Grimmjow watched Ichigo as he lay curled around the sleeping shinigami.
He was still tired, but an adjuchas had disturbed him. The moron had sensed his energy and scuttled away, but by then he was awake and his mind was too active to fall readily back into sleep. So instead of trying to force it, Grimmjow thought.
He was thinking about his reactions to Ichigo. Something was off about it. He licked his fangs, wondering why he was being so… nice. And why that comment Ichigo had made about the cubs kept coming back to him. Don't do that to someone else. Why did he give a shit about how other people felt?
"Vasto lorde. Of course." He muttered to himself. He'd technically been an adjuchas until very recently. Now he was a vasto lorde like Nel, Halibel, Barragan and Starrk. They'd been different from the rest of the Espada. Barragan less than the others, but he was just a cold bastard. Starrk and Halibel had cared about everyone, in their own ways, and Nel had just been out there. No wonder Nnoitra had tried to kill her. She'd been attempting to explain things to him that he couldn't begin to understand. "Huh." But Grimmjow did understand, now. Things like compassion and consideration for others were coming back to him. Sighing, he reached up to scratch his crest of green hair. "Whatever. But if I start acting like Nel, I'm going to fucking kill myself." Just the thought made him shudder.
Satisfied with his reasoning, Grimmjow gradually slipped back into a doze. When he woke up a second time it was to a warm hand sliding through the fur on his hip. Yawning, he blinked for a moment before smiling as he saw that Ichigo was awake and smiling lazily.
"I love it when you smile." He murmured before reaching up and resting one clawed thumb on the shinigami's cheek. Ichigo's smile widened before he planted a gentle and deceptively chaste kiss on the Espada's lips.
"I love it when you look at me like that. So intense…" He murmured and Grimmjow grinned, revealing wickedly sharp fangs. Then he concentrated, sealing his power. For a quick moment he was covered in cold bone but then he slipped back into warm flesh, his jacket and hakama in place and his sword lying behind him in the sand. "Why did you do that?" Ichigo asked, disappointed and Grimmjow laughed.
"Because I want to fuck you, shinigami." He said with a purr and delighted in Ichigo's shiver and the naked lust in his eyes. "And I want to leave my marks on you. You wouldn't like it if I bit you like that." He followed the words by biting down on the muscle where his neck met his shoulder, savoring the gasp he got in return. Warm around went around his shoulders then tightened, the shinigami's clothing rubbing against his jacket.
One downside of not being in his release was that he couldn't just tear that annoying clothing away, not unless he wanted to hurt Ichigo. But that was counterbalanced by the delightful pleasure of Kurosaki's hands on his hakama, undoing the simple ties and pulling down the white spirit cloth. Grimmjow growled as he worked on the more complicated shinigami robes, pulling them aside impatiently. He paused for a moment to admire the revealed body. Ichigo was handsome as hell, lean and muscled in all the right places. And the shinigami was eyeing him right back which was a massive turn on.
"Hmm…" That terrible thing called 'consideration for others' reared its head and Grimmjow realized that taking his mate hard was not the best idea. They had a lot of walking to do, a great distance left to travel. His saliva could fix things a bit but Ichigo would still be stiff and sore. Of course, that left plenty of really hot options and he grinned, fixing the shinigami with a predatory gaze. Brown eyes stared back challengingly.
"Well? Are you just going to stare at me or are you going to do something?" Ichigo asked with a wicked smile and Grimmjow stiffened, growling a little at the challenge. Nipping his fraccion on the throat, he gripped his member and started to stroke. Ichigo groaned, letting his head fall back and giving him room to properly ravage his throat.
Grimmjow hissed in pleasure as he added his own cock, gripping them both and stroking them together. The feeling of his mate's arousal in his hand, pulsing in time with his own, pulled a groan from his throat and send his pulse skyrocketing. And it made him wonder a little in the back of his mind. Why had he never done this before, in Los Noches? But the other arrancar were either bastards or weaklings or…
"Nnn!" Grimmjow gasped as teeth found his neck, intent on leaving their own mark. "Fuck…" The shinigami's eyes were black and gold again, instincts rising with the pleasure of mating. "You are so fucking hot like this." He panted as Kurosaki's hand joined his, helping him pump them. His hand was hot, burning hot against his cooler skin. Ichigo groaned and reached up with his other hand, tangling in blue strands and pulling him down into a deep, passionate kiss.
"Grimm… ah…!" Ichigo panted as he let go, his fingers sliding free of soft blue hair. Grimmjow placed gentle kisses along his jaw, following them with possessive nips on his throat. He tasted so good, warm and hot and alive. Grimmjow looked into his face, savoring the expression as Ichigo suddenly came with a strangled cry. The way he screwed his eyes shut, his teeth clenched down on his lower lip as his whole body shuddered with the force of his release…
Grimmjow shuddered as his own release came and threw his head back with a roar. The sense of completion, the pressure within him finding the perfect outlet, was incredible. The fact that it was with someone he respected and even liked made it incomparably better. His seed splashed across Ichigo's abdomen and chest, competing with the shinigami's cum for space, and the Espada felt a wave of exhaustion come over him. Adjusting himself so he wouldn't crush his mate, he slid onto his side in the sand beside Ichigo. Reaching up he slowly stroked sweaty orange hair before planting a tender kiss on his temple.
"So good." Kurosaki sounded drugged and sleepy. Grimmjow chuckled softly before looking at the mess. There was a distinct lack of water in Hueco Mundo but he had an idea of what to do with that. "Uh… what are you… oh!" That moan made his toes curl but Grimmjow ignored it as he began to lick up the spilled seed. Grooming was something a pack would always do for each other and without water they often needed it. Of course, usually the liquid was blood but it was all the same to him anyway.
"I'm just grooming you, shinigami. No need to get all hot and bothered." He said, his voice a sultry purr as Ichigo lifted his head to look down at him.
"I can't help it. That's so sexy." He said breathlessly, his brown eyes hazy with lust. "Grimmjow, say my name." He suddenly demanded and the arrancar hesitated, confused.
"Kurosaki?" He ventured, wondering what the teen wanted. Ichigo scowled then, reaching down to tug on his hair, making him wince.
"My first name. Why don't you ever use it?" He asked and Grimmjow blinked, honestly confused.
"Because you never said I could." He didn't know much about shinigami naming conventions but he did know they put their last name first, and that was what you used unless they said different. Aizen would have had his guts for garters if he'd ever had the temerity to call him Sosuke. Tosen would have slashed his other arm off he'd ever called him Kaname. The only exception was Gin, who preferred his given name and had laughingly made it clear the first time someone had called him Ichimaru. "Do you want me to… Ichigo?" He said the name slowly, in a rough but deeply sensual voice. Then he had the pleasure of seeing Ichigo swallow hard, his brown eyes wide.
"Yes, please." He said faintly and Grimmjow grinned before returning to his work. If he didn't clean up the shinigami soon everything would start to harden and that was just nasty. Although if they left it long enough he could take a sand bath and get it off that way. But they were planning to travel today so that wasn't on. "Mmm… oh…" Ichigo groaned as a sandpaper tongue explored his abs, removing sweat and semen from the taunt muscles. Grimmjow decided to make it worse, dipping his tongue into the shinigami's belly button. Ichigo went tense as a board, drawing a sharp, hissing breath. "You're t-teasing me you bastard!" He groaned and Grimmjow looked up, blinking innocently.
"However could you think such a thing?" He said with perfect sincerity and Ichigo snorted then groaned as he went a bit lower. "If I wanted to tease you I'd do something like… this." He said softly before delicately licking the tip of the teen's erection. All the work cleaning him up had already gotten him frisky and it was upright and pointing at him. Ichigo's gasp was music to his ears and the Espada grinned. "Or this…" He slid his tongue on the underside of Kurosaki's cock, from the base to the tip. "This…" He prodded the tip with his tongue and suddenly hands were in his hair, desperately clutching the heavy strands. "You like that one?" He said softly, his breath warm on Ichigo's twitching flesh.
"Grimmjow, please." The shinigami begged and Grimmjow laughed before taking the teen into his mouth. The sound he got then was indescribable and he had to put a hand on his belly to keep Ichigo from thrusting up. He wasn't exactly practiced at this, he didn't want the shinigami to choke him.
His practice, or lack thereof, didn't matter much though. Ichigo was panting and making cute little noises that went straight to his groin. Grimmjow reached down and quickly shoved down his hakama, gripping his own cock as he sucked Ichigo off. He started to time his strokes with the sucks, enjoying the synchronization. Kurosaki's scent filled his nostrils, warm and heavy with sexual musk.
"Grimm!" Ichigo's voice was breathy with pleasure, completely undone. "Uhhh…" He moaned and Grimmjow glanced up, seeing the shinigami arching slightly, his hands digging into the sands. "P-Please… ah…" Grimmjow followed the plea and gave him a particularly harsh suck followed by a gentle caress to his balls. Ichigo arched with an echoing, hollow-like cry and Grimmjow swallowed the hot release. The sight of his partner's pleasure, the sensual musk of his body brought him over the edge and Grimmjow drew back with a snarl as his own release came. Pleasure rocked him as his seed painted the sand between his legs, leaving him in hot spurts of creamy cum. "Nnn." Grimmjow sat back on his haunches, grinning as he saw how utterly exhausted Ichigo looked. There was only one way to handle that.
"Rise and shine ICHIGO!" He shouted and the teen bolted upright, his eyes wide and shocked. "It's time to get moving." They didn't have time for sleeping, no matter how pleasant it might be. Ichigo just stared at him. "Ichigo?" There was something kind of weird in that stare. The shinigami blinked before shaking his head.
"Nothing… I just… think I remembered something." He said softly and Grimmjow blinked. "It's gone now though. Let's go." He stood, putting on his clothing and getting his sword in order. Grimmjow frowned but followed his lead, doing up his hakama and shoving Pantera through his belt. They had no idea where they were going or what they would find when they got there, but this was Hueco Mundo.
There was nothing to do but walk.
Grimmjow frowned, stopping as he scented the air. Ichigo looked at him inquiringly.
"I'm not sure." He said in answer, trying to understand what his senses were telling him. "There's something out there but it's very weak yet… there's something under that?" If he hadn't known better he'd have thought he was sensing a cub. But there was something beneath that, something that seemed far more powerful and put him on guard. He didn't like the feel of it. "It's coming closer." He muttered before drawing Pantera. Ichigo scowled and drew his sword, the strand of fabric wrapping around his arm –
"ITSYGO!" Ichigo's eyes went wide and Grimmjow stared as a tiny body catapulted out of the sand dunes. Nel managed to shoot under his sword and latch herself onto his neck, making him gag. "ITSYGO YOU CAME BACK FOR MEEEEE!" The eternal child shrieked and Grimmjow winced.
"SHUT UP!" He roared and Nel immediately cowered in Ichigo's arms, looking at him with wide brown eyes. "Holy hell, keep it down brat!" He snarled, sticking Pantera back in his sash. Now he knew why he'd felt something funny. Before he'd become vasto lorde Nel had just registered as a cub to him, but now he could sense her hidden power, the energy she husbanded over time to occasionally turn back into her adult form. His enhanced senses recognized that she could be a threat. "How in the nine hells did you find us?" Not that he thought there were nine hells, it was just a nice number.
"Gwimmjow-sama?" Nel said tentatively from her perch in Ichigo's arms. He was looking down at the eternal toddler with a slightly bewildered air. "You gonna hurt Itsygo again?" Her big brown eyes filled with tears as she started to quietly sob. Grimmjow lifted an eyebrow before feeling out her energy again. After a moment he decided she hadn't recovered enough since her battle with Nnoitra to assume her adult form. No wonder she was worried.
"Why would I hurt my mate?" He said easily and Nel goggled at him before bursting into tears and clinging to Ichigo's neck like there was no tomorrow. That made him blink in surprise. Why was she freaking out?
"Nel! Stop – ack…" Seeing Ichigo being choked by a little cub was amusing but also not the best. Grimmjow growled and grasped her, trying to pull her off. But she just wouldn't let go, her face buried against Ichigo's neck. He was rapidly turning a bit blue and Grimmjow lost patience.
"Let go or I'll cut you to pieces you stupid little bitch!" He snarled and Nel let go, making Ichigo stagger and grasp his throat, gasping. Her crying only got worse though. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Admittedly, her brain was dumb as hell but still. Why was she trying to kill her Itsygo?
"You hurt Itsygo! You raped Itsygo!" Nel was almost incoherent and Grimmjow rolled his eyes. Of course she would think so. Even vasto lorde were prone to rape and she'd known him as an adjuchas. He'd have had no qualms then.
"He did not!" Ichigo recovered enough to talk, looking at Nel in confusion and some hurt. "He's been taking care of me. I – I can't remember you." He admitted, looking at the toddler. "It feels like I should but I can't." Nel went still at that, blinking at him. Then she looked up at him quizzically.
"What happened Gwimmjow-sama?" She asked and Grimmjow shrugged. He might as well tell her, maybe she could help. Probably not but you never knew.
"Remember that huge vasto lorde that Aizen tried to turn into an arrancar, way back?" Nel's eyes went wide and she nodded. "Ichigo got in a fight with it and killed it, but it fucked him up good. He's lost his memory. I tried to get him back to his family but something fucked with my garganta and we're looking to see if we can find out what." He left out the steps that had brought them here. Nel wasn't smart enough to ask anyway. Nel's big brown eyes went wider, if possible.
"Nel will help! Take Nel with you!" She said enthusiastically and Grimmjow grimaced, looking at the little hollow in his hands. He wanted the kid along like a hole in the head. But then Ichigo gently took her away from him, cradling her against his chest.
"Are you all alone out here Nel?" He asked and Grimmjow frowned as he realized. Where were Nel's brothers? That made her sniffle and big, fat tears rolled down her little cheeks.
"Szay-sama killed m-m-my brothers." She said with a sob, gripping the black fabric of Ichigo's shinigami uniform. "Nel's alone Itsygo! Nel's all alone!" Ichigo looked at him pleadingly and Grimmjow found he couldn't say no to those big brown eyes, couldn't bear to see disappointment in his mate's face.
"Fine, she can come." He gave in with ill grace and Nel looked at him wide eyed as Ichigo smiled. "But you're not our cub! You got it, brat?" He growled at her. Grimmjow knew cubs and he knew that would be Nel's next response. She was an orphaned cub and they were a mated pair.
"You can be my cub Nel." Ichigo said with a smile and Grimmjow bit back a groan. Why'd he…?
"Ichigo, that's not how it works. We're a mated pair, she's either our cub or she's not." He said, holding onto his patience manfully. He really should be discipling his fraccion for that, but Ichigo wasn't his bitch, he was a power in his own right. Ichigo frowned, looking at the little arrancar in his arms. Nel looked up at him soulfully.
"Grimm… can we? I really want a cub." The yearning in his voice made Grimmjow pause and think. Ichigo had said before that he'd thought he would never have children. The Espada wasn't sure why that was so – couldn't he have a cub with another shinigami? – but as long as they were mates there likely wouldn't be any cubs in the offing. Gender didn't matter that much to hollows but Ichigo wasn't a hollow and Grimmjow was an arrancar. He wasn't even sure they were fertile. It wouldn't surprise him in the least if Aizen's little cube had sterilized them.
Then something else occurred to him and he gave Nel a hard look, evaluating her power. It was weak at the moment but… yes. If they fed her on their kills, that reservoir of power would refill and it would be possible for her to be Nelliel again. That would make her a genuine asset to the pack rather than a useless burden.
"Okay, she can be our cub." He gave in and Ichigo gave him such a brilliant smile that it all seemed worth it. "But if she wants to play that's on you, shinigami." He had his dignity. He was not going to be drawn into a game of endless tag.
"Okay." Ichigo agreed as Nel squealed in happiness. He set her down as Grimmjow started off and the cub darted past him, calling for her Itsygo to follow. Grimmjow grimaced as Ichigo ran past him laughing and just concentrated on scanning for threats.
There were always threats in Hueco Mundo.
"Well, I think we can safely say your friends were here." Grimmjow said as he looked over the former lair of a vasto lorde. "Huh."
"The scent is shinigami." Ichigo agreed and Grimmjow nodded. They'd found this den when they were looking for a good place to bed down for the night. The one thing the mountains had going for them was the massive numbers of acceptable dens available, carved into the rock by the wind and sand or even claws. Vasto lorde had been nesting here for a very, very long time. Grimmjow looked over the den, fascinated.
"Someone had way too much time on their hands." He observed and Ichigo smiled as Nel giggled, running over to a carving and putting her hand on it. "And that's so inappropriate I don't know where to start." He commented as he watched Nel run her hands over the polished surface, fascinated. Ichigo took a look and yelped.
"Nel!" He went to grab her as Grimmjow grinned, glancing up at the ceiling. Someone had had a LOT of time on their hands and they'd spent it turning the whole den into a work of art. The carvings had been made by flaking off the stone with claws and the process was fascinating. Grimmjow could almost see the progress of the carver, the endless hours that had sharpened his craft. The carvings at the front of the cave were crude, mostly depicting hunts, but deeper in they took on more variety and detail. The carved penis Nel had put her hand on was pretty impressive.
"I don't think it was that big." He said, highly entertained. Ichigo gave him a glare as he examined the frescoes. "I mean, you could club a cub to death with that thing. I do like that he's wacking off, though. Bet he got to do that a lot."
"You are horrible!" Ichigo said severely, but there was a smile trying to come out. Grimmjow laughed before turning his attention away from the walls and towards the remains of a small campfire. That was nothing a vasto lorde would bother with so he was sure the shinigami had set it. Not to mention the little bits of alien trash that littered the den. Picking up a bottle he examined it. Water? Probably. Ichigo didn't seem to need any as long as he fed on hollows but he was a vizard. Besides, regular shinigami would feed on hollows when hell froze over and not a moment before. Sniffing the scent he tried to place it and then gave up. He just didn't know Ichigo's friends well enough.
"At least we know we're on the right track." He said optimistically. "It's too bad we're not looking for a den, this one is nice." If he'd wanted to decorate the place himself he would have passed it by but Grimmjow knew his own artistic talent was just about nil. And he was willing to bet the original owner wouldn't want this place back. It was completely filled with artwork so the bastard might have even left for the sole purpose of decorating a new den. Life could get pretty boring in Hueco Mundo.
"I'll pass. I don't want Nel getting that much of an education." Ichigo said, glancing at another carving and Grimmjow followed his gaze before snorting. Apparently the owner of the cave had gotten some real action and he'd decided to immortalize the experience.
"Hate to break it to you shin… Ichigo, but she's not really a cub. You know how mating goes, don't you Nel?" He asked as he sat down cross legged, removing Pantera from his sash and setting her on the ground beside him. He ran a hand over the stone floor approvingly. It was so well worn it was silky smooth and quite pleasant to sit on. A fine den, really.
"Yah! Nel can tell you Itsygo!" Nel said happily and Grimmjow grinned at his mate's 'oh shit' expression. "See you have to take off your clothes an' –"
"It's okay Nel! I know, really!" Ichigo said hastily as Grimmjow laughed hysterically. He couldn't help it, that was just too good. "Oi! You're not getting any tonight." The teen said grumpily and Grimmjow leered at him playfully.
"Ya think so?" He moved with a burst of sonido, trapping Ichigo against the floor and gripping his wrists roughly. The shinigami struggled briefly before giving him a smoldering look, hot with both desire and irritation. "Let's see how long that lasts when I start to suck you off." He whispered in Ichigo's ear and savored the delicious shiver he gave. "Nel, go take a walk. Or go to sleep really fast." He said and Ichigo blushed as the eternal child giggled.
"I'll go for a walk Gwimm-papi!" She chirped. That was her new term for him, and Ichigo was Itsy-papi. "I'll come back if there's any danger!" That was the usual arrangement. Nel wasn't completely helpless, not like a real cub, so they could have their privacy. She skipped out of the den as Grimmjow ground his hips seductively against Ichigo's.
"You mentioned sucking off?" Ichigo asked breathlessly and Grimmjow grinned before nipping the teen's throat. There were constant marks there, these days. "I love it when you do that." He said then groaned as Grimmjow licked the red patches on his throat, teasing the sensitive skin. His saliva reduced the redness but didn't make the marks go away. They were mating marks and they would stay put, which was how he wanted it.
"I know." He whispered in Ichigo's ear before kissing him, slowly and gently. It was a bit weird maybe, but Grimmjow was finding that he enjoyed giving his mate that pleasure. The expressions and sounds he made were beautiful and it just felt right, seeing that. Maybe it was partly because they were so even in power. If there was a power imbalance the pleasure of the lower partner didn't matter as much, but for near equals it was important if you wanted to keep a mate.
Not that it really mattered. Grimmjow knew what he wanted, what he desired, what he would have. He began working on Ichigo's clothing as the shinigami impatiently tugged on his hakama. They were both aroused and ready to mate. There was no reason not to obey instincts.
Instincts were everything in Hueco Mundo.