"Rukia," he said irritably, scooping up the baby so that two chubby legs swung over the front of his forearm. "What the hell is this?"
Without lifting her chin, she looked over the top of her romance novel, eyes wide and seemingly innocent. "What's what, Ichigo?"
"This!" Ichigo gently grabbed a plump ankle, and held a set of five wiggling toes under her nose. The sparkling blue paint coating the tiny fat nails glimmered in the sunlight. "My son has blue toe nails! Explain, now!"
Rukia blinked. Then, pursing her lips to hide a smile, she took a hold of the baby's foot kissed the flat of the baby's foot. He squirmed and giggled. "So cute," she said, shaking her head.
Ichigo took a step back, putting a very large empty space between the three. He had to draw the line somewhere. "My son is not cute!" he declared.
Rukia rolled her eyes. "It's just nail polish," she said. "It will come off."
"He's a boy, Rukia!"
She slapped the book against the bedspread. "So what?"
"So, now his toes are sparkley and blue and--"
"Well, if it's the color that bothers you I have some purple around here--"
"That's not the point!"
The point was that Rukia had painted his son's toe nails blue, like he was some sissy little girl and not the strapping miniature Ichigo that he really was. That's what the point was and Rukia thought it was absolutely ridiculous.
"You have no right to apply this...glitter crap to my son's feet."
Rukia held out her arms. "Fine," she said. "I'll take it off."
Ichigo stared at her suspiciously. "He will not develop an identity complex, Rukia."
"I said I would take it off."
"No more girlish stuff," he warned, carefully passing the baby into the warmth of her arms. "He's a baby, not a doll."
"Of course," she said, cradling the baby's head on her shoulder. Running her fingers through a tuft of soft orange hair, she pushed the thoughts of frilly bows and pretty lacy dresses. Men and their stupid egos.
A girl would have been nice, but baby boys were fun to play with too.
"I mean it Rukia!" his voice echoed through the hall.
"I know you do," she called back.
Leaning back against the pillows, she whispered soft words into the baby's little ears, swaying her weight in a gentle rocking motion. So she couldn't paint his toe nails anymore, big deal. Ichigo still didn't know about the box hidden away beneath the bed.
In a few moths, he would have a heart attack when the kid crawled hoppity-hop across the carpet in fluffy bunny pajamas.
Rukia smiled wickedly. She was hardly worried about breaking the great taboo.
After all, the baby was also half hers...
A/n: This was inspired by my little sister, who recently painted my cousin's toes green... which did not go over very well with his daddy...Slay me not, I don't own Bleach. R&R.