The rustling of the bed sheets caused Ichigo to open his eyes. He was greeted with a mess of green and the presence of a hard body pressed against his backside. Nel was pressing against Ichigo's arms that were holding her in place. Ichigo abided and let go of the girl. Nel scrambled out of the bed and out of the room, repeating "I need ta pee" under her breath. Ichigo's body tensed quickly as he stretched, causing him to press further against the body behind him. Grimmjow's arm that was draped across Ichigo's waist, tightened at Ichigo's sudden movements. Ichigo shifted as he turned around in Grimmjow's embrace. Once positioned, Ichigo looked up at the face in front of him. Grimmjow's eyes slowly opened, his blue eyes locking on Ichigo's brown ones.

Grimmjow leaned forward and placed a sleepy kiss on Ichigo's forehead. "Morning."

Ichigo ducked his head against Grimmjow's broad chest, snuggling close to the heat. "We have a lot to talk about don't we?"

Grimmjow sighed as he tightened his embrace around Ichigo. "I need to leave."

"As in this position or…" Ichigo could feel his heart sinking.

"As in I need to leave the city for a while." Grimmjow felt Ichigo shift, but Grimmjow didn't let him leave the embrace.

"The city? You're going away on business?"

Grimmjow placed a soft kiss on the top of Ichigo's head. "My business with Aizen is much more than filing papers and giving out lectures to college students." Grimmjow couldn't believe what he was going to say. "I went through a dark path, 'Berry."

Ichigo closed his eyes, trying to control his rapid heartbeat. "How dark are we talking?"

"Dark enough that if I wasn't a minor when I committed certain acts, I wouldn't be lying in this bed with you." Grimmjow let out a sigh. "I don't want to get into too much detail of it. Aizen has some stuff over my head that I can't get rid of, so he's calling me back in to do some dirty work for him."

Ichigo pressed his forehead harder into Grimmjow's chest, trying to get as close to him as possible. "So then, the rumors about your stepdad's 'other business' is true then?"

"For the most part, yeah. Technically, most of the crimes that Aizen's company does are placed on other people so that they aren't tied to Aizen directly. One of Aizen's old associates is stirring up trouble and he wants me to go take care of it." Grimmjow waited for Ichigo to say something.

"I'm guessing it's the Gin guy who those thugs threatened me about."

"Hitting the nail on the head there, 'Berry." Grimmjow waited a beat. "I need to leave in two days; it's just over the weekend." Grimmjow let out a sigh.

He thought back to the previous night. His stepdad's old partner was back in town after skipping town a few years prior. Before leaving, he managed to take half of Aizens money and clientele. Now that he was back he was looking to stir up trouble for both of Aizen's businesses. Ichimaru's Goonies had been jumping some of the lower grunts and Aizen wanted a stop to it before it got out of hand. He had called Grimmjow in to make sure that he handled it properly. Grimmjow felt Ichigo stir in his arms, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Just for a few days?"

Grimmjow nodded, "It shouldn't take too long to get rid of a couple of underlings like these guys. More than half the time they're newbies that haven't fully realized what they've gotten themselves into."

Ichigo scowled into Grimmjow's chest, "You make it sound like you have a lot of experience with this."

Grimmjow shrugged as much as he could in his position. "I do. Look 'Berry, I've been through some shit, okay? It comes with the territory of being Aizen's son."

Ichigo pulled out of Grimmjow's arms and sat up in the bed. "What about Nel?"

Grimmjow sat up as well, pressing his back into the headboard. "She's gonna stay at our granpap's house. He's always looking for an excuse to see her; going on about how she looks like our mom."

Ichigo's heart fell a little. He was slightly disappointed that not only would Grimmjow be gone, but Nel as well. "I could look over her."

Grimmjow shook his head. "Naw, its okay. You can't stay here three days straight. Plus you were saying yourself that you had tests to study for next week." A small smirk formed on Grimmjow's lips. "Think of it as a vacation from being a nanny."

Ichigo frowned at the word. "Tch, I'm not a nanny."

Grimmjow chuckled a bit. "I forgot; you're a happy little home maker with all that cooking and cleaning you do."

"I am not..." Ichigo mumbled as his face flushed thinking about how domesticated he had been lately.

Grimmjow made his way out of the bed and headed towards the bathroom. Ichigo sat in the bed a big longer reflecting on how mature Grimmjow was with the situation. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought of Grimmjow's past, unsure if he ever wanted to find out the full extent of it. Ichigo looked up from his spot on the bed, noting on Grimmjow's nightstand clock that it was only seven thirty in the morning. He sat there for a second thinking about how heavy the day felt already and there was still so much to go. Grimmjow came out of the bathroom with a toothbrush in his mouth. He smirked around the object when he saw Ichigo still in bed.

"'Ya gonna git out or wut." The words were a bit muffled around the toothbrush as Grimmjow tried to talk without spitting toothpaste everywhere.

Ichigo scowled as he pushed himself off the bed and stretched his arms above his head. Grimmjow watched appreciatively as he noted Ichigo's muscles moving and flexing underneath his shirt. Ichigo gave out a shake as he finished his stretch, sighing loudly as his muscles relaxed after a night of sleep. He turned around and saw Grimmjow grinning as he continued brushing his teeth.

"Why are staring at me like a pervert?"

Grimmjow choked a little as he laughed. He walked into the bathroom to spit out the toothpaste and rinse his mouth. He walked back into the room and cocked an eyebrow at Ichigo as he grinned lecherously. "Cause I'm thinking perverted things."

Ichigo scrunched his nose at Grimmjow in attempt to hide the blush that was daring to flame across his face. "Shut up." Ichigo walked down the length of the bed and started to make his way towards the door. "It's too early for that."

Grimmjow let out a bark of a laugh as he followed Ichigo out the door. Grimmjow smacked Ichigo's ass and let out a laugh. "Ha! It's never too early to be a pervert."

Ichigo blushed and was thanking the heavens that Grimmjow was behind him. "Stop that! Nel is going to see."

Grimmjow kept laughing as they passed by Nel's room, peering in to see that the little girl had promptly knocked out on her bed. Grimmjow walked into the kitchen and started the coffee pot as Ichigo headed toward the front door to slip on his shoes. When Grimmjow noticed that Ichigo wasn't following him, he headed toward the living room, frowning a bit when he noticed that Ichigo was in the process of shrugging on his jacket.

"Where the hell are you going?"

Ichigo looked over his shoulder scowling. "Going home?"

"Why?"

Ichigo turned around as he adjusted the sleeves of his jacket. "Well I don't know, maybe because I was supposed to go home last night? My dad is going to be pissed."

"So fuck him."

Ichigo gave Grimmjow a deadpanned look. "I need to go."

Grimmjow grumbled as he took a few steps forward, closing the distance between him and the orange-head. Ichigo looked down sheepishly, unsure as to why he felt shy all of a sudden. Ichigo looked up quickly as he pressed the tips of his toes into the floor and gave a quick kiss to Grimmjow. Before Grimmjow could even thinking of deepening it, Ichigo was out the door, shouting a quick 'bye.'

Xxx

When Ichigo got home he saw a plate of breakfast on the table with a note from Yuzu telling him to pop it in the microwave to reheat it. The microwave had just gone off when Ichigo heard the door to the clinic open and then close quickly. Ichigo placed the plate on the table and pulled out one of the chairs as he watched his dad make his way down the hallway. Both of them locked eyes but didn't say anything. Ichigo watched as Isshin let out a sigh. The man said nothing as he took the seat across of Ichigo. The two sat there silently before Isshin cleared his throat.

"When you were younger, Aizen wanted to buy out the clinic," Isshin said quietly. He watched Ichigo's face searching for a reaction but didn't find any. "I denied him of course, but he was relentless. He stopped asking after a while but then I noticed that my shipment in supplies had begun to slow down. Soon it was weeks before I got things in. I couldn't help any customers because I didn't have the medicine to help."

Ichigo stared at his dad, the food in front of him forgotten. "How come I don't remember this?"

Isshin let out a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck as he leaned into the back of the chair. "Like I said, you were a kid. You couldn't have been more than almost nine when this happened, it's not like I could really throw my problems on you. We were struggling and Aizen approached me again about selling him the information to our clients. I told him no again and he brought up how I was able to help people if I didn't have a regular shipment of supplies. That's when I found out that Aizen had bought out the company I bought my supplies from. My usual retainer didn't cover the bill of his business.

"We were struggling so much. I remember your mom and I almost didn't have money to buy you and your sisters Christmas presents. And then your mom…your mom…" Isshin stopped talking, his eyes welling a bit. He closed his eyes for a second and cleared his throat, "Aizen kept pushing and pushing and I kept telling him no. I had more than just the clinic to worry about then. I had to figure out how to be a single father of three and support a failing business. It was horrible; probably the darkest time in my life. I was so scared one day I'd wake up and you and the business would just be gone. And then suddenly it stopped. I was able to find a new buyer that I could afford and Aizen stopped approaching me. I was able to help clients again and our life as a family moved on. I found out a few months later that Aizen had packed his family up and moved."

"Why are you telling me this?" Ichigo looked down at his plate, pushing the now cold food around but making not motion to eat it.

Isshin let out a sigh again. "I just want you to understand my feelings towards Aizen and his family."

Ichigo looked at his dad, trying to think of the words he wanted to say. "Grimmjow's not his dad."

"You've told me that before." Isshin watched the scowl form on his son's face. "I'm not saying that he's the same man as his father. But he is working for him. Ichigo, I just want you to be safe. You may not know what you're getting yourself into. As big of a fool I may be, I'm wiser than you."

"But that's my dad decision to make, dad." Ichigo looked up at his dad with pleading eyes. "I know the rumors. I know his families reputation. Shit, Grimmjow use to beat the crap out of me for as long as I can remember. But, I don't know. It's different; he's different."

"Ichi…"

"Goat-face," Ichigo stood up from the table, no longer hungry, hoping his odd term of endearment for his father would soften the severity of their conversation. "I appreciate that you talked to me, but you have to let me make my own mistakes."

Isshin watched as his son dumped the left overs in the trash and put his plate in the sink. Just as Ichigo was walking by, he placed his hand on his dad's shoulder. The two said nothing more, but they both understood that things between them would be okay. Ichigo removed his hand from his dad's shoulder and made his way upstairs to his room. Once in the quiet of his room, he laid down on his bed, staring at the popcorn ceiling above him. His heart was heavy with what his dad told him. His mind was reeling back to the conversation that he had with Grimmjow that morning. He wasn't comfortable with the idea that Grimmjow was going out of town, especially working for his stepdad, but there really wasn't anything he could do in about it. Grimmjow was his own person and obviously knew what he was doing.

Ichigo rubbed a hand on his face and let out a small desperate laugh. Grimmjow and him were only dating for twenty four hours and they were the most stressful twenty four hours of his life. Ichigo sat up and shook his head, trying to get the thoughts out of his head. With a new resolve to not let Grimmjow's problems bother him, he headed to the bathroom to shower and get ready for his day. After dressing and packing his school bag, Ichigo headed out his front door; he was heading to school a few hours early to get some studying to make up for missing class the previous day.

Throughout Ichigo's bus ride, he tried to press any thoughts of Grimmjow. It was still weird to think of the other as his boyfriend, and Ichigo practically pinched himself to check if this was a weird dream or anything. The bus ride was quick and Ichigo made his way towards the campus, heading straight for the library. He found a quiet study area where he caught up with the lecture notes he missed from the previous day. Just as he was finishing up a study guide for one of his general education classes, his phone started vibrating on the table. Ichigo scowled at the phone before looking at the caller ID, his face relaxing when he saw the name. Ichigo clicked the answer button and brought the phone to his ear.

"Hey, what's up Shin?" Ichigo whispered, trying to be respectful of the people around him.

"Ichi!" Shinji was whining, cause Ichigo to roll his eyes. "I just took my first midterm and I don't think it went to hot." Ichigo heard Shinji grumbling but didn't quite make out the words. "Let's go shopping and then we can study for our intro to business class together."

Ichigo looked at his watch; he still had twenty minutes until his first class started. He was only on campus for a couple of hours and then he had to go to the elementary school to pick up Nel. Ichigo took a second to ponder. He really did want to study with Shinji; business wasn't necessarily Ichigo's best subject and Shinji understood it better than he did. Ichigo scrunched this nose at the thought of shopping though, that wasn't an idea he was terribly excited about.

"So Ichi, what do you say?"

Ichigo pulled out of his thoughts and let out a sigh. "Yeah, we can go. But, I'd have to bring Nel."

"That's fine!" Shinji sounded excited and that was never a good thing. "I wanted to see her again anyways. I can even buy new clothes for her!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes as he bid goodbye to his best friend, claiming he still had to study. Ichigo turned back to continue studying. The day was uneventful as Ichigo tried to pay attention to the lectures in front of him. He knew that he should be retaining all the information thrown at him in order to be prepared for midterms next week, but his mind kept wandering throughout class. The two classes he had for the day felt like forever and Ichigo let out an audible sigh of relief when his bio teacher finally dismissed class. Ichigo took his time throwing his books into his bag before making his way towards the front of the campus where he knew Shinji would be waiting.

Shinji waved Ichigo over to wear he was standing. "Ichi-chan!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes at the nickname. "We're nineteen; you really need to stop calling me that."

"Nope!" The large piano smile extended on his features. "Old habits are hard to break after all."

The two started walking in the direction on the elementary school they needed to pick Nel at. Ichigo was going through his bag making sure he had his study materials when his phone rang. He looked down at his phone, slightly surprised that Grimmjow was calling him. Grimmjow never really called him, ever, especially at two-thirty in the afternoon.

"Hello?"

"Hey 'Berry."

Ichigo shivered at the sound of Grimmjow's voice over the phone. "Don't call me that."

"Ha!" Grimmjow let out a laugh. "Like that'll ever happened."

Ichigo scowled at the comment, annoyed that everyone in his life enjoyed calling him things other than his actual name, a look that Shinji caught. "Is there a reason you're calling?"

"Can't I just call 'cause I wanted to hear your voice?"

Shinji caught the deep blush that made its way onto Ichigo's face, his eyebrow cocking in amusement. Ichigo saw the look Shinji was giving him, but he knew that Shinji couldn't hear what was going on the call. "Shut up, we both know that's not why you called."

"It isn't?" There was a pause. "Well then. I just wanted to let you know I'll be coming home early the next few days since I'm doing so much overtime this weekend."

"Okay, I'll try and have dinner ready when you get home then." Ichigo instantly regretted the words.

There was a laugh from the other side of the line, "So much for not being a happy little home maker, huh. Well, I'll see you later, Ichi."

A small shiver ran through Ichigo as he hung up with Grimmjow. The way that Grimmjow had said his name sent immoral thoughts to his brain that he shouldn't be having around his best friend. Shinji couldn't hold back his laughter and longer, as he bent over at the waist from laughing. Ichigo shot Shinji a look as the skinny male stood straight. Shinji wiped a tear from his eye, but started laughing all over again when he caught the looked on Ichigo's face.

"Kami, you are so sprung." Shinji took deep breaths trying to calm down his laughing.

Ichigo smacked his friend in the arm with the back of his hand, "Shut up, man. I am not."

"Tch, yeah you are." Shinji clapped his hands together and batted his eyes in Ichigo's direction. "'I'll try and have dinner ready when you get home'" Shinji mocked in a falsetto.

"Fuck off, I don't sound like that. At least I don't look like a fucking flat-chested chick." Ichigo clicked at Shinji's growing hair.

Shinji flicked his hair over his shoulder and gave Ichigo a piano-toothed smiled. "My hair is way better than any girls. Plus, Nnoitra loves pulling it in bed."

Ichigo gagged a little as he pressed the button for the crosswalk that would lead them to the kindergarten. "Ew, that's disgusting."

Shinji scoffed, "No it's not, its fucking hot. Don't be mad, just because you haven't gotten any in a while."

"I have too!" Ichigo flushed red.

Shinji rolled his eyes, "A shitty hand job doesn't count. Plus, you gave it to him; he did not return the favor."

Ichigo's shrugged in defeat, "We're going slow. Plus, can we stop talking about this. I highly doubt that Nel wants to hear any of this."

As if on cue, the little girl came running towards them, her yellow hat on her head threatening to fall off in the wind. Ichigo bent down as she ran towards him, spreading his arms so that she could wrap her arms around his neck. Ichigo laughed as he squeezed the smaller girl before pulling out of her embrace and standing up. Nel instantly latched on to his hand before looking up and smiling at Shinji.

"Shin-chan! Are ya coming home wif' us?" Nel was beaming, her green hair shining brightly in the sun.

"Of course!" Shinji gave Nel a toothy smile. "But, before we go we're going on a little shopping trip. Oniichan here failed horribly on his exams and needs some retail therapy to get over it."

"Therapy?" Nel laughed, "You loony Shin-chan!"

Shinji ruffled her hair, letting his soft spot for kids show. "You know it, little one."

The three had made their way to the nearest shopping center quickly. The bus ride was filled with Nel jabbering about what she did in class today. Apparently a boy named Bazz had been teasing her about her hair color, saying it looked like she had a booger on her head. Nel said she stood up for herself like Grimmjow had taught her by saying that Bazz looked like a fires slug on his head with his red mohawk. Shinji didn't even bother hiding his laugh. Ichigo told Nel it was good that she stood up for herself, but reminded her that it's not good to pick on other kids and sometimes it was better to be the bigger person. Nel ignored the teaching and continued on her with the play by play of her day. Apparently, by the end of recess Bazz and her were inseparable.

In typical Nel fashion, as soon as they three had stepped inside the store Nel wretched her hand away from Ichigo's grasp and shot away. Ichigo found her quickly, catching a flash of green between clothing racks. Ichigo let her wander, never allowing her straying too far. Ichigo knew that Nel was at that age where she wanted to start doing errands by herself, but that didn't mean Ichigo couldn't keep a watchful eye as she wandered around. Ichigo watched as Nel looked at different clothes, tapping her chin with her finger and her eyebrows knitted as she contemplated whether or not she liked a top. He watched as she pressed onto her tippy toes to retrieve a shirt from a low rack, holding it out in front of her before pressing it against her small frame. Ichigo chuckled at how grown she looked and feared how'd she be when she was an actual teen. His heart tugged a little at the thought. He had only known for the small girl for a few months but the attachment he had for her was as strong as his bond with Yuzu and Karin.

Shinji watched from another rack, his eyes glancing between Ichigo and Nel. Shinji smirked a little, knowing the thoughts that were running through the other man's mind. Shinji plucked a shirt off of the rack and added it to the collection in his arms. He walked over to where Ichigo was standing and bumped him with his shoulder. The orange head jumped slightly before looking at his best friend in confusion.

Shinji smiled knowingly, "You really love her, don't ya?"

Ichigo looked back at the little girl, "I really do. It makes me think about how Yuzu and Karin were when they were her age. It's so weird to think how different they are. Yuzu and Karin grew up so fast, they were forced to." A sad look passed over Ichigo's face as he turned and pretended to be looking at a pair of sneakers on a shelf, "I wonder if it would be different, ya know. Nel still seems like a child, when by her age now, Yuzu was learning how to make rice and clean up after Karin and me. And then Karin…God, Karin shouldered all the hardships for the two. She was way too young to have all that pushed on her."

Shinji placed a hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "They grew up in different situations. You were only nine when they were five, you could barely take care of yourself. Grimm and Nel's age gap is way bigger. He already knew how to take care of himself when she came along. Plus, Karin and Yuzu still had a childhood."

Ichigo sighed, "But not a normal one."

Shinji laughed, trying to lighten the mood between them, "Who needs normal anyway?"

"Five year old's need normal; they need consistency." Ichigo's heart hurt, "They don't need parent's dying."

Shinji was silent for a second, knowing the subject was touchy for his best friend. He thought back to when they were nine years old. Ichigo and Shinji were inseparable, not much to Ichigo's liking. Shinji was weird, he was loud, talked back to all of the teachers, he never did his homework, and he insisted that Ichigo had tea parties with him. Ichigo was the opposite, always trying to be the model student, only talking when he needed to, he was friendly to everyone, apologizing whenever Shinji called a girl ugly. For a kid, Shinji was shameless. Ichigo had heard what the other kids would say about them. At nine years old, being called gay was the same thing as being told you had leprosy. While he wasn't one hundred percent sure what it meant, he knew it couldn't be good. Shinji didn't seem to mind, he continued to stick with Ichigo even when Ichigo tried to run away.

Shinji was the first to find out that Ichigo's mom had passed. Shinji had walked to Ichigo's house when he saw the entire family dressed in black walking towards a black car. He remembered how vivid Ichigo's hair looked against the dark clothing. He remembered calling out to his friend and seeing the tears welling around pools of brown but not daring to let them fall. Ichigo smiled sadly and waved back before stepping into the car. Shiniji heard from his mother later at dinner about what happened. Shinji shot from the dinner table and ran as fast as his little legs could take him to his friend's house. He banged on the door until Ichigo's dad finally opened it; not even greeting the older man as he pushed passed him and headed straight to Ichigo's room. Shinji remembered how he threw the door open without even knocking. The way that Ichigo looked at him, silent tears falling down his face; the sun was setting behind him and Shinji remembered how the lighting made it look like his head was on fire.

Shinji closed the door softly behind him before crawling into the bed next to his friend. He wrapped his arms around his friend's neck as the other cried into his chest, promptly drenching his t-shirt. Without even thinking, Shinji kissed the side of Ichigo's head, the same way that Shinji's mom always did for him when she comforted him when he cried. Ichigo didn't even flinch; he only started crying harder at the loving gesture. Shinji called his mom that night and said he was staying the night at Ichigo's. Shinji remembered sleeping next to Ichigo in his bed, hugging him as Ichigo cried himself to sleep. The next day the two acted as nothing had happened. Ichigo went back to being annoyed when Shinji wanted to have a tea party instead of playing video games. Shinji went back to annoying Ichigo with inappropriate topics. Even though they never spoke about that night again, Shinji and Ichigo both knew that they would be best friends from that point on.

Shinji wrapped his arm around Ichigo shoulder and rested his head on the slightly taller man's shoulder. "Cheer up Ichi-chan, you've done a great job with the twins and you're doing an amazing job with Nel." Shinji let go of Ichigo and jumped up and down in place for a second, trying to rid himself of the bad vibes. "We're here to go shopping, remember? Now go pick something out for me to treat you two, or I'll do it myself." Shinji bumped his hip against Ichigo's softly before walking away to look at more racks.

XXX

Grimmjow pushed open the door and was immediately welcomed by the smell of food. As he toed off his shoes, he heard the sound of voices coming from the kitchen. Quietly, he walked into the apartment in the direction of the voices, dropping off his bag at the dinner table. When he reached the kitchen, Ichigo had his back towards him, stirring something on the stove from what he could tell. Shinji was sitting on the counter, his ankles crossed where they dangled. Shinji had a pint of ice cream in his hand and appeared to be eating straight from the carton. Grimmjow leaned against the wall as he watched the two, from what he walked into what looked like Shinji was drilling Ichigo with vocab. There was an open text book on the counter that Shinji was focused on. He didn't see Nel anywhere, but it was early in the afternoon which meant she was probably down for her nap.

"Okay, explained the concept of scarcity." Shinji dipped his spoon into the carton and brought the ice cream to his mouth as he waited for Ichigo to respond.

"Scarcity is…." Ichigo was silent as he tried to pull the definition to the forefront of his mind. "I don't know, something about limited resources."

"Scarcity is having unlimited wants but having limited resources." Grimmjow laughed at the sight of both Ichigo and Shinji jumping at the sound of his voice. "Come on, Ichi, that's basic econ. Like high school level econ."

Ichigo blushed a little, embarrassed that he hadn't noticed that Grimmjow was there. "Tch, I hated econ in high school."

"Yeah, well that attitude is not going to help you pass the midterm on Thursday." Shinji shot in, giving Ichigo a knowing look.

Ichigo turned off the stove. "Yeah, well it's a GE, I don't really care about it anyways."

"You wish you didn't care. Don't you need top marks in all your classes to get into med school?" Shinji rolled his eyes at the look Ichigo shot him. "I'm just saying, you have a wiz in business here, I'm surprised you didn't ask him sooner. I'm sure he knows the perfect way to help you study." Shinji shot Grimmjow a wink that made the other laugh out loud.

Grimmjow took a step into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around Ichigo's waist, a lecherous grin on his face, "Yeah, I know the perfect way to get 'Berry boy here to study." Grimmjow leaned forward and placed a full kiss on Ichigo's lip, his tongue even peeking out coyly. Grimmjow pulled back slightly, "I'm home, by the way."

A small smile played on Ichigo's lips, "Welcome back."

"Okay as incredibly touching as that scene was, I'm starting to feel like a voyeur over here. As weird as my sex life maybe, this is not on the list of turn-ons."

Ichigo pushed hard on Grimmjow's chest, "That's gross, Shin, even for you."

Shinji laughed from his spot, "Really, I've said some pretty gross things before. Remember when we were in the sixth grade and I asked you to look at the deuce I dropped cause-"

"Okay, you've said grosser things." Ichigo held his hands up in front of him, "Just stop talking."

A smug smile made its way to Shinji's lips. "Fine, fine."

Grimmjow shook his head as he turned to the fridge to grab a beer. "By the way, Bones, ya mind not sitting on my counter. I don't know where your ass has been." Grimmjow leaned against the wall next to the fridge, nursing his beer slowly

"Tch you know exactly where it's been: riding your best friend's di-"

"SHINJI!" Ichigo threw his hands over his ears like a child, "I swear to Kami, if you do not stop talking this instant I will smack you over the head with a frying pan."

Shinji hopped off the counter, laughing the entire time, "Ichi-chan, you love me and you know it. Believe me, your life would be a bore without me in it."

Ichigo dropped his hands and walked past his long-time friend. "Believe me Shin, if I could have dropped you in primary school, I would have."

Shinji threw his arms around Ivhigo's neck in mock-torment, "Ichi-chan, why do say such hurtful words. Even after all this love I've graced you with."

Ichigo couldn't help but laugh at the affection, no matter how annoying Shinji was it was hard not to love him. "Yeah, yeah I get it. Can we get back to studying now?"

"One of these days, you'll admit just how much you love me, Ichi-chan." Shinji placed a kiss on Ichigo's cheek, before glancing over at Grimmjow and winking.

A hint of anger flew through Grimmjow as he watched Shinji release Ichigo from his hold. Shinji plucked the text book off the counter and practically skipped to their living room where the rest of his things where. Grimmjow lowered his eyes at the blonde, unsure of what just unraveled before him. Ichigo laughed as he shook his head. He looked back at Grimmjow, his face instantly flaring at the looked that Grimmjow was giving him. Grimmjow didn't say anything as he reached forward and grabbed Ichigo from by the upper arm and pulled him into a soul-sucking kiss. Ichigo was confused at first, but melted into it anyway. It wasn't a long kiss; Ichigo knew he couldn't deepen it, not with Shinji in the other room. Ichigo tapped Grimmjow on the chest with his free hand as he pulled out of the kiss.

"What was that for?" Ichigo was panting slightly, surprised at how much it took out of him.

Grimmjow's eye narrowed as he looked past Ichigo, "Is he always that touchy?"

Ichigo looked over his shoulder where Shinji was sitting, "Shinji? Yeah, he's always been like that."

Grimmjow growled softly. "I don't like him kissing stuff that doesn't belong to him."

Ichigo laughed, causing the look on Grimmjow's face to harden. "First, I don't belong to anyone, I am my own person. Second, are you jealous, Grimmy?"

"Don't call me that."

"You are! You're jealous of Shinji!" Ichigo doubled over from laughing, "Grimmjow, I will tell you now, you have nothing to worry about. Shinji is the last person I would ever date. Plus he's fucking Nnoi!"

Grimmjow shrugged as he brought his beer bottle to his lips. "I don't care. I don't like him touching you."

Ichigo smiled, "Tough luck, I doubt you'd be able to stop him. He's been trying to get in my pants since the sixth grade."

Grimmjow didn't catch the joking tone in Ichigo's voice, "Have ya messed around with him?"

Ichigo let out a laugh at Grimmjow's apparent jealousy. "We tried to once, when you're a horny teen that only knows one other gay person, you have very limited options. We got as far as kissing before we stopped because we couldn't stop laughing." Ichigo noted the look that Grimmjow shot Shinji. "Don't worry about it, Shinji and I both like to bottom, it never would have worked out." He leaned forward and pressed his lips against Grimmjow's cheek before walking away.

Grimmjow watched as Ichigo took a seat next to Shinji and picking up the notebook in front of him. Ichigo looked up and smiled at him, before blushing and looking over at whatever Shinji was point at. Grimmjow stayed by the kitchen, finishing his beer as he watched Ichigo and Shinji study. A weird tug pulled on Grimmjow's heart when he thought about how he would be leaving Ichigo for the weekend. That he wouldn't be able to see the small smiled that Ichigo let out whenever he let his usual scowl slip. He thought how different his life was from Ichigo. Here was Ichigo worrying about exams, when Grimmjow was going to hunt down some punks who didn't know how to stay in their place. Grimmjow shook his head as he tried to push the negative thoughts that were plaguing his mind as he tossed his now empty bottle in the recycling bin.

Not saying anything, Grimmjow walked to his room and changed out of his work outfit, taking his time to strip out of the white button up and pin-striped slacks. He stayed in the white v-neck he had worn under his dress shirt, but pulled on a pair of lounge pants to relax in. He ran a hand through his hair, messing up the locks that were held together with gel. Grimmjow tossed his clothes into the growing pile of things he needed to wash, reminding himself to do it when he got back from his business trip.

Grimmjow made his way out of his bedroom and slowly opened his sister's bedroom door. It was cracked open, so that Ichigo could hear anything that happened in the room. Nel was just waking up from her nap, sitting in her bed with her short hair tousled. He noticed that it was finally starting to grow out, now reaching her shoulders. He wondered if he would be able to get it to grow as long as it used to be. Nel smiled at the sight of her brother. Grimmjow never admitted it, but Nel really saved him when he was growing up.

When he first found out that his mom was pregnant with that man's child, every bone in his body told him to hate her. Aizen and his mom had been married for years by that time, and the pregnancy had surprised all of them. Grimmjow told himself that the baby was going to be just as terrible as its father. But that all changed when he held her in his arms for the first time. He was fifteen at the time, a little too old to be having a baby sibling. When he got called out of school to go to the hospital, he almost didn't want to go. Grimmjow thought back to seeing his mom in the hospital bed, her sea foam hair splayed out on the pillow around her. There was a small bundle in her arms, sleeping softly against his mom's chest.

His mom held out baby Nel for him to hold, introducing him to his new baby sister. Grimmjow couldn't refuse the request, not with the look of love and adoration that was always on his mother's face. The momma's boy that he was would never deny her anything. Hesitantly Grimmjow reached in front of him and pulled the warm bundle into his arms. Something surged through Grimmjow's body. The small, innocent life in his arms was entirely too precious to belong to a devil like Aizen. From that moment, Grimmjow swore he'd never let Nel grow up with Aizen. Throughout the years, Grimmjow grew to be fiercely protective over his younger sister, even though he acted like she was a nuisance most of the time, he loved her more than anything else.

"Nii-chan!"

Grimmjow pulled out of his thoughts, still standing in the doorway. He realized belatedly that Nel was now standing in front of him, her hand grasping the dress she was wearing. "What's up, bug?"

"Nii-chan, youa in tha way, and I weally need ta go." Nel hopped between both of her feet, her face scrunched in annoyance, a look that could challenge Grimmjow's own facial expressions.

He laughed as he stepped into the hallway and Nel shot past him, making a beeline for the bathroom. Grimmjow made his way to the living room where Shinji and Ichigo were seated. Ichigo looked up from his spot, smirking slightly as his eyes roved over Grimmjow's body, unknowingly. Grimmjow smirked and licked his lips when Ichigo made eye contact with him. Ichigo's eyes went wide and he blushed before he looked away.

"Nel's awake." Grimmjow announced as he made his way over to the lonely dining table where his bag was laying.

"Oh good, I was just about to wake her. If she slept any longer, she would never go to bed tonight." Ichigo was busy scribbling something on a flashcard.

Nel bounded her way down the hallway, her school bag in hand, happy to see Ichigo sitting at the coffee table with Shinji. She knew that Ichigo was busy, so she made her way to the dining table where he brother was sitting. Grimmjow was on his laptop, scrolling through something, but he looked up when he saw her pushing back the chair. He watched quietly with a small smile on his lips as Nel dragged her back onto the top of the table and began to pull out pencils and sheets of paper from her bag. Nel pulled out the hiragana worksheet her teacher had assigned the class and began to work on it. Grimmjow watched as she carefully traced the character for 'ki.'

"You're doing it wrong." Grimmjow pushed his laptop to the side as he watched as his drew the character out of order.

Ichigo and Shinji both looked up from their own studies to watch Grimmjow.

"No, I draw'd it just like tha paypah." Nel furrowed her brows as she drew the character in the wrong order.

"I'm telling you, you're doing it wrong." Grimmjow pulled out a pen and paper from his own bag and placed it in front of his sister. "Characters are written in a specific order."

Grimmjow drew two horizontal lines before a line straight down, without lifting his pen, he curved the line upward and then down in a swoop to finish the character. Nel watched as her brother drew it one more time on the paper in front of him. He placed his pen down, signaling for Nel to do it on her work sheet. Nel carefully drew out the character out on her homework and beamed when she saw the small nod that Grimmjow had given her. He didn't say anything else as he brought the laptop in front of him again.

A nice quiet atmosphere fell around the four as everyone worked on their projects. It was only interrupted when Shinji's phone went off. He answered it quickly before standing up and stretching. It didn't take long before Shinji packed up his stuff and announced that Nnoitra was waiting for him outside. Ichigo stood as well as he showed his best friend out of the apartment, stretching as he made his way to the dining table where Nel and Grimmjow were still working. He leaned against the wall behind Nel, watching the two work silently, realizing how much the two looked alike. He was enjoying this household way too much. Ichigo reached out and ruffled her hair, laughing at how concentrated she was.

"I'm going to reheat dinner." Ichigo announced, "Why don't you guys take a break so we can eat, ne?"

Grimmjow took his hands off his keyboard and stretched his arms above his head. Nel copied the action and stuffed her homework back into her bag. Grimmjow closed his laptop and stuffed into his own bag, standing up from his seat to put his bag on the couch. He looked at his watch and noticed that it was only six, meaning he had been home for a couple of hours now. It was a little weird to be home so early, but he was really enjoying it, even if he hadn't really done anything.

"Nel, wash your hands please," Ichigo called from the kitchen as he scooped servings of pasta in to bowls.

Nel went into the kitchen and dragged the stool that Grimmjow kept there in front of the sink. She was still a little too short, and had to step onto her tips of her toes to lean over the sink. Nel washed her hands diligently, humming Happy Birthday quietly to time how long she should wash her hands, like they taught her in class. Once done, she kept her hands in front of her like a surgeon, careful not to touch her newly cleaned hands. She scooted herself back into her chair and waited until Ichigo put the now warm food in front of her. Grimmjow took the seat in front of her and smiled when Ichigo served him as well.

Nel filled the table with chatter as she recapped her day to her brother, telling him the same story about Bazz. Ichigo couldn't help laugh at Grimmjow's facial expression when Nel told him that Bazz held her hand. Dinner passed by quickly and the three sat in the living room afterwards. Ichigo was sitting on the floor in between Grimmjow's legs as he studied some more. Nel was curled up into Grimmjow's side, watching a movie about a girl who was a fish who turned into a human. After the movie, Nel was tired again and Grimmjow moved to take her to bed. Once she was down, he made his way back to where he was sitting behind Ichigo.

As Ichigo bit the end of his pen in concentration, he felt soft fingers slowly make their way through his hair. It was a tickling sensation and thoroughly distracting; if there was anything in the world that Ichigo loved most it was having his hair played with. The soft touches slowly intensified, becoming a full on head massage that caused Ichigo's head to drop forward. Grimmjow flexed his fingers so that he was pulling on Ichigo's short hair softly. A small groan escaped Ichigo's lips as Grimmjow gripped a section of his head and his head to the side. Grimmjow's other hand took the opportunity to sneak around and slowly make its way down the collar of Ichigo's shirt. Ichigo smiled at the feeling of the fingers rubbing small circles against his skin, leaving paths of fire in their wake.

"Grimm…" Ichigo mewled. "What are you doing?"

Grimmjow smirked, "I'm not doing anything."

The man on the couch shifted in his seat so that he could reach further down Ichigo's chest, all while the hand pulling on the orange locks kept its mind numbing massage. Grimmjow's hands found Ichigo's nipples, and started playing with them slowly. Ichigo let out a loud groan as Grimmjow's hot fingers worked the sensitive area into a hardened bud.

"Grimmjow, you're distracting."

"I'm just trying to help you study like Bones suggested. If you get distracted by this, you're screwed for midterms." Grimmjow chuckled as he gave Ichigo's nipple a particularly hard.

Ichigo pulled himself forward and out of Grimmjow's loose hold so that he could turn and situate himself on his knees. Melty brown eye stared up at Grimmjow, lust apparent in the orbs. Grimmjow smirked as Ichigo ran his hands up and down his thick thighs. None too shy, Ichigo's left hand made its way up the man's leg so that he could palm his crotch. Grimmjow groaned softly, always surprised that Ichigo was not shy at all with his sexual life. Grimmjow had to remind himself that Ichigo had been gay for years and therefore probably had plenty of experience. The thought angered him fleetingly, but he didn't dwell on it for too long.

"You realize that I've been blue balled two days in a row," Ichigo smirked and Grimmjow had very vivid thoughts about how those lips would look with his dick between them. "I want nothing more in the world to get you and me off."

Ichigo reached up and fingered the elastic hem of Grimmjow's lounge pants. He tugged on them to signal Grimmjow to lift his hips. Grimmjow pressed his feet in the floor to brace himself in order to lift himself. Ichigo made quick work of the other's pants and underwear, getting wrapped around his ankles in one swift motion. Grimmjow noticed the look on Ichigo's face as he stared at his long dick, standing proud in a nest of blue trimmed pubic hair. It was on the thicker size, but looked proportionate to the length of it over all: just as gorgeous as Ichigo remembered. Ichigo could just image how far that would be able to reach inside him once Grimmjow and him actually had sex. Ichigo licked his lips at the thought as he began to lean forward. One hand boldly wrapped around Grimmjow's member and gave a couple of experimental pulls. Grimmjow's eyes threatened to roll into the back of his head, but he fought the feeling. He didn't want to miss any bit of this.

"Fuck, I've wanted your dick in my mouth since the first time I saw it." Ichigo licked his lips again as he leaned forward to give the tip a small lick. "Oh god, you taste good."

"Ya just gonna look at it, or ya gonna put it in your mouth?" Grimmjow's right hand shot out to slowly rub Ichigo's hair.

"Oh I'm going to put it in my mouth alright. I'm going to lick it, deep throat it, maybe suck on your balls." Ichigo's hand worked faster as kept eye contact with Grimmjow. "And when you cum, I'll swallow every bit of it."

If Grimmjow could get any harder, he would have. "You're all talk and no action, 'Berry. Let me see you suck that shit."

A lecherous grin made its way onto Ichigo's as he leaned forward and licked Grimmjow's dick from the base of the shaft to the tip. He repeated the action, slowly wrapped his tongue around it to wet it. Ichigo lapped at the spongey top, licking the slit teasingly before engulfing the tip. Grimmjow had to bite his lip to keep from groaning loud enough to wake the little girl in the other room. Grimmjow's hand gripped Ichigos hair as he the man between his legs worked at the length in his mouth.

Ichigo's mouth was hot and we and every time Ichigo sucked hard, Grimmjow found him this much closer to blowing his load down that devilish throat. Ichigo started off slow, sucking on just the tip first half, hallowing his cheeks so that everything around Grimmjow felt tight. Ichigo's hand worked Grimmjow's heavy balls, rolling them in the sac softly before letting go to stroke the rest of Grimmjow's dick. Ichigo pressed his hand flat against Grimmjow's pelvis as he braced Grimmjow's dick, so that he could try and put more down his throat. Grimmjow felt the tip hit the back of Ichigo's throat and was ultimately surprised when Ichigo didn't react. He was ninety-nine percent sure that Ichigo didn't have a gag reflex with how well he was taking Grimmjow's impressive length. Ichigo hummed happily around Grimmjow's member as he worked more down his throat, making sure he swallowed every now and then to further stimulate the other man.

"Oh fuck," Grimmjow licked his dry lips as he panted. "Fuck, take that shit all the way, babe."

Ichigo hummed as he worked the rest of Grimmjow into his mouth, his nose nestled in the blue hairs. Grimmjow couldn't hold back his groan at the sight of himself completely lost in Ichigo's mouth. The man swallowed a few times before working his way back up the member, his teeth scraping ever so slightly that made Grimmjow's dick feel extra sensitive. Grimmjow strengthened the grip in Ichigo's hair as he helped guide the pace of Ichigo's blow job. Ichigo pulled off of Grimmjow's member completely, exposing the warmed flesh to cool air. Grimmjow shivered slightly as Ichigo kissed his way down the shaft, his tongue sneaking out to play with Grimmjow's balls. Grimmjow sucked in air as Ichigo's warm mouth covered one of his balls completely, minding his teeth as his tongue toyed with the area. Ichigo's hand pulled on Grimmjow's dick as he moved over the neglected ball, giving it the same treatment as the other one. Grimmjow was loving the sight in front of him and was nearing his edge.

"Ichi, I'm so fucking close. I wanna cum in your mouth so bad." Grimmjow tightened his grip as he balls lifted, signaling how close he was.

Ichigo slipped Grimmjow's balls from his mouth and tilted his dick so that he could put it back in his mouth. Ichigo made quick to deep throat the member, sucking and swallowing hard. Grimmjow's hips started moving on their own as they slowly fucked Ichigo's swollen lips. Grimmjow didn't dare to blink as he moved closer to completion. One particularly hard thrust signaled Grimmjow's orgasm causing Grimmjow to suck hard. Grimmjow held Ichigo in place as he released hot spurts of cum down Ichigo's throat. Ichigo swallowed it expertly and slowly pulled off of Grimmjow's overly sensitive member.

"Oh, fuck," was all Ichigo was able to say as he was forcefully pulled off of his knees and upwards into Grimmjow's lap.

Grimmjow placed a needy kiss on to Ichigo's swollen lips that caused Ichigo to grind his hips into the taller man's abdomen. Ichigo's pants were uncomfortable around his erection and all he wanted to do was get himself off. As if reading his mind, Grimmjow suddenly stood up from his spot. Surprised, Ichigo pulled back from the kiss as he frantically wrapped his legs around Grimmjow's middle. Ichigo groaned as strong arms held him in place as Grimmjow walked to the back of the apartment and into his room. When he neared the bed, Grimmjow finally loosened his grip so that the small male could brace himself on his own two feet.

Once settled, Grimmjow cupped the back of Ichigo's head to angle the smaller man's face upwards. He kissed him slowly, leaning forward so that Ichigo could be guided onto the bed. Ichigo's back hit the bed with a soft thump and his torso was covered by the warmth of Grimmjow's body. Grimmjow pulled his lips away from Ichigo's to move down the tan column of his neck. Mimicking Ichigo's earlier ministrations, Grimmjow pushed Ichigo's top up so that he could kiss down the lithe body. Grimmjow nipped at Ichigo's nipple playfully before running his tongue through the dips and valleys of Ichigo's abs. When he reached the top of Ichigo's too-tight jeans, Grimmjow looked up at Ichigo's face. Grimmjow smirked as he worked the button of Ichigo's pants, the latter's face completely flushed. Ichigo's eyelids were lowered and the melty pools of browns were filled with lust.

There was rustle of clothes before Ichigo found himself laying with his lower half completely exposed. Grimmjow stared at Ichigo's cock with amusement, realizing belatedly that he had never seen another man's equipment outside of a locker room. Ichigo's dick was shorter than his, but a bit wider. The tip was straining red, ready to release any pressure inside. The base of his shaft was nestled in a bed of orange pubic hair. Grimmjow kept eye contact with Ichigo has he gripped the base of the shaft and gave the tip an experimental shaft. Grimmjow wasn't sure what he should have been expecting it to taste like, it was musky, savory and Grimmjow wanted more.

Ichigo could tell Grimmjow had never sucked dick before, but he was extremely surprised at how eager the other man was. Grimmjow was a little rough, not tucking his lips enough which lead to some uncomfortable scraping of Grimmjow's teeth. He gagged a little when Ichigo hit the back of his throat that actually caused Ichigo to laugh. The bigger man was a little uncoordinated when trying to use his hand to jerk off whatever part didn't fit in his mouth, but Ichigo didn't mind at all. For having a dick in his mouth for the first time, Grimmjow wasn't half bad. It didn't take long for Ichigo to get off, not with two days-worth of blue-balls raging through his system. Grimmjow was surprised at the initial tanginess of Ichigo that hit his tongue. Grimmjow started swallowing immediately trying to not let the liquid settle in his mouth for too long. Ichigo laughed at the sight of Grimmjow pulling off him with a slight grimace. Grimmjow scowled as he dramatically swallowed the last bit of Ichigo's release.

"I take it you don't like the taste of cum?" Ichigo joked as he leaned forward to pull his briefs back on.

Grimmjow sat back on his heels as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, "It just wasn't what I was expecting." Ichigo laughed out loud as he stood from the bed so that he could pull the covers down. Grimmjow cocked an eyebrow at the action. "You're staying?"

Ichigo's face flushed as he realized how natural it felt for him to get into Grimmjow's bed. "Uh, I can go if you want me to."

Grimmjow stood from his spot and stretched before pulling off his own pants and making his way to the other side of the bed. "No, I don't care. You usually put up this big deal about needing to go home. I'm just surprised."

"Well, you're going to be gone for a few days, I figured I should get in sometime with you while I can."

Ichigo shifted under the sheets to get comfortable before turning on his side to face Grimmjow. Grimmjow didn't say anything else as he too got comfortable. He put his arm underneath the Ichigo's neck and pulled the smaller body towards him. Ichigo laid his head of Grimmjow's warm chest, falling asleep to the lull of a strong heartbeat.

Absolutely no editing.

This has been sitting in my files for months half way done before I finally cranked out the last bit the past two days. I wanted to get something out as soon as possible for you guys, but Flashing Lights' plot and a new GrimmIchi story have taken over my mind and I couldn't will myself to write for this. Hopefully I'll get past that soon.

Hope you guys enjoyed, reviews are always welcomed and always a motivation.

-Penny