A/N: Aaaaaaaaand sinced I was delayed in updating, I thought I'd give you a two chapter update, to say sorry! Finally time for Grimmjow to go out and cut loose ;)
Grimmjow was chomping at the bit. Now that he'd made plans for Saturday, he couldn't wait for the night to arrive. He could go out, get drunk, stay out as late he wanted... It was like when he first moved out of his parents' house. It made him feel childish - a feeling that wasn't totally unwelcome considering his life situation at his young age.
Friday had been tedious and dragged - more paperwork to read and pretend that he cared about - so by the time Saturday arrived, he was ready to commit.
He received a text off Nnoitra saying that he had better still be on for the night, and that he knew exactly where he wanted to go. This fact made Grimmjow somewhat anxious, because he knew that Nnoitra liked to drag them to seedy little joints to pick up easy fucks but, in all honesty, Grimmjow didn't give a shit as long as he was somewhere he could drink heavily. Those kinds of places could become fun after a few strong drinks.
He spent the afternoon with his daughter, helping her paint a picture for her auntie while trying to contain her mess of paint, coloured felt tips and glitter, and even walked to Nel's, taking a detour in a small entertainment store to buy her a new DVD to watch on the night.
He almost ran back home after he left his cousin's, eager to get ready for his rare night of 'going wild' to begin.
He fixed himself something to eat - for the first time in almost a fortnight - because even with no appetite he knew it was idiocy to drink on an empty stomach. It was only small – a bowl of microwavable ramen – but it was something, therefore better than nothing.
He jumped in the shower before he pulled on his dark blue jeans, a fitted white t-shirt and an open black shirt – which took him almost half an hour to decide on – finishing off with original converse and a thin silver chain that he had gotten off Nel and Shiomi for his last birthday. At the last minute, he pulled a black watch out of his cabinet and fastened it round his left wrist and rolled his shirt sleeves up to his elbows, before examining himself in the full length mirror. He grinned at his appearance, fully satisfied that his outfit looked good. He checked the time on the clock through the mirror, trying to work out what the flipped number said – rather that turning around like any logical person would – and went to his living room to wait. Nnoitra was going to swing by at around ten and get him in a taxi before getting Ulquiorra. He sat, staring up at the wall and tapping his foot against his carpet impatiently, until his phone buzzed. He picked it up and answered.
"I'm outside bitch. Get down here so we can get this session started." Nnoitra's voice said through the speaker before the line cut off abruptly.
Grimmjow laughed, getting to his feet and locking the apartment as he left. Tonight would be a good night for him; he would make sure of it.
Grimmjow stepped in the dark club somewhat hesitantly. The green, blue and red strobe lights were flitting around the sunken dance floor that was surrounded by an upper level catwalk, with two bars were located on either side. It was one of the largest in the area, but even so its capacity was only around 100 people. It looked fairly full to him, but he imagined it would be crammed later on. Trust Nnoitra to drag them to a thumping gay club. Fair enough, he liked men and Grimmjow had no problem with that, but he would have preferred to go somewhere else.
They had met up at the Golden Gai for a few pre-drinks and shots, literally hopping every fifteen minutes to a different bar down the narrow little lanes. After about an hour of that, they'd walked back out into the shanty-style streets and followed Nnoitra's lead as he made his way to their next destination, which just happened to be Nicho – where they were now. It had felt like a long time since Grimmjow had went out on a night, so he would have liked somewhere that catered a little bit more for the heterosexual, but at the same time, he didn't really give a shit. He had no right to be picky at this stage.
Nnoitra motioned for them to follow him, and they found themselves at the bar asking for something that they couldn't hear. Behind the bar was well lit, probably so the barkeeps could see what they were doing in the otherwise dark club. The bar itself was a dark oak, with beer mats and drainers placed periodically along the surface, as well as straw and swizzle stick holders. Despite the mats, Grimmjow could still see water rings here and there. Grimmjow leaned against it, crossing his arms underneath him as he and Ulquiorra watched what the bartender was doing with mild interest. The man under scrutiny retuned, placing double shots of clear liquid in front of the tall man, along with three empty highball glasses. They were even more curious when bartender went at the shots with a candle lighter, seeing the blue flame dance along the drinks surface before it became invisible. Nnoitra picked up the empty glasses and placed them upside down over the shots, before he turned to them and grinned. "It's a flaming Sambuca gas-chamber. Ya suck th' gas outta the glass once th' Sambuca's gone out, an' then ya drink the shot."
Grimmjow and Ulquiorra nodded a little apprehensively and watched Nnoitra do his, before they turned to do theirs. Grimmjow sucked the air out of the glass, not giving himself anytime to taste it before he knocked back the shot. Nnoitra had made it seem like nothing, but the strong aniseed tasting liquid burned Grimmjow's tongue and throat as it travelled down and, for a second he wondered if the fire hadn't actually gone out. He coughed roughly for a couple of seconds, before he swallowed the feeling - breathing in deeply.
Ulquiorra quietly sputtering beside him, his usually pale face flushing a light red and he tried to hide his discomfort, making Nnoitra grin as he slammed a hand down on the bar. Clearly, their reactions had amused him.
"Righ'! I'm gonna go find me a young American boy. C'mon emo, ya can be ma wingman, ya never know, we migh' find ya a nice woman."
Ulquiorra pulled a face of distaste at having to tag along and watch the extremely perverted show, but allowed himself to be dragged from the bar to god knows where none the less. Grimmjow remained where he was at the bar, but slid onto the stool that Nnoitra had been standing in front of, quite contented with sitting alone for now.
Grimmjow's vision was going fuzzy at the edges as he ordered a Jack Daniel's and coke, meaning that the night was quickly becoming successful. Not that he was surprised or anything – he'd already drank plenty. He may not be as much of a drinker as he used to be, but he was a big guy so the drink didn't hit him as hard as it would hit someone like Ulquiorra. He was going to have to drink a little bit more to really be able to let go in this place, seeing as how Nnoitra was already actively looking to pull someone – that and the fact that he hadn't been here before. He would go and dance after a while, just not yet.
He sat at the bar for a while, but was becoming increasing uncomfortable. He had yet to 'break the seal' and his bladder was well on its way to becoming painfully full. He stood and wandered a little, quickly finding the bathroom and entering to take a leak. It was awkward to say the least, seeing as he'd had to walk past two men who were practically melded together in a make-out session against the tiled wall to get to the urinals, and heard a suspicious noise come from the locked bathroom stall behind him. He'd never peed so fast in his life. He almost ran out of the bathroom, slightly disgusted. Who would want to make out in a grotty bathroom like that? They were practically minutes from having sex right there next to him. They should have either just stuck to making out on the dance floor or they should have gone home. For Christ sake, they could have gone into the back alley! It would be just as dirty but a bit more private. Upon returning to the bar, he wondered if his seat – or any for that matter – would be free. Luckily, once he managed to wade through the small amount of people hanging around on the top level, he found that his space remained free, and that a man had occupied the space next to him. His short but wild orange hair was lit up by the low-lights above the bar as he sat on a stool, hunched over the polished surface.
Grimmjow walked over to his stool and slid onto it, seeing the orange haired man glance at him as he did so, his gaze lingering longer than necessary. He was leaning on his elbows, one hand gripping a glass containing a golden coloured liquid with a scowl on his face. Grimmjow motioned to the bartender to give him another drink and just sat there – staring straight ahead for a couple of minutes. He looked to the man next to him out of his peripheral once again and saw that he had gone back to scowling into his glass. The guy looked strikingly familiar, but Grimmjow knew nobody with hair that was such a vibrant shade of orange.
"What's the matter, you hating life?" Grimmjow asked before he could stop himself.
The orange haired man looked at him again, firstly with shock that he had been spoken too and then with annoyance. "It's none of your business."
Grimmjow shrugged, laughing as he took his drink off the bartender and gave him the money. "I was just askin', making friendly conversation."
The man regarded him for a second before he sighed. "I'd just rather be at another bar."
Grimmjow looked back at him, somewhat surprised that he had been given an answer. "So would I, but there's no need to scowl into your glass. Make the most of what you've got."
"I will," he nodded. "Once I've had enough to drink."
"Amen to that." Grimmjow grinned lifting his glass up slightly and holding it towards the other. The man looked at it, smirked, and brought his glass up too, lightly hitting it against Grimmjow's.
The both took a long drink from their glasses, emptying them and placing them on the wood surface in front of them.
"So what's your name?" the man asked.
"Grimmjow, yours?"
"Ichigo."
For a minute, Grimmjow didn't react. Then he tried hard not to, but once the first laugh escaped his lips, the rest tumbled out after them. He wasn't howling, but he was laughing enough that Ichigo's scowl returned with full force at his reaction. Grimmjow held up his hands in surrender, shaking them as he attempted to quell his laughter. "I'm sorry, you just caught me by surprise! I didn't think someone like you would be called strawberry."
Ichigo banged his fist off the bar and his eyes widened in comical rage as he shouted. "It isn't strawberry! It means 'he who protects' or 'No. 1 guardian'!"
"I'm sure it does. Drink?"
Ichigo calmed down a little, but it was clear that he was still feeling touchy about Grimmjow's strawberry comment as he nodded. The bluenette gestured for the bartender over. "Can I have one for me and one of whatever he's having, and two of those gas-chamber things? Thanks."
The bartender returned with the order, and Ichigo looked at the glasses with a questioning look.
"You ever had one of these?" Grimmjow asked, tapping the shot glass with his index finger. When Ichigo shook his head, Grimmjow smirked – leaning towards him as if about to tell him a secret. "Neither had I until tonight, and I'm telling you; this shit is good."
Ichigo laughed a little, unsure of what to say or do. The bartender came back over with a candle lighter and lit them, making Ichigo's eyebrows rise. Was he meant to drink that shit while it was on fire?
Grimmjow placed the glasses over the shot, just as he had been shown earlier, and explained to Ichigo. "You make sure the fire goes out inside the glass, and then you suck the gas out of the cup and take the shot.
Ichigo watched with hidden concern as the gas was sucked out of the glass and the alcohol that had previously been covered by an invisible flame went into the blue titan's mouth. When there was no screaming of extreme pain, he hesitantly picked up the glass and did as he was told. Grimmjow watched as he coughed harshly at the burning feeling that Grimmjow realised he wasn't prepared for. He laughed as Ichigo went slightly red in the face, bringing him back to thinking about his strawberry comment.
When Ichigo had recovered enough, he growled out a profanity, swigging his other drink to chase the sensation.
After a while, Grimmjow's vision wasn't the only thing that was blurry anymore. He was finding it harder to see straight in general, and he could feel the buzzing in his mind that signalled he was inebriated. They held small talk for a few more minutes – trying to theorise on why someone would even think to suck the gas out of the glass, before Grimmjow twisted in his chair, trying to see if he could see where his friends were. Eventually, he spied Nnoitra's head sticking nearly a foot above everyone else's on the other side of the upper level. He was standing with a crowd that Grimmjow didn't know and assumed that he had acquired his target for the night.
"Hey, I'm gonna go see my friends. You can come along if you want."
Ichigo shook his head and waved him off in good nature. "Nah, my friends'll be around somewhere. I'll catch you later."
Grimmjow shrugged, bidding him adieu, and walking off around the fenced ledge that overlooked the dance floor – pleased with the results of his alcohol consumption. He glanced down below, seeing the gyrating bodies on the luminous plates that made up the floor. He ambled over to the group his friends had a joined, resting his elbow on Ulquiorra's shoulder with an easy grin on his face. Ulquiorra turned his head ever so slightly and nodded lightly. Grimmjow could see the light blush of inebriation on the man's face. He looked to Nnoitra then, who was leaning against a ledge and bent a little over a bobbed-cut blonde with a teeth-baring leer, which was alarmingly similar to the one the giant who was bearing down on him possessed. Grimmjow shook his head, Nnoitra had predatorily fastened his gaze on the guy, and he found it amusing how the blonde seemed to effortlessly brush it off.
The blonde turned to his other friends - a black haired girl and a burnt-orange haired girl - and motioned for them to go down onto the dance floor. The dark one smirked in a knowing fashion while the other just smiled innocently and nodded her head. The blonde then turned back to Nnoitra and gave him a look that Grimmjow could only describe as meaning 'follow me if you dare.'
Nnoitra's grin widened at the challenge and moved Grimmjow and Ulquiorra, pushing them steadily towards the stairs.
"Do you even know this one's name?" Grimmjow asked, laughing over his shoulder.
"A think he said it was Shinji." Ulquiorra nodded to confirm that Nnoitra has indeed got it right.
"What about the girls?" He asked, looking them up and down from behind. The black haired one was very small, almost half his height – and had what he could only describe as the body of a twelve year old boy; but he could tell she was imposing and confident by her stance, something that he liked in a woman. The other, however, was very buxom and warm looking. His attraction was purely physical though, because he could tell by looking at her that she was a little shy. They were both polar opposites, but his type in their own way.
"Rukia and Orihime," Ulquiorra provided, "Rukia being the small one."
Grimmjow saw the way that Ulquiorra glanced at the other girl that must be Orihime, and decided he would leave it. He wasn't looking for anything permanent, and Ulquiorra seemed enamoured with her. Not that anyone else would be able to tell. Such emotions were only ever so slightly shown on the mans' face, and one often had to be practiced in looking for them to notice.
When they reached the stairs to the sunken dance floor, Grimmjow shrugged Nnoitra's pushy arm off his back, to walk down assisted by nothing but the handrail. And thank god for the handrail. He probably would have been unlucky and tumbled over the edge of the stairs otherwise.
Nnoitra pushed past him at the bottom, leading the charge in following the blonde to the middle of the dance floor. You could tell that plenty of drink had been spilled over time, as it felt like Grimmjow was peeling his shoes off the floor with every step.
Grimmjow moved somewhat safely to the beat, kind of bouncing from side to side and nodding his head – rather than dancing 'sexy' like a woman, and not a having woman to gyrate with. Grimmjow was most in his zone to cheesy old songs, where his dancing was mocking, rather than using it as a method to pull a woman. He saw Nnoitra get right up behind Shinji, grinding against him, and the shocked amusement on Shinji's face in response. You could tell that Shinji clearly wanted it, but he was just playing hard-to-get. Ulquiorra was moving - though only barely - to the beat. He didn't really dance in clubs at all, even when shit faced, because he just wasn't that sort of man. Put him at a posh get-together in a ballroom and he could slow dance and waltz any woman into bed with him – and he often enough did. Grimmjow put his emotionless state, as well as his inability to let go and have a good time, down to his ridged upbringing. The bluenette watched as Ulquiorra's gaze washed over the crowd in mild curiosity, and he didn't fail to notice when that green gaze lingered on the voluptuous redhead that was with Shinji yet again. Orihime, if he remembered rightly.
As he 'danced' Grimmjow looked around, trying to see if there was even a remote chance of him scoring in this place. Some straight women seemed to frequent gay bars, because they found that they were at less of a risk from insufferable, perverted men, but Grimmjow couldn't tell the straight from the gay at all. His mission of the eye was interrupted, however, when a certain orange haired male appeared – fighting through the crowd – heading in their direction. Grimmjow watched as Ichigo came over to Shinji, slinging an arm over the blondes shoulder and grinning - all traces of his scowl wiped off his face. The blonde responded by wrapping his arm around Ichigo's waist as they exchanged some words and laughed.
When a particular guitar intro followed the ending of the last song, Grimmjow tore his eyes away from the man to look at Nnoitra, who had done the same thing. They both grinned, slinging their arms around the shorter Ulquiorra between them as the song really began and they sang along.
'I am complete.
Fu~~ck!
Yes, you are fucked. Shit out of luck. Now I'm complete and my cock you will suck.'
Beezleboss by Tenacious D was one of their all-time favourite songs, and they always had to 'perform' to it. Over time they had perfected it, the both of them playing the 'Devil', while Grimmjow played the part of Jack Black and Nnoitra was Kyle Gass – Ulquiorra being content, as usual, to merely being present. The comedic and over the top gestures to the crude and rude lyrics always made them laugh, and their antics had them noticed by most people in the immediate vicinity, including everyone from Shinji's group.
When the song ended, a few people clapped and the trio took a low bow in good humour. Grimmjow's eye's located the strawberry and saw him grinning at them alongside Shinji who approached Nnoitra and reached up to whisper something in his ear.
"Hey Strawberry!" Grimmjow called over the music.
Ichigo continued to grin, but flipped him the bird at the same time. Grimmjow looked for Ulquiorra, to ask him if he wanted a drink, only to find him talking into Orihime's ear a small distance away. He caught Ichigo's eye again and smirked, pointing in their direction. Ichigo returned the expression and pointed to Nnoitra and Shinji, who were standing so close now that they were starting to look conjoined. The bluenette rolled his eyes and nodded.
"Is there no one here for you?" Ichigo called.
Grimmjow shook his head. "Nah, looks like I'm riding solo tonight."
Ichigo nodded in approval, throwing up his hand for a high five "Amen to that."
Just as he high-fived the strawberry, a rather sharp pinch to his backside made him jump closer to him and yelp in shock. He spun around, his hand massaging the offended area, and scanned the crowd with shocked eyes, attempting to locate the perpetrator. Wild laughing, which turned out to be coming from Ichigo, brought his attention back as he looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"Someone just pinched my ass." He growled, still rubbing his throbbing posterior.
"I know," Ichigo managed between laughs, "Your reaction was fucking hilarious."
When a hand gripped his shoulder tightly, he was ready to turn around and catch the bugger who was doing it, hoping that they would also have been responsible for the previous incident. He was half annoyed and half relieved when it turned out to be Nnoitra.
"We're movin' on," he said, "wi' Shinji an' tha'."
Without having the option to suggest otherwise, he was lead around and out of the club by the man's guiding hand, and felt his ears ringing at the sudden silence that enveloped him as he walked onto the street. He checked his watch, seeing that it was on 1:17am and therefore a long way off home time. The now larger group of seven stood outside on the street, most debating on where to go while Orihime and Ulquiorra continued to chat, evidently not caring about where they ended up. Eventually, Nnoitra decided he'd had enough and stormed off in a direction, just telling people to follow him instead of 'fucking around and wasting time'. On their way, Grimmjow spoke mainly to Ichigo and Nnoitra, occasionally talking to Shinji and realising that Nnoitra clearly had pulled himself a nice 'little American boy'. He could speak fluent Japanese, but his accent was off, almost similar to Grimmjow's own mothers . But he was pleasantly surprised when Shinji pulled a half a litre bottle of vodka out of the front of his trousers and brandished it around. The first thing that crossed Grimmjow's mind was how he could have possibly hidden that comfortably in jeans that tight, before it sunk in that the bottle clearly didn't contain vodka, because the liquid was neon green.
"I thought I would surprise ya'll with this. There's enough to go around."
He tossed the bottle to Ichigo first, who observed the garish liquid with suspicion. "Is this what I think it is, Shinji?"
The blond grinned. "Probably."
"Oh, you didn't Shin!" Rukia laughed, snatching the bottle out of Ichigo's hands.
"What is it?" Grimmjow asked over the strawberry's cries of indignation.
"Absinthe." The blonde said, wiggling his eyebrows at him and Nnoitra.
Grimmjow's eyebrows shot up, absinthe? That shit was hard to find in Japan. Sure, some bars sold it – but they were few and far between and tended to be slightly classier places. Being able to buy it by the bottle from the store was almost unheard of.
"Where did ya get it?" Nnoitra asked, looking at the bottle as if it was the only thing that would keep him alive.
Shinji shrugged. "Not from here, my dad sent it over from America."
Nnoitra cursed audibly. He'd been trying to find somewhere that sold it for almost two years now, but had never found it. Even the specialist liquor stores we're useless.
"Well, pass it around!" Shinji cried, motioning for Rukia to drink some and pass it on. "I wanna go to another bar."
Grimmjow watched as everyone who took a swig coughed and sputtered at what he would imagine was the sensation of your entire mouth and oesophagus catching on fire. Ichigo passed him the bottle and he took a deep breath before taking a large mouthful or two of the almost poisonous looking liquid. He passed the bottle on to Nnoitra, coughing harshly as he clutched at his chest and Ichigo patted him hard on the back.
The bottle was passed around the rest of the circle, and everyone got another half a mouthful before the bottle was empty and got chucked in a nearby bin. They continued to make their way to wherever Nnoitra was taking them, but already – after a couple of minutes – Grimmjow could feel the world slipping away in to hazy dream of inebriation and carelessness.
MisaxMisa: Beezleboss guys? Srsly?
Nnoitra: What of it?
MisaxMisa: What are you, like 15?
Grimm: Just because you're trying to hide the fact that you used to do this with your friend and that's where you got the idea.
MisaxMisa: ...STFU Grimmjow.