COLD INTERFACE

Epilogue

The country was in an absolute shitstorm. With The Factory burned down and the government's best battalion slaughtered, a mist of anarchy raised from the ground. It spread over the country slowly at first, and then like wildfire. The country had always been impoverished and shitty, but now it truly had no laws.

The Kuchiki domain was a sanctuary. Rukia, belonging to the noble clan, was now home. And Grimmjow, upon Rukia's demands, was permitted sanctuary.

The Kuchiki clan was working toward reclaiming rule over the country. It was hard with bandits, gangs, and poverty. But Rukia was invited to help provide point of view for the every day person. She was the diplomat between the ruling class and the people.

Grimmjow mostly spent his time alone, working out or sleeping. He watched Rukia come and go. She moved so busily and surely, but Grimmjow saw her cracking. Her stomach wound may have healed, but Ichigo had cut a piece of her heart out as well. And that would never heal. The loss of her friend on top of added political pressure was wearing down on her.

"Sorry, I won't be able to eat dinner tonight. There's a briefing-" Rukia was stopped mid-sentence.

"Rukia. You can't keep going on like this, pretending everything is fucking okay. Like nothing happened." Grimmjow wiped the sweat from his neck with his hand towel and abandoned his weight rack to approach her. "I'm not saying you need to be a pussy and blubber all over me. But stop acting like you're okay."

"What do you want me to do, Grimmjow?" she asked him, the curl in her lip deepening into a frown. Her eyes were bloodshot, and dark circles hung under each. "Maybe stop giving a fuck about the country that doesn't give a fuck about you for a second. Ever since we got here, you've been stressing about this political bullshit. Fuck them. Fuck the entire country."

The small woman's eyes furrowed in frustration. "It's not that simple." She knew her moral compass was better-tuned than Grimmjow, but asking her to abandon millions of people was a bit much.

"Just leave with me. We can make it on our own. I can sneak us out of the border. There's a better life for us out there. But this? This is shit," he told her, folding his arms. His muscles bulged, something Rukia was always starkly aware of.

Her eyes took on an impartial glint. "You're free to leave, Grimmjow. But I'm not going anywhere. If you want a better life, I won't fault you for leaving."

Teeth grit, Grimmjow stormed toward her. "That's bullshit and you know it! What, you want me to just leave you here? We part ways and say nice fuckin' knowin' ya?"

The impartiality melted as her anger matched his. Her fists balled up until white crescents were formed in the meat of her palm from her nails. "There are more Ichigos out there, you know! More Grimmjows and Hanataros! More innocent people getting caught up in things that they don't deserve. I couldn't protect Ichigo or Hanataro. But I'm going to do something about the future. And you asking me to give up on that dream is selfish, and you know it."

"Selfish," he told her lowly. He raised his eyebrows and stared impassively. With a few more steps toward her, the distance was immediately narrowed. He towered over her. "You're right. I am selfish." With one quick motion, his hands cupped her face firmly, and he brought his lips to her own. It wasn't a romantic kiss, however, and if she resisted, he would pull away. But she didn't fight it, and so he shoved his tongue into her mouth to taste her.

With confident footwork, he backed her up against the wall and kept his lips moving against hers. "You're not going to that briefing," he told her in between kisses. "You're spending the night with your boyfriend, who will stop riding your ass about leaving this dump if you agree to spend time with me."

Rukia stared up at him, her face flushed. She enjoyed seeing this side of Grimmjow. Most of the time, he was a hardass who never let anyone inside. And...boyfriend? Had she heard that correctly? "Okay," she agreed, allowing his hands to roam her body.

Rukia lay next to her blue-haired counterpart, her head in the crook of his inner shoulder. They stared up at the ceiling together, naked and completely comfortable. "I'm not only doing this just to help the country. We owe Ichigo this." She glanced over at him. "You knew him even better than I did. For a man like him to turn violent and psychotic... What could they have done to him? The torture, the abuse... I won't let that go."

"Neither will I," Grimmjow agreed.

"Apparently, Gin was apprehended by my brother's men yesterday. I requested we be allowed to see him before they execute him.

Grimmjow's eyes narrowed.

Blood leaked from under Gin Ichimaru's eye. He sat strapped to a folding chair, hunched forward. His bangs shadowed most of his face, but that didn't stop Grimmjow from driving a hard punch into his face yet again. "You fucked up, Ichimaru. You fucked with the wrong trio. And now I'm going to make you beg for your execution to come."

Ichimaru sifted in and out of consciousness. "You know, Kurosaki begged for an execution too after what we did to him. He was hard to break. But every man has a breaking point."

"Oh yeah?" Grimmjow asked with a smirk. "Let's fuckin' find yours, then."

Six Years Later

"Mommy, sister hit me with a spoon!" yelled a small boy with short, raven hair. He clung to Rukia's leg tightly.

"Stop being a wussy! You always gotta cry to mom!" came a shout from a little girl. Her long, aquamarine hair billowed over her shoulders. She grinned devilishly at her brother.

"Mommy is busy, okay? Ask your dad to figure it out." Rukia looked around. "Grimmjow!" she yelled, putting in her earrings and searching for her husband. She wore a business formal skirt suit with shiny black heels.

"Eh? Hey, don't be mean to your brother. He's delicate," Grimmjow said as he entered the room, grinning at his daughter and winking. He straightened his tie and went over to pat the boy's head. "You guys all ready to see mommy's coronation?"

"Yeah!" the twins yelled in unison.

Rukia laughed as Grimmjow planted a kiss directly on her lips, grabbing her by the waist firmly.

"Yuck, dad!"

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Better late than never lol? Sorry. Here is the epilogue. It is very low quality and rushed, but I figured a shitty epilogue was better than no epilogue. Enjoy!