Characters: Uryuu, Ryuuken
Summary: How to play second fiddle.
Pairings: None
Warnings/Spoilers: None
Timeline: None needed
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
They both learned it abruptly and quickly, and never forgot how bitter the lesson they learned was when it stung their mouths and lingered on their tongues for years afterwards, in bitter taste and bitter words exchanged.
For Uryuu, it wasn't so much of a shock as it might be to others. He had never known any different, never expected any different. He had never been first in his father's heart, suspected he wasn't even second and that he might not be in there at all. Ryuuken's distant, hit-and-miss affection was the best he'd ever gotten. It was as good as it ever got, and was far preferable to the alternative.
There was no use in complaining about it. Nothing he said would have been able to turn Ryuuken's mindset, which was set in stone. Their family was famous for this, stubborn tenacity and single-mindedness—it was probably why men from the Ishida clan generally didn't make good fathers; their minds were focused on something other than their children. In Ryuuken's case, memory chains came first, and work second. There were days when Uryuu didn't factor in at all.
And Uryuu knew it wasn't about to change.
The only thing that surprised him was how surprised Ryuuken was at how everything turned out. He always expected everything without giving anything. He gave nothing and was surprised when he got nothing in return.
What he wanted, was something along the lines of unquestioning obedience or just following the path Ryuuken had followed, but he wasn't going to get that.
Uryuu had a better option.
And Ryuuken never fully forgave him for choosing his grandfather over him.
Oh, well. Uryuu would never regret it. It was easier to be loved than it was to seek the approval of a man who was impossible to satisfy.
They both knew what it was like to play second fiddle now, though neither would ever play it with much finesse.
