[fic] Courage

[kiyala.livejournal.com]

Title: Courage
Author: kiyala
Word Count: 1,464
Fandom: Bleach
Pairing: Kurosaki Ichigo/Ishida Uryuu, with appearances by Isshin, Yuzu & Karin
Rating: PG
Warnings: N/A
Notes: Written for hidden_gems for help_nz — thank you for waiting so patiently ♥ I love writing these for you.

Future!fic, in which Ichigo and Uryuu are about 25.

Warm nights like these are Isshin’s favourite. It reminds him of being younger—of times when age was something nobody even cared about for its triviality—and makes it easier to draw from his store of energy, to be as loud and cheerful now at sixty as he was at fifty, at forty. It’s family night, which means the children are all here together, home from work and university. Ichigo, working as an anaesthesiologist at Karakura General hospital, is here with Uryuu, who works with him in the hospital too, specialising in neurosurgery. They’re setting the table, debating over the position of the pots as they pass plates and glasses to each other, fixing each other’s arrangements and then arguing over it. It’s all in good nature—Isshin can see the looks of pure adoration they keep giving each other—but Yuzu’s boyfriend Hiro, a classmate from her education degree at university, is hiding in the kitchen, watching them with abject horror. It might have something to do with the fact that Uryuu is waving a butter knife around to emphasise his point. Neither of the girls seem the least bit worried by this fact. Karin nudges Hiro on her way past, sending him stumbling towards the dinner table. Ichigo and Uryuu both fall silent, looking at him and he freezes, wide-eyed. Karin snickers and Yuzu whacks her with the back of her hand, struggling to hide her own smile. Hiro is still new—Uryuu’s been part of the family for years now and the girls’ favourite way of introducing their boyfriends to the family is by letting them watch an argument between their brother and his partner. Isshin takes pity on the poor boy, clapping him on the shoulder and letting him sit. Ichigo disappears into the kitchen to get the last tray of food and they all take their places around the table, the twins beside each other, Ichigo and Uryuu beside each other, and Isshin at the head. Dinner is wonderful and the conversation is light-hearted. Hiro turns out to have a great sense of humour and Isshin approves. They all catch each other up on what has been going on in their lives and that’s when Isshin notices it. It’s just a small twitch of Ichigo’s shoulders, but Isshin knows his boy well. He knows that there’s a conversation waiting to be had after dinner and sure enough, once they’re done, Ichigo leaves Uryuu talking to Hiro and the twins, and slips outside to where Isshin is waiting, enjoying the fresh air. “Hey dad,” Ichigo rubs the back of his neck and clears his throat. “Mind if I join you?” “Not at all.” Isshin indicates the space beside him, on the small bench against the wall. “What’s on your mind?” Ichigo sits down with a heavy sigh and studies his hands before finally looking at his father. “If mum was still alive…” “She’d be so happy to see you—all of you—together like this,” Isshin says with a gentle smile. “You. The girls. Uryuu-kun. Even Hiro-kun.” Ichigo looks incredibly pained for a brief moment before he smiles in return. “You think she’d like Uryuu?” “Oh, you have no idea. She and Ryuuken were good friends—she’d have the best embarrassing stories about him.” This makes Ichigo laugh. “Better than yours? You remember that one you told us about Ishida-sensei and the dog? Uryuu still starts laughing whenever he remembers it.” Isshin grins mischievously. “Ah, Ryuuken would kill me if he knew I’d told you. But believe me, Masaki was the best story-teller I’ve ever met. She’d probably be able to tell it in a way that would make Ryuuken burst into laughter himself. I’m pretty sure you’ve worked with him for long enough by now to know that’s no small feat.” “Hey, I would’ve said the same thing about Uryuu ten years ago.” Ichigo says, shaking his head with a fond smile. “Funny how things change. All it took was for him to feel comfortable enough to open up.” Isshin claps Ichigo on the shoulder, feeling inexplicably proud of his son. “See? You’ve worked out the secret all on your own! No wonder Uryuu-kun always looks so happy when he’s with you.” Ichigo ducks his head, the tips of his ears going pink. “Yeah, well, I love him.” “And he clearly adores you just as much,” Isshin leans back against the wall, looking up at the starry sky. An idea occurs to him and he gets to his feet. “Come with me. We’ll go buy ice cream for everyone, for dessert.” “But I’m sure there’s heaps—” Ichigo begins, but Isshin cuts him off with a look. He clears his throat and shoves his hands in his pockets, clearing his throat. “Right. Let’s go.” The others are happy to stay home and let father and son go. Isshin waves, promising they’ll be back soon, but he leads Ichigo in the opposite direction of the usual supermarket. Ichigo doesn’t ask until they reach a park. It’s lit with evenly spaced street lamps and there’s a small stream just beside the path, the gentle flow of the water almost musical. He looks around and then at Isshin. “Dad?” “I loved your mother so much,” Isshin says, “I’d always daydream about how I’d ask her to marry me. Every time I took her out somewhere, I’d wonder if it would be a good place to take her again later, to pop the question. She loved this park, so I was certain I’d propose here.” “Yeah?” Ichigo asks, and Isshin doesn’t miss the faint tremble in his voice. “In the end, she’s the one who ended up asking me to marry her. I was going to bring her here—I asked her if she wanted to go for a walk and she looked at me, laughed like she knew exactly what I was trying to do and said marry me, Isshin. That was Masaki. Always a step ahead of me.” Ichigo laughs softly. “She’d say that sometimes, eh? That she was always a step ahead. I think I remember.” “Well,” Isshin looks at the park around them with a fond smile. “I never got to ask her here, in the end. It’s a very romantic place, you know. More private than a restaurant, and it’s somewhere special, instead of just being at home or something like that.” “Dad…” Ichigo chews on his lower lip before continuing, “you know, don’t you?” “That every time you look at Uryuu-kun, you’re thinking of how much you want to ask him to marry you?” Isshin smiles, tousling his son’s hair. “Of course I do. That look of adoration runs in the family, you know. Don’t worry, I don’t think anyone else notices.” “Maybe Ishida-sensei does,” Ichigo mutters with a grin, “he took me aside the other day and said that if I insisted on being an idiot and choosing to spend the rest of my life with his son, then I’d better make sure I do my best to keep him happy. More or less his exact words.” “Counts as a blessing, as far as Ryuuken’s concerned,” Isshin beams. “So?” Ichigo pulls a small box out of his pocket and gives his father an embarrassed look. “I was just—looking for the right time and place.” “Any time is the right time,” Isshin says with confidence. “And as for the right place…” “Mum’s favourite park, huh?” Ichigo looks around, considering it. “Yeah. I like that.” “That’s my boy!” Isshin declares proudly. “Come on, then. Now we’ve cleared that up, we’d better get ice cream before the others get impatient.” They buy a small tub of chocolate ice cream on the way home, but as Karin is going into the kitchen to find the dessert bowls, Ichigo clears his throat. “Uh. Uryuu. Walk with me for a sec?” Uryuu looks at Ichigo for a long moment, and slips a hand into his pocket. Ichigo misses it, because he’s staring at his feet nervously, but Isshin can tell that Uryuu’s fingers are closed around a small box, too. Even if he can’t see it for himself, Yuzu’s quiet, excited squeak tells him enough. “Of course,” Uryuu replies, linking his arm with Ichigo’s. Yuzu gives Uryuu a quick thumbs-up sign, and Ichigo grins at his father, and the two of them disappear back outside, into the night. “Have you two been meddling?” Karin asks, raising an eyebrow at them. Hiro looks thoroughly confused, but that’s okay. He’ll work it out soon enough. “Not meddling,” Yuzu replies, folding her arms across her chest. “Just… encouraging,” Isshin finishes with a wink. Karin rolls her eyes, lifting the lid off the ice cream tub and scooping it out into their bowls. “Well. It’s about freaking time.”

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