I tried experimenting a little here with my writing. I've tried to make it so that the story is from Isshin's perspective (in third person format, I don't like writing in first person) but he also addresses the audience/reader. He is breaking the fourth wall, but only in his thoughts. It was a bit awkward to write at some points but in other parts it flowed naturally. Please review to let me know how you felt about it!

WARNINGS: sexual references and like one swear word.

*.*.*.*

Isshin's Boys

Isshin sighed as he blew on his steaming hot tea. He hadn't ever expected to be in this situation. Not many fathers would ever have to deal with this. There was nothing wrong with it, technically, but it was still a bit strange for him.

You see, his sons were gay.

No, wait, that wasn't the issue here. Isshin couldn't have cared less about what gender his children were attracted to. He himself had done a bit of experimentation in that area a long time ago with a former scientist turned candy store owner. He had quite enjoyed it too, he was actually – okay, no, he's getting side-tracked here, that particular story wasn't relevant to the problem at hand.

The concern was that his sons were gay together. Like, they were dating each other.

"…"

Okay, judging by the awkward silence, you think this is about incest. It's not.

Isshin sighed again. He better explain it from the beginning.

Isshin had four children; three by blood and one by choice.

Isshin had two daughters and two sons. His daughters were twins and also the youngest of his babies. He had two sons as well; his oldest son – that is, he was born first, although he looked like the youngest of his four children – was, in fact, not his son by birth at all. His youngest son – but the oldest of his birth children – was…was what?

'Wait, this is confusing,' Isshin stumbled mid-thought pattern, 'Let me start over.'

Isshin had four children; three by blood and one by choice.

From youngest to oldest, they were Karin and Yuzu (his twin baby girls), Ichigo and Toshiro. Ichigo and the twins were Isshin's three children through birth. They all had the same mother, his beautiful late wife, Masaki, and all had half of his own DNA. Toshiro, however, was his son by choice – Isshin's choice that was – and was technically the oldest of his kids, despite his height (or lack thereof) and baby face.

Now, while that may seem pretty straight forward, in truth it was a little more complicated. You see, Isshin used to be a soul reaper – if you don't know what that is, you best leave – and that was when he met Toshiro. Back then, they worked together as captain and third seat of the Tenth Division, but Isshin couldn't resist Toshiro's cuteness and just had to adopt him as his own. The term 'adopt' is being used figuratively here, since no official papers were signed.

Isshin chuckled remembering the game they'd play; Isshin would call Toshiro 'Son' and ruffle his hair while Toshiro would pretend to get angry and scream that Isshin was not his father. Good times, good times…

And then Isshin left the soul society – the details of which are not important right now – and in doing so, he had effectively abandoned his only son (at the time). It had broken his heart to do so, and not a day went by that he didn't miss that icy glare and the cold, emotionless voice Toshiro put up. Isshin had lost his powers; he could no longer see spirits, he couldn't have seen Toshiro if the boy had been standing right in front of him.

In his time away from the soul society, Isshin had married Masaki and conceived three beautiful children. He loved his kids with all his heart, and after his wife passed away, they were all he had. It was hard to protect them at times; especially since Karin and Ichigo were always finding themselves in trouble. It got worse too, when Ichigo received his soul reaper powers. Isshin pretended not to know at first, but as his own powers started to return to him, he realised he could finally help his son against the battle with Aizen. He could help both of his sons.

Toshiro had not taken the news of Isshin's return well. Isshin was previously thought to be dead, and the news of his connection to Ichigo had spread throughout the Seireitei like wildfire, until the ice-wielding child prodigy turned Squad Ten Captain (after all this time, he still took after his daddy) was standing in Isshin's living room beside his big breasted lieutenant. They were mad, like really mad, Isshin shuddered at the memory.

It had taken a lot of talking, well screaming mostly, until they both calmed down enough for Isshin to get close enough to hug them. Toshiro struggled like always, and Isshin knew that he was okay; at least, okay enough to play their game. Eventually the two Tenth Division leaders accepted his return and suddenly Isshin had his oldest (but at the same time, youngest) son back as well as his old lieutenant/sister/best friend/drinking buddy.

'Wow, that took longer than I thought,' Isshin tapped his chin gently and took a sip from his tea, 'Sorry about that. Now let's get back to the main point I was going to make.'

The point Isshin was trying to make was that his sons were dating each other. It wasn't gross as they were not related through blood, but it was still strange for him. They were his sons; they were supposed to be brothers.

He was really happy for them, of course; he hadn't seen either of them so happy in such a long time, or ever, in Toshiro's case.

BUT, that lead Isshin to an awkward situation. What if they broke up? He prayed they didn't, but it was always a possibility, and it could lead to him losing his son (that's Toshiro) again. Also, he had told all his children that he would have to meet and interrogate anyone they ever brought home…but now that his son was dating his other son, he wasn't sure which one to interrogate.

"Dad? Hello, Dad? OI, GOAT FACE!"

Isshin was suddenly ripped from his mental debate, and found himself sprawled out on the floor with an aching jaw. Was his tooth wobbling? It felt loose.

Isshin raised his head off the ground to meet the pissed off brown eyes of Ichigo and the classic bored expression worn by Toshiro. These were the sons he was talking about; real cuties weren't they?

"Boys!" Isshin jumped up and pulled them both into a tight embrace; well Ichigo only, Toshiro had recognised the signs quicker and leapt back from Isshin's reach just in time.

Ichigo struggled out of the hold and pushed him away. Isshin pouted, "Why are you both so mean to your pop-pop?"

"Shut it, Dad. Toshiro and I are going out for dinner; we won't back until late, okay?"

Ahh, date night. Isshin sobered quickly, "Before you two go, I need a word with both of you."

His sons exchanged confused glances and Isshin herded them both into the living room. He got them to take a seat on the couch while he sat on the coffee table opposite them. This was it; the reason for his whole story explanation; this was that awkward moment he'd been telling you about.

You wouldn't happen to have any advice for a struggling single father such as him? No? Isshin supposed not.

"Well, boys, as you two both know, I have a certain rule when it comes to my children dating…" He began.

Ichigo groaned and flopped back against the couch; one arm slung over his face and his other free hand coming down to grip Toshiro's. Toshiro sat still and silent, his discipline not allowing him to do more than frown. They both indeed knew the rule he spoke of.

"Dad, really? I don't think it necessary this-"

"Hush, Ichigo," Isshin cut over his son's complaint, "Now, look at me."

Begrudgingly, Ichigo removed the arm over his face and glared death at his father.

"Now, I've always told my children that I'd need to meet and talk with anyone they would ever date…" Isshin explained while a certain look of dread came over Ichigo's face.

"But then my son…" Isshin clapped his hands together and pointed them at Ichigo, before slowly moving them to point at Toshiro, "brought home my other son…"

Toshiro's frown deepened, "I am not your son."

"Please, Toshiro, don't interrupt daddy while he is speaking," Isshin shook a finger at the white haired boy, whose glare intensified ten-fold.

Ichigo let out a snigger and tried to muffle it with a cough when his boyfriend/half-brother's seething stare turned his way.

Now you see what Isshin means, this is all a bit weird.

"Now since little Shiro-chan is my oldest, I'll start with his date first," Isshin thought aloud, before turning sharply on Ichigo.

"Now, Ichigo…It is Ichigo, right?" Isshin joked with as serious an expression as he could muster, "What do you want from my son? What is your goal for this relationship? Where do you see it going?"

Ichigo groaned once again, looking hopelessly at Toshiro for answers. The frosty captain gave him a shrug.

"Dad, why? This is fucking stupid…"

"Language, Ichigo!" Isshin snapped, giving his orange-haired son a smack over the head, "Now, the quicker you answer the questions, the faster this will be over."

"UGH FINE!" Ichigo admitted defeat with an intense glower in his father's direction and hastily went about answering the questions, "All I want from Toshiro is his love and his trust. The only goal I have is to keep him happy, and ideally, I want this relationship to last for a long as possible. Dad, I want to marry him some day."

"…"

Well, okay.

To be fair, Toshiro looked as shocked as Isshin felt. The prodigy was blushing profusely and covering what Isshin was sure to be an embarrassed, but very real, smile under his hand.

"Alright," Isshin cleared his throat and turned his attention to his adopted son, "Toshiro, same questions."

"You don't honestly expect me to answer those, do you, Captain?" Toshiro had turned his shock into annoyance and crossed his arms over his chest. Isshin should let you know that Toshiro's use of his former title was because he had so much respect for his papa, and not at all because he was still mad and being sarcastic.

"I do, and I've got all night."

A stare off took place between the former captain and third seat of Squad Ten, each daring each other to look away.

"Okay then," Toshiro replied in an even tone, not breaking his eye contact, "If this is what it takes to get this over and done with, I'll answer the questions."

Isshin nodded seriously and Ichigo's eyes darted between them.

"From Kurosa-…from Ichigo, I want only loyalty and understanding. From this relationship, I want only his happiness and safety. For the future, I want…" Toshiro sighed and looked down, "I want what he said."

His voice had gone so quiet that Isshin had almost missed it. Ichigo hadn't though, immediately pulling the smaller boy into a warm embrace.

Ichigo would have been over the moon to hear that confession come from his little lover. Toshiro was a hard one to crack at times; he rarely expressed his feelings. Isshin allowed himself a small smile; they would be okay. His sons would be fine; their relationship was strong.

Isshin knew he could get over the strangeness of their relationship, especially if it meant happiness for the both of them. Neither one would ever hurt the other; they were both way too protective. Isshin also realised that this would be a good way for him to see Toshiro more often as well, and for him to fully mend the relationship they used to have.

Feeling the need to celebrate, Isshin jumped on his two boys, pulling them both into his arms and holding them tight before they could weave themselves out.

"My boys," Isshin's eyes flooded with happiness, streams of tears escaping down his cheeks, "My sons!"

He heard a muffled voice on his left. Toshiro was pressed against his side and growling out something that sounded oddly like "You are not my father." Ahh, that kid loves to play.

Isshin released them, and they fell back onto the couch, red faced and gasping for air. Oops, he might have been holding them a little too tightly. You could tell that Isshin was excited, right?

"Here, take these," Isshin pulled out a strand of attached foil wrapped squares – each with a distinctive circle shape pressing into the packaging – out of his pocket and thrusted them into Ichigo's hands, "Safety first, boys."

Isshin chuckled at the colour draining from both of his sons faces as they stared at their 'gift'.

"Why did you have these in your pocket?!" Ichigo spluttered, "No, actually, don't answer that."

Ichigo, having been the first to recover, stood up and pulled Toshiro to his feet. Isshin was once again sent flying across the room as a result of Ichigo's unforgiving upper cut. Isshin's eyes focused enough to watch his sons as they walked out the front door.

"I'm definitely moving out," Isshin heard Ichigo say before the door slammed behind them.

Alone with nothing but his spinning vision and bruising jaw, Isshin pouted and stumbled over to the oversized poster of his darling wife.

"Oh, my beautiful Masaki, why are my sons so rude to me?"