Disclaimer: I do NOT own bleach. All rights go to Tite Kubo-sama, I only mess around with his characters.

"Normal Speech"

'Thoughts'

Flashback

WARNINGS:

Yaoi, Boy-and-Boy pairing as in GrimmIchi, and yes, it's in that order so if you don't like uke!Ichi, then too bad. There is hurt/comfort with an equally passionate romance beneath - I hope. And most important of all, this is all AU, so as long as you do not find this disturbing, I hope you enjoy this story that just so happened to contain one of my favorite bleach pairings. Rated M just in case 'cause I'll most likely put in lemon!

#1#

"You know, sometimes I'm convinced you're a moron, and then you go and do something that just makes it worse and I have to take a double take - but this, this is ridiculous. I mean this is the stupidest thing I've seen you try yet! Really?!"

The one receiving the rather heated reprimand winced. He really did not want to go over this conversation again, since his companion had been giving him rather friendly advice from the moment they had stepped out of the jewelry store 15 minutes ago. His day was starting just perfect fucking-tastic, and to make things worse, Grimmjow just kept on rambling.

"I mean seriously, Ren. You don't go and choose a rabbit-shaped diamond for an engagement ring! It doesn't matter how much that midget loves bunnies; it's not something you're supposed to give out for an occasion of this level!"

Okay the advice was getting out of hand and Renji would have nothing of it. Sure he may have screwed up - maybe; he still thought it was a good idea - but it wasn't like he had actually bought the ring yet. He'd only taken the blue-haired freak to ask for an opinion on his choice, and look at how it had ended. Now they were late, and the bastard wouldn't shut up.

"Okay, okay I get it! Maybe I fucked up-"

He gave an even harder glare when he noticed the blunet actually gave him a face that clearly read "No, really," and couldn't help the slight burning sensation he felt in his heart when he thought of just how stupid the idea really was - even if just for a second. Perhaps he shouldn't be taking all his frustrations out on Grimmjow.

"... But you don't have to rub it in my face! It's not like you were much help anyway!"

This succeeded in flustering the other - even if just a tiny bit. Grimmjow's eyes widened ever so slightly, wavering on his next step as he walked side-by-side with the redhead, inwardly cringing as he thought of how true that was but refusing to admit it.

"W-well, I bet I could do a better job than you; that's for sure."

He heard a snort and could already see the indiscreet roll of eyes the redhead made upon his comment. He could tell Renji did not believe a word he said, even if it would most likely have been true. Grimmjow, however, really didn't want to lose –he hated doing so- and as such, decided to take a shot using his only good excuse since he wanted to get rid of the current topic since they had other things to worry about.

"'Sides, I'm gay. I won't ever need to do such useless crap, so who cares."

"You know being gay doesn't give you a safe ticket out of marriage. You might find some hot guy you won't ever want to live without and just might marry someday."

The blunet snorted this time, completely unamused by the current topic of conversation, but not really caring either way. So instead of pulling a fit, he turned to the redhead - still staying wary of the traffic light that could turn red any second now and allow them to cross.

"Look. It's not that I don't want to get married or anything like that. It's just harder to find that perfect someone, you know? Being gay and all sort of limits your options and most of the guys don't even want to get serious -at least none of whom I've dated up to now."

"All your previous dates have been nothing but crap, Grimm."

This time, Grimmjow didn't bother to correct the redhead, sullenly acknowledging the fact that what Renji had said was true. So what? He just hadn't had the right luck. That was the only reason for his current status as a single man. But what did it matter? It wasn't as if he was actually looking for someone to fuck for life.

At least, not yet.

The two men walked in silence from then on, Grimmjow plenty entertained by his own thoughts while Renji continued to fuss over the engagement ring. He really needed something Rukia would love, and choosing something he was 100% sure of was indeed hard.

All of a sudden, the two heard the distinct sound of a bubbly voice responding rather enthusiastically to a somewhat monotone voice, neither able to resist looking over to where the familiar voices were coming from. Their eyes widened when they saw a chattering Orihime, Uryuu doing his best to keep up, Nel frowning as she constantly glanced from her phone to the pair in front of her, and last but not least, an obviously exasperated Rukia, her arms crossed over a pair of barely-existing breasts.

Shit, this could get dangerous, and they were only about twenty-some minutes late. Renji's day just couldn't get any worse.

"Hey, Ren?"

Renji didn't want to take his eyes off his girlfriend, honestly thinking that the moment she came out of sight, she would attack. Even then, he didn't want to ignore the blunet, so he responded to the other with as little motion as he could manage.

"What?"

"Do you think she's mad at the both of us?"

The redhead sighed before glancing back at the still oblivious raven head, thinking how utterly impossible it would be for the both of them to come out unscathed from their terrible demise. He wanted to point the fact out accordingly, but was interrupted rather drastically when Rukia screamed her lungs out at the two, having been notified of their presence the moment Uryuu.

"Renji! Grimm! Where the hell have you two idiots been? Do you have any idea how worried we were?"

The two cringed, dreading the beating they were surely about to receive. More so because they had not only pissed Rukia off, but also because she had been worried, and that was so much worse than just an extremely annoyed midget.

"Renji, I think we're going to die."

The redhead only nodded silently, weighing his choices. He wondered if it would be smart to simply flee, but decided against it since he was sure Rukia would catch them sooner or later. Hence, he decided to man up and stand his ground, hardening his glare so that he wouldn't look as frightened as he truly was inside. Rukia hit hard for a midget.

Grimmjow glanced to look at the rest of their friends, wanting to punch the smile off Uryuu's satisfied face. It seemed he was rather amused by their current situation. Then he glanced at Orihime and Nel, who wore sympathetic expressions to obscure their barely contained laughter.

Grimmjow turned back to his redheaded friend when Renji jabbed at his ribs, and glared at the man for how he had chosen to gain his attention. That was when he noticed how pale the other was, and turning once again to the problem at hand, he immediately understood why.

As the blunet's eyes widened, Rukia launched herself into the air to deliver a flying kick. The two victims were just about ready to dodge when something black caught everyone's attention. Grimmjow cursed under his breath as he noticed the hooded figure walking right into the middle of their little brawl. Although he felt bad about the fact that the was about to get the kick of his life, he couldn't help but feel a little relieved that he himself would be able to avoid the beating to come.

What no one expected, however, was what happened next.

The coat-wearing intruder suddenly bent backwards to completely avoid the kick, making such a move with breath-taking ease and lightning-fast speed. He barely dodged the heel of Rukia's boot-clad foot before returning to his full height, right before the raven head landed with just as much speed as before. The stranger's hood, which had previously been obscuring his identity, slid off in the midst of chaos, drawing all eyes towards him.

Long strands of orange hair flowed freely onto a lean back, reaching down to brush the top jean-clad thighs. Large brown eyes held undeniable bursts of fierce determination, but at the same time carried such untainted innocence as they stared straight into equally wide, violet eyes of a certain raven-haired midget.

A sharp intake of breath came from full, pale lips that should have had a more tan-like coloration as Rukia finally recognized the figure before them. She embraced him in a bear hug, startling the orange-head to a completely new level with the overwhelming gesture.

"Ichigo…"

The petite raven head began to mutter incoherently, her words muffled and barely audible thanks to the black coat she currently had her face buried in.

As those words were spoken, the orange head, now known as Ichigo, glanced down to look at the woman that he had thought was insane just mere seconds ago - for hugging some stranger like himself. But now that his brain had finally caught up, he was able to recognize the familiar faces around him that he hadn't truly identified up until now. His expression quickly morphed from one of surprise to one of pure delight as he took to returning Rukia's hug with equal force - if not more.

"Rukia? Oh, my God, it's all you guys!"

This seemed to ascertain the uncertain and made Orihime join Rukia in her oh, my God, I can't believe it's you hug, both of them desperately grabbing onto Ichigo's coat as if he would suddenly disappear if they didn't do so.

Upon seeing this, Ichigo gave a small yet sincere smile to try to ease their beating hearts, knowing that it was the least he could do after everything that had happened.

"C'mon you two; let Kurosaki breathe."

Uryuu decided then would be a good moment to intervene, seeing as the orange head was most likely feeling just how difficult it was to get air into his lungs.

Ichigo offered a small gesture of appreciation to the other, knowing that he must have noticed the problem and decided to help out instead of leaving him asphyxiate.

Uryuu only scoffed in response before walking up to give Ichigo a pat on the back that read: It's nice to see you. He didn't exactly want to be as openly enthusiastic about the reunion as the two girls were, but his expression clearly showed just how pleased he was to see Ichigo again.

"Hey, Ichigo, what-"

"AH!"

Upon the sudden yell, everyone turned to stare at the stupefied Renji. Until now, the redhead had been completely confused as to who the strange newcomer was since he had only been facing the orange head's back, but now that Rukia had actually called his name clearly enough to be heard, it had finally dawned on him who exactly this man was.

"It's Ichigo! Oh, man, I can't believe it!"

The redhead attacked the orange head, who, for the record, was not in the least bit flustered at the fact that he was suddenly being embraced in a manly hug or the fact that several people were now looking at them as if they were some kind of street performance - particularly a woman with wavy, sea-colored hair and a blunet whose face really couldn't make out because Renji was blocking his view.

"It's nice to see you too, Ren, but what are you guys doing in Tokyo?"

"That's not important right now! How've you been? What are you doing lately? Did everything go well in-"

"Sheesh, Renji, shut up for a goddamn second!"

The redhead turned to look at his forgotten friend, his eyes twinkling with happiness worthy of a kid on Christmas night as he desperately tried not to jump in place and look too childish in public - not that he cared anyway.

"But Grimm, Ichigo here is a childhood friend of mine, and all of us went to high school together, and we haven't seen him in, like, twelve years! Here, let me introduce you!"

Renji grabbed the blunet's arm to tug him into Ichigo's view, failing to realize that the stupid grin on his face was beginning to creep Grimmjow out.

"Ichigo, this is Grimmjow; he's a good friend of ours. Grimmjow, this is Ichigo; he's - well… I already told you what he is, so yeah."

When Grimmjow finally set sight on the man that had created such a fuss among his group of friends, making Renji act like more of a dimwit than usual, he couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat.

'Oh, my God, is this real?'

At long last, his sea-blue gaze settled on the majestic form before him. Brilliantly colored hair cascaded down to gently brush one heck of a firm ass. Breathtakingly wide chocolate brown eyes clearly displayed just how fierce the owner of said orbs was, but even then, they showed a spark of innocence that, in Grimmjow's opinion, should never ever be tainted. Full lips looked so kissable that he had to bring a hand up to his chin to make sure he wasn't drooling, and that oh-so-delectably tanned skin just brought goose bumps to his arms. The face that portrayed such internal and external beauty made him think that the orange head before him could be nothing less than God's perfection in the flesh.

"U-uh, hey, um… my full name is… Kurosaki Ichigo?"

And then that melodious voice made him want to shudder all over - before he realized he had just been spoken to. Grimmjow stepped forward to shake Ichigo's outstretched hand, and as he did so, his previously thoughtful - and most likely lustful - expression morphed into that of his usual cocky yet confident grin. A wide smirk graced his lips, trying to show his interest in the other as clearly as possible without looking like a complete freak.

"Name's Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. Nice to meet you."

The cocky, sexy smirk Grimmjow had given as he shook Ichigo's hand slightly unnerved him. He didn't really mind the… enthusiasm the man portrayed, but that didn't mean he felt any less uncomfortable.

It was as if he was being undressed by the piercing sea-blue eyes alone.

Not that he minded, really. The guy was hot… and sexy… and way, way sinful… not to mention those clearly defined abs that showed through the white t-shirt he was wearing… or those mouthwateringly blue eyes…

If he added any more to that list, he was positive it would just go on forever and he would look like a complete idiot staring into teal orbs for much too long, which just so happened to be what he had done. Fuck.

"L-likewise."

When Ichigo answered, he tried his best to hide the slightly flustered state he was in, not exactly loving the idea of openly displaying his inner feelings - the way he used to do in the past.

Grimmjow, on the other hand, was about ready to blurt out a blunt yet extremely cocky comment on how short Ichigo's response had been, but was cut short when he felt a giant pair of what he recognized as lethal weapons pressing into his side.

"Grimmy, you shouldn't hog the new guy; I want to meet him too!"

Upon Nel's exclamation, the blunet could do nothing but groan in disappointment. He wanted to do exactly what Nel didn't want him to do - hog the new guy. Maybe even snatching the orange head from the group of friends - that wouldn't be such a bad idea.

"Hello, Ichigo, My name is Nelliel Odelschwanck, but you can just call me Nel. I'm also Grimmjow's half-sister. It's nice to meet you!"

Ichigo gave a small but kind smile in return, liking the easy-going woman even if she was a little bit overwhelming at times. It actually sort of reminded him of Orihime.

"It's nice to meet you as well."

"What's with the difference in response? Don't I get the same treatment?"

Grimmjow was about ready to pout and stomp his foot on the ground, deciding against it only because he knew how childish and stupid that would look. It wasn't fair that Nel had received a better response than he had. This was some serious shit that he would not allow because his interest in the orange-haired being was just about ready to skyrocket into space.

On the other hand, Ichigo was internally sputtering in a terrible fluster. Damn, this guy just had to make him feel like a high school girl with her very first crush. But of course, his outward appearance was a whole different story.

He raised a perfectly orange eyebrow, his expression completely neutral, years and years of acting practice portraying the man as completely composed. No one even suspected that it was all fake.

"I didn't take you for someone that enjoyed unnecessary chatter."

Man, the orange head had to be illegal. How could he wear such an indifferent expression when Grimmjow himself was about ready to attack the other and never let him leave his bed? Was the perfectly brown-eyed being completely unaffected by his sexy, sexy smile?

Grimmjow was about to make a retort, liking the idea of ignoring his friends - who looked just about ready to interrupt since apparently, he was now really hogging the orange head.

Well, ask him if he cared.

"This is all nice and everything with the introductions, but you haven't answered my question, Ichigo."

The sound of Renji's annoying voice resounded behind them and the two men turned to look at the redhead - both with completely different expressions on their faces. Grimmjow wore one of absolute annoyance, while Ichigo wore one that could be described as confusion, or even apprehension.

"Which question? You asked more than one."

"All of them, idiot! I think Renji, Orihime, Uryuu and I all deserve answers."

Ichigo flinched at Rukia's yell-slash-statement, the act barely visible because it had been extremely well concealed. In fact, the gesture went unnoticed by all except an overly observant Uryuu and an obviously infatuated Grimmjow.

"Well… okay. I can give answers, just-"

Beep Beep, Beep Beep.

The sudden noise startled everyone, forcing them to look around for its source. They were all quite caught up in trying to find out whose phone was ringing, but it took them by surprise when Ichigo shifted in his place to reach into all of his many pockets. Finally finding the object of discussion and fishing it out, Ichigo revealed a black touchscreen cell-phone. It looked relatively new.

Ichigo was already checking the caller ID by the time everyone else noticed the act. Several eyebrows raised in confusion when he winced upon recognizing the name.

He swiped the screen with his index and raised the phone to a position relatively near his ear, but not exactly on it. His expression quickly morphed into a scowl - an expression extremely familiar to the majority - as he barked out to the one on the other side of the phone call.

"What."

"OI, DICKHEAD! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HERE TWO HOURS AGO!"

The outburst shocked everyone except Ichigo - who only looked mildly irritated as he raised the phone closer to his ear when responding.

"I said I wouldn't be coming back until later. I never said when."

The action seemed almost automatic as the orange head pulled the phone away from his ear, wanting to avoid serious ear damage.

"YOU CAN'T JUST GO OUT LIKE THAT WHENEVER YOU GODDAMN PLEASE! THIS IS WORK, NOT SOME CHEAP HOBBY! GET YOUR PESKY LITTLE ASS OV-!"

The scream suddenly halted, muffled noises emitting from the phone as a satisfied smile stretched across Ichigo's face. It was obvious that he had been expecting the sudden change in conversation.

"Why, hello there, Kurosaki-san~!"

Upon hearing the cheery voice on the other side of the line, Ichigo brought the phone closer to his ear. It seemed he knew that another outburst and fit of yelling would be most unlikely.

"Yo, Urahara. What's this about me being late?"

This time the response wasn't loud enough for the group to hear, so they took to standing off to the side, clearly interested in the orange head and the sudden call. They couldn't make anything out, but if the scowl on Ichigo's face was anything to go by, it wasn't anything.

Ichigo gave a huge, aggravated sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose, obviously exasperated by the conversation. He switched the phone from his right ear to his left while raising a hand to grab his long strands of hair, bringing them forward so that they would fall on the right side of his chest.

"Slow down and explain. What the hell happened?"

The suddenly serious tone that Ichigo used surprised the group, who'd been staring at him as emotions varying from anger to reluctance flickered across the orange head's face. Ichigo looked just about ready to throw the phone at the ground, definitely displeased by whatever was being said on the phone.

"Wait, what?"

This time, chocolate-colored eyes widened to the size of saucers, looking about shocked as possible as he retracted the phone from his ear to look at the screen, only to look even more horrified - if that was even possible.

"THAT'S, LIKE, IN TEN MINUTES!"

Ichigo seemed about ready to panic, but Grimmjow was more than a little amused. It was cute that the orange head was constantly changing expressions, fussing over something they really couldn't hear.

"Sorry, Ichi-chan~!"

The sentence was clearly audible, but it was the last thing that was said before the line went dead. Ichigo dropped his hand from his ear to glare at the innocent phone, stuffing it back into his pocket before he threw his waist-length orange locks back into place.

"Che, stupid Geta-Bōshi."

He was annoyed; that much was obvious, but as Ichigo turned to look at the group of five, his expression quickly turned from a scowl to an apologetic frown. He brought a hand up to sheepishly rub against the back of his head.

"Sorry, guys, but I really gotta go or else I'll be really late. But I promise we'll talk about this later."

This seemed to dishearten the group, all wanting the orange head to stay even if it there were different reasons behind each. None were able to voice their displeasure, however, because Ichigo quickly turned on his heel to run off into a new direction. He really would have done so if it hadn't been for a certain raven-haired midget, who grabbed his coat at the last moment.

"Hey, wait up a second! You can't just leave like that! Where will we find you again?"

The newly presented variable reminded him of how absolutely right she was, but unfortunately, he didn't have time to make new plans. Hence, Ichigo did the first thing that came to mind: he reached into his various pockets and fishing out the small white envelope he'd been given this morning.

"Aha!"

The sudden exclamation startled the group, but Ichigo simply thrust the envelope into Rukia's hands.

"Here. If you guys have time to come, meet me there. I, uh… work there, so when the show's over, go backstage and we'll talk. Bye!"

And with that last statement, the orange head ran off without a second glance for the group he'd left behind. The stupefied friends glanced from Rukia's envelope-holding hands to where Ichigo had been standing just a moment ago.

"Did Kurosaki just… leave?"

"… Yeah… he did."

"I am so gonna murder that strawberry."

"Oh, oh, me too, Rukia-chan."

"Hime, why would you do that?"

"Because it sounds like fun, Uryuu, and maybe that way Kurosaki won't leave like that again."

"I'm obligated to feel sorry for him… even though I just met the guy. What do you think, Grimm?"

Everyone turned to look at the blunet who'd been silent since the moment Renji interrupted his little chat, the four finally noticing the smug smirk on his face that just screamed danger.

"Well... I think the berry has a nice ass."

"Grimm!"

"What?"

To be continued…

Hi and thank you for reading this fanfiction that I just so happen to feel is one of the best of my works. I have a special thanks for my beta reader Oneiric Desideria that I just know is responsible for the improvement in the writing and I hope we can keep on working together, Love ya!

I would also like to announce the fact that this fanfiction -in contrast to my others- is going to be updated periodically every two weeks on Tuesday so look forward to it!

Once again Thanks for your read/review/favorite or follow and I hope you liked this new hectic story.

Preview:

"Ichigo we're speaking the truth, we're not with those guys we-"

"Oh, yeah, and how the hell will you prove that, huh? You can't, and that's all I'm not letting you take me away; the others couldn't, so what makes you think you'll succeed? Bitch!"