Disclaimer: I still don't own Bleach, but I'm very happy to write fanfics for it.
Soi Fon's head hurt. More than usual, that was the worrying part. After all, with a lieutenant like Omaeda, it was a wonder if the captain of the second division didn't have a headache to deal with, literal or figurative.
But this was a real migraine. She couldn't even move her body.
Soi Fon sighed.
A day off then, that was what Kyouraku and Isane were always trying to get her to do anyway.
The second division captain groaned and rolled onto her side. It was a rather uncomfortable position now that she was sharing her bed, but it only lasted a moment as Soi Fon called a Hell Butterfly to her finger.
"Tell Hasegawa that I'm not to be disturbed until further notice and to relay that message to the rest of the squad and the fourth division," Soi Fon groaned. Isane would understand from that, though with how active the eleventh was these days, she wasn't sure the fourth division captain would have much time to visit.
"Mm?" Beside her, the former squad two captain searched for her partner. "Already time to get up?" Yoruichi whined. "It's barely bright out, Soi…"
Soi Fon smiled and laid back down. "Not yet. I don't think I'll be getting out of bed much today."
"Good." Yoruichi draped her arm over Soi Fon. "I missed you." She smiled into Soi Fon's shoulder and hugged her.
Soi Fon laughed. "I didn't even get out of bed."
"Doesn't matter." Yoruichi gave her a gentle squeeze. "You know I don't like you leaving."
"Hypocrite."
"I never said I wasn't…"
Soi Fon stayed silent and settled into Yoruichi's embrace. It was hard to believe that she was lying side by side with the other woman. She'd never thought they would ever be close again and now they were… Soi Fon rolled over to gaze at her goddess. Together, she liked that thought.
Yoruichi was warm and soft, the exact opposite of Soi Fon. The Chinese woman was hard and as mean as a whip. Her subordinates always described her as a storm, her steely eyes the cold harbingers of her wrath. Though to be fair, Soi Fon thought, it wasn't like Yoruichi had been any less strict. It was just that the Shihouin appeared more inviting, her golden eyes beckoning and her skin promising days as sun kissed as her visage.
The second division captain let her gaze wander away from her love and back into the recesses of her mind. Her eyelids drooped, and soon she had slipped away into sleep.
Yoruichi breathed a sigh of relief as she felt her girlfriend fall back asleep. It was… comforting to know Soi Fon felt safe enough to do that around her. In some ways, she figured an outsider might find that odd considering they were already sharing a bed, but it was only natural for the current captain to pass out after a day of hard training (which was every day Soi Fon trained) or hours spent managing the minutia of the stealth corp or the mountains of paperwork she somehow managed to complete every week. It was even more understandable considering how Yoruichi always tried to pamper Soi Fon after dark.
A long time ago, Yoruichi had relished that feeling of trust. She had trusted Soi Fon with her life and offered her neck up to the young woman. Lying down in her lap under the cherry trees, she had wanted nothing more than to pull her guard's head down and kiss her.
Of course, she hadn't done that. She couldn't have. It would have been wrong, perverse. Soi Fon was her guard, her servant. It would have been an abuse of her rank to ask Soi Fon to care for her, Yoruichi, not her, the Shihouin head. Yoruichi squeezed Soi Fon gently and took a deep breath as she held Soi Fon close.
But now things were different. Yoruichi cracked her eyes open a hair.
She had made a lot of mistakes. Too many. But Soi Fon had— not forgiven her, but given her a chance, and after months of slowly trying to reconnect and nervous dates, they were finally together.
Yoruichi smiled.
She had been such a nervous wreck. She still was when it came to Soi Fon. It was hard having to unlearn all the bad blood between them and trying to start over. But in all her life, it was the one mistake she hadn't made, giving up on the other woman.
"I love you, Soi Fon," she whispered.
Soi Fon woke up in the early afternoon still wrapped in Yoruichi's arms. She groaned softly and snuggled closer to the cat woman. If only this moment could last forever. It had been so long since she had allowed herself to relax. Yoruichi came and went as always, though Soi Fon wondered if the other woman only did that so Soi Fon wouldn't have to constantly fuss over her.
The second division captain reached up to cup her lover's face. "I'm glad you're still here."
"You are?" Yoruichi opened a single eye at Soi Fon and grinned.
"Yeah," Soi Fon admitted without missing a beat. By now, she had grown used to Yoruichi trying to catch her off guard, but it was even nicer to be open with herself about her love. It wasn't something so shameful now. "I am."
"You're making me blush," Yoruichi grinned wolfishly.
"Good, you're cute when you blush."
This time, the older woman really did blush.
"See?" Soi Fon leaned in and kissed Yoruichi,
"No fair!" Yoruichi pouted.
"What can I say?" Soi Fon let the hand cupping Yoruichi's cheek drape over the woman so she could pull her even closer. "You rubbed off on me."
Yoruichi laughed and nuzzled Soi Fon's neck. "In more ways than one?" She returned the hug.
The second division captain took a deep breath and settled even further into Yoruichi. "Always thinking with what's in your pants, aren't you?" Though Yoruichi could hear a hint of the other woman's grin in her voice.
"No," Yoruichi protested. "I barely wear them to begin with, why would I be thinking with what's in them."
Soi Fon squeezed Yoruichi playfully. "You're incorrigible."
"Yeah, but I'm yours."
Soi Fon paused. "That's right, you're mine." She planted another kiss on Yoruichi's lips.
What a strange thought that was, that they were dating.
So much of her life had been consumed chasing the woman in her arms, and something like this had never seemed possible, even when the other woman had practically thrown herself at Soi Fon's feet all those months ago in the mortal world. Now, Yoruichi was hers.
"And I suppose that means I'm yours too?" She chuckled into Yoruichi's ear.
Yoruichi grinned. "God, I hope so." She rolled on top of Soi Fon. "Otherwise, I'd be missing out on this." She bent down to capture Soi Fon's lips. It was a brief affair, but Yoruichi still relished how soft Soi Fon was. Underneath all those years of betrayal and backbreaking training was a woman who was still vulnerable, and more importantly, was willing to show Yoruichi that vulnerability.
"Always about you, isn't it?" Soi Fon raised an eyebrow and cocked her neck looking up at Yoruichi.
"Then what can I do for you?" Yoruichi bared her teeth and slipped lower so that breath graced the captain's neck. "You're the one in charge of things now."
Soi Fon laughed. "I didn't know you listened to authority figures."
"Only when they're cute girls with silver eyes."
"Should I call Rukia then?"
Yoruichi balked and propped herself up off of Soi Fon. "She's married!"
"Hmm!" Soi Fon slipped a hand underneath Yoruichi's breasts, taking advantage of the empty space. "And honoring wedding vows too! What has become of the Goddess of Flash?"
"Hey!" Yoruichi glanced down at Soi Fon fondling her but unable to intervene with her hands still supporting her. "K-knock that out. It's thanks to a certain someone that I've become such a stick-in-the-mud."
"And I guess that I've become a little devil in your eyes then?" Soi Fon slid her hands down to Yoruichi's waist and pulled, dropping the cat woman back onto her.
"And you said I was the horny one," Yoruichi grinned.
"I never said I wasn't a hypocrite either."
"Hm." Yoruichi fit her head into the crook of Soi Fon's neck and kissed her collar. "I guess I don't mind it this one time."
"Good." Soi Fon tightened her hold. "You know?" she whispered to Yoruichi. "I like this. It's nice being able to share things. Not just nights or moments or a bed, but the teasing and everything."
Yoruichi licked the mark she had left and glanced up at her lover. "What do you mean?"
Soi Fon closed her eyes and gave Yoruichi another quick squeeze. "I don't know how to put it really, but it's like you said, we've rubbed off on eachother." Soi Fon started checking her pulse.
One, two.
One, two.
Then she let it go, free to hammer against Yoruichi's chest.
"Sometimes I catch myself saying something the way you would, or I get the urge to steal one of my squad member's masks and dare them to grab it back." She gave a half-chuckle. "It's nice," she repeated. "It feels like I still have a small part of you with me."
Yoruichi buried herself into Soi Fon. "Yeah… that is nice." She had gone on too long without the other woman. They both had, and for Soi Fon to say what she had, Yoruichi knew her comment wasn't so light as ordinary pillowtalk.
"Sorry, did I ruin the mood?" Soi Fon laughed and pulled Yoruichi up so they were nose to nose.
"Maybe." Yoruichi booped the second division captain. "But I love that side of you too."
"Are you feeling like fish today?" Soi Fon stretched and began rummaging through the Shihouin's kitchen. They were in the mortal realm at the moment, in the safe house Yoruichi had dragged her to last year. Somewhat ironically, it had become their default spot for when Soi Fon needed to get away from the Seireitei, and a day off was practically a full vacation for the captain, so Yoruichi had insisted on them coming out to the apartment.
"Sure," Yoruichi chirped. "I think the previous owner left a recipe book here. I book marked some promising ones last time, so let's pick from one of those."
"This one?" Soi Fon hoisted the tome underneath the knife block and started flipping through it. "What kind of dishes are these?" She grimaced.
"What? Are they no good? I just scanned them." Yoruichi appeared behind the other soul reaper and glanced over her shoulder. "What's wrong with that one? It's got tuna in the name."
"Tuna noodle casserole?" Soi Fon went down the page. "Okay, there's tuna, but egg noodles? Cream of mushroom soup? What are tater tots?"
Yoruichi draped herself over Soi Fon, laughing.
"What? I've never even heard of half of these ingredients!" The smaller soul reaper fumed.
"It's nothing!" Yoruichi wiped a tear away and brought her arms up to hug Soi Fon around the neck. "They're just a bunch of canned and dried foods. The last one's something in the freezer, I think. Urahara stocked this place recently, so we should be fine if you're worried about finding them."
"Urahara…" Soi Fon grumbled. "Well, you're the human world expert." She waved her girlfriend away and set the book down.
"What? Just going to hand things off like that?" Yoruichi grinned and danced away.
"I trust you," Soi Fon sniffed.
"Aw, but I thought you'd be cute in a bareback apron." The cat woman leered.
Soi Fon snorted. "That's the best you can come up with? I'll wear it after if you're really that desperate."
"Spoilsport," Yoruichi muttered. "At least help me out. It's easy, and I want to spend more time with you."
"Are you actually giving me a choice?" Soi Fon sighed.
"Nope!" Yoruichi flash-stepped behind Soi Fon and guided her arms. "C'mon!"
In short order, the two of them were mixing the ingredients, boiled noodles steaming through the shlop of canned tuna and mushrooms. "Remind you of anything?" Yoruichi whispered into Soi Fon's ear.
The younger woman flinched. "So help me Yamamoto, Yoruichi!"
Yoruichi chuckled. "Glad to see some of my tricks still work."
Soi Fon flushed. "Just you wait for tonight…"
Yoruichi bent down into Soi Fon's ear again. "Gladly."
"My turn." Soi Fon pushed Yoruichi down on the bed and smiled wide.
"What? Was my cooking not enough for you?" Yoruichi matched her grin.
The second division captain could admit that the meal had been better than she had expected, a golden and crunchy top over a surprisingly rich base, but it certainly wasn't what Soi Fon had in mind when she thought of seafood. And one pot cuisine was not high on her list of appreciations. "I had to wait a while."
"Good things come to those who wait." Yoruichi crossed her arms behind Soi Fon's neck and brought her down.
"I think I've waited long enough." Soi Fon leaned into Yoruichi's neck and exhaled across it. "Now I'd like my reward."
"Which is?" Yoruichi shivered, waiting for Soi Fon's tongue to lap at her skin.
"You, of course." Soi Fon bit down. "I told you already, didn't I? You're mine."
Yoruichi clutched her lover close and captured her lips. "Likewise."
A/N: This was a bit awkward for me to write. I'm more used to the harsher emotions, so the softer side of romance has always been a bit rough ironically. Still, I hope I was able to convey some cute flirting, a little bit of spice, and a few contemplative moments on YoruSoi. It's a very important couple to me, and I wanted to capture the energy I think the two of them would have in a healthy relationship. My weakness is confident women who are happily in love with each other (and toxic angst, but that doesn't count).
There's not much to say otherwise. This chapter is pretty short and it's not that connected with the first chapter. I just thought it would be nice to have a peak into their lives after the main moment of tension. I'm always sad when stories never follow through on showing the relationship after the confession, though I'm very guilty of that pattern as well.
If you liked this chapter, please leave a review. I love reading them! (though not the spam bots that have been clogging my account. I wish I could delete them, but for now, I'm stuck just submitting reports because they're attached to actual accounts…) Work on Recontract is slow going, but I promise chapter 16 is still on my mind. It's been a rough second half of the year for me, and I don't have as much time as I used to to write, but I'll get there. If there's one thing I hate, it's having to abandon fics, and I've already had to do that several times without my old writing partners, so this time, it's justice for YoruSoi!