In his captain's office, Renji felt like he was having a stare-down with a dragon. He'd originally decided to ask Byakuya before he proposed to his sister. Partly because of tradition and partly because he didn't want a death by a thousand paper cuts. But now, in his office, sitting across from him Renji was beginning to think the whole death-by-a-thousand-paper-cuts was probably better.
"You wish to marry Rukia?" Byakuya managed to sound totally disinterested and like he would personally gut Renji at the same time. How the hell did the captain even do that? Shit if he knew. Byakuya's hard grey eyes felt like they were going to rip him in half.
Renji held back a shudder and nodded. "Yes, captain."
There was a very long silence. Renji could feel the sweat running down his neck. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Byakuya's zanpakuto was leaning against his desk and a very ugly image of Byakuya's bankai surrounding him ran through his head. Hell, he thought getting the courage to ask Rukia would be hard, why did her damn brother have to be so utterly terrifying?
He swallowed again as the Captain stopped his calligraphy and turned his full attention toward his lieutenant. Damn, when he stops his calligraphy then you know you're screwed. Another unsightly image of Renji's guts spattered across Squad Six's barracks came to mind.
"On one condition," Byakuya said. "I know it is tradition for the female to take on the last name of the male, but if Rukia wishes it, she will keep the Kuchiki name."
A weight lifted off of Renji's chest and he sighed. He could do that. He didn't really care whose last name Rukia bore and if she wanted to keep the Kuchiki name-which, well, why wouldn't she?-then that was fine with him. Besides, Kuchiki Rukia flowed a lot better than Abarai Rukia. Not that Renji was necessarily obsessed with the flow of their names. It wasn't like he'd been writing Abarai Rukia all over his logbook for the past three weeks while he built up the courage to pop the question.
Renji made a mental note to destroy the logbook. "Yes, Captain."
"You may go," Byakuya said. Renji sighed in relief and rushed toward the door. God, if asking Byakuya was that terrifying, how bad would popping the question to Rukia be? What if she laughed? What if she started punching him? He didn't know which was worse.
Before he managed to escape the room, Byakuya called his name. "And Renji, if I find out you've done anything that has hurt her I will kill you myself. Slowly and with great pain."
A strangled sort of noise came from Renji's throat. "O-of course, Captain."
####
Asking the question to Rukia proved a lot easier. After being yelled at for five minutes straight over waiting this long, being punched in the ribs when he couldn't get the words out, and then being tackled while fending off questions of a Chappie-themed wedding (apparently the tackling was Rukia's version of an enthusiastic 'yes') they were officially engaged.
Arm in arm with Rukia, feeling more happier than he had since...since forever, he wondered why he ever was worried in the first place.