Ichigo looked at Grimmjow hesitantly as they ate breakfast together.

The house Grimmjow had taken for himself was pretty nice. Ichigo knew for a fact that it had been abandoned in the fighting – he'd been there, chained to his master – so they'd grabbed it with no muss and no fuss, unlike many of the arrancar. It had a nice little breakfast nook designed for a small group, four at the most. That suited their needs very well.

Breakfast this morning was eggs, bacon and toast. Ichigo looked down at his plate, scraping the fork around to gather up a bit of egg yolk. There was something he wanted to ask. He'd been meaning to ask for a while but he was honestly afraid of the answer.

"…Grimm?" He said softly and the arrancar looked up, his blue eyes a bit curious. "What happened to Nel?" The last he'd seen of her had been Ulquiorra carrying her away. Grimmjow's fork and knife abruptly stopped moving as his blue eyes went dark.

"She's dead." He said shortly and Ichigo went stiff with shock. He stared as Grimmjow began cutting his food again.

"H-How? What happened?" He asked, his voice filled with pain. Little Nel… who would have killed her? He knew it hadn't been Grimmjow and somehow, he couldn't picture Ulquiorra doing it. He'd claimed Orihime though. Had it been a punishment for her? Grimmjow frowned at his breakfast before suddenly pushing it away.

"It was Nnoitra. Do you know the history between them?" He asked and Ichigo shook his head. "You probably don't know that she used to be the Tercero Espada, either."

"What?" He stared at Grimmjow, wondering if he was trying to play some kind of trick on him. But he seemed to be dead serious. "Nel? How?" He asked and Grimm sighed, leaning back in his chair. His expression was hard but Ichigo almost thought he saw pain in those blue eyes. Or was he just deluding himself?

"This all went down when I was the ninth Espada. Nnoitra was the Sexta and Nel was the Tercero. Honestly, I blame Aizen for it." Grimmjow rubbed a thumb along his jaw as he spoke. "They couldn't stand each other. Nnoitra is a misogynistic prick and Nel… I'd say she couldn't mind her own business but Aizen kept sending them out together. I mean, what the fuck? He knew they couldn't stand each other. Nelliel gave him lectures and shit, I actually overheard one once." He shook his head, blue hair waving slightly. "She was more talkative than Hal. I think that's the only reason Tia and Nnoitra get along… she keeps her mouth shut."

"So what happened to Nel?" Ichigo prompted as Grimmjow paused, his gaze fixed over his shoulder at nothing. The Espada blinked and really looked at him again.

"Nnoitra worked with Szayel to ambush her. He ripped the masks off her fraccion then broke Nel's mask. She turned into a child then and went off wandering with her fraccion." Grimmjow said then suddenly grinned. "I had a serious lust going for her when I was the ninth, you know."

"What? No way!" Ichigo exclaimed then blushed as Grimmjow laughed. But after everything he'd been through, he'd been sure Grimmjow was gay. "So you're…"

"Bisexual? Yeah. Nel though… she was my goddess." Grimmjow looked almost nostalgic as he remembered. "I even tried to court her. You know how hollow courting works?" He asked and Ichigo shook his head. Without his hollow there was no one to question. "Okay… mostly you just pin the person you want and fuck their brains out." He said bluntly and Ichigo winced. "But if you want… more… or if you're approaching a greater power, you might do stuff for them. Courting gifts, shit like that. I made her a necklace." He explained and Ichigo tried to imagine Grimmjow piecing together a necklace for Nel. It was such a strange mental image. "She took it and smiled a little before giving it back." He didn't sound angry, though, which surprised Ichigo. He would have thought being spurned would inflame Grimm's temper. "She said I was too far down for her right now. I needed to make at least Sexta before she'd think about it. I was working so hard to advance, all for her… and then she was gone. My goddess just vanished one day." Grimmjow sounded a little sad. Not a lot, but then, it had been a long time ago. "I don't know why Nnoitra killed her. He'd already taken her power, her position, everything she had. Why'd he take her life after so long?" Grimmjow looked at the table for a moment before shrugging. "I guess we'll never know."

"…No." Ichigo whispered, looking down at what was left of his food as his stomach churned. He wasn't hungry now, either. "Should I…?" He gestured to Grimmjow's plate, which was still half-full. The Espada nodded.

"Yeah, not in the mood. I've got to get to work, be back later." He said before leaving. Ichigo sighed to himself as he realized he hadn't been given permission to leave the house. That meant he had to stay within at least the yard, which was fortunately rather large. After a moment, he decided it was just as well.

There was no way he could do something fun after learning about what had happened to poor little Nel.


"Yo." Ichigo started, almost dropping the frying pan as that voice spoke in his ear. How had Grimmjow gotten past him like that?! "Woah! Don't piss your pants, shinigami, it's just me." He said with a grin and Ichigo favored him with a glare before setting the cast iron pan down on the warming stone. It contained cherry cobbler, his first attempt at a dessert and in his surprise he'd almost destroyed it.

"As if I'd be scared. What do you want? I'm busy with supper." He knew he sounded crabby but there was no one to observe and Grimmjow liked to see some spine from him. The Espada just laughed, running a hand down his back and pausing to fondle his buttocks. Ichigo gritted his teeth, holding back the desire to punch him in the gut.

"I see. It looks pretty damned good, too. After we're done eating I have something in the bedroom for you to try on." Grimmjow said with warm promise in his voice and Ichigo blushed a little before frowning. What could it be? He hoped it wasn't something weird like bondage gear.

It was a bit odd. Ichigo reflected on it as he set out the food. Tonight he'd made them steak with mashed sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli. There was gravy, but that came from a package. He had no idea how to make skillet gravy the way Yuzu had. As they ate, he reflected on his… love life, if you could call it that. It was actually pretty unimaginative, in a lot of ways. Grimmjow always used the same position, taking him from behind. There were a few other positions they'd tried but every single one involved him facing away from the arrancar. Ichigo wondered about that, but there was no one to ask. His hollow had completely abandoned him, going to sleep with the intention of waiting this out. Ichigo grimaced to himself as he remembered the hollow's words…

You're a fucking failure, King, and I'm damned if I'll win your crown just to be his slave, even if he is sexy as fuck. Wake me up when you need me, otherwise you can fuck off.

That had been the last words his hollow had said to him. He could still call on his power, but all he got from the hollow was sleepy grumbles. And Zangetsu was completely out of his reach, being held by Aizen. It was painful, having absolutely no one to rely on. But then, his hollow had always been a selfish prick. How much good would he have been anyway?

"He could have explained things to me." He mumbled to himself before giving his attention to the cobbler. It was actually pretty good for a first attempt. Maybe a bit less nutmeg, but other than that… pretty good.

"Explained what?" Damn! Ichigo cursed to himself as he realized he'd underestimated Grimmjow's hearing, not for the first time.

"Nothing." He said, glancing up from his food. Grimmjow lifted his eyebrows in a 'yeah, right' gesture but let it go. "How was work?" He asked, not because he cared but to make conversation. Grimmjow grunted and shrugged.

"Boring. Our job is just to keep the shinigami in line, really. They're fucking beaten, not one of 'em has a bit of fight left. All I do all day is scratch my ass and look mean. Fucking boring." Grimmjow sounded disgruntled and Ichigo nodded. He could imagine that would frustrate the violent Espada. "Which reminds me, I want to spar with you tomorrow. I wish Aizen would give me your fucking sword back."

"Huh? Zangetsu? You WANT me to have him?" Ichigo asked, taken by surprise. Grimmjow flashed him a grin.

"Of course I do. Crossing swords in bed is nice, but I want to cross the other swords too. And right now, you're not as much fun as you should be, shinigami." He purred in that low, sultry tone that could always kick Ichigo in the libido. And the bastard knew it, too, from the shit eating grin on his face. Scowling, Ichigo began clearing the table and tried not to think about what was waiting for him in the bedroom.

To his relief, it wasn't whips, chains or leather straps. However, it was something absolutely out there and Ichigo stared at it in confusion.

"…A kimono?" He asked, lifting up the silk fabric. "He wants me to wear this?" He asked the air before staring at the thing again. "…" Just from the colors, he was sure that was what Grimmjow wanted. Was the Espada out of his mind? Taking a deep breath, Ichigo began to disrobe. If Grimmjow wanted him in a dress, than that was what he would get.

The kimono itself was gold and orange and matched his hair remarkably well. Ichigo scowled as he tried to figure out how to get himself into the damned thing. Kimonos weren't something his sisters had ever worn, let alone him! Finally he gave up and just pretended it was a yukata. He'd at least worn those a time or two. Stepping out into the living room he gave the Espada the meanest glare he could manage.

Bright blue eyes scanned him thoughtfully before Grimmjow began to grin. Then he started to laugh. It started as low chuckles before quickly graduating to a full belly laugh. Ichigo just crossed his arms and glowered.

"You told me to wear this damned thing! What the hell are you laughing at?" He snapped and Grimmjow coughed, managing to get himself under control before explaining with a grin.

"Shit… it was Yammy who said I should try this. He makes his pet wear dresses all the time, poor bastard." Grimmjow sounded like he genuinely pitied the shinigami in question and Ichigo wondered who it could be. He wasn't allowed out of the house much, he had no idea. "His pet actually looks good in the things. You just look like a pissed off guy in a dress. Hahaha… ah fuck. Take it off." Grimmjow wiped his eyes, getting rid of a few tears of mirth. Ichigo growled a bit before going back to the bedroom and gladly stripping off the thing. He replaced it with a lounging robe before going back. It wasn't like he'd be wearing much soon, there was no point in getting his clothes back on.

"I'd like to see you wearing that." He said crabbily as he took a seat on the couch beside Grimmjow, expecting the Espada to begin molesting him. But there was a moment of silence and he glanced over with a frown to see that Grimmjow was staring away thoughtfully. "Grimm?" He said cautiously and the arrancar blinked, glancing at him.

"Hold on a sec." He said before leaving the room, to Ichigo's surprise. He looked at the bedroom door in bewilderment, wondering what was going on. What could Grimmjow be…?

Then his eyes went wide as the Espada came back out, wearing the gold and orange kimono. He posed with a hand behind his head as Ichigo gaped in pure shock. Then the absolute hilarity of the situation reached him and he started to laugh.

"Oi! Don't you think I'm pretty?" Grimmjow demanded and that only made things worse. Ichigo shook his head before managing to speak.

"God Grimm, you look… I don't know! Take it off!" He said and Grimmjow grinned wickedly before undoing the belt. Ichigo had no time to ask him what he was doing before he gripped the edges and yanked the kimono open, for all the world like a pervert with a raincoat. Ichigo stared, eyes wide, before beginning to laugh again. This time he laughed so hard he was almost in tears and his sides ached. He was just managing to recover, gasping, as Grimmjow settled down on the sofa beside him. The kimono pooled around the Espada as he nuzzled his pet.

"You know, I learned something new today." He whispered as he ground their bodies together. Ichigo let it happen, let the desire rise. It didn't even make him feel bad, not with the joy of laughter still fuzzy in his mind. "I like to hear you laugh." Ichigo didn't have time to question that as he was turned onto his stomach, a hand beginning to prepare his entrance. But that kimono was still there, sliding over his skin. He only had to glance at it and it brought a smile to his face. As Grimmjow sank into him he let out a breathy moan before he controlled himself. But he still felt more pleasure than sickness as the arrancar took him.

Maybe laughter was an aphrodisiac.


Ichigo took a sip of his beer before adjusting his straw hat and looking down at his book. His fishing pole was caught between his knees, the line bobbing gently in the water in front of him. He was sitting on the edge of a small dock, just enjoying the day.

This had been Grimmjow's idea. Unlike a lot of his ideas, though, it was turning out to be really pleasant. It was a beautiful summer day and Grimmjow had decided to take advantage of it by going fishing. And because he was being 'good', he'd been included. There were no other Espada or arrancar, no one for him to cater to. Just him and Grimmjow and the Espada wasn't interested in being waited on. Quite the opposite, he'd been the one to carry the beer cooler while Ichigo brought the fishing poles.

Ichigo glanced over at the Espada, a bit surprised to see that he was reading. Grimmjow generally wasn't a big reader and his choice of story reflected that. It was a graphical novel, highly visual and easy to read. Grimm was idly looking at it as he sipped his own beer, wiling the time away as they both enjoyed the sun –

"Oi!" Ichigo flinched and Grimmjow let out a soft groan as that strident voice interrupted their zen like calm. "What are you ass bandits doing out here?" Ass bandit? Ichigo turned to glare at the bastard who was interrupting them.

"Fuck you too Nnoitra. What the hell do you want?" Grimmjow asked and Ichigo tensed, a bolt of pure rage going through him as he looked at the other Espada. He hadn't really bothered to keep their names straight, since he only saw them when he was acting as a servant. But he would never forget what this bastard had done to Nel. A hand settled on his lower back and Grimmjow suddenly leaned towards him. "Relax." There was a tug on his claim, but a gentle one and he couldn't help but obey. "The past is over and done with. You can't change it, look forward." The Espada whispered and Ichigo blinked.

"Are you channelling Zangetsu?" He said in an undertone, confident Grimmjow would hear. The arrancar just gave him a grin before looking up as a shadow fell over them. Nnoitra was there, gazing over them but Ichigo ignored him. Grimmjow was right and there was nothing he could do anyway.

"What the hell are you doing?" He asked with an air of genuine puzzlement. Grimmjow looked up, annoyed.

"Fishing, dumbass." He said shortly and Nnoitra scowled. "You don't know about fishing?"

"No. What the fuck is it?" He asked and Grimmjow sighed, rubbing his head for a moment. Ichigo could sense irritation through the claim and knew that the Espada was just as annoyed at having their calm time interrupted.

"You think fish get on your plate on their own? Hop right out of the sea? Fishing is how you catch them." He said shortly and Nnoitra looked at the poles dubiously. Tesra was standing nearby, attentive to his master. "You want to try it we got an extra pole." He offered, probably figuring Nnoitra wasn't going to go away. The piano toothed Espada shrugged and took the pole.

Unfortunately, things got annoying in a hurry. Nnoitra scowled at the water, clearly waiting for something to happen and started to get upset when it didn't.

"Where's the fucking fish?!" He complained before standing up. "Rar!" He slashed his pole into the water, making Ichigo wince and Grimmjow growl.

"Nnoi! You're scaring the fucking fish away!" He complained before rubbing his forehead. "Shit… you clearly don't get how this works. Okay, let me take this from the top. This kind of fishing ain't really to catch fish, okay?" He explained as Nnoitra frowned. "It's just an excuse to sit in the sun all day and drink beer. Or saki if that's your style." That made Nnoitra start to grin. "Back when I was alive, it was a good way to get away from the womanfolk and the brats. If you brought fish home, that was just a fucking bonus."

"Oh. Well, why didn't you say so? That makes a hell of a lot more sense!" He glanced around, his one eye falling on Ichigo. "Yo, pet! Get me some fucking saki." He ordered and the teen tensed, his rage making it through the calm Grimmjow had helped him achieve. But his owner snapped back at the other Espada.

"Oi! Leave my pet alone, he was having fun before you showed up. Get your fraccion to do it." He snarled and Nnoitra glared at him for a moment before snorting and glancing at Tesra. The fraccion bowed slightly.

"I would be honored Nnoitra-sama." He said and actually sounded like he meant it. Nnoitra grunted, taking a seat again and stealing one of Grimmjow's novels. The Espada grunted but didn't protest, probably figuring the calm was worth it. Nnoitra was a rank over him, he couldn't really order him to go away.

Fortunately, Tesra came back with liquid courage and soon they were completely ignoring each other. Ichigo let the calm wash over him, enjoying the warm heat of the sun on his skin. For a while, there was complete peace. But then, of course, Grimmjow and Nnoitra had to start arguing about something. He tried to ignore it but gradually things began to get interesting.

"I so bet you can't!" Nnoitra said and Ichigo glanced up with a frown. Grimmjow was scowling.

"If Ulquiorra can do it so can I." He said arrogantly and Ichigo hid his doubts. Fighting Ulquiorra had been worse than fighting Grimmjow, if anything. "But what are you betting me? There should be something riding on this." He said and Ichigo's interest sharpened. A wager might involve him.

"What d'you want?" Nnoitra asked and Ichigo noticed that Tesra was looking queasy. Was he worried that he'd become part of this bet too? Probably. Fraccion weren't pets, they couldn't be ordered around by any passing arrancar, but they had to obey the head of the fraccion.

"I want your fraccion for a day." Grimmjow said, glancing at Tesra. He was looking positively ill now and Ichigo would have felt worse for him if it weren't for his own enslavement. The arrancar could just deal with it.

"Okay." Nnoitra agreed instantly. "And if you can't do it, you can get me a case of the best saki in the whole fucking city." He proposed and Grimmjow frowned as he thought about it.

"Alright, but you'll have to wait a month. I don't have that much credit left." He warned and Nnoitra nodded. "Okay. Let's do this shit." Grimmjow set his pole aside and took a cross legged position, closing his eyes. Ichigo watched for a moment, puzzled. If he didn't know better he'd have thought Grimmjow was meditating. After watching for a while, though, nothing happened and his thoughts began to wander. He picked up his book again, going back to his spot. It wasn't like he cared if Grimmjow won this wager. Well, he might end up in a threesome with Tesra but he wasn't sure how that –

"HAH! I fucking well did it!" Ichigo glanced up in shock as he heard that voice. Grimmjow's voice was… higher? He swallowed hard as he saw the Espada was on his… her feet, holding her pants up with one hand. His shocked gaze travelled higher. Grimmjow's jacket was hanging off suddenly slender shoulders, but it still did nothing to conceal shapely, decently sized breasts. "Now you gotta pay up you – NNOI!" With a wicked grin, Nnoitra had just put his hands over those breasts and given them a hearty squeeze. The beautiful woman that Grimmjow had become took a step backward then wind milled frantically as she caught her foot on the edge of the dock and lost her balance. She went right into the water and Ichigo dropped his pole as he felt a frantic pull on his claim. He went in after her and helped her to the surface. She was swearing fiercely as Nnoitra laughed.

"Shit, it was worth it just for that! So when did you want Tesra?" He asked as Grimmjow growled and tried to pull herself out of the water. It was difficult since 'her' pants were trying to come off. Ichigo helped her as best he could, trying not to stare at the shapely body in his arms. Although… he didn't really feel desire for Grimmjow this way. He just felt uncomfortable, much like he had when Yoruichi had surprised him with her nudity.

"Make it tomorrow." Grimmjow said before closing her eyes. There was a brief shimmer in the air and she became a he again. Ichigo found he vastly preferred it. Female Grimmjow was definitely pretty but also oh, so wrong. "Send him in the morning, I've got some shit he can do." He glanced at Tesra who, despite looking very green, managed to nod. "And never grope me again, you fucking perv." He added, which made Nnoitra laugh again. Then Grimmjow took a seat, letting the sun dry him as he picked up the fishing pole again. Ichigo sighed to himself and tried to go back to his book, taking a long swig of beer.

He was still having fun but it would be better when Nnoitra was gone.