Summary: After the war and living in the human world, Aizen and Gin find their son has become the target of hollows at just 4 years old. And that parenting has just gotten that much harder. AiGin. Family/angst/hurt comfort. Heirverse phase 5 scene. No homework reading required.
Business: I own nothing except Cherry, Tsuku and Erik.
a/n: so I rewatched The Ancient Magus Bride with Cat and now I have all the ideas. Have a throwaway phase 5 scene. The phase is taking a bit more of a shape now. Enjoy the ficlet and please review if you liked it, so I can gauge what to post more of.
Notes: family/angst/hurt-comfort aka burntfluff. 1006 words I paid for with tears.
"If I don't wield the sword, I cannot protect you. If I keep wielding the sword I cannot embrace you."
- Ichigo Kurosaki (from the Bleach manga written by Tite Kubo)
Hereditary
They were both relaxing in the living room, sousuke doing a crossword and Gin reading a book when they heard their child's scream.
"Daddy! HELP ME!"
Gin's eyes flickered up to meet his husband's for just a moment of shared concern before they jumped to their feet. Erik. They had to get to Erik.
Having the foresight to grab his zanpaktou from the wall and putting shunpo to good use, Gin got there first, Aizen close behind him. When they got to their son's room, time seemed to stop – along with both their hearts.
In the middle of the room, their little boy was struggling against a small hollow. The monster – an eel like creature, body black as night – was trying to sink its teeth into the boy's forearm as he struggled to push it off. Pure terror written all over his face as he sobbed ad called to his parents for help.
"Dad!" he wailed. Weakly shoving and pushing the monster that had latched onto his arm and drawing blood now. "Help... Help me!"
Gin acted first, fuelled by fear himself and so much rage because how dare this thing target his child. He called for Shinsou and charged, trusting Sousuke to get the boy out of harm's way as soon as he could.
"Not my son you bitch!" he shouted at the fiend, which had at least the decency to be afraid when he saw Gin coming. Good, be afraid, Gin thought viciously. Though it didn't last for very long, because its head was quickly and cleanly severed from its body. The rest of it disappearing without a trace.
When it was dead, Gin scanned around to see if more were coming. Ready to fight and destroy an entire army of the beasts if he had to, to keep them away from his sweet little boy. But mercifully, there had just been the one.
Gin sighed in relief and turned back to his son, who was being crushed against Sousuke in an embrace. Bawling his little eyes out. The sound of the wailing yanking at his heartstrings viciously. Sousuke was casting a kidou spell on the boy's arm to repair the wound. A skill learned out of necessity since their time in Huecco Mundo. He was glad Sousuke had insisted they learn it. Sousuke was just glad he learned it.
Gin approached them both. "Damage report?"
"No major blood vessels punctured, thank god. The thing had flat teeth." Sousuke told him. Trying not to think about what they'd have found if the thing had sharp teeth meant for tearing flesh off bones.
Don't think about that, he told himself for perhaps the thousandth time in his life as he looked up at Gin with an expression of utter helplessness. His heart breaking while Gin watched. Sure it was written all over his face, too. Because parents were supposed to protect their children, and they'd both failed.
Now Erik would probably be scarred forever at just four years old.
Gin knelt down beside them and embraced the both of them, while Sousuke reassured their son that he was safe. As if such a state existed in the first place. But Erik didn't need to know that just yet.
. . .
Later that evening, with Erik fast asleep between them and cuddling Aizen's sleepy fox Tsuku like a teddy bear, Sousuke let out a long, heavy sigh.
"Did you put the kidou barriers up around the house?" Gin asked, all anxious energy. Not that Sousuke blamed him. They'd all been shaken up today.
"Yes." he answered. "They should hold up for a bit while we come up with a plan. How is he doing?"
"He seems okay. Fast asleep now, but no doubt he'll have nightmares tonight." Gin winced as his voice caught at the end of that sentence. He paused, having to take a breath to blink back tears at their shared failure. "We were supposed to protect him, Sousuke," he said, voice shaky now too. "We were supposed to protect him..."
Sousuke reached over and squeezed his partner's hand. "I know," he said gently. "I know. It was my fault. I should have known this day would come. A child with that kind of power is a walking target for hollows. I should have planned for this."
Gin sniffed and wiped his eyes. "You couldn't have known," he answered. "We couldn't have."
"But we should have," Sousuke countered. "He's our son. Half of you and half of me. He's inherited our Sight as well as our power. That's made him a target." He took a shaky breath of his own. Why was protecting the people he loved so damn hard? And why was he so damn bad at it?
"Nothing to do for it now," he added, a little calmer but not much. "We'll just have to be more vigilant from now on, now we now he's a target. Teach him to protect himself, too, when he's older. If he's inherited power from us, we'll teach him how to use it."
Gin nodded, chewing on that information, gently stroking Erik's thick brown hair. Apart from his blue eyes, the boy really was Aizen Sousuke in miniature, with some of his own flaws mixed in there too – for better or for worse.
"I wonder what else is hereditary," Gin wondered aloud. "Apart from family curses."
Sousuke smiled at him. Tired and sad. "I just hope voices aren't." he said quietly. "But anyway, you should get some sleep. I'll wake you in a few hours."
Gin nodded and settled down to sleep. Snuggling up to his little boy and gently taking a sleeping Cherry, his own white fox, into his arms. Of course, there was no question they'd be sleeping in shifts tonight to keep watch. Guarding their son from the countless hollows in the world that would no doubt be circling around their little bit of starlight like parasitic vultures.