Chapter 12: Fall Slowly

(A request by Sariniste and Emmagem803! Thanks so much to Kyuumihaira (Ah, a baby! What a very lovely and devilish idea. That has some very big potential to cause trouble, doesn't it?), Emmagem803 (I do like to let them fall in love more gradually. After all, they were brought together more by fate than desire, so love will grow as they mitigate all of their issues and struggle with their roles...oh, and the fact that Aizen is still a pretty wicked guy. It will be interesting when he realizes that he, too, is falling in love. He does tend to resist that!), Moegi (Oh yes, Hiro's plan will throw a wrench into things for sure. But you know, Aizen's pretty good at diffusing things like that while simultaneously turning the tables on his rivals!), Sariniste (Here you go! And I am working on the others you requested as well!), SilverSerpentine (Well, I had to leave off so that I could take my time with the love scene. I think you'll be glad I did!), Winterheart2000 (No story of mine is ever dead and I will finish them all! :) And yes, the sequel to My Obsession is almost ready to go.), Aizenfan6969 (I love your enthusiasm!), and SCJ0263 (There is a lot of interest in that sequel, so it will be posted very soon!) Have a lovely and very sexy Aizenday! Love, Spunky *digs into next Aizenchapter, smiling devilishly*)

"Hiro is dead and his plans are ended. I want to make love to you, Tetsuya. Will you grant me that desire?"

Tetsuya hesitated, closing his eyes and feeling a shiver pass through him at how dangerously close he stood to the most wicked shinigami in Seireitei history.

But, whoever he might have been before, this man is no longer transcendent. He is frighteningly powerful and horridly dangerous, but because I have been soul bonded to him, I cannot fear my fate. I know my fate. My life is completely in Aizen Sousuke's hands now. If he decides to kill me, I will die and if he decides to love me...

"Tetsuya?"

He took a lighter breath, feeling the heavy emotion recede as a feeling of calmer acceptance passed through him.

Yes, this is out of my hands. I must not dwell on those things I cannot control. There is no point in that. It will only cause me needless worry over something I cannot change. I must...

"You are my husband," Tetsuya said, keeping his eyes carefully lowered, "If you wish to be with me sexually, then..."

He sucked in a surprised breath as a warm hand caught him under the chin and raised his widened eyes to meet his husband's.

"I did not ask you if I wished to be with you sexually. That much, we both know. I want you to tell me honestly if you desire this as well."

Tetsuya loosed a soft sigh, closing his eyes and bringing his head to rest on his husband's warm shoulder, burrowing slightly under his chin before answering.

"Sumimasen," he whispered, "I did not misunderstand you. It is just that, from the moment we met I have been nothing but afraid. No, I have been more than afraid, I have been terrified."

"As one might imagine," Aizen laughed softly, "But now you don't feel that way?"

"It would be more accurate to say that I cannot feel that way."

"Oh?" Aizen queried curiously, "Why is that?"

Tetsuya's lips curved into a small, tremulous smile.

"I cannot feel that way because it would be like worrying that the sun was going to burn me into oblivion...or that the sea was going to swallow me up at any moment. Those things are beautiful and they certainly have the power to destroy me. They have also shown that they have no conscience about destroying me. But whether they choose to do so or not is not something I could ever control by fearing it. Do you understand?"

Aizen returned Tetsuya's smile warmly, caressing his lovely face and stealing another kiss.

"Did you just compare me to the sun and the sea?" he asked quietly.

"They are both so powerful, they can change the world," Tetsuya explained, "They are both lovely and creative, but they can be destructive as well, if they choose to be that way. Yes, you are like them both."

"You should not say such things," Aizen warned him, his eyes glittering aggressively, "Not while we are so far from our bedroom!"

Tetsuya sucked in a surprised breath, then had it taken away again as Aizen's hungry mouth possessed his forcefully. He was swept off his feet and carried a short distance, then thrown down onto a soft bed and his mouth invaded even more vigorously.

"Tetsuya," Aizen growled softly between hard, melting kisses, "put your hands on me."

Tetsuya realized then that he had been holding his hands stiffly off to either side, clenching at the bedding, but not daring to touch the other man.

He wants me to touch him, but he is already nearly devouring me! It feels as though I might break apart.

The reiatsu swirled wildly around them, lighting their writhing bodies in golden and softer blue as they moved against each other. A shiver went through Tetsuya as his hands rose and his slender fingers encountered swirls of silken brown hair and soft, lightly sweat-dampened skin. Aizen's warm, earthy scent filled Tetsuya's senses and his strong, commanding hands, stroked and caressed the younger man, teasing passionate moans from his parted lips, which he then eagerly devoured before falling on Tetsuya's pale, heaving breast, teasing his erect, pink nipples until his fingers tightened in Aizen's hair, trembling and urging him to move downward.

Aizen complied readily, smilingly kissing his way down the noble's soft abdomen, then pausing to spread his creamy thighs wide and making Tetsuya blush from head to toe with the voracious look he gave the younger man.

Tetsuya barely had time for a breath of recovery, then that hard, seeking mouth dove onto his nether region, quickly making him lose his breath again and making stars dance before his eyes. He blushed even more deeply as he registered the loud, passionate sounds he was making. Aizen seemed to drink them in, each one making his already dangerously gleaming eyes brighten and glow with unrestrained lust. He was left unsure what would consume him first, that blazing mouth or those deadly, beautiful eyes.

I would be content right now to be swallowed up by either!

In the end, he was undone as that wonderfully wicked mouth teased him to the very ends of his wits, then made the pleasure explode so forcefully in his slender body that he couldn't hold back a gripping scream of completion as he loosed his release only to have it swiftly devoured.

Still panting heavily and barely able to see, he groaned as Aizen's hands continued to caress him and the man's dampened fingers began to prepare him for their joining. He moved more slowly, sinking into Tetsuya's mouth and sharing their mingled flavors as his fingers continued their work and Tetsuya fell into a breathless stupor., just looking up into those desirous eyes and wondering if he would even feel the pain of being taken for the first time.

He closed his eyes, breathing deeply and feeling new swells of arousal as he remembered their joining in the prison.

He was so very hot inside, I thought I would melt. I wonder if he will find me the same way. I feel so dizzy.

"Tetsuya."

The sound of his name in Aizen's mouth made a warm shiver pass through him. He braced himself as Aizen moved into position between his parted thighs, then paused.

"Open your eyes. Look at me."

He could barely manage to do so and not quiver under the other man's hands. Aizen laughed softly, teasing his entrance and making the noble pant and shiver harder.

"Don't hold back as I enter you," Aizen hissed hotly in his ear, "I want to hear you as you surrender, Tetsuya!"

The sound that escaped him as he was finally penetrated was so erotic and wanton that any part of him that was not already blushing, flushed brightly and Aizen's dark, beautiful eyes became feral. He paused to let the reeling noble catch his breath, then stole it all over again as he began to move in powerful grinding thrusts.

Tetsuya's hands gripped the other man's hips desperately, pulling at them impatiently and earning him a melting, amorous glare from his husband. He wrapped his legs tightly around Aizen's undulating torso, grinding hard against him and groaning fitfully at the flickers of pleasure that tickled his piqued senses.

A soft whimper of protest escaped him as the other man withdrew for a moment and he opened his mouth to complain, only to be met with a sinfully wanton kiss, at the end of which Tetsuya found himself lying on his belly with his hips raised and Aizen entering him from behind. He might have been disappointed, not being able to connect with his husband's dark, expressive eyes, but the deeper penetration caused an impact with that most sensitive place inside him that had never been touched. Tetsuya gasped and his mind went nearly blank at the sensation.

I think he could kill me right now and I wouldn't feel a thing.

What is this?

Tetsuya's fingers clawed at the bedding and he closed his eyes tightly, raising his hips to meet each heavy thrust and shaking all over as he neared climax again.

I feel so strange...wonderful in one way, but something else is happening too.

We're not alone!

Tetsuya opened his eyes and was nearly blinded by the odd glow that had risen around their bodies. He started to pull free of Aizen, but the other man's hands held him in place as everything seemed to ignite inside Tetsuya and they climaxed together.

Molten heat burned him inside and his heart pounded wildly, threatening to burst as the glow around him became blinding and his felt himself beginning to be overcome. He heard Aizen call his name amidst the mingled sounds of ecstasy and rising terror as that other consciousness that Tetsuya had sensed grew more powerful.

"Wh-what is this? What's happening?" Tetsuya gasped, his eyes rounding and one slender hand touching his midsection, "Sousuke?"

His eyes closed against the numbing fear that enveloped him and he barely heard the other man's calm reply.

"Don't worry," Aizen told him, pulling him close and holding him tightly, "I anticipated this part. The hougyoku is leaving my body...and it is entering yours."

"What?" Tetsuya cried, his blue eyes snapping open and his hands gripping Aizen's shoulders, "S-sousuke, I don't...want this! I can't...!"

"Shh, it isn't going to fuse with your soul as it did mine," Aizen said bracingly, caressing his hair and back, "Remember, Rukia held the hougyoku within her body and it did not fuse with her. You are merely a vessel that will carry and protect it for a while. It is not going to hurt you, Tetsuya."

"But why?" Tetsuya panted, his eyes beginning to lose focus and his body weakening until only his husband's strong arms kept him from collapsing, "Why did you let this happen? If you knew it was part of Hiro's plans...?"

The hard, fast beat of Tetsuya's heart and the rushing of his blood through his veins filled his ears and made everything around him begin to disappear. He felt himself being lowered onto his back and heard Aizen's reassuring voice, telling him not to worry, to rest and recover. He closed his eyes and began to sink down into darkness, but couldn't sleep as the burning inside his body continued and slowly grew until it was painful, then searing, then nearly unbearable.

"Tetsuya?"

What is this feeling?

What is happening to me?

Am I...dying?

He heard Aizen make a sound of surprise, then he felt Arashi's presence within the room.

Master?

He felt the stallion's panic mingled with his own as the burning inside gave way to the feeling of floodgates opening. Power exploded around their bodies, and Tetsuya felt what could only be Arashi's form slowly being drawn back into his.

Panic flooded his body from end to end, but once again, Aizen's calm, deep voice reached him and he felt the other man's hand holding his. He calmed then, somewhat, lying still as Arashi's powerful spirit rejoined with his.

Arashi was expelled from my body, in the first place. We never knew exactly why. Byakuya and I finally concluded that he must be the manifestation of my will to fight beyond the boundaries of what my weak body could handle. But even as I grew stronger, Arashi remained. I never knew what that meant. I still don't. I wonder...?

He began to sense, then, the hougyoku's strong presence and the turning of its will. And although he might have doubted his body's ability to bear Arashi's return, it only began to glow with increased power. The burning he had felt inside faded slowly and Tetsuya finally realize.

That feeling inside was my spirit centers opening to levels they never have before. But, can I...? Will I come apart?

Tetsuya reeled as a voice that was neither Aizen's nor Arashi's, nor the deceased Hiro's sounded in his mind.

You desire Aizen Sousuke's love, ne?

Or is your stronger impulse to kill him?

Either way, you will need to be very strong. Open your heart and receive my gift. I will make you rise to your greatest strength!

A mindless howl of pain and horror escaped him and Tetsuya heard Aizen say his name again, this time not to call to him, but registering wonder as Tetsuya's glowing body rose off the bed and began to transform.

What manifested in front of the spellbound Aizen looked similar to Arashi, but larger in size and this stallion bore huge, feathery black wings and a pale, white horn that protruded from his forehead. The eyes that looked back at the other shinigami were still bright sapphire and the reiatsu around the creature was undoubtedly Tetsuya's, but on an unimaginable level. Hardened reiatsu formed a protective layer of armor around the lovely beast's face and vulnerable chest, and wicked blue spikes emerged from his shining black hooves.

"Ah," Aizen sighed appreciatively, "Don't worry. This too, I anticipated."

The winged stallion looked back at him questioningly.

"I suspected that, as my white soul, you must be capable of extremes of power that you simply hadn't unlocked yet. When the hougyoku was freed of my body, it entered yours and sensed your potential. Sensing your will, it unlocked those abilities. It may be some time before you master their use, but this is a good beginning."

This is a great weight on my soul, Tetsuya's voice whispered into Aizen's mind.

"Of course it is," Aizen agreed, watching him closely, "It is a divine power, but you are a shinigami still. You have not mastered this ability, so it will wear greatly on you until you are more experienced. Don't worry, I will help you to do that."

Tetsuya felt weariness steal over him and he lowered his head, willing himself to return to his shinigami form. The winged form he inhabited shimmered and broke apart, and Tetsuya felt Arashi's spirit break free of his violently. He started to fall, but was caught up and laid down in the bed then soothed into sleep as Aizen leaned over him, examining him closely.

"I suppose there is more to what that man did to you," Aizen said quietly, "We will, at some point, have to confront that, but this was all necessary, you understand. We weren't going to get around it. We will go through it. Hiro is gone, and whatever he used his powers to cause you to do, it will fail. Everything will be all right. Rest now. This power has put a great strain on your body. You will adjust. You just need time."

Tetsuya felt the other man's body curl warmly around his and Aizen's hands slid along the curves and planes of his soft flesh as he drifted aimlessly, unable to move or even indicate he had heard the reassurances.

I see.

The hougyoku unlocked my full potential and stabilized my body so that I could bear the weight of that power. So, divine power is what I need to gain what it sensed I desired. And that makes sense, I suppose.

The man who will love Aizen Sousuke must be very strong. And because our fates are bound together and he is my husband, I do want to love him.

But I feel something else...something darker, something threatening.

And as he drifted off again, he heard Hiro's voice and wasn't sure if it was real or only a reflection of the fear that man had made him feel before.

You have done well. You have begun to transcend. You have only to wait until your powers return, then...

...you will kill him and bring the hougyoku to me!