"Pop," Ichigo said into his phone. "Um, so I'm bringing home someone I've been seeing for Christmas this year…"
"Oh, you are? Who is she, wonderful son?" his father, Isshin, asked immediately.
"Um, well, his name is Grimmjow…" he started.
There was the expected silence on the other end of the line. His father cleared his throat. "Him? You're bringing home a boy, are you?"
"Yeah, we've been dating a while now, and it's as good of a time to meet everyone as any. He's got nowhere to spend the holidays and I told him that you'd welcome him. Right, Pop?" Ichigo asked.
"Of course, of course," Isshin said. "He's more than welcome, but if you stay the night he'll have to sleep on the floor in your old room or on the couch."
"I think the floor is more comfortable than the couch, Pop," Ichigo quipped.
"That's true, my son. Karin and Yuzu are looking forward to seeing you then. So, we'll see you Christmas evening, then?" Isshin asked, and Ichigo could tell he was trying to keep his voice even.
"Yeah, I'll see you Christmas. We should be there by around four. We're taking his motorcycle from the city as long as the weather holds out nice," Ichigo explained.
"Motorcycle?" Isshin said, sounding a little unsure. "Well, uh, just be safe, okay?"
"Always, Pop. See you Christmas!" he said and clicked off the phone.
He stood there, standing beside the bed staring at the phone in his hand for a long while.
"That didn't seem to go as bad as you thought," came the rough, deep voice of Ichigo's boyfriend, Grimmjow.
He turned around, smiling at him. "Yeah, it did go pretty well. He was surprised, but I gotta wonder how he'll react to seeing you, he's a doctor after all."
Grimmjow was taller and a little broader than Ichigo, which since Ichigo was pretty tall already was significant. He also had a huge facial tattoo of a jawbone on one side of his face. In addition to that one, he had a sleeve on his left arm from shoulder to wrist that featured panthers, skulls, bones, and grim reapers. His right arm had the beginnings of a sleeve started at the shoulder, but he only had a strawberry vine that ran down from shoulder to wrist. That was a recent addition, one that represented his time with Ichigo. He had piercings in his ears, including small gauges, his eyebrow on the left side, and his tongue. His hair was also dyed a shade of baby blue. He tended to favor t-shirts and ripped jeans with riding boots and leather jackets.
"Does being a doctor mean that he has a thing against tattoos and piercings?" Grimmjow asked with an arched brow.
Ichigo sighed and looked at him. Meanwhile, Ichigo was Grimmjow's opposite. He wore button down shirts or polos with slacks during the winter. The exception was he did have a pair of jeans now that he went riding with Grimmjow now and then, as well as a thick leather jacket. They often rode, even when it was pretty cold, as long as there was no snow on the ground. This year had been especially good for riding because it had stayed relatively warm and snow-free.
"No, it just means he expects things, and he might be a little put off because of your appearance. But I'm sure once he gets to know you, that'll change," Ichigo said, sitting down on the bed.
"You think he's going to think ill of me just off m'looks, huh?" Grimmjow said with a smirk.
"Well, you are scary to people that don't know you," Ichigo said as he crawled over into Grimmjow's arms. "I know you, though."
"Hmm. We staying the night there?" Grimmjow asked, running a hand through Ichigo's hair.
"Yeah, dinner won't be until late, so we'll have to stay there the night. I hope that's alright?" he said with a glance above him at Grimmjow's face.
"Of course, Ichi-babe, of course."
-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-
Isshin was a little nervous Christmas evening. Everyone slept in, of course. There was no reason to get up early without little kids around to open presents first thing in the morning. The girls were seventeen this year, and before long would be going to the university like their brother. Their brother. He hadn't told the girls that Ichigo was bringing home a guy. He was honestly surprised, but he wasn't going to say anything. Whatever his son wanted, he would support him. He wandered into the living room and saw the girls sitting on the sofa watching a Christmas special.
"Uh, girls?" Isshin said as he came into the room.
"Yeah, Pop?" Karin said, turning and looking at him.
"I should probably tell you that Ichigo is bringing someone with him to Christmas dinner today, someone one he's been dating it seems," he started a bit nervously.
Karin and Yuzu exchanged a look, then both grinned. "He's got a girlfriend?" Yuzu said excitedly, smiling broadly.
Isshin knew that she was imagining making a connection with another girl that was older, and he had to warn her that wouldn't happen. "Um, well, not exactly…"
"Not exactly?" Karin asked. "If he's dating someone, isn't it his girlfriend?"
Isshin sighed. "Um, well because his name is Grimmjow."
Both girls stared at him for a minute. "A dude?" Karin asked, wide-eyed.
"Ichigo is dating a guy?" Yuzu gasped, putting both hands over her mouth in shock.
"Yes, and I want you to treat him just like you would treat any girl he ever brought home. You never know, he might be great guy," Isshin said with a shrug.
Karin frowned. "I don't know about this."
"Well, just be nice to him, and try to understand that he had nowhere else to go for Christmas. So, we just have to be good hosts for him," Isshin explained.
Karin narrowed her eyes at him. "Alright, but if he's not good for Ichigo, I'm not going to like him. How long has he even been dating this guy? He didn't just start dating him, did he?"
"I really don't know how long; he never said anything about it to me. We'll just have to take it one step at a time." He looked over and saw the time was getting close to four. "They should be here soon. They were taking Grimmjow's motorcycle."
"Motorcycle? In December?" Karin asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"They said if the weather was nice, which it has been," Isshin said.
"They better have helmets," Karin muttered and turned back around to watch the tv show.
"I'm sure they're safe," Isshin said. "I'll go check the food and make sure the ham is doing well. Once it's done, I'll put in the pies. Then it should be dinner time by the time everything is done."
"I'll take care of the pies, Dad," Yuzu said as she turned back to the television. Then she turned around and looked at Isshin again. "Does this mean Ichigo is gay?"
Isshin smiled at her. "I don't know, that's something for him to say."
About half an hour later there was a knock at the door. Karin looked at the door and Yuzu jumped up to go answer it.
"It's Ichigo!" she said excitedly as she ran over and pulled the door open. She gasped a little and stepped out of the way to let them in. "Hi, Ichigo, and um, Grimmjow, right?" she said, and Karin thought she sounded a little off.
Karin got up and went to the door and immediately froze. This was the guy her brother was dating? He was taller than Ichigo by a bit, and as he took off his leather jacket, she could see his arms were both tattooed. And he had a tattoo on his face! His face! And it wasn't a small one either, it took up most of his cheek and jaw on the right side.
"Yeah," he said and Ichigo waved at Karin where she stood in the doorway.
"Um, I'm Yuzu," Yuzu said to him and gestured toward Karin. "And that's Karin."
"Nice to meetcha," he said with a grin.
Ichigo was also wearing a leather jacket but his wasn't as bulky as the one that Grimmjow had just taken off. He slipped out of his and took Grimmjow's from him to put them both on the hook by the door. He turned and smiled at Karin.
"Hey, Karin, Yuzu," Ichigo told them. "Um, good to see you."
"Is that my wonderful, amazing son?" he heard and Ichigo rolled his eyes as Isshin came around to the doorway.
"Yes, Pop, who else would it be?" he asked.
Isshin glanced at Grimmjow once then looked at Ichigo. "Ah, I take it this is Grimmjow?"
"Yeah, Grimm, this is my dad, Isshin Kurosaki," Ichigo told him.
Grimmjow put out his hand and Isshin took it. "Good to meet you, Mr. Kurosaki. I appreciate you letting me come," he said.
Isshin took his hand and shook it. "Um, yeah, nice to meet you, too. Please, come in," he said as he stepped back into the house. "How was the ride from the city?"
"Oh, good, Pop. The weather turned out perfect for it. It's nice and warm in the leather jacket Grimm got me for Christmas," he said, smiling at him.
"Oh, well, that's good," Isshin said. "Please come into the living room, have a seat. We'll talk a little bit. You'll have to tell us about yourself, Grimmjow," he commented as they came into the living room.
Grimmjow and Ichigo sat down next to each other on the smaller of the two sofas, and Karin, Yuzu, and Isshin sat on the other one. Once everyone was seated, Isshin looked over at Ichigo and Grimmjow. "So, tell me, where did you two meet?" he asked.
Ichigo looked over at Grimmjow then at Isshin. "Well, we were in the same swim class last year. We didn't like each other at first, as a matter of fact, we both got sent out of class for fighting with each other a couple times over the semester. Then, one day after we'd gotten sent out to the locker rooms before class was over, it just kinda happened and we've been seeing each other since then," he smiled and took Grimmjow's hand in his.
"Oh, that's interesting," Isshin said with a bit of a forced smile. "Um, so what are you going to school for?"
"I'm actually going to business school, so I can run my own mechanic shop. I already have an associate degree in auto tech, and I have my certification, so it was just a couple more years to get a business bachelor's degree," Grimmjow answered.
"Oh, well that's nice. Do you already work?" he asked.
"Yeah, I have a full-time job at a place in the city. They're cool, though, they work me around my school schedule." He squeezed Ichigo's hand. "Good thing is, I get weekends off, so we can go riding and do stuff."
Isshin nodded. "Ah, I see. That's…nice. Do you do that often?"
"Oh yeah, Grimm takes me all over the place. We just get on the bike and drive for a long time then see where we end up," Ichigo said with a smile. "It's a lot of fun."
"Dad, I'll go check on the pies," Yuzu said suddenly, standing up and going into the kitchen.
"Pies? That sounds good," Ichigo said with a smirk. "I haven't had anything sweet in a while. Been trying to stay in swimming shape."
"Yer too thin as it is," Grimmjow grumbled, turning and looking at him. "Ya worry way too much about your weight."
Ichigo sighed, turning and smiling over at Isshin. "Alright, I'll eat a lot today, just for you, okay?" he said, patting Grimmjow on the leg thoughtfully.
Isshin cleared his throat and looked over toward the kitchen. "Are things alright in there, Yuzu?" he called.
"Yeah, I think the pies are ready; I'm taking them out," she answered.
"I should go help her get the rest of the food started. The ham is in the roaster and should be ready by about five. Why don't you stay here and chat with Karin?" Isshin stood up and headed into the kitchen.
Karin was glaring at Grimmjow without trying to hide it. Ichigo turned toward her. "So, how is school going this year?"
"Good," she answered. She still glared openly at Grimmjow.
"Have you been playing soccer lately?" Ichigo continued, trying to get Karin onto any subject possible except Grimmjow. He knew she'd probably be upset with him.
"Yeah," she answered then grit her teeth for a second. "Been winning a lot in the varsity team. Doing really well this year. We're off for the winter, of course."
"Yeah, figured that, but I bet you still go out and practice even if it's cold," Ichigo said with a smirk at her.
Karin nodded. "Yeah, that's true enough. Excuse me, I need to use the bathroom," she said and got up.
After they were left alone Ichigo let out a sigh. "Going better than I thought," he mumbled.
Grimmjow took his hand again. "They seem nice. A bit spooked by me, though."
"Well, you spook most people," Ichigo muttered.
"Yeah, well, you know, what can I do," he responded, leaning in to kiss Ichigo's cheek.
After a while, when Karin didn't come back, Ichigo got up and wandered into the kitchen where Yuzu and Isshin were busy preparing the rest of the mean. "Can we help with anything, Pop?" he asked.
"Oh, no, son. Just relax and we'll get everything taken care of. Your, um, boyfriend seems to be really nice. Already got a good job, too," Isshin commented as he pulled the ham out of the roaster oven.
"Yeah, I think he likes you all. I wonder where Karin got off to?" he said as he turned and left the kitchen to go back to the living room.
A few minutes later, Karin came down the stairs and into the kitchen. She had a scowl across her brows. "What's wrong, Karin?" Isshin asked as he carved the ham into slices.
"What's wrong?" she hissed. "That…that guy is what's wrong! Do you see him?"
"Now, Karin, he's been perfectly polite and hasn't said anything untoward. You should give him a chance and not base your opinion on his looks alone," Isshin said, as though telling himself as much as he was telling Karin.
"But Pop!" she started.
Isshin held up his hand. "No. Treat him like anyone else that's been a guest in our house, and no different. He may look a little rough, but your brother seems to care about him."
Karin snorted and turned around to go back in the living room. She tried not to look angry for Ichigo's sake, but she couldn't like this guy because he obviously wasn't good enough for her brother. She sniffed and sat back down on the sofa again, trying to put a smile on her face.
"Sorry, had a friend text me," she said, trying to look nonplussed.
"Oh, that's fine. I was just telling Grimmjow about our mom," Ichigo said and Karin almost said something she'd have regretted. Instead she smiled tightly.
"Oh?" she mumbled.
"Yeah," Ichigo said, pointing out the pictures on the wall of them when they were younger. "He doesn't have any family at all left himself."
"All I got left is an adopted sister named Nel. I was raised in foster care, bounced from house to house," Grimmjow explained.
Karin did feel a twinge bad for him. Being a foster kid was tough. She was trying really hard to do what her father said, but it was difficult.
"Dinner's ready, kids!" Isshin called from the kitchen.
"Okay, Pop, we're coming," Ichigo said, standing and taking Grimmjow's hand to lead him.
Karin walked behind them and promised herself she was going to be nice during the rest of dinner. They all got sat down, and Yuzu had already put out plates for everyone. Isshin set out the rest of the food with the large ham as the centerpiece of the table.
"This looks wonderful, Pop," Ichigo said as he settled into his seat. Grimmjow sat beside him.
"You outdid yourselves this time," Karin said as she sat on the opposite side of the table. Yuzu would sit beside her, and Isshin would sit at the head of the table between Ichigo and Karin.
Once everything was out on the table, and everyone was settled into their seats, Isshin looked around. "How about we each give one reason we have to be happy this holiday season?"
"That sounds like a good idea," Ichigo said with a grin. "Want me to start?"
"Sure, son, go ahead," Isshin told him.
Ichigo cleared his throat. "I'm happy to have such a wonderful and accepting family that cares about my decisions as much as you do."
Isshin smiled and looked at Karin. "What about you?"
"Um, well, I'm happy that Ichigo could come home for Christmas with us," she said, looking over at him but avoiding looking at Grimmjow.
"Me next!" Yuzu exclaimed. "I'm happy because the school year is almost over and I'm going to be graduating soon!"
Isshin smiled and nodded, turning toward Grimmjow. "What about you, Grimmjow?" he asked.
Grimmjow thought a minute, then looked at Ichigo. "I'm happy I found Ichigo when I did. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be where I am now."
"And I'm happy to have all of you here for dinner tonight!" Isshin exclaimed and clapped his hands. "Let's eat!"
Dinner itself was idle chatter around everyone talking about how good everything had turned out. Karin actually engaged in some small talk with Grimmjow and Yuzu finally seemed to be coming out of her shell around him a little bit. Ichigo tried to stop eating and Grimmjow chided him, telling him that he needed to eat more than that. All in all, the dinner itself was comfortable and peaceful. After everyone had finished, Isshin and Yuzu cleared the table and brought out the pumpkin and cherry pies with the whipped topping for it. Ichigo tried to refuse, but Grimmjow glared at him. He ended up splitting a piece of each with Grimmjow.
After dinner and desert was done, and everything was cleared off the table, Isshin asked if they all wanted to play some spades. Everyone was interested in joining a game except Grimmjow, who didn't know how to play. So, he ended up sitting with Ichigo and watching how the game was played and played his first game instead of Isshin with the next hand. Everything went well, and by the time they realized it was too late to go home, the sun had already set.
"Well, you'll have to stay the night, then," Isshin said. "Here, I'll get some covers and the sleeping bag for the floor of Ichigo's old room. I'd suggest the couch, but honestly, the floor is more comfortable."
"We packed a change of clothes in the saddlebags," Ichigo said. "I'll go get them."
While he was gone, Isshin was left alone with Grimmjow. He didn't know what to say to him at all, so he didn't say anything. He hadn't expected his son to be the first one to bring home a boyfriend, and he was still getting a little over the shock of the whole situation. Ichigo came back into the house with a drawstring bag full of clothes that had been in the saddle bags.
"Here we go. We'll at least have something for in the morning," Ichigo said with a smile at Isshin.
"I put everything on the floor in your room, son. I'll let you two get some sleep," Isshin said leaving them to go up to Ichigo's room.
As soon as they were in and the door closed, Grimmjow grabbed Ichigo and pushed him up against the back of the door, leaning in and kissing him deeply. Ichigo, surprised, went with it and responded to him quickly. Grimmjow pulled back and looked at Ichigo, a little breathless.
"Been dying to do that all night," he breathed.
"Well, I'm glad you kept yourself in check until we were in private," Ichigo said, breathing a little heavily himself.
"Yeah, it was close. You have no idea how bad I wanted to pin you over that table," he growled into Ichigo's ear as he nipped lightly at the lobe.
"Ah, what are you doing?" Ichigo muttered, relaxing into the hold Grimmjow had on him a little bit.
"What do you think?"
"We can't do that! I mean, not here!" Ichigo gasped.
"Why not?" Grimmjow asked, sliding a hand down between his legs and finding him interested.
"What if they hear?" he whispered hoarsely.
"Yer an adult, ya can do whatever you want, what does it matter what they hear?" he asked.
"It's my family, Grimmjow, we can't just…" Ichigo trailed off in a whine as Grimmjow's fingers got his slacks open and he slipped his hand down in his boxers.
Grimmjow smirked and stroked him firmly a couple times. "And what about this?"
"That's your fault!" Ichigo hissed. "All the kissing and groping!"
"Then let me take care of it," Grimmjow said, leaning in and kissing his neck, using his slight height advantage to greatest effect.
Before he could say anything else, he was kissing Grimmjow again, this time hungrily and needy. The next head spinning motion took him to flop on his back in his bed. It was only a twin, so there wasn't a lot of room. However, they were used to the small confines in Grimmjow's room already.
"Shh," Ichigo hissed as he heard the bedsprings groan a little.
"You're the noisy one, so you shh," Grimmjow grumbled as he managed to wrestle Ichigo's shirt off him while he squirmed a bit on the bed.
Ichigo felt Grimmjow's hands glide over his chest, pausing to flick at his rapidly hardening nipples. Then he slid the slacks and boxers down off his hips.
"Already debauched?" Grimmjow muttered as he undid his jeans and kicked them off followed by his own boxer shorts.
"Shut up!" Ichigo said, almost too loudly.
"Better be quiet, or your sisters are going to hear you," Grimmjow reminded him, reaching down and stroking them both together slowly.
Ichigo clamped both hands on his mouth to stifle a moan that nearly escaped. "And you want me to be quiet. You can't keep that whore mouth closed, and I know it."
Ichigo go whimpered as Grimmjow slipped one hand down and pressed two fingers roughly into him without warning.
"Ah!" Ichigo exclaimed.
Grimmjow chuckled lightly, twisting his fingers inside him until he was pressing and stroking Ichigo's prostate. After a few seconds, Ichigo started humming and obviously trying to keep his voice down. Grimmjow didn't give him any chance to stop as he pulled his fingers out and got up between his legs, sliding into him swiftly.
"Oh my god," Ichigo gasped this time, managing to stop himself from yelling.
"Listen to you, you're already moaning like a slut. You can't even keep your voice down in your father's house, can you?" Grimmjow whispered hoarsely into Ichigo's ear.
"I can!" Ichigo growled back, biting down on his lip until he could taste blood. That was going to be sore in the morning.
He could barely contain the heavy moans that wanted to escape his lips. He began humming louder to try and cover it, but that was getting too loud now, too. Suddenly, Grimmjow clamped his hand over Ichigo's mouth.
"You're going to let them all know how much of a slut you are if you don't keep your mouth shut," Grimmjow growled, slowly thrusting into him and steadily working him into a deeper set of sounds.
"I…I can't help it!" he gasped as soon as Grimmjow moved his hand, grabbing his head and yanking him down into a kiss, thinking he could occupy his mouth and stay quiet. It worked, at least for a couple minutes.
It was becoming obvious that Grimmjow was going to make this last because he wasn't hurried at all. He wanted to draw Ichigo to the edge of his very ability to control himself, and then take him over that edge. He wasn't touching him at all, so he was intent on dragging it out as long as he himself could hold out. And Grimmjow had the stamina to last when he wanted to.
"Listen to that, you can hear the sounds coming from you no matter what you do," Grimmjow said, kissing him again, then sitting back up and pushing Ichigo's knees toward his shoulders, giving him an even better angle and new set of sounds as Ichigo bit down on his knuckle this time. "Those sounds belong to me, not anyone else, so keep your mouth shut, understand?"
Ichigo whined again, this time a little louder as he wanted to cry out more, but he couldn't. He never realized how hard it would be to try and not be vocal during sex. It was like every motion sent a shiver through his body that wanted to come out in a pleasured moan. And Grimmjow's constant talk wasn't helping matters; it just made him want to make noise worse.
"Look at you, trying so hard, and you're dripping worse than I've seen you in a while. Are you this turned on by doing it in secret like this?" he said as he began to slowly stroke Ichigo as he slowed down again. "Do you really want your family to know what a slut you are for me?"
"N-no," he murmured, trying to keep his voice down. "I don't…"
"Then shut the fuck up and be quiet," Grimmjow growled, pulling back and slamming forward hard enough to get a surprised squeal out of him. "Listen to that!" he hissed back at him.
Ichigo whimpered, biting into his lip again. He couldn't say anything at all because if he did, he was going to cry out louder than he wanted to. Instead he held on as Grimmjow's hand glided over him, stroking him in time with his slow and steady thrusts. Ichigo was going out of his mind with the need to come and the need to yell out Grimmjow's name at least. He never realized how much he talked and made noises until he couldn't make any sounds at all.
"Are you gonna come like my good slut?" Grimmjow asked, slowing even more.
Ichigo nodded his head furiously, still biting his lip to avoid crying out. "What was that? I can't hear you?" Grimmjow teased, almost stopping in his motions.
"Yes!" he gasped, arching his back a bit and rolling his hips to try and get Grimmjow to move faster again.
"Yes, what?" Grimmjow asked, starting to thrust into him a little faster as he spoke.
"Yes, I wanna come," he whined.
"Like a what?" he asked, stroking Ichigo a few times before he leaned forward and nuzzled into his neck and laid a set of biting kisses on his chest.
Ichigo felt his face flush even more. "I don't know!"
"Yeah, you do. You know what to say," Grimmjow said, leaning up and pushing his legs a bit wider.
And it was true. Ichigo knew what he wanted, but he wasn't sure he could get it out without nearly screaming it. He was being driven mad at this rate with the way he was edging him.
"I…I wanna come…I'm your… slut…" he panted out, not sure if he cold hold it any longer, and held back a loud moan, but just barely.
"Good, good," Grimmjow said, starting to speed up as he spoke. "So, come for me, like the good slut you are."
Ichigo couldn't hold on a minute longer; he felt the orgasm slam into him and he shoved his knuckle back into his mouth as he hummed against it. He felt Grimmjow go over seconds later, tightening his grip on his legs as he did so. He pulled back and slipped down beside him in the bed. Ichigo was panting, one arm over his head.
"You managed to be fucked without moaning like a whore the entire time," Grimmjow said with a sly smirk.
"Shut up. Whose fault is it?" he complained, putting an arm over his rapidly reddening face.
"I don't think I like not hearing you," Grimmjow said, plucking Ichigo's arm off his face and kissing him again. It rapidly deepened to a consuming thing that left them both breathless.
"I'm glad you suggested the clothes, your shirt is soiled," Ichigo pointed out.
Grimmjow nodded and pulled the shirt over his head and used it to wipe Ichigo's stomach off. "Yeah, so it is."
"We should sleep," Ichigo said. "Stay up here, we can snuggle together on the bed if we both lay on our sides.
"Alright, let's get under the covers and get some sleep."
They adjusted themselves under the covers and both quickly fell into a deep sleep despite the tight confines of the bed. A short time later, the door opened an Isshin looked in to see the two of them curled around each other, peacefully sleeping. He quelled the part of him that reminded him that his son was sleeping with another man as if it were wrong. There was nothing wrong with them. They were perfectly fine just the way they were.