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They met in Soul Reaper School. It was an accident; Shunsui running into Jushiro, scrolls and papers flying everywhere.
“Sorry about that,” he said to the white haired boy. He bent down to help pick up the mess he had created.
“It’s alright,” Jushiro said with a smile.
If there was anything brighter or purer in this world, Shunsui had never experienced it. Everything wholesome was contained in this guy’s grin. “I’m Shunsui Kyoraku.”
“Jushiro Ukitake.”
Years passed with them getting closer as friends. The moments they were apart were rare. Shunsui could feel himself falling deeper and deeper in love with his best friend. Their assignments as captains in the Gotei 13 was one of the things that drove them apart.
They had weekly meetings on Saturdays at a local izakaya in the Seireitei. Shunsui always made sure it was near Jushiro’s office so he didn’t have to walk far.
“I’ve got a surprise for you Ju,” Shunsui said one afternoon as they sat in the garden at his family’s estate under a wisteria tree, enjoying the fragranced breeze.
“Yeah?”
***
Sundays found them taking a horse drawn cart out to a cottage located in the countryside.
The cottage had a cute porch where they would sit and sip barley tea or lemonade. There was a porch swing to enjoy the sunsets or sunrises. It had a garden where they would plant vegetables and fruits then feast on their harvest when the crops began rolling in. It was a simple one bedroom cottage with a living area and a kitchen.
The old woman who lived down the path came each week to clean and dust for them. She made sure the well stayed full and had her grandson chop wood for the two men.
Their first night there. Jushiro turned to Shunsui and gave him one of those amazing grins. “This is–”
“It’s for us.”
Jushiro walked up to Shunsui, still smiling and lifted his hands to the man’s jaw, pulling his head down, their lips gently brushing against each other.
“Kiss me, Shunsui.”
Their lips melted together, becoming one person for several seconds before breaking apart and coming back, mouths opening and tongues intertwining. Shunsui couldn’t believe this. He had yearned for this the entire time that he had known his friend.
He didn’t even notice as his kimono slipped to the floor. Their haori also fell to the floor followed by the kosode and the hakama, leaving them in their small clothes by the time they made it to the bedroom. Their futons were already laid out side by side.
Their erections were prominent and rubbing against each other. Shunsui pulled back and so did Jushiro but he was trembling. “I’ve never–”
“Neither have I, Ju.” Shunsui kissed him slowly, lips caressing the other man’s mouth tenderly. “I’ve been waiting for you. I will wait for you.”
A long exhale left Jushiro and he laughed.
They enjoyed their life.
***
Cough. Hack. Cough.
Shunsui closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose as the healer gave Jushiro some of the tea that helped with his lungs. In the previous years it had just been the coughing which Shunsui knew how to deal with; herbal teas and compresses.
Then the blood came.
He didn’t know how to deal with that. Healers were brought in and care had to be taken on what Jushiro did. He couldn’t do anything really strenuous; they found this out while having sex. He couldn’t be around dust or flowering trees or plants; they found this out while gardening.
Warm air was inhaled. Syrups taken. Tea drank. Compresses used.
They even went to the World of the Living to get something called oxygen for Jushiro to help him breathe.
As the oxygen machine helped Jushiro, Shunsui looked on from the doorway of the cottage. Then the healer pulled him to the side.
“I’m not sure how much time he has left,” she said, then looked at Jushiro with the mask on his face, “or if this treatment is working. I’m sorry, Captain Kyoraku.”
This was not the news he wanted to hear. Shunsui nodded and sniffed, turning his face to the side to hide his tears. There was nothing he could do to help his friend and lover. “It’s fine. Thank you.”
***
It was a year after the Wanderreich was defeated Shunsui sat on a bench in front of Jushiro’s grave. He had a bottle of sake and two cups. He opened the bottle and sat one of the cups on the stone and poured a healthy dose of the alcohol into the dish before pouring himself some.
“Hello my old friend. It’s Saturday and there’s a beautiful cloudless sky. You should see it. The trees are ripening with fruit at the cottage and the tomatoes and melons are producing.” He was silent for a long moment as he sipped the sake. Birds chirped and a breeze blew through his hair. A heavy sigh left the man. Shunsui whispered. “I will keep working, Ju. I will for as long as it takes.”