"Are you sure about this? You said you wanted to wait," Grimmjow said as he sat on the desk chair backwards watching Ichigo.
"Things went good when we met my family together, so I think it's time that we stopped keeping things a secret," Ichigo said as he looked through the closet. "I'd wear those sparkly jeans but they're a little loose…" he muttered as he pulled out a pair of jeans that were dusted with sparkles on the sides. "I've never worn them."
"How come they're a little loose? You just bought them a couple months ago," Grimmjow said with a frown.
"Just been working out a lot at the pool is all," he responded, setting the jeans out. "But they're not that loose. I can pull them down without unbuttoning them, but if I wear a belt, they should be fine."
He went back into the closet and looked for a shirt. Grimmjow glared at him, starting to worry again. Just last week at the Christmas dinner with Ichigo's family, he'd had to encourage him to eat enough. Now, he was losing weight? Something was going on.
"What are you going to wear?" Ichigo asked as he looked through his t-shirts.
"Just the usual. I don't see no reason to change up just for a little New Year's party. Aren't your friends gonna be surprised when I show up with ya?" he asked, watching as Ichigo pulled out a pair of shirts from his closet.
"Well, next semester, we're getting an apartment together. That's only a few weeks away," he said, gesturing to the boxes already packed of his stuff.
"Seems kinda sudden though, just to show up to a party with a boyfriend ya ain't told no one about before tonight," Grimmjow mused.
"They'll be surprised, that's for sure!" he said, holding up a shirt with a stylized skull on the front of it. "What about this one?"
"Looks fine, Ichi-babe," he said, smiling gently at him. He was so worried over what he was going to wear to this party. He was as bad as a chick sometimes.
Ichigo stripped off down to his undershorts to change. Grimmjow couldn't resist, though. The temptation was too high, and he had no idea how he was going to make it through tonight if he had to keep his hands to himself. He got up and stepped behind him as he was about to pull the t-shirt over his head. Quickly, he slid both hands around his chest and pinched at both of his nipples. Ichigo squeaked, as usual when he surprised him.
"What are you doing? We don't have time for that! The party's in an hour!" he complained.
"Ah, I can wear what I'm in, and yer clothes are here. We can have a little fun before we go. Might make the night easier on me waiting until we're alone again and I can really ring in the New Year the way I want," he growled into his ear, sliding his hands down the flat plane of his stomach to rest on his hips.
"We haven't got time!"
"Alright, alright, but I plan to ring in the New Year my way after this party with yer friends," Grimmjow grumbled stepping back and letting him get into his clothes.
"Yeah, you can do whatever you want after the party," Ichigo said, turning and kissing him quickly.
Grimmjow arched a brow. "Promise?"
"Promise."
A sly smirk spread across Grimmjow's lips as he looked into Ichigo's brown eyes. "I'll hold ya to that."
Ichigo shook his head and went in the bathroom to try and do something with his hair. It just seemed to stick out at every angle no matter what he did with it. Grimmjow thought it was cute that he constantly tried to get his hair to behave even when he knew nothing was going to work. He went and sat back down at the computer chair and waited. Again, he thought how much like a chick Ichigo could be sometimes.
"Alright, I'm ready!" he said finally, coming out and buckling the belt on.
"I'll follow your lead, whatever you want to tell them when we get there, I'll play the part. Just in case you change your mind about coming out in front of 'em," he said with a soft grin.
He knew that Ichigo wouldn't do it. He worried far too much about his friends and what they thought of him. He was okay with that. His friends didn't have to know that he was being fucked into every surface Grimmjow could push him up against. Then again, they'd never been to a party with alcohol before. They'd never been to a party, period.
"I'll tell them!" he asserted, but Grimmjow already knew better. Nothing would change tonight at all.
They took the car this time as it had gotten way too cold this week for the motorcycle. It was a nice, small four-door car that Grimmjow had bought with his first job. Ichigo gave him directions to a really nice house in an affluent area. He looked at it.
"Wow, I stick out here," he said, letting out a soft whistle.
"No, you don't, come on, there's so many people for you to meet!" Ichigo said excitedly as he hopped out of the car.
Grimmjow couldn't help but smile a little bit. Ichigo's excitement was a bit infectious. They walked up the long path from where they'd parked up to the house. They could already hear music from within. Ichigo grinned at Grimmjow as he pushed the button for the doorbell. A few seconds later, a guy with bright red hair answered it.
"Yo! Ichigo, you came!" he said with a grin, then his eyes settled on Grimmjow. "And you brought a guest!"
"Yeah, Renji, this is Grimmjow, my…" Ichigo trailed off and hesitated a second. "My, uh, friend!"
Grimmjow nearly snorted because he knew when it came down to it, he wouldn't admit that he was his boyfriend. "Yo," he said instead.
"Oh, nice ta meet ya," Renji said and reached out a hand and shook Grimmjow's.
"Same," Grimmjow said.
"Come in! You can meet some more of the others. Ichi's never mentioned you before…" Renji said and they came into the foyer.
The whole place was decorated with sparkling decorations. The foyer led into an open living room where there was a large lighted ball was hanging, almost like a disco ball, reflecting light all over the room. There were people dancing in an open place in the center of the room to the music. There was a stand set up nearby where someone was playing on a DJ station. Grimmjow had never seen such a huge house.
"Come on, Rukia's in the kitchen. Drinks are out if you want one," Renji said over the loud din of the music.
They came into what was perhaps the biggest kitchen that Grimmjow had ever seen. There was a short girl with black hair and vivid purple eyes dressed in a sparkly black minidress. She turned and looked as soon as they came in.
"Ichigo!" she exclaimed and came over to hug him. "Long time, no see! You've been so busy with school, you haven't been hanging out!"
"Um, yeah, school stuff," Ichigo muttered. He cleared his throat. "Ah, this is Grimmjow. He's, uh, my friend."
"Hi!" she said brightly. "Want a drink? I've got about every alcohol known to man thanks to my brother's stocked bar."
"Sure," he said with a smirk. "I'll take a jack and coke."
"Good man," Renji said, clapping Grimmjow on the back. "So how you know Ichi?"
"We're in the same swim class together," Ichigo interjected. "We're…uh…gonna be roommates soon, too."
"Ah, that's cool. Guess you can keep Ichi out of trouble!" Renji said with a smirk.
"So, Grimmjow, was it, what do you do in school?" Rukia asked as she handed him the drink.
"I'm studying business right now. I wanna open my own mechanic's shop," he answered, sipping the drink and cutting his eyes over at Ichigo who looked nervous. "You gonna drink something?" Grimmjow asked him.
"Oh, yeah, um, you have stuff for fuzzy navels?" he asked, blushing a tad, much to Grimmjow's satisfaction.
"Oh, yeah, forgot you liked fruity drinks," she said and Grimmjow coughed and turned his head to keep from busting out laughing right then.
Ichigo stared at him wide-eyed for a second then laughed nervously. "Um, yeah!" he said.
"Oh, Orihime is here…" she said and winked at him. "I'm sure she'll be happy to see you. Maybe you can get a kiss at midnight after all!"
Ichigo laughed nervously again, taking the plastic cup from her and sipping it to cover his reddened cheeks. "Ah, I know she's always had a crush on me, but hasn't she found someone to her liking yet? You know I don't date friends."
Again, Grimmjow nearly choked on his drink, getting Ichigo's attention again. "Um, anyone else here?" he asked, meaning people he knew of course.
Rukia glanced at Grimmjow curiously and back to Ichigo. "Ah, yeah, Shūhei, Izuru, their girlfriends, Tatsuki, her boyfriend, Chad, Uryū, and the rest I don't think you're familiar with."
"Alright, you got a drink, now go have fun!" Renji said, shoving Ichigo and Grimmjow toward the living room where everyone was located.
Grimmjow found it cute how often Ichigo looked at him. He kept his distance, got hit on by a few girls, and watched as this one girl with huge breasts practically smothered Ichigo in a hug. He arched a brow and wanted to go grab her off of him. Ichigo pushed her off gently and spoke to her for a little while. Ichigo led her over to Grimmjow.
"Grimmjow, this is a high school friend of mine, Orihime."
"Nice to meet you," he said, tipping his plastic cup at her.
"Hi," she said shyly and blushed. "Kurosaki-kun has never mentioned you before."
"Yeah, new friends, right, Ichi?" Grimmjow said, smirking at him.
Ichigo immediately reddened and bit down on his lip. Grimmjow wanted nothing more but to take him and kiss him in front of the entire gathered crowd to show everyone just who he was with. He looked up as a black-haired guy with silver glasses and a very tall, darker skinned guy came over.
"Ichigo!" the black-haired guy said.
"Uryū!" Ichigo answered. "Chad!" he said, looking at the taller one. "Rukia said you two were here."
"Yeah, quite a party she throws," Uryū said, eyes falling on Grimmjow. "And who is this?"
"Oh, um, my friend Grimmjow."
"Yeah, I'm his friend. How're you two?" Grimmjow asked, cutting his eyes over at Ichigo.
"Good," answered Uryū. Chad simply nodded at him.
"You known Ichi since high school, too?" Grimmjow asked, smirking at Ichigo the entire time.
"Yeah, we all used to hang out together, then we stuck together when we got in college. Though, Ichigo hasn't been around much lately, and I was wondering why," Uryū said, looking over at Ichigo.
"Just busy with stuff. School stuff." Ichigo said, hiding his face behind his cup.
Uryū looked unsure if he believed him or not. He drank out of his own cup and looked over. "Oh, there's Tatsuki talking to Kira and Hisagi," he commented, nodding toward thee nearby people.
Ichigo looked over. "I haven't seen Tatsuki in a long time."
The black-haired girl turned, saw them, and waved at Ichigo before she and the two guys came over. "Hey, you came. We were wondering if you were going to make it," she said.
"Yeah, I brought my friend Grimmjow with me," he said, gesturing toward him. "Grimm, this is Tatsuki, Shūhei, and Izuru," he said indicating first the black-haired guy with facial tattoos and second a blond, emo looking guy.
"Cool. I don't think I'll remember everyone I meet here," Grimmjow said with a grin. "But I'll try."
"Did you already see Orihime?" Tatsuki asked, grinning at Ichigo.
"Yes, and you know, I've told you, that's not going to happen no matter how much she wants it to," Ichigo pointed out as he went to drink again and found it empty. Grimmjow reached over and took the empty cup from him and tossed it in the trash along with his own.
For the next couple hours, the scene was repeated several times. Ichigo introducing him as his friend and everyone giving him the side eye. He wondered if more than one of his friends suspected something. Finally, as Ichigo was talking with someone else, the redhead approached, handing him another drink.
"Man," he said, arching a brow at him. "Ichi shows up to the first party he's come to in nearly a year, brings a new 'friend' with him that he's never mentioned and is moving in with, and stays hooked at the hip with you all night. What's really going on?"
Grimmjow took a sip from the drink, another jack and coke. "Hey, I'm just here for the free drinks," he said and smirked at Renji. Renji didn't look like he believed him at all, though.
"Do you really know Ichi from school?" he asked, looking more than a little suspicious of him all of a sudden.
"Like he said, we met in swim class. Didn't get along at first at all. But things got better as the semester went along," he said, glancing over at Ichigo who was being pawed at by a drunk girl. He nearly gave in to his jealously that time, but he gritted his teeth and drank again to cover it.
Renji eyed him a little while longer then left him alone. Ichigo came back over to him a few minutes later. Grimmjow pulled him in close and whispered in his ear.
"Told ya. Ya can't admit it in front of yer friends, no big deal," he said. "But they don't know how I'm going to welcome the new year when we get back to my place."
Ichigo flushed red again and nodded, not noticing that he was being watched by several of his friends.
"It's a big deal; I'm sorry I'm such a coward," he whispered hoarsely in return.
"I told ya, whatever ya wanted," he answered, leaning back and finding he was being glared at by the short girl named Rukia.
"I'll make it up to you," he said with a soft grin. "I promise."
"Kiss me at midnight," Grimmjow said, arching a brow at him. "Just let them all know at one time and break the girls' hearts that keep pawing at you. You don't know how hard it is not to walk up to you and grab your ass and tell them that it belongs to me."
"Kiss you at midnight? In front of everyone?" Ichigo said, blinking in surprise.
"Yeah, I don't care either way, but yer kinda lying to everyone that you consider a good friend, and I dunno if that's a good thing or not. Ya already told your family, and once you tell these people, we ain't gotta be so careful in public anymore. Wouldn't you like me to show the world who fucks you?" Grimmjow said, looking away as he spoke.
Ichigo licked his lips and sighed. "You're right. It isn't fair to you. I'll think about it."
He walked away again, and Grimmjow saw as soon as he was out of earshot, Rukia grabbed him and pulled him aside. He smirked, imagining what that conversation was about. He couldn't hear it, but by the look he was getting from her, he could imagine that Ichigo's secret wasn't as secret as he thought. That girl seemed pretty observant from what he could tell.
As midnight approached, some of the people there got drunk, and Ichigo had been drinking enough to be quite tipsy. Grimmjow stopped drinking early on since he was going to be driving them home, but Ichigo didn't need to worry about that. As he got drunker, he started being affectionate with everyone. And that was beginning to get on his nerves. He was hanging off the guy with the tattoos on his face, and Grimmjow was resisting a great urge to go punch the guy. He wasn't reacting to him, and he had a girl on his arm. So, they all just put Ichigo's behavior off to the drinks.
"You should slow down, Ichi…" Grimmjow muttered to him at nearly 11:30. He plucked a half finished fruit drink of some sort out of his hand and took it to the kitchen to dump it. Ichigo followed him in there.
"What'd ya do that for?" he asked, wobbling a bit.
"You've had enough," Grimmjow told him. "Drink any more and I won't let you stay at my place tonight."
Ichigo gave him a shocked expression. "Really?"
"Really. You've got enough alcohol in your system as it is. You need some time to let it burn off before we leave."
Grimmjow didn't notice that they were being listened to by Renji who was standing just outside the kitchen door. He looked around, and not seeing anyone stepped forward and pulled Ichigo into him quickly. He slid a hand down over his ass and squeezed gently.
"I can't fuck you if you're drunk."
"Why not?" he asked with a pout.
"Because it ain't right to do that when you can't say yes or no rightly, and you won't remember it anyway," he growled out near his ear.
Ichigo's breath hitched and he nodded. "Okay, okay. I won't drink anymore…" he muttered. He paused stepping back from him and then grinned. "I have a surprise for you, though."
"Oh, you do?" Grimmjow asked, letting a wry smile cross his face.
"Yup. At Midnight." He nodded once as though confirming that he was sure of this and turned around to go back into the living room.
Grimmjow shook his head and followed him out where he started talking to someone again. They offered to get him another drink and he declined, saying that he'd had enough. Grimmjow leaned against the wall with a cup of coke and watched the rest of the room. He thought Ichigo's friends were nice, but if they knew the truth, would they still be so nice? He couldn't tell, but so far, he was seeing no one in a same sex relationship. That didn't mean there wasn't someone who was in the closet, of course.
He glanced at his watch and saw it was about five until midnight. Around the room, all the couples were pairing up, and despite what he said, he felt a little pang of hurt. He had expected the night to go this way, so he didn't know why he was letting it bother him. He'd had a good time, found some new people that he could hang out with, but he was still Ichigo's friend. He sighed and was surprised when Ichigo grabbed him and pulled him in the middle of the gathering crowd.
"Alright everyone, let's get ready!" Rukia shouted from her position sitting on Renji's shoulders so she could be seen over everyone's heads.
There was chatter around him and the couples started intertwining hands and leaning on each other, holding their cups and smiling as the New Year crept closer. He looked over to see Renji put Rukia down and she was standing on the other side of Ichigo now. Ichigo grabbed his hand and squeezed it behind them.
"Ichi…" he started.
"Shhh," Ichigo hushed him.
"Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six!" everyone started chanting. He felt Ichigo's hand trembling in his and wondered if he'd finally got up the guts to show everyone the truth or if he was still going to hide it. "Five! Four! Three! Two!"
Ichigo turned toward him and gave him a big grin. Grimmjow arched a brow.
"One! Happy New Year!" everyone screamed and around them, the couples began going in for kisses and Ichigo grabbed him by the face and pulled him down into a sudden, very deep, kiss.
When they parted, everyone was staring at them, and Ichigo's face had turned beet red and he was covering his eyes with his hand. He still clung to Grimmjow's hand tightly. Grimmjow glanced over and saw a bemused grin on Rukia's face, and he realized that she must have talked to him about it when they disappeared together earlier. Renji had a knowing smirk on his face beside her, and everyone else just was shocked into silence.
Slowly, people began to stop looking at them and started milling about again, some sending awkward glances at Ichigo and Grimmjow. No one looked upset or displeased, just very surprised.
"You did it," he heard and looked down to see Rukia came up to them.
Ichigo, still hiding behind his hand nodded feverishly. "I did. I couldn't watch. Is everyone gone?" he asked quietly.
"No one is staring at you, Ichigo," Rukia said with a glance at Grimmjow and back at him.
Ichigo moved his hand off his face and smiled at her. "Thanks," he said softly.
"You did it, not me," Rukia said and headed back into the crowd.
Grimmjow pulled him around, twining his hands around and settling them on the swell of his ass. "So that means I don't have to resist touching you no more," he said with a throaty growl.
Ichigo shook his head. "I can't believe I did that. In front of everyone!"
"I guess that's one way to come out," Grimmjow said and kissed him chastely on the lips again.
-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-
They managed to get in the door before Grimmjow started stripping Ichigo's shirt off over his head. That was it, though, as they tangled tongues in their embrace. They'd barely gotten from the car to the apartment without tripping over each other's feet. Grimmjow dropped his leather by the door and pulled his own t-shirt off over his head and threw it somewhere. Ichigo's fingers were already working on Grimmjow's jean's button.
"Whoa, let's get in the bedroom," Grimmjow muttered, grabbing Ichigo's hands. "You clear headed?"
"Yes!" Ichigo said with a pout on his lips as he followed him into the bedroom. "I told you, I'm fine now! I think the embarrassment burned all the alcohol outta my system…"
"Hah, well, you sure surprised them, especially that girl that was crushing on ya. She kept giving me the strangest looks afterward, especially when I kept hold of ya," Grimmjow said as he grabbed the buckle on Ichigo's belt.
"I can do it!" Ichigo complained but didn't stop him as he slipped the belt off him.
Grimmjow seemed to have other plans as he took the belt and looked at it before an evil looking smirk spread across his face. Ichigo blinked and then shook his head.
"What are you thinking?" he asked.
"You said anything."
Ichigo was beginning to regret that promise. "I did, but you're not thinking…"
Before he could finish the sentence, Grimmjow had sat down on the bed and pulled Ichigo over his lap. His heart was beating fast as he stuttered nonsense to try and get Grimmjow's attention anywhere but on what he was intending to do.
"You can't!" he managed as he felt Grimmjow slide his jeans off his hips along with the boxers underneath.
"I can, you've been a naughty little boy and deserve a punishment, don't you?" Grimmjow was smiling as his hand smoothed over the pale flesh of Ichigo's ass.
Ichigo didn't know what to do. He was kind of scared by the prospect, but at the same time, the thought kind of excited him too. Was there something wrong with him? The thought of being hit with a belt got him worked up? He knew Grimmjow wouldn't do it if he really didn't want him to, and he was asking him now. He just had to decide if he wanted to try it or not. He swallowed nervously and decided to play along.
"What do you mean? I didn't do anything naughty!"
He felt Grimmjow slide his finger down and slip it inside, plunging into him without warning. "Oh yeah? You think so? What about all those girls and boys you were hanging on while you were drunk?"
"I didn't…" he started but then remembered vividly clinging to people while he was unsteady. "Oh, I did, but I didn't mean to!"
"Um hmm," Grimmjow hummed, sliding another finger inside him, making him moan out loud. "Look at you, moaning like a slut just because I'm fingering your greedy ass."
Ichigo didn't know what to say, so he just let out a low hum. Then he pulled his fingers out and was rubbing the flesh again.
"I'm gonna make this red, you understand me?" he said in a deceptively gentle tone. "Nice, and strawberry red."
Ichigo felt his body reacting, and he knew that Grimmjow could feel it digging into his leg. He could feel Grimmjow through his jeans where he laid across him. He took a breath and felt Grimmjow move then he felt the soft slide of the leather against his skin. He was really going to do it…
He wasn't sure how he was going to react, but when the first hit landed across his ass, he jerked, grabbing onto the bed with both hands. The sting faded out into a spreading warmth that felt strangely good, but he could feel tears in his eyes already.
"You okay?" Grimmjow asked, taking a minute and sliding his hand against the overheated flesh.
"Uh huh," he managed, gasping a little for breath.
He moved his hand and he felt the belt again, jerking as the pain once more faded into something else. This time, Grimmjow didn't stop. He just struck him again. And again. Ichigo was about to tell him to seriously stop when he felt his hand again, smoothing against the stinging skin. He pulled him up until he was straddling his lap and facing him. Grimmjow reached up and thumbed away the tears that had collected in his eyes and smiled gently at him.
"What a good boy," he whispered and leaned forward to kiss him again.
Ichigo found himself clinging to him an returning the kiss with a great deal of passion behind it. They sat like that for a while, just holding each other and breathing in each other's breath. Then Grimmjow moved and stood up, standing Ichigo up beside him. Ichigo looked at him curiously.
"Get on yer knees up there," he said in a husky whisper.
Ichigo nodded, figuring that he was going to take him like that. Instead, when he got on his knees, dropping his head onto his arms, he felt Grimmjow's hands gliding across his too hot skin again. He jerked in surprise as he felt something warm and wet slide against the flesh. He realized it was Grimmjow's tongue. He was licking the reddened places with incredible care and gentleness. Ichigo panted into his arms, feeling a bit exposed as always in this position.
Then, to his shock, he felt Grimmjow's tongue slide down the crease until he reached his entrance and began to press against him there.
"Oh, my god!" Ichigo gasped out, having never imagined Grimmjow doing this. He'd heard about it, of course. He'd looked up stuff online, so he knew it was something some people did. He just didn't expect Grimmjow to do it.
"Hmm, you like that, Ichi-babe?" Grimmjow breathed out against his skin.
"Ng," he managed but it was only the beginning of a whining sound as Grimmjow started pressing his tongue into him again.
Ichigo could feel himself dripping, and he wasn't sure how long he could continue to last with Grimmjow rimming him. It was hard to hold off normally, but this was nearly impossible. Just when he was about to tell him he couldn't stand it anymore, he stopped and Ichigo nearly collapsed onto the bed.
"Hmm, I'd say that was well received, but I don't think I can wait anymore," Grimmjow said and Ichigo felt him get off the bed for a minute. He looked over to see him stripping off the rest of his clothes before climbing back up on the bed and pressing against him.
Ichigo whimpered a bit as he teased him with the tip, barely pressing into him and pulling back. It was torture, to be honest. Finally, he just snapped his hips forward and buried himself in to the hilt. Ichigo nearly screamed as he tried to keep himself from coming right then.
"The walls are thick, but they aren't that thick. You keep it up, my neighbors are gonna hear you, and those sounds belong to me alone," Grimmjow growled into his ear as he began working back and forth into him.
He continued his torturously slow pace for a while, and Ichigo hoped that he had a new set of sheets because he knew this one was getting soaked already and he hadn't even come yet. Finally, Grimmjow seemed to have tired of tormenting Ichigo slowly, and he sped up, hands and nails digging into his hips as he held onto him. It didn't take long for Ichigo to start moaning as quietly as he could because he was at the right angle to rub against his prostate with each thrust.
"You're such a slut for this, you know that?" Grimmjow said in that same husky sounding voice that sent shivers down Ichigo's spine. "I could fuck you every day and you'd never get tired of it, huh?"
Ichigo had no answer for him; he was too far gone at the moment in his own world of sensation. He felt his orgasm rushing toward him, sending sensations throughout his body as the energy of Grimmjow's motion seemed to take over. Before he could say anything else, it hit him, harder than he expected. He guessed that all the teasing and everything had made it like that. It didn't take but a few thrusts into him until Grimmjow came, slowing as he came to the end.
Grimmjow pulled out, and Ichigo collapsed to the bed, wincing at the dampness underneath him. A second later, though, Grimmjow was wiping tear tracks from his face with a warm washcloth, then cleaning off his stomach and the bed. He put a towel over the wet place and climbed in beside Ichigo, pulling him into his arms securely. Ichigo was cold suddenly and started to shiver.
"You okay now?" Grimmjow asked, pulling the comforter up and over them both.
"Just a little cold," he answered, tightening his grip on Grimmjow's body.
"You seemed to like it," he continued, reaching up and running a hand through Ichigo's hair.
"Yeah, is that weird?" he asked, nuzzling into Grimmjow's neck a little more.
Grimmjow snorted. "If the weirdest thing we ever do is a little spanking with a belt, I think we're pretty tame compared to other people."
"It's really okay to like that sort of thing?" Ichigo was a little worried.
"Will you quit worrying?" Grimmjow sighed. "Ya were so worried about coming out in front of your friends, and you saw that worked out fine. So, this is fine too."
Ichigo nodded, feeling suddenly very sleepy. "Okay, I think I love you, you know that?"
Grimmjow stiffened and Ichigo wondered if he should have said anything. "You what?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"
"No, no, don't apologize. I think I might just love you, too," Grimmjow whispered and kissed the top of his head.
Ichigo fell asleep in Grimmjow's arms and Grimmjow soon followed him. Together, they'd spent their first New Year's together, and the night had led to things they hadn't expected.