Chapter Text
Two lost souls
find each other just in time
the accumulation of longing
your hand held in mine
Eyes meet across rooms
only a second some would say
but I spend eternities
before I can look away
Poem By Celia Martinez
—
Ichigo was not having a good time with this war.
It was while he was somehow sat waiting, again, on the damaged steps of the Soul Kings Palace, that Ichigo decided that this was probably his least favorite war he’d fought in so far.
It wasn’t that Ichigo wasn’t grateful for the support. Really he was. Not having to face Yhwach alone, the strategizing, the training, the moral support, that was all great.
It’s just that, working cooperatively with Soul Society was starting to grate on Ichigo’s patience. With squad zero down, and Yamamoto dead, it seemed like leadership unfortunately fell to Urahara and Kyouraku. Two men he’d trust to pick out an expensive sake but not to win an award for their ethics or communication skills.
Ichigo understood that his power meant that he was a valuable asset, that ultimately it would be him who tipped the scales in the battles against the Quincey ahead. That wasn’t a matter of ego, it was a fact, and knowing that it was still hard to stomach when the century old Shinigami around him seemed happy to throw ground troops at over powered sternritters, amassing massive casualties all to save Ichigo for a big fight.
Waiting until the last moment to point Ichigo at Yhwach and say “go” like he was some sort of racehorse, with little to no notice.
And until then, his marching orders were: try to make yourself useful or stand out of the way until you’re needed.
The anticipation was very disquieting. Staring up at the pulsing knot of Quincey energy in the distance Ichigo couldn’t help but wish he was going it on his own.
A part of Ichigo badly missed being a solo act. Remembering when he could run around Hueco Mundo with just Nel at his side, battling and growing with every enemy that meant him and his friends harm.
No one laying down their lives just to inch him closer to the main conflict. No cold calculation that he was complicit in.
They had barely stepped off the Ouken knock-off that Urahara had contrived when Yoruichi's cell phone rang. They were instructed to wait right there until reinforcements could arrive before heading after Yhwach.
That Urahara had a plan to bring every able bodied Shinigami so that they have their full force in the next assault.
As the surviving and mostly injured Shinigami started stepping through glowing portals in batches, Ichigo’s stress ratcheted up with the knowledge that he and his very human friends had traveled by what added up to a comparatively unsound rocketship.
Urahara when he arrived offhandedly mentioned that the “Ouken” was slightly more likely to work. But well… Ichigo wasn’t a young naive teenager anymore.
Urahara's desire for data over the safety of his subjects led Ichigo to have his doubts. And especially when Urahara rubbed it viciously in Kurotsuchi’s face that he’d discovered not one, but two ways “upstairs.”
Ichigo didn’t have long to worry about that because, well, he was successfully diverted by an even more unsettling development shortly thereafter.
To say that Ichigo was having feelings on the matter of Nel and Grimmjow arriving as a part of said reinforcements would be putting it mildly. The buzzing of adrenaline hadn’t faded in the hour since Yoruichi called for the sky to open up and change the course of Ichigo’s day.
He hadn’t been given a chance to catch up; the two newcomers whisked out of his reach mere moments after they arrived. Urahara shaking Nel’s hand and talking about an alliance, the details of which Ichigo wasn’t privy to. Grimmjow spared a glance back at Ichigo as he was ushered away, and it was enough for Ichigo’s heart to jump back into his throat.
The Arrancar were here for a war and not to socialize with the likes of Ichigo, obviously. It wasn’t about him- clearly. Which was fine.
But still.
Despite the rushed nature of their reunion the impact had felt like he’d caught a cero to his chest, and everyone else seemed to go on like Ichigo wasn’t left breathlessly waiting for some kind of explanation.
Grimmjow was going to fight… on his side of the battlefield. After everything that had happened in Hueco Mundo.
Why was this only a surprise to him? Even Orihime had looked like she expected their arrival.
Orihime, who had gotten to work immediately on reviving the Squad Zero, had just smiled and waved at the Arrancar when they showed up, like she was greeting old friends.
What was that about?
Sitting at the war table Ichigo couldn’t help but zone out completely, leaning back in his seat to non-too-subtly stare at Grimmjow and Nelliel as they were probably being caught up on the “plans” Ichigo already knew added up to: let’s all go up to the scary Quincey island tomorrow and see if we (Ichigo) can stop Ywhach.
Grimmjow, languid in his chair, fixed crystal blue eyes on Urahara or Kyouraku or whoever was speaking while blunt nails idly scratched at his exposed jaw bone.
A chill went down Ichigo’s spine remembering how a hungry grin split Grimmjow's face like the maw of the garganta itself when he caught sight of Ichigo, all of his intense focus burning through Ichigo’s reishi for all of five glorious seconds before Nelliel made her energetic entrance, pushing him aside.
“Kuuuurosaaaki,” Grimmjow had growled from deep in his chest. “Surprised to see me?”
Yes, yes he was. Grimmjow had been the furthest thing from Ichigo’s mind as he was pulled every which way in the preparations for battle. He had barely a second alone, everyone seemingly wanted a piece of him: his time, his strength, his attention. And yet, in all that time, no one had bothered to mention that his powerful former enemy turned grudging ally would be making an appearance.
Information Ichigo would have been very interested in having! Maybe then he could have prepared himself, rather than just standing there dumbfounded when Grimmjow launched himself at him.
Maybe he could have had something cool to say instead of just staring like a moron.
Not unlike what he was doing right now.
“…And that’s when Ichigo will seduce Yhwach with his hot young body.” Urahara finished his speech congenially.
“Right,” Ichigo agreed amicably, “wait, haa?”
Rukia slapped her forehead, and Renji laughed at Ichigo’s expense. He wasn’t the only one either. The cheeky grin Yoruichi shot at him indicated that the look on Ichigo's face was probably as stupid as he feared.
Urahara hid an amused grin behind his fan, “are you with us Kurasaki-kun? You know a lot of people are relying on you to do your part.”
Ichigo was certain the heat from his embarrassed face spoke for itself. If Urahara wanted him to be comic relief, he could play along. He tried not to sound bitter when he said, “I don’t know how much more you can expect from me. I did the soul society zero training, and I’ve got the two new swords. I doubt Yhwach is interested in my third one.”
Kyouraku chuckled at him, and then asked glibly, “Are you certain you don’t have some secret ancient relative who’s passed to you a never before heard of “evil-Quincey-killing” ultimate move?” Kyouraku waved a hand around vaguely, “Maybe one that will only appear during a final battle, when your back is against the wall?”
From down the table, Grimmjow raised an eyebrow at him in unironic interest. Ichigo opened his mouth to reject that idea, but after a long pause Ichigo just shrugged. He could admit that it wasn’t a completely unfair question.
Urahara clasped his fan closed, “Okay, we’ll call that plan B then.”
There was a murmuring of agreement, which Ichigo tried not to take too seriously, before the group decided it was time to take a break.
Ichigo was out of his chair up behind Nelliel and Grimmjow before they had a chance to stand. “Hi,” he said, breathlessly, embarrassingly, and the two of them regarded him in surprise.
“Oh hi Ichigo!” Nelliel said brightly, “It’s so good to see you again. I hope this war doesn’t come down to your ‘hot young body’.”
Affection surged for the green haired woman. “Me too Nel, believe me. It’s good to see you too. You’re looking so much better since I last saw you.” Nelliel had been in her child form when they fought the first sternritter, and Orihime had cradled her small battered body for most of that fight. It was a relief that she made it out okay.
“I’m completely healed thanks to Orihime! She’s like an actual angel isn’t she?” Nel waved over at the ginger haired woman who grinned and waved back from where she was still sitting next to Chad.
“Yeah, Orihime is great,” Ichigo agreed, eyes sliding over to Grimmjow again absently. Now that he was closer he could see that Grimmjow had different clothing that covered more of his body, but did nothing to hide the lean build Ichigo knew was underneath.
Ichigo licked his lips and met Grimmjow’s cool gaze. Did Grimmjow just catch him staring? Shit.
Rubbing the back of his neck, Ichigo tried to push himself into getting up his nerve. “Hey, um Grimmjow, can I speak with you, alone?”
At the invitation Grimmjow gave Nelliel a self-satisfied grin, and moved to stand, but Nel quickly jumped up between them, blocking his path.
“Ahh, actually, I need to speak with Grimmjow first. Ichigo, can you wait until we’re done?”
“What the fuck do you need to talk to me about?” Grimmjow groused. Nel gave him a sharp look, and he rolled his eyes.
To Ichigo she said, “top secret Hueco Mundo Arrancar business, you understand right Ichigo?” From behind her Grimmjow mouthed “Arrancar business,” bewildered.
“That’s okay, it’s not a big deal,” Ichigo said placatingly. “Come find me when you’re done?”
Grimmjow nodded shortly, and crossed his arms, settling in for whatever Nel wanted him for.
Ichigo took his cue, and made himself scarce. He found a quiet hallway outside the meeting room and leaned against its high walls, sliding to the floor in a heap.
What was he doing? What was he going to say?
Ichigo scrubbed his face in annoyance. He wasn’t used to all this doubt. Usually Ichigo used his tried and true method of just doing what felt right at the time, but something about where this road was leading him...
There was a certain vulnerable gravity to these feelings that urged him to be cautious, but also to run carelessly at the same time, which all added up to him stewing, both impatient and frustrated.
Light footsteps brought Ichigo out of his thoughts. “Ah ha!” Orihime declared when she discovered him.
Ichigo gave her a small smile and wordlessly patted the floor beside him, which she happily sat upon, folding her short skirt under herself primly.
“Squad zero are doing better.” Orihime said like they were continuing a conversation from before. “Kirio-San is even well enough to return to her island. She thinks she can get the kitchens going again to help with healing everyone. Isn’t that amazing?”
“Oh yeah, that’s great news. They were looking pretty much dead when we got here.”
Orihime put her fingers close together, “they were very close, but all five of them have some serious will to live. This place… I wonder if being up here helped them hang on. I always feel better when I’m home.”
Ichigo hummed, neither agreeing or disagreeing. Whether it was home or not, this place was spoken of with reverence, like a sacred holy land for the Shinigami. Despite all of Ichigo’s knowledge of the afterlife, Ichigo wouldn’t count himself as religious, but anything that helped the injured Shinigami hang on couldn’t be a bad thing.
Ichigo for his part, had always just wanted his friends whole and safe.
It seemed like this whole war Ichigo has never been where he was most needed. It’s been a series of confusing and frustrating battles, having enemies skipping around dimensions like it’s nothing, with Ichigo always chasing. Showing up just to bare-witness to the devastation left behind.
He wouldn’t be able to shake the helplessness of arriving just in time to see Byakuya’s defeat or Yamamoto’s loss for a long time. All because he couldn’t break out of the Quincey trap that he had been caught in fast enough.
“I feel like the people I care about are too spread out.” Ichigo sighed. “I guess it’s kind of nice to have everyone here, together, and not trying to kill each other.”
Ichigo thought of Urahara and Nel shaking hands, of Grimmjow leaning back in a chair surrounded by Shinigami.
“Maybe even some people you didn’t expect?” Orihime ventured conspiratorially.
At Orihime’s tone Ichigo got a sense of foreboding and an unwelcome heat spread back up his neck. Ichigo slanted his eyes at Orihime suspiciously and tried for a casual, “sure?”
“It’s nice to see you like this,” Orihime said with a smile.
Ichigo looked away from her, hoping he was wrong. “What do you mean?”
Orihime flicked her pointer finger out at Ichigo, “Like a high schooler with a crush!”
He had been caught.
Ichigo let out a long groan of defeat, which made Orihime laugh at him in delight.
“You know, I always thought you were just too cool and hard to figure out, but you’re not cool, you’re like everyone else.” She gave him a slightly consoling pat on the shoulder, “You just needed someone like Grimmjow-san to bring it out of you.”
She didn’t just catch him, she knew everything.
Ichigo had been hoping to have a firmer grasp on his weird crush before he talked to any of his friends about it. Orihime in particular was a sensitive case since she had been directly harmed by the Arrancar in their battle in Hueco Mundo. Ichigo wasn’t exactly clear on Orihime's feelings on Grimmjow in particular, but he had a feeling if she was honest they couldn’t be fully positive.
Add to that, Ichigo wasn’t sure anyone would really understand his feelings for Grimmjow, let alone be supportive of a thing between them.
Not that Ichigo was sure there even was a thing that existed for him to get all worked up about in the first place.
What Ichigo did know was that when the two of them were in proximity the Arrancar made it his business to cut a direct line to Ichigo’s side. Without fail, Grimmjow gave him his singularly intense attention, and he liked it more than he should.
Ichigo couldn’t even say that he minded that most of their interactions resulted in battle. Ichigo understood the savage passion that fueled the heat of battle better than he understood his previously dormant teenage hormones.
And what complicated matters is that, with Grimmjow specifically, said hormones apparently weren’t satisfied being dormant any longer. Something about the fluid way Grimmjow moved, the way he said his name like a sentence, the way he locked him down under teal lined eyes, like Ichigo was the only thing worth looking at…
It was all too much for Ichigo’s squishy eighteen year old brain to cope with, and it awakened something long ignored within him. What he had felt when faced with Grimmjow, although brief and dysfunctional, was something new, and real, and exciting.
The thing was, Ichigo wanted to fight him, to be strong enough to hold his attention, to ignore the rest of the world long enough to give Grimmjow the time he so badly wanted and to see what they could do with it.
It was something he was playing with in the back of his mind when the war in Hueco Mundo had ended, and both of them were counted among the survivors. Something that could be the “what’s next,” for him.
And then there was nothing for almost a year.
When Hueco Mundo had been closed off to all Shinigami including Ichigo after the war it had nearly been a nonissue, but now with Grimmjow suddenly in the same building with him he had an opportunity to do something about it. See if there was anything there beyond what Ichigo played up in his mind.
But that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be consequences. Like the one sitting next to him.
Ichigo gave his friend a nervous smile. “Aren’t you mad at me for this?”
Orihime gave him a teasing look and said brightly, “I’m a little mad, but how could I compete with the bad boy type?” She indicated to her giant tits, “it’s all wrong.”
As usual, Orihime spoke in a language Ichigo could barely understand. “What are you talking about?”
Orihime shook her head, dismissing his confusion, and wrapped her arms around her legs looking more serious. “You know, Grimmjow-san was really mean to me when we were enemies, but I think we’re kind of friends now. He did save us from the sternritter after you left.”
Guilt and elation warred in Ichigo’s stomach at the revelation. Grimmjow had saved his friends. Had somehow shown up and covered for him when he was so focused on getting to soul society, that he didn’t realize the situation he’d left his friends in. Ichigo had been reckless. “So that’s what happened. I thought I had beaten him before I left…”
Inoue gave him a fond smile, full of forgiveness. “Don’t worry about that now, Kurasaki-kun, you’ve got bigger problems!”
And she was right about that. He knew Orihime was more concerned as a friend about his angry Arrancar problem than maybe they both should be about his evil Quincey problem, and he was grateful for that.
Having the diversion of his feelings for Grimmjow was greatly preferred to what he had been doing… waiting to fight yet another supernatural being who wanted to end everything he cared about. How has this become his life?
A voice in Ichigo’s head that sounded suspiciously like Rukia said sternly, one catastrophe at a time, thanks.
Ichigo couldn’t do anything about Yhwach today, but he did have the free time to put his heart out there to get brutally stomped on by a handsome blue haired hollow.
And what kind of attitude was that? Ichigo clearly was not equipped to deal with this.
Ichigo put his face in his hands and muttered, “You really don’t think I’m cool? I did save the world once.”
“Bragging isn’t cool Kurosaki-kun,” Orihime said sternly, but it was clear that the line of her lips barely contained her mirth.
She was right, again. Ichigo could feel that his carefully crafted aloof persona had been taking hits all day and was slowly crumbling around him.
There was nothing cool about feeling bad for himself just because he couldn’t figure out how to convince the object of his attraction to want to do things with him besides fighting him to the death. Every way he played it out in his head ended with humiliation and heartache and probably some broken bones. He needed help.
Ichigo blew out a sigh, “What should I do?”
Orihime considered for a moment with an adorable overblown serious expression on her face. “Because it’s you, and because it's Grimmjow-san, I think you should give him a big kiss and tell him you want to have his half hollow babies.”
That advice landed like a sucker punch. “What?! Orihime!”
“I’m serious! Then, if he doesn’t want to, you can just fight each other like you always do. I think if you’re clear with him, then that’s your best chance.”
Ichigo tried to picture it. “It’s messed up that I can’t tell if that’s good advice or not.” Not the baby part obviously, but being direct had some appeal.
“You could try showing him your abs?” Orihime added helpfully.
“Thanks for your help.” Ichigo said wryly, hoping that would be the end of that conversation.
Orihime hummed to herself, her voice almost wistful when she said, “You guys would have some very handsome babies.”
“Who would?” Yoruichi came around the corner, like maybe she had been loitering, and could not wait any longer to join this conversation.
“No one!” Ichigo said, at the same time Orihime said, “Kurosaki-kun and Grimmjow-san.”
Betrayal! Was Orihime actually mad at him?
“Oh, Ichigo,” Yoruichi said, with barely contained glee.
Like a shadow, Urahara rounded the corner after Yoruichi and offered helpfully, “I heard that the Arrancar are infertile.”
Ichigo’s mounting horror could not stop him from saying, “that’s not the problem with the two of us having a baby. You all know we’re men right?”
That wasn’t the problem either, and if Ichigo was thinking clearly he would have seen the trap for what it was. They weren’t together, that’s what he should have said, but it was too late now.
Yoruichi looked at Urahara with raised eyebrows like Ichigo had just admitted to all of his deeply held feelings, and Urahara wordlessly communicated something to her with a slight frown.
And then before Ichigo could read into any of that, Yoruichi said brazenly, “I bet Mayuri would have some ideas on how you two could get started. And he should still be around here somewhere.”
All of the blood left Ichigo’s face as an intrusive image of Kurotsuchi Mayuri’s hideous baby bankai but with Ichigo’s features tore through his mind. Ichigo jumped to his feet, “No! Please, no. What will it take for this to never be spoken of again?”
“To buy our silence?” Urahara came up with a suggestion far too quickly to not raise even more concern. “Since we’re on the subject, maybe a sample of your sperm. I’ll just keep it on file in case we need to replace you.”
Ichigo recoiled in disgust. “My sperm is not on the table.” Twin grins from Yoruichi and Urahara, and a subtle cough-laugh from Orihime was enough to make Ichigo wish for death. “That’s not what I meant! Stay the fuck away from my sperm.”
“Well-well,” Urahara tsked, like he was disappointed with Ichigo for being so unreasonable.
“Kurosaki, why are you yelling about sperm?” It was fucking Grimmjow coming back down the hall, this time without Nelliel at his side.
Where Ichigo thought he wanted to die before, now he thought he might just expire on the spot.
Urahara turned a sparkling smile to Grimmjow, “oh we were just saying how the world would be a better place with a dozen little Kurosakis running around. Think about how efficient our war efforts would be then.”
Grimmjow sneered at Ichigo like he was the most revulsive pile of shit he’d ever seen.
Ichigo threw his arms up, “I was not over here endorsing this idea!”
Ichigo stomped past Grimmjow and grabbed his elbow pulling him along with him. “For my sanity don’t talk to those perverts. Also, don’t let Kurotsuchi have any of your fluids… just to be safe.”
“Who the fuck is Kurotsuchi?” Grimmjow asked, confused, allowing himself to be led down the hallway away from the laughter behind them. “Aren’t those shinigami your friends?”
“Who, them? No, I hate them,” Ichigo said flippantly, “let’s go fight somewhere.”
Grimmjow suddenly became unmoveable, and Ichigo had to turn to see his frustrated expression. “Don’t handle me, Kurosaki, how am I supposed to-” Grimmjow cut himself off with a snarl. Ichigo watched with great interest as an obvious internal battle happened within the usually closed off Arrancar. Ichigo didn’t breathe or blink, not wanting to disturb this moment or miss a bit of it.
Grimmjow’s stormy eyes slid downward, to where Ichigo’s hand sat warm on Grimmjow’s forearm between them.
They both considered that non-violent point of contact.
This was actually already closer than Ichigo thought he would be able to get to Grimmjow without being on the battlefield.
If Ichigo slid his hand down his arm he could wrap his fingers around the fine bones of Grimmjow’s wrist. Feel his pulse there.
I could hold his hand, Ichigo’s brain supplied stupidly.
Grimmjow let out an angry sigh and shook Ichigo’s hand off, plunging his hands into his pockets. He stalked off in the direction they were already headed. “Move your ass Kurosaki, I’m ready to kick it into next century.”
“Whoa,” Ichigo said to himself in wonder.
“Wait!” Ichigo did a little jog so he could walk in step with him, “hey, can I show you something first?”
Grimmjow squinted at him suspiciously, “You’re trying to get out of fighting me aren’t you?”
“Not really. I am actually looking forward to blowing off some steam, to be honest. Just- trust me, it’ll be worth it.”
Since Ichigo didn’t actually have anything planned (as he didn’t actually know he’d have the opportunity to hang out with Grimmjow until that morning) Ichigo decided if he wanted to push his luck with Grimmjow he was going to have to wing it.
Thankfully, Ichigo had been at the citadel for his extended training, and so he was familiar enough with the landscape to be able to pick out a couple of points of interest that he hadn’t had a chance to explore yet.
He brought Grimmjow to a rocky pass under the entryway where there were giant raw green boulders that looked like they had water within them where the light refracted inside.
“These are valuable I guess. They are harder than any rock in the human world. Kyouraku asked me to clear this area and I thought it would be a good warm up.” He thought it was likely not actually something important to the war and more giving Ichigo something to do, but he wasn’t about to complain about the activity now.
Ichigo pulled out his soul phone and pulled up his music app. When he found out he could download songs from the living word, his soul phone had become his best friend.
He turned the sound to max and selected his exercise playlist. A high energy beat played out to match Ichigo’s adrenaline, and Ichigo shot Grimmjow a playful grin.
Grimmjow tilted his head, and watched as Ichigo shook his arms out, his swords appearing in his hands.
Ichigo spun his swords letting them loosen his wrists, and then he put a little bit of power behind his swing, and the ground tore open in front of them. He looked back, and was vindicated to see he had Grimmjow’s heavy gaze on him. Time to show off a little.
He moved smoothly, his two swords like siblings not to be outdone by the other, smoothly cutting the stone, shaping them with finesse. His instincts showed him where the lines of cleavage are within the stone, and so he followed along to see what would be revealed. Powder and shards fell away, and what was left behind was a passable statue of Aizen posed like the famous David sculpture, complete with a tiny penis.
Ichigo kept a straight face and turned to Grimmjow, “what do you think?”
Grimmjow wordlessly walked up to Ichigo’s side and with one harrow powered hand he swiped Aizen’s head clean off his neck with an echoing crack. The head went shooting into another boulder and shattered.
“Better,” Grimmjow muttered looking at the nude body.
Ichigo chuckled to himself and shrugged, “everyone’s a critic.”
Grimmjow cut him a sharp look. ”Is this what you brought me here for?”
“Not exactly, I had another idea. Why don’t we see who can tear down this place faster. I bet you I can take down this half before you can destroy that half.” He threw the bait out there for Grimmjow, who blinked at him in surprise at the proposal.
His surprise was short lived however, when a familiar wicked grin split his face, “oh you’ll eat my dust Kurosaki.” Grimmjow flipped him off, which Ichigo just grinned about, feeling like he had already won.
This is going to work.
“We’ll see, won’t we! Ready-set-go!” Ichigo flash stepped, and disappeared, the two closest boulders exploded almost simultaneously, and then the following four went up like crack-crack-crack-crack! Rhythmically the two of them worked on the beat, the air filling with the shimmering green powder.
The satisfaction of the strain of Ichigo’s muscles working efficiently, how strong he felt, how much fun he was having, and with Grimmjow of all people; this day had just turned around. Ichigo let out a whoop of elation when he saw he was getting closer to the edge of the clearing.
He broke his pace to check in on Grimmjow, who took that moment to fling himself bodily at a particularly huge boulder in his release form, his claws rending his target into diamond shapes from mere energy before he even touched down. He disappeared into a cloud of dust, his long blue hair whipping behind him.
Awesome.
Ichigo needed to pick up the pace if he was going to impress anyone. Ichigo murmured to Zangetsu, “let’s show him what we can do.”
Ichigo knew his hollow side was particularly competitive, and he felt it burning in his blade. Ichigo reversed his grip, and flew back into action. He would win this contest, he had to.
Despite his plan to defeat Grimmjow in an unmistakable landslide they came down to the last giant boulder that stood right on the boundary between them. Ichigo tore after it at his top speed, but Grimmjow was faster, and Ichigo had to make a split second decision to step out of Grimmjow’s way when he realized the other’s plan to dive straight through the stone in a reckless display of sportsmanship.
Ichigo placed his foot perfectly, dropped both of his swords and caught Grimmjow’s waist as he sailed through. The momentum from Grimmjow’s dive meant that Ichigo needed to turn with his catch, spinning twice before his feet landed solidly. Grimmjow's wide blue eyes looked up at Ichigo from where he leaned in what could only be described as a dip in Ichigo’s arms, his breath coming hard, and his face covered in glistening sweat and sparkling green dust.
Beautiful, Ichigo thought, completely dazzled. His warm weight in Ichigo’s arms was making Ichigo’s brain feel crazy. Ichigo wanted to kiss him so badly, even though rationally he knew he probably wouldn’t pull back with a face if he tried.
“The only reason you still have arms right now is your absolute lack of threatening aura,” Grimmjow pointed out flatly, like that should embarrass him. Nothing could embarrass Ichigo right now, he was walking on air.
Ichigo smoothly stood, pulling Grimmjow upright on his long feline legs. Grimmjow looked off balance in a way that had nothing to do with his footing. “I didn’t need you to catch me. I don’t owe you shit for that.”
“I know that. Who said anything about owing me?” Ichigo complained, collecting his swords and sheathing them.
Grimmjow stared at him suspiciously, his long ears twitching. “Why are you acting so weird Kurosaki?”
Ichigo needed to stall on that question, so he picked up a piece of shattered “water stone” and held it up to the light. “You know, these are pretty close to the color of your eyeliner.”
“My what?” Grimmjow asked aghast.
Ichigo held the sliver up to Grimmjow’s cheek who stiffened at the proximity. “How do you feel about jewelry?” Ichigo asked absently.
Grimmjow apparently had had enough, because the next thing Ichigo knew Grimmjow slapped his hand away from his face hard. Ichigo felt his wrist give a warning of nearly shattering like those boulders.
“A few things,” Grimmjow glowered, confused fury written across his face. “One: Estigma,” he pointed at his teal marks under his eyes, “Two, I don’t know what your game is, but you’ve been taking a lot of fucking liberties asshole. You have thirty seconds to explain yourself.”
And if the explanation isn’t good enough then I’m going to kill you, is what Ichigo assumed was left off. Ichigo needed to do some damage control, fast. He’d pushed the other man’s boundaries too far, and he should have guessed it wouldn’t have been appreciated. He was just having so much fun… he got too greedy without realizing.
“Listen,” Ichigo said, “I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable. I just- I wanted us to be on better terms, and so I thought being more,” Ichigo gestured his hands like he was petting the air, “would be a good way to get closer to you.” To start, Ichigo didn’t say.
“You want to be closer to me,” Grimmjow looked a little shaken by the idea. “Why?”
“Yeah, because...” Ichigo considered how honest to be here, but inevitably knew it was time for a little bit of a risk. Grimmjow was deciding what would be allowed in their relationship, and Ichigo knew that door wouldn’t be open for long. “Being around you-, it feels… really good. I want to get to know you better, Grimmjow.”
Grimmjow frowned and looked away from Ichigo, turning over his words. His hair glittered in the sun as the breeze moved strands around.
Ichigo decided to just let Grimmjow think about it. There was no rush in this moment, no war Ichigo needed to fight in, just the two of them in the leveled field they had created. Ichigo turned his face to the sun and smiled to himself. It was actually a beautiful day if you ignored the floating mass of evil Quincey energy in the distance.
When he looked over Grimmjow was watching him. He didn’t look nearly as stressed as he had for most of the day, Ichigo noticed. Maybe he needed some quiet sometimes as well.
Ichigo sat on the flat of the rock Grimmjow had just annihilated, and motioned for the other man to join him. To Ichigo’s pleasure he did.
“So, was there anything else you wanted to tell me? You said a ‘few things’ before.”
“You really want to know things about me?” Grimmjow asked, and when Ichigo nodded Grimmjow hummed a bit looking away, “I guess… I don’t mind jewelry, as long as it doesn’t get in the way.”
Ichigo gave him a wide smile, “I feel the same. We should take some of this stuff and see if we can make something for you. It’s nice to look at isn’t it? It could be a souvenir from shinigami heaven. To match your... estigma you called it, right? What does that mean?”
“Stigma.” Grimmjow shrugged, “it just has to do with my hollow markings from before I evolved. It’s like your freckles. What do those mean, eh Kurosaki?”
“If you can see them it means I’ve been out in the sun too long, but I take your point.”
“So is that the kind of thing you want to know, why I look the way I do?” Grimmjow asked, and there was a barb in the question, but Ichigo knew it wasn’t a trap he was in any danger from.
Because- “I want to know anything you’ll tell me about yourself,” was the truth. “I’d be happy to know your favorite foods or your thoughts on the weather.”
That seemed to annoy Grimmjow more. “Why do you want to know trivial things like that?”
Ichigo’s eye twitched, he really picked the most closed off and suspicious guy to try to get to know. “Can’t I just like you, and want to spend time with you?”
Grimmjow raised his eyebrows at him, not impressed, “I’ll tell you this much, I don’t give a shit what you think about the weather.”
Ichigo sighed, Grimmjow was struggling to relate to him. “Is there anything you want to know about me? I’ll answer truthfully if you are curious about something.”
“Yeahh Kurosaki, I have a question.”
Uh-oh, the steal in Grimmjow’s voice reminded Ichigo of when they had first met. In a blink Grimmjow was in front of him, all lethal grace and murderous intent. Ichigo had to push down the instincts that were telling him he needed to put distance between them, he would stand his ground.
Grimmjow gave Ichigo an ice cold sneer, “Is all this touchy-feely bullshit a ploy to get chummy so you can use me? Did those Shinigami put you up to getting information out of me? Did you think you could get yourself an arrancar attack dog in this upcoming battle?” Grimmjow’s face crumpled in disgust as he plowed on, not giving Ichigo a chance to breathe, “Or, are you trying to kiss my ass to try ‘n trick me into joining your fuckhead gallery of dipshit friends? Do you think I’m weak like fucking Nelliel? That you can get me to fucking fall in line?”
That question hung in the air for five seconds, Grimmjow’s eyes flicking back and forth between Ichigo’s, assessing. When all Ichigo did was stare at him in wide eyed shock, Grimmjow decided to bring it home.
“Or,” Grimmjow rasped, leaning in, his eye contact piercing, voice low, “is it an attempt to fuck me?”
Ichigo swallowed thickly, his heart jackrabbiting around his ribcage. Words completely failed him. He felt like he couldn’t think, he could only look back into the bright eyes of the predator before him.
Grimmjow continued, “I’m not going to buy into the Kurosaki fanclub bullshit everyone has been trying to sell, and I’m definitely not going to die for the likes of you, so you can just forget that. If it’s the other thing, well… we can probably work something out then.”
Oh! OH!
Ichigo thought Grimmjow was planning on slamming the door on his hopes for a burgeoning relationship, but no, he was challenging him, in the most backwards way only Grimmjow was capable of. If Ichigo couldn’t meet this challenge, then Grimmjow would know Ichigo wasn’t capable of handling him in the first place, the asshole.
“You know, I think you were right before,” Ichigo got to his feet, trying to keep his temper despite the adrenaline thrumming under his skin. He stood close to Grimmjow, nearly toe to clawed foot. “We should have just fought right off the bat, because now you’re over here spouting bullshit like you have no idea who I am.”
Ichigo grabbed Grimmjow’s collar and yanked him closer. “I was ready to fight this damn war three hours ago without you, so don’t act like I need you to come rescue me.”
“And, I don’t want some kind of pet arrancar to fawn over me, you dumbass. Who would want that?” Why would he go after this pain in the ass if he wanted something easy, or even some cheap sex. The thought of Grimmjow lacking his fire was intolerable, Ichigo wanted to get to know Grimmjow, not some watered down version of him.
That Grimmjow thought so little of Ichigo riled him up, and he couldn’t do anything to stamp that out.
WHAT an asshole.
“I don’t just want to fuck you, I-“ Ichigo’s mouth clamped shut, but the admission was out. SHIT! “God damnit Grimmjow! Why couldn’t you just let me flirt with you a little?”
Grimmjow’s eyes glittered with satisfaction. All of the hostility evaporated from his features, like it was never there. Ichigo had been had.
Grimmjow shoved Ichigo’s hand off his collar, but didn’t move out of the close proximity they shared. “Alright Kurosaki, here’s something about me: I don’t like to be handled or told half truths. If you try, I’ll shut you the fuck down. Lie to me, and you’re dead. Sound fair?”
But, wait, did that mean? It sounded to Ichigo like Grimmjow was setting boundaries for a new kind of relationship. One that demanded honesty and trust. Ichigo’s mouth went dry.
“Yeah that’s fair.” Ichigo agreed quickly. This was the best case scenario, and Ichigo was in a bit of shock. “Wait, so you’re gonna give me a chance? Really?”
Grimmjow flinched back, “Why do you sound so excited?”
“Why wouldn’t I be excited? This is the best thing that’s happened to me in… I don’t even know how long! Things have been such shit for so long.” Ichigo felt like he was buzzing, Grimmjow looked embarrassed now and that made Ichigo’s stomach turn over in delight. “But really,… you’re into me?”
“You’re making me regret this. Maybe I’ll just kill you anyway, cause you’re pissing me off.”
Ichigo waved him off, “You can try to kill me later if you want. Just tell me, is this really happening?”
“We will fucking see how this fucking goes, won’t we?! Now can we stop talking about it?”
Ichigo thought that was pretty rich considering how crassly blunt the other man was mere minutes ago, but maybe he could show mercy… maybe. “…But I can flirt with you, right?”
“You can try,” Grimmjow allowed, looking away.
“Awesome,” Ichigo murmured to himself, a bit dazed. He was looking for an open door between them, and here it was. All he had to do was admit that he found Grimmjow entirely fuckable to his face.
He would need to face that particular horror at another time though, because he was wasting daylight, and tomorrow there was a war on.
He needed to make today count.
“Let’s go get some food!” Ichigo suggested. Food was neutral, dates happened over food, this could work. “I’m starving after all this.”
Grimmjow gave him a blank expression. Yikes, he’d have to sweeten the deal. “Once we’ve eaten we can go to the fighting pits.”
“Why couldn’t we have started with the fighting pits?” Grimmjow groused.
Ichigo smiled at him, “I wanted to work together on something with you and see how it felt. Since we’re on the same side today.”
Something seemed to click into place for Grimmjow and he hummed in understanding, “was it all you hoped for?”
“I thought it was fun. I’d like to watch you fight more. You’ve gotten faster since last time.” Ichigo collected some smaller pieces of the stones at their feet and pocketed them.
Grimmjow tsked, but looked a bit pleased at the compliment all the same. “I want to see what you can do with those swords in a real fight, you better not hold back after making me wait all damn day.”
“Looking for another scar to add to your collection?” Ichigo teased gamely.
Grimmjow flipped him off, “underestimate me and you won’t last two seconds.”
Ichigo doubted that Grimmjow would survive a fight with him if he went all out with his new techniques, but he knew better than to say so. Instead he looked around at the sparkling field around them. “I guess you won our little game.” Ichigo conceded. “We should figure out what your prize should be.”
Grimmjow’s eyebrows ticked up. “Prize?”
Ichigo nodded. “Is there anything you want?”
The other man seemed to be taken aback by the question. The offer, more like.
Grimmjow was looking at him hard under half lidded eyes. Ichigo could feel his neck getting warm under the gaze. He was a millisecond away from offering something embarrassing to Grimmjow when he said, “I’ll let you know when I decide.”
“Oh, g-good, okay let’s go.” The knowing grin Grimmjow gave Ichigo fully lit his face on fire, and he had to turn away to hide it.
Without saying another word Ichigo bounded off to where he knew the portal would be ready to take them to Kirio’s island, trusting Grimmjow to follow after him.