Out on the water / lakeside (prompts from @shunukiweek)
I’m going to be busy most of tomorrow but I do have an idea for day 3 already, so I’ll see what I can do, hopefully it won’t be a day late again
The shock of cold water took Shunsui’s breath away for a moment as he stepped into the shallow water. The rocks beneath the lake’s surface were slick, but not so smooth as to make walking difficult. As he got used to the icy water he continued forward.
It wasn’t the first time he’d been to the world of the living. It was, though, the first time he’d been able to linger long enough to appreciate how it felt so overwhelmingly, yet so subtly different from a world made of reishi.
Ahead of him, Jushiro had stepped further into the frigid water: still shallow, but deep enough to lap at the hem of his juban.
They’d finished their mission early, and with half a day remaining before they’d be expected back, they’d decided to explore.
“Don’t slip,” Jushiro cautioned, turning back to take hold of Shunsui’s arm. He’d been staring much too intently at the stones beneath the surface, apparently, and forgotten to keep moving forward.
“I was just thinking—does it feel strange, to you? The stones, everything, so…”
“Solid,” Jushiro finished the thought for him. “But less permanent, somehow. I hadn’t stopped to notice before, either.”
Maybe it was the little bit of reishi that was gathered around the mountain lake, Shunsui thought, that made the distinction all the more obvious.
It certainly wasn’t usual for two shinigami barely a few short years out of the Academy to be assigned to a mission like this on their own, and certainly not two from entirely separate divisions.
There were some perks to being Yama-ji’s favorite after all, apparently. Higher expectations had finally started to mean less supervision.
Shunsui let Jushiro take him by the hand and lead him forward, parallel to the shore now. They’d both stripped down to undergarments and bare feet, and Shunsui couldn’t help but appreciate the way the loose white juban fit on Jushiro’s lean frame. It was the same shade as his hair—no, not quite, his hair was whiter still. It was long enough now to tie back, just as Shunsui had started doing a few months ago with his own.
Jushiro bore a striking resemblance to the herons Shunsui had watched out the lecture halls’ windows in the Academy. He’d thought it many times before. Even in a gigai, he was magnificent.
The lakebed dipped lower as they walked, and Shunsui felt the water rising to his knees, and cringed against the chill anew as it did. Jushiro’s hand was warmer and more pleasant where it fit against his own, so it wasn’t so bad, really.
A bird alighted on the fallen branch ahead of them, worn smooth by the water. It was bright yellow, some type Shunsui had never seen before. He wondered for a moment if someone smarter than himself could explain why birds made of reishi came in different varieties than the birds found here.
Jushiro withdrew his hand from Shunsui’s and turned aside to sneeze into his sleeve.
“You alright?” Shunsui reached out to touch his back.
“Mm, I’m fine, just—” his voice pitched up with another shaking inhale as he sneezed again, and the thin muscles of his back shuddered beneath the Shunsui’s fingers.
“Ugh. Just the cold air.”
Shunsui had to agree. The air had raised gooseflesh along his arms and he found himself shivering: invigorating, even in a gigai that felt things so differently.
As they kept walking he couldn’t help but listen: just for his own peace of mind, to make sure that Jushiro’s breaths were free of the crackling sound of blood in his lungs. Nothing more than a few sniffles.
Still Shunsui worried, as he always had, at any subtle clearing of his throat, anything that might irritate his lungs. He didn’t need to worry, he knew, but—
“Stop thinking so much,” Jushiro took his hand again as they walked. “Our first mission unsupervised was a success, right? Just because our luck’s been good for this long doesn’t mean I’m going to faint right here and now. It’s cold, and we’re barely dressed, in case you didn’t notice.”
Shunsui couldn’t help but laugh. He was being ridiculous, he knew it.
“You’re right, I’m sorry. I was thinking, though,” he turned towards Jushiro, took his other hand into his own as well. “Everything feels so different, in a gigai. Even the water, the air too. I wonder if it’s more than nature that feels different when it’s not made of reishi.”
Jushiro reached out to adjust Shunsui’s collar where it had folded over itself, let the backs of his fingers slip beneath the thin fabric and against Shunsui’s skin.
This had been the entire point of finding some reclusive corner of nature before going home, somewhere where they’d have an excuse to undress, not that either of them had said it aloud.
“I’m curious, I have to admit,” he agreed. “What do you think? We have time to find out.”
When they kissed it was so different than usual, even though their lips fit together just the same. The gigai felt clumsy against each other, the feeling dulled and muted but somehow heavier at the same time.
Shunsui felt Jushiro’s teeth against his lip, felt his hands come up to his chest and slip beneath his undergarment, felt the cold water lapping at his legs and Jushiro stepping on his foot for a brief moment as he pulled him closer.
They pulled apart to catch their breath and continue, and Shunsui couldn’t help but open his eyes. He wasn’t sure if the sensation of inhabiting a gigai would ever feel any less cramped and stifling than it did today, but he was sure that even a false form like these couldn’t dull the beauty of the sight before him, nose and cheeks pink from the cold air, white hair coming loose from its tie and falling into his eyes.
Jushiro slipped his hand against the back of Shunsui’s neck and pulled him into another kiss. Clearly the disconcerting feeling of a gigai wasn’t bothering him enough to ruin the moment, either.
Flower gardens / hillside (prompts from @shunukiweek)
participating through sheer spite and insanity about these two. I wrote this at work today ngl, definitely not already a day late on day one. don't worry about that shh
The long grass rustled pleasantly, not yet coarse or dry this early in the summer. Wildflowers, plentiful and sweet-smelling, bowed their heads under the same breeze, and swift-moving, cottony clouds were swept along by it overhead.
It was a serene, perfect morning, and there were no captains’ duties to be addressed immediately enough to distract from it. Jushiro breathed a contented sigh.
Next to him, Shunsui’s hat had fallen aside from where he’d pulled it over his eyes. He had lay back in the grass, and had at some point foregone any pretense of staying awake. He’d turned to one side and rested his head on his arm, and soon after, his breathing had evened out into the comfortable rhythm of sleep.
Jushiro’s fingers strayed through the dark curls that had fallen forward across Shunsui’s chest, worked through the tangles carefully, gently, to keep from waking him or pulling the tie and hairpins out of place. He reached for the strand that fell over his eyes and toyed with it for a moment, twisted it over his finger and let it spool itself out again, and then tucked it into place behind Shunsui’s ear.
It fell forward again a moment later and he let it be. He touched the backs of his fingers to Shunsui’s cheek, let his knuckles brush softly against his jaw, against the dark hair and the occasional grey. Then he returned to Shunsui’s curls and began again to work carefully at untangling them.
The pleasant breeze that sent the wildflowers dancing seemed intent on undoing Jushiro’s efforts immediately. He kept at it, more for the enjoyment of watching Shunsui than out of any real hope of getting through all the tangles. Shunsui’s chest rose and fell gently as he slept, and the front of his shihakusho had fallen open, further open even than he usually wore it.
If it wouldn’t have woken him, Jushiro’s hands would’ve found their way there too. He would’ve traced along the line of his sternum, let his fingertips tangle in the hair on his chest, coily and dark; he would’ve dug the pads of his fingers into warm, soft skin, slipped beneath the draped-open uniform and wandered across ticklish ribs and stomach.
But he didn’t, not yet. For now, Jushiro was content to watch as Shunsui slept, and to keep himself entertained with his thoughts.
The breeze shifted the single curl that fell across Shunsui’s face, and his peaceful breathing stuttered for a moment. Jushiro watched as he slowly woke, his hand still working through Shunsui’s hair.
He didn’t open his eyes immediately, content to lay there for a moment longer and be warmed by the sun. When he did, his eyes, still softened and foggy from waking, blinked at Jushiro for a moment.
“Enjoying the view?”
Shunsui’s voice was still gravelly from sleep, and his lopsided smile dimpled one cheek. When he stretched, the rough noise of pleasure that escaped as his shoulders cracked was enough to quicken Jushiro’s pulse a little, and when he propped himself up on one elbow the crossed front of his shihakusho fell open nearly to his navel.
Jushiro let himself stare—let himself be caught staring—and didn’t answer for a moment. The breeze caught in his own hair, too, and shifted forward one of the silken strands that had begun to drape over his shoulder like pooling water. Shunsui reached out to take it between his fingers, smoothing out the ends even though they didn’t tangle as readily as his own.
“It is a very nice view,” he said softly, not looking at the hillside or the wildflowers in the slightest.
“You want to get some sleep, too? It might do you good—you could use me for a pillow, if you'd like,” Shunsui offered with another lopsided grin.
“Not yet,” Jushiro replied, even though the morning sun was beginning to make him drowsy, even though the offer to rest his head in Shunsui’s lap and breathe in the smells of spiced perfume and sake and warm skin were so tempting.
“Not yet, let me look at you a little longer, and then I’ll rest.”
“What’s there to look at? You know every inch of me with your eyes closed already,” Shunsui laughed. As if he didn’t let Jushiro catch him staring every day, just the same.
He brushed the strand of hair out of Shunsui’s face once more, just to watch it fall, just for an excuse to let his hand linger on his jaw.
For @shunukiweek! Prompt 1, flower gardens. The Garden is an AU! I share with other incredible Tumblr blogs where Shunsui is in a polyamory with multiple partners including Jushiro. Vincent is the eldest child of my self insert while Kushboo is @villainsrtasty 's eldest! In this they're both about 8 so many of the garden kids are literal toddlers and babies.
CW- Mentions of the garden (look at other posts for Shunsui specifically if you want more), old men being affectionate to each other, other than that just fluff!
WC- 623
Jushiro took a long sigh as he rang the doorbell to the Kyoraku estate. He’d been preoccupied with his declining health lately. However, Shunsui and his harem of partners had been a constant source of comfort in these trying times.
Multiple of Shunsui’s “flowers” had visited. Bellflower had taken multiple days out of her schedule to look after Jushiro. Daffodil and Lotus had brought practical feasts to his door to help him recover (when he had the stomach to eat of course). Shunsui himself had visited to help Jushiro catch up on paper work.
He arrived that fateful August day to return their kindness. The large gate opened to a smiling Daffodil.
“Jushiro! Are you alright? How are you feeling?” She asked frantically. She placed a hand against his forehead as if second nature. Jushiro laughed, touched by her concern.
“I am alright, Daffodil! I’m over the worst of it.” Jushiro reassured. She removed her hand with a relieved sigh.
“Thank goodness. Seems your temp is back to normal.” She straightened her kimono with her hand “How can I help?”
“I brought these for Shunsui and the garden. As thanks for looking after me these past two weeks.” Jushiro held up two plastic bags. She couldn’t see the full content but she noticed various bottles and small packages.
“You didn’t have to, Jushi! We are always happy to help you out. You’re part of the garden after all!”
He could feel his cheeks heating up. Daffodil giggled at the redness blooming across his cheeks. She took one of the bags from Jushiro.
"Come in. We're about to have lunch. Everyone'll be so happy you stopped by. And that you're feeling better, of course!"
Jushiro entered the backyard where Shunsui, the other flowers and their children were gathered. Shunsui sat, legs spread with two of his eldest children, Kushboo and Vincent, sat on his lap. They were giggling about something when they heard Jushiro's footsteps. The moment the two sets of brown eyes fell on the older man, they beamed and jumped down.
"Papa Jushi!" The pair cried as they raced over. Jushiro knelt down to hug the two. He'd always had a soft spot for kids but especially the offspring of Shunsui.
"Hey you two! " Jushiro asked as he hoisted the two up into his arms. The chorus of giggles crescendoed as they held on tightly.
"Jushiro, be careful!" Shunsui said with concern as he walked closer.
"I'm alright, my dear. I'm over the worst of it, don't worry about me." Jushiro reassured him. Shunsui gave a half smile as he pressed a kiss to Jushiro's forehead.
"I'm trusting you to not over do it again. You know how these two get."
Jushiro barked out a hearty laugh as he glanced between the kids.
"Are you two causing trouble for your papa and mamas again, huh?" He chastised teasingly.
"Nuh uh!" Kushboo protested with a pout.
"We've gotta be good for Santa!" Vincent added.
"Santa? December's far off yet, you know!" Jushiro said as he set them down.
"Yeah but if we're not good now, we won't get presents for Christmas!"
Jushiro hummed as he held his chin between his thumb and forefinger.
"Dearest Lotus found a method to keep them on their best behaviour. Seems to be working... For now at least." Shunsui whispered into Jushiro's ear. Jushiro laughed again, grinning widely.
"Hurry up, you lot! Lunch is ready!" Lotus called from the table. The two children hurried over to the table. Shunsui's arm wrapped around Jushiro's waist.
"Shall we, my love?" He said. Jushiro turned to him with a smile before planting a kiss to his lips. Shunsui's lips were far softer than the last time they kissed.
How I think some bleach characters would feel about 67
random hcs lmao <- idgaf if its phasing out
✰ byakuya ; I feel like hes one of those people who simply dont care for it I dont think it would bother him that much
✰ jushiro ; He definitely doesnt know what it is initially so some random kids taught him and now he uses it around toshiro all the time (he thinks hes cool and with the times)
✰ toshiro ; fucking hates it and he hears it nonstop from rangiku and jushiro. Probably has a sign on the door banning the number or something
✰ ichigo; casual 67 enjoyer he hears rukia say it alot but he himself doesnt really use it but still finds it funny,
✰ chad; hed use 67 but somehow makes it sound really cool and important becuase hes a chad
✰ orihime; does not use 67, she doesnt think its stupid or anything but I cant really see it being in her vocab
✰ zaraki ; he fucking loves 67 becuase yachiru says it all the time and it makes her happy (idk if he himself would use it) <- yumichika and ikkaku fucking hate it
✰ yamamoto ; hes a victim. A victim of 67 jokes. I feel like hes just accidentally say it when discussing the quantity of something during a captains meeting and everyone starts laughing and he’d get upset because he thinks it unprofessional.
✰ shinji ; he is the true brainrot maxxer I feel like hed go beyond using 67 and bring out triple t and shit too just to annoy everyone else lmao
✰ aizen ; he created 67, it was all apart of his plan
✰ urahara ; i feel like kisuke would be similar to shinji , he initally learned it from jinta and ururu and its just a common word in their house
✰ uryu ; thinks hes too cool for 67 but has slipped up and said it a few times
✰ rukia ; casual 67 user, nothing much here <- she strikes me as the kind to really enjoy social media trends in general when it comes to stuff like this
