Bathtime Woes [nsfw]

He was still being ignored...

"Do you need any help with your hair...?" He questioned, moving to sit up properly, as she started working on it. "Lakshmi...?"

What was upsetting her?

She was being stupid, but... It felt so wrong. Kaimu could have been free and happy out there still, without her. Sure he was pardoned, but was he really okay here? He was forced to be a shinigami again, was that what he really wanted? If he had stayed with the arrancar...or well been given a chance to...

Would he be happier? And...he hadn't even...mentioned anything like that to her...

Lakshmi winced as she drug the comb through her hair a little hard, catching on a tangle. Sighing, she focused on that instead and was a bit in her own little world with unfocused eyes as she worked the comb through. She hadn't even heard Kaimu, she was that focused on her moping.

"Lakshmi!" His voice was a bit more firm, though not by too much; he'd heard that wince, and she'd refused to answer him. She was brushing too hard.

Kaimu moved to stand, moving a bit closer to her; his eyes held concern, worried about what she was so upset about. If she told him then maybe he'd be able to help...

Why didn't she just cut it? It was such a hassle sometimes, sure it looked nice but... It would be fine cut to she assumed. Another sharp intake of breath as the mopey woman continued to comb her hair too quickly and formed more knots than she got rid of.

Tossing the comb on the counter with a grumpy sound, she took the combed part of her hair and for now decided to just braid that to get that out of the way. "...I'm fine."

Her voice was not fine, it was pure mopiness. But she finally responded to him...

"Not true..." Obviously she was not fine, her tone gave that away as easily as her actions did. He wasn't sure what to do, he didn't want to be forceful or anything, he just wanted to talk, whatever it was that was bothering her...

He gave a sigh, watching as she continued working on her hair; "Lakshmi...please?"

Lakshmi was not gonna argue with him! It was so true. She frowned and looked away from the mirror where she could see him near her. It was that soft tone though and that please that made her silent moping crack just a bit.

She reached out and took the comb... and then held it back so Kaimu could grab it if he wanted. She was quiet and her cheek puffed just a tiny bit but... he was given a little bit of permission.

Kaimu reached for the comb, moving closer so he could help her with her hair in a much gentler manner; she didn't need to brush it so hard, it wasn't good...

"If something's bothering you, no matter what it is, I'd...really like to know; even if you don't think I can help, I might? You're upset, and I just want to help..."

She could deny it all she wanted, but no matter what her appearance gave her away.

"...But...if you are the cause..." Lakshmi murmured with a sigh, making very small but very long braids in her hair. The cause of the moping was him, him and his lack of telling her...and her wish for him to be happy and free.

It still felt nice to have him combing her hair... She relaxed instinctively, Kaimu's close presence and work allowing her to.

Opening her mouth as she finished the first braid, she moved onto the next while looking down. Her fingers moved expertly, making nice and neat ones as her voice rose up a bit in the silence... "Earlier...I am...upset still..."

Alright, so that hurt a bit...he was the cause of this? She was upset because of or with him? He listened as she spoke up again, remaining silent for a bit afterwards as he thought back on the day.

She'd been upset about...his previous relationships? That was what she'd seemed most upset with earlier.

"I am sorry I never told you the specifics of that, I just didn't think it was that important...but I am sorry..." He really hadn't thought discussing his past relationships had been important all things considering, but apparently it wasn't like that...he'd been wrong, and now Lakshmi was upset because of it...

"E-Even if...you think its not important... it...obviously was...and is still...impacting things." Lakshmi murmured without really any feeling. Kaimu's feelings on that were a bit skewed... When you left things out, problems tended to occur and she knew this very very well. "...Even if...you think it doesn't... its still important to be honest and upfront about things. That way surprises like this don't happen."

Lakshmi's voice was quiet and almost dull. She wasn't really upset about him sleeping with the arrancar anymore, that had been a brief bit of jealously that had been assuaged almost immediately. It was that he hadn't been transparent with her on these things. She wondered how many things he just skimmed over for her then...

That was what hurt and made her mope. She had always, always given him details... because it was important to...

"I didn't think anything would come of it, I had no idea about her closeness with the Corona...I'm sorry though, after this...I know I shouldn't of just...not mentioned it. Since things had settled then so simply I never thought about something like this happening..."

They'd stayed friends, and she'd found someone that made her happy, so he hadn't thought anything bad would come from it. Obviously he'd been mistaken...

Lakshmi sighed softly and waved her hand up, her usual more formal tone even around Kaimu having faded. "Its...its all right."

Should she ask him to tell her things from now on?...No. If he wanted to let her know, he would... The air around her was dark with mope still, the braids having been finished on the parts of her hair she had combed. Glancing up in the mirror, she looked at Kaimu with a smile she plastered on her face for now. "Are you done combing? I can get the rest from here."

She still seemed upset, even when she told him it was alright...

Kaimu stopped with the brushing as she asked him if he'd finished, but instead of answering her he moved the wrap his arms around her shoulders, burying his head some in her shoulder. "Sorry..."

She was still upset, and he had been the cause, so this wasn't something he could just let drop...

Kaimu stopped, so she assumed he was done and Lakshmi was about to turn when she felt his arms wrap around her. Her eyes and head shifted, glancing slightly at the man whose face was buried a bit on her shoulder as she flushed.

He was holding her to him... No... this was... how was she supposed to keep it all bottled up when he did that!? She bit her lip hard, turning away from him...but her hands came up and held the arms holding her as her body melted against him. "...T-Tell me things... unimportant things...silly things...everything... I want to hear everything you can tell me... Don't leave me out of even the silliest stuff."

Her voice was soft, a bit choked as she tried to hold it back.

Kaimu gave a small nod against her shoulder, not moving much otherwise; as she choked up some he gave her a small squeeze, holding her to him more securely.

"I...I will; whenever you're upset, I want you to tell me too...neither of us will really get anywhere holding things back, so...I promise to, just...please tell me things when you're upset too..."

He spoke his mind more nowadays, but he still had progress to make, he was opening up much more though...occasionally he was just stuck on things...

Lakshmi shared a lot of things with him, though he wanted her to talk to him when she was upset too.

Lakshmi felt...better. She did not feel utterly all right again, but she was getting there. She nodded softly before speaking. "I-I promise. I will tell you... I...I accept your apologies too... I am sorry for...pushing you out again..."

He did deserve to hear her worries and thoughts, she was... at fault right now for not letting him in. Maybe she should explain it all then... "I was just...really upset. I do not mind, other than a small twinge, what you did with her... it was the not letting me know... that made me upset..."

"And I also... well... with an arrancar you could be free. You could have, you could have stayed out there... doing as you pleased and not...stuck as a shinigami again. It was...making my already muddled feelings worse..." A hand slid down her body from the arms around her shoulders, to her abdomen. Tied...he was tied to her... stuck here.

Kaimu was quiet as Lakshmi spoke, explaining more on why she was upset, and the things that had specifically caused it. He was glad she'd accepted his apologies, and had promised to to tell him things...though she hadn't needed to apologize about pushing...

It was important they say things...

When she finished speaking, he gave a small sigh; "With an arrancar, yes...I wouldn't be tied down by the Seireitei, but remember...being a rogue wasn't easy for me, not as easy as I made it seem anyway. I only grew to enjoy the traveling because I had to, it wasn't like it was a choice at first...

I wanted to be pardoned, with all of my friends, and family I'd discovered here...getting pardoned allowed me to be here without worry of getting you all in trouble. I wanted that more than anything else... I didn't like having to sneak around and risk you all. I'm perfectly fine where I am now, perfectly happy. It's been obvious, hasn't it?

My loyalties do not lie within the Seireitei, no, but they lie within you, and Mia, and Norma, and the rest...so at times I may not always enjoy the work, but if it means being with all of you, then I'm happy to be doing it.

I know I seem distant at the division, but that's not...well, all of that." Kaimu gave a small chuckle, "I was never one to really get into close relationships with co-workers. I've opened up more since before I was a rogue, but that hasn't changed. So don't worry, I'm perfectly happy here. I promise."

Kaimu...was being utterly open. Lakshmi's face flushed as she tilted it down, hiding it a bit in his arms as best she could. She knew it hadn't been easy on him... she had wanted to help him as best she could but... All she could do was give him money and let him help in her clinics. It had been nice to see him, but she knew that he had a hard life...

Freedom in that sense came at a price. Being with his loved ones came at a price... And Kaimu wanted the pay the price of the latter, he was happier with the latter... "It...is really obvious. You smile so much more, it was such a shock to just... see you so upset earlier because of it. My brain just... You do not have to get close to them, it has been such a short time and I have had decades or centuries with them at least."

"With...an arrancar you would have been safe..." Lakshmi murmured one final time, some part of her still fighting to see herself and the choice he made as the worst one. It was hard when Kaimu put it like that to fight it.

Deciding to lighten the mood a bit, the shinigami captain took her lovers hand from around her shoulder and slid it down her body a bit. Settling it on her abdomen, she sighed. "Eh, what about your loyalties to this little one? Do they count as the rest? And...and yourself. You worry about us, but you make us worry about you too. Put yourself first sometimes, Kai..."

"Good..." He didn't need to get close with the others, he...wasn't really planning on attempting to either.

Safe, huh?

"What does being safe matter if everything I care about is here though?" He retorted, though his voice was gentle; really, all that mattered to him was here...and with him still a rogue it wouldn't have solved anything completely really...

His eyes moved down as he felt Lakshmi take his hand, moving it to her abdomen as she began speaking again. "Fuuu~" He gave a small pout, he...he hadn't said anything about... because... "They count, of course."

It was rather difficult most times to put himself first, but...it wasn't like he completely neglected doing so at all times. He did some times...

Seemingly dead set on not making friends with his coworkers, Lakshmi shook a little with suppressed laughter. Really?

Still, she flushed darkly and glanced up before looking back down. They were still in front of her mirror and he was saying such things... She looked to the side, anywhere but in front of her where she could see his face a bit. He'd been gentle with his words but they still effected her like a slap. She smiled. "Right... you are right. Just like usual really..."

The tiny cute pout got a laugh from her. "Eeeh? Only as part of the Rest? They don't get their own special spot like Norma and Mia and I?"

She knew very well it was too soon for him to grow attached. There could be small complications and it could end fairly quickly... but she was starting to get to the point where it could be registered by over the counter tests from the human world. Her period should be happening at this moment, but it was not.

"Kaai. Promise to? You put yourself first more." Lakshmi stared up at the mirror now, looking at the face that was impossible to any other way right now.

"Lak-taaan~" Kaimu gave a small whine, of course they had their own category! He just hadn't...hadn't thought immediately...

He gave a small nod at her following words, "Promise."

He'd try to more than he did already, which wasn't much; he mostly only put himself first when it came to smaller things, so it hardly counted...

"Kaai-taaan~" Lakshmi teased by returning his own cute whine with one of her own, laughing again. She was all smiles, watching him and happy once again. The mope was entirely gone, banished to the abyss from where it came.

Laughing more, that promise made her nod as she kept smiling. Lifting the hand from her abdomen, she brought his palm up to her lips and kissed it a few times before speaking. "This can not be comfy for you...bending down to hold me... Though it is a bit..."

She flushed, glancing at the mirror and then away. Romantic?

"Perhaps in a bit it might not be...buuut for now I'm definitely fine." Kaimu reassured, giving a smile after he'd spoken.

It was a bit...?

He gave a small chuckle as he saw her flush and avert her eyes from the mirror. It was cute~

"O-Oh. Well if is it what you want..." Lakshmi trailed off, still red as she glanced up and...caught that look of his. Flushing more, she eeped lightly and leaned back against him. He was watching her in the mirror! That chuckle...he had seen her look away!

"Lakshmi's being awfully cute~" Kaimu knew he'd likely get a rebuttal to that, but it was true~ Lakshmi was flustered and was trying not to look in the mirror. He held her to him as she leaned back against him, giving another soft chuckle before he kissed the side of her head and smiled again.