~~~~~Shinji's POV~~~~~

When I woke up I was greeted with the most amazing sight ever. Tatsuki was sleeping peacefully next to me, her calm look making her resemble a goddess. I smiled slightly, cupping her cheek. 'Oh, Tatsuki, will you ever know?' I shook my head. She didn't need to know. I withdrew my hand, not wanting her to wake up because of me. She still looked tired and stressed out, like a too heavy weight was resting on her shoulders. I wanted to help her, I really did, but she needed to accept me so I could. I got up, thinking of a way to make her accept me. It was good enough for the moment that she had allowed me to talk to her, but of course it wasn't enough for me.

~~~~Tatsuki's POV~~~

I woke up smelling food. I hadn't even realized I was so hungry. I had barely eaten anything at school and nothing when I came home. 'But who's cooking?' I went towards the kitchen, curiosity pushing me. There stood Hirako, acting as if he was home. I tilted my head to the side.

"What are you doing?"

He greeted me with that shit eating grin of his. As much as I hated to admit, I had missed it. "Cooking. Scrambled eggs to be precise. Have a seat."

I eyed him cautiously. After a while, though, I realized that obeying would cause me no harm. After all, I was going to eat for free. 'He better be a good chef.'

I waited in silence. The only sound in the whole kitchen was the cooker. When I looked at him, he grinned again and set the table. I took a bite, much to his satisfaction. "Hmm, you're good at cooking, I'll give you that much."

Hirako chuckled. "Arigato. Good to know you like it."

We ate in silence. Being so close to him made me think about that morning. I kept wondering what would have happened if I hadn't run away that morning. Would have he apologized? What would have he told me? I knew I had taken the most cowardly approach, but I hadn't been thinking about it then. Or since. I had run away. I hadn't even let him say anything. 'I'm a coward.' I clenched my fists.

"Tatsuki?" Hirako's voice broke me out of my trance. "Daijobu?"

I didn't say anything at first. It was goddamn good question. 'Am I alright? But I'm not too bad either…' I shook my head. He eyed me questioningly. "I'm fine."

He frowned at my answer, not buying it for a moment. 'Are you reading me?' I wanted to change the subject, but the only thing that came up was… "So, you said that Shinigami pregnancies differ from Human ones. Is the reiatsu stuff all?"

"Hmm… I'm not good at this stuff. Believe it or not, this is my first child as well. We should ask Isshin…"

"Ichigo's father?"

"Yeah."

"But then, Ichigo will find out!" I yelled.

He stood up, glaring at me. I felt chills down my spine. Just the way he was looking at me… as if he was going to kill me in one move, which I knew he could. "So? What does it fucking matter if Ichigo finds out? Grow up, woman! You're effing pregnant, this isn't something you can just hide and act as if it never happened!"

I froze. Hirako's words echoed in my mind. I kept looking at him, trembling. I was truly afraid. Most of my life was spent with people I could easily defeat in a fight. He wasn't one of them. He wasn't one I could just threaten to shut up. He sighed, his look softening as he sat down. "Sorry. It's just… I understand if you don't want this child, but… if you decide to keep it, you ought to live up to it. You can't hide it… and you really need your friends to be there for you. Do you understand?"

I gulped. "Yeah, I know. Demo… I can't just go to Ichigo or Orihime and say: Guess what? I'm pregnant."

Hirako rolled his eyes. "They already know something's up. You just tell them. I can come with you if you want, but I don't know anything else I can do to help."

I nodded. "You shouldn't be there when Ichigo finds out."

He grinned. "Don't worry, he can't kill me or anything. But if you don't want me there, just say so."

~~~~~Shinji's POV~~~~

I tried to eye her as seriously as possible. Of course, it hurt that she didn't want me with her, but it wasn't as if I hadn't expected that to happen.

"I don't know myself. What I want, I mean." Her words surprised me. "I want you to be there with me, I really do, because I don't wanna be alone and face their looks when they find out. But… I don't know. I don't know what they'll think about me. I'm scared." She finally admitted.

"There's nothing wrong with that. Not being scared is like not realizing the huge responsibility we share."

I specifically stressed that out; I wanted her to trust me enough to share her worries and problems with me. But I knew it wasn't going to be easy.

She avoided my eyes on her and didn't say anything, which was exactly what I had feared. However, I realized that the topic was closed and I tried to find something else to discuss. The only thing that came wasn't any more pleasant. "So… what are we going to do?"

She had apparently been in a trance again. "What do you mean?"

I resisted the first reaction that came, which was to do a faceplant. "With the baby. I can't be here all the time… and I doubt your parents would appreciate if I moved in."

"I'll ask my mother about it. I think she'll agree."

"What about your father?"

Her eyes darkened. "Dead since I was 5 in a car crash."

"I'm sorry."

She nodded. "What about your friends?"

I chuckled. "They'll be happy to get rid of me."

"Then… what are we, Hirako? What can our relationship be described as?" she asked. She looked troubled, as if the question had been bugging her for a long time. She was genuinely concerned. I tried to give her a safe answer.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I would've liked to say friends, demo… you should start calling me Shinji. That'd be a good beginning. *sigh* We are, after all, raising a child together. Going to, at least."

Tatsuki nodded. "Yeah, we are."

She was worried, I could tell. I was freaking out on the inside, as well, but I wasn't going to let her know. I had to try and stay strong, for both our sakes. Even if she didn't want to lean on me, I wasn't going to drop another weight on her shoulders. I moved next to her, draped an arm around her and pulled her close. She was either too shocked or too scared to push me away, I figured. "It'll be alright. It's all going to be alright. We'll figure something." I whispered.

Tatsuki rested her head on my shoulder. "Yeah, you'd better figure something."

I chuckled. 'Good to have you back, as feisty as always.'