Sorry for the long wait! Life always catches up to me when I'm doing really good and it brings me back down.

Thank you to all the people add me or the story to their alerts or list. I'm very grateful!

I'm writing 4 chapters starting on Dec. 6 and finishing on Dec. 21, just in time for Jushiro's birthday.

~Please review, it helps me out. It let's me know if I'm doing O.K. for my first Yaoi story~

(Just a heads up, Chp. 12, You're The Perfect Lullaby, might be a lemon? My first. Maybe if I get some good reviews?)

Chp.6: I'm Going Out Of My Head

Shunsui got home late that night, after making up for the work that he missed from sleeping off the hangover he had when he came into the office in the morning. He remembered how things got awkward between Jushiro and himself after he was woken up and given a slice of the delicious cake, even though sweets weren't his thing. He contemplated what was going through his head at the time as he and Jushiro stared at each other, but he had no words to describe it.

Did he like Jushiro?

He didn't know himself. Sure, he had a few boyfriends in the past but he never felt the way he did now, after meeting and getting to know Jushiro, compared to how he felt before, when he dated other people. How did he feel about the man?

If there was one person who could help me sort out my thoughts…..

After jumping in the shower, he realized there was one person who could help him out.

Nanao was on the verge of slipping into unconsciousness when her phone started ringing. Huffing out vicious word under her breathe, she answered it without a look of the caller ID.

"Who the-."

"Nanao…"

"Why are you calling so late?" If Shunsui was any other person and Nanao would have lost it. Luckily, her rising temper was halted as she noticed the uncertainty in Shunsui voice.

"I need you to help me with something."

"Isn't too late to be trying to build a new table. Call Isshin, he's the one who broke it."

"I think I like Jushiro."

And thus, he told her the story about what happened earlier in the office, from him yelling at Jushiro, to the point where Jushiro left work. She didn't speak the whole time, listening, only with the occasional hum in understanding did he know that she was still on the phone with him.

"How long have we known Jushiro?"

"Going on at least three months now."

"And how do you feel about him again?"

"It's unexplainable, Nanao. All I can say is that I've never felt this way about anyone before."

"Hmm…."

"You're making me nervous and upset…Say something to make me feel better. I called you because you're my best friend and you've given me the best advice when I needed it." A quiet Nanao was not good in Shunsui's mind, it usually meant that she could do nothing.

"Stop getting sentimental, it makes me wanna throw up…So you're saying compared to all the other men that you've liked in your lifetime, the way you feel about Jushiro is nothing compared to how you felt about them?"

"Yes…."

"I would say that you are in love Shun…."

"…" Nanao took the silence as her cue to continue explaining, "But I think you're in the 'like' stage of love. The only thing to possibly do….. is to ask him out and see if the 'like' feeling in reciprocated." Though, Nanao had a pretty good idea that the two liked each other without having a second thought of doubt about it.

"Shunsui…"

"Thanks…."

"Huh?"

"I think that without talking to you, I would have never figured this out….so….Thanks."

"Go to bed, you idiot."

"Goodnight, Nanao."

"Goodnight, Shunsui."

Your welcome….Anything to make you happy….

"Shunsui…Here's the paperwork that Yamamoto needs filled out." Shunsui was feeling even worse the next day. It was like yesterday didn't' happen, with the way Jushiro semi-ignored him and the distance he felt between the two of them. He wasn't sure anymore. What was Jushiro thinking? Did he want to forget that yesterday didn't happen, Shunsui had to know, it was making him feel depressed.

It was around lunch time that Shunsui really felt like Jushiro hated him for what had happened. All they did was stare at each other and Jushiro left! What the hell did Shunsui do? He was itching to find out.

"Jushiro."

"Yes." He noticed the polite tone in Jushiro's voice that day, which was a surprise since Jushiro usually responded in a friendly tone.

"You wanna go out to lunch?" Shunsui's hopes were swelling up as Jushiro looked at him for the first time that day. Right in his eyes. Shunsui hoped that his face wasn't showing any kind of expressions at that moment.

"No." Jushiro's monotone answer was all that was need to crush that uprising spirit and to send Shunsui back into depression. Getting up, he headed to the door of his office and stepped out, hoping that some good food in his stomach would help enlighten his mood.

He didn't know that Jushiro's curious eyes were following him….

Jushiro got into work that day, not sure about how he was going to handle Shunsui, but as it turned out, he ended up ignoring the man, not because he wanted to but because he didn't know what he was going to do. Last night, he came up with the idea that he might possibly like Shunsui but he wasn't sure. He didn't want a relationship that would bring him pain; he wanted a relationship where both he and his partner mutually cared for each other. He wasn't sure what Shunsui was thinking at the time, but he could tell the man was frustrated because of what he was doing. He didn't want him to feel that way, but he was just as frustrated as Shunsui.

He was snapped out of his thought, when Shunsui asked him if he wanted to go out to lunch. Jushiro didn't know what he said, but he could see the frustration and hurt in the man's eyes as he got up and left the room. Jushiro sighed when the door closed and ran his fingers through his hair.

What was he going to do?

Shunsui got back to his office only to find Jushiro missing which was either a good thing, because there would be awkward silence and Shunsui would fell comfortable, or a bad thing, because Jushiro could have left and quit his job, something Shunsui hoped that he wouldn't do.

He walked over to his desk chair and sat down, turning it so that he could be facing the window. He closed his eyes and began thinking about what might have happened to make Jushiro act the way he was acting today.

But instead of thinking about that, he started thinking about Jushiro instead of what might have happened to Jushiro. Comparing Jushiro mood today, to all the other days, this was the first time he'd seen Jushiro act this way.

He liked it when Jushiro smiled when they were having a conversation, his eyes shined all the time now that he thought about it. It seemed that life was never tedious or distressing for the white haired man. Live everyday like it might be your last was how Shunsui saw Jushiro.

He remembered the first time he had seen Jushiro pout. Nanao was making fun of him, saying that the girls in the office were talking about how 'good' he look and Jushiro put out his lip, with a little blush and Shunsui couldn't help but to stare. Imagine what he would do if ….

The way Jushiro looked at him. Shunsui couldn't describe it. He didn't know that many Japanese people with Hazel eyes and Jushiro's were absolutely beautiful to Shunsui, not that he would ever say that out loud, but he would say that they were unique if he and Jushiro got into a discussion about eye color.

I'm going out of my head…

Before he could think about anything else, he heard the door to his office open. He wished that it was Jushiro, so that could have the 'what's wrong' conversation, but as he turned around he was met with purple eyes.

"So…How was your day? Anything interesting happen?" Shunsui missed the smug look on Nanao face as she leaned against his desk. Shunsui just shook his head 'no' and the person standing before him just sighed.

"I though for sure that you would say something to him." Her pointer finger pushed up her bottom lip as she carried on a thoughtful face that made Shunsui even more suspicious of her, even if she wasn't doing anything.

"What do you have planned out in that head of yours, Nanao? Have you seen the way he was acting today?" Nanao pouted at the look Shunsui sent her way.

"Seemed like same old friendly, happy Jushiro to me."

"What? He was moody all day today and he refused to look or even say anything to me until I was about to go to lunch or if I had asked him a question, but even then he always gave me a short answer."

"That's the total opposite of he was acting outside these door. Was there something else that you didn't tell me that happened yesterday?"

"I told you everything."

"Maybe he's feeling the same way you are right now. Like, 'what should I say?' or 'what about what happened yesterday?' You didn't even mention it to him did you?"

"It's been an awkward day! I don't know what to say. I want to say something but I just don't know how to approach the situation. I don't want him to be mad-." Just then the door open and Jushiro poked his head inside, stopping Shunsui and Nanao's conversation.

"Don't forget to tell Isshin what I said about the reports; you know how crazy he gets. Oh! Jushiro, I was just heading out, my lunch is just about to be over and I got to get back to work. I've got lots to do. I'll catch you two later alright?" Shunsui cursed in his head, Nanao could be planning to commit murder and no one would know about it.

Both men nodded at the female leaving, Shunsui caught the playful wink directed his way and frown, knowing that Nanao probably knew what he was about to say before Jushiro walked into the office.

The rest of the day went like the first half of it, quiet and boring, as Shunsui would put it. He took off work early that day, much to Yamamoto's disapproval which was voiced immediately when he stepped out of the office building, and was hoping to relax the rest of the day.

He went to go visit his brother and his shop cause he didn't want to relax until later that night. As soon as he stepped in though, he saw Grimmjow sporting a black eye, ice pack in his hand, with a laughing Szayel and a smirking Ulquiorra next to him. He asked Grimmjow what had happened but didn't get an answer until Lilynette came into the room and told him that he tried to touch the Strawberry's ass and Shunsui started laughing with Szayel. The rest of his day was eventful as he talked to his brother and sister-in-law, who told Shunsui that they were excepting their first child together in a couple of month, they'd yet to tell Lilynette or anyone else except for Shunsui, Isshin and Sosuke, and that Harribel's sisters would be coming for a visit in a few weeks, so they were planning a family get-together soon.

It wasn't to late into the evening when Shunsui got home and the first thing he did was turn off his phone because Yamamoto had been blowing it up(1), seeing as though he listened to the angry threats and curses left in his voicemail.

He cooked himself a nice dinner and ate the desert Tia(2) gave to him as thanks for keeping the news about a new family member coming into the family a secret. He took a nice hour-long unwinding hot bath and went to bed after that.

Even though he had planned to sleep early that night, he found himself restless as he thought about Jushiro. Going back to the thoughts he had earlier, he finally made a decision. He was going to see if this 'like' feeling was returned, and even if he was rejected, he would have the satisfaction of knowing that he tried to get into a relationship with a man that was always on his mind.

(1)Practically means that you call someone's phone so many times that it's preposterous. Someone recently did this to me and I blew up…I was that mad. I had like 10 missed calls and 5 voicemail messages. And for what? To ask me where my father was…Baka-ism is what I'm calling it from now on.

(2) It's a habit, but I call many anime characters by their first name, I think it's something considered rude in Japanese society if you don't really know the person.

My chapter endings suck, don't they? Once again, I apologize for the long wait.

Anyways, Check my profile for update dates and hopefully I can meet each deadline.

Thanks… -Kihana