Disclaimer: Aww, I don't own Bleach, but I do have some 'laundry' bleach if anyone needs some! Anyone?
A/N: Konnichiwa fellow readers! Returning readers and new ones, I welcome you both to the seventh chapter to this absolutely amazing story. I refer to it as art. It takes a sharp mind and a sense for detail to get the characters and the surroundings just right. And I believe i've done a good job at it so far. The proof is in the reviews and with it, the favourites! Anyways, this chapter is something spectacular if I must say so myself. Just to get you guys up to speed on everything, the last time we saw the couple Byakuya had proposed to Rangiku after finding out she was pregnant. But isn't everyone wondering where the hell is the ring? Well, I won't spoil it any further for you guys and i'll just let you get on to the reading! Happy reading!
The next morning was like any other morning, with Byakuya coaxing her out of bed with gentle kisses and sweet nothings in her ear. Everything he was giving to her at this moment was a far cry from what he would have given her a year ago. But she was grateful and thankful for all the things he's done for her and knew there was no way she could get out of this relationship now if she wanted to. Who would want to?
Rangiku showered and dressed and was ready to leave with him for their quick morning breakfast before it was time to head off to work. Well, almost ready.
"Koibito, where are my earrings?"
"Which ones do you speak of?"
The strawberry blonde was busy brushing her hair while searching through her jewlery box for a pair of diamond earrings. It was easier said than done for the dark haired man, seeing as he brought the woman countless pairs of earrings. He wouldn't know where to begin.
"The diamond ones."
"You have many. Clarify," Byakuya spoke as he began finding his arms through his captain's haori.
"Hun, the ones I got last week. Remember the dangly ones with the heart studs?"
Byakuya, despite appearances, remembered which ones she was asking for. Those earrings could have brought a Rukongai merchant three houses- three two-story houses to be precise. Rangiku had worn those a few days ago and he remembered she placed them ontop of the bureau while she was undressing.
Rangiku had finally given up by the time all of her hair was completely brushed and dried, sighed forlornly as she reached for a small bottle of perfume and proceeded to open it and spray the inside of her wrists. The fragrance was her favourite and she knew quite well that her dark haired noble couldn't get enough of it. Being the fiancee of a rich guy wasn't all it was cracked up to be, she thought to herself as she rubbed her wrists together.
What normal fukutaicho had the luxury of fretting over which pair of extremely expensive earrings she was going to wear to work that day? It mattered not to her that she was treated like a princess all hours around the clock, especially when she had more material objects than she could keep track of. Objects that costed fortunes unheard of in the Soul Society.
Suddenly, she saw him approach her from behind, catching his eyes in the mirror infront of her as he placed the pair of earrings ontop of her vanity desk.
"Here. They were ontop of the bureau."
"Arigatou," Rangiku said with an infectious smile, witnessed a small curve to his lips as he turned away to finish preparing for the day.
Once her earrings were in, she was all set to leave but when she arose from her chair, she saw Byakuya staring condescendingly at his Kenseikan on the nightstand. She knew how much he hated to wear it as well as his scarf but she had reminded him on many occassions that without any of those things, he wouldn't have the image of what a superior man he really was. She was also eager to add at how sexy it made him look. Byakuya never denied her wishes again on wearing his heirlooms.
"What's wrong, hun?"
He said nothing and it was then that Rangiku took it upon herself to walk up to him and retrieve his Kenseikan. Byakuya was then slightly forced by her hand on his shoulder as she guided him to settle on the bed. "Sit," she instructed.
He didn't complain, only gave her a slight pout as she began at work on attatching his Kenseikan to his dark coloured mane. Hands down, Byakuya probably had the most beautiful hair she's ever seen or felt on a man in the entire Seireitei. Byakuya wasn't sure if she was taming his hair or just playing with it as she ran her fingers repeatedly through the silken strands. It felt relaxing as he allowed the feeling to enter his being, closed his eyes.
"You know...You can make alot of girls envious with hair like this," she whispered, a hint of seduction in her voice.
Byakuya tried to stifle his yearnings, his entire mind slowly converting from relaxed to sexually stimulated. It was easier to seduce him in the morning, she knew that and it made the man before her very afraid. How did this woman know everything that had to do with the male mind and body? She knew just what to do to make him go insane with lust and erect with desire. Just with a morning ritual alone, she managed to get his heart racing like a stallion.
She didn't even do anything. Why am I so attracted to her at a time like this?
Giggling, Rangiku proceeded to guide sections of his hair through the expensive metal channels in the front into three seperated parts, secured the sections before moving on to the two sections on the right side of his head.
"I'm not sure if this will be on for a moment longer when i'm done with it."
Now she was just teasing him. Byakuya wanted her to stop before she went to far, before they ended up having spontanous morning sex. Something in which they did for two uncertain weeks of each month. And he never knew when it would come, it would just happen. Like how her pregnancy happened.
Unplanned.
I can't consumate her now. This will ruin everything i've planned for this morning...
"Dearest, I must deny your advances."
"Deny me? Aww, why would you do a stupid thing like that?," she cooed.
She leaned over to the ear nearest where she was fixing his hair, kissed it softly, repeatedly while occassionaly nipping an edge with her teeth. He wasn't budging, she realized, but that only determined her more to get him to bend to her needs. They unfortunately couldn't continue with their sex romp last night on account of they were caught once in the night by one of his family members. It was early in the morning and she knew that no person dared to disturb him around this time of day.
"You're not stupid...are you?"
Rangiku had finished with the two hair channels on the side of his skull, reached for a nearby brush to finish with the rest of his hair in the back. She could have easily got on the bed behind him to brush his hair, but this morning she was on a mission and that mission was to finish where they left off from last night. Byakuya chose to not respond to her question, slowly opened his eyes until he realized all he was staring at were her protruding breasts in her haori shirt. He should have kept his eyes closed. Now he couldn't look away, with each movement of her torso it sent her large bosom into a lascivious sight of jiggling and jutting that was making his hakamas feeling tighter than usual.
If we have sex now, how on earth will I introduce her to my family today?
"Rangiku. Not now, I urge you to stop-"
His sentence was cut off by her spontaneous act of straddling his waist, Byakuya's hands subconciously reaching towards her hips. By this point, the blue eyed woman had abandoned all plans of fixing his hair as she released the brush in her hand and grabbed the back of his neck, kissed him firmly with desire on her lips and in her moans. It all happened too fast for him to register and sadly, he could do nothing but go along with her actions as he kissed her back with equal rapture.
Her hands were stroking along the sides of his face, feverishly grabbing any part of him in an attempt to rid her body of it's pent up lust, Byakuya cradling the small of her back with strong hands. He dragged her further against him until she could feel his erection between her thighs, a deep moan eliciting into his mouth from her throat.
"Byakuya...," she sighed once their lips parted.
She turned her hips against him only to moan at how well endowed he was. Someone was very excited this morning, she could already tell as he left her luscious lips to kiss along the column of her soft throat. Rangiku groaned irritabley as she ground her hips against him again, the wet slit of her confined sex able to feel every throbbing vein that ran along his contricted erection. Being in clothes was irritating, the strawberry blonde couldn't stand them. That's why she barely wore anything to bed and flaunted everything at work.
"We really should not engage in these activites," he mumbled thickly against the satiny valley of between her breasts.
Seriously? Was the man patronizing her about not having sex when it was so obvious how badly he wanted it? The man was full of contradictions this morning, she concluded and decided to go through with her tactful response.
"Alright then. We shouldn't," she replied softly.
Rangiku pushed away from him slightly which caused his kisses to trail away from her chest. The look on his face couldn't have been more adorable. Could a man look perplexed and utterly sad at the same time? For a Kuchiki, it was impossible, but the subtle hints of sadness and confusion seemed to seep perfectly into his handsome violet irises.
Cocking her head to the side, with faux innocence questioned, "What's wrong? Didn't you want to stop?"
"Well, yes I suppose-"
"Good! Come on, let's go eat."
She tried to pull completely away from him and stand up, but there was the strongest hold on her hips that she's ever felt. The woman didn't think much of it at first, figured that his hands had subconciously tightened around the curvatures of her body as they always seemed to. Rangiku tried to manuever her hips once more in a motion to stand up and when they didn't budge, that was when she knew. He didn't want her to leave.
"Byakuya?"
"Yes, I want to stop. However, I cannot let you leave..."
He leaned towards her ear, kissed it slowly while traveling his hands to her backside and grappled it passionately. Rangiku sighed in appreciation, held onto his shoulders as he whispered softly with a voice that made her shudder and smile at the same time.
"We shall finish. Today is a special day, Rangiku."
Special?...What does he mean?
All her thoughts faded into a blissful euphoria of ecstasy as Byakuya's ministrations to her body became more feverish, diligent and wonderfully passionate. She let him do whatever and anything that he wanted- only because she knew that whatever and anything he wanted to do happened to be exactly what she would do if he let her do whatever and anything. They only had about twenty minutes to consumate their desires so that they wouldn't ruin their schedule. But in reality, it felt like an eternity had passed and she spent that eternal like time with the man she adored more than sake.
After the fun and games were over, unfortunately the shinigami couple had to begin where they left off so they could prepare for their busy day ahead. A captain's schedule and a lieutenant's schedule were different yet similarly the same. Byakuya and Rangiku had paperwork to do, with Rangiku's paperwork being half of what his had to be. They both also had deadlines to make, Byakuya always being the first out of all the captain's to finish his tedious forms and file all of his subordinate report replies.
He's such a tight ass when it comes to work, but gods is he something special in the bed. If he wasn't so talented outside the workplace, I don't know how this relationship could ever work.
But it had to. Rangiku had to think about her and the baby. And nobody wanted to see the rarest of all pregnancies end in a single parent wreck with Byakuya only allowed to see the baby on predetermined days of the month. At any and all costs would she make this relationship work. All the stoic bastard had to do was put a ring on her finger.
And when the hell is that happening? Would it be too rude to ask him for a big ass diamond?
Byakuya was ready to leave the bedroom, his Kenseikan having to be refixed after certain events that happened a mere handful of minutes ago. Rangiku, he concluded, was the most typical woman in the entire Seireitei. Vanity obsessed. She took forever with redressing and even consumed more time with pouting about how her utterly flawless strawberry blonde tendrils wouldn't cooperate with her lieutenant's ensemble. Byakuya had a nerve to throw her pink scarf over her shoulders and haul her out of the bedroom if she didn't hurry up.
"We must make haste, Rangiku."
"In a minute!"
He approached her from behind, studied her fretting at her own self through the vanity mirror for a few moments. Rangiku was surprised to feel a fluttery material caress her shoulders, her heavy strawberry locks being lifted out of the way so the material could hug the back of her neck more comfortably. Craning her neck to look over her shoulder, it was Byakuya with an impatient frown upon his face, slightly upset.
"You are gorgeous. Anymore fretting and I shall show you again how beautiful you are," he scolded gently.
Rangiku flushed at such a sweet compliment from her fiancee, couldn't find it in her to argue as she slowly nodded and rose up from her chair. Byakuya took her hand into his, planted a soft kiss to the back of her soft flesh. He would now and always will be a gentleman, she thought wonderously to herself, blushing further as she realized that his eyes were trained to her face.
"Shall we leave?"
"Hai."
He pulled her gently by the hand until the flush of her body was against the upper length of his strong body, a kiss he bestowed upon her soft lips with a lingering passion that was still inside of his being from their love making. Rangiku adored his compassion and would have returned the kiss with the same passion and fervor if she wasn't so drowsy. She had no clue how he could manuever his hips like that and make her scream as though the pleasure was enough to make her want to die in a beautiful hell and be brought back again. Whatever he did, she didn't want him to give up any of his techniques, half of which, to her unexpecting concious, she has yet to have seen or felt for that matter.
"Mmm, Kuchiki-sama, you kiss me as though i'm in nothing but a set of lacy lingerie," she teased softly.
"That you shall wear tonight. However, we really must be going."
She nodded with a small smile and after another tender kiss, he took her by the arm and guided her out of the bedroom and towards the dining room downstairs. There was something different about him, she noticed suddenly, it was subtle but it was still there. The barely ascertainable concern in his eyes along with the slight tremors that rippled over the surface of his skin. Was he...nervous? About what?
Is it his family? What will they think of me?
Rangiku could see it all in her head now, his family members staring her down, critisizing her wonderous assets and rebuking Byakuya for his choosing of another Rukongai stray and so-called harlot. Who in the hell used that word anyway? Rangiku, in all definition, was no way near a harlot. A gorgeous one-night stand every now and then, but certaintly not a whore. Besides, she couldn't remember sleeping with anyone else besides Byakuya since she's been with him. And it was blatantly clear that he hasn't been with anyone since he's been with her or even before.
This was about the most faithful, committed and most devoted relationship the Seireitei has seen since he took Hisana as his wife.
"I'm so hungry."
"Is it you or the baby?"
Rangiku smiled. "Probably both."
"Plausible enough," Byakuya answered softly.
After a few minutes they finally reached the dining room. She felt her heart racing, the blood rushing straight to her head strong enough to make any kind of thinking incoherent. Byakuya squeezed her hand in reassurance, sensing that she was in slight distress. He wondered if she took her prenatal pills this morning, but then remembered that it was the first thing she did once she woke up and went to the bathroom.
"Do not stress, dearest. I am here."
She nodded and subsequently he opened the doors to reveal a small number of family members that included the infamous grandfather that caught them last night in the act.
Rangiku could easily recognize Rukia and some of Byakuya's elders. But there were two others that she had yet to have seen nor did she know who they were. It was an man and a woman, both who were slightly older than her fiancee but still retained some youth. As a matter of fact, these two looked almost exactly like Byakuya. As if they were his...parents.
But that was theoretically impossible. No one in the Soul Society has ever been reunited with their parents, nonetheless seen them since they've arrived. Rangiku was just like the rest of the taicho's and fukutaicho's in the Seireitei, all without parents. Since childhood, she's had to fend for herself. If it wasn't for the aid of her childhood friend, Gin, she would surely be dead. If this baby were to ever survive in this forgiving yet contradicting enviornment, would that make this child the first in the Soul Society with living and active grandparents?
Those can't be his parents. No way.
Byakuya recieved bows from everyone in the room, even Ichigo, who accompanied Rukia, joined along surprisingly. Since when in the hell did that strawberry obey and respect this man?
"Rangiku. You are already aquainted with Rukia and Ichigo. I shall introduce you to my elders..."
The introduction of the Seireitei-renowned Kuchiki noble family went much more easily than she thought it would. Most of his family members were elderly, one of the many people Rangiku got along with. His grandfather though wasn't very keen on her, Rangiku remembering that he was the one who cared for him as a child and approved his previous marriage to Hisana. Not to mention the mortifying fact that he caught them in the act last night, she was more than relieved that he chose not to bring up the promiscuous events. It was only apparant that he was more wary of her than ever. As for the younger members, they took her with more caution than the eldest Kuchiki's. They greeted her as they would any other woman, some of them even complimenting her on her unfathomable beauty.
But it was clear to the strawberry blonde that Byakuya was absolutely, hands down the youngest of the entire family. Rukia, technically, was the youngest, but for some reason, Rangiku wasn't counting her on a part that she was adopted into the prestigious lineage.
After meeting with every last member, it got down to the last two who looked so much like Byakuya it was scary.
"Rangiku. Please, shall I introduce my parents."
The pregnant lieutenant was flabberghasted, forgot how to breathe and even felt some tears pushing for room behind her bright baby blues. Why hadn't she met them before? Was there a reason as to why he held off on introducing her to the two most important people in a man's life? Gods, if Rangiku had parents she would have introduced him so long ago. Her heart felt like it wouldn't stop racing and her hands that were enclasped within one another were shaking slightly.
Byakuya took notice to her behaviour, pressed a reassuring hand along the small of her back. The woman who was as beautiful as anyone she's seen besides herself reached out a hand to shake, Rangiku subconciously outstretching hers to meet the kind woman's. She was the exact picture of exuberance, a woman who wasn't too precise but carried herself with a prideful air, just as a noble man's wife should.
"Charmed, dear. You are very lovely. The exact picture my son has described of you to me."
"Arigatou," Rangiku replied softly, flushing immensely.
How on earth...did this man get reunited with his parents? Not one, but both...The chances are one in a million. This is so...impossible. I just can't believe my eyes...
His father could have just been his twin if their age difference wasn't so far apart. Rangiku could swear this man infront of her was her fiancee, but he wasn't. All the man could do was nod his head, silent just like a certain someone she knew all too well. He was very stoic, not even chancing her another look before lifting his eyes to Byakuya.
"Who is this woman, Byakuya-sama."
"She is lieutenant to the Tenth Squad, father."
"Besides that," he said gravely.
Byakuya matched his graveness with a cool demeanor, the hand that was splayed long her back snaking around her waist and pulled her gently against him.
"My fiancee."
His mother didn't look the least bit surprised, Rangiku figuring he told her but not his father who looked clearly surprised. Leaving his parents, Byakuya turned torwards her and stared down at her with a determination and infatuation she only witnessed few times from him. The room had turned silent when everyone watched in stupified shock as the taicho of the Sixth Division get down onto his knee, cradled Rangiku's left hand in his own.
"Rangiku...will you marry me?"
It was the second time hearing it in her lifetime, both of them being from him. Once in the seclusion of her hospital room after finding out the news of their pregnancy and now, infront of his entire family. She thought she would have taken it alright, but to hear it from him with the witnesses of those closest to him, it sprang up tears in her eyes she had been holding back until now. What sealed the deal was the ring he presented from his haori shirt that she swore she removed less than half an hour ago. She didn't see a ring in there. How in the hell did he hide it so well?
He was expectant, his dark eyes almost pleading. It was the most cutest thing she's ever seen in her life. And the most heart pounding.
"Well, aren't you gonna say yes?," Ichigo shouted half in irritation, half in playfulness. Rukia immediately throttled him upside his head, Rangiku laughing at the spectacle, nervously.
She let her large blues fall back to the man before her, studied the ring which was as beautiful and diamond adorned than any of the jewlery she owned.
"Yes," she whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks as he slipped it effortlessly onto her ring finger.
As soon as he stood back up, she flung herself at him and attacked the astounded man with a kiss full on his lips, happiness in everything that she felt; everything that she was. With him, it was all a fairytale. She never wanted to leave him, and it was at that moment when he returned her kiss, amidst the mirthful cheers of his family, did she decide that she had finally fallen in love with him. So far in love, Rangiku never wanted to be rescued from the sensation.
The man was just...wonderful, his person so beautiful it overpowered her lovliness in all aspects.
How was it possible for a Kuchiki to love a woman like her when he could have found someone more suitable? Someone more prideful, more reserved and more eloquent? When was it everyday that a commoner was destined to be a Lady of a prestigious household and family?
"I love you," he whispered.
Between choked cries did she reply back, "I love you too."
And so, on that day, she could proudly call herself the fiancee to Byakuya Kuchiki. The mother to his child. His entire world.
A/N: Awww! I thought the way he proposed was all so very sweet. Yet I can't stop myself from wondering whether Byakuya was just a tad OOC for the entire proposal. But i'm more interested in what you guys have to say about it. Leave me a review, they are much appreciated! And just so you know, I read each and every one of them. Arigatou for reading and we'll see how the story transpires next time! Ja ne!
