Chapter 8: Little Worries

(I've had a lot of requests for this one, so here you go! I have a lot of things in the works, including more I Won't Say I Love You, Dark Corners 2 and also a sequel to the Orochi/Tetsuya romance, In the Darkness, so stay tuned! Cheers, Spunky)

The sound of birds chirping outside his bedroom brought Byakuya awake in the early hours of the morning. He yawned and rolled over, letting out a soft sigh as he found the other side of the bed empty, but still alive with Ichigo's attractive scent.

I know we want to take our time and court more gradually, so as to let ourselves fall in love in a natural way, but it seems it's like having already let the horse out of the barn. My heart longs for me to wake up in Ichigo's arms every morning and to lie down with him every night. I still want to date, but I think moving slowly isn't an option. We've more tumbled into love.

He climbed out of bed and entered the dressing area, nodding in greeting as Torio appeared to remove his nightclothes.

"How are you feeling this morning, Byakuya-sama?" Torio asked, "You look a little pale."

"Do I?" Byakuya asked, "I feel fine."

"Not that I'd want you to be feeling poorly," Torio said, beginning to dress him, "I just know you've been anxious about not yet showing signs of impregnation."

"I suppose I just have to put it out of my mind," Byakuya answered, studying himself in the mirror, "Worrying about it won't make it happen any sooner. And Ichigo has already indicated a willingness to ensure there are heirs for each of our families if I should be unable to have one. Still, it does weigh on me, I suppose."

"Of course it does," Torio acknowledged, "But I'm sure everything will work out."

"In whatever way it must," Byakuya quietly agreed.

He stood patiently as his attendant finished dressing him, then left the bedroom and walked out into the gardens, where he followed the trail that ran nearest the main house, past new plantings of roses and bright camellias. He moved gracefully through lines of plum and sakura, enjoying the sight of the petals drifting down from their branches. But even as relaxed as it made his mind, it still kept replaying every moment since the one in which he'd heard Ichigo admit to choosing him as a partner for the impregnation ritual.

I was surprised, but thinking about it, I can see looking back, all of the steps that led to it. It seems Ichigo has been in my heart for some time...and that, although we didn't think of what we were doing at the time, we were slowly falling in love. I shouldn't be surprised to long for him so much now. The ritual just set a fire under what had been smoldering for a while.

A smile stole onto his lips as strong arms encircled his torso from behind and Ichigo's voice rumbled warmly in his ear.

"You look beautiful, Byakuya," he said, brushing his lips against the side of Byakuya's soft throat, "Sorry for interrupting your walk, but I woke up missing you this morning."

"I missed you as well," Byakuya admitted, turning to meet him for a long, savory kiss.

"I got to thinking," Ichigo went on, "that even though the ritual was sort of sudden and forced, we were kind of teasing each other before that, weren't we?"

"I was thinking back and noticing, myself," Byakuya confessed, surrendering to another bout of steamy kisses.

"So, do you think that maybe we don't need to sleep in separate places?" Ichigo asked, "Cause, at night, all I want to do is curl up with you. I love the way it feels to wrap my naked body around yours and just stay that way all night."

"I enjoy that also," Byakuya admitted, "So, you want to move in together?"

"Kinda," Ichigo said, smiling and stepping back.

He dropped to one knee and produced a small jewelry box, opened to display a beautiful diamond ring.

"I was hoping that you'd marry me, Byakuya," he went on, "Will you?"

Byakuya looked breathlessly from Ichigo's smiling face to the touchingly beautiful, frosted gold and glittering diamond creation he held.

"That is stunning," he managed, "I don't think I've seen the like. Ichigo, I don't know what to say."

"Say you'll marry me," Ichigo prompted him, "Make me the happiest guy alive."

Byakuya felt a rush of emotion so intense it set his head spinning and made the scene in front of him waver. He tried to move his lips to answer, but found himself unable to make a sound. He gazed wordlessly into Ichigo's affectionate eyes, then slowly collapsed to the ground at his feet.

"Byakuya!" Ichigo shouted, leaning over him, "Are you okay? Byakuya!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Tetsuya emerged from sleep to the deep, throaty sound of Yuushiro's purring and the warm pressure of the Shihoin prince's weight along his back and side. His eyes opened and blinked in surprise at finding a number of small, soft, also purring cats curled up in numerous places around them. Yuushiro's golden eye opened and he emitted a soft, meaningful hiss that sent the other cats charging off the bed and out of the room. Yuushiro's reiatsu rose and made the door tremble slightly, then slowly close. He yawned and stretched lazily, then nuzzled his way under Tetsuya's mussed hair to nibble and lick the soft flesh of his throat. One hand curled around Tetsuya's waist and sent calm, stabilizing reiatsu into his slightly enlarged belly. Tetsuya frowned and shifted, looking down at the area, then sitting up to quickly and swaying dizzily.

"What are you doing?" Yuushiro scolded him playfully, "You're going to make yourself faint! Lie back down."

"B-but Yuushiro-sama!" Tetsuya objected, "I'm so much bigger even than yesterday!"

"I know," the Shihoin prince giggled delightedly, "You must be having a lot of babies!"

"Do you think they're maturing more quickly than they would normally?" Tetsuya asked anxiously.

"I don't know," Yuushiro confessed, shaking his head, "But we can ask the healer to look at you after we eat. We need to eat. We must have done it six or seven times last night."

"Ah..." Tetsuya managed, blushing, "Yuushiro-sama is very spirited."

"You mean I'm pretty horny, right?" the prince snickered, "It's your fault, Tetsuya-san. Your scent is so attractive and you're so beautiful that all I can think about is making love to you."

Tetsuya inhaled sharply as he was brought down onto his back and Yuushiro's warm hand, pushed his thighs apart.

"You know, being the leader of the clan, you should spend a little less time playing with your new boyfriend and more taking care of family business," Yoruichi said from the unexpectedly open doorway.

Yuushiro shifted to cat form and shot towards the ceiling, holding on with his claws as Tetsuya dove under the blankets.

"D-don't do that, Nee-san! Pssssst!" Yuushiro hissed furiously, "You could have scared me to death and you embarrassed Tetsuya-san! What are you doing here?"

Yoruichi smirked and crossed her arms on her chest.

"I came to see what all of the excitement was about. I heard you stole Byakuya-bo's pretty cousin and imprisoned him here. And it looks like the rumors claiming you made him your love-slave are true, aren't they?"

Under the bedding, Tetsuya blushed brightly.

"He's not my love-slave!" Yuushiro snapped, hissing again as he dropped from the ceiling onto the end of the bed, "Tetsuya-san is my true resonant. We found each other at the impregnation ritual."

"Tetsuya is the one you got trapped with?" Yoruichi said, smirking, "Well, I can't argue with your taste. He is very good looking, and I heard he has a bankai. He's..."

"Byakuya-san's personal bodyguard," Yuushiro finished, "I know that, Nee-san. I don't care what those old men said about his mixed blood. Tetsuya-san is perfect for me!"

"I guess you made your point," Yoruichi snickered, "How many babies did you put in him, anyway? Tomi said..."

"There are maybe six or seven," Yuushiro answered, drawing back the blankets.

Tetsuya yelped and hid his naked body behind Yuushiro's cat form, then relaxed slightly as Yuushiro shifted him to cat form as well.

"That's better," he said approvingly, "Now Nee-san won't tease you for having no clothes on."

"Welcome to the family, Tetsuya," Yoruichi said, smiling more kindly, "You might find that our home isn't quiet and orderly like Byakuya-bo's, but I think you'll settle in just fine. My brother was right though, that you should really eat something. You're going to have to eat almost constantly since you're going to be having so many."

"But first, Tomi should have a look at him."

"Do you think I could have some privacy to put my clothes back on first?" Tetsuya pleaded, blushing even under his feline fur.

"All right," Yoruichi relented, "I'll see you two at breakfast."

Tetsuya gave a sigh of relief as she exited the room and he and Yuushiro returned to their naked shinigami forms. He grabbed his clothes and dressed swiftly while Yuushiro stretched out on the bed, watching him with amorous eyes.

"Aren't you going to dress, Yuushiro-sama?" Tetsuya asked, frowning.

"Uh-huh," the prince confirmed, "I was just watching you first. I'm really glad you're my soul resonant, Tetsuya-san. I was pretty scared that my family would push me into marrying someone I wasn't in love with."

"But Yuushiro-sama," Tetsuya objected, kneeling on the bed and taking the naked prince's hands, "we barely know each other yet. You are saying this because of the surface things, my looks, the way you've seen me act in front of you. It takes a while to really get to know a person. And maybe you won't like everything about me."

The Shihoin prince's face fell.

"Tetsuya-san, are you saying that you don't feel the same about me as I do about you? I mean, you felt our resonance too, didn't you?"

"I did," Tetsuya assured him gently, leaning forward to kiss him on the cheek, "And I think with time, we will really fall in love and not just infatuation. But you have to be patient. You have to..."

Tetsuya's words ended suddenly as Yuushiro surged forward and brought him down onto his back again. He laid down on top of Tetsuya and glared lovingly into the surprised man's blue eyes.

"I don't need any time, Tetsuya-san," he said firmly, "I love you. You are a kind, gentle person and I've never seen anyone more beautiful than you. If you need more time to fall in love, that's okay, but I know how I fee right now."

"I love you too," Tetsuya laughed, blushing more darkly, "I'm glad to be here with you and having your babies. I just...feel kind of overwhelmed because just a couple of days ago, I was living with my cousin at Kuchiki Manor and I wasn't allowed to even think I would ever be married to a clan leader or having any children. It's a lot for me. I'm very happy, of course. I just need time to make sense of things."

"Would you like me to leave you alone for a while?" Yuushiro inquired, making no move to climb off of him, "I can go and look for the healer. He should have been here by now."

"You don't have to leave," Tetsuya chuckled, "but it would be nice if you could slow down a little so that I can look at you properly and get to know you better."

"Okay," the prince said agreeably, "I'll hold still right here, although it will be awkward if Tomi-san comes in and sees me naked on top of you like this."

"Why don't you put your clothes on and then hold my hand while he examines me. I sometimes feel nervous when healers touch me, because the ones in the prison where I was kept sometimes performed experiments on us. Not all of them were good people like your Tomi-san or old Michio-san at Kuchiki Manor."

"That's really sad," Yuushiro said, his eyes clouding and his arms tightening around Tetsuya, "But you don't have to be afraid anymore. I won't ever let anyone hurt you."

"I know you won't, Yuushiro-sama," Tetsuya said, smiling up at him, "I trust you. And you can trust me to use my powers to protect you also."

"Maybe once you've had all of those babies I put in you," Yuushiro laughed, "For now, I think Tomi-san will have to put a limiter on you because with so many little ones, your reiatsu will be unstable."

"Even when I was having only one, it was pretty unstable," Tetsuya remembered, "although I was much weaker and had never had to control my own power before. It was sealed away until Byakuya-sama rescued me. Even when I lost the baby I was carrying, I had to wear a special limiter because I wasn't used to having my spirit centers unsealed."

"Well, you're very strong now," Yuushiro said encouragingly and since your babies will probably be born before my one baby, you can protect me when I'm farther along and have to have my powers limited. We'll take good care of each other, Tetsuya-san."

"I think we will," Tetsuya agreed, shifting slightly and trying to slide out from under his enthusiastic mate.

"Where do you think you're going?" Yuushiro demanded playfully, "Did you forget you're my concubine right now?"

"Not at all," Tetsuya chuckled, "But I'm sure the healer will arrive any minute. Yuushiro-sama, you should get dressed."

"Hmm, I would," the prince said, arching an eyebrow, "but Tetsuya-san is so tempting, I think I need to make love to him one more time before we let Tomi-san in."

"Yuushiro-sama!"

The prince laughed again and busied Tetsuya's protesting mouth with his, while he moved his mate's clothing out of the way and entered him.

Yuushiro-sama is very excitable and impulsive, Tetsuya mused, but he has a good heart. I am lucky to be with someone like him.

Still, I worry about what will happen when he faces Orochi to challenge my clan for the right to claim me. Orochi is a foul beast who will never play by the rules. Yuushiro-sama is powerful, I can feel it. But I don't know how wise he is in the rigors of battle. I will just have to guide him a little as Byakuya-sama guided me.

I am sure he can beat Orochi.

I know he can!

Tetsuya closed his eyes, moving with the Shihoin prince's hard, fast thrusts, unaware of the healer, who opened the door and looked in, then bit at his lip, holding back a chuckle and closed the door again.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Byakuya?" Ichigo's voice called worriedly, bringing the Kuchiki leader out of the haze that had overtaken him.

Byakuya found himself in his nightclothes and tucked comfortably into his bed, with Ichigo kneeling beside him and holding his hand.

"Ichigo?" he whispered dazedly, blinking to make the image of his lover come into better focus, "What happened?"

"You passed out," the Shiba heir explained, "Did you even hear me ask you to marry me?"

"I think that is why I passed out," Byakuya said, smiling wryly, "That was...very sudden, Ichigo."

The ginger-haired man gave him a soulful look.

"Well, sometimes I get it into my head that I really want something, and I'm not very good at holding back."

"I see that."

"But you don't feel ready to marry me?" Ichigo asked, a sad look coming into his golden brown eyes, "It's okay if you need time to think, Byakuya. It was really sudden."

"It was sudden, and I was a bit taken aback," Byakuya admitted, "but the truth is that before you arrived, I was thinking about how things have been developing between us ever since we met."

"That's what I was thinking too," Ichigo agreed, "I still love the idea of going out with you and having a romance, but..."

"I think we both feel ready for the next step also," Byakuya said warmly, smiling genuinely as Ichigo gave a relieved laugh and fell into his arms, kissing him enthusiastically.

"You're going to marry me?" Ichigo asked, hardly able to believe.

"I will," Byakuya promised.

"But first we have to make sure you're all right. Michio ran some tests and said that he would be right back. I think it might just be you're finally showing signs of maybe being pregnant. It's about time. I think we were both kind of worried."

"We were," Byakuya agreed.

"But it's gonna be all right now. If you're passing out, it probably means that the spirit chamber formed and we're on our way."

Ichigo looked up, grinning, as Michio returned to the bedroom. His smile faded as he saw the concerned look on the healer's face and noticed the presence of several attendants and other healers.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, placing a hand on his own pregnant belly.

"I am afraid that the tests have indicated something very disturbing," Michio said sadly, "Byakuya-sama, we must take you to the fourth division at once!"

"What?" Ichigo demanded in a panicked hiss, "Michio, what's going on?"

"What is wrong with me?" Byakuya asked, paling.

"Byakuya-sama, I can't tell if it's a toxin or if it's an illness, but something is causing your immune system to attack your own cells and reiatsu!"