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Kyōraku Shunsui inhaled deeply as he covered the last couple of steps with a shunpo and ducked down behind a wall. A glance behind him told him his return, as planned, went unnoticed. With another shunpo he got himself a reasonable distance away from the senkaimon and into the Seireitei proper before allowing himself to walk.
Lowering his sugegasa, the type of hat he’d grown to like wearing, over his eyes he casually strolled through the various streets and alleyways that made up the Seireitei. He inhaled again; the air of the living world couldn’t even begin to compare to the air of the Soul Society. Already he could feel the reiatsu swirling around him, weaving through his bones, embracing him like a long lost lover. It welcomed him home and he welcomed it, allowing it to replenish his own reiryoku, and within minutes he was feeling a little like his old self again. He was, however, exhausted, and no amount of reiatsu or even healing could fix that. Fortunately he wasn’t due to report and debrief until the morning; his undocumented return gave him at least a couple of hours grace and he knew exactly where he could go to get the rest he needed.
The Thirteenth’s division barracks were in complete silence. There were one or two patrols that Shunsui had to evade, but it didn’t take him too long to scale a wall and remove his waraji in order to pad silently through the seated officers' living quarters. The room he wanted was right at the end and he smiled when he saw the faint glow of a light filtering through a crack where the fusima hadn’t been closed properly.
“Shitsurei shimasu,” he whispered as he announced his intent to enter and slid the door open.
His heart fluttered when he found the one he was looking for. They’d been apart for the eighteen months that Shunsui had been on a mission in the living world reporting on hollow activity. That worked out to be five hundred and forty seven days, almost three thousand one hundred and twenty eight hours, not that he was counting. The days, minutes and hours had rolled into one, but what was prominent was the fact that despite the fact that he’d missed two of his love’s birthdays and the other man hadn’t aged a day. Shunsui, on the other hand, felt like he had aged ten years.
His love was sleeping, silver hair cascading over the futon like seaweed draped over rocks. Reports and papers were spread out across the tatami mats, and the lantern cast a low glimmer of light. A section of the shoji was open, creating a window and allowing the moonlight to mingle with the soft glow. The whole effect caused his love to look pale, weary even, and Shunsui furrowed his brow. He dropped his waraji by the door and placed his zanpakutō beside them before crossing the room to the sleeping figure. Dropping to his knees he brushed a piece of silver hair out of the man’s face and pressed the back of his own hand against the now bare forehead, shoulders relaxing slightly when there was no sign of a fever.
“Always one to burn the midnight oil, aren't you my love?” he asked tenderly before turning to tidy the papers. A few words caught his eye as he piled them up: uprising in the districts, discord among nobles, distrust between divisions and he sighed. Despite his time away it seemed that whilst the world was moving in the world of the living, nothing had really changed in the world of the souls.
With the reports neatly placed to one side, Shunsui hesitated, considering whether he should leave his love to sleep and head back to his own division to rest, but the urge to touch the other man, to just be close to him once more was too much. He slipped off his shihakusho and placed it, along with his sugegasa, beside the rest of his belongings.
Clad only in his fundoshi, his love hummed as he slipped under the duvet, pushing back against him and Shunsui smiled and softly traced his fingers down a bare arm that was revealed when he’d shifted the covers to join the other man.
A faint smile ghosted the other man’s lips, pulling up at the sides and Shunsui melted at the sight; it had been so long since he’d seen that look of pure innocence. With nothing but his memories keeping him company during his months away, it was something else to return and see it first hand.
“Shunsui?” the voice was whispered, gravelly and layered with the tone of someone half asleep.
“Shush, my love,” he soothed, still stroking his arm. “Forgive a selfish old man, I couldn’t wait to see you.”
His love turned, eyes blinking as he rolled to face him. “What time is it?”
“Late.” Shunsui smiled and brushed a silver strand of hair off his pale face. “Or early, depending on your concept of time.”
He chuckled. “It’s good to see your months away have done nothing to diminish your humour.”
“Jūshirō...” his voice caught in his throat, emotions and the pain of missing him coming forward as he relished how precious it was to just be in the same room as him.
Ukitake Jūshirō smiled and extracted a hand from the duvet to place it on Shunsui’s cheek. “I know.” He slowly pulled the brunet’s head towards him, foreheads touching as he closed his eyes. “The time apart was agonisingly long for me as well, never knowing if the words I’d said to you would have been the last or if you’d return to give me the chance of saying them again.”
Shunsui smiled into the touch. “I’m here now, say them again my love...”
Instead of replying, Jūshirō just reached up and kissed his lover’s lips softly but with the passion of one who had not seen the other for a long time.
Shunsui chuckled and carefully pushed the smaller man down so he was lying on his back. “How are you?” The question was not asked casually.
“I am well enough for this,” Jūshirō replied, raising his hands to place them on either side of Shunsui’s face and pulling him down to resume their kiss.
Shunsui nodded, his earlier fatigue washed away at seeing Jūshirō again. For so long they had been apart, the memories of their last night together doing nothing to satiate his desires. He returned the kiss, hands drifting inside Jūshirō‘s yukata, caressing skin, savouring the sensation.
A little moan escaped from Jūshirō and Shunsui drifted his kisses down, trailing his lips over Jūshirō’s neck, suckling softly before moving down to his collarbone. Hands that had dropped back to the futon now rose to grip at his back as his kisses moved lower. Shunsui’s own hands moved to the belt of Jūshirō yukata, untying it and giving him access to more of the pale skin he’d missed in the past eighteen months. He drifted his kisses down further still, hands occupied with the removal of fundoshi, before resting them on Jūshirō‘s chest, tracing circles and lightly ghosting his fingertips over his nipples.
Jūshirō moaned, which turned into a gasp as Shunsui reached his pelvis. The long, slow kisses he’d been performing turned into quick, soft pecks as he danced around and instead led to a thigh.
“Shunsui...” Jūshirō muttered, hands finding his hair and carding his fingers through the curled brown locks.
“Shush, my love.” He repeated an earlier admission, “Allow me the pleasure of reacquainting myself with your skin, with your scent, your sounds and your taste.” As if to prove a point he drifted his lips over Jūshirō‘s length and stuck his tongue out to lick his tip. Jūshirō shuddered and Shunsui grinned. Taking the whole of Jūshirō‘s length in his mouth, he slowly relished the taste, swirling his tongue around as he bobbed up and down. The sounds coming from Jūshirō were music to his ears and only fuelled him to move quicker, hands roaming around, pinching and tugging at his nipples, heightening his lover’s pleasure and his own arousal.
“Shunsui...” hearing his name on his lover’s lips, in that low, sultry, blissed out tone he used sent shivers down Shunsui. His own arousal twitched in anticipation and he placed his hands on either side of Jūshirō and pushed up, smiling softly, licking his lips as he looked down at Jūshirō and the contentment on his face - a look of contentment that turned to an adorable pout at the absence of Shunsui’s lips where he wanted them. Chuckling, Shunsui lowered himself back down and kissed Jūshirō‘s lips, letting him taste himself. Dipping his pelvis to rub against him, Shunsui moved his hips as he supported himself on his hands and lowered his lips back to Jūshirō’s neck.
Their breaths mingled as they moved together, Jūshirō‘s hips moving to the same tempo as Shunsui’s, his hands reaching around and carding through the brown locks of his lover, releasing it from its ponytail and gripping the hair. His gasps were short and fast and his hips sped up to try and control the speed with which they moved. This was Shunsui’s cue to pause and reclaim the control he had and he sat up, his weight on Jūshirō’s thighs and hands resting on the other man’s stomach. He closed his eyes briefly, reclaiming control of himself, and looked down at him with a smile, before lowering himself. He pressed their bodies against each other, flush with pleasure, smelling him, hearing his little gasps and moans as they pressed their lengths against one another once more. This moment was worth the wait.
~*~
Shunsui watched as Jūshirō calmed himself down. He slipped to one side and lay down next to him, one hand fisted and resting on his temple, elbow anchoring him to the floor, his other tracing small circles around Jūshirō‘s navel. The look of pure contentment and happiness on his lover's face after cresting over was one of Shunsui’s favourite things. It was easy to forget who they were, where they were in that moment. It was just the two of them, with not a care in the world. Jūshirō smiled across at him and rolled over, reaching for Shunsui to close the gap and kiss him once more. Lowering himself to free his arm, Shunsui wrapped both of them around Jūshirō and sat them up, deepening the kiss and holding him closer.
“Do you know how much I’ve missed you, during the spare moments I had when I was alone with nothing but memories and hands? It was agony to see your face in my mind, but unable to reach out and touch, to hold and to hear. Now that I’m back, with you in my arms, it makes me want to never leave you again.”
Jūshirō sighed and nodded, head resting on Shunsui’s chest. “And I you, thank you for returning to me, for now we can have more moments like this and I can say those words that I said all that time ago. My love for you, since the moment we met, has always been paramount. I love you and that is never going to change.”
Shunsui traced a circle on the back of Jūshirō’s shoulder and smiled, kissing his head. “And I love you, now let us try to capture a few moments of sleep before my presence is known and our solitude interrupted.”
He felt Jūshirō nod against his chest and he pulled the duvet up over them both. Outside, the sun was rising and the morning bell was moments from being rung, but for now the two of them, entwined and in peace, drifted off to sleep.
~*~
It was inevitable, them sleeping past the morning bell and it was almost noon before they arose from their slumber.
“I’m surprised no one has come looking for you,” Shunsui commented with a yawn as he stretched and reached for his clothes. “I was supposed to check in with my own captain this morning.“
Jushirō chuckled. “Complain not about the time we spent together, but instead relish the gift they granted us.”
Shunsui stood and pulled on his hakama, leaning down to kiss Jūshirō‘s head tenderly as he picked up his kosode. “Smart as always and right.” He smiled and finished getting ready, tying his hair back up and placing his sugegasa on his head. He tipped it with a smirk and a nod of his head before sliding open a section of the wall and slipping out onto the wooden path, shunpoing from sight.
As he moved through the alleys, winding his way to his own division, he smiled softly, the memories of the night permanently etched in his mind. Whilst he loved the work, and enjoyed seeing the world of the living thrive in the current era, he preferred being home. Home, after all, is where his heart is.