Chapter 10:

Grimmjow didn't get the chance to speak to Ichigo before they returned to the Visored compound. The orange head had disappeared and by the time Gin had finished fixing up his hand, he was nowhere to be found. Ichigo was probably with Shiro, that was the most likely explanation and not wanting a confrontation with the man's twin, Grimmjow didn't seek Shiro out either. Gin he could get along with but Shiro, the man tolerated his presence because of Ichigo. Without Ichigo's protection it would be time to leave, and quickly.

They made it back to the Visored compound without delay and as they approached their isolated building Grimmjow was already thinking of excuses to slip away and find Ichigo. Nnoitra reached the door first and as he opened it, he paused and whistled. "Well damn, this is the finest thank you I've ever seen! We wanted to celebrate but well, this is better than what I would've come up with."

Before Grimmjow could figure out what he meant, Nel had stepped up next to Nnoitra and thrown the door open. She squealed loudly, but Grimmjow barely heard as to his chagrin, Nnoitra had thrown an arm over her shoulders.

"Hey, wait a minute-" Grimmjow began but someone had clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Let them have their fun, at least for now." He turned to find Gin was grinning at him. "It's what a party is for after all."

"What's the point?" Grimmjow muttered back. "Shiro will only threaten to kill us all if we don't leave in the next few days."

"True, but not tonight." Gin sighed and glanced back at the main house. "You should enjoy the party too. I have a feeling you won't have long to do so." He didn't explain further, just gave Grimmjow a push towards the open door before turning and leaving.

Tier had joined the others inside and thankfully, Nnoitra had backed off from Nel. When he entered the room, Grimmjow became aware that only four of them had died, one being a traitor. Even thinking about Szayel made him clench his fists in anger. How could the man have betrayed them like that? All because of his obsession. It had almost cost them all their lives and it was only because he had underestimated Ichigo that he himself was standing there.

Catching sight of Nnoitra getting close to Nel again, Grimmjow snapped back to reality and walked over to their small group, placing a hand on her shoulder. Starting slightly, she turned and grinned upon seeing him. "Hey Grimm!"

He smiled back. "Hey Nel." It was nice to know at least someone he loved didn't hate him. "Listen, I don't think we have to stay away from each other anymore." He looked at the other two as well. "I know it was the original plan, but we know for sure Baraggan's dead this time. There's nothing to hide from."

Nel grinned and grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze. "So I can come visit you now?"

"Any time you want." Privately he thought it would be nice to have some company once in a while.

Tier stepped closer to Grimmjow and he raised an eyebrow. Raising one back, she grabbed his wrist and lifted his free hand. "Don't you think you should tell your wife about Nel first, before inviting her over?"

"You're married?!" Nel squealed loudly, making everyone else flinch. She grabbed his hand, eyes widening when she saw the ring. "How did I not see this earlier?!"

Grimmjow was thankfully saved from having to explain about his 'wife' by the arrival of Shiro, Gin and Ulquiorra. Ichigo's absence was profound. It was apparent he didn't want to be around him at the moment. Shiro looked at him meaningfully and once everyone else was distracted, Grimmjow joined him out of earshot.

"Spare me the threats, please."

Shiro actually smiled. Well, his mouth twitched upwards slightly but it was the best Grimmjow was going to get. "No threats. I'm just going to ask you to leave by tomorrow. I'm doin' it nicely too." He held up his hands for a moment, then met Grimmjow's eyes and lowered them. "You want Ichigo to forgive you? You gotta give him some space. Go home. Maybe he'll come back out one day."

The unspoken option that Ichigo might decide not to return home hung in the air for a moment. "He'll stay with you right?"

"Yeah, I won't force him into any business. There's no reason for him to hide anymore."

Grimmjow nodded after a long pause. "Alright, I'll leave in the morning." Shiro nodded, but didn't say anything else. He left, joining Gin again and with a sigh, Grimmjow looked out the window towards the main house.

"So…" He jumped, blowing out a breath when Nel laughed and nudged his arm. "Calm down, that Shiro got you spooked huh?"

"Something like that." He sighed again. "So what?"

Nel grinned again. "You're married huh? What's she like?" When he didn't respond, her eyes grew wider. "What's he like?"

Grimmjow smiled. "He's great. Well, a little stubborn at times but y'know I guess I am too." He caught sight of Nel's grin and stopped. "What?"

"You really love this guy, don't you?"

"I thought that was an obvious, I did marry him after all."

"Can I meet him?" Nel asked eagerly. "What's wrong?" She said more softly, when Grimmjow didn't respond.

"We're not currently… speaking?"

"What did you do?"

The fact that she didn't even hesitate to ask made Grimmjow defensive, if not a little amused. "What do you mean, what did you do?"

"Well…"

"Fine." He relented, because it was his fault after all. "He found out about Baraggan. Needless to say he wasn't happy about me keeping it a secret. Things have been strained since and after Szayel…"

"Wait, wait. What happened with Szayel?" She looked at him understanding dawning on her face. "Tell me you didn't-"

"Of course not!" Grimmjow snapped back, interrupting the sentence. "But everyone thought there was and it made things worse."

"How did he even know about Szayel. Isn't he back home right now?"

"It doesn't matter. Point is things aren't good right now." He paused, looking at Nel with a sad smile. "I don't know if you'll even get the chance to meet him."

"But you love him don't you? Surely you can work things out?"

"He wants space. Nothing I can do but give him that." Looking away from Nel, Grimmjow looked back towards the house. Ichigo was so close but he might as well have been on the other side of the planet. "I want to make it work, I really do. I've tried everything and nothing's worked. All I can do now is wait and hope he forgives me."

"Grimm have you told him this?"

He frowned, thinking back on everything that had happened. "I guess so."

Nel sighed. "Well if you have, I'm sure your husband will forgive you."

"Yeah I hope so too."

"What are you two talking about?" Nnoitra had joined them, throwing an arm over each of them with a grin. "Come and join the party, even Ulquiorra's having a drink or two."

"Actually I need to borrow Grimmjow if you don't mind." He stiffened, looking around Nnoitra to confirm what he already know, Ichigo had come to the party after all. He was looking at Nnoitra who pulled his arm from around Grimmjow with a shrug. "Thanks."

Their eyes met for a moment and with a nod, he followed after Ichigo. Glancing back, Grimmjow saw Nel and to his surprise she was grinning. Did she realise who Ichigo was? But how could she? Ichigo led him to the room Grimmjow had been staying in for the past few weeks, locking the door behind them.

"I thought you wanted some space?"

Ichigo didn't say anything at first but he moved closer until they were almost touching. "What you said to your sister, did you mean it?"

"Which part?"

"All of it."

"Of course I did." Grimmjow frowned as the orange head stepped closer. "Tell me what you want and I'll do it."

"There's only one thing I want right now, and that's you." Ichigo kissed him. It wasn't impulsive or aggressive, it was the first real kiss they had shared for a long time and it caught Grimmjow by surprise. "I don't want to talk anymore because we've said it all. What's the point in repeating ourselves?"

Grimmjow smiled. "I can do that." Then he kissed Ichigo again, pulling him closer.

They didn't do more than kiss for a while. After everything that had happened that day, the physical and emotional drain along with their injuries. It was a miracle both of them were still awake. Although Ichigo did manage to manoeuvre them onto the bed at some point. When they finally broke apart, neither spoke for the longest time. Ichigo was right, they had said it all, what was the point in repeating an argument that lead nowhere.

Grimmjow sighed, his fingers tracing lightly over the bandage covering one side of Ichigo's face. "What do you think?" The orange head asked softly. "Will the scar put you off?"

"No. It's just another scar I've given you." He replied bitterly. "How many is that now?"

"It wasn't your fault." Grimmjow raised an eyebrow and he conceded. "Alright, it mostly was. But I made the choice to come back, to go in with you today. I didn't have to. It's my fault too, not to mention Baraggan's."

Grimmjow winced. "How about you never mention that name again?"

Ichigo grinned and kissed him quickly. "Done."

Silence fell again but Ichigo had grabbed Grimmjow's uninjured hand, threading their fingers together. Looking at them, Grimmjow noted the lack of Ichigo's rings with a pang. They were still around his neck. Would he ever want them back?

"How long will you need?"

Ichigo sighed after a long pause. "I don't know." He replied quietly, letting go of his hand and sitting up. He ran his hands through his hair with another sigh. Looking down at Grimmjow, he smiled sadly. "I still love you, I always will. But I haven't forgiven you yet. Every time I tried, or thought I had, there was another lie, another layer to this deception. How can I know for sure there aren't any more?"

"Trust me when I say there isn't anything else. You know everything now."

Ichigo nodded and they were silent again. "How did you do it?" He finally asked. "How did you forgive me?"

Grimmjow thought back to those few months he'd spent without Ichigo. "I missed you. I thought about you every day and slowly, the anger and pain faded away and I was left just missing you. I wished you were with me, so I came back."

Ichigo smiled again, resting his head on his knees. "I already miss you."

"I miss you too." Sitting up, Grimmjow pulled Ichigo back to rest against him. "Maybe it will do us some good to be apart for a while. Who knows?"

"Or maybe I'll realise I'm better off without you."

"Then I guess this is goodbye." He kissed the top of Ichigo's head. "You know where to find me if you want to come back."

"Home." Ichigo's voice cracked slightly as he said the word and Grimmjow's arms tightened around him.

"Well if you still think of it as home, I'm sure you'll come back."

Ichigo sniffed and quickly rubbed his face. "I'm tired of fighting." He finally said, the weariness more evident in his voice now. "I'm tired of fighting people, of fighting you. Can we go back to two months ago when everything was fine?"

"Even then I knew something was wrong. Ever since we got married when Nnoitra called. I knew this would happen eventually. Stupidly I thought we'd be safe in Spain. How wrong I was." Grimmjow snorted. "Not that it matters anymore. It's a lot safer now and I can finally put my mind at ease, knowing everything is over."

"You knew for five years, and didn't think to mention it?"

"No more fighting." He reminded Ichigo. "I didn't know, it was more like a bad thought that wouldn't go away."

"I understand. That's what Aizen was for me, all those years I spent on the run. Only to find out he knew where I was all along." Ichigo brushed his fingers over the spot where another scar was. One created when they removed the tracking device from his head. "Some things can't be avoided."

"We've survived both. Barely, but we're alive."

Ichigo nodded and turned to look at Grimmjow. "I love you."

He was surprised by this statement, not expecting it at all. "I love you too." Grimmjow replied before smiling. "Always will."

Ichigo kissed him firmly. "I have to go." He finally said, pulling away and Grimmjow was pleased to see it was reluctantly. "Can't have space if we're like this, can we?"

"Well we'll be in different countries tomorrow."

He frowned, pressing their foreheads together. "I'll see you soon. One way or the other, I promise."

"I'm going to hold you to that."

Another lingering kiss and Ichigo left without looking back. Grimmjow was sure it was because if he had, the orange head wouldn't have been able to leave. Sighing heavily he lay down again. All that was left to do was play the waiting game and hope Ichigo forgave him. If not, he could always wait for the orange head to change his mind.

Finding the rings around his neck, Grimmjow closed his eyes. If Ichigo could wait six months for him, he could wait just as long. Or as long as it took because he would never give up on Ichigo.