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“I’m not scared of a damn storm!” Grimmjow once more declared. Yet, Ichigo only rolled his eyes at him, because the Arrancar flinched and almost jumped into the human’s arms entirely when thunder rolled across the sky like a growling beast.
His sparring partner had laid in wait, like he did every year on Ichigo’s birthday, just to ambush him whenever the Shinigami least expected it – it was his strange way of congratulating and Ichigo had long given up on understanding why he did it.
This year though, the surprise attack didn’t hit him in form of too sharp claws flying his way and a maniacally screamed Happy birthday, asshole!; instead a scared-to-death Grimmjow had joined him under his umbrella with a shriek to escape the pouring rain. In the blue-haired’s defence, Ichigo had witnessed how a lightning had almost struck him mid-air when he probably was just about to approach him. It had only missed him thanks to the television tower next to him which’s tip had reached a tiny bit higher into the sky than where the Arrancar had been standing.
As glad as Ichigo was about the fact his secret crush hadn’t been seriously hurt by the natural phenomenon, he could relinquish the soaked, oversized feline clinging to him as if his life depended on it and by doing so drenched his clothes as well. The grip tightened even further as the next bolt lit the sky followed by deep rumbling which could only announce a nearing apocalypse. Bellow the noise Ichigo believed to hear a low whine coming from the Arrancar.
“Hey, you ok, Grimm?”
“Course I am so shut the fuck up!”
In a weird way, the denial of the obvious was kind of cute, though Ichigo knew better than to tell Grimmjow that – especially since he walked around in his human body and his sparring partner could easily kill him with his super human Hollow strength. So instead of endangering his life he kept quiet and continued strolling through the streets of Karakura Town. When he finally managed to ignore the fact, that by now even his underwear had started to fall victim to the massive amount of water Grimmjow was passing on to him – probably without even noticing he was doing so – it was quite nice to have the Arrancar close without a sword or claws stuck in any body part.
Raindrops beat the strawberry-patterned umbrella with such a high speed it turned into an endless loud rushing. Lightning and thunder took turns in a perfect interplay and the whole sombre setting calmed his mind. This hadn’t always been the effect such weather had on him – mostly because he used to connect it to his mother’s death. However, when he had finally come to terms with the bigger picture and let big parts of the guilt he had once felt, slip away, he was finally able to start seeing the beauty in nature’s immense forces. It was impressive and fascinating to him. Yet, Grimmjow seemingly didn’t share this opinion, wincing and sometimes even mewling whenever the sky erupted in sounds of flashing light and clashing clouds, his grip never loosening, till his entire body was shaking.
Ichigo couldn’t help but wonder what it was, that made the Arrancar so scared of a summer storm, that he would react this way, his verbal denial the last bit of pride he could uphold, while the rest of him had long defaulted into run and hide instincts. It hurt him, to see the usually strong feline so terrified to the core and he made a decision.
Although he wasn’t even close to finishing half of his usual storm route – which would lead him through the shopping district, the park and then back home following the path right next to the riverbank, where he would always send a silent prayer to his mother, which he had sworn a while ago to always end with a smile like the ones she had always loved to see on him – he chose a different direction now. One which would end at his little apartment only ten minutes later.
He shoved Grimmjow through the door and threw a towel at him barely two minutes later.
“Here. You can dry yourself in the bathroom. I’ll seek out some clothes for you. And take your shoes off, before you step onto the wooden floor.”
He had expected a snarky comment, maybe even a threat or that Grimmjow would just send him a despised look, open a Garganta and then leave. Nothing of it happened. The Arrancar did as was asked of him, got rid of his shoes and then disappeared into the bathroom. It made Ichigo even more concerned than before and got him speculating while he went to his bedroom to do as announced and grab some fresh clothes for both of them.
One thing was for sure, it wasn’t like Grimmjow to behave this way. Something wasn’t right. But what? The Arrancar surely wouldn’t tell him if he asked, although there was nothing wrong with giving it a shot since Grimmjow seemed so worked up, he might actually talk. Besides, he doubted, he would find out any other way and just like that, his mind was made up.
When his search was successful – or at least he hoped the too-big pyjama would fit the feline – he headed back to the other room which functioned as kitchen and living room at the same time, and knocked at the bathroom door. Within seconds Grimmjow opened, towel wrapped around his hips. Ichigo held out the clothes towards him.
“Here. I hope it fits. My sisters ordered it on the internet but got the wrong size and they couldn’t send it back, so yeah. I kept it in the hopes I would grow a bit- well, taller one day.”
He could see how Grimmjow fixated on the almost black bunch of fluffy cloth with a jaguar print.
“I-I’m not trying to offend you, Grimm, really. It’s just- ok yeah, that thing is freaking damn cosy and it annoys me big time I looked like a walking tent and lost the pants all the time when I tried to wear it once and-”
The little pile of clothes was taken from him. “Thanks…”
Then the bathroom door fell shut again and Ichigo couldn’t believe his ears. Had Grimmjow really just thanked him? It was quite surreal, almost like a very strange dream, yet he had heard it loud and clear. Well, murmured and low to be exact, but he hadn’t imagined it, which put the whole thing onto a whole new level of bizarre.
Not even a minute later though, Grimmjow opened the door again, dressed in the pyjama. It was still a bit too big, even for him, but at least he didn’t look like a clown unlike Ichigo would in it. He stepped to the side to give way to his unexpected guest, with neither of them speaking a single word and then entered the bathroom himself to dry off and change clothes too.
Come to think of it, it was the first time he had invited Grimmjow to his apartment. If one could call it an invitation at all that was. It sort of screwed up his plans of spending his birthday alone like he usually preferred. Sure, they sparred every year, but it was as much action and attention as he got on that day, aside from an unholy amount of text messages he never answered on the same day because he was too busy sitting around lazily and doing nothing except daydreaming. Envisioning a world where he and a certain feral Arrancar would be a couple instead of only friendly rivals. Something that the little voice called Hope suggested could become a reality today. And wouldn’t it be the best birthday present ever?
So yeah, it screwed up his plans, but in a good way. If it wasn’t for this whole crazy situation, he probably would have never found the courage to invite Grimmjow over. And now he was here. With the shit scared out of him by a storm but still:
Grimmjow was here.
And he should definitely offer him a cup of tea to calm down. Yes. It’s what a good host would do. Right? Right?! Damn, why was he getting so nervous all of a sudden? He was hanging out with Grimmjow all the time! Just not alone…
Shoving away all the panicked thoughts that started to gather in his mind, he took a deep breath before he walked out of the bathroom in sweatpants and a tank top.
He spotted the Arrancar crouched onto the couch, hands turned into black claws which dug into a pillow whenever another lighting lit the sky or a thunder rolled right after it. The latter wasn’t anywhere near as loud anymore as it was outside, yet he still saw the feline flinch every so often. Latest now all thoughts caused by the butterflies in his stomach were entirely cast away for he remembered why Grimmjow was actually here.
Ichigo hadn’t really invited him in. Not had the blue-haired asked for it. It just had happened to take shelter though it seemed that still wasn’t enough.
“I’ll make some tea. You want a cup too?”
He didn’t get an answer, and while Grimmjow kept his back turned to him, Ichigo was certain intense blue eyes were glued to the storm outside. Whatever it was, that made him so afraid, it was stuck deep within him. It would be a big piece of work to dig it out if he would be able to achieve it in the first place.
Three big steps and he stood at the kitchen unit, preparing the tea water as well as two cups. He chose the herbal tea which always helped him relax and prayed it would have a similar effect on Grimmjow.
Shortly after he walked towards the couch, two steaming beverages in his hands.
“It’s still rather hot and we’ll need to leave it draw for at least five minutes, so-,” Ichigo placed the cups on the low table and took a seat on the dark green piece of furniture as well. “How about you tell me what makes you so afraid of the storm? Is it the volume? Or maybe the pouring rain?”
“Yeah… sure…”
“That doesn’t sound very convincing, you know. On the contrary it-”
“Can you just shut the fuck up…? Please…”
Grimmjow had turned his head to him and Ichigo could see something in his eyes he had never seen before.
Sadness.
A very deep one which probably cost the Arrancar everything in order not to cry, at least if he could take the glazy eyes as a hint. It let his protective instincts kick into gear; his heart rate picking up as if jumping headfirst into a fight any second; his senses sharpening for most likely the same reason, all of them focussed on nothing but the man in front of him.
What was Grimmjow dealing with? And why wouldn’t he let him help? There was obviously something wrong, it was the only explanation for this weird ass behaviour. Hell, he couldn’t even figure out why the Arrancar was still here since he always thought of him as the type who would never, under no circumstances, let anybody see the tiniest weakness of him. Yet, he still sat there on Ichigo’s couch, claws digging into the only pillow he had aside from the one in his bed, then retreating just to drill into it even deeper than before.
Ichigo didn’t know how long he kept staring at him. It must have been a while already, since Grimmjow’s gaze had wandered back to the window at least minutes ago, leaving only a strange silence between them and continuously growing worries inside Ichigo. And so the Shinigami did the only thing that was right: grab his tea and drink it. Not like usual in little sips but in one go just like one would inhale water after walking through the desert. Then he took the other cup and held it out to Grimmjow.
“Your tea’s ready.”
Neither an answer nor any other reaction from the blue-haired. Ichigo sighed. He should probably accept, that Grimmjow didn’t want to talk about it. Or talk at all. Which made him wonder even more why he still stuck around.
“Well, I’ll go to bed. In case you need anything, just let me know. Good night, Grimmjow.”
He thought he had heard a whispered Night in return before he closed the bedroom door behind him. Although, it could have been just wishful thinking or his imagination.
With an even deeper sigh than before he dropped himself onto his bed and his thoughts began to spin immediately.
Why was Grimmjow giving him the cold shoulder? Didn’t he trust him enough to open up; reveal a tiny bit of what was going through his mind and heart? Was it really too much to ask after all this time? Did he even consider them friends? If not, why? If yes, what could be too big of a secret to not even let your friend in on it, especially if said friend could surely help for he had saved the world twice already? Wasn’t he good enough? Did Grimmjow think he would be insensitive and laugh about him?
Question over question popped into his head and kept his brain occupied and his entire being awake for literal hours. At some point, he had stopped looking at the little digital clock on his nightstand. It wasn’t of any use at all and would only stress him more to see how not only the evening but also the night passed faster than he liked it. A lot faster than he liked it.
When he was finally about to drift off into a hopefully dreamless slumber, he got smacked back into full attention mode by a pained yowl. Within seconds Ichigo shot out of his bed and into the other room just to see Grimmjow who had obviously fallen asleep himself a while ago and was now tossing and turning on the couch, caught in what could only be a nightmare.
Ichigo didn’t think for a second – not about what he would do now, nor about the delicate human body he was in – when he jumped to the Arrancar’s side, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him up into a sitting position which earned him more than a few nasty scratches.
“Grimmjow! Grimmjow, come on, wake up!”
The blue-haired didn’t but instead yowled again in what sounded more like agony. As if he got stabbed and sliced open by an extremely harmful Quincy weapon. Ichigo shook him. Once. Twice. And again and again. Not caring for the claws that still ripped his skin open and tore muscles apart.
“You’re having a nightmare, Grimmjow! Wake up! Please, wake up, Grimmjow!”
Finally, the Arrancar started to blink; regaining his senses bit by bit; his hands stopping to search for a target. Then eyes grew to the size of dining plates when Grimmjow must have realised what was going on. And he seemed even more anxious than before.
“Kurosaki-” Ichigo didn’t let him continue his sentence or gave him a chance to stand up or retreat. Instead he grabbed the other’s shoulders, pulled him close and then into a hug like he had done so many times with his sisters.
“It’s ok. It was just a bad dream. Everything’s alright now.”
“Except it’s not… she won’t come back to life… none of them will… and I almost made you follow them…”
“Who are you talking about?” Grimmjow broke free from the hug after all.
“Not important. In fact, nothing is important. I’ll see myself out.”
Ichigo would not let it happen. The second Grimmjow got up he tackled him and – surprisingly – managed to pull him to the floor, sitting atop him and keeping him in place. Not, that he could actually prevent an escape in his weak human body, but his combat pass was out of reach in his bedroom so he had to try whatever he could right now.
“No, I won’t let you go. Not like that!”
“But why?! I not only put you in danger but also ruined your birthday!”
“You only do that when you go now! Fucking shit, Grimmjow, we are friends, aren’t we?!”
“Of course we are and that’s why I need to go before something bad happens to you!”
“Why would something bad happen to me?!”
“Cause it’s what happens to everyone I ever cared for! Everyone I ever loved!”
“Who is everyone?!”
“My Fracción and-”
“And?!”
“My mother!”
Ichigo stared at him in a mixture of shock and surprise. He sort of had expected to hear the Arrancar missed his Fracción, hell, even felt guilty for their death. But the mother part hit him completely out of the blue. Grimmjow had never mentioned her before and to be honest, Ichigo had thought he probably had forgotten about her alongside the rest of his former life as a human. But to hear he didn’t, especially when something bad had happened to her hurt him deeply, for he understood just too well. He knew the feelings; knew how they could wear you down; how they could ultimately break you. While he was probably not in the position to ask, his mouth acted before his mind could think about it.
“What happened to her…?”
Grimmjow hesitated for a second as if he was about to deny him the answer he wanted to hear. But then-
“She tried to save me, and-… they killed her… just like that… as if she was the beast, they saw in her that moment…”
This little piece of information stuck in his craw. A mother protecting her kids, a beast? It was the most natural thing in the world – or at least it should be! – how could anyone even think of it like this? His entire body tensed as anger crawled up his spine
“Fucking assholes. No one has the right to call another human a beast, especially not for protecting their child.”
“Except we weren’t humans…”
Once more Ichigo was baffled. Grimmjow hadn’t been a human from the start?
“W-What do you mean?”
“I wasn’t a human when I was still alive. And neither was my mother. We were black jaguars; panthers if you prefer that term. We lived in a jungle, all vibrant green and buzzing with life. I didn’t have any siblings, there was just my Mum. Just the two of us.”
Ichigo got up, offering Grimmjow a hand to pull him to his feet as well. He denied it but got into a cross-legged position instead, so Ichigo once more took a seat on the couch.
“Sounds exciting.”
“It was hot and moist and fucking dangerous ‘cause everything tried to kill you. Yet, my world was perfect till shit went down the sewer. I was just old enough to follow her when she went hunting, but I got sidetracked when she stalked our next meal. Can’t remember why though or how I ended up in the hands of poachers. But I did. Next thing I know is how she jumped out of the undergrowth alongside thunder rumbling through the air. She attacked the man who held my nape. Bit his arm and ripped his abdomen open. She was furious and so fast, she killed another guy and was about to do the same with the third, when-”
Grimmjow paused and Ichigo could clearly see his eyes tearing up at the memory that must have been repeating itself again in his mind. Who knew, maybe it was what had caused the nightmare. Either way, Ichigo didn’t dare to say a single word while he watched the Arrancar struggle to get out the next sentence as silent tears rolled over his cheeks.
“I was blinded by lightning when they shot her. I only saw her collapse with a hole in her head…”
Ichigo pressed lips and eyelids together, the thought of what cruelty Grimmjow – back then nothing but a little cub – had witnessed hitting home in the very spot of his heart, that had finally started to heal not too long ago. It felt as if it got ripped open again. Yet, he still didn’t say a word but looked back at Grimmjow, his own vision blurred by tears of condolence.
“I tried to kill the asshole but only got shot myself, right into the stomach,” Probably not even aware he was doing it, the Arrancar’s hand wandered to where his Hollow hole was. “They didn’t even bother to finish me; too busy grabbing their injured comrades and bringing them back to base or so… don’t really care for them though… They left me, slowly bleeding out… it hurt so much I could barely move, but I did, just to crawl the few metres to my dead mother to snuggle up to her side one last time while the warmth of her body faded…”
Only now a little snivel came from the blue-haired whose gaze had been directed towards the floor ever since he had started talking, absentmindedly locked with the nothingness of the space between him and the floor. But now his whole body started to tremble, more and more with every following sentence.
“Back then I didn’t have the same sort of consciousness I have now, but I was still grieving as the storm got worse with every passing minute… I was so angry and sad but also in pain and so fucking scared… the corpse of my mother did jack-shit to ease any of those feelings… if anything it made it even worse… it smelled like her, yes, but at the same time it smelled like death… and I knew she wouldn’t move again no matter how loud I cried for her… knew I was alone… that I would die alone… and I did… probably turned Hollow right away…”
“And the storm reminded you of all this…”
He only got a nod accompanied by another snivel in return and blue eyes closed as Grimmjow started to take deep breaths. It broke Ichigo’s heart to see him like this. Who knew how long he hadn’t talked about this? If he had ever talked about this at all. He wouldn’t put it past the other to have kept it a secret all this time. If so, the suffering must be unbearable right now and Ichigo admired Grimmjow for the strength he showed despite the exposure of what he surely saw as a weakness. Yet he wasn’t losing it entirely, no matter how loud the soul within him screamed. However, Ichigo could feel this exact scream, the agony, the broken cub who was still somewhere deep inside Grimmjow’s innermost self.
With a smooth movement, he slipped down from the couch to the floor so he sat right in front of Grimmjow and pulled him into another hug. Not like the one earlier, no, this time she shared his Reiryoku, let it wrap the both of them into a warm, invisible bubble while he held the Arrancar tight, with one of his hands stroking blue strands in small soothing motions. And Grimmjow allowed it. Even hid his face at Ichigo’s shoulder and returned the gesture; cautious and a bit insecure. Still, he did and it was everything that mattered to Ichigo.
They stayed like this for a little eternity, their Reiryoku melting into each other, for Grimmjow’s had responded to Ichigo’s. He didn’t know if it had happened intentionally or unintentionally but he didn’t really care. Both of them found comfort in the embrace of the other, and the strength to calm the resurfacing demons of their past, eventually putting them back to sleep again.
Only when his heart’s ache had subsided to nothing more but phantom pain and Grimmjow had stopped shaking and crying, did Ichigo dare to say what he had wanted to say ever since Grimmjow had finished the story of how he and his mother had died.
“I’m so sorry, Grimmjow… I’m sorry you had to- endure such cruelty…”
“Don’t be… Can’t change it anyway…” For a second he felt the Arrancar nuzzling even more into the crook of his neck. It was probably his way of showing appreciation for Ichigo’s sympathy. Then the blue-haired turned his head to the other side and started to break off the hug – unlike before where it had happened rather fast, Grimmjow now took his sweet time to do so, which was just to Ichigo’s liking.
His gaze met blue eyes again. Eyes he had never seen so calm and collected before; and he dared to wipe away the last remaining tear. “Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt… I know that better than anyone, cause- you know… I lost my Mum too when I was little…”
“I know… You’ve once cancelled our weekly spar, cause it fell on her death anniversary.”
Grimmjow got moving and exchanged the floor for the couch, grabbed his tea, which had gotten cold hours ago, and took a big sip.
“But- I didn’t tell you about it.”
The Shinigami hurried to join the blue-haired on the dark green padding. The other put the cup back onto the low table, unable to look at Ichigo.
“No, you didn’t. But I was curious why and followed you. Then I saw you at her grave and- well… I didn’t need to know more.”
Ichigo only nodded and turned his head to the side as well. “Cause you knew everything already.”
“Yeah… Sort of…”
They fell quiet again. Not in a weird or unsettling way. But one they both needed to process everything that had just happened. For once Ichigo’s mind was rather blank, except for the one thought, a realisation he had a while ago and he now wanted to pass on to Grimmjow. This want became an urge rather fast and so it was the Shinigami, who broke the silence.
“You know, Grimm, it’s not your fault. That your Mum died, I mean.”
“Sure feels like it is though…”
“But it’s not. And I’m sure she wouldn’t want you to think that either. After all she tried to save you so you could live a happy and fulfilled life, surrounded by friends and maybe with a family of your own. Not so you would feel miserable and guilty for the rest of it.”
“You sure you’re still talking about me?” He could feel the other’s gaze linger on him and turned to the Arrancar so that brown could lock with blue anew.
“Yeah. But it’s also something I realised myself not too long ago. I ran into a trap back then and so did you. And both our Mums tried to save what was most precious to them, no matter the cost. They loved us so much. So we shouldn’t hate ourselves, even if they aren’t here anymore. It’s the least we owe them.”
“You got a point, wise, old man.”
Ichigo laughed and leaned back which lead to him almost descending into the couch. “I’m not that old. I only turned twenty-four.”
“Tch. You still sound like an old geezer.”
Grimmjow followed his lead and propped his head against Ichigo’s shoulder. It surprised him since the feline had never acted in such a way before. At the same time, it made him happy, for it showed this stormy episode had left a huge positive impact on the bond between them.
Not that he was trying to press his luck, but he couldn’t help it and had to stroke the bright, skylike mane again. For a second he anticipated to be gutted by deadly claws. Instead he earned himself a low purr, coming from Grimmjow’s throat, which let him cherish the moment even more.
His gaze traced the other’s face. He seemed so relaxed, with his eyes closed the Arrancar almost looked as if he was asleep. The immense trust Grimmjow brought on Ichigo just now still flabbergast him. Earlier this night he had been wondering if they were even friends in the other’s eyes and now he was certain he was closer to Grimmjow than anyone else. This knowledge alone was the best present he could have ever received on his birthday.
“Thank you, Grimmjow.”
“What for? I killed your entire birthday mood…”
“No. You didn’t. In fact, you did quite the opposite.”
Blue eyes opened a bit to glance at him in suspicion.
“Don’t tell me you’ve been drunk all this time?”
Ichigo chuckled. “No, stupid. But you stayed and told me about your past. I know it’s not easy and- and that it takes a lot of courage and trust to do so. And I feel honoured you told me and- that you obviously see me as family.”
The Arrancar sat up straight again and Ichigo imagined to see a tiny red shimmer on the other’s cheeks. “Well, who if not you, moron?”
“Don’t know. Maybe the other Arrancar-”
“Tch. Don’t care for the other Arrancar. I had sworn not to care for anyone ever again after my Fracción died…”
“Then why care for me?”
The red shimmer became a bit more intense, unmistakably outing it as a blush. “It’s… complicated…”
“Really? Is it?” With a big smirk Ichigo leaned over to Grimmjow and kissed his cheek. It let the other’s face light up like a strawberry and made the Shinigami grin even broader. “I don’t think it’s that complicated, but I’ll gladly wait till you sort things out. Oh and- you’re always welcome here. So feel free to stop by whenever you want. And who knows, maybe... maybe we could take a walk in the rain again. No storm. Just rain. You know, slowly overwriting the fear and guilt, like I started to do a while ago.”
Grimmjow stared at him with a strange mix of feelings in his gaze. One, that Ichigo couldn’t quite assign to anything, so he decided to backpedal a bit in case he had been too brash right now.
“We- We don’t have to. You can also just come over to- ahm… you know… receive a friendly hug?”
“You mean cuddle.”
And now it was Ichigo’s turn to feel a hot tickling in his cheeks. Embarrassed by his traitorous feelings he turned his head to the other side. “Well, you could put it that way or-”
He was interrupted by a hand, which grabbed his chin and undid the movement he had just fulfilled. Then his eyes grew big for a second, when he felt Grimmjow’s lips on his own, before he closed them and let himself get carried away by the swarm of butterflies going crazy in his stomach.
He had dreamed of this moment. Wished for it. Longed for it. Yet he had never expected it to ever arrive and it was better than anything he could have ever imagined. Grimmjow’s lips were so much softer than they looked. His taste unexpectedly sweet. He would have killed to linger in this moment forever. And even though it was gone too soon, the kiss broken way too early, Grimmjow stayed so close to him, their noses were almost touching, and whispered what Ichigo had deemed impossible as well.
“I love you, Kurosaki. It’s not that complicated, just like you said.”
It felt as if his heart was exploding with joy. Like a sunrise happening within him, so much warmth floated his entire being, as he took Grimmjow’s hands with his and entwined their fingers.
“I love you too, Grimmjow.”
“Glad to hear that,” the blue-haired purred before their lips connected a second time for a tender kiss which send Ichigo flying again. Yet, it was just the start of an awfully sweet make-out session filled with soft caresses, whispered proposals and so much cuddling not even the most romantic of stories stood a chance against them. And of course, they kissed. Over and over and over again, almost as if it would be their one and only chance to do so. They didn’t even stop when they became too tired to sit. Instead they lied down, arm in arm entwined, and continued to occupy each other’s mouth.
It was sickening romantic to a degree, he was sure Yuzu would strangle him out of jealousy if she knew about it and he was pretty sure Grimmjow would do the same if he ever told a single soul about what had happened that night. However, he wanted to scream, to share his luck with the world, for a casual summer storm had led to the most wonderful birthday he had ever had.
And he didn’t want it to end.
So he fought the tiredness when Grimmjow had already fallen asleep after what felt like an eternity of cherishing their love for each other; forced his eyes to stay open, to not let this day end. Ultimately though, it did and Ichigo eventually fell asleep, carried to a dreamland by the purring of his beloved.