Nami held the big man tightly against her. The term man could be used loosely in reference to him at this time. During the night something had happened and he was taking on a decidedly more feral appearance. His hair had lengthened along with his fingernails and teeth. His ears were pointier and covered with blue fuzz. His body had also obtained the lightest coat of white fur but his muscles could still be seen rather clearly beneath the fine fur. She wondered how much stranger this could get. She remembered reading in the report that the 'creature' as he was referred to experienced a gradual shape shifting process between the phases of the moon. On the full moon a week from now he would be a cat again. Sighing noisily as the frightening reality tried to settle into her brain, she closed her eyes and hugged him tighter to her chest where his head lay between her breasts. Obviously that was his favorite place to be in any form. A male is still a male no matter what the species or rare genetic mutation apparently.
Grimmjow kept his eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. He was waiting to see how she would react to him. He lay as still as possible when her hands began to wander over his body. Snuggling closer to her, he ducked his head to keep her from seeing the smile on his lips. Her insatiable curiosity was as arousing as it was endearing. Turning his head, he licked the side of her breast, laughing when she jumped in surprise.
"Ew! That's so gross," Nami protested with a giggle when he did it again.
"I think you like it," he disputed, moving closer to the nipple with each lick.
"Oh, Grimmy, dear god," she gasped, burying her fingers into his thicker, longer hair when his lips enclosed the hardened protuberance of flesh. This was not the first experience of something truly bizarre with him, and she doubted it would be the last. The pleasurable sensations racing between every synapse in her body kept her from thinking about it too much.
Grimmjow released her nipple with a distinct pop which made them both chuckle with obscene amusement. He licked his way up to her neck before kissing her taking extreme care not to nick her delicate skin with his protruding incisors.
"If I made love to you now, would I be making love to a man or animal or both?" Nami inquired, touching the scary looking teeth with her fingertips.
"Does it matter? It's still me," he murmured, lowering his head to claim her mouth.
No, it did not matter Nami realized when he tentatively entered her body. He was still the one she loved no matter what his outer appearance. The soft fur grazing her skin, tickling it slightly, as he moved inside of her excited her in a very unusual way which under normal circumstances would have disconcerted her greatly. However, there was nothing normal about him which she saw as a good thing. He had a tender, honest heart; he was more human than most men she knew or had known. His stunning innocence and gentle nature despite the harrowing account of his creation was compelling and only drew her to him more.
"Look at me, Nami," Grimmjow requested, stroking her cheek with his softly padded fingertips.
Nami opened her eyes, staring into the brilliant blue eyes of her shockingly compassionate lover. She had never wanted any man like she wanted him. To her he was something so much better than any 'normal' man.
"You're mine aren't you? You don't love that man do you?" he asked, spitting out the words as if they were something vile to the taste.
What a great time to bring this up. Nami closed her eyes momentarily, inhaling a loud shaky breath when he pushed himself into her deeply touching her womb which sparked a blissful explosion of pleasure. Opening her eyes again before she spoke, they locked onto his. "I only love you. He…he's a fr-friend," she stammered, finding it difficult to talk when he continued the slow movement of his hips to touch that same spot. "I'm yours. I want to be yours alone."
"That's what I want too," he whispered, lowering his mouth to hers as he sped up his thrusts.
Nami clung to him as he drove her crazy with pleasure, bringing her to a loud and somewhat violent orgasm. She sank her teeth into the well-developed muscle between his neck and shoulder, startling herself by drawing blood. Oddly enough, she liked the taste, licking off the remnants from her lips after gently sucking all she could from the wound. What was happening to her?
~\..'../~
Nami was sitting on her back porch staring into the darkness. Grimm had disappeared. She had left for work that morning and returned to an empty house that evening. She was not sure if he had left so she would not see him in his final moments of transformation or if it was just part of his animal nature, a wanderlust he could not escape. He would be in his complete half and half form and she had wanted to see him. Where could he be and when would he return? She was so afraid that one day he would not come back.
"Nami," a deep male voice called from the dark.
"Gr-Grimmy?" she stuttered, frozen with fear. She was unable to move from the shock of the voice coming from the dark as well as the sound of it. It was hoarse and gravelly, different from his normal voice.
"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you," he assured her, moving closer.
"Why did you leave me?" she asked, staring at his silhouette in the dim light of the quarter moon. "I know what you are. I'm not afraid."
"I know I just couldn't bear the thought of you seeing me this way. I didn't want to scare you or disgust you," he said, kneeling down in front of her so she could see his face in the light from the kitchen faintly illuminating part of the porch.
"I love you…no matter what," she assured him, placing her hands on his cheeks to look at him.
His face still retained a human look but was surrounded by long blue hair that flowed down his back past his shoulders. Thin blue lines had formed underneath his eyes and extended to his ears which were huge, pointed and covered with thick blue fur. Her fingers traced the contours of the ears while he examined her face for any negative emotions. Grimmjow was relieved to see she seemed more curious than revolted by him. He raised his paw to her chest, pressing it against her heart.
Nami placed her hand over the gigantic black furry paw pushing on her chest. She was sure he could feel her heart pounding beneath it. A tingling assaulted her body, making her feel as if she were numb from head to toe. Her head felt light as if it would float right off of her shoulders. A distinct sense of surrealism had enveloped her and she assumed it was her mind and her body's way of dealing with the shock. She could tell it was still him by his human face but his body was so different; like a six foot tall cat on two legs.
"Oh, dear god," she gasped, awe overriding the fear as he leaned forward to lick her on the cheek.
Nami swallowed hard closing her eyes to make the world stop spinning. Her eyes popped open to look into his blue ones that were gazing at her ardently.
Grimmjow studied her kind brown eyes intently. He touched her face, drawing back when she flinched from the contact. Biting his lower lip anxiously from her unexpected reaction, his eyes continued to hold hers.
"Nami," he whispered, pressing his cheek against hers and rubbing against her like he did in his cat form to wake her up sometimes.
"Oh, Grimmy," she gasped, sliding her hands through his hair and over his broad, well-built shoulders. She sighed as he continued the movement which was meant to be soothing like it was when his soft fur would glide across her skin. However, with him in half human form it was delightfully weird and remarkably exciting since it was skin to skin contact. "Come inside. Don't leave me again."
"I didn't know if you wanted to see me this way. I'm a…I'm a monster," he muttered, allowing her to take him by the paw and lead him to the door.
Grimmjow obediently followed her inside, willingly trailing behind her to her bedroom. He watched her as she threw back the sheets and blankets to the bed and invited him to lie down with her. He could not stop the smile from spreading across his face as she pushed him down on the soft mattress when he did not move on his own.
Nami urged him onto his back gently so she could cover him up with the blankets so he would warm up. Despite the fur, he still felt cold. Deciding he would get warm faster if she lay next to him, she took off her sweater and let it drop to the floor. Her eyes met his as he she slid into the bed beside him, pushing him over to make room for herself.
"Can I touch you?" Grimmjow asked, his body shaking from nervousness more than the cold. He was still antsy about her reaction to him. He was sure it was just the overwhelming shock of things making her so accepting of him now.
"What do you mean?" she inquired apprehensively.
"Like this," he murmured, putting his arm around her and pulling her body to his.
Nami snuggled into his chest, rubbing her hand across his furry arm in inquisitiveness as much as the intention to warm him. Her lips pressed to the bare skin on his neck, feeling the immediate rise in his heart rate as the artery pulsed beneath them. She felt dizzy and weary suddenly. The initial blow from his appearance must be wearing off. Feeling his strong arms, tightening around her, she gave in to the tiredness to fall asleep. Tomorrow would be another day and hopefully she could deal with it better.
~\..'../~
"You can't be serious," Grimmjow scoffed when she asked him to go to the park with her to meet Ichigo. He was back in his fully human form and she had decided it was time for the two men in her life to know about each other. They both deserved to know exactly where they stood with her.
"I am. I want you to meet him. You both need to understand how our relationship will work," Nami explained.
"Well, maybe you shouldn't have a relationship at all with him," he shot back, folding his arms over his broad chest. "If it weren't for me, you never would have met him."
"You're right," she agreed, preparing to knock the self-satisfied smirk off of his handsome face with her next words. "So it's your fault I got involved with him in the first place. Why don't you explain that to him? It's bound to go over well, I'm sure."
"WHAT?" he bellowed so loudly she was sure she heard the windowpanes rattle.
"Oh, you're such a baby!" she exclaimed, grabbing him by the arm. "Let's go!"
~...~
"Who the hell is this?" Ichigo growled, his brow furrowing so deeply his eyebrows met to form a wrinkled unibrow.
"Ichigo, this is Grimmjow," Nami introduced him, shoving him forward to shake hands.
"Damn, you're strong," Grimmjow grumbled, glaring at her before turning his hateful stare onto the orange haired man. He stood taller than him by a few inches which he made the most of by straightening his spine as much as possible and puffing out his already wide chest to broaden it. Thrusting out his hand like she had taught him, he waited for the other man to take it.
"So this is why you wanted to be just friends, huh?" Ichigo muttered, taking the other man's hand and squeezing it mercilessly. His lips compressed into a thin white line when the blue haired man returned the favor, grinding the bones in his hand together.
Nami could see what was going to happen and pried their hands apart before they succeeded in breaking each other's hands. She stood between them, her back pressed against Grimmjow's chest. She felt his chest rumble behind her head. He was growling! Seriously?! Elbowing him sharply in the ribs she warned him to stop.
Ichigo continued to stare at the man, eyeing him suspiciously. There was something familiar about the light blue t-shirt he was wearing and he couldn't be sure but those jeans were recognizable as well. He seemed to remember accidentally tearing a hole on the thigh of a pair of his jeans placed just where that one was.
"Nice clothes. Where did you get them?" Ichigo questioned him like a prosecuting lawyer in a courtroom.
Nami moved to the side, her inquiring gaze lighting on his momentarily startled face. 'God, you idiot!' she screamed silently in her mind. 'Of all the damn clotheslines to steal from!'
"The same place everyone gets their clothes…the store," the pissed off blunette countered in true smart ass fashion.
This situation was going even worse than Nami had anticipated, her only hope was that it didn't turn violent. That hope faded quickly when the men stepped toward each other with hands curled into fists by their sides. About that time, Renji began barking his head off, rushing toward the threatening Grimmjow.
Grimmjow visibly bristled, baring his teeth while hissing and spitting like an angry cat.
"Oh, my god," Nami moaned, burying her face in her hands.
"What the hell…!" Ichigo exclaimed, backing away from the man who was now crouched down on all fours with his back arched and hissing at the dog. "You chose this weirdo over me!"
"Ichigo!" she screamed in offense, adding to the bedlam.
"Renji! Down, dammit!" he yelled at the dog who swiftly lie down and put his head on his paws. His brown eyes remained on the peculiar blue haired man.
"Grimm, stop," Nami snarled at him, resisting the impulse to literally kick his ass. She ran her hand down his back trying to soothe him like she does when his dander was up in his cat form. 'Please don't purr, please don't purr,' she begged silently as she continued to pet him to get him to calm down. She hoped Ichigo could not see what she was doing since she was standing behind Grimmjow. "Can we all sit down and discuss this like adults?"
"What's to discuss, Nami?" Ichigo sighed, looking at her when she peeked from behind the big man with the blue hair.
"Ichigo," she murmured, moving around Grimmjow's body to walk to him.
"I don't think I should stay somewhere I'm not wanted. I can't be your friend, Nami because I love you too much for that," he explained, reaching forward to touch her cheek.
Nami heard the beginning of a growl rolling in Grimmjow's throat and she raised her hand behind her in a warning to get him to stop. She moved forward to hug Ichigo; if they had to say good-bye she at least wanted to give him that. What had she been thinking? At this time, she was no longer sure what her expectation for the meeting had been. Maybe she was hoping they could form some kind of relationship where they could all be happy, and she could have both of the men she adored in her life. Far stranger things had happened in her life but apparently the abnormality does have a limit for some people.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, allowing her lips to graze his cheek.
"Me too. If you ever need me, I'll be here for you. Anytime you need to call me you can. I can't abandon you. Somehow I have the feeling things are going to go terribly wrong for you in the future and he will be the cause of it," he said cryptically, glowering at the blue haired man.
There was something truly creepy about that man that surpassed simple human eccentricity. He could not put his finger on it but there was something disturbing there he could not quite figure out. Ichigo smiled at Nami, kissing the tip of her nose. He feared for her safety and her life but he could not stop her or even say so because it would only push her farther away from him and more securely into the arms of the other man.
"I'm here whenever you need me. If you get into any kind of trouble, I will save you. See you later, Nami," he stated sadly, hugging her one last time. "I won't say good-bye because it's not permanent."
Nami stood in stunned awe of his words, unable to move or speak. She could see him out of the corner of her eye as he stepped up to Grimmjow almost coming nose to nose with the other man.
"If you hurt her, I will kill you," Ichigo threatened, holding the man's angry eyes.
"I would never hurt her. I'll protect her from anyone that would try to hurt her," Grimmjow countered, bumping the intimidating man slightly with his chest.
"At least we can agree on something," he returned, backing away without averting his eyes. "Renji! Let's go."
Renji flattened his ears against his head, baring his teeth and offering one more growl to the blue haired man who had been attempting to bully his master. After making a derisive chuffing noise, he turned to trot after his master as they left.
"I'm sorry, Nami," Grimmjow apologized.
"No, it's my fault. It was my mistake. I should never have brought you here," she murmured without turning to look at him. "Let's go home."
Home. Grimmjow had a home with the woman he loved. Despite what just happened, he was glad. At least he had one less threat to worry about. He was happy to have her in his life to love him. He would never let anyone hurt her.