Archive of Our Own ^beta

It was snowing that Wednesday. The darkness of the night had fully set in and not a single star was visible through the clouds. But it was still a peaceful night. There was no wind, so the snowflakes drifted through the air at their own leisure, moving as if in slow motion.

One by one, friends gathered at the Kurosaki clinic. They let themselves in, hanging up their scarves and coats by the front door before wandering inside.

Tatsuki and Orihime wandered into the kitchen. Uryu found something on the TV to watch, and Chad joined him. Then, just as Rukia and Renji arrived, Isshin, Karin, and Yuzu took their leave, waving goodbye as they went out for the evening. Karin and Yuzu had managed to convince Isshin to take them out to a movie, but really they were trying to let Ichigo and his friends have the house to themselves. They didn’t need Isshin around making everything awkward.

Ichigo hadn't gathered with all of his friends since the summer. He was busy working. They all were. Everyone was living their own lives, either starting a career or finishing up with their schooling. Either way, it had been a long time since Ichigo got to spend time with his friends all gathered under one roof.

And yet, with all his friends finally gathered in his childhood home, he was locked upstairs in the bathroom instead.

He hovered over the sink, trying to catch his breath as an uncomfortable warmth slowly crawled across his skin. He didn't even need to look in the mirror to know that he was flushed all over.

Ichigo reached for a black bag which sat on the counter. It was full of toiletries and other things that he brought from his apartment. He unzipped it and took out a little black container. It looked similar to a wallet. He clicked it open and inside was a sheet of small white pills. He carefully popped one pill out of the package and placed it in his mouth.

He then reached with a shaky hand to turn on the tap. He placed his lips against the cool stream of water and gulped it down. The temperature provided a little relief from his oncoming heat and he had to resist the moan that so desperately wanted to claw its way out of his throat.

Ichigo was an Omega, a fact that came to light shortly after he turned 18 and found himself utterly overwhelmed in a mall surrounded by too many scents and nowhere to escape. Fortunately, his friends were with him and helped him out of there.

After that, he did his research and found a place that sold suppressants to keep his heat from ever catching him off guard again. However, he was only supposed to push his heat back by a month, at most, and then let his natural heat play itself out.

He was pushing three.

His heat usually lasted for a few days, once every three months, which didn't seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but with a demanding nine-to-five job and a boss watching his every move, Ichigo didn't have time to take a few days off. He was worried about how it would make him, a rookie at his workplace, look.

Ichigo’s boss was strict, but he wasn't a monster, and he gave his staff the entire week off between Christmas and New Years. All Ichigo had to do was get through Christmas with his family, which had already come and gone, and then through this visit with his friends. Afterwards, he could go back to his apartment and sleep off his heat all the way into the new year.

He only had to survive for the rest of that Wednesday.

Ichigo wiped his face with a cold cloth and then gently dried it. He took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, then let it out as he finally left the bathroom.

"Hi Ichigo!" Orihime greeted him with a wave as he came down the stairs. Ichigo looked in her direction and saw that Tatsuki was standing next to her. Both of them were hovering over a rack of cooled cookies.

Ichigo chuckled and waved back. Then his eyes spotted a green bottle in Orihime's hand. He raised a brow, immediately concerned.

"Don't worry," Tatsuki said. "It's just icing. I talked her out of putting anything weird on the cookies."

Orihime pouted. "I wasn't going to put anything weird on them! I just wanted to see what might go well with gingerbread-"

"Ichigo!" Renji shouted, charging over at him. Ichigo jumped back up onto the stairs, just narrowly dodging Renji as he dove at him, and then Ichigo watched as Renji fell onto the floor.

Rukia rolled her eyes, planting her hands firmly on her hips. "I told you that was a stupid idea."

Ichigo stared at Renji. "What… exactly was that supposed to accomplish?"

"Your dad told him to do it," Rukia explained.

"Ah," Ichigo replied in understanding. Tackling him out of nowhere was a normal occurrence when it came to his father.

Renji groaned as he sat up, rubbing his chin. "You could've at least caught me."

“Nah, you’re fine.”

“Ass.”

"Oh, I'm the ass, huh?"

"Yeah! That hurt !"

"You're the one who attacked me! "

Renji stood up and got right into Ichigo's face, glaring at him. "It's like you wanted to see me get hurt or something!"

Ichigo bared his teeth. "Well maybe you getting hurt would be justified since you think it's fine to charge at me for no reason-"

"Okay, guys, break it up," Rukia said, clapping her hands. When Ichigo and Renji didn't budge, she stepped between them, "Come on guys! We're here to have fun! Don't be jerks!"

Renji huffed and dusted himself off. Then he mumbled, "We're not being jerks, Rukia."

"Then prove it and behave," she replied. She gave them both a look before she left to go to the kitchen.

Ichigo snorted and gently elbowed Renji. "Well, you sure told her."

"Shut it," Renji muttered, rubbing the spot that Ichigo’s elbow struck.

Ichigo smirked at him.

Renji rolled his eyes.

Ichigo's smirk widened and slowly Renji shook his head, a smile appearing on his lips. "You're an idiot sometimes, Ichigo."

"Takes one to know one."

Renji snorted before he followed Rukia into the kitchen. His bickering with Ichigo was never serious. They wrestled quite often, in fact, and the worst anyone ever came away with was maybe a bruise or two. But at that moment, even knowing that their argument wasn’t serious, Ichigo felt every hair on the back of his neck stand tall.

His instincts were going into overdrive. But Ichigo did his best to shake them off.

He took a deep breath to calm down and then stepped off the stairs. He moved into the living room where he saw Chad and Uryu sitting quietly on the couch, their eyes fixed on the TV. A Christmas movie was on with the volume down low and subtitles on. Ichigo was about to ask why they didn't just turn the volume up when laughter erupted from the kitchen. It suddenly made sense.

Ichigo walked up to the couch. "Hey Chad. Hey Uryu."

Uryu waved at him. Chad glanced at him and gave him a nod.

Ichigo sat down next to Chad. "So, things been going well?"

Chad nodded.

"Your band is still working on an album, right?"

Chad nodded.

"You guys almost done?"

Chad shrugged.

"Right, yeah, it sounds tough, trying to make an album. It’s probably normal for it to take a while. But are you guys still doing shows and stuff in the meantime?"

Chad nodded.

Ichigo smiled. "That's great! I'm happy for you guys! Let me know when your album comes out and I'll be the first to buy it, alright?"

Chad nodded.

Ichigo leaned around Chad so he could look at Uryu. "So, is your dad still mad at you for changing college programs?"

Uryu blinked. Finally, he turned his full attention to Ichigo. "Are you really asking me that while we're in the middle of a Christmas party?"

Ichigo frowned at him. "Well, I've been meaning to ask earlier, but I've been busy."

Uryu stared at Ichigo for a moment in disbelief, before his expression softened. He closed his eyes and the hint of a smile appeared on his lips. "I appreciate the concern, Ichigo, but I don't really want to talk about it right now."

"Alright, I got it," Ichigo replied. "Just don't forget that I'll kick his ass for you anytime."

Uryu snorted. "Yeah, don't worry, I haven't forgotten."

"Hey, you three!" Tatsuki shouted from the kitchen.

Uryu, Chad, and Ichigo turned to look at her.

Tatsuki held a drink in one hand and a half-eaten cookie in the other. She thrust the cookie up into the air. "You gonna sit there all day or are you gonna decorate cookies with us!?"

Slowly, Ichigo shrugged. "I'm good."

Tatsuki frowned at him. "Boo! Where's your Christmas spirit?"

Uryu stood up. "Yeah, Ichigo. Where's your Christmas spirit?"

Ichigo scowled. "I have tons of Christmas spirit!"

"Then prove it!"

"I just sat down! And I don't feel like getting up again so soon-" Ichigo yelped when Chad suddenly picked him up. He clung to his friend's arm for fear of falling, but there was really no need to worry. Chad was easily twice his size. He carried Ichigo with ease.

There was cheering from the kitchen as Chad carried Ichigo over. Orihime gestured to a row of gingerbread cookies all in different shapes: Christmas trees, snowmen, reindeer, and more.

"These are for you guys! The rest of us have finished decorating already!" Orihime declared.

Chad set Ichigo down. With a blush on his cheeks, Ichigo wandered up to the counter. "Alright, fine, I'll decorate some!"

Chad smirked. Rukia laughed.

Ichigo reached for blue icing and started decorating a snowman. Uryu stepped into the spot on Ichigo’s right and he started working on a tree. Chad moved to Ichigo’s left and he got to work on a Santa-shaped cookie.

Orihime walked around to the other side of the counter. She looked at Chad’s cookie, then Ichigo’s, and then Uryu’s. That’s what she gasped, "Ohh wow! You're really good at decorating, Uryu!"

Ichigo glanced over. Uryu had his tree completely filled in with green icing already, and he was working on putting candies on it that looked like Christmas lights.

“It does look pretty good,” Ichigo added. It wasn’t surprising though, Uryu always had a talent for anything creative.

"It's not finished yet," Uryu said.

“Just take the compliment, won’t you?” Ichigo gently spat at him.

Rukia leaned in between Uryu and Ichigo to take a look. Chad leaned over too. At that moment, Ichigo was suddenly all too aware of being surrounded by his friends. Rukia, an Alpha, behind him. Chad, a Beta, towering over him. And Uryu, another Alpha, blocking his right side.

The room started spinning. Ichigo tried to focus on his cookie again but everything felt too hot. He started breathing through his mouth, trying to get more air, but it wasn't enough.

"Ichigo?" He heard Rukia question, but it was muffled, like she was speaking to him through a thick fog.

He set down the icing and grabbed hold of the counter. He panted and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping, praying for the sensation to go away, but with every passing second it only got worse.

He dropped to his knees. His entire body was shaking and hot. He knew his friends were all using suppressants of their own, but he swore at that moment he could smell each and every one of them. Even Renji and Tatsuki who were still across the kitchen.

He felt a hand on his back and he gasped. “He’s really warm,” he heard Orihime say.

"Chad, can you help him back to the couch?” Rukia asked.

Orihime’s hand disappeared and was replaced by Chad’s arms. Ichigo tried to protest but no words came out as his friend lifted him off the floor. All that came out was a low groan as he tucked his face against Chad’s chest and breathed in.

“I’ll get a cloth,” Tatsuki said.

Chad sat down on the couch with Ichigo, who refused to let go of his arm. His scent was calming, helping to distract him from the aching heat wrapped around his entire body. He felt someone sit down beside them and he didn’t even have to look to know it was Orihime. Her scent filled the air too.

“It’ll be okay,” she said to Ichigo. “We got you.”

He felt her hand rub his back and he began to relax, melting against Chad.

“Here,” Tatsuki said, stepping up to them with a cloth in her hand. She placed it against Ichigo’s cheek and his eyes fluttered open for a second before shutting again. Tatsuki started brushing the cloth against Ichigo’s forehead and anywhere she could reach.

Then Ichigo felt Orihime shift around on the couch. “You can sit here, Tatsuki.”

“Thanks.”

Tatsuki sat in front of Orihime, but Ichigo could still feel Orihime’s hand on his back, so they must’ve been sitting close.

“I have an idea,” Uryu said. “I’ll be right back. Keep him distracted, though.”

Ichigo heard Uryu leave, and then a different set of steps came closer.

“How are you doing, Ichigo?” Rukia asked.

Ichigo hummed in response. He couldn’t formulate a coherent sentence, but the attention from his friends was at least soothing the worst part of his heat.

Renji spoke next, “Is there anything else we should be doing?”

“Just sit and relax,” Tatsuki replied. “Try not to get too worked up because you’ll force Ichigo’s instincts to keep him alert. And maybe turn down the lights a bit too? Once this wave of his heat relaxes, we can ask Ichigo what he wants to do next.”

“Alright,” Renji replied. A moment later, Ichigo noticed the lights went dim.

Ichigo sighed in relief. He sat there for what felt like an hour, but was really only a few minutes. His heat disoriented him, dragging him into a deep, black nothing. He almost couldn't feel the cloth on his forehead or the hand on his back anymore, when Uryu’s voice suddenly cut through the darkness.

“Here, this might be a good enough distraction.”

Ichigo briefly opened his eyes, seeing something in his friend’s hand, before his eyes fell shut again.

“But isn’t that just going to make him warmer?” Orihime asked, concerned.

“Maybe, but the taste and smell should give him something else to focus on.”

A new smell filled the room. Ichigo blinked open his eyes. Whatever Uryu was holding was now at his nose. He smelled…

Hot chocolate.

Ichigo’s eyes opened a bit more. He slowly let go of Chad’s arm, sitting up, but he kept part of his body propped against Chad. He reached for the cup, strength returning to his arms as he inhaled a scent that didn’t come from one of his friends. He pulled the cup close and then closed his eyes, breathing in the smell of chocolate and marshmallows.

“Thank you,” he mumbled to Uryu.

“No problem,” Uryu replied.

Ichigo took a small sip and hummed in delight. Chocolate really was his favourite thing. The room went quiet as Ichigo hugged the cup close to himself, feeling the warmth from the cup soothe him, as opposed to the achy, uncomfortable warmth that his heat created.

He took another sip after a minute. Then he looked up at his friends. He realized that he was sitting on Chad’s lap, and all his friends' eyes were glued to him.

Ichigo gulped.

“How’re you feeling?” Renji asked.

“Bit better,” Ichigo mumbled.

“That heat came on really fast,” Uryu commented. “Have you been feeling anything strange the past few days?”

Ichigo frowned. “Well, I…” He sighed. “I’ve been taking suppressants.”

“Did you run out?”

“No. I took one before coming downstairs.”

“How many weeks have you been taking them for?”

Ichigo couldn’t bring himself to respond to Uryu's question. He didn't want to admit that he'd been taking his suppressants for longer than he was supposed to, but of course Uryu would figure him out. He'd gone through a few semesters of medical school, after all.

Uryu nodded. “That’s what I thought. You’re as self-destructive as ever, Ichigo.”

“What?” Rukia asked. “Ichigo, what did you do?”

“I’ve been putting off my heat for too long,” Ichigo replied. “I get it. I’m sorry. I’ve just been busy.”

“No need to apologize,” Orihime said.

“Just don’t do it again,” Tatsuki scolded. Her tone was gentle, however.

Ichigo shuddered as he felt another wave of his heat coming on. He buried his nose in his cup and breathed in.

“Want me to drive you home?” Chad asked.

Ichigo slowly shook his head ‘no’. “I’ll be fine. They might not be as effective, but the suppressant should kick in soon. I was just so busy today getting ready for our Christmas party that I forgot to take one earlier.” He cleared his throat. “I can, uh… get off your lap now, though.”

Chad shrugged.

“No, really, it’s embarrassing! I don’t need you guys to all dote on me.”

Chad smiled at him.

“Chad’s right,” Tatsuki said.

“We don’t mind!” Orihime added.

Ichigo shrank. “Seriously, I’m-”

“Oh, hush, ” Rukia cut him off. She tugged a blanket off the back of the couch and then placed it on Ichigo’s lap. “Get used to us looking after you, Ichigo, because that’s what we’re here for.”

Ichigo knew he’d be blushing if his skin wasn’t already as pink as it could possibly be.

Chad adjusted the blanket so it covered himself and Ichigo. Tatsuki got up to put the cloth in the kitchen before she returned to the couch, resting with her head on Orihime’s lap and her body laying on the part of the couch that stuck out (the couch was L-shaped). Meanwhile, Orihime got herself comfortable next to Chad and Ichigo, and soon wound up with her head on Chad’s shoulder. Uryu sat on Chad’s other side and set a pillow on his lap. Eventually, when Ichigo was finished with his hot chocolate, Uryu convinced Ichigo to rest his head on the pillow. Then Rukia and Renji sat down beside Uryu and they both put their feet up on the ottoman.

By the time Yuzu, Karin, and Isshin returned home, they found Ichigo and his friends passed out in a room lit only by the lights from the Christmas tree.