"Left, left! No, your other left! No, that's too far now...just set it down, I'll do it!"

Yoruichi couldn't help but smile as she watched the Chinese girl hard at work, stressing out at every single detail. She was a taskmaster alright, but definitely knew how to get things done – even if she was an absolute terror for the hired help. Still, if her girlfriend didn't start taking it easy, she wasn't going to last when opening time finally came around. The older girl was even considering pulling her away and forcing her to relax a little, when a deep voice interrupted her thoughts.

"I must admit, this is not the venture I had imagined you undertaking, but it seems to fit."

She turned, smiling brightly as she found herself face to face with the ever stodgy Kuchiki for the first time in a long while. He had barely changed since she'd last seem him, still as cool and indifferent as always.

"Be nice, dear. It looks wonderful," said the small woman standing beside him, her voice just as smooth as her husband's, but far more welcoming. They were both surveying the club, still brightly lit and sparkling clean, never been touched by the public.

"Byakuya, Hisana, it's good to see you. Glad you could make it," Yoruichi said. She hadn't spoken with Hisana often, but heard plenty of stories trickling down the grapevine, and had nothing but respect for anyone who managed to get Byakuya of all people to settle down and get married. Of course, the difference in height between the two raised all kinds of interesting questions, and any other time she would have loved to ask for all the embarrassing little details. Right at that moment, though, there were a few more pressing matters, as the scramble behind her attested to. "Isn't it something? You're a little early, though, things aren't quite ready yet."

"That's quite all right, we wanted to see things before it got too crowded," the smaller woman said, though it was questionable if she actually speaking for both of them; idle curiosity wasn't Byakuya's strongest point. But, then again...

"Is that your partner there?" the young man asked, his gaze pointed intently. Looking over her shoulder, Yoruichi spotted her girlfriend, still barking directions, and still close to burning herself out.

"Yup. In more ways than one," she said, grinning to herself before calling out. "Hey Sui-Feng, stop being a stress ball for a few minutes and come introduce yourself!"

The younger girl turned in response, giving a quick glare, but still started to make her way over. Nearby, the workers were having a quick chuckle to themselves. It was part of the routine they'd become accustomed to, having one boss who was far too high-strung, and the other who was never quite serious. It was probably an interesting experience for them.

"Pleasure to meet you," the Chinese girl said formally as she walked up, offering her hand out to shake, "I'm Shaolin."

"Just call her Sui-Feng, like the busy little worker bee that she is," Yoruichi said cheerfully, wrapping an arm around her girlfriend. It had taken a while for the younger girl to stop cringing every time she heard her real name, and even longer still before she'd accepted it fully, but by that time everyone knew her far better by the nickname that she wore so well. Things were still a little troublesome with the girl's parents, but she wasn't nearly as emotional when talking about them anymore. Small steps, and a little time, seemed to help everything. "This is Hisana, and Byakuya. You know, he used to be one of my many suitors."

"Then maybe he can take you off my hands," Sui-Feng said, feigning her annoyance. The young man didn't look very amused at the banter, his expression never changing, but his wife laughed delicately, hand raised to cover her mouth.

"Well, I think you two look quite happy together," Hisana said warmly. The Chinese girl just snorted, clearly trying to disagree, but Yoruichi felt the hand pressing against the small of her back and smiled.

"I'll show you two around," she said to the couple, "And we can let this grouch get back to work."

Watching the three of them walk off, Sui-Feng couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic. Four years; it seemed like such a long time to say aloud, but looking back now it had all seemed to flash by in an instant. It certainly hadn't been all easy, though. They'd had a lot of ups and downs along the way, and if the first couple months of trying to live together could be called difficult, then actually trying to work together was probably the stupidest idea they'd ever had. Still, somehow or other they'd managed to get through it all. And, credit where credit was due, Yoruichi had shown a surprising amount of enthusiasm and aptitude toward getting the club off the ground. She'd found the location, thought up the whole design, and even got a good amount of buzz going in the lead-up to their grand opening. Of course, optimism and big ideas were one thing, actually turning into something real was another entirely, and naturally Sui-Feng had been the one to pick up all that slack and keep it to a reasonable budget. Looking around now, though, it was impressive to see what was once a spur of the moment idea and an empty shell of a building, now looking like the club that the other girl had built up in her head.

Almost on cue, she felt a weight draping over her shoulders, and smiled slightly when her partner kissed her gently on the cheek.

"Shouldn't you be entertaining?" she asked, trying to keep the anxiety out of her voice.

"They're settled in, and I've got more important things to do, like keeping you out of an early grave," Yoruichi said, still holding her close. "You've got that look again, the one that says you're thinking too hard again."

"I was thinking about how much went into all of this, and how much it'll suck if this doesn't work out."

"Ah, so it's the worrying thing again," the older girl said, trying and failing to sound sympathetic. "Well, don't get so caught up in it. I've got nothing but faith in you."

"Just in me?" Sui-Feng said, still trying to quell the nervous churning in her stomach. She knew it was making her tense, even more so than usual, but couldn't do much to help it. "None for yourself?"

"Hey, I'm just the heart of this operation, I can't be trusted to manage any of this," Yoruichi joked. It was like she was monopolizing all of the optimism between the two of them.

"And don't you forget it," the younger girl managed to say, still not feeling much better.

"Now then, I know if I leave you alone you're going to start rearranging the table arrangements or something, so we are going go and wait for the rest of our VIPs to arrive, and let the crew do their jobs without heckling them," she ordered, dragging the both of them to the upper floor where their first invitees were already seated.

It was grand opening night, and only a few hours until they were going to have to be schmoozing with writers and gossips, and doing their best to leave an impression so that people would keep filling the place night in and night out. There wasn't much left to do, only last minute lighting and sound equipment checks, and a lot of waiting and hoping. Well, that and a bit of pre-celebration involving the usual suspects.

They trickled in at their own pace, as they were wont to do, but all were looking their best for the occasion. Even Ikkaku was looking fashionable, which was probably the most surprising, but it was most likely from Yumichika's meddling. It was still anyone's guess what exactly the two of them were, but the only thing that seemed to matter was that they were still stuck to each other like glue, for all the trouble that was worth. Kisuke had cleaned himself up fairly well too, even taking off his trademark hat and tidying his unruly mop of hair – not that it made his personality any less devious.

"You know, it's still not too late to run," he said as he greeted Yoruichi, whispering into her ear. "I can distract her until we can find a good enough bomb shelter."

She laughed, and gave him a quick shove. "Don't let her hear that. In the mood she's in, she might actually take you seriously."

All joking aside, her girlfriend and best friend actually managed to get along over the last few years, in spite of their differences and disagreements. Though, he did have a habit of offering creative ways of breaking them up whenever he saw them. It just wouldn't be Kisuke without some level of mischief.

Looking over, she saw that Sui-Feng was with her old boss and coworker by the glass railings, overlooking the rest of the floor. She looked a little more relaxed now that she was around friends.

"Should've known you were going to be competition," Shuuhei said, leaning against the barrier and taking in the club. "It's definitely an upgrade."

"It's missing the atmosphere, though," Sui-Feng said, a smirk on her face.

"You can always come back," Rangiku said, putting an arm around the smaller girl's shoulder. "The boys miss having you around."

"They can always come here if they feel like getting thrown out on their asses again."

When Isane and her sister arrived, they also brought along a surprise guest; an older woman with long, thick black hair, braided together and hanging oddly down her front. She had a simple smile and a pleasant grace to her that seemed almost unthinkable to ever disrupt.

"Oh my, it certainly is lively," she said as she introduced herself toYoruichi. "Please, call me Retsu, I'm an acquaintance of Isane. I do hope that I'm not intruding, but Isane's sister was most insistent that I join them."

Glancing over to the Kotetsu sisters, Yoruichi grinned when she saw that absolutely smug look on Kiyone's face, and the shy blush as Isane tried to hide away and avoid scrutiny. It was charming, in its own little way.

"It's a pleasure to have you," she said, shaking the older woman's hand, and was unable to resist putting the tall girl on the spot. "Isane's mentioned you a few times, and speaks absolutely glowingly about you."

The older woman was a little out of place in the group, but when Tessai arrived he was ever the gentleman, doing his utmost to keep her company. Sadly, the kids couldn't be there with him, still too young, even if they were growing up fast. Ukitake and Shunsui joined in later, along with the ever faithful Nanao, who looked more than pleased to have a bit of maturity to surround herself with.

The last to show up was Kukaku with her brother, probably still peeved that they hadn't let her provide a bit of pyrotechnics to brighten up their big opening. Yoruichi had tried to convince her girlfriend, but the foot was put down for anything that could burn the place down. It was too bad, really, a bit of a firework show could've been exciting.

When they'd all finally gathered, it was Sui-Feng that broke out the champagne, flipping the bottle deftly in the air before pouring it out into glass flutes. She still knew all the tricks she'd picked up over the years at Shuuhei's bar, and even if she wasn't going to be parked behind a counter anymore, special occasions called for special exceptions.

It was Ukitake that made the first toast, raising his glass into the air. "To success, and a bright future ahead."

After they all cheered to that, it was Kukaku who spoke up next, as irreverent as always. "To the inseparable dorks who stuck it out this long."

That got a good amount of laughter, and a few whistles as well.

"To friends who don't know how to keep their mouths shut..." said Sui-Feng, following it up and getting another round of laughs. She was smiling openly now, which was a good sign that her mood had relaxed.

"And even to the friends that do," Yoruichi finished, raising her glass again even as she rolled her eyes at the antics around her.

It was later, when the other girl was alone for a moment, that she sidled up to her, discreetly slipping their hands together and lacing their fingers between each other's. In only a short while the doors would be finally opened, the place would be packed, and they'd have a lot to do just to keep things going smoothly. But right then, she just wanted a moment for themselves.

"To picking up strays," she said lightly into the other girl's ear.

"To giving second chances," Sui-Feng answered, turning and giving a warm smile that Yoruichi had learned to treasure all the years together. From hostile strangers, to awkward roommates, then friends, and now lovers and partners. It certainly had been a ride.

"I ever tell you that I love you?" she said candidly, like the words were second nature by now.

"You might have mentioned it," her companion answered, face reddening as she glanced away. Even after all this time, it was still easy to make her blush. "But I bet you say that to all the girls."

Yoruichi laughed, kissing the other girl on the cheek. "Just one."

Sui-Feng smiled, leaning against her partner. She wasn't sure how they'd managed to stay together for so long, how they managed to make it work when by all counts it shouldn't have even started. But they'd kept it going, stuck by each other, because they wanted to. And maybe that was all that mattered.

"I guess you're in luck then," she said, a teasing tone in her voice and a smirk on her lips.

"Oh? How's that?" Yoruichi asked.

"Because I love you too."

Fin.

A/N: It's an odd feeling bringing this to an end. Took a while to get here, much longer than I had ever intended when I first started, but it feels nice being able to finally bring it to a close. Special shout-outs to aiXcon, FongShihoin, last white feather, Lazy Penman, Sciani, Soi Yo, and Zivyx for all your constant reviews, and everyone else that dropped a message. I said I was finishing this story mostly for me, which was still true, but it was always a treat to see the feedback every week.

Not sure if I'll write many other stories, or if many will be Bleach related, but keep an eye out. Can never say when the plot bunnies might strike.