Parenthood

“Ichigo.” Ishida murmured, drawing a soft noise from his lover as he leaned up, running his hand softly along Ichigo’s pleasantly warm body. They were currently being lazy in their bed, just touching and talking… pretty much just being comfortable in each other’s presence. It wasn’t hard for them to do… they were close enough they could be comfortable just about anywhere… as long as they were together. The fact that they had pounced each other earlier that morning helped that also, leaving them mentally and sexually sated… at least for now.

“Yes?” Ichigo asked, smiling softly as he moved, laying over Ishida and pressing lazy, gentle kisses to his lover’s neck. They both had appointments… well, they had, had appointments that morning but… they had already done and missed those and were on their ways to missing their afternoon appointments so what was a few more minutes laying in bed and enjoying each other?

“How long have we been together?” Ishida asked, not at all minding Ichigo lying on top of him, just reaching up and sliding his hands through Ichigo’s bright orange hair. He pressed up, stealing a kiss from the shinigami before he could answer. He knew if they kept going on like this, they would end up jumping each other again before they got anything done that day and…unsurprisingly, that didn’t bother him.

“Ummm…” Ichigo murmured, cocking his head to the side a bit. He swallowed slightly, shifting as he looked down at the Quincy. “A long time?” He said, blushing a bit as he laid there. “Years.” He murmured, licking his lips slightly as he smiled. “Hopefully for many years to come too.” He said, chuckling a bit.

“Ohhh, only of course.” Ishida said, suddenly moving to reverse their positions, grinning as he looked down at Ichigo. “But that’s not what I was talking about.” He said, running his fingers along the marks he had left on Ichigo’s neck. “I think we should have a kid.” He said, almost chuckling at the confused look on Ichigo’s face.

“But… well… unless there’s something you’re not telling me.” Ichigo murmured, reaching down to touch Ishida’s stomach and then his own. “I’m pretty sure neither of us can get pregnant.” He said, looking up and cocking his head to the side.

Ishida chuckled a bit, shaking his head as he let his forehead fall against Ichigo’s chest. “God… your stupidity would be cute if you weren’t so stupid.” He said, drawing an annoyed sound from the other man. He leaned up after that, pressing a kiss to Ichigo’s lips. “You know I love you.” He said, making the shinigami smile again before continuing, just leaning against his chest. “I’m talking about adoption… I went through to see what the laws were for adoption and same sex couples and all that… and as far as I can see, we’re perfectly qualified to adopt a child.”

Ichigo hummed softly at that, sliding his hands up Ishida’s sides. “You’ve really thought about this, haven’t you?” He asked, looking up and smiling softly as pushed Ishida’s hair back from his face. “That’s really sweet.” He murmured, chuckling at the way the words made Ishida furrow his eyebrows in annoyance. He didn’t like being called sweet but… that really was, it was absolutely adorable, actually. “Of course.” He said, smiling up at Ishida. “I would like to have a family with you… but if we’re going to adopt… can we adopt a toddler? I’m not sure I’m ready to change diapers and all of that…”

Ishida chuckled softly but nodded, giving Ichigo another kiss. “Ohh, I agree totally with that… an older child, maybe three or four would probably be best.” He said, sitting up and stepping away from the bed, totally forgetting the fact he was still entirely naked. “I have some of the papers we need-” He cut off when he was suddenly grabbed from behind, a surprised noise coming from his throat.

Ichigo nuzzled at the back of Ishida’s neck, grinning as he slid his hand down the others temptingly bare body. “Mmm, we can figure them out a little later.” He murmured, smiling as he turned Ishida around, giving him a kiss. “Don’t forget our deal.” He said, suddenly picking the archer up. “It’s my turn now.” He tumbled them both to the bed at that, his hands moving unerringly to much more intimate places.

They definitely missed their meetings.

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“I… do not believe that I can deem you as fit parents.”

Ishida’s brow furrowed as he looked at the man in front of him, a slight, sinking feeling appearing in his chest. They had been going over forms, filling out paperwork and talking to different people about adopting a child all day. They had been bounced from office to office, talked to social worker after social worker and… this was what they ended up with? “Why not?” Ishida asked, frowning as he leaned forward a bit, making sure he knew the man’s name exactly… in case he needed it for future reference.

“Well… you see…” The social worker murmured, shuffling through the different papers on his desk. “It’s because… well…” He grumbled a bit to himself, looking through the different forms that Ishida and Ichigo had filled out. He ahh’d softly when he saw something, pointing at it. “You are both only twenty two years old, how could you know how to take care of a child? Also, you both need to have stable jobs…”

“I’m a full partner in Karakura hospital; I have a very stable, well paying job that I keep normal hours at.” Ishida said, tapping his fingers on the desk as he watched the social worker become more and more flustered.

“I own half of the Kurosaki clinic and I make my own hours, I am also paid fairly well.” Ichigo said, leaning forward with the same type of frown that Ishida had. Something was off here. “We definitely have the means, stable jobs and a stable home for a child, why would we be unfit parents?” He asked, reaching over to hold one of Ishida’s hands. The Quincy was getting more and more annoyed as they went on and Ichigo knew that, that could never be good… especially in this situation.

The social worker finally lost it at that, smacking his hands on his desk. “You are both male!” He suddenly yelled, pushing the papers aside. “I don’t care how good your jobs are or how stable your home is, a child does not deserve to grow up in a home with abominations as parents!” He only seemed to catch his words after he said them, his eyes widening as he looked at the two men across from him. He didn’t know just how badly he had screwed up… but he would soon

Ishida barely seemed phased by it, he just leaned back, his thumb rubbing soothingly over Ichigo’s hand as he smirked. “You just said the wrong thing.” He murmured, crossing his legs as he pulled out his phone. “That is blatant discrimination, by the time this is over; I will at least have your job.” He said, dialing a number and lifting the phone to his ear. “If not own this place.” And everyone knew… Ishida Uryuu never gave up when he set his mind to something.

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“Ishida?” Ichigo murmured, leaning over his shoulder and looking down at the paperwork he was going through, signing and discarding, reading and setting aside. It had been six months since the debacle at the orphanage and they had pretty much gotten everything under control. Well, actually, the judge had ruled it as a hate crime and Ishida had ended up with the social workers job… and the orphanage. He was taking much better care of it then the previous owners ever had, too. The kids loved him and Ichigo knew that he would be a wonderful father, he didn’t even have to try, he was just a natural. “What are you doing?” He asked, cocking his head to the side. They had done all of that… they had worked so hard but they still hadn’t done what they had gone there for. Sadly… they still didn’t have a child.

“What do you think I’m doing?” Ishida asked, looking up at him with a soft smile. “Adoption papers.” He said, holding the papers up and shaking them a bit. “You haven’t given up on having a family with me… have you?” He asked, looking sad as he looked down at the papers he was holding. He knew it had been a lot of work… they had gone through a lot but… he still wanted a family…

Ichigo’s made a slightly shocked noise before shaking his head and slipping into Ishida’s lap, hugging him close. “Of course I do, don’t get sad on me Uryuu.” He murmured softly, leaning up to kiss him. “I just… I didn’t know if you wanted to go through all the trouble after everything we just did… we can wait a while you know…”

“I don’t want to wait.” Ishida said, putting the papers on the desk and wrapping his arms around Ichigo’s body. He nuzzled a bit against his lovers neck, pressing kisses to the sensitive skin. “We’ve waited so long already… we have been through a lot… don’t we deserve this?” He asked as he played with the ring he had placed on Ichigo’s finger such a long time ago.

Ichigo just smiled and nodded, leaning down to press a deep kiss against Ishida’s lips. “Yes, we do deserve it.” He said, looking back at the papers. “Are those all done?” He asked, picking them up and looking back at Ishida. He hummed slightly at the nod he received before pushing himself up and offering the other man his hand. “Then let’s go adopt a kid!” He said, looking rather excited.

They both left with wide but determined smiles on their faces.

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“His name is Hitori, he’s four years old. His parents left him here when he was barely 6 months old. We have tried to place him before but because of certain… quirks that he has, the couples have decided against adopting him.” The social worker murmured, smiling up at Ishida and Ichigo. This was a very nice, very open minded social worker who saw them as a wonderful couple that deserved a child just as much as they believed that they deserved one.

“What kind of quirks?” Ishida asked, cocking his head to the side. Ichigo was holding his hand again and he knew that… it wasn’t just for support, it was for comfort too. They didn’t want to be turned away again. They wouldn’t turn the child away either… what kind of quirks could make want to be parents turn him away… for three and a half years?

The social worker sighed softly, pushing his hand through his hair. “Hitori… he tells us that he can see… ghosts.” He said, pulling out a picture of the little boy and setting it in front of Ichigo and Ishida. “He’s made up a whole fantasy world… with ghosts and shinigami and something he calls… hollows.” He murmured, pulling up Hitori’s file and looking through it. “Since he could talk, he’s been saying things like this, pointing at people that weren’t there… gesturing to things that didn’t exsist…” He said before shaking his head and sighing, seemingly giving up. “I’ll pull up a different file for you…”

Ishida was just smiling softly as he looked at the picture, tracing it softly with his fingers. Hitori looked like he could be his and Ichigo’s… he had dark, russet red hair with deep blue eyes. His hair was spiky… almost just like Ichigo’s and he wore glasses. He was just adorable. “No, you don’t have to do that.” He said, smiling as he laid the picture down. He didn’t even seem phased by the ‘fantasy world’ the child had made up… of course; he knew it wasn’t a fantasy. After a short conversation with Ichigo, he looked up at the social worked and nodded. “Why don’t you bring him out? We would love to see if he would like to come home with us.”

The social worker seemed a bit shocked but nodded, smiling as he pushed back from his desk, standing and walking to the door. “I will be right back.” It was just a few minutes later that the social worker walked back in, holding the hand of the small boy. “Hitori.” He murmured, leaning down beside him. “This is Ishida and Ichigo; they would like to become your parents.”

Hitori was almost hiding behind the social worker, gripping at his leg as he peeked around, looking at Ichigo and Ishida with wide, blue eyes. “They… want me?” He asked, looking up at the man he was hidding behind with unbelieving eyes.

The social worked smiled and nodded, ruffling his hair before leading him forward so that he was standing in front of Ishida and Ichigo. “They really do, why don’t you get to know them and then decide if you want to go home with them?” He murmured, pushing Hitori forward a bit before stepping back. “If you’re uncomfortable or anything happens, just push the button and I’ll come in right away, ok?” He said, waiting for Hitori to nod before stepping away. Every child was given a button, something like a panic button, now so if they felt uncomfortable or the couple did something wrong, they could push the button and a worker would be in the room. The social worker looked back one more time, watching Ishida kneel down in front of Hitori with a smile before he nodded and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him, a smile on his own face. This might be the best thing that ever happened to the red haired child.

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“Mommy?”

Ishida looked down, his eyebrows furrowing slightly even as he smiled, that questioning, innocent look on Hitori’s face was just so adorable. It was one of his favorite things to see. “I thought we agreed Ichigo was mommy.” He said, leaning down and ruffling Hitori’s hair, smiling when the little boy jumped into his arms for a hug. It had only been five months since they adopted the boy but they had all come to care for each other deeply in that time. Hitori had just begun calling them mommy and daddy… and Ishida loved it but he thought the little boy had it a little backwards.

“Nope!” Hitori said, bouncing a bit as he looked up at Ishida with a wide smile. That was something new too, Hitori’s smile. It was something they never took for advantage since it didn’t happen all that often… they were hoping to change that though. “You’re mommy!” He said, giggling a bit as he reached up, patting Ishida’s cheek with a small wiggle before he calmed down again. “Mommy?” He asked again, pouting a bit.

Ishida went to say something but he gave up, knowing that Hitori most likely wouldn’t change his mind, no matter how many times he asked him too. “Yes, Hitori?” He asked, picking the small boy up and placing him on the counter before moving to continue cutting up the vegetables for dinner. He still didn’t trust Ichigo in the kitchen… not after the valentines chocolate catastrophe. It might have been years but he would never, ever forget that mess. Ichigo was NOT allowed in the kitchen on his own.

“Can I have a sweet?” Hitori asked, pulling his knee’s up under himself and crawling a bit closer to Ishida to watch what he was doing. “Daddy went out after a yell so I couldn’t ask him.” He said, pouting a bit and looking as cute as he could for Ishida. Yes, he already knew how to manipulate his parents and he was damned good at it too.

Ishida almost awed, not able to resist the absolutely adorable look his son was giving him. “Just… don’t tell your daddy.” He said, smiling as he reached above Hitori, pulling a small piece of candy out of a jar they had in the cupboard and giving it to the child. It hadn’t taken them long to tell the small boy that his ‘fantasy world’ was actually real but he didn’t have to be scared because they would take care of him. Now Hitori took their random disappearances in stride. When he had first come to the home and Ichigo had disappeared for the first time, he had been scared, thinking that he wasn’t going to come back. After a lot of cuddling and we would never leave yous, Ishida and Ichigo had convinced the four year old that they were here to stay. Ishida knew that he was still a bit frightened but… he also knew that he and Ichigo would never be able to let Hitori go. They loved him far too much. He was a bit surprised when Hitori launched at him again, hugging him tight with the candy in his mouth.

“I love you mommy.” Hitori said, smiling up at Ishida as he hugged his neck tightly.

Ishida stopped everything he was doing and just hugged Hitori back, holding the precious child tightly against his chest. “I love you too, precious.” He said softly, pressing a soft kiss against the little boys forehead as he held him. He knew that, even if these moments seemed so once in a life time now, they would become common place in the future. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t treasure them now though, every moment should be treasured.

The Quincy wasn’t at all surprised when Hitori suddenly cried out ‘Daddy!’ and launched from the counter, almost falling head over heels as the height was still a bit much for him. He smiled as he watched Ichigo pull Hitori up into a hug, spinning him in a full circle, making the red haired child chuckle softly. Yeah, these moments might become common place in the future but he knew, even now, that he would never lose this thrill in his heart when he saw the adorable moments between parents and child. He knew that they would have hard times and that sometimes it would seem that they would never be able to get through it but… he knew that was just life.

Those were the joys of parenthood.

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AN: Ok, so, me and V were really, really missing our Ishida and Ichigo so… I decided to write this. *smiles*

I thought it would just be uber cute for them to have a kid but… V doesn’t like mpreg, well, doesn’t really like it so, I went the adoption route and OF COURSE I had to have some drama with the adoption, don’t I always have drama?

This is in mine and V’s little… Ishi/Ichi universe, there’s a bunch of rp’s about them, if you’d like links, feel free to ask for them!

Anyway, this was just to get my Ishi/Ichi and fluffy, dramaey… thingy out of my mind so I can actually work on my other, smutastic stuff.

Well, I hope you guys like it! Thank you for reading and don’t forget to feed the author!

Ohhh, and the line:

“God… your stupidity would be cute if you weren’t so stupid.”

Was thought up by V *giggles* and used with her permission in this story!

(just to be clear, this is NOT a collab, me and V did NOT rp this, I just used the chars to write a story.)