Scarlet and Sapphire
By Spunky0ne
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Helplessly in love with his beautiful captain, Renji is crushed when Byakuya marries his best friend, Ichigo. Even more crushing is being asked to guard the breeder male who will be having Byakuya and Ichigo's baby. But when Renji and Tetsuya are thrown into danger together, he learns something monumental about Byakuya's shy, quiet cousin…Yaoi, mpreg Renji/Tetsuya, Ichigo/Byakuya
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Chapter 1: A Step to the Side
How the hell does this happen?
Renji Abarai stared dazedly at the lovely formal wedding invitation in front of him, unable to tear himself away from the words printed in gold on the dark cherry colored paper.
"The wedding of Lord Byakuya Kuchiki, 28th head of the Kuchiki clan and Shiba heir, Ichigo Kurosaki," he read in a soft, wounded voice, "Jeez."
It's not Captain Kuchiki's fault, he reminded himself, It's not like I ever said anything to him. How could I? Clan leaders don't fall in love with Rukongai mongrels like me. They fall in love with their own kind.
Although, Ichigo isn't exactly their kind.
He gave an agitated sigh, especially at having already agreed to attend the looming event as an honored guest.
Ugh, maybe some mission will come up or something, and I won't be able to go. I've gotta think of something. Sick friend? Nah, too likely Captain would figure that out. Injury? Hmm, nope. Injuries, he would want seen in the fourth division. No way I'm going there. I think I have a vaccination almost due. Don't wanna give those vampires any ideas. Damn, I can't really think of anything good.
He slammed his head unceremoniously down on the desk.
Why couldn't I just freaking tell Captain before it was too late? And Ichigo! Ichigo is my best friend! I should've been able to say something at least to him.
A soft sound of laughter seeped out of the nearby hallway, making the redhead look up and frown.
"Weird," he muttered.
I got up early and didn't think anyone was here.
He stood and walked to the hallway's entrance, then paused as he realized that the door to Byakuya's quarters was opened a little, and Ichigo's voice was sounding from just on the other side.
"Sorry for invading last night," the Shiba heir laughed, sounding completely unapologetic, "Seriously, I just came to tuck you in. It's just real hard to keep my hands off of you, you know?"
"I seem to suffer from the same affliction," Byakuya answered, sounding amused.
"Ugh," Renji groaned, putting a hand over his face and shaking his head, "Do they have to be so fucking perfect together? Right in front of me?"
He moved back to his desk to sit down again as a little thump sounded and then some rustling inside the room.
Renji could barely hear the words that leaked out through the now closed door.
"I seem to be suffering another bout of hunger for you," Byakuya chuckled.
"Oh," Ichigo answered, "that's okay. I'm in no hurry."
"Please, no!" Renji whimpered, covering his face with his hands, "C'mon, Captain, you remember how to use a damned privacy barrier!"
"Mph," Ichigo grunted, "Sh-shouldn't we…"
"Renji sleeps late and no one else is here," Byakuya assured his handsome partner, "But, maybe you're right."
Renji's face slammed down on the desk again as the privacy barrier formed.
"God, this is even worse!"
He could just imagine what was going on behind that barrier.
Captain's so goddamned beautiful, with that silky hair that he wears more loose and not as perfectly controlled now. It's even messier when he's just out of bed, which I only know because we've slept near each other on missions before. He looks so cute with messy hair and his yukata opened quite a bit, and with his eyes still sleepy.
God, why couldn't I have just said something?
I could be the one in there that he's smiling at with those lips that don't smile often enough, the one he's kissing with them. I could be the one slipping fingers beneath his yukata and tickling those perky pink nipples of his while we kiss. I could walk him to the bed, keeping his smiling mouth busy, pushing my tongue inside to taste the green tea still on his. My hands could slide under his yukata and make it drop to the floor.
I'd lay him down and take my time, teasing his white skin all over with my rough fingers and making him blush with the naughty things I'd whisper in his ear. And pretty soon, we'd wanna go farther, and he'd wrap a hand around my wrist, guiding my hand, first to his mouth, where he'd dampen my fingers, then he'd slide'em down over a pretty breast, down to his soft belly, then further, yeah, further down past the trail of dainty black hairs to the most beautiful and perfect thing that ever graced the three worlds!
Oh sweet kami, when I got there, I'd…
"Hey Renj," Ichigo said casually as he left Byakuya's room, his clothing rumpled and his hair even messier than usual.
The startled redhead crashed into the ceiling, then flopped down into his chair again.
"FUCKING HELL, "ICHIGO! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?" Renji howled.
Ichigo looked back at him in surprise as Byakuya appeared in the hallway, wearing his sexiest red yukata a bit haphazardly and looking more than a little flushed.
"For kami's sake, Abarai, are you trying to wake the dead?" he asked, frowning.
"S-sorry, Captain," Renji said sheepishly, slapping a hand to his forehead, "He…ah…he just surprised me is all. I didn't know you guys…um…didn't know you were here."
"Really?" Ichigo laughed, running his fingers through his messy spiked hair, "I thought we were kinda loud."
"Ichigo," Byakuya said, crossing his arms and scowling.
"Heh, sorry Byakuya. Anyway, don't forget to tell me as soon as you and Tetsuya hear something from the healer, okay?"
"Of course."
Tetsuya? Renji mused, Who's that? And what about a healer? Is he sick?
"Is someone sick, Captain?" Renji asked as Ichigo kissed the Kuchiki leader and exited the office.
"Sick?" Byakuya repeated, frowning, "Oh, no. No one is ill. I have a cousin who…well, I have been meaning to talk to you about him."
Byakuya looked around the office, then down at his yukata.
"Perhaps we can discuss it in my room while I dress?"
Renji swallowed hard at the thought and felt sweat on his forehead, but he nodded and followed Byakuya back into the captain's quarters, closing the door behind them. The noble moved to man's yukata dropped to the floor, revealing fully his painfully beautiful body.
"My apologies for Ichigo's intrusion," he said as he began to dress, "He does have a habit of being spontaneous and sometimes disruptive."
"That, he does," Renji chuckled, trying to sound like his heart wasn't pounding at two hundred beats a minute and his tongue didn't want to hang out practically onto the floor right then.
"But, even though he is disruptive, Ichigo is also a very loving person."
"Y-yeah," Renji agreed, "you're right about that. He's a good friend."
"Yes, and he is a passionate lover," the noble admitted, making Renji's face burn crimson at the thought, "I confess that I have never felt so loved, so cared for…so…beautifully treasured by someone."
The redhead's eyes widened.
Captain really loves Ichigo, and Ichigo makes Captain feel loved the way he deserves to be. A part of me is just dying here, but the better part of me knows…they belong together. I can love Captain Kuchiki with everything in me, but if he doesn't return that love, then there's no future in pursuing it.
What the hell do I do about that?
"You…deserve to be loved, Captain," he said, forcing a smile, "You've been in mourning for a long time. You should be happy with Ichigo."
"He does make me happy," Byakuya said, looking into the mirror at his lovely reflection while he continued to dress, "I want that happiness to endure, and that is why I want to speak to you."
"Sir?" Renji mused, giving the noble a confused look.
"You are Ichigo's best friend," Byakuya explained, "and as my vice captain and friend, you hold a place of trust in my life as well."
I think the living world folks call this being 'friend-zoned.' You can't be mad, because it's a kind of love and it's a position of trust. So, being a treasured friend is supposed to be an honor. It just doesn't feel that way because I'm still hung up on Captain. I have to suck it up and accept that it was never gonna work. Even if I'd said something, I'm not the one he loves. Still, it is good having him trust me. So, whatever he asks me for, I'll do it. After all, friends are a good thing, right?
"Thank you, Captain."
"Renji, there is something I need to tell you, and a favor I need to ask of you."
"Oh, what's that?"
"Well, it is two favors, really," Byakuya answered, surprising the redhead with a cute blush that touched his pale features.
"O-kay, shoot."
"Right. You know that it is unusual for the elders of any clan to support the marriage of a leader to someone who is not of pure blood?"
"Yeah, I've heard that. And also, Ichigo is male, so he can't have kids. I know you had to agree to have kids when you decided to get married, so…how does that work?"
"I was getting to that. You see, Ichigo may not be of pure Shinigami blood, but his mother, even as a quincy, was of a quincy noble family. He wields great power, so an exception was made to allow us to marry. Still, as you said, we need to provide heirs, now both for the Kuchiki clan and for the Shiba clan."
"How does that happen?" Renji asked curiously, "Not to poke my nose in, but…"
"Oh, it's fine," Byakuya said, looking amused.
"Do you use a surrogate or something?"
"Something like that," the noble answered, "We actually have a way to have a child that will mingle both of our reiatsus and genetic markers."
"Really? I didn't know you could do something like that," the redhead said, looking surprised.
"We couldn't, except for my cousin, Tetsuya."
"Oh, did he find this way for you to…?"
"Tetsuya is very special," Byakuya said, his eyes growing affectionate, "You see, at the end of the first blood war with the quincies, the noble clans faced a threat to their very existence. The fighting in that war was even more fierce and terrifying than that of the war we just endured. And the quincy leader was bent on ending the great clans. They hunted and slaughtered as many women and children as they could. They wiped out several of the lower clans."
"Holy hell," Renji breathed.
"The clans had to repopulate, once the war ended, but there weren't enough children left or enough females to bear new heirs. But while the quincies had targeted women and children in the families, they overlooked the non-ranking male family members. Between the war and the direct attacks on the noble houses they defended, many of them were also killed. But…because of their impressive skills in fighting, more of them survived. And a brilliant scientist of the time was able to alter some of the males so that they could carry the offspring of one or more other males, by formation of a special reiatsu chamber in their bodies. The men who agreed to bear the burden of the clan's survival this way were called breeder males."
Renji shook his head in disbelief.
"Really? I never heard anything about that. That's just…"
"It is rarely spoken of outside the clans, or even inside, because after the clans were revived, it was ruled that the ability was an unnatural one, and was no longer needed. Many felt that it infringed on the place of women in our houses. But, what no one knew was that some of the males born of the breeder males also carried the ability to bear children. It was not possible to know whether or not one carried the trait until the natural breeder male became pregnant, so many were simply never identified, as they had female partners."
"But, why aren't there breeder males now?" Renji inquired, "What happened to them?"
"That is a very dark part of our history," the noble confessed, "Some hated the breeder males, and thought them unnatural and dangerous, though they never did anything violent. The one who hated the breeder males formed an illegal group that hunted and murdered the breeder males. If a person was even rumored to have the ability, those men killed him. In this insidious way, most of the breeder males died. But…some survived because no one discovered their ability. As of today, we know of only one breeder male."
Realization dawned on Renji's face.
"Your cousin?"
Byakuya nodded.
"Tetsuya is a breeder male. He can carry children. When the council argued against letting Ichigo and me marry, he offered himself to bear powerful heirs for both the Shiba and Kuchiki clans. If we had accepted the help of clan surrogates, the children would have been either mine or Ichigo's separately, but with Tetsuya's help, we can ensure that our reiatsu in mingled in the offspring so that the chances of passing on our greater powers are increased. Tetsuya knew that this would be attractive to the elders, especially in the wake of the war, because it would not just give two great clans powerful heirs, those heirs would bring some quincy blood into the noble clans, so that if the quincies threaten us again, the bodies of future clan members will be more resistant to them and more able to fight them than we were"
"Well," Renji said, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck, "I guess that makes sense."
Byakuya nodded.
"The elders felt the same. They agreed to the match and let us begin an official courtship, but they did require that Tetsuya prove that he could carry children for us. So, Ichigo and I mated with him and we await the results of that mating."
Renji's jaw crashed down onto the floor and his eyes rounded.
Mated with him…
"I am sorry," Byakuya apologized, noting his adjutant's strong reaction, "I suppose I said that too casually."
"Ah, no!" Renji objected, "No, it's fine."
"You are a friend, so I don't mind sharing the details."
"R-right. Good," Renji stammered, blinking and shaking his head, "So, that's why Tetsuya was seeing a healer?"
"Yes. We should find out today if the mating was successful."
Does he have to keep saying that?
"So, you said that you wanted something from me?"
I wish I could be a breeder male…
"While he is in his gestation period, Tetsuya's powers will have to be limited for his safety and the baby's. He will need protection as he carries out this task, and it needs to come from a trusted source, because even now, there are those who hate Tetsuya, both for being a mixed blood and for being a breeder male.
Oh fuck, he's gonna ask me to…?
"Ichigo and I know that we have never had a better friend that you, and your powers are respectable."
"Uh…thanks."
"So," Byakuya said, for a moment looking so sweetly vulnerable that Renji felt his defenses crash down around him, "will you agree to be Tetsuya's bodyguard during his pregnancy?"
Shit.
Can you just kill me now?
This is the worst!
"Yeah," Renji said, smiling helplessly as his heart burst and he was sure he saw the mess splashing down onto the floor, "of course, Captain. I'll protect Tetsuya and your baby with my life."