AN: Okay, So I apologize. I don't know if I already mentioned this but I got some very good proof that Senbonzakura is indeed male (bath scene in one of the shinigami illustration books :D) So yeah, I'll refer to him as male now, but I'm too lazy to go back to that chapter specially for that one chance. I'll change it when this story is done because that's when I get someone to beta it
XXXXXXX

Renji's eyes blinked open as he felt warm arms wrap around his swollen waist. Weeks had gone by since he'd gotten the news from his lover that he was indeed pregnant, 9 weeks to be exact, and today was a day when Byakuya would be in the mansion. He'd have to do work here, but at least he was home today. At least he was close by.

Things seemed to have gotten quite different between the two lovers in those few weeks time. The biggest difference being that they could spend little to no time together, mostly due to Byakuya's enormous workload and Renji no longer being able to his own.

He sighed contently and pushed himself closer into his lover's embrace. It made him feel so much at home, even when, in the last weeks, he'd felt a little abandoned with the man never being home for him. He'd go to sleep way after Renji and he'd be back at work before the redhead came even close to waking up.

But that wasn't what bothered him the moest, what did was the fact that even when Byakuya had some free time on his hands he so rarely spend it with him. Instead the noble spend a lot of his free time doing some more research about their link and his pregnancy in the library.

He gazed up at the sleeping face of his husband, feeling through the opened link that the man was actually nowhere close to waking up.

But apparently fate wasn't so kind to let the noble man get some of that much needed sleep as a servant knocked on their door, calling for the clanleader.

"Byakuya-sama. The council is requesting your presense."

"He'll be there soon." Renji called back as he saw his husband's eyes flutter open sleepily.

"Ah Renji-san. Thank you. I didn't think you'd already be awake but I guess that I can already tell you then that Unohana-taichou has asked for you."

"Alright. Could you please tell her I'll be around by noon."

"I will." And then he could hear the footsteps of the servant growing softer and farther away. He turned his eyes back to his lover's face, kissing those soft pink petals they called his lips.

Byakuya kissed back gently before sighing deeply as he sensed the disappointment and uncertainty radiating through their link.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled gently as he kissed those lips again, this time a little harder. "I really wish I could stay a little longer, but you know how the council is."

The redhead nodded and watched as Byakuya left the room after getting dressed in his 'clanleader-outfit' like Renji liked to call it.

He really wished Byakuya could be there more often thought. He missed out on a lot of things concerning the pregnancy. For example: last week their son –they already knew the gender since the beginning because of the fact that the chamber was altered in such a way to ensure a male heir- had kicked for the first time and Byakuya wasn't there to witness it.

Actually, the taichou still didn't know about that. He hadn't had the chance to tell the man yet as he was always so busy.

He sighed deeply and rolled onto his back, rubbing his swollen stomach gently, feeling the softly pulsing reiatsu under his hand.

He had actually planned on telling the ravenhaired man last night but he'd fallen asleep instead.

With a groan he sat up and walked into the dressing area, searching for his specially made Yukuta which still took him at least 10 minutes to put on, before finally sneaking towards the fourth division.

Well, at least sneaking was what he was trying to do, but instead he just kept running into people he really didn't want to see in his state.

Ikkaku for example, who kept teasing him about how fat he'd gotten. Well, more like big and round like he'd been a little too hungry and had swallowed a whole melon in one go.

And of course; where Ikkaku went, Yumichika followed along. The latter telling him constantly how very unbeautiful and weak he'd gotten as he waggled his way away from them as he decided to just ignore their statements and further his journey to the fourth.

But as he got closer and closer to the fourth division he kept hearing so many things he couldn't ignore so easily. Things mostly said by people who had no idea or just didn't notice that he was there, like the conversation he could so clearly hear right now for example.

"Hey did'ya hear 'bout Kuchiki-taichou?"

That was the thing that had gotten his attention you see, people from other squads talking about his taichou.

"Yeah, but Takashi you really shouldn't just believe rumors like that you know?"

"Aww. C'mon. But what if they're true?"

"Don't think so. He's married and he just doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd so easily cheat on his spouse, especially with said spouse being pregnant."

"But don't you think he is spending a little too time with that Ryoka boy lately? You have to admit it's weird. Maybe he just married abarai-fukutaichou because of that incident. Maybe he didn't have another choice?"

Renji's eyes widened at that. Not only didn't he know that Ichigo was here, but he was spending a lot of time with Byakuya? That DID sound suspicious and the thought that there was actually a possibility that the rumors where true clenched his heart, making his breathing just that little bit harsher, making it sound more like pants than actual breaths.

He bit his lip harshly. He couldn't believe to thoughts were actually flooding through his mind. He knew they weren't true because of their link. He'd know because Zabimaru would tell him such a thing. Even with the link being blocked by Byakuya sometimes in his working hours, he knew that Senbonzakura could still reach the noble and himself and Zabimaru as well. And okay, there was the possibility that he wouldn't tell them, but he trusted Senbonzakura already about as much as his own zanpakuto and he knew that the samurai respected him as well.

But he asked Zabimaru anyway, just for some reassurance which he –of course- immediately got from both the baboon and the samurai. There was no way that Byakuya could be with someone else without them noticing, and then there was the possibility of the link breaking when something like that happened because not only would it break the trust between them, but maybe even the love.

Not to mention that he could feel the love Byakuya felt for him through the link every time the block disappeared. The noble hadn't just married him for the honor and stuff, no, he had married him because he loved him. Even when that hadn't been the original official plan for the marriage.

He stumbled into the fourth division, feeling so extremely exhausted from all the thoughts flooding his mind that by the time he reached Unohana-taichou he could barely stand on his own two feet.

Such an amount of stress was really bad for him.

He sat down onto the examination table and waited for Unohana to do her work. She had requested to do some research so she would know how to treat him as well. Or the other pregnant males, she called beta's, for that matter. Because it seemed like lately there had been a few cases with Beta visored getting pregnant. Rose for example, who'd gotten pregnant –but didn't want to tell them who the father was- and had in the end decided for an abortion which had resulted in Unohana requesting help from the clanhealers.

"Renji."

The redhead snapped out of his thoughts at the familiar use of his name coming from the woman.

"…yes?"

"I'm going to put you on a rest leave and I do think that your clanhealer will agree with me. No more meetings because you seem to be under a lot of stress and it's harming not only yourself but your unborn child as well. I want you to relax as you can… alright? Go to the spa or something."

He nodded and moved to stand up but he was stopped almost immediately.

"Renji kun….. I'm sure that whatever is putting you under this amount of stress is not worth the risk of losing your child. Alright? Talk with Byakuya about it."

He nodded once again before –in his opinion- finally going home and dropping himself on the bed only to remain there for the rest of the day.

XXXXX

AN: I've already written chapter 12 BUT first I'm going to write another chapter for HKK and OTR. Unless I get a lot of reviews on this chapter of course. Yes… I am once again bribing you. XD Hope you liked. Please review