This is the new and greatly improved version of 'The Day is Lost' (which sucked majorly in my opinion). I hope that everyone is likes this, decides to read along with all the changes, and hangs around for the turn out. See ya at the bottom!
Grimmjow groaned at the sudden screech of his alarm clock. He did nothing about it for a minute, willing it to turn itself off before finally turning to shut it up manually. He flopped down on his stomach and lay still for a moment before pulling himself up onto his elbows, his eyes meeting the pictures taped to his headboard for the sole purpose of seeing them every morning. They were pictures of him and his boyfriend, Ichigo. They had gone to the mall with some of their friends and the boy had dragged him into a photo booth. The orange haired teen sat on his lap with an arm wrapped around his neck and his tongue sticking out at the other. As the frames continued, Grimmjow's smile turned into a playful smirk and Ichigo's face quickly got darker in the black and white photos as he tried to stop his boyfriend's hand from snaking down his pants and as the last photo shows, he had failed and along with failing, he had been pulled into a kiss as well. Their friends were outside laughing because they could see the pictures from the monitor on the other side of the curtain. The kid's face didn't lose its cherry shade for hours.
Grimmjow chuckled at the memory like he did every time he saw these photos and then sighed at the state of their relationship now. Those happy memories were over two years ago and now… they had fallen apart after a while and after that harsh regression, they've been slowly working back up while keeping the title of boyfriends in hopes that they would stay that way although it was obvious that they were stuck at just friends. It's been rough and they share many fights, awkwardly tense moments, and silences but they still do have good times and smiles. It's been this way for nearly a year now… Grimmjow wondered every day if they would ever really be able to get back to the way they used to be but… somewhere in his heart he knew they wouldn't. But they still held onto each other, hoping everything would straighten out and they could be happy again.
He dragged himself from bed when his phone alarm went off. He grabbed the blue device to turn it off before calling his berry to wake him up as well. Ichigo would often accidently sleep in and be late for school so to help with this, Grimmjow would sometimes call him to make sure he got up and stayed up. After a few rings, it went to voice mail so he called again.
"What?" Ichigo's voice asked annoyed.
"Rise and shine gorgeous." Grimmjow chuckled back as the berry groaned. "Rough night?" all he got for an answer was a lazy 'mm-hm'. "You wanna talk about it?"
"Nothing to say." that was all he ever heard when he dared to attempt to make any sort of emotional connection again. He wasn't the type of person to get involved with emotional bullshit but at the same time, he knew it was what Ichigo needed… not that the berry would ever accept his invitation.
"Alright. I'll see you at school."
"Kay." the younger hung up first and the blunet followed. Before putting his phone back down, the messaging icon at the bottom right hand corner of the screen caught his attention. He had two new messages. One from both of his parents. He remembered receiving these last night while he was out on a late night walk but he never checked them. The one from his father simply told him not to stay out too late while the one from his mother reminded him that they had important things going on tomorrow which was now today and to get enough sleep so he wasn't tired. Right. His parents had adopted a friend's son and he was moving in today. Last week one of his mother's old friends died of illness and his son had no one to go to so his mother offered to take him in but since he wasn't yet a legal adult they had to adopt him rather than just move him in. It was annoying and Grimmjow didn't care for it nor did he care for gaining a 'brother'.
After a quick shower, the blunet found himself in the second bedroom in the basement, both rooms on opposite sides of the hall with the bathroom between them. Grimmjow's room was to the left of the stairs while his adopted brother's was to the right. He stared at the plain green walls. They were told that was his favorite color so that's the color they painted his walls. Grimmjow's walls were painted a vibrant blue almost the same shade of his hair and eyes but not quite. He's never really been able to find anything in his exact shade, it was unique to him. There was a bed, a nightstand with an alarm clock on it, a dresser, and a desk with a chair and a small desk lamp. Casual set up. He wondered why he kept finding himself in here, maybe it was because he didn't like the idea of having someone else around that he didn't know and glaring at this room was the closest he could get to glaring at the younger teenager that was going to own it.
… … …
"Ichigoooooo!" the familiar, drawn out, high pitched call sounded in the school halls before both Grimmjow and Ichigo kicked Keigo in the stomach, sending him flying into the opposite direction.
"Hey Ichigo, Grimmjow."
"Hey Mizuiro." both greeted as they all walked into class.
"Did you hear that we're getting a new student tomorrow?" the dark haired boy asked, messing with his cell phone like usual.
"Yeah he's Grimmjow's new brother." Ichigo stated as if they should've already known.
"What? Seriously? I never knew you had a brother Grimmjow! What's he like?" Keigo asked excitedly, getting up in his face. Grimmjow grabbed his face and threw him to the ground.
"How should I know, I haven't met him yet. And he's not my brother; he's the son of one of my mom's dead friends." The blunet grumbled more to himself as he folded his arms in defiance.
"Your parents adopted him so he's still your brother." Ichigo stated matter of fact like, not really paying attention. He probably just commented that to get on Grimmjow's nerves but the older teen didn't let it get to him.
"That's so exciting Grimmjow! When is he coming?" Keigo exclaimed.
"He's coming later tonight and he'll be here at school tomorrow." he answered but still glared at the girl until she shrunk away. "I would invite Ichi to stay at my place to meet him but my parents want it to be a 'family thing'." he had objected and said that Ichigo was part of the family which his mother agreed to but said that he knew what she meant. Everyone went on to talk about the subject while he just stared out the window. He really wasn't looking forward to it.
… … …
Grimmjow's foot tapped on the floor impatiently as he cursed the entire day.
"Where the hell is that social worker with the kid? They're ten minutes late!" he growled, sitting on the couch with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Ten minutes won't hurt you Grimmjow. Be a little more patient." his mother cooed. Just because she was overjoyed didn't mean that he was. When there was a knock at the door, Grimmjow's body tensed up as his mother rushed excitedly to answer it. His father stood on the opposite side of the room, looking much like his son did; leaned up against the wall with his arms folded. Like father, like son. Grimmjow unzipped his jacket, revealing the tight black shirt underneath that hugged his broad, muscular chest as he hardened his glare. Whoever this guy was, he needed to show him who was king of the house. He glanced for a moment at his father who met his eye and nodded, showing that he was thinking the same thing. They had a sort of agreement that they shared the thrown and they both knew their boundaries and lines. A few years back, the two had fought it out, always pushing each other, wanting that spot at the top until about a year ago, they finally settled it and made that agreement.
"Hello ma'am." a new voice said, catching both of the males' attention and drawing their eyes to the door once more. There in the doorway, stood a bowing dark haired teenager. Grimmjow's glare hardened further at the sight of him. Shoulder length black hair, big green eyes, unhealthy pale skin, skrony build but definitely not out of shape, dark clothing, and to top it off, a face that held no emotion. He disliked him already.
The social worker was allowed in, his parents going to the man to finish the paperwork as the teen looked around. His eyes landed on the upset blunet sitting on the couch for the first time and his heart stopped for a moment before jumping into a race. The man before him had a head full of bright blue hair that was unkempt in a way that was very attractive. His eyes were closed but he could guess that they would be of the same color. The raven could see the curves and crevasses of his torso through the dark shirt that clung to his frame and couldn't help but to like what he saw.
"You are… Grimmjow. Are you not?" he asked, causing said man to open his eyes to glare at him again. Just as he had thought, his eyes were a piercing blue but the glare they held did not intimidate him as it was probably meant to, in fact it just made him think that Grimmjow was a trash for pulling something so childish.
"Tsk… yeah, that's me." the blunet growled, turning his head away.
"I am Ulquiorra." he introduced himself. Grimmjow's eyes moved back to him though his head didn't turn back from the side.
"I know who you are and quite frankly, I don't really care." he stated, climbing to his feet. "Just know your place Schiffer." he turned toward the stairs but his mother stopped him, saying that they were going to do something together as a new family. At this, Grimmjow growled and Ulquiorra sighed. Neither of them were 'do stuff together' type of people.
"I know, let's go out to eat so we can talk and get to know each other better." Mom exclaimed in joy after they finished bringing Ulquiorra's things in and the social worker left. Both father and son sighed, shaking their heads at her over enthusiasm. Grimmjow often wondered how the two had stayed together so long but all his dad said about it was that it was because he loved her. Still reluctant, the new member of the family nodded, knowing he needed to be nice and obey the people that took him in.
"That sounds fine." he said plainly, looking at Grimmjow to see his answer. The man rolled his eyes but headed for the stairs again.
"Fine, let me get my keys." Ulquiorra turned to his new mother after the blunet was gone.
"Is he always like this?" she thought for a moment and sighed.
"Yeah… but it also depends on who he's around. Most of the time when he's around Ichigo, he's a lot sweeter and in a better mood unless they're fighting." at that information, the raven raised an eyebrow.
"Who's Ichigo?"
"If we're gonna go, let's go already." Grimmjow called from the top of the stairs, his arms folded and his glare back in his eyes. He looked more pissed off than before as if upset that the raven was digging into his personal life and had gone to his mother for the information instead of going directly to him. Ulquiorra simply turned away, not caring that the other was upset.
… … …
"So Ulquiorra, tell us a bit about yourself." Dad requested before digging into the meal in front of him. The boy took a small bite of his own food.
"There's not really much to say."
"Aww come on darling, there's gotta be something you can say about yourself." Mom said excitedly. Grimmjow silently started eating, not really caring about what was being said. He would get to know this guy on his own time.
"Well… I love to read." Grimmjow rolled his eyes as he chuckled, shaking his head but his mom told the other to ignore him.
"That's great, we'll be sure to get you some books. Just ask if you ever need anything alright?"
"I will, thank you." he said with a monotone voice, knowing he most likely would take care of himself as much as he could so if he did ask for anything, it wouldn't be much. Dad's phone rang and he looked at the caller ID before excusing himself to answer it. Mom sighed, looking worried and Grimmjow smirked.
"The usual?" he asked, not looking up from his food.
"There's no way that he would make us come in tonight, he promised." she objected.
"Shit happens." he shrugged and his mother glared at him.
"What have I told you about swearing around me?" he simply chuckled, shaking his head. "Fine. The usual."
"The usual?" Ulquiorra repeated, confused. Before anyone could answer, their dad came back over to the table.
"We gotta go." he said simply. Grimmjow smirked at his mother, holding his hand out to her. She let out an upset breath before handing him a ten dollar bill which he put in his wallet.
"Ulquiorra, I'm so sorry that we can't stay but we just got called into work." she apologized, standing up and taking her husband's hand.
"It's quite alright, I understand." he said, now understanding what 'the usual' was. She smiled and nodded at her two boys, Grimmjow's father shooting the blunet a certain glance that made him roll his eyes and nod. He sighed before continuing to eat, knowing that he had been told to play nice. Slowly the silence the two boys shared grew awkward and uncomfortable. Ulquiorra stared down at his food, not entirely minding the silence even if it was tense while Grimmjow glared at his food, trying to think of something to say- anything to break the suffocating silence.
"We'll have to walk home since Mom and Dad took the car… and I guess we can get started on getting your stuff unpacked." he hating having to do this sort of stuff.
"We? Are you planning on helping me?" he asked casually, not looking up.
"I've got nothing better to do tonight." he said, stabbing at his food more in frustration. He really hated this. After a long silence, Ulquiorra was the one to speak up to shatter the growing tension.
"I mostly like books with a good, fast-paced storyline. If it's too slow I lose interest quickly. The genre doesn't really matter to me much." Ulquiorra explain, still not bothering to peer up at his adopted brother.
"I didn't ask." the blunet rolled his eyes but somehow found relief in the information, seeing it was a stepping stone that the raven took by simply speaking instead of staying quiet like he had been. Grimmjow himself wasn't really a book guy, mainly only picking up a book because of school but from time to time, he did read for fun. Usually the only books that he read were gory and revolved solely around fighting and death.
"What are some of your interests?" Ulquiorra asked, knocking him from thought. He sighed as he leaned back, folding his arms and looking up at the ceiling, leaving the rest of his food untouched as he wasn't really all that hungry.
"Uh… let's see… hanging out with my friends, playing video games, and beating the shit outta backstabbing assholes. You know the usual reckless teenage shit." the raven nodded, seeming bored with his answer. Grimmjow growled in annoyance, knowing that trying to even think about becoming friends with this guy was going to be difficult. They were just too different. "Done eating?" he asked, seeing that the other had stopped eating as well and to change the subject to avoid saying something that would make things worse.
"Yes."
"Great." Grimmjow stood and stretched. "Well come on, I wanna get home, get the work done, and go to bed." he explained, pulling his wallet out to set a few ones on the table as a tip. Ulquiorra followed him out when he turned to leave. "Excited about your first day of school?" Grimmjow asked once they were outside and the other male at his side just shrugged.
"School is just school to me. It doesn't matter that I'm starting in a new one."
"You're not a very social guy are you?" the blunet asked, raising a blue brow at him. The raven didn't even need to think about it before shaking his head. Grimmjow slightly nodded, facing forward again.
"What about you?" Grimmjow sighed as he stuck his hands in his pockets.
"Depends on who I'm around." he answered simply. Remembering Grimmjow's mother saying something similar to that, Ulquiorra decided to question it since he never got an answer before.
"Who's Ichigo? Your mother mentioned him, is he a close friend of yours?"
"He's my boyfriend." at hearing that, Ulquiorra looked up at the other to examine him for the first time. "What?" the blunet demanded, taking offense at the younger's actions.
"I didn't figure you the type." the raven stated uncaringly as he faced forward again.
"Yeah? And what about you?" Grimmjow growled, still offended.
"I think everyone is garbage." that threw Grimmjow off. He hadn't been expecting that but he guessed that answer fit an antisocial ass like him. While it didn't really answer his question, he didn't feel like it was necessary to clarify.
"Whatever." he simply growled, deciding that it wasn't worth fighting over. He was used to this kind of attitude in all the haters he's beaten the shit out of but he didn't get the feeling that Ulquiorra was actually judging or hating him based on his sexuality, rather than just stating that it was unexpected. He didn't say that he hated gays.
"How long have you two been together?" Grimmjow closed his eyes and sighed as he scratched the back of his head.
"What is it now… four years?"
"That's quite a long time, you two must get along great." Grimmjow wordlessly shrugged and returned his hand to his pocket. The raven's green eyes finally turned to the other walking at his side questioningly, reading into that reaction as trouble in paradise but he decided it wasn't worth prying into and looked forward once more. They walked in silence for a while until Grimmjow's phone rang and he answered it without checking to see who it was.
"What?" he barked into the phone but sighed when he realized who he had just yelled at. "Sorry, I'm just kinda pissed. … It doesn't matter. … Yeah, we're on our way home from dinner. … Just stay home and go to bed. … I'm gonna help him get settled then I'm going to bed too. … Alright. … Talk to ya later Ichi." Ulquiorra glanced over to the panther at the discovery at who he was talking to. He oddly felt interested in the relationship his new brother had with this Ichigo because he knew there was more to it than Grimmjow was letting on. "Kay, I'll talk to ya tomorrow. … Ask him yourself, he's coming too idiot." he rolled his eyes. "Whatever, … Night, sleep well Berry." he sighed as he hung up, staring at the blue phone in his hand for a minute before shoving it back into his pocket along with his hand.
"What does he want to ask me?"
"He'll ask you tomorrow." Grimmjow growled in annoyance, rolling his vibrant eyes. "So we gotta get some things straight. I've got rules." the smaller man looked at him to show that he was listening. "One: Don't go in my room unless I'm in there and give you permission. Two: Don't touch my things. Three: Don't disrespect my family or anyone that I care about or you'll have to deal with me. Four: Don't piss me off. And five: If you do, don't get killed." the raven nodded in understanding though he lost interest in the conversation half way through.
"I'll remember those." he sighed.
"You'd better." when they reached their neighborhood, Grimmjow pulled his keys from within his pocket. "You know… my mom wants you to start calling her 'mom' and my dad, 'dad'… and she wants me to start introducing you to everyone as my brother…" he trailed off as Ulquiorra gave him a confused and slightly defiant look.
"Why?" the panther just shrugged and both went silent. Grimmjow scratched his cheek, looking in the opposite direction. "Can we just agree to tell her that we're doing that because I don't really want to go around calling you my brother when I don't know or like you."
"We can." the younger stated just a touch rudely and Grimmjow felt a bit offended that the raven didn't like him though he had no room to speak since he was the first to admit that he didn't like him. The feeling was odd and thus stupid and easy to shove aside. The two walked the rest of the way to their house in complete silence, each feeling angry at the other for saying that they didn't like each other. Did they expect to be able to dislike their new brother and not have the feeling returned?
Grimmjow unlocked the front door and walked in ahead of the raven, holding it open so he could shut and lock it once Ulquiorra was through. Wordlessly, they started to take Ulquiorra's things down to his new room.
Okay so I hope you guys agree with me that this is way better but if not, sorry, I didn't like it the other way and to me and I'm told that's more important than if the fans like it or not. But I still really hope you do because your opinion matters to me. Don't forget to review and tell me what changes you like and what you don't like. If there's something you miss that I took out let me know or if there's something that you want to see in this, shoot that idea over and I'll see what I can do.
