All the Pretty Things (Pt. 2)- September 13-14, 2012

World: AU

Summary: All the small moments in their lives- the birthdays, the interlopers, the parenthood- all mixed into one celebratory one-shot. Let's finish with a bang.

…

Compromising Situations (Black Rose)- 18 years old

"Jinta-kun! Stop running, or you'll knock over something!" Yuzu called, her hand raised with a black spatula in her hand. "Ichi-nii, stop chasing him!"

Jinta slid to a stop when Yuzu's heavenly voice spoke, but Ichigo paid no attention. Which meant that he just kept running and running- right into Jinta. And although Ichigo had managed to catch himself before he landed completely on the red-haired teen, Jinta had not been so lucky.

Silence.

"Woah, Toshiro. Didn't know you swung that way," Karin snickered, looking at the two red-faced boys.

"Get off of me," Toshiro growled, pushing the redhead off of him roughly. "It's not what you think, Kurosaki."

"Yeah, sure. That's why I've never heard of you liking a girl, huh?"

"Not true! I-I've liked a lot of girls…"

"It's okay, Toshiro. You don't need to cover up. I don't have anything against gay people. I mean, I hang out with Jinta here all the time," she laughed, taking the disheveled Jinta in a headlock.

"Hey! Kurosaki! You know I'm n-not that way," Jinta stuttered. He clutched at the raven-haired Kurosaki's arm coarsely.

"Anyway," Karin continued, "We should have a celebration! Yuzu! Get out the sparkling apple cider! Jinta and Toshiro are getting together."

Poor Yuzu, her face was red- most likely from the misconception that her beloved Jinta-kun was gay. "I-if Jinta-kun's happy, I'm happy," she said, sniffling a bit more than normal. She left to dig out the apple cider in the fridge.

"Wait, Yuzu!" Jinta called, but to no avail. He hung his head in shame, and Karin snickered.

"You've got Toush-y here now, Jinta! You can't afford to break his fragile, little heart right after you've got together!"

"I'm not gay, Kurosaki!"

Karin let go of the redhead and dropped him onto the floor. She waved a hand and dismissed Jinta's comment. "Details, details."

"Kurosaki," Toshiro started, "I'm not gay, you-"

"Good," Ichigo sighed. "I thought I was going to have to defend Karin against you, too. I've glad you've found true love, Toshiro."

"What did I say? I'm not-"

"You don't need to cover up! Just embrace it!" Karin cheered, fist-pumping in the air.

"I told you, I'm-"

"Here's the sparkling apple cider," cried Yuzu, looking considerably happier than she was when she left the room.

"There's no reason to-"

"Yeah! Let's celebrate, Toshiro! Give Jinta a celebratory kiss on the cheek! None of that mouth-to-mouth stuff, 'cause you can do that-"

"How many times do I have to tell you?! I'm not gay!"

…

Meet the Parents (Light Dmon James)- 20 years old

Toshiro tugged at his collar uncomfortably. "Er.. Karin? I've already met your dad. Do I have to meet him again?"

"Well, yes," Karin said, fixing the tie that donned Toshiro's neck. "It's common courtesy. If you're going to be my boyfriend, you're going to have to go through all that formal stuff, too."

"But he's already known me for thirteen years. I'm pretty sure he already knows what I'm like."

"Come on, midget," Karin smiled, nudging Toshiro towards the doorbell. "It shouldn't be that hard. My dad loves you anyways, so I'm sure this dinner won't be any different from any other."

Toshiro gulped and knocked on the door.

"Karin!"

"Shut it, Oyaji," Karin muttered, slamming her fist into her father's face. "Dad, Toshiro's here, too."

Toshiro bowed dubiously until Isshin had enveloped into a large bear hug. "Toshiro! I'm glad you're here with my Karin! Make good grandchildren for me!"

Toshiro turned red and wiggled out of the eccentric father's grasp. Karin rolled her eyes and shoved past her father, tugging her boyfriend along by the hand.

"Karin!"

The raven-haired collegian's face lit up at the sight of her sister, who bounced from the couch to her twin sister to engulf her in a hug. "Hi Yuzu," Karin laughed warmly, "I haven't seen you in a while."

"Mo!" Yuzu whined pulling back to take a glimpse at her sister's face. "You've gotten prettier since I've seen you! I think it's Toshiro," she said, waggling her eyebrows.

Karin chuckled at her sister's antics. "Where's Ichi-nii?"

Yuzu shrugged. "He's probably upstairs. I don't think he's very happy about you dating Toshiro," she whispered.

Karin laughed. "I bet he's not. Ichi-nii's not happy with anything I do," she said, grabbing Toshiro by the waist and pulling him towards her.

Isshin watched the couple laugh from afar. Despite the fun and jokes, he wasn't kidding about what he said. His daughter and her friend-ahem-Karin laughed. "I bet he's not. Ichi-nii's not happy with anything I do," she said, grabbing Toshiro by the waist and pulling him towards her.

Isshin watched the couple laugh from afar. Despite the fun and jokes, he wasn't kidding about what he said. His daughter and her friend-ahem-boyfriend, looked good together. Just watching them reminded him of his days as a bashful boyfriend. He chuckled quietly to himself as he unconsciously wrung the gold ring around his ring finger.

…

Brothers (Black Rose)- 20 years old

He didn't like it. He didn't like it one little bit.

Sure- he had know the boy for quite a few years; ever since Karin had brought him home one day thirteen years ago, it had seemed like he had become another part of the family. In fact, Ichigo even thought of him as a little brother.

But little brothers weren't supposed to marry little sisters. Ichigo scowled and flopped on his bed.

"Idiot, what are you whining about now?"

A petite, violet-eyed beauty walked into the room, her arms crossed. "Rukia?" Ichigo called, turning his attention to the doorway.

"Who else would it be?" Rukia scoffed and leaned on the wall.

"Go away, midget."

Rukia perked an eyebrow. "You're being immature. Hitsugaya-san is a good match for Karin."

Ichigo pouted. "That's what you say. Karin's not ready for a relationship, much less one with a boy."

Rukia snorted. "And who are you expecting she be with? A girl?"

"No, I'm just saying she's not ready for love yet."

"Ichigo, she'll never be ready in your eyes. I mean, she's your little sister. Imagine how nii-sama felt about me marrying a ruffian like you."

"Hey! I'm not a ruffian!"

Rukia rolled her eyes. "Yeah right. Just get downstairs, you dummy. Karin's waiting for you."

Ichigo watched his fiancée leave and pondered over his actions. Was it right to be against her relationship with Toshiro so much? After all, all Ichigo cared for was his family's happiness. His world revolved around protecting his family and making them happy. So if Karin was happy, was it his right to intervene?

Ichigo sighed, but stood up. He'd go downstairs and deal with it, he decided. However, he was going to have a long talk with Toshiro later.

…

Photography (FrostyNight98)- 27 years old

She had been the photographer for quite a few weddings, but she had never felt more compelled to do a request in her entire career. The bride and the groom were just so adorable. In addition, she had known them for three years; keeping in touch with the couple despite everything that went on in their lives.

She first crashed into them during a photo shoot in Hawaii, taking a request from a rather snotty duo. While she didn't enjoy her first meeting with the rich couple, she did enjoy the fact that the pair had offered to pay for her trip and all expenses- just to take photos of them during their wedding and honeymoon. So she took the offer, despite her irritation at the wife for all her ignorance and stuffiness, and the husband for his know-it-all nature.

She was relieved when she ran into Karin and Hitsugaya-taicho, crashing into them, literally, at a small bar. The raven-haired woman was quite sweet, helping her up, and asked her if she needed help getting home. Her companion, however, seemed to ignore her and Matsumoto was quite indignant when the white-haired man was mentioned.

Even though she didn't get along with the man at first, eventually, she warmed up to their ways. She had found that the man, Hitsugaya-taicho, had absolutely refused being called by his name, first or last, without a proper suffix- his lover being the only exception. So Matsumoto had called him Hitsugaya-taicho jokingly, and somehow, it just stuck.

She traveled around Hawaii with the duo, ditching her beach time and the strip malls to hang out with the couple. Of course, she was still on duty, but Matsumoto realized that she wasn't as petulant as before.

So being a photographer for the eccentric couple's wedding was especially exciting. In addition, she had secretly taken photos of them during the Hawaii trip, finding that their special moments were unexpectedly endearing. She also had a collection of photos of other places they went to together, because Karin never forgot to ask the busty woman to join them on a vacation.

And while Matsumoto declined many, she still had an adequate amount of photos to create a slideshow for them as a present on their wedding day. Of course, in addition to the sake she had specially prepared for Hitsugaya-taicho and his soon-to-be wife.

She hummed joyfully. She couldn't wait to see Karin in her dress.

…

Pregnancy (Guest)- 31 years old

-Trimester 1-

"Karin? Are you sleeping already?"

Toshiro watched as his usually energetic wife crashed on the couch. Her shirt moved up a little, revealing a small baby bump.

"Yeah," Karin groaned, leaning on her side and curling herself up. "Can you do the laundry for me this week? I feel so exhausted."

Toshiro sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I guess. Feel better."

…

"Are you sleeping again?"

"I can't help my body, okay? Just let me sleep!" Karin huffed, turning away from him on the bed.

Toshiro was surprised at the outburst; his wife was never so easily bothered. He idly wondered if it was the pregnancy.

-Trimester 2-

It was the pregnancy, Toshiro thought, as his wife crawled towards him with a feral grin on her face. For a while, she had been so tired and had refused to have any form of intercourse with him. Her attitude had also been out-of-control. Anything that he had previously known about Karin had gone, replacing his image of the hard-headed woman with the easily irritable, hormonal, crying wife.

But now, she had taken at complete 360 and the same Karin he had married had come back. He had thought all the mood swings were over, until he realized- it was Karin, to the extreme. By his observations, the second trimester included extra energy (which meant laundry done, more cookies on the counter, house spotless, and way more jogging than he needed), lots of eating out (of course, depended on what she preferred), and although he didn't want to admit he enjoyed it- a heightened sex drive.

Toshiro shook his head as his wife pounced on him and started to take his shirt off. Oh, the joys of pregnancy.

-Trimester 3-

Oh, how he hated pregnancy. After the second trimester had come and gone, things had taken a turn for the worse. Her drowsiness had returned, and she had trouble moving around because of the big 'ol beer belly. Of course, he never referred to her stomach as that aloud; he learned his lesson after five boxes of tissues wasted, his favorite watermelon gone, and hours of sitting with her on the ground until she had finally calmed.

Her cravings had also taken a turn for the worse. Sometimes, it could be egg with barbeque sauce and string cheese, or it could be a sandwich filled with cantaloupe and ramen. Other times, it was rice filled with red bean and wasabi, something she referred to as "a gift from the gods." Toshiro had politely refused that creation of hers.

Toshiro silently prayed to no one in particular, as he was vacuuming, that it would be over soon, and these nine months would be a dream.

...

It's the Little Things that Count (Light Dmon James)- 39 years old

One thing Karin noticed was that the years went by fast. It had been thirty-two years since she and her lover had met, nineteen years since they had been going out, twelve years since they've gotten married, and seven years since they've had their first child. Karin couldn't even fathom how she had gotten so old so quickly, wrinkles of old age and gray hairs already appearing on her body.

She looked out the window of her old bedroom, and looked over the streets of Karakura. It had definitely changed since she had been a kid, and she's found many of her old friends here as well, having their own little families like Toshiro and Karin had.

Her kids always tell her that she forgets things too easily, and it's true. She does forget the big things, such as dental appointments, school plays, and the like. Even while she's working, she'll forget that her kids are in the other room, fighting and screaming like a pack of ill-tempered banshees.

Nevertheless, she never forgets the little things, which she finds they always count. Things like kisses on the cheek when they say goodbye before hopping on the bus, helping them with homework, spending a little cash on a fast food place just to please her little ones. She's found that through those little moments that seem like they don't matter create a larger picture. Karin smiles.

She can't wait to see it.

...

Unexpected (FrostyNight98)- 50 years old

His wife, aging gracefully and stubbornly, still looks like she's forty years old. Even though he and his kids keep insisting that she still looks young, she adamantly denies it, waving her well-worn hand at them and ranting about guilt and aging.

Despite her age, his wife is also an avid jogger. Although she doesn't play soccer anymore, physical exercise is still a major part of her daily life. Toshiro finds that even he has trouble keeping up with his gray-haired wife as they jog and walk around the neighborhood in the mornings and evenings.

Some may think that over time, he would get bored of her, especially after knowing her for forty-three years. However, Karin's never bored him, and he never knows what to expect from the brash woman. In fact, the unexpected has become the new normal for him.

Whether it's parachuting at age 29 or hiking the Grand Canyon at age 48, Toshiro realizes that his wife is everything, and even more, than what he's ever asked for. His raven-haired companion keeps him on his toes, drives him nuts, and makes him so irritated all he can see is red, but he realizes that his heart, nevertheless, belongs to one and one only.

Hitsugaya Karin.

…

It's done! Despite the long waits and the oneshots and drabbles that may or may not be well-done, A Year- excuse me, a Month of HitsuKarin is done. :D

I hope you enjoyed it and I would still absolutely love your thoughts. Even though I haven't gotten around to thanking you all for following, favoriting, and reviewing. I appreciate all your support and hope you will continue to follow my work in the future.

Thanks all and review. (: