Chapter 24: Second Invitation

I own nothing but The Wolf Den :)

Also typing this up while tired and not feeling well, so kindly inform me of any typos.

Warnings: Not shit compared to what's already happened in this fic. Let me know if you disagree

Previously-

((Just then, he sensed spiritual pressure outside, and he lifted his head to see Renji staring towards the front door.))

Byakuya watched as his host tilted his head, then met his eyes and whispered, "It's Shuu, and he's alone."

A rhythmic knock echoed from the door, and he realized Renji seemed to be waiting for permission to answer. "You silly man, you can answer the door."

His partner climbed out of the nest with his bowl and strode to the front door, opening it. "The fuck you doin' here, Shuu?"

Byakuya pulled the soft throw blanket over his bare legs as he heard the reply. "Yeah, yeah, fuck you, too. You oughtta be glad it's me and not one of the others. I got big news."

He watched as Renji backed up, letting the scarred lieutenant in and closing the door. His boyfriend cocked his head. "News? What news?"

Shuuhei began to grin excitedly, bouncing on his toes. "Ikkaku proposed to Yumi! He said yes! They're getting mar-"

Byakuya watched as Shuuhei froze mid-sentence, sky-silver eyes fixed on the bowl Renji was holding as he sniffed. "Whatcha eatin', Ren?'

The redhead frowned. "Dude, news? Ikkaku proposed to Prissy-Pants? Focus."

Shuuhei waved distractedly, honed in on the bowl of Rukon stew. "Yeah, Yumi's over the moon, Ikkaku's puffed up like a fuckin' rooster. They wanna celebrate, were gonna come here, but I figured Byakuya would be here, so I came instead. What is in that bowl, Renji?"

Byakuya hid his amusement as Renji rolled his eyes. "Gods! One-track mind much? Here, you nosy bastard, you tell me what it is "

The younger man got a spoonful of the stew and stuck it in Shuuhei's mouth. The bright blue-silver eyes widened comically, then narrowed, and even from the couch, Byakuya heard the ringing of teeth clamping down on the spoon.

Renji began fussing at his friend. "Hey! Leggo! That's mine! Gimme it back!"

He tugged on the spoon, but Shuuhei didn't let go, silvery eyes landing on the bowl again. Immediately, Renji lifted his bowl out of reach of the smaller lieutenant. "No! Mine! There's more in the kitchen, but you can't have mine! Now let go!"

Quick as a snake-strike, Renji dipped his head and bit his friend right below the ear.

Shuuhei yelped, releasing the spoon. Renji stalked into the kitchen, muttering, "Greedy bastard...bite my spoon...kick your ass."

In spite of the threats, Shuuhei followed the Rukon Dog like a puppy into the kitchen.

Byakuya watched as they returned, the leader of Squad 9 holding his own bowl of stew and already eating it. "Oh gods, this is so good!"

Apparently soothed that his food was safe and that his packmate had his own, Renji smiled, gesturing towards Byakuya. "He made it."

He blushed as his partner's best friend stared at him. "Well, fuck. He's gorgeous, powerful, and can cook Rukon stew? Don't ever let him go, Ren. I'll kick your ass for being a dumbass, then I will seriously be stepping up my game. Hey, Byakuya? Think you'd give me a chance if he fucked up?"

Byakuya laughed at the fierce scowl his boyfriend directed at the scarred man. "Relax, honey. Shuuhei, I would only consider that if Renji was ok with it, which I doubt because I'm sure he'd come to you if things didn't work out. But don't get your hopes up; I'd rather work on our screw-ups than end our relationship over them."

To his surprise, Shuuhei just smiled brightly. "Y'know, even though I like you, what you just said is exactly what I wanna hear. I really would prefer that you two work out. Then again, you did say you'd consider it if Ren was ok with it..."

Renji huffed and tossed his head, climbing into the couch nest to sit almost on top of Byakuya. "Back off, Shuu. He don't play like we do, or used to. Pretty sure that shit ain't gonna fly no more."

Shuuhei shrugged, murmuring, "Too bad, coulda been fun," before refocusing on his bowl of stew.

Feeling as if he'd missed something, and sensing a surge of protectiveness from his partner, Byakuya almost asked what was going on, but decided the answer might prove...distracting. He cleared his throat, asking instead, "So Ikkaku proposed to Yumichika?"

Shuuhei grinned and nodded. "Yeah. Yumi said it was really sweet, considering it was Ikkaku, who's about as sweet as vinegar."

The lieutenant perched on the armrests at one end of the couch-nest, speaking between bites. "Apparently, Ikkaku had made all of Yumi's favorite foods, and cleaned the entire apartment. Took him in the bedroom, and of course Yumi thought they were gonna get busy. Instead, Baldy sat him on the bed and got down on one knee. Yumi said he started crying before Ikkaku could even speak. Baldy got him to calm down, then gave him a sweet little speech about how Yumi makes his world beautiful."

Byakuya heard a little sniffle as Renji spoke. "'S about time. They been together how long now?"

Shuuhei tilted his head as he finished his stew. "Since the Rukon. They were already together for a while before meeting Kenpachi, and he wasn't even a captain yet. Anyways, they wanna celebrate, and were gonna come here to invite you out to celebrate with 'em. I figured Byakuya might be here, so I convinced them I had to talk to you anyways."

Byakuya sensed an excited wave wash over his partner as Renji replied, "K, thanks. We coulda gotten busted. Where they celebratin'?"

Shuuhei chuckled. "The Wolf Den, of course! Ikkaku had already reserved the Dragon Room before proposin'."

Renji became even more excited. "The Dragon Room? Best one in the place! Baldy's pullin' out all the stops for Yumi, huh?"

Shuuhei nodded, then said, "Aaaand, as long as I was out to invite you, Ren, I was tasked with a very special mission."

Byakuya was surprised when the ice-silver eyes landed on him, and the younger man smiled. "I was told, by both Ikkaku and Yumichika, to see if Renji and myself could convince one Captain Kuchiki to forget about 'serious shit' for just a while, and come celebrate their engagement."

He found himself speechless as Renji turned wide eyes to him and Shuuhei tilted his head. "What, you surprised to be invited, Byakuya? You realize you were in a drinkin' contest with Ikkaku; in his mind, you're now friends, at least outside of work. And Yumi was impressed by you winning, not to mention he thinks you're sooo beautiful, and beauty is like a drug to him. They both loved seeing you so relaxed and 'normal' last night, and want to see it again. Well, whole pack does, really. But those two wanna see if you'll smile again, for them and the happiest day of their lives so far."

Byakuya was caught off-guard, but a warmth spread through his chest. "That's...yes, I want to go. Can we, Renji?"

His boyfriend grinned at him, obviously happy and proud that he'd said yes to this. "Sure thing baby. But hey, we gotta be back by sunset cause we got plans for tonight."

He felt a blush spreading over his cheeks as warm auburn eyes met his.

Then Shuuhei spoke teasingly. "Ohh, that made you turn redder than Ren's hair! What kinda 'plans' you two got?"

Without looking in his friend's direction, Renji chucked a pillow in his face. "Nunya business."

The scarred lieutenant chuckled, tossing the pillow back into the nest. "Whatever, man. Byakuya can say he's gotta leave to prepare for some clan business or something, yeah?"

He nodded, and Shuuhei continued. "And Ren, all you need his your 'secret partner', and boom! You got a reason to leave."

Renji climbed out of the nest, saying, "Let's change, and we can go."

Byakuya moved to follow, forgetting that the sapphire yukata stopped several inches above his knees. As his feet touched the floor, he felt the tingly sensation of being watched. He looked to see Shuuhei gazing at his long, bared legs. Well...the younger man wasn't really leering at him or anything, just checking him out with a warm appreciation the way Renji did sometimes.

The admiring frost-silver eyes lifted and met his, and the tenderness vanished behind a flash of white-hot terror.

Byakuya frowned; was Shuuhei afraid because he'd been caught simply checking him out? He glanced over to see Renji already going down the hallway. So, Shuuhei must be afraid of his reaction, not Renji's.

He looked back to find the lieutenant staring at the floor, and he said softly, "Perhaps you shouldn't worry so much, Shuu," using the shortened version of his name for the first time.

Surprised silvery eyes rose to his, and the younger man gave a tiny nod. "Umm, you could just wear some hakamas with that; the sapphire looks really nice on you."

He nodded, giving a reassuring smile. "Thank you. I may just do that."

He turned and headed down the hallway, seeing that Renji had paused in the doorway of his bedroom, narrowed auburn eyes fixed on Shuuhei.

As Byakuya made it to his partner's side, Renji nudged him into the bedroom and followed. He met the bigger Soul Reaper's eyes, asking softly, "Renji, are you ok?"

His subordinate nodded, reaching out to touch his cheek. "Yeah, it's just...look, if Shuu, or anyone else in my pack, ever makes you uncomfortable, I want you to tell me, and I'll take care of it."

Sensing aggression bleeding into the Rukon Dog's fierce protectiveness, Byakuya ran one hand over the broad chest gently. "Do you really think Shuu would do or say something inappropriate?"

The tall crimsonette seemed soothed by his touch as he considered the question. "I dunno. I think me and my friends have a warped view of what's 'appropriate'. You just tell me if something happens that you think is inappropriate - if Shuu or someone else says or does anything that bothers you, I want... I need you to tell me, and I won't let it happen again."

Byakuya had no doubt that the younger man was dead serious, and he smiled as he spoke softly. "I promise I'll let you know if anyone bothers me, honey."

Renji nodded, looking at him almost expectantly. Realizing what his boyfriend was waiting for, he shook his head. "No, Shuu hasn't done or said anything bothersome."

He sensed the relieved calm that replaced the protective aggression in his fierce warrior. "Alright, baby. Lets get ready; we got a celebration to go to."

He nodded, slipping on a pair of black hakamas as Renji changed his own, keeping the black and red kimono top on. He brushed his hair and tied it in the high ponytail, then watched as the crimsonette brushed out his own fiery mane and left it down, saying, "I did tell you I'd leave it down all day, didn't I?"

They shared a tender kiss, then left the bedroom.

Renji said softly, "I'm glad you chose to keep that yukata on; it looks so pretty on you. But are you sure the edges won't slide back far enough to reveal the marks I left on you?"

Byakuya realized his partner might have a point. The soft, delicate material did have a habit of slipping back to bare his shoulders. As they reached the front room, he sighed and glanced towards his overnight bag. "You may be right. I should probably change because if anyone sees the marks, it could raise questions."

Shuuhei asked from his position leaning against the bar, "What's wrong?" He explained, and the scarred lieutenant came closer, eyeing the yukata."I can fix that, hold on." Then he stepped over to one of the end tables, opening a small drawer and rummaging through it as he spoke. "Ren, you better not have gotten rid of - oh ok. Here's one."

Byakuya could sense Renji's eyes on the other lieutenant as Shuuhei came to stand in front of him, holding a safety pin and saying, "I'll fix it for you, but first..." the younger man softened his tone to a whisper, "...could I see the marks we're tryin' to hide?"

Byakuya felt a pulse in the air and knew Renji had an answer to that.

He met his protective partner's dark amber eyes and smiled, seeing surprise in the strong features as his subordinate slowly closed his mouth and watched quietly.

He looked back to Shuuhei, who looked like he wanted to retract his request.

Byakuya shrugged his shoulders back, letting the edges of the yukata slip down off his shoulders to proudly bare the matching love-bites Renji had bestowed on him.

Shuuhei's eyes widened and warmed as a satisfied sort of smile curved his lips. "Well, aren't those pretty? It's really too bad you have to keep all this a secret."

Byakuya tilted his head as he straightened his yukata. "It will not always have to be so. And when it doesn't have to be a secret anymore, Renji and myself have decided to tell the pack first."

The scarred lieutenant's smile widened as he stepped closer with the safety pin. "That's awesome. Now, Imma need you to hold still. I don't wanna poke you with this, and I'm pretty sure Ren will relieve me of body parts if I make you bleed."

He glanced over to see his partner watching them closely, the expression on the proud features making him smile. "Yes, important body parts, too."

He held still as the younger man leaned into his personal space and carefully pulled the edges of the yukata closed.

In the silence, Byakuya's senses heightened, feeling the gentle brush of his boyfriend's best friend's fingers on his chest, guarding his skin from the sharp point of the pin. A warm breath fanned over the base of his throat as the pack's 'beta' tilted his head closer, ice-silver eyes focused intently on his work.

Byakuya was startled to find himself responding to the closeness and tender, careful attention. This surprised him because before Wednesday, before Renji, he'd never really considered himself attracted to other guys. Now here he was, getting all hot and bothered from another man being so close, while his partner stood right there.

He lifted his eyes to Renji's, and the crimsonette tilted his head. Apparently thinking he was bothered in the wrong way, Renji's hand rose towards the back of Shuuhei's neck, obviously intending to pull him away.

Byakuya gave a slight shake of his head, lowering his eyes to see that the scarred lieutenant was focused on adjusting the safety pin just right. Shuuhei wasn't doing anything wrong, and didn't seem to even notice he was affecting Byakuya.

He felt his cheeks warming as he looked to Renji again. The auburn eyes widened as the bigger Soul Reaper silently mouthed, "Really?"

He inclined his head, and the Rukon Dog looked between them before beginning to chuckle.

X~X~X~X~X

Renji couldn't believe his eyes. If he wasn't mistaken, Byakuya was totally getting turned on by Shuu!

That cute little flush, and the way the steel-violet eyes were watching Shuu's fingers, and the noble had stopped him from snatching the other man away from him.

Oh wow! Maybe he'd been wrong - maybe his partner would be open to 'playing'.

Renji wasn't bothered in the least; after all, he'd spent the last few decades in what basically amounted to a polyamorous relationship with several members of his pack.

He'd been fine giving that up in favor of Byakuya being his one and only, but dear gods! If the ravenette had any interest at all, he, and his friends, could show him a world he couldn't imagine!

The only reason he'd been pushing Shuu and Kenpachi away from Byakuya was because he didn't want the noble to be uncomfortable with their attention. But right now, he seemed pretty damn comfy.

He was still laughing as Shuu, finally satisfied with his work, straightened up. "All done. Your marks are safe, and the pin ain't visible."

Then his friend turned to him with a frown. "You ok? What's so funny?"

He shook his head, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "Nothin', babe. Just thought of a real fun conversation me and Byakuya really gotta have later."

Shuuhei rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Did neither of you notice somethin' that could cause problems with the pack?"

He and Byakuya both shook their heads, and his friend proceeded to sniff the noble, then him. "You both smell like your peach-lily bubble bath. Are you two tryin' to get caught? Seems kinda suspicious if you smell the same."

Realizing Shuu was right, he looked to Byakuya, whose eyes were wide. "Hey, what about your sakura oil?"

His partner nodded and moved to the couches, retrieving the bottle of oil. As his captain began applying it to his arms, Renji heard Shuu sniff and murmur to himself, "That smells nice...that's why he smells like cherry blossoms."

Grinning, he leaned over the back of the couch to address his boyfriend. "Hey baby? You wanna let Shuu check that out?"

The amethyst eyes blinked, then looked at the surprised-looking Acting Captain as the oldest of the three spoke in a perfect Rukon slur. "C'mere, Shuu. Wanna show ya somethin'."

Shuuhei obeyed, looking stunned that the noble had used the casual slang of the streets so fluently. "Ya able ta talk Rukon?"

Renji watched, smiling as the Kuchiki heir replied, "Yeah. Always been a real fast learner."

Shuuhei began to grin, obviously delighted that Byakuya had taken the time and effort to learn how to talk like them, and easily slipping into a thick slur. "Tha's awesome, 'kuya. Fuckin' 'mpressive, though I bet it was hard for us, growin' up an' talkin' thisa way, an' have to learn proper shit. Y'know, I think i's sexy, hearin' someone noble-educated talkin' like they street like us."

Byakuya nodded, his slur deepening as he learned on the fly from Shuuhei talking. "Yeah, Ren said the same thing, thinks i's sexy, too. Here, checka this out."

Renji watched as the ravenette put a couple drops of his sakura oil on Shuu's fingers, and his friend began making similar observations as he had. "Oh, this's some quality stuff. Slick but not runny, very smooth. This'd be great for - um, never mind."

Renji chuckled. "Don't worry, Shuu. We already discussed it bein' good for that kinda stuff."

The scarred man began to blush, asking softly, "'Discussed'? So...you don't know yet?"

To Renji's surprise, Byakuya answered, displaying his trust in Shuuhei. "Well, it definitely works for some stuff, but as far as more, we'll find out tonight. That's why we want to be back by sunset; I told Renji I want to try tonight."

Shuuhei seemed caught off-guard, but recovered quickly. "And this is your first try? Like, first time tryin' to be with a guy since being hurt?"

The noble nodded, and Shuu's silver eyes filled with hope for his new friend. "Good luck. Try not to be nervous, and listen to Ren - he'll take care of you."

Suddenly, the lieutenant shot to his feet and planted his hands on his hips. "Well, shit! If I'da known that was the plan, I wouldn't have bothered you two! I woulda just made some excuse for Baldy and Prissy-pants!"

Renji watched as the ravenette waved off Shuu's words. "No, I'm glad you came. It feels good to know they want me there, and I want to go. We still have a couple hours until sunset, and I'd like to spend that time on the closest thing me and Renji can have to a date, as well as spending it with what I believe may be the first friends I've ever had."

Shuuhei tilted his head, eyes widening. "So the pack's your first friends?"

Renji could tell by his tone that his beta wasn't sure if it was more sad that Byakuya had gone so long without friends, or sweet that he finally did have some.

Finally, the scarred lieutenant shrugged and grinned at the Kuchiki heir. "Well, we may not be the kinda people you're used to, but you coulda done a lot worse than us for a social life. And by the way, I think it was really cool that you stood up for the pack last night, when you said Ren's new partner should respect the pack as his family. You have no idea what it meant to everyone that you stood up for us."

Renji saw his superior blushing lightly at the praise, then the noble took a shaky breath and lifted his hands to his red cheeks, saying, "I don't need to be blushing in front of everyone."

Understanding that his partner wanted to meditate before going out so he could control himself, Renji took Shuu's arm and pulled him away, indicating that they needed to be quiet and restrain their spiritual pressure.

He met his captain's grateful platinum eyes and nodded.

Byakuya sat on the armrests of the couch nest, feet on the floor and hands in his lap. The older man took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Calm, composed riatsu soon began filtering through the room. Unhindered by distractions, the energy reflected the authority and power the ravenette possessed, and Renji felt his knees weakening. There was just something so subtle yet profound in Byakuya's spiritual pressure, something that demanded to be listened to.

Licking his suddenly dry lips, he glanced over to Shuu to see that his friend was affected the same way..His beta was raptly gazing at Byakuya with fascinated admiration, trembling slightly.

The calm authority in the Kuchiki heir's riatsu beckoned to Renji's 'tails' side, and apparently appealed to the part of Shuuhei that liked being submissive, too.

Renji touched his friend's arm, lifting one finger to his lips when the sky-silver eyes turned to him. Knowing that the older lieutenant wanted nothing more in this moment than to display his submissive side, and feeling the same way himself, Renji indicated that they needed to keep their riatsu down.

He silently crept closer to his meditating boyfriend, feeling Shuu at his side. Not wanting to disturb his partner, he stopped once he was within arm's reach, gesturing to his fellow lieutenant.

They both keeled silently at their superior officer's feet, gazing at the captain for several moments before lowering their eyes to the floor, making sure to keep their own energy restrained.

Kneeling side by side, Renji and Shuuhei basked in the authoritative calm of the noble's riatsu that positively hummed with his power.

Renji knew they would kneel here all day and night if they could, but from what he'd seen, Byakuya didn't meditate for long.