I know that all of this will blow over one day.
But right now, as I'm sitting on Ichigo's couch looking through the latest celebrity news on my phone, I know that this relationship I have with Ichigo is going to be big news for a while. I shouldn't be surprised from the outcome. I guess getting chased around by other paparazzi is going to be something we have to deal with since we are going to be together.
But I'm not gonna let anything get in the way of us. I already know that the best thing we can do now is lay low and keep living life as what we see as normal.
It's so much better being in a house with a gate around us to keep them out. Shit. How the fuck am I even going to leave this house? Knowing me, I'm probably gonna walk out there not giving a fuck about them anyway, even if they are really annoying.
I start to come to the realisation that my whole life is starting to change right in front of my eyes and I'm left wondering how I'm going to cope with getting followed around all the damn time. This is fucking crazy. It's not like I want to be famous or anything like that. All I want is my Ichigo. That's it.
Ichigo stands in the kitchen making two drinks. He looks so calm and unfazed by the whole situation and that's got me tripping out a little bit.
"Why do you look so calm for?" I finally ask.
Ichigo shrugs.
"I'm used to being bombarded with cameras like that. Getting followed around is normal…to a certain extent. But I'm a little worried about us being leaked."
"A little bit?" I sigh, leaning back further into the plush pillows.
For Ichigo, it's probably not going to be that much of a problem. Sure, not everyone's going to agree with the fact that he's dating me since I am paparazzi, and people will be going on about his reputation in terms of dating, but other than that I don't think Ichigo has much reason to worry anyway. As for me, though…I don't know if I can keep up my paparazzi career now that word and photos have gotten out about Ichigo and I being together.
I just hope that I'll get used to it all.
"It's better than you selling me out," Ichigo says honestly.
I actually stop and think about that. Me, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez is doing some serious thinking? Whoa. I think this whole experience is doing some interesting shit to me, but I understand what Ichigo means by that.
He's not wrong. I know that it would have been worse if I sold him out, though I'm so glad I actually didn't go along and do that. Me saying that right now is ironic. Once I wanted to destroy him. Now? I love him. There's no denying something like that.
Everyone finally knows that Ichigo's mine, so I'm not exactly complaining about that. And it's not like Ichigo's looking bad and neither am I over this.
Now I don't know if that paparazzi that leaked out photos actually did us a favour or not.
The main thing that I'm concerned about is how this is going to affect my relationship with Ichigo, or even my life? I don't know what will come of this but I hope it's not something fucked up. But then again, I have a strong gut feeling that everything will be alright.
Our relationship is out to the public now. That means no more hiding. No more sneaking around with some type of worry at the back of my mind if anyone had seen us. No going back. But I'm okay with it. In all honesty, the more I think about it and weigh the pros and cons of the situation, I'm actually glad that we were leaked, even though it pissed me off in the beginning. At least it helped Ichigo and I get closer together. It saved us from needing to make our relationship public ourselves.
I refresh the page on my phone. A new photo appears. I can already tell by the thumbnail that it's Ichigo and I. I click into it and it's a picture of us holding hands in front of the club.
I can't help but smile a bit. It's actually a pretty good shot, but now I'm getting a feel for what it's like to be on the other side of a camera.
"Wow. And I thought there wasn't any better paparazzi than you," Ichigo teases by my side, gazing at the photo.
I look at him with a smirk. "Baby, there aint no paparazzi better than me anyway."
He giggles and I realise that Ichigo doesn't usually giggle but I'm not complaining about this rare occurrence either. I realise that I'm probably the only person he's done it in front of. Cute. Really, really fucking cute.
I can't help but stare at him, a smile tugging up my lips. I could care less about all this paparazzi attention now. When it's just Ichigo and I…that's all that really matters to me. My old life has been sacrificed. But I love Ichigo too much to let those on the outside bother me. I'll go along with this new life.
"Oh. Uryu, my manager wants to meet you."
"Trust me," I laugh, remembering Mr. robot on the phone. "We've met."
"Over the phone doesn't count!" Ichigo scowls. "That and Rukia wants to see you too."
What is this? I'm leaked as being Ichigo's boyfriend and then suddenly I want to be met? I don't know what else to expect from this, and it's only just begun.
"I actually met Rukia but I don't think I made a good impression," I smirk.
"Grimmjow!"
"You're a feisty one, aren't you?" I grin.
"And you love it," Ichigo says with a smirk. "You can't get out of it. I already told them to come over tomorrow."
I've had enough with all these news and photo's popping up on my phone so I put it away and grab Ichigo. I pull him on my lap, keeping a good hold on him.
"For you I will."
Ichigo squirms on my lap to get more comfortable. He presses chaste kisses to my cheek.
"At least we don't have to hide anymore," Ichigo murmurs.
I agree with him with that. It's for the better.
So since I'm still getting used to being followed around, Ichigo suggests that I stay over his place for a while. I don't have any complaints about that since I get to see Ichigo everyday now.
A few nights in, and I'm still staying with Ichigo. He happens to like this. We don't need to be separated from each other for that long anymore. The paparazzi has actually forced us to stay in the house together and in all honesty, I love it. I love being with him. Living with him.
We're lying in bed together, facing each other. We spend hours talking about the things we've been through.
"Hey…" I start, a small smile crossing my lips.
Ichigo looks at me intently. I guess he's curious as to what I'm going to say next.
"Why don't we just move in together?"
Ichigo's eyes widen slightly then go back to their normal size. "Move in together?" He repeats, as though he doesn't believe I'm mentioning something like that.
"Yeah, I don't see why not." I state with a smirk. "Besides, now that the paparazzi and everyone else knows about us, we can do this."
Ichigo smiles. He's considering it. I know he is. By the look on his face, I can already tell that he likes the idea of that.
"You have a point…" Ichigo says, reaching out to gently run his fingers on my bicep. "And the idea of waking up every morning to you doesn't sound so bad either…"
"Are you sure you can put up with me?" I smirk in return.
Ichigo rolls his eyes at the joke, softly playing with the back of my hair. A bigger smile pulls up on Ichigo's lips as he looks at me.
"I can so handle you."
It's been a week and Ichigo's gone to meet up with Rukia for shopping or something, and I'm here alone, plotting to give Ichigo a nice surprise for when he gets back.
It's late afternoon and I've gone far beyond. I'm a fucking romantic beast. I lie on my side on the bed, basically naked. There's red rose petals scattered around me and of course like any romantic movie out there, I've scattered the petals all over the place, creating a trail from the front door to the bedroom.
Ichigo should be coming by any time now and my body is ready.
I hear the front door open and close. I grin, the bed bouncing slightly as I adjust myself quickly into a more comfortable position. I rest my hand against my face, elbow to the bed and spread my body out so Ichigo can get a good look when he walks in.
I'm smiling now, watching the door.
Rukia appears by the door of the bedroom, the bag she has in her hand falls to the floor.
"Wow. Damn!"
I jump the fuck off the bed, frantically grabbing a heart shaped pillow to cover my dick.
"Shit, wrong person!"
Then Ichigo fucking walks in after hearing the commotion. He stands by the door way just staring. He looks from me to Rukia. Rukia to me.
I slap a palm over my forehead and sigh. Ichigo didn't say anything about bringing Rukia over. I realise that this is my true meeting with her. And it's not censored.
"Grimmjow…why are you naked?" Ichigo finally asks.
"Why do you think I'm naked? I wanted to surprise you." I answer, looking at him with a smirk.
"Surprised me," Rukia says, flitting her eyes down towards my junk before looking at Ichigo again.
"You hit the jackpot, Ichigo."
Ichigo blushes. I groan in embarrassment. I guess it's not really a surprise for Ichigo since he's seen my naked glory so many times. The first time I saw Rukia was in the club and I was a complete ass. Now she can actually see my ass.
Either way, Ichigo's staring at me and I remember that I'm still very much naked. He raises a brow at me, smiling.
"This isn't exactly how I wanted you two to meet but… Rukia this is Grimmjow…"
Rukia looks from me to Ichigo. She rolls her eyes as she looks at me again.
"Okay," I say holding my hand out. "Lemme get dressed. I knew this whole romantic rose petal shit wasn't a good idea."
Where the fuck did Rukia come from anyway? Ichigo didn't mention she was coming over. Then again, I probably should have expected it since they're friends and all.
Rukia turns her head to the side since when I get up, my ass on show for all to see. I pull my clothes on quickly. Geez I'm so glad that's over cause I don't know how long I could have stood there literally fucking naked in front of Rukia.
Soon I'm sitting on Ichigo's bed fully clothed. Rukia's staring at me in recognition.
"Wait, I know you," she says and I smirk. Damn right you know me. Wait. Hang on. How does Rukia know me again? I imagine she's seen some paparazzi shots of Ichigo and me together. But then again, I've seen Rukia in the club before and took an 'ass shot.' Right.
"I knew you looked familiar. You're the paparazzi from the club."
"Yep, that's me." I shrug.
"Ichigo never said he had a boyfriend," Rukia squints her eyes at him. "Not until I saw the photos."
Ichigo and Rukia seem to have a silent conversation by staring at each other. In the meantime I sit there finally clothed, watching, feeling a little weirded out and curious too.
I know Ichigo hasn't told anyone about the way we really met. No one knows about the deal we made and even though people know we're together now, that piece of information will be a secret only between us.
In a way, I wasn't expecting this, but Rukia gives Ichigo a small smile, and I can already tell she's happy for Ichigo.
Other celebrities, especially those that are friends with Ichigo have been interested in who I am. It's funny cause I used to spend my time running around, stalking and finding these celebrities to take their pictures and now here I am meeting some of them.
Within the week, I meet Uryu for real. And damn, Ichigo's manager looks almost as robotic as he sounds. I don't mind though. I did it for Ichigo, and I'm all about making my baby boy happy.
From the very beginning, I never wanted to be a celebrity. Fuck that. I don't want that. All I wanted, and now all I want, is to have Ichigo in my life. For him to always be by my side. I don't know how I'm going to avoid all the attention though, especially since I am apart of Ichigo's life. But you know what? I'm just going to keep doing what I do best, and that's to take photos. I don't really need to stop doing what I love, although I do know that now, even if I do try to avoid the attention, I wouldn't be able to stop all this 'fame' accumulating.
Instead of perusing fame, I stick to my work as a photographer. But hey, the whole 'celebrity' status thing has remained. I find it kinda funny that they're calling me a celebrity photographer. It started off as a passion from the beginning, so why not continue it. It's not necessarily for the money either. I got plenty of that, and I know it's inevitable that my work will go up in value because of my connection to Ichigo. But I can't help that I fell in love with Ichigo: a celebrity, but it's not like I want to be a celebrity too. I like my privacy, and I can't have that if there are paparazzi pestering me all the time.
We don't let it get to us though.
In the meantime, Ichigo and I both decide to keep living our lives as usual. There's nothing else we can really do in this situation anyway. We do our best to avoid the crowds of questions, namely from the paparazzi. And although it's not that easy sometimes, we still manage to get through without too many problems coming our way.
Ichigo's going to go on continuing his life as a successful actor. I'm going to go on with my photography. It's simple really, even if the paparazzi are all over the place trying to get a piece of us somehow and in any way they can. Through photos and short video clips. Doesn't matter though. I've been in that industry enough to know that one day all of this is going to pass. The paparazzi will grow tired, especially when we don't pay them no mind and continue on with our lives. With time, they'll move onto the next celebrity, snooping around other's lives and Ichigo and I wouldn't have to worry about it so much anymore.
Maybe I could go out and take photos of other celebrities to make new news, but I figure that I wouldn't really be left alone to be able to do my job with all the attention I'm getting now days from paparazzi and other people. Even if I don't want to be involved with the whole celebrity lifestyle, I know that my name and image is known all because I'm with Ichigo.
And as expected, after a few months go by, all of this blows over. Of course there's always something new so I'm not surprised that the entertainment on celebrity's news goes onto the next star. There's always a new story to tell. At least that means the paparazzi are staying the fuck out of our lives.
Like everything else in the celebrity world, news about Ichigo and I being together becomes 'old news' and paparazzi unsurprisingly flock to the next batch of celebrities when new news breaks. There is always something new popping up anyway, so of course, I'm more relieved in this situation.
One year later
I wake in the morning to sunlight streaming in through the blinds. The king sized bed beside me is warm. I turn my head to the side, looking down at Ichigo sleeping peacefully in my arms. His warm body pressed against mine.
Ichigo groans lightly, opening his eyes and looking at me. He smiles, moving his hands up into a stretching position. Ichigo yawns then pulls his arms down, snuggling into my bare chest.
"Morning, baby," I say softly into his ear, keeping my arm wrapped tightly over his lean body.
"Mmm…morning," Ichigo says softly, pressing a kiss to the middle of my chest.
We're quiet for a moment, warm bodies pressing up against each other. We're breathing softly, comfortable in our shared bed.
Ichigo glances up at me, brown eyes a little drowsy as he slowly starts to wake fully.
"Oh yeah, I got that shoot today…" Ichigo murmurs, his gorgeous smile still present on his face.
"Hey, I could just do a private photo shoot of you in here," I suggest teasingly, a smirk pulling up my lips from Ichigo's reaction. His eyes widen slightly, then go back to their normal size. A smirk appears on Ichigo's lips and I already know that he's having some naughty thoughts up in that pretty head of his.
"I'd love that, but I don't think it'd be very…appropriate for the magazine." Ichigo says, a teasing tone in his voice.
I can't help but chuckle lightly, moving up so that I'm settled between his strong thighs, looking down at him.
"Well then, we just won't include any cameras then, right?" I smirk, slowly moving down to press my lips against his.
"Mmhmm…" Ichigo murmurs, kissing back.
I travel small kisses from his lips to his chin. I then softly press my lips to his jaw, kissing down his neck just the way he likes. I suck on his warm skin hard, soon pulling my lips away and smirking when I realise that there's going to be hickies on Ichigo's neck.
"Hey, I got work to go to!" Ichigo reminds me.
"Yeah, I know…" I say, giving a final kiss to his lips before I pull away from him.
Ichigo gets up, a smile on his face and his cheeks lightly flushed as he heads to the bathroom, casting me a smile over his shoulder.
I already know that I'll never get tired of Ichigo. It doesn't matter how long we're together, he always manages to stir that warm feeling in my chest. As long as I'm with Ichigo, I'm a happy man.
It's not long before Ichigo finishes with his shower and gets dressed.
I stand by the front door, leaning an arm against the frame as I watch Ichigo's driver pull up in the driveway.
"I'll be back later tonight," Ichigo says as he approaches me. He cups my cheeks, looking into my eyes before kissing my lips softly. I sling my arms around his waist, smiling at him. Ichigo pulls his lips back, looking at me.
"Are you going to be out long?" Ichigo asks.
"Nah. It's gonna be a short one today. I'll be back before you know it."
"Okay." Ichigo smiles.
He pulls away, giving me another long look with that smile I love on his face before he gets into the backseat of the car. I watch as the car drives away before I go back into the house.
I get dressed; grab my sunglasses, camera and wallet before I head out the door to snap some photos.
I still work as paparazzi, but since the news about Ichigo and I getting together was made public, I notice that my popularity has risen a fair bit. Even though I choose not to pursue the 'celebrity' life. In a way, it still feels like this excess amount of attention is making me a known name in the paparazzi world. I've gone from sneaking around, stalking and being stealth in the way I take photos of celebrities, to being recognised and offered for me to take photos of them instead. Huh. Funny how times change. Or rather, the way I'm treated for being a paparazzi has changed due to my relationship with Ichigo. All the better for me.
Sure, I'm living a good life, but what's most important to me is that it's with the man I love. Whoa. I never thought I would see the day. But Ichigo's changed a lot of things in my life yet if I had a choice to relive it, I wouldn't change a thing.
I hope you guys liked this chapter. It is the last chapter so this fic is officially over. Thoughts/comments are welcome.