Week of Love: All in a Birthday Evening
Title: All in a Birthday Evening
Rating: T
Contains: Young Nanao has her first personal encounter with sake. Contains alcohol, nudity and all the accompanying embarrassment.
Shunsui paused for a minute in front of the door to take a deep breath. Of all the awkward situations he had found himself in, this was the most uncomfortable he had been in quite a while.
“Nanao-chan?” He peered cautiously around the door, simultaneously relieved and unnerved that she wasn’t sitting on the couch where he had left her.
The sound of running water from the bathroom drew his attention and he cautiously slipped inside and removed his sandals. When she had shown up at his front door an hour or so earlier complaining loudly that someone had moved her apartment, he’d been inclined to take her straight to the 4th. But Nanao was a private person, and very proud of her reputation. In the end, he’d decided to deal with things himself. Fortunately for them both, he thought with a wry grin as he tucked the spare uniform under his arm, Nanao liked to prepare for every eventuality.
“Ca~ptain~”
Shunsui almost choked as Nanao rounded the corner. Wet hair clung to her neck while little rivulets of water followed the dark strands down to-. No. He jerked his head up. Forcing his eyes to her pouting face.
“Sorry, Nanao-chan. What were you saying?”
She huffed. “I said, you shampoo is defective, Captain. And,” she added, frowning, “You should have someone come to clean your shower floors. They are unsafe.”
“I think you found the conditioner, my dear,” he managed, his voice sounding strained, as he pulled off his pink haori and draped it around her shoulders. “Let’s get you back to the shower. I’ve brought you some clothes.”
“Oh.” She blinked at the proffered garments, allowing him to steer her towards the second bathroom.
“I’ll get you some shampoo and a clean towel,” he leaned over her to turn on the shower. “I’m going to leave your clothes outside the door.” Leaving them in the bathroom with her was just too much of a risk, and he didn’t relish the idea of breaking into her quarters to get her another set of clothes if these got wet.
Satisfied that she could manage, he made his way back to the other bathroom. The smell of conditioner overwhelmed his senses just as his foot met the slippery floor and flew out from under him. He lay where he had fallen, staring at the ceiling for a few minutes. When Nanao had said that she was going out with a few friends for her birthday, he had been pleased that his normally reserved lieutenant was doing something social. She was intelligent, brilliant even, but her age often alienated her from her colleagues. Of course, he had not banked on that red head from the 10th coming along. Rangiku, was it?
Slowly he picked himself up off the floor. He would have someone come to clean it later. For now, he needed to figure out what to do with Nanao.
Fifteen minutes later, he was lounging on the porch when he heard Nanao emerge from the bathroom. She was dressed, he noted with relief. Odd, considering how many people he had seen naked.
“Captain.” She flopped down beside him, snuggling into his side. “I’ve discovered something.”
He eyed her, both amused and wary. “What would that be, sweetheart?”
“I love you.”
Silence stretched for an almost interminable length.
“Nanao-chan, are you-“ a soft snore interrupted him and he sighed, looking down at her sleeping form. Wrapping his captain’s haori around them, he sipped tea unable to contemplate sake at the moment.
Shunsui was no stranger to drunken professions or love or otherwise. After over a thousand years of his kind of lifestyle, few things really surprised him. But, Nanao was different. For all his teasing, she was not a child, and had not been for quite some time. She was still young though. Too young.
One thing was certain, he decided, as he tucked her into one of the guest bedrooms and took up his place on the floor outside the door. The morning would be interesting.
* * * *
The sound of birds chirping bored relentlessly into Nanao’s consciousness. Her hand bumped a pillow which she ungraciously stuffed over her head, lapsing back towards a delicious oblivion. But her conscience slapped her and she berated herself for leaving the window open. Carelessness was usually not a fault of hers, but given last night…. She groaned into the pillow.
“It’s not that bad, Nanao-chan,” the familiar voice floated down from somewhere above her.
She jerked into consciousness, but stopped abruptly, her hand catching her head as waves of dizziness and nausea assailed her.
Shunsui tasked, and a bowl appeared in front of her face just in time for her to begin retching.
“Feel better?” he asked sympathetically when she had finished.
“What are you doing here?” But the cool clipped tone she intended to use was entirely lacking.
“I live here, lovely Nanao-chan?”
She turned bleary eyes to meet his smiling ones, though she could detect a hint of sympathy in their depths.
“Take this.”
Nanao blinked owlishly at the two tablets in his hand before slowly popping them into her mouth and accepting the glass of water that he held out to her. It was only then that she realized, eyes opening wide in horror.
“This… this is your house.” Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “Why am I here?”
“Don’t you remember, lovely Nanao-chan? You came by to see me after your little,” he pause, “adventure.”
She glared, trying to ignore the pounding in her head and not nearly succeeding. “I came here?” She was mortified.
“I’m honored that Nanao-chan trusts me so much,” he grinned as Nanao let out an aggrieved sigh and flopped back onto the pillows. His pillows. She sat up again, careful to move more slowly this time.
“Though I was a bit hurt that you didn’t invite me to go with you,” he continued, his lips screwing up into a pouty face.
“As if I would,” she snapped.
“I can hope, Nanao-chan.”
Resisting the urge to groan, Nanao reached for her glasses, wondering how, exactly, she was going to extricate herself from this predicament. Glancing down she was relieved to find that she was dressed in her own clothes.
“Your spare from the office,” he said in answer to her unspoken question. “It would appear that Nanao-chan has a rather…er…limited tolerance for alcohol.”
She arched an elegant eyebrow, hoping she didn’t look as bad as she felt.
“They weren’t in any condition for you to sleep in.”
The air turned decidedly thick.
“I didn’t do anything. You dressed yourself after I went and got your spare uniform from the office. Though when I came back you were well on your way to,” he paused again as if searching for the right word, “cleaning yourself up.”
She remained obstinately silent, her annoyance quickly turning to fear as a wicked grin spread across his features.
Bar hopping was a bad idea.