So you're kinda gay, right? [Kokoro, Makoto]

It felt strange to let her subordinate gesture for the vice-captain to follow but on matters like this Makoto was willing to acknowledge the seniority of their experience and expertise which made her fall in line besides the Kuchiki and follow to wherever the noblewoman wanted to lead.

"I see..."

She trailed off while thinking about it, Shishiyuki did earnestly want to be with her even if Makoto sometimes wondered why and maybe no small part of it boiled down to when they had spent that embarrassing night together before her mission and Shishiyuki spoke plainly by saying if she was a man, and marriage. Did as they were now equal her expectations or what she wanted?

It was all so confusing and it paused any questions that she might've thought to ask by mulling on that topic.

Kokoro didn't really have anywhere in mind as they walked, she just figured it'd be nice to get some fresh air, take a little stroll through some of the less-walked paths in the Gotei's headquarters. Besides, she hadn't totally familiarized herself with the new division space, so that was a nice bonus.

"It's not necessarily something that you'll figure out right away, so don't feel like you've gotta try for that. Just take things slow, be with her. And really make sure you're talking to her about these kinda things, even if you think it might be a little uncomfortable."

She offered a small supportive smile, very clearly giving a bit of advice that she herself would have liked to hear.

"I guess that's one other thing to keep in mind. She's your girlfriend, and ya want to make her happy because of that. But don't forget that you're her girlfriend, too. She wouldn't want you getting all worried sick, right? Just like you wouldn't want that for her."

"Alright, I can take things slow."

Makoto remembered that they had mentioned taking things slow when they agreed to try and be together so it felt a little bit of a relief to be reminded of that fact. Maybe she was letting her past experiences lend some fears about this whole thing and maybe it was a little bad that she wasn't actually talking to Shishiyuki about those things.

She should do that sometime even if it brought a bit more fear to her mind, she hated having to dig up the past that she had buried to try and avoid it. Dominate and conquer it to suppress it rather than come to terms and accept it.

"Probably not"

It was a bit sheepish while she remembered how she still got asked if she was taking care of herself, not overworking or depriving herself of basic needs to fulfill her unrealistic expectations of herself.

"Just remember that, I think it's somethin' a lot of people don't quite realize about a relationship, even though it's one of those basic things. You're partners, and that means you're doin' things together."

But Kokoro didn't want to overwhelm her, and admittedly, she wasn't really the kind of person who could hand out advice forever. At least not in her own head, at any rate. So, instead, she continued walking, cheery and confident.

"Is there anything else you're worried about? Feel free to ask anything, I promise I don't mind answering any questions you've got about all this. I don't think I'm some perfect wife with all the answers or anything, but I'd never wanna letcha go through the same worries I did."

"Not particularly."

She said with a small blush, in reality there were many more things that she wanted to ask but some she felt a twang of discomfort about sharing whether for the fact that it went a little deeper into her own personality and history, some that she felt wouldn't be appropriate to ask because it might be something that Shishiyuki didn't want shared or that they really did just involve what on earth she was meant to do in bed.

"Thank you, Kokoro."

Makoto said with a small bow towards her to show her appreciation at being given the woman's experience to learn from and take onboard.

"Oh, you're welcome! I really mean it, any time."

Kokoro returned the bow a bit more deeply, a gesture of proper respect to a superior officer that she did legitimately respect. Of course, she would have returned a bow to nearly anyone, but she did very genuinely like Makoto. She wouldn't have offered all this advice if she didn't.

"Well, I don't think we need to rush back to the office right away. I still haven't gotten used to these new division grounds yet, and I've already gotten all my work for today finished anyway."

It was true. In fact, Kokoro made it something of a habit to get all of her work done a day in advance, to keep from actually needing to worry about deadlines unless it was something that genuinely needed doing that day. Besides, a nice walk sounded nice, didn't it? Taking things slow was how you avoided getting too stressed about life.

"I see, I suppose that I can spare a little longer."

Makoto thoughtfully said while she tried to recall any work that was due, there was a bit but the night that she spent with Hakuyou going over everything and catching up on the work which had fallen to the wayside in absence of a captain did help to make a dent in the workload. There was things that she would still prefer to get done before the day was over but in a way it was important to engage with her division members, right?

The first thought was to assess but Makoto shied away from pursuing any kind of formal assessment, it would be better to just spend time with her and develop rapport. It wouldn't do her any good if she encouraged an image of distant authority which made her feel difficult to approach.