Falling in Love in a Coffee Shop

A/N: Oh. My. God. I think I've left this for over a month… I am SO sorry! I've been crazy busy and UGH. I HATE high school. So, if you don't hate me now, go check out my Beloved Not-Quite-Sister, the-Escape-Goat! She's amazing, awesome, and has great taste in friends! Love ya Lisa-chan! Anyway, with no further ado, here's the chapter I've taken far too long to give you…

Chapter 18

Moments

All of the while I never knew

"Ichigo?" Rukia appeared at the door that connected their two apartments. He looked up from his character design and made a small noise. Her mascara was running, and she was sobbing quietly.

"What's wrong?" He practically shoved the chair into the wall as he stood up and ran over.

"I-I can't find the twins," she wailed. "I looked away for one second and—and—you know how fast they go now that they're crawling!"

"It's okay. Okay, we're going to go find them, okay? Come on, Rukia…" Ichigo led her into the next room. "Where were you guys?"

"I was on the couch watching them play, and then I got an email and had to check it and when I looked back they were gone!" Rukia broke into a fresh round of sobs.

"Calm down, Rukia, okay? They can't've gone far. Let's start looking."

They did. Rukia wailed every time the twins weren't in a room, giving Ichigo the hint that they weren't in said room.

"I'm going to try our room," Rukia said finally, sniffing some more.

"I'll look in the bathroom."

Before Ichigo even stepped into the room he knew they were there from the sounds coming out of the door. Splash, splash, splash.

He sighed, opening the door.

Just as he suspected, Hisana was laughing hysterically as Kaien sloshed water onto her from the toilet. He'd somehow managed to stand up on the scale, using the toilet seat as support, and was scooping water out of the bowl onto Hisana. The little girl was now cackling with delight and dripping with nasty water.

"Kaien, you're absolutely evil!" Ichigo said, humoring him as he sat down on the ground and laughed too.

Rukia rushed in from behind. "Omigosh! You found—KAIEN!"

Kaien glanced at his mother, a wicked half-grin on his face. He splashed again.

"BAD boy!" Rukia scooped him up, consequently getting water all over the front of her shirt. "Hand Hisana to me, Ichigo. They need a bath—wait, were you sitting here and watching them?"

"No," Ichigo lied, grinning despite himself.

"You were, weren't you! You're such a bad parent! Just for that, you get to bathe the two of them!" Rukia held Kaien out to Ichigo, who accepted him with due remorse.

Ichigo picked up Hisana as well and stood up.

Rukia suddenly started to giggle.

"What?" Ichigo scowled.

"You look just like a daddy," Rukia said. "You know, with the two little kids. It's so cute I could cry. I just might…" She wandered out of the bathroom and back to the couch, where she dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.

Ichigo glanced at the twins in turn. "Anyone know what's up with her?"

Hisana stuck out her tongue and Kaien just blinked.

Ichigo shrugged and went to go give them a bath.

-o-o-o-

"That's not fair…how can they be walking?" Rangiku looked on with jealousy as Kaien toddled around the floor. He fell on his face and looked up, frowning.

"They're nearly a year," Rukia said fondly. "Isn't it cute?"

"No, they've grown up way too fast!" But as Rangiku watched Hisana stumble along, Kaien holding her hand, her face softened. "Never mind. It's adorable. Does he always do that?"

"He seems to know that she can't see," Rukia said. "He's her partner in crime and he's always by her side just to make sure she doesn't get hurt. To be honest, I'm not even sure she'll need a seeing dog as long as he's around."

"Are you planning on getting her one?"

"Maybe, eventually," Rukia said. "But for now, we've got a little puppy right here." She reached down and ruffled Kaien's hair.

He glanced up at her and squeaked his indignation, then scooted forward to try and catch up with Hisana.

"She's going to run into that couch," Rangiku noted.

"No, she's not!" Rukia said triumphantly.

Indeed, about half a foot away from the couch, Kaien said something in baby-speak and Hisana halted suddenly.

They conversed for a second in baby-speak and then they turned around together towards their mother. Kaien squealed as he reached her legs, and as if it had been practiced, the twins both flung their arms around her ankles at the same time.

"Oh my god, that's so cuuuute!" Rangiku chirped.

"Heh, you should see them at feeding time. Kaien talks to Hisana like he's telling her where the food is so she can pick it up and eat it. She's got a great sense of touch, though, I'm not sure she would need him."

"So Kaien's like her guardian angel."

"You know, I'd say Kaien is more like her, well, her twin. He's always with her, you know? But I think her guardian angel is my mom. They share the same name. So I wouldn't be surprised if Mom was watching over Hisana right now, Kaien too, making sure they never get hurt."

"Your mom's name was Hisana?" Rangiku asked in surprise. She had known about her death, but nothing further.

"Yes. I thought she'd like it, if she were alive…" Rukia trailed off.

"But she had black hair. I've seen pictures of her," Rangiku objected.

Rukia laughed. "And Hisana's got Ichigo's hair." She reached down and picked up Hisana, playing with the orangey-brown curls. "She's like a mini-him. If only she had his eye color."

"She's got that stubborn chin," Rangiku agreed.

"Since when do I have a stubborn chin?" Ichigo entered the room and picked up Kaien, who was still hanging on Rukia's foot.

"Since forever," Rangiku said.

"Yeah, you're always looking determined and brave and worldly," Rukia said.

"Worldly?" Ichigo snorted.

"Yes, I totally know what you mean!" Rangiku said excitedly. "It's like he's the one who's going to save the world or something!"

"Like he's going to kill the bad guy?"

"Yeah! Exactly like that! Imagine him in all black, Rukia, with a ripped-up cloak and a big sword thingy…" Rangiku's eyes went dreamy.

"He's my husband, Rangiku!" Rukia slapped Rangiku's arm with her free hand.

"Excuse me, but I'm not planning on killing any bad guys anytime soon," Ichigo interrupted. "But that character sounds pretty cool for a game."

"Ooh! Yes! Put him in a game design! You could call it…Soul Reapers," Rangiku said, picturing the game in her head.

"Hmm…Rangiku, how long are you staying, exactly?"

"Another hour or so before my dinner date, why?"

"Could you step into my studio for a second?"

"Sure!"

"Rukia, here, take Kaien." Rukia took her other child with surprise as Ichigo darted into his studio, followed by Rangiku.

-o-o-o-

"ICHIGO!"

Ichigo held the phone away from his face. "Whoa! Hey, quiet down, Renji!"

"ICHIGO!" Renji repeated.

"O-kay. Don't, then. What?" Ichigo turned down the volume quite a bit.

"I GOT SOUL REAPERS! HOLY SHIT, MAN!"

"Whoa, whoa, I'm holding a kid," Ichigo said.

"HOW DID YOU GET THIS IDEA?"

"Well, actually, it was Rukia's friend. You like it?"

"HELL YES!"

"Kid, Renji, kid!"

"Sorry. Okay, I'm calm, I'm calm. Dude, it's awesome. Did you do this yourself?"

"Well, the plot's Rukia's friend's idea. The scenario and all that. But the characters are my design, yeah, though the animation was mostly done at the studio."

"Dude, it's gorgeous. I just wanna kiss all your characters."

"Whoa there."

"Except the one that looks like you, that'd be weird," Renji added. "He looks really cool, by the way. Rukia's friend is such a genius."

"She's also got a chest the size of Manhattan," Ichigo told him.

"What? Dude! Where's my introduction!"

"Aaaand…she's married."

"What? Not cool."

"The guy's pretty possessive, too. If possessive's the word for it. It's more like creepy as hel—heck," Ichigo corrected, glancing at Hisana in his arms. She began slapping at his hand, her sign for asking him to please put her down already. He obeyed, knowing she had a good enough sixth sense to not bump into anything, and plus, her brother was waiting just past the couch.

"That sucks. For me, I mean. Wait—that one busty girl in the tenth division? Is that her?"

"Yeah, and she made me put her husband in third division."

"Whoa—is he the captain? No way! You're right, he is creepy!"

"So you've gotten pretty far, then?"

"Yeah, dude, I'm on the final battle with Aizen. It's pretty cool. But you know what's cooler? And what you didn't tell me or Uryuu?"

"What?" Ichigo asked, though he already knew what Renji was going to say, holding the phone a little further away from his ear.

"YOU PUT US BOTH IN THE GAME!" Renji screamed. Ichigo had called it. "WHAT THE HELL, MAN!"

"You don't like it?" Ichigo was grinning.

"ICHIGO! IT'S THE BEST BIRTHDAY GIFT EVER!"

"It's not either of your birthdays."

"I know," Renji said, "but think of it this way. In another three months, you don't need to get me a present. Uryuu, though, I think he might actually be pissed. He's not a gaming guy. But people can surprise you, ya know, he might be happy."

"So I take it you really did enjoy it."

"Dude, I loved it. Soul Reapers has got to be the best game ever. Those arrancar bosses? Duuuude."

Ichigo glanced over at the twins. Rukia was absorbed in playing a game with Hisana and Kaien, ever the troublemaker, was advancing steadily towards her glass of wine. He sighed. "Okay, Renji, I'm glad you like it, but I have to go. Enjoy that last boss fight, okay?"

"I will!" Renji said vehemently. "Bye, Ichigo!"

-o-o-o-

"Mama!" Kaien squealed.

Rukia looked up. "What's up, Kai-kun?" He clung to her legs and looked up at her with puppy-dog eyes.

"We hunnngry," Kaien cooed.

"Aww, poor guys. What do you want today? How 'bout some crackers?" Rukia lifted Kaien up in her arms.

"I just fed them," Ichigo said, walking past with a sheaf of papers in his hands. "Don't let them lie to you."

"Hisa hunnngry!" Hisana wailed, waddling over to her mother.

"See? Lies."

Rukia gave her children a stern look. "Did Daddy feed you already?"

"No-ooo," Kaien drawled.

"Daddy no feed!" Hisana chirped.

"Liars!" Ichigo called from his studio.

"Hisana, tell Mommy the truth," Rukia said, still glaring at Kaien (as the effect would be lost on Hisana).

"Daddy fed," Hisana said.

"No-ooo, Hisaaaana," Kaien moaned.

Hisana frowned. "We hunnngry!"

"Ichigo, how much did you feed them?" Rukia called.

"Lunch!"

Rukia sighed. "You guys."

"Hunnngry!" Kaien repeated.

Rukia took a cursory glance at the cabinet. "Well…a few crackers can't hurt. Come here, Hisana."

-o-o-o-

"Hello, how can I help you all?" a kind woman at the front said, pen hovering above paper, not bothering to look up.

"Nanao! I didn't know you worked here," Rukia said cheerfully, hefting Hisana on her hip.

"Doggy!" Hisana chirped.

"Rukia! It's wonderful to see you! I see you've got two beautiful children now," Nanao said. "Twins, too. Oh, my. So what brings you here?"

"Doggy," Hisana repeated.

"My daughter Hisana, she's a little over two years and she's going to day-care-school soon. So we thought we should get her a seeing dog."

Nanao's eyes widened. "That's a shame. Was she…"

"Born blind, yes," Rukia said, a little sadly. "But that's all right. Her brother—Ichigo, where's Kaien? Okay. Her brother, Kaien, is like a seeing dog already, but we thought we should get her one of her own."

"All right," Nanao said. "Just a moment. I'm going to put someone else at the desk so I can give you a tour – does that sound all right?"

"It sounds perfect," Rukia said warmly.

Nanao nodded, bowing slightly to Byakuya (knowing who he was) and left. She returned quickly. "It's fine, someone will be coming in a moment. Shall we go?"

"Yes, thank you," Rukia said.

"We prefer to let the child choose the dog, or even the dog choose the child. Usually the parents just pay for it," Nanao said, smiling. "So we'll let Hisana in first. Usually the dog or child gravitates towards their partner quickly, so it shouldn't take long."

"All right." The group approached a door. Behind in, sounds of barking echoed. Rukia automatically drew Hisana close to her chest.

Nanao opened the door and whistled. "Listen up, friends! We've got someone coming in, you know the drill!" The barking suddenly quieted. Rukia watched the dogs line up quietly and obediently. Nanao turned. "You can let her go in now."

Rukia placed Hisana on the floor. The girl walked steadily into the room and sniffed. "Doggy?"

"Find a doggy, Hisana," Nanao called softly. "Which one do you like best?"

Hisana didn't say anything or go closer, but she held out her hands and looked straight forward.

A very small Labrador with a unique silver coat whined softly.

"Rei-rei?" Nanao nodded. "Go ahead."

The Lab walked forward cautiously and sniffed Hisana's hands.

"Doggy," Hisana repeated.

Rei-rei barked very quietly and nosed Hisana's chest. She giggled. "Doggy!"

"Her name is Rei-Rei," Nanao said. "Do you want to take Rei-Rei home?"

"Yeah!"

Nanao smiled, looking over her shoulder. "I told you. Who will be paying today?"

"I will," Byakuya said. "This seems a very worthy cause."

"You shouldn't need a leash or anything. Rei-Rei is one of our best," Nanao said, snapping her fingers. Rei-Rei nosed Hisana again and they both turned and walked out of the room, Rei-Rei patient by Hisana's side. "We will provide you with everything you'll need to start off with, however."

"Thank you so much, Nanao," Rukia said happily. "Rei-Rei seems like an amazing dog."

"Oh, she is," Nanao said, smiling gently. "I doubt she'll ever let Hisana get hurt as long as she's standing with her."

"Rei-Rei!" Hisana chirped excitedly.

A/N: Well! That was considerably longer than my usual! I think from now on I'll be typing it up on my computer rather than my phone; I tend to write more thus satisfying y'all. So, if you enjoyed, review. AND! The song is almost over! Thus the story is almost over! If you want an epilogue…well, you'll have to tell me!

(P.S. I've heard a lot of comments about this being really fast-paced. That's kind of how I meant it to feel…it's more of a big picture of their lives with tiny details…but if you don't like it, I apologize and I thank you for not flaming.)

MUCH LOVE AND APOLOGIES! Nanao-chan :)