"Grimmy-honey...!" a feminine voice that Grimmjow knew all too well called out. "Where are you?"

Grimmjow almost groaned. "I'm here, mom," he called back.

He turned back to his backpack; he was nearly done packing all of his things. All he needed was to shove in some clothes, and a toothbrush, and he was good to go. And it only took him like what, five minutes? How the hell women could take such a long time doing something like this was beyond him... Grimmjow had stuck another clean shirt into his backpack when he heard footsteps running up the stairs. Mom.

A few steps after, he heard the footsteps enter his room. Grimmjow straightened up, and almost immediately, felt two extremely soft, large objects press against his back as the owner of said objects wrapped her arms around him in a form of a hug. "Grimmy-honey!" Rangiku cooed, squeezing her one and only son affectionately.

"Aww, ma..." Grimmjow whined, embarrassed. "Don't do that...!"

But this only made Rangiku squeeze him even harder, causing her breasts to squish up against his back even more.

Grimmjow was just thankful that no one else was there, or he would have positively melted and absorbed into the ground from pure embarrassment.

"My little baby has grown so fast...!" His mother nuzzled his hair. "It was like only this morning that you went off to school!"

"I did go to school this morning, mom."

Another tight squeeze.

It was at that point that Grimmjow not only wished that she would let go, but that she would wear a bra.

In fact, to all doting mothers out there: wear a damned bra every time you want to hug your son, because without it, it is as awkward as hell. But even though Rangiku knew this fact very well – something that Grimmjow had to grumble to her often – she did not care. Heck, when Grimmjow tried to wriggle out of her embrace, his head was promptly met with a smack. Nothing was going to deny her, his mother, the opportunity to hug her son. So Grimmjow decided to stay quiet till she was satisfied, albeit reluctantly.

Finally, finally after what seemed like an eternity – but really was only a full minute – his mother let him go and allowed him to breathe more easily.

Thank God!

Rangiku sat down on the edge of the bed. Her golden hair, which she usually left cascading down her back, was tied in a low ponytail. She was wearing loose, simple clothes and her skin gleamed slightly with sweat. She must have just finished doing house work – a rarity when it came to her. Her blue eyes landed on the backpack. Grimmjow could already see a question begin to form in her mouth. Sure enough, she opened her mouth and spoke.

"Where are you going, honey?"

"To a friend's house," was Grimmjow's evasive answer.

She blinked. She looked a little disappointed. "So soon?"

"Yeah, well... It's kinda urgent."

Not one to censor her words, Rangiku said, "Bullshit."

"Aww, come on, mom. Didn't I tell you about it? You even said that it was okay."

"When?"

"Last night."

Rangiku made a face. "You expect me to remember? I was drunk last night."

Oh, so that was why she was singing Christmas carols out loud that time.

"Sorry..." He stuck a toothbrush into his bag. Done. Grimmjow zipped up the backpack, ready to go. He swung the bag over his shoulder. "But I already made plans."

His mother made a sort of whining noise. "I hardly see you around anymore. You're always either out with your friends or working at that pet shop. Doesn't help that Gin is working outstation right now. Mommy is lonely."

"Sorry."

"You should be sorry."

"Sorry..." Grimmjow apologized yet again, beginning to feel a bit stupid. But really, he did not know what else to say. He would have left then and there if he had not caught sight of her face. Her blue eyes were large and sad, and her mouth was fixed in a pout. There were even unshed tears glistening in her eyes. He sighed, then went to her and kissed her on the forehead. "We'll go watch a movie or something when I get back, aite?" he said, hugging her lightly. Even though he could not wait to get away from her, his mother really was not half bad when she is sober.

"And dinner too."

"Right, right, and dinner too..."

"Good," she sniffed, mollified, returning the hug. "My boy has gotten so big..." she sighed, tightening the embrace. A pause. "Is she pretty?"

Grimmjow stared at her blankly. "Who is pretty?"

"The girl you've been hanging out with."

"I've not been hanging out with any girl..." Grimmjow said slowly.

Rangiku snorted.

"What?"

"Oh, please." She rolled her eyes. "You can't tell me that you hardly hang out with those three boys, stopped getting into trouble at school, and that your teacher Ms Harribel has not complained to me about you for months-"

Wait, Ms Hairy Balls – eh, Harribel actually went months without complaining about him?

"-is not because of some girl."

That must be some sort of record.

"Wha- of course it ain't about some girl! Those have nothing to do with me-"

"And on top of that," she continued. "You've been smiling and blushing like a love sick idiot."

Grimmjow turned red. "I don't smile or blush like a love sick idiot!" he said defensively. How the heck did his drunk-half-the-time mother notice something like that anyway? "There's no girl!"

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow. "If there is no girl, then what is there?"

Grimmjow opened his mouth, ready to tell her that Ulquiorra was not a woman, thank you very much, then closed his mouth, thinking better of it. Images of his mother freaking out over the fact that her son was sleeping over at some older man's house flashed through his mind. She would get over it, and so would dad, but still...

"Well?"

... Yeah, you know what? Let's just go with Ulquiorra being a woman. For now.

He laughed nervously. "Yeah, you're right, mom. It is a girl." Sweatdrop. He raised his hands as though in surrender. "You've got me." He prayed that Rangiku would buy his lie. He would tell her the truth later, when he was ready.

Please please please...

"See?" Rangiku said triumphantly, thumping a hand against her chest. "A mother always knows."

Yes!

"Yeah..." Grimmjow said, eager to get away. "Well, I'll see you later, then, mom."

"Mm."

The teal-haired teen stopped at the door, ready to walk out, his hand resting on the doorknob. Rangiku sent a puzzled look at the back of Grimmjow's head at her son's sudden pause. "For the record," Grimmjow said. "She isn't pretty." Rangiku raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. After a moment's silence, Grimmjow added, "She's sexy." Then he left before she could bombard him with questions.

"Is it okay if I work for you at Happy Pet Pet for a little longer?"

A question that was asked by Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez to him, Ulquiorra Cifer, about two months ago.

Ulquiorra blinked, not expecting that question at all. He knew that Grimmjow loved working at Happy Pet Pet, but still, this was a surprise. While he stayed silent, Grimmjow kept fidgeting in his seat and looked almost embarrassed, the lightest shade of pink dusting his cheeks. Once Ulquiorra got over his initial shock, he could not help but to smile softly, the smile reaching his eyes.

"Of course."

A response that was given by him to the teen.

Relieved, Grimmjow's face broke into a grin. "Sweet!" He was so happy that he pulled Ulquiorra into a hug, not particularly caring that he was hugging his boss. "Thanks, man!"

Now, fast forward to about two months since that scene at that little cafe.

Ulquiorra was at the store as usual, but this time, there was not a single sign of the teal-haired teen that had been working there for several months. Nor was there any sign of Murcielago or Pantera, but that shall be explained later, alright? There was work that needed to be done, but Ulquiorra did not seem agitated by this one bit. Even though he had to do Grimmjow's share of work, he did not even scowl. In fact, he was as calm as he had always been. The reason for this was that Grimmjow had a perfectly good reason for missing work today.

The reason?

Grimmjow was having his final exams as a high school student. Today was his final paper.

Grimmjow... The smile on Ulquiorra's lips reached his eyes upon thinking that name.

"Hey, Ulqui!" Grimmjow greeted as he gave Ulquiorra a kiss on the cheek. "Morning!"

He touched his cheek, then sighed. The skin that Grimmjow had kissed tingled. He had gotten a little more fond than he would have liked over that boy...

Ulquiorra did not even jump when someone suddenly walked into the store and let something drop to the floor heavily. Knowing exactly who it was that had entered, his heart fluttered. Without turning around to look at the person who had just come in, Ulquiorra continued feeding the rabbits and said, "You're just in time, Grimmjow. I was just about to close up the store and leave without you. You know how we close up early on Fridays."

"I know, I know..." Grimmjow said. Ulquiorra could practically feel the aura that the teen now radiated. Relief, happiness, a bit of sadness and tiredness... "Sorry, man... Today was kinda hectic... After everything I had to go back home for a bit to see mom and get my things. If I'm gone for too long, she gets worried." Grimmjow rolled his eyes at the last part, though a soft look remained in his eyes after saying it. "You know how she is."

"I can only imagine." Ulquiorra stood up. He dug his pocket for the keys to the store. When he found them, he finally turned around and said, "Now, shall we go?"

"Fuck yes."

After making sure that all the animals were fed and well-cared for, Ulquiorra locked up the store and walked towards his car, with Grimmjow walking by his side. Grimmjow had a silly grin on his face. It did not take long for Ulquiorra to drive the both of them to a restaurant for dinner, and then to his house. Once in front of Ulquiorra's house, Grimmjow would have busted down the door if Ulquiorra did not hold him back.

"Calm down now," Ulquiorra said, fitting the key into the keyhole, "Just be patient, you idiot..."

Grimmjow was practically skipping. "How the heck can you expect me to be patient when she's waiting for me?"

As soon as the door was open, Grimmjow tore into the house.

"PANTIES...!"

Ulquiorra nearly groaned. "Can you please not call my cat by that name?"

But Grimmjow was not listening. He was already cooing and petting a now rather large white cat that was lying curled up in its basket.

"Hey, Panties..." Grimmjow said, stroking the cat lovingly, "How have you been...? Alright...?"

"... It is Pantera, Grimmjow," Ulquiorra said flatly, "Not Panties."

But he did not seem to hear. Either that, or he had ignored Ulquiorra, because he continued to coo to Pantera, calling her "Panties". Having heard the racket that Grimmjow made upon entering the house, the black cat on the couch stirred. Yawning, Murcielago got up and stretched out on the couch. He then leapt onto the floor, made his way to Pantera and nuzzled her on the side of her face lovingly.

"Mew..."

Ulquiorra watched all of this while Grimmjow continued to coo to "Panties". He shuddered. How Grimmjow had come about to creating such a horrid nickname for his cat, he did not know.

You see, as Pantera neared toward the end of her pregnancy – yes, Panties – um, Pantera, was very much pregnant, thanks to a certain black cat – Grimmjow insisted on staying over at his house often, wanting to be one of the first to greet and see the newborn kittens. And it seemed that Murcielago felt the same way as well, because when Ulquiorra only let Pantera stay at home and not him, he made such a racket at the store every day that Ulquiorra gave in and let him stay with Pantera. Grimmjow stayed over so often that Ulquiorra wondered whether his parents did not find it strange at all that their son had been staying over at an older man's house.

Well, it was a good thing Ulquiorra did not know Rangiku thought Grimmjow's friend was a female. Yet.

"Grimmjow," Ulquiorra said as he shrugged off his jacket and hung it on the coat stand. "I'm going to take a shower. You can take one after playing with the cats. You know where the towels are kept, right?"

"Of course."

"Good."

The teen played with both the cats until Murcielago, who had decided that his beloved Pantera needed rest, nipped at his fingers, clearly telling him to clear off. Murcielago gazed up at Grimmjow pointedly as he moved to sit in front of Pantera, blocking her from the teen's sight.

"Alright, alright," Grimmjow chuckled, holding up his hands. "I'll piss off, aite? Don't you worry your pretty little head about it."

All he got as a reply from Murcielago was a stern stare.

"Heh." Another chuckle. Cute.

Grimmjow stood up and dusted his hands, looking around. The faint sound of a shower running could be heard. Ulquiorra must already be upstairs. Yawning a bit, Grimmjow stretched his arms above his head. It had been a long day. His exams lasted well till late afternoon. After his exams, he had gone to his house to see his mom and get his clothes, then went to meet up with Ulquiorra, had dinner with him, and now he was here, at Ulquiorra's house. It was already night time.

Well, Grimmjow thought as he headed up the stairs. One of the floorboards creaked softly when he stepped on it. Might as well turn in now. Unless I can convince Mr Grumpy Pot to watch a movie or two with me. The thought of Ulquiorra made his heart beat faster than he would have liked.

The sound of the shower running got louder as Grimmjow neared Ulquiorra's bedroom. Two months ago, Grimmjow would not even think about entering that man's room, but, now was not two months ago. Grimmjow entered Ulquiorra's room, plopped himself on the man's bed, making it bounce slightly under his weight and made himself comfortable as though it was the most natural thing in the world to do. Before this, he would always stay in the guest room whenever he stayed here, but he guessed that being here should be alright as well. It had got to be, right? It was not like they were complete strangers or anything.

Besides... Never know unless you try, right?

Inside the room, Grimmjow found that nearly everything was exactly the same since he last entered it. Clean and tidy, the room practically had Ulquiorra Cifer's name all over it – it even smelled like Cifer, and also, to his satisfaction, like himself as well. It was not much of a surprise, really, since the last time Grimmjow had been here was yesterday – yes, he had only gone home for a change of clothes. You see, now that it was about two months since Pantera had gotten pregnant, Grimmjow absolutely refused to stay anywhere else till she had given birth. Till then, he was going to stick around here whether Ulquiorra liked it or not. Ulquiorra could yell, kick and punch him - but he did not do any of this, of course - but there was no way he was going to budge a single inch. Grimmjow was just that stubborn.

He was pretty sure that Ulquiorra liked having him around, though.

And yes, Pantera was the only reason he was sticking around. Mmhmm. That was right. Just Pantera.

Of course, being around Ulquiorra was not that bad... he supposed.

Grimmjow smiled softly, then scowled for doing so, remembering what his mother had said about his smiles and blushes.

"Tch... Love sick idiot my foot..." he grumbled under his breath.

He propped his head up on a pillow, hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. The sound of the running water coming from the bathroom was strangely relaxing – it was practically lulling him to sleep. Grimmjow yawned. He must be more tired than he thought. Damn it. This was all Ulquiorra's fault. Because of him, he not only did not get enough sleep, he was nearly late for school. Another yawn.

He wished Ulquiorra would hurry up. If he did not finish soon, he was going to fall asleep right here and...

"Grimmjow?"

The sound of the running water had stopped. Grimmjow, who was being pulled into sleep, jerked awake. He sat up and rubbed at his eyes, yawning.

"What are you doing in my room?" Ulquiorra had gotten out of the bathroom, with only a towel wrapped around his waist. He had an amused look fixed on his face as he gazed at Grimmjow. "Getting quite bold, aren't we? I don't believe that I've given you permission to sleep on my bed."

"Oh, shut up..." Grimmjow grumbled, turning a bit red upon seeing Ulquiorra's half-naked body. "You didn't have a problem with it last night."

"Of course I didn't have a problem with it last night."

Ulquiorra sat down at the edge of the bed, right next to Grimmjow. The bed sank slightly under the added weight. His hair was still a bit wet, and damn... He looked good. Grimmjow tried not to stare at how some of the droplets of water that clung to Ulquiorra's skin slowly slid down his chest, his well-toned stomach, right down...

"Like what you see?"

"What?" Grimmjow snapped out of it. When he realized that he was staring, he said quickly, "No! Fuck no!"

"I see..." Ulquiorra did not seem offended by this. If anything, he seemed to have seen through Grimmjow's poor attempt at a lie. He reached out and ran his fingers through Grimmjow's hair, playing with the hair at the back of his neck. "How was your exam?" he said conversationally. "Alright?"

"The paper was alright, and, oi..." Grimmjow answered slowly, shifting uncomfortably under Ulquiorra's gaze. His touch sent shivers down Grimmjow's spine. "The hell are you doing?"

"Nothing." He stroked Grimmjow's hair once more. "And how are your parents?"

"Mom is fine. I'm gonna go and catch a movie and have dinner with her when I get back..."

"Mmhmm." Ulquiorra hummed. He pulled Grimmjow closer, and kissed his neck softly.

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes at him, heart beating fast. "Oi..."

Ulquiorra ignored him. "And your father?"

"He's fine. He's overseas doing some work."

"I see..." He continued teasing Grimmjow's neck, making the teen groan slightly. "Did anything new happen?"

"Aside from having exams, no-"

But his words were cut off when Ulquiorra pulled his face out of the confines of Grimmjow's neck to kiss him, apparently tired of making an attempt at a conversation. He was in the mood for something else entirely. "Grimmjow..." he murmured against Grimmjow's lips. At first, the teen did not respond, but after awhile, he kissed Ulquiorra back, caressing his lips against pale pink ones. Grimmjow had even nipped at Ulquiorra's bottom lip playfully. Encouraged by this, Ulquiorra pulled him closer, his bare chest meeting Grimmjow's clothed one, to deepen it.

"Ulquiorra..."

Yes... Well, as you can see, a lot had happened over a span of two months.

It had begun innocently enough. A couple of drinks after work. A bit of teasing during work. If they were feeling hungry, instead of drinking, they would opt to have dinner. Then, Grimmjow would sometimes ask Ulquiorra to hang out with him during the weekend, to watch a movie, to go for a walk... Sometimes, Ulquiorra would be the one to call Grimmjow up. Sometimes they would just talk, sometimes Ulquiorra would tutor Grimmjow – apparently, the guy was a genius, but since he loved animals so much, he had chosen to open a pet store instead of becoming a doctor like he had initially wanted to – and sometimes, Grimmjow would be the one teaching Ulquiorra something. An extreme sport, for example - to Grimmjow's disappointment, it seemed that Ulquiorra was more than capable at playing extreme sports even if he did not seem like it. After awhile, Ulquiorra started inviting Grimmjow over to his house. And when Pantera began to reach towards the end of her pregnancy, Grimmjow's visits grew more frequent.

And... somewhere along the line, things started getting a bit more than just about talking. They started getting a bit more intimate. So much that they crossed the line between being just employer and employee and entered a relationship that was... not quite a relationship that lovers shared, but they were getting there.

Right now, they did not have a name for their "relationship". They were going to get to that, though. One of these days.

"Ahh... Ulquiorra..." Grimmjow panted.

"Yes?" Ulquiorra leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss against his lips. He then moved down and kissed at his chest. "What is it?"

"Come on..." he whined. "Quit teasing me already."

For the second time that day, Ulquiorra smirked. "Oh, I will get there, Grimmjow." And once more, that warm mouth of his descended onto Grimmjow's skin. "Just be patient."

It was well late in the morning when Grimmjow heard it; the sound of his cell phone beeping. He cracked an eye open and took a look at the clock that hung on the wall. Ten in the morning. Who in the blazes could be calling him at this hour? Yes, in Grimmjow's world, ten in the morning was still too fucking early. Groaning, Grimmjow reached out for his phone, careful not to awaken Ulquiorra, who had his arms wrapped around the teen protectively. Grimmjow must have pressed the wrong button and put the device on loudspeaker instead because the next thing he knew, the voice of his mother, filled the entire room. Damned new touch screen phone.

"Grimmy-honey...!"

Her voice was so shrill that Grimmjow could feel Ulquiorra start to stir next to him.

Not wanting to wake him up just yet, Grimmjow scrambled for the cell phone. Oblivious as to what was happening on the other side of the phone, Rangiku continued, "How are you? Have you had breakfast yet? What did you have for dinner?"

"I'm fine, mom," Grimmjow grunted, still trying to reach out for it but only succeeded in knocking it further away from his grasp. Damn it.

"That's good, that's good," Rangiku chattered on.

Another grunt. "Yeah." He got it.

"And how's your girlfriend?"

Grimmjow dropped the phone. Ulquiorra, who had been stirring just now, stiffened visibly under the blanket. Grimmjow hurriedly picked up the phone, and fumbled around with it, trying to switch the loudspeaker off.

"What girlfriend?" His voice was shaking.

"Oh, you know," she said conversationally. "That girl you've been hanging out with for months now-"

Grimmjow pressed the red button, promptly ending the call. He let out a shuddering breath. Forgive me, mom. I promise I'll make it up to you. I swear. Just don't call back. Don't call back. Don't-

"Girl, huh?" Ulquiorra had gotten up and was smiling at him so sweetly that Grimmjow almost felt it wise to run for his life. He crawled on top of Grimmjow, their faces inches apart. Grimmjow really did not like that smile. Whether Ulquiorra noticed the colour drain from the teen's face, he did not know. All he knew was that after Ulquiorra nipped on his neck, he whispered into his ear, "Perhaps I should make it clear to you again, hm?"

Oh, fu-

It was not till about an hour later that Grimmjow finally went downstairs. And even then, he needed help from Ulquiorra. He was fucking limping. Ulquiorra, on the other hand, not only walked perfectly fine, but he looked extremely happy. He was practically glowing. It looked like someone managed to have a bit, or rather, a lot, of fun time before breakfast.

"You didn't have to be so rough," Grimmjow grumbled.

"Oh, you enjoyed it anyway," Ulquiorra said easily, his hand on the other's waist. "You're really cute when you're needy."

Faster than a set of traffic lights, Grimmjow's face turned red. "Y-you...! You...!"

"Yes?"

"Shut the hell up!"

"Now, why should I do that when you're being perfectly adorable?" Ulquiorra nuzzled his neck.

By now, Grimmjow's face was positively scarlet. He pushed at Ulquiorra, embarrassed. "Fuck you!"

"I do believe that it was the other way around."

Oh, what Grimmjow would give for a baseball bat to whack Ulquiorra's head with. Growling, the flustered teenager struggled in Ulquiorra's arms, hurling insults at him while he was at it, when he suddenly stiffened. He heard something. Sapphire eyes went wide, excitement starting to run through his veins again, but for an entirely different reason. Could it be?

Ulquiorra tilted his head, curious. "What is it?"

A few tiny meows.

"Hey, Grimmjow...!"

Forgetting about how much he was hurting right now, Grimmjow rushed out of Ulquiorra's arms and made his way to the source of the sound, ignoring the jolt of pain that went up his spine. He came to a screeching stop in the kitchen where he caught sight of a much smaller Pantera surrounded by a mass of black and white creatures. She was licking at one of them, cleaning it up.

"Ulquiorra!" Grimmjow called excitedly.

"What?"

Ulquiorra appeared at the doorway.

Grimmjow, who was now sitting on the floor, looked over his shoulder and grinned at him like a little kid. "Take a look!" Ulquiorra inched closer, to get a better look. When he did, he chuckled and gave Grimmjow a kiss on the cheek, smiling. "Panties gave birth!"

"Yes..." Ulquiorra kissed Grimmjow on the cheek once more. "Yes, she did."

-THE END-

DIOR: That was it. That's the last chapter. Thank you to everyone who has read up till here! I hope this is alright, Senay ^^; And everyone, PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS CHAPTER IS NOT THE FULL VERSION. I had to censor this fic in order to the abide to the M-rating rule here. For anyone who wants to read the uncut version, please visit my profile and click "Fic Livejournal" and search from the master list on the first post. If you want to review, I'd rather you review here, than there. Thank you again! Till next time, everyone. *waves*

Also, an early Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!