Wasn’t in Grimmjow’s nature to remain calm. The orders were simple. Go in for a while. Check out the certain candy shop then head back out again. [ ɴᴏᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴇɴɢᴀɢᴇ ʙᴀᴛᴛʟᴇ ] No other information that that. He knew it wasn’t going to be that simple, but Luppi didn’t seem to have a clue how fishy this seemed. He for one is already on the Soul Reaper’s radar. Oh well, they’d take this one step at a time.

           ♔ ┊ ‘  The orders were to just watch.  ’ 

           But, by the grin growing on the Ƙιηg’ѕ face, that wasn’t going to be the case. If they happened to come across any being hidden away in that location, Grimmjow would make sure this trip was well worth it.

Luppi really had no clue what had the other so tense. Granted, the panther always seemed to be in a foul mood, but he never really looked on edge, usually he just looked kinda bored. Meanwhile the only thing on Luppi’s mind was how much trouble he’d like to cause, like a hyperactive, spoiled child with nothing else to do but ruin someone’s day.

“Boooooring~”

He drawled, but the grin that began to creep upon the sexta’s face told him Grimmjow wasn’t about to just take a passive approach to this mission. It might just turn out to be fun after all~

           He sent Luppi [ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʟᴏᴏᴋ ] while extending out an arm to smack the other upside the head. Not had, but enough. There was this feeling in the pit of his stomach. One chiming an alarm because why else would their Commander send these two off on a mission. Together. Didn’t make sense, but he’d cooperate for now. Best to keep the other out of the loop. Just in case his senses were wrong.

           Grimmjow isn’t the exact 𝒻𝑜𝑜𝓁 that people take him for.

           Gaze shifted back onto the city lights.

           ♔ ┊ ‘  You don’t ever listen to anyone, do you? We’re here to check           out one of the Soul Reapers hangouts.  ’ 

“Ow!”

He hissed, shooting the other a glare as he rubbed the back of his head.

Luppi didn’t so much care about the rhyme or reason or implications about being sent out with the current sexta as much as he cared for the fact that he was out and about for once.

“Haha~ Nope~” The smaller Arrancar admitted. Well... he did... sometimes. Nowadays, there was little reason to.

Still, this was exciting. A recon mission? 

“So what’re we gonna do when we get there?”

@lujuria-malcriado

           ♔ ┊ ‘  Swear. You call this a date one more time and I’ll…  ’ 

           Not as though that’d be such an awful thing.

           ‘  We’re under orders. Pay attention.  ’

“Soooo.... It’s a date.”

Luppi just loved to tease. They’d been at this since their departure, but he couldn’t just let the opportunity go. It was the two of them. Alone. Away from prying eyes. Yes, they had orders, but there was no harm in multi-tasking.

“Okay okay... What are we doing again?”

He was so not paying attention.

Szayel nuzzled into him.  Luppi was so small, he fit just perfectly into the complimentary spaces as he curled around him.

“Yes, I do know,” he said.  “That sounds good to me.  It’s been a while, after all.”

He rested his head on his shoulder, happily sharing his space, his affection.

“What have you been up to?  I know I’m always here in the labs…”

The former sexta felt so lazy and content to just sit here, wrapped in Szayel’s spindly arms and showered in simple affections.

“Me?... hmph...”

He turned his head to glance at Szayel before scoffing and looking away.

“The usual.. pissing people off until they beat me to a pulp~ My absolute favorite passtime.”

His words were half sarcasm, half truth. After all, he was something of a glutton for punishment.

“Mhm~” 

He hums as he sits, comfortable in the other man’s lap. A delighted sigh left his lips as Szayel kissed his neck and let his hands wander. 

It was as though he could finally relax now that they were together. The absence hadn’t been stressful, per se, but he certainly felt something was missing when they were apart for that long.

“Just you. Just this. You know? Everything, nothing.. anything.”

𝔾𝕣𝕚𝕞𝕞 𝕂𝕚𝕕 || 𝕝𝕦𝕛𝕦𝕣𝕚𝕒-𝕞𝕒𝕝𝕔𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕕𝕠

           Grimmjow knew what was going on before the action had been finalized. Being at this size no longer gave him any authority. Luppi suddenly felt that he could do whatever he wished. Luckily this serum wasn’t anything permanent, so the day of revenge was soon to come. For now, he’d be left shouting in that child-like voice. Nothing special about it.

           ♔ ┊ ‘ Get me down from this, you bastard! ’ 

           But he already knew well enough that Luppi was enjoying this far too much. The other was still laughing his ass off. Sure Grimmjow would join in on that, once the tables were turned back around. [ Oh, he’d pay for this. ]

           It’s already been several minutes, and Grimmjow’s tried various ways of getting himself down. All turning into a failure. His little arms held no strength. At all. He’s was left with only one option. To hang there like a terrible choice in decoration.

           ‘  I hate you.  ’ 

“But you really look so cute up there~”

Luppi cooed, admiring his handiwork as he approached the smaller being and prodded his nose with the tip of a slender finger.

He simply couldn’t help himself. He had to take advantage of the other’s sudden transformation. Really though, Grimmjow’s childish form, kicking and screaming and cursing was almost overwhelmingly adorable.

When Grimmjow had stopped squirming, it had already been several minutes since he had first been put up there. A laugh left Luppi’s lips at the bitter resentment that dripped from the other’s words.

“Tell me something I don’t know, cutie~ Are you all tuckered out from trying to get yourself off of that? Do you want milky? A blankie?”

   Cirucci looped her arm around Luppi’s as the walked, holding on to his thin appendage with a dainty one of her own. She’d missed this, even if it wasn’t much. If there was anyone in this kami-forsaken place she could actually call a friend, it was the former Sexta. As much as things like them could even have friends.

   Her curls bounced slightly with the nod of her head.

         “It’s true, it definitely had it’s upsides. But it also had it’s downsides. I’m glad to be back~. But enough about me, dear. Where in the world have you been? I haven’t felt you before now in such a long time. What have you been up to?”

She was cute. A fact Luppi mentally noted with mingled jealousy and adoration. And when she looped her arm around his, a small smile graced his lips. He really missed this.

“I can imagine.” 

Being stripped of a rank and title was a feeling he knew well, but he wouldn’t dredge up such angst and disappointment now.

“Hmm? a-ahh...” Speaking of....

“The uh.. details aren’t important.. I was away for a while.. that’s all~ But I’m back now and so are you and that’s kind of all I really care about, right now.”

He spoke with a shrug, obviously gleaning over the gruesome details of his absence, which was definitely not a subject he wanted to touch on.

He stood unflinchingly, even as the speed of Grimmjow’s fist caused his ebony locks to flutter gently after the other managed to halt his assault just in time. It was as if Luppi knew he wouldn’t be struck. A cat-like grin stretched his plump lips. 

The petite Arrancar looked so pleased with himself and a little giggle fell from his lips. The current Sexta’s glare did little to intimidate him. After all, the smaller of the two already knew he wasn’t supposed to sneak up on the panther, but he simply couldn’t help himself. As it turned out, there were other ways to tease the man and methods like these didn’t make Grimmjow want to beat him into a bloody pulp.

“Well you take too long.” He spoke with a frown finally replacing the smug smirk. Lilac hues drifted away and he whistled an innocent tune. Of course he’d rearranged a thing or two... or several. The longer Grimmjow took, the more things Luppi would move. Again, as a means to tease the man.

“I think it looks lots better~”

         Luppi did not need to utter any words to voice his frustration on these actions played out by the Espada. Grimmjow felt hat he already knew what shit the other’s lips would be spewing out if it were manageable, but somehow he had managed to beat this one into the point where even talking was a pain. If only that had been managed sooner then perhaps they wouldn’t have been brought into this mess. Did Luppi really enjoy irritating the man so very much? Hell, Grimmjow knew that was his nature, but if this little shit wanted anything from the King, this was the wrong way to go about it.

         Still had him bothered as to why he was even bothering to aid Luppi now after that whole show.

         That mouth of yours can’t get you out of everything.

         Grimmjow felt that gaze on him every step of the way, and not once did he meet it. He just found that to be rather pointless at the moment considering that he already felt partially guilty. He just had to keep in mind that Luppi deserved this. That thought wasn’t helping, though, and that only started to piss him off. That expression stayed away from his features. Luppi wouldn’t know, or had they known one another far too long for these things to be senses.

         In any case, he kept his pace up until the point in which they had arrived at the door. Luppi’s chambers sitting on the other side, and if Grimmjow recalled their past, it wasn’t the manliest of places, but whatever. Wasn’t his call, and he didn’t take light into kicking the door in. Luckily Los Noches was built a bit better than your average structure. At least this door was, in any case. Withstanding Grimmjow’s forceful entry, the Panther then strut in. Closing the door once again with a simple movement of his foot.

         Still keeping himself silent, he moved them both to the very edge of the mattress and that’s where Grimmjow would leave the other. He wouldn’t go as far as tucking Luppi in. That would be just an idiotic move on his part, but he at least made sure to get his head on the pillow. What was there to do after that, because he was still avoiding that gaze and his job here was done. Should Grimmjow just leave now since there would be no further purpose here?

         Get the hell out… but…

His eyes really never did leave the Panther King’s face as the man carried him like the bleeding half-corpse he was. Half focused, his vision wavered between mindlessly observing the man’s features and staring straight through him as idle, frustrating thoughts and questions coursed through his consciousness.

What was the point of these ridiculous games anymore? The pair of Sextas-- one more legitimate than the other-- shared the aspect of destruction and they each seemed to embody it in two different, yet perfect ways, with Grimmjow’s general penchant for bouts of destructive rage, and Luppi’s seemingly self-destructive habits. They both also shared an annoyingly stubborn sense of pride... 

Suddenly, it bothered the smaller Arrancar. They were so similar... and yet so different... So why? When the lewd little devil could have anyone else at his beck and call-- why was he so transfixed on Grimmjow?

At first, it was a challenge. Could he get the king to his knees? How much farther could he make the man sink? More so than anyone else, the panther’s reactions and behaviors, though predictable, intrigued and entertained the effeminate Arrancar.

And then it really became a game. How long could he poke and prod at the dormant beast before it could lash out? Could he run away in time and avoid the beast’s fangs and claws? Most of the time, he couldn’t get away, but he never really did learn to stay away. 

So what was it that kept drawing him back?

Before he really recognized their surroundings, Grimmjow was kicking in the door to his rooms and in a couple steps, he was at Luppi’s bed, resting his head against the soft pillows he so adored.

Was whatever this was just destined to lead them both to ruin? Was this impending destruction what drew the pair of sextas to each other like moths to a flame?

Unable to put much thought to the movement in his fingers, he instinctively latched onto the panther’s shirt. Weak as his grip was, the slight tug on the other’s clothing would be discernible enough.

Stay.

He willed through half lidded, tired eyes, without actually knowing what it was that made him hope the man would heed his meek, wordless command.

“I’m doing nothing of the sort, I don’t know what you are talking about.” Toshiro replied coolly, his nose wrinkling again as it was tapped. “The time you spent away must of addled your brains.”

“Hmmmm~” He hummed pensively before tutting lightly.

“My brains were addled a long time ago, but I’m surprisingly perceptive!~ It’s okay to say ya’ missed me~ We all know I’m pretty entertaining, to say the least. I can tell you’ve been bored without me~”

𝔾𝕣𝕚𝕞𝕞 𝕂𝕚𝕕 || 𝕝𝕦𝕛𝕦𝕣𝕚𝕒-𝕞𝕒𝕝𝕔𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕕𝕠

         Not that he would admit it, but Grimmjow did understand the advantage that the other had in this matter. After the countless years of constant picking on him and whatnot, now it was Luppi’s turn to repay those acts. Didn’t meant that the miniature King had to like that fact, though. Nope. Not in the slightest. Judging by the expression taking over the other’s facial features; this would not end well.

         Once that grip took hold of his arm, Grimmjow tried his damned hardest to get free. Being unsuccessful.

         ♔ ┊ ‘  Ey, you damn bastard! Let me go! I’ll kick your ass! I swear it!!  ’ 

         Funny how his heightened voice made those threads seem more of a joke than anything else. To this Grimmjow was not amused but the child had no choice but to follow in step to whatever doom Luppi had in store.

Luppi stopped in his tracks as curses began to spill out of the pint-sized panther. 

He blinked and was silent for a moment before finally letting out uproarious laughter. His high pitched voice really made every meaningless threat that came from his mouth so much funnier than it should have been.

“Oh my GODS!!” He cried out between laughter.

“You sound absolutely ridiculous, I’ll have you know.” The petite arrancar pointed out as he shook his head and resumed his pace towards a mount on the wall.

Normally, it help a torch for lighting purposes, but today it would hold a Grimmjow.

“There~” Luppi mused as he hung the smaller sexta on the mount by the back of his jacket.

“I think you really add to the atmosphere of the hall, Grimmy!~”

–––◉ A light laugh sounded through her closed lips, her smirk in place. 

      “I’m sure it won’t take you too long to find something, or someone, to get into~.” Lavender eyes shined as she walked, her head held high. What point in time was she experiencing again? Here the two of them were, walking the grounds, the way they used to when they were the power. She thought it funny, how despite it all, not much ever changed.

   “As am I~. And yes, I’d much rather look at your beautiful visage than the normal lacking rabble. That is one thing I did not miss, the full-on idiocy of everyone else.”

“Oooh~” The slender male hummed as though Cirucci had just said something far too scandalous, but she was simply pointing out the facts.

The pair were the equivalent of gossipy women in the world of the living. For beings without hearts, he felt especially close to this little whirlwind of sass. She was probably the only being in existence that Luppi could possibly ever consider a friend.

“I guess living in seclusion and away from Las Noches has its perks, doesn’t it?~”

         This demand had been one of which Grimmjow did not predict any trouble to. The sixth’s mind went ahead; painting a picture of that damn prick’s face. Tagging along as Grimmjow, The King, led way back towards his room. A space in which Luppi stepped foot in many of times previously. The outed Sixth might move into some belief that he’s won this confrontation. Like hell that’d happen with a man as stubborn as he, but Grimmjow’s ears did not pick up on the patter of feet trailing behind him. No hums of delighted pleasure to be on the Panther’s good side again. There were noises in which he had been able to hear, but they did not fit in line with what his mind had been casting.

         It had been but two of the simplest words that then caught his full attention. The pace he had been moving at then started to stall. Testing without a glance back to see if this may be some try at some trickery, and when Grimmjow was to turn, Luppi would exact some attempt at revenge for that beating. Not a bad plan, if he had to admit in silence. Grimmjow wouldn’t fall for it, though. That’s what he was convinced of, until pieces of those scattered noises and two words came together. Could it really be that Luppi was down for the count, and if seeing was believing, then Grimmjow simply had to take a peek.

         With doing so, the Panther’s head had been the first thing to rotate. Eyes moved as far to the side of his vision as possible just in case that surprise attack was lying in wait. To what he saw, the other was not anywhere near him. Or, no. Luppi hadn’t moved even an inch from that spot. The position was altered just a bit, but the accomplishment of moving had been failed. They say that sometimes seeing is believing, and this surely had to be one of those moments, though even as an azure gaze was catching such a sight, his mind could not completely comprehend the situation.

         Is it a joke…

         Grimmjow wanted to toss that option out as his first thought, but by the way that the other looked; defeated and helpless. No. The truth really was clear. This beating hadn’t been easy, and hell. Wasn’t as though the smartass didn’t have it coming. Luppi deserved a hell of a lot more than that, if Grimmjow was to be honest. And not just from him. This sharp tongued piece of shit ran his mouth a lot. Pissed off many of those that he shouldn’t. Some may just shrug it off, but Grimmjow hadn’t ever been one of those people to simply let things slide.

         At this time, could there be a possibility that he took it too damn far?

         Grimmjow didn’t want that to be a fact. A chanting voice set in the man’s head. Hoping that Luppi would just get the fuck up and stop milking the situation. While the Panther’s feet slowly began a backtrack pace, what he already knew came back into his mind. It was positive. The beating really had taken a toll, and catching Luppi like this set some emotions in place that Grimmjow really fucking hated.

         Guilt.

         That was the pain one.

         One leg began to take a knee beside that body. So easy it was to tell that Luppi felt ashamed of this current state. A weakened sight seen by probably one of the last people he’s ever wanted to. Nothing able to stop the moment from carrying on. Grimmjow’s eyes set in his sights. A silence taking up the hall. Their ears might actually be able to hear a pin drop. It was that quiet.

         In these few extra seconds, Grimmjow contemplated his next move. The one that popped up first into his mind was simple. Walk away and leave this one to rot in the hall. Would surely make Luppi cast a never ending hatred over at the Sexta and then perhaps they’d finally meet their end, but question lingered within the air that if this option is what Grimmjow actually wanted. With his other option, it may only recycle their disastrous, toxic relationship. Grimmjow just hated having to make this choice.

         It’d be hell of a lot easier if Luppi never made it a priority to piss Grimmjow off on a constant basis.

         Since that wasn’t the case, the decision was a bit more difficult. Rid his life of that thorn at his side, or set aside selfish thoughts and come to the honest realization that he actually cares about Luppi. Wasn’t an ideal thought but deep down within the panther’s gut, he knew. This was the truth.

         With whatever motion he could, Grimmjow took it upon himself to scoop this body up into his hold. A small regret already forming since this was an action going against his better judgement, and nature.

         Why in the hell are you doing this shit to yourself?!

         He already knew that this wouldn’t be appreciated. They’d be back to hatred in the morning, so why the hell should Grimmjow even try? Thing is, he couldn’t put Luppi down. Grimmjow would actually take him back to his own room and set the former Sixth up there. Perhaps stay, if that’s what Luppi wanted, but he’d let that decision be made by the other.

“I can’t...” He spoke again as his voice cracked and his eyes welled up again.

Luppi had always been a stubborn fool and could almost be considered a professional punching bag. He could take hit after hit after slash after kick and still manage to run his mouth or pick himself up after the ordeal. 

Not this time, though. 

His body burned with agony and he stayed motionless on the ground. It hurt to breathe and it hurt to blink and speak. With the adrenaline finally done pumping through his veins, he could feel the pain of every broken bone in his small, frail body and he cursed himself for being unable to stop the panther’s raging onslaught. 

He cursed the panther as well for being so damn ruthless.

At this point, the smaller arrancar might have been much more content in lying there and awaiting death’s release. He’d prefer it over the hazy sight of Grimmjow kneeling at his side.

‘Go away.’ He wanted to urge. 

‘Leave me alone.’ He silently begged.

‘Don’t look at me like that.’ He pleaded internally.

And still, the panther gazed down at him, but Luppi was unable to make out the expression he wore. 

Next thing he knew, he was being scooped up from the ground and into Grimmjow’s arms. 

He lacked the energy to struggle and found it more painful to be picked up than it was to just lay there.

His body was limp in the other’s arms and his breathing was ragged, but his amethyst eyes never left the panther’s face.

What was he doing? What was the meaning of this? He was finally on death’s doorstep so why on earth couldn’t Grimmjow just be satisfied to leave him there to die?

                                                  I’m not really b a d -                                         I’m just made of {;BAD THINGS;}