Chapter 4

Grimmjow's clothes arrived a few minutes after Ichigo finished patching up his knife wound. Now that they're both dressed for the day, the two walk down the street to a pizza place Ichigo's fond of. Eyes are pinned to them, whispers ignored by Ichigo as they usually are. Grimmjow, on the other hand, can't help but grin like the cat that caught the canary. He can hear the whispers; he knows they think Ichigo belongs to him now.

"Don't look so pleased with yourself," Ichigo scoffs. "I'll never belong to you."

"Ouch, that hurt," Grimmjow snorts derisively. "How do you know that's what I was thinking? I could've been thinking…"

"You're not that difficult to figure out; you're just like every other guy that's ever thought they could own me. Be careful, or you'll end up like them as well."

Grimmjow laughs aloud at the threat wrapped in seductive silk. His hand grabs Ichigo's ass and squeezes, the orange head swinging a fist. He's surprised when his fist is caught by the gangster, Grimmjow's smug grin setting his temper alight. Before he can really go off on a verbal tirade, the blue haired man pushes him into the pizzeria.

Ichigo slides into the booth along the right wall, the same one he uses every time he comes to this place. Grimmjow sits across from him, resting an elbow on the table and his chin on his fist. The waitress knows Ichigo well by now, so she just puts in the order for his usual pizza and sets a cherry coke in front of him.

"Thank you," Ichigo smiles.

"And what'll you have, sexy?" she asks Grimmjow with a wink.

"Just a coke, thanks."

Once she ambles off, swinging her hips seductively for Grimmjow's benefit, Ichigo turns back to the other. Surprisingly, those cyan orbs never left the orange haired doctor. Grimmjow sighs and watches his interest a moment, and then realizes the waitress didn't take their pizza order.

"I'm a regular here," Ichigo explains when asked. "I get the same thing each time I come here, so they already know what I'll order. I hope you like pepperoni, green olives, and banana peppers."

"… I'll survive it," Grimmjow smirks.

The food comes and they eat in silence. Ichigo's mind wandering as Grimmjow watches him. This man just fell into Ichigo's life so quickly, now refusing to leave. The doctor doesn't really know how to handle all this. He's tempted to call his twin, yet Shiro would bitch him out for saving an Espada. Ichigo hates listening to Shiro's drawn out rants… they never really seem to lead anywhere at all. They start with the topic at hand, yet always trail off in every direction that attracts his anger before he forgets what he's talking about.

"I don't think you're safe on your own," Grimmjow comments quietly. "I know what these people are capable of, I know who they are. You'll never survive them alone."

"I have family I can stay with," Ichigo sighs.

"You'll only be putting them in danger as well."

"Hmm… you don't really know my family, do you?" the doctor smirks. "My aunt alone scares Aizen to the point of nearly pissing his pants."

"… Yeah, I've heard of that," Grimmjow murmurs. "That's beside the point. Look, you saved my life. Your skills will come in handy; I don't want you getting killed… or worse. Just listen to me, okay? If you want, I'll stay at your place…"

"I'll be fine on my own, Grimmjow."

The blue haired man stops a moment, surprised at the exasperated comment. Only his closest friends call him by name, so it's odd someone he just met would use it. Ichigo has always been a friendly person, never minding formalities and such. He sees no need for them. It's refreshing for the feared gangster, Grimmjow smirking at the other.

The bell on the door rings, cyan eyes drifting that way unconsciously. He gasps, kicking the table onto its side and grabbing Ichigo. Just as the orange head is yanked behind the table, gunshots sound within the pizzeria. Ichigo is panicked a moment, Grimmjow's body shielding him behind the barrier. There's screaming, people searching for cover. Ichigo is blinded to the chaos, however, breathing in Grimmjow's scent of forest and fresh rain. That hard chest is against his cheek, muscular arms holding him close, and Ichigo is on cloud nine at the moment.

Grimmjow grits his teeth, holding Ichigo tightly as the gunfire echoes in the diner. Finally, it falls silent and the bell to the door rings once more. The attackers have left, the bullets hitting only in the area Ichigo sits. Carefully, the blue haired man peeks over the hole riddled table. He breathes a sigh of relief at the sight of an empty doorway. Ichigo should be trembling on the floor, yet he's just staring at it in a spaced manner. Obviously, there's much more to the little firecracker than Grimmjow thought. He helps Ichigo to his feet, draping an arm around his shoulder in comfort.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

"Wh-Who were those people?"

"I tried to warn you, didn't I?"

"… Were they here for you… or me?"

Grimmjow doesn't answer, but the targeted area tells him everything he needs to know. This is Ichigo's place, Ichigo's regular seat… they were after him. The blue haired man pays for their meal, checking the street carefully before dragging Ichigo back home.

The minute they get in the apartment, Ichigo heads for his phone. He calls Shiro, his voice firm and even although his nerves are screaming. Grimmjow stays near the door, eyeing the male that should be having a panic attack.

"Shiro will be coming over in a few minutes," Ichigo murmurs. "You should leave before he gets here, or there'll be problems."

"I'll stay, thanks," Grimmjow remarks. "I'm not about to leave you alone, not with those guys after you so soon. They shouldn't have known you were the one that pulled me from that alley…"

"I'm the only doctor stupid enough to live in such a bad neighborhood," Ichigo points out. "Who else would have the medical knowledge to patch you up around here?"

"… Good point. They must've been searching for you when they saw us at the table. They opened fire to attempt taking us both out, save themselves some time."

Ichigo sits tiredly upon his couch, joined by his companion after only a moment. Ichigo is worried about Shiro showing up and seeing the other there. His brother isn't the type to act after thinking things through, which means there'll likely be a fight. The doctor hates breaking up his twin's fights; they usually end up putting each other in the hospital. Well… depending on how enraged the lighter twin gets.

"You're sure you want to stay?" Ichigo sighs out. "It'll be messy."

"I like a good mess," Grimmjow grins.

Ichigo sighs and slouches in his seat. He lets his amber eyes drift sidelong to look at Grimmjow, the other watching him intently. One of the blue haired man's arms is draped over the back of the couch behind Ichigo. The orange head is tempted to lean against Grimmjow's side, yet resists. He groans, covering his eyes with an arm in irritation. What a time to lose a boyfriend.