~ Chapter 10 – Savior ~

"Mr. Kurosaki, you got a small amount of water in your lungs, a cracked rib and your nose is broken. It's normal to feel exhausted the first couple of days so don't worry if you sleep a lot. We will need you to stay over the night for observation to monitor how the water will affect you. Anything you are wondering about?"

"No." Ichigo answered tiredly. The doctor nodded and excused himself from the room. Ichigo closed his eyes to get some rest and to escape the bright lights in the room. His head ached along with the pounding in his nose. The broken rib stung every time he took a deep breath or moved around. He coughed a little wincing at the soreness in his throat. The medication he had gotten earlier still hadn't kicked in properly.

"Ichigo?" Shinji whispered at the half closed door. Ichigo didn't bother to answer knowing that the blond would walk in either way. He did and sat down next to the hospital bed on a chair for visitors. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired." He answered with his eyes still closed.

It was silent for a while, as Shinji probably was thinking of something to say. It was quiet enough to almost let Ichigo nap. "Grimmjow saved your life. Without him you would have died and I don't know if I could have handled that." Shinji sniffled.

Ichigo lazily opened on eye to look at his friend. "I didn't die so don't cry." Shinji's eyes were red and his bottom lip trembled as he tried to control himself. "Is he here?"

"Yeah, Nnoitra too. They drove behind the ambulance."

"Go and find them. They probably want to come in."

Shinji walked out and did as Ichigo requested. Nnoitra wore his usual smile although a little weaker than normal. Grimmjow looked worn and ready to crash at any moment. Ichigo tried to sit up, but found himself unable to do so without help. Shinji saw this and helped him.

"Thought that you where walking around in your trunks still." Ichigo said to ease the strange tension in the room.

"The nurses couldn't concentrate so Kensei drove our bags 'ere." Nnoitra said.

"I bet they couldn't."

"The truth is that the nurses didn't want them to scare away people. Nnoitra only have a too big ego." Shinji said earning a glare from the man.

Grimmjow was in a daze of some sort and didn't engage in the conversation. "I don't want to be rude but can I talk to Grimmjow in private? In fact Shinji and Nnoitra, you can head home it's been a tiring day for everyone." It took some persuasion to get them going; mostly Shinji Nnoitra probably didn't care as much.

It was an awkward silence that fell in the room after their departure. Grimmjow still was in his own little world while Ichigo didn't know what to say. So he began the easy way.

"Thank you." Grimmjow finally acknowledged him and looked at him. "You also remembered that I can't stand the taste of blood." Ichigo smiled a little to encourage Grimmjow to open up. The blunette continued to look at him in silence. "The moment you said that everything was going to be okay, I felt relieved. When I got kicked in the face I thought it was over. Once again and I have no idea how I can say it differently but thank you. You saved my life and I will be forever grateful." In return Ichigo got a sad smile from Grimmjow which confused him.

"I thought I'd lost you." He finally whispered. "After I got you out of the water you just wouldn't breathe and when you finally responded I was shocked."

"Wait... loose me? Why?" Ichigo didn't understand.

"I don't know. I acted on instinct when I jumped after you. My body moved on its own with a mantra playing in my head. Over and over: 'Don't lose Ichigo'. I couldn't let it happen again. I'm tired of people close to me dying."

"Has it happened before?"

"It's a long and painful story."

"I'm not going anywhere for a while. If you're comfortable enough to share."

Grimmjow took careful steps to the visitors chair next to the bed and sat down on it. "I lost someone very important to me. I was the one that should have died that day." Grimmjow looked down on his hands and twirled the ring on his left hand. "When I was a teenager I was forced to join a gang. They had me at gunpoint, either I'd join or they would shot me in the head." Ichigo stared at Grimmjow not able to force something out. "I and my parents didn't get along so I sort of ran away from home. I started drinking and took drugs on a daily basis. Then in a weak moment they snuck up on me." There was no way that he would confess about him selling his body for his next fix. He was different now.

"After my mum died in an armed robbery, my father hated me. He blamed me for her death every day. So I didn't get along with my parent either. It hurts to not have a family to support you." Ichigo shared, with a feeling that they had something in common. He never had gotten over it and probably wouldn't.

"But he couldn't have believed that? You were just a kid."

"I stood up for my mom when the robber stole her purse and he stabbed her when she protected me. We didn't know that at the time when it happened she was pregnant."

"Ichigo, I'm sorry. That's terrible. It's was an unfortunate accident and not your fault. Do you have any contact with your dad?"

"No, I moved away as soon as I was able. He isn't the dad I used to know. What happened after they got you?"

"The gang later became my family. I was really happy when I got to know people actually."

"What did your gang do? I mean since you don't seem to be in one now, what happened to it?" Ichigo had never met a gang member before; Kariya's world was miles apart from it. If he never had met him maybe he had ended up the same way as Grimmjow. His old friends probably would have stopped him and been there for him. Maybe he had been able to live with Chad.

"We distributed guns, to low and high people in the society. Funny part was that we ended up supplying rival gangs with weapons since there was no way we could stop it from happening. Later I found the love of my life in the gang and we got married unofficially."

"Unofficially?"

"I'm gay, thus only in our hearts and not on paper. Legalization wasn't on the map when we took the step." Grimmjow said bluntly without hesitating.

Why Ichigo had to fight down a blush he couldn't explain. He was sure and not ashamed of his own sexuality, but to be able to say it that easily to anyone was something he still had a hard time doing. His dad was the cause because he never accepted it.

"Are you feeling alright? Should I call a nurse?" Grimmjow said concerned.

"No I'm fine. It's just… how can you say it like you talk about the weather?"

"It's easy, it's only two words."

"I've never been able to say it that freely." Ichigo sounded upset and Grimmjow had to replay what he had said and then started to chuckle. "What's funny?"

"This is becoming some stupid girl story where everyone is gay and in love."

"Yeah almost. What happened between you and…?"

"His name was Novaki. The gang started to dissolve from the inside. Distrust and accusations were thrown at members. The situation was infected. We got divided in to two teams; one with their faith to the leader and the other wanting to leave everything behind."

"War." Ichigo cut in.

"Yeah and you don't have to guess which team I belonged to. In our final battle I got struck down by a katana slashing through my back. When I was about to get the finishing blow, Novaki shielded my body with his and died instantly. Short after that the police came and the rest is history."

"I'm sorry about Novaki. You shouldn't blame yourself for his death, I'm sure that he never would have wanted to do it differently."

"Able to save your sorry ass."

Ichigo grinned. What they had was special and he couldn't explain it. Listening to Grimmjow's story had made him even more exhausted. He yawned loudly and rubbed his eyes carefully to not bump his nose. Grimmjow took the cue and helped him lay down again and made sure that he was comfortable.

~xxx~

Grimmjow watched as Ichigo slept. He had done the right thing when he jumped after Ichigo, the kid had been so embarrassingly thankful too. That they would share their pasts that easily wasn't something he had counted on but it had felt right. The kid had become to mean a lot to him, more than he could admit to himself. Grimmjow brushed his fingertips over the lax hand resting on top of the covers.

With a small sigh, he stood up and got out in the hallway to get something to drink and use the bathroom. On the way out he met a nurse who would check up on Ichigo for the last time until the nightshift nurses took over. His exploring didn't take long because this late in the day, the hospital had become quiet and empty. There wasn't much to do either. Wending machine coffee had to do. After the first sip of coffee his body remembered him that it was over due to get some nicotine. He sneaked out via a fire exit and sat down on the first step. The cigarette was rather inhaled than smoked in case anyone would notice him out there and kick him out from the hospital. He flicked away the butt and went inside again returning back to Ichigo. He sat down on the uncomfortable chair but pressed it up to the wall to give his head some kind of support. The coffee was drunk slowly while watching Ichigo sleep. His pant pocket vibrated and pulled him out of his staring.

[How's the kid doin'?] It was Nnoitra.

[He's okay. Fell asleep.] He typed back.

[Yer ok?]

[Yeah. Staying the night.]

[´Kay]

Grimmjow put away his phone and stared down in his coffee. Where to go from here?

~xxx~

"Grimmjow said that yer friend is ok an' sleeping."

"That's good." Shinji answered quietly.

They had bought china on their way back from the hospital which Shinji had poked around more than actually eating. Nnoitra threw a concerned eye at the blonde; he'd never seen him this depressed. He always was annoying with his overflow of happiness.

"Don't worry, he'll be home tomorrow."

"I'm trying not to." Shinji answered but sighed straight after.

Nnoitra took away the food boxes and put Shinji's in the fridge. The blond rested his forehead against the kitchen table when he came back. Shinji opened an eye when he felt two rough hands on his shoulders that started to dig into the hard knots there.

"Aaah, yeees." Shinji moaned in his arms, he was tenser than he knew and a particularly difficult one made him groan: "God~" as it was taken care of.

"Yer moaning like a whore." Nnoitra whispered in the blond's ear. A shiver shot through the body at the statement. "But it feels so, aah, good. I can't help it."

"I c'n make ya feel better in another place too, if ya want."

"Please." Shinji whined knowing exactly where this was going and right now he didn't care.

"Ya need ta repay this massage first though." Nnoitra said, trying to sound innocent. There barely had been a massage worthy of being repaid. He placed one of Shinji's hands over the bulge in his pants. "Righ' here." The hand wasted no time, pulled down the zipper and took out the warm member. Nnoitra almost hissed at the cool temperature in the room. Shinji slid of the chair and kneeled on the floor between Nnoitra's long legs which spread out a little to make him fit. He moved his hand up and down a few times before taking a tentative lick at the head. His hair was tucked behind one of his ears and seconds later he took in the whole member inside his mouth in one go. His mouth bobbed up and down before deep throating it completely. Nnoitra groaned above him and after he raised his head again the man started to thrust in and out of his mouth harshly. They usually played rough and Shinji did his best to tighten his lips around the organ. He choked a little but never pulled away and instead welcomed the suffocating feeling as Nnoitra filled his mouth to its limit.

With a wet 'pop' it was pulled out and Shinji was hoisted to his feet by Nnoitra who captured his lips in a needy kiss, tasting himself in the process. "Turn around." He panted eagerly. Shinji did as told and was pressed down on the table. Pants fell and that long warm tongue prodded at around his entrance first before plunging inside to soak the soft tissue. It was rewarded with an outdrawn moan from Shinji who never got used to what Nnoitra's tongue could do to him.

"Yer slutty ass is still lose fer me."

"Isn't it alwa-" Shinji gasped for air as he was impaled in one go and it was Nnoitra's turn to express his pleasure out loud. Unmercifully he began to move his hips back and forth in a steady rhythm.

"Oh God, Oh God." Shinji chanted into the table top.

The sex was short but good and soon Shinji tried to figure out what was up and down as he came down from his sex high. Nnoitra leaned heavily over him, still buried inside. He pulled out and Shinji winced a little at the loss.

"To rough on ya?"

"Nah."

~xxx~

When Ichigo woke up the next morning, he had to think once and twice before realizing where he was. He coughed a little to get his chest going after his sleep. His cracked rib complained a little from it. A snore came from the right which he turned his head to. It was Grimmjow sitting in a chair with his arms crossed over his chest and his head leaned against his shoulder. It looked very uncomfortable. Maybe he should help Grimmjow to wake up? Oh yes he should.

Ichigo reached for a pillow behind his head and then threw it on Grimmjow, right in his face. He almost couldn't contain his laughter at Grimmjow's reaction to the sudden wake up call. He looked pissed. It was as if Ichigo had woken the sleeping ogre from his cave or something. The pillow was thrown back to Ichigo who caught it to his chest, carefully minding the rib.

"Aren't you a ray of sunshine's in the morning?" He joked hoping that Grimmjow wasn't mad for real.

"I slept in an uncomfy chair what do you think?" Grimmjow's voice was hoarse from sleep. He rubbed his neck and rolled his stiff shoulders glad that he hadn't drooled all over the place.

"There is an armchair over there." Ichigo informed and pointed at it.

"I know, genius. I didn't intend to fall asleep I just did." Grimmjow felt grumpy from the terrible sleep he had gotten. He got up from the chair to stretch. He popped his spine in several places as he held his arms above his head. Ichigo stared at him and it made him uncomfortable. Grimmjow rubbed his lower back at the pain he felt there but it only moved higher to the middle of his back. He winced quietly, having a hard time to breathe properly. Upon staying over he had failed to take his medication had was now punished for it. Grimmjow felt a desperate need to lie down.

"Scoot over." He demanded.

"What?"

Grimmjow sat down on the bed and made a move to lie down which got Ichigo to press himself towards the other side. The bed wasn't meant for two people damn it. At the moment Grimmjow didn't care about the close proximity. His back felt much better already when pressure wasn't added on it from standing.

"Ehm, Grimmjow… What are you doing?"

"My back was acting up, couldn't breathe properly so I had to lie down."

"I'll call the nurse." Ichigo said and stretched for the alarm button.

"Take it easy. A little rest and I will get better."

Ichigo turned his head towards Grimmjow when he realized that they only where inches apart and blushed deeply. The bluenette angled his head a little to see what Ichigo wanted. Their noses touching and eyes met. Curious, embarrassed brown ones gazed in blue calculating eyes. His body shifted a little to not have too much weight on his rib and the movement made their noses slip away, Ichigo hissed as it jarred his broken one and his open mouth landed straight on Grimmjow's. The few seconds they connected felt like endless hours.

They parted and Ichigo flared red in seconds as he realized what they had done. Grimmjow smirked a little but also looked a little chocked. A door opening helped them to get out of their staring contest when a nurse came in for the morning check up. She wore a disapproving face when she saw that Grimmjow lay in the hospital bed too.

"This is not a hotel." She said sternly, glaring daggers at Grimmjow.

"He had to lie down due to back pain, miss." Ichigo explained.

"Oh my." She suddenly looked worried. "Are you alright Mr.?"

"Jaegerjaquez. Yeah after some rest. It happens."

"I can get you pain relief if you want."

"It would fuck up my meds so I can't."

She nodded and changed focus to the one that was her main reason for coming in. "Mr. Kurosaki, the doctor will visit you on his round and if you are cleared you can leave today." She checked his vitals, blood pressure and such before leaving them alone again. The room got silent after that, both of them lay still in the bed not daring to move. Grimmjow's hand traced outside Ichigo's arm and stopped at the wrist as if to pause and wait for a reaction. Not getting one, it slipped into the open palm where long fingers intertwined with Ichigo's slim ones. The pressure was responded to shyly.

"Yer blushing." Grimmjow chuckled and the comment only made Ichigo blush harder. "It's cute." Grimmjow had a fire in his eyes which Ichigo hadn't seen before. Those azure eyes did everything to draw him in. They succeeded as he couldn't bring himself to look away. "Can I kiss you again?" Ichigo whispered and Grimmjow breathed a 'yeah' before leaning in.

Their lips met for the second time that morning. It had more strength to it this time. A bold tongue darted out to trace the seam of the other's lips and the mouth opened to give the seeking appendage permission to move further. When their tongues met for the first time a firework of emotions spread. The deep kiss was delicate as well as intimate. Ichigo could feel the flavor of old coffee and cigarettes but didn't mind. It suited the bluenette. The man couldn't have had a shower since he'd rescued him, he still smelt of chlorine.

"So… Can I join?"

A voice startled both Ichigo and Grimmjow to the point that they broke apart. It was Shinji and Nnoitra who had barged in without even knocking.

"Shinji you idiot." Ichigo pulled the blanket over his head and hid under it to not show his mortification. Grimmjow hadn't let go of his hand yet, he tried to release it but Grimmjow firmly held them together.

"Your mouth has been on places on Nnoitra that I don't even want to look at, so no thank you." Grimmjow retorted.

"But he likes it."

"Yep." Nnoitra agreed.

"There was a time when you where on my side."

"Ya don't suck ma dick, the decision is easy."

Ichigo crawled even further under the blanket wondering why he had to be surrounded by this kind of people. "Did you actually come to see me or just to annoy the living shit out of me?" he spoke from under the blanket.

"Ichigo, you where the one to suck face when I stepped in. You dug your own grave." Shinji said.

"Fuck you."

"I'm good thanks, I got that sorted out already. Breakfast will be more memorable in the future."

Ichigo couldn't even answer that. He was both embarrassed and furious.

"Hellooo…Ichigo?"

He sighed. The hand holding his own gave a squeeze as if to check if he was okay. Happy over the gesture he returned the squeeze to let Grimmjow know that everything was. Peeking out from the blanket he looked Shinji dead in the eyes. "Now we have to burn that table because I refuse to eat on it."

"No, that's my grandma's old table. It's antique."

"This only gets worse and I'm more exhausted now than I was when I woke up." Grimmjow let go of his hand to and got up from the bed to sit down in the chair again. Ichigo closed his eyes, feeling a headache blooming in his head. He really needed more rest like the doctor had said. Shinji's stupid glowing face and that satisfied grin was just too much right now. As if on cue the doctor finally arrived.

"How are we feeling today Mr. Kurosaki?" The doctor asked while he looked at his journal containing notes from the nurses.

"I'm mostly tired, my nose doesn't ace as much but otherwise about the same."

"Much have happened in a short amount of time. No one expects you to recover fully from a near drowning in just 24 hours. May I suggest a prolonged sick leave from your occupation until you feel better? It will enable you to get better without feeling stressed about it."

Ichigo looked at his doctor. It sounded like a good idea but he needed the money. "I don't think-"

"You will be compensated through the insurance that your employer have for you. If you're hesitating, money won't be an issue."

No one had told him about the insurance before… "Oh, then I say it's a good proposition."

"I'll sign a one week leave on you. Your nose seems to be healing nicely and if your lungs sound like they should you can go home straight away."

Ichigo unbuttoned his hospital shirt and let it pool around his waist. The stethoscope was cold against his skin as the doctor listened to his chest and back to hear his lungs. They sounded good and the small amount of water he had before had disappeared. The doctor cut off his ID- wristband before leaving and wishing him good luck on his recovery.

"Shinji did you bring me clothes?" He asked, ready to leave.

"Was I supposed to?"

"It could have been an advantage since I arrived in my trunks which they threw away." Ichigo snapped.

"Chill, Kensei got us yours last night also." Grimmjow said calmly and threw the bag on the bed. The three of them stared at Ichigo expectantly.

"Out!" He pointed at the door when they didn't get the hint.

~xxx~

"Always such a prude Ichi."

"Excuse me for not wanting to share my private bits with everyone."

They stood outside the hospital on the parking lot. Shinji had made plans with Nnoitra and was later going to work and naturally they would leave together in the man's precious truck. It left Grimmjow and Ichigo together. He had yet to ask for a ride home.

"Come on I'll drive ya." Grimmjow said with a smile. The feeling of the kiss they had shared whilst holding hand still lingered in their memories. It wasn't making him uncomfortable like he had been expecting. They took a seat inside the car and Grimmjow drove away. The drive was pretty nice, it was warm out and Grimmjow had lowered the windows to let air in. He also didn't drive like he usually did which was considerate.

Upon arriving at Shinji's apartment, the bluenette turned off the car and it got silent without the purr from the engine. Ichigo stared at the entrance to the apartment house. The urge to be climbing the steps to be welcomed by an empty, dark apartment wasn't huge.

"I don't want to be alone." It came out like a whisper in the quiet car. He hadn't meant to sound so weak because he wasn't. Grimmjow stared blankly ahead to find the right words. "Come to my place?"

"I'll only be a burden. I don't know what got into me. Thank you for everything." Ichigo opened the passenger door and moved to climb out. Grimmjow leaned over him and closed the door again, trapping him inside the car. Ichigo's heart beat hard in his chest, what was Grimmjow trying to pull?

"Ichigo," Grimmjow begun and took a deep breath. "you are never a burden. If I say something it's because I mean it and want it, not anything I feel that I have to do. It's okay to be selfish and ask things. Therefore, you can come with me to avoid being alone. How does that sound?"

Ichigo could feel tears pricking in his eyes. He wasn't used to such genuine kindness as Grimmjow showed him. "I'll come." He decided out loud. "Go and grab a bag with clothes or whatever. I'll be right here waiting for you." Ichigo nodded and felt a large hand on his head; it ruffled around his hair to an even bigger mess. Grimmjow wore a wide smile which made Ichigo's stomach explode in a hurricane of butterflies.

TBC.