Fuck he was just having the worst of luck lately! There was this saying that Ichigo was familiar with: that all bad things come in three's, and he wished he could say that it was true but, for him it seemed to have come in twice that amount in the span of two weeks.
Two weeks ago
It was Saturday, 8:00 pm on the dot, and Ichigo lay on the lumpy couch that was his makeshift bed, eyes glued to the screen of his phone as his left and right thumbs carefully yet rhythmically tapped the screen causing the helicopter-hat clad character to change directions, avoiding the large swinging hammers that threatened to stop the orange haired man from beating his high score of 118. He was so close, only ten more platforms to pass before he reached 119, and sweat had begun to bead along his brows. His eyes were red and tearing up from the lack of blinking as he subconsciously brought the screen closer to his face, books that he should have been using to study long forgotten.
115...116...117...118-
"Yo Ichigo, I'm back!" shouted a tall muscular red head as he stepped in his and Ichigo's apartment, slamming the door shut behind himself. He smiled wide, holding back laughter as he watched his orange headed friend nearly jump off of the couch in surprise, hands fumbling with the electronic device that still held most of his attention.
Ichigo stared at the screen of his phone in despair as he watched the bug-eyed character he had been guiding crash into one of the swinging hammers and fall to its death, leaving his score at 118. Anger welled up inside Ichigo causing his fingers to tighten around his phone. That was the closest he'd gotten to 119 since he'd gotten his score of 118 a couple of days ago! Fighting the urge to chuck the damn thing out of the nearest window he glared at Renji who was now rummaging threw the fridge as if he hadn't just wasted the hour Ichigo had spent playing the frustrating game.
"Renji.." Ichigo growled as he carefully released the death grip on his phone, letting it drop onto the small wooden coffee table to his right. He didn't care if the delicate screen cracked as a result of his rough treatment. He was that frustrated. Surely a decade had been shaved off of his lifespan because of the damn game.
A few moments later the large redhead emerged from the refrigerator holding a few cans of beer in his hands, his lips still spread across his face in a grin despite the threatening aura his friend was giving off. Ichigo wasn't surprised really, Renji had long since become immune to his dirty looks. The redhead padded over to the couch and tossed a beer to Ichigo, who caught it easily, setting the rest on the coffee table and plopping his ass down right on Ichigo's still spread out legs.
Renji cracked his drink open, taking a generous gulp from it and ignoring how Ichigo was struggling to remove his legs from underneath his ass. Just as the orange head was about to open his mouth to berate his friend Renji turned towards him, face suddenly serious. Ichigo's rant died an instant death on his tongue as the redhead brought a hand up to rub at the back of his neck while emitting a lengthy sigh.
"We need to talk Ichi."
"About what?" was Ichigo's immediate reply, his attempt to free his trapped legs temporarily forgotten. One thin orange brow raised as he watched Renji toss his head back, downing the rest of his beer and wiping the remnants of the drink from his lips with the back of his hand.
"Well, you know me and Rukia have been talking about moving in together for a while no-"
"So you're finally moving out?" Ichigo cut in, not wanting to beat around the bush. One would think Renji was about to tell him he had some incurable terminal illness with the way he was acting. He watched Renji's face, trying to make eye contact with the man but ultimately failing as he seemed intent on looking everywhere but Ichigo. Confusion and a tad bit of dread bubbled in Ichigo's gut as Renji shook his head in the negative, a barely audible no making it passed his lips.
"I asked Rukia to move in with me...us."
Orange brows furrowed as Ichigo processed the information, brown eyes boring holes into the side of Renji's face. He was torn between feeling hurt and angry; hurt because Renji didn't tell him he was going to ask Rukia to move in and angry because, well, Renji didn't tell him he was going to ask Rukia to move in. That wasn't exactly a decision Renji should have made on his own given their living circumstances unless maybe Renji was going to propose they all move somewhere larger. Ichigo stared at his redheaded friend for a while but upon realizing that the idiot wasn't going to notice the questioning look on his face because apparently his can of beer was far more interesting at the moment, he decided to speak, not bothering to hide the anger in his voice.
"You mean with us as in, in here? In this tiny ass apartment that isn't even big enough for us two? If this is your way of telling me you want my ass gone it's pretty fucked up, Ren!"
"What!? No! I mean, yes but no Ichigo, Jesus," Renji was finally meeting his eyes now, which was good because Ichigo was two seconds away from reaching forward and wrenching the mans head to the side to forcefully connect their gazes. The redhead's dark brown eyes were wide and he looked genuinely insulted by what Ichigo had insinuated. "I did ask her to move in with us but I'm not trying to kick you out or anything, Ichi! You know I wouldn't do that to you. I just thought we could..I dunno, make it work out."
The orange headed man fought the urge to connect his palm to his face as he listened to the larger man speak. He knew Renji was prone to doing rash things without thinking too much about the consequences but this was just so...stupid. He almost would rather Renji'd told him he did want him to leave, because at least that would have made sense.
"Renji, there is only one bedroom in here. There is only onebathroom in here. How could you possibly think this would work out?!" he questioned disbelievingly.
"Me and Rukia would be sharing the bedroom and you're, you know, gay. I didn't think that would be a problem."
Ichigo balked at that statement not understanding how his being gay made the situation any better. Women needed their space and privacy and he wasn't exactly keen on accidentally walking into the restroom while Rukia was using it. He was gay for a reason.
Before Ichigo could respond a knock at the door stole his attention, Renji standing to answer it. He watched the redhead as he approached the door and pulled it open without bothering to look through the peep hole, revealing none other than Rukia Kuchiki, Renji's long time girlfriend. The short woman walked in and spared one look at Ichigo's face before snorting and glaring up at Renji over her tiny shoulder.
"I told you to wait until I got here before you told him, you buffoon."
While Rukia and Renji stood in the doorway continuing to trade words, Ichigo shifted in his spot on the couch, mildly relieved that Renji had removed his weight from his legs. They had started to go numb and were now tingling annoyingly. He opened the beer still gripped in his hands and began to drink, knowing he was going to need the assistance of the alcohol if he was going to get through whatever was about to happen. After Rukia finished scolding Renji the two joined Ichigo in the small living room, Rukia sitting where Renji had been previously and Renji perched on the arm of the beat up furniture.
"I hope you don't mind too much Ichigo, I'll try not to be a nuisance." the black haired woman said, resting a dainty hand on Ichigo's knee reassuringly. As much as she was excited to be finally living with her man and moving out of her brother's place, she really didn't want this ruining the relationship between the two males.
"No no, I'll start looking for a place, it's not a problem." the oranget rushed to say. Rukia was a nice girl -albeit violent at times- and Ichigo considered her a good friend, but he felt like he'd be intruding if he stayed. Plus, when it came to the small woman's belongings, Ichigo knew Renji and Rukia would need all the extra space they could get.
The delicate hand resting on his knee abruptly tightened painfully, causing Ichigo to wince. Rukia's large violet colored eyes were boring into his brown ones, her small form suddenly very imposing.
With a look that allowed no room for argument the small woman insisted he stay, saying she didn't want to put Ichigo out of a home just because she was moving in. Ichigo had tried to look to Renji for some assistance but the traitorous man turned his attention back to his booze, upending another can and ignoring the orange head's visual plea for help. Logging the man's abandonment away to call upon later if the redhead wanted something, Ichigo proceeded to try and reason with Rukia but when her assertions for him to stay turned violent he relented and promised to try it out and see what happened.
Shortly after, Rukia moved in and it seemed to be going well for the first couple of days, the three easily falling into a comfortable routine -Ichigo and Renji only getting the occasional tongue lashing from the petite woman for leaving the toilet seat up. On the fifth day of Rukia's residence in there apartment though, something happened.
He didn't blame them for it -Rukia and Renji were young. Sex was something most young people indulged in. It was also something Ichigo was not eager to hear someone else doing, so when he had overheard Renji and Rukia's intimate time he'd felt completely scandalized. It wasn't like he had purposely listened in or even gotten turned on by it; quite the opposite in fact. He was surprised he didn't loose his diner in the porcelain throne that night. He knew it was natural but the experience still nauseated and embarrassed him to the point where he became uncomfortable around Renji and Rukia. He felt like he knew some deep dark secret that should have only been known by the couple.
Seeing as Renji knew him quite well he'd picked up on Ichigo's distress quickly, Rukia too becoming increasingly annoyed by the way Ichigo would avoid eye contact with her and start blushing whenever their eyes would lock. It made Renji suspicious, the red headed idiot thinking Ichigo had suddenly gone on the straight and narrow and fallen for his girlfriend and after about two days the two finally confronted Ichigo about it. They regretted their decision to force him to speak when he did though, both left red in the cheeks and gaping at him like what he said was unfathomable. Hell, with the way Rukia was screaming that night Ichigo was surprised nobody phoned the cops about a domestic disturbance. How neither of them realized it themselves, he wasn't sure. After that awkward discussion they all mutually agreed Ichigo should go and so he left with no hard feelings, ignoring Renji's offer for him to stay until he found a place.
Yeah right, Rukia would likely not let Renji touch her with Ichigo around knowing that he would hear them and he didn't need that on his shoulders. He knew how much it sucked to be sexually frustrated as the closest he'd gotten to sex in the past year had been express meetings with his hand in the bathroom. Living with a straight man made it hard to bring other men around to fool with and on top of that he wasn't exactly crazy about fucking anyone on the couch that had been his improvised bed even if they were just one night stands. He also wasn't the type to go to any stranger's house for sex, especially if they were just a one night stand. People were crazy as hell these days and he had learned from experience not to trust people he didn't know. Shit, he didn't fully trust some of the people he did know so no stranger would be getting that luxury from him even if he did need a good fuck.
Anyway, Ichigo left Renji and Rukia after packing up what little belongings he had. Money wasn't exactly something he had flowing out of his dick so he had no choice but to go back to his family home where he ended up having to crash on the couch thanks to his younger sister's refusal to let him have his old room back. Karin had practically stolen and started moving her stuff into it the moment he said he was moving out and she wasn't keen on letting him borrow it back even if it was just temporarily.
Needless to say, the four days it took for him to find his current place were horrendous. He loved his family to death but they were absolutely nuts. His father hadn't wasted any time getting back into the routine of attacking Ichigo at random intervals daily, crying to the larger-than-life sized picture of his deceased wife about abusive children like the psychopath he was whenever his attempts were thwarted by Ichigo's refined ass kicking skills. Actually, skills probably wasn't even the right term to use in regards to the small amount of energy he had to exert to brush his father off because the roundhouse kicks and the punches to the face and gut were practically muscle memory by now.
Aside from his father's antics, his sisters wanted to completely monopolize any time he wasn't using at work, school, studying, house hunting, or beating his dad black and blue to either play soccer and video games or cook and talk about boys. Having a family like his was tiring as fuck so when he finally found a place, and the time came for him to move, he was ecstatic. For the first time in his 22 years he'd be living on his own. No asshole roommates who took stupid pictures of him unconsciously drowning in his own drool and no family driving him up the wall with insanity. Alone. He could already smell all the sex he'd be catching up on, as gross as that may sound.
That excitement he had soon turned to stress as it did for most people when transferring all of their belongings from one place to another. Back when he moved in with Renji, Ichigo had stored a lot of his shit -a comfy queen sized mattress that he'd been longing to sleep on included- inside a rentable storage room because he simply had too much to keep with him, but, his new place was bigger and could fit all of his stuff and then some, easily.
It had only taken a few trips in his truck to transfer his belongings, which he was proud of himself for doing on his own, but that handful of trips may as well have been a drive to the top of Mount Everast for his beat up Ford F150. That thing had been on its last wheel for months and on the final trip back to his apartment it broke down. He'd been forced to call for a tow truck and grudgingly had his father pick him, and the rest of his stuff up, and take them to his place. He hadn't been too happy about that because his dad was like a giant cockroach; getting him to leave had been almost impossible, but when he finally had Ichigo was able to drag himself to his new room and pass out on his new bed.
Ichigo spent the next couple of days unpacking his stuff with the help of Shuuhei who he'd met the morning after he moved in. The black haired man had welcomed Ichigo to the apartment with a big sun shiney smile on his scarred and tattooed face, offering to help Ichigo get unpacked and settled in. Ichigo wasn't exactly eager to have a stranger -no matter how friendly his smile was- touching his things but Shuuhei had insisted that he had nothing else to do and that he would only touch what Ichigo Instructed him to. Deciding that it couldn't hurt, Ichigo accepted the dark haired man's offer, happy to have what seemed to be a nice neighbor. That changed as it soon became more than obvious that Shuuhei had ulterior motives to offering his help and company to the orange head.
It only took two days for Ichigo -with Shuuhei's help- to get the apartment to a state he considered 'moved in' and in that time he had gotten to know Shuuhei pretty well. They spent hours upon hours a day unpacking, setting up, and throwing stuff away and the man had even accompanied Ichigo to a couple of furniture stores so it was only natural. Everything they talked about had been harmless stuff you'd talk about with someone you considered more than a stranger but less than a friend -an acquaintance maybe- up until Shuuhei brought up Ichigo's relationship status and sexual preference. They had been having a celebration of sorts that involved a bit of beer after tossing out the last of the boxes that held Ichigo's belongings when the raven haired male suddenly asked.
Upon finding the orange headed man fancied males Shuuhei began to not so subtly flirt and drop sexual innuendos at any given moment. They had engaged in friendly banter quite a bit up to that point and had even teased each other over stupid things like Ichigo's odd style of clothing or the meanings behind Shuuhei's tattoos so Ichigo hadn't been completely sure if the other was serious in his advances or not. Over the next couple of days Shuuhei would come over with assortments of beer and they'd hang out and do things that guys do -watch action movies that didn't take much brain power to enjoy and kick each other's asses in video games- the black haired man making very suggestive statements the whole time and mercilessly teasing the orange headed man for blushing like a virgin at every one of them. By the time Friday rolled around Ichigo had been on the brink of either jumping his bones or punching Shuuhei in the face, the man having cranked Ichigo's sexual frustrations up almost unbearably high. Maybe he sensed Ichigo's cracking restraint because that was when he bluntly asked Ichigo for a fuck. Shuuhei had said it so conversationally that it had left Ichigo at a loss for words -although that could have been because the beer he was sipping on suddenly made a beeline down the wrong tube.
He'd choked and practically coughed up a lung before finally sputtering out a wheezy "What!?" He probably shouldn't have been but he was very much shocked. Whereas Shuuhei usually laughed off his advances -possibly testing the waters- the look he had on his face then was very serious if not a tad bit heated. The next thing he knew Ichigo had an eager tattooed man between his legs, tugging at the belt decorating his waist. There was this niggling little voice in the back of his head screaming about how it was a bad idea but he ignored it in favor of getting his dick wet. Ichigo was sexually frustrated as all hell and a handsome, available man was basically throwing himself at him.
Excuse me for being too horny to let the opportunity go.
Of course, that just led to another saying Ichigo was familiar with: never let your dick do your thinking. He had assumed Shuuhei was single so imagine his surprise when the guy's boyfriend was suddenly barging into his house, catching Ichigo balls deep in his lover...
Talk about awkward.
Shuuhei had left him high and dry after his man stormed out and it wasn't like Ichigo was expecting the other to allow him to finish -his erection had flagged off anyway- but damn, he had never been blue balled so badly.
After being left alone Ichigo didn't know what to do. He almost cried in frustration but instead ended up sitting around for a while, thinking about what happened and what he was going to do about it. It wasn't like he had any way to contact Shuuhei aside from walking next door and hoping the man answered when he knocked, which probably wasn't a good idea considering his boyfriend might be the one to open up.
Deciding to deal with it later, Ichigo got up and threw his linens in the wash before hopping in the shower. By the time he got out he was more or less relaxed and intent on going to sleep but all immediate snoozing plans flew out of the window upon hearing a gruff voice coming from next door. It was obvious the man the voice belonged to was shouting even through the wall. Following the voice to the point where he could here it the most, Ichigo pressed his ear to the wall and listened. He knew eaves dropping was wrong but he couldn't help himself, he wanted to know what the hell was going on dammit! He wasn't able to hear much of their conversation but he was able to discern that, yes, the blue haired man was indeed Shuuhei's boyfriend and man was the guy pissed. Ichigo was surprised he wasn't hearing shit being thrown around and broken.
Fuck, Ichigo thought as he glared at the front of his boxer briefs as if he could scare his dick into never getting hard again as punishment for what it caused to transpire. The blue haired man really seemed to be hurt by what he'd witnessed; the look on the man's face Ichigo caught when he'd whipped around was enough to prove it. To make matters worse it seemed the guy did live next door with Shuuhei. He'd heard the man tell Shuuhei to leave. He wasn't sure how he missed that huge blue headed detail but it didn't really matter now. The sound of something crashing into the wall and breaking startled Ichigo from his musings. Well shit, he thought sarcastically as he moved away from the wall in order to allow the blue haired man to wreck his place without an audience. He knew he needed to somehow apologize to the guy and he would deal with it tomorrow, definitely.
The next day that definitely had turned into a maybe. It wasn't that Ichigo was being a coward or anything, he just didn't know how to approach the situation. Did he just show up at the guys door with his fingers held up in the universal sign of peace or did he try and catch the guy outside of his house where there was plenty of space for him to get his roadrunner on if need be? Neither sounded like good ideas at all but then what option did that leave him? Feeling frustrated Ichigo decided to go check his mail, hoping that his latest paycheck had been sent to his new address and not his old one as he had no method of transportation to retrieve it, or anything else that hadn't made it to his new post box.
And that is how he found himself in his current predicament.
Perhaps he should have made an effort to pay attention to his surroundings because during a lapse in his thoughts, wherein he had been concentrating on unlocking his mailbox, he realized that somebody was looking at him. Staring rather intently actually, if the hairs that had risen on his arms and neck were anything to go by. He'd almost hesitantly turned his head in the direction the burning sensation of being watched was coming from, his heart tripping over itself in his chest.
"Oh fuck." Ichigo muttered as he entertained the idea of turning on his heel and high tailing it the fuck away from the man in front of him, never to look back. He supposed it wasn't the best move he could make considering the man didn't look like a slob and would probably catch him before he even got two steps away, so he stayed firmly planted with his arms resting loosely at his side, his fingers twitching with the urge to ball up into fists in case he needed to defend himself.
The man had a look on his face that could only be described with one word; murderous. Ichigo was no weakling. He grew up having to fight to defend his honor as a homosexual man in a society filled with homophobic people. He knew he was tough, but damn, the blue haired man looked scary as shit, the coldness in his electric blue eyes chilling Ichigo to the bone.
They stared, each waiting for the other to say something, to make a move, and finally after about thirty seconds of tense silence Ichigo's mouth fired off on a rant before his brain could even catch up.
"Do you want to come over to my place?" he blurted, eyes locking onto his yellow sock clad feet which served to comfort him some. He'd always liked the color yellow, "I-I know it's probably the last thing you want to do but we need to talk and we live right next to each other so we can't just avoid one another even if we wanted to, not that I do want to. I just...it wont be long, I only want to-"
"Lets go."
"But I- what?" Ichigo asked dumbly, his eyes daring to lock with the other's.
"Let's go to your place," the man repeatedly slowly as if he thought Ichigo was stupid. "unless you'd rather I just kick yer ass right here like I want to." he added with a raised baby blue eyebrow.
Normally Ichigo would have scoffed at a stranger saying something like that to him but he really didn't want to provoke the man. Not only that but he didn't need to go getting kicked out of his apartment already after just getting comfortable.
"Alright. Let me just get my mail first." he mumbled, turning back to his mailbox and retrieving his post.
5MINSL8ER
So, this was probably the most awkward experience of his life to date and that was saying something considering he was a gay twenty two year old male with bright orange hair and a not so sunny disposition. He'd grown up with a father that had no respect for boundaries and personal space and a pair of twin sisters who could talk to him about boy troubles because he liked men as well.
Oh and lets not forget that I got caught with my pants down by someone's lover. Ichigo thought dryly.
It was obvious that had more embarrassing and awkward experiences than most people so if he could easily deem this the most awkward of all his experiences it had to be painfully so.
In fact, the awkwardness was damn near unbearable. Why did he have to go and invite the blue haired stranger sitting in front of him with his hands balled up in his lap over to his place? Couldn't he have maybe asked the guy if he wanted to have a talk over coffee at a public place like a diner and not in a private place that was supposed to be his safe haven? Hehad slept with this man's boyfriend the night before so he wouldn't put it past the man to want to murder him. The guy had agreed to come over a little too easily despite the fact he looked like he wanted to remove his head from his shoulders and maybe by inviting him over Ichigo'd given the guy the perfect chance. It wasn't like Ichigo couldn't defend himself but he really didn't want it to come to that if he could help it. He would be the first to admit that what he did was wholly unforgivable and very much deserved punishment, but, it wasn't entirely his fault.
Shuuhei had never even mentioned having a boyfriend and on top of that, Ichigo had never seen the blue haired man around. Even so, he knew he had to atone in any way he could. He wasn't sure if this man and Shuuhei had discussed what had gone down but if they had, Ichigo was doubtful Shuuhei mentioned that he hadn't had a clue in hell that the two were together because the blue haired man obviously didn't know.
Ichigo shifted on his brand new black leather love seat, frowning at how uncomfortable it felt. New furniture always did seem so stiff to him but his old couch had been so lumpy and had more tears in it than a rock star's jeans that he just couldn't hold onto it any more. The man sitting on the sofa across from him didn't seem to mind much but that could have been because he was busy perusing Ichigo's living room with his eyes. Ichigo watched the man as he absently scanned the place and decided to use his distraction to do some studying of his own.
He'd never seen someone like the blue haired man sitting in front of him. Aside from the guy's
disheveled blue hair, his facial features were also very unique. From his regal, straight nose to his glacial blue eyes, to the slightly pointed chin that sat strongly below a pair of thin bow shaped lips he was extremely handsome. Ichigo's brown eyes traveled down lingering on Grimmjow's fine collar bones that were peeking out from the v in his shirt before roaming the vast planes that was the man's torso. He couldn't really see much through the loose fitting shirt but judging by the mans corded arms, pure perfection lay beneath the cottony material.
With a quick glance up confirming that Grimmjow was still off in la la land with his thoughts, Ichigo dared to peer further, his eyes landing on the man's crotch. Now, Ichigo felt like a complete ass for it but his mind had come up with this silly little notion after realizing that Shuuhei and the blue haired Adonis were together that maybe Shuuhei had cheated because the man's equipment wasn't very...satisfying. With looks like this man's why else would he cheat? But now, as Ichigo stared at the man's crotch, he decided Shuuhei was just really fucking stupid. There was no other explanation for his infidelity.
Due to the thin sweats the man was wearing, and the way he had his legs carelessly spread apart as if tempting the oranget to molest him visually, Ichigo could easily tell he was packing massive heat down there, and it wasn't the kind that ended peoples lives if used properly.
Nah, that baby was only made to enhance life, he thought as his eyes made there way back to the guys face. He seemed to have finished looking what he could over and his blue eyes were staring intently at the closed door of Ichigo's bedroom which tore Ichigo away from his appraising thoughts on the man. He could see the anger that had simmered down some since they sat down flaring up again and decided they needed to get on with it before one of them lost their patience. It seemed the blue haired man felt the same because he spoke first, his azure eyes now focused on Ichigo's uneasy form.
"So. Do you make a habit out of inviting dudes who's boyfriends you've slept with over just to stare, or do you actually have something to say?"
Ichigo fought to suppress the indignant retort on the tip of his tongue. This is my fault, this is my fault, he inwardly chanted.
"No, this is a first," Ichigo said honestly, not realizing how smug he sounded until the bluenet's lips raised into a sneer. "I mean this is the first time I've slept with someone's boyfriend!" Ichigo amended quickly. The bluenet made a face of clear disbelief which threatened to rise Ichigo's hackles but the orange head chose to ignore it, figuring the look was better than his previous agitated expression.
"Look, I just wanted to apologize for what happened yesterday. If I had known that Shuuhei was taken I wouldn't have done it." the oranget stated hoping the larger man would understand what he was trying to say.
"The fuck do you mean?"
The blue headed man's eyes narrowed but whether it was in thought or anger he couldn't tell. It was obvious that the man didn't completely get what he was saying though. Ichigo rubbed his sweaty palms together, idly wondering why he was so tense. All he needed to do was apologize and make sure the man knew he hadn't intentionally helped his boyfriend cheat on him and he would be good. It didn't matter what the man thought about or felt towards him afterwords as long as he new Ichigo wasn't some home wrecker.
"I meant that Shuuhei never told me about you, or even mentioned having a boyfriend and I'd never seen you around before yesterday so there was no way I could have known you two were together."
There was a long drawn out pause before the blunet spoke again.
"So yer saying this wasn't your fault?"
Pupils swimming in a sea of electrifying blue constricted into mere pin pricks and Ichigo suddenly had the feeling that whatever he said next would decide whether he was forgiven or not. Ichigo rubbed a hand over his face reining in his thoughts and meeting the man's eyes again.
"Not at all. I just wanted to let you know what was up. It wasn't my intention to steal him from you or to ruin your guy's relationship. If I could take it back I would but I can't. I'm sorry."
It really was all Ichigo could offer short of allowing the man to take any frustrations he had out on him physically. Ichigo was standing by his earlier decision to not fight the man in their apartment complex but he was sure they could find a gym or something to blow some steam off in. Who knew how the guy would take that proposition though. He'd probably be offended. Blue definitely seemed like the type to take the offer as some form of pity, which it wasn't really, Ichigo kind of just wanted to touch the guy as awful as that sounded at this point. Who wouldn't though? The man looks like he could have been carved out of stone and he could probably drop any woman's panties with just one suggestive eyebrow waggle. Even so, Ichigo didn't entirely feel like getting banged up just to sate his perverse mind. At least not in that way, and then of course, he'd be doing the banging...but he was getting ahead of himself.
Tuning back in to the current world Ichigo became aware of the blue eyes scanning his face seemingly searching for any signs that he may be lying, but upon finding nothing the larger man let out a bark of laughter, his head nodding back and forth disbelievingly. A pair of orange brows climbed to an equally orange hairline, brown eyes widening. To say Ichigo was confused would have been an understatement. He didn't know the man from a can of paint so he couldn't exactly question the integrity of man's sanity but his ability to find humor in the situation seemed a little weird to Ichigo.
Noticing the utterly perplexed look on the orange headed man's face Grimmjow's almost deranged laughter quieted. He shifted on the furniture his form rested upon, his fingers interlacing as his elbows came to a rest on his knees.
"That fucker told me about you." Grimmjow monotoned, a small humorless smile attaching itself to his face.
Realization dawned on Ichigo like a slowly rising winter's sun, his gut turning angrily. Fucking Shuuhei, Ichigo growled internally. He didn't know what to say to the man in front of him but he new he'd have quite a few choice words for the dark haired male next time he saw him. He could tell the blunet was trying to hide it but Ichigo could see that he was deeply wounded by what Shuuhei did. He could tell the man seriously cared about the other, on a rather deep level as well. Ichigo couldn't stand for that. Feelings like that, that were raw and sincere weren't easy to come by and it took time for them to develop. The oranget knew that all to well. He'd been single for quite some time for that reason. He had to worry about passing his classes with flying colors and putting in enough effort and hours at work to keep his job after all.
Ichigo had always been one to try and tread as lightly on peoples feelings as possible and that was probably why he felt the sudden need to kick the tattooed male's ass.
Shuuhei should have been cherishing this gorgeous man that so obviously loved him, not seducing other men behind his back. Perhaps his abrupt lust for blood was brought on by the fact that Ichigo was envious of what Shuuhei had. Ichigo would give almost anything for a man that was decent and even half as good looking as the one in front of him.
How in the holy land of fuck could anyone so easily throw that away? And why did the asshole have to bring me into it?
"Where is he?" Ichigo growled lowly. He didn't know when Shuuhei would be around again and he'd be damned if he didn't get to give him a piece of his very opinionated mind.
The blunet seemed a bit taken aback by Ichigo's tone, his head tilting to the side in a way that Ichigo wasn't afraid to admit was entirely too cute.
"Dunno, haven't talked to him since I kicked his ass out of my apartment last night." the man stated, making sure to add some extra emphasis on the 'my.' Ichigo sighed deeply and nodded his head slowly.
The two sat in silence for a while, each of them lost in their own thoughts until music began blasting quite loudly from within Grimmjow's pocket.
"Low down and dirty boy you know what I'm 'bout. Stay out my way and keep my name out your mouth. Y-"
Ichigo couldn't help but be amused, his lips threatening to quirk upwards until he noticed the miffed look on the blunet's face as he pulled the electronic device from his pocket and answered it after glancing at the caller ID.
"The fuck you want?"
An orange brow raised in curiosity, Ichigo thinking it was probably Shuuhei on the other end as the larger man didn't seem pleased after reading whoever's name it was on the screen. He strained to hear what was being said by the other person without being too obvious. He could tell that it was a man as the voice was deep but it didn't sound like Shuuhei.
"I'm off this weekend, you know that...and it can't fuckin' wait until Monday because?...Then get Ulquiorra or Starrk to do it, I have some...things...going on right now," Ichigo stared at the man on his sofa tossing the names he'd heard around in his mind. He'd never heard of the Luqorra person before but Starrk sounded familiar. The blunet raised a hand to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes squeezing shut briefly before snapping open and locking onto Ichigo's inquisitive gaze. "Alright, I'll be there in a few."
The man ended the phone call and roughly stuffed his phone back into his pocket before standing to his full height; one that had Ichigo entirely jealous when he rose from his seat as well and noticed that the guy practically towered over him.
"I gotta go..." the man paused, lips turning downwards as he regarded the shorter man.
"Kurosaki Ichigo." the oranget filled in, turning towards the front door and gesturing for the man to follow. Grimmjow grunted in acknowledgment and quietly followed Ichigo, waiting patiently with his eyes glued to the orange mop of hair in front of him when the man came to a halt in front entrance and pulled the wooden door open. The orange headed man stepped aside to allow the blunet to exit, watching the taller man as he stepped passed him and crossed the threshold into the hallway of their apartments. The man turned around to face Ichigo, giving the other a once over with his azure orbs.
"Grimmjow Jeagerjaques." the taller man said with affluence that Ichigo was sure not many had. Grimmjow raised his right hand prompting Ichigo to raise his left in order to connect their hands in a friendly grasp that left Ichigo's hand warm and tingling. The oranget watched as Grimmjow turned and headed the short distance it took for him to reach his own door, blue eyes meeting Ichigo's one more time before the man disappeared into the depths of his home.
"See you around...Grimmjow." Ichigo mumbled, testing the strange name out. It had to be foreign and it would probably take some time for him to be able to correctly pronounce that hefty surname of his but he definitely wouldn't forget it as he was wont to do normally.
AN: Whew! Goodness gracious people I am so sorry for the wait! I know I told a few of you that I'd have it out like two weeks ago but some things happened that prevented it. I said I'd have it out today and I did even though I cut it extremely close! I can't help being a procrastinator! This chapter is longer than normal so I hope that makes up for it a little. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and commented on the last chapter, I really appreciate and it does my muse good. Anyone recognize Grimmjow's ringtone? XD
As usual, feel free to point out mistakes and give advice and all that jazz.
Thank you for reading.
-SP
