-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-
Loly Aivirrne ran around the room, frantically trying to put together everything for the shoot. She was working around her expanded belly, and the little one wasn't making things easy for her.
"Menoly! Have you seen the new—" she started but a lens was placed in her hand. "Thanks."
"You need to settle down. It's still another hour before we meet them," Menoly reminded her as she ran a hand through her short, blonde hair.
Loly put the lenses in the camera case and zipped it up. She then pulled her black hair up one each side into the pigtails she often wore. "I know, I just want everything to go right. This is the first time I've done a shoot with anyone but you!"
Menoly grabbed her when she was done and kissed her lightly on the lips. "You'll do fine. Just relax," she reminded.
Loly smiled, kissing her in return. "Alright, alright. The baby is being really mobile today," she said as she placed her hands on her belly.
"She knows that we're having an exciting day. She just wants to be a part of it too," Menoly said and placed her hands over Loly's.
"I think I've gotten everything together, though," Loly told her as she picked up the bag.
"Here, let me carry it," Menoly responded.
"I'm not invalid, I'm just pregnant," Loly groused as she handed the bag over to her.
Menoly just took the bag and headed out the door with her to the car. While she loaded the bag into the truck, Loly got in the passenger side and got herself buckled in. Menoly got in the driver's side and sat down to get the car started up. As they pulled out, she glanced over to see that Loly was still looking a bit nervous about the shoot.
"You've shot me how many times?" she asked.
"But that's different. You're a fitness model. Shooting a wedding photo shoot is different, especially my first," she said with a sigh.
"The boys are having a small wedding down on the beach. So, no extended wedding party to worry about. The redhead can't handle that many people around, remember?" Menoly reminded her.
"I know, I just worry, you know. It's been months since I've been able to work as a pin up because of the baby, so I'm getting antsy. I know that's why. Also, this becoming a photographer is stressful when it's people I don't know really well. If I mess up your pictures, all I have to do is redo them, no big deal. But this is a big deal because once we're done, everyone leaves, and the setting won't be the same again. And the lighting! Because it's outside, I have to be careful with the outside lighting!" Loly let out a sigh. "And maybe the baby's stressing me out because she's getting closer to being here."
"Only two more months and she'll be here. Oh, Coyote called to see how you were doing," Menoly said as they got to the beachside house. She thought it belonged to a professor at the college who was letting them use his stretch of private beach for the photoshoot and the wedding, too. The wedding was the next day, so everyone would no doubt be nervous.
"That's good. Do you think he'll come to the birth?" Loly asked. Coyote Starrk had been kind enough to be their sperm donor for the baby.
"If he's awake!" Menoly said as she got out of the car to retrieve the bag again.
"Well, if I go into labor at night, he might be working," Loly said as she eased herself out of the car. "Wouldn't that be something, he wouldn't even have to go anywhere."
"Oh, look, isn't that the professor that owns the place?" Menoly asked as they walked down the path toward the beach. A man with white hair pulled back from his face stood waiting for them a little ways.
Loly nodded. "Professor Ukitake," she said as they got near to him.
"Good day, ladies," he said and reached to shake hands with each of them. "I hope things are well for you."
"Of course, professor. How is everyone here?" Loly asked, adjusting as the baby put extra pressure on her bladder. Of all the times to need to pee, she thought to herself.
"Everyone is very excited about the shoot," he said as he led them down toward the group.
"Um, I hate to ask this, but can I use your bathroom before we get started?" she asked, realizing now that there was going to be no waiting. "It seems like this little girl wants to plant herself in the most inconvenient place right now."
"Of course, go right up to the house. My husband, Shunsui, is still inside. He'll show you to the bathroom," he said kindly.
"Alright, thanks!" she said and took off quickly.
Menoly shook her head. "She's gotta run to the bathroom every ten minutes it seems like," she said.
"That is the price of carrying a baby," Ukitake said as he led her on down to the beach.
So far, there was a wedding arch erected, but Menoly knew they'd just put that up for the photoshoot today. They'd move it from the beach overnight and then put everything out the next morning for the wedding. She saw the extremely tall Nnoitra standing with his hand entwined with his shorter soon to be husband. She smiled because really, the redhead wasn't short. It was just that Nnoitra was so much taller than everyone else. She saw Nnoitra's mother standing nearby. She was also hard to miss at her height. His father was having a discussion with the other groom's father, it looked like. She knew it would mostly be family and a few close friends at the wedding tomorrow. They would be back to shoot the actual wedding video, which Loly would pull stills from for them as well.
"Ah, that's better," she heard as she looked over to see Loly coming back down to the beach with a taller man wearing a conical hat. She guessed that was Professor Ukitake's husband.
They all walked over where everyone was gathered. Someone had been nice enough to put out a table that Loly could use to set her bags on to keep them off the beach. She got everything set up and pulled out the professional camera that was her pride and joy. She was a little nervous about using it on the beach, but she guessed if she was going to expand her budding business, she was going to have to learn to take photos in all sorts of places.
"Loly," she heard and turned around to see Nnoitra had come up, his shorter partner beside him, almost hiding behind him. She thought his name was Ichigo.
"Hey, Nnoitra. How are you guys today?" she asked as she turned and smiled at them.
They were both dressed in their wedding suits, Nnoitra in a smart black suit, and Ichigo in a pale beige colored suit. She noted Ichigo wore a collar or something in light blue and Nnoitra wore a light blue colored boutonniere. Nnoitra's hair was pulled back against the wind coming from the sea, and Ichigo's was cut in a short style that looked cute on him. She picked up the camera and took a quick candid shot of them standing there. She noted that Ichigo sort of blushed a little as she did it.
"Good, turned out to be a beautiful day for the photos. I hope tomorrow is just as nice for the video. How are you? I heard it wasn't long until the bebé is born. Are you okay doing the photos, chica?"
She nodded. "Yeah, I'm great. Gotta waddle a little bit, but so far things have been good today. At least the morning sickness is long gone," she said with a sigh. "That was miserable."
"I can imagine. Should we go ahead to keep the good light for you?" Nnoitra asked.
"Yeah, let's get to work. I want to make some special photos for you guys. Let's go!" she exclaimed with Loly following right behind her.
"I don't know," Ichigo said quietly from beside Nnoitra. "This seems like so many people and there will be more tomorrow!"
"I know, Chiquito. But for now, let's take the fotografías and not think about all the people. Just focus on me, alright?" Nnoitra told him, patting him on the back.
"Alright," he said and Loly thought he sounded awful cute.
She got them situated in the arch with the sun at a good angle. "Alright, I'm going to take a lot of photos, so just stay as still as you can."
She took their pair photos first, then she did photos with the families beside them. She noted another professor from the university, Professor Urahara, and was wondering why he was there. She had no idea, until Ichigo's father insisted he get in a couple of pictures with them. She smiled because she saw him grip the other man's hand tightly. She got several good ones of that. Then it was time to take the individual photos. She found that Ichigo did not like the idea of doing pictures alone. It quickly became apparent that Nnoitra was having to convince him to let her take the photos. Finally, they seemed to come to an agreement and Ichigo stood a little stiffly in the center of the arch.
"Relax some," she said, taking a few, but noted that he didn't seem comfortable at all. "I won't be long."
"Chiquito," Nnoitra said in a firm voice. It was enough that she glanced over at him. He was staring at Ichigo with a strange look on his face, almost like he was scolding him.
He nodded, seeming to relax a little bit and let her get some good, and surprisingly adorable, pictures of him. He had some interesting facial expressions that she was happy to be able to capture. She had no idea an adult this age could pull off the cutesy look so well, even in a suit. But he could. She had to guess there was something to that, but she didn't know the whole story behind them. She just knew Nnoitra from her time at SU since she just graduated last year, and that was how he came to contact her. She had been surprised to find out he was getting married, especially since he'd never really dated when she knew him in school. But also, she had no idea where this Ichigo came from all of a sudden.
"Okay! Now, Ichigo with his family!" she announced.
Everyone lined up, Ichigo, his father, and his two sisters, and they took some pictures like that, then, once again, Ichigo's father waved Professor Urahara into take some photos with them. She noted that the entire time, Ichigo kept watching Nnoitra, and Nnoitra kept encouraging him.
"Nnoitra, you're up now," she called out and everyone moved out of the way.
Ichigo stood just at the edge of where he would have been in the way, she noted, as she took pictures of Nnoitra by himself, then with his family. As soon as she was done with that, Ichigo went literally running over to him and grabbed him in a hug. She shook her head and started putting away all the camera stuff as she listened to them.
"Papi, did you want to tell her about the other pictures?" he said just loud enough for her to hear.
"Oh, yes, um, Loly, I was wondering if you could come to our apartment and take a few more photos? Just for us?" he asked. "It would be, ah, a little discreet."
She frowned. "I don't do erotic photoshoots, Nnoitra," she said carefully.
"No, nothing like that. Just some private photos just for us. Nothing outside what you've done before. Just something specially for Ichigo and I to put together a certain kind of scrapbook," he explained.
"A certain kind of scrapbook?" she asked.
"You'll understand if you do it," he said. "I'll pay your regular rate, of course."
She thought about it. "Alright, but I'll have Menoly with me."
"That's fine. I just would like something to commemorate things that we've been through, if that makes sense," he said with a soft smile as he squeezed Ichigo against his side.
So, it was a few hours later, she found herself outside their apartment with Menoly. "What kind of photos did he say this was?" Menoly asked, frowning as they waited for the door to be answered.
"I'm not really sure. He was rather vague about it. I told him I didn't do erotic work, and he said it wasn't that. Just said I'd understand when I got here," she explained as Nnoitra opened the door.
She noticed he'd changed, of course. He wasn't in his wedding suit anymore. He was wearing a polo shirt and a pair of nice-looking slacks, and his hair was down and loose this time. He gave them a grin.
"I'm glad you came," he said. "Ichigo is in the bedroom waiting. He's been very excited about this and worked really hard to make the bedroom look just right for it."
"The bedroom?" she asked. "You said this wasn't erotic, Nnoitra."
"No, not at all. It's just Ichigo being little." He looked at her seriously for a minute. "I know it's hard to understand if you haven't seen it before, but Ichigo likes to pretend he's a child. That's why he always calls me Papi. It's more than just a nickname."
Loly blinked at him. "He likes to pretend he's a child?" she asked. She'd heard there was something that had happened to Ichigo, that he'd been kidnapped or something, but she didn't know all the details of it. And this was a little strange.
"Yeah, you'll see, come in," Nnoitra said and ushered them both into the apartment. "Ichigo, they're here," he called out as he came into the living room.
She looked up to see him come out of the bedroom in a set of pajamas and holding a stuffed lion to his chest. He looked a bit red in the face and was shuffling his feet. Nnoitra smiled at him.
"Chiquito, don't be so shy. You were the one that wanted to do this, remember?" Nnoitra told him.
He nodded. Menoly sat the camera bag down on the counter and Loly went about pulling out the camera from it. She glanced over and smiled at him.
"So, what kind of pictures are we doing, then?" she asked.
"In here," Ichigo said and went to the bedroom. Loly followed him with Nnoitra and Menoly behind her.
She came into the bedroom and blinked because she did not expect this when she thought of a couple's bedroom. The window was covered with a thick, black pair of curtains, but on the walls were pictures of superheroes and some shelves with various toys sitting on them. The bed itself was covered in a plush black comforter with a couple of matching pillows. The other pillows that sat at the head of the bed were superhero themed, and there were a couple of stuffed pillows with logos on them. There was a dresser, but like everything else in the room, it looked like something out of a children's playroom, with various toys setting out and a TV set up with a game system on it. There was a small desk over to the side with what looked like a cup full of markers and crayons, and a pad of paper with drawings done on it.
"This is…nice," she said as she turned to see Nnoitra standing near the door with a bemused grin on his face. Menoly looked a little surprised at the room as well.
Ichigo crawled up onto the bed, clutching the lion and smiled at them, and again, Loly was struck by how a full-grown man could be so cute. Especially in the superhero themed pajamas he was wearing. She noted he was still wearing the blue collar from earlier. Now that she was closer, she realized it was a literal collar, not just a choker like she had initially thought. So, it was that kind of relationship.
"What kind of photos do you want me to do?" she asked, glancing over at Nnoitra, having a feeling he was the one to ask in the situation.
"Just take some of him posing there on the bed with some of his toys. Then maybe you can take a few of him with me. We're putting together a scrapbook of his little moments and thought some good quality pictures would be a great place to start," Nnoitra said with a glance over at Ichigo.
She nodded. "Alright, I can do that," she said.
She took several poses on the bed where he was clutching his stuffed lion, and he was struck still by how he seemed to turn into a child-like visage so easily. It was like he was a different person than before, though she could see some echoes of the person he was the rest of the time. She found that instructing him clearly without hesitation on her part was the way to go, as he followed instructions well. Then she had Nnoitra sit down and Ichigo immediately climbed up into his lap, sitting there and looking very comfortable doing it. She took some rather adorable photos with Nnoitra kissing him and then Ichigo kissing his cheek in return. It was all in all, extremely sweet. They took a couple pictures with him sitting at the coloring desk, and a couple with him playing on the game system, looking like he was engrossed in the game he was playing. She got plenty of different shots, so she would be able to pick the best ones for Nnoitra to use.
When they got done, Nnoitra thanked her and paid her for her time. He asked her to bring by the proofs and he'd choose which ones he wanted to have made, as well as the ones from the wedding photoshoot. They had to get changed and head out to the rehearsal dinner at the small beachside hall they were using to have the reception at.
By the time they got home, Loly was rather tired. She sighed as she got out and Menoly grabbed the bag for her. They trudged into their place and settled into the couch.
"That was a busy day," Loly commented.
"I'll say. Was certainly interesting," Menoly said as she put her arm around Loly's shoulders.
"I'm looking forward to tomorrow and getting to video the whole wedding. I wonder if Ichigo will do anything cute," she said with a smile, leaning into Menoly's hold and putting her hands over her belly.
-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-
To say Ichigo was nervous was an understatement. It was today already, and he was so afraid he was going to do something wrong. Was he going to mess up when they went before the judge that was presiding over the wedding? He was so worried over so many things.
"Chiquito," Nnoitra said gently, patting him on the back softly. "Everything is going to go just fine. You got through the photoshoot and dinner yesterday. Today won't be any different," he told him.
Ichigo knew it was true. The day before had not been what he would call easy, but he'd made it. Including the dinner with both families. Ichigo had ended up talking with Tesra a little bit. He had been shy about it, but he'd eventually warmed up more and talked to him. Every time they'd been over to Nnoitra's parents' place, he kind of avoided talking much to anyone, so it was a pretty significant achievement that he ended up actually talking to him.
He jumped at the knock on the door. "That's my father," he said as he got up. "I think he's gonna bring Kisuke."
"That was certainly unexpected," Nnoitra muttered as he went to get the door.
Finding out that the two men had started seeing each other was a little bit surprising for everyone. But it seemed that matchmaking was something that Ichigo was good at. He'd been the one to encourage them to get closer to each other, just like he had with Uryū and Chad. Today, his sisters were bringing their boyfriends because Karin was dating Tōshirō and Yuzu was seeing Wonderweiss. They hadn't been at the dinner the night before, so it was going to be more people. He knew that Ms. Harribel and Grimmjow were coming, of course, because they'd made Nel their flower girl/ring bearer. She was doing both jobs and very proud of it. She even had a little white dress she was wearing.
Nnoitra opened the door to see Isshin standing there in his suit. "Nnoitra, how's everything this morning?" he asked.
"He's got some nerves, but we're ready," he said as he glanced back to where Ichigo stood, still clutching Kon to his chest. "Are you taking Kon, Chiquito?"
Ichigo looked down at the stuffed lion then shook his head. "I'll leave him at home. I don't want him to get lost or something."
He turned and went to put Kon back on the bed. He stopped and breathed in deeply because with his nervousness he was resisting the urge to slip into his little space and tell Nnoitra he didn't want to do anything but stay home and stay in bed all day. He couldn't do that, though. This was important, and he wanted things to go well. So, he screwed up his courage and let out a deep breath before he turned and went back out in the living room.
"I'm ready now," he said, smiling at his father and Nnoitra.
They piled into the car where Kisuke was waiting in the passenger seat. Like usual, Nnoitra was a little cramped, but that was the way it was with most cars for the overly tall man. Ichigo tried very hard to keep his stomach settled. He'd been so off this morning, he couldn't eat breakfast, and barely got any lunch. They would have dinner at the reception where they would do the cake and everything, so he just hoped his stomach settled down by then.
The actual wedding was simple. The wedding arch was set up, and there were folding chairs set out beside the sides of the path to the arch. There were only a few people that were going to come, of course, because no one wanted to overwhelm Ichigo. Even though several months had passed, he was still a bit agoraphobic, and it took him a great deal of effort to go out in public that often. He much preferred to stay at home. Nnoitra had gotten used to it, though, and they worked slowly on getting him out more. So far, he could go pretty comfortably to his father's house and Nnoitra's parents' place. Anywhere else, though, was a little bit more of an effort on his part.
Nnoitra stood up at the front with the judge that was doing the ceremony. Ichigo was going to be escorted down by his father, following Nel's trip down tossing out flower petals onto the ground and carrying the two rings up to the front. Ichigo was still a little hesitant but being led by his father helped him immensely as he went up and stood in front of everyone. He felt his cheeks burning already from the fact everyone was looking at him now. His father went and sat down by his sisters and he was up at the front with Nnoitra now. He did what Nnoitra had suggested and focused on Nnoitra only.
They said their vows, Ichigo only stammering a little bit as he repeated what the judge said. Then, he put Nnoitra's ring on his finger, and Nnoitra did the same for him. His hands only shook a little bit, though. He was proud of that fact. Then they were being pronounced married and Nnoitra leaned down and gave him a chaste kiss. Everyone clapped and then they were walking back down the aisle he'd come up. It was all a whirlwind from then on.
They all ended up at the beachside hall where they had dinner before the cake was done. They had a table with wedding gifts for them, and Ichigo wondered what kind of things would be in them. Everyone talked and laughed, and Ichigo was quiet for the most part. He still couldn't quite get used to the fact that he could talk so much to other people. Uryū sat nearby and talked to him now and then, and he noticed that Chad tried to engage him a few times. He thought Chad was a nice guy, and he was very glad to see that Uryū and him had decided to be together. The last couple months, Uryū had pretty much been living with Chad at his place, and Ichigo thought it was quite a good thing for Uryū. Uryū was doing his best to move on and not live in the past anymore. And so was Ichigo.
They headed over to the present table and sat down, and Nnoitra was still talking to Isshin about something. Ichigo settled into his chair and stared at his hands.
"Chiquito?" Nnoitra asked. "Come, sit with me," he said, patting his lap.
Ichigo didn't have to be asked twice, he immediately slid out of his seat and climbed up on Nnoitra's lap. They were about to open the presents from everyone, then after that, they were going to share the cake. Ichigo was glad they had a little time between dinner and cake, because he was really kind of full after the amazing meal they'd had catered by the Firecracker Diner.
The presents were all wonderful, Ichigo thought as they opened them. There were photo albums, beautiful picture frames, a coupon for free lessons at Ikkaku's dojo and free haircuts at Yumichika's salon. Ichigo thought those were very nice and thoughtful of them. He kind of liked the idea of going to the dojo and learning how to do martial arts. Then he'd feel a little like his superheroes. There were other small gifts, and then, he got to the very last one. It was from his father, and it was a smallish package and Ichigo wondered what was in it as he pulled the paper off. Inside, he found a photo album. Inside it, there were pictures from when Ichigo was a child of him, his mother, and his sisters, and then after that, there were pictures of his sisters as they grew older without him. Then, on the very last page, was a picture off him and his sisters that had recently been taken. He was choked up at it and felt tears immediately come to his eyes.
"Are you okay?" Nnoitra asked, gently squeezing him tightly against him.
"It's beautiful," he said, looking at Isshin with a smile.
After they let Ichigo settle down again after the gift, they went over to the big cake that had been provided. It was a beautiful white three-tiered wedding cake, decorated with strawberries all around each layer. The frosting on the inside was strawberry flavored. They cut and shared the first piece of cake with each other, opting to not do the cake smashing, though it was a bit messy. They entwined their arms and drank the bubbly champagne together. The bubbles tickled Ichigo's nose and he giggled. Then, it was time for them to share a dance with each other.
They had someone come to DJ on an electronic system, and they played songs for everyone. Ichigo wasn't very familiar with most types of music, but he liked some things. They played a couple slow songs that Nnoitra got Ichigo to dance to, and then everyone else went out to dance. Everyone took turns dancing with Ichigo, and he actually enjoyed it, despite there being so many people. He even danced once with little Nel. She was very cute, he thought. It was all in all, a magical day.
As night came upon them, Nnoitra took Ichigo out to walk down the beach with him. Everyone bid them goodnight, and Isshin and everyone set about cleaning up the hall. As the moon filtered down on them, they walked slowly down toward the water.
"I'm so happy, Papi," Ichigo said as they got to the edge of the water. They'd left their shoes up on one of the benches.
"I'm glad, Chiquito," he said and smiled down at him.
Nnoitra turned and cupped both hands on his face. "I want nothing more than to see you happy for the rest of your life."
Ichigo nodded, leaning into the touch and covering Nnoitra's hands with his own. "I want you to be happy too," he whispered. "And I know I'm a bit selfish, but I want you to be with me forever."
"You told me that at the very beginning, remember? To stay forever?" Nnoitra said, brushing a thumb over his lips gently.
"Is this what it's like to be loved and to love someone?" he said, still quiet.
"It is. And it always will be," Nnoitra told him. "I love every part of you, Ichigo. From the grown up you can be, to the little you are inside, and that's never going to change no matter what. I'm your Papi for now and forever."
Ichigo looked up at him and reached up to touch his face. "Thank you. You've made all the difference in the world to me."
"Te amo, Chiquito. Te amo."
"I love you too," Ichigo responded and leaned up to kiss Nnoitra softly.
The moonlight was the only witness to their kiss in the dark, the first of many more to come in their lives.