Threats And Declarations
Title: Threats And Declarations
Author: Ragna (afteriwake)
Pairings: Byakuya/Yoruichi & Renji/Rukia
Rating: PG
Spoilers (if applicable): Set seven months after the time skip, but went AU before the last arc happened.
Warnings (if applicable): None
Summary: It was a day of giving warnings and getting life changing news.
Authors Notes: My second answer to the Winter 2012 Contest at hyouhakuzai_fic, where I used Byakuya, Yoruichi, Renji, Rukia and the prompt “I’m coming home, I’m coming home.” This is part of my “Both Here And There” series, to which I retroactively added the story “ Musings On A Moonlight Night,” set prior to the “ Fire Forged Friendship…” story. You don’t need to read either; all you need to know is Byakuya and Yoruichi were seeing each other secretly, Byakuya went to the world of the living for a bit and while he was gone Renji proposed to Rukia. This is set about a month later.
ETA: I won first place!
---
There was an unfamiliar roar of an engine outside the Kuchiki manor. Byakuya had spent enough time in the world of the living to know it was a motorcycle engine and not some dragon roaring outside his gate. He also knew it was time for Rukia’s “special date” with her fiancée. He had just wished that Lieutenant Hisagi had not allowed Renji to use that infernal motorcycle. As it was, there was not much he could do to stop his sister from riding on it.
However, there were some things he could tell his Lieutenant before they went on their…the humans called it “joy ride,” or at least he believed that was the phrase Kurosaki had used. He left his study and made his way out into the hall, seeing Renji on his way to the main library. At least he had enough manners to come in and get Rukia instead of waiting for her outside on the two wheeled menace. “Lieu-“ He stopped himself. This man was soon to be family. “Abarai-san.”
“Cap-“ Byakuya was pleased to see it went both ways, at least. “Kuchiki-san. I’ve come to pick up Rukia for our trip.”
“I heard,” he said. “Before you go get her, there are some rules I would like to set forth.”
“All right,” Renji said. Byakuya noted he didn’t say it with an air of impatience, which boded well for the type of relationship they would have upon his marriage to Rukia.
“She must always wear a helmet when she is on that vehicle. You are not to speed, and you are to make sure you have that toolkit that Hirako-san brought with him the last time he came to Soul Society.”
“It’s in the saddlebags, and Hisagi-san went and bought a helmet for Rangiku-san, and she’s letting Rukia borrow it,” Rukia said.
He waited a moment. This was the warning he had wanted to give when they first officially declared their intention to date each other, or a variation on it. He had been lax in his duties not only as head of the Kuchiki clan but in being the big brother Rukia deserved. “I cannot tell you not to do what I know you two have been doing for months, but know this: if anything happens and we must move up the date of this wedding, I will not let you off lightly. You will surely pay for it, in one way or another.”
“Yes, Kuchiki-san,” he said in a firm voice, though he did turn slightly red. It was not as though it was a secret, though they had tried to hide it well. People talked, usually when and where they thought he would not hear, but he had those who kept him informed.
“You may go get her now.” Renji bowed, and then moved around him. Byakuya opened the door to the study and paused at the figure who was sitting at his desk. Only a hint of irritation went through him as he saw Yoruichi lounging back in his seat, her legs crossed on top of his desk. He should have known: the manor would be emptier, Rukia would not be there, so of course she would come over for an extended visit. “Yoruichi,” he said with an incline of his head.
“Byakuya,” she said with a grin. “You are a hypocrite, you know. Telling him that if anything happens he’ll have to pay when clearly no such provisions are laid on your relationship with me. Perhaps I should have Kisuke have a talk with you, eh? Scare you straight.”
Byakuya made an act of closing the door behind him, taking a moment to compose himself. He knew what he would do if Yoruichi got with child: he would marry her as quickly as possible and spend his life with her, which was rather what he wanted anyway. But he knew her. She would probably not tell him, and run off to the living world and disappear where he could not hope to find her.
“Too bad it’s too late for that.”
He jerked his head to his left, staring at her, all sense of stoicism and composure gone. “What?” he said, his voice somewhere between a screech and a strangled whisper.
“I’m pregnant, you moron,” she said, but with a smile on her face. “I just got done confirming it with Unohana. I’m a month and a half pregnant.”
“Pregnant,” he said, struggling to make sense of exactly where this conversation had gone. She was pregnant? She was telling him she was pregnant? She wasn’t running off and hiding?
“Preg. Nant,” she enunciated, swinging her legs off the desk and getting out of the chair. “Yes, Byakuya, I’m actually telling you that you’re going to be a father in about seven and a half months instead of running off like you’d thought I would.”
He snapped out of his shock. He should have known she knew him so well, and he felt ashamed at the knowledge that he had misjudged her. “Forgive me for thinking it,” he said quietly, watching her walk towards him.
She stood in front of him, and then caressed his cheek. “I thought about it. I thought about staying in the human world and cutting off all contact with you when I merely thought I was pregnant. But Kisuke convinced me it would be unfair to you, to have a child out there and not know him or her.” She smiled at him and he felt a small grin form on his face. Then she sobered up. “I don’t know if I want to marry you, though.”
His grin dropped immediately. She did not surely think there was any other option, did she? “I will not have my child be a bastard,” he said, his voice rising slightly.
Yoruichi stared at him, and then he saw her golden eyes shining with mirth just before the first peal of laughter left her mouth. “Oh, Bya-Bya-“ She couldn’t even finish his name, she was laughing so hard. She actually bent at the waist and placed a hand on his chest to steady herself.
He, on the other hand, was not amused. “Yoruichi, this is not a laughing matter,” he said. He knew that, if they hadn’t passed by already, Renji and Rukia would be by soon. And then it struck him: what did it matter if they knew? “You are going to marry me,” he said, and then faltered slightly. “Correct?”
Yoruichi stopped laughing, though she had a cheery grin on her face. She stood up on tiptoe and kissed him softly. “Try asking properly,” she murmured against his mouth. Then she pulled away and looked at him.
“Yoruichi Shihoin, will you honor me by marrying me?” he asked sincerely, with what he hoped was the full evidence of the love he held for her in his voice.
“Of course, Byakuya,” she said with a smile. “I’ll even do it before I have the baby, if that will make you happy.”
“That would make him very happy!” Rukia said from the other side of the door. Byakuya sighed while Yoruichi laughed. Byakuya opened the door and saw Rukia and Renji standing there, Rukia with a grin on her face and Renji with a shocked expression on his. “Congratulations,” she said, pushing past her brother and giving Yoruichi a warm hug.
“I know it will take away from your own wedding, and for that I apologize,” Yoruichi said a she gave Rukia a quick squeeze. They pulled apart, and then Rukia went over and gave her brother a hug, surprising him. After a moment, he hugged her back.
“It’s okay,” Rukia said. “Renji and I were talking about eloping anyway.”
Byakuya and Renji both made strange noises, and then Byakuya turned to glare at Renji. “You did not do what I told you not to do, did you?” he said, his voice cold and low.
“What? No! She’s just joking!” Renji said quickly.
“I am speaking in jest,” Rukia said with a chuckle. “It might not be a bad idea to have a bigger wedding for you two, though. It is not as though the entire Gotei 13 did not know you two were an item.”
“What?” Byakuya asked, turning back to his sister, alarmed.
“One of the servants saw her leave, asked me about it, and Renji and I watched one evening as she left. We didn’t see anything, but she stopped at a sake bar afterwards and she didn’t have her hair ribbon. Someone asked, she said she left it with someone important, and one thing led to another and everyone guessed you two were spending time together.” She shrugged. “Everyone knows you do not like others to pry into your business. If you announce your intention to wed Yoruichi-san immediately there may be talk, but you are both well-liked by those whose opinions matter. It is only the elders who will have problems.”
“She has a point,” Yoruichi said thoughtfully, tilting her head slightly. “The fallen princess marrying the stoic head of the Kuchiki clan. There will be talk, and more when I have the child so soon afterwards.”
“But if we time my wedding right, we can lessen the impact of the announcement of my niece or nephew’s birth,” Rukia said. “We shall plan our wedding for seven months from now, instead of the four we had originally decided upon. It will be the biggest, grandest wedding in known times, and it will be the talk of Seireiti. And most people will not care as much that you had your child so soon after the wedding.”
“It makes sense,” Byakuya said slowly, nodding.
Renji sighed. “I guess we can postpone it,” he said. “I just wanted to hurry up and get it over with.”
Rukia went over to him and kissed his cheek. “I’ll make it up to you,” she said quietly before pulling away.
“Just remember what I told you,” Byakuya told Renji, who swallowed thickly. “There are things Yoruichi and I must discuss. Perhaps it would be best if you leave now.”
“Yes sir,” Renji said. Rukia grinned as he grabbed her hand and waved quickly as he pulled her away.
Yoruichi went up to Byakuya and leaned against him. Instinctively he put his arms around her and held her for a moment. “Even if you do not love me, we will make this work,” she said quietly.
“But I do love you,” he said just as quietly. “I thought someone as intelligent as yourself would have noticed by now.”
She looked up at him, a smile on her face. “Maybe I was being a little dense. It would help if you told me, I think.”
“I love you, Yoruichi Shihoin,” he said quietly, leaning his head down.
“And I love you, Byakuya Kuchiki,” she whispered before kissing him.
Author: Ragna (afteriwake)
Pairings: Byakuya/Yoruichi & Renji/Rukia
Rating: PG
Spoilers (if applicable): Set seven months after the time skip, but went AU before the last arc happened.
Warnings (if applicable): None
Summary: It was a day of giving warnings and getting life changing news.
Authors Notes: My second answer to the Winter 2012 Contest at hyouhakuzai_fic, where I used Byakuya, Yoruichi, Renji, Rukia and the prompt “I’m coming home, I’m coming home.” This is part of my “Both Here And There” series, to which I retroactively added the story “ Musings On A Moonlight Night,” set prior to the “ Fire Forged Friendship…” story. You don’t need to read either; all you need to know is Byakuya and Yoruichi were seeing each other secretly, Byakuya went to the world of the living for a bit and while he was gone Renji proposed to Rukia. This is set about a month later.
ETA: I won first place!
---
There was an unfamiliar roar of an engine outside the Kuchiki manor. Byakuya had spent enough time in the world of the living to know it was a motorcycle engine and not some dragon roaring outside his gate. He also knew it was time for Rukia’s “special date” with her fiancée. He had just wished that Lieutenant Hisagi had not allowed Renji to use that infernal motorcycle. As it was, there was not much he could do to stop his sister from riding on it.
However, there were some things he could tell his Lieutenant before they went on their…the humans called it “joy ride,” or at least he believed that was the phrase Kurosaki had used. He left his study and made his way out into the hall, seeing Renji on his way to the main library. At least he had enough manners to come in and get Rukia instead of waiting for her outside on the two wheeled menace. “Lieu-“ He stopped himself. This man was soon to be family. “Abarai-san.”
“Cap-“ Byakuya was pleased to see it went both ways, at least. “Kuchiki-san. I’ve come to pick up Rukia for our trip.”
“I heard,” he said. “Before you go get her, there are some rules I would like to set forth.”
“All right,” Renji said. Byakuya noted he didn’t say it with an air of impatience, which boded well for the type of relationship they would have upon his marriage to Rukia.
“She must always wear a helmet when she is on that vehicle. You are not to speed, and you are to make sure you have that toolkit that Hirako-san brought with him the last time he came to Soul Society.”
“It’s in the saddlebags, and Hisagi-san went and bought a helmet for Rangiku-san, and she’s letting Rukia borrow it,” Rukia said.
He waited a moment. This was the warning he had wanted to give when they first officially declared their intention to date each other, or a variation on it. He had been lax in his duties not only as head of the Kuchiki clan but in being the big brother Rukia deserved. “I cannot tell you not to do what I know you two have been doing for months, but know this: if anything happens and we must move up the date of this wedding, I will not let you off lightly. You will surely pay for it, in one way or another.”
“Yes, Kuchiki-san,” he said in a firm voice, though he did turn slightly red. It was not as though it was a secret, though they had tried to hide it well. People talked, usually when and where they thought he would not hear, but he had those who kept him informed.
“You may go get her now.” Renji bowed, and then moved around him. Byakuya opened the door to the study and paused at the figure who was sitting at his desk. Only a hint of irritation went through him as he saw Yoruichi lounging back in his seat, her legs crossed on top of his desk. He should have known: the manor would be emptier, Rukia would not be there, so of course she would come over for an extended visit. “Yoruichi,” he said with an incline of his head.
“Byakuya,” she said with a grin. “You are a hypocrite, you know. Telling him that if anything happens he’ll have to pay when clearly no such provisions are laid on your relationship with me. Perhaps I should have Kisuke have a talk with you, eh? Scare you straight.”
Byakuya made an act of closing the door behind him, taking a moment to compose himself. He knew what he would do if Yoruichi got with child: he would marry her as quickly as possible and spend his life with her, which was rather what he wanted anyway. But he knew her. She would probably not tell him, and run off to the living world and disappear where he could not hope to find her.
“Too bad it’s too late for that.”
He jerked his head to his left, staring at her, all sense of stoicism and composure gone. “What?” he said, his voice somewhere between a screech and a strangled whisper.
“I’m pregnant, you moron,” she said, but with a smile on her face. “I just got done confirming it with Unohana. I’m a month and a half pregnant.”
“Pregnant,” he said, struggling to make sense of exactly where this conversation had gone. She was pregnant? She was telling him she was pregnant? She wasn’t running off and hiding?
“Preg. Nant,” she enunciated, swinging her legs off the desk and getting out of the chair. “Yes, Byakuya, I’m actually telling you that you’re going to be a father in about seven and a half months instead of running off like you’d thought I would.”
He snapped out of his shock. He should have known she knew him so well, and he felt ashamed at the knowledge that he had misjudged her. “Forgive me for thinking it,” he said quietly, watching her walk towards him.
She stood in front of him, and then caressed his cheek. “I thought about it. I thought about staying in the human world and cutting off all contact with you when I merely thought I was pregnant. But Kisuke convinced me it would be unfair to you, to have a child out there and not know him or her.” She smiled at him and he felt a small grin form on his face. Then she sobered up. “I don’t know if I want to marry you, though.”
His grin dropped immediately. She did not surely think there was any other option, did she? “I will not have my child be a bastard,” he said, his voice rising slightly.
Yoruichi stared at him, and then he saw her golden eyes shining with mirth just before the first peal of laughter left her mouth. “Oh, Bya-Bya-“ She couldn’t even finish his name, she was laughing so hard. She actually bent at the waist and placed a hand on his chest to steady herself.
He, on the other hand, was not amused. “Yoruichi, this is not a laughing matter,” he said. He knew that, if they hadn’t passed by already, Renji and Rukia would be by soon. And then it struck him: what did it matter if they knew? “You are going to marry me,” he said, and then faltered slightly. “Correct?”
Yoruichi stopped laughing, though she had a cheery grin on her face. She stood up on tiptoe and kissed him softly. “Try asking properly,” she murmured against his mouth. Then she pulled away and looked at him.
“Yoruichi Shihoin, will you honor me by marrying me?” he asked sincerely, with what he hoped was the full evidence of the love he held for her in his voice.
“Of course, Byakuya,” she said with a smile. “I’ll even do it before I have the baby, if that will make you happy.”
“That would make him very happy!” Rukia said from the other side of the door. Byakuya sighed while Yoruichi laughed. Byakuya opened the door and saw Rukia and Renji standing there, Rukia with a grin on her face and Renji with a shocked expression on his. “Congratulations,” she said, pushing past her brother and giving Yoruichi a warm hug.
“I know it will take away from your own wedding, and for that I apologize,” Yoruichi said a she gave Rukia a quick squeeze. They pulled apart, and then Rukia went over and gave her brother a hug, surprising him. After a moment, he hugged her back.
“It’s okay,” Rukia said. “Renji and I were talking about eloping anyway.”
Byakuya and Renji both made strange noises, and then Byakuya turned to glare at Renji. “You did not do what I told you not to do, did you?” he said, his voice cold and low.
“What? No! She’s just joking!” Renji said quickly.
“I am speaking in jest,” Rukia said with a chuckle. “It might not be a bad idea to have a bigger wedding for you two, though. It is not as though the entire Gotei 13 did not know you two were an item.”
“What?” Byakuya asked, turning back to his sister, alarmed.
“One of the servants saw her leave, asked me about it, and Renji and I watched one evening as she left. We didn’t see anything, but she stopped at a sake bar afterwards and she didn’t have her hair ribbon. Someone asked, she said she left it with someone important, and one thing led to another and everyone guessed you two were spending time together.” She shrugged. “Everyone knows you do not like others to pry into your business. If you announce your intention to wed Yoruichi-san immediately there may be talk, but you are both well-liked by those whose opinions matter. It is only the elders who will have problems.”
“She has a point,” Yoruichi said thoughtfully, tilting her head slightly. “The fallen princess marrying the stoic head of the Kuchiki clan. There will be talk, and more when I have the child so soon afterwards.”
“But if we time my wedding right, we can lessen the impact of the announcement of my niece or nephew’s birth,” Rukia said. “We shall plan our wedding for seven months from now, instead of the four we had originally decided upon. It will be the biggest, grandest wedding in known times, and it will be the talk of Seireiti. And most people will not care as much that you had your child so soon after the wedding.”
“It makes sense,” Byakuya said slowly, nodding.
Renji sighed. “I guess we can postpone it,” he said. “I just wanted to hurry up and get it over with.”
Rukia went over to him and kissed his cheek. “I’ll make it up to you,” she said quietly before pulling away.
“Just remember what I told you,” Byakuya told Renji, who swallowed thickly. “There are things Yoruichi and I must discuss. Perhaps it would be best if you leave now.”
“Yes sir,” Renji said. Rukia grinned as he grabbed her hand and waved quickly as he pulled her away.
Yoruichi went up to Byakuya and leaned against him. Instinctively he put his arms around her and held her for a moment. “Even if you do not love me, we will make this work,” she said quietly.
“But I do love you,” he said just as quietly. “I thought someone as intelligent as yourself would have noticed by now.”
She looked up at him, a smile on her face. “Maybe I was being a little dense. It would help if you told me, I think.”
“I love you, Yoruichi Shihoin,” he said quietly, leaning his head down.
“And I love you, Byakuya Kuchiki,” she whispered before kissing him.