Not the epilogue yet, be patient! Read on! Oh yeah, in Flame's POV. -Soranryu
"Flame…have your dinner, please," Mum urged, placing the food containers at my side. I nodded, but made no move to touch the food. Grimmjow was still running a high fever and there was no sign of him waking up. Seeing him like this, I no longer felt like doing anything; self-blame turning me into an empty shell of my former self.
That day, after Yhwach was taken care of, Grimmjow collapsed. None of us knew what happened; he just dropped to the ground unconscious. I was sure he wasn't hurt by Yhwach, so I guessed it was the knife-wound on his back. When we rushed him to the hospital, the doctor proved my speculations right.
After Grimmjow's operation and his condition was stabilized, the doctor told us that the knife-wound was the cause. The wound was deep, but it was only given first-aid treatment and thus it didn't fully recover. Not only that, Grimmjow was reported not having enough rest and giving himself too much stress, ultimately causing the wound to be infected.
So right now, he was warded into the hospital due to major wound infection. The doctor had disinfected and sealed up the wound, but Grimmjow was still having a high fever and in a comatose state. "He just needs a few days to fight the fever and he'll wake up once his body is ready; don't worry," the doctor had told me, but I still felt unsure…and scared.
What if he doesn't wake up? I couldn't help but feel that I was the reason Grimmjow was in this state. Because in the end, he took that hit for me. So now, I felt hugely responsible and refused to leave his bedside. Thanks to the Arrancars' influential powers, I get to stay in the hospital even after visitors' hours.
The only time I actually left Grimmjow's room was when I had to attend the remaining subjects for my GCE 'O' Levels examinations. But now that they're over, I could spend the entire day cooped up in Grimmjow's room. Even though the doctor had said a few days, one week had actually passed. Without needing to be told, I knew I was getting near my breaking point. If Grimmjow still don't wake up, I'm going to break down.
I don't want to rush him into waking up, lest he did not fully recover, but I wish he could wake up soon before I collapse. Taking his hand in mine, I closed my eyes and interlaced our fingers together, "Save me, Grimmjow…" Just then, Mum placed her hand over ours, "You better wake up now, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. Or else who am I going to entrust my daughter to?"
Her words shocked me and I stared at her blankly. My parents had found out my growing feelings for the King of the Arrancars two days ago, and it wasn't because Ggio told them. They just noticed it from my behavior, and confirmed with Ggio. Naturally, they made a huge fuss and scolded me for it. However, at that time, I couldn't be bothered and ignored them, solely focused on Grimmjow.
Sure, I had felt bad for defying them like this, but I no longer could just let my feelings go. I love him too much, and I don't mind being with him even if he's a top gangster. Besides, now that we are officially part of the Arrancars, every other potential guy would be either scared shit or feel disgusted hanging around the Arrancars. One could say I've sealed my love life outside of the gangster world shut when I joined.
After finding out, my parents had distanced themselves away from me, focusing on their work. I don't know if it was because they want to give me time to regret my decision, or just because they want to avoid a full-blown argument. I knew they were sort of arguing behind my back regarding this, but I couldn't care less. If they really want to object in the end, I'm just going to hole myself up in Grimmjow's room.
But now, Mum actually came to me and said this in front of me. What does this mean? She caught my stare and smiled ruefully, "It's exactly what it means. Your father and I had been thinking a lot, and we came to realize that we can't do anything other than to accept. You've already stepped into the black society, there's no other choice for you.
"Maybe it was our fault for letting you get involved, or allowing Ggio to join the Arrancars, but now that all these had already happened, there's nothing we could do. So yes, both your father and I approve, and hope that Grimmjow won't ever hurt you like we fear." At this, I felt my tears welling up and hugged her, my beloved mother, "Thank you…both of you are the best parents I could ever have."
"Yeah…if I ever hurt her, I will serve up my head willingly," the voice I missed so much sounded weakly. At this, both of us turned towards the bed to see Grimmjow rubbing his temples as he tried to sit up. Pushing him back onto the bed gently, I gave him a smile, "Good morning!" Mum helped to control the bed so that it allowed Grimmjow to sit up before leaving us to call the doctor.
After she left, Grimmjow cast his eyes down and asked softly, "How long was I out?" "A week," I replied, looking down as well. He then reached out for my hand, which I took without hesitation and looked at me apologetically, "I'm sorry I couldn't wake up earlier. I could hear you, ya know, every time when you talk to me. When you asked me to save you, how I wish to quickly wake up, but I couldn't. I had to wait a little while more before I could open my eyes."
Before he could say more, the door swung open to reveal the doctor. He quickly came over and gave Grimmjow a thorough check-up before declaring that Grimmjow is fine. However, the doctor wanted him to stay a little while more to observe him and make sure that he has fully recovered. After that, the doctor and the nurses left, leaving Mum and Ggio with me.
The rest of the Arrancars were busy, so they sent Ggio down to check on me now and then. "Kids, I'll make a move first," Mum stated, after she helped Grimmjow settle the admin stuff. So it's just the three of us left. "You are lucky your parents accepted it in the end," Ggio smiled, ruffling my hair. I nodded, leaning into his touch. Ggio had been my biggest supporter, calming down my parents when they were about to scold me, or just being there.
"If nothing else, I'll head back and tell the rest that King's up. Oh, and make sure they don't come down," Ggio excused himself as well and left. There was a moment of silence after he left, before Grimmjow held out one arm towards me. I went over to him without hesitation and took hold of his hand.
He then shifted a little to the side before guiding me to sit down on the empty space, his arm around my waist. For now, his left arm is unusable because the wound was on his left shoulder. "I'm glad," Grimmjow started, kissing my head, "that your parents accepted. If they persisted on objecting, I planned to kick you guys out of the Arrancars, which is probably something I'll regret."
I nodded, "I felt really bad; it hurts to defy them like this. But…I can't leave you, Grimmjow. I just can't." Careful of his wound, I gently buried my face in his chest, relishing his warmth. "I understand their worries, because I feel the same way." At his words, I lifted my head sharply to look at him.
He chuckled at my reaction and lifted his hand from my waist to my neck, "Let me finish. Though I feel the same way, I'm glad they accepted. Even though I think myself as the worst kind of person for a boyfriend, it's not enough to keep myself away from you, which is kinda impossible right now." At that, he leaned down and captured my lips with his own.
"As much as I deny it, I love you, Flame. It's even clearer to me when Yhwach wanted you. When you hugged him that time, I was so ready to rip his throat out," he whispered when he broke the kiss, anger lacing his voice. He then snaked his arm around me again, nuzzling my neck, "Mine."
I leaned back into him and gently wrapped my arms around his torso, "Yours."
They finally settled things between them! And Grimm's not dead :P -Soranryu