Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
Word Count: 382
A Kiss for Shelter
Mirror Mirror
Xochitl's frown was prominent. Her lips pouted out and she shifted, arching her back. Wincing she abandoned this posture as a sharp pain angled down her spine and she slouched with a sigh. Again she couldn't help but scowl at her reflection as the fabric about her bunched. She was trying not to fuss about something so superficial, but it was hard to ignore how the lovely cloth draped her form now and seemed to gather in places that were uncomfortable.
She sucked on her bottom lip wondering whether the lord had noticed.
Her fingers unconsciously brushed her cheek.
He'd looked almost angry when staring down at her- an accusation in his steely eyes as he touched her. She was always fighting off dizziness and with the heat rising to her face it had been a struggle not to fall forward into his chest.
His broad, cut, chest.
Her teeth sank into her lip now as she closed her eyes.
Once she had informed him that Kotetsu Fuku-Taichou had told her not to be alarmed by nosebleeds- that they were at times common- the calm mask had fallen into place on the noble's face once more.
Still, even as he had withdrawn after handing her a cloth napkin, her face felt like it was moments from bursting into flame.
With another heavy sigh she shrugged off the outer layer she'd been posing in and let her hand settle on the cloth of the underdress over her belly.
I squirmed like a child in his presence- he's probably thinking I've no manners at all- that I was just pretending this whole time!
It wasn't just that she was beginning to feel hefty- like extra weight was sitting unevenly on her form- it was the fact that her body ached.
A soft short-lived groan escaped her as she rose to her feet.
At the shoji she called, "Layla." The dog appeared in an instant, tail wagging expectantly.
Xochitl smiled warmly as she watched her companion stretch out on the smaller futon next to her own.
The smile fell away as she stared at her own bedding. The twisting, stretching feeling that kept her awake was not so intense when the canine slept nearby, but still the young mother-to-be prepared for another restless night.
AN: Where is the hero, I wonder- to save the maiden from her sleepless nights?