. "We aren't like rabbits."
"Uh huh, is that why you both disappeared halfway through Ukitake-san's party last summer and then mysteriously returned an hour and a half later soaking wet, " Matsumoto said with disbelief in her tone. "Are you sure he'll buy me lunch if I go get him?"
"Tell him I'm not moving in if he doesn't," Nanao grumbled. "And we just went for a walk to get some air and then he pushed me in the lake which of course invoked retaliation, so get your mind out of the gutter." Which was mostly true anyway. They had gone for a walk and he had pushed her into the lake. Then she'd knocked his feet out with kido and he'd tumbled in after her. If they'd fooled around a bit after that, well it was nobody else's business.
"Wait? You're moving in?" Rangiku shrieked, and Nanao thought her brain was going to explode. She couldn't even contemplate how bad she'd be feeling if she hadn't had Unohana Taicho's hangover tonic.
"Yes, if I live through today," she moaned.
"You are so overdramatic," Rangiku chastised. "Really, it's just a little hangover. Now tell me why you're moving in."
"Because it's so much easier to go at it like rabbits when you live in the same house," she answered sarcastically.
"Nanao," Rangiku whined.
"It just seemed like it was the right time," Nanao said with a shrug.
"Are you sure?" Rangiku asked more seriously.
"It's Shunsui," Nanao said glancing up at her. "I'm sure."
"Wonderful!" Rangiku said and clapped making Nanao wince again. "I'm going to go make him buy me a huge lunch."
"Fabulous, go," Nanao said. Her friend shunpoed out of the house, and Nanao sighed in relief. She quickly sank into sleep again and was thankful when it was dreamless.
She wasn't sure how long had passed when she once again woke up in Shunsui's arms. "Hey, sweetheart, didn't mean to wake you," he said quietly.
"Rangiku?" she asked, glancing around sleepily and happy that she felt much better after sleeping more.
"Went home after I fed her," Shunsui said with a chuckle. "She didn't seem interested in staying once she saw you'd fallen asleep again. Said you were about as much fun with a hangover as her Taicho is on the hottest day of summer. How are you feeling?"
"Slightly more functional," Nanao said. "I'm never drinking again."
"You just have to build up a tolerance, love," he said smiling at her gently.
"Or I could just not drink," she countered rolling her eyes.
"But Nanao-chan is a cute and very affectionate drunk," he cooed.
"Where are we going?" she asked, ignoring his good-natured teasing.
"Bathroom," he said lightly. "Nothing makes you feel more human than a nice warm bath."
"I just want to sleep," she argued.
"I'll give you a back rub too," he coaxed.
"In the bath?" Nanao asked, grinning up at him.
"Is there any other way?" he asked happily.
"Rangiku's right," she said as he set her feet down on the bathroom floor.
"Oh? About what?" he asked.
"We are kind of like rabbits," she answered as he started to pull her shirt up over her head.
"I've always been fond of rabbits," he said, grinning back as she reached for his obi belt.
A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating. Last weekend I got the idea for my little one shot Healing stuck in my head and couldn't get on with this story until I got that one out. Hope you all don't mind too much, and thanks to all of you that reviewed it :) In fact many people seemed to want that one to continue…. Hmm maybe I'll go back to it after Legacy if I think of something good. Anyway reviews for this chapter, please. I know it's still a bit of fluff, but trust me we're getting there.