Salutations! This fic is something I've been working on for a while now. I really enjoy writing for this, as it is light-hearted and it takes my mind off of things that stress me out. In honor of the bae's birthday, I'd like to share this with you all. I hope you can find it enjoyable.

I essentially wrote this fic because I wanted Grimmjow to sing this song; the rest of the plot came from literally nowhere xD Part of this first chapter was written by my good friend BlueRegina06, whom I adore. She's great, and I'd like to thank her for all her help. With that said, here is the first chapter of L-O-V-E ^_^

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or the characters therein, nor do I own any of the song lyrics that will be used throughout this fic.

Chapter One: L is for the way you look at me. . .

By: Nat King Cole

Inhaling the scent of his piping hot chamomile tea, the orange-haired male shut his deep brown eyes in revery. After a long day at his office, there was nothing better than a visit to the local coffee shop, Spirit. Here he was free from the stuffy partners he was forced to be in meetings with constantly, the groveling paralegals and sniveling interns. He chuckled to himself; boy if college him could see now-him. Talk about a hypothetical hissy-fit. He sipped his tea carefully as he shut his phone off to ensure that he'd be free from his nagging junior partner, Rukia, for the next hour and a half. He loved the woman like a sister, but she could drive Satan himself up the wall with her nagging. Tonight was one of his favorite nights after all, and he didn't want to miss a thing.

One of the attractions of Spirit was that it housed as its employees some of the most talented singers and musicians in the whole city. The owner of the shop granted them access to instruments and an audience in exchange for their work. Every night, one of the employees got to show off their talent for their whole shift. That was the exciting part though; every single person employed by Spirit had to be miraculously gifted, so there wasn't a chance of a bad performance. Ichigo remembered the first time he saw one of the waitresses, Orihime, perform Toni Braxton's Un-Break My Heart. He had tears in his eyes by the time she finished. Last he heard, Orihime had gotten a record deal and was on her way to becoming a star. He was glad; she deserved it.

Tonight's performance was to be by one of the new waiters. Ichigo was good friends with the owner, Sosuke Aizen, and he'd informed the orange-haired attorney that he'd be in for a treat. Ichigo called for a waitress to bring him another cup of tea as a large blue haired male that he'd never seen before walked by. He was captivating to say the least, with his over-six-foot frame drenched in perfect, slightly-tanned skin and accentuated by gorgeously sculpted muscles that were not hidden by the standard black Spirit employee t-shirt. The man's hair was a standout feature - much like Ichigo's own - being a bright and beautiful sky blue color and styled in the likeness of the lead singer of the band La Roux. Ichigo hadn't ever seen anyone like the man before in his life, and so he was absolutely enthralled as the man sat down at the piano, situating the mic so that it was near his full lips. His electric blue eyes scanned the room as he gave a lopsided grin before speaking,

"How's everyone doing tonight?"

Ichigo nearly choked on a sip of tea. The man's voice was as heart-stopping - if not more so - as he was himself. The orange-haired male could've sworn he heard panties dropping all over the room as the man on stage continued to speak.

"Name's Grimmjow, and I'm a little new here, so be nice to me, yeah?"

A nice round of applause cascaded around the room as the man - Grimmjow - began to play a few soft notes on the piano. It was a familiar tune, and Ichigo found himself smiling as the blue-haired male began to sing.

"L is for the way you look at me; O is for the only one I see; V is very, very extraordinary; E is even more than anyone that you adore. . ."

Ichigo slid his phone out of his pocket and turned it on, ignoring messages from Rukia and his annoying best friend Shinji. He turned on the camera and began to record as Grimmjow kept singing, his gorgeous blue eyes shut as he sang the song in his beautiful smooth voice,

"And love is all that I can give to you; love is more than just a game for two; two in love can make it, take my heart and please don't break it; love was made for me and you. . ."

The blue-haired male's eyes slid open as he finished the verse, seemingly locking right with Ichigo's phone camera. For a moment, Ichigo thought he'd be upset, but he just smiled brightly and winked as he played the riff of the song's chorus on the piano before finishing with a nod to the audience. Applause broke out around the room, Ichigo himself being among the loudest, and Grimmjow stood from the piano's seat, giving a proper bow before stepping down from the stage and accepting a high-five and a bottle of water from one of the waitresses. Ichigo was putting his phone away when he felt a presence across from him. He looked up, meeting smiling blue eyes with his own brown ones.

"I didn't know the patrons were allowed to record performances. I would've done something with my hair if I had."

Ichigo couldn't keep a hint of a blush from forming on his cheeks and at the tips of his ears. Grimmjow noticed this and he chuckled a bit, causing Ichigo to frown.

"Wow, you sure are hilarious!" he said in a fake cheery tone. His smile immediately disappeared afterwards. "You should definitely stick to singing though."

Grimmjow steepled the fingers of his right hand against his chest and drew his upper body backwards, looking highly offended. Ichigo couldn't help but to laugh at the gesture.

"I'll have you know I was voted class clown for three years in a row in high school, sir."

"Oh yeah? Well, I'll chalk that up to impressionable young minds."

"Aw, you can't cut me a little slack? I just finished my first performance," the man said, giving Ichigo the best set of puppy eyes he'd ever seen.

Defeat. Utter defeat. Damn me. I am so weak when blue eyes look at me. "Alright, I will," Ichigo sighed and scratched his chin, "Now you should drink something hot for your throat. Cater to your voice."

A very charming smile spread on the blue-haired man's gorgeous face and he glanced over his shoulder. "Riruka, sweetie, could you get me a cinnamon tea, no sugar, please?" he said to the short and very slim waitress with the red hair, styled in symmetrical pigtails, who happened to pass by them at that moment.

Her red eyebrows furrowed, forming an angry crease in between and the woman sneered. "Don't call me sweetie."

"But you'll get me my tea, huh?" the blue-haired man smiled brightly at her and she rolled her eyes.

"Fine," she huffed, "just don't take too long."

"Sure, sure," he chirped and pulled the free chair on Ichigo's table, taking a seat oh so very casually. Blue eyes locked with surprised brown. "You mind?"

Ichigo blinked at the other man, caught entirely too off-guard by his blunt antics, but in the end, he simply sighed and shrugged. "Well you already sat your butt down. Although I didn't know the staff was allowed to sit with the patrons."

"You recorded my performance without my permission," the blunet winked and put his elbow on the table, propping his chin on his palm, "Eye for an eye."

Ichigo couldn't help but smile. The guy was smart, he had to acknowledge that. But not out loud. He sipped from his drink, eyeing the man sitting next to him carefully; Grimmjow was more attractive up close. His eyes were far more lively, his nose sharp and pointy, his jaws just as sharp. Brown eyes slid to the thick neck and the broad, strong-looking shoulders, then towards that chiseled chest that looked strong enough to tear apart the tight staff shirt. Check, check, check. More like a thousand checks. Shit, the man was so fine.

"So, you like what you see?"

At the sound of that gravelly voice, brown eyes snapped up to the man's face and locked with laughing blue. Hoo, talk about getting caught red-handed. Ichigo felt like a huge idiot for blatantly staring for so long. As a matter of fact, the back of his neck heated up as he placed his mug back on the wooden table, crossing his arms over his chest. "Hmm," he hummed with confidence he didn't feel, "Maybe yes, maybe no. I haven't decided yet."

Grimmjow's husky laughter tickled Ichigo's ears pleasantly, relaxing his tense shoulders. "I like you," the blue-haired man chuckled, shaking his head in amusement, "I don't know many people who keep calm under my relentless teasing."

"Nah, I'm not normally like that," Ichigo shrugged and pushed his sleeve away to glance at his watch. "It's four pm," he nodded, a small smirk lifting his lips at Grimmjow's baffled expression, "It's the time I come up the witty remarks."

The blue-haired man blinked a couple of times before he tipped his head backwards and busted out laughing, his throaty laughter loud enough to make a couple of heads turn their way. Ichigo didn't mind, he didn't mind at all. He just kept staring at the blue-haired man and smiling in amusement.

"Good one!" the blunet chuckled after the big fit was over, "Really good one."

"Like I said; it's four pm."

"And what do you do at five?"

Ichigo shrugged nonchalantly. "Dunno." Then he smirked and blinked at the other a little flirtatiously. "You can always stick around to find out by then."

One blue eyebrow rose and so did the edges of Grimmjow's mouth. "I'd like that," he murmured, his eyes lingering on Ichigo's face before he averted his gaze and leaned back on his chair. "So," he started again, crossing his arms in front of his broad chest, "I didn't exactly catch your name. Care to let me know?"

Ichigo traced the rim of his cup with his index and bit his lower lip. Was the gorgeous blue-haired man flirting with him as well? That was great. It felt really good and a little nostalgic because Ichigo had been so busy lately he had almost forgotten how sex and flirting were done.

Sex? Did he just think about sex?

"My name is Ichigo," he said, "Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Excuse me," Riruka interrupted them, just when Grimmjow had opened his mouth to say something. She dropped Grimmjow's order in front of the man, spilling some of its contents. Well, the girl definitely didn't look very happy. "Your tea, mister."

However, Grimmjow didn't get mad. He instead picked up a napkin and started wiping the spilled tea from the surface. "Riruka, darling, be nice in front of the customers," he grinned at her charmingly but she ignored him and stormed off. The blunet chuckled and shook his head, twirling his tea with the spoon, "This girl hates me."

Ichigo's eyes lingered on the other's fingers. The same fingers that had so sweetly caressed the piano before. Wow, they were so. . .pretty. They were slim and elegant, long too. Ichigo's thoughts started drifting towards the naughty areas, as in how Grimmjow's fingers would feel on his skin, on his face, on his. . .but he caught himself before he started drooling. "Clearly," he said instead in amusement, "But why?"

"Beats me," Grimmjow shrugged, clearly not giving a shit. He looked up at Ichigo with a small smile. "What I was going to say before she interrupted," he added, ". . .is that you have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen, Ichigo."

That actually shocked the orange-haired man. It shocked him enough to rise both of his eyebrows to his hairline. Him? But his eyes were a boring, common brown! "Says the guy with the blue eyes."

"Blue eyes are just a recessive gene. That's the only special thing about them," he said, taking a sip from his tea, "But brown eyes are so versatile, they change with the sun, the weather, with what you wear. Not all of them though."

Intrigued, Ichigo placed his elbows on the table and gave the blunet his undivided attention. "So what's the deal with mine?"

"They're incredibly expressive." His voice was soft, almost dreamy, his eyes endless, calm oceans. "There's nothing more beautiful than that."

"Oh," Ichigo muttered and averted his gaze while a small blush found its way to his cheeks again. The blue-haired man's compliment had taken him aback. It made his heart race. No one had ever told him something like that before. "That's. . ." he stuttered. "That's really nice of you. Thanks."

"You're welcome," the other smiled and winked saucily. "So, you're not interested in learning my name? Or were you paying attention when I introduced myself on stage?"

Ichigo wasn't sure whether he wanted to play hard to get and pretend as if he didn't know the man's name or simply show that he had indeed paid attention. He wanted Grimmjow to know that he was interested but on the other hand, he didn't want to appear too desperate. So he decided to do something. . .sneaky. "What do you want to hear?" he asked.

Grimmjow smiled at him and his beautiful fingers teased the cup's handle. "I wanna hear. . ." He trailed off and licked his top lip, thinking. But in the end, he simply fixed his stare right on Ichigo, arresting the poor man's heart. "I wanna hear that you paid attention."

"Well then," Ichigo breathed, trying not to show how breathless Grimmjow's eyes had just left him, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Grimmjow."

A big grin broke the other's face into two. God, he looked so happy and adorable it made Ichigo's stomach quiver. Ichigo just wanted to kiss him. "The pleasure is all mine, Ichigo," he said with his sweet voice, "You come here often?"

"Well, as often as my work allows me," Ichigo sighed, a little bit of work stress returning to him, but not enough. Grimmjow's eyebrows rose in genuine interest.

"And if I may ask, what do you do for a living?"

"I'm a divorce attorney."

"Oh," Grimmjow nodded. He looked impressed. "That sounds kinda stressful."

Ichigo chuckled nervously. "Very stressful. So let's talk about something else. Like you, for example; you started working here lately?"

"Uh, yeah," Grimmjow said, sipping from his tea, "I got a student loan to pay and, well, I gotta work. "

"Sounds tough," Ichigo gave the man a sympathetic smile, "What are you studying?"

"Music of course," the blunet said with the biggest of grins on his face, his blue eyes sparkling, "That's why I came to work here."

It was so incredible to see people passionate about what they were doing. Ichigo rarely saw that anymore. It restored a little bit of his lost faith in humanity. It made him smile. And he flashed a genuine smile for the blue-haired man. "I think it is a great choice. Because you're pretty good at it, if you want my honest opinion."

Grimmjow averted his gaze and scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Oh shut up, you."

Ichigo chuckled in amusement. "When someone deserves a praise, I give it," he said.

"Thanks, I guess."

"So, Grimmjow," Ichigo sighed heavily and put his mug down, his eyes straying to the watch on his wrist. Break time over. "As much as I'd love to sit here and talk to you, I have to go back to work soon."

The handsome face in front of him fell, gorgeous blue eyes filling with disappointment. "Aw c'mon, already?"

"Yup," he huffed and fished his wallet out of his pocket. He wasn't happy to go back to work either. But what he was unhappy about for the most was that he had to part with the handsome young man, who, most likely, he would never see again. He didn't know when he would have enough free time to come visit Spirit again...

When Ichigo was about to retrieve some money from his wallet, a large, elegant hand stopped him by touching his own. Brown eyes glanced up and met with lively blue. "Nu-uh, pretty boy," Grimmjow denied, shaking his head, "My treat."

"No way," was Ichigo's immediate response, his infamous scowl surfacing.

"Hush, don't get mad," Grimmjow smirked at him, "You'll treat me next time."

N-Next time? Grimmjow wanted another time? Hold up, hold up. . .the man didn't say that. . . "When you say next time, you mean. . .?"

"I mean a date, Ichigo," Grimmjow stated, blue eyes dancing with mirth, "Gimme your phone."

"My phone?"

"I wanna type my number so you can call me any time you want and ask me out." Grimmjow beckoned with his finger, his face growing impatient. "Gimme your phone."

Unable to react properly towards the situation, Ichigo simply switched on his phone and handed it to the blue-haired man who confidently took it in his hands and started typing something really fast on the screen. Before Ichigo could even blink, it was over. "Here you go," he chirped and stood up from the chair. To his utter surprise, Grimmjow cupped his face and before Ichigo could react, a pair of soft lips briefly met his own. It was only for a moment. It was so brief, so short. But it left Ichigo breathless.

"Can't wait for your phone call, ginger," whispered the little imp with a smirk before he pulled away and skidded away to the back of the store, leaving Ichigo with his mouth hanging open and his breath stuck in his throat.

The orange-haired man stayed like this for a couple of moments until his brain restarted its function and a shaky sigh left his lips. Brown eyes glanced down at the phone, the screen blinking back to him "Grimmjow Jacks." and a couple of numbers underneath. Holy shit. Holy shit, I got myself a date. A hot date for that matter. Holy shit. The smirk was quick on his face, almost instant.

Who said busy men couldn't get dates?

But something was nagging at the back of Ichigo's mind. Something very, very important...

What the hell is that? he thought. And then his phone was ringing, and he pulled it from his pocket, looking down at the screen.

He froze then, wanting nothing more than to melt into a puddle of nothingness. He'd indeed forgotten something. Or someone to be precise.

"Hey you," he answered with a strained smile.

"Hello, Ichigo. I've confirmed our reservation for tonight." An orange eyebrow slid upwards as Ichigo made his way down the sidewalk.

"Reservation? Why?"

"Because we're having dinner tonight. We've been planning this dinner for two weeks." Ichigo frowned as he waited for the light that would allow him to cross the street safely.

"I suppose I forgot. I'm sorry, but I just got slammed with this huge ass case today, and I don't think -"

"Don't worry about it. I'll see you at home."

The man on the other end of the line hung up well before Ichigo could formulate a response. He looked at his phone as he crossed the street, letting out a sigh as he headed for his office.