In This Part : We find our heroes at the end of the day.
Rating: M (R)

The epilogue has been edited to comply with FFnet's guidelines of adult content. You can find the uncensored version, such as it is, here: paperiuni. livejournal. com/ 30655. html.

x x x x x x

Epilogue: Sunday

Seireitei is changing.

The thought occurs to Renji as he takes in the sunny day, maybe the last of its breezy, glowing kind before autumn tumbles in. In fact, it's too grand a description for what's happening here, in the streets that wind out into dirt roads towards Rukongai. The city is a cumbersome giant, change flowing sluggish and dreamy in its veins.

He sees it in the people, though. As days blend into weeks, the Gotei is recovering. Confidence grows in his friends and colleagues, an eagerness to spread wings, break new ground, build upon the past.

He picks up his pace. The dimension gates loom at the high end of the slope, quiescent under the afternoon.

"Hey, slowpoke!"

"Only I am allowed to use the paperwork excuse for tardiness, you understand?" Rukia joins in Ichigo's greeting. They're standing together beside one of the gates.

"Figured you could fetch him yourself." Renji runs the last steps to meet them. "You know you only gotta holler if he gives you any grief."

"He had better not. I knocked."

"Yeah yeah, we're all proud of you." Ichigo knuckles the crown of her head. "So, what's the occasion? I am missing a family dinner for this."

"Don't try that on him!" Rukia wheels on Ichigo in a swirl of indigo sleeves. Her hair is wound into a bun, held with chopsticks pushed through it. Renji guffaws at her vexation, then at the humour in Ichigo's eyes. "I almost fell for that. He isn't sorry in the least."

"Well, you guys had a holiday? It's a regular Sunday in the living world."

"The nobles are talkin', basically," Renji says. "They put the Gotei on standby so the officers that come from the houses can join in. It's more a historical thing, from before the Central Forty-Six."

"Rukia's not..."

"My brother would have asked me if he wished me to go," she says. "There are festivities and deliberations among the nobles. There was no chance to properly celebrate last year, with the war—or so I understand."

"Yeah, so they're makin' up for lost time or somethin'. An' we get a couple days off from the grind." Renji waves a hand. "You had a plan, Rukia?"

"I do. This way." She leads them down the gate hill. Trailing her, they shimmer into flash-step towards the western gate of the city. Seireitei swishes past as the sunlit shapes of buildings blur around them.

Once in Rukongai, the Second Western District, they slow down to enjoy the walk. Time together is still too rare, but Ichigo's vacation has helped matters. Rukia turns to heed a query from Ichigo, growing animated as she explains, and Renji hangs back a couple of steps.

They are changing, too. Ichigo bursts into laughter at some snappish reply that escapes Renji; the sound brims with unmixed joy. When Ichigo speaks of his schooling, of learning to save people's lives, Renji thinks it is pride that prickles his throat. It isn't much different from seeing Rukia remake her place in the Thirteenth. Her strength and tenacity have seen her through the murky waters of her disappearance and tentative return. She is more resilient, yet a touch less hard on herself.

He likes all of that.

As for himself, he has time to mould to his new duties. He has Hinamori, and support and swift kicks in the behind from the rest of his friends. He'll make it.

"Over there," Rukia is saying as she points. "I don't think it was an excessively long trip."

The shape of a building looms through a screen of lush pines. The tavern stands at the end of an alley, roofs in rows beyond it, bearing plumes of woodsmoke that float up into the wind. The faraway chatter and bustle of people fills the air.

"The food better be worth it," Ichigo says with a crooked grin.

"She's payin', so suck it up and be thankful, ya ingrate."

"It's about time, too, she's eating me out of house and home back in Karakura. Hell, you both are."

"Oh, see if I am feeding either of you ever again!"

Really, Renji thinks as he ducks away from Rukia's gentle double slap upside each of their heads, sometimes they are begging for it. Maybe it is simply that they can, and that there is a joy in knowing it.

x x x x x x

Rukia has taken care to pick a tavern with a certain amount of class, but nowhere so stuffy that they'd garner undue glares when one of them gets a little loud in volume. The food is varied and toothsome, when he has a moment to consider it. Ichigo wouldn't mind if they huddled at a noodle stall on a street corner, though. It is the company that counts.

Rukia pesters Renji until he relates an incident during the Fifth's cleanup of the nooks and crannies of the division, involving malfunctioning reiatsu dampeners and concluding with the Twelfth closing off half the division grounds. At the end, Renji is chortling and shaking his head, but his quiet satisfaction shows as he speaks of his officers handling the issue. They move on to news from Karakura, to Ichigo's school, the new people who still think he is weird and a delinquent. Rukia's mouth twists a little at that, but Ichigo shoos aside her concern.

It's fine. I got better things in trade. He's content where he is, for all the oddness of his circumstances.

They share tea and saké afterwards, as evening creeps across the sky beyond the windows. It is the last Sunday of his summer vacation. He'll come here again next weekend, drag his textbooks to Renji's quarters or whisk Rukia from her office for a few precious hours. Evenings have become their time, whether here or in the living world. It doesn't seem too different from how his classmates deal with dating—well, other than the obvious ways.

Rukia tips the last of the tea into his cup and lays the pot down. Taking her hand, he slips it from the handle and onto the table. She threads her fingers through his. There's a faint chink as Renji sets the dish in his hand down, too.

"Things are gonna get busy again," Ichigo says into the stillness. "You know."

"We'll miss you, too," she says, replying to what he meant, rather than what he said.

"Mm-hm," Renji affirms. "Isn't it a bit early for this part? It's still light out."

"Yeah." Ichigo scowls up at him. "It's not like I said anything."

"Except you did," Renji quips, but his eyes are dark, warm, tilted down a tad. "Summer's gotta end some time, so we'll live with it."

"There is still tonight." Her voice sounds faraway as she draws Renji's hand to cover their linked ones. "You don't think we should make the most of it?"

The choking sound he makes is in all likelihood hilarious, but Ichigo can't bring himself to care. If she is suggesting what he thinks, and a glance at Renji lends credence to the theory...

It isn't a new idea. Of course he's thought of it, thrilling and intimidating and amazing. Now Rukia has cast it on the table like it's the plainest thing in the world.

"Now?" Renji's gaze moves from her to Ichigo to her again.

"Yes," she says, full of meaning.

Ichigo swallows. Those two words rush through him, sharper and headier than the doubtlessly fine rice wine that he tasted at Renji's goading.

There's only one sane answer, as mad as it is in itself.

"Yeah." He runs his thumb over her knuckles, over Renji's wrist.

"So, my place?" Renji says before the silence can stretch. A tenuous grin brushes his mouth.

"Uh, it's closest?" He's talking about this like it is a done deal.

"It is the most private," Rukia decides, sealing the matter.

This is where the evening veers off any course Ichigo dared picture. This is how they end up at Renji's door, a little before midnight, landing on the veranda and stumbling inside in a flurry of quiet, charged movement.

The point is, he is here with the two people who have crept into the very heart of his life. That's no small thing. There is a name for what he feels, many names, not all of which he'll say aloud. It makes no difference. He knows. They know.

And they both make his knees go weak.

He kicks off his sandals and steps inside.

x x x x x x

Rukia insists on lighting candles, a safe distance from the bed. She isn't about to fumble through this blind. Renji kicks the futon open; Ichigo sits down on it with a sigh.

A pause forms when she sets the matches down. They have both waited for her. It all feels too deliberate. Ichigo seems skittish, but Rukia feels her own stomach flutter, too. Renji's half-lidded eyes betray less as he languishes back on the futon.

"C'mere." She twitches forward only to realise the command is not for her, but Ichigo. Renji grasps the back of his neck and kisses him, open-mouthed and involved. Ichigo stiffens and then slides into the challenge of the kiss. A parting for breath and Ichigo leans into Renji, grasping at his tied hair. It's not a struggle so much as an invitation, a dare, a confession.

It takes her breath away.

"Rukia." Ichigo's voice is husky as he turns. Her hand is curved into the collar of her yukata.

"You want to watch?" Renji arches a brow. "I mean, I suppose we lay our own rules..."

"Oi!" A flush overtakes Ichigo's face.

"No," she says. Her yukata will be a rumpled ruin. The carefully tied obi needs another pair of hands to unravel it neatly. Yanking off the cord, she lets the silk sash whisper down her body. She feels their eyes on her as she steps closer. "Not only that."

Up on one knee, Renji pulls her down to them. The yukata flows off her shoulders into a pool of fabric. The rest of her robes follow; she shakes her hands free to reach for Ichigo. His eyes are wide as he pulls her into an awkward, insistent kiss. Splayed over Renji's lap, she lets their mouths tangle and goes to work on his kimono.

It is all a mess as they work through sashes and knots and hakama folds. Rukia pushes both men aside to undo her breast bindings. Ichigo cups her bare shoulders almost reverently. She holds herself at an arm's length, letting a hand glide down his body, tracing its path with her gaze.

"Oh, fuck," Ichigo mumbles, as she presses herself against him and cranes her head to kiss Renji over his shoulder, needing to have both of them right there.

Ichigo makes his way down her neck and shoulder kiss by kiss. Renji leans up behind her and closes a hand over his on her breast. The joint pressure of their fingers, Renji guiding Ichigo's thumb to tease and caress, makes her whimper and grasp blindly at Ichigo's head. She's cradled against Renji's frame, a sheen of sweat gathering where her skin slides against his.

Her hand coasts down Ichigo's neck, limning the shapes of his shoulder blades. He starts into a tense arch, his face almost colliding with hers. "Whoa, Rukia..."

"That was—was unexpected," she manages. Renji's hands haven't stopped their circles and loops over her breasts. He takes the moment to roll a nipple between his palm and thumb. Her assessment of Ichigo's reaction is lost in a pitched whine of pleasure.

Renji laughs against the back of her head. "Likewise."

"Shut—shut him up for me, please—oh!" She feels, to her satisfaction, Renji gasp as Ichigo reaches past her to claim his mouth.

"You know," Ichigo murmurs. "Just an educated guess, but this might be easier lying down."

There's a throaty sound of assent from Renji. Rukia takes it as a yes, pushing him in the side until he goes over, splaying onto the futon, tattoos shifting with his choppy breaths.

Ichigo follows suit and promptly knocks his elbow into her skull.

"Ow!" She glowers, although her bun droops in her face and her mind is hazy with desire.

The sting fades as he takes hold of her while his mouth traces her throat. She could melt into this closeness, his face against her collarbone and their limbs twining. She brushes a questing hand to nudge his nipple. Behind her Renji shifts, his hand on her hip. Her mind races to keep up with everything; the hoarse sounds Ichigo makes, the taste of his skin as she nips the lobe of his ear.

"Rukia," he mutters.

"Yes?" she says. Renji's hand wanders over her leg and onto Ichigo's. He's circling, taking his time, teasing with a lazy whimsy. Ichigo grits his teeth on a groan.

"You don't think..." His voice is a mere breath on her ear. "Think he's a bit too sure of himself here?"

She chuckles. "I suppose."

"So... are we gonna do something 'bout it?"

Renji's hand skims between them, sweeping her belly, counting her ribs, turning to veer down Ichigo's side. It's heady and strange how much contact there is, so unlike any memory of such a situation that she can summon. Things are building up, with hiccups, tilts and climbs, but a constant warm tension thrums underneath.

"Whatcha talkin' about?" Renji looks down at them, his face haloed by the messy fall of his hair. "Thought I heard somethin' suspicious."

Rukia locks gazes with Ichigo. "Let's," she whispers.

Then she twists around as Ichigo loosens his grip of her. One of her legs hooks around Renji's hip and she uses the leverage to bring herself flush to him. Her move is rewarded with a choked gasp from him as their hips grind together. She sidles to the right of him. Ichigo braces a hand on Renji's left shoulder, and their combined weight sprawls him flat.

"Just suggesting we take you down a notch," Ichigo says, his grin cocky and easy.

"Or up, as it were," she says.

"Okay, that was bad."

"Oh, hush, you. That is your plan, is it not?"

Renji's shoulders shake with laughter. "Look, you two..."

Hiking herself up, she pushes the pillows on top of the rolled-up blanket to make a support. "No," she says breezily. "You are to lie back and not speak. Certain nonverbal noises are encouraged. Now come here."

His cheek hollowed, Ichigo looks like he's desperately sucking down laughter. She settles her back against the pillows and makes a beckoning motion. Renji looks at her with a different countenance, something amazed in his demeanour. Still, he makes no protest as she draws him against her.

x x x x x x

Renji is biting back incredulity and laughter as he finds himself leaned against Rukia, her bent knee under one arm that she tugs back. Her body is a soft contour under him against the propped-up pillows.

"You had this planned?" He strives for levity.

"You ought to know." Ichigo's tone is not much steadier than his. "Teamwork. One thing we had from the word go."

"I said 'certain nonverbal noises', Renji." Rukia takes hold of his chin with her free hand and kisses him with deceptive lightness that sends a shiver along his spine.

"In short, you talk too much." Then Ichigo straddles him, the movement fluid and comfortable as if it were all he's ever done, and smothers what thought he has left.

x x x x x x

It is much later, and the air is thick with the scents of sweat and sex. A breeze rushes in from the window, though who opened the shutters escapes Rukia. Little seems noteworthy that is not within her immediate reach, clasped by hand or pressed to skin.

It takes a few minutes before anyone speaks. "That was... new."

"Ichigo, hush." She puts her fingers on his lips. "It must be too late for talking."

"Try early," Renji says. "He's got a point there somewhere, Rukia. We're gonna have to—"

"Figure this out?" Ichigo leans up on his elbows, hair in sweaty spikes. "You mean it's not actually this complicated with fewer people?"

"We have made some headway there," she says. "Though it does... make things more interesting." Strange, heady, complicated, as well.

" 'Interesting'," Ichigo says. "Yeah, that's the word I wanted."

"He's tryin' to be clever again."

"Sheesh. What does it take to shut you up?"

"You need suggestions? Thought you had lots of ideas a moment ago."

Ichigo makes a grab for Renji over her. She is squashed between them as Renji seizes his head and, with a muffled sound, silences him.

She counts to five, then pushes hard. "Are you loons trying to make a habit of choking me?"

"Mmh—oh shit, sorry." Ichigo looks down at her. Renji's hand splays over her shoulder blades.

"Just watch out. There are three people in this bed."

"Couple more than I'm used to."

"Wouldn't have it any other way, wiseass." Half of Renji's sentence comes out a yawn. His fingers rub soothing circles on her back. "You all done now? Could a guy get some sleep in his own bed?"

"You're sharing now," Ichigo says as if he can't resist. Renji hums at him, arm falling over his side. They both almost glow with heat; Rukia is thankful there is no more than a thin sheet covering her.

She glimpses the old moon beyond the window. The world seems muzzy beyond the three of them nestled in the futon. In the morning, she will ache, and push at too many elbows and knees in close proximity, but she might even be looking forward to it.

Rukia curls up against Renji's chest, her hand twined with Ichigo's, and knows herself sated, weary, and loved.

THE END

x x x x x x

This conclusion was brought to you by Enigma's Voyageur album on repeat, a week of chipping away at the prose, and copious amounts of white tea with orange. My hat is off to Raynos for word wars worthy of song, to Jaina for loving mockery and support, and to them both for the beta.

A/N: If you hate thank-you sections, skip ahead now. Otherwise, I (again) owe acknowledgments to:

Tenebris, who said "That sounds like an opening line", "Renji is such a beta dog", "Ichigo is a spirit-hound!" and "You can have three action chapters in a row!" She also gave me leave to take it slow, and amused me with her visions of Renji's red-haired progeny scattered across the Tiangen countryside.

Raynos, who loved bear Shirayuki, talked me through a bunch of language questions and resources on Chinese folklore, and then was my steadfast cheerleader and co-conspirator throughout the writing process.

Jaina, who provided perspective, let me shove Renji in her OTP, kicked and coaxed me through authorial funks, told me straight what she wanted to see (which helped), and threatened to do horrible things to me for Renji's hair.

Prpl Pen, who weeded through my dialogue and saved me by tackling beta when no one else could.

Ashe, who stepped in with kickass beta and pointed out that you can't walk on ice in straw sandals, but that it was okay for Rukia to be special that way.

Kasuchi, who was an excellent accomplice in the conception of Renji's inner world.

Mari, for undercover ninja beta and moral support.

Neeks, who said to break it in two.

Kari, for talking to me about Renji until the cows came home.

Ama, for faith, the logistics of slash, and vicarious action scenes.

Everyone who left a comment, whether gleeful, anxious, supportive, brief, or extensive. I read and treasured them all.

And you, gentle reader, for reading this far.

If you'd like to indulge me—and please do!—now that you have reached the end, let me know that you did. Tell me what you liked best.

Good night. See you next time.