myki (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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leadpencils2013-05-06 09:34 am
hashtag) wrote in leadpencils2013-05-06 09:34 am
fic; refraction
He knelt between her legs, damp washcloth and tweezers in his hands. The Hollow had moved faster than Nanao could have ever reacted, and the dull crunch of her body being slammed into a brick wall still echoed in his mind. It was lucky that she hadn't been more seriously injured, but her glasses had been shattered, and the tiny shards of glass still embedded in her skin glistened wetly in the dingy light of their motel room.
Slowly, Shunsui removed one sliver, and then another, letting them fall with almost-musical noises onto the complimentary ashtray. Nanao stayed perfectly still, with only the occasional hiss of pain and the clink of glass breaking the silence.
Her nose wasn't broken - and even though it was still bleeding, the most she'd have to deal with would be some awful bruising. She had a nasty graze on one cheek, and myriad tiny cuts from her shattered glasses - and yet it could have been so much worse. So, so much worse.
Finally satisfied that no shards had been left behind, Shunsui took the washcloth and placed it gently under each of Nanao's closed eyes in turn, blotting away the dried blood. She shivered violently at the sensation and slumped forward, resting the less-injured side of her face on his shoulder.
"Sorry." Mumbled thickly, it came out as 'thorry'. "I should've dodged it." He sighed, and carefully pressed a kiss into her hair. To be honest, even he wasn't sure he would have been able to react in time. The adjuchas had possessed an eerie ability to completely hide every trace trace of its spiritual pressure, and they'd only noticed it when it was already in mid-leap.
"Don't be sorry, Nanao-chan. We'll just have to be more careful next time, okay?" A sniffle came from his right shoulder, and then he felt her nod. He smiled. "Good. Now, sit back up, and we'll see what I can do about that nose..."
It turned out that colliding with a brick wall face first had ruptured a minor arteriole in her sinuses, and so Shunsui had to put his rusty kaidou skills to work. Naturally, Nanao had protested, but it had been his fault that she had been injured in the first place, and so he felt obligated to heal her. Nanao had rolled her eyes - so very vivid without the glasses they hid behind - and told him that it was much her fault as it was his, and besides, she'd had plenty of experience healing herself over the years.
That had stopped him dead in his tracks. He asked when she'd had to heal herself, and silently cursed himself for not noticing it. She stammered and looked away, unable to use her trademark glasses-flash to drive him back. He drew her chin back around with a finger, and asked again.
"I can't tell you." She still wasn't looking at him, but it was a start. Taking advantage of her stillness, he positioned his fingers by her nose and let the fainted trickle of kaidou flow. Her surprised intake of breath was all the encouragement he needed to continue. Her reiatsu pushed back against his, before the tightly woven energy relaxed, allowing him access to her not inconsiderable reserves.
Gradually, she relaxed into his hands as the healing took hold, violet eyes falling almost closed. Her expression was the most open he had seen for nearly a hundred years, and it was the most beautiful thing he'd seen for a good long while. Tiny traceries of her own energy arced off her skin, making the hairs on the back of his hands rise in response. Even at her most stern, Nanao was a sight to behold, but now, in such an unguarded state... Shunsui couldn't think of a place he would rather be in at that moment, than kneeling between her thighs, cradling her head in his hands.
Slowly, Shunsui removed one sliver, and then another, letting them fall with almost-musical noises onto the complimentary ashtray. Nanao stayed perfectly still, with only the occasional hiss of pain and the clink of glass breaking the silence.
Her nose wasn't broken - and even though it was still bleeding, the most she'd have to deal with would be some awful bruising. She had a nasty graze on one cheek, and myriad tiny cuts from her shattered glasses - and yet it could have been so much worse. So, so much worse.
Finally satisfied that no shards had been left behind, Shunsui took the washcloth and placed it gently under each of Nanao's closed eyes in turn, blotting away the dried blood. She shivered violently at the sensation and slumped forward, resting the less-injured side of her face on his shoulder.
"Sorry." Mumbled thickly, it came out as 'thorry'. "I should've dodged it." He sighed, and carefully pressed a kiss into her hair. To be honest, even he wasn't sure he would have been able to react in time. The adjuchas had possessed an eerie ability to completely hide every trace trace of its spiritual pressure, and they'd only noticed it when it was already in mid-leap.
"Don't be sorry, Nanao-chan. We'll just have to be more careful next time, okay?" A sniffle came from his right shoulder, and then he felt her nod. He smiled. "Good. Now, sit back up, and we'll see what I can do about that nose..."
It turned out that colliding with a brick wall face first had ruptured a minor arteriole in her sinuses, and so Shunsui had to put his rusty kaidou skills to work. Naturally, Nanao had protested, but it had been his fault that she had been injured in the first place, and so he felt obligated to heal her. Nanao had rolled her eyes - so very vivid without the glasses they hid behind - and told him that it was much her fault as it was his, and besides, she'd had plenty of experience healing herself over the years.
That had stopped him dead in his tracks. He asked when she'd had to heal herself, and silently cursed himself for not noticing it. She stammered and looked away, unable to use her trademark glasses-flash to drive him back. He drew her chin back around with a finger, and asked again.
"I can't tell you." She still wasn't looking at him, but it was a start. Taking advantage of her stillness, he positioned his fingers by her nose and let the fainted trickle of kaidou flow. Her surprised intake of breath was all the encouragement he needed to continue. Her reiatsu pushed back against his, before the tightly woven energy relaxed, allowing him access to her not inconsiderable reserves.
Gradually, she relaxed into his hands as the healing took hold, violet eyes falling almost closed. Her expression was the most open he had seen for nearly a hundred years, and it was the most beautiful thing he'd seen for a good long while. Tiny traceries of her own energy arced off her skin, making the hairs on the back of his hands rise in response. Even at her most stern, Nanao was a sight to behold, but now, in such an unguarded state... Shunsui couldn't think of a place he would rather be in at that moment, than kneeling between her thighs, cradling her head in his hands.