Moments Of Normalcy
Title: Moments Of Normalcy
Author: Ragna (afteriwake)
Pairing: Ichigo/Tatsuki, mentions of other characters
Rating: PG
Spoilers (if applicable): Set in an AU off the current arc (The Thousand Years Holy War), where it’s ended badly for a lot of people.
Warnings (if applicable): Mention of the deaths of canon characters
Summary: Some reunions do not go according to plan.
Authors Notes: Long time no write, I know, but some RL stuff just bogged me down. My last entry for the contest here, and it’s something a little different then what I had planned. I may make this into a series, not sure.
---
It was raining. It always seemed to be raining, now, as if the mercurial mood of those in charge wanted them to be wet and miserable as they traveled in the now ruined city. But at least in the rain he could sometimes feel as if the heavy sins of the past would clear for a bit. Soul Society was lost. Hueco Mundo was lost. And the human world was not far behind. Now, old enemies banded together to fight for their very existence against the new enemy. He had just left Harribel, who they had successfully rescued, doing reconnaissance with Byakuya. The two of them seemed to work well together when the bits and pieces of their old hatred didn’t flair up.
Now, though, his time was done. It was time for him to rest a bit, to let his eyes droop closed and his mind replay the nightmare of the takeover. His mind didn’t even let him rest in the moments the war was away. He would see Yuzu gutted like a day old fish and then her body bent unnaturally in half, his father’s head cleanly cut off from his body. He would see the despair on Orihime’s face as she watched Sado die, reaching for them.
She had survived, as had his sister Karin, from the attack on his home. Ishida, too, and he had immediately begun being the thing Orihime needed most, while he did the same for his sister. It was unspoken between them, that Ichigo put what was left of his family first. Karin had begged and pleaded with Urahara to train her, to keep the promise he had made all those months ago. Between Urahara and Ichigo, she was more than competent to fight alongside him. Now Karin took her grief out on the Arrancar and Quincy hybrids that flocked the town. He was proud of her, in a way, but also wished she had not needed to be this way.
He found his solace another way. In the cold nights, when he was able, he found comfort in the arms of someone he had never expected. And she was waiting for him, now, and he wanted to hurry back. It was a lull in the storm, and this was his time to catch his breath. He headed to the Vizard’s warehouse; those who had survived the onslaughts in Soul Society and Karakura Town had opened it to those who needed shelter, but only those who could see it. There was no point in lifting the kidou that kept it hidden from regular people, because they had mostly left the town, to go to dubious safety in other places in Japan.
But when he made it to his room, she was there, sleeping on a mat under some blankets. There was a covered dish on the small table there; someone had cooked and she had thought to get him some. His stomach growled as he got close as the smell of jasmine rice wafted up, but he wanted to let her know he was home, he was safe. “Tatsuki,” he said quietly, moving next to the mat and shaking her gently.
“Five more minutes, Hime-chan,” she murmured, and he smiled. He shared his room with his sister, and Tatsuki shared a room with Orihime and Ishida. Orihime had overcome her shock at the situation and adapted well, being a pillar of morale for those who were left. And she still took care of her friends; some things, they never changed.
“You’re on my mat,” he murmured, leaning in to kiss her forehead softly. That did the trick. Tatsuki’s eyes blinked open, and a slow smile spread on her face, quickly replaced by a more serious look. The brief smiles got him through a lot. “I saw you got me food,’ he said, leaning back and sitting. The low table was close and he grabbed the bowl and the fork set next to it. Undoing the cover he saw teriyaki beef strips on top, and he shoveled the food in. It tasted good, a comfort after a long stretch of hunting.
“Couldn’t let you starve,” she said, the serious look fading into something more relaxed but slightly on edge. She must have been checking for injuries, and he was glad that she hadn’t looked closely at his ankle, nor that she had seen him walk in. He hadn’t quite twisted it, and he could put weight on it, but it smarted. “Hime-chan cooked it, with Ishida-san’s help. Urahara made sure you and everyone else out fighting had some saved before the rest of us got to eat.”
“Kensei didn’t make it,” he said quietly, pausing in his eating.
“We know. We found out before dinner,” she replied sadly. “Mashiro-san has been inconsolable. Hirako-san said when she gets past the grief that the enemy should be very afraid.”
“They should. She’ll probably do more damage than Hinamori did after Toshiro died,” he said, briefly thinking back to the young shinigami’s suicide mission that she miraculously survived, taking out thirty of the enemy before her reinforcements came. They had decimated one of the enemy bases that day, but more came to replace their fallen comrades. It seemed no matter how many they fought, there were always more.
“Hime-chan is pregnant,” she said, looking at him. He felt his eyes widen and Tatsuki laughed. It was just a chuckle, but laughter was rare these days, and even the blunt news delivery and shock that came with it couldn't detract from the wonderful sound. “Ishida-san’s eyes were even wider. He’s worried that his child being born into this mess will be a bad thing, but she’s happy. And it’s not that he’s not happy. He’s ecstatic.”
“Good for them,” he said with a smile. This was good news, and it gave them something to celebrate, and it also reinforced Ichigo’s opinion that Ishida should stay behind the lines as support. If he was to be a father, the less danger he was in, the better.
“Have you given more thought to Karin-kun’s suggestion?” she asked.
He nodded slowly as he took a bite. When he was done eating, he stopped nodding. “If Hinamori and Rangiku want her to room with them, I don’t think there will be problem. And that solves a new problem that came up with the news you just told me.”
“Yeah, I think Hime-chan and Ishida-san deserve the room to themselves,” she said with a smile. “We can do it all tomorrow, when Karin-kun comes back.”
“Tomorrow sounds good,” he said, suppressing a yawn. He had been up for nineteen hours, and he needed sleep soon. He finished eating quickly, and then stood up. “Going to get ready for bed now.”
“Want me to sleep here tonight?” she asked, going back to his mat.
“Yeah,” he replied. “Might as well get used to you being here,” he added in a teasing voice. His answer was a pillow in the face. He grinned, and abandoned getting ready for sleep for the moment, heading to Tatsuki and pinning her to the ground. He had her arms above her head, held at the wrist with one of his hands, and he used the other to mercilessly find her ticklish spots.
She squirmed and bit her lip to not laugh out loud, and after a few minutes of torture he let go of her arms and propped himself above her, his face hovering over hers. Her eyes sparkled and she had a warm wide smile on her face. It was moments like this that caused him to forget the world as he knew it was gone, and they were in a fight to death. Right now it felt normal.
She cupped his cheek with one hand, then snaked it up to grasp the back of his head and pull him down to a kiss. It was deep and welcoming and he melted into it, though he was careful to not get too carried away. After a few minutes he pulled away, then rolled over to his side and pulled her against him, keeping her close. He would do anything to keep her safe, to keep his sister safe, to keep the rest of his friends safe. And as he drifted off to sleep next to her, he heard her voice softly murmur that she loved him. “Love you too,” he said towards her ear, and he tightened his hold on her. Right now, he was home, and he would cherish it as much as he could in the days and weeks of fighting to come.
Author: Ragna (afteriwake)
Pairing: Ichigo/Tatsuki, mentions of other characters
Rating: PG
Spoilers (if applicable): Set in an AU off the current arc (The Thousand Years Holy War), where it’s ended badly for a lot of people.
Warnings (if applicable): Mention of the deaths of canon characters
Summary: Some reunions do not go according to plan.
Authors Notes: Long time no write, I know, but some RL stuff just bogged me down. My last entry for the contest here, and it’s something a little different then what I had planned. I may make this into a series, not sure.
---
It was raining. It always seemed to be raining, now, as if the mercurial mood of those in charge wanted them to be wet and miserable as they traveled in the now ruined city. But at least in the rain he could sometimes feel as if the heavy sins of the past would clear for a bit. Soul Society was lost. Hueco Mundo was lost. And the human world was not far behind. Now, old enemies banded together to fight for their very existence against the new enemy. He had just left Harribel, who they had successfully rescued, doing reconnaissance with Byakuya. The two of them seemed to work well together when the bits and pieces of their old hatred didn’t flair up.
Now, though, his time was done. It was time for him to rest a bit, to let his eyes droop closed and his mind replay the nightmare of the takeover. His mind didn’t even let him rest in the moments the war was away. He would see Yuzu gutted like a day old fish and then her body bent unnaturally in half, his father’s head cleanly cut off from his body. He would see the despair on Orihime’s face as she watched Sado die, reaching for them.
She had survived, as had his sister Karin, from the attack on his home. Ishida, too, and he had immediately begun being the thing Orihime needed most, while he did the same for his sister. It was unspoken between them, that Ichigo put what was left of his family first. Karin had begged and pleaded with Urahara to train her, to keep the promise he had made all those months ago. Between Urahara and Ichigo, she was more than competent to fight alongside him. Now Karin took her grief out on the Arrancar and Quincy hybrids that flocked the town. He was proud of her, in a way, but also wished she had not needed to be this way.
He found his solace another way. In the cold nights, when he was able, he found comfort in the arms of someone he had never expected. And she was waiting for him, now, and he wanted to hurry back. It was a lull in the storm, and this was his time to catch his breath. He headed to the Vizard’s warehouse; those who had survived the onslaughts in Soul Society and Karakura Town had opened it to those who needed shelter, but only those who could see it. There was no point in lifting the kidou that kept it hidden from regular people, because they had mostly left the town, to go to dubious safety in other places in Japan.
But when he made it to his room, she was there, sleeping on a mat under some blankets. There was a covered dish on the small table there; someone had cooked and she had thought to get him some. His stomach growled as he got close as the smell of jasmine rice wafted up, but he wanted to let her know he was home, he was safe. “Tatsuki,” he said quietly, moving next to the mat and shaking her gently.
“Five more minutes, Hime-chan,” she murmured, and he smiled. He shared his room with his sister, and Tatsuki shared a room with Orihime and Ishida. Orihime had overcome her shock at the situation and adapted well, being a pillar of morale for those who were left. And she still took care of her friends; some things, they never changed.
“You’re on my mat,” he murmured, leaning in to kiss her forehead softly. That did the trick. Tatsuki’s eyes blinked open, and a slow smile spread on her face, quickly replaced by a more serious look. The brief smiles got him through a lot. “I saw you got me food,’ he said, leaning back and sitting. The low table was close and he grabbed the bowl and the fork set next to it. Undoing the cover he saw teriyaki beef strips on top, and he shoveled the food in. It tasted good, a comfort after a long stretch of hunting.
“Couldn’t let you starve,” she said, the serious look fading into something more relaxed but slightly on edge. She must have been checking for injuries, and he was glad that she hadn’t looked closely at his ankle, nor that she had seen him walk in. He hadn’t quite twisted it, and he could put weight on it, but it smarted. “Hime-chan cooked it, with Ishida-san’s help. Urahara made sure you and everyone else out fighting had some saved before the rest of us got to eat.”
“Kensei didn’t make it,” he said quietly, pausing in his eating.
“We know. We found out before dinner,” she replied sadly. “Mashiro-san has been inconsolable. Hirako-san said when she gets past the grief that the enemy should be very afraid.”
“They should. She’ll probably do more damage than Hinamori did after Toshiro died,” he said, briefly thinking back to the young shinigami’s suicide mission that she miraculously survived, taking out thirty of the enemy before her reinforcements came. They had decimated one of the enemy bases that day, but more came to replace their fallen comrades. It seemed no matter how many they fought, there were always more.
“Hime-chan is pregnant,” she said, looking at him. He felt his eyes widen and Tatsuki laughed. It was just a chuckle, but laughter was rare these days, and even the blunt news delivery and shock that came with it couldn't detract from the wonderful sound. “Ishida-san’s eyes were even wider. He’s worried that his child being born into this mess will be a bad thing, but she’s happy. And it’s not that he’s not happy. He’s ecstatic.”
“Good for them,” he said with a smile. This was good news, and it gave them something to celebrate, and it also reinforced Ichigo’s opinion that Ishida should stay behind the lines as support. If he was to be a father, the less danger he was in, the better.
“Have you given more thought to Karin-kun’s suggestion?” she asked.
He nodded slowly as he took a bite. When he was done eating, he stopped nodding. “If Hinamori and Rangiku want her to room with them, I don’t think there will be problem. And that solves a new problem that came up with the news you just told me.”
“Yeah, I think Hime-chan and Ishida-san deserve the room to themselves,” she said with a smile. “We can do it all tomorrow, when Karin-kun comes back.”
“Tomorrow sounds good,” he said, suppressing a yawn. He had been up for nineteen hours, and he needed sleep soon. He finished eating quickly, and then stood up. “Going to get ready for bed now.”
“Want me to sleep here tonight?” she asked, going back to his mat.
“Yeah,” he replied. “Might as well get used to you being here,” he added in a teasing voice. His answer was a pillow in the face. He grinned, and abandoned getting ready for sleep for the moment, heading to Tatsuki and pinning her to the ground. He had her arms above her head, held at the wrist with one of his hands, and he used the other to mercilessly find her ticklish spots.
She squirmed and bit her lip to not laugh out loud, and after a few minutes of torture he let go of her arms and propped himself above her, his face hovering over hers. Her eyes sparkled and she had a warm wide smile on her face. It was moments like this that caused him to forget the world as he knew it was gone, and they were in a fight to death. Right now it felt normal.
She cupped his cheek with one hand, then snaked it up to grasp the back of his head and pull him down to a kiss. It was deep and welcoming and he melted into it, though he was careful to not get too carried away. After a few minutes he pulled away, then rolled over to his side and pulled her against him, keeping her close. He would do anything to keep her safe, to keep his sister safe, to keep the rest of his friends safe. And as he drifted off to sleep next to her, he heard her voice softly murmur that she loved him. “Love you too,” he said towards her ear, and he tightened his hold on her. Right now, he was home, and he would cherish it as much as he could in the days and weeks of fighting to come.