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“I always like it best here in the spring…” Jushiro contemplated, running his fingers through the hanging branches of a willow.
“Eh? Really?” Shunsui looked over at him in genuine surprise. Not what he would have guessed- but he supposed that could be his brain messing with his assumptions again.
“Yeah- the world’s full of new life, and the air is cleanest.” Jushiro took a deep breath of the sugar-sweet air and smiled, a day-dreaming expression on his face. “And look- the flowers are starting to come out!” His eyes lit up.
“You are right about the flowers- there sure are a lot of different kinds for this time of year…” Shunsui scanned the vast fields on either side of the footpath- each one a symphony of all shapes and sizes.
“Do you know a lot about flowers, Shunsui?” Jushiro asked, intrigued.
“Me? No- not about their symbolism.” He glanced lazily over some of the petals nearby, “I just know that the daffodils sing in golden voices and those primroses taste of candyfloss...” He turned his head at the sound of Jushiro chuckling at him and saw him shaking his head.
“You and your peculiar brain… you know, the daffodils symbolise creativity, or sometimes memory, and the primroses…” He trailed off suddenly, and looked pointedly at the ground, trying to hide the slightly pink tinge appearing on his face.
“… And the primroses?” Shunsui prompted, “What? What?” He grew more and more interested every second Jushiro refused to answer.
“E-Eternal love.” He managed eventually, face now bright red.
Shunsui raised an eyebrow at him, before sighing and placing a palm to his burning cheek. “Well, that’s perfectly appropriate then…” he drawled, before pulling the shorter man into a kiss. Jushiro relaxed immediately and Shunsui felt him smile.
“Now you go on ahead- I’ll catch up in a few minutes…” Shunsui murmured as he pulled away.
“Hm?” Jushiro furrowed his brow a little, “What are you staying around for?”
Shunsui just grinned and tapped a finger to his lips, “You’ll see.”
With a brief roll of his eyes, Jushiro turned around and continued up to the hill top. There wasn’t much further left to go- maybe half a mile or so.
He had always found that he could breathe more easily at the top of this hill than anywhere else in Soul Society. The view went on for miles- endless rolling hills, clusters of trees, and blurred by the misty horizon was the Seireitei. The gentle breeze blew through the branches of the ancient tree at the peak, standing like a guardian over Soul Society. At this time of year, the first few daisies were beginning to spread into what would become a sea-like covering of white petals. Jushiro sat cross-legged just under the shade of the whispering branches and absentmindedly began to pick the daisies around him.
I wish Shunsui would hurry up…
“Yo! Sorry about that…”
Jushiro chuckled, speak of the devil…
He heard the taller man sit down on the grass behind him, and almost on instinct, lay back to rest his head on Shunsui’s lap.
“What was that about?” Jushiro smiled, a little sleepily. He busied his hands with the daisies, forming them into a chain distractedly.
“Just wanted to pick a few flowers is all~” Jushiro felt him begin to play with his long hair.
“S-Shunsui, what are you-?”
“Relax, it’s just a little primrose...” He laughed, fixing the flower behind Jushiro’s left ear.
“P-primrose? O-oh. Ok then…” He was still more than a little pink in the face.
They stayed like that in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the minty-sweet air and sun-beams blinking through the rustling branches. Shunsui studied Jushiro’s hands, curious. “What’s that you’re making there?”
Jushiro glanced up at him. “This? Oh, just a daisy chain. It’s very therapeutic. You should try it sometime…” His voice was still lazy and slightly drawling. He turned his head back to focus on the chain in his hands.
“Really? I think being able to run my fingers through your hair is therapeutic enough for me…” Shunsui smirked.
“S-Shunsui…” Jushiro’s eyes shot back to look at him, a flush already creeping into his pale skin.
“You get flustered so easily, Jushiro! It’s kinda cute~” Shunsui laughed in a sort of sing-song voice.
Jushiro pressed his lips together tightly and looked away, praying that he’d stop blushing.
Shunsui sighed, overdramatically. “Fine- It’s really cu-”
Jushiro shook his head, laughing. “Oh shut up, Shunsui” He put his hands behind Shunsui’s neck and pulled him in for a kiss. He fastened the daisy chain around his head.
“Hm?” Shunsui pulled away a little with a raised an eyebrow.
“What? I can’t be the only one with flowers in my hair…” Jushiro said, a dreamy smile on his face.
“That’s not what I meant… Daisies… they symbolise true love don’t they?” Shunsui smirked, knowingly.
Jushiro was a little taken aback. “What? I thought you didn’t know anything about flower symbolism?”
“I said I didn’t know a lot… You’ve known me long enough, Jushiro- you should be aware of how literally I take things…” His face was split into one of the widest grins Jushiro had ever seen, and he was struggling not to laugh.
The white haired captain rolled his eyes and drew his smiling face back down to kiss him again.