Romance and Rivalries

Chapter Seven
by Rob

Ichigo rolled his eyes as he opened the apartment door.

He hadn’t really expected much, he wasn’t after all some precious housewife who slaved away all day and longed for affection at night, and nor was he a busy husband who worked long hours and wanted someone waiting for him at the door, ready to shower him with love and devotion. It wasn’t that he really wanted someone waiting for him, ready to ask him how his day had been or what he’d brought for dinner, but it would have been nice to at least have someone making an effort on his arrival to at least acknowledge him. That wasn’t even the only problem, the fact was this was Grimmjow’s shopping, brought with Grimmjow’s money and being carried by Grimmjow’s boyfriend into Grimmjow’s flat . . . Even if it wasn’t the older man’s style some gratitude would have been appreciated!

Truthfully any other day Ichigo would have flipped out and gave Grimmjow a piece of his mind, it wasn’t right after all that he was just taken for granted and to be ignored like this was plain rude! It was just frustrating, especially when he was used to all the attention from his family, it wasn’t as if he was asking for much when he expected his boyfriend to make some effort. It was always the same though; Grimmjow was a selfish, self-centred, arrogant bastard. Sometimes Ichigo had to wonder why he even stayed with the teal-haired jerk, but then he remembered that despite Grimmjow’s ‘uncaring’ façade this was the man who was willing to wait (without cheating) a whole year for him for anything physical. This was the man who’d taught him to care about himself and not blame himself for the past, the man who’d spoil him at times and always constantly brag about him to his friends, and the man who more than anything loved to hug, hold and tell Ichigo how much he loved him. If anything Grimmjow kind of depended on Ichigo, needing him to stay grounded and responsible, but Ichigo knew better than to expect any kind of confession like that from him.

Like Ichigo had said, usually he’d have given the jackass a piece of his mind, but today was different, after all Grimmjow had been on a roller coaster of emotions and to start screaming at him probably wouldn’t help.

The morning had been pretty great actually, the night before they’d ordered take-out and sat watching some movies before heading to bed, Ichigo – despite being pissed at his boyfriend’s earlier teasing – decided perhaps it wouldn’t be too bad to . . . maybe . . . share the bed. Convincing Grimmjow to stay on his side, not get naked, keep his shorts on, not molest Ichigo in his sleep and not try to get hot and heavy with him was admittedly a chore at first, but his boyfriend respected him enough to play nice after some not-so-funny teasing, and they’d spent their very first night sleeping together, with Ichigo wrapped warmly in Grimmjow’s arms. It’d been amazing to wake up to. Ichigo – for the first time in his life – didn’t feel alone, he’d been able to wake up in the warm arms of his loved one and relish the intimacy and closeness, the feeling of being so close to another human that he couldn’t even remember experiencing. It was also the first time he’d woken with a smile.

They’d been ready to stay in bed all day and even spent a few hours discussing their relationship over breakfast, meaning cold takeout from the night before for Grimmjow and bottled water with dried fruit for Ichigo, who refused to eat crap at eight in the morning but couldn’t find anything healthy either. The discussion had gone well as far as Ichigo was concerned, he’d finally agreed he was ready to step things up between them, although not as far as full-on sex, and Grimmjow seemed thrilled at the idea of some ‘hands-on’ Ichigo time, but was willing to stay in line, not wanting to overstep any lines. By the time they’d finished talking Ichigo knew he was bright red, stuttering and sitting up in foetal position like the ground would swallow him, but luckily for him Grimmjow just found the whole thing cute. It wasn’t until the phone call that the mood between them had changed . . .

Grimmjow’s mobile phone rang at some time around nine a.m., with his boss Aizen informing him he was under a paid suspension until further notice, along with the details why. Of course Grimmjow had gone berserk, screaming that the boy in question was his boyfriend and that everyone knew, including Ichigo’s father, finishing with how Luppi was crazy and anyone that into vibrators during office hours had to be insane. The exact words in reply seemed to be ‘although that is most disturbing, I am not certain it is indicative of mental instability’. He of course complained about who’d pay for his little sister’s education, health care and things if he were to get fired but it didn’t seem that Aizen was listening. All in all it could have gone a lot better.

It’d been followed around three p.m. with a rather odd text from Gin Ichimaru saying: ‘Aizen-sama’s starting his meeting, but he wants you to know you can start back at work tomorrow. The complaints have been dropped, but Kaname-san is still forcing a sexual harassment seminar on everyone tomorrow at five, and a lecture on bullying at seven. I wouldn’t mind but guess who has to hold it! I hope you and Luppi will enjoy being ‘teacher’s pet’ for this. Kisses! Gin.’ Ichigo wasn’t sure what was weirder, the fact that the Arrancar Corp. was so flaky it’d start an investigation in the morning and then mysteriously drop it that afternoon, or that Gin actually spoke rather good Japanese in his texts . . .

To clear his head Ichigo had left to do some grocery shopping, leaving a now mentally and emotionally exhausted Grimmjow to bitch on the couch, moaning on the phone to Yammy how unfair it was they were messing with his head like that, and how he was going to make Luppi suffer royally the next day. After an hour Ichigo had expected things to go back to normal, but no, Grimmjow was still bitching on the phone, but this time to Stark.

“Yo, Grimmjow, I’m home!” He glanced over to the couch where the heated voice was coming from; he couldn’t see his lover, only the sofa-back, but he knew full well he was there, “I need a lift home in an hour, dad wants me home tonight and I have to study if I want to keep my grades up. He also wants you there for dinner, I tried to say no but Yuzu was cooking and guilt-tripped me into saying yes. Yo! Bastard! Do you even hear me?”

“Yeah, I can hear ya! So can the whole apartment building!” Grimmjow snapped from where he lay on the sofa, “Shut it, will you, I’m on the phone.”

Ichigo scowled angrily and stormed over to the kitchen counter, dropping all the bags on top. He’d probably be expected to put all of it away too, like a good little slave, well if that’s what Grimmjow expected then he could go screw himself, Ichigo had enough to deal with like schoolwork, friends and family, he didn’t want to be doing unnecessary chores too. He wished he could say this was atypical behaviour, but it wasn’t, the damned man was always like this and it tested Ichigo’s last nerve.

He shifted through several bags until he came to the one with all the heavy items, with a huge burst of effort he yanked it from the countertop and began to march across the room to Grimmjow. Despite his heavy footsteps the stupid jerk still hadn’t so much as lifted his head, in fact when Ichigo reached the sofa and looked down at him he was just lounging there with phone by his ear, not a damned care in the world. Pantera was watching him lazily as she sat over on the television set, and meanwhile Grimmjow continued bitching on the phone like he didn’t have company at all. It was the last straw for Ichigo and so, lifting the bag high over the couch, and dropped it right onto Grimmjow’s stomach.

At once the teal-haired man yelled out in pain, flinched visibly and snapped his phone shut as he dropped it to the floor, desperately trying to lift the heavy weight off of his now tender stomach: “What the fuck?”

“Get off your lazy ass and help me unpack this stuff,” Came Ichigo’s gruff reply.

Grimmjow resisted the urge to argue back and quickly got up, lifting the large bag off from his stomach to carry it over to the countertop. He hadn’t any idea what right Ichigo had to be pissed with him for, he’d a pretty rough day as it was and as far as he was concerned chores weren’t going to make it better, besides he hadn’t asked the redhead to go shopping for him.

Still, a part of him felt kind of happy at the thought the other man was relaxed enough with him to consider this his ‘home away from home’; buying groceries, sleeping over, making sure the place was ticking over, it made it feel like Ichigo wasn’t just a boyfriend that stopped over but a part of the family. Hell, he got on great with Nel, made sure Pantera was fed and for the first time ever even spent the night in Grimmjow’s bed, maybe he already was family, but still it’d be a long time before anyone heard wedding bells ringing. He loved Ichigo, and he loved this little game of house they had playing, but it was a bit soon to be planning too far ahead commitment wise . . . not when Ichigo wasn’t even comfortable with the idea of sex yet, let alone anything like marriage.

He walked quickly over, ignoring Ichigo as he began putting the more perishable foods in the fridge and freezer, and started shifting through the bag he was holding as he headed to the counter. It was mostly full of cat-food (no wonder it had hurt!) and jars of jams, cans of pop and a bottle of wine, which he guessed probably had came from Rangiku, since anyone who cared about their license wouldn’t have sold that to a minor in a million years. He dropped the bag on the countertop and began to help start stocking the food away.

“What’s with half this stuff? I don’t even drink wine or cola.”

“Yeah? Well I do, jackass,” Ichigo snapped.

Grimmjow smiled as he saw his boyfriend blush, probably at admitting he was leaving things for himself here in his boyfriend’s flat, which was frankly a serious step up in a relationship but one step below having a drawer with spare clothing. It was a sign that Ichigo really wanted to be here, spend time here, and felt secure enough to leave things of his own here that he could use when he needed.

The wine of course definitely wasn’t something that Ichigo drank, that was a blatant lie, but perhaps his little strawberry was planning on a romantic night sometime? It wasn’t exactly Ichigo’s style so it’d probably be some sort of Mission Impossible, covert romance where ‘sorry I opened the wrong bottle by mistake’ or ‘I thought you wanted some? Well screw you then!’ It was cute in a way, knowing his boyfriend was still so innocent and virginal he had to act all tough and nonchalant, like if he played all the romance down then he was still the hard teenager he pretended to be, or the grown-up he wanted to be recognised as, but what he didn’t realise was by freaking out over the small things he just seemed more innocent than ever. Hell, they’d gone to Urahara’s one night when Yoruichi was stopping over, she came out in a towel which ‘slipped’ – much to most of the men’s interest – and Ichigo had screamed blue murder! It was adorable and just made Grimmjow want to protect and fawn over him, which in turn just pissed Ichigo off more, which in turn made him cuter. . . it was a vicious cycle.

“Yo, you mentioned a dinner at ya dad’s? What the hell for? Didn’t we have dinner there last week?” Grimmjow growled, throwing the plastic bag into the non-burnable waste pile, “You said you wanted to take the relationship up a notch, right? So aren’t you going to spend the night here?”

Ichigo frowned at him as he flushed bright red, looking somewhere between exploding from embarrassment and snapping in anger, however he ignored Grimmjow enough to start loading fruits and daikon into a container on the side of the countertop. This time Grimmjow had to roll his eyes, did the kid seriously think he’d be cooking any fruit or vegetables any time soon? By the time he got round to even thinking about them they’d be off and rotting out the place with a creepy smell, unless . . . Ichigo had plans of cooking?

“Idiot,” Ichigo grumbled. “He’s my dad and they’re my sisters, I have to see them more than just once a week, and you see me every other day. Anyway, we’ve been dating a year now and you’re a part of the family, like it or not, so you have to spend time with them too.” He bit his tongue to keep from commenting on all the times he’d spent babysitting Nel or hanging around with their two crazy cousins, “Anyway, are you that much of a horn-dog that you can’t go even a day after I give you the all clear to do . . . you know . . . stuff?”

Grimmjow laughed loudly.

Oh God, was he really so innocent and clueless that even now – after a whole year together – he still couldn’t bring himself to say the word ‘hand job’? That was just too adorable! How did he expect to do it if he couldn’t even say it? Maybe he was only agreeing to do things after the whole Luppi incident, it was reasonable to be somewhat jealous and possessive after all when someone’s ex starts to play games, but despite Ichigo’s insanely competitive side he didn’t think that was the case. It seemed like during their earlier discussion Ichigo had been truly sincere, actually wanting to go ahead and do it, and Grimmjow sure as hell wasn’t going to say no to him. Still, it was just so freaking cute how childlike he could act! What teenager on Earth hadn’t ever touched another person, let alone was unable to say the words?

He was still laughing nearly hysterically when Ichigo began to blush almost to extremes, his eyes almost watering in a way he would completely deny later, and his whole body tense with anger and frustration. If there was one thing Ichigo hated it was to be mocked, after all throughout his whole life no one had ever taken him seriously, especially with his hair, and so to here his own boyfriend openly laughing at him was . . . hurtful. Sure it pissed him off but for some reason it hurt him too, which was odd because usually when people laughed at him he just beat them to a pulp or in the case of the girls just screamed at them, but for some reason hearing Grimmjow laughing at his own naivety and innocence was painful. It just made him feel like the butt of a joke, like there was something abnormal about him, and it wasn’t a nice feeling. In fact the feeling itself just made him even angrier, making him want to sock Grimmjow in the face if he didn’t shut up.

In the end he settled for grabbed a large onigiri, the final thing left of the shopping, and threw it square at Grimmjow’s head, relishing in the splat sound and loving how Grimmjow was forced to pick off flakes of rice from his face and hair. His stupid smile was now gone and instead he was glaring at Ichigo, as if it was his fault! God damn bastard! How dare he glare at Ichigo? He was the one who was acting like a royal dick!

“What the hell was that for?” He snapped at the redhead.

“You – you don’t think I’m ready to – to – to do that, do you?” Ichigo shouted, still blushing, “Well I’ll freaking show you; you stupid, blue-haired, German-named jerk! I can do anything I say I can, and if I say I’m willing to do that with you then I will!”

“Jesus, Ichigo,” Grimmjow said with a sigh, scratching inside his ear as he rolled his eyes to the ceiling in a very nonchalant manner, “you can’t even say ‘I want to jerk you off’, let alone freaking do it.”

“Oh? Well fine! We’ll just see about that!”

Grimmjow was suddenly jerked out of his thoughts by his boyfriend grabbing him harshly by the wrist and dragging him backwards, his whole balance was completely thrown as he was forced out of the kitchen area and over into the direction of the bedroom. Ichigo was so pissed off that he was virtually yanking his arm out of his socket, and his grip was so tight that there was sure to be a bruise around Grimmjow’s wrist, which would be hell to explain in an hour’s time when he had to sit with Ichigo’s family for dinner. He really hadn’t any idea what had gotten into the boy, seriously he knew he could be thickheaded and impulsive but this was something entirely knew. Was Ichigo really that pissed off? Did he want a fight or something?

After a few seconds he found himself being shoved unceremoniously into his bedroom, the door slamming shut behind him, then with a harsh push he found himself knocked down onto his bed. The movement had knocked his sense of balance once more and when he looked up he could see Ichigo looking both terrified and mortified, kind of like an embarrassed deer in the headlights, and whilst the look was adorable it suddenly made click in Grimmjow’s head just what Ichigo wanted to do. Bloody kid, always had to prove himself and be better than everyone else, didn’t he? Grimmjow laughed at him and so of course his first reaction is ‘prove him wrong’, yeah, that was mature and definitely what a first should be based upon. True, it wasn’t like they would be going all the way but he still wanted it to mean something and matter to them both, something perfect they’d always remember – especially Ichigo.

“Ichigo, you know you -”

“Shut it! I know I don’t have to do this, but I want to. So let’s just do it, okay?”

Grimmjow swallowed loudly. Sure it wasn’t something he’d expected to happen when he got up this morning, but now it had he was sure as hell glad of it, to see Ichigo so assertive and take-charge was pretty arousing, and to get a free orgasm would be a great way to relieve some stress too. It’d also be good for building intimacy between them and enhancing there relationship. However if Grimmjow was totally honest about why he was allowing this it was simple: he was a man, how was he supposed to say ‘no’?

Licking his lips he grinned up at Ichigo and gave a playful sneer; “Bring it on.”

* * *

It had been a rather unusual day as far as Gin was concerned . . .

True it had started off pretty normal, after all with the heavy drinking at Rangiku-san’s he’d expected a little hangover in the morning, but luckily with a cold shower and some pain-killers he was right as rain. In fact by the time lunchtime rolled around he’d began marking those history essays, cooking some lunch and planning his seminars for tomorrow at Arrancar Corp., whilst meanwhile his phone call from Rangiku-san had told him that the poor woman was suffering most grievously from the effects of alcohol. He’d been tempted to ‘accidentally’ leave the phone by the kettle for a moment as he cooked, just to have the joy of hearing her groan from the noise, but he wasn’t that cruel . . . nah, he’d left it by the television set instead. He’d have to be careful not to accept any drinks from her for a while, but it was worth it.

It was from that point onwards that his day deviated from the norm. He’d appeared at Zaraki-san’s at around three o’clock, ready to baby-sit for Yachiru like he’d promised, only to find that Zaraki-san had already left on a hunt for his pupil Ikkaku, and meanwhile Yachiru was running amuck with Maki-Maki as he failed to stop her overloading on sugar. The very sight made his smile falter and a slight nervous frown take over his face, because – after all – a hyper Yachiru was a very uncontrollable, dangerous Yachiru and that wasn’t really something he was equipped to deal with, not when he was still recovering from last night’s drinking binge. Instead he’d given her glitter, glue and sparkly pens and let her ‘decorate’ the punching bags, sitting across the room with a interesting yet light novel, making sure to get his story straight for when Zaraki-san returned. In the end he’d decided with ‘my, really? I fell asleep after working so hard all night; I didn’t think Maki-Maki-san would ever allow Yachiru to do something like this . . .’ He wasn’t really surprised when it actually worked.

It had been a very long afternoon though and so when Zaraki returned Maki-Maki was in a lot of trouble, what with the actual ‘mud-cakes’ baking in the oven complete with worms and two bathtubs overflowing with water, in which were ‘Froggy-chan’ and ‘Kenny-Two’ who seemed to be some sort of duck if Gin was any judge of things. The experience really made him hope that if he ever had kids it’d be Izuru-kun raising them, especially if they had Yachiru’s energy.

When Zaraki-san came back he eventually learnt why the man had been gone for so long, without having left even with a message as to say why. It turned out Madarame-kun had been in some sort of fight, the poor guy was lounging in hospital at the moment with the scary couple Kurostuchi-sensei and Unohana-sensei watching over him for the night, meanwhile Zaraki was frowning like a madman and looking like he was out for blood. Gin was kind of thankful that it was already seven-thirty by that point as it meant he had an excuse to sneak off, what with school tomorrow and his ‘private tutoring’ little Izuru-kun. In fact it had taken him exactly thirty-minutes to reach Izuru-kun’s house, a fact he was very proud of as it meant he was exactly on time, causing him to already be smiling brightly as he reached the door. He’d had to reschedule last night’s tuition for a drinking party, so he could only hope Izuru-kun would forgive him tonight, but if he didn’t it didn’t matter because he was sure he could get the blonde to forgive him! It wasn’t that hard after all to make him blush.

Izuru’s house was on an upmarket part of town, not quite in the same area as Shihoin-san or Aizen-sama where the residents were the type to have hired help, bodyguards and international fame, but in a rich enough place that one was always reminded how ‘common’ they were in comparison to the plastic surgery moms, sports car dads and trust-fund sons. In fact Gin felt kind of lucky the gates to the house had been opened, had he had to press a buzzer or something he really would have been hit hard with the fact he was probably very common to the likes of Izuru-kun. He’d grown up in the Rukongai district after all, and even now he lived in a small apartment with only one room and a tiny bathroom attached, it wasn’t like he had much to offer.

Still, when Izuru opened that door his smile at once became genuine . . .

The younger man was dressed adorably in smart-casual wear, with nice smart jeans and a shirt so form fitting that if Gin was a lesser man he was sure his mouth would have been watering by now, and the fact that Izuru had made such an effort made him feel kind of good inside. Usually it was Gin who had to make an effort for people, whether with his uniform for work or the smart suits or formal yukata he had to wear when he lectured for Aizen, so to see someone making an effort for him made him feel special. It was a feeling he could get used to too.

He also adored how the blonde couldn’t even bring himself to make eye contact! He was currently eyeing the floor as if it was the most interesting thing in the world, his cheeks blushing crimson even in the night sky, and his lower lip being gnawed to within an inch of its life. Izuru really was the cutest thing! He just made you want to tease him and play with him, kind of like a cat with a mouse, but the only difference was the cat wasn’t tempted to screw the mouse afterwards.

Everything about Izuru made him so seductive, the way he stuttered, the way he blushed, the way he was so easy to shock. It kind of made Gin want to both protect him and take him, and most of all it really attracted him to the other, not only knowing he had a power over him but knowing that here was a man who thought of him as no other person did. Everyone had always been terrified of Gin, and even those that weren’t still didn’t trust him, but Izuru was different! He was nervous around Gin sure, but not because he was scared, but because he felt feelings that scared him and he hadn’t felt before. He craved Gin’s approval, wanted his company, always smiled when around him and no one had ever felt that way around him before, and it made him feel happy around Izuru in return, knowing he had someone who trusted him and knowing he didn’t have to fake a smile unless he wanted to, because no matter what Izuru-kun would always respect him.

“Welcome, Ichimaru-Sensei…”

That voice was just so cute! He had that kicked-puppy look down perfectly, and his tone was like a purring kitten, it just made Gin want to pet him! How could anyone not have an instinct of awe and affection around such an adorable expression, no wonder he had to play games with Izuru and have some fun; he had so many cute, little expressions that it was impossible not to tease him for more!

“My, Izuru-kun,” Gin said with a large grin, eyebrows significantly higher as he kept his eyes closed tightly. He leant his head down slightly so the shadows would hit just right, making him seem both a menacing villain and a kindly saviour all at once, “You look so handsome tonight, anyone would think this was a date.”

He tilted his head and beamed a huge bright smile at Izuru’s reaction.

His head snapped up so quickly his neck actually cricked, and already the blonde’s eyes were wide as saucers, his cheeks were so red that Gin was sure he could cook a meal on them and he was mumbling almost incoherently. Perhaps he was just shocked at being called handsome, but Gin couldn’t believe that no one had ever called him that before, so maybe it was just the shock of hearing it from Gin? If that was the case his opinion meant more to Izuru-kun than he’d thought! That had to be good! It meant he could have more fun than he’d originally intended, and hopefully get his cute little Izuru to make more of those little noises.

Eventually Izuru tilted his head again and began to play with his hands nervously in his lap, still stuttering intelligibly as he occasionally glanced up to Gin and then gasped and looked down again. He was kind of slouching now too and as much as Gin loved these reactions it was getting late and it was cold out, he’d much rather take their games from the doorstep and inside the house.

“S-S-Sorry, Ichimaru-Sensei!” He eventually stuttered, “I – I never thought it was a d-date, I just wanted to – to . . .”

Ah, now he felt almost guilty. He’d embarrassed his little Izuru and his comment probably confused him too, after all he’d both called him handsome but mocked the idea of a date with him in the same sentence. It seemed a little mean to get his hopes up then knock them down, leaving the poor boy confused entirely, but at the same time it would definitely keep him on his toes!

“I was just teasing, Izuru,” Gin beamed, “Though I meant it when I said that ya look handsome.” He lifted his briefcase up for mock inspection, with his long, coat sleeve covered his entire hand and the handle, and then nodded behind him along the mile-long driveway to the tiny view of the street where his battered car sat, “I did come all this way though just so I could tutor my favourite pupil, ain’t ya gonna let me in?”

“Oh! Of – of course! I’m so sorry, Ichimaru-sensei!”

“Hey now. It’s Gin. Remember?”

“Y-Yes . . . Gin.”

He waited for Izuru to step aside before strolling in. The moment he set foot into the main hall he toed off his shoes and found himself in awe; true he’d seen a lot of nice places in his time knowing Aizen, but he hadn’t ever pictured little Izuru-kun coming from such a similar lifestyle.

Gin had a pretty rough life growing up, always on the streets and always beaten at home, and he knew Rangiku-san was the same, with Ichigo-kun and Abarai-kun also leading rough lives despite their middle-class parents. All four of them had been confident, getting into trouble, fighting authority and generally quite well-liked or well-respected, and thinking about it made it all made sense, because when you lived a tough kind of life you learnt to stick up for yourself. You learnt to be confident because if you weren’t you were picked on, and you learnt how to cope with life because if you didn’t you’d be suicidal before long, so in that respect it should have made sense why his little Izuru was so different. The little blonde had been raised in a sheltered, closeted environment, probably never had to fight a day in his life and probably never had to go without food or worry if a bill would be paid, no financial stress at all and definitely no bullying growing up. If you thought of it that way it made sense he was so shy, timid and quiet, he never had to learn to be anything but that! Maybe with some luck Gin would rub off on him, make him more confident, he could always hope at least.

Still, the place was pretty nice. You could tell Kira-kun had came off ‘old money’ because the place wasn’t as flashy as what it could have been, it was classy and subtle, not in-your-face or over-the-top. Aizen had pretty similar tastes, having a rich family too, but Gin had been to some homes where the people had started off average and made a name for themselves: the ‘new money’ types. The houses were almost always white, minimalist with weird abstract art and stuffy accents with crappy food, in contrast he really enjoyed Aizen and Izuru’s warm, homely style with wood burning fires, deep and warm colours, and a fair amount of furniture. It made him feel like he’d walked into a home, not a damned hospital, and god he hated the memories of hospitals.

“I set up in the dining room, Gin,” Kira was looking to his side with a rather depressing expression, kind of like he was about to break down and cry any second, he was even nursing his left arm with his hand in a nervous gesture, “That’s okay isn’t it? I – I just thought with the dining table being so large it’d be easiest to work on, and – and there’s a very nice view from the windows, and I kind of . . .”

“Yeah, that sounds great! Thanks for being so considerate, Izuru-kun.”

He didn’t miss the slight twitch of a smile in Izuru’s lips or the twinkle in his eyes at the compliment, and it made Gin beam inside to know he’d managed to bring about a rare expression of joy on his pupil’s features. He always liked Izuru best when he smiled, even when it was one of those very nervous and unsure ones, he just looked so handsome and youthful in those moments, and not like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Poor little Izuru didn’t deserve to feel so negative all the time after all, but he’d soon change that!

“You going to lead the way, Izuru?”

“O-Oh! Yes, of course!”

Izuru quickly scampered along and led the way into a room towards the back of the hall, they walked past the foot of a large winding staircase – one that seemed to Gin a bit more Western than Eastern and had to be some sort of renovation – and then headed through a large archway. Inside was a rather large kitchen, not as large as Aizen’s state-of-the-art, Western-styled one of course, but large enough in order to still keep a Japanese feel to it.

It seemed someone in the family was an avid cook, covering the far kitchen wall over spotless wooden work-surfaces were cooking utensils Gin had never even dreamed of, even in all his years doing chores as a kid he’d never came across some of them. The ovens, fridges, all appliances were completely brand-new and modern too but at the same time fitted the rustic, old-fashioned décor and gave the place a perfect blend between old and new. There was also a long counter that separated the working space from the dining area, and at the far end Izuru was right, the view was amazing! The windows were large and very low, so when standing one could see right into the gardens and into a koi pond that would make even Byakuya-san jealous! He hadn’t even noticed until he took a closer look, but there was also a very romantic air about the place too, which was kind of cute.

The place was littered with candles that sent rather pretty glows and shadows about the room, and the table was littered with sake and food, most of which seemed home-cooked too. It was kind of obvious that Izuru thought of this as a date, but Gin didn’t mind, in fact it made him feel kind of giddy inside, it meant that Izuru liked him a lot more than he thought and it meant that maybe they had a shot at being together! It was a rather hopeful thought, one of which he hoped would lead to something more, something special between them.

Gin placed his briefcase on the table and sat down in one of the wooden chairs. He patted the chair beside him and gave Izuru an open-eyed, slight-smiled expression of kindness and sincerity, one in which he rarely showed anyone except perhaps Rangiku. It seemed to have an immediate effect as right away Kira-kun was sitting beside him, so close their knees touched, sending sparks of electricity throughout both of their bodies. Gin smiled at the contact and carefully shrugged off his coat and hung it behind him on the chair, his clothes were casual compared to Izuru’s, merely plain black trousers and a rather large, red sweater to keep him warm in the cold, but it seemed Izuru liked the look somewhat judging by his smile. That was good. Gin would have hated to think he’d disappointed his student or ruined whatever image he had of him.

Opening his briefcase he pulled out a pile of papers and gave a huge beaming smile, handing them over to Izuru with a very sincere expression. Izuru merely blushed wildly and accepted the stack with both hands, nodding his acknowledgement before placing them to one side, trying to ignore the way his heart beat wildly or how his throat seemed dry.

“When ya Japanese teacher told me ya were writing a novel I didn’t believe it,” Gin said casually, “So I’m glad ya let me read so far! I really liked it! ‘I Want to Apologise to You’ was an odd title I thought, but when I read the story itself I couldn’t think of a better one! You’re writing a new chapter each week, yeah? I hope ya let me read the rest! The haikus at the start of each chapter are pretty clever too, I didn’t know you had so much talent, I just hope you still like me even when you’re rich and famous.”

Izuru shot his head up at once, eyes wide and with a sudden burst of confidence that seemed to spring from nowhere: “I’ll always like you, Gin! Always!”

As soon as he said it he sank his head into his hands and groaned loudly, wishing the ground would open and swallow him whole. Did – did he really say that? He didn’t even want to imagine what Gin would think! He probably saw him as some attention starved boy who was shamelessly in love with his teacher, he probably pitied him or laughed at him, or worse he may even hate him! Here he was wasting his time to tutor a student like Izuru and Izuru had made a fool of himself with candles, food and a blurted out confession. He really didn’t know how he was going to live through the humiliation at all; he was mortified, how could he have said something so childish to Gin? If he had to confess himself he could have at least did it in a more dignified way!

“Aw! That’s nice of ya, Izuru!” Gin beamed, resting arms on his knees and head into his hands, “I love you too and always will.”

It seemed Gin genuinely didn’t realise he’d said the word ‘love’ and not ‘like’ but it was something Izuru picked up on, and at once he was making eye contact with Gin albeit with his usual shocked expression and a blush. Love? Did he say love? That – that meant he had feelings for Izuru, feelings beyond that of a tutor for his pupil, and that meant that Izuru had a chance, didn’t it? He hoped so, because if his heart beat any faster it’d surely explode! He was already feeling light-headed, weak and dizzy and he wasn’t sure how much more he could take, and they’d only just started!

“I really liked the plot too,” Gin continued.

For once failing to notice the subtle changes in another human being, and the only explanation Izuru could think of was because he really was in love, and everyone knew it was hard to see things as they really were in the person you had feelings for.

“You – you did?”

“Sure! It was a bit depressing at times, but that’s what makes a good drama, ya know? If even I can feel sorry for the characters it shows they have to be well written, don’t it! I do worry perhaps you based it a bit on real life, and if you have I feel bad, because the main character does a lot of bad things to himself and he’s always upset, I don’t want my Izuru-kun to feel bad too. I liked the little bit with the girls too, when one tried to eat the dried persimmon but it was really dried sweet potato and she felt ill, it made me laugh because I did that once as a kid too!” Gin gave a slight nervous laugh and then sat back in his chair, “Ja, I’m sorry, I’m not too bright with languages or literature, but I did like it!”

Izuru gave a sincere smile, “Thank you, Gin.”

It was hard to know how to continue. There was kind of a tension in the air that Kira wasn’t used to, not that it was necessarily bad, but it was uncertain and fragile and he didn’t want to say anything lest he break the moment. Inside he felt incredibly warm and proud, already hearing an unconscious declaration of love and being given such kind compliments, it made his heart swell to know that Gin thought so highly of him and – most of all – loved him too. It was probably because of that he was unsure what to do next . . . He didn’t want to say anything stupid like he’d done a few moments ago with ‘I’ll always like you!’ but he didn’t want to say anything too serious either, after all they weren’t even dating yet so worrying what Renji, Momo or his parents would think was ridiculous! Of course, that was even assuming Gin wanted to date him anyway, after all he was still a student and a very shy, quiet one at that, one that couldn’t even excel in any classes save Japanese, English and history . . .

Still, if there was ever a moment where he needed to be optimistic, then this was it! Gin was constantly teasing him, always paying attention to him, even offering to home-tutor him and tonight he’d even said ‘I love you too’! Surely that all meant Gin had feelings for him? It had to. So – so all Kira had to do was act on it, make it clear he was open to whatever would happen between them, make it obvious that he really, really liked Gin . . . even if it was already pretty obvious as it was. He wished he could be bold like Renji and just ask the guy out, or even shameless like Rangiku-san who’d practically flash and flirt with anyone she liked, or even as confident as Hisagi-sempai who never cared what anyone thought, just dating the people he liked and loved. The problem was he wasn’t anyone else, he was simply himself, sitting in an awkward silence as Gin began to shift through his papers and documents, ready to begin a lesson. If he wanted a date, not a tutoring session, then he’d have to act soon!

Maybe – Maybe he could ask Gin if he would like a drink . . .? No, that wasn’t really sensible, after all Kira always let loose after a few drinks and lost all sense of personal space, modesty and common sense. He’d already humiliated himself that evening when Gin came to the bar where he sat with Renji and Ikkaku, after two more drinks he’d been convinced by Rangiku to get half-naked, and after a few more he’d been antagonising Renji to start a fight despite not being able to stand properly! He couldn’t let Gin see him like that again; it’d be too humiliating! Unless . . . maybe he could pour himself small amounts but Gin large ones? No, that wouldn’t do, if Gin had any sense of manners – which he probably did – he’d be the one to pour Kira a drink. Well, what if he only pretended to sip and drink, whilst Gin really did? That could work to, right? No, no Gin would surely click in to what was going on after a while.

The moment he heard the briefcase close, and saw the history books and the graded essay he’d handed in, he visibly jumped and quickly spat out rather loudly and much too quickly: “Would you like a drink, Gin?”

“Huh?” Gin looked at him curiously for a minute, surprised at Kira’s sudden and almost random outburst, “Sure! I don’t really like sad stories and that story of yours sure was sad, much as I liked it of course, so a drink would really cheer me up.”

“S-Sure.”

He reached over for the sake bottle and a couple of cups; he carefully poured a large amount into Gin’s cup, he really hadn’t meant to pour so much but he’d just been so nervous and his hand had slipped! At – at least it meant the drink would last longer, right? Unless Gin drank pretty quickly, but then that would mean he’d be drunk sooner too, and then Kira would no way be able to act on his feelings, because . . . because then it’d be like taking advantage. Ah! Not that he’d planned to – to – to do anything with Gin, of course not, but wasn’t it normal to have thoughts about those sorts of things? Although Gin probably wouldn’t want to sober or not, or at least not with Kira and -. Kira groaned to himself and quickly placed the bottle away. Hopefully he could fix this . . .

“I’m sorry, Gin,” He said looking bashfully at the floor, “I poured too much.”

“Nah, it’s fine, Izuru-kun!” He said taking a long sip, “But with ya giving me so much and ya not even pouring yourself any, it kind of makes me wonder.” He suddenly frowned, his eyes narrowing and lips pouting, it was his most serious and offended face he could muster . . . even if inside he was actually laughing! “You wouldn’t be trying to get ya teacher drunk to take advantage of him now, would ya?”

“W-W-W-What? No! I mean, of course not! I just – I – I didn’t mean to-!”

“Aw, now that’s too bad.”

Kira swallowed loudly, his cheeks going bright red for the thousandth time this minute, and his eyes shimmering with water as he tried to fight back his mortifying feelings. When he looked at Gin this time the man seemed somewhat disappointed, his lips were still pouting and full but his gaze had lowered and his eyes seemed slightly heavier and longer. He – he felt so confused! Just seconds ago Gin had seemed very offended at the thought of being taken advantage of, and now he seemed so disappointed that he wasn’t!

It was kind of like he was playing another game, and – as much as he loved and admired Gin – he hated these games . . . Gin seemed to adore playing with people’s emotions, in particular Kira’s and his loyalty and love towards his sensei, but he’d particularly enjoy playing emotional games with Rukia too, and sometimes with Momo’s kid cousin Toshiro, who was too young not to get pulled into such manipulation. Right then he didn’t know where he stood, what Gin really felt, what to even expect, it was like standing on thin ice! Was Gin upset or wasn’t he? If he could just understand the other man, what he wanted, it’d be so much easier! Then again . . . if anyone actually ever understood Gin he wouldn’t be the Gin he knew and loved, because it was that mysteriousness about him that was part of his charm.

He was frowning now, worried with heart beating a hundred miles an hour and body so hot he felt like passing out any second, it was just too terrifying to think that because of his stupid accident he may have scared Gin away!

When he felt cold fingertips touch his cheek he literally jumped in his chair, his head jolting upwards to see Gin smiling warmly at him with eyes wide, red and burning with interest and compassion. His face was warm, friendly and so sincere in its expression that Kira’s heart melted at the sight, and as his fingers pressed against his smooth cheek Kira couldn’t help but nuzzle into his palm, half-closing his eyes in relief and love. Gin’s skin felt supple, youthful but slightly calloused and hard, like he’d spent a lifetime doing physical work, and yet his touch sent electric shivers down Kira’s spine, setting his blood on fire and making him relish the touch. He felt connected to the man he loved, like he was becoming a part of him through that one small gesture alone, and he felt relieved, secure, safe. It was a kindly, loving gesture and he felt sure he could lose himself in the moment.

“Now Izuru-kun, you shouldn’t have gone to all the trouble of cooking, ya know?” Gin said cheerfully, leaning forward in his seat so that he was getting closer and closer to Izuru, “I don’t really eat much, and there’s only one dessert I really want to lick at.”

He found himself gasping and shivering at the sight of Gin leaning ever closer, his lips pressing together warm, full and plump and his body relaxing as it leant ever closer to Izuru. One of Gin’s hands was placed mid-thigh and holding him gently, but firm enough to arouse his interest, and his other hand was still holding his cheek, with his thumb lightly stroking his skin. The problem was if this was yet another joke, just one more game, then Kira was going to cry and he certainly couldn’t take much more! So – with a quick and fast movement – he grabbed for his manuscript beside him and yanked it up, shoving it between himself and Gin as a makeshift barrier, and causing Gin’s lips to press hard against the white pages of ‘I Want to Apologise to You’, probably a fitting title considering what he’d just done . . .

“I-I-I-I’m so sorry, Gin!” Kira said clutching hard to the paper even as he reluctantly put it back down on the table, his eyes were scrunched shut and his lips trembling, “It’s just if you were to pull away this time I – I – I don’t think I’d cope! I really like you, Sensei. Please don’t tease me anymore. Not tonight at least, not when we’re finally alone together like this.”

“Who says I was gonna pull away?”

“W-what?”

Gin gave a bright smile: “But if ya don’t want me to . . .”

He watched with glee as Kira’s expression faltered somewhat and his eyes widened in horror, he looked like he’d just been told he’d missed his chance, somewhat heartbroken and horrified at the same time. It was completely adorable and reminded Gin so much of just why he loved Izuru! He adored how the younger man completely hung on his every word, how he lived to make Gin happy, how he genuinely cared what the silver-haired man thought of him, and most of all he simply loved that someone actually loved him for him. It was a nice feeling and he wanted Izuru to feel the same way back, he wanted Izuru to feel loved too. Screw what Aizen said, he didn’t understand these feelings or what they meant, and if the worst did happen he was sure he could twist things enough so Aizen would still support him anyway.

“Poor Izuru,” He said softly, “Ya still can’t tell when I’m joking, can ya? I’m gonna be serious with ya then, I really like ya, in fact I probably love ya, and as tempting as it is to pretend to kiss ya and pull back . . . I ain’t gonna. I wanna kiss ya for real.”

“Gin?”

Gin merely smiled in response, his silver hair falling slightly to cover his open eyes and his expression almost serene, even if it did hold a somewhat sharp undertone. Kira noted how Gin’s accent had become all the more obvious, kind of like he was nervous himself, and judging by the slight pink tinge to his cheeks it was possible that maybe he was.

Kira barely had time to think before Gin gracefully slid out of his chair and wrapped his arms around Kira’s neck, his elbows resting on the blonde’s shoulders as his hands hooked together in an elegant pose. He moved his legs carefully and sat down quite firmly on Kira’s lap, his legs straddling the chair and his chest pushed firmly against his – hopefully – soon-to-be lover’s. The position was intimate, warm and gave them a chance to for the first time ever fully appreciate the closeness of one another, each one relishing in the firm body pressed against them, and the feel of a loved one breathing in time with their own breaths. Then – as Izuru finally worked up the courage to wrap his arms around that thin waist, and place his hands firmly upon that hard back – Gin leant down and kissed him.

The kiss came as a complete shock to him. The fact he had Gin straddling him on his lap was arousing enough, shocking enough too, but to feel those soft lips touching his was something else altogether. It made him at once harden and grind up, feeling kind of childish for his lack of experience and ability to be so easily turned on, and he couldn’t help from holding tightly onto Gin and pulling him close.

He couldn’t believe how innocent, how soft, how delicate Gin’s kiss was, his lips barely moving against his own and his breath only softly grazing his own mouth, and it made him wonder just where his usually outspoken, sarcastic, overly-confident sensei had gone. It was as if he were suddenly making out with a guy with as little-to-no experience as he had, or someone even more virginal if that was possible, and it was surprising but also . . . nice. It was sweet. They kissed that way for what seemed a long time before Gin worked up the courage to deepen it, and when he did Kira swore he could see fireworks behind his eyelids.

It was amazing! It was his first kiss and almost perfect; he could feel Gin’s rough, hot tongue sliding into his mouth, exploring his waiting cavern with an eagerness and hunger he hadn’t imagined, tasting every inch and running the tip of his tongue over every part of him, teeth, cheeks, tongue . . . It was needy, hot, passionate, and he could feel Gin grinding against him as he began to reciprocate the kiss, his hand sliding up to cup Gin’s head and hold onto those silky locks of hair. It felt almost as if it was Gin’s first kiss too, but that couldn’t be right! Surely sensei had kissed many, many people. He was twenty-four now and so handsome Kira could barely believe his luck in finding a partner like this, he just couldn’t bring himself to believe his love could be as inexperienced as he was.

The only thing he could fault as the nauseating taste of persimmon in his lover’s mouth, and how in their desperation their teeth would occasionally clash or the kiss would get too wet. Yet it felt so amazing he was sure he could keep it up for hours at an end and never tire of it! He suddenly found himself blushing and nervous, realising he wanted to explore the man’s body and take things further, even though they’d only just confessed their feelings and began a relationship. Could – could he seriously consider sex when they’d only just shared a first kiss? That would be ridiculous, surely? They’d be moving way too fast! Yet they’d known each other for so long, loved from afar, desired each other with a consuming passion and Kira had even saved himself for someone as special as this, not knowing that – as far as kisses were concerned – Gin had done the same.

When Gin broke the kiss he found himself suddenly remembering what was going on, and his cheeks were once again on fire, his heart pounding so hard it hurt, and his pulse echoed in his ears. Oh God! What would happen when they had to face each other tomorrow at school? How would Rangiku act when he told her, and what about Renji? Renji would flip out! Oh, and his parents . . . his aunt and uncle had adopted him when he was orphaned as a child, they’d taken him in and given him allowances despite having a huge trust fund and inheritance, and they’d be devastated surely? Would they love him unconditionally, would they try to get Gin fired, or would they be accepting?

“Huh, ya thinking too hard, Izuru, it’ll give ya wrinkles.”

“Pardon?”

“Ya need to stop thinking so hard!” Gin beamed brightly, closing his eyes once again as he jumped off the chair and offered Kira his hand, pulling him up onto his feet and then into a huge hug. He placed a chaste kiss onto his lover’s head and breathed in the scent of strawberry shampoo on the blonde hair, “I tell ya what, why don’t we go to the bedroom? I’m sure I can help to clear ya mind in there.”

“G-Gin!”

The silver-haired man laughed. How was it even after a mind-blowing kiss that his little lover could be so innocent, naïve and act like a blushing virgin? It was totally adorable! He’d have to be sure to remember the little details to annoy Kaname later on, he was damned sure Komamura didn’t blush and it’d be funny to see Kaname get so worked up on how their relationship was unethical, and if Kira was better in bed than Kaname he could maybe work in some ‘tips’ and really piss Kaname off! Still, he had to get his little Izuru-kun to bed first and that was only if all that blood going to his cheeks didn’t make him pass out first . . . Still, how cute!

“Ya so cute when ya all shy and embarrassed, makes me wonder how we’ll manage to even do it!” Gin smiled brightly and began to blow out the candles, it wouldn’t do to have the place burn down mid-consummation after all, “I know what might make you less nervous! You can be the pitcher, I’ll be the catcher, what ya say?”

Aw, poor Izuru looked like he was really going to die from discomfort this time! It made Gin smile to see him look ready to have a heart attack at being told he could top, as if the thought never crossed his mind at all . . .

Something told Gin this was going to be a lot of fun!