Coffee Flavored Angel
Dark with a Dash of Cinnamon

Getting the call from the college regarding the fact Toshiro hadn't shown up for class left an unpleasant feeling in Gin's chest. Rangiku always called the school when their child ended up to sick to go to class, and they weren't to call under said situation. Toshiro started hanging out at Nanao's place a lot during the last school year, and Gin blamed Ichigo. The orange haired teen, now college student, was the one person the man knew Toshiro hung out with, so anything bad had to be blamed on the boy.

Nanao of course denied the fact the fifteen year old was at her place, but a call to Rangiku due to having no other ideas of where to look for their son revealed Toshiro really was at the coffee shop. To make matters worse he'd been their all day, and his ex-girlfriend's best friend felt the need to lie to him. He walked out of the exhibition and ignored the person trying to lecture him about getting his priorities straight due to his position within the family.

He arrived at the shop and smelled the strong smell of coffee and remembered the time he'd come here with Rangiku. Kyoraku and Ukitake still ran the shop, and for a brief while Gin was able to work at the place to escape the problems he was trying to escape. Eventually though they caught up with him. The familiar feeling though didn't do anything to relax the panicked feeling in his chest, and the feeling became worse as he watched a situation unfold between his son and a girl around Toshiro's age.

The next thing he knew Ichigo was stopping him from back slapping the girl, and then he was cleaning up the coffee mess while Nanao and Ichigo watched from a distance. Gin's pale eyes took notice of the dark haired female that his ex-girlfriend's best friend employed. The need to take care of Toshiro superseded everything else. The table was clean, and he ordered the drink he and Rangiku bonded over. "Not as if that would really help matters."

The sketchpad still lay on the floor as his son sat their staring at the now dry table. Somehow the boy had managed to sit down on his own, and despite Gin's best efforts the corner still reeked of spilled coffee. He opened the book, and found Toshiro to have quite the natural gift for drawing. He then noticed every single picture in the sketchpad was of the girl behind the counter. He let out a sigh as he came to the last picture. "Creepy."

Gin looked up in time to see Toshiro visibly flinch at the comment, and the girl slam down the two cups of coffee. "You're an absolute jerk. The fact you don't like Toshiro drawing during his free time doesn't give you the right to treat him like trash."

The sketchpad lowered to the silver haired man's lap as he looked at the girl. He then looked back at his son who wasn't paying any attention at this point to what was going on visably. One bone thin hand held the sketchpad up as he flinched his head away so he wouldn't have to look her in the eye when she found out his son was stalking her. "Take a look."

Toshiro's head jerked up in a panic, and Gin found himself having to grab the coffees so they wouldn't spill over the table again. "No! Why did..."

"I can't." The girl moved to give the sketchpad back to Toshiro.

Gin's hand shot up to prevent her from doing so. "Don't. You need to take a look at his drawings before you say I was wrong for saying what I did."

The girl looked at the two rather reluctantly before taking the time to open up the sketchpad. Her eyes widened slightly when she looked at the first picture while Toshiro looked out the window nervously. The fifteen year old still worried his bottom lip when he knew he'd done something wrong like he did when he was a toddler. "I don't see what's creepy about his drawings. You're actually pretty good."

"I don't need you to lie to me Karin." Toshiro rested his chin in the palm of his hand, and refused to look her in the eye. "You heard that girl who was in here with her friends a few minutes ago. She quite clearly stated the pictures I drew were ugly."

The silver haired man's shoulders relaxed slightly upon hearing the girl was indeed gone. He watched as this Karin person flipped a few more pages before drawing her breath. "Toshiro..."

"Are you going to tell me the truth?"

"Are all the pictures you drew of me?"

Gin watched as his son's cheeks heated up a bright red. He folded his arms across his chest. Toshiro glanced away before stammering out his answer. "Most of what I've drawn lately... yes."

"I see." The girl handed the teen back his sketchpad. "That girl from my school Toshiro doesn't like me so she likely didn't like the fact all of the pictures you drew were of me, so don't believe what she said. This said..." Karin turned to glare at the teen's father. "...Why did you have to say that about Toshiro's pictures are creepy. They're rather... nice."

The silver haired man took a drink of his coffee. "Every picture he drew in that sketchbook of his is of you. How is that not creepy?"

The answer Gin received from her wasn't the answer he was hoping for. "Is it really creepy for a guy to draw a ton of pictures of his girlfriend?"

Two pale eyes noticed the nervous tone Karin used as well as how his son's cheeks heated up anymore. "Nothing. The problem is the two of you aren't actually dating, and you're trying to cover for him." The man's bony fingers tapped the table in a steady rhythm. "Don't you understand Toshiro's stalking you at your work place?"

"I wouldn't have this job if Toshiro hadn't asked Nanao-san for a favor when I entered high school."

A ton of thoughts spilled through Gin's head as he tried figuring out the puzzle. "Hold on a sec." The sound of the silver haired man getting up didn't phase Toshiro, but the look Nanao gave did phase his father. The man still decided to approach her. "Nanao... can I ask a question?"

His head darted back to look at the two teens, and a sigh escaped the woman's lips. "Seriously? It's obvious they like each other."

"That..." A sigh escaped Gin's mouth. "How long? It's been over a year hasn't it?"

Ichigo's tone of voice indicated his high level of frustration with the man. "My sister and Toshiro have been crushing on each other since they first met. They were ten at the time, and it was around this time of year. That means six years now."

"Six?" Gin could feel his shoulders relax.

"You would know these things if you spent more time with him."

The man headed back to his table letting Nanao get back to work. He sat down across from his son while Karin headed back to the counter. She continued to keep her eye on Gin as much as Nanao did. "Hey?"

"What?"

"I need to know why you skip classes. I want the truth." The man watched Toshiro glance over to the other three. "Toshiro."

"I want to date Karin, and I want to go to art school."

"You've wanted to do this for six years now?"

"Six?" The fifteen year old's bright teal eyes widened. "No. It's more like two to three years. I've been thinking about it since the last year in high school."

"Are you telling me I wasted money these last three years?" Gin could feel his vocal cords tighten as he tried making it so those at the counter wouldn't hear.

He watched as Toshiro's facial features paled. The white haired teen began to stammer again. "I... I know you want me to become a doctor, or a lawyer, or a scientist. I don't know which, but I honestly..." The boy looked away. "... can't do it."

"Toshiro..." Gin took a deep breath wondering how to say what he wanted to the boy. "Can I see your sketchpad and a pencil for a second?" He watched as the boy hesitated, and then pushed the objects towards his father. He picked both items up as the teen looked out the window again. "Has... has your mother ever told you what I do for a living?"

"No. She simply says your an esteemed sensei." The boy looked away not noticing what Gin was doing with the sketchpad. "She said I wasn't ever supposed to show you what I've drawn."

Neither said anything else until Gin finished what he was doing. He then took a deep breath as he shut the sketchpad. "You've never had an art lesson, right? You taught yourself?"

"Yeah. Momo gave me a sketchpad once. I found I enjoyed it as much in the same manner I eventually found I enjoyed playing soccer with Karin."

"I see." Gin looked down at the picture he drew of Rangiku and Toshiro. The child in the picture though was no longer the tiny baby. He pushed the sketchpad back. "Take a look."

"I don't want..." Toshiro blanched when he saw his father look him in the eye. He carefully opened up the sketchpad, and the way his eyes widened delighted the silver haired man. "What is this?"

"That is your mother and you when you were a baby."

"That's not." The look of awe switched to one of betrayal. "Why did you have a problem with me doing art work?"

"I didn't even know you were interested until now." Gin watched the expression on his face carefully. "Rangiku..."

"Don't blame ka-chan."

"No. She knows though what my families like. She knew I'd worry, and do something stupid if she told me you were interested in art." The man folded his arms into his sleeves. "Getting you into an art school isn't a problem, but if they find out you're my kid it will be hard on you."

"How can that be harder then going to high school at the age of ten."

"Touche." Gin looked at the ceiling. "If I say yes I want you to promise me you'll finish this semester and get your degree."

"I promise. Also..."

The silver haired man looked down to see his face blushing slightly. A deep sigh left his lips as he picked up his coffee. He walked over to Nanao and held out a bill as he looked at Karin who had moved away from the counter. "When she goes on her break can you get two more of those coffees? It's my treat."

The bell then jingled as he left the shop, and the smell of coffee finally relaxed him.