R&R everyone!
The Truth Is…
The same evening.
With each step he took down the smooth pavement in Rukia and Grimmjow's neighborhood, Ichigo felt himself growing more and more nervous. On his back was the booksack that Grimmjow had forgotten earlier when he threw it off to fight that guy in the downtown area. With it, Ichigo had been given the perfect reason to visit him.
Looking up to the sky, he noticed that the lingering clouds were departing and the evening stars were beginning to appear one by one.
With sweaty palms, Ichigo realized he was scared. Deep down, even though he trusted Grimmjow completely, he knew the man had a temper that was a real bitch to get control over. And although it appeared that he had gotten some control over it over the past few months of their separation, Ichigo knew once he found out Ginjo was the cause of their break up he would lose his mind.
"For now, I guess I should just start out slow and see if he needs help catching up with his schoolwork…" he said nervously, and then looked back down to see the Jaegerjaques mansion he'd been heading to.
Knowing that he owed Grimmjow, and even Vivienne, that much, he didn't slow down when he got near their house. In fact, he sped up.
Up the sidewalk that led to the front door, lit by dim landscape lights, he walked. His mind was set on at least be friendly with Grimmjow tonight. He deserved that much.
After reaching out his finger and pressing the doorbell, he waited patiently for an answer. He was thankful that it didn't take long for someone to come to the door.
It was Neliel. After pulling back the curtain and peering through one of the window panes next to the door, she quickly unlocked the door and openened it. Sticking her head out, she smiled happily when she saw Ichigo standing on her front porch. "Ichigo! What are you doing here?!" she asked.
The boy pulled Grimmjow's booksack off of his back and held it up. "I'm here to give this to Grimmjow. He left it earlier. Is he here?"
"Of course he is! Don't worry, I'll give it to- Oh! Um, actually… Why don't you come in and take it to him? I'm sure he'd love to see you." The girl said, and then opened the door all the way to allow him to come inside.
"Thanks, Neliel."
"No prob! He should be up in the workout room… where he usually is…"
"Right." Ichigo said, and then walked past the teal-haired girl.
He made his way up the stairs, wondering what he should say. The anticipation of doing it was really getting to him. He started to feel a lump in his throat, his heart started beating faster, and his palms got even sweatier.
The boy sighed lightly. Walking through this immense mansion reminded him of all the times he'd been through here at Grimmjow's side, as his boyfriend. It had been quite a long time ago that they were together…
When he reached the workout room, he paused and took a moment to regain his composure. If he came off as too nervous, then Grimmjow would surely know something was up.
Gently, he knocked against the heavy door and waited patiently for a response.
"Neliel, if you're going to spray me again with that damned water gun, I swear I'll-" Grimmjow began. His blue eyes widened the moment he opened the door and saw Ichigo standing in his hallway, looking very adorable with an unusually nervous look on his face and red cheeks. "Kurosaki… what are you doing here?"
"Hey Grimmjow. I came here for you..."
"Really?" Grimmjow asked, and then opened the door all the way, indicating for him to come in.
Ichigo walked past him and turned around so he wouldn't see that the booksack on his back belonged to him. Then he took a seat on the weight bench, making sure that his back was facing the wall.
"What are you doing here?" Grimmjow repeated, and then walked up in front of him. "You said you came here for me… What does that mean?"
"I…" unable to think, Ichigo just stopped talking to avoid babbling.
"It's like he doesn't even know his booksack is missing…" he thought.
For a moment, he took note of the bluenette's shirtless form. The bruises from that confrontation earlier were evident now, spread across his curvaceously muscular torso. And then there was that large, dark scar from where he had been stitched up which was just as prominent as it had ever been.
"You got something stuck in your throat? Why aren't you talking?"
"… Well, I came here to give you this, you baka." The boy responded, and then pulled the booksack off his back. "What kind of person forgets their booksack…?!"
"Oh that? Che, get over it."
"You never would have done the French assignment that's due without your notes. It's not something to just 'get over'...!"
"You came here to give me that? That's what you meant by 'I came here for you'?"
"Well, not entirely. Back when you were in the hospital, I… kind of promised your mom I'd help you catch up with your schoolwork that you missed when you took your winter vacation early. So I came here to try and do that."
Rolling his cerulean eyes, Grimmjow took his bag from Ichigo. Of course that's what he'd come her for. He realized though, that this was the opportunity he'd been waiting for. Studying alone with Kurosaki could very well lead to… other things… "I guess we can study for a while." He said.
"Oh, okay then. Let's go to your room. Not much we can do in here…" Ichigo said, before standing up from the weight bench.
"Lemme grab a shower first. I'm pretty sweaty, as you can see." The bluenette smirked, and then started flexing his sweaty muscles trying to arouse Ichigo.
"I'll wait in your room." The shorter boy commented dismissively, and then shook his head.
"You know… you could always join me in the shower instead of just waiting for me to be done… I have clothes you can sleep in, in case you end up sleeping over from getting too tired… studying and all." Grimmjow said, putting an emphasis on the fact that they'd be studying.
"Nice try, Grimm. I'll be waiting for you when you're done."
With that, Ichigo headed to the man's room.
When he got there, he took a seat on the bed.
Grimmjow, who had followed right behind him, leaned over the smaller boy then grabbed a t-shirt and pair of shorts that were at the head of the bed. He winked down to him when he caught him blushing.
"You want me, don't you Kurosaki?"
"Go take your shower… baka…"
Without another word, Grimmjow got off the bed and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Ichigo sighed. Looking down, he realized these were the same sheets he and Grimmjow had done so much on… Falling back onto them, he stared up at the ceiling and grabbed two handfuls of the thick comforter underneath him. This room smelled just like Grimmjow. The same heavy scent he always had on him.
He turned his brown eyes to the entertainment center and was surprised to see it was unusually neat. When he sat up, he noticed that for the first time in the history of knowing him, the rest of Grimmjow's room seemed in order, too. It was so strange.
After a few minutes of sitting alone in the room, Ichigo was glad when Grimmjow came back from taking his shower. "That took you a while… What were you doing in there for so long?" he asked.
"Sorry, I had to wash my hair." The man smirked, and then shook his head of the lingering water.
"It's fine. We don't have too long to study today since it's already getting pretty late, so what do you want to start with? We have a French project to work on, that seems like a good place to begin."
"I think we should start with history. I have some chapter assessments to take care of from last semester. Besides, I'm not in the mood for French right now."
"Okay. Get the textbook and some paper and we can start."
"I know, Kurosaki. You don't have to tell me that." The man responded, and then got the materials from his desk.
…
Sitting comfortably at the head of Grimmjow's bed against his many pillows, Ichigo read over the next chapter in the textbook so he could make sure Grimmjow's answers to the assessment would be correct.
Grimmjow, therefore without a textbook, used that as an excuse to turn on the television. Ichigo only agreed under the condition that the volume stayed low so he didn't get distracted while he read.
"Oi, Kurosaki! Check out this guy about to faceplant in the mud!" the bluenette shouted excitedly.
"Grimmjow, I'm trying to concentrate here. I guess my priorities are higher than yours when it comes to you catching up in school…"
After muting the television, Grimmjow turned and looked Ichigo in the eyes. "You were following me today, weren't you?" he asked seriously.
Flustered, Ichigo averted his eyes and looked down at the textbook. "No, I wasn't!"
"Yeah you were. Don't lie to me."
"I was not…!"
"Well you had my booksack. I can't help but think that's the only reason why you did."
"Not even! Don't be so full of yourself, Grimmjow."
"Then why did you have it?" After a few seconds of getting no response, Grimmjow moved closer to the boy. "Why were you following me?" he asked.
"Okay, I was following you. You figured it out."
"Any particular reason you did that?" the man asked. He crawled forward and put his arms on either side of Ichigo's thighs, then rested his chin on top of the textbook the boy was holding.
"I wanted to talk about the schoolwork I said I'd help you with. That's what we're doing right now. And that's all." Ichigo said, feeling himself getting warm at Grimmjow's close proximity.
The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds, but Ichigo had to look away. Grimmjow was too adorable when he was prying for information like this. It made him wonder if he was the only one who saw this side of him.
With a disappointed look, Grimmjow backed off and gave Ichigo some space. "I guess. If you say so." He commented.
Since the subject of tailing someone had been addressed, Ichigo decided to ask about what happened earlier. "So… who was that guy you were fighting with? You seemed pretty intent on beating him… So much so that you tailed him across town."
"That prick was the guy who ran me off the road that night and ran his knife across my torso. The bastard is the reason the insurance company said my car was a total loss... I hadn't planned to see him, but when I did, I had to do something. Did you think I'd run and hide from him?"
"No, that's not the kind of guy you are… Do you think he'll be a problem anymore?"
"Nah. I don't think I'll be seeing him around anymore."
Ichigo smiled. "I hope not. I only want you to be safe, you know…"
"Hey, we can pick up with this studying tomorrow after school. Let's play some games or something."
"I guess we can stop for tonight…" the orange-haired boy said, and then closed the thick history textbook. "But make sure you read chapter sixteen before I come over tomorrow."
"Right. Wait, you're coming over tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I'm going to help you study. Why? Is that a problem?"
"No, I just… wasn't expecting this… Being with you like this, getting closer and stuff, it makes me happy."
Ichigo was practically speechless. He looked down and started fiddling with the corners of the textbook. "It's not like we weren't close before…" he mumbled.
"Anyway, let's play some Dragonball Z."
"… Really? Isn't it getting a little late?"
"I told you you could stay over if you wanted to." Grimmjow said, then hopped off of his bed and walked over to the entertainment center.
Ichigo caught the controller that was tossed to him. "You're serious…?"
"Heck yeah! This game kicks ass!"
"You would like these kinds of games, wouldn't you?"
"Fuck yeah!"
Rolling his eyes, Ichigo shrugged his shoulders. This game, although kind of violent, seemed like a healthy alternative compared to some of the latest games… especially the first person shooter ones.
"You wanna play me, or do you wanna tag team an enemy?" Grimmjow asked, before he walked back over and sat down on his bed again. "I'm cool with either."
"Let's… tag team an enemy."
"Pussy. You know you'd never beat me. But let's do it. We're a powerhouse when we work together, anyway."
Ichigo blushed and looked down at the green light in the center of his controller. Being here with Grimmjow was so… nice. But more importantly, it was fun. Just like old times…
As the game loaded, he looked around the clean room one more time before speaking. "Why is your room so clean? Were you expecting company or something?"
"Nah, not tonight. But ever since my mom came back, she's been riding my ass about keeping this place in order. If I don't do it, she'll go on a cleaning binge and throw some of my valuable shit away if she sees it on the floor."
"If it's valuable, why would it be on the floor?"
"… 'Cuz I'm lazy, okay… You know that."
With a chuckle, Ichigo shook his head. "I guess… So your mom is living here?"
"Kind of. She visits and talks to dad, which sometimes leads to her staying over at night. When she's not here, she's sliding her credit cards at fancy hotels around Karakura."
"Your mom sleeps here? With your dad…?"
"Oh no. When she stays over, she makes him sleep on the couch. I don't know what the hell is going on with them, and I don't really care. If they get back together, then they do, if not, oh well."
"Grimm, your parents are talking again. You should be happy about that."
"It makes no difference to me."
"It could some day… You never know."
"Well, that's not today. This talk is making me depressed…"
"Heh, I'm sure that'll go away when the game starts."
"You know it!"
Once the game loaded, Grimmjow set up the battle so they'd have unlimited time and at least four Senzu Beans to split. With the difficulty set at the highest level, he asked Ichigo if he was ready.
"Yeah, I'm ready. Let's pick our characters."
Expectantly, Grimmjow picked Vegeta, the hothead of the Dragonball Z universe. Ichigo picked another expected choice, Goku, the hero. The enemy was Broly, and they decided to give him four Senzu beans as well.
…
"Grimmjow, look out for the love of God! He's about to fire that green thing at you and kill you!" Ichigo shouted.
"I can see that! I'm stunned by this random ass electricity! Shit!" said man responded.
When he was taken out by the attack, Grimmjow threw his controller into the air and pouted; his face red with a scowl.
Ichigo laughed for a second, but then offered him a Senzu Bean.
"I don't need your pity." The bluenette brooded.
"C'mon… We can take him together and win the battle." Ichigo said as he made Goku fly around over Vegeta's defeated body.
"Do whatever you want."
Just as Ichigo made Goku land next to Vegeta, Broly rushed him with a super attack.
"Shit!" the orange-haired boy exclaimed, and then watched the attack unfold.
"Fuck this." Grimmjow said, and then jumped over to the console. As soon as Broly made to complete his attack move, he shut the game off.
"Hey, we could've rematched him! On that difficulty we might still have lost, I know, but still…"
"Che, you've still got that pussy-like attitude, I see. No confidence in yourself whatsoever."
Ichigo's eyebrows knitted down. "I was just trying to make it better! You're the one flipping his shit about a silly video game!" he said, and then got up.
Grimmjow watched as the boy put his shoes on and then left the room. "Kurosaki!" he called after him, realizing he was about to leave.
Ichigo hurried out of the mansion and out into the cool night air.
Yeah he was upset, but he wasn't really upset at Grimmjow… even though his comment was pretty uncalled for. With each step he took away from the Jaegerjaques mansion, he couldn't help but feel like he was losing himself. Because at one point, he was convinced that he would tell Grimmjow about what had been going on with him and Ginjo.
Just as he reached the stop sign at the end of the street, Ichigo was stopped by a strong grip on his right arm.
He turned and there was Grimmjow, in his bedtime attire, holding onto him firmly with a strange look in his eyes.
"Grimmjow…"
"Kurosaki, where are you going?" said man asked, before letting the boy go. "You shouldn't storm off like that… You know bad shit happens when we do that."
After taking a few steps away from the taller man, Ichigo looked up to the sky and then bawled his hands up into fists.
"I wish things hadn't spun so far out of control…" he thought.
The stars above were plentiful… just like all the people who had pushed him to do this up until now. Every hour spent together, every little intimate moment, everything they had been through, all of it had come down to this.
"Kurosaki, what's wrong with you?" Grimmjow asked again.
Memories came flooding in at that moment. The memory of the school garden, the hot springs, Los Noches, the beach, the cherry blossom trees, the sub shop, the memories of the encouragement his friends gave him, the memories of his little sisters and father who always supported him, and of course, the memory of the promise he had made to his mother when he was younger.
He promised her that he would always be happy, no matter what he was faced with. Somehow, he had to be the one to try for that. She entrusted him with her spirit, which had the power to lift even those around her up. That meant something to him. And as best he could, he would try. Right here, right now, he would try to regain the promises he felt like he'd abandoned.
All the promises, both big and small, that he had made with Grimmjow came back to him. Compared to the many promises he'd made with everyone else in his life, Grimmjow especially, the vow he made to Ginjo seemed to lose its significance. It was losing its hold over him.
"Kurosaki, look at me." When Ichigo turned from gazing up at the star-filled sky, Grimmjow thought for a second that he could see them shining in his eyes. It took him a moment to realize that what he was seeing was actually tears. "Hey, what's wrong with-"
"Grimm… I…" Ichigo started. This had to come out. It had to be said. The boy closed his eyes, took a deep breath, opened his eyes again, and then spoke. "Grimm… The truth is… I never wanted to break up with you in the first place. I still love you, so much."
A deafening silence followed those words the moment they were spoken. Under the starlight, and under the white light of the moon, Ichigo stared into Grimmjow's large, blue eyes. There was no room for lies, fears, or regrets anymore.
The wind started to blow gently, causing a tiny hurricane of leaves to dance around the two figures at the end of the street.