Stark white flooded his vision as he slowly forced his eyes open. He felt heavy, sore, and tired. The man slowly turned his head and suddenly, his vision was flooded by sunset orange. He blinked a little and slowly lifted one hand, ignoring the fact that each finger felt like a block of lead, and slowly ran his fingers through those sunset locks, a faint smile crawling over his face.
"Oh! You're awake." Came a female voice from the doorway. He shifted his head to look that way and blinked at the slightly blurred image of a nurse dressed in white. He watched her come closer, his vision sharpening to reveal a tall, slim woman with dark reddish/brown hair pulled into a pony-tail and gentle green eyes, "The doctor's were starting to worry." She told him.
He opened his mouth to speak, though closed it again and scowled when nothing came from it other then his throat aching slightly. He watched as she grabbed a glass of water with a straw in it and move it to his lips so he could take a pull of the cool, clear liquid, which he did gratefully. He sighed faintly as the coolness coated his throat before he attempted to speak again, "H-how long...have I been out...?" He grunted, turning his vision to the orange mass of hair at his side when the owner of the orange mass shifted slightly with a soft sigh.
"Nearly three weeks. He hasn't left your side since you were brought in. You were shot four times, two of them came terrifyingly close to your heart while one pierced your left lung and the last shattered your shoulder." She told him gently.
He sighed softly again and continued to run his fingers through the soft yet rough hair at his side. Three weeks. He was out of commission for three weeks. His patrol had thought everything had been cleared up. They were packing up to head out when someone from the gang they had infiltrated came out of no where and shot at him. He had managed to take him down, but he thought he'd never see Ichigo again.
For the first time in his life, he had been scared.
He had been terrified that he would never see his fiancee again. Petrified that he'd never hold the smaller male again. Scared that after what Ichigo had been through, he'd be alone again. He wouldn't have been able to stand doing that to the orangette. He wanted nothing more then to protect the smaller male and make him smile and laugh.
"G-Grimm...?" The owner of the orange hair asked softly as he slowly lifted his head and looked at the male on the bed his eyes sleep filled and drowsy, "Grimm...y-you're awake..." He said, his eyes starting to fill with tears as he shifted to pounce on the one on the bed, "I-I was so scared...I-I...I thought I w-was going to loose you..." He whimpered.
The male on the bed grunted a little at the sudden addition of weight on his torso followed by the dampening of the top he was wearing, "Shhh...Ichi..." He managed to grunt out, his voice rough as he wrapped his good arm around the male that as laying on him and sobbing softly. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye followed by the sound of the door clicking shut. The nurse had left them alone for a bit of a reunion.
After a few moments, the orange haired male sat up and scrubbed his face with the long sleeve of a shirt the bluenette recognized as his own. The male on the bed snickered a bit at seeing that and shook his head a bit, "S-sorry, Grimm...I didn't hurt you did I? I was just so scared...I dunno what I'd do if I...if I..." He stammered, unable to finish as he stared down at the bigger male on the bed.
He shook his head again and reached up to brush the smaller's tears away, "I'm ok. Just relax." He murmured before tugging on the shirt a bit, "Were ya digging through my closet again?" He teased, a grin curling over his face as the smaller flushed slightly.
"Uh...maybe a little..." The orangette murmured, looking off to the side a bit as he tugged the hem of the shirt a bit, "I just...wearing this made it seem as if you were hugging me..."
The male on the bed chuckled a little and used the hand that was on his shirt to tug the smaller down, hugging him again and nuzzling into his hair a little, "I dun mind, Ichi. Makes ya look cuter then ya already are." He murmured, smirking when he felt heat radiating off of the smaller's face, signaling that his blush grew more.
"Shut up, Grimm..." The orangette grumbled, but smiled and nuzzled close. He jerked a bit when he heard the door fly open and turned his head to look towards the door, scowling when he saw Renji and the bluenette's friend and co-worker, Nnoitra, standing there arguing.
"No way! Dante is so much better! I mean ya see how he wields his fuckin sword? Dun even get me started on the guns!" The red-head snapped, punching the one eyed male in the shoulder.
"Virgil is so much more bad ass. He beats Dante no question!" Nnoitra argued, shoving the red-head and baring his teeth slightly.
"Mind if I snatch a pillow?" The orangette whispered into the bluenette's ear, grabbing one of the said objects when the other male shook his head and chucking it at the two arguing right as Renji opened his mouth to argue again.
The two at the door grunted in surprise when the projectile managed to hit them both and whipped there heads towards the bed where Ichigo still lay, wrapped in Grimmjow's good arm.
Nnoitra's working eye widened and his mouth curled into a huge grin, "Grimmjow! Ol' buddy ol' pal!" He crowed, striding forward and slumping into one of the chairs by the bed, "How ya feeling?" He asked, ignoring Renji who went to the other side of the bed to sit in the chair the orangette had been in before he had crawled onto the bed with Grimmjow.
"I was peachy until ya two loud-mouths interrupted my time with Ichi." Grimmjow grumbled, tightening his hold on the smaller male that was still half laying on him.
Nnoitra rolled his eye and looked at the orangette who had his head laying on Grimmjow's good shoulder, "I take it that ya threw the pillow then." He drawled, narrowing his eye slightly.
"You were being loud, so yes." The orangette stated calmly before yelping a bit when Renji hit him in the side with the pillow he had picked up before coming over.
"Ok. I feel better now." The red-head stated, dropping the pillow back on the bed and smirking, "I bet yer happy now though, eh, Ichigo?" He asked.
Ichigo smiled a bit and nodded a little as he snuggled closer to the bluenette, curling slightly against him and making him break the glare that he was pinning Renji with, "I take it Rukia and the girls are with Zan, Ten, and Kon?" He murmured, glancing over his shoulder to see Renji nod.
"Yeah. She was gettin tired of me and Stick arguing over yer video games so she sent us here to see how Blue was doin." Renji said as he stretched a bit, "She'll be happy to hear that he's awake." He chuckled before turning his eyes to Grimmjow, "She's mad cuz the girls have been crying about ya. They were scared ya were gunna leave 'Uncle Ichi'."
Grimmjow shook his head a bit before shifting a little, wincing slightly in pain, "Nah...I ain't goin no where. Ya tell the twin terrors that I'll be home soon." He stated, "Ichigo, it's ok. I just pulled it a bit." He assured the orangette who was fussing over him after seeing the wince.
Ichigo frowned a little but calmed down and nuzzled the bluenette's good shoulder. He closed his eyes and sighed softly, ready to go back to sleep now that he knew Grimmjow was awake.
"He hasn't been sleeping much." Renji said when he noticed Grimmjow's look to Ichigo who was starting to drift off. Once the orangette was completely asleep, the red-head sat up a bit, "Before he got your call, he had woken up from a nightmare so bad that it actually made him sick to his stomach." He murmured, "He didn't actually tell me when happened in it, but according to what Rukia said, it involved you being shot."
Grimmjow frowned deeply at hearing that and tightened his grip on the smaller male, "I see..." He murmured quietly, "Well...after I get outta here...I'm gunna do everything I can to stop these assignments that Ulquiorra keeps sending me on...maybe then I can set his mind at ease." The bluenette stated before kissing the smaller male on the head, "Sides...after the wedding...I really dun wanna leave him alone anymore."
Renji nodded as Nnoitra scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Th' panther's turned inta a house cat." He drawled as he stood up with a frown, "Lemme know when th' Grimm I know and grew up with comes back." The lanky male stated coldly before walking to the door, he stopped when Grimmjow spoke, though.
Grimmjow scowled at hearing that and resisted the urge to jump off the bed and attack his life long friend, "Nnoitra. Sorry ta break it ta ya...this is how I am now. If ya can't deal with that, then I guess this is where we part." He stated, hiding the ache he was feeling in his heart at the idea of losing his oldest friend over something like falling in love.
Nnoitra looked back at him before shaking his head then leaving.
Grimmjow hung his head and curled his fingers in Ichigo's borrowed shirt as Renji glared towards the door.
"Alright Mr. Jaugerjaques. Everything looks good. You'll just have to keep the sling on to make sure that shoulder heals up right." A nurse said to Grimmjow as he sat on the edge of his hospital bed, watching Ichigo bustle around, picking up the few things that had accumulated over the month he had been in the hospital.
He nodded absently as his eyes zeroed in on Ichigo's ass when he bent over to pick up something he had dropped.
The nurse laughed softly at seeing where Grimmjow's attention was and shook her head lightly, "Also, be careful during intimacy. Your shoulder needs to fully heal before you try to put any weight on it."
Ichigo jerked up at hearing that and his face seemed to glow with the flush that covered it while Grimmjow started to laugh, the sound of that deep, almost maniacal laugh echoing through the room and making Ichigo smile despite his embarrassment.
"We'll be careful, nurse." Ichigo muttered as he walked over to the bed, squeaking a bit when Grimmjow tugged him into his lap with his good arm and nuzzled into his hair, "Grimm!" He whined softly, squirming to get up.
The nurse laughed softly at the couple and shook her head, "When you two are ready, just go check out at the front desk and you can be on your way." She told them before leaving the room.
Once she was gone and the door was closed, Grimmjow flipped them so that Ichigo was on his back on the bed and Grimmjow was kneeling over him with one hand and knee on the bed while his other foot was on the floor and bad arm was against his torso, "Mmmm...ya know...ya never gave me a get well soon gift." He teased, leaning down so his face was inches from the smaller male's.
Ichigo flushed a bit but closed the small distance, pressing a chaste kiss to Grimmjow's lips, "That gift comes when we get home." He murmured softly.
Grimmjow blinked a little in curiosity, his blue eyes drilling into Ichigo's eyes, not minding that one was forever blank, "Oh really?" He hummed before returning the chaste kiss then getting to his feet and smoothing his shirt and jeans, "What are we still here for then?"
Ichigo laughed softly but grabbed the bag that had Grimmjow's things in it before getting up as well and walking with Grimmjow to leave the room, then the hospital.
"Ichigo...is it even safe for you to be driving with one eye?" Grimmjow asked as he sat in the passenger seat of their shared sedan, one blue brow raised as he watched the orangette.
"Not really...but I've gotten used to it and you can't exactly drive right now either." Ichigo pointed out as he continued down the road, "Sides, how do ya think I been getting around while you were out of commission?"
"Taxi?" Grimmjow asked, smirking when he got a quick glare, "Alright...just be careful, yeah? I dun wanna go iback/i to the hospital...I just got out." He teased.
Ichigo rolled his eyes but continued onwards.
When they got to the small house, Ichigo pulled into the garage before shutting off the car and looking over at his fiancee. Grimmjow smirked a bit and leaned over the center console, pressing a passionate kiss to the smaller's lips.
"Lets get inside." He husked after breaking the kiss, smirking more when Ichigo nodded mutely, his face beat red.
The two climbed out of the car, Ichigo grabbing the duffel that held Grimmjow's items before the bluenette tugged him into a one armed hug. The orangette smiled and kissed the bigger man's chin before pulling away and leading the way to the door.
When he opened the door and they stepped inside, Grimmjow frowned a little since the three animals that lived in the house didn't come running, "Ichi? Where's Zan, Ten, and Kon?" He asked, glancing around. His frown deepened when Ichigo shrugged non-chalauntly and continued walking in.
Something was up, and he knew it.
Slowly, the bluenette followed his fiancee, his eyes darting around and his ears sharp. Ichigo stopped in the middle of the living room and turned to look at Grimmjow, a devilish smirk on his face as he dropped the bag in his hands, filling the room with a resounding thump that was quickly drowned out by shouts of 'surprise'.
Grimmjow's eyes grew impossibly wide as he looked around the house as his co-workers and his and Ichigo's friends popped out of every crack and crevice.
"You little sneak!" He bellowed at Ichigo, trying to sound angry but failing miserably since his eyes were twinkling with happiness and his mouth was curved into a huge grin. He laughed as the various people moved more into sight, a few coming to give him hugs and such, though his laugh stopped when he spotted Nnoitra hanging in the back, an unusual expression on his face. The bluenette made his way through the crowd and clapped a hand on his long time friend's back, "So ya dun hate me?" He asked when the tall male looked at him.
Nnoitra sighed and shrugged a bit, "I'm sorry man...I was just...I dunno...things were changing so much...when ya got shot...and even before that. I thought I was loosin my buddy."
"Hey...things change. I'm still me, I'm just...a little different." Grimmjow said with a one armed shrug as Ichigo made his way over, "I found somethin outside of our crazy family at the precinct that matters." He said, tugging the orangette to his side, "Yeah, I might be goin soft...but...I'm still me."
"I think, if he was any different then how he actually is...I might have to beat his ass." Ichigo stated, flashing a smirk almost as feral as Grimmjow's grin as Nnoitra burst out laughing and Grimmjow looked down at him in slight surprise. He raised a brow as his smirk widened, "What...ya think I'm just some wimpy little brain?"
Renji, who had been listening, let out a bark of laughter, "Blue...lemme show ya something." He said as he tugged up his shirt and turned to show his back along with a scar that stretched the length of it, "Bastard nearly gutted me, through the back, with a fuckin knife when we were kids." He said, dropping his shirt and turning back around, "You haven't gotten a chance to see how Ichi here can handle himself since most the time he's been with you, he's been getting over...less then satisfactory events."
"Wow, Ren...satisfactory...that's a big word for you." Ichigo teased, not even bothered by the scar even though Grimmjow's eyes were wide in surprise.
"Shut it Ichi." The red-head grumbled before walking back over to his daughters who were playing with Ichigo's pets.
"Wow, Ichi..." Grimmjow murmured as he looked down at his fiancee, "Seems there's things I'm still learning about you..."