Title: Tomb of Endearment

Author: Tn-Fathom / Fathom-x

Rating: M

Word count: 3000 (sorry, I couldn't get it any shorter)

Warnings: Language, smut, character death.

Contest: 2008 IchiRukiLove "That's Interesting" Drabble

The only light in the room came from the flickering images from the monitor. On the screen a woman can be seen in a beautiful kimono that was almost sheer in its thinness with silver snowflakes embroidered upon its silken cloth. The kimono was wrapped lightly around exposed shoulders with the overlapping edges partially open enough to see the milky white curves of two breasts. The only thing keeping the kimono from falling was a wide band tightly wrapped around the petite figure's waist up to under her breasts.

She was staring out the window towards the crescent shaped moon softly smiling, not noticing the man who walked into the room with only a towel wrapped around a still damp body.

He walked softly with intent and wrapped his arms around her, and after her initial start she gradually eased herself to lean back into his chest. "Rukia," he whispered as he slowly ran teasing kisses along her exposed neck. She let out one in drawn breath before she tilted her head back silently asking for more.

He slowly lifted one hand and slipped it into her upper robes gently grasping the soft weight in his hand. She stiffened immediately and spun out of his arms, laying one arm across her breasts. "Ichigo," uncertainty laced her voice while she bit her bottom lip and blushed innocently.

He let out soft chuckle and smirked at her. "Midget, it's been 5 years, I've waited long enough." He said while he slowly stalked his prey across the room. She subconsciously began backing away from the intense emotion he was emitting. When she whirled around to run, he pounced on her and spun her back into his arms.

His eyes filled with a hot, urgent light as they swept over her. His hand sank into her hair, tilting her head upward, and crushed his mouth against hers. Her body quivered against his tautly aroused one. The innocence he tasted there rocked him. Ichigo captured her bottom lip with his teeth and nipped it in retaliation for running from him, before thoroughly exploring the sweet rich taste of pure Rukia essence. He'd never kissed her this way before as he put all his desire, desperation, frustrations, and love in that kiss, shocking her to the core.

His towel had dropped long ago, and when Rukia finally noticed, her obi had been unwrapped while the length of him lay intimately against her belly glistening already from excitement and arousal.

Ichigo carried her to the bed and lowered her to the mattress, and for the moment her pale form was lost in the darkness of his shadow. His orange hair fell untidily over his forehead as he looked down at her. Instinctively she slid her arms over her chest and drew up her thighs, trying to cover herself in a spasm of modesty.

Leaning over her, he took one of her hands and kissed the inside of her wrists, his lips searching over the delicate tracery of veins until he found a racing pulse. His tongue touched the throbbing spot lightly, and she felt her toes curl in pleasure. He took her other wrists and administered the same treatment, and then spread her arms wide.

He bent over her breasts, his tongue swirling over the hardened points of her nipples until her entire body writhed in response. Lazily his fingertips traced over her breasts and wandered over the tangled hair between her thighs. His insistent fingers began a gentle exploration of her, and then his touch slipped inside her, warm and deeply probing in her wet heat, nudging deep into her velvety passage.

Murmuring her name, he slowly kissed a path downward. Rukia flinched in surprise as she felt his tongue dip into her navel. His breath wafted gently over her abdomen. She said his name shakily, trying to push his head away from her stomach, but instead he moved lower, seeming not to notice her confusion.

Then his head was between her thighs, and instead of resisting she was passive, shaking, transfixed by the astounding heat of this mouth. Her bones seemed to dissolve. "Stop," she whispered out in a gasp, and her body jolted in an effort to escape the pleasurable agony. But his hands clamped over her hips, keeping her where he wanted her, and he drove her faster toward a rising tide of sensation.

It swept over her with a devastating force, and she relinquished herself with a broken whimper, her fingers clenching in his hair, her heels digging into his naked sides. She found herself shattering, falling apart, and she couldn't bring herself to care.

As the pleasure began to subside, Ichigo rose over, and she wound her arms tightly around his neck, awareness gradually coming back to her.

The muscles in his arms tautened as he began to broach the virginal barrier of her body with a slow thrust. The need to bury himself completely was almost unendurable, but he stopped before he was fully sheathed, letting her adjust to the invasion of his swollen shaft.

Gasping in sudden pain, Rukia struggled ineffectually trying to push him off her. A low growl emanated from his throat, and he pinned her wrists down threading his fingers with hers as he sank deep inside her. She lay still and rigid, her arms straining against his grip, a lone silent tear falling pass her temple.

He held his body still, buried so deep he could feel her pulse beating rapidly. Already he was on the edge of orgasm, and he knew that if he moved now, he'd be lost. He struggled to regain some sort of control over his lust, but it was a losing battle.

"Shh, I'm sorry, it won't hurt anymore, I promise," he said hoarsely as she twisted beneath him.

Gradually as she slowly relaxed her muscles, he tenderly kissed her temple and licked away the salty path of her tear, his breath rasping close to her ear, his knees nudged her thighs wider apart, as he pressed fully and heavy within her, thrusting rhythmically. His hands slowly stroked her into a return of pleasure, while his mouth passionately explored her with his tongue. He wanted her to come with him, but he couldn't wait. Need was riding him hard, lashing him, making him mindless. He couldn't hold it any longer, when he suddenly groaned and moved in a deep lunge that made her gasp. His hands tightened in her hair, as pleasure so intense it was painful swept through his body as he came hard, buried to the hilt inside Rukia.

For long moments, all he could was breathe as electrical shocks of pleasure continued to shoot through his body. He knew his body was crushing Rukia, but he couldn't move his body for the life of him. He was still semi-hard, and getting harder as conscious thought slowly returned. His latent teenage hormones were finally kicking in. If he had known how intense the act was, he would have pressured Rukia into marrying him before the war.

Ichigo stopped the video, and slowly wiped the evidence of his release away with a towel he had nearby. He stood up to remove the disc from the player and opened up a nearby filing cabinet, filing the disc under "Wedding Night." He still felt a little edgy, and briefly thought about putting in the disc "Rukia's Revenge," but he didn't think he had enough time before his big date tonight. He needed to wash up and get dressed for the big outing.

After washing up and dressing, the sound of his door bell rang. He opened the door to find his father, Yuzu, and Karin. In Karin, arms lay a bundle of plum blossoms he had requested, and a clearly struggling Kon in his lion plushy form.

"So, are you ready for your big date tonight? Don't forget to bring some protection…." Isshin Kurosaki winked suggestively.

"Knock it off, Dad." Ichigo snarled at his father.

"Here you go, Ichi-ni," Yuzu said handing him the bouquet and Kon's plushie. "Good luck to you and tell Rukia we love her."

"Thanks, Yuzu. I'll bring the Munchkin by tomorrow for dinner." He softly replied to his sister and cradled the flowers while stuffing a protesting Kon in his jacket pocket. He waited by the open door and waved as his family drove off.

Ichigo sighed as he saw the snow slowly falling outside, and gently closed the door heading towards another bedroom in the house. He slowly picked up the small lifeless gigai and transferred it to the backseat of his car. He placed the plum blossoms on the seat next to him, slowly fingering one blossom before driving.

When he reached his destination, he parked the car and fought with Kon to remove his gikongan pill. As he popped out of his body, he ordered Kon in his body to guard the car and the gigai on the back seat.

Kon watched as Ichigo slowly walked away cradling the blossoms in one hand while the snow silently fell and ruffled the beautiful snowy white tassel hanging on one side of his hakama straps. He opened the door and sat back in the driver's seat, eyeing the gigai on the back seat in the rear view mirror. "I miss you, nee-san…" he whispered achingly.

As Ichigo slowly walked up the hill, he saw a mirage of Rukia waving at him and his family as they went to visit his mother on that long ago day for the Kurosaki Annual Masaki outing.

Step by step, memories and thoughts assailed him. Especially his first kiss….

Flashback….

"What the fuck do you think you're doing," Ichigo roared at Rukia after the final battle with Aizen.

Rukia, who was slowly being healed by Orihime, and surrounded by her waiting brother and Renji, just snorted and snarled, "Baka, saving your scrawny ass!"

"I don't need saving, you damned midget, you freaking died! If Orihime wasn't here, you…..arghhh!" He screamed at Rukia.

"We're nakamas, of course I would do the same thing over and over again." Rukia proclaimed haughtily.

"That's it," Ichigo darkly exclaimed, and strode angrily towards the newly revived Rukia, Orihime squeaked in surprise and dropped her healing barrier as Ichigo gripped the lapels of her shuhaksho and pulled her close.

Rukia, thinking that he wanted to get close and personal to yell at her in close range, started to open her mouth to reply scathingly when Ichigo did something that completely shook the foundation of her world.

He leaned in and kissed her thrusting his tongue into her unsuspecting mouth. Of course after Rukia recovered herself from the shock; she spat out his tongue and punched him so hard he fell over.

"What in the world has gotten in to you, you damned baka?" Rukia shrieked gesturing wildly.

By the time, when Ichigo looked up, he saw 2 unsheathed zanpaktos pointing towards his neck.

"Explain yourself, kozo." Byakuya softly demanded.

Renji was bristling with so much rage that he could barely keep Zabimaru from pricking Ichigo's neck.

"We've been together for almost 4 years, you had to have suspected, you naïve Chappie loving Midget!" Ichigo growled out ignoring the cold steel at his neck.

"Suspected what?" Rukia replied softly in confusion.

Everyone, even Orihime looked askance at Rukia unable to believe her complete naiveté.

"I'm in love with you, you damned Midget, and I've been dating you for over four whole freaking years."

"When did I date you, Strawberry?" Rukia confusedly asked, uncertain how to respond to his proclamation. Maybe this was a post war trauma syndrome that the 4th squad needed to look at.

"You lived with my family when I was still there, and you still live with me in my own apartment. I take you out to eat or hang out all the time, and constantly fund your stupid Chappie obsessions. AND your freaking horrible Chappie and tanuki doodles are all over my place. You are my girlfriend, so get it through your thick head." Ichigo roared so loudly, that the whole field heard him proclaim his possession over her.

As Ichigo recovered his lost composure, he noticed he was the center of attention with everyone's eyes rounded and jaws gaping open, while Orihime tearfully eyed him; and one Chappie loving midget was silently biting her lower lip in uncertainty while she contemplated his words.

"Um, that's interesting…" Rukia hesitantly said.

"I require time to ponder this; we will speak at a more appropriate time and place." Rukia softly commanded, turning around to head towards Captain Ukitake to report her latest efforts in the war.

Byakuya and Renji closely followed on her heels. Before completely passing Ichigo, Renji hissed, "Don't you ever touch Rukia again." Meanwhile Byakuya glared balefully at him as he strode away.

He smiled as his first kiss hadn't been as romantic as he had always thought it would be, like the Shakespeare plays he loved. He should have known that Rukia would never fit under any normal mores.

A week after his post war battle confession, Rukia finally returned to him in the human world. He had been waiting on pins and needles, hassling Urahara if he could get a pass to Soul Society, but Urahara proclaimed that his gate was under construction and couldn't handle traffic after the war.

She showed up in his room one night while he was sleeping and rudely poked him in the head to wake him up.

"Rukia!" Ichigo snapped awake in surprise.

"I've come back to do some research," Rukia said off handedly.

"What type of research?" he suspiciously replied.

"Human relationships and kissing." Rukia looked away from him and stared at her hands.

He started in surprise, when she bent down and gently caressed her lips over his, and jerked blushingly away. As she started to stand up and walk away, he grabbed her and cradled her beautiful face.

Ichigo bent down to kiss her, giving her no time to escape. He kissed her, hard and demanding. His tongue teased her lips, coaxing her to accept him into her mouth. Rukia was a slow learner, but she gradually relaxed her lips and allowed the gentle glide of his tongue passage as he explored her mouth passionately. His body ached with that all too familiar pain of arousal, but he welcomed the pain because he finally had Rukia where he had always wanted her to be. Without conscious thought his hands slipped from her head, caressed her neck and shoulder, while the other slowly slipped between them to cradle her breast.

Suddenly, he didn't know what happened but Rukia was on the other side of the room, while one side of his face burned at the loud slap.

Ichigo's cock was so hard, making his gut ache and his brain sputter in an effort to function in spite of the blood deficit. His skin was putting off wave after wave of frustrated heat.

He was so distracted that he failed to notice the extra presence in his room, until she turned to figure and said, "I'm sure now, nii-sama."

His mind, body, and heart froze at that implication.

Byakuya, smirked at the red imprint on Ichigo's face. "What are your intentions towards Rukia, kozo?" he quietly asked.

"Um, what difference does it make? She's over a freaking 150 years old. She should be the one deciding on what my intentions are, not you." Ichigo snarled at Byakuya.

Ignoring Ichigo's outburst, Byakuya stated, "If you're intentions are to court her, I have yet to receive a personal meeting from your elders asking for formal permission. Rukia and I will stay at Urahara's for 1 day. Afterward, if no family intentions is to be given, Rukia will be returning to Soul Society permanently."

Ichigo wanted to scream in frustration. Get his freaking crazy-assed father to ask Byakuya for permission to date her? Byakuya would be sure to reject Isshin out of hand.

He was shaken out of his reverie, when he noticed he had finally reached the meeting place. He saw 2 other shihakusho clad figures waiting for him.

"Late as always, baka." Snapped Renji.

"Urasai, Renji. Oy Byakuya, where's the munchkin?" asked Ichigo.

Byakuya, didn't reply but he shifted slightly, drawing Ichigo's attention to the small lump behind Byakuya's back and underneath his haori. He hadn't noticed her immediately because her tresses had blended in perfectly with Byakuya's. She appeared to be sleeping, so he just grunted in reply.

He bent over to empty out his old vase and replaced his plum blossom branches in it. Absently noticing that beside his vase was another vase filled with sakura petal branches, and placed next to that was a small bowl with a water lily floating on it.

"Stupid midget, what the hell are we supposed to do now?" murmured Ichigo.

"Well to pass the time, I brought the sake." Renji chuckled and pulled out a flask of sake and 3 cups.

As they all partook in a sip of sake, even Byakuya, there was a comfortable silence between all 3 men. Eventually a catchy breath drew everyone's attention. The munchkin was finally awake, as first one violet eye and then the other opened. As she scampered down Byakuya's back, she ran giggling to Ichigo.

He noticed she was wearing a beautiful kimono befitting the Kuchiki princess that she was, and as always the snowflake diadem hung on her forehead.

Ichigo bent down and hugged her; he couldn't help marveling at her beautiful features. Helen of Troy may have had the face to launch a thousand ships, but this was the face that launched a 3-way custody battle that almost started a second war in 3 worlds with everyone choosing sides between Ichigo, Renji, and Byakuya. It took old man Yamamoto to finally step in and resolve the matter before blood shed began to spill.

"I want to do it! I want to do it!" asked the munchkin with the reiatsu suppressing bunny ear muffs.

All 3 men just smiled softly and agreed, as the munchkin ran up the steps to the big stone wall lightly tracing the lettering that was there with her fingertips.

Underneath, the top lettering of Kurosaki Masaki, was more writing.

In loving memory of Kurosaki-Kuchiki Rukia, wife, mother, sister, and comrade.

"Happy Birthday, Mommy. We miss you."