Nights at the beach are always calm provided there is fair weather, leaving the open expanse of the sky clear for those who wish to view the stars and the moon. When the gentle lapping of the waves against the shore, the low rustling of tropical arbor in the wind, and the lazy sounds of nocturnal animals combine just right into a natural melody, someone can truly feel at ease, content to sleep all evening in the sand if need be. However, if that someone or someones intend to do something noisy and rather intimate, it is advised that whatever activities they engage in be committed elsewhere…

Soifon cried out in pure unadulterated ecstasy, coming down hard from her latest orgasm and collapsing against Grimmjow's chest in complete exhaustion. Her breaths escaped her mouth as soft pants beneath half-lidded eyes. The man beneath her only smirked, running his fingers through her hair and pulling himself out of her as he cradled her in his arms. Luckily for his Captain, their sex had evolved from a basic instinctual form of release to a more passionate and expressive series of lovemaking sessions. Otherwise, she would probably have died from blood loss, her lightheadedness testified to that. At least this time she had come out literally on top.

"What's the score up to?" Grimmjow inquired slyly, planting a kiss on the back of his superior's neck while they lay sideways in bed, her back facing him. "I stopped keeping track after the sixth time," Soifon admitted with a mirthful but fatigued chuckle. "Well that's no good, Shaolin. Now we have to start back from round one and go until one of us pins the other eleven times," the Arrancar groaned in mock exasperation, earning a light-hearted laugh from the woman in his embrace. It was the first time he had heard such a noise come from her and he reveled in it. He only hoped that he could have more opportunities to hear it again. But in the meantime, he was content where he was, his nose in her raven liquid silk and arm around her toned stomach. "Tempting but I want a few hours of sleep before sunrise. I want to shower and refrain from anything suspicious when the time comes for everyone to wake up."

There was a comfortable pause following the declaration, allowing the two to enjoy their warmth and the noise of the distant surf.

"So what does this make us?" Soifon asked after several minutes, her voice laden with hopeful uncertainty. Grimmjow frowned inside her hair, closing his eyes and nuzzling further into her body with affection akin to a feline. "How the hell should I know," he began dismissively. "You know more about that kind of stuff than I do. My heart's only a year old ya know?" Now the darkness of the tent was stricken with a different kind of silence. "Then at least tell me if you feel anything for me so that I know I haven't wasted my time again," the petite woman sighed, her eyes downcast and fingers idly playing with a set of blood splatters on the linens below her. "I already told you that it wasn't one-sided, didn't I?" She smirked and gave in to the heaviness of her eyelids. "A woman like you? Hot tempered, sexy, capable of giving and receiving a good fucking beating, smart, and a fighter in and out of bed: how could a guy like me not get all mushy for ya?" Grimmjow growled playfully, nipping at her ear.

Best answer I can give you right now. Like I said…I'm pretty new to all this so do me a favor and give me some time.

Meanwhile, Soifon had smiled and tilted her head back to press her lips on her subordinate's mask fragment, an area that she had discovered was quite sensitive during their more adventurous couplings. "I suppose that's good enough for tonight," she muttered, bringing a mercifully clean sheet up to her with a dexterous maneuvering of her foot and throwing it over herself and Grimmjow. "But as your Taicho, I have three new orders for you. One: you will not so much as joke about fraternizing with any other woman unless you want to lose the tool to do so. Two: you will always be there when I wake up when we sleep together unless I give you permission to do otherwise. Three: You will not say one word about any private relations between us to anyone but me or I will kill you." Soifon listed, still managing to sound dangerous despite how sleepy she was.

"Can't you cut me some slack and move the 'permission' bit to rule one instead of two?" Grimmjow snickered, his wide grin unfazed by an elbow to the ribs. "Goodnight, Arrancar." Soifon snarled half-heartedly, snuggling into the covers and the crimson-stained body of her Vice-Captain. "G'night, Shinigami," he answered with a carnal hiss, welcoming slumber's waiting reprieve.

He awoke almost instantly after falling asleep, finding himself in a cool environment that reeked of flora and stagnant moisture.

A lone, gaudy rope bridge stretched into a linear infinity, hanging in the canopy of a dense rainforest. The wooden planks were weathered but dry, resting in askew positions that resulted from poor craftsmanship. The air was quiet save the chorus of leaves brushing against their uncountable brethren, providing a serene ambience. Above the dilapidated extension, through the foliage that waved leisurely in the tropical breeze, existed a night sky so halcyon that multicolored clouds of cosmic dust could be seen staining the tapestry of dappled starlight centering around a full harvest moon.

"It's been quite a while since I've seen such a beautiful sky."

Grimmjow rose, sidling over to the edge of the bridge and tossing his feet over the edge, falling on his back with arms bent around his head. He was in his Resurreccion form which made it difficult to prevent his elongated hair from snagging on the abundance of splinters. "I gotta say," he began, whistling admirably at the scenery. "You weren't wrong about it looking good. How long's it been like this?"

His Zanpakuto's spirit padded along the wooden boards, swishing his tail behind him until he sank down next to his master and mirrored his stare up towards the heavens. "It's been exceptionally magnificent since your kiss yesterday." The jaguar replied, his voice grating out in a naturally guttural tone. "Good job on tonight by the way, I was sure you'd manage to fuck up some way or another but you didn't. I think that woman might actually like you." He continued, ignoring an angry scoff and getting to his haunches. "So you're probably wondering why I brought you in here."

Pantera narrowed his eyes at the sight of Grimmjow's disinterested pose, clearing his throat when he refused to answer him.

"Yeah, yeah. You called me in here to look at the moon so shut up and let me enjoy it," the Arrancar grumbled, waving his hand airily. "What the hell are you talking about?! Did you forget about it already? We only talked about it nine days ago!" The spirit roared, attempting to swat his master upside the head with a razor-sharp set of gleaming claws, cutting nothing but air and hearing a faint buzz. Grimmjow disappeared momentarily, zooming back via sonido when the risk of getting shredded stooped moderately lower. "Oh," he started sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Guess I did forget about it now that ya mention it. We were talkin' about my Segunda Etapa. I remember now, it kind of slipped my mind since I was more focused on Shaolin." Pantera was visibly annoyed, how could his master put his emotional interests in front of a substantial increase in power?

"Go on, I want to hear why that woman made you so apathetic," he growled, bringing a paw up to his face and rubbing the short hairs along his forehead. The sword's frustration dissipated when his blue-haired wielder donned a heavily pensive expression. "Huh, I guess it would have to be because I got a little something for her right here," he yielded, patting at his heart. "Never met a woman like her before. I mean she's not the only one that took some scratches and gave me a good time but…something about her just makes me want more than that so I've been after her this whole time." Grimmjow stopped and began stroking the jaguar's neck. "I got power. I got enough to go toe to toe with almost everyone I know. Don't really care about it though, not like I'll be getting in a deathmatch with any Shinigami or those Hybrids in the next century or two."

Pantera raised his head, leaving his jaw on the bridge. "So that woman is truly more important to you than power? You've certainly changed, Sexta Espada." Grimmjow nodded, catching his Zanpakuto's ear between his thumb and forefinger. "Everything's changed. It changed once when that bastard Tousen broke my mask and stopped me from evolving. And it changed again when the war ended. All I can hope for is that things stay where they are this time. Between Tia losing her mind and Nel forgetting everything but her damn name and Jiruga, I think I deserve at least what I have going now." He sighed, tugging his eyes up at the stars. "'Least Starrk will always be the same."

"Very well, you may have it."

Grimmjow cocked an eyebrow, turning his head to spot a very serious looking sword. "Finding something to fight for other than yourself wasn't what was truly required of you. I wanted you to break free from the thirst of power and find something else to anchor yourself to before you destroyed yourself and turned into Nnoitra. And now that you've done that by finding ties to this life in Soul Society and your woman…I can rest knowing that you won't misuse your second release for ill purposes." The spirit said solemnly, letting his slitted pupils vanish behind black eyelids.

Silence came between the two as a humid gust of wind blew through the jungle, stirring up the endless trees. "You trying to sound like Nel?" Grimmjow muttered darkly, rapping his clawed hand rhythmically on a piece of wood. "Relax, I was just saying what I really think. Besides, I don't see what the big deal is with her anyway. Or did you two have something going on before you became an Arrancar?" Pantera prodded mischievously, dodging an explosive dart courtesy of his master's elbow. "Shut up, would ya? It wasn't like that. She and I just go way back to when Starrk and I were locked up to wait for years on end until Aizen got the Hougyoku. Nel and Tia got assigned to visit us and keep us sane by telling us 'bout Las Noches and chat about anything and everything. Then Jiruga came in and conked her on the head so it was just me, Starrk, and Tia hanging around with us on the inside of the bars and her on the outside until we became Arrancar." Grimmjow explained distastefully. "Thanks for making me run through all that shit, I even told the Primera to make up some lie about when Aizen grabbed a hold of me just to keep it out of my head and here you come reminding me of it."

He put up a hand to quiet his weapon before it even started to speak. "Don't want to hear about it any more. I was imprisoned for decades just so Aizen could make me stronger with the Hougyoku. Then when he finally transforms me, I get shit for power because the damn thing was barely activated. Would've been better if Tousen just let me evolve and then captured me but he was afraid, they were all so fucking afraid of what I could do to them. They knew I wasn't going to lie down and take their enslavement so they purposefully made me weak." The former Espada spat with the utmost hatred. "So change the damn subject or let me go back to Shaolin where I'd much rather be right now instead of talking about power I don't care about anymore." Grimmjow concluded, defeated and worn, balling his hands into fists at the sound of laughter. "What is it now?"

"Its just that I think you'll really like Segunda Etapa then since it's your own strength," Pantera cackled, taking it upon himself to elaborate once it became abundantly clear that no further discussion would occur otherwise. "The second stage cannot be achieved by every Arrancar, only ones at Adjuchas-class who had the dormant potential to evolve. What it is, is a temporary evolution into a released Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar…this is all your doing, not Aizen's so lighten up. You…we will get the power we deserve; consider your evolution finally completed." Grimmjow smiled at the revelation, he may not have cared all that much about inheriting the Segunda Etapa but he was relieved to know where it came from. "Thanks, sword."

"You're welcome, just keep out the rain and you'll find all the knowledge you need to perform the release in your head when you wake up in the morning."

With that said and done, Grimmjow was transported back to his tent in the form of him waking up.

His eyes fluttered open and were instantly greeted by the sight of Soifon who had unconsciously turned to face him in her sleep. Her face was calm, muscles loosened to allow a small opening of her mouth that spread apart only the slightest distance when she exhaled a low breath. This resulted in a warm burst of air washing across the Arrancar's chin every time her bare chest rose and fell. Loose strands of fine hair bent along the contours of her body before falling in a pool of black on the bedding. She appeared perfectly tranquil, none of her usual volatile frostfire persona detectable to any of the senses.

Fuck, she's beautiful.

Gazing at her studiously, Grimmjow's icy stare wavered and melted into soft orbs of liquid teal. He had never seen her so at ease, so peaceful, so…vulnerable. It made him ponder if she would break into a million pieces if he so much as touched her. And then there was the lightness in his chest, that was new, definitely not something he had experienced when looking at a sleeping Yoruichi or any other woman on that note. No, there was some kind of attachment still in its infancy behind these foreign sensations. But he could wait to sort that out some other time; for now, he was far too tired. Rest was foremost on his mind but first, he reached over and pulled the sheet over Soifon's shoulders then dropped his arm around the small of her back protectively. Accomplishing that, he promptly slipped out of consciousness.

Meanwhile outside, a black cat sat on the sand while a stealthy Vice-Captain emerged from a tent next to the one where she was stationed.

"She's not in there," Rangiku giggled, crawling up alongside the feline and peering over a dune at the controversial area in front of her. "I figured," Yoruichi began in her disturbingly masculine voice. "Grimmjow's tent has a barrier around it, the kind used by field operatives in the second division when they want to sleep in enemy territory undisturbed. It's a metal cylinder that when activated, makes every noise and reiatsu signature inside its radius undetectable to those outside. They're hard to break; I noticed when I walked right into an invisible wall over there so keep your distance." She finished knowingly, licking a paw. "So he and Soifon-Taicho…" Barely suppressed laughter interrupted whatever question Matsumoto would've asked. "Hopefully," the cat sighed. "I was afraid I ruined it when she found out that me and him had a fling in the not-so-distant past. I'm glad to see that she's finally grown up."

"But who should we tell about this?"

A white cheshire grin broke through the night. "It will be in our reports when we attend the next S.W.A meeting."

Announcement! This interlude is referencing my companion one-shot to this story: "How I got my Tattoo". It provides a bit of back story to the relations between Grimmjow, Starrk, Harribel, and Nel. Check it out on my profile.

Author's Note: Hmm, I'm glad I already had this bit of fluff halfway written when I got some complaints about last chapter being so emotionless. Seemed to me that the whole thing was a hit or miss with you all. I got positive reviews and negative ones.

Anyway, read or review or whatever.

Reader Response!

Silentshadow55: Yup, major turnoff *thumbs down* Glad you liked his arm blowing up. :D

Hellbutterfly: yup, next chapter will be something along those lines. Will have drama sprinkled around it, apparently this story needs a lot of drama…

Smiley Person: Oh well, I tried. Hope you liked this bit better then.

Lovemydogs: thank you for also having a mind capable of enjoying all the ridiculous things I do with this story.

Delectable: Yup, big fight next chapter. And it isn't going to be a one-sided beatdown…trust me on that. I already have some good ideas for how to get it started (was challenging since Byakuya is a hard person to get to fight) and how to end it with no real repercussions to anything else I have planned…like the melon part.

Glad you liked the fight, I had fun writing it with all the licking and the beatyouovertheface things.

In regards to the sex, ku ku ku I thought you'd have more faith in me. I don't write things on a whim. Both characters have two sides to themselves and you can expect a theme of duality to exist within their relationship. It makes it fun to write.

Yes, yes the ball is rolling but I have it set on a track. ;)