#Uryu is definitely his mother's boy | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

zephfair · 7 years ago

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Day 21 HS AU Grimmichi

Yes, I know I’m posting a couple days out of order. I do what I want.

Day 21: High School AU

This is a continuation of the Childhood Friends AU fic. It also ends with a very NSFW scene so I’m cutting that off here and posting it on AO3, if smut is your thing.

“Hey Berry,” a loud male voice called out. “You look sweet!”

Ichigo froze in the hallway of the high school, memories tumbling back and making his heart race with remembered anxiety.

That voice. It sounded nothing like a sixth-grader. It was low and rather nice and knowing, somehow.

But the tone, the teasing, the emphasis on stringing out the word Beeerryyyy for maximum embarrassment. That was all “Grimmjow?”

Ichigo whipped around and looked for the Grimmjow he remembered, the skinny, gangly sixth-grader who’d moved away years before.

He certainly didn’t remember the tall, broad-shouldered guy leaning against the wall and smirking down at him. This dude had baby blue hair slicked back and somehow managed to make the high school uniform look as dangerous as leather and studs. “Grimmjow?!” Ichigo asked again.

“Lookin’ good, Berry,” Grimmjow pushed off the wall and sauntered over to him.

There was a murmur among the students pushing through the hall, and Ichigo clearly heard Keigo asking, “What’s a Grimmjow?”

“What are you doing here?” Ichigo asked, staring up into the bright blue eyes he remembered although now they looked harder.

Grimmjow made a show of looking around him. “Well, it’s a high school, and I’m a senior so...”

“You transferred in?”

“Yep,” he said, popping the last letter in an obnoxious way Ichigo immediately hated. “I thought I might have some fun my last year in school.”

“I can’t believe it,” Ichigo blurted, still staring into Grimmjow’s eyes. “All these years, not a word. And now you just show up out of the blue and go right back to being a dick.”

“It’s a gift,” Grimmjow said and brushed his shoulder with his as he passed. “See you around, sweet Berry.”

Ichigo gnashed his teeth, but he let him have the final word. His friends were staring open-mouthed. “Was that really Grimmjow? From elementary school?” Orihime asked.

“Apparently.”

“He was your best friend. He’d go to your house every day to play with your cat.”

“Our cat,” Ichigo automatically corrected and then swore. “I can’t believe out of all the schools in the country he had to come back to ours.”

“He looks like trouble,” Keigo said in a voice that was both anxious and admiring. Ichigo had to admit he was right. But he knew that Grimmjow more than looked like trouble—he was the very definition of it.

“We’ll just stay away from him. This is our junior year, and we’re going to enjoy it,” Ichigo said firmly. “And we don’t need to get messed up with Grimmjow.”

Despite his warning, Ichigo was looking for the bright blue head at lunch. His friends often went up to the roof or found a shady place in the courtyard when the weather was good, but Ichigo kept an eye out to see if Grimmjow would seek him out.

Of course he was relieved when he didn’t, of course, but he slumped down beside Chad and felt vaguely disappointed anyway.

Then he had to walk right into the path of Grimmjow and some old acquaintances. Ulquiorra and Nnoitra had both gone to their elementary school, and although Orihime had apparently stayed civil with the quiet, short one, Ichigo had just blithely ignored their existence.

They along with Szayelaporro had a reputation around the high school for finding and using certain pharmaceuticals and other things to alleviate the stress of life.

Grimmjow looked the tough bruiser bouncer who would take care of business by busting heads and kicking ass.

Ichigo couldn’t help but notice the massive amount of muscle Grimmjow had put on in all the right places, and it made his stomach knot with a different kind of anxiety. Grimmjow was looking him up and down too.

But he didn’t say anything as they passed each other, just smirked down at him. Ichigo’s stomach did a flip.

It lasted until after school when he was roped into helping clean up the classroom by Uryu who apparently was already trying to score brownie points. “I heard that your old best friend transferred in for his senior year,” Uryu said.

Ichigo sighed. “Grimmjow’s back. But it’s not like we’re still friends. I haven’t seen him since we were kids.”

Uryu pushed up his glasses and gave Ichigo the superior look he wore when he was doling out life advice. “Just remember that. It appears he has already taken up with some of the less savory elements of our school.”

“Last week you called me a less savory element,” Ichigo reminded him but Uryu only sniffed.

“I was talking about your and Chad’s propensity for unnecessary violence.”

“You know that we never pick fights. But we do defend ourselves and our friends.”

Uryu waved it off. “I’m not saying that you don’t think you have justification for your actions, but I am warning you to watch yourself around Grimmjow. If he is as troubled as he was as a child and now he chooses the same bad crowd—”

“You don’t know anything about Grimmjow and his ‘troubles’ as a child,” Ichigo said stiffly. “So stuff it. And he’s only been here one day. Who cares if he’s catching up with his old friends? Give him some time to settle in and find new friends.”

“Oh yes, because I’m sure he’s a straight-A student and all the honors clubs will be fighting over him.”

“You can be such an asshole sometimes,” Ichigo told him and slammed the last few chairs back in a temper. “I’m leaving. Next time, pick one of your friends to help you clean.”

“Ichigo—” he ignored Uryu’s tired protest and stormed out of the room, shrugging on his jacket as he went.

Of course Grimmjow was waiting right outside the school gates and fell into step with him. “You not in any clubs either?”

“I’m in the shut-the-hell-up club mostly.”

Grimmjow barked a laugh. “Me too.”

They walked in silence for a while until Ichigo realized “Where are we going?”

“Home.”

“You and your mom living in your old neighborhood?”

“My mom is living down south with her newest boyfriend,” Grimmjow shrugged. “I have an apartment in the building next to where I used to live.”

“No way. Huh.” Ichigo was dying to ask more questions, but if Grimmjow was anything like he used to be, he wouldn’t answer them anyway. “You wanna come over to my house?”

“You still in the same place? Your parents still together?”

“Yes and yes,” Ichigo sighed. “They’re just the same as always.”

“Your dad still do that weird thing with the straws up his nose when you go out for dinner?”

“Yes,” Ichigo groaned. “He still lives to embarrass us, but mostly it just humiliates my sisters now. Karin refuses to be seen in public with him.”

“Your sisters. I almost forgot about them. I guess they’re...bigger now.”

“Yeah. Yuzu’s a sweet kid. Karin’s kind of a pain in the ass, total smartass.”

“Guess she doesn’t take after her brother then.”

“Hey!” When Ichigo bumped Grimmjow he moved just about as far as he’d done when they were kids. “Dammit, you’re still bigger than me.”

“I’ll always be looking down on you, Berry,” Grimmjow smirked and bumped him back.

“Saw you with some of your old buddies today at lunch,” Ichigo couldn’t look at him while he tried a hand at being a responsible, maturing adult. “I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but they have a certain...reputation around the school.”

“Really.”

“Yeah. Everybody knows they cut school, drink, smoke, although,” Ichigo eyed the pack of cigarettes that Grimmjow had taken out of his backpack, “that might not be a problem for you.”

“Sounds like my kinda guys,” Grimmjow agreed, shaking out a cigarette before offering the pack to Ichigo who held up a hand.

“Just...be careful,” Ichigo tried again. “Some of the teachers and administrators are cool but a couple are real hardasses. I don’t want to see you get in trouble right away.”

“Such a sweet Berry,” Grimmjow teased, blowing his smoke away from Ichigo who pointedly fanned the air anyway.

“Just watch yourself.”

“Why don’t you keep a close eye on me instead?”

“You’re a big boy. Man up,” Ichigo said and indicated the turn to his house. “You coming in?”

Grimmjow stopped and took another drag of his cigarette. “Not today. Later.”

“See ya,” Ichigo waved and finished his walk, all the time aware of the heat of eyes on his back.

His mother looked up from the stove and smiled when he called out that he was home.

“You’re never going to believe who just transferred into our school,” he began.

*******

Grimmjow just happened to be outside the school fence smoking in the morning when Ichigo arrived, his old pals surrounding him. He waved a hand and Ichigo nodded in his direction.

Then a group of tough-looking thugs that Ichigo was all too familiar with swaggered in the other direction—straight for Ichigo. He really wished that Chad had been running late that morning too.

The leader of the group stopped right in Ichigo’s face. “We still owe you for that little incident down by the river.”

Ichigo made a show of rolling his eyes. “You mean the smackdown Chad and I handed to you and your friends for harassing those girls?”

“It wasn’t a smackdown. You cheated!”

Ichigo wiped the spittle off his cheek with disgust. “Yeah, two of us took on six of you and won fair and square. That’s pretty much the definition of a smackdown. Or would you prefer beat down? Or massacre?”

“You little prick, think you’re so smart.”

Ichigo grabbed his wrist and twisted right as his fist came towards Ichigo’s face. He kept twisting until the guy went to his knees. The guy’s friends rushed forward then practically squealed to a stop. Ichigo didn’t know why until he felt the heavy arm drape itself over his shoulders.

“What do you assholes think you’re doing?” Grimmjow asked the group.

“He’s beating on our boss. Again,” one finally spoke up.

“Again?” Grimmjow scoffed and kicked out, booting the leader right in the ribs. He howled but didn’t go down since Ichigo was still holding his arm. “Sounds like you pussies need a new boss. One who’s tougher and smarter. You should know better than to mess with him,” he jerked his head toward Ichigo. “Or me,” he grinned and it showed most of his teeth.

The gang was already backing up, and when Ichigo let go of the leader’s arm with a huff, he scurried backwards quickly.

“You haven’t heard the last of me, Kurosaki,” the leader spat out. “I don’t care whose cock you’re suck— oof” He shut up quickly when Grimmjow stepped forward and kicked him in the jaw.

Then he hunched down toward the groaning leader. “You’d better learn how to talk to your superiors or you’ve got a whole world of hurt coming.” He stood up and said to the gang, “Take him to the nurse and tell her how he fell on his face.”

He turned back to Ichigo and ignored them as they carried-dragged the moaning senior away. “They ruined my smoke.”

“You ruined that guy’s day,” Ichigo said.

“Ask me if I care.”

“I could have handled him. I’ve done it before.”

“I know. I hear you have quite the reputation now as a punk and a fighter, you and your big friend,” Grimmjow brushed past him and said low in his ear, “I can’t wait to try you.”

“Let’s go now,” Ichigo said, his blood still boiling from the encounter.

“Some things are worth waiting for, to do right,” Grimmjow said. “Did you learn anything from me? You were such a whiny, crying, mama’s boy. Can’t wait to see you in action.”

“After school,” Ichigo promised and Grimmjow smiled.

Only he wasn’t waiting outside or by the gate when Ichigo got there. Figuring he knew when he’d been blown off, Ichigo started home by himself.

Then Grimmjow stepped out of a convenience store right in front of him, holding two sodas in one hand and a bag in the other. He pressed one of the sodas into Ichigo’s chest. “Here.”

Ichigo looked at the can in amusement. “I haven’t drunk one of these in forever.”

“Me either.” Grimmjow cracked his open and drank then sputtered. “Did it always taste like shit?”

“Probably,” Ichigo tried his and coughed. “We obviously didn’t have good taste as kids.”

“Speak for yourself,” Grimmjow said and offered him the bag. It was full of candy and snacks.

Ichigo laughed. “If I told you that would ruin my dinner, would you laugh at me?”

“Definitely.”

But Ichigo pulled a chocolate bar from the bag anyway. “I thought we were going to rumble.”

“Plenty of time for that.”

They started walking as they made a dent in the bag of snacks. Ichigo realized they were headed in the direction of home so he offered again, “You wanna come to my house? I told my parents you were back, and they’re anxious to see you again.”

Grimmjow looked like he straightened his slouch for a moment. “I guess so. Only to say hi to your mom. She was cool.”

“I take after her.”

“She was the only cool one in your entire family.”

“Liar.”

“Your dad,” Grimmjow reminded him and Ichigo grimaced.

“You have a point there.”

When they got to Ichigo’s home, Ichigo watched Grimmjow steel himself before stepping inside. He needn’t have bothered because the house was controlled chaos, as usual. Yuzu and Karin zeroed in on them as soon as they entered.

“Ichigo, have you seen my cleats? They were here at the door this morning.”

“Ichigo, do you still have the report you did on Australia? I picked it for my research project too. Who’s your friend?”

“Is that candy? You gonna share?”

Then his mother stuck her head out of the kitchen. “Girls, let them get inside at least. And I hope that is not candy because dinner will be ready in an hour.” She walked towards them wiping her hands on a tea towel and smiled broadly. “Grimmjow! You grew up so handsome!”

She hugged him, and Ichigo was struck by how Grimmjow towered over her compared to the last hug they shared. His mother must have thought so too because she laughed and reached up to pat his head. “And you grew up so tall too!”

“You haven’t aged a day, Mrs. Kurosaki,” Grimmjow told her and she smiled smugly at her children.

“See kids, now that’s what we call good manners. This is why Grimmjow will get a special dessert tonight.”

At the general outcry, she laughed and pulled Grimmjow by the hand. “Come in and tell us where you’ve been all these years.”

Grimmjow actually looked flustered by all the attention and as much as Ichigo would have liked to see him suffer, he decided to take pity on him. “Actually, Mom, I think someone else wants to see Grimmjow.”

“Oh. Right. Well, don’t keep him all to yourself, Ichigo. And be ready for dinner.”

“Sure, Mom.” Ichigo led the way to his room and set his bookbag down on his desk. Grimmjow was looking around the room.

“It looks like I remember it,” he said.

Ichigo snorted. “Are you saying I have the taste of a fifth-grader?”

“Nah, it just looks like you.”

Ichigo glanced around at the posters on the walls and the general detritus of a teenage boy’s bedroom. “Messy?”

Grimmjow laughed and flopped down on the bed, making himself at home.

Ichigo leaned down beside the bed then looked beneath it. “I thought so. Will you come out? I have a surprise for you.”

“Who the hell are you talking to?” Grimmjow rolled onto his side to watch Ichigo.

Ichigo sat up holding a very large cat. Its black ears were folded back and it gazed at him suspiciously. Much like he had years before, Ichigo dropped it on Grimmjow who let out an oof when the weight hit him in the stomach.

“Pantera?” Grimmjow wheezed. “He’s a fat fuck.”

Pantera gave him a withering look and moved onto the bed to begin grooming himself.

“He’s not fat. He’s fluffy,” Ichigo said.

“Why was he hiding under the bed?” Grimmjow held his fingers up to Pantera who turned his nose away and made a show of ignoring him as only a cat could.

“My sisters have whined for years about getting a kitten so my parents finally gave in. Pantera can’t stand Kon.”

Grimmjow had been carding his fingers through the long fur of Pantera’s tail, but when Ichigo said the hated name, Pantera flipped his tail out of reach and turned to pounce on Grimmjow’s hand.

“Son of a—” Grimmjow yelled when the claws came out.

“I think he remembers you,” Ichigo said dryly.

Grimmjow rolled over so he could bring both hands up to play-fight the cat. Pantera was on his back and trying valiantly to kill at least one of Grimmjow’s hands.

“Speak of the devil,” Ichigo said, looking at the doorway.

Grimmjow leaned his head up to see a half-grown ginger cat, fluffy as fuck, wearing a pink frilly collar around its neck sneak into the room.

Kon went straight to Ichigo sitting on the floor and curled up on his lap. He kneaded at Ichigo’s pants and purred.

“How cozy. He likes you,” Grimmjow told him.

“Yeah. But Pantera is still my best cat.” Ichigo looked with dismay at the kitten using him as a bed.

“I don’t think you get to choose,” Grimmjow said. Then he went back to playing with Pantera who had declared a truce with Grimmjow’s hands as long as they worked magic on all his favorite scratching spots. He even favored Grimmjow with a quick grooming of his wrist which Grimmjow solemnly thanked him for.

Ichigo dumped Kon off his lap and stood up. “I’m going to the bathroom. Don’t trash my room while I’m gone.”

“I know you’re talking to that cat and not me.”

“I’ll trust Pantera to keep an eye on you.”

When Ichigo returned, it didn’t look like Pantera had listened either. Kon was up on the bed, fluffed to his maximum floof, doing the funny arch-backed strut around Grimmjow’s hands. Every few seconds, Grimmjow would quickly poke him and Kon would arch more and strut back the other way.

Pantera looked on from the pillow by Grimmjow’s head where he was sitting in loaf formation and rubbing against Grimmjow’s cheek which he occasionally licked.

“Quit seducing my cat,” Ichigo said.

“You jealous?” Grimmjow rolled over and blinked like a huge cat himself. “‘Cause I can seduce you instead.”

Ichigo blustered something but was saved when Kon, frustrated from losing Grimmjow’s attention, jumped right onto his face. Grimmjow’s shout was muffled but Pantera let out a scream and batted at Kon who only hunkered down more making Grimmjow shout again.

Ichigo burst out laughing and had to hold his sides. Grimmjow finally dislodged Kon by sitting up but that made him fall into Grimmjow’s lap which made Grimmjow swear until Kon got all his feet under him and ran, bouncing onto the floor and zooming past Ichigo to escape the room.

Pantera rubbed against Grimmjow and made concerned noises while Ichigo tried to stop laughing and breathe. Grimmjow was glaring at him which only made him laugh harder. “You’re an asshole,” Grimmjow told him.

“I wish I’d recorded that,” Ichigo had to wipe tears from his eyes.

“Now I remember why I hate you.”

His mother’s call echoed up the stairs, “If you two boys are done rough-housing get your butts down here for dinner!”

Ichigo learned that one thing about Grimmjow hadn’t changed—he still ate like a horse. Only this time he was old enough to regularly compliment Mrs. Kurosaki’s cooking and grin at her when she pretended to be embarrassed.

“Doesn’t it bother you that he’s flirting with your wife right in front of you?” Ichigo stage-whispered to his father while his mother loaded Grimmjow’s plate again and giggled at one of his jokes.

“She’s a very attractive woman; it’s no surprise that other men lust over her.” Ichigo and Karin gagged at Isshin’s response.

“Oh, darling, you have nothing to worry about,” Masaki dropped a kiss on Isshin’s cheek which made all three of her children shudder. “I’m not in the market for a younger model. Yet.”

“Ah, my dearest, you tease me because you love me!” Isshin grabbed her face and lavished kisses all over it to the loud protests of her family. Grimmjow just sat and ate, looking very amused by the whole situation.

“I know I don’t have to remind you boys to do your homework,” Masaki said once they had helped clear the table. “But if you get done early, I have more cake as a reward.”

“Geez, Mom. Are you trying to make us fat?”

“Neither one of you have to worry about that. Now, quit distracting your sisters. I can’t believe the teachers give so much work this early in the year.”

Ichigo led the way back upstairs but he sat on the bed before Grimmjow could sprawl out again. Kon had disappeared but Pantera was still asleep on Ichigo’s pillow.

“Do you have any homework?”

Grimmjow shrugged then yawned, stretching his hands up almost to the ceiling. Ichigo saw a glimpse of skin as his shirt pulled free from his pants and when he turned, he saw a hint of ink. “Do you have a tattoo?”

Grimmjow looked surprised then involuntarily felt his back. “Yeah. You wanna see.”

Ichigo leaned forward and Grimmjow turned sideways and lifted his shirt. It was a stylized numeral 6 in crisp black ink. “What’s it mean?”

“It was my rank in the … in a club I was in.”

Ichigo pretended like he didn’t hear the slip up. “You got anymore?”

Grimmjow’s smirk was slow. “Yeah. But I don’t know if you’re ready to see it.”

Ichigo tried to give him a glare but he could feel his cheeks turning red. “I actually do have work to do so if you wanna stay, stop distracting me.”

“Sure thing,” Grimmjow strolled around the room while Ichigo went to his desk and began pulling out his books. Grimmjow found his shelf of manga and made himself comfortable on the bed again, sharing the pillow with Pantera.

He said suddenly, “Remember when we’d do our homework at your table and your dad would pretend he didn’t know how to do the math problems.”

“I don’t think it was a joke. He sucks at math,” Ichigo said dryly. “Mom does all the banking and accounting for the clinic. He stopped helping me in elementary school.”

Grimmjow laughed lowly. “They would always take me home at night. It’s like they didn’t trust me to walk alone.”

“It wasn’t that they didn’t trust you. They worried about you. A lot.”

“Crazy,” Grimmjow said.

Ichigo went to work and when he looked over the next time, Grimmjow was asleep, curled on his side, Pantera nestled against his chest purring gently.

Ichigo debated for only a second before snapping pictures of the scene. Then he reached over Pantera and shook Grimmjow awake. “It’s getting late. You want a ride home?”

“Nah, I’m good,” Grimmjow yawned widely, looking uncannily similar to Pantera when he did the same thing. “Thank your mom for dinner for me.”

“I will.” Ichigo trailed him back through the house as he recovered his backpack, jacket and finally his shoes at the door. “You’re welcome here any time, you know.”

Grimmjow looked at him sharply. “I’ll be sure not to wear out my welcome. But I wanted to ask you, the guys are throwing a party Saturday night to celebrate the new school year. You wanna come?”

Ichigo scratched the back of his head. “I’ve never gone to one of their parties because they can get a little...rowdy.”

“They’re the best kind,” Grimmjow grinned. “Come on, Ichigo. Meet me at Szayelaporro’s Friday night.”

“Okay, fine, one party.” Ichigo gave in just to see Grimmjow’s grin widen.

*******

As soon as Ichigo walked into the party, he knew he’d made a mistake. There was no masking the smoke and the smell, and no one was trying to hide the multitude of liquor bottles on every horizontal surface. It seemed like it was already in full-swing since even the people dancing to the loud music were moving slowly and bonelessly.

Ichigo saw Ulquiorra and made a path toward him. “Where’s Grimmjow?” he demanded.

Ulquiorra looked at him with eyes dilated wide. “He wills where he wants.”

“That’s nice, thanks a fucking lot for nothing.” Ichigo glared around the dimly lit apartment again. Still no sight of a tall blue-haired form that should have stood out. He pushed his way through the people down the hall. Grimmjow was crowded into a corner leaning over a girl.

Ichigo grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back, suddenly even more furious. “Grimmjow, what the fuck!”

Grimmjow grinned at him and leaned so close that Ichigo could clearly see that his pupils were blown huge too. When he said Ichigo’s name, Ichigo could smell the overpowering odor of alcohol.

“Come on, Grimmjow. We’re getting out of here.” Ichigo dug in his heels preparing for a fight, but Grimmjow just slung an arm around his shoulders and pulled him even closer.

“Wait, where are you going?” the girl pawed at Grimmjow’s chest, but he brushed off her hands without even looking.

“Come on,” Ichigo got him turned down the hallway and started forward. As long as he let Grimmjow hold onto him, he moved willingly through the crowd. Ichigo got another glimpse of Ulquiorra who still stood motionless in the kitchen watching them leave.

Once out of the apartment, Ichigo took a deep breath of fresh air and studied Grimmjow closer. He had definitely taken something, and drank something, and there were bright lipstick stains all over his face and neck.

“I’m taking you home,” he announced and Grimmjow leaned down to breath heavily into his ear.

“I can’t wait. Take me home.”

Ichigo shivered but at least Grimmjow was moving. Ichigo tried to ignore the hand sliding off his shoulder, down to his waist, to rest on his ass. He got Grimmjow to the right neighborhood and Grimmjow was able to stumble to the right apartment and even help him with the keys.

The tiny one-room apartment was a mess, but Ichigo pointed him at the futon and he went down in a rush. The only problem was he was still holding onto Ichigo who went down on top of him.

Grimmjow squirmed under him, and Ichigo held himself still until Grimmjow apparently had him arranged where he wanted: lying on top, his head cushioned on Grimmjow’s chest, Grimmjow’s legs to either side of his. It wasn’t remotely comfortable and worse, it was terribly intimate.

Ichigo started peeling himself off and ignored Grimmjow’s grumbles. “You are such a dumbass,” Ichigo told him when he could finally stand up.

Grimmjow just lounged on the mussed futon and grinned up at him. “Get back down here.”

“No,” Ichigo walked a few steps to the opposite wall and pulled out his phone. “Dad, yeah, it’s me. Hey, Grimmjow is all kinds of messed up from that party he was at. Yes, I know the recovery position. Yes, I’ll give him water. No, I didn’t take any shit, I was only there long enough to get him out. I might have to stay over to make sure he’s okay. Yeah, all right, thanks, Dad.”

Grimmjow was still grinning up at him. Ichigo nudged him with his foot but he easily evaded Grimmjow grabbing at him. “I’ll have to stay to make sure you don’t wake up dead.”

Grimmjow laughed and stretched. “Why don’t you come down here and keep me company?”

“Why don’t I make you some coffee? Or tea?” Ichigo went to the kitchenette and started rummaging. “Jeez, Grimmjow, how do you live like this? You got nothing here.”

“I don’t need much.”

Ichigo rooted in the fridge and found nothing but energy drinks. He finally emptied a bottle, rinsed it and filled it with water that he took back and offered Grimmjow. He sat up and drank thirstily.

“So do you do this kind of shit often?”

“Sometimes,” Grimmjow wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “At my last school I did whatever the hell I wanted to. Go party, bring home a girl, have fun for a night. My mom was never home so no one cared.”

“Then why’d you come back here?”

Grimmjow slumped back down to the futon. “Because no matter what I did, I couldn’t forget this fucking little kid who rescued a bunch of cats for me.”

“You damn softie,” Ichigo said and sat down on the floor beside the futon.

Grimmjow rolled so he could look at Ichigo. “It’s always been you.”

Then he lunged over and tried to catch Ichigo’s head. Ichigo pulled away and Grimmjow ended up halfway on top of him. He moved his head far enough to kiss Ichigo’s chin and tried for his mouth before Ichigo was able to get a hand on his face and another on his shoulder and push him away.

“What the hell was that for?”

“I’ve been wanting to do that ever since I moved back to town.”

Ichigo pulled away and got to his feet. “You need to sleep this off.”

“Stay with me,” Grimmjow reached up for him but Ichigo forced himself to back away and sit down on the opposite side of the room. He leaned against the wall and sighed.

“We’ll talk about it in the morning if you still feel this way.”

“It’s been six damn years, of course I still feel this way.”

Ichigo squeezed his eyes closed. “Grimm, just go to sleep.”

Grimmjow grumbled for a while and drank the rest of the water but he finally did fall asleep. Ichigo sat and watched him for a long while. Grimmjow was laying on his side and seemed to be breathing easily. Ichigo refilled the bottle with water and set it beside him. Then he pulled the crumpled sheet over him and left.

********

Ichigo didn’t get much sleep that night, replaying Grimmjow’s drunken conversation over and over. He wondered how much was the alcohol and drugs talking. And if Grimmjow would even remember the whole thing. Ichigo didn’t want to be the first one to bring it up, but he also didn’t want to leave Grimmjow miserable and alone.

The tossing and turning made him sleep in, and he grudgingly evaded his dad’s usual attempt at grievous bodily harm before finally getting out of bed.

He was poking listlessly at a late lunch when the doorbell rang. His mom answered it, and Ichigo heard her say, “Wow, you look terrible. Do you want something to eat?”

Grimmjow’s rough voice declined and then he appeared beside Ichigo. Masaki looked from one to the other before she said, “We’re getting ready to go to Karin’s soccer game. We won’t be home until after dinner, so if you want something, order pizza.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Ichigo yawned and she stuck her tongue out at him. Then she patted Grimmjow on the cheek and started rounding up the rest of the family.

Ichigo chewed methodically until he finished his meal. Grimmjow just sat beside him silently.

Masaki popped back into the kitchen. “I almost forgot again! I wanted to give this to you the other night. Grimmjow, this is for you.” She handed him a soft package wrapped in tissue paper.

Grimmjow slid his thumb under the tape and pulled the paper open. Then he stared. Ichigo looked over his shoulder and stared too.

It was the small, fuzzy blanket with the tiger on it that Grimmjow had given to the mother cat when he found her and her kittens.

For the first time since Grimmjow returned, Ichigo see could the lonely, scared little sixth-grader that made his life hell and then became his best friend in his expression as he slowly ran his hand over the blanket.

“I had to disinfect it I don’t know how many times to get the cat smell out,” Masaki was saying, “but I wanted to save it for you. It seemed special.”

“Yeah,” Grimmjow said roughly. “Thanks.”

“We’re leaving now. Have fun. And no smoking in the house, please.”

“See you later, Mom.”

Ichigo never took his eyes off Grimmjow who was still staring down at the blanket.

“You okay?” Ichigo finally asked when he got up to take his plate to the sink.

“I’m fine. You gonna lecture me about last night?”

“No, no lecture. It’s your life and you can do what you want with it.” Ichigo poured himself a glass of water. “I just think you’re being a dumbass.”

“Noted.”

Ichigo finally turned to face Grimmjow. “You wanna go up to my room?”

“Sure.”

Ichigo didn’t know what to say to him, didn’t know if he should even raise the issue. Grimmjow probably didn’t remember it anyway, so why bring it up?

“Hey, buddy, look who’s here,” Ichigo said to Pantera who sat on his bed and meowed a greeting. He jumped off and ran to Grimmjow, twining around his ankles. “He remembers you.”

“I couldn’t stop thinking of him either,” Grimmjow sat heavily on his bed then picked up Pantera and put him in his lap. “You two were all I could remember.”

Ichigo’s stomach clenched. “Yeah? What do you remember about last night?”

Grimmjow looked him right in the eyes. “Everything. You told me we’d talk about it later, if I still felt the same, and I do. I always have. Ever since you were just a snot-nosed little brat who cried over everything.”

“Geez, Grimmjow.” Ichigo pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I don’t wanna waste any more time,” Grimmjow said roughly. “I never told you I had a huge crush on you when we were kids. It’s why I was such an asshole to you. Only then you made me be your friend and then I had to leave and,” his voice trailed off as he looked down at Pantera. “Then I couldn’t stop thinking about you and wondering how you were and what you were doing. I got the crazy idea to move back here and find you before you went away to college.”

He looked back up at Ichigo fiercely. “As soon as I saw you, all those old feelings came back and I realized I still had a crush on you. Only now, you’re even better, and I had to go and ruin it last night.”

Ichigo couldn’t move, could only stare at him in shock. He tried to say something but wasn’t even sure how to begin. Finally he croaked, “You didn’t ruin anything last night.”

Grimmjow laughed bitterly. “You saw me at my worst. I can get like that sometimes, when things are too much to handle.”

“You’ve had a lot to handle in life,” Ichigo said. “I’m not into that. But it’s your choice.”

“Given a choice, I would pick you every fucking time.”

Ichigo couldn’t look away from the sincerity of Grimmjow’s eyes. He said slowly, “I thought about you too, after you left. I missed you so bad. Since you came back, I think about you all the time. Just not in the same way. I mean, I think about you in different ways now than when I was little.”

“What kind of ways?” Grimmjow’s voice deepened. “Sexy ways?”

Ichigo was sure that the hot blush creeping across his cheeks was answer enough but Grimmjow didn’t say anything. “Yeah,” Ichigo finally admitted.

“You ever have a boyfriend, Ichigo?” Grimmjow asked as he set Pantera on the bed and stood up.

“No,” Ichigo had to tip his head up to follow Grimmjow’s eyes when he stepped in close.

“You got one now.” Grimmjow cupped the side of his face in his long fingers and ran his thumb over Ichigo’s bottom lip. Then he followed it with his mouth.

Ichigo felt the warmth and firmness of his lips and instinctively leaned closer. His hands came up without any instruction and held on to Grimmjow’s upper arms. Grimmjow’s other hand went around his lower back and pulled him ever closer as Grimmjow’s tongue teased at the seam of his lips.

“Open your mouth, Ichigo,” he whispered, the words tickling Ichigo’s lips until he obeyed. The kiss deepened and Ichigo held on as they breathed in each other and Grimmjow thoroughly learned the shape of his lips.

“You okay with this?” Grimmjow asked, pulling back just far enough so that he could look at Ichigo’s face. Ichigo felt like he should have been embarrassed at how out of breath and panting he was, but all he could think was more, more, more.

He tipped his face up and kissed Grimmjow, moving a little too fast and pinching Grimmjow’s upper lip between their teeth. But when he would have pulled back, mortified, Grimmjow just growled and flicked his tongue out, delving into Ichigo’s mouth and teasing his own tongue into playing.

Ichigo finally understood what all the fuss was about kissing as he followed Grimmjow’s lead and soon caught on to the rhythm and movement he seemed to like. Just when he’d chanced to suck on Grimmjow’s tongue, Grimmjow moaned and pulled back.

“Sorry,” Ichigo said but Grimmjow just rested his forehead against Ichigo’s for a moment.

“What’re you sorry about?” he panted.

“I thought I did something wrong.”

Grimmjow huffed out a laugh and kissed Ichigo’s forehead. “You’re doing everything right,” he assured. “I just don’t wanna take this any further than you want it to go.”

“I want you,” Ichigo said, and until he said it out loud, he didn’t realize how incredibly true it was. He finally admitted to himself that he wanted Grimmjow in every way, not just as friends or buddies.

He ran his hands from Grimmjow’s arms slowly across his chest and then down. He felt Grimmjow suck in a breath and the hard muscles under his curious hands tightened even more. Then he moved them around Grimmjow’s lower back and up, pulling Grimmjow closer.

“Ichigo,” Grimmjow moaned and nuzzled into his ear, kissing his way down his neck. Ichigo tilted his head so he could have better access. He felt Grimmjow’s hand move slowly up his back, taking the hem of his T-shirt with it. Grimmjow asked, “Can I?”

Ichigo nodded and Grimmjow stepped back long enough to peel Ichigo’s shirt off with a little help. Then he fell on his collarbones with kisses and nips that made Ichigo squeal an embarrassing noise. Grimmjow chuckled as he bit gently into the strong muscle at the top of Ichigo’s shoulders and that made Ichigo moan. One of his questing hands came up to Ichigo’s chest, smoothing over his pec and finding his nipple. The unexpected thrill that thumbing over it caused Ichigo to buck his hips involuntarily.

“You’re so responsive,” Grimmjow whispered into his ear then licked the whorl of it. “You get me so hard.”

“Me too,” Ichigo said, even though he knew there was no way Grimmjow could have missed the hard bulge that was rubbing against his hip bone.

“Can I go down on you?” Grimmjow asked him, still whispering as though the intimacy would offend the quiet stillness of Ichigo’s room.

***For the rest of this NSFW scene, go here to AO3.

#my fic #my 30 days #bleach fic #grimmichi #PWP

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