(no subject)
Title: Marigold
Pairing: Grimmjow/Izuru
Warnings: AU timeline based shortly after the current manga storyline- spoilers for everything that has happened and some things that haven't!
Rating: Currently PG-13(ish)
Half-credit to yashy
.
He needed to learn how to keep his mouth shut.
Grimmjow was pressed up against the bars, bright eyes following his every move. The moment Izuru had been able to tear himself away, he had taken a few steps back to look over the cell. While it wasn’t what the room had originally been designed for, it was still very solidly put together. There were holes bored into the ceiling and floor to fit the bars in, and the window was too small to permit the passage of a whole body.
When Captain Ichimaru had broken him out of the cell, he had simply unlocked the door. These bars had no door- it was as if they didn’t plan for him to ever come out. When Hinamori had broken herself out, it had been with a powerful kidou. Grimmjow was completely restrained. There was no way for him to do anything with enough force to break the bars.
They had to do it in some way that wouldn’t make it obvious he had help.
Izuru gnawed at his lower lip. If it was obvious Grimmjow had an accomplice, the list of suspects would be short. Besides the obvious fact that he wasn’t sure he could bear incarceration and censure again, if he was gone, there would be no one left to help Grimmjow.
It would have to be done very carefully.
“Come on, Kira,” Grimmjow said impatiently, rattling the bars a little. “What’re we waitin’ for?”
“I’m planning.” He took a step to the side, then sighed. No. There was just no way.
“Planning what? Come on, let’s just bust this thing down and let’s go!” He shook the bars a little more.
Izuru shook his head and sat down on the chair again, leaning his forehead in his hand. “We have to be careful,” he said, rubbing his temples. “There’s only so many people who know you’re here, Grimmjow, and even fewer who would be interested in helping you get out. It has to look like no one helped you, like you did it yourself.”
“Oh.” For a moment Grimmjow looked mildly puzzled. “It’s so no one knows it’s you getting me out. Right?”
Izuru nodded, closing his eyes for a moment. He had to think.
The resounding crash nearly knocked him out of his chair. His eyes flew open, a hand clutching reflexively for the absent sword at his side.
Grimmjow looked down at him through the gaping hole in the bars, then coughed and shook debris off his shoulders. Almost as an afterthought, he lifted his hands and forced them apart, snapping the wooden restraint in two.
Izuru stood up slowly, bracing himself on the back of the chair, eyes wide. “What… what did you do?” he managed. The collar was still there, and he couldn’t feel the slightest drop of reiatsu from him. There was no way it could have malfunctioned.
Grimmjow shrugged a little. “Well, you said it had to look like I did it. So I did it.”
He took a step over to the shattered bars. It had been one blow that had destroyed them- one blow from shackled hands with no reiatsu behind them. And Grimmjow just stretched unused muscles and shook off the dust like it was nothing.
That fearsome strength must be the difference between an arrancar and an Espada.
Izuru shook his head, then paused, looking back up at him. “Grimmjow,” he said slowly. “If you could do that, all along… why didn’t you?”
He cocked his head, stepping carefully over the broken bars and cracking his knuckles. “Huh?”
Izuru indicated the decimated cell. “This. If you could just break these bars any time you wanted… then why did you stay in here all this time?”
Grimmjow looked back at the bars, as though pondering the question, then shrugged. “Where would I go?”
He watched him, more than aware that this was the first time they’d been without bars between them since Hueco Mundo. “Out. Anywhere. I saw you in there. You hated it.”
He moved to the center of the room and stretched his arms up above his head, arching his back and thrusting his hips forward with a long sigh. “Well, out there, in here… at least in here I get food.” He turned his head towards him, lips curling in a slow smirk. “And company. Can’t forget the company.”
Izuru was aware of a building heat in his cheeks, and he looked down. The pair of hakama Grimmjow had been given barely fit- now that he was moving around, they had dragged down to expose one hip and the lower muscles of his abdomen. Izuru looked the other way.
“Let’s go,” he said, ears hot. “We probably don’t have much time.”
Grimmjow nodded, looking a bit more solemn, and followed him without a word. The door was still open a crack, so Izuru just pushed it open slowly, careful of the squeaky hinge. Not that it would probably matter much, in wake of the noise breaking those bars must have made.
The hallway was pitch black, and Izuru hesitated before taking a step out of the room. Usually, the sun was about to rise on his way out, and it gave him a little more light. He reached for the wall and misstepped, fingertips just scraping over the surface before he started tipping over.
For a moment, Izuru wondered why these things happened, and received no answer.
Then an arm caught him around the waist. He held still for a moment to catch his breath, feeling Grimmjow’s chest against his back.
“Lemme lead,” he said, breath ruffling Izuru’s hair. “I can see.”
He nodded, not trusting himself to speak, and waited until Grimmjow moved past him. Glancing up, Izuru just barely caught the flash of reflected light from his eyes. He caught the belt on his hakama more by reflex than anything else, and followed him carefully.
“Don’t tug too hard, now.”
He laughed a little and followed in silence for a moment or two before the curiosity got to be too much. “I fought an arrancar that took the form of a large bird,” Izuru offered. “It’s seemed that a lot of the full releases have been… symbolic, almost.”
Grimmjow grunted in reply, turning out of the hallway and picking his way through the desks.
“Can I ask about yours?”
For a moment Grimmjow was silent, and Izuru sorely regretted the question. It was incredibly personal, now that he thought about it more closely. He opened his mouth to take it back, to apologize.
“M’ sword’s name is Pantera.” There was a little edge of pride to Grimmjow’s voice. “That tell you enough?”
Izuru smiled a little and nodded, even knowing Grimmjow couldn’t see him. “It does.” It certainly explained why he could see in the dark.
Grimmjow led him easily through the rest of the audience room, then stopped by the front door. Izuru moved past him, taking a deep breath and pushing it open just a crack. Once he was relatively sure there was no one outside, he pushed it open all the way and took a step out into the fresh night air.
It was raining in earnest now. He took one more look around, then nodded to Grimmjow to follow. He made a face up into the sky, then picked his way down the stairs. Izuru noticed somewhat belatedly that he was barefoot.
“Here,” he said simply, kneeling down and moving aside a loose tile in the roadway. A ladder extended into the ground underneath it, disappearing into darkness.
Grimmjow squatted down next to him, peering down into the hole, then glanced up at him. “You knew this was here?”
Izuru nodded. “Hurry. Someone might come by any minute.”
Grimmjow kept eye contact with him for a moment, then just nodded before taking hold of the first rung of the ladder, disappearing down step by step into the darkness. Izuru waited, blinking rain out of his eyes, then followed, grabbing the tile and pulling it down over the opening.
He hadn’t been down here for years, but his feet still remembered the way down the ladder. About halfway down, a soft glow became visible from beneath them, and his steps were more sure the rest of the way.
By the time Izuru reached the bottom of the ladder, Grimmjow was looking around, a look of faint bewilderment on his face. He just watched him for a moment, words not coming easily.
He was in over his head.
Izuru pushed the thought aside and took a few steps over to his side. “These waterways are used only by the Fourth squad,” he offered. “There are a lot of side rooms that go completely unused. As long as you keep the suppressor on, no one will ever know you’re here.”
“Fourth squad, huh?” Grimmjow started walking, pocketing his hands in his hakama. “Then what do you know about it for?”
Izuru walked a little more quickly to keep up with him. “I was in the Fourth, briefly. My talent in medicine wasn’t really enough to keep me there.”
“Oh, that’s the medical squad?” Grimmjow glanced over him, grinning widely. “You were a nurse, huh? I can see that.”
Izuru just looked at him for a moment. Grimmjow had a wide smirk on his face, almost as if daring him to reply.
“It wasn’t much to see,” he said dryly.
Grimmjow looked back at him for a moment, brow furrowing. Then he laughed, shaking his head, sweeping one arm over to land a few hard claps on Izuru’s shoulder. He stumbled with a yelp, just barely catching himself on the wall.
“You’re a funny guy.”
Izuru shook his head a little, lips twitching slightly, then looked around before turning at the next intersection. He was more than aware that Grimmjow’s eyes were still on him, but he didn’t challenge him. He wasn’t sure what to say.
So they walked in silence for a long while, the tiny hairs on the back of Izuru’s neck prickling each time Grimmjow’s eyes fixed on him. It seemed like an eternity before he stopped, checking a marking on the wall and turning down a small side hallway.
“What, this is it?” Grimmjow looked around, craning his neck to see the ceiling.
Izuru tried the handle of a small door, then glanced back at him with a weak smile. “It’s not much, but… well, it’s not much.”
Grimmjow leaned down, peering through the crack as he opened the door. “Wasn’t expecting much.”
As Izuru had expected, the room was empty, except for some old medical supplies and a large crate marked for delivery to the Fourth Division. He held the door open, letting Grimmjow go in, then glanced quickly up and down the waterway before following.
Grimmjow was already pacing the length of the room when he came inside. He looked up when the door clicked shut, then perked up and took a few steps over to Izuru. For a moment, Izuru could almost see the bars between them- this was no different. This was a new prison, just another place. He took one more step closer, bending his head down to see him better, and Izuru had to resist the urge to take a step back.
“Nice little place you’ve got here,” he said, turning his head a little to the side. “So what’s your plan now, Kira Izuru?”
Izuru cleared his throat, but held still. Clearly, the concept of personal space wasn’t one that came easily to Grimmjow. “I don’t know,” he said honestly, keeping his eyes on the side of his face. “No one will look for you down here, I’m certain of that. This room is beneath my squad house, so I can get down here easily to get you food. I’m sure they’ll notice you’re gone soon, and Soul Society will be on high alert, but…”
“You’re gonna take care of me?” Grimmjow took a step forward. Their bodies brushed, and Izuru took a step back.
“I’m the one who brought you here. I said I’d take responsibility for you.”
“You don’t have to, y’know.” Grimmjow took another step forward, and the smirk was largely gone from his face. “Don’t put your neck on the line for somebody you barely know. It’s stupid.”
“I know.” Izuru swallowed, holding still a moment more this time. Grimmjow was pressed flush against him, shoulders bent a little to keep his cheek near to Izuru’s. As he held still, Grimmjow inhaled- the warm air rushed over his cheek, his neck, and Izuru closed his eyes for just a moment.
“Then why do it?”
“Because I-” Izuru took a step back, and his heel caught in the hem of his hakama. One sharp tug, and he was stumbling backwards. This time, Grimmjow did nothing to catch him, and he hit the floor hard. The only thing he could feel over the pain in his backside was the growing heat in his cheeks.
Grimmjow shook his head, going down on one knee. “Not real good on your feet, huh?” He reached one hand forward.
Izuru laughed sheepishly, lifting a hand to take his. “You’ve been catching me on a lot of off days.”
Grimmjow’s hand went right past his, stopping on his shoulder. Izuru froze, looking up at him for some kind of explanation. His face was quiet, even serious, but there was an intensity in his eyes that struck him. It was enough to keep him still even as Grimmjow pushed him to his back and crawled up over him, a knee on either side of his legs.
“Grimmjow,” he said, eyes following his. “What-”
He caught his breath suddenly when Grimmjow ducked his head, inhaling slowly against his cheek. Izuru held still, not daring to move. Grimmjow’s nose bumped his cheek, a tiny inhale tickling over his jaw. Then the plate of bone scraped lightly against his chin before bumping the skin of his throat. He arched his neck without thinking, letting him move his cheek over his throat, barely breathing. Each little inhale sent prickles down the back of his neck.
He was sniffing him.
The realization both sent a little shock through his body to lump in his stomach and made him swallow his next breath to avoid laughing. Izuru stared blindly at the ceiling, just letting Grimmjow breathe against his skin until he lifted his head.
“You all right?” he said, voice low, almost rumbling a little in his chest.
Izuru nodded slightly, taking in a deep breath. “I… I’m fine.”
Grimmjow leaned down, face directly in his, their foreheads touching. Izuru met his eyes, unwavering.
“You’re not afraid of me,” he said, eyes searching.
“No,” Izuru agreed. “I’m not.”
He wasn’t. Even completely at his mercy like this, there was no fear- only a fluttering anxiety of a completely different sort that made it a little hard to keep centered.
Hinamori had made him feel childish, even silly. Captain Ichimaru had left him nervous, unsteady, fascinated, even sick. Grimmjow- Grimmjow instilled in him some strange kind of calm, like he could take on any obstacle. Even Grimmjow himself.
So when he kissed him, Izuru just laid a hand on the back of his head and kissed him back. Firmly. Warmly.
Maybe he could handle this after all.
Pairing: Grimmjow/Izuru
Warnings: AU timeline based shortly after the current manga storyline- spoilers for everything that has happened and some things that haven't!
Rating: Currently PG-13(ish)
Half-credit to yashy
.
He needed to learn how to keep his mouth shut.
Grimmjow was pressed up against the bars, bright eyes following his every move. The moment Izuru had been able to tear himself away, he had taken a few steps back to look over the cell. While it wasn’t what the room had originally been designed for, it was still very solidly put together. There were holes bored into the ceiling and floor to fit the bars in, and the window was too small to permit the passage of a whole body.
When Captain Ichimaru had broken him out of the cell, he had simply unlocked the door. These bars had no door- it was as if they didn’t plan for him to ever come out. When Hinamori had broken herself out, it had been with a powerful kidou. Grimmjow was completely restrained. There was no way for him to do anything with enough force to break the bars.
They had to do it in some way that wouldn’t make it obvious he had help.
Izuru gnawed at his lower lip. If it was obvious Grimmjow had an accomplice, the list of suspects would be short. Besides the obvious fact that he wasn’t sure he could bear incarceration and censure again, if he was gone, there would be no one left to help Grimmjow.
It would have to be done very carefully.
“Come on, Kira,” Grimmjow said impatiently, rattling the bars a little. “What’re we waitin’ for?”
“I’m planning.” He took a step to the side, then sighed. No. There was just no way.
“Planning what? Come on, let’s just bust this thing down and let’s go!” He shook the bars a little more.
Izuru shook his head and sat down on the chair again, leaning his forehead in his hand. “We have to be careful,” he said, rubbing his temples. “There’s only so many people who know you’re here, Grimmjow, and even fewer who would be interested in helping you get out. It has to look like no one helped you, like you did it yourself.”
“Oh.” For a moment Grimmjow looked mildly puzzled. “It’s so no one knows it’s you getting me out. Right?”
Izuru nodded, closing his eyes for a moment. He had to think.
The resounding crash nearly knocked him out of his chair. His eyes flew open, a hand clutching reflexively for the absent sword at his side.
Grimmjow looked down at him through the gaping hole in the bars, then coughed and shook debris off his shoulders. Almost as an afterthought, he lifted his hands and forced them apart, snapping the wooden restraint in two.
Izuru stood up slowly, bracing himself on the back of the chair, eyes wide. “What… what did you do?” he managed. The collar was still there, and he couldn’t feel the slightest drop of reiatsu from him. There was no way it could have malfunctioned.
Grimmjow shrugged a little. “Well, you said it had to look like I did it. So I did it.”
He took a step over to the shattered bars. It had been one blow that had destroyed them- one blow from shackled hands with no reiatsu behind them. And Grimmjow just stretched unused muscles and shook off the dust like it was nothing.
That fearsome strength must be the difference between an arrancar and an Espada.
Izuru shook his head, then paused, looking back up at him. “Grimmjow,” he said slowly. “If you could do that, all along… why didn’t you?”
He cocked his head, stepping carefully over the broken bars and cracking his knuckles. “Huh?”
Izuru indicated the decimated cell. “This. If you could just break these bars any time you wanted… then why did you stay in here all this time?”
Grimmjow looked back at the bars, as though pondering the question, then shrugged. “Where would I go?”
He watched him, more than aware that this was the first time they’d been without bars between them since Hueco Mundo. “Out. Anywhere. I saw you in there. You hated it.”
He moved to the center of the room and stretched his arms up above his head, arching his back and thrusting his hips forward with a long sigh. “Well, out there, in here… at least in here I get food.” He turned his head towards him, lips curling in a slow smirk. “And company. Can’t forget the company.”
Izuru was aware of a building heat in his cheeks, and he looked down. The pair of hakama Grimmjow had been given barely fit- now that he was moving around, they had dragged down to expose one hip and the lower muscles of his abdomen. Izuru looked the other way.
“Let’s go,” he said, ears hot. “We probably don’t have much time.”
Grimmjow nodded, looking a bit more solemn, and followed him without a word. The door was still open a crack, so Izuru just pushed it open slowly, careful of the squeaky hinge. Not that it would probably matter much, in wake of the noise breaking those bars must have made.
The hallway was pitch black, and Izuru hesitated before taking a step out of the room. Usually, the sun was about to rise on his way out, and it gave him a little more light. He reached for the wall and misstepped, fingertips just scraping over the surface before he started tipping over.
For a moment, Izuru wondered why these things happened, and received no answer.
Then an arm caught him around the waist. He held still for a moment to catch his breath, feeling Grimmjow’s chest against his back.
“Lemme lead,” he said, breath ruffling Izuru’s hair. “I can see.”
He nodded, not trusting himself to speak, and waited until Grimmjow moved past him. Glancing up, Izuru just barely caught the flash of reflected light from his eyes. He caught the belt on his hakama more by reflex than anything else, and followed him carefully.
“Don’t tug too hard, now.”
He laughed a little and followed in silence for a moment or two before the curiosity got to be too much. “I fought an arrancar that took the form of a large bird,” Izuru offered. “It’s seemed that a lot of the full releases have been… symbolic, almost.”
Grimmjow grunted in reply, turning out of the hallway and picking his way through the desks.
“Can I ask about yours?”
For a moment Grimmjow was silent, and Izuru sorely regretted the question. It was incredibly personal, now that he thought about it more closely. He opened his mouth to take it back, to apologize.
“M’ sword’s name is Pantera.” There was a little edge of pride to Grimmjow’s voice. “That tell you enough?”
Izuru smiled a little and nodded, even knowing Grimmjow couldn’t see him. “It does.” It certainly explained why he could see in the dark.
Grimmjow led him easily through the rest of the audience room, then stopped by the front door. Izuru moved past him, taking a deep breath and pushing it open just a crack. Once he was relatively sure there was no one outside, he pushed it open all the way and took a step out into the fresh night air.
It was raining in earnest now. He took one more look around, then nodded to Grimmjow to follow. He made a face up into the sky, then picked his way down the stairs. Izuru noticed somewhat belatedly that he was barefoot.
“Here,” he said simply, kneeling down and moving aside a loose tile in the roadway. A ladder extended into the ground underneath it, disappearing into darkness.
Grimmjow squatted down next to him, peering down into the hole, then glanced up at him. “You knew this was here?”
Izuru nodded. “Hurry. Someone might come by any minute.”
Grimmjow kept eye contact with him for a moment, then just nodded before taking hold of the first rung of the ladder, disappearing down step by step into the darkness. Izuru waited, blinking rain out of his eyes, then followed, grabbing the tile and pulling it down over the opening.
He hadn’t been down here for years, but his feet still remembered the way down the ladder. About halfway down, a soft glow became visible from beneath them, and his steps were more sure the rest of the way.
By the time Izuru reached the bottom of the ladder, Grimmjow was looking around, a look of faint bewilderment on his face. He just watched him for a moment, words not coming easily.
He was in over his head.
Izuru pushed the thought aside and took a few steps over to his side. “These waterways are used only by the Fourth squad,” he offered. “There are a lot of side rooms that go completely unused. As long as you keep the suppressor on, no one will ever know you’re here.”
“Fourth squad, huh?” Grimmjow started walking, pocketing his hands in his hakama. “Then what do you know about it for?”
Izuru walked a little more quickly to keep up with him. “I was in the Fourth, briefly. My talent in medicine wasn’t really enough to keep me there.”
“Oh, that’s the medical squad?” Grimmjow glanced over him, grinning widely. “You were a nurse, huh? I can see that.”
Izuru just looked at him for a moment. Grimmjow had a wide smirk on his face, almost as if daring him to reply.
“It wasn’t much to see,” he said dryly.
Grimmjow looked back at him for a moment, brow furrowing. Then he laughed, shaking his head, sweeping one arm over to land a few hard claps on Izuru’s shoulder. He stumbled with a yelp, just barely catching himself on the wall.
“You’re a funny guy.”
Izuru shook his head a little, lips twitching slightly, then looked around before turning at the next intersection. He was more than aware that Grimmjow’s eyes were still on him, but he didn’t challenge him. He wasn’t sure what to say.
So they walked in silence for a long while, the tiny hairs on the back of Izuru’s neck prickling each time Grimmjow’s eyes fixed on him. It seemed like an eternity before he stopped, checking a marking on the wall and turning down a small side hallway.
“What, this is it?” Grimmjow looked around, craning his neck to see the ceiling.
Izuru tried the handle of a small door, then glanced back at him with a weak smile. “It’s not much, but… well, it’s not much.”
Grimmjow leaned down, peering through the crack as he opened the door. “Wasn’t expecting much.”
As Izuru had expected, the room was empty, except for some old medical supplies and a large crate marked for delivery to the Fourth Division. He held the door open, letting Grimmjow go in, then glanced quickly up and down the waterway before following.
Grimmjow was already pacing the length of the room when he came inside. He looked up when the door clicked shut, then perked up and took a few steps over to Izuru. For a moment, Izuru could almost see the bars between them- this was no different. This was a new prison, just another place. He took one more step closer, bending his head down to see him better, and Izuru had to resist the urge to take a step back.
“Nice little place you’ve got here,” he said, turning his head a little to the side. “So what’s your plan now, Kira Izuru?”
Izuru cleared his throat, but held still. Clearly, the concept of personal space wasn’t one that came easily to Grimmjow. “I don’t know,” he said honestly, keeping his eyes on the side of his face. “No one will look for you down here, I’m certain of that. This room is beneath my squad house, so I can get down here easily to get you food. I’m sure they’ll notice you’re gone soon, and Soul Society will be on high alert, but…”
“You’re gonna take care of me?” Grimmjow took a step forward. Their bodies brushed, and Izuru took a step back.
“I’m the one who brought you here. I said I’d take responsibility for you.”
“You don’t have to, y’know.” Grimmjow took another step forward, and the smirk was largely gone from his face. “Don’t put your neck on the line for somebody you barely know. It’s stupid.”
“I know.” Izuru swallowed, holding still a moment more this time. Grimmjow was pressed flush against him, shoulders bent a little to keep his cheek near to Izuru’s. As he held still, Grimmjow inhaled- the warm air rushed over his cheek, his neck, and Izuru closed his eyes for just a moment.
“Then why do it?”
“Because I-” Izuru took a step back, and his heel caught in the hem of his hakama. One sharp tug, and he was stumbling backwards. This time, Grimmjow did nothing to catch him, and he hit the floor hard. The only thing he could feel over the pain in his backside was the growing heat in his cheeks.
Grimmjow shook his head, going down on one knee. “Not real good on your feet, huh?” He reached one hand forward.
Izuru laughed sheepishly, lifting a hand to take his. “You’ve been catching me on a lot of off days.”
Grimmjow’s hand went right past his, stopping on his shoulder. Izuru froze, looking up at him for some kind of explanation. His face was quiet, even serious, but there was an intensity in his eyes that struck him. It was enough to keep him still even as Grimmjow pushed him to his back and crawled up over him, a knee on either side of his legs.
“Grimmjow,” he said, eyes following his. “What-”
He caught his breath suddenly when Grimmjow ducked his head, inhaling slowly against his cheek. Izuru held still, not daring to move. Grimmjow’s nose bumped his cheek, a tiny inhale tickling over his jaw. Then the plate of bone scraped lightly against his chin before bumping the skin of his throat. He arched his neck without thinking, letting him move his cheek over his throat, barely breathing. Each little inhale sent prickles down the back of his neck.
He was sniffing him.
The realization both sent a little shock through his body to lump in his stomach and made him swallow his next breath to avoid laughing. Izuru stared blindly at the ceiling, just letting Grimmjow breathe against his skin until he lifted his head.
“You all right?” he said, voice low, almost rumbling a little in his chest.
Izuru nodded slightly, taking in a deep breath. “I… I’m fine.”
Grimmjow leaned down, face directly in his, their foreheads touching. Izuru met his eyes, unwavering.
“You’re not afraid of me,” he said, eyes searching.
“No,” Izuru agreed. “I’m not.”
He wasn’t. Even completely at his mercy like this, there was no fear- only a fluttering anxiety of a completely different sort that made it a little hard to keep centered.
Hinamori had made him feel childish, even silly. Captain Ichimaru had left him nervous, unsteady, fascinated, even sick. Grimmjow- Grimmjow instilled in him some strange kind of calm, like he could take on any obstacle. Even Grimmjow himself.
So when he kissed him, Izuru just laid a hand on the back of his head and kissed him back. Firmly. Warmly.
Maybe he could handle this after all.