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Ulquiorra wished, just once, he could return to his palace without Grimmjow seeking him out. The level of need the panther required left Ulquiorra feeling drained after contending with Aizen’s asinine errands. The last mission had gone poorly and instead of returning with the supplies, Ulquiorra torched the entire little hovel a band of Adjuchas had cobbled together.
He didn’t care they wanted to overthrow Aizen. Had he been able, he would have even offered his assistance, but as it was, it was bow to the makeshift lord or expose your neck to his blade. Ulquiorra may have found much of life meaningless, but he wasn’t fool enough to go rushing to a senseless death.
No, he just wanted a rest. Unfortunately, Grimmjow was lazing in his bed with a hunger in his eye Ulquiorra had little desire to alleviate.
“I am not in the mood, Grimmjow.” Ulquiorra closed his eyes and made his way toward his bathroom.
The bed creaked, and he heard Grimmjow stalk toward him. Hands rested on his shoulders, and Ulquiorra considered the benefit of leaning into them. No, if he did that Grimmjow would drag him to bed, and he really didn’t have the energy.
“You keep telling me that, Ulquiorra, but I know you’re stressed. Come on.” Grimmjow pressed a kiss to Ulquiorra’s temple.
Ulquiorra put a warning in his tone. “Grimmjow.”
“Ten minutes.” Grimmjow slipped his hands around Ulquiorra’s waist and began to draw him back toward the bed. “You don’t have to do a thing.”
Ulquiorra grabbed Grimmjow’s hands and removed them. He turned around. “Leave.”
Grimmjow blinked and there was hurt in his eyes. “I was just trying to help you relax, fuck!”
Ulquiorra fixed him with a look and watched Grimmjow twitch. “I want to be alone. Leave.”
Grimmjow tensed his shoulders and tried to stare Ulquiorra down. He jerked his head. “Tch, fine.” He leapt out of the window.
An irritating pang reverberated in Ulquiorra’s chest. He rubbed at the spot where his heart should have been then went to draw his bath.
~*~
Their back and forth continued for several days. Grimmjow tried for intimacy, Ulquiorra had no patience for it. After the third week, Ulquiorra considered the possibility that Aizen was trying to cause rifts between them. Likely for his own amusement.
Grimmjow appeared again while Ulquiorra removed his boots. The look in Grimmjow’s eyes was agitated, and he snarled before he grabbed the front of Ulquiorra’s uniform. He slammed Ulquiorra’s back against the wall.
“It’s been a month, Ulquiorra! Come on!” The anger subsided, and he leaned in to nuzzle their cheeks. His voice softened. “My fucking balls hurt.”
The gentle affection would have normally earned something from Ulquiorra, but he felt annoyed. This was beginning to get on his nerves. He shoved Grimmjow away and righted his clothes.
Grimmjow’s head snapped up and his nostrils flared. His fingers flexed, and Ulquiorra wondered if he was really about to pick a fight over a dry spell.
“You can’t seem to restrain yourself, can you, Grimmjow?” Ulquiorra rested his hand on Grimmjow’s chest and shoved him back. “Perhaps I have made a mistake in being so liberal with my attentions to you.”
Grimmjow bared his teeth. “Don’t fucking tease me, Ulquiorra!”
Tease? Oh, this wasn’t teasing. Did Grimmjow think Ulquiorra couldn’t do worse to him?
Ulquiorra turned his head and disappeared. He moved through Las Noches with purpose and covered a considerable amount of ground in a matter of seconds. He appeared in the center of Szayelaporro’s lab a heartbeat later.
“Oh! Ulquiorra!” Szayelaporro almost dropped his beaker. He glared. “Don’t you ever knock? I think even Yammy has more manners than you!” Szayelaporro sat his items down and gestured around the room. “Had those chemicals dropped, this entire wing could have been decimated! Yet do you care?”
Ulquiorra fixed him with a look, and Szayelaporro froze. “I don’t.” He took a step forward. “I am here to make a request.”
Szayelaporro swallowed and adjusted his glasses. “I am rather… surprised, Ulquiorra. Is it something I can fulfill?”
“It seems reasonable.” He eyed the table and the half dissected remains of some fool creature that made the mistake of catching Szayelaporro’s eye. “I require something that will keep Grimmjow restrained.”
Szayelaporro blinked before he schooled his face to something lecherous. His hand lifted, and he tapped his fingers to his lips. “Oh, my that sounds rather devious of you, Ulquiorra.” He stepped forward and circled Ulquiorra like a predator sizing up its prey. “Has Grimmjow been a naughty kitten? You want to punish him?”
Ulquiorra ignored the way Szayelaporro grinned as he spoke, keeping his eyes trained forward. “Have you anything that will accomplish my request or not, Octava?”
Szayelaporro tilted his head and hummed. “Something to restrain an Espada does sound like a rather innovative tool considering how volatile some of our brethren can be.” He shifted away from Ulquiorra. “But of course, the higher the number, the more difficult it is to fathom the necessary requirements to contain them!”
Ulquiorra pressed his lips thin. “I do not seek a lecture.”
“Yet one you have.” Szayelaporro turned and leaned near Ulquiorra. He smelled like almonds again. “You came to me, Cuatro. As it is, someone of your skill would be difficult to pin. Grimmjow? He’s simple.” Szayelaporro moved away from Ulquiorra with a careless shrug. “I was contracted to make something to detain someone like him ages ago by our master. You’ll find them in the drawer behind you.” He waved his hand and resumed mixing chemicals.
Ulquiorra turned toward the drawer, opening it. Inside rested a pair of thick metal cuffs and a spike. Ulquiorra collected them and glanced toward Szayelaporro. “These will be sufficient?”
“Yes.” Szayelaporro sighed and tilted his head back. “They are made of a material that will suppress Grimmjow’s reiatsu. The spike is just to hold the chains in one place. Enjoy yourself, Ulquiorra.”
Ulquiorra shut the drawer and disappeared again. The metal felt cold in his hands, and he wondered just how much Grimmjow would rage when they snapped around his wrists. Well, he would find out soon enough.
When he reappeared in his room, Grimmjow sprang from the bed toward Ulquiorra. “Hey, where did you go?”
Ulquiorra opened one cuff and grabbed Grimmjow with his free hand. They moved in a blink, and he watched Grimmjow’s expression go from concern to satisfaction as his back hit the bed then confusion when the restraint closed around his wrist.
“What the fuck?”
Ulquiorra drug him to the head of the bed and snapped the second cuff over his other wrist. He yanked the chain up and drove the stake through the links into the wall above his bed. Grimmjow’s spiritual pressure dropped considerably.
Grimmjow growled and jerked at the chains. “What the fuck, Ulquiorra? Since when are you kinky?”
Ulquiorra pressed his hand to Grimmjow’s chest and leaned down to breathe near his ear. “I told you to be patient, Grimmjow. You would not listen when I said I was tired. You are about to learn a lesson.”
Grimmjow blinked then bared his teeth in a feral grin. “Oh, yeah? Gonna teach me a lesson, huh?” He rattled the chains again. “Come on then, I wanna learn, teach!”
Ulquiorra shut his eyes and wondered if it was too late to atone for his sins in soul society. Maybe a nice shinigami would want to warm his bed. “You are insufferable.” Ulquiorra looked down at Grimmjow as he moved to strip him.
As much as he would like the idea of finding a soul reaper to fit his aesthetic as well as his preference, Ulquiorra found himself attached to Grimmjow. He would miss his moronic lover, so punishment it was.
Grimmjow arched his hips while Ulquiorra pulled off his hakama. He looked so smug and satisfied. His eyes focused on Ulquiorra and it was… nice. Being the center of attention for a moment. He hated it outside these walls, but the way Grimmjow watched him made Ulquiorra feel so light he often checked to see if his wings had emerged.
No, good.
He let his hands roam Grimmjow’s bare thighs and along his hips. The skin felt warm, and Grimmjow arched into every touch. It was something to have a lover so responsive, so eager. Too eager. Grimmjow wanted things when he wanted them, and while Ulquiorra rarely had reason to say no, Grimmjow needed to learn.
Ulquiorra moved to fetch the lube from under his pillow. Next he opened the drawer for something pilfered from the living world during his last trek. A small remote vibrator with a flared base. He carted the items back to the bed, fiddling with the lube before he sat by Grimmjow, his back to him.
“Hey, turn around. I wanna see.” Grimmjow clattered his chains. “Ulquiorra!”
“Punishment.” Ulquiorra squirted lube into his hand.
“Fuck, Ulquiorra! Come on!” Grimmjow bucked his hips.
Ulquiorra glanced at him over his shoulder before he took hold of Grimmjow.
The groan that left his lover sounded like pure sin, and Grimmjow wasted little time rolling his hips into Ulquiorra’s hand. It was a slow buildup, one Ulquiorra knew Grimmjow might relish. He crossed his legs and looked out the window at the slivers of sand he could see.
Grimmjow whimpered, “Ulquiorra, fuck.”
And that was the cue. Ulquiorra withdrew his hand and pushed off the bed, heading for the bathroom. He heard Grimmjow make a noise then the chains rattled.
“Hey! Hey, you okay? Where you going?”
Ulquiorra washed his hands and dried them before he returned. Grimmjow looked at him with some relief and twitched his hips in invitation. Ulquiorra turned his head and made his way toward his bookcase.
No title jumped out to him, but he wasn’t really looking. It was more to prolong the problem for Grimmjow. He could hear his panther growling behind him as he tapped his fingers over the spines.
Most of the novels had been old things Ulquiorra had found in the deep reaches of Hueco Mundo where they should not have been. They varied from anatomy books to mysteries to historical accounts of ancient civilizations. A few horror novels graced his shelves courtesy of Grimmjow.
Ulquiorra settled his hand on one of them and pulled it out. He ignored Grimmjow’s complaints and carted it with him to bed. He sat down and glanced at his lover.
“Ulquiorra, come on!” Grimmjow writhed.
Ulquiorra eyed Grimmjow’s rigid cock and how it wept precum. It was still too red and ready to burst. Ulquiorra turned his attention to the book in his lap and opened it. He leaned back on an arm to read.
Grimmjow complained behind him, and the mattress bounced a few times when he kicked his foot. Ulquiorra ignored the tantrum. The noise died down around the first fifty pages, and Ulquiorra spared Grimmjow’s cock a look. Half mast. Good.
Ulquiorra lubed his hand again, keeping the toy beside him.
“Spread your legs, Grimmjow.” Ulquiorra glanced over the paragraph to find his place again.
Grimmjow hurried to oblige, and Ulquiorra stroked against his entrance with deft fingers. He resumed reading while he rubbed teased Grimmjow open with careful presses of his fingers. A moan rolled out of Grimmjow while he tried to get any purchase to rock against Ulquiorra.
“Fuck, Ulquiorra! Please!” The chains clinked again.
Ulquiorra pressed his middle and index fingers inside but removed them a few seconds later. He repeated the torture until Grimmjow whined at him.
Part of Ulquiorra wondered how angry Grimmjow would be when he came to his senses. Losing himself to his lust always made him feel so… depressed after. Pleading with Ulquiorra always resulted in a pouting session, or Ulquiorra being shoved against the nearest wall and fucked from behind until they were both sated and reminded they were savages.
Ulquiorra slipped his fingers deeper into Grimmjow until he could stroke against his prostate. That made the noises louder, and Ulquiorra felt himself responding. He swallowed and thought of Aizen smiling at him and that killed his arousal.
“Ulquiorra, you’re killing me!” Grimmjow arched.
Ulquiorra stilled his fingers and turned his head to look at Grimmjow. His face was flush, his eyes clouded. His messy hair messier. It was a pleasing look.
Ulquiorra muttered, “If you can’t behave yourself when I tell you to have patience, I will never let you reach an orgasm again.” He picked up the toy and pushed it into Grimmjow without warning.
Grimmjow growled at him, arching his hips. “You kept ignoring me!”
Ulquiorra wiped his fingers on the sheets and set the toy to a low vibration. He turned back to his book and opened it. “I told you to be patient because I was tired from dealing with Aizen’s messes. I wanted a moment to myself, Grimmjow. Just a moment.” He gripped the book. “A bath, or a nap. In peace.”
Grimmjow huffed, bucking his hips. Ulquiorra cut off the toy and he whined, “We could have done those together! I would have taken care of you! I have before!”
Ulquiorra took in a deep breath. “I am not ungrateful for you. I only wanted a moment of solitude.”
Grimmjow was quiet. “And I just wanted to be with you.”
Ulquiorra looked back at him. “A compromise is often needed, Grimmjow. I am not as…” The words were difficult to form. Grimmjow had been accustomed to many people around him while Ulquiorra avoided them at all costs. A social creature like Grimmjow needed more stimulation. “I am not you, Grimmjow.”
The reply was soft. “I know.” He lifted his eyes to Ulquiorra. “Keep going?”
Ulquiorra considered him a moment longer before he returned to his book. “After the next fifty pages.”
It went like that. Every fifty pages or so, Ulquiorra would resume the torture by increasing the vibrations and Grimmjow would plead for release. Maybe partway through the novel, Grimmjow let out a pained noise. Ulquiorra dialed back the toy.
Grimmjow whimpered, muscles shaking, “Ulquiorra, please. This is cruel. Let me cum?”
Ulquiorra closed the book and turned. “Will you listen the next time I tell you to be patient, Grimmjow?”
Grimmjow was soaked in sweat and his arms trembled over his head. He looked tired, exhausted. His cock was an angry red. “Yes!”
Ulquiorra let a frail smile touch his lips. “Good.” He stood up and unzipped his jacket, shucking out of his clothes with more speed than he was used to. He did not like going a month without touch himself, but sacrifices needed made.
Grimmjow’s eyes lit up, and he smiled in pure bliss when Ulquiorra slipped the toy out of him only to replace it with himself. His hips arched to meet every one of Ulquiorra's thrusts, and he whimpered his appreciation at finally having something besides hard silicone.
Ulquiorra leaned down to kiss him, slow and lazy. Grimmjow’s cock rubbed against Ulquiorra’s stomach and maybe he pushed his panther a few too many times to the edge because he lasted all of three minutes. The orgasm rocked through Grimmjow with so much force Ulquiorra winced when he clamped around him.
“Grimmjow…!” He squeezed Grimmjow’s hips and watched Grimmjow drop into the pillows, sweaty and panting. Ulquiorra snorted and brushed his fingers along Grimmjow’s mask. “Are you with me?”
Grimmjow looked at him with bleary eyes and managed a lopsided grin. “Yeah, I’m still with you.”
Ulquiorra pulled out and went to collect a rag to clean Grimmjow off. His cock was slowly deflating when he moved to undo the restraints.
“I hope you’ve learned.” Ulquiorra put the chains in his nightstand.
Grimmjow grabbed Ulquiorra’s shoulders and yanked him down, pinning him. “Time to take care of you like I promised.”
Ulquiorra sighed and rested his hands on his stomach as he watched Grimmjow nestle between his legs. “Fine, but do listen to me from now on.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll listen.” Grimmjow grinned wider and pressed his mouth to Ulquiorra’s cock.
Ulquiorra had serious doubts.