"Of hangovers and Kurosaki Isshin"
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
Summary: Ichigo makes a rash decision which leads to the unfortunate situation of him being stuck with Grimmjow. Learning someone to be human is tougher than it seems, especially when that someone is supposed to be your enemy.
Post-war. Friendship fanfiction.
Hello, all. This is the first time I'm writing Ichigo and Grimmjow, and the first time I'm making an attempt at First Person POV. No beta. Feel free to be critical in reviews.
Feedback is highly appreciated!
"Ichigo!"
On a Sunday morning, sleep is to be considered holy in my humble opinion. Especially after a night of drinking Long Island cocktails and slumping home in the middle of the night. And especially after not being able to fall asleep because my good friend Grimmjow here had to whine for hours about how everything was spinning and how being drunk was suddenly not fun anymore.
"Ichigooo!"
Now, I am completely honest when I say that I love my sisters to death, but that doesn't mean I enjoy them storming into my room on this ungodly hour. I haven't even opened my eyes yet and already I feel the massive headache pounding in my poor, dehydrated skull.
I hear a loud, annoyed groan coming from next to me. For a moment it sounds way too close and my fogged up mind wonders if this blue haired menace somehow ended up in my bed.
"Shh... the fuck up..."
No, that definitely came from the ground. If I hadn't been half asleep, I'd nudge him in the face for cursing at my sisters.
"Ichi-ni! It's three in the afternoon! Wake up already!"
When they come over to my bed and Yuzu tickles my foot, I can't help but flinch, retract my feet under the sheets and open my eyes. The haze blurs my sight for a few seconds but fades easily when I blink a few times. Karin's face is the first thing I see and she doesn't look pleased, standing there with her hands on her hips.
"Ichigo! Get out!"
"But why..." I mutter sleepily. My mouth is so dry it feels like I've eaten a freaking desert.
"Dad's home, Ichi-ni!" Yuzu explains in Karin's place.
Wait. What? Since when?
At that moment, from the corner of my eye, I spot Yuzu. Yuzu, who is currently reaching out to a foot sticking out from under the sheets. It's not my foot. With all the energy I can currently bring up, I push myself upright and reach out to her with my hand. "Yuzu, no!" I yell dramatically but it's already too late. The foot retracts under the sheet in a blink of an eye.
"'the fuck..." Grimmjow's voice is still thick with sleep and when I roll over to the side of my bed I see he's got his head covered with pillows and blankets. Only a few strands of bright blue hair poke out underneath. He shifts and pushes himself up. I quickly gesture to Yuzu to come over to me, but she giggles and remains where she is. Karin stands behind her, hands still on her hips.
"Who the fuck touched my fucking foot?" he asks. I think he's trying to sound intimidating, but at this hour and with his hangover, the sound of his voice rather resembles a wounded animal. His appearance gives new meaning to the definition of 'hungover'. I've never seen his hair so out of place and there's a tinge of green – or grey? – on his face.
"Grimmjow!" Yuzu says cheerfully, sending him a small wave with her hand, "Come and meet dad!"
If you thought I were brave, take a good look at my sisters.
"If you...", he starts, but then clears his throat a few times, "... ever touch my foot again... I'm gonna throw you out... of the fucking window..." He's not joking. That look in his eyes is never joking.
"Yuzu, Karin," I say, gesturing them to get the hell out of my room, "wait downstairs, we'll be there in a minute."
Unfortunately, my attempt to save their lives goes unnoticed. Instead, I find my sisters curiously staring at Grimmjow.
"What happened to you anyway?" Karin demands, crossing her arms over her chest and raising an eyebrow, "you look like you're gonna barf."
Now I thought I'd never see Grimmjow retreating from a fight – be it physical or verbal. As by some odd twist of fate, somehow, my sisters manage to get away from him unharmed as he merely gives them a stare, only to let himself curl up on his bed again.
"See you in a minute," Karin mutters as she and Yuzu go out of my room.
"Y-yeah... in a minute." I bring out.
I shake my head lightly to get rid of the confusion about what just happened, but I quickly regret doing so when the headache sets in again. If I'm feeling like this, I don't think I want to know how my good friend Grimmjow is feeling right now. In the end, he's only been in a gigai for a few weeks. No way his body can tolerate alcohol as well as mine yet. Somehow, that thought cheers me up. It means I win at something after all. Against my own body's will, I manage to get up and I stretch thoroughly.
'Hey," I mutter as I nudge Grimmjow in the side with my foot, "get out. My dad's home."
An animalistic groan comes from underneath the covers and a hand angrily pushes away my foot. "Leave me the fuck alone, asshole..."
I smile sheepishly. "Got a headache, Espada?"
Grimmjow's form lashes out violently in my direction. I barely manage to dodge his clawing hands by jumping backwards. Someone's being extremely volatile today. The good thing is that technically, he's now out of bed. Well, partially, at least. Next thing I see is him trying to get his upper body back onto his mattress.
"Hey! Get the hell out, man!" I throw a shirt on his head, which he leaves there while he retreats to the bed. "Get your lazy ass downstairs to meet my dad. If it weren't for him, you'd be in jail in Soul Society."
Another groan comes from his direction. I sigh.
"I thought you'd handle a couple of drinks better than this, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez," I mumble while getting some decent clothes on. Now this is how one must deal with Grimmjow.
"Shut up, Shinigami!"
Good, if I can rile him up a little, maybe he'll get out in an attempt to kick my ass.
"What's wrong?" I continue, "Never had a hangover before?"
The one eyed glare he gives me tells me 'no'.
"Feeling sick?"
He groans again and rolls around to look me in the eye. "Shut up!" I take that as a yes.
I grab a pair of clean socks and wriggle my feet into them. "I thought you'd be okay with that, actually. Didn't you vomit up hairballs all the time when you were Pantera?"
Alright, I've done it. He's out of bed alright.
I can feel a black eye coming my way, so I quickly sprint to the door and close it behind me. From the hall, I can hear Grimmjow cursing and making noise. I think he's getting clothes from my closet. He should really get some stuff of his own. That reminds me, we're supposed to go shopping tomorrow after school. I look forward to it already. That's a joke, for your information. I'm not a shopping type of person, so I don't really enjoy it; let alone with someone like Grimmjow.
About a minute later, my blue haired roommate emerges from my room and instinctively I hop towards the stairs when I see the murderous look in his eyes. Okay, I wanted to piss him off to get him out of bed, but perhaps I overdid it. Just a bit.
On my way downstairs a chill runs down my spine when I feel him following me too closely. Fortunately, I hear voices downstairs and I know that Grimmjow at least has the decency and the brains to not punch me in the face while my sisters and dad are around.
"Look who's here!"
For a second I think this warm welcome is directed towards me. I'm wrong, though.
Kurosaki Isshin. My father. He stands there with his arms wide open, yelling – he's a loud man – at Grimmjow, as if he were a guest on Christmas who's coming home after having been away for too long. Grimmjow... who is everything but a Christmas guest that's been away for too long; who was instead my arch enemy once, someone who couldn't have been away from my home long enough.
Dad threads towards Grimmjow with a few heavy steps – blatantly passes me - and grabs him by his upper arms with his huge hands. Can't count the times I got a punch from those. Grimmjow looks... hungover still, but there's also a look in his eyes that I can't really describe as anything but horror. As far as I know, Grimmjow never had relatives – let alone close friends – and thus is completely unaware of parental affection; of any affection. The only times I ever touched him was when we were beating the crap out of each other in Hueco Mundo.
"What the-"
"Grimmjow-kun! How do you like my lovely family?" dad yells at his face, not caring about Grimmjow tensing up and trying to get rid of his touch, "Has Ichigo been treating you well? How was your stay with Urahara-san? Do you like the neighborhood around here?"
"Dad!"
My dad turns and faces me.
"Ichigo! Son!" he yells. Grimmjow takes this opportunity to shrug off my dad's hands and takes a step back quickly. His bright blue eyes are wider than usual. My dad comes storming towards me and pulls me into a bear hug. For a moment, I can't breathe. I think that Grimmjow should realize – upon seeing me being crushed to death - that he should be happy with the affection he got.
"Dad..." I manage to bring out, "Stop it." He complies and lets me go, but not without ruffling my hair. I hate it when someone does that. Ugh.
"Boys!" he yells, as if Grimmjow and I are relatives, "Have something to eat."
The way Grimmjow puts a comforting hand onto his churning stomach brings a smile to my face. Although I have to admit that I'm not feeling too hungry either.
"We're okay dad..."
"Nonsense!" he barks, "Sit down."
Now I must say that Kurosaki Isshin is not a man whom one can say no to. Not easily, at least. His energy just radiates from him and it's hard not to get sucked into the chaotic, yet warm whirlwind he brings. So I'm surprised when Grimmjow simply shakes his head and strolls off to the living room, where he drops himself on the couch. Dad's overwhelming presence doesn't win over Grimmjow's stubborn selfishness apparently.
I feel a ping of embarrassment, guilt even, when dad's face makes a confused, sad expression at Grimmjow's behavior. After all, it was me who got this ex-Espada into our house.
"Grimmjow-kun..." he says, more to himself than to anyone in the room really. But then he shakes his head and in a second, his eyes are happily on fire again. "Ichigo! Sit down, son! I think Grimmjow needs some more time to adjust."
Some more time to adjust, my ass!
"But I'm not hungry either, dad, I think I'll just go work for scho-"
"Oh, come on!"
A short while later I find myself sitting at the table, stuffing eggs into my mouth. My dad's sitting across me and until now, he's been asking questions non stop. About my sisters, how they're doing at school, how I'm managing to take care of the house while he's gone, about Urahara; but most of all about Grimmjow. He wants to know everything. From how I picked him up at the Shoten to how he likes his freaking eggs.
Now I can't deny this urge of mine to try and do good for people, so what I do basically is tell dad everything and let out the parts where Grimmjow's being a total asshole. Unfortunately, it's wrong of me – again - to think that trying to do good for Grimmjow has any positive effect for me.
"Oh, yeah, dad... I was wondering if I could borrow some money for tomorrow?"
Dad raises a curious eyebrow.
"Grimmjow needs some stuff, but he doesn't have any money, you know... and he really needs some clothes... and a cell phone."
I think my heart nearly falls out of my ass from shock when suddenly dad slams a huge fist on the wooden table. "Ichigo! I thought I'd raised you better than this! Of course he needs new stuff! And a cell phone at least!"
"Yeah..." I manage, the shock not entirely gone from my system yet, "That's why I'm asking..."
"Grimmjow!" Dad yells. Until now, the ex-Espada hasn't been following the conversation at all. He's been switching channels for about ten minutes.
"What?" he mutters from the couch he's hanging on. His eyes don't leave the TV screen. His interest is zero, seriously, I can't grasp why my dad seems so damn fond of him. He tried to kill me multiple times! My dad's argument against that echoes in my head... It's all in the past, son.
"I'm sorry for Ichigo's rude behavior! I would've expected him to have bought you some stuff already. I'll leave you money on the desk here tomorrow."
"Sure..." comes the lazy reply from my blue haired friend.
What? What?
"Dad! How could I have bought him stuff?" I object. I'm seriously offended here. "I don't have the goddamn money for that!"
I want to say something about all the drinks I paid for him yesterday night, but I decide not to mention the cocktail bar.
"Language, son!"
I think I'm about to die of high blood pressure now. Has he ever heard Grimmjow open his mouth?
"It's okay, Ichigo, go with him tomorrow. Make sure he gets everything," he says, patting me on the shoulder.
"Sure, dad..." I mumble, giving up on trying to convert my dad to thinking about Grimmjow in a more rational way.
Sometimes, a person has to take peace with their situation. I guess this is where I accept mine. I guess I'm stuck with this guy, and apparently I'm the only one in this home who thinks he's an asshole. I get up, put my half empty plate with the other dishes and head towards the stairs.
"I'm gonna do some homework, alright? I've got loads to do..."
When I'm climbing the stairs, I find this empty feeling in my gut. I guess I feel a tinge of neglect. I really wish for Grimmjow to stay downstairs for a couple of hours because the last thing I wanna see right now is his face.
I vaguely wonder if Aizen – technically Grimmjow's maker, the closest thing to a dad he'll ever have – would've kissed my ass too if the Espada would've gotten me into Las Noches as a roommate. Guess not.
Thank you so much for the positive feedback, all the reviews and adds. Please feel free to be critical as the story goes on. If you have suggestions, ideas, things you'd really like to see written, etc. don't hesitate to include them in a review!
I'm sorry for taking longer to update but the academic year has started again and I've got a load of work and training ahead of me!
