Although he'd probably worried her more, Grimmjow found he felt happier, knowing that such a burden was lifted from him, to know he could put his mind at ease, since she now knew a lot more than she had before about his past. Of course, he hadn't told her about his parents, his upbringing, any of that—it didn't have anything to do with Aizen, and truthfully, he wasn't too sure himself what his background was, regarding it. Grimmjow wasn't anything in particular in his childhood, nothing but a wanderer with a penchant for fighting—this didn't mean he was asking for the consequence of Aizen. Aizen had been the only consistency in his life, it was all he could remember, no matter how far back he reached, running through memory after memory, Aizen was the only thing that seemed to stay.

He looked to her, and she, to him. "So you get it now?" He asked her. She nodded, silent.

"Then say something."

"So you were really supposed to win against Ken, weren't you?" She asked. Bao wanted to ask so many more questions about what Grimmjow had brought upon them all, but she couldn't think of a single thing. Nothing.

Grimmjow shifted for a moment before sighing once more, and turning his attention on another part of the living room. "Yeah. There's bound to be a rematch or whatever soon, though, so next time I'll beat him."

"And if you don't?"

"I will."

"But when you don't?" Bao pressed, folding her arms over her chest. Grimmjow scoffed, smirking. He didn't care that she was feigning doubt about his chances against Ken, he couldn't take her seriously like this. He reached up and took hold of her chin, squishing her cheeks with his thumb and forefinger. "I will." He repeated, as if mocking her. She rolled her eyes and brushed his hand away.

"I'm not a doctor," she started, her eyes pleading. "You need to go to the hospital. I know you think you're indestructible and shit, but you've got to realize your limits…" She placed a hand on his chest, and eased into hugging him. Grimmjow allowed her to come so close, letting himself be held rather than deal with the soreness of returning her affection.

"Fine. Whatever will make you quit your worrying." He replied after some time, placing his hand on top of her head.

Time passed. Three months, to be exact, and snow began to blanket the ground as the weather flowed into winter. Grimmjow was feeling better now—the only remnant of his punishment was a fading, minor subconjunctival hemorrhage in his left eye—and in all the down time he'd had, there was a lot of time to think about what had happened in the past months. Aizen hadn't shown any signs of leaving, even as his fights began to slow. Granted, there were plenty of times he grew worried that telling Bao everything there was to know about their current situation would come back and bite him in the ass, but so far, nothing. It was almost as if he had nothing to worry about, but he'd be a fool to let his guard down for even a second.

He still wanted to take her with him, on vacation. It was something the two of them needed. Grimmjow had been a bit anxious and tense around Bao, however—not because of any reason involving Aizen, but she didn't seem to want to be intimate anymore. Initially, he'd thought, whatever, she'll snap out of it; she's probably scared or some shit, but she never seemed comfortable. He tried his usual, aggressive means of getting her in the mood, but she was quick to tell him off for it. He tried, and failed miserably by his standards, at being a romantic—again, it wasn't his strong suit.

In the times that she didn't come over—which seemed to happen more often, now—he'd occasionally watch porn. It'd hold him over, but not for very long before he thought of her once more. With an exasperated grunt, he'd try to get her out of his head by going on a run, and half the time, he'd catch himself midway through a course to her home. He found time to delve into his hobbies and enjoy the things he hadn't been granted before: movies, driving around, video games, training in his basement; whatever would get him active. Whatever would calm his pull to her.

Bao understood their vacation was coming up, and Grimmjow didn't really have another bout for quite some time. Though his name was becoming more and more recognized, and fights were excitedly arranged after word of his fight with Ken spread, Bao was happy for him, but couldn't see herself as his girlfriend for much longer. She knew he'd been trying, and every now and then, she would work up the nerve to tell him, but every time she approached him, he'd either do something to make her laugh, distract her, or just look too naïve, too ignorant of love and any sort of positive relationship that she couldn't bring herself to do it. She loved him tremendously, but he wasn't mature enough to have someone like her. Ichigo had already forced him to apologize to Rukia in some fashion, after she'd been allowed to go home, but he still refused to tell Rukia, or Ichigo exactly why she was assaulted. He said that she'd "figure it out".

She now sat at home, lazily browsing through pictures online of their planned vacation spot. It'd be nice to go to the beach, but with every day that got closer, she was only reminded of how she didn't want to make him do so much for her, just for her to leave him.

She inhaled deeply, and exhaled, before closing her eyes for a moment, hands pressed together and held gently in front of her face. She grabbed her phone and sent him a text, half hoping he wouldn't respond. Her heart skipped a beat when he did, almost immediately. He was on his way now, after being told only one thing:

"get over here, now."

Grimmjow knocked on the door to her apartment before turning the knob. She'd left it unlocked, for him, he was sure. However it was just a reminder for him to tell her not to do that. He didn't care whether she knew he was on his way or not. If she leaves this door unlocked one more time…He thought, irritated. He closed and locked the door, stepping further into her home. He heard music, water running. He rounded a corner to the hallway to catch Bao slipping into her room, towel wrapped around her.

"What did you want?" Grimmjow called, so as not to scare her.

"Hey." She replied, pausing between her gathering clothes for after this apparent bath, to step towards him, plant a quick kiss on his lips, and throw a few more clothes on her bed before heading off to the bathroom. He now noticed where the music was coming from—small speakers atop the counter. Grimmjow scoffed as she turned off the faucet. She hadn't closed the door, so he assumed she must've wanted to say something at least.

"What, so is that all you needed?" He asked with raised brows, arms folded with sarcastic surprise. "Grimmjow," She replied. "You smell. Just get in the tub, please?"

Grimmjow was a bit uncomfortable being squished against her in the bath, but this was the most she'd let him touch her in a quite a while. Soap hid most of her body, and her curls were soaked thoroughly, wet strands framing her face. Her back was against his chest, and only through all this did he really feel how small she was. He still preferred showers, but if he could have baths like this, he wouldn't mind. But that distracted from the matter.

"You didn't answer me, woman. What did you want?"

"To talk."

"Then talk."

"Do you think we should…I don't know, take a break?" She found herself ask, terribly afraid of his reaction when she got to the heart of the matter. Rather she spare herself from any more by beating around the bush.

"Why?"

"Just, until you get all this figured out. Like, when Aizen goes back to Hueco Mundo, if he ever does."

Grimmjow shrugged. "I mean, I thought I told you not to talk about this shit again. I told you everything you need to know—you understand he won't leave until he feels like it. Until I take that title, and even that doesn't guarantee it."

"I'm just saying maybe you'll be a little more focused without distractions. There's no reason for him to use me as leverage if we aren't involved. Nine times out of ten, I'm around you. They probably can't watch me if I change up what I do every day."

"He knows who you are. You not being with me doesn't suddenly make you invisible." She had to know what she was to him. Aizen could use this to his advantage until one of the three of them died. It was only natural for someone with his instincts.

"You worry so goddamn much," Grimmjow continued, adjusting her. Before she knew it, he'd lifted her up a little further, so as to bury his mouth into her neck. His words were muffled, but he still spoke. "I'm tired of it."

Bao let him have this moment, if only for a moment. Fear built up as she let him have his way, planting kisses along her neck, right hand cupping her breast, left hand sliding down her stomach, lower and lower, until…

"Wait."

"Why?" He pulled back a bit now, to nibble her ear, length hardening against the small of her back. His hand traveled lower, fingers teasing her when she didn't give him an answer. Bao figured it was now or never. The result was going to be the same regardless, best to take the chance now before she let him get too ahead of himself.

"I don't want to do this anymore, Grimmjow."

"Don't say that. Don't say that to me."

"No, Grimmjow, you heard me. I can't, none of this, I can't do it anymore."

An uncomfortable silence settled, but not for long before Grimmjow pulled his hands back, and quickly got out of the bathtub. Knowing that speaking would only make the whole ordeal worse, she let him go. She watched as he shook his head, in silent disbelief and probably berating himself for being so blind, so stupid. He pulled a towel around his waist and grabbed his clothes, before heading off to her room. She wanted to speak, she wanted so badly to say something to him, because if there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was someone that refused to hear every bit of the truth when they could, so their anger seemed justified with so little information.

She waited. And waited. And waited, for a minute that felt like an hour.

Before she could open her mouth, before she could think to call out to him, she jumped, hearing a loud crash and several small things falling to the ground. Glass shattered seconds later, and one definitive, loud bang! against the wall. Fearing the worst was sure to come, Bao exited the bath and grabbed her robe, hanging from a hook on the back of the bathroom door, securing its belt to stop in her doorway, freezing immediately at the sight of what he'd done.

Her dresser and all her belongings she'd arranged atop it were toppled, her glass nightstand in pieces scattered across the wood floor. There was a sizeable hole in the wall he'd made. He stood, dressed, with his back to her, free hand holding the fist he'd used to release his anger.

"Look, I'm sorry, but—"

"Yeah, yeah. You're worried. You're scared. 'I don't care enough', whatever dumb shit you're coming up with." He turned around to see her in her usual state. Holding the front of her robe so as to put a pseudo-barrier between the two of them. "You're right though. I've had enough of this shit, too. What is it, then?"

"What's what?"

"What's wrong?! You've been making me jump through fucking hoops since we met. I do everything for you, everything. I'm waiting for you to tell me just what the fuck is wrong with me!" To Grimmjow, she had to drag his past out of him. She poked and prodded and pulled and pleaded, even though he wanted to tell her nothing. He wanted to keep it all from her. Why did she only see what Aizen had raised, what Aizen had groomed, before her, and not accept who he presented? Why was she not happy with who he wanted to be?

"Grimmjow, nothing's wrong wi—"

"No, answer me." He quickly backed her against the hallway closet, closing in. "What's wrong with me? Don't like my hair? My dick not big enough? Do I yell too much?!" He suddenly yelled, to emphasize his words. His sarcasm stung. They stared at each other, and although Bao thought she caught a hint of guilt in those deep, blue eyes, anger quickly burned it away. He punched the closet door next to her, growing even angrier as she flinched. "Or is it because you're so scared of me?"

"I wouldn't be if you stopped trying to scare me, Grimmjow! You act like I have no right to be afraid of you when you do these things!"

"You shouldn't be, I—"

"You do it on purpose! You always have! It's not fucking normal!" He ignored this.

"That's another thing, stop fucking questioning me all the time! How about you do what I told you and tell me what's so fucking wrong with me? Don't make me feel like…this about you, just so you can tell me you're 'done'? What the fuck?"

"Then you can go. Just get out, Grimmjow."

"So you're breaking up with me?" Grimmjow surmised, incredulous, as if the mere concept itself was ridiculous at best.

"I don't want to, but you're so…" She raised her hands, as a substitute for words, showing her frustration as her sentence trailed off into an exasperated grunt. "Reckless. You're reckless, Grimmjow, and it's only when it's too late that you ever see anything wrong with anything you do. All I—all I asked for was to know what you came from. What Aizen had tried to make of you. And you treated it like it was the most…shitty thing I could ever ask. It's not fair. So yes…I'm done."

Grimmjow was at a loss for words. Everything he had ever felt for her, everything he had done had now been thrown back in his face, all because she couldn't accept how he was. He should have known, of course, as nobody could ever truly understand and accept him and come to love him as a result. Maybe he didn't deserve love. Maybe he wasn't supposed to have anyone of his own, be anyone of his own. Maybe he was paying for all the things Aizen made him do in the past by experiencing love, only to have it yanked away.

"Don't call me. Go home, Grimmjow. You and me, it's strictly business now." Bao softly explained to a stoic Grimmjow. He merely stared at her, holding the same distant, angry look he'd had when they had first met each other. Ultimately, he'd scoffed at her and shook his head, taking his leave. "Like I need you to tell me that. Don't come crying to me after somebody hurts your feelings and you get all lonely and shit, either." He now left, loudly slamming the door, leaving Bao to think about what she said.

About a month of tension followed, an icy January mirroring the two. Ichigo was probably none the wiser, of course, but how could Grimmjow know? The two seemed to be everywhere together, now, laughing together, leaving the gym together, carpooling, eating together. Ichigo still expected things of him, but Bao hadn't said a single word to him, other than what she was supposed to say, and he responded accordingly. He hadn't called her, not once. He wanted to make her miss him, and besides, what was the point in making it worse? He always watched them closely, as if looking for tells of anything deeper than what they might have.

Grimmjow was jealous. He knew only through his relationship with her that he was the jealous type and liked it that way. Why should he let anyone else tread all over his territory—and in his face no less? What's his was his, and that was the way things had to be. But what was he to do when what was his didn't want to be anymore?

He could easily focus on his career, win his fights, go to his obligations, go drinking, but it now felt...different. He wasn't bored with these things, but wasn't fully occupied when doing them, either. In the time they weren't speaking, he'd go to parties hosted by other athletes, hit on women, but it never went further than that. He didn't need it to. He'd gotten a few numbers, some nudes from girls who claimed to be fans—the furthest he'd allowed was a lap dance from one of the strippers, but when she turned around and sat on his lap, leaning down and kissing his neck, he smelled her. He smelled Bao. He only remembered sliding the money into her bra, and whispering in her ear…

Get the fuck away from me.

He missed the spontaneity of what they used to be. Many nights he'd sit at home, in bed, and think about her.

Sometimes he'd get angry, thinking only that it was her fault he felt like this, that she was a bitch, that he didn't need her anyway and all he needed was fame and money. He didn't want revenge, per se, just for her to date someone else and get her heart broken, so he could enjoy it.

Sometimes he'd fuel his anger by thinking about Bao and Ichigo. What if they fucked daily after training? What if they kept up appearances when they were with him, just to make a fool of him together? He sickened himself, thinking about Ichigo forcing himself on her, or even worse, Bao letting him.

But naturally, most times he had thought about that, he'd thought about all the times where she looked so perfect, so feminine under him. All the times she'd said his name—and all the times he'd made her scream it. The tending to his wounds, every touch, every kiss, every night they'd fallen asleep together, every outing.

Fuck all of it.

If she didn't want that anymore, that was her business. He was done with her. Even now, as he sat silently in his bedroom, downing glass after glass of whiskey, he hoped she was happy and realized what she'd lost.

Bao had taken a lot of time into strengthening her friendship with Ichigo. She hadn't known him throughout their childhoods, but well into their early and mid teens, they'd become fast friends until her family had chosen to move from Karakura Town. She hadn't really developed any feelings, let alone a crush, on Ichigo, and didn't know his friends very well, but in the past couple of months that they'd all been together every so often, she'd found she liked most of them.

Now, she didn't care how it seemed to Grimmjow. What she did, who she spent her time with, it wasn't any of his concern now, and he'd do well to keep leaving her alone. Sure, he was bitter when they were in the middle of training, but that was why she slowly began to show up less and less at work, and more to pick Ichigo up.

Sometimes, and she admitted it was low, she'd try to make him jealous, or do what he liked, whether it came in the form of wearing perfume or make-up, or certain clothes, or making excuses to touch or be too near Ichigo.

She'd just left Ichigo's home around five, and returned home on a particularly snowy Saturday. Admittedly, Bao missed him, and the fear she had over winding up like Rukia had significantly lessened over time.

Maybe I should call him and apologize…he's doing the best he can, anyway. Besides, if there was anything he could do, he'd have done it already, right? She thought, after a shower and dinner. She turned off all possible distractions—the TV, the fan in the living room—and made herself comfortable on the couch. No. I already told him not to call me, so it's not like I can keep playing games like this and act like it's okay for me to do shit.

She bit her lip, drumming her fingers against her knee.

She felt bad. She missed him. It had been long enough, and she said it was a break, hadn't she?

Bao called him, heart beating faster than it ever had in her life, in these moments the phone rang softly in her ear. Nothing. He hadn't answered and he didn't feel the need to set up a voicemail, but she hung up before the beep sounded. She tried again after a few minutes.

Nothing.

She held her breath and tried a third time, but this time, left a message.

"I know I—we're broken up and everything, Grimmjow…" She started. "There's a lot of things that have been on my mind for a while. Things might be okay; I was overreacting. I'm not worried about anything now, I trust you, I love you. I don't want to fight anymore. So…I don't know; if you get this, call me, okay?" She hung up, and pulled her legs up to her chest, holding them.

This was a mistake.

Bao had waited for several hours. He hadn't texted or called her, which she knew was rightfully deserved. She didn't know how long he could hold a grudge against her, but she'd wait it out, unless he truly didn't want to be together anymore. In which case, she'd definitely admit that it was crushing. Being rejected by someone like him, anyone else would take with a grain of salt, but it was that she wanted to be one he depended on, she wanted to be a source of love and consistency in his life…she wanted him to love her, to be obsessed with her…it would be devastating beyond anything she could ever have imagined to consider Grimmjow being done with her. Being bored of her and choosing someone else, but she would internalize it all. Hell, she'd even try to steal him back. But if he wanted someone else, again, she would think she deserved it. He had a career to maintain, he had goals, and he didn't need her standing in his way if he wanted anything.

Maybe it wouldn't hurt to go see him; where would he be on a night like this anyway?

10 PM. Thick snowflakes fell quickly to the ground, melding with the sheets of white on people's lawns and on the sidewalks. The roads were constantly swept of gray mush, tires loudly driving over them. Bao had decided to drive to Grimmjow's home, able now to confront him and tell him the truth about what was going on. Both with her, and with Ichigo.

"Please open up…" Bao thought aloud as she walked down the smooth, plowed trail to his front door. She knocked multiple times, anxiously holding her umbrella as the cold, dry winds picked up. The lights were on, hopefully she'd see him round the corner. She waited and waited, more nervous now about seeing him than she'd ever been. Just as she considered leaving, the door opened. He looked down at her, unwilling to move and let her in, despite the weather.

He raised a brow, expecting her to speak, gesturing as if to say "well?"

"Please, just let me in so I can explain all this."

He grimaced in return. Why should he? There was no reason to let her in. Maybe he should keep her out there, in fact, just so she can shiver and risk catching cold just so he could enjoy that she was here for ultimately no reason.

"Grimmjow, just stop being childish for one minute and let me in!"

"Fine. One minute, then go back to Kurosaki."

Bao groaned softly, pushing her way past him before he shut the door. "Look," she started, taking off her shoes and putting away her umbrella. "I know you're pretty pissed at me, but if anything, it was necessary. It was something I needed to do, for my own safety. You said that you're only looking out for yourself; well, what, I can't do that? What's wrong with me prioritizing myself?"

"Nothing. You know that. Sorry I feel a little fucked off since you decided to break up with me for no reason, just so you can throw yourself at Kurosaki."

"How, Grimmjow, how am I doing that?"

"You love asking stupid questions, don't you?" He answered, backing her against the wall. She wasn't afraid of him, not this time. Nothing he tried tonight was going to work, and she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of becoming easily upset by him. No, that gave him the illusion of control, and she knew he loved nothing more than to be in control. "You still didn't answer me. How am I throwing myself at Ichigo?"

"You know how!" He started, not wanting to bring up her behavior in the gym. Maybe he'd imagined it, maybe the paranoia and jealousy had made it seem like the two were closer than they were. He knew he didn't want to be in the wrong, and simply left it at that, changing the subject. "Now explain why you're here since you want to so badly. Thirty seconds."

Bao exhaled, waiting a moment before she spoke. He wouldn't kick her out—at least, she hoped; he probably would—but she figured it best to hurry up.

"Look, it's…I understand what you're going through. I know it must not be easy having such pressure on you to win, both in here," she paused to point to the side of her head—his mind—before continuing. "and out there, with Aizen watching. Just know I'll always be on your side, and although whatever happened with Rukia couldn't be helped, I'm going to trust you'll do what you can to make sure it doesn't happen again. Especially not to me, right?"

Grimmjow merely looked back at her. She went on. Even as the two had been angry with each other for the past few weeks, she still found that internally, she melted whenever she saw his face. His eyes…that determined, unblinking gaze set upon her that made her nervous even as she pretended it didn't.

"The truth is, I didn't want to leave you. But all of what's been going on has been suffocating, okay? I'm sorry, about all of it. Even if you were hurt by seeing Ichigo and I get closer; nothing's going on. Can we just make up and forget about all this shit?"

Grimmjow winced at the thought of him having hurt feelings. He'd been irritated by their closeness of course, but he didn't want it labeled as "hurt". He waited, but before he could speak, she wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling against his chest as she hugged him tightly. He groaned softly before patting her head. "That's what I've been trying to tell you, you moron…Just let me handle everything." He muttered, before returning her gesture and holding her securely against him, nose buried in her slightly damp tresses.

"You know we're leaving the day after tomorrow, right?" Bao mentioned, having excitedly kept track of Grimmjow's scheduled fights, and planned their vacation accordingly. She'd also made sure Ichigo was aware, and thus had time to focus on any minor expenses while the two were gone. Grimmjow grunted affirmatively, before pulling back and looking down at her. She returned his gaze, and found that even now, even with all the two had been through in the many months they'd known each other, she still got butterflies in her stomach whenever he gave her that look. The two stared at each other, becoming lost in one another's gaze, hardly noticing how slowly they approached each other for a deeply satisfying kiss.