Disclaimer: Bleach would be an altogether different beast if I owned it…

So it's probably a good thing I don't.

Listening to: Elliott Smith – 'King's Crossing', The Dresden Dolls – 'Jeep Song', and Cold War Kids – 'Hospital Beds'.

Chapter Ten

Grimmjow tore his lips away from Soi Fon's mouth, only to begin his assault on her neck, first kissing and then scraping his teeth across the pale skin. Soi Fon, in turn, dug her nails further into his back, drawing out a groan from Grimmjow as he shifted to look directly at her.

"At the risk of cutting short what's shaping up to be a run through of every fantasy I've had since I started working here", Grimmjow murmured, "are you sure about this?"

Soi Fon snorted. "Don't get too noble on me. We've been over this – my new rule is 'fuck the consequences'."

Grimmjow treated her to a lopsided smile. "Lucky consequences. I'm jealous."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, for – gah!" She clung to Grimmjow as he picked her up and switched their positions, so that she was now the one sitting on the desk. "Was that absolutely necessary?"

Soi Fon fought back a gasp as he knelt before her, picking up one foot and carefully releasing it from the strappy heel that had confined it all night. Her feet were dwarfed by his hands, prompting Grimmjow's lips to twitch into a smirk as he remarked, "Cute."

She scowled as he moved to undo the other shoe. "Cute? That's it? You - "

She was cut off with a gasp as she felt his fingers begin to trail higher, mapping out calves and brushing up her thighs under her dress. Grimmjow chuckled to himself. "Bee, the feet are cute. The rest of you qualifies as more…" He paused, his eyes darkening as he took in her dishevelled appearance on the desk, bathed in moonlight. "Well, I'd describe you as drop dead fucken gorgeous, but that's just me."

Soi Fon let out a shaky breath, struck by the intensity in his eyes. "I can live with that."

Without warning, he pounced. His lips met hers, all the better to drown out her cries and moans as his fingers deftly navigated layers of clothing to slip between her legs. She clung to him as he teased her, drawing out her reactions. Overwhelmed by pleasure, she couldn't think beyond the moment and the sensations being heaped upon her. Soi Fon's mouth broke away from Grimmjow's in favour of raking his earlobe with her teeth, which induced in him a shudder and a powerful desire to dispense with the niceties and simply take her on the desk, but he held himself in check. Grimmjow had a plan, of sorts, and it involved much more than this.

Soi Fon, on the other hand, could feel her peak approaching as she writhed in Grimmjow's arms, his talented fingers slipping inside of her as she cried out his name. She had suspected that those long, strong and capable fingers were probably capable of reducing her to a quivering, begging mass, but she'd had no idea how right she was. She was blind, blind to everything but him and, judging from how he watched her as she threw her head back to cry out his name once more, he was similarly afflicted.

And then, suddenly he was gone. Grimmjow had stepped back and was watching her with eyes that seemed to burn, even in the half-light of the room. Slowly, he brought his fingers up to his lips and sucked the taste of her off them, his gaze making Soi Fon feel as though she were being set alight.

It still wasn't enough.

"Dammit, Grimmjow", Soi Fon gasped out, "get over here and finish what you started."

He shook his head, a grin started to appear on his face. "I will, just not here. Bee, I plan for this to be a very long night, and I don't want to be interrupted. Besides, whatever you might say about you and consequences, I'd rather you had an opportunity to think about it, and this should give you a little time. You have a party to manage, after all."

Soi Fon blinked. Somehow, that had managed to slip her mind.

Reaching past her on the desk and grabbing pen and paper, he hastily scribbled something down, and pressed the message into her hand. "That's the address I'm at. As soon as you get away…" He looked at her once more, before inhaling sharply and pressing his lips to hers fiercely. As quickly as he had initiated the kiss, he pulled away. "Just make it quick, Bee. I'll be waiting."

Without staying for an answer, he slipped out of the room.

xXx

Soi Fon spent the next two hours in a daze, fighting the urge to continue to bring her fingertips up to brush passion-bruised lips.

She'd managed to make herself reasonably presentable after Grimmjow had left, and had gotten her emotions under control to the point where she was able to present a smiling veneer to everyone she spoke to, even if her mind was occupied with just how she was going to pay Grimmjow back for leaving her in that state when she got to his place.

She was thinking ropes, and a good deal of sexual torture.

She was thinking about it a lot, actually.

When the time had come that she could safely leave, she'd all but run to a cab, giving the address and trying to keep calm as the buildings flashed past on the way to her destination. She had gotten to the apartment block in one piece, noting with approval that it didn't look like some sort of hideous bachelor hovel, and walked up the stairs to his floor in something of a trance.

It was only when she stood outside his door that she hesitated.

This could all be a huge mistake…

And I actually don't even care anymore. I honestly believe in him enough to do this – which is scary in itself – and that tells me that this is something I need to at least give a chance.

Now, all I have to do is knock.

Tentatively, she raised her hand…

xXx

From her position beside a satiated and already snoring Ulquiorra, Nel stretched, still very much experiencing the afterglow.

At least, she would have been if she hadn't been so thirsty.

Carefully getting up so as to not disturb the man beside her, Nel padded softly to the kitchen. Sure, before Grimmjow had vanished into his room to listen to music, he had instructed them to make themselves scarce since he was having company over, but Nel figured that he wouldn't mind a two minute intrusion. Besides, judging from the grin on his face when he'd announced his visitor, Nel was willing to be that this visitor was of the 'Soi Fon' persuasion and… Well, she was curious.

And she wanted to make sure the woman who had actually gotten Grimmjow Jeagerjacques to want to commit wasn't, say, a figment of his imagination.

It was with some disappointment that Nel realised no one else had entered the house. Nel frowned to herself, and then shrugged. At least she could take comfort in the knowledge that, if Grimmjow had his way, she'd get to see Soi Fon the morning after, which was an enticing prospect.

As much as Nel loved her room mates, though in very different ways, she really missed girl talk.

A knock on the door shook her from her reverie, and she only just stopped herself from answering it. With a grimace, even Nel had to admit, she couldn't receive visitors dressed like this.

Though, dressed would be a start.

Quickly, she pawed through a pile of laundry waiting to be folded on the couch, selecting a dress shirt long enough to cover everything that needed to be covered and fumbling with a buttons as she walked toward the door, just as a second knock sounded.

Satisfied that she looked… well, not entirely presentable, but sufficiently so to answer a door at one in the morning, Nel opened the door and got her first glimpse of the woman who had tamed one of her best friends.

She was pretty. No – pretty was too asinine to cover her description. Beautiful wasn't quite right either, as her features weren't quite regular enough to qualify in that respect either. She was striking, certainly, and with her small frame added to the contrast of pitch-black hair and eyes with her winter-pale skin she looked otherworldly and elfin. But there was steel in there, Nel guessed, if only in the rigid posture and the stories Grimmjow had brought home.

Nel liked her on sight.

Which made it very awkward, since she was now looking at Nel as though someone had just ripped the still-beating heart from her chest.

In quiet, even tones that didn't match the look on her face, she queried, "Is this where Grimmjow Jeagerjacques lives?"

"Yep", Nel informed her. "I can go get - "

"That won't be necessary." The expression was under control, but there was a brittle quality to her voice that didn't make sense to Nel. "I simply… made a mistake."

Without adding anything further, she turned on her heel and walked out, leaving Nel to call after her.

xXx

Nel spent the next two minutes trying to work out just what the fuck had happened, before deciding that she was far too tired for this shit, and that back up was required.

Without bothering to knock, she strolled in to Grimmjow bedroom, where he was currently at his sketching table, something loud and guitar-heavy accompanying him as he drew. He looked up when she reached over to turn the music off, and scowled.

"What happened to laying low? I don't exactly want you lot freaking Bee out."

Nel rolled her eyes. "If she can deal with you, she can deal with anyone. Just one thing, Grimm. Is Bee a short, slim, brunette who looks like she's never seen the sun? Was wearing a bitching black cocktail dress when you saw her last?"

The reaction was instantaneous. Grimmjow practically launched himself from his seat and was out the door before she could get another word out. He walked out into the lounge room, only to see a complete lack of Soi Fon. With a frown, he turned to Nel. "What the fuck?"

"You tell me", Nel returned. "All I did was answer the door, and she turned on her heel and practically sprinted for the door. I mean, I always suspected any woman who could tolerate you would be driven insane, but this was quick. You're not even together yet."

His mind racing, Grimmjow asked, "How long ago?"

Nel shrugged. "A couple of minutes. She'd be out of here by now. Any ideas?"

This was a nightmare, Grimmjow decided. The universe really did hate him. "I don't have a damn clue. She - "

He brought himself to a halt, his eyes fixed on Nel's attire. "Where did you get that shirt?"

"Laundry pile", Nel replied with a frown. "I figured it was probably for the best, since answering the door naked would probably qualify as 'freaking Bee out'."

His eyes wide, Grimmjow felt the pieces fall into place. "Nel, that's my shirt."

Nel looked down at her modesty preserver as she recognised it, and worked out just what sort of picture she would have presented to Soi Fon.

"Oh, fuck."

xXx

Instinct took over.

Numb, Soi Fon got in a cab and told the driver the one address that came into her head, the one place she always went whenever life screwed her over and she needed a hand. It wouldn't matter what her current situation was – it was the one door in her life that had always remained open to her.

Twenty minutes later, the door opened and she hurled herself into Yoruichi's arms with a sob. The older woman took one look at her and turned to her other companion.

"Kisuke, could you do two things for me? I'm out of milk, so could you please grab me some of that, and the head of Grimmjow Jeagerjacques while you're at it?"

xXx

Half an hour later, Yoruichi had wrung the entire story out of her best friend, and was sitting on the couch beside her trying to work out just what the hell was going on. The last time she had checked, Grimmjow had actually been serious about winning Soi Fon over, so this didn't seem quite right. On the other hand…

"So", Yoruichi ventured, "are you sure you read the situation right?"

Soi Fon shot her a baleful, if teary, glare. "She was wearing his shirt, had an attitude and hair style that screamed 'just been shagged against a wall', and it was definitely his place. It's pretty hard to come up with an alternative. Even though I don't think he ever mentioned a gender when he talked about who he lived with, I'm fairly sure he never told me he fucked his room mate."

Yoruichi fought the urge to wince. It wasn't looking good. "What did she look like?"

"She was built like a Victoria's Secret model with green hair", Soi Fon spat out. "Just his type. It's logical, really. I wondered from the start what the hell he saw in me. I can't believe I actually fell for all of his bullshit."

That did it. Yoruichi was going to choke the life out of the little fucker the next time she saw him. As she slung an arm around the other woman's shoulders, she declared, "All right. I have ice cream, gin and punk cabaret for us to scream along to. Let's make this happen."

She was rewarded with a watery chuckle, though it was far too brief. "What about Kisuke? He can't be out too much longer getting milk."

Yoruichi shook her head. "Oh Kami, no. I never let Kisuke run practical errands. That was code for 'leave us alone'. If I actually told Kisuke to get milk, he'd show up three days later with his eyebrows singed off, a rubber duck in hand and a police escort in tow. He's that gifted. Now," she continued, going through her selection of DVDs, "which utterly unromantic action movie shall we watch?"

Soi Fon managed half a smile, but it was an effort. Everything just seemed to hurt too much and, despite Yoruichi's best efforts to comfort her, the feeling Soi Fon most wanted to capture was the one she'd had a week ago, curled up on her couch next to –

She shuddered, and simply said, "Anything but Die Hard."

xXx

She spent the next few days at Yoruichi's home, refusing to enter the office that she'd come to associate with Gr – or, rather, the complete and utter bastard who was remaining nameless and –

Oh, what was the use? He'd always be Grimmjow to her or, worse, Grimm. She could still remember all too clearly how he'd looked at her when she'd called him that.

Soi Fon wanted to be angry. She wanted to be enraged so badly, but all she could feel, even a week later, was hurt and confused, and even the fact that Grimmjow had managed to make her feel those things wasn't able to piss her off enough to focus on that instead.

The worst part, though, was that despite all of the pain he was putting her through now, simply by existing, Soi Fon still really liked the stupid bastard.

And she missed him.

xXx

Work without Soi Fon there sucked, Yoruichi decided, and what sucked the most was that she just knew Bee would be moping and there was nothing that she could do about it.

Ugh. Fuck you Grimmjow. Fuck you and your inability to think with more than one head at a time.

So intent was she on this train of thought, that when someone knocked on her door, she barked at them to come in, never once taking her eyes off the laptop screen in front of her.

Almost at once, a delicate, lilting voice began, "You must be Yoruichi. We have a lot to discuss."

Finally looking up, Yoruichi's eyes widened, as she took in the woman in front of her.

A woman who could only be described as 'built like a Victoria's Secret model with green hair'.

xXx

When the door knocked, Soi Fon was tempted to ignore it.

On the other hand, when a voice announced that the person on the other side of the door was selling Girl Scout cookies, Soi Fon decided that, having eaten anything that could be described as comfort food that Yoruichi had in the house, it might be time to stock up.

She was, then, understandably not in the mood when she saw who her visitor was. Soi Fon went to close the door, only to find a foot resolutely blocking that option. Her eyes narrowed. "You are not a Girl Scout."

Nel took this in her stride. "Well, I was. Can't say I learned a good deal – we mostly just set things alight with minimal supervision. Anyway, my name's Nel and I need to talk to you."

"I'm not interested", Soi Fon spat out, the venom clear in her tone.

"I think you will be", Nel shot back. "I'd like to introduce you to my room mate and boyfriend."

"We've met", Soi Fon snapped, "and as far as I'm concerned, you can both go to hell!" She turned on her heel and walked back down the hall. They could stay there at her front door all day for all she cared. If they tried to come in, she'd call the police.

"Actually", a completely unfamiliar voice rang out, "I don't believe we've ever had the pleasure of meeting."

Soi Fon looked back and froze, her gaze fixed on the man at the door who, although he was male, about the same age and almost the same height, definitely wasn't Grimmjow.

Nel beamed. "This is my partner, Ulquiorra. It's my other room mate you've met before. The one who's spent the last week getting very drunk and muttering to himself incoherently about bees." As she watched comprehension dawn on Soi Fon's face, Nel's grin widened.

"Ready to strike the 'go to hell' comment yet?"

xXx

After a lengthy inner battle, Grimmjow finally had his first shot of tequila for the day.

At ten in the morning.

The truly sad part was that this made today an improvement on the last week.

Grimmjow didn't bother dressing himself for the day – after all, what was the point? He was going to stay right here, get very drunk, shot some zombies via a game console and bitch loudly at the heavens for fucking him over and making him so very miserable. If that was all he was going to do today, then who gave a fuck if he sat around the house in his space invader pyjama pants?

Grimmjow also didn't bother calling Soi Fon. He'd tried that repeatedly all week. He'd even hung around outside her house, but she wasn't there and Kisuke had made it pretty clear that Yoruichi was out for his blood, so she wouldn't be disclosing Bee's location any time some.

He certainly didn't bother getting up from his place on the couch when someone knocked at the door.

"It's open." There. That didn't sound too slurred.

Yet.

Grimmjow didn't look up when the door opened and shut behind him, but he definitely did after someone settled on the couch beside him, and a soft, all too familiar voice tentatively said, "Hi."

Grimmjow blinked, looked at Soi Fon for a long moment, blinked again, and then turned to the bottle of tequila sitting on the coffee table.

It didn't make sense. Because Bee hated him right now, so she wouldn't really be here. The only logical explanation was…

"Shit. That's some fucken potent tequila."

At which point the Soi Fon hallucination made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a sob, and threw her arms around his neck. As Grimmjow's hands went up to tangle in her hair and he smelt that faint, citrus smell he always associated with her, he was forced to admit he was wrong and that this was probably too detailed for a hallucination.

On the other hand, this meant that Bee was actually here, in his apartment and, judging from the words making it through the sobs, apologising to him.

Grimmjow, having decided that everyone had apologised more than enough these last few weeks, simply cut her off with a kiss, a slow and passionate melding of mouths and entwining of limbs that left them both gasping for breath when they pulled apart.

Soi Fon still looked stricken. "Grimm, I'm so - "

He silenced her with a finger across her lips. "We're both a bit hopeless when it comes to this shit, so I figure we're both to blame a little. But since I've got you here now, I might as well put my cards on the table. I really like you, Bee. Sure, we're probably going to drive each other bat shit insane and neither of us is exactly a relationship genius, but I like you too much not to try and make this something. So I guess I just want to know – are you in?"

A slow smile spread across Soi Fon's face, as she nodded. "I am. But Grimm, I really am so - "

This time, he cut her off by lunging forward and pressing his lips to hers, pinning her underneath him on the couch. This kiss was languid, but as lips, tongues and teeth met and teased, a slow heat began to build. It was almost miraculous, then, that Soi Fon managed to come up for air, arguing, "That's your grand plan? Kiss me to prevent me from apologising?"

"Sure." Grimmjow shrugged. "If you want genius, Bee, wait til the blood flow heads back to my brain."

She grinned and shook her head. "I'm fine with the current situation. I'm just saying, that really isn't exactly incentive to make me stop." With a defiant smirk, she fixed him with a look of anticipation. "I'm sor - "

As their lips met again, one thought crossed Grimmjow's mind.

Yeah... She's going to drive me insane.

…Awesome.

xXx

Doneskis.

Anyhoodle, let me know what you think. Now that this is done, I'm thinking of doing some more AU stories in this universe (considerably shorter ones, though), but for now I plan to focus on the main stories I've been working on. AU is fun, but not my first love.

That being said, I'll probably be a sporadic poster at best for a couple of months – RL is about to hit hard. I will try, however, to give y'all something of mine to read.

Hope you enjoyed!

Cheers,

vicioux