𑣲⋆ grimmjow who has the hots for his combat rival (masc-fem reader!)
warnings: rivals to lovers, may be ooc, slightly angsty, violence, mutual pining, over protective grimmjow, slow burn, tension, threats, etc. lmk if i missed any 🤧🤧
ᝰ.ᐟ grimmjow x afab!reader ⋮ ⌗ ┆ 𓊆ྀི wc : ~5k ❤︎𓊇ྀི
the first time grimmjow tried to kill you, you were pretty sure it was personal.
not because attempted murder was unusual in hueco mundo. if anything, it was practically a greeting. but most arrancar had the decency to stop after the first few attempts. grimmjow seemed to take your continued existence as a challenge.
you still remembered the look on his face.
that sharp blue gaze fixed on you from across the white sands.
that absolute certainty that he was stronger than everyone else in the room.
you had hated him immediately.
the feeling, apparently, had been mutual.
years later, nothing had changed.
or at least, that's what everyone thought.
the sound of steel crashing against steel echoed across the training grounds.
grimmjow came at you with the same relentless aggression he brought into every fight, swinging hard enough that the impact rattled through your arms when you blocked. the force pushed you back several feet across the stone floor.
you immediately hated that grin.
"keep runnin' your mouth."
"keep swinging like that and i might fall asleep."
you barely ducked in time.
his blade cut through the air where your head had been moments earlier.
the pressure of his reiatsu rolled through the training grounds like a storm.
some of the weaker arrancar observing from nearby wisely decided they had somewhere else to be.
grimmjow fought like a wild animal.
everything about him screamed violence.
it wasn't enough for him to win.
needed to prove he was stronger.
needed everyone around him to know it.
which was exactly why you enjoyed irritating him so much.
because no matter how many times he fought you, no matter how many times he won or lost, you never gave him what he wanted.
you never looked intimidated.
never treated him like something to fear.
the look he gave you whenever you laughed in the middle of a fight was almost worth the injuries.
his blade slammed against yours again.
you twisted your wrist and shoved him away.
both of you immediately moved again.
the fight had become less about technique twenty minutes ago and more about stubbornness.
neither of you intended to stop first.
you noticed a familiar figure watching from one of the balconies overlooking the training grounds.
he looked exactly as interested as always, which was to say not at all.
you wondered how long he'd been standing there.
long enough to witness grimmjow attempt to put your head through a wall, apparently.
"you've got an audience," you said.
grimmjow didn't even glance up.
"he's probably judging your form."
his reiatsu immediately spiked.
grimmjow looked moments away from committing an actual crime.
honestly, it was impressive.
you had never met someone capable of becoming this irritated by simple conversation.
you weren't even trying particularly hard today.
not trying very hard yet.
another failed attempt to knock each other flat.
sweat clung to your skin.
cuts decorated both of you.
nothing serious, and nothing either of you cared about.
eventually grimmjow stepped back.
his chest rose and fell steadily.
you immediately knew what that look meant.
that was your second mistake.
the first was provoking him in the first place.
before you could react, he vanished.
you barely turned in time.
a hand caught your shoulder.
the next thing you knew, the ground was rushing toward your face.
the impact cracked stone beneath you.
pain exploded through your back.
for a brief moment all you could do was stare at the ceiling.
then grimmjow's face appeared above yours.
smug, infuriating, insufferable, all of the above.
you considered punching him.
mostly because he looked pleased with himself.
"that's what you're going with?"
"after slamming me into the ground."
you hated how reasonable that answer was.
with a groan, you pushed yourself upright.
grimmjow watched the movement carefully.
his gaze immediately shifted elsewhere.
it wasn't the first time.
lately you'd been catching strange moments.
moments that vanished before you could examine them properly.
an injury noticed too quickly.
attention that shouldn't have existed.
grimmjow always seemed to realize what he was doing and immediately become twice as hostile afterward.
which only made it more suspicious.
you brushed dust from your clothes.
"don't flatter yourself."
grimmjow looked ready to throw you through another wall.
you considered that confirmation.
a garganta opened before either of you could continue arguing.
the familiar distortion split the air.
an arrancar messenger stepped through.
his expression suggested he already regretted being here.
interrupting one of your fights was usually a terrible idea.
interrupting both of you at the same time was worse.
grimmjow's tone immediately made the messenger flinch.
you almost felt bad for him.
grimmjow looked unimpressed.
"lord aizen wants both of you."
the messenger looked like he wanted to disappear.
grimmjow looked horrified.
"i'm not babysittin' you."
"babysitting implies responsibility. i'd be babysitting you."
the messenger closed his eyes.
you suspected he was praying for death.
"see? this is exactly why."
"because you're annoying."
"you think about me enough to find me annoying?"
the look he gave you could have stripped paint from a wall.
the mission briefing was less informative than you'd hoped.
something unusual had appeared near the edge of hueco mundo a group of hollows had vanished and several scouts had failed to return so aizen wanted information.
unfortunately, he had also decided the two of you were the best candidates for the task.
you still weren't sure whether that was confidence or punishment.
the moment you left las noches, the arguments started.
they continued for the next three hours.
you walked side by side across endless white sand while discussing increasingly ridiculous topics with the intensity of two people debating life and death.
grimmjow somehow managed to disagree with nearly everything you said.
you suspected he was doing it on purpose.
he probably suspected the same thing about you.
the strange part was that neither of you ever actually stopped talking.
most people couldn't tolerate grimmjow for more than ten minutes.
he was arrogant, aggressive, impossible.
you knew this better than anyone.
yet somehow conversation always came easily.
even when you were arguing.
especially when you were arguing.
the realization was mildly concerning.
ahead of you, the horizon shifted.
grimmjow's expression sharpened immediately.
reiatsu that was powerful. wrong.
for the first time all day, neither of you were smiling.
and judging by the look in grimmjow's eyes, whatever it was had just become both of your problem.
the closer you got, the stranger it felt.
at first it was only the reiatsu.
not necessarily stronger than anything you'd felt before, but wrong in a way that made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
then the landscape started changing.
hueco mundo was never exactly beautiful, but it was predictable. endless white sand. endless black sky. the occasional dead tree jutting from the earth like a skeleton.
the sand beneath your feet had darkened.
not completely, just enough to notice.
small patches of black spread across the dunes like stains.
grimmjow crouched near one and dragged his fingers through it.
"quit scowling and do something."
"you seem to say that a lot."
"because you talk too much."
you smiled and he scowled yet again. business as usual, which honestly made the situation feel slightly less concerning.
the further you traveled, the quieter everything became.
even hueco mundo wasn't usually this silent.
it felt abandoned like something had scared everything else away.
grimmjow clearly felt it too.
he wasn't talking anymore.
his eyes scanned the horizon constantly.
his hand remained near his zanpakutō.
for all his recklessness, grimmjow wasn't stupid.
when something felt dangerous, he noticed.
he just usually ran toward it instead of away.
which, unfortunately, was exactly what he was doing now.
you climbed another dune.
the source finally came into view.
grimmjow's grin appeared immediately.
you should have expected that reaction.
of course he looked excited.
ahead of you stood the remains of an enormous structure, broken pillars protruded from the sand and fragments of white stone littered the ground. it looked ancient, older than anything you'd seen in hueco mundo, and judging by the pressure radiating from it, something powerful was hidden beneath the ruins.
"you ever seen this before?"
"because if you've never seen it before, it probably means it's a terrible idea."
sometimes you genuinely wondered how he was still alive.
before either of you could continue, a low rumble shook the ground.
the sand shifted beneath your feet.
your instincts immediately screamed.
grimmjow didn't need telling twice.
both of you disappeared just as something exploded from beneath the ruins.
stone shattered. sand erupted into the air.
for a moment all you saw was dust.
then the creature emerged.
it was massive, larger than most adjuchas. its mask covered nearly its entire body, multiple limbs dragged across the ground behind it. its jagged cracks spread across its white armour and black energy leaked from those cracks like smoke.
that familiar grin stretched across his face.
"means this won't be boring."
the sound shook the ruins.
grimmjow immediately launched himself forward.
you followed because somebody had to make sure he didn’t get himself killed.
the creature moved faster than something that size had any right to.
its limbs crashed through pillars, debris exploded everywhere. the entire battlefield seemed determined to collapse around you.
you narrowly avoided a strike aimed at your head.
grimmjow wasn't as fortunate.
one of the creature's limbs slammed directly into him and the impact launched him through three separate walls.
from somewhere inside the rubble came an annoyed shout.
a moment later he burst from the debris looking significantly angrier than before which was impressive. you weren't entirely sure there was an upper limit to how angry grimmjow could become.
the creature refused to stay down.
every injury healed almost immediately.
every strike seemed pointless.
eventually both of you retreated to the top of a broken structure overlooking the ruins
for the first time since arriving, neither of you attacked immediately.
grimmjow wiped blood from his mouth.
you leaned against a fractured pillar.
below, the creature prowled through the ruins.
some things never changed.
grimmjow glanced toward you.
his gaze paused briefly. you followed it.
blood covered your sleeve.
a deep cut stretched along your arm.
that brief flash of concern.
gone almost instantly but still there, you could've sworn you saw it.
"you're terrible at pretending not to care."
he looked away immediately. before you could push further, the creature roared again.
a pulse of black energy exploded outward.
both of you jumped clear as the structure beneath your feet collapsed.
sand swallowed the ruins.
everything disappeared beneath a storm of dust.
when the cloud finally settled, something had changed.
the creature stood motionless.
energy poured from the cracks in its body, more than before.
you felt your stomach sink.
of course that was the plan.
why had you expected anything else?
somewhere in the distance, thunder echoed through the empty sky.
for a moment the creature remained still.
you barely reacted in time.
the impact came from your left.
pain exploded through your ribs.
you were thrown across the battlefield.
stone shattered beneath you.
for a second all you could hear was ringing.
then a familiar voice cut through the noise.
furious, loud and way closer than expected.
grimmjow stood between you and the creature, his sword drawn, his reiatsu flooding the battlefield.
you'd seen him angry before.
countless times but this felt different.
not because he wanted a fight.
not because he wanted to prove himself.
but because something had hit you, and judging by the look in his eyes, he had taken that personally.
the realization struck you almost as hard as the attack had.
or maybe he did and simply refused to acknowledge it.
his gaze remained fixed on the creature with a cold and predatory precision. the grin was gone.
that alone was enough to make you uneasy because grimmjow without the grin was always worse.
"you're makin' me look bad."
the grin returned slightly just enough for him to hide behind it again.
you laughed despite the pain.
"there's the idiot i know. thought i'd lost you."
"keep talkin' and i'll finish the job myself."
somehow that threat felt reassuring.
you pushed yourself upright.
grimmjow glanced sideways.
making sure you were standing, making sure you were alright.
then he looked away before you could catch him doing it.
and for the first time since meeting him years ago, a genuinely dangerous thought crossed your mind. maybe grimmjow didn't hate you nearly as much as he claimed.
the thought stuck with you longer than you liked as you followed him deeper into the ruins, boots scraping softly against fractured stone while dust drifted through the air like ash that never quite settled. you didn’t look at him when it crossed your mind again, but you were aware of him anyway in the way you always were, like a pressure at the edge of your awareness that you’d gotten used to ignoring until it became second nature.
he walked a few steps ahead, shoulders loose but alert, hand hovering near his zanpakutō like he was just waiting for something to give him permission to lose his temper properly. grimmjow always looked like that, like violence was less a choice and more a default setting he was constantly being denied access to. it should’ve been simple to read him, but it wasn’t. not anymore.
“you laggin’ behind now?” his voice cut through the silence without him bothering to turn around.
you exhaled through your nose. “you wish.”
“don’t tell me what to do.”
that made him glance back over his shoulder, just for a second. it wasn’t subtle, but it also wasn’t casual the way it used to be. it had weight to it now, like he was checking something without wanting to admit he was checking at all.
you stepped over a cracked slab of stone and caught up slightly, falling into pace beside him rather than behind. neither of you commented on it. there was a time when he would’ve made something out of it, something irritating and loud just to get a reaction, but instead he just kept walking like it was normal.
too many things were starting to feel normal.
“you always this slow when you’re thinkin’?” he asked after a while.
you tilted your head slightly toward him. “you obsessed with my head or somethin’?”
he scoffed immediately. “don’t flatter yourself.”
“doesn’t sound like flattery.”
“sounds like you talk too much.”
you huffed a laugh under your breath and adjusted the strap of your weapon where it rested against your back. your clothes were torn in places from earlier fights, sleeves pushed up and edges frayed, practical more than anything else. you’d never really cared what anyone thought about it. comfort mattered more than appearances in a place like this, and anyone who had a problem with it usually didn’t have the teeth to say it twice.
grimmjow didn’t say anything about it either. he never had. not in the way other people did. if anything, he looked like he respected it more than he understood it, which was probably the closest thing to approval you were ever going to get from him.
the ruins opened up ahead into a wider corridor, and the reiatsu pressure you’d been tracking since earlier sharpened again, heavier this time, like whatever was waiting deeper inside had finally noticed you were getting closer. the air felt tighter because of it, like the space itself was starting to resist you.
grimmjow stopped walking.
you stopped a step later.
neither of you spoke right away.
his expression shifted first, subtle but immediate, like a switch flipping under his skin. the bored irritation was still there, but underneath it something sharper had surfaced, something focused.
“there it is,” he muttered.
you felt it too now, clearer than before. not just pressure, but intent. something aware.
“yeah,” you said quietly.
he glanced at you again, properly this time. “you good?”
it came out too fast to be casual.
you looked at him for a second longer than necessary before shrugging one shoulder. “why wouldn’t i be?”
“you took a hit earlier.”
you stared at him for a moment, trying to decide if he was just being grimmjow about it or if there was something else under it. he held your gaze without flinching, which was new in itself. he used to just glare or look away when things got even slightly too real.
you clicked your tongue lightly. “i’m fine.”
he didn’t respond immediately, just looked at you like he was measuring whether or not to believe you, then scoffed and turned away again like the moment had never happened at all.
“whatever,” he said, but it didn’t land the way it normally did.
the corridor ahead darkened as the reiatsu thickened, and somewhere deep inside the ruins something moved again, slow and deliberate this time instead of chaotic. grimmjow rolled his shoulder once like he was loosening tension that shouldn’t have been there and started walking again.
you should’ve been focused on the mission.
but the earlier thought didn’t leave.
it just shifted, sitting quieter now, more persistent than before.
maybe grimmjow didn’t hate you as much as you thought.
and maybe that was the part that should’ve worried you the most.
the chamber erupted into motion as dozens of smaller hollow-like creatures dropped from the ceiling at once, their bodies twisting in mid-air before hitting the ground with sharp, skittering impacts that echoed through the stone like broken glass. for a split second everything was noise and movement and instinct, and then both you and grimmjow reacted the way you always did, without thinking, without hesitation, because there was never really any other option in places like this.
you cut through the first one before it fully registered its landing, your blade moving clean and efficient as your boots slid slightly against the stone. another came at your side and you shifted your weight just enough to let it pass, elbowing it hard enough to send it crashing into the wall. you heard grimmjow somewhere behind you, not shouting, not calling out, just the sound of impact after impact as he tore through anything that got close enough to matter.
it never did when it was like this.
when the last of them finally stopped moving, the chamber fell back into a heavy silence that felt almost worse than the fighting. dust drifted through the air again, settling slowly over broken stone and scattered fragments of whatever those things had been. you exhaled once, rolling your shoulder to loosen the tension building there, and only then did you notice how close grimmjow was standing.
not unusually close for a fight, but close enough that it lingered a second too long after.
he wiped the edge of his blade against his arm without looking at you, like he was trying to act like nothing about the situation mattered beyond the obvious problem of things trying to kill you.
“tch. weak,” he muttered, more to himself than anything else.
you huffed lightly under your breath, adjusting the grip on your weapon. “yeah, well, they still jumped us.”
“and that usually means somethin’ stronger’s nearby.”
he didn’t argue, which was how you knew he agreed. instead he glanced at you briefly, eyes flicking over your stance, your arms, the way you were holding yourself after the last exchange. it was quick, almost automatic, and gone again before it could settle into anything you could easily point out.
“you’re bleeding,” he said after a moment, like it was an afterthought he didn’t mean to have.
you looked down at your arm. a shallow cut, nothing serious, already half-dried. you shrugged. “it’s nothing.”
“yeah,” he said, but his voice didn’t match the word, and he stepped closer anyway, just enough that you could feel his reiatsu shift in a way that wasn’t quite aggressive anymore. “you always say that.”
you glanced up at him. “and you always act like you care.”
his eye narrowed slightly, like he was about to snap back, but nothing came out immediately. instead he clicked his tongue and turned his head away like the answer didn’t matter enough to explain.
“don’t get used to it,” he muttered.
you let out a quiet breath that was almost a laugh. “yeah. wouldn’t dream of it.”
for a second neither of you moved. the ruins around you felt distant again, like the world had stepped back just enough to give you space you didn’t ask for. grimmjow was still close, still there in a way that made it harder to think clearly than any hollow ever had.
then he stepped away first, like always, like it meant nothing.
you adjusted your grip on your weapon, rolled your shoulder once more, and followed without argument.
but this time, you stayed just a little closer than before.
it had been two days since the mission, and somewhere during those two days, things between you and grimmjow had shifted without either of you acknowledging it. nothing dramatic had happened after returning to las noches. there hadn’t been a conversation, an argument, or some sudden moment of understanding. if anything, it was the opposite. everything had carried on exactly as it always had, except now you found yourself noticing him in ways you never used to, and judging by the occasional glance he thought you didn’t catch, he wasn’t doing much better.
when you arrived at the training grounds that morning, grimmjow was already there. you weren’t surprised. he was almost always early, even if he’d never admit it. he was sitting on the edge of a broken wall with one foot planted on the stone beneath him, absently rolling his shoulder while waiting for something to happen. whether he’d been waiting for a fight or waiting for you was a question you weren’t interested in asking.
he looked over as soon as he heard your footsteps.
you adjusted the cuff of your jacket before looking back at him. “you’ve been countin’?”
“didn’t take much countin’.”
“must’ve been lookin’ pretty hard.”
he clicked his tongue and pushed himself to his feet, brushing the dust from his trousers with the back of his hand. “don’t flatter yourself.”
you couldn’t help smiling.
that response would’ve annoyed you a few weeks ago. now it just felt familiar.
the two of you started walking without deciding who was leading. it happened naturally, the same way it always did. sometimes he was a step ahead, sometimes you were, but neither of you paid enough attention to make it matter. you shoved your hands into the pockets of your jacket, the fabric hanging loosely from your shoulders after years of surviving more fights than it probably should have. one sleeve was still slightly frayed where it’d torn during the last mission, but replacing it had never crossed your mind. as long as you could move comfortably, you didn’t particularly care what it looked like.
grimmjow’s eyes drifted over you for a second before settling back ahead.
“you ever gonna replace that thing?”
you looked down at the jacket.
“looks like it’s one good fight away from fallin’ apart.”
“then it’s got another fight left in it.”
he let out a quiet laugh through his nose.
there wasn’t any mockery behind it this time. if anything, it sounded closer to acceptance, like he’d long since realised there wasn’t much point trying to understand why you did things the way you did.
you caught yourself looking at him then, noticing the faint scratches still healing along his jaw from the mission. he’d probably forgotten they were there. he rarely paid attention to injuries unless they stopped him from fighting, and even then he usually ignored them until someone else complained.
you looked away before he noticed.
or at least you thought you had.
“you keep lookin’ at me.”
“that’s rich comin’ from you.”
one corner of his mouth lifted into a grin.
you opened your mouth to answer, then stopped.
that was the irritating part.
you had been looking at him more lately, and you couldn’t come up with a good reason why. at first you’d blamed the mission. then you’d blamed the fact that you’d spent more time together than usual. now you were running out of excuses, and that bothered you far more than it should have.
fortunately, grimmjow had never been the type to let silence last for long.
“that’s not exactly convincing.”
you rolled your eyes, shaking your head as a quiet laugh escaped you despite yourself.
for once, neither of you felt the need to argue about it.
the next few days also settled into a routine neither of you ever spoke about.
every morning, one of you would arrive first.
every morning, the other wasn’t far behind.
it stopped feeling like coincidence after the third day.
you never agreed to meet. there wasn’t a conversation about it, no challenge thrown across the halls of las noches, no promise that either of you would show up. somehow, it just kept happening. if you arrived first, you’d find yourself waiting instead of leaving. if grimmjow got there before you, he’d already be leaning against a wall, arms folded, acting like he’d only been there for five minutes.
you spotted him before he spotted you, standing with his back against one of the pillars, head tilted slightly as though he’d been listening for footsteps. the second yours echoed across the stone, he looked over.
“you’ve been waiting long?”
he pushed himself away from the pillar.
“tch. you’re talkin’ already.”
“thought i’d save you the effort.”
a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth despite himself.
you hated that you were starting to recognise the difference now.
there was the grin he wore before a fight, all teeth and arrogance, daring somebody to swing first.
it disappeared almost as soon as it appeared, but you’d caught it anyway.
he looked at you like you’d just said something profoundly stupid.
he stopped just in front of you, close enough that you could see the faint scratch beneath his eye from the last time the two of you had trained. it had almost healed now. if you reached out, you probably could’ve traced it with your thumb.
the thought caught you so off guard that you immediately pushed it aside.
grimmjow noticed the hesitation.
“don’t sound so disappointed.”
you folded your arms across your chest, shifting your weight onto one leg.
“you’ve been staring at me all week.”
you stared at him for a second before letting out a quiet laugh.
“must be exhaustin’ being you.”
“you do enough of the thinking for both of us.”
you rolled your eyes so hard it almost hurt.
“you’re lucky you’re funny.”
“keep tellin’ yourself that.”
you reached out and gave his shoulder a firm shove.
it wasn’t enough to move him much.
just enough to make your point.
he looked down at your hand after you’d pulled it back.
then he looked up at you again.
his voice had dropped slightly.
you realised, a little too late, that neither of you had stepped away.
your shoulders were almost touching.
close enough that if either of you shifted your weight forward, there wouldn’t be any space left between you.
instead you held his gaze.
his eyes searched yours for a moment, and for the first time since you’d known him, he didn’t look like he was trying to win something. there wasn’t any challenge there. no cocky grin waiting for you to bite back.
it unsettled you far more than another fight ever could.
“what?” you asked quietly.
grimmjow didn’t answer straight away.
he looked almost irritated with himself, like he’d realised something he hadn’t wanted to.
then he let out a slow breath through his nose.
it wasn’t exactly a compliment.
coming from anybody else, it might’ve sounded awkward.
coming from grimmjow, it sounded honest.
you felt your chest tighten in a way you weren’t prepared for.
“i didn’t know you spent that much time thinkin’ about me.”
“don’t flatter yourself.”
“there’s the grimmjow i know.”
you smiled despite yourself.
he shook his head, muttering something under his breath that you didn’t quite catch.
a proper laugh this time.
the kind that made your shoulders loosen and your guard slip without you realising it.
grimmjow watched you for a second longer than he probably meant to.
“that’s a weird thing to notice.”
you weren’t sure which one of you looked more surprised by it.
the silence that followed wasn’t awkward.
it wasn’t comfortable either.
it simply existed while the two of you stood there looking at each other, neither willing to break eye contact first.
you couldn’t remember the last time you’d been this close to him without one of you trying to throw the other through a wall.
stranger still was the fact that you didn’t want to step back.
grimmjow’s eyes flicked down for the briefest moment.
so quickly that you almost convinced yourself you’d imagined it.
“you keep lookin’ at me like that,” you murmured, “people are gonna get the wrong idea.”
one corner of his mouth lifted.
he didn’t repeat himself.
instead, he closed the gap between you by what couldn’t have been more than a few centimetres.
close enough that you could feel his breath when he spoke.
his gaze didn’t leave yours.
“…or you gonna stop talkin’ for once?”
you should’ve had something smart to say.
something that would’ve wiped that smug look off his face.
instead, your brain came up empty.
you reached up, caught the front of his jacket in your hand, and pulled him the rest of the way in.
the kiss was nothing like you’d imagined.
it was clumsy, stubborn, and just a little competitive, like neither of you knew how to do anything without trying to get the upper hand. you felt him hesitate for the smallest fraction of a second before he kissed you back with the same intensity he put into everything else, one hand settling instinctively against your waist as though he’d forgotten he was supposed to be pretending this wasn’t happening.
when you finally pulled back, you were still close enough that your foreheads almost touched.
grimmjow stared at you for a long moment.
you let out a breath that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.
his grin returned, slower this time.
he reached up, thumb briefly brushing against your jaw.
“…pretty sure we’re just gettin’ started.”
his thumb lingered against your jaw for another second before he let his hand fall, though he didn’t put any distance between you. if anything, he seemed almost amused by the fact that neither of you had moved. after years of throwing punches first and asking questions never, standing this close without either of you reaching for a weapon felt strangely unfamiliar.
you looked at him for a moment before letting out a quiet laugh.
“that your way of admittin’ you liked that?”
grimmjow raised an eyebrow.
“and you still keep talkin’.”
“because you keep listenin’.”
that earned you another one of those looks he’d started giving you lately, the kind that lasted just long enough to make you wonder what was going through his head before he decided you’d already seen enough. it would’ve been easy to make another joke, to drag the conversation back into familiar territory where neither of you had to think too hard about what had just happened.
instead, neither of you said anything.
the silence settled naturally between you, and for once it didn’t feel like either of you was trying to win it.
you shifted your weight, folding your arms across your chest more out of habit than anything else. your jacket hung open where you’d grabbed him a minute earlier, sleeves still pushed halfway up your forearms, collar sitting crooked after weeks of never bothering to straighten it. you reached up absent-mindedly to fix it before deciding it wasn’t worth the effort.
grimmjow watched you for a second.
“you really don’t care, do you?”
you looked down at yourself.
you shrugged one shoulder.
there was something strangely genuine about the way he said it.
your eyes stayed on him a second longer than either of you usually allowed.
he didn’t answer immediately.
instead, he looked at you the same way he had just before he’d kissed you, like he was trying to figure something out and had only just realised the answer had been in front of him the whole time.
“yeah,” he said eventually. “think it is.”
you weren’t prepared for how easily that got under your skin.
coming from anyone else, it would’ve sounded like an ordinary compliment.
coming from grimmjow, who barely handed out basic respect unless someone earned it, it carried a weight you hadn’t expected.
“keep sayin’ stuff like that and people’ll think you’ve gone soft.”
“you’re the one who kissed me.”
“…i distinctly remember draggin’ you into it.”
you opened your mouth to argue, only to realise he had a point.
he noticed your expression immediately.
you shook your head, trying and failing to hide your smile.
he left the sentence hanging, not because he expected you to finish it for him, but because he already knew you would.
you looked at him, then looked away with a quiet scoff.
“yeah,” you admitted. “and yet.”
the grin he gave you this time was smaller than usual, lacking the cocky edge you were so used to seeing. it wasn’t a grin meant to provoke you into a fight or bait you into another argument. it was simply there, easy and unguarded, and somehow that suited him far less than all the swagger he’d built around himself over the years.
it also suited him better than you wanted to admit.
“so,” you said after a moment, “what now?”
“you always this much of a smartass after kissin’ somebody?”
for the first time since you’d met him, grimmjow looked genuinely caught off guard.
it only lasted a heartbeat, but it was there.
“figured if i was gonna do it, might as well be with someone who could take a hit.”
a laugh loud enough that it echoed through the empty corridor, completely unrestrained, and before you knew it you were laughing too, shaking your head as you nudged his shoulder with yours.
“don’t get used to that.”
“me sayin’ somethin’ nice.”
he recovered quickly, the familiar grin creeping back onto his face.
before you could come up with another comeback, he reached for the front of your jacket again, fingers curling loosely into the fabric just long enough to stop you walking away.
you looked down at his hand, then back up at him.
“that wasn’t the question.”
“didn’t ask one i wanted to answer.”
you couldn’t help smiling.
“because you keep proving it.”
he held your gaze for another second, his grip loosening but never quite disappearing, and for the first time neither of you seemed in any hurry to break the moment or pretend it hadn’t happened. It felt less like the end of something and more like the beginning of a habit neither of you had planned on forming.
hi guys sorry this took long i had heat stroke like a few days ago ive been recovering and itsstill hot i ahye my ligee
requested by @vergilglazer1234567 sorry you had to wait for ages 🥹🥹 i tried my best hopefully you like it
