Mistletoe Mischief

Author's note: I do not own Bleach or its characters.

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                                          Mistletoe Mischief

Nanao carefully checked the doorway before entering the office. No one had hung mistletoe yet, but it was still early. This year she wasn’t going to let herself get caught off guard. Despite the fact that the plant was basically contraband anymore, every year it seemed to make it to the Eighth Division offices. Nanao wasn’t one hundred percent sure about who was responsible for that, but she had a pretty good guess. After all, she could easily think of someone here who would enjoy the traditions that came with the plant.

The Seireitei had adopted Japan’s customs when it came to Christmas, and so this was considered one of the most romantic times of the year. Nanao couldn’t see why. It was too cold for her tastes, and while snow could be pleasant to look at, that was quickly outweighed by the fact that it was a pain in the neck to move about in on a regular basis. A snow day or two she could tolerate, but no more than that. Still, there some benefits to the season. Winter made it a lot easier for her to track down her captain. He wasn’t very fond of traipsing about in the snow either.

She began her morning office routine, fixing herself a pot of tea and getting to work. Her captain most likely wouldn’t show up for another three hours, and Nanao wanted to get as much work as possible done now. She had almost managed to get ahead on the paperwork, and given that the rest of the week would most likely be given over to Christmas celebrations, Nanao knew that it would be very easy to fall behind again. She also still needed to find something for both the Eighth Division and the Shinigami Women’s Association White Elephant exchanges. The rest of her Christmas shopping had been done. Nanao truthfully didn’t exchange gifts with many people. Her captain, Rangiku, and Captain Ukitake were really the only ones. Their gifts had been bought quite a while ago.

Her morning was mostly undisturbed. A few of the division members delivered more forms, but other than that, Nanao was mostly left on her own. She didn’t really mind. Nanao finished up the paperwork before her captain arrived and decided to take an early lunch and get her shopping done. Wrapping a wool haori around herself, Nanao ventured out into the snow. She would go to her favorite noodle shop and then check a few shops for some trinkets for the gift exchange. Hot noodles and broth appealed to her very much right now.

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Shunsui had waited until he was sure Nanao was gone before going into the office. He had a number of things to do today, and he didn’t want his vice-captain interrupting him or worse, finding out about his plans. He wanted to get Nanao’s Christmas presents taken care of, and he also had to make sure the Eighth was mistletoe free. He knew the last seemed like an odd decision for him, but the thought had struck Shunsui that mistletoe didn’t mean that he could kiss her, but that any man she got caught under it with could kiss. Shunsui preferred to reserve his Nanao-chan’s kisses for himself.

Shunsui wasn’t adverse to using mistletoe to his advantage; he just didn’t want anyone else to do the same. But first there was the matter of his Nanao-chan’s presents. The first of which was having all his paper due through the new year completed for her. That way she had at least one gift that she would really appreciate. His other gift for her wasn’t quite finished yet. Every year Shunsui used Christmas as an excuse to shower his Nanao-chan with lavish gifts. Like her birthday and the anniversary of her becoming his vice-captain, Christmas provided a chance to give her things that he knew she would normally refuse.

This year he had two things for her. One was a collection of sketches he had put together, chronicling their years together. Shunsui had found that Nanao had become the subject of nearly ninety percent of his art any more. His other gift for her was a delicate silver necklace. Its front held seven stars each with an amethyst between all held together with tiny links. He’s chosen the stones to match her eyes and the design was play on both her name and her birth date. He hoped she would like it.

With a sigh, Shunsui sat down at his desk and began to get to work. He had a lot of paperwork to get done before his Nanao-chan got back.

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It had started snowing by the time she had finished eating, so it took Nanao longer to run her errands than she had planned. When she arrived back at the office, she found her captain no where in sight, though it did appear that his desk had been disturbed. She frowned when she caught a glimpse of mistletoe on his desk. Nanao quickly collected the offending plant, tossing it into a waste bin and setting it on fire with a precise blast of kidou. If the only person she was stuck kissing was her captain, Nanao would have less of a problem with that plant. However, tradition stated she had to kiss anyone she was caught under the mistletoe with, and that was something she wouldn’t do.

To her complete surprise, Nanao found that all of the paperwork on Captain Kyoraku’s desk was completed. She carefully leafed through the stacks of paper. It was everything that needed to be done all the way through the new year. This would cut her workload nearly in half for the next few weeks. Nanao smiled. This must be his Christmas gift this year. That was rather sweet of him. She settled back down at her own desk. She would just try and finish up her own paperwork for the year, and then she would go change for the party. And she needed to wrap her captain’s present. She hoped he would like it. Nanao had found a beautiful tukkuri set made by one of the potters in the Rukongai. It had a cherry blossom motif on it, and she knew that her captain had broken his old sake set earlier in the year when an Eleventh Division brawl had interrupted one of his drinking sessions.

Nanao also found herself checking on the preparations for the division party later on. Things were going pretty well, but she had twice had to dispose of mistletoe that she had found. There had been several bunches in the main hall they would use for the party, and she had also found some hung in the division’s kitchen as well. Hopefully, with those sprigs of the planet eradicated, she had taken care of all of it that was left. Nanao headed back to her quarters to change. One of her captain’s silly rules that even she didn’t break was no one wore uniforms to the Christmas party.

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Shunsui was quite pleased with how the party was going even if he had yet to see his beloved vice-captain. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, and he hadn’t been able to find a single trace of the dreaded plant. Once he had his Nanao-chan by his side, there would be little more he could ask for. He himself had decided on Western dress for the party, and Shunsui had received a number of compliments on his tuxedo. However, he had the feeling that his tie was askew, and Nanao was nowhere in sight to straighten it for him.

He caught sight of movement by the door and watched as Nanao warily eyed the entryway before stepping into the room. She looked amazing in his mind. Her dress was a dark red velvet that fell just past her knees. The boatneck showed off her lovely neck and collarbones, and Shunsui recognized the cashmere shawl she wore as one of his many presents to her over the years. It was her jewelry that puzzled him. He didn’t remember giving her that set, and both the earrings and the pendant were some sort of plant stylized in gold and pearls that he knew he recognized.

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Nanao hung up her shawl and placed her gift for the White Elephant exchange on the proper table before beginning to make her rounds greeting her fellow division members. Shunsui watched her, mesmerized, as she began making her way around the room towards him.

Nanao skillfully made her way through the expected pleasantries and greetings as she worked herself towards her captain. His tie needed to be fixed. The woman nervously fingered her necklace. No one seemed to have recognized its significance yet, and she was glad. She was having second thoughts about letting Rangiku goad her into wearing the jewelry, but if it did work out, she would owe the older woman a thank you. When she finally reached Captain Kyoraku, the first thing Nanao did was straighten that pink tie of his. He caught one of her hands and managed to place a kiss on its palm before she snatched it away.

“Merry Christmas, Nanao-chan.”

His eyes were warm and inviting, and Nanao needed a moment to regain her self-control.

“Merry Christmas, sir.”

Unfortunately, before they could really start a conversation, their attention was required for the party activities. It was another two hours later when the party had turned to drunken reveling that she managed to get her captain alone. She had just about given up and was ready to slip out the door and head home. Kyoraku appeared at her side, helping her with her shawl.

“I’ll walk you home, Nanao-chan. I can’t let you freeze after all.”

They made their way together through the snow. Her captain broke a path for her, making it easier to manage, and his large form protected her from most of the wind. When they reached her doorstep, Nanao found herself hesitantly inviting him in. She did have to give him his present after all. Nanao fixed them both tea then handed him her gift.

Shunsui smiled at her, and Nanao found herself fingering her necklace again. His eyes followed her movement.

“Ne, Nanao-chan, what exactly is your necklace supposed to be?”

She blushed. “Mistletoe.”

His lips quirked in a half smile. “I thought you hated the stuff.”

“Not all the time,” Nanao quietly admitted. “It’s just there’s only one person I want to kiss.”

Shunsui leaned in then and captured her mouth. Nanao kissed him back, and when they finally separated, Nanao was kneeling between his legs, and their faces were inches apart.

He smiled at her, his hand caressing her cheek. “Why don’t you come over tomorrow and open presents with me, Nanao-chan?”

She nodded, and he swooped in for another kiss.

“Merry Christmas, my Nanao.”