Shunsui tries to keep his expression neutral as he strides after Jyuushiro, but it’s hard. It’s hard, because Jyuushiro’s guests have upgraded Jyuushiro’s wards without asking or even hinting at the possibility, and all Jyuushiro will say about it is that everything will become clear in time.

As if that isn’t one of the most ridiculous things his lover has ever said, especially in relation to three very powerful unknowns who have currently taken up residence in the man’s own home. One of which was powerful enough to take down a Vasto Lorde by himself, without any indication of strain.

(If Shunsui hadn’t already been planning on spending the night, their presence would have convinced him to.)

(He’s not leaving Jyuushiro to face them alone, not when they have no guarantee how friendly the group really is.)

Jyuushiro slides the door to the Ugendo open and steps in, absently announcing “Tadaima!” as he toes off his sandals and pulls house slippers on, Shunsui at his side.

“Okaeri,” a voice responds, coming from the main room.

The casualness of the greeting makes Shunsui purse his lips, even as a touch of glee sparks in Jyuushiro’s eyes, like he’d expected it.

And maybe he had, Shunsui muses as he follows Jyuushiro through the door. Maybe whatever suspicion — knowledge? — that Jyuushiro has that Shunsui doesn’t is enough for him to anticipate what the strangers will do, despite how little time they’ve been around each other.

(Or… maybe not?)

(Are these people that Jyuushiro used to know, before he came to the Academy?)

(But if that’s the case, why not simply say that?)

(Time… in time everything will become clear…)

(What the hell is that supposed to mean?)

Shunsui gives himself a mental shake as he steps into the main room—

Only to narrow his eyes at the sight of Urahara Kaito sitting in the far corner, his back against the wall and Yamada tucked against his side. For all the two boys look relaxed, their positioning is… telling: Urahara Kaito is between Yamada and the entrance, and his pose is one that’s relatively easy to rise from.

(So, not as comfortable as he pretends, then.)

(Interesting.)

Even the tea set that they’ve pulled out of Jyuushiro’s cabinets is carefully positioned, with the pot between them and the cups close to hand, all of it ready to be thrown at a moment’s notice.

Of course, he could be reading too much into their positions and the placement of the tea set, but maybe he isn’t; he’s seen Shinigami with similar habits, after all, and no matter how strong Urahara-kun currently is… well. No one is born with the ability to take down a Vasto Lorde single-handedly. That takes time, and training, and experience.

(And Shunsui knows what time and experience can do to a person.)

And the fact that Urahara-kun just happened to choose the tea set that Jyuushiro keeps around just for the days when he’s weakest and might accidentally break a cup…

Well. That’s just a coincidence, surely.

(Why does he feel like it isn’t…?)

“Did you find everything alright?” Jyuushiro asks as he starts to bustle about, pulling out the low table and setting it up in the center of the room. “I apologize for needing to leave so soon after bringing you here, without even a chance to show you around properly.”

“You have responsibilities,” Urahara-kun says with a small shrug, as he pours himself a bit more tea and sets the pot down again. “How did the meeting go?” he asks, pale gaze sharp as he lifts the cup and holds it a bit below his mouth, inhaling the steam.

“The Captain’s meeting went about as well as could be expected,” Jyuushiro says as he settles at the table, facing Yamada and Urahara-kun. “You are my guests and no one seemed interested in hurrying you along just yet, so you can rest here as long as you like.”

Shunsui huffs at the understatement as he sits next to Jyuushiro, thinking about how obvious Yamamoto-sensei had been about wanting to recruit the trio. Part of him certainly agrees with the sentiment — people as strong as Urahara-kun are hard to come by, and a distinct boon to have on their side — but the rest of him is just… wary. Uncertain. Uneasy about the task.

(If they manage to offend the three, or make enemies of them, will they even have a chance?)

(And why would these three even want to join the Gotei Thirteen?)

(What in the world can he and Jyuushiro offer that would be enticing?)

“Let me guess, you’ve been ordered to play nice and try to recruit us,” Urahara-kun says with a touch of humor, even as he draws his legs in and smoothly transitions to a crouch. He gathers the teapot and his cup, rises to his feet, and steps closer to sit at the table with them without any sign of awkwardness, as if this is just a familiar routine to him.

Jyuushiro hums in agreement, his eyebrows rising as he watches Yamada slip over to set his cup down and then disappear into the kitchen, likely to fetch more cups. “The Soutaicho was interested to hear that you took down a Vasto Lorde, yes,” he says blandly. “And if I can’t recruit you, I’m to make sure that you’re at least allies.”

Shunsui stiffens at Jyuushiro’s blunt words and fixes his gaze on Urahara-kun, waiting for the reaction to come; he has no idea why his lover decided to just say it like that, but if Jyuushiro’s misread the boy—

Except all that happens is that Urahara-kun snorts and shakes his head. “He would despise dealing with us as underlings,” the boy mutters as he picks up his tea cup again, something dark-deadly-fearsome glittering in his pale eyes. “Allies, though… we could probably do that. So long as you don’t… overstep.”

“And what counts as ‘overstepping’?” Shunsui asks warily.

Urahara-kun arches an eyebrow and takes a sip of his tea. “I would imagine it to be fairly obvious, if you simply take a moment to consider the ramifications of your actions,” he says with a tiny, gleeful smile.

“Kaito-kun, a-are y-you being o-ominous at th-them?” Yamada asks in exasperation as he comes back with two more cups from the set. He tucks himself down at Urahara-kun’s side and leans forward to set the cups on the table near Shunsui and Jyuushiro and pour tea into them. “H-here you go,” he murmurs with a bashful smile. “S-sorry about th-that.”

“I am being perfectly straightforward, thank you,” Urahara-kun says airily, pale eyes glittering with amusement.

Shunsui bites back his own amusement at Urahara-kun’s statement and says, “If that’s what you consider straightforward, I don’t want to know what you consider ‘ominous’.”

Urahara-kun shrugs, flashes him a grin, and answers, “You’ll know when it happens,” only to immediately wince as Yamada elbows him in the side.

Jyuushiro chuckles lightly at their antics and picks up his cup to take a sip, a tiny twist of surprise-interest-fascination curling through his reiatsu as he does. “Thank you for the tea, Yamada-san,” he says with a nod at the young man.

“W-welcome,” Yamada murmurs awkwardly, ducking his head in clear shyness.

“Was there anything else of note that we should know, beyond your efforts to recruit us?” Urahara-kun asks, blatantly drawing attention back to himself and away from his partner.

Shunsui considers the question as he picks up his own cup of tea and gives it an experimental sniff then a small taste, wondering which type the two strangers had chosen; the flavor that hits his tongue however is… different than he’s accustomed to. He might not be as much of a tea drinker as his lover is, but he’s familiar with all the types that Jyuushiro keeps and this isn’t one of them.

Or… it probably isn’t one, Shunsui decides after another sip. There’s something oddly familiar about it, though, something he can’t quite place.

Whatever it is, it’s certainly interesting, and certainly not bad.

(On the other hand, the familiarity is going to drive him up a wall.)

(And of course Jyuushiro probably recognized it immediately and said nothing.)

(Bastard.)

“Our fellow Captains are quite interested in meeting you,” Jyuushiro says while Shunsui is busy trying to decipher what exactly he’s drinking. “So if you don’t want to get politely mobbed, it’s probably best if you stay behind my wards for a while.”

Urahara-kun hums in agreement as he toys with his cup, something thoughtful-considering-sad about him as he contemplates his tea. “We’ll keep that under advisement,” he says after a long moment. “I certainly have no interest in being the focus of attention right now.”

Shunsui snorts lightly and says, “Given that you’re the one who took down a Vasto Lorde on your own—”

“He wasn’t that powerful,” Urahara-kun grouses, shoulders hunching and chin dipping towards his chest.

“—given that,” Shunsui continues, rolling his eyes at the idea that a Vasto Lorde wasn’t powerful, “You’re the one who’s going to attract the most attention, sorry. Jyuu-kun told them you beat it while your father healed him.”

“Wonderful,” Urahara-kun mutters under his breath, then shakes his head and forces himself to straighten up when Yamada nudges his side. “Right, then we’re absolutely not going beyond your wards until I’ve had a chance to talk with Father.”

Jyuushiro brings his cup to his mouth, clearly hiding a smile, much to Urahara-kun’s exasperation. “I can hold the curious off for a couple days, but past that you will need to meet at least some of them if you don’t want to seem… more disinterested in allying with us than you are.”

Urahara-kun grimaces at Jyuushiro’s words but nods his understanding. “I figured as much. I’ll talk with Father, though he’ll probably want to speak with you himself on the subject.”

“Speaking of your father,” Shunsui starts to say, only to hiss when Jyuushiro’s obnoxiously pointy elbow digs into his ribs.

“Ah, noticed, did you?” Urahara-kun asks with a tiny, smug little smirk that only grows wider when Jyuushiro hesitates, then inclines his head in agreement. “I told him you would, but he insisted, sorry.”

Jyuushiro taps a finger against his cup, lips thinning a bit and brow furrowing before his expression smooths out once more. “I would have preferred he speak with me first, but what’s done is done,” he tells Urahara-kun with a small nod. “When he has a chance, I’d like to speak with him about his changes and how they work.”

Urahara-kun nods sharply. “He’s asleep right now,” the young man informs them. “But I’ll tell him when he wakes.”

“Thank you, Urahara-kun,” Jyuushiro says warmly, only for something odd to flicker across Urahara-kun’s face before fading into another faint smile.

Shunsui pretends to scowl down into his tea — though it isn’t quite as much of a pretense as it could be — and uses that to hide his study Urahara-kun; the longer he’s around the young man, the more puzzling he becomes, and — just like the taste of the tea — it’s starting to itch at his mind. So far, he only has a handful of basic observations and a few extrapolations from those observations, and it’s… painting a very odd picture in his mind. There’s a mix of familiarity and awkwardness about Urahara-kun’s interactions with them, combined with his odd reaction to Jyuushiro calling him Urahara-kun, that just seems strange, almost like they’re old friends meeting again after a very long time apart and finding each other irrevocably changed but still familiar, from Urahara-kun’s point of view.

Or…

Shunsui pauses. Turns the odd idea — time travel? — over in his mind. Almost discards it because how would that even work, except… except…

‘Everything will become clear in time,’ Jyuushiro had said, smug and cheerful and completely at ease with these strangers.

He glances back up at Urahara-kun and Yamada, taking in their easy and familiarity with each other and the way they don’t hesitate to show that familiarity in front of what should be complete strangers, and then slants a suspicious glance at Jyuushiro.

Jyuushiro catches his look and smiles, kind and bland and secretly teasing in that way Shunsui loves to hate.

Shunsui sighs and takes another sip of his obnoxiously familiar-unfamiliar tea.

(He has a sinking suspicion that he’s right and he doesn’t like it.)

(How is this his life?)