Goodnight Kisses
Disclaimer: I love them all dearly but they belong not to me... sigh
Warnings: Drunkness and over useage of the word 'damn' towards the end...
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Ryūken entered the bar quietly. It wasn't often that he was able to get away from the house, but his father had somehow managed to convince the young man that letting Uryū stay with him would be a good idea. Having an empty house had been strangely disquieting to the Quincy, so he'd left in search of noise and people.
It had been a foolish idea from the start, yet, knowing this, Ryūken had still allowed his feet to take him the few hundred metres down the street to the nearest bar.
It was a fairly quiet one, full of old men discussing politics and philosophy over pints of ale and young men drowning their sorrows in double-shots of whisky. There was a single raucous group of four, all men in their mid-thirties, who were most likely escaping from their wives for the night and the trademark group of cackling females were huddled in the corner.
Deciding this would place would suffice, Ryūken made his way over to a space between the aforementioned young men sitting along the bar to order a whisky of his own (a Japanese one from Yamazaki or Yoichi (1) would have been nice but he'd settle for a Scotch.)
"Ishida!" Ryūken looked down in surprise at the man beside him, before inwardly groaning at the sight, he should have noticed the hairstyle at the very least.
"Kurosaki," he answered noncommittally.
"What you doin' here?" asked the man nursing a bottle of sake and an ochoko (2) from which to drink it.
"Drinking" Ryūken answered simply, not wanting to spend the rest of his night with this idiot.
"Me too!" Isshin replied with a sloppy smile, "Masaki kicked me out 'cause she wan'ed a 'night to 'erself' or somethin'" it looked like Kurosaki's speaking skills went down the drain with the rest of his wit once he'd started drinking. Ryūken looked down at his old rival with a hard glare before sighing- he'd already paid for the drink now, "Yuzu 'n' Karin are over at a friend's house and Ichigo's already in bed so she's got the night to 'erself. Talkin' o' kids, how's yours doin'?"
"He's fine," Ryūken answered shortly as he was at last handed his drink.
"He's 'bout the same age as my Ichigo ain't he?"
"Yes."
"'Gonna have him follow in y' footsteps, teach him the Quincy ways?" Isshin teased.
"No."
"Good man good man," Ryūken looked over at the ex-captain in surprise, catching his glance Isshin smiled, "The kids don't even think I can see ghosts," Isshin informed him with a self-satisfied grin.
"Hm," Ryūken replied before taking a sip of his drink.
"Just like old times… almost. Just waitin' for Kisuke to come strollin' through the door with that monster of a vice-captain in toe… and possible Yoruichi," the drunken man smiled nostalgically at the ceiling.
"Thank God for small mercies," Isshin laughed uproariously and as usual it was infectious, leaving the trace of a smile across Ryūken's face. However the noise soon died down, which left the two in a half-companionable, half-awkward silence.
"Hey, Ishida? Do you ever miss it?" Isshin finally asked.
"No," Ryūken lied easily, taking another burning mouthful.
Isshin looked at him unbelievingly but chose to let the subject drop, "y' know, I think you're the only guy I've ever met who sips a whisky shot," he noted.
"Hmmm," Ryūken finished the last of the glass.
"Sake?" Isshin offered up his half-empty cup, Ryūken stared at in distaste, "well at least sit down, man!" Oddly enough he found himself complying with the request; perhaps he was desperate for human contact after all.
"I don't drink sake, Kurosaki," he sniffed as he took the bar stool beside the eccentric man.
"Don't tell me ya' still hung up about that one time…"
"Kurosaki!" the Quincy growled, which only succeeded in making Isshin laugh.
"She was a good lookin' lass, I can't blame ya'!"
"Kurosaki!" said man happily ignored him in favour of laughing again.
"How were you supposed to know she had a boyfriend?" at this point Ryūken gave up and stood to leave, "hey, hey, hey, hey! I was just kiddin'!" Isshin added, pulling the doctor back down, "oh, come on! That was nothin' compared to what I used to do! Come one, one little drink,"
"No,"
"For old times sake?" Isshin got a glare in return, "ok now y' being the Ryūken I remember. The first time I saw y' at the hospital I thought you'd been possessed or somethin'. I wan'ed to know where the scowly guy I'd known had gone and who had been left in 'is place," Ryūken quickly wiped all evidence of expression off his face and seethed inwardly instead. Kurosaki Isshin never failed to bring out a childish nature in him.
"He grew up," Ryūken replied coldly.
"Awww, too old for good night kisses now Ishida?" the teased almost found himself glaring again, Isshin laughed, "y' were such a cute kid." Ryūken gave into the urge and scowled liked a teenager.
"I never asked for any of them, you took it upon yourself to do that," Ryūken informed him sullenly.
"How could I resist? You were so cute when you were wrapped up in a pile of blankets and those huge glasses that were always teeterin' on the end of your nose. Those new ones you've got don't suit ya' Bet you've never gotta push 'em up."
"Now you're just being an idiot, please don't tell me you're the same way with your kids that you were with me."
"What are y' talkin' 'bout?" Isshin asked, sounding positively wounded.
"'Oh, come to my bosom dear pseudo-son of mine and we shall divulge in those heart-to-hearts that may only happen between father and son'" Ryūken deadpanned irritably.
"You can remember all that?" Isshin was shocked into unslurred speech but the idiocy of Ryūken's quote didn't seem to slow him down at all, "y' see!" he continued with a huge grin, "y' can still 'member it to this day! It shows how much of an impression I made on y'! Y' always knew that I was standing there, all loving father-figure beside you!"
"I already had a father," Ryūken growled angrily.
"Y' can never have too many father-figures! I was like an uncle to you!" Isshin continued excitedly, sloshing around the contents of his cup. "With your father always goin' in and out of soul society for them conf'rences I was there so you didn't feel lonely or abandoned…"
"Trust me; I would have preferred those emotions to your presence Kurosaki."
"Ishida! You wound me!"
"Kurosaki, you have thicker skin than a hollow."
"It's true, I don't let people's comments hurt me, for I know that their insults are merely an expression of their current frustration and that beneath the surface their veins flow with a deep love and admiration for m… Hey! Ishida! Where are you goin'?" Isshin asked the suited man.
"Home," came the short reply.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Isshin quickly ran after him. Ryūken ignored the request but the ex-captain caught up anyway, "ah! It's cold!" Isshin complained as they left the bar.
"Then maybe you should have bought a coat," Ryūken replied scathingly before turning to walk home.
"Now, now Ishida I haven't given y' your goodnight kiss yet," the annoying voice of the shinigami mocked. Ryūken turned around to deliver a cutting retort but stop short when he realised that the older man was only inches away. Ryūken tilted his head back and cursed the man for still being taller than him.
Sensing the Quincy was adequately distracted, Isshin quickly planted a slightly sloppy kiss on his forehead before grinning, "Night, night Ryūken, don't let the bug-hollows bite," Ryūken desperately wanted to glare and tell the drunk just how ridiculously stupid that pun was but he found he couldn't.
Isshin grinned one last time and turned to walk down the road, whistling a merry tune as he went. Ryuken glared after the man but he had to admit that hearing the old goodnight again was kind of… nice; he felt like he was five again, wrapped up in blankets in the house of his father's old friend, whilst said friend entertained him with odd phrases and odder actions.
'Damn that bloody man.' Ryūken cursed inwardly, "Damn him to hell and back! I'm not a five-year-old… and it was not nice to hear it again, dammit! Damn bloody Kurosaki and his damn fathering-bloody-tendencies!"
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Bah! More footnotes!!
(1)Yamazaki and Yoichi- Two very good whisky brewers in Japan (because Ryūken is a fussy man)
(2)Ochoko- A small cylindrical cup used to drink sake with