"No," The protest rang loud and clear inside the appartment. "I won't stand for this, Grimmjow. I will not do anything with you under these circumstances."

Grimmjow glanced at Ulquiorra—the look on his face wasn't quite disbelief because, after all, he had expected a reaction like that but it was the firmness and the distance that was ever-present in Ulquiorra's newfound tone of voice that chilled him to the bone.

"Ulquiorra..." he had adapted a much softer tone to address Ulquoirra with. There was a bit of shock mingled with yearning in his voice. Ulquiorra was seething.

There was a loud, cat-like hiss that came from Ulquoirra as a loud slap echoed through the building, Grimmjow was sure. "No," the voice Grimmjow adored to hear was, as of now, extremely pissed off at him—no, beyond that, "you just don't seem to understand, do you, Grimmjow?" The statement was firm and cold—it left no room for argument. At this point, though, Ulquiorra's face was contorted with emotion—something he had sworn never to feel. "Honestly," he began, his hand resting on the side of his face, "I can't believe you."

"Ulquiorra, you know I—"

Ulquiorra cut him off, "Silence, Grimmjow." Grimmjow quickly obeyed. "Look, maybe...maybe if you were drunk, I might have had a bit more...lenience—it wouldn't matter. But, the fact that you slept with her and you were not intoxicated at the time—perfectly sober—is what bothers me."

Grimmjow growled. "She seduced me, Ulquiorra." he stated rather flatly.

"If you had an ounce of commitment in you, you would not have fell for it." Ulquiorra replied just as blandly. Once again, there was no room for Grimmjow to argue that. Grimmjow knew it wasn't a matter of commitment, though. He would never be the way he was with Ulquiorra with anyone else—it simply wasn't possible.

Something that sounded to Ulquiorra very much like a pout, though, only he could ever possibly tell for, to anyone else, it would have sounded like a menacin growl, resounded naturally from Grimmjow's throat. "Come on," Grimmjow whined, "you know that's not it, Ulquiorra."

"That's exactly why it bothers me." Ulquiorra's eyes flashed with anger—a stormy anger those green orbs had never known and might never know again. "I don't know why or how it happened. You know what's worse?!" Ulquiorra's voice had raised an octave or so higher and louder and his movements were quick and jerky and Grimmjow could have sworn he saw tears welling up in Ulquoirra's eyes. Never had Grimmjow regretted something so badly—never had he seen Ulquoirra look so terribly upset and act on it. "Do you?" Said voice had lowered its volume but the fact that it had been directed so cruelly and so bitingly got to Grimmjow. He could feel it pierce him.

"What are you—"

Once again, Ulquoirra cut him off. In his mad frenzy, he had lost all patience for Grimmjow's constant ability to beat around the bush. "She's pregnant—with child, yours, Grimmjow! Don't you get it?!"

"I...Ulquiorra—"

Ulquoirra threw his hands up in the air in a desperation to get his point across. "You don't, do you?!" This time, Grimmjow was sure those were tears. "The child will be all alone when it is born!"

"She could always have it abor—"

"No!" By now, Ulquiorra's voice was high and shrill and Grimmjow could tell that he was choking back sobs. "Anything but that...Grimmjow..." he whimpered, his legs giving out on him as he crumpled to a hopeless pile of limbs on the ground. Grimmjow rushed forward instinctively. Ulquoirra looked so...weak. It was too late, though. By the time Grimmjow had his arm around Ulquiorra to support him and was whispering comforting words to him, he could no longer see the tears and the emotion in Ulquoirra's eyes—both were gone, wiped clean away.

"Ulquiorra..." Grimmjow murmured, pulling his black bangs away from the grief-stricken, damned beautiful face of his. "It's going to be alright...come on, Ulquiorra..." he reassured him to the best of his abilities.

"No, it's not." he stated—there was something eery about the calm Ulquiorra now presented as he pulled himself out of Grimmjow's previously tight embrace. "It's the farthest thing from 'alright'."

At this point, Grimmjow snapped. He grabbed Ulquiorra by his wrists and pinned his arms up against the wall. "No, you don't get it. You're acusing me of things that aren't true in the least. You think I feel nothing for you? You think I'm not committed? What do you think—"

Ulquoirra laughed a laugh that held no humour—the situation was anything but humorous, "It's because it's true, Grimmjow. All of things I said were true."

"They were not!" Grimmjow growled, leaning in closer, "They were anything but true! You just don't know how I feel, do you?! It's because you feel nothing—all the fucking time!" The looming presence over Ulquiorra had began to intimidate him just a bit. No, intimidate wasn't quite the word...he was beginning to feel almost sorry until he remembered that the girl was pregnant with Grimmjow's child. But, before he could retort, Grimmjow went on to say, "Why do you think I turn to anyone else?!" That was a valid question...why did he? "It's because of you! You drive me bloody insane!" Grimmjow's voice cracked. "Damn it...Ulquiorra...you don't get it, do you...? You say we're together and then...it's back to fucking 'trash' and whatnot...this is the most you've ever showed me—I'm going to lose my mind trying to stay with you...so empty...I don't even know why I..." Grimmjow choked on his own words, "why I love you...so damned much...I must be a fucking idiot."

Ulquiorra was unmoved by this. "Let go of me, Sexta." The harshness of the re-established point of ranking made itself known immediately—it was back to "Cuarta" and "Sexta". How Grimmjow hated that... "Let me go, Sexta." Ulquoirra repeated, "I do not wish to use force with you."

Grimmjow's grip tightened around his wrist—constricting, even. "Damn it, Ulquiorra...I really don't think you fucking get it." As Grimmjow reverted his gaze back to Ulquiorra, Ulquiorra could see the tears that fell from his eyes—sparkling in the dim light of the appartment. Ulquiorra flinched, just for a moment.

Before the regret could consume Ulquoirra, though, he buried it along with everything else. Faster than the eye could see, using sonido, he moved out of Grimmjow's grasp and was a good six feet away from him. "You're right, Grimmjow," There was a blissful agony that Grimmjow felt when he heard his name leave Ulquoirra's lips—like it was going to be the last time he would hear it from that angel's voice—his angel. "I don't understand at all. You were right—I do not feel."

"No, you do." Grimmjow said, denying Ulquiorra his claim. "If you didn't, this wouldn't have happened."

"You got a girl pregnant. If this were Gin, he would have thrown a fit, too...alright, maybe Gin wouldn't have...but you get the point." Ulquiorra replied to this.

Grimmjow turned to Ulquiorra. "You talk like you do get it, though, when, really, I know you don't." His breath hitched in a shallow, rapid breath before he continued. "Tell me...do you feel anything for me?"

"I...think I do."

Grimmjow's eyes softened but it wasn't a good look—it was a bittersweet look. "You see? You don't know...if you felt the same...you would."

"How are you to prove that?" Ulquiorra bit back childishly.

"That's just it..."

Grimmjow being mellow and, seemingly, depressed was new to Ulquiorra. If anything, he immediatley knew he ddn't like it. He acted on that thought. "Stop moping, Sexta. It's unsightly."

"I'm sorry that it's 'unsightly'." Grimmjow said in an extremely sarcastic manner.

Ulquiorra sighed. "Look, I am not going to put up with this. In other words, we're through."

"Ulquiorra—"

"You heard me, Grimmjow—we're through, over, done." A delicate, all-too-familiar frown marred Ulquiorra's beautiful face at that moment. He thought he would get over it. He wouldn't, though. Who was he kidding?

"Just listen to me!" he couldn't believe how desperate Grimmjow sounded at this point.

Ulquiorra found his tongue betraying him. "And, why should I?"

"Because..." Grimmjow rumaged around in his pocket and pulled out a small, black box. Kneeling on the floor (at this, Ulquiorra was immensely confused that it was almost comical had it been a different time and a different place for a different reason), Grimmjow spoke quietly, his face flushing with embarrassment, "I...was waiting for an appropriate time but..."

"What are you—"

"Just listen to me..." Grimmjow opened the box revealing a small, delicate ring with a small diamond resting beautifully on the band. "Ulquiorra..." he breathed out, "will you...marry me?"

Ulquiorra's eyes widened. He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that Grimmjow had just proposed to him in the middle of an argument. What in the world was he thinking? Still...it was endearing. No, he had announced that things were over! He was not going to go back on his word right now.

He shook his head wildly and he could see Grimmjow's face fall apart. He suddenly felt really bad. It wasn't as though he didn't want this...it was just... "Save this for the girl who will mother your child, Grimmjow."

"Fuck, no!" Grimmjow yelled, standing up. "You just...argh!" Had this been another time and place and situation, Ulquiorra would have laughed at Grimmjow's flustered expression. Still, it didn't amuse him less.

"Grimmjow..." Ulquoirra spoke softly, placing a hand over the box gently. "this should belong to the woman who will bear your child...you will be the child's father."

Grimmjow looked longingly at Ulquiorra and, before Ulquiorra could comprehend his movements, Grimmjow had captured him in a kiss. The desperation in the kiss was obvious but Ulquiorra pretended like he didn't see it.

As they separated, Ulquiorra whispered, "Stop it, Grimmjow..."

"But...I don't want to, Ulquiorra." Grimmjow complaind like a child who had been told to wash the dishes or do their homework. "I...I can't ask anyone else but you...only you, Ulquiorra——only every you...You can't make me marry someone I don't love."

"You will grow to—"

"Bullshit," Grimmjow spat, "utter bullshit. I can hardly believe this is coming from you, of all people. What happened to the 'I don't give shit' attitude? What happened, huh? Tell me, why do you suddenly care about this fucking woman you've never met—why do you care about a woman neither of us even know the fucking name of, huh?"

Ulquiorra looked up at Grimmjow's eyes and could see the intense passion burning into each word Grimmjow spoke—burning into Ulquiorra. "It's because..." He couldn't think of a reason, though. Why did he care? "I don't know." he confessed, "But...I know you should."

"And I shouldn't be in love with you, right? Since when has that stopped me?"

"Don't do this, Grimmjow...you know that it's the right thing to—"

Grimmjow hissed at him like an angry cat (what a cliche...), "You're talking to me like I'm someone who would care about that when you know I don't give shit whether it's the 'right thing'. I mean, fuck, if marrying someone just because I knocked them up even though I don't even know their damned name when they seduced me into doing it is the right thing, I'm not fucking doing it. You know that, Ulquiorra."

Ulquiorra sighed. "Grimmjow...just...don't."

Grimmjow pulled Ulquiorra close to him—pressing him right up against his chest, "Can you feel it?" he asked quietly, "It's my heart—it beats for you and only you, Ulquiorra. It'll never beat for someone else. If you make me, you'll be taking my life." Pulling this card was the last thing Ulquiorra would have expected.

"Grimmjow, that's not true and you know it."

"It is." Grimmjow insisted, "You mean everything to me and I know that it's true, Ulquiorra."

"What you 'know' is different from the truth—you only think you 'know'."

Grimmjow couldn't stand this—this disposition Ulquirora was beginning to harbour. It didn't suit him at all. "Stop belittling yourself, damn it." He smiled at Ulquoirra as he placed a sweet kiss on his forehead. "The most beautiful person in the world could never pull me away from you—I love only you. No, scratch that, you are the most beautiful person in the world. Nobody could ever fucking compare, alright? So, don't talk shit like that—like you know how great you are when what you see ain't half of it—you're only looking at the glass half empty."

"Never knew you were a pihlosopher, Grimmjow." Ulquiorra said, raising a brow in amusement. He was flattered, really, but that didn't mean that...well...maybe he could make an exception.

Grimmjow laughed. "That's the Ulquiorra I know and love. Don't go breaking down and shit, love 'cause I don't think that I ever want to see you hurt...especially because of me."

"It wasn't because of you—"

"Sure, it wasn't, it wasn't—say whatever you want." Grimmjow sighed in relief. "...So...is that a 'yes'?"

"Take a guess."

Grimmjow cooed happily which was completely out of character and grabbed Ulqiuorra's face and kissed his lips feverishly. "Damn it, you're hot when you're cocky."

"And you're always cocky."

"Put a sock in it. No, I think you can put that mouth of yours to...better use...to put something else in there." Grimmjow raised his eyesbrows suggestively.

"You're a pervert, Grimmjow."

"You state the obvious." Grimmjow said without any shame.

Ulquoirra sighed. "Not now, I'm tired enough from today...no more of this, alright? No other women, no other guys—nothing like that, alright?"

Grimmjow saluted in a mocking manner. "Yes sir, Ulquiorra, sir!" Ulquiorra rolled his eyes at that.

"Right, right, good..."

Grimmjow pounced on him and kissed him, successfully knocking him to the floor. "Let's just do it right here, please."

There was an awkward pause as though Ulquiorra was contemplating giving in. "...On the kitchen floor?"

"Yes,"

Ulquoirra sighed whistfully. "Fine, fine...come on, you idiot."

Grimmjow urred happily (definitely a cat) and nuzzled into Ulquiorra's neck. "Thank you."

"Yeah..." Ulquoirra patted him on the back soothingly. "Just be careful..."

"Since when am I not?"

"Always." Ulquiorra stated blatantly.

Grimmjow pouted, though, it looked more like an indignant, immature huff. "Fine, fine...just hold still..."

Ulquiorra sighed, letting himself rest on the tiled floor of the kitchen.

In the end, he had given into Grimmjow...did the ring mean they were engaged? Oh....they would definitely have fun explaining this when they got back to Las Noches. After spending about two months in the human world for reconnaissance they had been reduced to this. But, damn, it felt good. Well, they would have to deal with it. For now, Ulquora wiped the worry from his memory and focused on Grimmjow.

So what if they drove each other crazy? What else did they live for, right?