Again: see verse noted in summary.
I'm setting this to just before Ruriko is born because it'd frankly be lousy to leave your husband with a new baby and a three-year old, even if you are trying to make extra money for said new children.
Warning that it might be dysphoria inducing to some?
"I can lie to myself"-"I Ain't Missing You," Jon Waite, England, 1984
Ichigo turned to the clock on the nightstand on the opposite side of the bed-Grimmjow's side.
One twenty-seven in the morning.
It wasn't that he was gone for any personal reasons, but with Ichigo too pregnant-eight months-to safely work or even be seen in public, for he wasn't entirely out, for both physical and mental safety reasons, and Issin being the sole proprietor of the clinic and the family therefore bearing the entire cost of running it, Grimmjow had decided to take odd jobs with Kisuke and save up while it would still mean that no one would be left with the care of a three-year-old and a newborn as well.
Regardless, it didn't make sleeping alone any easier on Ichigo. Sure, he'd done it for eighteen years and some odd, but just the same, he'd had the man he loved beside him every night for another twelve.
It was...strange. In an unpleasant way. Much like adjusting to a friend's couch while having the house fumigated, or adjusting to being too pregnant to roll over, as it were-temporary, it would pass, but all the same he could sleep hardly any better than if the circus was in the room.
"Are you okay, Daddy?"
Ichigo turned to see his son, Kazui, standing just past the hallway that the protruding closet created, Kon walking out from behind him, his steps squeaking as they'd done for many years.
"I told him to go back to sleep but-"
Ichigo waved a hand in front of his face and shook his head.
"It's okay," he sighed, "I'm still awake, as you see."
Ichigo patted the space where Grimmjow would normally be, "Come on up, both of you."
Unable to lean forward, Ichigo motioned for Kon to come to his other side.
Kon walked over Ichigo's legs and stood atop the nightstand on Ichigo's side of the bed.
"Kon, thanks for watching over him like this"
"Leave it to the amazing Kon!"
More seriously, Kon added, "He's coming into his powers, you have too much baby in the way to react in case something happens, and he's a three year old with scary new powers and one of his parents has been gone for a week to do something he can't really understand. I'm a part of this family, so I'll help out...even if it does mean I have to be soggy with nephew-drool and get washed... Please hand-wash me."
Ichigo lowered his head to Kon's level and, with a hand behind Kon, brought him in for a small hug, not being able to lean a head on his shoulder.
"I'll hand-wash you in the morning. And thanks, man."
"Don't mention it," Kon said with fake humility in a boastful tone.
"Why does Papa have to make money, anyway? Babies don't buy stuff!" Kazui puffed out his cheeks and punched the mattress.
Ichigo paused to gather his thoughts waggling his pointer finger in the vague direction of the ceiling. On picking out what he wanted to say, his hand became firmer, though still raised.
"We have to buy a lot of stuff for the baby. Sure, we have your crib, your car seat, and clothes. But stuff like diapers you can't keep and reuse, right?"
Ichigo smirked as Kazui shrivelled his face in disgust.
"That would be gross! Eww! Even grosser than when Aunt Yuzu dropped the MSG shaker in the soup!"
Ichigo laughed, "well, Uncle Pesche being hired in any job is a scary thought!"
"He's gonna mop Granpa's paitients!" Kazui laughed.
"That's not...unthinkable, actually, for him," Ichigo surrendered.
"You can't leave the house until the baby's outside of you, right?" Kazui patted Ichigo's abdomen.
"Yeah," Ichigo sighed, "it's not safe for people to know you're different. You'll learn that soon enough."
Wistfully and absent mindedly, Ichigo fell silent, staring past Kon and out the window.
He didn't know how long had passed but he was brought back to reality by Kazui standing on the bed and hugging his head, which was both quite sweet and quite hard to not notice.
"Don't be sad, Daddy. I'll tell you all about outside every day!"
Difficult as it was-Ichigo and Grimmjow made very strong children-Ichigo turned slightly, and spoke with his nose squished by his son's arm.
"Thagk you for dhe hug but I cag't breade."
Kazui flung his arms back and changed to patting Ichigo's head, indelicately, but the feeling was appreciated, "I'm sorry, Daddy!"
Ichigo took Kazui's hand, before it could cause him a headache, and kissed it, "It's okay, I know you're trying to help. It's not so much I miss outside-I just miss Papa."
Kazui sank down and stared at his folded legs, pouting, "I do, too! Why are babies so expensive, anyway?"
Ichigo chuckled, "Parents have been troubled by that for centuries. Go get a book and I'll read you a story."
"Can I get one of Aunt Rukia's fancy ones she left here?" Kazui jumped down to the floor, excited.
Ichigo glanced at an upper corner of the wall-Rukia mostly read romance, and he filtered through his head for ones he knew were less explicit and easier to work with for a three year old's understanding and taste before replying, "Bring one of the older looking books-We can work with Austen or Bronte."
He would have to pause for history lessons-why couldn't the heroine text the man she liked? Why couldn't she bring a letter to the post office?-not that Ichigo Kurosaki-Ichigo Jagerjacues as per Japanese law since he was recorded as female but Grimmjow usually introduced himself as Grimmjow Kurosaki, since everything was in the Kurosaki name-particularly minded.
"Okay!" Kazui shouted before scampering through the hall and down the stairs to the bookcase far too loudly for midnight.
Kon, for his part, sat floppily, as stuffed animals tend to be, on the nightstand. He turned to Ichigo, "You sure reading romance is gonna be okay when you can't sleep because your husband's away?"
Ichigo turned his head on the pillow he was propped up on to meet the plastic eyes that were far more expressive than plastic eyes should really be, "I'm gonna miss him no matter what I read or think about. But he's just gonna be gone for a while just to save up. If you two keep me company, I'll be able to sleep at some point."
Four forty-seven in the morning saw an exhausted Grimmjow pause at the door and smile-a soft, warm smile-at the sight of Ichigo with Kazui in one arm, asleep, a flopped open book having obviously fallen out of his hand and laying open to a random page at Kazui's feet.
Kon woke up at the sound of the creaky door.
"They miss you these days," he whispered.
Grimmjow set his face into a smirk when he saw Kon stir, but a frown at his words, "I know. It's both ways."
He entered the room, stripping to his underwear and climbing in the bed on Kazui's unoccupied side.
"Thanks for keeping an eye on them."
Kon cocked his head and smirked as best he could for the face of a stuffed cartoonish lion, "Well, I'm incr-auggh!"
He cut himself off with his own yawn, "incredibly sleepy..."
Grimmjow fixed him with a glare and smirk at once, "Well, so am I, so shut up and go to sleep."
Kon caught the smile in Grimmjow's words, and gave back the best raspberry he could before settling down in the drawer of the nightstand and pulling an undershirt over him as a blanket.
Ichigo cracked one eye open and Grimmjow leant over and kissed him before settling back down to sleep.
Issin glanced at the scene through the half-open door before he headed downstairs to open the shop.
Masaki would have loved to see it, he was sure.