Boy and Boy as Romeo and Juliet
Their apartment was exactly as they left it. There were bottles of men's toiletries strewn about and clothes hanging off most of the furniture, moving every now and again as the breeze flowed in from the open balcony door.
The Primera rolled his eyes and shook his head silently as not to grab the attention of the other arrancar. Walking towards the kitchen, The Sexta missed a cylinder of Axe lying on its side and slipped on it. He flung his arms out and grabbed the handle to the refrigerator's door, nearly bringing the entire thing down with him. Three hundred pounds was no match for an Espada that hadn't put his gigai on yet.
Without finesse, he slid the rest of the way to the floor and crawled onto all four. He picked up the can of body spray, crawled, picking up various dispensed items, to the trashcan, and dumped them in. Standing, Grimmjow turned to the fridge and pulled out a water bottle. He turned to Starrk to ask if he wanted one and received a dismissive wave and a laugh from the living room. Lounging on the couch were their gigais. Had someone walked in during their return to Las Noches, one would have thought they were poisoned and that the perpetrator had escaped off the balcony.
"What time is it?" The Primera questioned.
"Four thirty." Grimmjow said, looking at the clock on the microwave. "You coul—"
"No, I'll wait until tomorrow." He knew that the man was going to suggest calling his photography partner. "It's a bit short notice."
"Okay, alright." He tossed the bottle on the couch next to his gigai and then began to put it on."Oooh, tight fit."
Sighing, the other put his body back on as well. He left it dressed in his favorite outfit with the hair in a ponytail.
"So cold." He hissed.
"Well, maybe you should go for a walk." Grimmjow clapped his hands casually to get the blood running, so to speak.
Frowning, the taller man let out a huff.
"Why?" His mouth hung ajar. "Did you really make a booty call for Sunday night?"
"I can't help it," Hands up defensively, he grinned. "Sexy people like me have a duty to satisfy those who call and if that requires booking dates around the clock, so be it."
"Go to her house." Walking past into his bedroom, he smirked.
Brushing his teeth was always the first thing he did with his gigai.
"No, she lives alone," He followed. "That'd be too creepy."
"How so?" Starrk questioned, spilling Colgate onto the darker blue brush and then holding it under the faucet.
"Because we'll be all alone." Checking his jaw line for blue stubble, he stood over the other sink. "She doesn't have to worry about anyone coming home."
"Hmm?" The sound the bristles made in his mouth were more than unattractive.
"She'll expect…cuddling." He looked wide-eyed at Starrk. "Or even worse, spending the night."
"Rmmm." Opening his mouth, he brushed his tongue.
"Why do you need the apartment?" He pulled out his phone.
"Mmm mm mmmm." Meant to be 'I live here'.
Foiled, he looked back to the screen and quickly tapped out a text message.
"Let's go for a walk." He suggested with a smirk.
The bearded man lifted an eyebrow and moved the dental tool to the other side of his mouth.
"Come on," Grimmjow looked past him to the bedroom window. "We gotta get to know the neighborhood and enjoy The World of the Living while it's still there to enjoy."
His audience lowered its jaw and twisted the brush to scrub the bottom set.
"Better than sitting around the house, right?"
Starrk leaned down and spat into the sink.
"Did you read the chapters assigned in The Iliad?" He asked, still bent over.
"Yeah, mom." He turned and walked out through his bedroom.
Pressing on, the other followed. The Sexta sprayed himself with some Ralph Lauren and then picked up a pack of gum.
"I read." Some hair product found itself in his blue locks.
He turned from side to side before walking back into the bathroom and splashing some water over his face.
"What if we get lost?" The way that the other fished any traces of dirt, grime, or secretions from the crevices and orifices of his face, earned a grimace.
"We'll find our way back." He reached for the soap and quickly washed the shine off his skin. "It's not like this is a bad neighborhood."
He padded himself dry and then brushed his eyebrows in a single direction along with the hair on his arms. After checking his fingernails, he slipped on an onyx ring from a dish between the sinks and tucked the front of his grey t-shirt into his Levi's. Patting the kanji on his shirt, he double checked his hair and inspected his teeth. The Primera stood patiently by as he brushed any possibility of dandruff from his shoulders, checked how clean his ears were, and then did ten pushups.
"What are you…?" Starrk was impressed by how much prep work he put into hook ups.
"Pushups," He jumped back to his feet and walked to get some socks. "Makes the veins bulge and the pheromones potent. Bitches love pheromones."
"Ew." Starrk whispered.
Jogging towards the door, he grabbed his vans and keys. Once in the hall, he hopped towards the elevator, pulling his shoes on. The blue-haired man followed seconds after, slamming the door and holding his chucks in one hand.
"Close the balcony door, Barbie?" Starrk asked as they both practically fell onto the platform.
"Shut up."
After walking down many streets, exchanging several stories about destroying then eating a foe, and discussing what little pieces of life on earth they could remember, the arrancars found themselves standing in front of an inconspicuous, little shop.
"Where are we?" The Primera looked at the sign atop the building and spun his head to see the surroundings.
"You said 'go to her house'," Grimmjow started towards the back of the shop. "But I didn't wanna meet her there."
Cautiously, the man followed the other around the shanty, listening to the sound of the gravel as it floated up into the air and landed lightly on either his black jeans or back on the ground. Behind the shop, was a lot covered with pebbles and shale, walled on two sides by exterior, concrete walls belonging to separate buildings and a small overgrown, fenced garden. The hut had a wooden deck with pillars and two small children sitting on it.
"Hey, kids." The Sexta greeted the little, red-haired boy.
"Who are you?" He spat back.
The smile on thin lips fell as he straightened.
"I could ask you the same thing."
"I'm Jinta," Defiantly, he stood and looked into the azure orbs. "And I run this here place."
"Jinta, you shouldn't lie to strangers." The tiny girl said. Her voice was squeaky and her eyes were filled with innocence.
"Shut up, Ururu!" Turning on her, he shortly flushed. "We don't know who they are!"
"I'm Grimmjow Jeagerjacques." His thumb shot out and tapped his chest. "Soak up the glory, tiny."
"I've never heard of you before." He folded his arms and sized the vigorous man up. "You can't be that good, wannabe."
"I'm no wa—"
"Who's in charge around here?" Starrk calmly interrupted. With a deeper voice, the children paid him more mind, all three of them.
"Didn't you see the sign?" The boy snarled. It made no difference to him that he was half these men's size.
"Mister Urahara." Ururu said timidly.
Behind Starrk, Grimmjow was tapping out another text message.
"Is he inside?" The bearded man smiled kindly.
"Yes," The girl twiddled her thumbs, standing. "Would you like me to go get him?"
"Than—"
"No." Grimmjow growled, staring down Jinta.
Ururu immediately sat back down.
"Why don't you show me where he is?" The Primera asked, hand extended out.
She took his hand and started toward the back door to the shop with him in tow. After a moment of locking eyes with the child, the other man followed, pushing the boy out of the way with his index finger.
"Hey!" Jinta's shout got everyone in the room's attention.
They had heard it through a room, around a corner, and down a hall. Inside, sitting around a rather large kotatsu was an unkempt blonde with a striped hat, a black cat, and a cane he was too young for, the orange-haired girl the Primera had seen the first day of school and at that ridiculous party, a rather large, rather serious man with an apron and platted pigtails, Ichigo, Renji, a rebellious, young man wearing a black kimono, sporting raven-colored hair and the number '69' hopefully sharpied onto his face, a big-headed, black-haired, lavender-eyed girl, a jubilant, dewy-eyed man with flawless skin and fantastically long, white hair, and Byakuya.
Everyone one of them stared back at the young man as the girl walked around the table and kneeled next to the blonde man.
"Um, Mr. Urahara," She all but whispered. "This is…um…"
"Starrk?" Renji said the name on him, Ichigo, and Byakuya's minds.
The Primera avoided eye contact with his sticky situation partner. The raven-haired captain didn't seem to mind.
"Well, I have the tea, every—" A busty, orange-haired woman wearing a high school uniform came through the noren with a tray carrying ten cups and a large teapot.
She studied the bearded man as well.
"Who is that?" She bent to whisper into Renji's ear.
"Starrk." He repeated.
"Well, Starrk, have a seat, why don't you?" Urahara pointed to the violet-eyed man. "Scoot on over there, eh, Byakuya."
Both men looked to him with quieted disbelief.
"Of course." He said reluctantly as he moved closer to the man with the scars and the number on his cheek, who moved closer to Renji.
"Sooo, how do we know…Starrk?" The woman placed the tea in the center of the table and watched the intruder carefully as she stepped to hand each person a cup.
"He's—" Ichigo froze as another interloper brushed the noren out of his way.
Several members of the table were taken aback by his sky blue strands and teal make up while the remaining couple leaned forward out of interest.
"Another one." The orange-haired woman commented as Jinta smacked his face on the back of Grimmjow's thigh.
The man with the long hair sitting next to the Primera giggled like a baby girl.
"Grimmjow." The smaller of the orange-haired females said nervously.
"Hey, Orihime." He gave a small smirk and took in the characters in the room. "Hello, everyone."
"Who are these two joining us?" Urahara asked to no one in particular.
"They're classmates." Ichigo said as Byakuya fingered and studied the swirling pattern on his yakuta.
"I'm sorry," Orihime blushed. "Grimmjow was coming to pick me up. We were going to go to the park."
He smiled nervously, under the eyes of what he assumed to be her most treasured loved ones.
"Well, grab a seat until you leave, Grimmjow." Urahara gestured to the tiny space between the elder, white-haired man and where the woman who brought the tea now sat. "Alright everyone, going around the table from my right we have, my business partner, Tessai Tsukabishi, my two employees, Jinta, and Ururu, Rukia Kuchiki and her brother Byakuya, Starrk…uh?
"Jeagerjacques." The Sexta said with a face. "He's my cousin."
"Starrk Jeagerjacques and between him and his cousin, is Jushiro Ukitake, my brother. Next to him are Grimmjow and Rangiku, Orihime's sister, Shuuhei Hisagi, Byakuya's cousin, Renji, my nephew, Ichigo, and Orihime."
The black cat in his lap meowed pointedly.
"Oh, and my best friend, Yoruichi." Everyone around the table took a good gander at everyone else and exchanged smiles as if they were meeting for the first time.
"I guess I'll get more cups." Rangiku said, jumping up.
"I'll help you." Rukia suggested.
Both of them walked off into the kitchen, Rukia put her hands in her dress pockets, as she was too short to hit the noren.
"So how old are you two?" Ukitake asked excitedly. He flashed a gorgeous smile towards Grimmjow.
"I'm sixteen." Grimmjow tried lying.
"And I'm seventeen." Starrk added, unconsciously stroking his beard.
"But you're in the same classes as everyone else?" Shuuhei asked curiously.
"Yeah," Starrk said, sounding more confident than he was.
"The math class is a pretty mixed crowd of grades." Ichigo inadvertently helped him make his case.
"Do you have any other classes together?" Urahara asked.
"Yes, I mean," The Primera gestured to the raven-haired beauty with his head. "Byakuya and I have photography together."
"Oh! Is this the guy that su—"
"Ichigo!" Renji interrupted.
The marked man's captain shot a terrifying look in the redhead's direction
In the tiny room, Starrk could hear the girls talking about how attractive they thought Grimmjow was.
"Wow, he's so handsome." Rangiku said in hushed tones.
"I know, that hair is so hot." The smaller one whispered.
"Ruki-aaaaaaa!" She squealed. "I didn't know you were so bad!"
"Only when my brother isn't around." She giggled.
"Speaking of male relatives, the one with the beard is so gorgeous." Rangiku did a little groove.
"They're both on the market, too." Rukia bit her lip.
"Mm-mm," She pulled a cup from the cabinet. "I hear that the blue-haired one—"
"Mmmhmmmm!" The black-haired girl voiced her agreement with his physique.
"—he's a real ladies' man. He really gets around, four girls in one afternoon!"
"What? What's Orhime doing with him?" She was still looking out at the guests at the table.
"And the other one," Rangiku paused for emphasis. "I was told that him and your brother have a little som'n'-som'n' goin' on there."
"No, you're lying." She looked at the taller woman.
"Oh, no. Abarai told me."
"Oh, yeah? Did you ask Ichigo?" She turned back.
"Yup. He said 'I could sense some chemistry happening there, but I didn't know it was romance'."
"What?" Rukia said amusedly.
"Mhmmm. They've been known to get pretty goo-goo-eyed and blush-ey and giggly over each other's names."
"Not my brother, there's no way." She grabbed the sugar from the counter.
"You'd be surprised." Rangiku walked past her into the room.
Starrk refocused his attention to the conversation at the table. Out of curiosity, he peered over at Byakuya. The captain hadn't heard what was going on in the kitchen.
"You sure are handsome for such young men." Ukitake said, grabbing the teapot and beginning to pour some into the arrancar's cups.
"I always knew you were dying to get some, Ukitake." Rukia said with a smirk.
"What?" He blushed and filled his own cup. "Nonsense. Want some sugar, honey?"
"Yes, please." Grimmjow and Starrk both said deeply.
The elder man cooed and bit his lip.
"Ukitake." Byakuya warned.
"What harm is there in indulging an old man?" Urahara questioned, bouncing his eyebrows.
"None." The blue-haired man replied, eyes focused on big, brown ones as he poured a large spoonful of sugar into Ukitake's tea.
After a moment of silence, Shuuhei cleared his throat.
"Well, I should start on dinner." Getting up, his slender thighs momentarily slipped out from under his coal-colored kimono.
"Shall I help?" Renji asked, starting to get up.
"I will, too," Rangiku stated cheerily.
The three departed through the threshold of the kitchen and began discussing what they would serve.
"Tessai," Urahara started from under his hat. "Let's finish what we had begun earlier with Ichigo downstairs. Feel free to wait right here or in the refreshing light of the evening, everyone."
He stood, twirling his cane as he walked out of the doorway, and turned right, the opposite direction of the back entrance to the shop, with the orange-haired teen and enormous man in tow. Ukitake's smile brightened and he sat upright.
"We should get out of the chefs' way," He stood and looked towards the 'teens' on the floor. "The sun will be good for us, too."
"You're right, Ukitake." Orihime got up with great enthusiasm and padded around the table. She stood behind Grimmjow. "Come on, everyone."
Jinta and Ururu grabbed Rukia's hands as the men sitting around the table began to lift themselves from their seats as ancient stone guardians awakening. The three shortest members of the group ran to the unkempt lot outside the dingy shoji screens as the young men were lead by an eccentric Orihime and excited Ukitake.
Once outside, the blue-haired arrancar grabbed the ginger girl's hand and silently pulled her away from the rest of the group. As they made their way around the shanty, Grimmjow flashed a toothy grin and mischievous wink at his temporary cousin. Starrk sighed as he was left alone on the porch with his photography partner to watch Ukitake and Rukia engage in 'Mr. Daruma fell down', a traditional game of tag, with the children. Calmly, he sat down on the stair , decidedly just near enough to the closest pillar to seem indifferent and just close enough to where Byakuya was standing to show interest. The paler figure took the bait and gracefully seated himself next to the other. Struggling to stifle a smirk, the bearded man watched black strands dancing playfully in the wind and tickling a light, ambrosia-colored smile. The raven-haired captain looked on as his sister ran from the tiny, red boy.
The sun was still an hour or two above the horizon as the participants ran around in the lot, screaming and jumping at one another's touch or close approximation. The Primera laughed at the old man as he ran from the children. Surprisingly his long, used legs carried him faster than the other three pairs could run with ease. He was quite peculiar with his black brows and snowy locks.
"I apologize," Byakuya suddenly blurted. "I'm…sorry for running out like that."
The shorter man studied the gravel under the stair his bared, manicured feet were resting on. Starrk gazed down at his pale, uncovered knees and gave a sad smile as the other turned to him.
"It's okay," With a pink hue forming on two sets of cheeks, he continued. "I understand if that was too fast for you or you don't want everyone knowing what goes on between us."
Listening to the other dinner guests frolicking in the yard, the pale captain smiled amusedly.
"It's not that," He looked into silver orbs sincerely. "I was 'taken by surprise', as they say."
The Primera chuckled and turned to hide his flushed neck. It was as if Yammi had crawled down from an everlasting piggyback in his released form. At least he knew now that this could go as far the outside world would allow it.
"But, a secret romance couldn't hurt anyone, could it?" He asked, leaning into the other with a giggle.
The smile fell from his lips as he remembered the teasing about Romeo and Juliet from Grimmjow and Nnoitra.
"If you say so, Romeo." With infinite speed and impeccable timing, the taller man leaned down and pressed his lips into Byakuya's. As soon as he pulled away, the marked man appeared between the shoji.
"You two busy?" He asked pointing a finger at the pair.
"N-not really." The suave arrancar lied.
The dark-haired captain turned back to the game at play, concealing his burning cheeks. Shuuhei held up a piece of paper.
"Some things I need from the corner store, think you can help me out?" He pushed a smile onto his lips.
"Um," Starrk looked to his companion. "We can handle it, I'm sure."
What? I'm on a roll. Not that I really have the time for it.
One more chapter in the next week is more than likely.
How many of you would read something with Ukitake and Zaraki?