Chapter Eleven
Moving and Clubbing
The next week went by in a flash. Ichigo got used to having Grimmjow around, and they began to settle into a routine for their schedules. Ichigo was also getting used to Grimmjow's constant desire to have sex. It was becoming readily apparent why he so often switched partners if he was this bad with him. They found the apartment that Grimmjow would move into, having been secured by his mom in a good area but still close enough to the school. Everything was set up for the weekend for him to move, so a lot of time at his place was spent packing his things into boxes.
Because Grimmjow had nothing for a kitchen, it was decided on moving day, he and Ichigo would go to the store and pick up something to use for dishes and silverware. It would be easier just to move it into the apartment straight from the store than to buy things, pack them, and move them. They were renting a small moving truck to put everything in. By Friday, everything was ready. Grimmjow picked up the keys and smiled triumphantly as he held them up to show Ichigo.
Friday night, both of them were too excited to sleep well. In fact, Ichigo had nearly forgotten about their plans to go to a club on the weekend.
"Don't overexert yourself, we have plans tonight, remember?" Grimmjow said with a smirk.
Ichigo, holding the other end of the mattress, was confused for a second. "Plans?"
"That club I wanted to take you to, remember?" Grimmjow told him and Ichigo remembered now that he'd said something about it the week before.
"Are you sure you want to go there tonight? After we've done all this moving?" Ichigo asked, knowing he was going to be tired.
They set the mattress down on the box springs and Grimmjow gave him that same smirk again. "Yeah, it's a great way to relax. Don't worry, there's no alcohol allowed, so no drinking."
Ichigo wasn't sure what to think. He didn't really want to go to this club after moving all this stuff. He wasn't even sure he wanted to go to the place to begin with. But Grimmjow wanted to go, and he was the one paying for things. He wasn't going to tell him no because of that. After all, he was giving him a place to live for free, and he wanted to keep him happy. He was starting to see him as more than just a date and a path to a better life for himself. He found himself enjoying their time together, just hanging out with each other, and he was starting to count on his presence.
"You can wear that collar and cuffs. That way no one bothers you while we're there," he told him with a glance around the now finished bedroom. There was a dresser with several drawers, the bed, and a side table for the bed. They didn't have anything for the living room yet, but that would be something they went to the store for the next day.
Ichigo swallowed and recalled how the soft material felt against his skin and he shivered a bit. He had to admit, he didn't hate it. "Okay, it sounds fun."
"You're worried about somethin'?" he asked, tilting his head to the side and staring at Ichigo for a minute.
Ichigo took a breath and shook his head. "No, just jitters about going to a place like that."
"It's a cool place from what I've heard," Grimmjow said as he grabbed Ichigo and kissed him on the forehead gently. Ichigo didn't know what to do when he acted like this, it was so different from his normal, possessive act.
"I'm sure we'll have a good time," Ichigo smiled, trying to look like he wasn't worried and failing.
"Let's take the truck back, then we can stop and pick up stuff for the kitchen before we get changed for the club." Grimmjow took his hand and pulled him toward the door.
Ichigo nodded, trying to keep the smile on his face for a minute until they were in the truck and headed back to the rental place. Grimmjow had left his car there while they took the moving truck. They got back with the truck, turned it in, and got back into the Jaguar.
"God, I feel so much better in here than driving that truck," Grimmjow smiled, rubbing his hands over the wheel. "Pantera is my favorite thing to drive."
Ichigo nodded, quiet as they pulled out and headed to a big store to buy dishes and things for the kitchen. They ended up picking out a set of red pots and pans, a four-place setting dish set that was white and black, and a set of silverware with black handles. He picked up a knife block, some measuring cups, and a couple other kitchen gadgets. Ichigo helped him pick a set of towels for the kitchen that were red, black, and white patterned.
They got back and cleaned everything, making sure to get each other wet during the attempt to wash up the dishes. They laughed and put everything away, taking note of things they still needed. Once they were done, since they were both covered in sudsy water, they decided to shower before they went to the club. As usual, this led to them both getting in the mood to jerk each other off. After they were done, they got into clothes more appropriate for the club. Ichigo wore a pair of tight jeans and a plain t-shirt. Grimmjow wore jeans with his boots and a leather jacket. He pulled out the collar and buckled it onto Ichigo's throat.
"Is that too tight, or okay?" he asked, running a finger under the edge of the collar.
"It's fine," Ichigo said, face a little flushed. "It's not too tight."
"Okay, here, let's do the wrist ones," he said and buckled the wrist cuffs onto him.
He grabbed Ichigo's jacket for him and held it up for him to get into. He then led him down and out to the car. He felt somewhat better now that they were on the way. He was incredibly curious about this place. He was quite as they drove, playing thoughtlessly with the collar as he stared out the window.
"You sure you're alright with this?" Grimmjow asked as they pulled in to a place that looked like a warehouse with a big sign on it reading Red and Black. There were people lined up outside to get in and it looked like there were plenty of security standing around outside the place.
They stood in line and then paid the fee to get into the place, receiving a wrist band to show they'd paid. The place had low lights all around it, and as Ichigo looked around, he saw many people dressed in much less than he was. Some were being led on leashes through the room. There were chairs and tables near them. Along the back was a long bar, and along the front there was a large stage.
"Nice, huh?" Grimmjow asked, helping him take off his coat and putting it in the coat check with his own.
"Yeah," he whispered, still enraptured by what he was seeing.
In the open area, there were two large x shaped wood frames where people were tied to them being beaten with things that looked like whips or he guessed floggers. He followed Grimmjow as they went to the bar. Ichigo stood there, looking up to see the bartender was a very pale guy with the strangest eyes. The sclera were black and the iris was gold colored.
"Well, you're new," he said with a smirk as Grimmjow stepped up to the bar.
"Yeah, first time here," he told him.
Ichigo was looking around still, eyes darting about to see whatever he could see. "New to the scene too?"
Grimmjow frowned, narrowing his eyes. "How can ya tell?"
"Yer sub doesn't know what to do with himself, and you don't know how to handle 'im yet," the bartender said, sliding a soda across to Grimmjow. "Name's Shiro," he said, extending an arm over the bar to him.
Grimmjow shook his hand and then glanced beside him at Ichigo. "What do you mean I don't know how to handle him?"
Shiro sighed. "You newbies. He doesn't know how to keep his eyes down, and he's obviously not been trained to do so. You have the bearing of a wannabe Dom, but I don't know if you're the type to actually be able to handle the position."
"I can handle doing this," Grimmjow growled, sipping the soda and looking over at Ichigo.
"Well, being a Dom isn't just about sex, you know. And it's more than just telling someone what to do now and then. You gotta care for them and you gotta be strong enough to know when to back down. You can't just do this because you wanna be in charge of someone else. You gotta keep your head about you. Because this is about loving and caring for another person in every way imaginable," Shiro said as he cleaned a glass thoughtfully with a towel.
Grimmjow glanced over at Ichigo, then back at Shiro. "I getcha. I think I understand."
"So, how deep are you wanting to get into the scene? I see you already got him a collar, that's a good first step to keep the unattached Dom/mes off of him. That's a good first step," Shiro looked up as a girl ran over to the bar. She was dressed in a black corset and a pair of purple leggings. Her hair was an untamed mess of purple all over her head.
"Shiro!" she said, reaching over the bar to hug him. "When are you going to be off?"
"Soon, Tilly," Shiro told her as he let go of her.
"Hi!" she said cheerily to Grimmjow and Ichigo.
"Um, hi there," Grimmjow said hesitantly.
"Tilly is one of my partners," Shiro explained, winking at her.
She smiled at them. "Yeah, there's four of us in our group."
Grimmjow arched a brow and shook his head. "I don't think I could share with someone else."
"Possessive, are we? Well, that can be a help becoming a Dom like yer tryin' to do." Shiro put away another glass and smirked at them. "Your first day here, I don't think you'll have any trouble with anyone. Though yer sub needs to learn where to keep his eyes."
Grimmjow glanced at Ichigo, who met his eyes with his own. He looked around and realized that other subs kept their gaze lowered. There was going to be a lot of learning if he did this the right way. For both of them.
"Don't worry about it tonight," Tilly said from beside him. "You can just feel out things and see what you think. There's gonna be a demo on stage later, shibari."
Grimmjow glanced at Shiro with an arched brow. Shiro smirked again. "Fancy rope tying."
"Ah, well, we'll probably walk around for a while," Grimmjow said and set down the now empty glass.
Grimmjow pulled Ichigo out onto the floor so they could mingle around with people. On the stage there was a suspended pole and a couple that were getting ready to do something with a lot of rope. Around the stage, there were several pairs of Dom/mes and subs watching intently. They chose a large chair and sat down. Ichigo wasn't sure where to sit, so he looked around and saw some others who were kneeling at the feet of the Dom/me they were with. He swallowed and knelt by Grimmjow's knees.
"There, can you see?" Grimmjow asked, running a hand over Ichigo's head.
"Yeah, I can see okay," he answered, looking up at the stage as the sub was soon suspended from the suspended pole with what looked like special cuffs on her wrists.
They watched as slowly, the woman was soon wrapped in rope, the knots and shapes standing out against her bare skin. She only wore a bikini of some sort, so most of her was visible as the man worked the ropes around her. The process wasn't fast, but it was hypnotic to watch him work. He eventually stepped away, the sub suspended with her legs bound up to her thighs with the ropes, and her body covered with the intricate knotwork.
"That is beautiful," Ichigo breathed.
"Yeah, sure is," Grimmjow answered, running a hand over his head. "Let's walk around a little again."
Grimmjow was thinking still about what Shiro had said. He watched intently how other couples interacted with each other. There were many different types of subs, he noticed, and a wide variety of outfits that people were wearing. Ichigo almost seemed overdressed compared to most the subs that were there. He was walking toward the large wooden x in the center of the room when someone stopped him.
"Hey man," said a man in a leather jacket and a ripped pair of jeans. "You're new here. Want to play with us?" he gestured behind him to a young man with his head down and looking at his feet. "You look like you could use some help with him." He gave Grimmjow a crooked smile.
"Um, yeah, sure," he said as he glanced at Ichigo. "Sounds like it could be fun."
"We're in a private room over here," he said and motioned for them to follow.
Grimmjow shrugged at Ichigo and followed him. They came to one of the rooms on the back side of the room and walked in behind him. The room had a bed in the center and a couple armchairs on either side of it.
"I've come here a lot," he told Grimmjow as he shut the door, turning the lock on the inside. "I'm Saber. This is my sub, Rose Red."
Grimmjow noticed that the sub did indeed have a red collar on with a rose charm beside the tag that was on it. He was shorter than Ichigo and had long black hair pulled back to the nape of his neck.
"Um, I'm Grimmjow, and this is Ichigo, ah we don't have any other names for this stuff yet," Grimmjow explained. "Tonight is our first night out like this."
"Ah, well, you have a lot of things to experience, then," Saber said with a smirk. "Rose, why don't you show Ichigo here what you're good at."
"Yes, Sir," the dark-haired man said, dropping to his knees in front of Ichigo and starting to unbutton the jeans he was wearing.
Ichigo gasped and looked up wide-eyed at Grimmjow. "Um, wait a minute…"
Grimmjow arched a brow and looked at Saber. "What is he doing?"
"I thought you wanted to play?" Saber said with a smirk. "Having Rose show off his fellatio skills is one of our favorite things to do with our playmates."
Grimmjow frowned a little, unsure how he felt about that idea. "I didn't know they'd be doing things like that together."
"Aw, are you a possessive type?" Saber said, taking off his leather jacket and tossing it on the back of a chair. "You need to let your sub have some fun. Watching is a good way to get in the mood for the more intense stuff."
"Ichi-babe, what do you think?" Grimmjow asked. Rose had stopped undoing his jeans and just kneeled there waiting to be told what to do.
"I don't know, whatever you want is fine with me," Ichigo said, swallowing thickly and glancing down at Rose.
Grimmjow thought about it for a second, then shook his head. "Nah, I don't think I'm okay with him being with other people."
Saber sighed. "Well, that takes some of the fun out of it. Rose, come over here, then," he said, and Rose got up and went to kneel in front of Saber. "I take it neither of you have had any training?"
Ichigo shook his head and Grimmjow put an arm around him. "No, this is our first time doing any of this stuff besides just a little kinky stuff."
"Well, this is more than 'just a little kinky stuff'. Are you sure you're up to it? This Lifestyle isn't for everyone," Saber ran his hand over Rose's head as he spoke.
"I, I mean we, would like to learn more about it," Grimmjow said with a nod.
"Your sub doesn't seem too sure about this," Saber commented, tilting his head to the side.
"I do!" Ichigo said as he looked at this other man. "I mean, I'm just figuring out myself."
With a snort, Saber stood up and walked over to him. He was a slight bit shorter than Ichigo, but not by much. He reached out and grabbed Ichigo by the chin and turned his face to the side and back.
"Are ya sure you can do this?" Saber asked, feeling the resistance Ichigo gave him.
"I-I just don't like doing what other people say. Besides Grimm. When he does it, it makes me feel funny." Ichigo looked over to him and back to Saber.
"Hmm," Saber hummed and stepped back. "It is possible to be an exclusive pair with each other. But you still have to follow protocols. You can't just be unruly. I mean, you can if you're a brat type. But I don't seem to get that feeling off you." Saber sat back down on the chair where his jacket was laying.
Ichigo didn't seem to know what to do with himself as he stood there watching the other sub where he kneeled on the floor. "I-I w-want to be…" he started.
"Be what?" Saber asked, still running his fingers through Rose's hair.
"A g-good boy," he said and blushed hard.
Saber smirked. "A praise kink," he muttered. "Well, that's easy enough." He looked over at Grimmjow. "You have to take control of him. He's got no discipline yet, and that's up to you to instill in him. His failings become your failings in this. First, a matter of protocol is where he should be when you are standing somewhere."
"Where he should be?" Grimmjow asked, glancing at Ichigo an back to Saber.
"Sure. Subs generally follow pretty basic protocols. So, walking behind and to the left of their Dom/me. Or, like Rose, kneeling when I stop for some reason." Saber stood up and stepped over in front of Ichigo. "Do you think you could do what Rose does?"
His mouth worked for a second and then he nodded. "Yeah."
"Then do it," Saber said with a sigh. When Ichigo didn't move, he looked at Grimmjow.
Grimmjow nodded at him. "Do what Rose does."
Ichigo swallowed hard but dropped to his knees to try and copy the way Rose was sitting on his heels with his hands flat on the top of his legs. Saber nodded and looked to Grimmjow. "It seems insignificant, but it is important. If you're getting into the BDSM world, you need to know what that means."
"And what does it mean?" Grimmjow asked, moving closer to Ichigo by a couple steps until he could reach out and touch him.
"Bondage and Discipline, Domination and Submission, and Sadism and Masochism." Saber glanced down at Ichigo. "He's a pleasureslut, obviously. With a praise kink. Rose is a bit of a masochist and likes to be flogged. He's a painslut. Different subs get off on different things, and I don't just mean in a sexual way. There's a lot more to it than that. Sex is a nice bonus, but not necessary."
Grimmjow nodded. "I think I get it. It's a lot more complicated than I thought it would be."
Saber nodded. "Yeah, so, I can show you a few more things, if you want. But you'll need to do your own research on some of this stuff."
"Alright, I'm all ears," Grimmjow said with a smirk as he reached down and ruffled Ichigo's hair thoughtfully.
Saber reached Rose's face and tilted it up toward him. "Why don't we show our new friends what we came in here to do."
"Yes, Master," Rose said without taking his eyes off of Saber.
"What you came in here for?" Grimmjow asked, curious now.
"Hmm, before I asked you to play with us, I had planned just to finish up our night together in here. So, do you want to do that, boy?" he asked, standing up from the chair.
"Of course, Master," he said, eyes following Saber as he moved toward the bed in the center of the room.
"Come on then, I know you like to show off for people. Maybe they'll join us…" Saber said as he beaconed Rose toward him. Rose got up and went over to the bed and waited for instruction. "You don't have to play with us, if you want to just have your fun."
Rose was wearing a pair of latex shorts of some sort, and Saber pushed him to lay down on the bed on his back. He then slipped the shorts down off of his hips to reveal he wore a chastity device underneath with a little keyed lock on the side of it. Grimmjow tilted his head to the side and watched as Saber pulled his necklace out of his shirt and unlocked the small lock. Rose let out a sigh as he pulled the plastic item off completely.
"Now, my Rose doesn't need to have a ring anymore; he can hold off until I tell him to come. What about yours? Is he able to hold himself or does he need a cockring to help?" Saber asked, glancing down where Ichigo sat on his knees still.
Grimmjow glanced at him. "Well, we're just beginning this so I should think he's not that good at holding himself…"
Ichigo blushed suddenly, looking over at Grimmjow and wondering just what he was thinking of doing. Saber reached in his pocket and pulled out a sealed ring and handed it to Grimmjow. "If you want to play too."
Grimmjow looked at Ichigo and back to Saber as he pulled the shorts the rest of the way off Rose's body. He could see that there was a plug seated in him with a round, red crystal at the base of it. Saber reached down and slipped it out of him, making him moan a little at the action. Grimmjow could see he was also obviously really into the scene.
"He likes to be watched," Saber said as he pushed his knees back a little and rubbed against him with his jeans still on. "You don't have to do anything if you don't want to, just being in here is enough for Rose to get off on it."
Grimmjow swallowed a thick ball at the back of his throat and glanced back down at Ichigo, who was staring at Rose and Saber with wide eyes. "Come on," he said finally, motioning for Ichigo to come to him.
Ichigo got up and walked over to him, eyes never leaving Rose where he was laid out on the bed. Grimmjow could see his breath quickening and his state was obviously interested in what was going on. Grimmjow put a hand against his face and turned him to face his direction.
"Do you want to join them?" he asked, seriously. He wasn't going to make this choice on his own. "We don't have to."
Ichigo licked his lips thoughtfully and then looked back at them. "No, I'm…uh…well…" he stammered.
Grimmjow smirked and reached a hand out to grasp at his crotch, feeling him hard against the jeans he was in. Ichigo swallowed noisily then flushed red.
"Lay down then," Grimmjow growled and Ichigo laid down beside Rose.
Saber looked over at him and smirked. "I figured you wouldn't just watch…"
Ichigo didn't know what to do with his hands as Grimmjow began to undo his jeans and work them down off his hips. Rose reached over and grabbed his hand and began sucking on his fingers. Ichigo's eyes went wide as he watched the other sub lave his tongue around the digits. Grimmjow had gotten his jeans off and tossed to the side. He stopped and stared for a minute as Rose looked absolutely blissed out by sucking on Ichigo's hand. He swallowed dryly and ran his hands down Ichigo's hips.
"There, now, we'll need some more accessible clothes if we come here often," Grimmjow muttered as he took the ring Saber had given him out of the package and slipped it down over Ichigo's arousal.
Ichigo was paying all of his attention to Rose who was still sucking and licking his fingers. Grimmjow looked over and saw that Saber had pulled himself out of his jeans and was about to slip into Rose. His own arousal was pressing painfully against his own jeans. He undid them and pressed against Ichigo as he moved his legs up and pushed them back. He kept watching Rose as he continued sucking on Ichigo's hand. He slipped against Ichigo then, surprising him into looking down at him where he stood at the side of the bed.
"Does he always do that?" Grimmjow asked as he rubbed against Ichigo.
Saber chuckled a bit and looked over at him. "He's got a thing for oral stuff."
"Here, you didn't bring any lube with you," Saber said as he reached over and picked up a small plastic bottle and tossed it at Grimmjow. "Rose was already lubed from earlier."
Grimmjow caught it and flicked it open with one hand and squeezed out some on his hand. He coated himself quickly before he plunged down into Ichigo with one hard thrust. Ichigo arched up, gasping out a bit and scooting closer to Rose. Saber was working slowly on Rose, causing the boy to use both hands to hold onto Ichigo's while he licked his fingers still. Ichigo was still looking at him, and suddenly, Rose let go of his hand and reached up and grabbed his face. Rose pulled him in and started kissing him. Grimmjow watched with wide eyes because it was hot as hell when he thought he would have been bothered by it.
Rose had interlaced his hand with Ichigo's that he had previously been suckling. Saber leaned over and whispered in his ear, "You like him? Does he taste nice, Rose, you little slut?"
"Hmm," Rose hummed, only trying to deepen his kiss with Ichigo.
Ichigo was receptive to him, and was responding to his heavy kissing as Grimmjow thrust into him slowly at first. Saber looked over and smirked at Grimmjow. "They're cute, aren't they?"
Grimmjow couldn't answer because he was trying to keep from coming right then because watching them kiss was more arousing than he thought. He knew he was starting to rub into Ichigo's prostate because he was whining with every thrust. He was leaking profusely onto his belly and Grimmjow imagined without the ring he wouldn't have been able to hold on as long as he was.
"Rose, I'm not gonna last with you making out like that. Go ahead and come when you want to," Saber mumbled, leaning over and stroking a hand between them.
Grimmjow panted from the effort of holding himself back, being in a similar state as Saber. He reached between them and slid the ring off Ichigo. He leaned over and growled in Ichigo's ear, "That's my good boy." Ichigo stiffened immediately, whimpering into Rose's mouth where he was still plundering him. Grimmjow didn't last much longer, thrusting into him deeply a couple more times before he came.
He pulled out and Rose immediately rolled toward Ichigo, grabbing him and still kissing him furiously. Saber, who had cleaned himself and Rose off, laughed a little and slapped Rose on the ass.
"Boy, let go of 'im."
Rose, panting for breath, leaned back away from Ichigo and looked up at Saber with hooded eyes. Ichigo just looked shocked into silence because of what had just happened. Saber tossed the paper towel roll at Grimmjow. He pulled off one, and cleaned Ichigo and himself before tossing them to the nearby trash can. Saber had sat down beside Rose and was snuggling up with him and murmuring to him. Grimmjow sat down beside Ichigo and laid over to nuzzled into his neck.
"Hey, you okay?" he asked, reaching out and brushing a hand over Ichigo's head.
"Uh huh," he muttered as he looked at him with wide eyes.
Grimmjow leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips. Ichigo responded immediately again, melting into him and deepening the kiss immediately. He slowly explored his mouth with strokes of his tongue. After a few minutes, they separated and Grimmjow sat up.
"Here," Saber said and tossed Grimmjow Ichigo's jeans.
He grabbed them and helped Ichigo get back into his clothes. Ichigo was still quiet but Grimmjow thought it was because it has been pretty intense. Saber helped Rose get into his shorts again and them helped him up.
"Why don't we go get something to drink, and we can relax after that fun little romp," Saber said as he put his arm around Rose as he stood there looking at the floor.
"Yeah," Grimmjow said and pulled Ichigo to his feet beside him. "Sounds good."
-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-
Ichigo wasn't sure what he thought about the club, but he knew he liked the rush he got when Grimmjow gave him some sort of instruction. He especially liked hearing that he was being a good boy, and he would do a lot just to hear that. Seeing that there were other people that did the same thing helped a great deal toward normalizing those desires. He didn't quite understand them yet, but after talking to Rose for a while, he began to see a few things.
He was lost in thought as they drove to meet Renji for lunch the next day. He jerked when he felt Grimmjow poke him in the side.
"Hey," he muttered, looking at him. They were stopped at a red light.
"I said, are you feeling okay? You're acting a little out of it today," Grimmjow said as he took off out of he intersection toward the pizza place again.
"Just thinking," he said, looking out the window at the world moving past them.
"Well, we're here," he said as he pulled in and turned off the car.
Ichigo nodded, still a little lost in his thoughts as they got out and went into the place. Renji was already there waiting for them. They got seated and ordered a large pizza for them to share and drinks. The waitress came back shortly with their sodas. He sipped his quietly, not sure what he wanted to say. He still felt like Renji still held it against him when he cut off their friendship.
"So, did you do anything fun last night?" Renji asked as he took a drink and looked between them.
"Yeah, we went to that club down on fifth," Grimmjow said with a smirk.
"Oh, isn't that the fetish club?" Renji inquired, leaning forward a little and lowering his voice.
Grimmjow smirked. "Yeah, nice place. Met some cool people, got to know a few new things."
Nodding his head, Renji turned to Ichigo and smirked. "No wonder you've kept his attention. Yer into that kinky shit."
Ichigo's eyes widened a little and his stomach fell. He didn't know how to answer that sort of statement. He instead just looked down at his hand. Grimmjow snorted a little and put an arm around Ichigo's shoulders.
"Nah, ain't like that, you know. I'm just tired of the chase and decided that I like what I got. I don't need to go chasing others anymore." Grimmjow looked up as the pizza was brought out. The waitress set it down on their table and took their order number off.
Things got quiet for a second as everyone grabbed a slice. Ichigo stared at the pizza on the table and wondered what else Renji thought about their relationship. Ichigo knew it was more than sex for Grimmjow. It had to be. He'd done things with him that he'd never done with anyone else. That meant something. Right?
He caught their conversation again. "…Rukia. She wanted to know if you two wanted to do a double date and see a movie this week sometime," Renji was saying.
"That sounds fun, don't you think, Ichi?" Grimmjow asked, smiling at him.
"Um, yeah, we could do that," he said, picking up a second slice of pizza so he had a reason to stay quiet.
"Then it's settled. I'll text her and figure out what day is good for her, then let you know," Renji smiled again and picked up another piece of the pizza. "She's still amazed you're with the same person still. She said something special must have happened that Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez actually stopped playing the field."
Ichigo couldn't help the sick feeling in his stomach anytime someone brought up Grimmjow's past of going through partners. There was a little part of him that feared that Grimmjow would get bored with him and decide to dump him suddenly. Hearing someone mention it made that come to mind glaringly.
"I know, I know, but I like being in a steady relationship for once. Nice not to have to worry about finding someone to go out with or have fun with." Grimmjow squeezed Ichigo's shoulders and then dove back in for another piece of the pizza.
"Sure lucked out for you, though, Ichigo," Renji said with a smirk as he put down the crust from his piece of pizza.
"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked, stomach still twisting a bit.
"Well, to find Grimmjow here right when you needed a place to stay and all. Couldn't have come at a better time for you since you got found out with your sisters and everything. Guess cutting off everyone didn't work as well as ya planned," he said with shrug.
Ichigo felt like someone punched him at those words. He still thought he was after Grimmjow's money and it wasn't true. He started to say something, but Grimmjow spoke up instead.
"We got moved yesterday, you'll have to come by and see the place. Not real big, but in a good area and close enough to the school." Grimmjow didn't seem to acknowledge what Renji had said, and just moved on about things. Ichigo tried not to let it bother him, but it still made him sick to his stomach that Renji thought that way about him.
"Oh yeah? Well, have to come by the place and check it out. Must be nice getting out from under your parents' eyes all the time," Renji said, wiping his mouth with a napkin and setting it down on the now empty pizza pan. "Heh, I bet your sisters must be enjoying their time on their own for a change…"
Ichigo didn't know why but that statement hit him the wrong way. He gasped a little and then knew he had to get up.
"I-I gotta go to the restroom…" he said as he stood up and escaped to the bathroom.
He sat down in one of the stalls and felt the weight of everything on him. He didn't want to let it get to him, he really didn't. He found himself trying not to cry though. He couldn't stop it though. He heard the outer door opened.
"Ichi?" he heard Grimmjow's voice.
"Yeah?" he answered, trying to keep the waver out of his voice.
"You okay?"
"Yeah…" he could tell he was failing at acting like he was okay.
He heard Grimmjow lean against the door. "He didn't mean anything by the shit he said, you know, he's a dumb ass."
Ichigo swallowed hard. "Yeah, I know."
"Come on out. I told him we were going back home. He's already left," Grimmjow said softly.
"I'm sorry. It's stupid," he said, sighing.
"It's not stupid. Let's just go home, okay?"
He stood up and unlocked the door. Grimmjow moved away from it and he opened it and stepped out, keeping his head down.
"It's okay," Grimmjow told him as he put his arm around him. "Let's go."
Ichigo nodded, making sure not to let Grimmjow see that his eyes were a little damp. They headed out to the car and got in. He sighed and wasn't sure what to tell Grimmjow about what just happened, because he didn't know for sure either.
"I know it bothers you when they talk like that, but you gotta know it's just bullshit, ya know?" Grimmjow said as they pulled to a stop at the light. "Renji doesn't know how what he says affects others."
"Yeah," Ichigo said, looking out the window as they pulled out into the intersection.
Everything slowed down for Ichigo right then. He heard Grimmjow talking beside him at the same time as he saw the car that wasn't stopping. He gasped and tried to say something, anything, but by that point, it was already too late. The next sensation he had was flashing pain in his side as the world tumbled and spun out of control. When the world stopped spinning, his ears were ringing, and he felt something wet running down his neck. He felt sick to his stomach and then the world blanked out.