Everlasting Bloom: Mother's Day Bouquet
(A happy Mother's Day to all of the moms, and moms of moms, and so on! Love you all! This is a little companion story to Everlasting Bloom. Hope you enjoy it!)
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(Kisuke/Akira)
Hope
Akira of Inuzuri stood in front of a full length mirror, struggling to pull the ends of his handsome red and navy yukata closed and making a sound of dismay as the bits of cloth escaped his clenched fingers for the fifth time. He breathed a soft expletive in a sigh and reached for the pieces again, then he froze for a moment, feeling a pair of warm, affectionate arms wrapping around his expanded waist.
"You having a little trouble there, Ondori?" Kisuke breathed hotly into his ear, surprising the flesh there into a cute blush, "Let me help you with that."
"Stop calling me that!" Akira laughed, "I'm not that person anymore."
"Is that right?" Kisuke teased, tickling the skin beneath his fingertips, "Because a little while ago, you had me pretty much at your mercy. No one's ever done things like that to me before."
"Then, how would you know what a whore's hands feel like?"
"I guess I don't know," Kisuke chuckled, kissing his husband's flushed neck, "I just know your hands…and that sweet, nasty little mouth you tease me with. Keep it up and Soul Society's going to fall apart because I won't be able to think clearly enough to get their asses out of trouble."
"We can't have that, can we?" Akira laughed, relaxing against him, "I suppose I'll have to keep my hands and mouth off of you for a while to let you think?"
"Eh, thinking's overrated," Kisuke said, tightening his arms around Akira and biting down on his shoulder, "I could hold you and I would never feel the worlds ending."
"Stop it! You'll make me cry again!" Akira scolded him.
Akira smiled and closed his eyes, breathing slowly as Kisuke's hands slid beneath the open ends of his yukata, bunching the fine material and giving the shopkeeper access to the large round baby bump on his belly. His open palms slid across the expanses of white skin and his fingers traced lazily, while he nuzzled Akira's soft cheek, feeling a swell of mingled pride and love that brought tears to his eyes. Akira rubbed against his cheek and set his smaller hands on Kisuke's, his eyes watching as they continued to move together.
"It could happen any time now," Kisuke said in an oddly soft voice, "The reiatsu is fully matured."
Akira nodded, but was unable to speak for a moment around the knot of emotion that gripped him as he thought back.
I was careful never to allow myself to become pregnant by the men I served down in Inuzuri. They were of a kind that you wouldn't want to see continued. It wasn't just that they were poor. They were hardened by their lives and they lived by dominating everything around them…including whores like me. I would let them inside my body, but it was a rule to never let them into my heart. My heart was a little fortress at the center of everything. And as long as I kept it strong, I knew I could handle whatever those rough men did to me. I don't know what made my heart keep beating. Maybe it was hope, but hope was hard to come by in that wretched place.
"I keep feeling twinges every so often," Akira admitted, "and I keep sweating. I feel restless."
"Why don't you lie down and let me check you again?" Kisuke suggested.
"You checked me an hour ago and you know every time we get near that bed we always have sex."
"Something wrong with having great, earth-moving, room shaking sex?" Kisuke asked, licking his earlobe and nipping his soft earlobe.
A little shiver went through Akira and he felt his loins throb with renewed carnal hunger.
"I think I'm going into labor, you idiot!" Akira laughed.
"Maybe it'll speed things up."
"Maybe it will distract you too much and you won't catch the baby when it pops out!"
"It's not a piece of toast," Kisuke giggled, "There are layers of reiatsu that have to soften and open up."
Akira's breath left him for a moment as he was gathered up and carried back to the bed.
"Is this raging hormones or something?" he complained, "You can't keep your hands off me!"
"You have a problem with that?"
"Not at all, but we are trying to have a baby here."
"I know that. I'm your doctor."
"You're not a healer. You're a mad scientist!" Akira snorted.
"Damned straight. If I wasn't, a lot of people would've died in some seriously awful ways."
"You can say that again," Akira agreed as he was laid on his back and Kisuke crawled down in between his parted thighs, "Hey, I thought you wanted me to take care of you."
"I'm craving sweets," Kisuke snickered, beginning a slow invasion of his alert nether region.
"Well, if you keep doing that, you're going to feed your salty craving too!"
"Bring it on," Kisuke teased, smirking.
Akira's eyes closed and his fingers clutched at the tumbled bedding as his husband's attentions made him pant and moan longingly. He spread his thighs and lifted his hips to encourage his enthusiastic mate, then a sudden throb inside made him loose a sound of pain and quiver warningly. In a flash, all signs of levity disappeared from Kisuke's face, and he took up a position at Akira's side, slipping a hand into his and washing his pale face with a cool, wet cloth.
"You just trying to get out of another round?" Kisuke teased him.
"You wish," Akira managed, his teeth clenching slightly and fresh beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead as the twinges in his belly increased, and the flesh began to glow under Kisuke's bracing hands, "This is it, isn't it?"
"This is it," Kiuske said soothingly, caressing Akira's glowing belly gently, "Relax. Try to breathe normally. You're doing fine."
"Of course I'm doing fine. Having babies is natural…well, maybe a little less natural for a man, but who's counting? This is nothing compared to what I've been through."
A little edge of sympathy entered Kisuke's affectionate eyes.
"Difference is," the shopkeeper said, curving his hands around the baby's shining golden reiatsu, "there's a little miracle about to happen."
Akira felt a deep, penetrating warmth that curled around his heart as he watched the changing expressions on Kisuke's face as he worked to deliver their baby.
He is mostly calm and smirking a little at everything. Like he understands a joke that no one else does. When bad things happen, he still looks calm, but determined there is an answer and he will be the one to find it. When he's angry, the surfaces of those grey eyes stay calm, but I can see the storm beneath them. And when we fell in love, there was unspeakable joy. Neither of us expected to find the other. It was one of the few things that his busy mind didn't anticipate. Right now, there is happiness and concern. But more than that is wonder. Urahara Kisuke is always wondering…and his wondering is what brings hope to anyone in danger.
Akira gasped softly at a stronger twinge, and panted as the pain radiated through his abdomen.
"It's time," Kisuke said, his grey eyes widening and his voice carrying an unusual tension.
Akira gazed up at his intense expression and touched his fingertips to Kisuke's determinedly frowning lips, making them smile reflexively.
"It's going to be all right," Akira whispered, running his fingers gently over his surprised husband's soft cheek.
Kisuke blinked in confusion and gave no answer, making Akira's smile widen.
"You are going to be a wonderful father."
"You will be a wonderful mother too," Kisuke answered, his voice shaking slightly as the reiatsu under his careful hands began to emerge out of Akira's brightly glowing abdomen.
"I will be a terrible mother!" Akira laughed, "I will spoil our child silly because, for the first time, I can. I will make sure our little one never feels too hungry or cold like I did."
"Our baby will be lucky to have you," Kisuke said, lifting the reiatsu cluster out and laying it gently in Akira's waiting arms.
The two gazed down in awe as the reiatsu began to resolve into a tiny little body with mingled red and brown hair and lovely, pale grey eyes.
"It's a girl!" Kisuke managed breathlessly, "We have a baby girl."
He went quiet and serious for several minutes as he quickly examined the unusually quiet, but squirming bundle.
"She's perfect…healthy," Kisuke announced finally, "I thought something was wrong when she didn't cry, but…"
"She is just being like her father," Akira chuckled, tracing the baby's soft cheek with a fingertip, "She's too busy thinking already to be crying."
"Yeah," Kisuke answered, still lost for words as he watched his daughter's little fingers curl and uncurl, "She's got a lot to learn."
He leaned down to kiss his baby's forehead, then offered Akira a more amorous one on the lips.
"Happy Mother's Day."
"Thank you," Akira said, snuggling the baby to his cheek.
"What do you want to call her?" Kisuke asked curiously.
Akira answered without hesitation.
"Mikomi. She brings to us what her father brings to everyone who needs him…Hope."
Kisuke smiled proudly down at his new daughter.
"Mikomi, you and I are going to cause so much trouble together!"
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(Kurushimi/Tetsuya)
Faith
Kurushimi held his arms around Tetsuya's waist from behind, supporting his swollen belly as Arashi bowed his head and pushed forward through the rain that had started to pour down on them as they returned from Kuchiki Manor.
"We should have agreed to stay for the night at your cousin's estate," Kuri complained, "You shouldn't be out here in a storm like this when you are about to have our baby."
"I don't mind the rain," Tetsuya said sleepily, nuzzling more firmly into his husband's embrace, "Remember, water is the power I wield."
"Well, you won't be manipulating it to stay dry like you usually do," Kuri chided him, "Your powers aren't working, Tetsu-hana."
"My natural ones are," Tetsuya corrected him, "I can still breathe under water and I could keep the water from touching us. I just like being wet. And the cold makes you wrap yourself around me."
Kuri looked upward as a bolt of lightning shot across the sky and thunder rumbled all around them just after.
"This storm is practically on top of us. Do you like being struck by lightning, my love?"
"Hmmm," Tetsuya mused, watching as more lightning flashed, "That could be a problem. We could stop and find a protected place to wait out the storm, but then we wouldn't reach home soon enough to wish Mamà a happy Mother's Day. Maybe we had better keep going."
"I don't know," Kuri said, shaking his head as water dripped off his chin and the ends of his brown ponytail, "I won't take any chances with you. You know that."
"Very well," Tetsuya said, leaning back slightly to stop Arashi, "There is a protected place over there, and there are some supplies in Arashi's pack."
"Just give me a minute to make a shelter," Kuri said, sliding down.
Tetsuya sat quietly on Arashi's back, watching the flashes of lightning make the falling raindrops glisten. He breathed in the rain freshened air contentedly, laughing to himself as Kuri swore at the weather and how it was keeping him from doing what any good son should be doing on his mother's special day. A short time later, Kuri returned to Arashi's side and helped Tetsuya slide down off of Arashi's back, then led him into the little shelter.
"Careful, the ground is wet," Kuri warned him.
"Not for long,' Tetsuya chuckled, using his innate ability to separate the water from the soft dirt, then sending it floating out of the little shelter.
He used his ability again to dry the two of them and the bedding Kuri had found in the pack, then they snuggled up against each other and listened as the rain pounded down harder and the thunder grew louder.
"Kuri-kuri-sama doesn't like storms," Tetsuya commented, "Is there a reason why?"
Kuri paused for a moment.
"It is a sad story. I don't know if it's good to tell you when you are like this, Tetsu-hana."
Tetsuya peeked out from under Kuri's chin and looked up at his troubled turquoise eyes. Kuri noticed him looking and sighed.
"My Hideaki died while giving birth during a storm," he answered finally, "The storm is reminding me of that night."
Tetsuya smiled up at him and squeezed his hand.
"It will be all right," he whispered, "I promise it will."
"And how do you know?" Kuri asked sternly, not meaning to scold Tetsuya, but feeling anger at his helplessness to save his own loved ones, "One never knows, isn't that right, my love? Isn't that what we learned when we watched our loved ones die?"
"It is," Tetsuya agreed, "But like Mamà says, we should not think that because it turned out badly once, it will again. Kuri, we must have faith. We won't lose each other, and we won't lose our baby."
"What makes you so sure?" Kuri asked uncertainly, "There is no way to know. It drives me nearly insane to think of losing you too!"
"Then, don't think about that," Tetsuya said, kissing him as he tried in vain to protest. After several kisses, he was too distracted with exploring his husband's sinfully sweet mouth to worry. Tetsuya slid onto his lap, moving his clothing out of the way so that if he tilted his hips slightly back, they could make love without his enlarged belly getting in the way. Kuri moved his hips slowly, licking and suckling at one pretty, pink nipple, while caressing the other, then sliding his hands around Tetsuya's soft bottom to encourage his movements. The two exchanged more fervent kisses as their thrusts quickened and together they swiftly approached climax. They barely heard the vicious thunderclap that sounded as their pleasure overwhelmed them and Tetsuya collapsed against his equally overcome husband. The two curled up together, kissing and listening contentedly to the falling rain until it seemed to taper off some time later.
"I think the storm is ending," Tetsuya commented, glancing down at his plundered body, "Should we go now?"
"I think we should," Kuri said, helping Tetsuya to his feet, then helping him to wrangle his tangled clothing back into place, "We will need a hot shower."
"I am craving Aderia-san's paletas," Tetsuya said, smiling.
"Paletas? On a night like tonight?" Kuri chuckled.
He looked around and found Arashi waiting quietly under a rocky overhang, then swept Tetsuya off his feet and started to put him on the horse's back. Tetsuya made a sound of pain and slid back down into Kuri's arms.
"Oh," Kuri said worriedly, "that's not a good look. Are you all right?"
"I am all right," Tetsuya panted softly, holding a hand to his belly, "B-but I don't think I can ride. It hurts, Kuri. I th-think…I am…"
Tetsuya panted harder for a moment, then collapsed into his husband's arms.
"Tetsu-hana!" Kuri gasped, lifting him and breaking into desperate flash steps, "Dios mìo, don't let it happen again!"
He ran through the more lightly falling rain, his feet splashing in the puddles along the dark trail and water streaming down his handsome face like tears.
"Tetsu-hana!" he called urgently, "Tetsu-hana, wake up!"
He reached the beginning of the fence that bordered the Shima estate and burst through the gate, racing for the house and bursting inside, sending a spray of water out in all directions. Aderia and Magdelina appeared, wearing surprised and worried expressions that turned fearful as they spotted Tetsuya unconscious in Kuri's shaking arms.
"We were coming back from Kuchiki Manor and had stopped to let the storm pass," Kuri explained, "We were going to leave our shelter, when he suddenly collapsed."
"This way!" Magdelina said stridently, leading them to the nearest guest room as Aderia ran back to her bedroom and gathered her healing supplies. She ran back to the room, where Kuri had stripped Tetsuya of his wet clothes and dressed him in a warm yukata. He laid Tetsuya in the bed and sat at his bedside, holding his hand and staring intently as Aderia conducted a brief examination.
"Is he all right? Is the baby all right?" Kuri asked desperately.
Aderia finished her investigation and sighed in relief.
"They are all right," she told her worried brother, "He just must have tired himself coming back through the storm. Idiota, you should have convinced him to stay the night there!"
"Convince him?" Kuri mused, "He wouldn't be convinced. You know how he is. He decides what he wants and…"
"And you just want to spoil him to death!" Aderia scolded him.
"He wanted your fresh paletas," Kuri argued, "Who can blame him?"
"You…!" Aderia exclaimed, shaking her head, "You are crazy! Loco! Both of you. You'll be the death of us."
"But Tetsu-hana is all right?" Kuri asked, more seriously.
"He is fine," Aderia assured her brother, "but I think he is going to be having this baby today."
"Today?" Kuri said, a large smile crawling onto his face, "He is having our baby on Mother's Day?"
"Come here," Aderia directed him, "Switch places with me and put your hands on his stomach…like this."
Kuri moved to join his sister and followed her directions.
"Can you wake him?" Kuri asked, "He won't want to miss this."
"He won't," Aderia assured him.
"Oh mijo, this is wonderful!" Magdelina sighed, moving close to Tetsuya's side as the pregnant shinigami began to stir.
"Wh-what happened? Kuri, where are we?" Tetsuya asked dizzily, "Are we home?"
"We are home, love," Kuri said, leaning over him and caressing his belly, "We are about to have our baby. Stay with me now."
Tetsuya smiled gamely.
"I am with you."
Tetsuya noticed the hint of worry that remained beneath his husband's calm expression, and he took Kuri's hand in his and squeezed it.
"Are you in pain, my love?" Kuri asked anxiously.
"No," Tetsuya panted, "I w-was just…you looked worried. I wanted to comfort you."
"I am fine," Kuri said dismissively.
"Don't listen to him. He is scared to death," Aderia said, shaking her head.
"I know," Tetsuya said, reaching up to touch Kuri's face, "I'm scared too. But we are in this together, aren't we?"
Kuri looked down into Tetsuya's widened blue eyes and felt the energy roar back through his weary body.
"We are, Tetsu-hana," he said with more certainty, "Breathe slowly now. The spirit chamber is opening!"
Their eyes watched raptly as Tetsuya's belly began to glow from within, brightening until the light from it was almost blinding. Aderia guided her brother's hands to curve around the cluster of reiatsu inside, and he very slowly freed the bundle and lifted it out and into his arms.
For a moment, time seemed to freeze as he remembered watching the reiatsu of his first child break apart suddenly and slowly dissipate. Tetsuya noticed his hesitation and his face paled.
"Kuri?" he inquired worriedly.
Kurushimi blinked and looked down where the reiatsu was resolving into a lovely, brown, feminine body with a shock of brown hair and large blue eyes.
"Is she all right?" Tetsuya asked in a scared voice, "Kuri, say something!"
"Sh-she is fine!" Kuri managed in a shaky voice, "She is perfect, Tetsu-hana!"
"What a beauty!" Magdelina whispered, tears coming to her eyes.
Aderia started to add her own words, then stopped and stared at Tetsuya's belly in surprise.
"Oh!" she gasped, bending over him as a second reiatsu began to emerge, "There is another!"
Kuri's eyes widened and he set their daughter in Tetsuya's arms as he joined Aderia and helped to bring out the second reiatsu.
"Are there any more in there?" he asked jokingly as Aderia scowled playfully and set the delivered reiatsu in his arms.
Tetsuya and Kuri wastched closely as the second reiatsu transitioned into the little body of a baby boy with pretty, pale skin, thick, wild black hair and Kuri's turquoise eyes.
"A boy," Kuri said proudly, "We have a son too!"
Aderia quickly examined both infants, then finished by checking Tetsuya's vital signs. She gave a long sigh of relief.
"They are all doing fine," she assured her brother, "Mother and babies are fine!"
Kuri inhaled deeply for what seemed like the first time. He closed his eyes and rested against Tetsuya so that the little family was joined.
"Thank you," he whispered, "Thank you for answering our prayers!"
"What will you name them, mijo?" Magdelina asked.
Kuri opened his eyes and he and Tetsuya looked closely at each child. They conferred quietly for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
"Katsuko for the girl," Kuri announced, "and Tama for our son."
"Katsuko and Tama," Magdelina repeated happily, "Kuri, your father would be so proud!"
"Let us take the babies for awhile now," Aderia said, patting Tetsuya's hand, "You and my crazy brother need to rest after that trip through the storm."
"But…" Tetsuya objected.
"You see what I deal with?" Kuri joked, "Tetsu-hana is so very stubborn!"
"What will we do with you, angelito?" Aderia mused.
"I wasn't being stubborn," Tetsuya laughed, "I only wanted to ask if I could still have some paletas!"
"You want paletas?" Kuri said, smacking his own head in amusement, "He scares me to death and now he wants paletas?"
"Oh, sweet boy!" Magdelina said lovingly, "You can have anything you want!"
"Now who is spoiling him?" Kuri snickered, frowning playfully.
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(Byakuya/Ichigo)
Trust
Byakuya sat quietly at Ichigo's bedside, his dark eyes watchful as his husband moaned softly and quivered in his sleep. He checked the time, then prepared a cool, wet washcloth and touched it lightly to Ichigo's flushed face. Ichigo inhaled sharply and opened his glazed brown eyes.
"B-byakuya?" he whispered roughly.
"It's fine," Byakuya whispered, washing Ichigo's face gently, "You are doing well."
"Bullshit," Ichigo panted, trying to sit up.
Byakuya gave him a look of disapproval, but moved to help him.
"You should rest more. You are still a little feverish. Would you like hot tea or some cool water?"
"J-just more of those ice chips if you have them," Ichigo requested.
"Very well. I will be right back," Byakuya promised.
He left his husband resting and walked out into the hallway, where he found his attendant comforting Ichigo's overwrought attendant. At Byakuya's entry into the hallway, the two young men straightened and Toshi sniffed and brushed the tears away from his eyes.
"Ichigo would like some more ice chips," Byakuya said quietly, "Will you bring them, Torio?"
"Yes, Byakuya-sama," Torio answered, bowing, then flash stepping away.
Toshi bit his lip gently and tried to look calm, but he nearly started crying again when Byakuya moved closer and laid a hand on his shoulder.
"S-sorry," he apologized hastily.
"For what?" Byakuya asked, meeting the attendant's frightened eyes, "For caring about your friend?"
Toshi blinked at the appellation, friend, then swallowed hard and nodded.
"I do care about Ichigo-sama," he agreed, "So much that my heart aches to see him like this. I am worried about him. I am worried about the baby. But if I am worried, you must be beside yourself! How are you so calm, Byakuya-sama? I know how much you love Ichigo-sama. How can you see him this way and not cry?"
Byakuya gazed back at him wordlessly for a moment.
"He needs me to be calm," he said finally, "so I am calm, even if my heart is not. I know if I am calm, then Ichigo will trust me when I tell him he and the baby will be all right."
"But how do you know…?"
"I do not know," Byakuya confessed, "but I feel that he will be all right. Ichigo always finds the strength to protect the ones he loves. I have to trust that."
"You both are more brave than me," Toshi said in a lost tone.
The hand on Toshi's shoulder squeezed gently.
"Come with me."
Byakuya led Ichigo's distressed attendant into the room where the Shiba heir laid, shivering.
"I think Ichigo needs another warmed blanket," Byakuya suggested, pulling the covers back and helping Toshi to replace it.
As they set the warmed blanket over him, Ichigo loosed a contented sigh and started to drift off again. Byakuya sat down at his side as Torio arrived and handed him the cup of ice chips. Byakuya gathered several of the ice chips on the spoon in the cup and brought them to Ichigo's hot, dry lips.
"Ah, th-thanks," he sighed wearily, "Byakuya, I think I was dreaming."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Y-you know how you were…lost down in Inuzuri while you were having Kisho?"
"Yes," Byakuya answered, offering him more ice chips and watching as he slowly melted them in his mouth.
"I dreamed I was lost there this time. I was lost and I was looking for you. I was in the town square, where I was when we met again…and…and you were there, just like before. I ran to you and I held you tight. I was scared, but you told me that I could trust you would always be there."
"I will," Byakuya promised, "I will always be here for you, Ichigo."
"I got even more scared because it got really white and I couldn't see. I was…wandering in this mist and…there was…a lady there. B-byakuya, it was Hisana."
Byakuya's breath caught for a moment, but he swallowed the shaft of fear that tried to erupt and kept his face calm.
"You saw Hisana?"
"Yeah. Sh-she told me she was glad that you have me. She's glad I can give you what she couldn't. But she told me that…"
"Stop!" Byakuya whispered, touching his lips with shaky fingers, "Please, don't say anymore."
"Byakuya," Ichigo whispered, bringing a fevered palm to his husband's cheek and caressing it.
Ichigo's touch made Byakuya's breath catch again, and his dark grey eyes filled with unbidden tears.
"It's okay that you're scared," Ichigo said soothingly, "I am too. But…she promised that I wouldn't leave you like she did. She told me that it would be okay. And she told me to take care of you."
"She told you to take care of me?" Byakuya repeated, trying to sound surprised, "I am not the one who is ill."
"But you had to be strong for her, then you had to be strong for Kisho, and now you're being strong for me. It's okay to be scared and to tell me you are. Trust me, I know anyway. I can feel your heart right here," he said, touching his own chest, "Like it's my own. That's how it is with us."
Byakuya took a deeper breath and let it out slowly, letting the heavy emotion leave him.
"Get some more rest," he said, starting to stand.
Ichigo started to answer, then groaned and rubbed his belly.
"Torio," Byakuya said worriedly, his tone sending the attendant flash stepping out of the room.
Byakuya bent over Ichigo, holding his hand and looking into his pained eyes.
"Breathe slowly through the pain," he directed his husband, "Like we practiced, breathe with me."
Ichigo's eyes fastened on Byakuya's and the two inhaled slowly together, then exhaled at the same slow speed. They inhaled again and exhaled as Torio returned with the aged Kuchiki clan healer.
"H-hey Michio," Ichigo greeted him, "I think I'm about ready to do this."
Michio eyed him skeptically.
"How about you let your healer tell you if it's time," the old man said, smirking, "These youngsters. They think they know everything."
"I don't think I know everything," Ichigo objected, smiling up at the healer, "I just feel ready."
"Well," Michio said appraisingly, "The area above the chamber has lost much of its cohesion. I think it will be soon."
Ichigo grinned weakly.
"Pretty good for a youngster, ne?" he laughed.
"Do you want to do my job or do you want to lie there and do what your healer tells you to do?" Michio scolded him gently, "Now, relax. I am going to test the chamber to see if it will open."
Byakuya squeezed his husband's hand and the two breathed slowly together as the healer worked. After several long minutes, Michio made a sound of approval, and Ichigo's belly began to glow softly.
"Whoa!" Ichigo gasped, forgetting to control his breathing, "Byakuya, look at that!"
"I am looking," Byakuya said stridently, "Now, breathe, fool!"
"Okay, I'm breathing!" Ichigo laughed.
"You may feel a bit dizzy while the chamber is opening," Michio warned him, "Keep breathing slowly, and Byakuya-sama, if you will infuse him with a bit of your reiatsu to keep things stable."
Byakuya nodded and laid his hands on Ichigo's abdomen to begin the infusion.
"I'm feeling dizzy, like you said," Ichigo said, blinking to clear his vision.
"Focus on me," Byakuya instructed him, "Breathe with me, Ichigo. Trust me. Everything will be all right."
"Are you telling me the truth here, or are you just saying what you think I want to hear."
"Be quiet," Byakuya scolded him, "and keep breathing with me. You and the baby will be fine. Just do what you're told."
"Man, I guess the honeymoon's over, huh?" Ichigo chuckled, wincing as fresh pains radiated through his midsection. His breaths shortened and he started to lost consciousness, then felt Byakuya's hand tighten and shake in his, and he snapped back to awareness.
"Don't leave me," Byakuya said, still managing somehow to sound more stern than scared, "I want you awake to see our child come into the world."
"N-not going anywhere," Ichigo said dazedly, "I'm here. I'm still here."
"Good," Byakuya said bracingly, kissing his ginger haired mate and nuzzling his cheek affectionately.
"Byakuya?"
"Hmm?"
"I'm sorry I wasn't there when Kisho was born. I wish I could've been."
Byakuya's lips curved upward very slightly.
"But you were."
"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked, frowning and quivering as another pain jolted his midsection, "You didn't even remember me back then."
"I still felt your love," Byakuya insisted, running a hand down to where the spirit chamber in Ichigo's abdomen was beginning to open, "I felt it here, coming through as Kisho made his entrance into the world. Even though I could not remember your name and your face, I felt your presence in our son. It gave me hope that we would find our way back to each other."
"A-and we did," Ichigo said, his eyes filling with tears, "I'm so glad I found you again. You don't know what it was like, living without you in the world. I felt like I was walking around in a daze for a long time. I was still alive, but it felt like my heart had stopped."
"Don't think about that anymore," Byakuya soothed him, "I am here now and I am never leaving you."
"And I'm never leaving you again either," Ichigo promised.
They turned their eyes to look at the light around Ichigo's belly that Michio captured in his hands and guided to Byakuya's embrace. Byakuya gathered the little bundle and laid it on Ichigo's chest, laying his head on his husband's damp shoulder as they watched the shining reiatsu transition into the little body of a ginger haired boy with large grey eyes.
"You have a healthy son," Michio announced, smiling, "and Ichigo-sama's body is stabilizing, now that the baby has been delivered."
"I do feel better," Ichigo agreed, wiping the sweat from his forehead, "But how could I not? He's pretty amazing!"
The two men looked up as the door to the bedroom opened and two more children peeked inside.
"You may come in now," Byakuya said, glancing at the two, "You have a new baby brother."
"I knew it!" Kisho laughed excitedly.
"I knew it too!" Kiwa shouted.
"Keep your voice down, squirt," Ichigo chided the girl, "Now, come here and help us name your brother."
The two children scampered to the bed and gathered around Byakuya and Ichigo, staring down and smiling at the ginger haired baby.
"He has a face like a tiger," Kisho observed.
"I want to call him Thunder because there was thunder all night while he was getting borned," Kiwa exclaimed.
"While he was being born," Byakuya gently corrected her, "And if you like, we could call him Raiden, after the mythological god of thunder."
"I like that," Ichigo said approvingly.
"Me too," Kisho agreed.
"Me three!" Kiwa said excitedly.
"It looks like we have a consensus," Byakuya said.
"How many senses?" asked Kiwa, blinking in confusion.
"He means we have an agreement," Ichigo explained.
"But I don't want a green mint!" Kiwa said, frowning.
"Daddy Ichigo means that we all say to call him Raiden," Kisho informed his sister.
"Okay," Kiwa said gamely, "But um…isn't Daddy Ichigo a mommy now?"
"Well, yes, because he has borne a child," Byakuya explained.
"But you had me," Kisho added, so you're my mother, aren't you?"
"You're both a mommy and a daddy?" Kiwa giggled, "That means you get two days we have to give you presents!"
Byakuya and Ichigo exchanged amused glances.
"I think they've got that right," Ichigo laughed, "I'll need two days a year of rest and presents after this."
"Well, if you don't mind, I think that I should have any more children if we want them."
"Why?" Ichigo asked, slipping an arm around his husband and nuzzling his cheek, "You think you're better at this than me?"
Byakuya sighed softly.
"No, not really," he said, shaking his head gently, "I just do not enjoy being the one sitting and worrying while you suffer."
"Do you think I want to see you suffer?" Ichigo objected.
"But you've never seen me having a child."
Ichigo grinned and kissed him more amorously.
"I guess we'll have to do aomething about that, huh?"
Kisho rolled his eyes and glanced at Kiwa.
"We'd better start thinking of names, cause they're gonna make another baby!"
"Okay," said Kiwa, "but this one has to be a girl!"
