Sorry about the delay. Writer's block and stress have been kicking my behind, but I managed to get the chapter done. So without further ado. This chapter would have been out a few days ago, but there have been problems with ffnet. It's fixed for the time being. Hearts to my beta, Racey
Chapter 08
Everything seemed to fly by too fast for Ichigo. Two weeks had came and gone and he wished he could get them back. He wanted far more time with Grimmjow and he felt that it was just slipping away from him. The man was still working his shifts at the club, so that he could have enough money for when he left. He had been packing up most of the things at his apartment, making sure they were ready to be sent to America.
Grimmjow had called Byakuya to let him know that he would be arriving at the end of the month. He had asked the man about places to stay until he was able to find his own apartment, but the stoic man had said that there had already been a place reserved for him. There was an apartment only a few blocks away from the concert hall and big enough to accommodate him at an affordable price. Grimmjow didn't know what was affordable in America, but he hoped it wasn't too much.
He had already shipped most of his large things, including his furniture and piano over there. He didn't want to have any problem with customs, so he made sure everything was shipped early. Of course that left the man without a place to sleep, so Ichigo insisted on him staying at his apartment until he had to leave. Grimmjow didn't know how to react to the information. He completely loved it on the inside, but he would have to deal with Renji on a daily basis for thirty days. He didn't know if he could take it without turning the man into road kill, but Ichigo said it would be all right. If Grimmjow had to kill Renji, then Ichigo didn't mind.
After staying there for one week, the blunet didn't really think it was so bad. Waking up to Ichigo was the best thing he could ever dream of, other than a brand new piano. Though he would have to deal with Renji's constant glares of death, he thought he could manage. Yuzu was a total sweetheart and every time she saw Grimmjow, she would try to pull him into the kitchen. She knew of him going to America and she felt the need to teach him how to cook, American style.
The girl was a mini chef, producing things Grimmjow only ever seen on television. He wondered where she learned how to cook so well. Ichigo did say he used to cook a lot before he became blind, but Grimmjow doubted that the oranget had taught his sister. The girl was a master, knowing things he didn't even know. He could cook a normal meal or something small in a quick second, but the girl was whipping up twice as many things, creating a meal of three to five dishes at a time. He seriously wanted to take her to America with him.
Throughout the time staying there, he would spend most of his mornings with Ichigo. Anytime before his shift was all put towards Ichigo. They would spend early mornings after waking up, lounging in the bed and talking. Afterwards, Grimmjow made Ichigo walk. He usually went to the gym, but walking would work for a month. He managed to expand Ichigo's comfort zone. Though he walked around by himself every now and then, it still frightened him. He always worried about getting lost.
Grimmjow and Ichigo walked the same way every day, making sure to map out a safe, but populated area. The orange haired man seemed a little more confident, but there were times that he would feel uncomfortable. He would reach out for Grimmjow and would panic if he didn't feel that soft hand grasp his. His body would shake and he would need to be pulled into strong arms. Grimmjow had become his safety blanket. He knew that he wouldn't be able to always depend on the blunet. He knew he would have to do it on his own, but sometimes he felt like he couldn't. He would get frustrated with himself, about how helpless he had become.
He hated feeling as if he would never be able to do anything alone ever again. But when he felt that way, Grimmjow would pull him aside and tell him everything would be okay and that he just had to take it one step at a time. Once Ichigo heard those words in Grimmjow's voice, he would relax and focus. It had become a daily routine for the both of them. Every now and then, they would go out for breakfast, or go to some little music shop that Grimmjow was familiar with.
One day, Grimmjow led Ichigo to an unknown place. Ichigo could hear the laughter of various people and the quiet sound of soft music. He listened as Grimmjow talked to some man, before he was led to another area by the blunet's hand. He wanted to ask questions, but for some reason he didn't feel the need to. Grimmjow had sat him down on a long plastic bench. He knew it was plastic because he had run his hand across it before sitting down. He felt Grimmjow sitting behind him, the normal and familiar warmth radiating from the man.
Ichigo listened to his surroundings, trying to figure out what was going on. He just couldn't take it anymore. "Grimmjow?"
"Hmm." The man's voice had a hint of amusement in it, making Ichigo frown. It made him worry even more about where they were.
"Where are we?"
"Somewhere."
"Grimmjow!" The man just chuckled before going silent again. "…Tell me," Ichigo whined.
"You'll find out in a moment. Just enjoy what's around you."
"I can't see what's around me."
"I didn't say see what's around you. I said enjoy what's around you." Ichigo frowned again and sat quietly. After a few minutes he heard the voice from before speak again.
"Welcome everyone. I am so glad to see so many new people today. Though this is our second class, since we do have new people, I will be explaining the basics and rules of this class. I want everyone to stay safe, so please listen carefully." Ichigo made a noise, upset that he still didn't know what was going on. He listened to the instructions that came from the man's mouth, but didn't understand much about them. He knew they must have been important because he repeated them quite a few times. "I hope everyone understands these rules and welcome to Sculpting I, the basics to sculpting."
Ichigo's eyes went large and he couldn't believe his ears. He could feel a small blush rising across his face. He never thought Grimmjow would actually bring him to a sculpting class. He had said that he wanted to take it up, but it surprised him that Grimmjow was there, sitting behind him. He could feel his heart bursting with joy at the prospect of sculpting with the man who seemed to be trying to steal his heart. Grimmjow was by far the most amazing man he had come in contact with. Sometimes he felt like he was taking advantage of Grimmjow's humanitarian gestures. The man never had one selfish thing to say. He constantly stayed positive about Ichigo's handicap and never gave the man a reason to not love himself, whether he was blind or not.
It made Ichigo think about how things would play out in the future for them. If he ever got enough money for the operation, would he want his eyesight back? Or would he forgo it to live a life of unseeing. He did sometimes feel like a burden on people, but he also saw things in a totally new perspective. It was a scary perspective, but it brought out how people really felt about him. How he wasn't able to depend on himself or think for himself. How he needed someone else to take care of him. How, even when he had no problem before, everyone thought just because his eyesight had been taken away, he was not able to function at 100%. How he hated the word handicapped so much. He never saw himself as handicapped. He just couldn't see what everyone else saw anymore. He saw nothing at all, but how people spoke to him and acted around him.
He could never complain about loving a person for who they were instead of what he saw, because well…he didn't see anything. He listened to everyone talk about how handsome and gorgeous Grimmjow was and even though he did want to know what he looked like, he didn't mind not knowing. He could enjoy how soft Grimmjow's hands were. He could enjoy how strong his jaw line felt and how kissable his lips were. He could enjoy how the man's voice sounded ultra sexy and the way the man's laugh was completely infectious. He could enjoy the way he smelt and how nice it was to feel his body behind him. The strong will to fight for him, even when he didn't want anyone to fight for him. That's what made Grimmjow who he was. And that was all that Ichigo could see.
Grimmjow smirked as he gazed down at Ichigo. They had been in the sculpting class for about an hour and had finished their first lesson. It was quite interesting and he thought it was something he would actually enjoy every now and then. He watched as Ichigo washed his hands of clay in the large tin sink. Once the smaller man felt the clay in his hand; he had immediately gone to work on it, molding and sculpting it. It seemed the boy had a knack for that kind of thing. He had been in his own little world and nothing could penetrate it.
After washing up, they left the large studio and made their way back towards Ichigo's apartment. Grimmjow was glad that it was his day off and he didn't have to worry about rushing off to work. They walked in a comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company, before the blunet decided to start a conversation.
"So, where did you learn how to sculpt? You were doing so well." Ichigo's mouth lifted into a smile, but it looked a bit sad.
"When…I was little, my mom and I would make pottery on the weekend. It was just something to pass the time. Since I did karate during the weekdays after school, we decided the weekends were the best time. Anything we made we would always bring it home. Yuzu and Karin would paint them and we would sit them on the windowsill in the living room." Ichigo's smile seemed to brighten a bit before he chuckled softly. "We would always have to make new ones though."
"…Why?"
"My dad was a very…energetic guy. …Oh, who the hell am I kidding, he was just a crazy ole' goat." Grimmjow chuckled, listening as Ichigo followed suit. "He always ended up breaking them, trying to do some fancy action pose from movies. He would break all sorts of things. Every time we made a new cup or bowl and brought it home, it ended up on the floor, shattered to pieces. My mother never complained though. She always said it gave us more of a reason to go back to the pottery studio on the weekends."
"Huh, I wish I could have met them." Ichigo smirked and glanced in Grimmjow's direction.
"They would have probably liked you. My dad liked anyone who can hold thier own. From the way you beat Renji, he would have taken you in as a second son. My mom…m-my mom was just like a grown up Yuzu. Sometimes I think Yuzu is our mother born again. If Yuzu likes you, my mom would have loved you."
"That's nice to know." Grimmjow could tell Ichigo was feeling a little upset after talking about his parents. He couldn't blame him. He knew it was still hard for him, even after so long. "Ichigo…this is probably the wrong thing to say, but I think you are doing well without them. It's hard for a lot of kids to go through life without their parents. They come out with a lot of issues and problems. You are on the right side of the fence. You've been able to take care of your sisters, who seem to be doing very well and even with what happened to you afterwards, you still keep going. That takes a lot of strength."
Ichigo smiled and nodded. He knew that was true. His parents did well in raising all three of them. He could never complain about them because they were the best parents he could ever have. He sighed and smiled bigger. "Let's go get a smoothie."
"Ulquiorra?"
"…Grimmjow."
"Ichigo!"
"…Inoue? Is that you?" Grimmjow would have never thought to see his best friend in a smoothie shop of all places. The man best suited a torture chamber or a loan office. What surprised him more was the fact that Orihime, the woman he had just met a couple of weeks ago, had her arm wrapped around his. They stood out like a raccoon in a fruit basket, Ulquiorra being the raccoon. This sweet, bubbly girl was with…Ulquiorra. No doubt the green-eyed man was his best friend, but he never thought he would be hanging about with someone like the orange haired girl. He turned his attention to Orihime. Her big, slate colored eyes glistened with happiness as she held onto his dark-haired friend.
"Yes, it's me, Ichigo. How are you?" the orange haired woman asked as she sipped on her chocolate, apple and raspberry smoothie.
"I'm good. How are you?" Orihime was better than good. She was still happy as ever, even after two weeks. Though it was kind of hard to figure out what Ulquiorra was thinking, he seemed to enjoy being around Orihime. He was a quiet one, but she talked enough for both of them. She glanced over to see Grimmjow glaring down at Ulquiorra and wondered what was going on between them. She watched as the blunet pulled her date to the side for a quick chat.
"Ulquiorra. What the hell are you doing with her?"
"What do you mean, Grimmjow? If you were looking with your eyes, you would know that we were purchasing smoothies." The stoic man just glanced up at his friend as he sipped on his smoothie through a straw. Grimmjow found it weird. He had never seen the man sip on smoothies, sodas or even take a drink of lemonade.
"That's not what I mean, dumbass. I mean…are you dating her?"
"We have only recently met and she is an…interesting girl, but I am not quite sure if dating is what I would call it. It's more like…getting acquainted."
"…You two are dating. Well, that's just great." Grimmjow sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"What seems to be the problem with dating her?" Grimmjow frowned and glanced over to see Ichigo and Orihime laughing and talking. Seeing Ichigo happy made him smile a little. He guessed there was nothing wrong with his best friend dating the orange haired girl. She seemed happy and so was Ichigo, so everything was right with the world. Ulquiorra gazed at him with wonder. He hadn't seen his friend actually smile in quite a long time. Luppi had seemed to completely suck the life out of the man.
"Nothing, I guess. Just don't fuck up."
"Do you think you are speaking to Nnoitra?" Grimmjow just snorted and waved his hand.
"You ready to go, Ichigo?" The oranget just nodded and they made their way out, leaving behind the cheery Orihime and the stoic Ulquiorra.
"Woman." Inoue pouted as the dark haired man refused to use her name again. "Who is that orange haired man?" Orihime looked over to see Ulquiorra still gazing where Grimmjow and Ichigo had been.
"Oh! That's Ichigo, one of my good friends. You've never met him?"
"No. Is he dating Grimmjow?" Orihime hummed as she chewed on the bright red straw coming out of her smoothie cup.
"I'm not quite sure, but I think so. They haven't said anything official." Ulquiorra continued to gaze at the spot, humming as he sipped on his smoothie.
Luppi sighed as he gazed at his best friend. He didn't understand why they were even at the mall. After breaking down a couple of weeks ago, Loly had decided to put Operation: Brute-Back to work. It all consisted of Luppi going through a small makeover to get his confidence back. The man looked like shit since Grimmjow left and Loly refused to take it anymore. His normal shiny and straight black hair looked washed out and overly curly. His face was pale and unhealthy looking, when it normally looked so bright and practically glowed.
Grimmjow had really put the petite man through hell and it was time for Luppi to get back to his usual self. Luppi didn't understand why that meant he was standing in the middle of a large woman's clothing store, holding five bags in each hand and surrounded by some at his feet. Wasn't the time supposed be spent helping him look good again? Why was he helping Loly look good?
He sighed and started to tap his small foot against the carpeted floor. He was aggravated and just wanted to go home.
"Luppi!"
"What!" Luppi exclaimed as he glared at his best friend. He was angry. They had been there for hours and he still looked like he had been living under a rock.
"What's wrong?" Luppi tutted. Was she seriously asking that question? He frowned and dropped her bags to the ground. Turning around, he began to walk out of the store. "Luppi?" He refused to be her bag holder. If she wasn't going to help him, then he would have to do it on his own. "Luppi!" He felt a tug on his top and glared over his shoulder. Loly stared at him with large pink eyes, her head cocked to the side in a confused fashion. "What's wrong?"
"What the hell do you mean 'what's wrong'? We are supposed to be helping me! Not you!"
"We are." Loly didn't understand the problem. They were shopping like best friends were supposed to.
"How is buying clothes for you suppose to help me!" Luppi frowned even more and folded his arms over his chest. "I look a fucking mess and you are dragging me around this goddamn mall to buy stuff for you."
"What are you talking about? I told you that we had to wait for your appointment." Luppi's anger started to dissipate and he dropped his arms from his chest.
"Wha-what?"
"I said that we were going to go shopping before your hair appointment. Did you not listen to a word I said?" The petite man couldn't find one word to say. He had been thinking about the Grimmjow situation so hard that he hadn't even been listening to Loly. He felt so bad. He was being such a bad friend, when the dark haired girl was trying to help him.
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't…know." Loly gazed at her best friend with concern and sighed. She was really worried about him.
"It's okay. Let's go see if they are ready for you." Loly smiled at Luppi. "You are going to look so gorgeous and when Grimmjow sees you, he is going to be speechless." Luppi started walking next to Loly, a small smile crawling across his face. He really hoped that when Grimmjow saw him, he would be the only thing the blunet could see.
Ichigo giggled as he gazed in front of him. "What is so funny?" Grimmjow's gruff voice penetrated through his mind, but he couldn't help but giggle even more. He felt a push against the ball of his foot and sighed at how good it felt. He had never let anyone touch his feet. It was always so weird to him. When he and Grimmjow had gotten back to the apartment, Ichigo felt like he had walked for miles and miles. He really couldn't believe how out of shape he had gotten. He would usually go to the dojo or even the gym, just to work out, but it seemed to have gone on the backburner. When Grimmjow suggested a foot massage, Ichigo had looked at him as if he had lost his mind. The thought of someone touching his feet was weird, but Grimmjow touching them with those miraculous piano fingers, both excited him and frightened him at the same time.
He just didn't feel comfortable with someone touching his feet, especially when he couldn't see what was going on. The moment Grimmjow's hand touched the top of his foot, all of those worries were thrown out the window. If he was a piano, he would be singing with joy. The man seriously knew how to work his fingers. Grimmjow worked every muscle as if it was an ivory key. He massaged and pressed as if he was playing the sweetest melody. Ichigo didn't know if it was a massage or a piano lesson. He laid back and enjoyed every thing that Grimmjow did, that is until the blunet started to massage the balls of his foot. He went into a fit of giggles. He didn't even realize that he was ticklish. He had been trying to keep it from Grimmjow the whole time, but every time the man pressed and pushed he would start to giggle even more as he tried to pull his foot away.
After a while, Grimmjow seemed to figure out what was going on and deliberately tickled at Ichigo's feet. He watched as the orange haired man went into a fit, practically dying of laughter on the small brown couch. His eyes were squeezed shut and tears fell from the closed lids. The boy's face scrunched up in a cute fashion and Grimmjow just couldn't help chuckling at how sexy it made Ichigo look. They were both in their little world, not noticing the russet colored eyes practically piercing the exchange.
Renji couldn't be more revolted by what was happening on the couch he usually spent his off days on. The affection and lovey dovey action just made him want to puke. He didn't know if it was because Ichigo was doing it with another man, or the fact that that other man wasn't him. He couldn't be more disgusted with himself, or the jealousy rising in him every time he saw those two together. He turned away and made his way to his bedroom. Closing the door behind him, he threw himself on his bed and buried his face into his pillow.
This seemed to be the only place he could enjoy whatever fantasies he had about Ichigo. He felt guilty the moment he stepped out of that room, but he would have to deal with that later. He sighed and reached his hand out for the bottlenecked lotion sitting on his side table. A box of tissues was placed next to it and sitting on the opposite edge was a framed photo. A bright smile, orange hair and something Renji hadn't seen in over eight months stood out in the photo. He reached over and grabbed it, wrapping his fingers around Ichigo's face, hiding the big, expressive, mahogany eyes he once knew from view.
Grimmjow sighed as he cleaned the last table at work. It had been another long day and he was ready to go home and pass out on Ichigo's bed. He smirked at the thought of burying his face in the mop of sweet smelling apricot hair. It felt so strange to be happy about going home to someone everyday. It had always felt like a chore to see Luppi, especially on his days off. He always feared getting into an argument with the little guy. After working a long day of work, all he ever wanted to do was pass out on the couch or bed and enjoy someone smothering him with love. When it came to Luppi, he was always smothered with chatter and whiny nonsense.
He made his way to the next table. He cleaned up another set of dishes and made his way to the kitchen. He slid the tub of dirty dishes onto the counter and made his way back out and towards the back of the club. He opened his locker and slipped out of his apron, throwing it inside and pulling out his belongings.
Slipping into his jacket, he glanced up when he heard commotion coming from the opposite side of the door. He frowned and slipped his cell phone into his jeans. Making his way out, his ears were assaulted with a few people arguing at the front of the club. He quickly made his way over and he saw two of his co-workers trying to calm down someone.
"Hey! What's going on?" The two co-workers looked his way, but were pushed aside and Grimmjow's eyes widened as he caught sight of the person making their way towards him. His face turned into a deadly sneer and his muscles tightened with anger.
"Grimmjow!" The petite man launched himself at the blunet and hugged him around the waist, not caring that the man refused to hug him back.
"…Luppi." You gotta be fuckin' kidding me.
So, Luppi and Grimmjow are in the same room together. I can feel the tension, lol. Wonder what's going to happen next? Stay tuned for the next chapter. Hope to see some awesome reviews and thank you for all the past reviews.
