UPDATE: Aw SHIT, I totally forgot to mention the problem I'm having. YO LISTEN UP. I need to know who YOU GUYS want Tensa to be with. Like legit, be with. Ima make a poll, y'alls vote, ne? Coolio, ph-v out.
A/N: Urgh, I told myself I wouldn't update until I had the newest chapter finished, but I could just leave y'alls hangin' high'n'dry. S'not decentlike. So. New chapter.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Warnings: Blood, treatment of wounds. Language.
You're welcome. Enjoy.
"The fuck happened to you two?" exclaimed Shinji.
His voice brought Ichigo to the door as the two Espada stumbled into Grimmjow's apartment. Ichigo's heart stopped for a moment as he registered the blood soaking one of his boyfriend's pant legs then leapt into double time. His body moved swiftly and professionally as he rushed over to support Grimmjow's other side.
"Give him to me. Sit the fuck down Nnoitra you're losing blood standing around like a fuckin' idiot." Ichigo's calm voice didn't betray his internal panic or horrific wrath. Whoever had done this to his partner better be dead. Very dead.
"Shinji there's dish rags in the kitchen. We have to stop the bleeding." Nnoitra half fell onto the couch and Ichigo began questioning the barely conscious thug as he laid Grimmjow next to him, elevating his head, "How long has it been since he got shot?"
"Like. Fiftin minutes?" Nnoitra slurred heavily. Bright lights were fading in and out of his vision and he wasn't really sure who he was answering. He was…floating…he was so light. Like a motherfucking feather….
"The fuck didn't ya go ta the hospital?" Shinji asked as he came out of the kitchen with a bundle of the cleanest rags he could find.
Nnoitra winced at the loud, abrasive voice and came down from his blood-loss induced high with a crash. "Cause we're wanted fugitives ya stupid fucknut," Nnoitra managed to snarl through the pain. "This heres ain't like Karakura where e'rethins owned by a fuckin' gang me-FUCK!"
Shinji effectively shut the skinny Espada up by pressing a towel to the man's stab wound. "You get stuck anywhere else, asshole?"
"No." Nnoitra grunted. Shinji added more pressure as blood started to seep between his fingers and the taller man hissed as he grabbed Shinji's wrist in a surprisingly strong grip, intense purple eye swirling to meet the blonde's clear cold ones.
"Calm down, sweetheart, I'm just trying ta save yer worthless Espada life." the shinigami hissed, not releasing the pressure he was putting on the gangster's wound.
Nnoitra glared at the blonde with his uncovered eye. "The fuck crawled up yer tight ass and died?"
"Shinji hold this, I gotta get my kit. Put your knee on his hip to stop the bloodflow." Shinji complied quickly knowing time was of the essence.
Nnoitra watched Grimmjow's boy toy hurry down the hall then turned his gaze back at Shinji. He managed to smirk through the haze of pain. "Flexible ain'tcha?"
Shinji rolled his eyes as he easily balanced with one hand on Nnoitra's wound, a knee on Grimmjow's hip, and the other hand on the blue haired man's wound. "This is nothing."
Nnoitra raised an eyebrow at that. Was their more to blonde than met the eye? Granted, the eye met a lot to begin with. Sexy figure, pale skin…and that hair. Nnoitra usually didn't admit it but he fucking loved long hair, and this Shinji's was a perfect shade of golden yellow that fell down to that pert looking ass…hmm….
Meanwhile, Ichigo hurried back with his med kit. His father had always made sure that Ichigo had one when he traveled often pointing out that anything could happen. He rummaged though it for a second before finding two bottles of painkillers and syringes. Swiftly filling both he dosed both of the Espada, injecting the needles with quick accuracy.
"I can do it now Shin," the redhead said and the shinigami returned to soly applying pressure to Nnoitra's wound as Ichigo took his place on Grimmjow's hip and lifted the bloodied towel. Digging his fingers in to the rip the bullet had made in the Espada's jeans he ripped the matetial open aggressively to expose the messy wound.
Ichigo saw that the bullet had barely missed both bone and an artery but was buried deep. He would have to cut it out and cut it out now.
Even as he thought this Grimmjow's eyelids fluttered and glazed blue eyes darted unseeing around his living room before landing on Ichigo. Confusion surfaced and the Espada blinked up at the redhead uncomprehendingly. "Ichi, wha-?"
"Ssh, Grimm, it's okay." Ichigo whispered as he cursed internally. He this was going to be harder if Grimmjow was conscious.
He turned to his friend speaking quickly and clearly. "Wrap up Nnoitra's chest. There's bandages in my kit. I don't have enough pain killers to keep Grimmjow under so you're gonna have to hold him down." Ichigo turned back to inspecting Grimmjow's wound as he heard his friend rummage though his kit and continued. "When you're done with him, go turn on the stove and set a knife on it. We don't have much time."
Applying pressure again Ichigo twisted to shift though the contents of his kit to find the plastic sealed scalpel. He looked into his boyfriend's face and frowned. Grimmjow's eyes were clearing up quickly and his face was now contorting into a snarling mask of pain. The dose that Ichigo had given him had been small but not so weak as to have worn off that quickly.
Ichigo's head turned quickly at the sound of Nnoitra's amused chuckle. "It'll take more than that lil shot to put Grimm down berry-bitch. Szayel usually had ta pump 'im with with enough shit ta take down a goddamn elephant." The gangster began to cackle but it turned into a hiss of pain, hand flying to his side wound.
This time Ichigo did curse. He looked back to his lover and grimaced. The redhead hoped his boyfriend had a high threshold for pain cause getting a bullet dug out of you hurt. Like a motherfucker.
'Best to get this the fuck over with then.' He ripped open the plastic wrapper of the scalpel with his teeth as Shinji returned from the kitchen with a small dish towel in his hand.
The blonde thrust the neatly folded towel near Grimmjow's mouth. "Bite."
The blue haired man's jaws clamped down on the rag without question and Ichigo nodded for Shinji to restrain Grimmjows arms before leaning over the bullet wound with his knife. Ichigo glanced into Grimmjow's too-conscious eyes for a moment, trying to convey his apology with his expressive brown eyes before he glanced away, blade against wound.
At his first cut Grimmjow's body jolted in pain and Shinji was almost thrown off. The blonde recovered and snaped at the Espada, "D'ya want Ichi ta cut yer fuckin leg open? Next time don't get yer ass shot if ya don' wanna have a bullet carved outta it!" Shinji jerked Grimmjow's arms higher for emphasis.
Ichigo forced himself to tune out his boyfriend's muffled groans as he continued. Grimmjow did seem to get his body under control though as Ichigo searched for the bullet in his thigh. Shinji only had exert force once or twice before Ichigo finally extracted the blood dripping piece of metal.
"Kneel on his hip for a sec Shin." Ichigo dashed to the kitchen to grab the now heated knife off the stove. He patted Shinji's hip as he took his place again, knife hovering over the open wound for a second before the redhead pressed the hot metal to Grimmjow's thigh. The Espada's scream didn't last long but his body continued to tremble after its initial wild bucking. Ichigo didn't have to imagine what Grimmjow was feeling right now, he had experienced it enough times himself.
Pulling away, Ichigo surveyed the now closed wound with satisfacion. He could tell he had done extremely well given the circumstances. He had had to deliver such medical attention with even less supplies before and he was grateful that his father had made sure to provide Ichigo with a proper first aide. Had he now Grimmjow would have been…could have been…. Ichigo didn't want to finish that train of thought.
Shinji let go of his best friend's boyfriend and looked at the redhead as he knelt next to Nnoitra's side and began unwraping his side. The young man was still all business as he pealed up the thin material of the gangster's shirt and inspected the now scabbing wound.
"Hand me the alcohol and sewing kit." He addressed the Quinta Espada. "It's a deeper wound but I don't think hit anything important."
The thin gangster appraised the redhead with his violet eye. "Where'd ya learn ta do this shit berry-boy?"
It was Shinji who answered as he handed Ichigo his requested items. "Karakura ain't the safest place ta grow up baka, even on Sereitei side." The blonde smirked as Ichigo applied the alcohol to Nnoitra's wound and the man hissed lowly. "His pop runs a clinic and Ichi's been patching up tigger-happy idiots since he was like fifteen." Shinji inspected his blood dyed fingernails. He always thought red looked good on him. 'Maybe I should get a manicure while I'm here,' the blonde thought absentmindedly. He never really had the time to get one while he was in Karakura. Too goddamn busy.
"Don't forget how many times I've had to patch you up you stupid gangster." Ichigo pointed out as he finished cleaning Nnoitra's wound and began to tread the surgical needle.
"Che." Shinji rolled his eyes but froze mid-armcross when he heard a deep rumbling chuckle that went straight to his groin without warning. He blinked in shock when he realized the sound had come from Nnoitra. The blonde's eyes darted to the man having his side stitched up nonchalantly, as if it happened to him every day, his lazy gaze fixed on Shinji.
Trying not to seem flustered the shinigami glanced away, finishing the motion of crossing arms over his thin chest and shifting his weight a little self-consiously. "The fuck you looking at asshole?"
"A stuck up bitch who needs a good hard fuck. When was the last time ya got laid, buttercup?" That chuckle again.
"That ain't any of yer business, dickwad!" Shinji was trying to look anywhere but at the violet eyed gangster. His gaze settled on the other occupant of the couch and he mumbled distractedly to Ichigo, "Yet boyfriend conked out, Ichi."
The redhead glanced at the now unconscious Espada. "Good. That way he won't feel the pain…." he murmured the last part softly as he snipped the end of the plastic stitch he had finished.
It was quiet as Ichigo disinfected the wound one last time then began gathering his medical tools. One and a half sets of eyes watched as he made his way towards the kitchen before he stopped.
"...Nnoitra."
"Yeah?" The quinta Espada was smart enough not to be snarky to a man who had a scalpel dirtied by the blood of his boyfriend in his hand.
"…The person who shot Grimmjow...Is he dead?"
Silence reigned in the apartment.
"Ichig-"
"I was talking to Nnoitra, Shinji."
Shinji visibly recoiled at the cold tone but steeled himself and took a step forward.
"Yeah." Shinji turned at Nnoitra's reply.
The espada glanced wearily between the two friends. His thought process was shaky at the moment but he remembered Grimm had told him the berry-bitch's old bf had gotten bumped off. But…this…. tension level was just too tangible, too…threatening…to just be about some man. Something was off, but the gangster couldn't really think straight as he repeated himself. "Yeah, the guy's dead."
Ichigo stood there silently in the doorway of the kitchen, bundle of bloodied cloth and two knives cradled in the crook of his arms.
"Ichigo?" Shinii spoke again. This was dangerous ground. Very dangerous ground. It was possible Ichigo was…reverting. To that frame of mind.
When the redhead didn't respond Shinji lurched into panic mode, marching up to stand right behind his friend, not letting a tremor leak into his voice. That would be fatal mistake.
"Ichigo look at me. ICHIGO."
The blonde finally reached around and grabbed the younger man by the front of his shirt and jerked around so they were nose to nose.
"Mugetsu." Shinji hissed the name lowly, with as much force as he could muster.
Honey eyes drilled into murderous red. Shinji could feel the wrath in the gaze, the cruel distaste and seathing anger. The man was practically radiating it. A less prepared and capable man might have withered under that aura. But Shinji had been instructed what to do in such instances. Hold your ground. Don't break eye contact. And above all else. Don't show weakness.
Showing weakness at this point would definitely get him killed.
"Drop it, Mugetsu." the blonde growled lowly, using the only name he knew his friend would remotely respond to at this point. "The man's dead, do you hear me? Dead."
Ichigo held Shinji's gaze for a few moments more, the tension in the room building impossibly.
Slowly, Ichigo's eyes cleared, red melting away to sepia brown. The brown eyes dropped wearily, as if Ichigo had just returned from a long, fruitless journey. The redhead eased away from his friend, turning to the kitchen.
"Yeah. It's too bad, no?" Shinji almost didn't hear the soft murmur.
After an other anxious moment or two, the blonde relaxed and sighed inwardly. He mopped a thin hand across his face. Another crisis averted. Thank kami.
Honey eyes suddenly darted to the couch and widened. The violet-eyed man was frowning at him and Shinji couldn't quiet tell if Nnoitra's forehead was furrowed in pain or deep thought.
'Shit, he saw the whole thing.' Shinji tried to act normally as he turned to address the espada. 'Just play it off as nothing.' Shinji inwardly smacked himself. Blood-loss or not, even a complete retard would be able to tell that something was up.
"Ya want me ta see if I can find ya a real shirt?" Shinji mentally crossed his fingers as he spoke. "The one ya got on's a bit of sad excuse."
Best to distract the man and hope that the conversation between him and Ichi didn't stick too well in his brain.
A violet eye contemplated him for a moment.
"Che. Whatever."
A voice from the kitchen made Shinji jump. "You two might as well stay the night. There's extra pillows and stuff in the guest room." Ichigo came out drying his now blood free hands on a dishcloth. "I'm not gonna move Grimmjow but one of you can sleep in here on a futon in here and the other can stay in the guest room."
"I ain't sleepin' in here." Nnoitra declared, reverting to his normally assholish self for a moment. "Smells like a goddamn hospital in here." The gangster's blood splatted nose wrinkled in distaste. He fucking hated hospitals.
Ichigo's eyes narrowed. "Fine. You both can sleep in the guest room." The redhead walked over to his unconscious boyfriend on the couch grabbing a pair of scissors from his kit. "Futon's in the hallway closet, you two can flip a coin to decide who sleeps in what. Now if you'll excuse me." The redhead began methodically hacking at Grimmjow's ruined jeans.
The two rival gangsters made eye contact. Without second thought, Nnoi quickly, albeit painfully, hauled himself off the couch, lurching in the direction of the guest room. Shinji followed him down the hall but not before sparing a quick glance at his friend.
Ichigo needed to be alone right now, and Shinji wasn't going to deny him that. He valued his life far too much to provoke Ichigo in this state. Best to let sleeping, lethal, rabid dogs lie. For everyone's own good.
A/N: Yowsa. I bet you know what's gonna happen next. Ya perverts.