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“Kon’s gone… he-it happened an hour ago”, Ichigo said with a teary smile from where he sat on the floor with his knees to his chest. His spikey bangs hid his eyes, but Grimmjow knew they would be red without confirming it.
Grimmjow cringed. He knew what had happened. He wasn’t quite all there at work either since his thoughts were so preoccupied with Ichigo’s state of mind.
Kon was a tan Shiba Inu with the fluffiest coat of fur. He was one of the most jovial dogs Grimmjow had ever met. Always made it a point to run up to him, stand himself up onto his hind legs and pat his front paws against Grimmjow’s thighs. The older man wasn’t a dog person, but the mut grew on him. Mind you, he helped Mrs Kurosaki keep the then puppy in his backyard while they waited for the little redhead’s birthday to arrive in less than a week.
“Yeah, I remembered”, he softly replied as he made his way to where the orangette was huddled up on the floor leaning against the couch with a photo album beside him. “I’m sorry, Ichi”. He sat himself beside his lover, knees up with his elbows rested on each. After a moment of silence, Ichigo looked up and fixed his eyes onto the others. Grimmjow was right about Ichigo’s eyes being red from crying. They still housed tears.
“I know this might sound stupid, but he had this look of determination in his eyes”, he spoke with a hoarse voice, affected from all the crying and yelling he had done in the absence of Grimmjow. “Like he was trying to be strong for me”, he almost whispered the last part. The older of the two didn’t know what to do. He’s never been in such a situation with a significant other before, but he knew him being present would help. He decided to place an arm around Ichigo’s slumped shoulders, and before it was fully settled around those swimmer shoulders Ichigo buried his face into Grimmjow’s peck and wrapped his arms around the blunette’s waist.
The orangette was up 32 pounds, almost back at his starting weight of 145 pounds. He’s been doing so well. He’s nearly back to his starting weight and Grimmjow was just so grateful that Ichigo was making the effort. Ichigo was putting in the mental work to deter himself from all that weight and pressure he placed on himself. But with Kon passing, Grimmjow wasn’t sure if it would set him back. This gave him anxiety.
“Shhhh, it’s okay, Ichi”, he spoke softly as his arm pulled Ichigo in closer, resulting in him wrapping his arms even tighter around the blunette’s waist. “It was his time. I know it’s hard, but just know that he loved you and loved being around you”. Grimmjow kissed the top of his head.
He had to be strong for his lover. But he wouldn’t sit there and act like he wasn’t scared about how this would affect Ichigo’s outlook on life again. He’s watched him grow up. He’s seen his hardships and struggles. He just didn’t want him to struggle anymore.
“I remember the day your mom brought him over to avoid ruining the surprise”, Grimmjow spoke as he mused. “The mut couldn’t get enough of my sandals. God, I just wanted to see him fly into your arms already”. Ichigo gave a wet laugh, still holding himself to his boyfriend’s being. That brought a small smile to Grimmjow’s face.
“I swear he messed with me on purpose. Remember that one time he dug through closet, but somehow only fucked with my briefs? I swore war on him that day”. This earned him another laugh from the orangette. He even pulled away from Grimmjow’s chest and opted to rest his head on his shoulder instead. “From the way you were acting, I could’ve sworn it was Armageddon”, Ichigo said with a sigh. He was visibly calming down.
“None of that Bible shit”, he groaned. Ichigo let go of his waist and sat up straighter. “How did I end up with an atheist again?”, he thought aloud, which earned him the blunette’s signature feral grin. “What can I say? You wanted to experience the spice of life”, he smugly replied. Ichigo’s cheeks gained a blush on them because he knew what was said was somewhat true. Out of embarrassment he playfully punched Grimmjow’s bicep.
They sat in silence for a moment when the older man felt the younger’s hand creeping over his and intertwingling their fingers.
“You wanna page through this with me?” Ichigo had the large black photo album on his lap now. Grimmjow nodded his answer.
For the next hour they sat there on the floor of their living room slowly making their way through the pictures of Ichigo’s childhood and teen years. Every picture had a smiling orangette no matter who he was with in the picture.
There was even one he considered his favourite though. It was of him only popping his head in the frame with the biggest smile on his face, and whereas Grimmjow took up most of the picture. The reason he was so joyful was that Grimmjow was sitting Indian style on the lawn with his arms crossed over his chest. He had an unimpressed look on his face as his eyes shot up to his hairline trying to see the little puppy that was placed there by the bubbly orangette.
“I had him cremated… thinking of scattering his ashes at home in the backyard”.
Thirteen years of knowing one another, eleven years of friendship, and three years of companionship.
“Yeah, Ichi”, he kissed and nuzzled the side of his lover’s head. “We can do that”.