Strawberry Moon
By Spunky0ne
(Shima Kurushimi appears compliments of Shima-taicho31! I just wanted to share this as I get ready to enjoy the first collision of Strawberry Moon and summer solstice in my area since 1967. The next won't come until 2062 for us, so if it's in your area, get out and see it! Love to all, Spunky)
"Sir," the aged Kuchiki housekeeper said, bowing respectfully as she entered Byakuya's study, "Shiba Ichigo has arrived and is waiting in the courtyard."
"Thank you, Matsuko," Byakuya said, nodding approvingly, "Please have him escorted to the dressing chamber. I will be there shortly."
"Hai, Byakuya-sama," the old woman said, bowing again.
Byakuya listened to her footsteps as she made her way down the long walkway to where Ichigo waited.
"Byakuya-sama asks for you to await him in the dressing chamber," he heard Matsuko explain.
"The dressing chamber?" Ichigo said, an edge of amusement in his voice, "He isn't dressed yet? I know I'm not early."
A little smile touched Byakuya's lips as he continued to listen.
"Oh…no, sir, you are right on time," Matsuko assured him, "Please, come with me."
"O-okay," Ichigo chuckled, "if you say so."
Byakuya waited until he heard the two heading for the dressing chamber, then he took an interior hallway that led him to the chamber's interior door. He waited outside with the door cracked slightly open, watching as his attendant bowed in greeting to Ichigo.
"Hey Torio," Ichigo said, good naturedly, "You mind telling me what's going on? I was supposed to meet Byakuya. He said that he wanted to do something tonight, but he didn't say what."
"He did not tell me either," Torio answered, "I think he wishes it to be a surprise. But he did have something prepared for you."
Torio reached back behind a partition and withdrew a stunning red, golden and orange kimono, earning widened eyes and a look of wonder from the surprised Shiba heir.
"Byakuya had this…made for me?"
Torio nodded, waiting as Ichigo stepped into the dressing area, then moving forward to disrobe the young man.
"I believe he has been anticipating this evening for some time."
"He has?" Ichigo asked, blinking in confusion and furrowing his brow, "But, it seemed so spontaneous. I mean, if he's been planning for so long, you know, what if I'd been busy or something? That could've messed things up."
"I think he was working a little bit behind the scenes to make things go properly, but keeping this as a surprise for you, Ichigo-sama. You know our leader is quite fond of you."
"I think he's great too," Ichigo replied, watching as the attendant quickly relieved him of his shihakusho and began to set the sunset colored kimono in place.
He went a little breathless as Torio finished dressing him, then prepared to turn him to face the full length mirrors.
"A moment, Torio," Byakuya said, entering through the interior doorway, a rapt smile overtaking his lips as he took in the enchanting sight of Ichigo finally wearing the creation he had watched being crafted for the past month.
He waited as Torio bowed and left the room, then moved closer, meeting Ichigo with a warm kiss of greeting, then stepping back to admire him.
"You look…amazing!" Ichigo said wonderingly, his eyes fastened on Byakuya's royal blue kimono that was decorated with green palms and pink and red flowers, "That's gotta be new. I've never seen you wear it."
"It was my father's," Byakuya explained, "It was a special kimono that he wore only once, then he had it sealed in a protective case to wait for me to use it. I also will use it only once."
"And you chose to wear it tonight?" Ichigo mused, "Why would you do that?"
"I will explain later," Byakuya answered cryptically, "But first, you should see how lovely you look in this kimono."
"Torio told me you had it made for me, and that you've been planning this date for a while."
"Yes," Byakuya confessed, turning Ichigo to face the mirror and watching as his inhaled sharply and his jaw dropped.
"Oh my god, this is…Byakuya, this is incredible! Kami, I really look like…!"
"A noble prince," Byakuya finished, nodding his approval, "which is what you are, anata. And if you are ready, we should go. We need to reach our destination before sunset."
"Aww," Ichigo sighed, giving Byakuya a helpless smile, "You want to watch the sun set with me? Where?"
Byakuya observed him quietly for a moment, then opened a senkaimon. He led Ichigo into the precipice world, then on through a maze of corridors, leading this way and that until Ichigo wasn't sure where they could be heading.
"I guess we're not going to Karakura Town, are we?" Ichigo inquired.
"No."
"This seems pretty far away."
"Yes. I wanted to be sure that we had the best possible view."
"Of the sunset?"
Byakuya stopped him short of one of the exits.
"What're you doing?" Ichigo asked curiously, watching as Byakuya removed a blindfold and placed it over his eyes, "What's going on here, Byakuya?"
"You will see," Byakuya answered, taking his hand and guiding him out of the senkaimon.
He led his blindfolded lover forward, then coaxed him to his knees. Ichigo felt only coolness touching his blindfolded face and grinned.
"I think we missed the sunset already, didn't we?" he laughed, "Should I take it off?"
"Patience," Byakuya chided him, kissing him on the cheek and caressing his palm with soft, cool fingertips, "I want this to be perfect."
"Well, then all it needs is for you and me to be together permanently," Ichigo said, more seriously, "That's all I want."
"Are you sure?" Byakuya asked, "It does mean that one or both of us will have to provide heirs for our clans. And once we take that step, there is no going back."
"I don't care!" Ichigo insisted, reaching up and tearing the blindfold away, "Byakuya, I want to be with you f…"
He froze as he realized that they stood alone at the top of a tall mountain and that Byakuya was surrounded by the largest, most stunningly beautiful amber colored moon he had ever seen.
"What is that?" he managed in a whisper, his eyes rounding.
"This is a Strawberry Moon," Byakuya explained, "and for the first time in nearly a half century, it falls exactly upon the summer solstice."
"I can't even find the words to tell you what I'm thinking here," Ichigo said softly, moving forward and sliding his arms around the smiling Kuchiki leader, "Amazing doesn't cover it…or incredible. I feel kinda dizzy."
"I will not let you fall," Byakuya promised, raising his chin so that their lips met.
Ichigo kept his golden brown eyes open and fastened on the bright, warm moon as it radiated around Byakuya. He plunged his tongue deep into his lover's equally ravishing mouth, stroking, teasing and caressing every inch he could reach. He reached for the tie on Byakuya's kimono, only to be stopped just short and met with a dark, smoky glare.
"Wait."
Byakuya lowered himself onto one knee and took Ichigo's hand in his, sliding a shining gold band that was made up of two shaded lengths of gold, entwined around each other onto his stunned boyfriend's finger. Ichigo stared in silence as the man who had once tried to kill him now knelt in front of him, offering him eternal love and happiness.
"Will you marry me, Ichigo?" Byakuya asked, looking up at him.
Ichigo took a surprised breath and looked more closely at the pretty kimono Byakuya wore, his eyes softening and blinking back tears.
"Your father wore this when he proposed to your mother?" Ichigo reasoned, "But um, Byakuya, you were married before…to Rukia's sister. Why didn't you…?"
"Hisana and I were never lovers," he confessed softly, "I met her while I was stationed in Inuzuri, and we became friends. Around the time I was supposed to return to the Seireitei, I learned that she was dying and needed care that could not be provided in the low Rukongai."
"So, you wanted to help her," Ichigo concluded, "But why couldn't you just do that and not marry her?"
"There are complicated rules for our behavior," Byakuya explained, "It was a sin to bring a commoner into the household, but I feared that if I helped Hisana and we remained unmarried, it could harm our reputation. The elders might have incorrectly concluded she was a prostitute. I could not allow that, so to protect her honor, I married her and paid for her care until she died. I did love her, but as a friend. I never thought I would feel the kind of love that would lead me to marriage again. I was sure that after Hisana died, I would be expected to allow another wife to be chosen for me. I had no idea that you would come into my life."
"Kinda like a tornado," Ichigo joked, "You almost killed me, remember?"
"I remember every moment of our interactions," Byakuya explained, "At first, you confounded me with your stubbornness and disregard for any kind of rules. But our battle taught me that your stubbornness and your unwillingness to give up on your friends…they are very powerful things. And after our struggles, to become your comrade, your friend, and your lover, I have felt the protectiveness you have for all. Ichigo, since I gave my heart to you, I want nothing more than to protect yours. So, I ask you to entrust your heart to me. Allow me to treasure everything you are and to love and cherish you for all eternity. I love you. I want just to drown in that love forever."
The words brought a swell of emotion into the ginger haired man's heart and he attacked Byakuya's softer mouth with harder, more passionate kisses. Byakuya turned and allowed himself to be lowered onto his back and his clothing moved to provide access to his alert nether region. Byakuya's dark grey eyes gazed up adoringly at Ichigo, outlined in the Strawberry Moon's bright amber as the younger man's insistent fingers quickly prepared him. Ichigo made a slow entry, watching Byakuya's eyes glaze over with lust as they continued to enjoy how beautiful Ichigo looked in the sunset colored kimono, surrounded in such light as he had hoped and imagined for the past month. When their bodies were joined, Ichigo leaned forward and kissed Byakuya more gently.
"I love you too," he confessed, "and yes, hell yes, I'm gonna marry you!"
He moved his hips, making whatever answer Byakuya would have given him, disappear into panted breaths and soft exclamations of delight. He kept his thrusts slow and deep, caressing the starstruck Kuchiki leader's lovely face and soft hair, then sliding a hand down in between them to stimulate him as they continued their loving movements together.
Byakuya felt Ichigo stiffen and heard that soft gasp that always preceded his release. He raised his hips, groaning in delight as blazing heat filled him inside, warming him from head to toe and sending him into his own sweet shudders of surrender.
I do not want to close my eyes. He looks so beautiful with that moon encircling him. I would stay in this moment, looking up at him and feeling his warmth and love forever!
"This is awesome," Ichigo whispered in his ear, once he could breathe properly again.
He rested lazily on top of Byakuya, still joined with him and nuzzling into a pillow of soft, raven colored hair. Byakuya blinked sleepily, loathe to fall asleep and miss a moment of the lovely spectacle that laid atop him and surrounded in golden, celestial light.
"So, when do you want to do this? Get married, I mean?" Ichigo asked, making a line of kisses along the side of his lover's handsome face, "Do we have to have a big wedding?"
"We have to have a large wedding reception," Byakuya answered, licking Ichigo's earlobe, the sucking it into his mouth to savor it slowly, "We may have a private ceremony if we wish."
"Can we be married here? Right now?" Ichigo asked, "I love this place and this full moon. And…I don't want to wait. So uh, can we?"
Byakuya sat up slowly and the two disengaged their joined bodies. He smoothed his clothing back into place, feeling a deeper warmth flare inside him at the hopeful look the other man was giving him.
"You want to be married here? Now?" he asked curiously, "You do seem to do things in a most headlong fashion, Ichigo. Are you sure this is what you want?"
"Is it what you want?" Ichigo inquired, "I mean, if you want other people to be here…a big wedding with all of the trimmings…"
Byakuya shook his head, an almost shy smile coming to his lips.
"There couldn't be a more beautiful place, a more perfect time, or another person I would want to spend my life with. Tetsuya followed us here, and I am sure that your cousin, Kurushimi is not far from him."
"No," Ichigo chuckled, "those two are stuck together like glue. You think they'll be married soon?"
"They will have to be," Byakuya sighed, "Tetsuya is with child."
"What?" Ichigo asked, giving him a surprised look, "Tetsuya's pregnant? And you haven't killed my cousin yet? What's the deal? You're so in love with me, you've gone soft?"
"No," Byakuya said quietly, "He makes Tetsuya happy, just like you make me happy, Ichigo. I will not stand in the way of their happiness…although I have expressed to Shima taicho that I expect they will wed before Tetsuya's condition becomes obvious."
"You're doing the right thing," Ichigo said approvingly, sinking into Byakuya's mouth for several long kisses, before he pulled away and looked around expectantly.
"Tetsuya?" Byakuya called softly.
A few moments passed, then a young man with wavy black hair and large blue eyes appeared a short distance away, flanked by a taller, caramel skinned man with handsome turquoise eyes.
"Byakuya-sama," Tetsuya answered, bowing.
"Byakurai," Kurushimi added.
"Tetsuya, Ichigo and I would like you to marry us."
"And I think we'll need you to be our witness," Ichigo told Kurushimi.
"You wish to be married!" Tetsuya mused, breaking into a wide, sweet smile, "Byakuya-sama, I am so happy for the two of you. Of course I will marry you."
"And I will indeed witness this," Kuri agreed.
Byakuya and Ichigo took several minutes to brush away the dust from their clothing and to smooth away the wrinkles, then they stood, side by side, with the Strawberry Moon framing them as Tetsuya gave the official blessings and paused for each to make his promises. Kuri stood at Tetsuya's side, then took a picture of the three with the brilliant moon in the background.
"For your wedding portrait," he said, handing the device to Tetsuya, who slipped it into a pack he carried.
"Thank you, guys," Ichigo said, hugging Kuri, then Tetsuya.
Byakuya took Kuri's hand in his, then embraced Tetsuya.
"We will be nearby," Tetsuya promised, leading Kuri away as Ichigo and Byakuya turned back to face the moon again.
"I didn't have a chance to get a ring for you," Ichigo said, looking down at the simple gold band that Tetsuya had provided for him to place on Byakuya's finger.
"I knew you would not, so I had us married with my father's gold ring," Byakuya explained, "If you wish to choose my wedding ring, you still can."
"Sounds good to me," Ichigo said, wrapping his arms around Byakuya from behind as the two gazed upward again, "We'll do that this week."
"As you wish, anata," Byakuya said affectionately.
"And I guess as soon as the elders know we did this, it'll be time to start thinking about kids, right?"
Byakuya gave him an odd, shy smile.
"Traditionally, the first child is conceived on the couple's wedding night," he said, blinking slowly and raising a hand to touch the protection charm at his throat.
"You want to have our first child?" Ichigo asked, blushing.
"I am willing," Byakuya affirmed, his hand tightening around the charm.
"Allow me," Ichigo said, smirking and stealing the charm away from him.
His eyes on Byakuya's, he sent a flicker of reiatsu into the charm, deactivating it.
"So, will what we did before be enough or…since this awesome moon is still up, should we, you know, make sure of things?"
Byakuya turned in his arms and met him for a flurry of hungry kisses.
"I am somewhat of a perfectionist, I am sure you know," Byakuya said, smiling slyly, "I think we had best be very sure that we are successful in our efforts."
"You've got it," Ichigo said, bringing the two of them down onto their knees.
In moments, the two were naked and sweetly entangled on the soft ground, beneath the Strawberry Moon. They joined their bodies repeatedly, making love for as long as the bright moon remained over them, then falling into an exhausted sleep as the beautiful moon finally set.