The sunlight takes days to melt the snow from the blizzard and longer still to handle the thick ice that came to subsist on the lowest level of the ground, but they manage to outlast it. Just the same, Byakuya is grateful for the moment when he can step onto the front porch of the building, fur wrapped tight around his shoulders as he surveys the ground around them. They can go back to their lives now, he is sure of it, so he gives the all clear and is unsurprised to feel the alphas spill out around him, tumbling into the snow.

“I love the winter.” Hitsugaya seems unperturbed by the cold, gathering the snow up in his hands, throwing it over his head and letting it come to settle in a fine powder on his shoulders, invisible in his hair except where it catches the sunlight and glitters. “If it was this cold and snowy all the time, I think I’d be just fine in it.”

Byakuya raises an eyebrow at him. “I’m surprised you haven’t moved further north.”

“There are parts of Russia that are permanently frozen like this all year round, but this pack is home.” Hitsugaya flashes him a smile, and Byakuya chuckles softly.

He ruffles Hitsugaya’s hair as he moves further into the clearing, eyes darting from rooftop to rooftop to make sure the weight of the snow and ice hasn’t caved in anyone’s home. Not that he can check Yoruichi’s home from here, the tree branches too heavy with frost for him to be able to make the roof out from here, but he trusts her to take care of hers and her own like she always has. She must catch him studying the distance because she changes, loping across the snow in easy, effortless bounds.

Renji comes to stand next to him, his hand sliding against Byakuya’s for a moment before their fingers easily link together. “That wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be.”

“I think I’ll have to send a few up to Kenpachi’s compound to make sure he made it through fine.” Byakuya says. “Not that I doubt him, but it’s only common courtesy.”

“They always get the worst of it as high up as they are.” Renji agrees, squeezing his hand.

If the weather was better, or if he wasn’t pregnant, Byakuya would go himself and take Renji, Yoruichi, and Rukia with him to show that he comes in good faith. But the last thing he wants to do is risk the pregnancy. Just thinking about it has his hand gravitating toward his stomach, fingers rubbing over the area through the layers of his clothing. Luckily, his health had been fine during the time they were all cooped up, and even without the mark it feels as though Renji’s sheer presence is enough to keep him calm and relaxed. He should have been stressed, but instead he found himself calm with Renji nearby.

Renji catches him touching and smiles, turning to press his own hand to Byakuya’s stomach. “What’s Kenpachi gonna say about this? I remember how many times he gave you shit for not wanting kids when he was a single alpha raising a daughter on his own.”

Byakuya rolls his eyes. “Yachiru is a perfect little demon. How could I resist having children who would grow to be just as unbearable and terrorizing as she is?”

“Ah… Should be keep Yumichika from finding out for a while?” Renji frowns and Byakuya winces at the mention of the younger omega’s name. “It might not be good for him to hear.”

It had been months since Byakuya last saw Yumichika. The distance between their packs meant it was difficult to see Kenpachi’s pack for any meaningful length of time, and the weather was not always favorable. Living so high up on the mountain meant that travel would be uphill, steep in some places, with the risk of avalanche during the winter and mudslides during the spring and summer when it rained a serious issue. That being said, Byakuya knows there is no way Yumichika could have conceived in that time.

After all, the hunters had known to shoot for his abdomen. They aimed for his womb.

“I suppose we should keep the news limited to just Kenpachi himself. He doesn’t like keeping secrets, but if I ask him to, he will.” And he would owe Kenpachi for it, but he thinks this one thing might be able to slide for Yumichika’s own good.

Renji leans closer to him, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “We’ll figure it out. Can’t keep it hidden forever. He’ll eventually ask about those three redheaded pups following after you.”

“Redheaded?” Byakuya leans away from him, eyes narrowing. “Our children will have my dark hair, I’m certain of it. They’ll look like proper Kuchikis.”

“On that note, they should probably carry your last name since it’s attached to a much more important family and pack than mine is.” Before Byakuya can argue that point, Renji lays a finger over his lips. “No. No argument. I want them to have your name.”

Gently, Byakuya smacks Renji’s hand away. “Then are you just going to be the one odd man out? Or are you going to take my name when we’re properly mated?”

“I could. I wouldn’t mind. I’m not one of those alphas with his head shoved so far up his ass that he’s worried about taking his omega’s last name.” Renji peels the hand from Byakuya’s stomach, rising it to his lips to lay a gentle kiss across the knuckles.

“You could take my surname. My mother did the same when she mated with my father, and I’m certain my uncle did the same, though I have trouble remembering.” After all, the last thing Byakuya paid attention to as a pup was his family. He was much too busy having adventures with Yoruichi and getting into trouble as a result. “Orihime will likely do the same, as it stands. It would make more sense so you don’t stand out.”

“Kuchiki Renji has an interesting ring to it.” Renji flashes him a smile and Byakuya huffs at him, trying not to smile too much when Renji kisses his fingers again.

The scent of strawberries and cream is his warning right before Ichigo collides with his side, but Byakuya is expecting it and his arms are there to catch Ichigo and soften the blow. The younger omega huffs laughter against his shoulder and grins up at him, mischievous eyes glittering as he cuddles into Byakuya’s fur without a second thought.

“Are you going to be taking my last name, too?” Byakuya teases him, running his fingers through Ichigo’s soft orange hair. “You practically move into my house, you tease my alpha, you roll yourself all over my couch so it smells like a field of strawberries.”

Ichigo pouts up at him. “Why can’t I? Kurosaki just has a shitty ring to it these days.”

“I understand what you mean. You didn’t seem particularly happy to see your father when he came to see you.” At the mention of Isshin, Ichigo’s face falls, his eyes darting toward the earth. “Surnames can be difficult to live up to or carry. They should only be names, and yet they carry an intrinsic weight. It’s up to you to decide if you want to shed yours.”

“You for real about that?” Ichigo asks him, all inquisitive eyes, brightened face.

“If you decide that you do not want to carry your family name any longer, you can shed it, and I’ll adopt you into my family so that no one can say a word about it.” Byakuya smoothes a hand down the side of his face and like all of their kind, Ichigo likes touch, so he leans into it. “I want you to be happy here, to feel that this pack is your home, and as your alpha, I will do everything in my power to ensure that. Including chasing off Hitsugaya Toshiro.”

“I didn’t do anything.” Hitsugaya protests from halfway across the clearing, easily picking up the sound of their voices when the wind is so quiet today.

The moment he turns his back, though, Ichigo stoops and gathers the snow up in his hands, packing it into a tight ball. With precision, he cocks his arm and pitches the ball, and it smacks into the back of Hitsugaya’s head hard enough to stagger him. “I can handle him.”

“So you can.” Byakuya pats Ichigo on the shoulder. “Go on, now. Have your fun.”

“Sometimes you talk like you’re an old man instead of like, not that much older than me.” Ichigo rolls his eyes but quickly gathers up another snowball and takes off after Hitsugaya, missing his head this time by barely a fraction.

Byakuya frowns, turning to Renji. “Do I truly sound that old to him, do you think?”

“He’s a brat, don’t take it personally.” Renji says. “Let’s take a walk in the woods.”

The trees are beautiful even in their winter-long death, the branches heavy with snowfall, with icicles that glitter in the sun even as its heat forces them to drip down upon the ground. Byakuya pulls his fur tighter around himself and keeps his arm linked with Renji’s own as he looks about, taking in the quiet peace of the forest. The blizzard has covered the ground in a heavy layer of snow but there are footprints still, smaller forest animals and what appear to be the hoofprints of deer. The animals had to continue living their lives, after all. They could hardly wait forever.

Renji snaps an icicle off of a branch, letting it dribble across his fingers before dropping it into the snow. “Winter’s not long off from ending, even with the snow.”

“That’s true.” Byakuya murmurs. “Spring will come, and I’ll have my hands full with watching over all of the courtships and ensuring everyone is honest about their intentions.”

“Toshiro’s going to go after Ichigo. I think it’s kind of obvious. He’s not old-fashioned at all. I’ll bet all the bratty behavior is just going to make him like Ichigo even more.” Renji huffs a sigh and Byakuya nods, knowing just how inevitable such a thing is.

Then he smiles, leaning against Renji’s shoulder. “I wonder how tempted he would be to do such a thing if I’d taken Ichigo into my family by then. Think it might scare him off?”

“I think he’d back the hell off if he wasn’t absolutely serious, yeah.” Renji says, voice distant, almost thoughtful. “I think a part of him really likes Ichigo, that personality of his is usually what gets Toshiro interested anyway, but if he was a Kuchiki, Toshiro would have to be serious about it or risk you coming down on him for being a dick about things.”

In the distance, Byakuya watches a familiar trio of wolves circle the clearing, barking playfully to one another as they roll in the snow. Pale golden fur, rich brown, shadow black. Renji stops to watch them and Byakuya watches him, the smile that quirks at the corners of his mouth, the way his eyes soften, his gaze tracking them as they play wrestle and fling the white powder up in the air. The sight is enough to have Byakuya stepping back, giving Renji’s arm a squeeze and giving the man himself a quick nod.

“Go play with your friends.” He says, and Renji pauses, his expression clearly torn between his three closest friends and his pregnant omega. “I’m serious. They’ve had a rough go of things and it finally looks like they’re coming out the other side, so go join them.”

“Are you sure?” Renji’s eyes do a quick up-down and Byakuya rolls his own. “I know you can protect yourself if push comes to shove, but at a certain extent, you just don’t have to.”

“And I know that, but for this, I can handle anything that comes.” Byakuya pushes at his shoulder. “Go see them. You probably need a run after being shut up for so long.”

Renji’s transformation is smooth and sleek and streamlined, and when he shakes out the deep crimson of his fur, Byakuya laughs and smoothes his hands down Renji’s broad back. No one would ever mistake such a large wolf for occurring naturally even without the red fur to give him away, but Renji is gorgeous in this form. His bright golden eyes meet Byakuya’s own with far too much intelligence to belong to an animal before he tilts his head up, his nose cold and wet as it presses against the side of Byakuya’s neck in an almost-kiss.

“Go have fun.” Byakuya tells him again, and Renji noses his shoulder once more before turning, picking his way through the trees until he can bound over the ground.

He hears Yoruichi’s footfalls a moment before she joins him. He must be closer to her home, then. “I’ve been waiting so long for him to say something to you that it seems like just yesterday he was having an almost-breakdown over you in the kitchen.”

Byakuya glances at her out of the corner of his eye. Her smirk is playful, gentle. “When was that and where was I for that conversation?”

“You were in heat.” Yoruichi laughs when Byakuya frowns pointedly at her. “Was I supposed to stay away? What can I say, I’m a bad influence and part of me was tempted to come break down your door to make sure he was taking good care of you. I just happened to catch him in the kitchen instead. Much easier to accost him there.”

“What were you going to do if he was still tied to me when you walked in?” Byakuya demands, rounding on her while she laughs and throws her hands up.

“It would have been an excellent time to give you the talk I’m about to give you and yell at him at the same time.” Yoruichi dusts the snow off of a log, patting the surface next to her. “You haven’t had a mate in something like a dozen years, so I can lecture you.”

Sighing, Byakuya sits next to her. “As I recall, you approved of my relationship with Hisana, so I must have been doing something right. Why must you lecture me—”

“Because it’s been a very long time for you and I want to make sure someone is here to say all the right things you should hear. It should be your father, but he isn’t here anymore.” The soft, sad tone of Yoruichi’s voice makes Byakuya’s chest ache, a keen pain that lances between his ribs and reminds him of everything he has lost in the last dozen years. His parents, his grandfather, his mate… “And I promised him when we were children that I would take care of you. Did you know he thought you’d choose me as your alpha?”

The question makes Byakuya smile fondly. “I remember that. He lectured me about not letting you have your way just because your personality was so forceful, but he always trusted you to do right by me just the same. He was… I love him. I miss him.”

“I know you do. I miss him, too, and I hardly knew him as well as you did.” Yoruichi takes his hands in hers and Byakuya lets her, wanting her comforting touch right now. “Sojun was a good man, and a good pack alpha. And he was an excellent father and mate, too.”

“Yes.” Byakuya takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. “Now, go ahead and tell me what you so desperately wanted to tell me. Let’s just go ahead and get it over with.”

Yoruichi smirks at him. “You’re ungrateful sometimes. Renji treats you well, doesn’t he? I see the way he looks at you when he thinks no one is watching but I want to be absolutely certain that he’s treating you with all the respect that you’re owed.”

“He’s never been anything less than the perfect gentleman and at this point, I think I’d know.” After all, he and Renji have been nigh inseparable since finding out he was pregnant.

“I remember how anxious he was when he was seeing you through your heat, and that was before he’d ever told you how he felt about you.” Yoruichi shakes her head, her fingers gentle as she runs them through Byakuya’s hair. “It made me think of the first time I saw you through a heat. I was so certain I would do something wrong and ruin everything.”

“And that was without you having feelings for me that would only make things more complicated.” Byakuya muses. He still remembers the venture very well.

To this, Yoruichi can only shrug and smile. “What can I say? You were a beautiful young omega and my best friend, but that was all we ever were to each other, I’m sure. Best friends. I don’t regret a single moment I spent with you, but I know as well as anyone else, perhaps better, that the two of us were never destined to be more than friends.”

“It was for the best. I don’t have any regrets, either.” How could he? Yoruichi was a wonderful friend, a gentle lover, and someone who, through her own respectful actions, had given Byakuya a baseline with which to measure all of his future lovers. Hisana had ranked high on his list specifically because she could compare so well to Yoruichi. “I’m glad you ended up with Kisuke. I see the way you look at him and the way he looks at you. And I’m certain you’re going to be able to have children together one day.”

The smile on her face never wavers, though he can pick up the slight sadness in her eyes. “I hope so. One of these days… Until then, we have two beautiful children together. I couldn’t ask for more. But about you. Renji respects your boundaries, doesn’t he?”

“Yes. He was very clear about only doing anything with me that I agreed to.” And the one moment of weakness, where Byakuya had been hunched over in distress while Renji tried to give him space, was simple miscommunication. They were past that. “He asks, he waits, he hesitates so that he always has my assurance I’m agreeing to his choices.”

Yoruichi’s hand slides into his hair and Byakuya leans into her touch, enjoying the feel of her warm skin against his own cold cheek. “And you’re fully ready to take on a mate again, and all of the challenge that comes with it? Once the pups are born, Renji will be back to his usual duties. While you’re pregnant, he has to take on your challenges for you.”

“If I’m being completely honest, I don’t think I’m going to have any challenges between now and the day the pups are born.” And if he did, they would likely come from outside forces. None of the pack has seemed interested in taking his place, not since Aizen’s betrayal. It was as if the one singular act of violent defiance had been enough for everyone else to decide that they were finally satisfied. “I know he’ll have to go back to running the perimeter with the rest of you, fighting when it’s necessary.”

Yoruichi presses her lips together. “What did Renji tell you about the people he and Hitsugaya met in the woods? Did he tell you about the man in the mask?”

Perturbed, Byakuya shakes his head. “No. He just said he and Toshiro helped some hikers back to the trail and came home. What is this about a man in a mask? He mentioned a brother and sister pair and didn’t go into any further detail.”

“To be fair, he didn’t tell me anything either. Just Hitsugaya went into detail about the pretty girl.” Yoruichi rolls her eyes and Byakuya snickers softly. Hitsugaya’s flirty nature is somewhat legendary at this point. “But there was a man in a black facemask. Maybe he didn’t bother Renji, but Hitsugaya said something about him felt off.”

“Humans can be strange, to be fair. He might have seemed off-putting to Hitsugaya while being perfectly normal.” And a facemask… Hardly an unusual sight in Japan, much less in the winter. He could have been a sickly human, after all.

Gently, Yoruichi pats him on the cheek. “I know that, Byakuya-bo. I just worry. And I think worry is not misplaced necessarily. Better safe than sorry. You know the saying.”

“I am well aware. I promise I won’t let anything happen to this pack. I’d hardly take the place of alpha, otherwise.” Inspired, Byakuya pushes down the shoulder of his fur and the shirt beneath, revealing the scar still visible against his pale flesh. “I’ve survived far worse than an odd human or two. I think I can handle whatever they throw at me.”

Careful fingers trace the raised tissue of the scar. “I know you can. There’s never been a question in my mind of whether or not you could handle yourself. But if this man gave Hitsugaya a bad feeling, perhaps we should be more careful.”

“Perhaps.” Byakuya agrees, stroking a hand over his stomach. The last thing he wants to do is endanger the lives he wants so badly to bring into this world.

His gesture has something in Yoruichi’s eyes sharpening, and when she speaks, her voice is low and urgent. “I want you to know something, too. It’s not something that’s ever happened in our pack before, so you can’t exactly track it here. But it happened in my pride. Being on suppressants that long… You have to be careful. An early birth is possible.”

“How do you know that?” But she’d just said. He still wants to hear her confirm it.

“They aren’t cleared to be taken so often and so regularly. Guys from my pride were in the military.” Yoruichi’s jaw twitches, and Byakuya wonders how hard the alphas of her pride must have fought to keep their omegas safe, only to fair in the end. “Military grade is stronger than what Unohana could get for you. It takes less of that to cause issue.”

From there, he can connect the rest of the dots himself. There had been omegas in Yoruichi’s pack who had early childbirth, and the cause was likely those suppressants. They were known to cause problems with the body, after all. Byakuya stopped taking them specifically because they could have caused permanent infertility, something he had no desire to face. Those risks… He had no idea. He suspects Unohana must not have, either, because why should she know? No one in the pack but Byakuya took them.

“Thank you for letting me know. I’ll have to proceed with this pregnancy carefully.” All the more reason to take Renji’s bite during his second trimester. Maybe they could ward away as much bad luck as possible if Renji had a real, tangible connection to the pups.

“I want you to be as careful as possible not just for your sake, but for the sake of the family I know you want so desperately.” Yoruichi splays a hand over his stomach and Byakuya lets her, unafraid of her touch. She would likely take the pups in should anything happen to him and Renji, and he would trust her to do it. “Maybe you were able to convince yourself for so many years that you didn’t need family, but you do. I know you do.”

He nods slowly in admittance. He’d been cold enough for a lifetime. “I do. You’re right. Renji and I even had several conversations about it before I made my decision, so we were careful about it. I just… I wish it were easier. I know what happens when someone who has to divide their time between the pack leadership and family loses their ability to do so.”

Yoruichi nods and says nothing. They both know he’s talking about Kuchiki Ginrei.

“I have long since learned from my family’s mistakes, and I will repeat none of them. I will be the fair ruler capable of keeping the pack safe, of making sure my children are loved and that no one feels as though they do not belong.” He remembers his offer to Ichigo and wonders if it would parallel how Ginrei treated his uncle to anyone, if they would pick up on it. Had that been why he did it? To prove a point? Of course he wants Ichigo to have a proper home and a family as well, but…

Yoruichi takes his hand in hers, squeezing it gently. “I think you have the chance to do all of these things you want so badly to do, Byakuya-bo. But I want you to remember not to push yourself. You do not have to make up for the mistakes of your family. You do not have to be the perfect pack alpha. Who you’ve always been has gotten us this far.”

“I know, Yoruichi. Who I am… Has given me friends who stand beside me and a mate who was willing to fight through the ice around my heart to reach me.” Byakuya stands slowly, hand resting against the trunk of the tree next to him as he regains his balance. “Let us go back to the clearing. And thank you for this conversation.”

Renji barks a greeting to him and Byakuya lifts a hand toward him and smiles, watching as he returns to chasing his friends around. Out of the corner of his eye, he picks up the sight of a ginger wolf racing off into the trees with a white-furred wolf in hot pursuit and tips his head back on a sigh. Of course, it would have to end like this.

“There you are, brother.” Rukia is standing on the porch, leaning against the railing and staring out at the snow. “You and Yoruichi-san talked for a very long time.”

“We had much to discuss. Everything is fine.” Byakuya stands next to her, laying his arm across his sister’s shoulders. “She watches over me now that my parents are gone, that is all. I hope being cooped up wasn’t too difficult for all of you?”

Rukia shakes her head. “No, now, sleeping was another matter. You woke us up every night.”

“My apologies.” He pointedly ignores the heat that floods his face at the words, the way Rukia smirks up at him. “Yoruichi wanted to have a contest, and Renji was determined to beat her. Perhaps I wanted to, as well. I believe we only struck even, though.”

“I’ll get you back for that at some point. You’ve been warned.” Rukia’s voice is flat but her eyes glitter with mirth and Byakuya only sighs down at her.

The sight of the clearing full of pack, everyone enjoying the cold and the snow together, a welcome respite from being in a single house for days on end, warms his heart. Having his sister next to him makes it better. Watching his mate run in and out of his field of vision makes it better. The knowledge of his pregnancy, something that had been nothing more than an errant thought to annoy him in the past, makes it better.

When he took over as alpha of this pack, he had no way of knowing what future he would create with his own two hands. There was no way to know. Life is as changing as the seasons, and though he would have been willing to fight anyone who challenged him— had bled and fought to protect his place— he had no way of knowing if someone stronger than him would come along to stop him. All he knew was that he wanted to bring peace.

Now, Byakuya feels as though he has accomplished that goal.

He leaps over the railing of the porch and when he lands, it is on four feet instead of two. A triumphant howl rings free from his throat before he races across the snow. He knows the moment when Renji’s head swivels in his direction, when the crimson blur of his mate falls behind him, eagerly trying to catch up with him.

Byakuya barks laughter and speeds up, disappearing between the trees.