Chapter One

Responsibilities and Dreams

Ichigo Kurosaki sat on the step of the run-down apartment they were renting. He was wondering how long he could pull this off. His mind was focused on their needs and the things they didn't have. He nearly jumped when his sister put her hand on his shoulder.

"Ichigo, are you alright?" Karin asked with a concerned look.

Ichigo just smiled and nodded. "Yeah, was just thinking about things."

Karin nodded and seemed to want to say something else, but she didn't. She just turned back to the apartment and Ichigo wanted to cry. He couldn't provide them a better life than this, and that was killing him inside. He swallowed the thoughts, though and went inside where Karin and Yuzu were sitting at the small table they'd found in the garbage last week. The table had been broken but Ichigo had managed to fix the legs enough that it could be sat at on the floor around it. He wasn't the best with his hands, but he could do at least this much for them.

"Anaki," Yuzu said as he came back in and took off his shoes at the entry. He put on his best smile and went over to the table where he complained that he wasn't feeling well, and not that hungry as the girls ate their dinner. It wasn't much, instant ramen bowls, but it was at least something.

It hadn't been quite four months since Ichigo ran away from home and found this apartment. The owner of the building was sleazy and honestly disgusting to Ichigo, but he had little money, and even less choice. He couldn't leave his sisters in that household with their foster parents. He still bore the scars from the years he'd endured their abusive natures, and he wasn't going to see his younger sisters suffer any longer. So, he was determined to take care of them himself. Their foster parents didn't notice they were gone, to be honest, and he knew they really didn't care.

It had been hard to find a place that wouldn't ask questions about a one-bedroom apartment being used by a college kid and two high school students. He had felt grimy and dirty just talking to the man that owned the building, and he hoped that his sisters never encountered him. Nissho Motome was his name, and he owned several buildings of low cost rentals. For that reason, he would have to keep up on the rent and make sure they caused no problems whatsoever in the place. Luckily, he and his sisters were used to being quiet.

He had two jobs so far that kept them barely in rent and food. He worked at a convenience store during the day and cleaned an office building at night. It was hard work, and he had to work it around his school schedule, but he managed to do it. He was lucky that he was good at academics because he was able to keep up even though he rarely could study outside of class.

There was a silence on the place that descended as the girls went to bed for the night in the single bedroom. Ichigo slept on a futon in the living room of the place and let them have as much privacy as he could. He had school first thing in the morning, so he needed to get some sleep at least. He fell asleep finally, worried as always about what the next day would bring.

The next day brought as usual a day of work for Ichigo. They got up early and he got the girls off on the bus to school while he got himself ready to get to the local small college of Las Noches. He was trying to get into medicine, but he wasn't sure that he'd be able to afford that kind of school. Right now, he was struggling with the money needed to take care of the girls and put himself in school. One of his jobs paid for the household, and the other went to school costs.

He got on the bus to head to the school and was once again struck by how much he had to do for the day. After class, he had to get to the convenience store job, then when he got off there, he had to rush to the office building halfway across Karakura Town. He sighed as he adjusted his backpack and wondered how long before he completely wore himself out at this rate. He would keep going, though. He had to make sure the girls were taken care of and he had to make certain that they got their education finished. He got off at the school and walked into the classroom.

As usual with this class, he felt a pang of hurt when he saw his one-time best friend sitting in the back with some of the other popular students in the school. Renji Abarai had known Ichigo from his time in the orphanage they had stayed at before they were given to a foster family. The last few months, though, Ichigo didn't have time for anyone, let alone someone who wanted to go out and have fun. So, he'd pushed away any and all of his friends in response to having to take care of his sisters. He sighed as class began and he did as much of his work while the professor was talking as he possibly could.

Class ended, and he gathered his books and papers up to head to the next one. He had all early morning classes so that he could work in the afternoon. It made it difficult when he worked both jobs in the same day, but it was something he was learning to cope with. As he was walking out, he caught sight of one of Renji's new friends and swallowed a lump in his throat because he hated to admit it, but the guy was hot and an athlete. He was a rich kid, probably didn't want for anything, but Ichigo had thought he was good looking since the first day he saw him. He was slightly taller than Ichigo and had his hair dyed baby blue. He had a weird name, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, but he played on the soccer team. He was a goalie and really good from what Ichigo heard. Still, the fact he was attractive didn't excuse his attitude of superiority. What's more, he was known for having a girl on his arm. Hot or no, Ichigo knew he was far out of reach and probably straight.

Ichigo himself wasn't really gay; he considered himself pansexual, though he had little experience with anyone. He didn't find one gender more attractive over another, he simply found a person attractive or not, no matter what their gender. In this case, he happened to find this older male student attractive to a great degree. He huffed a sigh and walked out of the room past Renji and the group that congregated around Grimmjow. He tried very hard to look like he wasn't looking at him as he passed by.

He heard muttered talking as he went past and then he was surprised when someone stepped in front of him. He stopped and looked slightly up into cerulean blue eyes. He was really close, he thought as he took a sharp breath.

"Hey," Grimmjow said, arm across the front of him, barring him from going down the hallway.

"Ah, hey?" Ichigo said as he stood frozen. He couldn't move even if he'd tried.

"So, was wonderin', would you wanna go out with me to get some coffee or somethin'?" he said with a smirk on his face.

Ichigo blinked rapidly for a second and then it registered what he said. "What?"

"You heard me," he said in the voice that sent shivers down to Ichigo's toes. Oh, holy hell, he thought to himself, heart trip-hammering in his ears.

"Um, th-thank you for the offer, but I've gotta get to my next class," he stammered and zipped around him, mostly to hide his flushed face.

He glanced back to see the guys in Grimmjow's crew laughing at him as he walked back over to them. It had to have been a joke. There was no way that just happened.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

"Why in the world do you want to ask him out anyway?" Renji said with a glance after the retreating figure.

"Because he's cute, and no one tells me no," Grimmjow said with a smirk. "I mean, they're always falling all over me to take them out somewhere, and this one just flat refused me," he muttered the last, a little annoyed by that fact.

"Well, he just told you no. I told you, I know him. He's a prick and not worth your time, my friend," Renji said as they walked down the hallway. They'd left the others outside the last classroom. He had a class next with the red headed Renji.

"There has to be a way to convince him," Grimmjow said with a frown as he sat down in the back of the class. He glanced up front to see the professor, Dr. Urahara, was waiting for everyone to get settled into their seats. Grimmjow hated chemistry but it was a requirement to graduate, so he was here taking it in his last year of college.

Renji shook his head. "Tellin' ya, he's not worth it. I knew him when he was younger, before he decided he didn't need friends anymore last year."

Grimmjow had only known Renji for this year, but he liked the incoming student quite a bit. He was a good guy and while younger, seemed to have a good idea how things worked in the college life already. He sighed and wondered what he could do to change a no to yes with this guy.

"When you start swinging for both teams, anyway?" Renji asked as Dr. Urahara was busy talking to another student.

Grimmjow snorted. "Always have, just hadn't seen a boy that caught my attention lately. Girls have been keeping me busy, but I'm bored with 'em."

"Bored with pussy?" Renji said and gave him a shocked look. "You get enough for half the soccer team, and you're bored with it?"

"It ain't that simple. Sometimes you just want something different."

He watched the professor as he started class, but his mind was on the fact that he'd just been turned down. No one turned him down and he wasn't going to let it get around that he had been turned down. Anyone would be lucky to be asked out by him. He was popular, good looking, and well off. He was definitely not someone who anyone would say no to. He huffed a breath and wondered what he could do to convince him.

After class, he split up from Renji and was determined to take him out for something. Maybe he didn't like coffee. Perhaps dinner would be more of an option for him. Renji had told him he was a foster kid, so he didn't have much money. Neither did Renji, but that didn't bother Grimmjow in the slightest. He may have been well off, but he wasn't bothered by those that weren't. He was about to head out the door when he saw him again. This time he was standing with his bag slung over his shoulder, reading something while he stood there. Grimmjow wasn't going to let anyone find out he'd been turned down for something like this.

"Hey again," he said and Ichigo's head snapped up from the papers he was looking at. Grimmjow saw the slight dusting of pink rise to his cheeks and thought maybe he didn't take him seriously.

"Um, hey," he stammered and just stared at him.

"I wasn't playin' earlier. I want to take you out for something," he said and felt nervousness bubbling in his stomach for the first time in a while. He quelled it.

"Um, I can't really," Ichigo said and Grimmjow could see his hands were shaking a bit. "I've gotta take care of my sisters and make sure they have dinner and everything…"

"How about if I bring over pizza for your sisters, could you go out then?" Grimmjow thought this might be the way to get a yes out of him by using his sisters. He gave him a grin. "I wouldn't mind at all."

He could see the light in his eyes at the suggestion. "You'd do that for them?" he asked and Grimmjow knew he had him now.

"Sure, can't let your sisters go without when you get to go have something nice, now can we?" he said with a smirk. He kept his hands in his pockets, trying to look chill with it all.

"Um, well, I guess if you'd want to do that," he said with a look on his face that Grimmjow wasn't sure he understood.

"How about this weekend? Are you free on Saturday night?" he asked and knew he really had him now. No one told him no. He wasn't going to break that streak.

"Um, yeah, I'm off work on Saturday this week," he said and Grimmjow wondered why he looked so nervous all of a sudden. "Do you want to meet somewhere or…?"

"I'll come pick you up," he said. "If you give me your address?"

Ichigo swallowed again and nodded. "Um, okay, here," he said as he got out a pen and ripped a piece of paper off the packet he was looking at earlier. He scribbled down a phone number and address on it and handed it to Grimmjow. "You can text me on that number."

"Okay, how about eight on Saturday?" he asked.

"Oh, okay, that's fine," he said and Grimmjow smiled as he watched him walk off. That went better than he expected. He just had to use his sisters to get him to do what he wanted. He didn't mind paying for a couple extra people. He smugly looked up at the clock to see it was time for soccer practice.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo could barely breathe when he got outside. He couldn't believe what just happened. Probably one of the best looking guys in the school had asked him out on a Saturday night? He was still wondering if it was all a joke on him, but he didn't care. He had to take the chance. To get to go out with Grimmjow? And he was offering to feed his sisters too? What better offer was there? He stopped halfway to the bus stop. What would he expect in return, though?

Things like this always came with a cost. Nothing was free, and he knew he would be expected to do something. He swallowed a ball in the back of his throat. What if he expected sex? He'd never done that before, and he couldn't imagine Grimmjow being anything but a top. He screwed up his courage. Well, in return for what he was getting, he supposed it was a fair exchange. Buying pizza for his sisters wasn't exactly cheap, and taking him out to someplace besides fast food would cost something. No, he could do this. For his sisters.

It still didn't make Saturday any less nerve wracking.

"Anaki, so you're going out tonight?" Yuzu asked as he stood in the closet trying to find the best looking set of jeans he had to wear.

"Yeah, I hope you guys don't mind me going, but we're going to have take out of some sort for you two. I think he said he was stopping off to pick up pizza on the way," he said with a grin toward her.

"Pizza?" Yuzu said with a gasp. "Oh, wow, we haven't had anything like that in so long!"

Ichigo didn't catch the look that Karin was giving him. She was staring at him with a suspicious look on her face, and she wasn't too happy about what was happening.

"Yeah, but my friend is ordering it, so whatever he gets, you guys gotta be happy with, okay?" Ichigo said as he pulled out a pair of black jeans and a nice t-shirt from the closet. They only had one closet, but all their clothes fit in it easily.

Ichigo disappeared into the bathroom to change and came out a few minutes later. Yuzu smiled at him, and then hugged him.

"So, who is this friend of yours?" Karin asked as he checked the time, seeing it was almost six.

"Um, well he's…" There was a knock at the door just then. "Here," he said nervously and was seriously rethinking this whole thing. But he'd actually shown up, so it wasn't just a big joke on him.

He opened the door and found, to his surprise, Grimmjow was standing there with two pizza boxes. Ichigo stepped back and let him in. He was wearing a pair of nice, dark jeans and a button up shirt in a pale green color.

"Um girls, this is Grimmjow," he said and then looked at them. "And um, Grimmjow, these are my sisters, Karin and Yuzu."

Grimmjow nodded to them. Ichigo caught the glare Karin was giving him but he just ignored it for now. It wasn't like he'd probably be back. Ichigo took the two boxes and sat them down on the low table. Grimmjow cleared his throat.

"I didn't know what to get so I grabbed one with toppings and one just with cheese," Grimmjow said as he stood and looked around the spartan room.

"That's fine, whatever it is, that's fine." Ichigo smiled at him and then motioned to the front. "We should get going. Girls, if you need me, call me, I have my phone on."

Ichigo felt Grimmjow put a hand on his back and steer him toward the door. He turned back and waved at the girls. He hoped they were fine. It wasn't like they weren't used to being home alone since he worked so much. Still, he worried. He checked for his phone in his pocket again and was swept out of the front door by Grimmjow.

"Nice place," Grimmjow said with a disgusted look at the door behind them.

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, it's kinda a dump, but it's a place to live."

Grimmjow led him to a car nicer than anything Ichigo had ever seen. "Wow, what a pretty car," he said with a low whistle.

"I call her Pantera, she's a Jaguar," he said proudly as he opened the passenger door for Ichigo.

"I wouldn't leave it parked out here for very long," Ichigo muttered, thinking that someone would try to steal the thing or do something to it.

"So, what do you like to eat?" Grimmjow asked as he got into the car.

Ichigo froze, not sure what to say. "Oh, anything is fine with me. I don't really have a preference," he said with a nervous laugh. "I'm not picky."

Grimmjow nodded and started the car up to pull out and get onto the road. Ichigo almost didn't want to touch anything in the car, it was so clean and nice inside. He was still admiring the interior when they pulled into a place with a lot of lights. It was a big place that Ichigo had never heard of and couldn't pronounce the name of.

"Italian food work for you?" he asked with a smirk as he turned the car of.

"Oh, yes, this is too nice, though," he said as he got out, feeling decidedly underdressed.

"Nonsense, this is a reasonable place," he said as he gestured for Ichigo to move ahead of him.

Ichigo was overwhelmed by how nice the place was. He just stared as they had to wait a minute to be seated. He'd never been in a place that he had to wait to be sat down like this. He was very nervous as they were shown to a table for two and the waiter came around and brought water for them. Ichigo looked at the menu and had no idea what to order. Everything looked too expensive and different. He felt his face heating up in embarrassment.

The waiter came over and Ichigo looked at Grimmjow with a hopeful glance. Grimmjow ordered something and then they both looked at Ichigo.

"I'm not sure what to get," he stammered, not wanting to admit that he was lost completely with the menu.

Grimmjow smiled and nodded. He ordered something, what Ichigo had no idea. He would eat whatever it was, though. He was the guest, after all. He picked up the glass of water and sipped it dryly. He was never this nervous but here he was entirely out of his element.

"So, you take care of your sisters?" Grimmjow said with a glance over at him.

"Oh, yeah, they're both fourteen, twins actually. They're going to school right now, so I have to make sure that they're taken care of and get to school," Ichigo said as he looked across the table at Grimmjow. "I've been working on saving up for them to go to college too."

"That's cool," Grimmjow said, drinking from his own water glass. "Why are you looking after them? What happened to your parents?"

Ichigo nearly choked on his own spit as he scrambled for an explanation on that. "Uh, just family circumstances, so I took on the responsibility." He hurriedly changed the subject. "So, do you live on your own or with your parents?"

"I live with my parents. They're letting me stay with them until I get out of school later this year and get into my field of work," he said as he swirled the water in his glass while he spoke.

"Oh? What is your field of work going to be?" Ichigo wondered as he watched the other man intently.

"Oh, well, I'm a multidisciplinary studies student, so I don't have a specific thing I'm going into yet," Grimmjow admitted, looking up as the waiter returned with their food.

As he sat down the plate, Ichigo felt his stomach rumble. Luckily it was noisy in the restaurant and it couldn't be heard. He hadn't eaten much in the last couple days, and now this full plate of food was sitting there before him. He swallowed as he watched Grimmjow start to eat and then he himself did too. The food was amazing, to be honest, and he didn't know what to think as he kept quiet, concentrating on the phenomenal food before him. When he finished, he looked up and saw Grimmjow was staring at him.

"Um, sorry, I was a bit hungry," he said starting to flush red as he sat there under his scrutiny.

"No, that's fine, I'm glad you liked it; I was hoping I picked out something you'd like," Grimmjow said with a smirk. "Do you want any desert?"

Ichigo shook his head, because he was stuffed to the top. His stomach had shrunk over the last four months and he couldn't eat as much as he once could. "Oh, no, I'm fine, great actually."

Grimmjow leaned over a little closer and smiled at him. "We can't get any wine here, but I have some back at my house. My parents are out of town for the weekend, so it's all empty."

Ichigo felt his face heat up and he nodded. He swallowed and knew that he would have to pay up for what he'd gotten tonight, and he was okay with that. He knew very well what going back to someone's place meant.

They got checked out and Ichigo was aghast at how much Grimmjow paid for the dinner just like it was nothing. He could have bought groceries for a week with that amount of money. He swallowed and knew he had to do really well for him because it was so kind of him to have brought him out to dinner and brought food for his sisters. Not many people would have done that, he thought.

Once back in the car, Ichigo felt his chest clench in anticipation. Maybe he'd read the signs wrong and all he wanted was to have a glass of wine and that was all. Ichigo had never drank anything so he wasn't sure what he was going to think of it. They arrived at a massive house and Ichigo was stunned yet again. Grimmjow pulled into the front and got out first, then came around and opened the door for him. Ichigo was so busy staring that he didn't notice the hand he put on his back at all.

"This is amazing," Ichigo breathed out as he walked into the entry. "I've never been in such a beautiful house."

"I guess it is nice," Grimmjow said as he led him into the kitchen.

"Nice is an understatement," Ichigo said as he looked around the huge kitchen. "My whole apartment would fit in this kitchen…" he muttered.

"Here, how about some wine?" Grimmjow said as he set down two wine glasses. He turned back to a small refrigerator that had only bottles of wine behind glass. He took one out and showed the bottle to Ichigo, who had no idea what the label meant. He opened it and poured the two glasses full of the ruby red liquid.

Ichigo didn't turn it down, of course. He was the guest and he wasn't going to be a bad guest. He sipped the red liquid and nearly coughed at the strong taste. He managed to drink another sip without sputtering.

"Come, sit down in the living room," Grimmjow said as he picked up the wine bottle with one hand and his wine glass with the other.

Ichigo found himself in a huge living room that was wide and open. Grimmjow steered him toward the sofa, a large sectional, to sit down. He put the wine bottle down on the coffee table and drank more of his. Ichigo matched him, trying to drink about the same amount as he was. He was starting to feel funny, though, as his face was heating up and he was feeling warm all over.

Grimmjow set down his glass and reached out to pull his face toward him. Ichigo gasped, being so close to him.

"So, do you want to continue this?" Grimmjow breathed out on Ichigo's lips.

Ichigo didn't know what else to do, he just gave a nod even though he was scared out of his mind. He was expected to do this, he knew that much. He gasped at Grimmjow put his lips on his throat, tensing as he felt something rush through him. He was still scared but he was also starting to feel something in the pit of his stomach.

He jerked as one of Grimmjow's hands slid down between his legs and squeezed the inside of his thigh. He wasn't so sure about this at all, but the wine was helping make it easier to let go. He swallowed convulsively as he was laid back into the sofa and Grimmjow grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head. He panted as he felt like his face was on fire. He felt Grimmjow's fingers at the button of his jeans and he wanted to stop him, but he didn't. He just let him do whatever it was that he wanted to do. He jerked as Grimmjow's hands slid down into the back of his pants to squeeze at his ass. He wasn't sure what exactly he was supposed to do, but he assumed that Grimmjow had done this before and knew enough.

"I haven't done this with a guy," Grimmjow whispered against his throat and Ichigo felt his heart hammer in his chest. He hadn't done this before? "But it can't be that much different from a girl, now can it?" he whispered, still licking and sucking at Ichigo's collarbone.

Ichigo felt his body reacting to all the touching and he thought that was good at least if he reacted to it. He arched a bit as Grimmjow began to squeeze him from the front. His hands seemed to be everywhere. He felt him sliding his jeans down off his hips as he got himself lost in the sensations as he let himself go a little bit. He felt his fingers sliding underneath to find their way inside him. He wasn't sure what to think of his thick fingers sliding into him. He arched as he brushed something that made the world fuzz out and he gasped.

"Does that feel nice?" Grimmjow growled against his chest as he sucked hard on one of his nipples.

"Ung," he answered, unable to articulate anything else at that moment.

Grimmjow hummed and began to stroke him a little as he fingered him. Ichigo didn't know what to expect as he climbed up on the sofa and slid up between his legs. He felt his fingers slip out of him. He looked down and saw him ripping open a small package with his teeth and then did something. Then something else was pressing against him and he knew enough that he knew that he couldn't tense up or else it would be painful. He swallowed and felt him press forward. Immediately, once he felt him begin to slide into him, he grabbed onto Grimmjow's arms and squeezed.

"I don't know about this," he gasped out.

"Just relax, I've done this with a chick before, just go easy," he told him as he slipped further forward.

He gasped and gripped Grimmjow's arms even tighter because it definitely hurt some as he moved forward. Grimmjow reached down and stroked him once he was all the way seated inside him. "Are you okay?" he asked as he started to move a little back and forth.

"I don't know," Ichigo said as he felt him slide against that part that felt really good again and gasped out.

"There," Grimmjow said with a sly grin as he slowly began thrusting into him and angling for his sweet spot again and again. Before long, Ichigo was feeling good as well, and the pain he'd felt at first was forgotten. Grimmjow began to stroke him slowly with his thrusts and before long he stiffened and came hard onto his hand.

Grimmjow smirked and began thrusting hard and fast into him, setting a ruthless rhythm until he stiffened and Ichigo felt him stop moving. He groaned and pulled back, slipping out of him. Ichigo panted as he felt Grimmjow move away for a few minutes and then he returned, tossing a hand towel at Ichigo. He cleaned himself off with it and sat up.

"That was fun," Grimmjow said with smirk. "You seemed to enjoy yourself," he said as he leaned forward and ran a hand over Ichigo's collarbone where he'd left a light mark.

Ichigo nodded, grabbing his pants off the floor and quickly getting back into them. He felt incredibly self-conscious of being without his clothes all of a sudden even though he'd been in a much more compromising position moments before. Grimmjow handed him his t-shirt back and he slipped back into it.

"Too bad you have to be back at home with your sisters, or you could stay until morning," Grimmjow said with a smirk. "Maybe have another round or two…"

Ichigo felt his face flush red and he shook his head. "Well, I have to be there for them in the morning so Karin can get up for her soccer practice."

"Understood," Grimmjow said with a smirk. "I'll take you back home."

Ichigo didn't say anything else all the way home and told Grimmjow goodnight as he dropped him off at his apartment building. Ichigo felt somewhat glad that the night went as well as it did, even if sleeping with Grimmjow had been no surprise, he still felt like he'd done something wrong. He carefully opened and closed the door behind him. He saw that the girls were both in bed already as they should have been at this hour.

Ichigo got into his futon still dressed and fell into a restless sleep. He didn't see the door to the girls' bedroom close, and the eyes that watched him get into bed.