Disclaimer: Once again I don't own the characters, only borrowing them to have fun with them and will give them back later.
Summary: Slight AU. That special time of the year was growing near and he's a bit about, so she decides to surprise him…Christmas one-shot.
Pairings: Ichiruki-mostly-, Byahana, Hitsuhina and Renji+Rikichi (hinted)
Well since Christmas is in the air and I was hearing 'White Christmas' inspiration came for this, so here I am, writing it and I hope that you like it, also I know I don't write much Yaoi but a real special person requested for it.
There are not spoilers in this and it's slight AU because, well it's a time line quite ahead in the future, after all the Aizen issue and what I think happened, and let's face it, what some want to happen.
Now read and enjoy my work…. Also I'll try to update "The Bookstore" before the year-ends.
A bit late but Merry Christmas to everyone!
"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas,
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten,
And children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow"
"Shiro Noeru"
White Christmas.
Pair of deep purple eyes gazed at the gathered snow in the garden. The owner of those eyes was quietly sitting on the veranda and having a cup of hot tea, a good way to quell the slight chill that hung in the air. Pure white snow fell from the branches of the naked plum tree down to the ground.
A small smile appeared on her beautiful unchanging face when she felt that familiar reiatsu. She lowered the cup to the floor and, with elegant movements that had evolved from the years that have passed and her now mature personality; she stood up and walked to the front door.
Just like she expected, there he was, standing tall and proud like she remembered him from so many years back. Wearing the black shinigami uniform and his short spiked orange hair, the only difference now was that the captain's robe of the fifth division had been added to his outfit and that their relationship had changed for the good. It had been almost fifty years since they had gotten married and started to live on their own, in a house that her brother had provided them, as a married couple should do.
She moved to greet him when she suddenly heard something that she had never expected from him. Her eyes widened when she finally recognized the sound, her husband was humming. However it was a tune or a song that she couldn't identify.
Hazel eyes suddenly locked with purple ones and he finally raised his head to gaze at his wife, who was silently standing a few feet away from him and gazing at him in total surprise. He raised his eyebrow, mainly because she had come home earlier than him, (but then again he was a captain) but she wasn't moving a single muscle.
"Oi, Rukia?" He said and his voice seemed to echo around them.
"Nani?" Was the first word that left her lips while her eyes once again focused on him "Ohh, how was your day Ichigo?"
"First you stand there like if your soul was just stolen from your body and now you ask how my day was." He mused. But when he saw a sudden flash of anger within the depths of her eyes, he decided he was to tired to cope with a fight "I was fine, nothing new happened, just lots of paperwork"
Rukia raised an eyebrow and looked at him "If it's only that, why were you so late?"
"Well, we have new members in the division, so Hinamori asked me to help her to come up with a new training plan for them." He answered with a sigh while he bent to remove his sandals. "Apparently she thought that the first one was lacking and that we needed a new one."
"I understand, most of the divisions are doing that." Rukia said, remembering that she had seen Ukitake and Ume, the new 13th division fukotaichou and the captain's lover, working on their own training plan that same day "But that still doesn't explain why it took you so long."
"You know Hinamori as well as I do, Rukia" He finally slipped off his sandals and finally stepped inside the house "Every time she said that it was too hard for them and we had to change it, till finally it filled some of her expectations."
"I know, I'm glad you're back home" She finally said and shyly moved to wrap her arms around him and hug him "I missed you"
He couldn't help but smile at her "I missed you too." He said before he wrapped his arms around her.
"Ichigo, may I ask you a question?" She raised her head to look at his face and waited for him to nod. "When you came home, well, you were humming a song that I had never heard, and may I know what it was?"
"That? Well, it was a Christmas carol that my mother taught me when I was younger." He answered, trying to keep his face in its usual frown. "My mother used to play it every Christmas Eve and she would sing it to us before we went to sleep."
A small frown came to her face when she saw the sadness in his eyes "Does remembering this Christmas thing and your mother sadden you?"
"Well kind of, I mean Christmas in my house was a real crazy thing but still it was fun." He answered, knowing that he couldn't hide those kinds of things from her and it was better to tell her straight out than to hide it from her. "It's just that I kind of miss it."
"I understand Ichigo" Her purple eyes gazed at him for a few instants, knowing that this lapse of silence was necessary before what were coming next from her lips "Ichigo, what's Christmas?"
A huge sweat drop appeared at the back of his head before a scowl fixed itself on his face "You were asking me all of this and you don't even know what Christmas is?"
"Well is not my fault, you know that we don't celebrate this kind of stuff, not even our birthdays" The raven haired beauty countered back at him, everyone knew that, besides Hitsugaya, no one in Soul Society celebrated their birthdays or any other human celebration for that matter "However I'd like to hear about it."
"Fine, I'll tell you about it." He agreed knowing her temperament when she wasn't told what she wished to know.
Later that night Rukia lay wide awake on her side gazing at Ichigo's sleeping face, her mind still basking in the knowledge that he had bestowed upon her, now she couldn't sleep and her mind was working at full speed, plotting.
Finally, she smiled at her slumbering husband, having settled on a plan, and slid into a peaceful slumber besides him.
It was a nice day, not too chilly like it usually was in winter and the sun was visible through the snow clouds, filling everything with slight light and warm rays. Rather easily and quickly the short raven haired shinigami made her way through the snowy streets, it wasn't that much snow and she was a shinigami so it wasn't that much of a trouble.
Finally her eyes caught sight of the structure she was heading to, thankfully Ukitake had given her the day off, saying that there wasn't much hollow movement and the hollows that were appearing could be easily fended by other shinigami or Subaru or Anthy, Ishida and Orihime's grandchildren, would be able to manage without much of a trouble.
A smile came to her face when she saw the woman on the engawa waiting for her. Kind midnight blue eyes gazed at her while a serene smile appeared on the mature and beautiful face. The woman with Rukia's same raven haired hair, that was currently unbound, walked towards her with a grace and elegance that Rukia knew she would one day posses.
"Good Evening, Rukia," The woman's silky voice greeted once she, dressed in a dark blue kimono, came to stand in front of Rukia "It seems that Ukitake gave you the day off, am I right?"
"Hai, he thought that it wasn't necessary for me to stay the rest of the day. After all everything seems to be in order." Rukia answered with a small smile on her face "What about you, Retsu?"
"The same, there weren't many injured and it was nothing that couldn't be handled by others and Isane can do it perfectly well in my absence" Unohana answered and her serene smile widened a bit "However should they need me, they are to come and look for me immediately"
"But of course, the duty of a captain never ends." The petite shinigami proclaimed with a small giggle "In fact, Ichigo right now is with Hinamori training the new members of the 5th division."
"I was briefly informed about it, many divisions seems to have new members, even my own has new ones" Unohana moved one of her hands to lightly rest her chin on it "However Isane and Iemura always take care of them saying that they do not wish to hinder me"
"Well that's very thoughtful on their part; in my case I help Ume-fukotaichou because she says that, well you know" Rukia smiled a bit shyly and looked down finally remembering why she was there "Actually Retsu, I came to ask you a favor."
Unohana looked at her with a raised eyebrow "You have?" The older woman waited till the smaller one nodded "Alright then, would you like to come in and have some tea?"
"That would be nice, Retsu" The petite shinigami didn't hesitated to accept the invitation.
Just as in her own home, the gardens were covered completely with snow and the trees usual blooms and green leaves were replaced by pure white snow, which seemed to be gracing everything with its presence every single night. Not that anybody cared, maybe the weather was cold but still the snow was beautiful.
It was especially pretty when you sat to watch the raising and fading sunrays cast their eerie glow over the shiny white snow. It was one of the most beautiful shows of nature. Both women sat in the veranda, gazing at the frozen garden and slowly sipping their tea in a comfortable silence, only broken by a small shifting of clothes. Rukia sat waiting patiently while Unohana sat thinking.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Unohana finally asked.
"Of course I do" Rukia answered sure of her choice and not backing down, after all she was known for being stubborn "But I can't do it alone"
"I know, you can't" Unohana replied and slightly turned around to gaze behind them while a smile came to her face before she turned to look at Rukia again "Okay, if you're so sure about it then I'll help you but still we will need more help"
"I know." Rukia said, and started to ponder on other person that could help them, they were going to need a lot of stuff and she wanted it to be good "Maybe we can ask Hinamori to help us"
"Well, Hinamori will definitely help us, you know how much she likes this kind of stuff" Unohana's mind also started to work on the other issues of Rukia's plans "But how are you going to prevent Ichigo from coming?"
"Well maybe we can ask Nii-sama and Hitsugaya to keep him away long enough for us to finish?" Rukia smiled, having everything already planed and only waiting to take action "And then they can bring him back when everything is ready."
"My, my Rukia, seems you have thought of everything in advance" Unohana said with a small giggle, it seemed that Rukia would never change, once she had made up her mind on something she would never stop till it was finished "You have also chosen the people that will helps us bring the stuff, right?"
Rukia turned to look at Unohana with a small grin "Of course, I have, Retsu."
"Okasan, Aunt Rukia?" A small childish voice suddenly came from behind them.
Both women turned to their side to gaze at the small person that had called to them. Sitting in the middle of the room was a small girl, of around six years, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes. She was a pretty girl with long raven hair and dressed in a pale lavender yukata. Finally the child's gray blue eyes gazed at them for a few seconds, before she stood up and moved to hug Rukia.
"Aunt Rukia!" The child exclaimed with a smile before she detached herself a bit from her to look into her face "I thought you weren't coming yet!"
"Well, I had to come and ask your mother for help, also I wanted to see you but you were asleep." Rukia replied also with a smile on her face "So we decided it was better to let you sleep."
"Oh, you came to ask for Okasan's help." The little girl waited till Rukia nodded, with that she detached herself from Rukia and moved to sit on Unohana's lap "What kind of favor, auntie?"
"Well I asked her help for a small surprise I'm planning for your uncle and I can't do it all by myself." Rukia answered the curious child.
"A surprise for uncle Ichigo" The child expression beamed and her gray blue orbs gazed at her aunt "Can I help too, can I Okasan?"
"Of course you can Hanamidoki; I don't think Rukia will mind your help and another pair of hands will do us good" Unohana answered to her daughter with a smile on her face "Also, your uncle will be happy to know you helped."
"I'll be happy to help as well, but what is this surprise about and…" Hanamidoki suddenly stopped and her eyes lit with happiness and glee before she stood up to sprint to the shoji door "Otousan is back!"
Just like Hanamidoki said the shoji door slid open and the captain of the 6th division, Kuchiki Byakuya stood there, and promptly the six year old girl hugged his legs, which were the only part of him she could reach. With a big smile on her face for being the first one to welcome him home after a day of work. Mutely he picked the girl up and she didn't waste any time wrapping her arms around his neck before his gray blue eyes fixed on his wife and his sister.
Kurosaki Rukia couldn't help but smile every time she saw her brother and her niece together, certainly there was no doubt as to whom the father of Hanamidoki was and many times Unohana would teasingly complain that she had been the one that had done all the work only to be rewarded with a mini female version of Byakuya. But at least Hanamidoki had more personality traits of Unohana than Byakuya, Hanamidoki's excessive love for her uncle Ichigo being an issue that bothered Byakuya a bit.
"Well Niisama, I will like to stay here and chat, but I must leave now." Rukia stood up alongside Unohana and gave her a small smile "Retsu, do not forget what I asked of you."
After Unohana nodded, Rukia bid farewell to her brother and left knowing that the instant she had stepped out of the place, that he would shower his wife with questions as to what she had been talking about, and, like always, Unohana would clearly explain everything to him and even convince him to help.
"Geez, this is just what I wanted, to smell like pine trees!" A male voice complained.
"Oi, Renji, stop it!" The small raven haired shinigami ordered as she watched the red head placing the pine tree in the middle on the room "Besides you smelling like pine trees is better than your usual scent"
Renji only frowned and keep working on the tree, Rukia smiled and looked around, the place looked great just like in the magazine she had borrowed from Urahara. Though when you considered the fact that most of the things she had used had been acquired from him this wasn't much of a surprise. Her purple eyes watched Hinamori who was placing the last details with Rikichi. Everything looked perfect.
"Auntie" Hanamidoki suddenly tugged at Rukia's sleeve.
"What is it?" Rukia looked down at her nice and noticed the huge smile on her face "What are you hiding?"
Hanamidoki only smiled more "Turkey tastes great"
"She couldn't help herself" Unohana suddenly appeared besides her daughter, before she sprinted towards Renji to help him decorate the tree "She had never seen that type of food and so she decided to have a small taste"
Rukia chuckled "I do not blame her, I did the same" She confessed a bit shyly while she looked at her sister-in-law "Honestly, and how can they eat that thing if it is so big?"
"Well maybe because they share it with their family and friends?" Unohana briefly said and waited for Rukia to nod, a small smile once again appeared on her face "Also Hanamidoki ate some of those cookies in the form of a strange man clad in red and with a white beard"
"Oh, you mean the Santa Claus cookies, well according to what I was told, he travels around the world leaving presents for good children in a sled pulled by reindeers and the one at the head was called Rudolph who had a big glowing red nose." Rukia explained with some pride in her human knowledge.
"Well that's really odd, a reindeer with a red glowing nose?" Unohana asked with a chuckle, really that image was a funny one, seeing a fat man in a sled with a red nosed reindeer directing them "And, pray tell, how does he deliver the gifts?"
"After the sled lands on the roof, Santa takes the gift sack and slides down the chimney and leave the presents underneath the Christmas tree" Rukia could't help but giggle with Unohana, really that was an odd thing to do "And that's how kids get their gifts"
Unohana giggled awhile longer before looking at Rukia "How does he fit down the chimney?"
Rukia shrugged "Err----magic?"
"Okasan, auntie!" Hanamidoki suddenly called them with a tone of pure glee.
"What is it, Hana-chan?" Unohana sweetly asked.
"What is that thing?" Hanamidoki then pointed to a small green plant that was hanging from the ceiling "Is that meant to be there?"
Rukia's purple orbs gazed at the small plant "Yes, its mistletoe and its meant to be there"
Hinamori looked at the small weed as well "And what is it for?"
"Well supposedly the couple that is under the mistletoe... ummmmnn..." Rukia placed her hand under her chin and tried to remember what Urahara had explained her of it "Oh, yes, by tradition the couple that is under the mistletoe must share a kiss!"
Hanamidoki giggled "In that case does it mean that Renji and Rikichi must kiss?"
The alluded men looked up to see the green weed hanging over their heads; quickly they looked at each other before turning to look at the now giggling women, they paled when they saw a grinning Rukia nodding. When the girls didn't look away they understood that the group of women were actually waiting for them to kiss, even Hanamidoki was rooting for them to do it.
Well rumor had it that Rikichi did have a crush on Renji and that was the main reason as to why Renji didn't want to do it, that and the fact that his taichou's wife, who was also a taichou, and their daughter were looking. What if the little girl told her father about it? Certainly that wouldn't make him look any better at the eyes of Kuchiki Byakuya and that was not a good thing.
"Aww, come on Renji, don't be such a coward!" Rukia finally exclaimed while she crossed her arms over her chest "Is not like if it's going to be great kiss, it's only a peck on the lips, besides what happens here won't leave this room. Or is it that you're too much of a coward, Renji?"
That did it, Renji really didn't enjoyed to be called a coward, especially by Rukia, so without a second thought he grasped Rikichi's chin and pulled his face closer to him. The women exploded in a fit of giggles when Renji placed his lips on top of Rikichi's, however, the kiss didn't felt as strange as Renji had thought it will feel. On the contrary, it felt right. The sensation of the younger man lips over his was almost intoxicating.
"Renji, you can stop now." Unohana said between giggles and moved to pick Hanamidoki up "It was a fast peck on the lips not a contest of how long you maintained it."
"Well, Renji that was a side of you I never knew." Rukia wanted to laugh when she saw their distressed looks after they separated and turned to look at Hinamori "Seems everything is ready, right?"
"Hai, we have everything, and it looks so beautiful. I'm sure that taichou will like it" Hinamori's hazel eyes looked around the room and smiled more brightly "But how did you manage to keep Kurosaki-taichou away from here?"
"Err" Rukia looked at Unohana; in fact, the small shinigami had been wondering the same "How did they do it?"
"The only way men like Byakuya and Toushiro know how." Unohana smiled rather sweetly at them while Hanamidoki merely giggled "They took him on a friendly spar to see how much their abilities had improved."
Rukia and Hinamori rolled their eyes "MEN!" They both exclaimed knowing they should have expected that from their husbands.
"Otousan and uncle Ichigo and Toushiro are coming!" Hanamidoki exclaimed in pure glee
Everyone looked at her "WHAT!"
"That was not fair! It was cheating!" Ichigo's complaining voice suddenly sounded in the house "You both fought me at the same time, if the fight had been one on one I would have won"
"Really, Ichigo, do you think that the enemy will let you fight one on one?" Byakuya's amused voice asked "That's too naive on your part"
"We were merely giving you an important lesson of battle" Hitsugaya's usual calm voice continued "That enemies are enemies and that in the grasp of desperation they can cheat"
Ichigo merely growled in indignation "I highly doubt that you were actually teaching me something, it felt more like if you were trying to keep me from coming back"
The rice paper shoji door suddenly slid open and the three captains stood there, Ichigo's words died on his tongue when he saw the decorations in the room. He gazed at every single person in the room who was smiling back at him and he understood why Byakuya and Hitsugaya had come up with that ability check, it was to keep this as a surprise.
"Merry Christmas, Ichigo!" Rukia exclaimed with a huge smile on her face.
Ichigo couldn't help but smile back at her before he felt his niece hugging him, somehow he could have felt that coming, he should have known that Rukia would come up with something like this to cheer him up like she always did, just like she did on his birthdays.
All in all Ichigo had enjoyed the small celebration with the small family he had earned in that place; it almost felt like he had once again celebrated it with his family. And in a way he had, maybe his parents and his sisters weren't there, but his wife was, his brother and sister-in-law were there, so was his niece, and those who he considered his closest friends were there as well.
It had amazed him that Rukia had gone through every small detail to make that celebration special. She had even, with the help of Unohana of course, cooked a turkey and all the other special foods according to the celebration. She had Santa Claus cookies, heck, he had even seen Byakuya actually smiling, but then again since he became a father he had grown a bit more warmer.
"Ichigo?" Rukia walked to him once everyone was gone "Are you angry with me?"
"No" He turned to look at her "I truly thank you for this."
Rukia smiled, she wrapped her arms around his neck and lightly kissed him "Merry Christmas"
"Merry Christmas" Slowly he wrapped his arms around her waist and noticed that she was still smiling "What is it?"
"Well, we are under the mistletoe" She said while she looked up their heads before looking back at him "And I'm sure you don't wish to avoid such a nice Christmas tradition"
No, he didn't. Christmas only came once a year and it was good to have another family to celebrate it with you.
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white.
Okay I know the end is very OC, heck, maybe even all the fic is OC, but I promised this to certain someone's and here it is.
Also I do not know exactly what North Americans eat on Christmas; I only placed what is usuallyhad on my country so sorry, also thanks to Bakageta for beta reading this, thanks for your time and Merry Christmas for you and your family.
Hanamidoki means Cherry Blossom Season, actually Testsuya gave me that name and I thank him for it, he said it will fit for their daughter, because the Cherry Blossom alluded to Byakuya's famous Shikai and Bankai, and the season thing because Unohana needs to be like the seasons to fully understand Byakuya.
The Bookstore might not be updated till next year or perhaps before, not sure yet, well bye.