And In The End

Ichigo walked through the front door of his house and sighed deeply as he slipped off his shoes and locked the door behind him. A wet overcoat was hung in the entrance before he walked into the house and slowly pulled at his tie. He was so worn out from the last three days that had he been thinking straight he would have marveled at the fact that he kept his feet under him. He felt bad for leaving the hospital, for leaving Shinji, but in the end he had been forced to go home and get some rest. Ichigo frowned at the small packet of sleeping pills that had been given to him, just in case. Grimmjow stood from the couch when Ichigo entered the living room and held out a steaming cup of chamomile tea. Ichigo smiled tiredly at the cup and sighed before taking it and sitting heavily on the couch. Grimmjow sat next to him and rested his arm across the back of the couch behind Ichigo's head.

"How's he doin'?" Grimmjow asked quietly, his voice barely carrying over whatever it was he had been watching on the TV.

Ichigo nodded, face turned forward and eyes fixed on the air in front of the fireplace. "Good. Really good actually. If he keeps healing this quickly we can take him off the respirator next week and move him out of ICU." His voice was a little rough and if Grimmjow hadn't been able to see how tired Ichigo was just by looking at him he would have been able to tell just by his voice.

Grimmjow's fingers lightly brushed against the back of Ichigo's neck before applying pressure to the sore, stiff muscles. Ichigo hadn't taken more than an hour or two break here and there since Shinji had been brought into the emergency room Saturday afternoon and it was already late Monday evening. Ichigo took a sip from his tea before bending forward and setting the cup on the coffee table. Ichigo hung his head and shook it before reaching up to ruffle his own hair.

"I should take a shower before I pass out. Check on the kids…."

"Kids are fine." Grimmjow interjected and Ichigo sat back to look at him, eyes never really meeting with Grimmjow's.

"Thank you." Ichigo said, brows pulling together.

Grimmjow frowned and reached to rub his hand against Ichigo's back. "How are you doin'?"

Ichigo closed his eyes; they both knew that Grimmjow wasn't talking about how tired Ichigo was. Ichigo still hadn't given himself enough time to think too much about all that had happened on Saturday, any time he felt it creeping up on him he had moved to see another patient or started feverishly working on the pile of paperwork laying on his desk. It wasn't until one of his fellow residents had caught him dozing in the stairwell that his boss had finally sent him home. Now that he was home his brain was racing, trying to think of things that would keep him up, keep him busy so he didn't have to think about anything.

"I'm fine. Just… a little worn out."

"Hey. Look at me." Grimmjow commanded in a soft but still gruff tone and Ichigo's shoulders jerked before he moved his head up.

Grimmjow kept the hand rubbing Ichigo's back and lifted his other, lifting Ichigo's chin and forcing him to finally meet his eyes. At first Ichigo was being stubborn, his face remaining placid yet eyes defiant. But then his chin trembled and his brow furrowed further. Grimmjow let go of Ichigo's chin and watched him as he face fell and Ichigo closed his eyes, taking a deep though shaky breath before shaking his head.

"I can't…," Ichigo started, his voice cracking almost immediately. "I can't get the image of him covered in blood and not breathing out of my head. I can't stop thinking… I'm the one that cut into him and fished out those bullets. I…."

Ichigo's voice finally broke and Grimmjow pulled him close, wrapping his arms around him and scooting closer. It'd been a long time since he'd held Ichigo like this, while the younger man cried his grief into his chest, and it broke his heart a little to be there again. Grimmjow closed his eyes and kissed the side of Ichigo's head, not bothering with words and conveying his love and support through his embrace. He held Ichigo until the sobs died down, until the sniffling stopped and finally the breathing evened out. Once Grimmjow was sure that Ichigo was asleep he stood and picked him up bridal style, momentarily irritated that he had to struggle a bit to get the right hold on Ichigo, before walking him down the hall and taking him to bed. After stripping him of his clothing Grimmjow slipped Ichigo between the sheets and stripped down as well before sliding in next to Ichigo and wrapping an arm around his waist. Ichigo leaned into him in his sleep and snuggled close and Grimmjow held him the rest of the night.

As time has a habit of doing, days passed and Shinji's condition continued to improve. Nnoitra visited him every day, sat by his bedside and scowled at Shinji's form; watched the steady but forced rise and fall of his chest as the respirator did its job keeping Shinji alive while his body focused only on healing itself. Etta came a lot as well, bringing Yayoi with her even though she wasn't allowed to bring the baby in the room with her. Since Nana felt uncomfortable coming to the hospital with her that left either a free nurse or Nnoitra to hold Yayoi while Etta spent some alone time with her son. Nnoitra had protested at first, lip curling and anxiety bubbling in his belly at the thought of holding that tiny creature again. And then he'd remembered the look on Shinji's face when he had been caught holding her the last time and Etta managed to force Yayoi on him while he was thinking about it. Before Nnoitra knew it he was alone in the hallway holding something that, though tiny already, looked even smaller in his arms. He had stared down at Yayoi and grit his teeth as he watched her blink and slowly move her arms about and something tugged at his chest. After that first time, though he made a show of not wanting to do it, Etta never again had to force Yayoi on Nnoitra.

After nearly a week on the respirator, Shinji's attending decided it was safe to take Shinji off of it to allow him to breathe naturally. It was a tense day for everyone and when Shinji took his first shallow breath on his own Etta broke into tears and turned to wrap her arms around a very surprised Nnoitra's middle. Nnoitra didn't hug her back, held his arms out and up at his sides as if he didn't know what to do with the poor woman. But he knew what she was feeling; like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders while at the same time someone else socked him in the gut. He half expected Shinji's eyes to flutter open and him to frown at everyone before demanding they get out of the room. Nnoitra knew that Shinji would never really want anyone to see him as he was right then; hair in a bundle of controlled chaos, a bruise decorating forehead where three stitches pulled his torn skin back together, body smelling of whatever the nurses had put in the water for Shinji's sponge bath. Not that Nnoitra was going to go anywhere, not after his last job for Aizen.

The morning after Nnoitra had killed Takashiro he had received a call from a surprisingly understand – sounding – Aizen that told him as long as the job got done that day there wouldn't be any issues. Nnoitra had snuck into Shinji's room, bent to kiss his cold pale cheek and whispered, "I killed that motherfucker." before sighing. "But I gotta leave for tha day. Just to Kyoto. I'll be back in the mornin'."

Nnoitra had stood again and looked down at Shinji, lip curling a bit at what he saw and the feelings it stirred inside him; pain, anger, remorse. He took a deep breath, inhaling the medicinal scent of Shinji's room before he walked out and ran off to do his job. He'd come back in record time and spent every day since haunting the halls outside Shinji's room in the ICU. Anytime someone allowed him to go into Shinji's room Nnoitra pulled a chair up beside his bed and sat in it, crossing long thin arms over his chest as he glared death at the almost mechanical rise and fall of Shinji's chest and imagined himself beating in Takashiro's face again. He wasn't exactly happy with the way things had turned out that night but the piece of shit was dead already and there wasn't a damn thing he could or wanted to do about it.

But his mind now was focused solely on Shinji, pointy elbows resting uncomfortably on bony knees and hands clasped under Nnoitra's thin chin. Shinji had been off the respirator a week now and there had been no sign that he was about to wake up any time soon. The doctor had told everyone not to worry about it, that it was a good thing for Shinji to sleep while he healed, but Nnoitra thought the man was full of shit. Shinji had been in a coma for two weeks and needed to wake the hell up already as far as he was concerned, and if that wasn't happening yet then something must be wrong. Something the doctor was keeping from him. Thoughts that that roiled in Nnoitra's mind and an irrational hate for Shinji's doctor began to brew towards the man. The man did his best to only see Shinji when Nnoitra wasn't there, or at the very least, wasn't in the room. Nnoitra watched the steady rise and fall of Shinji's chest, watched his face for any sign of movement, but all he saw was the same thing as he always did: Shinji as he looked in a deep, peaceful sleep. But Nnoitra was sick of seeing him like this. He couldn't argue with Shinji if he was sleeping. He couldn't tease or kiss or pull him into his arms and tell him how much he loved him. Couldn't complain about his cooking if he wasn't there to cook; all he could do was sit and stare and wait for something to happen. And he hated it.

There was as small tap at the door before it pushed in, but Nnoitra didn't bother to look up. Etta poked her head inside and smiled sadly at the man beside her son's bed.

"Nnoi-chan, I got…."

"Don't fuckin' call me that!" Nnoitra said, voice low but still full of outrage as he whipped around to glare death at the woman who dared call him that.

Etta only smiled. "I got Yo-chan here with me. Can ya come hold 'er while I talk ta Shin-chan?"

Nnoitra kept a sneer on his face as he stood and walked to the door, reaching out and plucking Yayoi out of Etta's arms as if he had been doing things like that since birth. Etta hid her smile at that and thanked him before taking the seat by Shinji's bed that he had just exited. Nnoitra huffed and pressed Yayoi against his shoulder, cupping the back of her neck with one hand and using the other to support her bottom. Nnoitra didn't realize that Etta could have left Yayoi in her car seat and brought her up in that instead of leaving it in the car and carrying her. That way he wouldn't have had to carry Yayoi everywhere but Etta thought it was just the cutest thing in the world to see that giant of a man carry around a baby as tiny as Yayoi was. And it wasn't going to hurt Nnoitra any to get closer to that little girl if he was going to be spending any of his future with Shinji, Etta thought.

Nnoitra walked down to the cafeteria with Yayoi and ordered himself a large cup of black coffee before he realized he wasn't going to be able to hold the baby and his coffee the way he was holding her. He stood there a moment, staring longingly at the coffee cup, his mouth watering, and trying to figure out what to do when he heard a chuckle from behind him. Nnoitra looked around to see Ichigo decked out in his white coat and name badge, smiling at him.

"Need some help?" Ichigo asked and Nnoitra moved his hand enough to flip Ichigo off.

Ichigo shook his head and reached out, taking Yayoi in his arms so Nnoitra could grab his coffee. Nnoitra was too grateful to have his coffee that he didn't bother trying to glare at Ichigo for so easily taking Yayoi from him.

"Okaachan is here I take it?" Ichigo asked and Nnoitra nodded as he gulped the steamy liquid greedily.

"Yer not gonna give her any nasty germs are ya?" Nnoitra asked as he pulled the cup away to breathe, gesturing to Yayoi with his free hand. "'cos I ain't gettin' in trouble 'cos ya got 'er sick."

"I'm fine. I just got here and haven't even started yet so chill out. I do have three kids you know. It's not like I don't know what I'm doing."

Nnoitra's lip curled but he didn't say anything as he raised the cup back to his lips. He was actually glad he had run into Ichigo so he didn't have to go hunt him down after the nurses kicked Nnoitra out of Shinji's room once visiting hours where up. He had some questions about Shinji that he needed answered as soon as possible and he felt the least uncomfortable asking Ichigo rather than Shinji's mother. He'd made up some rather big things in his mind over the past couple weeks and he was ready to move forward with the things he could now. He finished off his beverage and tossed the cup in the trash can before he looked down at Ichigo with a thoughtful and slightly disturbing frown.

"I got some… questions ta ask ya. 'Bout Shinji." Nnoitra started, frowning harder as each word came out.

Ichigo frowned back. "Like what?" he asked pensively.

Nnoitra reached up with one hand and placed it on the back of his neck, rubbing at the skin as he tried to think of the right way to say and ask the things he needed to. He felt so stupid saying certain words and felt even more awkward having someone actually hear them. He took a deep breath and let it out in a rush.

"Do ya… do ya know if Shinji likes rings? 'Cos I never seen him wear any but thought that maybe it was just 'cos he didn't have none…." Nnoitra's voice trailed off as he felt increasingly ridiculous at each word.

Ichigo looked thoughtful as he slowly rubbed Yayoi's back and rocked her where he stood. "You know… I have no idea. He's never said anything about it really. Though, he did have this stupid toy ring back in middle school. It was a plastic disco ball on an adjustable band and he wore that thing until the ball got lost and cried for two days when it did." Ichigo shook his head and smiled nostalgically.

Nnoitra grunted and reached out for Yayoi, taking her up to his shoulder like he had been holding her before he nodded down to Ichigo and walking away without saying thank you. Ichigo shook his head and watched the man leave before grabbing a bottle of water from a refrigerator, swiping his name card to pay for it and getting back to work. Nnoitra returned to Shinji's room just as Etta was exiting and he handed Yayoi back to the woman.

"I got something I gotta go do." Nnoitra said, looking into the open doorway at Shinji's still form on the bed and scowling.

"Tell 'im I'll be back in about an hour." he finished before walking slowly away from Etta.

Etta smiled. Something she had noticed since Shinji had been brought to the hospital was that Nnoitra never went anywhere without making sure Shinji knew about it. Even if it was just the amount of time Nnoitra was going to be gone, he always said he'd be back. It warmed her heart to see the man acting that way and she only hoped that her son would hurry and wake so he could see it as well. Etta returned to Shinji's bed with Yayoi and smiled down at her son.

"Look who's here to see her daddy." Etta cooed and Yayoi gurgled in response to the noise.

Shinji made no move and Etta sighed. "Gotta wake up, Shin-chan. Gotta hold yer baby girl and tell her how much ya lover 'er."

Still nothing.

Etta sighed again and bent to kiss Shinji's cheek, cradling Yayoi's head against her chest as she did so.

"Oh, and yer man said he'll be back in an hour."

Shinji chest rose and fell at the same rate and Etta kissed his cheek again before leaving the room. Nana needed a ride to an appointment that morning and she wasn't going to be able to stay with him as long as she usually did today. She looked back over her shoulder as she left the room and forced a happy smile on her face. She had many things to be grateful for and at least Shinji was still alive. He'd wake up when he was good and ready and that was just all there was to it. Shinji always had enjoyed doing things on his own time, after all.

Nnoitra was pissed. He had taken three minutes of his precious time with Shinji to grab a sandwich from the vending machine down the hall and he had missed it; the first bit of movement Shinji had made since the paramedics had found him and he had fucking missed it. Etta was in tears, holding Shinji's hand and squeezing it as she whispered broken German to him and rocked back and forth. Nnoitra made a vow after that that he wasn't leaving the room for anything. Ever. Not until that asshole got up out of that bed and walked the fuck home with him. Nearly three weeks after his surgery Nnoitra had set up camp beside Shinji's bed and refused to leave when the nurses told him to. Refused to leave when they had called up Ichigo to try and persuade him that he at least needed to leave the room while visiting hours were over. Nnoitra had told him he'd rather suck Grimmjow's dick than leave, which had disgusted, confused and pissed Ichigo off enough that the two had engaged in a short but loud battle of wits that Nnoitra, surprisingly, won. Nnoitra had grinned and sat back down in his chair before turning back to Shinji's bed and watching him.

"If he fuckin' moved while we were talkin' and I missed it again, I'll turn ya inta a woman." Nnoitra grumbled and Ichigo sighed, leaving the room in defeat.

"They'll call the police if you make trouble, Nnoitra." he called out as a warning that Nnoitra ignored.

Three more days passed and nothing happened. Nnoitra was back to resting thin elbows on bony knees, body so close to the bed he was nearly touching it. Shinji just breathed and slept and irritated Nnoitra to no end. He wished that he could just reach out and shake him awake, force his eyes to open and blink up at him. He didn't even care if Shinji's first words where, "I hate you let go of me." at least it would be something besides… this. This nothingness, this emptiness that curled around Nnoitra's bones and seeped into the marrow. Nnoitra took a deep breath and let it out his nose as he reached out and pulled Shinji's limp yet warm hand into his own, squeezing gently, letting the tips of his fingers brush against Shinji's wrist. He felt Shinji's pulse flutter and it made his own heart jump and his eye dart to Shinji's face. Nothing. Nnoitra hung he head and shook it slowly, pulling his hand back so that his fingers spread Shinji's and linked with them.

"Just fuckin' wake up already." Nnoitra whispered quietly and took a deep breath. "I got ya a present." he added and closed his eye.

When nothing happened, not that he had really been expecting it to at this point, Nnoitra lowered his head to rest against Shinji's blanket clad hip, their fingers still linked. Nnoitra kept his eye closed and let the sound of Shinji's breathing fill him and slowly lull him to sleep.

The first thing he remembered smelling was the scent of his own bath soap. He inhaled it and let it prick his senses as he slowly woke. It smelled… different though, as if it were mixed with other, far more unpleasant things. Like bleach and sick and antiseptic. He furrowed his brow and tried to open his eyes but nothing happened and it left him a little confused. He didn't understand why his eyes weren't cooperating with him. He tried again and finally saw a blinding sliver of white light before shutting them tight. It had burned and he didn't want to be in pain again. The last thing he remembered was pain, so much pain, and he'd just as soon never return to that. He tried to lift one of his arms and found it trapped against his chest. He tried his other and found it held by something else. Eyes slitted open again, this time able to bear with the light a little better, and he squinted at the ceiling above his head. He frowned because he didn't recognize it and moved his eyes around to see if he could recognize anything. Something moved next to him on the bed and he looked down, head not moving but eyes searching for where the movement had come from.

The first thing he saw was a mass of messy black hair, then a skewed white bandana and a tilted, closed eye. His eyes moved over a thin nose and a wide mouth before stopping at a pointed chin. His mouth opened and he tried to speak but words got stuck before they could come out. He tried to move his hand again and finally realized that he couldn't move it because it was being held. Fingers flexed weakly and the brow of the man on his bed furrowed. He did it again, fingers barely moving, and a narrow violet eye opened and blinked. The face frowned and he tried to move his hand again, this time the man on the bed next to him started and lifted his head, eye darting up to meet a confused and frowning face. Full lips parted as he tried to speak again, and the man's mouth fell open a bit as a raspy, coarse word tripped and fell passed dry lips.

"N-Nnoi?"

Nnoitra's eye widened and he felt a strange pressure in his chest as fingers weakly tried to move against his own again. He inhaled sharply before he stopped breathing altogether and just stared. Pale brown eyes blinked slowly as they tried to focus and Nnoitra felt something rise and stick in his throat. He hoped to whatever god was out there that he wasn't dreaming. If he was then he didn't want to wake up until the real Shinji did. Shinji closed his mouth and Nnoitra watched the corners turn slightly upwards before it hit him, really hit him, what he was looking at. He felt his eye sting for a moment, saw his vision blur as a sensation he had never felt before filled him and one fat, salty tear slid down his cheek. Nnoitra dropped his head back down to Shinji's hip and squeezed his eye shut tight.

"Nnoi." Shinji's voice came again, still a little breathing and hoarse.

Nnoitra's shoulders shook once as, for the first time in his life, he cried. He didn't make a sound save for the occasional manly sniffle, but tears ran freely and soaked the thin blanket covering Shinji and the bed. Shinji watched, confused at what he was seeing and upset that Nnoitra was reacting like he was. Nnoitra couldn't even feel like a sissy for what he was doing because he was too relived at seeing the color of Shinji's eyes again. Of seeing his face do anything besides look relaxed. Of feeling his fingers move in his hand. Of hearing his name from that wonderful mouth. He squeezed Shinji's fingers and rubbed his face into the blanket in a vain attempt to stop the flow, hoping the whole time that he wasn't going to look back up and see Shinji was back to sleep or worse yet find that he had hallucinated the entire thing. When he was sure he had composed himself enough, and dried his face enough, to face Shinji again he looked up and met Shinji's still open eyes.

"I love you." he blurted out and saw Shinji's lips twitch again as his eyes started to slip closed again.

"Lu' ya too." Shinji mumbled. "So tired…."

Nnoitra frowned. "Can't ya… just…. Please stay awake." Nnoitra pleaded quietly, voice barely reaching Shinji's ears. He was new to things like this and the words didn't roll off his tongue easily. It made it easier to say if he could barely himself.

Shinji hummed softly and finally his lips curved into a real smile. "Tryin'." Shinji whispered as he began to drift off again.

Nnoitra cleared his throat and reached up with his free hand, wiping away anything that might still be there before he stood and leaned over Shinji's bed. He pressed his lips lightly to Shinji's, closing his eye again when he felt movement for the first time in what felt like forever.

"You been sleepin' forever, Blondie. Wake up again soon." he whispered against Shinji's lips and Shinji hummed again.

"'kay." Shinji whispered back.

As Shinji drifted off again Nnoitra took a moment to watch him as his face went slack, noticing that this time it still seemed to hold a bit of the tension. He knew he should tell everyone about what had just happened but he wanted to savor the moment just a little longer; just him and Shinji. After all, as Nnoitra was always eager to point out, he was selfish and Shinji was his.

Two weeks later Shinji was discharged from the hospital with a relatively clean bill of health. There had been no complications with his surgery and more importantly no signs of any sort of brain damage from the times he had been clinically dead. The only thing that Shinji was going home with was acute weakness in his slightly atrophied muscles and his upper body swathed in bandages more to help him stay upright than anything else. Shinji's bones were healing nicely, but his lung and a few ribs were still giving him a lot of pain. Luckily the tube that had been inserted after surgery to help drain off and excess fluids his lung may contain was removed before he left but the wound would have to be cared for by someone at home from now on. Shinji was in no position yet to do so himself so Etta was to come over to the apartment every day to change Shinji's bandages and check how his wounds were healing. Nnoitra had said that he would do it but Etta had brushed off the offer as if it were nothing, which had irritated Nnoitra enough that he glared at the woman as she packed Shinji's things in a small bag.

After Shinji had woken up the world had decided to visit him and offer their well wishes to a speedy recovery. Yumi stopped by to report on things at the club as soon as Shinji regained bit more of his senses. He was in the process of interviewing people to replace Tesla and asked permission to hire Ikkaku as a waiter for the restaurant that had already begun construction the week before; just as planned. Shinji was upset that he had missed both Christmas and the New Year but perked up at the mention of a bash being planned for him for when he got his strength back. The first time he had seen Yayoi he had teared up for two very different reasons. One, she was so much bigger now than he remembered and two because he wasn't strong enough to hold her on his own yet, especially with one arm in a sling. Someone had to be by his side and help him hold her and it made him feel inadequate as a father.

Shinji seemingly remembered everything, even the phone call from Nnoitra though his brain started to grow a bit fuzzy at that point. He had taken the news of his repeated deaths rather well when Ichigo had told him and had been more upset by the fact that Ichigo had been the one to perform the surgery on him. Not that it bothered him at all that Ichigo had been the one to perform it so much as Shinji felt like he had put Ichigo through too much. Both Shinji and Ichigo had cried and laughed at how stupid they were being. Even Grimmjow had come in, Tomoe in his arms, and patted Shinji on an unwrapped shoulder.

"Good to see ya finally woke up." the man had grunted before leaving the room almost as quickly as he had come in.

Now that they were home and the fanfare that the move had caused was died down, Shinji leaned back into the cushions of his couch and pointedly refused to look at the spot on the floor where he had died. Nnoitra had talked to some of the cleaners that Aizen used to fix up little messes like these and had arranged to change the carpeting in Shinji's apartment living room, free of charge for the most part because the particular cleaner he used had a sick fascination with blood. He didn't want to know what that carpet had or was being used for and was just happy to see that hideous spot gone. Shinji groaned and made a face, frowning at the TV remote that was on the coffee table and thus too far for him to reach. Nnoitra smirked and grabbed the thing up, handing it to Shinji before standing up straight and staring down at the blond thoughtfully.

Shinji frowned up at him. "What?"

Nnoitra shrugged. "Want anythin' ta drink? Ain't it time fer yer pill?" he asked and Shinji sighed.

"What I want is for you to stop actin' so damn weird. I ain't… that broken. Just sit the fuck down and relax."

A wide grinned stretched Nnoitra's mouth and he laughed quietly before licking his lips. "Bossy bitch."

Shinji rolled his eyes but smiled just the same. "There you are." he whispered.

Nnoitra watched Shinji flip through channels for a moment before he wandered off to drop Shinji's bag in his room and grab a glass of water so he could take his antibiotics. Shinji had limited himself to two pain pills a day max so that he, hopefully, wouldn't become dependent on them again like he had the last time he had taken them. When Nnoitra returned to the living room he dropped Shinji's pills into his open palm and handed him the glass to swallow them down. Shinji handed back to glass and watched Nnoitra set it on a coaster before sitting on the couch next to Shinji.

"It's nice, bein' home. Not bein' hooked up to anythin', or havin' people come poke at me every hour." Shinji looked up at Nnoitra and grimaced a bit when dull pain spread through his chest.

"That is 'nless yer gonna be pokin' at me know Mr. Suddenly-Turned-Mother-Hen."

Nnoitra snorted and threw an arm over the back of the couch behind Shinji. "Shut up, ya love it. Soak it up while it's here."

Shinji giggled. "It feels good ta relax."

"Che, with all the relaxin' ya just did ya'd think ya'd tire of it already."

"It feels good to be alone with you again. Really alone." Shinji whispered and took a deep breath.

Nnoitra shifted on the couch and looked down at Shinji, chewing on his lip a moment before deciding that he couldn't wait to show Shinji what he had gotten for him. He leaned over and kissed the side of Shinji's head, keeping his lips pressed there as he spoke.

"Ya want yer present now?"

Nnoitra had refused to give Shinji his Christmas present until they were alone and Shinji looked up as quickly as he could without hurting himself, nodding emphatically. Of course he wanted his present. He'd wanted it the moment Nnoitra had mentioned it and had been so irritated that he hadn't been given it. Nnoitra kissed Shinji again and shifted his weight so he could reach inside his pocket and pull it free. He'd kept it close ever since he had bought it, not only because it was for Shinji but because it had cost him a small fortune; every penny he had left to him. It was in a simple black velvet box and Shinji smiled down at it as it was handed to him, wondering if it was new nipple rings or a new fancy tongue ring. Maybe a bracelet or a nice chain necklace. He looked up at Nnoitra before he looked back down and slowly lifted the lid.

Shinji froze at what he saw, mouth dropping open as he looked at the small object. All he could see at first was what looked like a sphere made of tiny diamonds stuck between two small pyramid-like points on either side. He reached for it, pulling it gently from the soft pillow it was seated in and saw the body of a ring almost in the shape of a horseshoe. His breathing increased as he held the ring between his thumb and fore fingers, looking closely at it, instantly reminded of a disco ball held up by metal spikes. Honey eyes rose and locked with two violet ones and his breath caught. He hadn't noticed Nnoitra removing the eye patch and pushing his hair behind both ears, out of his face. Nnoitra cleared his throat and took a deep breath before saying in a deep and rushed voice, "Suppose yer gonna want me ta do this right, ne?"

To Shinji's utter shock Nnoitra pushed off the couch and dropped to a knee, biting his lip and frowning as he looked into Shinji's eyes and reached for the hand that was holding the ring. One of the things he had decided while Shinji had still been out was that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with this person. There was no one else for him and there never would be. Shinji was it and that's all there was too it. And what better way to show his devotion and love, than this?

"Marry me."

Shinji inhaled sharply and dropped the box that the ring had been in.

"What?" he asked, his voice breathy and his throat going dry.

Nnoitra cleared his throat and his lip curled a little before he spoke slowly. "I love ya and I ain't goin' nowhere. Never again. I want ta be here fer everythin'. Fer you… and fer… the little one too."

Shinji's brows furrowed and he shook his head in disbelief. "Really?" he asked, his voice breaking and tears gathering in his eyes. "Y-Yo-chan too?"

Nnoitra looked uncomfortable for a moment but nodded and looked down at the ring.

"Look, I feel like as ass down here, how long ya gonna leave me hangin'?"

Shinji sniffled and let a few tears fall before he nodded his head. "Yes." he whispered and nodded again. "Yes."

Nnoitra grinned in relief and took the ring from Shinji's fingers, sliding it onto the fourth finger of his right hand and kissing it once it was in place. Shinji sobbed openly and when Nnoitra rose to kiss him it was wet and salty from Shinji's tears. Long arms wrapped gently around Shinji's body and pulled him into a gentle hug as Nnoitra whispered words of love to Shinji as he cried. Nnoitra felt like the world had lifted from his shoulders and his chest felt ready to burst with how happy he felt in that moment. Neither one of them were sure how long they sat there like that but it was Nnoitra who finally pulled back first. Shinji took a deep breath and looked down at his new ring, smiling stupidly at it as he wiggled his fingers. The light caught the jewels a bit and Shinji looked up at Nnoitra as the man slid back up onto the couch beside him, grinning.

"I hope yer happy. I watched one'a yer lame foreign romance movies to make sure I did it… kinda right." Nnoitra said, corners of his mouth turning down a bit as the thought of screwing it all up briefly popped up in his mind. He couldn't screw up what he'd already done, he supposed.

Shinji almost started crying all over again at the confession and he giggled at the image of Nnoitra grimacing over whatever movie he had chosen to watch.

"Thank you." Shinji said, reaching out to pull Nnoitra close by his shirt for another, slow kiss. "Soon as I'm better I'mma thank ya properly." Shinji said, his words like a vow that made Nnoitra skin light on fire.

"Promise?"

Shinji smiled. "Of course. How could I not thank my fiancé for this fantabulous ring?" he giggled.

Nnoitra laughed and shook his head, brushing his lips against Shinji's before pulling back and pulling Shinji as close as he could without hurting him.

"Fiancé." he let the foreign word roll off his tongue and found he liked it; quite a lot actually.

"I love you, Nnoi. So much it hurts sometimes." Shinji said as he stared down at his ring and tried to get comfortable next to Nnoitra.

"Same here, Shinji. So much it drives me crazy." He kissed the top of Shinji's head and muttered into his hair, "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

End

A/N *bawls her eyes out* Well there you have it Duckies, the final chapter of Solid Gold. I'll be putting out a short Epilogue soon but this is basically it. I'm please with how this turned out, even though I'm so very sad to see it end. I don't know much else to say about this right now, my head feels a little numb at he moment and I really should go blow my nose to stop the incessant sniffling that's been going on since I started writing the last scene. Thank you all who supported me throughout this story and continued on from Strawberry Bad boy. It's been a long, windy, bumpy ride that I hope you all enjoyed as much as I did. Thank you all for reading and reviewing.

*bows*

~Penny

*Oh, btw, this is Shinji's ring: http : / www . hedkandi . com / uploads / products / fashion / HR102029 _ 004 _ 1 _ 30661 _ silverFashionProduct1 _ jpg _ Standard . jpg (Just take out the spaces)*