I am so glad that a lot of you liked the last chapter – I was so worried about it! Unfortunately everything's going to start going downhill ;)
~Chapter 10 – Will you wake?~
"Fuck Grimm!" Ichigo moaned for the hundredth time on getting up.
He had discovered that with the joys of sex came a morning full of consequences as Grimmjow had also explained whilst covering up his snigger. After the first round there had been others. Grimmjow only stopped because around about the 6th round he had collapsed! "Come 'ere," he sighed, walking up behind an annoyed berry who was currently trying to make breakfast for them.
Grimmjow began kneading the muscles in his lower back the other leaning against him with a content sigh. Grimmjow leant his head in the crook of Ichigo's neck and breathed in his scent of apple and cinnamon. "Would ya like some aspirin?" he asked nuzzling the others neck. "Ya can have it with a nice hot bath," he continued, feeling the other almost give in – almost.
"I'll be fine Grimm and anyway. . . If I do you'll starve," he chuckled, cracking the eggs as he said it.
The blunette's hands rode up from his back and grasped his middle making the younger man squirm and squeal as he tried to resist laughing. "My cooking is brilliant," he stated, still tickling the berry who now had tears in the corner of his eyes.
"Ok, ok I surrender!" he giggled. "You cook then,"
Grimmjow stared at the ingredients on the table before glancing at Ichigo. So he thought he was funny? "You want me to make omelettes,"
"What? Too hard for you?" he teased.
Grimmjow grabbed Ichigo again and growled playfully into his neck before biting his ear as if it were punishment for being so cocky. "I'll show you," he said and moved the berry aside slightly so he could start cooking, the other watching in amusement as he started cooking breakfast.
Before long the blunette was giving him tips on how to do various things the other astonished with his knowledge and skill in the kitchen. Ichigo watched intently as Grimmjow began adding ingredients to the egg mixture when several shrill rings echoed through the house. "I'll get that," Ichigo said getting up from his chair, hesitant to leave his new lover and the rare chance of watching him working.
Grimmjow continued finishing breakfast but kept a watchful eye and good ear out in case it was a call from Tsukishima. Last time it had left him vulnerable and broken. Apparently he was wrong though. "ICHIGO, MY SON!"
Grimmjow cringed away from the loud voice filling up the room and stared incredulously at the phone and a very red Ichigo. "Shut up you baboon! I got less grief from goat-face than I did you!" he screamed down the phone, fumes literally pouring out his ears and nostrils. "What do you want now!?"
"My my! Have you forgotten what next week is?"
Ichigo rolled his eyes and exhaled noisily through his nose wishing he had never told the perverted old man. "Urahara, for the last time I am not going over with you and Yoruichi!"
"BUT MY SON, IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!"
"I KNOW THAT BUT I MAY HAVE PLANS ON THAT DAY!" he screamed back frustrated.
"Ichigo," he replied, Grimmjow noting the seriousness. "I don't want you to forget another-," "I'll be fine, for shit sake, Grimm's with me this time,"
"Jeagerjacques is with you now – this early?"
Grimmjow waited as a certain silence settled over the room including the room on the other side of the phone. "Did you and Grimmjow-?"
"I'm hanging up," Ichigo announced knowing where the old man was going.
"OH! MY SON HAS FINALL-!"
Ichigo slammed down the phone, cursing under his breath making the blunette chuckle. Grimmjow watched as Ichigo hobbled over to the table, sitting down with a rather large huff of embarrassment and exasperation. "I didn't know it was ya birthday?" he commented, placing a plate down in front of him, his mind replaying the 'forget' bit – What happened last time?
"You heard, huh?"
"Ichi, the whole friggin' town heard,"
Ichigo chuckled but his eyes were not smiling at all as he lifted a forkful of omelette into his mouth. "Wow! You can cook!" he exclaimed, averting his eyes from the azure ones that pierced into him.
"Ichi," he warned. "Stop changing the subject,"
Ichigo lowered his fork in defeat knowing full well he couldn't lie to the man and glanced up before revealing his date of birth. "It's the 15th," he muttered, avoiding eye contact again.
Grimmjow nodded and made a mental note to get him a present; that was before he remembered the story he had been told in the hospital. "I'm taking its Shiro's birthday as well," he asked quietly as the berry stabbed at his breakfast.
"Yeah . . .,"
Grimmjow bit his lip at the silence and wanted to smack himself for pursuing the topic. He would make sure Ichigo remembered this year not because of what happened years ago but because for once he would spend it with someone else – hopefully someone who made him feel happy. Grimmjow smiled at the thought causing the other to cock his head to one side in confusion at the blunette's weird behaviour. "You ill?" he asked, knowing that the feline-like man never genuinely smiled – at least not in the morning when he was usually cranky. (Even if he had just got his way the night before!)
Grimmjow sat down opposite the berry and began eating his breakfast still with the same smile on his face. "Grimm, you're beginning to creep me out," he stated, pulling him in closer for inspection and to poke his cheek for a reaction.
When the blunette didn't take his finger in his mouth or growl in annoyance he unconsciously leaned forward so their foreheads touched, a frown etched on his face. "It doesn't feel like you have a fever,"
Grimmjow chuckled at the berry's concern and dived forward capturing his mouth quickly tasting the strawberry before pulling away. Ichigo worried too much. "31st," he said.
Ichigo, who was still red, partially recovered from his daze enough to form a 'coherent' response. "Huh!?"
"My birthday is the 31st of July," he stated slowly, close to spelling out each word.
Ichigo's eyes lit up and he looked as if he was just about to say something before the retched phone went again making him roll his eyes instead. Would they never have five minutes alone? "That better not be Urahara," he muttered darkly, getting up and abandoning the rest of the omelette.
"Why are you in contact with that creep?" he asked; not just because he was suspicious of the guy but because he was generally curious.
"He was a friend of my dad's, same as Tsukishima – oh talking of which," he said looking down at the caller ID for once. "Hello Tsukishima," he chirped.
Grimmjow smiled at how much Ichigo was glowing and grabbed the plates about to put them in the sink when he saw Ichigo's body literally freeze – his lips beginning to quiver. Grimmjow quietly put down the plates and watched in agony, his shoulders tensing every-time Ichigo answered with a half-sob. After several minutes of painful silence, each filled with occasionally with sniffles, Ichigo made a move to hang up. "Ok, t-thank you Tsukishima," he stuttered before placing the phone down with a soft click.
"Ichigo? Are you ok?" he asked, moving to stand in front of the inanimate man, taking his hands in his. "H-he's waking up," he mumbled numbly, as if testing out the words to see if they were real.
Grimmjow's eyes widened taking in the information when the smaller man shouted out in glee wrapping his arms around his neck. "He's waking up!"
The blunette chuckled heartily and tightened his grip on Ichigo letting the other bury his head in his neck as he started processing the news. "Apparently his vitals became steady and he began to breathe without the machine all of a sudden!" he rambled glancing up at Grimmjow, his eyes alight with hope.
"When are you going to see him?" he asked, holding the berry out at arm's length to wipe away small tears that had formed when he was listening to the phone call.
"Oh, I don't know. I didn't really tell him," he said biting his lip.
"Well then we're going now," he insisted, already dragging him to the door.
"Wai- Grimm you don't have to come and anyway it can wait unt-!"
Grimmjow silenced the man with a kiss and threw a scarf over his neck pulling him closer before pulling away. "You are going now," he urged, bending down slightly to look him in the eyes. "I will always be there for you no matter what happens," he added to reassure him.
Ichigo smiled and pulled him down for another kiss, the blunette slipping a jacket over Ichigo's shoulders as he did so. "Ready to say hello to your brother?" he grinned.
Ichigo smiled back holding Grimmjows hand tightly as he led him outside. "Yes,"
xxx
"No . . . I can't . . .,"
"Yes ya can, I'll be here outside if anything happens," Grimmjow reassured Ichigo, who was staring in at his brothers body, hand entwined with Grimmjow's tightly.
They had entered the hospital and had made it to the elevator fine, just talking about the possibilities and even about his twin giving him some sort of blessing. But now they were in front of his door Ichigo was getting panicky.
"You're not coming in with me!?" he exclaimed, turning to face him.
"If he does wake up he doesn't want to see me does he?"
Ichigo opened his mouth to say something then closed it again, defeated. "What if I freak out?" he whispered.
"If ya really want me there then call and I'll come," he insisted.
Ichigo nodded. "Thanks Grimm," he smiled, standing on his tiptoes to give him a quick kiss before taking a deep breath and walking in to the room.
Grimmjow smiled as he watched Ichigo through the window, walking up as if the albino were just asleep. He hadn't told him but he had researched on methods to restore people in comas and speeding up healing processes that the brain uses. After finding enough material he had given it to Tsukishima telling him to try them out as non- were harmful; looks like it was working. "Oi! Blueberry," an obnoxious voice called out breaking him out of his small heaven.
Grimmjow turned to the familiar voice and his face broke out in a feral grin. Well, what da ya know! "Spoon-head!"
Grimmjow watched as a lanky 7'0 man came strolling up to him, his black shoulder length hair swinging as he shook his head in astonishment. "Is the famous Grimmjow Jeagerjacques finally in hospital!?"
"Nah, I have a reputation to keep up. 'Sides, I'm here with my boyfriend," he explained, resisting the urge to do summersaults at the word 'boyfriend'.
Nnoitra Gilga, a former member of the 'Espada' gang, threw his head back in laughter and slapped the blunette on the back. "You are joking aren't you? Or is this 'boyfriend' a one night stand stress relief?"
Grimmjow chuckled darkly, glaring at the rude man. "No,"
Nnoitra smiled and pulled out a cigarette lighting it before placing the cancerous stick between his cracked lips; still had no respect for his health and the rules. "I know – just messing with ya," he said before adding "You've got more emotions - besides the pompous ass you were when I left," when Grimmjow gave him a quizzical look.
"Remember that old guy Baraggan who was around the same time as Kugo?" he posed.
"Yeah,"
"He made a mumbo-jumbo prophecy that the day you experience 'shit' again would be the day of Aizen's downfall and stuff like that,"
"Sounds more like a sarcastic retort," he grunted, crossing his arms over his chest.
The blunette quickly peeked through the window checking out the berry when a large shoulder pushed against him. "That him?" he asked, staring at the boys back. "Whoa, look at that hair!"
Grimmjow chuckled and snatched the cigarette taking a drag before handing it back. "You seem a lot happier now," Nnoitra commented, noticing Grimmjow's casual smile.
Grimmjow nodded resisting the urge to broaden his smile. "I am," he replied, glancing in on the berry. "Listen, the other stuff was about you two dying before finally being together,"
What was this random stuff about? Nnoitra never listened to this sort of crap unless he was sure it was true! Grimmjow shrugged his shoulders and leant against the wall. "You actually believe that crap?"
"Grimmjow," he said addressing him directly, a serious expression on his face. "Everything else he's said has been true – I'm worried for ya,"
Grimmjow's eyes widened slightly at his friend's sober mood. Crap, he thought. He hated it when people got all serious especially if it wasn't exactly in their nature. "Ulquiorra told me about what happened yesterday," he mumbled.
"He did, did he? Thought he might," Grimmjow replied scratching his head at the problem at hand.
Urahara had told him what to do if Aizen found out about his bloodlust and Ichigo. He didn't tell him what to do though if he couldn't control that bloodlust. "Grimmjow – if that's anything to go by then it will happen soon,"
Grimmjow nodded knowing that he would have to speak to Urahara about this later although knowing him he no doubt had heard of this so called 'prophecy' made by Baraggan already. "What's ha-,"
Grimmjow was cut off when a high-pitched squeal sounded next to his ear and a pair of strong arms encircled his middle. "GRIMMY! IT IS YOU!"
Grimmjow sighed and turned to look at the woman molesting him throwing her off soon after. Of course she was here. You get Nnoitra then you get her. "Hi Nel,"
"That's no way to treat a lady, Grimmy!" she shouted, pouting her lips and dusting off the non-existent dirt from her top.
Nnoitra sniggered and watched as his former co-partner lectured Grimmjow on how to behave, very much like she did with the lanky man; although this time she was refraining from hitting. "Is that smoke I smell on you?" she asked him, her eyes sobering to serious; the only other expression she wore when it wasn't childish.
Her green curls bounced as her head whipped around to face Nnoitra; a deadly gaze settling over him enough to suffocate anyone. "You better not be smoking again,"
Nnoitra quickly hid the still burning cigarette behind his back and shook his head frantically glaring at Grimmjow who was suppressing a smirk. Nel stepped forward and leaned on Nnoitra, her massive chest rubbing against his stomach as she tried to smell his breath. "Open," she demanded, her voice monotone.
Nnoitra shook his head again and pointed at Grimmjow who shrugged making the tall man twitch in annoyance. Not being able to take Grimmjows lack of compliance he opened his mouth and spoke. "It was Grimmjow," he whined, pointing an accusing finger at him.
"Your breath stinks," was Nel's reply before a fist connected with his jaw.
Grimmjow sniggered whilst the poor man continued to be beaten to a pulp before the thought 'rip him limb from limb!' crossed his mind forcing him to pull the two apart. "What's the big idea!?" Nel screamed but stopped when she saw the expression in his eyes; it was getting worse. "Sorry," she mumbled.
Grimmjow averted his gaze and peeked through the window thinking of ways to lighten the mood instead of thinking about how to kill people. "So . . . Why are you in here anyway? Don't tell me you let Kenpachi beat you up again,"
Nnoitra picked up on what he was doing and joined in not wanting to give the man more grief. "Actually no," he replied, glaring at Nel who was swiping a hand across her neck at him. "This piece of shit," he said pointing at her, "beat me up because I was talking to Ulqui,"
"You could have been caught," she hissed.
"You guys still on the run from Aizen?" he asked in surprise, thinking that after a year Aizen would have given up.
Nnoitra had been the first of many in the Espada gang to stand up against Aizen's cruel ways, Nel supporting him in his rebellion. This was the couple that had fallen madly in love. However, Nel sustained a massive head injury in the fight causing them both to retreat and run. The rest, like Ulquiorra and Stark, had only stayed because they knew over time they would find a way to end him. And not a clean ending.
"Yeah – bloody nuisance as well,"
Grimmjow sighed - there was a flaw in Urahara's plan then. If in the end he would have to run then Aizen would more than willingly to spend tens of years looking for him. Grimmjow couldn't afford that. He couldn't afford leaving Ichigo alone and vulnerable for that amount of time. Grimmjow was afraid that in just under one year, Aizen would have the capabilities of tracking down Ichigo. Maybe I should just -! "Grimmjow Jeagerjacques don't you dare!" Nel shouted, holding up by the collar.
"Wh-what!? I didn't say anything!"
"You were thinking it!" she roared back.
"Nel – let him go," Nnoitra calmly asked, seeing the small tears gather in the corner of her eyes.
"No – Grimm . . . it will never come down to that. Me, Nnoi and the whole damn Espada group will make sure of that even if it kills us first!"
Grimmjow's eyes widened as he took in Nel's distraught state over the matter and stroked her head. "Nel – I wasn't thinking that," he lied.
"You're such a liar," she mumbled, letting go of his collar. "Think about what it will do to him," she said, glancing over at the bundle of orange on the other side of the door.
"I wasn't thinking that," he repeated numbly, staring down at the floor.
Nel looked at him sadly and nodded, dragging Nnoitra by the arm as a signal to leave him be when a scream of panic echoed down the halls. "GRIMM!"
Grimmjow rushed to the door turning back to face Nel and Nnoitra. "Watch yourselves," he said.
They both nodded. "You too – I mean it," Nel replied, still unsure about his lie.
Grimmjow nodded hastily and threw the door open, immediately rushing over to Ichigo whose face was sodden with tears as he clutched his brothers hand. "H-he's waking up," he stuttered, his eyes wide like a deer trapped in head-lights. "H-he's gripping . . . my hand," he panicked.
Grimmjow entwined his hand with Ichigo's free one and looked him in the eye wiping away his tears. "Calm down," he ordered quietly. "You've been waiting for this moment for less than 4 years," he continued, seeing Ichigo shake his head.
"What if he doesn't recognise me?" he replied meekly, his hand shaking in Grimmjow's.
"He will,"
"But what if he doesn't!?" he asked starting to panic again.
"Shut it will ya, Ichi? If he say's I will . . . I will,"
Ichigo froze taking in the raspy voice that had just spoken to him and turned around to see brilliant golden eyes on black sclera. The soft fall of snow as his hair moved with his head. "Shiro,"
"Hey, Ichi," he smiled gently. "Long time no see . . .,"
