Waiting

- Sequel to 'Reasons Behind Actions'. Ichigo had been waiting, for what he didn't know. The perfect moment, the perfect setting, the perfect situation. With a trip to the lake where they'd shared their first kiss coming up it seemed like the perfect time.

Disclaimer: I do not own any right to Bleach or any of the characters in the story.

Warnings: Yaoi (boy x boy)

*Corrected with help from the amazing hunnybunny81!*

Ichigo sighed quietly to himself as he zipped up his backpack in the empty living room. His family was still asleep upstairs and he was trying to be quiet as he packed. His efforts however were wasted as Grimmjow came bounding down the stairs and Ichigo flinched at the loud bang when he jumped to the floor.

"Could you at least try to be quiet!" He hissed but Grimmjow only smirked, moving to kiss him quickly before picking up an apple. Ichigo sighed, glaring at his boyfriend who seemed unperturbed by his annoyance. "Honestly, I'd like to leave before my family wakes up."

"Don't you mean your father?" Grimmjow asked, taking a bite from the apple.

After what had happened at the lake nearly six months ago, Ichigo knew it was only a matter of time before Isshin found out abut his new relationship with Grimmjow. Sure enough they only had three weeks peace before his father walked in on them kissing one day. To his surprise Isshin didn't explode like he had assumed but left after making some excuse.

He smiled, thinking about what his father had said to him when he got him alone later that evening.

I'm not going to say I approve, because honestly, I don't. But if you think Grimmjow has the capacity to be good then I'll trust your judgement. But if he steps out of line, I wont hesitate to do whatever it takes to protect you and the girls.

That's what Isshin had told him and there had been no trace of amusement in his voice. It was one of the rare times Ichigo's father had been serious, been completely straight with him. Although when he tried to warn Grimmjow he found out the man had listened in on their conversation, which only made Ichigo worry more.

But it seemed Grimmjow took the warning to heart. He was on his best behaviour, or at least he was when they weren't alone. Surprisingly it was Yuzu who warmed up to Grimmjow first. Ichigo could only think it was because she chose to see the good in people, that even a 'monster' like Grimmjow could learn to love and choose to be good. Isshin took some more work, but recently he had been less indifferent to Grimmjow, even friendly.

"So, what are you planning?"

Ichigo started slightly, coming back to reality. Grimmjow was watching him, one eyebrow raised and the apple finished in his hand. "What?"

With a smile he reached out to grab Ichigo's chin in his free hand, lifting his face slightly. "Are you ok? You seem preoccupied."

"It's nothing, just thinking about you actually."

"Oh really, what about me?"

The smirk that played on his face made Ichigo roll his eyes. "Nothing like that."

Grimmjow leaned closer, their faces only near millimetres apart now. "Don't be shy Ichi, I know you well enough to know what you're thinking about. Unfortunately, I don't think it was you imagining me naked. So what's the problem?"

"I've seen you naked." Ichigo pointed out. It was true, and not just at the lake either. Grimmjow had an annoying habit of walking around naked if they were alone. He didn't know if it was because the idiot was more comfortable that way, or because he enjoyed embarrassing him. Probably both.

"I don't hear you complaining."

Rolling his eyes again, Ichigo didn't have time to come up with a witty remark because Grimmjow had kissed him. Honestly it was odd, almost annoying how whenever he did this, Ichigo couldn't keep a hold on his anger. Of course, Grimmjow used this to his advantage almost all the time now.

Grimmjow's hand left his chin, moving to his hair and Ichigo found himself pressed back against the counter. The uncomfortable press of the hard surface on his back, combined with the fact his father could come downstairs any moment made Ichigo hesitate. The action didn't go unnoticed because Grimmjow pulled away immediately.

"We should get going, if you don't want Isshin to see us off." A chaste kiss to his lips and Grimmjow let him go and disappeared. Blowing out a breath, Ichigo ran a hand through his hair and tried to calm his beating heart down. Looking down at his backpack the teen let out a small sigh as he bent down to pick it up.

Ichigo had been trying hard not to push Grimmjow away. He had found himself doing it unconsciously after a few weeks, when kissing wasn't enough anymore. But anytime they were alone, or things got heated Ichigo found his nerves skyrocketing and before he could stop himself he would pull away or make up some excuse not to continue. He knew Grimmjow was finding this difficult, but he never challenged Ichigo over it. This was one of the reasons he knew the Arrancar really loved him.

The thought had crossed his mind once, about a week after they'd gotten together. What if Grimmjow was using him? To gain his trust, to weaken his defences. Probably to get him to remove the wristband inhibiting Grimmjow's powers. Ichigo had never mentioned this to Grimmjow, mostly because of shame and also, he didn't want to sound paranoid or make it sound like he didn't trust the other.

Not once however, in the past six months had Grimmjow asked him to remove the wristband, or even mention it. As time passed by it became more obvious to Ichigo that his former enemy really did care for him. Grimmjow had no problems with physical contact, even in front of others (but anything above hand holding was a no go in front of Isshin). He was also genuinely interested in Ichigo's life, the amount of times Ichigo had to explain things like homework and karate, even simple things like a bus ride. All of which was tiring, but very amusing for Ichigo as he watched Grimmjow try to integrate with the human world.

So really, Ichigo was trying to let him in. It was difficult though, completely trusting someone wasn't in his nature. Especially not after everything with the Soul Society. In the past six months, the only visits he got were to make sure his powers hadn't resurfaced, that he wasn't on some power hungry mission. Not once had anyone come just to visit. So no, trusting wasn't an easy thing to do at the moment.

"Are you coming?" Grimmjow had reappeared, and he grinned when Ichigo started again. "Are you imagining me naked this time?"

"Shut up." Ichigo retorted, but he couldn't stop the smile appearing on his face. Slinging the backpack on his shoulder, he grabbed Grimmjow's hand with his free one. "Come on, before we lose all the daylight."

They reached the lake within an hour. It wasn't the first time they had returned together since their first eventful experience there. It was the one place they were guaranteed privacy since solitude was rare at home, and Grimmjow always caused a stir when he appeared at Ichigo's school especially with people who knew exactly what he was.

Ichigo of course didn't care what they thought about Grimmjow's appearances because he was always glad for the company. Even his friends in the Human World wanted nothing to do with him anymore. Apparently what they had seen of his powers when he defeated Aizen had scared them enough to be wary of him. After finding out about his new relationship with Grimmjow that had just pushed them further away. Even Orihime, who Ichigo was sure would still be his friend, avoided him now.

School was almost over though, at the end of this year he would be going to University. A fresh start. No-one would know him, or what had happened with the Soul Society and Aizen. Needless to say Ichigo was looking forward to high school ending.

"Ichi, did you remember the food?" Grimmjow asked and slinging the backpack off, Ichigo showed Grimmjow its contents. "Great, pass it here." As he handed the bag over Grimmjow grabbed his chin again, pulling him closer too and kissed him quickly. Ichigo smiled when he pulled away and started emptying the backpack. One of the things he really liked about Grimmjow was that he liked kisses. In general Grimmjow was very handsy, he never wasted an opportunity to kiss him either. This of course, Ichigo didn't mind.

As they ate Ichigo's thoughts kept drifting to the fact that this was the first time they had been alone for what seemed like forever. Every time they did he gave a nervous jerk which Grimmjow seemed to have picked up on. He was looking at him with a raised eyebrow now, waiting for an explanation for the odd behaviour.

"It's nothing." Ichigo said, brushing it off with a wave of his hand.

"You're a bullshit liar."

"Fine I was thinking about sex!" He snapped back before his brain could censor his thoughts. Grimmjow's eyes widened in surprise and Ichigo felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment. "Well, I-I mean…" He stammered, trailing off.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Grimmjow moved closer and caught his hand. He started rubbing a circle over the palm of Ichigo's hand with his thumb. As he did when he knew Ichigo was frustrated. It had the desired effect and the orange head started to relax.

"What about sex?" Grimmjow asked after a minute or so, keeping his tone mild. Ichigo had no idea what the man was thinking, which almost sent him into another nervous spasm, but he calmed the urge.

Looking at their hands he took a deep breath before explaining. "I… want to have sex with you." He muttered quietly. "But y'now it's my first time so don't expect anything amazing!" He finished quickly, an edge creeping into his voice as he got defensive. "It's going to take a while for that."

Grimmjow smiled, shaking his head. "Are you seriously worried about whether I'll enjoy it or not?"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Ichigo asked incredulously as Grimmjow started laughing.

"Nothing, nothing." He pacified the orange head with a kiss. "Always thinking of others before yourself aren't you." Ichigo didn't get a chance to object to this because they were kissing again.

This time it was different. They had kissed like this only a few times and each time Ichigo had the same reaction. He could feel the heat spreading throughout his body, pooling in his stomach. He wanted more but the more they kissed the worse the need became. There was always a point though when Ichigo would pull away. Not today though, there was no reason too. No-one to interrupt, nothing urgent requiring his attention.

Ichigo had planned for this today so this time he didn't pull away when his back hit the floor and his shirt was pulled off. He wasn't ashamed of his body and had seen Grimmjow's many times. In the back of his head he knew Grimmjow had probably seen him naked too, though without his knowledge. But there was a moment of pause when the scar left by the Arrancar was touched and Ichigo shivered. It wasn't cold, but Grimmjow's fingers tracing the rough skin reminded him only too vividly of how he'd gotten it.

"I'm sorry." Grimmjow murmured.

"It's fine, it was a long time ago." Ichigo replied in surprise. He didn't hold it against Grimmjow, after all, he had left his own scars on the other's body too. Only they weren't visible on the Gigai. "I have lots of scars, from people that were friends mostly. One from you doesn't make much difference."

"It should though." Grimmjow pulled away from his chest suddenly. "Why do you trust me?"

The question surprised Ichigo. "What do you mean?"

"I tried to kill you. Hell I put my arm through that Kuchiki Shinigami. How many times did we fight and each time, it was to the death wasn't it? It was only chance we were always interrupted."

"Maybe it was fate?" Ichigo shrugged. "What does it matter. Why should you trust me, I've scarred you too. I'm pretty sure yours is the worst." Grimmjow opened his mouth to retort but tired of talking and more interested in action he grabbed his face and pulled him down into another kiss. "Now shut up before I change my mind about having sex with you."

Grimmjow did but soon pulled back again. "Uh, I don't know how much you've guessed… but we need some sort of lubrication." Rolling his eyes Ichigo rummaged in the backpack and produced a bottle, passing it to him. "You had this all planned, didn't you?"

"Maybe, I don't hear you complaining."

"True." With a shrug Grimmjow opened the bottle but hesitated again.

"Oh what now?" Ichigo asked impatiently.

"Well… this is gunna hurt."

"Oh I know." He smiled at the surprised look on Grimmjow's face. "Just because I'm still a virgin, doesn't mean I don't know how this works. Unlike when you were a child, whenever that was, I have a thing called the internet."

Grimmjow's expression darkened at that. Ichigo had tried to educate him in the ways of computers but he had proclaimed them to be some form of dark power and wanted nothing to do with it. Apparently something that could give him unlimited access to knowledge was untrustworthy.

"Anyway." Ichigo hurried on before Grimmjow got too annoyed and forgot what they were doing. "I know how this goes. But it gets better right?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah the pain will pass." He grinned smugly suddenly. "If you can stand it to begin with."

"I have a high tolerance for pain." Ichigo reminded him dryly. The number of times he'd been injured was unreal but it did mean he wouldn't be crying pitifully. From what he'd read, being the bottom hurt, especially the first time. Somehow though he couldn't imagine Grimmjow lying down for him. Not that Ichigo minded, to be honest he didn't really care which role he played. To him the act and the actual intimacy of it was what really mattered.

When Grimmjow propped Ichigo's legs apart he grabbed his hand suddenly. "I forgot to tell you something." He raised an eyebrow questioningly and Ichigo felt his cheeks flush. "I uh, kinda prepped myself this morning. You know, just a bit. To make sure everything was clean?"

Grimmjow understood and smiled. "You really planned this all out didn't you?" Shaking his head in amusement he leaned forward to kiss Ichigo again. "That's fine by me Ichi, makes my job a lot easier."

Sure enough his fingers slid inside Ichigo with very little resistance but the orange head still grimaced. Not in pain though, the action just felt very foreign still, he supposed it was something he would have to get used to.

"Need a distraction?" Grimmjow asked and when Ichigo only looked at him questioningly he smirked. Ichigo wasn't sure what to think of the question.

"What kind?"

"A good one, trust me." Ichigo relented and gave a short nod. Grimmjow had started stretching him and he winced at the jolt of pain it caused. "Try not to cum too fast." Before Ichigo could ask what that meant Grimmjow had lowered his head and started sucking his dick. For the first time Ichigo fully appreciated why guys always said blowjobs were amazing.

Despite what Grimmjow had said, Ichigo barely lasted five minutes. He hadn't even noticed that Grimmjow had finished prepping him either. "Shit." Ichigo finally said when he found his voice again and he looked at his boyfriend with a lazy smile. "You're good."

"I've had some practice." He shrugged, not looked smug about this which actually warmed Ichigo's heart. He was glad to find Grimmjow wasn't boasting about his previous lovers right now. "You don't taste too bad Ichi." And the smirk was back.

Ichigo groaned, his head hitting the ground. "Shut the fuck up." He muttered halfheartedly because honestly, he couldn't find it in himself to be mad at the person who'd just given him the best orgasm of his life.

"Do you want to keep going?"

Lifting himself up, Ichigo grinned. "Of course, it's not fair if you don't have some fun too."

"Oh I'm having fun." Grimmjow kissed him again and finding himself distracted Ichigo again didn't notice the change in position. "Ready?"

When he did realised Ichigo was surprised to find he wasn't nervous anymore. Now that they were finally about to have sex, all he felt was… happy he supposed. Warm and fuzzy made him feel sick to try and say. "Yes." He said instead, kissing Grimmjow to distract himself again. This time it didn't work though. Despite what he'd researched, he wasn't expecting it to hurt this much.

It was a different type of pain to those of battle. Ichigo hadn't been expecting this and he found himself holding on to Grimmjow so tightly that the man winced. "Loosen your grip Ichi, you're making me bleed." Sure enough there were small rivets of blood on his arms now.

"Sorry!"

Grimmjow smiled. "It's fine." He leaned down and kissed Ichigo again, his free hand moving between them to stroke the orange head's new forming erection. This helped a lot actually and Ichigo was surprised when Grimmjow finally stopped moving and smiled. "There, all in. Let me know when it's ok to move."

Ichigo nodded, distracting himself with more kissing. He didn't know what he was waiting for. Was the pain supposed to lessen? It wasn't though. After a minute or so he figured it wouldn't and nodded at Grimmjow again. They might as well start if the pain wouldn't recede yet.

Grimmjow started and Ichigo winced as he thrust in and out of him slowly, allowing him to adjust. Being no stranger to pain and knowing it would pass, Ichigo bit back his complaints. Grimmjow had promised the pain would pass and he believed that it would.

He could feel the slick residue of his previous orgasm between them and incredibly, the thought turned him on even more. Slowly, the pain started to recede and Grimmjow's thrusts became longer and deeper and without realising it, Ichigo was asking for more.

It couldn't have lasted very long, as soon as Grimmjow found his prostate again, Ichigo was sure it was only minutes before he had his second orgasm. Wrapping his arms around Grimmjow's neck he pulled the man down to kiss him heatedly. Accidentally catching his lip, Ichigo was both embarrassed and turned on when Grimmjow let out a moan. So ichigo sucked on his lower lip, reaching down to grab the man's ass, keeping one hand held firmly in his hair.

Feeling Grimmjow grin against his lips, Ichigo let him go and pulled back enough to smile too. "Keep going." He said, a little breathless because he hadn't fully recovered from his orgasm yet. Grimmjow obliged, pulling Ichigo's body closer to his own as he started thrusting into him again.

Ichigo himself was spent, but he knew Grimmjow was close and also felt it would be unfair to stop now. Kissing him again Ichigo ran his hands over every part of the other he could touch. Despite his improvements since the end of the war, he knew Grimmjow still had some egotistic tendencies. Admiring his body – despite the Gigai – was a sure way to please him. Sure enough, Grimmjow's rhythm became erratic, he breathing laboured and with a smile, Ichigo leaned forward o kiss him.

"Cum inside me Grimm."

He did and Ichigo smiled as Grimmjow stopped thrusting into him and after a pause wrapped his arms around him to pull him closer. Before he could say anything Grimmjow was kissing him again in earnest and only pulled away when Ichigo felt his head start spinning. "Sorry." Grimmjow said, a smile playing on his lips.

Ichigo felt himself smile too as Grimmjow lay down next to him and he rested his head against the older man's chest. Honestly he didn't know why he felt so happy. He couldn't remember every feeling so elated, without a single care in the world. It genuinely felt good to let Grimmjow in, to let down all the barriers. Ichigo knew he trusted Grimmjow, more now than he had ever done before.

It was more than trust though. As he looked into Grimmjow's eyes he found it hard to believe he wasn't actually human, that he was a hollow. Or that he was the same hollow hell bent on killing him just a few years ago. The warmth in those blue eyes made Ichigo's heart beat so fast that he almost hated himself for feeling like a love stuck fool… almost.

"I love you."

Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise as the words slipped out of his own mouth, without thought and felt his cheeks flush. He had never said it before and he saw Grimmjow's eyes widen too. Grimmjow however had said it on a few occasions but Ichigo had never returned the sentiment. Love was hard to come by for him, and even harder to give after everything he'd been through. But Ichigo couldn't deny how he felt about the person lying next to him.

Then Grimmjow smiled, one of his rare, true smiles that were reserved for Ichigo's eyes alone. "I love you too, Ichi." Leaning down to kiss him, Ichigo felt himself get lost to the surrounding world. No-one had ever understood him the way Grimmjow did, and no-one would ever love him like this either. At least, he thought when they pulled apart again, Urahara knew enough to make Grimmjow this Gigai. He would never be able to repay hat-and-clogs for it.

"It's getting cold."Grimmjow said and he sat up. "Let's get cleaned up and dressed ok?"

Ichigo winced as he was pulled to his feet, his hand moving to his lower back. "After sex cleanup, it doesn't feel good."

"We haven't even started yet." With another laugh he helped the teen to the lake. Ichigo found it hard to walk by himself, his legs felt stiff and uncooperative.

Once he was submerged in the water however he felt immediately better. Embarrassment rose up inside him again at the thought of what he had to do and he turned to Grimmjow. "Could you uh, give me a minute?" He asked attempting to sound casual but his voice was too high and Grimmjow caught it.

"Sure thing Ichi." Leaning down to kiss the top of his head Grimmjow left to clean up their blankets as Ichigo set about cleaning himself up.

Ten minutes later Ichigo left the lake, his cheeks still flushed at the thought of what he'd just done. He made a mental note that Grimmjow was to wear condoms from now on. It was just too much hassle otherwise. He found his clothes piled neatly by the lake and started to dress, pulling himself together as he did.

Unfortunately it seemed he had a sentimental streak that Ichigo had never noticed about himself before. It also occurred to him, as he glanced at Grimmjow and grinned as their eyes met, sex was something very intimate to him. Thinking about Rangiku he shook his head, how she could behave so lewdly made him blush again. This must be his weakness, sexual intimacy. Just his luck he ended up with Grimmjow, whom he already knew had a high sex drive. Even the thought made his cheeks burn more.

Cursing himself, Ichigo pushed the thoughts away. Here he was blushing madly at the thought of Grimmjow wanting to have sex with him again. That wasn't a bad thing. He would be more worried if it was the opposite. If he was honest with himself (grudgingly), he wanted to have sex again too.

An uncomfortable thought crossed his mind. Had anyone managed to satisfy Grimmjow? Was that why he'd never told Ichigo how many partners he'd had before? Was the number so high because they couldn't keep up with the Arrancar? Shaking his head to push the thought away, he glanced at Grimmjow who was just finishing packing away their lunch. Sure he knew his boyfriend was demanding in many ways. For one, he hated Ichigo's affections on anyone but himself. But Ichigo could deal with that since no-one had ever interested him before Grimmjow anyway.

Thinking of the man's high sex drive again, Ichigo bit his lip and looked up at the other. He felt it too, desire he supposed. He wanted to have sex with Grimmjow again, not now of course but soon hopefully. Then he smiled to himself as he buttoned up his jeans, it seemed he might be able to keep up with Grimmjow after all. But one more thing still made him hesitate.

"Grimmjow?" He asked suddenly, knowing the thought wouldn't go away unless he asked. "I want to ask you something, and you better answer honestly."

"Sure?" Grimmjow had straightened up now and Ichigo approached him, stopping in front of him.

"Did I make it into your top ten?" He asked hesitantly, not sure he even wanted the answer. Ichigo knew Grimmjow understood what he meant immediately.

Grimmjow sighed, glancing at Ichigo and then he shrugged. "Maybe." But the teen caught sight of a smirk play across his lips and scowled, smacking him hard on the chest.

"You're such an asshole."

Grimmjow laughed at that. "And you're my number one."

That made Ichigo's scowl relax. "You mean that?" He smiled when Grimmjow nodded. "Good, otherwise I'd have to hunt down anyone you said was better than me."

"And I thought I was the possessive one." Ignoring the comment Ichigo sat himself down on the blankets and started pulling food out of the backpack again. "Hey I just cleaned that up!"

"Sue me." Ichigo mumbled, having already stuffed food into his mouth.

"You're disgusting, you know that?"

"Says the guy who used to eat human souls." He threw a chocolate bar at Grimmjow who caught it nimbly. "What taste's better?" He knew the answer the moment he saw the smirk on Grimmjow's face. "You can't say me. You haven't eaten me."

"You still taste pretty good though." With a shrug Grimmjow sat down next to him and broke the chocolate bar in half, handing one piece to Ichigo. "Here, I'm not that hungry and I know you won't pass up chocolate."

"Guilty." Ichigo took it and ate the treat too. "Aren't you hungry? I'm starving now."

"Maybe I have more energy than you." Biting into the chocolate bar Grimmjow grinned at him. "Or maybe you have low stamina."

"I can keep up with you." He replied defensively. To prove his point he grabbed Grimmjow by the shirt and pushed him onto his back, kneeling over him. "I think the question should be, can you keep up with me? Don't forget who's the more powerful one here."

Ichigo didn't give him the chance to correct that. Since in fact Grimmjow would be more powerful now since he'd lost his powers against Aizen. When their lips met Ichigo could taste the chocolate on Grimmjow's which only added to his arousal. But before he could do more than grind their hips together a couple of times he had jerked back at the stab of pain to his mouth.

"Ouch!" He winced, touching his lip and found it was bleeding. Then he looked at Grimmjow to see he was smirking and realised he had bit him. "What was that for asshole!"

"Payback."

Ichigo found the slightly swollen part of Grimmjow's lower lip with his thumb and remembered he'd bitten him earlier. "That was an accident."

Grimmjow didn't answer but sat up and kissed him again. "You do taste good though." Ichigo rolled his eyes in response, but couldn't help smiling. "Also, I'm more powerful."

"Sorry did I bruise that big ego of yours." He patted Grimmjow mockingly on the head, ignoring the glare he got in return. "I could've taken you any time."

"I went easy on you." Grimmjow replied stubbornly.

"No you didn't!" Ichigo teased. His smile faded however when his eyes landed on the wristband on Grimmjow. The one that inhibited the Arrancar's powers. The one that only he could remove.

"What's wrong?" Grimmjow asked but Ichigo shook his head.

Ichigo grabbed his arm suddenly and lifted it towards his face. "You trust me, don't you?" When Grimmjow nodded he smiled. "And I trust you. There's no need for this anymore. I know you won't hurt anyone."

"Wait Ichigo-" Before he could finish the sentence the orange head had pressed his lips to the wristband which disappeared instantly. Grimmjow stared at his arm in silence for a long moment before finally looking at Ichigo. "How-"

"My blood." Ichigo replied, cutting him off again. "The only way to remove it was for me to give you my blood willingly. So even if you decided to kill me it wouldn't come off and then you would've been stuck with it forever."

"But why?"

He smiled softly, leaning in to kiss Grimmjow again. "Because I trust you and I wanted to prove it."

"You didn't have to remove the wristband to prove that. I already knew since we just had sex."

"No, I had sex with you because I love you." He found himself running a hand through Grimmjow's hair, keen to avoid his eyes. "Do you understand?"

"Yes." He replied quietly. "And I promise, I wont go eating people."

Ichigo laughed. "Good. Because Urahara would blame me."

"Don't mention that old creep, it ruins the mood." Grimmjow muttered before kissing him again. After a few minutes of this he pulled away again, much to Ichigo's disappointment. It must've shown on his face because Grimmjow smirked. "You sure you're up for another round?"

"I can take anything you throw at me."

Afterwords however Ichigo was beginning to regret his words. Not only did they have to clean up again - which meant another trip into the lake for Ichigo - but he was pretty sure come tomorrow morning he wouldn't be able to walk. If he was honest with himself though, it was worth it.

Night was falling now and once Ichigo was fully changed he found Grimmjow had made them a fire. He sat down next to it gratefully and didn't object to Grimmjow pulling him back into his arms. As his neck was kissed Ichigo smiled and tilted his head back to look at the other.

"Did I play my cards right then?"

It took him a moment to place the phrase and then remembered the morning after their first trip to the lake. His smile widened and he kissed Grimmjow for a long moment. "I guess so."