A/N: THIS ISN'T A NEW STORY. THIS CHAPTER IS INCESTUS. Okay, so I've been pretty inactive for the past couple of months and I can't be sorry enough for that. Worse, I've realized that I CANNOT continue the Incestus story because I am having enough trouble finding time to write Salvage. So instead of letting that one-chapter excuse of a story hang by itself on the page, I decided to delete it and just include the Incestus story in the Stray collection... I'm still alive though, and I haven't given up on Salvage, so... yeah... I'm gonna go back to my rock, now...
From G to U
"Grimmjow darling? We're home!" came a shout from below and not long after that call, a blue-haired child descended the stairs in a rush, running forward to give his adoptive parents their usual greeting hug.
"Dad! Mom!"
"How's my little man?" his father asked, ruffling up the aqua locks of the boy who had clung to his right pant leg; it was more or less a custom for the child to greet his father figure first.
"I'm good!" Grimmjow replied with a grin as he moved to give the same greeting towards his mother.
"We've got a little surprise for you, honey," his mother cooed as they parted.
"Really?" Sapphire blue eyes gleamed with the small child's growing excitement. "What? Where is it?"
"Close your eyes," his father figure instructed and Grimmjow obediently followed, shutting his eyes tight.
"One… two… three! You can open your eyes now, sweetheart," came his mother's enthusiastic voice and the sapphire-eyed boy eagerly complied. But the moment he laid his eyes on his parents' 'surprise', the grin fell from his lips.
He expected a pet. A puppy, like he'd always wanted. But now he found himself staring back at green, green eyes… of another kid.
Grimmjow uneasily looked up to the beaming faces of his adoptive parents. Great. They expected him to like the little girl. He returned his gaze to the child in front of him. She was short, pale, green-eyed with short black hair and she wore an expression fit to be seen if you were staring back at a food-deprived carnivore. Just great. Who was she anyway?
Noticing that everyone seemed to be expecting a reaction from him, Grimmjow awkwardly greeted the other child. "Uh… hello…"
This statement seemed to do the trick as his mother regained her cooing voice, speaking to the dark-haired child in front of her. "Look at that, he greeted you 'hello'… What do you say, darling?"
The child's pale cheeks tinted pink as she stammered out a reply. "H-hi…" she greeted in a soft voice, eyes staring past the tanned boy's shoulders.
"Oh now, don't be shy, kids," Grimmjow's adoptive father stated in a cool tone as he moved to stand behind the aqua-haired boy, much like his wife was standing behind the new kid. Clasping Grimmjow's shoulders, he spoke again, "Go ahead, son, introduce yourself…"
Nodding, the young boy complied, "Hey, my name's Grimmjow…"
"Your turn now, sweetie," his mom urged the child in front of her.
"Um… I-I'm Ulquiorra…" the pale kid spoke.
"That's a weird name for a girl," Grimmjow commented offhandedly and the smiles on his parents faces consequently cracked, the green-eyed kid, on the other hand, finally looked directly at him sporting a glare that made the aqua-haired boy gulp.
"Uh, Grimmjow, dear…" his mother started in a light tone, "Ulquiorra here is going to be your brother…"
Brother? A sapphire eye twitched.
"Your mother and I have been consistently worried that you're often left alone in the house. Both of us are working and we're afraid that you're lonely by yourself," his father supplied.
"Ulquiorra's even of the same age as you, so both of you will be starting school this year, isn't that great?" his mother added with a kind smile.
"…Er, yeah, great…" Grimmjow answered with forced enthusiasm as he continued to receive glares from his new 'brother'. What else can he do? He didn't want to go back to that stinky old orphanage just because he didn't get along with this new kid. But really, a brother?
From G to U
The doorbell rang only once before a green-eyed man opened it, finding three familiar men standing at the doorway, smiling drunkenly at him.
"Good evening," Ulquiorra greeted as though it was normal to find those three men reeking of alcohol and knocking on his door at eleven in the evening. Actually, it was.
"Hey, Ulquiorra!" a tanned blonde greeted him back with only a slight slur in his words. "You should've gone with us, bro! That party was really something! Free flowing drinks, bro! FREE FLOWING DRINKS!"
"I see," Ulquiorra replied dryly, eyeing the various blotches of amber color on the men's clothes. "Yylfordt–!"
"Ahaha! Gimme 'nother glass, would'ja?"
The pale man's words were cut short by the sudden exclamation. A very, very drunk exclamation. From a very, very wasted Grimmjow. And it took every ounce of self-control on the dark-haired man's part not to hit his defenseless brother up side the head. Typical, really, as this scene happens to replay it self every three months or so… Jade eyes then shifted towards the Chinese man who was holding up his intoxicated sibling.
"Grimmjow, get a hold of yourself, will you?" Shawlong asked in a relatively sober tone. "We left Nnoitra's party half an hour ago; there aren't any more drinks… Besides, you've already had enough…"
"Sorry about that," Yylfordt genially stated, gaining the ebony-haired teen's attention. When all he received in response was a raised brow, the blonde continued. "We tried to stop him from drinking too much, bro, honest… But he kept on babbling about losing some three consecutive bets, making him almost broke for the whole month… he complained about this geology professor of his and all the usual crap… And he just kept on drinking, bro! Seriously. We tried to keep him in line, but Nnoitra was only too happy to get Grimmjow piss drunk… revenging, I suppose, fir their little squabble last week…"
Carefully storing every bit of information whilst keeping a disinterested face, Ulquiorra merely sighed in the end, motioning for the Chinese man to bring his wasted brother inside.
Shawlong obediently followed the pale man inside and deposited the aqua-haired man in his bedroom. Finishing the task, the oriental man moved out of the apartment to rejoin his blonde friend outside. Ulquiorra followed the taller man out but stopped by the doorway.
The jade-eyed man shortly gave the two men his thanks for returning his brother whole and bade them goodbye. Shawlong nodded and immediately left for his house a block away, Yylfordt on the other hand, dwindled by the front door, waiting for his Chinese friend to be out of earshot before saying anything.
"And by the way, Ulquiorra," the chocolate-eyed man began with a smile, "Do try not to be too noisy this time? It's really getting harder to stop Szayel from boring a hole in the wall to try and see what's actually happening."
Ulquiorra's face showed no trace of any emotion as he replied in a flat tone. "I have no idea of what you are talking about, Yylfordt."
At this, the elder Granz only smirked, "Ulquiorra, bro, I think you're forgetting two very crucial things here… One, we've been living next to each other for three years already. And two, these walls," he knocked on the nearest one for emphasis, "aren't exactly the thickest ones around."
Jade eyes narrowed menacingly at the blonde.
"All I'm saying, brother," Yylfordt continued, not the least bit deterred. "is that it's pretty unhealthy… Why can't you just outright ask Grimmjow about his problems, hm? Don't even try to lie, bro, I know you're concerned about him. That's why I give you plenty of details on his drunken confessions, right?"
"As much as your statement is true, Yylfordt," Ulquiorra responded to his neighbor's surprise. "The fact is that Grimmjow hardly talks to me unless he's drunk and thinks that I'm some other person… or when we fight, which typically means that nothing intellectual is shared. Do you understand?"
A frown fitted on the blonde man's lips as he replied in a pitying tone, "But really, bro, you two aren't just 'talking' when he's in that state, are you?"
As if on cue, a particularly loud groan came from the open door of Grimmjow's room.
Yylfordt smirked while Ulquiorra had the decency to blush at the implications of the blonde's words as he replies hastily. "I'm sorry, Yylfordt, but that is none of your concern. Thank you again for bringing my brother back safely. Good night." And the door was promptly closed and locked.
From G to U
"Shit!" a blue-haired boy of seven years old cursed as he pressed a red-stained handkerchief against his knees, hissing at the sharp pain that followed. He was sitting on the sidewalk, his backpack by his side, with nobody around except for the occasional vehicle passing by. Thunder rolled above him and sapphire eyes looked up to find angry dark gray clouds filling up the afternoon sky. Damn it. Just his luck. It was going to rain on the only fucking day that he forgot to bring his raincoat. Tsch. And he probably won't be able to get home as quick as he'd like to, now. Stupid dogs suddenly appearing out of nowhere; can't they see that he was on a hurry? Stupid animals.
Drip. Drip.
With only that sound as preamble, rain suddenly poured, soaking the whole city in a span of a few seconds.
Grimmjow wanted so much to just scream out his rage but he knew that it would be a pretty stupid thing to do, so the tanned child merely let out a heavy breath. Cursing his luck, the aqua-haired boy was about to stand up when a 'splish, splash' sound of someone approaching reached his ears. Turning his head to the right, sapphire eyes found a jade pair looking back at him.
A young Ulquiorra stood wordlessly from the street corner, taking in the image of his brother; soaking wet, sitting down on the pavement with blotches of red on his knees. Pale lips tightened and the small hand that held the umbrella above his head gripped the handle tighter.
Grimmjow sneered at the pale boy. Just great. The first person to find him was his sissy-ass brother. Great.
The ebony-haired child took another step. And another. And another and another until he was directly in front of the wounded boy.
Grimmjow glared. The little shit was mocking him, wasn't he?
Bright green eyes looked solemnly at the seas of blue before he knelt down on the cemented ground.
The tanned boy's expression turned to blatant surprise which only increased when his brother wordlessly motioned for him to hold up the umbrella over the two of them. Grimmjow did so, left hand raised to hold up the black umbrella over them, shielding both from the downpour of rain as his eyes stared unabashedly at Ulquiorra's kneeling form in front of him.
The dark-haired boy gave no indication off discomfort as his shoes, socks, legs and shorts got wet. He fished out a white handkerchief from his right pocket and used it to dab his brother's wounds dry before he carefully bandaged the taller child's left knee with the now-stained cloth. He then reached out and picked up his brother's forgotten handkerchief lying rain-soaked on the pavement. He squeezed it dry before wrapping it securely around Grimmjow's right knee. When he was done, Ulquiorra finally faced the aqua-haired boy.
"Can you stand up?" the pale one asked softly.
The question brought the wounded boy out of his stupor and he instantly attempted, and succeeded, to stand up.
Satisfied, Ulquiorra picked up his brother's backpack from the ground before standing up, handing the schoolbag to its owner and taking hold of his umbrella once more – keeping it over both of them.
"We'll have to wash your injuries with soap and water when we get home, Grimmjow," Ulquiorra informed the other as he started walking slowly, his brother mechanically following with an awkward silence.
Too-blue eyes roamed over his brother's soaked figure. Confusion was evident in Grimmjow's voice as he finally voiced out his thoughts, "Why did you–?"
The aqua-haired boy didn't get to finish his question as Ulquiorra gave a ready reply. "Mom would be upset that you're injured again. And you'd get sick if you stayed under the rain like that…"
"Ah."
The torrents of rain continued to pour down, masking the awkward silence between the two until…
"Thanks… Ulquiorra…" Grimmjow muttered, eyes glued to the side. And Ulquiorra was very much thankful that his brother was looking away, unable to see the red hue staining his porcelain cheeks.
From G to U
A groan came from the bed which Ulquiorra had expertly ignored, busy as he was in retrieving clean clothes from the drunken man's wardrobe. Picking out a loose white t-shirt, boxers and loose jersey shorts, the dark-haired man returned to his spot by his brother's bed. Hanging the fresh clothes on the back of a nearby chair, Ulquiorra took care not to let the edges touch the basin of clear water resting on the seat of the chair where a white hand towel was nestling at the rim of the basin. Sitting on the edge of the bed, jade eyes turned with a weary glance towards its occupant.
Aqua locks messily cascaded to a scrunched forehead where pale blue brows met in the middle. Tanned eyelids were screwed shut with a teeth-baring scowl adorning the man's lips.
Too green eyes filled with dejection as they surveyed the muscular man until finally, a pale hand reached out and brushed aside the stray aqua strands from the man's face. Thin lips eventually parting to call out the other's name, his hand choosing to rest on the latter's forehead. "Grimmjow? Grimmjow can you hear me?"
There was a long silence where Ulquiorra feared that his brother had finally drifted off to sleep but just as he was about to give up and get a start on cleaning up his sibling, the taller man spoke.
"Huh? Wha' d'ya fuckin' want?" came Grimmjow's gruff voice as his body shifted, eyes fluttering open, sapphire orbs blearily blinking up at his 'guest'.
A slight smile curves the pale man's lips and Ulquiorra's fingers slide down to his brother's right cheek, minutely tightening their grasp on the velvety skin. "You are very intoxicated again tonight, Grimmjow," he starts to say quietly as he meets the other man's gaze.
"So?" Grimmjow huffed as he squinted his eyes to try and see more than just blotches of color.
Noticing the muscled man's attempts, the smile on pale lips turned bittersweet. It always has to be like this. There was no other way around it. Moving closer to the figure lying on the bed, Ulquiorra's right hand left Grimmjow's face and began running soothingly through the spiky aqua strands of hair.
"Why do you keep on drinking so much? You promised me last time that you were going to stop this…" the jade-eyed man spoke with melancholy. Knowing the inevitable conclusion of that night's episode, as it had been for many nights before; Ulquiorra could feel the guilt already tugging at his conscience. He hated seeing his brother like this. He hated the inescapable feelings that would fill him whenever his brother becomes piss drunk like this. So he pleads with his tipsy sibling, asking the half-conscious man to stop, because Ulquiorra can't stop himself. And he hates the fact that he doesn't even try to.
"You? I know you?" the disbelief in Grimmjow's tone was almost lost in his slur.
Ulquiorra wants to imagine that he did not just feel the slightest bit jubilant at that. But right now his imagination is making him see something else, and he hates that he cannot deny that he is actually looking forward to those things.
"Yes, Grimmjow, we are… acquainted…" comes his reply as he finally draws back his hand. "But I have a few questions for you right now… Would you mind answering them for me?"
The intoxicated man tilted his head to the left, surveying the hazy outline of the other person on the bed. How the hell did he end up in a bed in the first place? And… wasn't there a hand running through his hair just now? Fuck it all.
"Grimmjow? Are you listening?"
Well that was interesting… In contrast to all the blurred images around, Grimmjow found distinct green eyes staring at him…
"Yeah, I hear ya…" the aqua-haired man mumbles, eyes staring fixedly at the pair of jade eyes that were the only things clear to him at the moment.
"Good, then…" Ulquiorra finds himself unable to look away, so he shifts in his place, turning closer towards the other man and placing his left hand flat against Grimmjow's chest. "Tell me, Grimmjow, what made you want to drown yourself in alcohol tonight?"
"What?" the tanned face scrunched up in confusion.
"I want you to tell me, Grimmjow," the dark-haired man restates his query. "Why, even after I had told you not to, you still imbibed so much alcohol? Is there… anything wrong?"
"Why would I tell ya anythin'?" Grimmjow asks back, a small part of his foggy mind raising suspicions.
Ulquiorra raised a brow at that. Why is it that it always has to go like this every single time? Sighing as he gave in, the jade-eyed man carefully pulled up his legs onto the bed before positioning himself. Pale arms settled in a loose cross atop Grimmjow's heaving chest and Ulquiorra propped his head over his crossed forearms, his face in minimal proximity with the other man as he aligned the rest of his lithe body against his sibling's side.
Surprised at the unexpected movement, the sapphire-eyed man found himself blinking down at the sudden weight on his chest. "Uh…?"
"I'm worried, Grimmjow." Ulquiorra finally admitted, he could feel his pulse increasing its pace, he never really got the hang of saying such things but… there really were times where he wished so much that he could say them… at the moment when those words were needed, when they really mattered… but he didn't. So he frees those words now; even if they were a month or so late. Because the clamp wouldn't stop squeezing his heart otherwise.
"Wha'?" There is a look of confusion on the handsome face and, in effect, perfect ebony brows curve downwards.
"You aren't doing so well, these days…" Ulquiorra continues, locking gazes with his brother. He could smell the alcohol lingering around and he scrunches his nose in distaste but the despondent tone never left his voice. "Recently… I noticed you haven't been eating proper lunches at school… And then there was that time… I saw a blood-stained cloth in your laundry basket… Were you injured? What happened?"
Sapphire eyes grow steely for a moment and the air becomes thick as a frown slips onto tanned lips. Ulquiorra patiently waits for an answer; he knew he would get it, he always does. Eventually, Grimmjow speaks again, his voice low and sounds unsure but it is not as slurred as when he first got back. "You… want to… hear me out…?"
"Always, Grimmjow, I'll be here to listen…" The ebony-haired man replied, the small smile on his lips growing when he felt a tentative arm wrap around his waist.
From G to U
"Ulquiorra, sweetie! Come over here for a second!"
Hearing his adoptive mother's call, the seven-year old boy carefully marked the page on the book before putting it down. He then walked over from his place at the sitting room towards the kitchen area from whence the woman's voice came from.
"Yes, Mom?" came the short boy's query, spotting his father and brother to be in the room as well.
"Well," his father figure started with a wide smile. "Your mom and I picked up your report cards from school today…"
"Ah," little Ulquiorra glanced over to his brother's form. Grimmjow didn't look too happy. His sapphire eyes were pointedly glaring at the tiled floor. Ulquiorra could feel his spirit die a little knowing that the other kid's grades weren't too good; they were in the same class after all.
"Aaand," their 'mother' continued in glee, "Guess who got the top grades in your level?"
Cool green eyes widened slightly, did he just hear that correctly? Ulquiorra ended up uneasily shaking his head. "I… I don't know…"
"Why it's you, dearest!" the woman answered her own question jovially as she moved forward and went on her knees to be on the same level as the dark-haired child before she cocooned the boy in an embrace. "I'm so, so proud of you, Ulquiorra! Your teacher said you've been excellent in class!"
"We're all proud of your achievement, Ulquiorra," his father added, clasping Grimmjow's shoulders. "Aren't we, Grimmjow?"
"Yeah. Congrats." The aqua-haired boy muttered sullenly, eyes looking away from his brother.
"T-Thank you…" Ulquiorra stated once his mom finally released him. "I'm happy to have made you proud mom and dad…"
"Oh, you're such a sweet child!" his mother cooed before hugging the pale kid once more.
"Now why don't you two children change clothes, hm? Let's all eat out tonight to celebrate!" their adoptive father proposed.
"What a great idea!" the mother figure agreed, letting go of her son once again. "Go up to your rooms and get a quick change of clothes, alright?"
The porcelain face looked up, jade eyes locking with a sapphire pair.
Upon meeting his brother's eyes, however, Grimmjow immediately shifted his gaze and wordlessly exited the room.
The bright green eyes filled with great unease as they shifted from the faces of his parents.
"Don't worry about him, darling," Ulquiorra's adoptive mother assured him kindly. "Be sure that both of you are down in five minutes, okay?"
"Okay, mom," the young boy nodded slightly before going his way.
Ulquiorra went up the stairs and headed to his room, directly opposite Grimmjow's. The ebony-haired child picked out a jacket from his cabinet and put on a pair of sneakers on his feet. Satisfied, he went out of his room and stood before the oaken door on the other side of the hall. A huge sigh of relief passed though pale lips and it was about a full minute later before a small hand knocked on the wood.
"Grimmjow?" Ulquiorra called not-too-loudly, repeating his knocking. "Grimmjow, Mom said to be down right about now… Come out, please?"
Receiving no reply, the green-eyed child sighed once more and placed his hand on the silver doorknob, turning it to find the door unlocked. Ulquiorra poked his head in and saw that the aqua-haired boy was lying face down on his bed. Stepping inside the room, Ulquiorra carefully closed the door behind him and approached his brother.
"Grimmjow–?"
"Go away, Ulquiorra." A muffled voice cut across the statement.
The pale-skinned child was left with his mouth hanging open, startled at being interrupted. Dark brows were knitted in concern as he tried once more.
"But Grimmjow, Dad said–"
"I know what he said." The young Grimmjow spoke through gritted teeth, as he turned sideways with his back towards his brother. "Tell them I don't want to go."
"Grimmjow, don't be unreasonable," the smaller brother pleaded. "We're going to have dinner outside, there won't be anyone to cook anything for you if you stay here…"
"Then I'm not hungry."
"Grimmjow…" came Ulquiorra's exasperated tone.
"Just go away. You don't understand. Get out, Ulquiorra!"
A frown paid homage on Ulquiorra's lips at that last statement and he soon found himself stalking over to his brother's bed and yanking the tanned boy by the wrist to face him.
"We're going, Grimmjow… Get up now." Green eyes stared down at the wide sapphire eyes that looked back at him.
Grimmjow pulled a face as he pulled his hand away from his brother's light grasp. Pale blue brows were furrowed as the aqua-haired child moved to sit up. "Just leave me, alright?" he said crossly.
"Don't be stupid. It's foolish for you to mope around just because your grades weren't high, Grimmjow." Ulquiorra spoke softly but determinedly.
"That's easy for you to say… You're not the one who got reprimanded for failing–"
"Grimmjow, enough. Please. I'd willingly help you with your studies, I swear, but for now, please get up and come with us…"
Grimmjow studied the porcelain face for a moment.
"And I'm not leaving here unless you come with me." Ulquiorra added in an effort to convince the aqua-haired child; a pout on his lips and his arms crossed over his chest.
"Now who's being stupid?" a minute smile finally surfaced on tanned lips as Grimmjow got off his bed. He scratched the back of his neck as the two of them walked out of his room. "You always get what you want, don't ya?"
"Not always, Grimmjow." The shorter child replied, "But anyway, I was serious when I told you that I'll help you study…"
"Nah, its okay… Grades are a stupid thing to fuss over anyway…"
Feeling apprehensive eyes boring into him, Grimmjow faced the other, "I'm sure, Ulquiorra, don't worry so much… Congrats on getting the top spot."
"Thank you." And for once, the smile on pale lips seemed to reach the bright jade eyes.
From G to U
The loud crash of thunder roared, echoing within the four walls of the dark room. No light filled the whole area, and even the usual moonlight streaming through the windows was absent; dark nimbus clouds were occupying the night sky and they gave forth shadows in its place.
Distinct creaking sounds came as a wooden door was tentatively pushed open and large green eyes peered into the room. The ruthless torrents of rain splattered against the outside walls and with the occasional flash of lightning sent distorted shadows onto the floor and walls.
The short and pale figure cringed as thunder and lightning coincided and he quickly shuffled into the room, securing the door closed behind him. Small hands clenched the blanket around his shoulders tightly as he ventured towards the left wall of the room where a twin-sized bed was situated. His eyes had already grown accustomed to the darkness and a small breath of relief escaped him when he recognized the figure on the bed.
A young child was snuggled comfortably within the sheets, his bright blue locks of hair (muted in the darkness) were fanned around him as his face showed blissful slumber in spite of the raging storm outside.
Five-year old Ulquiorra bit his lip as indecision suddenly made itself known to him. This was really quite embarrassing. He should really just go back to his room. Or to his new parents' room. Yeah. Why didn't he think of that first? There was no need to disturb his brother's sleep. The pale-skinned boy nodded to himself as he settled on his new resolve. Just as he was about to retreat, however, a monstrous roar resounded and blinding lightning lit up the most sinister looking shadows that green eyes have ever seen. Out of instinct, Ulquiorra quickly dived towards the bed, not even bothered that the sapphire-eyed boy would probably be woken by his actions. The ebony-haired child crammed his small figure onto the mattress, holding his blanket tighter than ever as he pressed himself against the sleeping kid's body.
The feeling of something colliding with him slowly brought Grimmjow out of his dreamland, the vibrations coming from that 'something' against his front quickly removed the sleep from the small boy's system. Blinking slowly, blue eyes adjusted to the darkness and focused on the shaking mass lying against his chest. A frown fitted on Grimmjow's lips as another roll of thunder brought his attention to the raging storm outside. A muffled squeak, on the other hand, led his gaze back towards the bundle on his bed.
"Ulquiorra?" Grimmjow called as a yawn escaped him.
The quivering mass slowly seemed to calm and a porcelain face peeped out, a pair of green eyes that were bright in the darkness imploringly met the other boy's gaze.
"I'm really, really sorry for disturbing you Grimmjow…" Ulquiorra spoke as clearly as he could as he couldn't seem to stop his body's tremors. "I… Well, your room was the nearest and… and I…"
Another ear-splitting roar came about and a yelp of fear and surprise escaped Ulquiorra who instantly covered himself with his blanket once more as Grimmjow looked on. Normally, Grimmjow would've started to tease his so-called brother for his rather comical display but at the moment, when he was unceremoniously awakened in the dead of the night, the aqua-haired child couldn't really care less for anything but getting back to sleep.
"Fine you can stay the night here," Grimmjow stated, guessing the obvious reason for his brother's presence in his room. "I'm going back to sleep." With that, the sapphire-eyed boy made more space for the smaller kid and promptly lied down on his side, facing his cowering brother.
Managing to hear the other child's approval of his stay, Ulquiorra uncovered himself and shyly filled up the space left for him. After he settled himself properly within the closest distance that he deemed permissible to Grimmjow, the ebony-haired child finally lied down, face turned away from the other. He had just arranged his blanket over himself when a voice behind him asked,
"Why're you afraid of a storm?" queried a sleepy Grimmjow's voice.
Turning about, jade-eyed Ulquiorra mumbled a reply as he cocooned himself in his blanket. "The orphanage I came from wasn't really in tip-top shape. There would always be leaks and creaks and creepy shadows whenever there's a storm…" He timidly raised his eyes to meet the sapphire pair that he could feel staring at him, finding a contemplative look on his brother's features. "I used to sleep in a room full of other children so I wasn't scared much… but its really different here…"
"I know," Grimmjow replied with a weak smile, "but you'll get used to it…"
From G to U