So new chapter. Thank you to my beta, Racey.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
Chapter 03
"Ichigo, where are you going?" He just had to go, even if it was for a little while. He didn't know why he felt the serious urge to go to Dangai. There was plenty of music sitting at home on shiny discs that he could listen to. Jazz, Classical, R&B, Pop, Hip Hop, Soul, Rock & Roll, anything he could possibly want to listen to, but it just didn't feel the same as listening to that man play the piano. It made him smile more than he had been since stepping foot out of the hospital and he refused to pass up a chance to be around those sweet melodies.
"I'm going to that club, Renji." He slid into his all black Vans and fixed his jacket and scarf. He felt great. It had only been a week since he first went to the lounge club, but he felt a little better each day. After going back to the club the following night with Renji and listening to Grimmjow play the piano again, the man had said he could come anytime he wanted to. Grimmjow had given Ichigo his schedule, so he knew when the blunet would be around.
He had gone almost every time Grimmjow was set to play the piano and one day that he was just working as a waiter. They had talked a little bit, but not enough for Ichigo. He enjoyed hearing the man play, but he wanted to know Grimmjow as a person and figure out who the man behind the piano was.
"Aren't you being bothersome for that guy? He does work there." Renji leaned against the wall and watched his friend fiddle with his pockets to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything important. He didn't like the fact that Ichigo was constantly hanging out with that man. He was a great musician, but Ichigo knew nothing about his personal life. He was walking into this relationship blindly and Renji had every right to worry about his friend.
"He said I could come, so I'm going. Are you coming with me or not?" Ichigo didn't give a damn if the red haired man came with him or not. He would find a way to get there.
"I can drive you there if you want to go so badly, but are you sure you should be hanging around him so much? He seems a little…I don't know…careless, especially with that bright ass blue hair."
Ichigo looked up and stared off to the side of Renji. "He has blue hair?"
"Yeah."
"Renji, you're one to talk. You have bright ass red hair, if I remember correctly and I have orange hair. So are we careless too?" Renji frowned. He didn't know how to answer that. He knew Ichigo wasn't careless, but he didn't know about himself. "Look, if you don't want me hanging out with him, just say so, but don't blame it on his hair."
Ichigo was pissed that Renji could even say the same thing both of them had been defending themselves from in high school all those years ago. People had always thought they were delinquents because of their oddly natural bright hair. It was a reason they had been picked on and had gotten into fights. He was never ashamed that his hair wasn't black or brown, but that didn't help when he was defending himself from groups of uptight bullies with nothing better to do.
"You're right, sorry. I just…I just don't want you to get hurt while you're in that condition." Ichigo's face scrunched into a sneer at what Renji was implying. He of all people knew Ichigo didn't want to be constantly reminded of what was wrong with him. "…Shit, Ichi, I'm sorry."
"Save it…I'm leaving and I don't need a ride." Ichigo turned around and felt for the door. He unlocked it and pulled it open and walked out. He slammed the door behind him and unfolded his walking stick. He began to feel for the right direction and hoped he didn't get himself lost while he was in a fit of rage.
Grimmjow sat at his kitchen table, looking through the pile of mail he had grabbed out of the mailbox earlier that morning. He frowned at a sealed envelope from his mother's life insurance company. He had been trying to get in contact with them ever since his mother had passed away to see what was going on with the money she had left aside. They had been dodging him and it was starting to piss him off. He had to dip into his own savings to pay for the funeral and extra expenses, which he didn't mind doing, but the money that was from her life insurance was supposed to help with all those costs.
He ripped open the envelope and pulled out the folded sheets of paper. Unfolding them, he began to read the small printed words on them. Frowning, he continued to read, flipping to the next page. "You gotta' be kidding me?" he mumbled to himself. What he was reading couldn't possibly be right. The company had gone belly-up and all the money his mother had put into her life insurance was gone.
They had filed for bankruptcy and the only way Grimmjow was going to get his mother's money was through a long and drawn out battle in court. He didn't have the time or the money to deal with that, and it was probably going to take months before he would actually receive the life insurance money.
He couldn't believe this shit was happening. He ran a hand through his hair. He had needed those funds to compensate for the money he used before. He was already stretching his savings as much as it could go. He sighed and dropped the group of papers to the table and buried his face into his palms, yelling in frustration. He didn't need these problems right now.
He was lucky Aizen was starting to give him a new salary, but that didn't justify not having what his mother spent her whole adult life. He ran his hands through his hair again and looked up at the clock. He needed to get ready to go to work. He needed every second of every minute at that job. He sighed and rose from the table, leaving the mess of papers sitting there; he would finish reading them and deal with the problem later.
He made his way to his bedroom to start getting dressed, when his cell phone started to ring. He strolled into the bedroom, over to the bedside table and picked it up, looking at the caller ID. He frowned when he realized who it was and rejected the call. He didn't need to deal with Luppi's whiny ass right now. The constant calling and crying over the phone was not an attractive thing for the petite man to do and it only made Grimmjow want to stay farther away from him.
He should have known it was going to happen though. Luppi had always been a very clingy man and if Grimmjow wasn't around he turned into some little crybaby. He made his way over to his closet and pulled out a plaid long-sleeved button down. He slipped it over his short-sleeved gray t-shirt and buttoned up his taupe colored low rise fitted jeans. He sighed when he heard his cell phone ring again.
He strode over to it and answered it. "What the hell do you want?"
"…Uhm, Grimmjow?"
"…Ichigo?" The blunet was surprised to be hearing from Ichigo, he had thought it was Luppi calling him back.
"Yes, uh, did I call you at a bad time?"
"No, no what's up?" He made his way back over to his closet to finish getting ready.
"Uh, well, I-I feel kind of awkward asking you this, since I just met you, but uhm…" Grimmjow listened to the panic and shakiness in the orange head's voice and realized something was wrong.
"Is there something wrong?" He stopped what he was doing to listen to Ichigo's surroundings in the background. He couldn't tell if the man was outdoors or not.
"I'm kind of…lost and don't know where I'm going. I kind of need…" Ichigo trailed off, not really wanting to ask a complete stranger for help. He would have called Renji, but he was still upset at him and his stubbornness wouldn't let him call the red head.
"Where were you trying to go?"
"I was going to meet you at your job, so that I could see you." Grimmjow could practically see the blush on the smaller male. He could be so cute sometimes. Focus, Grimmjow!
"Did you ask someone where you were located?"
"There's no one around, at least I don't think so. I can't really hear any voices or anything. I hear cars, but that's about it."
"Oh, Ichigo…"
"I'm sorry…it's okay if you're too busy, I can figure something out." Grimmjow frowned at the undertone of hurt in the man's voice. From the way Ichigo interacted with the red haired guy, Grimmjow figured Ichigo wasn't used to asking people for help. When they were at the club, whenever the red head asked if Ichigo needed any assistance, the man would go into a frenzy about not being handicapped and being able to do things himself.
"No, no, how long have you been out? If you just left home I can probably find you."
"Uhm, I've been out for maybe fifteen minutes."
"Give me your address and I'll be on my way." Grimmjow went and grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil so he could quickly jot down the smaller man's address. He was surprised that the male didn't live too far away from him. They practically lived in the same neighborhood. He continued to talk to Ichigo as he pulled on his black lace up workman boots and tied them loosely. He grabbed his bomber jacket and scarf and slipped them on, before grabbing his wallet and car keys.
He made his way out of his apartment and down the flight of stairs and over to the parking lot. Slipping into his dark blue Honda Accord, he made his way towards the man's place of residence. He listened to Ichigo speaking to him on the other line and he tried to keep him calm. After driving for a little while, he pulled up to the curb in front of Ichigo's apartment and stepped out of the car, shivering at the cold breeze.
"Okay, Ichigo, I'm standing in front of your apartment. Now tell me everything you did."
"Uhm, okay I walked down the walkway that leads out onto the main sidewalk. I remember there's a stop sign right on the corner. I made a left…I think and from there I don't really remember. I think I walked past a store though because I heard the chime that usually goes off when people walk through the doorway."
"Okay, good," Grimmjow responded as he began to walk down the way Ichigo said he went. Looking in both directions, he continued to walk down various paths, looking for the bright orange hair. He felt like he had been walking for longer than fifteen minutes when he heard Ichigo speak to him again.
"Grimm, I think there's someone near me. It doesn't feel right." Grimmjow could feel his feet moving faster and faster.
"Doesn't feel right how?"
"It's like someone is sneaking up on me or watching me or something." Grimmjow smirked as he continued to stroll forward. He stepped up behind the orange haired man and looked down at him. He could practically see Ichigo shaking, but he wasn't sure if it was from fear or from the cold.
"Ichigo."
"Hmm?"
"I'm right behind you." Ichigo turned around and almost bumped into Grimmjow's chest. He caught himself and kept his balance and looked straight through the bigger man's chest. "Did I scare you?"
"YES! How could you sneak up on me like that!" Grimmjow disconnected his cell phone and slipped it into his pocket.
"I'm sorry, but you're safe. It was only little ole' me." Ichigo grumbled as he slipped his phone into his coat pocket, scowling.
"Stupid bastard," Ichigo mumbled under his breath, making Grimmjow chuckle.
"So, ready to go?"
"I'm not going now. I can't believe you humiliated me like that."
"Oh come on now, Ichi, I was just fooling with you. I didn't mean you any harm. Sometimes you just gotta' laugh at cha self."
"Whatever, I can't believe you." Grimmjow just smirked down at the scowling and blushing face. The man was absolutely gorgeous. The soft looking peach skin, the strong and narrow nose that had a dusting of freckles running across it. The small, smooth looking pouty lips that Grimmjow wanted to sink his teeth into.
"…How about I make it up to you?" Ichigo looked up and his face started to relax.
"Make it up to me how?"
"You'll find out."
"Grimm, where are we? It smells good in here." Grimmjow could feel Ichigo's finger tugging tight on the back of his jacket as they made their way into a little bakery shop that was down the street from Dangai. He didn't know if Ichigo liked sweets, but from the sweet aroma always wafting off of him, Grimmjow figured he had to have a thing for them.
"It's a sweets and pastry shop."
"Really!" Grimmjow chuckled at the giddy, child-like voice that came out of the smaller male. He was definitely sure Ichigo loved sweets now.
"Yeah, my cousin works here and she's always giving me free samples to taste." Grimmjow looked around the shop, noticing it was a unusually empty. It was usually full with people, no matter the time of day. He noticed no one was manning the front and wondered where his green haired cousin was. He walked up to the counter and leaned over the display glass. He felt Ichigo run his hand around the side of his waist before he saw it touch the cold glass.
He looked on, watching Ichigo look ahead at nothing with a thoughtful expression on his face. "What's good here?"
"Well they have Taiyaki that's usually filled with custard or chocolate. Their cheesecake is the best I've ever had and they have chocolate mint patties, though I've never tried them."
"What do you usually get?" Ichigo turned his eyes towards where Grimmjow's voice had been coming from and the blunet looked down into the white orbs. He gazed into them, millions of thoughts about them running through his mind. Now that he had met Ichigo, he wondered what happened that had resulted in Ichigo losing his eyesight. "Grimm?"
"Oh, uh, I don't eat many sweets, but they have really delicious breads. I usually buy some when they are fresh." Ichigo softly smiled.
"You seem like you wouldn't like sweets. You're more like a pie man, I'm guessing." Grimmjow chuckled. It was true he was a pie man.
"Grimmy?" The blunet looked up when he heard a child-like voice come from behind the counter. He caught sight of his cousin as she came around the counter and dived into him to hug him tight. "You came to visit me! I'm so happy!" She squeezed her arms around his waist and he yelled in pain.
"Ahhh, Nel, you're crushing me! Stop!" She quickly dropped him to his feet and he backed away from the overly excited woman. He glanced to the side of him to see Ichigo staring with confusion before glancing back. "Shit, tryna' kill me."
"I'm sorry, Grimmy. I just haven't seen you in such a long time." Nel made her way back around the counter and stood at the display glass across from the blue haired man. She watched as Grimmjow tried to pull the orange haired male close to him, making the smaller man blush and slap him against the arm. She smiled wide at how affectionate her older cousin was being. "Oh! Who is this, Grimmy?"
"Oh right, Nel, this is Ichigo."
"Itsygo?" Ichigo chuckled at the way the girl said his name. It was weird, but with the way her voice sounded, it was like a child trying to speak someone's name. "Hi! I'm Nelliel, but you can call me Nel."
"It's nice to meet you." She smiled at Ichigo and noticed how close he was moving towards Grimmjow, wondering if it was a sign of comfort. It seemed the orange haired man felt a little safe around her cousin and it made her happy.
"Now, what can I get you two?"
Ichigo and Grimmjow walked into the lounge club side by side. Ichigo was holding a large box of pastries and sweets that Nel had given him. He thought she was such an interesting person and she seemed like she was a lot of fun. She teased Grimmjow most of the time they were there and she even asked him about his boyfriend. Ichigo was surprised that Grimmjow liked men. He seemed like he was an all-around ladies man, but he guessed he was wrong.
He kind of felt a little envious of Grimmjow for being able to figure himself out. Ichigo didn't know what he liked, whether it was men or women. He had never thought about it. He always had more important things to think about instead of those kinds of things, but now that he thought about it, he still didn't know. He didn't want to be labeled as something he wasn't, so he couldn't say if he was heterosexual, homosexual or bi-sexual. He couldn't say he was asexual because he would be lying to himself. No matter what he liked, he still thought about sex. He may not have had any, but that didn't change the fact that he didn't want any. It was always about being with the right person.
The person you are willing to give yourself to fully and not worry about being hurt. He wouldn't admit it, but he didn't want to be hurt. He was sure that went for a lot of people, but from the way his life had been, he couldn't afford being thrown aside. He wore his vulnerability on his sleeve and he needed a person that wouldn't take advantage of it.
He knew who ever he chose to be with, it would be someone that could make him smile easily. Someone he felt comfortable being around and someone he could be himself around. He needed a person who was willing to see him for him, without only seeing his problems.
"Ichigo…what are you standing there for?" He felt someone tug on his jacket and he let Grimmjow drag him away. "Did you know that you space out a lot? It's kinda' creepy." Ichigo smiled to himself as he let Grimmjow take him wherever. He felt safe in the blunet's hands and he had a feeling that the older man wouldn't deliberately put him in danger.
"Shut up, it's not creepy. I was just thinking."
"About what?" Ichigo felt Grimmjow take the box from his hands and then started to feel a tug on his jacket, before hands removed themselves from it. Ichigo started removing his jacket, glad that Grimmjow didn't try to completely take it off for him. He lowered his hand to feel for the table and his other one to feel for the seat and maneuvered himself into it.
"Just stuff…" Ichigo didn't want to be detailed about it, so he just gave a vague answer. He heard Grimmjow hum in understanding before speaking again.
"Are you hungry? I can get Nanao to make you something before I start my shift. I don't want you eating those sweets without eating some real food."
"What am I? Your child?"
"Of course you are my little, wittle Ichi," Grimmjow responded, making Ichigo scowled, mumbling about creepy weirdoes under his breath. Grimmjow just smirked down at the smaller male. "Seriously though, their stuff is pretty sweet and you shouldn't eat it without having some real food."
"Fine, fine, whatever."
"I'll be back with your food, okay?" Ichigo nodded his head and Grimmjow went on his way. He headed to the bar to order something for Ichigo, then went to the back of the club and got ready for his shift. He was slipping on his apron, when his cell phone rang. "Who the-" He reached into his jacket and pulled the phone out and growled at the name.
"What the hell do you want, Luppi?"
"Grimm! Y-you finally answered!"
"Yeah, now what do you want? I'm busy," Grimmjow grumbled as he fixed his apron.
"I-I'm sorry about what I said. I d-didn't mean to offend you or any-anything I was just speaking m-my mind. Please come back to me, Grimm." Grimmjow sucked his teeth in annoyance. He was so tired of this. He really debated changing his number, but that was too much of a hassle.
"No, now are you finished crying? I gotta' get to work."
"NO! Grimm, please! I promise I'll change. I-I won't be rude anymore and I wont, uhm, speak badly about people anymore." The blunet leaned against the lockers and listened to Luppi beg and plead for him to take him back. He wasn't really fazed by it. Luppi enjoyed crying to get his way, but Grimmjow couldn't tell whether it was just an act or not. He sighed when he heard Luppi timidly saying, "please, please" continuously. It was started to sound pathetic.
"I have to go, Luppi. I'm at work, so we can talk about this later."
"Are you going to take me back?" He almost sounded hopeful and genuinely happy.
"I…don't know, but I gotta' go." He said his goodbyes to the petite man and threw his phone into the locker and shut it quietly. He made his way out and over to the bar to grab his pen and pad. He felt like he had just been persuaded by tears to give Luppi another chance. Wasn't he going to let the smaller man go? Why was he even thinking about taking him back now? He was happy not having to deal with his whiny voice. He felt great not having to listen to the way he talked about people or the rude comments constantly coming from his mouth. Did he really think Luppi was going to change something he had been doing for years?
He looked up and saw Ichigo looking off into space. He enjoyed the company the orange head offered. It was relaxing and though the man was fiery, it was in a good way. He wasn't really sure how Ichigo felt about him, but the man was willing to spend time with him and that was enough for Grimmjow. He sighed and looked to his side, watching Shunsui come his way with a plate of food.
"You look troubled," the older man murmured. He watched as Grimmjow grabbed a glass from the back shelf and filled it with liquid. Grimmjow grabbed the plate from Shunsui and turned his back to the dark haired male.
"I am…very troubled." He made his way towards Ichigo's table and set the plate of food in front of Ichigo and the glass next to it. "Here you go, Ichigo."
Ichigo frowned at the tone in Grimmjow's voice. He could feel the tense air and turned his face to look at him. "Is something wrong?"
Grimmjow stared down at Ichigo, pressing his lips together. Did he seriously want to give up a chance with him just to go back to Luppi? He frowned to himself. He was being such an idiot. "Naw, just thinking about some stuff. I'm starting my shift now, so I'll check on you in a bit, 'kay?"
Ichigo nodded and reached his hand out to feel for the silverware. Grimmjow watched him for a bit, making sure he could feel for everything before he left. His shift seemed to drag on with the way his mind was going a mile a minute. He didn't know if taking Luppi back was going to be such a good idea. Even though they had been together for years, it didn't seem like a logical thing to do. Being around the petite man was never a happy occasion. So why would he put himself back into the situation? Maybe it was because of the familiarity of how they interacted with each other, or the fact that he didn't have to try so hard with Luppi.
That made him sound so lazy, but he didn't have any energy to put into creating a new serious relationship. He also didn't even know if Ichigo swung that way, let alone liked him on that level. He figured Ichigo wasn't too sure about what he liked, by the way he reacted to things. He could just ask, but he didn't want to put the smaller man into an awkward situation. It was funny how uncertain of himself he was lately.
He walked past Ichigo's table to check on him and noticed the man's brows were creased. He hadn't seen him scowling to himself for a few days and wondered what the problem was. He made his way over to the kitchen to place the dirty dishes in the sink. Afterwards, he made his way to the bar and filled a glass with ice-cold water before making his way over to Ichigo's table again. He noticed Ichigo leaning forward and when he got closer he could hear the man grunting in pain.
He dropped to his haunches and set the water down on the table. "Ichigo, what's wrong?" He watched the man for a while, waiting for him to speak again. He raised his hand to the orange head's neck and slid it against the back of it, massaging the area.
"It's nothing, just a headache. I just need to get my medicine."
"Where is it? I can get it for you."
"NO! I don't need help. Just…just let me do it." Grimmjow frowned at the hostility, but let the man go about his business. He watched as Ichigo searched for his jacket. The man slipped his hand into the pocket, pulling out a small bottle of pills. He tried to pull the top off, but frowned at how difficult it was. Grimmjow wouldn't say anything until Ichigo asked him. "Gr-Grimm." He sighed, trying to will himself to ask for help. "Can you open this for me? I need two pills."
Grimmjow reached for the bottle and pulled open the childproof lid. He tipped the bottle over and let two pills fall into his hand before closing the lid again. He set the bottle down and handed Ichigo the pills and then reached for the glass of water to give to him as well. He watched as Ichigo swallowed the pills and water and then set the glass back down. "Feel better?"
"Ye-yeah, thank you. Sorry I yelled at you."
"Don't worry about it. I forgot you like to do things independently." Grimmjow rose from his crouching position and was about to get back to work, when he felt Ichigo's hand tugging on his shirt. He looked over his shoulder to see him with his head lowered. "Ichigo?"
"Uhm, it's really hard for me to ask people for help, so I hope you don't take offense when I get like that. I'm just not used to it. I was always able to do things on my own, so…"
"I said don't worry about it. I kind of guessed that was why. Sometimes though, there are some things you should just let people help you with, even if you know you can do it. There's nothing wrong with having a little help." Ichigo nodded and let his hand drop from Grimmjow's clothing.
"Ar-are you playing the piano today?" Grimmjow grinned at Ichigo.
"No…but I'll play it just for you when my shift is over." Ichigo blushed and Grimmjow grinned wider. He loved seeing the soft red run across the man's face. "Maybe we can talk about some things too."
"Okay…," Ichigo whispered. Grimmjow went back to working. He couldn't wait for his shift to be over so he could spend time with his little berry.
Grimmjow's shift had ended and the club was slowly becoming empty. The beginning of the week was always slow and Grimmjow relished the downtime after a long night's work. He was surprised that Ichigo wanted to stay with him, even after the club closed down to the public and when the staff was only left.
He and Ichigo sat at the piano, side by side on the bench. It was relaxing to just play the piano without millions of eyes on him. He enjoyed the quietness of Ichigo, only hearing his peaceful breathing as he played a few notes on the instrument. He wasn't playing anything special, but it was relaxing and it called for the quiescent mood that was surrounding them.
It was something that he and Luppi never shared. Just being able to enjoy the moment, without arguments or loud chatter. Even simple conversation wasn't a normal thing in their relationship. He really wondered how he had lasted so long.
"Grimm?" Ichigo's quiet voice broke the silence. It was breathy and relaxed.
"Hmm?"
"How long have you been playing the piano?"
"About fourteen years."
"Why aren't you playing for a band or orchestra? You're so talented. Don't you think it's being wasted here?" Grimmjow didn't really know the answer. He never thought about being any place than where he was now. He was always comfortable with the way his life was. Maybe money was tight and he was suffering a little, but he seriously couldn't see himself in any other place. He never thought about being famous or having wads of cash. He just thought about playing and enjoying the music.
He shook his head. "I haven't thought about being any other place than here," he responded. "I enjoy playing here. I enjoy living my life normally and being able to work my music. When I was younger, I wanted to be a composer. Writing jingles and movie soundtracks, things like that, but now, I don't really know."
"You should; you have a total knack for this. You said you write your own music. I'm sure it's really beautiful." Ichigo raised his hand and moved towards the sound of the piano. He felt the fabric of Grimmjow's shirt and ran his fingers down it. Grimmjow watched on with wide eyes as Ichigo's fingers trailed down his sleeve until they touched his hand. He could feel the soft skin of Ichigo's fingers against his, the long delicate fingers tracing circles as he softly played the piano. "Your hands are so soft."
"Uh…thank you?" Ichigo chuckled and continued to massage the skin of Grimmjow's hand letting his fingers work every shape and dip. He let his hand lay over the blunet's, feeling the way his hands bent and curved as he fingered the keys. "Ichigo…"
"I've been wondering what you look like, ever since I heard your voice for the second time. I wonder what color your eyes are and how striking they are. I wonder if you look as good as you sound. I wonder what your blue hair looks like."
"How did you know I had blue hair?"
"Renji." Grimmjow thought for a second, trying to remember whom Renji was. The person must not have been that important for Grimmjow to remember. "He's the one with the long red hair."
"Ahhh, that loud one." Ichigo chuckled and snorted, because Renji was in fact loud. "How do you two know each other?" Grimmjow was trying to get his mind off the fact that Ichigo had yet to remove his fingers from his hand. He needed a distraction from the naughty thoughts in his mind.
"We've been friends since we were in preschool. He's like a brother to me."
"Speaking of brother, do you have any siblings?"
"Two younger sisters, Yuzu and Karin. They are a handful, but I don't know where I would be without them. What about you? Any family?"
"Naw, I'm alone now. My mother passed away a few weeks ago." Grimmjow frowned when he felt Ichigo's fingers tense against his skin. He slowed his playing to a stop and looked over at Ichigo. The boy had a lost expression on his face, but his eyes showed nothing. Grimmjow was having a hard time understanding what Ichigo was feeling with his blind eyes.
Ichigo chuckled dryly and looked down. "You're just like me, huh? No parents." Grimmjow was about to respond, when Ichigo spoke again. "My, uhm, my parents died when I was little. Karin and Yuzu were still babies. I was nine when I found out they had gotten into a car accident. It was hard for us, having no parents at such a young age. Since I was the oldest, I had to be strong for my sisters. We didn't know what was going to happen afterwards. I thought we were going to be separated, but thank God we weren't."
"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to bring up bad memories." Grimmjow really felt bad. He knew how hard it was to lose your parents, so he could understand, but the way Ichigo lost them was premature. His mother was getting old in age and when she got sick, he did hope she would get better, but age hadn't been on her side. Ichigo's parents had probably been in their prime and had young children at home waiting for them. It was a hard thing to go through, especially at that age.
Ichigo shook his head. "It's okay. I asked you about your family, so it doesn't bother me. It's just hard even after ten years." Grimmjow hummed in thought. He was surprised Ichigo was still so young and was dealing with so much. To be nineteen and living his life must be extremely hard.
"Grimmjow." Said man looked up and saw his boss making his way towards him. He frowned, trying to figure out what the man wanted. He felt Ichigo lower his hand away from his and look in the same direction he was looking.
"Yeah, what's up?" Aizen smiled softly when he caught sight of the little ginger haired male behind his favorite employee. He guessed it was the boy that had been enamored with Grimmjow lately.
"Well, it's time to close down shop, so if you're finished, you should get going." Grimmjow looked down at his wristwatch and noticed it was 11:15pm. He didn't realize he had stayed for so long.
"Oh, okay. Come on Ichigo. I'll take you home." Grimmjow rose from the bench and helped Ichigo. They descended the stairs and began to make their way to the back room.
"Oh, by the way, Grimmjow. Your cell phone has been going off for a while. I had half a mind to answer it, but that would be rude of me." Grimmjow frowned, but continued on his way. He guessed it was Luppi calling him again. He would have to deal with that sooner or later.
Grimmjow pulled up to Ichigo's apartment, parked and turned off his car. The silence was deafening, but he didn't know what to say. His mind had been in a whirlwind since he and Ichigo had left the club. Luppi had called five times and left message after message. It was nerve-wracking and he was so frustrated with it, that he didn't say a word to Ichigo. He needed a way to rectify the situation before the orange head thought he didn't want to be around him. He was about to speak when Ichigo beat him to it.
"I had a really nice time tonight. Probably more fun than I've ever had since I've left the hospital."
"That's…good. I'm glad." Ichigo sighed. He could tell there was something going on with Grimmjow. He was distracted and tense.
"Uhm, I guess this is the last time I'm going to see you."
"Wha?" That seemed to bring Grimmjow out of his trance. He didn't enjoy those words. He didn't want to screw up his chances with Ichigo.
"You seem a little distracted and if there are things on your mind, I don't want to bother you." Grimmjow ran a hand through his hair. He figured that was why. He was distracted, but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy being around Ichigo.
"Damn, Ichigo," he mumbled, running a hand through his hair again. "I'm just dealing with some shit. I don't want it to be a reason that you don't want to be around me."
"What's the problem?" Grimmjow sneered out the window. He watched the cold chill freeze and frost the outside of his window. Luppi was the problem. He was a major problem that Grimmjow didn't know how to deal with. The situation wasn't that serious, but it was still a problem he had to deal with.
"My ex-boyfriend."
"Oh…" Ichigo frowned to himself. Ichigo didn't know how to help with that. He hoped Grimmjow would let his ex-boyfriend be, but he was just being hopeful. He knew he wasn't boyfriend material and probably wasn't even Grimmjow's type. Just spending time with the man was enough for him. "Are you getting back with him?"
"I don't want to, I really don't. He's a serious pain in my ass." Ichigo was undoubtedly glad that the man didn't want to go back to his ex, but he felt bad for whoever that man was. He knew how upsetting losing someone was, even if it was just a break-up. "We've been together for a while and maybe I'm just thinking it's convenient to get back with him, but I'm ready to move forward from that relationship. Besides, I have someone else in mind that I want to be with." Ichigo could feel his heart quickening in pace.
"Wh-who would that be?"
"This lithe, orange haired strawberry that I recently met." Ichigo furrowed his brows together in confusion. Who was a strawberry? He sure wasn't a strawberry. He scowled in the direction of Grimmjow, making the older man smirk. "I forgot to mention he's fiery as well."
"Don't call me strawberry."
"Who said I was talking about you?" Ichigo's scowl turned into a frown. Maybe he was hoping for a little too much. He wanted Grimmjow to like him, because he liked Grimmjow. He didn't know if they would get anywhere, but he was sure he enjoyed the man's company.
"I-I just thought that-"
"Ichigo, I wonder about you sometimes. Of course I was talking about you." Ichigo turned towards Grimmjow. He wished he could see what Grimmjow looked like at that moment. He wished he could see the expression on his face, whether he was smiling or expressionless. He wanted to look into his eyes to see if they were lying and playing with his emotions or if they were serious and genuine. He hated not being able to see. He looked down and sighed.
"I wish I could tell if you were lying or not."
"I have no reason to lie, Ichigo. I've spent the whole night with you. Do you really think if I didn't like you I would have wasted my time?"
"But aren't you horrified by my disability?" Grimmjow made a noise of confusion.
"Why would I be? I have no problem with you being blind." Grimmjow gazed at Ichigo. "You thought I would have a problem with it? That's crazy. We have a lot in common. We can easily talk to each other. Your disability isn't getting in the way of that."
"But-"
"No more buts. I like you and you like me, right?" Ichigo nodded. "Then that's all that matters. Don't let your doubts get in the way."
"Okay," Ichigo responded. "Well, I guess I should get going."
"Want me to walk you up?" Ichigo shook his head and reached for the door. Grimmjow unlocked it and Ichigo opened it. The blunet watched as Ichigo unfolded his walking stick and held it out to feel for the curb. "Call me tomorrow. It's my off day, so maybe we can do something other than hang out at my job." Ichigo smiled and nodded. He stepped out of the car and closed the door behind him. Grimmjow watched as Ichigo made his way to his apartment. The man slipped inside and closed the door behind him.
The blunet started his car, making his way onto the road, Ichigo still on his mind. He couldn't believe he almost let his distractions screw up his chance. He guessed he needed to set Luppi straight before he tried to start a relationship with Ichigo. He knew the petite man would try to ruin anything new for him and he didn't want to have to kick the smaller man's ass for it. His cell phone rang again and he sighed, reaching for it.
"What Luppi?" He answered in a deadpanned tone.
"Grimm…can we talk now?" Grimmjow sighed for the hundredth time that night. He figured he better get it over with.
"Yeah, I'm on my way over."
A/N: This was a hard chapter for me. Grimmjow is a very interesting character. I feel just because he's a man it doesn't mean he can't express his feelings well. Grimmjow is the type of man that says whats on his mind whether it's sappy or not. I've want to portray Grimmjow as an open-minded person in this fic. He is someone who really doesn't see over what he wants and is willing to do anything he can to get what he wants. He stresses over things that are depriving him of what he wants. As far as Ichigo goes, him being blind is tough for him and he closes himself off because of his vulnerability. He thinks everyone sees his blindness and not just him, which makes it harder for him to trust people. Grimmjow is kind of a breath of fresh air to him, but that doesn't mean he won't be skeptical about how Grimmjow acts towards him. I don't want this to be a fic where they will immediately get together. They will spend a lot of time together, but Grimmjow is still trying to get over his 3 year relationship with Luppi. No one gets over a long-term relationship fast, regardless if it was a great relationship or a horrible one. It was 3 years of your life that you put your time into and it's hard to let it go. Throughout this he will be balancing how he feels about Ichigo and how he feels towards Luppi.
Also about Rukia and Orihime in the second chapter. There was a reason for both their reactions at the end of that chapter. I didn't speak about it in this chapter because this chapter was all about Grimmichi time, but I'll talk about why that happened in another chapter. I just want everyone to understand what this fic is about. It's about how a person can start a relationship with anyone regardless of their disability or race or whatever and about someone with a disability helping someone without one. This will be a hard fic to write and I'm up for serious critiques if you have any. Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and please review.
