A/N: Ah my lovelies, this is a short yet forwarding piece to my personal GrimmIchi puzzle. I promise the many awesome happenings next chapter, it is already planned out - just needs to be written. It'll be done and published within 24hrs! :) I love all of my readers, followers or no, but especially those followers ;) mhmmm. I'm also considering attempting smut with this story, who knows? Maybe with enough support I can summon the courage for my *gasp* first time!? ;) ;)
We shall see~
Chapter 7 – Things Can Only Get Better, Right?
Ichigo's day started out great. Unfortunately for him, that didn't last long…
The night before Renji had come over to claim his 'gratitude dinner' and stuck around to calm Ichigo down from his sudden and nasty panic-attack about Grimmjow's unconfirmed sexuality…
"Alright, you need to calm the fuck down." Renji had said, lowering his voice so a couple of Kurosaki girls would not hear. "Sit, stop pacing."
He needed to actually grab his freaking-out friend and forcefully lower him to his desk-chair.
"Now take a breath. Do it." The commanding voice and firm grip on his shoulders left no room for alternatives; he breathed. It may have started with a shuddering breath but eventually Ichigo was able to reclaim a smooth rhythm. He looked up at his best friend and was about to thank him – when instead he got a hard slap to the face.
Renji looked furious. "Are you kidding me?! You asshole! Pull yourself together! This guy is not worth your panic-attack! Stop being a little girly bitch and grow a pair." He sighed, straightened himself out and flopped out on the bed. "I love you and all Ichi but this worry-wart attitude isn't gonna impress no one. And ya can shut it 'bout the double-negative shit, I don't give a flying rat's ass," he added, cutting off Ichigo's hesitant but customary 'witty remark'.
"As I was saying, you ain't gonna get laid if you worry so much. Relax, breathe. You just had a shitstorm of an encounter with Starrk and I get that, but it's over with. Done. Finito. Now you can focus on this coffee-guy and pull out that 'cocky-cuz-I'm-sexy' attitude that I know you have hidden in there – somewhere – and bed this man!" He looked up thoughtfully, "Damn it's weird sayin' that about another dude…" And promptly received a notepad smacked upside his head.
Ichigo smiled fondly as he pulled himself out of his thoughts, 'Ren has a point though; I'm not going to win Grimmjow over if I'm worrying so much about the finer points. Who cares if he's officially gay or not? He sat in my Hot Seat willingly, that's good enough! He's given nothing but a green light and even flirted – I didn't even do more than stutter and blush… God I'm pathetic.' He smirked, 'Well he's in for it today! I've got my game on now and there's nothing… he can… do to – is that Tier?'
Ever heard the saying, 'Talk of the devil and he shall appear'?
Ichigo really wished he hadn't.
While seeing Grimmjow in something besides his work uniform was a gift from the divines, seeing him alongside his ex-girlfriend Tier was most assuredly not.
Especially since he was laughing, and looking every bit like he was having a great time.
The image of the two was teasingly perfect and quickly killed the fire in Ichigo's eyes. His smile crumbled and slid off his face. 'What - but – wasn't he – weren't they – they look so – '
Grimmjow looked, unsurprisingly, gorgeous in his simple casual-wear. His hair seemed even brighter out in the sun – it shone with a lustre that Ichigo just could not for the life of him put a name to. 'I can't even try, it's just... so... perfect. So soft looking and so many different shades. I can't even call it 'blue' because that word is insulting to this natural, beautiful colour.' Even Grimmjow's skin looked positively delicious while being worshipped by the sun. That's right, the sun worshipped him. Because there was no way in Ichigo's mind that the sun was remotely as interesting and delectable as the man before his eyes. The sun wished it was so good.
But then of course Ichigo noticed the blonde bombshell sitting beside his personal gift from God, well, more like on him. Tier was practically draped around Grimmjow, obviously trying to stake her claim as well as reawaken the angel's attraction towards her. And apparently he didn't mind because he never pulled away either. 'Maybe they got back together?'
His confidence followed the path of his smile and he stopped. He was originally on his way to the Reishi to see this blue-haired fantasy but that was clearly not going to happen now. 'Idiot, obviously he has a life outside of work! And it's the weekend – he must have them off – well he did work every day of the week so far – makes sense… And he's spending that time off with Tier…'
Trying not to be jealous and confused and hurt all at once, Ichigo decided to continue walking towards the safety of the shop, now thankful Grimmjow and his probably-not-ex-anymore-girlfriend wouldn't be there.
He just had to survive walking right past them.
Summoning up his earlier attitude was difficult but not impossible. After convincing himself that he was voted Number 1 on Bala Weekly's: Sexiest Man Alive and simultaneously being a super famous actor (with Renji as his manager of course) he sucked in a macho breath – again, regular air – and proudly resumed his walk with maybe a little more swagger than usual in his steps.
As he walked, he couldn't help peering over at Grimmjow. The man was pretty, what could he say? While he tried to be subtle, peeking in his peripherals and all, the blue-haired man was not. He was in the middle of laughing quietly at something Tier said before he caught sight of Ichigo, doing a double-take and completely ignoring her concerned questions as he gawked. Ichigo (still in character) threw a smirk his way and winked, which caused Grimmjow to blush and snap his jaw shut. The suddenly confident man chuckled and continued walking past, across the street and right into the Reishi.
When those sweet bells chimed he finally let his silly act crumble and woosh out of him as one big breath. He imagined the persona being physically locked away in some tall skyscraper as Ichigo himself whistled and twirled the key, crown gleaming on his head. The thought amused him and he found his seat without needing to look, pulling his bag across his lap and rooting around for his books.
"Um, excuse me, Mr. Ichigo?"
The small timid voice brought him out of his inner-fantasy involving his alter-ego screaming about killing the king, 'What? That got weird… Wasn't I the king?' and he finally noticed Ururu standing at his side. 'I think I'm daydreaming too much again… '
"Hey Ururu, didn't see ya there. How are you?" He gave her his full attention and smiled apologetically.
She flushed and averted her gaze, "Um, I'm well, thank you. Would you like your usual coffee today?"
Ichigo looked around and caught sight of a small head of red hair, 'So Jinta is also here, that must mean Urahara is working today.'
Which of course, that thought reminded Ichigo of the reason why Urahara worked last time he was in, and caused the student's small amount of happiness to drain away from him.
He looked back at the small girl by his side, "Yes please Ururu, and thank you."
Once she was safely out of sight, Ichigo sighed to himself, 'Grimmjow is back with Tier eh? Now I have zero chances of a second date… he must be straight after all.' He silently cursed his bad luck for being pulled from his date early, 'He may not have been there for a relationship but I still wish we could've had more time together – I was having a blast… I had more fun on that fake date than… well that I can remember having lately.' He absently looked at his hands, "Why did every single one end up a miserable failure?"
A cup was gently pressed into one of his palms, "Why don't you tell me, Ichi-dear?"
Kisuke Urahara drew himself a chair and sat down right beside Ichigo, resting his feet on the cursed Hot Seat and making himself right at home.
Ichigo groaned, "You saw them didn't you? You already know."
"My cameras don't have a way to record sound… yet."
Brown eyes rolled. An exasperated huff followed only to morph into a drawn out sigh. "Okay, I give up. You want the details? Fine. The first guy, named Shinji, was a total horn-dog and actually insulted your shop."
Kisuke chuckled, "My, my! No wonder you got so worked up! I fear sometimes you love my shop more than even me!"
Ichigo shook his head, "I'm here so often, it's almost a friend. Either way, I was insulted."
Kisuke shrugged, "It's still only a shop, Ichi-dear. Reishi can never satisfy you in ways that Shinji probably can."
"Are you saying I should've been okay with him acting like that?" Shocked and appalled. No other words necessary.
"No, we definitely can't have you messing around with someone so beneath you." Kisuke's eyes flashed and Ichigo felt a little twinge of fear for Shinji (if possible), "Nor someone so moronic as to insult my café. However," he held up a pale digit, "You cannot expect your relationships to be so smooth that you never disagree on something, or even insult one another. It is unnatural to always see eye-to-eye. Isn't that right, dear husband?" Tessai had brought Kisuke his tea during their talk and harrumphed at his spouse before silently walking away.
Ichigo laughed, "So you're in the dog-house then?"
"Unfortunately." Kisuke giggled, rubbing his neck and waving it off.
'This guy… he's too nonchalant!' Ichigo sweat-dropped.
"But anyways, you were about to tell me what happened on your second date with that delicious-looking booky." Pale hands held up under his chin, Kisuke resembled a child at story-time.
"Tsk, well not much to tell there either. He doesn't believe in a heart or a soul. Thinks I'm, along with the rest of society, too stupid if I believe in all that crap. Said he didn't want to 'test any theories.'"
Kisuke snorted, "I'd have tested any theories he had any day… if I were you."
Ichigo stared incredulously at his friend, "Are you serious?"
"But of course! Had I been in your shoes I would have gone along with anything he said and brought him back to my place and tested all theori-"
"- Agh, that's enough!" Ichigo was full-on blushing now, "Jeez Kisuke! What the hell! I'm looking for a relationship, not just some one time f– " He caught sight of Jinta in his peripherals and changed his sentence, "- I'm not looking to 'test theories' okay? I want something more."
"Do you? I don't think that's what Ren-dear was going for…"
"No, in the beginning this was only about… uh… 'stress relief.'" He flushed, "But now I want to use it as an opportunity to find someone meaningful… Someone I can really let into my heart. I want them to trust me like I would trust them and hold me when I'm really freaking out about something." Kisuke was nodding along thoughtfully. Ichigo continued, lost in his own world, "I'd like him to be there for me to feel safe around but not make a big deal about it.
"He'd treat me as an equal…
'Unlike Shinji, who treated me like some girl and was too flirty- Well I guess comments like Grimmjow's were okay, I kinda liked those.'
"He'd believe in a heart and soul…
'Unlike Ulquiorra, he'd have to be someone who also believes in a soul… And it wouldn't hurt if he also felt my whole 'heart speech' was romantic too, like Grimmjow did… '
"He'd be a great listener too…
'Unlike Starrk, who was able to read me so well until his daughter was involved. Even on our date he talked more about her than himself… Whereas someone like Grimmjow would let me vent, be able to read situations, and even laugh most things off.'
"I just want what I thought everyone wants: a best friend with benefits. That bond you share with a close buddy but even better, like the friendly silence is filled with adoration instead of just… friendship." He scratched his head, "It's hard to describe, is that not what you guys have though?" He looked up at Kisuke, who was actually staring intently at Tessai. Once he caught his irritated spouse's sight, he quietly stood and walked right up to him. Ichigo couldn't hear the quiet words exchanged but noticed Tessai smile broadly before pulling Kisuke into a rather hard hug. Something more must've been said because Tessai started blushing and was soon tugged towards the back by his blonde lover, calling a quick "Man the cash, kids!" before quickly disappearing together into the employee area.
Ichigo blanched and chuckled, feeling rather odd about knowing what his two friends were up to while technically still in the Reishi. 'I guess I have the right ideas if I said something that caused Kisuke to realize his mistake and then to make-up so quickly… Still, I wish I could find someone who has everything I want and is also into men…' He thought, once again, of Grimmjow, 'There's always a catch when you find something you like.'
He sighed and readied himself for some studying before being rudely jolted from shock by his cellphone. "Hello?"
"Ichigo, my son! Where are you this fine Saturday afternoon?! Are you coming home today or should I finally be looking forward to some grandchildren?!"
Ichigo felt a vein throb instantly, the very same one that always appeared whenever he talked to his father. "WHAT THE HELL DAD! I'm studying at the Reishi! I'm in the middle of exams, don't you remember?! Idiot."
"WAH! MY BELOVED SON IS SO HARSH TO ME! How can you possibly say these things to me when all I want from you is your love and admiration?!" He was literally crying.
Ichigo did feel bad, he wasn't heartless or anything, his dad just acted really retarded pretty much all the time. He took a calming breath, pinched the bridge of his nose and asked neutrally, "What is it you want?"
See? He can be civil.
"THE BEAUTIFUL FRUIT OF MY LOINS HAS BEEN KIND ENOUGH TO ASK WHAT I DESIRE OF HIM! OH MASAKI DARLING! WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN?!" There was a loud thud from the phone that Ichigo assumed was his father throwing himself at his mother's poster.
The vein throbbed again as Ichigo ground out lowly, "I meant why are you calling me at this moment?"
"Ah but all great things come with a string attached! Tragic but true!" Isshin Kurosaki wailed.
'Surprisingly, he's right this time…'
"I was hoping you could watch the clinic for me tomorrow, my favourite son! I'm being summoned by the hospital for some quick re-training and will be gone all day, maybe the next too if we don't get through it all. Is this alright with you, my wonderful, beautiful child who is following in his dear old man's footsteps?!"
Ichigo sighed, 'He came so close to having a normal conversation with the man.' "Yeah that's fine dad, I'll handle the clinic. I don't have classes right now so it's okay if you have to stay longer."
"WHAT A MAGNIFICENT AND UNDERSTANDING HUMAN BEING I HAVE CREATED! YOU HAVE CLEARLY GROWN INTO A PERFECT MAN AND WILL HOPEFULLY SOMEDAY SOON GIFT ME WITH PERFECT GRANDCHILD-"
Ichigo chose to hang up; he definitely didn't need to be reminded of children and the whole damn reason for why he chose to reject Starrk… He snorted, "I'm sure even my irritatingly chipper father would not care for Lilynette… what a demon!' He groaned, 'I'm not supposed to be thinking about him anymore! I should be thinking about Gr– ' He paused, frowning slightly, 'No one, I should be thinking about no one.'
With that he squared his shoulders and cracked open a textbook, keeping an eye on Kisuke's kids while he half-heartedly studied his evening away.
