Our love started in elementary school, though neither of us knew it. We had always been neighbors, and in the same sense, rivals. I don't remember what triggered it, but suddenly we both wanted to out-compete the other. It didn't matter what it was: who could run the fastest to the other end of the street, who could eat the fastest, who could get the best grades, who could be the most popular, who could have the most money, who could have the most boyfriends or girlfriends, who could fight the best, who could be the best. And eventually, who could come out first to the other and tell them how much they loved the other. And thank God, it was her, because we would probably be stuck in that endless loop still. It had always been a competition between us, but that's okay, because we were always connected at the hip. And admittedly, I had always thought she had won, never had I won a single time. She was always better, and sometimes that made me upset, because I would think that she was better than me and that I wasn't worthy of calling her mine. But as soon as I thought that, I suddenly remembered that she was better than me at being able to comfort, and she would sense that I was in distress and comfort me by telling me how much of an idiot I was for thinking such stupid thoughts. That she had always been mine, and that she had always knew that. Besides, if she wasn't better, than how was she going to take care of me in the future? All this does is make me love her more.
So when I got a job as an airplane pilot, that really took a lot out of me to be so far from her at long periods of time. Sometimes, I would think that she wouldn't be home when I got back home. And every time, she wins against my doubts. She had soon quelled all of my misconceptions about who she was and what she stood for and that she would always be there. And that first time I had told her how I felt, it never came up again, because she was very thorough about her tyrant.
I had been contracted by an aristocrat to fly his plane wherever he wanted for two weeks. I was a very good pilot, and he had wanted to hire me for his trip. It was good money. And it was agonizing. And I am not talking about how rude he was or how he treated everyone, I could deal with that. What I couldn't deal with was being apart from my love for longer than a day or two. So as soon as the man was called away early from his vacation to his job for an emergency, I grabbed all of my stuff and drove back to our house rejoicing.
My heart was frantically beating inside my chest, because I was so excited to see her beautiful, shining face as soon as I walked into the door. I had not told her I was coming home, so I wanted to surprise her. I turned the key in the lock, and quietly opened the door. The sight that beheld my eyes was tear-provoking.
Slumped on the floor in exhaustion, in all of her beauty, was the love of my life and our dog, sleeping soundly, in anticipation for my arrival. I never knew how she knew where I was, because she had always been able to do that, just sense my presence and where I was. It had been this way ever since I could remember. And here she was, dutifully awaiting my arrival. I won't deny the tears that strolled down my face, to know over and over again how much she loved me.
Our dog, Kon, woke up immediately. I smiled softly and placed a finger on my lips, silently commanding that he stay silent. Obediently, he obliged, and the only sounds he made were the slight panting from his mouth and his tail thumping on the tile softly.
Some how knowing I would like some privacy with my beloved, he padded over to my crouched form, licked my cheek, and trotted off to some corner of the house. Now, I turned to her.
I knelt next to her, and caressed her cheek, She stirred slightly. I cupped her stunning face and began to softly place kisses on her: her forehead, her temples, the corners of her pretty eyes, all over her cheeks, the bridge of her nose followed by the tip of her nose, then the corners of her mouth. A miniscule gasp escaped her, and my eyes trailed up to meet the eyes that whether I admitted it or not, I had always loved. Immediately, her smiled appeared, lighting up my heart and my being.
"Welcome home, Grimmjow," she said quietly, but with no small amount of love embedded there.
"I'm home, my love," tears brimming my eyes.
Slowly, I leaned in to plant a passionate kiss on Ichigo's mouth. It never went far, but the passion placed there spoke volumes about how comfortable we were in each other's presence and how much we truly loved each other. And that is all I could ever ask.
I picked up the treasured person, and together we slept the night away in each other's embrace.