When Ichigo finally managed to escape from school, he very quickly found that it wasn't just lectures that were crawling by. To his immense frustration, it felt like everyone in the city was on the road, and although he logically knew that he was more or less making the usual time in getting home, it felt like he was being stopped every few metres.

It was with a heavy, aggressive hand that he wrenched on his parking brake and slammed his car door shut once he finally got home, road rage and Grimmjow already setting his blood to boil as he stomped up to his apartment. Finding the door unlocked was the final straw and Ichigo grit his teeth and slammed his way inside, glaring at where Grimmjow appeared from the kitchen.

"Can you people stop fucking breaking into my apartment?" Ichigo snarled, dropping his stuff on the ground and kicking the door closed behind him.

Grimmjow just shrugged lazily, leaning against the kitchen door frame and looking Ichigo up and down with a smirk. "Getter better locks, then."

Deciding that it wasn't worth engaging, Ichigo rolled his eyes and sighed. He tracked Grimmjow as the man walked towards him, unmoving until Grimmjow was right up in his personal space. When the man leant forward with obvious intent, his hand reaching out to curl around the back of Ichigo's neck, the redhead quickly ducked under and out of the way.

He didn't look back as he walked away from Grimmjow, moving into the living room with his head held high. He'd calmed himself enough to be thinking rationally, but he was still impatient as he waited for Grimmjow to catch up with him. Grimmjow didn't seem at all bothered by his previous rejection, his walk easy as he wandered into the living room after Ichigo, his timing a little too perfectly uncaring.

"Well?" Ichigo asked, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the other man. Grimmjow flat-out ignored him and instead wandered over to Ichigo's couch, sprawling down on it with his legs spread obnoxiously wide.

"Ain't this where ya swoon at me or somethin'?" Grimmjow finally asked, his grin showing a few more teeth than was strictly necessary. Ichigo took a deep breath and fought back his instinct to lash out, knowing that they'd get nowhere if they both blew up like they usually did.

"I don't need you to protect me, Grimmjow." He made sure to keep his voice level, trying to get his point across without snapping; apparently his bedside manner had improved since the first time he'd met Grimmjow, because he was feeling awfully level-headed. Grimmjow seemed the faintest bit surprised by Ichigo's measured response but he covered it quickly, his antagonistic grin becoming something more predatory.

"Oh, I know," he drawled, one arm stretching along the back of the couch while the other dropped into his lap, the action drawing Ichigo's attention before he could snap his eyes back to Grimmjow's face. "I remember when we fought at my place, you got me real worked up."

Ichigo twitched, thinking back to the picture that had started all of that, the one that was saved in the depths of his phone. He wasn't even sure why he still had it, but the fact of the matter was that he did, and he remembered every moment of that day from snapping Grimmjow in the face to the hot, insistent mouth that had been on his own.

With a heavy sigh, Ichigo knew why he couldn't let go of Grimmjow like he had with everyone else, whether they were a one-night stand or a serious partner like Orihime had been. His relationship with Orihime had been steady and quiet, the kind of thing that could only last if both people were satisfied with mediocrity. They'd been good friends clinging to the idea that they could be more, but it was only now that Ichigo could really understand that.

Grimmjow made him angry, made him sad, made him so fucking frustrated that he felt like he could scream; but their every moment together was stamped in full colour through Ichigo's memory, and the good times lit a fire inside him that made him want to grin like a goddamn dork.

It wasn't enough for Ichigo to accept Grimmjow's asshole behaviours without reservations, but it was the kind of start that he didn't want to let slip through his fingers.

Walking over to the couch, Ichigo pushed Grimmjow's leg out of the way and sat down, positioning himself so that his back was against the arm of the couch and one leg was tucked underneath him. Grimmjow seemed to sense the sudden heavy atmosphere and straightened up a little, shifting so that he and Ichigo could more easily look at each other.

"What are we even doing?" Ichigo asked after a pregnant pause, his voice softer than he thought he would ever use with Grimmjow. The other man turned away slightly as he ran the question through his head and Ichigo found himself staring at the sharp lines of Grimmjow's profile, wondering when he'd missed the simmering sexual attraction becoming something he wanted to invest more in.

He'd spent so much time trying to hate Grimmjow that he'd missed just how much the man had done for him without even being asked. Repeated bouts with Tsukishima, looking after his concussion-addled ass, pushing the limits but never truly doing anything that Ichigo hadn't wanted; Grimmjow was a dick, that was absolutely certain, but he'd already proven himself to be nicer than he would ever admit to being.

Without his usual grin, Grimmjow's eyes looked heavy and clouded when he finally returned his gaze to Ichigo, and it struck him that there was so much about Grimmjow that he didn't know.

More than anything else at that moment, he wanted to learn.

"Grimmjow, I'm serious," Ichigo reiterated in the face of the other man's uncharacteristic silence. "Are we just dicking around with each other?"

"I broke your stalker's hand," Grimmjow suddenly hissed, turning his head to stare holes into Ichigo from straight-on. "Me and Nel took hours comin' up with something to make ya happy. I tracked him down when none of his little fuckin' friends were around and made sure no one saw me drillin' some sense into him. Does that sound like I'm dicking around with ya?"

The reminder honestly warmed Ichigo's heart, knowing that Grimmjow had gone so far just to apologise properly and win his favour back. It was enough to make him stretch out his leg, knocking his foot against Grimmjow's and maintaining the tiniest bit of contact between them. "If you're serious then I'm willing to try...something. But it's going to take a lot of work, and I need to know that you know that."

"I'm not gonna become some fuckin' perfect housewife." It was less of an accusation and more of a flat, factual statement, so Ichigo just shrugged.

"I don't want you to be. I just don't want you throwing me aside again, because that hurt. I'm not going through that again."

"Look," Grimmjow started before cutting himself off, running rough fingers through his hair and twitching his other hand towards his mouth like he could will a lit cigarette to appear there. "This ain't my jam. I fuck an' I leave, but you...I freaked out, okay? But I got some sense knocked into me an' I wanna try, even if I might just fuck up again."

It was a credit to Grimmjow's unflinching self-assurance that he didn't falter away from steady eye contact for even a second, and it was honestly that unwavering belief that sealed the deal for Ichigo. He was fully aware that it might not work at all, and they'd last all of a week before going their separate ways forever, but he didn't even really care.

For once, he just wanted to do something that he craved without worrying about possible consequences. If they fucked up, then they fucked up; but if they didn't…

Somehow, Ichigo knew that they had the chance to be something truly great.

"Okay."

"Okay?" Grimmjow echoed, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. Ichigo nodded, giving into the wide smile that was tugging insistently on his lips.

"Let's do it. Give 'us' a shot."

Grimmjow looked suspicious for a while longer until he slouched back, his lips lifting in a relaxed smirk. "Congrats on bein' the one to tie me down, then."

Although Ichigo knew what Grimmjow meant, he couldn't help the sudden mental image of that tall, well-built body spread out on a bed, smooth ropes holding his hands together and his legs open with his honestly fantastic cock hard and dripping. Combined with the elation he was feeling from finally working things out with Grimmjow, Ichigo suddenly just wanted to get his hands and lips onto the other man.

Their sexual compatibility had been well-proven, and Ichigo was sick of denying himself what he really wanted. Maybe it was going too fast, but it wasn't like this would be the first time; and now that he knew it wasn't going to be the last, Ichigo didn't feel bad about fluidly sliding up the couch until he was looming over Grimmjow. His knees bracketed Grimmjow's thighs and he rested his arms on Grimmjow's shoulders, feeling good about relaxing into the large hands that grabbed his hips.

"Are you into being tied down?" Ichigo murmured, leaning in to quickly peck Grimmjow's lips but pulling back before the other man could drag him into anything deeper. The hands on his hips ran up and down his sides before tightening up on his waist, pulling him closer so that his ass was positioned over Grimmjow's crotch.

"Not really," Grimmjow replied honestly, encouraging Ichigo to move his hips in tiny little circles that were just enough to fully pique his body's interest. "This is good, but."

"Alright then, no bondage. I want to get a hand down your pants, though."

Grimmjow gave him enough slack to shift back slightly, Ichigo running a hand down the other man's body and cupping Grimmjow's stiffening dick. When he went to undo Grimmjow's pants, though, steady fingers closed around his wrists and held him in place.

"You ain't just doin' this 'cause you think I'll bail otherwise, are ya?"

It was a simple question, but if Ichigo hadn't already been certain that he'd made the right decision then he'd be thoroughly convinced now. Letting Grimmjow keep a hold on his wrists, he leant forward and took Grimmjow's mouth with his own.

The kiss was deep, messy and a little frantic, but it seemed to be answer enough for Grimmjow and he let go of Ichigo's wrists, instead grabbing his face in his hands. Ichigo immediately went back to what he wanted to be doing, fumbling a little between their bodies as he pulled open Grimmjow's pants and fished out his hard cock from his underwear, still licking into Grimmjow's mouth.

The first one to pull away was Grimmjow, tipping his head back and letting out a quiet growl when Ichigo began to stroke him. He seemed more than happy to let Ichigo do all the work, simply just tangling a hand into Ichigo's hair when he began to nip and suck at his neck.

Feeling like his own pants were getting uncomfortably tight, Ichigo canted his hips forward and practically ripped his pants and underwear down, setting his own dick alongside Grimmjow's. Stretching his hand as far as he could around the both of them, precome smearing together in a very poor approximation of lube, Ichigo mostly just thrust in time with Grimmjow, enjoying the heat of their grinding.

He left a vibrant trail of marks along Grimmjow's skin and down to the neckline of his shirt, Grimmjow utterly content to rest his head back and let Ichigo do as he would. Most of his movement was confined to his hips, thrusting up against Ichigo's hand and cock with pleased little grunts.

Having Grimmjow so utterly pleased to be at his mercy was one of the hottest things he'd ever experienced, and Ichigo felt the tension in his groin start to break open. He let out a pleasured, mindless moan as he tensed up and came, splattering his hand with come and wincing slightly at the little bits of mess that made it onto Grimmjow's shirt.

Letting his soft, sticky cock fall away from his hand, Ichigo focused in on Grimmjow's dick alone and enjoyed the way it felt in his hand, looking forward to getting to learn every ridge and vein on it. Grimmjow's thrusts were becoming more erratic and forceful, and although he gave no warning when he began to come Ichigo could feel it starting, sinking his teeth into Grimmjow's shoulder and drawing a loud, ecstatic shout out of the man from the pleasure-pain.

The mess on Grimmjow's shirt increased, only getting worse when Ichigo clutched at the material with his filthy hand and slumped forward, taking Grimmjow's lips again in a far more lazy, relaxed kiss than before.

"Do you think we can do this?" He asked once the kiss broke, propping himself up with both the couch and Grimmjow's rather relaxed body. The taller man just grunted at him, but Ichigo couldn't say he particularly minded. Their relationship wasn't going to be sappy romance and constant talking, because neither of them would ever want something like that.

They would fight. They would probably 'break up' more than once, especially while they were still young and hot-headed. If they even managed to make it past their first month it would be a goddamn miracle, and that was before they even tried to tackle the problem of Grimmjow and Renji inevitably crossing paths.

But they were more than willing to try and they both knew that if, by some absolute fluke of fate, they managed to make it work?

Then nothing else could ever come close to what they would have.