Title: Better Than Nothing (2/?)
Author: Dragondream08
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Grimmjow Jeagerjacques x Ichigo Kurosaki
Fandom: Bleach
Word Count: 1,349
Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine.
Comments: Major confusion in this chapter. Bear with me; once you get to the end, it makes sense.
Start.
When he awakes, all that he can feel is lips brushing against his neck. They're cracked and chapped, and Ichigo recognizes them instantly as Grimmjow's; the tell-tale scrape of the jawbone mask only confirms his suspicions.
It's all a very gentle caress and Ichigo thinks that he could probably melt into it, softly. But then hands start to stroke his sides and a sense of wrongness overwhelms him. He remembers who Grimmjow is, how much of a fucking bastard the guy is, and his eyes snap open. Only his eyes; his body is strangely sluggish, like the nerves aren't exactly working properly. His body doesn't feel the wrongness.
"What . . . ?" he starts to say, but the sight of Grimmjow leaning over him, peering at him, freezes him. The arrancar is smiling.
"Took you long enough to wake up" is whispered into his ear and fingers twine in his hair.
They kiss, and it's everything that it shouldn't be, never has been; it's slow and sweet, something dragged from the deepest chasms of their souls – it's loving.
And it's wrong, wrong, wrong – but nice, and Ichigo can't believe himself. He can't believe that he loves it or that he secretly wanted this all those times Grimmjow smashed their lips together and bit him.
"This is so wrong," he says, squeezing his eyes shut.
"But it's what you want, right?"
Ichigo doesn't know.
O0o0O0o0O
The sky is a brilliant blue when Ichigo peels his eyes open. The blood that crusted them shut breaks and drifts on the wind. It's mildly warm and the breeze feels lovely on his skin. He's weightless, up high, and he can almost imagine that he doesn't have any cares.
Except that there's a loud buzz growing in his ear, splitting the peace wide open. Ichigo looks down and sees the source: there, standing on the earthy ground are the Gotei 13 and behind them, the majority of the shinigami divisions. The captains are mostly just staring at him with alternating expressions of disgust and hate, but everyone else – well.
It's horrible. They're waving their fists and screaming, "Death!" over and over in a chant that strikes him right at his heart. The despair he feels is incomprehensible.
It's then that he realizes where he is. The archway of wood and the sharp spike of metal will forever be ingrained in his mind; he can't believe that it took him so long to recognize the soukyoku.
And there he is, crucified to its breastsummer – utterly helpless. He's going to be executed.
Soon – very soon. The air in front of him has burst into a giant phoenix, staring him straight in the eye with a lifeless and hateful gaze. The spiteful crowd has settled down to watch the event.
He's going to die.
The massive creature screeches and dives towards him, aiming to spear him on its beak, to crash through his body and destroy his very core.
He's going to die. He'sgoingtodiehe'sgoingtodiehe'sgoingto –
Two shadows flash in front of him and the terrible creature screams angrily before exploding into burning ashes that disintegrate before ever reaching the ground. Ichigo watches the remains with frantic eyes before looking up at his saviors.
It's Grimmjow and Aizen.
"Fucking moron," Grimmjow growls as he strikes through the soukyoku's top rack. In a flash of light it breaks and Ichigo starts to fall, his restraints gone.
Grimmjow catches him, smirking. Ichigo looks at him and then at Aizen.
As if he'd asked a question, Aizen says, "Why, we're here to save you, of course."
O0o0O0o0O
The bed he's in is one of the softest that he's ever felt. The sheets are cool against the room's stifling air, and Ichigo wishes that he could stay here forever. It's heaven.
"Finally fuckin' up," someone behind him says. A man is pressed against his back – Ichigo can feel his muscles ripple against his spine as he shifts – and his arms are slung loosely around the vizard's hips.
"Grimmjow," he grumbles, smiling, as he turns around to look the other man in the eye.
When he sees Grimmjow, he freezes. There's no mask jutting over his jaw and his eyes are missing their customary turquoise outlines.
Ichigo jerks away and looks down to Grimmjow's stomach. It's whole, a complete expanse of smooth skin. Just to make sure he's not seeing things, he reaches out and brushes his fingertips over the flesh. He feels warmth.
"You're – " he starts to say, but Grimmjow flashes him a grin and drags him into a kiss before he can get very far. It's deep and rough, just how Ichigo remembers the other man's kisses and that, at least, makes his muscles relax.
"I don't know what's got you so fuckin' worked up, but you need to let go," Grimmjow says and pulls Ichigo under the blankets with him.
O0o0O0o0O
"It's not so bad here," Ichigo hears from beside him. The words are spoken softly, like they're a secret, and he looks up to see Orihime smiling at him. "They're actually rather considerate," she says.
He frowns. "Don't you miss the others? Our friends?"
She reaches forward and touches his cheek. "Don't you see?" she says. "This is all for them. Lord Aizen isn't trying to destroy the world – just the Soul Society. Soul Society, the place that caused all of us so much pain. He doesn't want us to suffer any more."
"Oh," Ichigo says and he doesn't know what else to add.
O0o0O0o0O
"I have to admit, Grimmjow, that I'm rather startled by your decision," Aizen says, standing up from his throne and striding over to where the body of Ichigo Kurosaki is laid out. Grimmjow is kneeling – crouching, more like – behind the boy. His eyes flash up to meet Aizen's dead-on when he hears the lord's words.
"I didn't go against any of your orders," the arrancar bites out.
Aizen smiles benevolently and then inspects the body set before him. His power to create illusions works especially well when his victims are unconscious; their minds tend to fill in the gaps more easily in that state. And even though Grimmjow doesn't realize it, Ichigo is filling in the details excellently for Aizen right now. The little vizard is full of wonderful ideas.
It's most amusing.
"Careful, my Sexta Espada, or I might actually believe that you've begun to have feelings for this boy."
Grimmjow twitches but, for once, wisely keeps his mouth shut.
"You must realize how strange this is, taking a . . . strong enemy of ours in, if it is for any reason other than spite." Aizen's brown eyes bore into Grimmjow's blue ones, and vaguely, far in his mind, he sees a human, unmarred Grimmjow kissing Ichigo Kurosaki in a satin bed. He almost snorts. The boy really is amusing. "Ichigo Kurosaki will be labeled as your personal prisoner, and I will tolerate him so long as he causes no fuss."
With a wave of his hand, a white collar weaves around the boy's neck. He gives Grimmjow a meaningful glance before clenching his fist. As expected, Ichigo jerks and starts struggling unconsciously – blood streams from his neck as the collar suffocates and stabs him.
He notes with utmost fascination how Grimmjow grits his teeth and grips the stone ground so hard that it starts cracking. He's fallen hard, Aizen thinks and watches as the espada glares at Ichigo Kurosaki's form, jaw and eye twitching uncontrollably.
Finally, after a minute or two, Aizen lets his hand fall to his side. When the boy has stopped spasming, he says, "I expect punishment to be received where it is due."
"Yes, my lord," Grimmjow rumbles angrily.
Smiling, Aizen turns and strides back to his throne. Without a glance back, he waves a hand over his shoulder and says, "Good. Now leave, Grimmjow – and take your pet with you."
He gets no response as the Sexta Espada moves as quickly as possible to collect Ichigo Kurosaki's body and leave.
Most, most amusing, Aizen thinks and smirks.
End.