#these poor girls will breathe incorrectly and fandom is all over them

[kihteyu]

Fandom could never make me hate you teenage girls who’s worst crime is acting like teenage girls

[vannahfanfics]

Beautiful

Category: Romantic Fluff

Fandom: Bleach

Characters: Ichigo Kurosaki and Tatsuki Arisawa

Requested By: JJ (Ao3)

Tatsuki awoke with a start as the side door to her hotel room was suddenly thrown open, and she snapped her eyes open just in time to see Orihime, still in her fluffy pink pajamas decorated with white teddy bears, springing from the carpeted floor. She landed on top of Tatsuki, driving all the breath from her body, and she sputtered as the girl's orange-brown hair landed in her mouth. Orihime beamed down at her, giggling brightly.

“Tatsuki! You're getting married today!” she squealed with delight. It took Tatsuki a few minutes to drag herself out of the grogginess of sleep, but when she finally did and processed the girl's excited declaration, a sleepy smile found its way onto her lips.

“I’m getting married!” she cried back and jerked up to wrap her arms around Orihime in a giddy hug, and they both gushed about the glorious situation before Tatsuki scurried out of bed. There was a lot to do, like wake her bridal party. They had rented a hotel near the venue, and all had adjoining rooms, so the girls were strolling through the open side door asking to borrow a hairdryer or wondering what kinds of make-up they should bring so the make-up artist would have more options. Their dresses had been delivered to the dressing room of the venue the previous day, and all they could do was hope that any wrinkles had fallen out throughout the night. As she was buttoning up a shirt, one that she could easily shed to pull on her dress, she raised her head as there was loud knocking at the hotel room door. Chizuru, the only one currently fully dressed, sidled up and opened the door, then began screeching angrily.

“What the hell are you doing? You can't come in here!” she cried as she pushed all her weight against the door, crushing whoever’s arm against the threshold. She heard him angrily shouting, and as he pushed the door open a little she saw a familiar shock of orange hair.

“The hell you mean? Why not?” Ichigo demanded hotly as he attempted to wrestle his way through the entrance, while Tatsuki just blushed and pulled the undone buttons of her blouse together.

“First of all, there are girls dressing in here!”

“This is Tatsuki's room!” he argued back, to which Chizuru just stuck her tongue out at him.

“Obviously we’re all in here, you dope! Besides, it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding. Now scram!” the feisty redhead asserted before body-slamming against the door, and Tatsuki heard her poor fiancé cursing profusely as his arm was trapped between the heavy door and the threshold. It thrashed about for a bit before he managed to wriggle it out, and she smiled slightly as she heard him stomping off angrily. Chizuru turned to her with a huff, tossing her hair haughtily.

“Why are you marrying him again?” Ryo snorted as she came out of the bathroom running a brush through her pin-straight black hair. Tatsuki just smiled warmly and finished buttoning up her shirt, thinking of her excitable fiancé and the wonderful day she had ahead of her.

Once the girls had finished preparing, they headed down to the parking lot- with the bridesmaids taking excessive measures to ensure that they did not stumble across the groom and his groomsmen by accident- and piled into a car to head to the venue about five minutes away. Tatsuki and Ichigo had decided on a popular site, a beautiful park in the middle of the city that featured a gorgeous pond, a pavilion area for hosting receptions and parties, and numerous species of native trees clustered in small groves all throughout the property. It was elegant, but also adventurous, which suited the couple nicely. They wound their way down a curvy paved road; at the end was a simple administrative-looking building that actually served as the place where bridal parties could prepare for the ceremony and a full-service kitchen where caterers could prepare food. The pavilion was not far off, and Tatsuki could see the decorators already hard at work, stringing fairy lights, setting up tables and chairs, and adorning the premises with flowers. She could feel the excitement fluttering inside her like a caged bird, and by the time she and her bridesmaids were walking up to the door to meet her wedding planner, she felt like she was walking on air.

“Miss Arisawa! Well, not for much longer, eh?” the woman chuckled as she greeted Tatsuki with a hug. “Everything is going according to plan! Your make-up artist and hairdresser are already upstairs!”

“Thank you,” Tatsuki smiled before the woman scurried off to the pavilion, barking orders at one of her handymen who was apparently stringing some lights incorrectly. Tatsuki and her friends proceeded into the building and up the stairs to the spacious dressing room on the second floor, where the women who were getting them ready greeted them happily and then ushered Tatsuki to a chair set in front of a mirror so they could immediately get to work. Tatsuki closed her eyes as the make-up artist began to powder her face, and in the darkness danced the image of her husband-to-be. A smile rose to her lips.

“Honey! I need you to keep your face still!” the make-up artist tutted.

“Oh, but she's excited! It's her wedding day, after all!” laughed the hairdresser, who was currently attempting to tackle pulling Orihime's luscious waves of orangey-brown hair into an elaborate up-do. Tatsuki blushed slightly, slightly embarrassed that her excitement was so obvious. I’m getting married… she thought, trying to keep her face relaxed as the woman went about her work. It was so hard, though. Tatsuki was just so unbelievably happy that her lips just seemed to naturally curl upwards. I’m going to marry the man I love…

Ichigo had proposed to her nearly a year before, after they had been dating since their final year of high school, about three years. Tatsuki had been Tatsuki, of course- she had gotten flustered, embarrassed, and wound up punching him. She had immediately regretted that, though, and knelt down next to him as he was rubbing his jaw on the ground, and then they had panicked because the ring had fallen out of the box. After scrambling around for a few minutes to find it, they managed to locate the diamond band, and they squabbled a bit before he had finally worked the answer out of her. “Of course, dumbass!” Really, sometimes she wondered why he wanted to marry her, considering how uncouth she was. They butted heads, always have, and maybe that's why they were such a good match for each other.

“Ta-da! What do you think, sweetie?” the make-up artist announced suddenly, making her jump lightly. She opened her eyes, and as her reflection greeted her, she gasped in wonder. She almost couldn't believe that the gorgeous woman sitting across from her was actually herself, and she turned her face slightly this way and that, watching the light play across the highlighter glowing across her cheekbones. A faint blush had been applied to her cheeks, and the area above her eyes fluttered with silvery eyeshadow. Her lips were plump and shiny with gloss.

“Is that me?” she whispered. The girl in the glass mirrored her movements, so surely it must be.

“It's amazing what a little glow-up can do, hmmm?” she giggled, leaning down beside Tatsuki with her hands on her shoulders, before she straightened up to look at her partner. “Are you ready to switch?” The woman grunted in response, several Bobby pins clenched in her teeth as she placed the finishing touches on Orihime's beautiful up-do. Part of her hair was braided and then twisted up into an elaborate bun, and a flower ornament matching the décor outside was pinned in place on the side of her head. The hairdresser doused her in a final shower of hairspray before bouncing over to Tatsuki, spinning her around in the chair with a grin.

“All right, honey, let's make you dazzle!”

The hairdresser set upon her with glee, attacking the black strands with a curling iron and transforming the straight strands into full ringlets that rolled down her back. She left two large sections uncurled, and then proceeded to braid these and pull them across, forming an elaborate weave that separated the curls from the crown of her head. She straightened out Tatsuki's scruffy bangs and pinned them flat to her head, and as Tatsuki watched the gradual transformation, she was spellbound. A woman was taking shape in the mirror, one of elegance, of beauty- hell, you could even call her a princess- and Tatsuki was absolutely flabbergasted that that princess was her. Tatsuki had always taken little effort in her appearance; it was one thing that Ichigo liked about her, that she was “natural,” as he called it- and so the gorgeous image before her was one she had never seen. She hadn't even taken this much effort into their first date, all those years ago. Even as the hairdresser finished, gushing about her handiwork, her chattering was far away to the stunned bride.

I wonder what Ichigo will think?

Tatsuki sat patiently as the duo worked on her bridesmaids, and as they waited they all engaged in nostalgic conversation, laughing over things they had all done over the years, especially stupid things her fiancé had done, gushing over how excited they had been when Tatsuki had first started dating him, and things of that nature. Occasionally the artists would flutter about in a panic when one of the girls had begun to cry, with Orihime being the prime culprit; strangely, no tears came to Tatsuki’s eyes. She was never really that emotional, after all, but it did mildly shock her. This was the most exciting day of her life, and yet she didn't even feel her eyes mist up. She was happy, sure, but it wasn’t the bursting bubble of elation she had anticipated.

Instead, she was beginning to grow nervous.

The hour of the wedding was approaching, and once their hair and make-up were done it was time to get into the dresses. Tatsuki had chosen sky blue as her color for the wedding, and so her bridesmaids drew all wearing identical dresses of that shade, sleeveless satin gowns with flowing skirts with simple bows around the waist. Tatsuki's wedding dress was far more elaborate, naturally; it was sleeveless as well, but the skirt was a one-and-a-half, with a short skirt framed by a shell of ruffled silk that fell around the sides and backs of her legs. The back of the skirt featured a stream of sky blue that wrapped into a sash around her waist, and the top was corset-like, with blue silk ribbons making up the back the front was smooth white fabric. Tatsuki’s veil featured a band with fabric flowers, the same as the one pinned in Orihime's hair, with sheer pattern-less fabric. She stood with her back to the mirror as Michiru expertly laced the back, while the other girls stood in front of her in a quiet hush, as if they were in awe; Tatsuki felt her place the veil into her hair, and Orihime began to cry again, but it was different than the emotional blubbering; she was staring at Tatsuki like she had never seen anything more sublime in her life, like she was staring at an angel.

“Tatsuki,” she whispered, “you are so beautiful.” Tatsuki turned to the mirror, desperate to see for herself, and none of her other reflections compared to the one she saw there. It was like she was staring at a stranger, a beautiful goddess who bore resemblance to her. That's… me? She just couldn't believe it. She lifted a hand, gently brushing her fingers across her cheek, and the reflection did the same. It was her, indeed. Tatsuki had only worn dresses a few times in her life, and none of them were anywhere close to the elegance of the wedding dress. She stared, stared into that glass pane where that strange, beautiful woman stood.

What will Ichigo think?

That thought was on the forefront of her mind now. It was all just so different, and that unsettled her. Doubts began to creep into her mind. What if he doesn't like it? She couldn't dwell on the fact for very long, though, because an attendant came in to announce that it was nearly time. Tatsuki internally panicked. Surely, that much time couldn't have passed, right? It was all so much, so fast. Numb, while her bridesmaids were squealing with happiness as they walked down to the first floor to meet the groomsmen, she just walked robotically down the steps and took her place at the rear. Orihime handed her a bouquet before standing beside her, holding the train of her dress, as was her duty as her Maid of Honor. She felt her hands wrapping tightly around the flower stems. Suddenly it felt as if the corset was too tight, and should could not breathe. Tatsuki had no father to give her away, so she stood there, alone, watching as the pairs of the bridal party exited the door one by one. Then it was her turn. She could hear the music drifting in from the open door, where a white carpet covered in blue flower petals lay waiting for her. Yet she could not walk forward.

“Tatsuki? What's the matter?” Orihime whispered to her. “You're not getting second thoughts, are you?” she gasped.

“No… Not like that,” she admitted quietly. It was just she and Orihime, her best friend in all the world, the one who understood her in ways Ichigo never could. “It's just… What if he thinks I look foolish?” Saying it aloud, she knew it was dumb of her, but she couldn't help it. It was just so different that it felt wrong. She expected Orihime to laugh at her and tell her she worried too much, but when Tatsuki looked back at her, she was smiling softly.

“Ichigo would never think something like that, Tatsuki. He loves you, after all.” Tatsuki's eyes widened slightly as she gazed at her with the utmost confidence swimming in her soft brown eyes. Yes. He loves me. At once, it felt like all the muscles in her body relaxed, and she could breathe again. She nodded to her before turning back, closing her eyes and breathing in deeply before striding confidently out the door. As she felt the warm spring breeze kiss her face, she opened her eyes once more and was momentarily overwhelmed by the transformation the pavilion had undergone.

It was filled with tables and chairs, with white tablecloths and vases of baby blue flowers with appropriate accompaniments. On a large table to the left was the buffet line for their reception; on the right, a three-tier wedding cake, with little figurines of a bride and an orange-haired groom at the top. Next to that was the groom's cake, which Tatsuki had styled in a dojo, a memorial to how they had met. Next to the pavilion, the altar had been assembled, and this is where the white carpet led. On either side were fold-out chairs strung with sheer fabric and fairy lights and flowers, filled with their wedding guests. Tatsuki’s mother was in the front row, a handkerchief held to her nose; on the other side, Ichigo's father sat beaming at her. Beyond that stood her love, her rock, her soulmate.

She had never seen a bigger smile on Ichigo's face.

Their gazes were locked together as she walked up the thin carpet, and she kept staring at him even as she stopped beneath the altar, a white metal arch twisted with more flowers, fairy lights, and silk sheets. On either side of them stood their best friends. Orihime was already crying again as she settled out Tatsuki's train behind her and scurried to join the other girls. Even as the chaplain began talking, all she could do was gaze up at him, her face mildly flushed as a question burned in her throat.

What do you think, Ichigo?

It was like he read her mind.

“You're beautiful,” he whispered as he looked down at her, and the way he looked at her made her heart stop beating. The expression on his face was nothing short of pure love. I’m beautiful, she echoed in her own mind. I’m beautiful.

It was then that Tatsuki felt the tears appear in her eyes, and one of them rolled down her cheek. She didn't even care if her make-up smeared; she was just so happy, damn it. All the doubt that had built up inside of her washed away with that tear, and she smiled happily. At that moment, for the first time that day, she felt like the gorgeous woman she had seen in the mirror.

I love this man, she thought, too choked up to speak. He seemed to get what she was trying to say, though, and tuned into the chaplain, who was well into the marriage rights. Tatsuki turned her attention to the eloquent droning of the holy man as well, but out of the corners of her eyes, she continued to gaze at the man who she loved most in the world, and who made her feel like the most sublime creature on earth with how deeply he loved her.

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