Love Needs No Words

'The first duty of love is to listen'

-Paul Tillich

A tall, young man strode down the street, muscles flexing and contracting with each powerful step. Wind blew through his unruly blue hair, sweeping a few strands away from his angular face. Wild cyan eyes scanned the streets in search of new prey. None denied that this man was powerful, both in mind and in body. He was a man that oozed dominance. This was apparent in the way people deferred to him as he passed. Man and woman alike bowed their heads, his body clad in an outer silken robe and tighter, finely made inner clothes. They were made of a thin fabric which clung to his form and allowed easy movement. He took no time for the people around him as they acknowledged him. Though he did not directly control the people, this man exuded a demanding aura. He was a man meant to be in charge. And he knew it.

Grimmjow Jeagerjacques was the only son of the King's right hand, Lord Jeagerjacques, and a woman of great lineage and inheritance, Lady Jeagerjacques. He grew up well educated and wanted for nothing – at least where money and bodily relations were involved. Well known for his brash personality that bordered on recklessness, excellent weapon handling, and good looks, Grimmjow was a prominent figure in the kingdom. Women and men drooled at his feet wherever he went, entranced by his god-like form that was said to be chiseled by the finest artisans and blessed with life by Zeus himself, and his demeanor. This did tend to increase his ever-growing arrogance. Which was slightly overbearing. If not extremely so. Despite this, it wasn't long before the man in question was mobbed by people.

"Sir Jeagerjacques!" The many shouts and slight tugs at his clothes spoiled Grimmjow's mood. Some sighed his name and others reached out a hand, attempting to capture his attention by grasping his robes. The hot-tempered man growled in irritation at the crowd around him and pushed through. He wasn't interested in such weak humans that desired him for his body. He didn't deny that he was irresistible and a fine catch, but he had begun to tire of meaningless relations which only lasted few short days. The people parted, staring longingly at the man's broad back and sighing in want. The person to marry him would forever be satisfied.

As the young lord left his admirers behind, he grit his teeth. Which were perfect to match the rest of his body – again another factor to his arrogance and slight narcissism. Again, it wasn't that he disliked the attention; it was just that he had experienced the same old for so long that Grimmjow desired to find someone that actually peaked his interest. Someone different than the faceless people he had had meaningless sex with or taken out. His heart – though he would never dare to admit this aloud – yearned for a person to love and care deeply about. He wasn't exactly sure what love felt like, but Grimmjow knew, somewhere deep down, once he found it, he would never let it go.

All the rest of these people were fakes. Drawn in by his money or his title, they flocked him for a better opportunity. All of them were willing to lie beneath and be taken by him. What a joke. Grimmjow was a being that craved a good fight. He wanted a person that had such a quality. Someone would who could give him a run for his money – which he had quite a bit of – and would deal with his arrogance, I mean, special brand of confidence. That being said, the young lord decided to wander around the forest before returning home. He did frequent this forest, being a hunter and all, but had never ventured deep enough to intimately know the paths and dangers that lurked deep within. Grimmjow verged off the busy streets of the kingdom to turn down on a path that led to the forest. Once under the canopy of thick trees and vines, the man traveled his previous paths until he grew tired. He could've turned back and returned home, but refused to leave the peace and thriving hum of nature. The blue-haired noble circled around several times before settling on a tree with sturdy branches wide enough to support a grown man. He swiftly climbed it, ascending until he deemed himself safe from any animals below. He leaned against the trunk of the tree, sighing wearily. Grimmjow relaxed, feeling the rough bark against his back and the damp smell of trees and leaves around him. He closed his eyes, recalling his previous conversation with his parents which had caused his sudden desire to escape to the forest.

***X***

"Grimmjow dear, we're nearing your 23rd birthday. Have you not picked out a suitable partner for yourself?"

Grimmjow sighed, cyan eyes bored and uncaring. He did not turn his face from where he was staring blankly at a wall, seated on a chair by the window.

"I am simply not interested in the folk around here, mother. They are all the same: sniveling, spineless worms who do not honestly care for me."

His upper lip curled upward in a snarl as he spoke, the topic enough to upset his mood.

The elegant woman speaking to him faced her only son, her own cyan eyes icy. Lady Jeagerjacques was not a woman you wished to anger – despite Grimmjow's lack of tact regarding such a fact. She was an exquisitely beautiful woman who contained a certain air about her which made you feel as if you'd been perpetually and eternally labeled 'incompetent'.

Her dress swished softly and her heel clad feet clicked against the ground as she approached her son. Her face was set and even though still very beautiful, that expression could strike fear into the bravest of men – especially her husband. Grimmjow however, did not see this fear-inducing face as he had yet to fully face his mother – which was a grand and very stupid mistake.

"Despite your previous…activities, how have you not found one person with whom you will share your life?!"

Lady Jeagerjacques' voice rang sharply through the air, disbelief and displeasure evident in every syllable. Grimmjow didn't answer. He merely looked out the window, stewing quietly as he ignored his mother. Said woman watched her son's behavior and collapsed onto a nearby chaise – which was placed very conveniently – falling with grace and great poise as only a dramatic person as herself could accomplish. If she couldn't elicit a response in anger, she'd fall back on dramatics and then proceed to torture Grimmjow later. After all, she couldn't have her son become immune to her anger.

"Oh Gods, what are we to do?"

Her husband approached, figure strong despite the few streaks of gray in his light blue hair. He patting his wife reassuringly on the shoulder and kissed her lovingly on the head. Meanwhile, their heir merely yawned, eyes listlessly following the movement of leaves in the wind. The couple exchanged looks. One of exasperation and anger, the other of amusement and understanding.

Lord Jeagerjacques, was a rather calm and collected man – hence his position as right-hand man and high noble to the king. He was incredibly exceptional with dealing with his hot-tempered wife and son whom were quick to anger and hard to please. This exemplified his strong personality despite his rather quiet demeanor. Despite this, he did possess a rather witty sense of humor which could not always be detected by mother and son.

"I am sure the Gods have something in store for Grimmjow, dear. We must wait until they act upon it."

The man stared pointedly at his son, a gleam in his dark, grey eyes. Their young son relaxed slightly into his chair, a movement that indicated to Lord Jeagerjacques that their son had indeed been listening however nonchalant he appeared. Well, he wouldn't be called a father if he didn't inflict some kind of fear into his own son, right? After all, Life was a difficult battle and Lord Jeagerjacques merely wanted his son to be able to survive it. Love was love, however tough it may seem.

"Unless…Grimmjow would like one of our choosing instead?"

Said man sat up quickly at that, eyes wide and body tense. Lord Jeagerjacques turned toward his wife, smile gracing his features. She too had sat up, catching on to his plot.

"I do recall that you had several lists of acceptable candidates, yes? I think he would love if you picked him a nice partner for him, my dear."

Lord Jeagerjacques sat beside his wife and wrapped a sturdy arm around her, laughing at their son's expression. The Lady smiled sweetly, her blue eyes sparkling as she looked upon their son.

"You will absolutely love all of the partners that I deemed suitable for you, Grimmjow. Only the best for my dearest, darling son."

Grimmjow, at this point, had stood, mouth agape and fear shining bright in his eyes.

"I-I" Grimmjow cleared his throat, attempting to calm his racing heart, "There will be no need, mother, father. I really do…appreciate your concern, but I will find my own partner. In fact, I will leave right now to do so. Goodbye."

With that, Grimmjow fled the room, missing the simultaneous grins that spread across his parents' faces. Lord and Lady Jeagerjacques shared a laugh at their son's expense – they loved messing with him. No joy was greater than toying with…ahem, guiding your son down the right path.

The servants in the room shivered, though glad they were employed under such kind nobles as the Jeagerjacques, they couldn't help but agree that young Grimmjow perhaps was guided maybe a little too well.

***X***

Grimmjow opened his eyes, sharp cyan eyes capturing something moving in the corner of his vision. It wasn't an animal for it was too tall. Despite this fact, it moved with swift grace and nearly soundless steps. Grimmjow could not hear the rustle of leaves or the soft impact of foot meeting ground as was normal for a human. Intrigued, the man wondered who or what could possibly be as humans did not regularly inhabit the forest besides hunter and himself.

'Perhaps a dryad? Or a spirit?' Grimmjow wondered this to himself as he quickly shimmied down the trunk of the tree and decidedly followed the unusual being in front. Now that he was closer to the ground, the being appeared to be wearing a long white tunic of a material that Grimmjow could not identify. Their hair was a golden orange, spiky and curly in a way that came to rest a little past their shoulders. Skin was a creamy, unblemished tan, causing a strong desire to lick and kiss every inch of it to arise in Grimmjow. The blue haired noble fought down his urges and the sudden interest.

Grimmjow followed the being's soft steps back to a small home right on the edge of the forest. Not a dryad then. Dryads didn't live in houses as they did not need them. Then what was this being? As the orange-haired person entered the small home, the young noble finally noticed a basket full of plants and berries in the crook of the being's elbow. Were they human? But what human would be crazy or daft enough to enter the forest to collect berries? Also, Grimmjow realized, why hadn't he seen this person before? No other hunter inhabited the forest as he did, at least not in this kingdom. He had to find out.

Not really one for manners unless prodded – despite his noble upbringing – Grimmjow approached the house and opened the door. However, as soon as it was wide enough for his body, a knife imbedded itself beside his face in the door. Heart racing, and sweat beading slightly across his skin, Grimmjow overcame his initial shock and fixed his eyes on the being sitting before a stove.

Caramel brown orbs held a warning, daring him to step forward. Fiery orange hair curved to cup a slender face with a delicate nose. Pink, plump lips turned downward in a frown. Beautiful. That was the first word to appear in his mind. He could process nothing else. The person was indeed the most attractive the young lord had ever encountered. Nothing held a candle to this being's natural beauty. Grimmjow's gaze slowly wandered lower, noting a slim yet lithe form adorned in that white cloth, dark pants, and flat shoes. Attire allowing for easy movement and comfort. Though the clothes could be worn by both genders and the person's androgynous features, Grimmjow could tell that they were male. All-in-all, the hunter was floored. He had to find out more about this young man as he appeared not a day older than 20.

Grimmjow took a step further into the house, testing the other's boundaries. This caused the orange-haired beauty to tense and quickly grip another knife in his hand – a hand, Grimmjow noted, that was very fine and elegant yet strong. The young lord lifted his hands in peace, trying to school his gaze to be welcoming and unassuming which proved to be difficult as he was an intimidating figure what with his height, build, and not to mention his near-constant feral scowl. Neither moved as the beauty looked the blue haired man up and down, a faint red dusting starting to form on the younger's features which Grimmjow found extremely appealing even though he could've been impaled by said beauty not one minute ago. Disregarding, this little fact – at least, what Grimmjow deemed little – the young lord opened his mouth and spoke.

"See something you like?"

The bright blush reddened further and the orangette attempted to scowl once more, raising the knife threateningly in retaliation. Grimmjow raised his hands higher and approached slowly.

"I apologize for barging into your home – I saw you in the forest and I just followed you here…"

Grimmjow trailed off, realizing how strange that sounded. He thought some things over in his head and decided to start over.

"Hello. I'm Grimmjow Jeagerjacques."

The orange haired man nodded and relaxed a miniscule amount which Grimmjow considered progress. He'd continue on until the other deemed Grimmjow a friendly.

The orangette turned away from the stranger, returning to whatever he had been doing, though his back was still stiff.

Grimmjow blinked. Had he been…?

Grimmjow blinked again.

The blue hared man was annoyed to say the least. His lips curled upwards in his signature scowl and his brows furrowed deeply.

This beauty had had the honor of being the interest of Grimmjow Jeagerjacques and yet he ignored the man in favor of cooking?

Grimmjow had never considered himself an especially arrogant person – well maybe, but he was proud of it! – but this, this was a blow to his pride as a handsome, eligible man! Grimmjow grumpily closed the door and approached the male stirring something in a clay pot. The savory aroma of beef stew arose and attacked Grimmjow's nose, momentarily distracting the noble from his dilemma of hurt pride. Never had he smelled something so…delicious! Despite having wonderfully prepared meals since the day he had been born, this was on a whole different level. There was a feeling of earthiness, of nature that Grimmjow couldn't get from the meals at home. He felt saliva collect in his mouth. The orange-haired main, eyes still on the pot, seemed to sense this and gestured towards the stew, wordlessly asking if Grimmjow wanted any.

"Sure"

Grimmjow tried to sound uncaring even as his stomach growled. Dishing out the thick stew into two separate clay bowls, the man set a table with warm loaves of bread, butter, cheese, and two cups of wine – all without fulling relaxing. The young noble could feel those molten orbs on him no matter what the orange haired man did. It was unnerving and yet strangely arousing to be studied in such a way.

They ate wordlessly, the younger man quiet, while Grimmjow was too busy stuffing his face to say anything. In hindsight, he should've tested the food for poison as he been hasty in tasting the food, but perhaps this is what allowed the other to open up to him.

The smaller male seemed to enjoy watching Grimmjow eat, though he said nothing still. After Grimmjow had finished gobbling down like a pig – he admitted this to himself – the other man gathered everything up and cleaned the dishes. The blue haired hunter, stomach full and feeling lazy, swept his eyes around the other's abode.

The walls were white, furniture mostly wooden with either pillows or blankets strewn across them. Everything was clean and tidy. In other words, well-kept.

"You live by yourself?"

Grimmjow eyed the other's back as it tensed minutely and that full head of orange nodded slowly.

"This is all pretty nice for someone that lives alone."

Grimmjow was trying to emphasize 'alone' wondering if the orange haired beauty had a partner. The smaller by then had finished and turned back around to face Grimmjow, hazel eyes blazing and orange hair looking golden in the light that came from the windows. Awestruck by that delicate face alight in golden, sunshiney rays, the blue haired man rose, reaching out a hand to the beautiful stranger. As if stuck in a trance, the other didn't move, save for his eyes which flicked upwards to gaze straight into Grimmjow's own blue ones. His large hand was slowly approaching tangerine hair, the other's chocolaty orbs showing small inklings of confusion and curiosity when the door opened with a bang against the wall.

"Hey Ichi – "

Grimmjow suddenly turned towards the intruder, dropping his hand and immediately reaching for the knife that was always strapped to the middle of his back. A tall man with spiky black hair and turquoise eyes looked at the young lord, mouth agape.

"J-jeagerjacques?!"

The blue haired noble thought the man looked familiar when he suddenly remembered – this was Kaien Shiba, a decent hunter (by Grimmjow's standards, a great one by anyone else's) and weapon master. He was also the eldest son of the Shiba clan, a noble family similar to that of the Jeagerjacques.

Grimmjow glanced at the boy next to him as the other smiled and waved at Kaien, brown eyes shining in happiness. The young lord immediately frowned, feeling a little jealous of the smile that was so easily directed to the other hunter. How could he get the younger male to smile at him in such an unreserved, unguarded way? The raven-haired male cleared his throat a little, gathering Grimmjow's attention once more.

"Uh, Ichigo…I need to speak with this man." He jerked his thumb rudely at Grimmjow. "Alone for a bit if you don't mind."

Ichigo – Grimmjow finally knew his name as he had yet to even speak to Grimmjow – scowled or rather pouted some as he hated feeling left out of things. He'd also been on the way to possibly making another acquaintance as any guests were few and far between. Despite his initial hostility, Ichigo honestly only wanted more friends. It was easy being an introvert with a temper who only wanted some companionship, alright?

Ichigo sighed, but relented, trusting that at least one of them would come back to keep him company later. Kaien gave Ichigo a reassuring, if a little uneasy, smile and motioned for Grimmjow to follow him outside. Once the door was firmly closed, the taller, darker haired male turned towards Grimmjow.

"Why are you here?" Grimmjow hadn't been prepared for the amount of venom and worry in Kaien's voice, but nonetheless, shrugged.

"How is it any of your business why I'm here?" The older hunter bristled, causing his turquoise eyes to narrow. Through clenched teeth, he hissed, "Just answer the question."

Grimmjow eyed the other hunter, debating on whether he should answer or just glare back. Who was this man to Ichigo anyways? After a couple more seconds of staring, the blue haired noble nodded slightly.

"I happened upon him the forest and followed him here. He didn't seem to find me all that threatening and decided to eat with me."

Turquoise met cyan blue and if Grimmjow were a lesser man, such a look would have turned him to stone.

"No. Why are you here, as in with Ichigo. What are motives?"

Grimmjow couldn't really say. He'd spotted Ichigo and wanted to know more. He wanted to learn about this beautiful man who could be so violent and yet welcoming at the same time. He wanted to be familiar enough with Ichigo so that the other would smile at him with those melted, chocolate orbs. He settled on a simpler answer, not wanting to reveal his thoughts.

"…He's interesting and I want to learn more about him."

Kaien looked away, shaking his head.

"You can't – it's not…" Kaien took a deep breath. "Ichigo isn't a normal person."

The noble smirked.

"Ichigo." He let the name roll of his tongue. "How fitting."

The young lord's smirk fell slightly, wondering why the orangette hadn't introduced himself. Did he still not trust Grimmjow? Granted, they hadn't known each other very long, but surely there was something about Grimmjow that Ichigo liked? Well, no matter now. The other would have to open up to the young lord because now Grimmjow Jeagerjacques was interested. Ichigo was the first thing he'd been sparked on besides fighting and there was no well in Hades that he'd let this chance go.

Kaien observed the younger man in front of him. He saw the way Grimmjow, the untamable and single – mind you – wildcat was looking at Ichigo. The man that could make women and men swoon with a glance wanted Ichigo. Though Kaien knew no one would be able to resist Ichigo, it wouldn't be possible for them to be what Ichigo needed. Ichigo was too pure, too good for anyone on this planet, or so Kaien was convinced. It would be best to keep them all away. Especially Grimmjow.

"You can't be interested in Ichigo. Leave him be and return to your home, Jeagerjacques."

Kaien said this, eyes once again on the man before him. Grimmjow immediately angered at this comment. Who was this man to think he could control Grimmjow? There didn't seem to be any sort of romantic love between Kaien and Ichigo, so the young lord couldn't understand why Kaien was so protective.

"Why, he your partner?" Grimmjow spat, causing Kaien to flinch. The dark haired man shook his head as the younger noble growled under his breath. What was this guy's problem?

"Then I see no problem in taking him."

"You…you wouldn't understand." Kaien mumbled this softly, turning his head to glare at the ground.

"I'll take what I want and if you have no romantic relation with Ichigo, there will be nothing stopping me from courting him"

Grimmjow wasn't going to take no for answer, jaw squared and cyan eyes steady. His temper was rising and soon he'd lash out. The constant shaking of Kaien's head on sought to anger him more.

"Why can't I?! Answer!"

Grimmjow yelled at the other hunter, his voice commanding. Kaien would have to answer eventually.

Troubled and pained turquoise eyes glared at the slightly shorter male, the amount of emotion displayed enough to make Grimmjow slightly rear back in surprise. Kaien replied in a voice trembling with contained anger and sorrow.

"Because…because he can't speak!"

Hey guys! I decided to revise this fic. I wasn't exactly satisfied with the quality and added more details to my writing. Expect the same of my other stories. Currently, this first chapter alone has doubled in word count! Thanks for sticking to me and I'm always open for reviews!

Love, Haru*