When Grimmjow finally gave in to Nell's (nagging) careful advise, the first thing he noticed was how different a route they were taking compared to the time he brought Ichigo in. That time, the large tank had been right there along the many others in the main lab; now, after two flights of stairs down into a secret basement he was not aware some of the science buildings had, he became, dare say, worried.
Where exactly was Nell taking him???
And then they stopped, and the space of the room they stopped in was cut in half compared to the ones past; by a wall-long glass with endless water. "You... moved him here?" He blurted out, coughing right after to mask the alarm that escaped his tone.
"I did say he was bigger, didn't I?" Was Nell's single, matter-of-fact answer. She'd clearly left out a few context clues, and it gave Grimmjow the impression that he should probably be offended by it, but then Nell announced the procedure to go in and personally greet the mer and it all washed off his mind; getting lost in the damning expanse of blue before him and tightening his jaw to keep his mind from running wild.
Nell left the room entirely after she'd prepared the ladder, and that alone got him more jittery about this whole thing. But he huffed out his nose once, and climbed without a second thought, kneeling before the water on an open ledge and sticking his hand in before he could think better of it.
And he probably would've, at the very least punched the water, if he had, because in seconds a large claw reached out for him and pulled him in; barely giving him enough time to take a big breath.
When he was let go, allowed to be suspended in the water, Ichigo gretted him by swimming around and stopping to meet him right before him; Grimmjow coughed up some of the little air he'd gulped on his way in in surprise. It shouldn't have, given the ridiculous size of the tank, but he didn't exactly expect the merman to get this big. Like a large koifish perhaps, similar to those huge catfish would've amazed him. Ichigo was probably five times as long as he was tall. His tail circled wide around him and his fins were spread out open in a way that seemed both menacing and inviting. He was frowning, just a bit.
Perhaps not as happy with being left behing like Nell had reassured, but then Grimmjow got too lost in his amazement that he struggled to breath and kicked his way up, and the merfolk immediately grabbed his ribs and swam all the way to the surface in a second; sitting him in the ledge so he could cough out a bit of water and breath in air as much as he wanted.
And he backed off just a little, like he'd dive back in and leave him, but watched with just his frowning eyes from above the water. Grimmjow met the scowl with his own, looking away stubbornly and holding onto the edge of the platform tight like a scolded kid.
"I'm sorry, ok? I wouldn't have left you if it hadn't been absolutely necessary."
Ichigo's brow softened, creeping closer slowly, his spiked fin hinting out the water like a predator until he was close enough to touch Grimmjow's feet, kicking about in the water. Smirking when the human stilled instinctively and his heartbeat quickened.
"Didn't stop you from coming by," he accused, watching Grimmjow flinch and his face scrunch up further. Brat.
".. Sorry," he forced out and that was enough for Ichigo, honestly, but he let him continue. "I was... I was angry at you, ok? At first... for growing so fucking much, if you'd stayed still we could've-- I wouldn't have had to bring you here. And then I felt stupid about it, but it had already been too goddamned long for it not to be awkward."
And Ichigo made a face, humans were complicated, with all their unspoken rules... He watched the tension leave Grimmjow's shoulders, freed by the truth, and suddenly he understood what Grimmjow had felt when he was once small and neglected. He couldn't exactly care for him like he had. Couldn't feed or house him, and that itched the wrong way- but he could do the next best thing-
Grimmjow's eyes widened, just slightly, when Ichigo pushed himself further out the water with a swift move and held onto the ledge to rest there; with his arms bracketing Grimmjow and holding him up and eye to eye with the human. He gave him a few seconds to object and when all that came was fleeting eyes, looking all over his face nervously, he leaned forward further and pressed a kiss to his lips. It was odd, given the obvious differences, but Ichigo'd been meaning to do that for too long to care.
... or is it <v< There's a little spicy extra as an extended ending on substar, here's the sneak peek :>cc
