Thanks for the feedback for last chapter! Work has picked up pace again so my updates are a little slow, do bear with me! :)

Ichigo jolted awake in the semi-darkness, his bladder once again rousing him from a deep, dreamless sleep. He blinked and rolled over, fully prepared to swing his legs over the side of the bed like he did every day, only to find himself staring at a broad, naked back.

He blinked again, the need to pee suddenly forgotten. Then his eyes travelled upwards, following the curve of one bare shoulder until lightly tanned skin disappeared beneath tussled blue locks.

"Holy shit," Ichigo blurted without thinking, then quickly clamped his palms over his mouth and held his breath.

Grimmjow didn't stir, and when it became clear his outburst had gone unnoticed, Ichigo sat up very, very slowly and carefully left the bed from the other side. He picked up his clothes and got dressed, his eyes darting to the sleeping man every few seconds to make sure that he was still asleep. Then, Ichigo tiptoed to the bedroom door and turned the handle gingerly, his nose wrinkling in concentration. Once the door was open, he stuck his head out through the tiny gap, scanning left and right for any signs of potential witnesses.

The hallway was dark and eerily silent.

Feeling slightly better, Ichigo pulled the door wider and slipped out. After sparing one last peek at the prone form on the bed, he closed the door, turning the knob so cautiously that he felt as though he was a professional burglar. Once the coast was clear, he allowed himself a soft sigh of relief, then straightened up and began to search for the way downstairs.

It took Ichigo a few minutes of wandering before he finally came to the same curved flight of stairs. He'd been preoccupied on his way up here the night before after all, understandably. For a moment, he stood at the top of the stairs, one hand resting on the stainless steel railing, and looked out of one of the many windows around him. His eyebrow twitched as he recognized the pale pink and purple swirls of dawn. So he'd ended up spending the entire night here...just wonderful.

Then came the dreaded thought: what was Renji going to say?

Ichigo's stomach lurched when he thought of the questions that would surely come. He could always lie, but what lie would be believable at all? That he'd fallen asleep during a tour of the mansion? Even the very thought was laughable. Lost in his inner turmoil, he descended the stairs slowly, not really paying attention to his surroundings until he arrived at the foyer. It was equally quiet, almost eerily so. Ichigo frowned. Had everyone left? Did Renji leave him behind? It didn't seem like something his best friend would do, but then, where was he?

The mystery was solved when Ichigo stepped into the living room, where he'd left his jacket and car keys.

Starrk was sprawled on the couch, his body stretched out across the cushions, legs pinned beneath Nnoitra's longer ones. The man himself occupied the other side, one skinny hand dangling off the side. His snores were thunderous, making Ichigo wonder how anyone could sleep through the racket.

Two bodies laid entwined on the carpet next to the sofa; Hisagi's face pressed against Kensei's neck while the larger man had his arms around him - possessive even in sleep.

Then, walking further past the couch, Ichigo found his best friend. The redhead was on his back, one hand serving as a cushion behind his head, the other stretched out to the side. On his chest, sat a dainty foot, the toes so close that they were nearly touching his mouth - Neliel, lying spread-eagled at a ninety degree angle from Renji in a most unladylike fashion.

Ichigo had to bite his lips to stifle a fit of laughter. Empty beer bottles littered the coffee table, a few even placed on the carpet at a precarious angle threatening to tip over at the slightest movement.

And that was when an idea formed in Ichigo's mind. He now had the perfect excuse to explain his situation. Yes!

Problem almost solved, Ichigo's bladder found it fit to resume its incessant plea to be emptied. Grimacing, Ichigo crept out of the living room on tiptoes and went searching for a bathroom. He didn't have to go far; there was one just off the other side of the foyer. He darted in, nearly letting out a whoop of joy and relief.

Moments later, feeling lighter and much more comfortable, Ichigo emerged from the restroom. His nose immediately picked up a scent that he'd missed earlier - coffee. The rich aroma called out to him, so he followed; and soon found himself in the kitchen. It was spacious and modern, just like other parts of the house, with white counter tops and light grey cabinets. There, Ichigo found the one person he hadn't seen in the living room earlier; Szayel was standing in front of a coffee maker, looking just as fresh and well-dressed as he was when Ichigo first met him.

"Good morning." The man raised his eyebrows as he greeted Ichigo with a look of surprise. "I didn't know you stayed."

Ichigo cleared his throat and tried his best not to fidget. He glanced at Szayel and quickly looked away, pretending to admire the kitchen appliances. "Umm, yeah, I did. I, uhh, borrowed one of the guest bedrooms upstairs. You know, since Renji was knocked out..." He smiled sheepishly. "Couldn't leave him behind."

Szayel peered over his silver glasses and nodded before turning his attention back to the coffee maker. "Coffee?" he offered.

"Uhh, sure," Ichigo replied, mentally making a note to warn Grimmjow about his cover story. Well, their cover story. Assuming the guy would cooperate at all in the first place.

As he accepted the coffee mug that was slid across the counter top, Ichigo's thoughts wandered back to the older man. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something about last night had left a weird feeling in his gut. Was it the setting? The fact that they were at Grimmjow's home? That there were so many people around and they could get caught?

Ichigo frowned and stirred his coffee absently.

Yeah, that must be it.

What else could it possibly be?

Grimmjow swore as bright, stinging sunlight filtered through his half-opened eyes. He usually liked to have this natural wake-up call in the mornings, but today was not one of those days. He was just getting close to the juicy part in his dream, and now he was stuck, awake and hard and not at all satisfied.

But then the memory of hearing Ichigo snore softly during the night resurfaced, and Grimmjow turned, grin growing wide and feral, only to find himself alone, his plaything missing. The sheets were rumpled but cold beneath his fingers. Grimmjow grunted in disappointment. The little shit must've left some time during the night.

Somehow that thought didn't sit right with him, and Grimmjow frowned. It was usually him who did the leaving; even as Ichigo was still regaining his breath from whatever they'd just done. Being the one left behind now stung, though why he was so bothered by it, he had no idea. It wasn't as if they owed each other any explanations.

Still, it would've been nice to at least leave a note or something. Heck, what did Ichigo think this was, a love motel?

Grimmjow's mood soured further by the minute, and by the time he was stomping down the stairs to grab himself a cup of coffee, he was downright pissy. His friends had better not left his house in a mess, because the last thing he needed right now was to clean up after those slobs, who couldn't hold their liquors to save their lives. He'd already done it one too many times and if they dared to expect him do it again he was going to rip Szayel a new one...

Then he rounded the corner and his eyes widened.

Ichigo was sitting on a stool at the kitchen island, a large mug of coffee in his hand while he nodded and laughed softly at something Szayel said. The younger man had his back towards Grimmjow and hadn't noticed him yet, so Grimmjow kept quiet and watched. It was surreal to see Ichigo chatting so casually with his friend, right here in his house. After all, the only interactions they'd had up till this point mostly involved their dicks and a healthy dose of lust. It was always passionate, always intensely hot, but always brief. Grimmjow knew absolutely nothing about Ichigo except that he was a teacher at his god-daughter's school, and he knew Ichigo knew even less about him.

So why wasn't he freaking out? Grimmjow had always made sure to keep that part of his life separate from everything else, and right now that part was sitting in his kitchen talking to his friend and drinking coffee out of his mug like it was the most normal thing in the world. By all logic and common sense, Grimmjow should be shoving the kid out of his house and out of his personal life right this moment, before Ichigo spilled his secret.

Grimmjow waited expectantly for that instinct to kick in, but it never came. What did come, though, was a sharp pang of something that made him narrow his eyes at his best friend.

Why is Szayel standing so close to Ichigo? Ohhh that look in his eyes! That bastard's totally checking the kid out and he's not even being the least bit subtle about it!

Before he could dwell any more on those thoughts, Grimmjow found himself stalking up towards the two men.

"Making friends, are we?" he said loudly, raising an eyebrow at Szayel.

Ichigo turned around with a start, the smile on his face disappearing the moment his eyes landed on Grimmjow.

"Oh yes!" Szayel replied, giving the younger man one last appreciative look before turning to Grimmjow. "Did you know that Ichigo is a teacher? What a noble line of work, I must say! Children are such a handful nowadays. I should know, I have one who just loves to drive me up the wall."

"You do?" Ichigo looked surprised. "How old is your kid?"

Szayel rolled his eyes dramatically. "She's five. An absolute terror I tell you, she'll be the death of me."

Grimmjow instantly felt another pang of that something when Ichigo's smile returned. "Sure, like you pay that much attention to Pinky," he scoffed. "She spends so much time at the nanny's that I'm surprised she still recognizes you."

His pink-haired friend gasped, looking thoroughly insulted. "Of course I do! Don't I give her the best in everything? I spared no expense-"

"Wait, did you just say Pinky?"

Grimmjow turned to meet Ichigo's shock-filled eyes. "Yeah," he said, scowling. "Why?"

Ichigo continued to stare at him with the same wide-eyed look. "Pinky...as in...Yachiru? I remember hearing you call her that the other day, at school..." Then he turned to Szayel. "You're Yachiru's dad?"

Ichigo didn't know how he'd missed it - pink hair, Grimmjow's god-daughter, Grimmjow's best friend...he should've connected the dots sooner.

Szayel was the girl's birth father, but Yachiru had been living with her mother and step-father all along, even taking on the step-father's last name. That was, until they died tragically in a car accident two years ago. Since then, Szayel had taken over the responsibility, though if Grimmjow's claims could be trusted, the man mostly just provided for the child financially and preferred to leave the actual parenting to the full-time nanny; appearing only when his presence was needed. And even then, with his busy schedule, Grimmjow'd had to step in occasionally.

Like he had the day Ichigo'd summoned Yachiru to his office many months ago.

Eyes darting between Szayel and Grimmjow, Ichigo chewed on his lower lip, feeling a little nervous. He'd been trying to catch Grimmjow's eye for the past ten minutes, but the man was either ignoring him on purpose, or was too busy taunting his friend to notice it. Ichigo needed to tell Grimmjow about his supposed stay at the "guest bedroom", and by the looks of things he'd better do it soon because the racket they were making was going to wake the others eventually.

"Grimmjow, can I have a word with you?" Ichigo said, finally accepting that he was never going to get Grimmjow's attention without outright demanding for it.

Grimmjow blinked, surprised, but after glaring at a very confused-looking Szayel, grudgingly followed Ichigo out to the foyer. Once they were out of sight, Ichigo quickly pulled Grimmjow into a corner below the stairs and told him the story.

Grimmjow looked astonished, then a weird look flashed across his face before he broke into a wide grin. "Don't worry, I got this," he said, giving Ichigo a wink. "But I have one condition..."

Ichigo huffed, feeling annoyed and embarrassed that Grimmjow was once again having fun at his expense. He didn't like the fact that Grimmjow had yet another leverage against him, but what other choice did he have? He needed Grimmjow's cooperation here.

"What condition?" he asked, already dreading the answer.

To be continued...