Fandom: Bleach
Pairing: Kyōraku Shunsui / Ukitake Jūshirō
Genre: Fluff, Ukitake Lives! AU, Happy Old Men, Happy Birthday Feels, One-Shot
Rating: G
Word Count: 771
Warnings: N/A
Summary: Jūshirō wakes up beside his best friend. He is an old man, and he is alive, and he is happy.
That’s it.
That’s the fic.
Notes: This is my part of a collaboration with the incomparable @freudhood! Stay tuned for art, y’all~ :))
Also, in the midst of holiday shenanigans, posting and timing and whatnot got away from me. I know Jū-chan’s birthday was about a week ago now - but, as I’m sure Jū-chan himself would say, better late than never?
Jūshirō wakes early.
Jūshirō wakes to gentle streams of blue-white light, and to the sigh of winter winds just on the other side of his half-open window. He is chilled, but he does not mind. He tugs at his blankets, abundant and heavy and all tangled up from sleep, and pulls them up over his shoulders, which have only become slenderer with age. He rolls onto his side, too, and inches his way over to cling to the strong, hardy body beside him – a body which, unlike his own, has only grown more powerful as it has grown older.
At his touch, his friend’s lone, steel-grey eye flickers open.
“ ’morning,” Shunsui rumbles.
Shunsui’s voice, too, has changed with age. It has grown deeper, and more resonant. He speaks even more slowly these days than he did when he was a young man, thanks to some combination of weariness and authority, no doubt. It has been a gradual change, like so many of the other changes, and now, this day-to-day slowness is just a part of Shunsui. He sheds it easily in battle, as easily as one might strip pink kimono from one’s shoulders and toss it downward to a trusted friend for safekeeping, but in moments like this, in moments of lazy, easy, early-morning softness, Jūshirō appreciates the pace his friend has settled into. It makes him feel unhurried and safe, and it allows him to imagine that Shunsui might feel unhurried and safe, too, if only for a short, short while.
“Good morning,” Jūshirō answers softly, wrapping his arms and his legs around his friend and resting his head upon Shunsui’s broad chest. Bigger arms and bigger legs answer Jūshirō’s, folding him into a close, tight embrace, one that smells like sleep and clean bedsheets and sake and sweat on skin, and that feels like home.
They lie together, silent, scarcely moving, save for the constant ebb and flow of both breath and spirit. It is simple, and it is mundane, and it is a gift.
“Big day today, Jū-chan,” Shunsui finally says, after a time.
Jūshirō smiles, and he shakes his head against Shunsui’s chest, feeling the ticklish scrape of silver curls of hair against his cheek. “No bigger than all the others,” he says, and he means it. “I’m thankful for every day, my friend. Not just days like this. You know that.”
Shunsui only shrugs, a great, lazy, lumbering movement, and now, it’s his turn to shake his head. His tangled, silver waves rustle against the pillow, and Jūshirō’s small smile only grows, because he knew that Shunsui would contest what Jūshirō says; he does so every year.
Eyes meet now, two green, one grey. Shunsui’s hand reaches upwards, and his calloused fingers brush against Jūshirō’s temple, and then run down his sharp jaw, his pale neck, his thin, scarred chest. He knows what Shunsui is thinking about, and usually, Jūshirō would try to redirect his friend’s thoughts, but on days like this, he is willing to allow Shunsui the indulgence.
“How many?” Shunsui asks.
“You know exactly how many,” Jūshirō answers.
“Yeah. I do. But I want to hear you say it.”
Jūshirō’s expression softens. He nods, and he blinks happily up at his friend, making the skin around his bright eyes crinkle with affection. “Four thousand,” he says, “six hundred and thirty-two.”
“Damn right,” Shunsui says.
Shunsui holds Jūshirō tighter, and Jūshirō can’t help but return the embrace. He is grateful. He never expected anything from his life, not even when he was young. He never dared to dream he might live so long, or so happily. Jūshirō's best friend is the strongest Captain-Commander that the Seireitei has seen yet, and Jūshirō, for his own part, continues to draw breath. He is a teacher, a leader, a shaper of young minds, and even he can’t deny that he played the greatest role in rewriting the Academy curriculum after the dust of the Thousand Year Blood War settled. The Division that was once his has been thriving for two millennia in the capable hands of one of the kindest and most dedicated Shinigami that Jūshirō has ever had the honor of serving with. Soul Society has not seen war since the first Soul King fell. Balance reigns in the World of the Living, and beyond. And what’s more, finally, after long years of attempts, failures, different attempts, different failures, and intense study and concentration, Jūshirō has managed to cultivate a garden of beautiful bonsai trees.
“Happy birthday,” Shunsui tells his friend. “Happy four thousand six hundred and thirty-second birthday, Jū-chan. Here’s to many more, eh?”
My friend did you watch Good Omens? I need to know for the sake of science
I got halfway through the series when i realized i had accidentally been watching the show with a friend’s account, and now im living at a place that doesnt have wifi yet, so im just waiting for my chance to watch the latter half at some point in a week or two xD
I did read the book once many a winter ago, though, so im quite familiar with the story :p
Well to be perfectly frank I follow you because I very much love your art style and I find deep inspiration in your drawings, which means that I'll be in awe no matter what you post and I'm sure it's the same case for a lot of your followers 💙 just do what you feel like doing, this is honestly what matters the most !
this is a truly beautiful message that means so so much to me! thank you for saying this, really. i’ve always wanted to create artwork that inspires other people and the fact that it does makes me happier!
We, @wizardnem and @freudhood, are proud to present our collaborative HP RP ask blog! This is our Wolfstar roleplaying ask blog in which Nem draws Sirius and PreciousHumanBeing (freudhood) draws Remus. Our RP is based on drawings and some writings from scripts we come up with and questions. Please check our Rules page before asking any RP questions. We’re excited to start this blog!
*clears throat solemnly* BAHOREL IS THE DEFINITION OF "LOOKS LIKE THEY COULD KILL YOU BUT IS ACTUALLY A CINNAMON ROLL" WHICH MEANS THAT *takes a gulp of breath* he's thick like his arms are huge and he has a cute little pouch and when he bombs his torse its fucking scary, but i n fact he's just a softie !! He loves everyone so much and he's so funny and he can't cook for shits but he's a god at baking ! He's Instagram is full of very cringy selfies with useless captions [etc etc] *bows* love ya
YES! GOOD! Big tough looking teddy bear Baz burning all his food but baking so good at least twice Marius has cried because of his brownies and his Instagram is Filled with blurry pictures and weird faces, his only followers are his friends cause no one can get into the aesthetic which is fine because he only captions things with inside jokes and bad quotes from something someone said earlier that day to make them laugh or just document it
Ive been trying to stop myself from doing this but fuck it Holly I need to tell you: I miss your Jushiro and shunuki drawings so fuffjnfdufb much its crazy I keep scrolling back on your blog and the feels are so deep it hurts like wtf ;-; i wish the fandom wasnt dead it sucks. Anyhoo, hope you have a great day/evening, love you xx 💙
ohhh that makes me happy you’re still thinking abt my art :’D and SAME i really wish the community was alive again, but i guess that just means i have to doodle them every now and then.
OH AND YEP. I think abt him all the time but i just have had so little time for my OC’s nowadays! but i promise i havent forgotten abt him yet. he’s always here in my heart
