Started March 21st.
Completed March 22nd.
Authoress: Desperatembrace
Disclaimer(s): I do not own Bleach. If I did, Szayel would have survived and become a major kick-ass ally.
Warning:
Violence
Alternate Universe
Language
Sexual Content
Yaoi
Chapter 2
"Amnesiac"
Grimmjow just stood there and silently observed the man.
He was actually rather good looking despite all of the wounds and scars that covered his body.
The man had removed the bandages wrapped around his head, revealing again to the world his glaringly orange hair. His eyes were a simple brown, hardened and determined not to waver. His mouth was in a light scowl, his jaw set. His face had good curves, chiseled and smooth, but... it made him seem really young. His body was well toned with a relatively visible show of muscles.
He really was good looking. Not exactly the most picturesque, but definitely good looking. He had never really stopped and just looked at the guy until now. He had been too busy rushing to save his life.
Looks like it paid off, too, considering the fact that he was sitting up and petting his cat.
The man was still frozen in the chair, his brown eyes still stuck on his own electrifying blue.
Grimmjow decided to throw him a rope. "You're up, I see."
The man was startled, not expecting him to speak. He opened his mouth slowly and cautiously.
"Yes," he replied hoarsely.
Grimmjow stepped forward, the man pushing further back into the chair. This made the blue haired man pause before he stepped forward again, but at a much slower pace. At this point, Grimmjow had no idea what to say. So he did what all normal, sane people would do in a situation such as this.
Say what they say in the movies.
"How do you feel?" He asked, the words putting a strange taste in his mouth.
The man's eyes flashed, his face adapting a contemplative stare as he mentally reviewed his body's current condition. Grimmjow slowly sat down on the couch, careful to keep his movements slow and watching the man from the corner of his eye.
"I..." The orange haired man let out a cough and cleared his throat. "I feel like shit."
Grimmjow snorted, pinning the man with an amused stare, sinking back into comfort. Now he could speak like himself again. It was refreshing. "I'd expect so. It'd be a fucking miracle if you didn't." The man let out a cautious smile with the sentence, relaxing ever so slightly.
There was a quiet silence that covered the room, both occupants wondering what to say next. The orange haired man decided to take the lead.
"Where.. where am I?" Each word that the man enunciated was thick and hoarse with the lack of speaking.
Grimmjow turned to the man, idly wondering when he had glanced off at the clock. Each time the man moved, Grimmjow would see the stiffness of his limbs and movements, the natural guarding of his broken arm.
"You are in my penthouse apartment, in the outskirts of Las Noches, Japan."
The man knitted his brows, a frown marring his face. "Las Noches.." he repeated.
Grimmjow suddenly didn't like that tone, a desperate thought striking him.
Oh good fucking god. Please, no.
He decided to test this thought, hoping to every god in every religion that his suspicion was wrong.
"What is your name?" He spoke normally, without regard for startling the man. The man stared at him for a moment, his frown becoming deeper before his eyes flashed brighter for a moment. "Ichigo..."
Grimmjow almost released his pent up breath before Ichigo interrupted him, his voice quiet and scratchy.
"At least.. I think it is."
The blue haired man let out a groan, his head falling into his hands. So this was the problem that Granz was referring to when he left.
Joy, he thought sarcastically. Absolutely brilliant.
"You 'think'," he muttered. "Oh, this just makes everything better. Serves me right for saving some god-damned dying person. Turns out to be a fucking amnesiac..."
He continued to mutter into his hands as Ichigo watched him, observing his assumed rescuer.
His thoughts may not be totally clear, but he could point everything out. Shock-blue hair, electric-blue eyes, muscular stature, upstanding and commanding aura.
Someone whom he just instinctively knew he would have a hard time getting along with.
Even if he was rather sexy.
Ichigo unconsciously blushed at the inappropriate thought that quickly dominated all others. He was starting to get uncomfortable. The blue-haired man was only in a towel, after all. He stared at his hands, willing his perverted thoughts away.
Grimmjow looked up from his fit to see the amnesiac staring at his hands as if they were a foreign article and blushing madly. He raised an eyebrow. Was something wrong with the kid?
He cleared his throat quietly, Ichigo's head snapping up at the small disturbance to his thoughts. "W-what?" He asked hoarsely, fighting down the urge to go into a coughing fit. His throat was bugging him like crazy... like he inhaled a shitload of smoke or something.
Grimmjow just shook his head. "Nothing." He glanced at the cat that had leaped from Ichigo's lap, as the orange haired man stared after it wistfully as it walked away. "Her name is Pantera." He nodded in the direction of the cat, receiving only a simple nod. Grimmjow sighed, aggravated at what little progress was being made. He stood up.
"Just a few days back I had an... acquaintance," Grimmjow refused to label Szayel as a friend, "clean your wounds and assess the damage." He ignored the way Ichigo stiffened, although he was admittedly curious as to what the problem was. "Broken arm, as you can tell," he pointed to the cast on Ichigo's arm. "Multiple cuts, shitload of bruising and a gash on the back of the head. You've been banged up like hell, but you'll live. You might have a concussion so I'm going to have to wake you up every two hours. So don't get all pissed off when I wake you up."
Ichigo's eyes widened. "You're going to let me stay here?" He let out a large cough, squinting his eyes and wincing before fixing his gaze back on the blue haired man. "You're not going to kick me out?"
Grimmjow shrugged before standing up. "I don't see why you can't stay here. You don't have any memories, so that means you likely have no idea where the hell to go." He sighed before continuing. "It really shouldn't bug me. Unless you piss me off."
At this, he pinned Ichigo with a fierce glare, promising the amnesiac with a demise he would rather avoid.
"You piss me off and you will be outta here, no objections."
Grimmjow stretched and yawned, heading into the kitchen and into the small adjoining laundry room. He tossed the towels into the dirty laundry hamper and turned to a small basket of clean folded clothes and yanked out a pair of loose pants and boxers, quickly slipping them both on.
He went back into the living room, finding the orange haired man staring at the wall, seeming at a loss of what to do. Grimmjow sighed, gaining the man's attention.
"Look, you might want to go to sleep. I'll take you in for a thorough check-up in a couple of days and then we'll talk about what we're going to do about the situation. In the meantime," Grimmjow ran a hand through his hair tiredly, stepping forward to Ichigo and gently hefted him up, ignoring the way the man's body stiffened before his limbs started flailing. He dumped the flailing man on the couch as gently as possible, a pained yelp escaping him. "I'm fucking tired. I'm going to bed. I'll be up in two hours to poke your ass awake."
He headed off to the bedroom, ignoring the look of confusion on the man's face. It could wait until morning. He was tired as hell.
The rest of the night went rather well. Every two hours, Grimmjow would smack the button to turn off his alarm clock, throw off the covers, and roll out of bed. He would trudge to the bedroom door and open it, rubbing his eyes. Head to the couch, poke the guy awake and ask if he was in fact awake and not just sleep talking.
He would then head to the kitchen and get a small glass of ice-cold water and bring it back to Ichigo, forcing him to drink a few sips. His voice would sound really hoarse and thick whenever he woke up, so Grimmjow figured water should at least help a bit. He would then take the glass along with the rest of the water back to the kitchen, dump the water out and place the glass in the sink.
Grimmjow would go back to the couch to have one last look at Ichigo only to stop and find him back in a deep sleep. He would pull the covers over him, stare at him in the moonlight streaming through the large window and then go back to his own room. He would set the alarm for two hours later and then drift off to sleep.
Then the cycle would repeat. It always continued into the late morning. Ichigo would then spend most of the day slipping in and out of consciousness, with the occasional bowl of soup or glass of water pushed his way. This became a routine for the next week, the cycle quickly becoming strenuous for Grimmjow.
On the seventh day, the sun had already flooded the living room through the large window when Grimmjow slammed his fist on the off button of the alarm for what seemed the millionth time and slowly opened his eyes with a groan. He stared at the digital clock, waiting for his blurry vision to clear up.
It was already a few minutes past 11.
He decided that he had better get up for the day, even if he felt sleep-deprived.
Grimmjow threw off the covers and stretched, sitting up and placing his bare feet on the carpeted floor. He stood up slowly, yawning and stretching almost painfully. He rubbed his eyes and headed out of the bedroom door, going automatically to the couch.
He stood behind the back of the couch, staring at Ichigo's sleeping face for a moment. He finally frowned and headed to the kitchen, preparing another glass of water along with a couple of heavy pain killers.
He set it on the counter momentarily as he prepared coffee that he was most definitely going to need to get through the day.
He then picked up the glass and painkillers, going back into the living room and set them on the coffee table. He turned around and placed his hand on Ichigo's shoulder lightly and shook him, startling the man out of sleep.
"W-wha..?" The orange haired man slowly opened his eyes, his voice still hoarse (although better) and thick with sleep.
Grimmjow jabbed a finger at the glass of water. "Here. Water and painkillers. You'd better drink some. By the sounds of it, the water does wonders for your throat. Don't need you choking up blood while you're here." He waited for Ichigo to nod before heading off to the bathroom to go pee and brush his teeth.
He came out to find Ichigo trying to choke down the last of the water, pulling the glass away from his lips and wincing slightly, setting the glass back down on the table. Grimmjow nodded in approval, walking past the couch and into the kitchen.
The orange haired man watched him as he walked by, taking note on how he held himself. It was a very laid-back, comfortable walk, although surprisingly without any slouching.
When Grimmjow entered the kitchen, Ichigo took this time to observe his surroundings in more detail.
It was a rather large room, the walls painted a simple off-white with navy trimming. There was a couch and two leather chairs, along with a glass-top coffee table. There was a flat-screen t.v. set up on the wall and a large stereo behind the couch. Next to the t.v. was a small shelf covered in various things such as magazines, remotes and other knick-knacks. Next to the stereo was a rather large standing rack of c.d.s, almost completely filled. Under the large window was a small dining table. There were 2 doors to the right, containing the bathroom and bedroom and between them, a large, elegant mirror. There were 2 more doors to the left, rooms that had been unused ever since he had arrived.
He took a minute to take all of this in. This man... was really wealthy, wasn't he? He finally sighed, sinking back into the couch and shutting his eyes. When the smell of coffee reached his nose, however, he stood up from the couch, being careful of the wounds covering his body.
Ichigo very slowly inched his way to the kitchen, wary of the cuts on his feet. He poked his head through the doorway. The blue haired man was sitting on a bar stool at the island counter, sipping a cup of coffee and staring at the cell-phone lying innocently on the counter-top.
The amnesiac cleared his throat making the contemplating man snap his head up at the sound. He stared at him for a moment before pointing to the coffee pot. "Do you want some coffee?"
Ichigo fidgeted for a moment, before nodding as Grimmjow stood up and went to fix him a cup. As Grimmjow was pouring him a cup, Ichigo realized he had to use the bathroom. He cleared his throat again, the blue haired man looking up and giving him a questioning look.
"Umm... I need..." He swallowed, getting annoyed with his irritated throat. "I need to use the bathroom..."
The blue haired man just pointed in the general direction past Ichigo and said, "On the left."
Ichigo nodded murmuring a small 'i know' and turned around before stopping and spinning back around as quickly as his wounds would allow him.
His rescuer gave him an odd look. "Something?"
Ichigo furrowed his brows and frowned, staring at him. "I just realized you never told me your name."
Grimmjow paused, replaying all of their minuscule conversations ever since Ichigo woke up through his head.
"Huh. Now that you mention it..." Grimmjow smirked and set down the coffee pot. "I'm Grimmjow. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez."
Ichigo stared at him for a moment before nodding and turning on his heel, heading to the bathroom. When he finally relieved himself he slowly made his way back into the kitchen to find Grimmjow snapping his cell-phone shut.
He gave him a questioning glance but it was promptly ignored. Sliding gingerly into one of the seats, he shrugged and picked up his prepared cup of coffee, blowing on the surface. He took a sip, relishing in the way the hot liquid felt as it ran down his throat. His eyes had unconsciously closed, his features relaxing.
Grimmjow watched him for a moment. "Feel good?"
Ichigo's eyes snapped open, regarding Grimmjow. He repeated his question. "Does the coffee feel good? On your throat, I mean," he clarified.
Ichigo silently nodded, going back to small sips. There was a prolonged silence before Grimmjow spoke in a no-objections tone.
"I just called a doctor. I'm taking you in for a full check up." Ichigo stayed silent and still for a moment, giving off the image of an animal deciding whether fight or flight would be better.
"Is something wrong with that?" Grimmjow prompted.
Ichigo stared into the brown coffee, his brows furrowed and repressing shivers. He sat there and contemplated for a moment, his hands tightening around the coffee cup.
"It's... fine," he finally bit out.
Grimmjow didn't ask any questions.
"I figured since you're actually able to stay awake and stuff..." Grimmjow trailed off, unsure of how to relay what he thought. "Your smaller bruises have healed and your larger ones have shrunk quite a bit." He eyed the once-large bruise that spread across his right arm. "You're going to need a real cast, one that doesn't fall apart or anything. We might need to get you antibiotics and you will most definitely need a heavier dosage of painkillers than those flimsy things." He pointed to the over-the-counter ibuprofen lying innocently on the counter. "You can walk a hell of a lot better than you could yesterday, and it's best that we get you in to see a professional quickly. Not to mention a certain doctor is too much of a fucking stingy ass to actually help out..." He muttered the last sentence under his breath.
Ichigo was stiff, staring at the countertop. A moment passed before he nodded anxiously. "Okay." It took him a while to relax.
A silence passed before Ichigo looked around curiously, turning his eyes to Grimmjow who was staring at the rather large abundance of glasses in the sink. "Where's Pantera?"
The blue haired man paused for a moment before shrugging. "Who knows? She just roams around anywhere and everywhere. She's probably on a shelf somewhere..."
He stood up and entered the small laundry room, yanking out the smallest pair of pants he had along with another random pair and two shirts.
He walked back into the kitchen and put the small pile of clothes on the island counter, Ichigo watching his actions curiously. He pulled out the small pair of pants and stepped toward the amnesiac.
"Stand up."
Ichigo gave him a confused look but did as he was told. Grimmjow handed the pants to him and watched as Ichigo unfolded them.
"I knew you were smaller than me by at least an inch or two but that's the smallest thing that I've got."
Ichigo held the pants up to his hips, looking down at his legs. The black pants went a little past his feet but they were acceptable.
Grimmjow nodded. "Those will have to work." He pulled out a simple grey dress shirt from the clothes lying on the counter and handed it to Ichigo.
"You can use these for the day. We'll buy you some clothes before we go in for your appointment."
Ichigo stiffened noticeably before relaxing and holding the clothes close to him. "Thanks."
He frowned all of a sudden, sending a curious glance to his nether regions.
Grimmjow noticed the look, shaking his head. "I really think that any underwear that I have will fall off of your skinny ass. You'll either have to go commando or let me wash what you've got on now."
Ichigo flared unexpectedly at the comment.
"Well, sorry I have a skinny ass!" He drawled out the 'sorry' childishly.
Grimmjow raised an eyebrow, his eyes sparkling with amusement.
Ichigo paused, his face flushing in embarrassment. "Sorry. Um... could you.. w-wash them?"
Grimmjow chuckled lightly, finding the orange haired amnesiac rather interesting. "Yeah. You can take a shower if you want. It must be a bitch to walk around feeling like you're covered in dirt. Not to mention you smell like shit considering you haven't taken a bath in at least a week."
The orange haired man's eye twitched. He was just itching to say a smart-ass comment to that, but...
The man was washing his underwear.
He had to be thankful.
Ichigo entered the bathroom and pulled his jeans off as quickly as he could without irritating his wounds. He then pulled off his underwear and went back to the bathroom door, cracking it open and holding them out, his face flushed pink in embarrassment.
Grimmjow took the boxer briefs from the outstretched hand. The hand quickly snapped back inside, the door shutting with a loud click.
Grimmjow just chuckled and headed back to the laundry room, tossing the briefs into the washing machine, pouring detergent in and clicking it on, shutting the lid. He went back into the kitchen, grabbing his own clothes. He stepped into the living room and dropped his night pants, uncaring about the large open window.
He was on the top floor.
Who the hell would be able to see him?
He pulled on his clothes quickly before turning on the stereo. He turned and walked to the shelf next to the t.v., grabbing the hairbrush and watch lying toward the back. Grimmjow clicked the watch onto his wrist and ran the brush through his hair lazily, not even bothering to style it.
He walked to the mirror between the bedroom and bathroom doors, tugging on the navy blue collar of his dress shirt and straightening it out. He left the living room and entered the laundry room again, pulling the underwear out of the washing machine and tossing them in the dryer, turning it on. Leaving the room, Grimmjow sat back on the couch, leaning back into the cushions to wait for his rescuee to finish showering. He shut his eyes, listening to the music playing throughout the room.
When several songs had gone by on the stereo, Grimmjow cracked open his eyes, glancing at the clock. Blue eyebrows furrowed. Nearly an hour and a half had passed since Ichigo had gotten in the shower. He then blinked, feeling like he deserved to be smacked upside the head.
Well, he evidently had forgotten that Ichigo might have trouble showering and he was probably either too embarrassed or stubborn to ask for help. Or perhaps he didn't notice it either and was now injured even worse...!
He stood up and went to the bathroom door to knock and ask if Ichigo wanted help.
He just wanted to make sure that a dead man wasn't found in his apartment. It would raise many unnecessary questions and create way too much trouble, that's all. It wasn't like he cared for the guy's well-being or anything.
Truly.
He was just about to knock as the door opened slightly, revealing Ichigo in a towel and a scent of shampoo filled his nose.
Ichigo looked up, surprised. Grimmjow cleared his throat and stepped back, letting the orange haired man pass by him. Ichigo had the shirt and pants in his hands, giving Grimmjow a questioning look.
The blue haired man pointed to the kitchen. "In the laundry room in the dryer. They should be dry by now."
Ichigo nodded and slowly limped to the kitchen, retrieving his underwear.
Grimmjow lounged around in the living room, giving the boy the privacy needed to change. Ichigo finally entered the living room almost ten minutes later, dressed in the clothes provided for him.
The pants fit fine around his hips, although they were a bit longer than they should have been. The gray button-up dress shirt was a little big, it covered his hands and went past his hips quite a bit, but it was otherwise fine.
Grimmjow walked toward Ichigo, stopping in front of him. He tugged on one of Ichigo's arms, having him hold it out. He quickly rolled the sleeve up a bit and repeated with the other.
"Okay, then." Grimmjow nodded, satisfied with his work. He headed to the main door and beckoned Ichigo to follow him.
"Come on, I know you don't have shoes or anything so we'll get you some clothes and shoes before we head to the doctor. I don't need multiple people thinking I'm raping you..." Grimmjow grabbed his jacket off the hook next to the door and snatched his keys out of the ashtray.
Ichigo frowned at the mention of doctor and then twisted his face into a look of confusion at the word 'raping' but nodded nonetheless.
He followed Grimmjow out the door, pausing as he turned around to lock it. They headed into the elevator and took their time to get down to the ground floor, arriving in the lobby. Cirucci was back at her spot behind the desk, her eyes widening when they landed on Ichigo.
Grimmjow resisted the urge to groan. He prodded Ichigo lightly in the arm and whispered slightly. "Don't tell her much. She would have way too much fun with this."
Ichigo sent him a questioning look but nodded in consent. "Okay."
Grimmjow nodded back. "Alright, I'm going to go get my car. I imagine it would hurt your feet like hell if you walked outside like that. Be right back." He sent a minor glare Cirucci's way and walked out the glass doors.
The moment that Grimmjow exited the building, the purple haired woman leapt up from the desk and hurried to Ichigo.
She stopped in front of him, Ichigo stumbling backwards and flinching.
"Who are you and why the hell are you with Grimmjow?" She asked excitedly, almost bouncing on her feet.
Ichigo stepped back even further, determined to stay away from the woman.
"U-ummm... I'm.." He coughed, the pressure and pain of it forcing him to bend over and clutch his knees. The woman rolled her eyes, patting him on the back and mentally urging him to get over his coughing fit.
She had precious information to collect!
He let out a loud yelp. The woman had unknowingly smacked the large slash that stretched all the way across his back. He stumbled backward, still coughing. Cirucci stayed in her spot, her eyes wide as she watched him continue his coughing fit. That had startled her. She decided that he probably didn't like physical contact. Ichigo finally stopped coughing and gingerly stretched into a casual standing position. "I'm... Ichigo."
Sorry, miss. Don't know if I've got a family name right now...
He shook his head to clear his thoughts.
"I had gotten into a bit of trouble and..." He paused, trying to formulate the rest of the lie. Well, more like under-exaggeration. "He just brought me back to get me some medical help."
The woman's eyes narrowed, determined to catch the flaws in his words.
"Why didn't he just take you to the hospital straight away?"
Ichigo nearly panicked. "It was... too far away..?" He ended the answer with a questioning and unsure tone.
She seemed to accept the answer though, for she promptly smiled and reached forward to pat him on the shoulder, stopping her hand halfway when she saw the way he tensed. She chose her words carefully. "I'm glad he isn't as totally uncaring as he seems. At least he seems to show a little bit of decency toward you."
Ichigo was a little surprised. She truthfully seemed like the type of woman who would get as much information as she possibly could and spread it mercilessly. She actually seemed to care about Grimmjow and was surprisingly observant of little things and thoughtful, keeping her distance from Ichigo.
Ichigo smiled a bit, not exactly knowing what to say. Finally, the purple haired woman extended a hand with a brilliant smile. He hesitantly took her hand and shook it firmly, tell-tale signs of a smile lighting up on his own face.
"Well, my name is Cirucci. Feel free to talk to me anytime you want or ask for help. I'm sure it would be a pain in the ass to resort to talking to old sour blueberry over there." She pointed to where Grimmjow stood outside of the door, waving his hand to Ichigo, beckoning him over.
"Thank you, Cirucci." He tilted his head forward in a simple and short display of a bow before sliding past her, keeping his distance to avoid coming in contact with her.
He walked to the doors and stepped out into the cold air, goosebumps immediately erupting across his skin. Grimmjow stalked off to the navy blue Porsche sitting in front of the sidewalk, getting into the driver's side.
He leaned over and opened the passenger side door, calling to Ichigo, "Get in." Ichigo slid into the seat, shutting the door behind him and awkwardly put on his seat belt.
They had wandered around the outskirts of the city, stopping outside of random clothing shops to find some kind of apparel that suited Ichigo. At one point, Grimmjow had quickly run inside a random store, coming out with a simple pair of tennis shoes for Ichigo to wear into any stores that they would go into. They continued to wander around the city to different shops. There weren't many displays in the shop windows that really interested Ichigo, though.
But there had been a few displays in a certain shop window that caught Ichigo's eyes. They had gotten out of the car and explored the shop thoroughly. Ichigo found that there were two brands he particularly liked.
One of which was by the name of Soul Society, a brand that Grimmjow had (very) briefly explained was at the top of the business and was really quite well off. It sold everyday clothes, the basics-jeans, t-shirts, hoodies with interesting designs.
The other brand that had really caught his eye, however, was a brand called Shinigami Rep. The logo was bold, its letters blocked and sort of spiky. The style was kind of hip, usually dealing with street-type clothes; baggy pants, jackets that had flame designs, simplistic t-shirts and other things.
When he asked Grimmjow about this brand, the man had said he was unsure, that it was probably a smaller brand. So they asked a nearby employee. The lady had smiled brightly at the two, informing them that it was a small, new branch off of Soul Society, being run by only one up-and-coming designer.
She pointed to one of the clothing items tags, at the small signed initials in the corner.
'K.I.'
"Nobody knows who he or she is. Just that they are quickly making their way to the top," the woman had said, innocently telling them that it was quickly becoming her favorite brand.
Grimmjow purchased many pairs of pants, shirts and a jacket from the brand. He also bought a couple of hats when he saw that Ichigo had been eyeing them. He even bought underwear and socks for Ichigo, causing the poor young man to blush yet again.
They walked out of the shop with multiple bags in their hands, Ichigo with a brand new hat atop his head and sneakers on his feet. They tossed the bags into the car and shut the doors behind themselves.
Inside the car, Grimmjow glanced at his watch and then at Ichigo.
"We have a little over an hour. Hungry?"
Ichigo nodded.
Grimmjow pulled away from the parking lot and headed to the opposite side of the city, keeping to the outskirts of the city.
He wasn't in any hurry to get there. In fact, he wanted to avoid the center of city at all costs. Grimmjow felt a little... anxious at the thought of Ichigo going through the middle of the city.
He pulled in to the small parking lot of a family-run cafe and parked his car in an empty space. He turned off the engine and exited the car, Ichigo doing the same. He quickly walked to the door, waiting for Ichigo before opening the door for him.
They entered the cafe and took a small table next to the front windows, looking at the small menus that were embedded beneath the glass of each table. The two skimmed over the different displayed foods, trying to decide what they wanted.
"I like this cafe." Ichigo spoke up after having a quick glance around. "It's simple. Cozy."
Grimmjow nodded, waving over a waiter. He ordered a water along with a bagel for himself and then looked questioningly over at Ichigo.
Ichigo stared at the menu for a moment before relaying to the waiter that he just wanted a simple sandwich and water.
They sat in silence as Ichigo looked around at the environment of the cafe. It was a really quaint cafe, with ten 2-seater tables at most. There was a small counter at the back with a register for anyone who wanted 'to-go' food. Each table had two menus (on each side) strategically and cleverly embedded beneath its glass to ensure that they wouldn't be lost or damaged. In the middle of each table was a small circular spinning table that had a notepad and pen attached to it.
Ichigo rotated the notepad to face him and read the sentence printed at the top.
'Like something? Dislike something? Tell us! We can improve!'
Ichigo grabbed the chain-attached pen and drew a little cartoon-figure of a human and a cat, the human doing a victory or peace sign and scribbled words in the corner of the page.
'It's great the way it is.'
He looked up to find Grimmjow staring at the paper, a surprised expression on his face. Grimmjow looked up from the paper and gave a small smile, almost causing Ichigo to have a heart-attack.
Was that.. a smile?
A smile?
From Grimmjow?!
Wow. The world must be ending soon.
He may not have known the man for a long time but, if there was one thing he did know about him, it was that he did not smile.
Smirks: hell yeah. Scowls: sure. Frowns: why not?
But smiles? Not so much.
"You draw rather well. Do you like it?"
Ichigo nodded, keeping his face as neutral as possible. "Yeah. At least I'm pretty sure I do." Ichigo paused, letting the frustration of his rather lacking past show on his face.
His voice was starting to get better. His throat didn't hurt nearly as much.
He rested his face in his hands, an unseen smile taking over his face.
It must be from Grimmjow forcing me to drink all that water this past week.
The waiter stepped up next to them, interrupting the good aura surrounding them with a loud announcement of their orders. He set the tray down and turned around, stalking off to the next table.
Ichigo took his own order and pushed Grimmjow's toward him.
They both chewed on their food, dining in comfortable silence.
When they finished their food (Ichigo actually only eating half), they stacked the plates and glasses before heading out to the car, getting in and shutting the doors behind them. Grimmjow gave a glance at the car clock and turned the key in the slot, pulling the car out of the parking lot. "It's time for your appointment."
He pretended he didn't see Ichigo's very-much-visible stiffening.
-Chapter End-
A/N: Review?