Title: Paranoid
A/N: Okay, I'm not entirely sure how many chapters this drabble collection is going to end up having. What I'm shooting for is at least fifteen, but no more than thirty-five. Hope you all enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
Ryuuken sighs as he tries to quiet the crying baby in his arms. For such a small, usually quiet infant when he cries Uryuu's small, insistent voice takes no time at all to fill up the entire house.
"Having fun?" From the couch, Sayuri is sporting the wry suggestion of a smile, her elbow balanced on the arm of the couch and her palm on her forehead, disrupting her hair. She's tired and looks it, blue eyes starting to droop even if they still spark with humor.
He nods to her and shifts his son's weight. "Great fun."
Uryuu's cries redouble and Ryuuken flinches as the sound hits his ears, again shifts the child's weight so their eyes lock. For a moment, Uryuu just stares at him, blue eyes wide.
"You think you exist to give me trouble, don't you?" Ryuuken asks his son ironically, brow furrowing.
Uryuu starts to cry again and Sayuri hops to her feet. "Ryuuken!" He just stares at her and she rolls her eyes, holding her arms out. "Give him here."
Miraculously (or maybe not, Ryuuken suspects), Uryuu calms the moment he is passed from his father to his mother. Cries cease, the bright red tinge in his cheeks fading to pink spots at the top of his cheeks. His eyes close and his head lolls forward, pillowed against his mother's bony shoulder. Sayuri hums something soft and soothing against his head, pressing her cheek to downy hair.
Ryuuken pinches the bridge of his nose. "Well I guess we know what he wanted now."
Sayuri shakes her head, another half-smile forming on her lips; she's too tired for smiling. "It's not you. Well, it is, but my guess is it has a lot to do with the fact that you smell like you've gone through a pack of cigarettes."
"One," Ryuuken defends himself. Or… maybe two or three. But not a whole pack. I don't think I've ever gone through a whole pack in a single day.
"Uryuu doesn't seem to like it much, all the same." Sayuri squeezes his wrist briefly. "Listen, he needs to go to bed. And frankly," she yawns, "so do I." She heads off down the hall, sleeping baby in tow.
Ryuuken remains in the kitchen, frowning. Maybe he's just paranoid, but it seems like Uryuu will quiet and stop crying for everyone but him.