"Tōshirō..."

A year had passed since Rangiku and Gin had their first time together. Tōshirō flinched and turned as his brother spoke his name. "Y-yes...?"

Gin smiled weakly, his eyes shining with sadness. He reached out and put his hand on the younger's shoulder. "Ya know I love ya. Right?"

Tōshirō nodded. They had made amends recently over what Gin had done all that time ago, but Tōshirō was still trying to get over his fear. He loved his brother and didn't want them to be on bad terms, so he was trying so hard to move on.

Gin smiled. "I'm glad. Rangiku and I are goin' out ta see a movie. Wanna come?"

Tōshirō smiled back. "What movie is it?"

"It has dragons in it." Ichimaru winked, knowing that it would peak his brother's interest.

A genuine smile crossed the child's face as he nodded. "Okay. When are we going?"

"Soon. Ran is upstairs, helpin' dad with his bath. We'll go once dad is settled again, ne?"

"Okay." Tōshirō hugged his brother, happier than he had been in a while. He scampered off and upstairs, presumably to get ready for his day out, leaving Gin alone downstairs.

The silver-haired male moved over to the couch and sat down, smiling softly. He was happy now; he finally had the girlfriend he had wanted for years, his brother was happy with him again, and his dad was still alive and kicking, albeit extremely weakly; it had been a miracle for him to pull through from the coma but, as expected, his body was too weak to function as it had before, leaving him in permanent care of his family.

A few minutes had passed by quicker than Gin had realised, and Rangiku was soon coming down the stairs, a sad smile on her face as she pulled herself against Gin, cuddling in close.

"Love ya, Ran..." Gin whispered as he kissed the younger female. His arms encased her in a protective manner and he shuffled closer, resting his chin on the blonde hair. "I'm glad I have ya in my life. I don't know what I'd have done without ya."

"Same here, Gin," Rangiku whispered back. "I love you, too. With all my heart."

Gin kissed the younger again before he took her hand and pulled away. "I asked Shiro-chan ta to come with us. Is that okay?"

"It's fine; you should know that, Gin." Rangiku laughed softly. "Shall we go and get him?"

"I wanna say bye ta dad, first." Gin started walking with Rangiku to the stairs, squeezing her hand on the way. "Is Shunsui with him?"

"Yes; he said he was going to dress Jūshirō and have a nap with him. Shunsui is much better now, don't you think?"

Gin nodded. "He stopped drinkin' and got help for himself. He's been very good with dad; very lovin'."

It was true; Shunsui had been extra careful with Jūshirō since the man had woken up, never wanting to experience such despair again. He had taken anger management classes and was seeing a therapist to help with his issues – Shunsui hadn't been lying when he had told Jūshirō he wanted to watch the younger man being raped, which stemmed from his own sexual abuse as a child.

Jūshirō, in turn, had been a little frightened of Shunsui, but was now glad that the problems in their relationship were being resolved. He was falling into depression about being bedridden and needing to rely on everyone else, but Shunsui had organised with his work assistant, Nanao, to take over a lot of his shifts so that he could be there with Ukitake and help him through the bad times. They seemed to spend a lot of time together on Jūshirō's laptop, working on the children's stories that were so popular.

Gin knocked on the bedroom door politely, waiting for Shunsui to tell him it was okay to come in before he walked into the room.

"Hello, Gin." Shunsui smiled as he ran his fingers through Jūshirō's white locks. The man in question was lying on top of him, fast asleep. "What's wrong?"

"I just wanted ta say bye to dad," Gin said softly as he walked closer, not wanting to wake his father; it was no surprise that he was always tired these days as a result of his worsening illness. "Ran is takin' Shiro-chan and me out to watch a movie."

Understanding crossed Shunsui's features; he knew that Tōshirō was coming along in order to re-establish the bond he once had with his brother. The man nodded. "Have fun. I'll tell Juu-chan you said bye when he wakes up."

"Thanks." Gin reached out and brushed hair away from his dad's face before he leant down and placed a soft kiss on the feverishly hot forehead. "Bye, dad. Love ya lots."

Jūshirō just shifted in his sleep, resting his head underneath Shunsui's chin. He let out a small squeak as Shunsui's strong arms wrapped around his frail frame.

"Bye, Gin-kun," Shunsui called as he placed his face in against the white hair, content.

"Bye."

Rangiku and Tōshirō were waiting outside the bedroom for Gin and, once he had joined them, they made their way outside to the car Shunsui had bought for the two older kids as a birthday present for their conjoined birthday presents; their birthdays were both in September, so Jūshirō and Shunsui usually gave them both gifts and a party in between their respective birthdays.

Rangiku was the one driving them as Gin hadn't gotten his license yet, not feeling confident enough to do the test despite Shunsui encouraging him to. She was a safe driver and paid attention, getting them to the theatres without trouble.

They entered the theatre room not long later after getting tickets and buying as much food as they could carry (their family had more money than they knew what to do with it, so why not spend it on food?) and sat down, happy to be together.

Tōshirō cuddled up against his brother and smiled, feeling at ease around him for the first time in a long time. He giggled as Gin's arm wrapped around him and held him close, feeling like everything was going to be okay between them once more.

-XX-

Jūshirō's eyes opened slowly that night, and he was curious as to where Shunsui had gotten to. He pushed his upper body off the bed with quivering arms that threatened to give out on him any second and looked around. Shunsui was nowhere in sight.

"Shun...?" Jūshirō called, rolling over to the side of the bed. He slung his legs down and tried to stand, only to collapse in a heap on the floor. He curled up, crying softly, feeling so weak and useless. It broke his heart to be unable to look after himself and do something as simple as sit without having to be held.

The white-haired man wasn't sure how long he had laid there for but, soon enough, gentle hands were on his back, telling him to stop crying in a gentle manner. He looked up, his green eyes meeting Shunsui's. He moved to sit in the man's lap, sobbing slowly as arms were wrapped around him.

"Did you hurt yourself when you fell?" Shunsui questioned, running his hands over the younger man's body as if to find any injuries.

Jūshirō shook his head. "I just... wanted to do something... You know...? Without someone helping me..."

"I know..." Shunsui kissed Jūshirō's forehead gently and stood up, pulling Jūshirō along with him. He held the smaller man steady as Ukitake's legs shook violently underneath him from weight they could not handle. "Let's go downstairs and get out of bed for a while, okay?"

Jūshirō nodded. He allowed himself to be picked up and carried downstairs and, when they were seated on the couch, he rested his head on his lover's lap, just glad to be out of the room for once. He could hear his kids talking from the kitchen and he smiled, reaching out and grabbing Shunsui's hand.

"Shiro-chan and Gin are talking again, aren't they?" Jūshirō asked.

Shunsui nodded. "They are. They're making dinner together for us. Gin said he'd teach Shiro-chan how to cook."

Jūshirō smiled and buried his head beneath Shunsui's chin. He shivered as hands ran down his emaciated body but didn't move to stop the hands that were slipping in underneath his clothes.

"Do you want to...?" Shunsui's husky voice whispered into the pale man's ear.

Jūshirō moaned and nodded, only to be disappointed when Shunsui chuckled and pulled away.

"Not until you've eaten, Juu-chan," Shunsui whispered. He laughed at the pout on Jūshirō's face and kissed his cheek. "Love you."

"Love you, too," Jūshirō mumbled back.

Ukitake stayed in his partner's lap for a while until dinner was ready before he was sat on the couch, propped up against many throw pillows, and fed slowly. He couldn't complain because, after dinner, he was taken back to the bedroom and had the sweetest love made to him.

Downstairs, Rangiku and Tōshirō were sitting on the couch while Gin was placing a DVD in the player. They shuffled over and made room for him when he came back, Tōshirō on his lap and Rangiku leaning against him, as they got ready to watch movies for the rest of the night.

None of their lives were, or ever had been, perfect, but in small moments like this, it sure seemed like life was flawless.