A/N: Alright, I've gotten two chapters up in three days now! Let's hope I can keep this up! I feel like having multiple stories going at once is helping my muse ^_^. This chapter is a little shorter than usual, and it went a slightly different direction than I planned but I like it, and I hope you enjoy it!
It had been a very long, grueling day and he couldn't wait to get home and kick up his feet in the hot spring for a bit. He needed some time to be alone and relax, or he was sure he'd have an aneurysm from the stress of late. Work had been exceptionally tedious and tiresome for the past few weeks, and his clan duties never seemed to end, even growing as time went on. With Hikaru growing close to the age of entering the academy he would soon have the added responsibility of grooming him for the position of lieutenant in the future.
And if that weren't enough, throw in a pregnant and very horny wife on top of all that and it was easy to see why he was so exhausted all the time. Rangiku had been absolutely insatiable lately, which she attributed to the fact that they were having a girl this time around. He wasn't sure how that made any sense, but accepted her explanation nonetheless. Her sexual appetite had gone from relatively normal to voracious in the last few weeks and he thought she might devour him whole before it was all over.
Speaking of which, there she was, waiting for him when he came through the door, as if on cue. Her satin robe was untied and open, revealing every inch of the naked body beneath it. She was laying on her side, propped up on an elbow with her head supported by the palm of her hand. Her round, still growing stomach on display. One eyebrow arched as she gave him that look that meant he should strip down and join her, a devilish smirk on her lips. He heaved a sigh, shoulders dropping as he resigned himself to pleasing her for the third time that day. He almost wondered if he could get away with just going down on her and not having sex at all...but that was probably wishful thinking.
"Hey there sexy..." Patting the space on the bed next to her. She was ready for his attentions, and he knew she wouldn't take no for an answer.
Besides, denying her would probably make her cry anyway. He'd rather force himself to muster up the energy for sex than make her cry. And with pregnancy hormones running through her, she cried at the drop of a dime, about pretty much everything. So he straightened his slumping shoulders and undressed as he crossed the room to her. There was no trouble in rising to the occasion or anything, never that, but he was worried about being able to finish the job without passing out first.
At first, having Rangiku want to jump his bones constantly was great. She'd been the exact opposite when she was carrying Hikaru, her libido pretty much non existent by the time he'd returned from his mission. So this time around he'd been glad to find her waking him up early in the morning for a little sexy time. But then it became every morning, and then every afternoon, and every night, and occasionally in the middle of the night too. Not that he wasn't happy to give her what she wanted, he always enjoyed it, but lately he just wanted a break. Three to four times a day was draining, and she'd been at it like that for almost two months, he surely didn't have the ability to keep that up much longer.
He'd never been able to find sleep so easily at night before though, his sleepless nights were no longer a problem as he was too tired to be restless. So that was one plus to his current lifestyle, but it wasn't enough to convince him that it was worth it. He was going to have to talk to her about it. Maybe if he didn't have so many other things to do and take care of in a day it wouldn't be so bad, but at this rate, he'd be dead before the child was ever born. Rangiku was gladly worth his life, but he was sure she didn't want to be the reason for his demise in the end. So once they were done and he'd showered, he was going to find a way to bring it up.
She'd been waiting for him for about 20 minutes, excited a the thought of him coming through the door and giving her that look that promised intense pleasure. Instead, he slouched and huffed, as if getting naked and doing dirty things to her was the last thing he wanted to do. She could see the unspoken 'fuuuuck' on his face. Even so, he still dropped his clothes to the floor and crawled into the bed with her, running his hands over her bare skin and pulling her close. He still kissed her with all the passion he usually did, and he still touched her just the way she liked, but something was different.
He wasn't as into it as he usually was, she could tell in the way he moved, all of his actions seeming sluggish and practiced instead of spur of the moment and lust driven. Usually he made eye contact, staring into her eyes while he made love to her, but tonight he barely managed to hold her gaze at all. And when it was over, he rolled onto his back and threw an arm over his eyes, instead of pulling her close against him. In fact, she was positive that he hadn't even finished, ending things as soon as she'd reached her second climax, his shaft still at full attention.
She knew he had a lot on his plate lately, and her sudden gluttonous sexual appetite was only adding to that. But she hadn't realized that he was obviously suffering. He'd never seemed disappointed at the prospect of sex before this evening, though to be honest she'd never wanted him so many times a day before. Maybe he was just getting worn out.
"Byakuya...what's the matter?" She asked quietly, unable to help the note of hurt in her voice. Damn hormones making her want to cry.
"Hmm?" Sounding half asleep already.
"I'm gonna go run you a bath...try not to fall asleep." Getting up and putting her robe back on, tying it closed around her stomach.
She wasn't going to push him right now, she new something was up with him, but even after all these years, she still knew better than to force him to talk. Besides, if she didn't approach it right, she'd end up crying, which would only make him feel guilty and terrible. So maybe a hot relaxing bath would loosen him up a bit. Turning on the tap and getting the water to the right temperature, she grabbed towels, his shampoo, conditioner and soap and set them out before pulling a stool over for her to sit on. She was going to bath him herself.
It was clear that he was thoroughly exhausted, and she had a feeling that it was because of her demanding need for sex as of late. But what she didn't understand was why he didn't just say something to her? Why didn't he just tell her he was too tired? Why force it? She knew that he was he was extra sensitive to her needs when she was pregnant, but at the expense of his own needs? That was going to have to stop. Apparently he didn't realize that he could tell her no.
Returning to the bed side, she gently brushed his hair from his face and placed a kiss on his sleeping mouth. He stirred slightly, gray eyes opening and blinking at her confusedly.
"Come on, your bath is ready." Pulling him up out of the bed and leading him into the bathroom.
"I was going to just take a quick shower...but a bath sounds better. Thank you." He said sleepily, sinking himself down into the hot water.
"Relax for a few minutes, then I'll get to work."
He looked at her with a perplexed expression, but didn't question her, doing as she said. Leaning his head back and closing his eyes, she studied him for a moment. She'd never seen him looking so completely stressed and worn out, it radiated from his very pores. Before she knew it, the sound of gentle snoring reached her ears. He'd fallen asleep in the bathtub, this was new. Good thing she was already planning to wash him up and get him ready for bed. Normally, she'd just join him, but baths weren't good for her in her condition unfortunately.
Reaching into the water, she lifted the arm nearest to her and started scrubbing him down, one limb at a time. He didn't react at all until she started on his chest and stomach, coming to from the sensation of her strokes down his abdomen (he was ticklish sometimes).
"Rangiku...what are you doing?"
"Washing up my husband and getting him ready for bed. Now hush and let me work." Speaking into his ear from behind as she leaned forward to reach down to his waist and below, her arms draped over his front.
"Lean forward for a second so I can get your back." Prodding him gently when she was finished with the front of him.
Once again he did as asked without much fuss, letting her take care of him for once. By the time she'd finished washing his hair, he seemed to be a little more alert, climbing out of the bath on his own. He let her wrap him up in a towel and dry and brush his hair out for him before he finally spoke.
"Rangiku...can we talk?" Boom. She new the bath trick would work.
"Of course...I think I know what you want to talk about to...but go ahead." Leading him back into the bedroom and sitting him down on the bed, placing herself next to him.
"I don't know how to say this...but...you're killing me Love." His gaze fixed firmly on the floor, waiting on her response.
"So why didn't you say something before now?" She didn't sound upset like he thought she might.
"I didn't want to upset you. I didn't want you to think that I don't want you as much as you seem to want me lately...because I do...I just..."
"Need a break?" She questioned.
"Byakuya, you do know that you can tell me you're too tired right?"
"It hadn't occurred to me until today that it's become too much...I'm sorry, that isn't exactly what I mean..." He was having trouble expressing it the way he wanted.
She moved onto the bed behind him and he soon felt her soft fingers on his skin, massaging his sore muscles into submission. Over the years she'd learned just where his stress bound them up and her fingers had become almost magical thanks to that. It felt so good, he forgot what he was saying, his eyes closing and his head leaning back to lay against her shoulder as she worked.
"Look, I didn't realize that I was burdening you..."
"No...please don't misunderstand...ahh..." Fingers digging into an especially tender spot and stopping him from speech once more.
"I'm not. Do you think I couldn't tell that you weren't into it this evening? I know that I've been wanting a lot of you lately, and I'm sorry that I haven't stopped to think about what it's doing to you. But all you had to do was say something."
"You make it sound so easy to tell your pregnant wife that you're too tired for sex...I don't like disappointing you." His honest response.
"Well, I'd rather have you tell me than to do what you did earlier. Don't force yourself to do something just because it's what I want. That disappoints me. I thought by now you would know that you can talk to me. Byakuya, you can tell me anything...even if it's that you just don't want to have sex."
"Trust me love...it's not that I don't want to...I always want to. It's just that I need a reprieve. You've been so insatiable, and at first I loved it. How could I not? But recently, with everything else going on in our lives, so many times a day is becoming too much...I feel like I can't keep up with you. And to be honest...I feel a little embarrassed admitting that." He said with a heavy sigh, glad that she was behind him and couldn't see the defeated look that was surely on his face.
Placing a kiss between his shoulder blades she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tight.
"There's no need to be embarrassed, I'm sure if it was the other way around I would have given up and thrown in the towel at least a week ago. Just do me a favor and promise me you'll talk to me about these kinds of things in the future. No forcing yourself to do something, which made me feel kind of...I don't know...stupid I guess. To think that I hadn't noticed just how much stress I was adding for you."
"You are not stupid. I'm the stupid one...you'd think after all these years together that I would know how to talk to you about things that bother me. But I still haven't learned to just open my mouth and tell you what's on my mind. I suppose it's because I want you to have whatever you need, whatever you desire...even if it means I have to sacrifice myself. You deserve nothing but the best, especially when you're carrying our child...I just didn't have the heart to turn you down." Letting her guide him into the bed and pulling the sheets over his body.
"Well...our love is a two way street. I want you to be happy and healthy just as much as you want that for me. So, as much as I'd like to jump you right now...I'm going to give you a break tonight...and in the morning... and tomorrow afternoon. Let's see how you feel tomorrow night huh?"
"That sounds wonderful to be honest. All I really need is a good night or two of rest and I think I'll be back to my normal self for you." Pulling her against him and placing a chaste kiss on her mouth, his hands drifting to palm her backside.
"Hmm...sounds good. Besides...I'm only going to be like this for about another month or so before we can't have sex at all, until the baby comes. You can manage three times a day till then right?" Winking at him with a mischievous grin on her face.
Another month!? She was surely going to be the death of him.
"I'll do my best love...after a few days rest I should be alright...but three times a day? I am not sure I can promise that..." Just the thought enough to wear him down. She laughed at his response, kissing him and climbing out of bed.
"Ok, then what about once a day? Do you think you could handle that?"
"Yes, I can handle that. Where are you going?" Watching her make her way to the doorway.
"My exhausted husband needs dinner, so I'm going to go make it for him, and bring it to him in bed so he can stay off his feet for the evening. And I'm coming back with peanut butter and pickles for myself." Smiling as she left the room, knowing he hated that particular craving of hers.
With Hikaru, she had only craved fruit, apples mostly, but with their daughter she was craving all kinds of strange combinations. Some of them would make Orihimes cooking seem palatable, but pickles and peanut butter was the one that smelled the worst to him. It didn't matter if they were sweet or dill pickles, both smelled awful alone, but with peanut butter it was flat out sickening sometimes. The taste would be on her lips later for sure, but that wasn't that bad, and she deserved to eat whatever she wanted so he really couldn't complain.
Overall, that had gone considerably better than he'd expected it to. He felt himself smiling at the thought of getting a full nights sleep, uninterrupted. She always seemed to know what he was thinking and feeling, making it so easy once he finally got to talking about what bothered him. She'd taken the time to bath him and get him ready for bed without him ever having to say a word, already knowing what he needed, sometimes before he knew himself.
He was indeed a lucky man to have her in his life, and to have a family with her. Maybe he'd have to surprise her with a round of make up sex after dinner, he needed to atone for his earlier performance after all, and he was in a much better mood now than he'd been when he got home. Then he could get his much needed rest.
