-19-

Rukia feels someone carding their fingers through her hair; the scent of something sweet and fruity roused beneath the skin she nuzzles into, seeking comfort even as she groans to consciousness.

Rangiku soothes her, tutting, "I go to class one time, and I miss all this."

Someone snorts, and from the warm press of a hand over hers, squeezing her fingers, Rukia gets the sense that it's Nanao. It's confirmed a second later, "God knows the kind of fall out we'd be dealing with if you were home to see it."

"But look, I'm helping!" Rangiku whines. "I should get points for that!"

"You wouldn't have been helping in the moment though," Nanao points out because Rangiku's never met a situation she couldn't agitate if she wanted to, and when it comes to Inoue, Rangiku really wanted to.

She'd kept a lot of her opinions about Inoue to herself for months. She probably has hours of tirades stored up just waiting to unleash, given the opportunity, and Rukia's latest altercation with Inoue was exactly that.

Though, Rangiku still tries to deny the pleasure she would've taken if she'd been involved as she sniffs, "You don't know that." A silence passes, then, because even on a bad day, Nanao has everyone's number, Rangiku is quick to sniff again, "Touché, President-chan."

In the pause between a prolonged blink and a deep exhale, Rukia hears, "— Ichigo, huh?"

"Yeah," Nanao hums, and she sounds like she's closer all of a sudden. On Rukia's other side instead of further away as she had been earlier. Rukia's brows furrow in confusion, and she makes a sound that echoes it, though she's immediately shushed by Nanao as she replies, "I don't know much about it beyond the fact they that they're sleeping together."

"Which is about as much as I got." Rukia can hear Rangiku smirk. "Although I got a slightly more, up close and personal demonstration via our wall. Ack! Nanao-chan!" She groans.

Nanao makes an offended noise, probably adjusting her glasses.

"What?" Rangiku whines, "I'm just telling you what I know!"

Nanao huffs, and that's the last thing Rukia hears before she falls asleep again.

Rukia wakes up intermittently to beg something to drink off whoever is closest – sometimes its Rangiku or Nanao – and gets pats on the head and cuddles before she falls back asleep.

Sometimes they talk, and Rukia contributes. She thinks? Anyway.

They argue over the terrible reality tv that they watch from Nanao's tablet, and watch cute animal videos on Rangiku's phone.

It's pretty standard fare for Rukia, a slightly early heat notwithstanding.

All the scientific journals state that keeping a routine during a heat is important which is why spending a heat with a knot isn't recommended especially for your first time, unless you were mated, planning to be mated, or even that you'd maintain the arrangement for every heat. Rukia's had none of those.

She's used to spending her heat being pampered and sleeping through it with only some aggravation and irritation throughout the week that everyone just politely ignores in favor of throwing either blankets or food at her.

It occurs to Rukia then that she'd been silly for even considering asking Ichigo to help with her heat.

She's never spent a heat getting knotted, why should that change now? What would he even do during her heat anyway besides play with her hair and be her body pillow for a couple of days, as she's accustomed to?

"Change is good," Nanao says.

"Besides," Rangiku adds, casually, "you already know you're a fan of his ahem equipment."

Whining to Nanao, Rukia moans, "What, you aren't going to yell at her for that?"

"It's true though." The other omega shrugs. "Plus, you like him, and with all the things you've told us about him –"

Startled, Rukia asks, "Told? I didn't tell you anything about him!" Rangiku makes a face, and Rukia demands, "When?"

"A couple of hours ago," Nanao replies.

"Like, two, after the whole Inoue thing," Rangiku snickers. "If anyone thought you only wanted Ichigo for his knot, they just need to hear you wax poetic about how annoying you find him but how you still think his eyes are pretty."

Even Nanao snickers at that.

And just.

Urgh.

"I hate my heat," Rukia groans. "I don't even remember that." Not that it's particularly surprising, her heat is usually spent in a daze that's half dream anyway. Although:

"I have it on video if you want. You're monologuing into an ice-cream carton. It's great," Nanao says, still coolly nonchalant to Rangiku's cackle.

Ugh.

Nanao sniffs. "Tatsuki thought it was adorable."

At that, Rukia perks up, and looking around to find the alpha absent, asks, "Where is Tatsuki?" Then, a little more urgently, "How is she?"

"She's fine," Rangiku waves off.

"After she took Inoue outside, she didn't come back for a while," Nanao adds, "but she was just making sure Inoue got to the omega dorms administration office alright."

At that Rangiku huffs. "She should've just thrown her out her ass. I can't believe Inoue hit you."

Reflexively, Rukia touches her cheek and then shakes her head, a little baffled. "I didn't really feel it?"

"Your head turned," Nanao reminds flatly, "you definitely felt it." Again, Rangiku huffs. "Anyway," Nanao continues, "After Tatsuki made sure Inoue had a place to stay however temporary, she came back to get Inoue's stuff."

Alarmed at the thought that this entire episode has set Tatsuki on the path to fall under Inoue's influence once more, Nanao is quick to soothe her, "Don't worry, Tatsuki's on her way back."

"From where?" Rukia asks, still a little apprehensive.

"She's off providing for us, as is her biological urge," Rangiku sighs, and Nanao rolls her eyes to reply with, "She's getting us dinner."

Dinner?

Rukia squints at her. "How long has it been?"

Checking her phone, Nanao dutifully informs, "About five hours. How are you feeling?"

At that, Rukia groans. "Like this heat's been going on forever," she states with a furrow in her brow. "What's going on?"

Nanao hums thoughtfully. "Well, you were really in it a couple of hours ago, but that might've been because Ichigo showed up."

"E-eh?"

"Yeah," Rangiku says, finally frowning. "About an hour after Inoue left? We thought you told him about your heat, but he showed up all worried."

"I told him it was almost time but not that it happened considering you know, everything with Inoue." Rukia sighs. "And what do you mean by worried?"

"Maybe he could tell you were closer than you let on," Nanao guesses thoughtfully. "It's pretty common when bonding takes place for partners to know when the other needs them."

She flushes. "I don't need him."

"No, but your omega does," Rangiku says.

Nanao doesn't disagree, adding on, "He stayed for an hour to cuddle you, but since we couldn't ask if you wanted to go with him, he said he'd be back later."

"I don't remember that," Rukia says, only a little worried. Heats didn't usually lend themselves to forgetfulness, but it's hard to recall anything when she's always in a dreamy haze. She does recall feeling particularly safe and comfortable, all cocooned and happy before falling into darkness.

She remembers hearing his voice. She remembers the comforting squeeze of Ichigo's arms around her.

She'd known he was there.

"When you woke up a couple of hours after he left was when you treated us to your verbal dissertation on Ichigo's eu de Christmas," Rangiku teases.

Whatever Rukia could say to defend against that is forgotten when they hear the front door open and Tatsuki call out, "I'm back."

Perking up, Rangiku cheers, "Oooh! Food! Let's go, can you stand?" And for all of Rangiku's excitement, she waits for Rukia to reply, and chatters about how she'd talked Tatsuki into getting takeout at her favorite restaurant, and that she's been craving absolutely craving it for weeks as she and Nanao help Rukia out of the room and into the living room.

The couch has been turned into a makeshift nest of blankets, pillows, with some clothing from each member of the occupants of the house. It smells similar to the one she'd woken up to in her room.

A makeshift nest her housemates have made for her when she couldn't make it for herself.

It's an uncommon occurrence given that Rukia's usually prepared enough to do it herself, but that her friends had done it for her makes her chest feel warm.

After Tatsuki grasps her in a hug and scent marks her in greeting, the four of them make themselves comfortable in the living room, Nanao squishing herself beside Rukia on the couch while Rangiku and Tatsuki sit around them – Rangiku on the diagonal single chair and Tatsuki on the floor, leaning against both Nanao and Rukia's legs.

"Good?" Tatsuki confirms, and Rukia nods, grateful that nothing was ruined between them from the revelation of hours earlier.

As they all fight over dumplings and yell at the tv because Tatsuki has a fondness for shitty reality tv and they all suck at convincing her to watch something else, Nanao interjects during a commercial break to say, "I have a theory."

Around a mouthful of noodles, Rangiku mumbles, "About?"

"Rukia and Ichigo," Nanao says, "you're bonding."

"Yes, we've figured that out," Tatsuki says with a snicker that pulls a laugh from Rangiku and a nervous giggle from Rukia.

"And maybe," Nanao continues, "that's why your sense of time has shifted. You're usually quite regular with your heats, almost down to the hour."

"You said yourself that could've been stress," Rukia reminds.

She allows that, but, "When he actually came here to see you, you calmed down a lot and you slept better and deeper. You reacted differently than when it was just Tatsuki, you barely slept ten minutes when she came back earlier, so it isn't just a need for an alpha. It's a need for Ichigo specifically."

"And what that means is," Rangiku trails curiously.

Nanao opens her mouth to answer, but a knock on the door interrupts her.

Suddenly wary because everyone that needs to be at the apartment is there, they all glance at each other.

Rangiku mouths, "Inoue?"

They glance at Tatsuki who shakes her head, and then gets up to answer it when another knock comes, a little more hesitantly this time.

"Did Inoue come back while I was asleep?" Rukia asks.

"She wouldn't dare," Nanao declares, following after Tatsuki with a determined stride that falters when Tatsuki is stepping aside in the doorway to let Ichigo in.

"Oh," Rangiku trails again, and it's so much worse to see both Tatsuki and Nanao echoing the suggestion in her words that Rukia immediately flushes and declares to the room at large, "Shut up."

Tatsuki ignores her to smirk, beckoning to Rangiku and saying, "We'll give you the room then."

"Just for like ten minutes," Rangiku says, and with a disapproving finger waggle, she adds, "No funny business. I nap on that couch."

Rukia hopes her face isn't conveying too late, but it doesn't matter because they're all shooting looks at Ichigo that probably varies from I'm watching you! to Get it! Internally she groans, and mentally chants, I love my friends, I love my friends, I love my friends –

"How are you feeling?" Ichigo interrupts.

"Ah, I'm fine," Rukia squeaks, face going warm from a combination of her thoughts and the obvious concern Ichigo's conveying. "Just…you know, having a day. Uh, w-what are you doing here?"

"Uh." He rubs the back of his neck nervously. "I…wanted to check up on you. Even though Tatsuki told me you guys have it handled, I just – I wanted to make sure. And uh, here." Bundled up in his arms is a cardigan – the same one she'd seen him wear on their date a few days ago. When she doesn't immediately take the offer, too preoccupied by the fact that she can't…smell him anymore? Is he wearing blockers? Ichigo says, "I know you didn't ask me to spend your heat with you or anything, but I thought this might help?"

"I wasn't supposed to start my heat until tomorrow," she says instead.

His brows furrow in confusion, but he doesn't say anything else so Rukia swallows and admits with a wince. "I was going to ask you if I could spend it with you, but uh…it felt weird after I yelled at you on the phone?"

His ears pink up. "Oh, uh – no, I get that." Then, after a pause, "I don't mind…helping you through it, if that's what you want." Adding a little hurriedly, "Not that we have to do anything. Tatsuki told me how you usually spend your heats so we could do that."

Rukia's cheeks hurt a little from how much she's smiling, and her soft laugh only makes him flush harder.

Her non-answer though gets a bedroom door to open in the hallway her housemates disappeared into; Tatsuki reappearing with a slightly annoyed expression. Both Ichigo and Rukia blink in confusion as Tatsuki thrusts a bag she'd brought out with her into Ichigo's arms.

"Her clothes, her favorite Chappy, her toiletries." Then, with a look Rukia's way, "And condoms, if you're so inclined, courtesy of Rangiku."

On cue, Rangiku yells, "Make safe choices!"

With a smirk, Tatsuki cheerfully orders, "Get out."


A/n: Tomorrow's chapter is all smut so if that's not your speed, Monday will continue with the drama!