Work Text:
"I love you.”
Grimmjow's lips found Ichigo's cheeks, skimming across the skin and dipping into his cupid's bow before finally meeting his lips. Hands rose to caress clothed flesh and breathing out faint huffs of bitten-back laughter between passionate kisses, they blindly stumbled their way from the kitchen to Ichigo’s room, unable to tear their eyes off of each other and unmindful of if their noisy footsteps woke anybody else in the Kurosaki household.
Laying side-by-side in each other's arms a good hour later, sated, flushing, and happy in the most palpable way possible, it occurred to Ichigo that Grimmjow never told him he loved him too.
…
Ichigo had no doubts as to the fact that Grimmjow was crazy behind him, in the best possible way. Though it didn't seem likely, the big bad Hollow had an all too adorable softer side that Ichigo couldn’t seem to get enough of. Grimmjow regularly did things that would generally not be expected of him, like cuddling in bed every night (his mask always scratched Ichigo to hell and back up and his Hierro just made it impossible for him to actually be woken up when Ichigo pushed at him to get him to move and stop smothering him), trying to buy Ichigo anything he so much as looked at (even though Ichigo still had no idea where he was getting human money), trying to cook once to surprise him (and nearly setting their kitchen on fire though Ichigo supposed Yuzu was equally to blame for that one for leaving this heathen unchained around a stove), devoting time to check out everything Ichigo enjoyed doing ( anime! Ichigo got Grimmjow to watch anime ), letting him sit in his lap whenever he wanted (though Grimmjow had ulterior motives there) , cracking silly puns because he loved to make Ichigo smile (and memes, age old memes that he kept sending Ichigo and expected him to laugh at and Ichigo never had the heart to tell him he’d seen them years ago), and countless other things that had Ichigo melting into a puddle right where he stood every damn time.
… and hence, Ichigo Kurosaki had no doubts that Grimmjow was a thousand and one percent in love with him.
It was just that he would like to hear it be said sometimes.
Grimmjow still had trouble talking about his feelings. Right in the beginning, before they even started dating, Grimmjow found it impossible to not stiffen the fuck up when anybody so much as hugged him. From that Grimmjow to this neck-kisses loving, cuddly and tactile Grimmjow was a journey Ichigo was very proud of him for making. He was aware Grimmjow wasn't a man of many words, and that even if he had been he probably hadn't had a lot of practice using those words to issue anything more than a challenge across the battlefield, so he waited patiently over months for him to learn to whisper the three words he was dying to hear.
Except the day didn't seem like it would come and it hurt him.
Every 'I love you' was met with a softening of perpetually angry-looking features, an almost tangible embrace of Grimmjow's smouldering blue eyes, careful, wandering lips, and calming brushes of long fingers down his spine. Never with a specific, particular, finite 'I love you too' in words that he could hear and feel and memorize the tone, timbre, and pitch of simply because they were the one gift he had wanted of Grimmjow, ever. He waited and waited, and knew it was pointless.
So he got creative.
They were snuggled up together one night, chuckling over crass jokes and innuendoes that'd never be uttered in the light of day around the rest of their friends (not by Ichigo, at least) when hie, with the abrupt haste of someone ripping a band-aid off, gripped on to Grimmjow's hand, squeezed comfortingly and murmured,
"This. This means 'I love you’."
Grimmjow's eyes gazed into his with surprise and then guilt for five seconds, and Ichigo felt his heart give a painful little throb inside his chest. He squeezed Grimmjow's hand again.
"It also means 'I got you. I am here for you. You don't have to hurry, you can take your time. I got you. Always.’"
A strong arm grabbed him around the waist and pulled his body to shroud Grimmjow's. The form underneath him was stiff and he saw Grimmjow's lips tighten. The guilty expression was drowned by an overwhelmed, shaky frown that made his breath catch in his chest.
“Thanks," Grimmjow whispered.
The entangled fingers parted to shift the grip so that Grimmjow had a hold of Ichigo's palm now. With a choked laugh, Grimmjow squeezed his hand then brought it up to kiss it, then squeezed again, and again, and again.
They didn't make love that night, they just lay together, bodies in full contact and hands clasped as they talked, about Ichigo's college and Kon's latest crush and Orihime's habit of chewing on her fingernails and why doesn't Ishida’s dad disown the poor guy when he seems to hate him so much?!
All through the night, time and time again, Grimmjow squeezed Ichigo’s hand.
…
The change was dizzying.
Grimmjow would trudge up to him in the morning, as Ichigo was getting dressed for college right in front of a still sleepy Grimmjow, stretching and curling on his bed like an actual cat, and clasp his hands and squeeze them.
He would hold out his hand in a silent handshake after every fight of theirs but his fingers would press into Ichigo's skin with insistence.
Dinner together? Ended with a tight, reassuring grip. Hell, it started the same too.
Random moments in time were punctuated with fingers enveloping his and grasping them with enough pressure to make his lips curl into a smile as he squeezed back. Words seemed overrated now, he'd meet Grimmjow halfway. Always. He had promised.
… and continued to, every single time their hands touched. Through fights and crusty silences, nights of toe-curling passion and days buzzing with sweet, loving warmth, months and then years, till the day they stood facing each other with disbelieving eyes (Ichigo’s) and cocky smirks (Grimmjow’s), as every person who had ever meant anything to either of them sat on surrounding pews, watching in rapt attention.
Grimmjow looked beautiful in a white tux. Grimmjow looked beautiful as Ichigo Kurosaki’s.
He still couldn’t tell how he had managed to convince the guy to go through with this. He wasn’t even a human, and look at how they’d met, but now here they were, suited up and unable to stop fucking smiling, and Grimmjow… Grimmjow didn’t look scared anymore.
His vows left Ichigo shaking, simple, brief, and beautiful as they were. A secret for only Ichigo to understand and stow away in his treasure chest of things, promises , only and only he would ever have the fortune of receiving from Grimmjow.
"Thank you for waiting. Thank you for never giving up.”
A gentle squeeze of both his hands.
"I love you. Always. "