“I hear you.” Shunsui Kyouraku cracked open his good eye, making no move to leave his napping spot. The floorboards creaked ever closer, invisible footsteps approaching until they were stopped right next to him. If he were to reach out towards them, he could imagine himself stroking a familiar ankle.
Juushiro used to come stand by him just like this. “Is it our anniversary already?” Shunsui inquired of the empty room, taking solace in the chill that swept over his exposed skin. A ghost of a breath found the cusp of his ear after a moment. It too was cold. Colder than Juushiro's skin had ever been on his sickest days.
"If it is, I want to see you. It's all that I want." Shunsui murmured. Lifting a hand to his own chest, he found something there, icy and wet. His fingers came back black with the inky stain of Hell's touch. Absentmindedly, he wiped them off on his makeshift pillow. "You'll always be Handsome to me."
The air flickered with an all too familiar spiritual pressure as the image of Juushiro Ukitake came to life before him. Well, what little life it could. He was paler than ever, blue-tinged and sunken, but that was Shunsui's husband. No doubt about it.
"I miss you." Juushiro's voice cracked as he finally spoke.
"Then stay." Shunsui didn't want to hear about the rules or the separation between the spirit realms. "I'm not the only one who would fight for you."
Juushiro's head dipped in seeming shame, hiding his face behind his long white hair. "I'm not who I used to be."
Shunsui never wanted his husband to feel shame in himself. Especially not like this. Jumping up, he cupped Juushiro's cheeks. “No matter the holes in your soul, you will always be beautiful to me. You got that, Handsome?”
Silence. Juushiro didn't even bother nodding his head. Shunsui’s hands shook, fingers quivering in unspoken fear as he hastily brushed the hair from Juushiro’s face so that he could see it. “Hell is coming for us all eventually. It just happened to get to you first. That’s all.”
"I thought I was saving everyone." The words were barely a whisper. "Now I'm no better than everyone we've ever killed. Maybe I never was better. Hell feels right for me."
"NO." Shunsui blurts the word before his brain can catch up. "No, no, no. It's not right for you. You belong with me. Here. Back in Soul Society."
Finally, some inkling of a smile. "Do you really think that's true?" Juushiro looks so hopeful that it breaks Shunsui's heart all over again.
"I believe it's true." Shunsui places a shaky kiss to Juushiro's lips. "I'll make it true. Whatever it takes."
Summer break from college was usually a time of relaxation.
Not this summer however, Jushiro Ukitake had a class to make up from when he was sick for part of the semester. Thankfully the professor had given him a grace period to complete the assignment as long as it was turned in before the next semester. Jushiro was determined to do so, but he was in charge of his younger siblings while their parents were at work. This was the usual setup in the family and had been for a long time.
This year he was also hosting his roommate and friend Shunsui Kyoraku. This was the second summer now that Shunsui was here.
So while Jushiro studied, Shunsui kept the siblings entertained.
This particular day they were restless. The second eldest approached Jushiro. “I know you're trying to study, but we're bored.”
Jushiro glanced up from his book. “Do you have something in mind?” He already had an idea what was going to be said, but encouraged the brother to continue.
“We wanna go to the beach.”
Yep that was what he had figured and had already planned on saying yes.
“You can study there, we'll behave.” It wasn't quite a lie, but not fully the truth.
“Okay, get everything together and load it into the wagon. They were very fortunate to live right across the street from the sandy beach. The family had inherited this lovely home and lived in it full time, all seasons. Jushiro loved watching the waves, especially during a storm. There was something frighteningly beautiful about the storm tossed waves.
They had a collapsible wagon that they used to haul things back and forth. It was absolutely loaded today. There were two medium sized baskets that had cloth coverings that the two next eldest guarded.
Still there were some things that just didn't fit and had to be carried. Aside from everyone having their personal towels flung over their shoulders there were umbrellas and picnic baskets. Of course there was a cooler filled with ice and drinks that had been the first thing loaded into the wagon as it was too heavy to carry.
Jushiro handed a picnic basket and umbrella to Shunsui who seemed a little surprised but accepted them. Jushiro carried the other umbrella, his books and something wrapped in an extra towel.
While everyone was busy setting up where they wanted their towels, the cooler and the mystery baskets, Jushiro had very secretly dug a hole in the sand, placed his own mystery object in the hole and flipped his towel over it, then planted his umbrella.
“Sunscreen everyone.” He dug in the beach supply bag and handed out a couple of tubes of cream. Shunsui had started to walk away. “You too, Kyoraku. “
“I don't really burn.”
“I don't care, get over here. I'm not about to have you moaning later about the burn you'll eventually get because the sun is different here.” Shunsui crouched in front of him with his back exposed. The sun screen was a bit chilly at first and he hissed at the contact.
“Do you keep that in the fridge?”
“Yes actually.” Jushiro smoothed the lotion across the broad shoulders in front of him. He actually lingered a little longer than necessary, but Kyoraku didn't seem to notice. Jushiro's inner voice was cheering. He had been longing to touch his friend but was afraid of rejection. Coating him with sun screen was a legitimate excuse. He knew his cheeks had turned pink at the thought.
The two next oldest brothers issued a challenge to Shunsui and he accepted with a hearty laugh. Dashing off to play with a throwing disc. Everyone laughed when he made a dive, missed and faceplanted in the sand. When he finally raised his head, after grumbling into the sand, he had a very sheepish, but lopsided grin plastered across his face.
Jushiro felt his heart flutter.
Nope this was his roommate and best friend, he wasn't supposed to feel this way. Yet the memory of rubbing the lotion across those shoulders…his mind drifted off.
After about an hour everyone decided it was time for lunch. Sandwiches and chilled water were passed around and consumed. After that was a short nap period. It was very peaceful and relaxed. Jushiro even closed his book and eyes and rested with everyone. Studying hard was one thing, but sometimes you needed to take it easy. Burnout happened to those who pushed themselves too hard.
When everyone had woken back up, it was time to swim. What was the point of coming to the beach if you weren't going to enjoy the water..at least a little. Again. Jushiro decided to join in but was stopped by Kyoraku.
“Hey! You scolded me about the sun screen. You're so pale you'd get crispy in a heartbeat.” At the first touch of the large hands Ukitake knew his face had flamed bright red. He wanted to linger there but his siblings were watching. The girls were whispering and giggling behind their hands. If it was possible he'd blush even more. Instead he sprinted to the water dragging two of the children along with him.
They splashed and dunked each other under the water. Shunsui hesitated at the water's edge. Not out of fear, he loved the water. But a sad and almost jealous longing. If only it was like this in his own family. Truth was, his family was distant and harsh. Which is why he liked spending time with the Ukitake family. As a whole they had made him feel welcome, wanted. The first night he realized this, he cried into his pillow. The quiet desperation seemed a distant thing around this joyous bunch of humans.
The youngest, a tiny carbon copy of her older brother except for the hair, declared she was too tired to continue and stretched up her arms for Shunsui to pick her up. He was flattered and cute how the family had just accepted him. He carried her to her towel, making a game of guessing which one was hers. She was giggling hard by the time the game was over.
Little by little the rest returned to their towels to grab some drink out of the cooler. Jushiro returned to reading his book.
Shunsui looked around at the scattered children and got an idea. “Hey! Who wants ice cream?” He pointed in the direction of a small treat stand. They all yelled “yes”. He suggested the smallest remain with her brother since she was so tired and that he'd bring her something sweet. She simply nodded. He planned to also bring something for Jushiro. He knew his favorite flavor.
Keeping the kids together was rather like trying to wrangle kittens. They were all over the place, but at least they didn't bother anyone else.
He made sure to allow them to get the flavor they each wanted and they immediately dived into the frozen treats. Upon the return to the towels, he handed the little one her popsicle and waved one in front of Jushiro's face.
“I didn't ask for one.” He stated.
“Yeah, but I got you one anyway. You're welcome.”
Jushiro grumbled for a bit, but took a bite anyway. He sighed happily. “How'd you know this is my favorite flavor?”
Shunsui shrugged, “ I just know things.”
Frozen treats gone, the next eldest boys uncovered the secret baskets. They were filled with water balloons and water guns. They had come prepared for battle.
At first they just aimed for each other. Soon the rest, including the girls, had both hands filled with the watery grenades. The fight was on. At first Shunsui stayed out of it as he figured he had an unfair advantage of his height and strength, but suddenly one exploded on the back of his head and actually rocked him forward. He grabbed a balloon and looked around for his assailant. It was one of the girls. She stood close to Jushiro with her hand covering her mouth, but Shunsui noticed that her shoulders were shaking with laughter.
Next the water guns were brought out. They had pretty much agreed that Jushiro was off limits unless he decided to join in. Things don't always go as planned.
One of the little ones was using Shunsui as a shield. His aim was a bit off…it hit Jushiro on the cheek.
Jushiro slowly lowered his sunglasses, stood up, flipped his towel to the side, dug into the sand and pulled out an enormous water gun, a cannon actually. “Oh! It's on now.” A wide grin crossed his face.
The siblings scattered, squealing with glee and terror. Jushiro opened the cooler and began to scoop icy water into the chamber.
Ice water on a hot day at the beach was diabolical. He landed several shots with surprising accuracy. Then fixed his attention on Shunsui.
“I didn't do anything.” He threw his hands into the air. “It was all them.” He gestured at the children. That didn't stop Jushiro, he was hunting now.
Shunsui grabbed a couple of water guns from the basket and began to back up slowly. A quick shot grazed his cheek. He turned and ran.
The first blast hit him square in the back. It stung, it was cold. He yelped.
Jushiro was now stalking him. No matter which way he turned, the white haired man was there.
Another blast hit the center of his chest. He shivered, it was so cold. Soon he was backed up against the side of the ice cream shop. No where to turn, no where to run. He awaited fate.
Jushiro stepped close, toe to toe and poked the muzzle of the water cannon under Shunsui's chin. “I think I won.”
Shunsui pressed his own water gun to Jushiro's chest and whispered in his ear, “Bang, baby.”
They both started to laugh.
Jushiro decided he needed to do something right there and then. He stretched up and kissed Shunsui.
Shunsui was a little startled at first, but it felt so good and so right. He returned the kiss more passionately. They were lost in that moment.
Giggles and a prolonged “Ooohhhhh” finally broke them apart.
