Now don't I take my sweet time in updating? Okay, Gomenasai! This is kinda my last week of the semester hence I've been busy with exams and what not. Don't expect an update until AFTER April now except on 'xXBleach ScandalsXx' because those take less than an hour to write. So I hope you all enjoy this one and please review! *puppy dog eyes*

'Come on!' Grimmjow laughed as he dragged Ichigo out of the dance hall and onto the moonlit street of the little German town.

'Aw, Grimm, but I was having fun!' Ichigo guffawed as he let the blue-haired youth pull him along as they half ran and half stumbled along the way, breathless from laughing and dancing so much.

Grimmjow finally stopped and released Ichigo's hand so he could clutch the side of his stomach while leaning against a lit lamppost. Ichigo put his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. His eyes were fixed on Grimmjow's back and a merry smile was fixed on his lips.

He didn't know what that bar fight did but it somehow jolted some strange energy into them that wouldn't allow them to rest until they had ventured into every place in town and enjoyed it for all it was worth.

They had just recently escaped a dance hall, where the owner, Mashiro, just wouldn't let them leave until they had danced on a couple dozen more songs. Maybe it was just Ichigo but the people in Germany were just so energetic about everything: dancing, drinking, laughing, eating, you name it they had lived it to ten times the enjoyment.

But he loved it. He loved the almost visible vigor literally overflowing from this town and its people. There was never a moment of dullness or sadness. It was like the people didn't even know the meaning of the word. No wonder Grimmjow had missed home so much.

He glanced at Grimmjow, who had now straightened up to lean his back against the post instead. The boy's blue eyes were fixed on the moon, a tranquil smile on his face. The light from the orb shone down on his hair and literally made it glow, like some eerie fairy light. Ichigo almost forgot how to breathe.

He didn't want to say that Grimmjow looked positively beautiful right now. Even though Grimmjow was in a good mood, that wouldn't stop him from socking Ichigo for calling him that. Not that Grimmjow would mind being complimented. It just irritated him that Ichigo always chose to spout praises that were meant for women.

'This might seem weird but I've kinda hated the full moon,' Grimmjow suddenly said languidly.

'Why would that be weird?' Ichigo asked curiously as he stood up and glanced at the round sphere hanging perfectly right in the center of the inky sky.

'Dunno, guess 'cause I've always associated the moon with wolves, vampires, things that go bump in the night,' Grimmjow answered with a shrug of his shoulder. He then grinned at Ichigo. 'The moon used to scare me as a kid. I thought that it was the light of the monsters, making them appear creepier and scarier.'

'Jeez, were you paranoid,' Ichigo muttered aloud, earning him a rough punch on the arm. He laughed before leaning against Grimmjow, wrapping one arm around his boyfriend's waist.

'I had fun today,' Ichigo said sheepishly, resting his head on Grimmjow's shoulder. He was glad that they were practically the same height otherwise this would have been difficult.

'Same,' Grimmjow sighed and nodded his head. He in turn rested his head on top of Ichigo's. He sniffed the orangehead's hair and smirked. 'You smell like a strawberry.'

This time he got the playful punch on his side.

'Fuck, Ichigo!' Grimmjow gasped from laughing so hard, trying to elbow out of Ichigo's hold now. 'That really fucking hurt that time!'

'You deserved it!' Ichigo retorted as he refused to let Grimmjow go. Grimmjow suddenly lost balance and teetered off the edge of the sidewalk.

Eyes widening, Ichigo quickly made a grab for the bluenette. However, he pulled so hard and fast that Grimmjow collided into him. They would've fallen onto the ground instead if the shop wall hadn't been so close by behind them.

'You're a fucking menace,' Grimmjow muttered and narrowed his eyes at Ichigo. The teen managed a smirk despite the back of his head throbbing like an angry Renji.

'You know you love it,' Ichigo said smarmily and leaned forward to kiss the tip of Grimmjow's nose. Grimmjow's entire face reddened as his head snapped back and he covered his nose with his hand. Ichigo smiled and blew on Grimmjow's hair so that it fluttered, making Grimmjow scrunch his eyes. 'Hey, Grimm?'

'What?'

'You don't have to be scared of things anymore. Because I'm here. I'm always going to be here. And I'm going to make you realize that the moon is nothing but the moon and that the monsters will only scare you if you let them. And I'm not going to let them. You got that, Grimm?'

Grimmjow's eyes widened at Ichigo's speech, slowly removing the hand covering his nose. Ichigo just hoped that he couldn't sense Ichigo's heart beating like a mad horse on a rampage in his chest. And the fact that his body was shaking real bad. Or maybe Grimmjow did notice it but he wasn't going to say anything.

'Ichi…' Grimmjow murmured as he leaned forward. Ichigo didn't wait to do the same. He had been itching to touch, kiss, taste Grimmjow the minute they had left the café. He didn't know how long was he going to last before he had enough and would-

Ichigo was suddenly blinded by a bright light. He squinted. Okay, make that two bright lights from a…car?

'Who the hell is that?' Ichigo muttered as Grimmjow left his arms to shield his own eyes from the glare and was trying to decipher who could be on the streets of the town at this deserted hour. The silhouette of a slim figure exited the sleek vehicle. It looked like it had crossed its arms while looking straight at them.

'Grimmjow,' uttered a low, silvery voice tinged with anger, 'Wo warst du?'

That voice sounded very familiar to Ichigo but he couldn't put his finger on it. However, it got a strange reaction out of Grimmjow, whose eyes widened to the size of round saucers.

'Onkel Gin,' he murmured.

Shit, shit, shit.

He forgot. He couldn't believe he had fucking forgotten to meet Onkel Gin today. That had been the reason he had wanted to avoid Ichigo in the first place. But he had gotten so caught up in the fun, in being with Ichigo, that he completely and utterly forgot about his Onkel.

He hung his head in shame as Gin approached him.

'Do you know I have been searching all over town for you?' he said coldly in German.

Grimmjow flinched, knowing Gin was only using German because he didn't want Ichigo to know that he was scolding Grimmjow. Too bad he didn't know Ichigo could understand German now. So Ichigo was fully aware of how Grimmjow was being rebuked.

'Urahara told me you ran off without a word once you got off work,' Gin continued. He wasn't even smiling. And that was unnatural for his Onkel Gin. 'And there was no way of contacting you because you left your cellphone behind. Shinji wouldn't even pick up his and I don't even know where he's at! Do you know how worried your mother has been? She wanted to get the police involved but I stepped in and volunteered to look for you. Honestly, I didn't think I would find you! And now I find you cuddling up to some stranger who could, for all you know, be a hoo-!'

Ichigo suddenly coughed, getting Gin's attention.

'Ich bin mit Grimmjow zusammen,' Ichigo said politely. Gin stood stunned for a few minutes. Grimmjow's heart beat frantically.

Why did Ichigo just go and do that? Onkel Gin was fucking mad at Grimmjow, clearly, and Ichigo interfering like that was not helping his situation. Well, obviously calling Ichigo a hooker might have been enough reason for the orangehead to butt in but still, couldn't he hold his tongue this time?

'Ah! Well, it's very nice to meet you, Ichigo! I have heard so much about you!' Gin finally said, his characteristic Cheshire grin back. Grimmjow stared at him. What just happened?

'Um, thanks,' Ichigo said, rather uncomfortably even though he was trying to hide it. Onkel Gin had that effect on people on first time encounters. But once they got to know him, he was generally a nice man. Generally. Depending on how much he liked you.

Even though Gin had only heard about Ichigo and probably seen a picture or two, he perhaps didn't expect to meet Grimmjow's boyfriend so…soon.

'I don't think Grimmjow has said much about me,' Gin stated and extended a hand. 'I'm Gin Ichimaru, a friend of the family even though Grimm here likes to call me Onkel Gin. But what can you do? Old habits die hard.'

Ichigo managed a smile. Grimmjow chewed on his lower lip. It looked like Ichigo wasn't suspicious about anything. And Gin wasn't wearing a look like he wanted to strangle Ichigo.

'I'm sorry you had to…hear me scold Grimmjow like that,' Gin apologized and even bowed a little. Ichigo almost started in alarm. Even Grimmjow was surprised at how formal Onkel Gin was being. 'Since that dreadful incident with Aizen, I've been very overprotective of him. I think my daily routine is eat, sleep, and worry about Grimmjow.'

He chuckled a bit before nodding at Ichigo.

'We must meet again but in proper circumstances next time,' he remarked. 'How about coming to dinner tomorrow, hm? I normally drop by then to pay the family a visit. I'm sure Grimmjow would love it if you came. Am I right, Grimmjow?'

Grimmjow almost jumped when he was addressed. He kinda hadn't been expecting it out of the blue like that.

'Huh? Uh, yeah, sure,' he said quickly and smiled at Ichigo, taking his hand to squeeze it gently. 'Mutter would love to finally meet you.'

'Sure, I'd like that,' Ichigo grinned back.

'Let's go, Grimmjow. I'll drop you home. Ichigo, would you like-' Gin started.

'It's alright. My hotel is only a block away from here,' Ichigo stated and pointed. 'I'm trying to get the hang of the streets around here so it's best if I go myself. But thanks anyways.'

'Suit yourself.' With that Gin, turned away to walk back to his car.

As Grimmjow was about to follow him, he suddenly felt a sharp tug on his wrist. Before he could think, he had been wheeled around and kissed sweetly on the lips. When Ichigo and Grimmjow parted, Grimmjow stared at him with his mouth open. What the hell was that for?

'Hey, I haven't seen you in years and goddamnit I need to make up for the lost time,' Ichigo said with a grin before he took off.

Grimmjow touched his lips in a daze as he climbed into the car with Gin. He could still feel Ichigo on them; soft, warm, plump. He shivered and clutched his shirt nervously. God, the things Ichigo made him feel sometimes.

'Nice boy,' Gin uttered, his cheery tone gone. He took the car in reverse and pulled it out of the street onto the main road.

'Yeah,' Grimmjow murmured, still lost in his Ichigo dream.

'Is he the reason why you didn't want to meet? If so, you could have told me straight out instead of making me wait, Grimmjow.'

'Huh?' Grimmjow pulled out of his reverie to stare at Gin. 'Onkel Gin, it isn't like that! I was just-!'

'Grimmjow, I understand. I know you would much rather prefer Ichigo but please, don't string me along-'

'I'm not stringing you along!'

'We were supposed to talk things over. Get things straight so that we could all think clearly. But honestly, I shouldn't have expected you to act maturely. It was foolish on my part, Grimmjow, so I am sor-'

'Would you stop it!'

Gin suddenly slammed his foot on the brake, making the car skid to a halt right as a traffic light flashed red. The jerk almost threw Grimmjow off his seat if he hadn't been wearing a seat belt. Grimmjow gasped at his brush with death.

'Are you crazy? You could have killed us!' Grimmjow snapped angrily.

'It couldn't be helped. I was distracted by a rather irksome mite,' Gin said coolly. Grimmjow was seeing red now.

'You hate him,' Grimmjow said heatedly. 'You were being too nice for your own good. I knew something was wrong. You aren't that nice. You were mocking him.'

'Now, Grimmjow, I'm not that cynical,' Gin said lightly, his attention fixed on the traffic light as he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

'No, but you can be annoying!' Grimmjow growled, eyes narrowed. 'Look, I'm sorry I didn't come to see you but you don't have to treat Ichigo that way! He isn't to blame!'

'No,' Gin said slowly. 'No, he's not, I'm afraid. But someone is.'

Grimmjow felt his face flush as he quickly averted his eyes to the street. He looked down at his hands in his lap. Just what the hell was he doing with his life? Was he playing around with Ichigo? Was he just messing about because he could? That wasn't a good reason to treat Ichigo that way. Or even his Onkel Gin. They were nice people. They could actually like each other. If it wasn't for Grimmjow, that is. And the thing was, Ichigo didn't even know half the story so imagine how much worse it could actually be.

'I…' Grimmjow licked his lips, 'I do want to fix things, Onkel Gin. I really want to try. I don't want to hurt anyone anymore. Not Ichigo. And not you.'

The light turned green. Gin's hands tightened on the steering wheel. Then, suddenly, he turned to Grimmjow, grabbed his chin and pulled him in for a deep kiss.

Grimmjow's eyes widened, his body pressed up against the side of the car. He shivered as Gin enclosed his hands in his own long-fingered ones. Grimmjow squeezed his eyes shut, letting Gin kiss him like there was no tomorrow. They didn't use tongue. But Gin didn't press him to open his mouth either.

When they finally parted, Grimmjow breathed deeply from his nose, his eyes popping open just in time to see Gin fix his hair and wrap his hands around the wheel again. He pressed the accelerator and the car zoomed forward.

'I told I was never going to let you slip away from me again, mein kleiner blauer,' Gin said softly, not even looking at Grimmjow. 'So no matter what happens, I'll never leave your side. And Ichigo better accept that.'

Grimmjow shivered and chose to stare out the window, his mind whirling with all kinds of emotions. Ichigo might accept Gin as part of Grimmjow's life but could Gin accept Ichigo to be part of his life as well?

So just as a heads up, the next chapter is going to focus on Shinji and Renji ;D

TRANSLATIONS:

- Wo warst du?: Where have you been?

- Ich bin mit Grimmjow zusammen: I'm together with Grimmjow (as in, I'm his boyfriend. Danasy explained to me that there is no translation for "boyfriend" in German but this is the closest thing to stating you are someone's hubby so thank her for this translation :3)

- mein kleiner blauer: my little blue