Karakura Days and Nights
by Ulquiorra9000
Chapter 25: Just an Innocent Sleepover, With No Strings Attached (can't we all agree on a stupid movie?!)
It sure as hell didn't take long for the cunning Bambietta to catch wind of Grimmjow's, Rukia's, and Halibel's regular group studies at the Kuchiki house. It must have given her an idea, because on one Saturday evening in mid-November, Grimmjow was lounging on his messy bed, finishing up the newest X-Men comic when his cell phone vibrated on his dresser.
Without really looking, Grimmjow scooped up his phone and casually read the new group-text message. Then his eyes widened. Whoa!
From: Bambi. Hey, guys! Rukia told me that she's free to hang out, so I demand that everyone come right over to her house! It'll be fun! But be sure to bring some stuff. Here's the list...
Grimmjow tossed aside his comic and sat upright. What the heck? The items on Bambi's list... they were perfect for a...!
He got up and stroked Pantera's soft fur. "Sorry, kitty, but I'm spending the night at the Kuchiki place. You don't mind, do you?"
Pantera meowed and nibbled on Grimmjow's thumb.
Ten minutes later, Takeshi fired up the car and dropped off Grimmjow at the huge Kuchiki house, and Grimmjow tried not to feel self-conscious as he rang the doorbell, a duffel bag in his hand.
The door swung right open and there stood Rukia and Ichigo. "Hey, dude," Ichigo said, waving. He was in his usual logo tee and skinny jeans. "Glad you made it."
"I haven't been to a sleepover in a long time," Grimmjow admitted, stepping inside and changing into house slippers. "What's the occasion?"
"The occasion," came a new voice, "is a celebration of friendship, of course!"
Grimmjow nearly had a heart attack as Bambietta emerged from the next room, already changed into a pink nightie. A very revealing one!
"Wh-what the..." Grimmjow went red. "Bambi?!"
"Now, Grimmjow, be nice," said Halibel as she, too, appeared from the next room. She beamed. "She was gracious enough to organize a house party for us all!"
"House party? Hon, it's a sleepover. That means all kinds of naughty things," Bambi said with a wicked grin to match. "Where's Uryu? I asked him to show up right on time! He's usually so punctual!"
"I think he's afraid of what you're gonna do to him," Ichigo explained. "I can't blame the guy."
"I'm sure he'll be here any minute," Halibel assured Bambi. Unlike her wild friend, she simply wore an ocean-blue babydoll tee and jean shorts.
"Not soon enough. It ain't a party without him," Bambi insisted, until Byakuya himself stepped into the room.
Rukia clasped her hands politely at her navel. "Good evening, brother."
"Evening, everyone," Byakuya said stiffly. He must have just gotten back from Classical Wares, because he was still wearing his dress shirt, vest, and slacks from work, plus his Rolex. "Please don't be too loud. Grandfather Ginrei has a headache and is trying to sleep upstairs."
"We'll be cool, Byakuya," Ichigo said earnestly. "You can count on us."
"I... suppose," Byakuya said slowly. "Be on your best behavior in my house, please." His sharp gray eyes glanced at everyone in turn, and then he slunk off upstairs.
Bambietta pouted. "Okay, I know that he looked at me the longest! Like he was glaring daggers at me!"
"He's got good reason," Grimmjow muttered, earning him a kick in the shins. "Ouch!"
Grimmjow was hopping one one foot, massaging his hurt shin, when the front door creaked open and Uryu joined the party with his own duffel bag.
"Hey... Uryu," Grimmjow groaned, willing his shin bone to stop aching.
Uryu went red at the sight of Bambi. "W-was I suppose to change into my night things before I got here?"
Bambi nodded, hands on her hips. "That's right, honey. In fact, that goes for all of you!" she swept her arm to encompass the room. "Everyone get changed, and we can get started. The night's still young."
Hell, Bambi had a point. Grimmjow found the nearest bathroom (there were a lot!) and he swapped into the worn, plain tee and shorts he usually wore into bed, but after a second of thought, he also put on his patched-up bathrobe, letting it stay parted. He couldn't help going red; being in this house, with three girls in their night things... he took a deep breath.
Stay cool, man, Grimmjow urged his reflection, gripping the sink's edge. No big deal, right?
Grimmjow emerged from the bathroom and Halibel was already there. She smiled and took his hand. "About time you're ready, hon," she teased him, now in a pale blue nightie, her blonde hair in its usual ponytails. "Everyone's in the living room. I hope you're hungry!"
"Sure, babe." Grimmjow felt himself finally relax, and he savored Halibel's warm hand in his as he joined the party, sitting next to his girlfriend. Ichigo and Uryu already sat in front of the huge flat-screen TV while Bambietta fiddled with the DVD player.
"I brought snacks for the movie," Rukia announced, bringing a tray of odd rice balls from the kitchen. She wore yellow and orange striped pajamas.
"So, Rukia... what are these called?" Uryu asked warily.
"They're a recipe Orihime gave me," Rukia said fondly. "She calls them... um... 'flavor busters' or something. There's three varieties, see?"
Grimmjow knew Orihime's cooking. He carefully checked 'em out: ketchup, pepper flakes, hot fudge, almonds, cherries, and more covered the poor riceballs, and the mingled flavors roared their way through Grimmjow's nose. "They... look great. Sure."
"I'm not so hungry anymore..." Ichigo said, making a face.
Rukia scowled. "I worked hard on these!"
"Sorry, hon. Let me be the taste tester." Ichigo gave her a quick smile and took one. He popped it in his mouth as everyone watched.
Ichigo's mouth puckered and he fanned himself as he went scarlet. "They're... great!" he wheezed after he swallowed it.
Rukia smiled, too. "Wonderful! Everyone, take as many as you like! I'll be back with drinks... Orihime's flavor-blaster lemonade!"
Grimmjow put on a brave face and took the smallest rice ball. "So, what are we watchin'? Are we gonna vote on a movie?"
"Yeah. There's a ton of movies here," Ichigo said in awe, running his finger along the 2.5 trillion DVD cases on a nearby shelf. "Sound off, people."
"I vote for Star Trek Into Darkness," Grimmjow said at once. Everyone else except Ichigo groaned.
Grimmjow made an irriated noise. "What's wrong with that?"
Bambi tapped the top of Grimmjow's head with the TV remote. "We're all tired of your Comic-Con crap, Grimmjow."
"Stop that!" Grimmjow brushed Bambi's hands away and racked his brains. He felt the gears turn in his cranium. "How about... Back to the Future? Classic!"
Uryu pushed up his glasses. "I'd rather not..."
"What's wrong with it?" Ichigo said defensively.
"Well, maybe Jurassic World?" Grimmjow offered, but he got a round of thumbs-down in response.
How could anyone not like that movie?!
"I've been meaning to rewatch Citizen Kane," Uryu put in. "A real classic! Cinema history!"
Bambi stuck out her tongue. "Sorry, honey, but I have a rule against black-and-white movies."
"I vote for Batman Begins," Ichigo declared.
"I second that," Grimmjow added eagerly.
Bambi threw the TV remote at Ichigo's head. "I said no geek movies!"
Ichigo yelped in pain. "What the hell!"
Grimmjow turned to Halibel. "How about you, hon? Got a preference?"
Halibel folded her arms, tilting her head in thought. "Well... how about Free Willie? I loved that movie as a kid."
Grimmjow smiled. "Hey, if that's what you want, I'll vote for it, too. Two for Free Willie."
"Oh! I've also wanted to rewatch The Godfather," Uryu added, snapping his fingers. "Bambi, hon, it's in color..."
"No, thanks." Bambietta shivered. "Crime movies scare me."
Rukia re-emerged from the kitchen with the promised drinks. "There's a surprise. I thought nothing scared you, Bambi."
Bambietta went pink. "Whatever. What's your vote, Rukia?"
"Um..." Rukia narrowed her eyes in thought as she handed out glasses of lemonade (with lime wedges!). "My favorite movie is probably Gone With the Wind, so I vote for that."
Grimmjow winced. "Isn't that movie super long?"
"So far, Free Willie has the most votes," Ichigo pointed out. "How about it?"
Bambietta made a triumphant noise and held out a new DVD. "Forget all that! We're watchin' this... Zootopia!"
Rukia made an excited noise. "I forgot I had that movie! I love the rabbit character, Judy."
"I've never seen that movie," Halibel admitted.
"Me neither," Grimmjow added. If a movie isn't Marvel, DC, or in outer space, I probably haven't seen it... that's my rule!
Bambietta grinned. "It's the best Pixar movie yet! It's really cute. You guys are gonna love it. It's got talking animals."
Halibel brightened. "Sharks, too?"
Bambi shook her head. "Sorry, you'll have to watch Finding Nemo for sharks. Anyway, here goes." Without waiting for any approval, she fed the disc into the DVD player and fired it up. Then she turned off the lights, sat next to Uryu, and promptly wrapped her arms around him.
Uryu went cherry-red but kept a straight face as the movie started.
Grimmjow wasn't really into Pixar stuff, but whoa, this talking-animal movie really was kind of good. Plucky underdog lead, a wily fox, a zany city... he felt himself ease into the whole thing as Halibel leaned comfortably against him. He took her hand in his, hardly daring to believe that this was how his evening turned out. Good stuff!
About halfway into the movie, Halibel ran her hand along Grimmjow's thigh and leaned close to his ear. "I think we need a quick break," she breathed into his ear. "Why don't you come with me to the next room? Where no one can hear us..." She planted a warm kiss on his cheek.
Whoa! WHOA! Grimmjow felt the heat rise to his face as he felt Halibel all over him, his eyes still on the movie (now there were hamster mobsters or something). But who cared? He felt like a spotlight was shining on him! What was Halibel saying? His mind felt fuzzy and he could have sworn he was petrified, sitting there as Halibel urged him to join her in the next room.
Does she wanna... um... Grimmjow swallowed. Make... out? Which base does she wanna go to?! I thought only Bambietta was into this stuff!
Grimmjow stole a quick glance at everyone else. Rukia was snuggled up with Ichigo and Bambietta was actually sitting on Uryu's lap... but no clues about how to proceed! What if he did the wrong thing? He'd never done this before! Halibel was way too good a person for someone like him...
"What's the matter?" Halibel whispred gently in his ear.
"I, uh... I..." Grimmjow stammered.
"Don't you want to get out of here with me? Come on..."
"I..."
Then Grimmjow noticed that Bambietta was watching the whole thing. She got up, muttered something in Halibel's ear, then tugged on Grimmjow's bathrobe sleeve. "Come with me," she hissed.
Crap! Grimmjow unfroze himself and followed Bambi into the kitchen as Ichigo and Rukia burst out laughing at the movie's comedy.
Grimmjow stood with his back to the fridge, trying to look casual. "What's the matter?"
Bambi scowled in anger and stomped up to Grimmjow, poking a finger into his belly. "Just what do you think you're doin', Grimmjow?"
"H-hey, what's this all about?"
Bambi humphed and tossed her hair. "D'you really need me to spell it out?"
Grimmjow scowled. "Wait, I bet it's not even your business."
"It's about my friend, so yeah, it's my business!" Bambi poked Grimmjow's belly again. "Why are you such a scaredy-cat? Aren't you in touch with your feelings at all?"
"Is this about me and Halibel? Because things are fine between us!"
"No way." Bambi shook her head, and now, she looked hurt. "She can't stop thinking about you, Grimmjow. In fact, your name always comes up in any chat she and I have. She's crazy about you! So why won't you let her in?"
Grimmjow sputtered. "That's... you're the crazy one. We've been on a few dates, she's been to my house, she..."
"You're so naive!" Bambi sighed. "You used to be a total slacker, Grimmjow. I know you. But lately, with your job at Mr. Urahara's shop, your cat Pantera, studying for veterinary stuff... you're way cooler now than you used to be. The kind of guy a girl could fall for."
Grimmjow froze again. Was Bambi for real? Usually, she was screwing around and raising hell... but she had a point. "Well... are you sure?" He mentally kicked himself.
"I'm totally serious." Bambi's eyes pleaded with him. "She wants some sign from you that you're ready to commit and get more serious about her! She's been trying that with you, but I don't think you've been listening."
"It's not..." Grimmjow shook his head. "She's been fine with how things are. It's not like she's..."
"Maybe she's too polite to say it straight," Bambi insisted, "but she's ready for more, Grimmjow, and you ain't giving it to her. You don't wanna lose her, do you?"
"Hey!" Grimmjow scowled. "That's going too far."
"Maybe," Bambi admitted, "but seriously, what's holdin' you back? I know you really like her too. I can't let my two best friends screw this up!"
"Well, maybe..." Grimmjow swallowed.
"Yes?"
How could he explain it? Could he even tell himself? Every time he thought of Halibel, her smile, her playful laugh, her hands on his skin... he did want her. But there was something else underneath... something cold, something his fault.
Bambi took a step back. "What's on your mind? Come on, tell me."
Grimmjow wasn't sure that he could. He'd never been in a totally commited relationship before! Could he even do it right? Did he even... deserve it?
When Halibel came on to him, things had gotten... so real, so fast. Where was this all going? He'd never given this much thought before, actually...
"I've got some stuff to figure out," Grimmjow finally said. "Okay?"
"That had better not be an excuse!"
"It's not!" Grimmjow breathed out to calm himself. "Really, I'll think over what you said. I won't screw this up."
Bambi nodded, her hands back on her hips. "Good. You've always been a doofus, but in a good way, Grimmjow. Be careful."
"I know." Grimmjow smoothed his robe. "So, uh... let's get back to the movie, huh?"
Bambi silently led him back into the living room, where she settled back on Uryu's lap. Grimmjow, meanwhile, resumed his spot next to Halibel.
"Grimmjow." Halibel tapped his shoulder. "If you prefer to stay here, and take things slow... I understand."
"Thanks, babe." Grimmjow wrapped his arm around her, hand on her opposite shoulder. "I've just got some stuff to think over. No big deal."
Halibel rested her head on Grimmjow's shoulder. "Take your time."
Grimmjow made it through the rest of the movie without incident (though he still felt a bit guilty). Later, though, he had a great time when Rukia dug up a huge pack of Uno! cards and Bambietta added a few brutal rules to the game, causing more than a few loud temper tantrums. Byakuya stormed right down the stairs to fuss at everyone, and then again ten minutes later, threatening to throw everyone out, especially Bambi. Business as usual.
Still, Grimmjow thought as he sprawled on a guest bed at 11:00 PM, for all her misbehavior, Bambietta really did care deeply about her friends. Damn it all, maybe she was the smartest out of the six of them.
Who would've guessed?