A gift fic for u/4244621/Algernon-Fenton

Based on the series found here:

s/8767504/1/How-Do-You-Choose

s/8923850/1/Letting-Go-of-Pride-to-Bring-New-Life

s/11215639/1/Having-Your-Cake-and-Eating-It-Too-Shouldn-t-Be-So-Difficult

This story links to this series and takes place within the same universe. Kyoraku Emiko, Kuchiki Takahiro, the concept and theory of the pregnancy lozenges and this interpretation of Soul Reaper pregnancy all belong to Algernon Fenton.

Bleach of course belongs to Tite Kubo


Stole

Chapter 2:

The following week had been somewhat chaotic for Toshiro, to say the very least on the matter. Squad 10 officers were dropping left, right and centre; victims of the sickness brought by the cold weather. The temperature itself was actually starting to improve. Toshiro had a feeling it was doing it on purpose, but he wasn't about to go outside his barracks to yell at clouds. He was far too busy trying to keep the squad running anyway. Of course, even on the good days he often felt like he was running things single handedly (he had Rangiku to thank for that). Today, however, he felt as though he was doing everything bar scrubbing the toilets (and if he stood still long enough he wouldn't be surprised if a toilet brush ended up in his hand). Rangiku was thankfully still at her desk, but as per usual she was doing everything to avoid the papers in front of her,

"Toshiro-kun!" she whined, her head in her hands "I really think I'm sick this time"

"It's Hitsugaya-taicho, for the last time" Toshiro didn't look up from his desk, he didn't have the time "And you're not sick, I know you were out last night with Abarai, you left your sake flasks all over my floor"

Rangiku pouted, her captain was too smart for his own good. She groaned and let her head flop onto her desk, trying to ignore the constant throbbing. Okay, so she was hungover rather than sick. It wasn't her fault she liked to enjoy her spare time. Couldn't her captain show a little sympathy for her plight? Rangiku started to groan loudly, being more dramatic that was probably necessary. She didn't care, she wanted attention right now. Toshiro heard his lieutenant's theatrics and sighed deeply. It wasn't the first time he had been subjected to her melodrama. In fact, it was so regular he could almost plot it in his weekly planner. As usual, he ignored her groaning and continued to work diligently. Rangiku responded by groaning even louder, knocking a few papers to the floor for effect. Toshiro sighed and slammed his pen down,

"Matsumoto!" he snapped "Shut up!"

"But I don't feel well!" Rangiku moaned, looking at her captain with pleading eyes. Toshiro pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes,

"Take your break early and get out then" he said "I'm far too busy to put up with childishness today"

Rangiku leapt from her desk and headed straight for the door, grinning broadly as she waved. Toshiro let out the breath he had been holding. At least now he might be able to get his work done in peace. A short sharp knock at the door soon ruined that idea. Toshiro almost wanted to scream, he had to fight the urge to throw his inkwell at the wall. The knock came again, sharper with an air of impatience. Toshiro looked up at the door, giving it a strong look of distrust,

"Come in" he said, his tone not at all pleased. It was quickly replaced with mild surprise, however, when Byakuya of all people opened the door. Takahiro was in his arms, wrapped in a thick blanket and sniffling quietly. A purple changing bag was hanging from one of his shoulders. Toshiro raised an eyebrow in question, looking between the toddler and Byakuya,

"May I…help you with something, Kuchiki-taicho?" he asked politely. Byakuya gave the younger captain a cold, hard stare,

"I request a favour" he said, curtly "You are to watch my son for the day"

The statement left no room for refusal or negotiation on the matter, yet Toshiro could feel Byakuya's dislike of the situation. Toshiro tilted his head curiously, trying to decide the best way to proceed,

"I do not want to question your judgement, but is there not someone else more suitable than me?" he asked. Byakuya tensed ever so slightly, his eyes darkening a fraction,

"If there were we not be having this conversation" he said "As it is, I have no other option"

Toshiro almost wanted to be offended at the implication he wasn't up to the job. However, even he could admit that babies were completely out of his scope of knowledge. In fact that actually scared him a little. He looked at Takahiro apprehensively, the toddler was whining as his eyes and nose ran uncontrollably. Toshiro cringed ever so slightly; clearly the boy had a cold. He sighed and placed his pen down, clearly he had no choice,

"Very well, Takahiro can say here with me"

"It will only be until Abarai becomes coherent again" said Byakuya "A couple of hours at the most"

Toshiro caught the unspoken 'I hope' at the end of the older captain's sentence. He nodded politely, watching as Byakuya took his son to the sofa to lay him down. Takahiro whined as he was moved, not wanting to leave the comfort of his mother's arms. He wriggled and started to sob, reaching for Byakuya,

"M-Mama…" he tried to grab a fist full of scarf "Mama Mama!"

Byakuya slid his finger into his son's tiny hand, letting him squeeze it. He took a small handkerchief from his sleeve and gently wiped Takahiro's eyes and nose,

"Hush yourself little one, no need for tears" his voice was surprisingly soft, not at all the usual tone expected from the 6th captain "It's unbecoming of a Kuchiki"

Takahiro blinked, sniffling and whimpering. Byakuya tucked the handkerchief in the changing bag and carefully moved his finger from his son's grip. Takahiro whined, Byakuya shushed him with a very quick, very soft kiss to the forehead. Toshiro watched the senior captain in bemusement; it was very odd to see him acting this way. Byakuya's reputation as strict, cold and unmoving was as well-known as the noble clan he belonged to. Yet here he was acting, of all things, maternal. Toshiro frowned, pondering the scene in front of him. Becoming a parent certainly changed a person, even a stoic one like Byakuya. Toshiro wasn't sure he understood it himself. Why change who you are for the sake of a child? Perhaps it was because he himself was still a child (not that Toshiro would admit that out loud) that he couldn't comprehend parenthood. It all still seemed foreign to him, a subject he had no desire to explore. He valued his independence; he couldn't imagine having someone as deeply dependent on him as a baby would be. And yet, he had found himself unexpectedly in charge of watching Byakuya's young son. The irony was not lost on Toshiro. Byakuya strode over to the desk and placed the changing bag on it, his cold look daring Toshiro to challenge him about what he had witnessed,

"Everything you need is in this bag" he said, his voice back to his usual clipped tone "There are mashed bananas and a bottle for his lunch, make sure he eats something"

Byakuya turned on his heel, striding out of the office without another word. Toshiro briefly watched him go before moving the bag from his desk to the floor, continuing with the paperwork he had started before the interruption. A loud thud and a squeal made him jump, his head whipped round to look at the sofa. Takahiro was on the floor, the blanket tangled around his leg. The toddler had tried to follow his mother and fallen; Toshiro sighed and walked over, scooping the boy up. What was it with this toddler and injuring himself in front of him? Toshiro held Takahiro at arm's length, studying him carefully. He didn't appear hurt. Takahiro blinked at Toshiro, wiggling a little in his arms. His little eyes sparkled with recognition, he giggled loudly,

"To-To!" he pointed excitedly. Toshiro frowned,

"No, Taicho" he said "Say Taicho"

"To-To!" Takahiro shouted happily, grabbing at Toshiro. Toshiro sighed, a 'why me?' expression on his face. He placed Takahiro back onto the sofa, intending to go back to his papers. Takahiro squealed and reached for him, almost falling a second time. Toshiro grabbed him, his eyes wide,

"I'm sure you're trying to injure yourself on purpose" he said "Are you trying to get your mother angry with me?"

Takahiro just laughed, snot bubbling at his nose and dribbling down his chin. Toshiro looked away in distaste, although he was used to the sight of blood, all other bodily fluids turned his stomach. Keeping the toddler at arms' length, he walked to the changing bag to find the handkerchief he'd seen Byakuya using. Takahiro wriggled in his grip, trying to wipe his nose on Toshiro's sleeve. The toddler grabbed the hanging black fabric, rubbing it all over his face and covering it with drool and snot. Toshiro grimaced, his sleeve was saturated. He needed to take the garment off before it soaked through to the one underneath. Toshiro placed Takahiro on his desk, turning away and stripping off his haori and kosode. He folded the haori and put it away neatly, leaving the kosode in a messy pile. A shriek of laughter sounded from his desk, Toshiro spun around. Takahiro had found his ink pot, the contents now smeared all over his desk and papers. The toddler was laughing happily, ink all over his hands and his clothes. Toshiro stood dumbstruck, staring at the mess. Takahiro saw him and crawled over, somehow reaching up and slapping his inky hands against the young captain's cheeks. Toshiro seized the toddler's arm, his eyes burning with rage. Takahiro squeaked, tears appearing in his eyes as he shook in fear. Toshiro lifted the little boy up to meet his eyes,

"Ah, you didn't tell me you were babysitting today!"

The door slammed open as someone ran in; before Toshiro could blink Takahiro had been taken out of his hands. He looked around in alarm, glaring when he saw Rangiku sat on the couch. The blonde had Takahiro cuddled in her arms, the toddler snuggling her happily and smearing her with ink. Toshiro folded his arms,

"I thought you were sick, Matsumoto?" he spat, gritting his teeth

"I'm all better now!" Rangiku smiled brightly, bouncing the baby in her arms "Especially from seeing you, you gorgeous little cupcake!"

Toshiro turned away, grinding his teeth as he felt a migraine coming on. He stomped to his desk, picking through the ruined paperwork. It was going to take hours to clean up all the ink; there would more than likely be stains. Matsumoto laughed loudly behind him. She had Takahiro stood on her lap, his tiny hands in hers as she made him dance. Takahiro squealed and shrieked, overjoyed at the attention he was getting. Toshiro would be annoyed at the noise. Rangiku was loud enough by herself without a toddler helping her. But, entertaining Takahiro was the most useful thing she had done that week. Toshiro wasn't about to complain and send her away. He ran a hand through his hair, leaving black streaks of ink in the white strands. The cleaning supplies were fetched from the store cupboard; Toshiro took off his shitagi (ignoring the wolf whistle behind him) and put it away. Slowly he cleared his desk, starting to scrub the nearest stain

"I ought to demand a new desk from Kuchiki-taicho" he thought sourly "To bad the pompous ass would never listen"


Toshiro fell face first onto his futon that night utterly exhausted. The rest of the young captain's day had been extremely tiring. The cleaning of his desk had taken longer than expected, he had to throw most of his things away. Not only that, once he'd finished Rangiku had decided to use it as Takahiro's changing table. Toshiro shuddered hard, not wanting to relive what else had marked his desk today. He had quickly discovered the Kuchiki toddler had a talent for making mess. He still hadn't figured out how the boy's lunch had ended up behind the sofa, but he knew he'd be smelling bananas for weeks. Toshiro heaved a sigh. That had not even been the worst part. Renji had turned up to collect Takahiro as Byakuya had said. At first, the red head had found the inkpot incident hilarious, complimenting his son on his mischief. Then Rangiku had brought the toddler out to him. Renji had taken one look at the ink covering his son's hands, face and clothes and exploded in rage. The resulting shouting match had lasted a good hour. Toshiro's only solace in the matter was knowing that Renji was probably getting the same scolding from Byakuya. A small smirk crossed his lips. Toshiro chuckled deviously, he frowned and coughed immediately afterwards. The ferocity of the shouting match had burned his throat raw and it was now scratchy and sore. He rolled over and grabbed the glass of water next to his bed, taking a deep drink. A pouch of lozenges had been left there as well, the same pouch Toshiro had hidden in his drawer. He'd actually forgotten about them, pulling them out as he had been cleaning. Rangiku had seen them and immediately admonished her captain. After his second lengthy, albeit calmer, argument, he'd agreed to take them. He'd said it just to shut his lieutenant up, but if they were going to stop his throat hurting then he could at least try. Toshiro took a lozenge from the pouch, peering at it carefully. He unwrapped it and gave it a small sniff, it didn't smell suspicious. He let it lay still on his palm, the lamp light making it glow. With a shrug his put it in his mouth and started to suck. It tasted of honey, maybe a hint of lemon in there somewhere. It really was quite soothing. Toshiro lay back on his pillow, his whole body starting to relax. His eyes grew heavy; a soft yawn escaped his lips. By the time the lozenge had dissolved, Toshiro was asleep.


Second chapter, I realize my writing style is a little all over the place. So, what have we learnt? That Toshiro and young children do not mix very well. Not that you can blame the boy. After all, it's isn't like Toshiro has ever really needed to know how to look after a child. Not to mention, having someone completely dependent on him probably terrifies him. He is not know for his dependence on others after all

I'm having far too much fun writing Takahiro. He's such a cutie pie. At the minute he takes after his father, Renji. Very excitable and a little too mischievous for his own good. Pity Byakuya.

And Toshiro finally takes his lozenges. The effects these have on him will come into play next chapter