MP: Really winding down now, just this chapter and then another small one that will hopefully be uploaded very soon, and we'll be all done.

Cee: MissyPessimisty does not own any characters, plots, or affiliates that are even slightly related to the city, county, and state of Bleach. That would be Kubo. Lyrics used are taken from "As the World falls Down" by David Bowie originally, but also from a fantastic cover by Girl in a Coma. I do not own that song, that would be silly.

MP: Story starts now.

XXX

"As the pain sweeps through, makes no sense for you. Every thrill has gone, wasn't too much fun at all...But I'll be there for you as the world falls down."

He was staring at him again.

Propping his feet up on the edge of Izuru's hospital bed, Gin returned the silent stare passively. He had won many a staring contest simply for the fact that he never opened his eyes all the way and so nobody ever really knew he was cheating, and thought he was too much of a bastard to care. But this was not a contest; this was just how Takeshi looked at things.

Two eyes were wide open and large, attempting to focus in on the world around him, as though everything he saw was going too fast for him to get in clearly. Resting peacefully on his favorite spot lying on Izuru's softly rising chest, Takeshi looked at Gin as though he was one of the only things that came in with no distractions.

And Gin just looked right back, silent. Fiddling with the long red cuff on his left arm, he broke the gaze long enough to glance up at Izuru's sleeping face. His blonde looked wan and pale, almost no different from when Takeshi had still been a bump on his stomach and not a flesh and blood creature that required actual looking after.

He had thought that as soon as the baby came things would go back to normal (or as normal as being confined to a hospital room surrounded by guards and wearing four reiatsu restrictors could get), but it didn't happen the way he planned. Nothing really went the way he had originally planned, really. He had not planned to abandon his nearly lifelong quest for vengeance against Sosuke Aizen in the blink of an eye and turn tail back to the Sereitei in the name of selling out his former taicho in exchange for Izuru's life and his own arrest…but then again, nothing in his life had ever been simple to begin with.

Even now the knowledge that all the years of patience and cunning, all the years thinking his time was well spent was now time wasted…it settled in his chest like a heavy stone. He had convinced himself for so long that the end of this trial was going to justify the means, and now here he was; alone, while Sereitei settled his score for him.

It wouldn't be so bad to be here waiting if the atmosphere of the room were not so dark, but no. Now Izuru was sick.

Takeshi had lived off of the blond's reiatsu for so long that nobody had been aware of exactly how much he had taken until the power source had been divided into two separate bodies. It had turned out that the baby had depleted over half of it on his own, creating a life for himself from Izuru's own. Compounded with the excess energy used in the birth, Izuru had been left almost totally drained.

His body had retained no weight from his pregnancy, leaving him thin and sickly looking, and his lack of reiatsu was not helped by the cuffs that could not be removed under any circumstances. Unohana had insisted that nothing had been amiss during the birth, and so the sickness Izuru was experiencing was nearly unexplainable.

"Poor l'il Izuru…" Gin muttered, his invisible gaze trailing over the contours of his lovers thin face, which was still etched with worry even in sleep.

Takeshi made a soft gurgle at the sound of his voice, and turned his small face away from Gin.

Chuckling softly, Gin shook his head. "I know. Nobody likes me…"

The door opened with a soft 'swish', and Unohana entered smoothly as Gin caught a glimpse of a few guards making way for her to pass, their backs bowed low. As the door closed behind her, she turned a critical eye to Izuru and Takeshi, who gurgled again in a more pleased manner. "How long has he been asleep?" she asked, approaching the bed.

"Dunno" Gin shrugged. "Maybe two hours."

"He shouldn't sleep for long periods of time, it's unsafe" she said clinically, bending at the waist just slightly to retrieve a paper that had been slowly inching out of the machine near Izuru's bed.

"Ain't sleep good for sick people?"

Turning a stony gaze to him, Unohana's mouth was a straight line. "Not for sick people with dangerously low reiatsu levels. He'll go to sleep and never wake up that way" she returned to looking over the long sheet of paper in her hand. "Once he is well again, he'll need all the rest he can get."

Gin frowned as Takeshi mewled sharply, disliking not being the center of attention. "Ya got any idea when that'll be?"

Unohana scanned the document for a few moments before lowering it with a heavy sigh. "These tests are normal."

"I can tell ya right now that that's not true" Gin frowned.

"I know that" Unohana replied icily. "The one that really needs to be done is the blood test, but I'm wary of doing it when he is this ill. There might be no other option but to do it now, you understand."

Nodding, Gin let out a deep sigh of his own. "I gotcha."

The brunette then bent at the waist once more, to place her hand on Izuru's shoulder and give it a soft shake. "Kira-san, you must wake up now."

It took another, harder, shake before a low groan was emitted from the back of the blonds throat. His mouth grimaced, and his eyes slowly began to crack open to display blue eyes that were still dark and drunk with sleep. Taking in the sight of the captain before him, Izuru's near permanent frown deepened. "What is it?" he muttered thickly.

"Your son needs to be changed and fed, and I'm going to draw some blood from you so we can test it" Unohana explained softly, her hands lowering down to curl about Takeshi's small form.

Absorbing this for a few moments, Izuru closed his eyes and gave a gentle nod. "Alright."

Smiling a small, thin smile Unohana easily lifted Takeshi into her arms as he gurgled and bubbled to himself. She transported him to a small changing table just adjacent to the bed, and began to change him.

"Oh you don't have to" Izuru protested weakly, pulling himself upright on shaking arms. "I can do it, just let me get up-"

"Remain where you are, Kira-san. I am perfectly capable to do this and I will not have you injure yourself because you think you know better" Unohana scolded lightly, her back facing the blond.

Shrinking into his thin shoulders, Izuru blushed and nodded again. "Of course. I'm sorry, Unohana-taicho."

Gin took his legs down from the frame of the bed and leaned forward to wrap long fingers around the bird-like bones of Izuru's wrist, rubbing back and forth slowly and feeling the individual rises and dips of skin. "Hey blondie."

Turning tired and deep-set eyes to his silver-haired lover, Izuru's mouth twitched up slightly but did not fall into a smile. "How long was I asleep?"

"Too long."

The blond turned his face away as he muttered; "Not long enough". He looked towards Unohana changing his son, who was happily trying to catch her hands with his fists. "How was he?"

Gin shrugged. "Quiet. Good kid."

Takeshi turned his head at the sound of their voices, and his small face lit up upon seeing that Izuru was finally awake. His mouth, unable to form a smile, opened and let out a few high-pitched squeals as he shook his fists once more.

Sighing, Gin shook his head. "He doesn't like me."

"Stop it, he likes you just fine. He just likes me better seeing as I'm his old house" Izuru reasoned, rolling his eyes. "Besides, you'll have some bonding time eventually."

Gin chuckled lightly. "Yeah, eventually."

Eventually was a gross overstatement. Neither of them truly had any idea what was going to happen to them after this score with Aizen was settled, and nobody really knew when that was going to be. They could easily be thrown in prison for the rest of their lives, have Takeshi taken from them, even...executed. The terms of Gin's surrender had been vague and hurried enough that he had no real bargain for anything but temporary safety and clemency for Izuru (but the latter was probably out of the question now anyway).

Eventually might never happen. And it was driving the already tense atmosphere of the room to new heights.

Unohana finished fastening Takeshi's clothes together, and let her hands linger over him as he mewled and reached for them.

"Can I please feed him now?" Izuru asked timidly.

"Not yet. I'd like to get your blood drawn first, and then after you can feed him" she determined, wiggling the fingers of her hand to the delight of the entranced baby.

"I'd really rather just feed him now, if it's all the same" the blond persisted, his wrist itching out of Gin's grasp.

"You can-"

"Will you please just give him back to me now?" Izuru interrupted shrilly, his fingers curling in towards his palms.

Unohana turned to look at the blond with an impassive face, eyes betraying no emotion. Closing them for a moment, she took a deep breath and picked Takeshi back up as he writhed and tried to get his fists on her hands even as they held him. "Here you are" she said calmly, placing him in Izuru's arms, which received him happily and held him tight. "I'll be back in half an hour to take the blood."

"Thank you" Izuru said softly, dipping his nose to nuzzle the dusting of blond hair on his sons head.

She swept away from the bed wordlessly, and as she approached the door opened from the outside (Izuru was reminded vaguely of how doors did the same for Aizen), probably from one of those helpful guards that apparently could hear every word they were saying. The door was shut behind her and the room was left in silence once again.

Izuru sighed, breathing in the smell coming off of Takeshi's hair, that newborn smell that had no name. "Will you make it?" he asked, his eyes meeting Gin's over the top of the little head.

Nodding, Gin stood from his chair and crossed to the little changing table that had been unofficially re-dubbed the spot for all of their new found baby supplies. "How much does he need?"

"I don't think any more than half" Izuru said, his fingers coaxing their way into Takeshi's tightly closed fist. "He ate a lot this morning."

"What about you?" Gin asked, measuring out the strange powder.

Izuru looked up from cuddling Takeshi's hair to look shrewdly at the other man's back. "What about me?"

"Ya didn't eat anythin' this morning" Gin said, shaking up the mixture and turning to look back at the blond. "Or the morning before that, or the morning before that-"

"Maybe I'm not hungry right now" Izuru answered sharply, a tight frown on his wan face. "When I'm hungry I'll eat; plain and simple."

"Ya gotta eat if you wanna get better" Gin said, crossing back to the bed and gently tossing the bottle to the blond.

"I know" Izuru muttered, taking the bottle and placing it at Takeshi's grateful mouth. "Thank you."

"Don' mention it" Gin sighed, sitting back down and placing his feet back upon the bed.

"Did you hear any word from the Sotaicho while I was asleep? Any decision reached yet?" Izuru asked quietly, his eyes never leaving the expanse of blanket stretching across the bed.

Gin frowned. "No, not yet. I'm guessin' he's a bit preoccupied at the moment what with Hueco Mundo fallin' all around his ears."

Izuru nodded quietly, his fingers absentmindedly tightening on the bundle in his arms. Clearing his throat, he looked back towards Gin with a deeper frown. "You don't think that they would...I mean, for us it seems unavoidable at this point, but...but they wouldn't...wouldn't hurt him, do you think?"

The blonds voice had grown so small, so fragile, that the other man had to strain a bit to hear the end of his sentence. Gin sat further back in his seat, left hand going to slowly twist the reiatsu cuff on his right arm thoughtfully. He had long since accepted the fact that he was probably operating under a severe time limit here, and that presented certain limitations. But he had not been entertaining the idea of Izuru not being around to raise their son, purely because the idea seemed wholly foreign to him. Izuru and Takeshi went together like milk and water from day one; they were devoted to each other, thinking of them being apart was inconceivable.

But what if it didn't turn out that way after all? He hadn't thought of that. There was a very real chance that there would be no mercy shown to Izuru after Gin was gone to either prison or an execution. And if that happened, who would be there for Takeshi? Would anybody, or would the Gotei prefer to settle it the usual way with swords?

He didn't want to think of the answers to these questions, so he settled for a murmured; "I don't know".

XXX

"Please eat."

"I'm not hungry, Gin. Leave me alone."

"You are never gonna get better unless ya eat somethin'. Now come on, eat."

Izuru sighed tiredly. It was already dark outside and Takeshi had at long last decided to make a final bid for sleep, just when Izuru was on the brink himself. But of course, Gin had begun to pester him almost the moment the baby's eyes had closed.

"Gin, I'm very tired."

The other man sighed. "I'm tired too, ya know. And you not eatin' ain't helpin' that much."

"Well, you didn't have a person pulled out of your stomach."

"...I s'pose I didn't."

Izuru nodded wearily, his dark ringed eyes blinking as though just that small movement was a laborious task. "So please let me sleep, he might wake up anytime" he sighed, glancing off to the side where Takeshi lay in the small hospital bassinet.

"I can take care of him, you sleep as long as you like" Gin persisted, sliding a small bowl of rice on the bedside table towards the blond. "But you gotta eat first, I'm serious."

Sighing heavily, Izuru straightened up slightly, a glare on his face. "If it will get you to leave me alone" he acquiesced, begrudgingly snatching bowl from the table and taking up a pair of chopsticks. "But don't expect me to eat all of it."

Smiling even wider, Gin settled back in his seat and happily watched as Izuru began to take small bites, grimacing slightly as the food entered his mouth. "Was that so hard?"

"This feels like swallowing vinegar you bastard" the blond glowered, his eyes burning holes in the feet Gin had propped on his bed.

"We never talk anymore."

Groaning, Izuru swallowed the small bit of food in his mouth. "You want to talk about this now?"

"Talkin' was kinda the point there, blondie" Gin nodded.

"But I'm eating" Izuru whined, placing another small bite into his mouth.

"Two minutes ago ya were never going to eat again and here we are, I think it's time we had a real talk" the silver haired man stated, leaning forward slightly. "Seeing as we ain't exactly had time to do that lately."

Swallowing heavily, the blond looked to his lovers normally carefree face to see that his mouth had once again fallen into a small frown. Izuru cast his eyes downward once again and took in a small breath. "What would you like to talk about?"

Gin shook his head, lifting up a cuffed hand to scratch at his head. "I feel like it would prolly be a waste a time to talk about maybe us getting' outta this, huh?"

Smiling grimly, Izuru nodded. "I think so, yes."

Faced with the almost certainty of death, what else is there to talk about?

"Well...say we gotta...y'know, decide what to do with the kid..." Gin nodded towards the sleeping baby, his breath stuttered slightly before evening out once more. "That is, say they let us decide. What will we say?"

Breathing evenly was becoming a bit difficult for Izuru. The combined feel of food hitting his churning stomach and the idea of his child being alone in the world was assaulting his nerves, letting him feel his weariness even more acutely. He opened his mouth to respond to Gin's question but found no sound in his throat, and so settled on giving his head a small shake.

Gin's eyes let their invisible gaze trail over the blond's thin frame, an almost imperceptible shake to his bones. He allowed his eyes to move instead to the area slightly behind the blond, where his son lay sleeping peacefully, blissfully unaware o the two silent men falling apart over him.

His eyes closed; not that it mattered.

They had both worked so hard to get here. Izuru had labored for months just to bring him into the world, and Gin had taken the risk to ensure that he might have the possibility of leading a good life in a safe world. And now it turns out that none of that even mattered.

Soon he and his beloved little blond were never going to matter again. So now all that was important was ensuring that their son might matter to someone, and grow up knowing that he does.

Scratching at his head once more, Gin exhaled sharply. "Is there anyone ya trust to look after him?"

Attempting to shake off his dark thoughts, Izuru quickly took his mental inventory. "I wouldn't leave him with a shinigami. You could die any day, and then there would be nowhere for him to go again. That's impractical; for them and for him."

"Guess you're right" Gin nodded slightly. "I don't really know much of anyone else, though."

Izuru pursed his lips subtly. "What about outside the Gotei?"

"Nobody out in rukongai for me, that's for sure" Gin replied, leaning back once more. "Do ya have anyone out there willin' to take this on?"

After a moment, Izuru gave a short nod. "I have cousins that live somewhere in the teens, they look after the family affairs. They might be willing to take him."

Smiling smally, Gin nodded. "There we go, once we get the chance we can probably cajole 'em into doin' in."

Izuru's frown remained in its place as he dropped his gaze once again from Gin's face to his feet. "And what else?"

"What else is there?"

"Us."

Us. When had "us" made the transition from simply the two of them to all three of them? Gin had not even been aware of this change until now, and he had a feeling that the "us" Izuru was referring to was not the latter.

"...What about us?"

Biting his lip, Izuru took a few quick blinks to calm himself. "I don't know...I...I don't want this to happen."

Gin moved his feet onto the floor, standing just to fluidly seat himself on the bed next to the blond, placing a comforting hand in that lovely place where Izuru's neck met his shoulder. "I know. But it might. We gotta be ready."

"I just..." Izuru pressed his lips together tightly, attempting to keep the wetness welling up in his eyes from escaping as he looked towards his sleeping son. "I just love him so much..."

Pulling the blond's body forward gently, Gin settled Izuru's head to his neck, feeling a few drops of moisture touch his skin. "I know."

"And I love you, too..." Izuru said softly, trying to absorb the meager warmth of the man he was wrapped in by placing his hands against his lovers chest. "And it's like I didn't realize how much I did until now...I love you...it hurts to think about how much I do..."

Gin's hands traveled upward again, one resting on the blond's back, the other going to begin softly stroking Izuru's hair.

"And I don't want to lose either of you..." the blond said, soft enough that Gin's ears nearly missed it as it escaped between two bitten lips.

Their arms tightened, and the areas of skin and hair and cloth their hands were grasping were suddenly held firmer than before.

Izuru took a small breath, letting calm attempt to slow the headache pounding at his brain. "Gin."

The silver haired man looked down towards the man in his arms, drinking in the sight of red-rimmed eyes, bright bitten lips, and a pale, sickly face.

It would be so lovely if it were anywhere else.

"I love you."

"I know."

His lips met another set, chapped and warm.

Takeshi woke with a stutter of breath and began to cry.

XXX

The old man was going to see him alone.

Sasakibe had coldly informed him of this as he stood in the small antechamber (as it were) of the Commander General's office. That was before he had given a vaguely aristocratic sniff, and spun on his heel to briskly walk back into the office, presumably to report on him to Yamamoto.

Gin smiled as he thought of what he could possibly say. However, he seemed to be the only one to recognize the vague comedy of this scene.

Pale, scarecrow-esque Ichimaru Gin with at least five reiatsu restricters strapped on him, surrounded by at the very least eight men whose physical appearance might put even Madarame to shame.

So really, it wasn't that surprising that the old man would decide to meet with him alone. No reiatsu, no sword, not even any incentive to try anything: Gin had become the perfect prisoner.

Yet ironically he was probably the most heavily guarded man in the Sereitei.

Well...maybe excluding Aizen Sosuke, if current rumors proved true.

The door to the office opened once again, and Sasakibe took two steps out, stopping before Gin militarily and addressing the guards. "Remain out here and stand watch in case of any problems" he looked pointedly down at Gin's large grin.

Sighing heavily, Sasakibe turned back to the door and began to walk inside, looking over his shoulder at the prisoner just long enough to order; "Follow me, Ichimaru."

"Aye aye, Sasa-kun" Gin said cheekily, following the older man into the room and hearing the door shut behind him.

The office was bright, and long. The floors gleamed with a freshly cleaned shine, the walls glowing as though the paint was re-done every morning, and at the end of the impossibly long office was a familiar slouching form.

Commander General Yamamoto had not aged a day in nearly 200 years, and yet Gin saw him as older than he ever had before now. There was an absence on the left side of the old mans body, almost invisible as he sat behind his desk, but one which Gin picked up on immediately.

This had been a great battle, indeed.

He sensed Sasakibe stopping behind him at some point, probably so that they had him covered from the front and the back. Gin stopped a short ways away from the front of Yamamoto's desk, aware of the captains eyes on him even as they appeared closed.

Huh...so that's what that feels like.

"Commander" Gin acknowledged, bowing shortly at the waist.

"Don't insult me with your two-faced manners, Ichimaru. Now stand up straight, boy" the commander's voice grated out.

Straightening up, Gin grinned towards the other man once more. "Just wanted to let ya know I missed ya."

The look on Yamamoto's face seemed to darken. "That has been made fairly obvious by your premature return to us. Suffice to say, we certainly do not return the favor."

"Figured as much" Gin shrugged, looking back towards the commanders left side. "Looks like ya won."

Yamamoto 'hmph'ed. "That would be compliments of your former captain. Who is now taking a long stay away from the world."

Nodding, Gin chuckled. "Sounds like what I told ya was helpful after all, ne?"

"Everything you said proved true, and Aizen Sosuke's army has fallen. You are truly alone, Ichimaru."

"Well," Gin lilted. "I wouldn' say that."

Sighing, Yamamoto gave a short nod. "Indeed. As I recall we have a few matters to discuss now."

"If you're gonna ask how Izuru could pop one out, I ain't got a clue."

"That is not what I was referring to" the commander almost sighed. "I've spoken to Unohana-taicho regarding the condition of Kira Izuru, and she is not optimistic."

"...Oh?"

"At this rate, even if by some miracle he is able to replenish his reiatsu, which will be made impossible by the fact he cannot remove his reiatsu restrainers, she believes his chances of ever becoming a shinigami again are gone. Your own chances, as well, are to be depleted."

Taking this in, Gin breathed evenly. They had known this, He had expected this.

"I gotcha."

"And as for the child-"

"Wait a minute there" Gin interrupted, holding up a silencing hand. "I wanna make a quick suggestion to ya. Me and Izuru got to talkin' the other night and we been thinkin'...well, you know that the kid ain't done nothin' wrong, it ain't his fault he was born to a couple a miserable bastards...Izuru's got some family out in the rukon who might be willin' to take him in if you'd-"

"Will you be silent?" Yamamoto's voice suddenly boomed. "You always did have that problem with silence."

Gin smiled sheepishly. "Old habits die hard, I guess."

"Now, I shall continue if you will let me" he ground out, his eyes opening to glare towards the silver haired man. As Gin nodded, he began again. "And as for the child, we deemed it would be best for it to be raised outside of the Sereitei as you suggested."

Nodding, Gin sighed a little in relief. "Good, that's good. Izuru mentioned they lived somewhere in the teens-"

"I suggest you find them yourself if you're so interested, Ichimaru. We will take no part in this."

Letting the words register slightly in his mind, Gin let his eyes open to tiny slits. "Huh?"

"Ichimaru Gin, as clemency for your lucrative aid in the decisive battle against Aizen Sosuke, the council has granted you your life."

Gin's eyes opened wide.

"However, as penalty for your actions prior to this, the council has banished you, Kira Izuru, and your child from the Sereitei. You are never to enter these walls again, you are never to exceed a 10 district length from the city, and you are never to contact any member of the Gotei. You are barred from ever performing as a shinigami again, and you and Kira Izuru shall wear reiatsu restrainers for the remainders of your lives, or until your spirit energy has been depleted.

Settle in the rukongai. Settle in the world of the living. Settle anywhere, but never come near the Sereitei again."

XXX

Gin registered two things as he walked back into the hospital room.

One of which being that Takeshi was not asleep, and yet was quiet. He lay still on top of Izuru's blankets, staring up at the pale ceiling with large, curious eyes. As the door shut with a small whisper of noise, Takeshi looked towards him and his eyes gave a familiar blink, his arms doing odd flaps as Gin approached.

The second, more exciting, was that Izuru was eating. Not much, but a bowl just slightly bigger than the one Gin had force fed him was held in the blond's hands, his mouth chewing gently.

"Hey" Gin greeted, seating himself on the edge of the bed, and dangling his fingers over Takeshi's face, letting chubby fists swing at him.

"Hey" Izuru replied, setting the bowl off to the side.

Gin grinned at the blond's anxious eyes. "We got good news, blondie."

"They're letting him leave?" Izuru asked hopefully, watching as Gin's wiggling fingers were caught between clumsy fingers and brought down to a wet, toothless mouth.

"Better" Gin smiled even wider, feeling Takeshi bite down softly with his gums. "We're free."

"...What?"

Gin looked toward his blond, who face was colored pale and scared by the possible answer that Gin was presenting to him. "What did you say?"

His free hand went up to grasp Izuru's neck, and he laughed. "We're free. All we gotta do is leave and we can go wherever we like. All of us."

Izuru's eyes were large, marble-like as he registered Gin's words in his mind. "You..."

Takeshi made a small happy cooing noise as Gin's fingers left his mouth to play with his small fist.

The blond's face cracked into a pale smile, letting him all but fall forward to wrap his arms around Gin's shoulders. His eyes were dry as he looked back up at his lover, who smiled back down at him, as though nothing had ever really changed between them.

"Izuru."

"Gin?"

"Thank you."

XXX

I'm sorry for the obscene wait this had on it, and I'm equally sorry if it was in any way underwhelming or stupid for you. I was assaulted by college. But this is, once again, not the end. We'll have one last chapter. And then that will be that. Thank you for reading!