When Hinamori mentions a blizzard at lunch, Renji files the information firmly away into his brain to prepare as soon as he leaves her home. She invited him and Hisagi to come eat with her. The loneliness must be getting to her, though Renji hardly has it in him to sit her down and tell her the truths they’d learned during the meeting with Aizen’s omegas. That the alpha she’d idolized and adored and eagerly awaited courtship from had been lying to her, had been lying to all of them, in more ways than they could ever imagine. Byakuya hardly had to tell his council not to let anyone else know what they had learned in the meeting. Traditionally, everyone remains silent, and Byakuya himself conveys the information he finds important to everyone else.

Kira would be with him, but by Renji’s judgment, he’s probably into the aftercare stages of his heat and Rangiku is likely looking after all of his needs, so he does not overworry too much about it. If he did not trust her with Kira’s safety and happiness, he would hardly have let her stay in Kira’s rooms without a fight to prove she belonged there.

He says goodbye to his friends after they help Hinamori clean up and goes back to his own home, gathering as many pelts as he can from the collection he keeps stored from the winter. Unlike many of the alphas here— and like Yoruichi, funnily enough— Renji has an abundance of wolf pelts. His former pack had a custom that you would keep the pelts of the wolves you killed in battle, and Renji. His tattoos say it all, don’t they?

Someone else would have thought too much about it, but he never does. After all, those challenges were never made by him. As one of the strongest fighters in the pack, all Renji had to do was defend his status, not seek out anything more for himself. He had no desire to be alpha of that pack— nor does he this one— but he had a position to defend, and it came at a cost he was more than willing to pay.

Now, he gathers all of those furs up in his arms and carries them across the snow to Byakuya’s home, thumping the side of his body against the door more than actually knocking. He should have thought this through. His hands are full.

Luckily, the door swings in, and Renji’s eyes narrow when he finds Ichigo lounging comfortably in the doorway, wrapped in what looks like an awfully nice kimono. “What the hell are you doing here? Did you move in or something?”

“Why? You jealous?” Ichigo smirks up at him, pets a hand over the pile in Renji’s arms. “Oh, someone came by with courting gifts. Aren’t you a determined alpha?”

“It’s cold. Let me in.” When Renji tries to walk past him into the house, Ichigo only shifts which side of the door he’s leaning against. “Oh, fuck off. Let me in.”

Pale brown eyes glitter up at him as Ichigo tilts his head, hand rising to his lips in faux thought before his eyes harden, his expression deadpan. “Why don’t you make me, Abarai?”

The question has Renji’s eyes widening in shock. “There’s no way Byakuya is just letting you get away with that mouth, brat. Why are you even here? Don’t you have, like… Like—”

“Chad’s getting pretty close to his rut cycle so it’s not a good idea for me to be hanging around too close,” Ichigo tells him, and Renji wonders if that’s supposed to be a jab at him until bony knuckles playfully tap him on the jaw, not hard at all but he still jumps. “Wow, it just takes a knock from an omega to throw you off? How are you the pack beta?”

Renji huffs in annoyance and leans closer, but Ichigo only grins and pushes back up into him, and he smells sweet like any omega but he’s definitely not messing around. “My pack alpha lives here and I need to talk to him. Official pack business. Now move.”

“You getting your knot in him isn’t official pack business.” Ichigo says without missing a beat, grinning when Renji chokes at that. “I guess that’s one way to stay warm tonight.”

Of course he’s talking about the blizzard. “Right. By the way, it would be nice if you’d actually let me through sometime before tonight, if you don’t mind.”

Ichigo looks down at his wrist, as if squinting at a nonexistent watch. “By my estimate, we’ve got a few hours until sundown. I can do this until then.”

He’s serious. He is fucking serious, what kind of omega did Rukia drag back to the pack with her? “Where do you get this from? Your dad?”

The mention of Isshin makes the corner of Ichigo’s mouth twist into a frown, but he recovers quickly from that, planting a hand against Renji’s chest and giving him a shove that actually knocks him back a step even though he’s got height and muscle on Ichigo. “Wouldn’t you like to know? Maybe if you ask nice, I’ll let you come in.”

“It’s not even your house.” Renji tells him.

Ichigo sniffs. “But I’m a guest.” He says, which explains why the hell he’s standing in Byakuya’s doorway like he owns the place, somehow making his strawberry shortcake scent intimidating in a way Renji doesn’t understand. “So you have to be nice to me.”

He could be rude anyway, actually, but Renji doubts Byakuya would let him slide if he was mean to an omega for zero reason, and he doubts Byakuya would consider this reason enough. “ Please, Ichigo.” He says, almost gritting his teeth with the effort.

In answer, Ichigo cocks his head. “Please what, Abarai? You have to speak up over the wind, I can’t quite hear you. You know, a blizzard’s coming. You better hurry up.”

Renji tips his head back, as if asking the heaven’s for guidance, and tries to give Ichigo the most solemn expression he can manage. He can already see the corners of Ichigo’s eyes crinkling. “Please, will you let me inside, Ichigo? Pretty please?”

“Dramatic.” Ichigo flicks him between the eyes and then steps back while Renji is still gawking about the fact Ichigo outsped him. “Come in, idiot, don’t you know it’s cold?”

The inside of the house is warm but could be warmer and after Renji sets the furs down on the couch, he makes a beeline for the fireplace and gets to work starting a fire. During the other three seasons, he finds himself in this familiar place though outside at their fire pit, never concerned about burning himself or worried the flames will burn out of control. Within sixty seconds, he has a nice fire going, heat wafting into the air.

“Oh, nice.” Ichigo shoves him out of the way and sprawls out on the rug in front of the fire, lounging in the warmth. “You have no idea how nice it is to get to sleep somewhere that’s warm and soft regularly. It’s so much better than caves and grass.”

The comment has Renji stilling as he looks down at Ichigo, who reminds him now mostly of Yoruichi when she suns herself during the summer in patches of unshaded grass. “Oh, that’s right. You guys were nomads. You didn’t have anywhere to stay.”

“Huddled up for warmth during the winter, slept in grass during the summer.” Ichigo rolls his shoulders like he’s long since made peace with it, sighing as he lets his eyes flutter shut. “But this? This is good. I’m glad I let Rukia talk me into it. Orihime would’ve come back with her, but I don’t think the others were set until I said yes.”

That makes Renji frown. “Chad and Ishida, right? I’m surprised the three of you aren’t together. The traditional trio kind of turned up in your favor, didn’t it?”

Ichigo looks at him like he’s stupid. “Are you seriously going after someone I respect with that kind of attitude? Holy shit, dude, I hope he turns you down.”

“What!” Renji picks a throw pillow up off of the couch and pitches it at him, but Ichigo catches it— Which is probably for the best because what if it bounced into the fire, Renji is an idiot with no brain. “What the hell is wrong with what I just asked you?”

The pillow comes back at his face at twice the speed and force and he stumbles back three steps. “Because they’re soulmates, you fucking mutt. You don’t just get to shove yourself into any bond you want because it numerically makes sense. Chad and Ishida were already together when we finally met and they’re happy just the way they are.”

“Okay, God, I was just asking. ” Renji touches his nose, wincing as he sets the pillow back down on the couch. “Guess when spring comes around, you’ll eventually get offers.”

“Eventually.” Ichigo says, eyes rolling in his sockets, arms splayed out on the rug.

Renji is going to lose his mind. “Fucking scratch that, no one is going to want to deal with your bratty ass for more than ten seconds. No wonder Rukia picked Orihime.”

“Whoa, man, Rukia is like a sister to me, okay, nothing more.” He even looks vaguely ill at the suggestion, which makes Renji snort. “Your pack can just leave me alone and I’d be fine with that. I just wanna chill and not have to worry about people making up their minds about me because of who my dad was. I just wanna relax and have a real home this time.”

“And as you know, you are free to do so for as long as you are with us.” The familiar smooth voice just makes it to Renji’s ears slightly ahead of the scent of cherry blossoms and Renji feels his knees weaken slightly under him. “Good afternoon, Renji. I wasn’t expecting you to come by. To what do I owe the unexpected pleasure of your company today?”

“Unexpected.” Ichigo parrots. “Is it really unexpected if he shows up these days?”

Byakuya’s answering chuckle is light and soft. “I suppose not, Ichigo.”

After the stress of the meeting yesterday, Renji was worried about Byakuya. It hadn’t even occurred to him to be worried until Kyoraku was worried about Ukitake, and then he felt like an asshole for not being more worried even though Byakuya can handle himself and had faced off against the intimidating Nnoitra without batting a lash. Needless to say, Renji himself has been a bit of a wreck. But when he turns and sees Byakuya standing just behind him, looking soft and comfortable in a sweater so large on him that the sleeves slip past his thumbs and soft-looking pajama pants, it heals something in his heart.

“You brought me something?” Byakuya asks, leaning around him to look at the couch. “Where did you get all of those? Are they from your last pack?”

Renji nods, wondering what Byakuya thinks, but his expression remains patient. “Yeah, they are, I brought ‘em with me. Kinda important to keep them around if you win in the first place. Momo said a blizzard was on the way, and I, ah. Thought you might get cold.”

“Oh.” Byakuya stretches out a hand, runs his fingers through the white fur on the very top. “This was very thoughtful of you, Renji. Thank you for bringing so many.”

“If I’m going to be half the alpha for you, then keeping you warm is the least I can do.” Renji waits until Byakuya smiles, a tiny little upturn of his lips, before he dares to step closer, pulling Byakuya into his arms, nuzzling into the crook of his neck where his scent is strong. “Did you make sure to eat plenty for lunch?”

Byakuya laughs softly and nods, leaning back to look up into his eyes. “It was out of my hands, actually. Orihime refuses to let me leave the table without eating now.”

Now. Renji tilts his head slightly. “Are you telling me that she—”

“Abarai Renji!” The sound of Rukia’s voice makes ice spike through Renji’s veins and he briefly wonders how far he could get if he just ran. “I know you didn’t get my brother pregnant while I was out in the wilderness.”

Serenely, Byakuya smiles. “Would you believe Jushiro let it slip to Rukia?”

He steps smoothly out of the way just as the smallest projectile to exist hits Renji right in the gut, slim but strong arms picking him up off of his feet and slamming him into the floor so hard a startled yelp chokes out of his throat. Rukia weighs next to nothing but is explosive when angry. Before he manages to get his wind back, she sits down on top of his chest, her knee digging into his sternum and keeping him pinned in place.

All he can think to do is smile up at her. “Nice to see you again, Rukia.”

“You.” She points down into his face, her finger poking his nose enough that it makes him jerk. “I told myself things would be fine if I was gone because I was certain you wouldn’t let anything happen to my brother, and then you go and do this.”

“It was an accident.” Renji squeaks out, and from the murderous glint in Rukia’s eye, that does not exactly make anything better. Rather, it seems to make things worse.

On the floor next to him, Ichigo stretches languidly. “Byakuya’s pregnant? I guess I should be congratulating you, then. Courting’s just a formality, huh?”

“It’s not like that!” Renji is motionless on the floor, certain that any small movement would draw Rukia’s attention like a predator and she would attack him more. “We just, we forgot to go to Unohana after his heat was over. And, I don’t know, maybe if someone hadn’t showed up unexpectedly out of the wilderness— ”

“This is not my fault!” Rukia slaps her hand over his mouth and Renji complains against her fingers, though his complaint is mostly muffled and he doubts anyone understands it, unintelligible as it sounds to his own ears. “You. You! You! ”

“Me what?” Renji demands, twisting his mouth away from her hand.

Evidently tiring of the display, Byakuya cleans his throat, and Rukia moves her knee slightly off of his chest. “While this is proving to be of more comedic value than I originally believed, it is time to stop. We both did forget, not just Renji. I did as well.”

“What happened here?” Ichigo sits up slowly, looking between all of them. “I missed it.”

Finally, Rukia drags herself off of Renji just as Orihime steps into the room, appearing to dry her hands on a dish towel, her expression unimpressed. “This brute —”

“I was on heat suppressants after my mate, Hisana, passed away. When Unohana informed me that I could become infertile should I continue to take them, I decided to stop.” Byakuya stops, as if ensuring none of them are going to interrupt him or try to start fighting around his monologue, then clears his throat. “So I asked Renji to assist me in getting through my heat. It was prolonged because of how long it had been. Unohana told me to come see her when it was through, that I could take something that would flush my system efficiently in case of a pregnancy occurring, but I… Was occupied, and forgot.”

Renji sits up slowly, rubbing his chest where Rukia’s bony knee had dug in. “I wasn’t any better. I forgot, too. And we never remembered. Unohana told us he was pregnant, and we talked it out, and Byakuya decided he was going to keep the pregnancy.”

“It was easy to say I never wanted a family until one showed up all on its own.” Byakuya’s hand moves to rest over his stomach and the sight makes something primal in Renji’s brain sit up and take notice. Pleased, watching Byakuya rubbing small circles into his own skin. “And with someone who cared about me and would stand beside me. It was easy to say I wanted to be alone when I’d lost the mate I loved so much.”

Ichigo’s voice is small when he speaks. “I’m sorry. I feel bad asking now.”

“Don’t.” Rukia reaches out a hand to ruffle his hair and he huffs and tries to smack her hand away. “You can ask questions. No one is going to punish you for that.”

Byakuya sits down on the couch and Renji moves fast despite the fact he’s winded, shoving the furs onto the arm of the couch and picking up the white one to wrap around Byakuya’s shoulders, ensuring he’s as warm as he can be. “Ah, Renji, thank you. Is this to borrow—”

“They’re gifts. All of them.” Renji’s face feels hot and it occurs to him he really should have thought this through instead of just picking all of these furs up and bringing them over here to give to Byakuya. Actions speak louder than words but holy fuck is he a dumbass. “I, ah. Look.” He rubs the back of his neck and huffs.

To his credit, Byakuya only pulls the fur tighter around his shoulders and wow, he looks beautiful wrapped in soft white. Byakuya’s natural fur color is a black so deep that it looks like the night sky without any stars to mar its silken perfection, rich and soft and sleek. But the white goes well with his pale grey eyes, his dark hair, his glowing face.

Byakuya is glowing. Is it the pregnancy? It has to be the pregnancy. Holy shit.

“This is just. This is my past.” Renji pats the top of the pelt pile and Byakuya nods, because of course he understands. Byakuya is smart, and Renji is a woeful dumbass. “This is who I was before I came to this pack. All I did was fight, and maybe another pack wouldn’t have taken me in. Our tattoos earned us a reputation. Other packs knew who we were.”

Quietly, Byakuya sighs and shakes his head. “I thought it was something like that. You didn’t tell me the origin of your tattoos for a long time after we first met.”

“I was afraid. I mean, who wouldn’t be? If I’d gone to Zaraki, maybe I could’ve been honest, but. So this. This is the past.” Renji swallows hard. Get to the point. “But I think being in this pack and under your leadership has done more to make me the man I am today. The only things I can take with me from that pack are really that I can fight, and I can use those skills to protect you when you need me to. To watch your back. And I can use these to keep you warm. It… You’re giving my past some serious merit after all.”

“Oh.” Byakuya’s expression softens into a smile and he shifts, patting the empty spot next to him. “I feel similarly. Before this, I had let my entire future become defined by my past. That I thought it was unfair that I had to suffer that loss, that she had died. But having you here now… I feel less like it was a cruel act of fate, that it was meant to make me unhappy, to harden me. It… It helps, more than you can know.”

Renji sits down next to him and decides to forgo all manner of politeness, pulling Byakuya up into his lap and wrapping his arms around him, nuzzling into his hair and breathing him in. He loves the way Byakuya giggles softly, a faint and barely there sound as he relaxes, shifting so he can rest his head against Renji’s shoulder, breath warm and curling against the side of his neck. He’s so warm and cozy. Renji wants to keep him here forever.

Rukia studies them for a moment before she gets Renji by the ponytail. “I’m only going to say this once, idiot. My brother has suffered enough in his lifetime. He deserves nothing but happiness. If you hurt him, I will hunt you down and kill you myself.”

“I’ll let you.” Renji tells her, and he means it. “I won’t even run. If I manage to ruin the best thing that’s ever happened to me, you might as well put me out of my misery.”

Orihime giggles from the kitchen doorway and Renji notices the way Rukia’s lips turn up in an automatic smile as she turns to look at her. “It’s really nice to see the two of you getting along. Rukia used to say that she was really worried about Byakuya when she was with us because she thought he’d just be alone for the rest of his life.”

“In my defense.” Rukia says, “He had every intention of doing that to himself. On purpose. He chose that life, it’s not even a slight insult on my part.”

Ichigo, who has been listening from the floor, snorts. “Nothing wrong with being a bachelor for a while but damn, I wouldn’t want to do it because I was sad. That’s just a way to make yourself even more miserable. You’re probably lucky Renji came along after all.”

“I am.” Byakuya looks up and Renji meets his eyes, the alpha in him almost purring when Byakuya leans up to nuzzle against his cheek. “I know how lucky I am to have him.”

“The courtship is just a formality, you said something about that earlier.” Renji says, and Ichigo hums in agreement. “He’s pregnant, we love each other. There’s no real reason to go through the motions when we already know we’re staying together, but it feels wrong to not do it. Plus, I already promised I would, so I’m going through with it.”

Rukia lifts her chin. “That’s honorable. I’m proud of you for going through with it.”

“He deserves it.” And Renji tilts his head so he can kiss Byakuya properly on the lips.

As always, Byakuya’s mouth is petal soft and warm against his own, lips yielding against his own as Byakuya’s fingers come to lace together at the back of his neck. Renji doesn’t even realize he’s doing it until he does, one arm sliding around Byakuya’s shoulders to keep him close while the other drops between their bodies, cupping over his belly like he’s trying to hold all of them at once. Byakuya notices, though. Renji can hear the soft satisfied noise he makes, the way his fingers tighten on the back of Renji’s neck.

Orihime croons over them and Rukia sighs and Ichigo groans and steals a fur to bury his face in, but they all settle around the fire and there’s something nice about that. Renji keeps Byakuya in his lap, stealing small kisses, nuzzling and nipping at his throat just to hear the blissful way Byakuya sighs, relaxing into Renji impossibly more.

In the literal years Renji has known Byakuya, he’s never been so calm.

“You said we loved each other.” Byakuya murmurs, fingers soft against Renji’s neck. “I don’t think we’ve ever said the words to one another.”

Renji snorts. “Who cares? I know how I feel about you. I love you. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone. You and them.” He presses his hand against Byakuya’s stomach meaningfully. “I’ve loved you for so long now, it’s just a part of who I am.”

He can see the soft pink dusting Byakuya’s cheekbones as he curls closer to him. “I love you, too.” he murmurs, and yeah, okay, Renji talks tough but actually hearing the words makes his heart hammer pathetically hard against his ribs. “I love you so much, Renji.”

Byakuya loves him. Renji pulls him closer, holds him tighter, because he loves Byakuya, too.