#kurooswrites

Grimmjow watched Ichigo rummaging the kitchen looking for probably something to drink as he saw the shinigami grabbing a glass. When he had found a bottle with dark red liquid in it, Ichigo turned to Grimmjow.

“Here. Try it.” He said, approaching Grimmjow and handing over a glass to him, pouring the liquid in it.

Grimmjow frowned as he took it and smelled.

“Smells like… sour grapes”.

“Well you’re not half wrong. It’s wine. The grapes are smashed to get the juice out, then they put it in a barrel and they’re left there to get fermented so you can have wine.” Ichigo explained while serving himself a glass and taking a sip.

“Whatever…” the arrancar tried the red liquid once, twice and he hummed in agreement, “not bad.”

“It’s one of my favorites.” Ichigo smiled.

Grimmjow nodded, taking another sip. He watched Ichigo slowly drinking, brown eyes hidden behind long lashes every time he tipped the glass. When Ichigo put the glass down, Grimmjow’s eyes followed the movements of Ichigo’s tongue slowly and shyly licking the wetness of the wine from his lips.

“Grimmjow?” Ichigo asked unsure, and Grimmjow noticed a faint blush on his cheeks. If it was because of the alcohol or not he didn’t know, but it made the arrancar wonder what would make Ichigo blush. Grimmjow had done many things already to the other in the course of years battling against each other. However, seeing Ichigo outside of the battle field was a new thing, and with it he became curious about what they could do in a no-fight zone.

Then, just like that, he reached for Ichigo’s hand, holding it on his own, thumb caressing the skin.

Ichigo flinched a bit but he didn’t remove his hand from Grimmjow’s.

The light blush that piked Grimmjow’s interest only deepened, and Ichigo was now looking somewhere to his side, teeth biting his bottom lip. A clear sign of nervousness.

For a moment, Grimmjow contemplated the view. For a moment, Grimmjow felt his stomach flip at the vulnerability that Ichigo was showing to him right now.

“Look at me.” Grimmjow demanded.

Ichigo did.

And it took only one look at Ichigo’s bright hopeful eyes for Grimmjow to understand the reason for them to always dance around each other.

‘Oh no, he didn’t… that little shit!’ Grimmjow yanked the blankets off Ichigo without a second thought.

“Get off this fucking bed!” Grimmjow yelled angrily to the orange haired shinigami, who looked at him with tired eyes, but slowly, limb by limb, got up.

Ichigo took a deep breath, signing loudly, “so, what now, Grimmjow?”

Grimmjow raised one of his hands and closed it on Ichigo’s throat, the other grabbed Ichigo’s arm. A dreadful feeling consumed his chest as Grimmjow noticed that the shinigami was way skinnier than he remembered. The arrancar watched more closely the other. The fire in those chocolate eyes was gone, his skin was paler, visible dark circles painted under his eyes, and his hair was long, bangs plastered on his forehead. Grimmjow clicked his tongue, face morfing into an annoyed expression, brows knitted together and lips a pout.

“Forget it.” He released Ichigo from his grip, turned his back to him, and before he left he looked over his shoulder, “I'll be back.”

-x-

Grimmjow did come back the next day only to find Ichigo yet currled under the blankets.

Once again, Ichigo murmured, “leave me alone.”

Grimmjow tsked his tongue, frowning. However, this time, Grimmjow didn’t yank the covers. Instead, he yelled at Ichigo, telling him to get the hell up because he was due some fighting. Ichigo fought him that day, but he barely put much effort into it. Grimmjow took notice and stopped their fight midway.

“Are you kidding me?! If you’re not going all out it’s a waste of time!” Grimmjow said. And just like last time he turned his back to Ichigo, “I'll be back.”

-x-

Day after day Grimmjow appeared at Ichigo’s house and every time he forced Ichigo out of bed. The Kurosaki family noticed his presence the fourth time - it was difficult to ignore a boistorous arrancar with a murderous spiritual energy roaming around. At first, Isshin and the girls didn’t take well, but Grimmjow didn’t back off, ignoring them all, he kept on visiting Ichigo. Until one day Isshin told him to not give up on his boy. At some point in the week, after Grimmjow’s visit, Ichigo had joined the family just by the end of dinner time. Despite him not eating a full meal, he did take a slice of bread and a glass of water by himself. “That is progress”, Isshin had said to Grimmjow.

So Grimmjow kept coming back. The Kurosaki family would greet him at the door sometimes, when Grimmjow lingered outside for far too long before coming in. Yet, each and every time Grimmjow stepped in Ichigo’s room the shinigami would bore a tired expression, even though the dark circles under his eyes were fading and he didn’t look as skinny as before, Ichigo still was too far away from being alright. The last couple of days that Grimmjow was there, he didn’t ask for a fight, he didn’t yell at Ichigo either. Grimmjow simply sat down on the desk chair, looking around the room, checking out whatever book was on the desk. However, Ichigo would always look down, and try to hide while whispering

“I told you to stay away from me.”

Grimmjow never listened to his request. The more Ichigo told him to leave, the longer he stayed by his side.

-x-

Days became weeks and weeks turned into months. Grimmjow was almost living at the Kurosaki household by now, his insistance was paying off, and Ichigo wasn’t always hiding in his room or needing reminders to eat. At some point, Urahara had given him a gigai, which came in hand when interacting with the young Kurosaki girl. Now, whenever Grimmjow was at the house, he wore it. Not only the family dynamic was changing but also Grimmjow’s spot at the desk had shifted one night, when Ichigo had a nightmeare. He had approached the bed, sitting next to Ichigo he brushed off the hair from his face, a gentle hand on his shoulder tried to wake him up. When Ichigo opened his eyes and met Grimmjow’s, he sobbed as thick tears rolled down his cheeks. Ichigo hid his face behind his hands, turned his back to Grimmjow, and currled into a ball.

The whole commotion happened three months ago, but for Ichigo, it seemed it had happened just yesterday. After everything that happened, Ichigo had not gotten a whiff of the blue-haired Arrancar. Yet, Ichigo still could remember the lingering feeling of dexterous fingers brushing his jaw, the warmth of Grimmjow's body against his, and the taste of those lips touching his own. Those were sensations that Ichigo couldn't get rid of, and his mind seemed to like to fill in blank spaces, providing what-if scenarios like what would have happened if Isshin hadn't shown up. At that time, Ichigo had not promptly responded to Grimmjow's advances, and, for that, he blamed his brain for not having processed the whole event quicker. However, Ichigo knew, for a fact, that he would have let Grimmjow ravish him without a second thought.

It was no secret that they were dancing around each other for a long time, their fights were as bloodied as ever, but there was more to it than meets the eyes. Ichigo had lost count of how many times he had felt Grimmjow grabbing his shuuhakushou to pull him closer just to spit out some insult. Or the times when Ichigo, himself, had touched Grimmjow's arm for longer than necessary when guiding him around Karakura town. Also, Ichigo could not deny he was attracted to that stupid Arrancar. Many times, he had stared (for far too long) at Grimmjow's ass, which made him flustered and embarrassed to death when Grimmjow's azure eyes looked at him in a questioning gaze.

Ichigo had wondered for a while why Grimmjow seemed to always come to him, like a magnet. Wherever Ichigo went to, Grimmjow would be right there giving some bullshit excuse to be following him. For a long time, Ichigo had also wondered whether or not Grimmjow felt any kind of attraction to him, but such doubts ceased to cloud his mind after that kiss.

In the middle of his daydreaming, Ichigo heard his name being called distantly. He tried to ignore it, but when his full name was yelled outside by a familiar voice, he jumped out of bed.

"Kurosaki Ichigo! Get your ass out here!"

He peaked out the window, adrenaline running down his body as he saw Grimmjow standing by the gate. He had never run so fast to open the front door, yanking it open.

"Yo, Kurosaki! It's been a while." A devious smirk was on his lips as he greeted Ichigo with a wave.

"A while?" Ichigo yelled, "You kidding, right? Why the hell did you disappear?"

Ichigo had a deep frown on his forehead, and even though he was a tad annoyed at the other, he could not keep it up as he saw the man approaching. Ichigo did not think Grimmjow could look more handsome than he already is, but he was wrong. Ichigo could not tear his eyes away from Grimmjow, who wore blue jeans and a black button-up shirt - which was purposefully not fully buttoned. His hair was that same effortlessly mess that looked divine on him, and his eyes shone like sapphires under the sunny sky.

"Had to convince your dad first to let me see you. It took longer than I expected," he spoke again when he was right in front of Ichigo.

"What do you mean..."

Grimmjow did not let him finish as he wrapped his arms around Ichigo's waist, pulling him closer. A shiver ran through his body as he felt Grimmjow's hands snaking their way under his shirt, thumbs caressing the warm skin. Ichigo could not avoid leaning in closer, resting his own hands on the other's waist as well.

"Just answer me this," Grimmjow closed more the distance between their faces, tilting his head a little so his and Ichigo's lips were aligned just right, "Will you be my valentine?"

Ichigo's breath hitched, and his eyes traveled down to Grimmjow's lips. So close, so inviting... he felt his whole body on fire, and there was no doubt that his cheeks were as red as a tomato. However, he was not letting this opportunity slip away again. So without any more mulling over, he touched Grimmjow's lips with his own. Slowly, both of their lips parted, letting instinct dictate their very movements until both were absorbed in a passionate kiss. This was why separating their lips took more effort than Ichigo had imagined. Kissing Grimmjow was addictive, and having his hands holding Ichigo tightly against his body were things that made Ichigo lose his grip on reality.

Breathlessly, they parted their lips and stared at each other. Grimmjow was the first one to break the silence.

"So, will you?"

Ichigo blinked once and then twice. And just after his brain connected the dots was when he replied.

"You are dumber than I thought..."

Grimmjow murmured an insult, but he did not let go of Ichigo. Instead, he pinched his side as a rebuttal. Ichigo jerked at the action and playfully slapped the other's ass.

"I knew you liked my ass," Grimmjow smirked, leaning in to steal a quick kiss.

"I’m reading, so just keep quiet," Ichigo mumbled, and Grimmjow grunted a reply as he settled next to Ichigo.

The redhead wasn't sure how long he had been reading the same page over and over again. The presence of Grimmjow by his side was distracting. Way more distracting than he anticipated. Ichigo could feel those dangerous blue eyes staring at him. He darted to glance over the other, and just when he did so Grimmjow moved. Ichigo's eyes followed his movements, curious to see what he was going to do. The next few seconds played in slow motion in his brain as Grimmjow straddled his lap and batted away the book Ichigo was holding. Said offending book ended up on the floor.

Ichigo snapped, "Hey! What the hell was that for?!"

Grimmjow rolled his eyes, indignantly he replied, "I came here and all you do is read this damn book!"

Ichigo frowned angrily, "You're here because you want. I didn't say I was free."

Ichigo didn't think about the danger that was to provoke the other, but now it was done and he could only hope that Grimmjow wasn't going to gut him right there. But before Ichigo could even think about putting out whatever fire he had started, Grimmjow grabbed his wrists, holding them down against the mattress next to Ichigo's head.

"I don't need you telling me what to do. If I came here you should be glad. I could be anywhere else, but no, I'm here. Be grateful." Grimmjow spat the words right on Ichigo’s face.

The redhead just stared blankly at the furious face above his, but he soon replied to Grimmjow, "Well since you are here, do you what you came here to do."

Ichigo's voice in his head sounded as if he had the upper hand, but when Ichigo saw a predatory grin he knew that what he had said was taken as a challenge. The next second Grimmjow lowered his face and covered Ichigo's mouth with his, the soft touch made Ichigo hold his breath but as soon as a wet tongue traced its way over his lips and made contact with Ichigo's own tongue their mouths clashed hungrily.

The anger and frustration that both felt were palpable by the way their mouths devoured one another. When Grimmjow's mouth withdrew from Ichigo's, he tried to follow it, and Grimmjow chuckled before returning to the grasps of Ichigo's eager lips. They shared another messy heated kiss before Grimmjow started nibbling Ichigo's lower lip. Ichigo moaned in approval every time he felt those very dangerous fangs locking his lip between them. The moment Ichigo let out another moan and parted their mouths to take a deep breath, Grimmjow took the opportunity to place a kiss on Ichigo's cheek. His mouth soon traveled down to Ichigo's neck leaving a trail of kisses all the way to the junction of Ichigo's neck and shoulder. Then, he bit the tender flesh hard enough to leave a mark. Ichigo moaned louder, but he also cursed the other. So soon Grimmjow lifted his head and looked Ichigo straight in the eyes.

"Don't forget you are mine and mine alone." For good measure, Grimmjow took Ichigo's puffed lower lip between his teeth again, sucking it quickly and releasing it. He continued, his tone like a threat:

"That piece of rubbish better not be in my way next time, or I'll burn it!"

Ichigo was still looking breathless and not quite there when the warmth of Grimmjow's body was gone. The next thing Ichigo felt was his book hitting his abdomen and Grimmjow plopping next to him again on the bed, turning his back to him.

Ichigo would've chuckled, but he probably would end up with an even more sour moody Arrancar next to him, so he simply said:

"Got it." Ichigo side-eyed him, a small smile on his lips.