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The sandy blond haired male wore his green and white hat over his gray eyes as he leaned against the wall, a frown atop his lips. From the other side, he listened, his lips dipped further downwards as he wondered what he should do. It had been true that Kisuke Urahara had hired you as a shop worker when the rest of the visored took their leave, and yet, he never expected the two of you to grow close over the years. He hadn't even understood why his own heart clenched in his chest as he listened to your quiet sobs.
For a moment, the genius soul reaper wondered if being without your friends had upset you, and yet, it had been years. Each possibility was as probable as a roll of a die, and yet, the sandy blond had never even noticed you show a bit of weakness around him. He bit his crestfallen lip intuitively, before pushing himself silently off of the wall itself. Anything the man could possibly have thought of seemed either too far fetched, or simply strange. He could fire up a test tube and understand exactly what he had been doing, and yet, he was at a loss to a simple emotion.
A slender hand lifted to your door, his lips pursed as he gently knocked. His rhythmic knock sounded thrice as he awaited some sort of response. Vaguely, he listened as you scurried yourself, a soft sniffle, before your cracked voice broke into his ears. It had been obvious, even through the wall, that you attempted to steady your voice, but towards the end of your words, the crack had been subtle, yet obvious.
"You can come in," you mumbled, slightly muffled by the pillow he had been sure you had buried your face into.
The sandy blond swallowed hard, before flicking the door open just enough to slip inside, before closing it behind him. The room itself merely reflected the dim starlight, just enough for him to see your figure lying flat upon your makeshift bed, while thin walls held the slightest hint of a chill. He strode towards your silhouetted figure, before sitting down beside you.
"Hey," he stuttered out, as if it hadn't been the dead of night. The genius knew nothing about how to broach the subject, yet the subtle pang that resided deep in his own chest made him wish he had more experience with it. A slender hand shifted upwards as he removed his white and green hat, setting it beside him. It had been so odd for the man, as simple as the question was, he found himself struggling to inquire. Maybe it had been the logical thought that you could easily lie, or simply the fact that he had been close to very little people in his time. "Are you…okay?"
There had been a momentary hesitation from you, as if you had thought to simply brush off the subject entirely - or give a ‘yes’ to stop further inquiry. As a sigh slipped over your lips, you finally answered him. "No, but it's fine," you still had attempted to brush off, mumbling into your pillow as you could still feel vengeful, hot tears stinging y/e/c eyes. You dared not to glance up on the man who had stolen your heart, knowing it would just allow them to slide down your cheeks once more. "I'm sorry if I woke you, Kisuke."
A ragged sigh escaped his lips. Though he could admit to himself that he struggled with this, his own heart aching at the blurred sight of you hurting, he had not vocalized it. "No, it's not fine," he replied, his tone holding a seriousness you rarely heard from the man. "Come here."
Reddened y/e/c eyes shifted to the man, and for a moment you had quirked a brow, though you could feel fresh tears already welling in your eyes. The rain in your heart had yet to stop, your exterior following suit, but his face had been too serious to ignore. Swallowing hard, trying your damnedest to hold back your tears, you practically crashed into the man's arms.
Your arms latched around him, hands grasping at his hatori's back as you attempted to steady your breaths. The thank you that passed your lips had been near impossible to hear, murmured against his chest with a subtle crack. It had been earlier that you had realized the impossibility, the lingering feeling of jealousy mixed in part with a hopelessness that your love would ever return your affections. Wrapped in the warmth of his arms, though, you could nearly fool yourself.
"Now, how about you tell me what's going on?" He murmured surprisingly softly, his head resting upon your own as he held you close. He could not ignore the way that his heart fluttered in his chest, holding you so close to him. No matter how many times his childhood friend wrapped around him, he had never felt the same type of flutter. It nearly caused his lips to curl upwards subconsciously. "We can't have that pretty face of yours all covered in tears, now, can we?"
You chuckled softly, though it had felt near hollow in nature. “It's silly…” you attempted to reason. Maybe your attempt had been to reason with yourself.
“It isn't to me,” he reminded you, his fingertips tracing over your back in soft, calming circles. Surely it could have been a silly reason - Kisuke had no real experience with broaching a subject on emotions. He simply knew how much seeing you saddened pained him so - and how right it had felt holding you in his arms. If he was offered the opportunity, he would gladly hold you til the day's light.
Everything he dealt with in his life was concise, made sense, and yet, the draw he felt to you never had. He offered you a job so that you wouldn't leave him behind ‐ so that he could relish in the time he spent with you daily.
“I…” your words died in your throat as you felt the burn in the back of your throat. You weren't even sure how you could convey what pained you in a way that hadn't been damaging - damning, even, to the relationship the two of you had. Sucking in a sharp breath, you let the words slip across your lips messily - something you knew you could never take back. “I'm in love with you…and I'm reminded daily, more often than usual, that you'll never feel the same- and I'm sorry, but I just can't hold it back any longer.” Your words cracked, heart racing as you finally admitted your own longing.
The way Urahara began laughing caused your heart to tighten, though his arms hardly let up from your embrace as his body shook with laughter. He had laughed as if you told him a priceless joke for nearly two minutes straight. You had nearly wriggled yourself out of his arms until his own loosened enough to look you in the eyes, the darkness hard to decipher his expression. His hands rested upon the sides of your arms, though they hadn't let you go.
“That's all, huh?” He questioned curiously.
“Y-yeah,” you replied, a lump in the back of your throat that you couldn't quite swallow. “I'm s-”
His plush lips covered your own before you had the chance to apologize again, passionately slipping across your own as he readjusted his position. He pulled you into his lap as his arms wrapped tightly around you once more, one hand rested behind your head. Urahara's warmth engulfed you to the point that you nearly could have forgotten that he had laughed for two minutes straight.
Once you understood what had been happening, you found yourself greedily wrapping your arms around his neck, settling comfortably in his embrace and his lap. You matched his passion, his subtle ferocity as the two of you melded together. It felt like hours and in the same sense moments as the two of you separated far too soon.
“What was…” you began to ask, though he had quickly cut you off.
Matter-of-factly, he replied, “It's silly for you to be heartbroken when you don't have to be. It's even more hilarious that I did not know exactly how to say ‘I love you’ to you, either.”
“I-” you gaped at him, though you found your cheeks burning with blush as your lips curled upwards into a grin. “You love me ?”
“If that hadn't been clear, I wouldn't be opposed to another demonstration,” he spoke wryly, his breath radiating against your lips.
Your breath hitched in your throat, though a self-same relief stretched over you in that knowledge - in the arms of the man you had fallen in love with. Your silly musings about Yoruichi and him…it all seemed to fade into the background. “Neither would I…” you breathed out finally, and though it was the dead of night, the two of you would fall into a new normalcy starting the morning.